This morning everything was on time. I’m starting to feel antsy now that all modes of MTA transportation appear to be running perfectly. I don’t know, maybe everything will start to fall apart around Easter. I’m sure some of the regular drivers may be taking Easter Monday off....

CONCERN OF THE DAY
The tv weathermen are still talking about the snow storm of the century that’s predicted for our area later today. So far as I write this not a lick of snow has fallen. I don’t understand why the weathermen like to whip people into a frenzy about snow? I suppose this has something to do with February Sweeps. I guess this will all be over with when the tv ratings book ends on March 2.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
I have on a striped red, white, and blue sweater. It has flecks of shiny metallic silver in it. Underneath it I have on a long sleeve denim shirt along with stone washed jean and brown leather lace up shoes.

I watched the Academy Awards. I’m still miffed that Martystill has no best director award. What does the Academy have against him?

trixrabbit2, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

This is a picture of what I saw at the supermarket taken at a very safe distance.

This morning I went to Metro Supermarket which has recently changed it’s name to Shoppers Food Warehouse, previous to that they were called Basics. I don’t know why they keep changing their name. It seems kind of fishy...

As you may or may not recall SFW/Metro/Basics is located in the county so I have to take a bus to get there. I haven’t been there in several weeks. Instead I’ve been grocery shopping at my local Giant Supermarket. I don’t like going to Giant because to me everything is grossly overpriced and the check out aisles seem to be designed to induce claustrophobia.

So I decided to change my routine and hop on a bus heading into the county. As I’ve said before I hadn’t been there in weeks. Imagine my surprise when I headed in the door and saw a giant bunny in the produce section! I was frightened out of my mind. Then I relaxed as I realized that the bunny probably wasn't going to attack me. He was probably there for some sort of a Easter promotion. Just to be safe I did avoid direct eye contact with the bunny and his female handlers who were taking pictures of him with customers.

Then I walked out of the produce section towards the dry goods section. As I was walking towards the aisle I kept my eyes on the bunny. He seemed kind of shifty. You never know with bunnies they might just attack you out of the blue for a bowl of cereal or something... Then as I got nearer to the dry goods aisle I saw a giant red headed cartoon head bobbing up and down in a green costume. What the heck does a giant red headed man have to do with Easter???What the hell is going on in this store!

trixrabbit1, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

This is another picture taken at a very safe distance. As you can see the bunny is very friendly with it's handler...

To assure myself of sanity and to obtain proof of what I saw. I took out my camera from a safe distance and took pictures of the bunny. Unfortunetly, my batteries were running low so I couldn't tave any pictures of the big headed man. Then as I looked further down the store towards the baked goods aisle I saw a pudgy life size dough man wearing a chef’s hat. When I saw the giant dough man I felt better. It all began to make sense.

The rabbit wasn’t just an Easter Bunny it must be the Trix cereal rabbit! That poor rabbit has never eaten a bowl of his own cereal. He’s been shamelessly discriminated against for years. Constantly taunted by the children in the commercials that, “Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids!” I feel for that poor starving rabbit!

The big headed man must be the Lucky Charms Leprechaun for Lucky Charms cereal. The tag line to his commercials when he sings, “They’re magically delicious!” Frankly, I’ve always found the Lucky Charms Leprechaun a bit annoying. I find his over the top Irish accent a bit too much. However, I do like when he sings that Lucky Charms are Magically Delicious. I don’t know it just makes me smile... If only he’d just shut up and sing!

The dough man wearing the chef’s hat was of course
Poppin’ Fresh aka the Pillsbury Doughboy. I’ve adored Poppin’ Fresh all my life! I love how in tv commercials someone always tickles the little dough man’s belly and he lets out a giggle. He’s so cute and adorable. I’d know my beloved Pillsbury Doughboy anywhere! Ahhhh, Poppin’ Fresh!

I still can’t believe I was getting freaked out by seeing guys dressed up as American advertising icons. I still didn’t get close enough to them to see what the in store promotional campaign was about. All I could see was people either ignoring them or gawking and taking pictures with them.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a black Doctor Who sweatshirt. Under the sweatshirt I have on a white turtleneck pullover. I’m also wearing blue jeans and white Nike tennis shoes. Oh, my god I’m wearing shoes that have a recognizable brand name!! Stop the Presses!!

Today, everything was on time! The bus, the light rail, and the light rail shuttle bus. Instead of feeling worried, I think I’ll rejoice and say, Hallelujah!!

CONCERN OF THE DAY
I first began to notice flakes of snow falling to the ground around 5:33am. I saw the flakes as I was standing at the light rail station waiting for the train to come. I suppose I’ll have to wait and see if the flakes I saw were the beginning of the snowstorm of the century.

There is supposed to be a big snowstorm today. One thing that’s always irked me is that in the Baltimore-Washington area the weathermen tend to go overboard when snow is forecast. There’s constant scrawls on the bottom of the tv screen, frequent updates breaking into tv shows. They treat snow as if it’s Armageddon or the beginning of a new ice age. Get your bread, milk, and toilet paper! The end is nigh!

