A Harry Bloody Maria!

It is already three minutes until high noon. I did not write yesterday because it was quite a busy day. I drove Cha Cha to work because I have Noah's ride in the shop and I gave him mine to use and I needed to go back for my replacement urine test. I tired to get some information out of them about my last test that revealed red blood cells in my lemonade. I got nowhere with the receptionist/nurse so I did some shopping and came home. Later in the afternoon I called the doctor's office as they requested last week to tell them that my new meds were not improving my sleeping and the lady voice on the phone (supposedly) took down everything I wanted relayed to the doctor and I have not heard anything yet. So, I do not know if I am dying soon or not. I do realize that, from the moment we are born, we are dying so I am not concerned as I know the final outcome. I just think it would be nice, if my odds were hedging me to die sooner than later, that I could do some of the things that I would do if I knew I were dying. I started to make a list of those things but they were not things that I would really do so I deleted them. Most were not practical, some were stupid as I needed to think about Cha Cha living without money if I lost everything in Vegas or something... I would, in actuality, spend my last days helping people (strangers and people know and I love)  and saying goodbye to friends and family in fun ways. I know, for sure, that I would not hold my tongue about anything anymore. I know some people may be surprised to learn that the person they have known actually has not been saying everything on his mind; yes, I do have some restraint whether you believe it or not.

When I got home yesterday I cleaned the garage out so we can get both of our vehicles in there for the winter. It is funny how Spring and Summer mess-up a garage so. I did the laundry simultaneously. I also mulched the plants that we planted last week. That was pretty good timing as it rained well last night. After that fun stuff I went and picked Jill up after work. I took her to work again today because she likes it and I am off today. I will pick her up again when she is done for her day.


I am preparing for my interview tomorrow though I am, pretty much, an improvisational kind of a guy. It is nice that, whether I get the position or not, it does not really matter in the greater scheme of things. It is one of those It's a Wonderful Life moments that can determine what will happen in later days of your life. Will George Bailey be there to save Harry after he falls through the ice or will Harry die and all of those men on that transport die? I love that movie but I have mixed feeling about that one single moment in George and Harry's. I know George got the better end of that deal with Mary and the kids and the town all coming together to save him but what if George had gone off to college and Harry had died? Harry is really kind of a selfish jerk. To me, that is how destiny can screw with us. Harry caused George to lose hearing in that one ear when George gets into the icy water to save him. Then, their dad dies and George gives Harry his college money with the understanding that, when Harry graduates, he will come back and run Bailey Building and Loan so George can go to college. But, Harry comes home with a wife. Was he really even married? No matter what she has procured Harry a job at her father's company. And, then the war breaks-out and George if 4-F because of saving Harry as a kind again. And, of course, her earns the Medal of Honor and gets to meet the President of the United States (Harry Truman). Hmm, Harry Truman/Harry Bailey seems like a conspiracy thing to me. Then Harry comes home and toasts George as the riches man in Bedford Falls. I know what the central message of the film is but I don't think I could have done that to my brother George. But, George was the richest man in Bedford Falls because of his brother's hubris and greed and  selfishness. Having Cha Cha and my children in my life make me happy to be George any day of the week. I have no idea what cause this paragraph. I sure hope I stay on-target tomorrow during my interview.

I hear that Hurricane Maria is probably going to hit the entire island of Puerto Rico. The family and I went to Puerto Rico a few years ago and it is absolutely beautiful and the people could not be nicer or friendlier. I wish them all the luck I can muster and hope Maria takes a rest when she gets there and then just passes by quietly by. She is scheduled to be at THE CENTER of Puerto Rico early tomorrow morning. If you're a praying person I ask that you send them whatever juju you can muster. And a recent earthquake in southern Illinois this week and now a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Mexico City, Good thing that there is no global warming.

