In the midst of this madness, I try to remember how fortunate I am. I'm employed and can work from home. I have Joe and SonnyeBoy. We have plenty of food. We can make our rent, car payment, bills. Entertainment galore. I'm two weeks out from the last time I was around lots of people and three weeks out from the last time I was in a big crowd and so far I'm not sick.... Read more →
Well! I suppose NaNoWriMo and Holidailies fried my writing circuits for January. I did post on New Year's Day - a photo of a print by Berkeley Breathed - and now it's January 31st. February looms, so I feel I must gird my grid and post something about my birth month. Here goes. Yes, January is my birth month - the 18th, to be exact. I'm 68, oh boy! Did you know that the Number... Read more →
I advised a friend who was having a frustrating day to take a nice, deep cleansing breath of fire. Turns out I needed one too.
Four years ago, I bought my Fiat 500, Chicolini. It's been a great little car. Oh, it had its flaws, but I accepted them because I bought it used, after all. It had the proper inspection stickers on it, so I figured all was well. They couldn't sell a car that wouldn't pass inspection, now would they? Each subsequent year, it passed inspection, sometimes needing minor repairs. But it always passed. (Cue ominous music.) In... Read more →
I've been reading about how social media has given rise to new ways for a person to be a dick; for example, the phenomena known as "ghosting" and "zombie-ing." For you folks unaware of these behaviors, ghosting occurs when a person disappears from another's social media. Maybe you were in the beginning stages of dating, texting up a storm, friends on Facebook, blah blah blah. Suddenly the object of your attention is gone. They don't... Read more →
Well, I continue to get older - how about that! I am now 67 years old, hurtling toward old(er) age. Given the alternative, I'm fine with it! I had a lovely day. Joe surprised me, as he always does, with a card and gifts. I got this top, a Stephen King book that I haven't read yet, a book about the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a nice thick pair of wool socks. Then, after... Read more →
Friday was going along just fine. I was working on a document that was coming together nicely. I'd done a lot of it on Thursday, so Friday was nice and relaxed. I finished up the content, then tackled the formatting and layout. I knew that would be tricky, because my authoring tool can be cranky. Sure enough, it was. It looked just fine in the source, but the PDF output simply would not behave. It... Read more →
Now let's take a look at the second half of the year in pictures! In July, we went to see Cirque du Soleil's Volta under the big top. It was a wonderful show! In August, a freak downpour caused serious flooding outside my office. It wasn't terrible in my neighborhood, thankfully. We also visited the Reading Pagoda, one of Pennsylvania's Top Ten Marvels. We climbed all the way to the top - 84 steps! In... Read more →
Joe had a tough time at work yesterday evening. Why do normally nice people suddenly turn into rude motherfuckers when it gets close to Christmas? Whatever happened to peace and good will? There were the people who ignored the "Line starts here" sign and walked right up to Joe's register. When Joe politely told them where the line was, they gave all kinds of excuses: But you just waited on her. (Yes, because she was... Read more →
Well, Chicolini (my Fiat 500) has a new battery. I should have known it was coming. First, it was the slight growl before starting. Then, the growl acquired an crescendo-pause-decrescendo-roar. I found that I had to pump the accelerator a couple times. In the last couple of days, all of the dash lights have brightened and dimmed in time to the growling. Of course, we're also having a cold snap here in the greater Philly... Read more →