But I figured I'd just say hi. Sorry for not writing in about a week.
Work's been rough, I was sick on Monday, somehow I managed to get an infected toe (which of course rocks when you're wearing boots all day...), and I've been way too busy in general.
Promise I'll write something for real soon.
If you haven't seen I, Robot, go for it. Will Smith is really good, and if you forget that there was actually a book called I, Robot, you might even enjoy it.
During the week, my schedule looks a lot like this:
-Get up around 6:00am.
-Shower, shave, general morning stuff.
-Check mail.
-Out the door to work.
-At work at 7:00-8:00am, depending on how the email thing goes...mainly work e-mail.
-Work until 4:30pm-5pm. If I have to go back to the office after finishing on site, I work until 6-6:30pm.
-Come home, check mail.
-Deal with work mail. Usually finish around 7-8pm.
-Play games, eat dinner, watch a movie...something...until 9:45pm.
-Bed.
Repeat until Friday.
You can see that this ends up being pretty tiring, and not a whole lot of time for me to decompress. I'd like more time to play games, go out to dinner, hang out with friends, whatever...but I just can't seem to muster the energy to do so.
Construction is usually pretty dirty work...and I'm not actually doing the work. Just walking around all day in spaces that are over 85 degrees, in boots and jeans, carrying a heavy pack filled with parts, tools, a submittal (basically the plan for what we're building,) water, pens, clipboard, plans, etc....all through spaces where they're sheetrocking, painting, cutting, welding, whatever...and you get pretty dirty and pretty tired. My feet hurt.
If it seems like I'm complaining, I'm really not. I'm really more explaining why I don't go out more or do more stuff...I just can't muster the energy to do so. I should do my laundry tonight...but I probably won't. I should clean my kitchen...I probably won't. I should clean out more of my closets...but I probably won't. I want to update my site, update this site graphically/layoutwise, design more t-shirts, watch the DVDs I rented from Netflix, go out to dinner. You guessed it...I probably won't.
What I will probably end up doing, is ordering dinner from somewhere, reading the submittal to familiarize myself with two complicated floors that are running late, MAYBE pop in a DVD for a bit, then pass out and attack work tomorrow.
A day in the life, huh?
2 more garbage bags. 2 boxes.
In this batch:
- All my Hong Kong bills/papers. (Again, saved a few.)
- A batch of magazines of various gaming types.
- A mess of old menus.
- More miscellaneous wires, cables, and adaptors that will never be missed.
- Some old t-shirts, completely thrashed and will never fit me again.
Time for a break. I need some food.
Oh, and I ordered a couple of cases of Diet Coke in those cool old-fashioned 8oz. glass bottles. Because summer is better with those.
Two more garbage bags. 4 Boxes of stuff gone.
In this batch:
- All my bills/paperwork from London. (Saved a few mementos...)
- Assorted junk.
- All my paid bills for the last 3 years, except my Tax info and pay stubs.
- 2 empty computer boxes.
- Game documentation for old PS games that were printed off a computer and bound.
- Several 220v UK power cords/adaptors.
More coming....
Mood: Industrious.
Music: None.
4 large garbage bags, and counting.
Thus far, I've gotten rid of:
- A JC Penney Catalog. (This year's. I'm not THAT bad.)
- 4 speakers from a 5.1 dolby system that no longer works.
- 2 modem cards that only worked in Europe.
- A set of sheets for a twin bed (that I haven't had in over 10 years.)
- Empty lego boxes. (Yes, I kept the Legos. I'm not that ruthless.)
- Assorted straps from bags long gone.
- Several ESPN magazines.
- Manuals, warranties, and other assorted computer junk paperwork.
- Lots more.
More as it develops...
Mood: Chillin'.
Music: I Quit, Manson.
So, Friday dawns. Hooray.
This weekend is a cleaning weekend. I've decided to attack my closets with vigor and remorselessness. I want to get rid of a ton of junk I've been shlepping around from continent to continent...and have no real use for.
I have a mess of computer gear...cases, keyboards, mice, speakers, hard drives, various ROMs, RAM...and I'm gonna chuck most of it. If you want it, speak up, or it's all going. And no, I'm not selling it on EBay. Ain't worth the effort.
