YUPdates -OR- Is It Friday Yet? ...

YUPdates (Young Urban Professional updates) may or may not become a series...but don't get your hopes up. Mostly I just was a little at loose ends at work today so I actually wrote down some of the odd thoughts that I had...Nothing special, so don't get too excited.

For Starters...

1. Why do people expect me to love the cold just because I'm from MT? Why would I love something that makes it difficult and unpleasant to get around in any more just because I grew up with it. If anything this means I've been putting up with it for the last 26 years and could use a break. When I told my officemate I didn't like the cold (while we were both shaking the snow out of our hair and changing out of our boots after a long, cold, wet walk from the metro, btw) she looked at me like I had told her I didn't think I needed my kidneys. Either of them.

2. I have been filling out a lot of paperwork lately for a temporary assignment in a new office. A lot of this paperwork involves my personal information, including my birthday. When the people in charge of filling out the paperwork ask me my birthday I tell them "10-13-1982." Inevitably they look up at me from under their eyebrows and say "1982?" To which I say "Yes." Inevitably they shake their heads and sigh and mutter about "kids running the world these days" or something equally as ridiculous. Does my heart good.

In Addi(c)tion to That...

3. Every morning when my new boss takes his B-12 supplement he insists that I take a B-12 supplement. It is becoming something of a ritual. He suspects I am deficient. I had no idea there was a sight test for B-12 deficiency. I also have no idea what the symptoms or detriments of being B-12 deficient are. Actually, I have no idea what one needs B-12 for anyway. I also have no way of confirming that what he is giving me is actually B-12. Thus far, however, I have not lost control of any of my motor skills or major bodily functions and have had no hallucinatory* experiences, so I guess I'm safe. Also, I think I am slowly winning him over. You gotta do what you gotta do. *Note: I may have made up this word...

4. On the trash cans in the cafeteria at my office there are signs that say "Did you remember to Recycle?" The only disposable materials available at the cafeteria are made of Styrofoam and bleached white plastic. There are also no recycling bins. I find this ironic. And disheartening.

Oh Yes, And Also This...

5. Some people get mid-afternoon munchy cravings. I get mid-afternoon music cravings. Working in a sanitized environment, I cannot bring in my media devices, and thus get pretty desperate for my favorite tunes. Today at about 3:00pm I got the craziest urge to listen to The Killers. I needed it. Like a drug. I could hear my favorite songs from the latest album running through my head over and over. Needless to say you know what I rocked on the metro ride home. *Note: I should clarify that I DO get mid-afternoon munchy cravings in addition to my mid-afternoon music cravings. Lately it's been sweet potato fries...with a vengeance.

On A More Serious Note...

6. The effects of a lagging economy are becoming more visible in DC. One of the escalators at the metro station I use for my morning commute (at one of the busier stations in the city, by my calculations) has been broken for nearly 2 weeks, causing massive backups on the working escalators and contributing to general congestion of the station. Let's just say if there was a fire it would be heap big problems. Not only has the escalator been out of commission for nearly 2 weeks, but during those 2 weeks I have yet to see anyone actually working on fixing the thing. In the past, such a breakdown would have had maintenance crews working round the clock to fix the problem within one or two days. I suspect the city has had to lay off metro maintenance employees to deal with budget crunches. I say 'suspect' because I am too lazy to do the actual research. This is why I am an armchair expert of many things.

That is All.