mid-day tuesday. in my office with door shut. can't keep out the sound of thunder. seems to be right above my head. maybe slightly to the left. and loud.

semi-geeky post

reading this recent article in the New Yorker made me think of simplicity vs. functions in the context of my two iPods. I have a "regular," 20G iPod and I also have a shuffle. although the shuffle has less functionality than the regular, I think I like it more. definitely, I use it more.

sure, the shuffle only holds about 250 songs but really, I'm usually obsessed with no more than 100 songs at a given time so why do I need to have all of my music available all the time? there are, however, times when the regular iPod is better: extended traveling, a boring day at work. and if my computer ever crashes, I'll have a backup of all my music. however when I'm driving or running or riding my bike or just going, the simplicity of the shuffle far outweighs the functionality of the regular. (plus the shuffle is green and the regular is white and that's better too!)

it's funny though. we get so caught up in being able to have the most options that we forget to think about the reality of how the object will be used and whether or not it will serve us well. we're so concerned with getting the most that we don't pay attention to the quality of what we're getting (think "super size" and mcdonalds). yes, it's true - we may get a lot. but if what we're getting isn't good for us, then do we really want it?

anyway, somebody give me some work to do soon so I'll stop being so darn philosophical!!!!

I heart my ipod shuffle. it's almost like the perfect boyfriend. the shuffle is there for me when I need it to be and it understands my wants and needs. case in point: the other day I went for a trail run and just as I was about to tackle a hill, my shuffle started to played "don't stop believing" (that's right, Journey). shuffle didn't judge me for my musical taste. it just picked what was it thought was best for that particular moment. I could have kissed it.

with not much going on at work today, I spent a few hours messing with the playlist on my shuffle. I also played a few rounds of this game . it's an education game so I learned a few things. for example, did you know that milk can help prevent PMS? well, actually I think it's the calcium that helps. an even better argument for more ice cream!

I found the game through the adobe edge newsletter, which is sent to my work account so that I can research multimedia stuff and keep us on the cutting edge (or whatever). so my game playing was totally work related... um... yeah. that would explain why I thought it was best to play with my door closed...

today's word is stupid

warning in advance: I'm a little cranky today.

every day I get an email with the word of the day from Merriam-Websters and I have to say that today's word is downright pointless. the word is prothalamion which means "a song in celebration of a marriage." while I don't believe that songs in celebration of marriage are pointless, I believe that this word is pointless because when will I ever use it?

come on, m-w.com. don't you know that I only really like the words I can use to subtly insult the people and situations around me? geez.

the iPods understand

I just got an iPod shuffle and I'm finding it to be the most amazing little thing ever! We are going for a run today after work. I wonder if my regular ipod feels bad. It [the regular iPod] used to go running with me back in the day but I think that it [the regular iPod] is more of a special occasion device and the shuffle is more of an every day thing. It's sort of like the Ben and Jerry's vs other ice cream. You don't indulge in that stuff every day. No, no, no. The everyday ice cream (yes, I really do eat the much ice cream) needs to be something with a little less fat and calories, a little less "special." Otherwise, the charm of the peanut butter filled pretzels is gone. So, the regular iPod is Chubby Hubby and the shuffle is a skinny cow . I love them both in their own way and I think they get that.

I recently (yesterday) joined the local freecycle group and I can't stop thinking of things I could maybe give away. I have so much stuff that I just don't need but it's too good to throw away. So I keep it, thinking I'll eventually get around to selling it on Craigs List or maybe I'll have a yard sale but then I never do. I had one yard sale once and while I made a few hundred dollars, it wasn't the most positive experience. There's something strange about your life being on display for strangers to pick through and judge. And there's also the dilemma of what to call the sale when you don't really have a yard or a garage. For someone trained in the art of crafting words, that can be a problem.

But anyway, I think freecycle is a good idea because it promotes reuse/recycling instead of just throwing things away. Given the over-consumptive nature of our society, it's a good thing.

And speaking of over-consumption (as I unnecessarily snack on the Icelandic chocolate bar my friend J. gave me after her recent trip...)the weather's good here and so I've started riding my bike to work again. I rode in three times last week which saved me approximately 60 miles of driving, which saved approximately two gallons of gas. In addition to the earth friendly stuff, the commuting enabled me to not feel bad about snacking on the Icelandic chocolate bar so it's good all around (except when that big bug flew right into the side of my head. That kind of hurt.).

Okay, enough with the hippie stuff. I'm off to Starbucks!

there's just no need

so I rode my bike to work today. then I went for a run during lunch. and in a few hours, I have to ride home.

whimper.

but as a reward for all this exercise stuff, I just bought myself a green iPod shuffle.

I realize this is a bit of an inside joke for those of you who have heard the story so sorry in advance to those of you who haven't. Anyway, I was browsing through the new Patagonia catalog yesterday and this product description made me laugh:

"It's a shame more travel companions can't be like our Undercover Cami – reliable, ready for action, supportive and, best of all, zero complaining when the weather turns bad."

Would have been the perfect top to have in Hawaii. ;)

I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm impressed with our government.

I'm expecting a pretty decent return from the IRS this year and since I filed my taxes at the semi-last minute (post-marked April 14th) I haven't gotten it [the return] yet.

I went to the IRS website to see if they had any info on how long it typically takes to get one's return and low and behold, they have a return tracking feature that's easy to find (prominently displayed on the top, center of the page) and easy to use. now we just need to wait and see if the info is right.

the return tracking feature informed me that so long as "they" don't find any mistakes (oh god, please, please, please don't find any mistakes!) I'll have my refund by May 29th.