April 27, 2004
A Moving Experience
Maybe it's because I have more stuff, less time, or less desire, but moving seems to be getting harder every time I do it. When I moved out of that first dump on Bowdoin Street it seemed so much easier. Except for the heavy lifting and all of those stairs. Now it's mentally and physically exhausting. Without help from Jon and Jami, I don't know what I would've done. There's just one car load left to move and I just want to leave it there. When I moved into my first apartment five years ago, everything fit into the back of my dad's conversion van. Now it would take 3 trips in a cargo van. I can't imagine how much more there will be in another five years.
Posted by criminal at 04:17 PM | Comments (2)
April 26, 2004
The Cable Guy
I missed the cable guy. Since cable companies are notorious for making you wait around all day for service, Charter lets you set up service "windows" so that you only need to be home for a couple hours. When I called last week, my window was today from 3-5. I requested that they call me while they were en route so I could come right from work. And they did call. First at 3:15, while I was still upstairs for a meeting. They called again at 3:25, the official time they tried the apartment doorbell. I walked into my office at 3:26. *sigh* Who would've guessed that they'd show up near the front part of the window? Now I have to wait until Wednesday afternoon. I don't have time to not be connected right now.
Posted by criminal at 03:57 PM | Comments (1)
Good Luck - Bad Luck
Poker night with the girls was great. Carol and Jami made us excellent food (and margaritas) and the Red Sox were whooping the Yankees in the background. You could say I had pretty good luck with the cards, considering I was the chip leader (by a considerable amount) at the end of the night. I definately didn't dominate the table, but things did start going my way toward the end. But that good luck had to run out sometime... like when I got into my car to go home. I noticed raindrops on my window as I walked out to my car, parked right in front of Nick and Carol's house. As I got closer, i noticed that it wasn't drops but cracks. Then I saw that half of my window was on the ground around my car and in my seat. Hoodlum fun. And they didn't take a damned thing. So we reported it, swept up the glass and moved it into the driveway for the night. Luckily, my insurance covers glass, so I didn't have to worry about my deductible. I just had to forego all the packing and moving Jon and I were planning for Saturday morning.
Posted by criminal at 02:30 PM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2004
Friday Five for November 2, 2001
There's no FridayFive this week: just a suggestion to find an old 5 in the archives. So I went waaay back and found this one:
1. Do you eat breakfast? What did you have today? I try to. Today I had Special K Vanilla Almond with lowfat Vanilla soy milk.
2. What beverages do you usually have in a typical day? Water, flavored sparkling waters, soda, soy milk.
3. White bread or wheat bread? Wheat all the way. Although a nice rustic white is always good.
4. What's your favorite kind (potato/tortilla/corn) and flavor of chip? Ooh. Tough question. I like potato chips. And I like tortilla chips. Can I say cheese poofs instead? Because those are even better.
5. How do you plan to spend your weekend? Moving. And playing poker. Moving. And going to a wedding. And then moving some more.
Posted by criminal at 04:17 PM | Comments (0)
Fighting Fire With Fire
Since my body isn't happy with anything I eat, including jelly beans, I decided to just have whatever I wanted for lunch. And I wanted Indian. Take that striking stomach! I ate lentils and potatoes and spicy stuff, but was kind enough to skip the goat curry.
Posted by criminal at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)
When It Rains...
You really need to roll up your car windows. I drove to work this morning sitting on a soggy seat, arm resting on a very wet door. After visiting my new apartment in the sweltering heat yesterday afternoon, I left the windows cracked. This would've been a great idea had it not started to rain and rain and rain and rain some more. It is raining so much that when I stepped off the curb early this morning to load a shelving unit into my car, my flip-flop clad feet and ankles were instantly bathed in a torrent of dirty run-off. I just hope it doesn't rain on Sunday.
Posted by criminal at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2004
Unionized
My digestive system has gone on strike. The upstarts went and organized themselves just to stick it to me. Yesterday afternoon I felt a twinge in my gut, but I ignored it. I've come to terms with IBS and have learned to ignore some of the rumblings below. It turns out that's not always a good idea. I realized those rumblings were a warning that my digestive system was conspiring against me as I sprinted to the bathroom. I thought I was going to die, or at least pass out, right there in that dirty bathroom overlooking the playing fields. Still dizzy, I made my way to another meeting, only to excuse myself 10 minutes into it when my intestines let me know that they didn't want my crap anymore. My whole digestive system is so set against me that it has stopped digesting the food I eat. Sure, I can chew and swallow. But after that, it's all a crap shoot. So I stayed home today, hoping that a little rest would help. My body is hungry but my stomach is not. As much as I would like to fast, I still have to eat because my sugar level feels so low. But then I eat and my stomach starts to ache and I feel sick all over again. This is more than IBS. This is a unionized digestive system protesting its deplorable working conditions and diet. I'm afraid I don't have anything to bargain with...
