I can deal with 156 million

Which character from LOST are you? Hurley Dude...you're rich

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Random stuff

I've noticed over the last few days that there is a dead skunk on the way to work, and it is amazing how far and strong that dead skunk smell lingers. My God, it's like I have to put my shirt over my nose as I drive by so that I don't inhale any of that stank.
I finished the last of the cleaning at the old place today, and tomorrow, after 6 years, I drop off the keys. It wasn't that terrible, but I'm happy to be getting out of the there. While I'm not the most flexible person and it's hard for me to make changes, once I'm set, I don't really look back. I had good memories there and I had bad (I'm sure that the walls sucked up some bad karma over the years), but I never considered it more than a place where I slept and kept my stuff, and I don't have a real connection to it.
The most vibrant memory I have of the place is on 911. My mom called on the phone right around nine o'clock and told me to turn on the TV. I saw the second plane hit, and I was shocked and numb. I told my mom I had to go, and I just stared at the TV screen for the next 6 hours, watching it all unfold. I did not move from the sofa.
Well, shit, that was a downer memory, but I guess 911 sticks in everyone's memory.
Oh, a good memory: My old college roommate hung out at the place for a few weeks in 2000, and then we took a road trip to Montreal. That was pretty cool.

Nickle and dimed

Years ago, when I was still an dreaming youngin', I started putting loose change and a dollar here and there into a jar so that I could eventually afford my dream car at the time, a late 80s BMW 635csi. (or an M6, if I could swing it). Of course, being a college student, one day, I needed groceries more than a dream of a BMW...Damn me, I had to eat.
I started the jar up again, and I think I have something close to 80 cents in there. Saving up for the Beamer! It's there more for the idea than anything else, so let's see what becomes of it.

Scrub

I spent the day cleaning and getting the rest of my things from the the old apartment. I have a few more things left to get. Yes, I know: it's the slowest move ever. It'll get finished by the Wednesday, no doubt.
I felt my first pangs of nostalgia. It came when I was cleaning up my closet and I saw smudge marks left from my bike tires. I lived at the place 6 years, so that's to be expected, I suppose. However, that pang left quickly as I realized I'd have to clean that smudge mark off. I don't know why I bother cleaning when I know perfectly well that I'll be screwed over by the leasing company.
After I left the old apartment this evening, I headed over to the bookstore for a tea. It's been six months since I worked there, and for the first time, I recognized not one of the underlings. The managers were the same, so I chatted with them for a bit, but it felt weird not knowing anyone else there. Time marches on, regardless.

Pop culture kick

If you were a child of the 80s, there's a pretty good chance you walked out of the theater after watching "The Karate Kid" and started practising the crane kick right away. I know I did. Hey, I was an impressionable youth!
So, I was bummed out when I saw this yesterday:
Oscar-Nominated Actor Pat Morita Dies
I even remember the dude from watching Happy Days.
Another 80s pop culture icon gone.

I'm not pitying you

I've been reading Television without pity recently, mostly because they have great recaps of Lost on there. This is last week's.

Flurries

I just saw them! The first flurries of the season. This means, of course, that I'll be going to sleep for the next 6 months. Have a good new year and all that.

A new book

Someone with whom I worked years ago has self-published a book, Crush Dot Com, after unsuccessful attempts to get it published by traditional means (It's hugely difficult to get a first novel published that way, thanks to publishing house consolidation.) Best of luck, Leslie!
Wil Wheaton(Wil Wheaton has a posse, yo!) did the same thing when he published his first book, Dancing Barefoot, and it seemed to work out fairly well.

