Engineering offices are strange places, primarily because they are inhabited predominantly by engineers. I suppose every profession has its quirks, but math and science fields seem to appeal to the quirkiest among us. Perhaps a gathering of TV meteorologists or college professors could boast a greater per capita count of quirks, but it would be a close contest.
Working late one night this week I was able to walk around the office and see what it was like without people. I’ve been in the office alone before, but I’d never really looked to see what the work spaces revealed about their inhabitants. Some cubes are neat and organized, others complete disaster areas. The young guys all have their computer screens turned away from the aisles, but the older guys’ screens face directly into the aisle (so their backs are turned to any potential distraction, or so I’m told). I think it is possible to determine someone’s age by the angle of their computer screen to the aisle.
A lot of work spaces have pictures of significant others and kids. There are quite a few work-related pictures, like a guy climbing on a bridge. Most of it is standard fare: tons of books, blueprints, and office supplies. But then there are the quirks, the sides of people you really don’t get to see in office life but that is hinted at by clues they (knowingly or unknowingly) leave.
One guy, amid stacks and shelves of design manuals and specifications has a calendar with crop circles on it. His neighbor has a small, framed picture of Betty Boop. His neighbor has pictures of what appear to be an outdoor Jacuzzi and a little garden in his yard. In another cube hang team pictures from every company softball game over the past several years. One guy has an unusually high number of hanging plants. Another has tons of pictures and paintings of Italy (his home).
How much can you know about someone by what they have on their desk? What does my work space say about me? I hurried back to my desk to inventory the clues I leave for my coworkers to find and make assumptions about the real me.
At first I didn’t find anything too quirky or revealing. Mostly just papers and blueprints from the project I’m working on, a couple of design books, tons on highlighters, pens, and pencils. On the cube walls hang a company phone directory and a magazine clipping about my project that my boss gave to me and I hung up out of diligence. No pictures or real decorations. Granted I’ve only been here for two months and came to NY with a very light load of things I might use to ‘decorate’ an office space. Some other – possibly revealing – clues I did find were a copy of The Economist I had bought earlier that day, a little black notebook/journal I keep in my bag, and a half-finished bottle of Vitamin Water. Mostly a very plain, non-descript, even boring cube. Maybe the lack of quirky paraphernalia is revealing as well…
Friday, June 30, 2006
Me? Bitter?
I recently went back and read over some of the things I had written while traveling through Asia at the end of my year in Korea. A few comments:
*SO sorry for all the spelling mistakes and bad grammar. I was mostly in internet cafes and trying to type quickly. It has nothing to do with being a terrible speller and not having had an English class since high school (or a grammar class since middle school). Honest.
**Pictures would have been nice. I’ll work on that.
***Man, I sound bitter in a lot of those stories. Sure there were fits of frustration and plenty of short-fuse days, but those were the exceptions rather than being the overall themes of the trip. What I love about traveling are the unexpected annoyances, abrupt changes, think-on-the-feet reactions, and interesting (yes, sometimes annoying) people. It is life magnified, fast-forward, set in exotic locales, and with a very different set of responsibilities and worries. That’s why I travel. Plus, I like to complain about stuff.
*SO sorry for all the spelling mistakes and bad grammar. I was mostly in internet cafes and trying to type quickly. It has nothing to do with being a terrible speller and not having had an English class since high school (or a grammar class since middle school). Honest.
**Pictures would have been nice. I’ll work on that.
***Man, I sound bitter in a lot of those stories. Sure there were fits of frustration and plenty of short-fuse days, but those were the exceptions rather than being the overall themes of the trip. What I love about traveling are the unexpected annoyances, abrupt changes, think-on-the-feet reactions, and interesting (yes, sometimes annoying) people. It is life magnified, fast-forward, set in exotic locales, and with a very different set of responsibilities and worries. That’s why I travel. Plus, I like to complain about stuff.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Wound-Up
I’m currently reading Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which is a delightful change of pace from the engineering safety manuals (for work) and books on US foreign policy (for “fun”) I’ve been reading lately.
