The First Day of Summer

And probably also the last. Today, September 7th, 2011, marks the first and only day of the year where it will be warm enough to wear shorts after dark. Oh, Bay Area summer. Why must you be so fickle?

I keep trying to explain local seasons to my coworkers, none of whom are Bay Areans (have I mentioned lately how unfortunate that moniker is?), but they seem to have some sort of mental block, so I've made this handy dandy graph. Please enjoy.

 

Apologies for the rough* sketch. In a perfect world, the peaks and valleys would be more distinct. The biggest weather-related question I get is some variation of "How can it be raining right now?! It was like 95° yesterday!" It just is, okay? It. Just. Is.

Happy last day of summer, everyone!

*My editor brain is super pissed that only one of the labels on the y-axis has a period. Consistency fail. Laziness win.

Are You an Innie or an Exie?

Two blog posts in two days?! What is the world coming to?

My coworkers and I were having a discussion about introversion and extroversion the other day. It was prompted by this article, which was featured in The Atlantic in 2003. Oh gosh, I just realized that was eight years ago. Now I feel old.

Anyway...

In case you didn't read the article before moving past that link (it's really short, I promise), the basic idea is that introverts and extroverts are practically two different species: while extroverts get energy by being around people, introverts are drained by social situations and need time to recharge. On this count, I definitely agree with the author.

Almost all of my friends are extroverts, and while I love them all, I just...need a break every once in a while. Many of them cannot comprehend the fact that I actually enjoy being by myself. I'm not by myself because I don't have anyone to hang out with; I'm by myself because, after a day of interacting with my coworkers for eight straight hours, I don't have the energy or the desire to be around other people. All I want to do is sink into my chair and watch Netflix movies. Is that really so strange?

I loved almost everything in the article, but I did have a problem with one assertion: the idea that extroverts are easy for introverts to understand. Maybe the author meant that extroverts as people are easy to understand -- they often wear their hearts on their sleeves and are not shy about expressing themselves -- but I took it more as an assumption that extroversion as a concept isn't hard to figure out, which I do not agree with at all.

I just don't get it. How in the world can a person spend every waking moment with other people? I have friends who, during the summer, would just hop from group to group. The only time they would spend at their own houses would be the eight hours or so that they needed to sleep, and the only waking minutes they would spend by themselves was the time it took them to arrange another outing. I never understood how a person could do that, and I probably never will.

So, while I agree that extroverts will probably never understand introversion, it's also pretty hard for us introverts to wrap our heads around how you extroverts do what you do. Maybe we can all just make a pact to be a bit more understanding of one another. World peace and all that jazz. Because I'm certainly never going to change.

My Life, In Numbers

Quite the eventful week this week:

One surgery avoided, thanks to my negative MRI results.

Two computer monitors that are all mine. My new dual system has exponentially increased my productivity, which was the whole point, I suppose.

Three different burrito places visited for lunch. We're on a quest for the best burrito. We will not stop until we find it.

Four(th) hockey class missed. Looks like I'm officially out for the season.

Five new projects at work. The next few months are going to be fuuuun.

Six-month anniversary at my first real job. I've now officially broken my previous employment record. What. Up.

Seven sodas enjoyed over the past seven days, despite my intention to "cut back." No sleep + no caffeine = zombie. No sleep + caffeine = productive zombie. I'll have to work on that.

And, I couldn't think of anything for eight, so I guess this experiment is over.

It's almost the end of July, and I haven't even gotten a chance to enjoy my summer yet. I want to go to the aquarium! And the zoo! Have to go to the zoo.

Serial (Comma) Killer

Dear Oxford University Press,

I was about to sit down and type up a missive on my love of the Oxford comma, but then I discovered that you were absolved of this oh-so-heinous murder. So, my apologies. I should never have doubted you.

But there goes my brilliant idea for a blog post.

Things in my life are about the same as usual. However, I have this overwhelming feeling that a storm's a-brewing. I haven't decided if it's a good storm or a bad storm, but I can definitely feel the rumbling. And yes, that was oddly vague.

In other news, I'm currently in love with Bruno Mars' album, Doo-Wops and Hooligans. Maybe it's just the name - or the fact that I can't get enough of his Rockabilly style - but I've had it on repeat for days.

Sorry for the drive-by, but I have warm weather and cool tunes. Can't get much better than that.

Happy summer!

Favoritism

I'm obviously playing blog favorites here. All I do is work and hockey, and I figure you guys are tired of hearing about work and not all that interested in learning about what new and exciting ways I've found to injure myself, so...yeah. Sorry about that.

I do have non-work things to talk about today!

The most exciting thing to happen this week: I found some vandalism on a Wikipedia article, and I submitted a correction and got an email from the Wikipedia information team thanking me! Okay, so it sounds a lot less thrilling now, but it totally made my day. I took a screenshot for posterity:

First of all, if you're going to vandalize Wikipedia, at least spell "douchebag" right. Second of all, farting? Really? Who messed with this page? A fourth grade boy?

