Ponderings and Musings

Earl and I are just back from the Humane Society. We went to meet a cat that I had seen online who has lived at the Humane Society for a while.

The very friendly girl working in the cat area introduced us to Tatum, who is almost four years old. He’s a big boy, weighing in at nearly 15 pounds. He was carefree when we stopped by his cage, he looked at us with the air of feline disinterest. I waved to him but he didn’t wave back.

We had to wait for the “meeting room” to be vacated by Theo, who apparently needs to be in there because he is so energetic but he doesn’t like any of the other cats.

Tatum, Earl and I went in and we learned about Tatum’s history and the habits he has exhibited while living at the shelter since January. He is a very nice boy and he liked head-butting my legs and playing with some of the provided toys and the like, but he did not like to be picked up. He’s a sturdy boy and when I tried to pick him up he made a deep, chatter like sound that wasn’t really angry sounding but it was definitely a sound of discontentment. He was fine as long as he was at your feet, but he did not want to be off the floor.

While Tatum is very nice, Earl pointed out that I’m one that likes to cuddle and nap with a feline friend, and while Tatum was purring until I tried to pick him up, there just wasn’t the click that I was expecting. I thanked him for his time, gave him some nice pets on the head and told it was a pleasure to meet him.

We then decided to meet Theo, the cat that was in the meeting room before we met Tatum. Theo was the exact opposite of Tatum, he did not want to be on the floor, he wanted to be on Earl’s head. I picked him up and put him on my lap and he kept going until he was standing on my shoulders. He then walked over to Earl’s shoulders and head and just started rubbing against Earl’s beard. He was very chatty and energetic and we knew if Theo came home with us he would be airborne the majority of the time. I thanked him for the privilege of meeting him and then we picked up a pre-adoption form and made our way for the exit.

Meeting Tatum and Theo was very nice and I enjoyed spending time with them, but it made me realize that I’m not quite ready for a new feline addition to our home yet. I still miss Tom too much and in the same way that Tom did not replace Gideon when Tom moved in with us, I don’t want the next cat to replace Tom, I want them to come in on their own merits and be part of our family, just like Tom was.

I know that we’ll be going back to the Humane Society to visit more cats in the future, but today was not the day. It was great to meet Tatum and Theo though.

It’s been well over 10 years but I still remember the scene quite well. We were all seated around the conference room table updating the president of the company with the state of various projects that were underway. It was my turn to speak and I was just preparing to give my pitch about moving from Windows Me to Linux when I was interrupted.

“Before you get started, I’d like you to give me a list of the usernames and associated passwords for every employee’s account by the end of the day today”, the owner of the company declared.

I didn’t even need a full second to formulate my reply. I simply stated, in a calm and confident voice, “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to provide you with that information.”

All eyes around the table were on me. I think someone might have groaned or coughed. There was a guttural noise coming from somewhere and I was pretty sure that it had nothing to do with the Chinese food I had eaten earlier. That would have been embarrassing.

“I don’t think you understand, I want the username and password of every account on my desk by the end of the day”. I could see the fire building in his eyes.

“Oh I fully understand that request and I’m sorry but I’m not going to provide that information.” I believe I was clear in my initial reply.

Before an explosion ensued I added on, “and I’m willing to discuss this afterwards in a private meeting if you wish.”

Contrary to folklore, that is not the day of the Huge Explosion at that job in which I resolved to find a new opportunity as soon as possible. The discussion was heated, but once I explained my point of view, the matter was settled.

As children we are taught that we are all unique individuals and that our uniqueness should be celebrated. Some of us are more unique than others and while I believe we all have to conform to social standards in some way, I do not believe that any person, employee or situation can be controlled by some random, blanket edict. That’s just bad management. That’s just being lazy. And when I sense that is going on, I get rebellious. Very rebellious.

Now, I don’t waste my rebellion on stupid stuff. If the sign says “wet paint”, I don’t need to touch the wall to see if it’s true or not. If there are workers on the road and the speed limit is ramped down for their safety, I get that and I comply. But if there’s just a line of cones for miles with no workers in sight and the speed limit is ramped down to something idiotically slow, I might ignore that a bit, unless there’s a cop around.

