Close my stupid yap!

After deciding I would go to the new Japanese restaurant in Geneva, I was pretty excited. I like Japanese food - the challenge was to find stuff on there that mom would eat. I got there and the place was empty feeling. Luckily it filled up pretty well while I was there. I heard the owner/manager speaking with an associate and it sounded like they were speaking some sort of Chinese dialect. I was hoping for some Japanese. But no, it was Chinese. I asked him and he told me it was Fujian dialect. I said something in Mandarin and he was off - nattering away about this and that - his accent was a little hard to decipher at times - and my vocabulary isn't what it was - or even what it ought to be - but I think we got some communication done. Still, I need to learn to shut my yap!

The food was good but not great. Don't know if I will go there again - but only time will tell if that is the case.

Is my bathroom sink a sign about my life? The drain seems all backed up and I can't figure out how to get it clean. And the cold water faucet continues to be flaky - fine one day, drippy and other and just now, it just wouldn't stop until I turned the water off to it. Sigh.

Mom's tastes have changed so much. She used to love ginger - now it is "too hot" for her. Sigh. No spicy food. Nothing "interesting." We tried tempura last night and she was not amused. She kept telling me that eating dinner with her was always an adventure. And it seemed like she meant that in a not good way. Sigh. At least she still has an appetite.

Two days

Hello - I want to whip out a quick post - if I can. I like to give value, so I write a lot of words. And that takes time. Even though I do type zippily.

The past two days have been a little on the tiring side. Sure, fun was had, but there was some work involved. And it has been a frustrating day so far. And is only getting more so. I am trying to find out why my mom's bill has gone up 3 dollars for no apparent additional service. This is up from the $75 it was when we first signed up for triple play - phone, internet and cable. Sigh. Now up to my third representative. The first couldn't help me - she was customer solutions - the second I couldn't hear - the third - well, so far she has proven less than competent. (Ok, that was a tough word to spell.) So, basically - we raised our prices - suck it - was the answer. Where has competition gone? I dread the post merger days of Comcast and TWC.

Oh, and we got our copier moved today, only to find out when the movers got here that they weren't responsible for the technical end - just to lug it and plug it and leave. Great! Talk about excellent customer service. Customers really don't have much recourse as companies get more and more monopolized.

Where was I - Oh, yesterday I was up at 6 so that I could get in to work by 7:30 - not that it takes me that long to get to work - I just don't like dragging bleary eyed Augustus butt anywhere. So I like to wake up, do some internet stuff, write a bit, scratch, sniff, play some bridge, brush my tooth, etc.

Eventually I made it into work - got what I needed to get done before the theatre group arrived (fly the legs and movie screen out - fly the electrics, valance and border in, change over the lights from booth control to lightboard control, etc.). They were prompt, efficient and nice. Load-in and sound check were all accomplished before doors opened and the (literal) hordes descended. Wait a sec - how many does it take to compromise a horde - we had 1300 kids and adults for the 10 am show. The show went smoothly, and I got out (after nice chattings with friends) at noon.

Then, I was a good samaritan. I took a coworker and her son to a dentist appointment - well, orthodontist. A good little chunk of time out of my day. But it was fun, in a helping out sort of way.

I went to the grocery store and bought the essentials - beer, toilet paper and kleenex. I swear mom is going through the latter two more and more quickly. I don't know what that is about - but there really isn't anything I can do about it. Feed her habit and maybe it will burn itself out is my philosophy.

Heated up left overs for dinner - I had to have dinner on the table by 5:30 (almost an hour and a half before normal) so I could make it back to the theatre in time. I had made beef stroganoff Monday, so served it again Tuesday - with some left over sugar peas - appropriate because the show we had at the Smith was "The Monster who ate my Peas." Mom didn't realize it was leftovers - though I do find that sometimes if I feed her the same thing two days in a row, she says she can't finish it all. I am wondering if she is vaguely recalling the amount of food she had eaten the day before and becoming psychologically more full. Weird.

Back to the theater - ran the show, got them loaded out and I was done by 9. Yay! I got home and helped mom with television (I am thinking of buying the NCIS dvds for her - she has loved the Doc Martin ones but I think she is about burned out on them...) and played a bit before falling into bed and snoring. Loudly.

