O.k. I’m going to try for the 3rd time to write my blog entry tonight. Every time I try to post my entry, something about Microsoft SQL screws up and it loses it. Lovely.
Earl and I went on a wonderful drive to Ithaca yesterday. I wanted to shop at a Natural Foods store, and there’s a co-op down there so off we went! Ironically, we stopped at A&W in Cortland for lunch on the way. Can I tell you, I love that A&W. It’s one of the older ones. You can park out front, order on the intercom system and they’ll bring it out and hang it on your window (just like on Happy Days). Or you can eat in the dining room. Here’s the neat part, you still have to order over the intercom! It’s great! There used to be one outside of Syracuse in Cicero that we went to when I was a kid, but that was ripped down for a Taco Bell in the late 1980s. What a shame.
When we got to Ithaca we decided to walk around “the Commons”, which is really the Downtown area. It reminded me very much of Burlington, Vt. I loved it. I’ve been in a “granola boy” mood over the past couple of days, and this just enhanced it. I’m trying to get in touch with Mother Nature again – getting back to basics… making my own bread, putting more effort into recycling, trying to be aware of the non-replaceable resources I’m using, etc., etc. I’m growing out my hair and beard again, at least for a while. I suppose you could say I’m moving from the “Greg” side of my personality over to the “Dharma” side. I’ve been called kooky before. I don’t deny it.
The co-op was fabulous. I wish there was one closer to home. I could see myself working in a co-op. I went to the bulk section and tried to buy these organic M&Ms for the office. Well I dumped 1 1/2 lbs. all over the floor. Eeks. After apologizing profusely, the attendant cheerfully cleaned it up. If I had done that at Wal*mart, I would have gotten a stern stare, a click of the tongue and a big sigh. It was refreshing to see a nice human being working in a store for a change.
Earl and I also went to Best Buy at Pyramid Mall just north of Ithaca. I picked up a couple of DVDs — “V” and “V: The Final Battle”. They are both mini-series that NBC showed in the early 1980s. Earl and I have been watching “V” from the Action channel off the Dish over the past couple of nights. And last night we watched the entire “V: The Final Battle” – all six hours! Earl tried to feign not being interested, but about 30 minutes into it he started showing interest. I know Diana is the bad guy and such, but you have to admire her determination and tenacity.
I’ve been reconfiguring the spare computer we have here at the house. It’s a DOS machine. I’m trying to see if I can do everything I need to do with DOS without compromise. Let’s see if this little experiment works. If it does, I’m going to switch to DOS for a while, because I enjoy typing in command rather than clicking with a mouse. Maybe I’ll convert all the applicable workstations at work back over to DOS so that the employees don’t waste time surfing the web and downloading music. I don’t think that’s being too rude.
I’ve been working on cleaning up the wreck room today. It seems like every Sunday I’m cleaning up the wreck room. I guess that’s why it’s called the wreck room.
Earl and I went grocery shopping for some perishables that we couldn’t pick up at the co-op yesterday. Picked up some vegetarian TV dinners for work and some other goodies. I think the time change has kicked me back into this granola boy mode I’m in. I worked out this morning (and feel great) and I look forward to doing it again tomorrow. I’m a little sore since I’ve been out of my routine for the past couple of weeks, but that’s o.k. I like standard time so much better than daylight time. I’m more comfortable with it getting dark earlier. I really like fall and winter the best – I like the prospect of getting dumped on with snow. I like a chill in the air. I like the shorter days. I think it’s the way I’m wired.
