Just Plain Cuckoo

Ch Cha and I have received some good news off-and-on during the first two legs of our Magical Medical Tour this Winter and Spring but yesterday we received some really great news. Cha Cha's Crohn's Disease is in complete remission. We were told, back when we were in our late teens - early twenties when she was first diagnosed - that she would always have this disease. Good thing that the medical world doesn't stop there because that rule has changed now. She will have to go back and get checked every now and again (they have to keep those medical bills coming now that we are caught-up) to make sure it doesn't spread somewhere else in her intestines but this was great news.  

The Knickerbocker hotel in Chicago (where we stayed Wednesday night) is still old school with no 13th floor.  Just in case you are superstitious this way don't stay on the 14th floor because, even though called the 14th floor it is,  technically, still the 13th floor. We were on the 12th and it was haunted.

I really lived on the edge of disaster yesterday while waiting in that big room where you sit when somebody is seeing a doctor and you are not invited in. I felt like Jesus' parents right before they had Jesus. I cannot recall what that room is called in a hospital or doctor's office where I was waiting but I was waiting there and I noticed that I had the ear bud with the "L" on it in my right ear and the one with the "R" was in my left ear. I am a rebel so I just left them that way. It was kind of fun listening to the music backwards.

I wrote a few notes in between winks last night and some I know what they mean and some I am not 100% sure. Here is one... "this C-PAP isn't solving anything other than for the doctors and the companies that prescribe and sell the equipment can have fatter pocketbooks and larger pools in their backyards" (I know what that one means). The only thing the C-PAP has solved for me is that I don't snore when I am wearing it. That was never really much of a concern of mine since I sleep right through my snoring. I do not see me wearing that dumb mask on the plane headed for London. People will be saying, "I think that guy is Chuck Yeager." Yeah, thanks but Chuck Yeager is 92.

Why are there so many food-related words associated with losing one's mind? Being a member of that demographic I am kind of offended because I don't want to think about the problems with my brain and get hungry. There are: bananas, crackers, nuts, half-baked, bat shit, nutty as a fruitcake, out to lunch, cuckoo for coco-puffs, fruity, nut case... No wonder I have such a hard (boiled) time losing weight.

I don't like when people have acronyms for everything. Two people that do this that immediately come to mind are Gary Busey and George Takai. If you can't remember something write it down or record it. I know I use acronyms sometimes like: laser or NATO but those have evolved into words. I guess some of the idiotic ones that these nutty characters come-up with could evolve too but I hope not.

I have noticed that, over the last month or so, I have really become much more docile. I catch myself just staring at things for, what seems like, hours. Sometimes I am thinking about what I am watching and sometimes I am just a lookie-loo. So, if you are with me and I am just sitting there and not saying anything don't worry; "it isn't you it's me."  I also realized last night that it is the end of the month because my Mattstruation crabbiness was really at a peak. The nice thing about it these days is that you may not notice because I still sit there like a bump on a pecan log and the crabbiness is just in my mind. I am much more reserved than I was. Perhaps it is partly aging? I began noticing this new phenomenon at Fabio's graduation party. I think I sat like a bump on a log though I don't remember much from that day - it was still fairly early in my fruitcake baking. I probably seemed rude though I think most people there knew what was going-on with me.

I hope you have a great day. I already have the sprinkler running in the front yard because the grass is turning a bit yellowish-brown from the heat and the flowers are definitely thirsty. I was going to mow today but I don't think I will because I have heard that when it is very hot and sunny it is good for the grass to be a bit longer so it provides shade for itself. That was probably said by a guy who didn't want to mow the lawn one time and that spread like wild-fire (not an intended dry grass reference but, I will take it). Thank you for stopping by. Stay cool - like you could stay any other way! TTTT with my newly professionally cleaned teeth...MITM (out) TA!

What is a Knickerbocker?

If we have an end room on the top floor maybe we will see the Eiffel Tower from bed

Yesterday I finally got around to caulking the nail and staple marks from when we had the back door installed in the garage and the sliding doors replaced with French doors in the Tiki Room. Hey, when we are in Paris I will be walking through French doors all the time. I guarantee the rooms to our hotel room at Le Meridien Etoile will have French doors. Le Meridien Etoile probably translates to "the hotel where we trick those stupid yankees to stay and charge too much because they are too stupid to do the conversion to Euros." Of course, when I got done caulking and sanding the doors I painted them. I had always been taught that you needed to let outdoor things "season" before painting them. That may have always just been code for "I don't feel like doing it right now" but I am gullible enough to have bought it and dumb enough to pass it on to the next generations.

Because of the last paragraph I learned where the word "yankee" came from; this blog is so educational. I should contact PBS about making this into a series. Anyway, "yankee" can be traced to the Ottowa Native Americans (the artists formerly known as Indians) who called the English "yang-gees" which morphed into yankees by the British after the French & Native American Indian war in 1763. As you may recall, the Confederate States (south) of the U S and A used to refer to the Union States (north) as Yankees. Now the Yankees reside primarily in New York most of the summer.

It s 05:16 and the alarm here in the hotel (actually on my phone) isn't going to sound for another 44 minutes. We have to be at the hospital at 07:30 for a follow-up for Cha Cha to make sure her altered plumbing is working properly. She was supposed to have had this follow-up done several months ago but she had to take care of and worry about me so it got pushed back. The hospital is a five minute walk away from here  - The Millennium Knickerbocker. We had driven past this hotel many times and you can tell that it was probably the cat's pajamas and the bee's knees back in it's heyday. It still is very nice and I can tell they work to keep it very contemporary. The Lollapalooza music festival starts at nearby Grant Park tomorrow tomorrow so all of the hotels were pretty well booked plus, it IS summer in Chicago. Who knows maybe Metallica or Paul McCartney or Florence and The Machine or Of Monsters and Men or any one of about 100ish bands playing at Lollapalooza are staying here? Anyway, we parked by the hospital and walked here so that, after the hospital visit, we will have a quicker getaway Dodge (though we brought the Fiat). Yes, I know Dodge, in this instance refers Dodge City and not the vehicle company which it isn't in italics. Do you think that Bonnie and Clyde didn't plan get-aways like this? Incidentally, they were killed in a Ford - not a Dodge or a Fiat.

So far our trip is better than theirs. I hope the get-away will be too

Incidentally, a knickerbocker is slang for a New Yorker which is odd since I just talked about Yankees and the New York Knicks (NBA) are one of the the New York basketball team. Incidentally, New York also has the Brooklyn Nets (the artists formerly known and the New Jersey Nets).

Traffic coming in here last night was horrific and that was against the rush-hour traffic going outbound so I know it was the right move coming here and staying. I cannot imagine trying to fight the rush-hour traffic trying to get in here this morning.

I think I am going to hop in the shower now so the bathroom is free for the this trips star of the show before the alarm goes off in 17 minutes. Thanks, so much, for continuing to stop by to make me want to write and keep my brain occupied and focused on good uses (at least I perceive this as a productive use - making you and me smile and think about different things). I hope you have a great day and, if I run into Paul McCartney I will tell him you said, "cheerio!" TTTT...MITM (out). Cheerio (TA)!

