Technology: the Double-Edged Sword

Well, this is just the worst thing ever. I've probably told some of you that my company keeps our laptops locked down. I, fortunately, have the admin password, so when I want to download something I shouldn't have, I just go in that way and do it. Cool, right?

Well, today, I was downloading a digital camera with some freight pictures on it - FOR WORK - and my computer crashed. I couldn't even log back into my machine. I had to call MIS, who took EVERYTHING OFF. I lost LimeWire, BitTorrent, BitComet, DivX, FireFox (and all my bookmarks) -- everything. As if that wasn't bad enough, I still can't log on to the network (I'm just signed in locally right now), so I have to send it back this week for a tune-up. And I know for a fact that the admin password I've been using is no longer valid on the computers that have been sent in in the last few months. So that means when I get it back, I won't be able to download anything ever again.

No more TV shows. No more Firefox. I more than likely won't even be able to upgrade my Messengers or iTunes when they come out with updates. Everything looks wrong, and all my preferences are gone, so it keeps saying things like "Do you want me to remember this password?" and "Look! I'm minimizing this application but not closing it!"

*sobs*

The Great Diet Sprite Caper, and How to be an Awesome Friend

That's right, it's two for the price of one here at No Day but Today.

So, first of all, I worked 13 hours today. I know one feels sorry for me, since I just had ohhhh, almost a month off, so I'll just pass the pity party up and say that I was mucho excited to come back to Ye Olde Bahia Mar for some room service and LOST - the first new one since friggin' Thanksgiving.

I get home, drop off my backpack, turn off the AC and throw open my balcony door, take a few deep intoxicating breaths of salty sea air, grab some $1 bills, my ice bucket, and my room key, and head over to the 4th floor vending machines to get myself some ice and a Diet Sprite. See, I had noticed earlier that the vending machine carried Diet Sprite, which is a bit of a rarity, so I wanted to take advantage. Buuut, it was not meant to be, as the 4th floor soda machine was not taking bills.

Not to be daunted, I go back to my room to get quarters. Alas, I do not have enough change ('cause you know, at hotels, a can of soda costs $1.25). Still undaunted, I search carefully through my wallet for the two newest, crispest bills I have (and by the way, is it normal for a person's wallet to contain 13 $1 bills? I didn't think so either. No stripper jokes.) and go back to the vending machine. Still, no dice. So, I head to the 5th floor. Yay, it takes my dollars! I'm all happy, and I press the Diet Sprite button, and it gives me a Diet Coke with Lime. Now, I love Diet Coke with Lime, but it's 8pm and I haven't slept well in I don't know... a month? so I really just wanted a caffeine-free beverage. Plus, now I was on a mission. I would not be outdone by my quest for a Diet Sprite. I go back to the 4th floor for more money, and then onward and upward to the 6th floor. Keep in mind that this hotel has 18 floors, and 2 elevators, so this is not a quick endeavor. The 6th floor? No Diet Sprite button. I contemplated pushing the Diet Coke button and seeing if a Diet Sprite would come out, but figured that wasn't good logic for a person who was still only carrying 2 $1 bills and needed 5/8 of that money for the Diet Sprite which was literally consuming every fiber of my being. 7th floor. JACKPOT. By then, I was really wishing I had more money with me, so I could get two. But, I didn't. So I didn't. And in case you're wondering, I'm drinking that Diet Sprite right now. And enjoying it to its fullest capacity (or as much as someone can enjoy a calorie-free, caffeine-free beverage).

Can anyone believe that I made a Diet Sprite story last that long? Yeah, I'm just that good.

OK, so, next story. How to be an Awesome Friend, by Danael Broussard. Today, I get back to the hotel and throw down my backpack and well, you already know that part of the story. Well, I have a message from the bellstand saying I have a Fed Ex. I call them, they bring it to me. I assume it's work, right? Nope. It's from Bruce, who I haven't seen since August, who knew I was coming to Ft. Lauderdale (and had asked me what hotel I was staying at, since he comes here all the time for work and is familiar with the area). "Jamie, what was inside the package?" you ask? I'll tell you, dear reader.

Two PayDay candy bars.

