take the out of towners to the falls they said, it will be fun they said

Transitions...they sneak up on you. I haven't been writing much of late since maybe summer. I took a new job at the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls and it has been a world changer.

I was feeling reflective mostly about the commute. The work is pretty similar to what I was doing in regards to public relations, marketing and tv and the like, but it's the ride where the world is a little different. I used to tell people that you couldn't play Stairway to Heaven all the way through in the time it took me to get from my apartment to my Zoo office. When your destination is Niagara Falls, it's a different kettle to be sure. I've become one of those people of the 190, and that sometimes great, sometimes a ride, especially in the weather we've had this winter.

On its uneventful days, it's 20 minutes start to finish, not a bad amount, but in this winter that is already available in book form, it sucks. The unrelenting cold has frozen over roads, last week random sections of the 290 went to solid ice. I'm driving a Sportage these days on and on soild ice its fanny wants to shake. There's a message in there somewhere.

I was happy to see the sun today.

Happy Days, EStrip

For the past few years, I've also been working part time on the events staff at the downtown sports arena for all types of stuff, hockey, concerts, wrestling, what have ya. It's a fun venue to people watch

Usherin…got my chips cashed in…

There are some places at certain times where you can get an interesting insight into the human condition, where you can study without being studied. Patrolling the aisles at the local professional lacrosse game the other night was one of those times. I’m a sports fan, but this one doesn’t do it for me. So, I guess that makes me a more attentive usher since the game isn’t distracting me (yeah, we’ll go with that for now.).

Look up in the aisle, it’s Usherman…able to leap tall drink spills in a single bound.

I knew this most recent game was going to be interesting to watch unfold. A promotion had autographed lacrosse balls for sale to raise monies for a worthy cause. A family appeared in my section where the grandfather produced the autographed ball and gave it to his granddaughter, a little moppet of maybe four years old. She accepted the ball and considered it for a moment, duly looked at the signature as her grandfather pointed out, thought for a moment and prompted tossed the ball down to the section beneath ours. This usher? I thought that was funny.

There was the t-shirt gun. I’m convinced it’s the hunt that gets folks going, not the actual trophy. This was confirmed to me as the Bandits‘ mascot brandished a t shirt gun that had some wallop, and turned a few folks near me into searching for “the precious.”

A recent balloon drop had me shaking my head as folks in the upper levels were jumping in the first row of the upper level to catch a balloon that had a coupon inside. Again, the prize was for something not so rare. It’s the hunt that is the thing. But I can’t walk in that first row without getting the proverbial willies.

So, I have to ask, the chance at a not rare souvenir something to take a foolish chance over? I think not, but people forget themselves, and that they are not alone, or at home, or the manners their parents carefully taught them.

It’s priorities, man. I remember a few years ago, my dad and I were heading to see some minor league baseball and there was a giveway that night, I believe a stadium replica in some fashion. One of those little desktop size statues that was produced with the same level of care and detail that the average 4 year old puts into their playdough houses. But again it was the hunt. Folks lined up around the block as there to be one admissions gate where the freebie was going to be distributed. This line snaked by plenty of other ways into the stadium. Dad and I looked at each then sought higher council, as seats, beer and grilled meat in tubular form was decidely more important.

So, yeah, I don’t get too jazzed with the fast food company blimp flies over ahead and drops coupons, because that isn’t worth putting the effort to, well, stand up for, let alone post up to keep somebody else from getting one.

But if that suits ya, have at it, as at least the cost of the seat didn’t rise with ya.

Well, this time

life around the office. closest you can come to tapping a polar bear on the shoulder.

Video production s can be exciting until you've experienced one. On my umpteenth one for work the other day, I got a little bored. Since it was my production, I gave my directions and got out of the way...and took my own pictures.

enjoy





















Yeah, I was away from my desk and didn't mind at all.

I miss El Nino. Melt now, please. thanks

That really has no ring to it at all, but it is what it is.

There are no pictures here as there are plenty elsewhere, just a couple of thoughts as I listen to my landlord do the driveway plowing.

I have a found a few things out over the past few days including: I have absolutely no patience for those taking to social media to whine about what they did or didn't get in their front yard. You didn't get four feet on your sidewalk, too flipping bad. That's a burden for a lot of folks including you. Go outside, make your snow angel in the plentiful snow we got and zip it. One person's frolic could mean serious issues for those surrounding you. You have sunshine and pavement in your neighborhood! Mazel Tov and shut up too. When it is as cold as it has been, there are folks who've had to struggle with minimal heat, icy conditions, snow totals that might be beyond their abilities to move it. So, knock it off.

As George Carlin would say, here's another group of guys who should be slapped with a bag of hammers: the goofs comparing how this blizzard doesn't stack up to other blizzards because of snow totals or whatever meaningless statistic. "Only 18 inches of snow, that's no blizzard they write, back in the day, 77, that was a blizzard." I know plenty of folks who have been or will be shoveling in this crappy wind chill would like a word with ya, Sparky. I mean, if you've lived in the Buffalo Area for a significant length of time, you've been through something like this before at some point, but each one is different, weather being funny that way. The local guys I watched pretty much got it spot on, but hearing some wags on social media attempt to joke about one storm versus another and how "this was nothing" is exasperating. Bet the plow drivers, triple a folk, and police groups doing travel ban duty don't think so. Some of these storms like 77 had body counts. This one did too. So, I don't get overrought when this type of weather gets here, but I take it seriously, despite the fact the phrase "Polar Vortex" sounds like something the Enterprise ought to be orbiting.

It seems there are few folks griping about preventative measures, like cancelling schools before the storm itself starts. "We didn't do that in my day." Well, your day might have been stupid.

We were fortunate as kids. My mom had no problem overruling the school superintendent. I was half tempted to have her call the NHL about the Sabres-Hurricanes game yesterday. You're lucky, Bettman, mom is on speed dial.

Dont need a thermometer

its cold

I took a nice jaunt to Losson Park in Cheektowaga and loved it. You could really lose yourself in nature. And I was willing.

I do have one coworker who genuinely likes this weather.