Good things are coming to you in due course of time.
Due course of time? What the hell kind of vague time frame is that? As if I have that kind of time on my hands to wait for good things? I'm fucking 37 years old now. My time on this planet is coming rapidly to a close. I can't have a fortune that promises me something in the future, as there may not be one. Okay whatever. I guess I'll just wait for these good things to come in due course of time and in the meantime, I'll sit and do nothing while waiting.
You will always be surrounded by true friends.
You know I've often wondered about this. What is a true friend and how do you really know whether they are true or not. I've had very good friends who did some odd things every now and again which made me wonder how true of a friend they actually were, but I suppose it all worked out in the end.
Anyway the title of this post was not only referencing the two fortunes I received from my Chinese food last night, but also the fact that I now have a whopping three people following this blog. I feel very fortunate to have this kind of support a mere two/three years into this project. With this kind of popularity this blog will soon be taking over the blogosphere. I don't know how I'll react to this kind of success, but I'm sure it won't change me all that much. Perhaps I'll be able to hire someone to write jibberish in my place so I can concentrate on doing nothing. Yeah that's the ticket. Perhaps I'll steal more lines from Jon Lovitz and force my hired help to laugh. Well I'll have to think about all this some more, but for now...bed time. Thanks for your support folks.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Morning Bus Ride
I made the rookie mistake of catching the first bus to go by this morning even though I knew damn well there was going to be another one right behind it. I'm not sure if that decision had anything to do with the woman with nice legs climbing into the bus right before I did, but regardless, I followed her lead. Paid my fare and walked to the back to find one seat available so I squeezed myself and my backpack and my pool cue in between two folks who were no doubt happy to share their space with such a fine looking gentleman (you'll understand in a bit) like myself.
Well my comfort was soon shattered when I noticed an older looking woman standing near my seat. I thought to myself that she wasn't really all that old. Certainly not old enough to need this seat, but my conscience acquiesced and I offered up my seat to her and she readily accepted. Good deed for the day finished not more than 45 minutes after waking up. Not too bad.
Now I found myself standing in the unenviable position on the stairs leading up to the back of the bus. This is no doubt one of the worst spots for trying to remain upright. Fortunately that also didn't last long as a rather boisterous woman soon left her seat and forced me down and right out the bus so she could get on with her morning. Stepping back onto the bus, I was now situated right near the exit doors, which happens to also be not the greatest of standing options due to the people exiting those doors every stop or so. I made the most of it by enjoying my iPod and peering over some woman's shoulder in order to ascertain what she was reading on her Kindle. I wasn't quite successful at that, but she seemed to be reading some sort of self help book as there were bullet points and some helpful suggestions on life...none of which I can recall at the moment and apparently none of which I will be using in trying to better myself. Opportunity lost.
Shortly thereafter the stench of cat litter permeated my immediate standing area. I'm guessing it was the slightly overweight, reddish-blonde, curly-haired woman who had recently found her way towards the back of the bus, but I wasn't positive. Needless to say I don't understand how one can reek of cat litter, unless of course, you live in a closet with several cats, most of which are on the verge of dying. My thoughts of cat litter soon ended though as the rear doors opened up and some middle aged man burst through them with his rolling luggage cart, pushing me and the woman with the Kindle further into the litter stench. When the bus driver motioned to him and let him know he couldn't enter the bus through those doors, he defiantly raised his hand along with his bus card and replied, "it's okay I have an unlimited ride bus pass". I had to chuckle at that and the bus driver told him he had to exit the bus and enter the front, which was already jam packed with people. My gain in available space was now their loss up front.
Exiting the bus at Milwaukee avenue I crossed Chicago Avenue so I could begin the morning wait to see just how long it would take for the very unreliable #56 bus. I had only stood there a few moments when the man with the rolling luggage cart, who wasn't well versed in Chicago bus travel etiquette disgustedly said, "Fifteen minutes?!". Knowing exactly what he meant I asked if that was the next Milwaukee bus arrival. He said yes, I commented on the schizophrenic nature of that line, wished him a good day, and headed across the street into the depths of the subway system.
Well my comfort was soon shattered when I noticed an older looking woman standing near my seat. I thought to myself that she wasn't really all that old. Certainly not old enough to need this seat, but my conscience acquiesced and I offered up my seat to her and she readily accepted. Good deed for the day finished not more than 45 minutes after waking up. Not too bad.
