Good night, and good luck

I'm drinking a perfectly mixed white russian, and I'm listening to the Cure sing about a thousand hours. I think it would be best if I call an end to this day.
I'm planning on heading to the P-town record exchange tomorrow during lunch with a couple of folks from work. I have a list of things I'm looking for, so hopefully I can track some of it down.

I'm giving up giving up

We got into a discussion today at work about Mardi Gras and the 40 days of Lent that follows before Easter. This led on to a discussion about giving things up for Lent. My family is Catholic, but me, not so much, but still.
We have an interesting dynamic in my gaggle of cubes. One dude shows his appreciation for the folks he likes by teasing. So, he has decided to stop teasing B. for 40 days, which for him might be a hard feat. B. has decided, not so much to give up anything, but to challenge herself. She's giving up negativity, and more specifically, sarcasm, cynicism, that -ism, this -ism. So, by proxy, she has thus decided to stop teasing me, which might be kind of hard for her. Most of what I say usually gets a sarcastic response from her (I can't count how many times she's rolled her eyes at me)...I haven't decided whether to make these next 40 days easy for her or not.
I haven't quite decided what to give up. I can't quite think of anything. I could say caffeine, but who really cares about that? All that would do is give me headaches and make me grumpy.
So, I am in a quandry of my own making. We'll see if I come up with anything by tomorrow morning.

ipod

Last night, my brother and I gave my parents an ipod for a late Xmas gift, seeing as they were not in the states at the time. I put it in a milkshake maker box to trick them, and when they unwrapped it, they actually thought they were getting a milkshake maker. And they were happy about it! They did a similar trick to me when they got me an ipod for my birthday a few years ago...
The look of shock on their faces was priceless, and they were really happy about it, so that was cool. Brother and I done good.
I got home just in time to catch Great Performances on PBS, which had Paul McCartney on, doing songs from his new album along with a few other selections. They did this in Abbey Road, where The Beatles recorded most of their stuff, so that was way cool. I have a feeling the roommie will wet himself when he sees it.

Memory of St. Augustine

There seems to be some sort of unwritten rule with me that whenever The Shawshank Redemption comes on TV, all work ceases, and I just have to watch this movie. I'm not sure why I like this movie so much...I find it amazing that two classic movies(the other, Stand By Me) were made from a collection of Steven King's short stories, called Different Seasons. He must have really tapped into a weird creative force or the zeitgeist to come up with those stories at the same time.
I finished the book project a few hours ago, so now I'm just chilling.
For some odd reason or another, I was thinking about a wedding I went to years ago in St. Augustine, of a close friend with whom I shared several Journalism school classes. I was working at an internet advertising company here in Jersey, so I had to fly down to Jacksonville and rent a car.
I was cutting it real close with time. I think I arrived at 11, and the wedding was at 1, and I still had to get dressed. I got there just in time...
Beautiful wedding, great reception, but the part I remember most is the five minutes I took to just stare out on the bay.
Sometimes, you have the benefit of realizing that the moments you are experiencing are going to be memories you hold forever, and I came to that conclusion as I was getting into my car to drive onward to Gainesville. I thought to myself that there wasn't any hurry for me to leave, and who knows the next time you'll get to see this view.
So I got out of my car and walked out to the water wall edge, and just stood there. I can remember the view, the smell of the salt water, the sounds, and the heat tempered by a sea breeze. I knew I would remember this moment, so I let go of all thoughts and lived in the moment completely, soaking it all in.
I can still remember it now, and if I need to, I can go back to that point whenever I want. That's a nice thought when it's cold up here in Jersey, or I get a strong case of cube fever.
I caught the end of the movie Glory today, and before the final assault onto the fort, Robert Shaw, played by Matthew Broderick, stood on the shore and stared out on the water, watching Sea Gulls hunt, or gull, or whatever it is they do. I guess that was what this memory back to me today. Of course, I'm not about to go start an assault on a fort.

