Equipment Orientation

Sign on the inside door of toilet stall at my gym:
Ladies!
If you need an equipment orientation, please see Charmain.
Is everybody picturing what I'm picturing?
Charmain: "Ok, now, ladies do you see this here (motioning a semi circle with her arm)? This is a toilet SEAT. You will sit on her to do your business.
Oh.
No. No Honey, first we're going to take off our pants and undergarments, and then we will sit on the toilet SEAT to finish the job. Sorry for the confusion. That was my fault.
Once you're on the seat and ready to go, just let it go and gravity will take over ladies. That's right, it's that easy.
Now on to wiping and flushing."
I love it when things make funny little movies in my head.
Have a great day.
V

Love, thy name is email

I don't think my friends get it. It's not that I prefer email as a form of communication. It's not that I'm at my computer more than I'm not on any given day. It's just that I am in love with email. It's not an addiction.
Well, maybe it's an addiction.
The BlackBerry has not helped. I can get my darling email anytime, anywhere. The slightly unhealthy relationship is getting more unhealthy. AND, I'm totally unwilling to change it.
I send an email and cannot understand when there isn't a reply in my inbox within moments. I really do this. I obsessively sign in to my Rogers account to see if there's anything waiting for me at home. If there is something there, I will read it and then often re-send it to myself so it will have that lovely fresh feeling of an "unread" email.
Yep, that's right. I do that.
I seriously just took a break from writing this and went and checked home and work email.
Actually, I'm pretty good on the weekends - I check occasionally and just keep the BlackBerry handy - that's it.
Just checked again - Oh MY - I'm a nut!
Well I'd better go. See I sent a pic of Oliv out to about like 15 people so there should be email there, right?
No end in sight,
V

Bloggers' Rights

So, it turns out Blogging is such hot news! I know I've mentioned previously that it's all the rage in marketing to determine how it can be used (go ahead and give your steepled fingers some taps while saying, "Excellent" in a very Burns-esque way). Anyway, one of CBC's radio stations covered it a bit today: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2005/200501/20050117.html
Good for a listen/read.
Why on Earth should I feel that I can't give some advice on tech public relations if I wanted to. That's my chosen field. I've spent time giving myself a little slice of expertise, which enables me to advance my career down this path. Should the fruits of my experience only be harvested by my employer? If someone were to comment and ask for some advice on getting press for a new gadget, couldn't I help them out?
Now, that's not to say that I would ever help a competitor, I wouldn't. That smells wrong to me, but another tech person asking some advice about widgets that have nothing to do with my employer? Sure. Frankly, I work for a technology company in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and they have NEVER said people shouldn't blog, or use their expertise in their personal lives. They are no Delta airlines (see noted CBC article and Queen of the Sky blog). I bet I could even post a picture of me using their technology without fear of reprimand.
Anyway, all that aside, people should be smart enough to not print corporate information - frankly it's corporate information because it's not yours. Print your own info, right?
So maybe a Bloggers' Bill of Rights is a good idea. Just get some guidelines and policies down on paper - protect people's personal opinions. At the same time, corporations should be allowed to come down on those spilling beans that they weren't supposed to.
If I owned my own company, I'd want my corporate intelligence protected too.
I can't think of a scenario where I would feel it was all right for someone to spill confidential - or even simply not-publicly-released corporate information.
Here's the bloggers' rights blog, if you're interested: http://rights.journalspace.com/
Take care,
V

My winter cold

Every year, it comes and stays a while. The rudest guest I've ever had. I don't even invite it in, it just tucks in. What kind of a guest brings only stuffy noses, sore throats, throbbing heads and full, deep coughs? Where's my bottle of wine?
Or is that whine? And whine I do. I don't like being sick. Every year I end up with some mild form of bronchitis. I'm really hoping that I don't pass it on to Oliv - Al's already in the first stages. (sorry my love)
Ah well, a couple of weeks from now and I'll feel like brand new.
I wanted to put a site up - give a shout out to a former colleague/teacher and his site. www.mattbcomic.com
Take care - and keep in good health,
V

From the mouths of babes

Olivia has started to speak. Basically one week she babbled constantly and the next week there were words mixed in.
mom, dad, up, cat, cup, cheers (altho this sounds more like, "aish" - but the cup raised to yours gives away the true meaning of that one) and the kicker - mine.
I don't mind hearing any of them, except "mine." I know that I've probably used the word, mine, around her, but arghh to hear her say it with a stubborn look on her face as she takes a ball away from the cat. She is so saucy.
Turns out, "mine," is saved for family. Our daycare provider, Sandra, has yet to hear her say it. I do suspect that might be because everyone there seems to cater to my girl's every whim. Oh my!
So, we deal with "mine" and hope that sharing comes as easily at one point! I was really worried about her not sharing until Sandra mentioned that most children go through some really stubborn phases and they take their own time learning concepts that are contrary to what they want. So, she'll learn to share at some point, but in the meantime we better get used to her taking instant ownership of everything she sees!
We went and saw The Incredibles - it was great! Alan was a little perturbed that a "real-life" Fantastic Four movie will suffer by comparison. Most of the Incredibles' powers are mirrored to powers in the Fantastic Four and it would be hard for a CGI-d Ioan Gruffud as Mr. Fantastic to be as well done as ElastiGirl - matriarch of the Incredible clan.
Either way, I thought the movie was brilliant and highly recommend it!
Cheers,
V

Berry Brief indeed!

You know what I just noticed? I've titled this blog BerryBrief, but I haven't been very brief at all.
So now i will be, kind of, in my own way...
V

Blessings

What a year! I shudder to look at all the "year in review" pieces I see out there on the news sites. It makes me feel that not much good happened. There was an election that ended the way I thought it would and one that ended drastically differently than I thought it would and spawned the site http://www.sorryeverybody.com
There were elections that I never thought would happen, contested or not, as countries struggled to mimic the West's joke of democracy. A war raged on (many wars, but there was this one...) and I raged on, wondering why the rest of the world is being forced to conform to western civilization - like we know any better.
And what a devastating way to end the year. I am stunned by the devastation that mother earth brought. I am astonishingly lucky. That's all I thought every time I saw footage of this. There was video of a woman holding her dead child. I wanted to crush Oliv to me. I wanted to create a cavern for her from my body and just watch her and protect her. (I was living Ondaatje's Bearhug) It's terrible and all too real and there is not a lot people can do to help. Which doesn't excuse us from doing all we can.
The year end had good things in store for me too tho. Oliv is healthy and happy, as is Alan. My family is united again (there were some splits, and thanks to Santa and Christmas spirit, everyone is talking and smiling and laughing with each other).
So here is to 2005, a year sure to be filled with ups and downs, laughter and tears. My resolution - work to make it a good one. Help where and when I can and remember that a credit card debt means nothing. A new kitchen floor needed? Look up! Vic - you have a roof over your head, smarten up! I will count my blessings.
Take care,
V