Restaurant and Movie Review (and the usual nonsense)

A HOLY (holey) COW wearing Harry Caray glasses and some lady I had dinner with

Last night was fun. As advertised in yesterday's blog we went to eat dinner at Harry Caray's and saw The Imitation Game.

Dinner was great though I am glad I consulted the menu ahead of time to manage my ordering. I got the chicken chopped salad and, had I not checked the menu before I went, I would have had pancetta on my salad which would have doubled the fat and calories. Plus, I would not have known that pancetta is ham and I do not eat ham. It is actually Italian bacon made pork belly. Who am I Jethro Bodine? Of course, I would have asked what it was before getting hog-tied to pancetta but this was so much easier. I also ordered a side of grilled asparagus sans the Hollandaise sauce. I think we just like to make things less-healthy in America. Maybe the medical industry and pharmaceutical companies are in charge of menus in America. I did have a bit of bruschetta which is pretty much just vegetable plus the little pieces of toast. If two small pieces of toasted Italian Bread is the worst of my guilt I suppose I am doing okay.

After dinner we went right next store to the theater to see the movie. We love this theater. It has huge puffy, red recliner chairs with trays that swing out so you can get in and out of the seat so you have someplace to put your 55-gallon drum of soda made in one of those machines where you mix the flavors you want or, if you're too lazy, you can push a button and a server will come fetch food and drink for you... I seriously am going to bring a bendy-straw with me next time so I don't have to hit that button that electrically takes my chair to an un-relined position so I can drink my 55-gallon drum of soda. So, we lied back (literally) and watched The Imitation Game. I really liked this film. I didn't even realize that the Oscar (Academy Awards) nominations had already been made until after the show and this movie is up for: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Directing, Blogging Writing (adapted screenplay)... Though I have not seen all of the films, I could see it winning a couple of those. I still think Bradley Cooper is going to win Best Actor though Benedict Cumberbatch is more fun to say and hear so that may help him. He was also excellent and I would make it a toss-up. Speaking of names - as the names of who is in the film were on the screen at the beginning of the show I was already entertained. The last names of some of the actors were: Beard, Strong, Dance, Leech, Knightley, Northcote, Goode and Cumberbatch (of course). Were the English just looking around the room and throwing-out words when they were deciding to create their surnames. You know that there had to be one time in history where our families decided what our clan names should be. My people must have been woodworkers or lumberjacks or something so they chose the German word for wood/logs/carpentry Holzer which got Americanized (probably at Ellis Island) to Helser. The British, obviously, don't need to Americanize their names because they are English so they are named what their families originally decided to call themselves.

Kind of the theme of most of the film

Though I had a great time last night I am in a really crappy mood today. There are several reasons for my poor disposition but if I tell you what they are, though you would be entertained and probably would side with me, you would know what a whiny baby I am in my mind sometimes. I think that we all (most of us anyway) would probably not be as well-liked if people knew what we were thinking all the time. I used to have a shoddy valve that would still let some of this badness leak some of my tourette-thoughts out of my mind but, somehow, I got that valve replaced. Maybe it is age, maybe it is maturity, maybe it is laziness to argue, maybe it is a diminished will to just be a jerk. One thing kind of nice about holding these feelings in now is that, on the rare occasion that I feel the need to get angry, I seem to have some of this rage stored in a locker or a bank or something in my body and it is more effective. Also, people will not take you as seriously if you are that way all the time.

Maybe my mood has to do with tonight being my Monday. Maybe it is because I don't really feel all that well. I could just be a combination of the two.

It is near high noon and I had better get some other things done. I hear that we have a lot of snow coming within the next 24-hours. The so-called experts are saying the snow will start tonight and we will have six to seven inches of snow by tomorrow at noon. That means I will be working in a snow storm all night tonight. WHOOPEE! Get your running-around done during the day today so you can stay home tonight (unlike me). All that snow should make all of the Super Bowl partiers unhappy. Be careful if you are one of those people out in the blizzard. Thanks for being here today. I will blog again Monday. TTTMonday...MITM (out) Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Tonight's Datestintion and A Lot About the Cubs? Really?

If you were a hot dog and you were starving would you eat yourself?

Tonight Cha Cha and I are going on a date. We have reservations at Harry Caray's and then we are going to see The Imitation Game. I already have the tickets for the movie and I reserved the seats we will be sitting in. I don't actually have tickets - I have a code on my phone that they will scan when we get there - THANKS OBAMA GEORGE JETSON! It makes sense that a guy who doesn't eat red meat would go to Harry Caray's - a place voted "Best Steakhouse" by the Chicago Tribune Dining Poll. Harry Caray's and the theater both have nice bars too but I am not drinking these days. What am I a mattsochist or something? I like to test my will. I know I will probably drink alcohol again within the next year or so but not the now (that was not a mis-type). Some people need to drink to be sociable but I have ignored my parents most of my life and I have no problem talking to strangers. Pretty much everybody I know was a stranger before I started talking to them. Sometimes I even cross the street without looking either way and my mom and dad said I was supposed to look BOTH ways. Okay, that last one I lied about because crossing the street without looking at least one way would be really stupid but I do talk to strangers. The only reason I seem like an exciting Matt-About-Town is that I do semi-interesting things so I have something to blog about.

Ironic that there was just a story on the news about the renovation of Wrigley Field since that is where Harry Caray spent a great deal of his time. Okay, coincidence more than irony maybe. The Wrigleyville neighbors who have been complaining for months and months about the partial face-lift are now complaining about a severe problem with rats. Not the non-union worker kind rather the rodent type that are considered one of the worst vermin to walk the face of the Earth, I think rats are pretty great. Without them how could we test make-ups and things? Without rats we wouldn't have important phrases like: "rat race" or "lab rats..." We wouldn't have the song Ben. I think all the neighbors are just cheesed-off because they cannot steal from the Cubs as much as they did before. They can still let people park in their driveways and yards for anywhere from $25 to $50 for "easy exit." They just cannot build bleachers on their roofs to charge people for a Cubs game or sell billboards to United Airlines and Miller Lite  or promote their thievery with their own website billboards. I know Major League Baseball and some of their team owners (quite notably in Chicago) have done their unfair share of underhanded things throughout history but they sure don't like it when the mitt is on the south paw do they?

I just got back from taking Jill to work, fueling-up two of our vehicles, picking-up Jill's medicine and getting the Fiat washed. I figured, since she works about midway between home and Harry Caray's, it didn't make sense for her to drive to work and then come home and then turn around and go past her work to our datestination. I really think that word (datestination) will catch on and someone else will take credit for it - I am charitable that way. I will probably take a nap soon; I stayed up very late last night playing poker. I won three of the four tournaments I played and got third in the other one. So, I cashed in four out of the four that I played. If you want the best tip from me for playing winner poker I can sum it up in one word - PATIENCE! One of the real reasons I took Jill to work is that I know she will be ready on time this way and she is already dressed for our date. She has a way of driving my blood pressure up when we have a schedule to keep. I HATE being late because I think it is very inconsiderate. I think they based that part of Hannibal Lecter on my personality. I am a time miser (I was going to say time Nazi but, since I was born in that country I am programmed by birth locale to never compare myself to one of the most evil people in the history of history). I believe in patience in poker but not on being on time for an appointment, reservation or simply an agreed-upon time to meet with someone.

