Saturday, January 20, 2001

Staten Island, NY (10303)
National Weather Service Local Forecast

Issued at 10:32 AM EST - Saturday, January 20, 2001

...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM NOON EST SATURDAY UNTIL 600 AM EST SUNDAY...
This afternoon: Occasional light rain...Snow...And sleet changing to all snow. Accumulation by late afternoon 1 to 2 inches. temperatures slowly falling to near 30. Northeast wind 15 to 20 mph and gusty.
Tonight: Occasional snow...Heavy at times after midnight. Total accumulation...4 To 8 inches. Windy. Low 20 to 25. North wind 20 to 25 mph and gusty. Chance of snow near 100 percent.
Sunday: A chance of snow showers in the morning...Otherwise partly sunny. Blustery. High in the lower 30s. Chance of snow 30 percent.


Me? Out and about in this? You must be ma-had.

Friday, January 19, 2001

Random thoughts....

- Earthquake? What earthquake? I didnt feel a thing.

I was awake and cogent at the time.. I woulda remembered.
The epicenter apparently was by Astoria, Queens.

Although New York City is all granite bedrock, there are a buncha faultlines around the New York area.. granite bedrock wont save us.

Watching the news later, the way they hyped it up (natcherally), New York is gonna be a replay of Towering Inferno if the big one hits.

Dude, chill. According to the seismologists, earthquakes around here have never exceeded 5.5 magnitude. And the last one of THOSE was in the 18th century.

Funny was this quote from the Post:

Nigel Rollings, 50, a Queens landscaper, said the jolt woke him up.

"I thought it was my Viagra kicking in," he joked. "I've never felt anything like that. It was such a loud bang. I nearly fell out of my bed."

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- Its gotten cold again.

Not that bitter cold of the past few weeks, but cold.

Even a lite breeze has my scarf wrapped around my face, gloved hands in my pockets.

Right now, and all through the weekend, its a nasty mix of rain, sleet and snow.

This year, I plan on buying the whole North Face Antarctic catalog, neoprene booties included.
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Still waiting on the apartment.

Still needs to be cleaned further before I can move in....

I need that space....
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I applied for two promising looking work assignments, both freelance.

One, a short-term project management job with AOL Digital City (I wonder how it wouldve turned out had I accepted the tech producers position there back in 98), another - a photographers job with a content rich New York site.

I can definitely do both at the same time.

However, I have no intention of starving or being homeless. If I dont hear soon from either, Im going with the tech positions Ive been consciously/unconsciously delaying....

I did get a note back promptly from the New York site saying they would be in touch.

The Voice is telling me to be patient...
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Its an almost scientific fact.

Having HappyCat curled up by my legs definitely put me into a sounder sleep than normal.

Although it may also have something to do with the Exchange & Outlook Magazine Id been reading at the time, and all the fun I can have with COM classes and other Visual Basic tricksssss.......

*snorf* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......
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Heheh. It's a high honor to be called 'Mr Miyagi'.

Thanks GG. :-)
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- I caught Groundhog Day on TBS this evening.

That is another flick that keeps getting better and better every time you see it.

Right now, Im feeling its message of using the time you have to become a better person.

Only now, did I notice that in the movie.. it took love to break the cycle.

Hmm.

To become a better person so that you can accept love to progress. Hm.


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Ok, the dreaded event is here.

I just scraped clean my last bottle of Cole's Orange Blossom Honey.

*whimper*

Hm. I should give Tish a call in the morn, see if she is in back in town and settled in..

(probable scenario)

Tish: Joey!! *hugs*
Me: HeySweetheartHowyadoinHavefuninSanFrancisco?GoodGoodEverythinggowell?GoodGood....Ubroughtthehoney?

Hmm. Maybe I should call her now....
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Thursday, January 18, 2001

Its been awhile since Kate moved to Brooklyn.

Back then, we thought it would allow me to hang out at her place more - but as she found out, getting me out anywhere is still like herding cats....

My excuse was that it was a haul from my part of Brooklyn to her part of Brooklyn.

Well, in the last 3 weeks, Ive been around her neighborhood more times than Ive been in six months.

For bagels.

Mmm. Best bagels in Brooklyn are only a block from her house.

