It was windy outside today. Every now and then, it would make the panes of glass in the windows of my room rattle quite loudly. Several times today, I expected the wind to gather enough strength to break the windows and blow shards of glass into my room. Luckily, they just make a surprising amount of noise and leak air like a gossip. I am tired tonight and I am going to Baltimore tomorrow, so this is all you’re getting for right now.
Category: General
Add Sidebar, Count Comments, Stir, and Serve
I finally figured out exactly how to list the number of comments for each entry next to the permalink. I added that to the code for the main page of this site, as well as for each entry in the Archives. I also added a sidebar to the home page which I will use to list random links that I find interesting. You may find them to be a complete waste of time or thoroughly exhilarating; this will depend on your mood and the toxicity of your liver.
Speaking of alcohol, I went to a bar (Rocky’s) for the first time ever on Thursday in time for the devastating loss by the Red Sox to the Yankees. I drank two screwdrivers that were quite tasty. I also made my first trip to the liquor store on Friday and purchased a $4 bottle of Raspberry Cabernet fruit wine that I took to C. Ryan’s party later that night. Rachael and Pat walked into the store about two minutes after I arrived. Good times.
My Birthday Weekend
Eventful times since the last entry. I left Scranton around noon on Friday and went home for about an hour before leaving again to go visit Annie in Baltimore. I planned on getting down there about three, but traffic caused me to show up at 6:30. She surprised me with a bottle of Tommy Hilfiger cologne that I haven’t really been able to afford for a while and also quite a few printouts of a comic we like. She also decorated her room in festive birthday decorations, which I noticed immediately (inside joke)! Annie and I went over to the Towson Town Center and she treated me to a birthday dinner at Rainforest Café. When I make my millions, I want an enormous fish tank and a night sky built into the bedroom ceiling. Annie and I both ordered roasted turkey and bacon wraps with some of the best steak fries ever. After dinner, we walked around the mall for a bit before calling it a night.
On Saturday, we went back over to Towson and went to a few stores, but mostly just Barnes & Noble and Borders. I love large bookstores; they’re so much better than the boring little Waldenbooks in the malls. After spending obscene amounts of time in both, I decided to buy O’Reilly’s PHP Cookbook, which seems to be leaps and bounds over the Peachpit Press books by Larry Ullman. It actually explains why certain functions are used! I’ll write up more about the book after I try out some of the recipes.
Annie and I ate Flamer’s food in the mall’s food court and then hit up the cinema for School of Rock using her student ID: $6/ticket in Towson! School of Rock was not only as good as I had hoped, but also it was better than I expected. Jack Black rocked like only he can and the soundtrack was excellent. In general, I highly recommend the movie to anyone looking for a good light comedy. Annie and I ordered some pizza when we got back to campus and watched Saturday Night Live with Justin Timberlake acting as both the host and the musical guest; he did not rock. Nor did the hour and a half that it took for Domino’s to deliver.
Sunday was another good day. Annie and I went to the Cathedral for Mass and then went to Ruby Tuesday’s for lunch; it was good—as always—and really nice to not have to rush home after Mass (as is usual when I have to go back to Scranton on Sunday). We then went grocery shopping at Giant so Annie isn’t forced to eat the delicious food in her cafeteria.
I left Baltimore at about 4:00 PM so that I could be home in time for a little birthday dinner that my family was throwing for me and my dad (his birthday is the eighth). My mom made lasagna with salad and garlic bread that was all quite delicious. And then there was cake; by this time, I was starting to feel like I was going to explode, with Ruby Tuesday’s already devoured, I was full halfway through salad. Twenty-one is the year of the computer I suppose, as the cake was decorated with an old-school computer with a monochrome monitor.
For my birthday, I received a nice supply of cards with valuable monetary gifts enclosed, a Kodak Easy Share Camera Dock for my digital camera, Bleachers by John Grisham, and a gold pocket watch from my dad that he received for his twenty-first birthday. All in all it was a great birthday weekend.
Will I Party Like It’s My Birthday?
There will be no scanning of cheat sheets for you today. I was going to scan the paper at work but I didn’t go to work this morning because I wasn’t feeling well. I felt a little bit better later in the morning so I went to all of my other classes; I also shouldn’t miss any more in case I need to later in the semester. I will probably bring my scanner up to Scranton after Fall Break, so if you’re lucky I’ll add some pictures to the Images section.
I also would like to mention that it is my 21st birthday today! You know what that means: wild drunken gambling in Atlantic City! Um… no, sorry to disappoint you. I may go out to the bar for a drink tonight—maybe—or I may just go to bed early and celebrate tomorrow. You see, I’m extremely tired again today. As in, I almost fell asleep at my desk this afternoon, which would have caused me to miss all of my afternoon classes. I’m also driving to Baltimore to visit Annie tomorrow and I’ve heard that it is inappropriate to fall asleep while driving a motor vehicle. Go figure. If you didn’t get a chance to buy me a round, send me an item from my wish list. Go ahead—feel free to splurge if you want!
