I gave them cash because they already have enough junk

By chance we were in the elevator together.

"So, is the one bloody nose the worst that happened?"

"Yeah, and that wasn't too bad because at least her parent was there."

That little girl that got the busted nose had the hottest mom there and my own 67 year old mother was the second hottest. The pickings were slim and by slim, I mean nonexistent.

If I'm going to feel obligated to show up at my eight year old niece's birthday party then I think there should be at least a few hot moms around. It was actually a joint birthday party between my two oldest nieces.

I'm not trying to get smarter, I'm trying to get less dumb

I wish someone would pay me money to work on my house.

…

I’m trying to read more. I think reading makes you smarter.

Unless you’re reading dumb shit.


...

I was at my niece’s eighth birthday party on Sunday. It was the first time that I was at my sister’s house but that’s a different issue.

There were kids everywhere and just a few adults, not counting my immediate family and myself, there were six adults. The number of kids was over twenty five.

I got there at about quarter of two; the invite said that the party was scheduled for one. I say by my two younger sisters and my mom. “So what, did people just come by and drop their kids off?” I asked.

There was a large inflatable water slide set up on the side yard, a bouncey house set up nest to that and then a six foot in diameter kiddie pool about two and a half feet deep set next to the swing/play set. There were lots of places for kids to be and those places were spread out.

The rules as I could gather were that there was to be no jumping into the kiddie pool and no one was allowed into the upper portion of the play set.

It was a crazy scene of mostly unsupervised children and about three minutes after I first arrive a little girl was leaking blood from her nose into a beach towel.

I sat watching, hoping not to see what I was very much expecting to see and I would notify my mom who was acting somewhat as a co-host as to certain dangers that I saw.

I left when the pinatas came out and I hoped that my sister’s insurance was up to date.

I will probably cook a duck someday, just to be able to say that I had cooked a duck

That cashier at Borders is dead behind the eyes.

I had waited as long as I could to mow the lawn which turned out to be Sunday at 3:30PM. Half way through the back yard, I remembered that I through away a 16' boat in the household trash. It took awhile. I cut it up into barrel size pieces and every trash day would toss out a couple pieces more. At the time, I had thought nothing of it but now when I think of it, I shake my head.

After finishing mowing the back yard, the side yard and the front yard. I peeled off my sweat soaked clothes and heard the first crack of thunder.

I didn't because it sounds sarcastic

Maybe, I'm mean.

Maybe, I'm rude.

Maybe, I'm both.

I want her to stop talking. I want to find out what her schedule is so I can avoid her. I would rather not see her ever again.

"Do you like to cook?"

"Sometimes," I answer because I fell that is better than, "No, I just like to buy expensive cookbooks with 40% off coupons," even though it's truer.

She then tells me about her Fanny Farmer cookbook and how it's the best general cookbook she has found, and how it's better than the "Joy of Cooking;" it's a story she has told me before.

She watches me. I avoid looking at her, mostly, until I feel her eyes on me. She asks if I've read some title I've never heard of. I assume her question is precipitated by the other two books put I had placed on the counter, paperbacks from the "buy one get one at half price" table. When I answer, "No," she then tells me that I should.

I stand silent as she finishes ringing me up.

She hands back my credit card and says, "Have a nice day, Timothy."

16 is better than 28 but it still ain't good.

Because I'm cooler than you I don't have to work on Breed's Hill Day. Although, it's not actually called Breed's Hill Day.

So, I had planned to take things slowly on my day off, maybe mow the lawn, maybe bake some bread, maybe read a book, or at least some of a book. I started by making coffee and it was a pretty good pot of coffee, I still don't know how I can get such a range of flavor by making coffee precisely the same way every time.

Anyway, when I was in the bathroom, I heard a drip and the drip was coming for the same location as a drip that I fixed a couple of days before so at first I thought maybe I hadn't tightened something properly, but I found out that it was a brand new drip.

