Author: Teel

I haven’t had a chance to followup on the issue of the girl I ran into last Saturday night. It isn’t as dire as some people seem to think. No, I haven’t received an email. Yes, I do believe it was her. No, I am not overly frazzled about the ordeal at this time. In fact, due to my interpretation of the situation and other outside factors, I have lately felt very much at peace. If anything, I am more at peace now than I was before the incident.

Think about it: I’ve been searching for this person for nearly five years and out of the blue I see that she is alive and well. Unless I assume something catastrophic has occurred in the last week, I can assume that she is still alive and well. This is better than what I had two weeks ago, re: the missing girl. This is not as good as my fondest hopes and dreams, but luckily I am able to understand that life is not always like a dream, and sometimes a little bit is the best you can hope for from a dream in real life.

So, I’m thinking of what to say in a letter the the address I got for her mother that I will send this time certified of return service or … something, and I’m sure that unless that pans out I’ll be running some sort of search on her name in the early summer. Just to check up on her. Because I still care.

Not because I’m frantic or desperate or believe sincerely that a relationship will form out of the aether, but because I love her and care about her well-being and I would like to able to believe that if I learned that she was in trouble I could be able to help. Like you would for a loved one. I guess that’s the problem with being alone for so long; I don’t have enough outlet for all the love I want to give.

So, don’t worry about me, and don’t worry about the situation. Nothing about it has changed this year, and probably won’t any time soon. And I’m good with that.

Did I mention just how much I seem to like my head when it’s just been shaved and is still really, really bald? ‘Cause I seem to like it quite a bit. Of course, this is probably related to the fact that as the hair grows back in (all too quickly, I might add) it grows in patchy at best on the front 1/3rd of my head, and we both know that will only get worse over time. Which is why I shaved my head in the first place.

Those of you who have been paying attention have heard me mentioning that I was going to be shaving my head for up to a couple of years now, with increasing reminders and shorter and shorter haircuts leading up to . . . the two-year anniversary of the last time I “cut all my hair off”. One more year & I would have started to look unfashionably thinning/balding, and wouldn’t have made it to the next new year without giving up and shaving my head arbitrarily. Plus, I got a chance to see the fullness that my facial hair is currently capable of by letting it grow for three months unencumbered. Plus, if you’ve seen The Royal Tenenbaums, just be glad I didn’t slit my wrists, too.

So, they released the new flat-screen iMac today, like I thought they would. I love it. It’s much better than I imagined it would be, design-wise, and powerful to boot. They didn’t reveal the G5, but it has to be right around the corner, and I don’t think I could afford it anyway. BUT, I have been without a proper desktop PC for quite some time, and I think I can afford the iMac. And I think it will suit me pretty well.

I watched most of Steve Jobs’ keynote speach, though with the on-again off-again connection here at work and no sound, it was patchy at best. iPhoto really makes me want to get a digital camera, now more then ever. Of course between new hardware and new software (I want to get Office v.X for Mac ($459 retail – $150 rebate if I buy it with a new Mac = $309), for instance), I couldn’t afford a digital camera for quite a while anyway. Or maybe I can. I never know. Heck, for all you know the world is going to end 5/5/02, so why should I worry about …

The Apple Instant Loan I just applied for to buy the new iMac. Ooh! Checking the other window I see I have been approved! Which means I can now get the new Top-Of-The-Line iMac with Office delivered to me at the end of the month, with 6 months same as cash. Oops.. I just accepted the loan, processed it online, and placed my order. I will be receiving my new iMac 2 days after they roll off the assembly line at the end of the month. It will all work out fine. I have been in the habit of doubling my computing power when I choose my new computer, and this one is the next-gen chip at twice the Mhz, for less money than I paid for my laptop 2 years ago.

Wow. I bought my last computer 2 years ago. I guess it really was time to upgrade.

I don’t know how long the article will be there, but MSN Astrology has some great suggestions for new years resolutions, based on your Astrological sign. Now, I don’t put much faith in Astrology, but I especially like the suggestions for Saggitarius and Capricorn. Try applying these suggestions to your daily life. Except Cancer. Try putting on weight without letting the extra pounds get “unsightly”.

I suppose that at the root of the matter, there is a fundamental difference between how the current management and IT departments view access and use of the internet in the workplace, and how I do. When I agreed to take up employment with this company, I had a certain understanding of what my job responsibilities would be, what my pay rate would be, and what my benefits included. I accepted a reduced amount of paid vacation time and increased technical requirements from my previous job in return for full medical and dental coverage (which went entirely unused in 2001), a small increase in pay, and high-speed internet access availability during working hours.

Continue reading Employment vs. the internet (2)