It has been an extremely busy and tiring week. For some reason, when I get home, I feel as if the life has been sucked out of me. Is it the frigid temperature? Or is it simply a sign of my getting older? Who knows, but I'm finding that I need to take naps now... I've always had an aversion to naps for some reason. Sleeping-in on a day off, is one thing, but taking a nap? I never understood the concept. Yes, I know they're useful, but I suppose when it comes to the matter of sleeping during the day, I'm like a petulant child who squirms, kicks, and screams until she eventually falls asleep. ... My fatigue has kept me away from my blog, but I have a few minutes to spare, and I'd like to address some questions I've had kicking around in my head... Firstly, I hardly ever give commentary about work or colleagues. We've had a shifting of the guard(s) at the museum I work at. We're in the midst of a lot of changes, one of the primary ones being, weekly meetings (as opposed to the once a month, 45 minute- hour long ones we've grown accustomed to). These past couple of weeks, I've had to sit in a series of (1 1/2 - 2 hour long) meetings where each department gives presentations about what their duties actually entail, so that we're all kept abreast- (we're an institution of mostly women, we can't stand one another most times, are petty, and don't communicate well, so many of us are never in the know about what others are doing, sometimes). During these carefully laid out, Power Point presentations, I noticed that certain people are balls out with the pretension. While some of the speak is boring and rather tedious, it is fascinating to watch some of my colleagues develop fake anglo accents. It's amazing how people suddenly become British, when they're relaying a long winded (but intelligent) discourse on their departmental projects and why they're branded with their respective titles. I've watched Madonna go from being crass and profane to developing a pretentious anglo accent... and I cringed listening to Gwyneth Paltrow in all her contrived, haughty, and aristocratic glory, refer to Anthony Hopkins as Antony- (the memory makes me shiver with disdain till this day). But watching my co-workers morph into snooty, gesticulating, British sounding bores is nothing short of, well, entertaining. Is this what happens when people try to project their intellect? Do they develop fake British voices? Do I? Am I supposed to? Is being an anglophile the new black? I found myself smirking during one young curator's presentation, and had to check myself. I guess I was smiling, not because she wasn't interesting, but because I don't recall her ever having said accent, during our random and brief "shoot the shit" conversations with one another. Am I missing something here? I am an admirer of people who speak concisely and articulately, and think I do just that... but I'm left wondering if I do it with a fake British voice too? I don't think I do... but now I'm left to ponder. Also, in other preguntas, why oh why do people deem it necessary to hock loud loogies during these cold, winter months? I realize cold, brisk air makes us susceptible to runny noses and post nasal drip, but really... I can't tell you how frustrating and downright disgusted I become listening to people bring up gurgling, thick amounts of phlegm from the backs of their throats... and worst of all, spitting it on the ground. Every area on the sidewalk, I see nasty, freshly spat, splatters on the ground in varying shades of thick white and yellow. Or during conversations with people, I hear that gurgling sound... and then they swallow... (I think I'm going to be sick...) *sigh* And while I'm on the topic of cold, frigid weather... I love seeing people stalk down the street, almost angrily, in light spring jackets; no gloves, no scarf, no hat, their sleeves pulled over their clenched hands for warmth, as they shiver and curse under their breath. Do people NOT realize we're in the midst of January. Yes, I realize we've had some mild temperatures here in the Northeast, but those days have gone... put on your winter gear and snap out of it... These are matters I pore over, while in the throes of mental exertion... among other things.