Sunday, June 24, 2012

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - June 24, 2012

Yep, yep, yep. It's once again Sunday morning. That means it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. 

First, I do want to discuss the television topic for a moment. Remember, Falling Skies is on tonight! I've already seen this episode in screeners and recommend it. Second, I want to mention Glass House. I accidentally napped the evening it was on and only caught the last twenty minutes or so of the show. I wasn't impressed. There was some obnoxious dude deliberately being obnoxious to the others and it all came across as staged to me. The feeds have only been available select hours and days when I'm at work. While I plan to catch a bit more, I just can't see myself getting too involved in the show. Big Brother will keep me more than busy enough through the summer.

The season premiere of Big Brother is Thursday, July 12, That would put the hamsters in the house the weekend before. So, it's not all that far away! With the live feeds from BB, I can watch any time day or night. If I want to see something that happened while I was at work, I can use their rewind function. While the Glass House feeds are free, they're really limited.

Okay, let's get back to off topic! 

After a week like this past one, I'd love to rescind my adulthood. The beginning of the week was a bit chilly and the end of the week was a heat wave with temperatures in the high 90s and high humidity levels. As I get older, I really don't tolerate that kind of weather well. I actually like winter temps better -- I can always bundle up! The heat? Well, I can't take off all my clothes and walk to the train station. Even if I did (and didn't get arrested, only mocked), I'd STILL get all sweaty!

Then, on the work front, everyone and his brother were off for one reason or another. I had to take on lots of responsibilities that I don't normally do. While I don't mind helping out, I don't like to impromptu deal with computer programs that I'm very iffy on yet I need to have accurate results. Oh, the pressure!

Then the kicker was on the home front. The new landlord mailed me a new lease to sign and return. It's about twenty pages long! I actually haven't signed a lease here since the first landlord a dozen years ago. But, the bad part of this new lease is that not once, but twice, they mention "No pets." Ack. I plan to write them a letter pleading Vincent's cause. I believe I could very well have a case -- their people have been in here and know that Vincent only uses the litter box and has done no damage. Plus, I know I'm the kind of tenant they would or should want here. I'm quiet, never pay my rent late, not destructive, get along well with the neighbors, responsible, low maintenance and more. My original lease here said "No pets" and the landlord at the time okayed my two cats (at the time). We'll see.

If they won't allow Vincent, I will move. I need to sign the lease or tell them before the end of July for a September 1 lease end. So I have time. I already poked around a bit online and see some places cheaper than what I'm paying here. There's one (which will surely be gone by the time I really look if I need to look) only a two-minute walk to the train station, two bedrooms instead of the one I have here and almost $200 less a month!

Also on the home front, two brothers have been charged with that murder back in May. Yes!

Onto this week's photos -- clicking on an image will open it in a new window, clicking again will give you a larger image. Closing out the Photobucket window will zap you right back here to the blog. Huh. That's almost like time travel! 

Peeping Lily
Peeping Lily

Day lilies are growing like crazy all over the place these days. They're so magnificent that I always want to shoot them. But, after a while, the shots all look alike. So I went for a different angle with this shot. Berckman Street, Plainfield.

Mad World
Monday Morning blues

The heat didn't hit until Wednesday. Plus, some folks with longer commutes tend to be a bit more bundled up due to the air conditioning on the trains. Me? I wear short sleeves! NJ Transit Raritan Valley Line.

Firefly
Recognize this?

There I was, near the elevator in my building, when I spotted this. At first, out of the corner of my eye, I thought COCKROACH. Eeek! Nope. Closer inspection revealed it to be a beetle I absolutely adore. It's a lightning bug or firefly (if you prefer). I think these are a magical part of my youth that still put me in some sort of fairyland trance when I see them at night. After taking this little guy's photo I gently picked him up with a piece of paper and put him outside.

**CLICK ON THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

 

Hot hot hot
What's in the box?

There it was ... a heat index of 105 degrees and this poor guy lugged a new boxed air conditioner almost as big as he was for at least three blocks that I saw. I believe I would have taken a cab with it! Watchung Avenue, Plainfield

Eek a Bee
Bee-ing productive

The bees still seem to be small and immature. They also don't stay still very long.

The bee's knees
Ignoring the paparazzi

Incongruous
Crumbling

I found the holiday season toy, work boots, and crumbling stairs all a bit incongruous, perhaps a bit sad. East Front Street, Plainfield.

Spider!
Cute little spider

He was very small and built his home in the poison ivy at the Bridgewater Train Station. After the heat wave breaking thunderstorms, he vanished.

Defying the Heat
Up close and personal

I love that the camera often picks up details that you don't really see with the naked eye.

Pink pretties
Flower power

Again, these are from that flower wonderland house on the corner of Richmond and East Front in Plainfield. Huh. Maybe if I have to move, I'll have some outdoor space for myself!

Love a lily
'tis RED!

Berckman Street in Plainfield.

Photobucket
Shh. Vincent's asleep!

Sure, Vincent. Just fling yourself over your chair because I won't let you on my shoulder while I'm doing something at the computer. Vincent has his own chairs right next to my chairs throughout the apartment. Since he has to be next to me at all times, the chairs can give me a bit of breathing room (and my shoulder a bit of a rest).

How was your week?

6 comments:

Palmaltas said...

Wow! I wonder how many times I've seen a lightning bug and thought it was a cockroach! Lovely, lovely photos.

Jackie S. said...

Thank you, Pat! The outline and sometimes stripes on the wings, the reddish color on the head area, and the different shape of how the head connects to the body are giveaways. I'd say it flies and cockroaches don't but some of those huge cockroaches (palmetto bugs?) not found here in the northeast do fly.

Palmaltas said...

Oh yes, I have encountered flying palmettos--not a fun experience. BTW, I tried watching the Glass House for the first half hour but just couldn't get into it.

Veronicali said...

Hope you can stay there with your kitteh :) I'm currently looking too and maybe
98% of places are 'no pets':( My dog has her own pet reference though lol

Laurie said...

Love the pictures, as usual. Always love the flowers!

Brent McKee said...

Agree with you almost totally about "The Glass House." The one point where I disagree is that I wouldn't say it seemed staged. To me it seemed rushed or compressed. They should have imitated the one "Big Brother" thing they didn't copy which was three episodes a week.