Last.FM Withdrawl

The new place I work for has Last.fm on their banned list, so I added a little "What I'm Listening To" thingy in my side bar to try to attempt to replace the fabulous "Current Tracks" feature that they have available. I used to love showing off in real time what I was actually listening to, but this will have to suffice.

And I'm not complaining about not having that feature anymore (well, I kind of am, but whatever) because really, is it that important? (People would debate me about this, but again, not a huge deal, I love my new job so I'm not going to cry about not being able to go to totally non-productive sites anymore.)

Crazy Kids and Their New Fangled Music

As I was telling J on Saturday, I tend to not like music that came after the year 2000 and because I really haven't found any newer bands that I like (OK, I love The Black Keys and probably some other bands, so there are exceptions) I tend to go through and rediscover the classics. Case in point, I recently purchased these goodies:


The Velvet Underground & Nico - self-titled


"Raw Power" - Iggy and The Stooges

We'll see how these go, but I am very excited about having both of them now. Reviews to follow!

"Five Men Who Broke My Heart"

It's a book that my friend, Laura Anne Gilman, had lent me and that I finally finished last night. To be honest though, I was actually disappointed that the book didn't keep going, I didn't want it to end.

The book is a memoir about Susan Shapiro's journey though her past, centered on her most painful breakups. It ends with her learning to appreciate the things she has now along with the things that she's accomplished in her lifetime, but also learn to be happy with herself and her marriage and really the present situation. (Something I really identified with.)

I can't rave more about this book...well...I can and I will, actually. :-)

I love how it's written in a very matter-of-fact way, there's no beating around the bush. Honesty and frankness are always things that I love to see whether it's in film or in the books I read, so it was great to be able to read a book and actually think I was talking with the narrator, rather than just reading. That's how open the book was, it was almost like having a conversation with the author.

And like I said, I was disappointed that I finished the book, I wanted the story to keep going. I really identified with the character and when the book ended it was like a friend waving goodbye to me from a plane off to the other side of the country.

Die in a Fire

That's right, I'm talking to you!

And now I have this brilliant icon from WIRED to actually show someone that I want them to die in a fire. Graphical representations of internets lingo FTW!!

And I really don't want you to die in a fire, I've just been having one of those days. Thankfully it ended yesterday, but sometimes I just feel like not hanging out with anyone, and just want to recoil into the safety of my room and do nothing.

Trippin'

"In humans, caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks enjoy great popularity; caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance, but unlike most other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions." - Caffeine on Wikipedia

Gorgeous Day to Do Nothing

This morning when I woke up, it was absolutely gorgeous outside and actually a bit chilly for July standards (which is fine, I like chilly, I'm an "all seasons but summer" type of person, so we're cool with chilly). So after work, I think I'm going to try to enjoy this weather somehow. Either a walk and photo session by the beach or just something as simple as reading in my living room with all the windows open (the windows are open, that counts as "outside").

And it's weird, I don't feel at all that I shouldn't be at work, quite the opposite. For some reason I feel productive and since I work now in one of New Haven's meccas, I can pretty much go outside for a cup of coffee if I want or grab a bite to eat, so there's a nice relief I can enjoy in order to break up the work day.

So we shall see what I do after work, I may just slink around New Haven a bit more, but who knows. It's just one of those days where I'd be comfortable with whatever.

Big Serving of Math

Mmmmm...I got a big, tasty serving of math today at work. So I am very happy. :-)

I'm also happy that I didn't sell ANY of my books back when I was at college. Oh my God, working for this new place is like going through old lecture notes. Jees...

I forgot how to do some of this stuff, so it's great that I get a chance to relearn it all again and apply it to the current projects that we're doing.

And no, I'm not telling you what we're working on, so just stop asking. (Yes, it's really cool, but still, I ain't snitchin').

Midtown Madhouse

Oh God, I'm not even going to think about driving into New York for at least a month.

"Department of Transportation, NYC:
The following streets in the area surrounding the steam pipe explosion remain closed to vehicles, as previously announced:

• Lexington Avenue is closed from 57th Street to 34th Street.
• Third Avenue is closed from 38th Street to 42nd Street.
• Park Avenue is closed from 54th Street to 34th Street.
• 42nd Street is closed from Park Avenue to Third Avenue.
• Vanderbilt Avenue is closed for its entire length from 42nd Street to 47th Street."

Steampipe Explosion in Midtown

Here's the most recent article about it from Bloomberg.com:

NYC Says Debris Near Blast Site Positive for Asbestos (Update1)

By Chris Dolmetsch and Henry Goldman

July 19 (Bloomberg) -- New York City told people who work and live by the site of a steam pipe explosion near Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal to stay out of the area after some tests of debris and dust came back positive for asbestos.

The explosion yesterday blew a 25-foot (7.6-meter) hole in 41st Street a block south of Grand Central, killing one person and wounding about 30 people, including three firefighters. The blast snarled traffic in midtown Manhattan during rush hour and halted subway service.

Six of 10 samples of debris and dust taken from the surrounding area last night tested positive for the fire- retardant mineral, which has been found to cause respiratory disease and cancer, the city's Emergency Management Office said in a statement this morning. Eight air samples tested negative.

...

The 4, 5 and 6 trains returned to a normal schedule this morning, while skipping Grand Central, the city's busiest subway station. The 42nd Street shuttle was suspended and the 7 line continues to bypass Grand Central.

...

