“Will I have to switch my Yahoo! email address to Hotmail? ‘Cause I don’t want to change my email address.”
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- I canceled cable. Specifically, I canceled my TV service through Comcast. Since moving to California, I’ve gone through 4 or 5 set-top boxes. Every time this happens, I have to unplug my old box, go to the Comcast service center (mind you making sure that I get there before they close), wait in line, return my old box, get a new box, and plug in my new box. And every time that this happens, I lose the recordings on my DVR and have to re-setup all of my series recordings. If you’ve used Comcast’s DVR, then you know how much of a pain it is to do this (especially when their search/program data sucks – like when it can’t find The Biggest Loser or American Idol). I started having problems with my set-top box last week and it finally died on Sunday. Comcast’s solution was the usual – return it and get a new one. I think I would have had more patience with them but I just went through this whole process in November! And I was so angry with them that I even ordered DSL, which will be installed next week. After that, I’ll be Comcast-free (and saving about $70/month)! Netflix will now be my sole source of video entertainment. I have to admit that it has been a little weird to come home from work and not turn on the TV to some mindless reality program. At the same time, though, I’m looking forward to spending more time watching movies (which I actually enjoy far more than most TV programs), reading, and playing Xbox games. So far, I’ve just been spending more time online.
- I’m taking a statistics class. Through some sort of self-imposed punishment, I decided to take a statistics class. I begrudgingly took one as an undergrad (because I was required to) and was elated in grad school when I was able to get the stats requirement waived because of said class. I now sort of regret the path I took (although I know that doing so afforded me other things – like taking more exciting classes in grad school). Even though most of my work is qualitative, I figure that as long as “researcher” is in my title I should make a serious effort at improving my quantitative skills. I’ve only had one class session but so far the workload is manageable. The only things that suck is that it meets for 3.5 hours every Wednesday evening until May (and a few Saturday mornings) and that I have to do homework. Other than that, it has been kind of cool to take a class just for the hell of it and not to meet a degree requirement. It’s funny how much more motivated I’ve been without the added pressure of “OMG! This is going on my transcript!”
- I’m wearing Invisalign. I’ve actually been wearing them since October but somehow managed to not blog about it. I’ve had a gap in my front teeth for as long as I can remember. It is the sort of thing that most people probably don’t notice but always bothered me about my teeth. To fix the gap, I’ve been wearing (almost) invisible plastic aligners on both my upper and lower teeth. I have to wear them all the time (they say a minimum of 22 hours a day) and have to take them out when I eat. Every two weeks, I get a new set of aligners. Overall, it has been really easy to live with and I’m pretty impressed with how far my teeth have moved. My entire treatment is going to take about eight – nine months so I’m about halfway there. There is a considerable amount of pressure on my teeth (it can be painful) when I first put in a new pair of aligners but that goes away after a couple of days. Aside from the expense, I’d highly recommend it.
I often get asked what’s the difference between Persians & Arabs. I never really have a good answer other than, “They’re similar. But like different. Like ethnically. And they like speak different languages. Which makes them like different.” A friend asked me today and I gave my usual “they’re like different but like similar” answer. I then got to thinking that maybe I should conduct some research and actually find out the real difference from an academic sense. And like any fine graduate from a well-respected school of information, my research process means Googling “what’s the difference between Persians & Arabs” and browsing through the results on the first page – because everybody knows that that’s where the answer is to any question. And if you can’t find it on Google on the first page, then there must be no answer to the question. While conducting my thorough research of the first page of Google search results, I came across this clip of Persian comedian Maz Jobrani explaining the difference.
Mulder is pictured here after bench-pressing five pounds.
(not really, he just wanted me to stop my workout and play with his stick)
Earlier tonight, I had an evening packed with errands/life. I had an appointment in Palo Alto later in the evening but before that I needed to pick up a prescription from Safeway, change into workout clothes, get an hour of cardio at the gym, cleanup/become un-sweaty again, grab a quick bite to eat, and commute the 20 – 30 minutes from Mountain View to Palo Alto. And it all had to get done in just a few hours. Needless to say, I was in a pretty determined/focused mode to get it all done in time. My first errand was to pick up my prescription on the way to the gym. I walked into Safeway with a determined stride, one that usually doesn’t bode well with laid-back Californians. I quickly make my way through hyperactive children and slow carts to the pharmacy in the back of the store, only to find that there was a long line. I was surprised and frustrated – how could there be a line? There’s never a line! And why today of all days? I looked up at the front of the line to identify the cause of the delay. A frail elderly woman was picking up her prescriptions and getting some information from the pharmacist. A man in his late 30s/early 40s stood beside her. He was holding a walking stick and then I realized that he was blind. After completing her transaction, the woman slowly made her way back to her cart, with the blind man following her by holding on to her shoulder. Seeing these two people making the best of their situation really struck me. Here I was worried about something trivial and irrelevant like making sure that I could get all of my yuppie errands done and here were these two who were struggling just to complete a task that I was taking for granted. As I waited in line, I continued to think about them and a gush of emotions swept through me as I thought about how lucky and blessed I am to have what I have. I kept thinking about what it would be like to live their experience.
