I Guess I'm Back

Wed 11/26

16:49

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF YE. I guess I'm back. I have been so busy at work and life. 

Time to make a pumpkin pie, my specialty since 2012. When my life restarted again and I was scared shitless as to what I would do in the USA. It's over two years ago, that I walked (like a fish with feet) from Spain back into my home country. 

What a long strange trip it's been
-The Grateful Dead


12/3

Well, Tday was great, minus the 4.5 hour trip down to Jersey. Dinner was delicious and the Seahawks romped the 49ers, and now control their own destiny. I love controlling my own destiny.

November Rain

I'm back! The family travelled to Charlotte, NC last week to see the Seahawks beat the Panthers. Barely. Mum was a rock star, Seahawks fans taking selfies with 'grandma' after the game. 

Work is progressing and I am getting closer to my first sale. Woo hoo! 

It was windy as hell today and my friends lost power because of a downed tree. MA got a foot of snow but we had just rain. But it's going to be 65 degrees by Wed. CT is insane.

Seasons

Halloween is round the corner. My buddy, Bryan, is in NY next week, so he'll stay by me on the 23rd. Then, on Sat., I meet the fambly at JFK and we are off to Charlotte to see the Seahawks play the Panthers. 

Then Thanksgiving.

Then Xmas. 

I find the holidays confusing. No need to fuss, let's just have some food and some wine. Carpe diem!

SO with Bryan coming to visit, I must purge this house of the Ghost of Jacob Marley (noisy chained up bastard!) and infuse it with the spirit of Bob Marley. 

so let it be written, so let it be done

The Cycle of Life

It's Friday, October 17th. I have this on very good sources.

All is well at work. Making lots of calls - getting into the groove <Cuz I love to shake my groove thing>. 

My flat is starting to take shape, although I always hear Mum's ghost, like that of the chained Jacob Marley, saying; "Clean the toothpaste from the bottom of the sink, you horse's ass! Oooooooh!" (rattle, rattle.)

It took a while to get accustomed to not having Mum around. I think it was fucking awesome that we enjoyed living together for 2 years. 

That poor devoted woman.

But all of we forty-six year old children must eventually move away from our parents. This is the Cycle of Life, at least according to Elton John.

I'm drawing the line
-Porcupine Tree

Ghosts of October

Where are you, my father
Give wisdom to your son
-Genesis

Wow!  A week has gone by! I have been soooooo busy. All is well at work but I don't think I'll ever get this house clean. Maybe I'll pay someone to come in and clean it up - spic and span. Then I'll just maintain it.

I might also win Power Ball.

The Seahawks got bitch slapped by Dallas in Seattle - Ouch. 

Mel prefers to watch the games alone, but invited Mum over. Then they lost. Mum is now banned for the rest of this season's games. Mum wisely decided not to go to arbitration.

Yesterday was Cristobal Colon Day, or Hispaña Day in Spain. Today was Columbus Day in the US. I had to work, but the traffic was light.

It's colder now in the morning. In two weeks we'll turn the clock back. And then, because I live in the Naugatuck Valley, it will be dark by 4:15 PM. That's just sad.

The Yellow Jester

I hear your voice 
And it keeps me from sleeping
Why must it always be dreams
When your voice comes to me
-Big Country

The NY Football Giants are 3 - 2. I like it.

I have found that mid-life has a lot of changes. I went through a major one starting in 2007. I adjusted to Madrid and now I've pretty much adjusted to CT. But some of my friends here, their lives are now undergoing medium to heavy changes. Their lives are usually pretty stable, give or take. Having been an expat so long, my life was unstable, almost by definition. But now, seeing them go through it, it's tough. 

I am invested in their welfare and i just try to give the most objective advice i can. I guess that's enough. 

60F today. The sky is bluer than blue.


The yellow jester does not play
But gentle pulls the strings
And smiles as the puppets dance
In the court of the crimson king
-King Crimson

Training

Okay! So I am learning the software at work. It's recruiting software and it's quite robust - it's got a lot of functionality and can save you steps (time,) money, and cast a wide net for applicants.

Going to Kev's to watch the game with he and Colin. SF vs. WAS, game 2. If the Nats lose, they are done for. 

Rainy today. Sunny mañana, but a high of only 58F. Damn baby, Autumn is here and winter looms.


