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Monday, January 12th, 2003 It's my Mom's birthday -- I don't remember off hand how old she would be today. I had a strange dream about my Mom a few days ago. She was saying something I don't recall that upset me, over and over, and I just wouldn't be mad at her for it. I had a lot of tense dreams that night. I think that's when I started to catch whatever this flu-cold thing is going around. It took my down for the count all weekend. I'm almost glad I traded the whole weekend to have Christina over for our Little Christmas party, which went very well. Guests even lingered on into a quiet evening afterwards. While sick, I caught up on tech magazines, Eucharistic Ministry newsletter articles, and spent some time on the WebHostingTalk forum egging on my old hosting company to come clean on how it really treats it customers. They didn't appreciate that -- they even called me ... well .. something inappropriate, in front of everyone. But the pressure from me and others for them to prove they didn't lie about giving a due credit to another customer chased them right off the forum. Sometimes you have to push the sword of justice in a little deep. Christina had off from school today, theoretically because of weather. They anticipated a blizzard that either never came or it missed us completely. Almost no snow, but very cold all day. Saturday, January 25th I hugged a young Buffalo yesterday. We saw him outside a local pet store (by the Southgate Plaza), along with sheep, a pony, a rabbit, a camel, and a couple of chickens. It licked my chin and tried to eat my hair. What a cutie. It even looked a little like Lady (our Shih-Tzu) when it gazed up at us. I wish I could bring one home, but it wouldn't look right in the living room, and when fully grown would probably block the TV no matter where he was. Monday, January 27th Yesterday was the anniversary of the start of my serious martial arts training. Fourteen years later, it went uncelebrated (except for the Superbowl party), and I don't think I even wore a sash. I always talk about doing more kung fu instead of just Tai Chi, but now I think I am more upset by the idea not doing kung fu doesn't really bother me. I still have many of my skills, but I wonder -- Is this a closed chapter in my life? Monday, February 3rd Coming home after Christina's basketball game last Saturday, Merry sent Christina out as I came back from parking the car to get me right away -- the news was on. I was heartbroken when I saw the footage of the shuttle Columbia breaking up -- long before official word, I just knew there were no survivors. It immediately brought back memories of early 1996 when the Challenger blew up. Within a day, the talking heads were already stirring up trouble, toying with the idea human space travel wasn't worth it. I was appalled at the "experts" who didn't see the point, casting aside endless medical, scientific, and other technological advances made possible by the HUMANS in the shuttle program. Bush, on the other hand, came through with a heartfelt, almost religious speech, making clear the policy that the manned space program would continue. An associate noticed the photo of Columbia I keep on the wall in my office. I've had it since I was in college. I am a child of the shuttle era. And this whole thing really touched me, growing up with my father in the aerospace field (Carlton Controls Corporation, before it was bought by Moog). Thursday, February 6th Christina made her first basket at the game Tuesday, a rebound, where I also got to (briefly) meet her sister Joan for the first time. Even though Christina says it all the time, she really is a cutie. The weather is a sultry just-above-freezing. Being much warmer than last week, I don't bother wearing a jacket unless I'm out for a while. It's strange ... I know when this weather comes in the Fall, I'll be bundled from head to toe, but it just doesn't feel cold right now. Friday, February 7th Christina and five of her friends did a dance number at the school talent show. They put a lot of work into it and it showed. It ended with a young gentleman singing "God Bless America". We had a guest day at our referral organization's meeting this morning. I barely made it in time -- the alarm clock never went off, and I woke myself. Afterward in an email, I was asked to serve on the board for the upcoming year. Everyone is resigned to the probability we will go to war in the next two weeks. Wednesday, February 13th Everyone on WBEN has been obsessing about being prepared for a terrorist attack. How long can we stay on "orange alert" without stressing out as a nation? Is it the boy who cried wolf, or a plot to gain support for a war with Iraq? Last night community ed was closed, but I didn't find out for sure until I got there (Cloverbank in Frontier school district). On the way, I made a new record and put $19.00 of gas into the tank! I didn't like it being so much more than DeltaSonic, but gas prices don't bother me. After 15 years of driving, prices haven't even doubled, and that means pretty low inflation compared to other things. This Friday (I just found out) is the first of the basketball finals for Christina, and it's so late