It's been one of those discombobulated weeks.

I've actually escaped all the winter colds and maladies, despite the shrinkage inducing weather of late until last week. until last week. Work has been busy so I came home sort of wiped out and wimped out on class. The next day, it hit and that sucked.

Staggered through work and basically was a hermit over the weekend. I finally got rid of it with an old family recipe. When I was 17, and down with a bad case of brochitis, my dad got exasperated and regular meds and gave me a bourbon and seven up high ball, but filled in a root beer mug. Slept for 13 hours after that. Recreated that over the weekend and it worked like a charm. Only down side was that it made for a 9 day gap in yoga classes. So, I was dreading going back last night. You could feel regression coming, but I'm apparently tougher than I look. Only had to pause twice which was better than I anticipated.

So, there might hope yet.

Been listening to the new U2 album and am letting it grow on me. They've been a favorite for a long time and it was a kick watching them laugh a little to start their week long residency on Letterman
After shoveling the Manhattan snow, they did get down to work a little later.

Fun to see and all, but my mental jury is still out on the album. Should be fun live if they come this way.

Just got back from lunch after hiding from the many conservative republicans here. In their eyes, the economy didn't go into the dumper until January 20th, we didn't have a deficit until then, and the acceptable war bill suddenly became a bad stimulus bill we couldn't afford. Hindsight is not only 20/20, but apparently prone to myopia as well.

Hey, this is my 500th journal. This is my longest continuing dialogue with anything that I didn't have to give an allowance to. Hopefully there has been something worth reading along the way. Just noticed that.

Gonna go apologize to Rush Limbaugh because that seems to be the thing to do these days.

Happy hump day, peeps

I've never been a fan of automatic deduction from your bank account, despite all the many groups that love it. You never exactly when something is going to drop. You have religiously watch when things fall and register. Tracking netflix payments alone make my rapidly aging head hurt. You forget something you can be screwed. I completely forgot about my New York Flash pass--when you go over, it helps itself to reload, but never tells you when this happens. All the trips on the Penn Turnpike for the Inaugural came home to roost, yesterday, when I thought I had just barely enough room for things to post. Turns out I had no room. In essence, some bon mots from my folks went to bank charges which is not what you want to spend birthday money on. So, the tax return is going to be fun to compensate to make up for it. Aargh.....

Another commercial shoot at work yesterday. They don't require much out of me, but are exhausting anyway. This one featured my boss and by the fourth setup, she was getting full for the process, but sold the place like a trooper. Took them an hour to pack up, which was about 90 minutes past when my morning cereal gave out. My stomach was speaking yiddish by the time the six hour shoot was done. All hail, Joe's Deli (for the cookies alone) for being open when they were.

It's part of my job to take meetings largely for the sake of taking the meeting. Being a shameless bastard, when a quality lunch is offered, I'll go for the free food and hear the pitch for my ad dollars killing two birds with one stone. All the area account reps are thinking in similarly arranged areas. One of the tv folk took me to Merge which was really good last week. I'm rooting for the restaurant as everything seemed to be of great quality, right on down to the strawberry chocolate cheesecake. They have a slew of vegan, and gluten free options which should give them a chance. Today, I got taken to Chris's Deli which has always been really good. They make a really good turkey wrap which would have been better had I had better company, but he paid the tab, so I did a passable job of listening about what advertising with him could help my business. "Really, Bob, (chew, chew) That's fascinating, tell me more (Bite, chew, chew)." He did, Tool. It was like having lunch with Henry Blake. I wanted to smack him upside the head, but he was so botoxed I thought a prize might fall out.

It's a little scary who you can "bump" into via Facebook. My Dad launched a page this week and is filling his status with such observations like "just spotted a pot hole so large that there was an Indian Casino behind built at the bottom." Ain't technology grand? I told him to "friend" the daughters -- that will spook em good. I'm quietly very evil.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. You guys are the best peeps in all of explored space. It was pretty low profile, a little cake, sleepin in, a little brunch, even went to class on Sunday to exercise since as (e:drew) pointed out I'm looking my age.

