Irony and Sadness

Yesterday on my way to work, I heard three incredibly ironic news bits on NPR.

I tried so hard to remember them all as I sped to work. I planned to twit them out over the course of the day but I got too damn busy…

I remembered two of them though… Here they are in their untwittered length:

Today New Orleans Mayor, Ray Nagin, held a bell-ringing ceremony in remembrance of the moment that the levies broke two years ago during Hurricane Katrina. At the same moment the bells began to toll, President Bush was holding a moment of silence in New Orleans in remembrance of the moment that the levies broke two years ago during Hurricane Katrina… Yep. The irony of miscommunication between the state and Federal Government was not lost on me.

Number two:

A performance artist was arrested at “The Burning Man” festival for setting said man alight four days before he was scheduled to be burnt. The whole spirit of the festival is “radical self-expression.”… Yup. The irony of this situation was not lost on me either. ;-)

Then, this morning, I heard that Richard Jewell died at age 44. The news caught me at a vulnerable moment (it was shortly after I woke up) and it made me burst into tears.

For some reason, all I could feel was this sense of the tragic irony that publicly surrounded this poor man’s life. All he ever wanted to do was be a hero. He worked in Security. He was portrayed as someone who “had made a failed attempt at a career in Law Enforcement” but all this man really was; was someone who wanted to help protect people.

He did just that.

Even today though, he was referred to “former Olympic Park Bombing suspect” and not “former Hero in the Olympic Park Bombing.”

He went through hell for saving those people and his life was probably ruined because of it… and the ~only~ person who stuck by him through thick and thin was his Mom.
His quote:

"For that two days, my mother had a great deal of pride in me — that I had done something good and that she was my mother, and that was taken away from her," Jewell said. "She'll never get that back, and there's no way I can give that back to her."

Damn… I don’t know why this one makes me so sad. I mean, screws fall out. The world’s an imperfect place! But something about this guy’s story just strikes me as so tragically unfair.

I need a hug. =(

R.I.P. Richard... May the next life be better for you.

R.I.P. Merv

Meant to do this earlier in the week... R.I.P Merv Griffin!

Youth is Wasted on the Young...

"Cigarettes can kill you," singsonged the too cute, too thin "tweener" girl as she passed; flanked by her too lanky, too kewl sk8ter bois.

I had just made my way out of the "Super" Target after a grueling 2 hours - my favorite vice firmly embraced between my lips, laden with an overflowing cart and grateful for the sweet, sweet journey into flavor country after a very introspective afternoon.

Get the flip out. Theese things can ~kill~ me?!?! Get... the... FLIP... OUT!!!!

You have no idea what you just said, did you? Do you think your words just delivered me into the hands of salvation? Did you say that to make your cuties there think you have balls? Are you exerting smugness over me as if to say, "Look at me! I have my own mind! I won't succumb to your Gen X nhilistic ways. My body is my temple... and I've never even heard of Joe Camel, much less ~seen~ a phone with a rotary dial or have had to get up to change the channel! You are Grrl 1.0 - out moded, while I am Grrl 2.0! Whatever happened to you will never touch me for I am immortal!!!! MUAHAHAHAHA!"

For the record, I get it... how could this slip of a girl have any insight into my life. How could she possibly know that I once was "Francy Schmancy: QUEEN OF POTATOES," or that I went to a party thrown by Glen Danzig... or that I actually have my own midget story for cryin' out loud?!?

Note to self: Retrieve Midget Story from old blog and repost here... Add link in this blog when done.

My sweeping generalization for the day:
People just have no concept of time and youth is wasted on the young.

Not 30 minutes ago, I found myself in the Toy section... a thing I do less and less with each shopping trip as I grow older... Not so much because I'm growing older but because the toy section is just one big commercial. All the cool, weird, toys are now online (here's an example).

Anyway, as I strolled the aisles, searching in vain for something neat, I overheard a mother's comments to her (12-ish) daughter...

"Honey, don't you think you are getting too old for toys?"

Her reply:

"No ma! I just wanna look for..." blah blah blah (fade)

I wanted so badly to reach out, grasp that woman's arm and say, "Whatever it is your daughter wants... buy it. Don't argue, just buy it. Trust me when I say this... you will find yourself regretting that those words ever left your lips in about 6 months."

That right there is a product of my lame psychic abilities. I still regret not doing that. I even went back to find her but then I realized how weird that would be.

The thing is, who the hell am I to say that to her?!? I have no children.
Yeah, I've thought about it and yeah; I know that I would be a great Mom, but ... well... In my heart of hearts, I don't think that it's because I'm suddenly selfish, I think it's because I don't want to go down that road unless I can be there like my mom was... and right now, I can't be there. Plus, I think that maybe a person like me needs to do something more... like take in foster children or something...

Note to self: Look back to 2-3 years ago... Savor the irony of it all for a moment...

