Florence Nightingale

This has been a rough week. The flu bug decided to make a house call and stopped on our doorstep. Stupid me, I let him in. My bad. So Tuesday was the unexpected arrival. I got up, went to work, had a somewhat productive day, met a friend and his wife for lunch, went back to work, and got off a little early. Ideally, this is the kind of day that actually makes going to work worth going to work. But about three in the afternoon, my throat felt a little scratchy. I was home a half an hour later, informing my wife of the status of my throat. Immediately, she morphed into emergency room nurse mode, and dumped everything from over the counter, under the counter, witch doctor potions (just kidding), and even made homemade chicken noodle soup, because she read or heard some 'fact' about the medical benefits of chicken noodle soup for the cold and flu. Actually, it's true. By nine that evening, I was running a fever, chills, and could feel a rattle settling into my chest. Thank you flu bug for ruining my 'perfect' day of work. So its been a couple of days now, and outside of coughing and hacking every thirty seconds, I'm recovering pretty well from the bus I stepped in front of. But, .... now the rest of my family is suffering. So , I guess it's my turn to don the Florence Nightingale nurse's uniform, (metaphorically speaking) and help them on the road to recovery. So we've put up the quarantine sign, and have strictly enforced a 'No Kissing' regulation. Well, off to practice my nursing skills. I've never given a shot before, but I'm eager to try!

The Bandwagon

I'm a big fan of creative design and modern ingenuity. Ranging from buildings to ballpoint pens, well thought out, ergonomically correct design is pleasing to use and pleasing to look at. I understand the whole reason for designing something so well, the whole world should know about it. If it fits our needs, and we can afford it, we should also have the opportunity to own it. Keep in mind though, up until this time, it has not been considered a necessity. If you've existed up to this point without perishing, it's just another 'thing'. But, if it is something that is so well thought out and would make life run a little smoother, why not? Unfortunately, there's always an opportunist waiting behind every good idea and invention. They can produce something so close, it may look like the original, but doesn't perform or last as well. Then come the stampeding masses to own the latest copy of the authentic. Walmart seems to be foremost in taking a good idea, cheapening it, and selling to the public for less. There are several items that have been bastardized. One such item is Crocs. Crocs are the slip on shoe made popular by the chef Mario Batali. It seems these shoes are fitting for quite a few jobs, as well as wearing for casual appearances. Nothing wrong with owning a pair, in fact, everyone should. But if you purchase the knock off, the experience isn't going to be as pleasurable as owning the actual pair. So my advice is, support good design, and don't hop on the bandwagon just to be a part of the current fad. Some folks just get carried away with the 'latest', and before you know it, they run it into the ground, ... or Walmart. Be prepared for the new iPad to be half the price, labeled as the uPad, and work 10% as well, in the next few months.

Crybaby

Otherwise known as, Jay Leno. I used to somewhat like the guy, but after his recent shenanigans, I hope he runs the Tonight Show into the dirt. I've always enjoyed Letterman more anyway. Conan, on the other hand, I've always enjoyed also. But after leaving the Tonight Show, he's not allowed to work until September. What's he going to do until then? After his 45 million dollar buyout, I'm sure whatever he damn well pleases. I don't feel NBC gave Conan enough time to really make the show his own. Jay Leno, on the other hand, needs to go back to kindergarten to learn how to play well with others, and not take toys away from other kids. Shame on you Jay! I can only imagine what Johnny Carson would think right now.

Adjectives

From time to time we all need a descriptive word so that our audience understands our point to the Nth degree. For instance, the word 'broke', can either describe the state of my dishwasher, or the state of my bank account. Timing couldn't have been better. Broken appliance and too broke to fix it! I can think of many colorful descriptive words I'd like to use right now, but in case someone is watching or reading this, unless accompanied by an adult, the PG 13 rating may get me in trouble. Besides, do I really need to fly off the handle, and start spewing forth unrefined words? What would that accomplish? Tension relief, maybe:) On to the next adjective subject of the day. Stupidity, wasteful, LATE, just to name a few, describing the renegade plow driver who plowed my street again, for the second time this week! Just when the first moronic act of plowing a street that was perfectly passable, and turned into a motocross course, was starting to melt, the jackass came by a second time to plow ice in front of my drive. My wife's car now bottoms out every time, in and out of the drive. If I were to meet this person face to face, I'm ashamed to say, I would have a few adjectives to share with him. He would have to wipe the adjectives off his face with a towel by the time I was finished. The word 'pretty' would only be used in front of other adjectives not so pretty.