New town

I am really beginning to like my new town of Hopewell. Today, I went to the coffeeshop to read the NYTimes, and then later I went to the local pizza place to pick up a calzone. Some dude comes in and asks for two hot subs, and he walks out in a huff after the cook tells him it'll take 15 minutes. They take time to prepare, a point that the cook proceeded to make after the guy left. He started talking to me, saying, and I paraphrase, "This isn't mcdonald's. I cook everything, and it isn't microwaved. I wholeheartedly agreed with him, which I think put me in good standing, because when I left, the dude gave me a high five. How cool is that?
I can't beleive I spent that long living in Plainsboro, which my mom succinctly characcterized as not so much a town as dormitories. I love the small-town feel here, and it seems the pace is relaxed and subdued. The town doesn't call out for attention, but the people still come, maybe because it isn't that pretentious.
Who knows. All I know is that I am already at home here and it's only been two weeks.

Two different things

One, thanks to Javi for pointing this out: The Cure will be recording a new album this winter for release in the summer. I went to their Web site, but I wasn't able to find mention of it. Nevertheless, I'm sticking with my source!
Two:
Vatican Official Refutes Intelligent Design
How will the evangelicals and the fundementalists respond to that one?

Jab

I love it when Bill Clinton gives a little poke to the administration.
Bill Clinton Calls Iraq 'Big Mistake'.
Are we completely sure he can't run again?

Cheney Joins GOP Criticism of Democrats
Thou doth protest too much, methinks. If there's one dude that should just shut the f**k up about Iraq, it's him. He has absolutely no credibility. Interesting political move they are doing. Are they trying to reignite support for the war by creating an us vs. them atmosphere? I think they're up to something. These are going to be republican talking points for the next few weeks, I feel. Clinton and Gore, et al need to pull out all the punches while the republicans are on the ropes. Control the debate and make them go on the defensive. Act like you are campaigning, and if ya gotta be dirty, so be it.

Let me get my checkbook...

This is interesting and rather troubling:
A 'fiscal hurricane' on the horizon
I guess we can go on believing we are an omnipotent economic superpower and do nothing until the country goes bankrupt and implodes, or we can admit that our economy has some issues that need to get fixed. Those solutions are unlikely to come from this administration, but that's another topic altogether.

Mornin' Tea

I went to the local coffeeshop this morning for a cup of tea, and I passed a 50s Cadillac, and 60s Camaro SS, a Doge Viper, and a Ferrari f355. Turns out that a group of friends driving those cars met at the coffeeplace before going off on the road. I took a seat close to window so that I could see the dude who owned the Ferrari drive off. It was black on black, and I couldn't imagine a better way to spend a beautiful Sunday morning than driving along in a Ferrari.
I drove to my parents' place to check on their plants, and as I drove on Jersey's version of country roads, I noticed that quite a few people were selling cars on their front yards. I saw one really choice 60s Lincoln Continental, the one with the suicide doors, as I drove through Buttzville. It's been for sale for a while, as I've seen it every time I've driven to my parents. It looks like it's been well kept up. However, if I ever got my hands on it, I'd paint it black. That car just seems to reach heightened levels bad assedness when it's painted black. I wonder how much the dude wanted for it.
Also, since I saw that Ferrari this morning, I was imagining how cool it would be to have a bright red Ferrari, specifically a 328, in my garage. That would be a beautiful sight.

The Gators are a pathetic joke.

That is all.

And now for something completely different!

Classic! Lemur Species Named After John Cleese
Must be a great honor having a monkey named after you.

You thought he was honest?

Poll: Most Americans Doubt Bush's Honesty
There are quite a few people who figured this out in 1999, when he was first running for President. Would have been nice if more people had jumped on that ship back then. A bit behind the curve now, no? However, I'd trust him before I'd trust anyone else in his administration. He's being directed and dragged around by them.

The washer works!