October
And the trees are stripped bare
Of all they wear
What do I care

October
And kingdoms rise
And kingdoms fall
But you go on...and on...
-U2

Dying Nationally by Degrees

Watching the Nats is hell. 

Down 3-2 , bottom of 8th. 2 Outs, first and second. Bryce Harper grounds into a soft fielder's choice. 3 out.

Fuck.

This Giant team scares me. They get VERY streaky in the playoffs. They've won 8 playoff games in a row. 

That's terrifying. 

Washington also left the bases loaded in the 6th. 

I love the Nationals Stadium in DC. It's beautiful. 

I remember RFK in August. That place was a hell hole. But baseball was back in DC and it felt good. 

The Nats lost.

Shit. 

The 29th

First Day of work went very well. Tired, I am.  Sleep well. I'll try and be more witty mañana. Or maybe not. It's been a whirlwind, but a nice one. 

80 Miles to Jersey

I'm back. Left last Sat. for The King Crimson Concert in NYC. They were unbelievable. Carolyn went with me. Sunday I left Harlem and went to Mum's. We watched the Seahawks beat Denver, again! Then I went to Mike and Mimas and saw their two adorable girls, Megan and Lindsay. Tuesday, Mum and I went to the 9/11 Museum. It was very powerful. Then dinner with Mel and Jan.

Now I am back putting my home together and, wait for it, ...editing.


Did I fail to mention that the Toyota overheated and had steam pouring off the engine in NYC? And I got stopped before that, in Harlem, because my headlight was out. And my car got towed in Harlem because the police "forgot" to put up a no parking sign for the Harlem Day Parade. No ticket - but I had to hunt down my car with the 28th precinct and then walk 20 blocks to get it.

Well, Frank's auto just called. I need a new cooling fan, and break pads - it'll be about $650.

When does that new job start?

The Never-Ending Editing Dance

17:47 EDT

I am doing another edit on The Spanish Exile, the novel that took five years to write. Vicky and I edited in in 2012. Then my life got in the way. A lot in the way. No I have 7 work days before I have start work. The idea is to get it done and done before the 29th. And then, it goes to Jimbo, English Professor, for final editing and discussion.

It's been a long haul. Even elephants only gestate for 400 days.

And then, come the Rapture or the apocalypse, I will self publish this baby. It will be a dream come true. And maybe, I will one day be able to support myself by writing. 

I'm 65% of the way done.

The 8th Life

I guess I'm kind of like a cat, although I hope I have more than 9 lives, since I'm already on number 8. Or maybe I'lll just stop using them up so quickly.


Let's review;

1. 1968 - born in Jersey, later move to Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 
2. 1986 - Off to college at Fairfield, CT
3. 1990 - Jamaica, WI, to build houses, teach, and see the world.
4. Lodi, NJ with Susan; we marry in 1994
5. 1998 - Down to NOVA, buy house in McLean, VA.
6. 2007 - Sue and I agree to separate. In a desperate attempt at staying sane, I move to Madrid, Spain.
7. Aug. 8, 2012 - Due to the economic collapse in Spain, and the fact that I needed to come home eventually, I repatriate to CT and live with Mum
8. Mum moves to Jersey. I am living on my own for the first time and inherit a whole new heap of bills living on my own and get laid off the same week Mum moves (can you say fuck!) Sept. 17 - I accept a job offer from a UK company here in the US, launching recruiting software in the USA.

That's a lot of stuff to pack into 46 years, but we all have our own fascinating stories. No life is the same. Every person is like an individual snowflake.

She said luck is all you make it
You just reach out and take it
Now let's dance a while

She said nothing ever happens
If you don't make it happen
And if you can't laugh then smile

But after a while
You realize time flies
And the best thing that you can do
Is take whatever comes to you
'Cause time flies

And laughing under summer showers
Is still the way I see you now

-Porcupine Tree

And so it begins.

Back in the Game

I got offered a job today and I accepted. It's a company that makes recruiting software. They are launching here in the US, but they have 5 years under their belt in the UK and South Africa. I start on the 29th. Woo Hoo!

Read, Read, Read

It's been a great few months for highly anticipated novels. In August, Haruki Murakami's newest novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, was finally released in English. He is a master of surreal fiction. 

I just finished David Mitchell's, The Bone Clocks, which was fantastic and came out this month. 

