January 1, 2003
I've spent the first day of the New Year pondering ...
For example, I wonder how much money it costs for the Stealth Bomber to take off from its home base JUST to fly over the Rose Bowl ... somehow I can't justify the necessity of it in my mind. The only thing that popped into my head when I saw this on television today was dollar signs. I mean, is it just a fake Stealth Bomber? Is it hollowed out with nothing in it? Is it manned not by a human but by a robotic device or remote control? And what happens (god forbid) if the damned thing crashes? Aren't these bombers a bit too pricey to yank them out of their ground-level beds just to showboat over a stadium?
My next random thought was actually encouraged by an article I read in USA Weekend by some guy named Elliott about Weblogs. Pardon me, but where's the phenomenon here? Unless I'm completely and utterly out of the loop, a Web log is simply your own blatherings posted on your own Web site and that's that. Someone tell me, WHY IS THIS NEW? Because it's not a commercial Web site? [note to Adam: isn't that why you wrote me and suggested I begin writing it again?] Not to sound like a Web geezer or anything, but geez, we were writing blogs in 1993/94/95/96/97 ... This guy Elliott said it's not a blog if it's not updated every day -- I say bullshit, it's a blog WHENEVER you write in your own ether. So what if mine is parked from time-to-time. I write when my mind is so overflowing that I have no choice but to vomit words. Anyway, if I'm off my rocker on this one, feel free to email me and set me straight. I'll gladly eat the humble pie if I'm totally wrong about blogs.
Since I've no cutesy title for this (early adapter) phenomenon called a blog, I'll not venture out to find one. Logging in works just fine, and besides, I plan to moonwalk my way through this particular posting. I think "reverse blog" is already taken as a title anyway, so I'll call this moonwalking, as I'll just vomit in reverse on today's entry.
Speeding past most of last year and screeching to a halt on December 20, when my friends Holger and Dirk arrived in NYC from Germany for the holidays. Highlights of taking them to mom's for the annual Christmas Eve party was my sister's choice of videotapes; the Yule Log video and one video I'd never seen, a window through which one could see snow falling accompanied by holiday music. I know I asked more than once, "you're kidding me, right?" Holger loved the video, thought it was a hoot and wants a copy. Hmm...
Spent the New Year festivities in Pennsylvania, and spent a great deal of time reading the manuals for my digital camera and photo printer, and taking breaks by going outside to feed corn to the deer. I've never seen anything like it. The deer MUST be starving, because I'd wake up around 5 a.m. and they'd be patiently waiting outside the door, as if to say HEY! GET YOUR ARSE OUT HERE, WHERE'S MY DAMNED BREAKFAST?
January 5, 2003
All I can say is, I'LL TRY to write here every day, but I'll NOT PROMISE. My writing in this space is driven by two things: surrounding stimulus and a good, swift kick in the butt that can be attributed to one overseas ...
But hey, it's my own fault for not writing a daily entry here, leading to the disappearance of my half-arsed blog on someone else's full-throttle blog. [insert shamed, eyes-cast-downward face here.] I have no good excuses, I'll just try better, that's all. (see blog musings in my new year post below.)
Returned to New York City from Pennsylvania earlier today. PA received a nice, healthy dose of seriously large snowflakes in the last few days, making for some delicate maneuvering when venturing out of doors to feed the 'kids.' I really get a kick out of feeding the deer. It's not like you walk up to them and they eat out of your hand; wouldn't that be zoo-like. Instead, I get to sprinkle the corn over a designated spot (right next to the salt lick) and walk away. Sometimes they'll let you get close enough to snap some photos, but most of the time they bolt if you're too close, or they'll begin pounding a hoof on the ground - a sign that there's danger (most likely YOU will be the one experiencing the danger.) So far, I've been smart enough not to push my luck, even though one of the smaller deer followed me down the driveway the other day (corn in my pockets?)
In continuing with the deer topic, I've gone so far as to give them names, at least the ones I am now quite familiar with. There's Gimpy, the deer who suffered some sort of injury that makes her walk with a pronounced limp. It just breaks my heart each time I see her limping toward the corn. But she's a tough one as well as my favorite. Then there are the Bambis, the two young deer who follow her around, and the most recent addition to the group is Goofy. This particular deer has such a funny-looking face - sort of a cross between a deer and a camel.
That's all for today!
January 6, 2003
3:47 p.m. EST
Note to Adam: Feisty? Yes indeedy. That's what ya love about me. Always kicking and carrying on about something that in the big picture, really doesn't matter at all. :-)
1:38 p.m. EST
Dear sir,
We want to transfer to overseas ($ 126,000.000.00 USD) One hundred and Twenty six million United States Dollars) from a Bank in Africa ...
