My neighbors "defriended" me on Facebook because they believe that I'm the "mole." It took me a while to notice because I had hidden their comments from my newsfeed.
I have a shocking news alert for them: Facebook is public. What they post, all of their "friends" can see -- including the "friend" they're bashing. No mole required. Crazy, I know.
Old adage: Good fences make good neighbors
Facebook addendum: Heinous public comments make bad neighbors. Own it.
I have also hidden the comments of an ex-coworker who shouts AWESOME in every post -- often myriad times throughout the day. "Just had lunch with my AWESOME wife." "Riding my bike to work on another AWESOME day." I can't stand another AWESOME sighting.
I think I'm becoming cranky.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
My Marriott Awaits
From the Marriott Aruba last week to the Marriott Oakland City Center this week. Somehow methinks it'll be a vastly different experience. Beach vs. conference room. Game room vs. LCD with PowerPoint. Carefree vs. angst-riddled. Playing tag in the pool vs. facilitating a meeting.
Just writing that word, facilitating, makes me want to groan. It sounds dreadful. One of these things is not like the others: swimming, napping, reading, relaxing, laughing, facilitating. Sounds more like gestating or ovulating. In this case, birthing some new business processes.
In other news, my TripAdvisor review of Aruba property has already been posted.
I think it would be fun to be a hotel secret shopper. Maybe in my next life. But for now, baby I was born to facilitate.
Just writing that word, facilitating, makes me want to groan. It sounds dreadful. One of these things is not like the others: swimming, napping, reading, relaxing, laughing, facilitating. Sounds more like gestating or ovulating. In this case, birthing some new business processes.
In other news, my TripAdvisor review of Aruba property has already been posted.
I think it would be fun to be a hotel secret shopper. Maybe in my next life. But for now, baby I was born to facilitate.
Monday, August 24, 2009
One Happy Island
How can a week of total relaxation speed by so quickly? How can swimming for hours in the pool followed by swimming for hours in the ocean (day in/day out) feel like a split second of time?
Conversely, how can sitting at my desk for only a few hours feel like an eternity?
What I liked about Aruba: 1) being with my mom and kids for a week, 2) the ocean was crystal clear and felt like bath water, 3) Oranjestad was clean and colorful, 4) the weather was perfect, perfect, perfect, 5) the entire island felt safe (unlike Jamaica where we were escorted to the airport by armed guards because there was a series of heists by gunpoint earlier that morning), 6) everyone we met was friendly, 7) we enjoyed heaps o' yummy food (i.e., a pro and a con), 8) we stayed at a beautiful resort, 9) there were no obligations and 10) no work!
One woman who worked at the hotel was telling us that she and her husband moved there from the Philippines with their kids ~20 years ago and they love it. She said they lived a casual lifestyle with no need to get caught up in the rat race. Sounds too good to be true.
On the other hand, we had this interesting little exchange one night while being seated at an outdoor restaurant on the beach. A bleached blonde with snake tattoo and faded, orange cotton mini-dress from J.C. Penney circa 1984 turned to greet us.
Blondie: Where are you from?
Me: Rochester, NY. You?
Blondie: I'm from Aruba and my friend here is from Holland.
Me: Wow. I don't mean this to sound insulting but you sound very American.
Blondie (sneering at me): First off, that IS insulting. Secondarily, I'm originally from Ohio.
Me: Oh. How long have you been here?
Blondie: Four years and I'm never going back.
Me (suppressing my desire to return the sneer to my new native friend): You must love it here.
Blondie (clearly mistaking my polite response for sheer idiocy): It's the same here as anywhere. You still have to wash your sheets and make your bed in the morning.
Me: I just thought it was a more relaxing lifestyle.
Blondie (looking at me with utter disdain and speaking slowly so my moronic brain could comprehend): Noooooooo. One happy island my ass.
Well alrighty then. Nice to meet you . . . ?
Ah well. Back to life, back to reality. And thanks for a fabulous trip mom!!
Conversely, how can sitting at my desk for only a few hours feel like an eternity?
What I liked about Aruba: 1) being with my mom and kids for a week, 2) the ocean was crystal clear and felt like bath water, 3) Oranjestad was clean and colorful, 4) the weather was perfect, perfect, perfect, 5) the entire island felt safe (unlike Jamaica where we were escorted to the airport by armed guards because there was a series of heists by gunpoint earlier that morning), 6) everyone we met was friendly, 7) we enjoyed heaps o' yummy food (i.e., a pro and a con), 8) we stayed at a beautiful resort, 9) there were no obligations and 10) no work!
