Troy's Thoughts

My Girlfriend's Birthay is this Wednesday - 16:19
I hope you all got her something nice.

Oh, in case there's any confusion, I'm talking about Lesley, not any of my other girlfriends.

Updated Friends Page - 20:58
Remember that Friends Page that I made a few weeks ago? Well, per Bryan's request I have filled it out with the truth regarding myself and my friends. So, when you get a moment, you might want to visit my updated Friends Page.

Church today - 14:33
Today I went to Christ United Methodist Church with Lesley. We have been there two times previously. The usual pastor was absent and the service this time was okay. So far I believe this is the only church that we have found thus far that we like, but I think we'll still keep looking.

Church last week with Lesley - 23:54
I forgot to mention that Lesley and I went to church last Sunday at another, much larger, Methodist church. We were underwhelmed by the service, but I was quite impessed by the organ they had. I like organ music to begin with, and I thought it was very neat to listen to a more-than-100 piece organ. I wished they played more music just so I could hear it more. Going to church for the organ is ridiculous, though, and since the service did not please us as much as we would have liked, I doubt I'll get to hear the organ again.

eBay computer - 23:52
I am starting to believe it unlikely that I'll purchase a laptop. I don't know why, but even crappy computers such as 486's are selling for kind of high so I don't think I'll have much luck getting a Pentium II or better for the price range I'm looking in. Oh well, I don't need a laptop.

Work times - 23:44
I don't think that waking up 30 minutes later would much allay my tiredness, and it certainly wouldn't solve it. I don't think I'm willing to sacrifice an hour of my evening by going into work at 9:00. I could work fewer hours per day, but I'd rather not. I think that I'd prefer just enduring this tiredness for a while longer since it's very nice to get home before 5:00 because the afternoon goes by quickly at work and I can watch the Simpsons at 5:00.

8:30 to 5:00 wouldn't be too bad, though traffic might be worse if memory serves me well. I'd be willing to rotate, perhaps go in at 8:30 on Monday and Thursday and go in at 8:00 on Tuesday and Friday (with Wednesday being the day I work 8:30-12:30.

I'm thinking of buying a laptop from eBay - 23:52
I've often thought it would be neat to have a laptop and lately I've been a bit obsessed with eBay ever since I got new speakers for my car for $30 cheaper than retail price. I've realized that eBay is a good place to buy things because it has many things on sale for relatively cheap. Today I came up with the idea of getting a laptop; I could get a cheap, new laptop for $600-800 but I don't want to spend that much money because getting a laptop is just a fancy and not a necessity. I don't want to spend that much money on something I don't even want very much and that is somewhat fragile.

So, I thought that I could buy a laptop that is slightly better/faster than my current 6-year-old desktop for less than $200. I think a laptop would come in handy since I'll be moving into a dorm in the fall and it's a hassle to move my desktop and it'd be nice to have a laptop to take to the library or wherever. So far I haven't found anything very appealing on eBay but I think I'll keep looking for a while. I'm surprised that so far everyone I've talked to about this has approved. Does anyone else have any comments or suggestions?

Changes/Additions to site - 22:07
Today and yesterday I altered some things on the site. On the Index Page there is a general feedback thing for case that you want to say something to me but don't want it posted on here. Nothing major has been done but I might be putting more work into this site in the future.

Dear posters and non-posters - 22:05
Thank you for your feedback, it's appreciated. In the coming weeks I think I will implement more features on my journal to encourage more responses and visits.

I'm tired of being tired - 22:02
For the first few weeks of the summer when I had to wake up at 6:40 in the morning to go to work I wasn't very tired because of the sleep reservoir that I had surprisingly built up over the school year. (Yes, I know some people say that you can't have a sleep reservoir and that you can't build up sleep and that it all starts over every night or week or something like that, but I can't think of any other reason why I'd not be tired for the first few weeks of summer even though my sleep patterns haven't changed.) But now I'm tired every morning. I'm tired of being tired. There's not a good opportunity to reclaim some sleep, so I guess I'll have to endure this for the next few weeks until school starts again when hopefully I can get more rest.

