| A New Challenge |
[May. 18th, 2009|09:06 am] |
Well, I lost my job on Thursday. This sucks, but it didn't surprise me, as my boss' boss (who has never really liked me) had made up her mind some time ago to remove me as an irritation. She just had to document the process carefully. (I did bring some of it on myself by having a few bad months, but my boss was willing to work with me to correct things, which were improving, and his boss wasn't interested in being patient.)
I have some emotional damage from the whole experience, but I had a long lead-up and did most of my angsting and ranting during that period, so I'm doing okay from that angle. I'll be safe for a while monetarily as well (longer if EDD is actually functioning, of which I'm unsure) but need to find a new job soon. My boss is helping me on that regard - he has been very supportive through the whole experience and is my top reference (he would not have let me go if he had been able to stop it).
Meanwhile I can do more cleanup around the house, restart my exercise program, and re-center my mind and heart as far as work goes. Fortunately my home life is in decent shape, so my foundation is strong.
So in spite of the challenge: it's a good life.
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| Two Tidbits |
[Mar. 6th, 2009|01:57 pm] |
Tidbit 1: Realization
I have come not only to realize but to accept and embrace that I am a scavenger at heart. I love getting used stuff, generally even more than new. I like food from other people's plates. I like the stuff on the bottom of the cake plate. I look in the trash for useful stuff, and I take and use it when I can.
This feels like it ties into my affiliation with Coyote, and overall it just feels right.
Tidbit 2: A story. Stolen from some website somewhere (I think it was quoted in a test on OKCupid). I liked it so much I wanted to repost it.
An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life.
"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves."
"One is evil — he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego."
"The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
"This same fight is going on inside you — and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."
---
That hits pretty close to the heart. For me, very good to keep in mind.
Love to you all, and hugs when we meet.
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 28th, 2009|09:19 am] |
I know others have posted this, and there may be better sources for it, but I get so much joy and such powerful feelings of love and happiness that I must share it again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8xn7zZqONQ
I watch this (or something like it) whenever I need a pick-me-up.
I <3 Discovery Channel!
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 6th, 2009|02:13 pm] |
This comic made me cry. I'm not sure if I can articulate why. It might be necessary to read the whole archive (which I highly recommend; it's a fun comic) to understand why it was so intense to see this happen to Florence.
http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01571.htm
Basically: Florence is smart, interesting, creative, and nice. The idea of someone having such direct control over her in that way is disturbing. I hope we treat whatever biological AIs we create well enough that they see as as she does, whether we put "safeguard" like that in place or not.
My brain is a complex place sometimes, but I prefer that to simple.
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| Part Time Accounting Clerk Position Available in Berkeley |
[Feb. 5th, 2009|01:47 pm] |
Hi all,
Anyone out there interested in a part time day job at my company, DSM PTG, in Berkeley? 25 hours per week (not sure what schedule) doing stuff for the Accounting department: dealing with mail, filing, compiling journal entries and month-end reports, etc. The need someone who has at least some documented Accounting clerk experience.
The Accounting Dept here is pretty nice people, and the company is stable. I have no idea what the position would pay.
Edited to Add: I believe the general posting ends tomorrow, so please respond soon if interested (it may remain open longer if they don't find someone, but better to hit the first window, neh?)
Let me know and/or send resume to my LJ ID at yahoo ASAP.
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 19th, 2009|10:30 am] |
Sometimes I wish we were a quadrupedal race.
This whole "falling down" thing in general, and specifically the "walking = carefully controlled falling" part of it, is really annoying at times. I could frankly do with less of it, thank you kindly.
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| Weird Word of the Week |
[Jan. 15th, 2009|04:12 pm] |
And our winner of Weird Word of the Week is:
Sparge
It is the chunky bits left over of a bird that has gone through an aircraft engine (often sent to a lab for species identification). I noted this from an article attached to today's news about a plane going into the Hudson today (everyone survived) because it went through a flock and lost both engines.
Gross, yet fascinating!
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| Posted by Request |
[Dec. 16th, 2008|08:58 am] |
Hopefully this will amuse someone out there :)
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| "Only in California" |
[Dec. 12th, 2008|01:39 am] |
Well, and Hawaii and quite a few other places, too, but I liked that title anyway.
