quite a shock

 

             FRIDAY 7/30/21  10:15 AM--just spent almost two hours talking to a friend about some deep heavy stuff...(perhaps) other than politically, he and I are a LOT alike...that was refreshing...the name of the place he goes and I'm gonna investigate is called  ALL DAY MEDICAL CARE...it's behind the McD's where SueEl and I meet for lunch...she wanted to do that today, but I'm not up to it--fairly wiped out from last night's practice...and the deep, enlightening conversation with a friend...I feel as though he and I are way more alike than we are different...
9:34PM--I didn't accomplish anything major today, but I feel pretty good anyhow...tomorrow I think we're going to the flea market at the fairgrounds, after the roomie gets her hair cut...as for Sunday, *I* have no idea...
          SATURDAY 7/31/21 11:30AM-we are at the Gaithersburg flea market at the fairgrounds…It’s way WAY bigger than I’ve ever seen it; but I’m chillin’ in the shade while the roomie does her shopping…Slowly but surely I’m learning the value of keeping some thoughts to myself, at least where she is concerned...
SUNDAY 8/1/21 11:05PM--gonna try real hard to contact All Day Medical Care...I've been fluctuating between being nervous about that and thinking it was child's play...

have I become my Dad?

 

        THURSDAY 7/29/21 8:30AM--just got back from Giant...engaged in a friendly (flirty?) but silly conversation with two female cashiers...suddenly it occurred to me, I have in some, but not all, ways turned into my Dad...I'll never be the workaholic that I believe HE was, but the gregarious, friendly, humorous guy? I think I'm him a lot of the time--when I'm not being a grumpus...and no I wasn't intentionally flirting with either one of 'em...
10:12PM--Senility/alneimer's seems to me to be not possible, but likely...am I not taking enough MagMalate? Or am I taking too much? I left my "BritBag" (cables and stomp boxes) home instead of taking it to practice...I left my Purple tumbler(?) at Jim & Eileen's instead of bringing it home...I DID get the trash and recycle-ables out...Before I left for practice I blew up, NOT at Dianne, so much but at the situation...Maybe the Magnesium Malate has either stopped working or (more likely) too much of it has side effects...

It’s a miracle

         

         MONDAY 7/26/22 8:48 PM-One of my rear view mirror map reading lights has been on ALL DAY today and half of yesterday… to me, it’s a major miracle that the car started at all… Perhaps the map lights don’t use up too much battery juice… but it still pisses me off that this keeps happening… I guess from now on I’ll have to be even MORE careful than I have been, which apparently isn’t enough...
WEDNESDAY 7/28/21 7:22PM--Today, while the cleaning women were here, I went to the Library, something I hadn't done since at least March of 2020...even brought a book home--part two of George Martin's bio...

living in the past isn't alaways my idea

 

        SUNDAY 7/25/21 4:36PM--working in the basement, even just to get rid of stuff, is a lotta work...I can't wait until it's finished...digging thru some stuff I found Dad's High School diploma, which goes together with his HS Yearbook...
       I also found (on paper!) a very short history of all the bands I've been in through MSR, from the cyber-diary I had before I started this one...but there's still LOTSA stuff to sort thru and get rid of...speakers I bought and seemingly can't use...I spotted a packet of photos (MORE pix?) in the bin that I'm saving for last...and my VHS tape collection--what do I do with those? And my first photo album...Hopefully gonna work down there some more tomorrow...
WEDNESDAY 7/28/21 8:35AM--still straightening up...the women will be here between 1 and 2 or so they say...not the best time for me, but it is what it is...hopefully they'll be gone by 3:30 if not sooner...

money problems/time traveling

 

