The Joys of Email
Until today, I had only heard stories of other people's work inboxes being bombarded by mass email reply-to-all disasters. Now, I can finally say that I have experienced this monument of human stupidity for myself.
I don't know how it originally started, but around 9 am this morning I got an email from some random person in the company network saying "please remove my address from this list". Since then, I have gotten about 200 more messages of people who inexplicably keep choosing to reply-to-all with various responses. A sample of the messages I've been receiving:
"I don't know who you are?"
"What is going on here?"
"I have no idea what any of you are talking about"
"Nor do I know what this is about"
"I also don't know what this is about"
"Please take me off your list. These emails are clogging up my inbox"
"Ditto"
"Dito"
"delete my name"
"Dito"
"Ditto"
"Me too!"
"and me too!"
"Remove me also"
"Ditto for me."
"I think you sent this to me in error."
"I agree with Tom. Does anyone know what's going on?"
"I agree with Tom and Maria, this must be a mistake."
"PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO ALL!"
"I probably should not be responding for fear of further email assault, but this is a virus of some sort"
"WHY ARE YOU SENDING THIS TO ME"
"If you mental giants would stop replying to all, this problem would not be continuing"
"I have no choice but to reply all because I don't know who sent me the message"
"I am talking to Help Desk. They say to not reply to the messages and just delete them."
"Do you people realize that this is probably some sort of virus??"
"Hi Belinda, I noticed your name on the list and just wanted to say hi. How are you, other than getting erroneous emails in your inbox?"
Seriously, all of those were actually among the messages I received throughout today. I just don't understand how so many people can be so dumb and ignorant when it comes to email. The people who are stupid enough to reply-all when they want to be removed from a list are annoying enough. But even more frustrating is all the people who feel the need to teach everyone else about how they shouldn't reply-all, when in so doing they only add more to the congestion and don't help any of us at all. Then there's the retards who actually look at the other names on the thread and try to talk to an individual by replying to everyone. There's probably tens of thousands of people across the country on this company-wide network, and because you feel like saying what's up to one other person, you muck up all these other people's mailboxes?
The sad thing is, there actually was an official company email sent out at 11 that specifically told people NOT to reply to these messages and to just to delete them. 4 hours later, I'm still getting more replies. Utterly ridiculous, I say.
Monday, April 26, 2004
Too Bad I Don't Have A Nice Rack
Got pulled over on Dundee yesterday by a cop who claimed I wasn't wearing a seat belt. Fine, except I was wearing a seat belt all along. He comes to my window and sees the seatbelt on, and goes "is there any chance you put that on after seeing me? Just be honest." Well, to be completely honest, I didn't even see him until he turned on his lights, and anyways, I almost always wear my seat belt to begin with (this being one of those times). And this is what I told him.
Now, you'd think that he would just let it go, but then he noted that I was wearing the belt under my arm. I know it's not the "proper" way to wear a seat belt, but I usually tuck the shoulder strap under my arm because it gets uncomfortable and rubs against my neck and stuff. So the cop is like "maybe I didn't see it on because you were wearing it like that" and takes my license back to his car. 15 minutes later, he comes back and gives me the following speech:
"Ok, I'm still pretty sure I saw you without your seatbelt on, but I don't think you're lying, so I'll meet you halfway: this is a 'citation' for a 'seat belt violation' - it doesn't necessarily say that you weren't wearing your seatbelt, but I'll call it a violation because you weren't wearing it the proper way. So unlike a ticket, it won't go on your driving record, you just have to send in $25 to pay the fine. We're just doing this to save lives, you know, to encourage people to wear seat belts."
Let me get this straight: A cop pulls me over for no other reason than him thinking I wasn't wearing a seat belt. In fact, I was wearing my seat belt, he just didn't see it. In the end, he admits that he's not completely sure about seeing me without a seat belt on, and I still get stuck with a $25 'citation' for a 'seat belt violation'. All this, when I'm one of the people in this country who's been wearing a seat belt for years and was also wearing one the time he pulled me over.
