Frigid Friday

Seventeen degrees this morning and some wind, so it is quite cold, to say the least. We are getting all the cold of winter without the benefits.

So, my philosophical question about imagining yourself removed from the planet did invoke some to think. I was encouraged to pose another "good" question. Do the opposite. What if you were the only person alive on the planet? You haven't disappeared but everyone else has. What do you do? Does it alarm you to be that alone? How do you cope? Would you help yourself to every vice available since nothing is denied you? Or would you continue to live as you do? Do you at least try not to give in to all temptations? I confess I haven't thought this one through because the question didn't occur to me until I sat down to write. It is a good question though. It certainly makes one examine oneself to a deep degree...if you take the time to really think it through instead of just ignoring it or giving it a fast pass.

I found yesterday that telecons can be quite amusing. Ours was a comedy of errors. About 10 minutes deep into it, this beeping began on the line. At first the meeting coordinator tried to pretend it wasn't there, but someone asked if everyone else was hearing it. There was a rush of suggestions for solution with the majority idea of everyone hanging up and calling back in. Well, that didn't help. It was still there. Someone was prowling around for another number to use. Finally the operator came on the line. Whether she was randomly checking or someone got in touch with her, I'll never know. She suggested calling back in. But she then suggested the she terminate all the calls to be sure the line was cleared. And that worked. When we called back in, the sound was gone. I'd estimate 15 minutes to solution. The moment of greatest hilarity for me however was when someone mentioned "valve movement" (in a rocket engine). Well, that tore me up because I immediately thought of another sort of movement which sounds similar. I think someone else did too...or that sound was simply to clear a throat.

The most amusing thing about meetings is the slips that people make and how they deal with them. Mr. Valve Movement never gave any indication that he caught his unintentional (I suppose) faux pas. I like to keep a running list of words that people invent on the spur of the moment. Such as "desirement". Our desirement of this meeting... I have no idea what our desirement was because my mind hung up on that word. What? Desirement? So I added it to the list. And most recently was "delegee". I nearly laughed aloud in a small meeting over that one. A delegate is a person who stands in for another. There is no reason to "-ee" the word. It stands on its own, and it not a real word. Ah, the things that rocket scientists say.... It doesn't take a rocket scientist to speak English.

People are interesting. That is the main reason that I write about things like this. I like to study people. All their imperfections and all their moments of glory make them the most fascinating things to observe. You can see a lot by observing.

Such as...a lady who works on the floor that I do. Let's call her Minine because she has a unique name and I won't print it here plainly for all to see, lest some think me attacking her rather than observing. Minnie wouldn't give me the time of day. If I said hi to her in the hallway, she'd stare straight ahead and never answer. So I didn't try any more. Then one day she passed my cave and saw some artwork I had posted. "Did you do all this?? This is great! Will you draw my granddaughter??" (The thing that is most frustrating about drawing is the many requests I get to do free things. Not that I'm so greedy, but I do have my own interests and commitments to pursue, but many people think nothing of asking you to do something for them which they have no clue of the time or materials which may be involved. At least offer to compensate a person for the materials, gentle reader. Even if they turn it down or never wanted it, you've at least shown respect for their time and resources by offering.) Well, I never answered that question. So far she hasn't brought a picture. Yesterday she pinned me to the wall to enter the Earth Day logo design contest for our center. She told me that I really needed to enter, because "we" have to win! Then she proceeded to lay out her vision of the logo that I would draw. Finally she stopped and said, "Well, you're the artist! You come up with the idea!" (Thank you.) "But you need to enter because we must win!" We? Possibly because winning also includes a small amount of $$? It was amusing. Humans in action. Oh, I know only too well of my own failings. I don't pretend to be perfect. Don't mistake me. But I still love to observe and learn.

~*~