All Around The Mulberry Bush
Hello World,
Happy Summer! We have now officially entered the season of those lazy, hazy, crazy days, and don't spare the lemonade and watermelon, by golly. This is the time to kick back and relax, and make it a point to enjoy all of the advantages that summer has to offer, that we may long for the rest of the year in vain, when the frosty winds blow and snow is everywhere. Although the weather does not always seem to correlate to the season at hand to the extent that we might hope, I'm thinking that we should finally be able to count on some consistent conditions from this point forward, and at least in this area, that means only one thing: hot, hotter and even hotter yet still. That is, unless they got some different accessories for the Kremlin's infernal weather machine, and rather than the usual heat and humidity around here, they start throwing plagues of locusts and raining frogs at us instead. I think we can all agree that summer can be tough enough to get through, without unleashing new obstacles of Biblical proportions, thanks not.
Of course, last Sunday was Father's Day, and around here that means that it's time for our cats to rise to the occasion and show their appreciation of The Big Cheese in our household, their Daddy-Cat, who has no equal when it comes to hunting and gathering for his brood. The kitties came through in fine style, with some presents that were sure to please the old man, although not perhaps the cat toys and Fancy Feast they would have preferred, but maybe more appropriate to the actual recipient. There was even breakfast in bed, albeit a store-bought coffee cake, however, that did not seem to detract from the enjoyment of it either. They also came across with some new slippers, trash cans, a computer magazine subscription, as well as a few handy household items, and the requisite junk food, which is a staple that graces every occasion at our house, and none the less welcome for its ubiquitousness. One very special selection was a set of decorative yard lights that look like wood pilings with nautical beacons on their tops, and tied together with coiled rope, for a jaunty seaside motif. We all agreed that they were much too cute to put outside, and would make much better night lights than yard lights, and that's not just some fish story, believe me.
Now that it's almost July, our friends at Brentwood-Benson Music figure there's no point in beating around the bush any longer, and just essentially marking time by sending out catalogues for "Fall and Holiday" like everyone else. At least in their minds, the time has come to call a spade a spade, and they were not going to wait any longer to send out their Christmas 2010 catalogue, complete with snow-covered village on the cover, and all the snowflakes, mangers and herald angels that anyone could want inside, not to mention, Wise Men up the proverbial wazoo. Personally, I prefer my Star of Bethlehem and shepherds abiding in their fields at a time when the temperature is more conducive to mittens and hot chocolate, and not quite so blisteringly hot as the middle of June, when my thoughts are very far from the cozy blaze of the Yule log, and that's not just the eggnog talking, believe me.
Ever since the Clerk's position has been eliminated in Purchasing, it has fallen to me to order supplies for the department, and I know what you're thinking - with my poor addled brain (such as it is) in charge of this, you can't think much of our chances at having the supplies we need on hand to do our work with, and you wouldn't be far off the mark. Fortunately, these aren't life-and-death patient supplies for surgery, where lives hang in the balance, but just routine office products that we requisition from our Storeroom, like pens and paper clips and file folders. I will say that it doesn't help to work in a department where they must believe that the shoemaker elves just show up magically with supplies in the middle of the night and restock the supply closet, because it wouldn't occur to anyone to point out to me that we're down to our last one of something, so that I would have a chance to re-order whatever it is before we've already run out of it, thanks not. While I try my best to check the supplies on a regular basis to make sure that we have plenty of everything on hand, heaven knows, anyone would know better than to expect that to work, so the supply situation in the department can be more of a hit-or-miss proposition than it should be. Last week, I was checking things over in the supply closet, and happened to notice that we had no more toner cartridges for our copier, which we get from our copier vendor at no charge as part of our lease. I have no one to blame but myself there, because we so rarely change the toner cartridge that when someone from another department with the same copier calls in a panic and has no toner, I routinely let them have one of ours, which I must have done at least twice, since we had none left at all. I was surprised that it didn't occur to me at the time that I should call the vendor and order another box of toners, but there was no denying the empty space in the closet where the toners should have been, and noticeably weren't. So I called and ordered another box, which came promptly, and I moved it to an inconspicuous part of my office, until I had time to unpack and put them away, which I finally did. I still had the empty box standing up in a corner, until I had a chance to break it down and put it out with the trash, and I found it a handy place to set things temporarily when I needed to clear a space on my desk, or shift piles of papers from one place to another without making it even worse. At one point, I picked up some papers that I had left on the box, and as if seeing it for the first time, my eyes were drawn to an identical box that was in the back of my office on the floor, and which I had apparently been using as a table, since it was covered with loose papers, folders, labels and catalogues, almost to the point of being completely obliterated from sight. That was the "aha" moment when I realized that I had in fact called to order a replacement box of toners previously, and put it on the floor, and then proceeded to treat it like a piece of furniture, and an extremely unmemorable one at that, ever since. So I guess the good news is that now we have way more toners than we will ever need for our copier, which will at least make the people in other departments happy when they need to borrow one.
Last week, I found myself in White Plains, on Mamaroneck Avenue, which is a bustling thoroughfare, chock-a-block with offices, banks, shops and fine dining establishments of all varieties. There's a reason that the local people say: "If you can't find it in White Plains, it's probably because you're lost," and they're not just whistling Dixie, believe me. You've got to be on the top of your game if you're going to travel around White Plains, because one wrong turn, and you're just as likely to wind up in an inter-galactic worm hole that shoots you to a far-flung solar system, or falling down a rabbit hole that lands you like Alice in Wonderland. So I was looking pretty sharp about me as I was driving, which is how I spotted the gentleman who had double-parked while dashing into a nearby eatery to pick up his order, and when he came back to his car, I noticed that he pressed his key fob to unlock the doors and un-set the alarm. Frankly, this would have made more sense to me if it hadn't been a convertible, which not only had the roof and all the windows rolled down, but also someone sitting in the passenger seat besides. Of course, he might have just come from the other end of that inter-galactic worm hole, but in that case, I wouldn't recommend the sushi.
Speaking of cars, it was in the Wheels Extra section from last week's newspaper that featured a cover story about the new 2010 Scion XD, from our friend Connie Keane of Motor Matters, and which actually starts out with this arresting statement:
=============================
I'm sure you've heard the expression,
"Don't let your light shine under a bush."
==============================
Well, no, technically speaking, I can't say that I've ever heard that expression in my entire life. Perhaps on the far distant planet that Scion comes from, in the Galaxy of Idioms-That-Make-No-Sense, people there use that expression all the time, and it might even mean something to them, in their incomprehensible atmosphere and incongruous gravity, where anything goes and nobody knows why. Here on this particular planet, I would expect the inhabitants to be more accustomed to the familiar phrase: "Don't hide your light under a bushel." In fact, I might even say this was an entirely different kettle of fish, but I was planning to take a trip through the inter-galactic worm hole, and so the sushi is completely out of the question.
Elle
Happy Summer! We have now officially entered the season of those lazy, hazy, crazy days, and don't spare the lemonade and watermelon, by golly. This is the time to kick back and relax, and make it a point to enjoy all of the advantages that summer has to offer, that we may long for the rest of the year in vain, when the frosty winds blow and snow is everywhere. Although the weather does not always seem to correlate to the season at hand to the extent that we might hope, I'm thinking that we should finally be able to count on some consistent conditions from this point forward, and at least in this area, that means only one thing: hot, hotter and even hotter yet still. That is, unless they got some different accessories for the Kremlin's infernal weather machine, and rather than the usual heat and humidity around here, they start throwing plagues of locusts and raining frogs at us instead. I think we can all agree that summer can be tough enough to get through, without unleashing new obstacles of Biblical proportions, thanks not.
Of course, last Sunday was Father's Day, and around here that means that it's time for our cats to rise to the occasion and show their appreciation of The Big Cheese in our household, their Daddy-Cat, who has no equal when it comes to hunting and gathering for his brood. The kitties came through in fine style, with some presents that were sure to please the old man, although not perhaps the cat toys and Fancy Feast they would have preferred, but maybe more appropriate to the actual recipient. There was even breakfast in bed, albeit a store-bought coffee cake, however, that did not seem to detract from the enjoyment of it either. They also came across with some new slippers, trash cans, a computer magazine subscription, as well as a few handy household items, and the requisite junk food, which is a staple that graces every occasion at our house, and none the less welcome for its ubiquitousness. One very special selection was a set of decorative yard lights that look like wood pilings with nautical beacons on their tops, and tied together with coiled rope, for a jaunty seaside motif. We all agreed that they were much too cute to put outside, and would make much better night lights than yard lights, and that's not just some fish story, believe me.
Now that it's almost July, our friends at Brentwood-Benson Music figure there's no point in beating around the bush any longer, and just essentially marking time by sending out catalogues for "Fall and Holiday" like everyone else. At least in their minds, the time has come to call a spade a spade, and they were not going to wait any longer to send out their Christmas 2010 catalogue, complete with snow-covered village on the cover, and all the snowflakes, mangers and herald angels that anyone could want inside, not to mention, Wise Men up the proverbial wazoo. Personally, I prefer my Star of Bethlehem and shepherds abiding in their fields at a time when the temperature is more conducive to mittens and hot chocolate, and not quite so blisteringly hot as the middle of June, when my thoughts are very far from the cozy blaze of the Yule log, and that's not just the eggnog talking, believe me.
Ever since the Clerk's position has been eliminated in Purchasing, it has fallen to me to order supplies for the department, and I know what you're thinking - with my poor addled brain (such as it is) in charge of this, you can't think much of our chances at having the supplies we need on hand to do our work with, and you wouldn't be far off the mark. Fortunately, these aren't life-and-death patient supplies for surgery, where lives hang in the balance, but just routine office products that we requisition from our Storeroom, like pens and paper clips and file folders. I will say that it doesn't help to work in a department where they must believe that the shoemaker elves just show up magically with supplies in the middle of the night and restock the supply closet, because it wouldn't occur to anyone to point out to me that we're down to our last one of something, so that I would have a chance to re-order whatever it is before we've already run out of it, thanks not. While I try my best to check the supplies on a regular basis to make sure that we have plenty of everything on hand, heaven knows, anyone would know better than to expect that to work, so the supply situation in the department can be more of a hit-or-miss proposition than it should be. Last week, I was checking things over in the supply closet, and happened to notice that we had no more toner cartridges for our copier, which we get from our copier vendor at no charge as part of our lease. I have no one to blame but myself there, because we so rarely change the toner cartridge that when someone from another department with the same copier calls in a panic and has no toner, I routinely let them have one of ours, which I must have done at least twice, since we had none left at all. I was surprised that it didn't occur to me at the time that I should call the vendor and order another box of toners, but there was no denying the empty space in the closet where the toners should have been, and noticeably weren't. So I called and ordered another box, which came promptly, and I moved it to an inconspicuous part of my office, until I had time to unpack and put them away, which I finally did. I still had the empty box standing up in a corner, until I had a chance to break it down and put it out with the trash, and I found it a handy place to set things temporarily when I needed to clear a space on my desk, or shift piles of papers from one place to another without making it even worse. At one point, I picked up some papers that I had left on the box, and as if seeing it for the first time, my eyes were drawn to an identical box that was in the back of my office on the floor, and which I had apparently been using as a table, since it was covered with loose papers, folders, labels and catalogues, almost to the point of being completely obliterated from sight. That was the "aha" moment when I realized that I had in fact called to order a replacement box of toners previously, and put it on the floor, and then proceeded to treat it like a piece of furniture, and an extremely unmemorable one at that, ever since. So I guess the good news is that now we have way more toners than we will ever need for our copier, which will at least make the people in other departments happy when they need to borrow one.
Last week, I found myself in White Plains, on Mamaroneck Avenue, which is a bustling thoroughfare, chock-a-block with offices, banks, shops and fine dining establishments of all varieties. There's a reason that the local people say: "If you can't find it in White Plains, it's probably because you're lost," and they're not just whistling Dixie, believe me. You've got to be on the top of your game if you're going to travel around White Plains, because one wrong turn, and you're just as likely to wind up in an inter-galactic worm hole that shoots you to a far-flung solar system, or falling down a rabbit hole that lands you like Alice in Wonderland. So I was looking pretty sharp about me as I was driving, which is how I spotted the gentleman who had double-parked while dashing into a nearby eatery to pick up his order, and when he came back to his car, I noticed that he pressed his key fob to unlock the doors and un-set the alarm. Frankly, this would have made more sense to me if it hadn't been a convertible, which not only had the roof and all the windows rolled down, but also someone sitting in the passenger seat besides. Of course, he might have just come from the other end of that inter-galactic worm hole, but in that case, I wouldn't recommend the sushi.
Speaking of cars, it was in the Wheels Extra section from last week's newspaper that featured a cover story about the new 2010 Scion XD, from our friend Connie Keane of Motor Matters, and which actually starts out with this arresting statement:
=============================
I'm sure you've heard the expression,
"Don't let your light shine under a bush."
==============================
Well, no, technically speaking, I can't say that I've ever heard that expression in my entire life. Perhaps on the far distant planet that Scion comes from, in the Galaxy of Idioms-That-Make-No-Sense, people there use that expression all the time, and it might even mean something to them, in their incomprehensible atmosphere and incongruous gravity, where anything goes and nobody knows why. Here on this particular planet, I would expect the inhabitants to be more accustomed to the familiar phrase: "Don't hide your light under a bushel." In fact, I might even say this was an entirely different kettle of fish, but I was planning to take a trip through the inter-galactic worm hole, and so the sushi is completely out of the question.
Elle
posted by El Tango Fandango @ 8:13 PM
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