Overslept. Bathroom light busted, had to shower and shave in mostly dark. Rained cats and dogs, with wind. Forgot my work keys and my Metrocard at home. Too late to go back. No change to call in late. 8:30 and already my day is ruined. . . . . . . . . . . My enthusiasm for the pagen holiday is waning. Was not very enthused about it to begin with. Bad candy and too much pressure to have a good costume. Cheaper to buy a bag anyway. Liked making the jack-o-lantern, despite the mess. But when you put one out the kids just assume you're also giving out candy, and there goes your quiet uninterrupted dinner. And now it's just as commercial as Christmas. Eh. I'm such an old man.

 
Doughnut really old Buffrin Chicken with broccoli One of these three gave me a bad case of the hives today (actually, I'm still a little hivey). I'm leaning very heavily on the chicken, as it was very close to the time when I broke out. But I've been eating there pretty much every day for a while now. The Buffrin was a few minutes before the chicken, and I haven't had asprin or that much asprin in a long long time. Although, to be honest, if the choice is between the migrane headache or hives, I'll take hives. The doughnut seems to be a red herring, but it was my usual routine. Normally I get a butterred rasin bagel. I still have some leftover chicken, so if I feel better tomorrow, I'll try it again and see the effects. And I was just getting into a groove there too. Sigh. . . . . . . . . . . So it appears that the major storm at work has passed. My job is back to being tenuous, and not very tenuous. Of course, there's still a hidden current of work that others don't know about. They think it's very simple cut and dried, not realizing the work I put in to get it all neat and ready to go in the first place. That the parts they see are just the tip of the iceberg. But that's the story of my life I suppose. . . . . . . . . . . Gene's Sad Spam Cabbage Carrots and Onion saute Leftover cabbage from Gene's Quick and Dirty Corned Beef and Cabbage 3 carrots 1 onion 1 can spam salt, oil, pepper, garlic juillianne(sp?) carrots so that they are nice thin 1/2 inch strips toss in frying pan add olive oil and simmer chop cabbage into thin 1/2 inch strips toss in frying pan, turn up heat slightly chop onions into thin 1/2 inch strips toss in frying pan, turn up heat slightly add sprinkling of salt, garlic (powder, chopped, diced, etc), pepper saute slice spam into thick slices, add to top of veggie mix as cabbage, carrots, and onions turn into mush, move ontop of spam slices. When everything is an oily mushy steaming mess, add a little sesame seed oil for taste serve with rice. Go to sleep in your empty bed, becuase you obviously live alone if you're eating this crap

 
I always plan to sleep. Sleep a lot to boot. And yet, somehow, America's Army calls me. It's how I spent my extra hour this week. Doh. . . . . . . . . . . Pretty much a dull weekend all around. Made and ate too much food. Tutored my student. Hung out with the cousin. Ate a nice dinner spread my aunt laid out (there was a church meeting at their house). Did laundry. Bowled. Pretty much avoided anything that resembled work. I do enough of that M-F. . . . . . . . . . . bowling update Game 1: 128 Game 2: 138

 
Which is why I apparently purchased shares of Vanguard 500 just when it peaked. Doh! . . . . . . . . . . The debate continues over which plane ticket to get. Do I get the Friday night departure, or the Saterday afternoon departure. I think the Friday night/Saterday 1am departure will work out best. Drop me off at the airport, and the family can just check into the hotel. So I think it's all set. I just have to actually use the credit card. . . . . . . . . . . Gene's quick and dirty Corned beef and Cabbage 1 can corned beef 1 small head cabbage 1 onion 3 carrots salt, water, pepper, sesame oil, tabasco Chop cabbage into fine short strips. Toss in giant pot with a half inch water, sprinkle salt. Boil/steam. Peel and chop up carrots into short thin strips. Toss in pot. Chop onions into thin slices. Toss in pot. Stir, add salt, pepper, sesame oil to taste. Stir, adding water as necessary to keep cabbage boiling and steamy for about 1/2 hour. Add can of corned beef. Stir and simmer for another half hour. Result should be this messy pink soggy mash of corned beef and cabbage. Serve over rice with tabasco or (better yet) kimchi for a little kick. Type up blog, and sleep in early. Zzzzzzzzz..........

 
The Boss returns from his business trip tomorrow. 'nuff said.

