For some reason this memory popped into my head today.
My high school American Literature teacher had us read the Robert Frost Poem "The Road Not Taken" when we seniors. I had read the poem before, but he asked us afterwards, "Why would an author write an entire poem about the road he didn't take?" I raised my hand, and said, "I thought he was writing the poem about the road he decided to take that day - the road not taken by everyone else." I thought he chose to take the road not normally taken. I had never thought of it as being a poem about the road he didn't take. But I guess that is the beauty of poetry - you can interpret it any way you want. It is personal like that - much like art. The artist and the writer have what they believe is the meaning, but everyone has their own experience with it.
What did you think when you read the poem?
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Funny Smells
My office building has some of the most random smells throughout it. For one, the basement smells like a petting zoo. I'm not even kidding. I went downstairs to get something from the vending machine, which I probably shouldn't, and as soon as I got off the elevator I was looking around trying to find the billy goats and ponies that must have been running around down there. It was awful.
I brought a friend inside to see my office once, and was told it smelled like the 80's. I didn't know that a decade had a smell, but my guess would be more like the 50's since that is how long the building has been around.
Occasionally someone will burn popcorn in my division. That is always lovely. I swear that smell lasts for several hours afterwards. And of course lunch time is always a treat. You really never know what it will end up smelling like at around 1:00 pm with everyone warming up last night's leftovers, lean cuisines, and hot pockets. Fettuccine and garlic bread have to be a personal favorite. It permeates the air so that it is almost like walking through a thick fog to get to my desk. You come out of the bathroom after someone has heated that stuff up, and it is like you get hit with this wall of garlic and Parmesan cheese. Watch out!
I brought a friend inside to see my office once, and was told it smelled like the 80's. I didn't know that a decade had a smell, but my guess would be more like the 50's since that is how long the building has been around.
Occasionally someone will burn popcorn in my division. That is always lovely. I swear that smell lasts for several hours afterwards. And of course lunch time is always a treat. You really never know what it will end up smelling like at around 1:00 pm with everyone warming up last night's leftovers, lean cuisines, and hot pockets. Fettuccine and garlic bread have to be a personal favorite. It permeates the air so that it is almost like walking through a thick fog to get to my desk. You come out of the bathroom after someone has heated that stuff up, and it is like you get hit with this wall of garlic and Parmesan cheese. Watch out!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Brand New
Hey kids, so I have never been a part of a blog before, but there's a first for everything right?
Interesting story about my shift at the restaurant I work at. I won't name names but I am sure most of you know. So the shift was going fine, no angry people, nobody getting sat after their quote time had already expired. We're in the clear. That is until a little kid pulls the fire alarm. LOVELY. Now we have very loud sirens going on throughout the entire restaurant, strobe lights flashing an obscenely bright light every 5 seconds, management running to find out what is going on in the lobby, guests freaking out thinking an oven exploded in the kitchen, and me annoyed with the whole situation.
The mother of the kid who pulls the fire alarm, looks at us at the front desk, and then grabs her kid and walks out without saying a word. We get fined $3000 for a false alarm from the Fire Dept. and she walks out without even a "Sorry." My manager calls out to her as she leaves, "Thanks, Merry Christmas!" I start hysterically laughing because I didn't think he had it in him to be so sarcastic to a guest! YES! Way to go!
And if you thought that was the fun part, think again. I have some lady come up to me at the front desk and ask if we can turn off the alarm please. "Sure, for you I will turn it off. It has only been going for 10 minutes now for fun just to see what you all would do. But since I have the power to turn off A FIRE ALARM, sure I'll turn it off." Dumbass, the fire department has to turn off the alarm. That's the beauty of a FIRE ALARM. I tell her, "I'm sorry maam, but the fire department will have to turn off the alarm. We really don't have much say so it that." She says, "Well I have someone in my party who goes into epileptic shock when she sees strobe lights - so what are you going to do about it?" I say, "Well maam, you might want to take that person outside or have them put their head down on the table, because it might be a few minutes before the Fire Department gets here. What I wanted to say is, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? What am I going to do about it? I am a front desk worker, and I get paid 9 bucks an hour to deal with you loonies. What do you think I can do? Didn't I just say that the Fire Department has to shut off the alarm? That includes the strobe light as well. Wacko." Epileptic shock over a strobe light? WTF? Here's my advice, CLOSE YOUR EYES! Or better yet, tie your napkin around your head covering your eyes.
I have trouble keeping a straight face when people ask me to perform ridiculous tasks. Holy cow!
But the best part of the evening is when my coworker yelled out "BUCK A CON, party of four" instead of Buchanan. HAHA! I've messed up some last names before, but never that bad. It made me think of Shock a con. Gosh tonight was awesome. Sometimes I actually love my job. :)
Interesting story about my shift at the restaurant I work at. I won't name names but I am sure most of you know. So the shift was going fine, no angry people, nobody getting sat after their quote time had already expired. We're in the clear. That is until a little kid pulls the fire alarm. LOVELY. Now we have very loud sirens going on throughout the entire restaurant, strobe lights flashing an obscenely bright light every 5 seconds, management running to find out what is going on in the lobby, guests freaking out thinking an oven exploded in the kitchen, and me annoyed with the whole situation.
The mother of the kid who pulls the fire alarm, looks at us at the front desk, and then grabs her kid and walks out without saying a word. We get fined $3000 for a false alarm from the Fire Dept. and she walks out without even a "Sorry." My manager calls out to her as she leaves, "Thanks, Merry Christmas!" I start hysterically laughing because I didn't think he had it in him to be so sarcastic to a guest! YES! Way to go!
And if you thought that was the fun part, think again. I have some lady come up to me at the front desk and ask if we can turn off the alarm please. "Sure, for you I will turn it off. It has only been going for 10 minutes now for fun just to see what you all would do. But since I have the power to turn off A FIRE ALARM, sure I'll turn it off." Dumbass, the fire department has to turn off the alarm. That's the beauty of a FIRE ALARM. I tell her, "I'm sorry maam, but the fire department will have to turn off the alarm. We really don't have much say so it that." She says, "Well I have someone in my party who goes into epileptic shock when she sees strobe lights - so what are you going to do about it?" I say, "Well maam, you might want to take that person outside or have them put their head down on the table, because it might be a few minutes before the Fire Department gets here. What I wanted to say is, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? What am I going to do about it? I am a front desk worker, and I get paid 9 bucks an hour to deal with you loonies. What do you think I can do? Didn't I just say that the Fire Department has to shut off the alarm? That includes the strobe light as well. Wacko." Epileptic shock over a strobe light? WTF? Here's my advice, CLOSE YOUR EYES! Or better yet, tie your napkin around your head covering your eyes.
I have trouble keeping a straight face when people ask me to perform ridiculous tasks. Holy cow!
But the best part of the evening is when my coworker yelled out "BUCK A CON, party of four" instead of Buchanan. HAHA! I've messed up some last names before, but never that bad. It made me think of Shock a con. Gosh tonight was awesome. Sometimes I actually love my job. :)
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