I don't like to be wasteful - 17:10
I think that most people misunderstand my "cheapness", I'd say that it's not that I love money and want to hoard it, but rather that I generally dislike to be wasteful. I don't like to waste my effort and people construe that to mean that I'm lazy. I'm being completely serious, I just don't like to waste things and that explains, and I believe justifies somewhat, my laziness and cheapness.

Speakers - 16:05
When I first got my speakers I wasn't so sure about them but now I really like them.

I updated a lot of stuff - 16:01
It had been a while since I updated any page on my site other than this one so I decided to update them. I spruced up the headings of the pages, removed some pages, and homogenized the format of the titles and headings of each page. Furthermore, I added some stuff to my About Me Page and changed the Index a bit.

re: hey now - 22:37
Yes, I know this post is long, but read it, especially if you disagree with me:

Okay, perhaps technically you did not blow me off on Wednesday, but the effect was the same. Rather than calling me after eating, you kept me waiting a couple hours. Since I was expecting a phone call much sooner than I received it, I tried to keep busy but did not want to get too involved in anything, for expectation that I would soon be phoned in invitation. Oh, but of course, "Time slipped away," didn't it? Where have I repeatedly heard that before? I got a digital watch to prevent time from slipping away; I can set an alarm or a timer to sound and give me an opportunity to grasp that slipperly little scoundrel known as time.

And, if you want to be technical, yes you did call me after eating, but you could have waited 5 years to call me, which would have technically been after you ate. When you finally did call, I declined because it appeared that all of the fun of the evening had already been had.

Also, I assure you that I truly believe that my cheapness helped me out on my rainy day. I'm sure I've saved a good bit of money over time by not buying sodas at restaurants, not "Jumbo sizing" my meals, etc.. Furthermore, I haven't frivolously spent large sums of money on things that I don't really want or on things that are of little use to me. I think those practices have been the means by which I have saved money over time. Certainly, if I werent so cheap, I still would have been able to get through my rainy day, but I got through it much more comfortably this way. This time my parents helped me, but next time I won't be so fortunate so I will have to rely solely on the money I have saved. That is why my current goal is to build up my cushion until I'm comfortable with what I have, so that I may be prepared for what might happen in the future, in case it should rain again.

And yes, perhaps I have had no real storms in my life, no real obstacles, but the sprinkles that did occur could have been a bit worse if I had not saved for tomorrow. Besides, what's the point of spending all my money now? There's not that much that I want, I'm quite content being cheap, I haven't had to deny myself much that I've really wanted anyway. I imagine that some day I'll have real expenses in addition to something as trivial as car sound equipment, which has been the most expensive and important thing that I have ever had to buy so far. And though in the future I will have a real job that should supply me with ample funds, you never know when something bad can happen and there is no reason not to be prepared for it. It's just a matter of when you want to live for: Do you want to live for today or live for tomorrow? Personally, I think I have a good mix between both; if you do all your living for today then you cannot always be prepared for tomorrow, and if you do all your living for tomorrow then you cannot have fun today. I don't think I'd enjoy today much more even if I did spend all my money. I enjoy today but I try to protect myself from what tomorrow might bring.

Rant - 00:27
After being sort of blown off on Wednesday evening by Bryan, Andy, and Adam, I still decided to do something with them plus David. We didn't do a whole lot and it was okay. I don't have much to say about that, though I must rant about a couple things.

First of all, let me explain my driving policy: On the freeway I drive at the flow of traffic and on other roads I go within 5 mi/h of the speed limit. That is my policy, though there are occasional exceptions to it. Also, my policy is to accelerate at a somewhat slow pace. On residential roads I usually accelarate rather slowly, and on faster roads I accelarate a little more quickly. I rarely accelarate "quickly," often I speed up more speedily because there's someone behind me. Despite all that, some people seem to believe that I drive faster than a certain other person who habitually drives at 50 mi/h on most roads. Being misjudged is irritating.

Similarly, people misunderstand my money policy. Though I am frugal - sometimes described as cheap - people seem to have the opinion that I am denying myself something that I really want just to save some money.

