Food For Thought

I was re-reading Timequake, written by Kilgore Trout's alter ego, Kurt Vonnegut, and happened upon this little ditty:

"They say the first thing to go when you're old is your legs or your eyesight. It isn't true. The first thing to go is parallel parking."

Amen.

Picinics and Walks

Yesterday, my husband and I went up to Rocky Mountain National Park. Since I'm starting my new job next week, we decided to have a day out. We didn't do much in the way of "vacationing" this summer: we were living too frugally for that, but we do have our annual pass (one of the advantages of living so close to a National Park). We poured over the park map, trying to find some part of the park we had never visited for a day hike. What we decided to do, on a lark, was a nature trail near Sprague Lake. We had always avoided little "touristy" trails and such in favor of taking backpacking trails and going in as daylight and weather allowed. Much to our surprise: it was beautiful! We only ended up walking around 5 miles: besides the nature trail, the trailhead there basically was trails to trailheads, so there were no "loops" or "destinations" from there for a simple day hike. We were harrassed by a small flock of female mallard ducks as we ate our lunch from the daypack at a picnic table (we normally try to find a nice log or rock), which only added to our enjoyment of the lunch. "Nippy" was so close to my feet that water was dripping on my shins. Of course their behavior broadcasts that people have been feeding them all summer, but we were amused by their persistence and boldness. We saw fish in the streams, elk at Moraine Park, chipmunks, squirrels, a huge crow, lots of jays, et. al. We just had a really nice time. When we arrived, there were maybe two or three other vehicles in the parking lot. By the time we finished, the place was packed. It was nice to see these people enjoying their surroundings. Lots of friendly hello's and good mornings :-) Sometimes it just pays to do something you wouldn't normally do. And don't be "snobbish" about where you go: lots of backpackers wouldn't go to a place like Sprague Lake because it isn't in the back country. Who cares? Sometimes, the most beautiful places in nature are right out your front door, right off the interstate, or even right there by a picnic area in one of the busiest NPs in the country.

Godda New Yob

As an IT contractor (perpetually temporarily employed), I enjoy the freedom of not feeling chained to my job. I have, in fact, worked at the same place/company/cube/job for five years at a stretch, but for three different contracting firms. All the while, I didn't *feel* like I had a permanent job. It makes me feel as though potential (refreshing) change is always on the horizon. I once again took the plunge last summer to "get a real job". I was hired by a small local company, and then the subsequent spring laid off (due to budget constraints - no real sales since the beginning of the year). No need for development when no one is buying software, eh? Anyways, I decided to have a Summer of Charleste (yes, kinda like George on Seinfeld - but without the slipping and falling on invitations). OHMIGAWD! I completely recommend it! There is nothing to let you know how stressed, tired, and generally miserable you are than to purposefully - and without guilt or stress - do NOTHING. Of course doing nothing *is* all I dreamed and more (Office Space was RIGHT). I actually got a great deal done, but learned that in general, my husband needs to find us a sugar daddy or something :-D Anyhoo - I knew I should get that paycheck-generating-thing we are all supposed to have. So I went out looking. And, voila! I found a nice four month contract nearby - almost "just like that". It helps to have "with it" recruiters/contractees (my fellow contractors and I generally refer to them [kindly] as our "pimps"). But it feels kinda nice to actually have got a gig. Of course, I'm also more than a bit sad that my Summer is over. I wonder how long my "relaxed-ness" will last? We'll see...

Allow me to introduce myself

I have alot of thoughts I will be putting down here, and I welcome your comments. Background: I am a geek in my mid-thirties. Female. Not many of us: geeky females, especially in their mid-thirties. I started off in the geeky world before the World Wide Web was available to the common man - in fact, I remember when it showed up as an option to click on Prodigy (if you don't know what that is: it was like the AOL interface but it was software you installed on your computer so you could participate in chats, shop, et. al.). I used BITNET and newsgroups before the fancy Mosaic browser showed up. Now, I just roll with it, exploiting technology to my advantange (as well it exploits me). I'm not surprised that blogs and such have come to the forefront. Imagine what is was like immediately after moveable type was invented. An idea explosion occured. Now anyone can post their ideas: there is less moderation (read: editing/sensorship) in electronic formats, but then that also encourages the prevelance of the Bad Idea and Stupid Brain Fart). Well, ta for now!