In order for us to thrive in our jobs and be as beneficial as possible to our employer, I think it’s important that management try to highlight the positive traits in their employees within an established realm of guidelines. This may occasionally require some thought and this will probably result in some being treated differently than others. It could also make for some uncomfortable discussions as to why Person A can do one thing but Person B can’t really do that. Making blanket requests (“I want to access to everyone’s computer because I think only Joe Perv is looking at inappropriate stuff”) is not the way to go and when I see this sort of thing is when my rebellious streak really kicks in.

Some might find it hard to believe that one who strives to always be at the top of his game and the star player on the team would have a rebellious side to him. Maybe I just have an issue with authority. Whatever the reason, I know that who am I is what provides the fuel that fires me up to do what I strive do in the first place.

I have no idea who reads my blog. When you see me in person, I’ll often tell witty anecdotes from my life and it might be something that I have already talked about in my blog. There’s a good chance the story I’m telling will be a word-for-word recount of what you’ve already read. This doesn’t bother me. It shouldn’t bother you.

Since I have no interest in generating revenue from this blog, I don’t bother keeping track of the visitor stats. That being said, I am keen to the fact that I know that people read my blog. I must always keep this in mind when writing something of a personal nature. While I try to be transparent with the way I view the world, sometimes it’s good to heed me mother’s advice and say, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” And that is what I’m going to do right now.

So, to maintain a smile for all, let’s dig up an older dance tune and jam out, shall we?

From 1996, here’s “Jellyhead” by Crush. We played this one a LOT on Wow-FM, The Beat of Central New York. We’d probably be playing it a lot today because that’s what we did.

Tonight is “Exhibit A” as to why this is my favorite time of the year. The fairly warm wind, the crispness of the air and the rustle of the leaves all lend to a magic vibe. The moderately clear sky tonight also helps perpetuate that vibe.

What a gorgeous night.

I just took a photo of the moon with my real camera, a Canon EOS Rebel XS. The photo was taken without a tripod. I don’t think it came out too shabby. It’s not what I would consider “Cub Quality” but not bad for a guy that doesn’t know what he’s doing.

So yesterday and today is all about training for work. It’s the first two classes of a total of five this month and the only two that will be an Online Experience. At the end of the month I’ll be in southern California for the classroom portion.

My life is groovy.

I’ve taken classes from this vendor before and I’ve met the instructor a couple of times so yesterday’s class felt very comfortable. While I value my alone time very much, Earl always reminds me that I’m quite good when I’m in a crowd and that I always seem to find my way though I’m nervous about these sorts of things. I didn’t really feel nervous about the training this week because after all, I’m hiding in my basement with a headset and doing the whole 21st century thing, so I’m alone with a bunch of people.

I can handle that.

One can imagine that I am excited about the travel to southern California at the end of the month for the on-site training. The only bummer about the whole thing is that Earl won’t be there to enjoy the ocean views with me, but there’s always the next trip that I’m currently scheming.

I’m kind of liking the flexibility of my schedule around this training. This is probably just another notch in my eccentricity belt, but sometimes I don’t think my body was meant to be in the Eastern time zone. I know that doesn’t make sense to many, but things I say rarely do. It’s just the way I’m wired.

I don’t know why I put the title of this blog post in French. I don’t believe I am near anyone speaking French, we are nowhere near a French speaking area of the world and I am not headed towards New Orleans. Perhaps it’s because AirFrance is a partnered airline of this flight home.

I am sitting at ATL (Atlanta) gate A02 awaiting the boarding call for Delta flight 793 to Syracuse. This is my last flight of the evening. It was suppose to leave 30 minutes ago but it has been delayed until 56 minutes from now. It’s raining and very windy at the moment. This doesn’t bother me. I know we won’t fly if conditions are not safe. That’s not the way the FAA rolls, even when the government is shut down.

I am trying to look like a serious passenger in this photo, but I’m not really that serious. I’m serious about flying, because I love it, and delays and bad weather don’t really bother me. I have never been on a flight that scared me out of my wits, and if I a 1940 Piper J-5A can land safely after the engine seized before turning final, I’m sure that we can get an MD-80 where it needs to go.

I just don’t worry about these things.

