Vaction

I've been on vacation for a little over a week now.  I haven't really done anything.  I took the time to do some serious thinking about my career, my life, and all of the other things that matter; but I wound up doing only serious drinking.  I thought that it would inspire me to write about something, but it hasn't.  I don't have anything of substance to say.

Black Sunday

The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday in the retail world, and is fast approaching.  Black friday has always been one of the ways for retailers to predict their fourth quarter earnings.  Soon enough we will know how worried we need to be for these tough times in terms of earnings.  This fourth quarter (October-January) will be crucial for every retailer.  We are all putting everything we have into these next few months.

Do me one small favor. 

Please be nice when you come into the store, we are working almost too hard for you.

News to me.

My head is spinning with buzz-words.  Things that will get a rise out of people.

If you flip the channel to any local or national news channel you will hear things like, "recession," "deficit," "debt," "attack," and "containment."  Why do you suppose that is?  They want to make us nervous.  If we're scared for our lives, we won't leave our homes, we won't spend money on anything but what they want us to.  How can you say no to something on the "news."  It's supposed to be a valid representation of what is going on in people's lives,  it's supposed to warn me of danger and inform me of opportunities.  It's far too exaggerated though.

Life is much more boring (for the most part) than they would like you to believe.  I'm sure that they're not doing this on purpose, they're only running a business.  But at what cost?

I'll stop now; because this argument has been going on for far too long.  I'll cut my losses here.  Although, I think I'm already running the risk of sounding ignorant.

Californication

I've recently become very fond of a t.v. show called "Californication."  It stars David Duchovny, as a writer, with swagger.  The plot isn't that great, but the depth of the characters is amazing.  You love them, you hate them, you are them.  That's good writing.

Paddington Bear

Today marks the appearance of Paddington Bear in children's literature.  I don't remember much about Paddington bear, only that he was a fixture in my childhood.  Not because I though he was the greatest thing in the world.  Not because he kindled my interest in literature at an early age, and not because I thought he was cute.  All of those things, if I claimed them to be true, would be lies. 

Not only can I not remember why I had a Paddington bear doll, or why I had the Paddington bear books, but I don't even think that my mother remembers that she forced them on me.

I remember a few years ago, I was visiting home, and there was a commercial for Paddington bear something or other, and my mother thought it was the greatest thing in the world.  She says, "remember how you used to love Paddington bear?"

Surely you're mistaken, it was your that loved Paddington bear enough to make it a fixture of my early development though I gave you no cue that I would appreciate, or benefit from it.

What we've established from this walk down memory lane is that you have no idea who I was as a child.  I'm sure that you did your best to raise me, and if you ask me, I think you did a bang up job.

In the name of god though, don't give any credit to fucking Paddington Bear.

The only good that came from Paddington Bear, as far as I am concerned, is that I was able to contrive this blog post. 

I can't say anything bad about Paddington Bear, nor can I say anything good about the poorly illustrated bear.

Thank you.

Blogging

Successful blogging, in most circles, would be considered as making money from your blog. Not with me though; I consider successful blogging to be when I get my words on the net in a solid place for myself and others to reflect on. I really just want to hone my writing skills; and what better way to do that than to write a little bit every day.

One day, I hope you become some sort of writer; it's my romantic career. As a manager, I'm held accountable for so many things that my head spins sometimes, and I can't even wrap my head around how I'm going to get all of my tasks done each day. It's a huge investment of time, and I only benefit for the hours that I'm actually working. With writing, you benefit from your work whether you are actively writing or not. You put forth a little effort and use your skills as a writer, and you constantly see a return.

Ah what dreams may come.

Net Neutrality

This is something that I feel very strongly about. I'm not certain about the validity, because it's something that I've just started researching, but if you Google "net neutrality" you can find tons of interesting articles and websites; it seems like the trick is to sort though the ones that are funded by phone and communications companies and the ones that are plausible sources of information.

Don't let them take away our internet! I'll lose my blog, you'll lose your blog, and from there the whole world will fall apart. Insanity! I can hardly stand waiting for certain sites to load on my DSL connection, if we don't preserve our right to the internet, then we'll have to pay extra for torrents, .mp3s, youtube, myspace, and all of our other daily routines.

Major Geek

I tend to be a bit geeky when it comes to some things in life, and I'd wager that more than a few of you are a bit geeky when it comes to electronics.

If there was one website that I could say will geniuinely help you to improve your computer's performance, or the end user experience of using a computer, it would be MajorGeeks.com. It has been tremendous in my development as a high performance mobile computing junkie. It's got tons of usefull freeware and shareware, none of it is buggy, it's all good stuff. Very reliable.

Bermuda Shorts

All plaid baby!

BERMUDA SHORTS are hot! They are the it item for the spring, for men or women. Everyone has got to have them in a variety of colors! If you don't have them on right now, you had better get them out of your closet or go buy a few pairs in some bright colors, because, you, my friend, are missing out.

You can get them everywhere. I like the pair that express carries, but Steve and Barry's and Target have got some that are a little more cheaply made, but they look just as great. With a fad like this, you really don't need them to last for all that long, you can pretty much buy the cheapest pair that you can find, and toss them out at the end of the season.

Time and Place

Another thing to keep in mind is that there is a time and place for everything. Some people don't like to wear t-shirts and sweatpants, and I can understand where they're coming from. I don't prescribe to that train of thought though. It depends on how you feel. I don't always need to wear a suit and tie or super skinny jeans, sometimes I just want to dress it down.

Just keep in mind.

Don't dress down for work unless you are encouraged to do so. Nobody wants to give their money to somebody that looks sloppy.

Don't dress down for weddings or any other event that asks you to RSVP.

Errands yes, movies yes, recreation usually.

Never ever wear anything made of velour though. Even if it's made by Juicy Couture, it looks cheap.

Sex and the City

I saw the "Sex and the City" movie this past weekend, and despite being a predictable, mildly droll movie, I took a few things from it.

What I saw was very bright colors, all in a natural scheme. Floral prints, embroidery, and rosettes are all over the place. You'll see this apparent in some of the styles in the department stores. I know that many retailers have adjusted what they will be carrying for the remainder of the spring based on what was worn in the movie.

Be on the look out for big jewelry! Marc Jacobs has Daisy, which is a big ring with his perfume balm inside of it, and it's only $30. Big hoops, and dangly peacock feather earings are going to be big for the night life this spring.

What you really want to watch for in the movie are the accessories. The ones that I just mentioned, and others. The reason for this is that anyone can afford most, if not all of the accessories used in the movie. Accessability makes things big; you don't need to go to Neiman and buy a one-of-a-kind diamond pendant to dress up an outfit. You can find something to complete an outfit at nearly any local department stores. You do need to be a little exclusive though. I don't shop at Kohl's. Target is a great place for accessories though. Again, it's not the price, it's the look that matters.

Well, the movie wasn't terrible. It was pretty informative, I think I was just irritated because it attempts to use cheap tricks to take you on "an emotional roller coaster." Anyway, not my cup of tea, my time could be better spent elsewhere.

I'm going to see "Don't Mess with Zohan" tonight. My expectations are high.

OTPFree

On the post is a blog that I intend to develop into a music information/opinion website. I want us to function as a community to help each other find and maybe create good new music. I'll start off with a brief music history that I feel should be relevant to everyone.