Thursday, June 08, 2006

Bits, pieces, flotsam, and detritus

A bit:
I thought this word was made up just for that commerical for something-or-another-that-I-can't-remember-right-now:
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floccinaucinihilipilification (FLOK-si-NO-si-NY-HIL-i-PIL-i-fi-KAY-shuhn)
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But, I guess not, because it is featured as today's "word of the day" from A Word A Day, which indicates that this very long word means to estimate something as worthless.
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As always, use it three times today in conversation and it's your forever. If you do manage this feat, won't you let me know how?
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Some flotsam:
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Question - do you ever avoid doing something that you know you should do just because you know how the something is going to to turn out and it's not going to be pretty and you'd just really rather pretend it will all go away if you ignore the not-pretty-ness for a while?
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I have a situation like that with someone with whom I must work. This someone has more initials after his name than me, which automatically makes him better than me (yes, he's one of those), and has proven to be a bit of a pain in the rumpus room of my reality.
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He wants me to call him. I'm not looking forward to the reason why. Therefore I write this blog entry. How lame is THAT?
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A piece:
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Early last fall, I took the boys for a hike at a local park. We tried and tried to find a nature trail, but this particular park is geared more toward the "pull in and picnic" population rather than the "hike and eat gorp" population. I don't begrudge anyone the right to picnic, of course, but I was lamenting the lack of hikeable area in thie big ol' park. We eventually found a wee trail BETWEEN picnic areas and decided to explore that option for as long as we could, in order to "get a little nature."
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And it was a wonderful decision to have made, because in that tiny patch of piney woods the spiders had been at work creating webs that caught the afternoon light and leaving behind long tails of silk that captured falling pine needles. The silks were invisible, so the effect was of suspended animation, as though gravity didn't apply and that, for a moment, the senesced needles could bask in the sun one last time before making contact with the strange dark earth. They swayed on their silks when the breeze blew, and for a long time we watched them do their silent improbable dance in the quiet plot of land that had been their entire home and life.
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We counted a few dozen of these terpsichoren pine chats as we made our way along the short picnic trail, and with each one counted I thanked the good fortune that brought us to that place at that time, because for those moments, we shared wonder and amazement.
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Detritus:
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Right now, I work on the second floor of a 2-floor building. Above my head (on the roof, y'all) is some kind of metal flap-doodle thingie that must be an inlet for the A/C system or something. The flap-doodle thingie does it's flap-doodling all day long in the heat of a NC late-spring day, and it's irritating the living SNOT out of me, because the flapping and doodling are inconsistent in rhythm and intensity.
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It is the modern equivalent of the ol' Chinese water torture, and it's working.

8 comments:

Beth said...

My daughter could spell the word before the commercial. I am so glad I know what it means. I couldn't remember the spelling long enough to look it up! Hahaha! That's a big word to use when finding something worthless. I mean, worthless kind of does that trick, doesn't it? haha

Yo Tambien Te Mando Besos said...

Hello Tiff,

Yesterday I came by via Michele but couldn't leave a comment! Blogger was sabotaging your SOTD, but today I came back to counter-attack! Haha! Loved your blog and will come back as often as possible (The Important Things).

tiff said...

beth - that's some spelling mojo your daugher's got! Yow!

YTTMB - yay! Thanks for coming back!

I have a LOT of work to do, going to y'all places....I cannot wait!

Chelle said...

Hey Tiff.... I procastinate doing anything that I know the negative outcome of. I am trying to overcome this habit cause the thing I am avoiding keeps coming back in my face. ARGGGGG.

Good luck with your call.

For the chinese water torture, try listening to the radio via your computer. I don't know if your job will allow this but I find it a wonderful way to block out the world.

Anonymous said...

Well, finally, Blogger let me in! Your story of typing a post rather than face the meeting with Mr. Lots-O-Initials is so, well, so ME.

I suggest turning up the music to drown out the flip-flapping. AND calling building maintenance!

Anonymous said...

the walk sounds aweome..but the spiderwebs, while beautiful, would scare me! Hi, Michele sent me...and I'm finally able to comment!

Beth said...

Tiff, did you have all these separate post parts yesterday? I swear to God I didn't see them, but just read them now. I have to say about flotsam, I am an avoider until I get to a point where I just cannot stand it anymore ... I'm ready to just freak out ... then I confront. I hate it though.

Anonymous said...

beth - I did an early post for the word alone, then "amplified" it later in the day.

Y'all - I am so GLAD I'm not the only one who has approach/avoidance issues!!!

Janet - I'm not fan of spiders either, believe me. :>