Friday, May 30, 2008

Got the moon on the string

Catfish sends me a lot of these kind of things. This is pick of the week.



I don't know if it's real or a photoshop but very cool, don't you think?

On the mend

I'm actually starting to feel better but I've still moving pretty slow today. I did manage to get out of the house and drove myself to the closest store today. I'm getting some function back in my face already but the left eye is still sluggish and I needed some Visine to keep it lubricated. It's not blinking that well.

On the brighter side, I've been eating better today so that's helped with the effects of the meds and I realized I'm lucky to be so numb along the incision line because it doesn't hurt to keep it clean. Unfortunately, I'm still not up to blogging speed so my great adventure in medicine will have to wait one more day but here's a little night music for now.



Howlin Wolf was one of my all time favorites. I always thought he was better than BB King and that London Album was one his best.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Feeling a little surreal

So I was going to blog about my great hospital adventure but I'm not quite up for it yet. I'm still too drugged out. All I have tonight is this picture of one of my favorite regulars from when I tended bar at the VFW. Fran is an old vet and a really good man with a sweet temperment. He's the kind of person you want to be like when you get that old.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

I survived

I'm just home from the surgery which turned out to be much bigger than they expected. To the extent that I understand what happened, my surgeon pulled off a minor miracle and was able to save the facial nerve, although I'm currently suffering some temporary paralysis. In any event I'm too drugged out on pain killers to really blog but I'm happy to report that I don't remember anything about the actual surgery. The last thing I remember beforehand was them saying it's time and starting to wheel me out of the prep room. Never even saw the hallway.

And the first thing I remember after is waking up in the recovery room. Meanwhile, I'm off to doze between doses of the medications I have to take for a few days. The anitbiotic has to be taken every six hours. Guess I'll have to set my alarm.

Monday, May 26, 2008

What I Like About You

I finally figured out how to upload the video of the neighborhood kid.



That rumbling you hear in the background is thunder. He was out there during the whole storm which had just ended. Unfortunately I missed the footage of him romping in the puddle.

The interweb

I've been checking the Smith greenhouse webcam every couple of days for weeks now and there's still no color in the gardens even though the green stuff is getting lumpier. I figured by now it would have been much prettier. I'd almost forgotten how short the summers are there but it reminds me of why I'll probably never move back north.

Still the webcam is worth a click today for the interesting spiderweb at the top of the frame. Looks like she caught a fly.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to remember how to upload video to YouTube. I got some footage of my local 5 year old rock star that I'd love to share. I'll be back if I figure it out. If not, tomorrow is my surgery so I'll be away for at least two days. Wish me luck.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Dead malls, southern style

I've been trying to exercise more on my days off. Instead of driving around and doing errands the other day while I was doing laundry, I took a walk through the shopping center. It's really big. It has its own named roads but they're just parking lots lining a long and sprawling themed strip mall. It's kind of a quasi frontier/historic vibe. It has its own little museum of rusted farm equipment that's never open, a railroad caboose that's always locked and a strange and varied mix of businesses. It takes about fifteen minutes to walk the length of it.


Parking regulations....



are strictly enforced.



But no need to worry for the shoppers. There really aren't any to speak of. I've never seen any of the lots even close to full.

Now I've seen everything

Computer issues have kept me from downloading photos but I think that's solved at the moment so I should be posting a couple of pix in a bit. Meanwhile, this has to be the funniest freecyle item I've seen ever.

Offer - Bag of dryer lint

I have a small Whole Foods paper bag full dryer lint. I
know it is used for various things, 1 of which is
starting fires (the Boy scouts do this). There are a
few other things as well but since I can't remember
them, I can't use it.
If you have a need or use for it, it is yours!

Preference goes to who can PU the quickest. Please
email with a date and time of pick-up.
*No date or time in response will be PASSED OVER.*

The really funny part is someone will probably take it.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Recession hits the Happy Valley?

Well, of course I lied and haven't posted my pictures yet and I'm still working today so I'm just driving by. I'll at least post a couple of pics tonight if I have to keep my eyes open with toothpicks.

Meanwhile, I was reading the Gazette yesterday and see The Del Raye is closing down and Claudio is going to turn it into another sports bar. I can see why they would be having trouble. Five years ago it cost about $100 for dinner for two with a couple of drinks but I was surprised to see Claudio's restaurant empire is in something of a shambles what with unpaid taxes and unpaid city service fees.

Even more surprising was seeing Bobby McGovern say he was downgrading Packards menu to more affordable items. I never thought of Packards as a high end dinner venue. Noho was always kind of recession proof. If these guys are having trouble, then we're all in for a rough ride.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Quick hit

I should be back later this afternoon with some pictures but must dash off for a few hours of work right now. My big adventure yesterday, I got caught in a thunderstorm cell on the road that scared the bejebus out of me. Buckets of rain. Couldn't see a foot in front of you and I thought the hail was going to bust the windshield.

Eased up about a mile down the road thank the Goddess. I hate driving in ugly weather but it's still better than ice and snow.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Hit and Run

I lied again. I didn't answer any email, so I'm now two weeks behind and I didn't figure out future posts so I'm just cross posting this from my other blog.

Here's some pictures of places I've been, taken by other people who have been there too.

I climbed all 383 steps at Notre Dame so I could get up close to this guy and this one and this one and him too. It was worth the climb. But I've never been to Valencia. I bet that one is impressive in person.

Remembering that trip, that I dubbed the Virgin Mary tour, one of the single most impressive buildings I've ever been in was the Mezquita in Cordoba. It's hard to convey how vast it is from the inside. It covers an entire city block.

