What Entertains Me: 05/01/2007

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Wrapped Around Their Fingers

When I heard that the band The Police was going on tour again, I could hardly contain my excitement. I've always been a fan of The Police and Sting. In fact, I've been to every show Sting has done in my area...but I was too young to go see The Police in concert before they disbanded. So I feel like this is my opportunity to go see them before they really do get too old. The last time I saw Sting, it was an unplugged concert of sorts, so he did a TON of stuff from his days with The Police. Now, the only Police CD I have is Synchronicity. The rest of the songs I like, I have downloaded from iTunes. But now, there is a Police CD with just about every song I could possibly want from them (a 2 CD set, actually).

Here's a listing of what's on each one:

Disc: 1
1. Fallout
2. Can't Stand Losing You
3. Next to You
4. Roxanne
5. Truth Hits Everybody
6. Hole in My Life
7. So Lonely
8. Message in a Bottle
9. Reggatta de Blanc
10. Bring on the Night
11. Walking on the Moon
12. Don't Stand So Close to Me
13. Driven to Tears
14. Canary in a Coalmine

Disc: 2
1. Do Do Do de da da Da
2. Voices Inside My Head
3. Invisible Sun
4. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
5. Spirits in the Material World
6. Demolition Man
7. Every Breath You Take
8. Synchronicity I
9. Wrapped Around Your Finger
10. Walking in Your Footsteps
11. Synchronicity II
12. King of Pain
13. Murder by Numbers
14. Tea in the Sahara

I would absolutely love, love, love to have these CDs, especially before I go see them in concert (which I'm hoping to do in Louisville, the closest place they're visiting). I have some, but not all, of these songs on my iPod. If could get all, I'd be thrilled! It's rare when a day goes by at work, and I don't flip to either a Sting or Police song on my iPod. So I can't imagine anything much better than having all their best songs at my fingertips (and without iTunes DRM!).

Friday, May 25, 2007

Crystal Clear, Pure Water

You know, I'm a water snob. That is, I hate the tap water in my area of the country. For the most part, it tastes like pool water. But, I also hate buying water to drink. Seems a bit ridiculous for something I can get for free, right? Well, seems someone has gone and created a water bottle filter that goes directly in a bottle of water, and it filters your tap water for you. Yeah, I guess you are still paying for water in a way. But at least this way, you're not buying a bottle of Dasani or Aquafina...unless I'm at the airport like I was last night, in desperate need for something besides Philadelphia tap water. Blech.

Business Travel

I just got back from a business trip to Boston (Cambridge, actually). And today I'm taking a vacation day, because I didn't get in until 1 AM. I'm tired. But you know what? I realized I'd love to travel for my work. It was very exciting. And, I'd get more frequent flier miles so that I could take more vacations, like one I found to Branson Missouri. Seems like a nice little weekend getaway that's undiscovered.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Pain at the Pump

Back in the days before gas was at $3.29 a gallon for regular, and I didn't care too much about gas mileage (I drive a car that gets 30 mpg average anyway), I used to speed...a lot, and I actually had a radar detector. But now that I'm trying to improve my mileage to get the 33 mpg it's supposed to, I don't drive much over the 65 mph speed limits on the highway. You know what? I'm close...I get 31 mpg with no A/C on and the windows down on a nice day. I just can't bring myself to drive 55, which would probably get me the 33 mpg I'm looking for. So if you see me in the right lane, just know I'm trying to do what I can to conserve my fuel needs. And if you see me at the gas pump crying...it's probably because it's gone up to $4 a gallon, and I'm shelling out $50 for my tiny little car's tank every 6 days.

CatTV

My cats have been having a lot of CatTV, in full HDTV, with surround sound -- that is, my open sliding glass door, and the two nests sparrows are inhabiting in the roof of my patio. So now, I have to be sure to keep the window blinds open elsewhere, or else find them all bent out of shape. Actually, that's why I've just started leaving them open, because one day, one set of them had been massacred while I was at work. I can only imagine what Valencia (I know it was her...Meggie doesn't jump up in windows, for whatever reason) saw that made her jump through the blinds (and how she got herself out of them). Just wish I'd been there with my camera, as I'm sure it was a camera-worthy moment.

Under the Tuscan Sun

The other day, while I was busy feeling like crap with the latest office plague, I watched Under the Tuscan Sun. It's not an Oscar-winner, but wow...I'd forgotten how much it hit home with me. Not that I'm divorced, but that I'm in my mid-30s, and I feel like I need a big change in my life. Seeing this movie always makes me think, "yeah, I'll buy one of those villas in Italy like she did!" Of course, I'm not a famous writer like the main character, so I'd have to rob a bank to do it. But hey! I'd be in sunny Italy in an old villa! So I guess I'll have to find something else impulsive to do...I'll let you know what that is when I do it. I'm sure it will be life-altering?

