Theme Day

Many of my days seem to have a theme. They range from simple things like everyone I encounter being tired (which today was mostly true) to scary things like all the drivers on the road seeming to want to hit me (which are thankfully rare and to date unsuccessful). [Sadly, I am too tired to adequately define theme days it seems].

Today, however, has been a literal theme day. I had an e-mail in my hotmail inbox about new themes, so I took a look, impressed by how hovering over the theme would preview its appearance on my open inbox, and changed my theme to cherry blossoms.

Later in the day, I thought gmail was looking a bit odd, and sure enough there was a message about themes. Tempted to just return to classic, I decided I would try the Summer Ocean theme. Not sure I'll keep it, but it's an interesting change. I'd try the Ninja theme, but I think I'd giggle too much.

Identification Needed Now Found

Any idea where this is? I find it is an amazing visual that I should have seen at some point before. The person who found it Googling didn't make note of what it was and the search he gave me proved unfruitful.

Update: Someone called it the Bishops Door, and that led to a Google search where I found it as the door to St. Nicholas Cathedral in Ljubljana, Slovenia. And a picture with the door actually open.

What a difference a week makes

Last Thursday, when I got home from work, I realized I couldn't find my cell phone. I knew I'd had it the night before, knew I'd left it where it should have found its way into my bag, but I could not actually recall having seen it all day. I was very tired, still trying to regain my health after being sick. It is times like that I am most likely to misplace things, although in general I tend not to lose things.

I'd hoped I'd left it at work somehow. Or it had fallen out of my bag where I'd went to lunch on Thursday (Thursday was one of those days were the world is suddenly wetter than you can ever imagine, so I hadn't gone many places). No luck. Friday I searched my car and apartment even better than I had before. I even went to the few other places I had been, where theoretically it could have fallen out of my bag, but it wasn't anywhere.

Saturday, I decided to accept the fact that, while it couldn't have possibly disappeared off the face of the earth, it was lost somewhere and I should get myself a new phone. I'd been thinking about getting an iPhone. My contract was up in February, so I hadn't done much beyond just salivate over my friends' iPhones, and wonder if my reception would be better than on my Sync. Thankfully, I was eligible for a new phone so I did just go ahead and indulge myself. And, I'm still giddy about it here on day 7, especially as the reception does seem better. That and I can now look things up instantly online.

This morning when I went to get into my car, I found my cell phone. It was just lying there at the back of the driver's seat, slightly hidden by the seat back. I do have to wonder if it was really there all the time. Did I really get into the car differently than I had been? Could I really not have seen it there in my searching? I did just get the car back from the mechanics yesterday, but would they really just put it in that random spot? Or did their moving the seat change its visibility?

I had a feeling I would find it someday, but that might only be because it is rare for me to actually lose anything. I was hoping it wouldn't be in such a lame spot, though. Oh, well.

Check Engine

My check engine light came on driving from my allergists. I was headed to Jamba Juice in U Village so I checked the manual and under the hood. Wound up taking it to Herman's. I hung out in that neighborhood for around 90 minutes before convincing myself I could get home. Easily caught a 48, happened to get off right by where the 16 goes, and didn't wait too long for it.

Herman's finally called around 12:30. Could not understand the guy, but there's a problem in some system. The valve is fine so they need to delve deeper, to the tune of another $180 (I now realize how truly wonderful Scandia auto was!). Not sure when they'll be done, assuming they find what they hope to.

I'm journaling about how much things like this affect me. Not able to find comfort with uncertainty. Is it being carless? Worried about car issues? Having my day plan go out the window? Having to pay money unexpectedly? Needing to navigate back? Or is it more a too many of those things all at once?

I need to find an answer to why I am so affected sometimes. Or at least a way to minimize the effect. I was thinking I needed the one to have the other, but maybe that isn't really true.

It seems to be pouring outside. It barely rained when I was out. Normally, I'd find reassurance in that, but when I am where I am right now, all the positive stuff seems to go away and I'm stuck focusing on something a la "this is not happening." I was once told I have a kink in my sense of spontaneity. This would definitely be it.

Oldest Veterans

There are only a handful of Veterans left around the world from WWI. I heard on the news tonight that many countries lost their last remaining Veteran this year. The US still has one, who is 107 years old. The war itself will be 100 years old not that many years from now.

I read a lot of books written in the twenties and thirties, a time after WWI, when most of the men, at least in the British books, served in that war to end all wars. There is talk of shell shock and otherwise never being the same after the war. There is a naivety about it all since they could not know what was to come: Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito, the holocaust.

As Ferris Bueller noted, life goes by pretty fast, and thus it is easy to lose perspective. To think of WWI as being so very very long ago. My grandparents were of the wrong age to be involved in WWI, although they were all alive then. My father’s father was around 13 when the war ended. My mother’s father was likely nearly 40 (I should really figure out when he was born, since I am sort-of named after him).

I was a little disturbed recently to realize that I was born only 22 years after the end of WWII. That seems much closer than I ever imagined when I was younger. WWI had been over 48 years when I was born, so most of its Veterans were already in passed retirement age. Time does move quickly. And I wish we did a little more to take time out on days like today to make sure we don’t miss it.

Voting

I filled out my absentee ballot tonight. It felt good, both voting for someone I'm excited to have be our next President, and knowing that this election will soon be over (and the negative campaign ads will be off the airwaves).

I am anxious for the results of the election, and need to find somewhere to go to watch it unfold with other people (assuming my cold has run its course by then). In 2004, a bunch of us gathered at my friends Ryan and Kate's, complaining of Ohio voter fraud. Let's hope there are no cause for doubts about the vote on either side this time around.

Hopefully, it will all be settled in around 48 hours from now and, especially here in Washington state, there will be no need for any recounts.

November

It seems like just yesterday I was writing about Junember (but perhaps that is just because I blog so rarely these days). It is the first day of November and it is gray and very wet. Only a matter of time before the wind picks up. Yesterday morning's 7 day forcast was all showers and 50's for the next seven days (although it did manage to clear up in time for any trick-or-treaters that still exist in big city America these days).

Despite the gloomy meteorological forecast (and a slightly unhappy left sinus), I'm feeling pretty optimistic about November. For one thing, it starts and ends with weekends this year, plus the 3 days of holidays (Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving, and the day after Thanksgiving), plus I'm taking the rest of the week of Veterans' Day off, so that means 13/30 working days! That helps lift anyone's gloom.

I am also going to try my hand at the whole National Novel Writing Month thing again, and providing myself the time and focus to write feels good.

I also managed to get some projects done by today so that I could get writing. I even, between yesterday and today, managed to read the second Dexter novel; as well as part of the latest issue of The Economist, which I just got a subscription to, the first issue arriving in my mailbox last night with Obama on the cover and the words "It's time."

That's how I am feeling in general. It is time. Even if it is off to a typical gloomy November.