Ok, so i'm in the middle of this pilot test, testing Telxon Hand held inventory computers. Anyway, I just got a call from the help desk, a store manager is using his telxon and it won't work. It's too technical for them so now I have to deal with it... Here's the conversation: Me: Application Maintenence... How can I help you Tim? Tim: This Upload procedure doesn't work. I'm on step 5.16 of the operations manual. (I pull it up, it's a simple one liner "Press the Red Enter key on the Telxon Unit") Me: Looks easy to me, what's the problem with the step? Tim: What's Red? (Please note that there is only one red key on the unit, the only enter key is the red key.) Me: (Thinking Tim was being a joker) Are you serious? Tim: (Exploding for no apparent reason) Look, I'm not some fancy ass programmer like you. I don't understand all these technical terms. Quite being a smart ass and tell me what red is. Me: (Now offended at being called a Fancy Ass programmer) Well Tim, Red is a color sort of between Orange and Maroon. Do you know those two? Tim: (Exploding more so. and tries to make it look like he isn't the stupid one in the conversation.... And fails) Anyway, Tim has called his District manager. The DM has called my VP. My VP has called my Boss. I have a meeting with my boss and VP after lunch. Fuck.

Unless your boss and the VP are real hard-asses, you don't have to worry. They'll probably think it's as funny as you do.

Ok, Back from the meeting. After a long lecture on all that Company Culture "Our Jobs are to Please the User" BS, I was finally able to give my side of the story. Seems Tim neglected to tell his DM about any of that "What's Red?" stuff. He just said he was having technical issues, and I ridiculed him for it. I explained my story to the VP and Rhiannon was sort of right. He thought it was funny. Either way firing a smart-ass remark at a user is definatly not good for one's carreer.

Well now you know,I wouldn,t last a day doing that.

back when i used to be in a crappy little band called wherehouse, i had all the maintenance on my bass done by a guy named bill who worked out of his garage. he did good work, but he could be an asshole to deal with. my band gets a gig at little club called the hop. i drop my bass off at bill's the day before for a strobe job and a little work on the pick-ups, i think. the next afternoon i call him. "my bass ready?" "the fretless? uh...not yet." "when will it be ready?" "tonight." "what's tonight?" "you know...when it gets dark." "i've got a gig tonight, when it gets dark. what TIME, asshole." "'bout seven."

I met a boy with really pretty blue eyes who plays bass. I don't know why I keep mentioning this to people since he's too young for me (I suspect) and I'm still trying to not obsess over Ishmael. Ishmael told me he thought he was ugly. he doesn't want to have children because he's afraid he'll pass on the ugly gene. I looked shocked and told him he was "very nice looking". that sounds really bad, doesn't it?

yes, that was a terrible thing to say. now you're definitely going to have to sleep with him to make up for that. bass players are shitheads.

you would know better than I. :) I thought saying that someone was "very nice looking" might be bad because it sounds so phoney, but that's just the way I phrase things. I should have said "You're really cute." because he really is and I want him to know that I think so.

I am an unmitigated idiot. I TOTALLY FORGOT that I have to reapply for financial aid for school next year. This is bad. I'm scrambling to get things covered now, hoping that the deadlines haven't passed or can be bent, waiting for my advisor to get back to me re: required courses and summer courses and GOD, WHY am I so scatterbrained? Do you ever feel like your life is running away from you and you can't keep up?

Always.

For me it is more like life has already run away from me and I wonder where the hell it went. All of my friends are either having babies, or planning on it, and I'm having to watch the boyfriends and sneak reading the diary to determine what's going on that I don't know about, and having to argue what concerts she can/cannot go to, etc. Ugh. It makes me feel old, like life has already passed me by. Ugh, and my birthday is coming up. Let's just see if I can feel much OLDER right now. I wanted to go back to college, get my degree in Geology, work in the caves hahahahaha. I have to start planning for my daughters first car! It might be 3 years off, but right now it feels like it is going to be next week.

Every female I know who's my age is already on their second baby. Already married with a house and a career and a gainfully employed husband that respects them. My "career" has already hit two major roadblocks, and I'm making just enough money to keep myself alive and drinking coffee. Every morning I wake up in a blind panic, wondering how to make things better....and I really don't know. Guys are always ready with compliments and attention, but nothing ever comes of it. There's no joy lately, just existance. In a rut! Oh yeah, and a bloody freakin' birthday soon! Whoop-dee-freak-in'-DOO.

I am so behind on so many things -- school, my health, my friendships, my finances. I am completely overwhelmed. Back to work.

Spider,so nice to see you posting,it is time for you to take command of your own life. do it.

my life has been long story of stupidity and entropy interspersed with episodes of physical damage. but this afternoon i'll be going to the jubilee theater - african-american repertory theater of fort worth - to see "cookin' at the cookery": a revue of the music of alberta hunter. i think it will be soul-replenishing.

L.M.A.O Droopy!

"cookin' at the cookery" was good. the jubilee theater is very small, and i was practically sitting on the stage with the actors. two women played alberta hunter - one as a young woman, the other in her mature years. during act 1 the younger singer did a rump-shakin' dance (practically a lap dance) for me while singing "i'm having a good time". then in act 2 the mature alberta hunter came up to me, asked me my name, and then sang "my handy man" to me using my name in the song. he threads my needle, creams my wheat, heats my heater, chops my meat; my [droopy] is such a handy man! at least they didn't try to roll me out onto the stage to dance with other audience members during the dixieland number.

"What is Red?" Classic.

droopy,so how are you?