My Archives: December 2003
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Please refer to this full entry for the questionaire.
2003 has been an irregular year for me. I am actually quite glad it is over. Overall, it has not been an easy, or positive year. The general tone has been rather negative throughout, except for a few gleaming moments that make it all worthwhile. While there is never any experience I have ever had that I can say I wish I have not experienced it, I can say that with these special moments, it has redeemed 2003 as a year not better off forgotten. It will never be forgotten, but it makes a good point to move on from. It seems I end up wrapping up every year lately with a "good riddance, let's move on" attitude, which I suppose is a good thing, since I am always ready and willing to move on. But there are always the hopes of something better. At least I can rest assured that for better or worse, the future will be different. Bring it on! [more]
Entry: 110 Posted by kelly @ 01:30 AM ET [Link]
Work has been soooo boering lately. And I've been really tired. I started nodding off at my computer today. So, my work buddy and I decided to go to lunch. We went and saw Peter Pan at the theater. Heh.. I couldn't fall asleep in the theater! But I fell asleep again when I got back to the office. I didn't even see my boss until after I got back, so who knows when he showed up. The movie wasn't too bad. I wouldn't call it worth the money they spent on it, I think it was $60mil. How many times are they going to remake that one? At the end when Wendy never sees Pan again, she mentions telling the story to her children, who tell the story to their children, and so on. My reaction was too bad one of those descendants grew up to be a movie producer. heh...
Entry: 109 Posted by kelly @ 12:10 AM ET [Link]
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
It has been a while since I've updated. Christmas Day was very nice. I spent it with my family at my parents' house. We opened gifts, and had a good dinner. It is nice to have the family all together like that. My Dad, Mom, sister Beth and her husband Jon, brother Ryan, and Nana (grandmother). It is strange now that my sister is married, my brother is off to school in Gainesville, and I live by myself now - we are all split up most of the time. It did not happen overnight, but it seems like just a little bit ago that we were all together driving each other mad. The funny thing is, the madness dosen't stop without them! heh.. Anyway, I really enjoyed these holidays - sans the commercialism and stress brought on by it otherwise.
Another problem with my waiting so long to post is that I really cannot recall exactly what happened. I mean, I remember it all, but when did it happen? As soon as I get a glimpse of something, it usually all comes back at once. Anyway, after Christmas festivities, I took my Nana home, and she gave me some wine and champagne she had stashed away. That was nice. Then I came home and cleaned up the house a little. Friday, I went back to work. After work, I decided to stop at Best Buy. Woah, crazy! I think this was worse than any shopping day. The line was well around the store into the appliances section. Nuts, I tell you. I did not find a good portable phone with big buttons for my Nana though. After that, I stopped at Tate's to rent the rest of the Blue Gender series. Then, it was to home, and then out with some friends for my birthday celebration, a little belated. We went to dinner at Applebee's, then went to see the movie Paycheck which was a really good movie to watch. After that, we went home, as I was tired from being up early at work.
Saturday and Sunday. I am having difficulty differentiating them right now. It is getting clearer now, but I can't really recall what happened to Saturday. Anyway, I did get a call from my friends Rob and Courtney from North Carolina. They are in town, and would like to meet up with me on Sunday. So, I got the call at 10am Sunday, and headed over to see them, and we went to lunch and walked around at Riverfront. It was a good time, and it was nice to see them again, but I had to get them back to their hotel in time to get ready for Kara's debutant ball. We also just so happen to run into my dad on A1A, as he was on his way to the last day of training for work. Heh.. Afterwards, I decided to stop at and check out the Swap Shop. Woah, just as crazy and strange as I remembered it. Then, I returned the rentals. Saturday, I pretty much spend the day working on computers and cleaning up the house. Picking the weeds from the front garden got that task out of the way, and caused the slight ache I felt all day Sunday. But at least I got a lot of little things out of the way. Also, MYG stopped by, and we got a little done as well, like catching up and working on his Sun box.
