I didn’t sleep well at all last night. I’m still peeking at other job opportunities; I’d like to GTFO of government.
I’m tired of being constantly concerned about whether there’ll be a job for me in a few months.
During one of my brief sleep periods, I dreamed I was once again in a role where I wasn’t just trying to check boxes, meet deadlines. Yes, I’m adept at that. Yes, I’m adept at making sure lower-case Fs are crossed, lower-case Js are dotted. But I’m not really fulfilled by it.
I want to do something fascinating.
Maybe that’s the wrong feeling to have for someone in my condition, but it is what it is.
I’m wondering if that’s the real source of my disappointment with the last period of failurejob
Who knows?
I did see some promising things back in the media. Not radio; I don’t know if I can do that anymore, but media, nonetheless. I didn’t apply to anything because I had a few reservations about the organization.
More than reporting, though, I’d like to be focused on something other than mere compliance.
shrugs
On to the prompt…
If you had one wish, what would you wish for?
From back then: My eyesight back. I’d be so much better off if I could recover at least some of what I’ve lost.
That answer really hasn’t changed. My other afflictions are troublesome, but the vision limitations are the toughest.
For tomorrow, since there were so many thirtieth anniversary celebrations last year about movies, I’m going to slightly modify one from one from last year.
Last year: 8-2. What do you remember from 1982?
Since tomorrow will be the fifth, 8-5. What do you remember from 1985?
That’s what I’m going to do. I am exhausted. My shoulder is still bothering me quite a bit.
Still, a day and a half left of this nonsense, then I get recharged. I’m going to be just working tomorrow, and Friday morning.
My PCP wants to give me a shot in my shoulder. I was worried about that with my infusion on Friday. He did say, though, that I should come next week when e’s “presiding.” Okay. If it’ll make the pain stop, I can deal with a big needle. (He’s faculty, and is supervisering residents….)
I do feel a bit more confident with what I’m doing work-wise. I was really worried last week, but things turned out okay.
Recycling from 2012, with what I wrote back then….
If you had one wish, what would you wish for?
My eyesight back. I’d be so much better off if I could recover at least some of what I’ve lost.
That answer really hasn’t changed. My other afflictions are problematic, but the vision limitations are the toughest to deal with, really.
Really only one person from the school where I graduated. For awhile there, it was really a matter of trying to figure out who was still alive, and, of those, who isn’t in prison.
As I get older, there’s less of that. But I was always an “outsider” at the school where I graduated. It was a stepping-stone, and I viewed it as such.
I’m okay with that, though, as the only person I really keep tabs on is the only one who really understood what my situation was like.
I didn’t grow up in the ghetto. (No, I grew up in various sets of Army quarters; I can remember, as a kid, my dad only being allotted a two bedroom/one bath apartment.) I didn’t have a parent who suffered from mesothelioma. Just one of those things, I suppose. Yes, I do have some pertinent memories…like seeing a young Michael Vick roll left, and fire a pass sixty yards flat-footed, and realizing he was going to be the better quarterback than Ronald Curry.
I could rattle on for hours about that, but I really don’t care to. Are there folks I wonder about? Sometimes. How much time do I spend on it? Not a lot.
Things are kind of going okay today; I couldn’t say the same yesterday. I am completely exhausted, though. Friday can’t get here soon enough.
Because of that, I’m going to slack on coming up with a new prompt for tomorrow. Maybe it’d be a good day to free-write?
Say it in French. Not that I remember much of my kindergarten lessons, but I do remember that.
Unfortunately, my prompt for today is leaving me empty. I also feel like I wrote something similar already.
Repeating yourself in the first two weeks doesn’t bode well….
Prompt: What can you not do today, that you really enjoyed when you were younger?
I think I was thinking about driving when I laid that one out. I wonder sometimes how my life would be different if I still could see well enough to drive. As I took paratransit in this morning, I was not envying the guy next to me in the stick-shift Camaro.
(For more than just that he was driving a Camaro….)
I am exhausted. Friday, when I get this month’s Tysabri infusion, can’t get here soon enough.
I also saw my former employer advertising, again, a position they can’t seem to keep filled. Hmmmm…wonder why.
But a few more days of trying to do what I’m supposed to be doing. I will make it. I think.
Something for tomorrow; who do you keep in touch with from high school?
Tease: I went to three different high schools. A couple of friends from Facebook, are also people I knew in elementary school.
