Pre-New Year

I don’t like to get too gushy about year-end reviews. I was part of one that aired 2 years in a row on WJTN. They didn’t ask me to come back to put in my thoughts on 2001 since I left so early in the year.

But quickly: 2001 began with great uncertainty as I waited to hear if I would be able to interview, then be offered this job. The end of March I left the radio world for the political world. Matt and I would go see They Might Be Giants in May (my first real concert in ages). The rest of 2001 will be remembered for ackward fumblings through a political campaign for my boss. Thrown in the mix would be the awful events of September 11th that I’m sure haven’t truly made its effect on me known yet. Matt and I moved into a new house at the end of September. My boss would emerge victorious in November. Matt and I would go on a much deserved vacation to Seneca Lake. We would see the new Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movie. I would miss home (aka Rochester) and my friends.

That’s 2001 in a nutshell. I should try the Mayfly Project and do it in 20 words. Here’s a go at that:

Interviewed. Waited. Left Old Job For New Job. Electioneered. Mourned. Moved Into New House. Election Successful. Missed Family And Friends.

Can you sum up 2001 in 20 words? Betcha’ you could!

Wandering Spirits

A brief moment of unease in the house last night. I had been showing my Hallmark House collection to Matt’s mom and brother. It’s on a ledge above the window so I was taking down some to show them and then putting them back up with utmost care. I was, in particular, making sure each house was visible from below. After that I went upstairs to do something and when I came back down I noticed the one house (a train station actually) had been turned around. I froze and asked who had turned it around. No one had. I got up on the stool and turned it back around, feeling a little uneasy. Nothing like that had happened in awhile, and certainly nothing like that in awhile. Ah well. Guess the spirits didn’t want me to forget they were still around, eh?

The Blue Last

If you're a Martha Grimes fan and haven't gotten around to reading The Blue Last, then I suggest you stop reading now. This means I'm about to "spoil" the ending of the book. Ahem.. I will provide some "spoiler space" although it surely will not matter since this is not an e-mail.
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I literally cried out when I got to the end of The Blue Last. I simply couldn't believe that Superintendent Jury had been shot, by a friend no less, and that the reader was left wondering if he died. I found out later that he does indeed "make it" since Martha is busy writing another Superintendent Jury book. Phew! I get totally engrossed in her books and would have been devastated if the series just ended so abruptly. Well, no harm now.

The Weekend

The weekend was "decent." Yesterday wasn't so bad. We lounged around most of the day. Slept really. Then Richard came over for a visit. That involved dinner at Applebees, some shopping at the mall, a trip to Wal-Mart and more shopping at Wegman's. Crazy stuff. We do own a DVD player now. A no-name brand (not really what I had in mind), but it works ok. We watched the DVD version of The Goonies including outakes and the commentary version. That was nuts, but fun.

Today, Matt's parents and brother, Dave, came over for lunch. It's Dave's birthday so we celebrated that.

Weather Update

I just have bad luck when it comes to weather. The northern part of Chautauqua county has been getting socked with snow (over 2 feet in parts) while we've just been getting a few inches here in Jamestown. The only thing I'm worried about is driving to Mayville tomorrow for work. There's no telling what the roads will be like closer to that snow belt area. Should I move? *laughs*

Travel Queen

I am SO the Travel Queen. Remember my post yesterday about alternate routes to Rochester in the event of bad weather in Buffalo? Well! The Democrat & Chronicle must have somehow psychically recognized my genius and decided to publish my alternate route suggestion. Ok, so it's an obvious travel route, but I'm still grinning about this one.

White Flakes of Many

I’m still feeling somewhat cheated by the dirth of snowfall in our county. I have to be a tad optimistic though. We do have a Lake Effect Snow Warning for today and tonight. Parts of the county could get a foot sometime today and then another foot of snow tomorrow. Unfortunately, I live in Jamestown where we’ll probably only see a couple inches. When I mentioned to someone I work with that I’m jealous of Buffalo, I think she thought I had gone mad. Well, I’m doing better now as I look at a sea of white swirling in front of my window and the visibility shutting down. I just love bad weather to a degree. At least until it causes fatalities.

