Lightening a Heavy Heart

Yesterday morning we went to the Kimmel Center to see my sister collect her Master’s degree. I spent the one hour ceremony crying and choking back even more tears. Even though she graduated last August and my father knew she had her degree, he wanted to see her walk. He would have been so proud of his little girl. And I know he would have told her Mrs Semmel was wrong… and he always knew it. We all did.

After the graduation, Lisa and I went to visit Erin and Pete. After a lovely BBQ, we drove to Asbury Park and stood outside the Stone Pony and watched Social Distortion play on their outside stage. We had a better view from the street than I did at tons of other concerts where I actually bought tickets. They played all their favorites and a couple new songs. They waited to the very last song of the encore to play Ring of Fire… my favorite, of course Ball and Chain’s been resonating with me more now than ever before.

I am now in my bedroom trying trying trying to motivate myself to clean up all the clothes off the floor. I’ve said it a million times but I love the way it feels to have a clean house/room/office yet I hate the process of getting it clean and keeping it clean.

I did clean out the one closet. It was a purging experience. Now I just need to take that energy and direct it at my clothes.

Enough of this! I need to clean!

I really wish Mike Ness wasn’t so addicted to guyliner… guyliner embarrasses me, always did and always will.

People fascinate me

Went to Starbucks for a meeting with a potential business partner. I saw a woman there who was clearly blind about her outward facing appearance. Her hair was styled in a manner that resembled the hairstyles from the late 1980’s. The bangs were curled and sprayed to look like a poodle puff. Her eyes were UNDERLINED with black kohl pencil. My eyes didn’t travel much further below her neck. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS SHE THINKING? Why isn’t her hair stylist telling her it’s time for a change? Or even her friends? How is it that this woman doesn’t seem to notice she is the only person still wearing her hair and makeup in this fashion?

100% korect

Just saw a status update on LinkedIn that read: U must give 100% of your effort 100% of the time in all that U do.

If a person is insisting on 100% effort, shouldn’t they spell out you?

Musika!

Downloaded another mp3 album, the Best of Slade. I really miss the days of Audio Galaxy. I downloaded so much crazy music back when the Web was truly the Wild West. I also downloaded and installed MediaMonkey. Supposedly it will manage (my soon to be huge) collection of mp3s, playlists, etc…

My new strategy is to create a couple different playlists of favorite songs by purchasing the Mp3s. When I want to listen to weird genre stuff like Bosa Nova, Hawaiian, Jazz, Blues, etc… I’ll just pull up a Pandora station and take what they give me.

Peanut noodles with Chicken and Vegetables

Don’t know the next time I’ll be cooking for anyone but in case the opportunity pops up, I’ll have to try this recipe from my mom:

1 lb. skinless chicken breast
½ cup smooth peanut butter
2 T. soy sauce
2 t. minced garlic
1/8 t. ground red pepper
1 t. fresh ginger (I used powdered)
8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti
1 bag fresh vegetable medley, such as, carrots, broccoli, snow peas. 12 oz. bag

Cover chicken with water bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until cooked through. Shred chicken into bite size pieces. Boil water for pasta and then cook for the time required, add the bag of vegetables and cook for another minute or 2. Drain pasta and vegetables but reserve a cup or so of the cooking water. Add the chicken to the pasta/vegetable mix. Whisk peanut butter, and rest of ingredients in a small bowl, toss with pasta mix…adding a little pasta water as needed. I added the entire cup. Enjoy..

$$$$ Out the Wazoo

I’ve purchased a few more albums from Amazon… Katie Melua and Smokie. Sadly, the Smokie album appears to have been re-mastered or re-recorded… the guy singing doesn’t sound like Chris Norman and everything sounds a bit Schmaltzy. DANG IT! Shoulda previewed the tracks!

I am trying to convince myself the money I am spending now is offset by not spending money on Rhapsody.

