15 July - In early May, Marcella, a long-time Beanie pal from Baton Rouge, Lousiana, emailed me that she might stop to the Trenton area on her way up to Canada for a three week road trip/vacation. Last week she told me to be on the lookout for a call from her today, but, quite frankly, although I have it written in my agenda/appointment book, I rarely look at the thing and sort of forgot. I got a call around noon saying that she and Marguerite, a friend of hers, were in Maryland and on their way -- and how did a quicky trip to New York for dinner sound. OMG! FOOD! I was working on a batch of some goodies for eBay, and had to put my gray cells in a different gear. KEWL! I have not gone to NY for about a year, and thought we might kill a couple birds with one trip -- we could park around 23rd and Park Avenue, the two gals could check out the shops in the area and I would drop in to get my hair cut at the only place that does it the way I like it.
OK, so I cleaned a little, took a shower and worked a little more on a couple eBay treasures. I put on some newer cargo shorts and one of the three colorful summer Peanuts short-sleeved shirts I recently got to replace my decades-old wardrobe -- they are made by an Italian designer who is well-known in Europe but is virtually unknown here in the USA -- Jean Charles de Castelbajac. Curiously I got them via Andy, a kewl Russian who sells designer clothing on eBay, and the hair stylist, Boris, is also Russian!
Marcella arrived and we opted to go straight to NY instead of seeing the apartment, so I got my trusty camera and off we went. I was almost surprised that I remembered how to get there after all this time. We made a comfort stop at a gas station -- I got my usual coffee and was disappointed that to get some ice to cool it off (which I always do) one had to pay for the ice! I had never seen this anywhere before, and simply did not put any ice in it! It was fun to be a passenger instead of the driver, and I could check out everything we passed, a lot of which had changed since the last time I went this route.
Along the way I pointed out such notable landmarks as the corporate centers in and around the Princeton area, Newark airport, the oil refineries and their typical smell, the lots filled with hundreds of foreign car imports waiting to be shipped to the dealerships, the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Science Center, the Empire State Building, and all the old warehouses as we enter The City. I was not really sure where the Twin Towers once stood, so I could not help with that detail. We took the Holland Tunnel, as I always used to -- the walls seemed cleaner than I remember them. NO, Marcella, you can NOT change lanes inside the Tunnel, even to lose that bus in front of us!
It only took a short run around a couple streets to find parking for Marcella's van -- off I went to the Jean Louis David hair stylist, and the gals disappeared to get postcards and see some of the many shops in the area.
Boris, the Russian dude who has been cutting my hair for over 15 years was still there -- I was third in his line (about 8 stylists, male and female, were active, as they always are), and in about 20 minutes (people in NY do not seem to wait months to get their hair worked on, as I usually do, so they are in and out faster than a guy double parked at a whore house!), I was in the chair chatting with Boris about things since I last saw him, when his son was about to be married. He is a computer programmer, and has a kewl website, although I have not visited it for ages already! Well, the marriage only lasted a couple months. Yes, he received my 2001 Christmas card. The salon had changed somewhat from when I was there last, and was just as bright and inviting as usual -- although it cost me slightly more this time around.
At about 19h, I headed back to where Marcella was parked, and they were both sitting waiting for me. Marguerite had never been to NY, so we did the quicky rounds of Times Square, Chinatown, Little Italy, Central Park and the Tavern on the Green, the neato horse-driven tourist vehicles, Broadway, Madison Square Garden, Greenwich Village, noting the many little parks along the way, and constantly dodging taxis! I mentioned the several lighted switcher ads for the new Apple Computer ad champaign, and when I saw a hormongous billboard with the new iMac, they said they had seen it elsewhere also. So, apparently, they are recognized and noted by PC users.
Our destination was the Hudson Diner, on Hudson Street, where Evelio and I always went for dinner. We found a parking space right across the street (so much for those who say that one can never find parking in NY!!), and off we went. Next door is a very large health food store, so I slipped in looking for rose hip preserve, which they did not have, but I remembered I also needed selenium tablets, so I got a large bottle of them, and while paying noticed some colloidal silver, so I added that to my stash. Then into the diner, where the gals were already checking out the menu.
A Russian-sounding woman (OK, that is three Russians in a day!) was seemingly in charge (which was reinforced by the two Russian Orthodox holy cards on the window), the waiter was Middle Eastern, as usual, and the two young kitchen dudes were apparently Latin American, also as usual. I could not be sure that any of them were the same persons I knew from previous visits, but there was one familiar face
My Cajun friends had beef brisket , and I ordered what I usually did -- fried liver and onions, and, of course, red wine. The portions were quite ample, and surprisingly I was able to finish all my delights, and also nibbled on Marcella's baked potato, carrots and peas and Yankee bean soup. I also had a salad, which I am usually too lazy to make at home. And Marcella was a real doll and treated me to the sumptuous feast!
