I have been a bad blogger. I went on vacation to see my Mom and only posted once. I haven’t been reading your blogs and commenting on your amazing posts since then.

I have to change my ways, get a grip, walk the straight and narrow, get my ducks in a row. Wait, I have my ducks in a row, in our bathroom…

I have to pull myself together, turn over a new leaf, pull myself up by the bootstraps (that doesn’t even make sense), put on my big girl panties, walk the walk, talk the talk, get my shit together.

I have to get with the program, take charge of the situation, git ‘er done, climb out of the gutter, pop tall, assume command, wake up and smell the roses and get back to it.

I’ll be swinging by your blogs soon, plaguing you all with my witty, smartass comments and annoying the hell out of you all once again!

But not today, today I have to mow the yard… and do my Honey-Do list…

Have a great weekend!

When I was flying up to Maryland last weekend, on leg two, every travelers fear became a reality for me. I was sitting beside a obese woman.

My first thought, when I saw her, armrest up, using all of her seat and half of mine, was to call the flight attendant and try to get a new seat. I turned my head, and the flight attendant was about three feet away. But I didn’t, I went and sat down, after putting down the armrest, saying “Let’s put this down”.

I turned and looked at her, in hindsight, I remember she was sitting very rigidly, staring at the seat back in front of her. Her hair was dyed bright red, and she had on these round frame, red lens sunglasses, which I could barely see, as she may have been hiding her face with her hair..

I told her I liked her glasses, and I could see her relax. She looked at me and said “Why thank you!” I told her I thought her red hair was cool too, and she seemed delighted. She looked at me and smiled and started telling me about her glasses and hair.

We talked for maybe ten minutes, and then it was discovered that she was in the wrong row, and had to move one row up.

When she moved, I was actually disapponted that she had to move. She seemed very nice.

In hindsight again, I think she was nervous, thinking about me “alerting the officials”. Maybe it had happened to her before. Imagine what it would be like, to have the fear of being harassed everywhere you go. As soon as she realized I wasn’t going to raise hell, she relaxed and became who she really was, a super nice lady.

Now it’s been a week and a day, and I’m still thinking about her. She was cool. I am so glad I didn’t make an ass of myself on that plane by making a stink about her invading my space. I could have easily, and always thought I would, if that situation ever arose. So glad I didn’t.

I’m also glad it’s FRIDAY! For a three day week (for me) it’s been a long one.

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday the 15th, got home yesterday early afternoon, I kind of didn’t do much after that, just rested.
I had a surprisingly good visit with my mom. She didn’t drive me crazy. A little bit crazy but not too crazy. It was a great trip.
Today is back to work. Normally I take a day off after I return from a holiday. But due to poor planning, that didn’t happen this time.
Funny story at work. They issued us for polo shirts with the work logo on them. Now a week later, maybe 2 weeks, we’re giving them back because they want to bill us for them. The employee handbook says some get uniforms, but our department isn’t on the list. They’ve given us shirts before without billing us for them. And the understanding was that we got 4 shirts per year, and we hadn’t got shirts since one year when I started working there. But I looked in the employee handbook and apparently we are not entitled to shirts at all. So everybody’s giving back their used shirts.
It’s raining here, I’m glad to take the van instead of the scooter today for some reason. Also, I need to duck out from work to go get my new drivers license!
Didn’t post nearly as much as I thought I would in Maryland, I only posted once, the whole time I was gone. Now I’m back on schedule.
Have a great day!

Heron on my mom’s golf course.

Travlin’ Tim at Gentlemn Jims. For more, search this blog for “Travlin’ Tim”.

My friends Brad and Deb drove all the way from Deleware to see me yesterday. It was so nice of them! And it was great to see them! They’ve been my best friends for 40 years! I wrote a lot about them in my previous post. I am awed by their selfnessness to drive two-plus hours, spend a couple hours with me, then drive back homee, two-plus hours.

