So, I’m reading Darwins’ ‘Origin of Species’ (since the beginning of November….). Not for school, for fun. Why? I don’t know. I like Darwin. I had to do a presentation on him for my Victorian lit class a couple of years ago and I found him interesting. We read an excerpt and it intrigued me. It must’ve been the only interesting part of the 385 page book though….damn excerpts. My coworkers voice their disbelief every day. Whenever someone walks by while I'm eating lunch, they either say ‘I can’t believe you’re reading that?!’ and shake their head or mock me and say that it’s taking too long to finish and that I’m going to give up. They want to take bets of when I’ll (if I’ll) actually finish it.
They underestimate my determination. I actually work better when people underestimate me. Maybe they’re right though. Maybe I am wasting my time. I’ve been known to do that with many things. I know my limits though. When to say no. There’s a point when enough is enough. It takes me pretty long to reach it but once I do, it’s over.
What am I going to get from reading this? Probably nothing. I’m not getting graded, not impressing people, nothing. Or, maybe it’ll change my life by the end of it. Who knows. Because we usually get something from 98% of the things we experience. We learn, we grow, we change. Or, it could be a gigantic waste of time. Like watching Godfather 2. Which I realized 30 minutes into that it was inconsequential to sit through 4 hours and 25 minutes of it and I abandoned mission.
See, I know when to quit.
I am waiting for the day Alex Trebek announces: “And the final category is ‘Charles Darwin’….cuz I got that shit.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Weird Things Happen In The Woods...
Last May, a few of us from work took a bunch of Bronx kids to go hiking on Bear Mountain. I don't know who thought that was a grand idea but...
So, after much complaining about the walking, and the bugs, and how we were lost for 3 hours (stupid hidden trail markers), we finally made it back to the picnic area. We were all starving so we sat down to eat. We looked over and noticed that after her sandwich, one of the students pulled out a glass jar of baby food and proceeded to spoon out the pureed bananas and eat them.
We looked at her in awe and confusion. With attitude she said "what? It's delicious".
Sweety, the debate of the deliciousness was not the point of our confusion. It was the weirdness of a 15 year old who was fully capable of chewing and swallowing eating mashed up bananas out of a jar that perplexed us.
You can't come back from that...
So, after much complaining about the walking, and the bugs, and how we were lost for 3 hours (stupid hidden trail markers), we finally made it back to the picnic area. We were all starving so we sat down to eat. We looked over and noticed that after her sandwich, one of the students pulled out a glass jar of baby food and proceeded to spoon out the pureed bananas and eat them.
We looked at her in awe and confusion. With attitude she said "what? It's delicious".
Sweety, the debate of the deliciousness was not the point of our confusion. It was the weirdness of a 15 year old who was fully capable of chewing and swallowing eating mashed up bananas out of a jar that perplexed us.
You can't come back from that...
Saturday, January 1, 2011
I'm On A Boat
This is what i learned while stuck on a ship for a week:
1. I am addicted to my blackberry and facebook and I am not ashamed to say it. The happiest I was on the trip was when we got service for half a day while in Florida. Unfortunately, Poseidon was angered by my happiness and decided to take my electronics from me halfway through the trip. I am now left phoneless and fidgeting like a crack addict in rehab.
2. Sea sickness is no joke. I imagine morning sickness is the same. In that case, if I am so lucky to be afflicted by morning sickness, I will probably be the angriest pregnant woman you will ever encounter. I don't like feeling sick. I don't like not having control over what/how I feel. It makes me angry...and, you don't want to see me when I'm angry....
3. I love NYC. I miss it every time I'm away. It's always nice to get away for a bit, but after a few days I really do miss it. I miss the noises and smells and bustle. There's no place like it. And even though it's annoying at times and too hectic, it feels like home. When I got back into the city, I walked from 86th street to 118th street just to see the dirty melting snow in the streets and the crackheads on the sidewalk. ah....
4. Trips of leisure are not for me. My travelling usually includes museums, parks and learning about the history of the city/town I'm in. I don't care for sleeping in, wandering around aimlessly and searching for a bit of sun to sit in. I like making itineraries and having a plan. I like museums. Lesson learned.
