Got out on the bike tonight and it felt great and humbling at the same time. I do wonder what it does to the thought processes after awhile. Me on a bike through Gates Circle is a sight me in my car would have thought to be a true idiot. But I made the trek down to Delaware Park and did a lap of the famous ring road, periodically running along this teenage girl on an old school style banana seat style bike. I don't think she lapped me, but she wasn't working hard either.

I was working hard. It's part of my process of learning to navigate city traffic. Buffalo drivers do sort of suck. The mentality seems to be "Go right-a-fucking head" upon viewing a yield sign. I would like to see our residents navigate something like New York's Henry Hudson Parkway as part of renewing drivers licenses. That would separate the posers from the true motorists in a heartbeat. Felt good to get out and shake the cobwebs from the first part of the week. Did a slow roll back up Elmwood and it is always a neat way to see the world.

I think the Buffalo Kayak tour is calling for Sunday. I've been thinking and thinking and it is time just shut up and do it. You should come.

I read a revue of a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show from Europe that described the show as phenomenal and quite a victory lap. Victory lap? That is a cliche that smells like the end is near. It's to be expected and if that is the case, it's been a hell of a ride, but I'd like one more round. The current tour could add a Buffalo stop, after all we've mean to one another, c'mon Bruce, one more and I'll quit making snide comments about "Queen of the Supermarket." Ah, well, that alone might make a small road trip worth doing.

Dealing with a waffling sponsor prospect for my office which unnecessarily stressed me and ruined the afterglow of a good sponsor meeting to start the day yesterday. Got to love a meeting where they feed you. Bacon should always play a role in these proceedings. Good folks to work with and I hope we can come together.

This beat impaired old duffer is headed down to see George Clinton tomorrow night. For free? hell yeah, Uncle Jam wants you. Good tunes and beer, these are a few of my favorite things.

Got a bonus night with my loyal traveling companion last night, the resulting Family Guy marathon, videogaming and munching of Mr. Pizza's finest did us both a world of good.

Wednesday was better for it.

My ceaselessly amazing middle daughter and pet sitter to the stars, turned 15 yesterday. The celebration continues tonight at Chefs. Seems just like yesterday, I held her for the first time and her big brown eyes looked around the delivery room with an expression that said "What a dump!"

I got on my bike for the first time this summer yesterday. I didn't want to get too carried away since it had indeed been awhile. I wasn't out to set any land speed records, just wanted to get a little exercise. The rest of the weekend felt a little sedentiary by comparison. I have no idea how far I go, never checked.

Given the lack of Sunday traffic in the city of Buffalo, I headed out down Delaware Ave, headed downtown. Now, I'm not one for the cycling regalia. I do wear a helmet, which makes me look like the Great Gazoo, but a regular t shirt and shorts serves me just fine.

I mention that because not everybody should try to dress like Lance. They don't give you a yellow jersey for making good time around the Aud wreckage. Doesn't stop a few folks for attempting the look. Like I said, I get out once in a while for fun and in the case of yesterday, getting my nerve back in the crazy lanes.

I figure a man of my proportions (6′2, 240) should probably know his limitations and I think I do when it comes to fashion choices. Apparently, I might be an island in that particular ocean. After making a turn around Exchange St, and working my way back up Washington, I spotted a similar proportioned individual who was geared up. All he was missing was corporate sponsorship and the good sense not to stuff the belly into the spiderman bike top. Looked like Peter Parker let himself go a little.

Not that I'm a matinee idol, but I think my loose fitting Springsteen t-shirt made me look a little more palatable. Something to be said for not looking like licorice toothpaste ready to escape the tube.

Made me laugh to see somebody so concerned with accessorizing that he's behind a little in the exercising department. It's always nice to get a sign that you are on the right path. It's that those signs are sometimes not always what you might think.

Thanks to (e:Vincent) for organzing the Bisons/BPO game this evening, I was looking forward to it thinking number one son and I could go, see the game, hear the music and enjoy some fireworks. I know costume characters still freak him at age 11, but I figured it was innocuous enough where the seats were that we could have some fun.

He showed up at my door upset and in near tears at the thought of having to go. I want to do stuff other than hang around my apartment and it almost looked like we had a decent night for doing it, but he finally told me that he "doesn't like it and doesn't want to go."

I know the Bisons are bad, but geesh. I'm okay with him not wanting to go if he doesn't enjoy it. He doesn't have to like everything I like. I guess that would be cause for worry if he did. He is becoming an individual and I think I need to give him some space to find his voice. What kind of Dad would I be to shove him into something just because I find some moments of peace at the ballpark. The price of the tickets was a hard thing to swallow. The threat of rain today succeeded in making the game scalper proof. So, it's only money. I know ultimately he and I are cool, I guess I thought I had something another avenue of shared experience, something that is ours. He's asleep in the other room as I write this. His sisters are a challenge and I think he looks at my place in kind of a sanctuary sort of way. With the ages the kids are, things a little more specialized. With one pretty much an adult, and another at that fractious age of 14, the days of universal experience are pretty much over.

And I'm used to that. Quality time has always been more important than quantity. I'd rather laugh around a dinner table periodically than cram them all into a space where they would be resenting it.

I guess I'm feeling the side effects of building something up too high in my own mind. We hit the movies pretty regularly, but I was anxious for some guy time, fresh air, a pretzel, watching grown men try way too hard to catch a foul ball. To know that he didn't want to hurt. I told him that he needs to tell me before I go off and buy tickets for stuff, because once we buy, we're committed. He apologized and we did pig out of some of Just Pizza's finest and I took a nice nap after that, but something felt a little empty.