Mañana sees the release of the conclusion of Ken Follet's brilliant Century Trilogy, The Edge of Eternity. Along with that, Rick Yancey's, The Infinite Sea (The Fifth Wave, book 2.)

Anne Rice revisits her Vampire Chronicles with Prince Lestat, released on Oct. 30th, of course.

So go outside in the lovely Sept. weather and read a book. And bless all of folks who still read!

Kept

East German Flag



Happy birthday to the best Mum ever! She raised Mel and I as a single parent during a time when single parent families were as plentiful as 4 leaf clover. And she kept us!

I was a good student and she could have sold me to Japanese-American for about $10,000. Mel was an exceptional athlete (without the help of steroids.) East Germany would have paid $20,000 to make her a citizen and put her on the Olympic swimming team (bonus; she'd pass the doping tests.)

But Mum kept us. Bless her heart.

From Horrible to Oblivion

Unless you live in a box, which you probably don't if you read this blog, then you know all about the damning Ray Rice video that TMZ released on Monday.  And now, one of the elite running backs in the league, Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, has been indicted for child abuse after 'disciplining' his child with a 'switch,' or tree branch. The photos the doctor took were brutal. The kid's legs and backside were all torn and lacerated.



The 1st week of the NFL season has been a PR nightmare. Roger Goodell should be be fired. Obviously, he has not been earning his $40m salary this year. Then, the NFL needs to take this shit out of the game by showing players that the NFL will not tolerate domestic abuse in any form. If players are getting suspended a year for PEDs or pot, doesn't domestic violence warrant at least that long?

The last week has been a shit storm for the NFL. Heads should roll. I'm talking to you, Goodell.

An Eye Towards the Fall

Summer's going fast, nights growing colder
Children growing up, old friends growing older
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each sensation a little bit stronger
Experience slips away
Experience slips away...
The innocence slips away

-Rush

It was 68 F in the house when I woke up at 8 AM. Damn! 

I think I am 'job searched out' for the week. Still waiting to hear from the one place who said they'd have an answer today.

Mañana, Kevin and I go to Hartford to see Tom Petty. Woo hoo! And on Sunday, Mum turns an undisclosed age (like sixty-something, I forget.)

I read somewhere that OJ Simpson is on a hunger strike in jail. Can that dude's life get any more fucked up? If he wants to die, Nevada has the death penalty (lethal injection,) so why not just off this guy. I don't think anyone will miss him.

Another Day

Mum came to CT to see her accountant. Then we went out to dinner with our neighbors, Bob and Barbara. It was fun. Always good too see Mum. Weird for her to be in Jersey coming up to me in CT. It was the other way around for many years.

I have a 2nd interview mañana. Hooray!

The Difference a Year Makes

Looking at the NFL schedule, it looks like I will be able to watch 8 Seahawks games from my own home. What a difference winning the Super Bowl makes. This is especially helpful because Mum is no longer here to go to Whiskey's and watch the game. 

The Patriots lost! Now that's good news. New Orleans lost in OT. Buffalo beat the bears on the road in OT. And the Jets won. What the hell?

I am watching SF crush Dallas. If I had the chance to punch one dude in the face, it would be Jim Harbaugh.

- - - 

MONDAY

Back to shuffling CV's across the job boards of CT, NJ and NY. Hooray!

Immortality

Wow! Last night I watched Only Lovers Left Alive with Tilda Swinton,Tom Hiddleston, and John Hurt. It was amazing. Swinton and Hiddleston (known as Eve and Adam) are vampires who have lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. But they no longer kill humans and also have a fascinating appreciation of the arts (Eve - literature, Adam is a musician.) It's not gory and it's very cerebral. Tilda Swinton was amazing. I rate it second only to Byzantium, which is my favorite vamp movie ever. Like Byzantium, Only Lovers Left Alive is offbeat and poignant. It even has an arc about how the humans ('zombies,' as Adam calls them,) are poisoning the planet.

I was blown away. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Back in New England

Collapse the light into Earth
-Porcupine Tree

I saw Carolyn and Dani in Harlem on Sat. That was fun. Then I headed to Mum's. We had an awesome BBQ and Mel and Jan's and then we played poker in the AC cause it was hotter than the hinges of hell. We also got a lot of moving-in stuff at Mum's. i drove back today. I have an interview mañana. Catch you on Thurs.

