Ponderings and Musings

Sweltering from the oven we call our home, Earl and I decided we needed a breath of air-conditioned air, so we are currently parallel parked on a hightop at the local Panera. This is the store that I often say has gone ghetto, as this is where many customers don’t know what Asiago cheese is and allow their children to color on the wallpaper.

In short, it’s an experience.

Tonight isn’t too bad, I have to admit, as the place is only about a quarter full. As soon as we walked in, I waved hello to a recent classmate. I told Earl she is the one that yapped out the wrong answers throughout the entire course. Other than that I find her quite charming. Perhaps we’ll be in another class together again this fall.

There’s a little piece of woof sitting directly behind Earl. When Earl saw me steal a glance, he informed me that he sat here for a reason. He’s so thoughtful. I wonder if I can sneak a picture somehow.

There were two girls in line in front of us who were audibly impressed with the presentation of the pastry they ordered. I saw a bear claw with a strawberry on top, but they apparently saw a piece of art. To each his own, I guess.

We were going to go use the new wi-fi service that has blanketed the downtown area, but you have to sit outside to enjoy it tonight because all the sidewalks have been rolled up for the evening. It is after 8 p.m., after all.

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.

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?

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.

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?

After spending the morning doing chores, Earl and I took a few moments to relax on our patio this afternoon. Like the well oiled machine we strive to be, we split up the “honey do” list and just got everything done. While Earl was grocery shopping, I had the task of trimming the out-of-control bushes in the landscaping across the front of the house. We planted the bushes three years ago and haven’t done much with them since. They are now tamed back to a reasonable size. I was expecting to find a buried treasure or something but all I found was cat poop.

After the landscaping was under control and the groceries were put away, we went to Lowe’s and picked up a few goodies for the house, including a bird feeder, some potting soil and geraniums from the abandoned decorative pots along the driveway. All this outdoor activity coupled with my craziness in cleaning the house on Friday has me feeling pretty good about this place we call home.

Now if the weather would just feel like July 1st instead of May 1st it’d be picture perfect.

Earl and I haven’t been on a fun road trip in a while. With sunny skies and moderate temperatures bestowed upon us by Mother Nature, I declared that today we would return to the tradition of going for a “long ride”. We decided to approach today’s ride a little different and explore a little closer to home.

Our first stop was the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park in Syracuse.

I have not been to this zoo since I was 10 years old or so. It was still called the Burnet Park Zoo at the time. Despite the 29 years that have passed, I still remembered quite a bit of the zoo. It seems to be in good shape and the animals seem happy. I’m not sure that I’m a huge fan of the whole zoo concept, however, I do appreciate that the zoo is doing their share to make sure animals that are near extinction are not killed off completely. Plus, zoos do a good job of educating the young about Mother Earth, so there are many good things about a zoo. However, if I had to sit in a cage all day I might resort to throwing my poop, so I guess I see both sides of the coin.

Overall it was a pleasant experience.

After the zoo we headed north to the Oswego County Fair. I had read that this is the 150th anniversary of the Oswego County Fair, so I thought it would be just wonderful. The fair is held in the next town over from where I grew up and it was a regular family activity to go to the county fair, so I was looking forward to the experience. When we arrived I noticed the grandstand was jammed with folks gawking at the demolition derby. I guess it’s still the biggest attraction at the fair. We decided to skip that and opted to walk through all the building, pass by all the food vendors, look at all the arts and crafts and admire the various tractors on display. After about 10 minutes or so it was time to leave as we had seen it all, so we headed out. So much for that 150 year celebration.

After a stop at Smokey Bones for a few brewskis and supper, we headed to Carousel Center for a walk before heading home. One stop at Carousel Center was at the Apple store, where I got to play with an iPhone. O.k., while I think the hype of this thing was entirely off the map I must say that the geek in me really loves this gadget and while I can think of many other things I could spend $500 on, I wouldn’t mind if I had one of these things in my pocket. So I have not added an iPhone to the geek arsenal but I would definitely say there’s one in my future, even if it’s two years from now.

There has been an effort underway for many years to transform Carousel Center into Destiny USA. If the final vision for Destiny USA is ever reached, it could be the largest man-made structure on the entire planet. Even Phase One of the plan is quite impressive, especially in the fact that it is an entirely green operation with absolutely no fossil fuels involved in it’s creation.

To me that’s just cool.

A number of years ago, when my sister was sitting in intensive care with something close to Legionnaire’s Disease, I was sitting in a hospital waiting room with my cousin Theresa. Concerned about the welfare of my sister and still reeling from the death of Theresa’s daughter, we were basically “numb” and just talking about the meaning of life. Why are we here, how can we make a difference and all that sort of deep stuff. I’ve never forgotten that conversation. It enhanced a drive I’ve always had to do my part to make the world a better place. This is where Destiny USA intrigues me in many ways. First of all, if it ever comes to fruition, it’s going to be nothing short of impressive. It is being built on an industrial wasteland that was known as “Oil City”, for all the oil storage tanks that used to live there. It lies on the shore of one of the most polluted lakes in the world, Onondaga Lake. However, Destiny USA can be a major force in turning this all around, enhancing efforts to clean up the lake and bringing jobs, visitors and prosperity to the Upstate New York “rust belt”. Many may not agree with this, but I think there’s a solid vision waiting to be realized.

