Seen this morning on the sidewalk by my apartment building: man jogging along in pajama bottoms, undershirt tank-top, and black, hard-sole men's dress shoes. There was a woman getting into her car nearby while he jogged by and I was standing there with Lola and we both just stopped what we were doing to gape at him. Once he finally passed (he was jogging very slowly) I turned to the woman and said, "you sure do see all kinds in this neighborhood." She just shook her head and laughed.

ARGH!

I have been so fucking swamped at work that I haven't had time to breathe. So. Stressed. Out. And if I have to look at this web report thing I'm working on one more time today, I swear I'm going to scream, I really will. Thank DOG the RNC is descending on this very building in a matter of hours. It has basically forced me to schedule a week's worth of vacation time. I think I really need it right now.

Kewl beans!

I am in such a hormonally bad mood today. Weepy and depressed and I just know it's all PMS. But that doesn't really make me feel any better about it. Bleah. Made myself run on the treadmill tonight (by the time I did a much-needed laundry, it was too late to go up to the park) because I knew that it would make me feel better, and it did. At least for a little while. I really HATE feeling like this! It's so frustrating! And it also seems to get worse with age. (Any men out there just loved reading about this, I'm sure)

Drama on a Sunday Morning

So, yesterday morning I was standing on the sidewalk outside of my apartment building back gate with my neighbor, Jerry, and our two dogs (Lola and Jake). This guy in a van pulls up across the street and starts blowing his horn (so obnoxious! But particularly so at 8:30 AM on a Sunday morning). This was the conversation that ensued:

Jerry: "Hey, why do you gotta blow your horn like that?!"
Me : "Yeah, you know, this is a neighborhood, these are all people's homes."
Jerry: "Are you too lazy to park your car and get out and ring the bell?"
Me : "It's illegal you know."
Scary Russian Lady at the Window: "Oh, you SHUT UP! It none of your business! I LIVE here!"
Me : "So do we. Does that give you the right to disturb dozens of your neighbors?"
SRL : "SHUT UP! You no clean up after your dog!" *
*Nothing pisses me off more than some telling me that I don't pick up after my dog.
Me : "Of course I do, why do you think I carry these baggies around?" (I hold up wad of baggies) "I suggest you keep your mouth shut when you don't know what you're talking about lady."
SRL : Screeching something unintelligible out the window.
Me : "Oh, just take yourself and your housecoat back into your apartment."
Man in the Van: "I'm so sorry, it won't happen again."

heh.

People Are Stupid, Part 22

One of the reponsibilities of my job here is to support and maintain the company Sales, Ordering and Commission databases. This involves debugging problems, programming enhancements and "fixing" data, among other things such as reporting, etc. Anyway, very often I'm dealing with administrators and clerks, number-crunchers and so on who are entering the data. Anyway, I received a call from one of the commissions clerks about a bunch of data that ended up in our commissions database in error. Basically, this stuff gets loaded manually by the clerks, they create a file, they use an application to check the file to make sure everything is correct, to change anything that needs to be changed, delete anything they don't want to send over and then they finally move the file over to the database. So how did all of this "bad" data end up in there? I asked her if she checked the file, was all this stuff in her file before load? Well, yes it was, she saw it there. But she chose to move it over anyway, knowing that 90% of it was wrong. So, not only do I not have the scenario captured to try and debug the problem and figure out what went wrong, but I had to spend the better part of my morning picking through the database cleaning up this mess. Grrrrrrrr! Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Running

Yes, I've actually been running and taking spinning classes, I've just been a little remiss about blogging about it all. I didn't really realize that people were actually reading my workout log, so I didn't think this stuff would be missed. Well, the weather has been pretty crummy around here for weeks and so most of my runs have been conducted on a treadmill, which is really not all that interesting to write about. It's not even all that interesting to actually go and do, to be honest. Anyway, the weather had cleared briefly this evening. Had been pouring rain this morning and most of the day, but had stopped by the time I got home tonight, so I grabbed the pug and made for the park. Lola really hasn't had much exercise and I wasn't feeling all that ambitious for the hills tonight, since I've been running mostly on flat surfaces for about two weeks now, so I figured we'd take it easy. It was a lot cooler too tonight, although still very humid.

Anyway, we did the usual. Ran in on the Park Drive and and then around on the outer Bridle Path Loop. It went pretty well, I didn't push it too hard, so we both really enjoyed the run. My right shin that has been plaguing me seemed to hold up really well, so I was happy about that. During the course of the run, we ran into a few different people with dogs, so Lola had some social time, since I was in no kind of a hurry. When we finished the loop I saw a guy with a measuring wheel coming out of the loop from the other side, so I asked him how long it is. He told me that the loop is basically 2 miles, but that with all the undulations (the path does a good amount of meandering) that it should actually count for about 3. I then asked him about the Park Drive up to the entrance to the Bridle Path and he said that this is about a 3rd of a mile, which is actually about what I figured. So running the loop plus the Park Drive to and from takes me almost to 3 miles. I supposed I could tack on a little extra mileage by running a little bit of an out and back farther along the Park Drive before and/or after the loop entrance, but I'm not actually going to worry about it now. Anyway, this guy apparently coaches a local girls' highschool track team and seemed to know what he was talking about. Friendly guy, I've seen him there before with his girls. Anyway, good to have a definitive idea of the distance I've been doing.

