Sufjan Stevens 2010 Atlanta

Sufjan Stevens Atlanta 2010

Things I do not understand: Part 8

This week's thing I do not understand is: why do I like "Project Runway" so much? Could it be because I have raging crushes on artsy girls? Is it because I like fashion (I do, but more along the lines of the Sartorialist or GQ's Style Guy, not so much with most of what the designers create on the show). Maybe it's the drama. Although, I do believe my life already has it's fair share of drama as it is. Who knows? I guess that's why it's something I do not understand.

night as a metaphor for life

Sitting outside, around 1AM, just coming from a light-filled room, my eyes need time to adjust to the darkness. I find that night is in a way a metaphor for life. You're young and naive--cannot see things that are obviously there--and then as you grow older, your eyes adjust and you're able to see more. Nothing happened to the darkness or to what the darkness concealed--the change occurred within your eyes.

things i don't understand: part 7

this week's thing i don't understand will be short and sweet. i simply do not understand reality television. i mean, i watch it. but that doesn't mean i understand it. oh, and all of my new posts will display proper grammatical skills (i.e. capitalization of proper nouns and hopefully fewer comma splices). so there you have it. i do not understand reality t.v.

night riding

i have just returned from my first ever night ride. i must say, it was awesome. first off, riding at night in the summer time means cooler temperatures than riding in the day. it was around 76 degrees for the entire ride. compared to around 96 degrees when i normally ride during the daytime. second, traffic was pretty much a non-issue tonight. and what little traffic there was, almost every car gave me a wide berth, this i attribute to the brightness of three taillights in their eyes. third, there's something about riding around in an area that is normally filled with cars, people, and noise, and finding it devoid of all three. the stillness and quiet were amazing. the moon was also out in force tonight, aiding my visibility, and providing a never before seen view while riding. all in all, it was pretty incredible.

things i don't understand: part 6

this week's thing i don't understand is customer service. or, more accurately, the lack of customer service. i will offer a single example, but i feel it could easily be applied to most service-based industries. first, what is the definition of customer service? i mean, the actual definition, not how a company 'defines' it. according to wikipedia (yes, i know it's not exactly the best of sources, but it will have to do) customer service is "...a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_service). so where is it? for instance, one of the last times i bought coffee i ordered a vanilla latte. well, after enduring one of the longest monologues known to man about how this store's coffee was far superior to that of any run-of-the-mill coffee shop, the barista told me he could put vanilla syrup in my coffe, but only i "wanted it to taste like s***." well, of course i don't want my coffee to taste terrible, but why offer the vanilla syrup at your shop if won't allow customers to consume it? not only that, but the last time i checked i was the customer and i placed the order, this wasn't a suggestion. now i understand that the barista was simply trying to provide what he thought was customer service by protecting me from what he felt was inferior means of consuming coffee. yet, he could have said that instead of his blasting a drink i thoroughly enjoy on occasion. he could have said, "dude, i totally understand that you may normally adore vanilla in your coffee, however i feel it my duty to inform you that our syrup is not up to my standards of syrups/our syrup is rancid/our coffee is best enjoyed devoid of syrups/etc. i will still serve you what you requested, but i felt i should make you aware of this before doing so." that would have been great. instead though, i was made to feel i was an idiot because i wanted to add vanilla to my coffee. i never want to feel as though i'm stupid for ordering something (even if i am--note my ordering of two number 10's from mcdonald's, both with diet cokes). i may be stupid and my order may be the most asinine of orders, but please spare me the condescending diatribe and just prepare my order, just as i ordered it. i have not returned to this particular coffee shop. i have, on the other hand, purchased and consumed many a vanilla latte from several other area coffee shops.

i could continue my rant with various other examples of how customer service seems to be deteriorating and morphing into customer annoyance, but i will refrain. i simply don't understand where customer service has gone. i sure wish it return and bring me a vanilla latte.

things i don't understand: part 5

this week's thing i don't understand is the media's use of the word "gate" at the end of anything remotely controversial or even interesting. it all started with watergate in the 70's in reference to an actual place that ended in "gate". yet for some reason adding "gate" to the end of a headline seems to have grown in popularity here recently. we have climategate, monicagate, oilgate, antennagate, and on and on. why? i mean, isn't a story interesting enough on its own merits without having to attach the word "gate" to the end of the headline? has the suffix come to define something having to do with something particularly controversial? possibly. language evolves. but i'm baffled at this evolution. to me it's just an opportunity for a reporter to cheaply add to a story. that's just my opinion. who knows. i'm probably missing something, which is why ignorancegate continues with this week's thing i don't understand.