It's not like I have a really shoddy history either, I haven't been pulled over at all in about 3-4 years, and that was when a cop wrote me a speeding ticket for going 9 over the speed limit (9 over!! Don't cops have anything better to do??). And I was polite to the guy all along, even when I was tempted to say something sarcastic like "I'm glad I have police officers like you to serve and protect me like this."
Ok, so I wasn't wearing it in the exact proper way. But I know I'm not the only person out there who wears the strap underneath their arm. Big deal, at least I have it on, which is more than you can say for a lot of other people. Just give me a warning and I'll change, is it really necessary to write me a citation and give me a $25 fine?? All I know is, there may have been all sorts of robberies, murders, rapes, quote-unquote "real crimes" that he could have been fighting instead of burning his 20 minutes and mine to nail me on wearing my seat belt wrong. Even one of those horrible people out there who actually don't wear their seat belts would have been a better use of time than me.
So now I'm trying to decide whether or not to fight this thing and get a court date. It's only $25, so I don't know if it's worth the trouble, but there's principle here. First of all, I should not be getting fined for a seat belt violation when I was wearing my seat belt (and always have). If it's their intention to "save lives by encouraging people to wear their seat belt", it's not necessary to go after people like me who already do it. Second of all, cops need to be discouraged somehow from pulling people over for seat belt violations when they're not even sure about what they see. If they have nothing better to do with their time, then I'd have to say that means we have more cops on the street than we really need. Anyways, I'm thinking that maybe if I actually stand up and make this cop defend himself in court, he'll at least feel more accountable for doing the same thing again, and it could save other people like me from having to go through the story I just described.
Now, I've wasted another 20 minutes writing about the dumb thing.
Got pulled over on Dundee yesterday by a cop who claimed I wasn't wearing a seat belt. Fine, except I was wearing a seat belt all along. He comes to my window and sees the seatbelt on, and goes "is there any chance you put that on after seeing me? Just be honest." Well, to be completely honest, I didn't even see him until he turned on his lights, and anyways, I almost always wear my seat belt to begin with (this being one of those times). And this is what I told him.
Now, you'd think that he would just let it go, but then he noted that I was wearing the belt under my arm. I know it's not the "proper" way to wear a seat belt, but I usually tuck the shoulder strap under my arm because it gets uncomfortable and rubs against my neck and stuff. So the cop is like "maybe I didn't see it on because you were wearing it like that" and takes my license back to his car. 15 minutes later, he comes back and gives me the following speech:
"Ok, I'm still pretty sure I saw you without your seatbelt on, but I don't think you're lying, so I'll meet you halfway: this is a 'citation' for a 'seat belt violation' - it doesn't necessarily say that you weren't wearing your seatbelt, but I'll call it a violation because you weren't wearing it the proper way. So unlike a ticket, it won't go on your driving record, you just have to send in $25 to pay the fine. We're just doing this to save lives, you know, to encourage people to wear seat belts."
Let me get this straight: A cop pulls me over for no other reason than him thinking I wasn't wearing a seat belt. In fact, I was wearing my seat belt, he just didn't see it. In the end, he admits that he's not completely sure about seeing me without a seat belt on, and I still get stuck with a $25 'citation' for a 'seat belt violation'. All this, when I'm one of the people in this country who's been wearing a seat belt for years and was also wearing one the time he pulled me over.
It's not like I have a really shoddy history either, I haven't been pulled over at all in about 3-4 years, and that was when a cop wrote me a speeding ticket for going 9 over the speed limit (9 over!! Don't cops have anything better to do??). And I was polite to the guy all along, even when I was tempted to say something sarcastic like "I'm glad I have police officers like you to serve and protect me like this."
