Spring in Our Neighborhood

Pleasantries of Life

I'm about three days into my official break from school and so far things have been very pleasant! I've been able to completely absorb myself into play the Sims, a game I've been a patron of for the better part of a decade, and catching up on news and books I've neglected to read has been wonderful. Not to mention the TV I'm watching. It's nice to have a mental break from the classroom.

The weather has been really nice here lately but it's supposed to get a lot warmer. According to my little weather widget in Chrome it's going to be 92 degrees this weekend. I am not prepared for that kind of heat. Right now it says it's a pleasant 77 degrees and I've got the windows open to bring in a lot of fresh air. It's very nice. Once it gets hotter it won't be prudent to open the windows. Instead I'll have to draw them closed and turn on the air conditioner. Or maybe it won't seem as bad as I'm making it out to be? Probably not.


We may or may not be heading down to Valencia one day this weekend to celebrate Jeff's mom's birthday. Her actual birthday was a few days ago but they celebrated Easter weekend when Jeff and I went to my parent's home in Lompoc, and then his parents went on vacation so the timing has not been right. I've been thinking about what we should get her for a gift and I think I've decided on wind chimes. I recall she mentioned wind chimes would be a great gift at the holidays so that's what I'm going to go for this time.

In a few weeks time Jeff and I will be celebrating our fourth anniversary. I've been trying to find some sort of activity we can do or destination we can drive to as a means of celebration but I'm thinking not spending any money will be celebration enough. Although it would be nice to get out of town and maybe go to the beach or take a tour at Lotus Land in Montecito. I'm thinking if we do nothing I will somehow regret it. And of course these matters are left for me to be concerned with as Jeff is far too busy with school. Lucky for me I remember to plan for birthday and anniversaries, otherwise Jeff would not remember a thing and feel quite foolish. That's why women carry the purses after all, to remember to bring the things that the men can't be bothered to remember to bring.

What I've Been Up To Lately

I love that Instagram is now available for my crap Android phone with a crap camera! At least the pictures come out neat looking!

I got a new laptop! I've been a longtime fan of Apple and was absolutely thrilled to get a MacBook Pro. It's my primary computer for school, which makes my 2 year old Dell laptop my Sims gaming computer.

Have been busy finishing up this school term. I've been in finals for 3 weeks!

Freshly squeezed orange juice?

Or a homemade white mocha? My new espresso machine has turned out to be a fantastic investment, and it was on clearance!

 

The Neighborhood Watch

Tonight we had a neighborhood watch meeting put on by the local police department. As a community we were informed that over the past 6 months there have been nearly 150 reported incidences in our area (it's a pretty big area to be fair, but still the number is quite shocking). These have included burglaries, car thefts, car burglaries, and so on and so forth. Apparently there have been two burglaries in my complex recently. Supposedly those responsible have been kicking down the doors, coming in and sweeping up jewelry and laptops and things of that nature, all within the span of just a few minutes. Nearly all of them have had witnesses who never once called the police. Imagine your apartment has been broken into, the neighbors see people running off with your belongings and they do nothing. That would make me very angry.

Anyway we were given tips on how to protect ourselves better but really there isn't much advice they can give that goes beyond common sense. Although by the advice given you would think some people really don't have any common sense whatsoever. I can't imagine why any idiot would not lock their car or deadbolt their apartment door. Yes, accidents happen and there was even that time when Jeffrey left my keys in the lock from the outside overnight. But based on what I heard tonight I can't help but think that some people just don't get it.

The one thing we can do to protect ourselves is get renters insurance and before tonight's meeting I didn't really understand what the big deal behind it was. Now I get it. We're getting on top of that right away.

On a side note I seem to be allergic to the outside. The entire time during the meeting I was scratching at my shoulders or my legs. I think little flies must have been attracted to me because they know I never go outside and when I do I stay in my car (lol).

I just hope no one tries to break in while I'm here. That's the truly scary part! My desk is right by the front door so I can hear when people come up the stairs and even walk up to the threshold. I usually don't answer the door for people unless it's maintenance or an employee of UPS/FedEx/USPS so I guess I'm going to have to get over that. Can you imagine sitting at your desk, ignoring the door, and then having someone kick the darn thing down? That just seems too traumatic to take any chances. I don't want to end up like Rose in that one episode of The Golden Girls where she is so frightened she gets a gun and becomes hysterical. Nope. Not me.

Oh and also, the lady giving the presentation was like the Paula Deen of the criminal justice system. I half expected her to start the presentation by saying, "Today y'all..."

Finals

Starting next week I'll officially be in finals weeks for both classes. I've started on one (mentally at least) and the second will begin Monday. I feel like I really haven't done much work this week but there has been a lot going on. I've been fighting a sinus infection and we've been doing some traveling. I'm trying to get my stuff together but I just kind of feel a bit distracted and disconnected. I'm sure things will be fine once finals are over. Then I'll have an entire month off to recoup and be lazy before the summer session begins. I'm actually looking forward to my two finals but they are just very time consuming. I suppose once I'm on break I'll have to work on spring cleaning the apartment. Yay! LOL.

The View From My Reading Spot

It's not the greatest view, but it's mine.

--
Crystal Cierlak

http://www.crystalcierlak.com

@WhatsUpCrystal

Modern Manners for the Digital Native: Saying Goodbye

One of my pet peeves: people who hang up the phone without saying goodbye. Saying "goodbye" is the verbal indicator that the conversation has come to an end and signals that it is time to hang up. However, in our society of computer mediated technology and social networking, our sometimes synchronous but often asynchronous conversations often lack the normal cues of face to face communication but do not necessarily lack verbal cues. In other words, when chatting online with someone, especially in a chat interface such as on Facebook or an instant messenger (does anyone still use those?), saying "goodbye" is still a cue that the conversation has come to an end. And yet, why is it that chat conversations tend to just taper off and then one person signs off, leaving the other perplexed and without closure? With the exception of one or two friends, this is exactly what happens to me.

Maybe the conversation wasn't particularly exciting for the other party. Or perhaps they just didn't want to talk to me. A verbal indication that the conversation has come to the end, coupled with a final salutation, should be not only common sense, but also good manners (or netiquette). Don't just leave me hanging! When I go back to check my Facebook tab and see that the reason my chat partner hasn't responded in a while is because they randomly signed off, I'm left feeling a bit like someone hung up on me.

I know, this probably isn't a big deal and I'm sure most people would say "who cares?" But manners matter, pure and simple. I always try to make an effort to say goodbye to people in a chat conversation because it just seems like the decent thing to do. I would never hang up on someone without saying goodbye (unless the point was to hang up on them, as if to make a point) and generally speaking when it's done to me I become quite perplexed. Just because we are sitting at computers does not mean we should abandon our manners. 

And with that, goodbye.