currently 10:55pm Friday 5th September, 2008 (NYC, New York)
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October 2001 archives
The following are all the entries published for the month of October 2001. life, shopping, & asshole neighbours
Monday 29 October, 2001 at 1:48PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (0)
Now you'll see there's a pic of my snout on the left too... this is my new haircut (you can thank / abuse BadMich for requesting the pic) - not a whole lot different from what it was, but it's shorter and I guess a bit more tidy and professional... that was the plan anyway. There is a story that is sort of related to this haircutting experience, actually, it relates to the entire afternoon and evening of last Sunday. I will tell you about it soon. Actually, I'll tell you about it now. On Sunday IceQueen and I decided to head into Manhattan to have a look around and both get a haircut, followed by some dinner in Greenwich Village at VG (IceQueen's favorite restaurant) before heading back home, which is exactly what we did, however, there is more to this tale than just that, ohhh yes. Our first port of call was a couple of shoe stores and clothing stores on the way to the hairdressers, while IceQueen pointed out some of the NY University buildings where she studied (this was around mid-afternoon on Sunday). It was all really kewl, since I have not seen much of Manhattan (for those who don't know, this is all in the Lower Manhattan / Greenwich Village area, not far from the World Trade Center rubble). We arrive at the hairdressers and IceQueen realizes that it's not the same people working there as the last time she was there, but we go for it anyway. IceQueen went first, then I was having my hair washed while hers was being cut. As would be expected, I was finished long before IceQueen was... I still am not sure of the reason for this strange phenomenon. Why does it take three times longer to cut female hair than it does male, even when you factor in the length of hair and so on... is it because males care less about their hairstyle than females? Whatever the reason, as far as IceQueen is concerned, they need not have bothered (her opinion, not mine). IceQueen is not a happy weasel. Personally, I think she looks beautiful, but hey, I'm a mere male, what do I know about hairstyling? (which supports the idea of hairdressers spending longer on females than males for that very reason). I will let IceQueen expand on this one. So we leave the hairdressers (at this stage IceQueen hadn't had the chance to have a really good look at her hair, and therefore was not overly pissed off about it yet) and we're walking down to VG and IceQueen almost breaks the heel off one of her boots while crossing the road. This was followed by more sessions in the very classy shoe shops in the area, but after trying a few different shoes on we depart without actually buying any (and no, I was not being an impatient male... at least I don't think I was) and we arrive at VG. I understand why IceQueen likes this place, the atmosphere is really comfortable, the food is excellent, service is great, and the prices aren't astronomical either. We shared nachos, and then IceQueen had some shrimp dish on rice (big bloody shrimps if you ask me) while I had the tortellini. YUM. I gave IceQueen a bit of a shock when we received the check for the meal, and I noticed that written on the top was VC rather than VG, which I duly pointed out. IceQueen's first reaction was, "OMG! I've been calling this place by the wrong name for years! what a dork!", but soon after we realized the name in green neon letters outside was indeed VG, and presumably the VC on the check was just a balls-up. Panic over. After dinner, we stroll (or weasel) down the road checking out some more shops but then everything starts to close, so we head for the subway and make our way home to Brooklyn. Ok this is turning into a long post, but the evening isn't quite done with yet. We arrive at our apartment building around 10pm, and just as we are going to the elevator, the doorman yells out, "Hey! You guys are in *apartment number* right?" and we confirm this. He then goes on to tell us that the old lady who lives in the apartment below us had (again) come down and made a complaint about the noise we had been making (yup, while we were not even home), in fact, he said that she was going off her nut screaming and yelling about it. He then told us that he tried to call us (intercom) and realized we weren't even home, but apparently this did not phase the crazy old bat at all. We thanked him and were relieved that now we at least had proof that this old bat has NO EFFING LIFE. You see, this isn't the first encounter... Since we moved in, there have been several complaints from this delusional old bat about the noise we supposedly make. Before we even moved in, the previous tenant warned IceQueen about the old lady downstairs always making complaints, but we thought little of it at the time. One day not long after we moved in we were told by the doorman on duty at the time that she had made a complaint about all the noise we make. We were pretty surprised by this, I mean, we don't even have a stereo! Anyway, we acknowledge the complaint and are a bit more conscious about banging things about etc (not that we were