RyanHarne.com

Today at work, I noticed something that satisfied my soul and mind for a significant period of time. It was at the stoplight, waiting, perhaps perceiving all of the minor city and state infractions going on around it. It was a patrol car Jetta. Immediately I thought of the late 90s Volkwagen commercial that depicted a bank robber getting away in a partol car and two cops choosing between a Ferrari and a Jetta parked along the street. And now my frivolous dream has turned into a reality. But in fact, the Lynchburg Police Department has been trying out several different vehicles apart from the standard Ford fleet you’d see (the Crown Victorias, Explorers, and Escapes). In the past year I can recall seeing a partol car version of the Honda CRV, Jeep Cherokee Classic, Pontiac Vibe, and other non-surprising vehicles. So to quickly conclude my horrible intro, I thought it was interesting to see a Jetta as a vehicular symbol of authority.

If you get a chance, read this article about a ballpark jerk who got attention for the wrong reasons and the kid he hit as he dove for a foul ball. The jerk got publicly slammed (even at the game by all the fans) for refusing to give this kindergartener the foul ball. With the congenial spirit baseball is supposed to bring, the kid received loads of free stuff from the franchise and tv coverage from several major networks. Some people are jerks; and they get made fun of on national television; and that makes the rest of us feel our revenge is complete.

I can affirmatively say that Les Mis is captivating me even further. I’ve been spending considerably more time reading that book and have gotten to the point at which I crave further revelations of plot. All this thanks to Abigail. Our random BT trip to Christiansburg provided us good reason to rest in a B&N for a while with our preferred Starbucks drinks. Eventually, as the magazine features became less enthralling we started checking out books. She recommended I read Les Mis, but my reservations were based on its superb length and depth. Now, today, I am incredibly glad I listened to her assuring advice to put $8 toward the B&N corporation and enhance my literary horizons. Three cheers for Abigail!

Speaking of Starbucks…::thirsts::..yeah…tonight.

“Thanksgiving-in-a-dryer, Christmas-in-a-washer, Easter-in-a-blender” - an excursion of a conversation that led to our (Adam, Bryan, Courtney, and I) understanding (the quote) of how we could all celebrate holidays by using only one household appliance in the preparation of the holiday food; it was funny to us

If ever I have enjoyed a weekend with a perfectly-sized group of friends, this weekend was it. Times were spent in all sorts of conversations and situations and I was able to ::gasp:: relax. My H-Vegas trip was grand; let me explain.

I described the events of Friday earlier (the trip to H-burg and then dinner at Jalisco’s). After dinner we basically sat around in Adam’s apartment listening to music and chatting; some could say the night was uneventful but I thought it was rather pleasant.

Saturday we woke up, watched some VH1, and then headed out to a theater. Our entertainment was the film The Chronicles of Riddick starring Vin Diesel. I doubt any more explanation is needed to explicate our feelings of the film since I just mentioned the star of the movie, however I could rant for a few moments. Vin Diesel is not an actor, he is a line-spitting, hulk of man-flesh that embodies the much more fatty American man’s dream in that he always gets the women and wins his battles. The film itself has a pitiful plot and plenty of voiceover material to fill in the countless other hours worth of footage you wouldn’t want to wade through. The computer graphics and such are moderate; nothing really appeals as a highlight to the film. Although that guy from The Lord of the Rings, who is part of the horse people or something, is also in Riddick which I thought was strange, quite a downgrade for him. But whatever. In reality, the worst part of the film is that the ending is left entirely open, completely obvious that a sequel is at hand. Ugh…

But after a fun, two hours of mockery, Bryan, Adam, and I went to Panera to grab some lunch (and Bryan’s now-daily caffé mocha). We met up with Courtney ::yay!:: and had a great time. We actually stayed there for another two hours just talking. I really enjoyed that. Post our meal, Courtney split for her sister’s wedding and then the remaining crew began a frontiersman’s effort to locate jeans for me. As decreed by Abigail, they needed to help me find jeans. So we went to the Valley Mall, strangely deserted during Saturday afternoon, and I found a nice pair at GAP. However, the ones I really wanted were $60 and I didn’t quite want to spend that much on jeans; but they looked soooo good. Perhaps I regret that hesitation. Oh well.

