| Thursday October 23, 2003 -- 9:45am Happy Birthday Danielle!!! Yesterday I forgot my coffee, so I decided to go up Route 9 instead of Route 87, so I could stop and get some. I've never gone that route before, and little did I know my name was going to be announced on the radio at the very moment I needed to turn off Route 9 to get to work. Just as the snow, yes, snow started to fly, I realized I was almost all the way up to Saratoga Springs and had only 10 minutes before I'd be late to work. It was that kind of day. But it ended really nicely, so all is forgiven. This morning there were little patches of evil snow scattered here and there along the sides of the road. Also, I managed to step in dog poop within the 20 steps I took from the front door to my car. Oh. My name was mentioned on the radio because I had emailed them the most bizarre website ever, which, of course, we all know and love. Mmmmm...pie. Sunday October 19, 2003 -- 9:30pm Happy Birthday to Jen and Marie!!! Why can I not seem to make it through an entire day like a normal person? I slept in until 9:00 today, lingered in bed until almost 10, finally felt some energy at around noon, felt it get vacuumed out of me by 6:00pm, and now it's 9:30 and I'm aching to get into bed and sleep. Lame. And I don't see why we actually have to have the World Series this year. Why can't we just accept the inevitable and give the penant or whatever silly prize baseball has to the Yankees and call it a day? Everyone would rather watch The Simpsons anyway. Saturday October 18, 2003 -- 6:30pm I've had a nice day so far. Steve and I went up to Indian Ladder Farms for apples, cider donuts, and communing with the animals. Steve made friends with a cow, but wasn't as impressed with the long-horned cow as I felt he should be. This cow and I have the same color hair, which is kind of interesting. She has impressive horns, though, and I don't. Anyhow, the store was packed with people, which made it a tad uncomfortable. We got what we needed though: enough apples for munching and pie-making, a gallon of cider, and a dozen cider donuts. We also got Chinese food, but not at the farm. I am stuffed full of veggie lo mein and donuts now. Tonight, it's haunted miniature golfing with a bunch of people. The debacle that is my brain has responded with anxiety to this form of entertainment. I don't know why. I think I just don't like being startled, and haunted mini-golf sounds potentially startling. After that, we're going to The Fuze Box, a dance club not too far from my apartment. I haven't been there in about 2 years, and I think I'm going to wear the same clothes I wore there the last time. Let's hope my wardrobe is of the "classic fashions" type. Sigh. At least it will be dark. -- 11:55am Annoyingly, I just wrote a long entry and then accidentally deleted the whole page. Hmph. Instead of trying to recontruct it, which is something I hate doing, I'll just say, Happy 6th Anniversary to Christina and Dana, and Hooray for all the little Monster Babies the Monsters have collectively produced over the past few years (I like to pretend I played some role in it) and it's going to be a fun, busy weekend, including such adventures as apples, haunted mini-golf, and Fonda Speedway. That's about where I left off, only it took up much more space the first time around. In other news, I think I had better pay some bills today. Tuesday October 14, 2003 -- 6:30pm I don't know how anyone survives being a teacher or a parent. And, I'm sorry but there is no way anyone can be a good teacher and a good parent. Something's getting compromised there. They both take super-human reserves of energy and compassion that are not found in the natural world. That said, the first day of the after-school program went tolerably well. I'm just kind of beat. And I only had them for 2 1/2 hours! And they weren't even bad! In fact, they were awesome, come to think of it. Only one picture of a guy with his hand up an elephant's ass the whole time. You bet that one's going in the kid's progress notes! In his defense, he later covered the picture so as to be more decent. He covered it with a truck running over a dog. One of the teachers gave me a really nice compliment/ego boost. We had brought the kids outside for some fresh air and play, and she stood next to me watching them organize a game of something called "4 Square." "It took 9 weeks last year, "she said, "Before they started intermingling. You got them to do it in one day!" Don't ask me how. I wish that, when I did things right, I would know how, so maybe I could duplicate them someday, you know? Monday October 13, 2003 -- 4:30pm I have survived Super Dirt Week Weekend!!! Woo-hoo! Pictures coming soon - although not very many, since I forgot to charge my camera battery. It was quite the experience. I got there, 9 year old son of Steve's friend in tow, at around 7pm on Friday. Steve met us at Gate 7 and guided us through a maze that I could never hope to untangle to the very end of a row of campers and trailers. Brett, the 9 year old, coached me. "Whatever you do, don't root for Brett Hearn. We hate him." and "That's Canadian Bill. He's cool." Soon I was sitting in front of a fire with a beer in my hand. Very nice. Very relaxing. But it was not to last, for there was a rodeo, and we had to go commune with the bulls and horses. We became blocked in at one point by a large horse with ill-intent. Steve, being the master behavioral specialist that he is, reasoned with the horse quite impressively. The