that it's at the same time I have to teach Tai Chi (Chi Kung) class in Elma. That really sucks. It's the second class of six, so if I skip this one, the attendance will fall apart -- I know this from experience. If she has others conflicting with class times, I'll try to reschedule, but it's almost impossible. A couple of days ago, we "acquired" a leopard gecko (or "Geico" as Mer likes to call it) that a pet shop dumped at the vet hospital, and couldn't afford to have treated profitably. "Apoo" is doing fine now, and lives in a terrarium on the living room bookshelf. One last note ... I got creative with leftover burrito stuff and invented "hasperat", or at least what I think the Star Trek delicacy would taste like. Mike liked it, and I loved it -- Merry tried it, but doesn't like taco beef. With the Kim Chi, maybe I should call it a Korean Burrito. Sunday, February 16th At the game I missed Friday, Christina's team lost, but Christina made a shot with 2 seconds on the clock! I wish I could have seen it. Both of us screwed up our schedule recently. She went to a friend's house by mistake so I didn't see her before the game, and then I lost track of the time Saturday and didn't get to see her last minute playoff game. They won, and now may have the championship game left, but they never know when and where until the last minute. Tonight we went to the parish volunteer dinner/dance. I met a few new people in the parish, talked with may I knew, and it was a lot of fun. It was wonderfully catered by Ilio DiPaolo's -- Dennis DiPaolo and his family are parishioners. We also decided to hook up the two soprano cantors with Mike and Jeff. A few days ago, I asked Merry what were we going to do for Valentine's day, gifts, and such, and she just said, "Well, we don't have any money right now, so nothing I guess." But don't be sad for us. This was a beautiful experience -- we just held each other for a while, knowingly. Other couples stress about not getting the gifts or cards they wanted, and need special occasions to express Love. We never needed that -- every day is special for us because we are together, and we know it. But it doesn't mean that when I can, I wont give here the frilliest box of chocolates she's ever seen. Maybe on a Wednesday, just because. Tuesday, February 18th They say death happens in threes. We were just thinking that last night, having been to a wake for one of Dennis's father, and hearing about a recent death of one of Jeff's co-workers. I reserved my opinion as to whether or not the superstition would hold true ... until this morning. Our landlord, Sid Binks, died last night. I really liked him and hoped to get to know him as a person more -- maybe even go to one of his Jazz performances where he plays bass. It's a shock, and we're holding our breath to see what needs to be done next, along with concerns for the future of living arrangements. I'm almost caught up on last year's (and this year's) magazines ... I must have went through a stack over a foot high to a handful in the last month and a half. I read what's relevant (or fun) in technology and business, save important articles for customers, research, and general interest "scrap-booking", then recycle them in heaps. I also recently started scrap-booking notes, photos, articles, etc. for various things using Adobe Acrobat. I'm starting to really like it, and it may save me tons of space. The questions I ask to determine what gets electronically archived based on how important it would be to have easy access: Do I want the hard copy for sentimental or other reasons? Is it too time-consuming to archive? Does it take up so little space it doesn't matter? Does it go with similar items I wont archive? Decisions, decisions. Monday, March 3rd ("03/03/03") Everything has settled down at the apartment complex. Sid's son, Sid Binks III, is the new landlord, and everything will continue business as usual for now. It's still freezing and single digits Fahrenheit most of the time. I'm going stir crazy a bit. Christina's basketball season is over, in part because the coach didn't know when the next championship tournament was, and missed it. I just switched phone plans with Verizon so that all calls at all times are free -- local, regional, and long distance in the USA and Canada. I predicted years ago this would happen by around now, and people were skeptical. Now if we can wire the third world, there will be lasting global peace. I had a long conversation with the operator about he idea, along with discussing Disney World, etc.. I have a way of sidetracking telemarketers, surveyors, receptionists, and the like -- it's just my personality. I was also appointed "Education Coordinator" for my BNI chapter, and start this week. Everyone seems excited and encouraging about it. Monday, March 17th It's FINALLY warm enough to go for walks without a jacket! Last Tuesday I was in Fredonia and stopped by the Convenient store, now called the Fredonia Food Mart. I knew it was owned by my Dad's cousin Dickie Stuczynski just a few years ago, and got to meet (for the first time) my third cousin Mark Stuczynski. I shook his hand and handed him my card ... it took a few seconds and then we had a lot to talk about. Later that