As I was trying to come up with a title to this post, I wanted a "fart sound" followed by "Ow! My Brain!", but I could not come up with a suitable word to emulate a fart sound. Perhaps someone out there can post in the comments a suitable onomatopoeia.
I slept better last night, but still not terribly well. I woke with a slight headache and that generally uninspired mood, but since I took yesterday off, I just couldn't justify it two days in a row. I know how hard many of my friends work each week, so it's hard for me to whine about feeling goopy when a days work averages less than four hours for me.
Nope! I can't even muster up sympathy for myself. So I consumed 3 ibuprofin, a 5 hour energy shot, and a glass of Pepsi. A true breakfast of champions! All I was lacking was a box of little chocolate donuts and I'd be ready for the Olympics this summer.
This concoction seemed to do the trick in terms of getting rid of my low grade headache and providing enough energy to write 850+ words. Sometimes, you just need the right drug cocktail in the morning to get things going.
If you think my poor diet is likely the biggest contributor to my morning yuckies, I submit that I felt pretty good this past month until I made the yummy, delicious, and healthy vegetable soup a couple of days ago.
For those of you that said right away, "Hey! It doesn't logically follow that the soup is making your mornings crappy."
Congrats! You're learning. Give yourself a gold star. Now go away kid, yer botherin' me.
Back to the issue at hand, fart onomatopoeia. Why would I need such a literary device? Well, one of the main things I intended to blog about today was the fact that my supply of 5 hour energy is running low. After this morning, I have 4 bottles left. See? Now it all comes together. that's why I wanted a fart onomatopoeia followed with, "Ow! My Brain!".
Last October, or maybe it was November, I bought a half case of the stuff; 72 bottles. Why so much? Obviously because I'm cheap. The stuff is expensive, so I bought in bulk to reduce the price by 30%. Also, it has lasted me more than half a year, so it was well worth the investment. Being down to four bottles it seemed that I had to decide if I wanted to reinvest.
I cannot deny that this stuff works for me, most of the time anyway. It took a little bit of learning to find when it was most effective so I could utilize it only at those times, but I definitely like the effects. Also, I tend to only get 2-3 hours of quality time rather than a full 5 hours, but then I am usually maxing out my vast brainpan which is twice that of normal puny human so it makes sense that it only lasts half as long.
I like the fact that 5 hour energy is made up mostly with vitamins and minerals rather than sugar and other crap. I won't go crazy and call this healthy for you because, at the very least it has caffeine, but I don't think it is terribly unhealthy when you consider America's typical liquid repast, coffee. I also like to try new things, so when I went online to order a new helping of brain enhancing energy elixir, I decided to try something different. In short, I wanted to find something with similar effects without the caffeine. I would then deem such a product to be healthy. Despite my penchant for eating crap, I will often make the right choice when it presents itself.
After a little researching and a timely recommendation from a Leo Laporte podcast, This Week in Tech, I settled on a product called BrainToniq. By all means check the link. It is not readily available everywhere just yet, so I ordered 24 cans online. Bigger discounts can be had with larger orders, but I wanted to try it before I go crazy.
After I test it out, I will let everyone know if it is a worthy replacement to 5 hour energy or if it has as much value as ylang ylang.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Idle Pointlessness
I slept really quite awfully last night. I'm not sure why, but I was up every couple of hours, I had some weird dreams (that are now forgotten), and it was pretty much the worst sleep I've had in weeks. It must be a subconscious thing, because all of my writing the past five weeks or so has finally caught up with me. I have reached a juncture where I'm not sure what I want to do with a couple of minor characters.
I am in the middle of the second book of this novel, and when I finish it, I'm not sure what I want to come next. I had made plans on what I was to write next, but now I am reconsidering. Things are moving way too slowly in this novel and with the pace that I am setting, it almost seems like I am going to need an entire third novel to finish things off. This may happen in the rewrites, I don't care there, but I wanted the main story arc to be done in two novels the first time around.
I took Sunday off after writing 5800 words last week, and yesterday, I updated my character sheets because I have been writing so fast I was getting behind. As it was, I wrote 700 words in my character sheets. Trust me, that's a lot. This morning, after sleeping so poorly, I gave Moose a call to see if I could bounce any abstract ideas off him (I knew he would not be caught up due to the holiday, so the ideas I was throwing out had to be a bit on the abstract side). Sadly, it didn't really help, like it often does.