1. Do you believe in soul mates? If so, do you believe we each have just one soul mate?
Yes, and yes. I’ve found mine. How that happened, I still don’t know. We’re a team. I don’t know how much of this stuff I could have done without her.
2. What would you do if you could live a day without consequences?
I got a response to this one on where I’m keeping my personal stuff. I agreed with the sentiments, then, After a bit more selection, though, even fun excess has consequences for me these days. One of the networks in promoting a new show where this woman is in what’s supposed to be heaven. She’s amped that she can drink as much wine as she wants without a hangover the next day. Yes, but there’d still be puking day-of. Maybe you don’t feel like a sewer the day after, but you can still abuse yourself to the point where it’s not fun anymore. What can I do for a day without discomfort of some kind? That’s tough to answer with my condition; consequences come a lot faster than they do for healthy folks.
I don’t know what more to say, really. I really need my next infusion; I’m really at the end of my rope today. Pffft. Friday, when I get my next infusion, can’t come soon enough.
And that brings me to my bit for tomorrow: What can you not do today, that you really enjoyed when you were younger?
On a completely unrelated note, it’s storming like crazy right now. This is after some rather large storms this morning.
Your biggest regrets. Enumerate and describe them.
I’m using my wife’s giant purple laptop after the Windows 10 upgrade. My work system already has it, so I’m not completely unfamiliar, but there’s still an adjustment period. I do kind of like Microsoft’s visual accessibility tools. I was very hesitant at first, but this does work much better than bigger font on everything. I’m going to recycle from NoJoMo 2012, because it seems to fit. For my answers back then, here. 1. Do you believe in soul mates? If so, do you believe we each have just one soul mate? 2. What would you do if you could live a day without consequences?
This one was prompted by seeing minor dealings with folks I’m sure i once met. Thankfully, there are other professional counterparts who’ve not experienced the problems I have.
I don’t see very well anymore, which makes things even more difficult. So, I pay particular attention to written names, and voices.
But it’s certainly not my forte. Even when I was in broadcasting, I was terrible about remembering people. I’d remember callers’ voices, but not their faces when i met them in person.
I could probably write more about this if I reflected on it for awhile. Unfortunately, it was a very rough day for me,
So, what for tomorrow?
Your biggest regrets. Enumerate and describe them.
I promised yesterday to dig out some of my various bits about the Saints. I’m going to try to explain each as best I can remember.
Prompt for tomorrow early, since I probably won’t want to search to the end of this incredibly-long replay….
My dad was in the Army when I was growing up. I moved a lot. Nowadays, in my work life, I’m running across people I may have met at some point, but don’t remember. I remember the names, but can’t remember much more. How are you at remembering people?
I write. It’s something I have done, despite my high school English teacher’s attempt to dissuade me…. (There was an extra credit opportunity for one marking period. We had to write at least two entries per week. I was the only one in the class who wrote. Because of the poor participation, she read everything I’d written. I was fifteen. I was in a new place. I was lonely. Things were going on with my body that I couldn’t hope to understand. She was really worried. So was I when she said I ought to go speak to someone. I don’t know what could have been that bad, really…)
So, on to it….
From 1999…. GoSaintsGoSaints
Faith: An irrational belief….a belief for which one has absolutely no evidence.
My faith: The Saints will win the Super Bowl this year.
Much like those disappointed in the Great Disappointment, I was disappointed that year. I think That was Ditka’s first season as coach. He drafted Danny Wuerffel…
Mister Politics – 11/7/2000
I voted this morning. Man, what a turnout. And for the first time in my rather short time voting, I feel good about it. I don’t feel like I’ve done something wrong–that I’ve ignored my heart and my mind in the name of pragmatism. I voted Libertarian for Pres, VP, and house. Voted Republican for Senate. And I campaigned. I handed out flyers that I bought on campus. I know my Libertarian candidates aren’t going to win. But voting for a winner isn’t what’s important. Root for your team–they’ll remeber it. Hell, I’m a die-hard Saints fan. That should say tons about my dedication.
Still rabblerousing at school. It’s fun. I’ve just chastised the student senate for refusing to take a stand on which the faculty spoke nearly unanimously against the administration. These folks are really spineless.
I really hate mainstream politicians.
Well, it’s off to class, then to the Libertarian Freedom party to watch the election results. Yippee.
