Guggenheim and a Movie

Yesterday, I joined one of those social networking groups for a visit to the Guggenheim Museum. The place was much more crowded than I was expecting. The meeting time was 2PM "Across from the ticket booth". I arrived about 1:30PM. The museum was packed, I was so glad I paid online (even though it was more expensive to do so), I waited for the others to get their tickets, and about 15 or 20 minutes later started exploring the Kandinsky Exhibition. I'm not really a fan of abstract art, but the museum event gave me a reason to expand my cultural (and social) horizons. I really didn't think much of the art, but I did enjoy the museum experience. The audio tour made it a much more enjoyable experience. The museum's strict photography policy was a bit annoying. You could only take pictures from the ground floor directed up to the ceiling. The last piece was on the top floor (the Guggenheim has a spiral construction). The last piece was of a single sheet of gold-like plastic sheet similar to the silver blankets marathon runners receive when then cross the finish line. That's it. The large room had only the roughly 3ft. x 3ft. sheet of gold on the floor(with one edge flipped up as if someone accidentally kicked it up). I asked the staff member and he told me that the piece was exactly the way the artist wanted it. The concepts were way over my head.

After the museum, the group decided to go for coffee, but there was a bit of indecision about where to go. The group eventually settled on a cafe in a Barnes and Nobles. The conversation was again waaay over my head. The members talked about the art and the symbolism, motivation, etc... The the topic changed to politics and old New York Monday. Again, the conversation was way over my head. I had nothing to offer the conversation, so I just listened, however, I enjoyed just listening.

I excused myself about 5PM. I also had my own meeting. I think I mentioned here that I recently signed up to host my own group. I signed up at a moment of boredom. I'm hoping to expand my social skills and meet new people with similar interest. I thought that by starting my own group, I could find people who shared similar interest. So far, I'm not having much luck. But, it is still too early.

Anyway, I went to the meeting spot, knowing that no one would probably show. And no one did. I posted a movie selection on my group's polling page. I have 4 votes for A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey, but no one showed up. Good thing, the movie was sold out. I had to settle for the movie I really wanted to see, "2012".

I really enjoyed "2012". Although the ending was a good one, there were one or two things that didn't set well with me. I don't want to spoil the movie for those who have not seen it, so I won't provide details.

After the movie, my plan was for the group to eat dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant. The restaurant was very nice, I would like to return again, but hopefully not by myself.

I took a few picture during the day, I'll put them into a slideshow and post them at another time.

Post Date - Sunday, November 29, 2009 11:32AM

My New Binoculars

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was an enjoyable one. This morning, my order from Amazon.com arrived. I ordered a pair of binoculars. Below is a slideshow of the binoculars.

Why do I have a slideshow about binoculars?

Recently, I have gotten into reviewing items purchased on Amazon.com. I realized how much I depend on customer reviews and thought I should do the same. One of the things Amazon does is to allow photos to be uploaded with a review. Often, the photos provided by Amazon are very limited, or don't really provide an accurate picture of the item. Therefore, I'm been uploading photos to Amazon.com. The slideshow is just a collection of the photos that I've uploaded.

What do I think of the binoculars? It is too early to tell. So far, I don't like the carrying strap -- it is just a piece of string (a thin piece of string at that). The carrying case? I like the idea of providing a carrying case. However, the case is fairly cheap. I don't think the loop will last for more than one or two days of carrying the binoculars. Speaking of binoculars, I was surprised by how heavy these mini binoculars felt. In my mind, I had the image of the cheap plastic ones I had as a kid. These were about $25 including S&H and taxes.

Why is a city-slicker buying binoculars? No, I'm not being creepy or voyeuristic. I bought the binoculars on an impulse (as you regular readers know I tend to do). Next month, I plan to go to the circus. I'm also trying to do more outdoors activity. The binoculars are not great, but for a homebody novice like myself, they should be okay.



Post Date - Friday, November 27, 2009 4:56PM

Pigeon Impossible

I visited Jeff's blog and found this posting enjoyable, so I thought I'd share it with my readers. Thanks Jeff!

There is even a website: Pigeon Impossible

Another Toy...I mean Tool

Now I'm thinking about holding off on getting the Kindle. I might go for the Sony Reader instead. Unfortunately, both have heavy negatives to deal with. The Kindle has its "exclusive" nature. Sony Reader has the limited battery that will require replacement after about 2 years. A new battery will cost $125 not including S&H and tax. The Sony Reader cost is about $199.

