Bloggidy-Do-Da
Blog Date: 2.15.2010. Engage.
I'm lying in bed and I just watched TV on my laptop. Technology is pretty cool. Today, I signed up for NetFlix, just after returning my evil cable box to the firey chasm from whence it came! (okay, so the cable box isn't really that evil. The 80 dollars it was costing me on the hand...). I also exchanged the phone modem for the internet only converter. All in all, I'll be saving about a hundred dollars a month. And NetFlix appears to be better than DVR capabilities ever was! And it's only 8.99 a month! Hoo-ahhh!
This past Sunday, I spent most of the day at Uncommon Grounds in Saratoga. My plan was to venture to the mall too, and have dinner some place else entirely. I ended up just reading and surfing for a full eight hours! (I think it's my record amount of time spent in a coffee shop).
On Saturday, I wrote the following but didn't post it because I didn't have web capabilities:
I find myself sitting in Dunkin Donuts in Amsterdam, NY. I’m here (Amsterdam) because this is where the nearest Time Warmer Cable office is located. Or so that is what my bill says and so I tend to believe it. I came here to drop off my cable box and the phone modem in exchange for an internet only modem. (Yes. I’m killing my TV and my landline telephone). My Time Warner bill also says that the office is open from 10:00am to 2:00pm on Saturdays. My Time Warner bill lied.
I drove up the office, which is located in a strip mall, and things appeared dark. On the door in large letters is their “Office Hours: Mon – Fri 9:00am – 5:00pm Sat 10:00am – 1:00pm Sunday Closed.”
I then noticed the paper taped in the window that said, “Notice: There is a change in our office hours effective February 15th.” Below that it said, “Saturday office hours will be 10:00am – 2:00pm.”
I thanked the sign and people who put up the sign with a wave of my middle finger, got in my car, and drove to Dunkin Donuts.
I was expecting to get some free Wi-Fi here (because there is free Wi-Fi in the Johnstown DD), but there is not any here.
I am, however, enjoying a coconut flavored white hot chocolate. I love me some coconut flavor.
So, it’s about halfway through FAWM (February is Album Writing Month) and I have not posted anything on FAWM.org. Some songwriter friends have and I am very impressed and happy for them. I haven’t listened to what they posted yet, however.
I started writing on the first day. I gained an idea and not much else. Over the following two weeks, I have been developing the idea, although, I’m not very excited about it. Which is why I am not working on it right now. I plan to get back to it sometime this weekend. Maybe it will turn into something. Maybe it won’t. Either way, it’s not really looking like I’m going to write an album this February. Not unless a miracle of songwriting inspiration comes to me quickly.
Did I mention I really love coconut flavor?
This past week was a truly horrid one. Most of the horrid-ness came from work and work related stress, etc. Some of it came from missing open mic this week due to needing to be in court for a ticket I received. The rest of the horrid-ness is brought to me by the Government and specifically the IRS. Taxes. As it stands I owe almost 1500 dollars… Part of it has to do with the recent ending of my marriage (it didn’t end soon enough according to the Gov’t) and part of it is because I have been claiming the wrong thing on my W2s. Anyways, by the time Friday arrived, I was pretty much at a breaking point. Thankfully, this weekend is a long weekend.
I went bowling with some friends last (Friday) night and then went to Applebees for a snack.
I’m really hopeful that something will be happening tonight. I’ve considered a bunch of options, but with the knowledge that I will have to pay so much for my taxes, I’m afraid to spend any money… and all of the really exciting things to do on a long weekend require money.
Which is part of the reason why I took the plunge and disconnected my cable. I need to save some money. Truthfully though, I don’t watch very much TV – only about 5 hours a week. Still, it feels like I’m making a big change in my life. My heart is racing. My stomach is full of butterflies… lame. I know.
I wish I was going bunjee jumping…
I brought a book with me… not really sure why. Dunkin Donuts is a thin replacement for Uncommon Grounds or Starbucks. And I don’t feel comfortable reading here. Funny. There really aren’t any places in my area here (Johnstown, Amsterdam, Gloversville) where you can feel comfortable reading… That’s probably why there are so many illiterate folks around. Haha.