I tried to come up with some ideas, but most of the day, I ended up watching the Tour De France. I watched the preview show and the first two stages. I have been looking forward to this, so it was a day reasonably well spent, even if the tour was used to keep myself awake long enough to go to bed at a reasonable time without napping and causing myself to be up all night. If I did that, I would invariably get nothing done tomorrow either.
Why? I don't know. It's just the way I work. I figure I'll start writing tomorrow and see where I go from there. With any luck the writing process, even forced, will cause an epiphany or two. I'll probably have to rewrite my timeline. I think that is one of my problems. The original timeline that Moose and I created to get the ball rolling has gotten a bit outdated in some ways, so I need to reset things I guess.
I am not so surprised as to the slow down. It was a bit inevitable, though I was particularly enjoying the productivity. However, there are other forms of productivity and it seems I am in need of working on them for the time being. Alas, it won't add to my precious numerical data that actually shows off my progress.
And if all that doesn't work tomorrow, I still have stage three and four to watch.
I am in the middle of the second book of this novel, and when I finish it, I'm not sure what I want to come next. I had made plans on what I was to write next, but now I am reconsidering. Things are moving way too slowly in this novel and with the pace that I am setting, it almost seems like I am going to need an entire third novel to finish things off. This may happen in the rewrites, I don't care there, but I wanted the main story arc to be done in two novels the first time around.
I took Sunday off after writing 5800 words last week, and yesterday, I updated my character sheets because I have been writing so fast I was getting behind. As it was, I wrote 700 words in my character sheets. Trust me, that's a lot. This morning, after sleeping so poorly, I gave Moose a call to see if I could bounce any abstract ideas off him (I knew he would not be caught up due to the holiday, so the ideas I was throwing out had to be a bit on the abstract side). Sadly, it didn't really help, like it often does.
I tried to come up with some ideas, but most of the day, I ended up watching the Tour De France. I watched the preview show and the first two stages. I have been looking forward to this, so it was a day reasonably well spent, even if the tour was used to keep myself awake long enough to go to bed at a reasonable time without napping and causing myself to be up all night. If I did that, I would invariably get nothing done tomorrow either.
Why? I don't know. It's just the way I work. I figure I'll start writing tomorrow and see where I go from there. With any luck the writing process, even forced, will cause an epiphany or two. I'll probably have to rewrite my timeline. I think that is one of my problems. The original timeline that Moose and I created to get the ball rolling has gotten a bit outdated in some ways, so I need to reset things I guess.
I am not so surprised as to the slow down. It was a bit inevitable, though I was particularly enjoying the productivity. However, there are other forms of productivity and it seems I am in need of working on them for the time being. Alas, it won't add to my precious numerical data that actually shows off my progress.
And if all that doesn't work tomorrow, I still have stage three and four to watch.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Earth Soup
Cullen wanted my jambalaya recipe and I was too lazy to write it down in detail, but then I also haven't made it in a while. When I do, I'll write out the recipe and post it here with the exact measurements that I use at the time. That way, I won't have to write out "Family Guy" measurements like a "hammock of rice" because when I cook, I just throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and season until it tastes good.
Yesterday, I decided to make myself some veggie soup. Yes, it was 105 degrees out, but I wanted soup. I had to open the door to let out the heat if you can believe that. Anyway, here is my recipe for veggie soup. I call it earth soup because I find vegetables have an earthy flavor and when I make this soup I like to use more earthy flavored spices.
First, note that I cook in a 16 quart big ass pot, so when I cook something like this I make enough to feed a family of 12 with some leftovers for Papa, so you may want to halve the ingredients that I list here.
Start with a big pot adding about 2.5 quarts of water. I'll start to heat this slowly so that I don't have to wait so long later when I want to bring things to a boil. If you're halving things this is not necessary. Also, if you want to add chicken to make this a chicken veggie soup then you may also want to replace some of the liquid with some canned chicken broth. Now honestly, how many of you have made homemade chicken stock? I've done it, but not often since I just don't cook enough. Try it if you ever get the time, I felt it was worth the effort.
Anyway, Dice up the following and dump it into your cooking pot:
8 scallions
2 oz. of fresh cilantro
2 oz. of garlic (minced is preferable to dicing)
1 large yellow onion
1 green pepper
10 large carrots
1 bunch of celery
1/4 pound of string beans
3 medium potatoes
It's important to note that I don't like tomatoes, so I didn't add any. Feel free to add them even though they are a fruit and not a vegetable. And please, no comments about peppers being a fruit. I know, but I like those.
