New Month New Post

I got to get better than I am doing at keeping up with this blog. I mean there has to be a way to keep up. I know, I know, I just got to do it. Thank you Nike.
Anyway, there seems to be lots going on but while it is happening I don't really see it.
The library changed the way we accumulate and use vacation time so for the next year we have tons of vacation and the year after also lots (but not as much). So it looks like the next year will have at least two go-away vacations. Places on the fantasy list so far are Rome, Ireland, Hawaii, Bermuda and Sicily. Next year is definitely Israel. Sharon has been saying "Israel 2010" for the last year now. For that one we will include Petra, Jordon as a add on.
Oh yeah, this summer Sharon and I will also go down to Islamorada, Fla. with Michael and Alex for 3 or 4 days. I wanted to do it myself for a couple of reasons. One is that if I went with just them we could do it in just one room. It is cheaper and I could also be with them more. Sharon pointed out that if something happened (sickness) to one of them I could do stuff with the other one. This trip is to try and be even more a part of their lives. I see them a lot but it is always with family stuff going on. I want to show them a good time and do some stuff that is exciting and fun without video games. I want to take them snorkeling and maybe para sailing and show them some of the beauty of nature. There are places that they can easily be in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Atlantic Ocean just by crossing the street and I think that is darn cool. Also the water,fishes and clouds are amazing here . The para sailing might be too much reality for them though. I guess we will see when the time comes.

Electricity, work and time off

------+++465-*


Nope, the thing above is what happens when you decide to shake out your keyboard. No fooling!


Anyway I wanted to talk about work and unions. You would think that the union would poll employees about major changes being offered. This is something they should do just to assure it's members that there is/isn't something to worry about. But no, our union did what it did and then is surprised when there is a backlash. Totally clueless.



I am off for next couple of days because you have to use a certain amount of vacation days by the end of the vacation year or lose (have them converted into sick days) them. It is not bad having this but I have no plans. I just threw them on after seeing that I had to take off 5 more days and matched a couple with Sweeties vacation. It feels weird to just have days off w/o a real plan. We may do a day trip out on the Island. we sort of have no real destination but we got a car, gas, and good news from our accountant. We actually owe less than we thought we would. Yahoo!!!! Let's stimulate the economy.

Seeing the Light

There are some things that I know are true for me. One is that I am totally in love with Sharon. When she looks at me and I hold her hand, most of the time I can feel my heart beating faster. It is not just the thought that it may lead to more (;-) but how I feel about her. It is love and desire. We have been together for almost 35 years. I met her through her friend Lauretta. I liked her from the start but being young and stupid I thought that she was too young for me at that time. That was April 26th 1974. It was my half birthday and I asked her for a half birthday kiss from her even though I had met her only minutes before. The kiss was as memorable as it was unexpected by her when I leaned in for the kiss and got it. It took a little more than two months before we went on our first date and that was to a 4th of July fireworks display at Valley Streams Fireman's Field. When I had finally asked her out, she did not think I was serious and it was not until a couple of days before the fireworks show when I asked her what time I should pick her up that she realized that I had not been kidding her before. Things sped up but did not become exclusive for about another half year as I went away to college for the first time and did not know how a long distance romance would work out. I guess in my case it held up pretty good even though I did go out with several young ladies at New Paltz.
It is funny how Sharon always said she knew right from the start that she knew that I was the one. She never wavered on that even when we hit some ruff patches as will happen in every good working relationship.
Then the marriage came and I still can remember getting ready for the day. I woke up early to shower and went to the Interfaith Chapel at C.W. Post early. I did not want to take any chance that something would happen like a flat tire or a traffic jam. We made it to the exit off the LIE in record time and stopped to grab a little something to eat at this luncheonette. Larry, Lars, David and I walked in. We must have looked great as we were all in tuxedos. All of them were different colors and bright next to each other.
It was a perfect day, warm but not too warm. Definitely joyful too. From the ceremony we went to the Knights of Columbus Hall on Rockaway Ave. in Valley Stream and had a great time at the reception. When we came out and were introduced for the first time as man and wife I looked to Ray, Sharon's father. We had put on rabbit ears to try and make things lighter because as the preparation had gone on it got more and more serious. When I saw Ray smile and start to laugh there was a great feeling of relief. Later when we left, our car was tagged with cans and shaving cream. As we drove home for the first time as man and wife, people pointed and I still remember hearing some say, "hey look, they just got married". I was so proud and excited. Sharon and I kept looking at each other and smiled and held on to each other.
I don't know why I started writing this but it is a pleasure to relive the happy parts of out life together and I know that this is my version but this IS the way I remember it. I can almost hear Sharon asking me, "but what about this thing and that thing?" My answer is that those are the things that YOU remember and if you have written about the history of us, you should include that in yours.