Rites of Passage

A friend of mine was recently commenting on how he was looking for the one defining moment in life for himself. He hasn’t had a moment like that yet, and is wondering how he can change his life. At least, that’s seemed to be the jist of his conversation. I think he doesn’t need to be too concerned about that. Those defining moments that you can look back and say, this is the “me before certain event” and the “me after certain event” are not always all they’re cracked up to be. I’ve only had one real, solid defining moment like that and in some ways I wish I hadn’t done it. Then there are the obvious Rites of Passage that you can never go back from. First kiss, first time shagging, Senior Ball, graduating from high school/college, first time (and hopefully only time) you get married, etc. There are some things in my life I had done differently. Then are the things I had no control over that I wish never happened at all like the death of people I knew.

I think if anyone is looking for a defining moment (including my aforementioned friend), and they can’t find a personal moment, then there’s always September 11, 2001. I don’t mean it in a fallback event kind of way, but there’s really no going back there. It just affected too many people and physical geography. In terms of the World Trade Center, the destruction of the towers is like a major landmark being destroyed in each person’s town. At least, that’s how I define the impact of a “remote disaster” for those who live in places like Alaska.

SNOW!

Ok, I can't get too excited. I always seem to miss out on these huge snowstorms. I mean, seriously, you'd think I'd get a break once in awhile. My senior year in college, it dumped on Buffalo just after Christmas and while I was home in Rochester on winter break. Then, a few weeks after I went back for spring semester, it dumped on Rochester big time. The latest, of course, is the huge snow fall going on in Buffalo as I write this. I think some areas got up to 5 feet. That's as tall as me!! Well, I'm 5 foot 2, but I'm sure as it drifts it will be higher than me. One of the problems the snow is creating is road closures. Yes, I know that's a Rochester news site, but I thought it was a good story. I guess the good thing is that if I ever wanted to go home and the Thruway was closed, I'd just have to hop onto I-86 East and take that to 390 North. A 3-hour trip, but it would get me home!

Now, I received lots of crazy, cool gifts for Christmas, but I still want a big, whopping snowfall that immobilizes the County. Guess I'm greedy, eh?

I am Mario. I like to jump around, and would lead a fairly serene and aimless existence if it weren't for my friends always getting into trouble. I love to help out, even when it puts me at risk. I seem to make friends with people who just can't stay out of trouble. What Video Game Character Are You?

The Post-Holiday Crash

Back at work after the “holidays.” It was nice to spend time with my family. Unfortunately, in a few days, oh say around January 3rd, I’ll realize that the holidays are over. It’s usually a “crashing” feeling since I really enjoy the warmth of the Christmas holidays. Everything seems gray and blah after December. I really don’t happy about the weather and stuff until around April. Perhaps a mild form of S.A.D. (Seasonal Affected Depression/Disorder). Something like that. But anyway..

A Crash of Snow

Everyone was very concerned about me traveling up to Buffalo Christmas Eve. It turned out to be sunny the whole way there until I got to Cheektowaga. It was snowing at a rate of 5 inches an hour when it came time to leave my grandparents for Lackawanna that night. Nothing bad other than snow accumulating faster than you could wipe it off your car. I opted to avoid the expressway and take Union Road back to my grandma’s. One of my daily bloggers, Jessica, had also gone to Buffalo for the holidays. Bop on over to her blog to read the short description of her winter experience. We were late for Midnight Mass (which was actually at 11pm), so we missed most of the carols but not the actual service.

On Christmas Day, while it was sunny and generally only a couple of inches of snow in Lackawanna, my grandparents were stuck in their driveway in Cheektowaga. Matt was able to come up from Jamestown, so I was very happy about that. We ate dinner, opened more presents, and then watched tv. We ended up watching a September 11th benefit concert on VH-1. That was fun since my grandma and Aunt Margie sang along with the songs they knew. Good times all around. My kitchen is now overflowing with leftover ham and way too many cookies.

Gasoline Fiasco

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the disparities in gas pricing between here and Buffalo. The cheapest you can find gas in Chautauqua County (easily) is $1.19. I have to go over Airport Hill to find that price. Now, if you go up to Lackawanna (just south of Buffalo), gas is only $1.07. I was disgusted. Fortunately, I had the inkling that gas would be cheaper there and held off on filling my tank. On the way back home, I had Matt stop at the Indian Reservation, where he paid $0.93 a gallon. When was the last time you paid that little for gas??? So I’m disgusted with the gas station owners here. Looks like I’ll have to make the 17 mile trip to Onoville next time I need gas (the closest Indian Reservation).

A Very White Christmas

I’m carefully monitoring the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority’s website and the National Weather Service’s web page for Erie County for updates on how soon I should leave work for my Grandparent’s house in Cheektowaga. I think I might get lucky in terms of how bad it is snowing, since most of the snowfall is to the north of my destination. I’m still being cautious about this. And really, I’m more concerned with my parent’s drive in from Rochester. When it’s predicted that almost 2 feet of snow will fall on Buffalo today, and 8 inches has already fallen near Niagara Falls, I tend to sit up and take notice.

