~Thursday~ I forgot to mention this yesterday: My weekly visitor (sounds like I’m on the rag, only a little too often, doesn’t it) was in the office yesterday, through whom I found out there are only two degrees of separation between me and Scotty McCreery!
My part-time officemate fishes with Scotty’s dad!
When I stepped out my door this morning to walk to the bus stop, my neighbor’s trash bin was tipped over and some stuff was spilled out into our parking lot.
Perhaps as penance for that time I knocked her recycle bin over backing out of my spot and didn’t stop to turn it back upright, I pushed a bag that was half in and half out back in as I lifted the bin to its upright position. Then I picked up one foot of three pairs of shoes that were in her trash (which actually weren’t in that bad of shape, and I thought of Share Our Shoes), and finally I picked up two empty sleeves of Prilosec OTC.
Essentially, three people spend time in that house next door to me: two girls—sisters I believe—and the boyfriend of one of them. That last item really surprised me, then, for a couple of reasons:
- They’re young. All three of them are college-aged.
- They’re of normal weight. Not one of them is heavy; the boy I might even call skinny.
They all seem way too young to be having heartburn issues.
I arrived at the bus stop at 8:17, and the bus arrived at 8:24.
On the bus, a man sitting in the very front turned toward the back and said to someone he evidently knew, “Hey, do you have a dime?” and I immediately heard in my head, “Brother can you spare a dime?”
As the guy and his dime approached the front, the man asking for the dime said, “Yeah, if I have another dime, I can get a day pass.” And as the guy handed him the dime, he added, “Thank you. You made my day. Hey, we need to get together sometime, and I’ll draw a picture of you in that cat hat or whatever it is you wear.”
The man was not using his inside voice as he talked to the driver about taking some family portraits for her, and then the dime guy—who had returned to the back—asked something that made it sound like he was perhaps an acquaintance more than a friend, “Hey, you take pictures, man?” He pronounced the word “pictures” as “pitchers.”
The man indicated that he did, and the dime guy asked, “You got a card?”
“No, but I’ll write my information on here,” the man responded indicating the back of what looked like a store receipt he had pulled out of his bag.
“You got any samples of your work?” dime guy went on in this loud conversation going back and forth between the front of the bus and the back of the bus. Here’s an idea: Move closer together and have an inside voice conversation.
The man replied as he was still writing out his contact information, “I might on my digital camera. After I write this, I’ll check and come back and show you.” Good idea, I thought. And while you’re back there, pump down the volume.
And just when I thought I knew all the ways and places to press the yellow stop tape, a guy stood up and pressed tape where I’ve never ever noticed it before:
My boss and I had a very productive hour-long “working meeting” about communications planning. It’s something we’ve both had to keep putting off for a while now, so we both felt good about having gotten to it once we were done.
We had what was billed as an optional lunch meeting, although it was one of those situations where, yeah, it’s optional, but what’s the perception if you choose not to attend.
It was called by my boss’s boss, and his boss, the Vice Chancellor of Information Technology, also attended. I always have something to say in these type meetings, and today was no exception. That’s one of the advantages of not being afraid to be let go.
Today, I opened another one of these:
the Thursday one of course, and it made me laugh mostly because it’s the “shallowest” of all affirmations so far:
|
Tuesday: |
You are the master of every situation. |
| Wednesday: | In the future, you will be worshiped as a God. |
|
Friday: |
You are beyond reproach. |
|
Thursday: |
Your hair looks great today. |
There are two updates to my Kindle customer experience articulated in gross detail in yesterday’s blog entry:
- I shared it with the technology folks who work in the library and I got a response from them.
- I was notified that my Kindle was ready for pick-up.
I was very encouraged by the response I received, which started off as:
| John,
Thank you so much for your email and for sharing your thoughtful piece on your blog. First of all, I do want to acknowledge that we are clearly doing this process wrong on all fronts and we need to provide better service since this is an area that the Libraries should be excelling at but we aren’t. Borrowing a Kindle should not be as complicated as it is currently. The timing of your experience, blog post, and message couldn’t have been better since we are in the midst of several discussions within the Libraries that will benefit from your help. |
If you’re interested in the rest of the response—which included things already underway to improve the process, as well as the issues that still have to be worked out—check out NCSU Library Kindle Response.
At the end of my work day, I slipped across the street to pick up my Kindle, and as I walked into the library, the guy working the station right at the entrance said, “Sir? We’re closing in about two minutes, at 6:00 today.”
“I’m just picking up something at the circulation desk at the top of the stairs, and I’ll be right back out,” I replied.
At the bus stop, I started reading Tina Fey‘s Bossypants. OMFG! That woman is so damn funny. I was cackling and guffawing at the stop and on the bus. Her humor is brilliant, and it’s well written.
I went to finish up the meeting minutes from our last Manbites Dog Board of Directors Meeting, and I couldn’t find the file anywhere on my laptop or in Dropbox, so after a nap, I dropped by my office to look for them on my Mac.
They weren’t there either, and then I found them on my laptop under a filename that deviated from the convention I usually use to name them. I hate when that happens.
I got them to a place where when I got home, I could just cull out the action items, publish them and the agenda on the web and notify the board.
I dropped by Flex and stayed just a little while, until Trailer Park Prize Night started. The “headliner” is one of those drag queens who abuse the crowd, and I wasn’t about to hang around for that.
In an interesting “something new” and “embracing of technology,” during the time before the show started, the DJ had this up on the TV monitors around the place: TXT REQ: 919.695.DREW
In the category of catty things overheard while I was there, here are four:
- “That guy is in drag from the forehead up,” which is to say, he only had a wig on in terms of female attire. (“If you can call a wig attire.“)
- “Somebody’s thighs are way too substantial to be wearing a dress that short.” (Said about an RG.)
- “She has no chin.” (Said about a gay man.)
- “I’m sure those shoes are very comfortable.” (With the subtext being, of course, that they sure are fugly.)
Back home, I finished up that Manbites Dog work, and sent an email to the board making them aware of it all being available.
Our meeting is from 10:30-Noon on Saturday, and we’ve decided to go ahead with it, since things aren’t really expected to get kicked off with the rapture until about 6:00PM.