horse didn't move or anything, but, um, it was still impressive. I was overcome with wonder by the "minimods" - itty bitty race cars driven by itty bitty children who were better drivers than about 80% of what you see on the Northway in the morning. The grown up car races were also entertaining, and very loud. The most boring race of the weekend was one of my favorites because (a) the cars were loud and funky, and (b) I could follow what was going on (which is very closely related to its boringness). There was a big old crash in one of the races yesterday. Just when you'd think it was finished, another car would round the turn and slam into the pile of wrecks. By the "Big Race" yesterday, I had a pretty solid grip on what was happening, so that was the most enjoyable race. I yelled with the crowd in disgust as Brett Hearn (whom we hate) jumped the re-start, and cheered with them when Billy Decker passed him. Decker's spotter was sitting right behind us, so that was kind of cool too. I even found my way back to my seat from the restroom, and it only took 5 people waving at me. The mornings were great - sitting around on chairs under the awnings, drinking coffee and chatting with everyone while Steve cooked a big breakfast to feed the masses. I met people who had been to Newfoundland and was able to share stories with them. Scott's RV was pretty cool - probably had more sqaure footage than my apartment and definitely more counter space. He had a TV too, so we got to watch the Red Sox lose, which was ok because we also got to watch one of them pull Zimmer to the ground via his head. Overall, a good time. I don't know if I could handle a whole week of it like the guys do, but it was a really awesome weekend. Sadly, it's back to reality tomorrow, and the after-school program begins. If I think about it all, I'll only get nervous, so I'm pretending it's just another boring day at the office. I really don't want to work anymore. Thursday October 9, 2003 -- 3:15pm This is where I will be in approximately 27 hours. I am uber-excited. I'm also curious what it will be like to travel alone for 2 hours with a 9 year old child whom I've only exchanged about 15 words with, ever. I'm nervous for him. I hope he won't be too weirded out. I've been terrifically cranky all week, and I'm not sure why. I predict that the bad mood will miraculously lift some time around 4:00pm tomorrow though. The Red Sox won last night. It worries me. I feel like they should have lost and then come back from behind. Now I feel like that's what the Yankees will do. Wednesday October 8, 2003 -- 9:15am Help! I am drowning in a sea of Time Magazine! I don't even really want the stupid thing. I got it for free with my new checking account. (I also got a free cooler, thermos and blanket, but I can't be bothered to get up early enough on a Saturday to go pick them up at the bank.) Anyhow, Time Magazine appears to be delivered to my house 2 or 3 times a day. I couldn't even keep up with Mother Jones, which only came once every 2 months! Also, they keep putting W's face on the cover, and his face incites me to violence. It's not a pretty scene, since I usually read it in the bathroom. Also, Red Sox... Yay. Arnold Schwartzeneger... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Tuesday October 7, 2003 -- 1:40pm This morning, on the radio, someone said, "It was snowing in Minnesota a couple days ago, and now today it's going to be 80! How weird is that?!?" How weird is that? I will tell you how weird that is. It is not weird at all! It happens every single year during the Fall and the Spring! Yes, folks, it will snow one day, then be sunny and warm the next, because that is what happens during the Fall and Spring! The leaves will start to turn in August, and it will not be shocking. Sometime in October or November, we'll have a frost, followed by a few days of wonderful weather. It's not freakish. It's called "Indian Summer." It got that name a couple hundred years ago. It will snow and ice sporadically throughout the Winter. In Spring, we'll have a warm snap, some time in April, and idiots will run out in their shorts because it is above 40 degrees. It will snow again the next week. There will be one last "freak" snowstorm in mid- to late April. It happens every year. In the summer, it will be very hot and very humid, and we will all gripe about it and declare it to confirm Global Warming (which, we denounced all Winter). It will rain a lot, and it will be sunny a lot. In August, the leaves will start to turn, and it will not be shocking! That is all. Friday October 3, 2003 -- 10:10am Some days I wonder who it is that drives me to work. It's like, I get in the car, and the next thing I know, I'm in Clifton Park. There are days I have no recollection whatsoever of going over the Twin Bridges. Today our network appears to be down. This makes it more challenging than usual to find something to do with my day. It also makes it challenging to get paid, since today is the day the bookeeper does all of that. This, along with the complete lack of heat in the building, makes everyone slightly giddy and ridiculous. Or, more so than usual. For the past two days, we have been promised pizza at lunch, and the pizza has failed to materialize. I have been forced to fashion lunches for myself out of clothespins, several dirty rags, and a spare tire. Today I thought I would be smart and bring a back-up lunch from home, but somehow I managed to forget it. I am hoping that the pile up of crises today will