I think I had better get a few more things done before nap time. I especially have to get some things at the store and it is laundry day. Thanks for stopping-in today; "you made a wise choice my friend." (If you found the semi-hidden hyper-link in today's blog that last sentence is a lot funnier than if you did not find and play the clip. It's not too late, the link is still there. Nobody's watching - click it now and pretend like you already did. I hope you have a great Friday and Frinight. I will blog again tomorrow and let you know how the movie was as well as other useless things I write down in my notebook before then. TTTT...MITM (out). "So long everybody."

Relegated to the Dungeon

I see more resemblances besides the sleeping quarters 

Wow, it is 1238 and I have slept for five-and-a-half hours. I did not use the ZzzQuil so I am pretty happy with that. A huge part of my problem with sleep has always been that I have very acute hearing and vision. Everybody always thinks that great ocular and auditory senses are wonderful things to possess. Most of the time that is correct but when you are trying to sleep (especially during the day like I do 5/7ths of the time) those senses can be detriments.It is difficult to concentrate sometimes too if there is a lot of extraneous chatter (that's probably part of the reason that I am so nosy - I cannot shut it down). I think Herman Munster must have had similarly heightened senses because I slept like he did last night - under the stairs. We have a room down in the basement that is kind of a make-shift den right across from Dirty Laundry Podcast Studio. Now that Fabio doesn't go down there anymore we will probably make it into the greenroom when we ever get back to recording the podcast. It may even be a good place for the studio? The room does not have any windows so it was completely black. We haven't had a tornado siren go off since we added the room but it will be good for those occasions too. I took my earbuds down with me last night but it was quiet enough without them. It was also cool so being under the warm blankets with my face slightly chilly helped too. I have always wanted to try one of those sensory-deprivation tanks and, other than not being submerged in water, this was probably as close as I can get. Cha Cha is working from home today and I don't think she even wonders where I have been' maybe this is how Hugh Hefner began his empire.

It is almost an hour later now (1327) and I have just written one paragraph. Maybe I shouldn't have taken that time-out to go scour that screen/pan thingy that Cha Cha cooked chicken in.

I have tried - it doesn't work

I am doing very well with eating healthier since Jill got done with her hospital fun. I have lost over twenty pounds in about two-and-a-half months. I am not starving myself; I am just eating the amounts of food that I should normally be eating and eating healthier food. My work uniform was getting a bit snug and I really was worrying about having to eventually go to our Quartermaster and ask for bigger britches. Now my pants are a bit loose. The nice thing about my duty belt is that I can expand it and contract it by moving the buckle to different holes. So, eventually, I will be excited to go to the Quartermaster and say I need some smaller pants. Eating healthier also has eliminated my nose being stuff-up all the time. Some of that may be from winter being here and the stuffed-up thing may have been from pollen or something. With all of the plants frozen so are the allergens I think. So, the jury is still out on that one until Spring. I am steadfast and helserbent on being thin again.

I was listening to the radio the other night and that song Geronimo came on. I think it's a catchy tune and I know most of the lyrics already. I picture this song being played with a lot of highlight reels for various sports in the coming year. As a podcasting legend / editor that is what I would do. I bet we even hear it this weekend during the Super Bowl highlights. It made me think of one of the greatest names (without changing it) of any professional athlete in my opinion - Cesar Geronimo - for you youngster and non-baseball types... he was a member of The Big Red Machine (I was a huge fan of The Cincinnati Reds as a kid). Other great sports names have been: Johnny Dickshot of the New York baseball Giants, Coco Crisp of the Oakland Athletics, Dick Pole of the Cincinnati Reds, Dick Butkus was a pretty good one, Dick Shiner (six different NFL teams - this Dick really got around), Pete LaCock of the Kansas City Royals and the Cubs too I think, Grant Balfour - a pitcher (appropriately) for the Oakland A's, Rusty Kuntz of the Kansas City Royals, NASCAR driver Dick Trickle... I seem to have an affinity for anatomical names. I will always be a ten-year-old at heart mind (intellect).

flatulence is funny too

Writing that paragraph reminded me about another thing that drives me crazy this time of year. Lots of things really irk me which is why I need to blog. All of the commercials for The Super Bowl are playing on television and radio and nobody can ever use the words "Super Bowl" in advertisements because the NFL has made it clear that they will sue anybody who uses the term in any advertisements. The most common phrase used is "The Big Game."  Other things I have heard this year are: The Big Bowl Game, Super Sunday, Super Sunday Event... We all know what they are talking about so what the Helser is the difference? Isn't name recognition supposed to be good for promotion?

It is now 1420. Does it take most people two hours to write a blog? Thank you for stopping in on my Friday night (tonight is my Saturday morning). I will blog again tomorrow so don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Have a great night. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

We Have To Live Our Lives!

If there is a god he/she sure has a wonderful garden!

It was very odd that I wrote about my wishes for what should be done with my remains after I am gone yesterday and then, a few hours later, I learned about the death of one of my high school classmates and fellow members of Fox Valley Raiders Drum & Bugle Corps from when we were kids. Her younger sister, who was also in The Raiders, had died about five years ago. They were both great people. I never saw either one of them without smiles on their faces (except in drum corps competitions and parades where we were supposed to look miserably serious all the time for some reason). I know good people and young people have to die too but why would a god let all of the evil people go on doing what they do and take some of the good ones? It makes absolutely no sense at all. I know religious people have explanations for this or there is the "we cannot understand God's plans and we must simply trust him" malarkey but I have a difficult time with this. There have been other people from drum corps that I can think of right off the top of my head that died very young: Robin, Deb, Glenda... They were also all VERY VERY nice people. I am sure there are more that are gone that I am not even aware of. If there is a God I am pretty angry at him/her most of the time. Maybe God is just selfish and likes to be surrounded by good people. It makes sense, if that is the case, that I will be around for quite some time to come. I guess I could not blame a god to want to be surrounded by nice things (great people in this case).

I remember marching in a parade with The Raiders when I was probably in fifth or sixth grade. It was an incredibly hot day and I got woozie and almost passed-out. They gave us salt pills because we were sweating so much but I probably weighed only about 60-70 pounds; I was very thin when I was a kid (that sure has changed). Someone put me on the un-air-conditioned equipment bus that followed us while we marched. I remember that I was not the only one on that bus. I remember Nadine being on the bus and just taking care of me. She kept me cool with a wet cloth and gave me water. That is how Barb and Nadine were. Actually, except for a few people that I can recall, almost everybody was extremely nice. That makes me thing of another good story (you didn't come here to hear my old war stories probably so I will make this quick). Being one of the youngest when I started had benefits and disadvantages as well. I remember being incredibly afraid of marijuana. I knew lots of people who smoked pot back then but I believed all the hype about how bad it was for you. At one point some of the "not-so-nice" kids threatened that they were going to make me smoke pot. I was petrified. I started telling my parents that I didn't want to go anymore and they eventually got it out of me why. I never named names - I was not a snitch even then (ironic that I am kind of a snitch for a living now - making up for all the time lost I guess). Anyway, my parents talked to one of the other member of the corps (one that people feared if ever he got angry) and he assured them that nobody would bother me - he would see to it. So, I went back and nobody ever bothered me because of MY BODYGUARD. Ma, you will be happy to know that my personal bodyguard was Tim Meyer. Nobody ever messed with Tim.

