[Author's note 2016-04-29: this entry is reconstructed from one of those daily calendar memos that have a segment for each hour of the day. That's why so may codes and abbreviations, I have long since forgotten who most of the people are. But whose fault is that? The picture is here because it looks nice. It's a glacier in Patagonia in 2005.]
Bad news, it was not the rent [at the computer shop] that went up $550 a (total of) month, but a curious thing called CAM, for Common Area Maintenance. This is the screwjob that landlords can give you. It is one of those indistinct areas of a lease and where Fred was paying $39, they now want $589. This is ridiculous and has no bearing on the value received whatsoever. It depends now what will happen, but if I was Fred I would be looking for another place. Plainly the landlord is using this tactic to get around a restriction in raising the rent every year.
I got over to Diane6 [the code for the French Canadian lady], this is the lady with the wireless networking troubles. That is one difficult problem there, the signal just will not pick up. Everything is set right, and the connection is made but there is no data signal. I have never met any "expert" who can explain to me how this works. You ask them and you get another two-bit explanation of what you already know.
From there I went back home to bench test the wireless equipment. It works fine here, although there is no Internet connection to test it on. That is not really necessary as this network will be local. Adam was over and says he is picking up a good solid signal from the northeast. He is also going to check my cable, the one he remembers as a live connection.
I was in the shop and emailed Cheryl about the gig tonight, she is usually there anyway because of the poetry. The place has become quite popular with other musicians, again by that, I mean middle-aged male guitar-playing vocalists.
That Barbie computer is becoming one expensive unit. I installed the CD burner twice. The first time it picked up as two masters until I noticed there was only one IDE cable in the can. Then it refused to read the setup file for Office 2000. However, I got Limewire and Nero installed and working on the big unit. Of course, I had to set up the directory and noticed some pretty lively downloads already on the hard drive.
From there I went directly to the gig. You know, I was so tired I maybe should not have went over there. We only played three tunes and I was swaying on my feet. Count in a little mental exhaustion also, because I didn’t remember some of the stops. According to the audience reaction, the drumbox does a mean blues rhythm. It may be too much to ask, but I think the G noticed the increase in compliments directed at the drumbox. We also got more compliments total, not that he will ever admit it.
On the way home I talked to Marion. She reports a less than enthusiastic job market back in Washington. We went over several alternatives including a move back later this year if things do not pick up here. She wonders how I will handle the cold, but after Montana nothing is that bad. Her wedding pictures are on a disk and she’d like them on DVD. I’ll take a look, but she remembers video and I know that you can’t fit much video on a floppy.
I got my second wind and walked over to the donut shop for a midnight coffee. It was a nothing day. I came home, made popcorn and now I’m wide awake. Did I mention that the G got his wires crossed on the popcorn scare? It is an edible chemical that for some reason popcorn workers inhale. It is harmless when digested.
Here’s an interesting departure from common sense that might explain some things. I write to Cheryl (email) much like I used to tolerate Don++ (Kenneberg). It is an excellent reminder of the route I did not take. These people are the opposite of “book smart and life dumb”. Like many overeducated types, they fancy themselves good judges of character and haughtily credit themselves with a more balanced outlook than you or I. I had sent her jpegs of Chichen Itzah, California, Canada and included was a snap of Robynette in a café in Los Angeles.
The idea was not to impress her, but inform her. However, like dealing with all such people, at least part of the plan backfired. I won’t deny that an element (but just an element) of my responses was to let her know that she is vastly wrong with her presumptions [about me]. For example, she has that peasant inertia of attaching the vilest and basest motivations to others. If you cross the street, it must be only for your own selfish purposes, the least of which was to get to the other side. Don Kenneberg, right?
Well, I cannot cure that mental disease, but I can let them know that I have done things in this life that most people only dream of. It works like this – she innately “knows” that everything you say is bull and all supporting evidence is an elaborate deception. Even if it isn’t, she always starts from there. (She would deny this, but her everyday actions and conversation reveal that she thinks exactly so.) That is where these pictures come in – they provide fairly undeniable proof of what I say, some of you may have noticed the documentary style of my photos.
Now ask yourself, by any yardstick, would not these pictures practically force even the most skeptical to conclude that I had at least gone through the motions? Enter Cheryl. She has learned somewhere to live in complete denial that the other person may actually be telling the truth. Thus she becomes strained to the point of nonsense to ignore the reality of the pictures and find something wrong with the situation behind the picture. The last thing that would ever enter her mind is, “Gee, this is a fairly interesting guy.”
There were lots of pictures, including a nice one of myself at a museum. I had hair. No Cheryl, I did not get a hair transplant or Photoshop the dino or grow a mustache or borrow a jacket to make people think it was cold, all just to fool somebody at a coffee shop in Davie, Florida, some thirteen years later. Anyway, to show you how backwards she is, she actually said if she was me, she would get on the phone and beg Robyn to come back!
I understand that Cheryl is crazy, but harmless. Florida is great if you want kindergarten level advice about every last facet of your life. You might think someone who has known me even a short while would knock off with that but enter Cheryl. Oh, and like too many, she often relies on pointing out she is crazy to get herself off the hook in many small situations. Can you do anything you want if you claim to be crazy? That is the human interest part of today’s entry.
Let’s talk about the weather. It has dropped to another cold spell a chilly 72 degrees overnight. There has been a good breeze for three days which is really rare in this town. I had to dig out my one sweater. Does anyone remember the $1.99 breakfast specials? Maybe they no longer exist out on the west coast either, but I doubt they were ever in Florida. I miss them. Sadly, they would not work in Florida. The argument goes that people would only show up for the special. This is Florida-think. Of course, you proles, that is the whole idea. Get people in to sample your food.
On the other side of the counter, I see the management advertising the special only as a trick to upsell you. The $1.99 special costs you $10 by the time you get out the door. Both parties are equally guilty in this town. It is sad in a way because this is what they have done to paradise. The breakfast special at Denny’s is the closest thing to worthwhile and even then, they vastly overcharge for the coffee. I don’t mind because at least you get free refills, provided you can find a waitress or get past the Sunday lineups.
JZ has not been at home. His dad was obviously feeling better and went for a car ride the other day. Maybe I’ll give him [JZ] a call around ten in the morning to see if he is going to church. We haven’t visited for over a month. I’ve been thinking about the situation at Fred’s, I don’t think he will ever agree to paying that much money for maintenance and the landlord, having proven herself tough to reason with, is not going to back off either. There is just no way that location is getting anywhere near $2,500 worth of common area maintenance a month. Maybe $300, tops. That family of cats living under the real estate office has become a colony.
I think the time has arrived to be looking for a real job. This new computer gets another mention. It was in the shop this morning and Fred agrees, somebody has highly modified the operating system. It just will not allow even the admin account full access so I may wind up reinstalling windows just to get the thing to work. I mean it works, but only if you are a nothing user who never needs to make backup copies.
The Taurus. It has begun to wobble at speed. Definitely something with the tires. Nothing serious yet. Definitely showing its age. It now has 145,000 miles on it, making it the bargain of the last three years.
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