Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in charvakan's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
10:03 pm	Got a Cold Today and other trivia I woke up with a sore throat, and now it's progressed to the stuffy head stage. I went on sick leave, although I did monitor emails and make work calls. I picked up my new glasses this afternoon: not enough difference to notice yet, really, but I'm hoping my eyes don't get tired so early in the evening. We bought a new car a month ago, another Honda Civic to replace the one A drove to W&M after Xmas vacation. This one is one step fancier than the last one--power windows and cruise control are the main differences. D said it wasn't nearly as nice as the Subaru Outback, and yeah, she's right: no power seats, heated front seats, AWD, or sunroof, and the instrumentation is more crude. But it was $6000 less, and it gets much better mileage. I just want it to be reliable. The last one has been. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
4:58 pm	Been a long time I'm seriously thinking about retirement. I can't keep my mind on work long enough to do the things I used to do there, like bring in big projects. It's driving me nuts that I get by doing so little while my management tells me how wonderful I am. I don't try to fool them at all; I frequently tell everyone who'll listen that I'm not doing much work. You know what they say: "In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." The soccer association is at a crossroads. We have a new board, but with an old board member as President. We have a new executive director, hired as a last gasp by the old board (they should have waited). The finances are finally being worked through, and that could change everything. The registration system is changing, mid-year. Finally, the County is asking for money we may or may not have. Interesting times. I owe my area precinct leader a call/email. This is a slow year for us, with just Rep-for-life Jim "Unindicted as of yet" Moran on the ballot. But I should be building precinct ops. I need a crack force of ward-heelers and thugs to whip the voters in line. I was about as depressed as I ever get Sunday. Of course, none of us knows what it's like inside anyone else's head. I always imagine most other people are a lot like me, but how would I know? I felt like curling up into a little ball and just winking out. No special reason. I was too glum even to drink for two days. Now that's down. Yesterday was better and today I'm "normal", which is to say feeling as though I am just fine with continuing as I am. I'm even drinking again, it being after noon. I saw something at the yuppie grocery store called "Portly Gentleman"--the name being a flimsy excuse to use the word 'Port' on a label when the wine inside was a crappy Australian knockoff of what comes out of Porto, Portugal. I just had to try it, because I admire bald-faced larceny. It was suitably inferior. Aussies make some decent wine, but it's not, in general, as good as the average cheap hooch from Italy and France and Spain--or even California. But I've drunk a half bottle and (as Bill Murray's character in "Lost in Translation" says in the only line I remember from that overrated flick) "The good news is, the booze works." So I'm in fine fettle for grilling dinner tonight. I don't understand why people are wringing their hands about Obama's loss of popularity. He wanted the job, he's doing as well as anyone could, and if the Dems want to avoid taking a bath at the polls they need to wake up and do the right thing, which is pass a health care bill and support Obama's stimulus package and budget. They probably won't, but what can I do about that? I should post here more often. LJ is the only one who understands me. The guys on TLI won't do what I say, and dammit, I'm alpha dog! Oh yeah. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, December 11th, 2009
1:43 pm	Charvakapalooza II Dear Diary, The job is getting very tiresome. My boss is a real sweetheart, but she's retiring in less than a year. My team is pretty cool. The work is mildly interesting at times. But I still can't get excited about it. I constantly feel as though I should be doing more (because I should) and I'm strictly in reaction mode. I do everything they ask me to do, but I no longer look for things that need doing and then go out and do them like I used to. And the executives are third-raters with delusions of competence. They can turn the simplest task into an ordeal of paper-pushing. I don't know if I can do another year. I could leave now with a pension of about $70k. Lots of people retire and come right back into the building as contractors, for a combined income a lot higher than they were making. I think I'll just leave and devote myself to politics, my garden, and soccer. Soccer...what a mess at the youth soccer association! A cabal of retired guys has taken over. They haven't come out with a budget for almost two years, they rewrote the bylaws, and they're hiring staff like nobody's business. The county, suddenly short $40M in their budget, may want to charge for the fields next year, which would be a very serious blow. The whole thing was built on low fees, due to the free fields and an all-volunteer management, but the cabal has changed all that in just two years. We're now carrying over $250k in salaries and benefits for the employees they hired (technical director, executive director, registrar, and a couple others) and they come up with pie-in-the-sky ideas for new programs, all to be paid for with sponsorship deals that never materialize. At this point, I feel I have to stick around (although my girls graduated out years ago) to try to keep things running after the inevitable crash. There's even intrigue at the local Democratic Committee. The officer positions turn over at the end of the year, and for the first time in 30 years, they're being contested instead of doled out by mutual agreement of the insiders. I'm staying loyal to the precinct ops chair who recruited me, and voting for her and the others she recommends. Why not? The election is early next month. I assume I will still be precinct captain--there is seldom a line for those slots. They had to talk me into it two years ago. Online, things are progressing nicely. TLI is humming along at a manageable low-traffic rate, and the community is very enjoyable. There are no current blowups. I will shortly spread my own special brand of holiday cheer all over the site like jalapeno jelly on a cracker. Sticky-sweet with a bite, that's me. I am completely perplexed over what to get my adorable niece for Christmas, though, and if I get any hints from anyone, I would also appreciate suggestions for gifts for her parents. Thanks for listening, dear LJ. You understand me. Why doesn't anyone else? It's lonely being so sober so late in the afternoon. But there's a cure for that, isn't there? (6 Comments |Comment on this)
1:14 pm	Charvakapalooza Dear Diary, We had a very nice Thanksgiving, and Christmas is now bearing down on us like a semi with malfunctioning brakes. And we're resuming our New Year's party (we didn't do it last year). Busy times. D's mother sold her house in WV and moved to a condo in Leisure World. This was not an impulsive act--she'd researched places for years. But when she decided it was time, she moved like lightning. Keep in mind she's 82 and lived alone in a big house in the country. She put it on the market, accepted a price lots lower than she'd have gotten two years ago, and bought a condo more expensive than the ones she was looking at just a few months ago. She recognized that the timing was bad financially, but the move made the most sense at the time for her, so she just did it. I admire that. She did a lot of the packing herself too. I'm convinced she'll outlive me. Anyway, she's just 45 minutes away now instead of 90 minutes. She's still a pretty good driver even if the New Yorker in her makes her drive too fast. A's Australian boyfriend (he shall be dubbed "H" henceforth) has moved to the US on a year-long visa. He's living in the Frisbee House with A and already has a job at the campus bookstore. D met him briefly but I have not as yet. I expect to like him. Why not? A loves him. He'll be the 6'4" champion frisbee playing son I never had. Somehow I have to sell him on permanent residency in the US if I don't want to have to take a 24 hour plane trip every time I want to see my grandchildren. So he's my new best friend. J is working at the structural engineering firm as a "CAD monkey" (her term) while she nerves herself up to look for permanent employment at an architecture firm. She graduated more than six months ago, so it's not too soon. She and D are not getting along as well as I'd hoped, which takes a psychological toll on all of us. I just don't get why needlessly arguing with the people we live with is a good idea. it doesn't make them happy. 75% of the time it's fine, but the other 25% it's aggravating, mostly for them. i just do what I'm told when I can and I don't worry about other people's disappointment and irritation over stuff they have no control over. Oh, and I drink a lot of booze. Speaking of which, I don't drink any more! I don't drink any less, either. So, it's a good news - bad news thing. It's all bad news on my weight, though--I'm fatter than ever at a couple pounds over 200. I'm relatively healthy otherwise, though, if you ignore (as I do) my rising blood pressure. (They measured it three times before they'd take my blood at the Red Cross this fall, and I think the nurse fudged it to allow the donation--they're desperate.) (Comment on this)
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
10:42 pm	Bob Long, RIP A former neighbor died this week; we went to his funeral service today.  I'm going to unload a little: D and I bought our current house in 1981.  The neighborhood was still dominated by people who'd moved in around WWII; it seemed as though most of the block was 65 or older.  We shared a long, wide driveway with Roy and Nellie Long, both in their late 80s.  Roy bought the house in 1933 and raised his two sons there.  Tom and Bob (everyone called them Tommy and Bobby) came over frequently to check on the old man.  Bob made no secret of his desire to live in the house he was brought up in after Roy's death, and after that occurred (at age 100), Bob and his wife Sylvia did just that. Sylvia is a very nice lady, who sends cards to all her friends and relatives on their birthdays, anniversaries, and major holidays.  But Bob was the talker.  In the 13 years he lived next door (between Roy's death and his selling the house to our current neighbors in 2008), I spent thousands of hours standing in that driveway, talking to him but mostly listening to him.  Oh how he could talk.  He gave advice, much of it good if obvious, and related his life story.  He had five kids of his own, all really nice people, and several grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.  There were times I hesitated to go outside for fear of getting into a long conversation, but he was such a sweetie I seldom begrudged him the time I spent listening.  In this he was similar to his father Roy, who frequently regaled me with tales of "machine gun school" during WWI (he got no closer to Kaiser Wilhelm than Ohio) and other events.  Though always vague (he never remembered my name, for instance), towards the end Roy lost so much mentally that one evening he told me the same one-minute story about how he built his garage five times in a row.  Spooky.  Bob was sharp to the end, though his end came at age 76, of cancer.  We visited him at his daughter's house shortly before his death, and he was as cheerful as any man dying in pain could be expected to be. Anyway, I miss the guy, and am grateful for the years I spent next door to him.  His funeral service was packed.  The presiding minister said Bob "loved his Lord", but in all the thousands of hours he talked to me, Bob never mentioned God or Jesus once, even in passing, that I can recall.  But he did love people, and they loved him. (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 10th, 2009
7:18 pm	Form Is Emptiness, Emptiness Is Form Work's up and down, mostly down these days.  I have a woman on my team who just doesn't want to do anything.  She's reasonably intelligent, and has an unflappable demeanor, but has decided that she's entitled to be paid about $100k a year to do a few hours work each week, and pushes back on every assignment.  I've been indulging her for far too long, and so has her section chief, who's allowed her to "work from home" every Monday and Friday, which slackette has parlayed into two days she doesn't pay for child care.  That's flat against the rules,so the manager is going to make her come in some Fridays.  I've made her the primary on some high-profile applications she was supposedly the backup on, now that the former primary left for a well-deserved promotion.  It took about eight-ten hours of persuasion to convince her that she was actually going to be held responsible for doing this work, and she resents it like crazy, but is too smart to refuse to do it.  We shall see.  My own work ethic is not exactly robust, but I'm Peter Puritan compared to some of the people in my section.  I like getting worthwhile stuff done, and I can usually come through.  My boss (the aforementioned section chief) is great to work for but is feeling some pressure due to some slipped deadlines (on the other team, fortunately) and is on the verge of a crackdown on everyone.  No one wants that, so I'm trying to whip people in line, and do more with fewer people.  It may turn out OK.  Anyway, my boss says she's retiring in a year, and I may not be far behind. I still have a couple of nagging health issues.  Nothing serious, but it's damned annoying.  I have another doctor's appt Tuesday, from which I expect nothing useful to emerge.  I weigh 200 lbs and since I haven't given blood in at least four months I don't know what my blood pressure is.  I drink too much and don't exercise.  My sinuses and lungs are reacting badly to whatever's in the air these days, as often happens this time of year. Soccer is not the easy ride this season that it was in the past.  I have two coaches who are having difficulty dealing with losing games and seem to think it must be the crappy refs or the other team fouling.  The girls don't care half as much as these guys about the W-L record.  Tensions are higher as well because the fees keep rising and the Assn is cracking down on payment.  Jeez, I was a bill collector for three years and I am not going to be one again. Politics is depressing.  I've been lazy this election, and my volunteers have mostly dropped out.  70% of them were there for Obama only, and their enthusiasm for Creigh Deeds (our candidate for Gov) is almost nonexistent.  I have done very very little myself, just delivering the newsletter so far.  Deeds is way behind his opponent, mainly because his campaign is not particularly good, and he's not an articulate man.  I thought before the primaries that the Reps had it pretty much sewn up, but then a paper the Rep (McDonnell) wrote in law school when he was 34 surfaced.  He proposed that Republicans run on a platform that sought to punish "fornicators" and others who weren't modeling the hetero nuclear family behavior he thinks is ideal.  This went public and the race was almost even, but Deeds kept hammering away at the paper until it stopped working and he was perceived as all negative.  Now it's a double digit lead for the bad guys, and we've shot our bolt.  I gotta try, but we all feel it's hopeless at this point. Adam got a fantastic job, one that plays to his strengths and meshes perfectly with his politics.  I think he's on his way.  I'm very happy for him.  Elsewhere in TLIworld, it's much the same.  I spend too much time there, blanketing the place like smog over LA, but I can't stop.  The forums are reasonably busy, and I like that.  Ignoring 60% of what some of our worst posters write has helped me a lot. The family is doing well, but that's probably another post. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 1st, 2009
1:40 pm	I Really Should Retire The silliness at work is getting worse.  We have useful work to do, and my team does it.  But some on my team have a less than Puritan work ethic (they make me look like the human dynamo) and our section chief (whom I really like) is getting annoyed.  OK, we'll see how much good it does.  Management above her is not particularly good.  I think about retiring several times a day.  I hang around largely because I'm not sure how much financial help our kids are going to need, but heck, they can certainly take care of themselves.  I'll be out of there in three years tops. (Comment on this)
Friday, September 18th, 2009
12:58 pm	I Should Retire I'm trying to push myself to do a training plan for my section today.  I haven't placed about a half dozen girls on soccer teams.  And my area coordinator for precinct operations just invited me to a 6 PM (today) strategy session.  Oh yeah, and I'm supposed to pick up one or both daughters because they'll be home this weekend, at about that time.  But what am I doing?  Obsessively following inconsequential threads on TLI.  Argh!  And I'm already drinking. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, August 30th, 2009
12:16 am	Ah, the "more": Work is less fun.  My best team member got promoted (well deserved), and now I have to make sure her coworkers pick up the slack.  On the bright side, the guy who unwisely joined the Army Reserves is back from basic training.  I will load him up with work.  Our branch chief was replaced with a nervous woman who puts pressure on my (wonderful) section chief, which is not good.  And I was unlucky enough to get a high-profile assignment that mainly involves doing and redoing a PowerPoint presentation as my Division director changes his mind about what he wants it to say.  These people aren't stupid, but they definitely seem as though they're trying to convince me they are.  My esteemed employer finally decided that posting on TLI wasn't allowed, so they're blocking the site from work, which is good.  I am less certain that I'll stick it out until I reach 60. I've done nothing in my precinct.  I feel bad about that.  Soon. We had our soccer association board meeting, and my proposed amendments went down 5-9 and 6-8.  OK, now I'll try to make it work the way the other guys want.  It won't be so bad, and if it is, we can change course.  The season starts in three weeks, and I'm unsure how it's going to go.  It could be a fiasco if the powers that be don't ease up on the rules on late fees. J seems ready to start looking for work.  I'd be a lot more anxious than she is if I were unemployed these days. My flowers are looking good, especially the hibiscus.  I will post photos one day.  I often think that I'd be happy just gardening.  I didn't see that coming. D and I are getting along as well as ever, if not better.  I'm not any better a husband, so I guess D must be getting more tolerant.  Maybe she figures I'm incapable of further self-improvement, so she'll settle.  Whatever the reason, I'm happy about it.  I can watch soccer hours a day and I never get asked if there isn't something else I should be doing.  It's quite delightful.  If only Arsenal hadn't lost today... (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 29th, 2009
11:46 pm	Maine and More The week in Maine was great.  The weather couldn't have been better.  The house (or "camp" as they call them) we stayed in was one of the best we've rented.  The boats (kayak and canoe) were fine, and the lake (Pleasant Lake in the Sebago Lakes region of southern Maine) was pretty good for kayaking.  I saw herons, loons, a bald eagle, and kingfishers.  There was a delightful inlet (Greeley Brook) I kayaked up for a couple hundred yards, once hauling the kayak over a fallen tree that blocked navigation.  Beautiful.  And at the opposite end, there was a shallow pond full of water lilies reachable through a large culvert, and a short portage to another, smaller lake with an island in it.  It took a few hours to go either N or S as far as I could paddle and get back, which is perfect.  On the last morning, I paddled out into the mist at dawn and just floated for an hour.  For some reason, it's almost always dead calm in the early morning on those lakes; it's as smooth as glass and almost totally silent.  Later, the wind makes paddling a little more work, and the occasional power boats kick up annoying waves and make noise. We had lots of fun, reading, playing games (hearts, backgammon) and hanging out on the dock.  We even splashed around in the cool (but not really cold) water.  We could walk to the Casco library, where a free computer was available with an internet connection; I did that once, but mostly I stayed away from the net and did not miss it.  I reread a Conan book (Conan the Usurper, which I left up there as a parting gift), A Voyage Long and Strange (I give it one thumb up), a Scientific American, The Fifth Head of Cerberus (a collection of three related stories by Gene Wolfe I consider among the best literature I've ever read), and Buddhist Scriptures (a solid selection translated by Conze), and that got me through the week.  We drove to the Boston suburbs to visit someone D worked with to fix the Senate's clocks.  Wonderful guy, and interesting.  Then we continued that same day to D's friend Laura's place in Leyden MA, N of Greenfield about a mile from the VT border.  Her son Robin was there, and a nicer guy you will never meet.  He taught J how to fish, including fly-casting.  (He is an obsessive fisherman.)  Laura farms on a small scale; we helped out a tiny bit when we were there.  A third pal from VT came down to meet D and Laura--it was the first time she saw D in 35 years. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
11:00 am	Another vacation We're going to Maine for a week soon.  I could do without this but D can't, so we're all going.  I'll try to get as much canoeing and kayaking in as I can.  (Though now I seem to have carpal tunnel syndrome, which may put a crimp in my paddling technique--getting old is not fun.)  I'll be offline for 12 days, which will be a relief to everyone on TLI.  I haunt that place--it's ridiculous. I fired off some comments on the new soccer assn by-laws.  It's more of the usual blatant power grab by the small coterie of retired guys who have seized control and hired staff.  From a decentralized all-volunteer federation of small neighborhood clubs we have grown into a centralized organization with a $200,000 payroll and a rented office.  The registration fee has gone from $25 to $55 in the club I manage in the last six years, all dictated by the central board.  They haven't published the budget for over a year.  These are all nice guys, but they're secretive, self-dealing, and have way too much time on their hands.  It doesn't have to be this difficult.  If I wanted additional backstabbing and intrigue, I could spend more time at work. Speaking of which, I am going to have to buckle down soon.  My team is not clicking on all cylinders, and it's mostly my fault.  I'm two and a half years past retirement age, and maybe I should just get out of the way and let someone else have my grade 14. Unlike a certain whiny stick-figure LJ friend, I really am overweight.  I'm back at 200lbs again.  I'm collecting enough annoying health issues to make life seem about as much trouble as it's worth.  But I'm not as prone to depression as I was just a few months ago.  I can't figure it out either.  Brain chemistry--it's lots of fun.  I still mess with it via alcohol, but have been drinking less this past week.  Wine, and not a lot of that.  I'll probably continue that course during vacation. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
10:36 am	http://www.esnips.com/doc/a9483e9d-e63b-4424-8ad3-847975650b75/11.Charvakan-~-itsrainingforyou@gmail.com A song just for me?  If only I could understand what he's saying about me... (Comment on this)
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
9:18 pm	Healthier! I lost the cough almost two weeks ago.  Just so you know. (Comment on this)
Monday, May 25th, 2009
3:47 pm	Health Proves Elusive, and More I haven't felt completely healthy since I got sick in Paris four weeks ago.  I think I'm over that bug, but as soon as I got back I started coughing and I haven't stopped.  This is very similar to the gunk-lung thing I used to get every fall, which I always attributed to a leaf mold allergy.  (Doctors are completely useless about such things.)  I've already called in sick to work once, and don't want to do it again.  I'm able to do most things around the house, but definitely don't feel up to exercising.  Well, if this is what I used to get, it will probably go away on its own in a week or two, I hope. I live in what has to be the world's best neighborhood.  The newest arrivals, our next door neighbors, threw a party yesterday and the place was jumping.  A dozen little kids raced around playing, jumping up on the neighbors' Vespa collection and posing (I took pictures), and drawing with sidewalk chalk on our huge shared blacktop driveway.  The adults drank and joked, and of course there was a lot of great food.  (Three of our neighbors started a catering company, and many of the rest are good cooks too.)  As usual, I drank too much too fast, but I had a good time.  I didn't last as long as the party, though. I'm on the verge of abandoning my opposition to the clique trying to force their wills on the youth soccer association.  I don't think they're taking it in the right direction, but they have seized control of the board and are simply dictating to the rest of us, albeit with a thin gloss of pretending to take what we say into account before they do the opposite.  It's almost never the case that one side's all right and the other all wrong, and they clearly care more than I do about it, because they spend amazing amounts of time conspiring and strategizing behind everyone else's back.  I want to stay involved, but it will be in a less influential capacity, which is just fine with me.  All I want to do is help form the teams and then watch the games anyway.  If I let the plotters win, I won't have to go to the big meetings anymore.  I suspect that their way will work, but we'll end up with fewer players because of the salaries of the staff they hired, which force higher registration fees. I need to step up my game at work, and right now I lack the energy--and the staff.  Retirement is looking better and better. TLI is becoming boring to me.  I find myself making silly jokes to amuse myself.  One contributor is posting his amateur short stories, and they're a bit disturbing for their violence, the more so since he admits they're partly autobiographical.  Some people apparently went through hell growing up. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
9:59 am	Paris and London I don't usually get enthused about travel.  There were few "wow" moments on this trip.  I'm sure I'd feel more positive about these 16 days had D and I not gotten an intestinal bug a few days in that hung on for most of the rest of the trip.  It definitely put a crimp in our plans.  I did like both cities, and we saw what we wanted to see and had time to amble around Paris too.  Here are a few pictures:  http://s38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/charvakan/Paris%20London%202009/ As a kid, I had a thing for Napoleon.  In high school French class, I took that name (we all had to take a French name).  So Napoleon's tomb was on my list.  Boy did they love that guy.  The walls around the tomb were covered with high relief, life-sized friezes of an idealized Napoleon (I'm pretty sure he didn't look like Adonis) and generic/iconic figures in togas, all extolling his achievements.  I was a little surprised at all the places in Paris that were named after his military victories, like Gare d'Austerlitz.  This may be heresy, but while I liked Paris a lot, I thought it had a bit of a theme park air about it.  Not like Venice, but still, a sense of self-consciousness that it was a special place that always had its makeup on and was ready for its closeup.  (I get some of the same feeling about Washington DC, my home metro area.)  No problem with that, but London seemed more like a "real city" to me, whatever that means.  And I want to state in as strong terms as possible that I found the Parisians to be unfailingly polite and helpful.  Not once did I get the impression anyone was snubbing me or trying to make us feel unwelcome.  What they are is businesslike.  The waiters/waitresses want to take your order, not have a long conversation about what everything is that ends in your telling them to come back later.  I like that.  The pharmacies were everywhere, and every one sold homeopathic remedies, along with an astonishing array of creams and other beuty products and some actual medicine, which they felt free to prescribe on the spot.  I went to one decent-sized pharmacy to buy talcum powder, and not seeing it on the shelves, told one of the half-dozen employees "Je cherche le talc."  After they established that it was for me and not a baby, they researched their inventory and sent someone upstairs to get it.  A few minutes later, I had my three Euro worth of powder. Paris is very child-friendly, and they sure do love their dogs.  There are apparently no pooper-scooper laws on the books, though, so you need to watch your step. We were very fortunate in that one of J's classmates was going to be out of town, and we stayed in her apt. in the 5e arrondisement, a perfect location.  It was close to a metro stop (everything in center city Paris is close to a metro stop) and it was cheap--we covered the rent for that period, which came to about $400 for half a month.  No real shower, but a stove and refrigerator.  We spent an absurd amount of money for our hotel in London, though. Nearly all Parisian waiters were French; nearly all London service staff were from Eastern Europe.  Belarus's major export seems to be desperate people. I may throw in some more random stories and comments, but this is it for now.  (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
7:10 pm	In Two Days, I'll Be on a Plane to Paris I've never been to Paris.  I'm getting excited.  I have no plans--that's what Deborah does.  I'll live the life of a boulevardier, strolling down the Champs-Elysee looking as French as I can, given my paunch, lame wardrobe, and bad haircut.  I did buy a ridiculously expensive sports jacket (the ones I have are all many years old, but of course not worn, because they're not worn frequently), so I should get points for trying not to look like a complete shlub.  I have to stop internetting and get my last-minute stuff done.  But after I write this: The soccer season started well.  All five games were played with full teams, with some borrowing. Work is too hectic.  There will be problems.  But what's a team leader to do?  On top of it all, we're going to get reorganized.  I hope I don't lose my boss.  She's fabulous. Health is just OK.  The nagging issues are still nagging.  I'm going to try to use the change in habits forced by this trip, and the expense of everything in Paris and London, to force myself to eat and drink less.  I weigh 200 pounds now, which is ridiculous.  I'm in serious jeopardy of losing my "beautiful people" status. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, April 5th, 2009
2:27 am	Missing Von Bork I watched "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" on TCM a few days ago, and just saw "This Is Spinal Tap".  Who else would understand? (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, March 27th, 2009
10:20 pm	I Guess It's Time ...to post again.  So, here's the Cliff's Notes version: Work's OK, but getting too busy.  The newest guy on my team decided to join the Army Reserves (no one could talk him out of it) and will be out for five months, so the rest of us are covering.  It's not that the work is hard, it's that so much of it consists of participation in meetings (calls, really) that someone has to attend.  There aren't enough of us sometimes. I'm still doing the work from home thing two days a week, which is really sweet.  I can go whole days without putting on shoes.  Soccer is becoming aggravating.  There are cabals and plots galore among the adults running the program, and once again teams are forming that don't have enough players to make it through the season at full on-field strength.  I'm donating ten to fifteen hours a week to soccer now, and I don't see a letup soon. Paris in four weeks!  I will not be ready. Gotta do my taxes tomorrow, and my kids'. TLI is slow, which is OK. I'm pretty happy with Obama so far.  I was not expecting Leon Trotsky. I weigh more than I ever have before--close to 205.  I will start looking for a recumbent bike when I get back from Europe.  I have a nagging health issue of which I will spare you the lurid details.  It's enough to take the shine off life a lot of the time, but not enough to make it a burden.  Last week I convinced myself I had a heart problem, and didn't know if that was good or bad.  Now, I think I was wrong, and I don't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed.  I'm hitting the sauce too much again, after a couple of weeks of abstinence most days. Arsenal and Juventus are doing well, so sports is an upper.  I can't get into this "March Madness" thing.  I find myself rooting against the religious schools but not caring much about the other games.  It's on right now, but I can't be bothered to watch it.  Maybe later. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, February 12th, 2009
1:01 pm	SportsBeat (This is my first contribution to TreacerBullet's virtual newspaper.  He made me sports editor and I am anxious to keep the gig.) When I was in college in the early 1970s, frisbees were already pretty damned popular.  We'd occasionally play what we called "frisbee football", a game in which one can advance the disk towards the goal only by throwing it to a teammate.  Essentially the same game has evolved into Ultimate, which is played by millions around the world today.  Here's the way the Ultimate Player's Association defines the game: "Player defined and controlled non-contact team sport played with a flying disc on a playing surface with end zones in which all actions are governed by the 'Spirit of the Game™.'" ( http://www.upa.org/ultimate ) Yeah, that's right:  no referees.  The players call their own fouls, and from what I've seen, they are honest about it.  Afterwards, the players from both teams play silly games (which could involve drinking--my daughter knows exactly how many ounces of beer a regulation disk holds) or treat each other to silly cheers.  (Sample:  "El Camino, El El Camino, the front is like a car, the back is like a truck, the front is where you drive, the back is where you--El Camino, El El Camino...")  In high school and college, ultimate is a club sport, operating outside NCAA rules.  Tournaments are thrown like parties, except for the regional and national ones held under the auspices of the UPA.  But even there, there's a "spirit award" for the team with the best esprit and sportsmanship in addition to the championship.  Anyway, I visited my daughter Audrey on February 7 at the College of William and Mary to see a tournament her club hosted.  Originally, there were to have been four teams, but one dropped out; this is not considered a problem in ultimate.  The three teams played each other, and there was a fourth game between teams composed of members of all the teams (known as a "hat game" because the players' names could be drawn from a hat).  The following is the story on that tournament I am respectfully submitting to Barkus Mallarkus, my esteemed editor. _______________________________________________________________________________ William and Mary Women Host, Win Ultimate Tournament Temperatures in the 50s made William and Mary's inaptly named "Cold as the Dickens" invitational tournament more comfortable than expected.  Virginia Commonwealth and Radford joined W&M's Motherhuckers (to "huck" is to throw the disk far down the field) in a crisply played, fast moving series of games.  Despite breezy conditions, the passing was accurate and a fair number of hucks found their targets downfield. The first game saw W&M leap out to a big lead over Radford in the first half.  The underclassmen in W&M's large squad played the game on more even terms with the guests in the second half to complete a 15-9 win. VCU was the only team to have beaten W&M last season, and that clash was the most anticipated of the tournament.  VCU sent a small (only one substitute) but highly skilled group to Williamsburg, and W&M sent their strongest seven onto the field to start the game.  Unexpectedly, W&M posted the first four points with an impressive display of teamwork and individual skill.  Clearly, having played in the first game served to warm up the W&M players.  VCU settled down after that and gave as good as they got.  At halftime, it was 8-4.  VCU's eight didn't slow down despite W&M's greater numbers; in fact, they seemed to get stronger as the game wore on.  After the break, the teams traded points.  W&M shuttled players in and out to keep fresh, but were forced to leave their surest handlers in most of the time lest VCU get back in the game, which they threatened to do several times.  In the end, however, the teams split the second-half points and W&M secured a 15-11 win in fine style. If the well-rested Radford thought VCU had been worn down by their hardfought loss, they were quickly disillusioned.  VCU started slowly, but after trading points to 4-3, they pulled away and the outcome was not in doubt.  The hat game featured loose but stylish play from all concerned.  Caution, and the disk, was thrown to the winds--literally--and the players raced up and down the field with abandon.  This game was nearly as interesting, from a spectator's perspective, as the second game. Radford has some building to do if it is to become competitive with the W&Ms and VCUs.  VCU may provide a model, though.  Last year, it was not nearly as strong.  They didn't have enough on the squad to have full scrimmages, so they decided to practice with the men's ultimate team.  The tougher competition improved their game tremendously.  They and W&M have high hopes for the UPA regional tournament this spring, but competition is fierce.  Ultimate is very popular, and there are many strong clubs. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
11:27 am	Marriage There was a cute movie on TCM a few days ago:  "Double Harness" from 1933 starring the magnificent William Powell and lovable but forgotten Ann Harding.  The plot need not detain us, but the message was worth thinking about.  Both lead characters learned that marriage is romance and it's business, and that both partners need to pull their weight and respect the other's contribution.  I'm not a shipping magnate, but I did identify with the Powell character, and not just because we're both handsome, charming alcoholics.  I too had some lessons to learn about marriage, but I think I finally absorbed them.  I also was very fortunate to have married the woman I did. (Comment on this)