Well, There It Is.

A girl used to tell me that I pronounce the words pecan, syrup, and almond “wrong” because I say them in a manner different than she. (She wasn’t just being cute — she really believed she was right and I was wrong, while I maintained that we were both correct.) Other terms we disagreed on were “standing on line” vs. “standing in line” and a supermarket “cart” vs. “wagon,” of which the latter I actually discussed with others at Wegmans the other night. Apparently, there are people in the world who don’t think I speak some crazy language as I was led to believe.

In support of my realization, someone at Harvard (or Havahd) has put a survey online to determine where certain pronunciations and definitions of certain words are common. The results are online as well, but due to the site’s popularity, it seems to be a little slow.

Someone spent a large amount of time building a rendering of M. C. Escher‘s Ascending and Descending, one of his most popular works.

If there are any more Lego masters so inclined, I’d love to see a model of Relativity.

You are likely to have always been artistic in one way or another, dear Pisces, but today you might realize that your creativity is more extensive and insightful than you previously thought. Perhaps the work of a great poet, musician, painter, or dramatist might awaken new ideas and inspiration. Make some notes; keep a record of the works you saw or heard so that you can go back to them again later. Also write down any dreams you may have.

I used to write down my dreams; at one point in high school I would remember at least three dreams every night and write them down in a journal. A few years ago, I started a “team” online journal so we could all post our nocturnal imaginings. Eventually it just died away.

In college, whenever I appeared in my girlfriend’s dreams, it was always as an evil character. No matter what I did in real life, her subconscious wanted to see me as someone trying to be hurtful.

I guess it’s easy to just give in.

Ben‘s new album was released today. I may just have to stop off and pick it up for instant gratification.

An unexpected opportunity presented by a woman might cause an alteration in your present career plans, dear Pisces. This is likely to change your life as well as your career, so be sure you explore every avenue and learn as much as you possibly can before committing yourself in any way. For one thing, relocation – or at least a lot of travel – may be necessary. Weigh all your options carefully and objectively. However, change is still strongly indicated.

I am now in possession of three new pairs of shoes and a haircut that makes me look dead sexy.

Announcing: Halloween party, our house, Friday, November 1. You are all invited.

Yesterday was an exercise in either poor communication or just coincidences. At work, coworker E. and I decided to get some lunch while waiting for some data to come in. We walked down the the cafeteria and found nothing appetizing, so we ventured further to the pizza shop in the building’s mall. I had a slice of chicken and broccoli pizza.

At this point, everything is just fine. But later on, our department is staying at the office late to work on a presentation, and our boss M. decides to order dinner for us (without taking suggestions first). He orders pizza. I had a slice of mushroom (do you know how they grow mushrooms?) and a slice of plain cheese pizza.

Beautiful. Wonderful. Yummy. I finally get out of there and catch the 10:00 train back home. I arrive, hop in the cab, only to receive a phone call from Denise saying she’s waiting at the station to pick me up.

That’s not really part of the story.

I arrive home, and M-D and Darren greet me with… you guessed it… pizza. So I had a slice of pepperoni stuffed crust pizza and called it quits. “Quits,” I said, “you are my last piece of pizza. Ever.”

Of course I lied about the “ever” part.

“If you wish for something it may happen, but not in the way you might expect. Every cloud has a silver lining, and every silver lining is a cloud. We’ve all been there. We’ve all said, ‘If I could just have that car, everything in my life would be great,’ and then you get the car and it’s in the shop half the time, and it doesn’t run right and the radio doesn’t work. We buy into an image, we buy into what we think we want and then when we get there, sometimes what we thought it was isn’t what it really is.”

-Bob Gale (writer of Back to the Future) talking about his new film Interstate 60.

So, what music do I like? What have I listened to lately? I can’t seem to think of any music I’ve really enjoyed in the past several months. Am I still a musician? I don’t even know.

I should have taken that job I was pretty much offered in May 1999. I had a great interview for an assistant band director position at a high school in south Jersey. He asked if I’d be available over the summer to start. Instead of saying YES, I mentioned something about a commitment I made to a drum and bugle corps to drive a van for a few months, which I would break IF I got the job. If I had just said YES… my life would have been so much different if I had been less stupid.

Well, you live, you learn, and here I am.

I saw the Signs and it opened up my eyes. I saw the Signs. No one’s gonna drag you up to get into the light where you belong.

It was a good movie. Not as good as The Sixth Sense or Unbreakable. It wasn’t as scary as other people have thought, but maybe I just don’t get scared by movies. I also didn’t find it as preachy as other people had warned. It was lots of fun, and I always like M. Night’s conclusions.

Cmdr. Riker finishes his encounter with a young woman, unsatisfied because he’s on duty and doesn’t want to get involved with her. He contacts the bridge through his communicator.

RIKER: Captain, if you need me, I’ll be on Holodeck 4.