Don't Run With Scissors

Dating Curve

I dedicate this cartoon to my friends in Charles River.

Source: XKCD

Little Shop of Horrors

Stop & Shop has big houseplants for $10 a piece. I picked up two on Saturday (thanks, Allen). I love plants. They make such a big difference in the way a room feels. This one's in the living room, and the other's in my bedroom.

My OCD Shelves

My friend Becca published a bunch of pictures of her bookshelves, and it inspired me to do the same. You can also look here for more bookshelf inspiration.

FAQ's

• Yes, I've read the vast majority of them
• I buy them at thrift stores. A few were gifts and a few are from Amazon.com, but most are from DI, The Salvation Army, and Urban Renewals.
  
• Yes, you can borrow them. Just promise to bring them back. I keep a checkout list on my whiteboard.
  
• No, I don't have OCD. I just like to be organized. Someone once gave me a hard time about my bookshelves and would always rearrange them or put a book grossly out of place to see if I would notice. I did. As you can see, they're organized (roughly) by height, subject, and color. Sorry, no alphabetization.
  

Comedy of Errors

We went to Shakespeare on the Common to see The Comedy of Errors the other night, and it left me with one nagging thought: why don't I have a servant?

Antipholus really has a sweet deal. Any time he needs anything, he says "Dromio! Get me this!!" or "Dromio, do that!". I could really use one of those. So I looked into a couple options.

1) Maids. I'd like somebody to clean my apartment. Living with 5 guys and wood floors, it gets dusty and dirty. Plus, some things were dirty when I moved in and still haven't gotten the deep clean they deserve.

2) An outsourced personal assistant. They could do online comparison shopping for me. They could write this blog for me. Really, the opportunities are endless. Send birthday cards, presents, flowers.

3) A cook. Although part of my birthday gift from Brooke, Martha Stewart's Cooking School, has actually been very inspiring and has gotten me cooking quite a bit more, I still want someone to cook for me full-time. And pack me a lunch. That would be great.

4) I can't believe I waited 'till #4 to mention the bane of my existence: laundry. You can outsource that too.

5) (401) 285-0701. Call it.

Un-Snooze

Do you ever wish there was an un-snooze button? I woke up this morning and hit snooze once. Ten minutes later, I hit snooze again. But two minutes after that, I wanted to get up.

It's a tricky situation. Do I get up and shower, knowing that my alarm will go off again sometime during the process and won't stop until I get back? Or do I stay in bed another 8 minutes, turn it off, and then start my day.

As you can see, I'm between a rock and a hard place. Someone needs to create an un-snooze button.

Puzzle Alarm Clock pictured above available at Latest Buy via Techchee

Leo

One of my favorite books is entitled "Living, Loving, and Learning" by Leo Buscaglia.

I first heard of Leo one day during a particularly boring day of class. My home page was set to Wikipedia's random page, so I learned something new every day. One day I landed here. It grabbed my attention.

Fast forward several months. A big group of us went to Moab. All the bikes my size were rented out. I borrowed a friend's beach cruiser and rode around town. I stopped off at the library book sale, and noticed the name Buscaglia on one of the tables. It clicked in my memory and I bought it.

I didn't finish it that day. I finished it the next day.

Why do I love it so much? Every time I read a part of it my entire mood is uplifted. I feel better. It relaxes me.

From a literary standpoint, it's mediocre. From an academic standpoint, it's mediocre. But from a REAL PERSON LIVING A REAL LIFE STANDPOINT, it's fabulous.

Parking

I hate looking for parking spots. If I'm in a large parking lot, I will take the closest spot I can immediately see. I will not drive around to see if I can get a spot up front. That is a waste of time, a waste of gas, and a waste of mental processing time.

Thank you for listening to me vent.

500 Days of Summer

 

  

This movie makes you think.

This movie has characters you relate to.

This movie has a powerful message about life.

This movie puts into words feelings and impressions that are difficult to put into words.

This movie uses potent character archetypes.

This movie evokes powerful emotions.

This movie deals with real themes: love, dreams, jobs, honesty, society, change, the good, the bad, destiny, fate, death, rebirth.

This movie is very artistic in a technical sense.

Four stars.

Minds...

Small minds talk about people.

Average minds talk about things.

Great minds talk about ideas.

Viva la Vida

We saw Coldplay in concert on Monday night. They are such talented musicians. Sometimes you forget how many incredible songs a band has until you hear them all played in one night.

Chris Martin, the lead singer, seemed tired. You could see it in his face. But you could also see that when he was tired and out of breath, he was giving it his all. He was running around, dancing, bouncing up and down on the piano bench as he played.

They played every song I wanted to hear except one: Till Kingdom Come.

I've had the chorus of Fix You in my head for the last 3 days.

It took us two hours to get out of the parking lot - not my favorite venue. However, we realized that we were parked in the worst possible spot, and watched a movie on an iPhone until the phone died. It was much less frustrating to be sitting in a parking spot than it would have been to be sitting in an endless and unmoving line of cars.

Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Arc'teryx Theta AR Jacket

iPhone

I took the cover off my iPhone. It was a big step. And it's taken some time. I'll take it off, then put it on again. Sometimes I'll even get brave and take off the plastic screen cover.

Why, you ask, would I take off the cover? Because I like it better without the cover. It looks better, feels better, and is slimmer. Why do people put covers on anyway? Because they're scared of damaging the phone, which is a valid concern - I've seen broken iPhones before.

My general life philosophy revolves around conservatism and alignment. I'm cautious. The normal Derek would find the best case out there and buy it (which is exactly what I did). But every once in a while you need to relax and realize that it's okay to break things or not keep them in perfect condition. You can't protect everything. If you get more utility out of something but it lasts less time, maybe it's worth it.

My iPhone today? Naked. No bulky case surrounding it. I decided to leave the screen cover on, as it doesn't affect performance and actually keeps the phone from slipping out of my pocket. My cautious side is still adjusting to the change.