      TUESDAY 7/20/21 8AM--even if I WANT to go to the open mic in Woodstock (?) I can't--whatever gas I use needs to be replaced, whichever vehicle I use and I don't have the money--yet...so I'll be staying home tonight... and that's OK by me...
10:55PM--I haven't heard from SueEl yet...I hope she doesn't wanna go...
1:50PM--I've been plowing thru my container of photos, attempting to catagorize them...it's a WAY bigger project than I thought it would be...I probably shoulda been labeling them as I go so I know what I'm looking at...
4:52PM--I quit (for now?) sorting the photos...might do some more tomorrow... 
WEDNESDAY 7/21/21 11:20PM--got all the way to the bottom of the container of photos...I might have to divide the FAMILY collection into Dad's side of the family and Mom's side of the family...I suppose I could label the photos at that time...
FRIDAY 7/23/21 7:27PM--hung out with SueEl after my nap...we went to McDs again...learned a bunch about her and she about me...although I've already forgotten some of what she told me; I still might go see a band on Saturday, but Dianne might go with me...
SATURDAY 7/24/21 7:40PM--nope, I/we didn't go see the band...we went to Unique Thrift Store and iHOP around 10AM or so...went to Giant to get the groceries Dianne had pre-ordered...worked on the Photo Storage Project...so now I'm really tired...have almost no idea what's going on tomorrow...
8:30PM--probably gonna work on another mandala doodle...they (when they're blank) are starting to look alike...or I'm just bored with 'em...

a very social saturday, a busy Sunday

 

        SATURDAY 7/17/21 8:46PM--Mike and Sue came by this morning...we all went to iHOP for brunch...I had a cheese omelet--much better of course than any *I* could make...I had hoped to take a nap when we got back home, but Mother Nature had other plans, involving thunder...Then we went to visit Dianne's parents and have Dinner...now I'm just trying to make it to bedtime, whenever that will be...probably close to Midnight...
       I'm not exactly sure what's happening tomorrow...I think I might possibly work in the basement--maybe...organizing the CDs would delay getting the "real" work done...meaning putting my Past behind me...I mean really, why should I still have my grade school report cards?
          SUNDAY 7/18/21 12:50PM--worked on/in the basement from about 8:30 until about 10 o'clock...I feel as though I made progress, but there's still a long way to go...the plan is to work on it some more after my nap...which means (hopefully) somewhere around 4:00PM...
5PM--just got finished working in the basement...it looks way WAY better than it did the day before yesterday...but, of course, I'm still not done...
MONDAY 7/19/21 7:20PM--still working on the basement...started digging into one of the three bins that have been sitting in the basement the longest...and I'm still finding CDs...sheesh...

just trying to be busy

 

        THURSDAY 7/15/21 1:18PM--I'm gonna try for a nap soon...*I* don't think I need to shower and shave for the Jam...I WILL be wearing clean undies and clean outerwear...I think I'm taking Dianne's car...
   On the other hand, for some uknown reason, I have to be here when the junkman comes, allegedly in about twenty minutes...I'm starting to think I'm not gonna get a nap, whether I need one or not...after all, the jam starts at 5, and I wanna be there by 4:30...I wanna leave at around 4PM...loading the car shouldn't take long...cooking and eating two hot dogs shouldn't take more than twenty minutes...
          FRIDAY 7/16/21 9:09AM--been to the grocery store already...got some cleaning up to do before Sue & Mike get here--tomorrow morning...I keep wanting to go work on the basement, but it hasn't happened yet...playing at the Jam wore me out, then I came home and dealt with the recycle-ables, the trash AND the donateables...I don't yet have enough energy to work on the basement...maybe after my nap...or tomorrow after my nap...I think Dianne is going to Riderwood and seemingly I don't have to go with her...I think that (maybe) once I get started, I'll find the groove and work until I'm finished...although there is an advantage to taking it nice and slow...
10:14AM--started trying to work on the basement...took one baby step and stopped--my back started to hurt...I think I want whatever containers I use to have lids...some of the containers I've found so far don't...
9:37PM--went out and bought a container or two...the smaller of the two could be used for CDs, the bigger one? I dunno yet...and it turns out I AM going to Riderwood for Dinner...I have no idea what the restaurant serves, but I'm not too worried about finding something to eat--yet...
11PM--watching Star Trek IV on a channel I didn't know Dianne had--EPIX...I suspect I'll be tuning in to it more often...the movie ends just before Midnight, after which I'll go to bed...

