55 y/o malcontent, something of a writer
Last week I had several odd dreams that kept me awake.
One of those dreams was Obama going to Hawaii to kill his grandmother for the sympathy factor. No, really, I told Jim about it the next morning and he said I need to quit watching so much of the election. I personally blamed it on watching early episodes of West Wing…
And here we are… one day before the election and someone is dead…
I’m voting for the guy anyway, just thought I’d share.
So I’ve recently started to watch Battlestar Galactica (the new one) and Entourage and found I really like both of them.
I downloaded Entourage on my ITunes as it’s nice to be able to watch that show on my Ipod, but BSG with it’s special effects I want to watch on my TV.
The issue I encountered was the 1/2 season releases… Season 3 of Entourage was released as 2 separate packages and Season 2 of BSG has 2.0 and 2.5… I don’t want to buy half a product, I want the whole thing… A few years ago Warner Bros was releasing only some episodes of Justice League and Batman and Superman cartoons… no one was interested then, no one is interested now.
I don’t know anyone that wants half a product… for the love all all good TV shows go balls deep already and only release full seasons.
I really hope that the Senate actually reads these bills before they pass it… I can think of several bills during the Bush Administration that they wish they didn’t sign … or at least I wish.
I just had friends in town visiting, my best friend Pat, his wife Brenda (who thinks her name is Helen – long story), and their sons girlfriend Anna. They were on he east coast to attend their son’s graduation from Army Boot Camp, down in Fort Jackson. Then they drove up here to spend time with me.
These people are family – not the blood kind, the good kind – so I go out of my way to make sure they have a good time. When they came to visit seven years ago I missed all but the first 5 minutes of the Gay Pride parade as they timed it just that badly… 😉 This visit I took three days off of work and arranged for them to stay in a decent hotel. You make certain sacrifices for family and it never seems to be a burden.
Even though they saw most of it seven years ago, we again did all the monuments on the Mall and a few more sites that threatened to grind my feet into stubs. We went to the Spy Museum (which I paid a little extra for and can’t recommend as really worth it), the Holocaust Museum and the Zoo all of which were fun. I even put up with Brenda thinking she could speak to the seals and the birds at the zoo, though I did on occasion shout out “No, Dory, you can’t speak whale.” which got a few chuckles.
When they arrive I let them know the rules of Washington right away. I tell them they are very simple and if they break them I will lock them in the hotel for the rest of the trip.
The Rules:
1. Stand on the right, walk on the left
(I think if more people told tourists this there would be less congestion in our fair city)
2. Don’t give money or talk to the homeless.
and
3. Have fun
Now, having had them come visit and only break rules here and there – a couple of occasions where they stood on the wrong side of the escalator and once where Brenda bought chocolate from some guy who then turned around and entered the liquor store (lick her?!? I don’t even know her). I realized how different life here is from back home, and i wonder if I should be afraid of what I’ve become, scared that they haven’t changed or concerned that there is that much of a difference in society to notice the changes at all.
See, Brenda came out of the CVS, chatting away, during rush hour holding two 20 dollar bills in her hand, and gesturing this way and that – I don’t think it helped that she was wearing a fanny pack and had that sunburnt tourist glow. And, just the day before Anna had sat on the sidewalk outside, a wad of crumpled up bills of various denominations sitting there while she counted them… It was one of two times that I almost had a heart attack during the visit. They also like to talk to complete strangers, which I suppose should be a perfectly normal activity, but for me still raises my hackles and puts me on the defensive.
During my recent trip to WI (where most of my chosen family is from) I got odd looks when I locked the car door, or wanted to shut the front door of the house when we were all leaving. See, it’s safe at home. You could probably walk down main street every day counting 20 dollar bills in a little stack and not have to worry about anyone bothering you or losing a single bill, unless the wind picked up.
