Lots going on. Sorry.

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Start classes tomorrow evening at a notable local Jesuit university; seems I never finished me bachelor’s, which is negatively affecting my job search (justly or otherwise). This term I’m taking 2 classes — a rhetoric class and an informatics class, the latter of which is required for my degree in, er, informatics — but since the terms are only 9 weeks long, things are a leetle compressed.

Turns out I went to high school with one of the admissions counselors, too. That was a little odd; I walked in for new student orientation and she called me “Jimmy”. I haven’t gone by “Jimmy” since, oh, FIFTH GRADE.

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I was served with a summons a couple weeks ago for non-payment of personal property taxes. Sadly, I had paid them a whole friggin’ WEEK before the summons was issued… which shows how efficient the collector of revenue’s office is. According to Jackie (who is both my sister-in-law and my attorney), the office generated a list on July 1 of outstanding property tax bills, but there was some sort of delay between list generation and summons issuance and the list was never updated in the meantime. The summons is being dismissed, but apparently they have several hundred summonses to dismiss. Maybe it’s just me, but that last fact alone should be indicative of some larger issue.

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Nigel has a few new parts… I left work about a week and a half ago after a long day, opened the door, turned the key, and got a persistent clicking noise from a relay in the engine compartment fusebox. Niiiiice. It was just a dead battery and a couple of blown fuses, but we couldn’t jump it or give it a rolling start down the parking garage ramp, so I had to get it towed.

(The tow operator was like the South Side version of Mark Hamill. Creeeeepy. I half-expected him to use the Force, or a robotic hand even, to lift the car onto the bed of the tow truck.)

Happily, though, the garage was able to get Nige right in, and they had the part for the broken hinge as well (and that work was all covered by MINI, w00t), so things are running pretty nicely with the ol’ boy. And, if nothing else, I now know what the rest of the tools in the emergency kit under the boot are for. (with the exception of the Allen wrench. i have yet to find a use for that unless there’s some obscure IKEA tie-in I was unaware of. is there a FLÜG aero kit or something?)

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Fred is lerving his Mac. Absosnakesonaplanelutely lerving it. I’m seriously considering a MacBook m’self, once the student loans come in. (I asked for a bit more than I actually need; serves me right for getting the loan paperwork in concurrently with my FAFSA.) Of course, my MacBook will be tricked out with software and all, because though I enjoy this ThinkPad and the Linux running it, it is not one of the models with the HDAPS which I can exploit for impact-based passphrases (passknocks?).

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I posted a while back about “big news maybe on Tuesday”. Well, it was a job interview. A rockin’ job interview. For a spiffy new job, with travel and awesome benefits and intrigue and everything (well, maybe not intrigue). I showed up in the screaming 100-degree-plus heat (btw, Arizona people: try it with humidity, k?) in a nice dark suit and smooth-talked the fuck out of ‘em. And I got called back in the next week for an unofficial second round (the official excuse was that the divison VP likes to meet all candidates but wasn’t around when I was there the first time). And I got a call the next day saying “sorry, we’re going with somebody else”. DAMMIT. Allegedly, they narrowed their field down to two, and I was the close second… but they have my resume on file and predict future openings soon, and encouraged me to apply again if the timing was right.

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Current job? Well. Lots going on there. I’ll be working with at least two new officers soon, and there are a few days where it’s tempting to ditch IT for the assistant to the CEO position (sysadminday being one of those days — most we got was a basket of cookies from people who should have spent their money on clue instead). Things are about to get interesting, though; it’s budget season soon.

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Project Runway? I am saddened that Allison is gone, but there are impending bitchfests and breakdowns and flameouts yet to come. It’s riveting, kids.

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Hang on, cake is done. (As a matter of fact, I did know you were coming; that’s why I baked a cake.) Mmmm, Meyer lemon cake. Too bad the cherries I had planned to add went bad.

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Wikipedia e-mail attracts some fah-reaks. My fave so far is the guy who challenged us to prove that badgers are visible to the non-colorblind WITHOUT resorting to photography (because cameras can be equipped with colorblind filters). I’m not as able to keep up with it as I was before, but it isn’t that bad at the moment; we’ve outsourced much of it to schoolkids in eastern Europe.

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Chorus starts up again soon; I’m enjoying my Mondays and Wednesdays while I still have the chance. TiVo’ll catch Project Runway for me, though.

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OK - that’s all for now. Have to make sure a cat gets a milk ring out from under the rug.

Arrived at work this morning to find a note on my desk; apparently, during a storm last night, a building next to one of our branch offices was struck by lightning, and since then that branch had not been able to connect to the network. The network admin was off, and the field tech was distinctly un-UNIXy, so I got to pay them a visit.

The problem wasn’t difficult to fix — that location is connected to the public Internet through the local cable company, and though the modem itself was fine one of the NICs in the firewall/router was toasty — but since I didn’t have the replacement part handy upon diagnosis I had to drive back to my office to get it.

on a sunny morning. in a convertible with the top down. with a radio station playing a Cream marathon. and with just enough traffic to get me in a weave-y mood.

