Ponderings and Musings

Earl is out of town on business this evening, though just moments ago he surprised me by saying he was taking a late flight tonight instead of coming home tomorrow afternoon as originally scheduled. Naturally I’m delighted by this news. Unfortunately he isn’t arriving home early enough to join me for supper. I wasn’t really in the mood for popcorn and beer though I did briefly consider the temptation. In the mood for an internet cafe experience I ended up heading to our local Panera, where I have been irked on several occasions earlier this week.

I guess I’m a glutton for punishment.

The restaurant is packed to the gills with people this evening. There’s a wide selection of screaming kids, big haired women and hyper macho men that think talking as if they’re from Brooklyn makes them exceedingly sexy. What do I know, perhaps the big haired women like these guys. They’re not my cup of tea though.

The cutie bear that was working on his PowerBook this past Monday night in the corner is still there tonight, even though it appears that he changed his clothes. I am seriously considering taking a picture of him with the iPhone though I fear that may prove to cross some line that I’m vaguely aware of.

I did notice that the “courtesy” cups I mentioned from my last visit here at no longer available. So much for giving the customers a free cup of water. I guess the old adage of “You abuse it, you lose it” holds true in this case.

I have to admit that I love eavesdropping on the conversations around me. I guess that’s why I don’t have bionic hearing, I’d probably abuse the privilege. Since I have plain ol’ human hearing (that’s holding up quite well) I’m forced to limit my eavesdropping to the tables around me but the chats I’m hearing are quite interesting. I’m intrigued by the liberal use of the f-bomb at a table seemingly populated by a family. Now I use the word quite a bit in everyday conversation but these are going quite crazy with it. This is interesting to me because the family looks like the type that was offended by Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction that seriously fucked up broadcast television and radio.

The other thing I’m noticing with these conversations around me is the accent. Aside from the Brooklyn wannabes, there’s the overpowering flat “a” sound that’s quite common in this area (merry, mary and marry all sound the same here). I guess that’s to be expected, since I’m the native land of that sound, but there’s also quite a bit of what I call “fake Italian” going on, where they drop the trailing vowel off of every word that ends in a vowel. “Cannoli” becomes “canole”, “ricotta” becomes ricott, marinara becomes “mon-non” (both syllables rhyme with “on”) which I don’t find in Upstate New York outside of our immediate area. I’ve never been to Italy so maybe what I perceive to be “fake Italian” could be the real mccoy but I’ve never heard anyone portraying an Italian character on television speak this way.

I guess this Panera experience has moved up a notch from frustrated/irritated to perplexed. The feeling isn’t unpleasant.

It’s officially snowing here in the Mohawk Valley. Nothing is sticking to the ground yet, but there’s flakes in the air. The higher hills have snow on them.

I’m officially iMachias all over, the last transition being made last night when Microsoft came out with the @live.com e-mail addresses. I don’t use the service, but I do use Live Messenger once in a while (to keep in touch with my family who also use it), and I didn’t want another @hotmail.com address on there. So imachias@live.com it is for Windows Messenger.

We officially did not make Rosie and Friends in NYC last night due to a last minute scheduling conflict. Earl is out of town for rest of the week and it would have made it quite difficult on both of us to try to squeeze in a quick trip to New York. The money for the tickets went to a good cause, so there’s no harm done.

I’m officially catching up on my homework and quite pleased with myself.

Since all is right with the world (we’ve switched back to Standard Time, which puts the sun relatively close to where it should be) I was up bright and early before sunrise at 6:30. Some may scoff at my attempt to get up early but I feel that getting up at 6:30 is an accomplishment for this night owl. I had no choice in the matter, as I had a paw in my eye. It was time for tuna.

Anyway, not only am I up and about at this ungodly hour, I just realised that I have been cleaning my office/studio for the past thirty minutes. I’ve organised all my school papers and work from past semesters, I’ve thrown out hundreds of 3 1/2-inch floppy disks (I kept the 5 1/4-inch ones, just kidding they were the old 8-inch ones) and I think I might actually dust and vacuum the rooms in the basement tonight.

Let’s see if I can stay up beyond 7:00.

The neighbors down the street have augmented their now outdated Halloween display with various tacky Christmas monstrosities. They have snow globes, puffed up santas, twinkling lights of every color, dancing penguins and scary looking snowmen mixed in with the puffed ghouls, witches and goblins leftover from the last festive commercial venture. I decided that all this could mean only one thing: I needed to take down our cobwebs too.

I wish I could say the cobwebs were up to add to the Halloween atmosphere of the week but that would be a bit of a fib, since it would mean that I’ve been decorating for Halloween since June. I sort of think cobwebs add to the gaiety of watching the dust bunny races we have nightly in the “Great Room”. In fact, think that’s what makes the room great, built in dust bunny races. It’s better than that old television show Bowling For Dollars.

