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This is an archive collection of entries from  my main personal blog, My Mundane Mid-Life.

This collection of entries is from June 2006.

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Friday, June 30, 2006

Long weekend

I've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon and then... THE LONG WEEKEND....

We're all going up to Diane's house in Michigan... hopefully to do nothing.

I am SOOOOoooooo looking forward to this....

posted at 10:02 AM | Link | Mundane | § |

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Life has been explained

I just got an email from Barry that had a joke in it.

Now, you know that I usually don't republish that kind of stuff in my blog, but this one, somehow, just summed up my life experience...

read more of this entry »


posted at 11:00 AM | Link | Mundane | § |
Hail still there?

I walked outside the garage this morning to look around to see if there was any damage after that HORRENDOUS storm on my way home last night.

We have the plastic trays that we placed under our downspouts to help divert water away from the house.

In this one tray - a pile of hail from last night.

A pile of hail from last night - 10 hours later there was STILL a pile of hail in this downspout tray...

...amazing...

posted at 07:54 AM | Link | Mundane | § |

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

HAIL!

After John's Retirement Party, Barry and I stopped for dinner, and then I drove back into the city to drop Barry at home and then drove home. When I got off the Northwest Tollway, I could see this huge cloud wall coming toward us - dark menacing. The winds were picking up. There was lightning everywhere, and a lot of it was strikes to the ground... close to where I was driving.

About 2 miles from the house, the skies opened. The rain was a deluge. Traffic crawled because we couldn't see in front of us... windshield wipers TOTALLY INEFFECTIVE as they wouldn't get rid of the rain fast enough. We couldn't see the lane markers for the rain, the standing water, the darkness and the headlights.

The deafening roar of the rain hitting steel in the car got LOUDER as I pulled into the neighborhood. I got the car into the garage as quickly as possible.

I jumped out to see HAIL coming into the garage...

Hail everywhere. hail was starting to coat the driveway.. so intense and so dangerous,

It didn't last long, but the coating of hail on the concrete lingered....

Worst micro-storm of the season....

posted at 09:18 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
2004 finally came

I left work early to drive into the city to pick up Barry, and the two of us continued to the northern suburbs.

A friend of ours, a co-worker from one of our former employers was having a party.

I've known John for a couple of decades. OK, since I started at the company in 1978. Almost the whole time I knew him, he always talked about retiring in 2004. He would be the right age... whatever the pressures du jour on the job would push to hard... he would just mumble "2004... 2004..." and we all knew what he meant.

It was a few years late, but, for John, 2004 had finally come.

read more of this entry »


posted at 09:01 PM | Link | Mundane | § |

Monday, June 26, 2006

Summer boomers

Love this time of year where it's sunny one second and dark clouds/thunder/lightning/torrential rain happens the next only to revert back to sunshine afterward. The storms can really be intense but only last a few minutes.

It just got finished raining in one of those storm cells that flies through the neighborhoods. This morning, the sun was out when I got into the shower. There's no window in the bathroom, so I was startled when I heard rolling thunder through the exterior walls of the house!

I don't know why, but I love these storms...

posted at 01:04 PM | Link | Mundane | § |

Sunday, June 25, 2006

White Sox 10 - Astros 9 - 13 Innings

Chicago White Sox Houston Astros

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:58 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, June 24, 2006

White Sox 6 - Astros 5 - 10 Innings

Chicago White Sox Houston Astros

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:51 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

SOLSTACE

Summer - Astronomically, at least - has officially arrived.

Darkness... tunderstorms, hot...

Gonna be a good day!!!!!

Longest Day of the Year!!!!

posted at 07:26 AM | Link | Mundane | § |

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Soup-to-nuts?

Saw this today at Gaper's Block...

Here's an interesting list of things apparently only heard/spoken by people who live in Chicago.

Is "Soup-to-nuts" a regionalism???? I find that hard to believe that we're the only ones that say this...

posted at 02:10 PM | Link | Mundane | § |

Monday, June 19, 2006

Podcast Show #9 now available

The latest "Mundane Mid-Life Show" podcast - Show #9 - is now available on the Podcast page, which has links to download individual shows or subscribe to the Podcast through iTunes.

posted at 08:14 PM | Link | Podcast | § |

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Russell's

Carol and I went to my mom's house like we normally do on a Sunday. But, we haven't been there for a week or so, and Diane,Melinda & Jack weren't going to be there, so we went out to dinner.

