Ponderings and Musings

Sometimes you just need to take a few moments and reset your batteries, especially on a Friday afternoon after a busy week at work. I had a little comp time to use after last week’s on call so I thought I would take this afternoon off and catch up on some laundry and other domestic issues and do a little work on my websites. I’m listening to some music through iTunes while I geek a bit on the internet.

I finished my first adult education class last night and am proud to say I earned an “A”. The next class starts this coming Tuesday, it’s basically level two of the CAD program I’m learning. I’m looking forward to continuing the experience. This next class has a project due at the end of December so that will be keeping me busy.

Earl and I were originally going to go to Virginia this weekend to do some clock swapping with another school clock collector, but Earl isn’t sure when he’s getting out of work tonight and there was a chance that we had commitments this weekend so we’ve postponed that trip. We’re probably going to do something, we just haven’t decided what yet.

Tonight we’re joining my sister for dinner in Syracuse as she’s back from Russia for a few weeks and there’s not a lot of time to get out there and see her. We’re looking forward to the visit.

It was a little over two years ago. My sister and only sibling, one of the best little sisters a man can have, was lying in a hospital bed in intensive care with a close cousin of Legionnaire’s Disease. My mother, aunt and uncle and cousin Theresa were at the hospital every waking moment, as close to my sister as the doctors would allow. I remember the moment as if it were yesterday. Mom was going to catch up the rest of the family on the latest status via cell phone and I had herded her outside to do so by making my “thrashing old lady in the hospital bed” movements, indicating to her the dangers of using her cell phone in the hospital. My aunt and uncle had walked her outside, leaving Theresa and I in the waiting room just outside of intensive care.

It was then that Theresa and I talked about the paths that make up life. Circumstances were making us both re-examine the “grand purpose”. You see, her oldest daughter had suddenly passed on at the age of 20 two days before the previous Christmas. As we sat in that hospital waiting room, it seemed like my sister was knocking at the same door herself. Theresa and I expressed that we both felt the need to do something meaningful with our lives, we both felt that we needed to a make a difference, big or small, by helping others. It was then that I felt like I was a little off my path, because I had just started a new job that while infinitely better than my previous job, still wasn’t quite fitting that need that was lurking in the back of my mind.

I admire people that go out of their way to make the world a better place, but then, who doesn’t? Earl does his part in many ways by asking questions and getting answers when a family member is at the hospital. He’s always the rock (at least on the outside). He’s a leader and that’s admirable. My friend Shirley donned her Halloween costume yesterday afternoon and made patients at the local hospital smile as she passed through the halls as a “free spirit”. I admire that. My cousin Theresa stands strong while the world is seemingly crashing down all around her. I find that amazing.

I guess I try to learn from all these people.

I also admire Rosie O’Donnell. Now I know that she’s a celebrity and all that, and I’ve never met the woman in person but I would like to. Not to be all star-struck and gaga and to hang out or whatever. I don’t want to tell her what a funny person I think she is. No, I just want to shake her hand. I just want to say “thank you Rosie”, for using her celebrity to make the world a better place, through her charities, Katrina relief efforts and for voicing her political views in a such a grounded, educated and yet loud manner.

Sometimes I feel like I’m not making a big enough contribution to the well-being of the world. When I express my doubts, I’m told that by just being myself and being who I am “out loud” that I’m making a difference in the world in my own way. But I wonder if that is enough. I wonder what if I could have made a bigger contribution if I had joined the Peace Corps or stayed working for ARC back in the early 90s instead of pursuing a radio career. Should I have stayed the course and become a teacher?

Working in tech support, I find it frustrating at work when a customer calls in and is absolutely hysterical because they can’t make their medical bill collection calls to those that can’t pay for healthcare. Or another customer can’t send e-mail to their co-worker that sits in the next cubicle over. What about the mother that can’t send e-mail to her son in Iraq because he’s out on the battlefield? What about the child that can’t call his grandfather because that month the grandfather had to make a choice – pay for the heart medicine or the telephone? I feel like so many people are missing the big picture these days.

So I’m going to do my part next Tuesday. I’m going to exercise my right as a U.S. citizen, study up this weekend and I’m going to cast educated, thought out votes. I’ve already told Earl that if our voting place is using electronic voting machines without paper trails that I’m going to request an absentee ballot. I urge anyone that reads this to do the same, get out there and vote, regardless of your beliefs and point of view. Just make an educated decision when you pull the lever or punch the CHAD or touch the screen next Tuesday.

As far as the rest of my journey in this life and helping others, well, I’m still thinking about that part.

Sites of the City: Genesee Street.

Originally uploaded by bluemarvel.

