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 |   A third attempt at this blogging business. |
 30-DAY BLOG CHALLENGE WINNER FOR SEPTEMBER 2011 AND APRIL 2012!!  BLOGGING CIRCLE OF FRIENDS "BLOGGER OF THE WEEK" MAY, SEPTEMBER, AND NOVEMBER 2013 JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND JUNE 2014 After 380 entries and over 17,600 views, it was time to retire "Who Do I Think I Am??"  . Expect more of the same shenanigans and troublemaking you've come to know and love from me over the last few years. Tell all your friends, warn your family and hide this from your neighbors...this isn't your average blog.   
Thanks for stopping by and showing your support!    THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED.
Continue along on my journey over at "Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am" . |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Tell us about a TV show or book series you like. What makes you keep coming back to watch or read more? Relate this to your knowledge and understanding of cliffhangers - how do you write a good 'cliffy'?" Good afternoon, and welcome back! Before I get started, I just wanna take a second to acknowledge my absence. It seems there was a problem with the Wi-Fi in my building, so I've been without internet since approximately the last time I wrote a blog entry. I could've gone to the local library and used their internet, but I was too tired after running around and/or working to feel like leaving once I got home. Plus there was a snowstorm that first day, which I thought initially caused the Wi-Fi outage...turns out there was a modem issue, which has since been resolved, and here I am. Hard to believe it's been a week since I last updated this...a lot has happened and I've got some catching up to do. I'm not sure if I'll be able to come up with a week's worth of quality entries to be eligible for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" this month, but I've got some time on my hands...let's see how it plays out.One more thing I'd like to quickly address...and it sorta ties in to this prompt, so I'll roll it all up here: I won't be told how to write my blog entries. Authorin' don't work that way. It's come to my attention that some people don't like blogs that address more than one topic at a time. That's your right to feel that way, just as much as it's ok if you choose not to read this blog or that of the many other talented individuals who write for more than one of the many blogging groups here on WDC. It's their license to do what they want, however they wish to go about it, and it's your choice whether or not you want to engage them in their arena. Complaining about how someone pushes their point across is kinda fruitless...some things just can't be dictated; I don't go to a fast food restaurant and tell them how to make French fries, and I certainly wouldn't tell another writer how to go about his or her business when it comes down to how they spend their time fulfilling a hobby or dream. That's asinine. There's a time and a place for everything, and there are multiple ways to express that here on WDC. If you don't like it, have your say to the people who share your concerns in your personal blog. And if someone chooses to write for more than just the group you're in, honestly, it's not a big deal to scroll through an entry to get to what you really came there in the first place for. How lazy do you have to be? That we're even having this discussion nearly blows my mind, but I shouldn't be surprised given how much society has changed since the advent of the personal computer. Personally, I write for two groups (the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" and the "Blogging Circle of Friends " ), and that suits me just fine. Anything more, and WDC would have to start paying me for the amount of time I'd be spending on developing content. Purely from an organizational standpoint, I like keeping one blog that houses what I write for, and if I can manage to tie two seemingly different prompts together, then that's just a creative bonus for me. Some people like to have separate blogs for everything, and that's fine...whatever works for you. Anyone who cries foul just smacks the face of the support this community offers...if we can't be free to express ourselves the way we want to in our own writing, then what do we have?And by now you're wondering, "How does this relate to the 30DBC prompt?" Well, I don't watch a lot of tv and I don't read nearly as much as I should, but I tend to write a lot. One of my favorite things to watch is late-nite fare. I'm a huge fan of Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman, and Craig Ferguson. I thoroughly enjoy good comedy. If anything, and maybe it's only me who sees this, that's how I look at what I do in this blog...it's your nightcap; it sends you off at the end of your day with hopefully a smile. There's a short monologue in the intro, two prompts that serve as "guests", and a bit of music before I close everything off with a few odds and ends. That's it. It's no secret I'd love to be the Johnny Carson of your blog-viewing experience. This is what I do with my words and I love it...I wouldn't have it any other way. Each day, a lot of thought and effort goes into this, even when I don't give myself time to prepare and just start typing. You'll learn a ton more about me from this than you would if we'd spent actual time together, I think. This is how I open up; this is my element. And with that, there's no real "cliffhanger" aspect to what I do. I report my thoughts, and that's typically that. I don't know what it is that makes people want to read what I write or keep them coming back for more...it's not like there's an underlying theme that developed when I first started blogging with "I'm Studying You" , where devoted readers couldn't wait to see what happened next in my pursuit of a relationship with a lovely lady. And the truth is, I don't want to know. I'll be happy with killin' time on the screen of your device of choice for awhile, and I'll appreciate every chance I get to engage with anyone who wishes to say something about what I do. You keep readin', and I'll keep writin'...that's how we do things around here. BCF PROMPT: "What in the WORLD did I agree to?" Aw man, I don't know. I don't see a signed contract anywhere. And I don't wish this on anyone...mainly because I don't endorse conflict at any level. We chase these words until they strangle us into a writer's pose. I swear I think my fingers are crippled more from typing than they are from any sport I played as a kid; letters and thoughts have deranged my hands more than any errant basketball or football ever did. To cheat this prompt would be cheating whomever decides to read this entry, and to me doing that would be a disservice to all involved. You pay good money for your internet access, and you could be anywhere on the worldwide web, but you chose to be here...it's up to me to give you a reason to stick around and come back. So what in the...  I got nothin'. I think I spent my emotional capacity on the first part of today's entry. You should re-read that stuff. Slap it in the face of others who you feel needs it. Feel free to use the WDC sharing tools to flaunt it on your social networking sites of choice. It's cool, I'll wait. I've got nothin' but time these days.MUSICAL BREAK!! I've probably shared this song a couple times, but I'm (can't find the right word...indebited? endebit? No...) to this band and their lyrics (http://rapgenius.com/Atmosphere-party-for-the-fight-to-write-lyrics). If you write words for other people to read, you can't front on this song. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  I'd be a jerk if I didn't thank Lyn's a sly fox   and Charlie ~   for checking in on me in my absence. The Fivesixer hotline is now open and ready for calls, awareness, love letters, and general tomfoolery. Never fails...when I'm undoubtedly prepared to write an entry and I have a day's worth of prompts up my sleeve, the grand internet failure of 2014 would occur.  My penmanship has suffered the most, along with my ability to write within the boundaries of lines.  I'm scheduled to have surgery on 4/1...no joke, April Fools Day conspiracy theorists. The rest of the hardware in my ankle is coming out. I have mixed emotions regarding it...I hope this is it with the invasive procedures, and I'm not looking forward to the recovery, but my mom will be coming in from WNY to see that I'm not alone in what promises to be an aggravating situation. Hey now, Blog Mobbers... Your boy the one and only Brother Nature  has discerned a fitting end to the unofficial month of February's 30DBC shenanigans..."Invalid Item" . Congrats to all that were deemed winners, and a huge thank-you to the donors.  Here's how my loss of internet usage affected me this past week: I finished reading Harper Lee's amazing To Kill A Mockingbird, and upon recommendations I started reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I am praying that I'm never without internet again...the lead in this book is a total douchebag and four chapters in, I'm hoping he succumbs to everything he's faced so far. I hope I'm never so interested in reading something again. I talk a lot of junk, but even I can't begin to decipher some of the dialect that's been spit by one of the other characters. I just...don't get it.And with that I'm gonna clear outta here. I'm tired, I'm hungry, and Spaghettios are calling my name. Peace, we don't get along but we sing the same song, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Have you ever been betrayed by someone you trusted? Tell us about it." 