If I Blog About Hair and Plugs is this a Hair Plug?

Yesterday I started the day off in a crabby mood and karma used her sense of humor, once again, to show me why I should not take things so seriously; she does that quite often to me as it turns out. I was using my little battery-powered nose hair trimmer to do what it was designed to do and, when I finished, I took it out of my nose as I am supposed to do according to the directions that I have never read (because I am a dude and dudes usually don't read the directions until the thing breaks). The part that was, just milliseconds before, inside my left nostril dropped straight into my mouth. Nobody can say that I am not doing my part with recycling. You're welcome environment and America! And, yes I am aware that was a very long (TWSS) run-on sentence a couple of sentences ago but I imagine karma will pay me back for that later too.

Tomorrow night Cha Cha is dragging me out to see some Eagles' cover band (One Of These Nights) at RiverEdge Park in Aurora. Cha Cha thinks I need mental stimulation all the time because my brain is aging faster than I am so she keeps me busy. I guess the story was really more like: our college buddy Greg asked if we'd be interested in going and we said "yes" because we like Greg and we like The Eagles but, I have more fun playing the victim. If the night ends-up sucking I am going to stick with the first story though so I have no blame in the MATTer. We may eat at Walter Payton's Roundhouse & America's Brewpub first.

The dentist (his name is Crentist) appointment was no fun yesterday. I wrote that previous sentence yesterday about three hours before the appointment with the knowledge that going to the dentist always is NO FUN! They kill your self-esteem with all of the things that you're doing wrong. Has anyone ever come away from the dentist with ALL good news and/or feedback? By your silence I am assuming the answer is, "NO!" It is today now (tomorrow from those previous sentences) and I had one cavity that is no longer a cavity and I am going back at the end of the month to get one of those cleanings that hurt like Hell. I like how they numb your gums up enough that you won't feel any pain at all until about an hour or two after you have been home. They don't want all of we victims patients scaring and upsetting the next victims patients in the waiting room. It pretty much hurt all night long so I took one of the sleeping pills that I am supposed to be taking every night but no voodoo doctor is gonna tell me what to do!

I should probably stop mentioning specific places and showing photos of items with their brand names to be seen by all who read the blog. Who is ever going to pay me to blog if I keep plugging all of their stuff, by name and likeness, for free? Maybe Cha Cha and my team of neurologists are right about my brain (or "left about my brain" - not sure).

At 04:11 I had two very distinct knocks (like on a wooden door) in my right ear. Did someone die? I think that is three knocks, right? Maybe it was Dawn and Tony Orlando didn't get his knock in? It was really creepy no MATTer what it was.

I think I am going to grow a beard before we go to Europe - starting today. I know it will be hotter and I see that, over the last few months while I have been battling with my brain, my brain has used the weapon of graying my hair as a mental tactic (which I kind of like - but don't tell my brain) so I am sure I will have that distinguished salt-and-pepper look when the beard arrives. I got the idea for growing the beard after watching the premier episode of The Jim Gaffigan Show last night (see - another free plug). It's a good show if you in my opinion. I would say that Gaffigan and I are about the same girth (though I believe he is taller than I am so it is a girth-to-height ratio thing) and his beard masks his double chin pretty well. I have darker hair so I may even have a better beard beard (that is my new term for a beard that hides your double chin). Beard beard comes from the term "beard"  from when a homosexual person has a heterosexual person as his/her "boyfriend or girlfriend." To me that is one of the most special relationships one can have. Kind of like Nell Harper Lee and Truman Capote had, hypothetically. Hey, her new book (Go Set a Watchman) comes out very soon (free plug). That might be great trans-continental travel fodder. Hey, if I grow a beard I can retire the nose hair trimmers.

Thank you for coming by; I hope I make you smile as much as you make me smile when you stop-by. Have a great day. I am curious if I will be able to blog when I am in Europe - I should probably find-out if I need something special to do that. They probably have cyber lounges and bars there, right? I will work it out. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

TV Sucks, Read Blogs (this one at least)

I really hate the commercials talking about the about animal cruelty that show us the cruelty. I realize that some people need to see it to believe that it is true but I think most of us know that animal cruelty exists. The newest one is with Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting from one of the worst shows in television history (The Big Bang Theory) showing baby seals being clubbed. There's also that one with Sarah McLachlan singing "Heart of an Angel" with the videos of sad and abused animals. We know that this stuff is going on - just tell us and sing or whatever. I don't need extra convincing - in fact, that is when I change the station (that word used to be channel). I just had to get that off of my chest. I am actually more of a DVR guy who doesn't watch commercials anyway.

