Struggle.

I’m probably going to be a little ranty in this blog entry, so if you’re not in the mood for that sort of thing go somewhere else over the rainbow or something.

Have you ever had one of those days where it feels like everything you attempt is such a struggle to accomplish? I think I’m having one of those days. I fully realize the fairly charmed existence I have as a full-time college student during summer break, but some things just bug me.

I started off the morning with a bike ride. All was well and good until I was about two miles from home when I got a flat tire. Unfortunately, I was on a fairly busy roadway at the time. Looking back I should have just stuck to the canal trails. Nevertheless, with the way people drive these days I didn’t feel comfortable changing my tire on the side of the road, lest I get run over by a Paris Hilton wannabe yapping on her phone, sipping her mocha-chocha la la la la and driving her Hummer, so I opted to walk home instead.

This is where it got interesting, as it seemed that I somehow had a target on my back and front as people were literally aiming for the cyclist with the big mustache who happened to be walking.

Let me just clarify a few things here so that we’re all on the same page. Riding your bicycle on the sidewalk is illegal. Riding your bicycle facing traffic (on the left shoulder in the U.S.) is illegal. Walking with traffic (instead of against it) is illegal. I saw all these things while walking back from the scene of my flat tire. Oh, and while I’m talking cycling, can I just say that if the cyclist is wearing a cycling jersey, cycling shorts, a helmet and cycling gloves, in addition to riding what appears to be a very expensive bicycle, there’s a really good chance that he or she knows what they’re doing and there’s no reason to “toot toot toot” at them to let them know they’re there. We know you’re there. Just show a little respect and you’ll get the same instead of a cycling gloved finger aimed in your direction.

By the time I got home I was very sweaty and moderately cranky. I would have loved to lose myself in a geek world in the cool confines of our cellar, but I told Earl I would go job hunting today so I made myself look presentable and headed over to the local temp agency. After all, I’m just looking for a position for the next six weeks or so until school starts again. Unfortunately, the fine folks at the temp agency don’t accept walk-ins in the morning. I was instructed to come back this afternoon. I wish there was a sign posted somewhere, anywhere in the office so I didn’t waste my time or the time of the receptionist who was busy reading tmz.com on her computer. So I’m heading back there this afternoon.

Things are just bugging me a little bit today. However, when I came home for lunch I was delighted to see that Earl was here as well so I’m sure my afternoon is going to be much better.

Art.

I’ve never been good at art. My cousin’s daughter can look at a photograph and draw an incredible portrait that would take your breath away, but me, I can’t even paint by numbers. In Sociology class last semester I was asked to draw a person and I drew a stick figure. My fellow students made fun of me, though they refrained from yelling “neener, neener, neener” and pointing. I think the mustache scared them.

For my father’s 60th birthday party (which went very well, despite Mother Nature being quite feisty with the weather at times this afternoon), I made a photo collage of various pictures from over the years. I tried to select photos that would mean something to him and stick to the family theme, incorporating many elements of his life experience. Now this is something that I enjoyed doing very much. I can handle grabbing photos, scanning them, printing them out and arranging them in an interesting manner.

Rosie O’Donnell often takes photos and does artful things with them and then makes a video to share with the world. I’m thinking of taking a stab at doing the same. Even though I mix up the concepts behind decoupage, papier mache and fondu, I should think that with today’s technology I should be able to make up something that’s interesting and expressive.

And isn’t that what art is all about?

Excuses.

Earl and I, along with my sister and my stepmother, are hosting a big birthday bash for my father tomorrow. We are expecting around 30 people or so. It should be a really good time.

One of the amazing things about hosting a party here at the house is the sudden realization that we have some projects that need attending to. I find it quite humorous that when we are doing the daily routine bit we don’t really give a flip that the downstairs toilet has a slight leak or that the siding is hanging precariously off the back of the house as a result of a recent thunderstorm. But have a few people over and bam, there’s Earl and I grabbing the toilet like a bunch of thugs, yanking it off the floor, expertly replacing the wax seal and cramming the toilet back in place. It was a 20 minute job that we should have done when we first discovered the leak but who really has the motivation to do it. That’s what makes having a party so much fun. It gives you the extra boost needed to scrape gunk off the bathroom floor.

I guess it’s kind of startling to see what we’ve done to make the house presentable for the party. I’ve repotted plants, I’ve stored the garden hoses away (I don’t even do that for winter), hell, I even swept out the camper in case someone wants to use it for an afternoon delight (o.k., since it’s all relatives come to the party that last thought just kind of creeped me out). Tomorrow morning I might go absolutely insane and change the cat’s litter on a non-garbage day.

Such a walk on the wild side.

Friday Night Jams: 16 Years Ago.

16 years ago tonight I was spinning for the first time in a small bar in Jamestown, New York called “The Nite Spot.” Adjacent to a set of railroad tracks, whenever a train was heard in the distance I had to switch from vinyl to cassette single while the train passed by, because the vibrations would occasionally make the record skip.

