RTT: The only living boy in New York

Jim, get your plane right on time
It's just your job that's on the line
Fly down to Madiso...o-e-o...o-e-On
(and on and on and on and)
Here I am
The only IT guy in New York...

• New York City has been a dominant element in my life of late. It seems that when I'm not there, I'm trying to fix something that's gone wrong there. And when I am there, I'm working my @$$ off - until midnight or 1-2 in the morning. And if I'm not doing either of those things, I'm trying to make changes that will prevent Option 1 or Option 2 from happening.


• People in Manhattan do behave as though they believe the world revolves around them. I know we all struggle with self-centeredness to some extent - but it often seems as though the people on that little island ("off the coast of America" as Spalding Gray once said) have given up the struggle. They live with the permanent delusion that they are more important than everyone else. Maybe it's just the cost of living.


• The problems seemed to start when we blew the circuit in the server room. That was just before I made a scheduled trip to New York at the end of September - to finish upgrade of their connection to the company network. While I was in NY, we met with an electrical contractor and solicited a proposal for them to install a second circuit in the room. Of course, before the work could be completed, there were more power problems and more downtime. More people p*ssed off at the IT Dept. Finally, by the end of October, those problems were resolved. Or so we thought.


• Keep in mind: On Wednesday, November 4, the New York Yankees played Game 6 of the World Series in the Bronx. They beat the Phillies that night to win their 27 World Series Title.


• November came "in like a lion". On Tuesday night, there was another power problem in the server room. Then, overnight, the network connection (which we had just been installed a month before) went down. And Wednesday morning, power went out again to half the server room. By noon, my flight had been booked to LaGuardia. I didn't even argue. A goat needed to be scaped - and I was feeling mighty goaty.


• You know how when you're really tired and in unfamiliar territory, things can seem quite surreal? How's this for surreal?
  
  By 11:30 pm Wednesday night, when I left the office I had worked (including travel; I can't sleep on a plane) about 18 hours. My only meal for the day had been Burger King at the airport before my plane left. The hotel that the office had booked me into had no rooms - so they in turn have set me up in another hotel - a $10 cab ride from the office. The desk clerk has warned me that the place doesn't look like a hotel from the outside (truer word were never spoken). The cab drops me off on 58th Street near 9th Avenue.
  
  There are all these 20-something hipsters milling around on the street as I drag my 40-something self and luggage into the entrance. It doesn't look anything more like a hotel inside either - and the techno is booming from somewhere above me. I get on a long, steep escalator with lime green lighting all the way up to the next floor - and the closer we get to the top, the more sure I am that I have dragged my luggage into a dance club.
  
  But no! When we reach the top, I see it - across the dim floor - music pounding, people dancing on the opposite side of the room, youngsters everywhere with drinks in hand - the check-in desk!


• On Thursday, I only worked about 16 hours - but there was no travel involved and I ate lunch at my desk (leftovers from a lunch meeting of some big-shots in the Board room). The only diversion was dinner at a little Brazilian restaurant around the corner from the office - where I read news reports about the Fort Hood shootings on my BlackBerry.


• When you're paying almost $500 a night for your hotel room, is it wrong to be a little concerned when the door looks like it was last opened with a crowbar?




• By the time I flew home Friday, the power situation had been resolved - by replacing the ORIGINAL circuit in the server room. So we ended up with two brand new circuits in that room. And the power has been stable there ever since.


• But the new network connection had problems on Monday and again Wednesday last week. Somebody else can make THAT trip to New York.

Take care.


PS: Go visit Keely at the Un-Mom willya?!



How many times to do I have to keep saying it?!

RTT: The "Not Dead Yet" Edition

So, two weeks ago (you remember - the last time I posted) work really s*cked.

Then last week, work didn't s*ck quite as bad - but it was still pretty bad. I found out the previous Friday that I needed to be in New York on Monday morning. Don't get me wrong - I don't mind traveling and I like Manhattan. But I always end up working long hours and don't get to enjoy the trip; this trip was no exception*. And, to close out the week right, I worked a couple extra hours Friday evening and didn't leave the office until 7:30 at night.

I'm hoping that work s*cks even less this week. Hope springs eternal.

Being called out of town last week resulted in my missing the first "Odd Couple" read-through. Although not the end of the world, it was rather awkward to be cast in a lead role one week - and the following week have to make excuses why I would miss the first rehearsal. Last night, I attended my first rehearsal and had fun, though. But, man-o-man! - I've got a lot of memorizing to do!!

Yesterday was the three-week anniversary of my wisdom teeth removal. And I can't wait till the "traumatized" areas of my mouth stop being so sensitive to hot and cold items placed therein. My teeth have never before been sensitive to temperature - and I can't wait for them to regain their brute indifference. That is going to happen - right, Leslie?

