May 1999

Entry... 5/1/99 2:11pm

Can you believe that it is May already? We have had a marvelous strand of really great days. I just got in. I was up last night till 3 in the morning. I went out for happy hour with my boss after work on Friday, then met a friend for dinner at El Loco in Albany. Washington Park was closed for some charity walk/run thing all day, so there was nowhere to park in Albany. So, I parked in Schenetady and walked through a really, really nice neighborhood to get to the restaurant. As I was on the last block, myself and the only other caucasian in a 30 mile radius fell into step. As we were walking, he starting just swearing out loud and complaining that he didn't feel safe walking the streets in his own city. He said that he felt safer when he lived on Manhattan. Then he swore a couple more times, and headed west on Madison, while I turned East. I happened upon the drummer in the band I planned to see that night on the street, and he and I hung out and talked for 45 minutes or so before my dinner companion met up with me. Dinner was pretty good, but I couldn't remember the dish that I had there the last time that I was there. I settled for a Chiorzo Chimichanga and a dark beer. Very good. Pass the sour cream, eh? After that, I went to the Lark Tavern and caught the band Yukon Cornelius, danced and acted silly.

When I got home last night, I turned on my computer screen to see if I had any email (which I did), so I sat down to answer it, and I was thinking of writing in my journal when somebody coughed and scared the heck out of me. Turns out that my brother had a full moon party, and someone had crashed. Not knowing this, I was taken by surprise. So I wrote a really fast mail and turned off the computer and went to bed. It's just as well that I did, becuase I had to be up early this morning. Today we cleaned and raked and put new sand on the volleyball courts that my league uses. We start on Tuesday night, but we couldn't resist setting up the nets and playing a few games after all the work was done today. It was awesome. This league is going to be a lot of fun.

Well, that's about it from me for now. I am gone the rest of the weekend. My band plays tonight and tomorrow afternoon about an hour west of here, so I am just going to spend my time out there. I have to go pack and load the car up. I am taking our broken lawn mower to my Dad's house for repair - our lawn is in dire straits and needs a trim. I'll see you Sunday night. In the meantime, here are some links that I have found recently that are a lot of fun. Check them out.

Want to build a Death Ray "Cannon of Doom?"
Want to see what people are searching for on the net? This page shows you what is getting typed into search engines.
EEGAD! It's Ray's Tropical Island! This guy has some cool links.
Online Journalism Review How are our news sources shaping up? Do they report everything they can properly? Or is it really just a bunch of second hand guesses?
Need a device driver for that pesky piece of old (or new) hardware? Find a library of Windows Device Drivers at Windrivers.Com

Entry... 5/2/99 8:55pm

I got home from the weekend just a few hours ago. The weather was just absolutely perfect all weekend. My brother was home, giving a guitar lesson, and then he headed out for dinner and a movie with friends. I sat outside for a little while; just enjoying the day. I was going to read, but then ended up coming inside and turning on the television. I watched a really stupid movie ("Batman and Robin"), and my other housemate came home to pick something up and asked me to go out to dinner with him and his friend, but I opted out of that, too. I have had a full weekend of constant noise and contact, and I just needed to ease out of it and relax. I'll need to scrounge up some food at some point, but not right now.

I know, I shouldn't be left alone with my thoughts. It can be dangerous. I am actually feeling a bit melancholy tonight, and I know why. But I don't want to get into it. I just gotta keep on keeping on. Oh, wait, I found this on the net tonight. I'll share these quotes with you. I think they define a good way to be:

Entry... 5/3/99 11:41pm

Desk pop can count is up to 90 today! What will I do for my centennial?

Work wasn't too terrible today. In fact, I mostly stayed at my desk the entire day. We have 5 new employees starting in the next week, and I have a lot of things to do to prepare for their arrival. Luckily it wasn't so busy that I could get some planning done. I went out and got pizza for lunch. I have gotten to know the girl who works there fairly well, and today may be the last time I see her. She has a second interview with a place that actually would allow her to work in her chosen field of study. She's pretty excited about it. It will be a huge improvement over washing pizza pans.

