Today was a highly productive day...

Before the day even began, zak came into my room and woke me up at 8am asking which switch on the circuit breaker goes to which part of the apartment. Zak had blown a fuse in the kitchen and cut power to everythign in the apartment from trying tofigure out which switch was for the kitchen. Agh.

1- It's 9am. I am sleeping. I wake up to a loud drilling noise that sounds like its coming from inside the apartment. I don't care. I'm tired and go back to sleep. Then Benny, my SUPER, walks into my room, mumbles something and hands me his cell phone. Paula (my roommate) is on the line and says Benny is there to fix our shower drain. What a way to wake up. Already the drain was unclogged. I just knew it would be a splendid day.

2- Then I picked up my laundry (sorry for the change in tense, I am more fond of past tense than present). I love picking up my laundry.

3- I headed down to the tutoring office to pick up some stuff. Not that exciting, but I got to chat with the other guys. Found out some great shows that I need to start watching:
-Wonder Showzen
-Venture something
-Robot Chicken
-Harvey Birdman (I already love this show, I just remembered it)
-House of Cosbies

4- Went to the Chinese Consulate to pick up my visa for china... it only took 5 minutes, again! Cost $75, but was worth it. I'm really going to China.

5- Tutored for a bit. Then headed down to my next student, but realized it was probably going to rain... like, torrential rain, so I figured I'd insure myself in case it did. I bought a $7 umbrella from a dude on the street who was in the middle of hawking his wares.

"... but how do I know this isn't a piece of crap." asked the customer.
"it's fine. it'll keep you dry." said the seller.
"Yeah, I bet. And I'll come back here tomorrow and you'll be gone."
Then the seller says this: "I'm out here. The Misses told me don't you come back 'less you makin' green. So I'm out here. Been out here for 6 years now."

I figured it was a good deal. Insurance against rain. It had a "made in china" tag on it, which made me miss maddy. But then I remembered her words of wisdom: "never buy shit that's made in china. It sucks and it breaks and it's constructed cheaply."

I learned the wisdom of those words quickly. Every single time I opened the umbrella, another piece broke off.

After the next student, it started to rain and the wind was blowing hard. I opened the umbrella, so far so good. I walked a few blocks, got to the subway, and realized the plastic thing at the tip of the umbrella to cover it when you go indoors broke completely off. No matter, i didnt need it anyway. I got out, and went to my next student. Afterwards it wa raining badly... the umbrella opened upside down. Ok, whatever. The handle was shaky and i had to hold the neck of the umbrella with my other hand to keep it steady. More rain. I checked the inside of the polyester to see if it was wet -- I stopped trusting the umbrella. After the last student, I opened the umbrella one final time and one of the tips connected to the fabric came loose. This piece of crap was literally falling apart by the minute. The rain let up a bit, so that was nice and i kept the umbrella. maybe I can sell it on ebay. a real NYC umbrella might go for some real cash.

6- I got an email from PC Magazine -- I am going to get published!!! Fuck yeah, at $1/word for a 300 word piece about skype. I've been waiting for this article to go somewhere and it looks like it finally has!

7- Finally, I received my Cowon A2 video/mp3 player. This thing is a bit big, but so damn sweet its unbelievable. CHeck it out on their site: www.cowonamerica.com

8- also I received the footage of an eagle release in Florida for my story about, yes, eagles in Florida. Can't wait to watch it.

And that's my day.