In the News

I look at CNN.com about 27 times a day. I don't like not knowing something, not understanding a problem, not knowing what potential good and bad things are going on in the world. Today, again, I typed in cnn.com in my web browser, mildly excited about the fact that I hadn't done this in about 4 hours thanks to a busy work day, so there could be a potentially big news story that I got to read about (hey, I'm a news junkie, that's all).

When I got there, these were the headlines:

House votes to extend jobless benefits, new home tax credit

H1N1 becomes dominant flu virus

Arrest made in New Mexico nun's death

Iowa mom convicted of son's murder

Sandra Bullock in messy custody battle

Matsui and the league that Ruth built

...and then locally in Austin (still on CNN):

Austin officer suspended 15 days over May shooting

Pitonyak accuses friend Hall of killing

Officer involved in shooting suspended 15 days

911 tape reveals priest's plea

I don't know if it's just me, but I was really taken aback. I know this is not out of the norm to see stories like these (well, except the story about the Yanks winning the World Series..that's a rare headline..) but for some reason, today, I was hoping for some great, interesting article, perhaps one that says "Scientists able to find link between basil and cancer treatment" or "Child, 9, saved by her golden retriever puppy while choking."

THOSE stories are the ones that help my outlook on the day get better. I'm a journalism junkie, have always been. Perhaps I blocked it out or it was blocked out for me, but I remember when headlines like "First victim ID'd in Cleveland horror" were a rarity. I remember when Dan Rather would come on and the biggest story of the day was Oprah in Texas for a trial, the headline being "

Oprah accused of whipping up anti-beef 'lynch mob'

Yeah, the text sizes back in '98 were also atrocious. Either way, my hope is that when I have kids someday (far, far, far in the future) they won't have such terrible things to read on their breaks. The hope would be that instead of crimes becoming worse, and far more complex and definitely more shocking, we will be coming up with actual ways to fight crime, terror, children bringing guns to school, parents abducting other parent's kids, you get the idea.

Sorry, this is not a funny post, it just really bothers me that this is what our news is. It's not news that a body was found on Riverside Dr. in Austin. It's sad, yes. But not news. It's not news because of the 5 w's that you learn your first day of J-school (who, what, where, when, why and then the extra "how"), you don't have any of those answers.
Who? Nobody knows.
What? Dead body, but past that, you have nothing.
Where? Well, we know where the body was found, but we don't know if that's where the crime occurred. So, you have nothing.
When? Don't know.
Why? Don't know.

Oh, and on top of that, you have the same guy on TV saying "We're doing everything we can do solve this murder." Great, I feel so much better now.

Let's try and find ways to create the problem of too much good news. Now THAT is a news story.

PS- did you forget about the Oprah trial also? I did. Here's a link to a story about it from 1998...and yes, it's from CNN. I especially love the URL (oprah.beef):
http://www.cnn.com/US/9801/21/oprah.beef/

You're worth 99 cents.

Why do cardmakers put the price of the card on the back? Why is it that after all the years of my mom scrubbing away at price tags on a glass vase do people at Hallmark, American Greetings, the dollar store where most Indian moms (and Nate's mom) buy 2 for $1 cards think that someone who is celebrating needs to know how much they paid?

Furthermore, I think it takes away from the fact that someone is thinking nice thoughts and sending them your way. I was looking for a card today and I wanted it to be simple. No loud songs playing when you opened them (though those are really cool), no big cutout of a dog saying "HOPE YOUR BIRTHDAY IS DOG-GERRIFIC" (that doesn't even make sense).

The ONLY card I could find that was simple, funny, wasn't too sappy was one of the 99 cent cards. No, I didn't even start in that section, I actually began in the "fresh ink" section, for those of you who thought it (i know you did).

So now, I'm standing there, perfect card in hand, and I look over and see that clearly it states

.99

So now, I'm faced with a dillema. Do I give this person a card that I actually like, or do I give them a card that is ridiculous, costs $4.99 (for a CARD?!) only because I don't want someone to think I cheaped out on my feelings?

It's not fair. Just because the cheaper card was nicer, I feel like the person is going to judge me. They don't know that out of all the other Walgreens cards, that was the best one. They don't know that the creepy Walgreens cashier was staring at me the whole time I was reading cards. They also don't know that when I purchased my card, the cashier actually opened it to read it. Creepy.

So, I don't have the answer. I don't know why they do it. I tried relying on my Google folks to help me find "why they put prices on the back of cards," but all they came up with was:
why do they put coal on railroad tracks?
why do they put tape on the headlights?
if my G1 got stolen and they put their sim card in it...

Not helpful.
So, next time you're out purchasing a card, try and find ones that don't have prices on it.
You know who does NOT put the prices on the back? The smart people at Dollar Tree who sell the 2 for $1 cards. SMART.

Sidenote: I went with the cheap card. But I also bought a fun Pez dispenser to go with it. See, I'm not cheap. You would have bought the card and left. Rude.

Say what?

It really bothers me when people misuse words, like if by nature someone says "supposably." I think most people are smart enough to figure out what you're trying to say, but still.

I don't expect people to walk around carrying a dictionary, but I do think it's nice when people actually stop and hear what they're saying.

It bothers me when people say "He should of brought salad."

In fact, he "should HAVE brought salad." Should "of" makes no sense.

What bothers me is when people try to make others feel worse about themselves by using big words that nobody knows. It's like they went to Merriam and Webster and said "hey man, give me the biggest word you have, and tell me how to use it."

Fine, you've learned a word, and now you use it and 90% of people look at you like a) what? or b) great word, but you used it incorrectly.

