Holidays.

So, the holidays are here. Already got a few twinges of humbug when I started to hear the Christmas songs. I don't want the ghost of christmas past up ringing the doorbell or anything but that christmas music drives me insane. Especially the one that goes "it's the Most wonderful Time of the YEAR....blah de blooo"

See, I don't agree with that at all. The most wonderful time of the year [as far as I'm concerned] is late July/Early August when it's 85 degrees outside, there are no holidays to speak of and I'm spending my weekends sitting on a beach or riding my bike.

Not December when I'm freezing my ass while I stress out about getting the perfect presents, getting Christmas cards out on time and finishing all of my work before the Holiday rush.

Yeah, I know--bah humbug. It's about the giving and making people happy. Which I do enjoy. It's just the walmart-busymall-singsong-consumerism I can do without.

The More Things Change...

...the more they stay the same. 21 years later, I'm still using an Apple and have a little grey cat at my side. Granted the computers have changed a bit [as has the cat] but the concept is the same.

The Apple IIc was released in April 24, 1984. The IIc came in a rare, small, portable platinum case with a tilt monitor that featured a 9" green Flat Panel Display and could be lugged around like a suitcase. Also inluded was an external 140k 5.25" floppy disk drive of the same color. It ran a 65C02 processor running at 1.4 MHz. The IIc had 2 serial ports, one mouse port, one disk port, and 128k RAM.

The G4 Powerbook was released in 2002. It comes in small portable titanium case with a wafer-thin LCD monitor that features a 15" full color display and can be lugged around in your suitcase [or backpack]. Also included is a CD-DVDR Superdrive. It runs on a 1 GHZ processor with 1 Gig of RAM. The G4 has 2 USB, 1 Firewire and 1 Ethernet Port and a built in Airport Card.

[I can't wait to see what they have in store 21 years from now]

Sick

Yuck. After a night long of feeling like Reagan from the Exorcist on Monday[I think my head did actually spin around a few times] I finally dragged myself to the doctor. A week and a day is way too long to feel shitty. I guess my run on Sunday didn't do much good for my healing process b/c it seemed to have made things worse.

Apparently I have some pneumonia/bronchitis thing. The pnemonia diagnosis couldn't be proven for sure w/o a chest xray and thankfully the doc decided to skip over that and just prescribe me the antibiotics for pneumonia anyway.

At $128 for 10 pills, they'd better work miracles.

The bad news is, the Vegas marathon is still on Dec. 4th and that is rapidly approaching. Doc said something to the effect of 'there will be other marathons' but I read online some chick that got her personal best in a marathon a week after having bronchitis. I guess I will just have to see how I feel at the end of the week.

Happy Days

Still sick but manage to drag myself off of the couch to hit up the health food store for healing supplies. Wearing the sweatpants I've worn for the last three days, mismatched socks, uncombed rasta-hair and a puffy vest off I go to Whole Foods. Who can you possibly run into at 10am on a Thursday morning?

I gather my resources: Echinacea w/Vitamin C tincture, B12 Sublingual dots, Oscillococcinum [say that 10 times fast] and some Throat Coat tea. Starbucks is right next door so I figure what the hell, maybe an Americano would be just the pick me up that I need.

As I'm waiting for my custom coffee drink, who walks in but Ron Howard. I wasn't 100% sure it was him until he placed his order--and suddenly all I could hear was Ritchie Cunniham. There I was stirring the Splenda into my coffee literally rubbing elbows w/Opie. I wanted to say something but what could I say? "Er..Mr. Howard, could you sign my Latte?" or "Say Hi to Potsie " or "What's up w/Ralph Mouth?"

I'm sure since he's directed so many films since the Happy Days, if anyone even mentions "Ritchie" at this point, it would probably be insulting. I did love 'A Beautful Mind' but truthfully didn't realize he directed it until I came home and looked it up. [just because i tend to be out of the loop on such things].

So, I said nothing, figuring the guy probably just wants to buy a frappucino without any stupid comments from other customers.

Sick

It's been a while since I've been sick but somehow a fever snuck up on me and knocked me down.

I'm bummed to miss my weds. night mtbike ride AND my favorite lift class but I suppose my body is trying to tell me to take a break already.

I realized that in being self-employed I never really take a 'sick day'. Sure, I'll take time off but there's no official 'sick day' of just hiding out with the covers over my head with soup.

Today was pretty close to that. I moved from couch to couch and took naps while the cats sat on me [they sense when i'm sick and like to stick around to make sure i'm still breathing] and I made soup although I never got around to having any.

All I could manage to eat was popcorn and grapefruits.

This will be gone for tomorrow. I've had enough of feeling crappy.

Oh No...

