Random, With a Side of "What Does That Have To Do With...?"

I'm not sure if I've really been extra-tired this week (perhaps as follow-up to having been sick on Monday), or if it just seems that way. Yesterday I was jaw-cracking tired, today almost as much.

I slept badly Monday night (not surprising, given that I was in bed half of Monday), so to prevent a repeat on Tuesday night I took a Tylenol-PM. Realistically, one pill taken at 9:30 PM was not what made me killer tired all day Wednesday, up to and through 5 PM, but why else was I that tired? I didn't take one Wednesday night, just in case, and I was awfully tired again today (though I slept fine, at least).

Basically: I'm sooo tired. Tiiiiiiired! Why? Whhhhhyyyyyyyy?

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At work today, someone put out leftover desserts from some gathering, sugar cookies and brownies and something else. Around 4 I was feeling like having a sweet treat, so I snagged a small piece of brownie.

Well, yuck! I don't know if they were some special formula (vegan? gluten-free?), but that was nasty. Not only did I throw the rest of it away, I actually grabbed a tissue and spat out what was in my mouth. Waste calories on that? No way. I even took the nearest thing to get the taste out of mouth, which was Tums!

It really almost makes me curious about what kind of brownies those were. I mean, were they supposed to taste like that? I kind of want to sidle up to the maker and whisper, "Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix. It will change your life. Go to the grocery store, now."

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I didn't eat lunch outside yesterday or today, and I really missed it. Even on hot days, I like getting out of the climate control into the real world. Granted, on really hot days, I'm thrilled to come back in, but I think that's understandable.

Today I didn't go out because it rained this morning, and I figured the benches would probably still be damp. (I did step outside for a few minutes and oof, the humidity.) Yesterday, the department had a little celebratory lunch (apparently, after some tough times, things have been looking up for the last six months). It was nice of them to do, though the food was merely fine, not fantastic. Still, I don't want to knock a free lunch! We even ate in the board room, ooh. Always interesting to see how the other half lives.

I want to eat outside tomorrow, though.

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random image courtesy of Zazzle

If you're not a knitter (or even if you are, I suppose), you may not know there are t-shirts (and other items) that say, "I knit so I don't kill people".

I was thinking this week, while knitting on the T, that I'd prefer one that says, "I knit so I can stand public transit".

It can be so nasty, riding the T, and sometimes I only get through it by breathing and focusing on the knitting, only the knitting, don't think about anything but the knitting. Don't look around, try not to breathe (through the nose), just knit, just knit.

Because even a book I enjoy may not be enough to get me through the feelings of, "He's about to step on my foot, isn't he? Who smells like that? Does that guy not realize that when he leans on the barrier, his butt is resting against my shoulder? Is that woman even trying not to rub our arms together? My elbows are practically touching, my arms are so compressed out of the way, and I can't get away from her arm. Ugh! Ew! Breathe. Knit. One, two, three, two, one..."

Unfortunately, even knitting can't help me on the bus, because of the fact that I rarely get a seat, and there really isn't a good, solid place to stand. (I did try to knit standing once, but the jerk-and-sway was too much for me: I nearly fell over. I can knit standing on the T, if it's not too crowded, but the bus flunked.) I've said it before, I'm only on the bus for five minutes but it's the worst five minutes of the commute.

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There is a list at work of all the trademarked names we may need to use, and how we're supposed to list them (e.g., "Newbury^® is a registered trademark of the American Library Association")(so not just our products, but also references to Mac and Kindle and McDonald's; and do we really refer to American Idol? When?).

The most irritating thing about the list isn't that they keep updating it; I get that things change, and although there have been about half a dozen versions of this list sent out in the two and a half months I've worked there, well, it happens.

No, what really bugs me is the formatting. Of course.

It's an 11-page list, and:

• it uses four different fonts, mostly Ariel but switching no less than 20 times to Lucida and Verdana and Times;
• some of the text is in green, red, and blue, for no consistent reason;
• the hanging indents are inconsistent;
• some of the items are repeated;
• it's mostly in alphabetical order--but not completely;
• I am dubious of its accuracy (for example, the browser I use every day is "Firefox", not "Fire fox". [Yes there's a difference; yes it matters.] And then there's "Strabucks").
  

Basically, it's a lovely example of how to drive a proofreader insane.

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In case you thought Preppy was gone: today I saw a man wearing a lilac polo shirt, and slacks just short enough that I could tell he wore his loafers with no socks.

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Finally, to wrap up the random, here's a randomly-selected photo. Welcome to the Boston Public Library.


I love books.