Big news in the exploration field today on a few fronts. Firstly, they actually found the Mercury 7 Space Capsule (Liberty Bell 7) on the floor of the Atlantic ocean. You have to appreciate the scale. This relatively tiny object lies 3 miles deep on the ocean floor - a full half mile deeper than the Titanic does and 300 miles out to sea. Incredibly, they found it on their first dive. The cold water has preserved it for 38 years. High seas cost them their rover that shot the pictures of it when the cable snapped, but they could salvage that if they go back. And you know they want to. Read the CNN report here.

The second big piece of news is that they found the frozen body of George Mallory on the top of Mount Everest - 27,000 feet above sea level. He disappeared 75 years ago. Many believe that he and his partner, Andrew Irvine, were the first to reach the summit of Everest in 1924 - some 30 years before Sir Edmund Hillary did in 1953.

And, not so surprisingly, the Russians claim that they are out of money to build the primary housing section of the new International Space Station. Like this is news. Looks like MIR will float for awhile yet.

So, this is what is new and exciting to me. After work, a friend of mine needed a phone line run in his house. So I drove home and changed, and got my tools, and drove over to his place. He had ordered pizza (oh joy - twice in one day) so I ate, and then installed the line. I also fixed his roommates' computer. He tossed me 20 bucks for the wire and the work I did, so I stopped at the mall on the way home and bought myself a pair of shoes. Nothing fancy, but they will do. I bought black so that they will go with anything.

I actually caught 10 minutes of that animated Dilbert cartoon for the first time today. I don't like it. I think I will keep the antics of the crew in my head with the voices that I hear.

Oh, hush about the voices. I know what you're thinking, and yes, I did set myself up just now didn't I?

Entry... 5/6/99 12:15am

This week seems to be flying by. It's already Thursday. Work has been really busy. We just can't seem to get ahead of the tidal wave. Everyone in my unit is feeling some heat, and I am glad that it isn't all on me. We all have our little burning ASAP projects. I made good headway on mine today. We have 4 new employees all starting on the same day - Monday. I just got their PC's today, so I have 2 days to completely set up, configure, install and tweak them. Nothing like just a few weeks notice, is there? I was lucky to get the machines as fast as I did. So, like I said, I spent today preparing the area where they are going to be. I had to move a bunch of equipment around, and program the phones, and set up all of the accounts. I am dressing down this week because of all the time I am spending under desks.

I found out that I am the catcher on my company softball team. They went out and bought me a mask and pads to wear during the games. Our first game is Friday after work.

Speaking of sports, my volleyball team went 5 and 1 on Tuesday night. We played in the muggy heat and on and off rain and had a great time. I think we have a pretty good team. I am hoping that our t-shirts come in soon so that we can wear them to the games. Right now, the artwork is still being mocked up.

Desk pop can count went up by two today. It now stands at 92. On Monday, my coworker's daughter visited the office. I was sitting in my chair, and my coworker pointed at me and said by way of explanation to his girl, "Look, that's the guy who drinks all the soda."

After work today, I got the shopping bug and I went and bought myself 2 pairs of jeans, and 2 new shirts. I also got toothpaste, and some hair ties. I only had one, and I didn't want to lose it and have nothing. I am still waiting for my bangs to grow out so that it will be easier to put my hair back. The waiting is the hardest part.

Entry... 5/9/99 11:04am

Happy Mother's Day! I hope that our special ladies are all having a wonderful day.

Desk pop can count: 94

It's been a fairly busy week for me, as I told you. They added another new employee for a Monday start date, so that would make it 5. I also had a pc that failed me in the final stages of setup, so I had to start all over again with it. I was able to pull it off, and get all 5 PCs on the desks, configured and ready to go. Whew!

We had our first company softball game on Friday. It was a beautiful day for a game. I have to admit we were a bit intimidated by our opponents when we first took the field. They looked really good. They all had matching shirts and hats, and they were hustling out there during their warm ups, tossing the ball around, swinging bats, saying baseball like things. Our team, with our random colored shirts, hats and no hats, admittedly looked a little rag-tag. But all that ended as soons as we started playing. We won, 18 to 7. I only got to play in two innings, because we had so many people. So I stood as first base coach for the first 4 innings and then played the next two. We ended the game early because there was no more at bats for the challengers. I slapped a triple and was batted in, and as shortstop, I made 2 caught outs and 1 assist. I had originally put in to be cathcer, but went out to short when another guy really wanted to catch.

