9.29.2006

DOH!?!

Ok, so I had an interesting experience today. I went to Lowe’s with a friend to pick out a mini-fridge. And while I was there I noticed that all these mini-fridges has locks and keys. This is my conversation:

Me: Cool a lock on the fridge. What a great way to stop eating…
SPE: No it’s in case a child gets locked inside.
Me: How can a child get locked inside? How cool is it you can lock yourself or someone else from eating your food.
SPE: Again, it’s in case a child accidentally gets locked in?
Me: That can’t be possible…


Apparently this is quite possible. Hence the need for a lock just in case a small child becomes trapped inside one of the units. Confused and saddened by the fact I couldn’t lock others or myself from eating the contents, I began reflecting on this situation. What would prompt small children from wanting to put themselves in a small fridge to chill? A penguin yes, a small child I’m not really buying it…

When I was little I wanted to explore and experience life. Which usually meant I was doing some daredevilish type things, many of which were outside. Some examples of my brilliance were, but were not limited to: Stoop/Stair Jumping…Fence Scaling/Scrapping… Danger Creeking (where I was told specifically not to venture to)…Access/No Access that caused being stuck on a fire escape or setting off alarms…But I’ve digressed.

Surprisingly enough I decided against attempting to chill out in a refrigerator. Guess it was a bit too frigid and cramped.

The again times have changed since I was a kid. Many kids I know spend way more time inside then I ever did, so a fridge might be a logical choice. But many of these kids are quite tech savvy online e-mailing, instant messaging or text messaging via the cell. So I’m still not buying that theory.

Yet with all this technology and knowledge we still consistently are doing even dumber things. I remember a few years back when McDonalds warned customers “Coffee is extremely hot!”

Like DOH!?!

Why on earth wouldn’t folks realize coffee is hot? It can’t get simpler then that. Since man started brewing the bean in water over an open flame I’m sure many folks realized it was no longer going to be a cold beverage. I guess a few folks missed that memo or the experience of a burnt tongue.

So in case you missed it, here is my simple reminder - “Danger Will Robinson, Warming a cool liquid makes it a tad bit hot, sip carefully (this includes, but is not limited to tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cider, etc.”

Then we have Mr. Bubble telling us that his bubble bath is “Not intended for Human Consumption.” Or even Drano taking action by saying to customers that it’s clog remover is “Harmful if swallowed. Do not taste or swallow.” or “Do not reuse empty container. Rinse container and replace cap before discarding.”

Double DOH!?!

Yes, it’s true that once upon a time angry parents washed mouths out with soap, but that practice is so outdated. And although many clogs happen in the human body, Drano is not the means to clean that system. It’s only common sense to know that today’s soaps and clog removers shouldn’t be ingested for fun and games. There’s about a gazillion terrible potent chemicals that could kill a small heard of animals or a human if ingested…

Which leads me to say out loud, “yeah maybe a small child shouldn’t be cooling off inside a mini-fridge.” But do we really need a set of keys to unlock the door or warning sign for to know that. It should be common sense like my coffee is going to be hot, my bubbles are meant for that bath or that Drano is meant to clear my shower drain.

Alas though I’ve learned a valuable lesson. Next time I do decide to play hide and seek with some kids I just might carry the fridge keys around on my fob. You never know when they might think it’s brilliant place to chill.

9.25.2006

Woke up this morning

I woke up this morning with my mind, my mind set on freedom, fun and travel. That’s right my few, but loyal readers it’s getting super close for me to actually leave on a vacation. It’s just mere days away before I can get some famous Swiss chocolate or see the picturesque Alps myself.

It sort of just hit me yesterday that this was actual going to happen, well that and talking with Kac on the phone for 3 minutes. I finally decided to pull myself out of the pity party sorrow of work related drama to find a ray of sunshine. Not that the drama will cease to exist, I just need to do a better job of not getting dragged into the constant rake of the muck.

So I will work on creating a glow around days filled with an exploration into worlds I’ve never seen. And prepping to explore the worlds’ unseen has proved one thing – I am an Ubergeek.

I started soaking up guidebooks and friends suggestions like a sponge. But there are WAY TO MANY places, things to do and food to try in such a short stretch of time. All I know is that these feet, this mind and soul were meant to walk on, but for time consideration I will have to narrow down to a few places these peepers can actually intake.

I’ll post more when about the trip a little later, but until then let me satisfy you with some musical styling. Here are the first 10 songs from Rachiley’s morning shuffle:

1. Ticket To Ride – The Beatles
2. Bad Brain – The Ramones
3. King of Birds – R.E.M.
4. These 3 Sins – Gomez
5. Ocean of War – The Samples
6. In Your Eyes – Peter Gabriel
7. Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk – Rufus Wainwright
8. The Sound of Settling – Death Cab For Cutie
9. Distant Sun – Crowded House
10. Why Don’t You Write Me – Simon and Garfukel

9.11.2006

9.11.2006

It’s funny how life moves in the blink of an eye. 5 years ago today I remember sitting in my pod in the Morris Digital Works newsroom in Augusta, GA. I sat their playful arguing with my friend RJ about what news program we were going to watch that morning. I preferred MSNBC, he normally preferred anything that did not get me talking about how cute Dan Abrahms was for an hour straight. We settled on watching ESPN Sportscenter.

It started out like every other typical working morning – way to early. Fighting over the remote, joking about with co-workers and working on updating sites. Until the director of new web development came rushing over asking us to change the channel. The news in the car was reporting something… It was then we did flip to MSNBC and watched live as the 2nd plane crashed into the world trade center in NYC. It was one of those surreal, I don’t believe this kind of thing is really happening moments. Everyone sat there stunned.

Not a minute before RJ and I had been watching highlights of the Broncos/Giants Monday Night Football match-up. Commenting about how they kept showing McCaffrey getting hammered, his leg snapping and the Bronco’s still were able to pull out a victory. Good win, but bad long-term loss for the team.

Then with a switch of a channel we were all sitting in shock, mouths gaping as we tried to take in what we were witnessing on TV. Shock didn’t last long as many of us were awoken to the sounds of barking orders of what to do next. How the heck are we going to report this to all the Morris Papers online? What do we need to be doing or reporting? Who should be doing what?

Hello…Rachel please snap to it, this is not a drill. I heard my direct boss rush in and start screaming this was big. Was this bigger then me telling the editor to hold the paper from printing after the 2000 election fiasco? Wake up, focus on what’s the angle. Call your friends in NYC and see if they are ok. Also ask if we can get a first hand account of what happening. So much concern, so much confusion, so much work to be done as thoughts kept rushing through my head.

For the next 36 straight hours I didn’t leave the office floor, gripped by the TV, the phone and the wire or other online accounts of what was happening. Sometimes crying for joy (people I knew were safe), sometimes crying for sorrow (hearing about friends who lost loved ones or good friends, people missing, etc.), but mainly focused on getting the news out to the papers we supported around the country.

It was a tragic event in American History that marked a turning point in a time that had been prosperous and somewhat peaceful within our borders. It’s understandable to me now how an invisible scar can penetrate so many lives all in matter of seconds. So now I sit at my new desk 5 years removed from that same moment. No longer working for at newspaper company, no longer living in Georgia and ponder how my life and many other lives changed course from a single moment and many moments that have followed since.