Counting Down...

My lease is up in November, and I must give 45 days' notice. That can't come soon enough. Now that I have no ties to where I currently live, I can't wait to move. And, I also can't wait to get some new home furniture for my new apartment in a new location. Not that I hate it where I live...I'm just tired of living so far removed from my friends and family...and work. Yes, my friends...I live only 40 miles away from it all, and I'm homesick. How sad is that? Oh well, only another...6 months to go!

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Home Organization

My desk at home is a mess, a big nest of plugs, network cables, USB cables, etc. It's amazing I haven't gotten myself all tangled up in them. And, I also can't believe that Valencia, the chewing cat, hasn't managed to bite them all in half or something. I really need to look into those cord organization systems, because I don't know what's what anymore. I unplug something, hoping that it's not something vital. Usually, I'm lucky...but sometimes, I'm not (like unplugging the light that's allowing me to see the cables!). Maybe I'll make it a project for some rainy weekend...which this weekend is not going to be (yay!). So, I'll just procrastinate some more.

Winter Has Left the Building

Now that it's warm...I'm not having as many fantasies about escaping to warmer climes, sailing away on one of those crewed yacht charters in the Caribbean. Yes, I still miss the beach, but at least now I can walk outside without bundling up, soak up some vitamin D, and just feel better about life in general. Winter really, really gets me down. And it's only getting worse as I get older. Perhaps someday, I'll move to where the sun shines most of the time. But for now, I guess I'll just have to deal with winters...knowing that they don't last forever.

Porches and Patios

I wish my patio didn't face the parking lot. If it faced the other way, I think I'd spend a lot more time out on my patio, enjoying the new teak outdoor furniture I bought last year to replace the ugly resin stuff I had. But, even if I don't use it now...I'm sure I'll be able to use it, if and when I ever buy a house (which will have a proper deck or patio for sitting outside on perfect days). There's just something about sitting facing a parking lot that makes me feel on display...probably because I am, especially being on the first floor. Oh well. At least it looks nice. :)

The Housing Market Goes Boom

You know, I keep hearing about how the housing market is crashing. I believe them. And I think anyone who took out a variable rate mortgage, when the loan rate was at an historic low, were complete idiots. The rates would only go up, not down! People were so excited to be able to afford the house of their dreams. So, I'm sure there are people in California, where the cost of living is sky high, scrambling to get a locked in rate with a state of California mortgage refinance. Otherwise, they will lose their dream house to the nightmare of foreclosure. This is why I still rent...other than the fact that I really can't afford to own right now (home repair, anyone?). But if I had bought...I sure as heck would never, ever have gone with a variable rate mortgage.

Company for Sale

With my company up for sale, and the winning bidder being announced sometime this month, it makes me wonder what's going to change immediately, and what's going to change over time. There's a database we have to use, which is the bane of everyone's existence. I'm hoping it's replaced with some better, more user-friendly forecasting software. Because really, the system we use now is horrible. It's clunky, buggy, and no one really knows how to use it...the manual is ridiculous. So we all just sort of muddle through it. So maybe...just maybe...we'll get something good out of this whole sale thing.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Spring = Warm Weather = Golf

This past weekend, while driving to Cincinnati for my weekly dinner with my family, I saw a number of people out playing golf. A friend of mine recently took up golf, and she loves it. She's mentioned a brand, Callaway golf I believe, that she swears by. I wouldn't know Callaway golf from a hole in the ground, to be honest. But she wouldn't use anything else, apparently.

What's funny is, she didn't think she'd ever like playing golf...but her dad does, and so does her mom. So now, she's able to go home and play golf with them, which I think is great. Perhaps if she hadn't moved to Columbus, I might be tempted to take up golf with the way she praises it. But, I think I'll pass since she's not here. Think it'd be much more fun if I had a golf buddy...but no one else I know plays it. Oh well, maybe someday.

Reminiscing

I've been reminiscing lately about a trip my family took back in 1990 to the UK and to France. We ended up staying in a lot of bed & breakfast places in the UK, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. We met the most interesting people and got good "inside" information on places to see and whatnot. Having tea setups in each room was wonderful too, as I had caught a horrible, awful, nasty cold...and for June, it was chilly (at least for someone from Ohio).

There were only two incidents, as I call them, that ruffled my feathers a bit. One was a place where I couldn't get both orange juice and cereal with milk for breakfast. I had to choose between the two. And the other was a place that ran out of water in the middle of my shower...while I had a head full of shampoo. That was interesting. But overall, I think if you're going to do a driving tour of another country, especially England, that bed & breakfasts are the way to go.