And theyre 3.99 a dozen on Wednesdays.. with an extry one for every dozen!!!

Yum.

And I rarely stop by.. although she is never there when Im by - so..

Eh. Its easier to catch her accursed local train from Manhattan than it is to do a cross-town trek from Brooklyn.

Plus, Kate doesnt do guilt.

Thank god. :-)
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Wednesday, January 17, 2001

From the always interesting Cosmic Amanda today...


My stellar mood continues.

I fall in love a lot. With the world, that is. I fall in love with the world and all its greasy smelly people and I sigh and feel content to immerse myself in all things earthly. Then, the world tells me it just wants to be friends, I get horribly depressed, but we always make up in the end.


I dunno if I can feel that way in or about NYC.. but its a luvverly sentiment nonetheless...

With the slight warming trend and rain upon the snow cover, New York was kinda fogbound yesterday.

Not a thick fog, but a nice gloomy cover that had the boats hitting their foghorns every so often....

At 6am, as the ferry slipped away from the terminal, and Manhattan started fading into the fog, I realized as the sun came up in the next hour - I was gonna have some excellent shooting conditions as the fog burned off.

Shit, shit, shit.

I hadnt planned for that, as I had been draining the cammy battery with experimental flash shots, not expecting an impromptu foto safari in the darkness.

I had half a charge left.
A Bad Thing, because just shooting one trip will flatten the charge on one battery.

I hadda reach into my bag o' trix.




































Something about the fog....

Tuesday, January 16, 2001

My honey rocks.

She informed me last night that she is in posession of two bottles of Cole's Orange Blossom Honey from the land of Milk and Honey (Safeway), which will be carefully wrapped for the trip today back to the east coast...

And women feel they havta read Cosmopolitan to find out what pleases a man.. *snort*

AND....

Some of my Cali folk, who cant bear to see a grown man bitch, moan, whine and cry have come thru with promises of future care packages.

Oh.. my .. gawd.. becky.. Arent they the BEST?? :-)

Fred. *muah*. Helen. *hugs*. Cyn. *toss in air*

Now, lemme find a permanent address for all that to be sent to.

Yes.. I am a *happy* bear. :-)

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From Sistah Cyn's 'CynCam'

(No, for all the horses dragging me to piles of gold, I will NOT go there about the name of the cam... *cackle*)





And she doesnt like having folk see her in her glasses in pictures???

Man.

Now you can see why femmes and fellahs alike proposition her daily, even in Clark Kent guise... :-)
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"Time wont give me time
Time makes lovers feel
Like theyve got something real
But you and me we know
Weve got nothing
But time.

But time wont give me time..."
- Culture Club


Brian Y put up some pics of Gracie.

Put a smile on my face.

Im glad they got their digicam when they did.

Thats why I make such a big deal about constantly taking pictures.

Sometimes, just memories arent enough.. as time changes.

Kate and Tish are such putzes about me taking their pictures.

They think its just about the pictures themselves ....

Theyre young yet.
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Im always amazed when people stumble over my stuff and give me unsolicited ego boosts....

Thank you agatha and Karyn



".... you got it down
when
you appear to be in pain.. "
- Humpty Dance, Digital Underground


Subwoofer boomin', Im being all silly rockin to a Oaktown/Bay Area Old-skool mp3 pack.

No shame in my game..as Im listenin to MC Hammer's U Cant Touch This.

Very, Very, Very Loud. :-)

Anyways, Im in a very good mood.

Tish RAWKS.

Professionally and personally. :-)

I can see over the hump too.

Amazing, I can now see I am where Im supposed to be right now. Aint that sumthin?

It'd take too long to explain, but its been a very uplifting morning.

Stay tuned. :-)

".. Cant touch this.. Oh oh oh oh uh-oh.. Cant touch this.."

*baggy pants leap*

Monday, January 15, 2001

Dateline: Easyeverything Internet Cafe, Times Square



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Madd multitaskin right now... taking advantage of the hi-speed connection at the Vampire hour.

Researching positions.. sending resumes.. crunch time is here.

Looking into production, writing, support and QA positions.

Ive belatedly come to realize I was on the right track in training myself on e-mail admin.

Recession, shmesession - that pays regardless.

Zat is about as far as I intend to sell my soul durnit....
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Talkin to DJ Gabz.

