Cherry Bomb ***1/2

There is a sizeable list of things that makes DC a unique place. One entry pretty close to the top has to be the beloved cherry blossom. Every year, toward the end of March/early April spring literally explodes like a cherry bomb in the District. The effects are precious pink and white fluffy trees scattered all over town. If one is brave enough, the trek down to the Tidal Basin in the balmy spring weather is a voyage to a fantasy-land and makes even the most hardened politico long to toss the shoes aside and frolic singing tra-la-la.

There are Washingtonians who swear that they loathe these bits of pink puffiness. They argue it creates congestion, and that the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival marks the official beginning of tourist season. I concur that the person/fanny pack ratio does increase around this time of year, but for me the true beauty of it all makes it seem worth while. As the blooming event marks the beginning of more pleasant temperatures, it means the beginning of flip-flops, strappy shoes, and short sleeves; long walks over lunch, a pint of the finest hops near the water, and longer evenings to enjoy. Because of this, I give the cherry blossoms in the city by the Potomac three-and-a-half stars out of four (***1/2). The half point is docked only because I do agree about the tourist bit. They are a bit annoying.

Help Desk Review *

I'm already behind as I meant to post this review yesterday when I had the idea for this blog, which means that I'm not necessarily off to the best start, but it's still early so I hope I can redeem myself. With that I mind, I hope to post TWO - count 'em! - Two blog entries today, so just hold on to your horses...

I consider myself to be rather IT/Tech savvy, and at work I don't often need to phone the IT Help Desk for support. But once in a while, something happens that I have no control over, and I clench my jaw and dial. Yesterday was one of those days.

I wasn't able to access an important database and *Creepy Computer Guy responded to the call for help. The office I work in is a satellite office of a larger organization and we don't actually have any IT support physically in our office. When Creepy Computer Guy "helps", he does it remotely, and literally takes over my computer from a secret undisclosed location which only ads to the creepy factor of it all. There are rumors in my office that Creepy Computer Guy (let's call him CCG for short) and his other compadres are bored, they secretly tune into our computers and watch what we're doing. Very creepy. But I digress...

So, CCG calls me and takes over my computer with complete disregard that I was in the middle of several research tasks. CCG never asks, "is this a good time" or "are you in the middle of something" before he takes over your machine. He just charges in there and does it, which is really quite annoying. Then, while closing all my windows and making me feel deflated with a lack of IT power, he engages me in annoying chit-chat about his recent vacation being good for his soul. I'm like, "blah, blah, blah...leave me alone", but keep my comments polite and of proper manner. Then, silence. I can hear CCG breathing, but no longer want to converse with him as he fiddles on my computer. A creepy compadre of CCG then enters the room of their secret undisclosed location and CCG initiates a conversation with them. Never mind that I'm still on the phone, unable to really do any work for about 10 minutes now and my stomach is now growling from the hunger of lunch hour ticking by.

More time passes. Then, I've had enough.

"Um, excuse me CCG", I say. "I sort of need to go. I have an appointment." A blatent lie, but I was desperate for freedom.

"Oh, okay," says CCG. I didn't really need you on the phone anyway.

What?

What!?

At least 20 minutes of time was wasted with me on the phone with CCG and it was all for not. And this is pretty typical.

And so, in my review, I give CCG and the Help Desk of my employment establishment one star *. While the problem was fixed, I didn't need to be there for it, and I think that's valuable information to have when your time is being wasted before your very eyes.

*Note: Some names have been changed to protect my career.

Welcome to the Daily Review

This is a bit of an experiment, and those of you who have read some of my other blogs already know that I'm not that frequent of a writer, though I want to be better about that. Thus begins the daily review. The idea is that it will consist of my rants and raves about one thing that happened during my day each day. Perhaps it's a review of a play, or a book I'm reading. Maybe a review of the morning's metro ride, or my latte. One never knows. Certainly I don't. But I'm hopeful that this might launch me into a glamorous job as a real reviewer of real things instead of my dead-end non-profit gig.

I hope to keep the entries short and sweet, despite my lyrical desire to drag things out. So without adieu, enjoy...let me know what you think.