Love those random "Dear Sir" emails, though the "GROW YOUR PENIS 5 MORE INCHES!" spam is much more amusing.
Many thanks to Lisa in the UK who very graciously pointed out my problem with these tables. I'll attempt fixing them in a minute. In the meantime, she's got one kick-ass web site that y'all should go check out NOW. I've added her to my miniscule BLOG link list, and her site can be reached from here at Nicely Toasted.
Received an email not too long ago from a guy I dated in high school. He's a captain AND a pediatric doctor in the US Navy, and asked the following:
"What the heck is a squipper?"
After providing the brief definition of 'squipper,' he replied:
"I see we still have things in common! As a career Navy man, I too am referred to as a squid!"
ION (in other news), friend Andre' in Berlin wrote recently that he and his longtime love were married in December. They had dated, then split up, then dated again, and I knew Andre' was determined to win her heart, which obviously he did. It is indeed a true love story!
Friend Kimberly also married last year, in September, on a cliff in Malibu. Though I missed the wedding, I told her it was very Madonna/Sean Penn of her to marry on a cliff overlooking the ocean. She's American (Bel Air, California born and raised)and has been living in Germany for the past 8 years or so. Her German friends got together and produced a video of various friends around Germany offering their congratulations that was shown at the wedding reception in the US. What a great idea that was!
My sister, Karen, is in town today and hopefully we'll meet up later for dinner. She's busy doing the tourist thing. I can't remember the last time she was in NYC, so it will be great fun to spend some quality time with her.
More log-jamming later (hopefully!)
January 7, 2003
5:30 a.m. EST
This is the second time I'm awake today. I don't think I'll be venturing back to sleep until 11 p.m. I hate when that happens. I'm the kind of person who, once awake, can't get back to sleep, even if I was hit over the head with a sledgehammer. I JUST HATE BEING AWAKE RIGHT NOW.
While I'm awake and attempting to adjust the eyeballs to the brightness of my laptop display, I'm going to back the boat up (a saying stolen from a friend of mine) and return to New Year's Day 2003 for a minute. At 2:30 p.m., I settled into an easy chair and switched the TV channel to PBS to watch the annual New Year's Day Concert by the Vienna Philharmonic. [do I fetch the dictionary because I can't think right now whether "Vienna" has one "n" or two? Nah.] Anyway, this has become an annual event for me, at least for the past 3 years. I have made a pact with myself that before my life expires, I'll get to this concert IN PERSON. I suppose one could muster up an image of a little old lady with blue hair but I've not reached that stage and won't for quite a while. However, ranting and raving about this holiday concert does make me a bit of a dork. I don't care. My favorite part of the concert is at the end, when the orchestra plays "Radentsky March" and the audience maintains the tempo by clapping. It's really cool, and very uplifting, and yes, I am a dork. :-) Anyway, I found an order form on the official Web site for the Vienna Philharmonic and placed my request for tickets. Hopefully I'll get them for the 2004 concert - that would be cool.
Will write more later, maybe.
6:30 a.m. EST
My very dear friend David (husband of Ames, the Web goddess) sent me this link of a feature story he wrote about boat building. (He's not the friend who uses the phrase, "back the boat up") Anyway, his feature is in an online zine called DuckWorks Magazine. In my opinion, (remember the days of IMHO?) David doesn't write enough. He's a VERY talented and funny writer and he just doesn't do it -- it makes me crazy. I hate it when people have talent and don't share it. A quote for today, from David's story:
"There's nothing so awful as the moment you realize your dreams are within reach. I have literally been reduced to tears by the sudden epiphany that the only thing standing between me and living the life I want is the doing. When I look at the plans for the the Loose Moose II, or Illinois, or Wyoming, or Breakdown Schooner, I am faced with the terrible knowledge that they are all within reach; that if that's what I really want, it's something I can do; that my day of reckoning has arrived."
10:48 a.m. ESTAm happy to report that I read Dave Winer's History of the Weblog and that pretty much set me straight. [just sitting here, eating handfuls of that humble pie I mentioned earlier.] Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's NOT a blog!
January 8, 2003
8:25 a.m. EST
The explosion of words and thoughts continues. I expected not to do an entry this morning but lo and behold, just when you thought it was safe to turn on the laptop and read someone else's blatherings, OUT POPS YOUR OWN! The lid isn't staying on the pot lately -- it's boiling over.
