Service With a Smile?

Is anyone surprised these days when they encounter a surly or curt systems/network administrator? I mean, it was funny a few years ago on SNL with the "Nick Burns" skits, but that only worked because everyone could relate. Nowadays, there's really no excuse for not expecting your local IT professional to be snippy with you. ;)

My Wild Ambitions

Today was incredibly busy at work. Three projects, all for me. Naturally, I'm refining my multi-tasking skills at a breakneck pace. But all in all, it's good. I've got a surprising amount of responsibility (maybe it shouldn't be surprising?) and I think I'm doing well. People are coming to me for answers or advice. That's a nice feeling. My travel benefits will kick in entirely sometime in the next week or so, but I won't have much of a chance to use them until mid-January I think.

I was thinking about how to the most insane, gluttonous travel in the least amount of time (to minimize vacation days used); you know, your basic graph theory problem. What I've come up with is a whirlwind West-to-East trip that can be done in ~48 clock hours and about 39.5 flight hours. Leave Friday at 3pm, return home Sunday 3pm. Distance traveled: 17,983 miles. Rough rate of travel: 374.65 MPH (including layover time). The route would be: MSP-NRT-HKG-CDG-MSP. Out of pocket cost would be in the neighborhood of $300 or less, all in Business class. ;) I'll have to wait until April or later to attempt to do this because I need the upcoming MSP-CDG-MSP flight which doesn't begin until April 6.

The One About Comparing and Contrasting Cultures

My friend from China is currently visiting us for about three weeks. It has been wonderful having her around, asking so many questions that we don't think about, but probably ought to. For instance:

** Chinese people eat more food than Americans, but our food is worse for you.
   — Chinese diets include significantly more vegetables and fruits than the typical American diet, and they typically eat less meat (fat) and bread (carbohydrates). They also walk almost everywhere. We drive, by and large. My friend states that by volume/amount, three days of food here is what she would would eat in one day.

** We work too hard compared to the Chinese.
   — My friend is a teacher for 15/16-year old high school students. She teaches from 8-10am most days while on other days she doesn't have to teach at all. Here, she gets exhausted from a typical high school day where she is either observing or teaching simple lessons. She says she doesn't know how American teachers do it. She can't get used to waking by 6am in order to get to work on-time. She normally can sleep until 7:30am, except on days which she doesn't work. ;)

** We work too hard compared to the Chinese. [corollary]
   — We cram lunch into 20-30 minute eating sessions (if we're lucky). Chinese people take longer for lunch, let it digest a little. Students return home for lunches. Chinese people generally don't cook their own meals or care for their children on their own. They hire "servants" to do the cooking and dishes, and while we too have day care, they often hire a permanant sitter for the child. My friend says she has no idea how to "take care of her baby, feed it, clothe it, etc.", but that her sitter does and she is not worried.

** Americans are lonely.
   — Because we live far apart -- relatively speaking -- from our friends and acquaintances, we don't socialize as much as the Chinese do. We text message or instant message, whereas they always call or even video chat. To some extent, I agree with this observance. But it must also be understood that part of the "American psyche" is that sense of freedom and independence. While some are more social than others, I think all Americans enjoy some amount of personal or "me" time. I don't know if such a preference is common in China. The impression that I'm getting is that it isn't.

Neither approach to any of these topics is right or wrong, but it is important to note the differences, similarities, and their perceived benefits.

[housekeeping note: I've switched the template style to a minimalistic variable-width version. I am growing apart from the previous template, so this will have to suffice until I find another proper template or take the time to create my own.]

Mostly a Thought to Myself

I've just realized that I no longer like this blog template. I'll have to see about changing it sometime soon...

Sorry if you were expecting something a little more profound.

I am thinking about starting a simple cooking blog. Mostly, it would be entries about my attempts from making food based on other peoples' cooking blogs.

Next Step

So, yesterday I went apartment hunting with my parents. Well, not actually hunting as I had narrowed it down pretty well to 3-4 candidates and I wanted their opinions of the places I liked. We hopped around from place to place and after a long morning/afternoon, I was able to make a decision and put a hold on an "townhome apartment" in Eagan. It's very close to work and really a nice place. There's a slight premium to live there, but I think it'll be worth it.