Amazon and its cloud

Last night I purchased Glen Campbell, 20 Greatest Hits and The Violent Femmes by The Violent Femmes. Amazon is having a special, 1,000s of albums for just $5!

Waking up for the first time

It’s one month, guys. Time flies when you’re crying. My daddy died a month ago today. It still feels like a dream. There’s a part of me that recognizes the permanence of the situation but there’s another part that thinks he’s off on vacation and a silly email will drop any second.

It’s strange.

One of the odd parts of the whole situation is the cards we’ve received… from total strangers that knew my father from message boards and forums. You thought I was the only one with an online lifestyle? HA! My dad was a freakin’ Internet celebrity, apparently. Technology has changed everything.

And my life is totally different. It’s funny how death has a way of making you re-prioritize things. Life is short. If the road you’re on isn’t leading you to your destination of choice… or if you suspect it’s taking you on an extremely roundabout way that may never get you there, it’s time to change route, right? I changed route. Or maybe I changed vehicle? I don’t know.

This is going to sound weird but I feel a lot like I did when I was fired… in 2006.

I miss my dad. I miss that dynamic. I miss that outlet. I miss that support. I miss that feeling of wholeness and unconditional love.

Rhapsody Blues

I just ate a bowl of leftover halusky for dinner. I sat outside in the courtyard off my kitchen and ate it to a Shakin’ Steve album. Life seems so empty without Rhapsody. Yes, it’s true all I did was listen to the same songs over and over. Yes, it would probably be best to just buy the songs I love and be done with it. BUT I NEED RHAPSODY! I am not used to not being able to queue up any song I want and listen to it.

I have an idea. I will purchase 1 month’s worth of Rhapsody and then attempt to CANCEL it. I understand they have a cheaper monthly price available to those who want to cancel.

Can I afford 120/year? Yes. So why am I being cheap? It’s the year over year cost that has me crazy. I have been a member for 6 YEARS! That’s practically A THOUSAND DOLLARS I have paid for the ability to LISTEN but not RETAIN. When my subscription to Rhapsody ended, I was left with NOTHING! Had I invested that THOUSAND DOLLARS, I could have purchased a THOUSAND SONGS. Did I listen to over a thousand different songs during my 6 years with Rhapsody? Maybe. I seem to listen to the same songs over and over again. But I like having the ability to expand my library if I want. I practically flipped out when I realized I couldn’t pull up Whitesnake’s Saints & Sinners album.

How do you do it? What should I do? Should I download iTunes and just build a library of songs I OWN? Or should I give up and continue with Rhapsody… even if I can get a lowered rate?

Indentured Servitude?

An invitation came to work on a boat and I said yes. Sunday morning arrived with a knock on my door and next thing I know I was in Belmar. With a couple rags and a roller, I helped wax and paint a fishing boat. It was fun in a way something new and different can be. I got a free lunch of a slice of pizza and bottle of Sprite AND the promise of fish once one is caught. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday although I think I’d prefer to spend it on the boat on the water, but I suppose that happens later.

Mother’s Day spanned the whole weekend for my mom. I made dinner Friday AND Saturday. On Friday I made my famous halusky and on Saturday I made my famous skillet pizza with broccoli rabe and sausage. After my boat adventure yesterday, still covered in specks of cuprous sulfate, I gathered Lisa and Mom and we went out to eat at our new favorite restaurant, Rozmaryn’s in Trenton. This place has the most amazing Polish food AND the owner is so nice!

On Saturday I went shopping. I bought two green plastic Adirondack chairs from Lowes. It’s true I had four wooden Adirondack chairs that I loved but I gave them away last Fall. Looking back, I really can’t figure out why. At any rate, I have done nothing but miss those chairs and so I decided to go the cheap route and buy two plastic stackable ones. They look great outside my house. In fact, they look so awesome, Lisa bought two for Mom for Mother’s Day.
The plastic adirondack I bought at lowes

Now I just need to find plastic Adirondack ottomans!