In my quest for knowledge, I've been reading up on blogs and different opinions of what they are. As Lisa of Nicely Toasted graciously pointed out in her email, "the debate rages on!" I think I've visited ten blogs to date, and I'm finding that many of those look the same. Thankfully, Lisa's blog carries the stamp of her creative abilities, whereas the others are cookie-cutter in look and feel. This is an observation, not a criticism. Like I said, it's a quest for knowledge and better for me to learn as much as possible instead of ranting about something which I know little about. (Pardon me while I dislodge the crow from between my teeth, unearthed while eating my humble pie.)
January 9, 2003
11:50 a.m. EST
Woke up on the wrong side of a pleasant personality today. I spent what seemed like HOURS trying to access the Apple web site last night, and practically threw the laptop across the room in utter frustration. (I didn't throw it, I'm not THAT dumb.) I've got two phone lines, one for the telephone and one for the laptop. The one I've been using for the laptop doesn't give me a fast connection; in fact, it's as slow as molasses (when cable modem prices are lower, I'll consider that route, but in the meantime ...) The connection is dropped every so often, and it's making me nuts. This morning I decided to disconnect it from the phone line meant for the laptop and connect via my direct phone line -- well, well, well, I've reached a decent 46,667 bps. Any incoming telephone calls can just wait (you can tell I'm rough around the edges today.)
ION, I was able to download Opera 6.0 and must say that all those weblogs that were looking funky yesterday look much better today using Opera. One that I checked out, Pick Up Your Own Damn Socks is hysterical. Talk about a bitchfest! I've added it to the blog list.
Other than that, since the evil twin has surfaced, it's no surprise I'm not up for writing ... we'll see how the rest of the day goes.
January 11, 2003
4:00 p.m. EST
Headlines and other observations worth commenting on ...
NYPD Cutting Budget, May Slash Workforce
Yeah, okay. The NYPD is (I'm almost positive) the lowest-paid police force in the country and their jobs are the most dangerous. Does not compute.
ION
Does anyone really care that Celine Dion "wowed them" at the Detroit auto show?
Beatles tapes stolen in the '70s have been found ... tsk, tsk to the thieves.
Puhleeeze, someone slap the guy who wants to make the Diana letters public.
Yesterday I saw an elderly woman walking along the Upper West Side in a full-length fur coat. The funny thing about it was that her coat was a brownish-red, and her hair matched. Made me wonder if she went into her hair salon with her coat and asked her colorist to make her hair color match the coat.
Today while on the subway, the conductor announced, upon arriving at the 42nd Street (Times Square) station, that it was "42nd Street! Crossroads of the world!" Made me wonder if I could change trains there for a warmer climate (say, change at 42nd Street for Barbados?)
January 13, 2003
10:50 a.m. EST
Former F.B.I. most wanted hacker Kevin Mitnick was featured in the Sunday NY Times Magazine section yesterday. According to the Times, his girlfriend keeps a daily blog, Labmistress.com on his and her activities. I'm posting it just in case y'all are interested in checking it out. By the way, the ban on his Net surfing ends later this month.
Maybe I'll write more later ... maybe not. We'll see what inspires me today. :-)
January 14, 2003
5:06 p.m. EST
Today's unbelievable sight was the dog I saw on Broadway. Nevermind that the humans were all bundled up thanks to the bitter cold temperatures. It was the DOG that caught my eye. Forget about the dog's cloth overcoat; I've seen those before. It was the PLAID VISOR on the dog's head that made me look 3 TIMES just to make sure I didn't imagine it. It was one of those moments where you wished you had the digital camera with you. Either that, or the nerve to ask the woman walking the dog what time tee-off was.
January 15, 2003
1:35 p.m. EST
It's been hours since I woke this morning and I still have nothing to say here. Uh oh. Could be an impending word drought.
Spam of the day: Subject: Click here for chance to win 50 lbs. of lobster!
January 17, 2003
7:30 a.m.
Lately I'm not getting a good night's sleep. My guess is that my brain is in overdrive. Go figure. All I need is one single night of this sleep problem and I know enough the next day that I try to completely exhaust myself. Well guess what: it didn't work. Last night's sleep was just as bad -- lots of tossing and turning and what makes it even worse is that while I was trying to sleep, I knew I wasn't sleeping ...
So with the lack of proper sleep for the past two nights, it's no wonder I couldn't locate words yesterday -- for this page, for email, for the telephone -- nothing. Sure, I made the obligatory phone calls, and mustered up a response to some emails, but other than that, it was a BIG ZERO for the day.