Signs of Life

It's Labor Day weekend. I am ready for a little burst down to NJ with the family. 

On the job hunt, I am finally seeing signs of life. I have an interview in Waldwick, NJ on Wed. Then I'll come back home and have an interview on Thursday in Farmington, CT. The one in Jersey is sales and marketing for a chain of nationwide martial arts studios. The one in CT is selling recruiting software. 

It's good to hear back from people and to be getting interviews. My plan is to have a new job before Oct. 1st. The wheels are in motion.

One Foot Out the Door

I know, I know. Everything is bigger in Texas. But croutons? They are Texas style croutons and they are so big I can't fit them in my mouth - seriously!

Well, it's almost time for my second vacation of the summer in the Motherland. I'll stop off on Saturday and see my friend Carolyn in Harlem. Then to Jersey to stay with Mum and see Mel & Janet. I will stay until Wed. morning because I have an interview in Waldwick at 2 PM. It's a marketing sales position with a nationwide martial arts studio. If I got the job, I would relocate back to the Motherland. 

It'll be good to get out of the house. Out of this state.

It's been a long summer - I had hernia surgery and then I lost my job the same week Mum moved to Jersey. Screw this, I'm ready for football season.

History of the World

I watched The History of the World in Two Hours, on History Channel 2. It's fantastic. I highly recommend it. From the Big Bang to modern day in two hours! History of the World in 2 Hours

But now it is Monday, and I am back to sending out CVs. Thus begins week four of my job search. It's such a drag.

But August is the worst month to get laid off, along with Dec. So I carry on - left foot, right foot, and keep attitude positive. 

Did that sound convincing? I may have to look for work on daytime soaps.

Night Game

Downtown Oakland




The Mets are on the coast, playing the A's. They don't make many trips to Oakland. This is the last of five West Coast trips (they played the AL West in Inter-League games this year.) I like having games on late at night. 

My days seem like a tidal wave of sending out CVs, cleaning the house, going through clothes in preparation for a move to some place way smaller, and changing utilities and the like into my name. It's all very strange.

upside down

Maybe I've finally gone insane. My whole world seems inside out - upside down. Looking for a job in August is like looking for a snowflake in August. 

And the riots in Missouri seems unreal. They seem like something that should be taking place in the 90s, like the Rodney King LA Riots. That 18 year old boy, unarmed, was shot 6 times. No wonder the community is outraged. 

Hospitality

TUESDAY

Thanks to Mel and Jan for the printer they gave me so that I could print my CV. It'a an HP. The software is loading now.

Today, I am focusing on hospitality jobs. I need a job yesterday, I'll work weekends. I just want to work in a friendly environment. It's been 2 years since I've had that. I'll serve food. I'll bartend. Hell, if I was ten years younger, I'd pimp myself out. But that's no longer an option. 

THURSDAY

I have an interview with a headhunter for a customer service job mañana, so that's good news. 

Miracle

Sunday - today is Sunday. 

Time to attack the laundry and clean the office. My desk is a wreck and everything needs to be scoured from the white dust of Mully's box being in there for fifteen years. 

And the barbecue is back in business!  I haven't barbecued in weeks because the first time I used it after the operation, I ran out of gas. They weigh 37 pounds, so I had to wait til the doctor cleared me. So yesterday, I got some sausage and a new tank.

The weather has been beautiful. Not too hot, not too humid. With the ceiling fans, the flat has been nice and cool, especially when the wind blows from the south or the west.

Wheeler is on the mound for the Mets.  A four game sweep of Philly would be enormous in them making a true play-off run.


- - - - - 

The Mets blew a 6 - 1 lead and lost the game. They got to win tomorrow. They play at 1pm. Washington plays tonight in Atlanta.
It's August and baseball is a beautiful thing.



---The office is clean! In the name of Saint Michael and Saint George, the office is clean. It's a miracle!

...and Jam

 Mauritius

Sometimes it's nice to just hang out..., and jam. Jim and I are working on our 6th album together as Wayward Platypus. It's called Dodo and it's a concept album. It's some pretty cool music Jim has written. I wrote the lyrics and came up with the concept. Today was our first go and it went pretty well. 

The dodo is one of the most famous examples of extinction and one of the first to be recorded. The dodo lived and thrived on the island of Mauritius, off the coast of Madagascar. Located in the indian ocean, the island was undiscovered until the Portuguese found it in the 16th century. The Dutch starting settling it in the 17th century. 