We were just like the circus coming to town

Until I wrote all that I forgot about all of those parades. Whenever we would go to some small town across the country we would have to march in a parade during the day to help promote the competition we would be performing that night. I wonder if they still do that? There is a huge Drum Corps show here in town every year and they don't have a parade here. Last year I directed traffic and camped-out at the parking lot watching-over their equipment buses most of the night. Ha, I even saw Tim's brother Rich (another fellow member of The Raiders) there that day. Those parades were like the circus marching through town in The Greatest Show on Earth except people didn't follow us to the big top as I recall.

Okay, on to the nonsense I usually write.... I just realized that I have not had that thing where I Quantum Leap into somebody else's head for quite awhile. It must have been an inner-ear infection or something. Though it was scary at times (depending upon what I was doing at the time) I really miss it. I was going to work on harnessing it so I could use it for evil. We never really know what we had until it is gone; that seems to be the theme of the blog today. I think it would be great to control Brandon Cruz or Mickey Dolenz through taking over their minds. Hey, they both have Z's in their names. Is that a common denominator? I will have to scroll back and see who else's head I jumped into. Maybe just Z-List celebrities?

I have been hearing an ad on the radio for the past several months that bothers me. When did Smokey The Bear become Smokey Bear? I am a purest and I am a Smokey The Bear guy. The website is even www.smokeybear.com. But, I typed smokeythebear.com and it went to the same website. The name Smokey the Bear was originally adopted from a song from the 1950's. Hit that link - it's a catchy little tune. He will always be Smokey THE Bear to me.

For you in the MIDDLEwest (or anyplace else that have very cold temperatures from time-to-time) - do you ever get sore ears from wearing a stocking cap? My ears start to hurt after being pinned-down under a knit hat for too long. Then I move the hat just above my ears so it looks like a dunce cap or a pointy yarmulke. I think I am going to design one that is just black and says "DUNCE" on it in white letters so, when I pull it up into a point above the ear-line, people will know me by name.

I just learned that I have over 42,000 Hilton Honors Points. I need to figure-out what I ca do with those points. It looks like there are some hotel rooms that I can get for 5,000 points and better rooms for more points. I think I may start paying some bills with that card so I can rack-up more points for a family vacation. I will make sure it works that way before I do that though. I also have to make sure that, if I pay a bill with that card and then immediately pay off the bill if the points are good. If not, I guess I could use the card and then go on-line and schedule the payment date for like 28 days later. I know there are gonna be loopholes and limitations but, if I remember correctly, we used Hilton Honors Points for the room we stayed at Hilton Waikoloa Village on the island of Hawaii. Man, that was a great hotel. They had a ferry boat taxi and a tram and everything - the place is huge. Why do you thinks they call it The Big Island? Go big or go home! Who doesn't like a good tram? I wouldn't mind being scattered here. Use my life insurance money for the trip Cha Cha - it's on me! I want my ashes in a window seat though please.

How do you get a job captaining that boat?

I have to get some things done and it's already 1503. I have to go to the store and clean the kitchen for sure. Thank goodness that this is my Friday. Fridays always seem to go faster for some reason. It doesn't even MATTer if you go to work exhausted on Friday. That just goes to show us that attitude is everything. Thank you for stopping by. I am sorry I rambled-on about death and god and stuff. Those are supposed to be taboo subjects but this is my blog and this is about the only place in life where I can do exactly what I want and bear the entire burden of the backlash. I hope you have a great rest of your Hump Day. I will blog tomorrow and try to be more cheerful. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Final Will and Testament - Again!

I am really tired. Yesterday I only slept bit in the morning and the plan was to sleep three or four hours before work. I went to bed and just laid there like a slug. So, I went to work with about three hours of sleep. I have done that many times over the years but, as Murphy's law would have it, yesterday some people called-off and some had work limitations. I like to work and I give my work 100% ninety percent of the time but why does stuff like this always happen when I am not 100% myself? So, now I am exhausted (though I did sleep five hours this morning after work). And I have to work in eight hours again. I also have to run some errands with Fabio (for Fabio) and he is dragging his feet. It is getting very close to him running his errands by himself. I haven't eaten for about 20 hours so maybe that has something to do with my mood too.

Now it is 1500. Fabio and I went up town or downtown (not really sure what the difference is). He is building his own computer and he has run into a few obstacles so we took it down to the computer place in downtown (that one I know). I am impressed that he ordered all the parts, had them delivered and is trying to build a computer. He has run into a few stumbling blocks but this is how we learn. On the way back we stopped and got some food at Subway. I actually like Subway and their food works well with the food regimen I am on now. I got a turkey on wheat and a bag of Baked Lays. I love Baked Lays; I would say that they are my favorite chip. I really should get some residuals for plugging products on here all the time. We brought the food home and ate at the table like a real family (minus some family members). I grabbed a bottle of Diet A & W Root Beer (cha-ching) because "I think a man feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds, that's only my opinion." Too bad it wasn't Dog N' Suds.

So, I am over my hump for the week. Then, next weekend, Cha Cha and I are gonna take a little road trip. I love taking road trips but they always make time go so quickly. I am at the age now where I just want sit with my nine toes in the hot sand and listen to the ocean try to wear itself out. One day I will be part of that. In case you haven't been here when I have written what I want to happen after my death - I want to be burned-up into ash and then placed in a coffee can or something (not really too particular of my mode of transportation at that point - whoever does it just be creative and make this yours) and taken to the ocean. I want my ashes sprinkled into the water and washed out to sea. That way, if you ever want to visit me you can. I could be right there in your toilet staring up at your bum. You could go to any body of water in the world and there is a chance that I would be there with you. I love everything about the ocean; the smells, the beauty of the sunsets and sunrises, the feel of the spray and the warm sun on my face, the taste of the salt in the air but, most of all, I love the sounds of the waves crashing to the shore and washing back out and coming right back again. I am now thinking about where I want to be sprinkled. My two choices, based on past vacations, are: anywhere in Hawaii or by the pier next to the Conch Republic Seafood Restaurant in Key West, Florida. Key West would be nice for people to come on down and have a margarita and see me off. I think I would like to be actually put into the water while it was raining; it rains there about every day some time or other, That would help my remained get churned-up nicely and that is what it was like when Cha Cha and I were down there one year for my birthday. Now I feel like dying just so I can go back down there.

