The Natives Call Me "Dancing With Coyotes"

I just got home from work. So, that is what working during the day feels like. It has been awhile since I experienced that feeling. I kinda really like it. Today renewed a lot of my joy for what we do at work. It was a training day (not quite like the film Training Day). It was moving and chilling. Several local and state law enforcement agencies, along with many of the surrounding fire departments, sent staff and equipment to be part of the "happening" or "event" or "scenario" or whatever term you want to use. I normally don't talk about too many specifics with work but there were dozens of media outlets covering the goings-on so you may see about it on the news or hear about it on the radio or read about it in the newspaper so I don't feel like I am talking out-of-school (no pun intended). If you do see it and I am on the screen I am the good-looking one with the florescent yellow and orange vest. It was pretty much like a live-action video game. It was Laser Tag taken to the 1000th degree. It made me really proud to do what I do today. It also reminded me that I really like working while the sun is out. I actually believe I got a tan while getting 6.5 hours of overtime. I got a free lunch too but, it was a little prejudice against non red meat eaters. I stepped up to what I heard was a salad bar. There was shredded lettuce, sliced onion, pickles and sliced tomatoes. I instantly realized that these were garnishes for burgers. I made a salad with them anyway. There were potato and pasta salads but I am watching my carbohydrates (carbs as many now know them) so I didn't have any of those. There were two kinds of fruit salads so I had a whole plate full of fruit. I glanced at the long line and saw just brats and burgers so I had "garnish salad" and fruit. Hey, my vest was about the same color as my pineapples and oranges; I may be a cannibal. At least I am a delicious, colorfully-dressed cannibal.

I saw a fawn walk right across the busiest street in town with a high volume of traffic, walk about twelve feet from me right in the MIDDLE of broad daylight like he was alone in the woods. I have to believe he may be lost or a bit mentally challenged. I see lots of animals in the MIDDLE of the night while I am working. It is that time of year when all of the animals have their babies out. The other NIGHT I was out of me vehicle in a kind of remote area and I looked over and there was a coyote near me. I got back in the vehicle rather quickly and moved a bit and he/she disappeared over a berm. I started getting out again and the coyote appeared over the top of the berm. I moved and then the coyote moved. If I see him again I think I will name him Two-Socks. It was EXACTLY like that scene from Dances With Wolves. The coyote actually looked just like the wolf in the film. I would have thought that it was a wolf but I am not sure that there are too may wolves near my work. I have seen the same fox running around at work just about every night I work. He always has a rabbit in his mouth. The other night the rabbit was still kicking a bit. I guess that makes for warm food when you finally get the "carry-out" home. I love animals and hate to see animals hurt but this doesn't seem to bother me for some reason. Probably because I know this is just how nature works?

My work uniform does look a bit like that, actually

My work sounds so interesting when I write about it here doesn't it? I guess it is interesting. I just wish it could be interesting during the day for me.

Music is so weird to me. It has been a large part of my life for as long as I can remember. Yesterday, while mowing the lawn, I listened to the AC/DC Pandora station. Now, while writing this, I am watching a documentary I had recorded awhile back about Queen (Queen: Days of Our Lives). Is there anybody who doesn't like music of one kind or another? It soothes the savage beast they say. Maybe I should play more music at work while encountering the skunks and geese and coyotes/wolves and foxes and deer... Oh yeah, and people. I love so many kinds of music. I feel like I need music all of the time. Where does that come from? Do I need a soundtrack for everything? If I had to chose a sense to lose I think hearing would be the last one I would pick just because of music. Maybe touch would be the first one I would choose. 

I hope we will record the new load of Dirty Laundry Podcast tonight. I suppose thinking me of sound makes me think "podcast" too huh? Okay, now it is tonight and we are going to go record the show. Obviously, I took a break in my writing because it became tonight. I hope to have the show up tomorrow but that may be wishful thinking. I will let you know when it is ready. Have a great Friday night. Thanks a lot for letting me blab-on and come to the realization that I really do like my job. I am confident and hopeful that I may be able to work days in the not to distant future. Keep your flanges crossed for me. If I get the show edited I will blog tomorrow before I go to work; no promises. TTTsoon...MITM (out)

Irony Does Not Exist - Don't Ya Think?

I am not always sure what is irony, what is coincidence or what is unfortunate most of the time. Alanis Morissette's song Ironic speaks about what he calls "ironic" but I think most of those things aren't really irony they're just sucky and unfortunate. How is "rain on your wedding day" ironic? Winning the lottery and dying the next day is just sucky. At least you had a great last day. I believe irony is getting the new Overton's catalog in the mail the same day you sell your boat. Or, is that just coincidence and circumstance. Of course, if your gonna sell you boat it would be right after the weather turns because that is boating season. And, of course you'd get a boating catalog at the beginning of boating season. I say coincidence and circumstance. Irony doesn't really exist.

Today is my one day off this week (except for the six hours I already worked today). After I get done writing this I will probably sleep for three or four hours and then, if the rain holds out, I will mow the lawn again. It has cooled-off quite a bit so mowing should be pleasant. I have to clean the garage for the Spring/Summer but that will probably be another day. Jeff and I will probably go for a walk/jog. I am thinking about taking him to the Frisbee golf park. I bet that will drive him loony if there are Frolfers out there. I think Frisbee golf is called Frolf sometimes so I am just guessing the participants would be frolfers, right. I may be making that up. If I am wrong then it should be called Frolf and I will take credit for coining that word. FROLF (patent pending/trademark/copyright if that word doesn't already exist).

I cannot believe I have to go to bed now for a few hours and then go to bed again about 2000 or 2100 to get back to work in 20 hours. And then, the next night my next week begins. I really need to find a day job that pays less than I am making with weekends off. Maybe I should buy an ice cream truck and hope summer gets here. Then, what do I do in the winter? Make it a hot chocolate and freshly baked cookie truck? Nobody has hot chocolate trucks.

The calendar on my phone tells me that today would have been John F. Kennedy's birthday. Thank goodness the phone included the "F" so I didn't confuse this with John Dinkenstein Kennedy's birthday. How come we celebrate dead celebrities' birthdays? Do we celebrate our dead relatives' birthdays? I barely remember my parent' birthdays and they are both still alive. Thank goodness for Facebook so we know when people's birthdays are. He would have been dead of old age by now anyway so, we can stop celebrating it. He would have been 97 years old if my bad math is correct. Can you imagine JFK at 97? Me neither. The only President that will good old will be Barack Obama. You know it's true! If I need to tell you the reason I will but you should know.

Alright, it's 1019 now and I have to sleep so I can mow the lawn. Or, should I just mow the lawn now and sleep after that? I am really beat. I think I will sleep until about 1400 and then mow and the eat and sleep again and go back to work. Have a great Thursday. Thanks a lot for slowing shown a few minutes to read this. TTTT (probably)...MITM (zzzzzzz) TA!

