Ponderings and Musings

Lunch In The Sun.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

I decided to do something today that I haven’t done in a long while. Instead of buzzing home for lunch, I went and parked at the ballpark that Earl and I used to frequent last summer. I felt like it was an appropriate way to wind down with the unofficial end of summer. I was hoping that Earl could join me, but unfortunately we couldn’t get our lunch hours to synchronize, so I’m going at it solo. At least I get to drive his Jeep today while the Acura is getting his first tune-up.

Sitting in the sunshine does wonders for clearing the head. It’s sort of like mental floss, the sunlight cascades in and reaches every nook and cranny of body and soul, washing away the dark impurities and bringing in a needed warm feeling. It’s like a hug from the universe. Just what the doctor ordered.

Earl and I have not made outrageous plans for the holiday weekend. With gas at very, very high prices, we figured we’d do our part and refrain from a road trip to nowhere. We’re going to go to the New York State Fair one day. I’ll be sure to take a lot of pictures. There’s a lot of things in New York State that frustrate the heck out of me, but I’m rather proud of our State Fair. I hear it’s one of the biggest in the country. Earl has mentioned on more than one occasion that it’s much bigger than the fair in Pennsylvania. And our fair has been located on one site for a long, long time; pretty much smack in the middle of the state in Syracuse. The Salt City has always been a hospitable host.

I’m so glad it’s Friday. I’m happy it’s the Friday before a long weekend. As I type that thought, I wonder if the folks in New Orleans and surrounding areas even realize that it’s Friday. Or if it’s a holiday weekend for that matter. How are they keeping track of the days? By counting the promises made of incoming supplies or evacuation buses? By how many sunsets they witness before eat their next meal? The situation is unbelievable. No human being, regardless of nationality, creed, color, sexual orientation, whatever, should have to live in that type of environment. They need help and they needed it two days ago. I can’t help but wonder if there were no budget cuts to the levee system back in June if they would be in the same situation today. I wonder why anyone would build a metropolis below sea level in a giant bowl. A scenario that relied on man-made pumps and such. History has shown that when it’s man against nature, nature always wins. We should live in harmony with the universe, not against it. She should be our friend, not our foe.

There’s a gentle breeze blowing through the Jeep. The sun is still showing brightly. I think I’m going to take a cat nap.

The American Red Cross is doing a day long telethon today from the telephone company I work for. They’ve already exceeded their goal of $50,000 with a total of $61,000-plus, and that was around 11:00 a.m. I think it’s wonderful that people all across the United States are doing what they can to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

My blog friend OPIEblue mentioned another charity on his website that I donated to and I urge you to do the same. It’s the Humane Society of the United States, and they’re helping lost and abandoned pets left in the hurricane’s wake. As he mentioned, even apart from the humane concerns, the number of dead animals contribute to the disease potential in the area and the humane society is helping with the clean up.

Here’s a link if you would like to make a donation.
Click here.

I just had a wildly innovative brain storm about the recent surge in gas prices.

Go metric.

That’s the answer. After all, if the U S Government can adjust the clocks with the idiotic Daylight Saving Time extension so that we save energy and make people happier by giving them “more sunlight”, why doesn’t the U S switch to metric measurements so gas is only $0.82 a liter?

Seeing $0.829 up on a gas pump would make everyone feel so much sunnier.

As I browse through the articles, blogs and photos of the destruction left by Hurricane Katrina I ask myself, how can I complain about a pool that’s gone green or a grandmother obsessed with her change purse at the dollar store?

Our thoughts are with you all affected by Katrina.

A couple of weeks ago one of the blogs I read, OPIEblue, mentioned that song from a couple of years ago that talks about always wearing sunscreen. I think the title is “Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen”. Ever since reading that blog entry and thinking about the song and what not, I’ve had little Nuggets of Wisdom bouncing around in my head that I thought I’d take the time to share. I fully support these beliefs and feel that they lead to a healthier lifestyle.

Live A Little In The Express Lane. If you’re in the 20 items or less lane at the market, department store or convenience store, don’t show a lack of courtesy to those behind you by counting out $33.16 in pennies to pay for your purchase. Either fork out the green stuff or swipe your ATM card through the slot. Live on the edge and risk the ID theft by using your credit card. Those behind you will thank you.

Burn Your Checks. In this day and age, writing a check at aforementioned establishments only convinces those behind you that you don’t really have the money for your purchase and are trying to play the obsolete “float” game. Writing a check indicates that you have no grasp on today’s financial methods and that you really need to get a clue.

Use The Lane. While making a left turn on a multi-lane highways, it’s more acceptable to use the left lane for this purpose rather than inconsideratly dashing across the roadway at the last possible moment. Just because you have a ridiculously huge vehicle does not necessarily mean you have the biggest balls. Actually, it’s usually indicative of quite the opposite.

Drive. Keeping within the vehicular motif, when you’re behind the wheel of the car, please take a moment and actually drive the vehicle. Pay attention to the task of actually maintaining highway safety for yourself and those around you. There’s no need to put on makeup, shave, make a bagel, watch television, read a book, curl your hair, IM your best friend, smack the kids around or masturbate while you’re moving at 65 MPH on the freeway.

Believe. No matter what your spiritual beliefs are, please enjoy your relationship with your chosen deity and revel in it. But don’t beat others over the head expecting them to follow your path to enlightenment. Many worship a God, some worship money, but few worship a “Bible Beater”.