So far! My apartment has a washer and dryer hookup, and my landlady was nice enough to give us a washer and dryer that were just taking up space in a home she and her husband are building (I say home, but mean giant-ass mansion). They were rather dirty, and I thought they may not fit up the stairs, but alas, what sounds do I hear coming from my kitchen/utility room? The wooshing of a working washer!!
We dragged the buggers up on friday, and the roommie and I did a preliminary cleaning over the weekend, but I only now set about to hooking everything up. Man, if this thing works, I'll never have to go to a laundromat again!
I've accomplished one of the tasks I've set for today, so I'm happy.
UPDATE: Seems I set up the water hoses incorrectly, putting the hot water hose on the cold water faucet, and vice versa. It would be reasonable to assume that the hot water faucet is on left and the cold on the right. HA! Silly me, I was unreasonable. Anyway it's fixed and it still works.

It's only Wednesday

My God, the week is going slow. Yesterday, at work, I could have sworn time stopped for a bit, because there's no other explanation for an afternoon to feel like it's taking so long.
I moved a few boxes into the attic yesterday. A "few" should have been "most of the stuff I don't need for a while," but I wasn't quite that motivated. I did let the cat up into the attic, and it freaked him out. His immediate reaction when he sees a closed door is to beg to have it opened, but not the attic door. Strange.
Apropos nothing. I won't ever get a pet monkey, because if I get annoyed by a simple housecat, a monkey would likely give me a heart attack. So, that's solved.

Moving, pt. 2

Part of the plan in moving was to establish a wireless internet connection in the new place. So, I'm blogging wirelessly! Way cool! It was easier than I thought, but I could also be speaking too soon, as I just installed the thing. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying it now!
On Friday afternoon, Simon, Mike, and I packed all the big stuff into a truck, so the Plainsboro place is virtually empty, save for kitchen stuff and my clothes. I guess I'm gonna drag this thing out as long as possible. After we grabbed a sofa from simon's parent's place, we drove over to Hopewell, where we met with my brother, who helped unload everything. Brutal heavy stuff, especially the washer and dryer. The washer was suspiciously heavy, which really sucked getting it up our steep ass stairs. If the bloody thing doesn't work, it's becoming "pop art" and staying up here.
I picked up the cat yesterday, and he's still rather freaked out. Poor thing. However, he's becoming acclimated to my room, so that's a start. He's all out of sorts though.
Slowly but surely my room is becoming my room. I've got a basic set up that I like, but since I haven't unpacked much, I can rearrange the furniture for the time being.
My brother and I grabbed a pizza friday night after the moving, and this morning, Simon and I walked to coffee shop, which was fairly crowded.
I'm gonna really dig it here, that's for sure.

Moving day, pt. 1

Today, we'll be moving our big stuff over to the new place with a uHaul truck. I've avoided those trucks since I drove one from Florida to here over 6 years ago. Nevertheless, it's the most efficient way to get this moving thing done, so there be it.
So many boxes.

Chapter 27

Lohan, Leto shooting Lennon film: Variety
This is even more disturbing than the Lennon musical.

"Chapter 27" features Lohan as a Lennon fan who befriends Lennon's murderer, Mark Chapman (Leto), during the weekend that he kills the musician outside his New York apartment building, the paper said. It did not mention who would play Lennon.

Why would anyone give mark chapman such attention? This is the exact reason he killed Lennon, so that he could steal his fame. This movie makes me sick.

Democrats really are vertebrate mammals.

Are the Democrats getting a backbone?
Senate Emerges From Closed Session on Iraq

WASHINGTON - Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session Tuesday, questioning intelligence that
President Bush used in the run-up to the war in
Iraq and accusing Republicans of ignoring the issue.

Wait. Republicans ignore issues? I'm shocked! But, I'm not gonna sit here thinking that the democrats are being all that altruistic either. It would be nice getting some accountability, as someone should take responsibity for the 2025 dead US soldiers. (Do we even need to talk about the tens of thousands of innocent iraqis who had to die for our agenda?)

An experiment

I'm going to determine whether hearing "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins first thing this morning is a good start to the day or a bad one. We'll see how the rest of the day unfolds. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: I am able to conclude that "Footloose" has no real connection to a day being good or bad, and thankfully, it didn't get stuck in my head, and I didn't start dancing in the halls.