Gators

As I grew up in Florida, it was pretty normal to have gators in almost every fresh body of water; actually, it would be more unusual for there not to be gators.
This being the case, it wouldn't faze me to see gators here and there, sunning on the banks. The familiarity bred a nonchalance that is not necessarily shared with northerners.
This brings me to a conversation I had at work today with a colleague. I paraphrase, because I wasn't taking notes.

Me: This summer, I think I want to pick up a hobby in the water.
Her: How about canoeing?
Me: Eh...that's more on the water, and I did a lot of canoeing as a kid in Florida.
Her: You could jump in water. Didn't you do that as a kid?
Me: No, there were gators in the water.
Her: Huh wha?!?!

After a few seconds, I realized how dryly I delivered that last line.
Me: Oh yeah....that's not really normal for you, is it?

Cars

The Cars That Drove Detroit's Customers Away

This sentiment is such a common refrain. Even though some cars coming out now are pretty good, the state the US auto industry is in now seems to me to be a result of karma for years of crap cars. They took their customers for granted.

We had a 1984 Jeep Wagoneer. After about 2 to 3 years, the AC didn't work, you had to force the windows to roll up and down, and the mounts that held the engine in its place rusted...we were this close to basically having the engine fall out of the car. What a disaster.

I will temper that with a 2003 GMC Yukon XL my parents now have. Sure, it may be plasticky inside, but we've never had a problem with it, and it's the most comfortable car on long trips (minus the atrocious gas mileage).

Econo

Over the last few weeks, I've noticed a faint whiff of positivity relative to the economy coming from the media, which suggests to me that the psychological grip this economic climate has had on the national psyche might be easing.

A couple of predictions, just to jot them down:
* Consumer spending will show a nice increase in April, followed by a relatively rapid improvement over the summer and into the fall.

* Consumer confidence will follow, and that will perpetuate more spending. Kinda nice how that circle works.

* Hiring will noticeably improve in July and into the fall.

* Existing home sales will continue the upswing started in March, with new home sales improving later.

I may have some more, but these are the ones off the top of my head. Granted, they're guesses, but then again, so are everyone else's.

Fountain

There's a fountain on campus that is a great place to hang out and eat lunch. I drive by it pretty much every day on my way home from work. As the spring started coming around, I began to wonder when they'd fill the fountain with water again...
That brings me to this morning. I saw a picture on the school's newspaper of a bunch of people frolicking in said fountain, and people were splashing one another, yada yada yada, and I thought, "When did this happen? How could I have possibly not noticed that they filled the fountain with water?" (Brings to mind another question: do I think in direct quotes? Crap.)

Uh, Mike?
I took this picture two days ago:


Here I am, taking a picture of the fountain, all full with water, and it didn't even occur to me to notice. It took me about two days to realize I had stared at an answer to a question I had apparently forgot I had asked.

Duh.

So, sometimes we don't "see" what we are looking at nor look at what we see. That, or i could just be woefully clueless. This is entirely possible!

Psychic

* I just learned that there is a psychic next to a yoga place here in Princeton.
Classic.
I wonder if the psychics are kind enough to let you know if they know you are going to hurt yourself?
"Don't go in there, man. It'll only end in tears."

* Also, I tried a place called Twist over the weekend. It's self-serve frozen yogurt, with about eight different flavors and an assortment of toppings. This will be dangerous.

Social Phobia...

I'm not quite sure how this topic of conversation came up today...I have a habit of arbitrariness anyway.
I visited Colonial Williamsburg several years ago. There, to give "authenticity," they pay people to dress and act in character. So, you have men and women dressed in unseasonably warm "period" clothing, and they speak in this odd pseudo-British accent that I suppose was all the rage back in the olden days.
They creep me out, especially when they insist on audience participation. Do I have to speak in a fake British accent, too? What on earth do I say to them? "So, when are you?" Basically, here I am pretending to reside in 2009, while they are pretending to reside in 1700-something. That's quite a gulf to cover, conversationally. I suspect that it would be completely weird getting into a conversation about Lost at this point.
Anyway, I want no part in the audience participation. I'll stay on my side of reality, and they can stay in theirs, where they're being paid to stay in character.