Christmas Celebrations In General

I’m looking forward to seeing my relatives. As every year, I’m paranoid that they will think their gifts suck, or that I skimped too much on the gifts. I think I did ok this year, but I’m not overly happy with how I did for my grandmother. She’s as hard to buy for as my dad. Well, like mother like son.

A couple of changes are in the air for the next two days. For one, it’s going to be very crowded at Christmas Eve dinner at my grandparents. They’ve invited some people that don’t normally come over, plus I’ll finally get to meet my cousin, Craig’s, girlfriend Dawn. Tomorrow, the change there is that Matt is coming up to my Grandmother’s for dinner. That’s cool because I miss seeing him when the holidays roll around. On top of that, I’ll be able to relax Christmas day because I took the day after off. Just trying to be Canadian I guess *grins* (ahem, Boxing Day!).

And midnight tonight will find me in a church. It’s one of the few times my parents can get me near one now a days. I don’t mind the Christmas Mass. At St. Michael’s Church in Lackawanna, they have the Richmond String Quartet and chior do a half-hour of seasonal music before the service. I like this since they sing some songs in Polish. The service also has songs in Polish and the quartet plays too. I go for the music. Plus, I know the one violinist because he taught at a music camp I went to for a couple of summers.

Last Thought…

I probably won’t be blogging for a few days, so I wish all of you a wonderful Holiday (or belated in some cases). Spend time with the people you love and enjoy the time you have.

*smiles* *waves*

Galadriel If I were a character in The Lord of the Rings, I would be Galadriel, Elf, Queen of Lothlorien, wife of Celeborn and grandmother of Arwen. In the movie, I am played by Cate Blanchett. Who would you be? Zovakware Lord of the Rings Test with Perseus Web Survey Software

Listening to WBER On-Line

There's quite the eclectic mix of holiday music on WBER tonight. A Beth Orton song just played and I'm not sure if it was a new song or a holiday song. Either way, it made me think about how lucky I am to be able to spend the holiday with my family this year. I'll be going in to Buffalo after work on Monday and then I have the next 2 days after that off. Nice. But back to WBER, I decided to listen after talking to a friend who was going over to a mutual friend's house to hang out. I told him to have a drink for me since my Saturday night looked like it was going to be dull. I would have liked to spend time with friends, but I'm not sure anyone is around. We did call Troy and Melissa, but I think they're feeling under the weather (according the message on our ansa-phone). So Matt is downstairs, watching tv and playing with my drum thing that looks like it came straight out of Karate Kid 2. Yeah, you know what kind of drum I'm talking about.

One Awesome Movie

Ok, sure.. I was all hyped up about the Harry Potter movie, but it really can't touch The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. This movie kicks ass! I can't begin to tell you how awesome this movie is! I haven't read the books, but I didn't have any trouble following it. Matt says the graphics/effects/scenery are straight out of the illustrations that Tolkien did. Now, understanding that I haven't read the books.. you can guess I was a little surprise when the movie just ended. It leaves off just like the first book does. I had it in my head that Frodo and Sam would somehow get the ring back in the fire. I'm not giving away anything here I hope. But if you haven't seen this movie, you must! I'm envisioning the day when all three movies are available as a DVD box set. *drools* Now I just need to get a DVD player.

Board Cutting

I was at the new Home Depot last night when they did their “board cutting” to symbolize that the store was officially open. I was kind of hoping they would have some huge piece of machinery to do the cutting, with all the onlookers being required to wear safety goggles. In this case, they had some kind of cutter you could hold upright and cut the board from top to bottom. Not quite as exciting as I hoped I suppose! On the otherside, I saw some light fixtures, laundry machines, rugs and cabinets that I think would look great in the house. My bank account will rue the day Home Depot opened here (and next to Wegman’s too!).

Weekend Plans

Matt and I are going to see Lord of The Rings tonight, directly after work. I’m a bit excited about it since I’ve heard good things. I’ve never read the books, but suspect I’ll get around to it soon. We also plan to tackle the house with fury in order to get the last boxes unpacked and the house finally looking like we’re done moving in. The main incentive is that our friends, Chuck and Lori, will be in town this weekend through January 2nd and it would be cool to have the house finally done for them to see. Oh, and I need to bake several last batches of fudge and peanut brittle. Sigh, oh sigh.