Also note that I don't put a lot of potatoes in the soup even though I like them. As a lazy fat man I know my body does not play nicely with carbs, so I keep them to a minimum. Feel free to double the number of potatoes.
As far as spicing goes, add whatever you like, but I like garlic so I prefer to add more in the form of garlic powder, NOT garlic salt! You can also add more minced garlic, but it increases the number of random little floaties in the soup, some days I don't care, other days I do. My minced garlic in a jar was running low, so I used the powder to supplement.
As long as I mentioned salt, a good soup has plenty of it. Personally, I rarely add salt to my cookings directly. I tend to replace it with some form of mixed spice that contains salt. For this soup, I add a Creole Spice that I picked up at the dollar store in Hannaford plaza. It's main ingredient is salt, but you also get the benefit of a handful of other spices. Unfortunately, I used my last of it and threw out the bottle so I cannot clue you into the individual spices that it contained. Anyway, I recommend this as a fine salt replacement and use it to salt to taste.
The final spices that I consider "earthy flavored" are rosemary and thyme. These are more "dull earthy" to me as opposed to the cilantro which is a bit more "sweet earthy". I used these two to even out the cilantro, so maybe an ounce each. I used less because they were dry as opposed to the cilantro which was fresh. If you can get them all fresh then all the better.
Bring this concoction to a boil and then let it simmer for an hour. At the half hour point, check the broth and add any spices you feel it is lacking. Do the same at the one hour mark, but also try a potato. If you add more spices, cook for 5 to 10 more minutes. When the potatoes are done, the soup is done. The total cooking time will vary dependingon the size you cut your potatoes.
Please note, I prefer my soup to be much more solids than liquids. This will make a soup with less broth than what comes in a can. If you like more broth, add more liquid at some point, but there's no need to add it at the beginning. Feel free to add it at any time throughout the cooking process.
I also like noodles, so when I heated up some more for lunch today, I added a packet of ramen noodles to my bowl. This, of course, can be done during the original cooking process, but I don't usually add them until I am ready to eat.
Enjoy!
Yesterday, I decided to make myself some veggie soup. Yes, it was 105 degrees out, but I wanted soup. I had to open the door to let out the heat if you can believe that. Anyway, here is my recipe for veggie soup. I call it earth soup because I find vegetables have an earthy flavor and when I make this soup I like to use more earthy flavored spices.
First, note that I cook in a 16 quart big ass pot, so when I cook something like this I make enough to feed a family of 12 with some leftovers for Papa, so you may want to halve the ingredients that I list here.
Start with a big pot adding about 2.5 quarts of water. I'll start to heat this slowly so that I don't have to wait so long later when I want to bring things to a boil. If you're halving things this is not necessary. Also, if you want to add chicken to make this a chicken veggie soup then you may also want to replace some of the liquid with some canned chicken broth. Now honestly, how many of you have made homemade chicken stock? I've done it, but not often since I just don't cook enough. Try it if you ever get the time, I felt it was worth the effort.
Anyway, Dice up the following and dump it into your cooking pot:
8 scallions
2 oz. of fresh cilantro
2 oz. of garlic (minced is preferable to dicing)
1 large yellow onion
1 green pepper
10 large carrots
1 bunch of celery
1/4 pound of string beans
3 medium potatoes
It's important to note that I don't like tomatoes, so I didn't add any. Feel free to add them even though they are a fruit and not a vegetable. And please, no comments about peppers being a fruit. I know, but I like those.
Also note that I don't put a lot of potatoes in the soup even though I like them. As a lazy fat man I know my body does not play nicely with carbs, so I keep them to a minimum. Feel free to double the number of potatoes.
As far as spicing goes, add whatever you like, but I like garlic so I prefer to add more in the form of garlic powder, NOT garlic salt! You can also add more minced garlic, but it increases the number of random little floaties in the soup, some days I don't care, other days I do. My minced garlic in a jar was running low, so I used the powder to supplement.
As long as I mentioned salt, a good soup has plenty of it. Personally, I rarely add salt to my cookings directly. I tend to replace it with some form of mixed spice that contains salt. For this soup, I add a Creole Spice that I picked up at the dollar store in Hannaford plaza. It's main ingredient is salt, but you also get the benefit of a handful of other spices. Unfortunately, I used my last of it and threw out the bottle so I cannot clue you into the individual spices that it contained. Anyway, I recommend this as a fine salt replacement and use it to salt to taste.