Don't feel it though, so I guess that is good. It was nice that for once it wasn't colder than whaleshite on my birthday. Seems only appropriate since it has been for most of the past month. Busting one of my free airline tickets loose in April for a long Florida weekend. I won't be drinking anything with umbrellas floating in them, but it will be nice to know that they are nearby.

Let's be careful out there.

From an email marked "Fail?" came these jocularity laden images











































That's comedy, have a good weekend, ya'all

Trying to inject some fun into my day, here's a couple of cute giraffe shots of the new baby from this morning. Somewhere somebody has their knickers in a knot over the naming of this first born daughter to the first born daughter. So, I've been getting "those" types of phone calls. Those don't bother so much, but it wasn't my idea.





All together, "awww"

I don't know why this stuff can permeate you so, except for the fact I'm a sucker for a pretty face and (e:imk2) tagged me and well, you know. So, just what you weren't waiting for:


1. I still dream about what life would have been like had my brothers been born without their disabilities.

2. I know a lot about a lot of things, just none of it is terrifically financially rewarding.

3. Despite being able to professionally fake sincerity, I am pretty socially inept.

4. I 've spent far too long worrying about what other people might be thinking. That only made me unhappy and it took way too long to get comfortable in my own skin.

5. I used to read way too much, now I worry that I'm not reading enough.

6. I liked "old man" bars long before I started becoming one.

7. I want to shave my beard off, but I'm afraid of what my chin might look like after 20 years (and that there is still just one there).

8. Been working since I was 15 and finally got a job that I like.

9. Bright eyes and a killer smile will make me stop in my tracks, although I sometimes wish I was twenty pounds lighter and 6 to 7 years younger.

10. I used to put stock in retail therapy, but the euphoria is quick to end and ultimately didn't make me happy in the first place.

11. I'm proud that I dealt with an illness and kicked it on my own. Not that there wasn't help available, but my inner control freak wanted to smack Bell's Palsy around on my terms.

12. MRIs made me realize that I'm a bit claustraphobic.

13. I know the difference between red and white wine glasses, but still prefer a well-poured good beer.

14. I listen to all kinds of music all but there is a regular cadre of people I regularly gravitate back to.

15. I write for a living so I know Number 14 ended grammatically incorrectly, so shaddup.

16. I am enticed and afraid of heights at the same time.

17. I want to see and experience more of everything instead of worrying about the petty shit that keeps me back.

18. I want everybody who gave my former spouse and I shit for the end of our marriage to fuck off already. She never deserved it and I might have, but not for that

19. I love motorcycles but I think my skills are best left to a Vespa instead of a Harley.

20. I still fantasize/dream.

21. I miss my Dad-in-law because he was such an unapologetic booster. He was one of those types where five minutes into your first conversation with him he'd be looking for "Ways to help you shine."

22. I'm too self conscious to dance very well.

23. I drink and I mellow. Most irish guys get more cantankerous. Not me, I just chill and enjoy the arguments among the other drinkers. Anything else is too much work.

24. I'm pretty proud of the paths my kids are on. They have the ability to make me nuts, but I think they are on the right road. I like to think I had something to do with that.

25. I make mistakes, lots of them, in glorious fashion, yet the world keeps turning.

So, went with the ex-wife and kids to the inauguration. We had talked, given the kids racial makeup that it would be a good thing for them to see it all upclose. It should be noted that the ex has an aunt who lives in a spacious brownstone in the Dupont Circle area of DC which made this whole notion feasible. I was a little concerned about crowds. The girls are starting to get tough as far as that is concerned, but number one son at ten is still learning. But we made the arrangments with the aunt (who was positively giddy at our whirlwind tour) and Monday morning, off we went.

After caffinating at Spot, we headed into the snow where for the next seven hours, I kept wondering about the true level of brilliance to this whole concept. We took the Pennsylvania Turnpike and ran into a hour's delay for an accident there that involved a flamed out tractor trailer. Got on 270 headed toward dc to see one of the most dramatic accident scenes I've ever witnessed. Picture Delaware from Gates Circle through the S curve covered in emergency vehicles. It's snowing, blowing, a dark curvey highway. I'm driving with my entire body at that point. We made it to DC by 8, ecstatic that temps were in the 30s, we were done driving and that my uncle in law bought me beer.