Why Do We Even Go On?

The absolute truth!

Owning a boat has been a hot and cold relationship. There is an old saying, "the two happiest days in a man's life is the day he buys a boat and the day he sells it." Well, today was one of the happiest days in my life apparently. And, no I didn't buy a second boat. There is a lot to say about this but I think I am going to save that talk for Dirty Laundry Podcast. I think we are going to record the new show tomorrow. Without a full day off this week I am not sure how quickly I will get it edited though.

I am happy that I get 18 of the 24 hours in tomorrow off. Then Friday, I work about six hours and get approximately 18 of that day's hours off too. Then the week starts all over again. Public safety never sleeps; just like me.

How many movies has Cuba Gooding played a cook in the Navy? I guess he loves cooking like Stallone loves boxing. It's 1238 and I am hungry. I wonder if that is from seeing Cuba cooking. I think I am going to break and get something to eat. Pretty smart huh? Hungry = eating. I will see whether I can get a lunch date or just go down to the galley and rustle-up some grub. Don't be jealous but I just had some cracked-pepper sliced turkey breast wrapped in low-call Swiss cheese (for "bread") with dill pickle slices. I am surprised I didn't have Cuban food ("Cuba cooking").

It looks like we are going to forego our Cancun vacation this summer for a fence. We could do both but it seems silly to blow that much money all at one time. I hate being so practical. Life sure does cost a lot. I already have my vacation approved in August. We will probably just stay around here and do some small trips... There's a lot of great things to do in Chicago. St. Louis is close. Milwaukee is close. I love Hannibal, Missouri. The kids are going to be disappointed but, get used to it kids. Disappointment is what life is made of. Cha Cha may be going on her girlfriends' trip this year and it looks like Greg and I are going to tour some baseball stadia next season. The word stadiums would also have worked there also,
 but how many times do you get to use "stadia?" We are trying to figure out which ones. Colorado? Arizona? Kansas City? Cincinnati? We will try to get three in if possible. I love travelling so I am disappointed about Cancun. Get used to it Matt. Disappointment is what life is made of. You know I am sad when I end a couple of sentences with prepositions.

Property taxes are due this week speaking of disappointment. Our taxes went up to $6700 this year. They were $6600 last year. Property values go down yet property taxes go up. How in the Hell does that work? If I had to do it all over I would just rent an apartment in the city and never buy a house. Then there would be no fence to compete and I'd be packing for Cancun. Who ever taught us that owning a home was the American dream? I bet home builders and fence companies had something to do with that hype. The cities and villages probably had a hand in that too with their property tax bills.

Money's just flying out the windows here!

So, to summerize - sold the boat and everything else sucks. I am second-guessing the blogging today. At least I have tomorrow off to sleep half of the day and mow the lawn on the property that I have to pay $6700 in taxes for over the next few months. Officially sad now. That's better than depressed though. Some people have nothing. I guess I am fortunate to have all of these stresses huh?

I have to go start dinner and then get some sleep so I can head to work. I hope I didn't bum you out. Myabe these things make you feel happier about some of your goings-on. These "troubles" aren't as bad as many people in the world face every day and I am embarrassed that I have been whining about them here today. I am just venting in one of the ways I know how. I think maybe I need to drink and play the lottery more. Have a great night. Thanks for letting me lie a few moments on your couch. I would sent you a few bucks but the city has quite a bit of my liquid tiesd-up for awhile. TTTT (maybe)...MITM (out).

Guns, Haircut, Weirdos... Just an Average Day!

I watch all of these World War II movies and I always see that German Lugers were a big prize for soldiers apparently. When I was a kid I had a toy metal German Luger. I loved that thing. I wonder what ever became of that gun. Had I known it was such a cool thing then I probably still would not have taken care of it and still would not know whatever happened to it. I was born in West Germany and I would not be surprised if it actually was from Germany. I am going to have to ask mutter und vater if that is the case. Can you imagine what you would be worth today if you kept all of the cool toys that you had when you were a kid? I guess that only applies to MIDDLEaged people and beyond. That photo over there to the left is exactly like the one I had. Today it would have to be a bright color, made of plastic and have an orange tip. Okay, I just checked at I can buy one for $30. Maybe we wouldn't have been rich after all. I don't know why but I am thinking about sending away for one of these toy Lugers. I can get a real WWII one from anywhere from $700 - $1500.. Can you imagine the looks I'd get at the range with that gun? Nostalgia is so expensive.

I am not sure if I have used that previous paragraph before so, if I did I apologize. I am sitting in the waiting room at the orthodontist while Fabio gets his braces removed. I thought I would blog on my phone and found I had written that paragraph on May 2nd and I didn't see it in one of the published blogs since that date so forgive my if I bloggered. That is my new word for blogging the same thing that was previously blogged. Like stuttered only about blogging. 

When I dropped him off I went over to SportClips and put some lipstick on this pig. I remember when my buddy Randy and I were in Houston at Minute Maid Park watching an Astros' game and I went out to center field and got my hair cut by SportClips for charity.  I was on the Jumbotron.  Be happy you missed that hideous sight.  You think I look bad in regular size imagine the horror in the size of the Statue of Liberty. Like Mothra getting a haircut. People were screaming and vomiting and covering their children's eyes all while running for the exits. Matthra, ahhhhhhhhhh! 

There are eight people sitting in this waiting room and all but one little boy are staring at our little handheld screens reading and/or typing. I am doubly antisocial because I have ear buds in listening to the Pink station on Pandora. I love her music and it is even better when the expletives are left in the songs.  We have so many stupid hangups in the U S and A. My friend (I got called into the room and don't remember what was going to go here). I have been home now for about two hours.

It's 1400 and I think I am gonna stop and eat. I am not sure if we're gonna do Dirty Laundry Podcast anymore. Not much of a segue there was it?  I enjoy doing the show but it has become almost a weekly chore. I know a lot of people all over the world listen and that is one of reasons that I am not definite yet. It has been over three years since we started the show; it has become a large part of who I am. There's a lot going on that will help me decide how we will proceed. We have made lots of great friends from around the globe because of the show. I have met and talked to a  lot of great people that I would not ever have gotten to know and we seen things that I would have not seen if it weren't for the show. These are some of the reasons that I am not taking the decision lightly.

Just back from lunch. We ate outside and who knew there would be entertainment with lunch. A girl with pierced cheeks and a snake around her neck came by and knew some people from another table so we had that discussion to listen to - very entertaining. That was just the float that kicked-off the kook parade that kept flowing by. We have a very ecclectic town. That's a nice way of saying that we have a lot of weirdos in our hamlet. They probably say the same thing about us, huh? Weirdos apparently don;t know they're weirdos do we? There used to be a place called The House in Dekalb that is closed for now. At lunch Cha Cha said, "this is what happens when they close The House." I believe that she is correct - the asylum door was chained shut with the inhabitants on the outside. I liked The House. They had a great salsa avacado wrap and I like the carnival sideshows. Put those together and man, I am all over that! It really was a fun place to go to occasionally (especially on Open Mic Night).

