Selling the Drums

I just realized that I'm going to be in an apartment for a while. For 5 years, I felt that purchasing a house was just a few months away. Allan's offer to help me sell the stuff I've had laying around has really snapped me out of my stupor and had me re-evaluating the acceptance criteria for what I really want to fill my precious 100 sq ft of storage with.

A few of the things to go?

PS2, Gamecube, Gameboy Micro, 2x old P4 gaming computers and the big kicker, my drum set.

Selling the drum set is a BIG step. I paid a lot for that kit, and I've loved it dearly. Unfortunately, like my PS2 with DDR MAX 2, it's too loud for apartment living. 5 years of sitting neglected in my parents basement is enough for me to realize it's time to move on.

It goes beyond that, I expect to clear out a lot of old clothes, 6 of the 7 crappy frisbees I've got in the garage, and nearly everything under $20 that I haven't used in a year (lots of computer cables & equipment, some sporting goods... ). I'm expecting this year's spring cleaning to be a big one, and I'm really feeling good about shedding some of my history's weight. :) The move has left me profoundly attached to my family, profoundly unattached to my belongings, and distinctly more peaceful. :D

Annabelle's Happy Feet

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnJYhmALvbw

Annabelle, like Cheryl and myself, loves to dance. Often when we pass by the computer, she'll ask for music, or pretend to turn the music on using her keyboard, then ask for help when the PC doesn't spring to life. Once the music is it, the festivities begin. Ska-like dancing, scarves, ring-around-the-rosie and more are soon to follow.

Sometimes, Belle takes a quick break and Cheryl and I get to cut a rug, serving up some fresh 6-count, or westcoast lindy... Man! I love my dancin' family!

Catch the Bus - Are You Up to the Challenge?

Here's what I wrote on the "contact us" section of the rgrta.com website today after a very frustrating morning. True story below. My backpack is intact and so is my arm (though a little sore from being jerked).
-------------
Funny story: My bus broke down, so I hoofed it to the next stop (corner of main and winton). Busses kept whizzing by my stop. I couldn't flag them down. :( I even went so far as standing in the middle of the road, but to no avail. (NOTE: the driver didn't even slow. The impact from the bus hitting my bag almost took me off my feet. If I had been any closer, hospitals and lawyers would have been involved :/)

So, I called the rgrta phone number to figure out where I could catch a bus that would stop. (888-288-377). The schedule option couldn't understand me (odd, I've never had trouble with an automated phone system before.) After 10 minutes looping through the phone system, I decided I'd have to bother an operator.

I called the number above again and hit 0 to get an operator. I was put on hold in the queue and waited. And waited... 20 minutes later, one of the busses actually stopped! I boarded and spoke with the driver. Turns out the other busses were headed for the garage (1100 E Main was displayed)! I figured busses that wouldn't stop would be labeled "Not in Service". Haha!

Is there a flowchart for how to navigate your phone system? It would be great if I could get schedules using the phone's keypad instead of voice because the system just doesn't understand me.

I don't think there are operators though... I've tried dialing several other times today and after 30 mins in the queue each time, I've never reached an operator.

Cash Money Money

I had a crazy day today. It started well! I was productive, had a great lunch with some developer buddies, and was enjoying the sun...

Out of my window I saw a car accident. It's kind of unreal when it happens right there in front of you. A car tried to pull a u-turn on main street across three lanes and ended up meeting head on with a pickup truck. They had to pry them apart...

That wasn't the crazy part though.

An hour later, around 2:30pm, I saw two guys stash something in a nook by my building. It's a really difficult to see nook, unless you happen to be on my floor, in my building. I called the cops and they sent someone down to check it out. The officer arrived just as someone else arrived... the other guy smacked the railing and kept walking. I didn't assume anything. The officer asked me what it was, and I didn't have a clue... I just pointed him to where it was. The officer carefully kicked the leaves off to reveal a bag. The officer then opened the bag and muttered, "whoa". "Whoa what?" I asked. He replied that it was a bag full of money. A LOT of money. There were only a handful of people that walked by while the cop and I were there. He was photographing the area and waiting back to hear from dispatch if the money was related to any downtown robberies. Eventually, I went back to my office and the officer went back to his car.

No sooner had the cops left, then the people who stashed it, and the people who had come to pick it up, came back to the site. Seriously?! Who the heck comes back to the scene after something like that? The bad news? They had each walked by individually while the officer and I were talking. They've been walking up and down my street since... I called the cops again, but they are always gone by the time the officer is there. Carazy day man... I'm not waiting at the corner bus stop (they keep walking by) or taking my bus home today.

Magnetism

The left side of my body has recently become highly magnetized. Maybe it's the fact that I consume plenty of iron and work in front of a computer, maybe it's the fact that I sleep north-south, or maybe, it's because I love my ladies and they adore me. :)

Annabelle is on a solid, mixed diet of food and milk. This morning at around 6:30am, she had exhausted the milk supply. Cheryl, spectacular keeper of the watch that she is, struggled out of bed to fetch some more rice milk from the fridge. No sooner had she left the bed than I felt *bumbadum jiggle jiggle oomph*. The baby slid all the way from the other side of the bed, firmly attaching herself to my left side... still asleep. :D We slept for another 20 minutes then got up for breakfast, books, and the wonderfully creative world of our two year old. :)

Night before last, I went to bed before the ladies. This happens fairly frequently because Cheryl is usually on a project or enjoying the downtime by the time I resign, so she stays up 20-30 longer. She had been working on a sewing project, so she made it to bed well after I was asleep. When I woke up in the morning, she was fast asleep in the crook of my arm, (the same area that Annabelle frequents). (Side note: between the period and this side note, Annabelle called me over for a brief tower building session on "Daddy lap! Daddy lap. :)".)

I love that my ladies like to cuddle whenever I'm around. :) I'm one happy dude. :D

Windows 7 - Virtual XP Mode

Here's a screenshot of my work PC's desktop from my home computer. I'm viewing my work PC via remote desktop over a VPN using Cisco's VPN client (v 4.7, yes, that's right, a program that definitely will not run under Windows Vista) running in Windows 7 VXP. http://screencast.com/t/5WzOVFZabv8

Unfortunately, since the vpn client requires direct access to the network card, I can't use seemless mode.

Read more about Windows 7's VXP (Virtual XP Mode) here: http://techpp.com/2009/10/20/download-windows-7-xp-mode-usage-guide/

A Few Moments from September

Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/TheJohnsonsSeptember2009