So, the run went generally well. Would have been better without Lola, of course, but then again, I enjoyed her company and she got some much needed exercise and social time too. Oh, and once I got home, I was milling around the kitchen putting dinner together, when I swear I heard rain. Looked outside and, sure enough, it was pouring rain again. Glad I was able to squeeze a short run in during the small window in between storms.

Social Pariah

Apparently I've become somewhat of a social pariah. I found out that there was a party/gathering on Saturday night of some friends that I wasn't invited to. Gee, thanks a lot.

You know that you've been watching too much TV...

...when you imagine the What Not to Wear cameras following and filming you every time you leave your office or home. At least I know I haven't been interviewed for a "market research on fashion" on the street. Yet. Of course, if they ever did try something like this, I would most likely blow them off right there, no self-respecting NYCer stops and talks to a camera on the street.

Rant of the Day: People who insist on hogging the printer by printing out reams of report and then do not check the printer to see if there is still paper! Why must I run around the floor looking for paper so that your damn 1000s of pages can continue to print??? I'm only trying to print out a 1-page email! GAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

I hate people.

Why I Hate Summer So Much

It's hot again today. We had a break from the soul-sucking heat & humidity for a couple of days but now it's back. Not quite as horrible yet as it was a mere few days ago, but it's gathering strength. I'm the idiot who has to stand on the train platform drinking hot coffee in the morning. But I finished my cup long in advance of the train arrival. Get on the train and seat myself across from a very cool-looking, put-together woman wearing big sunglasses. I sit there and can feel my face perspiring. A lot. The more I think about it, the more I perspire. I surreptitiously try to blot my face with a napkin, but my discomfort grows (yes, the train was air-conditioned). I squirm in my seat imagining the woman across from me watching me with disgust. I mentally curse Summer over and over in my head and pray for the quick journey into Penn Station while my sunglasses fog up, my face become more moist, trickles of sweat creep down between my shoulder blades. I really hate summer in NYC.

Open Season on Women in DC and Rome. Reinforcing my eagerness to personally shun the Catholic church at the earliest age possible (18).

Gross

Woman standing on the train platform this morning, smoking a cigarette while chomping away on some gum. They grow them classy in Queens.

Annoyed

I wanted to run on the treadmill tonight, but each time I've gone down there, someone has been in there hogging the damn gym -- ARGH! Bastards. Maybe I'll just got to bed, dammit.

Breaking News

I won $1 in the lottery last night -- woo!

Do I Look Homeless?

I know I look a little worse for wear after suffering from insomnia most of the week, but this is ridiculous. Ran downstairs and to a Duane Reade in Penn Station to grab a soda for my mid-afternoon caffeine kick. I'm coming back up the escalator outside the building when this guy asks me for directions to Park Avenue. (Luckily he asked because he was ready to walk West and farther away -- it's already enough of a hike on such a steamy, icky day). Anyway, I give him directions, tell him the cross streets along the way, how far it is, how to get out of the maze of corridors to the street, what cross-street we're at, etc. And then he all of a sudden whips out his wallet and tries to hand a dollar to me! He was trying to tip me! I refused the dollar and he kept insisting and I kept refusing... it was so bizarre. I finally said emphatically, "no, it's really okay" and I guess he finally got the hint and stopped trying and just thanked me again, while I escaped to the revolving door of my building. I mean, it was a nice gesture but, sheesh! Do I look homeless or something? Now, if he had been offering me a beer, it might have been a different story.

Poor Joseph

From Julia's report of a race she did last night:

He says, "good job" or something like that. I said, "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!!!"

 

 

Hahhahahahaha!!!!! As Cher would say, Poor Joseph!

Nice Thing to Teach the Kiddies

Waiting to board a LIRR commuter train this evening, woman behind me with two kids and a bunch of bags says to the kids, "now, when the doors open, just push and push." I turn around and give them a scathing look and say, "No. Actually don't push." Woman amends her instruction to the kids and says, "don't push too hard." Yeah, whatever. Great thing to teach your kids, you're more important than anyone else, just push your way in, the hell with other people.

Bit the Bullet

Well, I just bit the bullet and registered to vote. I had been putting it off since I moved to Queens because I know that this is one sure-fire way for the jury duty nazis to find me (especially once I actually exercise my right to actually go out and vote). But who am I kidding? I just can't not vote, it's too important, espcially this year. And for those who say that your vote doesn't count, particularly if you're not living in a "swing" state... don't you want to express your opinion anyway? There is something to be said about sending a message not only to the government and the country, but to the World. Especially those in the World who believe that we all agree with and blindly follow "The Shrub".

More on Room & Board

From their website (about the NYC store -- coming soon):

3/15/2004

Room & Board To Open New York Store

Room & Board will bring its classic, simple home furnishings to a new store in the heart of Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood in early 2005.

The store will be located in the building currently occupied by office and home furnishings company Knoll®, Inc. on Wooster between Spring and Prince Streets. Room & Board plans to renovate the space in a way that preserves the integrity of the current building and its surrounding neighborhood.

Despite not having a store in New York, Room & Board has experienced strong demand for its home furnishings among New York residents.

"Our goal is to help our customers create homes that are beautiful, functional, comfortable and provide outlets for self-expression," said John Gabbert, founder and president of Room & Board. "Based on the significant interest we've already seen among New York residents, we expect our SoHo store will be well received and extremely successful."

Can't wait. Love their stuff.