Tuesday was one for the ages. Setting the candidate aside for a second, the atmosphere was one I think anybody could appreciate. We didn't get crazy and with 240,000 ticket holders, there was no point in trying for proximity. We got a map from that morning's Washington post and hiked down 16th street, where it wasn't too long before you ran into the curbside capitalists. I purchased a button for the occasion. 16th does run into the Mall, but it was a ticketed area, so we went up I street which had so many vendors it was Obamastock. Given the amount of people, everybody was very nice, celebratory. Without trying we wound up moving past St. Johns Church about an hour after the Presidental prayer service finished. Instead of following the throngs, we walked down 19th street, which send you past the Dept of Interior building (who decorates?) and down toward the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool area. For the unitiated, this places you just on the other side of the Washington Monument. We arrived there about 11:45 and found a ridge overlooking the reflecting pool masses and their portapottys.

Got there and saw the speech (kind of ordinary), enjoyed Aretha and her hat for the ages. With the staggered sound system, the delay sounded like she had her own backup singers. What they don't show you on tv is instances like when that god-awful poem was read, our section disappated. Kids were chilly so we headed out.

Watched a little tv back out the house and the network tv coverage pretty much sucked univerally. CNN was too absorbed in their digital mosaic of "The Moment" and their satelite shots. MSNBC was too up the new President's tuckus to be of any use and FOX was still trying to extricate itself from the former President's. DC does have its own news channel (not beholding to any cable company) that actually was pretty useful. When there was nothing to say, they did the amazing thing and shut up Kids were whipped but my uncle and I took a stroll down to see the first part of the parade (largely so I could say I did--as after the president goes by, luster goes down hill in a hurry). I saw the new ride, nice car and called it a day. I have some pictures on my facebook page, but I won't repeat them here as they aren't that great.

What stuck with me was the overall vibe in the city. DC isn't as intense as New York, but it does have its own mindset. There are definitely two towns in one. The drive home was problem free. It was sunny, roads were clear, no troubles till we got to Buffalo where everything turned grey & depressing looking.

I think I'm done now, but it was a good thing for the kids to see

Let's see. Lesson one, kids, is to pay attention to your firefox tabs. I just accidentally deep sixed about 800 words by not watching what I was doing. Grumble, grumble.

Lesson two? Breathe regular. I'm in the middle of a well deserved long weekend. I took advantage of that and caught a mid day yoga class at the elmwood studios. I'm sailing along and got a little discombobulated and spent a little time getting recombobulated. When we hit the final sit up series, I nearly dropped like a stone. Never been tagged by a dizzy spell like that before. Made a slick recovery, but had a headache for the rest of the day for my troubles. Woke up this morning fine, so I don't think I blew any fuses.

Prior to that, I made a stop at the current location of the DMV to get enhanced driver's license information for me and permit info for my darling eldest. That makes me cringe.

Insanely nice time at the 24 on NYE. Thanks again to PMT for letting run amuck in their confines. It was great to meet (e:iriesara) and her man for the first time. Great to see our noted world traveler (e:ladycroft) and her man. Thanks again for the book, LC. I was actually thinking about that one last time I was in Talking Leaves. I enjoyed every silly minute of the shenanigans.

It was a nice breather. I think I journaled about my own Dad being the latest to need Roswell's services. He was biopsied earlier in december and had type b lymphoma. Roswell, with either a twisted sense of irony or humor, relayed this news on Christmas eve. So, we have that to think about. His treatment regimen cranks up in earnest in a few weeks.

Poured my self a drink. Anyway, also had to ask the folks to think about something else. i didn't go to their house on Christmas Day, but they did invite my brother-in-law's sister. Of the three times I've met her, the phrase raging asshole popped into my head and once out of my mouth. So, I put the question to them about if Sister Crankypants merits an invite, how about letting the mother of your grandchildren out of the penalty box? I have hated being the conduit for activity since my divorce. I drank the one big happy family kool aid right away and truth be told, it seems to be working, but too damn slowly. She and I have always been able to talk and her family went through great pains to show me that I was still a part of the team. Mine has been a little slow on the uptake. They are getting there, but a more stubborn bunch of irishmen I don't think you'll ever see.

