Fun and Games Dept

Earl, Jamie and I are sitting in the back patio with a blazing fire in the fire pit. We are sitting on our new patio furniture as we just finished putting together the dining table for our “beach view set” from Lowe’s. The landscaping has been cleaned up and relit courtesy of new solar landscape lighting. We are officially ready to entertain this summer. I encourage folks to come up to our neck of the woods for a visit.

We were originally going to head to my Dad’s tonight for his annual Memorial Day weekend bonfire, but our projects took up more time than anticipated, so Jamie fired up the fire pit we’ve only used once in four years. The fire is quite nice. All that is missing are S’mores.

We went to the local BBQ joint for dinner tonight but they closed (at 8:00 p.m.) just before we arrived. I found this odd; they are a bar and supposedly a North Carolina style BBQ place. I find closing at 8:00 p.m. to be a little much. I now consider them fucktards. It’s a nasty word but the description is apt.

We ended up eating at the Chinese buffet that I affectionately call “China Nazi”, because they bark at you as the seat you, “YOU SIT HERE!”. We ate 90 minutes ago. I’m already eager to graze through the refrigerator. I don’t know what it is about Chinese food but it’s not North Carolina BBQ. I really wanted barbecue tonight. The fire is a good substitute.

I think we might purchase a few more things for the rejuvenated patio before the weekend is done. I’m happy it’s the unofficial beginning of summer, because it’s relaxing moments like this that make me smile.

We are a bunch of geeks.

So I have been shuttling my new laptop back and forth to work so that I can use it during my lunch hour whilst taking advantage of the city-wide wi-fi that is available courtesy of the company I work for. It’s a nice arrangement and now that I have settled on Linux (again!) on this laptop, I am quite content.

I am using the duffle bag that I used for my MacBook Pro and it’s predecessor, my old PowerBook G4 back in the day. All three of these computers have or had 15-inch screens so using the same bag has been a no-brainer. The bag is quite comfortable and roomy and I like the way it feels. Plus, we’ve been geeks together for a long while and it feels like an old friend.

I have gotten in the habit of not using the strap inside the case that secures the laptop down. I figured that if the case was zipped up the laptop was safe. So last night after pulling in the driveway from work I pulled my duffle bag out of the car and slung it over my shoulder like I always do.

That’s when I heard a crash on the pavement of the driveway.

I looked down and saw my two-week old laptop sitting on the pavement, DVD-ROM popped with the cover to that strewn aside.

My heart sank.

I picked up the new laptop, dusted it off, noting the new chinks in the cover and brought all the pieces into the house, where I assembled everything back together again.

Like a trouper, my new laptop fired up right where I left off at lunch. It survived.

I’m not happy about what I have done to my new laptop but I feel like we have bonded. And more importantly, it’ll always be tucked away safely in my duffle bag.

I am sitting aboard a Continental regional jet looking out the window and admiring the tops of the moonlit clouds. The date of this entry is inaccurate and moreso unimportant and the same goes for the destination. What is important is that I know I am the luckiest man in the world and I count my blessings everyday.

I have been desperately trying to shake the cynicism I have learned over the years. I looked at an old yearbook the other day and noted that I was referenced as a complainer, even back in 10th grade. That’s just awful. I don’t want to be known as the guy that was forever complaining, and while personal blogs sort of enable this behavior there isn’t a mandate that I have to be that way. So I keep conscious of these things.

The internet has afforded me the opportunity to meet some amazing people over the years. I have met those with a really positive outlook and I have known those that are having a hard time at it. I joke with Earl about the fact that we got together before the whole dot com thing and here we still are all these years later. This shows me two things: what is meant to be will be and life is what you make of it.

I mentioned earlier that I know I’m the luckiest guy in the world. It’s because I invited that luck in and was showed how to nurture it.

And then when I looked out, I noticed that the clouds had dissipated.

So last night I worked my first overnight at my new job. In addition to the usual graveyard shift workers, I joined two of my colleagues to do some very technical-like testing that could only be done during a very important sounding “maintenance window”. Yes, I’m trumpeting it to be much more than it really is. It’s all quite routine in the circles I tend to hang out in.

Because I worked from 11 to 7, I have had most of the day off today. It’s been a while since I’ve been home during the day and the change of pace has been quite nice. It wasn’t needed, mind you, but the change has afforded me the opportunity to get a lot done around the house. Laundry might actually be caught up when all is said and done tonight and now I remember what the kitchen counter looks like!

I also took the opportunity to go to my old workplace and see how all my friends are doing. Big changes have taken place in the past two months so I left but it was good to see everyone. I miss them. I don’t miss the job, but I do miss the people. I look forward to seeing them when Saranac Thursday nights start up.

In an effort to kick the Monday blahs, I played one of my favorite songs from the 80s on the ride home and it perked me up considerably.

This song is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, because I don’t recall it being overly popular in the states back in the day, but it is one of my favorites. Bonus points to whomever can name the group these ladies sang backups in prior to the release of this song. (They’re even on a couple of this group’s videos).

Here’s Pepsi and Shirlie with “Heartache”.

Has it really been 14 years since that first date that forever changed my life?

My heart soars and I still see fireworks when he walks into the room.

I am a very lucky man.

So last night I met up with Arnie from Spirit of Saint Lewis for dinner. He is vacationing in the lovely Capital District of New York and since I work relatively close to this area, I got myself a hotel room (more on that in a later entry) and spent the night in Schenectady.

Arnie and I have been chatting online for quite a while and found each other through blog rolls. A year or so ago I had the opportunity to meet him in person, though we exchanged only a few sentences because we were with a group of people in a loud restaurant. I remember the food being good, though.

Anyways, through our online chatting, reading each other’s blogs and whatnot, we knew that we would have lots to talk about so when he said he was coming to town we decided to get together and do just that. And that we did.

There’s a lot of negativity in some of the blogs I read, mine included at times, I guess, but last night ran contrary to that and it was a refreshing change of pace. Just as we suspected we had lots to talk about. We had a wonderful meal at a bistro in downtown Schenectady and then spent the evening hanging out and such.

I knew at that restaurant a year or so ago that I would enjoy spending some time with Arnie and my suspicions were right. I look forward to doing it again the next time he is in town.