I am going to take my own advise  - thank you blog!

While many were watching the baseball all-star game Cha Cha and I watched a couple of episodes of Happy Days on ME-TV. Television was so much better back then when we only had three networks. They had to actually try to make good shows. Today there are so many channels and nearly all of them are on all the time that they just put whatever crap they have and it is up to us to create our own networks by switching the channels all the time to find something worth watching. I bet more than 50% of the time people are watching crap that they never even really have interests in. I spend a lot more time these days with the television off - especially since True Detective sucks this season. The sophomore suck? I guess that is what blogging is for, huh?  It seems odd that someone who says he doesn't watch much television started today railing about commercials, baseball all-star games and how crappy programming is. And sometimes, when television is pretty good, it is being made by someone who is not who we think they are. Sometimes it is made by someone who is drugging and raping women who trust him and look-up to him (hypothetically).

I am going to try to turn the blog around because I think my despondence and border-line depression are coming-out in my writing this morning. I have always found that, if we don't like our attitudes, it is our responsibility to change them. I know so many people who cannot realize that they have poor attitudes. I am not sure if it is a blessing or a curse to be able to realize that you are becoming snarky. I think, at one time, I was snarkily-challenged. Maybe I am just dreading the dentist today?

It's odd how taking a few moments to pet a dog can change one's mood. Maybe I should blog about politics? No, that will never end well.

My Twitter Account is officially closed folks!

I am about 70% certain that I will delete my Twitter account today. I rarely use it and, all I get lately, are people "following" me who are trying to sell me stuff. If people are going to troll beneath my bridge I think maybe it is time to tear down the bridge and just stay on my side of the gully. I am 100% now since I took about 15 minutes figuring out how to and deleting my account. They make it a bit confusing because they want us all Tweeting - not me anymore!

I must be in a cleaning mood lately. Yesterday I did the yearly deleting of many Facebook "friends." Most of the time it is just because they are people that I rarely interact with on Facebook; I hope nobody takes it personally. If you want to remove me from your Facebook list I would be fine with that. Actually, I would be surprised that you hadn't done it sooner.

I am gonna end now. I am still tired and you're not supposed to blog when you are tried or crabby. Maybe that is something else, not blogging? I am sure the dentist will cure my attitude. Thank you for letting me vent today; I really needed you it appears. I hope you have a fantastic day. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

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!

Matt About Town (The Evanston, IL Edition)

That goes for blogging too I am afraid

I just realized that I have not blogged yet today. It is only 07:02 so I don't know why I thought that I had? Obviously, I still have days of slight to moderate confusion. I had quite a big day yesterday so maybe all the stimuli will take me awhile to completely process and file-away before I am ready to move-on to new things? Maybe if I could just let my mind rest for awhile it would get back to normal. This has always been the reason that I don't sleep well too I believe; I cannot shut my brain off. Perhaps it is overheating? One would think that I would be smarter that I am after 24/7 for over 51 years. I guess that comes back to the saying that "it isn't how hard you work rather how efficiently..."  I do realize that nobody's brains ever completely turn-off until death so maybe I should be careful for what I wish for, huh? I would just like to while away the hours conferring with the flowers once in awhile though.

I know this may come from The Department of Redundancy Department but I am really having a difficult time remembering things this morning - more so than usual. Maybe I will lie down again after I get done writing this. One of my dearest friends, Greg, is coming over this afternoon so we can go to lunch. Greg and I are alike in many ways and very different in many ways - I like him for both of those halves. I am really happy that the Cubs - Cardinals game ended the way that it did last night as I would have had to endure quite a subtle ribbing had the Cubs won three out of four of the games they just got done playing. There are only three games left before the all-star break and now the Cardinals meet the second-place Pirates. No MATTer what happen with the Cubs and the Bucks and the Cards - the second half of the season in the National League Central will be interesting and entertaining. These three teams are all playing lights-out baseball right now.

I always carry a pad of paper with me but maybe I will start carting my little digital micro recorder around with me too (or instead). I do like writing things down for some reason. Maybe I am just a traditionalist journalist?

