We were given some tickets to our local symphony's performance of a couple of Beethoven pieces conducted by Itzhak Perlman. We don't do such things too often but I figured I'd enjoy it - and I did. I enjoyed the musicianship and general scene with some 65 performers on the stage as well as the famed Perlman (I thought maybe he'd play some Orange Blossom Special but no such luck). So overall it was interesting and a new category for Time Killing.
What was unusual (to me) is while listening and absorbing the performance my mind went off into a variety of areas - all amusing. As I've mentioned here I am writing a screenplay and in that 2 hours I had more ideas than ever. I wished I had a pen but committed it to memory instead. I did write it down when I got home that evening. Now as I read the notes I wonder what planet I was on. I did salvage some of the ideas as I head into the turbulent waters of my third act.
A follow up to the MRI I had last week.. I was hoping this "open" version was going to be more tolerable than the reenactment of Das Boot's torpedo-firing sequences. Well, it was..It took an hour but it was like lounging on a picnic table (hard surface) with a giant-sized pizza plate hoovering over my face and shoulders. Lots of noises which I knew was coming. They kept asking me if I was OK. I finally said if I'm not, I'll scream like a banshee (the tech didn't know what that was)... Results are due this week.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Damn the torpedos
This time last year I was ranting about an MRI I had. I truly felt like a torpedo in a WWII submarine movie. Packed in a tube like a sardine with about 1/4 inch of clearance on the top. Well, it's that time again. Another MRI is scheduled in a day or two. Maybe this one will be better since there's no IV. It's a Time Killing low point, however.. You just can't wait till it's over. They make you hold your breath, lay awkwardly and not move. It's like being in a Nazi prison camp.. I will be reporting on this experience in the next TK entry.
Again, this time last year I had to report to the unemployment office (conveniently located in a crappy neighborhood with almost no parking)..Had to do that again this week. If you recall last year's entry, the group meeting leader used the phrase "with that said" about 50 times. It kept me amused and added to the Time Killing amusement factor (TKAF). I was hoping he'd be leading this meeting but we had two very young rookies addressing a much larger group this time. There were no "with that said" comments. These two did their best and limited questions (thank GOD) Otherwise, we would have been there for 3 hours instead of one. Overall, I can't really complain.
The highlight of this trip was that my ten-year-old car was still there on the street when I returned, parked illegally with a broken parking meter --- with that said, there was a Time Killing amusement factor TKAF!!!!
Again, this time last year I had to report to the unemployment office (conveniently located in a crappy neighborhood with almost no parking)..Had to do that again this week. If you recall last year's entry, the group meeting leader used the phrase "with that said" about 50 times. It kept me amused and added to the Time Killing amusement factor (TKAF). I was hoping he'd be leading this meeting but we had two very young rookies addressing a much larger group this time. There were no "with that said" comments. These two did their best and limited questions (thank GOD) Otherwise, we would have been there for 3 hours instead of one. Overall, I can't really complain.
The highlight of this trip was that my ten-year-old car was still there on the street when I returned, parked illegally with a broken parking meter --- with that said, there was a Time Killing amusement factor TKAF!!!!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Blogged down
Haven't made many entries lately and I have no good reason for that except I have other writing projects - OK, ONE project on which I am making progress. At least writing isn't affected by any physical maladies. (I won't get specific but there will be more info soon)...
My newest Time Killer this season is doing my own yard work. I had a yard/lawn service for a couple of years and decided I could save some money and get some exercise if I do it myself. I used to see the service show up every Wednesday and bombard the yard and have it completely in order in under ten minutes...They had large, loud commercial grade machines and at least five workers .. I had mixed feelings but always felt good when it was done.. Now, when I do it myself it takes me about 90 minutes and I learned to take a mid-project break (I never used to have to do that).. My only enemy is heat - if it's 70 or below I can groove..Above 70 and I need to take halftime - without the entertainment. This also eliminates the need to go to the gym for that day. The lawn workout is way more intense.
Also, softball season has started and we had our first game this week. I have established myself as a non-playing coach which I am better suited for.. I played on this team for 20 years or so and had a great time. We now have many young players (sons of the elders) who have kept us competitive. We won the league last year. It had to be my edgy coaching. "Slide, tag up, go halfway, come back, dive, dive, dive...fire ONE"..
