General Update

Funny how sometimes I just get into a posting mood. :)

At any rate, I have two new temporary roomies: Dani and Anthony. Dani still doesn't have a set closing date so she'll be here for a little bit on my couches. Yay, slumber party. :P

Also, this week is production week for NYC. The schedule is like this:

Tuesday - Tech/Dress Rehearsal
Wednesday - Benefit Preview Performance at the Little Theatre - $20 suggested donation
http://users.wpi.edu/~nvinny for more details
Thursday - Leave for NY
Friday - Tech time then performance that night, dinner with Dad afterwards
Saturday - Return to Worcester

It kind of hasn't hit me yet that I'm going back to NYC. I don't think its a "been there done that" kind of thing, its more that its just so surreal to be doing this, let alone for a second time, that I haven't really let it register. It'll probably hit me the same two times it hit me last year; immediately following the preview and upon setting foot on the stage in NYC.

Well, if i can make it there...

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The Secret Of The Sword

So, I'm a totaly and complete geek and child of the 80s. Today, along with 3 of my friends, I went to the Blackstone Valley Shoppes and saw "The Secret of the Sword" which was a movie that was made up of the first 5 episodes that introduced She-Ra.

The most hilarious thing was when we walked in at 10 AM (apparently every month on Sundays they play a different kids cartoon movie for $3.50.) everyone working the ticket stand was sitting around waiting for the 11 am matinee's to get going. As soon as the first of us ordered our ticket for She-Ra, one of the older women walks over to one of the guys with a huge smile on her face and her hand out saying "Pay up". Apparently they had bet between them whether we were here super early for X-Men at 11:15 or for She-Ra. Well, she was correct.

Also amusing was that as Judd and I were waiting for Josie and Smriti, who should walk up but 3 other WPI people, so in the end it was 7 WPI alumni walking in to see She-Ra. To top it all off, apparently they had only about 3 kids see the show the entire month, but they had 20 adults and we made up just under 40% of the total.

[UPDATE: Actually, I've since found out online (gotta love the internet) that The Secret of The Sword was originally a limited theatrical release. They then carved this into the first 5 episodes of She-Ra: Princess of Power with additional footage.]

[UPDATE2: Apparently there will be a DVD release of the "Best of She-Ra: Princess of Power" which will contain 5 episodes and will have the theatrical release of "The Secret of the Sword" and starting this fall the full series of 93 episodes will be released in three volumes. Apparently the same is already in progress for He-Man. Also the Christmas Special for He-Man and She-Ra is available on DVD.]

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What you leave behind

Well, its the end of a chapter today. Colin and Kristin are moving home to Texas. I went over to Colin's place, which is also my old apartment, to take some food off their hands. While there I picked up a few things that were mine that I had left there like my ironing board and a wooden shelving unit that I had in the kitchen there.

Well it turns out I had a LOT more stuff there than I thought. Between all the food and spices I brought back with me (amusingly some of the spices were ones that was originally mine in first place), I also found my punch bowl, a large serving tray for hors'deurves, a chips/dip tray, the napkin holder, the paper towel dispenser, ice cube trays and an ice cube bucket for the freezer, and various other little things that I hadn't even remembered that I had left there.

Additionally I got several pint glasses and plenty of cleaning supplies and other assorted random things that are useful and that Colin wasn't moving back home with him.

I'm really going to miss both of them. Its funny how time flies. Just four years ago I met Colin in glee club and really got to know him when I bumped into him while shoe shopping in the Providence Place mall. By the end of that fall semester he was practically living at my place because it was far better than his dorm room (he really didn't like his roommate). The next year he moved in with me and later that year he and Kristin started dating. I liked her from the start. Before too long she and I bonded as friends. It worked out well because she was always at the apartment and sometimes it was just the two of us since Colin would be working late at NetOps or on one of his projects. We were able to get to know each other really quickly. The best part about it all was the fact that she was fun to have around. Sometimes someone's significant other can be a pain to have around, especially when they practically move in because they are there so much, but with Kristin, it was just natural. That was a fun year. We'd make dinner, hang out and watch our favorite TV shows together, just the three of us.