banging things about, but you know what I mean), until a few days later there's a knock on our door. IceQueen answers the door and hello, it's the old bat at the door, who proceeds to launch into a long-winded bitch about the noise (without even introducing herself) and IceQueen doesn't even have a chance to respond before the old witch storms off down the corridor. If you know IceQueen, you'll know that it's pretty amazing for anyone to have a rant at IceQueen without her tearing them to shreds in return, however even IceQueen was dumbfounded by this unprovoked attack (sounds like a terrorist action, maybe I should report the old bat to the FBI and get her arrested). A few nights previous to Sunday we had just gone to bed (around 1am) when the old bat started banging on the ceiling of her apartment with what I guess was a broom handle (I'll suggest she uses her head and bangs that against the wall next time). Presumably we must have been breathing too loudly or something. Anyway, now she has been caught making complaints when we aren't even home, so basically anything she says from here on is pretty much shit. I told Fred (another doorman) about it this morning and said that we'll be the ones making complaints about her soon, so he said 'they' will look into it. Wonder who 'they' is. Ok that's brought you up to speed for now. See ya later. all the sudden it's thursday
Thursday 25 October, 2001 at 7:35PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (2) Fark me, where does the time go? IceQueen is stuck late at work again finishing a script that needs to be ready tomorrow ..as ya do. It's all quiet on the home front. I have sent my CV off for a bunch of jobs today and yesterday (online), and will continue doing so. The funds are running low. *gulp* There is one job in particular that looks really good. It's for Matrix Telecom as a rep, and looks to be along similar lines to my work at Telecom NZ Ltd, although this one appears to be more internet solutions involved too (which is great), and their clients are business rather than residential, with some face-to-face contact as well as phone/online (also good). The job description and qualifications required are almost exactly what I have, and the $ are pretty sweet - US$70 -120K, so please think positive for me - I want this job. For right now, well, I think I'll just try going insane for an hour or two and see how it feels. cya.
I just sent this pic to IceQueen. She's coming home now. *grin* cable guy
Tuesday 23 October, 2001 at 11:44AM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (2)
The cable vision people are supposed to come today to install cable television.. although I keep getting this picture of Jim Carrey knocking on the door and yelling 'Cable Guy!' and wanting to be my best friend... scary or what? IceQueen's parents (the Cat and the Lemur) gave us a brand new Sony 51inch flat screen television not long after we moved in (that is so incredibly generous of them!) but we have not been able to watch it yet as it would seem the cable installers are extremely busy... or slow (more likely the latter). Unfortunately you can't just slap on a set of rabbit ears and go for it here ..err, wait ..that sounded a bit kinky, didn't it. I'll keep you updated. If you haven't seen the movie Cable Guy, maybe it's time you did. More later. cya. racist message in microsoft fonts?
Monday 22 October, 2001 at 3:04PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (0) If you type NYC into MS Word, then change the font to webdings or wingdings, the following messages result, which can be translated to "I love New York" (webdings), and "Death to Jews is good" (wingdings). You could argue coincidence on the wingdings or webdings font on their own, but when seen side by side, you begin to wonder. Interesting huh.
Here's something else that's kinda kewl - open MS Word and type the following: =rand(2,5) then hit enter. You will get the phrase "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" repeatedly. The first number decides how many paragraphs there will be, the second decides how many times the phrase will be repeated in each paragraph. Great for testing fonts, or possibly creating 'random' text. While I'm on the subject, a very popular way of generating random text is via the Lorem Ipsum text generator, which is widely used by developers. suitcase bomb
Saturday 20 October, 2001 at 1:23AM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (0) Earlier today... umm... yesterday... whatever... ok, a few hours ago, a suitcase full of C4 (plastic explosive) was found (by chance) at the Philadelphia main downtown bus terminal - enough to completely level the entire bus terminal. The anthrax stuff is no major - just take some antibiotics and you're sweet, but kamikaze airplanes and suitcase bombs? No way. To top it off, the US govt is checking out getting 300 million smallpox vaccinations for the citizens... too much! Other than that, everything is awesome :o) I heard the Waikato Mail Center in London St (Hamilton, New Zealand) was evacuated the other day for an anthrax scare - false alarm of course - a little paranoid perhaps, I mean, who's going to attack NZ, honestly? It's like a large horde of screaming hairy barbarians declaring war on a sweet little bunnyrabbit. I think someone just wanted a long lunch break. Amazing how much paranoia it has stirred up right around the globe, although certainly the US and the UK have reason for concern. this cat needs some serious help
