I'm back in. Heading back into the city that is. It looks like things weren't working out with The Devil and so I received a panicked call today from the director after she emailed me only a few hours earlier.

I was at Woodbury Commons with emma. Bliss.

The Soldier's Tale (L'Histoire du Soldat) it is. The simple summary is this: When a war weary soldier hands his violin to a stranger in exchange for a book, has he sold his soul to the devil?

Things really are falling into place again. After the brief turn of unfortunate events, though it felt horribly long during the time, I'm happy to feel freed of stress again. Day to day stuff is just day to day stuff. It comes and it goes. Hmm, that puts Great White into my head... "My heart's a hunter. And love is a foolish game." Dunahnahnahnahnah. Right. I think I'm still mentally out of it from last night. Damn you time change! Damn you! I woke up at "8:15" because of you! Friggin 7:15 AM on a Sunday )grumblegrumblegrumble( Like I said, day to day stuff is nah-thin! Pah-shaw. 0= )

Ahh. Woodbury Commons and Docle & Gabbana had a dress, gasp, only one in stock, gasp, facing the front door, gasp... on sale for $6,000+ It's called OUTLET for a reason boys and girls. After seeing some dresses in the city at $8,000 it made even less sense. Sigh. Emma and I fail to see the logic. Sure it was pretty and fit emma wonderfully... But really. $6,000. This not this seasons clothing line.

Sugarloaf is a beautiful place for trinkets and other hand-made gifts. This we now know. And it's only about 20 minutes from the outlets. Score one to the winning team of early risers.

Damn you day light savings!

T'was a good day. A day for a first for me. I don't think it'll be my last but it is a nice Burberry first. It was, who am I kidding, is, such a great buy! Santa is making cookies tonight. T'hehehe.

Whelp. I've been asked to be The Devil. I've been given another script to read for a possible future performance - another in the city, and I have an audition on Saturday for Bulba at SLC. A new tempurpedic bed is a part of 11o1. The car is no longer freely accessible - Thanks goes out to Alex and his auto body repair crew in Prospect, CT. Things are falling into place they are they are. I think, now that it's technically 23:49, aka 00:49, I'm going to let my grey juices set themselves into a hi-REM state. Wind em up. Annnnnnd they're off!
- posted by garyploski @ 10/30/2005 11:49:00 PM 0 comments

I managed to make it through the day with my 4 hours of sleep and had a yippy yah time doing it. The new tempurpedic bed has been delivered. Out with the old and in with the new. Thank you Tempurpedic you were my only hope. Seriously impressive customer service. I called said "There are beads under the mesh" We'll get a replacement out to you asap. Voila. Tis here.

The thought of a replacement new bed... Everything is new again. While I cherish all my old memories on the old mattress, the timing seems to be pretty much spot on to start something anew here at 11o1. = ) And now, my body and mind call out: SPOON!
- posted by garyploski @ 10/29/2005 10:58:00 PM 0 comments

I'm on fire! Bum-diggy-dum-bum yea! This is the first night morning in ages eons that I've stayed up late and accomplished techy fun. Gallery2, despite it's brilliance and simplicity, takes a little getting used to and WOW is it organized. I spent at least 2 hours just organizing and then reorganizing and then reorganizing again all the pix and info because there is THAT MUCH AVAILABLE in the admin section! YEEEEHA ladies and gents.

I bow to you all. Well done with a capital alphabet.

Mambo appears to be running better on Dreamhost - a pleasant surprise. Due to this unexpected events I updated 4 MegaVotes and learned that a few things are shakin' in the house. Best watch what you eat now peeps because you're not going to have that lawsuit option available to you now. Uh oh. = O You need to eat better.

Gosh Wally, I don't know how to cook though. Geesh Beav, leave me alone already. But Wally. Aww Shucks.

That's right kiddies it's time to do your part. Walk to work, ride a bike, or just don't eat that last bite. Oh yea, there's even more happening in the wings. A vote on frivolous lawsuits is slated to make an appearance. Here are the details:

Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2005 - H.R.420
The House is scheduled to take up this bill this week that would allow judges to sanction attorneys for filing frivolous lawsuits.

Things are shaking. Here comes the rumble.

Ahhh. It's 5:12 and I'm wide awake. This I see as a problem, but I don't care. = ) WHOOHOOO! I'm on top of things finally! Later today, not tomorrow!, later today emma and I will go through some more pix and throw em up onto me .com. Here we go Broncos here we go!

Hey Alice, are you okay? We left a few VMs and haven't heard back from you. We've got fingers crossed. Hopefully enough for you to be safe. Wow, brain isn't working. Thoughts are flying in with the wind. It's time for some noodle cakes. Z Land Here I Come!