Back to Gburg

 

       MONDAY 7/12/21 8AM-well, I’m still in Rockville… I’ll be here until about 5:00… I don’t know what I’ll be having, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be having dinner in Gburg…There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot to watch on TV this morning, but I have a book to read; Although reading makes me sleepy…
12:34PM-I made a mistake… I WILL be having dinner here in Rockville; that’s what the two remaining hotdogs are for…Linda says they won’t be home until about 8PM…I hope to be back home by 7:30 if not sooner…
5:08PM-packing up to go back to G Berg… The towels have been dealt with, my dirty laundry has been dealt with, Some of the food/beverage items have been dealt with… I fed the cat for the last time this visit… I guess the hardest part to deal with will be loading the car up…it’s insanely hot outside and even worse inside the car…some of the food/beverage items will be in a cooler full of ice…
5:41PM-I suppose I could go back to G Burg in few minutes… All I have to do is finish loading up the car, including packing up the food/beverage items in the cooler…
8:14PM-back in Gburg…watching Star Trek, and working on the trash/kitty litter…still dunno when I’m going to bed… and I have no prediction regarding that at this time…

It’s almost over

 

           SUNDAY 7/11/21 7:02PM-One more night and then one more day in Rockville… I think I’m gonna be doing my laundry here tomorrow…I’m currently working on the last of the towels… I think I’ll be done with them when I take it outta the dryer…

I thought I’d be making a trip to the grocery store, but I really don’t think it will be necessary… Not till I get back to GBurg, that is… except that I will be out of baloney… It seems somewhat ridiculous to go to the grocery store for one item, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do it… And I have to stop at the bank and get myself some more cash, so I have some things to do early tomorrow morning, before it gets too hot…

So, to recap, I’ll be having breakfast here in Rockville, a bowl of cereal…lunch here in Rockville-2 cheese and bologna sandwiches, and dinner in Rockville-two hot dogs with ketchup…I’ll feed the cat and go back to Dianne’s…I’ll have all day Monday to clean up around here and sew up any loose ends…

9:09PM-I was thinking that there was nothing for me to watch on TV between 9 o’clock and 10 o’clock, when the FRIENDS mini marathon gets started… I was wrong- the new CNN series The History of the Sitcom started a few minutes ago…

9:39PM-I’m starting to feel sleepy; maybe that’s a good thing…I don’t know if I can make it to midnight, but I think I should try because I don’t want to wake up at 4AM…

11:10PM-I WANT to make it to 12:30, but I don’t think I’m going to…ADDENDUM (I actually DID)

What did I tell you?

 

       SUNDAY 7/11/21 5AM-I woke up about 15 minutes ago, with a headache… I took two Tylenol and my “Levo” and I’m going to go back to sleep shortly I hope… I’ll likely sit here at the edge of the bed and surf the web for a few minutes, the headache might be gone by then…The plan as of now is to have cereal for breakfast, as a cost-cutting measure if nothing else…
8:12AM-Lucky for me, there IS something on TV… Crocodile Dundee on AMC… I guess by the time it’s over, at 10 AM, I’ll be on my way to G-Burg… If I’m not already there by then…
8:26AM-mostly because Dianne strongly suggested it, I’m washing Linda‘s towels before I put them in the dryer… After which I will put them back down on the floor of the laundry area so they can soak up some more water…I might even do some of my own laundry this evening or (more likely) tomorrow morning…
8:52AM-Linda's washing machine is super high-tech but not so much that I couldn’t figure it out just by pushing whatever buttons I thought would get the job done… and I really like the see-through lid…
9:40AM-still doing Linda’s towels… I’m thinking maybe Dianne and I could meet up at lunchtime… Let’s see what she has to say about that; I still don’t know what our plans for today theoretically are…
10:16AM-I guess I’m eating an early early lunch after all, and I should be at Gburg  by 11 o’clock… we’re going to Lowe’s… Maybe that’s the big exciting event for Sunday… I strongly suspect that SHE doesn’t think of that as being at all exciting… after all, this is her last vacation day-she starts back to work tomorrow…
12:05PM--turns out I'm helping around the house today, whether I want to or not...it's funny-when I'm in Rockville I wanna be in Gburg and (lately) when I'm in Gburg, I wanna be in Rockville...