Only to get up again this morning and head back in to work. We had work crew coming, I was supposed to meet with a volunteer, the copier was to be moved and the first meeting of a newly reconstituted (just add fresh meat) film committee was happening. First off, I had no clear idea what I was going to do with the work crew - luckily there were only three kids today, so that made life easier. And Vicki is good about figuring out what to do. They did help with the copier move by carrying a table or two and some other stuff around. Yay. Unfortunately, the copier move was not clearly communicated. I didn't realize that we were responsible for connecting the copier to the internet - getting a cable etc. And I thought the movers would make sure that all of our people could print to the copier. Nope. So, I will have to figure that out. Yippee! I also had to climb around in a part of the Smith that I hadn't climbed around in before to get the old cable out to use in the new location of the printer. Fun-like.

Got that all done just in time for the Film meeting. Luckily, my volunteer canceled. Huzzuh! The film committee meeting went well. Next step - some mission statements are being drafted after our discussions.

And now I am at home, trying to catch up on blogging and correspondence. Sigh. All too soon it will be time to think about dinner. And I could use a nap. And someone to snuggle with during that nap...

Mid Sleep Musings

Here it is, 4:21 am, and I am writing. I went to sleep around 11:30 pm and woke up around 3:20 am. I do plan on going back to sleep. Really. I do not have a "big" day in store. But I do have things I would like to accomplish and a little more sleep would be a good thing.

I have started a couple of blog posts. Ones that will probably never be seen by others. Posts that are a little on the soul searching, or radically honest, or sadly, maudlin sort (I am not drunk, btw). The reason I am writing these, I think, is to get the thoughts out of my system. Catharsis. Purging. Cleansing. Whatever. "Better out than in" is one of my mantras.

Well, that's depressing - I just saw that donating clothes is generally a bad thing for the world economy. How freakin' sad is that? And the advice for what to do instead sounded less than optimal as well. Poo. Double and triple poo even! Did I mention, poo?

Ok, I did go back to sleep and slept for a few more hours. I can't tell anymore if I am tired or if I am fully rested. I guess that means that I am still tired. Or maybe it means I am fully rested. Who the heck knows? Actually I just yawned, big time, so maybe I am still tired. Maybe I will nap later this afternoon. Oooh, that would be nice.

I had a momentary (well, a couple of minutes worth of) scare yesterday. As some of you have garnered, I play a good amount of xBox. (Right now, I am playing two games - not simultaneously, but alternately - I have a backlog of purchased and unplayed games and I am trying to work my way through them all - I enjoy collecting, and I enjoy finishing, and I enjoy playing - makes me feel I am being somewhat productive...) While playing, there was a surge and the power went out briefly. But the xBox seemed to have died. I did all the trouble shooting that I could think of and eventually, after unplugging the transformer/surge protector that comes with the device, all was well. Phew!

Another thing I do quite a bit is play bridge on my iPhone. I don't know how many hands I play a day, but it is more than 3 and less than 2,117. (Not many fewer probably...) It helps me to think, relax, meditate even. Sometimes while I am playing I will have minor, or not so minor, epiphanies.

I visited Red Dove and Microclimate (local establishments) both again recently. I really need to find a place to hang out when I do go out. I miss Leaf Kitchen. I just don't feel like hanging out at any of the places here in Geneva. And driving to neighboring towns, although not that far, is a bit on the tedious side, just for a drink and some hangage. And of the places I have visited there, none also stand out as places I would like to spend a bunch of time. I miss the Saucer and my table. Waaa.

Very Productive morning so far

Good morning! It is not even 9:30 am and I have already had a banner day. Two women I wrote to after they liked my naked face pictures rejected me! Woo hoo! I also completed three entries to my retirement plan (Publisher's Clearing house sweepstakes). I get such a sense of accomplishment from jumping through the hoops and licking the icky tasting glue - and peeling the presticky-ed ones off my tongue - and putting them sort of where they belong on the entry forms. Yay! And lastly, I finished a post about a "relationship" that has ended. (Go read it!) And I haven't even had breakfast! Go me.

I love crumbs

I do, I love them. I would marry them. And bear their children. Ok, maybe that is going too far...There are times, all things being equal, when I will dig deep in a bag of chips or pretzels and go past the larger pieces and scoop the small crumbs out and eat those.

This is sort of like saving the best for last. Yes, I usually eat my pizza crust end first. And I often eat a meal in such a way that my last few bites are a bit of everything and the best bits. Which is why I usually ask friends to not take the last bites of my food. When I first get my food, anything goes, but towards the end, please refrain from eating off my plate. Thank you! Would that I had a girlfriend to ask this of, but, as some of you know, I am not having much fortune in that department.

