Tuesday Afternoon...

Yes, it's a song title, and I don't have any other creative title for this...

However, today is Super Tuesday, and I went to cast my ballot around 10am-ish this morning, at a local school here in Jersey City. One of the ladies remembered me from the last time I cast my ballot, in November, which I thought was great! She even remembered my name, which I was very impressed by, until I realized I still had my work nametag on.

I'll be watching CNN pretty closely tonight, as I love to follow the politics, although the talking heads blathering on can get a bit repetitive. Sometimes they have good insights, especially if they are surprised by the results. If it's what everyone expected, then they pretty much talk about that, but if there are surprises, it allows for little bits of interesting talk to slip through.

Personally, I believe that McCain is going to get the Republican nomination, but I think it's still a toss up between Clinton and Obama on the Democratic side. Tonight may go a long ways to solidify one person's lead over another, but it may end up being a horse race down to the end. I think the money is on Clinton winning the nomination, at the end, but if Obama has a number of solid wins tonight, it could really influence the rest of the primaries down the road.

This past weekend, Sue and I drove down to my mom's to take her out to lunch on Saturday, as her birthday was on Monday. We went to a place called Rafferty's in Asbury Park, which was a great meal! A good turkey sandwich, is what I had, my mom had the Shrimp Salad sandwich, which she liked, and Sue had the Veggie-Burger, which she also enjoyed. All in all a great lunch, and it was good to be able to spend it with my mom for her birthday.

Next week, Sue and I are going into NYC for the Westminster Dog Show, at MSG, which should be a fun time. Lots of our four legged friends will be there, and neither of us have ever experienced something like this. I'll be sure to take photos and report back on it here...

Laptop!

Yes, I'm writing to you all on my new laptop! New since Monday, I should say. I have been gettin this set up to do my web-Genesis work, my genealogy stuff, and just general computing. It's always fun setting up a new computer, making it homey, and personalized just how I like it.

This computer has wireless, so I've been working from the couch a lot. It's nice to have the mobility to be able to work away from ethernet wires, no more slave to the hub. Or to the jack in the wall.

Of course, I had a "you idiot!" moment earlier this week, when I thought about installing AOL on this laptop so I could check my e-mail. I've been checking my AOL mail on the AOL website while at work, but I didn't realize that I could create folders in the web-mail application, to store mail. Since I discovered that, it took me a bit of time to reach the conclusion that I didn't need the AOL software at all, as it gave me nothing that I couldn't get elsewhere. For some reason, my brain didn't wrap myself around that fact right away. Sometimes, I think I'm smart, then I realize that I'm not. :)

Laptop...

Well, I decided on what laptop to go with, and I chose this one, after consulting with my computer tech Joe. It's in the right price range, and had pretty much everything I wanted/needed from a laptop at this stage of my life. I'm looking forward to receiving it, hopefully next week at some point, but we'll see how long the shipping process actually takes.

I have started my exercise routine again. I think what I'm going to try to do is exercise for 20 minutes every day after work. Then, I will blog here, and then I'll get on with the rest of my evening. I should be able to hold to this routine most evenings, although sometimes, like yesterday, I'll have an evening commitment that does not allow for exercise. When that happens, I just have to make sure I don't let that missing of one day go into a mass of missed days.

I'm on duty tonight, so I need to stick around campus till tomorrow morning, when I hand the duty materials off to the colleague I'm covering for tonight. I don't know what plans Sue and I have for the weekend, we'll figure it out tomorrow...

Next Saturday, Sue and I will be taking my mom out for her birthday, which is actually on the Monday, but obviously the Saturday works out better than trying to manage to get together on a Monday. I've also been invited to a SuperBowl party for Sunday, but I'm not sure if I'll be going. I just don't care that much about football, but it would be fun to be social with people... Decisions, decisions...

NP: Sammy Davis City - The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Adventures in Printing

Today, during work, I got to travel down to Staples to get some color flyers printed up for our Resident Assistant application process at work. It's always fun to be able to get out of the office for awhile in the middle of the day. I took the opportunity while there to check out some laptop computers, as I want to get a new one in the next few months.

There are definitely some good PCs in the $800-$1200 range, which is what I'm looking for, generally. I'll need to chat with some computer friends to determine what options are the best, with what I want to do.