Scranton is Scrantastic
It’s yet another Scrantastic day in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This morning on my way back to my house, it was 46 degrees Fahrenheit with a 5-10 MPH wind, and raining. Doesn’t get much nicer than that, now does it? A few minutes ago, they turned the heat on in Tioga House, so I no longer need to wear a coat and shiver while sitting in my room. However, our Internet connection is still intermittent thanks to issues between Adelphia and the University of Scranton residential network for our house. May I dare to be so bold as to expect both Internet access and heat at the same time? Oh, I dare. Believe me, I dare.
Does It Have to Be Today?
There is nothing that I like more than waking up at 8:00 AM. Well, nothing except waking up at 8:00 AM and going to a nine o’clock class. Well, nothing more than waking up at 8:00 AM for a nine o’clock class that I didn’t have because the professor cancelled today’s class last week. And I forgot. Did I mention that I’m nauseous this morning? Actually, it feels more like someone wearing heavy boots kicked me in the stomach last night. That really enhances my enthusiasm. Annie’s back is killing her today but she couldn’t miss class so she’s not enjoying her Monday either. Can we fast-forward to Tuesday? What the hell, do I hear Friday, anyone? I know I wouldn’t mind a week away from class. Blah. And again, blah.
Two Weeks into a New Semester
The past two weeks have been really reassuring for me. I was a little nervous coming back to school after nine months, but I’ve been able to jump back into the swing of things without too much trouble. I was also a bit nervous about moving into a house with seven guys I didn’t know; living with a group of jerks wouldn’t make my transition back to school any easier. However, the guys in my house turned out to be a good group of people. I didn’t realize it when I was moving in, but I already knew Dan from our Mario Cart parties with Dennis last year. I also found out that I’m working with Frank at the CTLE, so that makes two people I know who happen to be living across the hall.
Meanwhile, my classes and work are looking much more promising than last year. Stage Combat, my E-Commerce class, and Swing, Latin, and Ballroom Dancing are probably going to be interesting and hopefully quite manageable. Introduction to Consumer Technology might be a little bit drier than I expected but not too bad. Theatre History is shaping up to be a little tougher than I expected, but I should be able to handle it without too much difficulty.
Annie and I are also back to our long-distance relationship status which is not cool. However, we’ve made it 3.25 years—as of tomorrow—so I think we can hang on a few more semesters without losing our minds. It tends to cause some stress when our only communication is on the phone or email, but it really eases tensions that we get to spend every other weekend together. In fact, last weekend we were home and went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. It was undeniably a popcorn movie, but it was a fine flick nonetheless. I guess that’s just the way the semester will go: two weeks at a time.
Tom Leykis is a Slobbering Idiot
I came across a rather disturbing website for a radio jock named Tom Leykis. Apparently, he’s published the name of Kobe Bryant’s accuser. Not only has he published her name, something that media types respectfully avoid, but he’s also gone on to accuse her of gold-digging and being a “mountain trash slut.” Steve Duin of the Oregonian has written an intelligent response to Leykis’ slobbering idiocy.
Missing: Two Months of Summer 2003
I thought summer was supposed to be nice and relaxing; three months of boredom and eager anticipation for the first day of school mixed in with some healthy dread. However, nothing I think is close to reality. This summer seems to be flying by; not just going fast, but literally launching itself into some breakneck orbit. I realized this week that there’s less than a month until I move back to Scranton. There was so much that I wanted to accomplish before September and only a fraction has been finished, let alone started.
I wanted to thoroughly clean my room and car, both are started, but neither are finished. I wanted to really get some web sites up and running; two are up, but one has already been shut down because the clients decided not to continue their business. And then there was that whole “I’m going to write a novella or an all-out book while I’m on my leave of absence.” You’re reading the only thing that I’ve written. It hasn’t been a wasted summer, but I really could use a few more months.
On a fun note, I bought a flat-panel monitor and a nice scanner when I was at Sam’s Club on Thursday for much less than I imagined. The monitor, a 15-inch Samsung, was the display monitor and sold for $90. The scanner, a 48bit high-end HP with 35mm slide attachment and automatic photo-feeder was only $40 because it was also a display model. I could not believe the prices on the items, and the only difference between my bargains and full-price is that neither item came with the box. I think I can make due without a little cardboard.
Noah and His Floating Zoo
I actually like a little rain every now and then but the horrible weather is really starting to get to me. It’s rained almost every day for the past two months, which doesn’t make sense. If I lived in Seattle or the Amazon I would understand that they’re soggy places and you get a shower every day, like it or not. But Pennsylvania is supposed to be ungodly humid and mildly hot in late June, making it just as unbearable as the current weather. At least if we had normal summer weather, I could complain about the heat and hope for autumn.
Oh, yeah. It would help if the weather forecast actually forecast anything with a shred of accuracy. The weather forecast on the Weather Channel changes several times a day. If they’re going to be wrong 99% of the time, they may as well resort to reporting the current weather. “Right now it looks like it’s raining outside, but it may clear up. Or maybe, God will break His covenant with Noah and kill us all in a flood. Your guess is better than mine.”