That one has some relevance to today. It was the last time I voted for a third-party candidate. I’d campaigned for him on campus, gotten sideways looks for not being a Republican. (Back then, being a Republican wasn’t a capital crime on campus, and the university president was a former Republican senator…..so, before Quentin Kidd ever sniffed CNU….)
The next one is when the Saints beat the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams…
This next one was recapping my New Year’s Eve in 2000. I guess there were NFL games.
All the trouble in the world… – 1/2/2001
Including the fact that my e-mail account at alloymail is kaputt.
No kiss at midnight. Bleh. Went to (a coworker’s) party….was a pretty good time. I’ve been avoiding the hooch lately. Good thing, too. Other than that, nothing much is up. Waiting for the Saints game on Saturday. And of course, they’re playing the team I hate almost as much as the 49ers….the Vikings!
So, yeah, I was lonely then, too. I don’t know why I had such a distaste for the Vikings at that point in time. I could go back and look, but I really don’t care. RIP, Dennis Green; they are who we thought they were. Peyton Manning proved that.
Bummed Out – 10/13/2002
Feeling bleh lately, mainly due to being at work all the time. I know what I have to do tomorrow, but I’m now second-guessing myself.
Tough football game today. It’s always hard on me when the Saints and Skins play. This one was a bit easier than the 40-10 flogging last season.
Hit on the personals ad. She types in all caps, with rainbow colors. Has a kid. Go figure.
Not much else to say. I still can cook ribs better than anybody I know. My ribs kick ass, yo.
I’m also going to guess she was an Eagles’ fan.
He might look like Curley – 11/25/2002
But the old dude still fucking rocks. I wish I coulda stayed longer….
Drank too much, but was sober by the time I got back to the car.
Working. Tired.
Fucking Saints lost.
I’m sure that was about a Frank Black concert. I don’t remember where, etc.
The title of the next one was in reference to the now-defunct diary site, where my subscription was about to lapse.
I don’t have a problem paying something I like, and I did pay a lot for that site.
Yellow Box – 11/29/2002
To renew or not to renew, that is the question.
Of course, what else would I do at 2:07 in the morning? Still, few notes, few faves, I don’t spend nearly the amount of time I used to….
So…thanksgiving….
I ended up taking over the preparation of the turkey after my dad fell asleep. I think it turned out okay. He was doing it on the grill, but I couldn’t get it up to the right temperature. I ended up finishing it in the oven. Burned the fuck out of my finger trying to get the damn thing off the grill. Why he bought a twentysome pound turkey for four people, I dunno. The dogs will get most of it I’m sure.
Watched in disgust as the Redskins managed to grab defeat from the hands of victory once again. They look better, and I guess it helps the Saints’ playoff hopes, having them lose.
Am I the only one who gets nervous every time Danny Wuerffel goes back to pass?
I’m happy for the guy, though. Perhaps people will stop ridiculing him so much. It’s quite obvious that he’s not the most physically gifted quarterback to play the game. Far from it, in fact. But he tends to play within himself, and when he does, he’s pretty good. NFL scouts pay so much attention these days to the physical aspects of players…I wonder if that’s a bit overrated. Wuerffel was a proven winner in college, even without great tools. He can win in the NFL if he plays his game, and has good players around him. Look at the guys with guns who haven’t made it. Jim Drukenmiller….hell of an arm at Virginia Tech. Couldn’t make it in the freakin’ XFL, much less the NFL. Ryan Leaf. I don’t need to say anything more than his name.
(NOTE:Paragraph deleted about the people I spent the evening with. I only remember one of them, and don’t remember any of the context.)
It’s cold out. No snow, though. :-/
Busy night at work, but at the same time, kind of slack. I don’t know if there’s going to be a newsfeed at 3:35; I assume so, and that’ll give me something to do. But I’ve finished everything I can do to this point and am kind of bored.
And nobody’s online. I blame the triptophane.
I think this was about the Falcons’ fans wearing paper bags….
Just because your team plays in a dome, in the NFC West, and you suck, doesn’t mean you can wear bags on your heads. That’s reserved for Saints’ fans – the ones who started it all.
Fuckin’ Saints. :-/ Lost to the crappy-ass Vikings….
Fuckin’ Saints.
Sooo tired – 7/13/2003
I haven’t been sleeping well the past week or so (what’s new?). After being up most of the day yesterday, I got up early this morning to go to the auction up yonder. Didn’t get a whole lot, but I found a laser printer for (nickname deleted….I doubt the recipient remembers it…she and I are still on good terms). After all that was done, I came home and got like two hours of sleep, then went over to (someone else’s) new place, hoping to coax them out to drink.