After I again petted my furry friend, we started on our way back to Trenton. Conversation during the day ranged from the Beanie newsgroup, of which we are members since way back, her shop, what she does there and how she loves it, the things she sells, her travels and shows, Cajun crawfish and seafood and her traditional Cajun roots, the Bay of Fundy tidal bore, and many other topics. Since the start of this trip they had been to Atlanta, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia -- and are now off for another two weeks or so to Montreal, Maine and Nova Scotia.
When Marcella brought me home, the gals had a chance to see my somewhat cluttered apartment, dodging boxes as they tried to move from room to fully-stocked room, cuddle the cats, view the new item for eBay that I had been working on -- and although I suggested that they spend the night at my place across the street, they decided to stay at a motel on Route 1 in the Princeton area, so they could get an early start northward in the morning. After my usual huggy/kissy thing, they were on their way -- and a really fabulous day came to an all-too-soon end for the three of us. I had met another of the many online friends whom I had known for ages as cyber screen name ghosts -- I was, once again, back to the same old grind while Marcella and Marguerite were to continue their happy adventures!
Thanks Marcella -- and have a great rest of your trip. You are a real doll! (Marguerite too!) Wish I were going along!
9 August - Zzzzzzzz Oh, yes, I am supposed to be writing about new stuff happening in my neck of the woods! Zzzzzzzzzzz
Other than the hot/not so hot weather and little rain, there is not a whole lot to write about. I am fed up with how poorly eBay's so-called customer service functions that I have not put anything up in many days -- but may start again in the not too distant future simply because the pennies it brings in help me and the kitties continue eating and some of the bills paid! I am working on a new section of La Atlantida.net to include reference books on various subjects. Much work has yet to be done to get it rolling. I think a sample index page is up there already, waiting for the corresponding links and info and stuff.
I did update AppleBytes and added a couple new incomplete sections, just in case the spirit moves me to add more kewl stuff. Now at least the sections I wanted to include from its inception are sitting there -- and I was amazed to find that some web surfers actually visit the site!
A couple days ago I spoke on the phone with Horacio in Tenerife to see what is happening there. His turtles are a lot bigger than when I last saw them about 4 years ago, the seeds I sent him for the Hummingbird vine have sprouted and are growing/flowering nicely in his recently acquired leisure terrano, his grapes seem to have not done too well due to the bad weather, and the university is still chugging along nicely. He and his wife, Ima, are seemingly doing well and enjoying life. I told him that I would like to get back there for 2-3 weeks before the end of the year to see how my place is surviving without me (while I am still surviving!) -- but I have been saying that for many years already!
Fabiola, the oldest Sphynx had some kittens, two of which are alive and well at this point. They are extremely delicate when young, and the females are not as horny as the Siamese I have had for 30+ years, so the litters are few and far between. The Siameses are soooo much easier to care for, and basically take care of themself. The Sphynx make up for the extra care by being overly smoochy and loving -- the Siamese tend sometimes to be somewhat more aloof and mystical rather than the clingy and I-need-you-every-moment follow-you-like-a-sheep kind (DAMN, if only I could find a human like that!).
Chris, a young sculptor who won an oriental art book from me some weeks ago on eButt and came over to pick it up shortly thereafter, also finding several others he was interested in -- suggested a trade for something he has/can do. Hmmmmmm..... fortunately I had a Catalan sculpture that had detached from its base, and he said he would solder a new bolt on the thing, drill a hole in the marble base and bolt it from the bottom -- all in barter for the couple art books he liked -- hey, in the old days it was pelts! I thought it was really kewl! Well he and his girlfriend stopped over last night and the bronze was back on its base -- really nice work. It's just too bad I do not have enough other things to trade him for more bronze stuff I have wanted to get done since Evelio died 10+ years ago!
It is the dawning of the 9th, light appears through the venetian blinds in my study behind me, and I still have some stuff to do before I doze off at this contraption again! So stay tuned for more news, hopefully soon.
10 August - Have Titanium - May Travel
16 August - Hillary's Web
It has been very hot the last couple days -- hopefully some of the rain clouds to the west will eventually make it this way before the weekend is over.
29 August - Last week I checked on my list of registered domain names and found that most were about to expire. What does one do in these cases? RENEW them, of course! Although last year I weeded a few out and just let them lapse/expire (and incidently, most of them were snatched up by somebody else as soon as they became available!), this time I sort of figured that if I renew them, that maybe before the end of the year I could put a couple up for sale (not that they will sell for any extravagant amount or anything), since they are short/sweet names and had been registered years ago before the big domain registering thing caught on -- and who knows, I may yet activate a couple -- like I need more work than I already have!