The final spices that I consider "earthy flavored" are rosemary and thyme. These are more "dull earthy" to me as opposed to the cilantro which is a bit more "sweet earthy". I used these two to even out the cilantro, so maybe an ounce each. I used less because they were dry as opposed to the cilantro which was fresh. If you can get them all fresh then all the better.
Bring this concoction to a boil and then let it simmer for an hour. At the half hour point, check the broth and add any spices you feel it is lacking. Do the same at the one hour mark, but also try a potato. If you add more spices, cook for 5 to 10 more minutes. When the potatoes are done, the soup is done. The total cooking time will vary dependingon the size you cut your potatoes.
Please note, I prefer my soup to be much more solids than liquids. This will make a soup with less broth than what comes in a can. If you like more broth, add more liquid at some point, but there's no need to add it at the beginning. Feel free to add it at any time throughout the cooking process.
I also like noodles, so when I heated up some more for lunch today, I added a packet of ramen noodles to my bowl. This, of course, can be done during the original cooking process, but I don't usually add them until I am ready to eat.
Enjoy!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Ylang Ylang
It never ceases to amaze me the kind of nonsense businesses will do to sell their crap and yet I can't always blame them. I recently bought some dish soap. Naturally, I get what's on sale because why spend any more than I have to?. This time it was Ultra Palmolive Aroma Therapy featuring Lavender and Ylang Ylang. I didn't think much about it at the store, but now that it is sitting on my counter awaiting use and I am forced to read the ridiculous label over and over, it occurs to me, I don't even know what ylang ylang is.
Here is a link to the Wiki article on ylang ylang.
I'll give you the highlights: It is a pleasantly odious plant native to the Philippines and Indonesia. It has since been replanted to grow in Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. I can only assume this is because it is "esia" to exploit the local people as a workforce.
As hinted at by the name of the product, ylang ylang is an essential oil in aroma therapy. It is purported to relieve high blood pressure, normalize sebum secretion for skin problems, as well as being an aphrodesiac. Apparently, it is also a common ingredient to MotionEaze, a motion sickness medicine.
I have no reason to doubt that this information is correct for the wiki has been found to be (statistically) as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica. I have only four things to say about this wiki information:
1) Thank God, I am not going to secrete sebum all over the place! Well, at least not right after I do my dishes anyway.
2) What in aroma therapy is not essential? If our herbal specialist, who went through days and weeks of training in their lifetime, told us the truth that "Herb X" was not essential, but might almost be somewhat, kind of enjoyable in its placebo effects; would these saps runout by the drove to buy it?
3) What in aroma therapy is not an aphrodisiac? You know, I think people are just horny. It's a bilogical process. You don't need to sniff flowers to get it up or to get it off. They're called hormones. If you want to do it more often, get an injection of hormones. Just don't come crying to me when you're half way to becoming the opposite sex.
4) How is something a "common ingredient" to something with supposed medicinal value? Isn't their secret formula as sacred as the Colonel's eleven herbs spices? What? Do they allow their employees the freedom to sit back, not add the ylang ylang, and joke about how everyone's sebum is going to get out of control on the plane?
Well not this man's sebum! I don't get motion sick, so I'll be sure to do my dishes before I get on a plane.
Of course, I can't blame Palmolive for selling to these Aroma Nuts. The Colgate-Palmolive corporation is just trying to make a few bucks. As anti-big business as I am, I can't blame them this time. I blame the suburban weed sniffing nut jobs that are too self rightous and "scientific minded" to believe in Jesus Christ, but they think smelling the extract of a flower picked in xxx-esia by some little boy for four grains of rice is going to improve how in touch they are with themselves and the rest of the world.
Well let me just tell them that I am in touch with myself on a daily basis and I never needed ylang ylang to accomplish the task! If you have all that disposable income to over inundate your nostrils, why don't you just increase your self importance in the world the old fashioned way. Send that little boy a bag of rice so he can take a day off and then you can have something worth bragging about.
Here is a link to the Wiki article on ylang ylang.
I'll give you the highlights: It is a pleasantly odious plant native to the Philippines and Indonesia. It has since been replanted to grow in Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. I can only assume this is because it is "esia" to exploit the local people as a workforce.
As hinted at by the name of the product, ylang ylang is an essential oil in aroma therapy. It is purported to relieve high blood pressure, normalize sebum secretion for skin problems, as well as being an aphrodesiac. Apparently, it is also a common ingredient to MotionEaze, a motion sickness medicine.
I have no reason to doubt that this information is correct for the wiki has been found to be (statistically) as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica. I have only four things to say about this wiki information:
1) Thank God, I am not going to secrete sebum all over the place! Well, at least not right after I do my dishes anyway.
