10:59 p.m. | 2003-07-07 The Greatest Commute Ever. So, today I walked through MyPark to get to the office. Then, at the end of the day, I walked through MyPark to get home. I don�t think I can even begin to tell you what a difference a walk in the park makes in my life compared to sitting on the Shuttle in backed up traffic. The level of angst in my life just dropped dramatically. Considering my severe dislike for commuting, you might think that I�d love to work from home. But, I so wouldn�t. I have telecommuted upon occasion, but it wouldn�t work long-term for me. See, I need separation between work and home. That way I can park all my work-related stress at the office instead of bringing it into my home. Plus, I need the social aspect of working in an office with a bunch of other people. But this? This is a great compromise. My office and my home separated by a beautiful park. It certainly works for me. Of course, the very first phone call I received in my Dreamspace just had to be a telemarketer. I kind of had advance warning since I came home to discover that I had seven hang ups throughout the day. As annoying as the call was, this part was kind of funny. (CI:) Hello? (Telemarketer:) HithisIsAnnoyingPerson. AndI�mcallingfromAnnoyingCompany. Wehaveagreatnewdeal! (She was talking incredibly fast and she had a fairly heavy accent.) (CI:) Yes? (Telemarketer:) Are you over 18 years of age? (CI:) Uh, yeah. (Telemarketer:) Oh, you sound very young. No offense to any telemarketers, but those calls are just flat out annoying. I�m sure the job itself is annoying too. It�s like both parties are forced to have an irritating experience. Moving on. If you think Christmas in July is an odd thing, you�ll probably find another one of our traditions kinda strange also. See, every year when I get new phone books, I set aside my old ones for Eldest Sister (ES). I do this because she lives alternately in two small towns and often needs things that you can only get in a city like MyTown. Hence, I take her my old phone books every year at Christmas in July so she can make the appropriate phone calls before traveling all the way to MyTown to make purchases and such. Now this makes complete sense to ES and I, but my other family members are rather baffled by the excitement they witness when I offer up my old phone books to her. They can�t even begin to fathom why this is a cause of much joy to both of us. So, when I changed my phone service for the move and the phone company said they�d deliver a new set of phone books to MyHotel, I didn�t tell them that wasn�t necessary since I already have new books. In fact, I was thrilled with the prospect of delivering current phone books to ES instead of outdated ones. Well, while we were in the process of moving into my Dreamspace, an UPS person managed to miss all of us and left me a note on my door indicating that they�d tried to make a delivery, but I wasn�t there to sign for it. The note indicated they'd try to redeliver this package from the phone company on Monday. I couldn�t imagine what the phone company would be sending me besides phone books, and I was a little surprised that they�d hire UPS for such a silly delivery, but whatever. I requested that they deliver my package to the HotelManager. And, so they did. They delivered a new set of phone books today. Still in the plastic wrap and everything. Honestly, I can�t wait to present these to ES. She�s gonna be thrilled! Yeah see, our family�s a little wacky. But, you have to admit, we�re easy to entertain. However, I�m still a little puzzled about the fact that the phone company engages UPS to deliver its phone books. And, I�m quite sure that cost is built into my regular monthly service charge. Bastards. Well, and I'm not sure why UPS couldn't have just left my new phone books in front of my door. There's already two sets of new phone books that have been resting in the mail area for several weeks. Obviously, no one feels a compulsion to take someone else's directories. I'm just saying. your thoughts? seed flower