Enough for today. I think we may have a fire tonight. If you're bored stop on by. Just follow the smell of a fire in a backyard. Thanks a lot for stopping by. I will let you know how the Dirty Laundry Podcast decision comes out. Have a great night and YOUR three-day weekend (my weekend ends tomorrow). I am working Memorial Day Night too. 7.5 hours of  Comp Time or Overtime. I think I will take future day off (Comp Time). TTT?...MITM (out) Sayonara, y'all!

An Idiot is Usually Happy!

I try to be happy most of the time. I have come to the conclusion, finally, that I am an idiot. It took me quite a long time to realize this or, actually I have suspected it for quite some time, but now I am just ready to embrace the fact. They say idiots are happy most of the time because they don't know any better. I am fine with this epiphany. I feel a little guilty that not everyone can be as dumb as me; there is so much less pressure now - maybe I am smarter than I think? I may just be thinking happy as tonight is my Friday morning and, because of that, tomorrow morning is my Friday night...

The new Dirty Laundry Podcast is ready. I was able to edit the entire show in one day. When the show is only an hour long I can get it up in one day (TWHS) when I begin editing. Maybe one day we will do the show live and I won't have to edit at all. I am fairly certain that will never actually occur. Podcasts are awesome because you can listen whenever it's convenient for you; live broadcasts do not have that flexibility. Many live shows are archived so you can listen later but, it isn't the same.

I have to go back to the doctor again. Now that my poisoning is in remission I am now suffering from the probable ear infection(s). I feel like I have swimmer's ear most of the time. It could be allergies? I have my yearly "we want to stick a camera with a long tube up your butt" appointment soon. It may be tomorrow but I am not sure. I always count on them to call me and remind me of my appointments. Wow, I just checked my calendar, on my phone, and I actually added it to the calendar. It's not until June 19th.

Remember last week I wrote about my yearly lawnmower woes? Well, today was the day I was going to take it into the man to get it fixed and get his loaner. Whenever I am taking something into the shop for anything I ALWAYS give it one last try to see if I can pinch-a-penny. I worked on the lawnmower for quite awhile last week with no luck. Today I pulled the ripcord a couple of times and I got a bit of false hope. "I am going to give it three more yanks" I thought (the mower cord). The damn thing started. Whatever I did last week must have done the trick and, once it started, I had no choice but to mow the lawn. So, now I am back, slightly sweaty, and it's already 17:16. I am eating a bowl of turkey chili and then I am gonna hit the rack.

I am done for today. Thanks a lot for showing-up. And, thanks for listening to the show. Have a great night. I will certainly (that means more that 50% in this case) blog tomorrow. TTTT...MITM (out) Where are my keys? Oh, I didn't drive.TA!

Same As It Ever Was, Same As It Ever Was

This is a commuper ossiver not a mortor vehcycle

I am writing this last night. It is really tonight but, when you read this, it will be written last night. I have decided that I am very glad that I am a happy drunk. I don't drink to the point of getting drunk too often any more but, when I do, I make sure I am not driving and I remain happy. Does drinking too much alcohol just accentuate our true characters? I cannot believe I could even spell accentuate in this state. When I say "this state" I am not referring to Illinois because that is a given. I am really glad that Greg was driving. If he hadn't been I wouldn't have been blogging the way I am blogging right now. Where in the Hell is the remote? Never mind, it was in the laundry basket with my clean clothes. Situation averted.

Wow, I don't even remember writing that last paragraph. It is now tomorrow morning (this morning) and maybe I didn't write it? I must have really done something else odd too last night because when I woke up this morning and looked out the window it was snowing. It has slowed down but it is still snowing now. This sure seems like my house. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was. I'm really thirsty too.

A few days ago, when it seemed like Spring was finally going to show-up to work, I set the thermostat on "auto" at 72 degrees to keep the house cool. The thermostat was left that way and this morning the furnace had kicked on to warm the house up to 72 degrees. Talk about perspective. 72 can be heating or cooling. I wonder why I always set it at 72? I think it may be because when I was a yute my Fox Valley Raiders uniform number was 72. They sure ingrained that in my melon didn't they? I expect a tornado in the house within the week when the fronts finally converge. It is now one hour later and it is still snowing. When I first saw it I figured it was one of those weird things and it would pass. Glad I didn't put the snow shovels away yet.

Why 72 I wonder?

I take notes in a little book constantly. Most of them are ideas for Dirty Laundry Podcast and this blog. Some are cures to supposedly incurable diseases but, I seldom read them again. I think I should start using these notes. Why do I write them so as not to forget them and then forget to use them? They always seem better when you first think about them and then, when you read them again later, you decide that there is a reason that you only wrote them down in that little book.

Here's one - Back in the good old days people would use "you know" all the time. It was like they didn't want to just end a sentence where it should end, you know? Maybe it was away to keep the other person engaged, you know? You know, to make sure they're still listening, you know? Thankfully that one ran it's course but, the new "you know" is "I mean." I mean people say that one all of the time now. Yes, if you say something I pretty much assume you mean it or you would either not have said it or would have concluded with a "just kidding." Mean what you say and say what you mean but don't say "I mean." Know what I mean?

Here's another one - I think it is interesting when something occurs that changes things greatly and somebody will say something like, "I feel like I am the puppet master that made all that happen." Like they were pulling other people's strings to get them to make whatever the "puppet master" wanted all along. From everything I have ever known about puppets (the sock type, the Marionette type, Bunraku, Muppets, finger puppets, shadow puppets, ventriloquist dummies...) the puppeteer usually doesn't want to be known, seen or have his/her lips been seen moving. Why, if you were really the puppet master, would you want yourself revealed? Maybe you're the puppet who has been played by the real puppet master to think you're puppet master so the puppet master can live to master puppets again one day hmmmmm?

This kinda debunks my theory... or does it?

