multi-tasking

before the fight crew/sirens game on saturday, i was approached by ref and long-time LADD athletic supporter, BK.

BK: i spent some time reading your blog this morning.
JG: oh really? how did you find it?
BK: i was just looking up some stuff online, and happened across it.

here i waited, anticipating some kind of commentary, obligatory or otherwise, e.g. "good stuff," "what drivel!" "you need more cat photos," or "stop crying about your ankle already," but nothing followed, and i felt compelled to fill the weird silence.

JG: yes. i have a blog. i write things on the internet where anyone can read them.

we stared at each other for a few seconds before he skated away.

with the exception of georgia, i sometimes forget that people read this thing, and BK's comment (or lack thereof) served as a reminder. it further reminded me of the ambivalence i feel at the prospect of people actually reading what i write in this very public place.

unrelated: i have felt especially pressed for time lately, which is odd because i only do paid work about 23 hours a week. this does not include commuting, and all of the volunteer PR work i do for the LADD, but still, it's not like i'm held captive inside a library or office 40 hours a week.

because of this perceived time crunch, i have become more determined to milk the maximum potential from every minute of my day. for example, i will listen to fiction on my ipod while washing the dishes. right now, i am blogging from the reference desk at work. and last week, i ate my lunch on the bus, en route to the gym from the library. as i ate my pasta from its Tupperware container, i listened to a short story on my ipod. next to me sat a prune-faced woman wearing a head scarf (who would not have looked out of place in a russian bread line), happily popping ruffles potato chips into her puckered mouth.

i am pretty sure that eating on the bus is unhygienic, and quite possibly disgusting by most people's standards. i am probably two steps away from eating my dinner while sitting on the toilet, which is, of course, efficiency incarnate.

speaking of questionable hygiene, last night i had dinner with the aforementioned georgia and kathy at a relatively new vegan restaurant - the kind of place where i think you may need a tattoo to get through the door. the food was yum, exotic beer was on tap, and we had to raise our voices only slightly to be heard over the vaselines blasting in the background. as i was finishing up my delicious tacos, i took note of a pine cone-sized roach scuttling down the wall. i considered whether or not to point out this six-legged patron to my companions, but decided that i didn't want to potentially spoil what was left of our dining experience. shortly thereafter, i excused myself to the bathroom. upon my return, i was greeted by georgia with: "OMG! we just saw two huge roaches!"

so my new my buddy had a partner in crime!

the three of us concluded that no roach(es) could keep us away from the fried pickles at this particular restaurant. honestly, i'm relieved there's a new dining spot to fill the filthy hole in my heart left by the 2003 closure of the deliciouslessly vegan and unabashedly C-rated Luna Tierra Sol Cafe.

unrelated to any of this, i will conclude with a good article about the role of wikipedia in academia.