We returned to Adam’s place and then Martha stopped by. For the next 3 or so hours we talked and took, possibly, hundreds of pictures with our digital cameras. Martha says I have a horrible habit of posing for pictures. I’m not sure if this is entirely true but I admit some record of failures in my candid photos. Regardless, we had a great time together. Then we made some veggie burgers and had salad and then sat down for a MST3K, Village of the Giants. A great film, to say the least. Apparently, Bill Gates’ younger self had an appearance as a harmonica player and Tommy Kirk’s pants/shorts just kept getting…briefer… Yeah. The movie was hilarious and we laughed and danced to their crazy, 60s beats. We said goodbye to Martha and thanked her for the lively vigor she provided to our superb evening.

Then this morning we (we 3 + Courtney) had breakfast at Calhoun’s and coffee at Hidalgo’s (or rather The Artful Dodger…or something). Breakfast was fantastic and equally full of photos. Then Courtney departed once again went back to Adam’s place so I could pack up and begin my wonderful drive.

After packing up, I began my wonderful drive of anticking…antiquing… The drive was quick thanks to the music tossed to my laptop (and eventually iPod) by Adam.

My weekend was great. And I am ready for another week of life in Lynchburg. However another dosage of anything non-Lynchburg will be required soon to further sustain my life-support systems.

Eventually I’ll put up some pictures.

My drive to Harrisonburg was truly relaxing. On several occasions I passed a pre-rained on section of road that pleasured my olfactory senses with that delightful spring rain smell. And then it just started to rain. But the drive was fairly comfortable over all.

Plus, I had the conscious advantage of knowing my car was getting 40+ mpg. After my mileage test concluded earlier this week, I discovered that I am getting 40.997 mpg with a rather strenuous week of driving; so I would faithfully assume that I was getting even better than that today.

Anyways, Adam is here! Along with Bryan! And we will let the fun begin.

Addition: We just got back from dinner at Jalisco’s, quite possibly the best Mexican restaurant I’ve ever been to.

And then Bryan got some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, because he needed his dessert. Typical…

I fear this may be one of my catching-up-on-pertinent-topics-at-hand blogs. I warn the squeamish, but I will be cautious myself.

Jeremiah leaves in two hours, departing for Boston once again. It has been nice to enjoy the most welcome company of my best friend, yet saying goodbye has become a commonplace in our relationship over the past two years. Nevertheless, at every chance of meeting we encounter, it is like nothing has changed between us. I am grateful for a friend and confidante such as him.

So Sony finally decides to exit the PDA market in America. Somehow it is not surprising, yet still I took the initial news with questioning. The Clies were the first to have digital cameras, first to have MP3 players, first to have Palm OS 5. I was impressed with my Clie from day one (a T665C), yet admittedly my use for it has dwindled over time (although this is, in part, to its lack of Wi-Fi). I’ve loved the Clie displays; they always impress me with refined color and detail in photos that I’ve stored. The newer ones all include a digital camera of some sort which I find to be a heroic marketing idea; even I would enjoy taking visual reminders throughout my day. Yet one of my greatest, and eventually my nemesis, distastes for the Clies have been the Memory Stick that Sony forces upon anyone who wishes to expand the Clies flash memory. I loathe Memory Stick all together and its pitiful transfer software. But regardless, it looks like Palm will have to entirely take over the Palm OS for PDAs; I applaud PalmOne already for their great advances with the Zire 72 and Tungsten line, the pricedrops have been pivotal. So anyways, so long, Sony; good morning sunshine.

Another reason to love Apple? Sure, why not. AirPort Express is the most amazing hardware/peripheral that has been released in 2004 thus far. I am truly in awe at this little (literally) device. Plus! it works for Windows and Mac; those of us not-yet-switchers can rejoice! Steve Jobs constantly gets it across that its just not worth our time, effort, and money to stay in our Windows world. Congrats to Apple.