Winter Wonderland

We finally received some snow last night around here. It wasn’t totally feeling like the holidays without the snow. It’s hard to justify curling up under a blanket with countless cups of hot chocolate if it hasn’t snowed. The forecast is for more snow today and tomorrow with a warm-up over the weekend. That could destroy any accumulation we have now, but it’s still possible we’ll have a White Christmas in the end. I’m not holding my breath.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

I’m hoping this Military policy really stands the test. Reason is, I have a friend who entered the military at the end of May who is definitely not straight. I pretty much freaked out when I got the email from her telling everyone to come to her going-away party before she headed off to boot camp. I called her mobile and talked very briefly to make sure I read the email correctly. I think she thought I was off my rocks to be so concerned. She said she was doing it to help with college. In light of everything going on now, I’m wondering if she still thinks she made a good decision. I’m assuming she made it through and whatnot since I haven’t heard from her since. I’m afraid to send her an email that might some how compromise her, but I suppose that’s needless fear.

Lucy-Desi Update

Remember how yesterday I thought there was a longer article about the whole Lucy-Desi/Arts Council controversy? Well, a longer one appeared today in the Buffalo News. Go there for a more complete story.

The Last Thing Jamestown Needs

The city of Jamestown is not having an easy go at “life” lately. This week’s announcement by Lucille Ball’s kids that they were withdrawing support for the Arts Council is pretty devastating to the Lucy-Desi Museum. From what I understand, this means the museum, gift shop, and festivals surrounding Lucille Ball (and company) that fall under the Arts Council will no longer exist. Well, cannot due to the Arnaz family’s statement. Sorry I’m not being too specific as I cannot find the longer article about all of this. The Arnaz family does want to start up their own museum in the city dedicated to Lucy and Desi Arnaz. Well, it’s getting pretty messy and nothing really good can come out of this at the moment. Just disheartening when you think how successful the Lucy Festivals have become along with the museum. All gone, *poof* when the Museum Director (Ric Wyman) is forced to resign when he doesn’t take another position on the Arts Council. I’m still not sure how I think this all should have been worked out. Ok, now I’ve got that local stuff out of my system…

Good Book

Do you find yourself, when reading a good book, sneaking it in places you shouldn’t be? Like covertly reading the book just below the desk top so that people think you’re actually reading something on your desk? Or, in my case, facing the computer with the book just by the keyboard so you can drop the book in your lap, slide up your chair, and start typing away when someone (your boss) walks by? I’m sooo guilty of doing this. And the particular book I’m reading today (O Gentle Death by Janet Neel) is not even that well written. I only say that because I’m having a damn hard time keeping each character straight, who he/she is married to or used to be married to, and flipping in between totally different scenes. It also took half the book for the person you know who’s going to get murdered (from reading the narrative on the front flap) to be drowned. Certainly, half the narrative that I’ve already read could have been axed, saved some trees, and the story made a damn bit clearer by what’s happened since the night of the murder. I’m getting carried away I think.

The Internet as a Dating Forum

I often think people who "date" via the Internet and whatnot are nuts. Guaranteed, I'm not the end all when it comes to dating, but it just seems more appealing that you would date someone you meet in person rather than cyberspace. Hm. Well, I do know one person who dated someone she met over the Internet and agreed to marrying him without ever having met him. Read this article to learn more about that situation. Last I knew (as of a few years ago), she was filing for divorce.. the break-up was nasty.. and god knows what else. Maybe my views on Internet dating are not so half-cracked.

Constant Comment

Aside from being a lovely type of tea, it’s also something I was asked about by a friend last night. “Why don’t you have a comments feature on your blog?” Well, to answer that, when I had blogback it went screwy so I threw my hands up in the air and said, “If they really have something urgent to say they can sign my guestbook or email me. My friend thought that was reasonable.

