I may have to kill my neighbours

For the second time this morning, someone's alarm clock is going off. Thanks to it being summertime and everyone's windows open, I—and the rest of the neighbourhood—have been treated to the delightful sound. It being a holiday weekend, the owners of these two alarms are likely off somewhere exotic. Like Calais. (I'm thinking Maine. Look it up. I'm being facetious.)

It's not such a big deal, as I need to be in to work in about an hour anyway and my alarm had already gone off. Except that I have my alarm set to the radio (NPR, of course). I'd much rather hear NPR blaring through the neighbourhood than that annoying buzzing.

I've been doing a lot of thinking recently, as I alluded to in an earlier post. That thought process should be the subject of another post, though, when I have the chance to sit down and write it. Maybe tomorrow morning when I don't need to head off to work essentially a double. Woohoo. Or something. I volunteered for it, so I shouldn't complain. And it won't be too bad anyway. Office work this morning and then closing one of the shops tonight. And I suspect it'll be quiet because most people will be away at the beaches. That's probably where I'd be if I didn't have to work and had a car.

Oh, and though I rarely use the bus system here because it sucks in so many ways, have I ever mentioned how much I hate it? Just one example of its suckage is the fact that there are no buses tomorrow on the Fourth of July. None. Because obviously people don't need to get around tomorrow. Ridership is so low as it is. The routes are iffy at best. The schedules suck...a lot. It's not right that I can walk to work--a 20ish minute walk--along one of the main streets in town (it's essentially the equivalent of Sherbrooke or Ste-Catherine in Montreal. Of course, this isn't Montreal, so it's nothing like either of those streets, but it's that major of an artery for Portland) at the peak of the morning rush hour and not have a single bus pass me by in either direction.

But I digress.

Time to get ready for work.

As a tease for the upcoming post about my recent thoughts, this is what I bought myself for my birthday. The new Moleskine 18-month planner.

It's significant that it's 18 months. I'm setting goals for myself. 18-month type goals. They won't be rigid, mind you, but I need to start really constructively working to get out of this city and move on to somewhere else. And I've been entertaining fun and somewhat (for me, anyway) radical thoughts about what to do and where to go.

Okay. It's 9 now. really must go. Hope that keeps you intrigued until the morrow.

Happy Monday all!