Perhaps a newly educated Civil Engineer could assist in the effort.

MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski refused to open a newscast with a lead story covering Paris Hilton’s release from prison. The whole thing can be seen on the YouTube video below.

Whether this was a planned protest or not, I found her attitude to be quite refreshing in a world of Mary Hart wannabes covering every movement of Paris’ exposed vagina.

I hate Paris Hilton. I despise everything she stands for. She is an obvious symptom of a very sick society.

By the way, 101 American soldiers have died in Iraq during the month of June. As of today, there have been 3,570 U.S. deaths since the beginning of this war, as confirmed by the Department of Defense.

And I’m suppose to care about Paris Fucking Hilton? Not on your life. That is all.

Before I get into this latest entry, in case you haven’t heard, Apple releases the iPhone this afternoon at 6 p.m. I don’t know if you’ve heard anything about this latest gadget as the media has been very, very quiet about this technological breakthrough so I thought I should warn you that things might be a little crazy around your local Apple and /AT&T retailers. By the way, I’m not getting one, he says rejoicefully.

I am sitting in Panera while en route to my sister’s to do the brotherly chore of mowing her lawn. Since my sister’s boyfriend is a Canadian Hockey Player, she ends up spending a lot of time north of the border in Prince Edward Island. Stateside she has a townhouse in one of those sort of snobby developments so there is much pressure to keep her lawn under control. Therefore, I must drive 100 miles round trip to do this.

This is what older brothers do.

I always find a trip to Panera to be a fascinating experience. I don’t know if it’s the effect of Baby Bush and his cast of idiots or what but there seems to have been a general dumbing down of the American public since the dawn of the 21st century. Panera does a great job of posting their menu in bold print, using words with no more than three syllables to describe what they have to offer. The prices are available to all, there’s no secret handshake required.

Can someone please tell me why almost all customers have such a difficult time ordering at Panera? To begin with, they stand 10 to 12 feet away from the counter, seemingly like they’re fearing an appearance of Barbara Eden (in the dark wig) smoking out of a jelly roll or something. Secondly, those waiting their turn at the register make no attempt to sort out what they desire prior to getting to their turn. They talk on their cell phone, scratch their nuts, leash their kids, lash out at their kids and “ooh” and “aah” over the pastries in the display case but by all that is holy they DO NOT make any decisions or try to figure out what Asiago Cheese is. Why is this?

I would bet one thin dime that they know what they want when they’re ordering a Burger Bomb by yelling into the clown’s mouth.

I don’t feel I’m unreasonable. Perhaps I expect too much from people. Is it crazy of me to wish that people stand in line, formulate their order in advance and move through the ordering process in a timely manner?

Perhaps Panera should install a clown’s mouth on the counter.

Yesterday afternoon I was working on homework when the phone rang. I picked up the receiver and politely said “Hello”, as more normal Americans would do. Was I greeted with a pleasant voice in response? In this day and age, the answer is unsurprisingly no. In response to my pleasant greeting I received three blares of touch-tone goodness followed by a garbled recorded message ordering me to call DirecTV immediately at a toll-free number. Never one to jeopardize all things techie, including incoming satellite signals, I hung up the phone and called them right back.

Them: “Thank you for calling DirecTV, may I help you please?”

I responded by pressing several buttons on the telephone. I figured if DirecTV can greet me with touch-tone noises then I shall do the same forever and ever amen.

Them: “Is someone there?”

Me: “Hello?”

Them: “What is the name on this account?” (Ooh, a psychic, she already knows who I am.)

I gave her Earl’s name, since his name is on the account.

Them: “Is this Earl?”

Me: “Yes.” I love impersonating Earl.

Them: “How can I help you?”

Me: “I was told to call you.”

Them: “By whom?”

I responded with several blasts of the aforementioned touch-tone before I meekly said, “A recorded voice.” Having been in radio for several years I’ve always tried to be armed with a wide selection of character voices, but they all boil down to one: something that sounds like Bea Arthur constipated, so I settled for my regular voice with a meek twist.

Them: “Sir, your account is up to date. There was no reason to call.”

Me: “So this has been a waste of my time, your time and the time of anyone eavesdropping on this conversation.”

Them: “Yes.”

Me: “Goodbye.” I considered playing the first line of “Mary Had A Little Lamb” on the 3-2-1 keys of the phone but I opted to just hang up instead.