I put the question to the rents to just extend an invitation. The ex might not take it, but the extension might make my world a little easier. She was there for 15 of them so it isn't like this would be something new.

Want to do it for the kids sake as well as our own. We already lost her dad this past year and my mom had her own drama last fall, so it seems sort of silly to wallow in leftover nonesense. Me? I'm just sick of being the perpetual middleman.

My daughters seized on all this to rag on me about my apartment being too small. They have a point, but I don't have first and last to give somebody at the moment. Lease runs through April. If any of you are renting a 2 to 3 bedroom place, let me know. I might be in the market.

Lesson three:go get another drink, class dismissed.

I'm tired.

While the holidays are great, they also exhaust me. There is the mad prep, the juggling of egos, the balancing of which out of town visitors need to see the kids next, the guilt (imagined or otherwise), so it was with a sense of relief that I walked from my mother-in-law's place back to mine on Thursday night. Without prompting, the kids pronounced themselves "happy" and I think my ex and I both exhaled at the same time. I took them out to my folks on Christmas eve to be feted by my folks and siblings. She did likewise Christmas Day for dinner. The five of us got together Christmas morning and I think it was my favorite part. Nobody was on their best behavior and I mean that in a good way. That was fun, getting to see them show off their new wares.

Work on the 26th was surreal by comparison. Everything is open, but a large contingent of my department takes a good chunk of their holiday this week. The commute is a quick one, and downright deserted on Friday. Ten minutes this morning and that's including a stop at Spot to caffeinate.

I'm not complaining, but it is good to be the marketing guy. You get a lot of gifts that, well, swish. Two bottles of Bully Hill's finest from one of the radio groups, two bottles of local stuff from one of the tv stations, a case of guinness from my brother in law, and a case of Sleeman's Dark Ale from my own brother. My mom gave me a couple pounds of coffee. Together that is a metaphor for something. I'm just not sure what.

Order my Secret Santa thingy, what will officially be the last Christmas gift of the season -- Hope it makes it in time for the festivities for Wednesday evening.

The clock across the hall is chiming different christmas carols at the top of the hour with all the style and verve of dentist office muzak. Is it bad that I want to take to the parking lot and run over it a few times with the little bull dozer?

Yeah, probably.

Would have thought for sure that yesterday's winds would have hit my block. They did last year. I seem to remember wrapping the final presents pre-christmas by flashlight. At the height of yesterday's gales, I was searching for a good football game since the Bills were playing and number one son was gaming on my pc. We like our power.

The alarm clock went off this morning and my first thought was toward a nap.

I'm tired. Think I'm long overdue for sammich from the old Pink for dinner.

But I'll rest up for the (e:strip) balldrop (no, not a euphemism)

Four wheel drive makes no difference. It's the driver that gets the car in and out of snow banks. I saw many a jeep marooned over the past day or so and plenty of Minis getting around just fine.

Call the ex and kids to see if all was well, if they needed anything, only to see them zipping past me on their way back from Wegmans.

Netflix resumes with Dr. No, excellent.....

Blew off Yoga tonight as Elmwood is still a mess. I didn't want to come out and guess which drift is mine.

My boss called to say we were closed this morning at 6:15. It was early enough that she didn't remember about caller id and was a little bumfuzzled when I greeted her by name. At that hour, something is closed or somebody died. Worst part, that was just long enough that I was UP, and contemplating the best way to avoid the mess on the "S" curve.

Still wondering what the Park ring road will look like tomorrow. It was an adventure leaving on midday Friday.

Saw an idiot driving down Lexington last night when I was taking number one son back to Mom's. If your pickup truck is fishtailing like that, it might be a sign that you are going too fast. If you continue to drive like that down a street without a lot of room, it might be a sign that you are a moron.

Sudden snow day meant ironing got done, laundry got done, trash got taken out, tree was put up, dishes were washed and the shelved stocked. At this rate, I'm looking forward to work on Tuesday to slow down. Did I wrap anything? Nope.