To Ring a Friend

Last night I rang up a few friends I hadn’t talked to in awhile due to the past madness of election season and moving. While I waited to see if I would get a callback (ansa-phone picked up), I logged on to my instant messenger. Sometimes, I think that’s a more viable way for me to keep in touch with my friends. I got caught up on the dalliances of one friend, general tidbits from another I haven’t seen in years but have recently started chatting with them online, and said hello-how-are-you-sorry-have-to-go to another before I took off for a drink with Matt and Lynda (a soon-to-be installed city councilwoman). Very nice. I’m placing bets on whether I’ll receive a phone call or even an email from the one person I called. I’m beginning to think he’s avoiding me, but that could just be my moodswings speaking. *grins*

The Red Cross

I really do believe in the American Red Cross. Without them, countless people would not receive needed blood during operations and whatnot.. plus the other things they do. It's why I feel it's worthwhile to become a blood donor. The thing is this: Once you become a blood donor, you're the Red Cross' Bitch For Life. I mean, seriously, you have to move, change your phone number, or never donate again if you don't want to be harrassed every 56 days (the number of days you have to wait in between donations). Actually, if you don't donate again after 56 days, they keep calling about every week asking you when you'd like to make an appointment. It's like you don't have a choice in the matter. When I was going to college, my parents used to get calls all the time from the R.C. My mom had to impress upon them that I was away at college and to call back in "fill-in-whatever-break-I-would-be-home-for." After I moved here, I thought I was safe. Then I donated blood on Halloween. *smacks self upside head* Well, I might go donate next week if I'm at work the day after Christmas. We'll think about this (if only to get the R. C. off my back for another 56 days).

Spiritual Reading

A few years ago, Matt introduced me to the writings of Mark Salzman. Truthfully, I’ve only read The Laughing Sutra and now Lying Awake, but I thoroughly enjoyed both books. There are two others I must “conquer” now. The Soloist and Iron & Silk. I had the opportunity to read Iron & Silk a couple of years ago, but it came at a time when I wasn’t feeling like reading much that provoked too deep of thought. Rather emotional time in my life actually, and I didn’t need ponderous thought to accompany that. Ironically (perhaps?), that’s when I got wrapped up in the Harry Potter series.

Nightmares Abound

I’ve had nightmares the past several nights. Matt chalks it up to stress and/or pms, but I wonder. One of the more disturbing dreams I had involved this mass of people setting fire to the metro-area of Rochester. More specifically, Irondequoit. It was awful how all the burning houses created this swath of red across the sky. I was standing at the Fishing Access at the end of St. Paul Boulevard, wondering if I could swim across the Genesee River if the fire got closer. That’s just one dream. I don’t feel like writing about the others.

Laughing Awake

I did have one dream that was funny enough to wake me up laughing. Actually, Matt woke me up asking me what was so funny. I don’t remember total specifics, but I was hanging out with Matt and he was telling me about some new technique he had to practice for martial arts. It was in a book he was reading at the time while riding a city bus. Apparently, the book said you had to hit a hard surface with you hands. So he started hitting the plastic seats on the bus with his hands. The book also suggested saying a word to focus yourself. Matt took that to heart and started yelling “Pie!!” as he hit the seats. The other people on the bus were astonished. I was rolling with laughter at the image I had in my mind. This is when Matt woke me up. I have yet to tell Matt B. about this dream, but he’ll probably end up reading it on here. Sorry Matt, I can’t control my subconscious!

ARGGHH!!!!

Lost an entire, beautiful post. Was having a decent day for a bit. Not going to rewrite at the moment. Blar.

Ugly, Rainy Day

I'm glad it isn't snowing at least. I'm feeling pretty glum. I really hate PMS. I don't have anything constructive or positive to say at the moment. Maybe later I will but anything I could write right now would just come across badly. So please just bear with me for the next few days. I'll try to be a little more chipper in a later blog.

Lunch Time Visit

I always love those unexpected visits from friends at work. Matt stopped by during my lunch and hung out for a little bit. I have a rash of meetings tonight, so I normally wouldn’t see him until later this evening. It’s the little things…

A Plagiarization of Meg

Alright, it’s not because I’m greedy or anything but I love Meg’s idea of creating a wish list. So hop on over to Amazon.com to take a gander at mine. It’s in its early stages, so not everything I desire is actually on there. And like Meg, I use it more to remind me of what I would like to buy some day. You know how it is. There’s that thing you really like but you always forget that you want it when you go out shopping or whatever. Something like that. I used to carry around scraps of paper that I scrawled a list of CDs I wanted on so I wouldn’t wander around music stores for too long. Now I just wander and wonder what the hell I could use another CD for.

Keeping Up with the Martinez’s

Matt and I are getting “harassed” a little about not having any holiday decorations up on the outside of the house. Our neighbor, Sally, has several kinds of lights out, but I’m convinced we don’t have an electrical outlet outside. She volunteered her grandson (or son?) to come over and install an outlet for us. I might take her up on that offer if it means getting Matt off my back about outdoor lights. I do have a real wreath to put up somewhere once I find an over-the-door hanger or a nail I can stick the wreath over.