 
If it's Thursday night, my options are going home to watch TV, or heading uptown to hang in a bar with strangers. And by strangers I mean my meetup thingy. I'm pretty beat, so I think TV it is. Haven't seen a single Must See anything this entire season. Sad, isn't it, picking TV over people. But then, you haven't met the people I have a knack for meeting. . . . . . . . . . . Yesterday's recruiting seminar didn't suck eggs like they normally do. I did stay late, and I am getting all cheesed out from eating all that ... cheese. But I got a nice little show along at the end. I usually baby-sit the front in case people leave early and show up late. Nobody really left early, which was a nice change, and only one guy showed up late (he was all hands with the cheese and fruit spread, we had to pitch the leftovers this time around). But when people were leaving, I watched as this pair of girls (well, women, but it was like watching an episode of Dawson's Creek 5 years in the future, or a late season episode of 90210) chatted with the handsome tall WASPy man. They dawdle before finally leaving, a girl breaking away at the last moment after a pause of hesitation to hand handsome man her card with the flimsy cover of giving her a call if he knows anybody who needs to be hooked up with (internet, phone, T1?) business service. Ahh, the life of thin Gap/J.Crew white people, it does seem rather cute and charmed.

 
It's a pretty sad day when you're blogging about a commercial you saw on TV, but then I'm in a pretty sad place in my life right now anyway. But as I was saying, was watching TV and I saw what started out as the oddest commercial. Tony the Tiger and Mr. Peanut on an airplane. Keebler Elves at the busstop. Pop'n Fresh riding (or perhaps driving) a train (or, if he was driving, a locamotive). The Red and Yellow M&M walking with a bunch of other trademarked characters into a store. And best of all, Kool-Aid busting through the wall, with a clerk giving a deadpan-ish "Hey Kool-Aid." Why it must be the new SuperTarget commercial! Now, unlike Kirk I'm not a fanatic of the Target. Don't see the magic. But that was one pretty kick arse commercial. Especially since it brought back a whole wave of childhood memories of Kool-Aid. Which of course got me thinking, what kids would even get the reference there? Unless I'm watching the wrong episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh!, I don't recall seeing a bust-through-the-wall Kool-Aid commercial in years. Would any kid under 20 even remember Kool-Aid? I don't think the clerk in the commercial would be old enough to really remember the original spots. But then maybe that's the point. Kids don't have money. And they aren't going to spend it on upscale everyday products at Target. But GenXers like myself, money, no kids yet, just getting our first houses. We'd remember pretty well. We'd think the commercial was cool. We'd think Happy thoughts of Target (pronounced Tar-gSHAY, as if it were French). We'd shop at Target (as evidenced by Kirk). Oh Yeah! indeed. Fudge. Now I have to go out and buy some Kool-Aid. . . . . . . . . . . Reunion Update Time for the 10 year reunion for the Stuyvesant Class of 1993. Regimental Armory on Park Ave. 7-11pm Nov. 29th. Doh! I'll be in Vegas visiting my ill aunt. Well, I suppose that's $60 saved (or rather, $900 spent, since that's how much I'm budgeting for Vegas, not including gambling losses). Honor Points Update Despite crazy addiction and some really lucky grenade tossing, my honor points are still hovering at 12. I figured out that when you press F1 during a round you can see, besides people's game stats, their honor points. Mine is probably low because I keep disconnecting as soon as a get a whole stack of kills racked up. One of these days I'd like to get to play a full 7 rounds for a match. Stupid dialup. Stupid America's Army. Bowling Update Week 4: Game 1: 101 Game 2: 138

 
Today was pretty much a bust. Managed to get some errands run. Managed to get some chores finished. Nothing much else really happenned. Oh, and I bought myself a bowling ball. A shiny red 12 lb. marble. Pics to come tomorrow. Not as cool as curling tho ...