I am going to play with practice interview questions some more and then, maybe, take a short nap before heading back to Geneva. I appreciate you stopping by and letting me take a break and ramble for a bit. I will let you know what happens with the interview when I know. I m so happy that I win no MATTer what. Have a great week and I will blahg again Sunday (probably). TTTSunday...MITM (out) TA!

My Brakes are Killing Me

I always tell her not to ride on the cart that way, but...

It has been a pretty nice day so far (it is 14:38 so I guess it is pretty far on into the day). Cha Cha and I went out for breakfast and then we went over to Menard's to get some mulch for the areas that we planted last week I think - may have been the previous weekend). We also got a few flower plants to add to the yard. Then we went to Target and got some groceries.

I am watching the Cardinals - Cubs game game and the Cubs are leading 1-0 in the 4th inning. The Cards have bases loaded with one out in the fourth inning ( double play ended that hope of mine). The Cubs won the first two games of this thee-game series and I hope that the Cards can avoid the sweep. Oh, that being blogged, it is now 2-0. Drats and double drats!

So, Hurricane Jose is wreaking havoc now and Tropical Storm Maria is headed our way now too. There has to have been two that I missed between J and M; there has to have been a K and an L in there. I will take a look. Okay, I found that Tropical Storm Norma is on the way next (toward Mexico) and Tropical Storm Lee is out in the Atlantic Ocean. Maybe they retired the K storms since Katrina is in the Storm Destruction of Fame? Okay, I did not give up and found that Tropical Storm Katia got tuckered-out before reaching Mexico.

I read about how Marriott sent a ship to their resort in St. Thomas to pick-up stranded people when Hurricane Irma had passed and before Jose had not turned north toward the area. Irma had pretty much devastated every building not made of concrete and the airport was closed due to the weather. I thought that was very nice to get there to rescue people before Jose arrived. They got there in time and got out in time but, they took only registered guests in the St.Thomas Marriotts. They left people there even tough they had hundreds of empty seats on the ship. There is no reason they could not have gotten everybody off of that island. If I had been a member of the crew I would have broken any company edict or rule and gotten every person that wanted to leave and that I could fit on that ship out of there. My job be damned. I would even have taken jail time for breaking maritime rules or whatever. Right is right and wrong is wrong. People in distress should always be helped when possible. Marriott is dead to me. I thought we had a Marriott credit card and I was going to cut it up but it is a Hilton card so I did not. The Hilton's need my money because they are so poor. I am very aggravated just reminding myself of that story.

3-0 Cubs now in the sixth inning.

I have a job interview set-up for Wednesday afternoon. It is where I already work but it is another position where they need additional backup help in a different department. If I were to get the position I would keep my current job and would just flex-over to work there as/when needed. I am kind of excited. It is nice to interview for jobs when you already have a job. I will study some of my responses between now and Tuesday night and whatever happens Wednesday afternoon is what is meant to happen. I know me better than anyone so I will just be me and let them see who I am.

My brakes are killing me!

Hey, it is 3-3 now in the sixth. I think I will end now since the game is getting excited and I know that me watching will make all the difference. Additionally, I don't get to watch may Cardinals' games and this is a good one. I will blog again tomorrow between all of the running around I have to do. I have to get my urine sample taken again tomorrow so they can determine if the red blood cells in my urine was a fluke or whether I am dying or something. That would take the pressure off of the job interview I suppose. I also have to get the brakes checked on the 4Runner. It is leaking brake fluid. I believe it may be a brake line. I am sorry I purchased the option of brakes option on the Toyota though they came in handy when we had the boat. Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you every single day. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Mutts and Squeegees

I slept like a rock last night because of the new medicine. Why do we compare sleeping well with a rock? I think we could use any inanimate object for that analogy. How about "I slept like a squeegee?" Squeegee is a funnier word that rock. Rocks are really loud when they roll and gather moss. I read about the new medicine that I am taking on Al Gore's internet and it says that this medicine works by affecting the balance of certain natural chemicals in the brain (neurotransmitters). So, my body just needs a little push in the right direction I guess. I have not slept that well since I drank way too much back in college but, with this stuff, it didn't leave a hangover. I was a bit groggy at first but, if memory serves, this is the feeling of how I felt when I got a good night's sleep back in the 1970's or early 80's.