For MIDDLE-aged people who grew-up in the Chicagoland area - remember when WGN was like a comfort-thing? You could always count on the Cubs or the White Sox playing on a summer day. Ray Raynor, Garfield Goose, Frasier Thomas, Family Classics, Bozo's Circus, Phil Donahue, Blackhawks, B.J. and Dirty Dragon, Bulls... A side note - do you know where the call letters WGN came from? The Chicago Tribune's slogan at the time they started WGN was "World's Greatest Newspaper" (W.G.N.). WGN was great "back in my day." Now, it is even difficult to find the Cubs playing on WGN anymore sometimes. They are over on Chicago Sportsnet. I don't hear any puppet master (speaking of Garfield Goose and Cuddley Duddley) taking credit for this debacle. The other night the Cubs played well into my shift at work and I was excited at the chance to listen to them play the Cardinals on WGN (radio) while working but they weren't there. WGN Radio not playing the Cubs? A sign of the Apocalypse? I finally found them at 88.3 or 88.7 FM. What a pain. FM stations, in the MIDDLE of the night, fade in and out as they cross-over frequencies. I realize that WGN is a business and they need to make money but, have you seen some of the crap shows they have on there? Somebody must like them because ratings and advertisers rule the industry. I guess I will just have to go back to grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. Sounds good for a good-old Wintry Spring day. So does Cancun (perhaps soon)

It seems that most of the notes in my book are like - "back in my day..." kind of things. I may be graduating from Matt In The Middle to Matt In The Pasture soon. I think that is way too much for today. It's time to wrap-up. I have been writing this for about three hours (not counting the paragraph I wrote sometime last night) and have been side-tracked many, many times. Have a great day. I may blog tomorrow depending on whether/weather the mood strikes me. TTTT?..MITM (out to go Caroling) Fa La La La La La La Ta Ta!

Pay Ball!

Greg is the good-looking one

Hey, it's my Friday night!!! I just got off work 48 minutes ago and I will take a nap (about 5 1/2 hours) and then my pal for about 30 years Greg and I are headed to watch the Cardinals/Cubs game - weather permitting. We're going to watch it - whether they play or not is up to them. The series was supposed to be a four-game series but yesterday was postponed until June or July so, since they have each won one game, today is the rubber game. It's chilly here right now so, I am thinking, the Cardinals' jacket may have to make one final appearance before it is sent to the 150-day disabled list. I am sure a Cardinals' shirt/jersey will be on "ready alert stand-by" (that one is still left over from Top Gun Day). I wonder if Greg and I will try the old You've Lost That Loving Feeling thing like we did on Penny Benjamin; you know, the Admiral's daughter. Sadly, that was all written without looking anything up. Greg is reading this right now and trying to think of a way out of spending the day with me. Maybe "the nap" will help.

I am going to get some overtime at work over the next two months - sweet. Memorial Day I get to work and, since it's a holiday, I will get OT or COMP time and then next month I get to work six hours, in the morning, on a real Friday (one of my days off) for more OT. Overtime was rare with our old "boss" but the new Chief is much more open to finding ways to get us some extra hours; doing the types of things that, in my opinion, should have been happening all along. I think things are improving at work and our Collective Bargaining Agreement (Union Contract) is up soon. I am confident we will be getting more money with a new agreement. I sound like a Union man but I am just a "what's right is right" man. If I didn't think things were gonna progress I would be out of there. I was the Chapter Vice President but I resigned that position a few months ago for "personal reasons." Isn't that what people who don't want to discuss things say?

I think I am gonna wrap up for personal reasons (actually the personal reason is that I am sleepy and I want to be ready to watch some baseball). Thanks a lot for stopping-in. I will blog again tomorrow a little less tired and, hopefully, a little more happy. Even though I am happy now. Have a great day. TTTT...MITM (one, two, three strikes - I'm out). TA

Another Disaster Averted - Happy Ending Blog!

I used to start the blog the same way just about every day but I haven't done this in quite awhile. For some reason I am waxing nostalgic today so.... HIT IT ROZ! (just enough cowbell)

#1 Chicago Blackhawks #2 St. Louis Cardinals...

My legs are feeling pretty good but, now the rest of me feels like skata. I am fairly certain that I am dying. We're all dying the day we are born so now that I think of it - I AM CERTAIN THAT I AM DYING! I think I have a lot of flu-things going on because my body can only seem to handle one battle at a time. Pansie-ass body! I suppose I can now focus on some of those things. The ear problem is still going on. They looked at my ears when I was in for the poison but, there is probably a reason they work at the "Convenient Care" part of the practice. I could be wrong but I have always thought of "urgent care" or "immediate care" or "convenient care" to be the minor leagues of medical practice. If they were really good doctors they would have their own practices so they could rip us off even more that they are at these convenience stores of the medical industry. I am delighted that tonight is my Friday. I have an appointment with my REAL doctor a week from tomorrow (my yearly hostage negotiation thing) and I am 98.6% sure he will suggest the camera up the but deal. He mentioned it last year but said it didn't have to be done right away. Can you opt-out of that? I guess you can say "no" to anything can't you? How in the Hell is the herd supposed to get thinned if we all live 100 years these days? People don't really appreciate what they have until it is gone and I want to be appreciated within the next 30 years or so. 

Last night at work was nice. We are really slow right now because about 90% of our "customers" are gone right now. Some will be back in a month and three days or so but most will be gone for 93 days or so. I have mixed feelings. I like when we are busy but, it is good to have a break too I suppose. My real vacation will end exactly one week before we get busy again. Not exactly, now that I think about it, because they will be back a bit before they really HAVE TO be back. The real reason that last night was nice was the Cardinals-Cubs game went extra innings so it was still on for a bit while I was driving around and the Blackhawks were still playing. Both games ended to my satisfaction too. I think the Cards may still be playing again tonight when I start work depending on the speed of the game. 

I cannot stop looking at dandelions now after writing yesterday's blog. Damn weak minded blogger! My neighbor is mowing his lawn for about the sixth time of the year. I have done it once. I quit, he wins! Doesn't he know that it may snow tonight? 

If I could have just gotten a few pounds heavier I may have won

Almost done watching the entire Band of Brothers again. What do you call those things? Are they still called a mini-series? A really long film? It is 705 minutes long (that's 11.75 hours). I am almost done with episode number seven. I think this will be the third time I will have watched it in it's entirety. I am in no rush and my computer and/or phone marks my spot so I can start right where I left off when I have to stop watching because life gets in the way. It's kind of like a bookmark used to do back when we read books. That's a lesson for you youngsters out there. I am really happy we have HBO and HBOGO.

I have to stop. Actually I want to stop. I am going to just sit here for a bit and do nothing. Then I will go lie in bed and sleep and dream about doing nothing and then I will go to work and do something. It seems I will have plenty of time to blog tomorrow because I will be marooned on this uncharted desert isle. Cha Cha is going into the office and Fabio takes the 4Runner to school. I really don't find it necessary to get another vehicle for these once every three or four month occurrences. I have a bicycle if I need to go anywhere desperately and I am close to the supermarket. I could cut over the railroad tracks (hypothetically because the track easement is private property and that would be trespassing - "law and order every time" is my motto) if I need to walk to one of a handful of bars and probably a dozen or so restaurants). I would be more worried about staggering back over the tracks - sounds like a movie. Alright, almost sleepy time. Thanks a lot for stopping by; I really appreciate you. (never mind - disaster averted...Greg is going to sweep me off to the barssssss)

Why is everything based on fear in our society? More on that tomorrow if I live to remember. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

I Feel the Need...the Need to Blog!