 
Why oh why did I stay up late? Why oh why did I fear? I knew that the curse was in full swing. I knew that, just like the Cubs, I just had to wait until Boston was 5 outs away from the win. I could have gone to bed early. But I lost my faith. Never lose your faith. And I could care less about the Yankees Marlins World Series. Just like I couldn't give a wit about the Bulls whoever finals, after the electrifying Bulls Knicks playoffs. . . . . . . . . . . On the MetConnect.com vs Access4less.net front, Access4less.net isn't all that much more stable. I'd kill for a high speed connection so I could play a full 7 rounds of America's Army without disconnecting. BUT, it does have more modems in the pool, as I'm on a relatively fast 50.6kb connection on a Friday night. MetConnect.com is usually busy all night long. So that's pretty good. Overall, I've been pretty happy with my experience, for the price. . . . . . . . . . . Stuyvesant is having a 100 Year Celebratory Walk Run on Sunday. So that's 2 alma maters celebrating 100 year anniversaries in the same year. A little freaky actually. I already missed the chance to register for the St.B's symposium, so I suppose I should participate in this. Besides needing the exercise, I like to walk.

 
As I type my Yankees are losing. I'm not watching tho, because: a) I'm too scared to watch (plus, I can't get FOX on the rabbit ears. The radio is another matter. b) I just remembered today that I'm not supposed to care about baseball anymore. One (potential) strike too many. . . . . . . . . . . So the 1st Annual Benefit for Signifigant Steps Child Development Center went pretty well. I ate a lot of very tasty food (although, truth be told, something there didn't quite agree with me very well. I think it was the dip.), got to bid on a lot of items in the silent auction (secure in the knowledge I'd never win, but I was doing my part to inflate the price for the charity), and had a little too much wine. The place? The Picnic House in Prospect House, which was a very nice venue indeed. Staff was friendly (some a little too friendly). Not really enough people tho, although this was the first event they held; not a critical mass of people. Maybe next year. My co-worker Liz invited me to go, and at $150 a head, she must really be a good friend for me to have gone. Of course, I also go home with her on the train, regularly chat with her kid, am on her bowling league team, and go to lunch with her on a regular basis. The neighbors can't stop talking. Her sister, Michele Muller, along with husband Bill Muller, were honored at the Gala as well for their work to help out the organization. The speeches were not really polished, but the emotion was very sincere. It was the case with every other speaker as well, not everyone can be as smooth as Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. Normally I'm not a big fan of politicians, but like I have to give props to Guiliani for racing to the heart of action, I have to give a hand to Marty for being on the Brooklyn Bridge the day of the blackout, welcoming us all home with open arms back to Brooklyn. But he was a smooth talker. Lots to say about Significant Steps and the benefit dinner, and not much really said when you thought about it, but highly entertaining for the time it was taking. Dancing didn't really happen. I won a gift basket in the raffle, a Tea Lover's Basket. A teapot, 2 cups, a wiffle (essentially a tea pot holder), stainer, tea crackers, and I'm assuming tea. Of course, tea upsets my stomach and I mainly dislike the taste. The smell, especially of Earl Grey, I love, the taste, not so much. Plus the fact I have no room at home, adds up to the fact that Liz now has a very nice Tea Lover's Basket. The neighbors are gonna get a kick out of that. Oh, and did I mention I got to meet Matthew Modine? Really nice guy, stopped by every person to chat, myself included. Even left the yankee game early for the event, so that's the true mark of a really nice guy.

 
In brief, I went to the $150/head 1st Annual Dinner Gala for Signifigant Steps Child Development Center, a fundraiser for their new building. It was a lot of fun, and I got to take my picture (as well as a friendly out of the blue pat on the back) from Matthew Modine. Pics to come when I'm awake.

 
Although we had to wait more then usual, managed to hook up with Jeff and Cathy and Cathy's friend Molly for some good eating. Grand Central was fun, except for the fact that Jeff was in a bookstore there from 7:18pm, while we waited for him until 8pm at the information desk. If you ever go, stop by the big semi domed ceiling in front of the Oyster Bar. You can stand and speak into the corners, and if it's not too noisy, you can hear the other person on the other side coming out of the stone corner. Got to see "Alamo". The large steel cube tipped on it's corner that you can spin (if you put your back into it) in front of Cooper Union. "Endeavor", the original, sits in front of the administration building at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It spins very nicely, nice and loose. Supposedly there is a third cube somewhere in Florida, possibly near Tampa. Went to a nice, not overly fancy, Japanese steak house. One where you had to take off your shoes and stick them in a cubby hole, however. Had one of those floor level tables where you put your legs into the hole underneath the table. Also had a inset table grill, but sadly it was electric. And we ended up, except for the appetizers I ordered, eating essentially Korean food. Table cooked beef short rib, or Kalbi as I like to call it. The bill wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. 4 people, 4 orders of beef short ribs, 4 orders of green tea ice cream, 1 big Kirin beer, 1 sushi appetizer, 1 fried chicken appetizer, 4 salads and miso soups (came with the beef orders), and 4 bowls rice; all for $70. Not bad at all for Japanese dining, with tip comes out to $21 per person. Not that I let that happen, as I intercepted the bill with speed and deftness that left the others in shock. I let them divy up the tip tho. The Stanford Hotel is, on the inside, pretty much what you would expect from the outside. Smallish. Not so pretty, not so clean (not dirty, mind you, but more of a tired time for a rennovation motel feel), and pretty old school. A bit disappointing, really. All in all not bad for a Monday night out. Wednesday I get to hang with the disabled kids. That should be fun.

