Stephanie would be proud

In third grade, my titularly referenced teacher made us keep a journal. (I went to an alternative school - we called the teachers by their first names.) In this journal, we were to write one thing we learned each day. She had us do this for about 2 weeks & then forgot about it. If only I was still keeping that journal. I would have much to write today.

today at work, I learned that my name in Somali is 'honey', or at least that is what my Somali Bantu interns call me. They're great workers & the women like to touch me. It's a bit strange to walk from one end of the building to the holding someone's hand. I can't say I mind it. I'm not getting much physical affection these days. . . The only people who have ever developed & regularly used pet names for me have been foreign women who are significantly older than me. My Latin American host moms were great at that. Mi cielo - my heaven - was my favorite.

today at work, I learned that people still use the word 'oriental' in reference to people. I thought that was archaic & out of use. I thought wrong.

today at work, I relearned the tremendous inefficiency with which my employer operates. Every Wednesday at 12:15, we have a meeting. This Wednesday, I forgot. It was a busy morning - produce day - there was much to do. So I didn't go to the meeting. In the late afternoon, when I remembered that there was supposed to be a meeting, I asked my supervisor if it happened today. When she said it had, I asked why she didn't call me (the organization pays a lot, I would imagine, to equip us all with Nokia walkie-talkies that we wear clipped to our waist, so we can call each other constantly.) or walk the 20 feet to my work area to remind me of the meeting. "You know how I am. . . " was her response. I asked if anything important was covered in the meeting, she said there was much content, that we will have to go over it tomorrow. So the moral of this story is that my supervisors would rather repeat the content of a 20 minute meeting at least twice, (Others missed the meeting as well.) than take the 15 seconds it would require to rouse me on my walkie-talkie. Glorious.

Today, not at work, I realized how much I enjoy Freaks and Geeks. It's due back at the library today and I am quite sad to see it go. . . I think I am going to buy it. I have an amazon gift certificate that I should spend. I think I will feel better buying DVDs from amazon than books. When I buy books from amazon, I feel like I am being unfaithful to Powells.