'Sup y'all? Before I actually come up with an entry tonight, I need to figure out something...have I actually thought enough about this prompt and really don't wanna answer it, or have I subconsciously tried not to think about this prompt hoping it would just go away? Silly me. I know this is a recycled prompt; this is true because at one point maybe a year or so ago I received (I don't remember which) either a private comment or an email from someone that read something like "Once I saw the prompt, I cringed...". That person was also the subject of that particular entry. I'm not gonna bother wasting the time tryin' to look up the specific entry; it's in the past, and that's where it deserves to stay. I also have a hard time believing anyone would be excited to want to write about an experience like betrayal. I would think it requires a somewhat sick need to feel like you want to relive a grown-up version of your parents telling you there's no such thing as Santa Claus, or finding out your teenage idol is a coked-up douchebag. There are moments in life you're not proud of, they happened, they can't be changed no matter what, make peace with what you can, and move on. I didn't say "don't forget"...but try not to remember. Surround yourself with what brings you the most joy and outnumber your negative energy. It's not easy and I'm not saying it works for absolutely every situation...and no, I'm not necessarily advocating the acceptance/forgiveness of any of my sins in the past (because I know both sides of the "losing trust" thing). The point is: there are usually more important things in life than harboring broken feelings and carrying the weight of someone's misdeeds against you. To talk about them only renews the expiration date on them. Why reopen an old wound? How does that help the healing process? Many times, the details in certain emotionally draining circumstances become enhanced exponentially...think of the old "fishin' trip" story: A week ago, I caught a fish that was as big as my hand; a year ago, I caught a fish that was a big as my chest; why, son, when I was your age we caught whales using a piece of string tied to the end of a stick. See what I'm gettin' at? It sounds easy for some jerkwad halfway across continents to type up on his laptop, and it's even easier for you to read, but it's the truth according to me (even if I have a hard time convincing myself sometimes of all that). Call it "grand scheme", or "moral high ground", I don't care. Chances are, if I'm open to entertaining the idea of revisiting the past judgmental lapses of others in the name of their personal gain, then I'm wasting time and energy by conceding the present to yesteryear...and that makes it look/sound like the person who has betrayed me once has won again. BCF PROMPT: "What are the chances? (accidental encounter, accidental pregnancy, lottery, prison, job loss...just to give you a few hints)" Ahhh yes, the question that also serves as a rebuttal of sorts...said often in disbelief or with mock sincerity, and usually rhetorically.  What are the chances I read this prompt a minimum of four times (when I received it, before I went to sleep, when I woke up, and when I got home), yet could not recall it when I started this entry? What are the chances that I'd pause writing this entry before this very sentence to take a short bathroom break, and forget the prompt a sixth time (when I started writing the actual entry, and again when I got to this point)? What are the chances that I wouldn't have had a proper idea for this prompt, even if I'd said it to myself seven hundred times? (Not-really-a-spoiler alert: Even I'm not that OCD.) What are the chances of me having a WDC twin? Same birth month, date, and year? That's, like, the triple crown of online twindom, or as they say in the real world, ya know, "being actual twins" or something. Apparently there's a quest going on, and if you're interested to know if you've got a WDC twin, check this out and add in your thoughts: "Note: We are looking for someone with the birthdate of J...". Disclaimer: Please see official rules for details. No purchase necessary, and a purchase will not improve your odds. Offer not valid in all 50 states or shades of grey. Must be at least 48" tall to ride this ride. Subject to prior approval. Objects may leave the field of play and fly into the crowd. Omaha! Omaha! Parental discretion is advised. This stopped being funny five minutes ago (in your time, not mine). Offer expires 2/31/13.There you have it, folks...just me at my best, answering questions by leaving more questions in a slack-jawed confluence of ridiculousness and bewilderment. While you were calculating the odds, I was making a clean getaway.  MUSICAL BREAK!! Today is 3/11, or as it's known among certain people, National 311 Day. And I know they just released a new album, but this will always be my favorite 311 song. Watch this for no other reason than to see how incredibly foolish a man with nearly no hair looks while headbanging.  (Pro tip: It starts at around the 2:00 mark.) THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  I discovered earlier this evening that one of my least favorite phrases in the English language is "I hope to see everyone there!". Surely, you do not want to see everyone there...that's a lie, and that makes you a liar. And nobody likes liars! Further down this road nobody should want to travel is the complicating matter of posting said remark of potential consequence on social media network places. "I hope to see everyone there!" is not a phrase you should throw around lightly! What if I happen to show up at your event, and I haven't seen you in twenty years? You're all like "Heeeeyyyyy", and I start spittin' caveats like "You said everyone!!" and then it just gets awkward when people who didn't see your stupid Facebook drunk-with-intent random nonsense in the first place come across the item in the local Police Blotter that states you had to have me forcibly removed from your festivities...good luck explaining how the here and now applies to that guy, Mr. "I invite everyone but I don't plan on everyone actually coming to my shindig", with your busted logic and whatnot. I do kinda have a WDC twin, but we weren't born on the same day or anything like that (so what kind of twinners are we then?)...too bad our old friend Julie D - PUBLISHED! doesn't come around that much at all anymore. I miss having someone that could write a blog entry at the exact same time as me about the very same thing. I'm not talkin' "Oh, we're in the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" together, cool!"...no. I mean "same obscure details and references" same. It's, like, a gift and stuff that only select members of a special fraternity share. Like herpes, but minus the icky aftereffects and awkwardness. (I'm only using the snow emoticon because there's no milk, bread, or toilet paper emoticons...yet. ) So, today was pretty awesome being stuck inside while it was in the 50's temperature-wise for the first time since, like, September or something. And tomorrow there's a winter storm warning in effect that's supposed to dump 8" of snow on us between Wednesday night and Thursday morning...but it's supposed to be warmer again this weekend. And that, boys and girls, is how the winter cold that everyone passes between each other but never really goes away gets started.Ok...well, so much for not really havin' much of an entry today, or the ambition to come up with something. And I still managed to tuck this one in neatly before the WDC clock crosses midnight...unlike myself, who will probably not be tucked in before 1am at the rate I'm goin' tonight. Peace, electrified by the sound, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
30DBC PROMPT: "I recently rediscovered the usefulness of the library ( ) even after working here all year, and began looking more and more in depth at the covers of books. What book are you reading now? If you aren't currently reading a book, what is the next book you want to read, or what is the last book you finished? What drew you to that book? Look specifically at the cover design, the back cover, and the inside flaps. What makes this book one that would stand out on a library shelf?"Good evening friends! I love it when prompts and plans come together, because it means I don't actually have to think about much when I'm trying to do up one of these blogomathingeys on the interwebs. That's a good feeling, especially when you don't feel like spending all night trying to give the people what they want (and by "you" I mean me, and by "they" I mean you...go math that out and tell me how that looks). Anyway, this works out because not only have I recently finished a book and have one sitting near my bed casually waiting for a prolonged failure of internet connectivity before I start reading it, but I also picked up a couple of used books at work as well this morning. My methodology is pretty simple...I honestly don't care about the cover. Of the three books I grabbed today, one had no cover (it was torn off), one was a hardcover with no jacket (so no cover art), and the third was a dictionary. No joke. Oops...my bad. That first one does have a front cover- it's the back that's missing, but it's also the back that I first saw.  I wasn't kidding. And yes, that's the famous blog notebook. I took them because the book with no art whatsoever is a guide to the fundamentals of public speaking...not something I have too much of a problem with, but I'm well aware that I mumble a lot and shift my eye contact frequently. In short, I need to cut that out and I want to see if this book (although it's over fifty years old) has any tips. Plus, ya know, it's kinda retro, and retro anything is almost always in vogue or whatever anyone else not named Madonna says these days. Maybe this book can teach me how to not make stupid cheesy pop song references too. The dictionary? I love dictionaries and thesauruses. I prefer having one close to me when I'm writing, even though, uhhhh, internet. The kinda messed up thing is that in one of the boxes of belongings of mine that made it to Cortland from Buffalo are my some of my reference books...I just don't feel like going through them again to pull them out. There's too much other stuff in those boxes I don't feel like confronting right now. But yeah, I feel better having a book in my hands that knows what every word means. The last book, the paperback sans back cover, is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and this copy too is over fifty years old. The front reads "The most haunting love story in the English language." I hope that's hyperbole. Regardless, I kinda have a "classics" fetish, due in part to not having read many of them when I was younger and probably was supposed to  . I don't recall Bronte being required at any time, and I could give a rat's ass about the mushy romance factor...I wanna know what makes these books so great. I wanna pick them apart in my head while I'm reading them, and hopefully learn something I can incorporate into my own writing later on. I can't read solely for pure enjoyment...if that were the case I'd just watch TV, because it involves even less physical activity. It takes a different kind of concentration, or at least it does for me.But the book I've been holding out on since finishing Night by Elie Wiesel (another "classic") is Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, which ironically is a book I read back in high school. I'll be honest though...I don't remember a whole lot about it other than going on a field trip to see a theatrical version of it and being blown away (although now I might be confusing that memory with Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men). The cover itself isn't very striking, but I'm guessing there's some symbolism at play...it's a bird flying and a tree, and there's a hole in the tree that has a ball of yarn in it. There's also a pocket watch hanging in the hole. Now that I've dedicated a paragraph of my time to it, the significance of the cover will be in the back of my mind. And I'll probably be pissed if I can't figure it out or it proves to be irrelevant. Of course, it might be autumn before I actually finish reading it...I'll probably wait until it's warm enough to spend some time outside in the sun without gloves or pants before I really get back into the habit of looking at words in books. I tend to go in fits and starts, but we'll see. BCF PROMPT: "Fruit or vegetables? Which is your favourite?" I love that sometimes I don't have to look at the name on the prompt email to know who it comes from . I know Lyn's a sly fox isn't Canadian or European, and I'm fairly positive CJ Reddick isn't either...so that leaves Shaye  , who's definitely British (and there's nothing wrong with that). Now that's got me wondering...does anyone else add the letter "u" to words? I think I've seen everyone's favorite Canadian, Brother Nature , do it before. Elle - on hiatus , since you were all interested on Saturday (or was it the day after?  ) if we could hear the New Zealand accent in the songs you posted in "World Famous In New Zealand" (read that, you guys...some great tunes in that entry), do the Kiwis (please tell me I've used that properly and it's not some kind of slur only people from NZ can call each other) stick a "u" in words like favorite, labor, or honor? And can anyone tell me why that's such a thing? I'm curious, but not curious enough to look it up for myself while I'm trying to hatch your next favorite blog entry.Oh yeah, that...fruits or vegetables. I'm gonna have to go with fruit on this one (which reminds me, I've got an orange in the fridge all cut up and waiting for me to get into), although it's a tough choice because I do enjoy me some fresh veggies with a good dill or ranch dressing. I think a bunch of us should hold a draft of fruits and vegetables; we'll all select them like we're picking teams for something, I dunno. I know what I'd like my lineup to look like, but it all depends on who's picking what. Ok, dumb ideas aside, fresh fruit beats fresh veggies 90-95% of the time for me. Maybe it's because of the sweetness, or that they taste better in a juice format than vegetables do (sorry, not even vodka can help tomato juice  ), or I think of a lot of fruits as being more convenient overall...you wouldn't eat a potato or a tomato like you would an apple, would you? I think if you were to line up a bunch of categories and make comparisons, fruits would best vegetables in a tale-of-the-tape beatdown. Like veggies come into the ring, all prancin' around and flauntin' the vitamins and minerals while the kids boo and hiss from the crowd, and then fruit charges in, smacks the greenery in the back with a steel chair, and wins the championship in less than a minute. That's how good fruit is. [Sidenote: If you were so upset with a vegetable's performance in an off-Broadway play (or a wrestling match), and it was around the time dissatisfied patrons could get away with throwing stuff from the crowd, what would they throw? Not tomatoes, I'd hope.]All that the question posed in the prompt really serves for me is to point out that I don't eat nearly enough fresh produce...and when I do, it's either coated with some form of sugar or dairy deliciousness. Thank you for reminding me that I'm an absolutely terrible eater, Shaye , and that we are what we eat as a reflection of who I am...which makes me a horrible person. So now you're callin' me names, as well as taking my physician's side regarding my sodium intake and my high cholesterol? Well, I'm never answering this prompt again!  Just kiddin', Carmela...we're cool. MUSICAL BREAK!! There aren't enough songs about fruits, and even less about vegetables (unless you're, like, three years old, I assume, and you're just discovering that the crap you've been spoonfed your entire life was mashed peas and strained carrots, potentially causing your very first episode of distrust in those whose job it is to take care of you...and if so, I'm sorry, although if you're three you probably shouldn't be reading this. Cover your eyes!!). Please, if there is a musical endeavor for adults that involves a vegetable, please do not hesitate to share it with someone other than me. "Millions of peaches, peaches for me... Millions of peaches, peaches for free!" Tell me that won't get stuck in your head for awhile. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  Well, my phone didn't ring today, so no news is good news, right? If there was a problem with my blood work I would've gotten a call with the ominous "We need to talk, sir" tone, yeah? Just agree with me and I promise I'll move on and not bore you with me tryin' not to wig out about anything. Made it through my short day at CAPCO, which wasn't too bad because technically we're only open Tuesdays and Thursdays, but there's still donations to process and general upkeep that needs to be done. I'll have to bust out the big boy pants for the 9am-4pm shift tomorrow, but they're totally cool with me not doin' a whole lot. Wish I had more to add, but life is better when there's less clutter and not a lot to complain about. And it looks like I've got a little time to spare as well this evening, which is always a bonus . Peace, might as well sit on the couch and read a book or two, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Provide your thoughts/opinions on a newspaper/magazine article or a radio/television news story from the past week. And if you feel inclined, let loose and blog about your week. Also, feel free to comment on your favorite blog entries from your fellow challengers from the preceding week, though this is not required." 'Sup y'all? Looks like we all made it to the other side of Daylight Savings Time in one piece, which is good...I know that pesky hourly loss didn't really affect me much, other than feeling like I slept an hour later than I normally do when I woke up this morning. Maybe we all could've used DST as one of the reasons in yesterday's "Creation Saturday" prompt about excuses for sleeping in. But I digress... So, news happened this week. Lots of it, actually, and depending on your sources, it was either good news or bad news. As some of you know, Gawker (http://gawker.com/) and Jezebel (http://jezebel.com/) are two of my favorite places for informative articles and hilarious commentary...and on a semi-serious note, a couple of items caught my interest today as a matter of fact, so I'm gonna talk a little about them. The first one concerns how antibiotics were once studied as a method of promoting weight gain...in a practice that was tested on farm animals and handicapped kids. Please pardon my language (oh come on, it's not like you've never heard me curse before), but that's so fucked up. It was proven that the animals gained weight, which not only made them more appealing to the meat industry, but strengthened their immune systems and made them resistant to common forms of farm bacteria...which in turn led to more animals being raised indoors and fed with grain laced with these drugs. Welcome to factory farming. Here's the link to that, before I forget: http://jezebel.com/the-fucked-up-history-of-antibiotics-farm-animals-an-15399224.... Now, we often joke about how when we were young, all the different things we got away with and all the stuff our parents and grandparents did because it seemed ok yet is really unthinkable now, but for real? Animal testing is bad enough (and I'm not all hippie tree-hugger about it; just don't care for it), but to test powerful bacteria-killing agents on children to see if they not only work but can go above and beyond what they're meant for...dear science in the fifties: What the fuck was wrong with you?? Oh, you only wanna test these drugs out on the retarded kids? Oh, cool, ok...Really?! No, seriously, what the fuck was wrong with you people?? And if that's not enough- which should be, but it's not- I know I've kicked around the idea in the past of going vegan or at least vegetarian (I just can't get over my love of ground beef and bacon), but the fact that we've been eating meat that's been pumped so full of chemicals to resist disease and promote unnatural growth should be enough to scare anyone off pig, cow and fowl. Look at it this way: these antibiotics kill off bacteria, but eventually the bacteria becomes tolerant of the drug, getting stronger...better drugs, stronger bacteria, more drugs, and boom! All the sudden there's E. Coli and Salmonella poisoning and Mad Cow disease all over the place. Think of it like computer viruses: you get this protection for your computer, but hackers and the like are finding ways around them in order to access your information via new methods of spyware, and eventually you end up getting new AVS to protect against that, but the bad guys are always trying to find another way in, and the cycle continues. It's the same thing with these antibiotics, only more sickening. The second article isn't totally related, but from a pharmaceutical standpoint it's certainly noteworthy and I've taken notice primarily because I suffer from what I consider to be chronic pain (sorry if that's TMI, but you'll have that) in joints and muscles, and I'm starting to think about what my options are going forward. California is set to start dispensing a painkiller that's ten times stronger than Vicodin, and is made with pure, uncut hydrocodone. Eventually as this drug (Zohydro) becomes widely available, it's bound to change form; the key thing that stands out in this article is that currently the pill is crushable. I read that as being easier to ingest and able to be absorbed faster by the body, and I think that makes it more susceptible to abuse. Also interesting to take away from this article (like I usually add when posting a link to a Kinja piece) are some of the statistics thrown around in the comments section. Americans take 80% of the world's painkillers! The US consumes 99% of the world's supply of hydrocodone! That's crazy! Yet how much of that is legal usage versus illicit abuse? We'll never know. This article (http://gawker.com/painkiller-10-times-stronger-than-vicodin-will-hit-the-1539932...) interests me because like I mentioned, I'm in pain a lot, and I guess I'm in the initial stages of figuring out if there's something to be concerned about or if it's just my body's way of telling me I overdid too much of everything when I was younger. I do a little research once in awhile, and when I take any kind of prescribed medicine I try to read up on it and ask questions partly because I worry about allergic reactions and interactions with other medications, and partly because I don't wanna end up on the street lookin' for more pills 'cuz I just couldn't help myself from gobblin' 27 of 'em and I barely feel a thing. I was on a steady morphine drip for a couple of days while I was in the hospital with my busted ankle, and they gave me a script for hydrocodone when I got out...I didn't get hooked on either of them, but I can definitely attest to the mind-altering presence of these substances when combined with an unbelievably uncomfortable amount of pain. Well, hey, wasn't that all fun? More evidence that as much as science thinks it's trying to help us, in the long run they may just be killing us faster (or at least at a harsher, more insufferable pace). BCF PROMPT: It's Sunday! No prompt! Day of rest! Whoo hoo!! I think I'll use this space, if it's ok with the fine people of the "Blogging Circle of Friends " , to give a short recap of the week and talk about one (or some) of my favorite entries in this month's "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" . Who's with me? Show of hands!  