OK, so I had been getting these letters in the snail mail saying that if I renew with Register.com I would get a really great deal. It was less/year that I used Verio.com, which is where I started out when they were still interNIC and not as greedy as they are now. So last Thursday I renewed them, and I almost felt sad to leave Verio after about 6 years but it did cost me less (and they say, what price friendship! Every couple dollars does help!). I was happy as a lark thinking everything was now OK until 2004 and I could worry about other things. Incidently, when the domain registration thing began years ago, it cost $50 to register a domain. Verio now charges $30, and they can be gotten at half that at reputable registrars, now that just about anybody can apparently become a domain registrar or a reseller.
OK, once I did the Register.com thing I noticed that the data in the domain registry was not exactly as I thought it should be, so I changed all the contact info online to the way I wanted it -- the changes did not show up as I changed them, so I called Register.com on the phone. OK, no problem, they would do it for me since apparently their servers were not working right or something. I told them that all I wanted was all my contact info done my way.
I checked back a couple time to the worldwide registry and no changes were made. I was getting really pissed! Then I logged on to 2 of my active websites only to find they were not functioning! OMG, now what happened? Back to the registry to check for errors or something -- the fuckin' assholes at Register.com had not only transferred my domains to themselves as the new registrar (as I requested, simply because they were slightly cheaper), they also switched the servers to their own, and my 2 sites were not on their servers! OK, to most of you this does not make too much sense -- it is slightly technical.
Not only were my 2 sites down but also the many links to them on AppleBytes and most of my eBay items listed -- which translates into that nobody could see many pics of things nor links to information! I tried to be calm and think things out -- and in the meantime searched for another registrar. I found directNIC, which only charged $15/registration and/or transfer, and it included a 1 year renewal! So while I was at their web site I tried my hand at finding unregistered domain names and was able to register a couple new ones which may come in handy had I to have 30 more years of life left in me (which I, at this point, seriously doubt!). I also switched some of the ones I had already registered/renewed with Register.com to directNIC because I was totally sick and tired of Register.com bungling things constantly.
I then tried to find the original server info on my 2 active sites that had disappeared from the WWW (the one you are reading is one of them) -- after much searching through my files and a few phone calls, I had the data and changed the server information online. It took about 25 hours for them to be up and running again! In the meantime I had several potential eBay bidders email me that they could not see the pics associated with some of my listings -- not a big surprise! MFSOAB!
At this point everything is working more or less at it should. I can now hopefully go on to worry about other things, as usual. It has rained a lot in the last 24 hours -- which is helpful because it has been excessively dry lately.
The 2 Sphynx kittens are apparently happy and growing nicely -- I still have to take pics for my kitten web pages. Bernar finally signed and gave me the pedigree registration papers for his Sphynx cats (Misty, aka Fabiola -- the female with the kittens, and Kamiel, the male, who has been with me for several years already), and I sent them in to transfer the registration to my name. There is always paperwork associated with soooooooo many things, it sometimes gets just a tad overpowering -- but I always did like administrative stuff, and find it fun. And the more practice one has doing it, like anything else, the easier and more logical it becomes -- and the fewer mistakes one potentially makes!
5 October 2002 / Saturday - The big news last month was my trip to Paris and Tenerife. At this point how might I sum up my first extended (meaning for more than a couple hours) excursion in about four years? I took way too much carryon baggage with me, probably because I could not find the suitcase I usually use and checkin on the flights -- this resulted in some inconvenience, which someone who read the shaggy dog story commented to me : You complain too much! I do not see it as complaining, per se, as the saga is written more or less like a personal diary or journal. The carry-on with wheels was OK along with my attache case in which the laptop was stashed, those I could handle -- the really annoying thing was the large duffle bag which was sort of oversized and if the thing were checked in as luggage, it would have wound up demolished -- plus there was no way to lock all the compartments -- and needless to say it became heavier as the trip progressed with all the stuff I got at the Expo, plus some of the small gifts I brought back for Bernar (only one of which was broken and it just happened to be the thing I wanted for myself!). Since I rarely leave the apartment here in Trenton for more than to get food, and do not move around as much as I perhaps should, it was a lot of much needed exercise, and until my body got used to it, I just plain felt exhausted. I got over it after the second week, more or less -- I weighed 14 pounds less when I got back to NJ.
I was able to meet a lot of people, see many new things, and enjoy myself, perhaps in my own way -- and, as I have said numeous times, I should get out more and force myself to do more around here. The cats were OK, except for the male Sphynx kitten, who is the runt of the litter anyway -- he is still runty. The apartment was not a pig pen -- yes, it needed a moderate cleaning, but that was to be expected. Bernar did a great job at attending to things that had to be done.