Ok, so I wasn't wearing it in the exact proper way. But I know I'm not the only person out there who wears the strap underneath their arm. Big deal, at least I have it on, which is more than you can say for a lot of other people. Just give me a warning and I'll change, is it really necessary to write me a citation and give me a $25 fine?? All I know is, there may have been all sorts of robberies, murders, rapes, quote-unquote "real crimes" that he could have been fighting instead of burning his 20 minutes and mine to nail me on wearing my seat belt wrong. Even one of those horrible people out there who actually don't wear their seat belts would have been a better use of time than me.
So now I'm trying to decide whether or not to fight this thing and get a court date. It's only $25, so I don't know if it's worth the trouble, but there's principle here. First of all, I should not be getting fined for a seat belt violation when I was wearing my seat belt (and always have). If it's their intention to "save lives by encouraging people to wear their seat belt", it's not necessary to go after people like me who already do it. Second of all, cops need to be discouraged somehow from pulling people over for seat belt violations when they're not even sure about what they see. If they have nothing better to do with their time, then I'd have to say that means we have more cops on the street than we really need. Anyways, I'm thinking that maybe if I actually stand up and make this cop defend himself in court, he'll at least feel more accountable for doing the same thing again, and it could save other people like me from having to go through the story I just described.
Now, I've wasted another 20 minutes writing about the dumb thing.
Friday, April 23, 2004
Voices In My Head
"YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHH!!!" - Lil' Jon (or Dave Chappelle as Lil' Jon)
"Are you a pothead, Focker?" - Robert DeNiro
"I see you look me up and down... I know you want my bod-ay" - Beyonce
"Even my boogers are spicy" - Ralph Wiggum
"To play your messages, press 1" - T-Mobile Voicemail Lady
"So when Rigby got his samples back from the laboratory, he made a startling discovery! What he believed to be igneous, was in fact, sedimentary!" - Ross Gellar (in fake British accent)
"Oh no, Mike Wallace, RUN!!" - Chris Rock
"Do it... doooo it" - D. Ciszek
"GAAAAAS he gone" - Hawk Harrelson
"Too much for you!" - Scotty Nguyen
"My salsa makes all the pretty girls want to dance and take off their underpants, my salsa.... my salsa" - Eminem
"EEEE-mails, send in your emails, EEEE-mails, we read your emails..." - Mancow jingle
"Screw you guys, I'm going home!" - Cartman
"YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHH!!!" - Lil' Jon (or Dave Chappelle as Lil' Jon)
"Are you a pothead, Focker?" - Robert DeNiro
"I see you look me up and down... I know you want my bod-ay" - Beyonce
"Even my boogers are spicy" - Ralph Wiggum
"To play your messages, press 1" - T-Mobile Voicemail Lady
"So when Rigby got his samples back from the laboratory, he made a startling discovery! What he believed to be igneous, was in fact, sedimentary!" - Ross Gellar (in fake British accent)
"Oh no, Mike Wallace, RUN!!" - Chris Rock
"Do it... doooo it" - D. Ciszek
"GAAAAAS he gone" - Hawk Harrelson
"Too much for you!" - Scotty Nguyen
"My salsa makes all the pretty girls want to dance and take off their underpants, my salsa.... my salsa" - Eminem
"EEEE-mails, send in your emails, EEEE-mails, we read your emails..." - Mancow jingle
"Screw you guys, I'm going home!" - Cartman
Pat Tillman Killed in Action
I remember hearing about this guy a year or two ago when he decided to leave the NFL in the prime of his career to serve his country. Even then, they were talking about how it was gonna be a serious role with real implications (not some silly thing like Tiger Woods doing Green Beret training for 3 days). But I still figured it was the media hyping up a story.
It doesn't get much more real or serious than getting killed in combat fighting for your country. This man gave up millions of dollars and a comfortable life to defend all of us from the evil people in this world. Reading a story like this makes me feel so unworthy of his sacrifice and for the sacrifices of all our soldiers who give up their lives across the globe to defend our way of life.