I Am Becoming Follically Melanin-Challenged

 This will be me by winter I believe 

I think a few days ago I mentioned how I am growing my beard back and told you that it is coming in gray.Well, now that it is starting to fill-in and get a bit longer, it actually looks more white than gray: I am melanin-challenged in the beard department now! I would think that I am turning into Santa Claus but I have been losing weight and, when Tim Allen turned into that The Santa Clause Santa he gained weight. I prefer the white to the gray though I think. Maybe I should slow-down the weight-loss part until I see if the beard is gonna be completely white so I could do Santa Claus gigs. I prefer losing weight to gaining though gaining is more fun and easier. Is Santa (no last name necessary) still at Santa's Village? I would think that he'd have to be, right? I know it is called Santa's Village and Azoosment Park now so I am not sure if that Azoosment part has changed things. I have portrayed the jolly old elf in the past and I love to see kids smile and the happiness in their eyes when they see Santa. I remember Cha Cha and I were Santa and Mrs. Claus for a social club in Aurora one year and we went to visit sick kids in the hospitals. It was sad and heart-warming at the same time. Nobody wants to see sick children but, to make them smile and make them feel special at Christmastime is always great! Kids should always be happy!

I have been following the story about the lion (Cecil) that was butchered (hunted by a rich, egocentric idiot, Minnesota dentist). I heard about the story when the lion was first discovered killed, beheaded and skinned. I did not write about it originally because I was too upset about it but now everybody is reporting about it so I may as well weigh-in. I am now more enraged than upset. The dentist says he thought he was on a legal hunting expedition to track and murder this beautiful animal. I am convinced that is 100% bullshit and he knew exactly what animal he was hunting! He knew exactly what he was doing. In case you haven't heard the story, the lion was kind of the mascot  and main attraction of a wild animal zoo refuge park in Africa where people could go and see the animals. The lion seemed to like the people and the people loved him. Now they are going to have to bring in a new lion and the three cubs of the previous lion are in jeopardy. When a new lion takes over a pride he always kills the cubs of the previous lion/leader so as not to get bushwhacked by the former heirs of the kingdom. I worked for five or six douche bags (that is unfair to douche bags) at one time that had almost endless money and I watched them trample on everybody just to do stupid, pointless crap like this (not quite this bad that they let everyone know about, however). I think some of it was an unspoken competition among them to try to out-do one another. Most of us spend time and energy to pay our bills but, if that is not a concern, you have to find another way to occupy your time I guess. I could totally see any one of them doing something like this. In a movie that I would make (I think I would call it An Eye For An Eye) this dentist/hunter would be on the hunted end of this scenario as penance. I bet An Eye For An Eye has already been used as a movie or book title. Hey, maybe this can be another idea (sad inspiration) for one of my short stories? I have so many short story ideas now  that I think I may have a series of stories. I just have to write them now.

Their joy before they beheaded and skinned this beautiful animal

I heard that there is a cougar (or mountain lion) on the loose in the Milwaukee area (not a joke).There is a rumor that it may actually be a lion that someone had been keeping as a pet (also, not a joke). It has been going through people's trash and such. Maybe they should contact all of the local Milwaukee dentists to get together a posse. I have an appointment to go back to the dentist Friday for a cleaning. Now I am worried.

Last night I slept really well with my new CPAP machine. I did wake-up at 3AM (I love that song but that may just be because I see 3AM so much in my life - we are close) but then I went back to sleep, after an hour-long sleep break, until almost 06:30. I had so many dreams last night. I dreamed about my high school German teacher. He was always nice at school but he was a big jerk to me in my dream. My machine has a screen that, at the end  of the night's sleep, tells me how long I used it for the night and how many "events per hours" I had. The first night said I had 5.3 events per hour and last night I had 1.0 events per night. I think that is better but, I looked in the manual and it does not say anything about "event per hour." It tells me about the smiley faces for air-flow, mask fit and about the usage but there is nothing at all about the events. I guess my doctor (supposedly) up-links my data but I really doubt that they do that. I have a feeling it has something to do with insurance and if I don't use it regularly they will send me a bill. Why would I go get it and not use it? Do they think I like not sleeping? My last unit and mask (mostly the mask) were too cumbersome but they have perfected the machines since my old one that I got probably over ten years ago. So far so great with this new one.


Yesterday I wrote checks for all of the medical bills that have been piling-up. Between Cha Cha and my bills we shelled-out about six thousand dollars yesterday. Prior to paying some, I called to find out what the bill was for or who this doctor was... and I would hear things like, "he was called-in as a consultant and he visited her for the next five days..." Why should we have to pay for that? Why doesn't the doctor or clinic or hospital that hired this person put that into their bill though, if they did that, they would probably mark it up and call it an administrative fee. That is why they overwhelm you with all of those admittance papers. What are you supposed to do when some doctor shows-up in your room wearing their white coat? I guess just tell them to "GET OUT" and say "I will only speak with my physician?" If you haven't seen the Michael Moore film Sicko you should try to check it out. Moore took variously ill people in America over to Cuba (where they have free healthcare) and they even provided healthcare to these non-Cuban citizens that were there. Yes, this is a movie and there may have worked something out but you can see that they are set-up to take care of their sick and elderly people. And we have the nerve to call these countries and rulers evil. Allowing us to go there means lots of money leaving the American pyramid schemes. Anyway, about $6,000 later, we are all paid-up except for one bill that I am disputing as erroneous or possibly paid. Becoming expatriates are still looking better and better every day. You could vacation at our place!

Wow, I made myself very sad today with the blogging of medical bills and the killing of defenseless (almost domesticated) animals so I am going to wrap-up. It looks like rain may be coming so maybe the lack of sun is contributing to my gloomy mood. Thank you so much for stopping-by. I hope you have a great day. I am not sure what time we are heading to Chicago but I think I should be able to blog tomorrow morning. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

You Are Remembered!

 Truth or Crest and Colgate and ADA propaganda?  

There is something that has been bothering me for quite some time. If sweets cause cavities why are most toothpastes sweet? They trying to keep that urge for sweetness in our minds so we continue eating sweets so we keep getting cavities and have to keep going to the dentist. I say the American Dental Association is behind this. I know we can use baking soda to brush our teeth but they have me addicted to the sweetness. Every time I type sweetness I think of Walter Payton.

Yesterday I was whisked-away to Machesney Park, Illinois to get my new CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. I used it last night and I think I slept better that usual though I remember fiddling with the hose (on the machine!) off-and-on all night long. This morning, when I turned the machine off, it read that I slept 7.3 hours and had 5.3 episodes per hour. I am not really sure what that means (the "episodes" part) but maybe that is when I have breathing issues? Perhaps I will read the paperwork that came with the machine sometime.