Today at lunch time I took advantage of the beautiful weather and went for a 50 minute walk. I soaked in the sun, felt the warm breeze and let the moment lift my mood. Plus, I remembered to bring the camera along and took a few moments to snap a few photos and appreciate all our little city has to offer. There are times when I think Utica has seen it’s last days, but today I looked for the positive and found it. I’m putting together the photos from the walk and will be posting them shortly.

Here is a shot looking south up the main street of the city, Genesee Street. I’m standing in the middle of the ambitiously named “Busy Corner”. All that’s missing is a bunch of people and a hat to toss in the air.

Earl revealed to me this weekend that he doesn’t like my face as much without my beard. I have to admit that I’m a little taken aback by this because he usually doesn’t comment on this sort of thing. I’ve been bearded for the majority of the past couple of years and I went with this clean shaven look for the past week for something different.

Come to find out, he doesn’t like it. Apparently he likes the “big mustache” look I was sporting over the last half of the summer the best, with the beard coming in second.

I’m glad that he took the time to tell me this and have promptly begun growing my beard back. After all, I can’t get to the big mustache without having a beard first. I shaved my head again too, since neither of us was enjoying the gray showing up. Who put that there anyway?

I’m just happy he was honest with me.

Daylight saving time has finally come to an end and once again my body is in sync with what ordinary human’s deem the proper time. I hate Daylight Saving Time. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves. I think this whole concept a flinging hours and minutes about in an effort to “enjoy more sunlight” is stupid.

Here’s the concept of time and how it’s suppose to work. 12 noon is suppose to be when the sun is at it’s highest point in the sky. Due to the restraints of our society and the need for relatively synchronized time, this makes the original concept of “noon” nearly impossible because everyone’s noon would be at a different time.

Many tout the benefits of energy conservation from daylight saving time. Since there’s more daylight when most of us are awake, we’re not using electric lights to see what’s going on. I guess we’re suppose to ignore the fact that in the summer we are using more energy to power air conditioners because we’re up and about when it’s hotter.

One thing that makes me crazy is when someone says “it makes the day longer.” No it doesn’t. The day still has 24 hours in it and the sun is going to be in the sky just as long regardless of the fact of whether we’re in daylight saving time or not. It might be perceived as longer in the narrow view of the declarer’s world, but for those that strive to see the big picture and think outside of the box, it’s a nuisance.

Just think, starting next year Daylight Saving time starts on the SECOND Sunday in March and ends on the FIRST Sunday in November.

I’ll have a whole extra month to be cranky!

It is raining like crazy. The wind is hitting gusts of 50 MPH, with higher gusts predicted for later this afternoon. Luckily, the telephone network is holding together at the moment and on-call is keeping itself under control this weekend.

Rick and Helen (Earl’s stepbrother and girlfriend) are up for a visit today and tomorrow. They must think this place is hell on earth because the weather is always like this, if it isn’t snowing, when they visit. Right now we’re all just chilling out in the living room, complete with Tom parallel parked on the arm chair next to me.

I just got done speaking with my sister in Moscow. I like to check in with her from time to time when she’s traveling abroad. She and her boyfriend are expected back for a little while next week. We look forward to getting together with them. She told me about their furnished apartment and how it is decorated in orange suede and gold, with a chandelier hanging in every room. Sounds pretty.

The only other excitement that has occurred today is a visit from the cable guy because our internet connection has been all screwed up again this week. He replaced a connector and told me that the new cable company is upgrading all the equipment and it’s going to be like this through January.

As a geek, this is not lovely. But I guess I’ll just have to deal with it.

Earl’s cake did not win a prize yesterday at the company hee-haw harvest dessert contest. While people were polishing it off in great numbers while I was there, no one was voting for it. Not even after I broke the ice by voting for it myself.

What do they know?

You know what did win in the Great Dessert bake-off? First place went to candied/caramel apples with your choice of nuts, candy corn or chocolate flakes as a coating and second place went to a a lively frosted dog made out of twinkies.

First of all, the caramel apples were brought in by a saleswoman who didn’t have to leave halfway through the gathering so that the other half her department could go to the party. So she had the opportunity to work the crowd by cutting up the apples and walking around offering them to people. Show a little leg and score yourself another vote.

Now the dog made out of twinkies was cute but I felt it was a rather low blow by going for the cutesy cartoon approach coupled with the use of twinkies. My friend Christine (who brought two delicious chocolate cakes) says next year she’s throwing some frosting on a cardboard cut out of a dessert to see if she wins a prize that way. I’m glad she’s going for the effort because I’m not stepping foot in another work sponsored dessert bake-off again. These fools would be happy with a McDonald’s Apple Pie for goodness sake. Maybe that’s what I’ll bring next year, McDonald’s Apple Pie.

Luckily, I’m not as bitter as I really could be because my co-worker Ryan made a delicious rum cake where he had tripled the amount of rum called for in the recipe.

