THE END

https://whatireallywanttosayis.wordpress.com

September 12, 2005 – June 12, 2009

You served your purpose.

Thanks.

Compy Love

Here is a question that may exclude some regulars.  Sorry!

I’ve recently become interested in learning more about computers.  Specifically, programming.  However, I am essentially a beginner.

Is anyone who reads this blog a computer geek?  (Gordon, are you still out there?)

I’m looking for tips on good places to start.  Would an intro to C++ be a good idea?  Books?  Certification courses?  Educational websites?  Bueller?

GED snag

I’m planning on visiting the DMV soon, and the driver’s license saga will be (thankfully) over.  Probably next pay check.

This spring I applied to the CUNY school system which is made up of 23 learning institutions including Hunter College.

However, I ran into a little snag.  The state of New York requires their applicants to have either a GED or a state issued diploma.  I was home schooled my junior and senior years of high school, and the laws were different way back then.  Which means, I have neither.

So at 30 years old, I have signed up to take the GED.  I have 7 weeks left to study.  Yes, study.

I keep hearing that the test is easy, and I’m sure it is, but it has been YEARS since I’ve discussed the finer points of essay writing, worked through algebraic formulas, or paid any attention to dates in history.

So a fall acceptance may not be possible(admissions deadlines passed), but hopefully I’ll be gracing the halls of higher learning institutions with my presence by the beginning of 2010.

Star Trek

I finally saw it.

In an IMAX theater.

It was glorious.

I cried twice.

I have no complaints, only praise.

I’m very excited that the Star Trek I remember can remain unscathed in my memory, and yet this new thing can exist with today’s special effects and sensibilities.

I hope to see more.

Play

The Vacation is almost over.

We have eaten lots of food (Thai, homemade lasagna, various steaks).

We have consumed many beverages (White Russians, Stella, Guinness, kiwi strawberry tea).

We have slept in.

We have napped on the beach.

We have been tossed around by waves.

We have participated in a shuffleboard tournament.

We have vacationed.

Pause

I’m going on vacation tomorrow.

Back to Florida for a week of tanning, relaxing, drinking, eating, frisbee tossing, shuffleboarding, and whatever other “ings” one does when vacationing.

I haven’t decided yet if I’ll be getting on the internet at all during that time.

Perhaps…(I say slowly, pinky finger raised to the corner of my smirk)…. if I have any vacation experiences worth gloating over.  Er… I mean… worth sharing.

Really?

After experiencing the satisfaction of @ngie finally becoming a legal driver, I was inspired to share my own driver’s license saga.  I hope to have a similarly satisfying ending.

Getting the required paperwork for a NYS DL (New York State Driver’s License) has been an adventure in itself.  I had to get my divorce decree, change my name with Social Security, live somewhere long enough to get proof of residency, and more.  Believe it or not, each one of those situations has a ridiculous story of it’s own.

Nevertheless, the day came when I felt I was sufficiently prepared to tackle the only DMV office in NYC that allows out of state drivers to exchange their DL.   I had a completed application, a passport with my legal name, a social security card with my legal name, a few bills will my legal name and current address, an official copy of my divorce decree and my Texas DL.

I went to Herald Square, stood in line to find out which line to stand in.  I stood in that line and two hours after entering the building, I was told that they couldn’t process my application because the issue date on my TX DL was in an invalid format.

There is something called an audit number on the TX DL and the first five numbers are in YYDDD format.  So February 2, 2008 would show up as 08033, the 33rd day of the year.  I cried a little, just because everything I went through to get to that moment was simply ridiculous.

I emailed the State of Texas, and asked if they could send me a letter on official TX DMV letterhead that stated the issue date.  Sure!  I just needed to give them the name and fax number of an individual at the NY DMV.  Um….. yeah….. about that.  New York City is about as opposite of Texas as you can get.   This is no country DMV with 15 or so employees.  There aren’t even published numbers for each office.  There is one number for the New York City metro area.  So I asked if they could just mail it to me so that I could show up with all the proper documention in hand.

Nope.

So I found a place on line where I could spend $22 to purchase a copy of my DL record.  Fine.  I did it and was told to expect it in 5 business days.

Two weeks later, still nothing.  So I asked them to look into it.  It had been sent out 10 days prior, but never made it to me.  “Can you mail it to my work address?”, I asked.  Certainly….. for another $22.  They can only send another free copy if it’s sent to the originally requested address, which I’m obviously having problems receiving mail at.

Just 5 more business days and I should be ready to walk back into that Herald Square office.

Star Trek Blackout

I don’t know if you heard anything about this, but it seems that JJ Abrams made a little movie called Star Trek.

After I saw the first teaser trailer, I knew.  It was love at first sight.  We all know that trailers are meant to ruin the film.  I mean, trailers are meant to tempt people to watch the movie who otherwise wouldn’t.

Well, as I previously mentioned, I knew.

So I have been on an information fast.  Which includes a strict regimen of not reading any articles about it, and when trailers come on I put my fingers in my ears, sing songs and rock back and forth.

Erick has teased me incessantly.  “Oh look!  An article about Star Trek!  Ohhhhh!  What does it say?”

Of course he doesn’t go any further than that because he knows too.

I won’t be dressing up in costume when I go to watch it in the theater, but it will still be glorious.

La or Ma

Back to the recent foreign film trend, we accidentally rented Ma Vie en Rose when we meant to rent La Vie en Rose.

Although we did see both, oddly enough, we ended up enjoying the mistake film more.

Ma was about a a little boy who thought he was a little girl.  Although this seemed simple and obvious to him, his family struggled with the shame it seemed to bring.  It was interesting, at times uncomfortable, but a very rewarding film to watch.

La was…… dull.  I must say that it was obvious why Marion Cotillard won the actor for best actress.  Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood.

I am primed and ready for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation.  Bring on the blockbusters.

Lives of Others

We’ve been watching foreign films lately.  One of my favorites so far has been Lives of Others, or Das Leben der Anderen.

A secret agent for East Berlin spies on a playwright.  This “by-the-book” spy starts to find himself interested in his subjects for reasons other than his assignment.

It’s a slow movie, but it’s elegantly slow.  Watching the main character transform through the movie was beautiful, and made me wish that other movies had characters that were as dynamic.

Have you seen it?  If so, what did you think?