“Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.” – Winston Churchill
I learned this week…
…that I am not destined for a career in field geology. For the last few weeks, I’ve spent a great deal of time staring at dozens of rocks and minerals of all shapes and sizes. Some are colorful, some are not. Some have texture, some do not. Some have cleavage, some do not. Some look like flaky sheets of tissue paper, most do not. Some are lithified, some are not. Some have foliation, most do not. During my exhaustive hours of observation, I’ve come to one very troubling conclusion: Minerals look like rocks, rocks look like minerals, and the probability that I will correctly identify any of them on a test is pretty low.
…that the Back to the Future trilogy, even in digitally re-mastered Blu-Ray, has not withstood the test of time. The 1980s was the decade that set our imagination on fire. It was a period of pioneering advancement in cinematography that raised the bar for cutting edge special effects and gave us the likes of E.T., Aliens, The Terminator, The Empire Strikes Back, Tron, Howard the Duck (what? you know you watched it), and yes, Back to the Future 1-3 . Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, technology has continued to advance exponentially and what were once thought to be works of shear genius are now nothing more than six or seven hours of mind-numbing product placements, cheesy pop-culture references, and a flying skateboard that will not die.
…that people are strange. I know. This is no great revelation, but it is something that has become more obvious to me in the last few weeks. I am a creature of habit. I value consistency. It gives me comfort, adds a measure of equilibrium to life’s imbalances, and, above all, allows me some semblance of control – however imagined. As such, every morning on my way to class, I stop for breakfast at the same coffee shop. Without fail, I order a toasted whole wheat bagel with light cream cheese and a medium coffee – heavy on skim, light on sugar. Usually, I keep to myself. I may be an early riser, but I am far from a traditional morning person. I try my best to avoid interaction with people until it is absolutely necessary. However, sometimes all of my efforts prove in vain. This week I was ambushed, set upon while I innocently fixed my coffee, by a weird little man in a bright yellow polo.
He stood shoulder to shoulder with me as he added milk to his large coffee and said:
“I worked until 5 this morning.”
<eye roll>
Me: “Oh?”
Him: “Yes, and do you know what I read while I was on a conference call.”
<sigh>
Me: “Um…hmm.”
Him: “That in a few years we will all have cars that drive themselves.”
<weirdo alarm has been activated; move calmly, yet swiftly, to the nearest exit>
Me: (As I reached for a lid and a useless cup sleeve) “Good to know.”
I’m going to have to find value in variety.
…that I’ve been nominated for a couple of blogger awards. I know it’s probably a bit self-serving of me, but I do love a good blogger award. Why, you ask? Justification? Validation? Narcissism? All of the above. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Who doesn’t like that?
The two awards, The Booker Award and One Lovely Blog Award, were both given to me by Wordsurfer over at Cresting the Words. I sincerely thank you, Wordsurfer, for the honors. Go check out her blogs Cresting the Words and Cresting the Sounds. One deals primary with writing and such; the other music. Good stuff. You won’t regret it.
As is usually the case, these awards come with rules and guidelines. The Booker Award dictates that I must share my top five favorite books of all-time. I’m going to ponder this one a bit and get back with you. The One Lovely Blogger Award asks that I reveal 7 things about myself. Here goes:
- I am an excellent Canasta player. I will kick your ass. Fear me.
- The smell of Ketchup makes me want to vomit.
- Alias is my all-time favorite television show. I blame Ben Affleck for it’s demise after only 5 seasons. I will never forgive him for that. Ever.
- I will choose a spy thriller (movie or novel) over a chick-flick (or lit) every time with one exclusive exception – Pride & Prejudice. There is just not enough Lizzy and Darcy in the world.
- I don’t eat most sauces, condiments, or dressings.
- Fall is my favorite season.
- I love beets.
Now to pay it forward. The rules say I need to pick 15. I never follow this rule. I like a more manage number, and today I feel three is more my speed.
Kim the FanGirl: She loves Florence + the Machine just as much as I do and writes about it (among many other things, of course). She is a beautiful writer with a flare of description that will leave you breathless. Check her out.
Julie at Word Flows: I’ve given her a couple of these blogger awards but she remains on my short list. She’s a great writer with the enviable ability to amass an impressive word count in a remarkable short span of time. Check her out and follow her whirlwind journey.
Leanne Cole: She is a photographer from down under. I enjoy her work very much. Go check her out.
That’s all for now. I reserve the right to revisit this issue at a later date.
…that last, but not least, this week’s awww moment is brought to you by my mother’s cat, Domino. She’s a beautiful cat with a bi-polar personality. I had to be quite sneaky in order to get this shot. I’m sure such a deed will not go unpunished. Even now, she is likely plotting my demise – something slow and painful.