Thank You Again

This is just a final thanks to the woman who shared her family's Italian sausage recipe. Her name was Ann Piccolo. She died last week at the age of 97. She grew up in an orphanage here in Omaha, and turned out to be one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet. The first time she heard my name, she marched up to me and said, "You Italian"? She may have been 5 foot at one time in her life, but I've only known her for the last six years, and she's always been four foot something, probably 75 lbs. soaking wet. She was so excited when I approached her with the desire to turn out my own sausage, and asked if she had a recipe and some pointers. Her sausage, which is now my sausage, is pretty much verbatim with just two small differences. Thanks again for the sharing the love and the memories:)

Thanks ..... For Nothin'!

I've tried to bite my tongue, or rather pencil, or rather keyboard, concerning snow removal. First, let's rename the act of 'snow removal' to 'let it sit for a week and then move it in front of my driveway'. Zero amount of snow was removed from my street. A private contractor came through a couple of days after the worst was over, and did a pretty decent job of moving the snow. Then it snowed again, but a much smaller amount. After a week and a half the majority of it was compressed down and not really an issue ..... until yesterday! The city, on top of things as normal, decided to send one of their finest down our very passable street, to perform their public service of 'snow removal'. Keep in mind, everyone on our block has off street parking. Occasionally there's a car parked on the street who may be visiting, but we all park in our driveways. They made one pass down the middle, (that's standard for our street) and left. Our street has already been narrowed due to the amount piled along the curb. Now, we have a second ridge another 12 inches into the street on either side, making it even more difficult to maneuver. Several hours and two asthma attacks, and the end of my driveway was narrow, but clear. I now have this huge speed bump made of ice at the end of the drive, to make pulling in a mild Evil Knievil stunt. My truck is so long, I got stuck at the speed bump with the front tires, while my rear tires were stuck in the snow bank on the opposite side of the street. That was while it was in four wheel drive. I realize the city is over budget because it snowed this year, but they're over budget every year regardless. We had better figure it out someday soon. It feels like the broken pieces of the Antarctic glacial shelf, recently caught a plane to the midwest to spend the winter. I'm half tempted to buy a blade and plow my own street. If I do, I'm putting up a sign, 'City Employees in Snow Removal Trucks Not Allowed'.

Chemical Dependency

We all have the need to feel well. If we don't feel well, the rest of our life seems to unravel around us. On the flip side, if our life unravels around us, it can make us feel ill. This is why pharmacies create pills. When life gets too tough to handle, we've been programmed to take a pill. There's pills for every imaginable ache, pain, or ailment, whether real or conjured up in our head. There's even fake pills to try to trick your body into thinking you're actually getting help from the pill. There's pills to make our children pay attention, there's pills to make adults pay less attention. There's pills to help fix things on the inside, as well as the outside. The only reason I'm writing this, I woke up at 1 AM with a splitting sinus headache. So off to the medicine cabinet for some relief. After taking the proper dosage of the correct medication, I sat in bed thinking of the different chemicals I ingest to keep this body, most of you refer to as "Kevin", going. Advil for the head, aspirin for the muscles, Claritin for the allergies, Tums for the heartburn, inhaler for the asthma, shots for the flu to keep away pigs, birds, and Asians, spirits for the well being of the mind, liver, and soul, coffee to burn off the morning fog, just to name a few. The pharmaceutical companies should have no worries. Billions of people need a little something from time to time, to get us thru to tomorrow. I prefer to self diagnose, and treat multiple ailments with as few pills as possible. If the pill can be taken with a stiff chaser, or better yet, if the stiff chaser can be the 'pill', that would be my first preference. Pharmaceuticals recognize this form of medication and give it the proper credo it deserves. Where can you often go to buy wine & spirits? Would your final answer be the 'drugstore'? Pills and wine. It works for rock stars.

What's on my mind?

If you could look into my head, without cracking my egg open, and peer into my thoughts, you would probably exclaim, "Who is going to clean this mess up"? But since you can't, you're just going to have to take my word for it, it could use some organization. Many times when people write in a diary, or, perhaps a blog, they may leave a pattern of what's going on in their lives at that moment. Their happiness, sadness, frustration, whatever emotional roller coaster ride they happen to find themselves on, creeps out onto the page. I'm no different. First, let me mention, two entries ago, on the Happy Hour blog, was a landmark for me. That happened to be my 200th entry! I'm thinking I should be on Oprah, or have an hour long TV special in my honor. Oops, there's the A.D.D. side of me trying to escape. Back to the original train of thought. Peering back through my verbose, disconnected, ridiculous ramblings, I can tell when I happened to be frustrated at work, frustrated with a younger generation, frustrated with electronic devices, and the dog. How could I tell? Because I said so. I really didn't leave any underlying clues, I just blurted out my disdain. I'm not as tactful as I think I am. What's the expression? Wear your heart on your sleeve? Am I using that in the correct context? Regardless, I'm happy to share the mental 'junk food' I sometimes spew forth. I know it doesn't enrich anyone's life, or is earth moving information, but from time to time I observe humans (myself included), and their surroundings, and pick up on little nuances, or subtleties, and just wonder if anyone behind my computer screen sees it the same way I do? You have my sympathy if you do.

