I hope you like this one from this rather interesting jazz trio. First heard this on WDUQ and they play it a lot, so if you listen, it might sound familiar.
Also, still more photos. Take a look at the first link on the left for photos of the Cottage from the outside. Hopefully a new posting coming up a little later tonight.
Before I start my rant, make sure to check out some new photos linked on the left. They’re the “West Point” ones …
Technology so vexes me. While it has provided a good living for me and my family, it seems as if given any chance it will screw me over at the same time. Nothing major, like power grids failing around me (yet), but minor irritants, like a gnat buzzing around your head on a humid summer night. It will not harm you, like a west Nile infected mosquito, but it sure enjoys seeing you squirm. Technology likes to see me squirm.
I called Comcast yesterday to see about switching packages as a note in their last bill informed me that the service level I had been enjoying would be going up about $15 or more per month starting in February. That was unacceptable. So, after speaking with a seemingly competent salesperson on the other end, I agreed to a new package to maintain most of the channels we watch, DVR service and an Internet connection.
All seemed well and we went our separate ways. Later in the evening, I realized something was not right though as I was trying to connect with Max on Skype. Turns out all attempts to connect to the Internet were being turned back at the modem level. I called customer support several times after trying to troubleshoot on my own and by the end of the night I was at least able to teleconference with everyone on Skype. But any browser trying to access the web was met with a Comcast screen asking if I was a technician or customer. The customer path lead to a software download and install that always failed. One technician at some point said the modem had been “deactivated” and we thought he had reactivated it, but after several attempts to get beyond a Skype connection, I figured it was time to get to bed.
So … getting back online with them tonight was a truly maddening experience. The technician was nice enough (all of them have been) but he kept saying something about my modem not responding or being seen and also being listed somehow as a “lease.” I have not leased a modem for about 5 years now. When cycling the power for the modem and router still did not show at their end, I had to have max crawl under the desk and fiddle with cables. Cut to the end everything works now.
But how making a simple switch in plans from package A to package B necessitated screwing around physically with cables under my desk, which have not been trifled with in 4 or more years and worked fine up through Sunday morning, I’ll never know.
Then … my DVD drive on my computer simply died Saturday night. Right in the middle of a Venture Bros. episode from season one, it quit. I had a problem with The Simpsons Movie the night before and figured it was the software I was using. That resolved the issue with The Simpsons Movie, but now all disks inserted are just completely ignored. I already ordered a replacement from Newegg and it will be home when I get there.
And … the stupid “Service engine soon” light came on in my car over the weekend while I was sitting at a McDonalds waiting for my lunch, two snack wraps. It usually goes off after a day or two and only comes on when it is damp. Well, it’s still on and still damp though. I don’t care. I am going home Friday night whether the light is on or not.
Finally, with the incredible speeds at which websites can take and process orders now, you would think they would have updated their backend processes a bit. Some have. I ordered the replacement DVD drive yesterday and it’s on its way. I ordered my futon frame from Target Jan. 28 and only today received a note that it finally shipped. Estimated delivery date? Why, Monday, Feb. 11 of course, when I’ll be in Munhall. Grrrrrrrrrr. Yeah, it’s not a DVD drive, it’s a friggin’ large box of more than a hundred pounds of futon frame parts in it, but c’mon, a week to process that and get it onto a truck!
OK, so that’s about it on that front … does not sound like a lot and I guess it really isn’t. Just that damn gnat buzzing me again.
So, I have a lot to write about and have been jotting down notes. I did not want to add to this already drawn out posting. I promise to write about more substantive and interesting things for the next installment. Soon I hope.
Well, what have I learned in the last couple of days … while a super Bowl MVP, Eli Manning was a horrible fantasy start most of the year. I would still take Brady over him any game with fantasy money on the line. Except for maybe a Super Bowl …
Before I get too far into my post, here’s a song I’ve been wearing out lately in iTunes. I heard it first on WDUQ on Tony Mowad’s show, then picked up the CD on Half.Com. Hope you like it. The song is “All One” by Oscar Castro-Neves.
