Entries You Would Have Gotten

Yeah, been busy lately.  Here are some brief overviews of the things I would have been blogging, had I not actually been, y'know, doing them...

1.  What is it about the days around the holidays that make them "bring your kids to work day"? And, somewhat related to that, why is it that, in the, oh, thirtyish years between when I used to babysit them and today, I've totally lost my ability to relate to them?  Seriously, when I was a kid, I totally hated when any adult attempted to talk down to me in any way -- and then I go and do it with kids.  Didn't get much work done the other day, 'cause there was a random child in my office, and I ended up explaining everything on my desk to him (and, really, try explaining to a seven-year-old a paperweight with Athena on it, a Sherlock Holmes action figure, a dreidel, and a Doctor Who laser screwdriver.  Come to think of it, I have a very kid-friendly office.)  I wanted to kick him out and get work done, but at the same time, it was going well, and I figured I could use the practice.



2.  For my next month of exercise, I got myself the DVDs of Nowhere Man, which I remember watching sometime in the mid-90s.  It's been a pretty interesting trip so far, seeing as all I remember about the show is:  (a) the premise; (b) the not-entirely-satisfactory finale; and (c) very general plot summaries of three of the episodes.  One of the DVDs would not get along with the player in front of the elliptical machine, so I had to break my rule and watch that one without exercising, and I ended up watching, in the same day, two of three episodes I'd remembered.  One was an episode about a total computer geek who locked himself in his house and lived his life via the proto-internet and VR.  Now, a little under 15 years later, I can say the internet has far surpassed what the episode showed (the geek proudly demonstrated he could order food online because a nearby shop had a fax machine) but our VR still isn't that good.  Also amused how, no matter how much you blow up Bruce Greenwood, his hair remains the same.  I thank the Lord this show wasn't in the 80s and I'm not dealing with a mullet.  But it is making me uncomfortably remember that I did, in fact, rock that "tight jeans, t-shirt, and flannel shirt over it" look.



3.  Had the weirdest dream.  I rarely dream (or, probably more accurately, rarely remember my dreams) so any dream is fairly remarkable.  In this one, something like 25 of my neighbors came over one day and fixed everything in my house I don't like.  (I can tell you exactly where this dream came from, but I'm clearly surprised by how much I apparently want to resurface my kitchen cabinets.)  Also, my cat could talk.


4.  Having moved further East in Pasadena -- and past the end of the parade route -- I thought I'd be free from all the Tournament of Roses parking and traffic issues.  Ha ha, no.  The port-a-potties and temporary ticket (and food) tents have started springing up, and "my" freeway offramp will be closed starting tonight.  Apparently, I'm about a mile away from the post-parade float displays -- so while my old place of residence had to deal with horrible New Year's Eve and New Year's Morning traffic, my current place of residence will deal with it all freakin' weekend.  Still, there's something slightly exciting about watching the viewing stands and port-a-johns go up -- clearly signals the new year (and, in a way, large-scale competence, which always makes me happy).