Friday, September 26, 2008

Do it for my soul!

Yesterday I had just finished a task when my office manager asked me if I could help her with something. I assumed she needed me to reach for something. I am of average height, but as all my coworkers are of abnormally small stature, my assistance is often requested.

So, as I followed her to the office, I find out she was making a small ad for the local newspaper, and she was having difficulty getting her PDF logo over to a word document.

In the moments that I was helping her, the strangest thing happened: I felt so light, so wonderful, so happy, so satisfied. I wasn't counting down the hours to quitting time. My soul had lifted for a small minute, and I felt peace.

And then I remembered: I did this at school, and I loved it at school, and I want to do it for the rest of my life. I had kind of forgotten the wonderful feelings I get when I am doing what I love. Suddenly, life wasn't drudgery for me any longer, and I went about my day with a fairly good spirit.

I have realized lately that I am rather riled up inside. I blame this on my current work, and my lack of creative outlet. This experience with the PDF has opened my eyes, and reminded me how increasingly important it is for my soul and general well-being to secure a position in my field.

So, I am looking to work in an ad agency as a copywriter.

There it is.

If anyone knows of a position for me, please let me know. Start looking around your cities or towns, I'm sure I would love to move out to where you are.

We could be friends.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Give me all your doughnuts!

So, at work today I answered the phone in my usual manner, "Thanks for calling [name of work]. This is Myriah, how can I help you?"

A male voice, slow, and filled with wonder, says, "Myriah?"

Me, pausing, then, "Yes."

He says, "Wow. That is a lovely name."

"Thank you."

I start to look around to see if anyone can see this. Of course they can't, but I look around frequently, desperately searching for someone to share this with.

He says, "May I....(pauses)... may I ask how you spell it?"

I pause, still looking around, and indulge him this small favor.

He says, "Well, that is simply beautiful."

I thank him once again and say, "Oh, I'll tell my parents, they will be pleased."

He laughs.

That one always works. It's a rather standard answer for me, and it almost always gets a laugh or a smile.

So I say, "Well, what can I help you with today?"

He starts to reply, then he pauses. I hear him slowly exhale. "Umm... well, uh....I can't... I can't quite remember.... your name distracted me so....I...I guess I'll have to call you back."

He couldn't remember.

He couldn't remember.

It's not his fault my parents gave me such a bewitching name, and seeing how I had all my faculties about me I prompted, "Perhaps you were calling to schedule an appointment?"

"AH! Yes, that was it!"




I think I go through phases of inadvertently bewitching men. I must be in one such phase now, because just last week while visiting Tara, I lured (quite unintentionally) a young man to her apartment and somehow beguiled him into giving us the doughnuts he had just purchased.

I don't know how it happened. It just did.

Monday, September 15, 2008

San Francisco

This past weekend found me visiting Tara in San Fransisco. No, Oakland. No, actually I think she lives in Emeryville.

Anyway, it was a good time.

(Warning, this post is pretty darn long. If you need to go somewhere or do something soon just be prepared to stop reading. You can always pick up where you left off later.)




Thanks to a suggestion from Amanda, Tara and I found ourselves at Zachary's Pizza. It looked a little like this:

So we walk in, and the first person who greets us starts telling us about the place and the menu. We look it over and ask if we can do half and half. She says, "Yeah, but we have a policy here and we can't guarantee perfect halves." We just stared at her.
Then I said, "So, you've had a problem like that in the past?"
She looks at us and says, "Where are you guys from?"
We tell her.
She replies, "Oh. Well, this is North Berkeley, and people like exact halves."

Good tip, I think.

We are told we can pre-order, so we go up to the counter and place our request. The guy says, "Okay, but we have a policy here and we can't guarantee perfect halves."
We assured him it would be quite all right, and then we were led to this table:

The table with the only old-school chairs.

I guess we just got lucky.


After dinner we went downtown and what did we find?! The Berkeley Public Library! I was sooo excited, I wanted to rush right in. But for some reason they were closed at 10 on a Friday night.

I asked Tara if she had been in it yet, and apparently she has been too busy starting school and looking for a non-ghetto/shady grocery store to bother going to the library.

Whatev.
The next day we ventured into the city where I hoped to be able to ride as many things as possible. We started with the BART, then hopped on a cable car. I was very impressed with our conductor's boots. Check 'em out:

We then found our tour bus. I had decided I wanted to take a ride on a tour bus, to see all the sights I would want to see without the hassle of parking. I found a double-decker open air hop on hop off bus. It was brilliant. You could hop off the bus at any of the stops, wander around, and then come back and hop back on the next bus that comes your way and finish the tour. Tickets are good for two days. It was excellent.

While on the bus, I noticed a few other transportation options but felt pretty good about my decision with the open air bus.