Had a weekend Time Killing event as three friends and I went to Southern Maine last weekend. We do this all the time. Three of four of us are "retired".. Am I RETIRED?? We had a good time, as usual, and compared notes on our new lifestyles (very similar I may add)..
Finishing up some of our home projects...new bathroom, new oil tank, power washed house and deck, stained deck, new ceiling fan, new driveway....blaaaaa.. OK, the irony is let's get our house just the way we want it and MOVE!!!!!
My newest Time Killer this season is doing my own yard work. I had a yard/lawn service for a couple of years and decided I could save some money and get some exercise if I do it myself. I used to see the service show up every Wednesday and bombard the yard and have it completely in order in under ten minutes...They had large, loud commercial grade machines and at least five workers .. I had mixed feelings but always felt good when it was done.. Now, when I do it myself it takes me about 90 minutes and I learned to take a mid-project break (I never used to have to do that).. My only enemy is heat - if it's 70 or below I can groove..Above 70 and I need to take halftime - without the entertainment. This also eliminates the need to go to the gym for that day. The lawn workout is way more intense.
Also, softball season has started and we had our first game this week. I have established myself as a non-playing coach which I am better suited for.. I played on this team for 20 years or so and had a great time. We now have many young players (sons of the elders) who have kept us competitive. We won the league last year. It had to be my edgy coaching. "Slide, tag up, go halfway, come back, dive, dive, dive...fire ONE"..
Had a weekend Time Killing event as three friends and I went to Southern Maine last weekend. We do this all the time. Three of four of us are "retired".. Am I RETIRED?? We had a good time, as usual, and compared notes on our new lifestyles (very similar I may add)..
Finishing up some of our home projects...new bathroom, new oil tank, power washed house and deck, stained deck, new ceiling fan, new driveway....blaaaaa.. OK, the irony is let's get our house just the way we want it and MOVE!!!!!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Face it
I know it's popular to make fun of social sites like My Space, Twitter and Facebook. So, let me join in and add to that. Maybe it's my age or attitude but these sites don't appeal to me. I say this after posting some 120 Time Killing blog entries. Yet, blogging has a sense of continuity and form. I write and get some comments usually via e mail since the "comments" slot is too complex for most.
I did join Facebook last year since I had a number of people invite me to join and I didn't want to seem snobby by not complying. So I did that and confirmed anyone who invited me to be their friend - or whatever the terminology is. So I have a bunch of "friends" I don't know which I guess is OK but then again.....
You get loads of pictures of people, dogs, kids and grandmas you don't know which again is OK, just not interesting. So I check every couple of days in case there is something or someone I really do know. I usually have no idea what is going on but what I learned was NOT to respond in Facebook if you don't want the world to know your business..I learned that when I responded to a former co-worker about a work situation which I would have preferred to keep private. I guess I shouldn't let that bother me. After all, what the hell could happen - I could lose my job?
I did join Facebook last year since I had a number of people invite me to join and I didn't want to seem snobby by not complying. So I did that and confirmed anyone who invited me to be their friend - or whatever the terminology is. So I have a bunch of "friends" I don't know which I guess is OK but then again.....
You get loads of pictures of people, dogs, kids and grandmas you don't know which again is OK, just not interesting. So I check every couple of days in case there is something or someone I really do know. I usually have no idea what is going on but what I learned was NOT to respond in Facebook if you don't want the world to know your business..I learned that when I responded to a former co-worker about a work situation which I would have preferred to keep private. I guess I shouldn't let that bother me. After all, what the hell could happen - I could lose my job?
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
New Season
Winter is over. Bahrain trip has been completed. Yard work is underway and a new season of time killing begins. Today was well into the mid-80s and it gave the news dips a lot to talk and joke about. I was wondering at what level they would address this? Ohh yeah, what else is there to say besides wear light clothing, drink lots of fluids and check on the elderly? How about a standard old scary news graphic showing likelihood of FOREST FIRES.... Jeeeeeeeeeeze, didn't we just have 12 inches of rain? The deeper the color red the more likely the chance..I'll be sure to watch sparking and tossing lit cigarettes as our area was kind of maroon . I quit smoking 30 years ago. Too bad - could be some good time killing enjoying a Marlboro..