WHAT I’M WEARING:
In honor of a possible snowstorm today I have on my heavy duty warm sweater. It’s blue chenille and very long. Under it I have on a long sleeve denim shirt along with blue jeans. I’m wearing the brown lace up shoes because they are very heavy and sturdy. In case it snows I’ll feel more secure walking around with them on. They’re rock solid shoes. The blue suede shoes are not suitable for snow even though they are booties.

This morning all modes of public transportation that I take to work were running smoothly.

CONCERN OF THE DAY:
Will I be able to function at work today? I went to bed much, much, much, later than usual last night. I did this because last night I watched the One Day At A Time Reunion Special.

Ever since the light rail has been shut down at the North Avenue stop I’ve developed a unique sleep/wake cycle. I usually go to bed at 8pm. Then I wake up again at either 11pm or 12am. After I’ve woken up the second time I usually take a shower and go back to sleep for another 4 to 5 hours. I then find myself waking up to a new day at around 4:20am. I know it may be hard to believe but when I wake up I feel refreshed. I suppose that’s because overall when you break it down I get 8 hours of sleep a night. I know it not contiguous sleep but it’s 8 hours none the less.

Last night I got just 5 hours of sleep. Right now I’m feeling pretty tired. Today, at work I imagine I’ll be drinking a lot of Mountain Dew to keep me up. I have to be careful with caffeine because it gives me heart palpitations if I over do it.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on the dark multi-coloured v-neck sweater. Under the sweater I have on a turquoise long sleeve cotton shirt. I also have on blue jeans and brown leather lace up shoes.

oneday, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

Every single mode of transportation I take was on time this morning, even the light rail shuttle bus. To be honest with you guys I’m not used to the Baltimore MTA being this efficient.

ONE DAY AT A TIME REUNION
I’ll probably be watching this tonight on television. As I’ve probably written before it’s rare for me to watch anything on tv other than DVD’s.

The reason I’ll be watching this tonight is simple. I liked watching the show as a kid. This was one of the shows that my family would gather around to watch. Well, to be more precise, the female members of my family liked to gather around and watch it. For some reason the show was like kryptonite to my dad and brother.

>One Day at a Time ran from 1975 to 1984 on the CBS network. It was the first series on American television to be about a single divorced mother raising two teenage daughters on her own. The show starred >Bonnie Franklin who played single mother, Ann Romano. Her character after the divorce took on her maiden name of Romano and preferred to be called, Ms. Her two teenage daughters were Julie and Barbara Cooper.

The rebellious eldest daughter, Julie, was played by Mackenzie Phillips. Phillips previous acting role was in American Graffiti. Infamously, throughout the show’s run she was on and off the show due to various substance abuse problems. Also Phillips as everyone probably knows is the daughter of John Phillips, the founder of the 60’s pop group, The Mama’s and The Papa’s.

Barbara, the level headed younger daughter, was played by >Valerie Bertinelli. This was Ms. Bertinelli’s first ever acting job. It should be noted that Bertinelli has appeared nearly annually in made for TV movie’s since 1979. Bertinelli went on to marry a man who looked just like her, Van Halen guitar god, Eddie Van Halen.

My all time favorite character on the show was building superintendent, Dwayne Schneider played by veteran actor, Pat Harrington Jr.. To the best of my knowledge Harrington never had a substance abuse problem or married a rock star. He was a solid comedy actor.

The only disappointing thing I can think of as far as the reunion show is concerned is that Howard Hesseman who played Sam Royer will not be appearing on the show. Hesseman’s Royer character married Ann Romano late in the series run. Also Boyd Gaines who played his son Mark Royer will not be appearing. Gaines’ Royer character married Ann’s daughter, Barbara. I suppose Gaines is busy on Broadway appearing in something. Over the years he has won a number of Tony awards. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I saw on stage a million years ago when he had the title role in Center Stage’s production of Oscar Wilde’s, The Importance of Being Ernest.

Despite these two no shows I will still be watching the reunion special. I can’t wait to see all the old show clips and to see how everyone has aged over the years.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a blue, yellow, and white fair isle knit sweater. Under the sweater I have on a blue flannel long sleeve shirt. I’m also wearing blue jeans along with blue suede shoes.

thompson, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

From the way the weather guys were talking I was expecting snowy verion of armagedon when I woke up. All day yesterday there were non stop scrawls on the tv screen about the impending snowstorm. All there was on the ground when I woke up was water from the rain.

Hunter S. Thompson:

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone," he once said, "but they've always worked for me."

I was saddened to hear today that 67 year old writer,Hunter S. Thompson died this weekend. He died of a self inflicted gun shot wound to the head. It wasn’t a shock to his family. His suicide was planned well in advance. From all that I’ve read he gathered them together for one last weekend as a family. So they all knew that it would happen but not when. Apparently, he was suffering from immense pain from a broken leg and a hip replacement.