On the way back home from my appointment the car drove by Harlem Cemetery in either Loves Park or Machesney Park. I remember when I was a yute, when we lived in Rockford, IL, Machesney Park didn't even exist - it was just Rockford and Loves Park. I now looked and Machesney Park didn't become a village until 1981 for you Rockford area history hounds. Anyway, after the Jeep drove by the cemetery it said something like, "hey, isn't that where your grandparents are buried and your parents own land (plots) there?" and she just turned around and there we went. The cemetery is on a crazy-busy corner (Harlem and Alpine) and it is totally surrounded by hustle-bustle stores and filling stations and the like. When I was a kid it was in the MIDDLE of nowhere. I bet there have been offers to buy that land but, messing with the dead, always seems to stop those kinds of talks. Anyway, I unlatched the gate (they have a chain with a hook on one end), walked in, re-latched the gate and started walking toward the other end of the cemetery. It is a pretty small cemetery next to a small church. I new exactly where to go to find my grandparents' headstone. On the way to the spot I looked around for a rock to place on the headstone. I could only fine one stone in the entire walk to the gravesite - nice work groundskeepers! The first time I remember seeing that was in Schindler's List and I loved the idea. I guess it is a Jewish tradition to place a rock on the headstones of people you love. There are several different theories of why this tradition began. Some say it is just to show the dead that they are remembered - that evolved into flowers when florists began, I suppose. Others say it comes from when shepherds used to keep track of how many sheep they had by keeping pebbles in a sling and, by placing a stone on the headstone, it means that God has added one more lamb to his flock. Some say that it is meant to signify the way graves were originally marked - with a pile of stones (probably where the word "headstone" comes from). There are more theories but those are the ones I like best. Anyway, I could only find a tiny little rock but a rock is a rock. So, I picked it up and now there is a tiny "headstone" on my grandparents' headstone. Maybe it is significant because I was a tiny four-year-old when my grandpa died. I felt like it was just fate (or maybe just happenstance) that I passed that cemetery, happened to look over at the precise moment to see it and decided to ask the Jeep to turn-around. I hope it somewhere in the cosmos it made somebody smile and feel remembered. I have thought about both of them quite a bit since placing that stone yesterday so, apparently, it does work!

The tiny little stone place by a 51-year-old four-year-old

Tomorrow Cha Cha and I are headed back to the big city of Chicago for more medical fun. It is just a "routine" procedure to make sure that she is doing well with her new intestines. She was supposed to have gone back before now but my medical escapades threw a Matty Wrench into that plan. I am still working on getting all of the previous medical bills (her and mine) straightened-out and paid and now we will have a few more. I am pretty sure we have "sucker" tattooed to our files someplace. She has been doing pretty well though there are some minor issues that may come to fruition. I am not borrowing trouble just mentally preparing myself. Regardless, we are much better health-wise than we were at the end of last year and earlier this year. Don't start collecting stones to place by our names quite yet.

I have run out of steam and I have lots to do so I guess that is all I have in my writing tank for today. Thank you. so very kindly, for stopping-in. I hope you have a fantastic day; I have other plans. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

I Blogged - IRREGARDLESSLY (not a word)!

 Your behavior astonishes me Mike Brady 

I saw a show on CNN Saturday night (yes, I watch more than sports and junk) about 1970's television. The show, fittingly enough, was called The Seventies. It was kind of like a mini-series about the 70's. They talked Roots. I remember watching that show (mini-series we would call it today) on television; it was a big deal back when it was first on. Something that they discussed (I think it was said by LeVar Burton) was that many of the slave-owners were played by former television fathers. I never even put that together as a fourteen-year-old boy. The slave owners were: Robert Reed (The Brady Bunch), Chuck Connors (The Rifleman), Ed Asner (father-figure on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda), Lorne Greene (Bonanza)... That was a pretty smart idea. That was a great way to get people to watch the show and a good idea for these actors to show that they were more than the characters they were best-known for.

I am trying to change my personality. "Change" may not be the correct word; I am going to tweek my personality. I know we all tweek things about ourselves either consciously or subconsciously pretty regularly in an attempt to become better people. Unless your name rhymes with Bonald Dump and you are pretending to run for President of the United States of America then every day is topsy-turvy day for you in this area. Maybe that is what we call "growth" as a person or a human-being - tweeking ourselves for the better? That is how our species evolves. There are many reasons to change ourselves for the better I suppose. What if you are perfect and you don't know that you're perfect and you change yourself in hopes to be better and you are no longer perfect? Maybe that is what that Bump fella is worried about - he thinks he is already perfect. I can assure you that I am near the opposite spectrum of perfect so I will try to keep evolving in hopes that not being perfect isn't clouding my judgement on which way to head.

I have lost about 6 pounds in the last four day just by watching what I have been eating. The bad thing about eating healthier and eating less is that there is less junk in your body to absorb and soak-up all the liquids (water in my case) that you are still drinking. I have had to pee a lot over the past week. Yes, I know that is the problem. Maybe, if this keeps up, I can write a book about all the great bathrooms of Europe. I will have to work on a clever title but it will have to have something to do with "the loo." Do you know why, supposedly, the English began calling the toilet the loo? I hear tell that because in early England the toilet was always located in room #100 in buildings and the 100 became loo. Who knows if that is true but I like the same, regardless. I almost wrote "irregardless" but, since that means the same thing as "regardless" why do we  even have that word? That made me curious (killing the Matt) so I looked-up the meaning to the word "irregardless" and it means "regardless." Wouldn't irregardless mean "without without regard" if regardless meant "without regard?" Instead of teaching people to speak properly maybe it s just easier to add words so we can sell new dictionaries every year to the same people IRREGARDLESS of whether they are necessary words or not.

 This almost looks like the very lady in today's blog 

Yesterday Cha Cha took me to breakfast. She buys her sister breakfast almost every Sunday. She always invites me but, many times, I opt-out because I think they want to do sister, lady-talk. While we were sitting a lady in a van hit a car outside while trying to park twice - I took down the vehicle information and her description, professional habit. She sat with a bunch of people at a table near us and I listened to them talk (professional and nosy habit) about what a great job of parking she did. The perp said "yeah, and I didn't  hit the car behind me." She hit it twice! We watched her back-up and go forward about five times and the car behind her physically moved two of the five times. Maybe it was my telekinesis moving the car - I willed it to happen. As we left the restaurant I looked at the front of the car she had and there were no marks of any kind. She apparently hit the front license plate so I threw the information away in the city trash can rather than putting it under the windshield of the car as I had originally planned to do.

While I was continuing to be nosy, I also heard about how Cha Cha's second cousins are looking to buy a golf course that they just moved next to from the talk at table of old-timers next to our table. I really need to open my own private investigation firm in town. I am thinking about calling it Townshend & Associates or maybe Nosy Detective Agency. I am nosy and tenacious in investigations, I shoot well, I have a couple of cars that blend well (the Fiat is not one of the two), I know people (meaning "I got a guy/gal"), I rarely sleep... I am old so if I get shot most of my good years are gone anyway.

 Unintentional vacation tie-in today! 

I finally figured-out what has been going on with my mind /seizures / passing-out/ memory loss... I have often cracked myself up but, now I know, that I was LITERALLY cracking myself up!