Worst case, I live there for a year and if it's too much, I "downgrade" to something else. But for now, I'm really excited about it. I'm heading over to fill out the application in a few hours.

Vinegar: Good for the Soul!

I'm a big fan of non-toxic cleaning methods. It's easier on you (your skin, eyes, respiratory, etc.) and it's safe to use around pets, children, the elderly, people with immune system problems, or those who are just under the weather.

Here's a great article on 62 uses for vinegar:
http://odyb.net/food-cooking/62-little-known-uses-of-vinegar/

Friday Fun Songs are Back!

Here they are, your five Friday Fun Songs (also conveniently located in a player in the right column):

Klee - Gold
Tegan and Sara - Hop a Plane
Barenaked Ladies - Everything Had Changed
Ben Folds - In-Between Days
Atmosphere - Sunshine

In 2/4 time...

I love a good chorus. You know, that chorus to a song that just hits you, starts your toes tapping or your head nodding?

Piano mixed into a rock song, well, rocks.

I'm loving work right now, too. Very busy, lots of projects going on, and they've given me the lead to a very large project, part of an even larger project. Good things to come.

Absence

It seems I haven't posted in a while. I'd like to change that, and I'll be posting again soon. Professional bloggers advise against letting long absences occur and then making up pathetic excuses for it, but luckily for me I am not a professional blogger.

I've got a few things to post and I'll be doing that in the next few days. I've also neglected to respond to some emails lately, so I'll be doing that, too.

Hope all is well with you. All is well with me, but you wouldn't know that yet, would you... :-)

The Cutting Room Floor Has Been Swept

I just logged on to see if I had any drafts started for future blog posts.

I don't.

See, I realize I haven't posted here in a few days and was hoping I started a draft sometime this past week that I could wrap up and post tonight.

But alas, there are no drafts. So this will have to suffice until I can write something with a little more substance. I've got topics to discuss, but I'd rather compose them slightly better than stream-of-consciousness format.

So, I'll try to post something halfway readable this weekend. And update the songs of the week, too.

Who Will Replace the Village Idiot?

So you probably know what this post is going to be about from the title (it will be about politics for those just joining us). I'll wait a few seconds for those who don't venture into these topics to click onto another website.

Still reading? Then let us continue.

President Bush's approval ratings are abysmal, and they're steadily falling. Congress' approval ratings are comparatively high, and they're climbing. It's obvious that, on the surface, polled Americans are looking for change, and for now they're seeing it in the newly-elected Democratic congress. Unfortunately for us, this change is largely symbolic and the change in congress is going to do little to reverse our course. The President still retains veto power, and the margin of error for the Democrats is as small and fragile as the slim voting majority they currently enjoy. Voting on tenuous proposals to set a deadline for troop withdrawal from Iraq isn't going to win them any Republican converts, and the Democratic fence-sitters are not going to be too keen to show a backbone and vote for a time line, even considering the current political climate and constituent's apathy towards the President's party.

It would thus appear that a vote to set a deadline for troop withdrawal will not pass congress, and even if it were to reach Bush's desk, he'd veto it. It would be a symbolic move, but a wasted effort. When this measure fails, a new bill will be introduced that will systematically attempt to limit specific areas of funding for training troops here in the U.S. and will result in currently deployed troops remaining abroad for much longer. This bill, while perhaps a logical follow-up, will have even less of a chance to succeed than the initial proposal to set a clear troop withdrawal deadline.

It would appear as though the current administration is dead set on "running out the clock" on the Iraq war. They haven't found bin laden, and won't. They got Saddam Hussein and killed him, but the U.S. (and global) community didn't react with the same elation as Bush & Co. We're still waiting for a solution, or even just an acknowledgment that yes, we did screw up, things are FUBAR, and there is no good solution. But we won't get any of that except from the Democratic presidential hopefuls.

This is why it is very important to be listening to the soapboxing and the minutia of the Democratic candidates' words. Now is the best time, before the inscrutable "tag lines" and slogans become commonplace, before the TV attack ads run rampant, and before the candidates and their staff have much of a chance to refine their canned answers on "the issues".

Who will replace the village idiot? It's too early to know who will win the primary and general elections, but it's not too early to listen to what they say and determine who should replace the idiot.

