Category: general

North wind today; cut right through all the muscle and fat and blew ice right down to the bone.

It’s like God’s taunting us with Spring; even the trees are confused… boughfuls of pink and purple and white blooms all teased out by the warm week had last week.  And me, teased into thinking it’d be a good night to barbecue… then parried back inside by the chill of the 5pm shade.  I even forwent my usual freeze-out windows-down ride home from the gym… and I’m usually sweaty enough for any weather. In summary: A chilly, but sunny, day.

Today I bought another iPhone car charger. I didn’t, however, go to the AT&T or Apple store – I went instead to Ebay. On Ebay, I can purchase a charger for $2.45 shipped – from Hong Kong, no less. In-store the things cost between $20 and $30. I find it amazing, and more than just a bit hilarious, that there can be such a difference. I mean, really, after paying postage from China to California, materials, and labor – what could these Chinese folks actually be netting per charger? If it’s above a dollar, I’d be surprised.

Two dollars and forty-five cents though, that’s ridiculous. At that price, the thing is pretty much right near my inconsequential-cost threshold. Spare change; couch-cushion money; a pittance. I almost feel like, when things get that cheap, they should start growing on trees or sprouting from dirt – free for all to come along and take. You need a new iPhone charger, or a new memory card for your camera – just walk outside and look for the charger and SD plants that grow in the highway dividers… those things are like weeds.

Goodnight friends.  Wish me luck knocking out more than a couple blogs this week, OK?  OK.

Hey Monday.

A good weekend, and I’m happy to have traded an hour of sleep for the longer daylight in the evenings.  My head’s already lost in dreams of twilight barbecues and meals out on the patio while the kids run through the sprinklers.  Anyway, had dinner with friends Friday, spent the day working in the yard and garden with Keaton Saturday, and again dinner with friends, then cleaning the garage (again with Keaton as my helper) Sunday.  Let’s do some blogging.

As I mentioned, last Friday afternoon one of my old old buddies sent me a mail as the day wound down.  A simple note but it started a back-and-forth that culminated in rare phone call (dudes don’t call dudes, for the most part, ladies).  Before that phone call, I had been telling my buddy, his name’s Andy, by the way, that I wasn’t sure what I was doing with the evening but that I was about to have a post-work ready-for-the-weekend beer to wind down.  I even sent him a picture to prove it.  Then, during our call, I vowed  to document whatever the evening turned into in a series of e-mailed photos.

It turned out to be a fun Friday. A buddy IM’d from work around 3pm asking if I was barbecuing for him.  With that, the evening morphed into an impromptu gathering of friends, the first barbecue of the “season,” sampling of some homemade beers, and a rollicking game of Trivial Pursuit (can Trivial Pursuit “rollick?”).  I thought it might be fun to post the photos as I sent them to Andy, it’s a nice little diary of the evening… similar to what I did a year or so back with the “week in pictures” thing, I suppose.  Oh you don’t recall?  Look here, here, here, here, and here.

Here ya go:

[nggallery id=23]

Man, I swear it wasn’t as booze-drenched as those pictures make it out to have been.  Was a good time though, and I think the pictures prove that out.

OK switching gears, music now.

The new Decemberists leaked over the weekend.  If you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time, and (for whatever reason) make it a point to read my pages and pages of rambling about music – you’ll know that every single record this Portland outfit has released has wound up on my personal year-end “best of” lists.  And really, hearing this, I’m near certain this release will be no exception to the rule.

A sprawling concent album, a tragic love story with humans-turned-animals and personified elements of nature (I’ve only been through it four times or so front-to-back yet)… it’s definitely a record you’d expect from The Decemberists.  When it comes out, you should get it.  Don’t illegal-download it (for preview purposes only) like I did, OK?

Yeah well, I’ve lost all continuity here.  I’m done.  Goodnight.

No real blog today.

I’m listening to the new Grizzly Bear, yeah it leaked.  The press is abuzz, calls for “album of the year” abound, a battle royale: Veckatimest in the blue trunks, Merriweather Post Pavilion in red.  Sure I’ve got it, I got it within hours of when it pre’d – I am that awesome, an IV into my mainline pumping leaks.  I don’t know though guys… sometimes Grizzly Bear sounds boring to me.  Slow, sleepy, boring.  I will grant you that the first half of the album is rather peppy… but so far the second “side” seems to have some sleepers…  I’ll give it more time, see what happens.

