5022,
3283, 
1163 MEtRoday: 5022,
3283, 1163
I have loved T-Mobile ever since I signed up, 22 months ago. Me and the Melbster got great deals: 7105 BlackBerry, $100 rebate and an iPod shuffle, which made the phone cost $50, but hey, a free iPod. We joined the CrackBerry ranks. My Sprint dinosaur was out of commish, and I jumped into the world of texting, emailing and surfing from my phone. And during those first couple of months, I changed my plan around twice, trying to get the best minutes deal and I really messed it up but the reps at T-Mob set it all straight and were fairly nice in the process. I also was able to use my phone during an emergency at the airport in Paris last summer when my connecting flight to Munich was cancelled. Was there anything T-Mob wouldn't do for me? I hearted them.
Until 15 minutes ago.
You see, on Saturday the click-wheel on my BB done got all brøkt up. It clicked in but didn't want to click out. It hasn't clicked out since. Which means it's always wanting to select a menu, then the next sub-menu, then the next sub-menu after that. And then reply to that email or make that call or whatever it's trying to do, depending on which menu it's on. But since I've had the $5.99 monthly protection plan on this from the get-go I thought "No problem, they'll send me a replacement!"
Wrong.
After filing the claim (20 minutes testifying in phonejail) and then receiving a call from the claim people who asked me weird questions like "Do you recognize any of these names: Oliver Pendleton? Andrew Sharenhausenstrasse? Patricia McIntok? None of the above?" they apparently induced I was who I said I was and then told me it was going to cost $110 for my replacement phone.
WTF? 22 months x $5.99 + $110 to replace a $50 phone? (That's $241.78, btw.) I said "THEHELL?" and promptly called my friendly T-Mob service center. They insured me that yes, the "protection plan" does not protect, really, anything. Marcy, the T-Mobster, apologizes profusely but does nothing to help. She tells me that I can purchase a new phone, for $199 or even $299 and I inform her that I've already spent close to that in "insurance". She then goes off on doctor visit pre-pays and car insurance similes that just make me even more pissed off. I tell her to immediately remove the "insurance" premium from my account, we tell each other to have a nice day (it's part of their script) and hang up.
Am I going to pay $110 for a new phone to use for a few months until the 16-gig iPhone comes out? No. Am I hoping now more than ever that I get a kaboodle of Apple gift cards for xmas? Yes.
I'm booted up now, after a just-missed-D6-so-instead-carry-a-40-pound-computer-box-10-blocks walkathon. It was alright though. It's all about getting to know the new neighborhood. And finding out if the new neighborhood will allow you to carry a computer box down the street without asking you questions. Or worse.
Just as I suspected, there's not even one wireless network here, so there's no lo-jacking anyone's network. Na-da{mn}. I guess it's time to start paying the man now.
Last night, as I'm getting home, I have a message waiting for me from my friends, and now landpersons, to see if I'd like to join them for dinner. Since I've just come from the corner store with basic supplies and Chef Boy-Ar-Dee cans (my kitchen stuff moves on Wednesday) I reply with a hearty "yes". I bring my recently purchased bottle of Bacardi upstairs and we order chinese food. The rest of the evening turns into a neighborhood get-to-know draink-a-thon, with meeting neighbors and touring their houses, porch parties and learning the local scene. 'Twas a busy Monday night 'round the way.
On the homefront, The Twin™ (Rattle) is settling in nicely. Since I've had the last couple of days off, she's been with me on the bed the entire time that I have been here, and also beckoning me to join her for afternoon naps just to be close and comfort her, telling her everything's gonna be ok. You know it's gonna be alright, alright. <insert handclaps> She's starting to find her private hiding spaces, as all cats do, and this tells me she is getting comfortable. She's still Keepin' tha Peace 'n Norfeas'.
They're jing-a-lin', baby.
MEtRoday: none
I'm packing up the iMac. I'm unsure of the internet access at the new joint, so this may be the last update until I return to work next week. (I'll keep writing but won't be able to post until next Tuesday.) Have a great week!
And a very, very sincere thank you to the Jump Street Four who helped me yesterday with their time, effort and resources.
Here's your placemat for Wednesday's show:
Saturday October 27 boxing day
MEtRoday: Friday:
5024, 
3154, 
4037;
Today: 2045, 3047
Cardboard, cardboard everywhere.