Maybe something similar to this would be nice?

Evanston, IL is a really nice town. It is very vibrant and busy. It is right on Lake Michigan and, I imagine, it has something for just abut everyone. The yards are about the same size as our yard but I think they take a lot less time to mow (though I think they have somebody doing it for them). The houses take-up almost the entire lots. You could, literally, reach out of your window and shake hands with your neighbor reaching out of their window. Most of the homes near the lake, not surprisingly, are beautiful. I figure they must be very expensive and the taxes are probably more than most of us would want to try to afford. I realized it the houses must be very expensive when I saw a lot of the real estate signs showing the realtor as Sotheby's. I assume it is the same Sotheby's that does all of those hoidy-toidy art, jewelry, celebrity, collectible... auctions. I think I would prefer a small house on a lake in Wisconsin or somewhere quiet. Maybe on Golden Pond?

Walking around town yesterday I realized that I would be much better looking had windows never been invented. I suppose I would still see my reflection in water occasionally even if there was no glass. Maybe a lake house would not be such a great idea after all? I am not going to even get started with my disdain for mirrors. Maybe I should invent Disdained Glass Windows (patent/trademark/copyright... pending). I have decided to drop a few several LBs (that's how we hipsters say pounds) before the trip. I know I how to do it and I have before but I always end-up gaining then pounds back. I realize it is my fault because I jump off the wagon but I will lose twenty pounds faster than Jack Robinson.

Our big trip begins is 34 days. I called all of the credit card companies and our cell phone company a couple of days ago and told them that we will be out of the country next month so that we would not have issues with calling and/or getting our money. I told them the dates and they asked which countries we would be visiting and I got so excited every time I listed the five countries to the people on the other end of the calls.

I have some things I need to get done before my chariot arrives to whisk me away to lunch (probably salad for me). I hope you have a great day and are having the nice weather we are having in this part of the MIDDLEwest. Thank you, so much, for stopping by. Thank you, also, for coming back as often as you do and for the kind and thoughtful words. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Blogging Like a Rock Star from the Northshore

We will definitely bring Jeff here one day

Cha Cha had to work in her company's Evanston office so she brought me with. She is in the office doing office things and I am sitting on the beach a few block away doing beach things. By beach things I mean: lounging on a boulder buried in the beach with another boulder as a backrest. I look like Fred Flintstone if his living room were facing an endless-appearing body of water. I began by walking up and down the beach just taking in the smells and the breeze and the views. I love the beach more than just about any place on the planet. I could blog for hours and hours about that alone but I will not. I really wish I had brought Jeff with me because they have a fenced-in doggie beach and there are several dogs running up and down the beach chasing the surf - we will get him here one of these days.

When I walked the beach I chose the sand path less traveled rather than the paved path. I just love the feel of the sand beneath my feet. For a bit the water missed us not having our boat but then I remembered all of the pains in the butt and I quickly got over that longing. They say the two happiest days for boat owners are the day they buy it and the day they sell it - I can attest to being accurate. There were lots of good days in between those tow day though. It is funny how time makes you remember mostly the good times.

As most of you know, Cha Cha and I listen to Pandora about 20 hours a day. I decided that walking the beach and smelling the surf (even though it is fresh water) would be a great time to listen to the Jimmy Buffet station. It was a good choice. I was a big Buffett fan back in the day and still like his music. I even got to meet him after one of his concerts when I wrote an article about him for Tropical Pleasures magazine. The songs brought back a lot of happy thoughts too. It just seemed like a Buffett sort of a day. Maybe this is the time of my life to invest in a metal detector and one of those beach vacuums? Probably not many doubloons on Lake Michigan though huh?

Good thing that I have a FOID card huh?

Jill brought me with today because she says that, even though the doctors feel it necessary for me to get little mental stimulation she has noticed that the stimulation helps me most of the time. I have always been a social being so for me not to be among my people (whomever they happen to be any particular day) is counter-productive. Most of the time I think she is correct. However, sometimes I do just like to be alone and feel sorry for myself - I think that is the yang to my ying. She is easily my Ethel Thayer. Ha, just as I typed that I heard "she thinks that happiness is a Matt that sits on her doorway." Obviously, the song 3AM by Matchbox Twenty was playing on Pandora. Anyway, I thank my lucky stars every day for having Jill in my life. She seems to know what I need when I don't even believe it - she is usually correct. I think I do the same for her. We're like cheese and crackers (or maybe peas and carrots because some people don't care for me and some don't care for her but everybody likes both cheese and crackers). Also, like cheese and crackers we are even better when we are together than when we are alone.