Did you guys know I have a dear friend who has Lupus?  I do.  Do you know what Lupus is?  (Hint: It’s not a werewolf… pretty sure).  Anyway, she appealed through her blog and I felt the cause worthy, so I’m linking here and hopefully sending you there to help get that Lupus all out peoples’ junk.  I think I missed the “official” day, but I asked and Sheila said better late than never.  Look, nobody has much love for debilitating, incurable diseases, right?  So go check it out, OK?  (Hey Sheila, it’s not a werewolf… right?)

What?  Midnight already?  Time to go to work again?  Is this not over for the week yet?  Man who threw me into this timewarp?  Goodnight.

Broke down and did it; don’t hate.

My decision came over the weekend. Full lawn and landscaping, weekly; the all-out rich-guy level of service. I’ve now joined the ranks of the bourgeoisie, compensating a working class for work I’m totally able to do myself – but don’t. The “why” for the “but don’t” is what still bugs me. Laziness, I say. Busyness, some of my friends say (the pro-lawn service bunch). It’s somewhat due to being busy, sure… but maybe being busy being lazy. All comes down to a question of time. How much time do I spend monthly taking care of the yard, and what dollar amount do I feel my time is worth to me. I guess I broke down. Reality now is that I’m just not getting it done, so now I’m paying the price (literally).

And, if I wasn’t already feeling guilty/unsure enough about the whole thing, Sharaun said the man who came to walk our property and give the estimate inquired with her as to my level of laziness. His exact words, in her words, were, “So he doesn’t want to do nothing?” That’s right my good workman, I don’t want to do nothing. Believe me, it hasn’t always been that way. But… nowadays… I don’t want to do nothing.

As the service starts, and (hopefully) the yard begins to glow, I suppose I’ll be able to either justify the expenditure or not. As it stands now I feel good about it, mainly because I don’t have the guilt over the outstanding work hanging over my head anymore. I try and think about how nice it’ll be to not have to worry about getting the yard in order for a summer BBQ, and that makes me happy. Then I think about how relatively easy (albeit time-consuming) the work is to get done, and how I’m a no-good fatty-American for paying “workers” to do it for me. Sigh… it’s a moral quandary for me, as stupid as that seems. If you’re a friend of mine, make sure to mock me about it… just so I know you love me.

And, playing rich by outsourcing my yardwork got me thinking about money and budgeting on the whole… so I wrote the following.

A month or so ago I mentioned here that I’d cheaped-out and downgraded our satellite TV service to the lower-end “package.” In doing so, I lost some channels I enjoy (namely MSNBC and Fox News, mostly because I like to put them side-by-side using picture-in-picture and hear the 180° out-of-phase opinions of Hannity and Olberman completely cancel each other out), but nothing that was too hard to deal with. Thing is, that only took the bill from around $85 down to about $55. A good savings, to be sure, but $55 a month is hardly what I’d call a “deal” for TV – which is something I don’t want to feel compelled to watch in order to get our “money’s worth.” (See my rant about HDTV from back in me pre-HDTV days).

Anyway, I was complaining to friends the other day about the cost of “things” (more on that later), and someone mentioned that Dish now offers an “HD only” package on the cheap. Once I remembered this later in the week, I ran a check on their website and sure enough they are advertising an HD-only “bronze” package for $30 a month. Add $5 local channels to that, and the “privilege of having a DVR” fee of $6 and you can get out the door for $40 monthly. Sure you lose a few key standard-definition channels (Sharaun lobbied for MTV and VH1, Keaton for Backyardingans on Nickeldeon, and I was a little bummed to lose Comedy Central), but for a $15/month savings I figured we could either get Keaton some Backyardigans DVDs or have her start watching Handy Manny instead (plus, we still have ~60 episodes on the DVR). So, I did it.

Down to $40 a month. And you know what, I still think that’s too much to pay for TV.

