Things I Noticed Today

1. Women almost invariably futz with their hair while waiting in their cars at stoplights. I was #2 of 4 at one, turning left, and all 4 of us combed through our hair with our fingers while we waited. Is it universal?
2. I hate, detest, and abhor the word "boffo". Saw it used on the cover of a magazine, something like, "Bunches of Boffo Camera Buys!" What the hell?! No one actually says "boffo," so it shouldn't be used in print. Gag.
3. The new Starbucks Crapaccino Frappaccino, I mean DoubleShot Expresso television ads are very well done. I just saw the "This is Stacy's Time" one, although I particularly like "Eye of the Tiger" redone as...
   

   Glen, Glen Glen Glen, Glen Glen Glen, Glen Glen Glennnnnnnnnn...
   Glen's the man, going to work
   Got his tie, got ambition
   Middle management is right in his grasp
   It's a dream he will never let die
   Glen's the man of the hour, he's the king of his cube
   Status call reports have finally met their rival
   Burning the candle at both ends on his way to the top
   He know one day he just could become... Supervisor!
   Roy. Roy Roy Roy....!

   For more on this, see, e.g., Eat Your Vegetables.
   What's funniest about it, for me, is that I picture Glen of Gail-n-Glen every time I see the ad. "Just could become supervisor"--too funny.
4. "The devil is in the details." The phrase was contemplated on another blog that I read sporadically (frankly, when my intellectual and political soul is up to the challenge). The gist of the writer's argument, if I read it correctly, was that because the substance is most often found in 'the details,' the statement diminishes the need (or desire) for those details, as if they are somehow unpleasant.
   My take on this phrase comes from a completely different viewpoint. I see it as analogous to the cliche "you can't see the forest for the trees." Too much focus on the details--those trees--diminishes one's ability to conceive the totality of an issue, or to appreciate the whole of something, whether good or bad, forest or problem. The devil, then, gets you when you're willing to engage him at the detail level, rather than kickin' back, shuttin' up, and dealin'.
   Just a thought, anyway.
5. Every person, with the exception of The Cat (no U), in the NILS Cataloging Committee, is a fucking moron. I was nominated, and after a unanimous vote, named chair-elect at our meeting this morning. What a crime against sense. Ponytailed Freak must've wanted to weep, but he was friendly enough about it. The others were quite gracious.
6. Our waiter at Olive Garden said this to The Cat: "If you don't like it (the seafood ravioli he'd suggested), you can slap me."
   I told her that it sounded like he likes to be slapped.
   When he came to ask how everything tasted, she said, "I'm afraid I can't slap you--it's really good." He said, "Oh, that's too bad."
   When he walked away, I said, "He really likes to be slapped."
   He came back to see if we wanted dessert. Although we did, we didn't order any. He asked if we wanted anything else, and I made a tentative suggestion that we might slap him (although at the moment I can't recall how I slipped it into the conversation). His response was almost immediate; "My girlfriend loves to slap me. It's like an Olympic event for her. [misc. yapping about slapping]"
   So. Out of all the potential waiters, we managed to get the one masochistic Olive Garden employee in the big city. I couldn't have been more pleased, although he was sort of blonde....

It was a good day. No fiery crash. I laughed a lot. And tomorrow's Wednesday. Happy!