The blast occurred shortly before 6 p.m. a block from Grand Central, through which more than 700,000 commuters pass every day, sending plumes of steam and debris into the air and rattling the nerves of a city that is still recovering from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

About 40 minutes after the event, as a column of steam continued to rise above Lexington Avenue, crowds streamed north, jamming the sidewalks and walking in the street while lugging briefcases and talking anxiously into their cell phones.

'Twas a good day

For me, being so busy at work that I forget to take my lunch break for some reason cheers me up. I guess it's the "small business" mentality still in me, the logic of "if you aren't constantly busy, just start looking for a new job" mostly because small firms just don't have the amount of overhead that larger firms do, so it's a bit harder to stay above water during the lean times.

So anyway, yesterday was my first full day at work. Finally getting to lose myself in the mountains of calculations, totally even forgetting that I had a computer on my desk ("what's this internet thing again") and having my cellphone remind me that it was lunch time about half an hour ago (cellphone alarms FTW!!). 'Twas a good day indeed.

Now we'll just have to see if those calcs were correct...

Daily Mitch-ism

"I tried to walk into Target, but I missed. I think the entrance to Target should have people splattered all around. Then when I finally walk in, the guy says 'Can I help you?' 'No, just practicing!'"

Hey, Punk! Yeah, I'm talkin' to you!

I finally have some spending cash, so I decided to splurge on a few CDs, one of them being the first Bad Brains album:

Oh, I'm a very happy daughter of a punk girl. Such a great album, I can see why they were picked to play the last show at CBGB's not so long ago.

BUY IT or at the least STEAL IT and listen to it. It's good for shutting out bad neighbor music.

Best Things, EVAR!!!

R/C SUMO WRESTLERS!!! See them in action...

Oh yeah, and if I don't watch out, I'll have all these hanging around my apartment:

You may ask, why Christine??

You know why, because this is why...

They hang from the ceiling and when you touch them they make the actual sound as they did in the game! OMG!!!

Foxy Lady

"You make me wanna get up and a-SCREAM...oh, Foxy..."


Isn't Foxy just precious! *girlie squeal*

It's Fookin' HOT!

Eesh...

Mo' Money, Mo' Problems

Biggie was right, it seems that the more money you make will be followed by bigger problems that you will have to deal with. Bigger bills, more responsibilities and massive amounts of agita. Case in point is my current financial status which will blissfully change this Thursday, but for right now is in the complete crapper.

This is what happens when you are screwed out of a paycheck for the end of May. For me, I still had rent due for the month of June, but my landlord's were nice enough to give me time to pay it the next time that I got paid. So I was able to pay that off in mid June, but then the next pay period I had July's rent due. So that was essentially a double rent that I paid off in a matter of 2 weeks. Plus I had new costs to deal with: parking in New Haven being the major one of them.

However, after this Thursday I will no longer be cringing when I look up my banking balance online, because this will probably be my first new paycheck that I'll actually be able to retain a sizeable portion of. It'll really be something else to be able to go out and buy lunch again or go out and actually pay for dinner or maybe even pay for a friend or two. I can perhaps do a proper grocery hunt and actually get the things that I need.

It's been a rough financial start to my new job, but I'm glad I made the move. Obviously, everything will balance out eventually and since I make more than I did at my old firm, that I'll be better off than before. So soon (Thursday hopefully), I'll be able to live like I actually do get a bigger paycheck than before.

Wine Cures Colds

Oh that's right, I said it.

I've recently discovered this last night while enjoying copious amounts of this elixor with a freshly broken up friend that needed some "sulking time." Said friend has come back from a sojourn from Argentina and has a bit of a penchant for Malbec and Cabernet, so I was of course obliged to take in this poor, sulking creature even though I still had my cold gnawing away at my sanity.

So after about a bottle each (oh yeah, you read that right), I immediately went to bed with a nice glass of water just in case the late night dehydration kicked in from drinking so much. So when I woke up, at first I had the normal "OMG, WHY DID I DRINK THAT MUCH" feelings, but as I started to become human again I realized I could breathe again and any coughing I did was nothing at all. I haven't even blown my nose yet or at least not to the brain-busting speed that I was before.

So yes, thank you Argentina for producing not only gorgious wines, but also impregnating them with mystical, cold-curing properties. Hopefully this will help me get through the mountains of laundry and dishes that I have to do as well, but we shall see...

Hearing Myself and Cringing

Damn you New York! Every time I go down there for any length of time my accent gets thicker and then it won't go away again! The force is strong with you!!

Now I hear myself talk and I roll my eyes. "North" is now pronounced "nort" among other things. Also the hands are in full force today. God help anyone walking behind or to the side of me because if I don't see you, your ass is going down.

I'm giving you all fair warning.

Ruby Foo's

So for my birthday on Saturday, a couple friends decided to take me to this great pan-Asian restaurant named Ruby Foo's in the middle of Times Square. Needless to say, this place was packed since it was a Saturday night in the middle of Times Square, but even with a seat at the bar we were well taken care of (in fact, you can tell that they anticipate waiting long hours at the bar so they designed the seats and the foot rests to be quite comfortable, so we just stayed there the whole night).

The bartender's were great, they kept us happy the whole night and when they overheard it was my birthday, decided to sneak and give me and my group a massive piece of chocolate cake with even a little candle on top.

Needless to say, Ruby Foo's will be a stop for me whenever I'm in need of some excellent sushi and saki if I happen to be in Times Square again.