Fun and Games Dept

Favourite., originally uploaded by iMachias.
The view of Downtown Toronto from the Gardiner Expressway, as seen through a dirty windshield with an iPhone.

So I spent the weekend in the beautiful city of Toronto, Ontario. I always fully appreciate how close we are to this fine city and that there are multiple ways of getting there, so the drive is rarely boring.

I made the trek to help dave get settled into his new home and to touch base with some friends up there. On the way home I stopped in to see my sister, her husband and my nephew. I didn’t get the chance to spend as much time there as I would have enjoyed but it was good to see them. I’m determined not to let the snow slow us down this winter when it comes to future visits. Canada is properly enjoyed in both the summer and the winter.

Try as I might to the contrary, I can’t help but declare that Toronto is my favourite North American city. There is such an openness there that you rarely find in the states and the folks that I have run across are not crabby or cranky. I feel very, very comfortable in Toronto; much like I felt when we spent time in Dublin. My love for the city shouldn’t be perceived as an anti-U.S. sentiment, because it truly isn’t, I just like Toronto better. I tell my sister that she is quite fortunate to live in the area; I understand why folks bend over backwards and invest thousands of dollars into immigration proceedings for the opportunity to live there.

It’s all a matter of taste, I suppose.

The weekend started off as a long one; Earl was helping Jamie finish the move from Buffalo to the Manor, so I was going to spend the night with them in Buffalo Friday night and continue the short trek to Toronto Saturday morning. dave was flying into Toronto from New York Friday night but all his flights were canceled due to weather, so we went with Plan B where he flew into Buffalo and then I drove him across the border to Toronto. We ended up getting into Toronto Saturday around 0300 so we slept in a bit Saturday morning. The change in plans and sleep schedule made the weekend feel extra long and I feel surprisingly good today.

So it’s getting to that time of year when we are doing that whole transition thing of summer to autumn. We are actually moving into my favourite time of year in these parts. I love the autumn breezes with their slight chill, I love the sound of rustling leaves and I can’t help but feel a certain magic in the air. There is something very enchanting about this time of year to me.

Unfortunately, there is one thing my body has a hard time reconciling with the season and that is time. I have said many, many times before that I am not an early person. I’m not. I try to be. I set my alarm early, hoping to leap out of bed all happy and ready to start my day. I have dreams of working out, doing several loads of laundry, rearranging the spice rack, adding a new room to the house, you name it, all before going to work at 8 a.m.

It seems that I never get these things accomplished.

My body is just out of sync with the man-made concept of time. Before the days of the railroad, each community had their own schedule and “clock”. Noon was determined by when the sun was highest in the sky. I believe that our bodies are wired to be in sync with nature in this regard and that some of us are programmed to be early birds and some of us are programmed to be night hawks (I’m in the latter category). I remarked on Twitter this afternoon that it feels like my day truly begins after I return from lunch because try as I might, I am really stumbling my way through the day before noon. I fake it pretty well but I feel like I’m in a constant state of jet lag. Then I eat lunch, return back to work and I feel like I could plow through eight hours nonstop and actually enjoy the experience. I have told my employer that if I worked noon to 9 that they would get me at my optimum time but unfortunately that shift doesn’t exist. So I fake it.

With the onslaught of Daylight Saving Time the clocks are becoming farther and farther out of sync with what nature has deemed to be “time”. At least when DST is over we get somewhat closer to they way my body wants it to be, but until then I stumble. It’s unfortunate that the previous president extended DST by a few weeks into November, for I just stumble longer.

Nevertheless, here it is 10:33 p.m. and I have been trying to go to bed for the past hour, hoping to catch up on sleep so I can be productive at work tomorrow and then be ready for a fun filled weekend. As you can see by this entry, I have not been successful in this endeavour, for I am wide awake and writing a rather long blog entry. I feel like I could full steam for the next several hours.

But it would make me too foggy tomorrow morning.

Sunset., originally uploaded by iMachias.

I was doing errands around the house when I glanced out the window and saw some amazing colours in the sky. I decided that I HAD to get a photo or two and ran out to the car to get the “big camera” (which is becoming increasingly outdated by the minute) and snapped a couple of shots.

I found the colours of tonight’s sunset to be absolutely stunning.

218.365, originally uploaded by iMachias.

I find Central Park to be one of the most amazing things about the Big Apple. It is a beautiful thing to find such an expansive retreat in the midst of such hustle and bustle; a place where families, friends, strangers or even those seeking solitude can come to relax and take some time to unwind.

Central Park is such a beautiful place.

Earl, Jamie and I spent some time in Central Park today, just relaxing and enjoying the last weekend of summer. I snapped a few photos to share.

