Playing Catch Up

OK, I did skip a few days in this blogging binge that I promised.  We are now resuming our regularly scheduled programming.

I am no fan of Christmas due to the really bad thing of being told to leave and not come back in December 1987.  I just saw my first ad for something Christmas-y today.  It just makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs.  And it is not just the fact that I don't like Christmas.  I feel we are getting way ahead of the game here because here are the US Holidays that come before Christmas.

• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Halloween (OK not a holiday but something to celebrate)
• Veteran's Day
• Thanksgiving

And here are the Mexican ones.

• Independence Day
• Day of the Dead (Another something to Celebrate)
• Revolution Day

In short, I would appreciate it if the holiday hype would wait until after the holidays that were ahead of it.

In other news.

I just got through my first dust storm.  I thought it was a thermal inversion but learned otherwise.  

So, we will see what else transpires.

Bounce Rock Skate and Roll

I was filling out a questionnaire related to the fact it has been 30 years since I graduated with my BA.

I mentioned a professor who is no longer among us as one of my favorites.

Here's why.

He taught accounting but was really creative on the names for the companies.  A lot of them were related to pop culture in one way, shape or form.  That always stuck out in my mind, and when I taught a class in business writing I always had to make up the name of the company someone was writing to.

The best example of this was when I told the class that the name of the company they were writing to was called, "Dog and Butterfly."  After initial confusion, I mentioned that the founders were into rocker chicks.  Those who knew what I was talking about latched on.  It made the rest of the exercise fun for all.

On a related note.  I know I missed a day.  I will double up to make up for it.

We're in the YouTube Generation

And theIbackground music for the title comes from Pepsi commercials in the 1960s.

That said, one of my favorite subjects since I was in college was the idea that information is constantly being democratized.

What I mean is that from movable type forward we have made information more and more accessible to the masses.  And if you don't believe me, go to Mexico where everyone and their mother has a smartphone.

That said, I made my first guest appearance on a YouTube channel.  I don't know if I will do videos for this blog, but after seeing one other migration it might be an idea worth pursuing.

But that means hair, makeup and staging, and if I have to do that, I may have to go back to Baja where the hair stylists do a number on my hair.

More to come.

Feast or famine?

One of the things I need to get used to is that every business has its off season, and that I just finished going through a two week dry spell.  That means that I didn't make much money over the past two weeks.

It also means I have to plan a little better for dry spells.

More to come.

Karma wins

I just got off a Growlr date.

It was your basic blow and go with a married man.

OK, not so basic.  The married man had is first weekend away since February from caregiving for a husband who is suffering from Alzheimer's. Knowing what that one is all about, I gave him a super big bonus hug.

It is the second time this year that some weird encounter seemed to happen for a reason.  That is how I met Rick's grand nephew and family that I knew of but never met thanks to the poor relations between Rick's parents.

At least the next shrink appointment will be interesting.

Happy Belated US Independence Day (Hebrew Calendar Version)

Here is the weird factoid of the day.

In 1776 CE, July 4 and Tammuz 17 were on the same day.  Which means that on the day the walls of Jersualem were breached (on two occasions) the US declared it's independence.

Also, like last year, this year Tammuz 17 is on Shabbat which means the fast is postponed one day to Tammuz 18.  Depending on the rabbi, Rick died on Tammuz 18 or 19 because it was between sunset and nightfall.  Legally it would be Tammuz 19 because that was the time of death that was fixed by the coroner.

What I want to know is this.  Does Rick's date of death vis a vis what is observed on the Tammuz 17 (or 18 this year) have any significance?

I should ask a Rabbi for an answer.

What a do nothing day.

I really didn't feel like doing any work today, so I did what I needed to do.

I'm also thinking of making it a point to blog every day for three weeks straight starting on Sunday paralleling The Three Weeks in the Hebrew calendar.  It will be an opportunity to take a look and reflect not only about what could have been done better in the past, but also how I will build on it to make a better future.

It promises to be interesting.

It's Always Sir

Get your mind out of the gutter now.  We are not talking about Dominance and Submission.

We're talking about the fact that ever since I have become a widower, everyone refers to me as, "Sir."

The clerk at the grocery store says, "Thank you, sir."

The trainman who scans my ticket says, "Thank you, sir, and enjoy your trip on Amtrak today."

The bartender at the restaurant says, "Here is the menu, would you like to know what are specials are today, sir?"

The freindly, nieghborhood gangbanger who saw that I noted his rosary tattoo said, "Good afternoon sir, what you you think?"

You get the idea.

I have decided to be serene about the whole thing and accept the fact that thanks to experience and grey hair I will be addressed as, "Sir," no matter what.

But it still take some getting used to.

Cost of living good news and bad news

First the good news.  My workspace lease ends August 31, and I got my free month.  Because it is no longer the right situation right now, I will not renew.  That means cash flow will improve.

But the rent on my storage locker went up.

I have yet to decide what I am going to do to about that one.  I'll know more after a year.

I do know this.  If the situation financially improves, if there is a place in Tijuana I want to rent (or even buy if it were that reasonable) I would spring for it.  I saw a place that was snapped up quickly and the only issue for me was that the place was unfurnished.  Which means buying a cooktop, a toaster oven, a fridge and some furniture to make the place work.  I should have at least called before it was snapped up just to see what it was like.

But at this point, there is the rest of the summer and I don't have any Mexico commitments until October.

So, lets see what it all brings.  Shall we?

It's really been a year

One year ago today Rick passed away.

I find it hard to believe that it has gone by.

I note that life for me has changed a lot, and will probably change some more.  I have made one big decision in that I will split my time between Tijuana and Desert Hot Springs for the next year while I decide what to do for a permanent home.  That means another year of having San Diego as an official base and another year of stuff in a storage locker.

I also decided a celebratory meal was in order.  Rick would have loved the thought of going out for albondigas like his grandmother used to make in beautiful Tijuana.

He then would have given me one of those looks if he wound up in the Vietnamese place I just had to try.  It's called Pequeña Saigon in the Zona Rio.  The albondigas pho isn't at all bad.  I had a great time.

So now it's on to the second year of Post Rick.