Well, I have an action-packed day today so I had better wrap-up. I am going to do some painting (the work kind, not the artistic, talented kind). I have to paint around the front door, the door we had added to the back of the garage and the French doors we had put into the Tiki Room. Then I have to go up to the Rockford area and see how they want to try rip me off with more medical equipment, I am prepared to go there and come home with nothing rather than be ripped-off. Last night I woke-up at 01:00 and then I took a sleeping pull and that only got me to 05:00. If a damn prescribed sleeping pill won;t let me sleep properly what is a bunch of moist air up my nose with a rubber hose going to do? NOTHING. If it is inexpensive enough I will try it. If not, I will continue to sleep like DaVinci did! He only lived to be 67 - that is fine with me. Thanks for slowing down for a few minutes; I thank you deeply. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

I Seem to be Blogging Back to My Roots

Ironic having Jackie Robinson's number on this idiot's stamp

I have to research something this morning; thank goodness for the interweb. When we go to Europe I wanted to send my mom and dad a postcard from Heidelberg, Germany. They are old-school and don't use the inter nets too much. My dad was stationed at the 130th Army Station Hospital there and, since I was born in that hospital, my mom was there too because that is how it worked back in those old-timey days. My dilemma is that I am not sure if I can use postage stamps from the United States to mail something from Germany TO the United States? I used to collect stamps as a kid (I still have them somewhere in the basement) so I probably should know that. Maybe I should just find those old stamp books and use some of the 1960's German stamps to mail the postcards back here. I could then get the stamps back. I would have to find some that didn't have the cancellation ink all over them. Hmmm... the things we have to relearn when trying to use something other than electronic media.

I have seen a lot of Facebook posts about religion and politics lately. I try not to comment on either of those things because I have heard, ever since I have been a young boy, that you shouldn't discuss politics or religion. I have made that mistake in the past and, after I did, I remember why you shouldn't discuss those topics. Some of the things I see I agree with and some of the things I see I could not disagree with more yet, I keep my mouth fingers shut. I am evolving though, almost as slowly as the actual evolution of mankind.

Jill and I have been watching several episodes of Rick Steves' Europe this morning. We are on our third or forth episode of Prague. We have two-plus days in Prague on our trip. I am told that we are going to watch some about Paris next (we have two days in Paris too). Like I have done for much of my life, I am taking notes. That reminds me that I used to write about our trips when I was very young. I guess I have been blogging before it was "official." Maybe I should try to get a gig like Rick Steves has. Ugly, old, dumb, fat guys are much more fun to watch travelling the world. And, add the eye-candy and charm of Cha Cha and I think we could write-off our trips for life. We will probably need: a producer, a camera person or two and a sound person so get your skills honed by the time we get around to launching this vacation loophole. We can probably get some of your family members on the crew too for convenience and harmony purposes. I am really learning a lot about what to do on our trip.

 We will probably get the airplane selfie stick! 

One of the many reasons to watch these shows is to find out how to dress and not look 100% like Americans. It seems like the guys wear scarves quite a bit. I cannot wear a scarf and not begin speaking effeminate - NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT! I know there is no way that I cannot hide being American even though I was born in Europe; I have been tainted and ruined.

Even if I dress properly and fool the fine people of Europe into not realizing I am not a foreigner Cha Cha is on the fence for ruining that for sure. She is thinking about getting a selfie stick. How long ago was it that the word "selfie" would have thrown Spell-Check into a tizzy? I have typed it twice in this paragraph, so far, and no little red squiggles appeared under either one. Cha Cha was totally against selfie sticks but this trip may change that for her for a few weeks. I think, even if she gets one, we will pass it off to someone else in an airport somewhere in the world. I see the benefits of a selfie stick for this trip but I am philosophically opposed for some reason. I do know that photos are much better when there are people in them.

We have to get some shopping done so I am going to wrap-up. We are out of bird seed and they have already emptied the feeder one time today. Thank you for letting me blab-on about Europe today. I will try not to continue to bore you with my child-like Christmas Eve excitement next time. It takes a lot or research to learn to become an expatriate ("ex-pat" I call myself now. or maybe "ex-matt"). I hope you have a fantastic weekend; it looks like it may be nice weather here. I hope it is wherever you are too. TTTMonday...MITM (out) TA!

Stop Preying on the Sick and Elderly!

I am getting pretty gosh-darned fed-up with all of the people/companies with their hands-out wanting to take some more of my money. Preying on the sick in this country has got to stop. Yesterday I got a call about getting my new C-PAP machine. The guy left a message saying that I have an appointment set-up for me on Monday at 14:00 in "Mac Kazey Park, Illinois." I am assuming that he means Machesney Park, which is semi-close to me, but it was obvious he was just a telemarketing-type. He said to make sure that I bring a MasterCard, Visa, debit card or Discover card to cover the cost that my insurance doesn't cover. I will decide if I am going to go or not. And, if I do go and my cost is more than $200 I will say that I do not want the machine and I will leave. I still have my old machine from several years ago. If I use that one again, I will just order a new mask online (or should that be offline?). Maybe I will call them ahead and find-out what the cost will be and then, if I deem it unnecessary, I will cancel the appointment and we can save the fuel and the planet. I am just fed-up with being raped. ENOUGH!

Yesterday I talked about German chocolate cake but then later I began thinking about when we are in France. Will all toast be French toast? If I go swimming will that be a French dip or will that be me? Onion dip? Onion soup? Fries? All bread there will be French bread. When I put my clothes on in the morning will I be French dressing? I bet I am not that delicious on a salad. It seems like the French invented eating. Fondue, crepes, quiche, croissants... What would silk pie be without the French? Silk pie does not sound nearly as appealing without the word French at the beginning. Why am I thinking about Julia Child all of a sudden?

As I usually do when the Cardinals are playing, I checked FSMW (Fox Sports Midwest) last night to see if the Redbirds were on. It always says they are when they are playing but most times the games are blacked-out in my area. I switched over and the Royals / Cardinals was on so, I made dinner, cleaned the kitchen and took out the garbage while I watched the game. Incidentally, it was also on FSKC (Fox Sports Kansas City). The garbage part was between innings when they were showing the commercials. This was a one-game series and the Cardinals ended-up winning the game. It really seems like my aura is changing and things are starting to fall into place for me. Maybe it is my karma. Maybe it is both my karma and my aura working in harmony for a little while. If that could last for at least a month I think I would be happy.

Fox would be a good company if it weren't for the impartial political slants

I don't watch Dateline NBC or shows like that too often because I often check the synopses (that is the plural for of synopsis believe it or not) and those shows are always about murder or violence so I don't watch them. That never used to be the case with those shows. Murder must mean ratings but, not in my house. I prefer to watch more lighthearted and uplifting things when I watch television. There is enough negativity in the world - I don't need to pick it when I have a choice in the MATTer.

Speaking of negativity I have been doing a lot of Facebook spring cleaning. Last week I had 411 Facebook friends and, as of this moment, I only have 308. Every so often I go through and delete people that make negative or hateful posts. Sometimes it is just because they are not really on Facebook but someone in their family or a friend talked them into starting a page or the friend just did it for them. My mom is one of those but I have not deleted her - I am not sure if that would be proper. Immediate family is almost a requirement to be on your friend list. If that were not the case there may be many people who would have deleted me already. I will wait for a moment to see if you are on my naughty list.