Got the Sabres game on in the background. I'm pretty sure that the Versus network couldn't cover a ribbon cutting very well. Announcers are talking about everything except well, the game in front of them.

Got to buy one more thing for each daughter and I'm done!

I paid bills today too, on a Monday, oin the daylight!

Unexpected napping opportunities are downright blissful.

Rented the lastest "Guitar Hero" over the weekend and had a blast with number one son. I'm scared of the Primus, but thankful for the Jane's Addiction and Wings. Guess that is another in a series of factors that make me old.

Great time at the holiday dinner last week and I'm looking forward to the annual PMT ball drop next week.

Not sweating Christmas, eager for boxing day!

Ready for the weekend. It's been a spate of meandering gatherings, financial foolishness, and struggling to keep my wits about me, but I think slowly but surely I'm winning.

Went to a Sunday morning version of my Hot yoga class and came out of it feeling good. This, in and of itself, was a major breakthrough as most of the time I'm wrecked. I found a pace and kept on at just the right clip that I was almost jazzed by the experience. I thought I had a bit of breakthrough of sorts. The euphoria lasted till Tuesday night, where with a new teacher, I was a trainwreck. The key isn't the heat, just the steady pace you keep your breath moving. I fell off the tracks about 40 minutes in and never quite got it back. Just one of those things, but the frustration can make you loopy.

It was the end of a very long day that had me in Syracuse to start. I met my counterparts from the Syracuse and Rochester Zoo to brainstorm and whatnot. I had been to Syracuse a number of times and it is always gray and overcast (kind of like the residents), but the Zoo was a little odd. It is mostly inside exhibits, impressive in a way. The buildings all link together around a courtyard that has a town square like feel to it, but reminded me if somebody used the "Old West" set from Fantasy Island. Ah well, I think the long day threw off my yoga mojo.

There is another board here that I am a liason for and they are exasperating in the extreme. By in large, I rumbling along just fine. Part of our monthly gatherings is to do a Zoo update as to what is going on. My part of that is talk about potential advertising, promotion and most importantly, corporate sponsorships. That last one is something that is tougher to get. Now, both my boss and the board chair also like to hear about prospects for sponsorships, people I'm working on to get them to try something zoo related. One of those is a meeting I have to take in January with one of the personal injury law firms. It certainly isn't my first choice, but they have money and are interested. Now this board heard that and crickets filled the room as there are a handful of lawyers from firms a little higher up on the corporate food chain. So, I got subjected to their attacks of self-righteousness. None of these folks have their companies doing anything at the Zoo. The state,city, county, and the school board are all talking money from us (or at least attempting to) and these jackasses want to give me a little shit about somebody wanting to invest in the Zoo? Puh-leeze. I felt frustation starting to enter my voice so I just stopped talking because there didn't seem to be much point.

Worst part was I had to hang out because they had their holiday party. I was in no mood to grin, so I sullenly slugged back a couple of beers with my boss, partook of what catering food I could identify and headed home. An annoying meeting/gathering that spanked my yoga time, which in turn will make whatever weekend class I get to that much more of a chore.

To quote Yosemite Sam, "I'm thinkin' but my head hurts.

On the much more pleasant side, I got invited to my brother's house christmas party on Wednesday evening after work. Without getting into too much detail, my older brother is a special needs guy and resides in a duplex with five other folks. It's a good setting, well-staffed and designed to create as normal living environs as is possible for individuals dealing with everything mental retardation, autism , to a few "isms" I'm still processing. With the staff's help, resources are pooled and this year they had a party at the Italian Village in Williamsville. I got invited last year, but a work committment kept me away. It was nice to see a genuine holiday thing, even more fun to get a peek into my brother when he isn't dependent on the family. It was the first time he'd seen me not at our parents house or at his place, so the look of pleased surprise he gave me was pretty great.

So, that was a nice place to hang my coat of this week. After plopping down for the Zoo's annual fund, City Honors graduation dues (which I hope means Daughter number one graduates), I figured as long as I was spending money that I shouldn't, what the hell. Number one son and I are going to go see the Sabres and Leafs play tonight.

"Dad, do they have pretzels bigger than my face?"

Yeah, they do. Good times