This morning I finally removed all the music from my work iPod, to make room for more podcasts and radio shows, and the like. I don’t know the psychological reasoning behind it, but I only want to hear spoken-word stuff at work; music doesn’t scratch the itch.
And at home it’s the exact opposite. As soon as I hoist myself off the dormancy platform, start the coffee a-brewing, and shuffle-poot my way to my office, I turn on the stereo. And it never goes off. Music is playing at all times when I’m home, and it’s always cranking in my car. But at work… no.
Anyone want to take a crack at figuring that one out? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
And just so you know, I’m still using my beleaguered 2GB iPod nano, from 2001. It serves me, day after day. It’s a relic that belongs in a gadgetry museum, but it still works the same as it did on Day One. I half-heartedly gave my phone a try as a podcast delivery device, since it has a 32GB memory card in it, but didn’t like it. That nano feels just right to me; we’ve been through a lot together.
I just let Andy (aka The Finest Example) out, so he could deliver some yard crullers. And he took off. As soon as I opened the door he exploded like a greyhound from the gate. He went rampaging across the street (gulp), and disappeared between two houses.
What the hell, man?? That dog is old and portly, with Mickey Mantle knees. I haven’t seen him move that fast in five years. Did somebody crush up a Viagra and sprinkle it on his food? It scares me when he runs across the street like that, but I like to see glimpses of the old Black Lips Houlihan. It makes me think he’ll be with us for quite a few more years.
You know, unless he gets run over by a garbage truck.
Do you ever get shop-talk mixed up at your current job, with the shop-talk from a previous job? You know, terms and phrases, and that kind of thing? I do. I’m in distribution, which (as you all know) is my life’s passion. And just last night I referred to a transfer between two facilities as an IBT — which stands for inter-branch transfer.
It’s an ancient term from the Atlanta days, and is something I probably haven’t heard since 1996. It’s very strange how my previous lives sometime bleed into my current one. And make everyone think, “What the hell is this idiot talking about now? IBT? Is he having a stroke?”
One day when I was working at WEA Atlanta, years after I’d left Peaches Records, my phone rang. And I answered it (inexplicably), “Hi, thanks for calling Peaches! This is Jeff. How may I help you?” I mean, this was, like, five years later. How does something like that happen? Shit misfiring in my brain? Time-released retardation? I’m not sure, but it’s disturbing.
Has anything like that ever happened to you? Previous jobs suddenly flaring up and insinuating themselves in your current world? If so, please tell us about it.
And Surf Reporter Brian sent this to me a few days ago. He snapped it while waiting in line at a KFC in Philly. Is that perfection, or what? It’s beautifully framed, with so much going on. Love it! I’ve added it to the big fast food extravaganza page.
Before I go, I want to link to two sound files that didn’t get enough attention the first time I posted them. This one is a mysterious message left on Steve’s cell phone. Sexy! And this one comes courtesy of our old friend Buck. It’s a message left on a vent line, at some radio station in Morgantown, WV (I think). Both make me laugh, and they got lost in the shuffle the first time ’round.
And that’s going to do it for today, my friends. I’ll be back tomorrow with more of this high-quality material.
See ya then!
Now playing in the bunker
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No Monday hangover!!! Awesome what sobriety brings to the table!
LOL I don’t remember too many hangovers when I drank. I just pretty much stayed hammered. Probably why I felt compelled to quit completely some 25 years ago. The whole quittin’ thing ain’t for everybody, but i wouldn’t be here today if I’d kept that shit up.
Congratulations!
Oh, you’re a real dandy!
For a while after getting out of the army, I’d realize I was outside without a hat on and have an instant of panic; that and having the urge to stand up in movie theaters when the lights go down, in anticipation of the national anthem.
Is that an overweight Wally Cox holding a sausage?
I still say it looks like John Belushi’s dad.
Maybe it’s an early picture of Rush Limbaugh comparing Jimmy Carter to a giant roll of bologna…or something!
The first sound file sounds exactly like the old lady who used to work with me. She was puffing “Basics” when she was forced to retire.
The second sound bite could make my skin crawl. Something about incessant barking sends my nerves into a tailspin.
I’m 50 years old and work in the legal department of a big corporation, yet every once in a while, I’ll mess up and ask clients if they’d like to Supersize their meal.
“Time-released retardation: good one. I can use this.
forgot to close the quote – “
Check out a new TV show called “Big Ang”.
I’ve not had a “shop-talk” mix-up at work that I know of, BUT–I do have dreams from time to time where I’m at work and I’m trying to get into my high school locker (from 100 years ago), but can’t remember the combination. I’ll wake up in a full-on, heart-racing panic! Is that the same neurosis, or something completely different?
I DO, however, have trouble concealing my secret identity at work…the cape and leotards give it away every time!
I have that nightmare all the time. Panicked because I’m going to be late for class.
OMG – I’ve had the locker combination dream, too. Or, the “I can’t dial this phone” nightmare where I keep punching in the wrong telephone numbers. I wake up wanting to kick something.
I got a new phone about a month ago… an HTC One X. When I bought it, the AT&T store rep said I could trade-in my old iPhone 3G for an AT&T credit. I told them I’d rather keep the old iPhone, and use it as a dedicated MP3 device.
That lasted for only about two weeks. By that point, I realized that the speaker on my HTC One X is better than my computer speakers. So yesterday I traded the iPhone 3G for a $50 AT&T credit. That’s almost as good as real money.
Sometimes I’ll end a phone conversation with “Ok, I love you.” at really inappropriate times. It just comes out without any rhyme or reason.
I once had a co-worker have a high-ranking partner in the law firm we worked for leave her a voice message that started with “Hi, this is daddy…….”. Boy, was he embarassed when she played the message for him.