New Month (a little late)

I wonder if it is called March because it just seems to march on and on and on. The winter just does not seem to want to go away. I know in my heart that it will be gone soon, but not soon enough for me.
I am tired. I mean really really tired. Sleep is not enough and the good to bad weather ratio is just not working for me. I can't dress right for work because the temperature in my section of the library SUCKS. I am a Young Adult librarian and the Fahrenheit hovers around 80 degrees. That is not as bad as the Children's room which as reached almost 90 degrees several times in the last 2 weeks. Ya go to other parts of the library and it is only in the 60 degree range. Slightly psychotic.
I have been reading a bunch of books recently and I got to say that there is a lot of good shit out there. I have been reading non-fiction, historical fiction, reference type stuff and most of it is good.
I know that the posts I have put up have mostly indicated that I love running but reading has been a life long passion. When I was younger, I guess you could say that I was a free spirit, hippy wanna be. As wacky as I got there was one consistent thing in my life and that was books. My dad always said that he knew that I would be OK because of my reading addiction. Not a big surprise then that I became a librarian I guess.
I love to ramble all over the place sometimes and this is one of them. I think I will just hit Publish Post and fill out the rest of the crap latter.
I DO think that at some point soon I will start a list of books I think are great along with authors in general that you can pick up anything they have written and be happy and satisfied.

Is it a blog if no one else reads it? I guess it is a diary.

I really don't know if anyone else will ever find this blog spot and I don't care. I think I like having a spot to record my ruminations. I sort of like having a place where I can kvetch if I want to.
Last night I spoke with my accountant. A great guy who is a straight shooter. When I walked in he asked how I was and I told him I was fine but I am tired, a whole lot. Then I threw in that most people I know now seem to say the same thing. I told him that I thought that maybe it was just a long winter. He suggested something else that after some thought seems to hold some truth. He said that people might be worried about the state of the economy. I told him that I did not have a lot to worry about as Sharon and I are secure in our jobs and save regularly. He said that we were luckier than most but then threw in that it is always in the news and hard to avoid and disturbing to everyone. Today, upon more thought I think that it is a very insightful reason for why everyone is saying the same thing. Some people may be scared for themselves and others for the general state of the economy.
I am glad that I have years to go before retirement and hopefully the economy will turn around by then. I am fearful for those who retired already and have watched a planned retirement go south. I don't want to think what will happen to the many borderline people. Will suicides go up? How about domestic violence? Charities are sending out more requests for donations as their big business sources have shrunk their giving and the ranks of the needy is going up. My sweetie and I will do what we can but in the end people have to think of themselves. Charity begins at home folks.

Not as good at this as I would like.

