Bill Champion's Legacy

Bill will recall the time he corrected my blog entry.   In some perverse way, I enjoyed it and decided to try the same shit on somebody else.   The result was not happy.   I won't be trying anything like that again.  From here on in, it's all love and peace and maybe, at some point,  I'll even take some responsibility for the things I write and not put the blame on Bill.

Da Da Da Da Da Da -- They Say it's My Birthday

Happy Birthday to me.   I never thought I'd make 30 so this is quite an achievement.  I have no plans for the day.   I slept very late and now Diane has 3 phone sessions in a row -- so I won't be able to make much noise.   That's always a shame.

Glowing Green

You know those hoops that emit cold light?  Usually green.  Kids wear them in the park all the time.  I broke open a hoop once and spread the glowing stuff all over my body.   It didn’t kill me and I continued to glow all green, all over, until I took a strong shower about an hour later.

Flailing Around on a Thursday Morning

I've been writing email after email to people I know in the business, so far to no avail - although it's always good to hear what my old friends are up to.   There just isn't any work and, with Diane sick, there's very little (no) money coming in.   This is truly frightening and I'm not sure there's anything I can do about it.

We Bought A Steamer!

We bought a steamer.   A clothes, bed spread and the like, steamer.   Once upon a time I would have bought the deluxe model, with the double head, the  four hour steaming cycle and the built-in clothes presser.  However, this is not that time and we bought the $50 model which does work.   In fits and starts and sputters.  But, with patience, I am able to steam the wrinkles out of clothes.   So don't talk to me about Haiti.

Facebook ... Friends.

There's a guy I know.   A guy I used to work with.   We have a lot of friends in common.  And so, for almost a month, my Facebook page has suggested that I become "friends" with this guy.  We have, it says, 26 friends in common.  The only problem is that we can't stand each other.

Diane Not Well

We just got back from the doctor.   Diane has either a. bronchitis or b. swine flue.   The doctor gave us medicine for both.   There's never a good time to be sick and aside from the awfulness of being ill,  this is a particularly bad time since a. I'm not working much and b. she is (was).   Another test for us, I guess.  Tse-tse flies are another possibility.

I'm Having an Old Friend for Lunch

A friend from back in the glory days is meeting me for lunch downtown.   It will be great to re-connect.  We have a few things in common and worked for the same unpleasant people for several years.  I will keep you posted.   I'm not going to hit on him for work.   At least not today.   It will just be great to see him.

Back Again

I had another cortisone shot (the last of three) today.  My back feels much better.   But I returned home to a ton of mail and a 50 lb bag of laundry.   The mail is all over the place.   I have to make a single pile and tackle it, one letter or bill at a time.   The laundry is hopeless.  I have no idea where most of the stuff goes.  I spoke to my best friend and she's in a lot of pain over what 's been happening.  I feel guilty and a bit like she does.

Two Guitars

Do any of you want to buy or know anyone who would like buy either my gorgeous, original, 1936 Gibson "Bluesmaster" or Martin "Claire", one of only 100 made of this very rare, very beautiful and great sounding little guitar?   Don't you know anybody who'd like to spend between 5k and 7k respectively?   Two guitars is one too many for my current skills.

Work, Work, Work

It's been a hell of a day already.   And it's only 3 o'clock!  I sent out the laundry.  A large man came and picked up the 50lb bag.   Soon afterwards,  I walked to the dry cleaner where I argued with the lady about whether they had or had not hemmed my wife's dark blue pants.   Then I went shopping.   Two microwave dinners, a ginger ale for Diane and a Fresca (two litre) for me.  Oh, and a bag of peanuts.  I then took one of Diane's friends through the process of recording and saving the recordings from her digital recorder.  Finally, I went to the dentist and he told me that I had finished the full course of antibiotics.  A hell of a day.

Late Sunday

I'll be here, in Sag Harbor, most of the week I think.   Everybody seems to want me to stay here a soak up the recuperative vibes of this place.   It makes me uncomfortable to think that I need to be anywhere in particular and this resort town especially.   There's not much to do here in the winter.  Not much.  I'll be posting more as the days progress.  Maybe it'll produce some sort of coherent narrative, at least in spots.

Scratch That

Anecdotal Evidence has been highjacked (yes) by some misanthrope.   So until I get that straightened out, we'll have to keep posting here.

Anecdotal Evidence

From here on in, I'll be posting from anecdotal evidence:   anecdotalevedence.blogspot.com   Go there and see exciting and revised versions of the posts you just read.  Why the change?  Not every anecdote is dubious.  Only the good ones.

