Book of Jamez

55 y/o malcontent, something of a writer

Category: Random Rantings

  • Grateful

    I cried about my Pa again, yesterday, I wonder how long this will go on. It wasn’t the hearth aching bawling cry, just some random thought of him popped into my head and I cried a little bit. I am grateful that I had someone that I miss this much.

    I know that I’ll lose more people that mean something to me in the future, but I really wish there was a way I didn’t have to. And I finally realized why its important to take care of yourself physically, you don’t want those people to have to go through that pain until they absolutely have to.

    I received my cholesterol test results this morning via email, significant improvement since I started the simvastatin, so we’ll probably stay on it… its dropped by over 100 points, which is good I think (I see the doctor on Tuesday).

    ok, just rambling, coffee is ready now, so more later.

  • Dear John

    Dear John,

    I wanted to take this opportunity during the Thanksgiving season to thank you for all you’ve done for me this year. By firing me you opened a chain of events that have led to me being in a place that actually makes me want to go into the office. I’m so much happier than I was at your Newspaper busi… oh wait, your House Tour company… no… what was it you do again? I forget.

    A few small items come to mind:
    1. My new office is much closer to the Metro so I have less distance to walk in the cold
    2. Everyone in the office has a sense of humor
    3. Our company doesn’t produce newsletters
    4. Everyone has a relaxed work schedule, not just the 55 y/o obsessive compulsive types

    The company that we started this year has allowed us to eliminate from our work schedules: meetings about meetings, meetings about the results of meetings about meetings, quarterly meetings about whatever hair was up your butt that quarter, preparing documents for your house tour sideline, and listening to your paranoid ramblings. All of this free time has given us the opportunity to actually serve Clients needs, which they’ve really come to appreciate. That’s an idea you should maybe steal.

    Thank you for this Stress, Meeting, Asshole, Repetitive and Tyrant free year that I’ve had (that’s a S.M.A.R.T. Goal for you).

  • The Day of Change?

    The last two elections I was fearful, I really dreaded the possibility of “W” leading this nation the first time and the second time I found out how many American’s oppose equal rights for all people based on some hate mongering campaigning. Its not been fun to watch our country take this nosedive from a Nation of love and hope to one of hate and intolerance.

    This is different, this time I feel hope. I’m not the optimistic type, I’ve learned from being hopeful in the past, so I’m not counting this to be a win…. not yet. While its true that I have no idea where the other side is coming from, where they think another 4 years could possibly be a road anyone would want to tread down, I hope the American people make the right choice today.

    Mr Obama has inspired me and so many other people to believe that a change for the good CAN happen here, can happen now, and will with the grace of God and the vote of people like me. I hope he lives up to the hype he’s helped create, and I do feel sorry for him having to live under this microscope we’ll put him under. Does either candidate mean a move forward for gay rights? not that I can see, but the one with a road map to real change could possibly meet my team somewhere on his journey.

    I’ve oft times found myself tearing up, chest swelling with pride and amazement when watching the news, the rallys the speeches. Its been a long time since I’ve felt that about any one thing/person/event…. and its a good feeling.

    Please Vote today! Vote for the future, the children, the American dream of hope… Yes We Can! Yes We Can! Yes We Can! Yes We Can! Yes We Can! Yes We Can! Yes We Can!

  • Breakfast and a Beacon of Overpriced Eggs

    This past Sunday we went to the Beacon Bar and Restaurant in our quest to find the elusive good breakfast place.

    We were seated immediately (it was 8:15 so no big surprise there) and asked almost immediately what we wanted to drink. The coffee (which came in a pot all for me) and the tea arrived fairly quickly.

    We ordered our breakfast fairly quickly as well, Mark ordered eggs benedict, Robert ordered the French Toast and I ordered 2 eggs over easy. Both my meal and Roberts came with sausage, but they appeared to be two different types of sausage, mine was not bad and I’m not sure what Robert thought of his.

    The table was large enough for us to read our morning papers, it was not overly noisy nor were we parked next to anyone (especially anyone reeking of cigarettes).

