inspiration strikes - a break from the monotony

Thursday, April 10, 2003

"SIGNS THAT MIGHT BE OMENS SAY I'M GOING, I'M GOING..."

Like James Taylor said, I'm goin' to Carolina in my mind. And with my golf clubs. Leaving in about five minutes. I'm hoping for my first birdie of the season, but failing that, at least a couple of nice, straight drives. It looks like the weather around Chapel Hill today and tomorrow is supposed to be mediocre, though I'm hoping the weekend will be gorgeous. That's all I can ask for. Mark Twain said, "Golf is a good walk spoiled," but a bad day of golf is better than a good day at the office, right?

FORE!
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mattchun 4/10/2003 01:41:00 PM [+] ::
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HELPLESS

I think I feel the most helpless when there's nothing I do except say, "there, there" and be on my way.
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mattchun 4/09/2003 07:44:00 PM [+] ::
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MIXING METAPHORS: DEAR STICKY SNOW, I'M LEAVING YOU

Have you ever been involved in one of those unfortunate couplings that should have been finito a long time ago? You know, one of those relationships that keeps coming back to life like a B-movie villain? When I was in college, my friends had an expression for this phenomenon, The Sticky Trap*. This was an unhealthy, lingering ex-girl/boyfriend from whom you couldn't seem to extract yourself, no matter how hard you tried.

Once again, it's snowing in Boston. This weather this winter / spring (wispring? sprinter?) has been like a sticky-trap relationship: At first, it was alluring and magical. You made snow angels and went skiing together. You drank hot chocolate and hot toddies. Great fun, right? Well, after a while, things got cold and uncomfortable. After a few months, the days of frolicking in the snow turned to nights of bitter frigidity. You realized that you and winter weren't quite the perfect match you thought you were. Now, cold shoulder and all, the lousy weather is still hanging around and you just can't seem to shake it.

I for one have had enough and I'm going to do something about it. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm gnawing off my stuck limb to escape this sticky snow trap. Tomorrow, I'm headed down south for a long weekend of golf and sunshine. I just hope that psycho hose beast has skipped town by the time I'm back.

* We had a minor rodent problem at the time and the term was based on a mousetrap that ensnared the creature by catching it's paws with a sticky, glue-like substance.
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mattchun 4/09/2003 03:19:00 PM [+] ::
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IMOK, RUOK?

I was talking with my friend Allie last night and the subject briefly turned to text messaging. Are you a text messager? (messenger?) I've occasionally used such services, though sporadically.

Anyway, this morning the topic reminded me of goofing off in high school French class. My friend Josh and I had this (admittedly peurile) game we would play in between conjugating irregular verbs. The object of the game was to figure out how to say something funny using only the sounds represented by a given series of letters and numbers. For example, the title of this post would be:

"I am okay, are you okay?"

Some of the more creative (e.g. sophomoric and obnoxious) phrases we came up with were:

I M N NML ("I am an animal")
I F N NRMS OENR ("I have an enormous wiener")
U R PN N D LEV8R ("You are peeing in the elevator")

You kinda have to say the letters quickly and blend them together to get the full effect. It has been a lifelong struggle to rise above this level of (im)maturity.
Mais, c'est un peu amusant, oui?*

*malheureusment, that is the extent of my French proficiency...*SI.* OL. (*sigh.* oh well)
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mattchun 4/08/2003 07:14:00 PM [+] ::
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I CARE ABOUT YOU

I know you've been squinting, so I increased the font on my template.

Better? Good. Don't like it? Tough.
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mattchun 4/08/2003 07:05:00 PM [+] ::
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...AND MAKE YOUR MARK HEAVY AND DARK

Please select the pair of words or phrases given in each question that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the capitalized pair:

APRIL SNOWFALL : BOSTON SPRINGTIME

a) SPIDER : BIRTHDAY CAKE
b) RAIN : WEDDING DAY
c) INK : HERMES TIE
d) SWIFT KICK : MY GROIN
e) ALL OF THE ABOVE

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mattchun 4/07/2003 05:23:00 PM [+] ::
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THE FORECAST

What has become of April's loveliness?
The warmth of her embrace has turned away,
leaving but the sting of winter's kiss,
as if December's chill escorted May.
Where are the auburn rays of welcome sun?
Still they slumber, fitfully asleep.
Rise! and prithee tempest be undone;
be banish-ed beneath the ocean's deep.
Still the building maelstom gathers speed
to blanket all the earth with snow so cruel.
This wanton treachery - Nature's misdeed -
falls silently, a calculating cool.
Bowing heads, we quietly together
hope for days of warmer April weather.

Tonight: Periods of snow. Low around 30F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow may accumulate 2 to 4 inches.
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mattchun 4/07/2003 02:25:00 PM [+] ::
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WHOA, NELLY

You have to tip your cap to a band that can belt out Nelly's "Hot in Herre," with trombone. I know it sounds strange, but I saw a cover band last weekend that pulled it off.
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mattchun 4/07/2003 01:18:00 PM [+] ::
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VIEW FROM THE TOP?

Fun with pictures! Occasionally, I bring my digital camera to the office to take a few pictures from the office. We really do have a beautiful view of Boston; my desk overlooks the harbor. Here are a few examples of the scenes I've seen over the past several months:

• This is the view from my desk on a nice day.
• This is the view during the first days of "Spring" in Boston.
• This is the view as I'm leaving the office.

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mattchun 4/06/2003 09:29:00 AM [+] ::
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