day, I told Christina she had three more fourth cousins (Mark's two sons and a daughter). My Dad was happy to hear about it, too. On another note, I saw the movie "The Ring" and jumped a few times the first time I watched it ... I thought it was well put together and it really gave me the creeps. Tuesday, April 1st I didn't pin any April fish today, and nobody got me either. I've done it and been fooled a few times over the years, but never really got into it. Then again, the night is young. Christina amazes me. She just finished her schoolwork while talking on the phone and chatting online with half her buddy list, which comprises the population of most of the known world. The war is on, and the reporting is really getting monotonous fast. They're so strapped to fill in time that they're devoting countless air hours to reporting on the quality and bias of the reporting itself! At least Geraldo Rivera got booted out of the war zone by the US military -- the high point of the war so far. I'm praying for a swift end that's as bloodless as possible, and have confidence in our armed forces to be as humane as possible from plan to execution. Tuesday, April 8th I just unintentionally added an organic lubricant to my keyboard -- a mixture of catsup, mustard, and onions (finely chopped). That's the last time I eat lunch while playing Free Cell (solitaire). Incidentally, I'm also a Reversi (Othello) junkie, and win on "expert" most of the time -- when I need to get back to work! I also played some Morrowind Saturday night for a couple of hours (and it felt great to get back), while Christina was "three-way calling" with about six other people -- I don't even know how to do it with two! Sunday afternoon, I introduced Merry's aunt Mary to the internet. She loves it! She looked up her Ellis Island records, we found a spaghetti sauce recipe, and just surfed around for fun. Wednesday, April 9th Last night, I heard what I consider to be the foreshadowing of a possible nightmare future -- China refusing the UN intermediation regarding North North Korea's nuclear proliferation, and Korea's considering even economic sanctions to be an act of war. Everyone is backing off and wearing the kit gloves, but Merry is still making a list of end-of-the-world emergency supplies we should have on hand if it ends for the worst down the road. Then this morning, I witnessed on live television the toppling of a huge statue of Saddam Hussein in the center of Baghdad. It was very symbolic of the whole war -- the people did what they could, but needed out help. We waved each other's flags, danced and cheered, and I cheered with them, a tear in my eye. The only ones upset looked like American protestors -- I laughed my arse off when I say a human shield banner carried by Iraqis through the streets, changed to read "GO HOME Human Shields US WANKERS". And I was clinched that we did the right thing when I saw a picture of a man kissing a framed painting of President Bush in front of an American flag, above which was written "The Hero of the Peace." But the post office seemed to get it wrong. They had the flag at half-mast earlier, and now at full mast. I think it should fly proud to the end, and then half mast for the fallen when it's over. Then again, it was probably for a local fallen soldier, Orlowski (I think), from West Seneca. In any event, I did some work, but it felt like a vacation -- I was high as a kite all day. Iraq is free, and the people thank us for it. And even the weather is looking up! We had freezing temperatures, even four inches of snow a couple of days ago. Pretty, but a little depressing at the same time. I'm glad I didn't put the salt and shovels away. April 22nd On Good Friday, I did the usual stuff. It was a beautiful day. I stopped at my Mom's mausoleum, "Our Lady of the Snows" in St. Adaulbert's, and roamed around Lancaster, driving by houses my family lived in. Later in the afternoon, Chrissie and I (I finally am starting to regularly spell her name like she does!) walked around the beach in Hamburg and climbed to a shortcut to the road. She was the first to realize that the soft deposits we were walking on were made of ice! It was a mini adventure, and we had a good time. Today, I just found out who was tying to play around with one of my Kentropolis accounts, trying to act as a negotiator to take over their web site. The person at their office said it was someone I went to High School with, and he was doing community work there as part of a 100 hour requirement as part of a court judgment for being a slum lord. I always felt like my old schoolmates were some extension of my family, for better or worse, or else I would but his name in bold here. What an arse he turned out to be.
Oh! One more thing! My wife now started a business devoted to my genius ideas, called "Another Hare-Brained Scheme". The first project is the George W. Bush "Axis of Evil" World Tour, which can be found online at www.BushWorldTour.com. Friday, April 25th, 2003 The night before my birthday, some people said they saw snowflakes. This morning I had to defrost the windshield, and now I'm wearing T-shirts again! They're even having a garage sale out front. |
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