Now I found myself standing in the unenviable position on the stairs leading up to the back of the bus. This is no doubt one of the worst spots for trying to remain upright. Fortunately that also didn't last long as a rather boisterous woman soon left her seat and forced me down and right out the bus so she could get on with her morning. Stepping back onto the bus, I was now situated right near the exit doors, which happens to also be not the greatest of standing options due to the people exiting those doors every stop or so. I made the most of it by enjoying my iPod and peering over some woman's shoulder in order to ascertain what she was reading on her Kindle. I wasn't quite successful at that, but she seemed to be reading some sort of self help book as there were bullet points and some helpful suggestions on life...none of which I can recall at the moment and apparently none of which I will be using in trying to better myself. Opportunity lost.
Shortly thereafter the stench of cat litter permeated my immediate standing area. I'm guessing it was the slightly overweight, reddish-blonde, curly-haired woman who had recently found her way towards the back of the bus, but I wasn't positive. Needless to say I don't understand how one can reek of cat litter, unless of course, you live in a closet with several cats, most of which are on the verge of dying. My thoughts of cat litter soon ended though as the rear doors opened up and some middle aged man burst through them with his rolling luggage cart, pushing me and the woman with the Kindle further into the litter stench. When the bus driver motioned to him and let him know he couldn't enter the bus through those doors, he defiantly raised his hand along with his bus card and replied, "it's okay I have an unlimited ride bus pass". I had to chuckle at that and the bus driver told him he had to exit the bus and enter the front, which was already jam packed with people. My gain in available space was now their loss up front.
Exiting the bus at Milwaukee avenue I crossed Chicago Avenue so I could begin the morning wait to see just how long it would take for the very unreliable #56 bus. I had only stood there a few moments when the man with the rolling luggage cart, who wasn't well versed in Chicago bus travel etiquette disgustedly said, "Fifteen minutes?!". Knowing exactly what he meant I asked if that was the next Milwaukee bus arrival. He said yes, I commented on the schizophrenic nature of that line, wished him a good day, and headed across the street into the depths of the subway system.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Why Am I Reading This?
So I finished reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens a week or so ago. It had been sitting on my bookshelf for many years so I decided to see what it was all about. I'm still not sure I know what it was all about because there were so many times I had no idea what I was reading. Whole paragraphs and pages passed by without me having any clue what was actually going on in the story. In the end I believe I got the gist of the story and a Google search helped me to understand what I may have missed.
Now I decided to read The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. Not sure where I got this book, but it too has been sitting on the bookshelf for a while. Needless to say this one also has me quite confused as the characters use language that makes no sense to my brain. A few consecutive pages were filled with people saying they were "tight". Over and over this adjective was used and I'm guessing that it meant drunk, but I'm not completely convinced. Just checked the online Merriam-Webster's dictionary and indeed that's what it means. The sixth definition is "somewhat drunk".
Now if I could just figure out what the rest of the text means, I might start to enjoy the book a bit more. I've never read anything by Hemingway, but his style is a bit odd. Lots of descriptions are given of the streets and the country, but they don't really give a good sense of what he's describing. At least not to me. He's no John Steinbeck, that's for sure. Perhaps it's just this book though. According to the last page of the book, other Hemingway classics are available at your local bookstore or by mail. I can fill out the form and for just $4.95 have another copy of this book mailed to me...not including the $1.50 for postage and handling costs. I bet Amazon can't beat that price. Crap. This deal expired on December 1st, 1987.
Now I decided to read The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. Not sure where I got this book, but it too has been sitting on the bookshelf for a while. Needless to say this one also has me quite confused as the characters use language that makes no sense to my brain. A few consecutive pages were filled with people saying they were "tight". Over and over this adjective was used and I'm guessing that it meant drunk, but I'm not completely convinced. Just checked the online Merriam-Webster's dictionary and indeed that's what it means. The sixth definition is "somewhat drunk".
Now if I could just figure out what the rest of the text means, I might start to enjoy the book a bit more. I've never read anything by Hemingway, but his style is a bit odd. Lots of descriptions are given of the streets and the country, but they don't really give a good sense of what he's describing. At least not to me. He's no John Steinbeck, that's for sure. Perhaps it's just this book though. According to the last page of the book, other Hemingway classics are available at your local bookstore or by mail. I can fill out the form and for just $4.95 have another copy of this book mailed to me...not including the $1.50 for postage and handling costs. I bet Amazon can't beat that price. Crap. This deal expired on December 1st, 1987.
Monday, March 7, 2011
New Post!
I started writing a post about this weekend, but it wasn't coming together, so perhaps this more non-specific title post will help me move things along. So far so good...two sentences already.