Ok, sweet.For having nothing to do, I feel like I had a busy week...maybe because most of my running around was condensed into Thursday and Friday. The good news (if you haven't been reading up on me lately, and I don't blame you if you haven't) is that I can return to work on a limited basis as of tomorrow. The bad news? It's only temporary until I find out when I'm getting the remaining five screws and plate taken out of my left ankle, and I'm awaiting the results of my arthritis screening. I've made it through the weekend not being a nervous wreck, but I imagine I'll be pretty tense tomorrow. I'm only working 9am-noon, so I'll have the afternoon to decompress if I need to, and I know I'll be really stressed out if I don't hear anything because I'll be working all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning I have an appointment with a career specialist at the employment office in town...ok, maybe I am starting to get a little unnecessarily up here about this whole medical situation. As for the week in blog entries, it's good to have an old friend of this space back in the 30DBC mix, the one and only Brother Nature . There are some people that, when you start participating more often in activities like these, you know their presence is missed when they're not around...Joel's got one of them kinds of personalities. I especially enjoyed his take on Wednesday, regarding activities did as kids...you can see it here if you missed it: "Invalid Entry" . Growing up in an old Polish neighborhood in Cheektowaga, New York, it was common to see many lawns adorned with fake plastic pink flamingoes...I wish back in my hellion days I'd have thought of Pink Flamingo Golf.I also wanna give some attention to Charlie ~ and his entry, "Invalid Entry" . If you're not reading Charlie, you should be, and not just because he's got great taste in music. This particular entry touches on some interesting topics, even if they're not relatable. His style of writing really pulls you in and makes you feel like you're there, being a part of what he's talking about. The details aren't always pretty and sometimes the experiences aren't easy on the heart emotionally, but in the end you'll find yourself rooting for him.Lots of good topics, entries and comments this week...the PC/Mac debate was pretty informative, as was the National Working Women's Day one. Jaeff | KBtW of the Free Folk  brought his "A" game as usual, Lyn's a sly fox continues to do an awesome job turning out entries for multiple groups, and even though she's not participating in this month's 30DBC, blainecindy has been very busy with the recent reopening of "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" while managing to offer the kindest and heartfelt words wherever she manages to be found on WDC. And as always, it's great to have some new participants in the 30DBC as well as the BCF.MUSICAL BREAK!! As funny as it sounds, this is pretty true whether you know it or not. How many people can say that they're happily getting by without the aid of some kind of pharmaceutical, or are eating 100% organic food that isn't tainted by overzealous corporate farmers for the sole sake of the almighty dollar, or aren't practicing some kind of escapism just to forget about life for awhile (don't front...writers are the ultimate escape artists in that we can bullshit ourselves from accepting reality for a little while if we need to)? Face it...we're all on something. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  I'm slowly trying to alter my diet by attempting to eat healthier, so I bought a carton of almond milk the other day...and the more I think about it, the more repulsed I am by the notion that it's gonna be decent on any kind of cereal. I know anything that comes in a package probably has some sort of crap in it your body will hate you for, and I'm really trying to cut out as much garbage as I can, but why I thought almond milk was a good idea, I really don't know. I mean, I should've been tipped off immediately that it can't be that healthy because it's sold unrefrigerated (with a shelf life of months!!) but you're supposed to "serve chilled". Sure, it's lactose-free, which is a plus, but something's not adding up here. I swear, I've made better life choices shitfaced off my ass and not full of a combo of anti-depressants, anti-anxiety pills, and pain-relieving meds. More trending news this week: The Russia/Ukraine battle over Vladimir Putin's toupee; The discovered remains of the Malaysian plane crash were just pieces of an asteroid that flew perilously close to Earth before exploding in a fit of panic over not wanting to land on such an unstable planet; President Obama, in a tribute to Aretha Franklin, managed to screw up the most important line in arguably her most popular song by misspelling "respect"; and Pope Francis has a potty mouth.That, my friends, is your Sunday News And Review. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna see what everyone else is up to before I try to call an end to this fair day. Peace, give me some of that stuff, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! True story, bro. |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "It's Saturday! Did you get to sleep in? Make a few creative excuses for why you were able to sleep in this morning. If you didn't get to sleep in, what woke you up?" What's up y'all? You read that prompt right...it's Saturday, for real. I suppose right now's as good a time as any to remind you if you're reading this before 2am Sunday on the east coast that the whole Daylight Savings Time thing goes into effect at that moment...what does that mean? It means we're gonna sacrifice an hour of sleep this evening/tomorrow morning, but we'll be that much closer to summer (and hopefully we can thaw out some). Just doin' my part to be helpful, ya know? Figured I'd get that outta the way early. Push the big hand on your clock ahead one number before you go to bed tonight, or do nothing if your time revolves around automatic World Clock updates on all your devices (Is the World Clock still a thing? It sounded like a big deal once the internet became mainstream, but I don't think anyone's referenced it since Y2K.  Oh wait...I have the internet right in front of me! There's this website...http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/, but it doesn't list my favorite city, which sucks for personalization. Boo on your presentation, World Time website that's not like the World Time website I remember in the younger days of the information superhighway. Why am I destined to never be able to find things with my name on it, speaking of personalization? It's not my fault my first name's not marketable...all I wanted was a license plate for my bike that had my name on it that didn't come with peel-off stickers from the box of Honeycomb cereal when I was a kid. Boo on that too!).Wow...I think I just set a new personal world record for "Fastest Off-Topic Rant (Multiple Off-Topics Division)" in my short and painful long and storied blogging history. My man The Six Year Old Me is impressed...aren't ya, buddy?  He's smilin'. So anyway, yeah, I slept in today, but I've got some good excuses. I've slept in nearly every day for the last three weeks because of the whole stupid ankle thing and not being able to work. I'm gonna be screwed come Monday and I have to be out of the house by 8:45am at the latest when I go back to CAPCO. The hour of Daylight Savings Time is gonna work against me too come Sunday night, when I know I won't be ready for sleep early enough to comfortably take my sleeping meds, get my eight hours, and feel well enough to get out of bed come the morning. But that's my problem, not yours. You're only here to know what my real (fake) excuses for sleeping in are, so without further ado, here they are (in no particular made-up order):  I've stayed up for four nights straight, doing a shot of cranberry-flavored Red Bull every hour on the hour. One word: waitress. I had problems falling asleep because some idiot's music was too loud...then I realized it was my music. It only looks like I slept in because all of my clocks are on Ukrainian time while I mediate the conflict between them and Russia via Skype and BestVinesLOL.com and Snapchat. Andre The Blog Monkey got into my peanut butter stash again while I was trying to sleep, and I had to clean up after him because you're not supposed to wake up to a messy place or else the terrorists win.Everyone, no matter what their situation, deserves a good night's sleep (or day's, if you're nocturnal like that) and at least one solid attempt at laying in bed for as long as you possibly can without the disruptive forces of work, children, or pea-sized bladders. I hope your morning was good to you. BCF PROMPT: "National Working Women's Day: Many women feel that being a stay at home Mom is a full time job. Do you agree or disagree? How do you feel about Dad being the one that stays at home instead? Do you agree or disagree it should be whichever parent has the best opportunity to make it work?" First off, to paraphrase comedian Chris Rock, good for you if you're a woman that works, 'cuz that's what people are supposed to do (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0B_ekSrsEk). I realize that's a terrible thing to say or even imply, and the video clip uses all sorts of colorful language to illustrate the stupid comparison I was going for, but this is one of those "everybody gets a trophy for participating" days when it really should be a "why aren't we a little more appreciative of this on the daily?" kind of day. I don't get a "National Eat A Whole Bag Of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Day", but that doesn't negate my struggle. I know somebody's gotta feel that. It's also a situation that's more of an indictment of the day and age we're in now as opposed to what we knew growing up. It's not as common anymore for there to be a stay-at-home parent, and in many cases even to maintain a middle class, no frills lifestyle both mommy and daddy should have decent jobs that pay more than just hugs and kisses and fingerpainted portraits that get hung on the fridge. I'm not trying to minimalize anybody's position within the family structure here, and I'm not pretending like kids can/should raise themselves...I know better than that. Then there's that whole "it takes a village to raise a child" thing too (http://www.ask.com/question/poem-it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-child), and it's true...parents can't do it all on their own, even if they have the means to. Community and extended family need to fill in the gaps and pick up the slack when necessary...it's on all of us to be good citizens, because you never know when a child's paying attention and learning something from you whether you're a parent or not. It's easy for me to say and all, because I don't have kids...but I was a kid once, so I do have a little frame of reference on the topic. The onus doesn't fall on one parent or the other, or both of them. Holding down a job doesn't make you a bad parent, just as staying home all day doesn't ensure you'll be a good parent either...every week the news is filled with too many examples of how not to raise a kid, yet there's never enough stories about the people who are doin' it right. And why is that? Because that's what you're supposed to do, even if it's damn near impossible on a constant level. No matter how horrible the hand you're dealt in life is, you have to remember somebody's got it worse...you can barely feed three kids? Someone's tryin' to feed four. Same with clothes and homework. And too many folks seem to want to make it all a competition instead of playin' together for the same team, fighting to achieve the same things. MUSICAL BREAK!!  