(Note: And a bunch deleted…again, more stuff I really don’t remember all that well.)
I saw Lynda Carter on TV this afternoon. I still lust after Wonder Woman. Even if she is old enough to be my mother.
Saints’ quarterback Aaron Brooks has to be the worst interview ever. I guess he had a football camp here yesterday. I’m watching news re-runs. Yay.
I think I’m going to go pay more attention to my beer, lest it take after me and cease being cool.
And I didn’t say a lot for a long time. Things were pretty tough in New Orleans for several years.
Cold November Rain – 12/1/2009
So, yeah, I’ve slacked off again, but I have a good fucking excuse this time….
When the remnants of Hurricane Ida turned extra-tropical, and became a Nor’easter, well, Norfolk (and me, personally) got hit pretty hard. It’s been a wild few weeks, and my apartment still isn’t fixed. My dollar damage was just below my insurance deductible, but…..
Four days without power A week without hot water Two weeks without laundry in the building
I ended up doing work at the radio station in the middle of the storm. They lost several machines during the power weirdness, and I spent time getting them back running. They’re still using a spare computer of mine as their mail server. What else was I going to do? Not like I had anything to do at home.
Still don’t know when my bedrooms are going to be fixed. Plaster down. Mildew. Stained carpets….
In brighter news, we’re going to see the Saints play the Redskins this weekend. In DC. It might snow.
Can I catch a break sometime?
In the midst of all the chaos, I did, however, finish up the two year project from hell at work. Ironically, a disaster recovery project…..
So, yeah, there was that. I was already living here in Downtown Norfolk.
I’d also given up on trying to come up with interesting titles for my entries.
08/30/2010 – 8/30/2010
Amazon recommends for me books on the New Orleans Saints and refillable fountain pen cartridges.
Guess what I’ve bought recently…….
Day 12 – Take Me Anywhere – 11/12/2010
Now that that Tegan and Sara song is stuck in my head (and probably will be all day), let’s begin, shall we?
The desire to travel really never leaves, but it does change. It’s more now about what I’d like to show off, and what would satisfy coroporal pleasures…..that just sightseeing. My eyes aren’t good enough anymore. I doubt the Grand Coulee Dam would have the same effect on me today as it had in 2003.
So, it’s where can I go where I can taste, smell, hear, feel…….and that makes it difficult.
I’d like to take my wife to New Orleans. I need to get her back to eating Creole spices first, however…… She had a very unfortunate incident with some leftover jambalaya…..and a large amount of rum…..
I’d also like to go to NYC. This is a more recent desire. But it’d be so easy, it’s one of those things like…..why the hell haven’t I done this? Last time I looked, train tickets are like $80 bucks each way. Maybe it’d be nice to go around this time of year…..see the holiday decorations. We will not be going for NYE.
I mention that, as the TV news just had on a story about the Christmas tree being put into place.
We were in DC the first weekend of December last year. It was snowing. We wandered around, saw the Christmas tree, saw the light displays for each state on the Mall, then went and shivered in the stands at FedEx Field on Sunday. (And watched the Saints pull out a win they never should have…..thank you Mister Canadian Kicker).
But, back to the topic….I want to go places I can walk around the city. Hear things. Smell the odors of the city. And eat and drink without worrying. Fly or take the train in, get off, get on the subway, and just go. Never touch a damn car.
If only money and available leave allowed it…..
Speaking of which, I need to get ready for work. At leas I’m not working for the place doing substantial layoffs today. I hope the couple of folks I know who work there aren’t getting let go. It’s only going to get worse here. My slot is safe through next July; I don’t know if I’ll stay in it that long.
I should have been smarter after that entry; I should have paid closer attention to my own situation.
Day 21 – Five Years Ago – 11/21/2010
If you could go back in time to 5 years ago, and was able to tell your past self where your life is now; do you think your past self would believe that so much, or so little as the case may be, has changed?
I think my past self would have been in disbelief about a few things.
I’m married?!?
I’m not back working in radio, as I thought I would be.
MS, obviously.
I’m still here in the same area.
How badly the then-new job would go.
The Saints won a Super Bowl.
So, mixed bag. I don’t know that I’d necessarily change anything I had control over (as I’ve said, I’ve had MS symptoms since I was a pre-teen).