Posted by criminal at 10:02 PM
April 21, 2004
Full House
Today is WPI's "Just for Juniors" admissions open house. The parking lots and streets are packed with poorly parked cars. The campus is crawling with high school students and their parents. And the whole thing slipped my mind this morning. When I was ready at 8:30, I decided to load my car up with kitchen stuff to take to the apartment during lunch, completely forgetting that I'm helping with a focus group early in the afternoon. My car is full of small appliances and kitchen gadgets. I'm glad I didn't dismantle my kitchen rack to take with me because I would've been in a world of hurt. As it was, I rolled in just after 9:00, Dunkin' Donuts Vanilla Chai in hand, hoping that the usual Wednesday spaces would be available. I hadn't even gone 100 yards down Salisbury Street when I realized that there were too many cars for a Wednesday. That could mean only one thing -- the open house. Ugh. After crusing the lot for a bit and cursing my need for a New England Maple Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich and moving efficiency, I managed to snag an excellent spot on the ramp. I can honestly say that I'm not looking forward to helping run this focus group. The results won't help us as much as Marketing seems to think they will. And plus, we're ruining some poor kid's vacation day by asking them a bunch of questions about our Web site. It would be nicer if we had a vacation day today.
Posted by criminal at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2004
In Like Flynn
I have an apartment! And I can even get into it!
I picked up another key from Bob yesterday. He redid the paperwork to credit me for the last five days rent, so I'm feeling pretty good. I went through yesterday and measured to make sure my furniture would fit. In the end, the only things I need are a kitchen table and a little shelf unit to give me workspace next to the stove. I'm pleased that I won't need to buy much other than a shower curtain, curtain rods, and a broom. I may need to make a few little shelving things to handle recylables, but I'll wait until I'm really living there to figure out what I need. I think I'm officially moving on Sunday, so if you're around and are willing to exchange physical labor for free beer, pizza, and cookies, let me know.
Posted by criminal at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2004
Calling All Girls
I'll admit it -- I need help. I'm going to a wedding next weekend and don't know what to where. OK, you can stop laughing now. I realize that I'm the one that always seems to know what to wear, but I'm at a loss. The wedding is at 4 in a Greek church and there are "Cocktails, Dinner and Dancing" at 6 in Northampton. I know enough to know that its probably pretty formal, but I'm having trouble finding anything that could be considered formal wear. I'd like to wear this black and ivory polka-dot skirt but I don't know if it's formal enough. I've been hoping to find a really elegant and retro black sweater or sweater set to go with it. I found an off-the-shoulder sweater like this one but with elbow length sleeves deorated with a tiny split and ivory bow and small ivory stripe and bow around the neck/shoulder. The problem is that almost nobody carries swank looking sweaters in plus sizes. I can get away with some XLs, like the the aforementioned off-the-shoulder number, but not usually the ones I like best (doesn't it always work that way?). My other option is to find something else between now and then. Like maybe the rose colored dress/suit jacket I saw at Marshalls. There was an OK dress at Lane Bryant that could work, but I'd need to find shoes. And as you've read, shoes have been a problem for me lately.
Posted by criminal at 06:39 PM | Comments (6)
April 16, 2004
The Key
I'm not happy right now and it's all because of a stupid key. A couple weeks ago, I signed a lease on a new apartment. That lease started yesterday. My agent, Bob, was supposed to call me to arrange a meeting to pick up the keys. When I hadn't heard from him by yesterday afternoon, I gave him a call. One of his co-workers told me that he was out sick. So I left a quick message saying I'd call about the keys today. And around 11, I did. Except his line was busy. So I left a message asking him to call me. I was still holding out hope that I'd be able to get the keys and drop off a few things during lunch. So I called again around 2. Bob said I was on his call list and started talking to me about the keys: "I should be able to get you a set of keys on Monday so you can start taking some things in early. That shouldn't be a problem since your lease starts on the fir...[long pause as he realizes that he has screwed up]" It actually started yesterday. Then I get big appologies from Bob, who says he'll have a key ready in about an hour. Except I can't really get it until after 4. So he'll put it in and envelope with my name on it. I pick it up after 5:30 and head over the my brand new apartment. Except I only have one key. And it doesn't get me in the building door. So I call Bob. I leave a message. And I start to get upset because I'm now paying $25 a day for an apartment that I can't yet live in. All my plans and schedules for moving and project work are being thrown off. I'm not happy. And I don't think my landlord will be either when I call him to get into the place.