Her legit old-skool tastes have me downloading some long-forgotten beats to save, not just listen to.

- The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By
- Digital Underground - HumptyDance, DooWhatchyoolike
- Toni! Tony! Tone! - Little Walter, If I Had No Loot
- Tupac Shakur w/ Digital Undergound - I Get Around
- Heavy D - Black Coffee
- EU - Da Butt
- Hieroglyphics - The Who
- Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back, My Hooptie
- Diggable Planets - Cool Like That (Rebirth of Slick)


Lemme send this collection to be burnt.

And her talking about DJ stuff, reminded of SF-based DJ Salty.

This under-stated girlie, blessed wit Madd Skillz and taste, kept me awake during long hours at Hambrecht & Quist.

Dammit, I meant to pick up a few of her mixes when I was in SF. Durnit.

Take a gander at her internet radio show....
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Things Guys Think Girls should know

Gabs: Love this site... no. 20 on the list
Joe: "Share the closet"????
Joe: I know better. My closet is in the hallway. :-)
Gabs: hehehehehe

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Hmm. Next time, I need to come back here prepared to download a whole lot more files....


"In this country, it is relatively easy to make money, but the trick, and the hardest thing to do - is to keep it."
-- Advice from a millionaire I got while working at Schwab.


As I washed some dishes, I mulled a few things over in da brain....

What would I do if I had 50k in the bank, free and clear?

To my horror, I realized that I dont know, really. I dont have a plan.

Sure, I said.. I'd prolly invest some, save some, spend some.

But no.. REALLY. What would I do? Specifics. Not just 'invest some, save some, spend some'.

Ive never really had to worry about it.

Ive never had more than 4 or 5 grand in the bank at any one time, and Ive never been concerned about the money I have, as Ive always lived fairly frugally.

It was just about me.

If I won the lottery, a coupla hundred thou floating around - I could kinda wing it, cause then Id have a little cushion.

But 50 thou isnt out of the realm of possibility or even probability.
In the real world, thats a years salary or less.

Not a whole hell of a lot, then.
Realistically, its an amount that can disappear in a short period of time.

I realized I dont have a short or medium term plan to handle my 'wealth'.

Just making money is not enough.

I guess reading "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" or the "Millionaire Next Door" aint enough.

I need to learn.

Cause, already - it aint just about me.

Particularly as Im being motivated to aim for a higher level.
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Sunday, January 14, 2001

Hrmm.

I did not realize I was a person who is easily amused, but hell.

The cat amuses me. Greatly.

The Ultimate Predator, who gets his head stuck in his masters boots.

Who attempts to claw me from behind the door as I exit the bathroom.

(Having learned this tactic early, I easily sidestep the swipe, and scratch behind his ears as he swipes in the air, puzzled at having missed. Prolly wonders why he wont be passing his hunting exam anytime soon...)

Who pats me down thoroughly when he can smell my great addiction, lox, as I bring the smelly smoked salmon into the house.

(Why do cats go nuts at the smell of fish?)

Who jumps into my lap and lays down on my chest when he feels the need for some love.

Who grunts when he leaps down, gets winded after a few minutes of exercise (me flinging the catnip bag around and him chasing it), and yet, can silently bound up several feet in the air or up the stairs with little effort.

Who pads into the office, yawns and meows/chirps at me when I stay up too late at the computer.




Ehh, he just amuses me greatly.


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Tish wrote back for clarification, as the message I left on her cell was a bit.. unclear.

I was unclear because I was freakin' out. Hear?

Actually, I was freaking out because my very last bottle of Cole's Orange Blossom Honey (only available at Safeway in Cali) was almost done.

Rich, sweet and intense, I now cant drink my Green Tea without the schtuff.

So, what started out as a simple "Hows my girl doin?" rapidly turned into an incoherent freak-out jag because I was talking and looking at that nearly empty bottle at the same time.

She gently reassured me that she was near a Safeway's and would be happy to bring back a bottle for me.

She's a kind heart. She cant stand to hear someone in such obvious pain.

Now, to keep me on an even keel, Im wondering if a few of my Cali folk wouldnt wanna consider helping a brutha out wit a care package from time to time.....

Im only down to a few spoonfulls.
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