{"id":2554,"date":"2016-07-28T16:38:16","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T21:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/control-h.org\/?p=2554"},"modified":"2016-07-28T16:38:16","modified_gmt":"2016-07-28T21:38:16","slug":"twenty-eight-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/control-h.org\/index.php\/2016\/07\/28\/twenty-eight-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-eight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I promised yesterday to dig out some of my various bits about the Saints. I\u2019m going to try to explain each as best I can remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prompt for tomorrow early, since I probably won\u2019t want to search to the end of this incredibly-long replay….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My dad was in the Army when I was growing up.  I moved a lot.  Nowadays, in my work life, I\u2019m running across people I may have met at some point, but don\u2019t remember.  I remember the names, but can\u2019t remember much more.  How are you at remembering people?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I write. It\u2019s something I have done, despite my high school English teacher\u2019s 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\u2019d written. I was fifteen. I was in a new place. I was lonely. Things were going on with my body that I couldn\u2019t hope to understand. She was really worried. So was I when she said I ought to go speak to someone. I don\u2019t know what could have been that bad, really\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, on to it….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1999….
GoSaintsGoSaints<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith: An irrational belief….a belief for which one has absolutely no evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My faith: The Saints will win the Super Bowl this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Much like those disappointed in the Great Disappointment, I was disappointed that year. I think That was Ditka\u2019s first season as coach. He drafted Danny Wuerffel\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mister Politics<\/strong> – 11\/7\/2000<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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\u2019t feel like I\u2019ve done something wrong\u2013that I\u2019ve 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\u2019t going to win. But voting for a winner isn\u2019t what\u2019s important. Root for your team\u2013they\u2019ll remeber it. Hell, I\u2019m a die-hard Saints fan. That should say tons about my dedication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still rabblerousing at school. It\u2019s fun. I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I really hate mainstream politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, it\u2019s off to class, then to the Libertarian Freedom party to watch the election results. Yippee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That one has some relevance to today. It was the last time I voted for a third-party candidate. I\u2019d campaigned for him on campus, gotten sideways looks for not being a Republican. (Back then, being a Republican wasn\u2019t a capital crime on campus, and the university president was a former Republican senator…..so, before Quentin Kidd ever sniffed CNU….)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next one is when the Saints beat the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SAINTS WIN!!!!<\/strong> – 12\/30\/2000<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SAINTS WIN!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAINTS WIN!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NO MORE AIN\u2019TS!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAINTS WIN!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So long, Rams. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 33 years, it\u2019s about damn time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAINTS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This next one was recapping my New Year\u2019s Eve in 2000. I guess there were NFL games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All the trouble in the world\u2026<\/strong> – 1\/2\/2001<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Including the fact that my e-mail account at alloymail is kaputt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No kiss at midnight. Bleh. Went to (a coworker\u2019s) party….was a pretty good time. I\u2019ve 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\u2019re playing the team I hate almost as much as the 49ers….the Vikings!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, yeah, I was lonely then, too. I don\u2019t 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\u2019t care. RIP, Dennis Green; they are who we thought they were. Peyton Manning proved that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bummed Out<\/strong> – 10\/13\/2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Feeling bleh lately, mainly due to being at work all the time. I know<\/em> what I have<\/strong> to do tomorrow, but I\u2019m now second-guessing myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tough football game today. It\u2019s always hard on me when the Saints and Skins play. This one was a bit easier than the 40-10 flogging last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hit on the personals ad. She types in all caps, with rainbow colors. Has a kid. Go figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not much else to say. I still can cook ribs better than anybody I know. My ribs kick ass, yo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019m also going to guess she was an Eagles\u2019 fan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He might look like Curley<\/strong> – 11\/25\/2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But the old dude still fucking rocks. I wish I coulda stayed longer….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drank too much, but was sober by the time I got back to the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working. Tired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fucking Saints lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019m sure that was about a Frank Black concert. I don\u2019t remember where, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title of the next one was in reference to the now-defunct diary site, where my subscription was about to lapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t have a problem paying something I like, and I did pay a lot<\/em><\/strong> for that site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yellow Box<\/strong> – 11\/29\/2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To renew or not to renew, that is the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, what else would I do at 2:07 in the morning? Still, few notes, few faves, I don\u2019t spend nearly the amount of time I used to….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So\u2026thanksgiving….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019t 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\u2019m sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019 playoff hopes, having them lose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Am I the only one who gets nervous every time Danny Wuerffel goes back to pass?