Being right near 2 small conference rooms has its advantages.  I can sneak in and make private phone calls without disturbing my cubemate.  And my travel time to a meeting (when there’s one in them) is very very small.  There also exist disadvantages…

It seems like an ongoing battle for my cubemate and I.  I find that I need quiet when I work.  There are times when I need to focus on what I am doing and hearing constant chatter throws me off kilter and elevates my blood pressure considerably.

There are handful of people that, when they conduct a meeting in one of the nearby meeting rooms, annoy me to no end.  I do not know these people, but from what I can tell, they simply schedule meetings to laugh hysterically and talk as if they have headphones on (WHAT? YEA!! BLAH BLAH? BLAH!).  I really don’t grasp this concept.  There’s a part of me that wants to sit down in one of the meetings and just take notes.  Then, after the meeting, email the notes to the attendees and say "THIS is what you had a meeting about?!?".  Alas, I probably won’t do that.  

There are also those meetings that, when they get out, and the door is open, the meeting spills out into the hallway, the attendees still have their headphones on…yelling and spewing sensitive material like it is common knowledge.  Amazing.  Irritating.  When you open the door of the conference room and exit, THE MEETING IS NOW OVER.  Deal with it.  If you need to shout about the meeting, do so in the hallway.

Sigh.  Yet another way in which human behavior baffles me.  Since my last post, I’ve paid close attention to human behavior during my everyday activities (I blame the pysch classes I took college).  I’ve realized that it is the only thing that can send me through so many emotions so quickly.  I can be amazed (by either stupidity, or wit/smarts) and I can be incredibly annoyed (driving…anywhere).  I can be taken aback by kindness and affection.  And then taken aback again by the facades some people seem to put up.  I’ve just given it alot of thought lately.  I’ve been mumbling "humans…" whenever I get annoyed mainly because that seems to be the true source of the annoyance.  Work related annoyances are typically caused by human behavior - a schedule change, or a meeting gone horribly wrong. 

I…really don’t know where else I was going with this…so…</end> 

I wonder if, among a group of lions (a pack, herd, whatever), there is one lion that is completely annoyed by the mannerisms of the other lions.  What if, within a school of fish, there are a handful of fish that are just dumb-founded by the idiocy of surrounding fish.  Do the lions or fish roll their eyes when another of their species makes an annoying gesture…or comment (if they can make "comments"). 

I guess I’m just curious to know whether other species get annoyed with other members of their species as much as I tend to get annoyed with my fellow humans.  No one really in particular, although Horse Laugh Woman has been in full effect as of late.  Lions don’t have to deal with cubicles, and the lack of sound-proofing.  Fish may have do deal with traffic to a certain degree, but I’m sure Rochester’s Inner Loop can put their traffic problems to shame .  Something to ponder during the weekend, er whatever.

I’m still battling a few Purchasing Demons, as I call them.  It’s rather annoying, as I find I constantly have to tell them to shut up.  One such Purchasing Demon is a known one among my peers:  buying a new car.  I talk about getting a new car, and then I find that I really want to just pull the trigger and do it.  Then the voice of reason puts on its gloves and fights tooth and nail and is usually victorious.  I haven’t had a car payment…ever.  My current car runs fine (I tend to drive it like a dune buggy) and it is fun to drive and beat up.  Not really sure why I beat it up, but it is nice having a car that I don’t really care how it looks (because it’s used…what’s the point?).  If I get a ding in the parking lot, I could care less.  As long as the main functions work, and I can shift at 5k without issue, I’m happy - yet I still want a new car at times…

The second demon is one which wants/tells me to buy camera stuff; lenses in particular.  This most likely comes with the territory of owning an SLR, so I’m not really surprised by it.  I am actually going to be purchasing a tripod, ballhead and new CF card in the near future, as I really do need that stuff.  My 512mb CF card is good, but I don’t want to run out of space when I am on a RAW shooting rampage, let alone a RAW+JPG rampage - 512mb will disappear quickly.  I am going to a local camera shop (NOT Rowe - not a fan) to check out a few ballheads, and maybe…lenses *evil grin*.

Firstly, congrats to Neeti and Dan on their engagement! woo!  So very happy for the both of you.  And yes, I set them up…sorta .  I met Dan while on Co-op at Harris RF.  I had a blast working with him.   I invited him out to a party that Neeti was going to and…the rest is history .

I added a new gallery just now - click!   Just some random shots I took over the weekend.  I’m wishing I had a few different lenses, but they cost money .   I think I finalized my tripod/ballhead selection, which is good.  I’m going to the a local store to demo the ballhead and see how I like it.  I may not need a tripod real bad, but I would like one that can hold my camera nice and still during the longer shots.  

Started looking at places this weekend.  Currently up to two nice places we could consider - checking out a possible 3rd tonite.  

…lost my motivation for this post

*yawn* tired 

Well, NIN rocked the Blue Cross Arena last night.  We met up with Jim and others at their friend’s place in Corn Hill.  Gave us a preview of the townhouses there.  Not sure they’d suit our needs so I think we’ll pass (though their place was really nice - they certainly made it a very nice home!).  We got there in time to have a beer and crack open a bottle of 99 Apples.  Quite the tasty beverage. 

The Blue Cross Arena is a really nice place to have a concert.  NIN put on a great show.  It was my first time seeing them, as I’ve never really listened to a ton of their stuff…and I have no idea why.  I liked pretty much every song they played.  

Met up with Neeti and Dan at Nathaniel’s for a drink and a few NIN songs on the stereo at the bar.  One guy when nuts (looked like a spastic 5yr old with a beard) when a NIN song came on…at second glance I realized he was an idiot, so it was okay.   

Now for something completely different…

I’ve been trying to keep up-to-date with a blog that I stumbled across recently.  View from the Sidewalk is a blog of a guy who was recently evicted and decided to share his story.  I really appreciate him telling his story and all of his posts are a good read.  He goes against nearly all the stereotypes that society and other homeless people help to create and feed.  I know, I know, society never makes up stereotypes…society is perfect.  Anyway, the blog has gotten some positive attention (as it should).

Ah…lost my train of thought, so I’ll qoute one of my idols, Mr. Maury Povich :  "Till next time America!" 

I’ve been a bit behind on this thing, my sincere apologies to my….2(?) readers.  Nothing exciting to report.  I headed to the 2006 Rochester Autoshow and I’m back to wanting a new car.  I checked out the 2006 Civic Si and was immediately pleased.  Basically, I want one.  For the price you pay, it’s a helluva car.  I then think of saving my money as I don’t really neeeeed a car.  I dunno - tough call.  Get car and spend $$$ on payments or don’t get car (yet) and blow money on camera stuff lol. 

Speaking of camera stuff, I’m half tempted to just use the $30 tripod I got from good ole’ Target last year.  There is a nice tripod that I want, but after getting suggestions from Flickr people regarding a tripod head, well…it’ll cost alot.  I think I’ll wait till spring and see how often I actually go out and then I’ll know just what I need.  My eyes are set on the tripod though, as it is very versatile (not your standard tripod)

Gonna go see NIN with a few friends on Thursday @ the BCA.  Cannot wait.  Jim’s recently informed me of the high-end audio equipment they use so it sounds like a my kinda concert .  

Again, not a ton to report…will start climbing tomorrow, and then I’ll probably be sore from about Thursday till Sunday O.o