Today is laundry day and grocery shopping day for me. I just used the last of the birdseed (for the birds, of course) and the nuts for the squirrels this morning. I also have to get stuff for my work lunches. I have a chair to fix and I have some garage straightening-out to do because winter is coming. I did the dishes last night so that's one less thing. I am going to workout at some point today too.

Cha Cha and I are working very diligently at getting rid of DirecTv. We are checking how we can get to see most of our shows while dropping the big bills for stuff that we do not watch.We're trying to become minimalists in a huge house (oxymoron). The house part will be worked-on later in the process. We have way too much house now. I wonder if our neighbors would appreciate us making this place a fraternity or sorority house. I think I already know the answer to that question. I bet Jeff would like all of the pizza and munchies dropped all over the place. A boarding house? A flop house? A restaurant?

Not the actual throne

I spoke to my dad last night and he said that my mom's team pf doctors are looking for a "mind clinic" for her. I am not sure exactly what that means but she was, as much as I saw, the person with the most independent skills in the place where she is staying. She is easily confused, frustrated and irritated so I am happy that they are looking for something to address those issues. I don't foresee her getting much better but I will always hope for improvement.

Okay, shopping time. Can't touch this!

My goodness it is 14:13 already. I did the grocery shopping at the three stores and I spent the last, approximately, two hours working on a broken chair that Jill wanted me to fix. It is a pink felt chair with a silver base with five wheels. She uses it in her office while she is working about 14 hours a day three or four days a week. She spends the other four or three days working in one of her company's offices. So, one of the wheels on the chair was broken and I tried to fix it about nine different ways and I, apparently, am not qualified. I tried: solder, wire, rope, washers, zip strips... At the end I just took the wheels off and it will still sit on the base and spin. She has a carpeted floor in her office upstairs so she will be fine. She does have another plush chair that she has been using. She has lots of options.

While I was out doing the supermarket circuit this afternoon I got a call from my doctor's office regarding my lab work from yesterday. The lady voice told me that they found some red blood cells in my urine and they want me to come back in next week for another test. So, of course, I just now looked on Al Gore's invention again and the site I looked at suggests possible: infection, trauma, tumors, kidney stones, kidney issues, possible prostate problems, bladder cancer or kidney cancer. So, I will go back to Batavia next week and pee in a cup again. I have had kidney stones before and they are no fun. I don't think cancer is much fun either. Based on the choices on the site I would say the smart money here is on the kidney and probably on the Mick and the Stones. I think I will ask about medical marijuana so I can see what all of that fun is about. I don't want to tell Jill but I will, when she gets home, because that is only fair. I am sure it is nothing like Al Gore is suggesting. It will be nothing of consequence. Que sera sera.

I am an over-thinker on everything so this will occupy my thoughts until I get the next results (after the next test) sometime mid/late next week. Thank goodness I have pills to help me sleep now. There may be another European vacation in my future soon? England, Scotland and Ireland sounds like fun. Speaking of that Jill and I have been talking about doing one of those ancestry DNA tests. I have been told that I am mainly: Native American, Irish, German and Bohemian. Jill has been told that she is a great deal English. Her mom was adopted so who knows what we will find in her background?Maybe we will soon? Maybe we will go to Bohemia. I love the rhapsody there.We went to The Czech Republic (Bohemia) and Germany the last time we visited Europe so it if only fair that we visit Cha Cha's mother and fatherlands this time.

I think I will end now and get a few more things done around here before my love gets home from work. Thanks a lot for letting me vent and whine and prognosticate and hope and dream and exaggerate and bluster and whatever else I did here today. I wish the best for you and yours and I will blog again next week and we will see what we see and know. Maybe I will get that medical marijuana after all?  TTTSunday...MITM (out to make some cheese and chicken quesadillas) TA!