It is almost 1630 now and I need to try to get a few more things done and get some sleep so I am not the zombie that I was by the end of work last night / this morning. Thank you for letting me get my last will and testament out there again. Wouldn't it be weird if I died tonight? Whenever I say stuff like that someone always says "don't say that!"  Is my saying it going to make it happen? It hasn't yet! I don't have that kind of power in this life - probably because I could not be trusted with it. Have a great night. I will blog again after I live through tonight again. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Deer, Old Friends and My New Spa for the Ladies

I cannot believe that my work-week is only 2/5th's completed. It feels like tonight should be my Friday when, sadly, it will only be my Wednesday. It hasn't been a particularly bad two days it just seems to be dragging-on. Oh well, it is what it is and that's all that it is.

Last night something really cool happened at work though. I have told you how one of my favorite things about working nights is that all of the creatures that typically hide during the day come out to eat and grocery shop and play and do whatever wild animals do while most of you are sleeping. Last night I was driving out of a subdivision that sits on one of the major roads of our town. On the other side of the major road from the subdivision is a highly wooded area. I would call it a forest but it is kind of a mini forest in that it is not very big acreage-wise. Anyway, as I was driving out of the subdivision there was a mommy dear (I will call her a doe) and a baby deer (which I will call a fawn) walking on the sidewalk right next to me as I was driving out. They did not speed-up or seem spooked when they saw me. They were just walking calmly right next to me. They came up to the major road, as did I do, at a stop sign. They stopped and looked both ways. The fawn crossed the road and the mom just watched. I sat there and the doe looked at me to see if I was going to turn out of the subdivision and, when she saw that I was waiting for her to cross, she calmly walked across the abandoned road and followed the fawn to the forest where they started doing that deer thing where they bounce through the woods. Maybe they just got a vibe from me that I was not there to harm them and that I love all most of the creatures of the world. I think it is amazing that deer know to look both ways before crossing the street. They are going to evolve and take over the planet - it isn't gonna be the apes or the dogs. It is going to be The Planet of the Deer. I am okay with that.

I heard from my buddy Bill yesterday. He has been reading the blog and said he wants to get together with Cha Cha and I. I have loved Billy pretty much ever since I first met him so I am pretty excited that we are going to get together in a couple of weeks. When I was on a business trip to California some 20-odd years ago I even slept on his couch in Hollywood before I headed down to Tijuana. Obviously, he had moved to Hollywood - he is back here now (again probably obvious). I think that California may be the last time I saw him. I have known him from before Jill and I were even married. As a MATTer of fact, I started the job where I met him at the cable company (that is what we had before satellite television for you youngsters out there) right before we got married. I remember that I had to beg like crazy to get a few days off for a honeymoon since I was so new. So either the blog is making Bill miss me because I am still the same amazing dude he knew or I am offensive and he has been contracted to kill me. I prefer the former but I will accept the latter if that is his and my destiny. I hope he waits until after I buy him dinner if he is going to kill me; nobody wants to go to Hell on an empty stomach.

I am sure they loved seeing this in the morning

Next weekend some of us in the house are going down to visit Splenda for her birthday. I am one of the "some of us" going and I cannot wait. I will have to wait though so I suppose I can wait. See, there is no such thing as "can't."

It is 0758 and I have already been home for almost two hours. Usually I am asleep by now. That being blogged, I am going to go to sleep because I am sleepy and that is what one should do when sleepy. I will finish this if I wake up. Zzzzzzzzz....

It is now 1256. I took some ZzzQuil and ended-up sleeping four hours. I will need some more (sleep not ZzzQuil) before work. Had I done the math before I got out of bed I probably would have just stayed in bed for a few more hours.

Fabio should be home in a few minutes. He has been building his own computer. He ordered all of the parts and had them shipped and has been assembling it for a week or so as the individual boxes have been arriving by Speedy Delivery. He is having difficulty getting it working so I told him that we could take it downtown to the computer repair shop and see if they can help him figure out what the problem is. It may be something simple that he is overlooking. He is planning on going into computer programming and coding in college next year and I do not want him to become discouraged before he even takes one class. I may need him to build me a time machine or a cryogenic tube one day soon.

Add caption

I am kind of groggy; I am guessing I need more sleep. I will wait a little bit but I don't feel very creative right now.

I just looked at my little notebook and I see that I had written something that I heard on the radio in there that I haven't written about here yet. At least I do not think I wrote about it. There is a trend toward women beginning to shave their faces. It is actually called dermaplaning. Spell-check doesn't even know about it yet. The report I heard said that men have better complexions because they shave regularly. It seems that the shaving is a form of exfoliating. Things like this appear odd to many when they first begin but, in 50 years, nobody will even remember that women never shaved their facial hair. There was a day when nobody shaved their legs or underarms. That probably seemed odd when the movement began. I imagine spas and beauty salons will start offering this too. It will be like getting a shave and a hot towel at the barber shop. Maybe I should go to dermaplaning school so I can open my own spa. I could see me servicing women with the hair and facials and such. I love the ladies. Just like Warren Beatty in Shampoo. On a whole I believe: women are smarter than we men, they are much better to look at, they're not as loud, they smell better, they don't feel the urge to one-up each other all the time like we do (at least openly) and are they generally nicer. Of course, these are just generalities. I know we have our good qualities too which is why they need us and we need them. That whole keeping our species from extinction is a reason too I guess.

Okay, I have begun rambling and that is usually a sign to quit for the day. Now that I think about it the entire blog is mainly just rambling so maybe that is incorrect. May be that is where that saying about quitting before you get started comes from? Thank you for letting me bore you for a few minutes. I really am happy when you stop in here. TTTT,,,MITM (out). TA!

Go Cubs!!!! Probably the OnlyTime I WIl Every Type or Say That

Just be happy that I don't break wind

Am I the only one who accidentally dials somebody at least once a week? It used to be known as butt dialing but phones have changed so much that butt dialing would almost have to be intentional to occur these days. Actually, I don't even know if it would be possible to butt dial unless you were extremely talented and work in the adult entertainment business. I usually am scrolling through my instant messages when I linger on one name too long or hit it weird and then it starts dialing. I immediately stop the call but it must go through instantly because most of the time people call me back but I am already texting or on another call. If I call you and I am not there when you answer just know that it was accidental. I still like you or your name would not be on my phone but I am probably trying to do something else and I may not answer when you call me back to find out why I Crank Yanked you. I just did it a moment ago which is why I am writing this. I hope you were not at work or in a library or driving or something - you know who you are.

Last night Cha Cha and I watched a movie on Netflix called Get Low starring Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black, Gerald McRaney... It was a film that Netflix suggested based on my rating films that I have watched. It predicted that I would give it five out of five stars. As predicted, I gave it five out of five stars. I would not call it action packed rather more cerebral just like us I guess.

I know this is Hawaii but it's just like a foreign country

I am a guy who always has something on "in the background." I always have the radio or the iPod (actually the phone these days) or Pandora or the television. Right now I have the television on and there is a show called Citizen U.S.A.: A 50-State Road Trip on as background noise. It is a documentary about people from other countries becoming American citizens. It is really interesting to listen to various people who have come from just about every country on Earth to become citizens here talk about the freedoms that we take for granted and complain about every day. I must admit I complain a lot about every day life but I know that it could be a lot worse living in almost any other country on Earth. I can think of a handful of the world's 195ish countries that I think would be better to live in but, once there, I would probably complain about living there too. The grass is always greener... I think I would prefer Canada or England. And then I think maybe places like Fiji and Exuma (Bahamas) but I would probably miss the many things that we take for granted here.