2) What in aroma therapy is not essential? If our herbal specialist, who went through days and weeks of training in their lifetime, told us the truth that "Herb X" was not essential, but might almost be somewhat, kind of enjoyable in its placebo effects; would these saps runout by the drove to buy it?
3) What in aroma therapy is not an aphrodisiac? You know, I think people are just horny. It's a bilogical process. You don't need to sniff flowers to get it up or to get it off. They're called hormones. If you want to do it more often, get an injection of hormones. Just don't come crying to me when you're half way to becoming the opposite sex.
4) How is something a "common ingredient" to something with supposed medicinal value? Isn't their secret formula as sacred as the Colonel's eleven herbs spices? What? Do they allow their employees the freedom to sit back, not add the ylang ylang, and joke about how everyone's sebum is going to get out of control on the plane?
Well not this man's sebum! I don't get motion sick, so I'll be sure to do my dishes before I get on a plane.
Of course, I can't blame Palmolive for selling to these Aroma Nuts. The Colgate-Palmolive corporation is just trying to make a few bucks. As anti-big business as I am, I can't blame them this time. I blame the suburban weed sniffing nut jobs that are too self rightous and "scientific minded" to believe in Jesus Christ, but they think smelling the extract of a flower picked in xxx-esia by some little boy for four grains of rice is going to improve how in touch they are with themselves and the rest of the world.
Well let me just tell them that I am in touch with myself on a daily basis and I never needed ylang ylang to accomplish the task! If you have all that disposable income to over inundate your nostrils, why don't you just increase your self importance in the world the old fashioned way. Send that little boy a bag of rice so he can take a day off and then you can have something worth bragging about.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Happy Birthday
The Fourth of July has never been much of a holiday to me. I'm not sure many people think much about the fact that we treat it as this nations birthday. I'm sure a fair portion could tell you if pressed in the same way they could tell you Christmas is supposed to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but I don't think people consciously sit down and think about the 4th of July as the birthday of the United States. Maybe it's just me.
My friend Scott really seems to enjoy this holiday. In fact, he has told me that it is one of his favorites. Primarily for its social aspects, the cookouts with friends and the communal fireworks and so forth. And that's nice. It's a good reason to like the holiday and I'm glad he enjoys it so much.
Unfortunately, I'm just a jaded old stick in the mud. I like fireworks as much as the next guy, but it doesn't bother me to miss whatever local fireworks may be going on. They're just fireworks and I've seen them a million times. I haven't even checked to see what is going on locally. I suppose I should have, but it never came up during or after my writing sessions this week. Which is going quite well by the way. Even with the losing of a day this week because I have switched back to a day time schedule (It's one of those living 13 waking days in a 14 day time span thing) I have almost written 5000 words this week. I could likely hit 6000 before I'm done.
I will indeed miss the social aspects of the holiday. Probably for the first time since I've moved out here. Fortunately, I received an email from Charles to rub my face in the fact that I'll get to miss out on tonight's Knickerbocker karaoke. I'm not much of a singer, and that's high praise for me, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Mostly because I like to sing with my friends. Singing by my lonesome is okay, but even I don't like listening to myself. I would much prefer to screw up a song with someone I enjoy passing the evening with. I'm sure I'll miss that.
And, of course, I'll miss the opportunity to put away another session toward becoming an alcoholic. It was apparently unwise to set such a goal in a year when I'd be living alone and not surrounded by friends who can let encourage me to drink once a month or so. Perhaps next year.
I woke up this morning at 3:30am and it is now 2pm. I guess I might even be going to bed before the fireworks start. It wouldn't surprise me. I went to bed at 8pm last night. The reason I mention this, is I don't know what to do with myself for the rest of the day. I've written my 1500+ words and have done pretty much everything else I had expected to do today and now I'm kind of tired. I feel like I could almost go to bed now, but I also feel as though I ought to be going out to find something to do.
On days like today, people expect more than the standard amount of socialization out of other people. I suspect that is more imagined peer pressure though. I don't feel the need to go out and find some strangers to spend the evening with. In fact, I'm sure I would be too tired to put any effort into enjoying it, and thus, would seriously not enjoy it. So I think I will stick to my standard actions of not succumbing to peer pressure and stay in for the rest of the day.
If I had someone to socialize with I guess I would, but I don't, so I'll just go to bed early. I do want to say that I hope all my friends out there have an enjoyable and more importantly a safe holiday. May you all enjoy the day as much as my friend Scott.