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m happy for the guy, though. Perhaps people will stop ridiculing him so much. It\u2019s quite obvious that he\u2019s 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\u2019s pretty good. NFL scouts pay so much attention these days to the physical aspects of players\u2026I wonder if that\u2019s 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\u2019t made it. Jim Drukenmiller….hell of an arm at Virginia Tech. Couldn\u2019t make it in the freakin\u2019 XFL, much less the NFL. Ryan Leaf. I don\u2019t need to say anything more than his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(NOTE:<\/strong>Paragraph deleted about the people I spent the evening with. I only remember one of them, and don\u2019t remember any of the context.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s cold out. No snow, though. :-\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Busy night at work, but at the same time, kind of slack. I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s going to be a newsfeed at 3:35; I assume so, and that\u2019ll give me something to do. But I\u2019ve finished everything I can do to this point and am kind of bored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And nobody\u2019s online. I blame the triptophane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I think this was about the Falcons\u2019 fans wearing paper bags….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Biters<\/strong> – 12\/16\/2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\nhttp:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nfl\/gallery\/20021215\/1040016246cardinals_rams_str108.html\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Just because your team plays in a dome, in the NFC West, and you suck, doesn\u2019t mean you can wear bags on your heads. That\u2019s reserved for Saints\u2019 fans \u2013 the ones who started it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuckin\u2019 Saints. :-\/ Lost to the crappy-ass Vikings….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuckin\u2019 Saints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sooo tired<\/strong> – 7\/13\/2003<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I haven\u2019t been sleeping well the past week or so (what\u2019s new?). After being up most of the day yesterday, I got up early this morning to go to the auction up yonder. Didn\u2019t get a whole lot, but I found a laser printer for (nickname deleted….I doubt the recipient remembers it\u2026she 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\u2019s) new place, hoping to coax them out to drink<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Note:<\/strong> And a bunch deleted\u2026again, more stuff I really don\u2019t remember all that well.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I saw Lynda Carter on TV this afternoon. I still lust after Wonder Woman.<\/strong> Even if she is old enough to be my mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saints\u2019 quarterback Aaron Brooks has to be the worst interview ever. I guess he had a football camp here yesterday. I\u2019m watching news re-runs. Yay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think I\u2019m going to go pay more attention to my beer, lest it take after me and cease being cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And I didn\u2019t say a lot for a long time. Things were pretty tough in New Orleans for several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cold November Rain<\/strong> – 12\/1\/2009<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, yeah, I\u2019ve slacked off again, but I have a good fucking excuse this time….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the remnants of Hurricane Ida turned extra-tropical, and became a Nor\u2019easter, well, Norfolk (and me, personally) got hit pretty hard. It\u2019s been a wild few weeks, and my apartment still isn\u2019t fixed. My dollar damage was just below my insurance deductible, but…..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four days without power
A week without hot water
Two weeks without laundry in the building<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still don\u2019t know when my bedrooms are going to be fixed. Plaster down. Mildew. Stained carpets….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In brighter news, we\u2019re going to see the Saints play the Redskins this weekend. In DC. It might snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can I catch a break sometime?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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…..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, yeah, there was that. I was already living here in Downtown Norfolk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d also given up on trying to come up with interesting titles for my entries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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08\/30\/2010<\/strong> – 8\/30\/2010<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Amazon recommends for me books on the New Orleans Saints and refillable fountain pen cartridges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guess what I\u2019ve bought recently…….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Day 12 \u2013 Take Me Anywhere<\/strong> – 11\/12\/2010<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Now that that Tegan and Sara song is stuck in my head (and probably will be all day), let\u2019s begin, shall we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The desire to travel really never leaves, but it does change. It\u2019s more now about what I\u2019d like to show off, and what would satisfy coroporal pleasures…..that just sightseeing. My eyes aren\u2019t good enough anymore. I doubt the Grand Coulee Dam would have the same effect on me today as it had in 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, it\u2019s where can I go where I can taste, smell, hear, feel…….and that makes it difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d 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…..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d also like to go to NYC. This is a more recent desire. But it\u2019d be so easy, it\u2019s one of those things like…..why the hell haven\u2019t I done this? Last time I looked, train tickets are like $80 bucks each way. Maybe it\u2019d be nice to go around this time of year…..see the holiday decorations. We will not<\/strong> be going for NYE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mention that, as the TV news just had on a story about the Christmas tree being put into place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If only money and available leave allowed it…..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of which, I need to get ready for work. At leas I\u2019m not working for the place doing substantial layoffs today. I hope the couple of folks I know who work there aren\u2019t getting let go. It\u2019s only going to get worse here. My slot is safe through next July; I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll stay in it that long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I should have been smarter after that entry; I should have paid closer attention to my own situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Day 21 \u2013 Five Years Ago<\/strong> – 11\/21\/2010<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think my past self would have been in disbelief about a few things.
