Tomorrow is a busy day...I hope. I will have to keep this brief, I need to get ready for tomorrow. Well, after cronic procrastinating for two months, my vacation is just about over. A part of me is not looking forward to a return to the salt mines, but another part of me is eager to end this boredom. Okay last day of my vacation.

Today, my plan was to visit the big mall that is a bit north of me.

My microwave just went off. My spinach just finished. Since my dinner is now ready, I should eat now and blog later. But then, I should just get this over with so I can get offline and start getting ready for tomorrow.

So, my plan was to head north on the Metro-North. I arrived at the Metro-North station with about 2 or 3 minutes to spare. I purchased my ticket (roundtrip) for $6.50. I arrived in Tarrytown. The Tappan Zee express bus stop was right by the station, so I did not have to walk far. No sooner did I arrived a taxi driver drove up and offered to take me over the Tappan Zee Bridge for $18. The bus fare was $1.50. I said no thank you. He tried to convience me that there were no buses on Sundays going over the bridge. I didn't believe him, but it turned out he was correct. I'd just assumed that Saturday schedule included Sundays and Holidays. But, I was wrong. The taxi driver drove around the lot and returned offering me $14 (plus toll). I told the taxi driver that I was going home. I returned to the Metro-North platform with about an hour wait for the next train back home. After about a 30 rest of the platform thinking about the fee over the bridge, I started to doubt my hearing. I began to think that I had heard wrong. Maybe the guy said $8 or $4 fee. Finally, I walked back to the taxi area of the Metro-North station. I asked a couple of taxi drivers talking (one cleaning his car and the other smoking a cigarette). They told me that the trip over (one way) was $25. Amazing. Needless to say, I didn't go.

When the train finally arrived, I decided that I would go to the Target store in the Bronx to buy a memory card for my Playstation 2. I can't save without a memory card, and the powers that be decided that it was not necessary to include one in game or the Playstation itself. The ways the trains worked, I could take the southbound MN arrive in the Bronx, then have about 20 minutes there before the northbound (express)MN would take me back to Yonkers. Anyway, in Target, they did not have the memory card for Playstation 2. I went to the Radio Shack a block away, and they did not have it either. One of the customers in Radio Shack told me that I could get one at any game store, he also told me that I could get one used for about $4. So empty-handed, I returned to the MN. I caught the express to Yonkers. I went to a game store in Yonkers, they did have the memory card ($20new and $15used). The clerk seemed more interested in his conversation with his buddy who just seemed to be passing through, and the owner (I think) seemed more interested in his lunch. I decided to forget it. From there, I went to Shoprite to buy a gallon of skim milk. The skim milk expiration date was today, so I bought 1% milk instead. I also bought some cold cereal, Sunday Daily News and New York Times. I walked back home.

At home, I made a couple of sandwiches and a simple salad. I also decided to try again with the chicken. This time, the chicken came out nice...I think. I made barbecue chicken and instant macaroni & cheese. I had the chicken and the mac cooking while I was on the computer answering a couple of e-mails and trying to get my Norton software to work.

My Norton software was due to expire yesterday, so I renewed it yesterday. However today, the program said that my services were expired. It took me about 30 minutes, but no matter what I did, I could not get the program to correct itself. Their customer service page suggested I download a fixit program, but that did not work. Their customer page was anything but user friendly...in my opinion. After searching for their contact page (it was buried deep in the site), I finally found their contact us link at the bottom of a page with about a size 8 font. I was just looking for a phone number. When I clicked on the link, I was given three prompts:

1. Download a Norton Chat program, and chat with an operator.
2. A phone number would be given with the warning that there would be about a 30 minute wait. And finally, the last choice was the option of sending an e-mail with the warning that a reply would take about 48 hours. After wasting about a half an hour to get to this point, I decided on the e-mail option. I was too annoyed to talk to a rep or download another program that may or may not work.

Well, that's it. Dinner is waiting for me. Then I will relax in the tub, pack for tomorrow, and skim through the sunday papers. Before calling it a night.

Tomorrow's plan.

1. Return to school and start unpacking. Tomorrow only admin is suppose to return. Teachers are supose to return on Tuesday. But I really, really need to start getting organized. This school year has to be better than the last.

2. I want to go to the Board of Ed to change my ID BOE ID card. I want the label substitute teacher removed. Originally, I was told last year that the label did not need to be changed because the correct information is on the microchip embedded in the card, and since the place was packed, I didn't want to wait. But yesterday, the clerk at the teacher supply store told me that I would not get a teacher's discount at that store or any other store because the clerks will only look at the label, and substitute teachers don't qualify for discounts or tax free purchases. I was lucky yesterday, the clerk was a nice lady and she gave me the tax free status.

3. While at the BOE, I want to drop off my "D" rating appeal letter. The clock to submit a letter of appeal stopped during the summer, but resumes on Tuesday. If I was smart I would have had taken care of it during the two months I did almost nothing.

Anyway, That's it for now, my dinner is waiting.


Post Date - Sunday, August 26, 2007 7:45pm