Let me explain: when there is something I want, I get it, but within reason. Would you pay $20 for a 12 oz can of soda? I wouldn't and I don't think most people would. Would you pay $2 for a 12 oz can of soda? I would not but some people would. It's just a matter of where you draw your price "line," I happen to draw mine lower than others because I don't like being ripped off and I don't like paying significantly more for an item than an item costs elsewhere or is worth.

There is a spectrum of cheapness. One one end are the people who never spend their money unless absolutely necessary, perhaps because they're thinking of other things they can buy by saving their money, anticipating when it might become more necessary. Then on the other end of the spectrum are the people who live paycheck to paycheck due to their leisure spending; they buy everything they have remote interest in, not saving for a "rainy day." I would describe myself as closer to the "cheap" end of the spectrum, but I'd rather be there than at the other end. I have had my rainy day, and my cheapness bought me an umbrella, so to speak. I can spend money on things I want, but a lot of times something is not worth it to me.

I like to go out to eat sometimes, and as a rough estimate I'll say that it costs me about $5 each time I eat fast food. This week I ate out for lunch twice and spent roughly $10. If I do this for a month rather than eating out three times per week for a month, I save $20 for my "rainy day fund." Again, it's just a matter of where one draws his/her line, because if I didn't eat out at all, there's $60 total that I save, but I draw my line where I do because of the marginal costs and benefits to me, but I won't go into economics.

I have gotten in the habit of being cheap so it is easier now, I'm used to it and comfortable with it, e.g. I get water whenever I eat at a restaurant and am comfortable with it. Water is just all right with me, I'm used to it. Spending $2 more to me to add sugar, some flavor, and carbon dioxide to my water is not worth it to me.

It's just unfortunate that the person who is perhaps most critical of my cheapness does not read my journal regularly and therefore won't ever read this rant in response to his misguided criticism.

My speakers have been installed - 00:26
I received my new speakers that I bought on ebay and installed them tonight. Initial impressions are favorable.

Amendment to re: re:??? - 22:48
I'm not saying that I expect all you God-less Hell-bound sinners to attend, I'm just saying that non-believers attending worship is a good thing to do, like getting enough sleep per night is good too.

re: re:??? - 19:35
It's better to attend any worship service than none at all; a lot can be gained even if you don't adhere to the religious beliefs, depending on the religion.

However, I do not see a reason to attend a service for a religion to which I don't adhere when I would otherwise attend a service for a religion to which I do adhere.

re: ??? - 23:00
Yes, there are very many places to practice religion, but I don't want to go to just any/all of them. I'm pretty sure that I do not adhere to certain religions and therefore would rather not spend my time at a worship service for a religion to which I don't adhere.

Speakers - 22:56
I bought new (not used) rear speakers for my car from eBay for $65, thus saving myself roughly $35, though I have to wait for the speakers to arrive.

Church - 22:46
Yesterday Lesley and I went to church together again. We went to the Methodist church that we had previously been to. It's a decent church and we both like it somewhat. We went there this weekend because we didn't know where else to go; we're still trying to find the most perfect church for us, but so far this is the one we like most. I'd recommend going to church to almost anyone. Even if you're not very religious, depending on where you go the message can be very secular and beneficial. What'll it hurt to try it once?

Summer's Gone - 23:08
Summer is more than half-way over with now. So far it has been satisfactory. One thing I want to do before the end of summer is have a silly string fight. That would be great. Also, there's something else I'd like to do but I can't remember it.

Conclusion of Crappy Carpoll - 23:04
Thanks to all (3) of you who voted. I got two votes for the Altima and one for the Lumina. And, my vote goes for the Lumina, so each car received 50% of the votes. I vote for the Lumina because it has more sentimental value, it rode more quietly and smoothly, had a better stereo system - yes, the Altima may have a better stereo now and I suppose now it's getting better speakers, but the Lumina sounded better from the start -, it comfortably seated more people, it had more power, more room, and it was definitely a chick magnet. But, no matter, the Altima is good enough and I'm quite pleased with it.

I got new speakers - 23:55
This evening I purchased some Alpine speakers from CarToys, for a comparably superior $90 + tax. My dad, Lesley, and I installed them this evening and they sound good. The bass is clear, the highs are good, and the overall sound is fuller. Unfortunately, Bryan was partially right when he told me that they would sound like crap with two different kinds of speakers. My car stereo sounds much better now but the rear speakers obstruct the greatness of the fronts. So, I'm seriously considering replacing the rear speakers within the next couple of weeks.

