Well, because "everyone's doing it." I created a Blog on LiveJournal. Please visit me at http://kathdem.livejournal.com.
I may come back here. Or not. I don't know.
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Life on the road
Last week, Phil played for 3 nights at the Silver Reef Casino in lovely Ferndale, WA.
Wait, lemme back up.
My husband Phil is a jazz bassist. In addition to working full time at Microsoft, he plays a lot of nights/weekends. Some of these gigs are paid, some are not. So, when one comes along that pays reasonably well, he considers it.
Phil plays with a number of different groups. The one that played at Silver Reef is Trish, Hans, and Phil, which, you guessed it, consists of him, the vocalist Trish, and the pianist Hans. They've played together for about 10 years. Phil and Hans both write arrangements, as well as sing and play, and Trish is the lead vocalist. They also have great chemistry on stage and make the crowd laugh quite a bit. If you want to read more about Phil's music, see: Phil's Music.
So, anyway, Trish, who usually plays these casino gigs with other groups, arranged for 4 gigs in a row, 1 Tuesday afternoon at the Northern Lights Casino, and then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday nights at Silver Reef.
OK, so now you know what the hell I'm talking about...
Phil took the 3 days off, and while in Ferndale, we stayed at the Super 8. When Trish was describing where it was she said "It's near the Denny's and the McDonalds." Phil's response was "When I was on the road, I'd dream for a place like that."
So, I had high hopes
When we got to the Super 8, Phil tried to give them a credit card to pay for any incidentals. The response? "Um, well, we don't really have any incidentals."
OK, so this isn't the Plaza.
Next stop, our room. It was, well, bare. I have never before been in a room where there was NO ALARM CLOCK!!! I mean, seriously, is an alarm clock an amenity? Forget hair dryers or shower caps or shoe mitts or shampoo and conditioner, but NO ALARM CLOCK????
Well, I got over that. But then, Phil tried to take a bath. There was no stopper in the bathtub. So, the next morning, in addition for asking for two more pillows (aside: why do they only put two pillows on king sized beds? this seems to happen in every hotel, and we always have to ask for more) we said "there's no stopper in our bathtub."
No lie, the droid at the counter says "uh huh," and just looks at us, like 'of course, there's no stopper in your bathtub - next?' So, Phil follows it up with "well, I'd like to take a bath." She made a note.
Nothing ever happened with that note. We never got a stopper for the tub.
Phil resorted to shoving one of their (2) washcloths in the drain.
I haven't even mentioned the fact that for some reason we were given a room for people with disabilities. So, if our phone rang, so did a light on the wall, and the bathroom had about 16 different bars to grab.
Phil says "so, how do you like life on the road?"
Even with all of that, I have to say I liked being able to read, watch TV, and play computer solitaire without worrying about what chores I was missing.
Forget Super 8 - how pathetic am I?
Wait, lemme back up.
My husband Phil is a jazz bassist. In addition to working full time at Microsoft, he plays a lot of nights/weekends. Some of these gigs are paid, some are not. So, when one comes along that pays reasonably well, he considers it.
Phil plays with a number of different groups. The one that played at Silver Reef is Trish, Hans, and Phil, which, you guessed it, consists of him, the vocalist Trish, and the pianist Hans. They've played together for about 10 years. Phil and Hans both write arrangements, as well as sing and play, and Trish is the lead vocalist. They also have great chemistry on stage and make the crowd laugh quite a bit. If you want to read more about Phil's music, see: Phil's Music.
So, anyway, Trish, who usually plays these casino gigs with other groups, arranged for 4 gigs in a row, 1 Tuesday afternoon at the Northern Lights Casino, and then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday nights at Silver Reef.
OK, so now you know what the hell I'm talking about...
Phil took the 3 days off, and while in Ferndale, we stayed at the Super 8. When Trish was describing where it was she said "It's near the Denny's and the McDonalds." Phil's response was "When I was on the road, I'd dream for a place like that."
So, I had high hopes
When we got to the Super 8, Phil tried to give them a credit card to pay for any incidentals. The response? "Um, well, we don't really have any incidentals."
OK, so this isn't the Plaza.
