11 Days, Proof Of My Laziness, Movie Reviews

Only 11 days left till Baynanza 2007! What is Baynanza 2007? Well it is kind of like a massive free concert - only with no bands and instead of music you get to pick up trash. So it is not like a free concert at all. Well except for the free part.

This event is run by Miami-Dade County. Thousands show up - according to the propaganda that the County distributes about this event. It is huge. This is good because Biscayne Bay accumulates a lot of trash over the year. More people need to be shot for willful disregard of littering laws. This would probably help the situation.

Anyway, I registered to do something for the event. Did I mention it is free? And I have that day off.

Of course it is not free for me. I registered myself and the boat. And the boat requires.......GAS! Yes gas. Not a lot of gas - but more than a pint. More than a few gallons. And the truck that has to pull the boat will require gas. I doubt that this "gas" stuff will be free for the day.

And the boat ramp fee BETTER BE WAIVED or else I will complain to the boat ramp people. The boat ramp is run by Parks And Recreation Department, Baynanza is the idea of the Department of Environmental Resource Management. One would think that someone from DERM is going to email the boat ramp manager for Parks and Rec and ask them to waive boat ramp fees for those who are involved in Baynanza - but this would require someone to type an email, send it, someone else has to read it, write a memo, distribute the memo to all the ramps, have all the ramp attendants read it, and so on.

This is asking A LOT. Government works - but very slowly. The email asking to waive the ramp fees will be sent, but most likely it will be a week after the event. In civil service you have to pace yourself. Do too much too quickly and the boss will expect that level of work from you all the time. Slip just a little and it looks like you are slacking. But if you set low benchmarks, it is easy to make it look like you are working "extra hard" when it is crunch time. At least that is what it seems like.

You see, 11 days from the event and I have not heard anything from DERM. Well I did get one email about my registration being processed. I am going to be based in and around the Pelican Harbor Marina - wherever the hell that place is.

But that is it! I have no idea about anything else. What time should I show up? Is there to be a volunteer captain's meeting? Who am I going to be transporting? Will any children be on the boat? Will they have their own life jacket because all I have are jackets for adults. Am I to be a water taxi in constant operation, or do I get a scurvy crew of bilge rats for the day? This is critical information here!

And you would think that with only 11 days to go, someone would have sent something out to let volunteers know what the deal is.

In other news - HOLY SHIT! I have to stop being so damn lazy and DO MY TAXES! Yes, I am so lazy that I have not done my taxes yet even if the IRS owes me money. I should just do it right now. Get up right now, go to the other computer, fill out and print the PDF form, cram the W2 forms and 1040 form and whatever else I need into an envelope, and mail the shit off. Yea. I should do that. Maybe tomorrow. It is late now.

MOVIE REVIEWS! I watched Mean Creek and Midnight Cowboy. MORE DARK FILMS! I think I may need medication.

Mean Creek is about a bully. The bully beats up a kid. DUH! This is what bullies do. Anyway the kid and his older brother and some of his friends hatch a plan to get even. But then some stuff happens. And more stuff happens. And then the film ends. It is a sad film really. It was OK. Worth the time spent watching it.

Midnight Cowboy was rated X when it was released in 1969. Today it earns a measly R rating. A small town cowboy moves to New York City to become a gigolo. Being just another hick in a big city - he is less than successful. He meets up with another pitiful character who convinces the small town boy that he needs a "manager" (pimp). As a team they are less than successful. So they pack up to go to Miami. The film ends on the bus just as it arrives in Miami. It is a film of broken dreams. Sad really. But a good film. It was up for some sort of Academy Award even with its X rating back then.