It's one of the cooler looking elements

Starting to feel a bit better today. I do, however, think I am coming down with a cold now. I suppose my
immunities have been down so I was probably susceptible to stuff and then going to "Convenient Care" twice? Maybe a bad combination. If you don't want to get sick stay away from sick people. I just made a chopped salad and added a can of tuna. So, I will either get healthier or die from mercury poisoning. I am going to try to run the whole gamut of poisons in the little time I have left on this marble. I wasn't sure if I should have capitalized "mercury poisoning." Out of respect I almost capitalized the M for the planet though mercury is also an element (Hg - element #80). It is the name of something (a proper noun) so there is that too.

Yesterday I mentioned that I am playing one of my favorite Chicago local radio/television personalities in Words With Friends. I don't think I mentioned that he is one of my favorites but I am not really sure that I knew that then. But, I have been a big fan of his off-and-on for about 20 years so, I think that constitutes a "big fan." I figured we would be one-and-done. But, I beat him 333 to 332 in the first game and he "challenged me again." He started off the new game with "PADDLES" with like 66 points. I guess the kidding around is pretty much over. I sent him a message that I now know how The Cardinals must have felt yesterday (being behind by so much with little hope of a win). I failed to mention that I am a Cardinals' fan. I will wait until game six or seven before I spring that one on him. I figure no MATTer what happens with this game we will have to do, at least, a third game. It will either be the "rubber game" which it appears that it will be since I am behind 163 - 98 in what is probably the third inning or, he will want some revenge. My badge number at work is #98 though - it could be a sign? However, he worked at a station that was basically 98 for quite awhile so, maybe that is in his favor too?

I am really liking this cold, damp weather. I should live in London. I would consider moving there if I spoke their native tongue. I don't like the real cold and I don't like the real hot; I am Matt In The Middle you know! I like it being chilly on work nights because I like wearing my jacket to work. Probably for the same reason that, as a child, my favorite animal was the kangaroo. Kangaroos and my jacket both have a quality that I love - POCKETS. Yes, I like to play pool too. I guess I still like kangaroos a great deal too now that I blog about it.

These are the exact shoes I had in 8th grade

My buddy Greg pointed-out to me that my plans to get off work on Thursday morning at 06:00 and jump on a train to Chicago to watch the 12:45 game between the Cubs and Cardinals had a few flaws. Well, one major one anyway. The game is in St. Louis. There has been a lot of talk about a super train to travel between Chicago and St.Louis. The trip could only take 90 minutes if they get it right. But, there are lots of hold-ups with that right now. If that were the case I could even get a job in St. Louis. Probably in the Redbirds' front office. It will be a lot cheaper and more convenient to just watch it here anyway.

Today is Top Gun Day. It was just Star Wars Day on the 5th of May (May The Fourth be with you). May first was May Day. This month has all of the aviation holidays. Star Wars Day makes sense, sort of, but Top Gun Day doesn't appear to have any reason to be today. Most would say that Top Gun doesn't really deserve a day at all. I just checked topgunday.com and they don't even have a reason that today is Top Gun Day. The movie was released on May 16th in 1986? Sounds like a bunch of drunk morons screwed the pooch based on their site. I think "screwed the pooch" might be from a much better film though - The Right Stuff.

I have to do another load of laundry, finish dinner for Fabio and clean the kitchen before hitting the rack before work. Thanks a lot for the fly-by. I hope you have a great night. I should be able to blog again tomorrow. TTTT...MITM (buggin' out) TA!

Dandelions - Friend AND Foe!

I don't really know who reads the blog. I can see how many people read it each day and where they live, same as with Dirty Laundry Podcast, but I do not know exactly who they are unless they reveal themselves via emails or posts or they tell me in person... I assume the 49 people who follow Matt In The Middle on Facebook read it semi-regularly. You know what they say about assumption.You make an ass out of the ump's son or something like that. There are a few people who comment regularly and I love that. Thank you very much to those of you who do. Thank you to those of you that don't too. The other day my neighbor Kevin mentioned that he reads the blog; I had no idea. I would say that I will be more careful what I blog about my neighbors and the neighborhood but that would be a lie; I blog what's on my mind. Anyway, Kevin said that I should blog about dandelions. I don't know that I have even had a request for a topic to blog about. I imagine it has come up in conversation like, "you should blog about how fabulously good looking you are" or something along those lines but I don't think I have just been given a topic. It's kind of like freestyle improv blogging or something. So, at the request of Kevin - my thoughts on dandelions...

I think I may have written about dandelions, briefly, once here. I talked about how my dad used to make dandelion wine when I was a kid and they would pay us kids to go out and pick dandelions. Fun dandelion fact - they are 100% edible, stems and all. Now, however, since getting this topic I have been thinking about and noticing dandelions constantly so I had better write about them or I will start having Matt and the Dandelionstalk nightmares; I have such a weak mind. The word dandelion is French and means "lion's tooth." We used to have our lawn professionally treated for weeds and fertilized but stopped when we got Grubs and they couldn't see that we had them. Today I noticed that, after mowing the lawn about four days ago, we now have a few dandelions in our yard. Some people in the subdivision have no dandelions, some have a few and some have more dandelions than grass. I think the green and yellow contrast is nice. Without dandelions how would we know if we liked butter or not? Remember that as a kid? You'd rub the dandelion on somebody else's skin and if it turned yellow it meant they liked butter. Seems like everybody really liked butter in those days. There is a house on the corner by us that has about a 50/50 mix of yellow to green. I think it looks beautiful. Yesterday (Mother's Day) a car pulled up to this house and two women and two small girls got out of the car all dressed in their Sunday best. One of the little girls started picking dandelions and forming a bouquet. I assume it was for her grandmother inside the house. One of the women was motioning for the girl to hurry and come to the porch. The girl started walking faster, bent-over, picking yellow "flowers" and adding to the bouquet on the way. I bet grandma was thrilled to get that beautiful gift. It must be a flower. How could a weed be so important that, when it goes to seed, you can blow on it and make a wish? Has to be a flower. Did you know that actual name of the dandelion is "Taraxacum?" Did you care? Did you further know that there are false dandelions? They must be special if other plants are impersonating them, huh? Who would imitate a weed?

While we are on weed talk... you didn't think you'd get out of here without me talking about my poison ivy/oak/sumac did you? It seemed to be getting worse so I went back to the doctor Saturday; I was nervous when it started getting too close to my junk. I got a doctor that was not sick this time and I got some meds that seem to have helped. He had me stay home from work the last two nights (I feel like Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein with a note from my mother doctor). The new steroid, along with the prescription ointment that he gave me plus me staying off the legs for a couple of nights seems to have done the trick. It now just looks like a bad burn (red and pink) rather than like wounds from war. I have not scratched in the last three days either. Could it be a coincidence and the healing just reached that point? I suppose so. He also gave me a referral for a Dermatologist. I doubt I will use that one unless this one goes south again. I usually feel a lot of this stuff is just to pass a few bucks on to their buddies. Passing the buck!