That's all. No note. He just overnighted me two PayDay bars. Why? Because Bruce and I spent the summer of 1997 together in North Carolina. I had recently found out I was allergic to chocolate, and a ton of other things, and was in the midst of changing my diet, and everyone knows that the best non-chocolate candy bar in the world is a PayDay. So, at the time, I was still young and thin and eating candy bars all the damn time, and was in full-on PayDay obsession. There was also this one time that we were poor and starving and went searching through the floors of my 1988 Buick Park Avenue (puse, oh baby) for loose change and found EXACTLY the right amount to get 2 candy bars and 2 Sam's Choice sodas. It was our dinner that night. We were sad, no? But then there was this incident with the soda machine that was perhaps one of the funniest things to ever happen to me, ever... I'll let Bruce post about it, but laughed so hard I think I honestly might have peed my pants a little. I'm certain at the very least, I fell to the ground and actually rolled on it, yes, at Wal-Mart.

Anyway, the point is this: Bruce remembered for the past 9 years that I love PayDays. He thought about me when he was at the store and picked up a couple, and then paid to overnight them to me in Florida. How freaking thoughtful is that? I mean, isn't that what friendship is all about? Paying attention, being thoughtful? I think it's a big part.

By the power vested in me, I hereby designate January 11 as Official Danael Broussard Day. I'm even dressed as him, in honor, like we did that one Halloween when we were late to a party and went as each other. Yep: khakis, a tee-shirt, sneakers, and glasses. That's the Bruce Uniform. I wear it with pride.

Thanks Bruce!! You're the best!

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

So, today was an "fair to middlin'" travel day (I'm getting back to my Texas roots). I took one of those huge planes, with the middle seats, from Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale, and fell asleep while reading The Stand, and proceeded to have some pretty disturbing dreams, with the Walkin' Dude and yes, Scott, I get your allusion to the black woman in Colorado now, and then I woke up to a hand gripping my shoulder. The poor guy was just trying to tell me that we were landing. I almost screamed but I think I managed to just GASP at him. How embarrassing. That's what a night of 4 hours of fitful sleep will get you. I think Stephen King is not good for my chronic insomnia problem.

ANYway, I got to Ft. Lauderdale, and went to pick up my rental car. Now, I'm an "express member" with Dollar, meaning I don't wait in line, I just walk in, see my name on the little electronic board, and proceed directly to my parking space. Pretty sweet, huh? Huh? Except, here in Ft. Lauderdale, there wasn't an electronic board with names on it, so I just got in line. The nice gentleman told me I didn't have to, and to proceed directly to parking space F2. Then he stopped me and said "Oh, Ma'am? We ran out of economy cars, so I upgraded you at no charge." I was like "SWEET!" But... guess what car I got??

A CLOWN CAR.

That's right. It's a clown car. In Electric Blue. And you know how I'm petrified of clowns. The best part of this story is this: tonight, I went to eat at one of my top 5 favorite restaurants in the U.S. of A. After I'm full of awesome food and awesome wine and awesome company, and I drive my clown car back to the hotel and decide to take a walk on the beach. While I'm admiring the white breaks of the waves and remembering how the ocean never neglects to make me feel insignificant, I decide to call Krysten... she had a tough weekend and I thought our oceanfront-property-in-Arizona gal would like to hear the actual ocean. So, I let her hear the ocean, and we're chatting, and I say... "hey, guess what, when I went to pick up my rental car today, they said they were out of economies and that they upgraded me for no additional charge," to which she replied "YOU GOT A PT CRUISER!!?!"

I almost fell over from laughing (or, maybe it was the stilettos in the sand). How the hell? Yep, same thing happened to her. Apparently there are enough PT Cruisers to go around. Shocker.

So, today I worked today for the first time since Dec. 15, and I must confess to forgetting how to do some things. Work, frankly, is for the birds. Being a grown-up just... blows. Can I get a do-over?

Something I was thinking about today: Over Thanksgiving, I stopped at the drugstore in Houston. I went inside to grab something. It was late... after 9pm. The lady who checked me out was probably about my age, although she looked 10 years older. She was hunched over and never really looked me in the eye, and she seemed pleased and embarrassed when I asked how she was doing and actually waited for her to answer. She still never looked up from her slump, but she did tell me that she liked my coat... and I was just... overcome with sadness for this girl. She was just... SAD. (I totally speculate of course, maybe she is a brilliantly happy and shy person, and who am I to judge?) I couldn't help but think about her life... the night shift at Walgreen's... how many people ask her how her night is going? And of those, how many care to hear the answer? We talked for a minute about my pink coat, and how there's a reason people wear black coats (the coffee stains on my sleeve) and I didn't really learn anything about her, but I haven't forgotten her. Her name was Eileen.