Posted by criminal at 06:33 PM | Comments (0)
Make Like a Tree
I want to leave! It's Friday. And nice out. And I have apartment keys to pick up. Then a new aparment to visit. And baseball to watch. *sigh* To top it all off, the parking lot is really starting to empty out, so I'm getting jealous of all the people who have already left.
Posted by criminal at 04:08 PM | Comments (0)
The High Cost of Connectivity
I just called Charter Communications in an attempt to set up Cable and high-speed Internet at my new apartment. Seems that cable is way more expensive than I remember. $90 for the digital package, which includes digital cable and high-speed Internet access. So I asked about smaller cable packages. An expanded basic package is $50.99 a month. I can save another $5-10 if I only want network and home shopping channels. I'd love to say I'll just skip the cable and pay my $40 for Internet, but in Worcester, you can't get anything but Telemundo if you don't have cable. I'm not sure if its worth $50 a month to watch terrible programming. TV is just a waste of my time anyway. All too often I find myself watching things I don't care about instead of turning the TV off and doing something more useful. Will I really miss watching CNN while I eat my breakfast that much?
Posted by criminal at 12:31 PM | Comments (2)
April 15, 2004
Elected
The Campus Hearing Board elections start in less than ten minutes and I'm a nervous wreck. I haven't administered an election before. Setting it up wasn't nearly as painful as I expected, except maybe that scary moment this morning when the ^Ms introduced by Excel prevented me from loading more than one line into the voter database. But I think everyone that should be able to vote, can. And I can only hope that all the candidate information is right, because its not very simple to preview or test. Maybe someday when we have another applications developer (or two!) we can get a new system that's a little more administrator friendly.
Posted by criminal at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2004
Time Machine
I just heard a song on Troy's playlist that totally threw me back into another place and time. A rush of emotions and memories washed over me before I could even put a name to the song: Dashboard Confessional's Screaming Infidelities. It's one of those songs that tells the story of my life, if only for a brief and tumultuous chapter. Eric and I listened to it a lot (and I mean a lot) two summers ago when I lived with him. Initially, it intrigued me. But once I shared it with him, it never left our playlists. I can't hear Screaming Infidelities and not think of the warm weeks we let it echo through the upstairs of the house. They're inexorably linked in my memory.
Posted by criminal at 10:41 AM | Comments (2)
April 12, 2004
Smuckers Puckers
Flavors: Cherry, Grape, Lemon, Orange, and Apple
Size: approximately the size and shape of a chick pea
Color: fully saturated and bright
Texture: firm shell covers a thin layer of sour powder and a soft, chewy center
Overall Experience The Smuckers beans aren't as sour as they claim to be. There is a nice tartness to them, but the center itself is so sweet that it overpowers the sour coating. As for the flavors, most taste a little fake. Especially the cherry, which is reminiscent of Luden's Cherry Throat Losenges.
Rating: 3/5
Posted by criminal at 03:03 PM | Comments (0)
Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes
Troy and I walked to lunch at Applebee's in the Worcester Common Outlets today. That's just shy of a mile. My feet were just fine on the way there and seemed to be just a little sore on the return trek. But now that we're back, I can feel the blisters popping up on the soles of my feet. If I'm going to walk to work (and lunch) I seriously need to find some new shoes. I've been looking for a while now and still haven't found anything suitable. Since I'm on a budget, I've been limiting myself to Marshall's, TJMaxx, and DSW Shoe Warehouse. DSW has had some nice aftersports and casuals from Merrell and Born, but never in the right size or style. Maybe one out of every 15 styles come in my size. It's starting to frustrate me. I've even checked eBay. Alas, I can't seem to find anything under $50. I guess it's time to start looking more seriously at full-price shoes.
Posted by criminal at 01:01 PM | Comments (4)
The Cat's Back
Tia is safe and sound at home. I dropped her off this morning after a pretty uneventful ride. She was much quieter this time -- only a few small mews on the last strech. We have determined that there just aren't enough perches at Jon's house. While she likes the back of the chair in the living room, which allows her to poke her head between the vertical blinds, its too far away from everyone when we're sleeping. The only other perch is Jon's bed. She just wasn't satisfied and kept looking for better window spots. We take it for granted that she can perch at almost every window in my current apartment. I may have to get her some real cat perches for the new place to keep her happy and off my counters. Which reminds me... I forgot to check Jon's basil plant before we left to make sure she didn't eat it. I guess we'll find out later.
