I had a few minor issues with my life over the past few days that needed to be corrected.  On Monday night I removed my phone from its charger and fumbled it.  The world started moving in slow motion as I started to panic and grab for the descending piece of equipment.  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be and it landed straight on the screen.  I was praying as I turned it over hoping for no crack but it cracked in about 1,000 spots.  I’d take a picture but taking a picture of a phone with the same phone proves challenging.

Last week I wrote a post about my elbow cyst and today was the day I get it checked out.  The appointment was at 9:30 so I decided to turn the day into a sales trip for our line of paint scrapers.  I was up at 6am and visited 5 stores before I arrived for my appointment.  I’ll get more into this in the future but we’ve designed a covering for a scraper that will help it sell at the store level which is actually a talking point when I visit these stores.

The appointment was scheduled with a babe doctor.  I whipped out my…elbow and she stuck a needle in it and drained out the fluid.  It was only about half drained and the sample was sent to a lab for further review.  It was fairly gross.

After getting the elbow looked at I ventured to the mall and found 2 places that would repair the screen.  One for $120 and the other for $180.  I thought to myself I could negotiate a better deal with Verizon.  I had already accomplished this months earlier but I don’t expect this situation to be run of the mill because I have no insurance and they have me in a tough spot with my upgrade being in 2016.

I was also there to replace the jacket that I wear everyday that was lost on Saturday night.  I’m a weird person in that I have to have a jacket that I like but won’t pay $300 dollars for.  The only one I’ve found is a Jos. A Bank black coat that’s a hundred bucks and nice.  I will buy a 3rd same style coat in 2 years.

After all of today I’m still down a coat and have a cracked screen on my phone but have game plans for both.  I hate writing posts like this that document my life but they are easy to write and I haven’t had the time to post in a while so this buys me some time.

After going 4-0 on the first round of NFL Playoff games, I was feeling pretty confident.  My $100 dollars made me $250 and I was ready to come out firing.  I put $150 down on the Ravens at +7 which won without too much of a worry.  Next was the Seattle game and I convinced myself that 13 points was too many which proved incorrect.  Fortunately I only put $60 on it so I was ahead for the day.

The next game was the Packers which I was incorrect on for a $75 dollar wager. I bombed back on the Colts for a C-note to put me in the black for 2 straight days.  I also should add that the Shee gave me a Terps pick in college bball which covered me for $45.  This has me up $390 going into the NCAA championship game.  I put $90 on Oregon -7 but I got it at +105.  I know nothing about NCAAF so this is a complete dart throw.

The weekend was mildly tame as I didn’t go nuts on Friday.  This allowed me to wake up early on Saturday, work out, and feel good for the games.  A highlight was after the Shee put his ball 2 ft from the hole on playoff hole #2, I dropped a hole in one.  This is Mario Golf mind you.  I should have some good posts throughout the week but I’m a little foggy mentally.  It will clear up tomorrow.

I can only think of a few times in my life where I was in perfect harmony. I was in a place of total relaxation and the environment was the cause of the peace of mind. This rarely occurs because it can never happen when I’m working or have the thought of having to work. Also the place is important because it usually won’t happen within your routine.

Key West
This was 2 years ago when my friend, the Rock, and I drove to Key West. I remember waking up on a Saturday morning and heading to the hotel pool. I was lying on a raft in the middle of the pool starring up at the sun. It was a perfect 80 degrees and thought it was paradise. This was prior to getting on a motor scooter for the first time and gripping the accelerator blasting forward into a stop sign.

Roxborough High School Track
Fitting that another time happened on a track considering how many pointless miles have been run without going anywhere. Anyway, it was a snowy day and I decided to go for a run. I was living in Manayunk and the track was only 3/4 of a mile away. When I arrived there was no one on the track and the stadium lights were on. The track had a thin layer of snow and I can’t remember exactly what I did but I’m sure I ran some laps. When I was finished I laid down on my back and looked up at the sky. There was a light snow coming down and I laid there not hot or cold and just felt perfect.

Austrian Alps
This time was on a trip to Austria. I was scared to death to go skiing because I suck and the Alps aren’t a place to learn. At least that’s what I thought. Once I got going it wasn’t so bad and this picture was taken at the top of one of the mountains. It was a perfect day and I felt great being in an atmosphere that some people never get the opportunity to have. It makes me want to go back.

We live in a world where it is impossible not to interact with other people.  I was raised with good manners and I know right from wrong but being a human being that consistently delivers among their peers is quite challenging.  Over the past few days I’ll share some interactions that stay on my mind.