Dinner at Morton's Steak House was very nice last night. I do not eat red meat and I am watching what I am eating very closely, mainly for weight reasons, but I love a good challenge so much so that I am a member of their rewards program or club or whatever I have this card for. I had the salmon mixed grill dinner. It had a salmon steak topped with crab meat, and three grilled shrimp and two baked stuffed shrimp. We also ordered a side of grilled asparagus that we all shared. Oh yeah, Cha Cha and I shared a chopped salad. The great thing about the chopped salad was that they made our salads separately because I did not want bacon or cucumbers in my salad yet we were charged for one chopped salad. I had only had peas and broccoli during the day in preparation for the food. Fabio, of course had steak. Because it was his birthday he got a free dessert too. It was some kind of baked apple pie thing. Our server took his dessert order with the dinner order because many of the desserts, like the one he chose, take about 30 minutes to prepare. Dinner was very good. It would have been great if I were thinner and would have ordered differently. I always like going here because I feel like I am in a scene from Goodfellas or something. I had received a card in the mail a couple of years ago for $100 off a meal at Morton's as a member of their club. I am not sure if that came because of money we spent there or just for being a member. I have eaten here  a few times and didn't present my card (rookie move I guess) to get my points or whatever they call them. Anyway, the gift card stated that I had to spend it in the month of my birthday. My birthday is in September and this was sent to me a couple of years ago but what did I have to lose? Our bill (with no alcohol) was $211 and they took the $100 of the card off. So, after I gave the dude a $40 tip, it was still only $151. I guess that is two week's worth of groceries but how many times does Fabio turn 18?

Now that weirdo jerk egomaniac Gene Simmons (from KISS) is on television talking about becoming an American citizen. Thankfully they only spoke with him for about 30 seconds. Now I am thinking maybe we should be a bit more selective in who we let become citizens.

I am going to say/type something that most people who know me will be shocked to hear/see me type. I hope the Chicago Cubs win the World Series this upcoming season. I am a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan and the Cubs are our mortal enemies but with Ernie Banks (Mr. Cub) dying yesterday I think it would add to his legacy like he made it happen from wherever legends go when they leave this world. The only thing that I would regret is all of the marketing and items expressing this sentiment that the vultures would produce to profit from his death. I have always been a fan of Banks. Also, Back to the Future predicted that the Cubs would win the World Series in 2015. After that the Cubs can go back to being the Cardinals' doormat. Another thing that makes me not want to happen is the obnoxious fans. I do admire their passion and sticking with a perennial losing team though.

It is back to work tonight for me (my Monday). Enjoy your weekend if you are a typical (M-F) week worker. Thank you for spending part of your weekend with me. I think I am going to go to the store now before the rest of the town wakes up. TTTMonday...MITM (out)

Chewing the Fat - LITERALLY

Yesterday, after I got done blogging, I went out and ran some errands as I said I would. I went to the closest supermarket (the one Fabio works at) to get a few things. While there I looked for some pipe bones for Jeff. They are actually just bones left over from the butchering and they leave a little fat/meat on them for dogs. I had purchased them there every week for close to a year after getting a tip from a dude at the dog park. They keep Jeff occupied and make his teeth whiter than white since we cannot get him to brush regularly. They have not had any of these bones for weeks and they didn't have any yesterday. I always ask the butchers and I always get answers like "we should be having some again soon..." So, I decided to drive across town to check the butcher shop in town that we like. They had hundreds of them in their freezer. Now Jeff is happily chewing the fat (not a pun in this case) and sharpening his teeth so he is prepared for the world domination of the dogs. Planet of the Apes was originally supposed to be Planet of the Pooches. Apes were much more marketable than dogs back in the 1960's and 70's so they went that way instead.

While driving to the butcher I noticed that gas prices have risen about 12 cents per gallon over the last few days to $1.92 a gallon in my town. Granted, a few months ago there would have been lines around the block for that but I get spoiled quickly. While I arrived at the butcher shop I saw the gas station next to the butcher had fuel for $1.81. I quickly pulled-in and filled-up because I was worried they would find out what was going on over on the other side of town and raise their price while I was in the store. The Fiat's tank was nearly empty and I filled the tank for $15. I am starting to sound like some old codger that lived through The Great Depression when I am actually some MIDDLE-aged codger living through The Great Anxiety (patent/trademark/copyright pending).

It's superhero laundry day and I am their bitch

Today is laundry day and the machines are already fully humming. I like doing laundry because most of the time is just spent listening to the machines hum. There is something relaxing about the water crashing and swishing and the warmth of the dryer; it's kind of like being at the beach. Then there is the folding and sorting and starting the next load. Maybe we will soon be recording some new Dirty Laundry Podcasts too? We are kind of taking this hiatus to restructure the studio and the audio equipment before we make a huge come-back. That gives you time to listen to some of the old shows if you are so inclined. You think I am annoying here - you ain't HEARD nuttin yet.

I am hungry. I think I am going to go cook some peas or broccoli. It is so much more fun getting fat than it is getting un-fat.That is not to say that I do not like vegetables because I like almost all of them. In case you are keeping score at home I do not like: cucumbers (though I love pickles), eggplant, green, yellow and red peppers (though I love jalapenos, pepperoncinis, banana peppers), okra, almost all beans (though they are okay as fillers for the most part). There are probably more but these are the ones that come to mind. Since I know it is of utmost importance that you know my vegetable likes and dislikes I will let you know if I think of others that I like. Today's blog is becoming like a mini Facebook with me telling you things that you could not possibly care less about.

Based on this photo I guess I like more peppers than I knew

Hey, my rambling may just have solved a question from yesterday's blog. I think the person who decided what colors are on the traffic signals (red, yellow and green) must have been a pepper lover. There are no blue peppers so the blue light idea was forgotten. At least law enforcement utilized the blue lights on their vehicles.

I know it is only 0921 but I feel like taking a nap. This is my Sunday and isn't that what people do on Sunday when the rest of the world is doing something else? The washer and dryer will let me know when they are ready for more attention with their bells and whistles and jingles and such. I am trying to blog myself into napping aren't I? Okay, I can work that out on my own. Thank you for stopping-in today. I hope you have a great Friday. I will blog again tomorrow. I hope it isn't a sad blog about how Morton's ruined my new food program - I will beat Morton's! TTTT...MITM (zzzzzzzzout) TA!

I Double-Blog Dare Ya!

