8 years ago, you’ll hear a lot of that today. But 8 years ago seems like a lifetime, and its getting closer to being one. This is my experiance. I was in Philadelphia Attending Temple University as a Junior.It was a beautiful Tuesday morning and i had just gotten out of weight lifting class. Class ended at 9:40. There was an odd buzz in the air as i saw my then girlfriend, now wife walking towards me.
“Did you hear? she said” Then the day sped up at a lightn ing pace. First reports of a horrific plane crash, then an attack. We stood in the middle of 13th street in front of the Campus library. There was a bright yellow honda civic parked on the street, the type thats all chromed out, and souped up with a loud irritating stereo. This day that car had a crowd of people standing around it, the doors and trunk open wide to let the sound carry. The radio was blasting the sounds of news radio. The driver sitting in the car dumbfounded.
All around us people where trying to use their cell phones to call their parents. A small group of us wanted to see if we could find a TV. Jen, Myself and her friend Dan walked into Mitten hall where they had a Tv set to project on a big screen to watch the news unfold. We saw the second tower collapse on that TV then tried to make it home.
SEPTA, the transit company, had shut down the regional rail lines going in or coming out of the city while we were on the train. The train stopped in a tunnel and the conductor came over head and said our train was being check for bomb. across the aisle a young woman already jumpy broke down hysterically crying. An older gentleman in a buisness suit sat down next to her arm around her and told her everything was going to be ok. He slowly rocked her until the train got going again.
The rest of the day was spent either getting home through throngs of scared people, taking half heard bits of news and trying to formulate an opinion or make a plausible one up. Everyone has a story, but there are some that got cut short that day.
Tell your story of then, or reach out to those that are important to you. Please read Chris Penn’s Challeneg for the Day, if you had but one hour who would you write to, and what would you say.
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I want to know what the fascination with people watching me walk the dog is. Kids snicker as i pick the poo up, bag in hand. I feel like old man-ning it and flipping around to give them what for, but thats not going to work, no would it end well.
For some reason i see an uptick in kids who go to great lengths to be seen. Whilst walking the pup last week I was followed by a band of morons sitting in an office chair scooting it down the street… signing. When I looked at the kid in question he had a big toothy grin on his face and sang louder. It doesn’t bother me that he’s an attention seeking teenager. What i can’t seem to grasp is why the gang he was with thought it was hilarious to sing louder when i turned around to see what the noise was.
I’m no stranger to acting out in teenage years, having been quite the irritant. But i guess i just don’t get it anymore.
These are the things i think about when i’m followed by morons.
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Despite my tales of walking the dog getting stopped a little short as I watch the neighborhood hoodlums act out in the last gasps of summer this won’t be one of those posts.
Walking to the gym during work the other day I was met by a friend who I’ve worked near for about 6 years now. And this is what he said to me…
“GodDAMN boy… you put on some mutherf#@kin weight! you a’ight?” How does one respond to this. Well first off he was right, I’m much bigger than I was in January when he saw me last. That was one abdominal surgery and a broken hand ago, we like to call that springtime around here. I don’t do well in keeping myself out of injuries way during the spring.But I’m done with excuses.
I’m not offended, if anything I’m hoping to walk by my friend as I continue going back to the gym now that its open once more. I’ll think of his comment whenever the fridge door sneaks open late at night.
My response? “Hell yeah I put on some weight, and thats why I’m on my way to the gym.” to which he responded
“Aight man go get your sweat on.”
Sweat I will, I think I need more people like this guy around. Call them like you see them people, if you don’t mind.
Tags: call them like you see them · called out · friends
So I’ve heard recently that walking is actually a treatment for depression. I don’t have depression, but walking the pooch of late has been helping me clear the cobwebs out something awesome. One our nightly constitutionals I’ve been seeing some thigns, I’m gonna have to start sharing.
Alright now its bee a while since I’ve had a dog but what is with all these people walking their massive dogs, Doberman’s Mastiffs ect without leashes… and then eyeballing me and getting all huffy because they can’t control their dog while my little mutt is around. I have a leash… you’re being the ass.
Also petite women who walk massive dogs, even with the leash if your pooch isn’t trained you shouldn’t be walking it. I’m sorry but I’ve seen too many petite ladies of late getting pulled down the street after a squirrel or errant pigeon. If your dog is closer to horse size you might want to consider training them… just saying.
I have plenty of stories, and more coming out each night so stay tuned for some good ones.
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I have a ton of ideas. The problem is that being a perfectionist, and a self conscious one at that i don’t want to release anything into the wild that isn’t my best work. Which leaves a lot of possibly interesting projects on the cutting room floor.
The only time i pushed through was when i started the CaffiNation Podcast, i pushed through for over 40 episodes before it matured into something i can not only be proud of, but that i enjoy doing. I guess I need to find a way to put the lightning back into the bottle and try again with some of these miscellaneous projects that keep piling up into the ideas folder, without ever making it out the door.
I have found that the courage to drop a new idea onto the world often gets overtaken by my fear of failure… Guess I have something to work on from here on out.
