Last Call

So, happy belated Memorial Day, although it ended nearly three hours ago. I figured an exceptional day deserved at least a quick post.

Curtains rise on me getting up rather early, at least for me. I slept until about ten-thirty and was showered and out the door by noon-ish. My first quest of the day was to head to Wegman's and pick up some supplies to make meals. You see, as of my birthday (this past Friday), I've been telling myself that I need to set aside time for cooking and controlling my intake. I don't particularly need a diet, but avoiding things like cholesterol and fat can't hurt, and I want to try something a bit more vegetarian. It might be a bit more pricey, but it's worth it for my health.

I managed to find a nice collection of low fat and organic foods, including what became my lunch, a lovely primavera pasta with tofu cubes flavored a bit like steak. I'm honestly not all that familiar with tofu, and the texture was strange at first, but it was easy to make and wonderful.

While I was enjoying said lunch, I was invited to a Memorial Day barbecue by Nicole. Apparently a friend of hers that normally resides in Brooklyn, NY moved down to Philadelphia for the summer, and was throwing a little party for some of his friends and acquaintances. Nicole and I got there first, and after I met Matt and Becky, some others started arriving and they prepared the food. I showed off my Midwestern corn-huskin' skills and it was an overall enjoyable evening. Many of the attendees worked on something akin to "Computer Science freelancers," where they would hop from project to project doing work. Day faded to night, and we ended up staying until a little after ten. Tremendous thanks to Nicole for inviting me and Matt and Becky for having us!

The rest of the evening was both a nice cooldown from the party mindset and an incredibly engaging few hours of conversation, and a nice glimpse of what I don't know. I love knowing what it is I don't know, considering it's like opening a door into a room you've never seen before. Next comes the scrutinizing every inch of said room and gathering all the information it can provide. The best part? The room talks.

End of a Road

Ah, so the holiday buzz has finally worn down for me; I say finally because I just dropped Whitney off at the airport this morning after she spent the week with me. Hopefully she got home okay. Sadly I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I would have liked due to working all week, but hopefully she had an okay time (and more importantly, a relaxing time).

So I've got a bit on my plate in the next few days. Today I worked from just before noon until about six just to fill in hours, and tomorrow I'll be pulling the "normal people shift" from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon. After that, I anticipate hanging out with Nicole and spending Sunday driving somewhere random and interesting - preferably photograph-worthy. I won't be coming into work until about four in the afternoon on Monday, so I could be in for a late night.

At some point I've also got to coax Claire to meet me at a restaurant so that I can give her the (especially teensy) Minnesota-themed gift I got for her. Nicole seemed to like hers, so that's a plus!

Tonight I just get to hang out and be alone for a bit, which is pretty cool. It seems like I have a grass is always greener mentality; too long alone and I get lonely and seek out other people to be with, and too long without having the apartment to myself makes me long for a day of privacy. So, I suppose today is that day. My plan for the evening is to grab a sandwich and eat some ice cream before heading to bed fairly early tonight. I got about four hours sleep last night, so I could use a good night's sleep and a half before I pull my eight hour tomorrow. I'll live. And I've got something to look forward to!

War on the Winter Solstice

So apparently at the Washington State Capitol building there's a nativity scene, and not far away is a sign posted wishing onlookers a "Happy Winter Solstice". Now, the state has allowed displays of the aforementioned nativity scene, a "holiday" tree, and a menorah. So what's the big deal?

Well apparently people have been protesting the capitol to have the sign taken down, declaring that it discourages faith and embarrasses the state of Washington. The people who put the sign up belong to a local group of atheists who feel that religion is among the ranks of "superstition and myth," though nothing about the sign itself is particularly anti-Christmas. It's simply another viewpoint to add the pile.

Now what I don't understand is the fact that it's okay to display Christian and Jewish paraphernalia but anything else is offensive and against the spirit of the holidays. And, of course, when it comes to the "War on Christmas," our good friend Bill O'Reilly isn't far behind. He considers this as another piece of "evidence" that anti-Christmas sentiment is growing in the ranks of the "secular progressives." You mean someone who considers themself secular doesn't like displays of religion on public property? Well I never!

The governor has defended the right of the group to display the sign, not wishing to be exclusionary, and I completely agree with him. Allow everything, or allow nothing, otherwise you're playing favorites and agreeing with the "tyranny of the majority." By far the best part of the article was this:

The atheist sign was briefly stolen Friday but was returned to the Capitol after somebody dropped it off at a Seattle radio station.

It was restored to its display site, along with the added message, "Thou shalt not steal."

When will people in real life realize what the meaning of the word "troll" is?

Pope Guilty posted:
christianity is the largest religion in the world

atheists should target smaller, weaker religions to build XP and level up first

Best Buy Blowout

I may have finally found it. After months of searching and waiting, I'm closer and closer to pouncing. What seems like eons of saving up has led to this point.

I think I may be buying my heralded television on Friday.

Yes, the wonderful Black Friday has once again duped me into getting excited about getting stuff for super cheap. The piece of machinery, nay artistry, is a 46" 1080p Samsung LCD model with three HDMI inputs. Half a foot smaller than I was thinking initially, but the price tag makes it the most tempting; on Friday, it'll be available for $1099.

I've been to Black Friday sales before, and haven't had a whole lot of success due to my very small commitment to it. The cold Minnesota winters don't do much for my ability to keep my eyes on the prize. Out here, though, I may have more success. I actually hope it's abnormally cold, because that may eliminate some of the competition. I may end up going out at one or two in the morning just to ensure that I'm able to get what I want.

I made up a big finance sheet today to ensure that I had enough money. I definitely do, but I did a lot of math with the numbers I came up with. Apparently when you take into account car payments, insurance of all sorts, food, rent, random purchases, cable, electric and heat, and everything else, it costs me about $85 per day to live. Awesome. That seems like a lot. Also, I spend an average of just under $3 a day on gasoline.