These are few of my favorite days

Today our 6' 6" baby boy is 18-years-old. This date in 1997 was one the five best days of my life. In chronological order those dates are: September 14, 1963 (the day I was born), August 12, 1964 (the day Jill/Cha Cha was born), April 30, 1988 (the day Cha Cha and I got hitched), February 5, 1992 (the day Chloe/Splenda was born) and January 22, 1997 (the day Fabio/Noah was born). I know I cried at least on four of those days and, most likely, on all five of these days. Pretty soon it will just be me and little mother (I stole that from Jill's grandpa Loren) and we will wonder why the kids never call or come to see us. I am fine with that as long as they are having great lives and doing what they love. If they ever need us we will always be there for them.

While I was driving around last night I had a thought that I am surprised that I have never had before. Maybe I have. I thought to myself, "Self, why are traffic lights green, yellow and red?" Who decided that? Shouldn't they be blue, yellow and red - the primary colors? Why green on instead of blue? Maybe because the sky is blue and a blue light may be difficult to see with a blue background? If you're gonna go with a secondary color why not purple or orange? Orange is too close to red and yellow maybe. Purple then!

I am in a really good mood today. I know that my work week just ending hours ago has a lot to do with that. It may have to do with me still being tired. I have to think that it has most to do with me conjuring-up all the old memories of the five best moments in my life a couple of paragraphs ago. I firmly believe that the power of the mind plays a huge part in our wellness and personal happiness. I was never much of a Loverboy fan, though I didn't hate them, but they really go it right when they sang "everybody's' working for the weekend." The Kings also captured it when they sang "nothing MATTers but the weekend" in This Beat Goes On/Switching to Glide. I have always liked that song a great deal. I have to imagine that one thing that people worldwide have in common is an appreciation to rest after work. I know that means many different things to many different people but I am a simpleton and I take it at face value.

Fabio is home from school for the day (until he goes to work); he only has to go to school for half-days for the rest of his high school career. He took several summer classes before his Freshman year and subsequent summers and he could even graduate early if he wanted to but what is the hurry? There is less pressure knowing that you could graduate now if you wanted to. It sounds like he may have decided to start his post high school career where Cha Cha and I first met and fell in like. It is funny that he is going to start at Waubonsee Community College and Splenda goes to school where Cha Cha and I transferred after community college (Southern Illinois University). Those decisions were both theirs' alone but I have to believe hearing us talk about our good times at those places and seeing our amazing relationship must have seeped-in. Maybe that is how legacies begin?

I had cole slaw instead of the taters

It is now 1439. Fabio came home from school because he only has half days for the rest of his high school career and we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. I had Buffalitos and cole slaw - work great for my diet. Fabio has to work in about 75 minutes or so. We are thinking about going to Morton's Steakhouse tomorrow night for his real birthday dinner because he actually has a Friday night off this week. I am already looking at their menu to see what I want to eat to stay within my current health regimen. It does not appear that they were designed for people like me who are watching their girlish figures; I will make due and find something. I will just eat veggies tomorrow during the day prior to going as I can eat all of those I want without cutting in on my program. Maybe I will just get something and bring home half of it for the next day? I just called and we have a reservation. I will not say what time in case there is another hit out on me but I always sit with my back to the wall and I will be facing the door. Also, there is always a heater placed behind the toilet before I get there and a sawed-off attached to the bottom of the table aimed at your nether region. Also, I am not that fat - I have Kevlar on underneath my outerwear. So, don;t waste your time.  Also, you don't now who else in the place is on my payroll. I hope we get Stacee as our server; she is the best! I know she would have my back if the lead started flying too. Oops, that may give away the restaurant location. Oh well, some fireworks with dinner might be fun.

Amateur move sitting in the MIDDLE of the restaurant like that flatfoot

I am going to wrap-up. I have a few more errands to run and I may take a nap before Cha Cha gets home. I only slept for about four hours when I got off work and I am a bit sleepy. I have been writing today's blog off-and-on for about eight hours. You'd think it would be better with that much time put-in to it wouldn't you? Thanks for humoring me by reading the blog. I will blog again tomorrow while eating my veggies. Have a great night and thank you for stopping in. TTTT...MITM (out)

Cha Cha's Liver News Revealed Today

The bottom one looks more appetizing actually

Great news for Cha Cha yesterday. She does not have cirrhosis of the liver. The doctor told her she can even have wine from time to time. He probably should have defined "from time to time." I still will not be drinking. I have nothing to escape from and I have rediscovered how much cheaper things are when I do not drink. Maybe if, one day, they decide to give free refills like they do with soft drinks I will reconsider this stance. It started as support for Cha Cha and now it is more about the empty calories. I suppose soft drinks are cheap to give refills for since they are mainly water. So, bottom line, Jill is in better health now than she has been for most of the time we have known each other. And people thought I would be bad for her - HA! I don't know if people thought that but I do know she could have done much better than me; good thing she could drink back when we met.

Thanks to ZzzQuill I slept nearly five hours; it is a few minutes before noon right now. I don't know why I even got up though because I could easily sleep a few more hours. I will do some things around the hours, eat some lunch which is really my breakfast since I haven't eaten since dinner last night and then maybe take another Zzzs before work.

Yesterday I put a picture of "Papa John" Schnatter saying how he is under no obligation to share his profits with his employees on my Facebook. page. We have boycotted Papa John's in our house for over a year now to the dismay of one teenage boy in the house because of Schnatter's dismissive treatment of his employees. Actually the pizza was never one of my favorites anyway so the boycott was not that difficult for me. This is America and he has the right to treat his employees anyway he wishes financially and we have the right not to buy his product. I applaud him for doing what he thinks is right because of something he believes in but I think people are more important than profits. Maybe this is why I was never cut-out to be a business owner - I have a bleeding heart. I have worked for people with similar feelings about employees and it is fine some days but, when you take a vacation at Christmas time after working 70 hours a week for the entire year and you find that everybody got a Christmas bonus but you because you took your approved family vacation and one of the owners decided to pocket your cash because you were not there the day they were handed-out you kind of become jaded (run-on sentence much?). Anyway, I thought a lot about the photo I posted and my comment "douche." Why has that become an insult? Douche bags and, more recently in history disposable douches, are very good and important products. I am starting to think being called a douche is a compliment and I wanted to set the record straight that when calling Papa John a douche it was not meant as a compliment. I apologize for offending all douche bags everywhere.

I think maybe business owners were smarter when they just let spokespeople do their advertisements, statements and the like. Everybody wants to be a star with the media the way it is now and, for some it works and for some it does not.

I keep seeing commercials for the upcoming AMC series Better Call Saul and that French dude is still bothering me trying to interview me about Bob Odenkirk. No thank you means no thank you.

That tirade about that pizza guy made me think that being called "childish" is a good thing too. "Childlike" seems to be a compliment but "childish" is not. "Ish," in this case, means having the qualities of a child. Just like every other group in our world there are good children and bad children just as there are good dogs and bad dogs, good women and bad women, good men and bad men, good business owners and bad business owners...  Maybe jerkish would be better because there is not usually a good jerk (as it relates to people). Also, no MATTer how old we become, we are all still somebody's children whether our parents are gone or still here. Being a child is a gift.