Tweet

I'm pretty sure that's what a bird would post on Twitter. I guess I'm too ancient to realize the necessity of Twitter. I don't have the need to tell everyone what I'm doing at that exact time and location. And I'm not too concerned about other folks business at that very moment. If you save it til later, you can tell me in person, and we'll have something to talk about. I hear about people who Tweet hundreds of times a day. How do these people get anything accomplished in life? If they're not Tweeting, they're instant messaging, text messaging, emailing, ..... whatever form of communication available via outer space. But not actually exercising their face muscles and tongue to shape the mouth and exert their voice box to form words to exit their mouth. They always have to possess a gadget to convey their thoughts. I don't know about you, but occasionally I need the function of both of my hands at the same time. This would be rather difficult to accomplish, say, moving a refrigerator and trying to Tweet about it at the same time. If you moved the refrigerator and Tweeted about it afterward, you've conveyed information that is now history, and that's not what Twitter is meant for. It's information in the making, not history. In a sense, you're giving your audience information they may already know. What good is that? Apparently we have the need to be doing something with our hands at all times. This is a common defense used by people who smoke. Once they quit, they're not sure what to do with their hands. I feel a generation needs a creative outlet. Do something with your hands that may involve a hobby. Go purchase a pocket knife and learn to whittle. The knife will never go out of style or become obsolete, so there's no need to upgrade for several hundred dollars. After you've created something handmade, don't take a picture and email me, bring it to me and show it to me. The emailed pic doesn't let me sense the excitement you're experiencing or the sense of pride you've actually earned. My personal device is not very personal, and cannot figure out how to express human emotion ..... I don't think?

Awkward

Causing or feeling embarrassment or inconvenience, is just one definition of awkward. Sometimes this feeling may come over a room when spending a certain amount of time with someone we only know casually. You may feel the need to have conversation, but not quite sure what to talk about to break the ice. You don't want to bring up a potentially hostile subject, just in case your audience may have a strong opinion. That would be awkward. There's also the opposite situation where someone may have been personally close to you and either party may have committed some heinous wrong against the other, and one of the members decides the relationship needs a clean break, either temporarily or permanent. Then you happen to be in a public setting, and find yourself sharing the same aisle of the same bookstore, or happen to be invited to a party of a mutual friend who is not aware of the strained relationship. That can be awkward. Sometimes people like to make the situation awkward. They feel they have every right to be there as much as you do. Technically, 'yes'. But, common courtesy should tell them 'no'. Listen to me, I sound like Ann Landers - up to this point. My solution is, be the more civil party, and leave. But not until you've told a few select people the 'whole truth' ;) How he ruined your sister's marriage by cheating on his wife with a sheep, or something like that. Some call it 'embellishment', others call it a 'lie', still others consider it 'retribution'. If you happen to be the guilty individual, spare yourself the awkwardness and embarrassment, by simply excusing yourself, and regretfully so. Time heals all wounds, and if you stand a chance of ever salvaging a relationship, time and space are a requisite.

New Job

I believe my new full time job is shoveling snow! Take this job and Shove ... el it :)

Very Trendy

As my family and I are driving down the road yesterday, we passed a neighborhood on our way to our destination, that we all agreed, we hated the name of the development. First of all, I find it rather amusing that when you reach a certain point west within the city, the neighborhoods all have signs to the entrance announcing the name of the development. I personally prefer anonymity. My neighborhood too is named, but there's no entrance sign. The only way you would have known the name is from the little grocery/drug store that closed up about 15 years ago. It was called Parkvale Sundries, and happened to be right on the corner of the neighborhood as you were entering. The name 'Parkvale', in my estimation, is much less pretentious than say, 'Trendwood'. Who in the world came up with that horrible name? Hopefully they acted alone, and not a committee's decision. I hate to think that multiple people made a bad decision. There's others out there that just do not seem to fit the Omaha landscape. I feel 'Bay Shores' should be sitting on a larger body of water. At least the size of Lake Erie. 'South Shore Heights' one would imagine it would be located at least ON a body of water. A puddle forming after a rainstorm on a vacant lot, doesn't count. 'Fire Ridge' must be located near those mythical Nebraska volcano fields. Shaker Heights - what's that? I'm sorry to be so critical, I know it's somewhat of a challenge to come up with unique names for these areas, but I feel there has to be a database of names to choose from out there somewhere? On the flip side of the coin, I feel there are some well thought of titles that capture the nature of the area, or perhaps the original landowner's name was considered. Loveland comes to mind. That happens to be the name of the farmer who decided to sell off land for the progression west along Pacific street. Also Tomlinson Woods nailed it. The Tomlinson property actually sits in a very secluded, wooded area. Nelson's Creek would be an apt name, if there were a creek. Then there's the developments that try to give off the latest trend in ridiculous. The entrance was made to simulate the Colorado Rockies landscape, and the name, 'Iron Horse', is the Indian name for 'steam engine'. I just don't understand. Another irritation happens to be in the older part of town. The whole area, known as 'Little Italy', has been redeveloped, and a sign announcing the entrance to the area, 'Little Italy'. Omahans shouldn't have to be told where these ethnic locations exist. That should be common knowledge passed through conversation, or pointed to on a map. This is the original identity of the city. It should be as apparent as your name. Marketing ploys should be left for children's toys. I am aware we all have to live somewhere, and maybe the location or price predicts where that 'somewhere' is going to be, but if I had more than one choice, trendy Trendwood would not make the cut.