Well, it's time I got off this thing and made my banana cream pie filling. I'm having my family over for dinner today. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Entry... 5/10/99 2:02am

Dinner went splendidly today. Other than my typical biscuit fire, all the food came out really well. A couple of place mats gave their lives for the cause. I was washing them all, when we realized that the stove burner was still on (the little light is not working) and two plastic mats were forever joined together in the throes of melt. Could have been worse. After all the food was prepared and ready to cook, my housemate and I stepped out to visit a friend and his family for drinks. I was barely in the door and sitting down with my drink, that they all tackled me on my opinioons on the Y2K issue. I told them to cash in all of their bonds, withdraw their money from their checking accounts, and sell off all of their stock. I also told them to stock up on candles, matches, firewood, and kerosene. People can be pretty funny sometimes.

After dinner, my housemate and my parents played a hand of cribbage. My Father and I were partners, and we lost this time out. We have had an ongoing challenge. I would say it's pretty even so far. Then I took my Mother to see the Albany Community Orchestra at the SUNY campus and drove her home. My Dad didn't want to go, so he went home earlier on. When I got home, I played some more cribbage with my housemate and watched the news, and most of "Dirty Dancing" and some of "This is Spinal Tap."

I put new strings on my guitar yesterday. I bought D'Adarrio phosphor bronze light gauge strings again this time. I really like them. My band had a very successful gig Saturday night. I think I forgot to mention this. We went out to play a normal gig, and because of the weather on Saturday, I didn't really expect that many people to be out, but they had a birthday party for one of the club members, and the place was packed. They had a pot luck dinner, and everybody stayed till we were done playing. Now, we typically bill ourselves as a country band, but we played so many rock and roll numbers, I felt like I was playing in a 50's and 60's project. I know that we got a few bookings out of this gig for sure.

Gotta crash. It's going to be a busy Monday. Tomorrow night I have to do my laundry and mow the lawn.

Entry... 5/10/99 9:54pm

Productive day today. It goes without saying that there are a lot of things going on at work. I finally took a lunch at 2:00, because I had to eat. I'm glad I did, instead of leaving early, because we had another typical 5:00 emergency. The cause in this case was our frame relay wide area network provider disconnected our primary T1 between us and our site in Baltimore, Maryland. Luckily, we had a redundant data line, so no client processing was affected, but we could no longer use our T1 for inter office voice services. When we called the ticket in, we were told that the T1 had been disconnected. When they looked at the order again, they realized that they should have been disconnecting a 96Kb line for a different client altogether. Oops. But, still, we had to hang around to watch the pretty amber lights and see when they went green.

Ever since I got home, it's been project night. I had a couple loads of laundry to do, and two broken VCR's to take a peek at. I want to put on in the kitchen with a little monitor I bought and I only want the tuner of the VCR. One of them was completely toast, so that's going into the dumpster come Wednesday. The other one may live yet and fit my evil purposes perfectly. I also mowed the lawn today! I know that this may not seem like the perfect idea of a Monday evening at home to you, but you don't understand: This is the first time I have mowed any yard in over 4 years. It was really nice and I loved every minute of it. A perfect day to be outside. Now, before you email me and tell me how much joy I will find in mowing *your* lawn, keep in mind that it was *my* lawn I was mowing, and that's the point.

I am taping a really old LP record tonight for my drummer. A friend of ours gave it to him at our gig on Saturday, but he doesn't own a record player. So I am dubbing it for him. It's a pity - it's pretty old and doesn't sound very good, but he'll get the gist of it from the tape. It's a recording of percussionist Sandy Nelson doing covers of old 50's tunes. Everything from Elvis to surf music. Hippy Hippy Shake, anyone?