Posted by criminal at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2004
The Little Cat That Could
I used to think Tia was brave and crazy. Now I know she's just plain crazy. Jon and Steve asked me to bring her with me when I came out for the weekend. They find her entertaining and specifically asked me to bring accessories: furry mice and catnip. I decided to do one better. What could be more fun than chasing things while high on catnip? Chasing catnip bubbles.
Except Tia is afraid of the damned things. Before the bubbles even hit the floor, she's in the next room too afraid to do anything more than peer around the corner. Once she's sure that the spooky floating aliens have left, she'll come out and sniff their landing spots. And that's it. No chasing, so silly kitty antics, no bubble fun.
We also decided to take her outside on her leash because it was so nice. What cat wouldn't want to watch the birds from the lawn instead of the window ledge? Apparently mine. She wasn't even 10 feet from the door when she turned around and headed back. I made her come out and sit in the back yard for a little while, but everything seemed to scare her. The neighbor raking his yard. The boys playing catch. A leaf blowing by. I took her in after she started crying. And gave her expensive Sheba catfood. Duck even. She nibbled on it and walked away. Seems she doesn't like duck either.
Posted by criminal at 09:32 PM | Comments (2)
April 09, 2004
Friday Five for April 9, 2004
1. What do you do for a living? I'm a web developer at WPI. That means I make and update web sites for the university, among other things.
2. What do you like most about your job? All the things I learn doing my job, whether its a new CSS technique or the latest policy changes.
3. What do you like least about your job? Having too many things to do at once. It gets frustrating when you want to tell half a dozen people that you'll have their project done by the end of the day but realistically can only finish one or two.
4. When you have a bad day at work it's usually because _____... I don't get to cross anything off my To Do list. Two-thirds of the work I do isn't even on that damned list. The list is reserved for large, long-term, or postponed projects. I never bother to write down any of the little updates and fixes I do because it takes almost as much time to do them as it does to write them down and cross them off.
5. What other career(s) are you interested in? I'm still interested in doing layout somewhere and I've realized that I have some talent for teaching technical things, so I'm thinking that I might want to try my hand at that. Maybe the Library will let me help with the HTML instruction sessions.
Posted by criminal at 01:52 PM | Comments (0)
April 08, 2004
Easter Plans
Thanks to Anheuser Busch and Jon's gracious boss, Jami and I will be at Fenway for Easter. Jami already has a Sox hat with bunny ears on it and she fully intends to wear it. She made it (and a cake for RemDawg) for an Easter game a couple years ago. You'll have to ask her for the whole story. Jon's parents are coming up for the game too. It'll be fun, as long as it doesn't rain too much. But I think I'll stick with a traditional cap.
Posted by criminal at 09:12 PM | Comments (0)
Jelly Beans
The goddess bowl I got for my birthday sits on a counter in my office. Lately it has contained a variety of jelly beans. Amy has suggested that I create a site dedicated to those beans. I'm not sure how much work I want to put into it, especially since I simply enjoy jelly beans. I don't live for them or anything. I think her motivations are selfish: she really only wants me to make it because she can't remember what kinds we really liked or spit out after a couple nibbles. But I'm a sucker that can now whip up a new page in a matter of seconds. So, for now it's just another page about jelly beans with a couple reviews. Maybe someday I'll do nifty graphics.
Posted by criminal at 04:09 PM | Comments (1)
Happy Bunny
you are the "you're so dumb" happy bunny.
you are brutal in your words and enjoy putting
others down.
which happy bunny are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by criminal at 09:55 AM | Comments (1)
Sweetarts
Flavors: traditional SweeTART flavors like orange, lemon, lime, cherry, grape, and berry
Size: 1-1.5g, approximately the size of a pinto bean
Color: pastels
Texture: gummy center surrounded by sweetart candy dust and a firm shell
Overall Experience: These beans are definately tart. Our bag included plenty of defective beans that used too much of the sweetart candy dust -- enough to make contort your face in a sour pucker. I almost wish they made bags of the just the defective ones. While the texture of the sweetart candy powder under the shell may be a little unsettling for some, the flavor it provides more than makes up for it. These beans are a nice departure from the ordinary.
