Journals : 2005 : November
2 November 2005 | Link this
Two years ago tonight, I walked out on the deck and had a cigarette. And then I never did it again. I'm rather proud of this fact...
Tomorrow, all about Bauhaus (there's no better way to spend Hallowe'en), cute babies, Fresno, dinner with friends, stupid potheads, and -- best of all -- getting reacquainted with my husband after almost three weeks. Tonight, though, I'm gonna watch a movie and go to bed...
3 November 2005 | Link this
Job Quest '05 continues. I seem to be getting both more nibbles and more rejection notices lately. I assume the latter has something to do with the fact that I've lately been submitting fewer emailed or faxed resumes and more online applications, which are more conducive to automated responses...
It's slightly more pleasant to be turned down by a computer than to be ignored completely by an HR person, I guess...
6 November 2005 | Link this
I love the Landmark. I never ate there much when I lived in Charlotte before, perhaps because it was too much the "upscale" version of a diner, where everything was (gasp) about a dollar more than it was at Athens or San Remo...
This time around, though, I'm a definite convert, and I've decided that it's only partially about the food, although the food is quite good. What I really like is the fact that, even though this is pretty much nothing more than a high volume diner, the service is remarkably professional. They make you feel rather special while you're eating your eight dollar meal, more so than many places make you feel even when you're chowing down on a twenty or thirty dollar meal. I like that a lot...
There are a lot more things I like about Charlotte. Almost enough, you might think, to start a whole different website...
8 November 2005 | Link this
Um, never mind what this entry originally said. I really should read more carefully before I babble sometimes...
8 November 2005 Later | Link this
Interesting article
from the Boston Globe on why Wal-Mart is perceived as pure evil while
Target is seen as pure virtue by so many urban sophisticates
snobs, even though both companies have similar business practices...
8 November 2005 Even Later | Link this
Mark sent me sad news today. One of my favorite buidings anywhere is about to be converted into lofts. I've been obsessed with the Armstrong Cork Factory since my first visit to Pittsburgh eight years ago. I'm sorry to see it go...
While the capitalist in me is happy to see such a potentially valuable piece of property no longer goinmg to waste, the urban aesthetician (is that even a word?) in me is terribly depressed to know this amazing building is about to be cleaned and sanitized to make cute little hipster condos which willl strip away every bit of its character and context...
Oh well. I guess it couldn't stand forever in that magnificent state of neglect and decay...
9 November 2005 | Link this
By way of clarification, I'd generally rather shop at Target as well. They have nicer stores and the whole shopping experience is generally more pleasant than at Wal-Mart. But my point -- and the theme of the article cited -- is that I don't equate Target's enhanced shopping experience nor their elevated sense of style and fashion with some false notion of moral or ethical superiority...
Ultimately, Target and Wal-Mart are two very competent retailers who do everything they can to maximize profits. The only siginificant differences are aesthetics and demographics. The fact that Target attracts stylish middle-class urbanites rather than fat, boring low-income rural and ethnic shoppers does not by definition make it more "socially conscious". It's all marketing. Period...
9 November 2005 Later | Link this
Fourth anniversary dinner last Saturday night at the very same Denny's on Blackstone Avenue in Fresno where we had our first date...
I love my boy...
10 November 2005 | Link this
10 November 2005 Later | Link this
Fall is nice...
11 November 2005 | Link this
I stumbled into this band's website sort of by accident, but I think I love them:
Q: Is Girl for Samson a Christian band?
A: No, although, many of Girl for Samson's songs deal with the process of creating, destroying and recycling human sausages.
18 November 2005 | Link this
The neighborhood Wal-Mart Supercenter is strangely pleasant at 5:30 in the morning. Employees outnumber customers about two to one, there are no lines, and everyone is really friendly and says "hello" when you walk by. Actually, this being the south, they all say "hey"...
I drowned my sorrows after dropping Mark off at the airport (he's spending another month working in San Francisco) by picking up some of those great cinammon buns that are only $1.44 for a four-pack. I also discovered that Antichrist Inc. sells its own brand of (passably good) English toasting bread...
I love roaming around town at odd hours when there's no one else on the streets. Maybe it's my antisocial nature, but it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, even though this particular morning was the coldest one of the year so far...
Mmmm. Hard freeze...
18 November 2005 Later | Link this
I didn't mention it here before, but in case anyone cares, I added a new message board over at my other site. I won't be doing that here, mainly because pretty much no one uses the message board at this site anymore and it's not really worth the extra effort and server load. But the new one's pretty cool for an open source freebie...
18 November 2005 Even Later | Link this
I'm going to Myrtle Beach tomorrow...
Why would I do this in mid-November on the coldest weekend of the year so far?
Because I've been wanting to for a few months now. Because I found a room at the Red Roof Inn for about thirty bucks. Because I'm very excited about spending a freezing cold night by the sea. Because I haven't had a chance to poke around down there all by myself in almost twenty years. Because I'm in a bit of a funk and need to get out of this apartment for a while. And pretty much just because I damned well feel like it...