I was on a video call with my wife last night and she dropped her new phone and broke it. She started to cry. I felt/feel so bad. I went to sleep thinking about her crying and woke up thinking about her crying. It breaks my heart when she’s sad. I’m thinking about getting her an identical new one while I’m here. She has two new protective phone cases here with me, that she ordered on Amazon, but too late, the phone’s already broken. I feel a very strpng feeling I can’t identify, sadness, powerlessness., indecision, all mixed together… I feel like crying too, thinking about my wife crying and imagining how she feels.

This morning, My mom and I are going to get me some new jeans. This afternoon I’m going to see a high school friend that I haven’t seen since I first got home from the Navy.

Tomorrow is my last day here. Tuesday I fly.

Have a great day!

I’m sitting at my mother’s Lake at her condo in Maryland. I’ve been here since late Thursday night, actually, early Friday morning.
Right now I see three deer across the lake playing. I took video of them. Then fourth deer walked up. (My voice-to-text wrote “1/4 gear”). Now there’s a whole heard of them.

Today, I’m going to have lunch with a navy friend of mine and his wife. They’ve been my friends for very long time. I went to boot camp with him and after bootcamp we got my car from Maryland and drove it back to Great Lakes Naval Training Center. After Basic Electronics school he left for a different school while I stayed in Great Lakes for Electronics Technician school. About 2 years later, I then went to Mare Island California for another school and as I was pulling into Vallejo California, he jumped in the passenger seat of my car while I was sitting at a red light. Amazing coincidence? Super cool!

I had a rough flight here, Grand Cayman to Miami, no ptoblem. But Miami to Baltimore, whoa! First we were late because the plane had a bird strike on its previous flight. Everybody (except me and a few others) got on board and had to get off. Then we got on and it was hot-no AC. They pushed back from the gate and we sat there. Then the pilot came on and said we had engine problems and we went back to the gate. Everybody got off agin. Then we waited and waited, getting delayed an additional half hour, every half hour. Finally they changed gates, ane se swapped planes. We had to run to the opposite end of the terminal, and wait some more while they trnsferred the baggage.

I was supposed to land in Baltimore at 4:40 and made it about 11PM.

THEN

I went on the bus to get my car, I had the keys in my pocket, and found out my drivers license had expired about three weeks earlier, on my birthday. No car for me. So I rode the bus back to BWI and found that all the busses to my moms had quit running. Disaster. So, my mom ended up coming to pick me up. My poor mom. Ended up going to bed about 2AM.

Since then, things have been going pretty good. There was a ton of stuff from Amazon waiting.

And that’s my story for today. Have a great day!

I’ve been ripped off by my architect. She has been incompetent since day one. I fired her yesterday, Now I’m looking for an architect again, just like I was months ago. I was angry yesteray and I feel better this morning and I don’t want to get all upset again, so that’s all I’m going to say. For now.

Tomorrow I head up to the US. I hope it’s hot and sunny. Tomorrow morning, I’ll probably be posting from the airport, if I can post at all, tomorrow morning. Tonight I pack, which will take about two mintues. I’m taking very little.

Here, it’s cloudy, and it rained a lot yesterday and last night.

That’s all I can think of now, have a great day!

Here’s some pictures of a bird I mentioned the other day, which I called a black parrot.

Technically, it’s called a smooth-billed ani (Crotophaga ani)

I took these yesterday morning whilst I was posting my post, when one came to our birdbath and was raising a ruckus with a ching-ching. (A ching-ching is a similar looking bird but with a much thinner beak.) This particular bird seems to have a smaller than average beak.

Today, I’m throwing my bicycle in the back of my van, and dropping the van of for the fifty megameter oil change. Then ride to work.

Yesterday, I went to the beach for lunch, and it rained. I finally got to use my new umbrella! I sat on my towel in the sand, under my umbrella, and smoked a cigar. I didn’t swim.

This morning I barely walked, let alone run. My first toe, next to my big toe, hurts like hell. Hurt like hell yesterday too. Dammit, I don’t want to go back to the doctor. I feel like that’s what’s going to end up happening.

It rained really good early this morning, all clear now…. Well, maybe not, it was clear earlier, but I see a big old thunderhead growing now. Hopefully I’ll stay ry on my bike ride.

Have a great day!