SpEaKeRs - 15:38
In my car the front, right speaker is crapping out so I will have to buy new ones, at least for the front. This was first brought to my attention today by Bryan who noticed that the speaker sound was crackling during the bass. I couldn't hear it very well from where I was sitting but after he left I changed to a hip-hop radio station and there was a lot of bass, which I think made the problem worse, or at least more noticeable. So, anyway, I'm going to have to buy new speakers, but I don't know a lot about speakers so I'd like to recruit anyone's advice out there. I don't want to spend a lot of money for particular reasons, aside from my cheapness, that I won't go into now. I'd like to get some good sounding speakers for a decent price. Basically what I'm looking for is good value, that's what I look for in basically all of my purchases. This time quality is a special stipulation, and relatively low price is almost always a stipulation. Anyway, I don't know anything about speakers so please give me any/all advice you have regarding brand, type, etc. Oh, and the front speakers are 5" x 7".

That reminds me - 22:24
Of nothing.

I'm becoming a little bored with this journal - 22:23
I don't know what to do about it though, so in the meantime you might notice me posting less or perhaps more, but I will probably be a bit more absurd and silly.

Today I went to work - 22:21
It was fine. I finished organizing the copy room a.k.a. the "Communication Center" at work and I'm proud of the results. Oh, and today I lost my nose to globalization.

Re: alternating letters - 22:19
I've only been alternating capitalization on the days for just a few of them. It started when one day I decided I should do something silly. That was also the day that I made my ridiculous and unfunny friend's page. I'll probably return to the standard day capitalization method shortly, after all fun has been exhausted out of this queer method.

My responses to DAC's generous posts - 15:44
First of all, thanks for posting on my journal. You're the first person to do so this month and therefore, I must assume, the only person still reading my journal, so thanks.

Thanks for your brilliant idea regarding how I can save a few bucks. I especially like the selling of the organs, I mean, come on, am I really going to need that many kidneys? It's not like they put two steering wheels in cars. So, yes, I'll definitely sell my duplicate organs, such as my extra kidney, lung, and nostril.

Regarding Roy's pages, I'd love to take credit for its comic brilliance, but I must credit Bryan for coming up with the idea of Roy's Pages and for finding the pictures and creating the captions within.

Major lifestyle changes - 18:01
I've done some figuring and I've decided to make some major lifestyle changes. I've figured that if I live to be 70, that's 50 more years of living. Also, I figure that I'll eat 3 times per day, for each one of those 365 days for each one of those 50 years. Also, I figure that I'll have to pay for most of that food, either at a restaurant or a grocery store and I've estimated that each meal will average about $4 (just a rough estimate) So, $4 for each meal totals about $219,000. That seems like a lot of money to me so I've decided never to pay for food again. If I do that, I will be able to buy myself a really nice house or a really nice car. I figure I'll let everyone I know pay for my food and I'll beg for some and I'll get some for free at restaurants by eating off of other people's plates. Additionally I'll find some in the trash and get some through food stamps and by stealing from the food bank.

New Lawsuit - 11:26
OMAHA, NEBRASKA -- A Nebraska woman is suing the NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox Networks, blaming them for her 18 venereal diseases and 6 unwanted pregnancies.

She blames such shows as "Seinfeld" and "Friends" for portraying people having sex with multiple partners without any consequences. She says those shows and many others inspired her to live her life similarly but that in so doing she became infected by such diseases as AIDS, gonhorrea, and chlymidia.

She is seeking $38 billion.

Please take note that I just made all that up.

Friends Page - 11:26
Check out my new Friends Page about all of my best friends!

The Best Summer Ever - 11:26
This summer's been pretty good so far. I approve. Something weird happened last night. Not that weird but somewhat interesting. I went to sleep last night and somehow in the middle of the night, "Spanish Bombs" by the Clash got stuck in my head and has been stuck in my head all morning. It happened in the middle of the night because I remember being slightly awake and having it stuck in my head before falling back asleep. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Carpoll - 11:24
I'm just curious; to you who have ridden in both of my cars - the Lumina and the Altima - which one was more pleasing to you?

