The less than balmy head of Old Man Winter continued rearing today in the form of very cold rain (the sleet and ice missed us, for the most part, thankfully), making our not-so-plowed streets quite challenging to navigate. Despite the odds, we all ventured out. Mare to Yoga, Baby Ruth and the KitKats to dance class and I to a morning of fitness and Martial Arts fun. Today's story really begins, however, with my fantastic idea of a "quick" shopping trip after the organized group activities ended.
Taking the weather into consideration, I thought that the stores would certainly be slow and would absolutely welcome any customer who ventured through the doors. Expecting a barren wasteland of parking spaces and snow mounds, I made my way to the local Best Buy/Target/Wegman's plaza. My crowded spaces radar perked up a bit when I observed the traffic in the turning lane. Still, I scoffed at the idea that anyone else could possibly have the same sense of adventure that I have! Onward I trekked. And then around. And around. And around. Around the Best Buy parking lot I drove until finally a spot availed itself to me. I happily trotted into the store to retrieve my bargain, only to find that the bargain did not exist AND I was by no means the only customer with a sense of adventure for the day. Somewhat disheartened, I vowed to place an order from Amazon.com later in the day (for 1/3 the cost) and headed back to my car. The thing that helped me to keep my chin up was the knowlege that I was going to provide a wonderful spot for someone to park. All of those folks who had been circling the lot like I had just done would be making a mad dash for this one little spot. I got out of there as quick as I could, then realized that there were at least five or six open spots around me now. Apparently everyone else saw me leaving so they left too. Oh well.
(Don't worry, the adventure continues)
I braved the odds and made my way over to Target. I think the last time I saw such mayhem in the parking lot was "black Friday". Between the cars, pedestrians, shopping carts and snowbanks, I wasn't sure which way to go. I contemplated driving home to park in my driveway and to then walk back, but like I said before, it was cold and rainy. (and it would have been a 10 mile walk) Finally I located a parking spot in the Wegmans area. This was suitable, as I would be ending my excursion with a jaunt into this store. The downside was the walk to Target, two stores down. Wishing I had put on some waterproof boots, I sloshed my way through the parking lot, down the sidewalk and into the store.
I was on a mission. I had my mental list. It contained two and one half items. (the one half was for the thing that I thought I might get if I saw one for a good price)
I made my way to thing number one - storage container for Barbies. On the way I stopped to gaze longingly at the display of rubber rain boots. I pretended that they were on my wet feet and continued to the containers. There I met a very nice lady looking for a lid. Together, we found her lid and solved some of her moving problems.
Yes, a piece of tape with a label on an opaque lid would render the same information as a "see through" lid. AND, the lid would even fit the container.
She was a very nice lady. We both chose our special storage devices, wished one another well and continued on our way. I took a "quick" look for thing "one half" and found many wonderful, shiny, new objects on the way. The ideas began to flow. (I think Target has something in the lights that taps into those with addictive/obsessive type personalities. Somewhat like the coffee at Starbucks. It's probably not crack, but it must be similar.) Anyway, I regained my focus and turned the corner.....ah, the bargain bin. Did you know that kid's clothing is much cheaper than that for adults? AND, a boys size XL fits wonderfully on someone my size......$4.50 for a champion workout shirt! BARGAIN!
Regaining focus once again, I trudged onward for item # 3. Then I saw the pretty colors. I began to drift toward the fitness aisle and caught myself just in time to weave in front of an unsuspecting customer and her cart. She bobbed, I weaved and we shared the path. As we pressed on, I commented to her that I am clearly too easily distracted. She shared a knowing smile, nod and chuckle and we parted ways.
Having successfully completed my Target quest, I snapped the lid onto my spiffy new container which now contained the rest of my wares and ventured out the door to begin the trek to Wegman's. Of course, at this point, it had started to rain even harder. I was really wishing for those rubber boots; maybe even a raincoat or an umbrella! I looked up and noticed a man in front of me with an umbrella.
I then contemplated acting out the scene that was playing in my mind:
Catching up to the Man with the Umbrella (aka "my new best friend"), I would duck under his cover and walk along with him. Of course, he would look at me quizzically, and I would say, "Hi".
