“Jobs”

I heard someone say that there are many Government jobs available all around the country. They should mention you cannot be a felon or have any kind of criminal record if you apply. These days depending on the job a lie detector test is mandatory. If you are lucky to get the job you also have to be sworn in and its like taking an oath of office. That could be one of the reasons there are so many jobs available. Doing all that and getting a job was one of my more prouder moments. Of coarse it helps if you have experience and are good at what you do…

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“The Dreaded Six Month Doctors Appointment”

  Three words….Doctors appointment today. I’m healthy. At least I think so. That’s not the problem…it’s the pre-appointment that bothers me…Its the few days leading up to the actual day….I start thinking about getting older and all my aches and pains and whether I should be a whiner and tell him every detail. Or Not. This happens every six months or so. There is nothing wrong with me. At least I don’t think there is….. So I think I will play it ear….Maybe I’ll fake it till I make it…Maybe its just me… A very old friend of mine told me years ago…”Lar, you’ll know when its time”….Through the years it has never failed… I always seem to know when its time…

“The New TV Season”

I watched a few new, old TV shows, on the internet of coarse. (no commercials) Lets start with “Two and half men“…I know this is only episode one and If this is any indication, I will say it won’t last long. Its stupid and not funny. “Big Bang Theory” Its fair, its half funny, half not. It went from a little sexual innuendo to not funny sexual innuendo. “The Office”? Mr. Spader is smart here. He is literally sitting back waiting to fit in letting the other cast members do the work…His masterful sarcastic attitude fit right in with this group of funny people. Its predicable…”Prime Suspect” I can only say Maria is my kind of girl…The cast does over act but its passable…“Glee” I lasted until that kid got the soda thrown in his face then I shut it off…From what I seen its still has bullies and ignorant teachers. Talent is good, show is setting a bad example. Its boring…”How I met your mother” starts by explaining to young kids how people met. I assume the narrator left out all the sex stuff when he talked to those kids. None of the sex material is funny. “Law and order SVU” is the same. I assume the crimes will get more gruesome to entice these kinds of people to watch…“Criminal minds“…Guess what? They brought back the brunette. I like her. Its Gruesome and you know this show will get bloodier if that’s at all possible.. “Parenthood” Sorry here…It could be good but what I’m seeing is a lot of people talking over each other. Its predictable and boring. “NCIS” They are keeping it more or less like it is. I like Tony and Ziva…….“Unforgettable” is worth the watch…I like the way she sets up the crime and solves the puzzle…. “New Girl” She is a talented young lady. I’ll watch it again if they keep the not funny sex stuff toned down. “Dexter, Bluebloods and Nikita” I’ll get to sooner or later.

Comment….I realize these are only TV shows. However I feel bad for parents who are trying to teach their kids morals and dignity. All these shows are R rated and not really for prime time…Supervision is advised here…. Unnecessary boring sexual overtones are used to draw viewers towards this negative behavior.

“Jobs or Not”

It doesn’t take that many people to sell stuff? Does it? Did you ever notice that most jobs out there today are someone selling something to someone? A few years ago that was called being a salesperson. Now it seems we have a country full of sales people. A sales person a few years ago was someone who had that job part time while waiting to get a real job. Like….“Hey Dude, where do you work?” “Gas station man, till I go back to School! “Cool, good luck Dude.” Did you notice that today everybody is in a rush to go and sell someone something. I think about that when I am on the highway doing 70 MPH and they pass me out at 80 or 90 MPH…The other day I was talking to a girl working the counter in a fast food restaurant and she when she took my order, smiled and said to me, “For here or to go?” I said, to go. I’m going to the beach and eat while the weather is still nice. Wanna come with me? She replied, “OMG, I wish I could but my boss said if I take a day off for me not to come back…I’ve been working here for two years and I only called out once. I don’t know what’s wrong with him“…I said, Baby, think about this. This is fast food not IBM or Microsoft, do you really give a shit? When I left she was laughing hysterically…..Another thing is, people don’t look like they enjoy what they are doing. Its like they are grouchy, like they are saying I don’t get paid to smile…I went to the mall the other day and its like sales people descend on you like vultures. “Welcome to the store“…Thanks.. “Can I help you sir?” No….” Are you looking for something special?”… No…. I’m almost afraid to ask a question. You can tell it’s a fake nice and its not real…You can also tell the good actors from the bad actors…That staff meeting they had that morning to remind them to be nice and make money shines right through the fakeness. Towards the end of the day they lose their enthusiasm. I notice that the Deli guy in the Supermarket that slices the meat looks like a linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys or a laid off plant worker…Women who should be retired are cashiers in grocery stores. I know one that is in her 80s and one in their 70s…Its so sad to see this. I see a lot of young people just out of high school stocking shelves with the hundreds of thousands of products. What kind of future is in store for these kids. Its truly unbelievable. There are hundreds of Landscapers driving all over the place with their little trailers and lawn mowers…I mean, how many lawns are there to mow? OK, I know but are these jobs or just something to do until the right job comes along?

