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.

Back from Boston

My back survived the drive from Boston to New York.   Six f'ing hours.   Now I get back to looking for work.   Things is gettin' dicey over here.   I'm trying to write an essay about the trauma that goes along with the disintegration of a career.   It's not as easy as you might think.   It's not enough to simply be descriptive.   In any case we have to go and pick up the bird from his boarding place.   I just thought I should get back to the blog in some way.   I'm feeling a bit disjointed.   Not too surprising.   Happy new year everybody.

The Back Story

I saw a new doctor today.  New to me at least.  I called this back specialist because it was time, after two years, for another cortisone shot.  A shot that makes all the pain go away, without all the pesky side effects of pain killers.  Side effects like a month in re-hab, the loss of friends, family and jobs.  I told the person I spoke with, when I called, that I was just coming in for a cortisone shot.  Period.

In Japan, two years ago, I walked into a doctors office and said, "Please give me an epidural cortisone shot."  These are also called "Trigger point" shots, for the uninitiated. Within twenty minutes I had my shot and was virtually skipping my way back to the hotel, pain free and well satisfied.

Not today.  This guy takes an x-ray - a pointless procedure,  tells me what I already know and then refuses to give me what I came for, saying that I first need an MRI.  "You know," he says, "If you've got an infection, the cortisone would kill you."  Well, fuck me. I'm not gonna drag this out.  Enough to say it'll be many days and a bit of luck before I get what I need.   So here I lie, in a lot of pain, clutching my bottle of Alieve,  waiting for the dawn.

The Yankees

The Yankees are 3 outs from another world series win.  But I was thinking, and I've been a Yankee fan all my life, that there really is something wrong with the out and out purchase of an all-star team.   They paid more for Sabathia than any team has ever paid for any TWO players!   They bought A-Rod, easily the best hitter of our generation simply because they were able to pay more for him than Boston.   Other than Jeeter, what player have the Yankees really develped - any time in recent history?   The only use they ever make of their farm system is use some promising player as trade bait.   Who's the last guy to come up through AAA ball in the Yankee system?   I mean, was this world series ever in doubt?  Not in my mind.  It was a done deal in most baseball minds from the very first game of the season. Something doesn't feel right about that.