Not knowing what to do or say because he would be much too polite to send me back into the rain, he would just furrow his brow and say, "Hello".
"So, where ya going?" I would ask.
"Uh....", he would stammer.
"Well, I'm going to Wegman's. May I travel with you?" (Of course, by this time we would be almost there and my mission would have been accomplished whether or not he granted permission.)
In reality, by the time I finished playing out the scenario in my mind, I was almost at Wegman's. "The Man with the Umbrella (aka "my new best friend") had already ditched me for another direction.
Wegman's.
It was a MADHOUSE! I wondered if there was a storm brewing, then remembered that the Superbowl is tomorrow. Gotta get everything fresh for the big game! Not I. Nope. I was there for three things...maybe four or five, but no more than that! Twisting and weaving, dodging and ducking, I maneuvered my cart in any direction I could go. Then I realized that I should probably get out of the entryway before someone saw me dancing. (I love the security camera and screen where you can see yourself when you first walk in!)
Seriously, I did twist, weave, dodge and duck to get through the store. It was like driving on the Garden State Parkway in heavy traffic. You've got to keep your head up, eyes open and scan for openings and brake lights, then just GO!
Making my way through the store and having more than a few near collisions, I realized that I was nearly laughing out loud. Normally I would have found this to be a very stressful situation, but today I found it quite entertaining. I even found a smile for the folks who glared at me for asking them to pardon me rather than ramming into them with my cart.
Finally, in the mustard aisle, after another series of near misses, I made another friend. A lovely lady and I shared a dodging situation due to a "thinker" in the middle of the aisle. Having successfully navigated around this person, I blurted out my fantastic idea to my new friend.
"Ya know, there should be pull off spots in the aisles. We could call them 'thinking booths'. These would be small areas where you can tuck in and study your list or just contemplate your next move. They will be like phone booths, but not. And they could contain a map of the store, this way, you can plan your attack! Then, when you arrive at your desired purchase, it could be a 'push-by'.....a 'grab-and-go. No more than 5 seconds will be allotted for anyone in front of any product. If you can't figure it out in 5 seconds, you don't need it and you must move on."
I moved on after that. I may have startled her, but she did laugh. A little. (Besides, I really do think there should be "thinking zones" in the supermarket, esp. on busy days.)
I maneuvered up to the registers and then it dawned on my that I had no reusable shopping bags. Being a woman of green that I am, this pained me a bit. Then I realized that I did, in fact, have my brand new container from Target in the cart! How lucky! I could fit nearly everything in my new box with my Target goodies.
It was my turn to pay and I confessed to the cashier that I did not have a bag. She assured me that it was ok.
I then stated proudly, puffing out my chest a wee bit, "But I DO have this crate"!
She laughed.
(She was pleased, as I was, that I had such an ingenious idea. At least I think that's why she laughed.)
She looked at the items in the crate and asked if I would like her to scan them from there. I replied that I would rather she didn't, as I had already paid for them at Target.
We shared another laugh and a few more smiles and nods and then the paying was complete.
Feeling quite lovely about my experience overall, I headed back toward the car. Of course, by this time I no longer had any concept of where I had parked, but at least I did know that I had driven there to begin with!
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Friday, February 04, 2011
Fortunate misadventures
We are expecting treasured guests any minute, so I am taking a few moments to begin the tale of today's adventures.
It all began this morning, which really should come as no surprise. When else would the day's adventures begin? Unless of course it's a nightshift day. That would, of course, indicate that the day would begin at night. No need to confuse things, though.
I got out of bed and slid my chilled toes into my warm, snuggly slippers, then donned my soft and fuzzy bathrobe. It has snowflakes on it and I love it. I headed downstairs and straight for the coffee pot. Morning routine out of the way and two lovely young ladies ready for adventure, Baby Ruth, KitKat #1 and I began some fun with Photo Booth. We had a grand time "riding the roller coaster" and playing with the special effects. Not long after this, it was time to head off to Kindergarten registration, handled by my lovely wife.