I just had a Lean Cuisine chicken panini and I am still hungry. I am think about having some peas. Peas and broccoli seem to be my fall-back snacks lately. That panini is the only thing that I have had to eat in about 20 hours because of work and sleep so I may go and spend a few more of my points before I nap again before work. Leonardo da Vinci used to sleep in shifts too you know. He actually slept more than two times in a 24-hour period. I am a only biphasic sleeper but he was a poliphasic sleeper. Baby steps sleeps before I am as brilliant as he was.

Have a great rest of your day. I thank you, as always, for stopping by to read the blog for a few minutes. I am so happy that tonight is my Friday. I bet that is the sentiment I express most often here in the blog. I have been feeling a bit punky and I have thought about calling in sick tonight but I am not that bad. I will save being sick for my weekend unless I wake-up from sleep number two and feel worse. I hate calling-off sick though. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

I Blog in Your General Direction

The album cover doesn't paint a very hopeful portrait

It's 1228 and Cha Cha just left for the train. She really wishes that I could go with her to Northwestern today to be with her when she hears the news of her liver. I think that may have been one of Queen's albums - News of the Liver. It seems she wanted me there for many reasons. Moral support, of course, was the biggest reason but I think the fact that I know the hospital and all of the buildings there so well is another big part of why she wishes I were going with her. It never really dawned on me that, even though she has spent more hours there that I have, her time was usually spent in rooms (patient, operating, examining...). I really wish I could go too but I used up so much of my time-off and, if we want to have any kind of vacation this summer, I had better keep some of my time in the bank. I love travelling alone but she has never had the occasion to get comfortable with it. She did very well with it on her recent work trip to Florida. I have a feeling she really wants me there for moral support. If she gets bad news and I am not there I will just feel horrible that I was not there with her. I do not feel that she is going to get bad news. She seems to feel better than she has in a long long time.

Speaking of a long,long time I heard on the radio last night that one of Cha Cha's and my favorite shows from back in the day is coming back to television. Gillian Anderson and David Ducovny are coming back as Scully and Mulder in X-Files. Nobody has officially said that the show is coming back but that could just them making it look like a conspiracy theory to help the hype. I say it will be coming back. Now all of the media outlets can say that, "according to Matt In The Middle X-Files will be returning to Fox next fall."

This week is going fast. Tonight is my Thursday already. I am almost certain that we have nothing officially planned this weekend. Fabio's birthday is this actual Thursday so we will probably go out for dinner one of these nights if he has a night off from work. If he doesn't Cha Cha and I may just go out without him and bring him back a Fabio bag. In two weeks we head down south to be with Splenda on her birthday. Though it is a long drive I always like going back down to where Cha Cha and I went to college. It is a beautiful part of the state; I wish I had appreciated it more when we were down there. The same as I wish I had become better friends with Bob Odenkirk while we were there. But, one little ripple may have changed everything and then maybe I wouldn't have Cha Cha and Splenda and Fabio in my life so, actually, I am glad I did exactly what I did. To answer the age-old question "if you knew then what you know now would you have done everything the same?" - yes, I believe I would do everything the same way all over again. I may have gotten better looking though I think.

Speaking of being better looking - I am doing great on eating well. I have not cheated even once. I am not sure when I started eating my new old way but I am curious now so I will check the old blogs (be right back). Blogging sure comes in handy when you are starting to older and don't have the memory you once did. Okay, to the best of my reading comprehension, I began the eating healthier exactly one week ago today (January 13th). Our scale sucks but, to the best of my crappy scale deciphering ability, I seem to have lost about 12 pounds. I sure do have quite a few special abilities don't I? The first couple of weeks are usually pretty good numbers and then it slows down. I am pretty determined. I know I will end-up losing about 60 pounds before I am over and I am going to keep it off this time. I and getting too old to be fat. Maybe I am just not very observant but I don't think I see too many fat old people. That tells me that maybe fat people don't live so long. Though my feeling on this changes from time-to-time, I really want to be an old man one day. I think I will make a great old man. The new diet makes me fart a lot more so I have a great start. I wish public farting were more socially acceptable. I know I am like a six-year-old boy in this thought but farting is one of the great joys in our lives. Many of the really fun things are frowned-upon. Unless you do them in Blazing Saddles or Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

I sure didn't expect to blog about flatulence I began writing today. My Lean Cuisine lunch is beeping at me so I guess I had better answer the call. Today I am having lemon pepper chicken. I have not joined any programs as I know how to do this and I just need to do it. I used to be a lot needier than I am now (don't get me wrong I am still needy) but I have seen and know quite a few needy people and I know I do not want to be like that. So, now I have two huge battles - do not be fat and do not be needy. Not drinking alcohol (out of solidarity with Cha Cha) will help both of those probably. Cha Cha just texted me, "there is a lot of riffraff on this train." I should have called in sick. I could have either been her body-man or, more likely, we would have driven.

Hopefully tomorrow I will write that Cha Cha survived her train and taxi rides and her liver is 100% back to normal. I hope you have a great rest of your Tuesday/Tuesnight. Thank you for letting be get some of those things off of my fingers and mind and chest and whatever else they were on. TTTT...MITM (out) YA!

Good Crabby or Bad Crabby?

I didn't think of it being Monday - it is my Wednesday

I am in a really crabby mood today. I usually equate these moods with my monthly cycle but that is usually at the end of each month. If it truly occurs every 28 days I suppose, eventually if my horrible math skills are correct, it would work its way up to being on the 19th day of the month. I think my mood is more just me being a baby and pouting because I am not getting my way. I think most people probably behave this way in their minds but I am just okay with admitting it sometimes.

Cha Cha goes in to Northwestern Hospital again tomorrow to have a consultation with the liver specialist. The consultation is at 1545 so I have decided not to go with her because of work. With all of the days I have taken off because of her initial hospitalizations, procedures, consultations, preps... I have depleted my days-off a great deal so I am being a bit miserly now. With me having to work until 0600 tomorrow morning and having to be back at 2200 tomorrow night it would be stupid for me to go. She has decided to take the train in to Chicago and catching a cab to and from the hospital. I have thought about riding the train in with her but I would still be pushing-it and risking safety of me and others at work by my sleepiness tomorrow night. The only reason that I am trying so hard to go with her is that she is thinking that she is going to receive bad news from her biopsy results and I want to be there for support. Not that she cannot handle whatever happens but I have an overly-developed sense of being a nurturer/comforter. Maybe I was Florence Nightingale in a past life.

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in America. It may just be called Martin Luther King's Birthday but I will call it MLK Day! What an important man he was for America's history and progress. He literally gave his life to save so many lives and make America and the world realize what a mess we were in the the 1960's. The problems that existed with racism, hatred, ignorance and racial inequality needed to be extinguished and only a special person with the skills and patience of Dr. King could have steered these things the right way. I am sad to say that there will always be class, religious and racial differences in our country (and most every country throughout the world) but things have come a long way here since I was born. There have been many people, in addition to, Dr. King, who have pushed and still do push the consciousness of the world to being better.I am afraid we will never all get along though. Believe it or not there are people who do not like you and I know many people who do not like me; we just have to allow them not to like us. I also know there are people who even read this blog who do not like me and sometimes use the thoughts that I express here against me. I am not trying to compare myself to Dr. King because, there is no comparison, but we all just need to be more MLK-like sometimes. I remember standing in the exact spot where he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington D.C. and it gave me chills.