Well the best intentions and all that. At least that is how I thought that this would work out. I have to do better keeping up with the blog than I have been doing so far.
Let's see, what has been going on in my life? Well I have been trying to my trip reservations to see Larry in Ft. Lauderdale together. I think that Dave, my brother will be there as well as Rich, Mark, Dave S. and Joel. Should be a bit of fun. I am going to suggest a MLB game during the stay as the Marlins will be playing Philadelphia that weekend.
Facebook has also gotten a couple of interesting things going. One is that a former girlfriend/friend has been in touch and has been telling me about her life in the last 25 years, ya know, husband, kids and business/job and living in Miami. She is still a Dead Head and I will miss seeing her when she sees the Dead 'cause I will be in Ft Lauderdale that weekend. How is that for a coincident. Also going through her home page I found that we have a friend in common. She went to HS with Neela and that is a strange find. Small world I think. Next a friend from HS who I have run into a couple of times but not in the last 3-4 years found me also. Again, it is a case of catchup.
Some of this is fun but also interesting in that years ago there was almost no way for this to happen. Technology, good or bad, you make the call.
Anyway, these are some of the things going on now.

Back @ work and feeling fine

Well I just got back from an "obligation vacation" in Florida. Davie, it is near Ft. Lauderdale and then we went on to West Palm Beach to see Grace, my Mother-in-Law. You know what they are, were you go see friends and family cause you haven't seem them for a while. Sharon and I saw our friends Shelly, Jeffrey, Jane and of course, the indomitable, the one and only, Bernie. She has absolutely no problem with her ego. We came in and things were not so great. When you pick a date for a get together you can not predict the future and in this case it was Shelly getting sick the week before our visit and still hacking while we got together. I know the feeling as I had something similar about a week earlier. Then Bernie had lots of H.W. and studying for a big test on (?) Monday or Tuesday. This little lady takes here test seriously, she has a 100% average and yet is only 4th in her class. HUH, how is that possible. Anyway after a day and a half we bid them all adieu and headed out to West Palm Beach. We went to beach first as we were down there earlier than we thought we would. The water is always gorgeous in that Azure blue way and the clouds have never disappointed me. The stand out so much more that at home. The sky also changes very rapidly.
After checking into the hotel we went and saw Grace. It has only been a year but it seemed longer. She looked more gaunt and less quick on her feet. I know she is 87 but the difference is noticeable. She still can talk up a storm and we seemed to catch up pretty quickly on here kids and grandchildren on her side of the family.
I love Grace, she is totally from another world. My sweetie loves her too but she needs me there to stay balanced when we are together. It is funny that I am so much more patient as that is usually Sharon's stronger suit. Anyway, the thing is, being anywhere with Sharon is wonderful. I love being with her anywhere and can't stop kissing her. It often seems and feels like we are still in the early love stage of a hot and heavy romance. Cool.
Next thing you know it we are winging our way back to home and work. I love traveling but it is always great to get back home and sleep in my bed. Home Sweet Home. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Daily News

This sure is strange to me. I usually don't get sick and to be sick twice in less than a month!!! I guess it is the odds catching up with me though. I work at QBPL in Jamaica in the YA room. I probably see a minimum of 300 kids a day. THIS is the season I guess for it to happen.
I felt a little woozy yesterday near lunch time and about an hour after lunch I knew I was sick. I did not leave for two reasons. One was that I only had one shift left and the other reason was that I am not in this alone. Sharon, my sweetie, is a librarian in the same building as me and I did not want her to have to leave early or take the bus home alone. Sometimes I think that I am too gallant but hey, that is me.
A strange coincidence is that my brother had similar feelings the day before and was taken to the hospital. I think that the main difference was that he passed out and I did not. I think that if I had passed out I would have at least wound up at the doctor. I will call my sister Rona and see if anyone else at her house Sunday was also sick.
The mystery continues.

Lazy Saturday morning

So far today is just one lazy day. I have set my GPS to find a theater in Port Washington later tonight and went to mapquest for a printed route. GPSing is still new and I would like to see the route beforehand. Sweetie and I are going to see Steve Earle at the Landmark theater. I have heard tell that it, at one time, was a school. I hope that the seats are better than I remember in high school.
I have spent time on Facebook checking out the musings and ruminations of friends and family and sent some tiny messages. I even recommended some should be friends. Now it for them to decide.
In a little while I will go out for a 3-5 mile run. I don't want to push it too much though as I have only just restarted the running after have a upper respiratory infection. Not running for 3 weeks sucked. I ran a short 1 1/2 mile run on Thursday and it felt real good. Over too soon but I did not want to push it. Know your body. That is a mantra for me.

