Things that are annoying me as the month comes to an end

The toilet that's been leaking for months, we've been waiting on someone to fix it because we'd rather give him the money than someone else.

The electric outlet below the toilet that recently went out, see above.

The starlings that are living under the eaves, I think there are squirrels in there now. Called a pest control service, they'll be here Monday.

My son's doctor called regarding the feeding clinic. She did not leave a return number. I called the number listed in the hospital and got the voice mail of another doctor. We already have an appointment with her next Thursday. Does she not know or remember this?

My son's in a messed up sleep pattern, again. He's a random noise generator which is rather uninspiring at 3AM. Also, getting him to listen to me and fall asleep is a futile effort.

The Mets suck. Their relief pitching is pathetic. Their ability to score runs is non-existant. I feel sorry for Matt Harvey, the next Jerry Koosman. I'd also feel bad for David Wright if the checks start bouncing.

The lawn mower was repaired nicely, but I put the wrong mixture of gas and oil in. Now it takes awhile to start and has little power when it does. The smoke is fun, too.

I have written very little this month, and what I have written is crap. The way to get out there is to do good work, it's not happening here.

Paging and notes for a special fiction collection.

My neighbor's tree is pushing against my fence, causing a disturbing gap. They also leave their puppy and other dogs out late. They bark. It is sad. I have no idea how many dogs they have, or if they, too, keep them chained up in the basement. Other tenants there have done this.

I do not feel like I exist. This is wrong, but it's a feeling I cannot shake as May begins.

One More Time

In nine days I'm off to Fayetteville, Arkansas to represent Writers' Block Poetry in the Individual World Poetry Slam. If I did not have a major car repair last month I would not be asking for donations.

If you can spare some cash, any amount will be greatly appreciated.

Those who donate $20 or more will receive a copy of my "I'm Not From Here." CD.

Here's the link, thank you all!

I swear this will be the last time I ask, it's not going to be like this.

I thought seeing 30/30 every day in April was time consuming. I was wrong.

For the record. I wrote seven poems in April. Put one of them here. Another in Facebook notes. None of them were haiku.

It's great when poets get a book deal. It really is. Right now there's a publisher that is running a contest. About twenty poets are finalists in a process that will end with about four to eight of them getting published. This month, they have to post a video on Youtube. The number of "likes" they get will count towards their overall grade. Twenty percent from what I understand. This is also not a fly by night publisher. You have to be a good page poet to get your work here. They're legitimate and high quality.

Sure, if you're the publisher you want to know if the poet can read their work in public. Part of the book deal is that they tour with their work. Part of this smacks of American Idol to me. A gimmick that bores the crap out of me. Not only that but having to scroll past the same twenty links on my Facebook feed multiple times a day makes me a bit cranky.

So if we click on all the links, which makes the voting process equal, what happens then? They can't all be winners, right? Hard to imagine being the poet who, literary merits being equal, did not get a book deal because their video did not get enough hits on Youtube. I guess that's branding in the modern world.

It makes me want to see the same pictures that George Takei posts, over and over, because it takes up less of my time.

Seriously. Good luck to all the poets, especially the ones who work hard and do not get the deal. Especially the ones who do get the deal and survive this ordeal.

There is always indoors.

It would not surprise me if I were to go to the ER before the 27th and beg to have this thing removed from my eye. Going on an eye and a half at times is no fun. Yes, I do not have cancer or a brain injury, yet this is interfering with my daily activities. My sight is bad enough without this chalazion warping my eyelid.

Reading. is difficult. Work, is tedious. Typing this, is hazy. Open mic might be out of the question this week, which means I miss participating in the rap slam. At least I should be healed up by Arts Fest.

Supposed to sit on a porch and drink wine in a bit. Fifty degrees and rain, this should be grand.

Tomorrow morning the car goes to the shop for repair. Some work needs to be done on the front end. These were all known issues; ball joints, a possible axle, the alternator belt needs tightening. Maybe they'll take my left eyelid instead of an arm and a leg.

I'm going to go shake my fist at god now, tell him to get off my lawn or start mowing it.

I Got Your Plumber's Butt

A fix merely removed the mask of other problems.

Plumbing.

The toilet has been flushing itself for awhile. I've been in denial about it, until yesterday.

If Nationwide Arena did not charge $10 for parking for a Ohio State Hockey game I may not be making this entry today. I do not like paying for parking, but $10 for a game that costs $11 for a ticket is pretty ridiculous.

So I was home yesterday afternoon, and bought new fixtures for the toilet yesterday morning. That's what I did, instead of going to the hockey game.

