i have to say that i just had about the oddest day ever on marta.

it started this morning on the #9 when we pulled up alongside another bus parked on hill street. apparently it was disabled because we ended up onboarding all of the passengers. i have never seen the #9 that crowded.

as if that wasn’t enough, i switched train cars at arts center, owing to a lack of headphones and two very loud headphone wearers in the car.

i was unprepared for the loudest snorer i have ever heard riding the train. seriously. dude snored from arts center all the way from arts center to north springs. who knew?

and then tonight, half of downtown was shut down for a shooting and the bus driver on the #9 almost ended up going the wrong way on i-20 trying to get around it. she seriously was lost.

what a day.

It seems like things are quiet on the internets… perhaps I am just tired from coming back to work after 4 wonderful days off? Who knows.

All I know, is that I was humbled by the amount of well wishes, and the AMAZING outpour of gifts that I got for my birthday. I got way more than I was expecting, and I appreciate all of it!!! Thanks to everyone who “hooked me up”!!

It’s funny, though, because now that I am the “dreaded” thirty, I don’t feel ANY different than I did 2 days ago when I was still 29. Eh, such is life.

In other news, I took the TEAS, which is the “entrance” test for application to the nursing program at Kennesaw, and I got an 83%. Considering that the average for other students in the program was at 68%, I feel pretty darn good about my score. I also got 15% over the national average for the test. Rockstar! I am glad that is out of the way; I REALLY hate standardized tests… especially when they are required. Now, my Kennesaw application is complete, and I am waiting on two letters of recommendation so that I can send in my GSU one. Fingers crossed people!!

I also had a bit of a revelation this morning; after some events that took place yesterday. I am going to work on putting up with less bullshit in the future. I have had many discussions with my therapist, as well as with other people, about problems that I experience with my own innate inability to let go of stuff that bothers me that other people do, because I usually don’t address it when it happens. I am going to start calling out bullshit, so that I don’t have to be the one to carry it around anymore. This really isn’t a big “oh shit, he’s gonna get mean” warning, but I guess it means a lot to say something like this publicly, in writing, that I am going to be more forward when I feel like I have had to put up with BS from anyone. Maybe something is different today… maybe 30 means that I will be a little more comfortable with myself by standing up for myself. Who knows… we shall see!

And finally… APPLE; release the goddamned new iPods already! I want a touch with more than 32GB… like NOW. Thanks in advance. Kisses and love.

Let me guess it’s Wednesday and you’re looking for a new way to relieve the mid-week stress. Yes? No? Well - I am. With too much on my plate and not enough rest, I just want to hide in a corner and sleep.

Too bad thats not an option, but I’m also kind of bored of the same every night hang-outs - And if you are too, I highly recommend checking out one of my favorite local Atlanta musicians - Jon Cole - and his new project - The Good Lookins - at Emory’s Bread Coffeehouse tonight. No music has been uploaded to the Myspace yet - BUT I promise you won’t be upset. This is, I believe the debut of The Good Lookins - so make sure to come out and support. You know I’ve never let you down sweet Atlanta.

(plus, look how cute Jon and Jess are, c’mon!)

On that note - A band that was cyber-broken-in by DaFC.com, some of the coolest country lovers I know, Missy Gossip and the Secret Keepers, are playing at 1-Five-0 tomorrow night! I think its like 5 bucks, but the money goes to charity and you get free pizza and beer! Make sure to check them out. The band is gearing up for a tour this fall with Nashville band , Danger Bear and um, its gonna rock your socks. I promise.

UPCOMING SHOWS THAT IM FREAKING ABOUT:

Dr. Dog, Delta Spirit, and Seth Kauffman - Saturday, September 6 at The Earl
The Black Keys - Thursday, October 2 at The Tabernacle

This weekend I head to Las Vegas (my very first trip) for the WAKA Founder’s Cup aka the national Kickball Championships. No, my team did not make it. We’re just going to watch. We will be traveling/staying with a team who is playing in the games though so that should provide an additional level of excitement.

Anyways… how fitting that it will be raining in the desert nearly my entire trip. Looks like if I want any pool time at all it will be Friday.

