365, and A Day

I was going to do something yesterday to "commemorate"  my year at the desert. I had a vague plan of doing something by myself, for myself but it rained. Yes, it rained on the day of my first year, which is quite unlike what is normal weather here (I would say it rains less than ten times past year) so maybe it was nature's way of giving me something different, something old and familiar. In the end, it was just another day, it seems. Just another St. Patrick's Day. I remember the sights and sounds of the NYC parade, and the past couple of years, it just became a familiar nuisance. I remember spending the day thinking I should get home as early as possible - those belligerent drunks can be nasty and stupid at times. There's a parade here, too, but it's low-key, maybe because the Irish community here isn't as big. So in the end, not much ado about something, and maybe everyone is better off that way.

March, and a year.

March is here, and Daylight Savings Time is this weekend, which means Spring is just around the corner, every little corner. Plus, a year ago on March 17 I moved to the desert. Can you believe it? It seems like only yesterday I was running around, packing, shipping things and now it's been a year. I seriously didn't even feel the year go by, although perhaps I should have.

Well Well

All's well, and for now....it has ended well enough. I have a new box, but getting to this point was literally an ordeal. Customer Service has really gone down a lot, and I don't know how some of these companies continue to stay in business. Both DirecTV and Fedex had horrible phone representatives, and I won't belabor and write every screwup they did in this particular case, but most of the time it was like pulling teeth. And the irony of it all? I am not even that big a television person. Besides specific shows, I am the type of person who, most of the time, keeps television off. I know some people like to keep it on as "company," but a lot of evenings I just like silence. The worst thing for me was losing everything stored on my DVR, like four episodes of "Southland," which I had planned to see this weekend. Plus, my episode at "Anderson" was there, but oh well, what are you going to do?

Mercury Retrograding

Oh, how I despise Mercury Retrograde. I am trying to calm myself right now. technical things have been going haywire. I got home, and all of a sudden my cable box won't turn on, and it really pissed me off. I call DirecTV and it took me a couple of tries, going through hurdles on their phone system until I get a Tech Support person, and we exhaust all possibilities until it is realized that I need a new box, and one won't get to me until three business days and by all calculation that will not happen until Saturday, so here is hoping and crossing fingers that it arrives bY Saturday, and with all these delays and what-nots I won't be surprised if it does not arrive by ten. I hate to be cynical but there you go. And then we keep on trying to call Bombet and we cannot connect. All wires are getting crossed and it really wound me up, and I am still wound up right this very minute and I am just trying my damndest to calm myself down right now so I thought I would write. I mean, i don't even watch a lot of television, and oh, wait for this, what would be worse is that everything that I have DVR'd in there will be gone once I get a new box, so that was another thing that pissed me off.  Oh Lord help me. 

As Today

I feel like I have not written here, and maybe I just need some kind of inspiration. The year hasn't so far been the kindest, but it has gotten a lot better, and I know it will continue to be even better. Valentine's Day is coming up in a day or two and I don't feel anything about it. Year after year it means les and less, and to think ten years ago I would have gone into deep depression by now. But I guess with age comes apathy. Or maybe I have just given up, and that's not necessarily the worst thing in the world.

Anti-Social

A quiet Saturday night beckons. A week ago I was in WeHo at The Abbey and while it was nice and a lot of fun, I can't help but think that I couldn't possibly do that every week. At this point in my life, it would be too much excitement! Right now I am just doing laundry - I have three weeks' worth to do - and I could barely contain myself. That's what old age does, I guess. My brother's group of friends are having a SuperBowl party tomorrow and they are doing the hard invite, but I honestly would be much more content being at home, seeing the Madonna part of the festivities, and then going back to reading, or watching my BluRays. Am I getting anti-social in my elderyears?

