Two weekends ago: Plans ruined by car trouble.
Last weekend: Nice visit with emotional undertones.
This weekend: Lots of homework.
Next weekend: I may just sort of watch movies and not react to them (or the world) in any way whatsoever.
Five weekends from now: Shuffle off to Buffalo and points north (and west and east).
I’m really not the patriotic and easily offended sort.
But…
On this particular weekend, it strikes me as not in the best of taste–and also pretty fucking creepy–to have an air show going on that involves lots of really loud, low-flying planes that can be heard all over town.
A blanket, a grape Pop-Tart, and a “Hawaii Five-O” rerun on Netflix. What more does one really need on a chilly, damp Saturday night?
Sorry. The title is just a gratuitous Thomas Dolby reference. I’ll actually be driving north, which will be infinitely more fun–if no less expensive.
I’m getting very excited about my upcoming Canadian vacation. Considering how long it’s been since I’ve been all that excited about much of anything, that’s a pretty happy thing to say. Yeah, it’s been a shitty year. The worst ever. By far. So this should be a nice break.
The itinerary is being shaped by an outside force that I shan’t be naming right now (when I get back I promise) and it’s not completely solidified yet, but it looks like I’ll be in Buffalo visiting Sarah and Brad on the 8th and 9th, followed by five days in Toronto, three days in Ottawa, and a few more days in one or more locations that may include any combination of Montreal, Portland, and Schenectady.
It’s going to be a more urban trip to Toronto than the past two; I’m staying close in and am planning to do more walking and transit. Once out of Toronto, I’m looking forward to road tripping across southern Ontario and seeing friends in Ottawa (which I’ll be visiting for the first time) and upstate New York. I’M also planning to do a Stpehen Shore style diary scrapbook kind of thing.
And when I get back, I’ll have a very unique Canadian souvenir. But more about that later…
Nearly eight years after quitting, I find that still smoke a lot in my dreams. I Invariably end up having a cigarette just before I wake up. Then, when I’m in that brief half awake moment, I get really sad that I’d managed to quit for so long but started back. But a second later I wake up completely, realize that I never started back, and am very happy.
It’s a stressful but generally good way to wake up. And it reminds me how glad I am that I don’t smoke anymore.
The Rosebuds
Woods (2011)
Since I’ve tagged this on Shazam twice in the past month, I must like it. And they’re even sorta local.
Sorry. That’s all I’ve got tonight.
Assorted thoughts while spending a Friday evening with Gene Tierney:
It’s kind of quaintly anachronstic to say that I’m sitting at home on Saturday morning waiting for the postman. It’s also kind of a pain in the ass because I have other things I’d rather be doing.
I’m waiting here because there’s something coming that I’ll have to sign for and it will be an even bigger pain in the ass if I miss delivery and have to go in and pick it up next week. Since I live and work thirty miles apart, and since the post office closes at 5:00, it’s not like I can just pop over on my lunch hour. I’m addition to waiting in the interminable line and interacting with the rude, surly postal workers, I’d also have to take time off from work.
All of which is indicative of why the postal service is in trouble now. The fact that it makes even its premium services like Express Mail so inconvenient through limited hours, etc. demonstrates why FedEx and UPS are winning that battle. At least they manage to keep some staff on hand so you can pick up a fucking envelope after work.
Yeah, I realize that postal rants are just too easy, but it’s been a while since I did one.
So I guess there’s a bit of a premium for that convenience. I just went to FedEx and spent more to send something three-day than I would’ve spent at the post office for overnight service. Sigh…
Other Monday stuff:
Time for some Hawaii Five-O…