Speaking of which, I had a dream in which I was in a grocery store - in the card section when the power went out. There was an attractive woman there, too. We started chatting and then making out. I suggested that we exchange names. Then I woke up. Sigh.

Yesterday was a day. A day of change. I changed my sheets. Changed my clothes. Cleaned the kitchen. Neatened my room (ok, probably not, but I thought I would toss that in there). And shaved.

Probably my favorite - despite not looking at the camera

I love this face!

I look a little surprised...

This one is pretty good, too.

Not thrilled with this one...

A face only a mother could love? I vacillate between thinking I am moderately attractive to thinking there are many butts that are way more photogenic. Sigh. And no, I am not seeking compliments or reinforcement. Just honesty.

Just when you thought that...

Just when you thought that it was safe to read my blog...

Things are always interesting in Chez Schoen-René.

Mom is deteriorating. The nice thing about this disease is that it plateaus. Hopefully this plateau will be as long as some of the previous ones that I have been around for - 6 to 8 months worth. I have told her, yes, the cat's mother, no, I mean mom, that I will keep her from a nursing home as long as she can tell me that she doesn't want to be in a nursing home. That would crush me - to have to put her in a home before she is ready, or rather before she is incapable of making that decision for herself. When asked, if she says "No, I do not want to be in a nursing home" I will do my best to honor that decision - even if it may actually be the wrong one for her needs. Not to the point of causing her damage or harm, but up to that point...

I am gluttonizing up a storm. Maybe I am trying to join 1000 pounds club. Just to be really as off-putting as I feel from the pseudo rejection I feel from all of my attempts at connection. Eating everything in sight all the time. I must have out on at least a pound of winter weight so far.

My relationship blog has a bit about depression in it, that is, if I must say so myself, a tad on the interestingly written (even if the subject matter isn't) side.

King of Bandaids!

That is what I am anointing myself! King of D'aids! Well, Keeper of the D'Aids might be more accurate. I have had to hide the bandaids from mom. She was putting them on her sores. Not a good way - with the pad over the sore, but with the sticky adhesive part on the sore - which was making the sores unhappy and her unhappier. With effort, Jenny, mom and I are slowly healing mom of owies. I think her back is down from dozens to single digit owies. Now, onto the arms. Yay!

As some of you know, I am writing a relationship blog - in it, for the most part, are posts about notes I have written to people for the first time and responses, if I get any. It also, though, has some pithy thoughts. Sometimes. At least as pithy as some of the thoughts here. Sometimes. So, although I am not posting updates on Facebook, I do think it is worth a read to diehard Augustus blogging fans, of which I think I might number a couple of you. Heck, I am on a month and a half of daily posts over there! And tomorrow there will be a pithy one. See below.

I wrote a bit about my "feelings" (nothing more than feelings) in my relationship blog this morning. I am not going to repeat it here. Here, I will complain about mom instead.

Yay for mom complaining. Not yay for mom complaining to me about her ailments, but yay for me complaining about mom complaining about her ailments. This morning, she woke me up saying she was dying. This is not new. And it is not a fun topic of conversation. Her idea, that I kill her. Or that I give her a pill that she can take to end her life. So, I asked her, in what way dying.

Realize, please, that I had just been dreaming of a woman playing poker (quite an attractive woman, actually) and me knowing that she was a professional poker player and wanted to win some money. Not from me. I think I was a server at the restaurant/club place. Or something like that.

Anyway, mom said, she couldn't breathe. This is not abnormal. She says this all the time. The options are not great for this. I have tried to teach her how to breath. Sadly, she really cannot learn any more. She might get a concept for a minute or two - but an hour later it is usually gone. I have pretty much thrown in the towel trying to teach her anything new. Case in point - she tells me she is cold. I tell her that the fan blowing air in her room is keeping her room cool. She needs to turn off the fan if she would like to be warm. Ok, she says. I turn off the fan. A few minutes later I walk into her room again, the fan is on. Mom, I say, the fan is on. I couldn't breathe, she says. Ok, I say. How are you doing otherwise? I'm cold, she says. Fun times. Let me tell you!

And I don't trust her to self medicate. Right now, I sorry about the artifical tears she uses. Both Jenny and I have observed her putting them in her nose. Luckily, they are basically salt water, but still. Most drugs have been removed from places that she might find and take them. And I am trying to keep her drugs to a minimum. Lots of water, though. Yay water!

All in all, yes, she is deteriorating.

