Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Where, When, How and Why

Considering the lack of Mel Gibson apologies these days, and the number of anti-semitic freaks seeping out of the woodwork -- but staying right below the surface -- bashing Israel's offensive against Hezbollah, it's pretty tough focusing on work and the stuff around the house on which I need to focus.

However, having said all that, the excitement around these parts continues. About twenty days ago the front panel on my microwave stopped responding, so about ten days ago I replaced it with a white Panasonic monstrosity that takes up a shitload of counter space; it's got some sort of cooking sensor in it so it heats stuff perfectly and another sensor that keeps stuff warm perfectly. The problem is it's the size of a catamarand. The other problem is that I only use it to make baked potatoes, chinese food, roast chicken and popcorn; now there's a nice dinner combination. All I need is some Boisenberry Barf-Crunch Cereal and I can officially submit my newly-radiated creation to Fear Factor or The Food Network. Of course, the final problem is that I got fed up with replacing microwaves so I was determined to read shitloads of reviews to insure this one wouldn't die. What do I do? I wind up picking Panasonic, which some dude on Amazon.com claims will blow up in my kitchen sometime over the next year. As long as neither Kaia nor I are in the kitchen -- or anywhere near it -- when this thing blows up, I'd actually get off knowing I had an exploding microwave. That's what -- 1-in-100 odds? If anyone has a Panasonic that exploded, let me know -- or send me pictures. Video would be even better if you have it ;)

Meanwhile, the days are full but, thanks to an actually pleasant day in New York City, I spent a good deal of time outside the office without wishing I was wearing a towel spooning water onto lava rocks in a wood-lined room. On top of that, we had a floor-wide fuse blow out that wound up frying a PC in our office; but the server, the copier and the phone system were fine and bounced back like a rubber check, so I can't complain.

But wait...there's more.

I confirmed Kaia and I won't be making it out to Seattle for a friend's wedding. We'd been planning on heading out there and staying at the W for a four- or five-day vacation -- I've never been to Seattle, though Kaia has -- but I have a major meeting that's going to keep me in NYC that weekend. It's really aggravating, because I've missed two big weddings over the past few years, this one included. If I had good reasons, I would be okay with it; for example, if Eric Clapton invited me to sit in on the studio session for his next album entitled "Boogie & Me: Jam in NYC" -- well, then I could see missing a good friend's nuptials. Yeah, I'd send a blender :) But both misses were for shitty reasons, and that never feels good.

Although, if anyone happens to have Eric Clapton's number and he needs some late-night studio time anytime between tonight and the end of August, I'll see if I can dig my Strat outta storage ;)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The weather was absolutely fab earlier!!!

Ready for a Costco run? ;-)

Kaia said...

It explodes?? Explodes?? Great...

On that note - wow - reaaaaaaaaaally busy end of this month - i'll try to see you in Sept or Oct. MWAH.

Tamara said...

What sucks more than missing your friends wedding? Not seeing your honey I'm sure. I know that this long distance thing is hell on me and my situation is new. But it's major work at a distance.

though, they do say, anything worth keeping takes work.

:) Glad to see you're both happy and hunky dory (if not a little busy too)

Boogie said...

Lisa, one o' these days I def. need to revisit Costco; but as it stands, the microwave takes up so much damn space that I don't know where I'm going to put those 120-roll multi-packs of paper towels or the 16-pack of honey mustard ;) I still have Pellegrino left over from a year ago, but I could always use more Bruschetta mix and another four-gallon jug of caesar dressing ;)
_____

Kaia, it doesn't _actually_ explode. I'm sure the guy doing the review was just angry about his experience with a Panasonic microwave and decided to take a little creative license with their quality control and customer service. In actuality, his microwave didn't explode; he claims the door blew off. Hope that discrepancy reassures you just a little -- so is your schedule suddenly clearing up? ;)

_____

Tamara, it's sort of hard to put into words how much I miss spending time with Kaia. Anytime I see something on TV filmed in San Fran -- and unfortunately it seems like a lot is filmed there these days -- I get a sense of missing her and missing spending time with her in her city. As strange as it sounds, I've never felt as comfortable in any other city -- even London -- as I do in New York, but San Fran is quickly approaching that comfort level. I think, despite it being a great city, that it's more to do with who I'm visiting and less the city itself, however ;)

It does take work, but what I've learned from our experience -- whether it's typical or not -- is that the distance magnifies the relationship's essence. So if two people are on the same page on most everything, great; if not, then it takes time to meet in the middle and to move forward.

Anything good does take work, and anything this good is worth waiting for, period. Glad to hear that you guys are doing well also -- hopefully there won't be too many border crossings left and lots of moving boxes to unpack in a new cohabitational situation ;)

Boogie said...

Actually, anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.

Here are links to Wikipedia for the terms "Anti-Semitism" and "Zionism."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-semitism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism

Note the following quote from the definition of Zionism:

"Certain individuals and groups have seized on the term Zionism and misuse it to justify attacks on Israel. In some cases, the label "Zionist" is also used improperly as a euphemism for Jews in general by those wishing to whitewash anti-Semitism (as in the Polish anti-Zionist campaign)."

And frankly, use of the term "Zionism" pretty much lets people know from where you're coming. If you have an issue with how Israel defends itself from terrorist attacks and wish to label it Zionism, that's your privilege. However, the simple fact is Jews have been persecuted and/or blamed throughout history -- up to, and beyond, Mel Gibson's suggestion that they're responsible for all the world's wars. I'm glad he shared his valuable opinion during an alcohol-fueled rant in the back of a police cruiser after driving drunk.

Problem is, the term Zionism -- as used by most people -- isn't a term which describes the notion of a homeland for Jewish people; it's a derogatory label to suggest Israel has bloodthirsty ambitions to destroy its neighbors and take over the world. The problem with that theory is that they regularly defeat their neighbors -- when attacked -- and then, in the interest of peace, return land they won during the conflict. Further, Israel -- as far as I know -- is the only nation that fights faceless enemies who hide among women and children to inflate casualties for PR purposes, and yet, despite this, they announce where they will attack prior to doing so to allow civilians and non-combatants to vacate the area. Doesn't sound very bloodthirsty to me.

Basically, if you want to distinguish and toss around phraseology and semantics, just get a copy of this book and call it a day.

http://www.rotten.com/library/hoaxes/zion-protocols/

Keep in mind that book is complete bullshit; but it didn't stop Hutton Gibson and lots of others like him, whether sporting white hoods or swastikas or anonymous postings on the Internet, from learning and believing.

Kaia said...

Ohhhhh. The door just blew off. Gotcha. Yeah, i'm feeling MUCH better now...

BABY!!!