Sucks, doesn’t it?

So I ran back to my desk, got the part, and drove again to the branch; the fix took 10 minutes only because I had to bypass a flaky KVM.

(I should mention here that the radio station was a lucky discovery; normally, I don’t listen to commercial radio because I’d rather have my beloved iPod supplying the music. And though the iPod was not working yesterday, it apparently just needed some time off because when I picked it up this morning it was fussing about a low battery. *whew.* So the Scrubpod [yes, that's its name] was charging during my morning excursions.)

Once I got back to my desk for the day, things were kinda quiet. I did hear back about Real Nigel, though, and left a bit early to pick him up.

on a sunny-though-blazing-hot afternoon. in a convertible with the top down. with a now-charged-and-functioning iPod playing Kraftwerk “Autobahn”, followed eerily by Cream “Sunshine of Your Love” (the very song that alerted me to the marathon this morning). on the newly-reopened Forest Park Parkway. and with just enough traffic to get me in a weave-y mood.

Let me tell you, it was AWFUL. Or something. Hell, I just drove through Clayton with the top down and the volume cranked just in time to blare the opening lines of the Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the UK” to all the Republicans leaving work. (The iPod was on shuffle, i SWEAR. Though you should have seen some of the looks I got.)

Nigel’s service isn’t complete — there’s still some issue with a hinge on his hatch which causes the boot to shut improperly, and the part is on order and Nigel will have to go back in when it arrives — but oh, it felt good to see him again. Yeah, so the convertible was nice, but I really missed that manual transmission and the utility of the rear-view mirror.

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Fred has posted a profile on MySpace, which I am hereby publicizing.

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Yes, I am updating the iPod backup. It’s going in the background right now.

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So Fred’s getting a new computer, a Mac Mini, and I already have designs on his current laptop. bwahaha. I’m seriously considering a MacBook Pro, though the final decision on that will have to wait for Tuesday.

No, I’m not discussing details of Tuesday yet. Just know that it could be big.

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OK, that’s all for now.

It’s been an eventful day.

Eeeeearly this morning I took Nigel (my beloved Mini) in for service and so that somebody could look at the hatch (one hinge is further out than the other so the latch doesn’t quite align). The dealer warned me ahead of time that they’d probably need to keep it overnight so they’d arrange for a rental.

Now, last time I took him in, I got a nasty-ass Chevy Aveo which I dubbed the “crapmobile”. (Seriously. If you ever want to know why GM is doing poorly, drive one of those for 10 minutes.) I was dreadingexpecting a similar deal as I checked Nigel in…

…so imagine my glee when I glanced at the rep’s screen and saw the blessed word “LOANER”.

w00t. Gotta love loaners.

Substitute Nigel (or, as Fred calls him, Nigel-Wannabe) is a dark blue 2006 Cooper convertible. He’s a nice ride, aside from the near-total lack of visibility in the back when the top is up and the fact that he’s an automatic (eww). I do love driving with the top down — it makes me all giggly — and once I can adjust to the automatic it’s smooth sailing and I look supercool.

My favorite part, though, is the auxiliary cupholder attached to one side of the center console. It has an embossed MINI logo and a printed image of a wine glass with a line through it. As cupholders go, it’s nothing spectacular, but I can’t stop laughing about how they have a “no stemware” icon on there.

So. Quick look over Substitute Nigel to make sure there were no dents/scratches I hadn’t caught; rep hands me the keys; I immediately adjust the seat so I can reach the pedals; I notice lack of clutch; I wince; I get the iPod out and plug in the iTrip; I start the engine; I notice that the iPod screen is completely. blank.

Yeah. the iPod crashed.

It doesn’t respond to any scrollwheel or button input, whether the Hold switch is enabled or disabled and whether AC power is connected or not; and I can no longer see it as a device on either my work PC (running Windows because I don’t get a choice) or this laptop (a Thinkpad T23 running Gentoo because I am hardcore).

I’m researching possible solutions now (take it apart? COOL) but whatever the outcome I am sure glad I made a backup of the contents. The backup wasn’t 100% current, but I won’t get too upset about losing that which might be lost.

And I also have a notable event coming up on Tuesday the 18th, which I will write about after the fact. In the meantime, though, I have lots of Tivo’d goodies to consume.

After yesterday’s post about having to work over the weekend, Uncle Bill sent me an e-mail suggesting I ask my boss for one of these.

Hmm. I like the idea. It’ll look SO much nicer than my existing laminated-pressboard countertop-cum-cabinets. Plus, if I ever have to move to a different spot, I can just roll my desk and its contents en masse (provided, of course, there’s an intact steering mechanism).

And seriously - does anybody ELSE’s desk have a license plate? I didn’t think so.

This was a big catch-up day in the diary; there was no time between the 28 and the 31 to write, so this entry covers 3 pages of handwritten text.