One woman who worked at the hotel was telling us that she and her husband moved there from the Philippines with their kids ~20 years ago and they love it. She said they lived a casual lifestyle with no need to get caught up in the rat race. Sounds too good to be true.
On the other hand, we had this interesting little exchange one night while being seated at an outdoor restaurant on the beach. A bleached blonde with snake tattoo and faded, orange cotton mini-dress from J.C. Penney circa 1984 turned to greet us.
Blondie: Where are you from?
Me: Rochester, NY. You?
Blondie: I'm from Aruba and my friend here is from Holland.
Me: Wow. I don't mean this to sound insulting but you sound very American.
Blondie (sneering at me): First off, that IS insulting. Secondarily, I'm originally from Ohio.
Me: Oh. How long have you been here?
Blondie: Four years and I'm never going back.
Me (suppressing my desire to return the sneer to my new native friend): You must love it here.
Blondie (clearly mistaking my polite response for sheer idiocy): It's the same here as anywhere. You still have to wash your sheets and make your bed in the morning.
Me: I just thought it was a more relaxing lifestyle.
Blondie (looking at me with utter disdain and speaking slowly so my moronic brain could comprehend): Noooooooo. One happy island my ass.
Well alrighty then. Nice to meet you . . . ?
Ah well. Back to life, back to reality. And thanks for a fabulous trip mom!!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Moonbeams in a Jar
Last night our family stretched out on a blanket in the yard and watched for falling stars. Some were brilliant with long-fiery tails; others were vague wisps that briefly illuminated the darkness. I was trying to make a wish but they were too quick for me. It was a tad too cool but otherwise the night just felt right.
It reminded me of a Bing Crosby song my mom used to sing when I was little:
Oh would you like to swing on a star
carry moonbeams home in a jar
and be better off than you are
or would you rather be a fish?
Signing off now, I think, for over a week of sun, fun, hugs and relaxation. Ahhhhhhhhhh.
It reminded me of a Bing Crosby song my mom used to sing when I was little:
Oh would you like to swing on a star
carry moonbeams home in a jar
and be better off than you are
or would you rather be a fish?
Signing off now, I think, for over a week of sun, fun, hugs and relaxation. Ahhhhhhhhhh.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Shallowing of America (Myself Included)
Full disclosure: I get my "news" from the Daily Show.
As the daily news across America is losing relevance, advertising revenue is dropping and newspaper closings are accelerating, I can't help but hope that my New York Times, delivered to my door every Sunday, remains viable. So what if I only read the "Style" section? (Sad but true. And somewhat ironic given what I'm wearing right now . . . )
In a world more focused on sound bytes, I find it interesting that Ashton Kutcher has over 3 million followers on Twitter compared to CNN at over 2.5 million. That's 500K more people, larger than the population of the greater Rochester metropolitan area, that would rather tune in to read a line item about Ashton playing skee-ball with Jimmy Fallon than view boring news updates such as "police search pharmacy in Michael Jackson probe." (As an aside, Son #2 and I played skee-ball just last week. It's my favorite arcade game. And Son #2 is just as cute and funny as Jimmy Fallon. Well, close. Pretty sure I can kick both their butts.)
At 2 million followers, even our nation's favorite mogul, Oprah, has a smaller Twitter audience than Ashton.
So what gives? What is it about this dude that makes over 3M people want to tune into his life every moment of the day? Inquiring minds wanna know. (But not enough to follow him.)
As the daily news across America is losing relevance, advertising revenue is dropping and newspaper closings are accelerating, I can't help but hope that my New York Times, delivered to my door every Sunday, remains viable. So what if I only read the "Style" section? (Sad but true. And somewhat ironic given what I'm wearing right now . . . )
In a world more focused on sound bytes, I find it interesting that Ashton Kutcher has over 3 million followers on Twitter compared to CNN at over 2.5 million. That's 500K more people, larger than the population of the greater Rochester metropolitan area, that would rather tune in to read a line item about Ashton playing skee-ball with Jimmy Fallon than view boring news updates such as "police search pharmacy in Michael Jackson probe." (As an aside, Son #2 and I played skee-ball just last week. It's my favorite arcade game. And Son #2 is just as cute and funny as Jimmy Fallon. Well, close. Pretty sure I can kick both their butts.)
At 2 million followers, even our nation's favorite mogul, Oprah, has a smaller Twitter audience than Ashton.