things i don't understand: part 4

this week's thing i don't understand will be short and sweet. i've been doing a lot of cycling lately, and something that bugs me is when people fly past me at mere inches from me and my bike. i don't understand why people can't slow down at least. sure it could be said that they're just trying to get around me as fast as possible, but anyone who has had a truck whip past them that is going over 65 miles per hour would definitely argue that it's much safer when the truck slows down. i know i'm causing you much consternation by going 1/3 or less of the speed limit, but i have just as much right (in georgia at least) to be on the road as you do. pass me when it's safe to do so (i'm giving you as much room as i safely can. trust me, i don't want to get hit anymore than you want to be behind me). if you're in such a hurry to get somewhere, then why are you on a little ol' country road in the first place? get on the state highway. oh, and when the speed limit is posted as 35 miles per hour, and i'm going 35 miles per hour (thank you garmin gps), it's not cool to blow past me and immediately turn right. i wear a helmet to protect me if i crash, mainly because of some freak of nature, not you being a freak in nature. so please, just be a little more considerate. when i'm riding that's one less car on the road. i'm not competing with you, i merely want to ride my bike. i know i'm going slow and i would go faster if i were stronger and thinner. but, no matter how strong and thin i become, i will still go considerably slower than you. you gave the guy walking (illegally mind you) on the shoulder a 5 foot gap when you passed him. why not extend the same courtesy to me when i ride? it's really simple, i promise.

things i don't understand: part 3

this week's thing i don't understand could probably be the overall topic of the blog, but i will keep it contained to one post. something i don't understand is why it can be so difficult for us to do the things we want. is it because we want something that is really difficult to attain or achieve? is it because deep down we don't really want those things? is it because it's often easier to not do what we think we want? for instance, it's arguably easier to order a number 1 at a fast food restaurant than it is to cook a healthy meal (this isn't a perfect example, i know, but you understand my point) and try to lose some weight. it's easier to stay in bed rather than rise an hour or two earlier than normal to go out for a jog. it's seemingly easier to forgo studying in the name of entertainment. it's easier to go to bed or watch a tv program rather than to call your special someone every night. i've heard it argued that the reason we don't do what we "want" is because we don't want it bad enough. the difference, it has been taught for years, between those who succeed in life and those that don't is action. those who succeed act. i don't think people fail to do what they want simply because of convenience. i ride my bike a good deal every week and i often find that i don't want to ride it at times. but, i ride anyway because i want (or claim to want) to get in shape. it might be that i simply find a way to make sure that i do something if i want it bad enough. yet, while i'm out riding i'm neglecting other things that i claim to want. i cannot do anything else while i'm riding. doing so would be foolish, unsafe, and would ultimately jeopardize my goal of getting in shape. in sum, i don't understand why it's so hard for us to do many of things we really want to do. we make excuses, we schedule other things, we go out of our way to do other/easier things that we want. the difficult things often get sacrificed in the name of something quicker, easier, more accessible. i think that's a shame. it's not enough to simply want to do something. if it's a priority, we should strive to make it happen.

things i don't understand: part 2

this week's installment moves away from fast food financial frenzies and toward driver behavior. something i don't understand is why people stop at flashing yellow lights? i mean, weren't we taught our entire lives that red means stop. i can see how some might be confused, seeing as how different people define what yellow means (i.e. clear the intersection, caution, speed up, slow down, etc.). yet, when a regular traffic light ceases working properly and has been temporarily turned into a flashing yellow caution light, why do people insist on stopping? if it were flashing red i would understand, but it's not. it's yellow for crying out loud. yellow means go; slowly perhaps, but still GO!