A brief note

Since I have to spend my time working on this book project thing, I haven't had much of a chance to go outside. I went out real quick for lunch at the pizza place across the road, and my god, was it cold outside! Sheesh! I'm happy I don't have to go anywhere today.
As for the book, I have about a third left to go, but I think this might be the easier third.

Mr. Furley

Don Knotts has left Mayberry and moved to that great big apartment complex in the sky.

DIY

I've been talking about this for a while, but I finally broke down and bought some more more RAM for my laptop, as it was sorely needing it. I must say the increase in speed is marked, and I should have done this a while ago.
Fun evening last night. We skipped the hour long wait at Conte's and headed up the road to a Chinese restaurant. Since it was still early and kinda out of the way, we were the only ones there for a while, so we were able to talk freely. Well, we talked freely even when there were people there, so that didn't make much of a difference.
It was a rather quiet evening after that...I went to the coffeeshop to work on the book project, and then I headed off to the Barnes & Noble, which was surprisingly busy for a Friday evening.
As for today, I can't believe how fast it's gone by. What a peaceful, relaxing day. Just what I wanted.

I hear growling, and it's not my stomach

I must say, I am kind of bored at the moment, so I'm gonna write whatever comes into my head...
(five minutes later)
Harumph.
(another five minutes...)
The new cat is still hiding under the bed, and she makes occasional forays out into the vast unknown that is my apartment. I figure that by this weekend, she'll be more comfortable here, but we'll see. At the moment, it's not as if she has much choice.
This weekend is shaping up to be one with no plans, unlike the last several weeks, so I guess I'll have a nice reprieve from doing something by doing something resembling nothing. Works for me! Tomorrow, I do go to Conte's in Princeton for pizza with folks from work, so that'll be nice. Good to get out of the office environment with the people you work with. Ice skating is in discussion for some time in the near future as well.
I haven't watched too much of the olympics, but I have noticed that the Austrians have piled on the medals, and the Swiss aren't doing too shabbily either. So, both of my countries have represented themselves well. Switzerland even beat Canada and the Czech Republic in hockey, which is hah-uge in terms of hockey. I most definitely enjoyed that.
I got the latest Mil Millington book, Love and Other Near-Death Experiences. Looking forward to reading it, but I have to finish that book proofreading project first.
BAck to the feline power struggle...

I have the scratches to prove it

I adopted my parent's cat for the next few months. Right now, she's a tad freaked out by the new surroundings and intimidatingly big orange cat that already calls this place home, so she is hiding under the bed. I'm sure she'll get over it soon.
I'm waiting to see which cat will become the other's play toy. Ginger is small, but she has long claws and a mean growl. Galileo is big and not the friendliest of creatures, but since he is his owner's cat, he is also reserved, laid back, and a push over. My money is on Ginger, so far, even though she is cowering under the bed at this very moment.
They better not "play" (try to kill each other) during the night.

Odds

I'm not a big fan of clothes shopping, so if I have to do it, I got in with an idea of what I want. If I don't find anything close to what I want, I don't buy it. Today, I found the pair of jeans I was looking for and was able to get out of the store in under 10 minutes. Not too shabby.

Q: What are the odds of hearing two different Peter Cetera soundtrack songs on two different radio channels a minute apart?
A: 1: not nearly enough

I haven't done much of that book project yet..I think I got to the first page and found a comma mistake, so that kind of killed any enthusiasm I might have had for it. I will start it up again this evening so that I can at least get some pages under my belt.

Time wasters

You Are A Weeping Willow Tree

You are a dreamer, and you're into almost any kind of escapism. Restless and capricious, you love to travel to exotic places. You are easily influenced by others, as long as they don't pressure you. You tend to suffer in love until you find that one loyal, steadfast partner. An empathetic friend, you love to make others smile and laugh.

What is Your Celtic Horoscope?

Your Inner European is French!

Smart and sophisticated. You have the best of everything - at least, *you* think so.

Who's Your Inner European?

So, I'm French. heh. I guess that's close enough to the French part of Swtizerland. It'll have to suffice.

