Woo-hoo! What a night!
When they called it, at 8pm Pacific time, I was standing on my balcony overlooking the lights of downtown Portland and could hear my neighbors on either side hooping and hollering–shouts of "I can't believe it!" "Did he really do it?!". I could hear shouts, whistles, car horns and pots being banged.
I got through to Anna, at Grandma Mickeys keeping her company as they watched the results come in. She was in tears. Excited messages were left on the cell phones of a number of Quinlans–who had tickets to the speach in Grant Park! I caught Aunt Maria as she was standing in line to get in–I could barely make her out over the sound of the crowd, and got to tell her that they had just called it. My sister Peg was still up, despite the late hour in Brooklyn, and still waiting for it to "sink in". I called Mom in Turkey, (who cares that it was 5 in the morning there!)–she answered the phone with "We did it!"
What an amazing night, and watching the coverage of Chicago–well, it made me want to go home to that great city.
Congratulations America, you did it!
-
-
While at the chiropractor's this week, when discussing the current dismal state of affairs and the gloomy pervailing attitude, I mentioned that despite the disaster befalling all of us at the low-end of the scale (now is not the time to make your living on commission), I've somehow entered a state of relaxed resignation.
I'm no longer stressed, I know there's nothing I can do and that it's out of my hands now. This acceptance has brought me better sleep and an acid-free stomach.
My doctor replied: "The End of Days suits you!" -
We were blessed with an amazingly beautiful October here–dry, warm and sunny! That's all over now, as switching back to Standard Time means darkness before 5, and the last few days have been rainy and gloomy. When winter begins in the Pacific Northwest, it's as if a big curtain is drawn across the sky–swoosh, that's it, summer's over! -
It just occurred to me:
I should be PAINTING!
I should be having SEX! -
Before/After
The chilly rains have begun, and dinner is now eaten in darkness. Time to get the fireplace ready for another long winter! The hearth tile has always bothered me–dingy, dirty and peach colored-yuck! What started as a simple project to paint the tile turned into a major re-do of the entire fireplace surround. Thank you to the helpful folks at Ace Hardware for walking me through the process–sanding, oil based primer, two coats of floor paint. And voila! A handsome (and clean!) change. -
Stella was soooo looking forward to the wedding, and then, three minutes into the ceremony, completely konked out. -
Ah, Therapy. After an orientation meeting more than a month ago, today was, at last, my first therapy appointment at Kaiser (my health care plan provider–a huge, corporate and unpleasant medical beast).
My goals for Therapy are simple–just want to improve a few key issues, work through my workaholic-ism, and figure out why my libido is kaput.
In reception, I answered a questionaire explaining my complaints and issues. I described the libido issue extensively.
Perhaps I should have done that AFTER learning which therapist I was assigned to! Don't, don't, don't be an ADORABLE, smart, funny man my age. Just don't!
God help me, it's poop soup all over again. -
Quite possibly the cutest pictures I have ever seen! Welcome home Zepper! My brother Thomas has a dog, I couldn't be happier for him. Tom's lucky, he can bring him to work and his apartment building is very dog-friendly–he had no excuse not to have one. I don't know all of Zepper's story, he was rescued, but I'll post more when I learn more.
All I know is, I'm thrilled for my brother (he's going to have so much fun, and learn so much!) and can't wait to kiss that freckled tummy. -
Falling in love with a tv series where everyone, everywhere, smokes. Every scene.
And I've just quit.
It's cruel. And yet so good. Mad Men. -
I had given Mom a small set of drawers to use during her stay. Today, as I fidget for more to do, I tackled emptying them out so they can be moved to storage. Here's what I had to triage; some items destined for the trash, others to Goodwill, and if I can locate her particular Greek isle, to send back to her aboard Daste:
-package of Hammond's Old Fashioned Peppermint Sticks
-6 magazines and catalogs
-half pack of Extra Winterfresh gum
-bottle of MucinexDM
-Mission Impossible II DVD
-piece of Japanese printed silk fabric
-one black sock
-two bras
-one pair undies
-half pack of Kleenex
-temporary wrap-on sunglass thingies from the eye doctor's visit
-a pair of gloves
-one brown sock
-one black sock that does not match the other black sock
-one airline travel pack (sleep mask, toothbrush, toothpaste, socks)
-Tea Tree Oil spot stick
-tweezers
-Portland walking map
-wood-handled back brush
-3 euros, twenty US cents
Did I mention this is a small set of drawers? (very small–only 12" wide, 14" deep, 26" high) Oh, mom.
