I dropped my car off this morning to have it inspected. I got a call around 10am, saying that the garage needed to put new brake pads and something else involving the brakes on the front wheels, in order to have it pass inspection. Since I had last done this about 4 years ago, it seemed like the timing was right to do it again.
However, it did run me $280. Yeech! Happy F*cking Birthday!
Not that $280 is out of my budget, I'll be able to pay it off as soon as I get paid on 1 April. But it is the unexpected nature of random repairs that is a pain. I'll live with it, but it's now $250 less that I can throw at my student loans this coming month. Ah well. Life goes on.
My birthday was fine today, nothing too exciting, which is fine with me. Sue got me the 4 disc set of the soundtrack to "Fellowship of the Ring," which I'll listen to in full once I get back from the conference this coming Wednesday.
I will bring my digital camera with me, so I can do a photolog of the conference upon my return. I probably won't have regular e-mail/internet access while out there, so if I'm slow in updating this, or with responding to any e-mail, no worries.
NP: Simple Minds - And The Band Played On
16 March 2006
15 March 2006
14 March 2006
Funk!
Ah, it's time for my annual birthday funk to begin. Not for the normal reasons, like getting older. That aspect of the birthday really doesn't bother me that much. Every day you're older than the last, so one more milestone on that road really isn't that big deal for me.
I think my conflict about birthdays rests in the fact that I like to acknowledge my birthday, and the birthday of others, but that I've had a lot of birthdays, specifically when I was younger, that really weren't that fun. What I always remember is having a party for my birthday, when I was in 2nd Grade, and only two friends from school showed up. And once they were there, they spent most of the time not playing with me, so it wasn't fun on most levels.
Of course, not every birthday was bad, and believe me, my childhood was fine. Compared to some people's stories, my life is fantastic! However, I do have this thing now where there are times when I just want to be alone on my birthday, or I want to be with people, but I can never tell how it's going to be until it actually hits. I think this year I'm leaning towards staying home, but you never know.
I think at heart, the funk comes from the want to do things with people, to be social, and the fear of finding that there's no one around who wants to do anything. I was thinking, a month or so ago, that it might have been fun to invite friends from Boston and elsewhere to come up this weekend, to hang out around my birthday, but not necessarily on it. However, with this conference I'm going to, leaving this Friday, that's pretty much out, at least for now.
What's nutty about this is that I know that I have good friends, good family, a good wife, who all like and love me, so it's not really a fear based on reality at this point. But, there are those things that we had happen as kids that stay with us for awhile. This birthday stuff is one of those very few negative things that I can recall.
On the good side, I remember a lot of good birthdays, with bowling parties, hanging out, doing stuff in college with friends, and being in Boston. Grad school, and living in Vermont pre-Sue was a bit rough, because I didn't really have many people to hang out with then, particularly in the 1st year of my Masters program, and when I first went to Vermont. Actually, during the 2nd year of my program, my birthday was at one of the conferences, and I had a good time going out with friends in St. Louis.
I do remember in Vermont, going to see "Analyze This" on my birthday, alone. The movie did cheer me up a bit, but it still was no fun.
So, this year, I'm playing things by ear. Maybe we'll go out and eat on Thursday, maybe not. I do have to get up way early on Friday, to catch a 9am flight out of Manchester NH to Indianapolis, so there's that excuse to stay in. But, it's also Dartmouth's closing day for the Winter term, so I'm sure that some co-workers may be going out, so that could be a pull out of the building later in the evening.
Maybe writing some of this stuff down will help get it out of my system, at least a bit. I'm really generally a happy person, but we all have our down moments...
NP: Steve Hackett; Sentimental Institution (live)
I think my conflict about birthdays rests in the fact that I like to acknowledge my birthday, and the birthday of others, but that I've had a lot of birthdays, specifically when I was younger, that really weren't that fun. What I always remember is having a party for my birthday, when I was in 2nd Grade, and only two friends from school showed up. And once they were there, they spent most of the time not playing with me, so it wasn't fun on most levels.
Of course, not every birthday was bad, and believe me, my childhood was fine. Compared to some people's stories, my life is fantastic! However, I do have this thing now where there are times when I just want to be alone on my birthday, or I want to be with people, but I can never tell how it's going to be until it actually hits. I think this year I'm leaning towards staying home, but you never know.
I think at heart, the funk comes from the want to do things with people, to be social, and the fear of finding that there's no one around who wants to do anything. I was thinking, a month or so ago, that it might have been fun to invite friends from Boston and elsewhere to come up this weekend, to hang out around my birthday, but not necessarily on it. However, with this conference I'm going to, leaving this Friday, that's pretty much out, at least for now.
What's nutty about this is that I know that I have good friends, good family, a good wife, who all like and love me, so it's not really a fear based on reality at this point. But, there are those things that we had happen as kids that stay with us for awhile. This birthday stuff is one of those very few negative things that I can recall.
On the good side, I remember a lot of good birthdays, with bowling parties, hanging out, doing stuff in college with friends, and being in Boston. Grad school, and living in Vermont pre-Sue was a bit rough, because I didn't really have many people to hang out with then, particularly in the 1st year of my Masters program, and when I first went to Vermont. Actually, during the 2nd year of my program, my birthday was at one of the conferences, and I had a good time going out with friends in St. Louis.
I do remember in Vermont, going to see "Analyze This" on my birthday, alone. The movie did cheer me up a bit, but it still was no fun.