update: georgia's driver's manual reads: "If a traffic signal is malfunctioning and flashing, drivers must proceed based on the color of the flashing signal they are facing: if the driver is facing a yellow flashing signal, the driver may proceed with caution; if the driver is facing a red flashing signal, the driver must stop and wait until it is safe to proceed. (http://www.dds.ga.gov/docs/forms/FullDriversManual.pdf, page 74, par. 1)"

things i don't understand: part 1

i am going to attempt to make this segment a regular occurrence. to start things off on the right foot, as i was leaving captain d's tonight (gross, i know, and it brings up an even bigger existential question of what i was doing at captain d's in the first place), i came up with the very unoriginal idea of starting a weekly, or at least "regular", section entitled "things i don't understand." this list is near endless, thereby bringing me comfort in the fact that there will always be something to write about.

part 1 deals with different companies willingly and openly taking advantage of their customers. case in point, tonight while picking up dinner for my family i noticed that captain d's offers an order of mozzarella cheese sticks for $2.99. they also offer a half order for $.99. i've noticed this before, but put it out of my mind because i was sure that the full order must be 10 sticks or something, while a half order (yes, i am aware that half should mean half, but i was giving the company the benefit of the doubt that they wouldn't intentionally mislead their customers in pricing, but maybe unintentionally with poor math skills) would constitute 4 sticks. well, when it came time for me to order i politely inquired as to the quantity of a full order. i was told there are 8 sticks in a full order. i then asked, politely once again, how many are in a half order. do not be concerned, the kind soul taking my order was not insulted by my somewhat condescending inquiry. she told me that there are 4 sticks in a half order. i was shocked. i mean, really? for 99 cents i can buy 4 sticks, triple my order, making it a heart clogging 12 sticks, and still pay 2 whole cents less then an "order" of 8 sticks. insanity. i know this is nothing new and that they do this because they are greedy profit maximizers. i wasn't born yesterday. it just strikes me as insulting when a company would try to get one by their customers that requires nearly no math skills and is blatantly obvious on the menu. i may have come off as condescending in my inquiry, yet this company's menu is an insult on the intelligence of its patrons. so here is the first thing i don't understand: why companies seek to take advantage and openly insult the intelligence of the people whom finance their companies. and while we're at it, i don't understand what i was doing at a captain d's in the first place. we all make poor decisions every now and then.

update: my good friend pointed out that maybe these companies aren't exactly preying upon our "stupidity", but perhaps are only capitalizing on our failure to pay attention. i concede this is probably at work. just as it is at work when we sign up for things on-line and the box is already checked, or unchecked, or needs to be checked, or whatever may be the case. i also concede that it might be a ploy by the company in question to "reward" customers for their math skills, making them feel intelligent for noticing the pricing game at hand, thus encouraging to "take advantage" of this seemingly obvious pricing gaffe and order 8 sticks for less than the price of 8 sticks (thus making a sale where there might not have been one otherwise). i realize i am likely reading too much into this altogether, however, in my ignorance i feel slighted by captain d's and will avoid it.

gorgeous weather, good music, sore legs

today I hit the 100 mile mark for March. I may be able to squeeze even more milage out of this month, depending on the weather. tomorrow I am riding in my first group/charity ride. I'm only doing the 18 mile stretch, but it should be fun. right now I'm sitting out on the front porch, listening to Ray Lamontagne sing and the frogs ribbit, drinking a Smutty Nose Shoals Pale Ale, and enjoying the 70 degree weather. it's a beautiful day.

awesome

pretty cool design. lego board table. check it out.

atlanta sunset

forerunner = oh yes.

I purchased a Garmin Forerunner 305 last month. I do a lot of cycling over the spring/summer months, and I try to run during the fall/winter months. It is a GPS unit, which allows me analyze a good bit of data. Heart rate, speed, pace, distance, elevation, as well as it graphing my route (something I formerly would do manually on mapmyride.com). Well, I've had it less than a month, but I'm already in love with it. It's a great motivator and an indispensable tool. I will post some more on my rides and my fitness goals as time goes on. I can't recommend the Forerunner enough. It is a bit large when wearing it for running, but it's not heavy and I didn't really mind the bulkiness. I was too busy tracking my pace and distance to worry about how large the thing is. I'm pleased.

I've also been off Facebook since Ash Wednesday (February 17th). This has been the only activity that I have actually not reverted back to. I have had several beers, sodas, and I'm not getting up early for meditation. All in all, though, I'm proud of myself for actually sticking to this one. I am planning on forgoing the sodas and beer once again---as well as getting up early to meditate. Just as soon as I get some more sleep.