I can not begin to imagine the amount of physical pain he must have been going through to drive him to take his own life. This in a way makes me afraid to grow old. I feel that more should be done in the treatment of physical pain for the elderly. Afterall, hopefully, one day, we will all live to ripe old ages. Hopefully, by the time I get to be a senior citizen there would have been great advances in pain treatment.

In case you don’t know Hunter S. Thompson was the perpetual National Affairs Desk editor at Rolling Stone magazine. I’ve been a subscriber to Rolling Stone since the age of 11. When I was 11 I went through a phase when I didn’t like my first name. So the name on my subscription is my middle name. In all the years that I’ve received the magazine I’ve never bothered to change the name on my subscription. The only constants in my life besides my family has been receiving Rolling Stone each month.

I first became aware of Hunter S. Thompson through Rolling Stone. Although, he rarely wrote for the magazine on a regular basis, I enjoyed the articles he wrote about his adventures on the campaign trail.

Thompson will probably best be known for being the originator of Gonzo Journalism. However, to me he will best be known as the inspiration behind >Doonesbury cartoonist >Gary Trudeau’s infamous Uncle Duke character.

Even though I’m sad to hear he’s gone I think it’s cool that he wants his ashes shot out of a canon.

WHAT I HAVE ON:
Today, I have on a bright blue sweater that I haven’t had on in years. It’s so big that I’m not wearing the sweater! The sweater’s wearing me! Under the big sweater I have on pink long sleeve turtleneck like pullover. The pants I have on are blue jeans. The shoes on my feet are brown leather lace ups.

Yesterday, after I got back from the supermarket that was being invaded by life size advertising mascots I went out and saw the Saturday matinee production of Two Gentlemen of Verona at Center Stage.

When I got to the theatre I was surprised to find that the production was being held upstairs in the Head Theatre. The Head Theatre is pretty much general admission meaning there is no assigned seating. You can sit pretty much were you felt like sitting. I was surprised to find when I made it upstairs that for the the first time ever in the Head Theater, they now have reserved assigned seating. I was also surprised to find that I was again seated next to the tiny elderly woman with the jheri curl and the oxygen tank. This is the same woman that I sit next to downstairs in the Pearlstone Theatre.

I also noticed that the elderly black woman who usually sits in front of us was sitting in the front row. I could easily pick her out because she always wears a gold metallic baseball hat. Hmmm, I wonder how come she’s sitting in the front row and were not seated in the second row like we are downstairs but instead about 4 rows back. Also the lady with the oxygen tank and myself are not seated near the aisle like we usually are. If there’s anyone that need an aisle seat it’s the lady with the oxygen take. Hopefully, this new seating arraignment is not set in stone and changes can be made.

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
First off it wasn’t a play but a musical based on a work by William Shakespeare. The musical originally debuted in the early 70’s. So it has a hippie flower child vibe to it. The show was originally produced in the 1971 by the legendary Joseph Papp in conjunction with The New York Shakespeare Festival. The play was adapted by >John Guare and Mel Shapiro. Shapiro also served as director of the original production.

The libretto to the musical was also written by Guare. Guare would in subsequent years go on to write, The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, and the screenplay to Atlantic City. The composer of the play was Galt McDermott. McDermott is noted for being the composer of the Broadway musical Hair.

Overall, I really enjoyed seeing this production of the musical. It is very hard to describe the plot of the musical. So thought it would better if I just included a link to the script.

The production had a 60’s filtered through the 80's look. The women in the first act looked like 80’s Jem dolls come to life. While the men were costumed like escapees from a gay country and western bar. In the second act the background was an 80’s Keith Haring-like painting. The only character who didn't seem to fit in costume wise was Proteus. I don't understand why his this character was dressed head to toe in black like Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The show I saw had two African American female leads. However, according to the program guide another woman (white female) was supposed to be playing Julia. I’m not sure if this was a typo or something happened to the original Julia. The only thing I know for sure is that I could not figure out Proteus’ motivation. At first he’s so in love with Julia then he has to go to Milan and falls out of the blue in love with Silvia after his pal Valentine falls for her. I just don’t get it. If what I've just writen didn't make one iota of sense to you then I would advise that you quickly go over the script. It's not that long I swear. Scripts to musicals are widely known to be quick reads.

The stand out performers in the production were, Angela Robinson who played Silvia and Rodney Hicks who played Valentine. They both had lots of energy and could to put it bluntly, sing their asses off. After they got finished singing I almost felt like getting up out my seat and applauding and saying, while throwing my fist in the air, “You Go Girl!”, “You Go Boy!” I guess I should say right here that Hicks was in the original Broadway production of RENT. So he is already building somewhat of a track record.

Toni Trucks who played Julia in my opinion is the most perfect looking human I’ve ever seen on stage. The celebrity she most resembles is former ER cast member Michael Michele. For a while I thought I was seeing Michael Michele. Then I noticed that her Julia had a very southern accent and well to the best of my knowledge Michael Michele isn’t from the south. Despite her breathtaking beauty she doesn’t have a very strong singing voice. In comparison to Angela Robinson’s vocal range she sounds like Minnie Mouse. Then again I’m sure that Beyonce would sound like Minnie Mouse next to Robinson’s voice. The same could be said of Ivan Hernandez who played Proteus. The combined talents of Rodney Hicks and Angela Robinson just blows everyone out of the water.