Over in Tenerife I did do a few of the things pending since my last visit, but al least half still remain -- there is always something to do, which is what life is all about, I guess. Apparently all the bill paying and bank details are once again functioning as they should over there, which is a relief. The weather was wonderful, and the trip actually made me feel like I did in the old days over there -- which is a lot more positive than I sometimes get in Trenton! Plus I slept way better, and even dreamed, things which simply do not happen here.
I am sort of surprised that it has been relatively warm here -- a shower or two, but otherwise above average in temperature.
I put my first batch of eBay goodies in last night and am getting another ready for tonight. A couple pals I asked said that sales have been slow while I was away -- I sure hope they start picking up before December because I have the cost of the trip to pay back. So it is back to the same grind as usual -- the same hours spent sitting at my desk and getting item descriptions ready, scanning stuff and trying to keep up with my three web sites -- snoozing at the puter, which I have already done a couple times since I got back! I am trying to eat less for dinner -- I just usually heap it on my plate and have seconds -- let us see if just one plate full will do the trick from now on -- what is left over goes to the cats anyway, so now they may get more.
I have to make an appointment with the dentist, which I have been putting off for over a year already -- and maybe a belated followup with the oncologist to see if everything is still OK. Today they put a chain link fence around the land across the street and I guess they will start building one of these days -- although it would not surprise me if the fence just stared at me for a year or more -- the new owner/developer probably got the abandoned two houses, two empty lots and meat packing plant for next to nothing, and if he really wants to start raking in the buckies (I am sure he is getting a fat longterm tax writeoff for developing in a redevelopment zone!), it would be to his advantage to get the office complex and whatever completed asap! The railway shuttle station at the other end of my side street already has a brick face and today they paved the parking lot, so that is moving along as fast as anything else in this sleepy capital town. All the city now has to do is repave all the sidewalks (part in brick, with trees), put up the kewl lighting they used in the Arena area and redo the streets (hopefully changing the parking pattern somehow to accomodate the excess number of vehicles around here), then the neighborhood would look more like the historic residential area, which it is designated.
8 October 2002 / Tuesday - I still have not scanned the things for my trip report -- have been sort of busy getting batches of stuff for eBay. The bidding is painfully slow and better pick up soon because I just cannot keep paying for the listings if nothing sells! A friend sent me the following cartoon, which I think summarizes the current worldwide economic situation
They are all in the dumps, many at or below their historic lows, and there is still no bottom in sight -- that is called a bear market, and a great time to gather some really cheap stocks that one hallucinates may increase in the long term, which is never really predictible because it depends on way too many external/internal factors! An example might be a tech stock -- they might have developed and announced a new computer model, but an outsourced supplier in the orient may have probems getting components for one reason or another, an earthquake or other natural disaster may have damaged their plant, dock workers may be on strike, a political situation may become unstable, the unemployment rate goes up and people do not have the money to buy computers, companies may put off their corporate purchases due to the economy and/or other factors, among many others.
I always say that investing is a crap shoot, a pure gamble -- despite all the graphs and trends which one can find so easily these days online and in other media, they are never of any real use to predict how the company will advance/decline/disappear the next day, let alone a week/month/year later -- Enron and World.com are excellent recent examples. And all the so-called experts know about as much as my cats about how things will do in the future -- they are making a living for saying whatever occurs to them, based on the experience they may or may not have, but their track records are miserable, in general -- as the bear, above, illustrates! No formula for investing has any predictive value whatsoever, although the pundits swear they are scientific, based on loads of data which is statistically analyzed -- but the major use of statistics in science is exactly that -- it can and does predict future events! Therefore, there is NO science in investing, and although I sort of understand some of the basic theory/practice, I am still clueless how it actually works. Will the economies of the world improve? They always have, and I think the turn around should occur around mid-2003 -- unless some unexpected negative social/political/natural series of events occur before then, which would only delay an improvement.
If stocks are iffy, at best, just what might be a good place to put one's money with potential hopes of perhaps making some kind of a profit in the long run? Real estate -- there is a limited amount of space on the planet to live/work/develop = build an home/apartment/office/business location/warehouse/production plant; coins and stamps -- they are relatively small, thus needing little storage space; art, antiques and collectibles -- from vintage toasters, condom tins, teddy bears/toys, furniture, clocks and radios, to paintings, sculptures, fine porcelains/ceramics, fossils, meteorites, celebrity autographs and memorabilia of all kinds -- and the fewer produced/existing, the better; precious metals and gemstones -- gold, silver and platinum bullion (often as bars and/or coins), diamonds -- and/or jewelry/items incorporating these materials. In any case, one has to have a lot of knowledge and understanding of any of these options and their makers, and realize that the market for any of them is also quite variable, and just as unpredictible as the stock market. There is a general thread/tendancy in both, investing in stocks and these other media -- their value usually increases with time as long as the quality/desirability of the thing invested in is high, whether it be a company or a sketch by some artist.