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Google Wave is coming, and its going to be neat,
so as part of the signup they suggested you write some poetry. Here are my offerings at a Haiku, (1) and a poorly formed, begging sonnet (2)
1.)
Communication
Connects us to each other
Humanity’s Gift
2.)
In this diverse world we find ourselves in,
Communication is our only link,
A Tense connectivity on the brink,
Of real interaction beyond our kin.
Like minded people flock to a feather,
A simple solution begs to be found,
Where do we find this hidden, common ground,
A Nebulous place fickle as weather.
Social Networking, faddish term its true,
Yet it speaks to a longing for meaning,
A Subtle whisper, gentle leaning,
Towards community with very small clues.
Online world, changing from city to cave
I would like an invite to google wave!
Just wanted to share with the group. Vogon Stlye
Nothin’ says lovin’ like sharing bad poetry
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I love stupid mind games, anything to help pass the time while my physical body is stuck some place, doctors appointment, walking the dog etc.
I used to play a game where you would change the victor of a past war or conflict and see what going forward would shift. Got pretty interesting but more often than not everyone became a nazi, and things got bad.
My newest mental gymnastic is to transpose characters from one movie onto another, by the same actor. Now watch the movie with the transposed character taking the scenes.
Need an example? Take Dr Octopus played by Alfred Molina in Spiderman 2. Alfred also played Bishop Manuel Aringarosa in the Davinci Code. Now Imagine the sinister bishop with metal arms at a key point of the movie…
Sticking with the extrapolation you could substitute Tom Hanks’ character Professor Robert Langdon with Forrest Gump, or for more a challenge Jimmy Dugan from A League of Their Own. So now you either have an epic battle of wits between an ordained evil mad scientist and a serendipitous challenged symbolist, or a cantankerous drunk college professor.
The more characters you sub in and out the more interesting it can get. Christopher Lambert always ends up an an immortal for some reason. Highlander and Mortal Combat, give Raiden a Sword and there you go.
Last one Take Ramierez from the Highlander and add him into Bond movies, its always a hoot. You can’t beat Bond he just doesn’t die!
I didn’t say it would be earth shattering but these are the type of things i think about while stuck in traffic. Enjoy
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You want to know the secret of my power? Its not coffee as you would expect. Come a little bit closer…
Its shoes. I don’t collect them or buy expensive ones. I need to wear them to function. If I spend the day sitting around the house without them on you can bet you bottom dollar not much got done. I can’t explain what trigger lies deep within my head that says when my feet are covered its time to get things done. But it is real and exists.
So today as my last day home from an extended medical leave from the office. I put the shoes on in the hopes of getting some writing done. Hey this article alone puts me over the average from the last week combined… which is really sad. Otherwise I’m a world champion duff sitter.
Cup of coffee in hand and a pair of sneakers on my feet I’m ready to tackle the world. or at least give it a good run for its money. Wish me luck.
Tags: duff · Shoes · TKOB
That much is true. I’m generally able to bounce back rather quickly from surgery, injury or pretty much anything life has thrown at me up to this point. Which is why i sit here in my PJ pants dumbfounded. My mind feels fine, when i don’t move i feel fine. but as soon as i move everything goes back to the surgery from last week.
I had a surgery to remove a cyst / tumor from my body last week, the cyst was in a very sensitive area and i was quite embarrassed about it for a while. the good news was that it wasn’t cancer! which is all the news i should need, the bad news is that i still need to recover from the actual surgery to remove it.
I’ve had a ton of surgeries in my life, so many i forget them when I’m giving a medical history. At this point i can’t remember if its 12 or 15, mostly orthopedic. I’m already on my second chart in my general practitioners office, and I’m only 29. Other people have a lot more serious issues wrong with them than i do, with me its just an accumulation of small issues over the years.
Right before surgery on an otherwise well body i always take a mental step back and think to myself ‘alright Paul this is going to be the best you feel for the next couple weeks… are you ready?’ the answer is never yes but the surgery always goes off as planned.
So i now sit in another forced period of recuperation thinking i should be able to do more than I can but not being able to. I’ll try to write to pass the time, i still have a good start on a book that needs to be finished but i can’t sit too long either… sigh Video games here i come
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My wife and I suffer from the same issue. More often than not the weather has a tendency to affect our mood in rather dramatic fashions. Rainy weekends are horrible all around and dark dreary weekdays even more so.
This past weekend had one lone spot of difference I spent Sunday morning fishing, in the rain. It has been said that a bad day fishing is better than a good day working. Sunday proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt. After returning home I kept my messy clothes on and spent some time in the backyard planting flowers in the rain and playing with my son in the mud. The only thing i didn’t do was mow the lawn, because i wasn’t fixing to get electrocuted.
Meet Larry, the new denizen of our garden. I shouldn’t get so excited about a silly garden gargoyle, but i did. I felt more than a little recharged, i just wished that the effect had carried over into the week.
Monday was no different weather wise still rainy, still miserable. But for some reason i couldn’t shake it. I think i need to start going back to the gym at lunch spread my wings a bit. Or keep a picture of Larry on the desktop
Tags: Fishing · Gardening