Anyway, I was thinking about her tonight, because I encounter "her" all the time, all over the country, in various positions in the service industry. I, too, work in the service industry. How many people a day care to ask me how my day is going? The answer, sadly, is few... and fewer still that wait for an answer.

So, today, ask someone how his/her day is going. Mean it, and wait for the answer. It could really make a difference in someone's day.

Viva la vie boheme!

So, I'm reading this book called Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge. (I must confess to adoring book titles that have a colon and a further explanation. I don't know why; it just seems so very wittily matter-of-fact.) It's a light, fluffy, prettily illustrated little book that identifies and describes the five classifications of Bohemians (Noveau, Gypsy, Beat, Zen, and Dandy, if you're interested), as well as examining their vanities, poetry, art, and lifestyle. My mom saw me reading it, and said she didn't think I needed any help being a Bohemian, and I was like "Mom, it's not like I'm Jack Kerouac, and anyway, it's not a textbook" to which she responded "I don't even know what that means." We then got into a debate about how she could have a degree in literature and not know that the beat poets were an extremely formative genre of American literature and she retorted that she got her degree in the 70s. I tried to tell her how Bohemian art can be studied back into the 1800s and hadn't she studied freaking Hemingway? and anyway, Kerouac and his band of beat poets dominated American literature in the late 50s-60s, and well, it was just pretty much ridiculous one-sided conversation. I think I ended with "Holden Caulfield woulda loved Kerouac!"

The point is, that I'm far too practical and materialistic to ever be a true Bohemian, but I do sincerely admire their rich, irreverant way of living beyond convention, and their uninhibited, rumpled devotion to ideals and dreams, art and poetry, love and decadence.

Anyway, that being said, I've barely listened to anything else since I got the soundtrack to Rent (ibym "got"... "bought for Julia for Christmas and then immediately ripped to my iPod"). I absolutely cannot the following lyrics out of my head:

To days of inspiration
Playing hookie,
Making something out of nothing,
The need to express, to communicate
To going against the grain,
Going insane,
Going mad...

To loving tension, not pension
To more than one dimension,
To starving for attention,
Hating convention, hating pretension,
Not to mention (of course)
Hating dear old Mom & Dad...

To riding your bike midday past the three-piece suits,
To fruits!
To no absolutes!
To Absolut!
To choice!
To The Village Voice!
To any passing fad....
To being an "us" for once, instead of a "Them"...

La vie boheme!

It's so Gen-X and cheesy, but it strikes a chord somewhere inside me, the part that was so completely at home in New York City, the part that loves taking trips to nowhere, the part that is ecstatic to sit on the floor with a glass of wine, a candle, and a Tom Robbins book. The part of me that doesn't turn on the TV for a week and finds elation in talking to a stranger with a dog for hours in a coffee shop. It's not all of me, but it's a bit of me, and hearing those lyrics always makes me hopeful, whether I'm really happy or not. I think we could all stand to be a little more Bohemian in nature.

"Who am I? I'm a poet. My business? Writing.
How do I live? I live.
In my happy poverty I squander like a prince,
my poems and songs of love.
In hopes and dreams and castles-in-air,
I'm a millionaire in spirit."
~Rodolfo, La Boheme

a little housekeeping

It has come to my attention that some of you have tried to sign up for my blog notifications on NotifyList.com and nothing happened. I believe that I have corrected the problem, so if you signed up and never received a confirmation e-mail, please try again.

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The link will also continue to be on the sidebar to the left. Those of you on the list from the old Diaryland days should still be signed up..

Sorry for the confusion; I'm so glad to have you reading! Thanks, J.

"I do not regret the things I have done, but those I did not do."

Tom, that title quote's for you!