Fast forward a few hours to the afternoon "appointment". I scheduled my first "One to One" session today at the semi-local Apple store. By "semi-local" I mean that the store is located about 30 miles away, but I am partial to this one because of the kind sales person that I encountered during a visit with a friend. I should note also that I have had this computer for about 9 months. I purchased a full year of One to One lessons since I am switching from PC to Mac. I am just now beginning those lessons, so I want to pack as much in as possible!
I met my Tutor for the day, a lovely gentleman by the name of Jon. He was nice, funny, personable and quite knowledgable. I am certain that I dazzled him with my Mac-literacy. He gave me tips and taught me new tricks. I now know how to use keyboard shortcuts, swipe my fingers in various configurations across the track pad and balance a ball on my nose.
The most significant part of the visit (significant in regard to this post, that is) came when Jon and I began the quest of determining the source of an iWeb blog comment issue. (For some reason, when attempting to post a comment to the blog, the user gets a very distorted comment screen. This is a known issue on message boards, but has yet to be fixed from what I have seen.) At the time, we were viewing my web page (here come's a plug....), http://www.soul-musings.com and reviewing some special features of iWeb. Jon was unsure of the solution to the comment posting issue, so he did what any humble tutor would do. He asked a co-worker.
Mr. Brilliant-pants Co-worker puffed his chest out and strutted over to us. He said, "Oh, well, you need to." (as he was saying this, he reached between us and began to tap on my keyboard.
Slightly concerned, I said, "Uh, wait, what are you doing?"
Continuing to tap, he said, "Well, the configuration just needs to be reset in order to....." (I tuned him out at the words "Configuration and reset". (I should also note that I know enough about computers to be quite dangerous, and my reasoning for the Mac Class is to continue my seamless transition from PC to Mac, as well as learn the subtleties of a new system. I know full well what a "configuration" is and I did NOT want mine "reset"!)
Quite in-dignified by my questioning of his performance, Mr. Brilliant-pants proceeded to puff up and tell me something about resetting the browser settings after publishing the website in order to get everything to appear as it should.
Now, had he been patient and finished listening to the explanation of the issue, he would have heard that the problem exists not ONLY on my system, but also on that of anyone who has attempted to access my comment section. He would also have heard that there are, in fact, discussion threads about this same issue on various web sites.
It was at this moment that I observed all of my carefully CONFIGURED Top Sites (akin to "bookmarks", but quicker to view/access and clearly easier to erase) disappear and RESET back to the default setting. I then saw myself grabbing Mr. Brilliant-pants Co-worker by the wrist and twisting his arm into the shape of a "Z", followed by a swift knee to the inguinal crease and then a kick right in the head. Thankfully, part two of this visualization was just a fantasy. (Thankfully for Mr. Brilliant-pants, that is.)
Jon sat with his head on his hand, mumbling apologies as I declared, "YOU JUST ERASED ALL OF MY TOP SITES! WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"
I dared not turn around, as I feared that part two of above fantasy would come to fruition. Mr. Brilliant-pants mumbled something about being sorry and just trying to help, but that's what had to be done, so he was sorry, sort of. (Yeah, and your fish swam sideways through his castle, so I just "had" to flush him down the toilet.) Thanks, Man.
As I inhaled a deep, cleansing breath, I realized that iWeb and my entire business was still visible on the screen. I quickly closed the program before any more RESETTING could be done. As I did this, the irony and overall significance of the situation came to me.
My business, SouL Musings, is about Raising the Positive Vibration of the Soul. At this moment I was vibrating, alright, but not so positively. I looked at Jon, who was mortified, and said, "You know, my day job is very different from this business here (pointing at screen). This business is all about a calming, Zen-like attitude and focus. I am going to return to that focus now, as all things in life happen for a reason and for us to learn from them." (Yes, I said all of this. I think I was scaring him.)
The truth of that matter is, however, all things do happen for a reason. Even the most seemingly frustrating situation can have a positive outcome if we allow it. The reconfiguration and resetting of my top sites lead to my learning of a way to set my preferences to avoid this issue in the future. (I knew that the resetting was possible because I had accidentally done this previously and had FINALLY gotten them back to my desired settings.)