Once on the bus, we were instructed as to appropriate riding methods. No standing allowed. It is suggested that you ride with your legs crossed, or perhaps with one leg lifted.

The tour started next to this billboard for the wax museum, and I felt pretty good about my decision to never go there. Is that suppose to be Will Smith in the corner?

The tour took us to North Beach, Wells Fargo museum, China Town, Union Square (where people like to sit), Asian Art Museum, Herbst Theatre, The Painted Ladies, De Young Museum, The California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Bridge, Palace of Fine Arts, Chestnut Street, and Ghirardelli Square.


Unfortunately, we started our tour too late in the day to do any hoping off, because the last tour was soon to follow, and we might miss hoping on again.

That would be a problem.

I really want to go back and check out some museums and explore Golden Gate Park with the Japanese Tea Garden.


And here we are, Union Square, where apparently people just sit.
I don't quite get it, nor do I quite understand what kind of wonderful flowering trumpet bush tree thing that is in the middle. Does anyone know?

You know, the tour was a lot of fun, but it kind of felt like I was taking a tour of the back lots at Universal Studios. I mean, I've seen all these places in movies and such, it's almost like they aren't real. It was a strange feeling.

Anyway, the "set" of Full House:

One thing I certainly didn't expect to find in San Francisco but was pleasantly surprised to discover was bocce ball!

That was the best picture I could get. I was on the top of a moving bus for crying out loud.

This next picture is just to show you how tall this bus really was and how we were forbidden to ever stand up, for good reason.


Going over the Golden Gate was very windy. I've included a little video to show you just how windy it was. That video is around here somewhere... I think at the end of this post.


After the excellent bus ride, we went to a few shops on Fisherman's Wharf, where we found this great shop where it looks like you could buy a used mini fridge, microwave or a leopard print fleece.

We also found these mugs, which was a relief, because I've been looking for a mug for my friends Tea and Secretary.

After wandering through the shops, we ate dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe. It could be summed up in this one shot that I snapped while waiting in line in the ladies' room, but I wanted to share two photos.
So here is Tara following the directions to "Follow the green footprints to the second floor."

She did a smashing job, really.

And YOU did a smashing job, making it all the way through this post.

Nice work.


I'm narrating this video a little bit, but it's hard to hear (the wind) so all you need to know is that we crossed the Golden Gate and the video is of going back across it. That is what the pointing is all about.


Thursday, September 11, 2008

Two?

I work in a medical office, at the front desk, where I answer a lot of phones and schedule a lot of appointments.

One girl called wanting an appointment.

We selected a day, and I told her we had an 11:30, a 2:00 and a 3:45 available.

She said, "Well, it will have to be after my math class."

Me,"Okay,"

I sit there waiting for her to say something, but she doesn't, so I say, "When is your math class?"

Quickly, she responds, "Well, right after my English class."

Me, "Oh...so.....2:00?"

Monday, September 8, 2008

Not a Cloud in the Sky

I had the opportunity to pick up Grandma for Sunday dinner.

Gma: Will Mary be at dinner, or don't you know?

Me: She's in San Francisco.

Gma: Oh, she had to work?

Me: She's in SAN FRANCISCO.

Gma: Oh, San Francisco.

Gma: Did she go with all her friends?

Me: Yeah.

Gma: All of them?

Me: Uhh....

Me: Probably.

Gma: It sure is hot out today. Not a cloud in the sky. That's what's making it so hot.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Enchiladas

sometimes i forget my blog is my blog and that i am the one responsible for keeping it fresh and sparkling.

so, an update:

i don't feel like capitalizing.

i just don't.

(the uncapitalizedness of this post will probably bother me in a few days and i'll change it, but for now, this is the way it is, yo.)

I'm feeling pressure from a few areas in my life. Oops, I guess I just decided to start capitalizing...who knew I was so fickle?

First from my room. It's a mess.

My desk especially.

But I don't want to clean it.

Second, the bathroom needs to be cleaned as well, but...eh.

Third, my local library is putting pressure on me with all their due dates.

It's stressing me out.

Sure, I can renew them, but I hate it when I am waiting for a book, and the librarian informs me that it has been renewed, and I am to wait even longer for the book of my desire. So, I don't want to do that to other people.

Still to finish reading/watching:

50 SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SAVE THE EARTH by John Javna, Sophie Javna, and Jesse Javna (all unrelated Javnas?)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (No, haven't started it yet.)

Dragon Fire by William S. Cohen (I'm thinking about reading all the titles with my last name that I can find at the library.)

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss (Thank you Amanda.)

Top 10 San Francisco from Eyewitness Travel (Going to explore SF next weekend.)


A Beautiful Mind
Flight of the Conchords


So, I suppose you could say I have a lot to do.

But it will all have to wait, because right now I need to go eat some enchiladas.