shallow thoughts by csolly: May 2002

bag·gage (bãg' ĭj) n. 1. The trunks, bags, parcels, and suitcases in which one carries one's belongings while traveling; luggage. 2. The movable equipment and supplies of an army. 3. Superfluous or burdensome practices, regulations, ideas, or traits. This weekend, I am getting rid of some of the biggest baggage I feel I have. * Car, which has cost me more money than I can afford - GONE! * Insurance payments I also cannot afford - GONE! * Credit card debt, which feels like a weight I lug around and never gets any lighter - GONE! It's amazing that the simple solution of selling my car was such a difficult decision to make. I am going to miss my car dearly. We drove it from St. Louis to Boston with Grandma and 4 college kids. Drove it to New York for New Years 2000 in Times Square. It moved with me from Boston to New York. We took her to the Green Mountains of Vermont. She broke down on the side of the Maine Turnpike. Parking tickets galore and a speeding ticket or two. (I got one last weekend on the way upstate - really taking her out with a bang, huh?) But for all her good and adventurous journeys, it is now time to say goodbye. Goodbye car. Goodbye insurance. Goodbye credit card. It's been real. Ciao!

So, now we know why the comments aren't working. Off to find new ones ...

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Porcano, who are to be married today. I am sending you my greatest hopes for a wonderful, happy, and exciting future for you two and your new family. Love you!

Mike L called me late last night. He was walking around the city and thought he'd call and say hi. I invited him over, even though it was after midnight, and he said he remembered how to get here. I was going to offer to let him sleep on my couch because it was so late, and I actually was looking forward to seeing him because it's been almost 6 months since I saw him last. I fell asleep watching TV waiting for him. He never showed up. ... That's probably the 4th time he's done that this year: been in NYC, called, and never showed up. But it's OK: I'll keep inviting him over as long as he keeps calling. ...

I just had a really nice weekend, everyone. Heather was nice enough to invite some of her friends to her family's vacation house near the Adirondacks, very close to Vermont. It was nice little A-frame on a puddle/pond/lake, and 6 of us spent a really relaxing couple of days free of the Internet, cell phones -- even a land-line phone. We sat in the sun, played cards, took out the rowboat and paddleboat. Sassy, 6 months pregnant, was a great fishing buddy and paddle-boating pal. (I hope I have as much energy as she does when I have a baby. It really is a shame most of us aren't planning for years. Our bodies are better-equipped right now.) We caught 4 really good-sized rainbow trout, but they all snapped the line and ate the hooks. We gave them respect for being such good competitors. Heather and Dan cooked up a storm and we ate so well: barbecued chicken, steak, salmon, potato salad, pasta salad, chocolate cake, eggs, bacon, muffins, pancakes. I don't think I need to eat for a week. At least. She even sent us home with leftovers. So, now, back to civilization with more freckles than I left with, I am facing the shortened workweek with a sunny smile. Hope you had a good Memorial Day weekend! Welcome to summer!

A few questions for Will Moore: Pardon me, but are we living on the same planet? You haven't seen any great undertakings lately? My Lord, do you read the newspaper? Did you miss the stories that announced the cloning of mammals? Or the mapping of the human genome? The f'ing Big Dig in your own backyard? They also finished the Chunnel, implanted artifical hearts, and, if you didn't notice, enable the growth of a worldwide computer network linking millions and millions of people to one another called the Internet. To bring it home, my roommate from college becme a Rhodes scholar and is going to Oxford; a friend here in the city is starting her own business; two people I just spent the weekend with volunteer one whole weekend a month at the Sierra Club; and my company is undertaking one of the largest, most revolutionary school reform projects in the history of the American public school system. I see people doing big things, taking risks and living life. (And just because the oxygen generator in an international, functioning space station blew doesn't mean people aren't striving to excel. That's preposterous.) Looks to me like you and your stardards of measure are a bit out-of-date. Excellence is not measured in the size of a building or a bridge -- or how far into space we can go (we landed on Mars too, do you remember that?). I think your argument is losing a bit of water. You are asserting that what you've observed (what you see as an increase of overweight people in a medium-sized city in the northeastern part of the United States) is linked to a pretty distant conclusion (that the entrie American culture of over 250 million people has become uninspired and slothful). I really don't see how you're putting those two together, with the exception of a few pop culture references, which I do not deem as representative of anything beyond the entertainment industry. I think you're just blowing smoke. I think you are uninspired/fat and are projecting it on everything you see to not make yourself feel so bad, to feel connected. I want to see you come up with a real argument for why you think what you do. Prove me wrong. I think I've lost you with Fight Club. See it one or two more times before you try analyzing it and speaking about it with any authority. Then we'll talk. And, by leaving your comment, you have totally undermined your whole argument. How can you generalize about society and say "I'm talking about everyone else except you guys." That's dumb. If you're going to make an argument, stand by it. Otherwise, it's worthless. Yikes ... I'm getting feisty! And, by the way, I'm having a lot of fun with this debate.