Today is Father's Day, so we went to a place that we always went to on Father's Day - Russell's Barbecue in Elmwood Park. We thought it would just be a nice way to remember dad, and with it being a Sunday night, we shouldn't have a problem parking or finding a table..

WRONG.

We had to circle around the lot twice to find a place to park. The lone was so long, it almost went out the north door.

My dad used to come here in the 30's when it opened and always came here since. I remember being a kid and coming here. It was different back then - there was no patio area, just the main building. They had tables outside the building as well as across the parking lot in a grassy area, with canopies. The main building inside and out was a cream color, with what looked like finished pine booths. The big thing for me as a kid was the metal Juke Box selector at each table, that accepted coins, and you flipped pages, like a menu or book, to find out what selections were available and made your selection by pressing alphanumeric buttons below the glass display of the flippable menu pages.

I remember the booths, the coat racks attached to booths. I remember a logo on the wall of a very happy hamburger that appeared to be dancing.

The place has changed a lot over the years, and yet it never changes. It's all dark brown now with a western motif, the tables outside replaced with an inside patio with skylights. (read the overview at CenterStage).

I waited in line almost half an hour to place our order, but it was served quickly in traditional Russell style.

While I was waiting at the counter, there was an older gentleman, perhaps in his mid 70's, more likely older. He was about the same height as my dad was. Balding as my dad was. He leans over to me, and in a raspy voice (like my dad had) says to me: "you picked a bad night to come here."

I just laughed. And then he said "I've been coming here since high school, and I an't never seen it this busy."

Just like my dad, coming since his childhood.

It felt good to be there, and the food was the same as it ever was.

posted at 09:17 PM | Link | Family | § |

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Annual Yard Sale

Get up early (for a Saturday) and hit the road for the South Side...

It's that time again... time for the White Sox Annual Yard Sale at the park (U.S. Cellular Field).

The line was long when we got there, but it was awfully spread out, with lots of people bringing chairs to sit in while they wait.

The best thing about the event is that all the proceeds go to White Sox Charities.

With that in mind, we went looking for clothing.. we had bought jackets here in the past (yes, authentic, player-worn jackets), and they didn't have ANY this year! They really brought out the odd stuff... banners used around the city for "Rally Monday", the rally downtown before the World Series, empty bottles of Champagne from each of the locker room celebrations during the playoffs ($60-$100), full sheet World Series Tickets (un-printed with seat info). I wanted some bunting that was displayed at the park (MLB authenticated), but that was $50 each and the bunting was small.

They had the regular selection of things - used hats, bats, helmets, an AWFUL lot of catcher's gear this year compared to last, lots of equipment bags, helmet bags... and of course what everybody goes after - jerseys. The real deal.

We weren't even close to being the first one's in line, and back in January, at Sox Fest, they always set up a "Garage Sale" room that people must have rifled through, because the jersey selection - though large - didn't have a lot of jerseys by the somewhat major players, let alone the major players. If you wanted a jersey of a pitcher that was barely in the majors for a few weeks, there were a ton of them (including ones for the World Series complete with World Series patch on the sleeve). There were prior years players that they haven't got rid of yet. Lot's of BP windshirts and "tops" (wouldn't call them jerseys).

The surprising pieces to me were at the extreme left of the left rack in the row of racks.

Here were the jerseys of Major players now gone. Jerseys you would have NEVER seen in any rack in any year. These were put aside as special and if you were lucky, you could ask to get one. The one that caught my eye? FRANK THOMAS. NEVER would have been in the rack. Now that he's gone, he's there. Now granted, it was REALLY expensive (I think $1,000), but it was still in the rack. I knew that I had hit the right part in the rack... they guys that are gone... tons of Carl Everett jerseys... Shingo Takatsu... guys who were good and made a difference. But the one guy I thought that made a difference and we hated to see him go, was the one I was after. I snatched it up and walked away from the racks quickly. The Jersey? Aaron Rowand.

That's all we bought this year... nothing else caught our eye... the great thing is that THIS year at checkout, you got a form to fill out stating that the items you bought were to benefit a charity, thus ding..ding..ding..ding..ding Tax Writeoff.

I just love going to the park for special events, like this one, when there isn't a game. It's just feels special. There was another event going on that you had to pay to participate - playing catch in the outfield. It's reall typical for Dads to bring their youngsters, with their mitt and balls, and you're allowed onto the field for an hour to play catch. the day before Father's Day. How cool is that?

posted at 01:16 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Friday, June 16, 2006

My Mundane Second Life

I have made a significant blunder.