14 October 2002 / Monday - Damn, it is getting colder here -- I have been wearing my usual knit cap on inside for a couple days already, and a long-sleeved shirt -- but then again, it is the fall and it is suppposed to get colder, the leaves fall and all those other neato things! The Sphynx cats spend most of the day under the covers on my bed, and I even had to add a quilt two nights ago.
My first batch of eBay stuff since I got back ends tonight and there are only a couple bids in this far, which is not a really good sign that the economy is picking up any! Things do sometimes start to get bids on the last day, right up to the close, and I am keeping my fingers crossed.
I added a couple scans to the trip reports, and hope to do the last batch later this week -- I completely forgot that today is a holiday, as things seem to whiz by somehow. The page about Alexi and his scupltures is up and running. Horacio sent me the new bank stuff from Tenerife, and it seems things are functioning again as they should. I may try to get a phone put in at La Atlántida the next time I get there, for convenience and to hopefully get online while I am there -- Dios mediante!
I went to the dentists, finally, and have another appointment this Wednesday -- and probably a few after that. A couple days ago I finally decided to take out the really old intake thing on the toilet tank and change it because the float always worked weird and some water would always be coming in -- only to find that the damn nut on the assembly under the tank was impossible to get off with a wrench, so I had to use a drill cutter to cut the thing off! A nominal 15 minute job turned into some 15 hours, and when the old pipe connections leaked all over the place I finally decided to call my usual plumber, who was notorious for taking forever to show up -- but that was when he had his antique shop. Business was so bad he had a half off sale and said he sold everything, and now he is back doing something he can make an easy $65/hour at! While I was still struggling with the stupid pipes the door bell rings -- it was Joe, ready and able, as usual, to get things working again. While he was there I asked him to do the broken pipe under the kitchen sink -- I already had the parts, but since he was here, he may as well earn the $65! So now the toilet is working as it should, and I can do the dishes without worrying that I will have a flood on the kitchen floor.
The neighborhood panhandlers and chulos discovered that I am back and have been ringing my bell day and night -- I decided not to even go all the way down the stairs to suggest they just disappear anymore! I did not mind it when I was sitting on the step getting some fresh air and feeding a kewl cat that always comes by in the early morning -- and even give them a beer, when I had any, but it always comes down to the same lines -- can you lend me some change/a couple bucks? -- when I could, I did, but after a while I would say that it is still too early in the season for the money tree on the sidewalk to produce any money fruits yet, and they usually got the idea -- but they still keep coming back! Maybe I have to get just a tad more direct and tell them to get lost because they are a royal pain in the ass! They say they need the money for food, even though some of them look better fed than I am -- and one even came back after I did give him a couple bucks and smoked crack right on my doorstep! What a waste! But at least now I know how they do the crack thing -- as Martha always says, You can learn something new every day!
After a couple trials with different visitor counters for my web pages a couple months ago, none of which seemed to work on one browser or another, I finally found the one you see at the bottom of this page and changed a couple dozen pages. I hope they do not disappear as a free service as others have over the years because it is a PITA to do all the changes that have to be made.
25 October 2002 / Friday - Damn, Trenton does it again!
I stopped at West Trenton to pick up some wash, and finally took a pic of that carp I brought to the pond at Bernar's a couple months ago -- it still looks quite happy, and with the increased colder temperatures all the fish are just a tad slower than they had been in warmer weather.
I thought I would get the shot before the two-foot long fish and all his smaller pals croak under Bernar's excellent care and watchful eye, as has happened during the winters of the years I have not lived there! I found it amazing at how docile he has gotten since I put him there -- I can even pet him when he sees me approach, looking for food!
I already have 40 bags of goodies together for all the ghosts and gobblins who may appear at my place on Holloween -- loads of candy, popcorn, potato chips, pencils with kewl spooky eraser tops, markers having stamps of bats, spiders and cats, and crayons. I may add a Beanie in each bag, as I have in the past.
Hey, remember to turn the clock/s back tonight!
26 October 2002 / Saturday - The Walrus and the Carpenter
4 November 2002 / Monday - Damn, is it freezing here -- it is 61.9 degrees right now in the study, and about 35 outside!
Hi there Eric - has the portal opened yet!
