Down On Ferry Farm

As soon as I say something about having free time, ZZZAAAAPPP!! It's gone. I work on a large project which was just handed to a new management team. They don't know what they're doing yet, still trying to figure things out, and we're trying to help them by telling them what we know about this project since we've run it for so long. They don't want to hear it. To make matters worse, the President of our company is telling us that every e-mail, report, and document needs to be perfect before sending it over to them. We're happy to oblige but if THEY don't know what they want yet how are WE supposed to know what perfect is? It's a little frustrating at times. When they do give us direction on how a document should look, they tell us to refer to XYZ manual. So we go hunting down said manual to find that it's 600 pages long. Do they want this to be a "Business Memo", a "Corporate Memo", an "Executive Memo" or a "Busi...

Hello? Testing 1, 2, 3. Can anybody hear me? Is there anybody out there? (just nod if you can hear me) I know, I know. It's been a while. It's been a long while. Trust me -- I know. I don't have anything new to say, just the same old stuff. There is sickness, there is life, there is love ... and sometimes eating and sleeping. At work, we removed the equipment that was tracking our Internet usage so I feel a little more free to write something here. I've been busy since the end of last year and now the work is starting to taper off. Due to some scheduling, I'm going to be busy doing other people's work until they return. I'm not looking forward to that. But enough about work. There is a young lady that Superman introduced me to that I've been hanging out with recently. I guess it was last Friday I was over there because she made me dinner and then we watched a movie ("Going The Distance"). The spaghetti was good and the movie was awful. I brough...

I knew her before. I met her. We dated. We kissed. I knew her before… she was mine – once. Superman and I had lunch last week and he asked me about an old flame. To be honest, I hadn’t thought about Renee in a while. Maybe in passing once in a blue moon. Nothing serious, then… nothing. When he mentioned her I told him she was probably the one – the one that somehow got away. She was perfect for me and I felt perfect for her. She had a daughter who liked me as well. I remember the good times we shared… shopping, dining, going to the movies or staying in for the night. I remember when she called to break things off, I was numb after that. I lost my job a few days later. I don’t want to remember the bad; I don’t want to think about what I lost, I just want to remember the good. After thinking about it for a minute, I wondered if she was on Facebook. I tried to find her using her first and last name – nothing. I tried looking for her by her first name – this time, too many...

It was a Sunday afternoon; I was cleaning my apartment and had the TV on. There was some show on VH1 which was just background noise to me until the quiet strains of a piano started to play. I watched this young woman go through the paces of her song. She was ‘cupie doll’ cute with a high but strong voice. I appreciated that she played piano versus all the guitar rock that was available at the time. That’s how I was introduced to Tori Amos. The song was “Silent All These Years” from the album “Little Earthquakes”. I read in an interview later that ‘Little Earthquakes’ was the phrase she used to describe her orgasms. It should also be noted that within a year I saw Tori Amos live in concert. It was an interesting affair because she talked about her songs throughout, explained them, and tried to make the audience understand her point of view. They didn’t always understand but they listened politely and appreciated what she was trying to do. When I listened to the album all the way thro...

I watch you grow away from me in photographs And memories like spies And salt betrays my eyes again I started losing sleep and gaining weight And wishing I was was ten again So I could be your friend again These days we go to waste like wine That's turned to turpentine It's six AM and I'm all messed up I didn't mean to waste your time So I'll fall back in line But I'm warning you we're growing up I heard you found some pretty words to say You found your little game to play and there's no one allowed in Then just when we believe we could be great Reality it permeates And conquers from within again These days we go to waste like wine That's turned to turpentine It's six AM and I'm all messed up I didn't mean to waste your time So I'll fall back in line But I'm warning you we're growing up We're OK I know we're OK These days we go to waste like wine That's turned to turpentine It's six AM and I'm all messed up...

I recently ‘outed’ myself as being a closet musician. I have actually been a musician for a number of years but never really felt comfortable telling people because I’m not a performer. I actually just build original songs by playing them the best I can on a keyboard. I didn’t get the reaction I was looking for. Most people were just surprised to hear that I could play. Other’s had neutral responses like “wow, that’s cool”. No one in my family responded. The people I had hoped would respond – the people I felt knew a little something about music – didn’t respond. I’m not sure at this point who has listened to my stuff. The service I’m using tells me how many people listened to what song, but not unique listens. What I mean is that a song could have 10 listens… but is that all by 1 person, or did 10 people listen to it once? Did 5 people listen to it twice? I’ll never know. I also found it odd the songs that people listened to. The song I WANTED people to hear was not the one that peopl...