As mentioned in my previous post, I just enjoyed a quick dinner at the PF Chang’s here in Terminal A. I’m kind of like Raj on “Big Bang Theory”, after a beer or two I’ll start talking. I had a nice conversation with an older gentleman named Stuart and his wife (I didn’t get her name). They were on their way to Cincinnati from Rome, Italy. The wife was cranky due to the 10 hour flight they had just endured, Stuart used the word cranky, but he was in liquidy good spirits and didn’t mind talking to the bald man that was flying solo. It turns out that he used to go to Colgate University a lot and used to fly a Cessna 150 in and out of Hamilton Airport. My Dad and I flew in an out of Hamilton Airport in that aforementioned 1940 Piper J-5A. Maybe we crossed paths with Stuart sometime before. My grandfather would have described him as a friendly sort. He asked if I had my private pilots’ license like my dad had. I told him, “not yet”, but that I wanted to. When he asked how old I was and I told him that I was 45, he told me that I had plenty of time, but not to wait too long.

These are the kind of things that excite me about travel. I feel bad for folks that don’t venture out of their comfort zone. Life is so interesting outside of the comfort zone and in the right circumstances, it’s not all that uncomfortable.

A woman just commented to me that I am an incredibly talented typist. I guess I am.

The MD-80 headed for home is awaiting a pilot. We should be leaving on time, provided that the pilot arrives from his current route from Gulfport on time. He just has to do a safety check. Piece of cake.

I am finding non-home-cooked food to be quite salty lately. Usually I enjoy a salty flair to food, but the food I’ve had whilst eating out the last couple of experiences have tasted very salty to me. Maybe at age 45 I’ve reached my salt quota early. Perhaps I should look into other seasoning options. 

I’m watching planes take off from my vantage point, and they quickly disappear into the clouds after take-off. I think we might have a bumpy spell after take-off, but I know that all involved will strive to find an altitude that gives a comfortable ride. That’s what the airlines do these days. That’s why it’s a breeze to fly.

I have asked myself every day for the past couple of months that if today was my last day on Earth, would this last day be a good day for me. And like every other day that I have asked myself this question, my answer would be an undeniable “yes”. If you’re not happy, you’re not living, you’re enduring.

And quite frankly, I’d rather live my life instead of just enduring it.

So I am on my way to a weekend adventure with our friends Jeff and Mark in Durham, N.C.  On my way to the airport, I came to the realization that I hadn’t had any lunch and that I would probably not get much to eat in between here and there, as eating on a plane is usually limited to a bag of peanuts and half a can of diet pop. On the bright side, since I’m taking two flights to get from here to there, I will manage to squeeze in a full can of pop by adding the two half-cans of pop from each flight together.

And they say math is difficult.

In many areas of the country there are interesting restaurants and the like near the airport of said destination. In Syracuse it’s a different story. Syracuse Airport is actually near the Village of North Syracuse and while there’s a lot of chain restaurants in the area, nothing that I would really call “nice” comes to mind immediately. I decided to indulge my curiosity and gives these new “Satisfries” a try at the Burger King closest to the airport.  I remember this location from my childhood when it was actually a Carrols¹, but it’s a Burger King now and it’s been there for a long time.

Upon entering the restaurant I noticed a warning sign on the door that proclaimed no videography or still photography was allowed in the restaurant. I think this sort of thing is kind of bogus and I was a rebel, because I noticed that a group of people had just left a HUGE mess in the dining area.  

Now, I think that I’m a pretty responsible citizen of the United States (rebellious photography notwithstanding) and for the life of me I can not figure out how anyone could leave a public place in such a state and not give any care about it. This is mind boggling to me and such activity only leaves me to be seriously concerned about our society as a whole.

So I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich (hold the mayo!) and the new Satisfries. They smelled and looked like fries, albeit krinkle-kut fries instead of the usual shoestring fries that Burger King serves (I think).  I’m thinking the krinkle-kut approach is so they can tell the difference in the fryer, but that’s just me.

The first thing I noticed about the fries is that if you like salt, you’re going to love these because they are really salty. Like, the way salty fries used to be before people cared about sodium and all that. I liked that, though my blood pressure probably doubled in the process. As far as fat content and coatings and all that stuff, I couldn’t really discern a difference from regular fries and I suppose that was the intent. Other than the krinkleness of the fries, they seemed like good ol’ unhealthy fast food fries.

After watching a very large woman make her way to the self-serve drink station not once but TWICE with a 32-oz cup, and watching her fill said cup with regular coke², I finished my meal, made my way around the mess in the dining room and headed for the airport.