Next stop, our room. It was, well, bare. I have never before been in a room where there was NO ALARM CLOCK!!! I mean, seriously, is an alarm clock an amenity? Forget hair dryers or shower caps or shoe mitts or shampoo and conditioner, but NO ALARM CLOCK????
Well, I got over that. But then, Phil tried to take a bath. There was no stopper in the bathtub. So, the next morning, in addition for asking for two more pillows (aside: why do they only put two pillows on king sized beds? this seems to happen in every hotel, and we always have to ask for more) we said "there's no stopper in our bathtub."
No lie, the droid at the counter says "uh huh," and just looks at us, like 'of course, there's no stopper in your bathtub - next?' So, Phil follows it up with "well, I'd like to take a bath." She made a note.
Nothing ever happened with that note. We never got a stopper for the tub.
Phil resorted to shoving one of their (2) washcloths in the drain.
I haven't even mentioned the fact that for some reason we were given a room for people with disabilities. So, if our phone rang, so did a light on the wall, and the bathroom had about 16 different bars to grab.
Phil says "so, how do you like life on the road?"
Even with all of that, I have to say I liked being able to read, watch TV, and play computer solitaire without worrying about what chores I was missing.
Forget Super 8 - how pathetic am I?
Monday, July 05, 2004
Last day with guests
I will be so glad to get my house back. In general, my guests are low maintenance, but it doesn't matter how low maintenance someone is, after 5 weeks, it's enough.
I try really hard to keep things in order around here. In general, it's hard for me to stay organized. It doesn't come easily. So, when I have others about mucking things up it makes it even harder. The kitchen is a prime example. They say they want to "help," that I've done too much. Fine. So, when they try to cook, they spend the next hour or so asking me questions every 5 minutes. They don't know where things are, they don't know how they work (our entire house is a technological mystery), and they can't reach things in the cabinets.
Oh, and then they want to "clean." Well, we have the Fisher & Paykel Dish Drawers. These are not your typcial dishwashers. They require some understanding to use correctly. My MIL will "load" them, and then leave them. She won't start them, and then forget to tell me. And, she loads them incorrectly. You can fit about twice as much in each one than she does. So, I've basically told her that if she wants to "help," she needs to watch the video for the dishwasher (which she won't do). Ok, so then she tries to handwash stuff. Well, she doesn't see very well, and so the stuff doesn't get clean, so I have to do it again anyway.
Oh, and these two have tremendous life experience. They've done wonderful things. Just because I understand how to search for and buy things on the Internet and run all the techie stuff in my house does not mean that I am better, smarter, or more together. I just means that I understand my house.
Right now I'm sitting upstairs hiding as they're preparing dinner. I've left my husband in charge of answering all questions. I'm tired of the confusion. I want my quiet house back.
I try really hard to keep things in order around here. In general, it's hard for me to stay organized. It doesn't come easily. So, when I have others about mucking things up it makes it even harder. The kitchen is a prime example. They say they want to "help," that I've done too much. Fine. So, when they try to cook, they spend the next hour or so asking me questions every 5 minutes. They don't know where things are, they don't know how they work (our entire house is a technological mystery), and they can't reach things in the cabinets.
Oh, and then they want to "clean." Well, we have the Fisher & Paykel Dish Drawers. These are not your typcial dishwashers. They require some understanding to use correctly. My MIL will "load" them, and then leave them. She won't start them, and then forget to tell me. And, she loads them incorrectly. You can fit about twice as much in each one than she does. So, I've basically told her that if she wants to "help," she needs to watch the video for the dishwasher (which she won't do). Ok, so then she tries to handwash stuff. Well, she doesn't see very well, and so the stuff doesn't get clean, so I have to do it again anyway.
Oh, and these two have tremendous life experience. They've done wonderful things. Just because I understand how to search for and buy things on the Internet and run all the techie stuff in my house does not mean that I am better, smarter, or more together. I just means that I understand my house.
Right now I'm sitting upstairs hiding as they're preparing dinner. I've left my husband in charge of answering all questions. I'm tired of the confusion. I want my quiet house back.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
The truth about computers
Believe it or not, while I was at Microsoft, I actually learned a lot about people (or rather, customers).
Ready?
* Every person has innate skills.
* Every person also has innate blindspots or things s/he is bad at.
* When someone is innately good at something, s/he has a difficult time figuring out why someone else doesn't just "get it."