From Krysten's blog... Looks like I've done most of these things except the misdemeanors, felonies, and you know, having braces. In fact, I've done most them today. No day but today, baby. *weg*:

(x) crashed a friend's car (a better term is "scuffed")
(x) stolen a car (ibym "stolen"... "borrowing without asking"? yes. Grand theft auto? Not so much.)
(x) been in love
(x) been dumped
(x) shoplifted
(x) been fired
(x) been in a fist fight (do my siblings count?)
(x) smoked a cigarette
(x) snuck out of your parent's house
(x) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) been arrested (although I have picked up someone from jail)
(x) gone on a blind date
(x) lied to a friend
(x) skipped school
( ) seen someone die
(x) been to Canada
(x) been to Mexico
(x) been on a plane
(x) purposely set a part of yourself on fire (only my hair. I'm not Krysten. *wink*)
(x) eaten sushi
(x) been skiing - water and snow
(x) met someone from the internet
(x) been at a concert
(x) taken painkillers
(x) love someone or miss someone right now
(x) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
(x) made a snow angel
(x) had a tea party
(x) flown a kite
(x) built a sand castle
(x) gone puddle jumping
(x) played dress up
(x) jumped into a pile of leaves
(x) gone sledding
(x) cheated while playing a game
(x) been lonely
(x) fallen asleep at work/school
(x) used a fake ID
( ) gotten kicked out of a club/bar
(x) watched the sunset
( ) felt an earthquake (may be sadistic, but I've always wanted to!)
(x) slept beneath the stars
(x) been tickled
(x) been robbed
(x) been misunderstood (probably right this very minute)
(x) petted a reindeer/goat/kangaroo
(x) won a contest
(x) run a red light/stop sign
( ) been suspended from school
(x) been in a car crash
( ) had braces
(x) felt like an outcast/third person
(x) eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
(x) had deja vu
(x) danced in the moonlight
(x) liked the way you looked
(x) witnessed a crime
(x) questioned your heart
(x) been obsessed with post-it notes
(x) squished mud through your bare feet
(x) been lost
(x) been on the opposite side of the country
(x) swam in the ocean
(x) felt like dying
(x) cried yourself to sleep
(x) played cops and robbers
(x) recently colored with crayons
(x) sang karaoke
(x) paid for a meal with only coins
(x) done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(x) made prank phone calls
(x) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose (and once, red hots)
(x) caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) played in the rain
(x) written a letter to Santa Claus (and had it printed in the newspaper! If I remember correctly, I told Santa at which store to find my requested toys)
(x) been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(x) blown bubbles
(x) made a bonfire on the beach
(x) crashed a party
(x) gone roller-skating
(x) had a wish come true
( ) jumped off a bridge

Texas, our Texas, all hail our mighty state!

So, the deal is pretty much done. I have signed a lease and I have written a check, and I will be an actual resident of Dallas, TX by February 8, 2006, assuming she doesn't rent out my apartment before she gets this envelope in the mail. Can you believe I went to Texas without my checkbook? Doh. My place is adorable, very Melrose Place but without the pool, or the greed, lust, betrayal, and wigs. Well, as far as I know, anyway. It's at Abbott and Knox, meaning, hello, I can WALK to Wild about Harry's!!

For all you that have been part of my nursing school dialogue, I am planning on signing up for my 5 pre-requisitite classes (damn you, B.A.!!) online and keeping my current job until I can apply for TCU's fast-track BSN program that starts May 2007. If all goes according to plan, I'll be an RN/BSN by August 2008 and will be able to pursue my MSN while working. I feel so grown-up; I have a plan that lasts further out than you know, next month. *wink*

Where IS everyone? I have multiple posts with no comments and my blog is sad.

Oh, and I'm MOVING BACK TO TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!

So long, farewell.

Today was another great day here in the great state o' Texas. I found an unbelievably AMAZING apartment (which unfortunately means I need to make some serious decisions really quickly- anyone want to be my life coach?) and hung out with Jules... had the most amazing steak dinner with the girls, and saw Memoirs of a Geisha. I read the book when it came out, at least 6-7 years ago, and I remember it being such a gripping story. The movie was wonderful although I think the ending was a lot neater and happier than I remember it; I should read it again. But truly, the film is breathtaking. Michelle Yeoh has to be one of the most beautiful women in the world. Oh, and Sandy got me a creme brulee torch and ramekins. Heee!