Last week I was sitting in my office wondering what to eat for lunch since I didn’t bring anything to eat. I happened to be in our break room and saw a collection of restaurant menus and began thumbing through them for suggestions. I came across a place that I had heard of but had never been to, so I decided to go there – mostly because of how close it was to the office. I walked in and looked around. The place was empty. There was a table of 4 ladies in the corner who looked like your basic bridge-playing women. Sitting in the booth next to them was another couple that looked like they were wrapping things up in order to leave. Finally a server appeared and seated me at a table across the aisle from the foursome. By then, the other couple had left. As I looked around, I noticed a lot of the place was made of or covered in wood. It’s the kind of a place you might find overlooking a body of water, but all that was outside this place was a parking lot. The server was tall, thin, dark hai...

The British are coming, or – should I say – they’re already here. Somehow they insinuated themselves into our collective unconscious without our permission. Below are some examples of how the British are taking over: Tabatha Coffey : In her show “Tabatha Takes Over” (see?!?), she appears one day in front of a hair salon and asks the owner to meet her outside. Tabatha then proceeds to visually show the owner what is wrong with their shop and staff. After seeing all this, Tabatha literally takes over the shop (taking keys and canceling hair appointments for the week). She tries to correct what’s wrong, both physically and mentally with the staff and owner (i.e. – showing staff how to cut hair better, talking to the boss about how to treat the staff, etc.) I have to admit, she’s firm but fair about the whole thing. She does a renovation, if one is called for, and gets the owner and staff motivated about working again. She then returns six weeks later to make sure everything is still runni...

The game of Solitaire is a lot like life. - You go it alone. - You don’t know what’s coming next. - There are usually 2 or 3 moves you make that screw you up. - You have to play what’s in front of you. - It’s all about the organization. I’m sure there are other parts of the game that can be extrapolated out to explain life but these just popped into my head. You go it alone – I know that when playing Solitaire with real cards or on the computer someone can look over your shoulder and kibitz while you shuffle, but the plays you make are your own. There are no hints given – all the calls are yours to make. You don’t know what’s coming next – When played on the computer, Solitaire can be set to deal one card at a time or three cards at a time. Some people can only deal with one card at a time… that’s how I grew up playing the game. I have had jobs where 3 cards come flying at me all at once – drinking from the proverbial fire hose. It’s not so much to take if you break it into smaller p...

I don't have a twitter account. In fact, at this point, I couldn't tell you who wrote these particular tweets but I can admit to you that I did not. Enjoy them anyway: p.s. - I will be back to full strength on this blog in the coming new year. When your only tool is a bong, every problem looks like it can wait until tomorrow. Can't understand why some people are against childhood vaccination; I'd be thrilled if my kid turned out to be artistic. "Telling me you're too young to understand my expressions makes me cringe like nails on a chalkboard", "What's a chalkboard?" For Halloween I'm going as a newspaper and will regale everyone with things they read online yesterday. That woman was sexy...Out of your league? Son. Let women figure out why they won't screw you, don't do it for them. Do I still have to go to medical school if I just wanna be the guy who yells "WE'RE LOSING HIM!"? I like to poop with the door open but...

That hasn’t changed. There are always the seasons, the TV season, the Football season… whatever it is. It’s a gradual change but it’s there. It’s all new. I recently went through an upheaval of my own. I have a new cell phone provider, a new cable TV provider and a new Internet provider – just like that. It’s always interesting to learn something new and this is no different. I am having to learn new channel numbers, how to work a different remote and how to control a different phone. The Internet is pretty much the same, just a lot faster. Always changing, always moving toward something new.

I feel compelled to write something but I’m not sure what I want to say. I’m going to go “stream of conscience” on you so hold on for the ride. I was out of town about a month ago and, in a few weeks, I’ll be out of town again. It’s for work. We’re supporting some training that’s being done up near Washington, D.C. It gets me out of the office for a week but the material is rather boring for me. The people taking part in the class are very engaged by the material because it directly affects them. Me, not so much. DubDub and I had dinner last week and then came back to my place for a little roll in the hay. She actually gave me the address of the house where she’s staying (her parent’s house) only because her car is in the shop. When I pulled up, her two girls were out in the street. They look like taller versions of the children I used to know. It was pretty funny to see them. I also had a date not too long ago with ‘the service’ I’m using. She was really beautiful and, as usual, I tot...