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  1. I\u2019m married?!?<\/li>
  2. I\u2019m not back working in radio, as I thought I would be.<\/li>
  3. MS, obviously.<\/li>
  4. I\u2019m still here in the same area.<\/li>
  5. How badly the then-new job would go.<\/li>
  6. The Saints won a Super Bowl.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    So, mixed bag. I don\u2019t know that I\u2019d necessarily change anything I had control over (as I\u2019ve said, I\u2019ve had MS symptoms since I was a pre-teen).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019ve 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\u2019t fuck something up, royally. But I can\u2019t plan ten years down the road, and it\u2019s a waste of energy for me to try. I don\u2019t have any idea, really, what life is going to be like this time next year, much less far beyond that. I\u2019m kind of focused on football this afternoon, and wondering when he hell my wife is going to decide to come home, after she\u2019s left me alone all weekend. :-\/ I even bought her some stuff she likes at the store, and she\u2019s not here. \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Yes, the last paragraph there shows that I wasn\u2019t completely reckless. But, I think my biggest mistake was, maybe, taking others\u2019 advice, and ignoring my inclinations. That motherfucker in prison recommended<\/em> 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\u2019d start negating. I got advice just to accept his cellar offer, and I took it. My mistake. Unfortunately, it\u2019s now almost four years later, and I still haven\u2019t gotten back to what I was making then. FORWARD<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Day 25 \u2013 Giving Thanks<\/strong> – 11\/25\/2010<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Write about 25 things you are thankful for today.<\/strong><\/em>
    25. Dogs. I wish I had one who lived with me. The three who adore me at my parents\u2019 and in-laws\u2019 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\u2019re doing all sorts of interesting, important research (including into MS), and they\u2019re 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\u2019t have been disappointed if they\u2019d lost the Super Bowl. This leads me to\u2026
    22. Amazingly funny things on Teh Intertubez, like Kissing Suzy Kolber, who delivered this gem<\/a> 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\u2019t give a shit if anyone likes the stuff I do anymore. I\u2019m just glad that there\u2019s 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\u2019s all sorts of things people do that are under-appreciated. I\u2019m thinking today about a friend I haven\u2019t been able to get in touch with last few weeks. I\u2019ve 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\u2019s a garbageman now. He works an incredibly difficult job. The guys that ride on the back of his truck? They\u2019re 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\u2019s absolutely disgusting. But what he does for that armpit of a city where he lives and works…..words fail.
    19. Beer. Here\u2019s to you, Mister City Sanitation worker.
    18. Modern medicine. It\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019m 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\u2019s all sorts of stuff I wouldn\u2019t have touched before I got sick that I like now. I sense things differently. That\u2019s pretty much all the senses, not just taste. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve 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\u2019s 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\u2019s too short to be a Rockette…. \u201cSnooki 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\u2019d 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\u2019ve seen from most doctors. Maybe that comes from her time in the Army or as an FBI investigator, but\u2026 A doctor who describes modern MS as being like being a diabetic, except I don\u2019t 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\u2019s floating down the street, and I played \u201cRainbow Connection\u201d on the radio. Off a 45.