On the way in here I started to feel like I was having a seizure but I squelched it through breathing and happy thoughts of puppies and kitties and stuff.

I am starting to realize that losing my mind has been one of the best things that ever happened to me. There is so much less pressure. I have been trying to remember Fabio's graduation party a couple of weeks ago and I remember things here and there but not everything. I worry that I wasn't as sociable as I should have been but I do not remember. If I were bad Ethyl Cha Cha would have told me that I had been an old poop.

Okay, my alarm just went off telling me to start making my trek back the couple of blocks to Cha Cha's office for lunch. Good thing I wrote her office address down so I can GPS my trek. I will finish this when I get back from lunch though it appears that I have been pretty wordy already (see - I am in a good place mentally). BRB...

Here's a shout-out for the free WiFi Barnes & Noble - PROPS!

Okay, I am back. Lunch was good and now I have to keep myself entertained for about 150 minutes or so. I am inside a Barnes & Noble in downtown Evanston (I knew they would have free WIFI here).  It looks like rain and I thought rather than walk around and take that chance I would finish the blog and see which way the wind blew. There are lots of cool stores around here so I may go shopping when I am done with the blog. I didn't even know that book stores still existed so you can imagine my delight to find this place. I will definitely look around here before I leave; I love books and magazines and DVD's and CD's... I am a media hound. Plus, whenever I use a service (even free WiFi) I feel compelled to buy something - I am one of the suckers that keeps these places in business. I do notice that everyone has a desert or a coffee so I am not the only one, thankfully. Oh yeah, they have electrical outlets too. "This mall has everything... Pier One Imports..."

Tomorrow my hetero life-mate Greg and I are going to lunch. I am so popular now that I have lost my marbles (maybe I should start using metal marbles so I can find them with my metal detector if I lose all of them).

The Wifi seems to be getting shaky (maybe because of the impending storm) so I am going to wrap-up. Thank you so much for stopping by as you usually do. I really appreciate it and I really do think about you and picture your face as I write this (unless you have never commented or liked the blog). Actually, I picture everyone I know from time-to-time just assuming everyone read this. Except for my mom - she does not read the blog - she is afraid of technology - but, I guess I do think of her too apparently don't I? Have a great rest of your day. I should blog to you again tomorrow morning before Greg and I do out. If not, I will blog to you after. TTTT (sometime)...MITM (out) TA!

Trans- Neptunian (awesome)

It is 04:29 and I am wide-awake. I slept for four hours and 22 minutes according to my watch - 73% of which I was "motionless." So, I slept for 262 minutes (roughly four-and-a-half hours) and, of that, I was "resting in peace" for 191 minutes which is an hour-and-a-half. My math could be flawed as arithmetic has never been one of my strong suits but, if that is correct, that doesn't sound like much. I did not take my sleeping pill last night as I am trying to not become dependent on them but maybe I should be dependent on them as I cannot depend on sleeping properly without them. I was extremely busy yesterday with my TODO list so I never got a nap. I think naps have been a great help to my well-being so I have to just add those to my TODO's. I suppose I wouldn't need naps if I slept for more than four hours and 22 minutes through the night. Though my brain is flawed it does not like to turn off on its own. Maybe that is why I was passing-out;  my body was trying to take charge of the mind and just shut-down. I am afraid that I am going to ruin all of the progress I have made (even though that progress, I believe, is due to the seizure medicines).

Maybe part of the problem last night, besides not taking the sleeping pill, is that the Cubs were playing the Cardinals and I love watching the Cardinals play baseball. I don't get to watch too many games as I am not in their regular broadcast area. The game was stopped due to rain so I went about getting some things done with the thought that the game was ended because it was already "official" but, the rain stopped and I just happened to check as they were discussing resuming play so, of course, I had to watch the completion of the game. My team ended-up scoring some more runs and won 6-0. Today, there is a Cubs-Cards double-header beginning in about seven hours. I am afraid that I will be listening to a lot of that on the radio as I don't see me watching eight-plus hours of baseball. Fortunately, baseball is almost as good on the radio as it is on television. I think that is just the romance part of the game. I honestly do not think that there is another sport that is near as good on radio as baseball. I am tired (no pun intended though noticed) of whining today already and it isn't even 5 AM.