It's the first Soundtracker Saturday! I love it! If you were sleepin' in during the month of February, you missed a bunch of us droppin' songs in the key of life (random Stevie Wonder reference alert) during "The Soundtrack of Your Life" ...it was so great that lizco252 turned us into a group, and here we are, back with another activity. I'm trying to keep with the themes offered in the prompts for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" and the "Blogging Circle of Friends " , while putting a bit of a biographical spin on the music, but it's not always easy because maybe one or two lines in a song fit one prompt, yet the rest of the song or the idea behind it fits nicely with the other prompt. Like this one by Ghostface Killah and Mary J. Blige, "All That I Got Is You" (album: Ironman {link:http://www.amazon.com/Ironman-Ghostface-Killah/dp/B00000K0T8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394331961&sr=8-1&keywords=Ghostface+Killah+Ironman}; lyrics: http://rapgenius.com/Ghostface-killah-all-that-i-got-is-you-lyrics)...for the one humorous line about sleeping, the rest of the lyrics tell the story of a single mom trying to raise a family through difficult times, which is something I can relate to. The situation I'm familiar with may not have been as extreme, but there are subtle similarities...and being able to look back upon those days and come through with a different sort of respect is a blessing.THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  So it's pretty common knowledge (I think) that Facebook tracks every website you go on while you're logged in because they want to show you certain advertisements...and that's what makes this funny: I've been getting hit with ads for Ancestry.com, with a headline that reads "Who do you think you are?" Thanks Facebook...the team here at "Who do I still think I am??" is on its second blog working nightly in an effort to figure that out. Here is a one-minute instructional video (including cool time-lapse technology!) on how to properly overcome any problems or issues involving Daylight Savings Time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXe7-CX1AM. And just in case you missed my 6-comment legendary post last year regarding Daylight Savings Time (complete with an appearance from Foul Bachelor Frog!!), I'll rerun the linkfest it was in this here spot now for your reading convenience whenever you deem it to be appropriate: "This one's about education." . From the irony department: I probably shouldn't have made any off-color references about women working, or anyone working for that matter, considering I haven't been medically able to work full-time in a over a year and a half. My bad there, and I apologize for any misunderstandings that may occur because I know how things can get taken out of context and/or misinterpreted. I also have a tendency to sometimes dig myself a deeper hole when trying to explain my...ummm, self, so I'll shut up now.Well, I think it's late enough for me to think about trying to cross over into the medicated world soon, so I can get back to that more normal sleep cycle people seem to enjoy so much that they do it on a regular basis. Peace, spring forward and fall back, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Who is your evil twin? Write about the mischievous deeds that he/she has done today." Happy "Funny Friday" friends, where us folks in the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" are charged with trying to make you laugh (or at least giggle-snort...which, c'mon, we both know leads to continued laughter). I'm not guaranteeing anything, by the way...if I had a bus token for every "Funny Friday" blog entry I've ever written that I thought was hilarious and was alone or close to it in that regard, you could probably line them up end to end and maybe get me across the hallway. That's still a lot of tokens, but their worth outside of what they're meant for is virtually useless. I do kinda like today's prompt, even though I don't have a decent answer for it. It's unique, and I'm turning over a new leaf of sorts this time around...for all the complaining I've done in the past about prompts I didn't quite see eye-to-fingertips with (whether deserved or not), it should be more important to praise the person who comes up with unique and interesting things to challenge us with. So a tip my knit hat to the person this prompt came from. Well job .After careful consideration (ok, maybe a total of 10 minutes between last night and this afternoon), I don't think I have an evil twin. Not in the real world, not on Writing.com, nowhere. Which is fine with me...really, could you imagine what I'd be like dipped in evil? Add up all my sarcastic, cynical, and disruptive elements, slap a negative sign on the answer, and watch whatever device you used to compute that equation on spontaneously blow up at trying to figure out how to represent a double zero sum inverse of itself (or something else math-related that I'm familiar with only in terms that I know not of what I speak). Like, how does an evil twin of me even begin to exist, let alone do so on the carpet of the same world where I've wiped my muddy shoes? It just can't be true, can it? I think it's all relative. Does one in every set of twins have to be evil? Even though the parts and the wiring and the owner's manuals are exact copies, wouldn't one outperform the other in some categories, even if it's by .000001%? Is that really enough to warrant the label of "evil twin"? Take a look at WDC's most famous set of "twins", Lyn's a sly fox and blainecindy (who don't just share a birthday, but like real twins were actually born on the same day in the same year)...how do you call either one of them evil? Where's the line of difference and demarcation? Allow me take a look briefly at my day, and then let's decide how an eviler me would've proceeded. I started out this morning with a message from the orthopedic doctor's office letting me know I could go in anytime for lab work. Then I went to my mental health doctor's office and basically kicked it with him for about 20 minutes- he's actually a pretty fun guy with a good sense of humor- before he upped the dose on one of my meds (the one that's supposed to keep me from losing my shit on people for next-to-no reason) and wrote me new scripts for the other stuff I take. Then I hopped the bus and went to the hospital for my lab work, and I know I'm not supposed to judge people, but this next experience deserves its own paragraph. I was tended to, as best I could tell given the conversation between the two ladies and the manner in which they approached me, one phlebotomist training an ex-ER nurse in the fine art of drawing blood from the stone that is me. The trainee (for lack of a better term) reminded me of someone I might've feared in the eighties because her hair would've been just as high as the length of her face, and the years haven't aged her well. She couldn't have been much older than me, but she had that voice- that voice- that sounded like she swallowed a whole pack of Marlboro Reds for breakfast and gargled with somethin' 150 proof. And the trainer (again, for lack of a better term) couldn't have been a sweeter, much older woman...very grandmotherly, all smiling and petite and patient. But have you heard of that crazy weird drug Krokodil that seems to be the new designer version of heroin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desomorphine), only it, like, eats your flesh and gives you all the side affects of crack and meth in a much quicker time span? Yeah, this woman's hands looked like that, and I couldn't stop staring. I will purposely avoid eye contact specifically to not uncomfortably wonder with my eyes what the hell's goin' on with them, but I totally failed. Here was this woman, poking my arms looking for veins, with her iced purple fingertips. If "suffocation" was a color in the 64-count box of Crayola crayons, that was what was touching me...like her fingerprints won a strangulation battle with her fingernails. I was thoroughly creeped out by this otherwise adorable senior citizen; I'd like to think that by staying motionless I maintained some sense of calm about myself, but then again there was a decent-sized needle in the top of my hand drawing my blood, so it's not like panicking and screaming "WTF is wrong with your weird fingers, strange lady?!" was exactly an option. Once I was done with that, I quickly made steps in the direction of the exits. I didn't stop to get my hoodie or my jacket on 'til I was at the main lobby of the hospital. Sorry for that little disturbing detour...carrying on... I got back on the bus and went grocery shopping, which kinda went off hitchless, with the exception of me spending way more than I intended. Sure, I saved a lot of money too, but I only brought two arms and a tiny little backpack with me to carry all my crap. Which sucked. At least I have lots of Spaghettios and other assorted canned goods for when I'm unable to actually shop like a regular person. But rather than stop at the pharmacy on my way home to get my new meds, I had to actually go home first, drop off my purchases, and go back out. At least it was sorta warm (in a 44 degree kind of way) and sunny, and I didn't get hassled waiting for the script to be filled (but I did buy a few more food items...I love the brand of hummus Kinney Drugs carries). Safely made it home, and I'm regretting the decision I made last week not to get my other ankle checked out...my legs are absolutely spent, and I've been home for almost four hours now. Anyway, so what would've my quote-unquote evil twin (don't quote me on the validity of his existence) been up to? Sleeping? Planting flowers at the old folks' home? Sitting on a log by a babbling brook writing odes to his dear, sweet love? No, although I wouldn't fault him if he were. I'm afraid I don't have a real answer for this entire scenario. A valiant effort again on the prompt, even if it's too hokey for my (admittedly weak) standards. Society is barely long enough to fit in one of me; two is certainly too many. I get tired thinking about my own exploits and experiences; I can't imagine trading stories with someone who also happens to share my exact DNA and genetic structure. BCF PROMPT: "Are you able to drive? Were you? What do you remember about learning how to drive, if you did? If you didn't, why didn't you?" Yes, I'm able to drive...but if you ask me I think it's overrated. We as a society make it out to be this big deal, "rite of passage" kind of thing, but I couldn't be more unimpressed by it. Maybe I've been lucky in that for good chunks of my adult life I've lived within a short enough walking distance to everything I've needed