ah, finally back. My computer was out for a bit because of a virus, and I didn't work on it much because Grace was visiting for a week. Man I love that woman. Anyway, there are a couple new things in my life. Namely, my job is getting a little shake-up. The GM and the Head Chef are both leaving ASAP, so my job position will be unstable for a bit. as I said, my computer was reformatted, and though I was able to save everything, I'm more than a week behind on email, my sound doesn't work at all, and all my files are in random places, not to mention having to reinstall all the random little crap. I doubt I'll be able to make all my movies work, so when I get around to testing them, I'll either get more codexes (codecis?) or throw them out and make space in folders and binders. And lastly, I'm almost certainly going to be taking private lessons for lindy starting very shortly. There are multiple options in terms of partners and teachers, but it needs to start happening soon before I let the momentum drag to a standstill.

So, I was really really pissed off at work yesterday. And my darling Grace will understand perfectly and probably be filled by the same rage at hearing this account. Matt was showing me a new toy he's interested in, being from the "I want it so I'll buy it" class. Unfortunately, he's also a product of the "I can do whatever I want as long as I can afford it" generation as well. This new toy: an ipod-type satelite-radio-ready car stereo/DVD player...for the driver. You say to yourself, "Wait, that's a bad idea." You're right, it is; so the makers, whomever they are, installed a catch: the DVD function only works while the parking break is engaged. I pointed this out to Matt, and his immediate response, here's the anger-generating part, was, "Well, I'll have to get That rewired!" I asked him how he intended to watch movies while driving, and he claims he would just listen to them. I pointed out that it's still distracting, and his response was that music is distracting. Yes, it is, but it doesn't have any visuals that offer the temptation to watch. He says, "What, you mean you would just let your kids complain about not being able to watch their cartoons?" "YES!!!" (my response falls flat because his question was rhetorical). His response, "Oh yah, you don't even have a cell phone. Ah, I can drive with my knee. I'm good. I won't get into any accidents because of it." "You know Matt, accidents happen because they're accidents. Cars are some of the most dangerous things we use, and we can't prevent accidents, we can only minimize them. This DVD player isn't minimizing risks!" His response is to wave me off, having refused to listen to me further. Errggg!!!!!!!!!!! (note the number of exclamation points...I rarely use more than one. They are expressing my extreme anger). The thing is, that, while I know Matt is an idiot, and selfish, and imagines he can see from other people's perspectives yet just doesn't care or sympathize with their positions, ever, he is not the only person who would see that and think the same thing. If Matt would think that, then 10,000 other Houstonians, at least, would see it and think the same thing, and of those, some of them would actually carry out that plan. I hate the increase of technology. I hate how it becomes grafted to us, that music and cartoons and voices on the phone are "necessary". Matt literally spent the entire day on the phone yesterday. The entire time we were at work, while he worked, he was either calling someone with his hand-free phone, answering calls with his hand-free phone, or he was on one of several more-than-an-hour-long conversations with his girlfriend. He'll even have conversations with people in real life, i.e. coworkers who have to talk business to him, while still on the phone with his girlfriend. Errggggg!!! [tries to stop thinking about it before the veins in his head explode).