South Of Someplace: January 2018

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

January Ends

January ends

Thanks for sharing in my life

All my cherished friends!

Could Have Lied

Sure, I could have lied

Told you what you want to hear

But I did what’s right

Pencils Down

Put your pencils down

Pass your booklets to the front

Grades mailed in a week

Lab Work

Late nights in the lab

Doing strange experiments

Mostly on myself

Cute Pic!

Thanks for the cute pic!

I enjoyed it in my bed

When no one was home

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Riding The Bus

“Can you spare some change?”

Asked a man riding the bus

Dog dirt on the floor

Show Us

Think you know your stuff?

Put your talent to the test

Show us something now

The Stage

All the World’s a stage

Actors speak their lines until

They reach their last page

Tonight

Pick me up tonight

Take me on a joyful ride

Till the warm sunrise

Silent Snowflakes

Silent snowflakes fly

Blanketing in purest white

Our gray world outside

Waking From A Dream

Sometimes

Life feels like

Waking from a dream

And realizing

That you’ve been through

Major surgery

Monday, January 29, 2018

While recovering from dental work, I was forced to eat soft food for a couple of weeks. Every day for lunch, I had broiled fish and mashed potatoes. Now, I’ve gone back to my normal, low cholesterol diet of salads for lunch, and it raises an interesting question. How did I ever survive on salad?

Thursday, January 25, 2018

The Ego

Watch out for the ego

The ego’s not your friend

You’ll recognize the ego

‘Cause the ego wants to win

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

New York Minute 73 - Wipe Out

On the way home last night, I saw a bike messenger wipe out and fall off of his bike. He wasn’t badly hurt, but he was shaken up a bit and most certainly humiliated.

The odd thing was that it was a completely unforced error. The guy wasn’t doing anything crazy. He wasn’t weaving through traffic (thank goodness!) or trying to beat a traffic light. The conditions were clear and dry. He was just waiting for some traffic to pass, and when he started pedaling through the intersection, he just fell over on his side.

He picked himself and jogged to the side of the street with his bike showing some level of discomfort in his movements. He yelled something at the nearby cars even though they were all still standing at the red signal. He stopped between couple of parked cars to evaluate his condition.

I don’t want to see anyone get hurt, but these guys take a lot of risks. They almost never stop at red lights, and they don’t respect anyone else’s right of way. They yell at pedestrians and anyone else who they perceive as being in their way.

It was unfortunate that this poor fellow tumbled off of his bike like a sack of potatoes when he wasn’t trying to do anything stupid. But given that these biker messengers put themselves and everyone at risk all day long, and given that his first reaction was to scream at drivers that had not contributed to his accident, I can’t say that I felt particularly sorry for the dude.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

One Long Day

After a long, demanding, and insanely hectic day at the office, I walked my tired body down the dark, slippery stairs to the subway station. An electronic sign indicated that a train would be coming in two minutes, but it took about four times that long for it to actually arrive. We boarded, and the train began to move, albeit very slowly. At the next station, we were held for several minutes without explanation.

We continued this slow progress through a few stops. Eventually, the conductor explained that we were following “a work train” and that the delays would continue. It was frustrating. I wanted to get to my stop, make a quick run the store to pick up some soup for dinner, go home and relax. In addition to being exhausted, I was feeling extremely hungry. I had had dental work done earlier in the week, and I have since consumed nothing more filling than applesauce.

Finally, the train arrived at my local station. I walked to the grocery store and purchased three boxes of organic creamy pumpkin soup. - This particular soup is delicious, I must say! Don’t wait to have a tooth pulled to give it a try.

Only one register was open at this late evening hour. A number of people stood ahead of me in the queue. The store manager eventually opened a second register. I could easily have made a dash for it, but I noticed the elderly woman ahead of me picking her items back up off of the conveyor belt. Clearly, she wanted to use this open register. I didn’t want to be rude, so I let her walk to it ahead of me.

Unfortunately, she was one of these ladies who looks for her change purse only after she hears the total amount of the bill. She opened the purse and began to count out sixty-eight cents with agonizing meticulousness. When she finally handed the change to the store manager, he didn’t even bother to count it. This transaction had already taken up too much of everyone’s time.