The dodo had no predators on the island and actually evolved into not being able to fly because it didn't need to anymore. They were fat, happy, and plentiful. And then humans arrived. They Dutch sailors ate the dodo, and their pets killed them as well. By 1662, the dodos were all gone. They were gone before the Dutch settlers even realized it. It's a cautionary tale. 300 years later, we can see the damage we've done to the planet and the perils that await us in the 21st century. 

It's a cheerful album.

All in the Family

Well, I moved the big honking TV screen Mel got me into the living room. Then I sat in the green recliner Mum left me. She took Leo's recliner, so I was sitting in the light, teal, green recliner that she and Mully lived in. 

Anyway, it kind freaked me out. It was like Meathead sitting in Archie's chair.

Let the banner fly high

Walter Raleigh and Chris Columbus
Come marching out of the waves
And claim the beach and all concessions
In the name of the suntan slaves
I wrapped that flag around me
Like a Dorothy Lamour sarong
And I lay down thinking nationally
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland
-Joni Mitchell

Got my CV out to a few places and to two recruiters. Now I'm on the phone with AT&T for the fourth day in a row, trying to change the account to my name- that's all. Is it any wonder that the USA is no longer competitive when it takes 4 days (and counting) to change the name on the bill?

But you can get a personal pizza for $5. Where have our values gone? At least porn is readily accessible, free of charge, for any creature with opposable thumbs and a wi-fi connection. Ronald Reagan would be proud. And he loved the movie business!

All You Can Carry

Take what you can
All you can carry 
Take what you can and leave the thoughts behind
We gotta run
-Tom Petty


Tuesday. Today is Tuesday. 

I guess that means mañana must well be Wednesday. I had so much structure in my life two weeks ago. Now Mum's gone and I'm unemployed in an empty apartment. I guess it could be worse. It could always be worse. I have my family and friends, and that's a boat load.

How to Begin Again

I am overwhelmed. I'm not sure where to begin. But begin, I must.

Baby steps.

See the doctor for my last visit after surgery. Maybe now I can lift things again - like myself out of this whole. 

Tow the line. Keep it together. Think out of the box. 

Do I really want another sales job?

Every sales job I've ever had has been about me fighting my bosses not to screw me.  My numbers were great this month, and July is the worst month for out industry. But I wouldn't buy the bullshit they were trying to sell, saying that three of us misunderstood the commission. They changed and then lied about changing it. They'll be out of business by January. 

One Flew Over the Dodo's Nest

Obviously, the world is flat.

Well, I no longer work at the Dodo House. It's a blessing. My boss was a nut job with OCD. And he just didn't like me. I surpassed my numbers significantly this month. It was awesome. It was all I could do to not laugh. I've never worked for a company that was this badly managed or lied to me so much. It was all bull shit. From the very beginning.

Sometime in 2015, they will go out of business. 

So, now I file for unemployment and look for a new job, in many states. 

But I need a cat. It doesn't seem real to live in this house without a cat.

It's a new day. And I'm ready to be free of such assholes. Plus, It's not over, because I learned Obeah (voodoo) in Jamaica. 

Other Roads

Speak to me of summer
Long winters longer than time can remember
The setting up of other roads
To travel on in old accustomed ways

I still remember the talks by the water
The proud sons and daughter
That knew the knowledge of the land
Spoke to me in sweet accustomed ways

-Yes

Mañana, Mum will come up to sign the papers and do the walk through. We'll go out to dinner, and after that, she may stay or may take Mully home. 

Mully has been just fine for the last few days, but he will be so happy that he will lose his mind when he sees Mum. I might do the same thing.

I never figured I'd live with Mum for 2 years. And I never thought it would be so smooth. She told me it will be very quiet without me. I love that the woman is so understated. I figured that by now, she would have had Mel off me. But Mel was always fond of me too.

The Way the Big Wheel Spins

Wheel goes round, landing on a twist of faith
Taking your chances, you'll have the right answers
When the final judgment begins

Wheel goes round, landing on a leap of fate
Life redirected in ways unexpected
Sometimes the odd number wins
The way the big wheel spins

-Rush 


Saturday. 9:17 AM. The world wakes and a life changing event will take place in about 50 hours. Mum makes her triumphant return to Jersey. And I, for reasons that are difficult to extrapolate, am staying in CT. For now.

