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too much of a novelty
Tuesday, March 25 2008
I was across the Hudson for most of the afternoon today, one moment looking at a pile equipment destined for a prison computer lab, determining what else I'd need to get, and the next I was in a sagging Victorian house overlooking the Hudson in Tivoli, configuring Macintoshes to communicate with a router using encryption, thereby preventing an evil neighbor from partaking. The evil neighbor is in the process of gutting and redoing the interior of his Victorian in hopes of making it into a bed and breakfast, but my client said he intends to fight this plan every step of the way. "That'll be an interesting board meeting," I chuckled.
Meanwhile the client's dog, some sort of purebred large-breed terrier, ran around quietly with a tennis ball in his mouth. He doesn't know it, but he's a replacement for an identical dog killed a few months ago by a passing Amtrak train. Luckily, he has less interest in wandering than the dog who preceded him.
Back on the west bank of the Hudson, I bought most of the equipment I'd need for the prison computer lab at Lowes, as the prices there are about 20% cheaper than Staples. Also, Lowes has commodities like bulk CAT-5e cable that Staples would never stock.
Getting my usual two slices in the Terra Nova Pizzeria, I was struck by how over-the-top outgoing the boy who works there is. He's only about 13 or 14 but chats about the weather, makes positive observations about orders, and even manages to make small talk about the random size differences of slices. He seems to be channeling someone much older, someone too old to care what people actually think, though at his age such behavior is far too much of a novelty to be even the slightest bit irritating.
Back at the house, Gretchen commented that I seemed to be more "present" than usual and wondered if perhaps this had something to do with venturing out into the world. Perhaps, I thought, but it might also have something to do with the fact that I've been experimenting with taking her prescription of the mood-stabilizing drug Celexa. Today was my sixth day on it, though it usually takes at least a week to kick in. The insurance plan we've been covered under since Gretchen's new job gives us free refills of generic prescription drugs, which used to be a considerable monthly expense.
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