Feeling unsettled today. I’m not angry or depressed or cranky or anything like that, but I feel restless. Unsettled describes it best.
Time feels like it’s flying by at a snail’s pace. I am firmly on the ground whilst holding on by the tip of my fingers.
As much as I try to socialise and be part of the crowd, I’m really not. I like my world, my way and the few people that I allow to be part of it.
Few get me. And I like it that way.
“BREAKING: Los Angeles Lakers defeat Orlando Magic, win NBA Championship I More: http://sms.msnbc.com.” This is from 676-22.
Here’s the deal. I stopped SMS messages from Windows Live about a week ago. I was trying out some of the Live services and I thought I would turn on breaking news alerts on my phone so that I could sound informed at the office water bubbler (which was actually taken away due to budget constraints, now we just sort of linger around the limp ice trays in the kitchen freezer).
I have decided that the Windows Live / Bing / MSN services don’t really fit my needs as nicely as I wanted them to so I turned off all alert notifications to my phone. But they haven’t stopped. Nothing is checked, nothing is activated, but they still keep coming. And coming. And coming.
Yesterday morning I replied to one of the breaking news alerts with one simple command: ‘STOP’. I was promptly informed of this:
Msnbc.com: To STOP a program reply with the number:
1. NEWS
2. BIZ
3. SPORTS
4. HEALTH
5. ENTERTAINMENT
6. TRAVEL
7. TECH
8. All
http://alerts.msnbc.com
So I replied with “Stop 8”. No one complained about my reply but the messages continued. So then I tried just “8”. I received a message from the little beast: MSNBC: Sorry 2 see U go. You will receive no more mobile alerts after today. More: Visit http://alerts.msnbc.com
This was yesterday. But the messages continued.
So today I did the same thing and it gave me the same schtick. Let’s see if these alerts continue after midnight.
So last night I was in Connecticut for the Ct. Gay Men’s Chorus monthly fundraising Bingo night. The theme of the evening was “Past Your Prom.” The event was well attended.
I did some sound work for the chorus a while back when my friend Greg was the Guest Director of the group and it’s always good to see the guys each time I go back. I look forward to going to the next Bingo night.
Greg mentioned a couple of weeks ago that he was going to be taking “prom photos” of those that wanted a special memory of the occasion so I offered to bring our photo printer along so the attendees could get their photos right away.
Before the doors opened, Jason and Corey were kind enough to pose in typical prom fashion so Greg could calibrate the camera. Unfortunately they weren’t in their prom gear at the time but they still displayed the vibe well.
Bingo numbers are called out by our very own Joan Crawford and her darling children Christina and Christopher. Unfortunately, Christina was unable to make the event last night, but Christopher was there and even brought along his prom date, Carrie White. Joan, Christopher and Carrie were kind enough to pose at intermission to sort of break the ice for everyone else to get their pictures taken.
Earlier in the evening, Joan asked Carrie what had happened to her dress and said something about an accident she had and unfortunately, she was wearing the only prom dress she had.
Greg and I took about 30 photos during intermission of varying sized groups and then I walked about the bingo hall during Act 2 trying to match faces in the photographs with those that were seated at the tables. If you’re curious, the photos are available on The Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus Website.
Here are a couple of photos of the crowd.
Afterwards, Greg, Corey and I joined a bunch of friends at 168 York Street for a few (NA) drinks. There was a drag show in progress on the back deck but we decided to hang inside instead. There was a woman there who looked very much like Amy Brenneman (but didn’t sound like her). She was very hot looking. I soon realised that she was a lesbian, as she was making out with her presumed girlfriend, another very hot woman that looked a lot like Kelly Clarkson. Had it not been a gay bar, I’m sure many men in attendance would have a hot visual for their fantasies for the night.
So I stopped at the convenience store to pick up a bottle of iced tea. I was in luck, though I rarely stop at this particular store so I was flying blind, so to speak, they had the brand of iced tea that I enjoy because it’s made of real all-natural tea (instead of just labeled all-natural tea which often contains high fructose corn syrup or sucralose). The young man behind the counter was relatively grubby looking; I pulled out my wallet to pay. As I did so, he looked like I had just pulled Magenta’s ray gun and was about to stun him. I handed him the two dollars and waited for my change. He looked at me oddly and gave me my change and I turned and left. I politely said “Thank you”, he was silent. Just as I was approaching the door I heard him mutter something.
“Fucking Canuck.”
Here’s the thing. I have more Canadian cash than American cash to my name at the moment. I had taken out too much cash from the ATM the last time I was in Canada and found myself with a few extra bills. Since we are going to Toronto for pride in a couple of weeks, I have opted to wrap my American cash in Canadian cash in my wallet so that I don’t forget I have it when we go back. I’m also not shy about the fact that I love Canada very much (at least the parts I’ve been in) and would love the opportunity to move there so I also keep the Canadian cash around to make people notice me in an odd little way. It makes me stand out, it makes them think. I like to think that it makes them think that not everyone is the same. I was born and bred in the United States and I love my country, but I have to admit that over the past ten years or so I haven’t been as proud of it as I have been in the past.
