Archive for the ‘Random thoughts’ Category

What a great way to start the workday…

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

A little sarcastic rant before starting work, to get this off my chest.

I left the house a minute or two late this morning, and expected to miss the 57 bus. Sure enough, about a block and a half away, I saw it go by. Not that big a deal. Then another 57 bus goes by, barely a minute later, and I’m still a half block from the stop. Grrr.

So I turn the corner to head for the 29 bus (and go for the bus-subway combo). I’m not even 50 feet in that direction when the 29 goes by. I’ve missed three buses in less than five minutes. Unreal.

I wait at the 29 stop, since I only have to cross the street (Tasker) to get the 57 if it comes first. The 29 arrives first, so I get on; there’s no 57 in sight. I guess this is a good thing. I sit and take out my magazine to read, since that’s the only way for me to handle commuting in the morning – I just can’t sit there and stare into space.

About three blocks later, we get stuck behind a trash truck. Which is odd, since trash pickup in this part of the city is not on Mondays. We creep through the next two or three blocks. The bus finally gets going and the driver hits a parked car in the 900 block of Tasker. I think she tore the sideview mirror off. I’m not sure, since I can’t see from where I’m sitting. I assume the bus will be there a while, so I get off and start walking.

At 12th Street, that bus passes me. Then the next 29 bus was almost directly behind it (thanks to our being slowed by the trash truck).

Into the subway, where as I’m walking into the station, the northbound train (which I need) is pulling out. Oh joy! Another five minutes or so goes by before the next train. An uneventful train ride (it’s hard to hit something in the tunnels).

Then dodging through the idiots coming in from Jersey who don’t know how to walk in the city. Some things never change.

Aaahhh. That feels a little better. Now time to get to work.

Pop! goes the TV

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

Karen and I were sitting watching a little TV last night (DVR’ed episode 2 of AMC’s The Prisoner) when about 10 minutes or so into the episode (and right around 10:00pm) there’s a loud pop! from the TV, the picture goes all sepia tone, and the fan gets really loud. Loud enough to bother the dog. I switch off the TV, thinking that maybe it’s a temporary thing. I wait about a minute or so and turn it back on. No picture, no sound, and the fan is still really loud. And now I can’t turn the TV off. I’m worried that it’s going to burst into flames, since I had no idea what went wrong. I’m trying to reach behind and next to the TV to unplug it, but can’t remember which plug is for the TV (it’s one of those set it and forget it type of things). I finally find the right plug and then can’t get my arm back far enough to unplug it. This is becoming more farcical by the minute.

Now it’s time to find that five extended service contract I got when I bought all this gear 3 1/2 years ago. From Tweeter, which is now out of business. Good thing the contract is honored by a third party. After about 25 minutes of looking, I finally find it (it somwhow made its way into the refiling pile). I call the number, and it’s disconnected. This is not good. I look up the company online and find another number. And somebody answered the phone at 10:30pm! Success! They outsource the repairs to local companies. The repair tech will be coming tomorrow. But any parts will have to be ordered, at a 7-10 business day delay.

It’s relatively rough, since Caroline is such a big Sesame Street fan, and it’s a good distraction for a few minutes if something needs to be done around the house.

Karen posted something about it on her Facebook page (sorry, direct inbound links aren’t allowed), and one of her friends commented “Just put a little bacon on it. Bacon makes EVERYTHING better.” Too bad we didn’t have any bacon.

If you don’t want everyone to see it, don’t wear it

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

I was at the office on Sunday, and ran a few errands at lunch. As I was walking, I was behind this woman wearing a “trendy” outfit: calf-high boots, black leggings, and a sweater that almost covered her butt. She was a little concerned about not being covered, as she kept pulling the sweater down. Then I guess she heard me, as she became rather self-conscious about it, trying to pull the sweater down more. She then stopped to do a little window shopping.

Apparently, my not looking like Brad Pitt caused her to stop.

Darlin’, if you don’t want everyone to look at you and your butt, you should look in the mirror before you leave the house.

Bye-bye Chuck!

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Caroline is having surgery tomorrow to remove her hemangioma.

We call it her “Chuck” because the first time that Karen told me what it was called, my first thought was “What? Chuck Mangione?” Karen dismissed it as a stupid thing to say. And then she stole it and pretended it was her idea. :-)

But it stuck, and now we all call it her “Chuck.” Her doctor determined that it would not fully include and that surgery is necessary to remove it. We’re both a little nervous about the surgery, but I think everything will be OK.

Update with a picture of Caroline tomorrow.

On being a Yankees fan living in Philadelphia

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Simply put: it’s not easy. You now it’s bad when the trash talking starts on the local news filler portion of Good Morning America (yes, I’m talking about you Matt O’Donnell). Add in trash-talking co-workers; but it’s mostly from people who use lots of words without really saying anything. I was dreading the breakfast meeting at work this morning, but everyone left me alone. They were concerned with just talking about the game. The surprising thing was that everyone was talking about it, even those who didn’t seem like sports fans. Guess the Phillies bandwagon is full.

Channeling Mr. Fantastic

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

It has occurred to me for some time that my present hair coloration (the light grey around the temples) causes me to look a little like Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) of the Fantastic Four. I never paid much attention to it until recently, when someone behind the counter at one of the local Cosi shops mentioned it while I was getting my lunch. See the pictures below and judge for yourself. And yes, that is my natural hair color. (I’ll skip the strained facial expression and the fire behind me, so the comparison is not perfect.)

Steve's hair coloring Mr. Fantastic

Caroline’s Elmo obsession

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

It started a little over a month ago, when we took out the Tickle Me Elmo Extreme to show her. She went nuts for it. I think the Elmo Live pushed her over the edge.

She started excitedly saying “Momo! Momo!” (At just about 19 months, that’s as close to “Elmo” as we get.) So the next day we had to go shopping for a regular plush Elmo; since it was far easier to carry around (no skeletal movement system). First stop: Target. No luck. Next (unplanned) stop: Toys R Us. Got one.

Picked up a Cookie Monster too. After some initial resistance (“Do you want Cookie?”  “Nooo!”), she has warmed up to Cookie. But at not the Elmo-level obsession. Every time she sees Elmo (which is tough to hide, since he’s on the diapers and the diaper box), it’s tough to get her to stop thinking about Elmo. All things considered, it could be worse.

“I don’t like crack”

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Conversation snippet overheard while running a few days ago on Oregon Avenue from two guys sittings on a step:

I don’t like crack.

I don’t like nothing about it.

I don’t like the high…

Then I went out of earshot. Maybe that was a good thing.

When English is not your primary language

Monday, September 14th, 2009

You get signs like this one, seen while on vacation in Miami Beach.

Trespassers Will Be Persecuted sign

Owen Wilson is a giant douche

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Owen Wilson (yes, the actor) is a giant douche. Let me explain.

He’s here in Philadelphia, filming a movie. He’s staying at the Four Seasons. Karen and I were at a wedding there on Saturday night. The cocktail hour after the ceremony was outside, in the courtyard. We were near a window and could see inside, specifically the entrance to The Fountain. I happened to be looking in, and there’s this shabbily dressed guy standing looking at the menu. It was Owen Wilson, possibly just coming from the gym. The bride was inside and asked him if he wanted to join the party for dinner. She was about 15 feet or so away from him. He said about two words and dismissed her with a wave of his hand, like he was waving off a dog.

How rude. Now I can understand his desire to be left alone. But he could have been nicer. Especially to a bride in her wedding dress. No congratulations, nothing. A little courtesy would have been nice. Apparently he forgets that it’s people like us who allow him to do what he does.