Good Afternoon;
Well I'm trapped here at the library for a while longer it looks like. I stopped in around 1:30 pm today,(Saturday), to look for another book and kill a bit of time. I could see the sky over the city was just pregnant with moisture, and if it was not raining at that moment, it was only minutes away. The sun was shining here but dark clouds were moving in steadily that at the time I assumed were only storm clouds. When I got onto the library computer, (because there were quite a few free at the time and no wait, and because it meant not having to unpack and re-pack the laptop in my bag......which I did anyway after the deluge started before I was able to flee....lol), I saw from news articles that an underground swamp fire in The Great Dismal Swamp, (an awesomely cool and spooky place if you ever get a chance to visit), was sending clouds of smoke and associated stench from southeastern Virginia up into parts of central Maryland, and beyond.
Of course with Baltimore's "Official City Aroma" being Stale Urine and Vomit, with hints of Rotting Pampers and Diesel Exhaust....the burning plastic odor was blending right in......lol.
It was raining so hard a few minutes ago that Reisterstown Road heading out from the city was flooded in the right hand lane to above the curb level and overflowing the sidewalks......of course this did not stop the asshat drivers from traveling their usual 20 mph above the speed limit, honking and cursing and changing lanes with no signal or regard for conditions or other vehicles closeness. The water was so deep that a roostertail of water, not spray but solid sheets of water, came off the right side wheels of the cars, reaching a good 15 feet high and falling well past the sidewalks onto the grass or Boston Market's parking lot and the parked cars thereon. I stood at the window for 20 minutes while it poured watching and counting cars and making a fairly accurate though non-scientific survey of the number of cars and trucks that went by, (158....+ or - ), and almost half of those drivers were on a cell phone....NOT hand free types either. I'm not even going to get into racial/ethnic breakdowns, because one of the major groups of really lousy drivers are not on the road today, and the results would be skewed.
Anyway, it seems to have stopped raining and I have to go down to Jenn's because I forgot to leave her house keys there...twice...DUHHHHH!
I stopped by last night on the way to the shed just for that reason!..DUHHHH!
LOL!
Rachel and I went to Starbucks in Mt.Washington yesterday afternoon, after spending Wednesday night, Thursday and Thursday night, and Friday morning just hanging around the apartment enjoying the time together while we were petsitting. I have told you of my sweet but WAY too early awakening on Thursday....well Friday was worse! The ignorant, self-centered, really should know better but doesn't give a damn, maintenance man from the Caribbean started with his reggae thump-thump-thumpa at full freakin' volume and maximum bass on a system that has no business being in an apartment, especially such a cheapass shoddily built ones such as these...that he works on every damn day and knows how thin the walls are!
The noise literally smacked me in the chest, it could be felt vibrating in the chest cavity with every downbeat, to say nothing about the walls of the apartment which it turned into a huge sub-woofer! I jumped out of the recliner looked at the time, saw it was BEFORE 7:00 AM.!, and started slapping the wall with the flat of my hand, making my own bass vibrations until he turned it down to see what the noise was.....THEN I started thumping on the wall with my fist, punctuating the short but sweet commentary covering the gamut from his parentage to my burning desire to call the police next time something burning over there seeped into the hallway strong enough to give everyone in the building a contact high. The music resumed at a lower, but still annoying volume that at least was not vibrating things within the apartment....and I decided to bide my time.
Jenn is leaving there soon enough, and what goes around comes around.
The rest of the day, Friday, Rachel and I spent showering and packing up and cleaning up, and then went to the coffee shop on the bus. This was the first time I had been in there since the remodeling started, (it's 90% complete), and the changes were major though not radical, other than the 2 large community tables placed where many smaller ones were before. The look is Industrial/Junior High School Woodshop with backless stools and worktables. New cabinetry and signage that is inline with all the other stores in the chain, no more chalkboard creativity. A new bench setup along the wall and some rearrangement and down sizing of the counter and work areas, and dark paint over most of the galvanized 'shed' areas. From what I have read and heard Starbucks is trying to force customers to shorten their visits and increase turnover. Some New York store are covering or removing electrical outlets so people with laptops, etc., cannot plug in and are limited to the time of their battery life. If it was not for simple economic factors, free refills, I would not patronize such a hypocritical company...their ads and posters insinuate one ideal, the 'community' coffee shop that cares about the environment and the underprivileged in Africa, South America, and Asia.
But what about placing some recycling bins here in America, or having an active plan to donate the unsold yet still good food to shelters or soup kitchens?
A simple way to do it would be to have the mark-outs packaged and picked up by he same driver who delivers every night. Since they use a 'distribution hub' system arrangements could be made for charitable organizations in each 'hub' to collect and distribute the food. We were able to do it with a very large doughnut/pastry bakery an distribution company I worked for years ago that delivered to thousands of convenience stores and small restaurants in a 4 state and D.C. area.
So I don't have to go to Jenn's to drop off her keys, her friend came by and picked them up on her way to pick up Jenn and the kids. Good!, I was not looking forward to getting on the bus, walking to the apt., turning around and walking back to the bus stop.....damn near running.....to make my connection, or waiting another hour if I missed it.....and I do NOT run.
Now I can choose from 2 or more options and coffee shops, and it's time to eat 'breakfast' now anyway, it's only 4:46 pm..........lol.
My back and my legs are hurting for some reason, maybe the rain? I am going to head to Owings Mills to the coffee shop there, one bus and less walking.
So far the laptop is working okay, as it was yesterday when Rachel and I played Bookworm Adventures Deluxe. Since I switched the power settings
and DO NOT let it go into 'Sleep' mode, I have had lees problems. I still need to get it checked out though.
I'll see you again this evening;
Later.................................Dave
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