I woke-up at 03:15 this morning and could not go back to sleep so, I turned on the television. Working Girl was on HBO. It is so funny to watch movies from the 80's. Working Girl came out in 1988 - the same year that Cha Cha and I got married. I remember that we saw it in the theater; it may have been the first we movie we saw in the theater as a married couple? It was so weird to watch. The big hair, Alec Baldwin looking like one of his lesser brothers (Billy or Daniel but not that moron Stephen). The main sight in the New York City skyline being The World Trade Center. It just made me think of all the things we take for granted every day. I ended-up watching the whole movie until it ended at 05:10. I think I may have to take a nap sometime today because I am already tired and it's only 08:28. While I was watching I cleaned the upstairs desk out; Working Girl inspired me I guess. I bet those words have not been uttered by anyone for nearly 30 years and probably never by a male.

Will not be a problem if I keep my mind right - that's the problem

I am going to work-out again today and, now that the issue with water in the basement has been addressed it should go as planned this time. I am starting to eat well again (for about the 138th time); I had a Lean Cuisine meal for breakfast - I had the vegetable egg roll meal. I always had the hot Asian mustard to the egg roll. I like my: food, women and life spicy! Three weeks from today we will be somewhere in the MIDDLE of Europe. I just looked and we will be in Prague three weeks from today. We will already have London in our rear view mirrors and Nuremberg and Bamberg in our sights. So, if I have dieted for those three weeks and we eat like Europeans while there I will have lost about 20+ pounds by then. Can you tell that I am trying to motivate myself?

I actually may go back to bed right now; I am really sleepy. Was there a holiday this week that I forgot about? It is almost 9 AM now and I still have not heard a garbage truck or the recycling truck. Friday is our trash day in case you didn't make that connection. I guess if the cans don't need to be out on the curb today they will still be there tomorrow.

Okay, I got a bit windy here today. Sorry. I am not going to proofread today (actually, most days I don't which may explain a lot to you). Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a great day. Fridays always seem a little better even for people like me who are not working right now. It is something just carved into our psyches when we get our first real jobs and paydays are on Fridays. I am 51% certain I will blog tomorrow so, behave yourself until then. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

The Bloggers Apprentice

Why didn't The Sorcerer just wave his wand and get rid of the water?

"The best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft a-gley" (or often go awry if you prefer) seemed to be the theme of my day yesterday. After I got done blogging I went downstairs to the basement to workout. I began on the bike to loosen-up and rode two miles. While I was riding the bike I was looking at the water (moisture really) on the floor. Why was there water on the floor? It made me have to change directions. I went over and opened-up the sump pit and it was full, to the top, with water. So, I reached down into the pit (after taking my shirt off because I knew I was gonna get wet - settle down ladies) and messed with the float on the pump and it would not kick-on. So I grabbed a bucket and started bailing the water out and carrying each bucket-full of water up to the kitchen and pouring them into the sink so the city's sewer system could take care of it for me. Speaking of that our water bill is due today - thank you for reminding me. Anyway, I felt like The Sorcerer's Apprentice with the 17 buckets of water. Luckily, I had a rubber gardening bucket or it would not have fit into the pit without me having to remove all of the pipes.

So, I replaced the sump pump last night (the old one was pretty rusty). We have been in this house for 11 years so I suppose that is pretty good. This new one is so much quieter than the old one because the home builder probably bought the cheapest dinosaurs that they could find. The one nice thing about the old one being noisy, however, was that I would always feel a little bit of relief when I'd hear the plastic pipes rattling when it was raining hard outside. Now, I will probably be down there every time it storms to see if I need to get the rubber bucket out. Yes, I am very neurotic - why do you think I have two neurologists? I don't know why we have a rubber bucket (we also have one metal one and about 10 plastic ones) but I was really happy that we do have a rubber, flexible, one. I guess you can never have enough buckets; what would all of the other broomsticks carry if we only had one?

I really wish there had been the "Replay Review" rule back then

It was so nice to be able to watch the St. Louis Cardinals the last two nights. I usually just have to listen to them on the AT BAT app on my phone but they were playing the Chicago White Sox (one of the teams that they count as our "local" teams" as far as the satellite company decides). If you have a favorite team that is out of your broadcast area I highly recommend this AT BAT app - it's free (just like my plug for them) and you can listen to every one of your team's games. You can even listen to the home announcers or the away announcers and you can even switch back and forth if you want. Watching and listening to baseball, for the most part, is very relaxing to me. Of course, as sports work, there are the ups and downs with the emotions as the game progresses or digresses depending on how your team is going. The Sox and Cards only had a two-game series and the Cardinals won them both. Now the Cardinals are going to play their in-state rivals, the Kansas City Royals, beginning tonight (not really rivals since one is in the American League and one is in the National League). Statistically, the Cardinals are the best team in baseball right now with a .638 winning percentage and the Royals are the second best with a .613 winning percentage. Let's hope for a repeat of the 1985 World Series with the opposite outcome this time around. Sorry, sometimes I get carried-away and too passionate when I blog baseball.

It is my friend Linda's birthday today and that made me think of cake. I'm a fat guy, we look for any reason to think about cake. Do you think, in Germany, if I order chocolate cake in a restaurant it will be German chocolate cake? Technically, all chocolate cake made in Germany is German chocolate cake, right? But, do you think all of the chocolate cakes there have the chocolate coconut, pecan frosting? You know darn well that I am going to find the answer to that for YOU. To make certain, I may have to find that out for six days, three times per day. I want to be thorough in my study so I have formed a properly educated thesis (some call it a thesis I call it a blog). I love German chocolate cake so it will be a pleasure to take this cake bullet in the name of science! Yum, cake bullets!

I have several ideas for the short stories that I am going to begin writing. Last night I thought to myself, "Self, aren't short stories and songs kind of the same thing in some cases?" If you think of songs like: "Come Dancing" by The Kinks or, "Coward of the County" by Kenny Rogers or, "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash or, "Harper Valley P.T.A." by Barbara Eden Jeannie C. Riley (I had to look-up who sang that one) or, "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow... There are many others but, maybe some of my short stories, if and when I write them, will become songs? That would be cool to win a Pulitzer and a Grammy; that would look good on my resume' right before I die. Maybe an epitaph or a tombstone anyway.

When I start talking about dying it is usually time to stop blogging. I am going to go down and check the sump pit because that is the sort of thing that dad's and homeowners are supposed to do. That reminds me - with me growing my beard back for the last week or so I have noticed that I have a lot more gray hairs than dark ones these days. I am getting quite a few grays on my head and chest too. I am not sure if they are coming from aging alone or all of the hospitals and illness things with Cha Cha and I are a contributing factor. I am not really sure if stress turns you gray like our parents used to tell us or that was simply a way to try to get us to behave ourselves. If it was just a threat it never worked. Why do I care if you get gray hair? I don't even care if I do! It looks distinguished.