In fact, thinking about it, I decided I know about what I want to pay for things – and wondered how close my dream-prices are to other folks’ ideas of what common services should cost. So for kicks, here are some common services that Sharaun and I pay for, and the price I feel like I should be paying to use them – not what we actually pay. This is just what “feels” right in my head for how much these things should cost, no more science behind it than that.  Check this:

• Television, $30/month maximum
• Broadband internet access, $50/month maximum
• Cellular, $40/month per-person maximum

Yeah, and that was before I went all wallet-open and got a lawn service.  Seriously though, why should I have to pay more than $30 a month for TV?  I freakin’ shouldn’t.  And cellphone, much more than $40 a month for that seems like a blatant ripoff.  Call me cheap.  Maybe I am.

Goodnight.

Friday the sun was out and shining in Northern California.  Oh and I was enticed… started thinking Spring and Summer thoughts: barbecues, camping, hiking, swimming… I was enticed to be sure.  Even the trees agreed with me, as some are sporting premature pink and white buds as if the weather really were changing.

Saturday the blessed weather held.  Sharaun had a New Kids on the Block fan “meetup” in the city, and so Keaton and (no, wait… you’re still thinking about that bit before the comma, right?  Yeah, a New Kids on the Block fan “meetup”) so Keaton and I had the morning to ourselves. Me with designs on heading to the gym later, and her with plenty of energy to expend, I decided on a course of action which would take care of both and afford us a chance to enjoy the unseasonably nice weather.

I hitched the kiddie trailer on the bike and trekked to the local park where we met friends for playtime in the warmth.  Others shared our idea, and Spring-enthusiasm, and the place was packed.  The smell of charcoal filled the air as folks grilled hot dogs and burgers, the premature pink and white buds of humankind I guess.  Keaton ran around with her compatriot Jake, swinging, climbing, and running around the bases on the baseball field; was a great time.

Sunday the cold and rain returned.  It’s good, really, we need the rain something awful.  Against my Spring fever, I do hope it sticks around for a while and fills up the Sierra lakes and streams which so badly wont for it.

All the rain, and a dosing of fertilizer, has nearly re-greened my lawn to good-neighbor standards.  It’s also got the weeds in full-season, choking out any area where the grass isn’t thick enough to fight them off.  I wrote briefly before about how I was considering a lawn service, and I think I’m even closer now to making that decision: I want a lawn service.  I want to pay someone my hard-earned money to come in and make the place beatiful.  Or… do I?  Man, this is a tough one.

Anyway, it was a good weekend; for both the sunshine and rain.  Let’s see where the week goes, shall we?

Goodnight.

3 o’clock on Sunday afternoon and the clouds in the sky are dark and look heavy with threats of rain.  Some live Wishbone Ash just shuffled up on the iPod and I’m bound to write.

I’m fresh back from the gym and am having trouble stopping the sweat.  The workout is over, my body, the workout is over.  And yeah, I’m still going to that place… still working out, still enjoying it  – and have shed 15lbs since it all started.  It’s encouraging, to say the least, especially so far getting measurable positive results in short-order.  I guess I’m not missing my calories, I mean I don’t feel starved or anything… so that’s a plus.

You know, I’m by no means a gym-rat after my measly not-even-enough-to-establish-a-habit three weeks of working out, but I have learned that one thing is constant: When you tell people you’ve started going to the gym, started working out or eating right in the pursuit of fitness, everyone becomes an expert; everyone knows the best regimen for you.

I know folks mean well, and I appreciate that.  But, in practice, I find myself shying away from mentioning the whole “working out” thing because I’m sure of the interrogation that’ll follow:  “Oh yeah?  How often you going?  You doing weights and cardio?  How many calories you eat per day?”  Now, this line of questioning alone wouldn’t even be that bad, I don’t really mind talking about what I’m doing, about my own personal little thing I’ve worked out and am doing.  No I would mind, except that I can have no 100% right answers for any of the inquiries.

If I’m going every other day in the evenings, I should really look into goings mornings three-days-on two-days-off.  If I’m eating three squares a day, I should actually be targeting six-to-seven smaller meals instead.  If weights on upper and lower body on alternating days, I should really try doing a little of each every time instead of breaking it up.  If I’m keeping my heartrate around the 160s during cardio, I really want to be around 130 (or is it 140, or 150) to get into that “zone” where the pounds will just drip off.

Yeah, well, I just keep to my own thing, thanks.  Maybe later, when I’ve decided I’m truly doing this and I’m not just gonna fail again, I’ll put some more rigor to the process.  For now, I’m just glad I’m getting in there and breathing hard… sloppy or not.

See ya there; I’ll be the dude doing everything wrong.