I also learned something about EGO. Mr. Brilliant-pants was quite pleased with his knowledge of Macs, Safari, and iWeb. He was eager to demonstrate this knowledge. So eager, in fact, that he didn't listen to the full explanation, nor did he take the time to consider that the "student" may have had a tiny bit of a clue about the situation at hand. While he was coming from a place of helpful desire, his ego took over when I questioned his actions. None of this was intentional on his part, but it was highly frustrating from my point of view.
The moral of the story? Listen. Listen to the totality of the question being asked or statement given.
Allow. Allow the question or statement to merge with your own knowledge of the given subject. Respond. Respond to the inquiry from a place of humility and common ground.
I am certain that this lesson was mine, not that of Mr. Brilliant-pants Co-worker. I hope that he gleaned a bit of newfound knowledge as well, but I am absolutely CERTAIN that I did!
In the final moments prior to our guests arrival, I was reminded that the cars needed to be pulled forward in the driveway. This is a task that I am made for! Out the door I went in my slippers with their handy dandy rubber soles and warm fuzzy insides, tiptoeing gently over the ice that had reformed from the melting snow earlier in the day. I made my way gingerly around the mini-van and attempted to press the "unlock" button on the keyless entry device. Unfortunately, I hit the "lock" button instead. More unfortunately, before I could grab the door handle, I slipped on the ice causing an acute loss of balance. Fortunately, there is a large pile of snow next to the van to soften the fall and shorten the distance of same. More fortunately, as my hand slid into the snowy glove, I applied adequate pressure to the "unlock" button, thereby unlocking the doors of the van. You see, all seeming misfortunes have their way of becoming fortunate!
Love and Blessings everyone!
It all began this morning, which really should come as no surprise. When else would the day's adventures begin? Unless of course it's a nightshift day. That would, of course, indicate that the day would begin at night. No need to confuse things, though.
I got out of bed and slid my chilled toes into my warm, snuggly slippers, then donned my soft and fuzzy bathrobe. It has snowflakes on it and I love it. I headed downstairs and straight for the coffee pot. Morning routine out of the way and two lovely young ladies ready for adventure, Baby Ruth, KitKat #1 and I began some fun with Photo Booth. We had a grand time "riding the roller coaster" and playing with the special effects. Not long after this, it was time to head off to Kindergarten registration, handled by my lovely wife.
Fast forward a few hours to the afternoon "appointment". I scheduled my first "One to One" session today at the semi-local Apple store. By "semi-local" I mean that the store is located about 30 miles away, but I am partial to this one because of the kind sales person that I encountered during a visit with a friend. I should note also that I have had this computer for about 9 months. I purchased a full year of One to One lessons since I am switching from PC to Mac. I am just now beginning those lessons, so I want to pack as much in as possible!
I met my Tutor for the day, a lovely gentleman by the name of Jon. He was nice, funny, personable and quite knowledgable. I am certain that I dazzled him with my Mac-literacy. He gave me tips and taught me new tricks. I now know how to use keyboard shortcuts, swipe my fingers in various configurations across the track pad and balance a ball on my nose.
The most significant part of the visit (significant in regard to this post, that is) came when Jon and I began the quest of determining the source of an iWeb blog comment issue. (For some reason, when attempting to post a comment to the blog, the user gets a very distorted comment screen. This is a known issue on message boards, but has yet to be fixed from what I have seen.) At the time, we were viewing my web page (here come's a plug....), http://www.soul-musings.com and reviewing some special features of iWeb. Jon was unsure of the solution to the comment posting issue, so he did what any humble tutor would do. He asked a co-worker.
Mr. Brilliant-pants Co-worker puffed his chest out and strutted over to us. He said, "Oh, well, you need to
Slightly concerned, I said, "Uh, wait, what are you doing?"
Continuing to tap, he said, "Well, the configuration just needs to be reset in order to....." (I tuned him out at the words "Configuration and reset". (I should also note that I know enough about computers to be quite dangerous, and my reasoning for the Mac Class is to continue my seamless transition from PC to Mac, as well as learn the subtleties of a new system. I know full well what a "configuration" is and I did NOT want mine "reset"!)