You Have Fantastic Karma

You are a kind, sensitive, and giving person. And all your good deeds will pay off - if they haven't already. But you're not so concerned with what you get in return anyway. You have an innate caring nature - and nothing can change that!

How's Your Karma?

So, I've got that going for me, which is nice.

If I Fell

I want to write this kind of swimming pool. They probably finished this off in an afternoon. Absolutely brilliant.

If I Fell
Lennon/McCartney


If I fell in love with you
could you promise to be true
And help me understand
'Cause I've been in love before
And I've found that love is more
That just holding hands

If I gave my love to you
I must be sure from the very start
that you would love me more than her

If I trust in you, oh please
don't run and hide,
if I love you too, oh please
don't hurt my pride like her

'Cause I couldn't stand the pain
And I would be sad
If our new love was in vain

So I hope you see that I
would love to love you
And that see will cry
when she learns we are two

'Cause I couldn't stand the pain
And I would be sad
If our new love was in vain

So I hope you see that I
would love to love you
And that see will cry
when she learns we are two
If I fell in love with you

The lion awakes

One thing you can't help about growing up is becoming nostalgic about stupid things. In the 80s, I remember watching a movie called Club Paradise, starring Robin Williams at his coke-fueled best. I loved this movie when I was a kid, so when I say that it came out on DVD, I just had to grab it.
It's kinda dated, but it does have some funny bits, and I've always liked the soundtrack, which featured a few songs from Jimmy Cliff. It's always bothered me that I've never been able to track down this soundtrack anywhere, and I haven't even been able to find these songs on any Jimmy Cliff album. This has pissed me off to now end.
So, if you are ever out of ideas of what to get me for a gift, track down this CD and I'll be your bestest best friend forever.
My friend G. decided to hold an anti-valentines day thing in Fla. I don't know how it turned out, but I should check in on him to make sure he hasn't fallen into some Southern Comfort-induced stupor. Ahhhh, Southern Comfort-induced stupors.
I really do hate this holiday. For single folks, it's a one way ticket to cynicism or a depression instigator. For couples, it's a day of forced romanticism. No one can win, and half the time it all ends in tears.
Shit. Why I'm playing The Cure today, I don't know. All I can say is cheers, and designate a driver.

For the other half of the sky

I don't know about you, but snow weather is the perfect time to play a Cure album, so I've got disintegration playing in the background right now. My brother got about 15in. of snow at his place, but thankfully, Hopewell was less blessed in terms of snow. Maybe 10in.?
This snow has brought back memories. A little over five years ago, some of my college roommates came up to NYC for New Years Eve in Times Square. There was fresh snow on the ground, and for some reason or another we had made our up to the Upper East Side. We walked into Central Park and headed toward Sheep's Meadow. On the way, we passed a rather sizeable hill, on which a whole bunch of people were sledding down. Being transplanted Floridians, of course we joined, and tried to find anything that we could use to sled down. I think we finally settled on cardboard boxes...can't say they worked all that well.
Anyway, the thing I remember most of that evening was the color of the sky. It was quite overcast and I think the light of the city must have been refracting off of the clouds. Even though it was the evening and dark, the sky had an orange tint. It's among the coolest things I've ever seen.
I looked up into the sky this evening after I shoveled part of my driveway, and it kinda resembled that. Jogged my memory.

Duck! No, Quail.

OMGWTF?! I just don't know what to say...
Cheney Accidentally Shoots Fellow Hunter
I'm trying to wrap my brain around this nugget of information. Our Vice President has shot someone, by accident, while hunting. It's Xmas in February for comedy writers everywhere.

Snow, pt. 2

Check out this story about MySpace, talking about how it's the "next big thing" on the Internet. IMHO, it's the accessiblity and the ability to customize that allowed it to tear away from Friendster in terms of visitors.
I just cleared off my car, so at one point or another, I'll be able to brave the streets. Fun. Then, I'll be able to shovel my driveway...at least this didn't happen during the week.
We just played in the snow...my brother's kids have some cool snow toys, so I kept myself busy.