I went out to Geneva, IL this past Saturday to celebrate my Aunt Gert's 90th birthday. Ninety years. That's a long, long time to be alive. I'm 37 now and it feels as if my life is just about over, so I'm not sure how one gets through 90 of these years. I suppose if I'd stop looking at the half empty glass every now and again, that could mean that I still have 53 more years before I'm that age. That's a lot of time to figure out what to do with life and possibly there will even be some leftover time to start doing whatever has been figured out.
Anyway it was a fine, fine birthday celebration and nice to spend some time with the family. Unfortunately I was a bit out of sorts due to a long night of gin and tonics and winning at various board games. Okay I only won the 1986 board game edition of Wheel of Fortune , but I also won two games of catchphrase as well...along with some help from my excellent teammates. What I'm trying to say is that I dominated, but I was certainly feeling it in the morning when I forced myself out of my warm, cozy bed only to find the cold reality of life facing me square in the face. I stared back at it for a minute and then started the shower.
But enough with all that...
So my Aunt Gert is my Godmother, and has been ever since my parents bestowed that grand honor upon her. Guess that would have been back in 1974, which was just about 37 years ago. It was nice to sit and chat with her for a while as I haven't seen or heard from her in the three and a half years since her husband, Bill (my godfather) passed away. Shame on me for not communicating with her, but half of the blame must lie with her as well, correct? Incorrect actually, I was just trying to make myself feel better.
Anyway I ended up telling her about when I was in grade school and they bought me a little pocket calculator for Christmas or my Birthday perhaps. Now you may not think a little kid would be all that happy about a calculator for a gift, but I was pretty darned happy as I had previously spent some time using the one my Uncle Bill owned. The thing was pretty tiny for those days and gold and well, it reeked of power and money and luxury. Okay I probably didn't really think that, but it was cool. Needless to say I brought it into Chicago the next weekend and due to my Father's persuasion left it there with him to use while I was back home. That was the last time I ever saw that calculator. On my return trip into the city, I was told that it was lost or some other stupid bullshit excuse. Several hours were spent that first weekend combing up and down the alley hoping to find the "lost" calculator. All for naught. It was gone and a lifetime of disappointing math test scores took it's place.
So I'm not sure what my Aunt thought of the story, but for some reason I wanted to tell her. Actually that reason was because I don't know if I ever told them what happened to it in the first place. I can't recall if I just tried to pretend it wasn't missing or if I let them know my Dad had thrown it out in some sort of manic depressive rage. I'm guessing I didn't tell them that, and the guilt has been weighing on my conscience for many, many years. Needless to say I almost never let my Dad borrow anything from me these days. His loss as I have some cool stuff that I'm sure he'd like.
Well that was my Saturday. Well it was only about 5 hours of my Saturday, but that was the most interesting part. Perhaps you won't agree after reading this blog post, but whatever.
I went out to Geneva, IL this past Saturday to celebrate my Aunt Gert's 90th birthday. Ninety years. That's a long, long time to be alive. I'm 37 now and it feels as if my life is just about over, so I'm not sure how one gets through 90 of these years. I suppose if I'd stop looking at the half empty glass every now and again, that could mean that I still have 53 more years before I'm that age. That's a lot of time to figure out what to do with life and possibly there will even be some leftover time to start doing whatever has been figured out.
Anyway it was a fine, fine birthday celebration and nice to spend some time with the family. Unfortunately I was a bit out of sorts due to a long night of gin and tonics and winning at various board games. Okay I only won the 1986 board game edition of Wheel of Fortune , but I also won two games of catchphrase as well...along with some help from my excellent teammates. What I'm trying to say is that I dominated, but I was certainly feeling it in the morning when I forced myself out of my warm, cozy bed only to find the cold reality of life facing me square in the face. I stared back at it for a minute and then started the shower.
But enough with all that...
So my Aunt Gert is my Godmother, and has been ever since my parents bestowed that grand honor upon her. Guess that would have been back in 1974, which was just about 37 years ago. It was nice to sit and chat with her for a while as I haven't seen or heard from her in the three and a half years since her husband, Bill (my godfather) passed away. Shame on me for not communicating with her, but half of the blame must lie with her as well, correct? Incorrect actually, I was just trying to make myself feel better.
Anyway I ended up telling her about when I was in grade school and they bought me a little pocket calculator for Christmas or my Birthday perhaps. Now you may not think a little kid would be all that happy about a calculator for a gift, but I was pretty darned happy as I had previously spent some time using the one my Uncle Bill owned. The thing was pretty tiny for those days and gold and well, it reeked of power and money and luxury. Okay I probably didn't really think that, but it was cool. Needless to say I brought it into Chicago the next weekend and due to my Father's persuasion left it there with him to use while I was back home. That was the last time I ever saw that calculator. On my return trip into the city, I was told that it was lost or some other stupid bullshit excuse. Several hours were spent that first weekend combing up and down the alley hoping to find the "lost" calculator. All for naught. It was gone and a lifetime of disappointing math test scores took it's place.