On a further point, I’ve noticed a change in my eating habits. Assumably, correlating with a pattern first begun in my second semester of college, I eat very little sweets now. Almost none at all. Usually at home, while on the computer or reading I would have, at-hand, a half-dozen of Hershey’s kisses or Dove chocolate pieces that I would gradually put to use. Now, nothing at all (or carrots…I just love carrots now). Even more, I hardly eat anything before going to bed. In the past, it was a habit to have a “snack” before sleep, possibly two or three servings of some high-sugar-packed cookie or cake. Now, a low-fat ice cream sandwich (my choice tonight actually) will do me in before rest. Realizing this change makes me feel good. Doing favors like this for your body cannot go unrewarded; I know that over time my body will stay healthier physically and mentally, research shows. I do not call myself a ‘health freak’, but I am conscientious of what/how much I eat. To note, I eat a healthy dose of carbs every day; but once more, I exercise at least 4 times a week for about an hour and the carbs that I often crave give me the energy for those workouts. I’ve decided that Americans are fat because they ingest too many fats and sugars and not enough vegetables and fruits, plus most don’t exercise or claim mental exhaustion as a “work-out”. Whatever. I am healthy and it makes me feel good.

I also suppose that some people may write off typing as a workout. Anyways, I think this has been a good blog. More later I suppose.

After a three week sabbatical, Abigail and I met once again, this time in Lynchburg. She drove from VA Beach on Friday and arrived in the afternoon once I got back from work. Her sudden presence was well-received.

Friday night was dinner at home and then we went out to enjoy night life. Yet since we were in L-burg, night life meant chatting and a movie. We hadn’t sat down for coffee and a conversation since Bollo’s at Tech, so I do believe the latest installment was most refreshing. Afterwards we hit up the mall to see Shrek 2. I was surprised at how good the movie was. I expected it to be yet another, low-rated summer sequel that has good first-week box office figures but doesn’t ‘fit the bill’ after the fact. But it was very good and we both enjoyed it.

Saturday we took to the mall again for some walking and browsing. I found a few shirts worth purchasing and she found some incredibly comfortable sandals at Journeys. We ran into Jeremiah at the mall with some of his family. They were all anticipating Rachel’s upcoming graduation that night. Anyways, it was good to see J for a few minutes.

Then Abigail and I went to JF’s graduation that night. It was nice. And brief. Then we left to meet Rianna for dinner. Applebee’s was great; our conversations better. All was well with the world. Then we three went to Starbucks to wait for Jeremiah…who never showed up. Apparently, family plans held him up perpetually, not as planned, thus he couldn’t meet up with the group. We were sad, but we survived.

This morning was a Blue Ridge morning. With Jeremiah actually. Then lunch with my mom. And then Abigail and I said our goodbyes and she was off. The brevity of this weekend was just as abrupt as my summary of the events; however, any time spent with Abigail is time well spent. I really enjoyed seeing her. Really enjoyed this weekend.

Another farewell to not forget is the passing of an American hero, President Ronald Reagan. I recall the wealth of information I learned about his presidency from my AP Gov class and remember the many ways he helped this country thrive. His prolific ability to captivate an audience displayed his charisma that furthered our nation. Quite possibly my favorite president. A nation mourns.

On a much lesser scale of gloom, I had a bad dream last night. In this soul-based apparition, gas prices soared 8 cents. Diesel was $1.72 9/10. I became apalled and excited at this jump. But I woke up this morning to notice the significantly lower gas prices on our drive to church. On average, gas is about 3 to 4 cents cheaper today. What a good thing to wake up to. Anyways.

I promised I would mention more about how this keyboard/mouse duo is serving me. Thus far I am really enjoying it. Despite my initial concern over the size of the keyboard, it truly is comfortable and light; the leather wrist rest is a godsend (I type with the keyboard in my lap and my wrists enjoy the smoothness of the leather stuff) and the keys are easy and responsive. However, the left control key is about half its original size since Microsoft created a curve around the lining of the keys that slightly splices that key. Also the scroll wheel (same as on the mouse) on the keyboard is a wonderful idea. And the mouse is just superb. It’s very comfortable and usable. So far my range on the wireless capability is anywhere in my room; since I located the receiver on the top tier of my desk I can get perfect reception out into the hallway. Very nice. I am pleased. Might even come back for more.

Oh…SanDisk has already processed/shipped my replacement compact flash card. I am further impressed.

But I still miss Abigail, already.