Sunday, February 27, 2005
Breaking News
It's been officially one full month without an internet connection. The latest news is that Verizon has shipped me my materials to install DSL service and I should have a connection by 6 PM on March 4, 2005. I'll believe it when I see it. I knew fucking with Verizon was like playing with the devil, but my hands were tied and here we are. No sense worrying about it at this point. I look forward to catching, those of you still giving this site a looksee now and again, up and letting you know all the shit rattling around inside my head.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
American Idol Guys
What a boring lot. The rocker guys looked like they might make it a couple rounds with this crew assembled. I liked them both and that last guy has a Thicke/Jamiroqui thing going on which is refreshing. I take back what I said about the local kid, that son of Ken Jennings kid who is trying too hard to be Clay Jr. He's a mess. Richard Marx? Are you kidding me? And what's with all the Stevie Wonder songs? Come on people!
Oscar Challenge
Make your picks in my league and see how you fair.
It's free. It's fun. It's OSCAR.
ID# 2158
Password is skip
It's free. It's fun. It's OSCAR.
ID# 2158
Password is skip
Poker, I Hardly Know Her
Another day, another dollar. I'm still not yet hooked up at home, and with me having off from work this past weekend, I wasn't able to make any postings. Considering what I have posted of late, this may or may not mean anything.
My weekend off revolved basically around one poker game taken to extremes. I was working until Midnight on Friday, and even though I could have gone out afterward since Saturday was my day, I didn't. I came home, plowed through some movies (Slasher and Yes Men were both OK. Not great, not terrible.) and hit the hay. Saturday morning I was awoken by a friend who needed some IPOD help, and by help I mean wanted to pillage my downloaded/upload music. It was great spending a few hours with Kate, even if she was there under false pretenses (kidding) but my session of moving tons of music from Itunes to her IPOD wore me out and I wind up taking a nap instead of seeing movie or leaving the house.
Saturday night was the big Poker game anyway, and I would need my rest. We assembled, all 6 of us, over at Gabe's house. Gabe was in charge of his 1 year old son Max while his wife was out of town and decided the best thing he could do was to make a ton of food, buy a shit load of beer and have a group of guys over for poker. Father of year you say? Well, you ain't heard nothing yet. So the game gets under way at about 9 PM, by about 10 PM one guy is down $70 and about to head out to Wawa to tap MAC for more cash. Yikes. I was up early and then rode a steady wave for the next 5 hours. When 4:30 AM rolled around, all the Wild Turkey and Boddingtons mixed with my allergy meds made me sluggish and I curled up on the couch in the next room leaving the remaining 4 players to continue on. (The guy down $70 in an hour did go to MAC, but dropped another $20 I think and then evolved into strictly downing shots of bourbon to take away the pain.) After an attempt was made to write all over my face, ah drunk shenanigans, I decided to seek refuge in a bed upstairs knowing that at some point everyone would need to crash and I should mark my territory on a bed before things got nuts. Imagine my surprise when at 7:30 AM I here Gabe's kid screaming in his crib in the room next to the one I wound up in. I did my best to block him out and did so successfully for about an hour at which point my instincts as an older brother who has reared a ton of kids in my day took over and I decided to see what was going on. I think baby Max was not relieved at the site of me coming to his rescue, but he is 1 so there was much fight he could put up. Plus an hour of straight crying must have worn him out even with a long night's sleep under his belt. When I came down stairs searching for Daddy I was shocked to see almost all of the guys still drinking and playing cards. It's 8:30 AM Sunday morning and these dudes are still at it. Amazing. My boy Weasel pulled his usual disappearing act in the early AM, but otherwise everyone was right where I left them. Gabe being intoxicated and sleepless were going to make the rest of the day a long one now that his kid was awake. It was at that moment that I thought to myself...thank god for rubbers. In any case, I rounded up my car pool mates Kevin and Shoe and headed out at 10 AM to go home and drop. Sunday was a wash as a result. I had Kevin crashed on my couch until about 7 PM, and by then I was tired of sleeping/lounging but not feeling quite ready to do much of anything else. So there you have it, one poker game controls my weekend. I guess I should be thankful that I only lost about $20. And woke up before my face was covered in marker.
As an addendum to this story I found out that Shoe left his coat with his keys in it at Gabe's house and when I dropped him off on Sunday morning he had to kick in his front door. Being completely shit faced, he wasn't really up for dealing with the cops who mistook him for a robber and drew guns on him when they showed up. I guess his story is probably more interesting...but I'm not him.
My weekend off revolved basically around one poker game taken to extremes. I was working until Midnight on Friday, and even though I could have gone out afterward since Saturday was my day, I didn't. I came home, plowed through some movies (Slasher and Yes Men were both OK. Not great, not terrible.) and hit the hay. Saturday morning I was awoken by a friend who needed some IPOD help, and by help I mean wanted to pillage my downloaded/upload music. It was great spending a few hours with Kate, even if she was there under false pretenses (kidding) but my session of moving tons of music from Itunes to her IPOD wore me out and I wind up taking a nap instead of seeing movie or leaving the house.