Start off Clean. When you go to bed Sunday night, ready for the work week that lies ahead, go to bed with the washer and dryer empty and the clothes put away. You’ll thank yourself for it the next morning and you’ll have something to wear after staggering around in the early Monday morning.

Smile. Let them see you smile. Smile on the inside. Smile on the outside. Laugh out loud. You’ll feel much better and you’ll be known as the person that can light up a room.

Show Respect. Treat others with respect, no matter who they are or what they’ve done. Every human being deserves respect, even if they’ve just pissed you off beyond belief. Degrading another is a feeble attempt at reconciling a flaw within yourself.

And always remember to wear sunscreen.

lunch

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

Sometimes you just need to get a breath of fresh air during the work day. The weather was beautiful at 72 degrees with lots of sun, the network reception was great and I had the opportunity to get a breath of fresh air.

Last night I had a heck of a time falling asleep. This is rather odd for me in that I can usually say “I’m going to sleep” and fall asleep instantly. I just roll over and “voila” I’m in the dreamscape accomplishing everything I want to but can’t in the real world.

Anyways, last night I just couldn’t get comfortable enough to settle in for the night, so I was sort of drifting in and out of sleep. This usually results in my babbling in my sleep and apparently Earl finds this amusing. I woke myself up yelling something about peanut butter on my toes and Earl doesn’t like peanut butter so why is he walking through it… DIETY$ knows what I was dreaming about but there you are.

Around 2 a.m. I woke up with a bad case of the sniffles that just wouldn’t stop. Mother Nature decided to give us a cool night with temperatures around 50, and we had all the windows and fans going like it was 80 outside. So it got a little chilly. I usually don’t take cold medicine or anything, but I was in no mood to deal with the sniffles so I popped two Tylenol Nighttime Cold pills, chased them down with a big glass of orange juice and then headed for the couch so Earl wouldn’t have to deal with my constant sniffling until the medicine took hold. I slept like a baby for a couple of hours, then Earl woke mme up and I reinstalled myself in bed until it was time to get up for work.

One thing that I consistently forget about cold or allergy medicine is that it makes me rather cranky. I guess I’m a little bit conscious of it because I’m trying really hard not to just SNAP on people today. Truth be known, I would like to tell everyone to just shut the fsck up and leave me alone. Or I don’t really care if you want my opinion or not because I’m going to tell you it. At 85 decibels. At least that’s how I felt this morning. The medicine must be wearing off because I’m feeling more my jovial self now as I get lunch in my stomach.

I’m glad I’ve had this little bout of the sniffles in August so that I don’t start stocking up on cold medicine to get me through the winter. I’ve learned my lesson early this year. Life’s too short to be chemically cranky.

Today Earl and I had my Mom, sister and her friend Debbie over for a little party. My sister is traveling to Moscow on the 30th to join her boyfriend, the professional hockey player, while he plays for a Russian hockey team through next spring.

In a way I’m very excited for my sister. She’s getting to see a part of the world that few Americans do. From the pictures I’ve seen on the internet, Moscow is gorgeous. Beautiful. I haven’t done a whole lot of research on the city, but Earl and I have tossed around the idea of visiting next winter. I have to admit I’m a little nervous about the prospect, but at the same time I’m very excited as well. I can be self-conscious in unfamiliar surroundings. I can be a little shy. Sometimes it takes a little coaxing to get me started, but then I enjoy myself once I’m out of my shell. It’s a left over worry I guess, from obsessing of what people thought about me when I was a teenager. You’d think I’d have grown out of it by now.

As we were sitting around chatting and munching on some great food, I came to realize how much things have changed since Earl and I first started seeing each other 9 1/2 years ago. I’ve never hidden my feelings for Earl, but at one time I separated the various aspects of my life. My family never heard me DJ in a bar because I DJ’d in a gay bar. My gay friends didn’t meet my family. I never talked about going to gay campgrounds or playing volleyball with my gay friends or going to Boston for Pride. Earl and I now talk openly about many aspects of our lives. We talk about going to the gay campgrounds, we talk about swimming naked at bear pool parties, we talk about the “Earl Overlap” (I dated two Earl’s at the same time before settling down with this one – and yes, I was honest with both.)

Life is so much easier when its honest and real. That’s one of the things I admire about the writings of my blog friend Terry. He doesn’t change pronouns, he doesn’t tame language; he says it like it is whether mundane or outrageous. I find that an admirable trait.

I believe in speaking the truth. It’s not a bad thing.

Have you ever had one of those days where it seems like there’s a lot going on but the day is dragging out forever? That’s how I’m feeling today.

Work is going well. It’s not crazy busy, but there’s enough to keep the day moving. But I feel like I’ve been at work for an entire day and here it is just halfway through my lunch hour. Oh well. I think this feeling is an extension of yesterday in that I am totally ready for the weekend, regardless of the fact that I’m on call and we don’t have any major plans or anything.

Oh well. It could be worse. I could have too much to do without enough time to do it. Maybe I should just get comfortable at this slower pace. I’ve complained in the past that life is passing by too quickly, maybe this is the universe telling me that it’s really not that bad.

Comfy.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

I’ve been eating peanut butter and jelly for lunch for the past couple of work days. I know that it’s rare for a man of my age to enjoy peanut butter and jelly, but I really do, especially between two slices of unhealthy white bread.

But it just feels wrong to not have some potato chips to enjoy along with my sandwich. Nothing fancy. I’m a huge fan of Doritos and would never turn them down, but a nice, normal potato chip would be welcomed alongside my sandwich.

I guess I feel all that and a bag of chips today.