Good day for 3M

A couple of my Post Its made quite a stir among my work friends today. "What the heck do they mean?" they inquired, yet not as cursefree. So now I suppose I'll tell them while I look forward to them making fun of me on Thursday morning.

I came up with a new product for 3M. Another Post It product.

As I was putting together a large, thick, sealed envelope to be mailed through FedEx, I grabbed a large paperclip to attach the FedEx directions to the envelope. But the envelope was too thick. Not wanting to damage the envelope with tape, I quickly grabbed a Post It, ripped off the sticky part, and used it as tape.

Now, I suppose I could have used a large binder clip, but that would have required that I open my drawer to remove one.

If you have seen the movie Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, you would have a great appreciation for my discovery.

The search for truth

I sat down for a drink with a friend this evening. Our bartender, a philosopher who I'll name Mark #72, explained how he was fascinated by ancient philosophers like Plato and Plato's students. Mark #72 said that his own philosophy was "to maintain permanent disbelief," a cynical philosophy that would keep him from being labelled a fanatic, because he's not a fanatic. I am not a fanatic either, but instead of taking his philosophy, I'll twist mine a bit and write that I more closely identify with "maintaining a constant state of searching for truth until I find it." And if I'm not mistaken (I'm not), nearly every great writer that college students study in their required Western Civilization courses was on his/her own search for the very same thing.

ill luck

"Just as it in error to assume that bodily symptoms as basic as a stomach ache are not a serious health issue, so it is to dismiss one's extensive series of extremely unfortunate events as being of ill luck." --Steph (Yes, that would be me.)

Lyrics that resonate

"And being apart wasn't easy on this love affair
Two strangers learn to fall in love again
I get the joy of rediscovering you...
I'm forever yours -- faithfully." -- lyrics from Faithfully by Journey

Fireworks

I recently experienced the best fireworks display, perhaps the best to date, one that was synchronized to music. And as amazing and beautiful as the bright fireworks were in the foreground, I couldn't take my eyes off of the raging, rolling clouds of smoke that hid behind them. It was almost as if the gorgeous and entertaining fireworks display masked something much, much darker. At least 40,000 people watched the same event, but how many of them made the effort to look deeper, to look beyond what the fireworks coordinator wanted them to see?

Time and space conundrum

I often sense that the present and future are the past, that the world should be more advanced than where we are currently and than where we are heading. I look at brand new models of objects and technology, such as automobiles and computers, and my instincts and imagination instantly inform me that they are outdated prior to their release. Even prior to their origination. By centuries. I glance around at the environment, all of our environments that we inhabit day to day, and it is almost as if I'm viewing a crinkled black and white moving picture on a reel from a time when the world was innocently ignorant to the reality that stands before them in many dimensions. The type of reality that every single being currently experiences, but has yet to understand. They often dismiss what they assume to be overly simplistic communication through the senses as meaningless. A mind must be opened before the trained eye and ear can decipher the many dimensions of reality. The easiest way to solve the task is by focusing attention on a single dimension with the knowledge that all the dimensions are parallel to one another yet intersect at the same time, all with positive outcomes. Perhaps the mundane tasks in daily life are deliberately switched on to auto-repeat only until the truth sweeps through their ravenous hearts, transforming their hope and faith to certainty.

Leftovers

I went out to lunch with my coworkers, a group that we like to call the (company) Marching Band. Why that name stuck, I don't remember, but we make jokes about Marching Band practices ALL the time and its still funny. Anyway, we were all at lunch and one of them asked me why I hadn't finished my food. "Do you realize how many hungry people in the world would love to have those leftovers?" And I responded, "Of course! I'm sure the whole cast of Survivor would LOVE to eat them."

Candy cigs

I could use a chalky candy cigarette about now.

McDonald's song

I typed the following from memory, but couldn't manage to type it all in one breath.

"Big Mac, McBLT, a Quarter-Pounder with some cheese.
Filet O-Fish, a hamburger, a cheeseburger, a Happy Meal,
McDonald's tasty golden French Fries, regular and large in size
And salads, chef or garden or a chicken salad, oriental
Big, Big Breakfast, Egg McMuffin, Hot, Hot Cakes and Sausage,
Maybe biscuits, bacon, egg and cheese and sausage, danish, hashbrowns, too
And for dessert, hot apple pies and sundaes, three varieties
A soft-serve cone, three kinds of shakes and chocolaty-chip cookies
And to drink, a Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and orange drink, a Sprite and coffee, decaf, too and low-fat milk and orange juice.
I love McDonald's good times, great tastes.
Can I get this all at one place?"

Extraordinary

I'm not your average Steph Doe.

Shipping number

One afternoon in the Fall of 1987, I sat squirrelly in a plastic chair on the end of the second row in music class. Being disengaged in the song selection from the hymnal, I instead focused my attention on a tracking number that had been stamped on a cardboard shipping box across the room. I still remember that number. NWXCWH1T221606314384NB. No, I don't think that's normal. But I do wonder to this day what was actually shipped in that box. I mean, what if there was something scandalous shipped inside that box; just maybe that box has an interesting story behind it. You never know.

Rain stick

I think I have yet to hear music implementing the usage of an Chilean rain stick.

Monster ballads

There's nothing like listening to a monster ballad on a sunny, spring afternoon. It takes me back. My distaste for hairbands in my youth meant that I never really liked those songs back then. And, come to think of it, listening to them now really doesn't bring back many memories. Hmm. Except for maybe a school-sponsored roller-skating party or two.

Illegitimate children

I wonder if I have any illegimate children running around.

Outsourcing

I'm reading an extraordinary bestseller titled The World Is Flat. So now I'm comtemplating either moving to India for an American job or starting my own company in America and outsourcing the secretary/executive assistant work to India.