Rachel Murray

Which one are you? I totally thought I was logical. Apparently I’m touchy-feely. Even after staring at it and willing myself to see her counter-clockwise. I think I’m becoming less analytical and more “in touch with my feelings” the older I get. I used to be an ESTJ. I’m absolutely an ESFJ now. Evolving is fun. Though I’m a little disturbed at being lumped in the same category with Desi Arnaz, Sally Struthers and Barney Fife. (Take the test yourself.)

Oh and by the way, I found it in my pretty new firefox happy “better gmail” with embedded google reader. Now I can get all my crack in one place. They also have skins, most of which are heinous, but the clean one is nice.

Umm, so first I just find out about the gphone. Then I just find out about the new Wes Anderson flick. And now I find that one of my favorite movies is being made into a sequel. Elizabeth, with the fabulous Cate Blanchett (who really should have won the oscar… sorry Gwen). Man, I hope it doesn’t suck.

So my dad’s on YouTube. He’s in his 70s and has more joie de vivre in his little pinkie than most people half his age have in their whole bodies. He’s a semi-retired conductor who believes passionately in this new form of exercise he created called Conductorcise. Have a look. It’s brilliant!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00c8-3z9V9I]

I’m using again in full force for the first time since 8am Wednesday morning. Oh sure, I dabbled for 20 minutes yesterday and this morning, but that was purely as an emergency, to check for any critical email.

I moved on Wednesday. I guess the video card didn’t like the move, because it died on me. I knew this was the problem after talking to customer service representative #1 at Dell. He was nice. Very helpful. In retrospect, I realize he was helpful because I didn’t have a clue what was going on. He put me through to non-warranty technical support. Apparently it costs $35 for the call and additional fees for any parts and labor required. Since I basically got free technical support from the first guy, why would I pay for this? So I hung up and rushed to Best Buy to buy a new video card, thinking stupidly that they’re all the same.

I couldn’t get the old one out, either, but because I was impatient, I just figured whatever I bought would work and I’d figure out how to get the card out eventually. Miracle of miracles, I did. It didn’t require any screwing. There are blue plastic bits, not unlike a printer, that guide the stupid user (i.e. me) to easily remove and reattach parts.

Sadly, the video card I bought was the wrong kind. I panicked and called Dell technical support to ask what video card I was holding in my hand (since they had all my information already). The guy started trying to troubleshoot the problem. I got hostile. I was in no mood to go through the tech support Q&A again and I asked a very direct question that should have been easy to answer. Man, he got on my nerves. At this point I was on day 3 of my withdrawal and was in no mood. After almost crying (there was definite whining) that I just wanted to know the video card information, he FINALLY gave it to me. I said great, if I ordered it from you, could I get it tomorrow? He said no, the earliest they could ship it was the 24th. I said he was ridiculous and said goodbye. At that point, I searched online (yes, at the Kinkos) to order the part, which I did.

But wait, it gets better. My “man friend” said there are basically two kinds. I said, noooo, Dell’s done something weird and magical and the part I need is really hard to get. I was wrong. He was right. And man, it feels so good to be wrong about stuff like this. I got a generic part (PCI-E, it turns out) and voila, good as new.

So here I am, Saturday afternoon (almost evening!) and feeling ohhhh sooooo goooood right now. I’m listening to Pandora, chatting with Cindy, writing this post, and deciding whether or not I want to join the Y near my new ‘hood.  I’ve already transferred some money around, checked my bank balance and put in a request for some work to be done in the apartment. Did I mention I got online about one hour ago?

This is why I don’t have a blackberry. If I’m this bad now, imagine the possibilities with that thing.

Today is my last day at work. I have about ten million things to do before I move (not the least of which is getting my hair cut… priorities, baby). But my obsession over the past week or so has been about colors, particularly yellow. Because my new condo is on the wee side, I felt strongly that it needed to pack a punch, color-wise. This was no time to be conservative. That said, I didn’t want anything gaudy. Sadly, the first color I chose was. So much for relying on a paint chip to decide my fate. I tried *literally* about 10 different yellow samples before stumbling on something close to what I wanted. Then yesterday, my friend asked me to go to Edible Arrangements with her and their wall color was just what I was looking for. (Are you bored yet?)

It’s York Harbor Yellow. Who knew? Someone else is painting it, too, because after trying to paint myself, I wanted to die. I mean, I felt like I slowly was anyway. I was doing a crappy job and putting in a lot of effort, so I stopped. I’ll show pictures once it’s done. Yay!

