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Snap! - Shopping

Snap! - Shopping

Originally uploaded by Buffawhat. Taken 23 Dec ‘06, 4.38pm AST PST.

Shopping Loot from Elmwood. Cat food and toy for the puss, from Animal Outfitters ; American Apparel hoodie, from Stache; Aveda hair products and haircut by Angel (say “Ahn-hell”), at Michele for Hair.

No Hotel, Happy Now?

Buffalo Geek received an email from Savarino Construction the other day that officially closed the lid on what could have been one of the most exciting progressive building project on Elmwood’s college strip; the Elmwood Hotel Project.
This really sucks. I knew for a while that work had stopped, but I never knew what was really going on. Once again, another developmental gem gets added to the list of “could have been a good thing if you would let off of our balls and give it a chance” projects.

Click on to read the letter from Savarino, via Buffalo Geek

Krudmart for my to-me-from-me gift

Krudmart for my to-me-from-me gift

Originally uploaded by Buffawhat. Taken 18 Dec ‘06, 9.16pm AST PST.

Just picked up the hottest shirt from Krudmart… A killer NYC style skate thug gangsta boutique in Buffalo… They definitely know what they are doing there. Walk in on them on elmwood near Allen, or click on at krudmart.com.

Snap! - Angel

Snap! - Angel

Originally uploaded by Buffawhat. Taken 14 Dec ‘06, 9.27pm AST PST.

This is Angel, the psychic. He owns Sai one, the new New York boutique on Elmwood next to Astoria

Hot bear du jour

Hot bear du jour

Originally uploaded by Buffawhat.

Im relaxing at Astoria on Elmwood, this is Lorenzo, he made me take this pic 8 times to make sure I had his good side. Can you say queen?

Week-in-Review/ Weekend Forecast

I guess the week wasn’t so bad, but I feel like so much happened:

• I was poor again this week, like 5 dollars stretched into days. I’m trying really hard to get out of debt, and in doing that, I’m neglecting to buy food. I have a tendancy to forget to take care of myself. All these goddamn bills don’t help either. A hint: never merge your finances with any one… EVER. I wish I wasn’t so naive before.
• Switched to T-mobile today because Sprint was too expensive with the family plan I was stuck with. I’m paying about 100 a month for Sprint. Ouch. Switching to t-mobile for ~70 a month, which gets me 600 minutes, free nights and weekends, 1000 text/picture messages, equipment protection, and my wireless Internet account for the iBook. I hate having to kill a contract and sign another, but in the long run I’ll save money. Plus I get to port my number. The phone isn’t too bad for free:

• Thursday was the big ole auction/fundraiser for my agency. Held at Salvatore’s Italian Garden Kitschfest, we raised about $95k. My job was to sit at a laptop and input all the bid information in our auction database. Crazy hectic with everyone needing all these reports at the same time I have to put the bid info in. I had a teammate at another laptop, so it went smoothly enough.
• Skylar needed food, so I headed over to Animal Outfitters today. I’ve decided to get him a toy with every food purchase, and this time he got a catnip lemon; Omar always has the kookiest toys around. I told him that Skylar has been scratching his ear raw, from too much wax i guess. Omar gave me some samples of medicated q-tips to clean Skylar’s ears with, and told me I could bring him in and he’d take a look if it didn’t get better. He also gave me a number for a vet to take the puss to, just in case he ever needed it. On a sad note, one of Omar’s feline companions passed away from kidney failure at 18 years. My sympathies go out to Omar and his wife. I don’t know what I’d do if Skylar left me. Let’s change the subject.
• My secured entry to my floor is compromised due to the deadbolt being torn off. I have no idea how that happen, but I assure you tomorrow, Horizon Realty should be fixing it.

This weekend is going to be spent in 25 dollar increments, because my insurance card came. I’m getting my 25 dollar 3-month membership to the BAC and seeing the doctor ($25) for some checkups. Hopefully I’ll get some allergy meds and crazy pills while I’m at it ($15+$10=$25). I need my crazy pills. Oh, and I’m getting drunk with the Starbuckers from Williamsville Place tonight. Brent’s Carrie is going to Italy, so it’s a farewell drunkfest I guess.

Cashing in a Karma Card/Mark Spotting

Sometimes, karma is my secret weapon.

With school starting, comes new bus schedules, new drivers, and a rampant influx of teenage hormones wearing the latest mannequin from Aero. Supposedly, two blocks is far too long of a walk to City Honors; we might scuff the new Nikes we’ll only wear for a week.

So… I get off work and walk toward my bus stop. Basically, my bus stop is wherever on Lincoln Ave that me and the bus meet up. Its called a courtesy stop, a driver told me they do it in the suburbs. I like it that way, saves me from the possibility of not gettin picked up on Walden, where the official stop is. Well, the new driver for the 6C wasn’t fond of the courtesy stop idea. After stopping 20 feet past my location, he proceeds to insist that I wait for him at the “official” stop on walden from now on. I curse him to a polka-dot and plaid Barry Manilow hell under my breath.

Pulling up to a stop near walden and bailey, karma cashes in a favor for me and the driver swipes a parked blazer as he nears the curb. The bus rocks and the blazer loses a few teeth. My act of karma was not totally free, as I had to endure running for my 20H transfer downtown because of the delay. But the icing on the cake was when I got to fill out a card with my information so the NFTA could call me to give details on the happening. I won’t have to lie when I tell them the bus driver was an ass that day.

