Tall Tales

The setting: Anonymous public elevator leading to multi-tier carpark, yesterday.

The characters:
Mr. & Mrs. Lee - 60ish Asian-American couple
LN - 40ish overweight, tall Caucasian woman (could be played by Camryn Manheim in the movie version if she wore heels and cut her hair)

Mrs. Lee, brightly: “You’re really tall.”
LN, smiling politely: “Yes, I am.” Thank you so much for pointing that out. No one has ever mentioned it before. Clothes were always too short but I never realized why until you told me! Come to think of it, it must be why I’m usually looking down at people’s heads!

Mrs. Lee, brightly: “How tall are you?”

LN, flat, resigned: “6 ft.” Actually 5’11 ¾” in stocking feet according to the doctor, but nobody believes me.

Mrs. Lee, brightly: “For a man, 6 ft. is not so unusual, but for a woman that’s really tall.”

LN, nodding: “Uhmmm.” And you’re really rude, or at the very least, clueless. If you were a child, it would not be notable, but since you’re an adult...

Lest you think I’m being racist, this phenomenon of stating the obvious (do you think I’m stupid and don’t know I’m tall?) or commenting on physical features is not limited to strangers of any particular ethnic group. Over the years, there have been many other incidents, but one in particular stands out. About 10 years ago I was entering a movie theater in Nevada with my cousin Nick. (See picture; Nick's on the right and my cousin Ron is on the left.) The 18-20ish Caucasian male teenage usher says to me: “Wow, you’re really tall! How tall are you?” Me: “6 ft.” Usher: “No you’re not. I’m 5’11” and you’re way taller than me.” Me: “Ok, I’m not. Then why did you ask?” (He was lucky if he was 5’9 ½”). BTW, Nick was standing right next to me at the time and the usher never said anything to him.

Why do some people think it’s ok to comment on a stranger’s physical features/state the obvious? If you are my friend, I have no problem ‘discussing’ my height, weight (ok, I won’t tell you my weight, but I will admit what size I wear), my crooked nose and my bad knees, just as we discuss other topics that are intrinsic to who we are. People I know and love are free to tease me and I tease them back (especially the under-tall…hehe!) But why would I want to discuss such things with a stranger? And what makes a stranger think I care about their opinion anyway? Isn’t it bad enough that I have to deal with my family and their opinions? I have no energy to deal with strangers!!!

'Reel' Stuff

If you like a movie that makes you think, go see The Good Shephard. It's serious stuff and challenging movie-watching. The film offers a multi-layered presentation of the consequences that result from the path one chooses for one's life. The framework is the founding of the CIA and the type of men who were instrumental in setting it up. Choices are not good or bad but present various options that lead to specific consequences. The plot may be a bit complicated for the 'average' movie-goer, but if you're looking for something a bit deeper and more challenging than the typical hollywood flick, this fits the bill. I thought quite a few of the performances were really top-notch.

The times, they are a changing...

Well, actually, they have been changing for a long, long time. It's just that this particular change is finally being acknowledged as a mainstream trend. It turns out that 51% of [American] Women Are Now Living Without Spouse. (I'm sure the religious right will consider it a sign of the end of the world as they know it. hehe!)

This means I am no longer the abnormal one. Take that, dear traditional, judgemental family. The truth is that I was always just way ahead of my time. :-)

In all seriousness, one hopes that corporate America takes heed and adjusts their benefit and workplace policies accordingly.

Sick. Ick.

Nausea. Pervasive achiness. *whine, whine*
Yesterday was the sickest I've been in a couple of years. Will take some tylenol, hope it stays down, and go back to bed.

Invasion of the Borg* (aka botnets)

Not surprisingly, there's yet a new cyber threat to worry about, a sort of surreptitious hi-jacking of personal computers to create mega-networks called 'botnets' that attack us with spam and create all sorts of other cyber mischief. As usual, the bad guys are several steps ahead of the good guys... While I personally have no idea how we might deal with this, I still believe we need to at least be aware of what's going on. Forewarned is forearmed and so forth. And knowledge presumably leads to informed decision-making. Hopefully, we can make personal, political and resource allocation decisions that reflect our priorities (yes, still a bit of idealism left in the old gal!).

And although not nearly sufficient to deal with this threat, click to link to a list of essential steps you need to take to try to protect yourself.

*For those who are not StarTrek fans, here's some info on the Borg reference.

Potpourri

Just a few thoughts on some random things I'm currently pondering:

• Strange weather: This was our first snowless December in 130 years. Not that I'm complaining, but it is weird. It's warm too -- in the 50s the last couple of days and tomorrow it's supposed to hit 70 (F). I know it's decades too early to know for sure, but I can't help thinking it's related to global warming. (The people in Denver might beg to differ, but I've heard that they have had a 10-year snow drought until this year.)
  
• Strange universe: A small meteorite fell on a house in NJ and crashed thru the roof. I like to think of it as a message from outer space. Wonder what they're trying to tell us?
  
• Bush's latest unilateral abridgement of my basic right to privacy. See CaffeineAddict's blog. (Duh, if you end up curtailing my rights, one might contend that the terrorists have won. How about we just work on efficient and effective use of our resources????)
  
• My own hypocrisy: Much as privacy issues bother me, I readily give up privacy for convenience all the time. To wit, EZPass. It has really cut down on travel time -- and I give thanks every time I whiz thru a toll. But, of course, it means someone could track where I've been...I guess we all have to compromise on some things -- life's too short! (but I'm still conflicted.)
  
• Diners: about 1/3 of all the diners in the world are located in NJ! (Source: paper placemat in my local diner!) From personal experience, most of the ones in NJ are Greek-owned or managed, so you can always get a good spanakopita, moussaka and baklava at a NJ diner. The rest of the world could use a few more diners.
  

Meeting the New Year Head On

New Year's Day 2007 in NJ is shrouded in gray, with heavy fog and rain throughout the day. Thankfully it doesn't happen very often, but it is quite depressing at the moment.

So, to fight the dreariness, I thought I would do a photo-recap of the highlights of 2006 for me.

Remember Mona's Awesome 30th B-day party? Or should we call it 'librarians gone wild'?

Graduation dinner was very emotional, sentimental and bittersweet. And Jenn even came in from Wyoming!

Quest for a restroom on the road to Hana, Maui (when Judy came to visit prior to my moving back to NJ from Honololu). Main emotions: desperation, followed by relief!


Then there was Graduation Day with the infamous 'floaties'. Woohoo! This was pure unadulterated joy! Nothing bittersweet here.

Winning the ALA Student Chapter of the Year Award. Satisfaction and yes, OK, I admit it: pride!


In July, Wendy and I were able to share the joy at Jenn's Hawaiian themed wedding in Wyoming. Yeehaw!

Celebrating Marta's 40th Birthday in Vegas in October. It was so great to see her again and we had a blast!


Librarian Tea Party Reunion when I went back to visit (and take in the U2 concert in Honolulu). It was great fun and well-documented by numerous librarian paparazzi!


Annual Group holiday gathering with my friends from college that I've known since the mid-1970s. Always full of comfort and joy!

So as we put 2006 behind us, I wish all my friends and family many moments to treasure in the coming year. It is these moments that 'recharge our batteries' and give us the energy to deal with all the trials and tribulations of daily life, to try to better our lives and those of others, to be good citizens of our country and the world. In other words, I am better because of you, dear friends. Mahalo!