Some times I'm just so weary.

A gentleman that I worked with for the last ten years retired last June. He was highly intelligent and well read. He had a degree in music composition from the New England Conservatory of Music, a pretty high zoot school ranked right up there with Julliard in New York City. Through the course of living life, including two failed marriages, for aren't we all a product of the choices we make, he ended up working at a supermarket. Now I wouldn't call him live wire or the life of the party but he did posses a wickedly dry sense of humor. In the last couple of years I he became more and more surly. Yet out of work he was a more relaxed and personable person. I noticed this when I accompanied him to a local watering hole a few times after work. Trying to figure out his behavior I came to the conclusion that the drudgery of work was really getting to him. Let's face it what I do for a living is hardly stimulating to the brain. It has it's moments but mostly it's boring punctuated with moments of tedium. On the other hand it has provided me with a reasonably comfortable living. Thankfully I am on an old pay scale from the original company I joined which was a very desirable place to work around here. We were an upscale market before the term existed. It was an inovative company, at least in supermarket terms. You know the mesh bags that oranges come in. That was a result of my old company contacting Dow Chemicals. It spread across the industry. We had a bundle pick up. You would do your shopping, check out, your groceries would be put into a crate on a roller track and disapear into the floor of the store. You go to your car, drive around to bundle pick up and your groceries would magically appear and be put into your car. Ah the good old days. OK I'm off point here. Getting back to my former co worker and his attitude towards people, I can feel it creeping into my attitude. He retired at the age of 62. I am 3 years away from that. On April 1, 2011 I will be hitting my 40th anniversary and you know what? I'm begining to feel the same way. I am blessed with being healthy. I have called out sick only once in the last 30 years and that was because I had laryngitis, apart from that I felt fine. This was in 1999. Still I have to admit the job is getting to me. I am praying that I will have enough money in my retirement fund to make me feel comfortable enough to call it quits at 62. It's not just dealing with the public. For the most part they are ok and after all I am part of the public as well and I'm positive that I have had my share of brain cramps and stupidity. One time I was on my lunch break. I drove to a closeby McDonalds (My preference is Burger King but there wasn't one nearby. Oh do I love the Whopper with cheese, but that's history now.)  So I place my order in the kings mouth. That does sound a bit strange doesn't it? The king tells me it's something like $2.52. I drive to the window, pay the $2.52 and proceed to leave without my order. 

Getting back to my original point, I am approaching the point that Chuck hit. I am beginning to understand why he acted like he did. Last night I was supposed to work till 8p.m. We had a sick call. I ended up staying till 10. It was a long day,11:30 to 10 p.m. When I got home last night I was very weary. I was tired physically but that can be cured with some sleep. I am resiliant that way but mentally it was very draining. Having to ask each person who could not place a proper order what they wanted and having them tell me they wanted the turkey you use to make sandwiches just doesn't cut it when you have 32 turkeys to choose from. Asking for a half pound of the $8.99 doesn't cut it. I could feel myself slipping last night. I could feel myself wanting to grab some of these people by the throat and saying, "Just tell me what the hell you want!" Don't give me some cryptic order that I have to figure out through a process of elimination. A lot of this is the companies fault for having a bewildering assortment like items. We just don't need 8 different roasted turkeys and we don't need to put 3 of them on sale for the same price. I suspect that the manufacturers  pay for the shelf space. It has nothing to do with what the customers want though that's the way they would like to spin it. It's really just a real estate deal. Some of their "specials" are laughable. Presently the are promoting their "milk special". Buy 6 gallons of milk and get the 7th one free. They'll surely be busting down the doors over that one! And to top it off they charge $4.00 for a gallon. Milk can be had at two competitors for $2.79 and $3.29 respectively. At one time working for my original company was a feather in your cap around here. It was akin to working for Poloroid. Of course Poloroid  for all intents and purposes is gone. Only the name exists though their world headquarters still exists along a highway that rings the Boston area with the name emblasoned on the front, but it's just a building. What's this all mean? Well first of all I am ranting and blowing off steam. I am off today and tomorrow. It is a beautiful day outside. Oh sure there is plenty of snow and we have another storm coming in on Tuesday and Wednesday but I'm not going anywhere today. I am slobbing it up and shutting off the outside world except for the cyber world and more than likely watching the Boston Celtics vs the L.A. Lakers. It's Yankees/Red Sox only with a basket ball. As a casual sports it is so great to have these sports rivalries. I am not going to worry about the coming snow. I can't change it. It's the price you pay for living here. And as far as I'm concerned it's worth it. If I hit the lottery I would surely buy a home in a warmer climate but this will always be my home. I will always return.