Bootless and undergloved

Turns out that I couldn't find my boots when I got ready to shovel yesterday. I am hoping that they are in the boot (tee hee) or at the Smith (not so funny)(They were). I found a pair of boots that I had when I was in 8th grade - needless to say my feet are breathing a sigh of relief from having been released from that torture chamber! And my gloves were not appropriate for shoveling in single digit (I know, I have ten digits (or do toes count as well - in which case I have, er, let me take off my socks and count...nineteen? No, that can't be correct - er, ten toes and ten fingers makes, hmm, 20, twenty digits) temperatures. I recalled having a pair of deep winter gloves in my closet - while mom kept urging me to use her snazzy aquamarine gloves. Luckily, the ones I remembered were right where I thought they were. The actual shoveling wasn't too difficult. Except for the end of the driveway bit. That is never a fun bit to shovel.

I found a pedometer that I gave to mom long ago that she never used. I had wanted her to keep track of how far she walked each day and to strive for 1000 steps. She didn't even open the package. Oh well. I have opened it and put it on. According to the counter thingie, I have already gone 1300+ steps - 5000 being healthy sort of apparently give or take. And it isn't even noon. Somewhere along the way the counter got reset - silly if that is possible without holding a couple of buttons down at the same time. Anyway, I think I did well over 5000 yesterday. And I think I do well over 5000 everyday. Well, most days.

A thought occurred to me, and since this is my blog space, I will write about it. This probably should go in my political blog - but I haven't really posted anything there yet. So, maybe I will put this there at some point. Anyway...

Who came up with the idea of "Open Enrollment" periods for health insurance? What kind of craziness is that? If I want car insurance, I don't have to wait for open enrollment. If I want life insurance, I don't need to wait for open enrollment. If I want dental or vision, ok, well, I don't know about them, but I am guessing that I don't have to wait for open enrollment. Why on earth do I have to wait for an open enrollment period for health insurance?! Just another way for the insurance companies to control our health. Get insurance companies out of our health! For realz!

Snow Day

This is why I love winter and upstate NY. Today we are getting a blizzard. Friday it will be in the 40s. The question is, do I shovel? The answer - doubtful.

I wasn't really planning on going anywhere. I could have gone into the Smith - but I can easily do some of the work from here - like writing some of the user manuals I want to create. And continuing to ask for bids for the projector and film technology upgrades.

As I said to a friend - it looks like there is six inches on the ground already - but since I am a guy, it could only be three...

It is supposed to show all night. Why didn't Jimi Hendrix sing about snow instead of rain? Hmm...

Cooking and such

I have been doing a little bit of cooking, recently. By cooking, I mean glopifying: taking leftovers from the refrigerator and adulterating them - yes, making them into adults - by adding this and that, maybe a sauce, maybe some spices and forcing my mom to eat them. Most of the glops are pretty darn tasty. Last night's was a case in point - it could have used a bit more orange sauce, but overall, it was a delicious, chicken and rice based glop. Not quite a fried rice, but close. And I made roasted brussels sprouts to go with it. Yum!

Planning is beginning for my week off. The beginning is uncertain, as is the middle. Though the end is fairly clear. The current thought is - drive to E&B's on Sunday after I am done with my show at the Smith. Stay the night there. Head to London, ON the next day to meet a friend for late dinner or something like that. Next day, to Toronto to meet another friend. Maybe also dinner. And beer. Next day, off to Montreal to meet a friend for dinner perhaps. Who knows? Then it gets fuzzy. Do I stay in Montreal for the rest of the time? Do I head back to Geneva and maybe go to Ben Beaver's Circus themed party? I don't know. At least the plan is partially roughed in. There are way too many variables to set anything in stone. But I, for one, am getting excited! Road trip!!

Does anybody else seek the perfect quarter for laundry receptacle? I think I have found it. My mom used to use a glass jar. I was a smidge worried about that - fear it would break in the laundry basket, etc. I then found that mom's pill tubes were the right diameter - problem was they were too small to hold adequate quarterage. So, the other night, I finished a container for advil. And lo and behold, large enough mouth and big enough to hold enough quarters for a fun and jaunty outing to the laundromat! Yay! Even better, my quarters smell like medicine! Hmm...

My mom broke the TV!

Ok, not really. She leaned on the tv while looking for a book and the stand gave way. Not a huge deal. I don't think it was a great stand in the first place. It seems to be working ok as it is, but still, when your mom shrieks at the top of her lungs at midnight, it is a little unsettling. I tried not to "cry" over it, but I was a little rattled. Oh, and the tv works fine. Nothing really broken in the greater scheme of things.