Things I have discovered that I, in fact, own while searching through closets, boxes, etc. With some of these I'm shocked I still own them or even ever did, others I'm rediscovering. I'll let you judge what falls into which category:
• pix of The Twins™ from about six years
ago
• Whitney Houston cassingle
• rainbow-colored Apple stickers
• brick-sized digital camera
• many, many MiniDiscs
• press kit from 1992 Democratic National Convention
• New Beetle promos from 1997 "Reborn. January 5, 1998"
• stash of Sharpie pens (red & black)
• Frank Lloyd Wright stained-glass replica paperweight
——The Twin™ is not leaving my side; she knows something's up——
• black & white photograph of my 1977 VW Beetle,
taken from a roof at 16th & Swann, NW
• Kevin's & Nick's phone numbers
• pressed leaves from 1986
• picture of Ed Horan and Clare Giesen at a pig roast
• box with shipping label of "1901 Whitney, Houston, TX 77006"
• exactly $6.00 in change
• Adobe Illustrator 5.0 on diskette
• blur The Great Escape promo poster, signed by all four band
members (!)
• Laurie Anderson DVD: Puppet Motel
• mckinnon_associates blank vellum
• contact sheet from Holga film taken at Chemical Brothers show @ 9:30 Club
• copper rivets
Thursday October 25 what if i threw a (moving) party
MEtRoday: 2054,
3132, 5071, 1075
and nobody came?
These are the things I would have to leave behind, that I wouldn't be able to move by myself, or without the muscle help of another man or strong woman: couch, dining table, futon mattress, dresser. Plus I'd have a really sore back from moving all the other stuff by myself. So here's an open call to all readers: I know it's not fun, but would you like to help me move this weekend? At a minimum, I just need someone to help me move the above items. It should take about an hour for these; a few hours for the entire move. But all help is appreciated and will be rewarded.
Wednesday October 24 21 jump street
MEtRoday: 1005,
6006, 1033, 3197, 1155
What I won't miss about Jump Street
Being woken up at 3 in the morning by drunken interns, stumbling up the stairs.
The annoying voices coming in loudly from the hallway.
Having to wait for an open laundry machine.
Having to carry laundry up and down flights of stairs.
Running into weird people in the hallways and having to converse with them.
Electrical circuitry so old that light bulbs last about a month before popping.
Beige carpeting.
What I will miss about Jump Street
The closeness I still feel to Hum.
Being close to Metro stations.
Being able to carry beer from the corner store, incognito.
Windowsills wide enough to put plants on.
Tall ceilings.
Free, pirated internet from some neighbor.
Complete anonymity and privacy.
A bright apartment full of sunshine.
Being able to walk to stores and restaurants, and Union Station.
Throwing trash bags down a chute, and forgetting about where the bags go.
Being able to call my home "Jump Street".
Tuesday October 23 y'all know what to do
MEtRoday: 3194,
5058, 5131, 1236
Don't you?
Recaps for last week's ep can be found at Television Without Pity and fourfour.
MEtRoday: 4097,
3000, 1135, 5104
The vet called me today (4:17 pm, duration 10:42) with the results from The Twin's bloodwork today, taken on Saturday. Her t4 count (which marks hyperthyroidism) is rising again; I thought this would be the case as they cut her meds for this in half about a month ago. Her t4 count is 3.0, which is largely reduced from 8.8 back in May, and still within the preferred range of 0.8–4.0. But it's on the high end so they're a little concerned.
All five of her chemistry panel levels are listed as HIGH, with some being double their preferred range:
Urea Nitrogen: 59 (Pref Range: 14–36)
Creatinine: 3.2 (PR: 0.6–2.4)
Alkaline Phosphatase: 204 (PR: 6–102)
ALT (SGPT): 265 (PR: 10–100)
AST (SGOT): 208 (PR: 10–100)
What does this mean? This means she is teetering on the edge of kidney disease, and Miss Thang is going on a special diet. And she also is going on antibiotics to help with her white blood cells, which are starting to turn up just under the preference range of 200–500 (hers is 188).
So.