I heard about this "Virtual World" "thing" on a podcast (OK, it's Adam Curry's Daily Source Code...) and I was intrigued. I wanted to know more about it.

So, I signed up.

I am now a resident in Second Life.

Probably the biggest mistake of my life.. my First Life... My Real Life (RL)...

This Virtual World is so immersive... whatever you wanted to do in an alternate universe, you can do here. Buy land, build a home, furnish it.... open a store, make money... go to an established club and spend money... buy a suit or a casual outfit, buy new shoes.. spend money.. meet people, build friendships and relationships... I've even been to a wedding (of two people in SL not RL). It's just so open ended... think of it and build it... sell it for money, make a profit... find a partner... anything...

So, I'm meeting new people from around the world... and I feel like I'm actually meeting them, just not "chatting" with them... we all have "avatars" in SL (Second Life), so when we meet, we actually vitually meet. It's so interesting to see how people construct their avatars, and how they look and dress. The only restriction in this world: the beings are humanoid. I've met all kinds of people, mostly human... some have fairy wings... some are animals, like a bi-ped fox complete with bushy tail. Some people pattern their avatars like some fantasy character, others just like anybody else on the street... few, like myself, try to represent themselves exactly how they are in Real Life... perhaps we're looking for "validation" as ourselves in the alternate universe...

I've even been able to get more listeners for my Podcast, probably more than I personally could do by word of mouth...

I stay up late... talking and interacting with people around the world that I've "met" but never have met, from Australia, Canada, Belgium, The UK, the Netherlands... and not knowing that, because no one has accents when you chat... doing things I just don't do in Real Life (RL), like go dancing at clubs to DJ's spinning music... yeah, like I'd do THAT in Real Life...

It's pretty addictive.... no, VERY addictive... that's why I haven't posted much here... everyday is the same... go home, jump on the computer and hit the daily dance party at a certain Podshow venue... break for dinner... and back on again... talking and having a great time, exploring the world well into the night...

posted at 11:19 PM | Link | Mundane | § |

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Not comfortable

I just stopped at home after an appointment with a neurosurgeon. He was recommended by my primary physician. I don't have an appointment to see a neurologist until the end of July. I am so confused why I had to go see this guy ASAP before seeing the neurologist. In fact, I'm not really sure how to proceed.

So, I'm doing all of this because of these weird leg "twitches" which are more like "spasms". they started almost 5 years ago, very slowly and very steadily have become more and more problematic as they get more and more intense. To start the process, I went for an EMG & NCV, and a series of MRI's. Now, we have to see what they say.

So, I got my own copies of the MRI's and went to this neurosurgeon.

Have you ever have an experience where the experience of just walking into the office "colors" your view of how the doctor may perform? this was one of those.

read more of this entry »


posted at 02:18 PM | Link | Health | § |

Sunday, June 11, 2006

White Sox 8 - Indians 10

Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:51 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Viva, baby

We went over to B&B's after the game today and jumped on the internet and gots us some plane tickets.

Due to various money and health issues, the four of us haven't been to Las Vegas together for 3 years.

Well, now that Barry has his staples out from his liver transplant surgery and has been cleared by the doctors, here we are booking airfare just 24 days later to go to Las Vegas in September for their 25th Anniversary.

Amazing, and we're giddy that we get to go again, as a "team"!

posted at 10:44 PM | Link | Las Vegas | § |
White Sox 4 - Indians 3 - 11 Innings

Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:47 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Friday, June 09, 2006

Let's back this off a smidge...

Quick health issue update:

I've been taking some Blood Pressure medication to help control my BP, which has been too high for too long. A prior drug wasn't working, so my doctor put me on LISINOPRIL-HCTZ 10/12.5mg tablets, and the last time I saw him, I was finally getting close: my BP was 135/88.

Now that I've been diagnosed as a diabetic, my BP has to be even lower, so my doctor tweaked the drug a bit and put me on LISINOPRIL-HCTZ 20/12.5mg tablets.

I noticed that I was feeling a little... weird. I wasn't light-headed, but the other night when I was hauling the hose around in the yard, I was short of breath, panting like a race horse.

I pulled out my wrist BP cuff and tested my BP: 83/56 ! OK, not good.