Today, Monday, was back to work again. Boy was I tired today. After work, I came home and finished up cleaning up the house. Then, Rob and Courtney showed up, and they will be staying with me for a few days. We went out to dinner at The Cove in Deerfield Beach. Very nice place. I am suprised it took me as long as it did to think of it. There's that swiss cheeze memory again. Then we came back here, watched a little TV, and decided to call it a night. Of course, I can't go straight to bed, so I ended up watching the last 4 episodes of Blue Gender. Excellent series! I would like to watch it again soon, but not alone... Too many good feelings from it to keep to myself.. So, on that note, I am about to head to sleep, ready to start another day tomorrow with work, followed by dinner at Kim's with Rob and Courtney. Ooh, good reminder that I should dress nicely, not some stupid vendor's shirt. heh.. The plan for the New Years is that I am going up to the Orlando area with Rob and Courtney. They have a hotel room booked for the night. Then, on New Years Day, they will head back home to NC with Rob's parents, and I will head back home. I work a halfday on Wednesday, so I don't really know how all is going to work out. Also, I have no clue what we are going to do up there. I'm sure there are pleanty of things to do in Orlando on New Year's! I should call Scott and Melody and see what they are up to as well. We'll see - all that is still way up in the air. Let's see what 2004 brings.
Entry: 108 Posted by kelly @ 02:18 AM ET [Link]
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Yup, The Holidays(TM) are here again. I just finished wrapping the second half of the bounty I scraped up in the megaplexes not too long ago. Of course, the last thing I think to get is wrapping paper. Then, on the way home from that mess, I remember the tape! Thankfully, a stop at the nearby 7-11 took care of that deficiency.
Anyway, tonight I went to my Uncle's for the traditional party. It was fun, and it is always nice to spend time with family. We opened some gifts in front of the bigscreen where Ralphie and brother were opening their gifts as well. My cousin's daughter is getting big as well. Wow...
The morning should prove interesting. Going over to the parents' house for festivities and dinner. I wonder what time they are going to have to wake me up, as I can imagine how late I will sleep in on my own, since it is now nearly 5am since I finished wrapping and getting ready.
So, until later, I'm going to try and get some sleep. As for my memory, I am here, still watching repeats of A Christmas Story, and I STILL can't remember Raphie's brother's name! Ugh... Unfortunately, too often am I writing here, and entire things I wanted to mention just pass my mind. I try to go back and add them later if I remember, as my long term memory is crystal clear. I can remember things like what the bookshelf looked like in 1st grade, yet I am challenged to wrap a gift, then remember which one it was so I can put the appropriate tag on it.
Okay, clearly, my train of thought has derailed long ago, so this is it before I just end up babbling into nothingness. Enjoy!
Entry: 107 Posted by kelly @ 04:53 AM ET [Link]
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
It was a good day. I never told my family I had the day off, so I was able to sleep in and enjoy some downtime before getting a start on the day. I did, however, get an 8:30am wakeup call from someone who DID know I had the day off. Well, that wrecked my whole sleep pattern for the night, and I ended up sleeping in a little later than expected. Anyway, I got up and got a little but of shopping done. Not much, but that is typical for me. It was a rainy and dark day. I like those sometimes, it feels like a rest period in the day-to-day continuance.
Anyway, I went and got 4 more Blue Gender DVDs for later viewing. Did some shopping, and headed over to my parents' house for the night's festivities. My parents, Nana and both my brother and sister were there as well. Dad made one of my favorite dinners, and Mom made my favorite cookies. Ryan's cat, Bamboo, stayed under the couch most of the time, but she is shy. Later on, I opened a few gifts and was the center of some typical family ridicule. Later came some cake and singing and sitting for long periods of time while Dad tried to get the camera to work.
After all this, I took Nana home on my way home, then got home myself where I started to get some work done on the computers, and start watching a little TV since I can't sleep. It was a good birthday, and I am glad I have good family to spend it with.
Entry: 106 Posted by kelly @ 02:59 AM ET [Link]
Monday, December 22, 2003
Today was a busy, lazy day. I did not leave the house. That makes me feel lazy. However, I got a lot done around the house. I did some rewiring, and finally hooked up the rackmount hub, removing the little mini-switch that was strapped to the side of the rack. Looks good. My brother, who is in town, was supposed to stop by today and watch some DVDs with me. He never showed. So, I got a lot done with the computers as well. My digital mess is a little more orderly now.