Thank you for stopping-in; I picture your faces off-and-on (mostly on) as I write the blog so, I guess that makes you my muses or my inspirations or whatever you want to call yourselves. So, I truly do thank you for helping me keep my mind occupied and still mostly usable. Have a great day and, as Ray Rayner (after he graduated from Bozo's Circus) used to say for you Chicago-area people, "happy birthday if this is your birthday." TTTT...MITM  "bye, bye byeeeeeeeeee" and out, TA!

Ich Defekt

After I got done blogging yesterday I worked for several hours on our medical bills. With Cha Cha being in the hospital for the end of last year and into this year and me being ill for most of this year we have racked-up some pretty good medical bills (hospitals, doctors, specialists, medicines, procedures...). After several thousands of dollars of checks written and on-line payments made I believe we are caught-up at this moment. One thing about medical bills in this backward country is that one never knows when they are caught-up. You think you are and then you get a bill from an ambulance company or an anesthesiologist or a radiologist or an imaging company... that were hired by the hospital or you primary physician and who the Hell knows if it is even for your hospital stay? I am half-tempted to stay in the Europe and just send for the kids. I have been practicing my German and I know the one phrase that I can easily teach Jill (Gretel I will begin calling her) is "Ich Defekt!" I bet you already figured-out that it mean "I defect!" I don't think that is necessary when you are not leaving a communist or imperialist... country but I think it will look good in the newspaper headlines. I am fairly certain that most of the countries in Europe treat their citizens like citizens rather than subjects. I just checked and 32 of the World's 33 developed nations have universal heath care. Can you guess which one does not? I will give you a hint - it begins with "United" and doesn't end with "Kingdom" or "Arab Emirates." So, Europe is pretty-much wide open for our new castle. We both speak English (well, American) so that will narrow the choices a bit. Of course, we will send for the kids (they both have passports) when we are settled. Don't worry, I will still be able to blog from wherever we settle.

What goes down's....Gotta come up!

I feel that things are starting to go better of late. I have had a few twinges that I thought might lead to worse problems here-and-there but they stopped. I guess the medication is doing what it is supposed to do or it could have just been indigestion. Or, maybe sleeping nights again, like we are raised and taught to do in America, has made a difference. I did almost pass-out the other day now that I think about it but it did not have anything related to my recent ailments. I was mowing the back yard and moving pretty briskly because the sky was quickly starting to cloud-up with a threat of rain (the rain did come right as I finished as you may have read in yesterday's blog). I walked into a tree branch and now I have a pretty good knot and red spot on the front of my melon. I know I have blogged before how mowing the backyard I often feel like Snow White being attacked by the trees. Out trees need some serious trimming so, I will have to do that soon. I will do that under the supervision of Cha Cha though because I have no idea what I am doing. She knows our her plants and trees. Maybe my affair with Mother Nature wasn't working the way she had hoped? I am a one woman man Mother Nature.

I got offered a job (sort of) today. I am still employed at the place where I have been for the past ten years or so in one capacity or another and I am not necessarily looking. I guess if something presents itself to you and you don't at least consider it you are kind of a moron, huh? It is something that I spent a great deal of my adult life doing so I would fall right back into it pretty seamlessly. After we get back for our vacation next month I will delve into it a bit more. I will have to weigh my current job with this possible new opportunity. This new thing would be working days like a regular human being too? I am at the point in my life that I do not have to jump one way or another - I can just choose what is best. I like having the options that come with age and experience. I suppose the decision will change if we do decide to defect because that would be a long commute every morning. I am not one who frets about growing old. It is all about recycling and we mortals are all but shadows and dust eventually.

A week from today Jill and I will be back at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. It is for just a routine follow-up (though it is a procedure) for her. They are just going to make sure all of what they did for her is working properly I guess. I know we hear of stories about people going in for a routine procedure or appointment and have complications but I do not foresee that being a concern here. Anyway, what are you gonna say? "We have already paid you enough and things are going fine so we'll just roll the dice?" If it were for me I may say that but she is better than me and the world actually needs her here; it is a much better planet with her as a member. While she is getting her stuff done I will be able to blog. I should now that hospital like the back of my hand but my memory, as you know, isn't what it used to be.
Karma must be working for me today. The street cleaner just game through the cul-de-sac and we do not have a vehicle parked in the street today. The 4Runner is in the shop for a minor steering issue (minor steering issues usually turn into major issues I imagine)and it is usually parked out there. Karma and Mother Nature on my side? How could things get much better than that? Also, I get to watch the Cardinals one more time tonight because they are playing one of the hometown teams (White Sox). I watched the game last night and I was happy with the outcome. Hopefully, tonight will be similar - come on Karma!

Okay, I am just starting to ramble now. Thank you for coming by; you are the reason I do this. I hope you have a great day and night. I have quite a few people that I will be thinking about today that are having medical issues. Some of them I know and some I just know because they may be loved-ones of some of you that you have asked for prayers and good thoughts for. I am always especially sad when children are among the people having health issues. If you can think good thoughts and send prayers for 2 1/2 month old Baby Zoey that would be greatly appreciated. She is having a hole in her heart repaired today. When Splenda (Chloe) was a baby we had many problems with her being in-and-out of the hospital so I know that horror. Now she is 23-years-old and way smarter and nicer than me. She is one of my favorite people (not only because she is my daughter). I am sure the Chloe and Zoey rhyming names is not a coincidence and Zoey will do great. TTTT...MITH (out)TA!

Let's All Just Be Good Sports, Huh?

That was last August 13th

I try really hard to root FOR my teams and not AGAINST other teams. Since being taught good sportsmanship as a boy I have always believed that is the way to behave. I must admit that I do get caught-up in the negativity on occasion because that is a virus that becomes airborne and can become contagious. There have been many times when I have typed something on a post on some of the social media or here but have deleted it before posting it. Can you imagine going to a kids' little league baseball game or a children's soccer game and yelling negative comments at the opposing five-year-olds? I know we have all seen the occasional idiot who does that sort of thing and I know how we have all felt at that point. Maybe it is from all of my coaching of kids' baseball and softball and soccer in the past but, as a player, I never really razzed the opponents either. There were the occasions when I have given it back when I have received it but I can rationalize that. Let's act like adults and lead by example. If I blast your team - please call me out on it. I know we all get passionate and lose our minds on occasion with sports (I have a great alibi for that right now) but, if I blast your team, please call me out on it and I will apologize like a good sport should do.

Supposedly honesty cleanses the soul or something so, Dear Blog. I have been having an affair with another woman but it is only an emotional affair so maybe that doesn't count. I would appreciate if you would not tell Cha Cha and maybe this is one of the days when she will not read the blog but I feel I need to be set free from my guilt. The worst part is that it is with one of her very dear friends (mine too). The last two times I mowed the lawn (I am just gonna say her name) Mother Nature has waited until right when I was finished mowing to make it rain. I think she really loves me. Maybe it is me feeding the birds and saving rabbits or whatever but it is very kind of her. Cha Cha does a lot of gardening and stuff and we have a forest in the backyard because of her green thumbs (Easter egg accident as a child) so maybe she just appreciates us both. I am glad I wrote that because I no longer feel guilty. Thank you for being here to let me work that out and clear my conscience. And, I just think we ought to be very good friends Mother Nature - nothing more.