I finished a couple of books since my last post. First was The Powwow Highway (in preparation for a He Read/She Read post - unless Rebekah has dumped me) and, more recently, I completed (at long last) Vincent Bugliosi's massive work (1500+ pages) on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy called Reclaiming History. It took me months to finally reach the finish line of Bugliosi's magnum opus**, not because the book is poorly written or boring - but because the factual information regarding the assassination and, in particular, debunking of many conspiracy myths that have cropped up over the years (including a complete demolition of the Oliver Stone film, JFK) are covered in such great detail and with great authority. If you are like I was - having never read a book on the Kennedy assassination - or believing in a vague way (without knowing quite why) that there must have been a shadowy conspiracy behind Kennedy's death - you owe it to yourself to read at least part of Reclaiming History.

I'm getting sleepy now, so I'd better get this baby posted before I run out of steam. With any luck, I'll spend less time working and more time writing this week.

Hey! Stop laughing at me like that. It's impolite to ridicule the deluded.

Take care.

PS: If you need more randomness in your life (and who doesn't?), I would be remiss not to strongly urge you to visit Keely at the Un-Mom immediately. If not sooner.

* Get this: I took my little voice recorder and microphone with me to NYC thinking I might...{giggle} do a post or two in my...{guffaw} spare time. I wasn't kidding about the whole "deluded" thing.

** I apologize for mispronouncing Mr. Bu-li-o-si's name twice. I never realized the "G" was silent.

Maybe I'm doing it wrong

[Note: This post should not be read as a snarky commentary about how other people handle their blogs. The only commentary is about how I am.]

I blew by my 100th post sometime in July. I think I was supposed to make a bigger deal about that. Maybe I should have given away a free microwave oven or something.

My site counter ticked by both 1000 and then 2000 hits at some point. At the moment, it reads 2160. I shudder to think how many of those hits are just me checking to see if anyone is reading.

I feel like I used to do a much better job of participating in Spin Cycles for Sprite's Keeper and Fiction Friday for Jeanne at the Raisin Chronicles and those relationship-building type activities. (OK - I've almost never done memes - but I hate lists!) Lately, I only seem to post if there's a picture of me looking ridiculous that I can include.

Of course, I have been dividing my attention with the He Read/She Read posts - and reading books definitely takes away from my writing time. But I intend to spend a bit more quality time here at Speaking In Caps - before all my loyal readers find better ways to spend their time.

I'll get it right sooner or later.

Take care.

I didn't think the day could s*ck any worse...

But I was wrong.

I got about 4 hours of sleep Tuesday night (I'd like to blame a late Tigers game on the west coast) which is really n-n-n-no-no-no..........body's fault but mine*. And Wednesday morning at work was fairly uneventful. But, at lunch time, one of our offices lost power - and all the systems in that office went down for a couple hours. And just at the point where they were going to shut that office down for the day, the power came back on (that's good, right?). But it only stayed up long enough for us to get most of the computers up and working again. And then the power went out again. So they sent everyone there home anyway.

When power was restored again, the utility company wouldn't commit to having uninterrupted power for our building until 6 pm. So we fretted over whether or not to bring systems back up - and once the computers in that office were functioning normally, we started to get calls from another office that they couldn't open, edit or save documents properly on their computers. So we tried to figure out what was causing that problem - but over two hours later - when the problem magically disappeared - we still hadn't figured it out.

Eventually, I went home. And had some dinner.
And made someone angry.
And made someone cry.

So now I'm really tired - but pretty upset (you know that state where you feel that you are somehow vibrating?) - and there are several extra people in the house who will probably be here until about 1 am.

I'm just hoping that tomorrow won't s*ck any worse. But I could be-

I can't bring myself to say it.

Take care.


* Thank you, Mr. Plant
(you can skip to 5:15 in the clip - if you prefer cutting to the chase)

The Thought That Counts

[Editor's Note: I had imagined a better post for today. But basking in the glory of the He Read/She Read premiere has been too much for me. Thanks to all who visited and offered their feedback.]

So the Middle-Aged Woman's combined birthday/anniversary gift showed up yesterday...


I think she likes it.


My birthday/anniversary gift still hasn't arrived...
[Another d*mn clerical error, no doubt.]

But no Cricuts were harmed touched in the taking of these photographs.

Take care.
[You KNOW I'm being careful...]

If excuses were horses...beggars would ride

Above is pictured the stack of debit card slips that I entered into Microsoft Money last night - instead of writing a decent blog post.

Once they are entered, they get placed into envelopes - until I balance the checking account (for that month - or, in this case, quarter...millenium) - and look like this:



Lastly: A big THANK YOU to Jess at This Life Is Mine for the cool award she bestowed.



I hope someday to prove myself worthy. But not today.

Take care.

More Random Tuesday Thoughts

Pretty Random, Dr. Smith

• It is sometimes disturbing to me to dwell on the large portions of my brain's capacity that appear to be devoted to dialogue from old TV shows or song lyrics. I can only hope that, since science has established that we do not use most of our brain's awesome power, I am not actually depriving room to anything important.
  
