08/15/07

2:19 p.m.
Brian is currently observing an auction for domain names streaming on the Internet, so I'm hearing an auctioneer's chatter in the background as I read and write. Names like "Boys.com" and "Suspects.com" and "CarManufacturers.com" . . .

"DigitalCameras.com" was up for sale for $600,000.00! It didn't get a single bidder. I can't say I'm surprised.

Louise is arriving in town soon for a business meeting tomorrow, but we'll probably squeeze some shopping in before dinner tonight -- though it's over 100 degrees out, which makes walking from store to store laden with shopping bags a much less pleasurable experience than it ought to be.

The BF isn't much for shopping, so we'll probably head out without him. He and I have very different approaches to life: he wants a destination, and then wants to head there in a straight line without stopping to indulge in any distractions. It's what's made him as successful as he is, and what will continue to provide the foundation for future accomplishments.

Me? I like to wander with a vague, somewhat abstract goal in mind, such as: "Okay, I'm hungry, so let's look about for a restaurant that might potentially catch my interest" or "I need an addition for my wardrobe but I'm not certain exactly what, so I'll meander about from shop to shop" . . . it drives the BF absolutely bonkers.

The year I lived in NYC, I would spend entire days just walking around the city, getting a feel for the neighborhoods, enjoying the architecture or in search of some small boutique that was crying out for my attention. I tended to get lost once I hit Greenwich Village and the orderly grid of wide streets broke down into a winding, chaotic jumble of narrowing roads and alleys, but if it looked like I was in danger of not finding my own way back out again, I'd just flag down a taxi.

Those familiar yellow cars were often my salvation, even though they weren't always the most reliable of transportation. The last time I was in New York, the taxi I flagged down literally gave up the ghost blocks before our destination -- after heaving, chugging and clacking it's way through a good part of the city. The driver knew it was on its last legs and yet just pushed the vehicle until it collapsed off to the side of Fifth Avenue, engine steaming.

I didn't leave him much of a tip.