5. Just because something is labeled 'unlimited' or 'free' means people will act like caged animals clamoring to get at it. You can eat as much food as you want on a cruise and because people are aren't paying for it then and there, gives them the license to eat 5 meals a day, consisting of 2 plates at each meal. Gross. Meanwhile, you paid for it in the initial price of the trip and you will be paying for it the rest of your life as your arteries slowly begin to shut down from the 3 32 oz. steaks you ate every day for a week. This excludes ice cream of course because it is delicious at any point of the day and should be unlimited and free not only on ships but in every corner of the world.
6. Paradise Island in the Bahamas should be renamed 'we will take everything from you' island. The strong under tow of the ocean and the wrath of Poseidon caused me to lose my footing while walking on the beach which caused my purse and clothes to fall in the water.
These are the things I lost there:
- $40 at roulette. I knew I shouldn't have sat down but I did anyway. Usually I get a feeling that tells me it's OK to play which leads me to win. I didn't have that feeling and I didn't listen to my head.
-my blackberry
-my camera
-an unread, brand new Daniel Defoe novel "Moll Flanders"
-my sanity
- my dignity
7. Family makes you crazy. Being cooped up in a tiny cabin with your siblings for a week is probably not a good way to build stronger bonds. I wasn't very pleasant by the end. Losing my crackberry didn't help the situation. At least, I won't be obligated to go home any time soon....
I came, I saw, I probably won't do it again. It was an experience though.
1. I am addicted to my blackberry and facebook and I am not ashamed to say it. The happiest I was on the trip was when we got service for half a day while in Florida. Unfortunately, Poseidon was angered by my happiness and decided to take my electronics from me halfway through the trip. I am now left phoneless and fidgeting like a crack addict in rehab.
2. Sea sickness is no joke. I imagine morning sickness is the same. In that case, if I am so lucky to be afflicted by morning sickness, I will probably be the angriest pregnant woman you will ever encounter. I don't like feeling sick. I don't like not having control over what/how I feel. It makes me angry...and, you don't want to see me when I'm angry....
3. I love NYC. I miss it every time I'm away. It's always nice to get away for a bit, but after a few days I really do miss it. I miss the noises and smells and bustle. There's no place like it. And even though it's annoying at times and too hectic, it feels like home. When I got back into the city, I walked from 86th street to 118th street just to see the dirty melting snow in the streets and the crackheads on the sidewalk. ah....
4. Trips of leisure are not for me. My travelling usually includes museums, parks and learning about the history of the city/town I'm in. I don't care for sleeping in, wandering around aimlessly and searching for a bit of sun to sit in. I like making itineraries and having a plan. I like museums. Lesson learned.
5. Just because something is labeled 'unlimited' or 'free' means people will act like caged animals clamoring to get at it. You can eat as much food as you want on a cruise and because people are aren't paying for it then and there, gives them the license to eat 5 meals a day, consisting of 2 plates at each meal. Gross. Meanwhile, you paid for it in the initial price of the trip and you will be paying for it the rest of your life as your arteries slowly begin to shut down from the 3 32 oz. steaks you ate every day for a week. This excludes ice cream of course because it is delicious at any point of the day and should be unlimited and free not only on ships but in every corner of the world.
6. Paradise Island in the Bahamas should be renamed 'we will take everything from you' island. The strong under tow of the ocean and the wrath of Poseidon caused me to lose my footing while walking on the beach which caused my purse and clothes to fall in the water.
These are the things I lost there:
- $40 at roulette. I knew I shouldn't have sat down but I did anyway. Usually I get a feeling that tells me it's OK to play which leads me to win. I didn't have that feeling and I didn't listen to my head.
-my blackberry
-my camera
-an unread, brand new Daniel Defoe novel "Moll Flanders"
-my sanity
- my dignity
7. Family makes you crazy. Being cooped up in a tiny cabin with your siblings for a week is probably not a good way to build stronger bonds. I wasn't very pleasant by the end. Losing my crackberry didn't help the situation. At least, I won't be obligated to go home any time soon....
I came, I saw, I probably won't do it again. It was an experience though.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)