I really liked Cordoba. The Alcazar's garden was one of the nicer ones I saw and it was the first time I saw a live stork. It was living in a chimney, just like in the fairy tales. And the little neighborhoods were just charming.

And this one is for my sister and Dad especially. They'll remember this place. It looks better now than it did back then. A short vid of the movie house where I spent many a Saturday afternoon watching continous showings of the same film. You could get in the door for 35 cents and they never kicked you out.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

In the cards

What a life. I find myself at a crossroads again so I did an internet tarot reading. I haven't done one in a long time. I've been afraid to read my future and I'm in such a state of turmoil that I don't even want to touch my real cards figuring I'd screw up the energy I've built in them. So anyway, on a whim I did the internet thing and this was the reading. It's pretty intense but it was remarkably on target for where I am right now. Look at all those major arcana. Way I read it this time for sure, I'm in for some major change, most of which is beyond my control but I think it's going to work out okay. I'd be interested in other interpretations though. It looks like it won't be an easy transistion.

Meanwhile, on a lighter note, the five year old kid who plays outside of my window was singing this song the other day and I wanted to blog it but I couldn't remember what it was. He didn't have the tune quite right, but he had the lyrics nailed and it was very cute. He was standing on the sidewalk belting it out in his hoarse little voice and playing the air guitar. He finally did an encore the other day. It's "What I Like About You."

He only knows one verse but it struck me as funny. When I was five I was still singing "She'll be Coming Around the Mountain."

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Would have taken a walk but it rained

I'm so tired. I've been sleeping a lot but I'm having anxiety dreams and don't wake up rested at all. Silly really because I met with the doctors this week and the surgeon was much more encouraging. I'll a less scared about the facial paralysis thing but still I guess I'm freaking pretty much about the being put under. I've never had an operation before. It feels weird to be getting ready for one.

The doctors appointment was a nightmare. Five hours at the hospital going from one to the other and I spent less than thirty minutes actually talking to doctors. Probably less than twenty. But I filled out a million forms and talked to bookkeeping who asked if I wanted to pay the out of pocket of thousands of dollars right then and there. I politely declined.

Anyway, I have to work tomorrow and I haven't figured out the future post thing yet and I still owe emails that I'm not going to answer tonight either. Bear with me dear friends, I am feeling better and I'll try to catch up over the weekend.

Meanwhile be glad you don't live in Houston. They're under attack by some crazy ants down there that eat electronics. Ugh. Sounds like living inside a horror movie.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Still alive

I've been bogged down with doctors and a general malaise. I have to work this afternoon but I'll be back later.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Oh Ick!!

As if I don't have enough to obsess about, I discovered a tick on my leg last night. Now I can freak out about getting Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. On the bright side, it's a change of pace from obessessing about my surgery.

Man my biorythums must be really down this week. It feels like nothing is going right. I have to keep reminding myself that nothing bad last forever...

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Laughing in the face of death

You gotta love this guy's spirit. Contemplating his impending demise, he decided to go shopping for a coffin and when he saw the silver bullet model, he had a brainstorm. He had the coffin customized to look like a giant PBR beer can. His favorite beer.

The coffin is now in his rec room being used as beer cooler for his men's night out parties and he's been auditioning pallbearers, to make sure they can lift the thing. Here's a guy who going to live life to the fullest until his final moment. An inspiration to us all.

(Hope the link takes you to the video. If not, check the thumbnails. It's obvious which video it is.)

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Hit and run blogging

If I can figure out the future posting thing, this may be the last week that I neglect you but in the meantime, I just have a moment for a couple of quick links to amuse you. If you're wondering who showed up to the Million Man Marijuana March, here's some videos and pix. [via NYC Alberts]

And if you need a fun timewaster, this game drove me crazy. I can't figure out how to win it, but I loved the graphics. If anyone figure out how to get to the treasure, please do let me know.

And this timelapse video of cherry trees bloming at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens is pretty amazing. As is this guy's photography. I loved this portrait and I've never seen an orange dragonfly either. Anybody know what that is? [via]

Saturday, May 03, 2008

I got plenty of nothing

I voted today. I almost didn't make it. I thought I had until 3:00 to get there but I casually doubled checked at 12:40, having just emerged from the shower, I discovered I had to be there by 1:00. I made it with seven minutes to spare but I forgot my list of downticket choices and had to rely on my memory to vote on the weird offices. I ended up leaving half of them blank because I wasn't sure of the names. They're all strangers to me. Still, I managed to vote in most of the more contested races, so I feel alright about it and as an added bonus I got to explore the libary a bit. They have a pretty good collection for a small town.

And speaking of small town, I remember when every boy had one of these in the basement rec room.



I don't really remember the bombs being a popular item though. Must have been before my time.

Friday, May 02, 2008

All's well that ends well

Well, I was offline all of yesterday, mainly because of the car thing. I'm happy to report that it's fixed now and there was actually someting wrong with it. I'm glad that I didn't have to take in myself, because when they tried to explain the analysis and the repairs to me, they might as well as been talking Swahili for all I understood what's going on.

Meanwhile, I'm off to work now but I'll be back and I found out that Blogger has this new feature where you can now schedule posts for the future so I'm going to try to use it this weekend so those of you dear readers that still drop by every day will have something new to read.

By the way, thanks for the calls and emails and offers of help about the surgery. I'm getting more into the Zen zone about it and I'll be fine. If I haven't answered you personally yet, that means I'm planning a long email to you this weekend.