The next year we moved into Dean Street with Julian. That year I saw Kristin even more often, if that is even possible. She and I spent even more time just hanging out together on the couch while Colin was off doing whatever he was doing. I saw more of her that year than I did Colin. I got to meet her parents that year and they were very nice and invited me to see the Count Basie orchestra with them. Her parents are an incredible pair and I can see where Kristin gets her joie de vivre.

This past year when I lived in Webster, it was odd not hanging out with either of them all that much. We tried to get together occasionally but they were both busy with their final year and it was hard to get back into Worcester once I'd gone home to Webster. Thankfully I've been able to spend a bunch of time with them since moving into the Condo and as their schedules winded down. It culminated in the dinner party I hosted for them and friends and family after Kristin's bacalaureat celebration. It was such a fun time and I loved playing host.

Today I said goodbye and we had a big group hug with the three of us. They both fly back to Texas and this will likely be the last time I see them until the wedding next April. I will miss them both dearly. At least these days its a lot easier to stay in touch with people than ever so I have no worries that this is the end of us as friends.

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Total Geekiness

So I’m a complete and utter geek. I’m sure you all knew that by now. The fun thing about working at a technical college is that I get to play with all sorts of toys. Currently I’m working on my new PC which is a Dell Optiplex 620. It is a Dual Core 3.2 GHz x64 processor with 2 Gigs of RAM and a RADEON X600 video card powering dual monitors.

While that is nice in and of itself, I’m also currently running Windows Vista Beta 2 x64 (Build 5384) with Office 2007 Beta 2. In fact I’m writing this post in Word 2007 Beta 2 in the new Blog tool that is built into Word.

I have to say, the new UI on both the OS and the Office Suite take a bit of getting used to but they really do work a lot better. Outlook 2007 is a huge improvement over 2003, about as much as 2003 was over 2002 (aka Outlook XP). Outlook will now auto detect your exchange settings if you are on a domain.

Well that’s all for now, I just wanted to test out the blog post functionality and share my excitement on using Vista and Office 2007.

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And so it begins...

Well, its time to start looking into getting a new car. The audi which has done so well for me for the last 6 years is getting to the point where its time to replace it. The car itself is about 10 years old; it's a '97 model. Servicing the car is just going to get more expensive from here and I don't want to worry about that. I'd prefer to have a set amount per month to budget for with fewer, if any, surprises in my finances.

I looked it up on Kelly Blue Book and the value for a 97 Audi A6 in Fair condition is about $4,500 which is a good amount for a down payment on a "new" car. What I'd like to do is get a certified pre-owned Audi A4 that's 3-4 years old.

We'll see what happens. Its all dependent on getting a steady roommate and saving up additional down payments prior to the purchase.

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Caught in between

Its kind of wierd. I've been in a wierd mood all night. On the one hand I've enjoyed the peace and quiet and relaxation of being by myself. On the other hand I really wanted to go out and do something fun with friends. On the other hand I really didn't want to break the silence and deal with other people. On the other hand I was feeling lonely.

Maybe that explains the headache I've got right now. All those conflicting emotions and feelings just don't reconcile well. I don't know, I've been so busy for so long I don't know what to do with free time any more. I seriously need some R&R time but I also get antsy with nothing to do.

*sigh* I'm a complete contridiction these days.

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Star light, star bright

Equally wonderful is to see the stars at night for the first time in ages. Also the moon, as I left Frank and Kates from a wonderful evening of cards, was a huge and low on the horizon and a beautiful shade of red. Here's to hoping we have more days without rain this week.

