Are more bad things happening or am I becoming more aware of the bad things?

As yet another earthquake takes place off of Japans coast, and a two meter tsunami rushes towards the same shore that was hit a month ago, I have to ask myself if the world is coming to an end or was I just living in a bubble previous to the last 5 or so years?

What is with the news these days? There is a looming government shutdown, a nuclear crisis in Japan, recent earthquakes that have hit Chili and wrecked Haiti, government unrest in the Middle East, two wars on terror --or something, birds flying into airplanes, and 7 people were shot or stabbed in DC last night. Last night!

Obviously bad things happened when I was growing up and when I was in college, and I can't decide if I appreciate being kept in the dark or just being ignorant to the rest of the world's happenings, or if I feel like I should have been made more aware. Or maybe I was made aware but feigned ignorance. Or maybe personal hardships like divorce, cancer and teen angst overshadowed the rest of the world's issues. It's hard to say.

I do know those things though: This was spotted in DC this week  (on DCist)

And this was spotted in my inbox this morning: 

Because why not open up a can of whoop CAS on a Tuesday afternoon?

I have a lot of teacher friends, including this guy that lives with me, and so I know more about the DC Public School System than probably most Media Planners, or really people my age without kids. Today was the first day of the DC CAS, the test that shows the kids' improvement in math and reading from the beginning to the almost end of the year. While the bullets on my resume note the budgets I work with and the decreased cost per lead of programs I manage, Austin's resume shows the improvement in his kid's DC CAS test scores. With that said, I recently saw a fun video of teachers and kids working off some stress before the big test week. The school that did this is especially cool because I know three people who work or have worked there, and I actually went in to talk to the kids about advertising last fall. And in case anyone else is wondering, no, I don't get to keep the money I save when I'm buying media. Good question, though.

The great Kindle debate

Every day I have the great Kindle debate with myself. Especially these days, as I drag the 500+ page Jonathan Franzen book along with me, I think to myself that it would be fantastic to be able to hold that many pages plus hundreds of other books with one hand, instead of toting around 10 extra pounds in my purse. Then I argue the other side, again with myself, that no one is going to steal my 500+ page hardcover book and therefore carrying the book in my hand as I transfer trains is probably a better idea. Oh also, there's another minor issue in buying a Kindle. It cost $100+  plus the cost of books, and I have lots and lots of books I haven't read on my bookshelf at home. 

But, today I discovered another topic I can consider in the great Kindle debate. I was on the Green Line on the way home, entranced in my book in a seat beside a stranger, when he snapped me out of my ignore everyone around you trance that I usually have on the metro. He actually asked what I thought of the book. He had read Freedom and Corrections and had some thoughts about them both. He then actually asked me what other authors I liked to read. And the best part, I was able to answer. Jonathan S something F something. Later to google and realize I need to pay more attention to authors I read and like: Jonathan Safran Foer. Anyway, no one can take interest in what you are reading in public if you have a Kindle. It is such a private device and can't really strike up a "we have something in common" conversation at random times, which sometimes can be so interesting. 

Oh also, can you color code a Kindle library of books, because if not, it just lost another point. 

A letter to my Mac

Happy one week anniversay to my new work iMac. It should be no surprise that the past week has gone by much quicker than previous 5 day weeks. Every morning you surprise me with how quick you are to boot up. Your wide screen has allowed me to easily view flow charts spanning three fiscal years, and your scrolling speeds have propelled me through over 50,000 excel rows in mere seconds.

Please forgive me for the day this week that I handled newspapers then touched your beautiful white keyboard. I do not believe that Mr. Jobs believed newspapers would hold on quite as well as they have since the Mac revolution started. But alas, we still need paper tear sheets for the ad we ran in the Ft. Bliss Monitor. I promise to never spill peanut butter on your, like I did my corduroy pants last Thursday or ever let your screen get dusty like my previous computer from 1984.

I look forward to a long working relationship, with no viruses and more excel pivot tables than you've ever experienced.

Sincerely,
Way too excited about a new work computer