to have close by. Combine that with the unfortunate truth that nearly every friggin' time I've purchased a vehicle in my life, one of three things has happened (a job loss, an accident, or mechanical failure), and it becomes easier to learn ways to live that aren't dependent on automobiles. I remember learning to drive as being sketchy at first. I'm sure I thought it looked a lot easier than it was, but having people screaming at you while you're making mistakes isn't beneficial either. I recall my mom practically having a violent heart attack while trying to back out of our driveway, which nearly led to me flooring the car into reverse and getting it stuck in a ditch across the street from our house...I believe that was the first and only time I drove with her. My dad was the one who initially wanted me to have my license, but I don't think he thought the entire situation through at the time. I may have told this story before, and if you've already heard it feel free to move on to other things. Him and my stepmom had two vehicles...a busted-ass Mercury Marquis and a van. I'm unsure of the van's make and model, but it was doo-doo brown and most likely was at one time prior to their ownership someone else's home down by the river (you'll know what I'm talking about if you're familiar with this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0YjSIkfkbU). After spending an afternoon at work with him distributing flyers for his friend's construction company, we stopped at the grocery store...and he asked me if I wanted to drive home. Being the teenage heir to my father's throne of "well-intentioned but lacking in sense rationales", I jumped at the opportunity. Let the record show that we lived two blocks (or a total of one stoplight, one four-way stop with a signal, and one standard four-way stop) from the grocery store. I've never been more in fear of my life behind the wheel of a moving vehicle than that day in the summer of 1993. Pop Diesel neglected to tell me until I coasted through the first intersection that the brakes on the van were "starting to go" and that I should "stomp hard on it" to get the van to stop. Again, it's a van. Not a minivan. Not a crossover SUV. A large vehicle with a sliding side door and plenty of cargo room in the back. I couldn't get the behemoth to come to a complete stop at the next intersection either. I gave it just enough gas to get it going through that last full block, but with my foot on the floor the van still wouldn't stop. Our house was the second from the corner, next to what was at the time the local senior citizens' center...we sometimes parked in their lot because it was off-street and it was quick access to our back door. I idled through the lot and hit the brake with all my might, eventually resting the nose of the van a few inches deep in the bushes separating the parking lot from our backyard. I almost hit the "restricted parking" sign as well...how I didn't is a mystery only physics can probably answer. I maintain that had any damage occurred during the course of me driving, I should not have been at fault because I was not properly warned of the braking issues. Oh yeah, this happened in the early afternoon...broad daylight and all. It's amazing that I didn't kill anyone. Eventually I paid for some lessons from a professional and got my license...a few more tense moments behind the wheel while I was still unexperienced led my folks to give up on me driving one of their vehicles for quite a long time. And I know my opinion doesn't necessarily count for much, but everyone should, at some point in their life, own a very fast car. Either indulge a life-long fantasy or get it out of your system when you're young, but it's a treat everyone should enjoy at least once. I've written enough today, so I'll save those stories for another time. MUSICAL BREAK!! While I was sitting on the bus earlier today and drifting into thoughts about what facts I'd possibly include in today's entry, the typically boring choices for this section came to mind..."Drive" by The Cars, and "Drive" by REM. Both are great songs on any other day, but sometimes it's not until I'm elbows-deep in this that I think of a way better song to include. In twenty years (give or take) of being street-legal, I've seen enough accidents and too much idiotic behavior from other drivers to know that you can't trust at all the people operating these machines, even if you're forced to depend on them for any reason. THE DAILY BOX SCORE: No word yet on the next surgery date...I know there's no use in worrying about it over the weekend because I won't hear from anyone regarding it now until Monday, but it's in the back of my head that it's gonna happen (even though the realization of it all still hasn't actually settled in). I would've liked to have heard something about it (even if it was just to schedule my next appointment) but I've been dealing with this stupid leg for so long now that hell, what's another couple of days? <Insert "grrrr but not totally angry" face here.>That's all I can take tonight y'all. I don't even know if I can stay awake long enough to read anyone's entries tonight, and I feel bad about not keeping up on that. Hopefully I can use the weekend to catch up and get into a better routine for the rest of the month. That should help keep my mind off my aches and pains. Peace, don't die, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
30DBC PROMPT: "Mac or PC? (One word answers aren't interesting to read, so please expand on your opinion.  )"What's good, y'all? Nothin' like a straight-up, "pick one and here's why" Opinion Thursday prompt to turn people against each other spark some discussion amongst the crowd. Personally I prefer a PC because that's all I know. Sure, when I was a kid we had the legendary Apple IIe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_IIe) in school, but those things were like $2500 back in the early eighties, with the day-glo green-on-black monochrome displays that were basically only good for playing Oregon Trail on and printing giant 8.5"-wide banners in Print Shop for people's birthdays...back when "dot matrix" used to actually mean something, and birthday cakes looked something like this: ^ ^ II II II II @@@@@@ I I I I @@@@@@ I I I I \@@@@@@/ Those were the days...printing that out would've taken like 27 minutes back in 1985. I know at some point I might switch camps and get a Mac, but I'm plenty comfortable with my PC for now. I don't do a whole lot of anything else besides internet browsing, so what more do I need? If the time comes and I find myself down the road doing things that'll require a Mac (like school-related things, for example), I'll worry about that later. Just please, whatever your intent is...if you're a loyal Mac fan, please don't tell me every reason why I absolutely need one this instant. There's a good chance that I might like you a little less for it, it's not gonna make me run to the Apple Store like Windows 8.1 is suddenly on fire, and I probably just don't care. What I do my internetting on is kinda low on the list of priorities this week. Kthanxbye. BCF PROMPT: "Do you prefer to travel or would you just rather stay home?" I guess in a vacation sense, I like travelling as opposed to staying home, because I can stay home anytime and see the same old things over and over. And part of the fun, as I hear so often, is the journey itself. If it's a "hey, what are you up to tonight?" kinda thing, I'd prefer to stay home more often than not. I don't know when exactly I changed into some kind of raging homebody, but now when I'm in for the night, there's no pulling me back out. I get into less trouble as well, which is mostly preferable. And it's typically easier on the budget. But back to the idea that this might be a vacation-related experience, if I may. There's certainly nothing wrong with touring the vast expanse of one's driveway as a means of spending some time away from work. Even if it's to tackle some upkeep on the property or lay out in the sun with a good-to-great book. And getting away for awhile isn't always the grand ol' time it often sounds like, because everything you're putting off that week is still there when you get home, only there's less time to do it all because you've got to go back to work or school or whatever. And some trips wind up being more trouble than leisure...especially if you're entertaining different groups of people while away or there's a specific purpose attached to your destination. How are you supposed to enjoy your sixth beer at noon if it's some obscure family member's wedding in East Nowheresville, South Dakota that you've driven 12 hours to the night before? Who's idea of a good time was that? Personally though, I think I'd still vote for travelling if I had that choice to make. I get bored too easily being in the same place for too long, so it's nice to have some new scenery once in awhile. As long as I'm not going by plane, I'm good. I don't fly very well (and no, smartasses...it's not because my "arms get too tired" ).MUSICAL BREAK!! "It's just a line, folks...you can step right over it." We're at that point... A generation so much dumber than their parents... I remember...I remember Buffalo. http://www.thehip.com/albums/index.html?CheckIT=4_33&SongID=33&AlbumID=4&LyricID... THE DAILY BOX SCORE: Six: That's the recovery time in weeks I'll be lookin' at. Time to dig out my crutches, 'cuz I'll be having surgery soon to remove the rest of the hardware in my leg. Fantastic. At least (hopefully) there won't be any snow on the ground. I should know more by tomorrow or Monday...I don't know if it's actually sunk in yet that I'll be having another operation on this ankle. Nope, it hasn't. It probably won't until I have a set date or see the doctor again beforehand. Can't get any worse from here on out, right? Oh, I have to go for some "arthritis screen" and more blood work. Maybe this can get worse. On a more positive note, I'm cleared to return to work (albeit with all sorts of restrictions) next week until I go under. I'm kinda excited about that, and if they're cool with me sittin' behind a desk all day during my recovery period then this surgery thing might not be so bad after all.  I did manage to see a man back a motorized shopping cart into a wall at the super-mega grocery store in town today. We made awkward eye contact like he was mortified that I noticed him doing that...it kinda reminded me of my adventures with one in "This one's about stones and bones?" and "This one's not about the Oscars." from February of 2013.I think I'm gonna try and get caught up with the rest of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" entries I haven't read in the last couple of days...sounds like it'd be more enjoyable than thinkin' about what's gonna happen here the next few weeks. Peace, it would seem to me I remember, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "What is something you did as a kid that you still enjoy doing today? Or, what is something you did as a kid that you wish you could still do today?" 