So what gives? What is it about this dude that makes over 3M people want to tune into his life every moment of the day? Inquiring minds wanna know. (But not enough to follow him.)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Here Comes Your Band
The Pixies, one of my favorite bands of all time, embarked recently on a world tour to play their "best of" album, Doolittle, in its entirety. I love this because Doolittle isn't an after-the-fact compilation of greatest hits but, in my humble and unschooled opinion, simply one of the best CDs ever released. So I've booked my flights to NYC for November; now I have to pray that I get a ticket to their Monday night show the minute they go on sale this Friday. Anyone wanna join me?
In a similar vein, I just read that Sparks played a show in LA last February containing all of the tracks from their latest album (currently residing in the "where is it now?" file) along with every track from their 1974 work of art: Kimono My House. Seriously. If that ever happens again, or if they play Propaganda from cover to cover, I think my sister and I need to board a plane immediately.
Since I can't find a good video of my favorite Sparks' song, "Moon Over Kentucky" (with the exception of Morrissey covering a less sinister/less interesting version last month in Brixton Academy), I'll post their seminal hit "This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us." Oh heck, I'll post 'em both. Living large. Now to get them to play somewhere . . . anywhere.
In a similar vein, I just read that Sparks played a show in LA last February containing all of the tracks from their latest album (currently residing in the "where is it now?" file) along with every track from their 1974 work of art: Kimono My House. Seriously. If that ever happens again, or if they play Propaganda from cover to cover, I think my sister and I need to board a plane immediately.
Since I can't find a good video of my favorite Sparks' song, "Moon Over Kentucky" (with the exception of Morrissey covering a less sinister/less interesting version last month in Brixton Academy), I'll post their seminal hit "This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us." Oh heck, I'll post 'em both. Living large. Now to get them to play somewhere . . . anywhere.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed
After sleeping away much of the weekend, I can reflect more accurately upon the fun things that did happen last week:
But the Jamaican meal, at Island Fresh Cuisine, was fresh, spicy and delicious. In my recently adopted quest to abandon the ordinary, I ordered curried goat which was absolutely to-die-for. (Actually, the goat did sacrifice his life for my meal. Sad.) The hubby had the escovitch fish which was good but not nearly as fantabulous as mine (sucker). We also shared a beef patty which was similar in nature to a hot empanada, fried plantains and complementary "festival sticks" which were tiny, fresh rolls lightly seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg, I think. Sadly, the place is a) a bit pricey at $100 for two meals/drinks, b) somewhat dark as we were seated under a festive umbrella indoors, c) slow enough that I could have taken a nap at the table between courses and d) located in an otherwise deserted strip mall by the RIT campus which, being summer, was pretty much empty.
I hope they do well. In the kid-friendly, Crapplebees world in which we live, interesting meals are few and far between these days!
- Went out to dinner at Rocco with my girlfriends Heather and Gretchen -- and ordered grilled octopus salsa verde with a basil gimlet (or two) DELICIOUS
- Went for sushi at lunchtime with my girlfriend Michele -- outdoors in the sunshine -- at California Rollin' 2 YUM
- Spent a couple of hours at the Pittsford Pub on Thursday night catching up with the old neighborhood gang o' neer-do-wellers (most of whom are now, 30 years later, actually doing well)
- Came home to a fire pit and relaxation with my next door neighbors while the kids played Jictapus (a tag-like game that they made up and which sounds really funny as they run around in the dark yelling "Jictapus" at each other)
- Took Friday as a vacation day -- yes a vacation day! REST
- Went out for Jamaican food with the hubby to celebrate 16 years of wedded bliss
- Booked a trip with my mom and kids for Aruba next week YES Aruba next week -- a completely undeserved, over-the-top luxury
- Started reading another fabulous book, Unaccustomed Earth, courtesy of my mom (who also gave me the Guernsey book that I loved) THANKS MOM
- Rode bikes and played a family game of wiffle ball followed the next day by pitching a neighborhood game of wiffle ball
- Did my wash! Amen amen.
But the Jamaican meal, at Island Fresh Cuisine, was fresh, spicy and delicious. In my recently adopted quest to abandon the ordinary, I ordered curried goat which was absolutely to-die-for. (Actually, the goat did sacrifice his life for my meal. Sad.) The hubby had the escovitch fish which was good but not nearly as fantabulous as mine (sucker). We also shared a beef patty which was similar in nature to a hot empanada, fried plantains and complementary "festival sticks" which were tiny, fresh rolls lightly seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg, I think. Sadly, the place is a) a bit pricey at $100 for two meals/drinks, b) somewhat dark as we were seated under a festive umbrella indoors, c) slow enough that I could have taken a nap at the table between courses and d) located in an otherwise deserted strip mall by the RIT campus which, being summer, was pretty much empty.
I hope they do well. In the kid-friendly, Crapplebees world in which we live, interesting meals are few and far between these days!
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