Neighbor Jeff and Leaves 

Since leaves started to fall, a pile had amassed in front of my house on the sidewalk.  It was probably 4 feet x 6 feet wide.  It was the only area on the entire street that had any leaves and this was because there isn’t a single tree aside from across my house.  A few weeks ago I collected 2 trash bags full and pretty much forgot about it with there being about 60% remaining.  This Saturday, my neighbor cleaned the leaves and left the trash bag in front of my house in a passive aggressive manner.  The leaves bothered me 0.  They obviously bothered him.  Now it’s just weird and I’m hoping it blows over and he leafs me alone.

Dunkin Bum

There is a bum at Dunkin who I routinely see.  I’d have to guess I’m in the top 95% of people who give him money.   Today he asked for a doughnut.  I didn’t buy him one.   To his credit he doesn’t ask me every single time I see him but I probably give him 50 bucks the entire year.

NYE Bail Out

I feel genuinely disappointed leaving the New Years party early.  I have a friend who comes down to Philly to hang out with me and I’ve probably bailed with no explanation the last 3 times.  There’s nothing I can say to excuse it and I’ll develop the reputation of you can’t depend on this guy.  Which is true as long as everyone is aware this is the case.  Problem is they aren’t.

Jeff’s Bday

It was Jeff’s birthday this weekend and we didn’t meet up to celebrate.  I see him at work (and home) more than any other person I interact with but it just feels like we should have got together and shot the shit on his birthday.  I feel like this scenario happens often where I’ll have some people doing one thing and others doing another and it’s impossible to make everyone happy.  Most likely he doesn’t give a shit about it but it’s still something I think about.  Same thing happened with Sam when he came down on New Year’s day.  I should have hung out as he doesn’t make his way to the city that often and we don’t hang out as often as I feel we probably could.

He’s a friendly ghost.

I’ve developed a defense mechanism that after I catch a buzz where I’m “too drunk”, I casper.  Caspering is leaving a party or bar without telling anyone.  It’s a weird move to people who don’t ever get “too drunk”.  Common comments would be, What the fuck?  Where did he go?  That’s rude!.

With my checkered past I basically leave places when I want to leave.  I can’t tell you why I want to leave them but there’s a feeling that says it’s time to go and I split.  The reason I do this is to stay out of trouble which is counter intuitive because being by yourself when you are too drunk doesn’t make a lot of sense.  Nothing bad happened so don’t worry.

I spent a boatload to go to this fancy party at the Crystal Tea Room.  I went to a bar crawl the night before where I drank mostly beer and felt fine on Thursday.  I ate some Boston Market at 2pm and knew my eating schedule was off.  The fancy party served food but I made the mistake of leaning more towards the drinks.  By 11 pm I was on the dance floor looking around and it was filled with couples making out.  I can’t remember exactly but at that point I said enough and left.   Complete waste of money.

The Jack and cokes did a number on me too because my head was ringing the next day.  Steve invited me to brunch and then downtown both of which I declined in order to recover.  I could have went another day but it would have set me back in feeling good again.  I’d like to think I made a smart decision but instead I did virtually nothing yesterday and wasted an entire day.

My favorite JC pic

When I woke up this morning I was feeling better and went to work.  This is weird but I actually like work.  It gives me structure.  It makes me productive.  Being 31 I’ve done the partying.  I know what it’s like to go to bars and stay out late getting hammered.  I’m sure I’ll do the same tonight and complain tomorrow but for today, it’s the entry.

Hey Little Guy

Laura and Brookes are away for a couple days and gave me the responsibility of watching their cat Ruby. I know everyone loves cats so I might as well write a post about the cat terror that occupies Bonsall St.

The last line could not be further from the truth because Ruby is really a sweetheart. Always curious but lovable and would never harm a fly.  I’m not a huge pet guy but I enjoy this little girl’s company.

I apologize in advance for the horrible Dr. Evil but this is the funniest line of the movie.

One thing I learned though is that I have no desire to own a pet. I visit Ruby twice a day for about a half hour each visit and am left to wonder what the cat does for the other 23 hours. With no ability to take care of herself, I seriously feel bad when I leave her alone for hours on end.

I imagine the cat exploring every inch of the apartment but how many inches are there after months of exploring?  I suppose she may sleep a lot but this cat is more of a doer than a sleeper.  I’m sure she enjoys her physical exercise as shown below.

Her dexterity is high but endurance is low. This is probably the highlight of her day. Brookes is concerned her claws scratch the floor but her enjoyment level is so intense that I like to keep her energy level high. Only one more day left and she’s still ticking!