Jul 7
Another new shirt!
I’m liking this spreadshirt.com thing. Here’s another shirt I “designed” today… I created my own image since I really like this font:
The quote is from George Bernard Shaw and it goes, “If there was nothing wrong in the world there wouldn’t be anything for us to do.” It’s a little cheeky. I like it.
Here’s a little look into how my mind works, by the way. On the train home…
Well, let me digress and vent about that first. I left work at 5:20, allowing myself ample time to get to the train station for the 5:44 train and still buy a bottle of water. So, I look at the table which announces the track numbers for the trains and my train is listed as being on track 12. I start getting on the train and the conductor asked me where I was heading. I named my stop and he told me that the train was not going there and that the train across the platform was. I knew for a fact that the train across the platform was NOT a train from my line and that it was going to New York state. So, I found another member of the NJ Transit squad on the platform and asked him which train was going to my stop. Several other people heard me asking and seconded my request. He said he didn’t know and that I should go ask the station master.
SO, I went over to the station master’s booth with the bullet-proof window and microphone and explained the situation to the station master. She was an older black woman and performed a sort of head-bob and shoulder-sway of disbelief which I’ve only ever seen older black women do (if anyone else does it, they just look stupid) and said, “Honey - WHO told you WHAT?” I repeated the story and she said, “Hold on - I’m calling up to see what’s going on because they haven’t told me anything about that. As far as I know, you’re on track 12 and I’m the one who should know.”
So… while she called, I stood there, waiting. A few seconds later she hung up the phone and pointed to the announcement board which now had my train’s status changed to, “Track will be announced.” I gave her the thank-you nod+wave combo and walked back to the general area of the track. At this point, there was a crowd of disgruntled NJ Transit passengers standing there, just wanting to get a seat on a train and head home for the weekend after a long day at work. We stood there and every 3 minutes or so, the station master would announce that our train’s track would be announced momentarily and to please stand by.
5:30 came and went. 5:43 came and went. 5:46 came and went and people started getting out their cell phones and calling spouses/significant others/friends/family/etc. to let them know that the train was running late and that they would be late in turn. At 5:48, a member of the station crew hinted that we should move down to the lower numbered tracks since we’d probably end up getting our train down there. The huge crowd of people migrated down towards track 4 and 5 to await an announcement. A few more “please stand by” messages were broadcast, and then - finally - the track announcement was posted. Track 13. Right near track 12.
There was a comically audible groan from the commuters at large and we all trudged (with a sense of determination, urgency and annoyance) back to track 13. It was now 5:54 and we were only boarding the train. By the time everyone was on board and they’d made enough announcements to make sure that it was clear which train we were on, it was 5:58 and the train got moving. We had to make extra stops along the way to accommodate those people who missed their connections because of the delay, so I got home at the same time I would have had I taken the 6:17 train. The end.
…to pick up where I left off… on the train home, I was listening to my iPod and the last song I listened to while sitting there was Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” I remembered that the song is performed in the movie, “Ella Enchanted” starring Anne Hathaway and that she herself sings it - very well, I might add. Then I started remembering the whole story and plot of the movie (based on an award-winning young adult/childrens’ book) and decided that it was something I would enjoy having for the times I’m feeling sort of cruddy and needing escapism. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that this would be a feel-good film to own.
In a nutshell, it’s about a young woman in a fairy tale kingdom who is granted a special gift by a fairy godmother when she’s an infant. This fairy godmother is known for selecting less-than-great gifts for children - and for liking the drink a wee bit too much. She bestows a gift upon infant Ella: the gift of obedience. From that day forward, Ella will have to do anything anyone commands her to do. Despite this, she still manages to grow up having a mind of her own and a sense of social justice, etc. Then there are silly exploits, enchanted talking books, an elf who wants to be a lawyer, a prince named Charmand -called Char for short-(ha-ha), the search for the fairy godmother, evil stepsisters, etc. It’s not a serious film, but as far as “family films” go, it’s a good one and it’s got some good morals.
So I got off the train, walked to the car and drove to Target where I purchased a copy of “Ella Enchanted” on DVD ($14.99 - full screen only, BOO!) and a pack of gum.
Now I’m going to embark upon some freelance web design work that just came my way yesterday. I can start by putting together the CSS design and perhaps a Flash graphic since that’s something the client has requested. I have to give myself a quick refresher course in Flash - that’s tonight’s fun.
“Monsters, Inc.” is on the Disney Channel, so I’ve got that on as background noise. I’m noticing that they are running it without commercials. I don’t know if this is because the Disney Channel used to be/still is considered a premium channel, or if this is something they do during movies to be considerate to parents and children. They have commercials otherwise…
Ok. Check out the other t-shirts in the shop. I’m kind of proud of them.
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