You know what I DO have that might be worth something to someone is a set of Calzone cases. Modem bought them for shipping hardware down to Atlanta for the Olympic Games. One is for a Mac Tower and Keyboard, also holds mice and cables, and one is for a 17" monitor. The monitor case has wheels. They're custom made and are Modem Media (Sorry...Digitas...) Blue. I ended up with them when someone said "Hey...we don't need these any more...might as well throw them out." They're way cool.
Anyway, I'm IMing jhhg now, and mentioned the cleaning. She says she always loves the feeling of cleaning...that it's cathartic. I, on the other hand, always feel vaguely nauseous when I throw out "perfectly good stuff." Like 20GB hard drives. Why would you throw them out? They're perfectly good drives! Someone might need them!
Though, thinking about it, she has a point. I really should just clean it all out. She says it'll make me feel better. I get chills just thinking about trashing all that stuff.
Hell, I'll just do it. What's the worst that can happen? I need to get more stuff?
Mood: Hungry.
Music: Les Portes du Souvenir, Les Nubians.
I really want to move to Brooklyn.
Those of you who know me are probably pretty surprised by that statement. But truthfully, I think I want to be someplace more neighborhoody, more space, pay less money, and if I can pull off having a deck with a barbecue, I am going to be a VERY happy camper.
I want a hammock on my deck. I want a washer and dryer in my apartment. I want a real grocery store nearby. I want new restaurants and new places to shop. Heck, I just basically want new experiences.
Don't get me wrong...I still love Chinatown and my apartment and view and neighborhood and such...I just want something new. And the fact that I hope it'll save me a ton of money will help.
Think I'll start looking next month. Not sure I should really look before, say, September. But at least I'll see what's out there.
Mood: Amused.
Music: Soundtrack to King Arthur, Hans Zimmer.
OK, so I just got back from seeing King Arthur.
Basically, it was pretty poor. But I'll say this for it: I'm glad someone took it upon themselves to at least TRY to update the story a bit. It was an interesting take on all those silly legends. And it was arguably better than Excalibur. Oh, and it had Keira Knightley wearing very little except blue war paint. We should not ignore that important fact.
In any case, Arthur is the son of a Roman soldier and a native Briton, his knights are Salmatian soldiers taken from their villages as teens, serving a 15 year tour of duty as payment of service to the Roman Empire, and Merlin is a Woad. And so on. Slightly better than the drivel that Malory wrote.
While the story is contrived, the blue screen effects are horrific, and the acting is less than stellar, at least it was an attempt. The action is decent, the costuming/set design interesting-ish, and it makes an attempt to put Arthur into historical perspective, rather than fantasyland.
All in all, you could probably wait to rent it.
Oh, and I didn't work today, because, frankly, I didn't feel like it. I called my electrical sub foreman now and again to check on things, and was generally available by phone. Good enough.
Tomorrow: Laundry.
Mood: Aggravated
Music: Someday, Nickelback
What on earth would possess someone to authorize weekend overtime for a crew, then call back after that crew has left for the day on Friday, and then say "We've decided to cancel overtime this weekend?"
What exactly would you like me to do about it NOW?!
I hate construction some days.
Oh, and yes, I'm working tomorrow anyway.
To add Mood and Music checks.
Mood: Truculent
Music: Ch-Ch-Check It Out, Beastie Boys
Haven't been sleeping well, lately. I need to get more sleep.
Couldn't tell you why that is. Just tossing and turning all night. Wake up with my blankets wrapped crazily around me, me laying at some weird angle on the bed, and my pillows scattered all over the room.
Try to get to bed early tonight.
Maybe I have the...SPACE MADNESS!
I was thinking...DVDs are discs, right? So what if you only had 10 movies to watch on a desert island?
I actually gave this one serious thought. Those of you who don't know anything about me...or even a lot about me...I graduated from NYU with a degree in Film (concentration in animation and live tv.) Seen a LOT of movies.
Without going all crazy, here's my list...and I think I'm gonna watch some of them this weekend.
In no particular order:
1: The Godfather. How great is this movie? How wound up is James Caan? This movie defined the Mafia film genre...the only movie that was so good, not only did it win Best Picture Oscar(tm), but it's SEQUEL won Best Picture Oscar(tm.) Of course, as of yesterday, Marlon Brando sleeps with the fishes. But this will go down as his finest role...either this or Apocalypse Now. And speaking of...