Another standout performer in the production was Kingsley Leggs who played Silvia’s father, the Duke of Milan. He was simply stellar in this role. Also appearing in the production is longtime Center Stage comedic favorite Robert Dorfman in the role of Launce. He gave a broad comedic signature Dorfman performance. Another Center Stage returning actor was Andy Patterson. He was back on Calvert Street in the role of Speed. Speed was another character along with Proteus that I just didn’t get.

Overall, I would definitely recommend that you see this production and bask in the vocal talents of Angela Robinson and Rodney Hicks and to see the prettiest person to ever appear on Center Stage, Toni Trucks.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Right now I have on a lavender night gown with my big fuzzy purple slippers.

Today, I’m very excited because I found a message board about Asperger’s Syndrome that has a section on it for adults with the disorder. I never knew that such a site existed! The majority of the sites and message boards I find about Asperger’s Syndrome are primarily geared towards parents coping with autistic children. It was a nice change of pace to find something geared towards adults like me with the disorder. The official name of the board is The Asperger’s Community Board.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a brown crew neck sweater. Under the sweater I have in white turtleneck. The pants I have on are blue jeans. The shoes on my feet are brown leather lace ups.

Today, it’s cold outside. This morning there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. The dusting of snow was enough to delay the arrival of the light rail shuttle bus. I got in to work at 6:40 instead of 6:30. Alas....

NEW & SEMI-NEW CD’s
So far this year I bought a lot of cd’s on eBay. I thought it would be fun to post quick reviews of them.

The Postal Service Give Up cd. I really like this one a lot. I can listen to the whole thing from start to finish without fast forwarding through a song. My favorite tracks are: The District Sleeps Alone Tonight, Such Great Heights, and Natural Anthem.

This Is Cult Fiction. This is a compilation cd that consists of tv and movie theme music. I always feel cool when I listen to this cd. As you can probably tell, this is another cd that I like a lot. The only track I’m not into is the theme from Twin Peaks. My favorite tracks on the cd are the James Bond theme, Hawaii Five-O theme, Mission Impossible Theme, Theme from Shaft, Theme from Batman by the Marketts, and Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life. This cd really rocks!! I even have Theme to Miami Vice, The Hill Street Blues Theme and the Theme to Taxi. This cd makes me feel so cool yet grounded.

Totally Dance. This is a cd I bought solely because I wanted a copy of Darude’s Sandstorm. Since I really like late 90’s dance music I ended up enjoying the entire cd. Ok, not the entire cd. I can’t stand one song on the cd, Toni Braxton’s Maybe.

Now, That’s What I Call Music #1 I got this cd out of curiosity. It is the very first in the Now that’s What I Call Music series of cd’s. Ahh! Who am I kidding? I got the cd because I wanted to have a copy of Aqua’s Barbie Girl and Hanson’s Mmmm Bop. Yes, I occasionally listen to pop music. Besides, 1998, was a particularly good year for me.

The Libertines. I got this cd because I wanted to know what they sound like. There lead singer is like the UK’s version of Scott Weiland. In the since that he’s very talented yet constantly messed up on drugs. The cd is brilliant it has a punk edge to it. It was produced by Mick Jones. Jones was a former member of The Clash. Favorite Tracks are: The Man Who Would Be King, Last Post on the Bugle, What Became of The Likely Lads, and What Katie Did, and Campaign of Hate.

Handsome Boy Modeling School White People. I got this cd because I like the song that Jack Johnson does on it called Breakdown. Also I was interested in what Prince Paul was up to these days. Prince Paul formerly of De La Soul is one of the masterminds behind Handsome Boy Modeling School. Overall the cd is ok. It’s format reminds me of a De la Soul Record. The format is kind of like a fake commercial advertisement for a modeling school interlaced with songs. To me the concept seems dated. The songs are ok.

The Fiery Furnaces Blueberry Boat. I got this one because several months ago a lot of bloggers were listing this cd as being the one they were currently listening to. Since I’m constantly behind trends I thought right about now would be the time to give it a listen. All I can say after my experiences with it is that it’s definitely not the cd to take to work to get energized. It’s more a think piece than a “Let’s get down and party!”, piece. Yep, you guessed it, I like to listen to up tempo music when I’m at work.

On the Charts: IRS Records 1979-1994. I got this cd solely for nostalgia purposes. The cd happens to contain one of my all time favorite songs, Save It For Later by The English Beat. You want to make me instantly happy? Just play, Save It For Later. The cd also has another of my all time favorites, General Public’s, Tenderness. Yes, I know both songs have the same two guys singing lead. This of course makes me wonder what ever happened to Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger? They used to sound great together.