As I was driving on Shoreline to get to the gym, I saw the elderly woman walking home while still slowly pushing the cart down the street and with the blind man in tow. Their courage inspired me but at the same time, I was extremely sad that we live in such a me-centered society (that also happens to be the wealthiest nation on the planet) where two people who both clearly need help can only find it in each other. A few minutes after I passed them, I kicked myself for not stopping and offering a ride or help of some sort. Even though I felt bad for them, I wasn’t any better than the rest of the society I was condemning. I didn’t get involved and I stuck to my plan, got to the gym early, and checked off a task from my mental to-do list.
There’s a part of me that wonders what would happen to me if I needed that kind of help all the time. Who would help me? Who would look after me? The pessimist in me thinks that nobody would. But that’s not exactly true. I know people would help . . . just not that many.
It makes me sad that I live in a world where it’s acceptable to look away – simply because we don’t want to get involved.
It seems like hardly anybody that I know is using WalkerTracker anymore. You people suck! Who am I supposed to compete with over an irrelevant metric? What, you all have better things to do than to go to a website and input your step count data on a daily basis?
muscular guy to another guy: “on the days you’re not training, just take a scoop of . . . “
I know everyone is expected to be overjoyed with the prospect of a new year and a new slate but I really hate this time of the year. Here are the top ten things I hate about January:
- The “Happy New Year” Greeting – Why must everyone wish me a happy new year? Does the guy bagging my groceries really care what kind of a year I have? And why must I reciprocate the greeting? You’re going to have a good year or a bad year, regardless of what I say.
- New Year’s Resolutions – Why is there such pressure to resolve to change your life? Why can’t people make resolutions the other eleven months of the year?
- Tax Commercials – Yes! We know April 15th is coming! That’s like constantly reminding somebody of a root canal.
- Turbo Tax Emails – Trust me Intuit, I want my tax refund just as much as you want my $50 but sending me emails every week reminding me to do my taxes won’t make my W2 arrive any sooner.
- The Christmas Aftermath – Even more annoying than attempting to explain to people why you don’t celebrate a holiday of a religion you don’t practice is trying to decide how to answer, “How was your Christmas?” Do I leave it at “fine” or do I re-explain that I still don’t celebrate Christmas?
- Inquiries About New Year’s Resolutions – Contrary to number 2, I totally get sucked into making resolutions this time of the year. But why do people care what I resolve to do?
- The First-Week-In-January Gym Goers – Even more annoying than people who don’t follow my one-elliptical-[insert cardio machine I'm currently using]-buffer-rule are the people who only start working out in January. They clog up the gym and lessen my chance of finding a decent machine. I worked out throughout the entire year in 2007 so that one year of regular exercise means that I’ve earned the right to roll my eyes and make other people unwelcome. Quit now January Gym Goer!
- Generic “Happy New Year” Txts – Do you really think that sending me a generic txt that I KNOW you so totally sent to everybody on your phone is a proper way of wishing me a happy new year? As if! Even the guy bagging my groceries could do better than that!
- Recycled Health Stories – If it weren’t for the new haircuts and clothes, I would have thought The Today Show and CNN recycled the same health stories every January – stop smoking, lose weight, exercise, etc.
- Weight Loss Ads – This year, Nutrisystem seems to be the worst offender, followed by Slimfast, Yoplait, and Special K. Even worse than watching these at home, is spotting them on the TVs at the gym. I get it already! I’m already at the gym, now leave me alone!
Hmmm, who knew I had such pent-up issues with January? Happy new year! ;)
I’m not sure if the other airlines do this but I thought this was awesome! I was checking on Nabeela’s flight to see if it was delayed. Not only does JetBlue tell you its estimated arrival time, you can also look at a map that shows you the current location of the flight. That’s taking flight status to a whole new level. I heart JetBlue.