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July 28, 2000 |
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The helpdesk person called me today. He confirmed my suspicions that the
power supply on my test computer was toast. Some days it doesn't pay to
get out of bed.
I was talking to him and discussing the different options. We could try to
fix it, although it is probably out of warranty. I was sure that it was,
since it is only a Pentium 200 MHz. This meant that it would cost us money
to fix, and it would start with the power supply. If other things
had been damaged by the power surge, they too may bring the costs up. He
was fairly sure that the drive on the machine was still good,
which meant that whatever information I had I could still retrieve.
I asked my boss what would be the best approach. There was one other
available machine, the caveat was that it wasn't configured. I needed time
to get the whole thing working the way I needed. I grabbed the machine and
started hacking at it, removing the things that I didn't need and
restructuring what I did need. It is a long drawn out process
that I affectionately compare to brushing my teeth… with a jackhammer.
I had to return my old E-105 to Casio. Their deadline was technically on August 15th, but they would not credit my credit card until they received it and really, what's the use of my holding on to the old machine for much longer? They already had a UPS sticker for me to affix on the box, which they also provided. All I had to do is to make sure I included everything they wanted and send it off, which was trivial. I'm going to miss my old machine, it was a gift from a dear friend of mine. Yes, I asked if it would be okay if I upgraded before I ordered it.
Pam had a rough week and I wanted to make tonight a little nicer for her. I picked up some flowers and a bottle of the champagne that she likes, before I got home. Hopefully, my putting it in the freezer while I showered would be chilled enough.
I went home, showered, and packed my stuff before going to her place.
We didn't really have any particular plans for tonight. We had talked about seeing a movie. I suggested seeing Gone in 60 Seconds, since she had been so accomodating in seeing the movies that I wanted to see, but she said that it didn't get good reviews. Forgive me for saying this, but I think it is a bit of a tall order to expect an action film to get good reviews. Sketchy plotlines and unrealistic physics tend to ruin a movie.
We decided to just get dinner… well, after a couple of glasses of champagne. She was in the mood to try out the Old Spaghetti Factory, which is probably a little over a mile away.
Since we weren't sure about the parking situation, we elected to take the bus, which she read as arriving at 9:40pm. We waited for a while, but with no sign of the bus. We were both quite hungry and soon decided to drive there. We think there's enough parking there, but weren't sure. I didn't have my car keys however, so we had to walk back inside to get them. As we were stepping back out, the bus was arriving. We took the bus.
We would have to walk a couple of blocks, but that wasn't really that bad. The people in the bus were significantly less animated than they normally would be. Not that I have anything against people who ride the bus. However, keep in mind that the bus is public and that you get all sorts, and there's also a large margin between criminal and unpleasant behavior.
The Old Spaghetti Factory was a pleasant place. It is on Elliott Ave and Broad Street. The setting was warm without giving the impression of exclusiveness, which to me, only serves to alienate.
There were lamps hanging from the ceiling illuminating each table. Each of these lamps was unique in their appearance, whether it was shape, color, or otherwise. I found that lack of symmetry somewhat comforting. Yeah, I know, I'm abnormal.
Pam had the Spaghetti with rich meat sauce. To which I naturally asked does the word rich describe the sauce or the meat, and if the meat was rich, would it still be rich now that it has been slaughtered. Okay, she wasn't amused either.
I had the chicken Marsala, which had a side of the spaghetti with Mihithra cheese, which I was unfamiliar with, but was recommended by the waiter. Our waiter seemed young, maybe a tad unattentive, but otherwise a good chap. They were in the process of closing, so there was much sidework to be done. Admittedly, I felt a bit guilty about that. I didn't like being sat minutes before closing and I try to avoid doing that to anyone else.
Although the chicken was done quite nicely, I was impressed by the spaghetti. When it first came out, it looked a little like dry spaghetti sprinkled with confetti. Once you get a taste though, you'd realize that it is really quite good. Pam liked it as well, so much in fact that we even traded dishes for a while. The cheese was a little salty, but otherwise very good. I don't even want to contemplate precisely how bad this spaghetti is for you health-wise. I'll just concede that I'll only have it every great once in a while.
She treated me to dinner. Isn't she just a doll?
Since we weren't sure about the bus schedules and weren't particularly interested in walking up Broad street to catch the bus, we elected to call a cab, who showed up very promptly.
That was pretty much our evening. Her back had been feeling a bit sore for the past few days and I gave her a back massage. It has been alleged that I give good massages. Naturally, I wouldn't know since I can't give myself massages. It did seem to ease her pain. I hope she slept better.
July 28, 2000