Don't Shoot Irma

I am starting a bit later in writing the blog today. Actually, some Mondays I don't even find the time to write at all so I suppose this is better than that alternative. Since Autumn/Fall is near the yard is not growing as rapidly so I can do this rather than giving the yard a haircut. 

I went to the doctor this morning and now I have some sleeping pills. He believes that many of my issues may be caused by my lack of sleep. I have never been a good sleeper so, perhaps, all of those sleepless nights may have been taking a toll on my other facilities? I blame a lot of that on being born in Germany and coming here to your country as an wee lad. I picked the meds up and will begin the labMatt experiments tonight. I am very happy that tomorrow is one of my days off of work in case this experiment goes awry. I am to call the doctor back next week to tell him how I do with this experimentation. I have nothing to lose but sleep itself. They also took blood and urine samples as this was, originally, meant to be my yearly check-up until I gave him my list of health grievances. I am happy that everything else seems to have gone very well and I will await the lab test results. 

After my doctor's appointment I went and visited my mom in the facility where she is staying in Winfield. When I got there nobody could find her anywhere. The place is secure and she has one of those house-arrest things on her ankle so an alarm will sound if she leaves the building. She is allowed to travel by elevator from floor to floor and she can wander within the building as she chooses. I must say that she is the most mobile person in the entire place outside of the staff and visitors. I sat with her while she ate her lunch. All of the other people there needed to be fed by nurses and volunteers and such. It was difficult to find her when I got there. I was wandering around the place looking for her. I finally got in the elevator and went upstairs (though I did not use stairs but it is still called upstairs). As the elevator door opened I saw my mom standing there waiting to get on the elevator to go downstairs (again no stairs). She told one of the nurses that she had been waiting for me to come for a long time and she began to cry (happy tears). She then told the nurses how I was her baby brother (my Uncle Rick). I did not correct her as the nurses knew who I was. She was very happy that her brother came to see her and I would not take that away from her. My Uncle Rick (and Aunt Linda) had come down from Rockford to see her a few weeks back. I was just glad that she was happy. I called her "mom" the entire time I was there and it did not seem to confuse her further. I took her some flowers from Cha Cha, Splenda, Fabio and I. I used our real names on the card. All-in-all it was a very nice visit. 

A couple of morons I would wager!

Today is 9-11 and instead of planes flying into buildings we have hurricanes tearing-up our southern states. I think we should make September only have ten days from next year on. I heard that over 50,000 Einsteins have expressed interest in shooting guns at/into Hurricane Irma. Officials have urged strongly against this as people will, certainly, get shot if that happens. I also heard that people are looting homes and businesses that have been ravaged in their towns as if the hurricane and weather/water/wind damage weren't enough. Things are bad enough for many, many people and then others want to kick them while they are down? I believe Texas and Florida both voted for Donald Trump for President and where is he while all of this is going on? This is the quietest that he has been since being given the Presidency. Now Irma is in Georgia. Maybe the next Hurricane will have a Gone With the Wind reference in it's name since Tara was in Georgia? The hurricane name has to start with a J and must be a male name next time so I guess it would have to be Hurricane John Wilkes. John Wilkes was Ashley Wilkes' father. You will remember that Scarlett O'Hara was in love with Ashley Wilkes but, frankly, I don't give a damn. That has always been Cha Cha's favorite film so I know more about that movie than I would care to admit. Until writing "John Wilkes" just now I never realized that John Wilkes Booth may have been named after John Wilkes? Gone With the Wind was published in 1936 and Booth was born in 1938. Seems like more than a coincidence to me though I am a conspiracy theorist from way-back. Both had a great deal to do about the south too. Hmmmm... 