OK. Rants and whines are done. Thanks for listening.
I'm outta here.

And it's only Jnuary

Yes Carole I have actually published a blog. The problem was I published it on a blog that I do not use. I goofed. I will attempt to copy and paste it over here where it belongs. Hopefully I will be able to put the pictures in the same spots as I had them. This is not my usual font. Still I may stick with it. OK below is what I wrote just a while ago.

I finished shoveling about 2 hours ago as I begin to write this. I am none the worse for wear. It was a much lighter snow than the last two previous storms. We didn't get as much as before but we still got another 12 inches. The biggest problem is where to put it.

This is my street at about 9:30 this morning. That's a neighbor clearing parking spaces. A big problem. I am fortunate to have a driveway but I have had to deal with parking on the street before. It's no fun parking several blocks away in somebody else's spot. There can be retaliation. By the way the guy is wearing his winter shorts. I see this from time to time in the store. It's below freezing and there's always some bozo in shorts. It's always the men. Women on the other hand do come in in their pajamas.


So we're up to 60 inches and counting. we average in the 40's most winters.

That's a 6' pile at the end of the driveway. It's going to be a while before these mountains of snow disappear. There is more coming but nobodies sure if it will be a big storm or not. The weather people keep referring to blizzard like conditions. If it is blizzard like then isn't it a blizzard? Pancakes aren't pancake like. They're pancakes. I am none the worse for wear though. (Hey I already said that!) The shoveling was a good workout and apart from wanting to go to sleep I feel good.



That's my landlord with his snow blower. I shoveled my stairs. That's where the awning is on the side of the house, cleaned my car. That path on the left behind my car and the sidewalk. You can see how much snow is in the front yard. That's how much I've shoveled from the last three storms. Or were they blizzards. They could have been snow events. I like that phrase. "We're going to have a snow event." Is that supposed to be politically correct? Hey we don't want to insult the snow. Snow has feelings too you know.

Below left. This is the front yard from the other side. It is sunny and beautiful right now. Maybe 30 degrees. My plans are set for the rest of the day. One load of laundry drying right now and a bathroom that needs cleaning. First lunch then perhaps a movie which really translates into falling asleep on the couch.

The shot on the left are from my stairs. Those are my living room windows.




OK it's time for me to tie up the loose ends of the day then enjoy some do nothing time. I am a big believer in do nothing time. It helps keep me sane for my next bout with the great unwashed tomorrow as I head back to work.

East St. Louis Toodleloo (That's a song) my friends.

I'm outta here.

ps. This blog did not come out the way I originally intended it to. I'm not sure why some of the text is blue. It's all pasted together. This picture was originally in amongst the text.  Above is part of the sidewalk approaching the driveway.

Brrrr...Did I mention it's nippy outside.

As I write this at 2 p.m. on Monday. the temperature has risen to 10 degrees. It is nice and sunny. We have another snowstorm hanging over our heads. Most of the weather people are hedging their bets as to whether we will get socked with one to two feet of snow Wednesday going into Thursday. All except for the guy on the local NBC affilliate, who on Sunday night said we will get 1 to 2 feet of snow. He might end up like looking like a genius or an idiot. One thing he did do is whip people up into a frenzy. It is good for business when you work in a supermarket but it still makes me laugh how much stuff people buy. Especially perishable stuff. I have lucked out with being off today and not having to go out at 6 a.m. in 2 degrees below 0 weather. Unlike tomorrow when the temperature will soar to 10. I will also luck out on Thursday with a day off if we do indeed get clobbered again. I will have to shovel though.

Let's see what else...I made shrimp scampi the other night. It turned out OK. I still have not got the right combination garlic, parsley and lemon juice but most importantly I did not over cook the shrimp. They were perfect. My pronunciation however of shrimp scampi the next day was suspect. Scrimp shampi. Shimp scrampi and shimp shampi. This was all to the delight of my co workers.