I'm going to get her into the new place and then start with the additional meds and the new food. I'm afraid that the stress of the move will be pretty major for her; I don't want to add to that by introducing her to new food at the same time. I'm thankful now that I took all of next week off work to unpack and setup things. It will be extra special for her (and me) to have me there while she's getting used to new surroundings. And all the cardboard everywhere.
Sunday October 21 and now, today's agenda
MEtRoday: none
Today is the ALS Association's 8th Annual Walk to D'Feet ALS. So this means I'm up early again, and biking down to the Mall by 9:15. For the last few years I volunteered, but this year since my Dad, brothers, sister-in-law & kids were walking too, I decided to skip the volunteering and walk with them. I spoke with Christine Kirkley, the volunteer coordinator, to say hello and let her know that my family is adjusting to my Mom's passing in June. She was very kind and thoughtful, as everyone at the ALS Association has been. Here are some pix:
Afterwards we had lunch at Don Pablo's, where I scraped the plate clean even though I knew it was going to kill my diet. Upon researching the DP site, I found out my meal contained 869 calories with 34 grams of fat. Oh wait. I forgot the rice & beans. The new total is 1238 calories, 54 grams of fat. And that's not even counting the chips & salsa I devoured with help from my niece, Sarah Jane. Or the beer that my brother tricked me into getting. So needless to say, I haven't eaten anything else all day. Trust, I'm still full from that meal so it's okay.
We then trekked to Arlington to visit my Mother's grave, and put some silk flowers down. (Artificial flowers may be placed on graves October 10th through April 15th.) And Sarah Jane, who turned three in July, being ever-so-perceptive, catches onto the mood, particularly her mother's, my sister-in-law, and asks what's wrong. We tell her we are missing Grammy and that a hug would make us all feel better. So Sarah Jane doled out the hugs. While we're there, we often meander around at look at the nearby sites, and the newly interred, to get a sense of the space and its continually increasing occupancy. As I'm wondering off, Sarah Jane yells out for me to wait up, she wants to join me. She tells me she's looking to gather rocks to place on my Mother's gravestone, and actually uses the word "gravestone" when she says this. How does a three-year-old learn this word? She's a quick one, that SJ.
A
leisurely bike ride through post-summer tourism-empty DC and I'm back home,
where the packing and sorting for the move continues. It was time to go through
the plastic laundry hamper full of cassette tapes that I have not listened
to or even touched in 20 years. Most of the music that I've wanted to listen
to I've either replaced with CDs, stolen from Napster or downloaded through
iTunes. I threw away 95% of the tapes, but kept a few, and so now I'm experiencing
an 80s flashback jam of mixtapes that may or may not consist of the following
musical talents:
Wham!
Big Pig
Rick Springfield
Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Jody Watley
Split Enz
3rd Base
Propaganda
Everlast
a-ha
Sade
The Breakfast Club
Stetsasonic
Camouflage
Kim Wilde
Red Flag
The Art of Noise
Monie Love
Nitzer Ebb
Leila K
Animotion
Information Society
And apparently I was a big fan of the cassingle.
Saturday October 20 today's agenda
MEtRoday: Friday: 3053,
3081, 3214, 3221;
Today: none
4:00 am: alarm goes off.
4:05 am : snooze.
4:10 am: snooze.
4:15 am: get up.
4:16 am: Give the Twin™ her pill. She's needing to take this 4–6
hours before her 9:40 vet appointment.
4:17 am: reset alarm for 8:30, go back to bed.
8:40 am: get up.
9:00 am: bike over to Goldy's, who's letting me borrow her carruh.
9:30 am: arrive at vet.
10:25 am: back home.
1:00 pm: pick-up keys and boxes at the J/T's.
1:15 pm: have lunch.
1:25 pm: nap.
2:45 pm: go to uHaul for purchasing of smaller boxes.
3:15 pm: start packing.
3:16–8:20 pm: move boxes to 1526.
8:30 pm: drop off carruh at Goldy's, have a couple of beers.
9:05 pm: bike home.
9:20 pm: mix rum & diet Coke.
9:58–11:32 pm: catch up on the phone with Franklin.
11:32 pm–12:35 am: watch SNL
12:39 am: sleep.
MEtRoday: 1245,
3165, 6062, 1033
Problems with NBC's Bionic Woman
1. "Special Guest Bigot Star" Isaiah
Washington.