I just purchased a pair of compact binoculars. I'm planning to go to the circus next month.

Another Little Black Bag

I went to pick up my new black bag from the post office. The bag was about $23 including taxes. My Neatfreak was a bit small, so I got this one. Well, first impressions? I like it. I haven't used the bag yet, but so far I like it. Below is a slideshow of some of the photo taken of the new black bag. It is big enough for the NYC daily newspaper (Sunday Edition) to fit with room to spare. A couple of weeks ago, that was when I realize the Neatfreak was too small.

A Couple of Interesting Blog Entries

A couple of interesting posting from another Blog site can be found on Max's blog site:

Ladunata

College Interview & Pirate Radio

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Today, I had to go to college for the interview portion of my application to the Master's Program. I almost missed the interview date because I hadn't checked my email for quite a while. I arrived about 40 minutes early.

The interview portion of the application consisted of the session being divided into two groups. While one was participating in interviews, the other group was writing an inhouse essay, then we switched. After, I thought I would have time to return home to return home and change my clothes, but I didn't. I did a bit of walking around until it was time to attend the social network group.

The movie was a good choice. From the laugher in the theater, most of the audience enjoyed the movie. Me? I didn't like the movie, but I did think the ending was an enjoyable one. The dinner. Having not eaten much since 9AM this morning), I was hungry. However, the $12 hamburger was a bit pricey for what was given (two slices of cucumbers, one piece of lettuce, one thin slice of tomato, and about 7 or 8 mini potato wedges). The cafe was a last minute substitute for the restaurant the organizer was planning on (but the wait was too long). Other than the prices, the cafe was (small but) nice. There were 5 of us at the Meetup. I thought the guys were very nice, I enjoyed their conversation. Having attended an interview, and fighting a cold, I really wasn't in the mood for a meetup, but I'm glad I went.

Arms & Armor Exhibition

On Sunday, I planned my first group event. The plan was to see an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum. The exhibition was called "Arms & Armor of the Samurai". No one signed up, however, there were two "maybes".

Well, no one showed up. Although it was a bit high-browed for me, I thought it was an enjoyable experience.

Below is a slideshow of the photos I took while at the Metropolitan Museum.

Veteran's Day & Black Bag

Before I ramble on about nothing of any real importance, I should take a moment to thank all of the veterans past and present that makes it possible for me to sit home in comfort and safety to ramble on about nothing of importance.

I would like to say "Thank You" to all of the veterans around the world

As I wrote above, I don't really have anything of importance. I just spent the last couple of hours online trying to decide on a black bag to buy.

What happened to the Neatfreak? I tried it out last Sunday. It was too small. It was nice, but too small for my trip to the museum. I arrived at the Metropolitan Museum about 45 minutes early. Since I was organizing the group meeting, I didn't want to be late. On my way to the museum, I stopped to buy a Sunday newspaper, and a breakfast drink. I quickly realized my Neatfreak (bag)was too small. All of a sudden, I had a Sunday newspaper, a shopping bag and the Neatfreak bag. With a backpack, it all would have fit in one bag. Once I went into the museum, I received a gift bag also. Everything fit nicely in the gift bag. After reading the newspaper, I tossed it (minus the TV guide). I'll do another post about the first group trip to the museum at another time.

Anyway, after a couple of hours online, I finally settled on a Premium Military Field Bag (Black). It is slightly smaller than a messenger bag, but bigger than the Neatfreak. I'm guessing this should be the right size and style for me. It was only $12 (not including S&H). It seems to cheap to be of any real value, but the online reviews seems to be mostly positive. I think it might be shipment of military surplus that someone is trying to unload.

Comments
Pictures

I still like the Neatfreak, but I'm hoping this new bag will be the "it" bag for me. I'm a bit lazy and really don't want to have to switch around from bag to bag. I'm kind of a "Grab and Go" guy. I'll start forgetting things if I have to change bags to go out. My backpack has been my grab and go for years, but as I get older, I'm not liking the pack mule feeling of the backpack; I've also gotten lazy about opening it. When I need something from the backpack, removing it from my shoulder, than needing two hands to open it, and then rummaging through it has gotten to be a hassle. With the messenger bag, I'll be able to open it with one hand. Yes I know, I'm just getting lazy.