8 November 2002 / Friday - brrrrrrrrrrr It went to 29 degrees last night! I have not been sleeping too well lately -- so I get out of bed and putter around doing whatever comes to mind. This morning I updated some Star Wars, fossil and toy pages, adding a couple new how to order pages, which organizes things a tad better than they had been -- also added a toys section to the reference book page, and still have to get art and jewelry sections together one of these days -- hey, it all takes time to get all the pics, text pages and links worked out so they function as they should -- and for each update or new page, I usually have to also change many other pages associated with the new ones!
Yesterday I went to the dentist and he says I need a lot of work done -- NO SHIT! But the way they seem to do things, it may take 8 months to even start anything! One day for an appointment to take out what was left of a tooth that was capped (by them) years ago (that was a week ago), and the cap fell off and the remaining tooth broke -- then another appointment just to have somebody look in my mouth and tell me I need work done? (that was yesterday) Now I have another next week with Allen Levin, the head of the place, who will look at me as he has dozens of times in the past and say, yuppers, you need some work done! Is this the best way they add up bills to the freekin insurance company rather than do anything to resolve what needs to be done? I looked at my charts a while ago and it seems as if most of my sometimes frequent visits in the past were to have them recement crowns they did that fell off! I wonder if they use a mediocre cement just so the crowns fall out and maybe make a problem worse? Between crowns falling out, and them wanting to take x-rays just about every time I come in makes me think they have a great insurance scam going. And does he ever get uptight when I tell him this sort of thing! He once yelled at me that why do I not get a second opinion -- yeah, from whom? He knows that his assembly-line business is the only one my insurance covers!
I changed my eBay item format to the Christmas style -- after all, the HOLIDAYS are only about a month away and maybe the peeps may see my HOLIDAY pages and count down clock and figure out it is time to spend some buckies and get some gifts? And they better start doing it fast because the way the really few bids have been coming in for the last 3-4 months, I will be up shit creek if they do not start picking up, and real soon! I even put some goodies on a totally FREE website, with links to my eBay stuff and web pages, hoping to draw in some more bidders/buyers -- check it out if you have a chance -- YardSaleNet -- incidently, i got a few really cheapo items from them already, mostly Linux programs/apps and related computer stuff, but will not even have the time to check the goodies out until after the holidays I guess.
Oh, yes, before I forget, here is a really kewl GAME that you can play when you have some spare time! My score was only 41,000 -- I am sure that you can do much better?
28 November 2002 / Thursday - Well, although I was invited to Thanksgiving dinner at my niece's place, driving the 1.5 hours each way did not appeal to me because I have been overly tired lately -- plus I have a lot of eBay stuff I want to catch up on. So I got a small batch up, after changing the stuff that had to be changd in the old listings I have in the puter files, and was getting ready to start some stuff for tomorrow -- this is at 21h already -- the bell rings. OK, I thought, why bother even going down because it will probably be one of the usual panhandlers asking for a handout, but I sort of needed a break and went down. To my surprise, there was Kyra, from the post office, with a bag full of goodies for me! She had just gotten back from her family get together.
It was a total, and, of course, most pleasant surprise! I am now heating the plate on the top left with some yummy-looking collard greens, macaroni and a pumpkin mash. The plate with the rice, beef, turkey and filling will be for tomorrow! I guess I shall have two of those rolls and a piece of pumkin pie after devouring that plate of goodies -- let me check to see if it is hot yet -- yuppers -- damn, I forgot the rolls -- ok, all set, the plate is on a folded newspaper to the left of the keyboard, and I am happily munching away. Actually all I had to eat today was a banana, an avocado, some crackers, a chocolate bar, coffee and tea. Hmmmmm, this pumpkin stuff is great!
OK, that was kewl. I shall wait a little before having the pie -- and have to get back to doing some totally new treasures for my eBay peeps.
Thanks Kyra for being such a friend -- you made this special day what it was meant to be, Thanksgiving for whatever we might have, and sharing with others, looking forward always to yet better things and times. God bless!
6 December 2002 / Friday - WOWSERS! Just like the old days -- yesterday we had about 6-8" of snow, depending on where you measured the white stuff -- measuring it with the snow shovel I used three times it was more like three feet! My arms are still sore! I wonder how long it will take for that big carp and the rest of the fish in West Trenton to die due to Bernar's lack of attention?
It is now 22 degrees outside, and even though I have the thermostat set for 68, in the kitchen it never seems to get above 58 for some reason -- probaby the old iron double window on the garage side that never closed tightly? And in the study where I spend most of my time it does not get above about 65 -- and I have my work table next to an outside wall -- none of the walls are insulated. After midnight I have it set for 62, so it is just a good thing the cats have some covers to crawl under -- I should take their example and do the same thing instead of staying up all night doing computer stuff!