Friday Fun Songs!

I've added a little widget thing to the right column of the blog that can play music. It sort of streams in real time, but it still has to download a bit of the song before it gets going.

Anyway, I figure I'll share six or so songs per week, updated on Fridays (or that weekend if I forget on Friday). Perhaps you'll hear something new and enjoyable. Perhaps you won't like any of it. Or perhaps I'll pick a song that happens to be one of your favorites. One will never know.

Enjoy. Or don't. Whatever you like. :)

On the Color of Grass

They -- whoever 'they' are -- say that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Why is that? What is it that causes us to want what others have?

Perhaps it is a desire to avoid stagnation. People generally like some things to change, and unless you're an overly egotistical person, it's natural to assume that you don't have the best of everything and that there are other people who have things better off than you, be it material goods, jobs, relationships, abilities, etc. Constantly seeking to better one's self is usually considered a good thing™, but how much of it is justifiably worth seeking and how much of it is the desire to end stagnation?

Perhaps we want what others have because they seem happier with aspects of their lives than we do with our own? But what evidence do we actually have that simply striving for what others have will solve our own issues? Are other people really "better off" than you, or might they have simply learned how to cope with the trials and tribulations of their lives in a way that results in an outward appearance that appeals to you?

To dig deeper into the metaphor, I submit this for your consideration: the grass on the other side of the fence may be a deeper, more lush shade of green that you find appealing, but it may not actually be healthier than your grass. It may just be the appeal of something exotic, something different than your own that is calling to you. We must remember that both sides of the fence may have different soil compositions, may have different access to hydration and nutrients, the grass seed may be a different variety than yours, and they may have been fertilized in different ways, and at different times (if at all).

So, it's not as simple as looking at the more appealing shade of green and desiring that. You have to take into account all of the various factors that contribute to that patch of turf's appearance and decide if it's worth throwing away all of the work you've put into maintaining your own patch of sod and dive right into something that your green thumb may not be capable of nurturing.

Accepting and embracing your own style of grass for what it is, and what you've put into it, may make that shade of green on the other side of the fence seem like it's not all you imagined it could be.

What's Your Voice?

We all write to some extent.

Some write postcards, some compose e-mail. Some write on blogs and some on Internet message boards. But we all write. What is your writing "voice"? How do your letters, words, and phrases compare to your character you exhibit when in the company of others? When you write, do you make a conscious effort to create a more erudite persona than you might have when you're faced with responding on-the-fly and in-person? If you consider that to be a negative trait, is it a character flaw inherent in the person or is it something that can be modified, or even taught (coherent spontaneity, I mean) ?

Perhaps your writing is hackneyed scribbles at best and your real skill lies in extemporaneous dialogue? Perhaps it's not that you're more skilled at speaking, but that you find it takes more effort to collect your thoughts into the constraints of the written form? Letting a deluge of words come from your mouth takes less effort since you leave it up to the listener to interpret your meanings?

Whichever the case, I've found that brevity is key, no matter how hard I try to ignore it. :)

And they're off...

I'm not entirely sure why I'm starting a blog . . . again . . .

A few years ago I started one. It persisted for about a year. I got bored, life became too mundane, or other things grabbed my attention. I never made it a habit. I wasn't a dedicated blogger and I wasn't sure anyone really cared what I wrote about. I didn't realize until long after I ceased writing that I was getting more out of it than I realized. It was fun, engaging, and perhaps even a little therapeutic.

Now, it seems as though each day's sunrise brings with it the opening of a new chapter in life. Consequences are more vivid, whether they are desirable or not. The possibilities are becoming more endless than they ever have been and taking a leap into something doesn't seem as daunting as it once was. Oh, beautiful, treacherous life. What wonderfully awesome webs we weave with this spool of thread we've been given.

You'll have excuse me if and when I employ overused metaphors in my writing. As I stumble along on the road to finding my "style" again, I would hope their use diminishes.

Why am I starting another blog? I think, ultimately, it helps me process thoughts, even as pedestrian as these scribbles may be. Tap-dancing between current events, philosophical musings, the Daily Grind™, or the plight of acquaintances, I might hope to reconcile some things in my own mind.

And, hey, if you get anything out of it . . . well, that's just gravy. ;)