Next week Jill has to go into the hospital for a (supposed) routine procedure. We really should get an apartment near Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. We could be like Ronald McDonald and let people use it for their hospital visits when we are not there.

This trip might, literally, be the death of me!

We are only 22 days from our connecting flight from Chicago to London and then on to Prague. I think I am most excited about Heidelberg, Germany but Paris and Prague both sound pretty amazing too. I am kind of afraid that Heidelberg will be a let-down because it has always been a wish of mine to get back there and how can you live up to a 40+ year dream? I am not really sure when I started thinking about that but, pretty much ever since I can remember knowing that I was born there I have always wanted to get back to my beginning. I am the Kunta Kinte of Heidelberg. Wouldn't it be weird if I got struck by lightning or a brick from Heidelberg Castle fell on my head and I died there? People would say, "can you believe he was killed by one of the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps?" I am not sure if they would use those exact words but I know they would be thinking it. And, since I would be dead, I would know what everyone was thinking; kind of like Santa Claus does. So, think good thoughts for goodness sake.

Am I the only one who doesn't not understand why Donald Trump is gaining support and popularity with all of his negativity? I try not to get to political because I realize, most of the time in that arena, I am out of my depth but I know a loonie when I see one. I cannot see any redeeming qualities in this man. I suppose he gives several people apprentice jobs before the companies that they work for go bankrupt but man, I just do not get it. Maybe it is the old "everybody slows down to see a train wreck" mentality. I have some people very close to me that swing this direction politically but I don't get it. I know many may say that they don't understand my affinity for President Obama and all of the great things that he has done either. We are all different and I appreciate that. I am very happy that there are not too many people like me - I am sick of me most of the time and I cannot escape but, leaving politics out of it, Trump is an embarrassment to the entire American way of life. Also, I do not think he really wants to be President as there is not much profit in it for him. Bankruptcy seems to be where he makes most of his money.

Speaking of money - I have to figure out what countries use what money. Do all European countries use the Euro now or does Germany still use the Deutsche Mark and does France use the Franc? I guess the best way to get the correct money we need is to just use an ATM every time we switch borders? That will only be four times I think since a lot of the time we will be in Germany. Maybe that is the way to go. I had better brush-up on my German so I can figure-out what those ATM's are saying to me. I think I will play the lottery over there too (if they have a lottery). I will call the losing ticket stubs souvenirs.

Okay, I have lots to get done around the house today so I had better wrap-up. Thank you very kindly for dropping in; I do appreciate you so much. I hope you have a wonderful day; it looks like it's gonna be a nice sunny day here in the MIDDLEwest. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Just Suck Like Everybody Else - What's the Point?

Coulda just sucked like many I have worked with 

It's Monday - sorry. I slept pretty well last night because I took a sleeping pill (following doctors' orders as I do 73% of the time). As when I have been sleeping I dreamt (though Spell-Check doesn't recognize "dreamt" as a word). Maybe Spell-Check knows that I mainly have nightmares and wants me to be more forthright. My nightmares last night were work-related. I think that is because my work (more specifically the parent company - The State of Illinois) is screwing me on my medical benefits that I have paid in since the beginning of my newest career. Come to think of it I have worked in the state of Illinois since the day that I began working back in the 1970's. Now I work FOR the state for the last six or seven years. Over ten years if you count my part-time work there too. I know the state is supposedly financial broken and the interest they made off of all my money (I imagine they used money markets and stocks and bonds and various other investments) should be enough to help. Instead, they pay people who work for the state their weekly pay (who they will screw out of their benefits later) to find ways to stone-wall me from getting my earned benefits. My latest battle (today) is with State Universities Retirement Systems of Illinois (SURS). Maybe if it were called MADAMS or MA'AMS is it would work properly.

The first barricade they place in my road (over a month ago) was to say that my doctors did not go back far enough on the dates of all of my doctor visits so I had to contact all of the doctors to have them send everything they have on my looniness AGAIN! Apparently that was fixed and now I get a letter from SURS that states that these benefit are based on age; therefor, under tha ACT governing the system, it is necessary that we verify the age of each participant who may qualify for benefits... We have reviewed your record and cannot find verification of your birth date..." Seriously? You have been money out of my checks for my retirement twice a month since I started and you have no idea if I am a legal citizen of age to work for the state of Illinois? Jeez, I wonder why Illinois is financially broke as it is crying. SO, today I will walk to the post office and mail a copy of my birth certificate an agency who has been taking my money and doing blog knows what with. I will use the pre-paid envelope tehy provided that came out of the money they have been taking from me that they cannot use to fund my benefits. Jeez, I wonder why I am sad and depressed most of the time!

I like the blog better for talking about things like the previous two paragraphs because I usually edit the blog before it is presented to anyone else. Often times I am too passionate when I speak and things escape past my lips before I can perform the editing process and it is too late. Maybe that is why people rarely hate deaf people - they have to think before they sign things.

I just turned on the Jim Croce station on Pandora and the first song came on was You Don't Mess Around with Matt Jim. Irony? Fate? Coincidence? Foreshadowing?

This past weekend I was cheered-up as Splenda and Andy (her dude) came up to this part of the state that is out to get me for a wedding of one of her high school friends. Even though we didn't see them too much, because of the wedding, it always does my heart good to see Splenda. I was really tired most of the weekend (because I am slowly losing my charge and I my dance-card was pretty full) but we went to lunch with them yesterday (even Fabio went) which was really nice. It is pretty rare that we can get all four of us together with works and schools and miles... It makes me smile just to know we don't hate each other yet. I also talked to my mom and dad yesterday so, I guess, other than my brother who lives in Hawaii, I talked to a great deal of my family. He has Hawaii - he is doing just fine!

It was also nice spending the weekend with some good friends. Friends and family are what it is supposed to be about I think. There are so many obstacles that get in the way of that but, maybe why that is why those times are so nice. They say that we appreciate the things more that we have to work for.

If I ever want to be famous - just before I die I am going to find a celebrity who is out of town and drown in their pool, I know it is very sad that Demi Moore's assistant had a party at her house while she was out of the country and a guy, who didn't know how to swim, drowned in her pool but why is that news? I know the answer is because celebrity reporters are whores and just mentioning a celebrity (even if they have nothing at all to do with the story) makes it news to some idiots and bloggers. We are so sensationalistically driven and we have the 24-hour news and entertainment cycle and billions of computers to fill with gossip.

I had better get some of my errands and chores done before that tired feeling starts to fog over me as it does. I opened up the fire-proof safe thingy to get out my birth certificate and I am going to send them: a copy of my United States of America Passport, my Department of State Certification of Birth, my Certificate of Citizenship and my Report of Child Born Abroad of American Parents. Hey, I was 2'11" and weighed 32 pounds when I was born. I was the Shaquille O'Neal of the baby part of the Army hospital!

