inspiration strikes - a break from the monotony

Friday, May 02, 2003

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES...

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone, but for now, my friend Sarah Tonin is back and we've got mood lighting. It's a happy morning. The sun is showering down its warmth and light, the Boston Celtics routed the Indiana Pacers and the Red Sox notched another thrilling, come-from-behind victory last night. The forecast is overcast, but for now I have a song in my heart. My body is at work, but my mind is skipping through daisy-covered fields, tra-la-la. In a very masculine way.

It's funny how much my mood changes with the weather. I don't know how Londoners and Seattlites do it. If I had to live in rain and fog all of the time, I'd probably let my teeth decay, wear grungy flannel and drink hyper-caffeinated coffee too. You want to know why England and Seattle were hotbeds for punk and grunge? It wasn't the local music scene -- It's because everyone was pissed off at the weather.
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mattchun 5/02/2003 10:57:00 AM [+] ::
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I'M LOOKING FOR SARAH, SARAH TONIN

Here's the abbreviated weather report from Boston.com at 6:17pm:

THURSDAY,
MAY 1, 2003
62, Dreary
at Logan Airport

You know it's a bad weather day when the report sounds like a sexagenarian on Prozac, which is about what I feel like right now. Blah.
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mattchun 5/01/2003 06:21:00 PM [+] ::
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MISCELLANY

Someone once sent me this and it never ceases to make me laugh.
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mattchun 4/30/2003 06:31:00 PM [+] ::
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ABANDON ALL HOPE ALL YE WHO TOIL NEAR ME...

...for I am Dr. Doom.

I work for a small telecom strategy practice in downtown Boston. What does that mean, you might ask? It would probably take a series of lengthy, soporific posts to explain all the details, so you'll just have to accept that it involves clients and data and presentations and proffers me a decent paycheck every two weeks.

In recent months, a number of my colleagues have moved on (or have been asked to move on) to other endeavors. Disturbingly, a disproportionate number of them used to sit in my immediate vicinity. If we were to talk numbers, I would estimate that over the past year, roughly eighty percent of those who have left used to sit within my line of sight.

Now, one might call it coincidence and point to the fact that management consulting is in the doldrums, or attribute the departures to the state of the economy and the telecom industry in particular. Some of my friends posit a more logical explanation: I must emanate an aura of doom that pervades my corner of the office. This ever-expanding circle of mayhem will wreak wanton havoc upon all who cross its boundary. Those who toil in my presence quake with fear and will soon depart with much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Makes sense, right?

I consider myself a nice person to work with but beware...have a nice day.
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mattchun 4/30/2003 02:29:00 PM [+] ::
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HEALTH FOOD JUNKIE OR JUNK FOOD HEALTHY?

Now that the weather is somewhat spring-like here in Boston, I've been getting more exercise. Hand in hand with the exercise, I've been eating healthier foods. For example, today I ate a Cobb salad from Cosi for lunch. Between the grilled chicken and the mixed greens, it's quite good.

Okay, so maybe it had a lot of dressing on it. Maybe it was loaded with gorgonzola cheese. Maybe it had bacon on it -- and not those lame artificial little bacon bits, we're talking sizable chunks of real, delicious, salty bacon. Mmmmm, bacon. Oh boy was that bacon salad good. And healthy.
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mattchun 4/29/2003 04:19:00 PM [+] ::
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IDENTITY CRISIS

To the guy who sat to my right at Saturday's 7:30 pm showing of Identity: No matter what you say, no matter how many times you say it and no matter how loud you say it, the characters on the screen can't hear you and won't heed your warnings. Everyone who turned around and glared at you during the movie just thought you'd like to know.
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mattchun 4/28/2003 07:18:00 PM [+] ::
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A LITTLE BAG OF MAGIC

Saturday, I purchased a gift from this collection for the christening of Emma and Hannah, two of my nieces. This was my first Tiffany & Co. visit/purchase and I was impressed by the levels of both security and service. The salespeople were cheerful, polite and expressed a balance of authoritative knowledge and service with a slight hint of obsequiousness.

After I completed my purchase and left the store, I received a number of sly smiles and sidelong glances from female passers-by, whose eyes gravitated toward the little, waxy, aqua bag I carried in my right hand. It was as if there was magic contained within the creases of the tiny tote. With this crescendo of attention from the fairer sex, I'm almost tempted to bring it around with me wherever I go.
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mattchun 4/28/2003 02:06:00 PM [+] ::
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