Had the AC guy here today firing up our central AC system. I was surprised when he arrived. The usual techs are young and wiry able to snake their way through the cave-like attic without falling through the floor/ceiling. This guy HAD to be 60, about 5'7" and an easy 220. I was scared he'd have real trouble so I hung out close to him and manned a flash light and fetched some of his tools. I even changed the air filter since I can do it without a ladder. I wanted him to conserve his energy. I thought I was over reacting - I tend to do that. Then I felt justified as the tech told me he once passed out in an attic and had to be rescued by the fire dept..
HVAC tech - besides bridge painter and window cleaner, another job I don't want...
Had the AC guy here today firing up our central AC system. I was surprised when he arrived. The usual techs are young and wiry able to snake their way through the cave-like attic without falling through the floor/ceiling. This guy HAD to be 60, about 5'7" and an easy 220. I was scared he'd have real trouble so I hung out close to him and manned a flash light and fetched some of his tools. I even changed the air filter since I can do it without a ladder. I wanted him to conserve his energy. I thought I was over reacting - I tend to do that. Then I felt justified as the tech told me he once passed out in an attic and had to be rescued by the fire dept..
HVAC tech - besides bridge painter and window cleaner, another job I don't want...
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Back to Bahrain
Doesn't that title sound like a good movie name? I always remember "Back to Bataan" - a cool war movie - was on every damn Sunday of my childhood. It was gritty and entertaining. So what am I talking about? Read on.
Bahrain is an island in the Persian gulf.. I guess it's a country or a Sheikdom or something. I was sent there by the US Navy to serve out my final 12 months of my 4-year tour. I had to go to the library to look it up when I got the orders. I never heard of it. Its location and background were scary AND this was really all before the term Persian Gulf (or Desert Storm) had such a negative connotation. I was assigned to serve on the USS LaSalle, the command ship of the Commander of Middle East Forces. The ship was painted white (not grey) to reflect the incredible desert heat. The summer had temps frequently above 100 and sailors were allowed to wear shorts and T shirts. It was like an episode of McHale's Navy.
My latest time-killing experience is to be here at home alone for 10 days. That's a record for solo time even though I have had many days by myself so I am well trained. Why am I doing solo time? My wife (and her mother) left on a long-planned trip to Bahrain yesterday. My wife's dad was a US Navy officer who was also stationed in Bahrain. He moved the whole family over there in the early 70s and lived for 3 years in an apartment near the base. Her dad also had quarters on the ship and went on many cruises in his 3 years. My wife and her brother attended an International high school on the island. She has attended a number of reunions for that school. I joined her at one of the reunions and we won the award for longest-married couple. I should mention we met in Bahrain and had a very atypical courtship - Indian movies, HOT food and a rented Datsun B210. Most recently she and I attended a reunion for the ship and we are scheduled to attend another this year. Living there had a profound influence on my wife's family and yesterday they left out of Kennedy Airport for London and then to Bahrain. The trip of a life time...
It reminded me of one of those re-visits to Vietnam where those vets get to see that country in a different light and see a WalMart where a rice paddy used to be. My wife and her mother are well prepared for this adventure. They spent months planning and even though their airline - British Airways - went on strike a week before their trip, they managed to get on a re-scheduled flight and were upgraded to some kind of upper-class service with foot rests, free booze, butlers and fuzzy slippers. I thought that was a good sign that this trip would go well..
This is only day 2 of the adventure so I don't have much detail and I don't know if it will come pouring in as cell phone and Internet costs are a touch high ($3 bucks per minute). I guess I will hear about it when they return..I did have an idea which is now too late.. This could have made a good documentary.. It has all the elements - historical, emotional, sentimental, educational - a true human interest tale. Just have to get someone to produce and film that..I'm too busy killing time here and after all I AM writing a screen play - the laff-a-minute story of a downsized 60-year old who loses his job as a result of the economic collapse. The working title is "Now What?" Look for it in theaters in about 4 years...I may have to update that theme and throw in some cutting health care yuks - "Hey, let's have another colonoscopy"...
