Like Pete Rose, I Am Still Around

I cannot believe I have not blogged for five days. I am not been feeling very well and we have had lots going on and insert another excuse here and add another lame reason here... I cannot believe how many things there are to do in life and then, throw in work, there's no time to breath. Seriously, there has been a lot going on but I could have found time to blog but I seriously have not been feeling really well again (please don't tell Cha Cha - it's not serious enough to worry her pretty little head about it - she has plenty on her plate without having to contend with worrying even more about me - I promise that if it were really serious, or becomes seemingly serious, I would/will tell her).

It's all ball bearings these days!

Our air conditioner has been out for about a week or so. We did not realize it until pretty recently because it has been cool enough where the windows just being open was very pleasant and we didn't need the air. So, I called the dude last Friday and he came out Saturday. He looked it over and said it was the flex capacitor or the fetzer valve or something (actually, I believe the word may have been condenser). He did not have one with him as he had two but the two calls before us needed them. It didn't really MATTer, as it turned out because they were each 1/6th horsepower and we are 1/4 horsepower so they would not have worked anyway. He got the part in yesterday and came out at 1600 and got it going. It was pretty hot here yesterday but, due to a storm passing in the early morning, the power was out in much of our neighborhood. So, even if he had gotten here before 4PM we wouldn't have known if it worked anyway because would not have been able to power it up. So, he got it done and I cranked the air down to 55 degrees (55 to stay alive) so it would be good and chilly by the time Cha Cha got home from work. It is now at a very cool 71 degrees.

I had my sleep study done (with the breathing apparatus) two weeks ago last night and I have still not heard back from anyone about getting my machine and/or mask deally. I called the sleep study place this morning and they told me that it is my doctor that should call me. I am not sure which doctor set that up for me. I think it was one of the neurologists but it could be my primary dude. I have a folder that I keep all of my medical papers in and there are A LOT lately. I think I may have to get several folders and separate them by doctor of which affliction they are related to or something.

I really haven't even been taking to many notes for the blog so I don't even remember what all I was going to blog about. I never realized how good my mind was until it started to vanish. I mist say that there is a lot less pressure not having to be the guy to remember everything. I didn't have to be the person to remember everything but, since I HAD a great memory it just made more sense I suppose. I am sure age is playing a role in all of this too so, combined with the brain problems, it just seems more pronounced to me.

I used this photo instead because it doesn't promote hatred

It is officially less than a month before I head back to the Motherland. Maybe it is the Fatherland? When do you use the one and when do you use the other? Okay, I found out the the United States is my homeland (because that is where I call home at this point in my life), Ireland is probably my Motherland because that is where my mother's family seems to be predominantly from and I guess Germany is my Fatherland because that seems to be my namesake (Father's) country. It is where the name Helser (from Holzer) was originated; it roughly means "woodworker" or "carpenter" - I am probably a direct descendant of that Jesus fella - wasn't he a carpenter? Searching for a photo of "fatherland" many of the pictures included a swastika in it because of a book about Nazi Germany entitled Fatherland. Perhaps I will stick with Motherland so as not to get lumped-in with that group of haters. I sure do get distracted these days - I am worse than Jeff (our dog). I went to a site called WikiTree and registered to try to find family stuff and got stuck there for a but registering and entering family stuff. It's free but I am sure my spam filter will fill-up greatly (even more) over the next several years of my life because of this.

I will be right back - the dryer is sounding it's bell and I need to fold the clothes before they wrinkle. That was one nice thing about the power being out - I didn't have to do laundry yesterday. BRB Okay, I am back. While folding the clothes I saw that I just washed Titanic Swim Team shirt. That probably wouldn't be a good shirt to take to Europe would it? Especially for the river cruise portion of the trip. Our first stop is Heathrow airport in London so even on the plane ride over and getting off in England it would probably be gauche, huh? Maybe I could wear in in Paris where we fly home from since gauche is a French word and I would be leaving anyway. No, I will probably leave that shirt here.

I am torn on the Major League Baseball All-Star game tonight. I hate award shows and all-star games... I did like these things as a kid and  maybe that is what they are mainly for. Like giving us a gateway drug so we become addicted for a lifetime? If I were in the major leagues I think I would find a way to opt-out of things like this. I would try to strain a muscle or pull a hammy right before the All-Star break or something if I made the team. The reason I am torn this year is that I was a huge fan of Pete Rose as a kid and he is part of the festivities (as an announcer) for the first time after being thrown-out of baseball. I know he broke rules but I feel he has paid his dues. But, they have found new evidence that he lied even more; he should have just come 100% clean at the beginning and (maybe) it would be over by now - probably not though. Aren't we taught forgiveness? He has said that if he had killed three people he would have been out of prison by now. I imagine a lot of that forgiveness stuff, like many things, is just jibber jabber. Just like monetarily wealthy people and politicians having different rules than the rest of us.

This famous "collision" occurred during the 1970 all-star game

I have a dentist appointment tomorrow. I haven't been to the dentist in quite some time so it will probably be an exciting visit. Is it just me or do a lot of dentists and dental assistants (and the other people running around those offices) seem like, no MATTer what you do, you cannot take well-enough care of your teeth to suit them? It is probably easy for them working there. It's like how a mechanic never seems to have car problems - they know all the secrets and have the special stuff that we regular people with cars and teeth don't have access to - I am a conspiracy theorist I suppose. It is one of the ways I entertain myself.

I am getting frustrated with my mind so I am going to stop now. I am trying to remember a few things and sort some of my medical things out and and am having difficulties with my mental hard drive. It would be nice if we could get brain / memory transplants the same way as we can upgrade our computers or get a new hard drive with more memory. Maybe I just need a memory stick to put in my ear - that's why they call it a memory STICK (stick it in my ear). Thanks a lot for stopping-in. Sorry I was gone for so long - I cannot promise that won;t happen again. I plan on being back here tomorrow morning though (my dentist appointment isn't until the afternoon). TTTT...MITM (out). TA!