“A Grateful Crow”

 This is a true story……The other day as I was waiting for the light to change…..I glanced to my right and seen a Crow at the feet of a lady who was raking her lawn… That’s right a Crow. He was tapping at the rake with his beak and with his little feet was swishing the twigs and grass clippings around on the ground…I couldn’t resist. I pulled into her street and stopped. I asked the lady if that was a Crow? Silly question but at that moment I was astonished that a crow was helping her rake the lawn…Yes, she replied saying that her daughter saved the Crow when it was a baby and every once and a while, no kidding here, “comes back to help around the yard“..…I told her that I thought that was beautiful, I couldn’t think of anything else to say and I really thought it was beautiful..…Meanwhile I was watching them and reaching for my camera which fell behind the seat…She said, “her daughter nursed and fed the Crow when it was a baby after the mother crow disappeared leaving the baby on the ground“…It was too late for the camera now so I muttered “Beautiful” again and pulled over more to the side of the road to watch….The lady said, “Oh, he can be a pain sometimes but I don‘t mind“…Wow, I thought, I wish I had a friendly Crow that would help me sometimes…She continued raking and the Crow helping as I watched….She stooped and picked up the grass, twigs and debris, put in in a basket, then picking up the basket…She turned to me and said, “goodbye” and walked the 50 feet to her garage and went in.…Meanwhile, the Crow walked behind her towards the house and when she went in he started flying in circles around the yard, cawing like he was saying, I’ll be back later” He flew around the yard for a few seconds and left, disappearing into the woods…..I sat there for a minute, amazed thinking, now that is Gratitude. I think there is a lesson in there somewhere…

“I Should Have Been a Rock Star”

If I knew, just some of what I know now when I was a young man I would have become a Rock Star…Wait, don’t say anything yet or “Jump to conclusions.” <<< Dad used to say that last part… I did play the electric guitar for a while when I was in my late teens and early 20s. I started to get good until I had finger problems. I had and still have Raynaud’s Disease, a circulatory problem and because of ulcerated finger tips I had to stop playing. Two major operations, two weeks in intensive care, two months in the hospital and a year later my disease was under control but I couldn’t play anymore. My finger tips were healing and very tender. The calluses were gone. I was afraid if I tried, the finger problem would come back and I didn’t want to go through all that hospital stuff again or risk losing a finger or two…These days I always enjoy thinking that if I threw caution to the wind, made different decisions and worked really hard at overcoming the finger problems I could have been a success at playing with a band. I did have two friends who were singer musicians and they had hit records. If I only put myself in the right place with these guys at the right time and really had the guts and determination to pursue this line of work. I mean it would have been a job after all. I think and I am almost sure I could have played for a major Rock Band. Today when I hear the lead guitar for Guns N’ Roses, Journey, The Stones or of the any the big name groups from a few years ago. I get goose bumps. I know the cords and beat, the strumming technique and the timing. I can feel the energy of the crowd. I can actually feel myself playing lead or back up guitar with the crowd roaring…Its like I’m there…. Its an unbelievable feeling… I could cry when I think of what I could have done if I stayed healthy…..

“Topic of My Choice”

  Today its breakfast with friends and I can’t wait for that. I don’t know how long I can keep up writing about someone else’s ideas. Some of her topics are interesting but others I know nothing about. I think I am supposed do research and I’ve done that but now I’m just to lazy. If I start skipping days it will become a habit. Oh well. The whole idea is so I won’t be so angry and I think its working. It just takes time. What I stopped doing also is Tweeting so much negative stuff. I figure if I don’t read it about I won’t have so much to think about. I have to be careful you can get caught up in that. There are a lot of not so nice people out there. Sometimes they do things to get on TV and I truly believe that. Then something happens and they get arrested or hurt or they get killed. I don’t think there is anyone that cruel or stupid. Well actually I do, I ‘m just trying to be nice.…. I have Google alerts and I changed some settings to nice things…Boring but nice things.. Later guys, I’m late. Be careful out there. Don’t do something I can Tweet about…I can’t believe I just said that…