So I'm not sure what my Aunt thought of the story, but for some reason I wanted to tell her. Actually that reason was because I don't know if I ever told them what happened to it in the first place. I can't recall if I just tried to pretend it wasn't missing or if I let them know my Dad had thrown it out in some sort of manic depressive rage. I'm guessing I didn't tell them that, and the guilt has been weighing on my conscience for many, many years. Needless to say I almost never let my Dad borrow anything from me these days. His loss as I have some cool stuff that I'm sure he'd like.
Well that was my Saturday. Well it was only about 5 hours of my Saturday, but that was the most interesting part. Perhaps you won't agree after reading this blog post, but whatever.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Nothing But Fortune.
I have nothing to write. Life is passing by slowly bit by bit and I've just been following along for the most part. Not sure where it's leading actually so I'll just add some more fortunes I've received...well besides the $900 Super Bowl square I won. Nor shall I mention the $1300+ bucks I received from land my deceased Aunt apparently owned somewhere in the great state of California. I think that's all the unexpected fortunes...at least of the monetary kind.
How dark is dark? How wise is wise?
This is stupid.
Never Judge a work of art by its defects.
What am I supposed to judge then? By the way I've been reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. One of the more difficult books I've read in quite a while. I've got some grasp of what's going on, but for the most part there are many passages that just leave me bewildered.
A good beginning is half the task.
That's true I suppose. Like this morning. I woke up at 8:30 am and got on with my day. So far it's been somewhat productive. Nice to wake up not hungover and not tired. Desk is clean. Clothes are almost put away. Photos have been downloaded. Work has been done on self. A bit of a shame that it's raining outside, but much better than snow.
All things come to him who goes after them.
I don't know how this him character is, but I feel as if I'm not related in any shape or form.
You achieve great peace of mind when you talk with an old friend.
This is probably true unless you call that old friend to bitch and complain about what a shitty friend he or she really are. That usually doesn't result in peace of mind, though I suppose if you had to get it off your chest and that person really were a bad friend, perhaps it would. I retract my first sentence as I proved myself wrong one sentence later.
The situation is changeable, yet you cannot push the river.
This is true. I've been doing some work today and last night to help me realize that things can change. Sometimes being stuck is easier. Actually it's almost always easier. Dangit.
Your heart is pure, and your mind is clear, and soul devout.
Perhaps my heart is pure, but my mind is never clear. Yoga helped that for about a minute quite a few classes ago. I need to turn in my 10 pack of classes Groupon and get back there. I don't know what a devout soul means.
Well that's it for the fortunes. Not sure where these all came from as I haven't eaten all that much Chinese food lately. There they go into the trash can which was empties once already today. Speaking of Groupons, I also need to call for the cleaning service one I bought last week as this place isn't in the best of shape.
I haven't been drinking enough water lately. Not sure if you've noticed or not, but it's true. I missed the sun today. There was quite a bit of it this past week and to have a dreary, rainy day was a bit disappointing. Not that I was needing to get out of the house for anything, but I did turn down a couple dinner invitations and the rain did have a small part in those decisions. Mostly it's because it's Sunday night and I just don't really like to go out on Sundays. Tomorrow is the start of another week at work and I sort of like to take it easy and relax Sunday night.
How dark is dark? How wise is wise?
This is stupid.
Never Judge a work of art by its defects.
What am I supposed to judge then? By the way I've been reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. One of the more difficult books I've read in quite a while. I've got some grasp of what's going on, but for the most part there are many passages that just leave me bewildered.
A good beginning is half the task.
That's true I suppose. Like this morning. I woke up at 8:30 am and got on with my day. So far it's been somewhat productive. Nice to wake up not hungover and not tired. Desk is clean. Clothes are almost put away. Photos have been downloaded. Work has been done on self. A bit of a shame that it's raining outside, but much better than snow.
All things come to him who goes after them.
I don't know how this him character is, but I feel as if I'm not related in any shape or form.
You achieve great peace of mind when you talk with an old friend.
This is probably true unless you call that old friend to bitch and complain about what a shitty friend he or she really are. That usually doesn't result in peace of mind, though I suppose if you had to get it off your chest and that person really were a bad friend, perhaps it would. I retract my first sentence as I proved myself wrong one sentence later.