    Robert didn’t particularly care for his French Toast, I didn’t particularly care for my potatoes. I found the prices to be a bit much ($4 for a cup of coffee).

    With improved food and a little cheaper prices it might have made the cut. We may return to the Beacon, but not this week.

  • This Weekend

    I took the train up to BWI and was picked up by my best friend from high school, Eric. He lives up in Hamstead, MD very close to Boring, MD… no really.

    We drove Friday night into Baltimore to attend a comedy club where one obnoxious drunk guy almost ruined the night for everyone… to be honest the three other drunks with him were also a bit distracting as well, not just to the audience but also to the comedians. The first two comedians were a bit thrown off by the heckler – for lack of a better word – and weren’t that funny, the last guy did manage to have us in stitches.

    Saturday morning we woke early and headed to the Renaissance Festival. It has been several years since I’ve been to the Renaissance Festival, and that one was in MN and I was stoned or drunk I’m pretty sure. This was a nice large place with lots to look at and some good entertainment.

    Then Eric and I stopped in Arrundel Mills and had lunch and then back to his house for some Battlestar Galactica.

    It was nice to spend time with him. He’s finally retired from the Air Force and last time he was in the area for 3 years we saw one another maybe twice, so we’ll try to keep the friendship more active this time.

  • Open Letter to releasers of TV Shows

    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.

  • Bailouts

    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.

    READ THE BILL before giving him another 700 Billion dollars.

  • Federal Financing Recap

    Ok, several “smart”, old, rich, (lets assume) white men made several bad decisions and gambles that have led their companies (AIA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns) into serious financial trouble…

    And you’re going to use my tax payer money in billion… oh wait trillions of dollars to fix what rich old white rich men wrought? This is gonna help the economy how exactly?

  • Home is Where the Soul is

    John’s parents apparently are taking his body back to Michigan, something his closest friends say he would never have wanted. This was such an odd thing John didn’t have anything written down to contradict that wish and grieving parents can be irrational. I’m not actually sure if he and his parents were close or not.

    I’ve always said, since I moved here that I don’t want my body to go back to the arctic wasteland (known as Wisconsin) and I really mean it.

    Burn me up and sprinkle me in the Royal Palms Resort vegetation if they’ll let me. I had a good time or two there.

  • Leftovers

    At lunch on Friday, Mark and Robert joked about inheriting two more cats (John had two cats). I don’t actually know what’s going to happen to the two felines, but I hope they find a loving home. When I go, if Q and Mouse are still alive, I think Gary will likely take care of them – unless I’ve moved out cause I found a boyfriend and my cats are terrorizing him now. They only ever liked me and Gary, though Mouse did eat sour cream from a spoon when Jean-Pierre was here feeding it to her.

    My friend Pat, has always wanted my comic book collection. Its not a good collection, just a bunch of comics that I’ve never taken care of. Most of them are not even bagged up. When I sold my comics a long time ago for beer money I decided they weren’t that important to save for financial reasons. I collect them for the stories. I know Pat will read them and be very happy… Brenda (Pat’s wife) will wish they were put away and not just all over the place… lol

    I don’t know what I have that Suzanne might want. She would likely find the cards she’s given me over the last 14 years to be a wonderful thing to have in remembrance of me, and the pictures if I have kept any (I tend to toss things out if I’m spring cleaning – which I do every three months or so). She gave me one card when I first moved out here to DC that still makes me want to cry each and every time I think about it.

    If my Ma and Pa or Rhonda want anything, I wouldn’t know what that would be … but they should be given that opportunity. Well… not Pa, as he’s come up with a scheme to do something with everything and it would sit in the shed for 10 years as a dust collecting experience… lol

    That’s really it, I don’t have much else… I would hope that if there is any money at all left that everyone that knew and loved me made sure no one in my biological family got any of it. Pay for my funeral, make sure Gary has some money to take care of the cats and then donate the rest to a good cause. (A good cause is helping HIV/Breast Cancer, starving folks in the US, R.I.F., or something that gives something back and keeps giving – that would be most important of all).

    I am not being cruel about my family, I just know how they are. The money would go to drugs or alcohol and not for a damn thing that matters.