I have another one I hope to post soon too by a band called The Bad Plus. Same deal on where I heard it and picked it up. If anyone is interested in getting copies for themselves let me know.
Music is becoming important to me here. I have been very generous in spreading the wealth for the outlets I use. I am currently sponsoring WDUQ (for my jazz and NPR fix and because Max listens to Tony Mowad every night before going to bed) and SomaFM. If you don’t listen to any of the SomaFM stations, you are missing out on a lot of good music. They stream a lot of their stations to the iTunes radio area and you can check out their website too at somafm.com. I pledged $2.99 a month (barely a Starbucks anymore) and now have no guilt when I listen to their commercial free stations (Groove Salad under the heading of “Ambient” in iTunes radio is my favorite).
It’s been relatively nice the last couple of days here. Cold, but sunny. So my lunchtime walks have at least been enjoyable. The pedometer that I bought the other week to replace the crappy one I got for free with my Brita pitcher works so much better. It was only $4.99 at Target. I am trying to log 7,000 or more steps a day and with parking a little further away from my building and getting in a good half hour walk at lunch, that has not been a problem.
A breakdown on my step counts the past week:
Wednesday, 1/23: 9,176
Thursday, 1/24: 8,870
Friday, 1/25 – Sunday 1/27: Unmeasured, in Munhall On The Mon
Monday, 1/28: 7,717
Tuesday, 1/29: 7,039
Wednesday, 1/30: 10,070 steps thanks to a trip to the Newburgh Target, Wal-Mart and some supermarket.
Thursday, 1/31: 7,869
I was picking up a few items Thursday, groceries for lunch mostly, and sort of looking around for a Laundromat. I hate the thought of having to go to one this weekend to get my laundry cleaned, but it needs to happen if I am not going home. That’s still the plan. At the little complex at the Target in Newburgh, which is a huge store, well stocked and clean, and as a bonus has a Starbucks in the front where the photo place is at the one at The Waterfront, there is a place called “Steve’s Laundry” tucked away in the corner between a Rent-A-Center and pizza joint. Yeah, this should be fun.
The last time I remember being in a Laundromat was when we were on vacation in Universal Orlando. The Royal Pacific had a laundry room for guests. We took a boatload of quarters and a couple of bags of dirty clothes down and spent a couple of hours in there. Lisa and I took turns watching and switching loads while the boys were swimming. That was at least scenic. Doing laundry while on vacation was actually fun. Doing it this weekend at “Steve’s” while I’d rather be home will really suck.
A few more things to add but I’ll wait until tomorrow or over the weekend. I have not gotten around to trying a wine and spirits store here (the beer is right there in the grocery stores), and have been avoiding the temptation. But being stuck here might just be the final straw on that front. I’ll be sure to let you know how that goes. I think there’s a little store in the Target complex. If not, there’s one in the Cornwall Plaza. Not that I have been making mental notes of all of these locations or anything …
What have I learned the last day or two? Walking is great exercise, none of the stores in the Target plaza in Newburgh have Dasani lemon flavored water, and Steve’s Laundry supposedly has 25 cent dryers. We’ll see if it lives up to the hype … better brush up on my Spanish.
I just thought I would add a link to this article in the PG as it caught my eye this morning. For the longest time I have envisioned an afterlife for me that consisted of a quick trip to a crematorium then being sprinkled over New Zealand. While not ruling out that option, I think this is a much better way to look at signing off for good. After seeing way too many movies that depict embalming (“Revenge of the Living Dead” quickly comes to mind), I am pretty sure I don’t want to go through that, even if I am dead at the time.
Not exactly being interred in a shoebox in the backyard of 3710 McWhinney Street with Mya and half a dozen other animals or ending up as soylent green, but somewhere in the middle I suppose and closer to how I would prefer to romanticize my physical remains being disposed of when the time comes.
Eternally green: Woodland burials are a natural alternative to an embalmed afterlife
Well, I know you’re dying to know … so yes, I went home last Friday. It was real last minute too. I was at work and was a little distracted since Lisa and the boys did not call the night before (Thursday). I was talking to them on the phone and wanted them to call me later on Skype so we could videoconference. They never called.