I also started watching the Blue Gender series. I only got the first 6 episodes, since what I saw so far on broadcast was kind of so-so. But they censor so much of it. It is an excellent series, and I plan to get the rest. Yes, there are things in here that would never make it to broadcast, but if you ask me, the morals and ideals portrayed in this series are well worth exposing young people to. True, it contains some adult material, but that is part of life. If the censors had it their way, the youth of today would end up just like once mentioned in an episode of South Park - "licking Barney the dinosaur's purple pussy". Ah, well, whatever. What am I going to do about it, especially when I don't care much for broadcast television anyway. Need to go to bed now - got lots to do tomorrow.
Entry: 105 Posted by kelly @ 03:44 AM ET [Link]
Saturday, December 20, 2003
Had an interesting night. Went to my favorite restaurant, Ichiban in Boca. Well, my favorite in the area anyway. We were celebrating Tisha's birthday. It went well, and afterwards, we decided to head over to the Boca Boomers for some mini-chilli-golf. That was fun too, and they didn't turn the lights off on us this time. I was in the lead for a while, but really screwed up on the 15th hole, and tied for second place. Ahh, well. It was still kinda fun. Now, I am home, and about to go to bed. Friday night, and I am ready to get to bed earlier than any other day this week where I have to be at work in the morning. That just isn't right. But anyway.
[more]
Entry: 104 Posted by kelly @ 12:49 AM ET [Link]
Friday, December 19, 2003
Why can't I get myself to bed before 1 or 2? Ugh.. Anyway, been feeling a little wierd lately. It's probably the holidays, and all the other things happening around this time of year. It really is my favorite time of year, not blistering hot out and all.. But, I just dunno... Seems to just be a high-stress period. I am hoping that some downtime this weekend will help; especially since I will be off of work on Monday. Monday is going to be my day to just not be expected to be doing anything else - at least when most people think I'm supposed to be at work. heh.. I think I just need a break from things.
Okay, just watched another Cowboy Bebop on TV - I hate doing that - I have no idea what's going on in the show, and I'm sure the broadcast version is heavily censored. But, if I so much as pass something interesting on TV, it locks into place. Now I know why I tend to stay away from TV. heh... Anyway; time for bed.
Entry: 103 Posted by kelly @ 01:36 AM ET [Link]
Thursday, December 18, 2003
And the week goes by. Got a bit of a busy schedule planned out. Sometime, I need to put in shopping, or even hanging the rest of my lights. Monday I went to Dad's and spent time there with him. Fell asleep watching SG1 on TV. Tuesday, I came home and crashed in the guest bed. Guess I was pretty tired. The meetings from hell are over with, and work has returned to normal today. Tonight I went to the theater with some friends from here and out of town. I saw the intro to The Butterfly Effect, and that looks like it is going to be an interesting, thought provoking film. Tomorrow night is LOTR: The Two Towers showing at my place. Always room for more. I like playing theater. :) Friday night is dinner with friends and celebrating Tisha's birthday. Saturday is LOTR: Return of the King in Premier. Sunday - wait, that's way to far in the future for me to speculate!
Anyway, all is going on as well. The Holidays (TM) are sneaking up rather quickly, and I find myself behind in preparations. I swear, I will end up being late for my own funeral! It is late, and I better try and get some sleep weather or not I will actually get any.. At least the weather is really nice again. Last night, I had to put the A/C back on, tonight it is off. Yo-yo weather...
Entry: 102 Posted by kelly @ 12:57 AM ET [Link]
Sunday, December 14, 2003
It has been a pretty dull weekend so far, but it's looking more promising. Friday morning before work, I felt great! Before work. In the morning. How odd. I wanted to write about it, but I got stuck and busy at work. Oh, well, that didn't last too long before work took over.