I’ve been trying not to go back and look too much lately; my focus needs to be on the here and now. Devoting my energy to the current moment is all I can really do. Obviously, I have to keep an eye on the future, so I don’t fuck something up, royally. But I can’t plan ten years down the road, and it’s a waste of energy for me to try. I don’t have any idea, really, what life is going to be like this time next year, much less far beyond that. I’m kind of focused on football this afternoon, and wondering when he hell my wife is going to decide to come home, after she’s left me alone all weekend. :-/ I even bought her some stuff she likes at the store, and she’s not here. 🙁
Yes, the last paragraph there shows that I wasn’t completely reckless. But, I think my biggest mistake was, maybe, taking others’ advice, and ignoring my inclinations. That motherfucker in prison recommended me to the four-letter company, and I accepted the job at 77% of my former salary. My initial reaction was to tell the manager to add ten percent to his offer, and we’d start negating. I got advice just to accept his cellar offer, and I took it. My mistake. Unfortunately, it’s now almost four years later, and I still haven’t gotten back to what I was making then. FORWARD
Day 25 – Giving Thanks – 11/25/2010
Write about 25 things you are thankful for today. 25. Dogs. I wish I had one who lived with me. The three who adore me at my parents’ and in-laws’ will have to suffice for the time being. 24. Perdue. No, not the chicken guys, the university in Indianastan. I see prospects for interesting future opportunities, and they’re doing all sorts of interesting, important research (including into MS), and they’re responsible for; 23. Breesus. And the New Orleans Saints. The win over the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game in January had to be one of the best moments in my life as a sports fan. I really wouldn’t have been disappointed if they’d lost the Super Bowl. This leads me to… 22. Amazingly funny things on Teh Intertubez, like Kissing Suzy Kolber, who delivered this gem written a week before the Super Bowl. 21. Music. I tweeted yesterday about the new promotion to follow Two-fer Tuesday….Earworm Wednesday. I really don’t give a shit if anyone likes the stuff I do anymore. I’m just glad that there’s people still making honest music, and, despite the shit you see on American Idol, etc., there is still good stuff out there if you look for it. 20. People who devote themselves to thankless, yet vitally important jobs. There’s all sorts of things people do that are under-appreciated. I’m thinking today about a friend I haven’t been able to get in touch with last few weeks. I’ve written about him here before. He used to work in the parking garage at the radio station, he ran off to Texas for a few years. I flew down there to Ron Paul land to pick him up, and help him get back here just before Christmas 2006. He’s a garbageman now. He works an incredibly difficult job. The guys that ride on the back of his truck? They’re jail inmates. He lived in a house without electricity, water, or gas for awhile, due to an unfortunate circumstance not of his doing. He makes so little money, it’s absolutely disgusting. But what he does for that armpit of a city where he lives and works…..words fail. 19. Beer. Here’s to you, Mister City Sanitation worker. 18. Modern medicine. It’s incredible how things have changed just in the past fifteen or so years for people with MS. I do live a halfway normal life, and have a bright future. There are clouds everywhere, popcorn thunderstorms, but it’s not the dark menace it would have been had I been diagnosed when I started having symptoms (early 90s). 17. Diet Pepsi. 16. My in-laws. They may have been skeptical of me at the beginning, but I think they know I love their daughter. 15. Shit that makes me laugh. 14. That maybe sanity is prevailing in politics. Maybe I’m wrong, but nothing would please me more than to see the Sarah Palins and Keith Olbermanns of the world achieve the obscurity they so richly deserve. 13. New appreciations. There’s all sorts of stuff I wouldn’t have touched before I got sick that I like now. I sense things differently. That’s pretty much all the senses, not just taste. I don’t know if I’ve learned to appreciate things better for what they are, or…. 12. The people I work to support. I bitch about the people I work with directly, and it’s completely justified. But, ultimately, I remember the people who I work for, who spend months doing thankless, dirty jobs on ships, away from their families. 11. Memes and other obscure cultural references. As I just said to my wife, during a discussion of how she’s too short to be a Rockette…. “Snooki could never be a Rockette. 10. Ibuprofen. :-/ 9. Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe fatten me up. Back below the danger threshold on the weight yesterday, despite pigging out at the Mongolian BBQ place Tuesday night. 8. My primary care doc. I hope she stays around here after she finishes her residency. She’d planned on being a trauma doc, but her mother convinced her to do primary medicine so she could have a life outside an emergency room….but she has a different view on illness and life than I’ve seen from most doctors. Maybe that comes from her time in the Army or as an FBI investigator, but… A doctor who describes modern MS as being like being a diabetic, except I don’t have to check my blood sugar, or watch what I eat…. And who says drinking beer is probably good for me. No, really. 7. Kermit the Frog. He’s floating down the street, and I played “Rainbow Connection” on the radio. Off a 45. 6. Pie. Mmmmmm. Pie. 5. Rest and relaxation. I’ve learned better. 4. Professional colleagues who encourage me through my trials and tribulations. Unfortunately, not many of them work for my company, or in my organization. 3. The friends who truly care about me. I’ve learned a lot in the past year about who really gives a shit about me. 2. My parents. I appreciate much better what they accomplished, how much they care about me, etc., and this is the part of the entry where the tears are coming on.. 1. My wife. I could write for hours, but my domestic readers will be getting plenty of sugar today anyway. Do I need to add more sweetness, writing about the sweetness she adds to my life?