Alright, I have to clean the kitchen and do some laundry so I will end now. I thank you for stopping by. Hopefully, I will be able to write about what a great night's sleep I had (will have at this point) tomorrow. Why does the bottle say to take "one or two" pills? I cannot be trusted with a decision like that! Who in their not-right, sleepy mind would take just one pill with that option? I suppose it will be a game time bed time decision but the Vegas-odds are 3:2 that I will take two pills. Have a great night and I will probably blog tomorrow (odds on that are even). Thank you for stopping by. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

The Earth Seems Angry

Hello my friend. I hope this week finds you well. I am worried about the people of Texas and Florida with the third hurricane bashing a few of our country's southern states. I cannot help but think of the University of Miami and their mascot being Sebastian the Ibis but them being called the Miami Hurricanes. I wonder if they will rethink being called The Hurricanes (Canes) after what has been going on. Perhaps I am too politically correct at times. Actually, I am less than politically correct more time than not. I guess, like most things in someone who calls himself Matt In The Middle, I deal with things on a case-by-case basis. Now I have The Scorpion's song "Rock Me Like a Hurricane" stuck in my head. I saw them in concert back in my college days - I was a big fan. Anyway, I hope things calm down in the southern coastal states of the country that I have called home for most of my life. 

Our fearless leader (45) has been very quiet this week. Is this his calm before another Twitter storm? Even he knows not to fool with Mother Nature.

Last night Cha Cha and I went to Chicago to a White Sox game with The Lost Sock and The Found Sock. I never really thought about the link between their nicknames from the Dirty Laundry Podcast days and them being such big Chicago White Sox fans. We had a very nice time having dinner near the ballpark and then the game. I had no idea that the Sox played at a place called Guaranteed Rate Field. I still thought their stadium was called U.S. Cellular Field though I still prefer Comiskey Park. I know sponsorships are everything in many sports. My favorite baseball team has played in Busch Stadium, named for Anheiser Busch, ever since I can remember. It is actually called Busch Memorial Stadium for the Augustus Busch family that started the brewery that made/makes: Budweiser, Busch Beer, Bud Lite, Michelob, Rolling Rock, Shock Top, Johnny Appleseed, Landshark... Wrigley Field (where The Chicago Cubs play) has been called that since 1927 when William Wrigley (yes, the chewing gum magnate) bought the team. Wrigley was originally called Weeghman Park named for the property owner Charles Weeghman. I guess sponsorships have been part of sports forever. The oldest MLB park is Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox) in Boston when the Sox have called home since the beginning in 1911. The name Fenway comes from the name of the land that the park sits on - called "The Fens." So, the oldest ballpark is not like a NASCAR racing machine with sponsor stickers all over it. I am positive that at  least 60% of my info in this paragraph is accurate. 

I am watching The Green Bay Packers playing The Seattle Seahawks while I write this. I am not as much of a football fan as I used to be. I still call The Miami Dolphins my favorite team. I have been a fan of theirs since I was about five years old. I think it all started simply because I liked dolphins. I still have a Dolphins' helmet from when I was about nine years old in 1972. It is on a shelf down in our workout room. That's the helmet there without all of the extra face masking that helmets have these days. Maybe that is part of the cause of my neurological problems?

Speaking of that, very loosely, I have a doctors' (general practitioner) appointment tomorrow. It is just a yearly check-up that they called for me to have. I guess somebody needs a new 9-iron or something. Why do we HAVE TO go see the doctor every year? I seem to being okay and I could use the money that I will have to pay for the appointment for other things. Like things that are not healthy for me. I realize my insurance pays for most of that but I pay for that insurance too. I have a list of things to talk to him about as long as he has me up on the rack. I am going to try for some medical marijuana or something. I am hoping that something like that might help me sleep longer than four hours per night. After I am done there in Batavia I am going to continue east to visit my mom in Winfield. I have not been to see her in a while. I always wonder what I will encounter when visiting her. I will stop and get her some flowers on the way. I hope she is having one of her good days. 