The tank on the toilet was dripping from the handle. Personally, I've never seen this problem before mostly because it isn't supposed to happen. The innards of a toilet have an overflow valve that keeps your tank from overflowing and normally this overflow valve is at a point lower than the hole for the lever but mine was such a way that they were just about at the same height so when the fill valve malfunctions the handle hole would drip.

I thought, "No big deal. I'll just replace the fill valve that is malfunctioning," and I even thought that I had one in the basement. In the basement, I notice a lot of water, too much water to be of any good, water coming from the hot water heater. I think I might have said, "Son of a bitch."

Replacing a hot water heater isn't too difficult but it certainly wasn't something I wanted to do on my day off.

I drove to Home Depot and looked at the 40 gallon tanks; it was a 40 gallon tank that was leaking. The price difference between a 40 and a 50 gallon wasn't too much and my house is a two family home and two family homes are supposed to have something larger than a 40 gallon hot water heater, so I got the 50.

It's a 12 year tank, top of the line and with the parts and fittings that I needed, it cost me $765. I had hoped that the value of the house increased somewhat with the larger water heater.

I got the heater into the basement, with some help and some effort and then cut the box away from it and noticed a rather large dent at the top. I let out a breath. The box had shown no signs of damage so I wasn't certain where or how the damaged happened but I knew it wasn't my doing. I had two choices: one was to haul it back out of the basement and return it to Home Depot and the other was to install it and hope that the damage was only superficial but I wasn't certain if Home Depot would take back a previously installed hot water heater.

It was a perplexing decision but then I figured that my powers of persuasion could convince someone at Home Depot to believe my story and not fault me for trying to install a damaged hot water heater that later had to be returned.

Things went well, I had to rerun both water lines and redo the pipe for the exhaust but the gas line pretty much matched up and when it was all said and done, the new tank didn't leak. I think I might have said, "Sweet."

But WTF? One fitting that I needed was $16 and I needed two of them. For sixteen bucks I could almost justify someone stealing one. Sixteen buck for a 1/2 inch union is outrageous. I'll have to price them at Lowes.

I need a day off, I think

I'm so close to saying, "Fuck you."

Only I don't actually say, "Fuck you," you just cease to exist to me. I just stop all contact.

I don't pick up your phone calls.

But I ask myself, "Why now? Why not then? What has changed?"

I usually try to take a step away before I make any lasting decisions. I try to see things from a different angles.

Probably part of me wants to hear her say, "Please don't go."

hi

It took me about three weeks to read Skeletons On The Zahara by Dean King, which is pretty quick for me because I usually will only read a chapter or two at a time right before I drift off to sleep.

(That's the kind of updates you've been missing.)

I got a Certificate of Commendation from the United States Marine Corps. It reads, "Outstanding and selfless support in the planning and execution of Marine Week Boston 2010..."

A Lt. Col. came by my place of employment and handed it to me along with a special and specific coin commemorating Marine Week Boston 2010. It was a day that I was busy doing my own work and busy doing the work of someone else as well, so I didn't get to chat much with the Lt. Col. but a co-worker got a similar commendation so he entertained the Marine.

I took it by the other bar that some of the old regulars hang out at because for a couple weeks whenever they would ask what I was up to I would mention Marine Week.

They were impressed.

I was kind of impressed to.

I was just doing my job, the event did come during the busy season which was annoying but we managed. It was done and done and then we moved on and then the Lt. Col. walked into my office a month plus a week later. It was a surprise.

...

Working for free is getting to me.

I feel somewhat disrespected and it's been hard to shake. I think that if you're working for free that you should get treated better.

Unless you're a slave and then it sucks to be you.

...

I had just finished reading Isle of Passion by Laura Restrepo before I picked up Skeletons on the Zahara. I remember looking at all the unread titles I have sitting about, trying to decide on what to start next.

I'm wondering what to read next.

Nothing tickles my fancy.

I'll probably end up buying something new.

I read a little of Betting on the Muse by Charles Bukowski because I'm still trying to get him but I don't. Maybe because I've heard stories like his in person all my life. I like his writing style but I think his subject holds no interest for me.

I think that I'll read Ham on Rye and if that doesn't do it for me than I will move on.