My friend Scott really seems to enjoy this holiday. In fact, he has told me that it is one of his favorites. Primarily for its social aspects, the cookouts with friends and the communal fireworks and so forth. And that's nice. It's a good reason to like the holiday and I'm glad he enjoys it so much.
Unfortunately, I'm just a jaded old stick in the mud. I like fireworks as much as the next guy, but it doesn't bother me to miss whatever local fireworks may be going on. They're just fireworks and I've seen them a million times. I haven't even checked to see what is going on locally. I suppose I should have, but it never came up during or after my writing sessions this week. Which is going quite well by the way. Even with the losing of a day this week because I have switched back to a day time schedule (It's one of those living 13 waking days in a 14 day time span thing) I have almost written 5000 words this week. I could likely hit 6000 before I'm done.
I will indeed miss the social aspects of the holiday. Probably for the first time since I've moved out here. Fortunately, I received an email from Charles to rub my face in the fact that I'll get to miss out on tonight's Knickerbocker karaoke. I'm not much of a singer, and that's high praise for me, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Mostly because I like to sing with my friends. Singing by my lonesome is okay, but even I don't like listening to myself. I would much prefer to screw up a song with someone I enjoy passing the evening with. I'm sure I'll miss that.
And, of course, I'll miss the opportunity to put away another session toward becoming an alcoholic. It was apparently unwise to set such a goal in a year when I'd be living alone and not surrounded by friends who can let encourage me to drink once a month or so. Perhaps next year.
I woke up this morning at 3:30am and it is now 2pm. I guess I might even be going to bed before the fireworks start. It wouldn't surprise me. I went to bed at 8pm last night. The reason I mention this, is I don't know what to do with myself for the rest of the day. I've written my 1500+ words and have done pretty much everything else I had expected to do today and now I'm kind of tired. I feel like I could almost go to bed now, but I also feel as though I ought to be going out to find something to do.
On days like today, people expect more than the standard amount of socialization out of other people. I suspect that is more imagined peer pressure though. I don't feel the need to go out and find some strangers to spend the evening with. In fact, I'm sure I would be too tired to put any effort into enjoying it, and thus, would seriously not enjoy it. So I think I will stick to my standard actions of not succumbing to peer pressure and stay in for the rest of the day.
If I had someone to socialize with I guess I would, but I don't, so I'll just go to bed early. I do want to say that I hope all my friends out there have an enjoyable and more importantly a safe holiday. May you all enjoy the day as much as my friend Scott.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Day Off
I didn't eat for a while prior to going to bed, maybe 9-10 hours, and then I slept for 7-8 hours. After waking up with a migraine approaching due to the lack of food and water, I decided to take the day off and relax for a bit. I thought it reasonable after writing so much the last couple of weeks.
I drank a nice glass of orange juice as well as a 5 hour energy. Not that I needed energy, but I have find that the vitamin boost can be a decent preventative measure if taken at the right time. It worked, I managed to stave off the headache.
In the middle of the night, I decided to do a little shopping. No stores were open but fortunately drugstore.com is open 24 hours a day. I've never actually ordered household items online before, but I've run out of Brita water filters and decided it was time to do something about it. Of course, I decide these things in the middle of the night and can't do anything about it right away. So I figured as long as it was my day off, I'd check to see what prices I could find online.
I managed to find a 10 pack on sale at a price that one could find at Walmart or Target and any orders over $50 get free shipping so it seemed reasonable to go ahead and order it. I found that my variety of toothpaste was also on sale, if I bought 2 tubes, and since I brush my teeth once or twice a day. I figured what the heck. I threw it onto the order and sent it off.
Later it occurred to me that I could probably use some more razor blades. I don't think about them that often. In fact, I probably shave about once for every 30 to 40 times I brush my teeth, but I decided to look into it anyway. Lo and Behold! They were on the best sale yet! Nearly 40% off! And since I buy one of the more expensive razors on the market, it meant they were probably regular price.
Alas! I had already sent in my order and I couldn't get free shipping on just a simple order of razor blades. One of the most annoying things about ordering online, and this has happened to me at least a half dozen times, is that there is no obvious way to add to an already executed order. It's really quite annoying. Most places it can be done, but you have to call customer service and if there is one thing every American consumer knows is that the customer service is not there to serve the customers. At least not willingly.