It was weird to see the broadcast of the game on both WGN (Channel 9 in Chicago) and ESPN. I must admit that I so much more enjoyed the ESPN broadcast. I believe if I were a Cubs' fan, however, that I would have liked the home-team broadcast better. Maybe not? I think I liked the impartiality of the broadcasters that did not have a horse in the race.

Bye, Bye Burty!

I did get tired of hearing the term "cutter" and "cutter pitch" so much. I think this "cutter" is a relatively new thing. It is a fastball that breaks slightly toward the pitcher's glove-side. It is between a fastball and a slider I think. Was that formerly known as a slurve? I suppose not since that is a slider and a curve combined. Who decided on the word "cutter?" That makes it sound like an illegal pitch when they used to slice the ball or scuff it to me. Why not a "slide ball" or a "flyder?" Maybe it is weird-ass crap like that which makes baseball just as good on radio?

I heard the Burt Shavitz died Sunday. If you are unaware, he is the Burt's Bees (lip balm, skin products...) dude. It is so funny that, when I wrote a note on my phone yesterday to remember to blog about that, spell-check changed "Burt Shavitz" to "Burt Shaves." I so much prefer Burt's Bees over the other lip-balm products without naming them. We have a couple of recluse-type people in our town that almost everybody knows just because they are everywhere and I think Burt was a dude like that. It is odd that one of those people in our town, he is known as "Shadow," I had not seen in a very long time and just yesterday, before hearing about Burt Shaves (that was on purpose), I saw him walking downtown. The other person that just about everybody in town knows has a beard very similar to the one Burt had/has. I think "recluse" was an inappropriate word there as a recluse is someone who avoids people but they do seem to lead solitary lives. But, that may just be my perception and it could be incorrect.

Over the past few nights (not last night) I have been having nightmares. Maybe it was the sleeping meds allowing me to sleep deeply enough to dream? The nightmares were involving kidnapping and trains. I am sure there is some book somewhere that would make-up some bologna about what that means. I think all of our minds work differently (I know that for a fact right now) and different things manifest themselves differently to each of us. That is why there are so many books about dreams and the meanings of them. I think we need to interpret them independently as we are all different. I also think that trains can mean one thing to me one night and something differently to me a different night. But, I am just as full of crap as the people who interpret other people's dreams. I will take from them what I believe they mean to me. Some people, through time, probably called dreams visions. Maybe I should keep a dream journal. Dreaming is a relatively new concept to me as, without the sleep-aids, I rarely sleep deeply enough to fall into the REM sleep where I dream. Most of my dreams don't seem to be very happy though.

Trans-Neptunian! How cool does that sound?

I heard that we have a space mission to Pluto. I remember, in the 1960's when I was very young, the space missions just to the moon (Earth's) were huge news. Now, we barely even hear about going to Pluto. I heard that we know so little about Pluto that the space craft could fly right into a moon that we don't know exists. I think I heard that Pluto has seven moons that me know of. There are times that NASA cannot even talk to the space craft because they lose communication. It is like the first time back in history that anybody ever took a ship and just sailed off into an ocean or sea (I never really knew what the difference between seas and oceans were). I think, based on the seas and oceans that I know, that seas are smaller than oceans. Seas are usually located where oceans meet land too it seems. If that is correct, seas and oceans have to be together at one point so what are they called then? Soceans? I know oceans are larger. Are seas salt water? I know oceans are all salt water. I could easily look it up but I like to have my own thoughts and I really don't care about being wrong as much as I used care about that sort of thing.

Wow, it is almost 6AM (05:49) now. I may turn off the lights again to see if I can get a few winks. It is like I am writing my own bedtime stories when I blog. Maybe I should start blogging just before I go to sleep? I may try that tonight. That is "may" not necessarily "will."

Have a fantastic day. I have no idea what the weather is gonna be today but, based on the last couple of days here in my part of the MIDDLE, I predict rain. I am glad I got the backyard mowed yesterday between showers. Thank you for stopping in to let me rant and moan and hypothesize and misquote and all of those other things that I was taught not to do when I write. That is the best part about editorializing and blogging - no rules apply. TTTT (or tonight if I decide to blog my bedtime story tonight) TA!

