Mood: Tired and cranky.
Music: My bloody alarm clock.
This whole getting up and getting to work before it's light out is for the birds.
Especially when it's raining.
ESPECIALLY.
Saw "Shaun of the Dead" on Sunday. I highly recommend it. VERY funny. Made me miss London.
More later...after I get home from work. Presumably, I'll be awake then.
Mood: Pretty Happy, really.
Music: Love in an Elevator, Aerosmith
Last night, I went to dinner with Ad, the lovely and eternally busy Jenny Lee, Landry, and her SO Liz. It should be said that I had a great time.
First, we went to Red Cafe in Park Slope. In spite of heading to Brooklyn instead of staying in Manhattan as planned, it was, to say the least, mighty tasty. Next, I had never met Liz, in spite of having read Landry's blog in which she's written.
Next, allow me to say that between all four of them, I was laughing most of the night. Liz is very funny. I won't go into the whole coffee mug thing, but it was good for an underlying theme for the evening.
Anyway, we all had a great time, and we swore to do it again soon...and maybe we even will. That would be cool.
Mood: Ticked...don't you read?
Music: NOT anything played at a Rangers Game.
OK...as of this moment, I am supposed to be at a Rangers-Islanders hockey game. Preseason, to be sure...but I would be there, probably with my cousin Chris, and we would be getting ready for what promises to be a fun night of hockey, and revel in the fact that our favorite time of year has arrived.
Instead, I am sitting at home, wondering why the hell I bothered to scrounge and save up $3200 for hockey tickets for the undoubtedly cancelled season.
Not only are they not currently attempting to negotiate to end this ludicrous situation...they don't even have scheduled dates as to when they're going to START negotiating.
Here's the deal, folks: Owners want cost certainty? Then don't fucking pay people what you're paying them. In no business, except for sports, is there an agreement that you will limit the amount you can spend on your employees. WITH YOUR COMPETITORS no less. It's absurd. The owners can't police themselves, so they need to collude in order to ensure that they don't run off and make themselves bankrupt. I'm sorry...does this seem ridiculous to anyone?
Sure, you could argue that larger or better located teams could spend more money than other teams, and so it's not inherently fair. Newsflash: Sports is a business. If you think you can recover your costs, pay your players what you want. Lord knows it doesn't guarantee a winning team. The Rangers certainly know that.
So instead of me sitting in section 341, being REALLY happy about my season tickets, and watching the Rangers pre-skate, I am sitting at home, venting my spleen, and being fucking pissed at the whole situation.
Yes, I'll always be a Rangers fan. But someone's gonna have to make this up to a lot of angry fans. Myself definitely included.
Mood: Bizarre.
Music: Snoring.
I've decided that my new rap name will be "Erroneous Elemen-O'Pea."
Look for me in stores soon.
Anyway, I've noticed that about three or four of the blogs that I read most regularly have stopped updating. How unfortunate. I was really enjoying them.
This one isn't over yet...not by a long shot.
More tomorrow...I'll tell you about Star Wars Battlefront.
Mood: Sheepish
Music: Right Here, Right Now, Ice Cube and Paul Oakenfold
I guess I still have a blog. Sorry about that. We're back now.
Just got back from Detroit, visiting my brother, his wife, and my nephew. I think it goes without saying that my nephew, who will be a year old in a few weeks, is one of the coolest babies on the planet.
Anyway, work's been hectic, and the site's been irritating my nose, ears, and throat, so that I'm walking around sounding like I have a cold...but I don't. It's just irritation due to sound, dust, and other usual construction irritants. It's really starting to bother me. Throat's more sore than usual, and when I wake up, I sound like I've eaten a bowl of gravel.
I'm playing Fable, CoD:UO, and I got into the beta for Jump to Lightspeed, which is the expansion for Galaxies. As usual, no time to play everything, especially with the hours I'm working.
Fable is glorious. Lots of fun, open ended, but not non-directed like Morrowind. Graphics are lovely, sound is excellent, control is a bit quirky, but can be overcome. Lots of nice little exploration thingies.
CoD:UO is as fun as I expected. The new multiplayer has changed significantly. Add vehicles, and it's a new game.
The beta for Jump to Lightspeed only has one thing that interests me...making ships. The way that it looks right now, it's gonna be major grinding, then selling ships the same way I sell houses. The problem is that with the number of points it's gonna take to master it, I'm going to have to dump tailor. Oh well.
More tomorrow...if I can swing it. Sorry for the long hiatus. I'll try to focus more.
Mood: Happy!
Music: Soundtrack to "World of Warcraft."
OK...so I kept meaning to update this...but every time I sat down to do it, something else called my name.
Lately, this has been the Stress Test of World of Warcraft. Oh boy, do I love this game. I will be playing it lots and lots. It is WAY fun. Mainly quest oriented, and the tradeskill system is fun and useful. Very little grinding necessary, and definitely possible to solo and play for short periods of time.
But instead of discussing all that, I would like to discuss the pros and cons of getting on a subway car with no air conditioning.
It's been decent weather in NYC, but it hits 85 or 90 occasionally...but probably (hopefully) won't until next summer again. But that doesn't really matter on a subway car or on a platform.
Once it gets hot, the platforms and subway cars (without AC) quickly hit 90-115 degrees, depending on the station and how hot it is outside. And it stays that way. When it reaches high 90s or 100 degrees in NYC, the platforms are easily 110 degrees with no air movement until the subway arrives. Frankly, it's more than a bit oppressive.
Now, it hasn't been quite that hot, so the platforms, while still pretty warm, aren't incredibly hot.
However. On the way home from work today on the downtown 1, a train pulled in, and it was mostly empty. Anyone who's lived in NY for any length of time can tell you that when that occurs in the summer, either someone's done something pretty nasty in the car, or there's no AC. Personally, I'll at least check it out.
See, I don't mind if there's no AC in the car, usually. I can tolerate heat for a bit, and there's always a seat...something in short supply, especially during rush hour. Also, cars that warm tend to be VERY quiet, aside from people grumbling to themselves or complaining about the heat...which beats screaming people and such...especially after a long day at work.
Obviously, the cons are that it's freaking HOT in that car. In this case, it was easily a humid 100 degrees. I was sweating pretty good. Which, if you're usually pretty clean and use deodorant, it's no big deal. Of course, not everyone has that level of personal hygiene in NYC. Which, I'm sure, comes as a shock to no one.
However, tonight, it was just hot, no noise, no odors. Just a fairly quick ride in 100 degree heat. And a seat during rush hour.
Overall, aside from the fact that it was 7:30pm, it wasn't a bad trip home.
Even if my fookus wasn't there tonight like she was last night. I miss her already.