2: Apocalypse Now. I can't even explain how profoundly this movie impacted my film school career...nor can I explain how amazing the acting is. Duvall, Hopper, Brando, and of course Martin Sheen give some astounding performances. Laurence Fishburne, in his film debut, was SIXTEEN when they started primary photography...and was over 18 when they were done. The Redux version, released a few years ago, adding still more texture and depth to the insanity is the version of choice here. While we're in Vietnam...
3: Full Metal Jacket. You could pick any of a half-dozen Kubrick films and not go wrong...but the depiction of the utter descent of a man into Hell, and the brutal process of transforming men into killers is stunning. Ermey and D'Onofrio steal the first half of the movie, and after that, it's all Modine. His facial expressions are fantastic, and Kubrick gets the best out of them. Baldwin's similarity to D'Onofrio is not coincidental. Kubrick would never have missed that.
4: The Killer. The first of two John Woo films on this list. If any leading man today has more charisma than Chow Yun-Fat, you're going to have to show me. The second he hits the screen, his presence fully takes over. Capable of a full range of emotions, unlike many other action hero actors, it's especially impressive...because the movie's in Cantonese. Wonderful how Woo explores the concept of honor in the world of criminals...and what happens when one breaks that code. I'll take the Criterion Collection version...the one that's no longer available. Lucky I have a copy.
5: Hard-Boiled. The only movie that may actually be more over the top than The Killer. Two-fisted pistols, an epic battle in a hospital that has to be seen to be believed, and an INCREDIBLE scene between Chow and Philip Kwok, as Maddog. As mentioned before, Woo's films are always about honor...this one is no exception. Again, violation of that code comes at a price. Criterion Collection again, please.
6: The Great Escape. I noticed I have a lot of action/war movies...but hey, it's my list. Steve McQueen as Hilts defines the POW movie. Cool, smart, brash, rebellious...outstanding performance in a cast of knighted British actors. The soundtrack is whistled during England-Germany soccer matches...that's how good THIS film is. Oh, and an Oscar. Of course. And if I choose this, I have to choose...
7: A Bridge Too Far. Talk about a star-studded cast. Connery, Redford, O'Neal, Hackman, Caine, Gould, Ullman, and even Olivier! Sheesh. Marvelous cinematography shows the grittiness of war, especially the scene where the British are pinned down in Arnhem. Redford is particularly good, as is Gould as a cigar-chomping major who fails to take his bridge intact...slowing down XXX Corps still more. I love this movie.
8: Black Hawk Down. Last war movie...I promise. Depicts the American attempt to capture Aidid in Somalia. No movie before or since better explains the relationship between soldiers than this film. There are excellent lessons to be learned from this film...if only our government would watch it. Surprisingly good performances from Josh Hartnett and Eric Bana. Great performances by Ewens McGregor and Bremner, together again (from Trainspotting.) Tom Sizemore makes yet another solid performance in a war film. Ridley Scott composes this orchestra of sand, blood, and bullets extremely well. The soundtrack is an amazing melange of North African music coupled with heavy American rock influences/guitars. The hard part, for this one, is remembering that this movie is based almost entirely in fact.
9: Sleepy Hollow. Again, I could have chosen many of Tim Burton's films...but this one stands out as, in my mind, the most beautiful. Johnny Depp is marvelous in this film, and Christina Ricci is gorgeous...yet not quite normal. Christopher Walken in an amazing cameo sparkles. The colors are rich, and the set design is past perfect. Possibly one of the best looking films of its time.
10: Blade Runner. Ridley Scott again. This movie defined the look of the future years before anyone else. Gritty and real, it also arguably defined the entire cyberpunk genre with its melange of Japanese neon signage, never-ending rain, punk fashion, and fabulous story of synthetic humans, replicants, who only want to live longer than their allotted four years. Harrison Ford's portrayal of Rick Deckard brings the 40's Noir Detective into 2040, and Sean Young is brittle and slinky at the same time. Vangelis' soundtrack, at once soulful and synthetic sets the tone perfectly. If you think you've figured this whole thing out, try watching it, and telling yourself that Deckard is a replicant. Look at the eyes. "My mother? I'll tell you about my mother...."
Oh, so many movies I left out. It hurts. No Star Wars, no Lord of the Rings. No Mummy, Fifth Element, or any of a dozen funny movies like Stripes or Caddyshack. No Matrix, no Gladiator. No Annie Hall. I know, I know...I'm crazy. But like I said before...it's my list.