We're Broke I Tell Ya, Broke!

I am really disoriented this morning. I am hoping and believe that it is because I got my medicines straightened-out which allowed my sleeping pill to work properly last night and I am just not fully awake. I have not had any big seizures in quite awhile but that may also be because my medications not being straightened-out. I was taking 30% too much seizure medicine each day. So, as of yesterday, I am taking the prescribed amount. When I thought I was taking a sleeping pill (on occasion) I was taking a different seizure bill. Now all of my bottles have black Sharpie on them saying exactly what they are for. Why do they have to use stupid names for the pills. I guess the names are fine but why don't they put (in plain laypersons language) what the medicines are for? You hear a lot about elderly people (that includes me apparently) getting their medicines mixed-up. So, maybe my meds will work properly now and I will be taking the correct ones for the correct symptoms. I feel sort of like an idiot but I thought I would share to say how easy this can occur - even with someone who is still, in tree-ring age, fairly MIDDLE-aged. I have a feeling that I have also been doing too much with this recent graduation party deal. I sort of feel like I am coming down with a cold. I wonder if I can think of anything else to lump in here?! Is there anyone who wants to get together and play some poker - we can use our meds as poker chips - might be a very interesting weekly game.

Did you hear about what is going on in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas? It sounds like it is still the old west there with: drug smuggling, court bribery, government pay-offs, health care fraud, voter fraud (stealing and buying). I think I'd like to go there for vacation, They call it the Compadre System (the old "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" way of doing things). The FBI is trying to get it straightened out and it sounds like they have put the right man in charge of the task force. His name is Rock Stone (FBI supervisory special  agent) - yes, that is him real name. I think he is the great, great, great grand nephew of Mr. Slate from The Flintstones. He was college roommates with Dash Riprock. I never knew the hierarchy of the gravel pit. I know Joe Rockhead was Fred's boss at one time but was he under Mr. Slate (Slate had the word "Mister" included which insinuates some kind of respect and power)? And, even though Fred worked at the same quarry for the entire show it had about four or five different names over the years; must have had different parent companies or owners between the stone age and the bronze age... How did I go from graft in Texas to the Flintstones?  Oh yeah, Rock Stone. I guess it is so mad there that an entire drug until was seizing drugs and then selling it back on the streets - they are all in prison now. Thank you Rock Stone! You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger and you don't mess around with Rock Stone!

I was born in one of those years. Coincidence?

I have lots to do today as time is ticking by quickly. It is just a little over a month before we head to Europe. The last big thing I used to use to measure time was Fabio's graduation and party and, now that that is over, I guess the trip is next. How cool would it be if, while we were on our trip, I dropped dead in Heidelberg, Germany of natural causes? I was born there and I have never been back since I was like right months old and, as soon as I got back there, I died?  That would be eerie methinks, Maybe not as soon as I got there because I would like to look around a bit first. Please don't think that I am planning anything like that or that I wish that to happen but I always think of stuff like that. People often insinuate that I have the power to make natural disasters occur just by thinking about them when they say things like, "don't say that because what if that came true?" But, that has never seemed to have been the case. Maybe the odds increase the more times I say stuff like that but I thin they are still like 204,765,677,341,980,069.522 to 1. I will play the odds and say I will be just fine but, it would be a great story for future book reports for my ancestral brood. I have always had the same poor odds on winning the lottery.

With all the things I have to get done I really just want to take a nap. I just don't feel right today. Sorry, maybe bad timing thinking that right after that last paragraph. Maybe I will go have a banana and see if perhaps I am just a bit peckish.

I don't know if I will get anything on my list done today after the one I have been working on for about an hour (still working on it). I am going to try to write this without blaming anyone or pointing any fingers (though I know where the finger-pointing and blame should be aimed)... I am still working on getting all of the proper records sent to my work (though I have ample proof that the proper documentation had been sent when and where it was supposed to have been sent). Maybe if your employer's parent company is supposedly broke they will stall in whatever way they can as to not fork-out any money they say they do not have. Hypothetically!

Alright, I have to get some stuff done or today's list of todos or it will make tomorrow's list just that much longer (that's what she I said). Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a great day. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

Oh yeah, Cubs - Cardinals begin tonight! GO BIRDS!!!!