Okay. I’m going home. I have no inspiration in this place and I can tell that my thoughts are pale.
Hopefully, I’m doing something exciting after returning home.
How a simple man-date turned into - a w k w a r d -
When I returned home, I found that my friend Jared was looking for something to do. We tried, via texting and facebook messaging, to get a group together to see a movie. We failed and decided to grab dinner and hit a local bar. For dinner, we tried this sweet app (short for application -- I know you know what an app is, but I'm still uncomfortable with some 2010 lingo) on his iPhone which allows you to select a city. Then, you shake the phone and like a slot machine, it shows you a food category (italian, americana, chinese) and names a restaurant nearby. It sort of like restaurant roulette. We ended up going to the Fireside restaurant, which neither of us had been to in a long time. We went in, were told that there were no tables available, were told that there was room for two more, and were shown to our table. We ordered food (from the Valentine's menu -- ha ha!) and ate. Then the comedy show started... and we exchanged a look. Comedy show? We finished eating after the host did a short set. Then our waitress took our plates and asked us if we needed anything. I said, "just our check. Thanks." She said, "You get it at the end of the show." Jared and I exchanged another look. Err... we had places to go. We sat awkwardly as the first comedian did a set. After his set, I said, "let's get up and go back to the bar and ask if we can pay and, uh, leave." We did that and everyone was surprised that we didn't come for the show. The first comedian was back there and he said, "All they saw was my set; I should be paying them!" Cute.
We left the Fireside and went to a bar called the Cellar. Jared's co-workers were there for a birthday party and the plan was to make an appearance. We went in and went directly over to one of Jared's co-workers (who happens to be very gay). We joked and laughed a little through introductions. Then I explained that we had just come from a comedy show that we didn't mean to go to and had ordered off of the Valentine's Menu. I thought it was funny.
A little later, I got a drink and wandered around a bit. Jared found me and we left. On the way to pick up another friend, Jared explained that some of the co-workers thought we were gay together... "uhhh... no," I said. "Great, so that cute girl that I kept smiling at wasn't checking me out because she thought I was hot? She was checking out your new boyfriend... wonderful."
I'm lying in bed and I just watched TV on my laptop. Technology is pretty cool. Today, I signed up for NetFlix, just after returning my evil cable box to the firey chasm from whence it came! (okay, so the cable box isn't really that evil. The 80 dollars it was costing me on the hand...). I also exchanged the phone modem for the internet only converter. All in all, I'll be saving about a hundred dollars a month. And NetFlix appears to be better than DVR capabilities ever was! And it's only 8.99 a month! Hoo-ahhh!
This past Sunday, I spent most of the day at Uncommon Grounds in Saratoga. My plan was to venture to the mall too, and have dinner some place else entirely. I ended up just reading and surfing for a full eight hours! (I think it's my record amount of time spent in a coffee shop).
On Saturday, I wrote the following but didn't post it because I didn't have web capabilities:
I find myself sitting in Dunkin Donuts in Amsterdam, NY. I’m here (Amsterdam) because this is where the nearest Time Warmer Cable office is located. Or so that is what my bill says and so I tend to believe it. I came here to drop off my cable box and the phone modem in exchange for an internet only modem. (Yes. I’m killing my TV and my landline telephone). My Time Warner bill also says that the office is open from 10:00am to 2:00pm on Saturdays. My Time Warner bill lied.
I drove up the office, which is located in a strip mall, and things appeared dark. On the door in large letters is their “Office Hours: Mon – Fri 9:00am – 5:00pm Sat 10:00am – 1:00pm Sunday Closed.”
I then noticed the paper taped in the window that said, “Notice: There is a change in our office hours effective February 15th.” Below that it said, “Saturday office hours will be 10:00am – 2:00pm.”
I thanked the sign and people who put up the sign with a wave of my middle finger, got in my car, and drove to Dunkin Donuts.
I was expecting to get some free Wi-Fi here (because there is free Wi-Fi in the Johnstown DD), but there is not any here.
I am, however, enjoying a coconut flavored white hot chocolate. I love me some coconut flavor.