My favorite company is doing SO well. Hooray!

This is in response to Will's post: "For a woman who recently quoted Tyler Durden on her webpage, I find it strangely odd that you don't see us as self destuctive." I don't see Fight Club as self-destructive. I see them as the opposite of the mythical fat guy on the stairs, your lazy self-destructive metaphor. Jack and Tyler are breaking out, going against the grain, doing the opposite of what was the easy thing (go to a job, own a condo, shop IKEA). He went through some serious mental and physical pain to get there, and then "when you've lost everything, you're free to do anything." Because he was mentally ill, it went a bit awry, but it started out as a survival method. Jack's brain needed to stay alive, and in order to do so in such a dreary world, he manifested a brand new personailty. So, if the question is whether Fight Club is a movie about self-destruction, I would have to emphatically say no. It's about survival. "do you really think that companies merge for the greater good of its employees?" Duh, of course not. It profits the man at the top who gets all the money. They act in the greater good of one of the worst demons: money. They want money. Money, power, all of it. It's a goal. Like happiness, for other people. Striving for money is not, ideologically, an aim for self-destruction. "yes, Caryn, self destruction - it's a choice, but its the easy choice." So, what's your point? We're not talking about what's easy or hard. We're talking about "is it or isn't it."

So ... I've been at work since 7:30 ... and I haven't done any work. I was supposed to send a press release, but, like the last 3 or 4 early-morning releases, it's not done yet, so I've just been here twiddling my thumbs. OK, not twiddling my thumbs. I've been watching music videos. I haven't seen new videos in ages, and I stumbled on this blog today, and she's got an MTV page. So, now I feel a little caught up in the pop-music world, as if you care. (If you're interested in seeing any, my recommendation is for Dirty Vegas' Days Go By. Good vid.) Now I have work to do ... press conference, press release ...

I'm not what you'd call a Three Stooges fan by any means, but there is one episode that really tickled me. It had a song in it that, once I think of it, will be with me for days. And I just read that it was technically the very first music video ever. B A Bay, B E Bee, B I Bicky By, B O Bo, Bicky By Bo B U Bu, Bicky By Bo Bu C A Say, C E See, C I Sicky Sy, C O So, Sicky Sy So C U Su Sicky Sy So Su ... Does anyone else know this song? Am I talking to myself?

Wahahahahahahahahahahaha! I wouldn't normally care about something like this, but I have a personal connection to the story and it's making me laugh out loud. Don't mind me. Carry on.

What's your new name? I'm Loopy Bubblebrain, nice to meet you. A few other random thoughts: * As you probably know, I do not have cable TV. I have cable reception because an antenna was just not cutting it. A few cable channels do come through, though, like NY1, TBS and the Food Network. I also get Metro. And there is a show on Metro that I am hooked on. To Live and Date in New York. It's like Sex & the City with real women. Some of the girls are cool and some of them I find really obnoxious. And they all have money burning holes in their pockets, which makes it kind of painful to watch. Drinks every night, cabs everywhere, designer clothes, incredible apartments. At least with Sex & the City you can tell yourself that it's fiction. I still like it though, and it's cheaper than HBO. :P * Yesterday, I went to hang out in the park with Marcia, and I had completely forgotten about this until I walked in the park: David Blaine's just hanging out there, standing on a 10-story pole, for about 2 days. No big deal. There were a bunch of cameras all over the place, but other than that, it was a pretty normal day in Bryant Park. :) (Check out Heather's pictures of the event. She's very on top of things.)

Job ads are getting defensive. Two I read today: * "First, please do not flood me with resumes if your background is not appropriate. ... This job is a mid-level job with a salary range of $65,000 to $70,000 per year. If you have 15 years as a VP of Marketing and make $ 100,000/ yr this would NOT be a good fit." * "This is not a web site developer position, it is a position for someone gifted and experienced in managing products online and giving direction in terms of web site content management." Guess there are still a lot of un-skilled or too-skilled people out of work.