I ventured downtown to Hell's Kitchen and met friend David for an early dinner. David always has something memorable to say, and last night brought forth yet another of his witty remarks. He said, during a discussion about what I viewed was a moral issue and he felt was just guilt on my part, "Cindy, you're not f---ing Mother Teresa!" (I'm not?) In addition to this, he said I "have a pathological need to take care of other people," hence the Mother Teresa comment. Coming from David, it didn't bother me in the least. We've known each other a very long time, and our conversations always focus on topics that are fairly deep. We don't edit ourselves around each other but just let it rip; exactly the way I like it. Direct, straightforward, no b.s.
Perhaps I'll write more later.
January 18, 2003
9:20 a.m.
This morning's I-Podding included the following selections: (lines from song lyrics included just so I could make them stick in your head today - :-) )
Just got home from Illinois
Lock the front door, oh boy!
got to sit down, take a rest on the porch
imagination sets in
pretty soon I'm singin'
doo, doo, doo lookin' out my back door
-Creedance Clearwater Revival Lookin' Out My Back Door
Give me my freedom for as long as I be, all I ask of living is to have no chains on me
- Blood, Sweat and Tears And When I Die
What a drag it is getting old
Kids are different today, I hear every mother say
Mother needs something today to calm her down
and though she's not really ill
there's a little yellow pill
she goes running for the shelter
of her mother's little helper
and it helps her on her way
gets her through her busy day
-Rolling Stones Mother's Little Helper
I said hey! you! get off of my cloud!
-Rolling Stones Get Off of My Cloud
Every day she takes her morning bath
she wets her hair
wraps a towel around her
as she's heading for the bedroom chair
it's just another day
slipping into stockings, stepping into shoes
dipping in the pocket of her raincoat
it's just another day
-Paul McCartney It's Just Another Day
January 20, 2003
8:07 a.m. EST
Asleep at the Wheel
The Sunday NYT reports that New York state has missed 2 deadlines on security plans. It's really great to know that this is a serious priority. It's the process, stupid.
January 21, 2003
9:48 a.m. EST
Today's high temperature a balmy 20-something degrees in NYC. Would be a terrific time to take a winter vacation somewhere nice and warm. I'm not exactly a happy camper when it's freezing outside. I can think of numerous indoor activities where one could become warm and toasty ;-)
I podded again this morning. Started with Neil Diamond and worked my way down the song list (however did the Spice Girls land in my pod?) Mental note to change song selection later today. I find it somewhat amusing that I continue to play the Stones' "Mother's Little Helper" over and over and over again. What's up with that????
January 23, 2003
7:57 a.m. EST
Temperature: we're in the single digits here in NYC. Today's high, 17 degrees. The low is ... brrrrrrrrrrrrr. I ran out last night to get some milk and it's been said that I live on one of the coldest blocks in NYC. Because my dwelling is not that far from the Hudson River, one gets the added extra of blasts of arctic air. My face most definitely needed one of those terrorist-looking wool face masks -- it was so cold and windy that my skin felt like it was being poked with thousands of little knives.
ION, I've noticed that as I get older, I've become quite clumsy. I think this is genetic. But my clumsiness thankfully was limited to the discovery of 3 separate slices in the skin on my right hand. These cuts were absorbed when making a necklace the other day; I had snipped some wire and was using my fingers as the tool ... and stabbed my fingers with the wire more than once. Geez, what a surprise. Did I think that this fine, sharp wire wouldn't cut my skin? It is moments of stupidity like this that really makes me wonder about myself sometimes. It reminds me of one of my favorite sayings, 'for a smart guy you can be pretty stupid' -- for today, I've changed it to: 'for a smart woman, you can be pretty stupid.' (insert wincing from pain of typing with bandaged fingers.)
At least I admit when I'm dumb. :-)
9:53 p.m. EST
I pod, therefore I am. The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away ...
January 27, 2003
11:50 p.m. EST
Today is my oldest sister's birthday ... and thankfully I remembered to mail her birthday card this past weekend. *sigh*
Been a wild past two weeks, with my friend Linda in the hospital and her family here from the West Coast. Linda died early Sunday morning ... and peacefully.
January 28, 2003
7:50 a.m. EST
What do we think of the doctor who branded the initials of his alma mater on a woman's uterus before he removed it during hysterectomy surgery?
I've not been i-podding but i-plodding along ... with songs in my head that appear out of nowhere, like "Lean On Me" ...
January 30, 2003
10:00 a.m.
Morning musing: Podding works like a dream when you're attempting to shut the world out of your ears.
And while I am busy podding along, I'm also daydreaming ...
Today will be a bad day but I'm hoping for a good one.