2. Not casting Katee Sackhoff in the lead role.
3. Casting Katee Sackhoff in the arch-nemesis role, which totally overshadows
what's-her-name who is cast in the lead role.
4. Continuity: Not naming the boss guy Oscar Goldman and the doctor Rudy Wells.
I've seen three? four? episodes now and still don't know their new character
names.
5. Naming Katee Sackhoff's character (the self-proclaimed "Original Bionic
Woman") Sarah. Couldn't they have twisted it a bit and at least called
her Leigh Majors?
6 & 7. Lame scripts.
8. No cheesy sound-effect throwbacks when bionics are put into effect. Trust
me, this would be fantastic.
9. The entire "Gilmore Girls" takeoff between Jaime Sommers and her
younger sister whom she cares for. Blech.
10. Former Eastender's star what's-her-name's voice overdubs to mask her accent
are even more obvious than Rachel Griffiths' on Six Feet Under.
Wednesday October 17 "breaking girls down to build them up is what this show is all about"
MEtRoday: 1283,
5127, 1015, 5126
Has it been a week already? Time to play again. I'm shaking the rules up this time, by saying that every available model, at the start of the show, gets a plus or minus point on their Ratings Bar, instead of having a pool of points to distribute how you see fit. Let me know if this works better or worse for you. There will still be additional points assigned throughout the show: reading of Tyra Mail, crying, correctly picking the Challenge Winner, being called Tyra's "girlfriend", and then three toss-up points during Final Panel.
Recaps for last week's ep can be found at Television Without Pity and fourfour.
Tuesday October 16 ain't this purty?
MEtRoday: 1091,
1242, 3030, 5129
From WIRED: "Saturn's pale, icy moon Dione is offset by the gold and blue hues of the planet in this image taken Oct. 11, 2005. The horizontal stripes near the bottom of the image are Saturn's rings. Cassini was nearly in the same plane as the rings when the image was taken, making them look thin and masking their awesome scale. Dione, like most of the other icy Saturnian satellites, looks no different in natural color than in monochrome images. Spectral filters created this color view, which approximates how the image would appear to the human eye."
More shots from the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft (mission: explore Saturn and its moons), which was launched ten years ago can be found here.
Monday October 15 bridal weekend recap
MEtRoday: Thursday:
none; Friday: 2031, 3220; Saturday & Sunday: none; Monday:
1270, 3100, 5015, 1282
The J/T wedding was this past weekend. Being a bridal attendant, I didn't really have a camera ready the entire time, but here are some pix. They may or may not consist of a rooftop happy hour, a mani/pedi excursion (my first), lunch at Henry's, running to pickup my tux, church rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, an early morning kickboxing class, afternoon cocktails, wearing makeup, smashing my sunglasses, the ceremony, mashed potato martinis, the 9-hour reception or riding in a convertible 68 Camaro.
Wednesday October 10 two down, ten to go
MEtRoday: Tuesday 1172,
3101, 3053, 3036;
Wednesday: 6113, 2030, 3268, 1088
I know, I'm not too thrilled with this cycle's hopefuls either. The game doesn't get really interesting until there's about eight girls left, so try to hang in there. And tonight is The Makeover Episode, so there's always some good drama, either with tears or metamorphosis.
Met·tear·mor·pho·sis: the act of realizing one cannot hide behind one's own personal comforts, therefore becoming a more confident person. "Tyra chopped off all of my beautiful hair, sob sob, but I'm going to totally rock the shot!"
Here's this week's placemat game to download. Have fun! Recaps for last week's ep can be found at Television Without Pity and fourfour.
My observations:
Ambreal: Werk it, gurl.
Bianca: Mistakes vulgarity for confidence.
Chantal: I'm impressed with your double-wide.
Ebony: Turns out you're not the biggest betch after all.
Heather: Stop using your handicap as a handicap.
Janet: Hello, 1984? They want their Mary Lou back.
Jenah: You're in the final three.
Lisa: Just stop. Really.
Saleisha: You've got power.
Sarah: Whodat?
Victoria: If she says "geek" one more time, I'm issuing
a fatwa.