I think most of us will agree that texting while driving is dangerous. Is it really important that you tell someone or receive a text informing you that Bill just scratched his ass because he had an itch. Witness this self absorbed twit.

Junk mail department.
It amazes me what some people will fall for. I'm sure everybody gets junk email. You do have to be careful not to be fooled by some. Years ago I was fooled by an e greeting card. I had been online for about a year. I opened one and fortunately my was warned by my computers security program. What about that Nigerian prince. Maybe there's a boat load of princes. And there are some princess as well. Since when have I become their "dearest"? I am not your "dearest". I am not interested in your business proposition. Nor do I need your debt relief.
I am not looking for a "date" from "Facebook daters alert". I don't care how many babes are interested in me. Well I am interested in babes but lets be realistic.
I am not looking for "A new miracle herbal male enhancement supplement". Thank you very much. I'm fine.
Somebody named Mark Tunde is offering me compensation for my assistance. Did I slice some baloney for you?
Ho Chen Tung. No I didn't get your last email unless it was you who offered me the "knock off Gucci handbags at incredible low prices".
Someone named John Bishop sent me an email titled "Are you dead?". You'll have a long wait for an answer. I suppose it could be some kind of goverment program to put the dead back to work. C'mon you slackers! Get out of that grave and get to work. Just because you dead doesn't mean you can't get a job and contribute to the tax base.
I got an email from Jim Beam. Really? An email from a bottle of burbon?
Celine Bahlinger sent me an email regarding my "special hello". I didn't know I had a special hello. Unless you're talking about the one that could get me arrested.
I even got an email from the United Nations. The U.N. was ready to give me $500,000 because I have been scammed. 

OK. My Patriots were beaten by the Jets. I have to admit that they were outplayed by the jets. This of course brought out all the Jets fans around here. Shooting their mouths off just like their fat load coach. A total classless bunch. I will be listening to the sports talk shows today to see if any of them show up after losing to the Steelers. That of course is doubtful. They're just a bunch of front runners. Rex Ryan, their coach, is still running his mout, pledging to be back next year to go after the championship. There's nothing wrong with that but saying nobody has a right to critisize him or his team. Oh just shut up Rex! You've been yapping and critisizing all season. Here's a tip. Have a salad. Toodie I will be rooting for the Packers. There's no love for the Steelers around here. They pulled the same crap years ago. They talked about mapping out their victory parade route before they even played the Patriots in a playoff game. They got spanked and the Pats went on to win the Super Bowl. Still this year they have acted with class but I can't root for them. Still thank you for beating the Jets.

That's all for now.
I'm outta here.

These were taken the day after the storm at work. As usual the day after a big storm is always a beautiful day.

This was taken Friday.  It was overcast.

The house seen through the trees is the house from, "Over the river and through the woods to grandfathers house we go" fame. I guess those trees are all that's left of the woods. The river however is still there.

This was the video I tried to post a few days ago.

The driving is slow and sloppy. Today (Sunday) is another beautiful day though it's cold. I'd like to salute all the morons ( I really wanted to use a much stronger word here) who continue to drive like there's no snow at all. You don't shoot out of a side street when you can't see what the traffic is like because of the high snow banks. I'd like to salute the morons who only clean off enough snow to see out the front of the car. I'd like to salute the morons who clean their cars off but leave a large slab of snow, 6, 8, 10 inches thick on their roofs. Eventually it will slide off the back into the path of the car directly behind you or as you come to a stop and it will slide ride down over you windshield. How lazy can you get? Not to mention stupid. Parking spaces are at a premium. I am lucky to have a driveway to park in. To answer "Catches the eye" who I believe is Sheila, we got 18 inches of snow on top of the 18 inches we got the day after Christmas. Still it's not like living in Buffalo, N.Y. This is not a knock against Buffalo it's just that they get much more snow than we do. This is probably more the norm for them. Our weather is just more unpredictable. Almost every weather system that makes it way across the country eventually passes through New England. Storm systems may weaken or strenghten when they get here. In a couple of days after this cold front leaves it will warm up to the 40's and we will have some rain. It could be another big snowfall if it was cold. OK enough about the weather. 

