Ponderings and Musings

Big Screen Television. Check.
DirecTV. Check.
Pizza and Wings. Check.
Constant Flow of Pop or Beer. Check.
Lover making himself busy elsewhere in the house. Check.

Football season has officially begun in our merry little household with the Eagles at Atlanta on Monday Night Football. Earl has installed himself in front of the television, I’ve heard few profanities and a couple of rousing cheers.

It’s good to see him so happy.

With Earl out of town on business, I’ve had quite a bit of time to myself for the past couple of nights. I’ve been keeping busy getting ready for my first club DJ gig in about 3 1/2 years downloading music and whatnot, but before diving into the project for the night I’ve gone to the mall to pick up a few things and grab a bite to eat.

Now I like malls. I find them fascinating in a very geek way. For example, there are three malls within 150 miles of us that are identical to one another. Same floor tiles. Same layout. Same anchor stores. Same style food court. I find this very intriguing though I’m sure the mall developer found it more economical than interesting.

That all being say, I must say that I hate the mall.

It’s actually not as bad as it used to be as far as being overrun by teenagers. The movie theatres moved out about a year ago so that whole crowd has moved to one of the big box plazas that have cropped up. In addition, after a huge brawl between warring schools, the mall company wiped out the food court, taking away all the trees, ledges, steps and anything else that contributed to the ambiance and replaced it with lighting brighter than a baseball stadium. You need sunglasses to sit down and grab a bite to eat. It’s quite revolting to see what the food court eateries are actually serving, it’s better to be left in the dark on some things.

Nevertheless, I found a couple of things tonight that piqued my interest. First of all, I noticed this younger guy walking through the food court with fierce sideburns, pointed shoes and a very high PING on the gaydar. He was totally out of my range of interest but I instantly recognized him and immediately felt old. He won a contest on one of the radio stations I worked at back in 1993 to be a “guest DJ” on my night show. He was 13 at the time. I found him quite frightening in that his parents just dropped him off at the radio station and took off. As I recall he was a nervous wreck, smashed a piece of equipment and stomped on several CDs. He was odd and the whole experience about sent me over the edge. He just walked on never noticing my stare. That was good.

As I was enjoying my Chinese food, two younger ladies sat down to my left and starting yammering in a fast-paced, hyper-extended version of American English that I had never heard before. There were words that were beyond my comprehension, though I tried my hardest to eavesdrop with accuracy. I sensed that they were dishing a third girl (that wasn’t present of course), something about her shorts were bitchin’. Maybe rippin’. Maybe shittin’. It was hard to tell between the gum snaps.

One of the things that I did notice is that it’s wardrobe transition time here in Upstate N.Y. Men were in shorts and sandals, women were in long slacks and sweaters. One woman had a parka and bright pink sweat pants on with flip flops, but I think she was from the local “Psychiatric Facility” as its so noted on the sign outside. Oddly enough, she blended fairly well.

I did have one mid-20s-ish man make a comment to me while I was waiting for my Chinese food to be dished up. He smiled, rubbed his chin and said “nice beard”. Since he didn’t have one, I assume that he was referring to mine. I smiled and said thanks. He glanced away nervously and I went back to living in my own little world oblivious to any sort of pass that was being attempted at the moment. I must have had “bachelor mode” written on my forehead. Earl says my name should have been “John Nyuland from St. Olaf”.

Earl will be glad to know that I made it out of there with nary a skid mark on the credit cards, having only picked up a CD cleaner and a pack of blank CDs. Good thing there isn’t an Apple store here.

Several of the blogs I read on a daily basis are discussing bloghopping or blog linking; following a link on a blogroll (like mine listed to the right) and moving along hopping from blog to blog. There’s apparently some movement underfoot to care about who is linked to whom and why.

I have to admit that in my truly oblivious nature I’ve never really cared about that sort of thing.

I live my life by a handful of rules, one of the top three being “Always be aware of your surroundings.” This involves knowing who can grab your ass at any given time, where the emergency exits are and who has marinated themselves in a god-awful cologne. So it’s not like I’m oblivious to all activity around me. But when it comes to clique-ish stuff I guess I really don’t give a care. I don’t care who’s in or who’s out, unless it’s taking place in a seedy motel room and I’m involved. Calm down, I’m kidding.

Really.