Monday October 08 i wonder why we waste our lives here, when we could run away to paradise
MEtRoday: 1228,
1049, 1291
Federal holidays (of which I get one off per year) are the worst commute days. This probably goes opposite for those who drive, and therefore 60% less cars to deal with. But for me it's the worst.
Why, you ask? I'll tell ya. The trains are running on a weekend schedule, which sometimes means I'll be waiting on the platform for over ten minutes for my train. And then another ten minutes for the next train. Then, my building's trolley doesn't run on the holidays, so that means I've got to hoof it. At least it wasn't raining today, but with this humidit I was drenched by the time I completed my 20-minute walk. I could've take a DASH bus but since I didn't know what schedule they were operating on and the fact that I canny be one minute late to work, I thought it best to walk and not chance it.
And then we didn't even have a meeting this morning because some employees took this as their float day.
At least I got a seat on the train today though.
MEtRoday: none
If you look carefully on this live feed you might see Ziska & Kilian, (Vienna) Paul, Suse & David, or Mary & Mischi (sp?) or any number of fun-loving Munich residents enjoying Oktoberfest.
Look quickly though, today is the last day.
Friday October 05 riding/writing on the train
MEtRoday: 3032,
5159, 3185
This evening I did a good deed. I'm getting to the Metty-Cent station, and as usual, there's a lengthy wait for a train. I'm downstairs, and I know that need to go behind the escalators to wait for the car that will deliver me directly to the escalator at E'ket.
Sitting on the secluded bench is a young man, passed out. I thought nothing of it; these things occur frequently in the city and especially on the weekends. As the next train arrives, which is a BLT (Blue Line Train) I'm thinking that maybe this man needs to get on a blue train and not an orange train, and I shake him awake and tell him a blue line train is pulling into the station.
He wakes up, startled at first, and realizes this is the train he needs and hops on.
It takes me the time to get to E'ket to write this.
MEtRoday: 1178,
1179, 4060, 3017, 1157
Do you remember the what the Internet was like in 1998? Before Concorde crashed? Do you even remember Concorde?
I remember what the Internet was like way back then, because back then you could actually find interesting things on there, that you hadn't been already emailed a dozen times. I remember finding the detailed, official report of the crash of doomed flight AF4590, a listing of the requested last meals of Texas death-row inmates before being sent to The Chair, Sim City-style illustrations of poignant cultural iconography (a SWAT member pointing his gun at Elian Gonzalez, celebrations at the intersection of Florence & Normandie, Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp singing in a meadow in the Alps, among others) and these were the things that I linked to and pointed out on futurejunkie 2.0.
One thing that I found, but didn't link to, that I thought was pretty cool was this composited image some guy had taken of himself, one picture a day for a couple of months. I thought it was pretty cool and remember making it my 800 x 600 desktop picture (System 8.0!) for a while until I realized I couldn't see any icons on my desktop and changed it. Goodbye, geeky kid!
This past weekend I was YouTubing and kept choosing one that now pops up at the end of the one you've just watched, that is supposed to somehow be related by a keyword to the one you've just viewed. I stumbled upon a video, compiled of these daily images this kid had taken, but it encompasses the last eight years, not just a couple of months like my desktop picture. (Not everyone have video editing software back in those days.) I know there are a lot of vids like this now, but in this one his eyes never move, while the angle of his face does, and of course his hair's all over the place.
Going to the user's profile page, I grab a website, and there I am on the kid's page, who isn't really a kid anymore. His name is Jonathan Keller, and he's a recent grad of the Cranbrook Academy. So it wasn't just a geeky kid with a digital camera, it was an art project.
His projects include The Adaptation to My Generation (a Daily Photo Project) mentioned above which includes all photos plus the video, Sign Language Matchbooks, some very nice letterpress business cards and postcard, and his thesis work: A Fictitious Argument Emerges Between Coriolis & Beaufort.
Tuesday October 02 eliminations—week two
MEtRoday: Monday:
2046,
3048, 3116, 5158;
Tuesday: 3010, 6123, 5176, 5052
How did you do last week? I was way off. Because she looked the trashiest in her bio shot I picked Chantal to be Eliminated, and actually ended up liking her by the end of the episode. I picked Mila to win the Challenge, and she ended up being Eliminated. What do I know?
Here's this week's Placemat. Recaps for last week's ep can be found at Television Without Pity and fourfour.