I think I probably posted that here.
01/08/2011 – 1/8/2011
So, I haven’t written much last few days. Lots of reasons, but mainly it’s because I haven’t been near a computer with enough free time…….
Work is still spiraling down the toilet.
We had dinner with my mom on Wednesday night. An Italian joint where we’d been with my parents opened a second store a few blocks away. Very good. Bit more than I wanted to spend, but I think my mom enjoyed the evening out. I helped her get the mega Christmas tree out to the curb, and made plans to come back up Saturday to help her with a few other things…..
Thursday, we went to see my primary care doctor. She went over the MRI results with me in a lot more detail than the neurologist’s nurse had over the phone. Turns out there was more inactive stuff that showed up that they didn’t tell me about. Three more small lesions in a different part of the brain. The MRI report said that, in retrospect, they may have been present on in April. Regardless, their location probably wasn’t causing any of the symptoms that led to diagnosis….
As I’ve said often, I’ve had suspicious things dating back a long, long time.
No physical therapy. Prescription for a couple of things….symptom treatment. No fun stuff, unfortunately. My weight on her scale was two pounds above that floor she’d set last time I saw her. On my scale that morning, I’d been three pounds under. So, what did the clothes weigh?
Since then, I’ve dropped three more.
Friday, I went to the dentist; I wasn’t sure if he’d heard about my dad dying. Thankfully, he had, so it wasn’t a big shock to the entire staff first thing in the morning. I guess my dad had been his patient for something like fifteen years…..
Wife is at her mother’s. Amazingly, something came up and she decided she needed to spend the night over there……. If I was more of an asshole, I’d start to get pissed off about that.
I fixed a few of the things for my mom earlier this afternoon. She’s got heat upstairs now, which is good. Even an eighty pound dog sharing the bed doesn’t help in such cold weather. A future in the exciting world of HVAC repair awaits me!
It’s snowed a bit this afternoon. Forecasters hedging bets about the next week.
Fucking Saints. But I don’t care who you are. If you give up 40 points to a 7-9 team, you deserve to lose.
yawn So football’s done. Nobody else left I’d really root for. Right now, I’m just rooting against people……
4/20/2011 – 4/20/2011
Oh well. So much for answering questions, as I didn’t get any.
Bottom line on the past year? It’s been hell for the most part.
High points:
Marrying my wife
Successfully dealing with this disease.
Amazing culinary adventures
My two short trips
NoJoMo, and getting through it
Low points:
My dad dying
Work
Pain. Lots of pain
Hitting veins with injections
Hitting muscle with injections
Saints. Goddamnitsomuch
Oh well. A new year starts for me on this Green Day, in which I shall not be partoking. o.O
I didn’t know how good I had it.
10/18/2011 – 10/18/2011
Apologies for not continuing on yesterday, but work took a hell of a lot out of me.
Uh, where was I?
We got to DC without any problems, really. I didn’t enjoy the drive, and my wife had to help me find the rental car return. (I couldn’t read the signs at the airport, even at fifteen miles an hour…..)
Got on the Metro, went to Union Station, checked our bags at the luggage counter for a few hours, and went to her favorite place for lunch. Gorgeous weather, albeit a bit hot walking around Dupont Circle after we went up the wrong escalator getting off…..
Good food, then back to the train station to get on the train.
It was on time. Almost exactly. Within five minutes. There’s lots of things about Amtrak that suck, but their on-time performance has improved considerably, especially in the Northeast Corridor.