I guess I’ve never really cared about who the in crowd is or was, I couldn’t really care less why the girl in high school with the nickname “Weed” was named “weed” (I thought perhaps she grew fast) and I don’t have the energy to brown-nose my way up the corporate ladder. That just comes naturally.

If you follow a link on my blog-roll that you don’t like, well then don’t click on it again. I must have found the blog interesting at one time and perhaps I haven’t updated my links in a while or something. If you find something to be extremely vial, drop me a line and I’ll take a look myself.

Enjoy your trip on the internet. And please remember that if you find something overwhelming, you can always find something else that can surely top it.

Lunch In The Sun.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

I decided to do something today that I haven’t done in a long while. Instead of buzzing home for lunch, I went and parked at the ballpark that Earl and I used to frequent last summer. I felt like it was an appropriate way to wind down with the unofficial end of summer. I was hoping that Earl could join me, but unfortunately we couldn’t get our lunch hours to synchronize, so I’m going at it solo. At least I get to drive his Jeep today while the Acura is getting his first tune-up.

Sitting in the sunshine does wonders for clearing the head. It’s sort of like mental floss, the sunlight cascades in and reaches every nook and cranny of body and soul, washing away the dark impurities and bringing in a needed warm feeling. It’s like a hug from the universe. Just what the doctor ordered.

Earl and I have not made outrageous plans for the holiday weekend. With gas at very, very high prices, we figured we’d do our part and refrain from a road trip to nowhere. We’re going to go to the New York State Fair one day. I’ll be sure to take a lot of pictures. There’s a lot of things in New York State that frustrate the heck out of me, but I’m rather proud of our State Fair. I hear it’s one of the biggest in the country. Earl has mentioned on more than one occasion that it’s much bigger than the fair in Pennsylvania. And our fair has been located on one site for a long, long time; pretty much smack in the middle of the state in Syracuse. The Salt City has always been a hospitable host.

I’m so glad it’s Friday. I’m happy it’s the Friday before a long weekend. As I type that thought, I wonder if the folks in New Orleans and surrounding areas even realize that it’s Friday. Or if it’s a holiday weekend for that matter. How are they keeping track of the days? By counting the promises made of incoming supplies or evacuation buses? By how many sunsets they witness before eat their next meal? The situation is unbelievable. No human being, regardless of nationality, creed, color, sexual orientation, whatever, should have to live in that type of environment. They need help and they needed it two days ago. I can’t help but wonder if there were no budget cuts to the levee system back in June if they would be in the same situation today. I wonder why anyone would build a metropolis below sea level in a giant bowl. A scenario that relied on man-made pumps and such. History has shown that when it’s man against nature, nature always wins. We should live in harmony with the universe, not against it. She should be our friend, not our foe.

There’s a gentle breeze blowing through the Jeep. The sun is still showing brightly. I think I’m going to take a cat nap.

The American Red Cross is doing a day long telethon today from the telephone company I work for. They’ve already exceeded their goal of $50,000 with a total of $61,000-plus, and that was around 11:00 a.m. I think it’s wonderful that people all across the United States are doing what they can to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

My blog friend OPIEblue mentioned another charity on his website that I donated to and I urge you to do the same. It’s the Humane Society of the United States, and they’re helping lost and abandoned pets left in the hurricane’s wake. As he mentioned, even apart from the humane concerns, the number of dead animals contribute to the disease potential in the area and the humane society is helping with the clean up.

Here’s a link if you would like to make a donation.
Click here.

I just had a wildly innovative brain storm about the recent surge in gas prices.

Go metric.

That’s the answer. After all, if the U S Government can adjust the clocks with the idiotic Daylight Saving Time extension so that we save energy and make people happier by giving them “more sunlight”, why doesn’t the U S switch to metric measurements so gas is only $0.82 a liter?

Seeing $0.829 up on a gas pump would make everyone feel so much sunnier.

As I browse through the articles, blogs and photos of the destruction left by Hurricane Katrina I ask myself, how can I complain about a pool that’s gone green or a grandmother obsessed with her change purse at the dollar store?

Our thoughts are with you all affected by Katrina.

A couple of weeks ago one of the blogs I read, OPIEblue, mentioned that song from a couple of years ago that talks about always wearing sunscreen. I think the title is “Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen”. Ever since reading that blog entry and thinking about the song and what not, I’ve had little Nuggets of Wisdom bouncing around in my head that I thought I’d take the time to share. I fully support these beliefs and feel that they lead to a healthier lifestyle.