I want to give that tweener girl my email address and tell her to look me up in 20 years or so in order to apologize for her naivete' and tell me that she now grasps the uselessness of her remark...

I want to tell her that we are all dying and that I already know that I regret ever starting the smoking, but thanks anyway...

I want to tell her that she should shut the fuck up, go inside, buy herself a sammich and actually DIGEST it for a change...

I want to tell her that girls who wear long sleeves (like she does) in 98-degree weather have a lot more to worry about than the state of my lungs...

I want to flick my cigarette at her face and relive my old-school Roit Grrl ways...

and I want to thank her...

While she may not know it, she's inspired me to ~write~ for the first time in a long time. =)

So, UP YOURS TWEENER GIRL!!!!! >;D

I have my work cut out for me...

I am the least Machiavellian person I know...

I quit my job of three and a half years. Last Wednesday, I had the 1,001 meltdown stemming from total frustration and my lack of being able to get anywhere with my ideas... At this point, I feel it's important to clarify one really weird thing about myself, I've discovered that I ~like~ to work. I like creating Marketing Strategies, I like writing copy, I like planning ahead, I actually like rhetoric (well, I like recognizing it and/or creating it)... Regardless, I like my line of work!!!

Now, while I like being paid for my worth, I also like EARNING it. So it was always shocking to me that I never seemed to get anywhere. I don't want to be the boss. Bosses don't get to do the work. All I want to do is discover if the notions I have about my intended audiences are right. I want to know what makes someone click on a link, open a piece of mail or respond to one offer over another. I want to take a project that has a low response rate and see if my changes affect it...

Anyway, I finally had the last meltdown over my work. I did not go in on Thursday. Instead, I arranged an interview, got another job with more responsibility and more money (I'm not a masochist either). On Friday, I ended my love/hate relationship with the job that brought me here in the first place and I started fresh this Monday.

Everyone around me seemed impressed enough... They couldn't believe how fast I moved. But all I could think of is why did I put up with the bull for as long as I did? The answer: because I simply could not believe that my turn would not come. I "paid my dues" I polished alllll those turds and I did it with a smile! I shared my ideas. I wrote proposal after proposal. How could they not love me?!?!

Last week, I would have felt sorry for myself. Today, I just feel stupid. I mean, what kind of a Marketer am I?

Now... I'm in a position where I have the opportunity to do everything I've ever wanted to do work-wise... except it was all due last week. ;D

Hahahaha! I seriously need to be very careful what I wish for! =)

At the same time, I don't think I have ever felt so damn determined in my whole life! I will grab this damn job by the flippin' balls and make it understand so help me!!!!

Feh... I'm going nowhere with this blog. I just had to get that out of me and into the aether so I can concentrate or something.

Does Anybody Read This Thing?

Well, if you do, I need some feedback. I'm working on a logo of sorts for shits & giggles.... oh man... yeah, I just caught the pun there. ;)

Anyway, tell me what you think. You can use the ClickComments below if yer shy but it would be nice to know who's out there and get some real feedback... for uh, yeah, this here gleaming pile o' crap. ;D

Now I've done it....

Crap crap crap crap crap!
I found a new website/game called Trendio and I'm hooked! Basically, you play the stockmarket but you buy and sell keywords! Here... lemme splain via their FAQ:

On the Trendio current events stock exchange, you can buy and sell words. Buying a word is making a bet that this word will be increasingly present in the media: if this is the case then the price will increase and will make the value of your portfolio increase.

The entire world can play for free with one fictitious currency called Trendillion. Therefore, the goal of the Trendio game is to make your portfolio mature, for prestige and to compete with friends or within the framework of a competition where you can win money and prizes.

I don't know about the whole "money & prizes" bit but the idea itself just cracks me up!!! I just made a killing on a one-day speculation on "Donald Rumsfeld!" :D

I'm sorry folks, but I ~NEVER~ thought I'd ever hear myself say "Rumsfeld's up two and a half points! Woo hoo!!"

The interface itself was a little confusing at first (mainly because it's mostly flash-based) and little glitches tend to dump you back out of your account for no reason but the super-nerd in me digs it because of my fascination in SEO and all things webby. Plus, I like the idea that they keep their keyword data mining sources a secret to help disuade cheating... although I can't help but wonder what kind of person would ~want~ to cheat at a fake stock exhange game... prolly the same kind of person who'd punch babies and step on old ladies just to crab a crappy free T-shirt at a radio station sponsored event or something... I mean, who wears those things anyway?

but I digress...

oh... and on a completely different note:
I've decided that the quantum theory that Einstein called, "Spooky Action at a Distance" would make an absolutely awesome band name!
... It's Friday. What more do you want from me? ;D

Here. Read this article instead about an experiment in Quantum Entanglement that is supposed to take place soon. There's something about this that just made me giggle like mad! :D