Ever Been to a Fish Farm?

They have say, trout, swimming in a four foot long, stainless steel tank, against a forever cycling and  rushing stream.   The fish are swimming in place.   I doubt they know this.  Probably for the best.  Strange, no?

Saturday, The Bird and The Call

When I was a small boy, not long ago, my father brought home a parakeet.   A family pet to substitute for the dog my mother would have been afraid of.   I named the bird, Pete.  Sadly, I seldom took Pete out of his cage (I DIDN'T KNOW!) and he went to the big sleep within the first year.  I would not have another relationship with a bird until I was in my early thirties and Pa came into our lives.

He was sick when we got him and, as she squirted the medicine down his throat, Pa bonded to Diane and attempt to tear my flesh for the next 23.5 years.   Until last year when, beyond all reason, he finally and suddenly accepted my hand as the gesture of friendship it was always meant to be. Pa will now ride with me, at least into the next room to see "Mommie" (We're have some issues).    Pa is a riot.   He hangs upside down from most things and is not afraid to let you know, in a full cry, that attention must be paid.

On other fronts,  largely deprived of my ability to earn any money writing, I am taking the census enumerators test tomorrow.  It pays surprisingly well and you get to knock on a lot of stranger's doors and scare the children.   I took the practice test, with plenty of help from the always ready to help Robin Snow.   There were, on the test, the kinds of questions that helped delay my graduation from high school.  Time had not improved the situation and why I need to multiply fractions to count people standing in a living room is beyond me.

I had volunteered to be the designated answerer of the Suffolk County AA Hotline on Wednesday night, 8pm to 8am.  They moved the phone line over to mine and the calls began to roll in at a snail's pace. Two calls in, a gentleman called Glen rang from Islip.   Obviously off his meds, Glen kept wondering if he could trust me.  I was entirely sympathetic, but never discovered what he needed to trust me about.   After twenty minutes of an ever shifting story, I said g'night to Glen and took four more calls before Glen called again, obviously concerned.

"Strange thing," he said.
"What?"  I said.
"When I hung up with you last time, the radio went off.  What's up with that?"

I didn't have an answer.   I wanted to say that we did that with all first time callers but instead said only
"Ah."
I never got him to trust me and Glen didn't call back during the six hours remaining in my shift.

Other than Glen there really weren't any unusual calls worth mentioning and, when 8am rolled around, as decided earlier, I tried to take a two or three hour nap and limp along till bedtime that night.  But this was not possible.  Going without sleep was once so easy I'd go for two days fairly often if there was a lot of work and even in one medicinally assisted episode, went for three days without sleep.  I didn't kill me.  Other things may have.  But not the lack of sleep.

I haven't been sleeping  well.   Four or five hours a night.  I have worries.

Back to The Wall

This is scary.   I've got to get work.    And I will.

Another Day, Another $40

I'm waiting for Robin to return from the city.   Robin is my step-daughter.   She's about your age (however old you are).   She's extraordinary beautiful.   Inside and out.   She's an Art Therapist, running a big program at Columbia Psych.  She hires shrinks and conducts workshops.   I think I have a picture of her, which I'll post if I can find it.  Diane left me some money to do some shopping.  Robin is also great at carrying heavy groceries.

Traces

I got a nice note from somebody who seems to be following this blog.   She's not listed as a "follower" but I was glad to get the note anyway.   She talked about the snow and how good it was.   I am not enjoying the snow as much as I would if it weren't leaving me snowbound and flattening my tires.

Taxes

During the problems that have dogged me I neglected to file any tax returns.   This covers a period of almost 7 years.   People keep suggesting tax accountants who keep putting me on their to do lists.  I just got a call from a guy speaking accountanteese.    I have no idea what he was talking about but when he stopped talking, I thanked him and hung up.   There is no help for somebody like me.  I simply have to wait for the other shoe to drop.   This will not be pleasant.

I'm not in the mood for this.

I'm not in the mood to write.   I have nothing amusing or positive to report.   I'm still looking for work, but not much comes up this early in the year.  The car is iced into place on the driveway.   It's impossible to see out the windows and the plastic ice stick (with brush) which I bought in the hardware store is not strong enough.   A hammer and chisel might do it, but there's a better chance I'd break the windows.  That would be unpleasant.   Diane is taking the bus to the city tomorrow morning and I'll stay here until the driveway thaws enough to drive the car.   More later.