I’m in love with Murakami’s style and captivated by his story. I find myself devouring page after page on the train to and from work, completely lost in his cadence and imagery. I have to force myself to stop reading at night. I like that the story envelops me as I’m turning pages; that I’ve been able to develop such a deep relationship with the characters in such a short time, but it’s starting to haunt my non-reading hours as well. Yesterday on the train to work Toru (main character) and I began to suspect that his wife had left him. As evidence confirming our suspicions began to amass, I felt increasingly lonely; increasingly betrayed. I spent the rest of the day at work feeling utterly empty, like whatever part of me that’s capable of trust and feeling had been ripped from my chest and left a hollowed out shell where I used to be. This book should come with a warning label.
--
PS – wound is a funny word to say over and over
I’m in love with Murakami’s style and captivated by his story. I find myself devouring page after page on the train to and from work, completely lost in his cadence and imagery. I have to force myself to stop reading at night. I like that the story envelops me as I’m turning pages; that I’ve been able to develop such a deep relationship with the characters in such a short time, but it’s starting to haunt my non-reading hours as well. Yesterday on the train to work Toru (main character) and I began to suspect that his wife had left him. As evidence confirming our suspicions began to amass, I felt increasingly lonely; increasingly betrayed. I spent the rest of the day at work feeling utterly empty, like whatever part of me that’s capable of trust and feeling had been ripped from my chest and left a hollowed out shell where I used to be. This book should come with a warning label.
--
PS – wound is a funny word to say over and over
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Hurricanes, Hipsters, and Freebies
One again I have a little backlog of half-finished stories I’ve been starting and stopping for the past week or so. I really need a job that allows more time for putting around on the internet and typing up little stories of banal minutia.
--
Hurricanes win 1st Stanley Cup
Carolina comes through in Game 7 with a 3-1 win over Edmonton, bringing the trophy to land of NASCAR.
That was a headline and teaser from USAToday. First of all, congratulations are certainly in order to the Carolina Hurricanes (pronounced Herr-i-cuns if you’re from the NC coast) for winning the Stanley Cup. I’m mostly a fair-weather sports fan, and even though I appreciate hockey I rarely follow it except for the odd playoff series/ excuse to go to a sports bar. I definitely love to see Carolina teams do well for themselves, though, and I’ll back any team from NC in competition against any team from any other state*.
*Not binding. Certain restrictions may apply.
But the ‘Land of NASCAR?' Come on. Surely the Tar Heel State has contributed more to our union than just advancing the pursuit of driving REAL fast in a circle. The Wright Brothers, Great Smokey Mountains, Carolina Panthers, Outer Banks, a hornet’s nest of rebellion, Duke Lacrosse! I would have even accepted “Bible Belt” for half credit.
A few more gems from the USAToday article:
“Defensemen Aaron Ward scored … and that seemed to ignite the loud Carolina fans, many of whom had been out tailgating before the game. Carolina fans tailgate like they are going to a college football game.”
“One sign in the crowd simply said: ‘Redneck hockey.’”
Way to reinforce the stereotypes, sports fans (although I must admit the tailgating quote makes me rather proud of my fellow statesmen).
On the other hand, the Carolinas and the Southeast in general seem like natural hockey markets, if only in their similarities to Canada. Carolinians and Canadians each have bizarre accents, like driving pickup trucks, love drinking beer, and are especially fond of mullets. Hockey has found its home away from home.
--
So hip…ster.
I live on the fringe of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the heart of which is the New York hipster Mecca. For those of you new to the hipster scene, I suggest this article from Wikipedia for a quick, if somewhat brusque, intro.
Sometimes I love the area. Galleries, music, cafes. It can be a very lively, stimulating place full of Ars Gratia Artis and interesting characters. I’m finding it’s also a very easy to place to become disillusioned with the whole scene. In social settings where hipsters herd I'm often struck by the superficiality of it all. The conversations seem to focus on how great it is to like independent art and music, not how great independent art and music actually are. Hipster Gratia Hipstis.
I’m taking guitar lessons from a guy in Williamsburg who is also a newbie in the area, though he blends more hipsterishly with the patchwork than I. He was looking for an apartment (then renting couch space from a friend) and asked about the area where I live, which is, again, out on the fringe.
“Are there a lot of…” He paused ever so slightly, digging for the right word. “…artists?”
I had to keep from laughing. It seemed too much like how Liberals started adopting the new moniker “Progressive” once the former became such an effective tool of vilification and derision during the 2004 presidential campaign.
To be fair I think he genuinely wants to be surrounded by artists of all walks, immersed in a place where new ideas and artistic creations abound; where there’s a communal rising tide of ART! Maybe it’s just the skeptic in me, but I don’t think he’ll find his Eden here.
--
I’m excited about all the upcoming free stuff that New York offers in the summer. I’ve made a big calendar of events I want to attend and have even penciled in a few really expensive concerts or shows (just in case). Free movies in Bryant Park! Free concerts in Central Park! Free movies at Hoboken Pier A! Free outdoor drama all over the city! Free book readings and poetry classes! Free museum days! So much culture and entertainment for shoestring budgeteers! Or $35 for Ani DiFranco in Central Park? $55 for Fiona Apple and Damien Rice? Hmmm….
--
Hurricanes win 1st Stanley Cup
Carolina comes through in Game 7 with a 3-1 win over Edmonton, bringing the trophy to land of NASCAR.
That was a headline and teaser from USAToday. First of all, congratulations are certainly in order to the Carolina Hurricanes (pronounced Herr-i-cuns if you’re from the NC coast) for winning the Stanley Cup. I’m mostly a fair-weather sports fan, and even though I appreciate hockey I rarely follow it except for the odd playoff series/ excuse to go to a sports bar. I definitely love to see Carolina teams do well for themselves, though, and I’ll back any team from NC in competition against any team from any other state*.
*Not binding. Certain restrictions may apply.
But the ‘Land of NASCAR?' Come on. Surely the Tar Heel State has contributed more to our union than just advancing the pursuit of driving REAL fast in a circle. The Wright Brothers, Great Smokey Mountains, Carolina Panthers, Outer Banks, a hornet’s nest of rebellion, Duke Lacrosse! I would have even accepted “Bible Belt” for half credit.
A few more gems from the USAToday article:
“Defensemen Aaron Ward scored … and that seemed to ignite the loud Carolina fans, many of whom had been out tailgating before the game. Carolina fans tailgate like they are going to a college football game.”
“One sign in the crowd simply said: ‘Redneck hockey.’”
Way to reinforce the stereotypes, sports fans (although I must admit the tailgating quote makes me rather proud of my fellow statesmen).
On the other hand, the Carolinas and the Southeast in general seem like natural hockey markets, if only in their similarities to Canada. Carolinians and Canadians each have bizarre accents, like driving pickup trucks, love drinking beer, and are especially fond of mullets. Hockey has found its home away from home.
--
So hip…ster.
I live on the fringe of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the heart of which is the New York hipster Mecca. For those of you new to the hipster scene, I suggest this article from Wikipedia for a quick, if somewhat brusque, intro.
Sometimes I love the area. Galleries, music, cafes. It can be a very lively, stimulating place full of Ars Gratia Artis and interesting characters. I’m finding it’s also a very easy to place to become disillusioned with the whole scene. In social settings where hipsters herd I'm often struck by the superficiality of it all. The conversations seem to focus on how great it is to like independent art and music, not how great independent art and music actually are. Hipster Gratia Hipstis.
I’m taking guitar lessons from a guy in Williamsburg who is also a newbie in the area, though he blends more hipsterishly with the patchwork than I. He was looking for an apartment (then renting couch space from a friend) and asked about the area where I live, which is, again, out on the fringe.
“Are there a lot of…” He paused ever so slightly, digging for the right word. “…artists?”
I had to keep from laughing. It seemed too much like how Liberals started adopting the new moniker “Progressive” once the former became such an effective tool of vilification and derision during the 2004 presidential campaign.
To be fair I think he genuinely wants to be surrounded by artists of all walks, immersed in a place where new ideas and artistic creations abound; where there’s a communal rising tide of ART! Maybe it’s just the skeptic in me, but I don’t think he’ll find his Eden here.
--
I’m excited about all the upcoming free stuff that New York offers in the summer. I’ve made a big calendar of events I want to attend and have even penciled in a few really expensive concerts or shows (just in case). Free movies in Bryant Park! Free concerts in Central Park! Free movies at Hoboken Pier A! Free outdoor drama all over the city! Free book readings and poetry classes! Free museum days! So much culture and entertainment for shoestring budgeteers! Or $35 for Ani DiFranco in Central Park? $55 for Fiona Apple and Damien Rice? Hmmm….
The Woman of (in) My Dreams
I had a dream last night that Ani DiFranco and I were hanging out sharing stories about traveling in Cambodia. I don’t know if she has ever been to Cambodia, but if so I’d really like to hear what she might have to say about it.
Monday, June 12, 2006
A Few Mini Updates
-I have World Cup Fever, but work keeps getting in the way of watching games.
-My left shoe has developed a squeak and I can’t figure out how to make it stop.
-Sunday was the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York. In my neighborhood P.R. flag waving was up 250%, horn honking and yelling were up 500%, and whistle blowing was up 1,250%. The Cumulative Annoying Noises Index (CANI) was only up 2%.
-I’ve decided I’m not abiding by casual summer. I’m not abiding by casual Friday, either.
-I haven’t yet completed any of my 101 tasks. Only 989 days left!
-My left shoe has developed a squeak and I can’t figure out how to make it stop.
-Sunday was the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York. In my neighborhood P.R. flag waving was up 250%, horn honking and yelling were up 500%, and whistle blowing was up 1,250%. The Cumulative Annoying Noises Index (CANI) was only up 2%.
-I’ve decided I’m not abiding by casual summer. I’m not abiding by casual Friday, either.
-I haven’t yet completed any of my 101 tasks. Only 989 days left!
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Congraduations!
A good friend of mine just graduated from law school (congrats, Janet! Time to start paying back those loans!) and I was fortunate enough to have been invited to attend the ceremony. It was held at Lincoln Center in New York, which is an impressive venue to see a show or concert, much less to hold commencement. I think every single orator and presenter joked about how it has been their life’s dream to perform on stage at Lincoln Center, but that they would spare us the torment of hearing them sing. It was funny the first couple times.
Both my high school and college graduations (though I didn’t attend the latter) were held in the gym, which seemed adequate enough at the time. In light of now having witnessed a REAL graduation, though, I feel like I’ve missed out, for it has been my life’s dream to perform on stage at Lincoln Center. I’ll *chuckle* spare you the torment of hearing me sing today *chuckle* … But seriously, folks…
--
There was a guy stage left translating the proceedings in sign language. I tried to follow along at points but he was hard to see from up in the third balcony where I was sitting. In much the same way that seeing [MUSIC PLAYING] on closed-captioned TV makes me smile, I was happy to see that there is a way to sign for *applause*. Hold both hands out about a foot in front of your body and make small, slow, swishy circles out towards the audience. Now wiggle your fingers to give it an even swishier feel. *applause*
Signing names, though, seems a very laborious task. Ideas can be expressed through a simple gesture or the wave of a hand, but names have to be spelled out, letter for letter. There were about 380 students in Janet’s graduating class, who all filed across stage, one after the other, cued by the reading of their names. There were two or three people that alternated name reading duties, but there was only one sign guy who had to spell out the names of all 380 students by rapidly contorting his hand into sign letters. He switched hands a couple times, but there was no substitute sign guy to give him a reprieve. My hat’s off to you, Ambidextrous Iron Man Sign Guy. I’m signing applause to you.
--
Behind me was a very large, very loud family. They belted forth a tremendous roar when their graduate was named. As the cheering eventually died down, the youngish daughter of a smaller, quieter family in front of me stared back wide-eyed at the Noisys, leaned over to her mom, and whispered, “Can we do that?”
“Absolutely NOT,” was her mom’s reply. “That’s disgusting. It makes me sick when people make a scene like that.” The mom then brooded with her arms crossed for the rest of the ceremony. The daughter sulked, and there was only a muffled applause from the family when their graduate crossed the stage.
Both my high school and college graduations (though I didn’t attend the latter) were held in the gym, which seemed adequate enough at the time. In light of now having witnessed a REAL graduation, though, I feel like I’ve missed out, for it has been my life’s dream to perform on stage at Lincoln Center. I’ll *chuckle* spare you the torment of hearing me sing today *chuckle* … But seriously, folks…
--
There was a guy stage left translating the proceedings in sign language. I tried to follow along at points but he was hard to see from up in the third balcony where I was sitting. In much the same way that seeing [MUSIC PLAYING] on closed-captioned TV makes me smile, I was happy to see that there is a way to sign for *applause*. Hold both hands out about a foot in front of your body and make small, slow, swishy circles out towards the audience. Now wiggle your fingers to give it an even swishier feel. *applause*
Signing names, though, seems a very laborious task. Ideas can be expressed through a simple gesture or the wave of a hand, but names have to be spelled out, letter for letter. There were about 380 students in Janet’s graduating class, who all filed across stage, one after the other, cued by the reading of their names. There were two or three people that alternated name reading duties, but there was only one sign guy who had to spell out the names of all 380 students by rapidly contorting his hand into sign letters. He switched hands a couple times, but there was no substitute sign guy to give him a reprieve. My hat’s off to you, Ambidextrous Iron Man Sign Guy. I’m signing applause to you.
--
Behind me was a very large, very loud family. They belted forth a tremendous roar when their graduate was named. As the cheering eventually died down, the youngish daughter of a smaller, quieter family in front of me stared back wide-eyed at the Noisys, leaned over to her mom, and whispered, “Can we do that?”
“Absolutely NOT,” was her mom’s reply. “That’s disgusting. It makes me sick when people make a scene like that.” The mom then brooded with her arms crossed for the rest of the ceremony. The daughter sulked, and there was only a muffled applause from the family when their graduate crossed the stage.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
101 in 1001
A while ago a friend told me she made a list of 101 things that she had to accomplish in the next 1001 days. I'm not sure where she had gotten the idea or where/ when/ how the 101 in 1001 thing started, but I really like the idea. I especially like making lists of things, so it's right up my alley.
I’m still in application limbo as I’ve been waitlisted at two schools. With no deadline for when I might get an answer, I’m going to give the wait lists another month to come through before I have to start settling into a plan B for the coming year. But the 101 in 1001 is a good exercise for mapping out where I want to focus my energy in the near future, grad school or no.
I had a couple of rules to which I tried to adhere when making my list:
1) Completion of the tasks should depend solely on whether or not I invest enough time and effort. In other words, chance and luck shouldn’t play a role in how much I accomplish. I had to leave “win the lottery” and “catch a homerun or foul ball at a baseball game” off the list for that reason, but there are still a couple of tasks that will definitely be aided by a fortuitous alignment of the stars. Finding 101 things I really wanted to be proactive about was actually quite hard.
2) I tried to avoid equating purchases with goals. I’ve been meaning to buy a nice TV for a while, but that doesn’t really seem like a great goal. I am, however, going to allow “buy (and enjoy!) a motorcycle” and “buy (and enjoy!) a $100+ bottle of Scotch” since those are more about the lifestyle associations than the purchases per se. There are actually quite a few tasks centered around saving money, which I really need to do, but there are also a lot that will require a significant inve$tment.
A few of my 101 in 1001 are
-Drive cross country
-Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
-Get a story or article published
-Write a (good) song
-Stick to a budget for a month
-Learn enough Spanish to watch movies sans subtitles
I plan on adding this to my webpage, complete with updates, once I get to work on that again. So my 1001 starts today, June 1, 2006. It will end on February 26, 2009, if Excel calculations are to be trusted. Time to get to work.
I’m still in application limbo as I’ve been waitlisted at two schools. With no deadline for when I might get an answer, I’m going to give the wait lists another month to come through before I have to start settling into a plan B for the coming year. But the 101 in 1001 is a good exercise for mapping out where I want to focus my energy in the near future, grad school or no.
I had a couple of rules to which I tried to adhere when making my list:
1) Completion of the tasks should depend solely on whether or not I invest enough time and effort. In other words, chance and luck shouldn’t play a role in how much I accomplish. I had to leave “win the lottery” and “catch a homerun or foul ball at a baseball game” off the list for that reason, but there are still a couple of tasks that will definitely be aided by a fortuitous alignment of the stars. Finding 101 things I really wanted to be proactive about was actually quite hard.
2) I tried to avoid equating purchases with goals. I’ve been meaning to buy a nice TV for a while, but that doesn’t really seem like a great goal. I am, however, going to allow “buy (and enjoy!) a motorcycle” and “buy (and enjoy!) a $100+ bottle of Scotch” since those are more about the lifestyle associations than the purchases per se. There are actually quite a few tasks centered around saving money, which I really need to do, but there are also a lot that will require a significant inve$tment.
A few of my 101 in 1001 are
-Drive cross country
-Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
-Get a story or article published
-Write a (good) song
-Stick to a budget for a month
-Learn enough Spanish to watch movies sans subtitles
I plan on adding this to my webpage, complete with updates, once I get to work on that again. So my 1001 starts today, June 1, 2006. It will end on February 26, 2009, if Excel calculations are to be trusted. Time to get to work.
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