A few months ago, the door and card reader that gives access to the other side of the building was replaced. Now I need only wave my badge in front of a sensor and the door automagically opens. Here’s the thing though — going in, the door unlocks and you don’t need to turn the handle. In fact, the handle doesn’t turn at all, you just grab and pull. Going out, on the other hand, requires you to turn the handle, turn, and push.
You wouldn’t think this would be too complicated for a rocket scientist like me, right? Wrong! Every freaking time I go back and forth to the other side of the building, I turn when I don’t need to, or pull when I should push, or don’t turn when I do need to. And every time I just look totally retarded.
On to other subjects.
I am in major stress/near panic mode for the Yuri’s Night 5K that will happen tomorrow morning whether I’m prepared or not. I keep going over and over everything in my mind, making sure I haven’t forgotten anything vital. This afternoon Becca and I are splitting shifts at the running store so that people can pick up their packets early, and then tonight Jason and I are going food shopping. At 6:30 tomorrow morning I’ll be knocking on the gates of Challenger Park ready to get in and get set up for the 8:00 race start time. Then, as quickly as people gathered, the race will be over for another year. Whew.
My drive over to Alvin last night to pick up race t-shirts went better — quicker — than I expected and I made it back to Clear Lake for softball in plenty of time. I listened to the Counting Crows unplugged album the whole way to Alvin and back; for unexplained reasons, when I am majorly stressed out I find that that album, or a James Taylor album, helps me relax. Who knows why. We played a great game, and great defense, until the bottom of the final inning, when we bobbled a few plays and ended up losing by a run. Ah well. Later, at 9:00, Nick, Cari, Jason and Gavin all came over and helped me stuff race packets, so big thanks to them.
Those who know me are aware that I am not a particularly religious person, and definitely not Catholic. But the pope’s death saddened me and I have been reading a lot about funeral plans and how the church elects a new pope. Here’s a small thing — I have often wondered why Catholics (and most religious figures in general) wear such elaborate garb. I guess it dates back hundreds and/or thousands of years, but sometimes it seems a little dated to me. But today, looking through photos from the pope’s funeral, I was struck by what I’ll call the “visual spectacle” of the cardinals all dressed in brilliant red and white, and bishops (I think?) dressed in a more muted red/pink. Surrounding them were all the foreign dignitaries in black. It was such a nice image.
The other interesting thing about the funeral to me is how many of the world’s power players came together in one place. I don’t know for sure, but it’s got to be one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in recent memory. I think that’s amazing. In a good way.
All the people in red are cardinals, I think. They are just different kinds of cardinals, I guess. Bishops where the big hats, and dress in normal colors.
the pictures (and event itself) is amazing. i was also struck by the colors…and lack of women in those colors.