Post Date - Wednesday, November 11, 2009 2:07PM

Quick Entry

Another wasted day. I went to the post office to pick up my Klean Kanteen. Without a car, going to the post office is a bit of a trip. I take the train one stop (an hour if I walk). Then, it is about a 30 minute walk from the train station to the post office. Today, there was no waiting on line, although the woman behind the counter still moved at what I would call a "Postal Pace". Slow! Anyway, I was able to walk back down the mountainside in time to catch the bus back home. I should have returned home and gotten directly on finishing up doing the report cards, but instead, I sleep the day away.

Tomorrow, I have an event planned for the museum. In the past, I've joined local social networking groups with limited success. In a moment of boredom, I signed up to be an organizer of a group. I was hoping this would be a way to meet new people with similar interests. So far, there seems to very very little interest. I'm beginning to feel like my cloak of invisibility is again at work. Normally, I have the ability to appear invisible to the point that people can walk and talk near and around me as if I'm not really there. It appears that cloak also works online. I've joined groups where people sign up at the drop of a hat for anything (whether they plan to attend or not). My group, very little response. I've asked for responses, but have not gotten very many. I put of a couple of suggestion for group events, and only 3 people responded. It is still early, so I'll see after a few events.

A part of me wanted to cancel so that I could work on the report cards that have to be in first thing Monday morning, but a part of me feels that if I cancel this event -- I already cancelled the first schedule event because I didn't feel like going. Besides, no one wanted to attend that event as well. I created this group as a way of meeting new people and trying to develop social skills, so even though I should be more productive, I'm going to the museum tomorrow...a group of one.

Oh, the attached photo is my new Klean Kanteen.


Post Date - Saturday, November 7, 2009 10:36PM

Quick Entry

Another attempt to clear out my draft folder. However, considering I have report cards to do, I'll have to keep this brief.

Tuesday, August 19th


I met a new epal in Union Square Park. In a matter of seconds I knew we had nothing in common. I arrived at the meeting spot about 10 early. After about 10 minutes of reading my newspaper, I look up to see some guy staring at me. It turns out to be the epal. He is a teacher as well, but I got the impression that he was treating the job as a temporary situation. We had nothing in common and he wasn't interested in talking about school, students, or teaching in general. Epal suggested that we sit on a bench in Union Square Park. I wanted to walk, but I agreed to sit. That was a very long 2 hours. Very long.

After about 2 hours, we went our separate ways. He went shopping at a clothes store in the area, I went to Radio Shack to buy some credits for my Napster account. AFter, I went to the movies to see District 9. I liked the movie. However, I was highly annoyed at the coming attractions. EVERY SINGLE ONE WAS A PREVIEW FOR A HORROR MOVIE!!! I'm not a horror movie fan.

Wednesday, August 20th
I finally got of my lazy *** and went to apply for reenrollment in college. I need to finish up my Master's Degree. Unfortunately, I was too late for Spring 2010.

Post Date - Wednesday, November 4, 2009 7:55PM

Back in NYC

Sorry, I guess you figured out that I've once again allowed myself to be overwhelmed at work. I started posting over the uncompleted blog entries in my draft folder. I thought I would take a couple of minutes to try to clear out my draft folder. Below is one of the entries that has been sitting incomplete in my draft folder.

Thursday, August 6th

I'm back in NYC. the bus was about an hour behind schedule for the final leg of the cross country bus ride. After finally arriving in NYC, the bus driver had a minor accident with a Mercedes. While the bus company reps dealt with the accident, we sat and waited...and waited. We were waiting about 45 minutes. While waiting, the first sight I saw was a pregnant woman sleeping on the sidewalk outside a building. In the window right above the window was a sign that read, "Congratulations, it's a boy!". I tried to get a picture, but cars kept driving past the idling bus. Next, was the sight of police (or emergency service workers) rounding up the homeless. All I could think about while waiting on the bus was wow, I'm back in New York City.

Finally, the bus resumed. I was expecting another 15 minutes before we would arrive at the bus depot, but it turned out my sense of direction and time was off. The accident happened right around the corner from the bus depot.

I arrived home about 3PM and slept until about 9PM. I didn't even read the Harry Potter book. I was however, very happy with my DVD player. I was able to watch 3 movies on a single battery charge. I watched:

1. Journey to the Center of the Earth (with Brandon Frasier)
2. Pan's Labyrinth (wasn't a good movie)
3. Epic Movie (it wasn't funny)

The attached photo is the one I took while waiting on the bus (the homeless round-up).


Post Date - Sunday, November 1, 2009 1:50AM