2006-11-22
� 11:57 a.m.
musings and ramblings
I did it. I mused a bit and came up with a diary entry. For those of you who read this regularly, I'm sorry I don't update it more often. What can I say? I've just had other priorities lately, I guess. What have I been up to? Well, this and that. As many of you know, I got a new job a few months ago, and it's been keeping my really busy during the day. At my last job, I had time during the day to write about things. Here though, I don't have an office like I did before. In fact, I don't even have a cubicle. It's a Y-shaped partition deal with a workspace on all 3 sides. What's more, my boss's office is behind me (and around the corner) so she can walk up and bust me if I'm not working. Would she? Well, she's seen me a few times not working, but has never said anything. I really do keep it to a minimum though, only a few minutes here and there. If I stay off of the Internet, I get a lot more done. In my line of work, especially since I get paid by the hour and have to track my hours closely, focus on the task at hand is very important. That being said, my boss isn't coming in until this afternoon, I've been working on the same document for the last 5 days, and I need to take a few minutes off to communicate with my peeps. Hey peeps! The week before last I was in San Diego. It was a business trip, and I was only supposed to be there from Monday morning through Friday evening, but the equipment I was validating failed at first, so I had the option of either coming home for the weekend and going back the next week, or sticking it out for another few days to finish up the job. I elected to stay, got everything done, then worked a normal week when I came back. 12 days in a row of work. Whew! The good thing about all of this is that I got to meet some really cool people and hang out in one of the nicest towns in California. Harry, if you're reading this, I should have your reports done by the end of next week. :) I like my new job. I work for a consulting company that provides Quality, Validation, Regulatory Compliance, and Document Control services for companies in the tissue banking and medical device industries. Before this I was in the pharmaceutical industry for 13.5 years, so this new job got me into a completely new industry as well, which so far has been a refreshing change. Enough work talk. I've been pondering words and word use a lot lately, as usual, and have even more questions: Cowboy:
1. a man who herds and tends cattle on a ranch, esp. in the western U.S., and who traditionally goes about most of his work on horseback.
a man who exhibits the skills attributed to such cowboys, esp. in rodeos.
Makes sense, right? Well, what if said cowboy works on a ranch that doesn't have any cattle, but rather has sheep? Would he then be a lamb-boy? Also, why would he be named after the females of the species? Wouldn't bullboy have been more flattering and studly than cowboy? No one in the rodeo refers to him or herself as a "cow rider", do they? Many men, especially from the south, call themselves cowboys even though they have never herded cattle or ridden bulls. Does listening to Country music give you the right to call yourself a cowboy? I'd say no, but WTF do I know about it? In nautical terms, the word "list" refers to the lateral angle of the deck off of the flat horizontal plane. For instance, if the weight shifts to the left, the deck will tip, and the vessel will have a "port list". It works the other way too, but it would be a starboard list if it were a tilt the other way. That being the case what would you assume the word "listless" would mean? One would think it meant flat or erect. Erect as in standing upright, don't get all sexual on me. Actually though, it means: "having or showing little or no interest in anything; languid; spiritless; indifferent: a listless mood; a listless handshake". WTF? This definition doesn't make any sense for traditional use of list either, which of course is what you make so that you don't forget your to-dos or groceries. I know that you've heard that pro is to con as progress is to congress, but what about the word "concur"? It starts with the negative prefix, but it means "to accord in opinion; agree." WTF? That's it for now, I hope to update again soon!
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