Later today there will be a big football game between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets. If you live in the northeast a particularly in Boston and New York the sports rivalry, not matter what the sport, except maybe for hockey, is always a big deal. This time around the Jets have been adding fuel to fire big shooting off their mouths. Insulting individual players with expletives while the Patriots have been quiet. The Jets have painted themselves into a corner if they lose and there is a very good chance of that. Their coach is even a bigger idiot than his players though to be fair it's not all the Jets players that are shooting their mouths off. All they are doing is adding fuel to the fire especially if they loose and loose big just like they did several weeks ago during the regulars season 45 to 3. As a New England fan and a fringe Bostonian there's nothing more I would like to see than the loudmouth Jets go down in flames. If the Patriots loose, oh well it's just sports. It's not the end of the world. It's just entertainment. A three hour television show. You can't have everything, besides where would you put it. OK, it's time visit around. The insanity of the holidays has finally worn off. It takes a few weeks for things to return to normal. Factor in the two blizzards in two weeks and it can leave you discombobulated. By the way if you aren't discombobulated are you combobulated?

I'm outta here.   

The holidays are nice but I'm glad they're gone. Also, I'm fine just been very busy.

JUST A TAP ON THE SHOULDER




A passenger in a taxi leaned over to ask the driver a question and tapped

him on the shoulder. The driver screamed, lost control of the cab, nearly

hit a bus, drove up over the curb, and stopped just inches from a large

plate glass window.



 For a few moments everything was silent in the cab, and then the still

shaking driver said, 'I'm sorry, but you scared the daylights out of me.'



The frightened passenger apologized to the driver and said he didn't realize

a mere tap on the shoulder could frighten him so much.



The driver replied, 'No, no, I'm sorry, it's entirely my fault. Today is my

first day driving a cab....................I've been driving a hearse for

the last 25 years.'

Please try and contain your hilarity.
Yup the holidays have come and gone and I for one am glad it's over. I'm not going to go into some scrooge like rant. I'm just glad it's over. I guess I feel like this more and more as I get older. don't get me wrong. The actual day was fine. Good food lots of laughs. Mostly at my brother in laws expense. Hey he makes it so easy. I had even suggested that we do away with the gift giving save for some small gift and spend the money on something that you would really want. That was shot down. It's not that I don't like spending the money it's just that I am not real good at selecting gifts unless there is something that I am  aware of somebody liking or wanting.

I must ask for forgiveness. I know I haven't been around much. It seems that all my spare time has been taken up. I've had many visitors, for which I am grateful, but between that and work I just don't have the will power to write anything plus my mind has become a bowl of jello. You know when I think of things to write? When I'm at work. I should scribble them down but I soon forget. Things have settled down though. I am writing this on Sunday evening though I know I wont' publish until at least tomorrow morning or Tuesday night because I'm working the late shift on Monday then the early shift on Tuesday. OK I'll stop whining now.

Check this baby out. She is a riot!

Update. It is now Wednesday. As you may or may not know we are getting mucho snow though as of this writing (2 p.m.) it's still snowing though not as heavily. We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 inches to 20 inches around here. It hard to tell because of the blowing and drifting. I have to confess that though shoveling snow is not one of my favorite pastimes I don't mind all the snow. In fact I rather like it. Sure it's a real pain in the ass but it forces everyone to step back, slow down and realize that there are forces beyond your control and everything comes to a halt. Yesterday was a tough one at work but at least it was warranted. This was not just a piddly 5 or 6 inch snowstorm so I fully understood people wanting to stock up just in case. This was a shot out my door at about 11 a.m. The driveway has already been snow blown once. I used the flash on the first few shots hence the highlighted snowflakes.

So let me get this published, do some visiting then maybe take a nap. I look to be back on a more regular basis. The holidays have a way of taking a lot out of me. All I have left to say is go Patriots! I certainly hope they stick it to the N.Y. Jets who have been shooting their mouths off. Particularly the coach and certain player who has 8 children by 8 different women. The most amusing aspect of that 3 of the kids are 4 years old. That was a busy year for him.

I'm outta here.