Then, Friday night, I didn't really have plans until Sean called and said he wanted to see the first Lord of the Rings at my place. So, I said fine, and decided to start hanging my lights. This was painfully slow, as I had to climb my 24 foot ladder all the way to the top of the 2nd story to hang the lights from the rain drain there, and noone to help me. I really should have waited for someone to spot me, but I didn't feel like waiting any longer, it's already been over a week I've been wanting to do this. MYG called and asked if I would be able to stop by, and I said I may, and asked if he would want to watch LOTR, and he said no. Unfortunately, the lights took a lot longer than I thought, and I had to make a Depot run for more hooks, and Sean showed up, and we watched the over 3 hour extended version of the movie.Yesterday was another lazy day. Didn't get much done. Woke up late, around 2, and just bummed around the computer for a while. Then, I went outside to clean the yard up a bit. I did finish hanging the lights (putting on the last few clips), alone again, and worked on the computer some more. Herman called and told me he bought a new truck and wanted to show it off. He didn't show, so I went out to Costco to do some shopping. Then, I worked on the computer some more, and killed the wireless interface on my multimedia computer. Ugh, that thing is driving me nuts. Sean came over again after midnight, and we went to Steak-n-Shake and then to Wal-Mart for some more shopping.
Today, I got a call from my friends up in the Orlando area, they are in town. They are on their way over here now, and we may hook up with Chris and do something interesting. So, I started the laundry to get that out of the way, and the computer can wait 'till later. At least the ReplayTV still works like a charm.
Entry: 101 Posted by kelly @ 11:57 AM ET [Link]
Thursday, December 11, 2003
I have been reminded why I never eat TV dinners. They suck. But I have a few in my freezer for certain occasions, such as today when I am out of most things I need to make a descent dinner. I need to go food shopping. heh.. Tonight, I think I had TV dinner number five or so in my life, and it was nasty. If for no other reason to have them, they are a good reminder that I am glad I have the skills to cook something descent - not that I ever bother to really cook for myself, but I at least prepare something better than what you can find in a box and nuke for 4 minutes. At least I got to make some use of the sink garbage disposal. I'm not used to having one, not having grown up with one. I ate most of the dinner, and had to have a chocolate nutter bar after to drown the aftertaste. I just hope it dosen't come back to haunt me later tonight. Speaking of which, I need to get some sleep tonight and maybe get the nightly average for the week over the 3-4 hour threashold. Sorry this was just a rant, but eh..
Entry: 100 Posted by kelly @ 10:24 PM ET [Link]
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
I still got it.
I've been holding onto this stock for years. It isn't going anywhere. I'm expecting it to tank in fact. So, I've been watching it lately, and have decided it's time to do something with it. Close observation has seen it jump up a little, and drop back down a few times. So, the last few days I've noticed it on one of its highnotes. So, I go ahead and put in the order to sell. It took a long time to process (this is an OTCBB stock), and I was a wee bit worried about it, but it went through for the price I expected. So, it is done.
Today, I see that this stock has rallied. Over 20% increase as of noon. I still got the touch! That company should be thankful for me freeing them of my curse. Well, I'm going to finish eating my dry ChicNuggets (after purchasing them, I am told they are out of honey for dipping). Made with all white meat. Yea, fish is white. And so is pork, no? You KNOW it isn't all chicken, don't you? You don't want to know what flavors their fries though.
Entry: 99 Posted by kelly @ 02:29 PM ET [Link]
Tuesday, December 9, 2003
Today's meetings were not as bad as they could have been. But I don't want to revisit that part of the day, it's over. heh.. Afterwards, I went to my parents' house to talk and what not. My sister and brother-in-law where there too, so we all talked for a while. Then, I went to Sean S's house to watch the premier of the new Battlestar Galactica on the Sci-Fi channel. I know I don't watch a whole lot of TV at all, but my not getting the Sci-Fi channel is just WRONG! And looks like I'm going back tomorrow for the second part. It comes on too late for this. [more]
Entry: 98 Posted by kelly @ 01:17 AM ET [Link]
Sunday, December 7, 2003
Tomorrow at work is going to be a real pain. Meetings all day. I am double-booked in fact. There is an all-day class on WebSphere that I am just not really looking forward to spending the whole day in. I plan to attend for a while, and have to fix some things in the process. In fact, there is a production machine that is not working right, so that takes priority. Also, I have my benefits meeting later in the day. The odd thing is that they are both scheduled in the same auditorium. Wonder how that's going to work out. I am not missing this. If I do, I would make it a point to go to Hialeah for the other session tomorrow. So, I'm sure I will be complaining about it sometime tomorrow. Until then, I better get to sleep early tonight so I don't collapse in meeting hell!