So, trying to avoid doing homework I decided to unbury the vacuum cleaner, dust it off and go for a spin around the house. I even swiffed before vacuuming for that extra touch.

I think it’s time for a party or two.

My sister and I making Halloween candy bags, October 1979

So today is Halloween. I’m really not feeling the need to be someone else today so I don’t have a costume ready. Some will ask what I will wear if trick or treaters come knocking at the door. Earl and I have been together for 12 years. We’ve had one trick or treater in that entire time and it was the kid of one of Earl’s employees that was sucking up. The kid was imported from another town.

I was looking through old photos and found this picture of my sister and I stuffing Halloween candy bags. It’s from 1979. Notice I’m wearing Army fatigues back then as well. The quasi Dorothy Hammel haircut was so within regs. I don’t know why my sister is somewhat snarling. Perhaps she was trying to be spooky.

If I’m so inspired tonight perhaps Blue Marvel will make an appearance before November arrives.

I’m writing this blog entry on my iPhone. We are currently en route from Dublin to New York on Aer Lingus flight EI105. We’ve just finished lunch, the latest Harry Potter movie is showing. The headphone jacks in our row don’t work. The fasten seat belt sign is on, many passengers are ignoring it and this irks me to no end. I can’t tolerate people who think they are better than the most mundane rules. If you’re going to protest against rules, protest against something important like the Patriot Act or something. Don’t waste your energy on protesting little things like the Fasten Seat Belt sign. There is a reason that it’s on.

As I look out the window I see little aside from the wing of the airplane, a few fluffy clouds and a hint of the Atlantic. Since I am quite bored, I’m finding myself lost in my thoughts.

I feel like that with this trip some sort of page has been turned in my life. Before leaving Dublin I checked my midterm grades and I’m doing better than I expected, so I feel a renewed excitement about school. I’m also eager to learn more about Ireland and it’s people. My soul resonated with the Irish in a way that’s hard for me to describe. Perhaps there is a reason for my being the only redhead in the family in my generation after all.

Life is good, there is no denying that. I guess I just continue to strive to make it better.

Rosie O’Donnell has been asked in interviews why she has a home in Miami. After all, she was raised on Long Island and for most of her adult life she has lived in the New York area. Rosie simply responds that the first time she landed in Miami, something inside clicked, she felt something magical and she felt like she was “home”.

I felt like that the moment I arrived in the City Centre of Dublin. I’ve been fortunate enough to have traveled to many cities in the United States and Canada. I’ve loved many of these cities. Albuquerque is beautiful. Phoenix is stunning. Denver in breathtaking.

None of these cities have stirred me the way Dublin has.

I realise that I’m looking at this beautiful city through the eyes of a tourist. However, I’ve loved everything I’ve seen and what little I’ve experienced in the past 48 hours.

I’m looking forward to visiting Dublin again soon.

Today we took a bus tour that pointed out many of the landmarks sprinkled throughout the city. It was a double-decker bus and naturally we rode on the top bunk. The sites were beautiful and the history is impressive. We spent the rest of the day walking the busy, pedestrian only Dawson Street shopping district. We looked at a lot of things and bought a few. Earl and Rick & Helen were ready to take a nap in the mid-afternoon, I secured them at the hotel and went back out and explored more of the city at my own pace. I wanted to drink in the energy, the friendly nature and the beautiful accent of the natives. So I walked and walked at a brisk pace for more than two hours, walking down cobblestone streets and looking down narrow alleys. I sat on a bench for a bit and just watched the passerbys. I made observations and comparisons to their counterparts in the States.

I have to say it, I loved what I saw.

Tomorrow we head home on a jet plane. Through pictures, blog entries and vivid memories, I hope to take a little bit of Ireland with me.

And I look forward to coming back soon.

I’m not perfect. I don’t pretend to be perfect. I do strive to be perfect, but if I were perfect then I would not be human, and the last time I checked I was still human.

I don’t expect others to be perfect. But I do expect others to try to be the best that they can be. Whether a person is driving on the freeway, pushing a grocery cart or watching television, I expect a person to do it to the best of their ability.

I have one rule in my life that I never waiver from. “Always be aware of your surroundings.” Whether you’re driving, your walking or your watching television in a hotel room, know where you are, who is near you and what is occurring at any given moment. I believe that if you adhere to this little guideline, you’ll be two steps ahead of anyone around you that may not be aware of their surroundings.

There are many that stumble through life without a clue as to what is really going on around them. Such a person just tried to mow me over in Panera not ten minutes ago, as she balanced her lacha chacha aiy ya choo choo with one hand and cradled her cell phone between her shoulder and ear as she made a bee-line for a table. She was completely oblivious to fact that other people were standing in the same general area as she. Had I not stepped back and allowed her blind passage, she would have smacked directly into me and lost her lacha chacha aiy ya choo choo and cell phone. It would have been messy.

As it now stands, she is able to continue to waltz through life oblivious to all around her. Perhaps I’ve done the world a disservice.