While trying to be the prodigal son

Long story short: my parents’ separation isn’t going that smoothly.  Big surprise there.  My sister and I have been doing everything we can from afar, but there will always be limitations to what we can do for them, without actually being them, or at least, being physically present with them while we try and do things for them.

Naturally, the whole ordeal is often exasperating, and leaves the both of us on the phone with ourselves, venting to one another about just how they could possibly drive us even more up the wall than they already are.  Ultimately, the conversations steer back to the fact that they’re our parents, and we’ll do whatever it is we can to make sure that they’re okay, because that’s what supposed good children do once they’re adults, they help their parents.

To those paying attention, know that recently my bank account took a fairly substantial hit, on account of some decisions that my parents made, without necessarily doing enough (read: any) checks and balances to what repercussions may come about with spontaneously changing bank accounts.  Although the incident from a few days ago wasn’t the first time that this had occurred, it was undoubtedly the worst, seeing as how it completely zeroed out that particular bank account and rendered my daily purchases and ability to pay bills compromised until repaired.

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I give it two days, if not already

Impetus: MARTA introduces hi-tech “public bathroom of the future” at Lindbergh Center station. It is allegedly vandalism-proof, loiter-proof, digitally monitored in a variety of manners, and basically gives users pretty much nothing to do but do their business and leave. Hopes are that it becomes successful, and sets the standard for public restrooms to be implemented in transit stations all across the world.

Bahahahahahahahaha. MARTA.

Bahahahahaha.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way; it’s like I could switch my brog to feature absolutely nothing but stories about MARTA, and I could probably make like three posts a day for the next year or so.

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Envy

This, is what I get for trying to be a good, dutiful son, and try and protect dad and mom from the evil bill collectors that they’re not entirely sure of whom exactly they all are.

I expected another round of potential overdraft dings, but certainly not to the magnitude of completely wiping out this particular bank account.  Color me surprised when at dinner, I’m embarrassingly told that my card has been declined, and the mixed simultaneous feelings of dread and humility, before they were both drowned out by unadulterated anger.

Thanks dad and mom!

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The perils of watching Breaking Bad

I started watching Breaking Bad.  Yes, I’m like five years behind the curve on this one, but anyone that knows me knows that that’s usually the case; I mean, I just started reading Game of Thrones too, and that’s about as equally behind the curve as far as current trends are concerned.

Either way, I like Breaking Bad, as I knew I would once I actually started to watch it.

But man, is it sometimes a dangerous show to watch, for anyone who may or may not get tendencies to grow disenchanted with their own jobs.

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Nails in coffins

As if the Braves couldn’t do anything else to make me want to dislike them more, they had to go and designate for assignment (cut) pretty much my favorite pitcher in the world, Jonny Venters.

Now, I understand crystal clear the logic behind this decision, and if it were like Antonio Bastardo getting cut by the Phillies or Sergio Romo getting cut by the Giants, I wouldn’t have given two shits, but it happening to Jonny Venters, and I’m now a little emotional about it.

Venters was hurt.  And then got hurt again.  In the worst kind of way, tearing a ligament in his elbow, while he was already rehabilitating from a torn ligament in his elbow.  Long story short, he had to undergo the dreaded, career-altering Tommy John surgery for the third time, after he hadn’t yet fully recovered from Tommy John #2.  Very few pitchers come back from Tommy John surgery twice, and even fewer return from a third.  From the business sense, it’s obvious and logical to why the Braves had to release Jonny Venters, and once again, I say that if it were anyone other than Jonny Venters, I probably wouldn’t have cared.

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Consumer anxieties and Brack Friday

Piggybacking onto my recent butterfingers and the cracking of my iPad3’s screen, I’ve been lightly scouring the internet for any deals for a new iPad, preferably an iPad mini.  Just earlier in the week, I found a particularly appealing deal for an iPad mini 2, for $199 at Staples.  I missed out, because there are people out there way more fervent and evidently not asleep when the rest of America is, because by the time I caught wind of it at 8:45 a.m., Staples was pretty much wiped clean of all iPad mini 2s.

I was dejected by this, and surprisingly way more than I probably should have been.  It’s like the seed of getting a replacement iPad so quickly had sown a rather large batch of hope, only for it to be snuffed out just as quickly.

Sure, I’m still going to be keeping my eyes peeled as the Thanksgiving week encroaches upon us, for hopefully an iPad that doesn’t cost retail, or at least has some sort of kick back, but in reality, I know that I shouldn’t really be holding my breath.  I’m getting the impression that iPad minis, especially are going to be hot ticket items this Thanksgiving shopping season, and if I get my heart too set on getting one, I’m only setting myself up for disappointment.

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Thoughts on New York

Over the weekend, I went up to New York. The reason for the trip was to visit Yankee Stadium, and take it off of my list of MLB ballparks, which I can happily say that such was mission accomplished. Otherwise, the rest of the trip was more or less a whirlwind of cabs, trains, booze, chicken fingers and cash flying out of windows.

I guess it could be said that I had a pretty New York experience, and I have no regrets about anything. I look back at the weekend fondly, and naturally I’m writing about it now, which says something too.

As for Yankee Stadium, I’ll get more in depth of what I thought about the place as a whole when I write about it for my ballparks page, but when my friend and I had planned the dates out for this trip, we didn’t even think for a second about the fact that this was the start of Derek Jeter’s final homestand. Not that either of us are remotely close to being Yankee fans, I have to admit that is something cool about having been there for a little bit of what people are perceiving as somewhat historic. Needless to say, tickets were pricey and the crowds were massive, for what essentially were games between two non-contenders, and I thought the vaunted Yankee Stadium was pretty okay, overall.

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