Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Don't be a quitter.
On my way to work today, there was a very nice Toyota Truck with a very sweet Brown Dog in the back. I followed them for a bit and watched the dog try desperately to put his face in the wind and stick his tongue out.
Every time he got balanced enough to put his head around the cab of the truck and actually get the wind in his face, the driver would turn quickly or abruptly stop...causing Mr. Brown Dog to loose his balance briefly and need to regroup.
Thankfully, he wasn't a quitter. And I appreciate that. Every time he'd lose his balance, he'd shake it off, re-balance and try again.
And finally, once we were on the freeway (the perfect, straight-shot opportunity to bask in all the wind glory)...he gave up momentarily. And gave me this cute face...
Ultimately, I think he was mostly just a ham. I tried desperately to get the "after" picture and failed. But I promise he got amazing wind against his face and sloppy tongue air like you wouldn't believe.
Every time he got balanced enough to put his head around the cab of the truck and actually get the wind in his face, the driver would turn quickly or abruptly stop...causing Mr. Brown Dog to loose his balance briefly and need to regroup.
Thankfully, he wasn't a quitter. And I appreciate that. Every time he'd lose his balance, he'd shake it off, re-balance and try again.
And finally, once we were on the freeway (the perfect, straight-shot opportunity to bask in all the wind glory)...he gave up momentarily. And gave me this cute face...
Ultimately, I think he was mostly just a ham. I tried desperately to get the "after" picture and failed. But I promise he got amazing wind against his face and sloppy tongue air like you wouldn't believe.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Oh, Chinatown and dating...
Today having Dim Sum and being coerced in to taking whatever hot dish the mean cart lady wanted to give us...we tried some sort of rice cake shrimp concoction.
I made Carolyn try it first and her immediate response was, "It's...tast-ee?" (a dash and two E's meaning a high note ending.)
Which we all decided was the equivalent of answering the question, "How was your date last night?" with "Um...he was nice? (question mark, question mark, raised eyebrows, scrunched nose)"
We just weren't that into the rice cakes. Nor the emotional heartache we received from the cart lady whose dim sum we turned our nose up to.
But a sunshine all the same.
I made Carolyn try it first and her immediate response was, "It's...tast-ee?" (a dash and two E's meaning a high note ending.)
Which we all decided was the equivalent of answering the question, "How was your date last night?" with "Um...he was nice? (question mark, question mark, raised eyebrows, scrunched nose)"
We just weren't that into the rice cakes. Nor the emotional heartache we received from the cart lady whose dim sum we turned our nose up to.
But a sunshine all the same.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Lights on or lights off
We participated in Earth Hour tonight. Which would have been cooler had the entire street gone dark and it felt like a community effort. But it was still great to have beer by candlelight and have a little chat. We felt very environmentally conscious for a whole 60 minutes.
Sitting in the candlelight reminded me of power outages during thunderstorms at home. Those were always so fun as a kid. And even though we turned the lights off on purpose this time, it still had the same sweet feeling from being a kid in the dark.
Sitting in the candlelight reminded me of power outages during thunderstorms at home. Those were always so fun as a kid. And even though we turned the lights off on purpose this time, it still had the same sweet feeling from being a kid in the dark.
Friday, March 27, 2009
The 5th Floor
I have a meeting every Friday at 8:30a and I'm always running a few minutes late. For me, running a FEW minutes late can be more stressful than 15. I think because I'm so close to ACTUALLY being on time and I know the potential is there, so it gets me bent out of shape.
My meeting is on the top floor and I can feel the impatience start to boil up when someone else gets in the elevator with me.
However, just about every other week, the elevator stops on the 5th floor and a guy gets in and then gets off at the 9th floor. He never makes eye contact and always seems relatively busy, but its such a routine now. I catch myself every week waiting to see if the elevator will stop on the 5th floor.
For some reason this extra stop never seems to bother me. It's just the comfort of seeing a stranger so often, you'd almost call them your friend.
My meeting is on the top floor and I can feel the impatience start to boil up when someone else gets in the elevator with me.
However, just about every other week, the elevator stops on the 5th floor and a guy gets in and then gets off at the 9th floor. He never makes eye contact and always seems relatively busy, but its such a routine now. I catch myself every week waiting to see if the elevator will stop on the 5th floor.
For some reason this extra stop never seems to bother me. It's just the comfort of seeing a stranger so often, you'd almost call them your friend.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
This would never happen at Albertson's
My boss has a rule when we're at restaurants. If anyone is singing Happy Birthday, we have to join in. It's actually a pretty great rule.
Today I was at Trader Joe's and a voice came over the loud speaker, "Attention Trader Joe's customers. Today is Patrick's birthday and we're all going to sing. The staff would appreciate it if you all join in."
Almost all of the staff headed right towards checkout stand number two carrying a birthday cake and balloons. They sang the crap out of Happy Birthday.
Unfortunately, the only people who followed my boss's rule (even though technically we were in a grocery store) were the two people standing in line at checkout and me, in isle three, sort of quietly to myself.
Today I was at Trader Joe's and a voice came over the loud speaker, "Attention Trader Joe's customers. Today is Patrick's birthday and we're all going to sing. The staff would appreciate it if you all join in."
Almost all of the staff headed right towards checkout stand number two carrying a birthday cake and balloons. They sang the crap out of Happy Birthday.
Unfortunately, the only people who followed my boss's rule (even though technically we were in a grocery store) were the two people standing in line at checkout and me, in isle three, sort of quietly to myself.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Bouquet
Tonight, during a jog through the neighborhood, I passed a sweet young man in his 60's walking home around 9:30pm with his briefcase and an item that makes me smile.
Flowers.
Not fancy ones. Not ones he specially picked out. Just flowers.
Who knows if they were an apology, a celebration or just because.
My heart says..."just because".
But I suppose it always will.
Flowers.
Not fancy ones. Not ones he specially picked out. Just flowers.
Who knows if they were an apology, a celebration or just because.
My heart says..."just because".
But I suppose it always will.
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