This is a really twisted site. Buyer beware. I'd rate it X, TVMA, NC-17, R, etc. It's especially anti-religion. And, for those of you who deal with customers all day, here are a collection of real audio files from actual customers who are actually ticked off. Hear them here. I was busting a gut listening to some of these.

Entry... 5/11/99 12:18am

I took a long walk today at work all around the office park. When the weather is this nice, you just can't justify staying inside. Had volleyball league tonight. It was great fun. Just a perfect day for being outside. We did well again, winning 4 out of 5 games. These were a lot more challenging then last weeks games, but we still did well. In 2 games, we came from way behind to win the games. I decided not to hang around afterwards, and instead drove down to meet up with my company softball team at a local bar. We had a game tonight, and I couldn't go. We lost, big time. But by the way I heard it, everyone kept their head in the game and did really well, considering the circumstances. We have two games next week. I met a lot of new people and had a great time. A few of us ended up at a friends house after that broke up, and watched some tv and checked out all of his new Star Wars figures. If he can buy extra tickets, I told him that I would go see the movie with him and his crew.

My company is talking about a moratorium on vacation time during December and January of this year. All because of this Y2K crap. It's so insane. I took the week before Christmas off last year, only because I had so much extra vacation time to use up, and I discovered that I loved it. There was so much time to get everything done. You know how it is...shopping, wrapping, cooking, preparing... aieee. I'm going to miss being able to take that time. Well, heck, I could quit and have it all to myself, I suppose. I coompletely understand the need to be there after the change over; but if you prepare to the best of your ability, nothing you do from December 20th till January 1st is going to help a bit. Everyone has let themselves get so worked up over this.

I got home and did some dishwashing, and visited with my housemates, and played with the dog. I felt sort of how Kurt Vonnegut described playing with his dogs as he was growing up and again when he was raising his family. We were rolling around and playing and growling and biting, teasing and tail wagging and laughing and licking. All great fun.

I had to scan a picture for the office for the company website, so that's done. Now I am considering staying up and watching "A Bug's Life." My brother rented it today, but didn't want to watch it yet. I could be done watching it by 2am, and then I can go to sleep. A plan has been made. It is time to carry out the plan.

Hey - want to see some cool info about our Navy? Everyone has a website these days. I found the info on the ships to be the best part of this page.

Desk pop can count is up to 95 today.

Entry... 5/12/99 2:20am

Hey all... short entry tonight. I am starting to fade here fairly quickly, and I need some sleep. I went out to lunch today with a buddy of mine and got caught up with each other and dished some dirt. While I was eating, a guy I play volleyball with was walking into the deli, and he mentioned that they played pick up games on Wednesday nights. I had been thinking about going over to Sutter's for the 15 cent wings, and a few beers on the deck, but I couldn't resist just getting outside and playing some sports. After work, I drove home and changed and drove back to the courts, and played until dark. I played most of the night on a 6 to a side co-ed team, but then was invited to join an all-male 4 on 4 game. That was pretty intense, and great practice. I am playing in some tournament in Saratoga in 2 weeks, so I was able to meet a new guy tonight that will be playing on our team. I don't know why I wasn't doing this years ago.

When I got home, I got pizza with my brother and his girlfriend, and we watched the movie "A Bug's Life." It was really funny, and well done. David Foley was the lead ant and Julia Louise-Dreyfus was the lead female ant. Then I watched 2 taped episodes of NYPD Blue and an episode of "Just Shoot Me" that cracked me up big time.

Desk pop can count: 97. Will we break 100 this week? Stay tuned.

Entry... 5/18/99 12:46am

Yeah, ok, I know, I know. Where the heck did I go? I've had a run of days that were both busy and relaxing. I am freshly home from a softball game. We played a late game under that lights at Bleeker Stadium in Albany. We lost, but we had a lot of fun. I scored once, and made a few outs, when I got to play. I went out for beer after the game with the team, and played a game of darts. I played pretty well, so that felt very good. Now I am trying to update this journal, chat online, and wait for Leno to come on with his Monday night Headlines skit.