Invisibility can be a good thing

     SATURDAY 7/10/21 10:20PM-I got back from the   Crimestoppers gig about an hour ago…unlike her husband, who was a bit on the chilly side, Sue was friendly and very talkative…

    And I got to hug Jessica… that was worth more than the five dollar cover charge and/or the two dollars per can of soda…

    Now, in addition to struggling more than a little with the upstairs TV, I’m unable to watch the downstairs TV because Mike is recording two different shows at the same time… I really REALLY hope this will be the last housesitting I do for Mike and Linda… it doesn’t matter that I might need the money, it has become a rather stressful arrangement…

11:05 PM-Now that I’ve got the upstairs TV working, I’m afraid to do anything – change the channel, raise or lower the volume…probably gonna watch FRIENDS until Midnight, if not a bit later…unless the Universe has a different plan for me…

11:45PM-starting to have trouble keeping my eyes open…I really wanted to stay up longer because if I go to bed now I’ll wake up at four or five in the morning…

11:52PM-yeah, we’re going to bed at midnight…I’ve  still got two full days here, so I’m hoping that I can watch the downstairs TV tomorrow…

Not fun anymore

 

        SATURDAY 7/10/21 7:30AM-I’m really glad the housesitting thing is coming to an end...at least I think it is--Mike and Linda are moving to Florida in November, and it's only July...I'm not exactly having fun; none of the TVs work the way I think they’re supposed to… I recorded a movie and I can’t watch it – I don’t know why… I recorded three episodes of friends; I THINK I can watch those, but again, I don’t know why…
          In Automotive news, my brake light is on, and it’s not the fluid level that’s the problem…great…actually it comes and goes a bit...I choose to be a teeny bit optimistic about that...
       Dianne and I have plans (I think) for later, after the woman shows up to measure the windows for the new blinds that Dianne wants/needs to get...I need to be back in Rockville by five o'clock to feed the cat...
         I doubt if I'll be going out tonight, but who knows? The Crimestoppers (with Stoney on keys) are at the Rockville Elks Lodge, for $5 bucks...if there's something good on TV, I'll stay home...but, some might say, that means Stoney has the power to keep me from going to see the band if I REALLY wanted to...Seriously considering going, if for no other reason than he probably thinks I WON'T...

5:26PM-by the time I get back from the Elks Lodge, there won’t be anything good on TV… I guess I’ll be stuck watching the weather channel; planning on leaving in about 20 minutes…

6:15PM-I didn’t count on the gig being outside, but it is… I don’t know how long I’m going to stay– I expect to be gone before sundown… The soda is IMO expensive, so I need to make this one last a while…

I said hello to Stoney, he was a bit chilly IMO…Craig knows I’m here…ICPIB I’m absolutely ok with being invisible…in fact, I’m loving it…

Not sure why, but the band has TWO guitarists…

7:17PM-don’t know how long I’m going to stay, my presence here is still somewhat of a secret and I am still OK with that…I guess I will be home in time to watch Star Trek at 10 o’clock… I couldn’t record it, but that’s OK too…Dunno what I’m gonna watch after that…

The last one?