I had to do some legitimate, work-related research on whether or not triple rainbows actually existed (they do), hence the "Rainbow" page.

Other non-work thing: I went running on Wednesday. It didn't suck as badly as I thought it would, but my front calves* hurt like a mother. I was going to go again today, but I managed to seriously injure my knee while skating yesterday. Things popped. It was not good. But I'm all hopped up on acetaminophen with codeine, which is helping with the pain and making it so I can walk. No hockey for me on Sunday, though. Super bummed.

What else? Oh! We went on a field trip to our new office today. It's pretty swanky. Top floor (out of two, but it still counts). Indoor waterfall/rainforest type thing, which is weird. The trees and water combo somehow make it really humid in the lobby, which is also quite strange. It's like stepping from Mountain View into Miami...and then back to Mountain View again. And we'll actually get our name on the door! I'll take pictures when we're officially moved in.

I think that's about it, guys. S, have an awesome time in Jozi. I expect a slideshow when you return! And H, don't die of heat exhaustion.

*I'm sure there is a more scientific name for the muscles over your shins, but I don't feel like looking it up.

Time Off for Good Behavior

This is the third weekend in a row that I haven't had to work. Count 'em. 1, 2, 3. Is this what it feels like to have a regular job?

I'm finding it to be awesome and soul-crushing at the same time.

It's amazing and wonderful and fantastic because I actually get to take a breather. I don't feel like I'm slowly being crushed under the weight of impending doom, which is how most of my workdays go. Having the weekend off gives me a chance to shut my computer down (well, figuratively speaking). I don't check my work email, I don't read drafts, I don't edit anything...I just relax. Biking used to be my go-to activity, but the weird, non-summer weather that has struck the Bay Area in recent weeks makes that relatively impossible. I'm switching to hockey soon, though. Super excited about that.

It's horrible and insufferable and spirit-killing because, these days, I actually realize what I'm missing. I didn't comprehend how tightly I was wound until I got a chance to unwind. I didn't know how horrible my quality of sleep was until I got a few 10-hour nights under my belt. And I didn't understand what havoc all this stress was wreaking on my body until I managed to de-stress and take stock. I still enjoy my job and my coworkers are still amazing (they are definitely the saving graces during those not-so-awesome days), but having weekends off makes me dread Mondays even more than I used to. It's like my body is screaming with all the power it can muster: "Don't make me go back there! I want to liiiiive!"

Still, I do it week after week, hoping that the coming weekend will bring me back from the brink. Luckily, it appears to be working. For now.

In other news, I have a new blog: Riding the Pine. It is going to be all about my upcoming introduction to hockey. I will not blame any of you if you choose not to read it. Like I said, it's all hockey, all the time. Just thought I'd put it out there.

Hey-Oh!

I was about to wonder aloud whether it had really only been two weeks since I posted last, and then I realized that I completely forgot about the month of April. Ah, the joys of working until my brain turns to mush...

And yes, another redesign was in order, thankyouverymuch. I was getting a little tired of my...whatever I had before...and decided to change my background to SPAAAACE. The final frontier. Blogtier? Doesn't matter.

I missed so many things while I was away: Bunsen Burner Day (March 31st), Draw a Picture of a Bird Day (April 8th), National High Five Day (April 21st), AND Save the Rhino Day (May 1st). So many bizarre and wonderful holidays, so little time.

This post was really just intended as a brief blog-and-run, but I guess I do have one thing to discuss: the concept of "overtime guilt."

I think it's a term that I just made up. And a quick Google search confirms its originality. Suck it, Merriam Webster.

Overtime guilt is a thing that I had never really experienced until I started working 80-hour weeks. Basically, it rears its ugly head whenever I don't work 80-hour weeks. It hits whenever I take a weekend off or whenever I work an 8-hour day. I can't help but feel like I'm slacking off. Which is a) ridiculous, b) totally insane, and c) some other closely related word that I can't think of right now.

Bonkers?

No, too adorable.

Whatever this is, it's definitely not healthy. That's the problem with taking your work home with you, I guess. Even when you're at home, it still feels like you're at work.

The one thing I can't figure out is why I never had this problem in school. I did all my work at home, and yet...never really felt compelled to check email hundred of times a day or go to class on a Saturday. Ever.

Maybe it's because I'm getting paid now. Yeah. That's probably it. Now that I'm making the big bucks, it's messing with my mind.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm thinking of starting a new blog about the trials and tribulations of my hockey class. I know you guys wouldn't be super intrigued, but someone might be. I can call it "Get the Puck Outta Here." No, maybe not. "The Puck Stops Here"? Ugh. I think the part of my brain that comes up with horrible puns is officially broken. Good riddance, I say.