Words I had written a long time ago that really apply to Dr. King - "No matter how awesome you are you will always have enemies and detractors." I may have seen them or heard them and accidentally stolen them but I think that I made the saying up myself but I am happy to give credit to whoever says they said it.

I forgot to thank Dr. King for allowing me to get some more COMP hours back tonight as his birthday is a holiday I work.

Last week almost all of the premium movie channels were free from DirecTV here. It bothered me a little bit to discover that there is a network called Encore Black. I liked a lot of the movies on the station but felt like I was not supposed to watch the station. I watched anyway because, even though it may be a little naughty sometimes, I pretty much push boundaries quite a bit. I think that if there were an Encore White I would be more offended. Why is that? Maybe it is just that I know that we are not the colors of our skins and we could come together a lot better if people, and networks..., weren't trying to keep us separate. There is a lot of money in making people not get along I think. I just looked it up and Encore Black was Encore Drama until 2013 when the name was changed. There is also Encore Espanol but that seems to make more sense to me as it is based on a different language rather than the colors of our skin. Maybe the stations are based-on cultural difference but then they need to reconsider the name of the network.

Fabio will be 18 years old in three days. It is so funny how we are so excited to be 18 when we are 17 and then we soon find out that it was easier not to be over 18. Maybe it is just that the grass is always greener on the other side but life was so much easier when we were 17. I have not been 17 for a long time and maybe it is harder to be 17 now than it was 30-some odd years ago. One of the reasons that he was looking forward to being 18 is that he will be able to do more things at his part-time job when he is of legal prosecution age. He works at a local supermarket very close to our home and the only jobs he can do under 17-years-of-age are gathering shopping carts in the parking lot and bringing them back into the store and bagging our groceries. The other day he asked one of the managers if he could be considered to move to the deli once he turns 18 and now he only has one more week of carts and bagging and he begins training for the deli next week. Now he will get to wear a red chef jacket to work. He is very excited. Remember when we used to get excited about things like that just to find out that that new job sucked just as much as the last one? At least now he will be inside all of the time and not have to deal with the elements of getting carts come rain or blizzard or shine.The job at the grocery store has helped him a great deal. He is a very quiet guy (no, he is not adopted) and getting paid to talk to people has made him quite a bit more sociable. Now that I know there is a bagger/cart boy job opening maybe I should apply? Seriously though, if you or someone are looking for a job like this maybe this is insider information?

I do not remember being crabby very often when I was 18!

Thanks to you I am not quite as of much of a Crabby Matty as I was when I started writing. I know I have said it many times but this really is therapy for me. Thank you for allowing me to get out of my funk today. Only seven hours until work - blah. Have a great rest Monday and Monnight. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Violence, a Scam and the Sniper

In all fairness the crime rate has decreased over the past five years

I am very proud of Cha Cha. Yesterday she went to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom all by herself. I have done things like that many times but this kind of thing is out of her comfort zone. I do not think she will ever do anything like that again. She was there most of the day and only rode four rides. She did say that she was glad she went because if she hadn't gone and she had a crappy day she would have thought "I wish I had gone to The Magic Kingdom" and this way she can say she tried to make it a great day.

When she was a young girl Cha Cha went to Florida just about every year; her grandparents had retired to the Sunshine State. Now the Sunshine State has become one of the most violent and dangerous states in the country. Maybe it is because it is easier to be a more productive criminal if the weather is nice all year long. Maybe it is because people arrive in droves with all of their vacation money and their guards down. Perhaps it is an easier place to dispose of evidence with the everglades and being surrounded by water and alligators. I just searched for the most violent cities in America and Florida has 11 of the 100. Illinois only has four. I was surprised to see that Carbondale, IL (where Cha Cha and I went to college and where Splenda now lives) has the 82nd highest crime rate in the country. I am sure these figures are based on percentages of the populations. With over 30,000 incorporated cities and towns in the country that seems pretty significant. I guess we all just need to be vigilant all the time. I am always on guard wherever I go almost to a point of neurosis; it is just my nature.

I am really glad that Cha Cha comes home today; I really miss her. Except for the part where I have to clean up all of the messes we have made over the past week I am glad she will be here later today. I think of that episode of The Andy Griffith Show when Aunt Bea went to Raleigh or Siler City or someplace to visit someone and when she walked in the house it was spotless because Andy and Opie cleaned-up the disaster right before she got home. When she arrived and saw that it was neat she got sad because she felt like she wasn't needed so the boys snuck upstairs and made the biggest mess in Mayberry history. I think Cha Cha would be more stressed if the house was a mess than if it were spotless. Aunt Bea was just too needy.

I heard that the movie The Interview is coming out on DVD and streaming soon. That is the one that Kim Jong Un supposedly threatened everybody if the film came out and Sony Pictures decided not to send to theaters. I have believed since the beginning that the whole thing was a different way to publicize a film because most of the money is made these days in video and streaming. Talk about manipulating the media. I do not think if Kim Jong Un, Seth Rogen and James Franco all came to my house together and told me I was wrong I would even believe them. I would be looking for the hidden cameras for the further publicity they were seeking.

Speaking of movies - Fabio and I went to see American Sniper last night. In case you are not familiar it is about, you guessed it. and American sniper for the Navy SEALs. It was based on a true story; I usually like stories based on true stories and historical events. I realize that there is usually embellishment in these kinds of films but the public needs and wants those sorts of things. It was made by Clint Eastwood. I think he is kind of a nut but he sure has made a lot of great films as actor and director over the years.They do say that sanity and genius are very closely related. That is why I stay well within the non-genius range. Anyway, the film is very good. Bradley Cooper does an amazing job of playing Chris Kyle. I read an article where Chris Kyle's wife said that the movie "brought her husband back to life." I think there will be some Academy Awards attached to this film before all is said and done. We saw it at an IMAX theater so that even heightened the experience more. We have a premium theater about 45 minutes from us and we try to see movies there whenever we can. The place is amazing. It has a restaurant and a bar and you have big wide cushy chairs and tables at every seat. Buttons to call waitstaff to fetch you food and beverage or popcorn (slightly close to food) whenever you require them. Each seat even has its own ketchup, mustard, and salt and pepper dispensers. I did not see Grey Poupon, however.

Do you think Clint Howard and Clint Eastwood ever worked together?

Man, I sure do run-off at the fingertip don't I? Coincidentally, the washing machine is calling and telling me that it is time to start the next load. I am not really sure if today's blog is coherent as I have such a big todo list that my mind is going in 1000 different directions. I did say I would blog though so I blogged as promised. I do not think that I will blog tomorrow. Sadly, tonight is my Monday. I know that doesn't have anything to do with anything but that thought just popped into my head and quickly flowed to my fingertips. I hope you have a great weekend - I have other plans. Thank you for sticking with today's all-over-the-place blog. TTTMonday...MITM (Cinderella-ing out) TA!