* There are some people, let's call them smart people, who, even when they don't innately understand something, will take initiative to learn to do something they feel is important.
* There are some people, let's call them stupid people, who think that if they don't immediately understand something, then that "thing" (program, book, crossword puzzle, movie, etc.) is "dumb," or "wrong."
* When you produce something to be used by millions and millions of people, there are bound to be people who don't understand it and/or who can't figure out how to use it correctly.
* There is bound to be a portion of this population that is stupid.
First of all, let me say the thing that I wanted desperately to say when I was at MS. SOME PEOPLE ARE STUPID.
Now, for the rest of the population, here's the thing. There is not one worthwhile thing in our lives that we don't have to learn to do. Reading, writing, eating good food, drinking good wine, smoking a fine cigar, turning on the TV, sex, relationships, playing poker, doing the laundry, driving a car, mowing the lawn: these are all things which require one to LEARN how to do them.
Why, then, I ask you, are there so many people who otherwise do not appear to be stupid people who walk up to a computer and want it to do everything they are thinking without them having to learn anything?
Why, why, why?
And, the crime of it is that so much time and an energy is wasted catering to these people who just plain refuse to learn or who are afraid to learn. I simply cannot tell you how many meetings I had, usability studies I sat through, revisions we made - all trying to cater to the lowest common denominator.
A fellow program manager actually said to me once of the "next" operating system (the one that never shipped)should be "as easy to operate as a toaster." A TOASTER??? Good God. A toaster, for one thing, cannot allow one to write a Blog :-) (or balance a checkbook, or send email to a friend, or buy books on the Internet, or look up a recipe for Chicken Provencal, etc.).
This does not mean, of course, that things cannot be easier, or more logical, or better. But, as someone who for most of my life has just "gotten it," I've always had a hard time understanding all the anxiety, angst, strum and drang, that people go through trying to figure out computers. Jesus people - they're just big dumb machines that are awaiting instruction from you so they can do as they're told.
So, here's the truth about computers (by computers I mean a personal computer that has various software packages):
And here's the truth about you:
OK, I feel better now. I think.
Ready?
* Every person has innate skills.
* Every person also has innate blindspots or things s/he is bad at.
* When someone is innately good at something, s/he has a difficult time figuring out why someone else doesn't just "get it."
* There are some people, let's call them smart people, who, even when they don't innately understand something, will take initiative to learn to do something they feel is important.
* There are some people, let's call them stupid people, who think that if they don't immediately understand something, then that "thing" (program, book, crossword puzzle, movie, etc.) is "dumb," or "wrong."
* When you produce something to be used by millions and millions of people, there are bound to be people who don't understand it and/or who can't figure out how to use it correctly.
* There is bound to be a portion of this population that is stupid.
First of all, let me say the thing that I wanted desperately to say when I was at MS. SOME PEOPLE ARE STUPID.
Now, for the rest of the population, here's the thing. There is not one worthwhile thing in our lives that we don't have to learn to do. Reading, writing, eating good food, drinking good wine, smoking a fine cigar, turning on the TV, sex, relationships, playing poker, doing the laundry, driving a car, mowing the lawn: these are all things which require one to LEARN how to do them.
Why, then, I ask you, are there so many people who otherwise do not appear to be stupid people who walk up to a computer and want it to do everything they are thinking without them having to learn anything?
Why, why, why?
And, the crime of it is that so much time and an energy is wasted catering to these people who just plain refuse to learn or who are afraid to learn. I simply cannot tell you how many meetings I had, usability studies I sat through, revisions we made - all trying to cater to the lowest common denominator.
A fellow program manager actually said to me once of the "next" operating system (the one that never shipped)should be "as easy to operate as a toaster." A TOASTER??? Good God. A toaster, for one thing, cannot allow one to write a Blog :-) (or balance a checkbook, or send email to a friend, or buy books on the Internet, or look up a recipe for Chicken Provencal, etc.).
This does not mean, of course, that things cannot be easier, or more logical, or better. But, as someone who for most of my life has just "gotten it," I've always had a hard time understanding all the anxiety, angst, strum and drang, that people go through trying to figure out computers. Jesus people - they're just big dumb machines that are awaiting instruction from you so they can do as they're told.
