Wednesday, July 25, 2001

A minor epiphany, if that...

I lived in a YMCA while going to school in my early 20's.

While there, I made friends with many of the short term residents, most hard on their luck trying to sort their lives out.

What I found interesting was the majority of the men, while representing all ages, sexuality and race.. were, for the most part, in their mid 30's to early 40's.

Almost all of them had achieved what I thought as the natural progression of life.. marriage, kids, education, good jobs etc..

And in one form or another.. lost it all.

After awhile I came to the firm belief that most had come to grief because of they found three things hard to handle ...

Money, Women (or relationships), and drugs (alcohol, weed, c, etc).

To this day, I was convinced those were the primary reasons.

Now that Im at that point.. I find I might have missed out on another factor, one that only now Im appreciating. (There's that word again..)

I think...

That after the struggle of getting to your mid to late thirties with something in hand.. you might start .. easing up.. for want of a better term.

Its as if some folk go into 'semi-retirement' and ease up in the mid/late thirties after the struggle of getting PAST the thirties with something in hand.

Someone who went thru that.. said its as if you stop to get your bearings, figure out what is it exactly you want out of life before you make another push. (He's making up for it, by the way - mid-40's.. doing it big time..)

So, its good to know, its as if Im gathering steam to make the push....

Anyway, in my youth. I thought I knew the reasons for those guys being where they were.. but I honestly thought *I* wouldnt be there.

Heh. As the guys at the Y used to tell me about crossing the threshold into mid-adulthood..

"Just wait.. you have NO idea.."

Turns out.. I didnt.

I really had no idea. No appreciation.

Heh. Thats what experience is for. :-)

Tuesday, July 24, 2001

Today's horrorscope...

VIRGO
Family problems and money worries are causing you a lot of lost sleep, but ask yourself: Are they really worth the effort? What would happen if, instead of trying to guide events in a particular direction you just let go and let fate work things out for you? At worst, nothing much would change, but at least you would get a good night's rest.


Gah.
----------------

Monday, July 23, 2001

As tisha had expressed earlier, Cyn wrote:


> i like the red *I* joey bro.
>


Thank ya dear. Ode to the subways.. :-)

Something on the same aesthetic as the classic "I love New York" logo.

But different. :-)

Wow. The "red 'I' ". Heh. Doesnt that describe NY? :-)

Its funny, I wasnt thinking of all the ways the Red *i* could be interpreted ....
-----
Speaking of 'red eye', random nocturnal pix..





No. Chica wasnt homeless. Drunk and just wanted to lie down. So she did.

Her friends, also on the way home to NJ after a bit of Greenwich Village/NYU clubbing were right behind her out of the shot, watching out for her, in case she rolled off the platform or sumthin'...









New Yorkers, tryin' to be Chicagoans, I swear.. :-)




Heh. Supposedly, this is the size of an average NY studio apartment.

Some New Yorkers might disagree.... as it looks to be a wanton display of decadent volume.

In other words, bigger than THEIR places.

Hm. Actually, tack on a bedroom and make the bathroom a tad bigger, and it looks like my place.

Sans the furniture, of course.
------------

Im in the mood for a patty and a cocoa bread.

Wouldnt know where to get a freshly made one here in Joisey.. so

Road Trip.

To Brooklyn. :-)

Thanks..

To the not-so comatose one for his mentions...

It's 'Joe', not 'Jim', tho. Captain Picard was the best one.

and THANK you, george. You are quite welcome. :-)
------


Ferris: English? Do ya speaka any English??
Valet: (blinks, pauses, then utters in perfect english...) What *country* do you think this IS?

- Ferris Buehlers' Day Off


Schooled in the ways of New Joisey by The Sopranos, I quickly realized that most folk I've encountered in here sounds NOTHING like the broad accent put on by James Gandolfini's character.

I'm sorry.. at the very most - most folk here might have a little italiano/brooklyn/new england twinge, which is often mistaken (mostly by southerners) as a Bahston thing. But little that is as deep the Sopranos 'Joisey' accent, as most folk's accents have been broadened by being part of the New York megapolis maisma.

Which is why its always surprising when I DO encounter folk who sound EXACTLY like Tony Soprano. And I do mean exactly.

Shit yeah, they exist.

Apparently I dont get around enough.

It gives my mind something else to chew on, as I work around the inanities of Microsoft's 'Active Directory', which is the spawn of satan itself.

<.start Microsoft rant>NOW I understand why most geeks want to personally hunt Bill Gates down and off him, checking to make sure the '666' brand is really on his cold, lifeless...

EVERYTHING has to be the goddammed Microsoft Way.

Windows 2000 Server pitches an everloving fit if it is NOT the main (primary) domain server on a network.

Even if youre running NT4 already.

And now I find Active Directory pitches ANOTHER frikkin fit if all the CLIENTS arent Windows2000 or above. AAARG.

Wait. That didnt come out right.

AAAAARRRRGGGGGGG. Guh.

<./NOT the end of the Microsoft rant.>

*breathe*

What was I talking about? Oh yeah... Joisey accents...

-----------------
Every so often, they close down the main commercial drag of Bayonne and hold an impromptu car show every summer.

Probably because Im not driving now, Im not the car buff I once was.. but its till pretty neat to see lovingly cared-for cars.

But I doubt I would ever be that obsessed.

I guess cars have become like computers to me. Nice, but one of many tools...

























They came out when I was a kid, and I always wanted to drive around in a classic SS with a "Rat" motor.

And then someone sez proudly, "Yeah, this was my GRANDFATHERS Chevelle SS.."

Oy.