I am gonna stop now because somebody here wants to go over and get some ice cream. I need to put on a few pounds before tomorrow so the doctor has something else to give me the business about so I am game. Speaking of that, last night at the restaurant we went to (Turtle's Bar & Grill) I had Buffalo chicken egg rolls. I guessed on capitalizing because Buffalo food items are named for the city of Buffalo, New York. I do not want to offend the people of New York. I am going to try to make them in coming weeks. If I can figure them out I will share the recipe with you. And you know - I WILL FIGURE IT OUT! Actually, I think it will be easy.

Thanks a lot for coming by. I hope some of what I wrote made sense. I will probably blog tomorrow after I get done running my errands. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. I am happy that I still have to weekend days after today. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Martian Blog

I can tell winter is coming (not a Game of Throne's reference) because every two days or so I have to trim my finger nails.

Yesterday, while I was getting dressed after my workout and shower, I turned the television and started watching a movie that I recorded called Martian Child. There was a line by a little girl named Esther in the movie that made me think of yesterday's blog. She said, "Jesus is important but other religions are just as relevant." I do agree with that statement. I had seen parts of this movie while channel surfing a few days ago and I was intrigued enough to record the next showing. It is from 2007 but I had never heard of it. I think it is cool that John Cusack's character's sister in the film is his real sister, Joan Cusack. Oliver Platt is in the movie too and I have always liked him. I am easily convinced that things are cool. Do Martians have fingernails? I am also easily too curious. The movie is very touching and good. I suppose real movie reviewers would call it heart-warming.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson is in my town today to celebrate the opening of Quilts and Human Rights. It is a traveling exhibit focusing on social justice and human rights issues. It opened in 2008 at Michigan State University. After the exhibit closed there it became a traveling exhibit. It will be here at Northern Illinois University in the Pick Museum of Anthropology inside of Cole Hall on campus. It is arranged on the theme of The United Nations. The reason it is here now is, partially, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Cole Hall shooting on Valentines Day in 2008. Six people (including the shooter who took his own life) were killed and another 21 people survived with injuries (gunshot wounds, buckshot wounds and some injured just in escaping the scene). I was not a member of the Police Department there yet but I would, later, work with many of the officers that were first on the scene and instrumental in making sure the injuries were not worse. The reason Rev. Jackson is involved with the exhibit is that the curator at NIU, in searching for funding to get the exhibit here in town, unknowingly sought financial assistance from Jackson's goddaughter's Social Sewing Academy which focuses on "empowering young adults to use their experiences and intelligence and creativity to see their worlds and how they see their problems" according to the organizations' website. I will definitely get over to see the exhibit before it leaves town

I guess I misunderstood. I thought it would be here until VD?

Tomorrow is back to work day. I am only working three days this week because I got Saturday off to go see the Chicago White Sox play the San Francisco Giants. Cha Cha's brother and sister-in-law (my brother-in-law and sister-in-law) have season tickets and they asked us to go. I cannot believe they couldn't get somebody better than us to go unless nobody else wants to see the White Sox (last place in the American League Central and already eliminated for any play-off hopes) play the Giants (last place in the National League West and already eliminated from the playoffs). I am guessing we may even get to watch the game from the announcers' booth or one of the dugouts. After looking at it closer - the White Sox and the Giants are the second and third worst teams in all of the Major Leagues right now. The only team worse is the Philadelphia Phillies. Happily, the St. Louis Cardinals are in third place and only five games out of first place. It will be a tough battle because the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers are both playing great baseball but that is what sports are all about. I still have hope for my Redbirds. I wonder if the White Sox will have a big to do in 2019 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Black Sox scandal? I wold if I were them. You cannot change history so you may as well embrace it.

Cha Cha and I went out for breakfast and shopping this morning. I like the days when she is home. When we got home Fabio was here so that was cool too. Had we known he was coming over we would have waited and ate with him. I think he was mainly here to do some laundry and look for his computer cable that he thought he had left here. The three of us scoured the house and it is not here. Now I am doing laundry. The circle of clothes!