So the next day, mumbling to myself all day, debating on whether to call and vent a bit, I decided at about 3:30 to make the trip home. So after work I zipped to the cottage and packed up what I needed and was on the road a little late. My phone was dead so I charged it with the converter I bought for the Universal Orlando trip, but even when it was done charging, I did not turn it on. I knew Lisa would be calling and being a little mad still but also not wanting to give away my location (car noises in the background), I left it turned off.
Anger? Loneliness? Love? Lust? What drove me to drive that day? I am still not sure. But I am glad I did. The trips aren’t getting any shorter, but they are getting a little less tedious. I have it down to a formula at this point.
Fill up in Vails Gate, drive 5 hours to the Bedford Service Plaza on the Turnpike, gas up and grab a grande half-caf at the Starbucks there, and it’s about an hour and 45 minutes to home. Reverse that on the way back to the cottage.
Connor was probably the happiest to see me, followed by a close second between Lisa and Max. I know Max misses me more often than Connor, but when he (Connor) misses me, I feel the worse. It was great being home and the bonus was having Zach come over too. I was able to set up Max’s new computer and that’s working out very well. Left Vista on it for now so we’ll see how it works out.
Lisa was not feeling good, another reason that compelled me to head home, but she was able to go the family wedding over the weekend. Aunt Helen Detorre’s granddaughter (Jerry’s daughter) was getting married. Lisa got to dance, dress up and see her brother. A great night for her. I got to hang out with the boys, a great night for me.
But, I’m back at the cottage now …
The week at work has been good so far. A few new things going on and able to help a lot of faculty in a bind this week as classes are a good two weeks into the term and the late starters are desperate. So when I can help at the last minute get them up and running, they really appreciate it and I fell like I am making a difference.
But I’d rather get into some stories about things I have been experiencing, mulling over, and otherwise observing at this end outside of work.
When I got back from home the weekend I was there for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, I got a call from Mr. Fusillo while I was at work. I did not know this until I went for my lunchtime walk and my cell intoned that I had a voice message. Thinking it was Lisa, I called to check and it turns out it was Joe who said he needed to talk to me. He mentioned something about one of the neighbor’s cars. I was hoping they did not think I hit one of them. When I called him back, he said there had been a party somewhere on Maple Road over the weekend and some cars had been tampered with or broken in to. I did not notice anything amiss at the cottage when I got back, so I reported that to Joe.
However, I did see something strange that morning on the way to work. It was cold that morning, very cold. Cold enough for a heavy coat, gloves and a head wrap. But as I was leaving Bellwood Road and driving down Maple toward Mountain Road, I saw a young man sort of walking, standing on the road in front of Joe’s house. He was mid to late teens at the oldest, I guessed, and wearing jeans, tennis shoes and only a blue hooded sweatshirt. Very odd I thought. What was he doing out in this cold with only a “hoody” on. Did he live on Maple Road? Was he heading for a bus stop for school (he was not carrying a bag or anything to indicate he was making his way to school)? Was he at the party the night before and wondering around still sort of drunk? I could see he was looking at my car as I drove past him and I did not worry about the cottage as I had double locked it for some reason. Normally I only lock the door, but had also locked the deadbolt that morning.
I thought nothing of it after that until Joe called and reported this to him, which he said he’d pass along to the police. Turns out several other cars around the area had been broken in to as well but not much was taken in our area. Details of these are at the Cornwall On Hudson newspaper site.
Anyway, the young man’s face haunted me for the rest of that day most likely because of two things. Joe’s call about the break in to my neighbors car (not much was taken – maybe some loose change), and the fact that my boss sent around a note that a cadet was killed over the weekend. No details, just a name: Mitchel Tisdell.
Being the curious type and having the power of Internet available to me, I Googled the name and set up a Google News Alert to see what, if anything, would be reported about this young man. Turns out he was from Colorado and was apparently hit by a commuter train while in New York City. The details of the accident are available at this link.