I am tired, as usual -- my throat hurts and my breathing is not exactly normal -- my left foot still swells up; the gout? Is that not what old sedentary coots got in the late 1800's? -- I have not even gotten this years Holiday cards made or the list updated, and I usually do that at the end of November. I have been working my fingers to the bone trying to get totally new stuff on eBay, hoping to attract the Holiday crowd -- and the bidding still sucks! Today I had an email from a winner or two weeks ago telling me he was gambling in Las Vegas, lost some money and just got back -- hmmmmmmmm, so that is where the money goes instead of bidding online? Really smart!
Got a package today from Joanne, that gal in Canada who always sends me stuff -- a plate of round Christmas ball cookies in a couple iced colors, an iced cake and another totally iced loaf-like cake! WOWSERS, I was sooooooo starved already that I munched a couple of the ball things, a slice of the flat and 2 of the loaf cake! With any luck, these goodies should last me about five days. Her package was as colorful as usual on the outside, but I just did not have the energy to do the pic thing -- maybe later.
It is nearly midnight and I did not do a single positive thing today except sleep from 8h to about 15h (did not even get the trash out this morning) -- vacuum the kitchen (it still needs a good mopping because Yakshini and her kitties are in there) -- had leftovers from 2 days ago, and still have almost enough for tomorrow, and took a bunch of pics I was way too tired to process -- it takes me a couple hours to do a batch, and from what I previewed, a lot will have to be redone! DAMN!
9 December 2002 / Monday - Yeah, kewl -- one of my favorite sayings! I was wondering why my heater does not seem to be functioning as it should. Kitchen always frigid, and the rest of the place colder than it is supposed to be. So I made it to the dungeon, brushing away the cob webs as I cut my way through the dense undergrowth of stuff piled high -- checked the wiring, seems OK -- checked the pump, seems to be pumping but nothing really hot in the pipes that gets more than a couple feet from the setup. Took a couple buckets out of the pressure drum thingy suspended from the ceiling -- pushed a couple pressure valves and water does come out. Lit a match under the furnace exhaust pipe to see if it was clogged up, in which case the match would go out -- it stayed lit, meaning the chimney thing is drawing as it is supposed to. Every couple years I have to take the pipes out of the wall behind the two furnaces and dig out the crap, brick dust and other stuff, that falls into the chimney over time, clogging it up -- usually get buckets full of shit out.
Back upstairs -- changed the batteries in the thermostat, even though there was no digital indication that they needed replacing. Back down to the basement to check to see if the electrical mains switches were all ON and not OFF, they are all OK. Then I noticed, in the far corner, a puddle on the floor -- the water meter was leaking all over the place! Luckily there is a drain in the floor for the torrents to gush into! Why this should happen just when the heating starts acting weird is beyond me.
Back upstairs -- called the water company -- they said they would be here later today (it is now 16h). Joe the plumber returns my call of yesterday -- he suggested calling the gas company, and that he could be over in the morning -- he said the leaky water meter does not have anything to do with the heaters, which does not seem too logical to me somehow -- the heaters get the water from the freekin meter, and if the pressure is not high enough, maybe the heaters cannot work?
So I called the gas company -- totally automated crap, which I hate -- the undead zombie robot said they should show up tomorrow morning. So here I sit in a 54 degree study and probably a 40 degree kitchen with the kittys shivering, to wait out another frigid night. Just what I need -- eBay sales slow as shit -- was recently able to pay 3 months back utility bills in triplicate (this place has two separate everything, and the house across the street has one = 3) and stuff, and now an added expense of GOD knows how much! I can hardly talk with a raw throat and feel like shit! Yeah, seems like another happy Holiday time around the old cave!
19 December 2002 / Thursday - OK, so the plumber never showed up. The dude from the water company got here before 18h and replaced the entire meter -- said it was over ten years old -- my street gets a lot of vibration from passing heavy vehicles, thus they have a lot of calls from this area for loose connections/broken gaskets/pipes. Yeah, like I complained about the traffic a few times to city hall -- it is also cracking the buildings, among other things! I guess they will not care until something collapses and kills somebody?
I was in the kitchen on the 10th and happened to look out the window -- there was a gas company truck parked across the street -- I sort of thought they were here to look at the furnace, so I hobbled down the stairs to go out and ask them -- I sort of calculate it may take me less than a minute to get to the door. Well, the truck was gone and there was a note in the door that they were here and nobody was home! THE FUCKIN ASSHOLES! I did not bother calling their robots again!