Snow

So, here I am, stuck at my brother's house Sunday morning, watching the snow come down. It was kinda weird...there was about an inch or two last night, and it stopped for a bit. Thought we were being jipped.
Ha. Got repaid this morning, as there is about a foot of snow now. Must have come down something fierce last night.
My brother is about to go drive his truck through the snow, just for fun. As for me, I'm gonna stay warm, inside.

Random TV bits

* Sometimes watching The Office can be quite painful, and I actually like this show. How is it possible that Michael, the boss, can be so blindingly stupid sometimes?!
* Lost has now been turned on its head, now with Sawyer asserting authority by playing a con and Charlie being a complete tool. I've lost sympathy for him. I wonder how long they'll be able to carry on this show...
* Nice mohawk, Sly. Goes with the jacket.

Wait, my car shouldn't be white...

We got ourselves a little dusting of snow last night, apparently. Hope it doesn't ice over by the time I'm ready to leave this morning.
This is going to be a quiet week when this is the most exciting thing to happen. That's fine for me, really. Sometimes I like quiet weeks.

Commercials

A pteradactyl, a streaking, shorn sheep, a bear, and now kermit. Interesting commercials so far.
A co-worker friend said something I found really funny in one of those surveys on her Myspace page. Re: eating sushi. "I don't eat cooked fish. Raw fish is for bears."
Bears just may be woefully underrepresented in comedy. I have a feeling that's because bears have the ability to knock off limbs with a swipe, which is decidedly unfunny.
As for pteradactyls, I'm thankful they are extinct, as any bird-like creature that is big enough to carry off humans and has a taste for meat, by rule, gives me the creeps. Can you imagine living an existence knowing that at any moment a big-ass bird can just come along and snag you for lunch? Yeah, I don't like that existence either.

Inhabitors of the side roads

Whenever I drive up to the poconos, I see signs for a town called Belvidere, which sits where the Delaware and the Pequest rivers meet. I've been curious to see this town for the longest time, so yesterday, on the way back home from my road trip, I decided to head down there.
By that time, the rain was falling steadily and the businesses were just closing. It was getting dark. So, it was rather empty and quiet.
The Pequest, which divides the town as it moves toward the Delaware, was overflowing due to all the rain of the last few days, so it was really moving. I followed the Pequest toward the bridge that crosses over the Delaware. This was no doubt the thinnest bridge I've ever been on, but it afforded one of the best views I've seen in a long time, and since there was no traffic, I actually had a chance to take a look. A low fog was coming up off the river, and further down, rain clouds enveloped two mountains. Beautiful.
I turned around back to Belvidere and did some more exploring, driving over the Pequest into the other end of town, where there were restored Victorian homes and a business district. I really liked this place, and I'll be sure to head back soon. Something creative struck me there, I think.
Finding places like this tucked into little corners off of the main thoroughfares make road trips worthwhile, and it's one of the reasons why I like New Jersey, as you just never know what to expect and what you'll find if you take the time to look.

Camp in the mountains

Yesterday, for no special reason except to have an excuse to take a road trip, I went up to my parent's place in the poconos to pick up their mail. It drizzled most of the way up and was aggressively gray, but I loved it. You can be alone with your thoughts for a while and listen to some great tunes. It's a feeling that's both easy and peaceful. Glenn Frey knows what I'm talking about.
After I get the mail, I decide to drive around the town of East Stroudsburg and look for a place to eat. I could have sworn I remembered seeing a diner there, but there wasn't one...a rather big bar used a diner facade for its entrance. I was thinking I'd stop to head off to the record shop there, but I just drove on.
I wound up at a Burger King, because frankly I was hungry and didn't feel like driving around anymore. It's when I finished lunch and walked out that it became interesting for me.
I looked past a full parking lot to the fog-covered mountains in the background. Things slowed down and I just stood there in the rain for a few moments taking it all in. A whole bunch of memories came flooding back. All of a sudden, I was back in 1995, during one of my sundays off from the summer camp where I worked in North Georgia. Most of those days off I would spend in my car, driving and exploring my environs. I would get out when I felt the desire to, and I would explore the side roads if they called to me.
This trip to the poconos felt exactly like that. On those sundays off, I was free from the camp and all that entailed. So, yesterday I felt free, and that was nice.
I think I also fell in love with a memory. There was this fellow camp counselor that I had a thing for but never really acted on it. She taught arts and crafts and was one cabin down from mine. She was kind of a hippie chick, with long, wavy, reddish-brown hair, and I thought she was perfect for me at the time.
One particular memory I have of her is when we would have a roll call in the mornings with our bunks before we'd go for breakfast. When she would come down, I would start humming the notes to the tune "heart and soul." Playfully, she would cover her ears and start singing Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz." How bloody cool is that?
Unfortunately, I didn't keep in contact with her, and yesterday, for the first time in a while, I thought of her and what she might be doing now.
I have no idea, and while that's a bit of a bummer, I still have a great memory of her, and sometimes that's all we get.