On a fuzzy note, I saw Mark again! Me and Brent were walking down Elmwood and I saw him tutoring a guy on Bidwell. Mark is the man-love of Jennifer, a lovely Buffalo blogger gal. I saw him in starbucks a few weeks ago for the first time. I never met any of them, but its good to know that the people I read about in blogs actually exist. And maybe I like stalking cute guys?

Shop Elmwood: Animal Outfitters

There are so many places to shop on the Elmwood strip. I’ve decided to post about some of my favorite places.

Shortly after moving to elmwood+north, I got the urge to step into Animal Outfitters, Inc. Located on Bryant St, near Elmwood and next to Solid Grounds. I was immediately greeted by the owner, Omar Zahzouhi. He was one of the friendliest guys I’ve met in a while. He wanted to know what pets I had, where I lived, and if I went to school. I felt like he wanted to make a connection with a new customer; he was sincere. I told him I had just moved into a small studio, and that Skylar was a little lonely with me not being home. Omar directed me to a brand of cat food called Solid Gold. He said it was all natural, full of nutrients, and would help Skylar to control his weight, seeing as he wasn’t going to be as active anymore being in a small space now. He points to the ingredient list. This stuff has blueberries! I sheepishly tell him I’m feeding him Meow Mix. He shakes his head and hands me samples of the organic cat food and gives me a can of special wet food to try out as well.

I didn’t buy anything that day, but I took that food home and Skylar inhaled it. I went back a month later; he remembered my name and he wanted to know how I was doing. We got into a playful arguement over the World Cup. I bought a catnip toy.

Skylar woke me up at 8:30 this morning; he was freaking out. He always does when he can see the bottom of his food dish. I figured I might as well get him the Solid Gold. I arrived at Animal Outfitters early, he opened at 11 and it was 10:30. There’s a park bench in front of his store; it must be for owners that get woken up early to get food for their demanding pets. Omar and his wife, Susana, show up around 11, and they let me in immediately. We talk as they get set up and I grab a bag of Solid gold and another toy. I gave them a picture of Skylar for the pet wall. They gushed over him. I was very proud of my 5 dollar rescue kitty.

The store is a nice setup. Its not big, but they have just what they think you need for your pet. If you like to spoil your pet, or like me, buy their affections, this is the place to shop.

Thanks, Omar & Susana! Skylar loves his food and the new toy.

Neurotic Laptop PC user of the day.

First off, I’m at Starbucks today because of three things:

1. It’s been raining all day, and the fair was the last place my ass was going to walk around all wet in.
2. Spot coffee is packed full of Elmies (Elmwood infiltrators) because of the Elmwood Festival of the Arts.
3. My beloved free wireless hotspot is not showing up of late, probably do to the bad weather.

So, I’m at Starbucks paying for my internet today. There is a nice free hotspot called “linksys” that you can get while sitting at Starbucks, but bad weather makes the signal weak and intermittant. The T-Mobile hotspot is strong and beefy. $9.99 for a daypass isn’t that bad either.

Ok… bitch time.

I totally thought that a laptop was supposed to be portable. Something about no wires, less hassle, and makes ya look sexy in a coffee shop. I admit to plugging in a few peripherals, the iBook’s battery needs to be replaced, so the power adapter is always in. Ok, and I have headphones and a USB mouse going, too. But the guy at Starbucks today, who I’m currently watching, is just ridiculous. Pandora is streaming nice and loud, and I can still here him and his frantic racket.

He comes in and plops his bookbag on the table next to me. He starts to unpack. First, he pulls out his Dell lappy and begins to fiddle with the battery. He begins to sigh in a rather bitchy, faux-geek tone. This man is obviously not loved by electronics. After a pointless inspection of his battery, he has come to the conclusion that he must plug it in. That requires using the outlet I am using.

I’m a nice guy, but if you get in my space, acknowledge it. The man was 8 feet from the outlet, and I was in his direct path. He proceeds to run his cord under my table, and leans over my messanger bag to plug in. I give him my patented cunty death eyes. He is oblivious, and goes back to trying to turn on his computer. The sighs are still going and the dramaticisms of his movements make me almost sympathetic. Almost.

Watching him from the corner of my eye, he spends the next ten minutes attaching his USB mouse, jumbo studio-style headphones. I gather he is trying to find a free wireless network. He sees me on the internet and he becomes frustrated that he is not at successful. He almost opens his mouth four times to ask me something. Meanwhile I think his cellphone is sending him text messages saying he’s an idiot. Today, his gadgets must have went on strike.

Someone just left. He starts to pack up. Once again, he reaches over my shit and unplugs. But, wait, folks. He has managed to get my power cord caught up in his. Once again, he gets the death look, but he silently and hurriedly untangles, packs everything on top of his Dell, and rushes over to a more prime spot for free internet, I suppose. I can still hear him making racket and whiny noises. Whispered obscenities escape here and there.

He moved once more and has now settled into his “prime” spot. I don’t think he bought anything at Starbucks, either. I hope his battery blows up.

I don’t know why I blogged this.

[tag]Starbucks, Dell, Apple, Elmwood Ave[/tag]

In-A-Dor: Not a typo Brent

Yesterday, Brent brought to my attention that my previous blog post had a typo in it.

Excerpt from “Fun with Incompetent Landlords,”
I live on Elmwood/North. I have about 250sq feet of pure bachelor pad; a vintage 1917 Murphy-In-a-Dor bed folds out of a closet for entertaining the boys. The landlords told me my apartment was like a penthouse studio. They never mentioned I also had

Tags: elmwood, Elmwood Ave