The Mind's I: iko's journal

Perspective...

There is a building near me at work. It's been undergoing a transformation.

I neglected to take pictures earlier of this building that resides on the same block as the Chrysler Building in New York. It was originally a tan brick building. It has received a glass coating. You can see bits of the brick on the far side of the building and still uncovered parts. I think the building's transformation is interesting... watching this glass pour over the building (it seems that they started from the top and are working down. The top of the building is already completely glass).

New York is such a dynamic city. I blink my eyes and it's amazing how fast things change.

Genera Plantarum

Let me introduce you to my latest snack food.

This is papaya that my mom has cut into slices and placed into vinegar. It is very crispy and I find it delicious.

Papaya's scientific name is Carica papaya and is in the Caricaceae family. This is a small family, containing only thirty species. These thirty species are small trees that are found in the tropical regions of America and Africa. I did not study this species in college since there are no examples in Illinois.

Unripe papaya has an irritant of proteolytic enzymes. Be careful when you touch it! The seeds are also an irritant: a thioglucoside that releases benzyl isothiocyanate. This is mustard oil.

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May 18, 1999

Reflections

Eileene and The Matrix
So, Constant Reader, like my Matrix hat? The local Warner Brothers Studio Store was out of the cool Matrix tshirts that I had seen the last time I stopped by. They only had small sizes when I was there and I was hoping they would restock, but alas, it was not to be! So, I picked up the hat.

I typically don't wear baseball caps. They leave awful hat hair on me. Awful. But Mike thinks I look delightfully cute in it, so I wear it. Plus, it keeps the sun out of my eyes. For some reason, I'm really sensitive about sunlight. I'm one of those strange people that sneeze whenever I get exposed to direct sunlight. Mike jokingly comments that I'm allergic to sunlight now. Too many hours in the glow of the computer screen. Perhaps in a past life, I was a vampire. The biggest problem is that I wear glasses (no contacts for me. I love the nerdy look that glasses afford) and it's extremely expensive to get sunglasses for my prescription. So, any shade to shield my eyes for me is a good thing.

Speaking of my eyes, I'm extremely irritated at Lenscrafters. They promised that they were going to be ready today, two weeks after I purchased them on the 4th. Well, I called them and it seems that the lenses that I want are on extreme back order and I might not get them until after the 30th. It's going to take an entire month to get my glasses! I wouldn't be so miffed about it if they were honest upfront about how long they would really take. They gave me a "we'll call you" attitude when I was ordering them but, I waved it off since I know that glasses for my prescription and the type of lenses I was getting (photochanging so that my sensitive eyes get a little bit of a break in the sun) take some time to get. I think I was completely understanding, especially in the light of "about an hour". So, I was highly irritated when I discovered that their estimate was extremely off. Grr. Am I being out of line?

I want to call them every day to check if the glass is in yet. But I don't want to be irritating... but there is a great temptation to be as irritating to them as they have been to me. I won't give in to temptation. Not. Gonna. Do. It.
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In more interesting news, I think I have found my journal clone, thanks to Kymm. It is the other Kim, writer of Fresh Hell: The Journal. We have so much in common, it's almost scary.

Items so far of note:

She's looking forward to Pirates of Sillicon Alley.
She's been with her partner for 5 years plus.
We have the same feelings towards Star Wars (happy ticketholders but expecting no more than a fun movie and not a life-changing one).
We both can't get Peg Bundy out of our heads when we watch Futurama.
She's read Joseph Cambell.
She listens to All Things Considered. I like NPR. Mike likes NPR. It is a Good Thing(tm).

She's got some great treasures in terms of links and I am now a faithful reader.
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One of the things that Kim has directed me to is one of the fairest and objective review of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace that I have ever read. This femina is a great surfer.
She has introduced me to Hissyfit. I think I am going to be a regular reader of this stuff as well. [Tony the Tiger's voice] They're great!

However, the best nugget I found on her site was the link to The Blair Witch Project.
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Move over Phantom Menace, Momma's got a new obsession.

The first time I logged into The Blair Witch Project's website, I new I found something intriguing.

Then I saw the trailer.

I was caught like a little fish on a big hook. See me wriggle around. I sent the URL to practically everyone I could get my grubby little hands on without being too pushy. This is such an intriguing and interesting movie. July 16th. I'm there and I can't wait. shiver

My first encounter with anything related to this movie was from gingerblue.com. It had been a good two months or so since I stopped into that website to see what new graphics Chel has come up with (she's got some great Martha Stewart-styled examples) and she had a snippet on her page. I didn't know what it was but after seeing the Blair Witch website and the style of the film, I recognized it.

Check out the snippet on her site. It's hair-raising.