inspire the having of pizza. Wish me luck! Wednesday October 1, 2003 -- 11:25am So, tonight is the open house for parents for my after-school program. I'm not nervous about it - other than the fear that (a) no one will come or (b) more parents than expected will come and we'll run out of pizza and fliers or (c) the person in charge of getting the pizza won't get the pizza or will forget paper cups or something. <--- I'm a control freak. I have no faith in anyone else to do what they need to do. This is not a good quality. The building next door to mine was robbed yesterday. :( I'm not really all that worried. It's a lot easier to rob a first floor apartment than a third floor apartment. Plus, I don't have a lot of valuable things, and I would survive if I lost them. My main concern is that an inconsiderate thief might leave a door or window open, allowing the cats to get out. I would have a problem with that. Next week Steve goes on his annual "Super Dirt Week" vacation. The exciting part about this is the fact that I will be joining him for the last bit of it! I'll be driving out there next Friday after work for two days of extreme irresponsible behavior and dirt track racing. (I will not actually be doing the racing, however, I may engage in extreme irresponsible behavior a little bit.) I am very excited about this, but I am trying not to let my gastro-intestinal system find out about it. Friday September 26, 2003 -- 11:45 Happy Birthday + 2 days to Jay and Christina! So, today we had a guy come in to look into our heating system here at the office. Upon finding the furnace (which, itself, was an adventure) he promptly red-tagged it and told us it would be illegal for him to allow us to turn on our heat. The strange thing is how this does not strike us all as run of the mill or send us into a panic. We'll just get it fixed! This sort of behavior still fills me with awe and wonder. I may never recover from my museum days. We went to the Lacuna Coil show last night. My ears are still ringing, but, wow. They are one intense group of people. That woman is... I just don't know. If I were a man, I would totally want to sleep with her, but I'd be very afraid. Great line from the furnace guy: "So, um... sorry everything went kind of bad." Tuesday September 23, 2003 -- 6:35pm In the mail today I received a letter from The City of Albany informing me that they were kindly granting me amnesty on the late fees for a ticket they never gave me in the first place. Um... thanks??? Monday September 22, 2003 -- 7:20pm Argh. My body has been taken over by The Giant Gas Bubble of Doom. It's not pretty. The Irish fesitval was very fun, although that day saw the birth of The Giant Gas Bubble of Doom, so it wasn't perfect. I got to spend a day outside, with good people, listening to good music. Can't beat that. Well, unless you had all of that and NO gastro-intestinal malfunction. Yesterday I got to watch the New England Patriots beat the Jets on a HUGE screen TV at Steve's friends' house. While shooting pool, no less. It was especially fun because everyone else there was a Jets fan. Saturday September 20, 2003 -- 11:40am Parakeet Status: Still uneaten. However, the cage seems to be falling apart, which won't help her survival rate at all. I slept in today. When I finally meandered up to The Daily Grind for coffee (I'm out of it at home) I saw part of a parade marching down Central Ave. I wonder what they are parading about? The Death of Isabel? The imminant approach of Autumn? It appeared to be completely spontaneous and unexpected to everyone, including the frantic cop waving his arms around in an attempt to prevent motorists from running down the tuba players. Irish Fest today! Steve's plans for the weekend got bagged at the last minute, so he's able to go with me, yay. We're heading over there at around 3:00 for Irish hoopla a go-go. Black 47 is playing last thing, so I have to pace myself and stay awake!!! Tuesday September 16, 2003 -- 6:15pm Parakeet Status: Uneaten Sadly, I cannot say the same for most of the candy bars my mother sent me off with. I am so weak. Sunday September 14, 2003 -- 9:30pm By the way, if you get a "Sorry, this site is temporarily unavailable" page when you try to go to the photos, sorry. Apparently I've exceeded some limit. It should be fixed within an hour. Someday I'll have to get a REAL web site I guess. For now, I think it's just because I got a couple of new visitors over the weekend, and all will be well soon. -- 8:45pm I may have done something very insane. I have brought a parakeet into this house of cats. 6 years ago, when I moved to Seattle, my parents took "temporary" custody of my 4 parakeets. The only one left now is Sunny, or, as my mother calls her, "The Bitch." My mother steadfastly believes that The Bitch committed intentional manslaughter (or birdslaughter) to have the cage to herself, strategically eliminating the others, one by one. This may or may not be true. No one can ever know for sure. Well, for whatever reason (and there was very little "reason" involved) I became inspired this morning to take the thing with me when I finished my little visit with my parents. Once I mentioned the thought to them, there was clearly no going back - not if I ever wanted to do laundry there again. So I took it, and it's hanging in the living room. So far, no major trauma. Minnie seems to have concluded that the little bird isn't worth the trouble of figuring out how to get at it, and Bennett, no big surprise, is afraid of it. |
 |
 |