Rating: 3.5/5
Posted by criminal at 09:51 AM | Comments (1)
April 07, 2004
Spam Comments
I have recently been flooded with comment spam. It sucks. And since most of it appears to be bot driven, I have created a war plan. First, I have removed the "POST" button from the individual archives and comment listings. This means if you want to comment on something a post, you'll have to preview before you post. It's not the preferred method, but it should cut down on the spam floods until I can install a few security plugins. The plugins include MT-Blacklist and CloseMTComments, which closes commenting on old entries. There are tons of methods, so if these don't work, I'll find some that do. And if all else fails, I can turn comments off entirely.
Posted by criminal at 03:17 PM | Comments (1)
Teenee Beanee Country Retreats
A Vacation for your Mouth
"Experience the world's biggest flavor in a tiny bean. Visit Teenee Beanee Delicious Destinations. Like tiny passports to flavor paradise, Delicious Destinations transports you to the most mouth-watering places on the earth. This thrilling collection of superpremium jellybeans features the planet's finest, most delectable handcrafted confections. Country Retreats -- The new old fashioned escape. Travel far from the crowded streets and discover a country hideaway that still makes classic desserts in their special homemade style. Enjoy a slice of fruit-filled heaven..."
Flavors: Strawberry Cheesecake, Peaches and Cream, Blueberry Cobbler, Apple Dumpling a la Mode, Banana Cream Pie
Size: 1.1g, roughly the size and shape of a black-eyed-pea
Color: muted, mottled, and slightly transparent shades to match the color of the corresponding dessert flavor
Texture: firm outer shell with a softer chewy center that dissolves quickly
Overall Experience: The Country Retreats pack a lot of flavor in a tiny bean. As soon as you open the pouch, the fantasic scents hit you like a wave of country desserts. Although the Strawberry Cheesecake is our favorite, the fresh peach aftertaste of the Peaches and Cream really impressed us. The Apple Dumpling was the only bean we weren't satisfied with: it used a little too much cinnamon and not enough cream and vanilla to convey the a la Mode side of the flavor.
Rating: 4.5 beans out of 5
Posted by criminal at 10:43 AM | Comments (1)
West Wing
I watched an entire episode of the West Wing for the first time last night. And I have to admit that it was good. For those who are familiar with the show, it was the one where Ainsley Hayes rips Sam a new one on national TV and is subsequently invited to join the staff. I would like to say that Bravo shouldn't be allowed to show it so late though -- it kept me up past my bed time.
Posted by criminal at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)
April 05, 2004
Last Week's News
April Fool's It came. It went. And we (meaning mostly Troy) whipped together a budget-friendly site. Feedback has been pretty positive -- people seem to like the satire more than the flashy features that often pop up on April Fool's Day. I'm a big fan of Buster the Budget Goat because he's simple, yet so effective. The low-budget theme worked really well since our budget for time was next to nothing.
Half Sales I have sold 8 things on Half.com since making my listings. Although I'm reimbursed for shipping costs, it's not enough to cover the mailing envelopes I buy at the post office. I really need to find a value pack at Wal-mart or Staples. On the plus side, I'm getting rid of a lot more stuff than I expected. Next up is my real CD collection, which needs to be whittled down as well...
Car Window Jon got his car window fixed last Thursday. It turned out to be a problem with the switch, not the motor, so it wasn't as expensive as he feared. For those not in the know, the window fixing is symbolic. I made it clear to him that important expenses, particularly fixing his car window, should be higher on his financial priority list than purchasing sparkling jewelry for me. Now that its fixed, he is free to move on to purchase more "frivolous" things.
New Digs On Friday, I signed a lease on a new apartment. I start moving back into the Elm Park neighborhood on April 15. I have already made my first acquisitions for the apartment -- two yards of a beautiful white cotton burn-out fabric for curtains and a wrought iron candle holder for the fireplace. I don't really need anything for the new place, but I'm on the look-out for a kitchen table and chairs, a new bed, and a pot rack. While I'm not exactly looking forward to packing everything up, I am happy to be weeding things out.
Posted by criminal at 04:45 PM | Comments (3)
April 02, 2004
No Friday Five
For the second week in a row there is no FridayFive. The site hasn't even been updated. Although I was too busy to notice last Friday, I miss it. My journal seems so empty when I don't write anything on Fridays. Especially when nothing interesting is going on... why write about nothing?
Posted by criminal at 02:39 PM | Comments (1)
April 01, 2004
Library Luau
The luau was a hit. Our vendors looked happy and the staff and students really seemed to enjoy themselves. I think the best part was how into it everyone was. Almost every librarian I saw was decked out in tropical gear. Even the big boss wore a grass skirt. It was a hoot. Except now I'm tired.
Posted by criminal at 03:16 PM | Comments (1)