            FRIDAY 7/9/21 4:20PM-my first full day here in Rockville and I’m ready to go home and stay home… I’ll be here until Monday evening… I didn’t pack enough, of ANYTHING… by which I mean food or clothing… so I’ll have laundry to do in G Burg  and towels to do here in Rockville…

          It feels like it’s going to be a long weekend…

10:45PM-at some point I have to go to the Montrose Giant and do some grocery shopping… like it or not, I guess I’ll be up by 8 o’clock in the morning… I’ll feed the cat go to the store come back here unload the groceries and then go to Dianne’s house…As long as I’m back in Rockville by 5 o’clock I guess I’ll be fine;

I’m going to try to stay up till midnight, if not slightly later… I’m sure I’ll be awake before 8 o’clock, whether I want to be or not…I should be tired enough by Midnight to get some sleep…

Some thing I hadn’t counted on

 THURSDAY  7/8/21 5:07AM-I don’t know what the hell was going on in the room above us last night it sounded like they were throwing the furniture around… So I didn’t fall asleep right away… And because she left her paraphernalia at home, Dianne’s snoring kept me awake for at least part of the night… I shouldn’t assume anything, but I DO assume that I’m going to get a good nights sleep at Linda‘s tonight…

5:22PM-other than having trouble with the upstairs TV buttons, like I always do, everything here is fine…I’ve got certainly enough soda for a day or two, hamburger rolls, cheese, baloney…hotdogs…they have ice cream sandwiches…I THINK I’ll be ok, like I said, for a couple of days…I need cereal and milk though…

5:37PM-Like I’ve said many many times before, I can’t imagine  NOT being in bed by Midnight, if not sooner…

7:52PM-in addition to my feline duties, I have to keep an eye on the air-conditioning unit-it’s leaking quite a bit… When the towels are too wet I have to change them into dry ones… What I’m doing is putting the soaking wet ones in the clothes dryer because I don’t have enough towels for the next four days… Somebody at some point in time is going to come here and fix the thing, but I don’t know who or when…for this extra duty Linda paid me 10 more dollars…every extra penny makes a difference… I think I’m going to have to start pinching them immediately, and continue to pinch them until they squeal…

9:30PM-about an hour or so ago, I was having a lot of trouble keeping my eyes open… But now it’s 9:30 and I’m a little more awake than before and I don’t like that…

Not necessarily what I expected

 

MONDAY 7/5/21 5:30PM-so here we are in Ocean city… There’s still a pretty good size crowd here; the room is adequate at best, but it’s paid for… The walls seem to be very thin… But it doesn’t matter, we’re at the beach, at the ocean… I don’t think we’ve ever been here for two full days with a travel day at the beginning and a travel day at the end totaling FOUR days… The boardwalk is right below us… I think I could throw a rock or a baseball or a football from this deck and hit the beach…

The deck/porch (?) itself is about four steps away from the door to our room… silly me, I had the fantasy of finding an open mic somewhere nearby – that’s never gonna happen…

I don’t know what plans Dianne has for the next 2 1/2 days, but I wouldn’t mind spending one of those days doing next to nothing… I think SHE is the one that should want to do that, being rather stressed out in general… for what it’s worth, I don’t think anyone here in Ocean City is wearing a mask…

TUESDAY 7/6/21 5:46AM- I was hoping to get a really nice picture of the sunrise but it’s too cloudy on the horizon… And even as I’m typing this I see this big orangey thing coming up out of the sky… I’ll get back to you…

5:58AMeven the smartest phone has its technological limits… It’s times like these I wish I owned a real Camera; but I don’t and I can’t really afford one if they do exist; not to mention 35 mm film – does THAT still exist? I’m gonna go back to the room and get back in bed, although I don’t expect to get any more sleep… I can’t even GUESS as to when Dianne is going to get up;

12:46PM-a very nice breakfast…then we went to CVS and I bought a baseball style hat…shortly we’ll be off to go do stuff…

6:17PM-I thought I had already mentioned that we were going on a tour of Assateague Island, but I can’t seem to find that report… So I making another one – we went on a boat trip to Assateague Island…I took some photos, and a very short video… it’s kind a hard to believe but we still have one more full day here in Ocean city… We’re supposed to have a meeting with Debbie and Jeff , but the details haven’t been ironed out just yet – the where and when…