I remembering playing this song that night. At the top of the dance chart 16 years ago today, here’s the video to “Got A Love For You” by Jomanda.

Everybody Relax.

I would like everyone to take a moment and just relax with me. Take a deep breath. Clear your mind. Listen to the stillness. Yearn for the calm.

Why the tranquility? My dance with “Intermediate Algebra” has come to an end. It is now summer vacation for this college boy. The big guy says I should find a temp job for the next couple of weeks. I agree with him, as I will lose my mind if all I have to do for the next seven weeks is partake in the bon bon brigade.

By the way – I asked the teacher to score my final exam while I waited. I did very well. I only missed the question involving the hectare on the 747.

Independence Day.

Earl snapped my picture as I got ready for my Independence Day bike ride. As of today I have ridden more this year than I have ridden in the past two years combined. Since the summer is really just getting underway and I plan on riding until Thanksgiving, I’d say that’s a good thing.

My body is thanking me for the exercise. I feel wonderful.

Mother Nature is giving us her own version of fireworks for Independence Day in the way of severe thunderstorms. It looks like no picnic today. Perhaps we’ll catch a movie or something.

Oh, as a public service I made a video of me making a left turn at a busy intersection. I’m trying to spread the word that cyclists should ride their bikes like their riding cars and follow the rules of the road. I’ll have a longer post about this soon.

[MEDIA=10]

Oops I Did It Again.

I had a blog software upgrade go bad, so all my data is here but my pictures, videos and display themes are a little wonky at the moment. Please bear with me, but I’ll continue blogging with this temporary setup.

You’d think after 25 years of doing this computer thing I’d get it right by now.

Update 2007-07-03 23:50 – I’ve restored 3/4 of the videos and pictures from the past week. I’ve also restored the look of the page. Hopefully, my webhost will be able to restore it all tomorrow but I’m not banking on it. I’ll just keep working on restoring pictures but a couple of videos might be lost.

Dab of CNY: NH&W Rail Trail.




Wetlands.

Originally uploaded by bluemarvel.

I mentioned a couple of days ago that the NYSDOT has made great strides in working recreational trails and such into their latest highway projects. A couple of years ago a new expressway was opened in our area, and with it came the “NH&W Rail Trail”, a five mile cycling/walking/rollerblading path along an old railroad bed in the towns of New Hartford and Whitestown. Eventually it will connect to the Canalway Trail I mention in that previous post.

One of the beautiful things about the Rail Trail is that it goes right through the middle of the woods. On one side you’ll find plenty of wetlands, on the other side you’ll find trees, fields and other woodsy things.

NYSDOT built a couple of lookout points over the wetlands when they built the trail. There’s also a couple places where people fish in the ponds. In fact, when I was taking one of my photos tonight, I was startled by a small bird that began flapping wildly and making lots and lots of noise. There was one small problem, it was trying to fly and couldn’t get anywhere as it was tangled up in some discarded fishing line. I couldn’t stand the sight of the bird hanging there and struggling so I tried to set it free. Whenever I went near the bird to try to untangle it, it panicked and started flapping and darting around, so I did my best to keep some distance as to keep the bird calm and tried to break the line as close to the bird as possible. As soon as I broke the line, the bird took off like a shot with a small trail of fishing line behind it. I’m hoping that the rest eventually falls off so it doesn’t get tangled again.

Earl and I walked about 2 1/2 miles tonight along the trail. It was good to get the exercise and enjoy nature a little bit. I’ve never biked along this trail, but I’ve put it on my list of priorities. There’s more pictures available by clicking on the picture above.

Off Kilter.

Today has been an odd sort of day. Earl had a doctor’s appointment at 10:30, a stress test where you run on the treadmill until you’re in pain, so he came home around 9:45 to change his clothes so he was dressed more appropriately. I think he wanted to show a little chest to Dave, the bearish technician. So his popping in threw me off my game a little bit while I was getting ready to leave for school.

The master clock that runs my collection of school clocks did not survive the last round of thunderstorms we had, so the clocks throughout the house are running on this makeshift setup I have while the clock is getting repaired. I know this is going to sound strange, but with the regular setup the clocks make a click at the 58th second then at the :00 of every minute. I couldn’t manage that with the makeshift setup, which causes the clocks to click at the 56th second then at the :00 of every minute. So the clicks are spaced further apart which is confusing my internal rhythm. It is sort of like Chinese Water Torture.

When I got to class only five of the twenty or so showed up for our final class before the Final Exam on Thursday. This threw me off a little bit, as did the fact that the professor came in clean shaven, where he usually has a goatee.

When I got home from school, ready to make a sandwich and settle down for “The Addams Family”, I found Earl at home surfing on his computer. While he survived the stress test just fine, he has no heart trouble at all, he didn’t feel in the mood to go back to work so he took the afternoon off. I’m glad that he’s home, but I didn’t feel as close to John Astin and Carolyn Jones as I usually do.

By the way, is it mysterious and spooky and all together ooky that I find myself rather attracted to John Astin as Gomez Addams?