Going back to Ohio tomorrow. Have a doctor's appt. on Thursday to see about some more basal cell carcinomas, so please keep that in your thoughts and prayers. Other than that, Mom and I are planning on watching the entire 5th season of The Gilmore Girls on DVD. I leave for Ft. Lauderdale next Tuesday.

Ugh... work.

We gather together.

I had the greatest day today. It started with an everything bagel with chive cream cheese from Einstein Brothers. As if that wasn't enough!! I hung out with my darling cousin all day, got a bunch of things done, met Amy for Tex-Mex (seriously, how do the other 49 states live without this stuff?) and then had drinks at Trinity Hall, an Irish pub, with possibly my favorite 9 people on the planet. I was missing Sandy and Angela, but Scott, Kathryn, Amy, Ryan, Taylor, Carrie, Madison, Dave, Julia, and I all crowded around a table for 4 and man... I just don't have words. Except I do, and they are: my friends are awesome. Truly remarkable people. I am so lucky!! Next time I gripe about the lack of love in my life... point me back to these people.

Now, I know I do a lot of talk on this blog about The West Wing. I'm immersed in Season 2 right now, and just watched "Shibboleth." Let's talk some unbelievably amazing writing. WOW. Funny, touching, meaningful, all in the right places. When Sam and Toby banter about the Thanksgiving Proclomation and Josh is flipping the coin? Hilarious. The scene between Bartlet and the Chinese Christian refugee? It was just... beautiful. I wish I could find the quote for you. And when POTUS gives Charlie the carving knife? Man, I lose it every time. *sniff*

I believe this episode was nominated for and won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series. If it didn't, it damn well should have.

Kong!!!!

So, I went to see King Kong tonight. And I saw it on the largest screen in Texas, to boot. (See what I did there? To boot? 'Cause I'm in Texas? Get it? GET IT??) The movie was enjoyable. The experience was not. First of all, about 40 minutes into the show, the lights in the theater came on. Not the dim wall sconces either. The florescents in the ceiling. All up. For like 10 minutes. That was a little distracting. But it was nothing compared to the children in the theater. There was a toddler to our right that talked to her mom and dad through the entire movie, and was never shushed or asked to lower her voice. There was a 2-year old to the left of us that commenced to run up and down her row and scream, yes, scream for most of the island part of the movie (and who can blame her, honestly? That place is part Craphole Island, and part Jurassic Park, with a little Temple of Doom thrown in. I'm almost 30 and had a hard time with the giant bug scenes. I mean, seriously. If you're not going to think about the other people who paid to see the movie, which you should, you can at the very least think about the fact that the movie might be inappropriate for your child. Plus, ever heard of bedtime?). There was a group of 4 or 5 children under the age of 10 that were sitting in the back left corner with no adult supervision whatsoever. It was absolutely maddening.

Also, when we left the theater, it turned out that we were parked by the family belonging to the running/screaming 2-year old. And if you think maybe they can't afford a babysitter, you should see the Lincoln Navigator they drive. And if you think they don't neglect the proper care of their child, you should see the puppy that they left in the car through the 3+ hour movie they just saw. Yeah. I was livid.

Other than that... the movie was fun. It has a great cast that includes The Pianist, an all growed-up Billy Elliot, a non-slapstick Jack Black and a lovely Naomi Watts, who unfortunately had barely more to do that look searchingly into the camera. Well, sometimes she screamed.

Back to my relatively quiet West Wing marathon. I have to say, for the record, that In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Parts I & II are two of the most moving episodes in the entire series. And also, bring back Ainsley Hayes, if just for dialogue like this:

Ainsley: I'd like to do well on this, my first assignment. Any advice you could give me that might point me the way of success would be, by me, appreciated.
Lionel: Well, not speaking in iambic pentameter might be a step in the right direction.

and this:

Ainsley: [regarding the ERA] It's humiliating! A new ammendment we vote on declaring that I am equal under the law to a man? I am mortified to discover there is reason to believe I wasn't before. I am a citizen of this country; I am not a special subset in need of your protection. I do not have to have my rights handed down to me by a bunch of old white men. The same article fourteen that protects you, protects me, and I went to law school just to make sure.

and this:

Sam: I'm going to register with Republican party. And I'll tell you why, if you're curious. It's because they're a freedom-loving people.
Ainsley: We also like beef.

Ok, I'll stop now, because we all know how quoting The West Wing can get out of control.