Entry: 97 Posted by kelly @ 11:23 PM ET [Link]
I've been working on my multimedia computer again. I gave up trying to get X-windows working with the TV-out of the card and the monitor (the one that dosen't even work anymore) at the same time. I just went and got a VGA to Video active converter. So now I can just plain old display standard 1024x768 graphics on the bigscreen AND the (theoretical) monitor just fine. Maybe one day I will play with the dualview (this card has 2 VGA ports) feature, but later. So, X is working just fine, I can get started with MythTV. I had to get sound working. Ugh. Every little detail. Sound works now. Finally, I got to start playing with Myth itself. It dosen't see my tuner cards. Looks like I have to install Video-4-Linux. Okay, later. I'm done with that machine for today. But at least I got a lot done on it for now. What fun it is dealing with every little minor miniscule detail. I wish I had faster wireless on it though.
Entry: 96 Posted by kelly @ 11:19 PM ET [Link]
I stopped at my sister's place today, so my brother-in-law and I could go down to his shop, and I can pick up my long ladder so I could put up some lights on the 2nd story roof trim. We were in the backyard, kicking rotten grapefruit into the river. Then, I take a good kick, and whew - went the grapefruit into the river - along with my shoe! DOOF! Ugh. At least it floated. We tried to retrieve it with the pool net - too far. It drifted to the middle of the canal. Great. He was about to go in. I didn't want him to, it was my shoe. When his toe touched the water, he said okay, no way. So, he started to cast a fishing line out to it for a bit. While he was doing that, I put on a bathing suit, and was going to go retrieve my shoe. Thankfully, by the time I got back out there, he had nabbed it! Yay!
And all that nervousness of holding tightly to my keys and wallet when walking over a drawbridge or something like that, and I kick my shoe into the canal. Nice. At least I was able to get my ladder home safe and sound. I think I'll wait to go climbing up it 'till later...
Entry: 95 Posted by kelly @ 07:08 PM ET [Link]
I did not do anything around the house today. I was thinking about trimming the ficus hedge in the backyard, but I didn't. Instead I ended up going over to Dad's house and helped him put up his lights. This is not a simple task, and it requires two people. But I enjoy hanging over the side of the roof of the second story, stapling into the eve underneath me on the coldest day of the season! Riiight... hehe. I probably should work on my lights soon, too. But I plan to hang them from my second story as well, which means I have to reclaim my long ladder from my brother-in-law who had borrowed it. I suppose I should get to it before the season is over. :) Perhaps Sunday's task. Oh, and Dad was kind enough to cook me both lunch and dinner! We had also ran around to a few stores looking for more lights and a light tester since his had died. Later, we ended up watching some TV, and talking about plans for his kitchen. It looks great! So, I ended up having a good day with Dad again. It's always a pleasure.
Entry: 94 Posted by kelly @ 02:24 AM ET [Link]
Saturday, December 6, 2003
Tonight, I saw The Last Samurai. I must say that it is one of the best movies I have seen. Well, maybe, and maybe not, but it was quite thought provoking. And that's what I like in a movie. [more]
Entry: 93 Posted by kelly @ 02:36 AM ET [Link]
Tonight was Nana's Birthday. We took her out for a fun night. First, we went to dinner at Cap's Place, then we went to Premier to see The Last Samurai. She loved it, as did I. It was a wonderful evening with my Nana, mother, sister, and brother-in-law. It is nice to be able to bond with family like that. I just felt a little alone sitting in the large single seat up in the balcony theater. Happy Birthday, Nana!
Entry: 92 Posted by kelly @ 02:05 AM ET [Link]
Thursday, December 4, 2003
Today was supposed to be a day of recuperation from last night's fiasco. Work, very long drive, more working, long drive home, and in bed late, then up and back to work was not a good pattern. So, needless to say, I was ready today to get off of work and relax. But after work, I did not even make it to the car before my cell phone rang. He installed WinXP PRO on his laptop over XP Home. Networking stopped working. ARGH! I was on the phone with him for almost half an hour driving trying to walk him through all sorts of things. WHY did he do that?! WHY?! I couldn't help him. I dunno how to fix it remotely. I may have to look at it next week. So, I finally hang up and start putting down the windows. phone rings again. Dad. He wants me to stop by. Ugh, fine. So I need to cut over to the other side of the street to get onto I95 instead of the Turnpike, as Dad lives East of 95. Two minutes later, and I would have said too late. heh...
