“hey”
It’s the most common instant message I receive and the one I’m least likely to respond to. It’s an opener with no purpose, no direction. Hey can lead you anywhere, yet nowhere, which is why I usually don’t bother to reply to most people who think that’s enough to start a conversation. No, I’m a doer. I need some sort of action and interaction, whether through sharing a statement or asking a question. A simple greeting via the internet just doesn’t cut it. Imagine if that’s all you got in e-mails.
“Just wanted to say ‘hi’.”
I wouldn’t even bother answering back to that. To me, it’s like great, thanks for saying hi… now what? Why did you greet me? Did you want to catch up after a long time? Did you have a question for me? Did you just want to share a bit of your life? Give me something to work with here! It annoys me when people wait hours for me to reply to their one word before finally getting to the point. I like to get the point as fast as possible and know exactly why I’m spending time interacting with someone. And so, if people won’t even make the effort to type more than a single greeting to me so I can get an inkling of where they’re trying to take the conversation, I won’t make the effort to get the point out of them.
Even something as simple as “Hey, what’s up?” is fine! At least then there’s something I can do right away – answer the question! The conversation may last no more than two lines that way, but I’d at least give you the time of day to respond to the question. Hey means nothing to me. The most pointless conversation I ever had was an exchange of “hey”s followed by “what’s up” and “nothing much.” Seriously, you have nothing better to say?! -___- I’m not looking for spectacular conversationalists, but some people really need to get the hint that when I’m not talking to them, it’s because they have given me NOTHING to talk about.
Rant over. Thank you for listening. 🙂
Lately I’ve been wearing a pair of white-frame sunglasses that I got at the LA County Fair. They’re modeled to resemble Ray Bans (I think that’s what they’re called) and because of their shape, they fit my face easily. I often run into trouble finding sunglasses that fit my head because I tend to have a wider distance between temples. Most sunglasses hug my eyes and leave red marks on my cheeks after wearing them for awhile. I usually end up with a headache too.
It’s been a long and exhausting weekend for us at Opportunity Green, as we worked long and hard to throw a fantastic conference for everyone. A lot of lessons have been learned on my end, watching how the intensely crazy registration panned out for us and getting a behind-the-scenes look at how things were running. We didn’t expect so many people to show up to the event, so it was challenging to handle the overload in capacity, but it’s great that we got so many interested people to attend. All in all I had a rewarding experience, getting great feedback from participants who were so thankful and appreciative!
Nestled in the hillside of Hong Kong is Victoria Peak, one of the highest vantage points in all the region. It is well-situated in an area that allows for spectacular views on both the north and south sides (though really it has a great panoramic view), which is probably why it has become a tourist destination. Atop “the Peak,” as it’s known, sits the Peak Tower, a funny goblet-looking building that houses a shopping complex and offers unbeatable views from its rooftop. And so, one sunny day, I went to seek out what the Peak had to offer.
The tram eventually made its way down, gently halting before letting off its people. I got in and grabbed a window seat, wondering what the grooves in the ground were for. It wasn’t until we were climbing up the mountain that I realized without those grooves, people would slide the entire length down the aisle. Along the way were some stops, which showed us just how vertical we were. Eventually, we got high enough to begin seeing some wonderful views. Everyone stared out the right side of the tram car to enjoy the landscape before us. After a few minutes, we reached our destination and filed out into the gift shop of the Peak Tower. Clever move on their part.
I, however, ignored all the flashy items and headed straight up. I came across the Bubba Gump’s that is up in the Tower and decided to settle for a quick lunch. I got a table with a fantastic view of the harbor and enjoyed a lovely meal there. As soon as I could, I took the final escalator up to the roof, where a gentle breeze filled the air and beautiful photos ops were everywhere. I took some pictures myself and asked another tourist to take some for me as well. Below me lay a clump of buildings on Hong Kong Island. On the opposite end was a view of the ocean dotted with islands, stretching out into the horizon. Along the face of the hill was a windy road for cars to drive along and in the distance, housing for those privileged enough to get such nice property. There was even a little garden for strolling that I wish I had the time to go visit!