Morning excursion <18:37 31/01/2001 Ernakulam> was to a textile mill run by one of the Gobi $GROUP_MEMBERS. It was loud, smelled bad, and was poorly lit, yet still fascinating. They gave me 4 one-meter bolts of cloth they had dyed on site. wow. thanks.

Lunch at the house — more curry, but with a sort of rice-noodle ravioli. After that, “rest”…

…not disclosing the next part, because I’m not that sort of blogger…

Tea at 16:30, followed by packing. Watched “Crorepati” (the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”; they could win up to Rs. 1 crore (10M)). Noticed a strange occurrence of a phenomenon experienced in the waiting room at HYKS a few years back: If I don’t pay attention to someone speaking a foreign language, it begins to make sense. So I picked up a little Tamil. weird.

Dinner, social time, bed.

Monday, 29 January 2001

Up early (06:30 bed tea) — had a train to catch. Breakfast, then out the door, back to Erode. Had more chai at the station, & Thomas got me a Coke (1.5L!) and pineapple cake before the train arrived at 09:00.

My ticket was first-class, so I got a little cabin to myself. Chilled in there, taking pics of the scenery, resting, etc. I was trying not to drink too much Coke… so I wound up dragging the liter or so left with me as I graciously allowed this Amazon-in-sari to have my “coupe” cabin. Sat around, got greeted by these kyoot Keralites, watched the scenery.

Got to Kerala. Holyfuckingshit.

1. Unbelievable scenery.
2. Friendly people (case in point: the schoolkids who took a break from their game of cricket to wave and say the only English word they knew, “Hi!”).
3. Did I mention the place is fucking gorgeous?!

Arrived Tellicherry, my next destination, at 19:45. The $GROUP_MEMBERS there were under the impressions that I’d be arriving that morning, and had planned a day at the beach. oops. So I was whisked to my hotel (yes, hotel), where I took a gloriously hot shower and otherwise cleaned up. Picked up by a member and taken to the Executive Committee meeting. Short speech. Same ol’, same ol’. Afterwards, the bulk of the club retired to a dim back hallway for really cheap Scotch and a hell of a lot of water. yuck. Then, food — had tandoor (which is NOT a South Indian food, thank God). Bed after that.

Tuesday, 30 January 2001

Up at 06:30 (bleah), packed, and out the door by 07:30 (after watching some videos on Channel V for inspiration). Went to an irreppressibly beautiful driving beach — took pics. Then to an old pier to finish that data cartridge. Breakfast (dosa masala), then the train station.

Rode an awesome trip to Kanhangad — I had my own seat near some fascinating/fascinated people, and we sorta conversed. There was a guru onboard in the next little setup, so all those who came for darshan passed by and greeted me warmly.

At Kanhangad, met by 3 men who gave me a rose each. To a restaurant for lunch — They asked if I drank beer. Um, yes? So they conned the waiter into getting some for us, despite the “No Liquors” sign and national ban on alcohol sales (anniversary of M. Gandhi’s death). We had some water before the waiter surreptitiously escorted us to a small back room, where a teenaged boy soon came with a little shopping bag of 3 paper-wrapped Kingfisher Diet 650mL bottles. I smoked these guys — they were toasted after one glass, and I was barely tipsy. (Then again, the alcohol content was “Less than 5%”. ) Back to our original seats — our food was there. (fried rice, ginger chicken, fried fish)

14:00: to my host’s house for a short rest. Up again at 15:00 for the first in an endless series of pictures. I think my host is gay and I have absolutely no interest in him. Then to Bekal Fort nearby. Archaeological site, fort of the rajas and Mughals and British, yeah, yeah. I took some pics and they took even more of me. They picked up on the “digital” part of the camera and got so. excited. I thought they were about to wet themselves.

To a housewarming next — one of the three, the driver, is an architect. Saw his work. Had tea (it was 16:30).

This day’s writings should have included:

• um, the source of this blog’s name. On Channel V (an MTV analogue) I saw a commercial for Nestle Milo featuring a young boy practising for a track meet; he wasn’t pleased with his time until his mother gave him a big glass of Milo and then he smoked ‘em all at the meet. The tagline: “Nestle Milo, with jumpy jumpy vitamins!” (”Vitamins” is pronounced in the UK fashion, where the first syllable holds the emphasis and rhymes with “hit”.)
• The “kyoot Keralites”? College boys. HANDSOME, ATHLETIC, college boys. yowza. Alas, nothing could ever become of our love(s).
• Tellicherry is also known as Thalassery, and is a great little town judging from my limited exposure.
• At Bekal Fort I took some of my best pics of the whole trip. Eventually I’ll have a chance to post them.
• On the way to Tellicherry, the train stopped so that the Muslims aboard could pray (it was that time). Since Kerala is divided evenly three ways between Hindus, Muslims, and Christians, it’s rather important that religious traditions be honored — come to think of it, Kerala handles religious diversity better than the US does, partially because no one religion tries to lord its numeric superiority over the others.

That’s all for tonight. Next up on Friday: the sticks (and the source of this pic above), then to the center of the global spice trade where I had my favoritest food EVAR.