Today we bought our Christmas Tree while drinking a chocolate shake instead of hot chocolate.
This is only possible in the sort of 1- or 2-season climate you find here in the San Francisco Bay Area (or in more tropical places, of course).
It amused us nonetheless :)
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| Hope Always |
[Nov. 7th, 2008|09:25 am] |
Linked here with permission is ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) toob's response to the passing of Prop 8. Every time I read it I cry anew, and my resolve and hope are rekindled.
You Can't Stop the Beat.
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 5th, 2008|01:29 pm] |
This was posted to a forum I read two days before the election:
I must say I'm glad it turned out to be true. Plus I found it amusing :)
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| Election Thoughts |
[Nov. 5th, 2008|12:58 am] |
I wanted to record and share my election experience. If I am fortunate I can get an outsider's perspective (from the few people who read my journal and are not in the US), or perhaps I just want to share how intense this was for me with someone who isn't seeing it from the inside... or perhaps I want to increase my joy by spreading it around.
A group of friends and my family got together to watch the election results as they came through. We were hopeful in general but knew that McCain had some strong support, and had recently been gaining back a little ground. We watched John Stewart and Steven Colbert do a special Daily Show election watch, and it was funny... and then the counts started rolling in from the East Coast, showing Obama leading. We were really feeling like it could happen... and then something none of us had really thought would occur, did: McCain conceded.
The relief in the room was profound. We saw it on a news site online first, and rushed to get a news channel on TV (the Daily Show was already over). We saw McCain's concession speech, which was truly amazing, and most of us cried. We cried because he was so beautifully gracious, and we cried because it had happened: Obama is now the President-Elect.
To say that we were strongly affected by this is understatement. And then he gave his acceptance speech, and while in some ways it contained the sort of things you'd expect, it others it did not, and above all it was delivered in a way that brought true faith and belief and hope and love to the heart. He really seems genuinely to want to do the things he says, and to adore his wife and family, and to be what America so desperately needs after eight years of a truly terrible regime.
And then the golden, crowning moment came: while we were in a near-shock state absorbing the news, someone stepped outside for air... and they rushed back in to tell us that they could hear the city celebrating.
Not individuals. Not groups. Not just isolated enclaves. The whole city around us was whooping and screaming and celebrating in pure joy. We all went outside and just drank it in, then answer the whoops with some of our own, which were answered by others on the street. We then took a walk up a major nearby street, and the cars were honking joyfully at each other, people leaning out of the windows to wave and holler. I have never seen anything like it. It was beyond words... we needed this so damn much.
I am brought to tears again as I write this. It feels like I had forgotten how to hope for my country, and to give a damn about my government, and suddenly I have a President that I might well love. I liked Clinton, but not like this, and I've already said how I feel about Bush. This is so much more I would have sworn it beyond my ken - until now.
My friend wynkat1313's son cast his first vote ever in this election. He is so blessed to have that experience. But I am no less so in that I was able to see it happen, and revel in the sheer joy of possibility once again.
As Obama's slogan says: Yes We Can.
As I have said other places, if Barack Obama is even a quarter the man he appears to be - and I have strong faith that he is - the world is going to change in good ways as a result of this election.
And at last - after going through what I once called America's battered wife syndrome - at last I have what seems a good reason to look forward to being in the US for the next 4 plus years.
Thanks for listening. I hope this has at least entertained you a bit. Have a great year, and then even more so starting in late January.
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| Unpleasant Reading |
[Oct. 23rd, 2008|02:02 am] |
I was actually enjoying a comic a few minutes ago. The writer has some funny ideas and draws people pretty well. There was some right-leaning political commentary, but it was at least vaguely intelligent most of the time, and I can take that without flinching.
Then I came across a comic where he all but said outright that only Republicans have the true heart to remember and fully understand the depth of the tragedy of 9/11, and Democrats have no lasting memory or care for its repercussions.
I almost registered a username on the site just to explain how incorrect he was, and how affected I was by the events of September 11, 2001. But you know what? It went past the line for me. I can't countenance using such a horrible thing to further the cause of division and separation between people in the US. IT violates my sense of ethics.