Generally, this laptop will be for web updating, genealogy research, and general MS-Word writing, etc. Nothing too fancy. But, the good thing is that I'll be able to clean off the decktop computer I have, and return it to being mainly for writing and recording music. I didn't want it to, but this one basically has turned into our all purpose computer. I didn't really want that to happen, but the present laptop we have is just too slow and old for modern purposes.

Isn't that sad?

NP: Puccini - Tosca in Barcelona

Forgot to mention....

Went to Barnes and Nobles yesterday, and they're doing a "Buy Three, get one Free" DVD sale, so I bought:

• Forbidden Planet - One I've been meaning to get for awhile, but hadn't
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie - Just because
• Queen: Live in Montreal - Ah, one of my fave bands, with lots of bonus stuff...

I also think I can get Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica, and Season 2.0 and 2.5 all at once there, for cheaper than I can on Amazon, even with the Amazon discounts. I may have to make a trip back there before the sale ends on January 31st.

NP: Frank Zappa - The "Real World" Thematic Extrapolations

A January Post...

Okay, okay, I know I've been lazy in blogging here... It's been busy, so sue me!

What have I been up to? Lets see, since the new year, I've been busy with Resident Assistant Winter Training, getting that ready; working on the Genesis website, which continues apace; trying to have free time with Sue, which is going well; relaxing when possible, which I have to build in more time to do; and all sorts of other things, which I'll talk about when I remember them!

Here's some random stuff, to entertain and educate you...

This past weekend, I saw the movie Johnny Dangerously for the first time. I have the feeling that it was a lot funnier back in the day when it came out. As I said to Sue (who rented it to relive her comedy youth), "When Joe Piscopo is the best thing about a movie, you know you're in trouble!" And Joe was really good in it, with generally weak material. I found myself saying in my head a lot, "that's funny," but never really laughing. It was like watching a movie that had all the ingredients to be a riot, but it just never quite got there...

I also don't know if I bought Michael Keaton as the lead comedy guy in the movie, he seemed stilted and unfunny throughout most of the film...

But, I did go to see "Cloverfield," which was quite good, albeit formulaic in places. I'm a sucker for monster movies, so having a big beastie rampaging through NYC was quite good. The first person telling of the story worked for me, and I thought there were some clever turns in the plot, although I thought the "love" story in it was a bit preditable. Alas, such is life...

All in all though, I'd recommend it, and I think it would stand up to repeated viewings, unlike the first person "Blair Witch Project" movie from a few years back.

On Sunday, Sue and I went to go see "The WaterHorse," a fine kids movie about a boy who discovers the egg to the Loch Ness monster during WWII. I enjoyed it, as it tugged at the heartstrings in an appropriate, but not manipulative way. The kids in the theater seemed to like it too, as I heard sniffles at the right places. Or, were those mine?

Yesterday, Sue and I watched all of the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" DVDs that Brian gave to me for Christmas. Great show, very funny, although digesting them all in one afternoon may have been a bit much. But, they're addictive. The group of four younger folk who the show follows are appropriately stupid/clever/funny in the right spots, and I liked the irony of one of the lead characters being bombarded with eggs outside of an abortion protest.

I'm sure I have more to say, but I'll write more again soon, I promise. Really!

NP: ELP - Rondo (9 Dec 1970)

Obama!

Today, Senator Barack Obama had his NJ coming out party right here on the campus of Saint Peter's College, where I work. We were able to take this afternoon to go to the event, and it was a great time. I'm still a bit on the fence about who to vote for in the Primary, but Obama is my top preference right now. I need to do a bit more reading though...

So, here are some photos of the event!

This is Kennedy Boulevard, which cuts through campus. You can see the line to get in on the other side of the road. Supposedly, not everyone could get in, and there were about 1000-2000 people who couldn't enter the Rec Center where the event was held. The event was delayed a bit, as Obama pressed the flesh outside a bit, to make sure that those who couldn't get in didn't leave too disappointed.

Obama, on stage, speechifying. I was about 15 feet from him, at the most. Great vantage, and the crowd was really with him all the way, listening, responding, and generally paying good attention.

At the end, I did get to shake his hand, and I got these next two photos of him, by just holding my camera up and hoping to get something good...

Be sure to register to vote, if you're in the US. Vote! And if you're not in the US, vote in whatever elections you can!

Moscow Cats, and Hair

Today, Sue and I went to go see the Moscow Cats Theatre at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, in NYC. Sue had gotten me the tickets as a Christmas present, and today was the show. The venue was a tiny place, maybe seating 200? However, our seats were front row, but even if they had been higher or further away, we still would have been able to see everything fine.

The cats generally did very "cat-like" things, such as walking, scratching the floor, etc., but then were trained to run and jump and climb on certain things, like the tightrope walking cat in the photo above. There was always a treat at the end of the trick (and sometimes at the start) for the cats, and sometimes, I think the trick the cat did wasn't particularly what was planned, but it was still a blast. There were a few siamese cats, a hairless cat, a dog (Pomeranian?), and 5 actors/clowns, who either worked with the cats, or did their own tricks.

The show was about 70 minutes long, and was very much worth seeing. There was a lot of laughter from both us, and the audience during the show. I think the run is ending soon in NYC, and I don't know where they go from here.

In other Mike News, I've cut off a lot of my hair... Here's a photo or two to show the new style...

I'm definitely working that Garibaldi look from Season 4-5 of Babylon 5....

NP: ELP - From the Beginning

A strange feeling...

Yesterday, I commente on my new position I have, as the "Genesis-Web Content Editor" for the official Genesis website. I've been doing this job officially for a month now, and it really is a fun job. Its work, that doesn't feel like "work," if that makes sense.

However, it is very strange for me to be in this position. I've been a fan of Genesis since about 1984 or so, and now, I'm working (through a company) for the band themselves, basically running content on their website. It's a connection in a very real way, to something that's been, for want of a better word, a "hobby" for me for over 20 years.

There's also a great sense of responsibility for this. I've been put into a position that any "fan" out there would kill for, and now, I'm *that guy*. I feel I can be a good voice for fans of the band with the management and perhaps even the band themselves at some point, but there's also that understanding on my part, that I really am just helping run their website.

I'm a big King Crimson fan also, and I got thanks on here yesterday about the Genesis gig from Sid Smith, the guy who helps run King Crimson's website (and does a lot of other cool stuff, check out his blog), DGMLive.com. That's a site the approach of which I'd like to emulate in my own work, while putting my own stamp on the approach I take.

At it's core, I figure I got this job by being myself, and I just have to continue doing that, helping to make the content of the site something I and other fans would be interested in checking out on a regular basis.

I think I'm putting a lot of my angst out here tonight about this job. Overall, I've been having a great time with this work, so I just have to continue doing so. It's a great place to be right now, and I'm going to do my best to put the band out there on the web with the best face. I made a comment on the message boards on the site that my goal for the site is to keep it active and alive, and one of my friends on the boards told me that that phrase sounds like a Mission Statement. I've taken that to heart in the past month.

So, in summary, it's a strange feeling to have a hobby/interest turn into a job.

NP: Yes - Children of Light

Back!

I know, I know, it's been awhile since my last blog here. What can I say, except that I've been busy!

Since I last wrote in October, I've been to two weddings, was best man at one of them (traveled to Rhode Island for that one also!), have a new consulting job, and have just been plugging away at a lot of different work related stuff.

The consulting job is what's taking up a lot of my free time, I'm working as the Genesis-Web Content Editor, for the official Genesis website.

As you may know out there, I'm a big Genesis fan. Since November 1st, I've been serving in this official capacity for the website, providing news updates for the many Genesis fans out there around the world. It's a lot of fun, and I'm actually making some cash doing it. It's great when something that is a hobby can end up providing a piece of income also.

So, I'll be posting here again, I promise... More to come!

Mike

Suit!

I bought a new suit for the first time in a long time for the upcoming Joe/Sally nuptuals. It was about time. My last suits that I bought, I bought about 10 years ago, when I was in grad school. Fortunately, they all still fit.

So, here's the photos of the new three piece suit, for your viewing enjoyment!

Hey you! I know you!

See, I'm *not* packing heat...

Ladies, I'm taken!

NP: Dana Gould - Angry at Rush

Blog fatigue...

Hey there!

So, I said I was going to blog in here more often, and then I promptly fall off the face of the planet. Isn't that what blogging is all about? Empty promises and no content?

But, I'm here now, with an exciting week coming up! This Friday, Sue and I leave for Newport, RI for my friend Joe's wedding. I'm Best Man, so I have to finish up writing my speech this week. And YES, I have actually started it, so I'm ahead of the game there.

We leave on Friday, and the wedding is on Sunday. We're staying over till Monday, so it should be a nice little vacation, although we'll be busy with wedding stuff.

More to come later, but I wanted to let people know I was still alive.

Cheers!

NP: The Police - Rehumanize Yourself

Bowling!

Last night, I went bowling with some people from work, about seven of us all together. It was a blast, but I didn't break 100 on any game. I was always in the 90's, but I just couldn't pull it together to have a consistent game. I like to bowl, but I'm not terribly good at it.

I always figure that if I can break 100, that's a good game.

Our next social work trip outing will be to Atlantic City, sometime in November. That should be a fun time, assuming that I'm able to go. We'll see how the schedule pans out.

In other news, here's a shot from the Genesis show I went to at Giants Stadium back on the 28th.

It was a great time, I had a blast. Fortunately, the weather held out, there was no rain, and it was quite a warm night. The music was great, and if it's the last time I see Genesis (as there's no guarantee that they'll tour again), that's okay...

New starts on here, yet again...

I think at the beginning of September, I said I was going to re-focus posting on here, as I had dropped off for a bit. Of course, since then, I have barely posted.

I think I'm going to try to write something each day before going to work, see if that's a better time to do this than in the evenings. If I have something that I end up wanting to say in the evenings, then I'll write then, but this will probably become my regular time to write.

But, now, I have to go off to work... See you all later!

Tonight tonight tonight

So, tonight, I'm going to see Genesis with the wonderful Sue at Madison Square Garden. I'll be heading into the city around 3pm or so, and will meet up with her at StoutNYC, where the fan meet up is happening before the concert.

This will be my first time seeing Genesis since 1992, at Foxboro, MA on the We Can't Dance tour. I'm wearing the t-shirt from that show, and I'm happy it still fits...

A bit blurry, but the photo does the job, right?

I'll be going to their show on Thursday at Giants Stadium also. Someone asked me yesterday at work, why I was going to two shows. My response:

"If they were doing another show at MSG, I would have gone to that one too..."

So, perhaps that explains my obsession.

I'll write a report on the show later on, when I return...

NP: Miles Davis - So What

Fair Play

I finished reading Al Gore's new book, "The Assault On Reason," last night. His basic idea is that the political discource in this country (on both sides, but predominately by the present administration), has fallen to lows not previously seen in recent history.

This fall has been caused by the present administration not acting or reacting to real, verifiable information, or presenting such information to the American public. When the public does not have good information to review, there is no basis for making good, informed decision.

Of course, people of good conscience, in my mind, can of course disagree over approaches to solve a particular problem. However, when we are not given proper time or material to review, then how can "the public" even have enough information to have a proper debate.

The key here is that the individuals in power do not *want* the public to have the information for an informed debate. Because it serves their best interest to keep the public in the dark as to what they plan to do.

I don't expect readers out there to like Al Gore, he's a polarizing figure for some. However, he does have valid critiques of the present administration. There is no sense of Fair Play, and that should never be lacking in American politics, as it shows a disrespect for all the citizens that our elected officials serve.

NP: Porcupine Tree - The Sound of Musak

The Other Side

So, I'm sitting here thinking about the past month, and I realize that I've made it to the other side of where I was looking to get back in mid-August.

Back then, I was thinking that if I could get to mid-September at work, life would be good, and settling down nicely. Now I'm here, and it is pretty much so. The new Director is on board, work is good, and things are okay. I'm happy that we're here, and that September is half over. Work will still be busy, but things will be fine.

In two weeks, I'll be at my second of two Genesis shows, this one at Giants Stadium. The first will be on Tuesday the 25th at Madison Square Garden. Yay! Then, that weekend, I'll be having a bachelor party for my friend Joe, going to Mohegan Sun.

Life, it is good.

NP: Robbie Robertson - Testimony

Post Labor Day

Ah, the Labor Day weekend, come and gone... It was so nice to have a weekend where I didn't have to work... So, what did I do with my time?

On Saturday, Sue and I went to see the movie "Superbad," starring Michael Cera of Arrested Development fame. It was quite good, it was a High School comedy that wasn't all about the different cliques or groups in the school, it was about two friends, and their relationship. I mean, it wasn't terribly deep and everything, but really, it's high school, how deep can you get?

The humor was great, and it kept me interested throughout the movie. All in all, a good Saturday matinee.

On Sunday, we went into Hoboken, as Sue needed to go grocery shopping for a few items, and wanted to go to a specific market there. Managed to find good parking, and spent about 45 minutes in that town.

Afterwards, we went to the Ikea across the NJ Turnpike from Newark Airport, to watch planes take off and land. We were there for about an hour. Sue loves watching the planes, but hates flying. There's irony in there somewhere...

Monday was just a relaxing day. Didn't really do much at all, and I went to bed super early. And today was back to work, as usual. Always fun!

NP: The Police - Bombs Away

Classes!

The first day of classes passed today. Work is slowly getting back to normal, although we're still processing a lot of late check in students. Some needed additional time to get their finances settled, while others just had better things to do on the earlier move in dates, I guess...

We're filling up work study positions in the office, and getting ready for September. I have "Room Swap Week" to coordinate, which I'll probably get all the stuff ready for tomorrow. I have to make some publicity, and get the forms all ready to go. Last year was the first year I coordinated this, and I have some changes I want to make to the process, in order to make it easier for both the students and our office.

In the world of classes, Sue starts taking a class next week, starting up her bachelor's program again. Should be fun for her to do! I think she'll do great in the class!

Other than that, it's still very much a work-centric week, although my evenings and mornings are becoming more normal.

NP: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Mambo Swing

The Return of the Giant Postweed....

Yes, I'm back to posting on here, after a little short of a month away. Today, upperclass students (sophomores-seniors) moved into their residence halls on campus, and classes start tomorrow.

So, this means that a large part of my super busy time is now over. Granted, I will now be busy in different ways, but that's okay, I'm used to the rhythms of my job, I know what has to come now at different times, and what I must do to prepare.

We also have a number of transitions going on in the office. We have a "new" grad assistant starting tomorrow. I put "new" in quotes as she has worked in the office before, so she'll be able to jump right in to the detail work she needs to be doing.

We also have a new Housing person on board, who started last week, really in the thick of it. He's been jumping right in, and really has a good sense of the job.

Our Director is transitioning out, as she is going to be going to school full time. The new Director has been hired, and while he doesn't start officially for about another 10 days or so, he has been able to come in to the office for some of the big things going on, like First Year opening, and the start of Resident Assistant Training. I think we'll work well together. I've enjoyed working with the Director who is leaving, so I'll miss that, but change is always exciting, and I think this will keep me interested in the job in a different way than would have been otherwise.

So, lots of new people in the office. Which is fun, but has made the start of this year a bit "busier" than it would have been otherwise. However, with the start of classes tomorrow, we will get into our rhythm now. I'm looking forward to this year, and what it will bring.

RA Training, which I coordinate, with the big help of the two professionals who report to me, went off well. The students really kept their energy up all week, and I think they got the information from Training that they needed to get. Of course, the "on the job" training they'll get over the course of the next week or two, from actually working with their residents, will serve them well more than any formal training would on its own.

The RA group has a great vibe to them, and I think the group is going to work together well this year. Check back with me in May, and see if I still believe this. I think it'll pan out...

We started off the Training week back on the 17th with a trip rafting on the Delaware River. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes being outdoors, floating down a river with some minor fast parts, and spending 3-4 hours on the water. I think the staff got a lot out of it, as some of them had never done anything like it before.

Back on the weekend of the 11-12th, Sue and I had our friend Nariah down visiting from New Hampshire. Sue and Nariah went into NYC on the Saturday, while I went into the city for a different purpose, a Scavenger Hunt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, done through the social group here at work that I help coordinate. It was a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to help plan more events coming up.

I'll definitely be updating this a bit more often now. So, watch this space!

NP: King Crimson - Book of Saturday (6 Oct 1973)