Problems? Yeah, no idea which sleeper compartment was ours. The guy who checked our tickets (and helped with our overstuffed suitcases) handed us off to Marcie. Marcie seriously made the trip for us. She’s a New Orleans native, former Saints’ season ticket holder, genuinely excited we chose to spend our vacation in her hometown….
She’s maybe mid-50s. Widowed not long after she was married. Car accident. 🙁
“Two-T’s. Talk and touch. Keeps ya together.”
She coordinated our slots in the dining car, brought us drinks from the lounge car, made our bed, and stopped by to talk at appropriate intervals. Incredibly sweet Southern lady. We wrote her a thank-you note, and tipped her when we got off. My wife hugged her.
(and now I’m tearing up…..)
The trip down went incredibly quickly. The train did stop in the town where my mom was born, so my wife got to see a bit of that….. No sexytime on the train, either way…
Got to New Orleans only about ten minutes after our scheduled arrival time. Got in the cab queue, and…. The first cabbie in NOLA showed many of the things wrong with the city….he was trying to get his paperwork straight for his BP settlement. Months of slow business last year because of it, but it’s picked back up. But not to the tune of what he’s trying to get from BP – $120,000.
Sorry, but I have trouble believing a cabbie makes that much in a single year, much less nine months.
For all that Katrina fucked up, displacement of a lot of folks like that guy might not be a bad thing. My friend, PGB, helped evacuate people from the city outside Houston where he was living for Hurricane Rita, a few months after Katrina. One NOLA displacee, displaced again by Rita, was being shown the apartment the State of Texas had set up for her just outside Austin. She was having none of it. “I SURVIVED HURRICANE KATRINA. I AIN’T LIVIN’ IN NO APARTMENT. I SURVIVED HURRICANE KATRINA – SOMEBODY OWES ME A HOUSE.”
Serious.
But, yes, we got to the hotel, manuvering around “construction.” Cab fare? Almost $20 for what was probably about a mile and a half trip….
We got some suggestions about places that might be open late for food, relaxed in our room for a bit, then went to dinner.
10/30/2011 – 10/30/2011
Aw, not this shit again….
My godfather is in ICU…had either a heart attack or stroke in his sleep. No pulse when the ambulance arrived at the house.
Hmph.
He helped me out a lot, and is partially responsible for where I am professionally.
Haven’t heard anything, but the last news wasn’t good. He’d gone into cardiac arrest twice in ICU, but I haven’t heard if he’s passed. He’s under 60 years old. I was the ring-bearer in his wedding. Only vague memories. My very pregnant mother was the Matron of Honor.
Shit.
Looks like I may be making an unplanned trip to Tennessee this week.
sigh
And the Saints lost.
We’ll see. They’ve stabilized him in ICU. They don’t thin he had a heart attack or stroke. But no pupillary response, so it doesn’t look good. Kind of coordinating with my Mom about travel plans if he does pass. sigh
Are you ready for some football? Any predictions for the upcoming NFL season?
Once again, I’m going back to what’s proven to work. What’s that? On offense, the I formation. On defense, the 43.
Whichever teams that run that will be successful. In the AFC? I think it could be Cincinnati or Oakland. In the NFC? Much as I hate to say it, i think those teams are Los Angeles, and Dallas.
The NFC teams, of course, will need to stay healthy. That was a problem for Dallas last year. The Rams’ line is questionable, too, but I don’t expect a ton of pressure from the other defenses in their division.
I am ready for fantasy. Hmmmm….
What else? I don’t even know. I made it in to the office, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. My shoulder is barking at me because of it.
Maybe this Legends Brown Ale will take the edge off.
Prompt for tomorrow. How about some recycling of my old writing about the Saints. Yes, I’ve been a Saints’ fan since Jim Mora was running his USFL all-star teams. It’s not been easy.
Write about recent dreams. Do you dream often? Anything odd lately stick out in your mind?
Lots of dreams about my wife lately. I don’t normally dream about people. I’m not really sure where I am going with the whole thing. I typically don’t dream a lot. Lately, however, I’ve had some very vivid ones. Some featuring people I know. Others featuring famous people. I literally can’t even…
Last night’s featured a particularly loathsome politician, one Senator Elizabeth Warren. It was probably because I’d watched her excuse for an address at the Democratic National Convention. She spent a lot of time talking about the wonderful benefits that have been put into place to avoid another financial crisis……like this:
