Another Funeral

I'm in San Diego with all my family (on my mother's side). We spread my mother's ashes on the cliffs of Torrie Pines State Park. It was good to see all my family, including a cousin I've never met before, its too bad that it was for an event such as this.

The Shane Report

Here's the latest picture of "Little" Shane, who is now 6 months old, weighing in at 20 lbs and is 28" long!

Enough already!

I have to say this has been one hell of a rollercoaster year for me so far! My Nephew, Shane is born in early January - great news, but my father passes away three days later. Another great moment was the birth of my niece, Sasha in May. But good news just seems to require bad news, which is what I received two weeks ago.

I was making dinner, in a good cooking space, when my brother calls me and tells me that my Mom had just passed away! My first response was "You've got to be F@%king kidding me..." Not again, but that's how the cards have been dealt. Another trip to the funeral home, the oily dealings with the undertaker's attempts to sell you the most expensive items - my "Mother would want the best, right?"...

And now, off to San Diego for the services, seeing all my Aunts and Uncles, several of which I haven't seen since I was a teen.

For those who still have parents, two pieces of advice:

1. Don't put off the call, letter, or visit that you been meaning to make/write... you may not get that chance.
2. Clean up any unfinished business, clear the air, make amends if possible, again there may not be a tomorrow to do so.

I'm thankful that I had done both to a significant degree.

A Pirate's Life, Part 2

Well, it looks like (barring winning the lottery) that I'm going to working on a, yet undetermined, cruise ship for the next 6 months starting in October. I'll be attending the seminar/interview in September, and if all goes well, I'll be shipping out in October.

More to follow.

A Pirate's Life for Me?

Sometimes the best thing to do is to sell everything you own and just hit the road. You know, break free from this thing that you call "your life". I'm feeling just like that, and I think I may have found just the ticket: Working on a Cruise ship as an acupuncturist...

The Pro's:
No rent, no utilities, no food costs, free gym access, the open ocean (good for a Pisces like myself), world travel, and the chance to amass some major cash.

The Con's:
Loooonnnng hours, no land, a finite sized ship, old people, and an increased risk of meeting Barry Mannilow.

I'm checking it out as an option. Stay tuned, maybe my new posts will be via the oceans of the world.

The Virtues of a Well Educated Dog

I was taking the dog, Jazzy, for a walk up on Mt. Tabor one sunny morning when this fellow came up to me and strikes up this conversation:

(Mr. Slackjaw Simpleton): Hi, that's a nice doggy.
(Me:) Yep, he's a good boy, a bit rowdy at times, but a good boy none the less.
[pause... Mr. S is slack jawed, no doubt waiting for his new Vista OS to reboot]
(Mr S.): Oh. Is he tutored?
(Me - ponderous for a moment:) Why yes, in the classics.
(Mr S.): ?
(Me:) Yes, we just finished Shakespeare.
(Mr S.): Uh...
(Me): His favorite was the "Merchant of Venison", of course.
(Mr S.): Uh...
(Me): Well, Beowulf awaits, gotta go!
Mr S. Drool and a bit of steam from the ears.

Yes, I am an evil bastard and my tolerance for stupid people has not improved.

My Other Blog

My Absence aside, I have been a busy, busy boy. I've just started my new blog on a subject near and dear to everyone's heart, improving gas mileage and saving money on gas. Its called Gas Pump Wars. Check it out!