I stepped forward, and the man scanned my three boxes of soup. I slipped my credit card into the reader, but it refused to process my chip. How unnecessarily aggravating! After several aborted attempts and a slew of dirty looks from the impatient clients waiting behind me, the chip reader finally gave up and suggested that I swipe the card the old fashioned way. This method worked, and I was finally on my way to have my soup and get some much needed rest.

What a day!

New York Minute 72 - Baby Rush

This morning, as I was commuting, I saw a well-dressed lady in high platform boots pushing a baby carriage rapidly down the sidewalk. I’m guessing that her nanny cancelled, and she had to take the child to a relative’s place. She was in a big hurry, so I’ll assume that she was running late and needed to get to her job.

As she strode energetically down the sidewalk, one of those high platform boots stepped right into a big pile of dog doodoo. She didn’t notice. She just kept pushing the carriage frantically as she rushed to her destination.

Dogs really should not be allowed to defecate and urinate on sidewalks. It’s disgusting and grossly unsanitary. People train puppies to go on a newspaper. Take a newspaper out with you and have your dog crap on that. And then dispose of it in a sealed plastic bag. How is it acceptable to live in a world smeared with dog shit?

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Might As Well

Sometimes

Things

Won’t work out

No matter what you do

Might as well

Have some fun

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

A Point In Your Life

At some point, you realize that you don’t go to the gym or do Zumba just to support the other activities in your life. All of those other activities are there to help you get back in the gym or do some Zumba.

Monday, January 15, 2018

Prescheduled Emergencies

I just received a phone call. My 12 noon appointment had to be rescheduled because, “The doctor will be having an emergency at that time.” I‘m not kidding.

Saturday, January 13, 2018

The Party Of Lincoln

Let’s see if “the party of Lincoln” can pull itself out of the “shithole” that it just dug for itself. The world is watching.

Friday, January 12, 2018

Amazing Temperature Swing

New York City recorded an amazing 53-degree Fahrenheit temperature swing this week, or as it’s known at the Grand Canyon, morning.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

New York Minute 71 - Bouncing Down The Avenue

Walking along a busy Manhattan avenue last evening, I noticed what looked like a balloon bouncing along the pavement as cars drove past. Looking closer, I realized that it was an inflated surgical glove. The thumb and fingers were clearly visible.

I thought that the comically inflated glove was done for when a large, black SUV barreled toward it. Someone, the glove survived its near-death encounter and continued to bounce along merrily down the roadway.

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

I’m Here

I’m here

I’m me

That’s all

I need to be

Cuff Link Confusion

Some mornings, my brain just isn’t ready to deal with cuff links.

Monday, January 8, 2018

Against All Retail Odds

Why do restaurants and retail stores play the song “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins? Do people spend more money when they’re depressed?

“Take a look at me now

There’s just an empty space

Your coming back to me is against all odds

So I’ll max out my credit cards.”

For the record, this is a great song. It’s well-written and emotionally engaging, and Phil sings his heart out on the recording. But every time I hear it, I feel profoundly sad. It’s amazing how a few seconds of music can bring back memories of people that we loved years, even decades, ago.

Sunday, January 7, 2018

It’s Not Too Late!

It’s not too late! It’s never too late!

Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of believing that your chances have passed you by. There are always new opportunities, new experiences, and new horizons to explore. Life and love and adventure await you.

Get busy and get moving. It’s never too late. There’s always something new to try. Seek it. Reach for it. Live.

Friday, January 5, 2018

Gruden, The Raiders, and the Romantic Magic of Second Chances

I’m intrigued that Jon “Chuckie” Gruden is coming back as a head coach in the NFL after ten years in broadcasting. You’ve gotta love second chances! Best wishes to Coach Gruden and the Raiders organization, players, and fans!

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Fear Is The Enemy Of Fulfillment

Fear is the enemy of fulfillment. Console the fear, enable the joy.

4 Jan 2018

”I’m sick of Winter Day”

Snowmageddon!

Snowmageddon!

(Snowmageddon on my nerves!)

Note to self: The next time you need to walk through snow, avoid doing dead lifts at the gym the day before. Your hips and thighs will thank you.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

New York Minute 70 - Low Maintenance

I overheard a group of people discussing the approaching snowstorm. At one point, a young woman’s enthusiastic voice cut through: “Three inches is the perfect amount!”