*****
Meanwhile, we have this little punk college kid Eli Manning who decides he doesn't want to be drafted by San Diego cause they're not gonna be winners. What kind of messed up retarded business is that?
I remember hearing about this guy a year or two ago when he decided to leave the NFL in the prime of his career to serve his country. Even then, they were talking about how it was gonna be a serious role with real implications (not some silly thing like Tiger Woods doing Green Beret training for 3 days). But I still figured it was the media hyping up a story.
It doesn't get much more real or serious than getting killed in combat fighting for your country. This man gave up millions of dollars and a comfortable life to defend all of us from the evil people in this world. Reading a story like this makes me feel so unworthy of his sacrifice and for the sacrifices of all our soldiers who give up their lives across the globe to defend our way of life.
*****
Meanwhile, we have this little punk college kid Eli Manning who decides he doesn't want to be drafted by San Diego cause they're not gonna be winners. What kind of messed up retarded business is that?
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
One other bad part about the weekend was when I watched Honey. I wasn't expecting much, and it still sucked more than I thought it would. I think, in all seriousness, the only good acting in the whole movie came from Missy Elliott.
This week at work, I'm officially being transferred from the Systems Engineering group to the Analog Design group. That means new bosses, new projects, probably new desk. I really liked my old bosses in the past year and a half I've been here, but I think this will be a good change for me. Well, at least I hope it will.
Seems like for a lot of people who graduated and started working in 2002 like me, this is a time when a lot is changing for us career wise. Either we're getting restless after getting a taste of what the next 10, 20, or 30 years of life might be like at this job, or circumstances outside of our own control are dictating the shakeups that are happening or about to happen.
In either case, it's a less than desirable situation which also serves as yet another reminder to each of us that the real world is tough. Our college days are long behind us, and life isn't getting any easier.
You know, it still hasn't completely hit me yet that I'm already 24 years old. It's scary sometimes to think about what that means. For starters, I've seen a lot of people my age or younger who have already been buying houses, getting engaged, pursuing and/or achieving advanced degrees, things like that. And that's just among the people I know personally.
When I look at the NBA and see someone like LeBron James come in at age 18, it's crazy to think about how much younger he is than me, and how incredibly good he's gonna get by the time he's my age (in 6 years). I mean, the kid is barely out of high school, and he's already signed contracts that will pay him more money during this next year than I might save in an entire lifetime.
It's not that I'm focused on the money. I don't think I need to ever become a millionaire or billionaire to be happy in life. Like when I see someone such as Donald Trump, it's not his money or his power or even his fame that appeals to me. I don't envy his tacky looking house even if it did cost millions to build and furnish, nor do I wish to be surrounded by people who kiss my ass all day, every day.
But I can't help but admire him for accomplishing so much throughout his life. He started as just one man in this world, just like any one of us, but through years of hard work he managed to build an empire of his own. Now he's got these huge skyscrapers and casinos bearing his name. How many of us can claim anything like that on our resume?
Do I want to build a "Chen Tower" as my life's work or own a famous golf course? No, I really don't. All I'm saying is that it shows how much one person can do in just one lifetime. And it almost makes me feel stupid that I spend most of my days worrying about the weather, fantasy baseball, or how I'm going to spend my weekend.
From what I've heard, the late twenties is when a typical man starts to really get serious about his career, and think about what he wants to accomplish with his life. If that's so, then I guess I still have a good 3-4 years to putz around before panic time officially arrives. But then I keep hearing the same old voice in my head: youth is wasted on the young. If I want to do truly great things with this life, why wait until I'm past my prime to start pursuing them?
I only wish that right now, I knew what my purpose was and what I'm supposed to be seeking after. I do believe that I'm destined to someday do great things, I just don't know what those things are. The real question to ask at this point is, if I did know what I'm supposed to achieve 10 or 20 years from now, how should I be living my life differently today in order to prepare myself for that?