So, I wonder again – have I changed that much since I got here almost ten years ago now? Yep, in my first few months here I gave money to the guy on the corner that needed money for baby diapers… I was appalled at the lack of human compassion as people just walked past and handed him a $5 (at the time I wasn’t making very much myself, but felt sorry for that kid). And an hour later, I walked by him and his story was that he needed gas to get his pregnant wife to the hospital – he didn’t remember me from earlier. I think that was where I started to get jaded and not believe in the people here.
Have I changed that much from the very small town boy to the big city man? Maybe. Have I lost all my values or beliefs? No. I will still step into a fight to save someone, I don’t automatically disbelieve politicians, but I do second guess them. And I sometimes even give some money to a homeless person on the street.. Sometimes you have to do the next right thing, no matter what.
My dream last night…
He called me, to give in to our longing, he agreed to marry me once and for all. I was shocked, I never thought this day would come, but was also overcome with the joy and excitement that followed. I made plans with friends and made sure all was as it should be for that special day.
When the day arrived and all my friends joined me on the way to the house where the celebration was to be (Ann’s house which is weird as her husband fired me this year). Spirits were high, and everyone was very happy for me.
He never showed. I found him on a park hill, playing with his children, he gave me a look and I understood that he could not come with me while they were there. Which, sadly, made me love him all the more.
So, Saturday night I went to bed with a headache around 10:00. I woke up at 2:00 with a sore throat, took two Tylenol and tried to go back to sleep… must be a fluke I thought.
It’s now Tuesday night, my throat is still a bit sore and I’m very tired. Maybe I should go see a doctor.
This is a special notice, that should be brought to the attention of anyone you think may need to know.
WOMEN: For the love of God, quit wearing half a bottle of perfume. If I can smell your perfume on the other end of the train, that is way way way too much. There is an article in the link that talks about women being depressed and that leading to a decline in their olfactory abilities. OK, fine… all women are nuts, go see a psychiatrist.
MEN: Ok, it’s rare that a man or boi will wear too much cologne, but it has been known to happen. Usually, they are so drugged up they don’t even know they have a small piece of toilet paper on their shoe… so there is just no helping them. Men should though – wear something that doesn’t make people gag when they meet… clean up a little bit please
Wow, it was nice to see the old friends who made it. I had a great time. Rosy, Eric, Ted, and Mark all made it. Rich and Brad had things come up that didn’t allow them to come. It was a nice dinner, filled with old stories, old friends and good food. 
I really hope we have a chance to do this again next year and every year there after.
Its hard to believe it’s been 20 years since I graduated from High School, hell it’s hard to believe that I graduated period. This weekend I will meet about 6 of my friends from back then, most of whom I’ve actually seen in recent years.
Its funny looking back at our fears and schemes, where we all are at now never entered my very vivid imagination. Some of us, sure, we did exactly what we set out to do on paper, but the rest of us changed the entire spectrum of our lives to meet the hand that was dealt to us.
Career military personell, a politician, an office manager… these are what became of those people that I once referred to in the school paper as “Outcasts”, we’ve actually become part of society.
I’m nervous, which makes no sense at all, as I said I’ve seen most of them individually over the years, but its been 20 since we’ve all been in the same room. What memories still rattle in our heads that need to come out, what funny stories will we hear at dinner that we wish we could forget, but don’t really want to. I’ll likely swear a lot, and there will be teenagers present (like teenagers don’t know swear words or something).
Twenty years ago all I wanted to do was drink, drug and die (that is not an exaggeration), to think of all that I would have missed out on… would have been a real shame to check out early. I hope my friends feel the same way, I hope we all have a good time and do this again every year.
I went in with my expectations high. All the hype leading up to this movie put a lot of pressure on the film makers to deliver.
There was not one moment looking that I could see even a glimpse of Heath Ledger, all you had was a dark, twisted, sometimes funny mad man terrorizing Gotham City. His performance was chilling, creepy and consuming.
It wasn’t just the Joker that made this film spectacular. The writing, intensity, the twists and turns that kept you guessing. They had some very interesting takes on humanity that really shocked everyone.
This is my new favorite movie of all time. I cannot express in words how much you need to see this film.