Americans were using NAPALM* in Iraq??? Randy Rhodes has a soldier on her radio show describing how this napalm like substance eats skin to the bone, through clothing and even the rubber of the gas masks. He said that it would go in and eat their lungs and throats if they came in contact with it so gas masks are futile.

There is video [and photos] but the military says they can't remember it.

“I do not recall the use of white phosphorus during the offensive operations in Falluja in the fall of 2004,” Lieutenant Colonel Steven Boylan said.

My god.

After a while just saying "it's a great country but the managment has to go" just isn't going to fly.

How f'ed up is it that I instantly believe that the government is lying. Again.

*update: It may not have been 'napalm' but another substance called MK77 that is kind of like a new improved napalm that uses jet fuel instead of gasoline. lovely.

Girl-Cott

Apparently someone else got upset about the "Why do I need brains When I have These" and the "I make you look Fat" tshirts....

Oh, Now I get It

There you have it. You know that whole thing about 'Oh, I can't remember but I probably will at 3 in the morning?"

Like last night when I knew our bartender was strangely familiar [outside of the fact that he looks almost exactly like Frank Zappa]--not well but I knew his name was Paul but I couldn't figure out why. The climbing gym? Some class I took?

So, it's 3am and bam--I remember. Paul used to be the prepared food guy at Food for Thought [a little health food store in Wesport] before Wild Oats came in and squashed them. I used to go there everyday when I worked at Modem Media. Good thing I didn't get into the whole name game thing--I wouldn't have figured it out and he certainly wouldn't have remembered me.

Funny Tshirt sighting yesterday. An 11-12 year old boy wearing a tshirt that said "Billionaire Seeking Model". Good thing someone has come up with some good ol' family values tshirts. Like the guys over at Abercrombie that are selling girls tshirts that say "Who Needs Brains When I Have These" and "I had a Nightmare I was a Brunette".

The new mountain bike came in on Tuesday and had it's maiden voyage on Friday afternoon.

It rocks.

I got over bigger logs, steeper drop-offs and the whole damn river bed [that was full of water]. When I took a jump, the front shock made it feel like I was landing in a pile of feathers. With my other bike shifting so crappy for so long I had forgotten how much Mountain Biking is my favorite sport. Ever.

Along with running. I have less than a month until The Las Vegas Marathon and yesterday I ran 16-18 miles. I'm not sure how much the part around the beach is, once you get off the road. I felt okay until the last 3 miles when I started to wonder why I signed up for a marathon again. My feet were killing me and I started to consider hitch-hiking.

Or maybe calling a cab.

I made it...with some walking and a few breaks and although I was hobbling around for most of the afternoon, I felt fine by the evening. Now I just have to tack on another 8.2 or so to the end of that.

I've noticed that many blogs out there have a theme. Famous People, Writers. Shopping at Target. I'm wondering if I should have a theme?

Bloggarama

Oh good. Tyra Banks is donning a fat suit to see how the other side lives. [Apparently this was the worst day of her life.]

MM:
Now that this is your
home page,
you will just have to read
this blog everyday.

I hate AOL

I finally decided to cancel my aol account. I've had it for 12 years but it has been mostly stagnant for the last 5 or so since I've had broadband. I guess I kept it in case I needed a dial-up situation while traveling but with WiFi in a bazillion Starbucks worldwide, I figure, what the hell.

It takes me about a week to get on the phone with a hold time less than two hours. Finally, today I get through and go through the same old b.s. of press 1 for english...press 2 if you are an existing member...tell them my security answer and finally a phone rings.

Customer service tells me that they need to transfer me to another number. Turns out the number they transfer me to is the same one that I just called. [are you kidding me?]

I get Shamir on the line and he has the audacity to ask me the same questions the robot just asked me 5 minutes ago. All I want to do is CanceL!! Then he tricks me and says I see you switched to 'Verizon'...to which I say, 'No, Optonline', realizing that he would never have that info on file and he says 'thanks for sharing that info'.

Okay, I'm done already--just cancel the f'ing account--but no--he starts to tell me that i don't have adware/spyware protection on Optonline and I could download it from AOL, keyword Adware.

BUT I JUST WANT TO CANCEL!! I have a MAC! I don't care about ADWARE!

So then, I ask if I lose my AIM id as well and he gets really accusatory and says:
"I thought you said you didn't use AOL"

"Yes, that's right. I use iCHAT" and he keeps interupting me and eventually throws the phone at the desk or on the floor. Eventually picks it up and doesn't say a word.

I can hear the same chatter in the background, but the guy is no longer speaking. I say 'hello' multiple times and no answer. So I hang up.

How much do you want to bet that my account doesn't get cancelled on Nov. 20?

Why can't customer service actually do just that? Serve Customers!???

And

What's with all the robots??? Arrgh!