Procrastinating Gloriously
Oct 27, 2006
I spent the whole Sunday basically in the hotel room, watching TV, reading a little about Dianetics, browsing internet. All these activity had a common objective: kill time.
I wonder if its normal that I just cannot do anything other than sit back and "kill time"?
Sometime back, I would spend a lot of time at the computer either writing or reading about technology or programming. I enjoyed that a lot. Then there is photography. The fact that I did not making many photos in New York City shows the lack of drive in me for framing things. Maybe just relaxing is also normal. Maybe its something everybody does often. Its just that with me, I had been super occupied with things (including on weekends) and now this slow down is making me feel like I am missing something. It feels like I am becoming very lazy (I have always complained about this). Lately, one thing has surfaced which probably people already noticed:
I am very indecisive.
I keep changing my plans (due to the tendency to procrastinate). Procrastination was a problem (which I confuse with laziness) but the effect of it only came to my realisation recently.
Case in point:- One day before I was scheduled to travel to New York City, I had three things to do:- a) Buy an $11 Labtec PC headset for voice chat (the current one does not work), b) Buy a SD memory card for my camera (my current one is only 128mb), c) Get a hair cut (I couldn't land at the airport and hotel with my very obvious uncut & unkempt hairdo)
My plan was to leave office early at 5.30pm (my scheduled time which I never follow), go to Canada Computers near Yonge & Finch, buy the PC headset & memory card, then go over to China Town on Spadina, get the $5 haircut and buy Vietnam sandwich which Caroline loves. The Vietnam sandwich was not officially in my list but Caroline loves it. It was good till it came to execution. At 6pm I was still in office having already decided that I would go home in Mike's car (Mike is my colleague). Mike does not go anywhere near Yonge & Finch. Procrastination at its best. I had already switched to "Plan B". Plan B was to go to Future Shop near Warden & Eglinton and buy the PC headset and .. well.. get haircut somewhere. The reason I made a plan earlier to go to Chinatown for haircut is that the hair cutting shops near my residence closes at or before 7pm (I reach home earliest at 7.45pm). The Vietnam sandwich had already been tossed out of the to-do list at this point (shame on me, Caroline was expecting it).
Anyways, at this point I had no idea where I would have the haircut (neither did my friend Mike who gets his hair trimmed by his wife). For the PC headset, we went to the nearby Future Shop and because there was no $11 Labtec there, I ended up buying a Plantronics $40 headset (typical impulsive decision that costs me extra money). I got a good deal on the SD memory card so that offset it a little bit.
At this point, I got a) & b) done. What is left is c) Hair Cut..
Coming up soon....
A Week Gone By.. And I Am Still Boring..
Oct 20, 2006
Its one week now in Manhattan. A week of many firsts. The hotel room I am lodged in is onthe 36th Floor! Its the highest in terms of altitude I have stayed in. I saw the Statue of
Liberty for the first time (from the shores of Manhattan). First time I am staying in a four
star hotel for more than a day. Crowne Plaza on Broadway near Time Square is a fine hotel.
Had the most expensive steak of my life (I did learn a few things about steak but don't
remember enough to write about). Using wireless internet for the first time.
I bought a tripod today from J&R at Broadway & Ann St. near City Hall Park. Look forward to
making night photos of Brooklyn bridge and Time Square.
Food ? I had good Steak, Italian(pizza, pasta, meatballs, grill chicken & salad), Chinese
(Szechuan-style prawn with peccan/Ginger chicken with vegetables), Indian(fish curry, Rajma,
aaloo mattar on rice and one naan), Thai(Pad See-Ew), Vietnamese (the ever delicious noodle
soup) and Mexican(Carnitas Burrito). Of course I had to have the street special (Shish Kebob
on bun) and breakfast and coffee from Dunkin Doughnuts and Startbucks. OK, so I mentioned
Steak as if it was a country but then I am not sure how else to classify it.
While I made a conscious decision of not going to the same restaurant more than once, I
didn't realise that I had food from so many different countries!
I have plans to visit at least 4 places this weekdend and make photos. Lets hope the weather is suitable.
(My interest in writing has declined and it shows. I don't spend enough time thinking and rewriting. This boring blog is another sign that I need to refocus my energies on being more lively)
First Day at at the Big Apple
Oct 14, 2006
A few years ago, I saw and ad on TV which says that if you stood at New York's Time Square long enough, you would see everyone in the world. Maybe my memory betrays me. Maybe it said that you will meet a person from every country or something like that. Either way, that is something I remember and it is good way to describe Times Square.I spent most of the day at the hotel room watching TV and dozing off in between. Not a good way to spend my first day in New York City.
Food? had McDonald's for lunch near the office and a slice pizza with spinach & mushroom toppings, followed by rice pudding (half of which remains as I type this blog)
Back to Time Square. Huge posters, billboards, bright lights, lots of people taking photos and staring at various shops and people. The current biggest poster is that of "Press Play": current music album of Diddy. You also see ads of popular TV shows like S_x in the City.
After dinner, I took a walk along Broadway and had a chance to see the theatres and the stage plays currently on. The one I am interested in is "Mamma Mia" mainly for the live music of ABBA. The cheapest price is ~US$63 which is a deterrent.
I also had the pleasure of talking to a taxi driver from Bangladesh, travelled on the subway (TTC is better).
I forgot to pack my tripod with me so have not made many night photos. Lets see, maybe I will buy one here.
More tomorrow..