If you really need a watch

Buddy Holly's widow, Maria Elena, is putting up for auction several things belonging to Buddy, including an Omega wristwatch that he wore the day he died and was found in the plane's wreckage.
So, if you happen to be in need of a watch...
She's also auctioning off personal items like his old suits, ties, cufflinks, etc. Most interesting is that there will also be original acetates of his music, including that have yet to be heard by the public.
Thanks, J. for the info.

Captain Obvious

I saw one of the funniest things tonight on my drive home. I was driving behind a semi truck that had a huge flatbead trailer. On the back of the trailer, there was written "Please do not hit."
Well, that's awful polite. I guess it is really annoying to keep on having to scrape car carcasses off the back of the semi trailers.

Who's my Rushmore?

The nice thing about having 500 different HBO channels is that every now and again there's actually a movie on that you can enjoy.
I re-watched Rushmore. The movie is completely summed up for me in the last 30 seconds. Max Fischer has just put on a well-received play, and no everyone is at a party to celebrate. He calls up for the DJ to ramp up the beat a bit to get some proper dancing music going. The first few strums of the guitar, the look of satisfaction despite it all on Max's face as he nods his face in time. I'd watch any movie if I can get an ending like that. Pitch perfect song, great timing, great acting.
I took a rather long way home from work this afternoon. I had no particular place to go, so I put in the mix CD I made last week and just drove. I wound up in Lambertville and thought that I might take a walk over the bridge to pay a visit to the river. I thought the better of it and just drove on. The river will still be there tomorrow.
I think there is something slightly off in that town. I can't quite explain what it is, but I'm not the only one who has remarked on a general sense of weirdness there. Maybe it's just a bit too still and the shadows are slightly too deep. Like it's ready to suck up your emotions into its walls.
Anyway, it's weird. I didn't stop; I just drove home. I don't think I'll return at least until it's warm.

Varmint Cong

I've been stuck on Ben Folds (Five) these last two weeks, so tonight while I was wandering aimlessly around my neightborhood Borders, I picked up Ben Folds Five - The Complete Sessions at West 54th. Very nice, so far.
I'll probably finish watching it tonight before I head off for bed. Of course, we'll see if I sleep when I go to bed...sleep has not been a foregone conclusion for the last few weeks. I guess I'm praticing at becoming the best insomniac I can be. Everybody has to have goals.
I think there is a feeling of general malaise going around, likely brought on by this weird, abnormal January weather we are having. It's throwing everything off balance. I was thinking I'd take a trip to Florida for a long weekend at some point over the next few weeks...we'll see if that happens. At any rate, I'd still have to fly back here.
Weather..make up your bloody mind already!! This half-winter, extended fall bullshit is wearing thin. I want the damn sun back.
On a completely other note, I have a feeling something good will happen in the next few days. Don't know why I'd get that idea, but I just have a feeling that the doors will open when I knock...all the pieces of the puzzle that were thrown up in the air are going to land in their rightful spot and unlock something.
So, I have that going for me, which is nice.
Of course, I could be wrong, but I choose not to beleive that for now.