Ha, no pix to accompany any of my thoughts. It's definitely late. THUMP
- posted by garyploski @ 10/29/2005 05:16:00 AM 0 comments

Domo arigato emma-san. Itsumo arigato.
- posted by garyploski @ 10/26/2005 11:39:00 AM 0 comments

Three years later. I'm still at SLC and the changes keep on rolling in. Three years. Hot diggity!

I don't visit CT as much as I used to. I'm pretty darn sure it has something to do with a lil'ol place called 11o1 and a certain lovely lady that lives with me. Fortune has smiled upon me.

I do miss the day to day banter and conversation of a select few in CT. Happily that status quo has been shaken up a bit recently. Hail 22! Long live the unity that binds us all. ;-)

Of course, it took a little bit of boat load of pain to get here but I made it. I actually made it. )big breath and long release( Wow.

I don't know what lies around the next corner but I'm sure I'll be able to face it. Courtesy of that good ol fashion saying - what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I'm not the Hulk at all but I know I am set and ready to face the future. Whatever it may be. Click, click, boom.
- posted by garyploski @ 10/21/2005 08:49:00 PM 0 comments

After a missed opportunity at SLC I've changed my way thinking. Previously I had concluded, naively or incorrectly, I'm not sure which, that information would flow more effectively in the grad program. As many things turn out, simply put, I was wrong.

As my favorite saying goes "Life is 99.9% what you make of it, so if your life sucks, you suck." I was letting things happen. Now, ha ha ha, that's not going to cut it. Niet! Now, I'm asking what is available, looking for opportunities and forcing my way stepping up. I've felt as though I shouldn't be too vocal in some situations, classes, etc. hoping that I'd hear something new but this has only made me bored or enh. Yes, enh. Sucks a blah to feel enh. = )

Tonight the curtain opens on Vorkuta. A piece described in SLC's daily email as:

a new play by student Blake Starbuck Rogers, directed by noted guest director Pamela Berlin. Death, sex, abandonment, violence, escapism, and insanity trouble the weary citizens of the arctic Soviet city Vorkuta. Thoughts turn into actions when national history entices and destroys the wills of two women in this communist metadrama. Following the reading, please stay for a brief discussion with the playwright, moderated by Stuart Spencer.

Soon enough I'll be auditioning for another reading, this one, happy happy joy joy!, is written for 9 men. NINE! At SLC. That's a bit on the risky side. My take... Hell, I've for the Y chromosome. Let's do it! Grrrrrrrrrrreat! While being sad, I was happy to have conquered a tingling fear this past weekend. A fellow grad called me and asked if I was interested in a performing in an Opera... with no singing involved. Curiosity peeked. I said "yea! where?" The Manhattan School of Music.

Long story short I was not cast as the Devil. Sigh. The Devil wins, wins, and wins in this piece. Drat. Right, short version - I wasn't cast when the Musical Director chose his cousin because he could sing. The Director said she had to go with his choice. I was confused but didn't care. Chalk up my first experience with a show in the city and my first rejection! SUH-WEET! It felt good to be rejected.

There's always more but there's rarely enough time. Curtain is in 1 hour and call is in 15. Yimminy. Scamper time. Meep Meep!
- posted by garyploski @ 10/19/2005 06:30:00 PM 0 comments

Sometimes things happen and we assign a reason to the event. Other times one event seems to mimic another. Take Steph's delayed call after I left her a VM for her otanjobi. Jackie called me out of the blue because, I love when people say this, "I remembered your number because it's so easy..." and 'so I thought I'd call.'

And call she did. One hour later she's going off to finish a 3 page paper and I'm, well, 1 page further into Lysistrata than I was. Alas. T'was good to

More parallels?! DUN. DUN. DUN! No. Just a cool coincidence. I now know they're both about the same distance from 11o1. Steph is south and Jackie is north. )insert spooky music here( T'was good to hear from her t'was. Now, with that, I'm going to try to get through at least 2 pages of Lysistrata. Thunder-Thunder-Thundercats HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
- posted by garyploski @ 10/13/2005 12:32:00 AM 0 comments

YES! Even more has happened. Much, much, much more in fact. "The Door" Actually stopped by for a visit. Albeit brief, which reminds me I need to revisit their 'hello' this weekend. Stephanie C is back in the area after a stint in Boston, MA. WHOOHOO! AND... Mari has landed herself on a soap. She'll be on the air 11/11/05 at 11am-ish. Rock on Mari. Congrats and junk!