For whatever reason I went back to review my order to longingly lament its lack of razor blades when once again, Lo and Behold! There was an option to edit my order. In fact, I could cancel it outright since it hadn't been processed yet. I was amazed! I have never seen this before in online purchasing and it is wonderful to see that websites are finally giving customers some control. I now have razor blades on the way.
It may seem like a trivial comment, but it really shows that online shopping is getting better. It is unfortunate that ten years ago, so many people were suckered into believing that online shopping would change the world overnight. I still remember those tech commercials touting those companies who dump money into their online presence would earn it back five fold by the end of the year. (They ran that ad for a couple of years so I'm not sure which year they were talking about.)
They should have told them the truth, namely that the companies would earn their money back within a decade. I guess it was like gold fever; people just weren't thinking rationally. Hey, look on the bright side. At least it bolstered and over inflated the economy for a few years and spawned great ideas like the Underpants Gnomes.
I drank a nice glass of orange juice as well as a 5 hour energy. Not that I needed energy, but I have find that the vitamin boost can be a decent preventative measure if taken at the right time. It worked, I managed to stave off the headache.
In the middle of the night, I decided to do a little shopping. No stores were open but fortunately drugstore.com is open 24 hours a day. I've never actually ordered household items online before, but I've run out of Brita water filters and decided it was time to do something about it. Of course, I decide these things in the middle of the night and can't do anything about it right away. So I figured as long as it was my day off, I'd check to see what prices I could find online.
I managed to find a 10 pack on sale at a price that one could find at Walmart or Target and any orders over $50 get free shipping so it seemed reasonable to go ahead and order it. I found that my variety of toothpaste was also on sale, if I bought 2 tubes, and since I brush my teeth once or twice a day. I figured what the heck. I threw it onto the order and sent it off.
Later it occurred to me that I could probably use some more razor blades. I don't think about them that often. In fact, I probably shave about once for every 30 to 40 times I brush my teeth, but I decided to look into it anyway. Lo and Behold! They were on the best sale yet! Nearly 40% off! And since I buy one of the more expensive razors on the market, it meant they were probably regular price.
Alas! I had already sent in my order and I couldn't get free shipping on just a simple order of razor blades. One of the most annoying things about ordering online, and this has happened to me at least a half dozen times, is that there is no obvious way to add to an already executed order. It's really quite annoying. Most places it can be done, but you have to call customer service and if there is one thing every American consumer knows is that the customer service is not there to serve the customers. At least not willingly.
For whatever reason I went back to review my order to longingly lament its lack of razor blades when once again, Lo and Behold! There was an option to edit my order. In fact, I could cancel it outright since it hadn't been processed yet. I was amazed! I have never seen this before in online purchasing and it is wonderful to see that websites are finally giving customers some control. I now have razor blades on the way.
It may seem like a trivial comment, but it really shows that online shopping is getting better. It is unfortunate that ten years ago, so many people were suckered into believing that online shopping would change the world overnight. I still remember those tech commercials touting those companies who dump money into their online presence would earn it back five fold by the end of the year. (They ran that ad for a couple of years so I'm not sure which year they were talking about.)
They should have told them the truth, namely that the companies would earn their money back within a decade. I guess it was like gold fever; people just weren't thinking rationally. Hey, look on the bright side. At least it bolstered and over inflated the economy for a few years and spawned great ideas like the Underpants Gnomes.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Social Dynamics
I have been maintaining a pretty constant focus the past two (and more) weeks. My days typically begin with me writing for 3-5 hours, and then, after writing one to two thousand words, I'm too mentally tired to write anymore. Some days I think about what I'll be writing the next. If only for a little while. But mostly, I am trying to get through the day so I can go to sleep and become fresh enough to write some more.
It may seem a bit odd that one would want to just while the day away in anticipation of the next one, but I don't feel as though I have anything else to do. Mercifully, the Tour de France will be on soon.
Yesterday, just for a change of pace, I decided to read Chapter 6 aloud. I recorded it for Moose, so he could listen to a chapter with someone speaking in a real voice instead of the computerized text to speech voice. I don't talk as fast as I did in my youth, but I'm still pretty fast. Now everyone can rest assured that I used my voice for the week.
Summer is an interesting time in NY. People are out and about all the time because, well, the weather is only going to be nice for so long. It is a little different out here. Granted this is a city that never sleeps, but it does slow down a lot after 2am and now that it is summer, it has slowed down just a little bit more. I'm sure that's to be expected. I've kept everyone apprised of the temperatures around here. When the overnight low is 85 degrees and it is 100 degrees plus from 10am to 10pm (give or take a half hour either way) I guess it is to be expected that things will slow down a little.