So let’s toast to the desserts that should have won and all have another piece of rum cake.

It’s a whopping 37 degrees here in the beautiful area we call Upstate New York. Snow is forecasted for tonight. There’s a definite chill in the air and you can smell the impending flurries, almost as if Mother Nature is giving us a gentle warning.

For the life of me I can’t figure out why the air conditioner is still running full blast at work.

Now I don’t really mind the cold. I find it’s easier to warm up then it is to cool down. Just throw on another layer of clothes and voila, you’re warmer. It’s great to snuggle up to your lover when it’s chilly outside. But when it’s hot and humid, well, that’s another story.

I’ve often fantasized about visiting the north or south poles. I’d rather go to the North Pole and live there for a year, contributing to one of the handful of research stations. I bet the night sky (all 24 hours of it for approximately half the year) is absolutely breathtaking. I could maintain computer systems or be the base administrative assistant or heck, even dance on some tables for entertainment if they needed it, but I think it would be great to live at the North Pole for a year. I’d do the South Pole too, but I think I prefer the north. Less touristy and the toilets swirl the right way.

There’s a local restaurant that gives you a free meal if you get your picture taken somewhere famous whilst wearing one of their t-shirts. I tell Earl I’m going to get my picture up there someday while sitting on top of the North Pole, one foot in an American time zone and the other in a Russian time zone. My hands, open in a gesture of exuberance, would be in different days.

That would be a neat picture.

But for today I have to look presentable in casual business attire while sitting under an air conditioning vent, doing my best to keep warm without resorting to wearing my jacket, hat and gloves while sitting in my cubicle*. Of course the lack of beard is not helping. But I think I’m going to keep it off until the end of the year and then start a new beard on New Year’s Day.

I think the air conditioning at work is set to 60. Perhaps I need to set fire to my desk or something.

Here’s a link to a site about a guy living for a year at the North Pole.

* My cubicle isn’t really a cubicle, but rather 1/4 of a cubicle. I have a dividing wall and a desk with a little storage cubby thing above my desk. I have often remarked that it probably would have been easier just to go all the way and plop a discarded door on top of cinder blocks. This usually results in a glare from my supervisor.

So I’m back from my little three day road trip and have settled in for the night. Earl is still on his way home from Tampa. His flight was delayed a bit. He told me he would call me when he landed; I just tried to call his cell phone and got his voicemail. Perhaps he’s airborne.

I’ve just finished watching two consecutive episodes of Wonder Woman. They were both from the second season, when Lynda Carter’s hair was long, but the budget was big enough that they weren’t taking any “shortcuts” with stand-ins doing to the wonder spin and whatnot. These things are important. One recurring them I have noticed about Wonder Woman is that twins are considered evil. There are a number of episodes in that second season where the bad guy or gal is flanked by a set of female twins. Always female, always blonde, always identical twins. I’ve known a few sets of twins in my time and I don’t recall them both being evil at the same time. Mischievous perhaps, but never evil.

Tomorrow starts a week of on-call but I feel like I’m ready to take it on. I have some projects to do, including website work getting through all the photos I took on this trip. Plus I have two nights of school which always does wonders for breaking up the monotony of on-call with the added bonus of an education.

I chatted with my sister in Russia a little while ago. She told me that I can let the cat out of the bag. You see, Earl and I have been holding onto a little secret for the past six weeks or so – we’re going to be uncles. That’s right, my sister and her boyfriend are going to have a baby. She finally let my Mom know today and I am just thrilled for the both of them.

As Earl likes to say: “Life is good.”

I was sound asleep and I was hearing voices. Loud voices. Voices loud enough to wake me out of my peaceful slumber. So I got up and padded around the hotel room. As I got out of bed, the voices stopped. I figured they were part of some quickly fading dream that I didn’t remember and quickly dismissed the insignificant experience.

As I started readying myself for the day, I started hearing these voices again. I peeked out the peep hole in the hotel room door, no one was out there. I cracked open the door, taking great pains to not expose my current state of undress and took a cautious glance up and down the hotel corridor. No one in sight in either direction.

And then the voices started getting louder. And angrier. Somewhere in my head, two people were arguing. Oddly enough, the voices were female. I confirmed that the television was off. I put my ear up to the common walls with the other rooms, no sounds from there.

But the voices persisted. Loud, angry, non-English voices. Accusatory tone. Somewhat shrill. “Is this how one goes mad in a hotel room in Maryland?”, I pondered. Do I have some Exorcist thing going on?

And then it dawned on me, the voices were coming out of the vent in the bathroom. Apparently somewhere in the hotel, some surly guests or the housekeeping staff were having some hellacious cat fight. They were still yammering and almost hissing at each other.

And they were broadcasting it over the “bathroom p.a. system.”