I do not really have much more on my mind. I am sure that does not surprise you. I have a doctor's appointment next Monday and I seem to have a good list of things to discuss with him. They called me for my "yearly check-up." I guess Christmas is getting close and doctor's have families to buy gift for too I suppose. My neurologist mentioned something when I was leaving my last appointment with him that I will discuss with my GP. I am a little stiff from today's workout now that it is 14:27. I always feel that way but I do end up getting down into the basement and getting a lot more workout in than I think I will. It helps to have the television and the DVD player down there to help take the mind off of the pain and gain.

Okay, I am done. Thanks a lot for stopping by. I will probably not blog again until Sunday. I hope you have a great four days (and beyond). TTTSundayish...MITM (out) TA!

Taking the Show on the Road

Happy Labor Day. I have bittersweet feelings about saying happy Labor Day this year. It seems to mean something different now because of all of the nonsense going on in our country based at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I wish I could just convince myself that what is being done doesn't affect me that much because I would be more content. I have always been a person that worries (too much at times) about how other people feel and think. I consider that a strength most of the time and a weakness on occasion. And, I am not traditionally religious though I do like many of the lessons and stories that most religions and faiths teach their followers. I think Jesus was probably a very caring person and I like a lot of the things he is credited with saying. I especially like the "do unto others as you would have done unto you" thing. That is not the exact way it was spoken but that is how we have made it to make sense to us. I have always changed it for myself to be more like "do unto others as they would have done unto them" because not everything that I like and want are, most times, the same as what other people like. I would prefer to give them what they want and like instead of assuming that they want and like the same things that I like and want. We are all different and that is a very god thing. I could not stand being around many people like me for too long.

I mentioned yesterday that we were probably going to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin today. I guess that plan has changed. I am not sure what it has been changed to yet but I do not believe we are going there. I think we ought to do something and Fabio said he'd go with us if we do go somewhere. We talked about maybe the dog beach in Chicago. I have always been going somewhere for something ever since I came to America from Germany when I was eight-months-old.

Yesterday Fabio and Cha Cha and I worked in the backyard for two or three or four hours. We: chopped/sawed down a tree or two or three, trimmed many tree branches from the forest of trees in the back, dug holes for and moved several plants of which I am not sure what they are, cleaned-up all of the debris... We have a lot of fire wood and such for the fire pit again. I am sure glad I mowed yesterday morning because it made working on the trees, bushes and plants a lot more convenient. Oh damn, I didn't feed the birds and squirrels yet. BRB. Maybe there aren't as many places to sit/perch will all of our work yesterday.

Ha, there is still lots of seed from yesterday still out there. I imagine they appreciate us more during colder weather. I am sure there are many more places to find food for the animals this time of year. I will keep the feeders filled for whenever they need some food.

I am watching Driving Miss Daisy while I write. I have always really liked this movie. I think Jill and I saw this at the theater when we were in our first year of marriage. In April we will have been married 30 years - holy moley. I may have mentioned it here before but Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were married on the very same day. I was going to write him and invite them to come out and celebrate with us on our special days but that seems stalkerish and I have decided against it. They both seem like very nice people.

It sounds like we may be going to White Pines State Park rather than Lake Geneva. Things change in the blink of an eye here. I think we are going to take Jeff with us. He loves riding in the car and he loves hiking and I am sure he would love deer though he will on the leash. He is very impulsive and would run into the woods and we'd never catch him. He has one of those chips in him but that would stink. The leash will solve a lot of problems. When I was much younger we used to call it White Pines Deer Park. I think that was a place to see deer (kind of like a zoo) within the park. I am not sure if that part is still there. I should probably wear long pants in case I have to tramp around into the white pines. Noah likes to hike so I am sure he will be up for it. I suppose we will have lunch there too or dinner or whatever.

I am going to end now and go downstairs and workout a bit. I hope you have a great day. I may blog again tomorrow - I will try anyway. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Another Blog Bites the Dust!