    6. Pie. Mmmmmm. Pie.
    5. Rest and relaxation. I\u2019ve 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\u2019ve 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    I think I probably posted that here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    01\/08\/2011<\/strong> – 1\/8\/2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    So, I haven\u2019t written much last few days. Lots of reasons, but mainly it\u2019s because I haven\u2019t been near a computer with enough free time…….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Work is still spiraling down the toilet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We had dinner with my mom on Wednesday night. An Italian joint where we\u2019d 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…..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    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\u2019s nurse had over the phone. Turns out there was more inactive stuff that showed up that they didn\u2019t 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\u2019t causing any of the symptoms that led to diagnosis….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As I\u2019ve said often, I\u2019ve had suspicious things dating back a long, long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    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\u2019d set last time I saw her. On my scale that morning, I\u2019d been three pounds under. So, what did the clothes weigh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Since then, I\u2019ve dropped three more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Friday, I went to the dentist; I wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d heard about my dad dying. Thankfully, he had, so it wasn\u2019t 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…..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wife is at her mother\u2019s. Amazingly, something came up and she decided she needed to spend the night over there……. If I was more of an asshole, I\u2019d start to get pissed off about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I fixed a few of the things for my mom earlier this afternoon. She\u2019s got heat upstairs now, which is good. Even an eighty pound dog sharing the bed doesn\u2019t help in such cold weather. A future in the exciting world of HVAC repair awaits me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s snowed a bit this afternoon. Forecasters hedging bets about the next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Fucking Saints. But I don\u2019t care who you are. If you give up 40 points to a 7-9 team, you deserve to lose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    yawn<\/em> So football\u2019s done. Nobody else left I\u2019d really root for. Right now, I\u2019m just rooting against people……<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    4\/20\/2011<\/strong> – 4\/20\/2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Oh well. So much for answering questions, as I didn\u2019t get any.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Bottom line on the past year? It\u2019s been hell for the most part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    High points:
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • Marrying my wife<\/strong><\/li>
    • Successfully dealing with this disease.<\/li>
    • Amazing culinary adventures<\/li>
    • My two short trips<\/li>
    • NoJoMo, and getting through it<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Low points:
      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • My dad dying<\/strong><\/li>
      • Work<\/li>
      • Pain. Lots of pain<\/li>
      • Hitting veins with injections<\/li>
      • Hitting muscle with injections<\/li>
      • Saints. Goddamnitsomuch<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Oh well. A new year starts for me on this Green Day, in which I shall not be partoking. o.O<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n\n\n\n

        I didn\u2019t know how good I had it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n\n\n\n

        10\/18\/2011<\/strong> – 10\/18\/2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n\n\n\n

        Apologies for not continuing on yesterday, but work took a hell of a lot out of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Uh, where was I?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        We got to DC without any problems, really. I didn\u2019t enjoy the drive, and my wife had to help me find the rental car return. (I couldn\u2019t read the signs at the airport, even at fifteen miles an hour…..)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        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…..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Good food, then back to the train station to get on the train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        It was on time. Almost exactly. Within five minutes. There\u2019s lots of things about Amtrak that suck, but their on-time performance has improved considerably, especially in the Northeast Corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        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\u2019s a New Orleans native, former Saints\u2019 season ticket holder, genuinely excited we chose to spend our vacation in her hometown….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        She\u2019s maybe mid-50s. Widowed not long after she was married. Car accident. \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cTwo-T\u2019s. Talk and touch. Keeps ya together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        (and now I\u2019m tearing up…..)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        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\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        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\u2019s picked back up. But not to the tune of what he\u2019s trying to get from BP \u2013 $120,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Sorry, but I have trouble believing a cabbie makes that much in a single year, much less nine months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        For all that Katrina fucked up, displacement of a lot of folks like that guy might not be a bad thing<\/em>. 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. \u201cI SURVIVED HURRICANE KATRINA. I AIN\u2019T LIVIN\u2019 IN NO APARTMENT. I SURVIVED HURRICANE KATRINA \u2013 SOMEBODY OWES ME A HOUSE.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Serious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        But, yes, we got to the hotel, manuvering around \u201cconstruction.\u201d Cab fare? Almost $20 for what was probably about a mile and a half trip….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        We got some suggestions about places that might be open late for food, relaxed in our room for a bit, then went to dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n\n\n\n


        10\/30\/2011<\/strong> – 10\/30\/2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n\n\n\n

        Aw, not this shit again….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        My godfather is in ICU\u2026had either a heart attack or stroke in his sleep. No pulse when the ambulance arrived at the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Hmph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        He helped me out a lot, and is partially responsible for where I am professionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Haven\u2019t heard anything, but the last news wasn\u2019t good. He\u2019d gone into cardiac arrest twice in ICU, but I haven\u2019t heard if he\u2019s passed. He\u2019s under 60 years old. I was the ring-bearer in his wedding. Only vague memories. My very pregnant mother was the Matron of Honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Shit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Looks like I may be making an unplanned trip to Tennessee this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        sigh<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        And the Saints lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        We\u2019ll see. They\u2019ve stabilized him in ICU. They don\u2019t thin he had a heart attack or stroke. But no pupillary response, so it doesn\u2019t look good. Kind of coordinating with my Mom about travel plans if he does pass. sigh<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        And the Redskins got shutout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Today completely sucks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        I promised yesterday to dig out some of my various bits about the Saints. I\u2019m going to try to explain each as best I can remember. Prompt for tomorrow early, since I probably won\u2019t want to search to the end of this incredibly-long replay…. My dad was in the Army when I was growing up. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-summer-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/control-h.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/control-h.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/control-h.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/control-h.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/control-h.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/control-h.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/control-h.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/control-h.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/control-h.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}