Saturday night was the big Poker game anyway, and I would need my rest. We assembled, all 6 of us, over at Gabe's house. Gabe was in charge of his 1 year old son Max while his wife was out of town and decided the best thing he could do was to make a ton of food, buy a shit load of beer and have a group of guys over for poker. Father of year you say? Well, you ain't heard nothing yet. So the game gets under way at about 9 PM, by about 10 PM one guy is down $70 and about to head out to Wawa to tap MAC for more cash. Yikes. I was up early and then rode a steady wave for the next 5 hours. When 4:30 AM rolled around, all the Wild Turkey and Boddingtons mixed with my allergy meds made me sluggish and I curled up on the couch in the next room leaving the remaining 4 players to continue on. (The guy down $70 in an hour did go to MAC, but dropped another $20 I think and then evolved into strictly downing shots of bourbon to take away the pain.) After an attempt was made to write all over my face, ah drunk shenanigans, I decided to seek refuge in a bed upstairs knowing that at some point everyone would need to crash and I should mark my territory on a bed before things got nuts. Imagine my surprise when at 7:30 AM I here Gabe's kid screaming in his crib in the room next to the one I wound up in. I did my best to block him out and did so successfully for about an hour at which point my instincts as an older brother who has reared a ton of kids in my day took over and I decided to see what was going on. I think baby Max was not relieved at the site of me coming to his rescue, but he is 1 so there was much fight he could put up. Plus an hour of straight crying must have worn him out even with a long night's sleep under his belt. When I came down stairs searching for Daddy I was shocked to see almost all of the guys still drinking and playing cards. It's 8:30 AM Sunday morning and these dudes are still at it. Amazing. My boy Weasel pulled his usual disappearing act in the early AM, but otherwise everyone was right where I left them. Gabe being intoxicated and sleepless were going to make the rest of the day a long one now that his kid was awake. It was at that moment that I thought to myself...thank god for rubbers. In any case, I rounded up my car pool mates Kevin and Shoe and headed out at 10 AM to go home and drop. Sunday was a wash as a result. I had Kevin crashed on my couch until about 7 PM, and by then I was tired of sleeping/lounging but not feeling quite ready to do much of anything else. So there you have it, one poker game controls my weekend. I guess I should be thankful that I only lost about $20. And woke up before my face was covered in marker.
As an addendum to this story I found out that Shoe left his coat with his keys in it at Gabe's house and when I dropped him off on Sunday morning he had to kick in his front door. Being completely shit faced, he wasn't really up for dealing with the cops who mistook him for a robber and drew guns on him when they showed up. I guess his story is probably more interesting...but I'm not him.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Braff-Tastic!
We all know what a joke the Grammys are...I mean Ray Charles winning that many trophys for an album no one heard, bought or knows about period...give me a break.
However, did you notice this?
Category 79
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
Garden State
Various Artists - Zach Braff, compilation producer
[Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax/Fox Music]
Nice.
However, did you notice this?
Category 79
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
Garden State
Various Artists - Zach Braff, compilation producer
[Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax/Fox Music]
Nice.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
American Idol
Is this show even about singing anymore? The build up episodes are so fucking melodramatic anymore. I don't recall seeing all that much singing yet somehow we arrive at the final 24? Ok. Just get on with it...
In case anyone cares, I like the guy from Trevose PA and that young girl with bounce from Las Vegas. How did two rocker guys make the cut? These clowns will wind up being like that poor red headed kid from last year...embarassed week after week on national TV.
In case anyone cares, I like the guy from Trevose PA and that young girl with bounce from Las Vegas. How did two rocker guys make the cut? These clowns will wind up being like that poor red headed kid from last year...embarassed week after week on national TV.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Top 5 Things I Wish I Could Elaborate On
1. The last episode of Sweet 16 on MTV. Holy shit! Rich kids are so fucking delusional it's just embarassing. I could talk about every episode of this show...but it would all just sound the same.
2. I got some of my security deposit back today. A minor victory.
3. Austin Scarlett getting cut over Wendy on Project Runway. Yikes!
4. Million Dollar Baby and Hotel Rwanda were both really good movies. (More will be coming on this along with Oscar picks.)
5. I need a social life. Badly.
2. I got some of my security deposit back today. A minor victory.
3. Austin Scarlett getting cut over Wendy on Project Runway. Yikes!
4. Million Dollar Baby and Hotel Rwanda were both really good movies. (More will be coming on this along with Oscar picks.)
5. I need a social life. Badly.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Verizon...Mistake or Not?
So I am a) still alive and b) still without internet at home. I made the call and got set up with Verizon on some DSL, but they can't promise me an active line until 2/28 and I'm now in a waiting pattern until the gear arrives for me to test the line. I have been hoarding most of my musings on films, that I will probably mass post as soon as I'm operational. Hope everyone had a very upbeat and loving Valentine's Day...my laundry doing and movie watching went well with the relentless rain and feelings of insignificance and despair. Rock on!
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Valentines
Ah, the smell of romance is in the air...
FUCK THAT.
Ironically enough I'm the only single Supervisor where I work and yet I'm given off on Valentine's Day? Guess I'm lucky? I'll most likely spend it sitting in my apartment doing laundry and watching a movie. And oh joy, I have 2 rentals from netflix both of which are romantic in nature. Just great. But then again, I could go out on the town and watch all the happy "in love" people and consider why it is again that I didn't kill myself in high school?
FUCK THAT.
Ironically enough I'm the only single Supervisor where I work and yet I'm given off on Valentine's Day? Guess I'm lucky? I'll most likely spend it sitting in my apartment doing laundry and watching a movie. And oh joy, I have 2 rentals from netflix both of which are romantic in nature. Just great. But then again, I could go out on the town and watch all the happy "in love" people and consider why it is again that I didn't kill myself in high school?
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Packing Fudge and Watching the Grudge
Ah, another Friday night for the ages. Get out of work about 12:15 AM, roll to the parking lot just in time to meet the crowd coming from the a show at the Unitarian Church around the corner and then proceed to stare at my car which is 50 feet away from me for 1/2 hour until it's my turn to be handled by the slow, ancient parking lot attendant named Alvin. I thought we were boys me and Alvin, but apparently not. All he had to do was throw me my keys and let me roll out, but NO, he makes me wait in line and freeze. And then he has the audacity to hand me my keys when he is ready and tells me to pull it out myself anyway. Fucker. No more tips for you my friend. I'm so glad I'm done with this lot in another 2 weeks. It's been a nightmare dealing with the lowest of the low in life. Parking Lot attendant is up there with Ditch Digger and Assembly Line work. 3rd grade education and a driver's license are the only requirements from what I can tell.
I got home at 1 AM, grabbed some pudding out of the fridge, made a cup of chocolate milk and put on the Grudge. I'm like a cat lady, minus the cats. My new goal, now that I've stopped eating fast food and smoking cigarettes, is to just get so fat that I have to be airlifted from my apartment. My life has become a cycle of shame. I watch a lot of TV, eat, sleep and ocassionally watch a movie to take a break from watching TV.
The Grudge. What a piece of shit that was. I couldn't even make out what the hell was going on for the first 45 minutes, too much movement in time to be cohesive. We're in the past, now were present day, now were in the past again, now were meshing the past with the present day. Some jumpy shit happens, but overall the story was trying to hard to be like the Ring and comes across as a second rate version of the Ring. In other words, I'm sure the original is a lot better and therefore you have no need to watch this junk. Sarah Michelle Gellar...what's the attraction? She's a piss poor actress and seems to me to be void of a personality. I can't recall seeing her in anything that was even watchable...maybe I Know What You Did Last Summer like 10 years ago?
I got home at 1 AM, grabbed some pudding out of the fridge, made a cup of chocolate milk and put on the Grudge. I'm like a cat lady, minus the cats. My new goal, now that I've stopped eating fast food and smoking cigarettes, is to just get so fat that I have to be airlifted from my apartment. My life has become a cycle of shame. I watch a lot of TV, eat, sleep and ocassionally watch a movie to take a break from watching TV.
The Grudge. What a piece of shit that was. I couldn't even make out what the hell was going on for the first 45 minutes, too much movement in time to be cohesive. We're in the past, now were present day, now were in the past again, now were meshing the past with the present day. Some jumpy shit happens, but overall the story was trying to hard to be like the Ring and comes across as a second rate version of the Ring. In other words, I'm sure the original is a lot better and therefore you have no need to watch this junk. Sarah Michelle Gellar...what's the attraction? She's a piss poor actress and seems to me to be void of a personality. I can't recall seeing her in anything that was even watchable...maybe I Know What You Did Last Summer like 10 years ago?
Friday, February 11, 2005
I'm So Over So Much
Ok. Day 12 of no internet connection from home. This fucking sucks. My attempts to abandon ship with the cable jawn and move onto DSL were thwarted by the fact that Cavalier Telephone doesn't work in my area. We live in a world of monopolies and I am getting forced into paying VERIZON aka the DEVIL an incredible amount of money per month just so I can add movies to my Netflix queue, look up shit on IMDB and rant about my pathetic life on this here forum. I'm further confused by the whole DSL requires a phone line nonsense. I have a phone. It's called a cell phone. Why do I need a fucking land line in this day and age? Just so I can then be set up with your overpriced DSL service? The wires come in to my house already...can't I just plug in a DSL machine and call it a day? Nope. You have to have a phone line...what a scam.
In addition to this bullshit, I'm also kind of over the whole landlord vs. tenant situation that has been going on for the Ridge Ave place that I recently vacated. Since I have been without a connection, I haven't had time to really detail the latest and greatest from the old place. It's now Friday night @ 10 PM and I'm at work BORED out of my mind. Yeah I have work to do, but fuck it. I owe you motherfuckers a story...
The Move
Ok. So I think all my former roommates agree at this point that we could have done a better job at a couple things before we left each other's lives and the place on The Ridge. For starters, we could have started downsizing our lives more than 2 days before we decided to move out. Since I was living with 4 college kids, 3 of whom graduated this past December, I probably should have expected what eventually transpired. Everyone with the exception of me was returning home to Mom and Dad. Therefore, essentially everything that couldn't fit into a bag or an SUV was deemed trash and had to be put on the curb come the final day of move out. Bad idea. We basically wound up with enough trash out front of the house for the entire neighborhood. And it wound up attracting some seedy fuckers who trash picked and left quite a path of destruction in doing so. This got the neighbors pissed and in turn made the landlord angry at us. The right way to do things would have been to down size over the period of 2 or 3 months, phase furniture out slowly instead of all at once. Oh well. Since we didn't do that and had a mound of shit on the curb, the landlord was forced to move the shit to a dump himself and charge us a fee for doing so. Nice. Or that is his story and he's sticking to it in any case.
What really bites is that he further docked us for leaving a bunch of shit in the house that he had to remove in order to paint...but this one isn't just our fault, the new tenants kind of fucked us a little by telling us, and by us I mean ME, that they wanted some of the shit we were tossing into trash. The way things went down, I was basically the only person living in the house for the last weekend. I had a chance to meet about 5 different guys who were getting ready to jump into this house the minute it was livable. All college kids at Philly U and from what I could tell nice enough guys. Since they were in and out of the house while I was packing up my shit and pretty much got a view of the heaps of trash everywhere inside and out, they started to ask if certain items were being left behind. I did my best to give them the low down on the place, including explaining that the landlord is a bit of slumlord when it comes to repairs. I went so far as to talk specifically about which things they would like me to leave behind for them. Since I was last one out so to speak, my roommates had left behind shit everywhere that needed to hit the curb. If I could wrangle out of moving all this crap, then why not? Extremely long story short, I wound up leaving some shit here and there for the new kids. Kitchen dishes, silverware, a microwave, some food even. I did clean out the fridge from top to bottom and toss away a lot of old cooking wear. I also left some home furnishings like a homemade entertainment center that the one kid liked and a couple tables in the basement. The kids even trash picked a ton of crap and put it back on our porch and in the front room of the nearly empty house on the last day before move out. I didn't see the harm and if someone could use this shit, then great. Go for it!
Too bad Mr. Landlord, inspired by his distaste for our curb side mess I'm sure, went ballistic about all the shit "left" in the house. I guess I became the fall guy for being the last man out and arranging shit "behind his back" with the new residents. This part kills me. I met these kids in his company and had discussions with them in his company. (except when I told them that he was a slumlord on repairs) When he flipped about all the shit in the house that didn't make it's way out to the trash, he wanted to know when this all was arranged with the new tenants. YOU WERE STANDING RIGHT THERE YOU FUCKING NIGHT TREMORS HAVING, PUSSY WHIPPED, SLUM LORD MOTHERFUCKER!!!! In any case, the new kids clammed up when the landlord asked them whether or not they asked to have certain things left in the house. Fucking assholes. I guess they figure they don't me anything...
When Mr. Landlord's wife gets a hold of this information, she gets all cunty about getting us back our security deposit. Brother Dan, the Negotiator, managed to come up with an amount of money we could afford to live with losing...knowing full well that this woman could completely fuck us over if she wanted to. Now here were are pushing 2 weeks since move out and the landlord and his wife are still playing games with us. First they wanted "PROOF" that utilities were paid in full. Now they want us to wait until they enjoy a weekend away in the mountains before they verify if the bills are in fact paid up. What a nightmare. I'm glad that I don't necessarily need this money like I know my roommates do, but I still want it. It can go towards my fucking VERIZON DSL bill that is ineviatable.
In addition to this bullshit, I'm also kind of over the whole landlord vs. tenant situation that has been going on for the Ridge Ave place that I recently vacated. Since I have been without a connection, I haven't had time to really detail the latest and greatest from the old place. It's now Friday night @ 10 PM and I'm at work BORED out of my mind. Yeah I have work to do, but fuck it. I owe you motherfuckers a story...
The Move
Ok. So I think all my former roommates agree at this point that we could have done a better job at a couple things before we left each other's lives and the place on The Ridge. For starters, we could have started downsizing our lives more than 2 days before we decided to move out. Since I was living with 4 college kids, 3 of whom graduated this past December, I probably should have expected what eventually transpired. Everyone with the exception of me was returning home to Mom and Dad. Therefore, essentially everything that couldn't fit into a bag or an SUV was deemed trash and had to be put on the curb come the final day of move out. Bad idea. We basically wound up with enough trash out front of the house for the entire neighborhood. And it wound up attracting some seedy fuckers who trash picked and left quite a path of destruction in doing so. This got the neighbors pissed and in turn made the landlord angry at us. The right way to do things would have been to down size over the period of 2 or 3 months, phase furniture out slowly instead of all at once. Oh well. Since we didn't do that and had a mound of shit on the curb, the landlord was forced to move the shit to a dump himself and charge us a fee for doing so. Nice. Or that is his story and he's sticking to it in any case.
What really bites is that he further docked us for leaving a bunch of shit in the house that he had to remove in order to paint...but this one isn't just our fault, the new tenants kind of fucked us a little by telling us, and by us I mean ME, that they wanted some of the shit we were tossing into trash. The way things went down, I was basically the only person living in the house for the last weekend. I had a chance to meet about 5 different guys who were getting ready to jump into this house the minute it was livable. All college kids at Philly U and from what I could tell nice enough guys. Since they were in and out of the house while I was packing up my shit and pretty much got a view of the heaps of trash everywhere inside and out, they started to ask if certain items were being left behind. I did my best to give them the low down on the place, including explaining that the landlord is a bit of slumlord when it comes to repairs. I went so far as to talk specifically about which things they would like me to leave behind for them. Since I was last one out so to speak, my roommates had left behind shit everywhere that needed to hit the curb. If I could wrangle out of moving all this crap, then why not? Extremely long story short, I wound up leaving some shit here and there for the new kids. Kitchen dishes, silverware, a microwave, some food even. I did clean out the fridge from top to bottom and toss away a lot of old cooking wear. I also left some home furnishings like a homemade entertainment center that the one kid liked and a couple tables in the basement. The kids even trash picked a ton of crap and put it back on our porch and in the front room of the nearly empty house on the last day before move out. I didn't see the harm and if someone could use this shit, then great. Go for it!
Too bad Mr. Landlord, inspired by his distaste for our curb side mess I'm sure, went ballistic about all the shit "left" in the house. I guess I became the fall guy for being the last man out and arranging shit "behind his back" with the new residents. This part kills me. I met these kids in his company and had discussions with them in his company. (except when I told them that he was a slumlord on repairs) When he flipped about all the shit in the house that didn't make it's way out to the trash, he wanted to know when this all was arranged with the new tenants. YOU WERE STANDING RIGHT THERE YOU FUCKING NIGHT TREMORS HAVING, PUSSY WHIPPED, SLUM LORD MOTHERFUCKER!!!! In any case, the new kids clammed up when the landlord asked them whether or not they asked to have certain things left in the house. Fucking assholes. I guess they figure they don't me anything...
When Mr. Landlord's wife gets a hold of this information, she gets all cunty about getting us back our security deposit. Brother Dan, the Negotiator, managed to come up with an amount of money we could afford to live with losing...knowing full well that this woman could completely fuck us over if she wanted to. Now here were are pushing 2 weeks since move out and the landlord and his wife are still playing games with us. First they wanted "PROOF" that utilities were paid in full. Now they want us to wait until they enjoy a weekend away in the mountains before they verify if the bills are in fact paid up. What a nightmare. I'm glad that I don't necessarily need this money like I know my roommates do, but I still want it. It can go towards my fucking VERIZON DSL bill that is ineviatable.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
I Got Nothing
Still no internet. Clearly. I'm ashamed that I have left my blog go to hell and I'm sure I will pay for it with all the mental anguish that I am going through from not having an outlet for all the shit going on in my head each day. I'm saving up my reviews of movies and what not, but the really troubling shit, some of which I cannot even speak about, is wearing me down.
Road Runner was a complete disaster, as the helpful installer needs basement access of which I have none. My landlord hasn't called me back in 2 days with an answer to the question of if I can obtian access and that isn't the best way to begin our relationship in my opinion. I guess I'll pay March's rent when I feel like it. Fucker. I'm moving on to Cavtel...and DSL. I'm hoping that this won't require basement access since my apartment is riddled with phone jacks. In any case, I'm working as quickly as I can to resolve this issue and thank both of you for your patience. Yuck-yuck-yuck.
Road Runner was a complete disaster, as the helpful installer needs basement access of which I have none. My landlord hasn't called me back in 2 days with an answer to the question of if I can obtian access and that isn't the best way to begin our relationship in my opinion. I guess I'll pay March's rent when I feel like it. Fucker. I'm moving on to Cavtel...and DSL. I'm hoping that this won't require basement access since my apartment is riddled with phone jacks. In any case, I'm working as quickly as I can to resolve this issue and thank both of you for your patience. Yuck-yuck-yuck.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
My Super Sweet Sixteen
I'm officially obsessed with this train wreck of a reality show. These kids are the most delusional, selfish, self indulged and obnoxious people I've ever seen in my life. And I love it. It's like MTV decided to forgo the "series" nature of Rich Girls and just devote 20 minutes to a litany of spoiled brats who have too much money and not enough sense. Why keep revisiting the same brats over and over again like Rich Girls did, when you can just peek in on this mess and then move on to another wacky kid with parents who are insane? Look how awful Simple Life has become. It's funny the first time, but now those idiots are clearly acting and the whole show is staged. I love the rawness of My Super Sweet 16. These girls are starved for attention and are willing to whore themselves for my enjoyment. Bravo!
Not So Fast...
This morning I was given the prognosis by the internet installer that unless he gets access to my building's basement, I'm shit out of luck. So I'm gonna be without a connection for at least another 3 or 4 days minimum. Ahhhh!!! Since I'll be off from work until Wednesday night, I'm going to be once again minimizing my contributions here for a little while longer.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Called Up
What do you say to a 20 year old girl who is on the cusp of spending a year in Iraq to "fight" terrorism and "instill" peace in the Middle East? I couldn't think of anything besides "please don't die." Isn't that pathetic?
I think I'm just in denial that I'm letting this girl go to war while I stay here and blog about what fascinates or irritates me in the world of entertainment. Not that I think I should be going to war in her place, afterall she did enroll in the Army Reserves, it's just that I don't want to dwell on the idea of her never coming back. And I guess I'm scared. The war goes on around me and I'm pretty detached from it. Not any more. I now have a vested interest in seeing this war end or at least seeing that Jolene comes back in one piece. And that stinks. I want to stay in my little bubble and worry about what kind of coffee table I should buy or what I should rent from Netflix or who I should crush on or how drunk I'm going to get this Sunday. I don't want to think about having a friend over in a strange land, eating sand and missing home. But I will. She deserves it.
I think I'm just in denial that I'm letting this girl go to war while I stay here and blog about what fascinates or irritates me in the world of entertainment. Not that I think I should be going to war in her place, afterall she did enroll in the Army Reserves, it's just that I don't want to dwell on the idea of her never coming back. And I guess I'm scared. The war goes on around me and I'm pretty detached from it. Not any more. I now have a vested interest in seeing this war end or at least seeing that Jolene comes back in one piece. And that stinks. I want to stay in my little bubble and worry about what kind of coffee table I should buy or what I should rent from Netflix or who I should crush on or how drunk I'm going to get this Sunday. I don't want to think about having a friend over in a strange land, eating sand and missing home. But I will. She deserves it.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Satelitte Dish = Awesome!
I'm up and running as of 11 AM this morning. I was happy to see all my friends like Greg Mathis and Marilyn Millian looking well. I even took in a double shot of Celebrity Fit Club, which is possibly the lamest idea and execution of a reality show EVER. I set up my DVR to record some Apprentice for tonight when I come home from work. Oh joy. I'm so loving it. Now I just await internet access from the comfort of home again. Speaking of which, I'm getting a little more adjusted to the new homestead. It's strange living alone, so quiet and peaceful. And clean. I'm might even be sleeping more soundly by the weekend if I play my cards right.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
No Internet, No Cable, No Nothing
It’s amazing the amount of value television and the internet add to my otherwise dull life. Once I managed to square away all the particulars of moving into my new apartment, I had nothing but time on my hands thanks to some gracious scheduling by my boss. Three days off in a row would normally be a dream come true, but without a working television equipped to bring me Food Network, HGTV or MTV or a way to get on the information superhighway, forget it. I’d rather be dead.
How did this happen? Well, it’s a funny story. And by funny I mean tragic. I decided to be a bit of a cheapskate with my spending now that I am on my own again and I went with a satellite provider instead of the local cable company. I saw a deal on the internet that I couldn’t pass up…isn’t this how most tragic stories start? They do in my life. Anyway, on the day of installation (Monday between 12-5 PM) this nice Russian man calls me for my exact location at 3 PM. Yuri was on my street but nowhere near my apartment building so I went outside to wave him down as he made another pass down my block. I guess these cats are freelance or something because Yuri pulled up in his unmarked minivan and was wearing an Airborne Express sweatshirt. Fast-forward to the part where Yuri says he can only install 1 dish and not the 2 that is apparently necessary due to issues with property and sight lines. I’m not sure if it was his heavy accent or my complete ignorance, but when he rushed through explaining that he could only install 1 dish, I was like “okay” and he continued at it for another 45 minutes banging and doing what it is he does.
Now here is where it gets hilarious. So this 1 dish that I had put up on the side of my apartment building will only get me local and international channels. Huh? “So it’s basically a gigantic set of rabbit ears,” I ask Yuri. I’m not extremely concerned about it since at this point I’m frustrated, tired and completely sick of seeing Yuri in my apartment (we are like 2 hours deep on this situation) so I’m like WHATEVER. I’ll deal. At least I’ll have DVR action. No more VCR. I can live without my MTV. I’m strong. Now all that is left to happen is for Yuri to “call it in” to the Dish Network folks, get me up and running and pack up that shitty minivan of his and take off. Apparently Yuri needs to make the “call in” call on MY cell phone. This dirty-handed Ruskie waits on hold for 30 minutes to get a representative on the line and then proceeds to battle with her for another 30 minutes about what he has done. According to the Dish Network folks, Yuri can’t just install one dish, he needs to do them both or else the deal is over. It’s now 6 PM and I have shit to do. I have to go back to my old house and finish moving out my clothes and food and then I have to head to Target for various apartment needs. When all is said and done and Yuri hangs up the phone he tells me that he is coming back to my house on Thursday morning to install Dish #2. Huh? Until then, I’m outta luck. Nothing. Nada. Zip. I’ve been plowing through Season 1 of Kin of Queens on DVD to keep me sane and give the impression that I at least have TBS or something.
