Meanderings and Wanderings Of The Day

Hey there, happy Hump Day, welcome to Wednesday, the official middle of the week. The week is chugging along chuggingly as the week goes on and New York reaches warmer temperatures this Winter. Maybe we should make a theme of it and take lessons from these guys.

I ate breakfast this morning had my monotony broken up by a hardcore anti-smoking commercial where a surgeon puts a brain on a table and cuts it in half like a Subway sandwich while a voiceover runs about how smoking causes blood clots. It cut to a close up of the brain being cut in half by the surgeon sandwich artist and as blood started to run out of a single spot the blood clot fell out. I stared at it with this look of horror on my face holding my banana and jelly breakfast sandwich. I actually screamed out, "Oh man!". It really stressed me out so I had to step outside and have a smoke. Which made me think of strokes and stressed me again. After a second cigarette, I came back inside and got ready to leave for work. The image of the Subway Brain Deluxe on wheat is now forever burned on my brain.

It's been a lazy day here, I've checked up on the news, etc. I love living in a city where people spend time making and building things just amuse others. And by the way, if you haven't downloaded Google Earth yet, it's a great way to explore, spy, and kill time. Unfortunately their Mac version isn't backdated to my un-Tiger-riffic version of Mac OS X. I ride the slow Panther.

Today at work I went to a lunch program on "Stress and Balancing Your Life Accordingly". I ordered the food for the event and decided to go. All in all, it ended up being an ok talk, a lot of positive thinking stuff, but hey, free turkey pastrami wrap, and a brownie and chips (which had trans fats in them, which caused stress about heart healthiness, so - cigarette #3 - this one in the building, so more stress about getting caught - voila - smoked two more at once). Highlights in the seminar: A chair fell over with a loud crash and the presenter said quitely, "It's only stressful if we choose to stress about it". And, speaking on why guilt can sometimes be a good motivator in accomplishing life goals (but eventually falls shorter than positive methods): "Guilt can be a good thing. It makes you not do certain things...like for instance I'm not going to go out and....steal everyone's newborn baby. (Pause) Why'd I just say that? Anyway..."

I went in a Duane Reade pharmacy today - pretty much a New-York-only pharmacy - and looked around for the generic version of Airborne tablets to fend off some scratchy throatness. Upon entering the back aisles - BAM! - I'm hit with blaring country music. That took me back home a little, hearing a sentimental radio country song, something I don't particularly like, but would hear a lot back home in various places. And it was followed up by the smash hit, As Long As You Love Me by the Backstreet Boys. That reminded me of home, namely Carowinds. You know, when you're walking all soaking wet from Rip Roarin' Rapids and the water smells faintly like sewage, and some kid is feeding all those carp under the bridge but throwing his gum on them and spitting lugees too, and then you walk by the Record Your Own Hit! booth and hear 3 out of tune 13 year old female voices, "I don't care whooo you ar - hey (giggle giggle) - GUYS! COME ON! (giggles) WOO! - as long as you loooove meeee"... that kind of memory resurfaced. Nostalgia? Ehhh, maybe when I have kids of my own.

Speaking of which - dun da da da dunnnnn - guess who's pregnant? No, not me. That'd be cool huh? Nah, not really. No, my sister! Yeah her and my brother-in-law, Alan, are expecting a little Holmberg this summer. He/She has been named Baby H by the families since they aren't finding out the gender yet. I have decided to rename it Cletus the Fetus for my own enjoyment as an upcoming uncle. More on Cletus to come.

If you're in NYC and reading this and don't have plans in 5 hours, look to the right of the page and check the time for tonight's improv show at UCBT featuring CHANTICO WARFARE the longform improv group I'm in. If you come to the show, give the suggestion, "Bay of Pigs". We've worked out so many scenes for that one.

And now....I go home.

But I leave you with this. Duuuuude.