When I quit my job, which is only a matter of when, I'll open my job search to any number of in New England or the Mid-Atlantic. "Spin the wheel and see where she lands! And you got..., Maryland!" 

Fuck! The only red-neck cracker state of the bunch! Shit. Even Delaware would be better.

But there's no need to get ahead of myself. Jersey, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Virginia, DC, and North Carolina.

I wonder, if I could find work, if I wouldn't enjoy living in a big town, out in the country. I've lived in or very near to Metropolises all my life, excepting, Ansonia. It's a quiet town. It's nice. But maybe this town around. Some place more scenic. In a town where they didn't kill the river and has signs posted about how often you can eat what you catch (I jest not, reader.) Yeah, near a non-toxic river - would that be so wrong?

Oh, I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
-Joni Mitchell

There are other states that interest me, but I don't want to move that far from Mom, Mel and Jan. I was an Atlantic Ocean away for over 5 years. Right now I want to be within driving distance, or a quick flight.

I did this 8 years ago, in 2006. Sue and I had separated. Where do I go? What do I do? I took an unconventional path, and that worked out pretty damn well. I lived the experiences of a lifetime. I'll just have to keep an open mind, feel which way the karma flows, and hope for the best. If it winds up with results anywhere within the ballpark of my time in Madrid, I'll be very happy. 

- - - 

The Move has taken place - Mum hath returned to the Motherland, New Jersey. I am scouring the place because the final walkthrough is mañana. It's the end of an era. There's a lot less furniture and a lot more space. 

Eyeballs Wide Open

(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
-  David Bowie


And the Mama; she leaves on Monday. It is going to be surreal living here without Mum. 

Mel and I always said, It's tough to raise a single-parent these days. And now..;

Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins
Silently closing her bedroom door
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more
She goes downstairs to the kitchen clutching her hankerchief
Quietly turning the backdoor key
Stepping outside she is free

She (We gave her most of our lives)
Is leaving (Sacrificed most of our lives)
Home (We gave her everything money could buy)
She's leaving home after living alone
For so many years (Bye bye)
-The Beatles

But I am so happy for her. She's going back to the Motherland. Mel and Jan are right there so I think it will work out quite nicely. She's a brave one, Mum. 

I remember once I was having an asthma attack and she was getting ready to inject me with black market adrenaline she had bought from Jose Canseco's distant relative, also know as Steroid Papi. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, a bear burst through the door to my bedroom (I would have pissed myself, but I didn't have even enough air in my lungs to force my pee out.)

I still remember it like it was yesterday. She jabbed the syringe into the upper meat of my left arm. I was going to be okay and breathing comfortably soon, but what about the fucking bear?! As the bear came at her, she used her left arm to shield her face and hammered the syringe into its throat. Amazingly, she had hit the jugular directly. She tore it down to the right as she pulled it out. 

The bear was pissed! It roared and stepped forward. Now I was going to soil myself as well, (if I ever had enough air.) 

But suddenly it jolted forward, and this large brown bear, pulled itself backwards in an effort to take control. But by now, the blood was matting itself like a hairy waterfall down the bear's belly. When it went down, it pitched forward and hit the ground with it's chin. Three of it's front teeth spilled out.

"Take it easy, baby," she said. "Pamela Jean's got you now."

When I awoke the next day, it was almost 7 PM. The adrenaline had kept me up til noon. Mum said, "Don't sweat it. She had had three hours sleep worked all day and then somehow had cooked my all time favorite, beef wellington, in an hour and a half.

And the next time I lost a tooth, I got a dollar and the bear's three monstrous teeth which I still have to this day, and wear only when I go to a High Mass at the Vatican.)

Best mum ever!

True story.

Editor's Note; "In North Jersey, during the 70's and 80's, there were reports of brown bears showing up in very residential areas of New Jersey. How the bear was not noticed on the Boulevard, how it broke and entered, and why it appeared on the second floor, are inexplicable. Mum never reported it. She always had a few bags of lye around for "situations." Mel buried it in the backyard in the middle of the night.

Dodos and Chips

Mum is out with the college friends on Broadway, the last time she'll have to drive all the way down from CT. Good for her. I think it would be a good idea for Mum to get one of those First Alert buttons, in case she ever fell and couldn't get to a phone. Melissa was more of a mind to drug her and have Janet put a tracking chip in her buttocks, where she would never see it. I told her that I was against the idea of "tagging" Mom, and just kind of unsettled with the idea of them seeing her butt.