The Go-Go’s Greatest Hits. This is another cd I got for nostalgia. I used to really like The Go-Go’s. I still have a 45 vinyl picture disc of their single, We Got The Beat. The 20 year old disc has all five members of the group on it. Favorite Tracks on the Greatest Hits are, Our Lips Are Sealed, We Got The Beat, Head Over Heels, Vacation, and Turn to You.

Fat Boy Slim Palookaville So far this is my absolute favorite cd to listen to. The cd is just my style. It was an absolute joy to listen to from start to finish. Favorite Tracks would be the entire cd!! The one track I can’t get out of my head right now is Wonderful Night.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a wedgewood blue (ahem, stone washed denim blue colour) cowl neck sweater, blue jeans, and blue suede shoes.

Everything was running on time this morning. I even got to work at 6:25 instead of 6:30!

NEW WORK STORAGE SYSTEMS:
I was saddened to find that my cubicle had not changed when I got in to work this morning. You see we have these new storage systems for our cubicles to put our work in. The first two rows of people in our group have their’s installed. I thought for sure they would install mine since they did Jai Li’s after she left for the day. She leaves an hour before I do. So naturally I thought they’d go down the line and install everyone else’s after they left for the day. I even cleaned off my shelf and unhooked the fluorescent light to make the installation easier.

Cassandra got her’s installed this morning as soon as she saw Dave (our supervisor’s supervisor). Then of course Arvada’s had to be installed as well. I’ve noticed that Arvada tends to follow after whatever Cassandra does.

I didn’t ask Dave to put up the new storage unit for me because I didn’t feel right about asking him to do that. Besides he probably would have snapped and yelled at me or something... I know that this is probably unlikely because Dave is normally laid back and easy going. Then again you never can tell what can set a person off.

Who knows, maybe, I’m about to be fired and that’s why it was never installed, or maybe I’m hated more than I thought I was. I used to feel kind of invisible at work neither hated nor liked. Maybe it turns out I’m really the most hated person in the department and never knew it...

The only ones left whose units aren’t installed are me, Lisa, Arnold, and Tyra. The quiet people in the group. It makes me wonder if this was a purposeful slight of the quiet people?

Since they’re all kind of quiet, I have always wondered if any of them has Asperger’s Syndrome like I do. One thing I can say is that one of them I’m constantly on the fence about and another I feel probably most likely has it. Then again what do I know I’m not a doctor...

All I know for sure is that I want my new storage unit up!!! Me Like New Things! :)

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a gray and blue fair isle knit sweater. Under the sweater I have on a dark blue mock turtleneck pullover. The pants I’m sporting today are blue jeans. Rounding out my lack off a fashion statement are blue suede shoes.

The light rail shuttle bus was again 10 minutes late!!! I haven't been taking the shuttle bus in the morning as long as other folks have. For all I know the last few weeks of arriving at work at 6:30 could have been a fluke. Maybe this is the time that the bus actually is supposed to arrive.

You really can't tell from the MTA site because the time table for the shuttle buses are ambiguous. It just says something to the effect that they are supposed to arrive every 15 minutes during rush hour. I suppose the non-listing of scheduled arrival and departure times is their way of covering their asses. You can't really say the bus was late or early because no time was given, just the generic every 15 minutes during rush hour.

CONCERN OF THE DAY:
I’m still worried that I have trouble leaving out of work on time. No one has yelled at me about it....yet. Then again I’ve been doing it ever since I started working at the company back in 1999. However, it would be nice to leave out on time like the majority of folks do. Who knows, maybe, I’m a workaholic and don’t realize it. I come in early and leave out late. Ok, the coming in early thing is a recent phenomena.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today I have on an olive green sweater that has purple designs on it, underneath it, I have on an olive green turtleneck. I also have on blue jeans and blue suede shoes.

The light rail shuttle bus was late this morning. I got in to work as 6:40. I was still early for work but not in at my usual 6:30.

I am beginning to notice that all the shuttle bus drivers seem to be on average, older than the drivers of regular buses. I suppose they gave the old guys the shuttle bus route because it's easier and not as demanding.

OUT TO LUNCH SHOW
Right now I feel that Big O and Dukes are likely to get the spot. I’m not terribly fond of them because they sound like immature frat boy and they give me an ice cream headache.

The only person on the show I can tolerate is news guy, Josh Spiegle. At first I hated him but now I’ve grown to like him. He's become the one constant bright spot on the show.

I hate to say this but after what I just I wrote I'm sure with time I will also grow to like Big O and Dukes as well. But as far as I'm concerned Josh is #1!

WHAT I’M WEARING:
I have on a baby pink crocheted v-neck Henley sweater. Underneath the sweater I have on a cream colored long sleeve crew neck pull over. The pants I have on are blue jeans. The shoes I have on my feet are blue suede shoes.

This morning all the buses were on time. The only fly in the ointment was the bus on the way home. This makes the second Monday in a row it was late. I thought I was being smart by taking the #8 bus instead of the shuttle bus. As you can recall the shuttle bus last Monday was well over an hour late. The #8 bus this afternoon was an hour late. I wonder what is going on that makes them run late on Mondays?

