Terrible. terrible. I haven't posted since june! Of course nothing has happened since then but I should at least say a little bit now and then. So we had the bottom part of our house remodeled in June so I am blaming everything I didn't do this summer on that. I suppose I need to just go with the flow but somehow that means nothing gets done. I wonder why I am so hard on myself? I was pretty busy with work but not so much I couldn't have moved on some other things. I am however in the process of getting the snow removal equipment in order. Tina almost handed me my head last winter because we were so snowed in - everyone was but I just wanted to wait until we melted - Tina didn't feel so comfortable with that. So this year I bought a monster snow blower, chains for the JD, chains for the SB and new battery for the old Toyota which has a plow ... more later

Wow! I can't believe its been this long since I wrote but no one is reading this so I guess it doesn't really matter. I always think of things I am going to write but then forget them when its time. must be old age! Ha- Health is still pretty good. Its easier to pull a muscle or strain something and it definitely takes longer to heal from such things but over pretty good. Still go to the gym everyday - well 5 days a week. I'm not too much on it but I do go and I do a pretty good routine. Hopefully, it is making a difference. Overall: NB450! Both my parents were gone before 70. Max will be 30 when I am 70. That's probably one of my biggest hopes in life is that I can make sure my kids are on their own and doing well before I go

NEWS

When I was a kid I hated the news. It just did not apply to me (It did I just didn't realize it... or care) People always say and its true - The news is always so bad that they don't bother with it. I feel the same but it seems now like you kinda have to stay in touch at some point or another. But the news is so dramatic these days. The storm that's coming always seems to be a very dangerous one with high winds or heavy down pours. Everything seems more horrible than the next. More murder, more violence, more rip offs. Everything seems dire. I must admit I was watching that BP oil leak underwater cam feed and that is probably one of the scariest things I have ever seen. Its just gruesome and that plume rising out of that blow out preventer thing looks like a really pissed off monster just billowing out getting more pissed off by the minute. Not only that its really pretty sad. I hope its making everyone think about we doing to ourselves and our world

Music

When I was a little kid my dad would play some of the music he grew up to - basically the 50s. We had mostly 45s albums an even some 78s. Remember those? As a little kid I liked a lot of it but as time went on I didn't really care for it too much. And like my dad I still have and still listen to pretty much the same music I did when I was a young teenager (early 70's) and on. What seems different is that a lot of the stuff I still like from my youth still seems to be around now and the kids now have heard of a lot of it. I guess the who and stones and beatles and even bands like aerosmith are kind of timeless but kids now seem to still listen to the same music I listened to - well give or take. The format is certainly different. Vinyl, then 8-track, then tape, then CD, now mp3.

Music no longer comes on a physical "thing" its a "file" now. Pretty cool and weird. Ah the ol 8-track - pretty funny

Danger in the Woods ahead

If I was walking along and coming up on some beautiful peaceful woods and just inside the woods there was a guy there who said "Be careful, Danger ahead - I was just in there and there are bad things afoot. Be really careful." I would say wow really? thanks dude and proceed on my way with caution. Somehow when I tell my kids to be careful and pay attention and watch out they just look at me like I'm an asshole! My sons are 6 and 9 years old. I tell them don't do that again or it will mean certain death and they do it again anyway. My 40+ years of experience has no bearing what so ever on them. I don't get it at all. I wish I could somehow make them see my point of view for just a minute or 2 instead of having to wait 20 or so years until they are parents for them to think - oh so my dad was right. Damn! bummer!

We're all happier now right?

Check this piece out. Ever since I quit my job I've been lovin life.. well, lovin it a lot more. What about you?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=its-getting-better-all-the-time-hap-2010-05-17

Still friends

oh forgot to mention - I am still friends with with my fourth grade crush Alex. Guess we went off to live for 40 years but I was fortunate to get back in touch with her. I am still amazed by the paths that life takes people down - not all good but enough good that I want to stick around to see them. Guess I'm weird that way

Colonoscopy 2

Whew! Glad That's over! What a strange 24 hours! Drink all that stuff then you keep going over and over and over (and over) then go over to the place - you're in the bed all IV'ed up and BAM! your done. Your doctor gives you a couple of pictures of your ass hole and you go home. How weird is that? Happy Birthday! Back again in 10 years. I am already counting the days

