Blog Master G

As 2004 quickly approaches, so, too, does our dream of home ownership. Last night while getting ready for bed, Jen randomly said to me, “I’m tired of renting. Let’s buy a place.” Of course, this is what we’ve been talking about and planning to do for quite some time. For most of that time, however, I’ve been the biggest advocate of purchasing a home. Jen has been getting more and more comfortable with the idea lately, so it’s great to have heard her say something like this. It means that we’re both really ready.

And things are progressing rather quickly. We received our official pre-approval letter last Tuesday after having looked at the beautiful new condos being built a block from our place (555 Irving at 7th Ave.) and getting excited about owning something. Of course, the condos aren’t a reality for us because of the dogs, but they were so nice that we had one of those moments wherein we questioned whether having dogs was a good idea in the first place.

I also spoke last week with our landlord about what happens if we find “the one” before our lease runs out January 31, 2004. We are responsible for the rent through the end of the lease, but we have the option of finding someone to take it over for us. Our landlord also brought up a good point: It’s possible to have a closing as long as 90 days, so, in theory, we could buy a place November 1, 2003, and close on January 31, the same day our lease ends. Of course, to time it that perfectly is probably not a reality. We also have the option to go month-to-month in our lease after January 31, in case we still haven’t found a place by then.

I’m excited that home ownership is getting closer and closer.

If I remember correctly, the “beginning” of the Mac’s calendar is December 31, 1969. That being the case, it seems that I’ve gone back to the beginning of time.

On the plane flying home yesterday Jen and I watched the beginning of Spaceballs, followed by all of Best in Show. The timing of the end of the latter perfectly coincided with the end of the battery’s charge. I plugged in and turned on the PowerBook this evening to download some photos from the weekend (apparently iPhoto doesn’t have a way to view the contents of a memory card?) and just noticed that the time and date are all screwy.

If I remember my Mac technician days, it would seem that my internal battery is dead. This is annoying, considering the computer’s only 2 weeks old — albeit refurbished. Is it time for a visit to the local Apple store already?

In the background right now photos were downloading. But here’s the annoying thing that keeps happening: The camera’s power turns off. It seems that during the process that compares downloaded photo to already-downloaded photos, the camera goes into some kind of passive mode and automatically shuts down.

Jen and I are back from a fun-filled but exhausting weekend in New York. We were there for Jen’s cousin Jack’s marriage to Kim in Cooperstown. The wedding was beautiful and the reception tons of fun — 20-piece big band, chandelier-adorned tent, and more (details later, with pictures, from Jen herself, who plans to write a guest entry here in my blog).

We flew all day Friday, went to the wedding Saturday, and traveled back home to San Francisco last night. We got home around midnight and the pressure in my left eye remains.

I do a lot of flying and had never had any kind of problems in the air until recently. Not every time, but every once in a while during a descent, I’ll suddenly experience this piercing pressure in my left eye that extends upward through my forehead. My eyes water and my head sharply aches. I’m sure it’s somehow related to the pressure, but I can’t figure out why it had never happened until just this year. Our itinerary this weekend included a total of 6 take-offs and 6 landings, and only during last night’s landing into Oakland did I experience this strange eye pressure. It’s not as bad today, but still a bit noticeable.

Perhaps there’s a correlation with how tired I am, too. So far, we have a slow week ahead, so hopefully the pressure will secede soon and I’ll feel more rested.

Jen’s breathing was much better in New York (following last week’s asthma scare), but is already a bit worse since arriving home last night. She’s had allergy shots in New York, but not here in California, where a different set of fall pollens really inhibits her breathing every September.

I went for a drive at 3:30am this morning, followed by a leisurely walk around the tranquil streets of San Francisco. Of course, I would have much rather been enjoying the deep sleep I had been in minutes before.

For the second day in a row I was awoken in the wee hours of the morning. This time, however, the Furry Alarm Clock, tucked snuggly away in the sideroom with her brother, was not the culprit. Rather, it was the piercing honk of the Scoobie’s alarm.

Jen and I live in a “garden” (ground-floor) apartment and my car was parked in the spot directly outside the building. Our bedroom is at the back of the apartment and the lobby separates our front door from the street. Still, the doors aren’t very sound-proof and my alarm is loud. In the quiet of the night, it’s especially loud. I had been in a really deep sleep. I woke with a jolt and ran outside to turn off the alarm.

This has happened once before, but it didn’t wake us up that time. There seems to be something fishy about this one spot right outside our building that makes my alarm extra-sensitive to being tripped. And I have no clue what it is. I’ve had the car parked in that spot during the day many times — buses going by and all — and haven’t been able to figure out what it is.

Perhaps it’s the night bus, breaking the otherwise stillness of the night. Or maybe there’s something different about the bus that travels at night. The N train that runs through our neighborhood stops around midnight and becomes a bus that passes our place. That bus doesn’t travel during the day. Perhaps that’s it.

There was nothing wrong with my car — no apparent forced entry or the like. I just can’t figure out what sets off the alarm.

Oh yes, that leisurely drive was to move my car down the street so the alarm wouldn’t continue to wake me up during the next few hours of precious sleep.

Retired General Wesley Clark intends to join the throngs of other Democratic hopefuls running for President. I think this is a good thing since objective #1 is to defeat Bush. And in these times of war, who better to take on Bush in the war debate?

Here’s an email that I just sent to Karen on the topic after she forwarded to me this Michael Moore letter to Clark:

I was excited when Clark announced he was going to run. I really liked him when he talked with Bill Maher recently (great personality and well-spoken, too). Of course, I’ve been supporting Dean, but now we have another viable candidate…maybe even more so since he actually is a military general, unlike Bush, who just pretends to be.

