Today’s Business: 2011-08-09
Today’s Activities
- Shower. DONE.
- Cat duty. DONE.
Log
06:45 AM: I’m up. This morning is dark and dreary with temperatures at 64 degrees.
07:55 AM: Just upgraded to Outlook 2010; wanting to see what the ribbons hype was all about. Well, ribbons are useful enough indeed. But with so many different sub menus and commands available (well over a hundred), I often find myself looking for dimes in mountains of pennies. Sometimes, it’s hard to find desired functions since there are so many. But you can customize your ribbons and “cherry pick” the commands they display. This helps.
08:00 AM: Leaving now to visit Mom and to meet [Emmy] at the Altoona Transit Center. Back later.
08:30 AM: I first stopped at the nursing home to drop off Mom’s clean clothes. Now, I’m at the train station. [Emmy's] train is not due for another hour and twenty minutes. A custodian says that the station doors do not open until 9:00. That’s okay because I’ve got my umbrella, and I’ve been meaning to explore the areas nearby the station for years now. It looks like I’ve got some time to finally do that today.
09:00 AM: At this station you can get trains, Greyhound buses, and AMTRAN (Altoona Metro Transit) buses. Few people are around however. Apparently, this place hasn’t stirred to life yet.
09:05 AM: There’s a foot bridge that spans over the railroad tracks from the terminal. There are signs up there that detail the history of Altoona. So I occupied myself by reading them. Looks like the city of Altoona began in 1851 or so, when the railroad yard “triangle” was built, and railroad workers began their migration to this region.
09:20 AM: After the station opened, I went inside to answer my hungry stomach’s call for nourishment. A little snack shop sold me a pint of chocolate milk. This worked wonders.
09:30 AM: With all the walking up and down stairs, bridges, and hills I’ve done this morning, I think I’ll count this morning’s constitutional around the transit center area as walk 45 of 100 for 2011.
09:50 AM: I sat inside, iPodding, until [Emmy's] train arrived. It was roughly on time.
10:15 AM: Once she de-boarded, [Emmy] and I walked over to the nursing home. I signed in the both of us, and Mom was waiting for us inside the doors. We decided to head up to the top-floor lounge area, where you can see the trains coming and going along with the other hustle and bustle of the downtown district.
11:20 AM: Then, I headed over to pick up some Texas hot dogs, fries, and drinks for [Emmy], Mom, Mom’s friend Jeff, and myself; roughly $20 for lunch for the four of us.
12:30 PM: We finished lunch.
01:30 PM: Then we talked politics and watched bits and pieces of The Young and the Restless. During lunch, it rained hard outside and quickly turned sunny. Then, it rained some more. Very unsettled weather we’re having today.
03:15 PM: We’re home.
03:30 PM: Nap time for the two of us. Back later.
05:00 PM: We’re up again.
06:00 PM: We watched KDKA TV’s local news broadcast at 5:00 to help [Emmy] feel a little less homesick.
06:30 PM: Made buckwheat pancakes for supper. Very filling and good-tasting with the added honey and pure maple syrup.
09:00 PM: We sat on the swing on the south porch, listening to chirping birds as they yielded to chirping and buzzing crickets during the process of night fall. We stayed out there until all the birds had gone silent and the crickets and katydids reached full volume.
10:55 PM: Watched tonight’s episodes of NBC’s Nightly News via the DVR.
12:05 AM: Reviewed the daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count increased, and now stands at 1591; up from 1584 the last time I checked. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.
12:10 AM: Bed time. More tomorrow. Good night.
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