Plasma TV Blog

Finally competed the paperwork for our new home and we are now officially ready to move in. We haven’t finished paying off our current home but nevertheless we have decided not to sell it. Instead we are going to rent it out and let the rent pay its mortgage. So far we have been really good about paying on time thus making this possible. By my estimates the house will be paid off in about 15 years but that is a short time to wait so that I can give this property to my kids. As a surprise twist; however, the Missus and I decided to leave it furnished, which means we can charge more and actually make a little money on the rent. Well probably not really as most of that will go towards maintenance. In any case what this really means is that my wife gets to bring all her old stuff and I get to buy new toys, except for my plasma, no that one comes with me. But she will get a new podium. This weekend we’ll be shopping for new furniture, beds, sofas, tables, and what really interests me, home entertainment centers. I’m thinking mahogany.

It’s funny sometimes looking at my current situation. Never in my wildest dreams as a new husband and father did I imagine I’d be looking at the prospect of owning two houses. I’m happy mostly for my kids; my wife as well, but I know that her and I would be happy living inside my old Euro van driving along the Mexican coast line, crossing the border now and then to rob banks.

I’m probably last in line again, but I have finally got around to deciding to throw out my aging television set and purchase a plasma television. To get an idea of what has been happening since I have been in my technology coma (I’m forty-five) I have been checking out consumer reviews of every plasma tv I can get my hands on.

It is looking like I’m going to go with a Hitachi. A lot of other brands have more features it seems, but Hitachi scores high on reliability on the online reviews I’ve examined. I’m not what you would call a typical tech junkie. The last time I bought a new tv was 1980, and I’m not likely to buy another in my lifetime, so I want something that’s gonna last.

I don’t know where my sense of frugality comes from. Certainly not from my parents. My dad worked at Sony for years, and he’d bring home every new goody they came out with. Hey! Wait a minute… I think I just figured it out; perhaps I’m rebelling against my parents. Interesting. I better make a note to tell my analyst.

I’ve always been a huge fan of travel documentaries. Since I purchased my Hitachi plasma television I’ve been in seventh heaven sitting back to enjoy some really class-A travelogue productions on A&E and HBO. Last Sunday my wife and I saw a fabulous program which focused on the many architectural classics of New York City. It was so well done, the very next day I called my travel agent and booked a trip there.

The views they showed from the Empire State Building’s outdoor observatory in the New York architecture documentary looked absolutely stunning. They said that the 86th floor observation deck offers 360-degree views of the city. I’m definitely bringing along my old trusty Polaroid Land camera for that experience. Hopefully I’ll come away with some shots I can frame and hang in the breakfast nook.

The show also contained a wealth of fascinating details I hadn’t previously known about the Empire State Building. For example, did you know that for the longest time, since its completion in 1931, all the way until 1972, the Empire State Building was the tallest building in New York? Sadly, since the terrorist destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, it holds that title once again.

Hey, I’m a poet and I don’t know it! Right… This week has been rather hectic. Not only am still working on this deck job which was delayed do to rain, I also have the new office being set-up which is going ahead on schedule, my kids both have a full week of recitals and sporting events, and the Sopranos finale was also this week and being the only guy with a nice, big, fat plasma on the block I had to play host right? Right? Please help me excuse what could be considered negligence in the light of issues with more priority. I have been missing the NBA Championships after all. Anyway, that’s over and done with so now, of course the kids take precedence over the new office but I still have to get that deck thing done ASAP. It was only supposed to take less than a week but this rain every other day has really delayed the ‘finer aspects’ of that work. As for the office: it is almost done, only the wiring and plumbing (and decor *sigh*) remain. At least the phone, an Inter-tel Axxess model, is up and running now and I can have Marge dispatch orders, but she’s gotta go next door to Subway to use the john.

Good news is that the little ones did well on their extra-curricular activites. Well, are doing well as my son still has a semi-final and hopefully a championship game left this week. His team made it throught the quarter finals on Tuesday basically routing the other team. They had a near perfect record this season! My daughter also had a successful recital and only made one mistake but no noticable to most members of the audience. Oh well, I should get off the computer, just got on to check e-mail and write this quick quick entry but I can’t afford to distract myself anymore this week.

When I first moved to San Francisco I didn’t like it; the streets were crowded, and everywhere there were signs of political unrest. I overheard people talking about all things New Age, gifts, fair trade & healing crystals. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people running about in the downtown core. It took a while to get used to.

While I was getting myself used to the city I spent a lot of down time in front of the tv. Luckily my girlfriend sent me some dvds she and my friends made back in Georgia, of them just horsing around. Seeing their faces onscreen made me feel a little less lonely. I guess in the olden days people would send their family letters when they became separated by distances. All I can say is “Thank God for plasma tv.”

After about a month I started to feel more at home. A girl from downstairs invited me to a Wiccan gathering in a nearby park. I had never attended such a thing before and I was a little nervous at first, but Sheila introduced me to a lot of nice people. I guess you could say I made a few new friends that night. At the end of the evening she gave me a small crystal and said if I kept it in my apartment it would spread good energy and “help make it a home.” I hope she’s right.