This is going to just be a hodgepodge of things, so I figured my non-title title would be appropriate.
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First Up
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First of all, signs of Meags Inextricable Withdrawal Syndrome (MIWS, it spells "SWIM" backwards, what a fun acronym.) have already started cropping up. At least one person has been called an unwarranted "cutie" when I was in the other room, and I'm sure there will be many other innocent victims as I get used to living a life without Meags around me 24/7. That was one of the neat parts about the visit, it wasn't just visiting, it was living with. Sure it was only a short period of time, but still peace of mind is good to know that you are compatible to live with somebody - I can honestly say that thus far none of her home-habits have bothered me.
Anyhow, I miss her and look forward to her coming in February... I look forward to it for two reasons: 1) She'll be here, this is self explanitory 2) I get to completely ignore Valentines day and not get yelled at for doing so! She'll be coming just after it, so all the hiked up prices of this Hallmark Holiday will be deflating once more and we can celebrate its passing on our own time.
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Next Up
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I had the thought not long ago about why I write this blog. I don't really have an answer for it, perhaps one of you that reads this may know, but I sure don't. Honestly I'm not one to seek the spotlight, I prefer lurking in the shadows while pulling strings for others. I don't like sharing my life with others, particularly to others who I don't know well. And yet I still post random things regarding my life here at least once a month, with an increase of frequency as of late. Sure there aren't many deeply personal thoughts here, I still very much keep my guard up, but it is quite out of character all the same. I guess there is some comfort in knowing there are only a handful of people who read this, 90% of which are probably spambots wanting to pollute my blog with offers of viagra, diet pills, and porn. There is also comfort in how anonymous the traffic is, I don't have a clue who reads this thing as they are all just numbers to me. Strings of digits and periods. IP Addresses. The only people I know for sure who read this are the ones that comment on multiple occassions. One of which is a loved one who I share everything with anyway (and who already knows most of the stories posted before they are posted) and the others are people I talk to on MSN and don't mind sharing things with as I consider them friends.
I still can't say why I continue to write though. Perhaps that is why my updates are so sporadic and have such great lengths of time between them (Though as you can see I am making an effort to be better about it!) - I don't have a sense of purpose. There is no drive, no obligation to complete. It is just here.
Will I someday be glad to have recorded my thoughts here? Will I decide to read the goings-on of my 22/23 year old mind? I don't know, I'm assuming I probably won't though.
Do I do it to entertain? Who am I entertaining? I don't even know who my audience is, save for 2 or 3 of them.
Is it therapeutic to "put pen to paper" ? Can't be too therapeutic or I'd do it more often.
Do I do it to improve my writing? Find a style? I don't think so, I don't really have an overarching need to have such a skill. It isn't like I'm a novelist, the most important writing I do is on forum posts where any writing which doesn't substitute numbers for letters and read like a dyslexic monkey wrote it may as well be Shakespeare.
So yeah, no clue. I just do it because it is just here I guess. That and it seems to make people happy when they know I've made an update. I'm not sure if they are so excited once they've read the update, but at least there is initial excitement.
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Next Up
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Tomorrow (actually technically later today) my apartment is being exterminated for free, courtesey of the new owners. This would have come in handy ~7 months ago when my humble abode was overrun with ants, but in the dead of winter I don't really see the point. Oh well, it is free and will likely do at least some good, so I won't complain unless something bad comes of it. Perhaps some day I'll develop some sort of mutant power after accidentally inhaling some extermigation fumes whilst drinking Gatorade. Thus was born the Thirst Avenger.
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Next Up
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About 11 months ago I made a trip to Best Buy which was recorded in this thread, you'll be happy to know that the cashiers haven't gotten any better. Today I bought Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 3) and presented another American Express Gift Cheque and once again instilled fear in the hearts of high school cashiers looking to participate in the private sector. The story wasn't nearly so eventful as last time, so I suggest you just read the first link again.
Also: I'm liking that particular Best Buy location a lot less these days. The managers must have gotten onto the employees about being more helpful, I can't even browse the DVD section without somebody asking if he can help me find what I want. It isn't like it is hard, the movies are organized by genre and in alphabetical order. Yes I know my ABCs, no I don't need you to sing them with me. I can at least see the point of them asking if I need help while browsing televisions or computers or portable music players. These are items which people are likely to have questions on. "What is HDTV?" "Which of these iPods do I want to buy? The Dell? What do you mean the Dell isn't an iPod?" "My son says I need a computer with lots of Ram but I don't see any ram in here, is there a petting zoo out back perhaps?" etc... But chances are if somebody is browsing the DVD section it is much like in a rental store. They are perusing, looking for deals, looking for something to strike their fancy. If they are looking for something particular and can't find it (Or forgot whether R came before F or not) then they will probably ask an employee if it is in stock of their own volition.
My distaste for salesmen knows no bounds. I know some of them probably are truly trying to be helpful, but honestly I find them intrusive (This is a throwback to the above-mentioned "not sharing my life with strangers") and if I have a question that needs answering or if I need assistence, then I will go and seek them out. Chances are the only time I will ask for help is to remove an item from a glass case which holds it hostage, most other occassions I probably already know all that I need to in order to make an informed buying decision and am just mulling things over in my head.
Posted by Michael at January 20, 2005 01:08 AM