my boss drives me crazy, and not in a good way.

Seeing a fellow employee berated for an incredibly insignificant detail - and having their motives twisted and blown way out of proportion irks me to no end.

It's a whole what not to say psychology lesson. Imposing skewed personal beliefs "you did this because..." instead of professionally asking the employee why they did such a stupid (insignificant, actually exactly what I would have done) thing. Purposefully getting more belittling when another boss wanders by.

I hate having to then, a half hour later, confirm details about said business situation that are in fact true but in no way justify what has just taken place. And watch this boss walk off cocky as hell, muttering to himself.

tomorrow is payday, tomorrow is payday, tomorrow is payday. I don't know if it's worth it.

iPod touch hate

I do not own an iPod touch. I do not like thier tagline. I do not want one. While these three things seem like a child's disconnected statements, for me they are completely rational; the first two conditions leading to the logical third conclusion.


I LOVE ADVERTISING. This does not mean that I am awed or affected by all the glitz and glamour, ingenuity, or cleverness. For the most part marketing does not work on me. However, I get excited about brilliant advertising. I recognize the brilliance in the subtle persuasion, and for the very fact that they have a brilliant ad*, I will often buy the product. Call it a hats off to the marketing director. Some of my favorites:


Kaiser (even though her voice gets annoying, the idea is perfect)
Skittles Taste the Rainbow so needs to be revived
Chevrolet (like a rock)
Chanel
Apple

Ah, Apple. For some time now you have been the leader. Even though I don't always believe in the public humiliation of the PC, you've been able to do it with as much tact as is possible. And the beauty in your simplicity is hard to beat, as are those bright colors. But SERIOUSLY? "the funnest iPod ever"? I say funnest in conversation. I may even write in on occasion. But here, you're trying too hard. Possibly to appeal to the younger generation, which is what's wrong with so many advertising campaigns. And the beauty of the Apple adverts is that you look like your product is so good that you don't need to try too hard. Disappointment comes easily. I thought you would last. It'll take an even-better-than-before new gig for Apple to retain it's first place in Beth's Advertising Book.


Plus I don't really think a single breakable screen/buttons/etc wandering around in my purse and being dropped all the time is a good idea for me. But you know. I love to talk about advertising. And touch is just such a weird word. iPhone I can say. But really, do you go about saying "my iPod touch" (too long and pompous) or "my touch" (too Michael Jackson) or "my iPod" (if you can't flaunt it, why pay**)? The indecision would kill me.


*Print is my favorite. It's the hardest to do, as it only assaults one already over-stimulated sense, so you have to be good to pull it off.

**hear the sarcasm

A Better Woman

"She makes me want to be a better man."

I hear this term often, from guys, from boys, from girls relating what their guys have said to them. And it's true. The right woman should make a man want to be more man, a better man, to excel and do his best. Not that I'm going all Wild at Heart here, mind you, because while that book has a couple of good points I believe it distracts somewhat from truth. But this basic principle holds. Eve was Adam's support (men will say "helper"). In all her beauty, as the crowning glory of all creation, she was there to help Adam be a better man, and to glorify God in her own right. It's a reason to support each other; in a perfect world, men and women of the kingdom will help each other both become fully ourselves (who we've been created to be) and to fully glorify God.

We, women, all have this desire rooted in us, to help men become better men. It is the delivery that has become perverted. We sit up straighter, we do ourselves up, we nag, we hold on too tight. Obviously we get somehow that beauty is one of the things that spur men to become better men, but what kind of beauty? I think Eve was probably the most beautiful woman this earth has ever seen, wild and calming and striking and like home all at the same time. But the Bible never once notes her physical beauty.

And, in the end, I believe we try too hard to become beautiful by our relation to men, as that is what is ingrained in us. Perhaps this is a perversion as well? We are not beautiful only in relation to men, but are able to support men because we are already beautiful. We fail to realize that, most likely, what made Eve the most beautiful was her relation to God as the creator of all beauty as well as all strength. It is only in regaining this lost relation that we become more and more beautiful.