Friend: I have no expectations, honestly. Friend: but tell me how she is, okay? See Solly: hahahahahahaha See Solly: i really liked her See Solly: she's cute and seems to have fun. seems mature, but still fun. Friend: cool. She's great. I agree Friend: but that's obvious See Solly: [Friend]: King of Subtlty See Solly: Caryn: Queen of Sarcasm Friend: and tact... don't forget tact Friend: for me. See Solly: no one forgets that you have no tact Friend: what else can you be queen of? See Solly: Cuteness See Solly: Kindness See Solly: Fabulous Hair Friend: ah... yes... and understanding, don't forget understanding See Solly: and Understanding Friend: hee hee... I thought of something funny See Solly: are you going to share it with the other children? Friend: we could marry and make a mighty kingdom! See Solly: ohmygodi'mgonnaTHROOOWUUUPPP!!! Friend: MWA-HA-HA-HA

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY BLOOD SUPPLY MAY SHRINK BY AS MUCH AS 25% Seems like more and more people are becoming inelligible to donate blood, so, if you can donate, please do.

Let's recap, shall we?

Thursday 70º, sunny	8:00pm	Left my apartment to head to Boston.
Thursday 70º, sunny	11:30pm	Arrived at Eleanor's new apartment. Hung out, ate pizza, chatted.
Friday 60º, clear	1:30am	Drove to Mike's to hang out with him before he left for the weekend.
	4:00am	Went to sleep on Mike's couch.
	8:00am	Got up to drive John to the airport.
	10:00am	Laid on John and Eleanor's couch and enjoyed my day off work.
	3:00pm	Picked Eleanor up from work.
	8:00pm	Hung out with Eleanor at Heather and Nora's.
	10:00pm	Joined the party at Carrie and Carolyn's.
Saturday 35º, rain	3:30am	Left the party with Eleanor and Lee.
	4:00am	Went to sleep.
	9:00am	Got up to go get Eleanor's brand new car!
	1:00pm	Laid on the couch and watched Eleanor make mashed potatoes.
	3:00pm	With Eleanor, picked up Heather and Nora to take said potatoes to Kristen, who just had her wisdom teeth out, and Biren was there too.
	7:30pm	Went to dinner at Tia's. Found that the view is gone due to construction, weather was cold so outside bar isn't much of a turn-on and the inside bar was closed for a private party.
	7:45pm	Changed location of the party to The Harp. Many phone calls were made.
	11:00pm	Everyone showed up to The Harp and had a blast.
Sunday 60º, clear	2:00am	Bar closed (stupid Boston) and a bunch of us went over to Eleanor's.
	4:00am	Sean and Dan dragged a passed-out Jon in from the stairwell, said goodnight and we all went to bed.
	2:00pm	Woke up.
	6:00pm	Kissed everyone goodbye and left for home.
	8:30pm	Stopped in Stratford to see Christina, so she could look at my car, which I think she's going to buy. :)
	10:00pm	Arrived back in Queens.

T'was a wonderful time. Thanks much.

My Lord. I think most people's jobs are probably like this ... your job has a medium kind of stress most of the time, or at least a level that you can handle day-to-day; and then there are times when things just go crazy and you're super-stressed ... Maybe your job isn't like that, but that's how almost every job I've ever had has been like. (Or maybe you are stressed all the time, in which case you should either get a new job or enjoy your heart attack.) I thought I knew this week was going to be stressful, but I had no idea. It's insanity. (I'm a little afraid to put any new links about where I work, so I'm not going to show you any of the press we've gotten. But it's baaaaaaaaaaaad. It's been in a newspaper you can get in your city. And I know where you all live. And I do mean you too, Jen.) Every day this week, I thought it was all going to calm down, and then it got worse. And worse. And worse. Now I'm hoping it's going to be better on Monday. But leave it to my boss to dash my hopes, when he said, as I was leaving the office, "It is going to be like this every day ... for a while ..." He must be joking. (I can deal with all this because I don't care too much about where I work. It's a job. Not a life. So when I leave the office, I can pretty much leave it all behind when I walk out the door.) I am so glad I'm going away this weekend. Three-day weekend for me!

"White is the new black" is a conspiracy. Girls, if we fall for this (which I am), think about how many spills and how many shirts/pants/t-shirts you will end up buying to replace the wine/tomato/whatever stained one you ruined. A conspiracy, I tell you. And now, I'm walking out the door wearing my nice crisp, clean white shirt ... Let's see how I do.