So, why does the passing of Cadet Mitchel Tisdell, whom I had never met, to my knowledge, command so much of my attention? Why do I have this uneasy feeling that maybe, just maybe, I did meet him. And maybe it was that morning on Maple Road, after he had already passed, and was wondering around looking for passage to the other side. Perhaps the young man, who was poorly dressed for the weather and did not seem sure of where he was or was supposed to be heading, was looking to me for help when I passed him, which was why he followed my car not with menacing eyes, but with a somewhat sad but hopeful look. Was I supposed to stop? Was I supposed to ask him if I could help him or offer him a ride?
Later I thought he was likely on his way to school and, like most kids I remember seeing while walking Connor and Max to Park School on my way to the bus stop, just did not like overdressing for the weather. And if I had stopped and asked him if he wanted a ride I would be appearing on the police blotter as someone trying to abduct a child along Maple Road. I will probably never know for sure as I have not seen that young man again. I’ll just call him “Mitch” for now …
More action at the cottage as I was forced to physically evict a visitor yesterday. Seems as if my place is very popular with the ladies. Ladybugs that is. I don’t think they are actually ladybugs, but an Asian beetle of some kind. I remember there were times at DU when the wall of Rockwell Hall would be covered with literally thousands of these beetles, which look like ladybugs, but turns out they are seasonal or not native. Could be the same ones I have as roommates or these could be the real deal. Anyway, I find carcasses of them here and there and there is one who calls my kitchen home. I left a small piece of bread and some orange for it last night because I was worried I am not sloppy enough for it to survive otherwise. Yeah, I am that desperate for company.
But while I was working on the computer last night, low and behold some bug began flying around my lamp. Very distracting and I was a little afraid it was going to fall into the lamp and get killed. It was a beetle and I figured the one that lived in the kitchen. I grabbed a newspaper and was able to knock it onto the food ad and tossed it out the front door. I would miss him, um, her. Not sure of its gender.
But when I went back into the kitchen, low and behold, there was my little friend still crawling along the counter. I had sent a different beetle out into the cold. But now I had guilt. Was it a friend of the one in the kitchen? A bother? Spouse? Sibling? I could evict the one in the kitchen so it could join the other one in the frozen hell that is the shadow of Storm King Mountain, but I think I’ll let him/her stay as long as he just chills in the kitchen. Hope he eats the bread.
One last observation for the day … I stopped yesterday to check mail. Joe, bless his heart, put my name on the mailbox for the cottage. He did his best, but it read “Veche.” Oh well, I think anything destined for me will get here. One things that is arriving each week now is food ads. Now, you would think they would go right into the garbage, especially since I shop in Pittsburgh where I find it is generally cheaper for food, but I read each one from cover to cover. I don’t know, it made me think of home. Anything to make the connection is comforting.
OK, another last observation. Kitchen sponges. I find it really strange to pick up a dry kitchen sponge. Why? Have I lost it to the point where I need to write about dry kitchen sponges?
Here’s my observation. When, at night, when I finally get around to washing the spoon, knife, fork, Starbucks travel mug and Martha Stewart reusable food containers I take for lunch every day, the sponge I use in the kitchen is dry and stiff. A little water softens it up and usually there is still enough soap on it to get the job done.
So why is this significant? I don’t think I can ever remember a time at home when I picked up the sponge in the kitchen when it wasn’t still damp and soapy from cleaning dishes throughout the day. There is always something that needs cleaned at home. Dishes from breakfast, cups from the boy’s room, sippy cups from Connor. That sponge never gets a chance to dry out. Lisa and I must have used it 8 times a day, and even the 6 or 7 hours over night when it goes unused while we’re in bed was not enough time for it to become the light-as-a-feather brick I pick up every night here.
Yeah, it is just another indication of how lonely it can be here. There is no one to use the sponge throughout the day (unless I train the ladybug or Mitch needs to clean up a bit), but at the same time it is extremely reassuring that my powers of observation are still honed to pick up on small things like this and find meaning and significance in them.
So … what have I learned the last couple of days? Maple Road could possibly be a path to heaven (or hell, depending on how you might have spent your life), ladies love MAV (ladybugs at least) and the deer, while still skittish around me, will let me toss them bread from the kitchen window. Too cool.
Mark’s site/blog. Still determining which way to take this ...