Money talks, money talks; Dirty cash I want you, dirty cash I need you, oh...

I should be preparing to return to work tomorrow, but I'm just not yet ready for that.

I have returned from my Thanksgiving weekend refreshed, but far from really ready for it to be over. Alas, the weekend can't be extended neither for the good time had, nor to hear the remainder of the Radio 1 countdown still to air on the satellite radio in my friend's car.

One of the pleasant things to come from this weekend: I have finally tracked down a long-lost song of mine, Dirty Cash by Stevie V. I had a vague recollection of the song, and occasionally the chorus of the song would float through my head. And due to the lack of being able to either locate the song itself, a reference to it, or someone else who knew what I was talking about; I had begun to think the song really didn't exist--that I'd dreamt it up or something. 'Course, the fact that I thought the song was called "Money Talks" did nothing really to help me to find it.

What did assist me in finally tracking in down, however, is a song currently on the British charts (by the interestingly named Dizzee Rascal) that samples the song and borrows its name. This led me to find it.

Having found it iTunes even makes worthwhile hearing Miley Cyrus's Party in the USA every time we were in the car this weekend....

Money talks, money talks
Dirty cash I want you
Dirty cash I need you, oh

I'm already gone...

I have made it to Thanksgiving break this week, after a rather crazy 3-days at work. It really feel like I was pushed to do a 5-day-week's-worth of work in this week's 3--not the least stressful things ever.

But that is now done, and I'm prep'ing to spend the 4-day weekend relaxing. A friend and I are headed over to Florida's Gulf Coast for a trip to Busch Gardens on Friday. Not really anything else planned for the weekend, so we're just kinda going from there. Should hopefully be restful.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.


I want you to know
That it doesn't matter
Where we take this road

Keep away from a runaround Sue

In the mail Tuesday, I received from citi a notice that they're raising the interest rate on one of my cards to 23%--up from 18%. I was a tad shocked at this, not only because the 18% APR was bad, but also that they were raising it. (It really doesn't help that I have a balance on the card in question that I'm trying to pay down, as well.)

So, after this fun news, yesterday via email citi sends me an email boasting of the great built-in benefits this card (now?) comes with. Unfortunately, a decent APR is not one of those benefits; nor is the ability to invest savings money at anything close to said 23%....

To top it off, today, citi sent me a survey where one of the questions asked was along the lines of "what one thing would you like to see not currently associated with your card?" I said a 7% APR--I wonder if I'll get it....

I should of known it from the very start
This girl'll leave you with a broken heart
A-listing people, what I'm telling you
A-keep away from a runaround Sue

Why do you keep coming a-round, playing with my heart

A local radio station has switched over to its Christmas music format already; I heard it while at lunch today. It is a over a week before Thanksgiving. This is disgusting.

Now the "appropriate" term for the station isn't "Christmas", rather it's a "Holiday" formatted station. 'Course this allows them to justify that, as Thanksgiving is a "holiday", it's ok for them to overrun it with the holiday after it.... I'm surprised the countdown to Christmas hasn't started on their station; although maybe it has, and I've just not heard it since I'm now purposely not listening to the station. Nothing gets me out of the "holiday" spirit faster than entities (like stores) who try to start the Christmas season as early as possible to maximize sales to we, the consumers. They are also the ones who stop the holiday season abruptly on December 26: 12 days before Little Christmas. The radio stations will do it too. Actually, I'm surprised the radio stations even make it through December 25 playing Christmas songs....

So, hello radio stations: it's now 9 days till Thanksgiving! (stop making it be 38 shopping days to Christmas). And likewise to the grocery store that switched out--for All Saints Day on Nov.1--the Halloween candy for Christmas items on the shelves right when you walk in; or the mall store that already was piping in Christmas music on during the Halloween night trick-or-treat event in the mall.

But back to the radio station: I feel compelled to call into the station and request a Thanksgiving song... and let them figure out what that is. Or maybe I'll request Auld Lang Syne (maybe I can get them to skip right over December all together).


Set me free, why don't you baby
Let me free, why don't you baby
'Cause you don't really love me
You just keep me hangin' on

I light my torch and wave it for the new moon on Monday

I spent today doing laundry and reading.... Well, at least until I finished reading Night Watch (I then transitioned to cleaning) and then until I ran out of laundry soap. And as I'm attempting to not spend any money today, I'm deterring myself from going to the store to buy some more detergent. (Oh darn it, I'll have to stop doing laundry--the heartache!; I'm crestfallen.)