But I digress; I am cleaning and I have miles to go before I sleep. 

- The Mets are getting no-hit by a rookie Cuban picture. It's only his fifth start, but they have no hits and the end of 6.


Murphy broke it up in the 8th. Well done!

---

Today, I decided I will be looking for a new job. Work is the Dodo's Nest, because they make idiotic mistakes and won't survive.

The Mum Baton Pass

It's been a while, so pardon me. Things have been busy. Mum is moving in ten days and there is much to be done. Then, on Jul 28, Mel and I do the Mum baton pass, as Mum goes back to the Motherland; Jersey.

Mum can take care of herself. She's in great shape. But I feel better that Mel and Jan will be close. Otherwise, I would have had to install more surveillance in her new flat than I already have.

World Cup

11:23 AM, 4th o' July. Today and mañana are the quarter finals of the World Cup. And here, dear reader are my predictions:

Germany 2
France 1

Columbia 1 (wins in penalty kicks)
Brazil 1

mañana

Argentina 1
Belgium 0

Costa Rica 1 (wins in penalty kicks)
France 1

Costa Rica is a heavy underdog, but I believe they will CONCACAF France (they are the last team left from our association (North America, Central America and the Caribbean.)

Independence Day

Down in the hole
Jesus tries to crack a smile
Beneath another shovel load

And I heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the 4th of July
-Soundgarden

Mom reminded me I should blog. It had been a while. 

I wanted to say; "I live with you!" 

But I knew what she meant. 

Every time I sat down to blog, I was overwhelmed with how to relate how the first three days after surgery. It was physical pain like I had never experienced. This pain sucked in a whole new way. I couldn't bend in 20 different ways. The simplest actions resulted in pain that made me cry like a baby. 

But today, the Doc cleared me to play drums next weekend, which will be awesome. 

Mel told me, "Okay, but no drum solos."

So I am on the mend. A unpleasant episode is ending. Now I just have to find a place to live and decide if I am going to stay in this job. My boss is an OCD nutcase, and came right out and told me that he wants to fire me. Why he just doesn't do it is beyond me. He's always telling me what I think and how much it pisses him off. SNORE!

He doesn't know anything about the way I think. But I know how he thinks, because I used to have OCD just as bad as his. But I went to therapy. I started taking medicine. I did 18 months of cognitive therapy, where you learn to reprogram your brain and face your deepest darkest fears. And I did it. I overcame my OCD. So he can bite my shiny metal ass if he thinks he knows me. 

I have a plan. And once that plan is completed, I'll plot my next move. It's not pleasant, going to work everyday, knowing that you boss is plotting to axe you. But they need me. We keep bringing on new clients without enough sales people to fill the orders. Only one of us has made goal so far. A new guy starts Monday, but it'll take him 120 days to ramp up, at best. If he lasts more than a week.

But I will make goal this month. I go to work everyday with a sense of pride. He can't beat me down, even after attacking me the second day I was back from the operation. I was forged in the fires of a father he treated us an unforgivable burden. I was cooled off in the waters of a loving mother who sacrificed everything for Mel and I, and accepted parenting as a never-ending full-time job. 

What was created was something unbreakable. An intelligent, compassionate, relentless force of human will that never shirks from getting his hands dirty when it is the only option left available to him.

With your head down in the pig bin
Saying "keep on digging"

-Pink Floyd

So open a beer or have a glass of wine and enjoy. It's Independence Day.

U S A

The Devil came from Kansas. Where he went to I can't say 

If you really are my brother then you'd better start to pray 

For the sins of those departed and the ones about to go 

There's a dark cloud just above us, don't tell me 'cause I know 

I am not a humble pilgrim 

There's no need to scrape and squeeze 

And don't beg for silver paper 

When I'm trying to sell you cheese

-Procol Harum

Went back to work today. It was good to be back (side bonus: it's the first time I've gone to work there with all of my internal organs in the right place.)

But it's crunch time, and I'm mostly being crunched. But somethings got to give mañana. Plus, the USA plays at 12:00 PM, and we are all patriots at work. 

Finally! A chance to take the Gadsen flag back from the Tea Baggers.