4:40-amazingly enough we ran into Debbie and Jeff on the boardwalk in front of our motel… We’ve made tentative plans to eat dinner together-somewhere at around 7:30 I think… And we actually spent some but not too much  time in the ocean, occasionally up to our waist…the water was warmer than *I* thought it would be…

5:24PM-because I didn’t get a nap, I should be able to sleep pretty good tonight, right? I hope so anyway…I thought I’d be ready to go home by now, but surprisingly I’m not…I dunno for sure but I don’t think I’ll have much time to pack for the house sitting gig, which starts Thursday at 5PM…that’s tomorrow..

10:29PM-just got back from dinner (and dessert) with Jeff and Debbie…and we stopped at a t-shirt/gift shop where I was able to buy two bottles of Diet Coke…I’d be surprised if I was still up at Midnight…

Financially secure, if I don’t buy anything

    

                  SATURDAY 7/3/21 8:17AM-so here we are at the Germantown flea market… It’s not as big as it has been, but it’s still early yet… I haven’t seen Craig yet, that doesn’t mean he isn’t here… I’ll just keep looking for the hat; Maybe some vendors are saving themselves for the Fairgrounds flea market…
            In any case, I’ll be OK if I don’t buy anything – I have $42 in my pocket… and $120 Ocean City dollars waiting for me at home…speaking of Ocean City, I’m a little concerned about how much walking we’re gonna do when we’re there…but there are benches all up and down the boardwalk, so I’m not TOO worried…
      Shortly, will be dropping Dianne's car off at the Dealer's to get some maintanence done, then (in MY car) we're going to Unique...I hope to come home with a pair of cargo shorts and a book to read at the Beach...
LATER--so I bought BORN TO RUN, Bruce’s auto biography…IF I donated my copy, this could be it…but at least I'll have a book to read...
9:09PM--excited/nervous about preparing for the trip...then of course there's the trip itself...being on the road for a long time w/o easy access to a rest room worries me...
10:42PM--If I don't spend any money on Sunday, I will be going to OC with $160 dollars--surely that's enough for four days...
SUNDAY 7/4/21 11:13AM--I've started pack for the trip to OC...I'm not EVEN gonna think about packing for the house sitting gig yet...I don't think I have to do any Laundry for either circumstance...
6:06PM--slowly but surely still packing for OC...don't expect to get much sleep tonight...I might be doing most of the driving...
MONDAY 7/5/21 7:40AM--just about completely packed for the OC trip...Dunno when we're leaving, and first we have to drop the dog off at Best Friends, which, I think opened at 7AM...
the new TV remote features Voice Command--now turning Closed Captioning ON is especially easy...as opposed to going thru the Menu--lotsa button pushing involved, and I'M still getting used to the new buttons...I keep making mistakes...

surprises, good and bad

 

                 FRIDAY 7/2/21 8:45AM--just found out we're leaving on MONDAY for OC, not Tuesday as *I* thought...so the time to start prepping might be  today...
 11:50AM--I really want at least one more pair of white cargo shorts...the G-town flea market is tomorrow; if I don't find any there (Dianne is leery of the idea) we'll go to Unique...
           Still a bit shook up over Ray's last communication on FB Messenger...I WILL get over it, but not instantly...Sometimes Life is like that...
              Dianne's new TV system has youTube on it (ch. 837 I think) so she watched an infomercial Ray did, in Denmark I suppose...we watched a snippet of me harmonizing with a certain friend of mine at the OTWC...I find it difficult to watch myself, unless I'm alone...then it's a little less difficult...
      The two-part episode of ONE DAY AT A TIME that was on dealt with the idea that very often Humans would  lie to a person rather than hurt their feelings...the Universe is trying to tell me something, but I dunno what... 
7:37PM--I seem to be having difficulty putting that certain ended friendship behind me...I hope that going to the G-Town flea market tomorrow and going to OC on Monday will help with that...