I have always loved those movies

I cannot believe I am actually blogging on a Sunday. I will probably say, at the end of the blog, that I will blog again tomorrow and Tuesday and then I will not. It is always my intention to write every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday but I seldom get to do that. It is only 10:32 now and I have already mowed the lawn to that cannot be my excuse.

Tomorrow is Labor Day and I do not have to work. My company (the one I work for, I should say, as it is not MY company) is open, as it always is, tomorrow but I am off (on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays). Jill and I are thinking about driving up to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin just for the Helser of it. I remember, when I was in high school and was 18-years-old, my friends and I would go there almost every weekend because the drinking age was 18-years-old. I am not sure why we were in such a big hurry to grow up because, mostly, being a grown-up kinda sucks. These days I don't drink alcohol hardly at all. That being said, I did have three glasses of moscoto with dinner last night. I am not sure what there is even to do on Lake Geneva these days. I wish there were a way to type something into a devise and fond things like that out. Maybe I will have to invent that and become surer rich. I will complete and perfect my time machine invention first and then it is easy street for me. I think of Jerry Lewis every year on Labor Day. I wonder if anybody have a Jerry Lewis/Dean Martin marathon on tomorrow?

HAZMATT

I mowed the lawn early today and my neighbors, if they looked out their windows, were probably surprised to see me wearing: a red hardhat, blue mirrored Back to the Future-looking sunglasses, swim shoes, yellow gloves, jeans and a jacket. It was too hot and humid for all of that but it spared many of my vital bits and pieces. The hard hat saved me from two trees spearing my noodle, the glasses spared me from becoming a cyclops and the long pants (jeans) took several shrapnel hits with minor pains rather than the loss of a few naughty bits and pieces. One hurt a great deal but, when mowing a lawn, you have to play but sometimes.

I listened to thee Adam Ant station on Pandora again while I mowed. I think I usually listen to the Adam Ant station or the AC/DC station while I mow. I guess I have different stations for different things. I have sleeping stations, driving stations (vary depending on traffic and distances), blogging stations, exercising stations (though lately I have been watching movies). Some of the songs that I liked today (and have liked since the 80's) contained the lines/lyrics: "everybody avoids me like a cyclone ranger (so) I get my kicks above the waistline sunshine and we can act like we come from out of this world, leave the real one far behind..." That is three songs combined into one run-on sentence to keep you busy for a while.

I actually wrote the first paragraph of my first novel this week. Thought it and wrote it down because my memory is old and cob-webby. One of the things that I like about my work is that my mind can wander a bit while I work without it effecting my productivity. I can even think and whistle while I work if I want to. I do have to reign it in )the thoughts and the whistling both) occasionally but I have songs and ideas and thoughts running in and out of my mind all day long. I know most of us have that going on pretty much all the time. I am doing it when I write this almost constantly. So, having written the first line of my book, I guess I need to get my asterisk in gear and get to writing.

I have a doctor's appointment nest week and maybe he will give a prescription for medical marijuana so I can get some good writing ideas with my mind opened all the way.

His mom dressed him like Wizzo from Bozo

I still have that high-pitched humming/buzzing going on in my head but can still not get extra terrestrial chatter from it like people have claimed to have had. I am not sure if they are crazy or I am. Maybe I am extraterrestrial and I just don't know it. Wouldn't we be extraterrestrial to people on other planets? Maybe they hear our buzzing in their pointy ears?

One of my favorite songs of all time is playing right now - Bohemian Rhapsody. Freddy Mercury (I call him Farrokh) has one of the best singing voices of all time, in my opinion. He is probably the best singer from Zanzibar of all time. Queen is in my top-five music groups of all time; probably number one. I want this song played when my ashes are sprinkled somewhere I was never allowed to go when I was alive. I want to go into eternity breaking the rules. I will have to decide where and advise / I am open to suggestions.

Hey, Fabio just stopped by so I am going to make lunch for Cha Cha, he and I. Thanks for stopping in and I will try to write tomorrow (Probably not) and Tuesday. TTTSoon...MITM (out) TA!