I took a nap after we went to the beach yesterday and didn’t sleep too well last night. I slept ok, I guess, just not long enough.

Here’s a video I quite enjoy to watch again and again, our cat Ashy, drinking water. I took this yesterday morning, when the sun was shining right on the water bowl.

https://youtu.be/TLAqklgLAHo

Friday night, we went and saw the new movie Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Not too long ago, I commented on somebody’s blog that I had seen it and didn’t remember much about it, hence, it must have not been too good. I was mistaken, I hadn’t seen it before, and, it was quite good. We saw it in the VIP theater. Lazy Boy type seats, private concession stand, and about double the admission price. Worth it, on occasion.

My view from where we were sitting, BEFORE the movie started. The place was completely full by the time it started.

Big wide assigned seating, with tables all around! I had seat G4.

Lazy-Boy type footrest! Nice!

Also, Friday morning, on my way to work, my van hit 50 megameters.

50 megameters is the same as 50,000 kilometers… Need to get an oil change this week.

It will be a short week for me this week, Thursday I’m going to the US to see my mom. I’m taking a big empty suitcase and will bring back a big full one. My wife has been going crazy, ordering on Amazon. While she didn’t order everything including the kitchen sink, she did order a new faucet for the kitchen sink…

Aaaaaand that’ll do it for today! Have a great week!

It’s Friday, thank gawd.

On my phone I have a text list of topics for when I can’t think of a topic.

That’s where yesterdays topic came from.

Today, I decided I was going to tell you about a movie the wife and I watched the other day. This movie is one a those that is so bad and stupid that the needle goes all the way around the bad and stupid meter until it’s on the good half of the meter.

You’d hate it. All my readers are so intelligent and sophisticated, none of you would like this movie.

Here’s Justin Beiber getting machine gunned about a million rounds:

But, before he dies, he still has time for one more duckface selfie. Of course.

That movie is…

(I’m so embarassed.)

Zoolander 2

It was so dumb. You will laugh.

Lots of big stars. I’m surprised they’d stoop so low. Will Ferrell especially.

I’m not going to recommend you watch it, but watch it. It’s really really really stupidly funny.

Don’t tell anyone you heard it from me though.

Here it’s really windy and thundery here today. Spewing raindrops that are falling far away. I had my best run and swim so far since I hurt my leg this morning, about an hour ago, under completely different weather conditions..

And I’m glad it’s FRI-HIII- DAY!!!

Have a good weekend!

When I was younger, (much younger), people used to hitchhike a lot. Not so much now, because it’s considered dangerous, and people don’t know how to do it.

I used to hitch a ride a lot, in fact, I used to hitch to work every day when I worked at Sears, before I joined the Navy, and I got a ride consistently, and was never late.

Here’s a few rules for hitchhiking, I have learned from my vast experiences: I invite you to add your own hitchhiking rules, if you have any. I’m always looking to develop and improve the art of hitchhiking, although I don’t hitchhike much any more, I do sometimes. like when I drop my car at the shop. I’ll always pick up a hitchhiker, if I can.

THE RULES:

1: Don’t walk. If you’re hitchhiking, you ain’t walking, and if you’re walking, you’re not hitchhiking. If you’re walking, keep walking, you’ll get there. This is number one for a reason.

2: Pick a good spot with a place behind you that makes it easy and safe for someone to stop. If they can’t stop, you aren’t going to get a ride.

3: Look at the drivers faces as they go by. They’re more likely to stop. Try not to look like a serial killer, smile a little, but don’t grin like a psycho who just escaped from the loonie bin.

4: Pick your ride. This is kind of hard to explain, but when you see a car that you want to get a ride from, you kind of have to transmit with your mind: “PICK ME UP!” It works, it really does. Many times, using this method, I have been picked up by the very first car that goes by after I stick my thumb out.

5: Try to not look like a slob, unless of course,you want to be picked up by someone who looks like a slob.

6: You’ll have good days hitchhiking and bad days, don’t cop an attitude. Attitude is detectable by the drivers passing by.

I guess that’s about it, anything I’m missing, please let me know, by adding it below!

Have a great day!