Night Watch has an interesting notion in it, about how people commonly "damn" things, with things like "dammit". An underlying theme in the book (and presumably the series of books to which Night Watch is the first) is a battle between light and dark. (Currently is a stalemate truce, where the light side occupies the day, the dark the night. The night watch is the light's squad for watching/monitoring the dark side; their is also a corresponding day watch that monitors the light during the day.)

The book frames commonly uttered "dammit"s and the like as sending an actual dark curse onto the person/object/whatever to which it has been directed. So instead of proliferating further darkness in the world by using those words, the night watch members are taught to replace those curses with things like "light and darkness". It lead me to the notion of wishing salvation, or intelligence or patience, on people... (just seems interesting).

Also interesting:

• there is a new moon tomorrow night, which is a Monday;
• the movie based on the second Twilight book, New Moon, comes out later this week as well.

I said it again, but could I please rephrase it
Maybe I can catch a ride
I couldn't really put it much plainer
But I'll wait 'til you decide

Little bird, little bird, in the cinnamon tree

I have finished Book 1 of Don Quixote--woo hoo! Still only halfway through the 900 pages of the book; but at least I'm halfway.

Actually, I finished Book 1 while in South Carolina over the weekend, and have even read a wee bit into Book 2. But I am pondering reading a "break book" before really getting into DQ Book 2 (if only to assist in my not getting Man of La Mancha songs stuck in my head--such as today's subject).

Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch is the book in question... and I will leave now to start it.

Hasta.


I have waited too long, without a song
Little bird, little bird, please fly, please go
Little bird, little bird, and tell her so
Little bird, little bird

Music of the night

Remember, remember, the fifth on November...

Greetings from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (well, actually North Myrtle Beach) where I am for some work stuff this weekend. And in what may be becoming a tradition for me on Guy Fawkes Night, I have just finished watching V for Vendetta. Watching the moving has calmed me somewhat from the craziness I had upon my arrival here.

My flight up today went rather smoothly, but getting from the airport to the hotel was interesting. I knew prior to leaving that I would need to find a ride to the hotel from the airport. Prior to my arrival at MYR, I thought that meant I would grab a cab. However, faced with at $50 fare to the hotel--and the shock of it being that much--I decided to check into renting a car, instead. I ended up finding and renting a car as it was on par to a taxi to the hotel and back (I do need to get back to the airport on Sunday).

I then proceeded to drive towards the hotel. About 20 minutes into the drive, and halfway there, the road I was on completely blocked off--all 5 lines of traffic. A fire engine was blocking traffic from my north-bound direction and police cars about a block away covered the south-bound lanes. With no parking lots to cut through to get around (and several cars attempting to do so in the one parking lot nearby), nor any parallel streets, I was at a loss as to what to do. In a unfamiliar city, at night, and the one route I knew would get me near where I needed to head, shut down. (And strangely, there was nothing in the road... rather the police seemed focused on things adjacent to the road.)

Thankfully, I had snagged a map at the rental car desk and from that I found an alternative route (which only require a wee bit of backtracking to get to). And so a few hours after my flight's arrival, I walked into my hotel under an unusual red, mostly-full, moon, the full moon being just 3 days ago on Monday.

At the front desk of the hotel I found my reservation didn't start until the next night (the hotel adjusted my reservations); and it was then that I remembered a few things I'd completely blanked on and left back at home.... (After a minor worry attack and having watch the aforementioned movie, I'm now planning to resolve said things mañana--particularly since it was too late tonight upon my arrival to really do anything about them).

Hopefully the weekend will go better.


Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination

Though the heart be still as loving, And the moon be still as bright.

Did you see the moonrise tonight? It was amazing.

With the full moon and the enlargement distortion that happens near the horizon, it looked huge. The (fairly rare) cloud-free South Florida skies made it even easier to see here. And the fact that twilight/dusk had just started added a purplish hue to the sky....

Making it even better for me: I just happened to catch it. It wasn't even planned to be spotted: it was just there to catch me be surprise on my drive over to the pool post work. It was nice.

It's hugeness stayed for about 10-20 minutes, and then the moon gradually shrunk back to normal size. Though still a very bright full moon tonight.


Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we'll go no more a roving
By the light of the moon.