Sorry, I found this and thought it funny

The Cubs and Cardinals start a four game series at Wrigley Field tonight. Thursday (my first day off of the weekend) they have a 12:45 game. I get off work at 06:00 and I could go right to the train station and head to Wrigley. I could sleep all the way to Chicago. Driving would be stupid because with traffic and no sleep I probably wouldn't make it one way or another. If I did make it they would probably have me on WGN with bright red skin from the sun to match my Cardinals' shirt while I was fast asleep in the stands. I could also just sleep until noon and go to a bar in town and watch the game. Or, I could just sit in this chair, save lots of money and watch the game. I do love day games at Wrigley when the Cardinals are in town. Actually, I like day baseball anywhere. I even liked in in Arlington, Texas when it was 10,000 degrees outside and my skin was bright red to match my Cardinals' shirt even though The Rangers weren't playing The Cardinals. I think I know someone who also has Thursdays off and is a Cubs' fan. It's a day game so I bet I could get tickets fairly easily though this is usually a tough ticket to get; everybody wants to see The Cardinals. There's always those "who needs two" dudes outside the park too. Man, the Cubs have it rough. Right after the Cards they have The Brewers. I guess if you want to move up in the division it's good to play the top two teams in the division (as long as you win).

I am currently playing Words With Friends with a Chicago radio personality. He was one of my favorite radio "characters" in Chicago awhile back and now he is on a different station. I have liked him as his charachter and when he is himself. I know this must be exciting for him.

We did not record Dirty Laundry Podcast this week due to my ailments. The show doesn't have to go on when it is free and there are no advertiser obligations I suppose. I do feel bad when we miss a week though. I know some people really do look forward to the show. We usually record on Thursdays so maybe I should just stay home and watch the game Thursday since we won't have a show this week. Save money, get sleep (especially when my body is still recovering), watch the game and be able to record the show. One ball and three strikes says I might have to stay OUT of Chicago Thursday.

Speaking of OUT I should head out. I am going back to work tonight for my Wednesday and I have a few more things that I need to get done (including getting a few winks). Have a great night. GO CARDINALS! Thank you for stopping by. If you have any topics you'd like me to blog about please feel free to send them in. TTTT...MITM (one, two, three strikes I'm OUT) TA!

Yarbles!

Sadly, I look a lot like Fred these days

I just got done mowing the lawn. Our damn lawnmower wouldn't start so I was out there with one of those old-timey ones that you actually have to work hard to use and my neighbor Kevin came over to give me a hard time about making every else look bad by being so "green" using the environmentally-friendly pain-in-the-ass mower. When I told him the real reason I was using it he offered to let me use his mower. I normally don't like to use other people's things and I am not really sure why. But, after mulch got stuck in the blades of the one I was using for the twelfth time I was just about ready to go buy some goats so, I used his mower. I cannot help but think about Fred Flintstone's mower when I think of the old-fangled one I was using.

Just a quick poison update. My right knee is slowly beginning to resemble the left one. While I was working on our lawnmower, trying to get it to run, I was down on by left knee and I could really feel how swollen it is. It looks swollen but I could really feel the fluid in the knee. I think I may be turning into an alligator because my skin in these areas feels like alligator skin. Maybe after my transformation Cha Cha can throw a leash around my neck and I can mow the lawn next time with my chompers. I am a bit concerned that the rash on the inside of my left leg is spreading to my nether regions. It's weird how Jeff sniffs by wounds all the time.  How ironic would it be, after writing about Joseph Merrick yesterday,  if it goes all the way up to my stones and I get Elephantitis (Lymphatic Filariasis) in me yarbles?

Not really sure what these are but I have my suspicions

We have to record the podcast tonight so I can edit it tomorrow and Sunday and get it to you on Monday. I don't feel very creative right now so, hopefully, something will change. If not, the show will be just like the previous 153 shows. I will BRB. I have to take clothes out of the dryer and fold them and start a new load in the washer.

Cha Cha is at lunch with her high school Journalism teacher. We ran into her one day when we were having lunch and they set up a lunch date. That's a lot of lunch isn't it? It was cool to hear that she listens to Dirty Laundry Podcast.

You know what? I didn't take my blood pressure medicine today. I am supposed to take one tablet in the morning and one twelve hours later. So, now what do I do? Take one now at 15:15 and another at 03:15 tomorrow morning? Just wait and take the one at 18:00 and forget about the one I missed? I can always tell when I forget because I call start feeling me heart beat. I think I will just wait two or three hours and just skip the one this morning. I am a mess.

What a beautiful day. A bit windy but the temperature is right where I like it. At the moment it is 68 degrees Fahrenheit - almost perfect! I think I am gonna wrap it up and go enjoy the weather. I have to run to the store and get some gravel and dirt. I should pay the water bill too. I think I may get some Epsom Salts and take a dip with those too or do you suppose the old "salt in the wounds" thing is not such a good idea? Have a great rest of your Friday and your weekend. I will probably not write again until Monday if I should live that long. TTTM...MITM (out) TA!

Shawn F. is a Freaking Genius!

This friggin' itching is driving me even more crazy than I usually am. When I got home from work yesterday morning I took a couple of Benadryl tablets/capsules/whatevers instead of using the ointment. I slept from 08:00 to 15:00. I cannot remember the last time I slept seven hours in a row. Then I made garlic bread and mostaccioli and then baked it in the oven. I probably smelled like garlic all night; I love that smell. I always try to cut it razor-thin like in GoodFellas but I don't actually use a razor blade like in the film. I have a favorite knife and I would feel like I was cheating if I didn't use her. I then managed to get my pre-work slumber in. I was groggy for a bit but I didn't feel tired at all through the night. That sleep deal really works. I am going to try that again one of these days.

My buddy Shawn commented on my blog-post from a couple of days ago (May 6th) and I will copy and paste what he wrote right here:

My own poison plant story: cleared brush by hand to dig pet grave in total darkness. "Brush" was poison ivy. Entire upper body cracked, oozing that yellow pussy stuff. Entire late summer / autumn 2002 of absolute hell. Years of aftereffects. I still have one "volcanic pustule" left.

That OOB thing you're describing sounds a lot like an inner ear problem. Queasiness, vertigo, and then strange mind effects (mostly due to crazy sensory input — your brain tends to flail when your gyro goes out of whack). Hallucinogens don't usually give you that queasiness.