I was looking forward to it. I love my job but events there necessitated that I work late while my dad stepped in to take him to the recent "Walking with Dinosaurs" show. That made me real depressed while I worked my event. I don't get a chance to show off that often and I guess it feels like one slipped away again.

Only a game.

The loft apartment over a great party gets older today and she doesn't look a day over 141

Not from last weekend when the weather blew, the one before where we got a summer preview. Number one son and I went to the marina, got the now obligatory Aud deconstruction pic, and ate overpriced ice cream product and took these.

It's been a busy run of events at work. Yesterday was our Earth Day celebration. This gets celebrated in June to avoid the questionable April weather, you know, back when it was sunny. I found it ironic that on Earth Day, I basically got to stand in a monsoon for a large portion of the day. Tends to color your disposition. It is also not one of my better looks. The rain did work in our favor a little bit. One of the extremists groups who shall not be named was all set to picket my workplace to protest the keeping of the elephants. So, things were a little more tense then needbe. But the day went off without a hitch.

I got a neat bon mot on Friday. I got a new, larger office. My previous one was a room fashioned by a large, false wall out of a larger room. That meant I was dependent on air from the two doors and I think played a large part in getting me sick last summer. Now, I got a bigger space across the hall, with windows and Delaware Park view. It feels imminently more civilized.





It's comparitively swanky compared to my closet setting. The pictures aren't great but you get the idea.

My daughters made fudge ribbon cake for me for today so I think I'm passing on lunch.

Happy Dad's day to all the dads out there, especially to mine as he left Roswell this week with the phrase "Cured" stamped in his file.

Score one for the good guys

I thought I posted some of these but I think I actually forgot

One of the beautiful things of having relatives smack in the middle of DC is you can select your historical moments without a whole lot of advance planning. With the inauguration of President Obama, my former spouse and I thought it would be good to take our kids and just be part of the moment. Given their racial makeup, it was a once in a lifetime thing. Given a horrifying ride down the night before, I was ready for a little lackadasical adventure. Essentially, we walked a few blocks and were in Obamastock. It was fun to just see all the hullabaloo. We didn't stuggle to get into certain places. Things just seemed to happen all Ferris Bueller like, just right into place. The feeling of hope made everybody friends. After eight years of Washington induced fear, it was a beautiful thing to see the city (both of them) so friendly.








My Eldest and Youngest having more fun in front of the Department of the Interior than is usually permitted.























Our hero, trying not freeze celebrating democracy

If you ever wonder why people are disinclined to vote, I believe those folks received validation in the form of the New York State Senate. As a moderate democrat, I like to think I see both sides, but this is ridiculous. While the democratic senators pout and act like petulant fifth-graders, the republicans are playing a glorified version of "King of the Castle." Neither is doing anything remotely resembling the people's business. Nobody's looking to lead, change the nature of a government hellbent on getting the very last drop of blood from the stone. Talk about a bunch a people who need smacked with a big bag of hammers.

Wish it was possible for a government bail-out because our state senate is run worse than GM.

In other news, I've had it up to here with the race for this, the fun run for that, the 5K for rectal itch, you name it. The race organizers seem to think the city has three streets and the course help doesn't know the route either. I was trying to take my daughter to work this morning down one street, was told to take another, when I got to the end of that, was told to turn around to go back where we started. I realize it is the only time you get folks into the city, but how about a little consideration for city lifers and spread this grab out a little, puhleeze??

Been down Elmwood at Forest three separate times today, each time there was some butthead who couldn't remember to get out of the right lane so they could keep traveling on Elmwood, and they HAD to challenge everybody who remembered?

Lest you think I'm too high and mighty gentle reader, after hitting the ATM by Bidwell, thinking I was free and clear, I pulled right in front on an SUV who thankfully was too oblivious to me.

It's Allentown weekend and once again, the stuff around the Art Festival is cooler than the items in the Art Festival. You'd think the Art Association would embrace the positive vibe and not be such hypocrites when it came to music and the merchants in the area, that way a big party could get spread out as it grew.

Buffoons.

Still tired from it all. Well, dear reader, it is like this. Physically, (and sometimes by necessity, I have had to be a really early morning person and it isn't sitting well.

During a recent day of double promotion, I had to stare down actual bikers, take crap about a commercial that doesn't exist, run a few miles across the grounds as well as take my part in the Eugene O'Neill drama that is my parents and sister living together under one roof. The bikers were a piece of cake by comparison. Events are funny things. It is kind of like traveling. You stand around a lot alternating with periods of moving all over the property at as a high of rate of speed as was possible.

There are some oddities, watching people and their sense of entitlement to things they knew nothing about. I watched as one woman who paid nothing to come, wasn't charged a thing, was all set to go tear off the head of some restaurant employee in search of the parking token she believed she so richly deserved. People will have self-inflicted anuerisms over the littlest thing. A letter in my email box gripes over the lack of free ice cream, when we specified when the free ice cream was to be given away. Went to my folks house at the end of the day feeling like Methusalah.

Woke up the next morning with designs on the parade and my fatigue was hard to conceal as the splife offered to take the boy home early, provided I went home and napped. Don't have to tell me twice. I plopped on the couch and promptly checked out for three hours.

New man today: got the car inspected, picked up the dry cleaning, filled out the paperwork for passport card and booklet, washed the vehicle and enjoyed the coffee much more since I was at my own brewer. Good way to start the week. I may yet just thrive.