I thought out shrugging off this little grubby man’s comment but I decided not to. I turned back to him, walked a few steps in his direction and simply said:
“Thank you for demonstrating one of the many reasons the rest of the world dislikes the United States.” I was calm and rational as I said it. The grubby little man just stared back at my comment. Another woman at the register smirked. It was then that I turned and walked out.
It was the second time in relatively recent history that someone has insulted Canada around me. I think I find this surprising.
I have been a geek for most of the evening, chatting with friends over various technological means and working on the Linux computer.
Whilst working on web stuff, I have been watching one of my favourite movies of all time, “Bell, Book and Candle” from 1959. If you haven’t seen it, I urge you to do so. You’ll find that it inspired a very bewitching comedy that was big in the 1960s.
Feeling good this morning, I decided to crank up the tunes as I got ready for work. I so love the sexy vibe of this track.
So I have been spending a little more time on my Ubuntu computer than on my Mac lately. I have been in “discovery geek” phase this week, trying out different things in Linux and seeing how the whole computing experience works out for a typical user on a computer, but using Linux instead of Windows or a Mac.
For the last 24 hours I have been concentrating on music: how to purchase it, how to organise it and how to listen to it. The program of choice, thus far, is Rhythmbox, which is installed by default when you install the latest version of Ubuntu (which is currently 9.04 or ‘Jaunty’). Rhythmbox has a comfortable interface and is quite intuitive. Mind you, it’s not like iTunes or the Zune interface, Rhythmbox is mostly a player but it allows you to do some purchasing and listening to internet based radio station. Overall, I enjoy the experience very much.
Because of the closed nature of all things Apple, I am unable to manage music on my iPhone from Rhythmbox and that’s okay because frankly I find plugging and unplugging the iPhone from the stereo everytime I get in or out of the car to be annoying. Add to the fact that the Acura has no Aux input built into the otherwise spectacular sound system and am forced to use a cassette adapter instead and you’ll know why I’m not too keen on using an iPhone or iPod in the car. So I have stepped back a few years in time and have begun burning CDs again.
The sound system was definitely designed for the CD player and not the cassette adapter I was using for the iPhone.
I wonder if the average consumer is stepping back in their expectations and ultimately settling for a mediocre aural experience in their vehicle now all in the name of technology. Granted, it’s quite convenient to carry your entire music library on an iPod (or any MP3 player for that matter) and dial up whatever track your heart desires, but if all you can hear from the track you’re listening to is the mid-range portion of the audio then what’s the sense of doing that?
Granted, burning CDs is not as ecofriendly as using an MP3 player. I stand labeled as a sinner in that department. But my goodness, the difference in the quality of the audio from my stereo is quite surprising.
I’m also enjoying music that I want to enjoy versus music that I _need_ to enjoy these days. Not being a regular club DJ anymore is a good thing, I no longer have to keep on top of the latest music trends, I can enjoy the music that I want to listen to and not worry about anyone else that might want to listen to my CDs. I’m not trying to entertain anyone, I’m just being entertained on my own terms.
I like that.
In case you’re wondering, I’m enjoying the likes of Deadmau5 these days and am listening to his album “Random Album Title”. I’m not big on lyrics and his music fits the bill, and my current music tastes, quite nicely.
Earl went out to dinner with business associates today (and can you believe that neither Larry nor Louise invited me to join them! Well!) so when I got home from work I decided to throw on the rollerblades and hit the canal trails.
I like rollerblading very much though I have to admit that I’m not super good at it. I frighten folks including small children with my “barely maintaining balance” stance, but for the most part I am able to get from point A to point B and back without breaking, scraping or jarring any random body part. I like to remain intact after working out. I was able to get about 5 km of rollerblading in before deciding I had met my quota for the day and heading home. It was a good feeling. My legs were a little trembly on the drive home but overall I was feeling the endorphin high.
Motivated by the rush of good vibes I was feeling from the much needed exercise, I decided to spruce up my bike a little bit by ordering new pedals, cleats and cycling shoes. I found a really good deal online and though there is some assembly required I figure that I’ll be good to go when the package arrives at the end of the week. The original shoes, cleats and pedals lasted for about 3000 miles (and I loved them very much); I’m figuring these will last for at least that distance as I did go for a higher caliber of equipment. I’ll be good to go when I go cycling with Thom later in the season.
I have no idea why I rollerblade in kilometers and pedal in miles.
Whilst rollerblading today a woman commented on my t-shirt; I was wearing one of my favourite workout shirts, a leftover from the radio station I used to work at. The station went off the air in 2001 so there’s probably not that many shirts left out in the public (though we handed out around 2000 or so during the run of the station). She said “I remember that station!” I like to hear that because it makes me feel like I made some sort of impression somewhere along the way and it’s a good way to stroke my ego. A couple of weeks ago Earl and Jamie and I were shopping at Old Navy and the clerk said “Didn’t you use to be on the radio?” Earl rolled his eyes as my ego was stroked and I purred.
There are many ways to motivate me.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
Weird? Eccentric!