Work, work, work

The library is starting to become a bit oppressive. I am not speaking for anyone but myself. Customers know that there are rules and want them followed when it suits them but god forbid they are told NO. Some woman today sat down at the YA homework computer today and when told that it was only for YAs started in with"I only need it for a few minutes". When that did not work she claimed that a clerk "out there" told her she could. When I told her that the clerk was wrong and I know the rules for this rule, well then I was just being nice. Then she asked for my name and I gave her my first name and my employee number. Damn, if I don't get my way I will complain rather than understand that the rules are supposed to be for all. Exceptions should be made for her though because she complained, right!
I sometimes think that I should submit things to the effing librarian. Maybe I will, but not yet.
On an up note (and just in time) I started running today for the first time in 3 weeks and I felt great.

Inaugural Day 2009

Watching at the library today was certainly a thrill. I do have fears about the Obama term(s) in office. The hope that people are expecting are almost certainly too high to reach. There is so much at stake that this man, no how good his intentions is being set up to be a target of political opponents.
The hope that his administration offers and the belief that so many people have put in this man is astounding. It is touching that there is now such a feeling of being able to affect the way government moves should be encouraged. To take it away would give generations the feeling that empowerment is just an illusion. This is truly a power to the people moment and I hope with all my heart that success is achieved by this amazing person.

It may be way too much to ask of any human, but he has been by his followers.
A bit over dramatic, maybe.
I am only sure that the climb has begun.

Sunday the 18th of 2009

Today is my Sweeties birthday. I can not say enough about her. Her name is Sharon and she is the best thing that has ever happened to me. She is my wife and I can never describe how important she is to me. She is smart, insightful, gorgeous, hot, thinks I am special and loves me. When I see her look at me I know that it is a special look. I love being in the same room with her, even when we are not talking. I keep thinking "she picked me". I am the luckiest person in the whole world. She makes me think of poems. Two that come to mind are:

"Jenny Kissed Me" by Leigh Hunt My apology to Leigh Hunt for changes I made.

Sharon kiss'd me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in!
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,
Say that health and wealth have miss'd me,
Say I'm growing old, but add,
Sharon kiss'd me.

"BROWN PENNY"by William Butler Yeats

I WHISPERED, "I am too young,"
And then, "I am old enough;"
Wherefore I threw a penny
To find out if I might love.

"Go and love, go and love, young man,
If the lady be young and fair."
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
I am looped in the loops of her hair.

O love is the crooked thing,
There is nobody wise enough
To find out all that is in it,
For he would be thinking of love.

Till the stars had run away
And the shadows eaten the moon.
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
One cannot begin it too soon.

I know that there are other things going on in the world and in my life but there is nothing more meaningful to me or my life. That is why I am kvelling on my sweetie today. I always think about her but today is something special.
I love you baby.

library program for Martin Luther King Jr.

Well tomorrow we are gong to be having a program that is to honor the memory of a great man, Martin Luther King Jr. The program started years ago and it involves students writing a letter to MLK . Some of the letters are touching, others look like a homework assignment and others are funny because they were written by students who did not pay attention to the whole lesson in class and because of it, some of them are very funny.
Tomorrow there will be dignitaries ranging from the Queens Borough President Helen Marshal to local bigwigs and we just found out today that Senator Charles Schumer may be here. You can just feel the need for photo ops, it is so thick. But a lot of the students will be here as well as at least one teacher and it really is about the students being recognised for what they are doing and learning It will be a busy day and probably a lot of fun. At least it will seem like more fun after the day is over.