I played air hockey last Thursday, as I typically do, and did much better than I have been. While we were playing our typically "hack" game, these two guys came in to play. They must have been playing in the arcade down the street earlier on, and when it closed came to use this table. They had their own pucks, specially modified to weight more, and harder paddles. The one guy had all of his equipment in a little bag that he carried around with him. It was really funny to see someone take this game as serious as they seemed to. They did nothing but amazing feats of puck control, and sideways slap shots, and very little defense. It was all about making the perfect shot. They wanted to know if we wanted to play them, but we bowed out, content to remain at our level of comfort. We did try to hold the paddles they way they did, but we couldn't stop laughing and making lousy shots, so we went back to our old way. They were just thinking way too much, and the way the guy popped visine in his eyes between every shot was pretty hilarious.

The weather has been incredible. I have been taking advantage of it, as you can tell by my absense from the computer world. I spent the weekend reading on the deck, trying to get some sun on this pale body of mine, and some pages under my belt in this Tom Robbins book. I am trying not to rush my way through it, although I have learned that he has a new one being edited right now, and soon to be published. I went and saw Yukon Cornelius play in Albany on Saturday night, and had a happy hour for a departing coworker and friend on Friday night. Sunday was a lay around and read and watch movies day. I played a little guitar, and almost wrote a new poem, but I never finished it.

Went out for lunch today with my brother. We had subs at a place on 155 then hit the used CD store. He found some cool CD's, and I bought Pink Floyd's "Pulse" and The Cars first CD (a must have for any collection!). I played them at work this afternoon. Most wonderful. My boss came over late in the day when he was about to leave, and he heard the Pink Floyd and took a minute to sit and listen to it. A nice deal I got on that one.

I didn't finish this entry before Leno did his "Headline's" segment. He just did it, so I took a minute and stopped writing this to watch it. I have a whole bunch of URL's to share. Here are some websites that got the Mudbrick award for being pitiful. These ads spoof popular advertisement campaigns. Check out the whole site, too.

8 1 16 16 25 2 9 18 20 8 4 1 25 5 22 5

I went looking for a bunch of Tom Robbin's web sites, trying to find some quotes from his books, and I encountered a ton of sites that referenced him, and I found the people who put up these sites just as interesting. Here's a guy named Josh Madison. And a gal from Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, named Maria Verheij. I also found this web site, that lists popular artists and authors who are atheists, or agnostics. One last one: The leader of the band Matchbox 20 mentions Tom Robbins and Kurt Vonnegut as one his main influences. I have always liked this band, now I know why. Visit the Music Fan Club home site, too.

You would be surprised at how many amateur cams are out there on the internet. I have shared a few that I visit on this page, and here is a site that lists even more. Two good ones I found on this site are Stef and Aja.

One last link, for a little fun. Here is a page full of brain candy for you. Fun with words on a grand scale.

Entry... 5/18/99 4:05pm

Hey! I can FTP files to my web site from work again (much to the chagrin of my employers). Now maybe there will be more consistent updates. Or not. We'll see what happens. I went out for lunch today to Pizzeria Uno's in the mall, and had their lunch special. The New England Clam Chowder was most excellent. I didn't even need the pizza. I am fantasizing about climbing a mountain and eating ice cream. I think I need a nap.

There was a great hack at MIT today. Students made the dome into R2-D2's head in celebration of the upcoming Star Wars movie. Oh, I am going to see the movie tomorrow evening, right after work. My brother's girlfriend stood in line and bought tickets, and I was lucky enough to be offered one.

Here are a couple of cool links. Try out Exploding Soda, Crazy and Spumco. You may need shockwave installed to see the animated cartoons.

Entry... 5/18/99 11:17pm

I got a hit on my website today from Gore.Com. I went to Dogpile and did a search of Gore.Com and found out that my site is the 6th hit on Excite for that search. That's really interesting. I should do some random searches using phrases from my page and see what I can find from the outside. Well, anyway, here's an anti-Gore website. Let's see how fast that one gets on the referrals.