Live A Little In The Express Lane. If you’re in the 20 items or less lane at the market, department store or convenience store, don’t show a lack of courtesy to those behind you by counting out $33.16 in pennies to pay for your purchase. Either fork out the green stuff or swipe your ATM card through the slot. Live on the edge and risk the ID theft by using your credit card. Those behind you will thank you.

Burn Your Checks. In this day and age, writing a check at aforementioned establishments only convinces those behind you that you don’t really have the money for your purchase and are trying to play the obsolete “float” game. Writing a check indicates that you have no grasp on today’s financial methods and that you really need to get a clue.

Use The Lane. While making a left turn on a multi-lane highways, it’s more acceptable to use the left lane for this purpose rather than inconsideratly dashing across the roadway at the last possible moment. Just because you have a ridiculously huge vehicle does not necessarily mean you have the biggest balls. Actually, it’s usually indicative of quite the opposite.

Drive. Keeping within the vehicular motif, when you’re behind the wheel of the car, please take a moment and actually drive the vehicle. Pay attention to the task of actually maintaining highway safety for yourself and those around you. There’s no need to put on makeup, shave, make a bagel, watch television, read a book, curl your hair, IM your best friend, smack the kids around or masturbate while you’re moving at 65 MPH on the freeway.

Believe. No matter what your spiritual beliefs are, please enjoy your relationship with your chosen deity and revel in it. But don’t beat others over the head expecting them to follow your path to enlightenment. Many worship a God, some worship money, but few worship a “Bible Beater”.

Start off Clean. When you go to bed Sunday night, ready for the work week that lies ahead, go to bed with the washer and dryer empty and the clothes put away. You’ll thank yourself for it the next morning and you’ll have something to wear after staggering around in the early Monday morning.

Smile. Let them see you smile. Smile on the inside. Smile on the outside. Laugh out loud. You’ll feel much better and you’ll be known as the person that can light up a room.

Show Respect. Treat others with respect, no matter who they are or what they’ve done. Every human being deserves respect, even if they’ve just pissed you off beyond belief. Degrading another is a feeble attempt at reconciling a flaw within yourself.

And always remember to wear sunscreen.

lunch

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

Sometimes you just need to get a breath of fresh air during the work day. The weather was beautiful at 72 degrees with lots of sun, the network reception was great and I had the opportunity to get a breath of fresh air.

Last night I had a heck of a time falling asleep. This is rather odd for me in that I can usually say “I’m going to sleep” and fall asleep instantly. I just roll over and “voila” I’m in the dreamscape accomplishing everything I want to but can’t in the real world.

Anyways, last night I just couldn’t get comfortable enough to settle in for the night, so I was sort of drifting in and out of sleep. This usually results in my babbling in my sleep and apparently Earl finds this amusing. I woke myself up yelling something about peanut butter on my toes and Earl doesn’t like peanut butter so why is he walking through it… DIETY$ knows what I was dreaming about but there you are.

Around 2 a.m. I woke up with a bad case of the sniffles that just wouldn’t stop. Mother Nature decided to give us a cool night with temperatures around 50, and we had all the windows and fans going like it was 80 outside. So it got a little chilly. I usually don’t take cold medicine or anything, but I was in no mood to deal with the sniffles so I popped two Tylenol Nighttime Cold pills, chased them down with a big glass of orange juice and then headed for the couch so Earl wouldn’t have to deal with my constant sniffling until the medicine took hold. I slept like a baby for a couple of hours, then Earl woke mme up and I reinstalled myself in bed until it was time to get up for work.

One thing that I consistently forget about cold or allergy medicine is that it makes me rather cranky. I guess I’m a little bit conscious of it because I’m trying really hard not to just SNAP on people today. Truth be known, I would like to tell everyone to just shut the fsck up and leave me alone. Or I don’t really care if you want my opinion or not because I’m going to tell you it. At 85 decibels. At least that’s how I felt this morning. The medicine must be wearing off because I’m feeling more my jovial self now as I get lunch in my stomach.

I’m glad I’ve had this little bout of the sniffles in August so that I don’t start stocking up on cold medicine to get me through the winter. I’ve learned my lesson early this year. Life’s too short to be chemically cranky.