supermarket ripoffs manufacturers lies

Today at lunch with a bunch of coworkers/friends the conversation turned to the difficulty in figuring out prices in supermarkets. For the same item you can see prices figured in ounces or pounds. For others it might be per item but then the items are of different weights. You have to be smarter than a fifth grader just to remember the weights and measures. The manufacturers lower weights (potato chips, cereal, coffee) have items in many different weights (cereals and candy bars) shrink size (toilet paper for example).
None of really think that prices will not go up but NONE of us like being treated like we are fucking morons. We know that it is a ploy to confuse us. We are confused but know the water is being muddied on purpose. It is only making people sure that there is an attempt to lie to us on a massive scale. It is a pity because it is ruining trust in corporations and what we expect from them. I have watched and have seen that inflation is going up. I expected prices to rise. I did not expect it's rise to be camouflaged to try to hide it's rise in the hope that I would not notice it. Guess what? I noticed and so do most people. WE are not stupid and don't like being treated as if we were.
I think that is all I have to say about this for now except I don't think that corporations will ever admit it unless they have no choice.

Theft at the supermarket

Today I opened my new circular from Waldbaum's and I notice that the Bumble Bee tuna was priced at $1.25 a can. Not much more you might think until you see the small print and notice that the tuna can's weight is now only 5 ounces. That is one ounce less that it was until real recently. A few months ago I bought some cans for 99 cents and they were 6 ounces. Just before this I also noticed that the Scott's toilet paper said "still 1000 sheets per roll". Yep, that part is true but I had noticed that the rolls were smaller and I had some older rolls around that said it was 125 square feet per roll and the new ones NOW said 115.2 square feet per roll. The price goes up and the size gets smaller in both cases. I think that is a double theft. A year or two ago the yogurts went from 8 oz to 6 oz. and they did it under the guise of portion control. The price dropped at first but then went up. In both cases the serving size was one in each container. So they lied about doing for portion control. Next, have you noticed that there are lots more sizes in everything ranging from cereal box sizes and weights to potato chips. The supermarket plays along by not being consistent in how they price them. Some will say 40 cents per ounce and others will give the price per pound or in ounces and then pints or quarts.
I know that they don't want to look to be solely blame for the prices going up but they are helping add to the confusion. I guess it should be called collusion.
I am tired of the deception and outright lies. The stores and producers should be honest and the weights and sizes should be transparent as, I believe, the laws on supermarket price displaying was intended to be.

Don't it Figure!

I had been sick and out of work for 2 days last week. It seems funny that just as I feel real good, my wife has to go to the doctor and is told that she has to stay home for at least a week. It seems she has been having headaches for the last 2 months. I only knew about the ones that were real head bangers. She is now taking prescription painkillers and the doctor has prescribed a CAT scan for her. In the past (and present) she has suffered from migraine headaches but this seems to be going on for way too long. I know that Sharon would like to know just what the hell is going on and so would I. During the holiday season, which started just before Thanksgiving, when this thing started, she puts herself under lots of pressure to try and have everything go right, and not just right but perfect. Not a fun way to prep for the holidays. That probably played a role in the start of it and then the pattern is set. At least I think that it starts to feed on itself. I think that I have more ways to release the pressure. For one thing, I try to go with the spirit of the season and don't expect perfection and I also have running which is a great way to relieve stress for me.

Quiet time? It sure doesn't sound it.

Today I have been hanging around the house taking it easy. In a little while I will be going to watch at least one of the football playoff games. Even though I am taking it easy it will seem like I am doing a lot this weekend. Football tonight, and tomorrow it is a birthday/brunch/football playoff party @ my brother-in-law Gary's house for him. It is always fun seeing him and his wife Janet and some of my nephews (hey Devon and Brian) and a niece (hi Rebecca) and also a big hello to Bosco, their Chocolate Lab. Tomorrow is also the new season premier of "24". A rip roaring 2 hour start. Be still my heart. Cheryl and Al called about seeing us tomorrow night as we have not seen them since before the new year. Then on Monday night it is another 2 hours of "24". 4 hours in two nights, thank god we are young (well at least my sweetie is) and able to take the excitement.It is also a good thing that Sharon and I are off until Tuesday. Sitting there for two hours, on the edge of our seats will drain the energy right out of me and then we are going to do it again. OMG!!!!
This is all predicated on the amount of snow that does or does not fall tonight. I could be home early and stay there until work on Tuesday. Thank god for the food pantry. We could be here for a week or two as long as we have gas for the stove.