Some may say I'm a word snob, I think I just like to learn new words. (I used to spend my summer afternoons finding the most interesting passages in the encyclopedia..I know, lame..but page 146 of book 4 was pretty cool.) I know I say things wrong too, especially when it comes to cliched statements like "have your cake and eat it too." Note: it's not "make your bed and have your cake" or "bake a cake and don't eat it." Those make no sense.

What I think bothers me more is when people try to give off the impression that they know something, when they really don't. I don't know a lot. But I'm also telling you I don't know a lot. I just said it. Twice. So, if you don't know something, say it. But don't create something just so you have something to say. I had a colleague come up to me and ask if I could translate something into "Middle Eastern."

Really, I did.

Who's in there?

Why do people feel the need to conversate while in the bathroom stall? Sometimes, I can see how a conversation that may have started prior to entering the stall could possibly allow for there to be dialogue while you're....you know..but this morning, I went in to the restroom, and someone immediately walked in and chose the stall next to mine. She then proceeded to ASK "Who's there?"

Why did she ask this? Why is she actively seeking out a conversation in the bathroom? The bathroom stall is one of the few places where I cannot be bothered, don't need to waste time coming up with nonsense conversation. Once she asked the question, what do you say? I responded with, "Uh..it's just me, Sireesha." I should have lied, but in the moment, these ideas didn't come to me.

She then proceeded to ask how my wedding plans were going. Now, just to update you, I was done..you know, and had flushed and was just making sure my button was on properly, so clearly my intent was to wash my hands and get out of there. But I swear to you, she was moving faster just to continue our conversation. I washed my hands (singing happy birthday to make sure all the germies were gone) and she comes out and keeps talking. It was so incredibly awkward that I left with my hands still wet.

PLEASE..do not talk to people in stalls. Once I heard a woman talking to another woman in the stall and one of them let out a big fart. Where do you go from there?

Indian people and Dogs

I love how different the dynamic is for people when they meet/see a new dog. Now, as a disclaimer, I will say, that I totally understand one's fear of animals with good reason (i.e. you've been bit by one, they jump on you, etc.) but I find unnecesary reactions to dogs really interesting.

Imagine if you were walking down the street and people looked at you, shuddered and walked the other way to avoid any interaction with you. I bet that's how Caesar (my 95 pound dog) and so many others feel. It was a concept I learned as I was walking down South Congress, where the homeless bums were avoiding asking me for money for fear that my dog would attack them. I must say, it was a nice surprise, not having to come up with a new, creative way to let these people know that in reality, they were probably more capable than I was of getting a decent job, given their experience in "sales."

I was at a party recently where Brandy Krain, (I have changed her name to avoid dog lovers rushing over to egg her house) a long time friend was so afraid of my dog, she let out a shriek every time he walked by. By the end of the night, I was purposely walking my dog close to her just to hear the interesting noise. Each time he heard it, Caesar tilted his head, almost as if to ask "Hey, what is that noise?"

Brandy's reaction is so common among Indian people and I wonder why. India is filled with random stray dogs, probably carrying diseases that we have never heard of, eating leftover samosa dough off the streets and drinking water that is so gross, a description of the color is almost non-existent in the English language. Yet Brandy, in her fear of my dog, seemed to forget that her homeland is filled with dogs that are just as sweet as mine, and just like humans, are just trying to make it another day.

I'm not saying everyone has to love my dog or others. I am saying that we are so afraid of that which we do not know, that which takes us out of our comfort zone. Dogs, on the other hand, thrive in these environments. They love the idea of meeting new people, trying new foods, playing in new grass. We should do the same.

I'm famous..

Except I'm not. However, this article in the Statesman written by Andrea Ball made me famous for 7.5 minutes..Not quite my 15 minutes of fame..

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/2009/07/05/0705philanthropy.html

It's interesting to me what people go through during their lives yet how much they can accomplish. Looking at some of more poignant "about me" stories makes me think that so many of us focus on what we are unable to do, rather than what we can do.

This weekend, I gave in and used super glue again, despite my adamant statement in college that it was a creation of some very mean people. Despite that, I managed to complete my project in a timely manner.

I'm not a creative person by trade. I don't claim to be creative because then people think I'm creative and ask me to do creative things. I do have very creative friends, though, so I'm never worried if/when a project is assigned. A rarity, though.

I'm currently putting together my Top 10 Favorite Moments from the 4th of July..it will be good. Nate grilled veggie hamburgers..that's a Top 10 in itself..

Welcome to my world.

Wow, honestly, I'm impressed that Merriam-Webster even has a definition for the word "blog"..which is, "a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer ; also : the contents of such a site" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blog). Apparently the definition is from 1999.

So, I started this blog because I had received so many people (and really, it was like 4) who asked me why I stopped writing on Sudeepshah.com. I think we were laid off.

Regardless, 2009 has been an interesting year, and I've laughed a lot, (not uncommon) and think that a lot of the stuff would be enjoyable. Granted, if you don't like to laugh, don't like common stereotypical comments (or uncommon), or don't really like to be amused in general, you should visit this website instead.

Now that you've returned to my blog instead (and you know you clicked on it just to see where I would send you), I hope you can use this as an escape during your work day, pretending this is a site related to accounting, healthcare administration, the prison system, consulting, teaching, lobbying, stay-at-home mommying, research, engineering, doctoring, nursing, driving, talking, writing, or anything else my incredibly talented friends and family participate in between the hours of 8 AM and 5 PM (CST).

Thanks for reading. Now please go back to work while I continue to work on my blog.