Men, it is not only the delivery that has been perverted but the reception as well. What kind of beauty spurs you to become better men? How often do I meet a man that makes me want to be a better woman?

The Things that Annoy Me

I am not a person who is easily annoyed. This is fact, because if you knew my brother (king of the annoyed men), you would see that I, in comparison, rarely have to roll my eyes, heave a huge sigh, or take potshots at people from my head (otherwise known as expletives that don't get out). But when I do, these are the worthy things that will cause such odd behaviour:

1. People who don't use turn/merge lanes. The turn lane is not a lane that you cross when you turn, fellow California drivers, it is a lane that you get into, as in the whole car, before turning.

2. The fact that, every little once in a while, I still miss the presence of someone who is no longer here. This miss doesn't last long; it's more like a 10-second shortness of breath when I feel like I'm missing a ghost limb. Or maybe I just have panic attacks. STILL. This should not be happening anymore. Ever.

3. Service people who make jokes. I'm aware that they've had the same "hi, how's it going," conversation a million times that day, but really, it comes with the job. Why is it that they choose me to experiment on with new material? Does my face shout, "I will laugh at your jokes! I will be your best friend!"? No. It does not. I need to practice my Skapes face.

4. Being asked if I am in college. Or called a "college kid". I AM NOT IN COLLEGE. Even if you have no other category in which to put me, a single, young professional adult, just don't call me anything. My name will suffice.

5. Picking up a super-cute, nicely-cut perfect-color shirt just to find out that it's so thin even my skin-colored bra will show through. Which would require me to layer. And as we all know, I HATE TO LAYER.

6. The use of unnecessary abbreviations. Who in real life says "ep" for an episode of television? Even "pic" is a little too much for me. I can't handle it.

Cruisin'

I realized the other day, when driving around town, that pretty much everyone has some semblance of cool while they are driving a vehicle. I think it's the power. You can't be not cool when you are in control of a few thousand pounds of metal. Many people may argue about this, but I hold true to my point.

I realized this because of the way I was comfortably sitting (left foot up, right hand slung across the passenger seat) and the looks that I got from various other drivers (still in the pump district here, with a 10:1 man:woman ratio). I thought, I am not cool. Yet I must have something for people to be looking at me so much.* So I started to check out the other people driving cars.

I wonder if that girl has good style? But really, she's probably one of those semi-clean-cut wannabe type myspace stalkers. If that guy got out of his car and walked toward me, I'd run the other way. But I'd probably do the cheesy wave just cause his car is idling next to mine. Even the clunker-drivers have that geeky-cool thing, especially with the green revolution hitting(smash,smash) our state. On that note, all the geeky or sensible cars seem cooler because they are either economical or help the environs. ha. I wonder if the greenies factored in the coolness? Maybe more people will buy and drive cars now because it's just so cool to drive a geeky/greenie car. That would kind of even out the carbon footprint, eh? So much for that idea.

Ugh, no wonder all my Big Kids can't wait to drive. It really does make you cool. At least until you get out of the car. THIS is why we don't go cruisin' down Chester Avenue anymore. When they're driving, you just can't tell who's a keeper or a kreeper.




*Yep, I checked. No drink on the roof, nothing bright red or purple sticking out, hair in it's normal flat state.

Confession #1

I have a confession: I have a storage shed. This is difficult for me to admit, given my aversion to storage sheds in general. In brief, I think storage sheds for people who own a house or even an apartment larger than a studio are a joke. And even if you read this and you have one, I do not feel bad for telling you this. If you have stuff you don't use more than once every couple months, you shouldn't have it. Or you just have way too much other stuff. If your storage is on your property, that's your issue and essentially an extension of your house. But if it is in a long embankment of other storage sheds and you have to use a key/pin to get in, it shouldn't be necessary. This is why it's difficult for me to come to grips with the fact that yesterday afternoon, I loaded up the family truck and took a bunch of stuff to storage. I do have a good excuse (my room is being redecorated by my landlord, ahem, mom, to the extent that there is only room for my clothes and half my books), but I still feel off kilter, and it's been over 24 hours. We'll see how I do in a week.