I am hoping to be able to keep mom at home for another year at least. Past that is anyone's guess.

I am really, really, really looking forward to my week off. I was thinking of visiting friends, but so far, no one near enough has volunteered. A few in far off places - like Colorado and Washington State. If I have three months, I would be all over visiting them - maybe after my mom and I are not living together, I might do that. Take another trip across the US. Who knows? But for now, since I have only a week and my first and last days will be spent driving - at least - maybe even my last two days - that only leaves four days to play with. Much as I love driving, I don't want to spend all my time in the car.

My initial plan was to go to Montreal or Toronto. Kill a couple of birds with a couple of stones. Get out of the country - visit rarely visited (by me) cities. Maybe see some people I know from the internet (and other methods). Maybe Pennsylvania - not too far away. Again, maybe see some people I know. I know that I don't want to spend the whole time here in Geneva. Well, at least that is highly unlikely at this point. It would be nice to have offers of places to stay - it would make my trip planning easier and save money - which is always a good thing in these fiscally challenging times (at least for anyone not in the 1%). That would be most cost effective. My time off will include my 53rd birthday. What I will be doing is unclear at this point. Probably driving somewhere. :)

I wrote an interesting bit in my relationship blog. Does everyone know about the story of the man in the flood? (Not Noah...) I tweaked it to be about finding the "right" match. I hope it stimulates some people to respond who might not otherwise feel like doing so. 

Apparently, I am a Racist

Hi everyone. What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of me? Cute? Adorable? Funny? Generous? Toothsome? Racist? Yup, that's right, someone called me a racist the other day. Not someone who knew me, but still, it was a bit of a shock. If you want to read more about it, head over to my relationship blog post for March 1. I admit that I am a teeny bit of a racist. The human racist! :) Seriously, I don't know many people who weren't born on this planet. At least I am not aware of knowing anyone who for sure wasn't. I have my doubts about a couple of people - and I don't really know them, just of them. John (who I keep thinking is named Tim for some reason) Boehner for instance. I certainly hope he isn't actually a human being...In the note I wrote back to the woman who called me racist, I forgot to mention that in every country I have visited, I have fallen in love at least once, if not hundreds of times. Sometimes with more than one person in an hour! Sigh. I know it was all her stuff, but still, it weirds me out that someone actually called me a racist. Sigh again. Moving on.

Busy weekend at the Smith. Underwhelming attendance at the Oscar event, but it was ok for an inaugural happening. Maybe the Oscars aren't as big as they were. I am surprised that some of our stalwart movie patrons didn't show up. A lot of people said that they were excited about the event and were coming but they didn't materialize. The good news, though, is that Inside Edition came and filmed family members related to the author of 12 Years a Slave. And it won three Academy Awards - including Best Picture! Yay!

The day before was an excellent, and for me, easy Jazz performance. This was classic modern jazz. What I mean by this is that there were songs with musical themes that the players sometimes took turns riffing on. Nothing too weird, nothing too esoteric or exotic. Very straight forward, mostly melodic music.  All of the musicians were nice, friendly and had excellent musicianship. Decently attended which always makes me happy. I love to see lots of butts in seats!

Django Unchained is sitting by my computer and has been for a week. I got it from Netflix but so far haven't brought myself to watch it...

Post Thoughts

What a cool subject - Post Thoughts. Ambiguous - possibly humorous, especially if the blog entry turns out to be about fencing posts. Or poster bed posts. Actually, it is about blog posts. Big surprise, right? And not about ones that are in the past. Post. Get it?!

Ok, where was I? Oh, right, I was writing a post about posts. And of course a little of my life will undoubtedly slip through - which is why this post is here and not in the writing blog. I think there is one post there...

Still digressing, and what I really wanted to do was zip out a post since I haven't written a post here in a few days and because, well, lots is going on in my life. Sort of.

We have a busy weekend at the Smith. A concert tonight and our first ever Oscar Viewing event at the Smith on Sunday. In my life, I am still percolating along, taking care of mom, searching for Ms. Right (Now or forever - either would actually be ok at this point...), thinking deep thoughts and writing great truths. Or something like that.

My goal here was to write a quick blog. Hopefully after March 4, I will have more brain power to write more interesting posts. That would be nifty. Until then, I will just dash this off and see what happens in the future! See you then, then!