My current schedule is quite annoying. I've been sleeping evenings, 2pm to 10pm. The only worse time slot to be sleeping is 9am to 5pm. That ones a real day killer, but at least I can give people a call in the evenings if I wish. Sleeping away the evenings like I have been keeps me from calling most people. Moose and Kim are probably the only two I can call in the early afternoons (late morning for me) and possibly not be bothering their work schedule. But even so, it is summer and people are looking to get things done.
As a result of this phenomenon, I have noticed a breakdown in communications over the summers. Again, this is to be expected with everyone looking toward being busy, active, and locally social. But I have noticed that over the years, it takes longer and longer into the fall schedule for people to get back into the habit of staying in touch.
I remember getting back in touch with people in September immediately after the summer time ended, but then that eventually got pushed to October on the pretext that school was starting and I needed to get into the swing of things. I have been fortunate in some ways with my birthday being at the end of September. It has forced people (from time to time) to contact me before going to long into the fall season. But even so, whether it was my laziness or just growing old or whatever, eventually, it took to almost Thanksgiving to catch up with people.
I see in movies and TV shows that middle aged "old friends" contact each other annually around Christmas time. I always thought that was some sort of convenient fiction, but I can't help but notice the trend of it getting later and later in the year before I contact old friends. If there has been one distinct change in my own personal social dynamic it is that I have made much more of an effort to contact the friends that life has decided to put physical distance between.
I'm glad I've had the opportunity to call John 2-3 times in the four months I have been here. I haven't normally gotten the opportunity to talk to him more than 2-3 times a year. I am overdue to to call Scott again as well as Kim and Cullen. I guess I'll have to get my sleep schedule back on track so I can do all that. It'll be difficult. People just don't seem to be around as much during the summertime.
It may seem a bit odd that one would want to just while the day away in anticipation of the next one, but I don't feel as though I have anything else to do. Mercifully, the Tour de France will be on soon.
Yesterday, just for a change of pace, I decided to read Chapter 6 aloud. I recorded it for Moose, so he could listen to a chapter with someone speaking in a real voice instead of the computerized text to speech voice. I don't talk as fast as I did in my youth, but I'm still pretty fast. Now everyone can rest assured that I used my voice for the week.
Summer is an interesting time in NY. People are out and about all the time because, well, the weather is only going to be nice for so long. It is a little different out here. Granted this is a city that never sleeps, but it does slow down a lot after 2am and now that it is summer, it has slowed down just a little bit more. I'm sure that's to be expected. I've kept everyone apprised of the temperatures around here. When the overnight low is 85 degrees and it is 100 degrees plus from 10am to 10pm (give or take a half hour either way) I guess it is to be expected that things will slow down a little.
My current schedule is quite annoying. I've been sleeping evenings, 2pm to 10pm. The only worse time slot to be sleeping is 9am to 5pm. That ones a real day killer, but at least I can give people a call in the evenings if I wish. Sleeping away the evenings like I have been keeps me from calling most people. Moose and Kim are probably the only two I can call in the early afternoons (late morning for me) and possibly not be bothering their work schedule. But even so, it is summer and people are looking to get things done.
As a result of this phenomenon, I have noticed a breakdown in communications over the summers. Again, this is to be expected with everyone looking toward being busy, active, and locally social. But I have noticed that over the years, it takes longer and longer into the fall schedule for people to get back into the habit of staying in touch.
I remember getting back in touch with people in September immediately after the summer time ended, but then that eventually got pushed to October on the pretext that school was starting and I needed to get into the swing of things. I have been fortunate in some ways with my birthday being at the end of September. It has forced people (from time to time) to contact me before going to long into the fall season. But even so, whether it was my laziness or just growing old or whatever, eventually, it took to almost Thanksgiving to catch up with people.
I see in movies and TV shows that middle aged "old friends" contact each other annually around Christmas time. I always thought that was some sort of convenient fiction, but I can't help but notice the trend of it getting later and later in the year before I contact old friends. If there has been one distinct change in my own personal social dynamic it is that I have made much more of an effort to contact the friends that life has decided to put physical distance between.
I'm glad I've had the opportunity to call John 2-3 times in the four months I have been here. I haven't normally gotten the opportunity to talk to him more than 2-3 times a year. I am overdue to to call Scott again as well as Kim and Cullen. I guess I'll have to get my sleep schedule back on track so I can do all that. It'll be difficult. People just don't seem to be around as much during the summertime.
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