Other colors are Tucson Red for sexy alcove/bedroom, Oxford Gray for the kitchen backsplash (a slate blue) and Lily White (the blue’s lightest shade in that color strip) for the rest of the kitchen and the foyer.

I’m currently in the midst of getting my brand new condo in habitable shape. One of the must-gets is a new oven. Mine is in pretty rough shape and seems to be leaking gas (Sears, here I come).

Here’s a clip from the 1967 film called 1999AD, providing a glimpse of what the kitchen of the future holds. Computers, microwaves and video conferencing. Not too terribly far off, eh? Personally, I just want a really great oven.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=1872819748007083565]

My friend Clare (seen here attempting to squeeze a statue’s buns… yes, on my command) is coming to visit in a few weeks. She’s probably the only person I know who is both a genius and totally humble. She’s like a 10 year old and is wiser than I could ever be. It’s not too surprising that she’s a web developer. Yet another genius geek. Does it ever get boring? I think not.

3bf4, originally uploaded by remtheory.

So, I live in the northeast, where weather isn’t known to be wonderful. But this is ridiculous. April snow showers will not bring May flowers, now will they? Not with a Nor’easter. I think not. Well, at least I didn’t have to run in it. But when will it end? Not this week, apparently.

As a single self-proclaimed 21st century geek gal, it’s no surprise that I’ve tried the online dating thing. It makes sense. It’s like online shopping, right? Convenient and efficient. You can take a look at 20 pictures of eligible bachelors at once. Click a button and reject or contact someone instantly. No muss, no fuss. Some even use AJAX for optimal speed weeding. It’s bizarre. And kind of gross when you think about it. Isn’t there something oxymoronic (yeah, i made that word up) about reducing the craziest, most intense feeling in the world to a formula, system and process?

My coworkers are primarily women and, while I love where I live, we’re not known as the most open people on the planet. Parties? Sure. They tend to be filled with married couples, uncomfortable men and single women. Awkward. I miss the parties of the carefree old days.

So I recently decided to give it a concerted effort, in order to really “get out there”. I plunged in, two feet first, eyes wide open, holding my breath. So far I’ve met some lovely people, but there hasn’t been any spark. I thought, “Well, this is normal. It takes time to get comfortable with someone else… right? And the odds… those odds… they’ve increased, so it’s just a matter of time… right?”

But then I met someone in the real world who I clicked with instantly and deeply. And I thought about it afterwards. It was nice. Natural. Real.

One of the problems with online dating is that it’s forced and artificial. You walk into that first in-person meet (which I like to refer to as the “pre-date”) with the sole intention of the possibility of romance. Will I like him? Will he like me? Will he look like his picture? Was he lying in his profile? No matter how relaxed and breezy you feel, there’s still some tension, excitement, hope, fear.

In the real world, this isn’t the case. You walk into a room with the intention of doing something else and if you’re lucky enough to randomly cross paths with a person you’re in sync with, you don’t have those built-in expectations. And it’s natural. Real. Wonderful.

So I think I need to step out of the online dating world and back into the real world. I figure that even though the odds will be greater meeting a “compatible” guy online, the charge I got from meeting an amazing guy offline makes it clear to me that it’ll be worth the wait.

So, I’m doing my usual routine. Get up. Turn oven on to make bagel (long story). Turn on Air America radio. What do I hear?

Nos emocionan para traer a oyentes hispánicos a través de Orlando una estación que pueden llamar sus el propios, “Linda comentado Byrd, vice presidente regional para la Florida central y del norte. “Orlando es uno de los mercados hispánicos cada vez mayor más rápidos de la nación y es también una del más grande con el aproximadamente 20% de oyentes que son hispánicos.

QUE??????

GodDAMNit, can’t anyone do anything right?

From Kos
From the Globe

Goodbye Air America, hello “Rumba.” Thursday at noon, Clear Channel stations WKOX-AM (1200) and WXKS-AM (1430) will switch from “Boston’s Progressive Talk” to “La Nueva Rumba,” both simulcasting a “tropical” format of primarily Spanish-language announcers and music, ranging from salsa, merengue, and bachata to the contemporary sound of reggaeton. Spearheading the new format, which carries the tagline “Orgullo Latino” (“Latino Pride”), is Rafael “Raffy” Contigo, a 26-year veteran of both English- and Spanish-language radio who has already flipped Clear Channel-owned stations in other markets.

RIDICULOUS