The Book Of Mormon

1. There is a guy who owns one of the companies we order supply from. He is one of those older jovial guys - nice but probably one of those conservative Republican types (if I am to go by stereotypes) So anyway, he was at the office and out of the blue went to my desk and said, "Hey Buddy...are you ready for the big game on Sunday?" I assume he is talking about the Superbowl, of course. I played along, and he started talking about football stats and I thought, I hope my eyes weren't glossing over. But the more important thing was, I guess I can still pull of "straight" because why else would he, all of a sudden, talk to me about sports. Bizarre.

2. Our secretary, Jacky, started telling me a story earlier. She said she took her husband, who does construction work, to this family who wanted to have extensions done to their house. In the process of their conversation, the woman told her that she just recently disowned her 13 year old on. The reason: he came out to her. Jacky was saying how bad she felt about the kid, and she said it was probably because the family were Mormons. I told her these people were despicable. Mormons can have as many wives as they want, but they cannot accept a gay son. 

Impromptu

Sometimes spontaneous is best. We were all just having dim sum on Sunday morning, when my brother and sister in law suggested going to Los Angeles. At first I was hesitant about going - I had envisioned a relaxing weekend - but I called Pipo and he said, what are you talkign about? Get in the car with them and just go! It's not like you will be driving, he said. So three and a half hours later, we were eating at Max's in Glendale.

The Memory Of Scent

I went to the movies today and behind me was a woman who was wearing Chloe Narcisse, and I tell you, it brought me right back to 1997. I remember when I used to wear that scent that even Tim was saying that whenever he smelled it on other women, it always reminded him of me. The dominant note is daffodil, but it also powdery and has hints of sandalwood. I haven't worn it for the longest time, and don't even own it now, but I have this sudden desire to wear it all of a sudden. Since it is from the 90s, I am sure the scent has been reformulated and I wonder if it smells the same, although what the woman was wearing swells very close to how I remember it to be, so it should be close enough. But it is funny how smells bring you back to a time and place. Or maybe I am just thinking about this because I am currently reading a book about time travel. Mixed media. 

Let The Long Weekend Begin

I realize I have not posted here, things have been a little hectic, beginning of the year stuff and all that. But as the long weekend honouring Martin Luther King begins, I am going to try relaxing just a little bit. I need some time for myself, and maybe I will call Lolita and get a massage, yes that would really be nice. It seems kind of weird that there is a long weekend right after the holidays but I ain't complaining. Truth be told, I thought we were open on Monday, but since it is a Federal holiday, apparently we observe it, so happy yipee yehey!

The New Year Is Here

I will not declare a resolution for 2012 because I will feel like I am just setting myself up for failure, since we all know more often than not those are abandoned by January. I will have challenges, and promises, though. One of my challenges is from last year. I wanted to read 100 book, but I fell short, accomplishing only 55. Well, they say if at first you don't succeed, try again, and I am trying again. Hopefully this year will be better. I won't make excuses for last year, since I know I should have made it. Another promise I will make this year is to always be in the moment. I noticed that when I was lookign at our family Christmas photos, on almost all of them I was on my iPhone doing God knows what - texting, facebooking, twittering. Looking back, it was disgusting. I will spend a lto less time online this year, because I know I spend a lot of my time, especially in the evenings, on my computer. I will limit myself to two hours at the most. I don't care if I watch television, or watch a movie, or read - those activities can be as wonderfully spent as looking at a computer screen. And yes, I do get the irony of writing these things while I am blogging. But it just has to be said...and done.

Celebrations, Too

More Celebration pictures

Celebrations

Pictures from celebrations of friends :

The Last One For 2011

My last post for 2011, and I better make it worth the effort. Last year at this time I made a decision, and here I am a year later and I am in a much better place in my life, with very little regrets. There are things I miss, but there are things I will always miss, and I am blessed enough to not want important things in my life. And that's that. It's funny, because on all the news reports on Times Square, the balminess over there is what everyone is mentioning, and I just went to throw the garbage and felt a chill. So it looks like I have a colder New Year's Eve here. So there, for better or worse, are the facts. 2011 was a pretty good year for me, but then they are all good years nowadays, since I want to always look at the good things. You know what, too? 2012 will just be better, better than the best. I know it will be. Let's all do this together!