I read a blog that is originally in Spanish. It’s got a little nudity, a little music – it’s good. Sometimes the (female) blogger adds some thoughts of her own. When Google Reader translates it, this is what I get: I leave with language, like animals. Like a dog to be abandoned for your sake, because an owner not wanting to potty it would be something cruel. As the dust of stars universal clean with blue fluid. It seems a coincidence, but it is not, this is a lamp designed by Pixar fan of Japanese anime. The balancing between two people who are not going to roll, taking as much inspiration out of its truth. I have NO idea what the writer is trying to get across and it gets me thinking about the subtlety of language. There are probably some euphemisms in here or references to some situation of which I’m not aware. She’s probably alluding to something from her society for which I have no reference. It makes me think about some of the things that I say in daily conversation that people ma...

For some reason, the other day I got to thinking about my sexual conquests. There seemed to be a common thread through most of them and that was this: I was the best sex they ever had. Here I'll try to explain: MM - While she never came out and said 'best' she did say that we had 'really good' sex. She was the kind of lover who seemed to be hard to please. In the end, all she really wanted from me was the sex. It was tough when it ended because we still worked together. She eventually started dating another guy -- a TOTAL douchebag -- and didn't care that she flaunted this in front of me. I'm not the only one who thought this guy was a jerk but I'm not sure if people were saying that just to appease me. DubDub - As mentioned before, I could write a whole book on this woman. She is definitely the best sex I've had and mentioned (early on in our relationship) that I was her best. If it wasn't for the whole 'standing me up' situation -- whic...

Whatever you call them – gyros, grinders, subs, po’ boy, hero, or hoagie – I’m here to talk about them. This is not a “top 5 list”, simply a discussion of the type of sandwich by which I will be referring to as a “sub”. Subway – these guys have built their reputation on subs. If you’ve ever been to their place, the walls are plastered with early blueprints for the New York Subway system. Kind of a play on words. The basic premise here is that you tell them how long a sub you want (6 inch or foot long), what kind of bread you want, the type of cheese (if any), whether or not you want it toasted and then the type of “fixin’s” you want. A little of this and a little of that and pretty soon your sub is done. They wrap a piece of paper around it, shove it in a clear-plastic bag and it’s all yours. Generally speaking, Subway makes a good sub. By default I don’t get my subs toasted because I think their bread is good. If anything, there’s probably too MUCH bread. The meat is always tasty and...

Sunday night I really wanted to get some sleep so I went to bed around 9:45pm. At 10:30pm my electricity cut off and I did my usual – ponder all the ways in which I use electricity. I woke up to the sound of my UPS’s chirping like two heavyweight crickets. Luckily, the outage only lasted about half an hour and I fell right back to sleep. Monday evening I return home from work and it feels a little warm in the house. I take a quick look around just to make sure I have electricity – I do. I then go through the usual steps of checking to make sure my air conditioning is working: I check the breaker panel and I check the outside circuit. Everything seems okay. I then go to the thermostat and it’s not even on. It’s a nice digital, touch-screen thermostat with a glowing green face… usually. This day it was a non-functioning piece of plastic. Here’s the timeline (in 24-hour time… not years): - 1730: I make the call to the company that installed the unit originally. They’ll send someone and “h...

Having just stayed in a hotel for a week on business, I just wanted to put down some random thoughts about it: Hotels have to be the most inefficient places on the planet. People staying there take showers that are too long, leave TV’s on where they would not at home and run the air conditioning constantly. Do parents give up custody of their children when they check into a hotel? As mentioned, I was there on business and I cannot tell you how unprofessional it was to have teens and younger children running and screaming in the hallway outside our conference room. When asked to leave they become belligerent brats. “Where are your parents?” I asked. “I don’t know” is the answer I got. “Go find them” I said. “If they want us, they can come find us” was the crappy response I got. I picked up the phone and loudly asked for security. They left. Maybe the question should be “when did parents lose control?” It seems to me that the later it got in the week, the runnier the eggs were for breakf...

Read this entry quietly, I don’t want to jinx myself. I think that Karma is otherwise engaged and not paying much attention to me – which is nice. It was date #18 with “Danielle”: 40, divorced with 2 kids. I’m driving to the date and G-Lady calls me. I tell her that I don’t have a good feeling about this one but I don’t know why. I arrive a little early (as usual) and they are seating us in the ‘bar’ area. There are not many people there but the table right next to us has a group of celebrating co-workers. There’s a rather portly man sitting in the chair closest to our table who, with a turn of his head, appears to be listening in on our conversation. In reality he’s probably watching the TV screen to the other side of us, but I feel a bit uncomfortable. Luckily, so do they and that whole group moves to another table. So Danielle comes around the corner and I am fairly impressed. Her hair is auburn with shades of brown and has the most beautiful eyes. She seems to have the best attribu...