So, it’s about halfway through FAWM (February is Album Writing Month) and I have not posted anything on FAWM.org. Some songwriter friends have and I am very impressed and happy for them. I haven’t listened to what they posted yet, however.
I started writing on the first day. I gained an idea and not much else. Over the following two weeks, I have been developing the idea, although, I’m not very excited about it. Which is why I am not working on it right now. I plan to get back to it sometime this weekend. Maybe it will turn into something. Maybe it won’t. Either way, it’s not really looking like I’m going to write an album this February. Not unless a miracle of songwriting inspiration comes to me quickly.
Did I mention I really love coconut flavor?
This past week was a truly horrid one. Most of the horrid-ness came from work and work related stress, etc. Some of it came from missing open mic this week due to needing to be in court for a ticket I received. The rest of the horrid-ness is brought to me by the Government and specifically the IRS. Taxes. As it stands I owe almost 1500 dollars… Part of it has to do with the recent ending of my marriage (it didn’t end soon enough according to the Gov’t) and part of it is because I have been claiming the wrong thing on my W2s. Anyways, by the time Friday arrived, I was pretty much at a breaking point. Thankfully, this weekend is a long weekend.
I went bowling with some friends last (Friday) night and then went to Applebees for a snack.
I’m really hopeful that something will be happening tonight. I’ve considered a bunch of options, but with the knowledge that I will have to pay so much for my taxes, I’m afraid to spend any money… and all of the really exciting things to do on a long weekend require money.
Which is part of the reason why I took the plunge and disconnected my cable. I need to save some money. Truthfully though, I don’t watch very much TV – only about 5 hours a week. Still, it feels like I’m making a big change in my life. My heart is racing. My stomach is full of butterflies… lame. I know.
I wish I was going bunjee jumping…
I brought a book with me… not really sure why. Dunkin Donuts is a thin replacement for Uncommon Grounds or Starbucks. And I don’t feel comfortable reading here. Funny. There really aren’t any places in my area here (Johnstown, Amsterdam, Gloversville) where you can feel comfortable reading… That’s probably why there are so many illiterate folks around. Haha.
Okay. I’m going home. I have no inspiration in this place and I can tell that my thoughts are pale.
Hopefully, I’m doing something exciting after returning home.
How a simple man-date turned into - a w k w a r d -
When I returned home, I found that my friend Jared was looking for something to do. We tried, via texting and facebook messaging, to get a group together to see a movie. We failed and decided to grab dinner and hit a local bar. For dinner, we tried this sweet app (short for application -- I know you know what an app is, but I'm still uncomfortable with some 2010 lingo) on his iPhone which allows you to select a city. Then, you shake the phone and like a slot machine, it shows you a food category (italian, americana, chinese) and names a restaurant nearby. It sort of like restaurant roulette. We ended up going to the Fireside restaurant, which neither of us had been to in a long time. We went in, were told that there were no tables available, were told that there was room for two more, and were shown to our table. We ordered food (from the Valentine's menu -- ha ha!) and ate. Then the comedy show started... and we exchanged a look. Comedy show? We finished eating after the host did a short set. Then our waitress took our plates and asked us if we needed anything. I said, "just our check. Thanks." She said, "You get it at the end of the show." Jared and I exchanged another look. Err... we had places to go. We sat awkwardly as the first comedian did a set. After his set, I said, "let's get up and go back to the bar and ask if we can pay and, uh, leave." We did that and everyone was surprised that we didn't come for the show. The first comedian was back there and he said, "All they saw was my set; I should be paying them!" Cute.
We left the Fireside and went to a bar called the Cellar. Jared's co-workers were there for a birthday party and the plan was to make an appearance. We went in and went directly over to one of Jared's co-workers (who happens to be very gay). We joked and laughed a little through introductions. Then I explained that we had just come from a comedy show that we didn't mean to go to and had ordered off of the Valentine's Menu. I thought it was funny.
A little later, I got a drink and wandered around a bit. Jared found me and we left. On the way to pick up another friend, Jared explained that some of the co-workers thought we were gay together... "uhhh... no," I said. "Great, so that cute girl that I kept smiling at wasn't checking me out because she thought I was hot? She was checking out your new boyfriend... wonderful."