So, here's the truth about computers (by computers I mean a personal computer that has various software packages):
Computers are tools with which you can accomplish things faster, better, and smarter than you could manually; they can also provide entertainment and communication. Period. They are not evil beings that are trying to hurt you. They are not impossibly hard to use.
And here's the truth about you:
If you don't want to use them, then don't. It is not the rest of the world's problem or responsibility to make things easier for you. It is your responsibility to decide to learn. You may learn differently than other people. You may have different expectations than other people. That does not make you right and them wrong - it just makes you different.
OK, I feel better now. I think.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
President? Me???
I've had guests in town since June 2nd. That's 27 days. They're here until July 6th. And, I have to say all of this B&B type activity can be tiring!
My guests are my mother-in-law and her best friend. We have plenty of bedrooms and space, so it's no problem, but it is really odd having people around when I'm not used to it. Plus, I'm pretty fussy, so I don't really want them loading the dishwasher or using the washing machine, so their efforts to help are limited (when they do help, it frequently ends up being even more work for me).
Today, we headed off at about 12:30 to drop off a collection of junk (stuffed animals, one poster, and a casette recorder) at the Seattle Choral Company for the annual Rummage Sale. Fred, the director, pulled me aside to talk for a few minutes. It turns out that the current membership president has recommended me to take over as membership president.
Me.
So, first of all, I've barely talked to the current MP. I had no idea she even really knows who I am. Next, I wouldn't say that I've been the most gung ho member of the choir - I'm not a section leader or anything.
But...
I'm thinking, given that I'm currently unemployed, this might be a good thing for me to do. It would be an opportunity to lead others (which always looks good on a resume). In addition, it would be a good networking opportunity when and if I ever decide what it is I should be doing.
So, I'm thinking about it.
We spent the day in Ballard. Ballard's hard to describe. It's scandanavian in origin, but has lots of cute little shops and such. We had a great time, and then fought the traffic home.
President.
Hmmmm
My guests are my mother-in-law and her best friend. We have plenty of bedrooms and space, so it's no problem, but it is really odd having people around when I'm not used to it. Plus, I'm pretty fussy, so I don't really want them loading the dishwasher or using the washing machine, so their efforts to help are limited (when they do help, it frequently ends up being even more work for me).
Today, we headed off at about 12:30 to drop off a collection of junk (stuffed animals, one poster, and a casette recorder) at the Seattle Choral Company for the annual Rummage Sale. Fred, the director, pulled me aside to talk for a few minutes. It turns out that the current membership president has recommended me to take over as membership president.
Me.
So, first of all, I've barely talked to the current MP. I had no idea she even really knows who I am. Next, I wouldn't say that I've been the most gung ho member of the choir - I'm not a section leader or anything.
But...
I'm thinking, given that I'm currently unemployed, this might be a good thing for me to do. It would be an opportunity to lead others (which always looks good on a resume). In addition, it would be a good networking opportunity when and if I ever decide what it is I should be doing.
So, I'm thinking about it.
We spent the day in Ballard. Ballard's hard to describe. It's scandanavian in origin, but has lots of cute little shops and such. We had a great time, and then fought the traffic home.
President.
Hmmmm
Monday, June 28, 2004
"They" say I should write...
so, I am. A majority of the time, when I tell a friend, relative, or acquaintance that I'm searching for my passion, they tell me to write. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be writing, but I thought I'd start here.
It's a terrible thing not knowing what your passion is. There are, of course, many wonderful things about life - but the question is is there anything I could spend hours doing and be happy about it?
Moreover, can I make money at it?
In any case, it's late. And if there is one thing I can do for hours, it's sleep. I *love* a good sleep. I've read many famous & productive people who say that sleep is a waste of time - but sometimes I feel more productive in dreams than I do in my waking life.
So, it's off to bed. Perchance to dream.
It's a terrible thing not knowing what your passion is. There are, of course, many wonderful things about life - but the question is is there anything I could spend hours doing and be happy about it?
Moreover, can I make money at it?
In any case, it's late. And if there is one thing I can do for hours, it's sleep. I *love* a good sleep. I've read many famous & productive people who say that sleep is a waste of time - but sometimes I feel more productive in dreams than I do in my waking life.
So, it's off to bed. Perchance to dream.
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