Since we were not armed with a blanket or lawn chairs, we opted to sit on a rock in the Sheep Meadow. Nearby, two men played guitar and sang. I didn’t recognize any of the songs but nonetheless they were pretty good.

I liked that they were doing that.

In front of us, an older gentleman picked out his spot, kicked back and read a book. With all the texting that was going on around us, it was refreshing to see someone taking time away from the technological to find some enjoyment.

There was a beautiful slice of society enjoying the weather today and I found the experience to join them to be quite grounding.

I look forward to more visits to Central Park. I seem to find things there that I don’t find in similar (and larger) spaces closer to home.

217A.365, originally uploaded by iMachias.

Friday night it was the New York State Fair and this weekend we are in the Big Apple. The summer is going out with a bang.

For now, I sleep.

Moonlight., originally uploaded by iMachias.

It’s around 4:30 a.m. and I just woke up with a start. Feeling wide awake, I looked outside and saw that the full moon was shining brilliantly. I decided to see if I could snap a photo of the last full moon of summer and this is what I came up with. It’s my first attempt at playing with the manual settings on the “big” camera.

I don’t think it’s too bad for my first attempt.

If you click on the photo to get to it’s page in Flickr, you’ll be able to see my camera settings on there.

Now I’m going back to bed.

214.365, originally uploaded by iMachias.

My supervisor was out of the office today so I took the opportunity to move to a new cubicle. This new space is in the same quad as my original cube and is 180 degrees around the maypole from where I used to sit. The difference with this cube is that it’s in the corner of the room, whereas my old cube was out in the middle of the floor. Being the old guy of the group I was having a hard time hearing telephone conversations; this can be a problem when you work a tech support position on the telephone. The new cubicle is a much quieter space and was previously occupied by the former old guy of the group. He was part of the lay-offs in April. Now I wonder if I have moved into the last seat before final departure.

Since the cube is identical to my original spot (aside from the walls), I set it up identically to my old space. I even took the lightbulbs out of the overhead light fixture; I strive for a cave like feel to my workspace.

214B.365, originally uploaded by iMachias.

Earl is out of town on business (Knoxville, Tenn. to be exact) so that left Jamie and me alone at the Manor looking for some grub. So I took the doors off the Jeep and we headed to a local BBQ place. Jamie hadn’t ridden in the Jeep without the doors and since it’s September and all, it got a bit chilly on the ride home. The food was good though.

Jamie took his own picture during the ride.

He looks like he is having fun.

I was slightly off kilter today; not in a bad way, mind you, but just a little bit off my game. The after work diversion was a good diversion. Er, that’s what I said.

209.365, originally uploaded by iMachias.

So as I mentioned last night, the latest version of Mac OS X (10.6), also known as “Snow Leopard” was released today. The ‘family pack’ arrived by FedEx as promised. So far I have upgraded two of the Macs in the house, I have two more to go tomorrow.

I’ll chat about it more in a techy blog entry, but so far, so good.

I was asked by someone what “Snow Leopard” was today and I found that question to be delightful. For those not familiar with Macs, “Snow Leopard” is the code name for OS X, which is like Windows on other PCs. “Snow Leopard” is the latest version of the Mac operating system, much like Windows 7 is the latest version of the Windows operating system.

One of the things that I forget about my blog is that people actually read it. I am referring to people that are “out there”; the silent ones that don’t make any comments or send me e-mail but rather people that have found something likable about my blog and tune in on a regular basis to see what I have to say. I am flattered by this but this occasionally catches me off guard, especially when I’m at a family gathering and I’m telling a story or doing some part of my schtick and my audience acknowledges that they read this on the blog. I sometimes forget that this cyber-world ties into the real world.

For those that read silently (“lurk”), I thank you. It is much appreciated.

Earl and I are in Earl’s hometown today for a family gathering; it’s birthday weekend for both my father- and mother-in-law. It has been good to see everyone, catch up and hang out. We also met our newest niece Mackenzie.

Rick and Helen are the proud parents of this beautiful girl. She’s a charmer and I believe the first redhead of her generation.

The party was good. The conversation was interesting, ranging from the benefits of taking a cruise to Alaska to Obama’s Health Care Plan to Cash-for-Clunkers. I have a bit of a culture difference from this side of the family when it comes to Canada; I blame it on my love for that country and the fact that I grew up close to the border under the influence of various Canadian broadcast outlets. They say I talk funny too.

The power of Facebook was prevalent through the party. I’m not quite as active on Facebook as I used to be but it’s still a good way to keep touch with friends and family. Because of my blog, I was treated to a few YouTube videos of various family members belly dancing or playing spoons at a wedding reception. I found it all amusing.

Earl and I are now relaxing in our hotel room. It wouldn’t be a trip to Philly without a midnight stop for cheesesteak; we’ll probably head into Center City for a little while before calling it a night.