Sooooo I wasn't sure what to write about today...low and behold the news! I found an interesting article about a new transportation system being developed by GM called EN-V and I just couldn't help myself. Future travel and the modes in which we will travel have always fascinated me. I think this love may be one of the reasons I loved Disney World so much as a child. Walt Disney was obsessed with trains and movement. It inspired the multi-modal transportation utilized in all of the Disney parks. As a child growing up in the suburbs of DC, I loved the days my mom would take us on Metro. The distinct smell, the warm breeze and of course the flashing lights to alert you of the oncoming car, all bring back so many memories. But this new development is a variation on something I've thought about many many times before.

Check it out!

The Future!!

Ok ok so let me start off by telling you, that two people are suppose to fit in this thing! And I thought the Smart Car was cramped!! Anywho, this thing comes with sensors that keep it from crashing into things as well as a traffic responding GPS that will navigate the fastest route, real time. The most awesome of awesome...it does all this, ON ITS OWN! Yep that's right, you don't drive it as much as it drives you. The city of course has to invest in the whole network and there is someway it connects to the roadway, but how awesome!? The kicker, it only goes about 25 miles an hour and is only to be used in a 25 mile radius, so it's pretty much a sitting segway with autopilot, but still soooo cool. We'll all look like this:

Well I won't look nearly as uptight and dorky as these people, but still....cool!! The strange thing is, my girlfriend and I got in this discussion a week or so ago. She said they should develop a massive train network in which people ride in individual cars at high rates of speed. The train car would operate on a similar autopilot and would change tracks as need to get the passenger to their destination. I argued that this would be impossible. For one thing, America abandoned the passenger rail long ago. Trains in America are just not a main form of transportation (excluding light rail and metro rail). Second, the cost of building all of the infrastructure (i.e. track) is unimaginable. However, if they were to go this route, it would create a ton of jobs and give the laid off construction worker industry a very large new project. Third reason why this is unfeasible is that high rates of speed and train track changing just sounds like a collision waiting to happen.

I think GM might be onto something here with the EN-V and the whole 25 miles an hour thing. Sign me up!!

In other news, I was lazy last night and did not Wii Active. Instead I cleaned and packed and watched Grey's Anatomy (Arizona don't you mess this up!).

In other other news, I'm sooooo excited to go to Key West this weekend, but not excited to sleep in the car lol

Daily Office Faux Pas: Old men asking personal questions (i.e. "You spent six-years at Virginia Tech and never snagged yourself a husband?") as well as asking when I was going to get them a cup of coffee. Uh, last time I checked that was none of your freaking business and I'm not your secretary! I need my own office space, or at least to be away from the prying eyes and prying questions of my current work co-habs...save me!

This place better shine like the top of the Chrysler Building!

I may be new to the professional world, thanks in part to the snooze button of life that is graduate school, however I have been shocked to find the status of things. It is not a shock to me however why we are 1) in a severe economic depression or 2) environmentally backwards. I have been fortunate enough to have a very environmentally minded family that believes in (and practices) a very strong work ethic. I have also been fortunate enough to live all over the county and across the pond (Army Brat FTW!). All things considered, I've lived a very comfortable life with an ample supply of diversity and culture. I also was able to spend 6 wonderful years in a beautiful college town with progressive students despite the underpinnings of a strong republican regime (I mean hello, we have the Corps of Cadets). Furthermore, my first real delve into professionalism occur ed in the Never Never Land that is Key West, Fl.

So now that you have a few small snapshots of my life, maybe you can understand why I'm sitting here at my desk silently screaming and silently looking around, mouth open in bewilderment. I am at work, like wear a suit, wake up at 6:15 to take a shower, have my gf do my hair and makeup and drink shit tons of coffee, work. So, if you're at work, why are you writing a blog? Good question! I'm writing this blog, at work, because it's the least of "non-worky" things I've witness just this first hour today. If people can a) make personal phone calls to their laid off husband discussing whether or not the flan their daughter brought today was going to make it to 1pm Spanish class without being refrigerated, b) speak above a whisper to co-workers for 20+ minutes about their horse and their friend who works with the Queen of England's horses, and c) hang out in the kitchen "making coffee" when really it looks like they're trying to sleep standing up, then I don't know why I can't write a friggin blog about how mad I am about it!

Shut up and get to work! Work, remember work? That's what you get paid to do! No wonder we are in the worst economic depression ever, nothing is happening because no one is doing anything!!!! The funny (and by funny I of course mean most maddening) thing about it is that all of this is going on while businesses are spending bundles and bundles of money to have IT professionals block websites and restrict internet access. I would like to state for the record that the young people entering the workforce with vast amounts of computer knowledge are 350% more efficient and productive than the oldies who can barely Google something, let alone program. Yesterday a co-worker (alright I'll cut him slack because he is probably as old as my grandparents*) asked me to Google something for him. Googled and found the document in less than 30 seconds. Then found the specific section in the poorly formatted document in less than 3 minutes (<3).> character in Liar, Liar with the pen (this pen is rrrr-rrrr-rrroyaal bllluuueee), I cannot not recycle. So I fill my lunch bag with all my recyclables and at the end of the work day I take them home. Recycling is just the day-to-day office type interaction. Almost every car in the parking lot is a fuel-inefficient SUV, we have a pod coffeemaker (hello extra packaging much?) and there are lights in the office that stay on all day and night. And these are just the things I can think of to rant about right now while I can't even hear myself think (I need my own office or at least my own cubicle!)

In other, less ranty news, I finally did the Wii Active!! Woo hoo. It was a purdy gud workout too. For those who care (which is no one considering my following is zero), the lunges kicked my ass! Looking forward to working up a sweat tonight

In other other news, LOST was freakin' amazing last night!!!

*My grandparents may be getting up there, but they can still use a computer and seem to find the mental capacity to forward me a million of those musical e-mails.