So to the author of the comic: fuck you, asshole. I remember, and I always will.
I'm going to bed now so I can get some rest and forget that stupid comic.
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| Disneyland Musings |
[Oct. 3rd, 2008|11:26 pm] |
Those who know me know that I make no secret of my love of Disneyland. My mug at work is a Tinkerbell mug, I wear, share, and trade Disney pins, I visit regularly... what can I say but that I love it?
It's not just that I grew up near it, either - though that helps. It's just that for me, it truly is a magical place, in many senses of the word. I get a lot out of just being here, sitting in strangely sacred space, and watching people go by while I sip some water.
Disney had some rough times in the late 80s through mid 90s. Then someone took the reins and repaired the holes in what could have been a sinking ship, and through hard work and lots of money they not only fixed it but improved it. Nowadays Disneyland feels much more like what they advertise it to be: a joyous place to be. The employees really do seem glad to see people, and they take an interest in those that want it. Now granted, I'm good to people in general, so I tend to get more of the same in return, but still... they are relentlessly friendly in a way that isn't creepy or weird at all.
Honestly, I don't know how they do it. They must love it... and that's the crux, isn't it? You can't force people to pretend to be happy to the public for long; it just doesn't work in a way that is sustainably believable. I think that had a lot to do with how Disneyland felt during its rough period, and now (with the perspective I have) it seems to fit very well with how things went then and now. Disney found the love as a park, as entertainers, and they must have found it as employers. I'm sure it's not 100% top to bottom (that would be insanely miraculous) but they're certainly doing something right.
All of that, plus: I just keep having joyful experiences. For myself, for others, to others, just in general. From a quick impulse trade with an employee that turned out to net me a beautiful and rare (limited to 500) pin to watching a little girl's eyes light up when my sweetie gives her a pin just because it's her birthday... and then another employee smiles and hands my sweetie one of the "special gift" pins a few staff members have and are able to give out entirely at their discretion when they see someone furthering the magic.
The Year of a Million Dreams promotion they're running now is part and parcel with this new philosophy, and by Goofy it's working. I like coming here more and more, and want to bring more people - especially those who have not yet had the pleasure. I want to pass on my appreciation for what this place and the people in it manage to do: stage a hugely complicated ritual day after day whose purpose is to entertain profitably and that works. It has the mojo, and people can feel it, even if they wouldn't or couldn't describe it anywhere near the way I do. And what I've written here is only touching on the vast and powerful well that can be drawn from here.
So that's my magic for today: a deep and abiding adoration and participation in a group hallucination whose reason for existence is profitable joy.
I can get behind that. And I do. And I will for the next few days, and again and again as often as I reasonably can throughout my life. I love Disneyland.
Light and laughter,
SongCoyotee |
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| Book Meme |
[Oct. 1st, 2008|02:35 pm] |
* Grab the nearest book.
* Open the book to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favourite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
I don't have any fiction within reach, so you get an excerpt from the Code of Federal Regulations! Isn't that exciting? The closest volume was:
21 CFR Parts 1 to 99, Revised as of April 1, 2008 - Food and Drugs
(k) Mode of action is the means by which a product achieves an intended therapeutic effect or action. For purposes of this definition, "therapeutic" action or effect includes any effect or actio nof the combination product intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease, or affect the structure or any function of the body. When making assignments of combination products under this part, the agency will consider three types of mode of action: The actions provided by a biological product, a device, and a drug. Because combination products are comprised of more than one type of regulated article (biological product, device, or drug) and each constituent part contributes a biological product, device, or drug mode of action, combination products will typically have more than one identifiable mode of action.
===
Wasn't that exciting, lads and lasses?
Hmm... I must admit that while I don't actually find it exciting per se, I do find it interesting, but then I've been doing drug, biologic, and device QA work for [ahem] years, and I know exactly what the above is talking about (and not just because I understand the words used ;) Having a vested interest in the meaning of such things does tend to increase their ability to hold one's attention, after all.
Anyway, thanks for looking!