19 November 2005 | Link this
Just for the record, I've decided that my first priority in buying a house is not the number of bedrooms, the size of the yard, the neighborhood, or anything of the sort. My first priority in buying a house is to find one that still has its original bathroom fixtures rather than the USELESS FUCKING LOW-FLOW TOILETS I've had to live with (by law) for so many years now...
Sorry. It needed to be said. And many of you were thinking the same thing, no matter how environmentally-minded you like to believe yourself to be...
20 November 2005 | Link this
From Hartsville, South Carolina. It's apparently the only Yogi Bear's Honey Fried Chicken left in the world. I'd read that it was there, but had completely forgotten until I drove by it this afternoon on the way home...
Greensboro had one too. As I remember, it opened and closed within the space of about a year when I was seven or eight years old. Yogi's was a national (or at least regional) franchise in the early 1970s, along with such other memorables as Minnie Pearl's, Heap Big Beef, and Lum's, home of the Ollieburger...
It's a pity I'd already eaten today...
20 November 2005 Later | Link this
21 November 2005 | Link this
My trip to Myrtle Beach, in case you're interested...
24 November 2005 | Link this
A Thanksgiving resolution, perhaps?
It's actually related to the holiday, so I don't find it altogether inappropriate. For Thanksgiving, I resolve to spend more time appreciating the things in my life that are good and that I enjoy and that make me happy, the things that fill me with a sense of accomplishment, or just a feeling of absolute contentment. In the process, I will spend less time obsessing over the few things which aren't going my way right now, and hopefully devote more energy to addressing and correcting them instead...
I so resolve because I must do so in order to preseve my sanity. And because I don't want to become insufferably dreary to be around. And mostly because it's the right thing to do. The good definitely outweighs the bad, after all...
Don't worry. I'm not turning all mushy touchy-feely here, nor has my occasionally sharp tongue been dulled. Ranting about idiots and pointing out stupid trends in pop culture, urban planning, and other areas are still things which make me very happy and fill me with a terrific sense of accomplishment, thank you...
25 November 2005 | Link this
I'm not sure which would have been scarier: (a) shopping at Carolina Place Mall when they opened at 1AM today, or (b) being in an enclosed space with the kind of people who were shopping at Carolina Place mall when they opened at 1AM today...
As much as I'm all for the whole commercial Christmas thing, I really don't get the appeal of shopping on the day after Thanksgiving at 1AM or any other time. It's probably the most miserable day of the year to go shopping; the last place I'd want to be today would be a mall or a big box center. People would die. I would be arrested for killing them. It would be a very upleasant start to the holidays...
My mom, an otherwise rational human being, had some shopping plans today. When I opted out, she casually mentioned how men just aren't really "into" shopping. I corrected her and let her know that shopping was just fine and dandy under the right circumstances. What I'm not "into" is masochism...
Anyway, we had a nice Thanksgiving dinner at the cafeteria, which is apparently becoming a big tradition with lots of people up Greensboro way, and then we came home, held court for a few afternoon visitors, watched LA Confidential, and went to bed. I was ready to pass out at about 7:30. Why does visiting my parents always make me so damned sleepy?
25 November 2005 Later | Link this
Just realized I forgot to upload the captions on the Myrtle Beach pictures, in case you care...
26 November 2005 | Link this
I'm rather pleased with -- or maybe rather disturbed by -- this new personal essay on the subject of social interaction and yer humble host: Practice Makes Perfect...
27 November 2005 | Link this
There's not much better than waking up to a cold, rainy Sunday morning. If only Bojangles delivered...
I plan to do nothing but wrap up on the couch, watch a movie or two, and maybe work on some much-neeeded updates over here. Unless, of course, I find that I can't resist going out and playing in the nice weather...
27 November 2005 Later | Link this
Because the interest in my Yogi Bear's Honey Fried Chicken post was so high (OK, two people commented on it, but that's all the excuse I need), I've added a page on dead (and near-dead) restaurant chains from my youth...
28 November 2005 | Link this
I was going to use this opportunity to post a picture of the first check I received as a published writer, but I would've had to apply the "blur" filter to so much of it that the whole thing seemed a little pointless, so I'll just brag instead...
That was almost as satisfying, I guess...
Annoyance du jour: message board moderators who won't admit the're mistaken, even when faced with overwhelming evidence of their errors, especially when they're really condescendingly "polite" about it. That's why I generally don't post on many message boards other than my own...
29 November 2005 | Link this
I don't know if this campaign will work, but I give them credit for trying something other than protectionist legislation for a change. But as I've said before, small businesses will only attract customers if they provide a specific type of service which is unavailable in a chain environment. Nagging people -- or worse yet, trying to force them through legislation -- to shop someplace they'd rather not just ain't the way to go about it...
That said, I have to admit that, as much as I don't really care for the SF Chronicle, they do get points for keeping archived stories free and linkable ad infinitum, so links I created even six or seven years ago still work. To my knowlege, no other major newspaper does that. It probably generates a nice bit of traffic for them...
30 November 2005 | Link this
I miss my boy. Especially tonight...