'Sup y'all? Just another mind-numbingly cold and snowy day here, and you'd think I'd be used to it by now. Truth is, it's never an acceptable thing. It's likely that it's been at least 25 years (if not more) that I looked out the window and wished it'd snow more and/or harder. I guess you could put that on a list of something I might've enjoyed as a kid but could really be unexcited about nowadays. Also to add to that list, at risk of sounding whiny and petulant (wait...never mind...I just re-read the prompt...I got this ) I think what I really miss most about being a kid (besides the lack of responsibility) is that I can't just round up a bunch of friends and play football, hockey, baseball, or basketball. I know I'm not that old, and I know plenty of people still do those things much later in life for fun, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that if I were to ever attempt to play any sport again, it's a foregone conclusion that I'll never come close to the level I was accustomed to in my late teens through my mid-to-late twenties. Even as recently as two years ago, I was debating trying to restart my floor hockey playing days by joining a league at a local high school, and got as far as pricing new equiptment...my accident pretty much ended all hope I had of maybe getting back out there (as did my move across the state, but breaking my ankle was the final nail in the coffin). Knowing that you're done isn't an easy thing to come to grips with. In my head I still think there'll be an opportunity for me to prove I can still play, but the more time passes, the more doubt seeps into my brain, and common sense tells me even if I'd started training once I was cleared to resume normal activities, I'd still have a ways to go to get back into a game-ready condition I'd be comfortable with.I guess of all the things I miss the most, that would be it. I played on my first indoor floor league team when I was 10 years old, and it's been probably five years since I strapped on pads...seven since my last time in league play. I'll get over it eventually, I suppose. BCF PROMPT: "Film or TV?" Easy question, and if you've read my work for any considerable length of time you'll know where I stand on this, because I've written on some variation of this topic several times. TV always wins, and I'll give the same answer I usually give: I don't have the attention span required to sit through most movies in one shot. Also, I have this thing where I have to watch something from start to finish. I can't just turn on a movie 20 or 30 minutes in, even if I've seen it before, and if I stop watching something or fall asleep in the middle (which has happened many a time, no matter how much I've wanted to see the movie), rarely will I ever go back and finish watching it. I'm a one-shot, start-to-finish consumer. If I wanted to stagger my consumption, I'd read a friggin' book. That's why most TV shows work for me. Give me a half-hour of something interesting, and I'm there. Even if I need to watch several episodes to reach a resolution. I can live with that...I don't feel like I'm forced to devote an entire afternoon or evening to something I'm not positive will hold my interest or feel satisfying in the end. This same line of thinking does tend to impede how I watch some TV shows also; particularly ones you almost need to follow from day one to know what's going on. If I have to do that, rarely do I bother, because then it's just the same as tuning in to a movie midway through. And if you can do that and know what the plot is without having seen the first hour or so, the movie probably shouldn't have been made at all. I know a fair amount of you will tend to disagree with me, and that's perfectly ok; after all, this is my blog and not yours. Your opinion is very valid should you care to share it, and we can do that in a respectful way in each other's comment sections. It's cool. I just don't see myself being swayed into thinking movies are some grand and necessary thing (and I haven't even started on the whole "going to a movie theater" aspect of this conversation, and I won't other than to note how utterly ridiculous it is to pay what people are willing to pay for popcorn, soda, and candy while attending a cinematic extravaganza outside of their house...I've been down that road while blogging about this before, and there's little need to do so again, mainly because I'm sure most would acknowledge this highway robbery insanity disparity in value as opposed to other forms of entertainment). I think I've said enough for one day regarding my personal opinion. Carry on with the rest of your evening (when you're done with reading this entry, of course). MUSICAL BREAK!! Some will say that this lineup of Black Flag wasn't the best, or that they had better songs, or whatever. Some people will say anything just to argue try to convince you that their opinion is dominant over the rest of the world's. I don't care to involve myself in discussions like that, especially when it's not really that important...and like I alluded to earlier, you can say whatever you want once you start writing my entries for me. Until then, I'm callin' the shots around here...and I can admit that I don't know everything there is to know about Black Flag, and maybe they have songs with more of an impact on society, but this was my introduction to them many years ago. I'll leave it at that. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  It should be noted that of the 38 or 92 times I've written how I feel about TV over movies, I prefer neither of them to internet access. TV's pretty wasteful most of the time, but since I was presented with the option of choosing one opposed to the other, that's what you get. The mystery of the, uhhh, mysterious picture text email I received from a random person yesterday has been solved. I couldn't take it anymore, so I broke down and replied with "Who is this?" Turns out it was one of my sister's friends...which is weird because I haven't spoken to my sister in a few years, and I honestly couldn't tell you when that last time I saw her friend was. I don't even know how she would've gotten my email address. She was like, "Oh, my daughter sent that." Great, but weird. The kid looks to be about toddler-aged, and while my Hotmail address is visible on Facebook, you'd almost have to be trying to find it, and then purposefully sending me your kid's picture on top of it. But whatever. Now that I know, I'm over it. Life will move on. Definitely spent a good part of my afternoon going back and forth between Twitter, http://www.thehockeynews.com/ and http://www.hockeybuzz.com/ like I do nearly every year on NHL Trade Deadline Day (you might remember me referring to Deadline Day as my "Christmas Morning" recently or in the past...reader's choice). Nothing really surprised me too much...the Sabres are all-in for bottoming out this year (and maybe next as well), most of the major names that were expected to move did, and there are no shortages of opinions. I love the lengths some fans are willing to go to lose their minds just as much when their team makes moves and when they stand pat. People certainly love the art of complaining more so than understanding rational activities in a passive manner, and it's great to see just how they think everything needs to be changed with "now" as the term of motivation over "what's best for the future", especially when "the now" sucks to high heaven and will for quite awhile.I think I had other stuff I wanted to add, but I can't help from being fixated on the little icon that's telling me I currently don't have an internet connection...which isn't the ideal situation considering I just spent approximately one-third of this entry telling you how much I prefer the internet over many other forms of media. Superb . Time to save this entry into the near-worthless WordPad and dust off a book of crossword puzzles. Maybe I'll run across the street to CVS and get some kind of baked good treat from the Entenmann's rack...cake always helps to counter the sting of no internet access. Peace, nothing better to do, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "There are many new, fantastic changes happening around WDC. What thrills you about the community we call Writing.com? On a broader note, what does Writing.com mean to you? How would you 'sell' a community like ours to a writer friend of yours who is looking for a good writing site?" What's up y'all? Did I miss something? I haven't seen any big changes around WDC lately (unless you're talking about the whole News Feed and the fanning/favoriting of authors...but even that feels like eons ago). Somebody fill me in. Maybe I only pay barely enough attention to the things I'm really interested in and haven't noticed anything else goin' on around here, and that wouldn't surprise me. As for the community itself, the fact that it's just that- a community- means just as much as the many tools we're given here on WDC. It wouldn't exist (at least not as we know it) without the talented people who that support each other and have become like a second family to so many others of us. I don't have crazy amounts of experience with other websites that are specifically geared toward writing and writers, but I'm pretty positive they don't offer the same features and cozy feel a WDC member gets whenever they're engaged here. Other sites seem sterile and boring; the aesthetic is unappealing. The exposure seems limited. There is no sense of all its members and users being a part of something together. On WDC it doesn't take very long to feel any of those happening. I really don't think I'd have to work all that hard trying to sell someone on the benefits of WDC over any other place; WDC practically sells itself between the activities, the people and overall range of content. Even the ease of use and the overall layout, which I think for quite awhile was the only drawback, has improved so much in the last 12 months alone...and I've seen a lot in my nearly-thirteen years here. What I think is most remarkable though is that WDC succeeds with very little (if any) outside advertising. I don't recall ever seeing an ad on a website or an article in any major publication (online or otherwise) that's meant to drive business or call attention to itself...and that tells me that through memberships and other merch sales, WDC is a pretty self-sustaining partnership between the folks that run it and the people using it. No commercials, and no banners on other websites...just a long line of satisfied customers. I don't know if you could find a better business model in a textbook. BCF PROMPT: "It is National Scrapbooking Day. What is your favorite way to preserve your memories? Scrapbooks, Photo Albums, Online Travel Blogs, WDC Blogs, etc.?" I think over the last few years my preferred method of preserving memories has been blogging. It's always been what comes easiest to me, and it's more enjoyable. I don't take as many pictures as I used to, and I don't view photography as being as engaging as writing (though I know some who would beg to differ). Plus, I'm really bad about organizing pictures and photo albums...I have the best intentions and I honestly mean well regarding them, but in the end they just sit in the processing envelopes from the one-hour photo lab. Currently I have a large box full of pictures that are sitting in that exact state under my bed, and I have no ambition whatsoever to do anything more with them. Like I said, blogging just seems more like there's potential for it to be an open conversation than any other form of memory storage. It's out there, people know how to access it if they want to without having it thrust under their nose when they come to visit me, and they're free to tell me what they think about each entry on their terms. I'm not whipping out slides of vacation shots during dinner parties or aggressively insisting you pay attention to me. I guess what I'm saying is I like the give and take blogging presents over creating scrapbooks and photo albums, although I will admit Facebook and other forms of social networking have pretty much revolutionized how we interact with one another over pictures. They've made it much easier to share photos with others, much the same as how blogging changed writing and how we get our opinions and thoughts out to others. MUSICAL BREAK!! I've never considered myself a huge fan of Filter, but their second album, "Title Of Record" ({link:http://www.amazon.com/Title-Record-Filter/dp/B001UR30HW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393984908&sr=8-2&keywords=filter+title+of+record}), is one of those really criminally underrated pieces of work that you can listen to from front to back and it doesn't feel old or boring. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  I feel kinda out of it today...for some reason I had a really hard time falling asleep last night and it's catching up with me. On the plus side, I got pretty much caught up on some of the episodes of The Tonight Show I'd missed...although I think I finally dozed off around 5am and I'm not sure how much of my binging I missed. I know that when I was rudely woken up a little after 6 my laptop was still open and Hulu was still goin'. The cops were bangin' on my door...I don't know how long they were out in the hall and I'm amazed I'd heard them. Of course they were pissed that it took me so long to answer the door, and they immediately started asking questions about people I'd never heard of and who my friends were. Turns out the "friends" they were referring to was just my laptop, and they were asking about some guy whose last known address happened to be mine. They were total good cop/bad cop too...the one who wasn't grillin' me was like "clearly you're not the person we're looking for, so sorry". But who can fall back asleep after that? I know it wasn't a very fitful rest, and it wasn't for very long. Speaking of people I don't know, I got the strangest email this evening. I wouldn't have bothered opening it, but it had to be from someone I know. It was a picture from a Verizon cell phone with a Buffalo area code, and it looks like a neck-up selfie but I cannot tell who the girl is. I even pulled out my old phone and ran the number through my contacts, to no avail. And the odd thing is that only a handful of friends have my email address...it's not like someone tried texting me a picture that happened to go to my email, because my number isn't listed anywhere on this person's message. They would've had to know my email address, and it's not like they accidently sent it to me by mistake. Makes no sense, and I don't want to be rude and reply with "Who is this?" or anything. I'll just let it go...had to put it out there though.Well, I'm callin' it a night. Like I said, I'm pretty beat and today was kinda shot between the cops and this atrocious weather continuing...I was gonna get my March bus pass this afternoon after my therapist session, but he cancelled due to an emergency and I didn't feel like going out in single-degree temps. That means I'll have to get up a little earlier than usual in order to make it to the orthopedic specialist, and try to get the bus pass later. Overall, I'm not thrilled. I'll catch us with you guys tomorrow. Peace, I won't remember, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Did you watch the Oscars? Tell us about a time in your life that was worthy of being made into a movie/TV show/novel/short story." Good afternoon, kind readers! It's Monday, so let's try to get through today together. I can say in good conscience that I didn't watch the Oscars, nor would I have even if I owned a tv. It's just not my thing. I tend to fall on the side of Billy Crystal's famous quote: "Nothing can take the sting out of the world's economic problems like watching millionaires present each other with golden statues." Yeah, that's a tough thing to stomach. I get it...they're rich (mostly) for a reason, and they work hard at trying to convince us they're someone they're really not. And then they file along a red carpet for photo-ops and whatever. Last time I tried that same ploy I was arrested and charged with crimes I can't even recite by memory; that's how complicated it was. What I am paying attention to is the Oscar Pistorius trial (http://news.msn.com/world/witness-tells-pistorius-trial-bloodcurdling-screams-th...). Dude went from hero to zero in a few months. He's go no legs. None! And yet he was an Olympian sprinter! I'll gladly trade my barely-functioning legs for some carbon-fiber "blades" to boost up my heart rate and add some fitness to my life, and not own guns I'll easily fire under the premise of intruders because I can't handle myself emotionally around women. As with a lot of things like this, all he has to do was admit his crime...by going to trial no good can come from it, and all of the goodwill and his credibility is now shot to Hell (no pun intended). The fall is harder to watch than the incline was easier to be enraptured with. But since I'm straying a bit from the prompt, give me a second to dial myself down into the main purpose. By attacking this prompt, I'd argue that by blogging daily we're in charge of writing our story. It's already happening, and I happen to be one of the fortunate ones with the ability to share on a worldwide level. Maybe it makes you uncomfortable, and maybe it scares you at times, but the often-overlooked part is that somebody- me- lived through it. I'm not proud of many of the things I've done (or failed to do), but to be able to be here now with you is something I'm eternally grateful for. I still have a lot of time left to right my wrongs and disprove negative images of me. There are other biographies I'd like to write before I sit down and let someone else decipher mine...and writing my story is a chore I wouldn't wish on anyone. Sure, my three blogs could make for a pretty interesting book to my close friends, but that seems more like a vanity project than anything, and I'm not fully built for that kind of fluff. Yet...maybe if I'm ever able to turn these words into something more provocative and far-reaching, I'll drop a tell-all that spares no secrets and truly knows no bounds. Until that day, this is what you get...a first-person account of me in my time, doing what I do, and occasionally reminiscing, over a soundtrack that fits the given day. This is my preservation. This is my day. This is how I "do it". BCF PROMPT: "You have discovered a bottle with a message in it. What does it say? Do you write a message back and put them both back in the bottle? Or just toss it away. Inquiring minds want to know." I'm a sucker at times for impending situations. Rolling up meanings and foresight is a gift and a curse. I've seen the bottom of many bottles where the only message was "Maybe you shouldn't have" or "Try again next time". And I always feel like I have to respond, which isn't the greatest of choices depending on the circumstances. Part of the problem is that I think too much; before I know it, the opportunity to act favorably has passed, and I revel in the regret harder than I let a chance be taken. Self-preservation is a bitch sometimes. But I'mma play along with this prompt because it's one of the best I've seen in a long time. When I roll up on the shore of a beach and open a bottle that has a message in it, I have to think it's fate telling me something I should know. Because what are the chances? This stuff doesn't happen on the daily, yo. It's like a horoscope that hits you point-blank and paralyzes you with fear and understanding, without the caveat of "This is only for entertainment purposes." I'm also hoping I'm not deserted on an island when this happens...that's a whole 'nother set of challenges. With a little bit of luck, hopefully it's not an advert for something I have no use for. I would like to think it says something encouraging, like "You're still alive!" and without hesitation, pretenses, or consideration as to what that means, I'd quickly reply "Of course I am!". There's no other way that I know of to respond in such a situation. Unless the sun has clouded my creativity and capacity for reason, as it's been known to happen before (sunstroke and sun poisoning aren't things I like to talk about, other than to acknowledge how real they both are). Common sense tends to find me before I realize it...much like the comic strip BC (http://www.gocomics.com/bc#.UxTsN5WPLIU), when the guy etches something on a tablet of stone and floats it out into the ocean, only to receive days later a reply that causes him to smirk or shudder with realization. I long to be that engaging pearl of wisdom-making, rather than the one who always needs answers. MUSICAL BREAK!! I'm busting this old sig out, because I friggin' love it, and it's one of the first I ever received on WDC.  It came with me from my very first WDC blog, "I'm Studying You" , and stayed with me as the image icon through "Who Do I Think I Am??" . I absolutely love it. It's the cover art for Pearl Jam's "Alive" single (although theirs is a white stick figure on a black background...{link:http://www.amazon.com/Alive-Once-Wash-Pearl-Jam/dp/B000002D0J/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393881024&sr=8-1&keywords=Pearl+Jam+Alive+single}), I owned the "Alive" t-shirt for awhile, and this song has meant a shit-ton of different things to me over the years. It's not my best Pearl Jam story, but this also isn't "The Soundtrack of Your Life" either, so I guess that's something you'll have to look forward to. Sill epic, no matter how many versions of this song I've owned. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  Still trying to think this through, but I'd love to do some kind of lip-sync contest/activity on WDC. I have a laptop with a webcam, so why not take advantage of it? Take some live-motion of me, sync it up to a song, and upload it to YouTube...why not? Hilariousness should ensue.With that, I'm out. Plenty of things I need to get sorted out before this week is over, and I really should be considering them. Peace, you're still alive, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
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Also, I learn a lot of my random facts by being that one person who reads all those tiny little things especially in nature/science museums. So many awesomely amazing things, and some museums contradict their information and I'll call over an expert and be like... uhhh, contradiction?? 