Lessons At Work

Today at a workshop on active listening, three people fell asleep. Really. Including the big boss. Yay!

There are People Who Love You, People Who Will tell You the Truth, and People Who Love You *and* Tell You the Truth!

Thank goodness for people who can be both kind and honest, because it can be hard to pull off successfully.

A recent conversation between me and my boss, who despite his best efforts to make people believe he is a hard-ass, is actually a really nice guy:

Me: Yeah, I don't even have time to go to the gym.

Him: You should. You should go to the gym

Me: I'm starting to gain some weight, I think

Him: You know, it's noticible. I can tell. You should just go to the gym.

The last time I got fat I woke up a size 16 (which is just not a good look on me. For some people they look juicy and curvaceous. I just looked bloated.) and wondered, "why didn't anyone tell me?" So now someone has! And I appreciate it.

But then, a day later, my co-worker D came by. She is the most adorable, funny, focused bean. I love her. As we were chatting she suddently said, "wait! don't move." She approached me and slooowly reached out her hand towards my face. "You have one of those really long hairs." And she plucked it off my face. What? That is love, right there. That is the milk of human kindness.

How Much More?

Thanks to Mary Katherine

Lets parse this: More. Than. Dance. Education. I think the emphasis is on "dance." Here is a list of the types of activities for which children today might need more education:

Jousting
Whirling
Homelessness
Self-diagnosis and healing
Synchronized swimming
How to interrupt celebrities and politicians

Contrary to popular belief, cat hearding cannot be taught. It is an innate ability.

Here is a question for Nach: do you think they teach full body contact competitive ballroom dance?

The 16th of September

Today isn't September 16th, I know. But I really want to honor and appreciate Heidi, whose b'day was the 16th. Our friendship has lasted (ready)....ok, nevermind...many decades.

Heidi is smart, funny, beautiful, creative, successful, loyal, true, and honest. She has created funny lemonade out of all the lemons; she weathers the storms with grace. She has produced (with some help from Nach) 3 beautiful, yummy kids.

Heidi is forgiving, which is really helpful since I can be a real douche.

I love her [Hey Heid - I love you!!!] very much and my life is much improved because she is in it. Those of us who know her are lucky indeed and those of you who don't, go visit her blog; its a treat!

The Scrabble Gods are Against Me

I have 2 games going on Facebook. Look at my letters........

I have offended the Scrabble gods and now I must make a sacrifice at their altar. Vanna White, por favor, preparate.

Full of Swordplay and Giant Cats

Just keep repeating that: "...full of swordplay and giant cats." It gets better the more you say it. Did the guy get the head injury from the swordplay? The giant cats? The falcon? The falconess/falcon wrangler?

By the way, here are the giant cats.....

Hobby

In times of stress its good to return to an old hobby. I have rediscovered eating. As Mitch Hedberg said, "rice is really good if you're hungry and you want 2,000 of something." Unfortunately, dark-chocolate Klondike bars are also really good and I am about half way to the 2,000 mark...

Governor's Island and Hugo Chavez

A few weeks ago Osito and I rode our bikes over the Brooklyn Bridge and then took the ferry to Governor's Island. This sign was attached to a door of a building where the civil war re-enactors were playing "let's imprison the Confederates", which, though not a bad game per se, was really lame.


Of course since we were downtown, we had to go eat arepas at Caracas. What? You've never been there? It can only be due to one of two reasons: you keep kosher, or you simply don't want the best food ever to have been made by mortal hands. (Or maybe they aren't mortal - what do I know? Or maybe they don't make them with their hands - that's a possibility, too.) OK, or maybe you have a bunch of kids and live far away. Or maybe you are gluten-free and lactose intolerant. Or maybe you hate Venezuelans because of Hugo Chavez (but remember - he did publically call Resident Bush "the devil.") Whatevs, you should go because these are spectacular Venezuelan arepas and not like the crappy Colombian ones that you inevitably get in NY.

Wine Glass

Where I work we have a kitchen. In the kitchen there is a sink. In the sink there is a wineglass.

Hee Hee Hee

(Thanks Google images for this pic. I'd love to attribute it...)

So the medical secretary told radiology that she needed to schedule "a test for nymph nodes." When my dad heard he said, "if your mother had nymph nodes I wouldn't weigh so much."

Hee hee hee.

Do You Know This Man?

Do me a favor - if you happen to know Bishop Desmond Tutu, can you ask him to give my mom a call? Apparently she really loves him and he would cheer her right up. She loves his voice, his impish grin, what he stands for and all he's accomplished. And his kippah.

If You Were Hospitalized, What is the One Piece of Info You'd Really Want to Know?

"It's illegal to give lasix to a horse."

Thanks, Dad.