Played Volleyball in the rain today. I came right home after the game was over, since I forgot to set my VCR to tape Just Shoot Me and NYPD Blue. I still have yet to watch the Just Shoot Me episode, but I will do that when I am done here. There's a movie on at midnight I want to see. I did watch NYPD Blue, and good golly - they certainly had fun shooting everyone tonight. Place your bets - will Sylvia Costas die? That'll teach her to leave the show mid season to start her own sitcom. It's too bad, too, since her character was just getting really interesting. I am a little disappointed in the shooting - now it appears everyone who gets close to Sipowicz gets shot.

Entry... 5/19/99 1:17pm

It's kind of a bleah day out today. I suppose we needed the rain, and it may as well happen when I am stuck inside an office building. I crashed early last night. I had every intention to see a movie on HBO, but about a half hour into it, my eyelids refused to stay open. I must have slept a full 7 hours. The most vivid image from my dreams is that I was riding in my roommate's car, and he was telling me how he just filled up the gas tank, and that it only cost him $40. The arabs must have won the war or something.

Big news! The desk pop can count hit 100 today! Here are some links to other can collectors (I think they take this hobby a little more seriously than I do.) Can Link 1, Can Link 2, Can Link 3, Can Link 4, Can Link 5

Entry... 5/19/99 10:26pm

I am freshly home from seeing Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. And although I can sit here and make judgements and criticisms about it played out more like a TV show, had very little in terms of character motivation, and that I couldn't figure out if the whole thing played out over the course of a week, a year, or a day and a half, or I could just simply say that I really enjoyed it. It was entertaining, and perhaps even if it didn't surprise me or teach me anything new, it did take me off this planet for 2 and a half hours. For 7 bucks, I suppose that is all I need a movie to do. See you next time around, George.

I went to Mahar's after the movie and had a Beamish Stout and a chili dog. Now sated, I can relax and watch a few TV shows and go to sleep. I have to get up early tomorrow and I'll have to pack my bag tonight, as I am leaving work early tomorrow to help my Dad launch his boat. That is always a great rite of spring for us.

This is a great site for information: InfoPlease. Don't miss the upcoming lunar occult of Regulus (the brightest star in the constellation Leo, and the 21st brightest star in our sky, is about 85 light years from Earth) on the 22nd and the 23rd of this month. We should be able to see it with the naked eye this time around!

Entry... 5/20/99 1:06pm

Eating lunch at my desk, listening to MP3's off a CD loaded with like 150 of them, and surfing the web. Here's a link full of good stuff: Endor.

Today's word is: Yum

Entry... 5/21/99 1:03am

Oh man... I saw the lake today. I felt the lake today. I put my hands in it, and felt the refreshing coldness of the water. It looks so nice. My Dad and I drove up together in his 1979 Ford Bronco, hauling a boat (of the same vintage) loaded with gear, water, and ballast (weighing in at 3 tons plus) up the long hill to the Great Sacandaga Lake. Raising the mast met with no problems. After we docked it, and tied it down, and rigged the AC shore power, we stopped by another member's slip to see his new boat. It seems that everyone in the club has gotten something bigger and better this year. It was incredible; a beautiful boat. He was actually having trouble with his mast rig, so we stepped in to help him. We had to shove this mast (on a 30 foot boat) towards the stern about 2 inches. We accomplished it with me bracing myself against the forward bulkhead and pushing the mast with my feet. Well, I have boat envy, I'll admit. Someday I'll get another one. Someday when I am free again. For now, I will get my boating fix whenever I can. It is incredible how theraputic the water is to me.

So, we made it to Friday. It's been pretty busy at work, and it's not getting any easier. I heard about a couple more big projects that are going to hit the ground running both at the same time. They have got to hire more of us. We don't get paid enough to be superhuman every single day of the week. After work, I have a softball game, and then I'll be holding up a bar somewhere, or tossing darts at a lighted board. They tell me that I shot very well last time I was out, so now they expect that of me.

Desk pop can count: 101

Visit the Onion sometime. Today's log entry is brought to you by the letter A, and the number 9.