Conundrum

That's a fun word to say, but not so fun to experience. If you happen to find yourself in a conundrum, it may be a difficult problem with no good solution. The lesser of two evils. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Two wrong answers, pick one. My wife recently brought this word to my attention, and hopefully throughout your life you continue to expand your vocabulary. This happens to be one of those words I've known for quite a while, but fortunately, don't get the chance to use. For some reason, when I do hear this word, it brings a smile to my face. It just sounds like a funny word. It will also get me to grin when I find myself in this situation, or, I happen to be clever enough to maneuver matters to my favor, and someone else now needs to make a choice in my favor. It's a win/win situation for some, a lose/lose for others. If you happen to find yourself on the negative side, it's best to just flip a coin and deal with the circumstances. If you find yourself coming out on top, enjoy the victory! It's kind of like a chess game. Someone has to win, someone has to lose. Eventually one player is going to find themselves in 'check'. A few strategic moves later, it could be somewhat of a conundrum for the other player, due to the fact that whatever move they decide is going to result in checkmate. Let's try to be optimistic here. If you find yourself in a conundrum, please keep in mind, you're not in hot water...... yet.

Deep Freeze

Has everyone had enough of winter yet? We're thirteen days into it and I'm already starting to ice over. It could be a long one folks. In my household, I'm already sensing cabin fever among some of the grizzlies. I hope we don't end up with a Donner party incident on our hands. I was looking at the forecast this morning, and Monday was supposed to reach 17 degrees! Meanwhile, we're stuck in the single digits for the high, for a few days. There's two things wrong here. First, I'm excited to see Monday come, and I'm looking forward to 17 degrees? It's still well below freezing, and nothing seems to move! I'm half tempted to evict the turkey and pork butt from the deep freeze, just so I have a place to crawl into and warm up! Look at the bright side. One good thing about living in Nebraska during the winter, ...................................................... When I think of something, I'll let you know.

Making Time

Time is a fleeting abstract. No matter what our social status, or where we fall in the food chain, man or animal, we all have 1440 minutes to our 24 hour day. That's 86,400 seconds if you happen to be in a time crunch. It's quite spectacular how quickly those 86,400 ticks go by, and then we start with a new clock the very next tick. It never goes to 86,401. During this race with the clock, we happen to slow down long enough to form relationships. I caught sight of a picture today of my grandmother and oldest daughter. It took me back for a second. At that very moment, those few ticks of the clock, I realized I miss her company. She's been gone for over two years now. Then it made me think about my grandfather and the memorable times with him. I miss him also. When they happened to still be roaming the earth, I would 'make time' to go visit, take the kids over, drink stronger than normal coffee, discuss their aches and pains (real or otherwise), and just enjoy a few hundred of my allotted minutes of my day and theirs. Since children have arrived in my life, it seems I have to cram more activities into a day. So my life, as is many common folk, feel that life is hectic and always busy. So the term, 'making time', does not mean you have the ability to manufacture that extra second at the end of your day (unless you're playing Nebraska for the Big 12 title). What that means is, you have to steal some minutes, or even seconds, from something else. So previous plans are going to be deficient of the time you've originally set aside. That could appear as neglect to some, multitasking to others. Since my grandparents have passed, my life hasn't slowed down. I still seem busier than ever. This led me to think about how my relationship with them would be if they were still here. Would I have as much time to spend with them as before? If my life were so busy, would our relationship suffer? Would they understand? I can only speculate, but I feel I would have foregone sleep, if necessary, to enjoy a few hundred minutes to spend with them from time to time.