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The sun has come out

The sun is finally shining and blue skies are everywhere. That is all. :)

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Soaked

So I'm really sick and tired of the rain. It was relaxing and soothing to hear it on the roof when it was once in a while, NOT when it is constant and neverending. It is now day 8 of rain. It has rained just about every day since the 8th. When its not raining its misting, or just plain chilly and overcast. To top it all off we are scheduled for rain through at least Friday. So much for an outdoor commencement. :(

I want the rain to go away. I want to see the sun again. I want the weather to be getting warm again. ugh...

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I hate scam artists

So I've listed my condo on roommates.com in the hopes of finding someone worthwhile to have as a roommate. All well and good.

The other day I receive an e-mail from a girl in the UK who is planning on moving to the US. That's cool I think. I check out the profile to get more info. The profile looks ok but a few alarm bells go off when I notice that her profile is exactly the same has her e-mail to me.

I decide to give her the benefit of the doubt as I got sick of trying to write unique e-mails to every person I was responding to. I replied back to her. I then recieved an e-mail asking for the breakdown of the costs and to send her some pics of the apartment.

Hmm.... that's odd. I sent her a URL of my web album with all the pics I've taken. I respond back and ask a few questions about her to try to get some personal information. Something to prove this wasn't a scam. NOPE.

I received the most recent e-mail today and it commented that she was hoping to finish her current assignment (apparently she worked for the W.H.O) on APRIL 15TH. Hmm.... I know the time zones are different but how do you "hope" to be done with an assignment by a date that is a MONTH OLD! Ugh...

At least I had the commen sense to not give out any major information until I had some better idea of who this person was and that I was able to come to the conclusion that it was a scammer from the beginning.

At any rate, does anyone know any professional-type people or grad students (basically not undergrads) that are looking for a room? Avialable starting June 1. :)

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Good times

Well this weekend has been a lot of fun. Friday I held an AYO gathering at my place and I think it went very well. I think I'll have another one at the beginning of the year.

Yesterday I spent the day in Boston with Henry, Mario, Emar, Sam, Radik, Randy and a few others for Janelle's birthday party pub crawl. We started at Boston Beerworks on Canal Street, went to Hurricane O'Reilley's, then went to the Bell in Hand, followed by the Black Rose, then went over to The Place and finally finished at Mojito's. All in all it was a very good night.

Also this weekend I got and installed the washer and dryer I bought from Robbie. Its so very nice to be able to do laundry in my own home again. The funny thing is now that I own my own washer and dryer; NOW i feel like I own this place. Odd the little things that really drive home the fact that you are a homeowner.

I don't know when I became a super planner. I don't know if this is part of the whole adult thing or what but it can get annoying. I have my weekends planned out pretty much at least 1 month out at all times, if not 2. I live and die by my calendar these days. I really cannot even begin to try to figure out what I can and cannot do unless I have my calendar in hand. Its quite sad really. On the flip side of this, when I actually have a day with nothing planned, I have no idea what to do. I can try to call other people but they too are stuck in planning mode. In some ways being an adult can really be a chore.

Oh well. Gotta enjoy the bad things with the good.

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Up on the roof...

So another benefit of living on the top floor that I recently discovered, other than not having people walking across my ceiling, is that when it rains, I get to enjoy the sound that the rain makes when falling on the roof. Its really kind of nice to be able to look out and watch the rain as it falls on the roof above. Very relaxing.

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Silence at last

So about a week ago my computer's system fan died. Thankfully the BIOS is set to suspend the system if the CPU temperture gets too hot so nothing catastrophic happened. I got a temporary fan from a co-worker who warned me that it was a bit loud. Well he was right, it was a jet engine. I immediately went online and bought a "silent" fan. The good news is that it came in today and it really is silent. Its even quieter than the original fan.

Also, given the whole post last night about lillies, I figured I should mention that as I walked down the ramp from my office to the parking lot I walked right past a lilac bush. I LOVE the smell of lilacs. Its how I truly know that spring has arrived.

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