Anyways, I started all this talking about the changes going on at my job and those of my friends (actually I started with talking about how Honey sucked but oh well). For myself, the changes aren't going to be drastic, but I'm still feeling a little nervous about what's in store. For those of you who have either recently started a new career path, or have a lot of uncertainty going on with the place you're currently working, I really hope everything works out for the best for all of you guys in the end. Other than that, I don't know what else I can say. But if any of you need any help from me in any way, or just want to hang out and talk about life and stuff, I'll try my best to schedule you in to my busy life. Har har.
This week at work, I'm officially being transferred from the Systems Engineering group to the Analog Design group. That means new bosses, new projects, probably new desk. I really liked my old bosses in the past year and a half I've been here, but I think this will be a good change for me. Well, at least I hope it will.
Seems like for a lot of people who graduated and started working in 2002 like me, this is a time when a lot is changing for us career wise. Either we're getting restless after getting a taste of what the next 10, 20, or 30 years of life might be like at this job, or circumstances outside of our own control are dictating the shakeups that are happening or about to happen.
In either case, it's a less than desirable situation which also serves as yet another reminder to each of us that the real world is tough. Our college days are long behind us, and life isn't getting any easier.
You know, it still hasn't completely hit me yet that I'm already 24 years old. It's scary sometimes to think about what that means. For starters, I've seen a lot of people my age or younger who have already been buying houses, getting engaged, pursuing and/or achieving advanced degrees, things like that. And that's just among the people I know personally.
When I look at the NBA and see someone like LeBron James come in at age 18, it's crazy to think about how much younger he is than me, and how incredibly good he's gonna get by the time he's my age (in 6 years). I mean, the kid is barely out of high school, and he's already signed contracts that will pay him more money during this next year than I might save in an entire lifetime.
It's not that I'm focused on the money. I don't think I need to ever become a millionaire or billionaire to be happy in life. Like when I see someone such as Donald Trump, it's not his money or his power or even his fame that appeals to me. I don't envy his tacky looking house even if it did cost millions to build and furnish, nor do I wish to be surrounded by people who kiss my ass all day, every day.
But I can't help but admire him for accomplishing so much throughout his life. He started as just one man in this world, just like any one of us, but through years of hard work he managed to build an empire of his own. Now he's got these huge skyscrapers and casinos bearing his name. How many of us can claim anything like that on our resume?
Do I want to build a "Chen Tower" as my life's work or own a famous golf course? No, I really don't. All I'm saying is that it shows how much one person can do in just one lifetime. And it almost makes me feel stupid that I spend most of my days worrying about the weather, fantasy baseball, or how I'm going to spend my weekend.
From what I've heard, the late twenties is when a typical man starts to really get serious about his career, and think about what he wants to accomplish with his life. If that's so, then I guess I still have a good 3-4 years to putz around before panic time officially arrives. But then I keep hearing the same old voice in my head: youth is wasted on the young. If I want to do truly great things with this life, why wait until I'm past my prime to start pursuing them?
I only wish that right now, I knew what my purpose was and what I'm supposed to be seeking after. I do believe that I'm destined to someday do great things, I just don't know what those things are. The real question to ask at this point is, if I did know what I'm supposed to achieve 10 or 20 years from now, how should I be living my life differently today in order to prepare myself for that?
Anyways, I started all this talking about the changes going on at my job and those of my friends (actually I started with talking about how Honey sucked but oh well). For myself, the changes aren't going to be drastic, but I'm still feeling a little nervous about what's in store. For those of you who have either recently started a new career path, or have a lot of uncertainty going on with the place you're currently working, I really hope everything works out for the best for all of you guys in the end. Other than that, I don't know what else I can say. But if any of you need any help from me in any way, or just want to hang out and talk about life and stuff, I'll try my best to schedule you in to my busy life. Har har.
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