Defeating Bush is priority 1 and it’s looking (at least so far) like Clark may be the best fit for doing so. Good, too, that Michael Moore supports Clark, but was careful not to officially endorse him yet.

Here’s something Clark wrote back in April after the fall of Saddam:

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0917-14.htm

This quote doesn’t sound like someone who’s opposed to war: “As for the political leaders themselves, President Bush and Tony Blair should be proud of their resolve in the face of so much doubt.”

But then, of course, he writes this, which is good: “Is this victory? Certainly the soldiers and generals can claim success. And surely, for the Iraqis there is a new-found sense of freedom. But remember, this was all about weapons of mass destruction. They haven’t yet been found. It was to continue the struggle against terror, bring democracy to Iraq, and create change, positive change, in the Middle East. And none of that is begun, much less completed.”

My favorite part of the Moore letter is this:

“Bush Must Go.

“This is war, General, and it’s Bush & Co.’s war on us. It’s their war on the middle class, the poor, the environment, their war on women and their war against anyone around the world who doesn’t accept total American domination. Yes, it’s a war — and we, the people, need a general to beat back those who have abused our Constitution and our basic sense of decency.

“The General vs. the Texas Air National Guard deserter! I want to see that debate, and I know who the winner is going to be.”

San Jose Mercury News: “President Bush said Wednesday that there has been ‘no evidence’ that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, disavowing a link that had been hinted previously by his administration.”

Am I in the Twilight Zone? Is it just me, or were the two main arguments for going to war in Iraq (1) to prevent Saddam from using (non-existent) WMD, and (2) to teach Saddam a lesson for his involvement in the 9/11 attacks? Oh wait, 9/11 was just an excuse to attack Iraq since it’s been part of the the New American Century‘s plan for years. Silly me.

Most Americans who did believe that Saddam was somehow involved in 9/11 probably just wanted to believe that for the hell of it, right? There’s no way they would’ve been at all led by the Bush administration to think there was a connection.

As Hurricane Isabel engulfs the East Coast, we sit here in sunny California, a stark contrast to the turmoil of the tropical storm. I heard on the radio this morning that stubborn Virginians who won’t evacuate are being asked to write their names and social security numbers on their arms in waterproof, permanent markers in case they’re maimed or killed. Crazy stuff. This story confirms that.

It’s kind of nice living in the Bay Area, where our natural disasters come unannounced; it’s almost better not knowing when an earthquake will hit since the traffic heading out of town would really suck.

Jen spoke with Southwest this morning regarding our flight tomorrow. Our current itinerary stands as this: Oakland -> Kansas City -> Baltimore -> Albany. Jen asked about rerouting our Baltimore leg of the flight possibly through Vegas, which we usually do. It figures that the first time we try a different route is when a deadly tropical storm is in town. Southwest is rerouting all Baltimore-based flights after 2pm today and they told us to check back tonight and again in the morning. Once we’re in Kansas City tomorrow, we may head into an alternate destination besides Albany, which is apparently being hit by some pretty bad rain, too.

We’ll see what happens, but I really hope we make it to Jack and Kim’s wedding on Saturday.

On September 7 Jen and I purchased our new PowerBook. It arrived on the 10th. I read just last night that on September 16 Apple finally announced its new line of Titanium PowerBooks. And with that, the cost of the 12″ refurbished 867, which we bought, dropped $200. This, I’ve realized, is the cost of impatience. Or, for the same price that we paid, we could now buy the same machine upgraded with the SuperDrive (DVD-R) instead of Combo drive (CD-R).

But alas, such is the world of technology. The minute you buy something, it’s going to be outdated and you’re going to find better deals.

I’ve enjoyed being back in the world of Macs for the past week, and that’s what counts. Besides, having paid that extra $200 just means more to write-off for taxes. So I’m sure it all works out in the end. I was happy with the decision at the time and that’s what I have to feel good about.

Jen and I have been feeling really tired and under the weather this week. The timing is especially bad since we fly to New York early Friday morning for cousin Jack and Kim’s wedding in Cooperstown. So not only are we tired, but we have to hope our traveling doesn’t coincide with Hurricane Isabel when we change planes in Baltimore on Friday.

And the dogs aren’t helping, either. The Furry Alarm Clock set a new record this morning when she woke me up just before 4am. From out in his crate, the FAC’s colleague Happy Dingo heard the tail thumping and assumed it was time to get up, so he proceeded to bark. I reluctantly woke up to let them both out. Turns out they both had to go. It sure is great having a yard.

Mollie will be watching the dogs while we’re in New York this weekend, which will be a first since we were roommates on Treasure Island. Since the dogs got kicked out of Planet Canine, we’re trying something new. Happy has never spent a night alone and not since the TI days has Stella spent a night without Jen or me around. I’m sure everything will be fine, but we’re a bit nervous about their spending so much time alone. At least it’s only three days.

From the VanityDate.com about page: “Welcome to VantiyDate.com, the world’s most judgmental, shallow dating website. At Vanity Date we have a vision of creating the largest database of the world’s most good looking, rich and superficial people. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to be a super model, but you have to be a so called 7.0 and above to be allowed full access to the database or be talented and have an income over 200,000 dollars per year. Leave a bad taste in your mouth? If so, then we have accomplished our goal.”

If I were superficial, single, and loaded, I’d be all over this site. What superficial dude wouldn’t want a date with a hot rich chick who has “BITE ME” tatooed inside her lip? Now that’s some serious attitude. I love it.