What I did on the 4th - 00:12
To begin with, the power was out Thursday night when I got home, I failed to mention that. But that is irrelevant. I slept in then woke up then ate steak for lunch and had pie and those were both good. Then Lesley and I went to Adam's house. His parents weren't home and I hadn't seen him for a while so I was glad about that. We just kinda hung out and played games. We wanted to see fireworks so we planned to go to Arlington to watch the fireworks after the Rangers game, and we decided to take University to I-30 so that we might see the fireworks from the Concerts in the Garden. We were able to see some of those fireworks but just part of the very end, then we drove to Arlington and we got there a little late and we found a spot and we watched the fireworks but I was a little underwhelmed because I don't think that those fireworks were as good as others I have seen. I wished that we had left Adam's house earlier so we could have seen more of the fireworks. Anyway, then Adam and I had a great idea: The Fireworks Channel. It would be a channel with nothing but fireworks. We would have segments with fireworks from different countries and different occasions and we would have some fireworks shows in which someone analyzed the fireworks, e.g. "This is a such-and-such firework, it does this and is used for this effect, and it is being followed by this kind of firework to symbolize the something-something." We would also have firewroks set to music, such as the classical music firework hour and heavy metal, jazz, etc. I think there are many possibilities. I hope somebody steals our idea and gives us royalties because we're probably too lazy/poor to ever start it ourselves.

I hung out with Bryan last night - 11:23
I was going to do something with Andy but he had to go eat with his dad and he didn't give me a call. Bryan had made it sound as if he didn't want to do anything so I was kind of surprised when Bryan called. Anyway, we didn't do a whole lot but we had a good time, so I'm glad he called me. It turns out Andy took a nap.

Everyone was Allowed to Leave Work Early... - 16:02
...including me, so that was nice. I don't know what I'm doing this evening. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow.

Some Great Reward - 17:48
I'm listening the above mentioned Depeche Mode CD and it's pretty good. It's better than I remember it though not as good as Violator. I'm going to ask Adam if he'd be willing to sell his album.

This Bites - 17:45
Remember how I said I had 9 bites on my right ankle? Well, I counted again and I have 15. I don't think that I got bitten more since last count, I think that I miscounted last time because this time I counted twice and arrived at 15 both times. I'd say that's probably the biggest thing in my life that I have to complain about now. Oh, and that I was going to do something with Adam tonight and Thursday and now he can't and also I was going to do something with Andy on Tuesday but he went to see a movie. It's somewhat annoying that I haven't been able to do much with anyone lately. But, even though Adam backed out of tomorrow, I'm still optimistic that I can do something fun with Andy and/or Bryan.

Work - 18:50
I don't think I've talked much about work lately but I am very pleased with it still. My most recent undertaking was to organize our copy room. I'm about 95% finished with that and I am quite pleased with my results so far. Not only were my results pleasing but I also enjoyed doing it. I'm not exactly sure what all I will be doing in the coming weeks, but I'd also like to add that my office (/library) had 19 boxes in it and thanks to help from Andy there are now no boxes in it, excluding the empty ones that I want in there.

I'm kind of bored - 18:48
I just ate supper at Lesley's house. It was decent. I wasn't planning to see Lesley so early tonight but her parents invited me to join them and my parents didn't have any idea what they were going to make for supper so, due to my opportunism I changed my plans slightly.

London Calling - 18:47
Yesterday I acquired London Calling by the Clash from Andy for $4. I'm quite pleased. This month has been quite the month for obtaining cheap CDs. I might get another CD from Andy, but I don't know.

Ankle Bites - 18:44
I have nine bites on my right ankle. I believe them all to be from mosquitoes. I believe I got them on Saturday when I stepped in the bushes around my pool to retrieve a ball. I didn't realize that I had so many mosquitoes in my yard. Furthermore, I find it odd that even though my most adventuresome steps were with my right foot, that it should receive a whopping nine bites on my right and none on my left.

New Month - 18:43
Since it's a new month, I moved last months thoughts to last month's page.