From : BreakingNews@MAIL.CNN.COM Subject : CNN Breaking News Date : Wed, 15 May 2002 21:16:02 -0400 -- White House says it was briefed before September 11 that al Qaeda would attempt to hijack airliners. Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com /AOL Keyword: CNN for the latest news. I'm not sure what to make of that, but I think I'm upset. I should go read more before I say anything about it.

While on the phone, wishing Eleanor a happy birthday, we realized that we met on her 20th birthday, so today is the 4th anniversary of how long I've known her (and Rob too!) What a fun thing to think about. :) In other matters, I cleaned my apartment tonight and switched my shoes (put away the winter ones and yanked out the summer ones). While I was at it, I decided to count how many pairs I own. Just for the hell of it. For a girl who doesn't consider herself a shoe fanatic of any sort, I have a lot of shoes. 43 pairs. And I only threw out 1 pair. How girlish of me. I also hung up all my clothes that I had littering the apartment. While I was at it, I decided to color-rank the clothes in the closet. Just for the hell of it. To see what I feels like to be neurotic. I must say, it certainly brightens the room to have a closet door open to a rainbow of clothes. I like how it looks. I doubt I'll be able to keep it up, but it looks nice tonight. Waiting for said neurotic to get online and play a game with me ...

Ever wonder who would play you in the movie version of your life? (Pfft! As if you're that interesting!) Well, Eleanor has to wonder no more.

Happy birthday, Eleanor!

I'm still at work ... I'm tired ... too tired to think of anything clever to say ... What's your excuse the rest of the time? [sigh] I know, I know ...

And speaking of Star Wars, I think I'm the only one in New York who doesn't have a ticket yet. As much fun as Star Wars has been for me in the past (watching at home when I was little, rereleases in the theater, Episode 1), this one is kind of anti-climactic for me. I don't have anyone to see it with, so I don't have a ticket or plans to see it. How sad, huh? I figure I'll go next week to the theater on 42nd St. with digital projection. I hate that I feel so hum drum about it, but I really do. Ho hum. I could be upset about it if I wanted to be, but I'm not. What's the point? Lots of things in life -- even little things -- don't go the way you want them to. Just the way things are sometimes. What a depressing note to start my day on. And today is going to suck too, at work. Very busy and possibly stressful. Big day. Gotta get moving. Chat with you later.

Lucky! My friend Hovey got to see Star Wars II already!

I'm very disappointed in you, boys. The boys from college, who thought you were so superior in your knowledge of computers. I'm disappointed in you. First, seems some of you haven't realized that I know a thing or two myself. Just because I didn't major in computer systems engineering in college, doesn't mean I don't have a few tricks of my own up my sleeve. Second, I'm now trying to learn about servers and computer networking, and the few of you that I've asked about it have really let me down. I'm no futher in my self-directed learning than I was before I talked to you about it. For shame! I'm giving you a chance to show off what you know, and you're drawing a blank. Tsk tsk. I expected more from you. :P edit: Thank you BIREN for leading me to what I have been looking for. :)

If life is a journey, then I'm at one of those parts where you've just gotta cover some distance. No interesting stops along this part of the road for me. Just gotta go, keep going, because there's some exciting stuff up ahead. But I can't stop here. That would just put off the exciting stuff even longer. And I wanna get there. So, I'm just pushing ahead.

Remember in March when the Rhode Island-sized chunk of Antarctica fell off? Well, now more of it's come off. (Thanks Ravenwolf for the tip.)

"Man, I see in Fight Club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see it squandered. Goddammit, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables, and slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes; working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. ... We're the middle children of history, man; no purpose or place. We have no Great War, no Great Depression. Our Great War is a spiritual war. Our Great Depression is our lives. ... We've all been raised by television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars -- but we won't ... and we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off." -- Tyler Durden, Fight Club (1999)

See Solly: know what it is? Friend: ? See Solly: i think everyone i know, including myself, is in the most selfish stage of our existence thus far, if that's possible See Solly: me me me me me Friend: oh, i completely agree See Solly: (i'm as guilty as the next person) Friend: but, i'd like to think not everything i do is selfish. Friend: we all have our moments Friend: heh See Solly: i'm realizing most everything i do is selfish See Solly: "i'm the most important thing going on and not everyone is realizing it and it's ticking me off" ... know what i mean? Friend: ha ha ha Friend: yeah I'm having one of those days where everyone has it within them to tick me off. Look out.

Heather Klein, Your Guide to New York City Escorts See Solly: so, you personally recommend these? heather: yes, absolutely ;-) See Solly: so if i get crabs from Ana of Long Island, may i file a complaint with About.com? heather: sure heather: bill@about-inc.com ;-) See Solly: haw haw haw! (Bill as in Bill Day, the forever frat-boy CEO of About.com.) ... Am I violating any defamation or slander rules here?