So, this year, I'm playing things by ear. Maybe we'll go out and eat on Thursday, maybe not. I do have to get up way early on Friday, to catch a 9am flight out of Manchester NH to Indianapolis, so there's that excuse to stay in. But, it's also Dartmouth's closing day for the Winter term, so I'm sure that some co-workers may be going out, so that could be a pull out of the building later in the evening.
Maybe writing some of this stuff down will help get it out of my system, at least a bit. I'm really generally a happy person, but we all have our down moments...
NP: Steve Hackett; Sentimental Institution (live)
13 March 2006
Radio!
For those of you who don't know, my friend Joe and I do an internet radio show called Pseudocertainty. Every few weeks, we record a show, sometimes about odd news events, random stuff, and our own habits. Compelling listening, for all of you I'm sure.
We are available through I-Tunes, I think, as a podcast. Our numbers of downloads have been going up in the last few months, so perhaps it's working.
Our goal is to not have to do "real" work, but that hasn't happened yet. When o when will we be discovered for our own greatness?
All this blabbing about the show is to point out that we have a new one up there, recorded this past Saturday evening. I've always thought that late night is the best time to record these shows, and I think it's been bourne out by our last few offerings.
For the "log" part of this entry, it's been a productive time at work, getting stuff done, and seeing what I have to do. I won't bore you with the details, but it has been fun. Tomorrow, I may have to leave campus for a bit to do some work elsewhere around the town, but nothing too bad.
I made my first e-bay mistake today. I sent the wrong DVD to one of my buyers. Fortunately, over e-mail, he's more than happy to forward the item I sent him to the proper person. It restores my faith in humanity, I tell you...
NP: King Crimson, Improv: Pforzheim
We are available through I-Tunes, I think, as a podcast. Our numbers of downloads have been going up in the last few months, so perhaps it's working.
Our goal is to not have to do "real" work, but that hasn't happened yet. When o when will we be discovered for our own greatness?
All this blabbing about the show is to point out that we have a new one up there, recorded this past Saturday evening. I've always thought that late night is the best time to record these shows, and I think it's been bourne out by our last few offerings.
For the "log" part of this entry, it's been a productive time at work, getting stuff done, and seeing what I have to do. I won't bore you with the details, but it has been fun. Tomorrow, I may have to leave campus for a bit to do some work elsewhere around the town, but nothing too bad.
I made my first e-bay mistake today. I sent the wrong DVD to one of my buyers. Fortunately, over e-mail, he's more than happy to forward the item I sent him to the proper person. It restores my faith in humanity, I tell you...
NP: King Crimson, Improv: Pforzheim
12 March 2006
Horror!
On Friday, I went with a few people (Meg, Sarah, Brian, and Laura, to be precise) to see "The Hills Have Eyes" at one of the local theaters. I wanted to write up the evening when I got home, but there was a blogger issue, and it wouldn't let me write a post. So, here we are, a little delayed.
The movie itself was actually better than I thought it would be. It was much more about suspense than just blood and gore (although there was enough of that to satisfy the blood lust of the audience). The characters actually had a little bit of life to them, although my prediction for the first one to go ended up being the "hero" of the movie. I would like there to be a bit less "lets have one of our major characters in the shot, and have someone run between them and the camera to show they're being stalked" set ups in these kind of movies. There are plenty of other ways to show someone being watched, that I think are actually creepier. Like seeing a head poke up from a rock, watching someone, and then dropping out of sight. Stuff that you may not catch as a movie viewer the first time you see it...
All critiques aside about style, it was enjoyable, and I didn't think I wasted my money, like I did with "Hostel," which was *horrible!* I should see the original "The Hills Have Eyes," to see how similar this one is to the first one.
On Saturday, Sue and I went out to Margarita's for her birthday dinner. Margarita's is a chain of Mexican restaurants up here in New England, although I haven't seen anyone working there who actually looks Mexican. It's okay food, but for more authentic local Mexican, I'll stick with Guzano's, a new local place that just opened up a few months ago. I had my traditional Mexican fare of steak/chicken fajitas. Good, but not like The Border, in Harvard Square....
Today my excitement was going out to buy shoe polish.
See you later!
The movie itself was actually better than I thought it would be. It was much more about suspense than just blood and gore (although there was enough of that to satisfy the blood lust of the audience). The characters actually had a little bit of life to them, although my prediction for the first one to go ended up being the "hero" of the movie. I would like there to be a bit less "lets have one of our major characters in the shot, and have someone run between them and the camera to show they're being stalked" set ups in these kind of movies. There are plenty of other ways to show someone being watched, that I think are actually creepier. Like seeing a head poke up from a rock, watching someone, and then dropping out of sight. Stuff that you may not catch as a movie viewer the first time you see it...
All critiques aside about style, it was enjoyable, and I didn't think I wasted my money, like I did with "Hostel," which was *horrible!* I should see the original "The Hills Have Eyes," to see how similar this one is to the first one.
On Saturday, Sue and I went out to Margarita's for her birthday dinner. Margarita's is a chain of Mexican restaurants up here in New England, although I haven't seen anyone working there who actually looks Mexican. It's okay food, but for more authentic local Mexican, I'll stick with Guzano's, a new local place that just opened up a few months ago. I had my traditional Mexican fare of steak/chicken fajitas. Good, but not like The Border, in Harvard Square....
Today my excitement was going out to buy shoe polish.
See you later!
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