Friday 19 October, 2001 at 7:07PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (3)
Its name? Elvis. Figures. paranoia reality check
Thursday 18 October, 2001 at 4:00PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (2) This is a hilarious reality check on the level of the paranoia that seems to be currently sweeping not only the USA, but the entire world. It's an email that's been doing the rounds about the correlation between the number 11 and the terrorist attacks on 911. First, the original email (thanks to Beth and CatButt for forwarding this to us): subject: The Number 11 Someone named 'Dave' responded to it - read on: Oh my God! How worried should I be? There are 11 letters in the name "David Pawson!" I'm going into hiding NOW. See you in a few weeks. Wait a sec ... just realized "YOU CAN'T HIDE" also has 11 letters! What am I gonna do? Help me!!! The terrorists are after me! ME! I can't believe it! Oh crap, there must be someplace on the planet Earth I could hide! But no ..."PLANET EARTH" has 11 letters, too! Maybe Nostradamus can help me. But dare I trust him? There are 11 letters in "NOSTRADAMUS." I know, the Red Cross can help. No they can't... 11 letters in "THE RED CROSS," can't trust them. I would rely on self defense, but "SELF DEFENSE" has 11 letters in it too! Can someone help? Anyone? If so, send me email. No, don't, ..."SEND ME EMAIL" has 11 letters.... Will this never end? I'm going insane! "GOING INSANE???" Eleven letters!! Nooooooooooo!!!!!! I guess I'll die alone, even though "I'LL DIE ALONE" has 11 letters..... Oh my God, I just realized that America is doomed! Our Independence Day is July 4th ... 7/4 ... 7+4=11! ~Dave Brilliant post-script. nz to nyc
Monday 15 October, 2001 at 3:33PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (0) I have been meaning to write about my trip from New Zealand to New York. It was a 12-hour flight on Korean Airlines from Auckland, New Zealand, to Inchon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, where i spent about five hours before catching another fourteen hour flight direct to JFK International Airport in New York. What a mission. The departure was pretty entertaining. After freaking out over the duty free shopping mall in Auckland which is reputedly one of the best in the world (you can only enter it after going through customs to leave NZ), I managed to score a carton of cigarettes for NZ$27 (about US$12), some aftershave (Davidoff Cool Waters - my favourite), and two of bottles of good NZ wine (of which IceQueen and myself have already consumed one). I also found out (too late) that there is no limit to how much wine you can bring into the USA - had I known, the two bottles would have been two cases. The flight to Korea was on a huge Boeing 777, the movies were in Korean (figures) and I was a little concerned at the mystery meat they served up, but it turned out to be really nice - some local Korean dish on rice that was a bit spicy but yummo all the same. The heating in the plane was turned way up and I wondered why, but I figure they were trying to acclimatize everybody - we arrived in South Korea at about 5.30 in the morning (local time), and it was already 31°celcius (about 88°fahrenheit) and climbing fast. Pretty frightening since I had just left NZ in the latter stages of winter and temperatures of about 3°celcius (37°fahrenheit). Of course it got a whole lot hotter as the morning progressed, so I found an actual hotel right in the airport that rented rooms at hourly rates and had a shower to cool down and freshen up (sounds seedy I know, but it was actually like a five star hotel). Inchon international airport is amazing - the place is huge! They have conveyor belts to walk on all over the place, as walking at a normal pace would take ages to get from one end of the airport to the other. It is spotlessly clean, very modern, and there are masses of shops and cafes and restaurants - I was waaay impressed. Except for the heat, I really enjoyed cruising around and checking it out. Even managed to phone IceQueen from there. *kisses* The second flight was a slightly longer version of the first, except that there were a couple of very young children nearby and I am sure they were watching me, because every time I almost fell asleep, one of them would start screaming. Where's a muzzle when you need one? And again it was the Korean movies, and they were bad (some had subtitles, which didn't improve things in any way whatsoever). The food again was pleasant, as was the service. There was one stewardess I noticed that whenever anyone stood up, she would virtually pounce on them and tell them to sit down again. It was kinda funny when I stood up and she pounced on me - I had to make it clear I was going to take a piss, unless she wanted me to use one of their coffee cups. Eventually she got the idea. She left me alone for the rest of the flight. Finally I arrived at JFK somewhere near 11am Sunday morning looking pretty travel-worn and tired I'm sure, but totally excited because I knew IceQueen was there waiting to meet me. I wasn't hard to spot - everyone on the plane was Korean other than me. Forgot to mention this earlier. The evening before 911 I caught the subway in to meet IceQueen when she finished work. I felt really nervous when I got off the subway in the city, and not because it was all new to me and a big city or anything, but I just didn't like the vibes I was getting at the time - I wanted to get away from there as quickly as possible - it was weird. IceQueen commented at the time that I looked like a scared rabbit. The next morning the nearby World Trade Towers got hammered. beware of cats with a troubled past