Thanks for letting me get a few things off of my chest and onto my blog. I feel a little better after venting - if you're required to do community service or you get credit for doing that sort of thing I would say you can count this. If you need me to sign-off on it I will be happy to do that. I hope you have a great day - you deserve it! TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

These Blogs Are Making Me Thirsty!

 I will just go back to sleep for a bit - no problem 

It is 03:02 on Sunday morning and I have been in one of the scariest places I know for roughly the past hour-and-a-half or so - alone in my own mind. I think I am going to get ahold of Stephen King to see if I can check into his head for a few hours so I have some happier thoughts and maybe be able to get some sleep. I have a couple of different kinds of pills that they have given me to help me sleep but I thought I was tired enough to make it through the night; imagine me being wrong. I wonder if this is how King became the master of terror or horror or whatever it is that they call him. Maybe his novels are just outlets for his unsavory thoughts and nightmares? "Unsavory" isn't the right word - perhaps just "unpleasant." My eyes feel heavy so maybe I need to take one of those pills so my eyes can grow heavy and I can stop for the night (though it is closer to day than night almost). 3 AM - 4 AM is supposed to be "The witching hour" so I am right near the MIDDLE of that as it is now 03:24. It didn't really take me 22 minutes to write this so far; I went downstairs to get some water as I am parched. Perhaps that is my real problem; maybe I am just thirsty? This blog is making me thirsty! I am not sure why 3 - 4 is the witching hour but that is when ghouls and demons and witches and ghosts and bloggers... are supposed to be able to wander freely and are at their peak of nastiness. How do time zones effect that? Will we have to get used to an entirely different witching hour in Europe? Some believe that Midnight to 1 AM is the witching hour. Why can't we agree on even one thing as simple as this? I remember, when I first started blogging many moons ago, I used to write about this topic a lot. Maybe there is a book in there somewhere for me? Maybe that is where this has been leading all along? Do books still exist? I see people reading books on their tablets and such quite often - same thing just different incarnation I suppose.

Speaking of writing, I have been entertaining trying to get a writing job for a magazine. I am not sure what topic appeals to me the most. I like music. I like movies (saw two yesterday). I like people (quite a few anyway). Pretty much all aspects of entertainment appeal to me. "Entertainment" can encompass almost anything. I like sports. It should always be a dream of people to get paid for what they enjoy doing. I guess it should only be that dream until it becomes a reality. I am gonna work on this one I think. Cha Cha suggests I start with writing short stories. Perhaps. Maybe I should be an entertainment reviewer? This weekend I ate at a few restaurants, saw two movies and went to a concert. I don;t take much credence in reviews because we all have different tastes and just because I like it does not mean that you will like it and then you will think, "man, he has crappy taste so I will never read his reviews again" when, in fact, we may have just disagreed with the one thing I wrote and then you will never read any of my other reviews.Short stories that will be bought

This has pretty much been my life-long mantra 

It is now 03:49 so I will try to sleep away the last quarter of the witching hour. Here's a video to entertain you until I get back - don't worry it is not scary. I remember (I think) that I used to play this song a lot when I blogged before I worked nights and would be working right through the witching hour. I wonder how that chapter of my life will play-out? Life is so intriguing and mysterious isn't it? Maybe this song is kind of the Matt In The Middle anthem? I have now watched the video three times (coincidence) and now it is 04:00 (I am officially out of the witching hour) and I think I am still alive. I am going to sleep now that the demons have released me.

Is it just me or are George H. W. Bush and Robin Williams now doppelgangers? Now I am really going to try to sleep. Really!

It is now 07:37 and Cha Cha and I are sitting in the Tiki Room. I, obviously, am blogging again now. While I was sleeping again I actually had a dream (pretty rare for me though occurring more of late). I guess it was really a nightmare involving bullet-proof vests and someone complaining about me. I do not mind nightmares. I like stories of all kinds and, if I am having nightmares, that means that I am sleeping. Bring on the nightmares.

I had to run (I walked really) outside and check and fix the exterior garage lights. When Cha Cha tells me something wrong I have to go and fix it right away because, if I don't, I will forget and it will never get fixed. That one was, as it turned-out, relatively simple though I like to wrongly believe that I am just brilliant. Maybe Cha Cha has slipped me a mickey to make me seem like I have lost memory capacity and recall in order to remedy my terrible procrastination problem. That, I would say, has always been one of my biggest faults. That and, of course, my ruggedly handsome looks that intimidate others. Other than those, I am perfect.

I am tired of the rich and powerful keeping the rest of us down. Isn't that how revolutions and revolts begin? I am not calling for a coup or a revolt I am merely wondering why we, the people, let these rich and powerful a-holes get away with everything they get away with. I have fed into this when I worked for a bunch of rich a-holes. I am happy I am out of that situation. Thank you housing-market crash!

I am going to wrap-up for today. I think I will blog tomorrow. If you're looking for something to do to stay out of the heat I would suggest seeing Train Wreck in a nice cool theater. Don't go if you are easily offended with unsavory language and/or nudity. I think LeBron James was one of the funniest parts of the film. Of course, Amy Schumer is really good as always and was the best part of the movie. Thank you for stopping by. Try to stay cool today. I appreciate you coming by. Maybe, once my short stories are made into films, you will say, "hey, I used to read this idiots blogs a few years ago." TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Short and Sweet (tooth)

I cannot believe that is is already 14:08. I said I would blog today so I am gonna blog.

Last night Cha Cha and I and our buddy Greg and our great friend MADYM and a few others went to dinner and to see that Eagles' tribute band (One Of These Nights) that I was telling you about. The band was pretty good I have to say. I was very impressed how the singers sounded like the real Eagles band members. I was totally unimpressed with the lead singer until toward the end of the show when they did some of the songs that Joe Walsh was the singer on; he sounded a great deal like Walsh. He redeemed himself with me at the end. I would recommend seeing them if they are around. It was nice that is was only $3.00 per person, parking was free, it never rained and the company was we were with was the best.

Fabio and I just got back from seeing Ant-Man. It was pretty good if you like the Marvel films. Later Cha Cha and I are going to see Train Wreck. They really do try to keep my dance-card full. And I wonder why I am tired all the time. Jill says it's my medication but now I know the truth.

I had so many great things I had thought about that I was going to write about in the blog but I didn't write any of them down in one of my dozens of little notebooks that I carry and, now, I have forgotten them. So, I have to have some thoughts about what to write.

It is funny how I have brushed my teeth five to six times a day since my dentist appointment. Before the appointment I would brush them once in the morning and then once before bed. I wonder how long before I am back to brushing twice again, I imagine I will keep pretending like a good boy until my cleaning at the end of the month, I can understand the brushing after each meal thing - that makes perfect sense to me, Maybe I will brush every time after I eat and, being as lazy as I am with brushing, I will just eat less and lose weight. I should probably patent that weight-loss program.

I may blog again tomorrow because I feel like I am selling myself and the blog is short today (TWSS). I am not making any promises about blogging tomorrow. Splenda and Andy are here for the weekend (they are up for a wedding) so I don't want to lose any time with Splenda. TTTT (maybe)...MITM (out) TA!