I love you too, man.
You can’t leave us hanging like that–did Andy come back???
When I was working at a flower shop I answered with the name of the pharmacy I used to work at–luckily it was a small town. 🙂 I’ll never forget the complete silence and looks on my boss’s faces….
I answered the phone at a job with the name of an old job before, I felt like such a moron, the worst part is when you’re waiting to see what the person on the other end says. They’re probably like WTF?! Especially when they are 2 totally different jobs.
Yeah man.. watching a dog bolt in full on pursuit that involves crossing a street is heart stopping. Watched Stanley (years ago) walk across Hwy 50 in Tahoe once. He was looking for me. I closed my eyes when he was about half way. Good to hear Andy still has his sprint skills. That street thing sucks though.
I still say ‘gig’ and I guess I always will. Most times I get a weird look and then I realize I’m hipper than I need to be for moment. The word ‘job’ just sounds wrong.
…pass the bong…
The company for which I work has outsourced our support. This is on top of having most of our Canadian employees in Toronto and Montreal – two very highly diverse multicultural regions.
Most of the time the different accents are cool and the variety of names makes it easier to keep things straight; I once ran a project with 5 Daves, 3 Mikes, 2 James and several variations on John, Jon, Johnny… So now that doesn’t happen so much with all of the variety from Europe and Asia thrown in the mix.
Voice mail however can be a real challenge when it’s left at warp factor 8 and they only say their name and phone number once. They might as well have that dog from the link barking beside their desk… or a blender running…or a router biting in to some solid maple.
My favourite voice mail might be from Fish though….
http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Fish-Calling-from-Microsoft-Support-Hilarious-Video-78812.shtml
Heres a theory for you, since I tend to follow similar listening habits. At work you need to change who/what you are listening to, since you are into music, you probably like to actually listen to the song and hear it in its entirety. Interrupting a song would be like pulling out early-not acceptable. Talkies on the other hand, if you have to stop listening, big deal, you can change focus from one to the other easily enough. And knowing Mr.Kay, you do that angst free with talk radio.
Five cents please.
My dip-shit dog likes to take off whenever she gets the chance. We live on the main street, and she’s out there dodging school buses, logging trucks, tractor trailers, friggin’ frackin’ water trucks and the general 45 in a 25 zone population. She crossed 4 lanes of traffic one day and we caught up with her at the Chinese restaurant. Don’t know if she was hungry or volunteering to be dinner. Gives me heart failure when she gets out like that.
“friggin’ frackin'”
Couldn’t have said that better than you just did there…
Suffering succatash!
Every once in a while I lapse and almost let the Ex’s name slip out when I’m talking with Biff. It’s disturbing and I do not care for it one bit. Makes me think my cookies are crumbling!
I can’t listen to music at work… too distracting. If it’s good music, I pay attention to it instead of to what I’m doing. If it’s bad music, I grind my teeth in irritation.
I don’t think I’ve had the job-retro-thing, but I’ve never worked a job that involved dealing with the general public, including by phone. Although, this afternoon I was taken with the need to clean and align the Ampex tape machines (351s and 440s). It’s been 25 years since this has been my responsibility.
.
I would love to listen to good music at work. The Mrs has the local easy listening station pumping through the office speakers. Our days are filled with Whitney, Dan Fogelberg, Celine Dion, etc… It’s quite inspiring to hear the same songs ten times a day.
I’ve answered my home phone with my my office’s name before. I think I ended up more confused and surprised than the caller. Just a litte brain fart.
Wow, Dan Fogelberg… haven’t heard that name in a while. Twin Sons of Different Mothers.
My first exposure to easy listening was the NYC stations that played Mantovani and 101 Strings in the late 1960s. Some bad shit right there. An early clue of my impending geezerdom was in the early 1990s when I heard (in an elevator of course) an easy listening arrangement of Steppin’ Out by Joe Jackson. I thought, “wow, that used to be a cool song”.
.
Someone’s getting old! I keep remembering good times from way back and inserting my current wife into the memory. Sweet, but highly unlikely that my wife and I were partying with Jimmy Buffet in a small bar in the Keys when she was 12.
If you think a dog is bad, try your grandmother. I went to visit her at “The Home” when I was in college and as I approached the facility I saw her walking with her cane in the road on the opposite side of the street.
I did a U-turn and came up behind her, parked and got out. I asked what her where she was going and she said she was trying to get to the group room to play pinochle.
Dementia, it can be a beautiful thing.
We received training in our CERV (Civilian Emergency Response Volunteer) program that covered finding lost persons. We went through many variations but the one that struck me the most was for the elderly with dementia. For some reason, 75% of all dementia patients follow a south bound track. Sorry, no source available. I believed the Police officer giving the talk since the other thing that struck me was that he once replied to a call for a missing dementia patient for his own mother.
I often expect people to know other people I worked with. Having been here for almost seven years, I’ve worked with hundreds of other people (nature of the business) and tell stories about them to people who have no point of reference.
Sort of similar to mixing up previous jobs. I sometimes get my wife’s and my daughter’s name mixed up. It happens about once per month or so and completely out of the blue. And can happen at the worst time. Maybe that’s why my wife and I don’t have sex any more.
Holy fucked up grammar, Batman….
If I didn’t have the ability to listen to talk/music at work I would go postal on somebody. The supervisor of another team sits directly in front of me (facing my direction) and is so goddamn loud all the time. When she needs to ask one of her minions a question she just yells it from her desk instead of getting up to go over to them. She was also on a conference call for 45 minutes yesterday with another supervisor who I believe, is the loudest person in the building.
On a lighter note it doesn’t matter if it’s talk or music to me, I’m equally distracted all the time. Bob and Tom from 7:15-10, and then music the rest of the day.