Monday 8 October, 2001 at 1:22AM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (0)
Gerard Daigle, 80, lost a pint of blood and required stitches after his cat Touti, a diminutive roughly meaning Tiny, launched a frenzied attack after Mr Daigle, who was giving his pet parrot a shower, inadvertently sprayed the cat with water. "I have never seen anything like this in all my career," said Guy Theriault, an animal control officer at the Society for the Protection of Animals in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. "It was a real carnage - there was blood all over the place - on the ceiling, the floor and the walls. The cat was really traumatized by the water," Theriault added. He said the cat has since been euthanized, and had had a troubled past. Mr Daigle, who lives in Trois-Rivieres, could not be reached for comment Thursday. The animal control officer said Mr Daigle was saved by his 81-year-old wife who wrestled the cat away, only to have it turn on her. "The cat wanted to eat her, too," one newspaper quoted Mr Daigle as saying. The couple managed to chase the cat into the bedroom and slam the door. Police responded in force because they thought they were dealing with a domestic emergency. It is not known why Mr Daigle was giving his parrot a shower. - report from ABCnews.com usa launches strikes in afghanistan
Sunday 7 October, 2001 at 2:06PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (0) About ninety minutes ago, the USA launched strikes against Al Qaeda training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. dinner in chinatown
Saturday 6 October, 2001 at 3:37PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (0)
Our original plan was to go to Flushing, Queens, but it was a mutual decision between Ice and Cheetah to go to ChinaTown instead, as it was closer and meant not having to spend hours on the subway (Fone and I just nodded and agreed - we know how to survive with weasels and cheetahs)
Somewhere around 3am I woke up and made it to the toilet just in time to be somewhat violently ill. It's pretty unusual for me to regurgitate anything, but this was most definitely an exception. The photo here is one of the other exceptions: my 21st birthday. It was messy. It's now Saturday afternoon and I'm still feeling a bit unsettled, but IceQueen is looking after me (she's the best) so that is all for now. two-faced cat
Friday 5 October, 2001 at 11:58AM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (10)
Image died four days later and the owner apparently intended to donate Image's body to the Philadelphia Mutter Museum of Medical Oddities. There was some doubt in veterinary circles over the authenticity of Image's story since the vet seemed unaware of the lethal brain abnormalities associated with the condition, however the photos are genuine. A little bizarre, but still a cute kitty. alarm clocks suck
Wednesday 3 October, 2001 at 8:28AM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (0)
Yes, this morning was different. This morning, the alarm fruitlessly beeped its little electronic heart out for a full forty-five minutes before one of us actually paid it any attention whatsoever, and even then it only provoked an unconcerned slap on the snooze button for its effort. I'm hoping that it loses its sense of worth soon and just gives up on the whole BEEP BEEP BEEP thing altogether. Well, I'm up now, and making breakfast for IceQueen. I'll go wake her soon (I'm better at it than the alarm clock) - it usually involves me staring directly at her from a distance of maybe 1 inch (if anyone has a cat, they will know this is pretty effective), although I usually end up laughing too much to maintain the fixed wide-eyed stare for very long. the first post
Tuesday 2 October, 2001 at 1:04PM (Nereus) :: permalink :: comments (0) This is the first post on this new blog after my arrival in New York on the afternoon of September 9th 2001 from New Zealand (just over a day before the terrorist attacks). First and foremost, IceQueen and myself are alive and well. We have only just got the internet connected at home so I'm sorry I have not emailed sooner. Thanks to those who emailed me following the terrorist attacks in NYC - it wasn't exactly confidence building when that happened after only one full day in the Big Apple. Things seem to be calming down a little now - there were concerns that there would be more attacks, but it looks like things are returning to whatever passes for normal around here, let's hope it stays that way now that President Bush has declared war on, like, maybe three or four Egyptian guys, an Algerian, and this other guy who kind of looks Lebanese but could be Syrian. Since the attacks, at least one out of every three cars on the road are sporting the stars and stripes, and if you walk down a residential street, every