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Maryland Trains

I'm getting used to the trains that run through this hotel every twenty minutes. I can almost sleep through the night here. But I will never get used to the loneliness. It's pretty depressing to end a day of training, because after I leave the training center I have nowhere to go. So typically I hang around the training center until five or so when they give me dirty looks and I have to leave.

Today I decided to go from the training center to McDonalds (because they have WiFi). I ordered up a chicken sandwich which I have never had from there, and will probably never order again. It was as if they took a single "chicken finger", slapped a cold piece of swiss cheese over it, and tossed it (upside down) into an elongated hamburger bun. There was also a piece of browned lettuce, and a green tomato slice glued in with excessive mayonnaise. Yummy! As I stuffed it down with my fries I made a mental note that this will be mentioned at the pearly gates when I arrive in "fat hell". As I was eating, I looked down into the cardboard box and saw a note that said "enjoy your chicken sandwich". Underneath was a clever little picture of a long haired hippie playing a guitar. What the hell kind of marketing is that?

About five minutes after I paid $2.95 for WiFi access at McDonalds ... it occurred to me that I had wasted my money. I couldn't think of what to do with this wonderful two hours of access I had just purchased. So I checked my email. Didn't have any. I started up my chat client, and updated it. I went to a couple of my favorite websites. That wasted 40 seconds. I ran system updates! I had access to all the worlds wealth of information and couldn't think of what to use it for. Pathetic. Then my phone rang. It was my wife!

She was mad at me. No doubt about that. She wondered (out loud) why I hadn't called her. Was I supposed to call her about something? She was concerned that I always call her at the end of my day and today I "hadn't bothered". I'm sure I had hurt her feelings, because I couldn't take the time to make a call and say hello. Why hadn't I called? It's not because I was too busy. Quite the contrary. Not because I didn't want to talk to her. I miss her dearly, and I am pretty lonely here. I have avoided calling her when I am away because I don't want to bother her. I assume she is busy doing stuff. She usually is. And I feel pretty pathetic calling her because I am desperate for her attention. I need a safer way to contact her. A method that allows me to say hello more often, without bugging her. I used to instant message her a lot but she dumped the IM software because people wouldn't leave her alone. Perhaps I could buy her a phone that IM's, and then I can harass her all the time!

As I left the McDonalds and headed to my car, I passed a Maryland police office who was on his way in. I couldn't help but notice his flak jacket which may just be standard uniform in these parts. I nodded, smiled, and said hello to him. When he got to the door of the restaurant he stopped, and called "excuse me" across the parking lot to me. I stopped, turned around, and said "yes?". Then he turned around, waving me off, and headed inside. That was strange. Was he looking for dinner, or was he there for me? I know my laptop probably looks like an explosive device due to my 'enhancements'. And sometimes when I pull it out in public places people give me strange looks. But I hadn't attracted any unwanted attention that I could think of. I had chosen a spot in the rear of the establishment that was even colder than the rest of the place (which was pretty damned cold). And I faced a wall, so nobody would nice my lid attachments. Maybe I should think twice about eating there again. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, that was probably from the chicken I ate. I drove away (quickly) and went straight to the hotel.

As I stumbled up the steps to the third floor of my hotel, one of my shoes slipped off and got stuck between the steps. Thinking I might lose it down a couple flights of stairs, I jumped to my knees to grab it. As I did, my eyeglasses came flying off. In a quick swoop to keep those from getting away I lost control of my book bag which spun off my arm and crashed into the steps. Luckily, my course materials took the blunt of the blow, and my laptop seems to be unaffected. I put my glasses back on. I took my other shoe off. I slung my bag back over my shoulder. I collected my pride. I slid into my room.

I pulled back the covers. Took off my dress shirt. Plopped myself down. Checked the time. 7:15PM. What the hell am I going to do until I fall asleep? I guess it's another night of whatever's on HBO. Last night it was "Catwoman", which I am guessing will go down in history as the absolute worst comic book movie ever made.

Historic Comments
Sorry to hear about the lonliness, but as far as your marriage goes, not being happy about being seperated from your wife is a good thing. If you were happy being away from home that would be a bad sign.

You and your wife should use the new yahoo meesenger, it has new 'stealth settings' that allow you to set who can see you online. This is directly from the yahoo help.

"If you are IMing with a few people and don't want to be interrupted, you can use Stealth Settings to appear invisible to everyone except the people you want to talk to."
Dennis | 11.02.05 - 11:25 am | #

You know, I should try that. It's been a long time since I tried to bring her back to IM'ing. Part of the problem is me though. I can't IM when I am teaching, because my PC screen is projected into the wall.

I really want a mobile phone that does it. That would be all too convenient. Expensive as hell too.
Ray Dios Haque | 11.04.05 - 3:06 pm | #