  

• My only regret is that nowhere in the clip does the hot, green chick actually say the immortal words, "Pretty, handsome, Dr. Smith."


• As an aging male who has been married for a long time, I think I've come to grips pretty well with the decrease of sexual activity in my life.* It's easier to be happy (or, at least, not unhappy) when you can accept reality. I used to keep track of how often I had sex in my Franklin Planner - as I recall the Middle-Aged Woman (not yet MA at the time) was appalled. Anyway, I pulled out some old Franklin storage binder to look up some information completely unrelated to sex - and was confronted by the hard statistics of the past.** It was really depressing.
• I have gotten to a point where I can't force myself to stay up until 2 AM composing and recording my posts. I suspect that the previous consistency in timing of my posts will suffer over the next several days a result.


• Maybe I should have retitled this whole thing "Don't Get It Up Anymore"?


• Will they prescribe Viagra or Cialis to guys who don't have problems with erectile dysfunction? What if I just want a 4-hour erection?
  

Take care.

* I wish I could say the "come to grips" thing was intentional. Sometimes I'm convinced my best stuff is normally unintentional.
** See what I mean?

How 'bout those Wings?

[I'm operating on 4 hours sleep after staying up too late and getting in to work early for my meeting today. I hope I don't whine too much.]

I used to watch TV. Now I watch sports, DVDs & movies streamed to my Roku player. Actually, my daughter has taken control of the Roku so she can watch Dr. Who episodes streamed from Netflix. And I haven't watched any DVDs at home in weeks - blogging has absorbed nearly all of my "spare time."

So about the only thing I watch on TV lately is hockey or baseball games while I'm writing a post. I ask you - is this any way to live?

Perhaps it's all for the best. Since I never have any time to watch TV, there's no need for me to be disappointed that I'm not going to be able to upgrade my set as I had hoped. I defy anybody to plow through eight grand quite as quickly as the Middle-Aged Woman and me! As I frequently say: Everybody's got to be good at something.

I really do need to pay some bills and balance the checking account tomorrow. It may make me feel better.

When I think about the Wings advancing to the Western Conference finals, I feel better.

When I think about sleeping in tomorrow, I feel better.

And I felt better when I read this quote in my planner on Thursday:

Happiness is always a by-product...But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.
--Robertson Davies*

If I had started this post with that quote, perhaps I could have avoided some of the whining above.

I felt worse when I was told Wednesday that a letter had been mailed to my house (which I had not received) inviting me to an Appreciation Dinner tonight - where I was to be a guest of honor. The reason I felt worse was because I already have plans to meet friends for dinner tomorrow night and will not be able to attend the dinner intended (in part) to honor me.

But I felt a little better when I arrived home and found that the letter had been delivered - just that day. I felt better because it seems reasonable to expect that, if you're going to be invited to a dinner where you'll be honored, you would get more than 3 days notice. I tend to (at least attempt to) plan my life more than 3 days in advance.

Well, if nothing else, this little ramble gives you an idea where Jim Styro's head it at today. I get a good night's sleep tonight at that glass'll be 3/4 full again tomorrow, you watch.

I felt better when I decided to cut myself some slack - and not record an audio version of this post tonight. [I'm not sure it is of sufficient quality to deserve creation of an audio version - but that could be argued about plenty of stuff I already have recorded.]

I feel worse when I realize that: I'm so anal, I'll probably go back and record an audio version of this poist in the near future just to be a completist.

I feel better when I think that I can probably do a much better post tomorrow. Hope you'll drop in then.


Take care.


* I love that fact that all the wittiest, insightful guys all seem to be from Canada: Davies, Rick Mercer, Capt. Dumbass. Clearly, I will need to relocate if I am going to make the Big Time.

I should sleep good tonight

There is a part of me that is really lazy - and I have lost touch with that part of myself. I need desperately to rediscover it, to feed and nuture it - so that I can live like other people.

I'm pretty tired right now - so some of the information above is b*llsh*t. The more I think about it, it's almost a perfect continuum - beginning with ideas that are highly true and finishing with stuff that even I don't believe.

The Middle-Aged Woman with whom I live (and move and have my being - and who seems to end up posting about the things I do before I can) has already shared that I worked overnight from Sunday to Monday morning. This was the result of a power outage in our main office and subsequent malfunction of our massive UPS that had me working on the network from about 10:30 PM until a little after 6 AM.

The good news is: staying up late to finish blog posts has screwed up my sleep schedule to the point that I hardly gave it a second thought - until between 4 and 5 AM.

The bad news is: my sleep schedule is likely to be an even worse shambles than normal for the rest of the week.

My advice to myself is: get to bed early tonight. And so, I bid you a fond bonsoir.


Take care.