“Love”

 

Today’s topic is Love…Sometimes I wonder what that emotion really is. What are “Mixed Emotions?“ I think I might have that. What is the difference between Love for family or Love for friends? Is that Love for a mate really Love or is it Lust? I realize today that I can say I love you to a person and mean it but not really like the person. Its hard to explain so I won’t even try. I will say it has to do with humility, regret, resentment and sorrow. So far I’ve learned that there are many kinds of love. The peculiar kind of love I want to write about very briefly is for someone that hurt me in the past. Can I let the past go because of time and because I’ve grown and learned a few life lessons? What I feel is the kind of love you feel when you “Half love” someone, if you can do such a thing. I describe it as a little stronger than like but not quite as much as really like. Its in between very few expectations and It doesn’t matter. As long as I don’t set myself up for disaster. I realize I am treading in a very dangerous place. Why would I do that , you ask? I guess because I can and you only live once. I always say I would never walk in a Mine field. Well, maybe if I’m really careful just this once.

“Writing Ideas”

Today’s topic is writing ideas, which is exactly my problem. I have plenty of ideas but if I write about it I get angry and start thinking negative. So now I will try to go in the opposite direction…Flooding, that seems to be a huge problem these days.….I thought maybe if I share my experience with everyone they won’t end up living in a flood plain. I mean it is a writing idea…No, OK well, I could write about politics but then I would get upset. Wait, Politics…That’s an Idea…No, I guess not…I mean its not like I can’t think of anything, its my anger at what I know is going on in Washington and I’m not alone in the way I feel. Take a look at the popularity polls. The other day I heard someone say about this 9/11 stuff, “ It will never go back to the way it was”. Enough said on that. OK, a good topic would be football season which starts tomorrow. I know this will calm me down. That feeling of competition and winning. I don’t know, topics are easy to think about but hard to find…Wait I got it! Corruption. I just have to share this…..I had an idea the other day….Do you think that if all the corrupt politicians in Washington and around the World returned all the money they stole or got under the table in the form of bribes and donations while negotiating “Deals” we could balance the American budget. Probably not but it would certainty help a lot. Do they know the real meaning of the word Budget? Its another word you don’t hear anymore. It joins the ranks of morals, conscience and respect. There!… I’m done. See, I said all that without getting angry….Well, almost

“Finances”

  Today’s topic is about finances. The dictionary describes this as control of money, the business or art of managing the monetary resources of an organization, country or person. Wow, I could do something with that….I could really be angry and show someone how save or spend but this is about me… Lately with me, its using what I have been taught all my life. Lets start with credit. In these times of economic disaster and it is economic disaster. I never ever charge anything. I buy very few luxury’s if any. I’m fortunate enough to be able to buy what I want. I just don’t like to overpay for anything. I won’t give them an extra nickel if I don’t have to. I only buy things on sale with a coupon. Especially food but I never buy two to get one. The rule for me is if I want something and don’t have the money I’ll wait till I have the money to buy it even if its inconvenient…I save money for things…I put a few dollars away for emergencies. Like a new Computer or TV just in case I need one. I save for car maintenance. Oil changes every 3000 miles or if something breaks. The Mustang is a high maintenance car so its important to have it checked out at least once a year whether it needs it or not. Like rotate the tires or front end work. You don’t want know what I paid for a break job for that car. At the speeds on the highways these days you had better do something. The insurance for that car is not cheap either so I have to save for that. I save just in case Willie gets sick. Vet bills are expensive. His meds alone cost $25 dollars a month. I can’t figure out how to get the Government to pay for that. Maybe if I write to the “Cat Bite Czar” he will help me…I pay bills as soon as I get them, never waiting till their due. The rent is paid a few days before the first of the month…When I have moved in the past I always use the landlord or the building manager as a reference. You can do that if you pay your rent on time. I could travel anywhere in the world if I want but I don’t want to deal with all this terrorist nonsense. I don’t want to give the airlines any extra money. When I worked at the airport I used to fly for free and everybody knew my name. I save my change for the laundry and never wash unless I have a full load. When I gas the Mustang I never put more than $20 dollars in the tank…I will not carry around all that gas. Its heavy. Leave it in the ground at the gas station, it will be there if I need it. I do a lot of things to economize and cut back. I just absolutely refuse to give them anything if I don’t have to. Most of this for me is common sense and the end result is I have money in my pocket at payday…