DOCTOR WHO TO SCI-FI CHANNEL:
I haven’t watched TV on a regular basis since the cancellation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Therefore, I’m looking forward to the return of Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. The only problem that US fans have is what station will be picking up the new show.

Recently, I heard rumblings that the show has been picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel which is owned by Universal Studios and NBC. They allegedly have a package deal where they will have the rights to air all the old episodes in addition to the new ones. If this is true Doctor Who will no longer be running on our local PBS station. It has been running there every Saturday night for well over 20 years.

My main probem with the new Who is that I don’t have cable. I haven’t had cable since I moved out of my parent’s house. It’s just too darn expensive. If it’s a lock that Sci-Fi has it I guess I’ll have to either get cable or sponge off of someone who has it and doesn’t mind me orchestrating there tv viewing habits. I've heard something about bit torrent but I'm not quiet sure what it is or how to get to it.....

All I know for sure is that I want to see the new Doctor Who when it comes out.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a royal blue crew neck sweater along with a rainbow striped turtleneck pullover. The pants I have on are blue jeans. The shoes I have on are blue suede shoes.

Yesterday, I took the #8 bus to Walmart. The bus driver I had seemed to be stoned out of her mind. She wore dread locks and had very long fingernails. She was maniacally whistling throughout the ride. She even called out the names of each stop and crazily waved to everyone she knew. A couple of times she seemed to be nodding off during her stops.

When I got off the bus I noticed that her eyes were rimmed red like you see on a drug addict. She was just a little too cheery and manic. It was the kind of cheery that could only be obtained by artificial means. I hope this woman does not get in a major accident and seeks help for her problem before it’s too late...

THE ALARM
I am beginning to notice that my downstairs neighbors seems to have what I at first thought was a smoke detector gone haywire by old batteries may in fact be a security alarm. Their alarm seems to go off every weekend around 12:30 in the afternoon. I wonder if they are aware of this.

The presence of an alarm makes me wonder if the reason they have one is to ward off frequent break ins or to prevent future break ins from ever occurring...

All in all the presence of this alarm makes me want to really get to work at setting up the one I bought at Radio Shack when I first moved in 6-7 years ago. The reason I haven't set it up was that involved stuff like using something called a Phillips screwdriver. I have no idea what that is or if I own one. I guess I could call my brother and see if he could help me install it.

WHAT I’M WEARING: Right now, I have on a nightshirt with a cartoon cat on it. The caption on the shirt reads, “I Hate Mondays!” On my feet I have on big, fuzzy, purple slippers.

Yesterday evening, I went to the BSO to see the Gershwin concert. I wasn’t going to see the show just because it was the next show on my subscription but because I’m an admirer of the work of George and Ira Gershwin. The number of tunes they wrote that reads like a Best of American Music Songbook. The songs they wrote include; They Can’t Take That Away From Me, I Got Rhythm, Someone To Watch Over Me, Swanea, Of Thee I Sing, Strike Up the Band, Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, Funny Face, But Not For Me, Our Love Is Here to Stay, Nice Work If You Can Get It, S’ Wonderful, and the tone poem, An American In Paris. As you can see the list goes on and on. They even did a folk opera, a little thing called, Porgy and Bess which includes the hits, Summertime, I Got Plenty of Nothin’, It Ain’t Neccessarily So, and Bess You is My Woman Now. True, Porgy and Bess wasn’t very successful during George Gershwin’s lifetime but it’s popularity has grown throughout the years.

Of all their work my favorite piece of all time is, what I consider to be the quintessential American classical composition of all time, Rhapsody in Blue. Listening to Rhapsody in Blue is like hearing the sound of the Jazz Age, the Roaring 20’s come to life. You can clearly hear everything from the Jewish immigrant influence showing up in the klezmer sounding clarinet solo that opens up the piece, to lush orchestrations, and syncopated piano rhythms. To hear this music is to hear a vibrant bygone era bustling with energy.

I have to say that this was the absolute best presentation that Principal Pops conductor, Jack Everly, has ever put together! I was actually thoroughly entertained. There was singing, dancing, and film clips throughout the show. The entire usher staff was even on stage for a brilliantly conceived number of, I Got Rythm. The evening ended with the Gershwin’s epic classic, Rhapsody in Blue.

All in all, Everly did George and his brother Ira, proud. I’m positive they were smiling down from heaven last night.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a black Dr. Who sweatshirt. The sweatshirt has the blue logo from the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie. Underneath the sweatshirt I have on a white turtleneck. The pants I have on are blue jeans. The shoes I have on are old running shoes from Payless. For last night’s BSO concert I dressed up a little. I wore khaki pants and a baby blue sweater along with you guessed it, blue suede shoes!

This morning I had a very friendly bus driver. She had a whole spiel when we got on and off the bus. I think she’s new. Her enthusiasm will soon wear off. If not, I would hate to think there could be such cheery effervescent people in the world at 5:25 in the morning. The light rail and shuttle bus were both on time. I got in to work again at 6:30. I love getting in extra early. Now I have to work on actually leaving from work on time.