Entry... 5/22/99 11:38pm

I got home this morning at 2am, and went right to bed. I had to be at work for 7am so that we could turn off our whole computer room, and get an electrician in and out of there by 9am so that we could bring all the systems back up. Well, I got up at 6, got to work for 7, and what do you know? No electrician. He didn't show up till 8, and wasn't ready to turn on the circuits till 11am. We weren't pleased. But we did a lot of work in the room today. I won't go into boring detail. The company did send us all to lunch afterwards, though, which was very nice. We went to Sutter's and sat on the deck and ate heartily (and drank quite a bit, too, but not on the company dime.) I was feeling pretty good when I got home at 3:30. So good that I took off all of my clothes and laid on top of my bed and took a nap for an hour. When I woke up, I had a message from a friend of mine in Massachusetts inviting me to a party in Springfield. I was feeling much better after my nap, and a little spontaneous, so I drove out to Lee, and we rode together to the party. A nice slice of Americana they I never would have seen. I love doing crazy things like that.

I'll be hitting the sack soon. I have to get up early tomorrow and go to an all day volleyball tournament in Saratoga with my team. I hope the weather holds out. It's wouldn't be fun if we got rained out. Well, maybe I'll see what's on HBO just for fun.... I promise! I won't stay up late to watch movies! Really! I swear!

Today's link: The National Trivia Network - this is the game they have at T.G.I.F. and Peabody's (and soon to come: Pizzeria uno's in Crossgates Mall.)

Entry... 5/25/99 11:00pm

I suppose I should do a brief update of the last few days here. The Sunday volleyball tournament was a lot of fun. I got up at 6am in order to be ready, and pick up the team in Latham at 7am. We went up to Saratoga, and played all day. We won 8 games, and only lost in the semi-finals. It was a great spread, done right in the Saratoga State Park. They had fruit and drinks out all day, and in the afternoon they had corn and burgers and hot dogs, and free beer. Although, I think I was a little too active, as I messed up my right knee. On Monday it hurt a lot, but it's doing better today. I've been putting ice packs on it. It felt good enough that I could play volleyball again today (Tuesday), but I didn't jump at all, or do any digging. I iced it again tonight while I watched the last episodes of "Just Shoot Me" and "NYPD Blue."

Can you believe that it is Tuesday already? Moreover, can you believe that it is almost June already? This coming weekend was always a favorite of mine. It would be the opening day ceremonies for my Yacht club. I would leave work early on Friday, and pack the car full of food and clothing, and head up to the lake for 3 glorious days. This would be the weekend that I would jump into the lake for the first time, no matter how cold it was. There is always a catered dinner, and a DJ on Sunday, and a bunch of other events. I won't be up there for the full weekend this time around, but I will go up for the dinner with my Mom, because she wants to go. I may stick around for the dance, but I will most likely take off before that happens. I have to be at a party/gig on Monday fairly early to set up. Life certainly does change, doesn't it? Not always for the better. I still believe that I have a lot further to fall before things get better.

Oh, I came home for lunch today and my brother and I watched the last "Mad About You." I have to admit that I liked it. As cheesey as the "They lived happily ever after" ending was, I still felt a little misty eyed. Two things got me. First, when the daughter told her Mother that she loved her. And then again, when she talked about who reached out to who first. How that was the hardest part. How simple can it be to start again? How entirely difficult could it be? As humans, what are we thinking?

Because of things like this, and my recent brushes with the court system, among other things, I've been doing a lot of reflecting and thinking lately as to why relationships end. It's not about sex. Well, it's never just about sex. It can't be. That's a really simplistic way of looking at it. It's so easy to blame a complex matter on something simple. Sex works as a good scapegoat. Sex is something real; tangible, and most easily identifiable as something awful and wrong. It is, of course, in the end - nothing. Every ending needs a reason; but not in a situation that should have never had a start in the first place.

As cynical and bitter as I am, all of those fairy tale stories suddenly meant something to me. You know, how they tell you that you can find one person who you are meant to be with. Someone who understands you. Someone who will daily challenge you. Someone that can make you laugh. Someone who can you can melt with in tenderness. Someone who gives you the strength to meet the challenges of your life. Someone who makes you desire to be a better person. It's about being all of these thing for them in return. I do believe in this, because it happened to me. Of course, there's a "But..."