So, when I get there, my sister Beth and my Mom are there scheming. Tomorrow is my Nana's birthday, and we made plans to take her to dinner and a movie. THEN we call her to tell her. Ohboy. She was not thrilled. But we expected that. She's so hard to do something for. But we're going to do it anyway, because no matter how much of a fight she puts up, she enjoys herself despite trying to be a martyr about it. So, tomorrow, it's off to this restaurant on an island in Lighthouse Point (forgot the name), then to see a movie (forgot that name too) at Premier. I tell you, my memory for names is horrible! I would remember the phone number I called to make reservations before the name, I bet! But I do remember we could not get reservations at the right time at the Sea Witch. Ah, well. She better not put up too much of a fuss. heh.. It should be a fun night.
Also, I found out that softball is delayed until next year for the holidays. That's okay, but I hope we get in some more practice in the meanatime.
Entry: 91 Posted by kelly @ 10:08 PM ET [Link]
The curse is still strong. After work today, I had to drive straight to West Palm Beach (from North Miami). In rush hour. It was raining. Ugh. So, my plans were to go to Anthony's place to add more memory to his 'puter, and install the wireless NIC in his kid's PC (needed a Win98 CD), then head over to Ayman's to see what is wrong with his network, he said he is having problems copying files or something. Shouldn't be so bad, right? Ahh, HA! *thud* [more]
Entry: 90 Posted by kelly @ 12:52 AM ET [Link]
Wednesday, December 3, 2003
I cannot sleep, but just laying in bed with the window open, and the 70' wind at 49% humidity, with the soothing sound of music in the background is just beautiful. It feels so peaceful.
Entry: 89 Posted by kelly @ 12:10 AM ET [Link]
Tuesday, December 2, 2003
I was tired today. Thus, after work, not much got done other than my eating dinner. And a munchiesnack, being bad. heh.. Whatever. I am going to bed early tonight. Hopefully that will promote more energy for tomorrow. After work tomorrow, I am going up to West Palm Beach again (what a fun trip from North Miami). They are having network problems again. Sigh. So, I gotta remember to bring my CDs this time (to install the Win98 drivers to get one machine ON the network at all), and other misc. stuff that I neglected last time thus needed.
Anyway.. Tomorrow will be West Palm (well, I think it is technically Boynton Beach or Lake Worth - somewhere on that border). I will probably get home late and be tired and catch a second wind and be up all night on the laptop again. Ugh, I hope not. :) This weekend will probably be some more baseball practice, as the first game is Monday. Also, I have to eventually put up my lights. Or at least start to. And mow the lawn. At least mow it before installing the tree-frames out there (lights in the shape of a tree - again, multimedia journal fails at depicting). I'll get to it.. And there is always the MythTV project downstairs. Still don't have X working properly yet. The box is 2gHz and has over 400G of storage space, but I use it as a /store backup, and for CenterICQ. heh.. Anyway.. Time to start initiating shutdown sequence.Entry: 88 Posted by kelly @ 10:27 PM ET [Link]
Monday, December 01, 2003
Well, it is the start of a new month. A very busy, happening month. Many holidays, birthdays, and other events going on all around. I will be starting softball. Friends from out of town will be visiting. I get to run the A/C less! What will this month bring? I do not know for sure. But I hope it will bring happiness and fill some of the empty gaps in life. Time will tell. In the meantime, I must get to sleep to start the work cycle again in a few hours, and I have developed a slight headache as well. Today felt like a waste to me - slept in a little late (despite the 8am phone call from some numbnuts who will remain nameless), but I actually got things done. Did laundry, and some electrical work for my dad which he probably would not have wanted to do today anyway. Ah, well. I just wish I had actually gotten more results out of the weekend. Things to do include trimming my ficus hedge in the back and putting up my lights. I love lights! :)