Quite in-dignified by my questioning of his performance, Mr. Brilliant-pants proceeded to puff up and tell me something about resetting the browser settings after publishing the website in order to get everything to appear as it should.
Now, had he been patient and finished listening to the explanation of the issue, he would have heard that the problem exists not ONLY on my system, but also on that of anyone who has attempted to access my comment section. He would also have heard that there are, in fact, discussion threads about this same issue on various web sites.
It was at this moment that I observed all of my carefully CONFIGURED Top Sites (akin to "bookmarks", but quicker to view/access and clearly easier to erase) disappear and RESET back to the default setting. I then saw myself grabbing Mr. Brilliant-pants Co-worker by the wrist and twisting his arm into the shape of a "Z", followed by a swift knee to the inguinal crease and then a kick right in the head. Thankfully, part two of this visualization was just a fantasy. (Thankfully for Mr. Brilliant-pants, that is.)
Jon sat with his head on his hand, mumbling apologies as I declared, "YOU JUST ERASED ALL OF MY TOP SITES! WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"
I dared not turn around, as I feared that part two of above fantasy would come to fruition. Mr. Brilliant-pants mumbled something about being sorry and just trying to help, but that's what had to be done, so he was sorry, sort of. (Yeah, and your fish swam sideways through his castle, so I just "had" to flush him down the toilet.) Thanks, Man.
As I inhaled a deep, cleansing breath, I realized that iWeb and my entire business was still visible on the screen. I quickly closed the program before any more RESETTING could be done. As I did this, the irony and overall significance of the situation came to me.
My business, SouL Musings, is about Raising the Positive Vibration of the Soul. At this moment I was vibrating, alright, but not so positively. I looked at Jon, who was mortified, and said, "You know, my day job is very different from this business here (pointing at screen). This business is all about a calming, Zen-like attitude and focus. I am going to return to that focus now, as all things in life happen for a reason and for us to learn from them." (Yes, I said all of this. I think I was scaring him.)
The truth of that matter is, however, all things do happen for a reason. Even the most seemingly frustrating situation can have a positive outcome if we allow it. The reconfiguration and resetting of my top sites lead to my learning of a way to set my preferences to avoid this issue in the future. (I knew that the resetting was possible because I had accidentally done this previously and had FINALLY gotten them back to my desired settings.)
I also learned something about EGO. Mr. Brilliant-pants was quite pleased with his knowledge of Macs, Safari, and iWeb. He was eager to demonstrate this knowledge. So eager, in fact, that he didn't listen to the full explanation, nor did he take the time to consider that the "student" may have had a tiny bit of a clue about the situation at hand. While he was coming from a place of helpful desire, his ego took over when I questioned his actions. None of this was intentional on his part, but it was highly frustrating from my point of view.
The moral of the story? Listen. Listen to the totality of the question being asked or statement given.
Allow. Allow the question or statement to merge with your own knowledge of the given subject. Respond. Respond to the inquiry from a place of humility and common ground.
I am certain that this lesson was mine, not that of Mr. Brilliant-pants Co-worker. I hope that he gleaned a bit of newfound knowledge as well, but I am absolutely CERTAIN that I did!
In the final moments prior to our guests arrival, I was reminded that the cars needed to be pulled forward in the driveway. This is a task that I am made for! Out the door I went in my slippers with their handy dandy rubber soles and warm fuzzy insides, tiptoeing gently over the ice that had reformed from the melting snow earlier in the day. I made my way gingerly around the mini-van and attempted to press the "unlock" button on the keyless entry device. Unfortunately, I hit the "lock" button instead. More unfortunately, before I could grab the door handle, I slipped on the ice causing an acute loss of balance. Fortunately, there is a large pile of snow next to the van to soften the fall and shorten the distance of same. More fortunately, as my hand slid into the snowy glove, I applied adequate pressure to the "unlock" button, thereby unlocking the doors of the van. You see, all seeming misfortunes have their way of becoming fortunate!
Love and Blessings everyone!
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