The situation is changeable, yet you cannot push the river.
This is true. I've been doing some work today and last night to help me realize that things can change. Sometimes being stuck is easier. Actually it's almost always easier. Dangit.
Your heart is pure, and your mind is clear, and soul devout.
Perhaps my heart is pure, but my mind is never clear. Yoga helped that for about a minute quite a few classes ago. I need to turn in my 10 pack of classes Groupon and get back there. I don't know what a devout soul means.
Well that's it for the fortunes. Not sure where these all came from as I haven't eaten all that much Chinese food lately. There they go into the trash can which was empties once already today. Speaking of Groupons, I also need to call for the cleaning service one I bought last week as this place isn't in the best of shape.
I haven't been drinking enough water lately. Not sure if you've noticed or not, but it's true. I missed the sun today. There was quite a bit of it this past week and to have a dreary, rainy day was a bit disappointing. Not that I was needing to get out of the house for anything, but I did turn down a couple dinner invitations and the rain did have a small part in those decisions. Mostly it's because it's Sunday night and I just don't really like to go out on Sundays. Tomorrow is the start of another week at work and I sort of like to take it easy and relax Sunday night.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
More Fortunes
You will be showered with good luck tomorrow!
Not sure what happened the day after I got this one, so I don't really know if it came true or not. Perhaps I could have paid a bit more attention.
First to start does not mean the first to cross the finish line.
That's a good point. I'm 36 years old and that's pretty damn far into life as far as my thinking goes, but it just goes to show that it's not too late to start something else. Especially when you consider how much closer I am to the finish line.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
I have no idea what the hell this means. Talk about a shitty fortune cookie. Wonder which Chinese place this one came from, so I don't bother ordering their bullshit again.
He that can't endure the bad will not live to see the good.
You probably already know what I could write in response to this one, so I won't bother. Needless to say I've felt some good lately and it's an excellent change of pace. I expect more of it.
Not sure what happened the day after I got this one, so I don't really know if it came true or not. Perhaps I could have paid a bit more attention.
First to start does not mean the first to cross the finish line.
That's a good point. I'm 36 years old and that's pretty damn far into life as far as my thinking goes, but it just goes to show that it's not too late to start something else. Especially when you consider how much closer I am to the finish line.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
I have no idea what the hell this means. Talk about a shitty fortune cookie. Wonder which Chinese place this one came from, so I don't bother ordering their bullshit again.
He that can't endure the bad will not live to see the good.
You probably already know what I could write in response to this one, so I won't bother. Needless to say I've felt some good lately and it's an excellent change of pace. I expect more of it.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The New Year.
So I suppose it's time for some resolutions to start off the new year, eh? Well too bad, I don't have any to share with you nor did I write any for myself. Nothing needs to change. Things are fantastic! A-OK! Dynamite! Well not really, but things are pretty good. The turn of the calendar year is a good thing this time around. And anyway, I lied...I did write up some resolutions. Things need to change and the only way for that to happen is to make the changes yourself.
In case you're wondering the bird has nothing to do with the resolutions or the new year. Just a picture I decided to add for the sake of having the ability to add, subtract, divide, but hopefully not multiply.
Number one resolution is to start conquering this world of photography. I've stagnated quite a bit for no good reason and it's high time I chose to stop that stagnation. I've had a wealth of knowledge sitting an arms length away for almost a year now and done nothing with it.
Number two resolution is to start writing more often, thus this blog post a mere five days into 2011. Now just to clarify, me writing more does not necessarily mean it will be entertaining or interesting or witty or even bearable. It just means I'll write more. Perhaps I'll write an essay about bird nostrils. Perhaps an article about telephones and those who use them. Perhaps something about trucks and long distances travelled. I don't really know what I'll write about, but gosh dangit, I will write.
Number three resolution is to use the phrase gosh dangit more often in honor of my old friend Travis Shaw. I believe he married and moved off to another continent, but I can't recall which one.
Number four resolution is, well let's just keep it at three for the time being. I don't want to overload your sensory capabilities with my amazing resolution setting ways. That would be bad. No reason for that. None whatsoever. In fact to slow things down a bit, I just want you to know that I'm eating a corned beef sandwich with pepper jack cheese. Pepper jack? Really? Yeah I know it was a tough decision I faced at the deli counter Monday night, but I thought, what the hell, it's a new year...go for it Dave! And so I did go for it. Was it the right choice? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But it was my choice and three dollars later, it was my cheese.
So there you have it. New year. New cheese. New resolutions.
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