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 12th, 2008|01:59 pm] |
Well, zombiequeen said it was likely I'd complete this, and far be it for me to cross the probable leader of the coming zombie apocalypse, so here we go!
1. Do you like blue cheese? No, but I like bleu cheese (she had the same correction, and I had to copy it). Oddly, I used to find it quite detestable.
2. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? Yes. Several different herbal mixes, too.
3. Do you own a gun?I own several, and I keep them clean, know where my ammo is, and am a good shot.
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? I keep hearing about Sonic, even in the Bay Area, but have yet to visit one.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Only for very specific ailments. I get nervous about needles, but not many other specific doctor or nurse actions.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? They can be quite enjoyable. I only get high-quality ones with more "real" ingredient.
7. Favorite Christmas Song? Wow... I love Christmas music, so it's hard to say. Today I'll go with what comes to mind first: O Holy Night (for beauty's sake).
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee with cream and sugar.
9. Can you do push ups? Not many. I couldn't do them well even when I was doing strength training; I think I've got weird elbows or something.
10. What's your favorite meal? Like music, I love food and it's hard to choose something specific. I'll say... hmm... Panang chicken with crispy veggie spring rolls and tom kha gai.
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My nipple piercing.
12. Favorite hobby? Other than sex? No question: table-top RPGs.
13. Do you work with people who idolize you? You know, I almost said no way, but there is one person here (who I've helped out quite a bit) who seems to feel that way. It's a bit embarrassing, but we get along very well so I blush and smile and thank her. 14. Do you have A.D.D? I'd have to say no. I can focus on things for long periods.
15. What's one trait that you dislike about yourself? I'm a little too good at lying.
16. Middle name? I don't have one.
17. Name 3 thoughts at this moment.
• Good heavens I love the way Twinky (a person, not the snack food) smells. Yum!
• I really shouldn't be taking quite this long a break to write up a meme.
• How are we going to get ourselves out of the extra debt our kitchen remodel incurred?
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday.
• Orange juice.
• Custom artwork from an artist friend (not paid for, but promised)
• I made a credit card payment
19. What happened to #19? Went to sleep. Clowns ate it.
20. Current worry right now? I really need to put Advantage on the pets so the fleas don't eat them.
21. Current hate right now?Er... hate? I'm not really a "hate" kind of person. I guess I'll go with: the possibility of 4 years of McCain/Palin.
22. Favorite place to be? With my sweeties. Location unimportant, but Hawaii's nice.
23. How did you bring in New Years? Watching the ball fall on TV with my friends and sweeties.
24. Where would you like to go? Ireland, Japan, Australia, Egypt, Italy... THE WORLD!
25. Name three people who will complete this? Honestly I don't know. Possibly shadoww420. I'd be curious to see melchoir's responses.
26. Best bed sheets as a child? I had Star Wars sheets! YAAAY!
27. Worst injury you've ever had? I still have a 5" scar on my right knee from when I tore open my knee while sliding down a hill on my knees when I was 10.
28. Do you love where you live? Absolutely. It has its problems (and that's true about all levels of where I live from domicile to country) but I love it.
29. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two.
30. Who is your loudest friend? Janelle
31. How many dogs do you have? Two: Max and Misha.
32. Does someone have a crush on you? Maybe. None that have been specifically revealed.
33. What is your favorite book? Hmm... in today's mood, Jhereg by Steven Brust.
34. What is your favorite candy? See's Dark Chocolate Marzipan
35. What is your favorite sports team? San Francisco Giants
36. What song do you want played at your funeral? Whatever playlist Auden and Mo come up with together. And no dirges! I want the Carmina Burana in there, too!
37. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Snuggling with Evil.
38. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning? MMmmmm... Mo.
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote |
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| Mystery Questions |
[Sep. 8th, 2008|04:30 pm] |
ETA: I forgot to put in the preamble! D'oh!
Below are my selections for a set of "Mystery Questions" that altivo was kind enough to share with me. I found it amusing enough to think up some answers and post them here. The intent, I believe, is simply to find out who wants to know enough to ask to see the questions :)
Oh, and I put them under a cut since on second glance it's a bit long. ( Mystery Questions! ) |
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