Doing library stuff

I came in to work today so no one got stuck having to work from 9:30-9. I also wanted to monitor a program we are running for the YA's. It is a writing program that is about to produce it's first issue and it is called Teen Zine. I think that some of the stories, poems and drawings are really, really good. There are a couple of poems that are just outstanding. Well, no one showed. I know that it is cold out but not that bad. After after I was there for 20 minutes I called it quits. 5 minutes later one person showed and it was too late. Maybe next week the kids will turn up in numbers.
We try to get the teens involved in things that they like. We look for feedback and were hoping to find out how they would like to distribute the Teen Zine whick will be out in about 3 weeks. I hope that they can give us something next week as there is still time to impliment practical ideas.

crappy day, feeling crappy

Well this is different. I usually don't get sick but I am now. I am probably a crummy patient because it is something I am not used to. Also the weather sucks. It could be worse, it was supposed to turn to snow during the night and it stayed as rain.
Enough kvetching though, there is so much more that is going on. I am going to make reservations for air, hotel and car for a short, hit and run to Florida. We will see some good real friends, Jane, Bernie, Shelly and Jeff, on a whirlwind stay and also see my mother-in-law Grace. She is a wonderful woman that I have known for about 30 years.
It will be good to go outside in shorts and tee shirt and to have an easy run. I love running. It lets me think about things and work them out in my mind. Hard to believe that in high school I couldn't even run around the track once. Back then the gym teacher was a real asshole, being one of the last people to finish he would make me and a couple of kids run again. Hey, we had trouble with it the first time, why did he think it would be any easier the second time around? Everything would hurt too. Now running lets me think without too much interruption. I almost always feel great after the cool down.
Later today a good friend and his wife are going to Belize for a well deserved vacation. I know that Christian and Vick will have a great time NOT thinking about work at all. Right? Man am I jealous. I guess that won't help me much.
Anyway, enough rambling for now, I'll be back later.

Library Fun

Well, today there was the official groundbreaking at Queens Public Library main branch in Jamaica for the Children's Discovery Learning Center. Oh the excitement. the borough President, Helen Marshal was here as well as Thomas Galante, the Director of the Queens Library and other local notables . After the indoor ceremony there was the photo op taken with students and golden shovels (not used on the students). One of the photographers made a comment to another photographer about how funny it was that the dirt had been brought in just for this shot. The other one said, "you mean this is staged". Funny guys.
Well, so much for the excitement. We are trying to get the Young Adult room ready for the RFID team. They are going to be tagging all the books in the YA room starting in just a few days.
Yesterday I watched a football playoff game with the guys I play softball with. They are a great bunch of guys. They may seem, sometimes to be a bit cutting but when someone really needs help they come through. this was then followed up by a birthday party for Sherry Murphy, one of my sister-in-laws. I love getting together with family. What can I say, I have some great family members.

learning stuff

Usually I think of myself as someone who is not handy. In the past two weeks I have done a couple of things that has made me question the statement I just made. I know my foundational belief for not being handy is crashing down. I recently installed a wireless router and got it to work all by myself. Stunning! More amazingly, I followed this up by installing the security for the router and then got it to work on my wife's laptop when she could not do it. this is truly a New Year miracle. She is the handy one, not me. The world has almost flipped around. What more is to come? Watch and see along with me what the world has to offer.

Let's try this again

I seem to have trouble doing this on a regular basis, at least up to now. I hope to be more responsible to the updating of the brog from now on.
I probably will do or say what is making me happy, mad and going on in my life and the world.
There, that seems to cover lots of ground and I have not even done anything yet. But I will, I have things on my mind and this will organize them. I have always told YA's (Young Adults) that writing it down makes you focus your thought more.