CHARLES AND CAMILLA:
I’m probably the only person on earth who’s actually excited that they are finally getting married. I love weddings! I can see her wearing something like a pants suit. I know the ceremony probably won’t be as fairy tale perfect as Princess Diana’s was. Let’s face it they are both up there in age and would probably want to do something that’s more dignified than showy. All in all I hope the wedding is televised. Why? I love watching royal weddings!

Also I know the odds are against me ever getting married. I’m autistic and I lack social skills. Society expects women to be very talkative and empathetic to everything and to go on and and on about feelings. I thinks it’s better for me to just watch a wedding than to participate in one, Besides, there’s less pressure involved.....

WHAT I’M WEARING
I have on a red sweater, yellow turtleneck, blue jeans, and blue suede shoes. I also have on a red head band to coordinate with the sweater. It’s very cold and windy outside.

The shuttle bus was late this morning. I ended up getting in to work at 6:45. I hate getting in late. Yea, I know I was still 15 minutes early. I was really getting used to arriving before anyone else in my department.

Last night I didn’t through up!!! So I believe my stomach is back to normal. I doubt that people spontaneously develop bulemia. Maybe it was all due to a stomach virus. I had no trouble keeping down liquids it was solid foods that kept coming up.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today. I have on a purple Henley with a cream colored shirt underneath. The pants I have on are blue jeans. My shoes are blue suede shoes. Well, they are more blue suede booties than shoes.

The bus, light rail, and shuttle bus were all on time this morning. The only different thing that happened was that the harbringer of lateness took the shuttle bus at the State Center/Cultural Center Stop. The harbringer of lateness is this guy that works in the mail room. He bares a strong resemblence to 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney. I sometimes see him on the light rail when I’m running late. Hence, my nickname of him as the harbringer of lateness. I believe he’s due in to work later than me. He usually takes the light rail up to North Avenue and takes the shuttle bus there.

I was again 30 minutes early today. Despite this I admit I have a problem leaving from work on time. I tend to leave 15-20 minutes after the fact. I think I do this because I’m not in too much of a rush to get home. The majority of people I work with have families to come home to.

CONCERN OF THE DAY:
I threw up again yesterday! I’m starting to think that maybe it’s a stomach virus or stress related. I had no problem keeping down breakfast and lunch it was just when I get home that I couldn’t keep anything down. I don’t feel sick or anything. God/Godess knows I take more than enough of vitamin C. I average about 3-4,000 mg’s a day. I don’t nearly take nearly as much as Linus Pauling did. He injected about 12,000 mg’s of it a day and lived to be well into his 90’s. I tried to take a lot of vitamin C once but it ended up giving me diarrhea. I think my problems with keeping food down is either related to stress or a stomach virus. I suppose it will clear up on it’s own.

WORK NEWS
The streak has ended. Today, co-worker Arnold, noted for the wearing of short sleeved button down cotton shirts has finally stopped his 4 week streak of wearing long sleeved button down cotton shirts to work. It all started 4 weeks ago with a long sleeve blue shirt, then a red, a beige, and then another blue shirt. Seeing him in long sleeved shirts was almost like seeing a mid season miracle appear before my eyes. I wonder what happened to make him start wearing long sleeves shirts and then stop cold turkey? I suppose the world will never know.....

Also in work news it appears that Richard will keep his job and salary as Senior Tech. However, Mellissa moves into the newly created Lead Tech position and gets a pay raise as well as new job responsibilities. These new responsibilities involve being the official stand in for Supervisor Brian when he’s unable to fulfill his supervisory duties.

To put you back to speed a while ago at work we had two senior techs positions. They were both told that they were going to eliminate their position and make one of them a Lead Tech. The other one would be welcome to stay on as a regular tech with a decrease in salary. I was wondering who would get the position. Richard is black and has worked at the company for a very long time. Mellissa is white and female and has also been at the company for quiet a while as well. The only drawbacks I saw for Richard is that he’s dangerously close to retirement age. The drawbacks for Mellissa is that she’s a single mother and may have childcare issue which might pull her away from work. Overall, I saw them both as being cherished minorities. Who do you choose?

So the company decided that Richard keeps his job and his salary and Mellissa moves up on the food chain. No one had to move down a peg. Brilliant solution!!!

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on this purple turtleneck blue jeans and blue suede shoes. I decided not to put on the brown leather lace ups because they’re kind of scruffed up from the fall yesterday.

The bus was on time in the morning I either take the #2 or #1 bus to the light rail. The Shuttle Bus was on time. The shuttle bus that is usually waiting at the stop is the C bus. When I first started taking the shuttle bus it was the B Express bus that was at the stop.

