Errant Penny (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} errantpenny) wrote,@ 2005-12-02 21:19:00 |
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It's alive!
My computer lives. Like Frankenstein's monster, it has been patched together with the parts of others, and is not quite the creature it once was. It is also prone to fits of strange behavior. Unfortunately, it has yet to launch into a peppy rendition of "Puttin' on the Ritz".
It's been a fortnight of blah and blech, starting with the slopping of the water on my beloved laptop. During the obligatory trip "home" to see the family, I decided that my brother is a bigger jerk than he ever was. Some sample comments from my bro:
As I began to describe the women's environmental group with which I volunteer: "So it's a nonprofit? Fine. That tells me everything I need to know." [Spoken with an abrupt, aggressive tone which said, "Why are you wasting my time with this stupid shit?"]
When I wanted to attempt to find the owner of a car in which two little dogs had been enclosed for well over an hour, windows rolled all the way up, and with no water in sight: "It's none of your business. We're leaving!" And when I persisted, "So, what, they're dying? Give me a break! Get in the car!"
Yeah, so, he's my older brother, and therefore prone to a lifelong habit of bullying me, but couldn't some effort be made to curb his natural impulses and be, I don't know...courteous?
Then, during this past week at work...well, this deserves a post all its own, and will probably get one, but here's a brief summary:
1) I never feel more Jewish than I do at Christmastime (and I grew up in a little Midwestern town where the Jewish community was practically nonexistent).
2) I expected a city like San Francisco to be sensitive to cultural differences.
3) No, I don't consider a Christmas Tree to be a secular symbol, though perhaps I should. I'm not "bah humbug" about all things Christmas. I like "Rudolph" and "Frosty" and Snow and Heat Miser and a lot of the carols -- and a lot of the decorations! But there will never be a Christmas that I don't feel conscious with all my being of my otherness.
4) I'd already been pleased to learn that my new workplace has a "Holiday Party" not a "Christmas Party". That attempt at inclusiveness means a lot to me.
5) So, I was shocked -- shocked to the core -- when a big, gaudy Christmas tree and huge, stuffed polar bear (in a Santa hat), appeared in the lobby of my beloved, elegant, marble and brass office building. Of course, this was the doing of the building's management, not my organization, which fills only three floors of a ten-story building. There are places where I expect to see Christmas trees at Christmastime, but the lobby of my building was not one of them (there is no retail space). I shared my shock and disappointment with too many people, people who just didn't get it (and maybe you don't either). I fear I've done even more to distance myself from my new coworkers, and that makes me very sad. Sometimes, when I'm feeling something strongly, I just can't help expressing it. And I don't mean for my verbalization to be a complaint, but that's probably not clear to those on the receiving end.
Luckily, an opportunity for a brief escape just landed in my lap. I am flying to Portland, Oregon for the weekend. Thank God for email lists, 'cause that's how news reached me of the BootsnAll Travel Party. BootsnAll is a "budget" travel news and information service, very much along the lines of Lonely Planet. The email landed in my Inbox on Thursday morning, and by Thursday afternoon I had found a darn good price on a last-minute flight and a hotel room to boot. If nothing else, I am looking forward to a long, long, hot, hot...BATH! The bubble bath stuff is all packed and ready to go.
The party is on Saturday night, and my flight doesn't return until Sunday evening. So, I'll have plenty of time to visit Powell's, and the Japanese gardens. Any suggestions for things to see in Portland are most welcome.
I'm flying out tomorrow morning, and really looking forward to the chance to explore new territory. That's my favorite thing of all.
My computer lives. Like Frankenstein's monster, it has been patched together with the parts of others, and is not quite the creature it once was. It is also prone to fits of strange behavior. Unfortunately, it has yet to launch into a peppy rendition of "Puttin' on the Ritz".
It's been a fortnight of blah and blech, starting with the slopping of the water on my beloved laptop. During the obligatory trip "home" to see the family, I decided that my brother is a bigger jerk than he ever was. Some sample comments from my bro:
As I began to describe the women's environmental group with which I volunteer: "So it's a nonprofit? Fine. That tells me everything I need to know." [Spoken with an abrupt, aggressive tone which said, "Why are you wasting my time with this stupid shit?"]
When I wanted to attempt to find the owner of a car in which two little dogs had been enclosed for well over an hour, windows rolled all the way up, and with no water in sight: "It's none of your business. We're leaving!" And when I persisted, "So, what, they're dying? Give me a break! Get in the car!"
Yeah, so, he's my older brother, and therefore prone to a lifelong habit of bullying me, but couldn't some effort be made to curb his natural impulses and be, I don't know...courteous?
Then, during this past week at work...well, this deserves a post all its own, and will probably get one, but here's a brief summary:
1) I never feel more Jewish than I do at Christmastime (and I grew up in a little Midwestern town where the Jewish community was practically nonexistent).
2) I expected a city like San Francisco to be sensitive to cultural differences.
3) No, I don't consider a Christmas Tree to be a secular symbol, though perhaps I should. I'm not "bah humbug" about all things Christmas. I like "Rudolph" and "Frosty" and Snow and Heat Miser and a lot of the carols -- and a lot of the decorations! But there will never be a Christmas that I don't feel conscious with all my being of my otherness.
4) I'd already been pleased to learn that my new workplace has a "Holiday Party" not a "Christmas Party". That attempt at inclusiveness means a lot to me.
5) So, I was shocked -- shocked to the core -- when a big, gaudy Christmas tree and huge, stuffed polar bear (in a Santa hat), appeared in the lobby of my beloved, elegant, marble and brass office building. Of course, this was the doing of the building's management, not my organization, which fills only three floors of a ten-story building. There are places where I expect to see Christmas trees at Christmastime, but the lobby of my building was not one of them (there is no retail space). I shared my shock and disappointment with too many people, people who just didn't get it (and maybe you don't either). I fear I've done even more to distance myself from my new coworkers, and that makes me very sad. Sometimes, when I'm feeling something strongly, I just can't help expressing it. And I don't mean for my verbalization to be a complaint, but that's probably not clear to those on the receiving end.
Luckily, an opportunity for a brief escape just landed in my lap. I am flying to Portland, Oregon for the weekend. Thank God for email lists, 'cause that's how news reached me of the BootsnAll Travel Party. BootsnAll is a "budget" travel news and information service, very much along the lines of Lonely Planet. The email landed in my Inbox on Thursday morning, and by Thursday afternoon I had found a darn good price on a last-minute flight and a hotel room to boot. If nothing else, I am looking forward to a long, long, hot, hot...BATH! The bubble bath stuff is all packed and ready to go.
The party is on Saturday night, and my flight doesn't return until Sunday evening. So, I'll have plenty of time to visit Powell's, and the Japanese gardens. Any suggestions for things to see in Portland are most welcome.
I'm flying out tomorrow morning, and really looking forward to the chance to explore new territory. That's my favorite thing of all.