Now I know what you are thinking…if’s Yuri’s coming back to install the second dish on Thursday, why didn’t he just install it on Monday? Well, now that Dish Network got Yuri in line he was chock full of ideas on where this second dish could be mounted to get adequate site lines. But here’s the good part, I need to be his fucking installation wing man and ask either the next door mechanics garage if they are willing to hold my dish on their rooftop or ask my neighbor behind me if he minds if Yuri taps into his already existing satellite dish located 3 stories up on the back side of my building. What the fuck? To make matters worse, I never did get permission from my landlord to even get the thing installed to begin with. Considering that there are no less than 4 dishes attached to my building, I hardly think this would have been an issue, but nonetheless, if I ask him now about drilling into his siding (the option left if both neighbors turn me down…which they will…if I talk to them…which I refuse to do.) he might be a little steamed that I never asked from the start. Yuri wants permission from one of these 3 options, if not then he comes back to unplug what he has installed and move on with his life. And then I’m back to ground zero. Ahhh!!!!!!
Phase 2 of this mess is my internet situation. I again located a great deal on the internet from Road Runner that offered 6 months at $29.95 a month, $44.95 thereafter. Nice deal for a cable connection. So I registered online and got a phone call on Monday (pre-Yuri’s visit) that I slept through. When I called them back about arranging service installation, I was told by Andre that if I looked at the fine print on my offer it says this offer is not valid in all locations and apparently my apartment is one of those locations. Huh? Andre could only give me service for the price of $54.95 a month since I’m not a cable subscriber. Naturally my reaction was something along the lines of NO FUCKING WAY! Andre then suggested I visit Best Buy or Circuit City and register there for Road Runner. Huh? Apparently if I go to Best Buy and use their computer I will magically be able to get a promotion of $29.95 a month for 3 months (the offer ongoing in “my area”). Since I was heading to Target in the vicinity of Best Buy later on, I told Andre that I will register there and thanked him for his “help.” Fast-forward to me in Best Buy at 9 PM essentially putting my name and address into their computer only to receive a print out that I will “need” when Road Runner calls to arrange installation. I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why I needed to come all the way to Best Buy to do this, but I was exhausted and decided not to question anything more at this point. (Yuri’s idiocy really did a number on me earlier in the day) I went to bed on Monday dreaming of a world with internet and cable TV and slept horribly knowing that when I awoke I would still be without both. The next morning when my Road Runner wake up call came from Andre, I politely ignored it once again. I don’t want to seem that eager….that’s how they get you and try to add “features” and shit to your order. When I went to call him back I glanced over my Best Buy print out and saw the instructions of what I was to “next” after I printed out the registration AT Best Buy. It appears that I was supposed to take the print out to a cashier who would then print out some forms I will need when I speak with Road Runner. Huh? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Back in the car and twenty minutes later I am getting my necessary print outs from the cashier.
I called Andre from the parking lot to get the ball rolling. The earliest he could get me in is between 12-2 on Saturday. OMG! What the hell am I supposed to do until then? Read? I’ve organized everything I own already. I have rearranged my furniture in 2 rooms and it’s only Tuesday. You cannot imagine how slowly time passes when you don’t have television or the internet to occupy your attention. I long to view my email. I’m craving a reality TV show. Sidenote: The “forms” supplied to me from the Best Buy cashier never came up in conversation with Andre. Life sucks. Life without cable sucks more.
This was written the old fashion way on Microsoft Word at home, printed out and then transcribed into Blogger when I was near a computer. Appreciate me.
How did this happen? Well, it’s a funny story. And by funny I mean tragic. I decided to be a bit of a cheapskate with my spending now that I am on my own again and I went with a satellite provider instead of the local cable company. I saw a deal on the internet that I couldn’t pass up…isn’t this how most tragic stories start? They do in my life. Anyway, on the day of installation (Monday between 12-5 PM) this nice Russian man calls me for my exact location at 3 PM. Yuri was on my street but nowhere near my apartment building so I went outside to wave him down as he made another pass down my block. I guess these cats are freelance or something because Yuri pulled up in his unmarked minivan and was wearing an Airborne Express sweatshirt. Fast-forward to the part where Yuri says he can only install 1 dish and not the 2 that is apparently necessary due to issues with property and sight lines. I’m not sure if it was his heavy accent or my complete ignorance, but when he rushed through explaining that he could only install 1 dish, I was like “okay” and he continued at it for another 45 minutes banging and doing what it is he does.