I was barely in the airport ten minutes later when I was making a bee-line (not the Florida tollroad) to anything that resembled a toilet. I didn’t care if it was unisex, no sex, all sex or a potted plant, but I needed to use the rest room. Immediately. I found this curious as I had done my business at home before leaving for this little journey, so I’m thinking the Satisfries did something to my digest system. Or it could have been the premium chicken (hold the mayo). Or it could have been the fact that I ate at Burger King at all, since I tend to avoid that sort of thing nowadays. 

I felt much better 10 minutes later.

Did I find the Satisfries satisfying? At the time of consumption, yes I did. However, based on my one experience with these, if you’re going to eat these things, I would suggest that you plan your rest stops accordingly.

Best of luck and bon appetit.

¹ The Carrols brand is still alive and well in Helsinki and I have actually considered flying there to see if the fast food there is as good as I remember it being when I was a child.

² I really struggle with the revenue model implemented by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) when I see people blatantly making poor health choices and then the entire population ends up paying for these poor health choices. While I believe that everyone is entitled to health care, I believe that people need to be accountable for their own actions. I don’t have a solution to the problem, so I don’t wretch about it too loudly, but I don’t think that any of the legislated or proposed ideas fulfill the need adequately. I think a societal shift is in order and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

So at work we have this internal communications tool called Microsoft Lync. It’s an Instant Messaging platform offered through the company’s Office 365 subscription and has replaced the multiple and makeshift platforms we were using before (some of us were on AOL, some on Yahoo, some on an internal Jabber server, etc.)

As a telecommuter I feel that it’s important to have Lync up and running at all times. This keeps me connected to my peers and it lets people know my current status: whether I’m at my computer or not, whether I’m in a meeting or not, etc.

While Lync is wonderful for impromptu and quick conversations, I have to admit that I often feel like this as more and more Lync windows open up on my MacBook screen. (Video may be loud and contain salty language).

So earlier this month I wrote that I was going to do a 30-day challenge, as inspired by Matt Cutts from Google in his TED talk from a while back. My personal challenge was to be a little more outgoing: I would try to steer clear of my shyness and, as the opportunity presented itself, I would talk to someone I wouldn’t normally talk to. I desired to be a little more outgoing.

Here it is 30 days later and I have to say that this first 30-day challenge was mostly a success. This month I struck up a conversation with a bartender at a bar, complimented a woman in an elevator on her lovely dress, smiled at strangers more and pulled myself up by my pant strings and openly participated in a seminar full of strangers, a scenario where I would normally be content sitting in the corner and just drinking it all in.

You know what? I feel good about these little things I did under the guise of this challenge and I think I’m just a little bit better for reevaluating my life in this way and addressing this. This is something that I’m going to continue in my everyday life. So if I come up to you and start chatting, even though we’ve never met in person or something, don’t be surprised.

Tomorrow starts another month and I’m going to try another 30 day challenge. My focus is going to be focus. I need to focus on some key areas in my life: my career and work responsibilities, my healthy living goals and on some extracurricular projects I have going on. One of the ways that I’m thinking I’m going to tackle this is by ramping way back from Facebook.

I am active in primarily three social networks, in descending order of usage levels: Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Twitter keeps me in touch with what’s going on in the world. I get a lot of my political information via Twitter and while I might not tweet a lot on some days, I do read quite a bit on Twitter and I try to keep on top of my timeline.

Google+ is where I gather information and debate the tech world. Google+ can be hostile towards Apple folks at times, but aside from that annoying aspect there are a lot of interesting people over there.

Facebook consumes a lot of my online time but I can’t tell you what I really get from it. It’s a great place for me to share witty events and photos and the like with those I call friends and family, but other than that, I don’t feel engaged. Don’t get me wrong, I like everyone on my Facebook feed, I just feel like there’s a lot of “stuff” without a lot of “important stuff”.

So taking the lead from the handsome lad Phil in D.C., I think I’m going to ramp way back from Facebook for 30 days. Inversely, I’ll concentrate on contributing more to my own blog right here. Everything connected to my Facebook account will still be connected; I’m not shutting anything down. I just think for the next 30 days I’m going to refrain from checking my news feed several times a day. I’ll live in the physical moment instead of the virtual one.

I’m interested to see how I feel after 30 days. I’m hoping I feel more focused.