The only odd thing that happened this morning was that I tripped and fell to the ground as I was getting off the Shuttle Bus. My right shoe looks a little scraped up. My right pants leg is a little scraped up with mud. A woman who had gotten off the bus at the same time I had went back to help me get up. The two men who work in the mail room didn’t bother to look back and help me up. That couldn’t be helped. I believe that both of them are deaf. I know one of them wears a hearing aide and I’ve seen the other using sign languege. In the end my knee was skinned. All in all I think I’ll live to see another day.

CONCERN OF THE DAY:
I felt very nauseous when I finally got home from work yesterday. I knew that this was because I hadn't eaten anything since the morning. So when I got home I ate. Then I was still feeling nausea so I took some Pepto Bismol and took a nap. When I woke up a couple of hour later I still felt nauseous. Then before I knew it I threw up. I can’t explain it but I felt really great after I threw up. It was almost like a feeling of elation. I wonder if this is how bulemia starts?

WHAT I’M WEARING: Today, I have on my favorite sweater. It’s a blue fair isle knit sweater. I also have on blue jeans, and brown leather shoes.

I admit I have'nt been any where near a computer in the last few weeks. I've been going through another bout of depression. The problem with my bouts of depression is that I can never really pinpoint it down to what makes them happen. Anyway, despite this I've been making faithful entries in my AlphaSmart. I'll try to upload all those entries this week so that it won't look like I disappeared off the face of the earth for two weeks.

TODAY'S COMMUTE:
Recently, I've gotten into the habit of taking the light rail train and getting off at the State Center stop so that I can catch the shuttle bus. I like to take this bus because on average it gets me to work 30 minutes early. As you can imagine this gives me plenty of extra time to make entries in my AlphaSmart.

The ride over to work this morning was smooth as silk. The only problem was the ride back from work. The shuttle bus was over an hour late!

When the bus finally arrived it became extra crowded with each stop. The bus driver ended up asking us if anyone had to get off at certain stops so that he could determine whether he could eliminate them from his drive. After the Pepper Road stop he determined he could head for the 83 expressway over to the North Avenue bus stop.

I should say here that he had to ask a passenger how to get to the expressway. I suppose the reason for the driver's unorthodox manner was that he might have been a fill in shuttle bus driver. I have no complaints what so ever about his methodology. In the end I got home close to the time I usually arrive home.

WHAT I'M WEARING:
Since allegedly it's supposed to be the upper 50's today I have on a blue turtleneck, stone washed jeans, along with blue suede shoes.

I spent my day off cleaning up the apartment while listening to the radio. This was of course a pre-scheduled day off. I took the day off to celebrate Imbolc and to use up my vacation days.

BIG O AND DUKES: Today, they are trying out for the noon day Out To Lunch gig. They remind me of the Junkies. I’m getting an ice cream headache listening to them.

Also, they had the nerve to bring Dr. Drew from Love Line on their show as a guest. It’s almost as if they’ve been vociferously reading the DCRTV web page and the Out To Lunch message boards to see what they should do next and who they should have on as guests.

If Big O and Dukes get the job I feel that it would be the death of the comedy talk format of 105.7 The station is already playing WHFS music at night and on weekends. I believe that pretty soon they might even change their call letters from WXYV to WHFS. All I know is that if those two get the gig I fear it will be all over.... there will be no more Stern or Don and Mike to listen to on the radio. You see Big O and Dukes used to be the evening DJ’s on WHFS. I believe they started off on the station doing talk then they got complaints and switched back to playing songs in between bits. I’m sure that if they get the gig it will all over for the current format. Who knows maybe this whole thing of holding on air auditions is just a charade or an excuse to eventually start up WHFS full time. Don’t get me wrong I loved HFS but not at the expense of sacrificing Stern and the Don and Mike Show.

WHAT I’M WEARING: I have on my Friends t-shirt. It’s a cream colored shirt that has a black and white picture of the cast circa season 1. With this shirt I have on a light blue pair of sweat pants with ratty old tennis shoes.

I left out the door again a little after 5:15. I’m trying to leave out before my upstairs neighbors. One of them or both of them appear to leave out for work between 5:20 to 5:25 I don’t want to clog up the halls.

I again caught the #C Shuttle Bus to work!! Two days in a row of making it in at 6:30!

Yesterday, I went to Walmart to buy cleaning supplies and a shoe rack. I want to have all the shoes I own in a centralized area. Right now some are under the bed others are kind of in the closet somewhere.....

OUT TO LUNCH SHOW WEEK TWO:Yesterday, Bill Rohland was back on the Out To Lunch Show with Maynard. Bill Rohland was one of the original hosts of the show. Overall, the show really rocked. I even found myself enjoying Josh Spiegel’s frequent news updates. The show was leagues better than it was last week. I hope that this will be the final lineup of Out To Lunch.

One thing’s for sure I liked hearing them make fun of Josh. He sounds like a very high strung person. Right now I’m listening to see if Josh one day snaps live on air.

I wonder who they will have on tomorrow. As I understand it Bill Rohland has tomorrow off.

WHAT I’M WEARING: Today, I have on an olive green turtleneck with a black multi-coloured button down sweater, stone washed denim jeans, and brown lace up shoes.