I imagine he has heard this before but he is a freaking genius. Most of what he mentions confirms all of my thoughts. I guess that makes me a freaking genius too, huh? More likely, we are both completely mad. I have been recounting my activities and the opportunities where I could have contracted the poison that is now in charge of my existence. I have thought about the way I entered the phase of my life that I am in now (itching and scratching and wincing constantly) and had decided that it was probably the night that we were at the cabin down south and I gathered brush for the fire we had the last night we were down in DeSoto, IL.. I grabbed a whole bunch of  dried branches and logs and then traipsed through the brush willy-nilly picking dried grasses and weeds and such. I am sure my city-boy hands grabbed poison oak, poison ivy, sumac, marijuana... Gloves-schmuvs. That fire did really flame-up nicely and it smelled surprisingly good. I was pretty hungry for Dorito's too now that I recall. I gathered all of the stuff myself, thankfully, so nobody else has to keep enjoying the souvenir I will never forget and maybe have as a CONSTANT reminder of this trip. Most of my lower body looks like I am a burn victim right now.

SooNer thaN I'd like it seeMs

As far as the OOB (out-of-body) "experiences" I have been encountering - I have suspected that I have had an inner-ear thing going on for quite some time. After I take showers, most every night of my life, I usually Q-Tip the insides of my ears. Please don't tell me how that is bad for me or whatever because I don't really care what is bad for me; I am about immediate gratification/satisfaction - have you seen my face and body? It's a virtual "don't do this" poster board. Anyway, when I dry out my ears (plural) sometimes I can feel that hallow-echoy feeling deep in my brain (yes, I appreciate the irony in that). That feeling one sometimes gets in their gulliver after swimming. I believe Dr. Shawn is probably right about that too. I never tied the ear infection with the OOB thing together. Maybe Shawn will have to be my personal spiritual advisor / Dalia Lama.

Side note - when we were kids my brother laid-down on the upper bunk of our beds with a Q-Tip in his ear and punctured his ear drum. Blood gushed down on my lower bunk as he screamed so, I am very aware of what could possibly happen. I am pretty careful, as you might imagine.

Today is finally warm outside and I cannot even wear shorts on my day off because my legs make me look like a leper or a burn victim. I guess that would take all of the emphasis off of my face though so I may consider it. Life is all about mis-direction. I am going to take Jeff over to PetSmart to get a snip, snip here a snip, snip there and a little of lattie da soon so I had probably start wrapping-up.

 I am not going to mention that the new Dirty Laundry Podcast is available: to listen to and download free on iTunes, at that link in red there and many various other ways. Oops.

Thanks a lot for stopping-by. I will let you know if Shawn has any openings to solve your problems. I hope I get referral points. Have a great rest of your day and night. If we pass on the street just look away and keep moving. I won't be offended or try to approach you. Joseph Merrick is one of my personal heroes right now. It's not bad enough that the poor guy had Elephant Man Disease (Neurofibromatosis or Proteus Syndrome) but they called him John Merrick in the movie about him and his name was Joseph. Why would that be? Joe Merrick or Joseph Merrick would have been just as good and John Merrick, and, more accurate. I think I will blog again tomorrow - I enjoy blogging at you. We have to record another show too. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Stop, Look and Listen!

I am still battling the poison oak / ivy / sumac. The Lost Sock mentioned to me that he knows a couple of people who have contracted Shingles recently. I checked and, based on the photos and symptoms I have seen on the interweb, I am fairly certain that it is the poison plant version. I have been thinking about it and I bet I got it when I was gathering wood and kindling for a fire we had by the lake. I was traipsing through weeds and brush gathering dry sticks, weeds and logs and I was beating the Hell out of my legs with scrapes and scratches. The place where the poison seemed to begin its attack on my body was a 7' - 8' scratch across my left knee. Now that one is only pink and bumpy rather than yellow and pink with white and bubbly with pus. The other knee is also red and bumpy now. The ankles are vey bumpy and I have three red bumps by my belly button. Most of my lower body itches most of the time. So, I brought home a poison souvenir and Jeff brought home Ticks. Who says you have to pay a lot for souvenirs and fond memories?  I must admit, we had a really good fire that night though. I am the only one who has a S'more though. Maybe the marshmallows, chocolate or graham crackers were poisoned? All of this itching and scratching was not worth the S'mores. I sure know why we never see photos of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone wearing shorts. Yet, Native Americans wore moccasins and no long pants. Curious! Maybe it's just because I am a tenderfoot city slicker?

I wrote that last paragraph yesterday and it is no longer that day. I just wanted to let you know that in case there is continuity problems or redundancies. I didn't finish it yesterday because I wanted to get the show done.

I just finished editing Dirty Laundry Podcast and it is ready for your: downloading, listening, telling your friends about, laughing at, thinking about, making fun of, ignoring...there so so may things to do with this amazing show.
Now it is 17:06 and I will be sleeping soon to prepare for my ThursDAY which begins in a bit less than five hours. It is like you being up at 03:00 if you work at 08:00 and you have been up all night. I think I wrote about  how I was having these weird mind / out of body experiences when I was sick awhile back. Last night, while at work, I was having them again. I cannot even fully explain the feeling. It starts like kind of an uneasy feeling in my stomach and it quickly turns into my head spinning and a very brief flash-like deal or something (maybe like from the movie Quantum Leap) and then I feel like I have gone into somebody else's body or into a movie or something. I have to really focus and then I am back. It happened about seven or eight times last night. It was kind of unnerving because for most of those times I was driving. I have not had any alcohol in weeks and I have never done drugs. Maybe it has to do with the poison travelling throughout my body? I was ill when it happened last time too. I really want to learn to harness this "thing" and see if I can conquer mind time/space travel or something. It is kinda cool though scary the first time it occurs. Maybe I am just slowly losing what few marbles I have left. It's probably the poison from the oak/sumac/ivy finding it's way out of my system. I have not had any of these deals today. They have all been at night so far too. I am just slowly putting the pieces together to solve this mystery.

I have to finish dinner for the other inhabitants from up in this hizzy and hit the rack before work. I will blog tomorrow from within this dimension or another. In the meantime, please listen to the podcast so I don't have to haunt you from the future or from outer space or inner space or wherever it is that I am headed. Thanks a lot for stopping, looking and listening (so, that's what they mean about "stop, look and listen"). Have a great night. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Matty the Black-Nosed Blogger...

But it's healing!

Just to mention it quickly - the leg seems to be on the mend. The little scabby things are drying up and falling off. I am sure Jeff will eat them if they drop off as I walk. While I was sleeping last night I awoke with crazy itching and put more Benadryl on and went back to sleep. When I was young my parents always said that the itching meant it was healing. I have never checked that out but it is probably bologna. Every now and then I think about things I was told by my parents and grandparents and other grow-ups and wonder if these things are true. I don't even think to check them out now that I have this little keyboard in front of me that can find the answer to any question that I may have. But, then again, the people who put that answer there could very well be someone else's parent or grandparent that are just as full of crap as anyone else. We just take things as Gospel as kids. Weird that now, as an adult, I realize the Gospels are pretty much just made-up or parables or amalgams (or is it amalga?) too.