 
So Cathy's in town, and she left me a message on my machine. I give a ring up to the hotel she's staying at, and as per directions,

"I'm trying to connect to Catherine Hong's room."
Of course, "There is no Catherine Hong listed."
So I try the other sister I know is in town.
"Sorry, there's nobody here by that name."
"That's OK, maybe I'll try [the sister that lives in town]."
"Sorry, nobody of that name. But there is this room that I think might be the one you want, I'll connect you."


"Hello?"
Great, a strange voice I don't recognize. "I'm looking for Catherine Hong?"
"One second."
"Hello?"
"Hi Cathy."
"Genay!
"Who was that? And who is the room listed under?"
"Mur, and Paul"
Of course.

But all is now well, as we are scheduled to have dinner tonight along with some other assorted other folks. SHould be good times.

 
That's pretty much been the running theme of this week. I keep getting put off by the boss, and before you know it the whole week has gone on by. Oh, and people who need answers from me are now very very upset. . . . . . . . . . . As I suspected, the college life is not nearly as isolating as expected for my cousin. So far the ticking of the family visiting clock is every two weeks. Ever since she went on up either she's come back down or the family's gone back up every two weeks. And this week is no exception. Coming on down this weekend. And, like clockwork, I've just been invited to join the family in going up with them two weeks from this weekend (Nov 1) to visit during open house weekend. Well, so much for my renting a car and driving on up plan. . . . . . . . . . . Access4less.com has turned out to be a very big dissappointment. I'm getting through, so I can do lots of internet stuff at a reasonable speed, unlike before, but that's about it. It's just as laggy with America's Army as MetConnect. Lucky to get a 53.2 connection speed. Even luckier if that upstream/downstream stream was consistant. Ahh, if only for the days of 1.7.0, when a 56k connection would be more then enough. On the plus side, my honor points finally hit 11. I just figured out that leadership points count too, not just kills. So having your whole team survive, or at least your firesquad, is a very good thing. And I'm getting a lot better at Bridge Crossing. If only my teammates would act like a team and tell me when to throw a grenade, I'd be invincible. . . . . . . . . . . Blew a whole bunch of money, but it don't matter. I'm shipping out the laptop tomorrow. Heads up mom, you're about to join the technical revolution (asprin sold seperately).

 
I'm a little too ambitious at times. I go on these trips, I take these pictures, and I figure how nice it'll all come together for the blog. But then I fail to account for how much work it'll take to write it up, covert the pics to a space saving format, and then the actual uploading time. And before you know it, a week has gone by, and nothing to show for it. So, from now on, I'm just gonna blog, and let the ambitious stuff happen when it happens. . . . . . . . . . . The weekend was mostly good. Got a lot done in Jersey. Put together most of the 2003 statements for my old boss' corporation together. Since I had a system in place already, it went really quickly. Tutoring was good. Oxidation Reduction turned out to be easier then I imagined. I made a mistake or two assuming the kid would just get one or two things naturally, and so we had to go back and figure things out all over again, but for the most part it was good. Next week is the total closeout of the chem, so that'll be nice. Had to skip seeing the family since I had to be home in bed early, which of course didn't happen since I finally rented Attack of the Clones (which was much better then I was expecting). Sunday was the stadard trip to the cemetary, chinese buffet, and WalMart. Nothing too special, followed by Holy Spirit bowling league. And bed too late. All in all, the standard boring life of Gene