More, more, more. Time I don't have, but more, more, more.
- posted by garyploski @ 10/07/2005 09:31:00 PM 0 comments

About 1.5 weeks after I was called to pick up my PowerBook I made my way to The Westchester. Armed with business card and a horrible experience at hand I planned to speak with a manager. What a waste of time it turned out to be.

I advised him of the 3 hour wait. I advised him of the fact that this was after my appointment time. I advised him of the 1 week and 1 day shipment of my PowerBook. His responses? Paraphrased... Wow that's strange. 1 week and 1 day. Huh. That is strange. And... I stand by the 15 minute policy for the Genius Bar.(NOTE: Reservations for any equipment are scheduled in 15 minute increments.) And, AND, when I said I worked at SLC and had a large staff working for me and that I worked in the Office of Academic Computing he barely blinked. When I said I've been telling people about my experience he had the gaul to say "I hope you've had good experiences as well." W!T!F!

I don't think he heard a word I said. So, like I wrote earlier - A waste of time.

So, I figured what the hell. Why not. >Click< I purchased a Logic Board for my PowerBook. A feeling of depression meandered its way through me. $500 was now flying, first class, to Reno, NV ebay style. It's cheaper than a new laptop I thought. Just the same. The idea of spending $500 for a part stung. Within a few days it arrived. It was Friday. Plans had been made for the weekend so the installation would have to wait until Sunday. No worries. Ahh. The part is here. Sweet... Or so I thought.

Sunday evening I began the process noted on pbfixit.com to install the new logic board and bottom case shielding I had purchased. So what if my warranty would be 86'd. I wasn't getting any help from support anyway. Pff... Next!

Step one, step two, step three. Heck this is going to be easy and fun. Hmm, that was strange I thought. When I "remove(d) the long black Phillips screw next to the memory card" it turned as though it had never been removed before. Strange. Ah well, no big deal. Unless. Nah. No big deal. Step 4, step 5... Um, Okay. There's a problem now. This doesn't look right.

Let the 1 hour plus phone call begin!

Three technicians later I learned the following:
1 - My PowerBook had never been opened by a technician.
2 - The technician had determined that my logicboard was bad because there were some dents in the casing. Apple will replace this part for a small fee of $950+tax. That's all.
3 - This is normal! I spoke with an Authorize Apple repair technician recently and he said this happens often. Thanks for the heads up Mr. MD.
4 - I have no recourse because a technician has already determined that my logic board is bad. Yes! Even though he didn't actually TEST it!
5 - There is no way in hell I'm promoting Apple hardware to friends, family, classmates, employees, faculty, fellow staff members, etc! Eff no.

Apple is fast becoming what I never thought... A money based company. Their legions of fans zealots loyal customers have been raped taken advantage of financially by Jobs and crew for years and years now due to their proprietary hardware designs. Now, with a 50% profit margin on the Nano and other devices, it's possible to see where the company is going. The want money. A whole lotta spending money. And they don't appear to care about support. Sorry ladies and gents but it's the truth.

Of course if you're iPod has a problem they'll swap it out for you since they're making buckets of money on each sale. Anything else... Ha. Expect a fight or worse, expect apathy.

I hold fast to one thing Apple related - OS X. It's wonderful. I am bubbling with anticipation with the hopes that OS X will port over to the rest of the PC market. It may take a few hacks tweaks but it will definitely be worth the time spent.

By next year this pretty little thing to the right will be improved hand over hand over hand over fist! Perpendicular HDD. Longer battery life. DVD-RW? Oh yes. The "Let's Note" line from Panasonic is pretty much the Uber in ultra lites.

Here's a brief from dynamism.com: The Panasonic R4 is a sleek 2.2lb (999g) ultra-portable with a 9 hour battery life. Its Pentium-M 1.2ghz Dolan processor, 100gb HDD, and 1gb RAM (max) provide plenty of power. The 10.4" XGA TFT and 17mm keypitch keyboard are rare when compared to other ~2.2 pound notebooks; the battery life is simply unchallenged. The Panasonic R4 is the successor to the popular Panasonic R3.

Phew. End of line.
- posted by garyploski @ 10/07/2005 08:20:00 PM 0 comments

I don't have the time to post the full details... But wait till you get a load of this Apple update. I whole hearted believe it'll be the last in this series.

Here's a preview.

John - Your engine is dead.
Jane - Huh?
John - The hood is dented so I've determined that the engine is dead.
Jane - That doesn't make any sense.
John - Whelp. That's the dilly-o.
Jane - I'm a bit speechless. That doesn't make any sense.

WHOOHOO! Come back soon for the whole story.
- posted by garyploski @ 10/07/2005 06:18:00 PM 0 comments