Wish me and my wallet luck.

"Mommy, we want to show you our new game!"

"Okay," I say.

"Look Mayor! I've got a brand new baby!"

"Aw," The Mayor coos, "are you going to be such a good mom and take good care of your little baby?"

"Look Mayor! I've got a brand new baby!"

Today I took MARTA home from work. The 139 was only a few minutes late. We cruised on the way to Lenox Station. There were few stops and little traffic. At Lenox Station I walked down the stairs and right as I took the last step the southbound train was there. I had to run to catch it. The driver saw me and waited for me to get on.

The train ride was typical. Getting to 5 Points I walked a normal pace to the eastbound train. I climbed the stairs and right as I reached the top the eastbound train pulled up. I couldn’t believe it.

I got to Reynoldstown/Inman Park station with time to spare. The 107 was waiting. We left right on schedule at 7 p.m. I was home by 7:15, so it was a 1:10 commute. Not bad.

Will every MARTA experience be this amazing? I hope. I’ll have to ride it more often to see. Today could not have gone any better.

As I’ve stated previously, I’m not a fan/viewer of Mad Men. Yet.

I have all the episodes (from both seasons) on the TiVo and it’s just a matter time before Jenn & I jump in. One of our main influences being her folks, who have become similarly addicted and can’t stop mentioning the show.

Last night alone it merited almost 10 minutes of discussion between my mother-in-law, myself and Jenn, so we’re likely in it, it’s just a matter of “when?”.

One disappointing development, as someone who works in the intersection of marketing and digital, is AMC’s takedown of twitter accounts based on “Mad Men” characters.

Here’s linkage to the coverage:

AMC Has Twitter Suspend Mad Men Accounts
Mad Men characters vanish from Twitter!
AMC Asks Twitter to Remove ‘Mad Men’ Accounts
AMC gets ‘Mad’ over Twitter accounts
I am @paul_kinsey

From certain perspectives this is certainly a wrong-headed and overly-offensive approach. In other ways, AMC is certainly churning up some buzz - albeit negative - about the show and no PR is bad PR.

But what about the current fans, especially those who are on Twitter or were following these “fake” characters? And what about me? Should I care to jump on in the middle if I know that AMC might not like the fact that I would potentially blog or tweet about their show, though not in any character-impersonation capacity?

Is this just a big echo chamber? Do I have the perspective to comment?

I’ll say this: every television show should feel honored to have fans so dedicated and tech-savvy that they’re helping market the show by embodying the characters, even if they don’t always follow your “rules”.

And I’m someone in a position to understand AMC’s plight, but I’ve got to think I would handle this situation differently but, again, maybe I’ve got rose-colored glasses.

In any event, I may be watching Mad Men tonight. This brouhaha, for better or for worse, might be better for AMC if they can gain me as a viewer.

That said, I’m glad they haven’t tuned in to tumblr yet. ;-)

Exhibits A & B: What Would Don Draper Do? and What Would Joan Holloway Do?

Until next time …

Disclaimer: The views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

UPDATE: I need to make two crucial, additional points.

1. We finally watched the pilot/first episode and are definitely hooked.

Easy to see why people are so captivated. We’ll be watching more (all) in the very near future.

2. Wouldn’t it be better if the agency, Sterling Cooper, had a Twitter account? Or maybe one of the switchboard operators?

Maybe I’m missing the point here, but I don’t see (yet, anyway) why you’d want to be “friends” on a 21st century technology with a character from the 50’s & 60’s. But that might just be me.

Which begs a follow-up question: as you as a viewer relate to the characters and shows you’re a fan of, how would you rather connect to them via the internet? As networks? As shows? As characters? As creators/actors?

Leave a comment.

UPDATE II: They’re ba-ack!

My main question still stands: when and how do people expect to connect to social media, and Twitter specifically, in “new” ways.

Do you only “friend” or “follow” people you know or is there some kind of process you could articulate that informs your decision-making process?

Just curious.

… you’re storing wine in your bra. Just saying.

From the halls of stupid inventions, I present to you the WineRack.