I took Jeff to the Dog Park at Katz Park. I always have to say where it is because the irony is not lost on me. I wonder if the cats hangout at Dogz Park? There was one other guy there with his dog. That is one of my favorite things (pretty much one of the only things) I like about working nights. I can do stuff during the day on my days off (or even on my "nights") and there are usually less people. Anyway as we approached I felt bad for this poor dog because Jeff was going to have to focus all of his humping on this one poor dog. Jeff was a perfect gentledog; he did not try to hump this dog one time. So, Jeff is either: a gentledog, this dog was not his type (very unlikely considering that he has humped almost every other dog he has ever seen at this park) or he is homosexual. This dog, Mora, was a female. I know for sure now, as I was about 90% sure, it is all about male dominance. I threw the Frisbee for awhile but the wind was terrible so it was cold and the Frisbee didn't fly very well so we packed-up after about a half-hour. I had him on his leash ready to leave and another dog showed-up. The owner and the dog came in as we were headed out and I let Jeff stop to smell this dog (supposedly their way of saying "hello" - see previous paragraph to find out why this might be false). This was obviously a male dog because they started going round-and-round trying to hump each other so now I would say I am sure about 98%. I guess human males do the same thing in more subtle ways. Luckily, I am and the other side of MIDDLEage now and I don't really want to be the dominant one. Maybe it just took me this long to realize how stupid that crap is. If something terrible goes down I want to be able to blame somebody else for not protecting the rest of us.

I know I have mentioned that one of my favorite war stories (I think this one would be considered a mini-series or an "even" or something) is Band of Brothers. I also like Saving Private Ryan a great deal. I have heard about The Pacific several times when it was first made and I thought it looked good too. It was made for HBO and I did not have HBO at the time. I think my parents still call it HMO (they are the ones who told me that itching means healing). I just discovered that it is on HBO GO and, coincidentally, I have HBO GO. Similar to Band of Brothers (also on HBO GO), put together by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg (of Saving Private Ryan...) and I can get it on my computer and phone without any extra scratch (pun intended)? No-brainer so I am qualified. Well, I started watching that last night while convalescing. I am on episode #3 now. Maybe I watch war movies now to prove my male dominance, huh? It is very much like Band of Brothers probably because it is made by the same people. The main difference is, instead of based in the Europen theater, it is in...wait for it...The Pacific! I also like that there are not many actors that I do not already know; the only one of the main characters that I have even recognized so far is Jon Bernthal who played Shane in The Walking Dead. It sometimes distracts me when there are already well-known actors in movies. Private Ryan had lots of them - Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore (one of my favorites if he could only get his addictions under control), Giovanni Ribisi, Matt Damon, Barry Pepper (also one of my favorites), Ted Danson, Paul Giamotti, Vin Diesel, Dennis Farina... I am sure I am missing some. After listing them most are among some of my favorite actors. Maybe some of them weren't real well know then but most of those I listed were known. Also, the Pacific Ocean is one of my favorite oceans. So far it is really good, of course.

Now I sound like Rudolf the Black-Nosed Reindeer again

It's funny that I wasn't that stuffed-up (nasally) for the last three or four days. Now, that my leg is starting to feel better and I am on the steroids and antibiotics, my body is starting to get back to it's old crappy tricks. Today I am stuffed-up again. My ears feel better though so I think the infections there are diminished if not completely gone. The new meds are working much better.

We will record Dirty Laundry Podcast today and I hope to have it up by Monday. Thanks a lot for stopping-by. I hope you have a great Friday. Frankly, I have mixed feelings about Fridays these days. I probably won't blog tomorrow since I will want to get the podcast edited. Who knows? I may surprise both you and I. TTTIBY (I Blog You)...MITM (out) sniffle, sniffle.

The Same Old Story!

If you're not MIDDLEaged you probably don't remember this

So, my left leg is now about 50% more circumferent than my right leg. I am not sure if circumferent is a word but if it is not it should be a word. That is a newer development (the swelling). I also have a bunch more little red itchy spots on both legs. I went to "Convenient Care" this morning and arrived a bit before they opened at 0700. I was worried that all of the blue hairs would get there and I would be sitting in the waiting room for hours smelling moth balls. I was the first one there. Maybe the rain made some of the others wait until later? So, at 0654, I was standing in the rain waiting for the doors to open. It reminded me of the days when I, along with friends, would camp-out at Sears at Fox Valley Mall to open on a Saturday morning so we could buy tickets from Ticketron or TicketMaster, depending on the year, for whatever concert we needed to see. The Convenient Care staff arrived and I got in and I saw the doctor, who was sick (not very reassuring to get a sick doctor). Then there was a whole incident having to wait for the pharmacy to open at Walgreens at 0800. They opened at 0800 but they were not quite ready to assist me appropriately so "open" just means "open" I guess. They should change their hours to "ready to assist you at approximately 0815." I got some steroids and some different antibiotic and bought some more Benadryl ointment. I thought I was supposed to get a prescribed ointment too but that ball was dropped by someone (maybe me?). Enough about my death march woes.

Most recent photo of my morphing

Tonight I believe we will record the new load of Dirty Laundry Podcast. I promise not to drink any alcohol before this week's show. I wish I had made that promise last week.

I am really happy that this is my Saturday (well, tonight at 2200 will begin my Saturday - right now it is still my Friday night). Hopefully, the two days off will allow me to heal enough to not be too uncomfortable to work. I am also happy that it is chilly today so I will not be tempted to wear shorts because I believe, if I go anywhere in public in shorts, the villagers would run screaming when they saw my bloated, pussy (pus discharge), pink and yellow crusty/bumpy leg. The word "pussy" sure has some very different meanings doesn't it? I think if you compare today's photo ----> you would say that it looks a bit better. I assume that the yellow crust means it's drying-up and will eventually fall off. The swelling is a little worse today though. I am sorry I am so obsessed with this. I am happy it is my left leg because that is the one missing the big toe (the foot, that is). That way if it needs to be amputated I will still have the foot with the big toe and you know what John Winger and Sgt. Hulka say about the big toe?

I am going to stop now because I am just focusing on one thing; the thing that shall not be named. I need to do some other stuff so I can have other things to talk about tomorrow and on the show tonight. I have been doing a lot of research for the show while writing this and I should be more positive and turn my attentions that direction. Thanks for your patience and thanks for letting me do some personal therapy. I am grateful that you keep coming back. I am sure I will have time to blog tomorrow in between editing the podcast. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!