Refund!

We got the first of our tax refunds deposited into my checking account today, from the great state of NJ. We're still waiting on the Federal refund, and the NY State refund. Half of the Federal refund is basically paying for our trip down to Florida for the wedding, which is convenient timing.

I made a huge plunge today.

Something that I've been putting off for a long time.

I had said I would do it, but there was no real time frame for doing it.

I ordered a cell phone.

Yes, I've finally entered the mid-1990's.

It's actually a bit tied into the wedding trip. My friend In, who will also be at the wedding, asked me for my cell phone number so we can contact each other down in Florida. I wrote back to her, saying I didn't have one, so I gave her Sue's number.

Those of you who know me, know that for the past *cough cough* years, I've said that I wasn't going to get a cell phone until some time in the indeterminate future. This e-mail exchange was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Something just clicked in my head, and I said, "I'm going to order a cell phone."

I went with Verizon, and I ordered online, because there was a good discount on phones. I got a $90 phone for $40, which looks like a good deal to me.

Sue asked me what the phone does. I said, "I guess I can talk to people on it." She meant, did it have games, a camera, e-mail, or other features. I knew it had a camera, but I already have a digital camera, so I think I'll be surprised if I use it much as a camera.

I think that it would be a great seller if they made a cell phone in the shape of a Communicator from the original Star Trek series. I know I would have gotten a cell phone much earlier in life, if something like that existed.

My plan is to keep the phone off most of the time, and only use it for short conversations or checking in from a distance where there's no phone. That's my main plan. Of course, we'll see how reality plays havoc with plans...

In other news, for you Harry Potter fans, there's a special "web only" episode of Pseudocertainty, where Joe and I share our thoughts on the HP series. Of course, he hadn't read the sixth book yet, so I couldn't share my Snape/Judas theory, and some other ideas I have about the conclusion of the series with him. Watch for another episode coming up in March, where we'll blather on more about being total nerds about these books.

NP: The Dude of Life and Phish - King of Nothing

Sales!

I'm having a few good sales over on E-Bay right now, feel free to take a gander.

Muchos thanks go out to good friend Lou, who has kindly offered to try to get me Police tickets on a presale. Kudos to Lou! I hope he got my e-mail.... :)

These weeks where we have Monday off are quite nice, because you feel a day behind all week (Tuesday feels like Monday, etc), so now it's Wednesday, feels like Tuesday. Tomorrow is Thursday, and then there's just one more day of the week.

A week from today is Sue and my three year wedding anniversary. It's one of those dates that seems both longer and shorter than that in the perspective of time. But either way, it feels fine.

I have to look into the price of long term parking at Newark Airport, to see if it's worth driving/parking there (it's less than 15 minutes away), or if it would be better to pay for a car service. I have a gut feeling that the long term parking will be cheaper, but you never know...

That's all for now... More soon!

NP: The Cross - The 2nd Shelf Mix

Rental Car!

I just reserved a rental car for the Brad Factor wedding down in Florida we're heading to next week. I splurged, and got a convertable. I mean, it's Florida, so you've got to be able to take the top down, right? It's a little more money, but it's worth it.

Spontaneous, eh?

I enjoyed both Lou's and Flo's comments on my blog from yesterday. I didn't want to make it sound like I was railing against the world or anything, but it just hit me that I wasn't sure if *I* wanted to read my blog, let alone have anyone else read a pretty dull (on its face) entry.

Routine is good, it's just that there are times when I want to break away from the routine. Granted, work keeps the schedule pretty fixed, but there's ways to work around other time-killers, like television.

You know, I think that's how people in the old days got so much done. There wasn't TV to sit and stare at. It was a way to get people out of the house, and active. Granted, most people back in the past had to do a lot more work themselves just to survive, so the comparison's not necessarily a fair one, but there is some legitimacy to it.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my TV. But there are times that I think that I watch way too much. And I watch less than average, I would think.

The main thing, I think, is to enjoy the life you have, do what you can to improve it, enjoy yourself, and help others.

In total other news, I wasn't able to get tickets for The Police this morning. I tried as soon as they went on sale, but wasn't able to get 2 tickets. I think the shows were totally sold out in less than 15 minutes. If another goes on sale, I may try again. If not, then life goes on...

NP: Frank Zappa - Drowning Witch

Dull!

There are times (this is one of them) when I think I must be one of the dullest people alive!

I mean, I blogged about going to see GHOST RIDER, of all things!

It was fun, a nice day and all, but nothing that turned my life around.

Then, I do realize that most days are pretty average. You talk to people, you have some good conversations, you influence lives, you interact with the humans, and all is generally right with the world.

I'm a pretty mellow, even keeled person. Even when exciting stuff happens, I tend not to get overly worked up about it. I do think this is a change from the past, I used to be more excitable about life in general. I'm not sure if it's a good/bad thing, this change, but I acknowledge it and accept it.

It's funny, but happiness and contentment don't make for good writing topics. That's why I sometimes dig up old stories about High School, college, or other things to put on here. Other times, I'm happy to do the more diary-like entries that I usually write. This is at times a more leisurely blog than anything action packed. But, that's okay.

I should be clear, I'm not railing against anything here, this is more of an observation than a complaint. I'm happy with my life, I have fun with my lovely Sue, and have a lot of friends who I keep in contact with (although I should and will do a better job with that). Sue and I are traveling down to Florida in less than two weeks to attend a wedding, which will be an adventure. I enjoy my job, although like with all work, there are ups and downs with it, I tend to think of it as more up than anything.

I do think I fall into patterns very easily. Generally, Sue and I watch the same shows on TV after work, she goes to bed early, I exercise, write a blog, read a bit, and then go to bed. Very routine. I enjoy it.

I think I have to plan some spontaneous activity soon.

Of course, I enjoy the delicious irony of the above sentence.

NP: Peter Gabriel - The Family and the Fishing Net (1 Oct 1983)

Movie!

Today, Sue and I went to go see "Ghost Rider," a movie starring Nicholas Cage based on a comic book. I'm not big on giving a synopsis of a film on these little reviews, there are plenty of better sites out there, and people who can actually do it better than I. Here are my quick impressions of the film:

• Nicholas Cage's character and his love interest (Roxanne) are the same age at the start of the film. Then, we see them together later on, and she's probably in her late 20's, while Cage is what, in his 40's in real life? This is something you see a lot of in films. Older men with younger women. Why is this? Ideas in comments below. I have some ideas, but I want to see what others say first.
• My friend Lou sent out a message to a bunch of us when the preview for this movie first hit the internets awhile back, perhaps in the early summer. We all thought the effects looked really bad. I think the effects improved in the interim. They still weren't great, but they weren't totally cartoonish.
• Plot was minimal, but enough to hang a movie on. Peter Fonda was an interesting casting choice as the Devil, but he really didn't get to do much in the movie besides stand around looking semi-menacing.

Overall, it wasn't a bad movie. A good matinee on a day off from work. I can't give it a huge recommendation though.

Each day this weekend, I woke up around 6am, and was awake on and off for the next 2-3 hours. It would have been great to sleep through till 9am, but our windows in our bedroom face east, and we get a lot of sunlight on these mornings. Not a bad thing, but it does cut into sleep a bit much.

NP: Pink Floyd - Bike