Tick Tock and You Don't Stop
°Yesterday we ate at Applebee's. Here's a thought...Why the hell do we ever go to Applebee's? The food's not very good, the waitress reminded me of Joan Cusack playing dumb - and perhaps just out of the halo - and the average age in the place was just a few years shy of the 4:30 dinner time at Luby's Cafeteria.
°Chili's on the other hand has pissed me off as they got rid of my favorite burger. Actually the burger has been off the menu for about 15 years, but still, they could make it for you up until this month. Chili's got rid of their chili. The strangest thing. now you can still get chili at Chili's, but it's a different chili, with beans - and that doesn't set well with me. It is also kind of weak - they brought out a little for us to try - and wouldn't stay in a burger very well. So there you go, goodbye Chili's Trip burger - the burger that had been there since day one, but now you can't even get an Oldtimer with chili. It too is off the menu. It's a sad day, indeed.
°Today was President's Day, so I had the day off. I let the dog chase the Roomba around the house and did my taxes, but I also went out to a park and studied on my NASD Series 7 test. I take the exam in May, but the brokerage exam is pretty long, extensive, and detailed, so I probably should have started a long time ago. It was a great day to be outside. It was sunny and in the 60's here. I sat out in the park for a couple of hours reading about Bonds and calls and puts and yields. I also watched several ducks swim around a pond, and that seemed much more interesting than being able to tell how a bonds price raises or lowers given the current interest rates. I've taken the Series 6 before, so I have some knowledge of what I'm in for, but the 7 is a six hour test vs. a three hour one. There's also lots that I've forgotten.
°Seeing posts from Dave (meatybear) talking about how he forgot his watch today, and from Jeb (arthole) talking about the 80's era Swatch watches he had for his costume as he DJ'ed the 80's party at IBR made me think about this story I saw the other day that I saw on Yahoo showing that watches have declined in popularity since everyone's been carrying cell phones and other gadgets that display the time.
Personally, I wear a watch every day, I don't always wear it around the house, but it's certainly a part of me when I go out. Maybe I'm just old, but I tend to rely on my watch for the time more than my cell phone, or iPod or even my computer monitor at work. When I go down to the cafeteria for my thirty minute lunch, it's my watch - a square-faced Fossil I bought at the San Marcos Outlet coming back from the wonderful ACL/Hurricane Rita escape back in 2005 - that tells me that it's been 45 minutes and I need to get back to my desk.
I've owned dozens of watches, including a digital watch with red numbers on a black face back in 1980 to Snoopy, Mickey Mouse and Superman watches, and several Swatches, including my favorite, the clear one that you could see all the gears turn. I had a Pac-Man watch and the ever geeky calculator watch. Most of them have been analog (hands) and many of them from Fossil. i don't think I've ever spent more than $100 for one. My dad has had a Rolex that he's had since before I was born. Perhaps if I invested a bit more cash I could do the same, but like my glasses, I like to change it up every few years.
The strange thing is that this year I didn't "fall back" when we went back to Standard Time this past fall. My watch has been an hour ahead for months - and when someone asks me the time, I have to do the little mental calculation to tell them it's 3:30, not 4:30. I'm not sure why I'm being stubborn about this, but with Daylight Saving Time starting earlier this year, that will be remedied next month. I guess I'll hold out.
Still, like Dave, suddenly finding that you've walked out of the house without your watch makes you feel naked, and then you're constantly in need to know what the time is. It's an insecurity as you can't rely on yourself to know. For some reason the digital clock on your cell won't do. It's a strange and irrational feeling, but we are governed by the construct of time. Our watches are just a way that we try to keep it all under control.
°Chili's on the other hand has pissed me off as they got rid of my favorite burger. Actually the burger has been off the menu for about 15 years, but still, they could make it for you up until this month. Chili's got rid of their chili. The strangest thing. now you can still get chili at Chili's, but it's a different chili, with beans - and that doesn't set well with me. It is also kind of weak - they brought out a little for us to try - and wouldn't stay in a burger very well. So there you go, goodbye Chili's Trip burger - the burger that had been there since day one, but now you can't even get an Oldtimer with chili. It too is off the menu. It's a sad day, indeed.
°Today was President's Day, so I had the day off. I let the dog chase the Roomba around the house and did my taxes, but I also went out to a park and studied on my NASD Series 7 test. I take the exam in May, but the brokerage exam is pretty long, extensive, and detailed, so I probably should have started a long time ago. It was a great day to be outside. It was sunny and in the 60's here. I sat out in the park for a couple of hours reading about Bonds and calls and puts and yields. I also watched several ducks swim around a pond, and that seemed much more interesting than being able to tell how a bonds price raises or lowers given the current interest rates. I've taken the Series 6 before, so I have some knowledge of what I'm in for, but the 7 is a six hour test vs. a three hour one. There's also lots that I've forgotten.
°Seeing posts from Dave (meatybear) talking about how he forgot his watch today, and from Jeb (arthole) talking about the 80's era Swatch watches he had for his costume as he DJ'ed the 80's party at IBR made me think about this story I saw the other day that I saw on Yahoo showing that watches have declined in popularity since everyone's been carrying cell phones and other gadgets that display the time.
Personally, I wear a watch every day, I don't always wear it around the house, but it's certainly a part of me when I go out. Maybe I'm just old, but I tend to rely on my watch for the time more than my cell phone, or iPod or even my computer monitor at work. When I go down to the cafeteria for my thirty minute lunch, it's my watch - a square-faced Fossil I bought at the San Marcos Outlet coming back from the wonderful ACL/Hurricane Rita escape back in 2005 - that tells me that it's been 45 minutes and I need to get back to my desk.
I've owned dozens of watches, including a digital watch with red numbers on a black face back in 1980 to Snoopy, Mickey Mouse and Superman watches, and several Swatches, including my favorite, the clear one that you could see all the gears turn. I had a Pac-Man watch and the ever geeky calculator watch. Most of them have been analog (hands) and many of them from Fossil. i don't think I've ever spent more than $100 for one. My dad has had a Rolex that he's had since before I was born. Perhaps if I invested a bit more cash I could do the same, but like my glasses, I like to change it up every few years.
The strange thing is that this year I didn't "fall back" when we went back to Standard Time this past fall. My watch has been an hour ahead for months - and when someone asks me the time, I have to do the little mental calculation to tell them it's 3:30, not 4:30. I'm not sure why I'm being stubborn about this, but with Daylight Saving Time starting earlier this year, that will be remedied next month. I guess I'll hold out.
Still, like Dave, suddenly finding that you've walked out of the house without your watch makes you feel naked, and then you're constantly in need to know what the time is. It's an insecurity as you can't rely on yourself to know. For some reason the digital clock on your cell won't do. It's a strange and irrational feeling, but we are governed by the construct of time. Our watches are just a way that we try to keep it all under control.