Four for Friday - Cheaper Than Therapy Cheaper Than Therapy

October 15 04

Four for Friday

1) When and/or where do you do your best thinking… in the car while driving to or from work, in the shower right after you awake, while on an airplane, in the kitchen making dinner, when you’re out for an afternoon or evening run, while applying your make-up, right before you drift off to sleep, at the gym, or some other time and place altogether?

shower, shower, and more shower. I definitely do my best thinking there. The car on the way to work is good too.

2) Mandatory/planned fire drills in the workplace… an unnecessary waste of time or in the best interests of the employee and company?

unnecessary waste of time. We had one this week at work and it was a complete waste. Everyone knew how to grab their purses and jackets and get out of the building. it’s not like we are children.

3) If you could afford it, would you take a ride into space before the end of 2005?

definitely not. There is too much risk involved. and i’d prefer to spend my $ elsewhere (like fixing three busted up cars…oy)

4) Has anyone ever called you by the wrong name, like a clueless co-worker or a family member? If so, have you corrected them or just let it go? What was your reaction and how did it make you feel?

Many many people get my name wrong. Not the Ali name. But ocassionally I go by my hebrew name, and people have a lot of trouble pronouncing it. It’s Eliana (pronounced eh-lee-ah-nah). Canadians always say it (eh-lee-anna (like anna)) – and lots of people say alana, or elaina. I NEVER correct them because i really don’t care. I can’t stand the name anyway. If there’s someone who i think is going to have trouble, i just tell them to call me Ali.

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Comments

4

1) Probably the shower or the car if the radio is turned off.

2) Waste of time, unless you work in huge building where they keep moving the exits.

3) No.

4) People get my name wrong all the time, but sometimes it’s my fault. If I mumble they think I said “John”. If it’s someone that I’ll be working with or otherwise spending time with I correct them, otherwise I let it go.

What really gets me is that people still mis-pronounce my name. They say “See-anne”. I got a really snippy Starbuck’s employee that said “well that’s not how its spelled” when I told her the correct pronunciation. Sheesh. I do correct people on the pronunciation, because that irks me. It’s not like I have some esoteric name – plenty of famous people share my first name you’d think they’d have paved the way for the rest of us.
Comment by Sean on October 15, 2004
1) in the shower right after you awake

2) an unnecessary waste of time

3) no

4) God. Garb. Jeff. Gad. Gavin. You name it. I got over it in 2nd grade. Call me what you want. Or better yet – just don’t call me.
Comment by Giblet on October 19, 2004
feeling a bit snarky today, Garb?
Comment by Ali on October 20, 2004
1) I think all the time. In fact it’s scary, I can’t stop thinking. The only way I can “shut down” is via a 3rd party (such as Masi – Valpolicella). Then again, my “best thinking” (idea generation) is usually done with the use of 3rd party additive as well. Having been like this all my life, I’ve adapted, so it seems “normal” to me to always be thinking.
2) I think they are useful, but I’m biased as I’m a member of the ERT for my employer. In a large environment, the churn of new staff may not know what exits to take etc, and this is the only way they will learn. It’s not like many people read the fireescape floor plans.
3) I’m not sure this question should be about money. And who knows how much commercial space flights will cost in a year, perhaps it will be reasonably affordable. Safety would be my only concern, I’d want to research the craft I’d be flying in before hand. I’d love to orbit the earth, at least once, in my lifetime.
4) My name is often misspelled, as my loving mother gave me a unique name. Well, a common name, but spelled differently (and argueably more correctly) then the common spelling.
Comment by moxie on October 20, 2004