As much as I like my sweetheart David Emery, this other site I just found is a little more fun. Lies.com. Don't believe everything you read.

THINGS I LEARNED THIS WEEKEND by Caryn Solly * When playing Blackjack, never split 2s or 10s. (The dealer didn't like splitting aces either, but I don't see why, so I'm not adopting that rule.) * If you're as lucky as me, you can go to Atlantic City without any of your own money -- and come back with $60! (I certainly made the most of a $7 voucher from the casino!) * According to the psychic that read my palm, when I'm 27 I will marry a man named Kevin, and we'll go on to have twin daughters and a son, all healthy. (Um, sure.) * The free yoga class at Central Park on Sundays is actually very good. * Margaritas at El Rey are quite clever. They get you drunk and you don't even realize it's happening. Sneaky devilish tequila! (I actually have learned this lesson a few times already, but I keep forgetting. :P) * My friend's grandfather worked as an air traffic controller in Roswell, NM, in 1953 ... and nothing happened. (Disappointing, huh?) And a quiz. Find your Queer as Folk personality. (I would put my results of this quiz, but they're so wrong, that I'm not going to.)

By the way, if you like TV, you should check out a site called Television Without Pity. It used to be Mighty Big TV, and I'm not sure when it changed names. But it's the same content, just bigger and better. They recap all our favorite guilty-pleasure shows in excruciating detail. If you miss an episode, just read the recap and you won't have skipped a beat. There are also forums and FAQs about each show. All of the recaps are full of attitude, but the writer's opinions of characters are probably a bit in line with yours. Reading the recaps, you'd think the writers actually hate these shows. But if they hated them, why would they spend so much time writing about them? "Our mandate is, more or less, to give people a place to revel in their guilty televisual pleasures. In most cases, we have a complex love/hate relationship with the show, and this site is a way for us to work through those feelings. If we plain hated a show, we wouldn't pay it any attention at all." (Also, if you're going there to look for Friends or Will & Grace, etc, you won't find them. "In our experience, it's hard to say funny things about shows that are already funny.")

If anyone has seen Queer as Folk, come talk to me. I just finished watching the first season on DVD last night and would love to talk about it with someone. (Some things about this show I love, and other parts are just OK. Let's discuss.)

Fun quizzes for Friday ...

which children's storybook character are you?
this quiz was made by colleen

Find out How would you die in a horror movie?
I'd survive in a horror movie? Sweet! :)

Make an Ass of Yourself.
quiz by Sol

Take the What High School Stereotype Are You? quiz, by Angel.

Aw aw aw! Shame shame! Britney Spears caught smoking! (The picture is bigger in the newspaper and she is clearly holding a cigarette. Hilarious.)

Another friend has quit the blog game. I know how that goes. I went on hiatus for a while myself a few months ago -- and I'm no longer keeping up my web site. These two friends who have dropped out of cyberspace were a lot more into it than I am, and I can see how much of your time can get wrapped up in it when you have decent-sized audiences like they did. Oh well. I think they're both doing the smart thing, of course. Though I'm going to miss reading what they had to say, I know they're doing what's best for them, and that's exactly what they should be doing. Good for them. :) I'm off to feed my Brian Kinney addiction ... G'night!

Holy schnikeys! Remember my confabulation over how fast my Netflix were coming and going? Mystery solved. Four, count 'em, four movies arrived in my mailbox today, 3 of which weren't anticipated to arrive until tomorrow. Where are they coming from? Right here in good ol' Queens, NY, as opposed to San Jose, CA, which took them 3-4 days to get here. Now I can rent even more for my money - woo hoo!

[sniff sniff] My pal will not be blogging with us anymore. But her last link is a goody. HAVING A COW: Or not. Brazilian scientists cloned a cow, and came out with a bull. Now they have to figure out why.

shallow thoughts by csolly

Friday, May 31, 2002

Thursday, May 30, 2002

Tuesday, May 28, 2002

Monday, May 27, 2002

Friday, May 24, 2002

Thursday, May 23, 2002

Wednesday, May 22, 2002

Tuesday, May 21, 2002

Monday, May 20, 2002

Thursday, May 16, 2002

Wednesday, May 15, 2002

Tuesday, May 14, 2002

Monday, May 13, 2002

Saturday, May 11, 2002

Thursday, May 09, 2002

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