The beauty is this: You find this person at the same moment they find you. It is essential that you both are free to make this commitment to each other. Otherwise, beauty will die quickly, mired in blame and disappointment. The tragedy is in the choices we make. I could not live next door to love. I respect those man made vows that bind; but from a distance. If such vows exist, then I had no business being there in the first place. There's an old saying that applies: "Never start something that you can't finish."

Sadness. Yes, sadness bleeds me dry.

I had this thought today: Isn't contrast what truly being alive is all about? If people are too much the same, then living would be boring.

Entry... 5/26/99 10:10am

Care about the environment? Want to stay up on health issues? This is a really good web site operated out of Cornell University. Click here for the Environmental Research Foundation home page.

I am listening to Pearl Jam's "No Code" CD. I have a clock made out of a CD on a wood frame that my Father made for me some years ago. I have always kept it hanging in my office (or cubicle, whichever workplace domicle denotation fits at the moment) and the battery has been dead for 3 days now. I keep looking at it and thinking that it is 11:04. At least the clock is right twice a day.

Desk pop can count up by one to 102. Thirsty.

Entry... 5/27/99 10:24am

Ellen Degeneres said this about hunting trophies: "I ask people why they have deer heads n their walls. They always say because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I only have photographs of her."

Last night was one of those glorious free nights. I didn't have to be anywhere, or do anything. Well, ok, I got a couple phone calls form people who wanted me to do something for them (the only time I hear from some people), but I let the machine handle those. I was deeply absorbed in a laying on the couch with a book project, and about to fall asleep for a nice nap, when my brother (who was also free last night) asked me if I wanted to grab some videos and pick up some lottery tickets. So I roused myself, and we went out and rented "Bulworth" (among others). The lottery tickets ended up not panning out, but the movie had some funny moments. A good rental. I was surprised that Warren Beatty wrote the whole thing. I was reminded as to how beautiful Halle Berry is. My brother thinks that she was underused in that role, and he's right. Oliver Platt did a great job as Dennis Murphy, Senator Bulworth's Chief of Staff.

Tonight is the annual Corporate Challenge. I can't run this year, due to my knee, but I plan to go out and walk the course with some other coworkers. I will have to forego church in Saratoga tonight, but the good news is I will be close to home for the after party. I can walk the block if I have to.

I have a ping pong table in my house now. It was a freebie. A friend of a friend wanted to get rid of it, and the cost was merely dragging it away. It came with just a net and paddles, so I went out and bought some new ping pong balls. I think we'll have to move some boxes around to make a nice home for it.

Entry... 5/29/99 4:09pm

I went out last night in downtown Albany. I talked to a friend of mine that I never hang out with, and he told me that he was going to McGeary's to see the Franklin McCabe trio, so I joined in. He brought some friends along and we had a good time dancing and drinking. I had to hop mostly, so I wouldn't twist my knee, but it was still fun. I realized that I had seen this band play before - opening for the Bryan Setzer Orchestra on the Empire State Plaza two years ago. They were really good. There was another band on afterwards (The Lustre Kings with Johnny Rabb) that did some great rockabilly and 50's tunes. I walked over to Jillian's to check it out, and my brother had mentioned that he would be there. Well, he wasn't. What a funky place that is. I don't like it much. I found the air hockey tables, and I played a game against a guy who was standing around. I don't like that tables there very much. The puck has a habit of flying away too easily.

Getting ready to take off for the rest of the weekend. I finished the final Tom Robbins book, "Half asleep in frog pajamas" today. I loved the way it ended. It just sort of jumped out at you and finished and left me wanting more. Oh well. Time to reflect on the teachings, I suppose. I do hear that he is finished with his most current book, and it will be going to editing soon. I sat outside in the sun and read the last 100 pages, and I can see that I am beginning to get my summer burn. I mowed the lawn, fixed some lunch, and watched some tennis (the French Open). I am partially dog sitting and packing to leave for the lake - I got word that my Father is home, and the boat is mine for the weekend. So I am going to go up tonight and sleep aboard, and then go to the opening day party tomorrow. On Monday, I have a gig/party with my bandmates. So, have a safe and happy one, and I'll see you then.