More stories

Today my sister drove me to the office this morning, so I don't have any stories from the morning commute (and anyway, the riders on Route 435 are pretty normal, it's the route on the way home that is full of weird people).

But this afternoon I met Kristine and my grandma for lunch in the ID, so I took Route 36. As I got on, some dude (apparently drunk) was yelling so everyone on the bus could hear him: "My apartment, I don't know, my apartment, I don't got my apartment." Well, sorry dude, I don't know what happened to your apartment, but I don't really care.

On that same bus, something smelled horrible. Like pee. I figured it out that it wasn't the bus that smelled that way, it was someone on the bus. Once he got off it was fine (almost).

Then tonight after work, I took the Route 36 again but this time I took it to my grandparents' condo. As I was walking from the stop to their condo (about three blocks), I heard this voice. I looked around and saw nobody. Oh wait, I saw someone on his balcony. And yep, it was that man talking. To me. "Hola ¿Quieres venir aquí. Te ves tan linda," he probably said. (It was hard to hear, but I know he was talking to and about me.) Oh, and that roughly translates, "Hey, want to come over here? You look so pretty." Thanks, Google Translate! Anyway, so he kept talking as I was walking past. He was waving and blowing kisses. Not kidding.

I made it to my grandparents' safely and then Kristine and I drove home. So there is today's excerpt on my life on Route 435.

New Series: Life on Route 435

A *certain friend* of mine told me to write blog entries about my experiences on the public transportation system, so here you go. I'll try to update this series as funny, odd, random or scary things happen while I'm on way to or from the office (some entries may include things that the street bums say on my way to or from the office from the bus stop).

So far, some big burly man told me as I boarded the bus, "Hey girl, you look like Cleopatra!" What? Really? Do I really look like Cleopatra? Then if that wasn't bad enough, he tells the girl next to him, "Doesn't she remind you of Cleopatra? She does, huh?" Yeah dude, whatever!

And then, the next day a bum on the sidewalk was trying to get me to buy one of his newspaper things (you know, the small papers nobody knows about and the ones that are filled with random biased news you never knew could be classified as "news"?). I guess he thought I was too interested in my lunch (which I was), because I ignored his, "Hi!" His second attempt? "Why hello pretty lady!" OK, so maybe my outfit was cute that day, but umm . . . .

Well, that's my first entry in this series, "Life on Route 435." More to come.

Some still don't get it!

This is a random post about confusing words. With life in general, but more specifically with my work on a newspaper, I've seen many of these words used incorrectly. I'm sure you have too.

Do you mean to say . . .

• effect or affect
• to, too or two
• there, their or they're
  
• complimentary or complementary
  
• stationary or stationery
  
• witch or which
• brake or break

The list could go on and on, but the point I want to get across with this post is to make sure you know which form of the word you want to use, and use it correctly!

Word of the day: Assistant

I stayed up way too late last night (or this morning) watching old episodes of The Office. If you're familiar with that show, Dwight always says his job title is "Assistant Regional Manager" when it is really "Assistant to the Regional Manager." Big difference? Yeah.

Well that example along with my ongoing job search made me think of the different ways we use the word "assistant." I saw a job posting for "Assistant Editor" which is obviously different than "Editorial Assistant." The two words that make up those jobs are pretty similar, but the jobs are quite different.

What are other words that are used like "assistant" that have similarities yet strong, obviously differences when placed in certain word order?

A Very Public Private Life

Social media (SM) is a wonderful thing; it's almost like dark chocolate. OK, not quite, but it is wonderful. I've been thinking a lot recently about SM, especially as it is becoming a vital part of the industries for which I went to school--public relations and journalism. It is very uncommon for individuals in these fields, as well as businesses, to not participate in SM. But think a step further: we share a whole lot of our private lives with the public. Here are some examples of tweets and Facebook statuses that people tend to post (fictitious for the sake of privacy, ironic huh?) :

"Going to bed . . . it's 3 a.m."
"Stuck in I-405 traffic, gonna be late today."
"What should I eat for lunch?"
"Hope my boss doesn't find out about this . . ."
"Thanks everyone, I have 592 followers now!"

You get my point. Think about it, why do we post what we post? Are we really that bored? Do we want the world's (or at least our friends' and/or followers') sympathy? Are we really looking for public opinion for part of our lives?

I'm not saying using SM to do the things listed above is wrong, I just wonder why we do it. I know I wouldn't call my friends or email them and tell them things like "Oh, I made cake today." I mean, they won't care! So what makes SM a better platform to do so?

SM, like many things, is a great tool. I just wonder if I share too much of my private life on a public (even though I make it private and/or protected) site. Thoughts?

Trust

I had a random thought going through my head today: there are so many people we don't know, yet we trust. It's good to trust people, but seriously think of individuals you run into each day . . . most of them we pay to do something for us. Weird. Just a few that were in my mind today:

• Doctors; sure maybe you have one doctor you've seen all your life, but really, you trust them to examine, operate or prescribe things for your body. Most of the time, they're a complete stranger with whom you share your most confidential information.
  
• Roommates; well most of us don't have a choice when it comes to roommates, but we share a room with up to three other people we've never met. We leave our valuables in the room and trust that those valuables will be there when we return for the night.
  
• Car mechanics; I have a hard time trusting these people, but still, I try. I've never met them before and yet I trust that when they say my air filter, brakes, lights and tires need replacements, they really need replacements.
  

Those are just a few. What are some that you can think of?

I love my brother!

My brother, Andy, is one amazingly talented designer. I know he'll go far in whatever he ends up doing after college. I can't believe the things he's designed. I took these from his Facebook to share with you! Enjoy!

*Disclaimer: Many of his designs are for academic projects, therefore the brands depicted are not real advertisements.

A typography project he did

A dramatic performance poster he designed

A recital invitation he made

A graphic design project he did (not a real advertisement for Old Spice)

His latest design--a typographical map from our house to his school