Coffee, Tea, All Neat, Sir!

I have for a while not had any coffee. I have lately suffered occasionally from a sore throat, and what I had heard for a long time was that a particular brand of tea was fairly good for that. I decided to switch from the coffee that I'd been drinking to that very tea, known as Throat Coat. It has been an interesting change. The coffee is prepared in a manner that I have done so many times that it is not exactly a thrilling operation.

The tea is a little different. With the coffee, I would of course insert the coffee (possibly grinding it from beans) into a filter (probably made of paper), dripping through that water which I would pour into the proper chamber after measuring it in the very carafe which ultimately contains the finished coffee. I would then pour the coffee into a mug, adding cream and sugar. It's a process as boring for me to type as it must be to read.

Going Nowhere

I have had cause lately to reassess where I'm living. Presently I'm in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. It is where I have been most of the time I've lived in LA, with the balance being a year in Highland Park, two months in Glendale, one month in Koreatown and three weeks in Burbank. I have been happiest here, and even more so in the fashionable end than I was in the  rougher end.

I have become very comfortable here, and have found that there is little I need that lies outside of the area. Of course I find it necessary to go all over on account of auditions, shows and activities initiated by friends who have clearly not considered the virtues of keeping things close to where I live. Still, I do sometimes entertain the idea of being elsewhere, but the result is usually that I resolve to stay where I'm at.

Independence Day Now

Yesterday being Independence Day (as I feel the urge to say instead of the Fourth of July), it is maybe too timely of me to discuss the occasion, but I had a passably notable experience. Up until a couple days ago, I had no plans at all except that a couple of possibilities were presented to me. Things solidified the day before, and I would venture to say that the plan played out in a very satisfactory way, although whether alternate plans were superior is beyond my ability to say.

What we ( which is to say myself and four close friends) did was to go out to Northridge, which lies at the northernmost reaches of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. There was to be found a free fireworks display. As it turned out, the event was under the auspices of a church, but we five did not bear any ill will on that account. Although the fireworks were not to be until after sunset, of course, we  made our way up early.

I Saw It & I'm Not Sorry

I got out to the cheap theater again last night, and this time it was to see "GI Joe: Retaliation". My friends and I went at my suggestion, although I was motivated by the high level of interest displayed by one of those friends. At the last minute, I expressed a sudden eagerness to see "Fast & Furious 6", but this did not meet with any particular approval, and so we remained with original plan. That was fine too.

Hitting the theater on a Tuesday makes it even cheaper. The tickets are $1.50 apiece, and so that makes it very reasonable to get some refreshments. I believe I spent $6.50 on a ticket, a soda and two hot dogs, and that's pretty good in my book. I'm so well-disposed to like a movie at that point that it's practically a slam-dunk. I'm out very little except for my time if the movie is really that bad. I don't think I've truly been disappointed there.

Too Unique

Once again I am reminded that I am not like anyone else and that I especially don't think like anyone else. I read an item about some police officers shooting a dog. I don't know whether they were justified in doing so out of self-defense as they will likely claim or if they were in the wrong, but other people are not so reluctant to form an opinion. Without praising myself, I think the smartest people are the most aware of their ignorance. When I see a picture or video, I wonder what lies outside the frame, what happened before it was taken and what happened after.

Probably I would be the object of much disgust if my thinking about the matter became especially known. Anyway, it isn't that story that concerns me so much. It's just that thought that I am so painfully unique. There are plenty of people as smart as me or smarter, and naturally I'm bested by many in a variety of other areas, so don't get the idea that I'm saying this entirely in a good way. It's good for me, but it's also bad.

L'Affaire VCR

I had a VCR incident. What happened is this: I bought a new television. It's a high definition set, and it's in the living room now. The set that was there is now in my bedroom, and so is the VCR that is controlled by the same universal remote. I reasoned that I just had to get another VCR, and so I went out to do it.

I went to the thrift store I deemed most likely to have a good VCR with its original remote, but they did not have anything like that. I picked what looked like an acceptable one, and went to the trouble of locating the cables, TV and VHS tape that I would need to test it. This was a laborious process, but worth it considering that the wares there are sold "as is". I walked away thinking I'd done my due diligence and found a good VCR.

Sitting In

I had a nice improv comedy experience the other day. I got an email from a friend who also does improv asking if I'd like to perform with a team of his the next night. I'm more given to saying yes these days than I used to be, so I quickly agreed. I didn't know at that time much more than the time and place, but I figured it would be a great thing to do, so I said yes and waited for the time of the performance to come.

A regrettable consequence of accepting the opportunity was that it came at the expense of other things I was hoping to do. I had to leave a roller derby game early, and I was left with too little energy afterward to go to a birthday party. Still, I find that it's always good to do things instead of being a spectator at things, which isn't to say that birthdays are less valuable, but there are times when a subsequent opportunity supersedes a prior commitment.