Bahrain is an island in the Persian gulf.. I guess it's a country or a Sheikdom or something. I was sent there by the US Navy to serve out my final 12 months of my 4-year tour. I had to go to the library to look it up when I got the orders. I never heard of it. Its location and background were scary AND this was really all before the term Persian Gulf (or Desert Storm) had such a negative connotation. I was assigned to serve on the USS LaSalle, the command ship of the Commander of Middle East Forces. The ship was painted white (not grey) to reflect the incredible desert heat. The summer had temps frequently above 100 and sailors were allowed to wear shorts and T shirts. It was like an episode of McHale's Navy.
My latest time-killing experience is to be here at home alone for 10 days. That's a record for solo time even though I have had many days by myself so I am well trained. Why am I doing solo time? My wife (and her mother) left on a long-planned trip to Bahrain yesterday. My wife's dad was a US Navy officer who was also stationed in Bahrain. He moved the whole family over there in the early 70s and lived for 3 years in an apartment near the base. Her dad also had quarters on the ship and went on many cruises in his 3 years. My wife and her brother attended an International high school on the island. She has attended a number of reunions for that school. I joined her at one of the reunions and we won the award for longest-married couple. I should mention we met in Bahrain and had a very atypical courtship - Indian movies, HOT food and a rented Datsun B210. Most recently she and I attended a reunion for the ship and we are scheduled to attend another this year. Living there had a profound influence on my wife's family and yesterday they left out of Kennedy Airport for London and then to Bahrain. The trip of a life time...
It reminded me of one of those re-visits to Vietnam where those vets get to see that country in a different light and see a WalMart where a rice paddy used to be. My wife and her mother are well prepared for this adventure. They spent months planning and even though their airline - British Airways - went on strike a week before their trip, they managed to get on a re-scheduled flight and were upgraded to some kind of upper-class service with foot rests, free booze, butlers and fuzzy slippers. I thought that was a good sign that this trip would go well..
This is only day 2 of the adventure so I don't have much detail and I don't know if it will come pouring in as cell phone and Internet costs are a touch high ($3 bucks per minute). I guess I will hear about it when they return..I did have an idea which is now too late.. This could have made a good documentary.. It has all the elements - historical, emotional, sentimental, educational - a true human interest tale. Just have to get someone to produce and film that..I'm too busy killing time here and after all I AM writing a screen play - the laff-a-minute story of a downsized 60-year old who loses his job as a result of the economic collapse. The working title is "Now What?" Look for it in theaters in about 4 years...I may have to update that theme and throw in some cutting health care yuks - "Hey, let's have another colonoscopy"...
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
I love a parade?
I can remember last St Patrick's Day as being one of the first days of my retirement. I recall seeing the parade on the TV which was odd as my office window had a first-hand view of the marchers and I didn't realize it was televised. So here is another St Pat's deal which doesn't really fill the bill for time killing. I remember as a kid all the Catholic schools used to be closed which made it seem like more of a holiday. Now it's just another day where Al Roker wears a green tie.
I guess I am mostly Irish as my mother was and I'd call her on this day from my office to see if she could hear the bagpipes on the street. I remember asking her if she'd ever like to come up and see the parade. I remember her answer was something like "oh, I'd hate the crowds"...ahhhhhh, therein lies the legacy. I did go to the parade a few times. A real outing - a one block walk with little chance of crossing the street.
I had to answer a question from my hair cutter yesterday . She asked what I was doing for St Patrick's Day. I had no answer because I did nothing. The hair cutter was shocked as she looks forward to it for days.. I re-thought the issue. Well, we just completed remodeling our main bathroom - new tub, new sink, new medicine cabinet, new toilet, new floor, new lights and the walls are GREEN...Erin GO Pee..
I guess I am mostly Irish as my mother was and I'd call her on this day from my office to see if she could hear the bagpipes on the street. I remember asking her if she'd ever like to come up and see the parade. I remember her answer was something like "oh, I'd hate the crowds"...ahhhhhh, therein lies the legacy. I did go to the parade a few times. A real outing - a one block walk with little chance of crossing the street.
I had to answer a question from my hair cutter yesterday . She asked what I was doing for St Patrick's Day. I had no answer because I did nothing. The hair cutter was shocked as she looks forward to it for days.. I re-thought the issue. Well, we just completed remodeling our main bathroom - new tub, new sink, new medicine cabinet, new toilet, new floor, new lights and the walls are GREEN...Erin GO Pee..
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