So I again went down to the basement -- totally emptied out the pressure tank on the heater -- banged the gas intake box a few times -- closed and reopened all the valves -- pressed the pressure valves to let out some water -- checked all the electrical connections a couple times, as well as the mains switches. I lit the furnace for the shop level just so some heat might get through the cracks to the apartment -- in the kitchen it was 39 degrees and the Siamese cats were all balled together trying to get warm. I put an old little electric heater in my study so my fingers might unfreeze to put more treasures on eBay. About two hours after the truck left, the heater seemed to go on again. I let some air out of the kitchen baseboard heating pipe, and the pipe went from frigid to hot. The cats started moving around a little -- I am still coughing a lot, keep my knit hat on, and when I can get to sleep in bed instead of at the puter, I just jump in totally clothed! Hey, the cats do not seem to mind!
Two days ago I was home (hey, I rarely go anywhere!) -- went down about noon to check for mail, as I always do -- two of those SORRY WE MISSED YOU things in the door! hmmmmm -- at this point I have fire coming out my nose and I am sure that my werewolf pointed ears are developing! So I give the nice post office people a call -- hi there, I got a couple of these slips you leave in the door. What are they for -- so I tell them what is on the slips. Would you like them delivered? Hey, you get paid for delivering, don't you? Hang on, let me check ......... yes, you have eight packages waiting for you. Yeah, I know -- according to the post office, they were shipped in November! Would you be kind enough to deliver them? The retard laughs and hangs up on me!
Today I got an email from an eBay winner -- the tracking number I gave him for something I shipped on 14 December does not show up in their online search today! It takes them 5 days to use the totally automated tracking scanners that are linked to their database to get the info online? Shiiiiiiiiiiit! If this is the best country in the world to live in, I would sure as hell hate to imagine what the worst might be like!
I still do not have my Christmas cards done -- I started them last month but never had the chance to finish the job. I have been too busy trying to get more goodies in my seller list, and packing all my paid eBay wins to try to get them out before the Holidays. And I have a whole bunch of peeps who have not sent their payments in yet, so I better get that list together and ask for a refund -- which I have never done before! I do not understand it, but this time of year is when all the absolutely stupid bidders crawl out of the woodwork! They send a payment for less, do not add for shipping (like it will come out of their monitor when they log on to their free and sucky hotmail account!), they do not mention that they are in Hawaii, where shipping is more than to New York, and complain that their 2+ pound package costs more than what I say in my item descriptions that a one pound shipment costs! One lady emails me to complain that she has not gotten the thing she won last October -- problem is, she never sent me her payment! It took her another 3 days to check her records, and she finally did send me a PayPal payment!
I mention this to other sellers, even those in Germany and France, and they tell me it is the same there! And eBay itself sucks -- some of the gallery pics I paid for have not yet appeared after 5 days! HURRAY FOR INTERNET BUYING/SELLING! I hear that a lot of major online retailers are already OUT OF many of their toys and stuff they have listed on their sites -- so all those potential buyers who sat on their asses until the last minute are just out of luck -- or they can do their buying the old fashioned way -- get their butts out to the malls!
Incidently, I did a quicky comparison of my November 2001 eBay give aways (you cannot thruthfully describe what I do as selling!) compared to this year --
More things did not sell, even at my significantly lowered opening bids -- 40.9% compared with 19.8% last year. The average winning bid was 36.7% lower than last year for basically the same kind of stuff. I ended up spending more and taking in way less than last year, not even taking into consideration non-paying bidders (= deadbeats), listing costs and commissions, PayPal charges and eBay down time -- all of which would have cost me at least 12% of what I took in. I do not plan on getting yet more depressed to do the comparitive DECEMBER calculations!
If I consider the time spent in all aspects of these things, the innumerable digital photos and scans which have to go through 3 different programs to get them the way I want them, plus the html coding/description page designing/research/time, pain and suffering involved, including that of my cats who rarely see me all day long (not to mention the frequent eBay outages and other irregularities!), I am more of a masochistic philanthropist than a yard sale enthusiast! Not surprisingly, I am getting somewhat the same picture from many eBayers I know around the world!
Another interesting detail, compared to 2001 -- last November and December I would include a FREE surprise catalog with my better winners' packages, and emptied over four box fulls of books that I used just for that purpose. Each present was neatly wrapped in Holiday paper and I made a kewl gift label to include on the item -- and each box of freebys contained from 60 to 80 items = at least 250 gifts sent out to my happy eBay peeps! This year, thus far, I may have included two dozen holiday presents with the wins, and I even bought loads more gift wrap than last year thinking things would suddenly improve! So here I am, with more wrapping paper, stickers and labels than I will need as long as I live!
Oh, yes, on a slightly more positive note, I finally paid off the UMAX computer, monitor and scanner I got 6+ years ago and still use! Thank God for little favors! I do not even want to hallucinate what it cost me on credit!
25 December 2002 / Wednesday