Now here is where it gets hilarious. So this 1 dish that I had put up on the side of my apartment building will only get me local and international channels. Huh? “So it’s basically a gigantic set of rabbit ears,” I ask Yuri. I’m not extremely concerned about it since at this point I’m frustrated, tired and completely sick of seeing Yuri in my apartment (we are like 2 hours deep on this situation) so I’m like WHATEVER. I’ll deal. At least I’ll have DVR action. No more VCR. I can live without my MTV. I’m strong. Now all that is left to happen is for Yuri to “call it in” to the Dish Network folks, get me up and running and pack up that shitty minivan of his and take off. Apparently Yuri needs to make the “call in” call on MY cell phone. This dirty-handed Ruskie waits on hold for 30 minutes to get a representative on the line and then proceeds to battle with her for another 30 minutes about what he has done. According to the Dish Network folks, Yuri can’t just install one dish, he needs to do them both or else the deal is over. It’s now 6 PM and I have shit to do. I have to go back to my old house and finish moving out my clothes and food and then I have to head to Target for various apartment needs. When all is said and done and Yuri hangs up the phone he tells me that he is coming back to my house on Thursday morning to install Dish #2. Huh? Until then, I’m outta luck. Nothing. Nada. Zip. I’ve been plowing through Season 1 of Kin of Queens on DVD to keep me sane and give the impression that I at least have TBS or something.
Now I know what you are thinking…if’s Yuri’s coming back to install the second dish on Thursday, why didn’t he just install it on Monday? Well, now that Dish Network got Yuri in line he was chock full of ideas on where this second dish could be mounted to get adequate site lines. But here’s the good part, I need to be his fucking installation wing man and ask either the next door mechanics garage if they are willing to hold my dish on their rooftop or ask my neighbor behind me if he minds if Yuri taps into his already existing satellite dish located 3 stories up on the back side of my building. What the fuck? To make matters worse, I never did get permission from my landlord to even get the thing installed to begin with. Considering that there are no less than 4 dishes attached to my building, I hardly think this would have been an issue, but nonetheless, if I ask him now about drilling into his siding (the option left if both neighbors turn me down…which they will…if I talk to them…which I refuse to do.) he might be a little steamed that I never asked from the start. Yuri wants permission from one of these 3 options, if not then he comes back to unplug what he has installed and move on with his life. And then I’m back to ground zero. Ahhh!!!!!!
Phase 2 of this mess is my internet situation. I again located a great deal on the internet from Road Runner that offered 6 months at $29.95 a month, $44.95 thereafter. Nice deal for a cable connection. So I registered online and got a phone call on Monday (pre-Yuri’s visit) that I slept through. When I called them back about arranging service installation, I was told by Andre that if I looked at the fine print on my offer it says this offer is not valid in all locations and apparently my apartment is one of those locations. Huh? Andre could only give me service for the price of $54.95 a month since I’m not a cable subscriber. Naturally my reaction was something along the lines of NO FUCKING WAY! Andre then suggested I visit Best Buy or Circuit City and register there for Road Runner. Huh? Apparently if I go to Best Buy and use their computer I will magically be able to get a promotion of $29.95 a month for 3 months (the offer ongoing in “my area”). Since I was heading to Target in the vicinity of Best Buy later on, I told Andre that I will register there and thanked him for his “help.” Fast-forward to me in Best Buy at 9 PM essentially putting my name and address into their computer only to receive a print out that I will “need” when Road Runner calls to arrange installation. I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why I needed to come all the way to Best Buy to do this, but I was exhausted and decided not to question anything more at this point. (Yuri’s idiocy really did a number on me earlier in the day) I went to bed on Monday dreaming of a world with internet and cable TV and slept horribly knowing that when I awoke I would still be without both. The next morning when my Road Runner wake up call came from Andre, I politely ignored it once again. I don’t want to seem that eager….that’s how they get you and try to add “features” and shit to your order. When I went to call him back I glanced over my Best Buy print out and saw the instructions of what I was to “next” after I printed out the registration AT Best Buy. It appears that I was supposed to take the print out to a cashier who would then print out some forms I will need when I speak with Road Runner. Huh? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Back in the car and twenty minutes later I am getting my necessary print outs from the cashier.
I called Andre from the parking lot to get the ball rolling. The earliest he could get me in is between 12-2 on Saturday. OMG! What the hell am I supposed to do until then? Read? I’ve organized everything I own already. I have rearranged my furniture in 2 rooms and it’s only Tuesday. You cannot imagine how slowly time passes when you don’t have television or the internet to occupy your attention. I long to view my email. I’m craving a reality TV show. Sidenote: The “forms” supplied to me from the Best Buy cashier never came up in conversation with Andre. Life sucks. Life without cable sucks more.
This was written the old fashion way on Microsoft Word at home, printed out and then transcribed into Blogger when I was near a computer. Appreciate me.
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