Eccentric Flower:199809/stored babble

twenty-one september ninety eight four p m

stored babble

Not to worry - my big mouth and I haven't vanished. The silence of several days is because the site was in the process of being juggled. I hate adding new material while two sets of pages are live, because keeping them in synch is a true pain. But now I have redirects - although the domain name isn't moved yet, if you go to one of the top pages on the old site, or talk to Heliotrope on the old site, it drops you on the new one. (You're on the new one. Know how I can tell? Because this postcard doesn't exist on the old one.)

I may have deserted my old provider in the nick of time. I am departing for what you might call political reasons - an aspect of their way of doing business made me unhappy - but I note that for the last few days, they have been getting a lot slower and the site was refusing to respond regularly. Can't have that!

But let's talk about something else. I have a fair amount of stored babble here ....

A new hamburger joint has opened near where I work. Not the healthiest thing in the world, but I get starved for new places to go that are withing walking distance, and the novelty hasn't worn off yet. Also, they're cheap - a decent hamburger (I will not eat the McDonalds ilk), fries, and a drink for five-fifty is quite a bargain in the Land Of Overpriced Food!

Intellectual elitism time: Their sign says "Try Our Hardy Chili" and it bothers/amuses me every time I see it. Maybe their chili is durable, but I imagine they probably mean "hearty." Should I correct them? I haven't worked up the nerve to. They probably think I'm a freak anyway - I don't know what it is but I always get these looks from people who work behind-counter style jobs (coffee place, diner, burger joint, bookstore, etc). I don't do anything, honest!

Today I experienced the Door Issue again - two doors, both working, heavy traffic in both directions, and everyone wants to go through the same door. Since writing the original Door Rant, I have even abandoned the left-right portion of the crusade. I don't care which direction goes through which door, but for heaven's sake, at least try the other door.

The "Infinite Corridor" is a straight stretch of hall a quarter-mile long. It is the heart and soul of The Institvte. Traffic on the Infinite Corridor is a real problem now that the students are back. Every year starts with an influx of new students who don't understand The Rules Of The Road - they walk three abreast slowly, jabbering to each other, oblivious to the fact that traffic is backing up behind them like on a freeway. They do not understand the cardinal rule: Allow Room To Pass.

I walk three to five times as fast as the average human. No, I'm not in a hurry; that's just the speed I walk. Please get out of my way - it's nothing personal.

I'm going through my yearly period of aggravation with the students. Of course I know the students are our reason for being here, but goodness, it's so much more peaceful when they're not around!

Of course, in the students' defense, they're entitled to be edgy and nervous - they've bitten off a big job. The Institvte is a grueling and Darwinian place. I wouldn't have gone here. Not that I'd have been able to get in.

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