Back to the high school friends

I mentioned earlier about a friend from High School coming over with her husband for dinner but I didn't say how it went and I know you (whoever "you" is) are dying to find out how it went. Well it went really really great. I was kind of nervous in a way. Its been 32 years since I saw this girl and honestly we weren't super close in school but she was someone who was down to earth and I could hang out with her without feeling self conscious. I had really bad skin growing up and consequently I was so self conscious about it especially around the girls. My friend didn't give 2 shits about it. So she was cool to be around and she was really cute. We (all the boys) had the hots for her but that was just an added bonus - ok back to the present. We both have 3 times as much life experience now than we did when we were in school but it was just like being back in HS. Her husband really seemed to like my kids and I admire him for hanging in there with them. It looked as though he and my youngest could have gone off on their own and not noticed we weren't around. We did the usual reminiscing. I found out about some that happened to her that wasn't so great but that's life I suppose. In an earlier post I mentioned Perspective. Well I got some that day. Anyway I feel really fortunate for getting to see her and meet him. I feel closer to her now than I ever did in school. Still the same unpretentious, down to earth person. Pretty cool I think

Why am I doing a blog?

Good question!
but most of my life I have been very hard on myself. "Should have done better" or "not working hard" enough or (here's a big one) "you don't deserve this house , this wife, these kids, this life". But now that I am here - at the "half way" mark I'm thinking hmmm in spite of myself I've actually done ok. Not sure why I thought I wouldn't. Maybe it's the fact that all I was interested in was weed, women and song. Hmm come to think of it thats kinda of the male human condition. at least when you grow up in the 60's I guess the difference is that some of us grow out of it while others ...I don't really know what others do

The ol facebook

Facebook is pretty commonplace and kinda boring and standard these days. Growing up company ads on TV and magazine didn't have URLs listed. Obviously there was no web then. Now it is expected. Something's kinda fishy if there's no www in the ad somewhere. Likewise with facebook. For a while everyone got used to seeing www with everything but no "See us on Facebook" now it almost seems strange if you have a business or some kind of group and you don't have a facebook presence. Not everyone likes the facebook idea. FB has been very interesting for me though. I have been able to reconnect with a lot of folks that I thought I would never hear from or see. Very interesting where life has taken people. Not always to great places either. I've also had the occasion where people who were my friends long ago are not interested in touching base. Kinda makes me wonder if we were ever really friends or if they were just putting up with me. Maybe I was a dick back then or something - Hard to believe!

Perspective

Well everything is relative I guess but I find myself feeling kinda stupid when I think I have problems or I am in a bad mood about something because at some point some event or some person makes me realize that there are so many other people out there that have real problems or ones a lot worse than me and its then that I get perspective. I think if we could gain some perspective a little more often we could be more positive and get more done. I know I would. You gotta do a little reality check now and then. I find my kids make me realize what's important and what isn't. They drive me crazy most of the time but they end up being good teachers and they don't even know it. Most of the time when I an annoyed with them I think its because I am being more immature than they are

Friends from High School

Gotta friend from high school coming over tomorrow with her husband to have dinner with me and the family. I haven't seen this girl in over 32 years. Even when we were in school we weren't great friends or going out together or anything but but we did do a lot of partying and every time we did it ended up being a hilarious occasion. Found her by accident on Facebook. I just think it is awesome that she is willing to get together after all this time. I noticed a lot of the school daze friends just aren't into it. 30 years is an awful long time but some of the people I am talking about were (I thought) really good friends. I bore my soul to them all through elementary school jr high and high school and after we graduated zip, done later. Really bums me out. My wife just says I need to get over it - she's right but I'm having a hard time doing that

Next up on the 50 Train

Already had the prostate check. Next up? You know it - more stuff up the butt. Colonoscopy! whoo hoo. I cannot wait

When I was a Boy...My Kids hate that

So while we're on the age thing I always seem to compare my kids life with my life when I was a kid growing up. They have never seen a BW TV. We had a 19 in BW Sears as the main family TV! The one the only. Now we have 46 " (and thats kinda small for some folks) flat screen, and 2 other TVs. Some people have TVs in every room. There's a TV in the locker room at the gym. Of course TV is kinda old compared to the computer now. Strange about the TV though is I never watch it. Got TVs all over the place but don't watch it. Bu tI do sit in front of a PC all day

Hello all you middle aged farts!

Hey I just turned 50!

Anyone who is older or younger will think "big deal" but if you just did or will pretty soon its kinda... strange. As I've gotten older my whole thought process has changed, My whole point of view is different. I have become my dad. And while all this is normal stuff, it still seems odd. I don't feel like I 'm 50. But then again how does being 50 feel? How does any age feel? Ok lets not go off subject. How does 50 feel to you?