house is flying the American flag - the attacks have only served to unite and strengthen patriotism here. On to other things: IceQueen is amazing - we are getting on awesomely together and we are both ridiculously happy. We seem to always think and do the exact same thing at the same time before even saying a word, it's bizarre. IceQueen is truly wonderful, and thankfully she is pretty rapt with me as well. We are living in a nice apartment in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood - wow they have so many religious holidays! I was walking down the road the other day (it was Yom Kippur - another religious day) and this dude comes up and asks if I'm Jewish. I'm like, "uh.. no dude." so he asks if I can switch off the air conditioning in the Synagogue for them, as they are not allowed to operate any machinery on these religious days. Being the helpful Kiwi that I am, I of course oblige. Everybody in the Synagogue stops and stares at me - presumably because I am in a Synagogue not wearing a yarmulke (those little hat things they wear) and I'm switching off the air-conditioning - both blasphemous acts, particularly on Yom Kippur. The head Jewish dude (the Rabbi I guess - he was wearing freaky religious-type gowns and a weird hat) comes over with a horrified look on his snout and starts loudly and rapidly spouting something in Hebrew, until the guy who took me in explains what's up. Everyone there was grateful for my help once they realized what was going on, so it all ended well - I wasn't ex-communicated or given a public flogging or anything. I was relieved to find there are heaps of trees and greenery (at least in our neck of the woods) and it's not just a big-ass concrete jungle here (squirrels are cute by the way), so I feel a bit more at home here as a result. IceQueen and I sat on the boardwalk at Brighton Beach last night and watched the sun set over the sand and surf (albeit very, very small surf) and it was quite stunning - I didn't expect to see that in NYC. IceQueen has taken me to a bunch of Russian Restaurants too (I'm totally loving Russian food) - if you come across it in your travels, rip into it. We have not done a lot of sightseeing or anything, I think most people have preferred to stay close to home since the 911 attacks, and we are the same. We've been doing a fair bit of shopping locally for the apartment and going for walks most evenings (which usually ends up at some Russian restaurant as luck would have it) and just enjoying the company of each other. That's about it for now. Hang loose like a loose thing that hangs. |
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First things first, I think I mentioned I'd get some pictures of the new 'briefcase' and overcoat, so here they are. The briefcase / satchel is black, it's leather, and yup, it's pretty damn funky. The overcoat is also black, it comes down to a little lower than my knees, kind of similar to the overcoat pictured here, and yup, it's cashmere, or at least cashmere blend. Nice huh? Sorry about the image quality - I haven't really sussed out the webcam as yet.
IceQueen and I went out to dinner again last night, to the Avenue U restaurant - pelmeni of course (can't get enough of that stuff) and a glass of vino. It's great being together, it's just so... right, y'know?
Q U E B E C C I T Y, Canada, July 13th - An elderly Canadian man was recovering Thursday following a savage attack by his pet cat, which drew four carloads of police, two ambulances and an animal control officer.
We went to dinner in ChinaTown last night. IceQueen, myself, IceQueen's workmate Cheetah, and her man, Fone. It was really groovy (my first venture into ChinaTown and Lower Manhattan). They are a really nice couple.
After a yummy multi-course meal of chicken, rice, beef noodles, vegetables, roti canai, herbal tea, lychee juice and some sort of shaved ice (purely coincidental) desert that tasted like cookie-dough ice cream, we then took a walk through some streets where Ice (aka IceQueen, Weasel, Weasling ...for those who didn't realize already) purchased a little carved fish-vending chinese man. Pretty groovy.
Ok this is pretty bizarre. In June 2000, a two-faced kitten was born in Bensalem, Pennsylvania to a proud mother cat named Butt-Butt (seriously). The kitten, named Image, had two sets of eyes, two mouths, two tongues and two noses. The two mouths operated in unison, simultaneously sneezing, yawning etc., but only one mouth connected to an oesophagus.
We set a new record this morning. Usually when the incredibly annoying BEEP BEEP BEEP of the alarm clock rudely awakens us (you know the one, right? that noise that you learn to despise above all other noises?), well usually one of us wakes up and pitter patters across the room, groggily hits the snooze button, and returns to bed for another nine minutes. This process is most often repeated maybe four or five times before one of us (generally me) decides "ok, ok, fine, I'll get up", and gives the alarm clock at look that would turn a mere mortal into a gibbering pile of drool. Alternatively, we bypass the snooze button and just switch the bugger off altogether, returning to bed with the full intention of getting up in a couple of minutes, and doing exactly that, except maybe an hour or so later (this is the preferred option, as it happens).