So I called the Dr's office and left a detailed message. They called in a new presecription for me to replace what I was on... It's the same dosage as the one prior to this, so I'm back with the medication that was working, without being "overmedicated".

I had taken my BP a few times with the heavier dosage drug, just to see what was going on. There were times were it was 113/66, 109/67, 123/80, 103/66, so this seemed good to me... I guess it was 87/49, 97/62 and that 83/56 that were probably problems.

posted at 08:42 PM | Link | Health | § |

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

A new season of Watering Zen

Our first bloom of the season
Well, we've been having several sunny days with no rain, so that signals to me that the hose has to come back out and I have to resume my "Watering The Plants" duty. The plants this year look different - the came up so much fuller and healthy looking, minus one hosta underneath our hawthorne tree that looks healthy but just really tiny, and the three Black-Eyed Susan's. So, looking back at last year, it's around the same time of the year, and we got our first bloom - one of the daylilies in front of the garage, just days before a year ago.

So, I guess I'm back to my Watering Zen time... the soil was drier than I thought, taking an awful lot of water. Our lawn service comes tomorrow, so I may set up my sprinkler and timer tomorrow evening to make sure the plants are taken care of. The lawn looks OK, but just may be on the verge of fading.

posted at 08:26 PM | Link | Mundane | § |

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Podcast Show #8 now available

The latest "Mundane Mid-Life Show" podcast - Show #8 - is now available on the Podcast page, which has links to download individual shows or subscribe to the Podcast through iTunes.

posted at 03:10 PM | Link | Podcast | § |
Another cool timestamp...

... so it's 06/06/06 06:06:06 !

...Then again, it can be interpreted as 6/6/6, or worse - 666...

In fact, there are many parties and "celebrations" schdules for today, like, oh, Satanic High Masses...

posted at 06:06 AM | Link | Odd | § |

Sunday, June 04, 2006

White Sox 2 - Rangers 10

Chicago White Sox Texas Rangers

read more of this entry »


posted at 09:13 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, June 03, 2006

The "Extended" Baseball "Family"

I may have talked about this before, but I believe there's a phenomena that happens between Season Ticket Holders to a sporting event. Over many games, you start recognizing some of the people around you that show up in the sames seats, game after game. After a while, you may exchange pleasantries about the game. It may take years, but you may find out their first names. You may never find out their last names, but you start to learn non-sporting things about them - usually about family and maybe friends.

And then, rarely, you step outside of the sports arena and may see them "outside". And then there's the really outside.

Today, we were invited to a wedding... Sunday Jim's - a guy who has tickets behind us was getting married, so I felt we had to go, if not for the sense of friendship (which is tenuous at best since your only link is through your tickets) than for the shear curiosity of it.

read more of this entry »


posted at 11:19 PM | Link | Mundane | § |

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Class #2

We went to my second Diabetes Education class tonight at the hospital. Tonight - it was all about me. I was the only one there (well, not the only one... Carol came with to learn and support).

So, since I was the only one, it was one-on-one education all night, so it was a bit intense. And long. And draining.

Did I learn more? Oh, yes.

Like the realization that once you diagnosed with diabetes, that's it - you are a diabetic. You may have everything under control, thus forcing your blood sugars within "normal range", but all that it means is that it's "under control". Once you've been diagnosed, you don't "get rid" of diabetes. You have it for life. There is no cure.

What's scary is that no one know why it happens.

No one knows how you as an individual will progress with the disease, how many complications you may get, how many will impact your life significantly.

So, education is a good thing.

posted at 09:49 PM | Link | Health | § |
*nose wiggle* *nose wiggle*

It's the First Day of the Month, again, and according to meme tradition..., you better say "Rabbit, Rabbit!" as your first words of the day to have good luck! (Now, if you blew it, before you go to sleep tonight, to still try to gain luck, your last words have to be "Tibbar! Tibbar!")

I'll tell you, we all got lucky with Indy... I can't believe that her health "issues" this week were due to dental problems.

Oh, and for other derivitives to this meme, check out the alternatives: "White Rabbit" or Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit!.


...and why the hell am I up so early?....

posted at 06:01 AM | Link | Memes | § |

 

That's it for the entries in this particular Archive of my blog. If you want, you can look through other entries by selecting the links in the right-hand column of this page under either Archives by Month or Archives by Category, or you can search the site for specific keywords by using the Search page.

This Blog was last updated Friday December 18, 2009 13:03:12 CDT (-06:00 GMT)
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