It took less that 45 minutes to install the new valve and flapper. There was little cursing. The toilet flushed when you flushed it, and that's all. Not a bad job for someone who is not mechanically inclined.

Later, we went out to dinner. When we came home there was audible dripping in the kitchen and a ceiling tile was soaked through.

There has been a minor drip coming from the bathroom pipes for a long time. The tile was not in perfect shape. The work I did though seemed to take away one problem and cause a faster drip in the pipe.

It's not raining in the kitchen but it's annoying.

On the Same Boat

A couple of friends of mine have written some powerful stuff about their lives and dealing with their child's autism in the past day. Katie had this reaction to a letter.

"While making dinner, I listened to the "letters" segment of All Things Considered when a response came in about a story about disabled adults who are forced at adulthood to go into managed care facilities instead or remaining at home with the assistance of hole health care. Some man wrote in to ask what the value of this woman was and why should taxpayers take care of her? This asshole drives on roads that I pay for, took advantage of an education that I paid for, has police and fire protection that I pay for and military protection that I pay for and never, ever do I ask to measure his worth for all of these advantages of living in this country. Fucker! So here was my response:

I was sickened to that one of your listeners believes that since some disabled people don't "contribute" to society taxpayers shouldn't be obligated to care for them. I have an autistic daughter who does contribute to our society including providing employment to dozens of people including teachers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and many home health aides who enabled my daughter to live as normally as possible. Having these aides furthered her development more than any single treatment, for the record. Instead of judging her worth on what she contributes, I sometimes prefer to look at what she doesn't do. My daughter will never drive and congest our already congested roads, she will never default on her mortgage, she is unlikely to rob a bank, she will never run into you in the street because she is too busy texting a friend and most importantly she will never be a judgmental asshole like the man who thinks that disabled people don't contribute anything of value. I am so lucky to have a daughter who constantly reminds me of what's important."

She's always been quite frank about whatever situation she finds herself in. I've always admired her for that. It's an important issue; what are we, as a society, going to do with all these autistic children when they become adults?

Sue's a published author and has been blogging about her life, and her son's autism for over five years now. Her latest post, about parental guilt has lot to chew on in it, and she also has asked the question about autistic adults in her blog, and in her current situation as her child is of legal age.

Most days being the parent of an autistic child is rewarding. Others it can be an incredible pain in the ass. Like when he poops in his diaper ten minutes after you take him off the toilet. And when it's out of your control, like today when his bus did not show up on time so I had to drive him for the second time in two weeks - it's an annoyance. Especially when the transportation section of his school district will not admit a 20% failure rate on on-time delivery is not acceptable. I know that sometimes the bus is going to be late.

Just the way it is I suppose.

Amidst all the World Cup action

There's a very cool little place in the Short North we went to on Thursday night. I do not know much about authentic New Orleans or cajun food, but Da Levee is quite satisfying. The menu changes daily, and is small, but it also has vegetarian options. Entrees are seven bucks, and you get plenty of food. You're also given the option of splitting your entrees and getting a half order of two items. This is a deal and a great way to try different food. I had red beans and sausage and the chicken creole and was quite pleased with both.

There was only one person working when we got there, and he had our food out practically by the time we walked to the table. Very friendly. There's also an arcade basketball game in the back. My wife went to the restroom and while I was talking to the owner he heard the beeping and said, "I think she's found the basketball game."

She beat me, so we have to go back for a rematch.

It was a lovely night to be out. High Street was quite busy. A lot of fine looking women strolling about. Then there was this kid in a faux sombrero, trying to get us to sign up and pay to save the environment, a block later another your lady asked us to Save the Children, and further down someone else was being asked to save Lake Erie.

I really do not mind solicitors, but unlike panhandlers they follow you, and try to inflict guilt on you. When you get saturated with charities every block, you get fatigued, and these people dehumanize giving.

Two to Four Inches of Snow is Light. Lighten up America!

Maybe I'm spoiled, insensitive and tough but when did the people of Central Ohio, heck, the rest of the country become so fearful of the weather?

Today is December 19th. The winter solstice starts on Monday.

It's December. This is winter. There is going to be snow, ice, sleet, freezing rain and cold weather. This is what happens in parts of the northern hemisphere during this time of year. What has happened to the culture of this country that has become so alarmist when there is a snowflake visible?

I spent a decade in the snow belt of Western New York and saw some serious snowfall. So back in March of 2008, when Columbus got twenty inches of snow - that was serious, the most I've seen here in twenty years.



I'm not a cold weather person, and I loathe ice on the roads. My car is the only Volvo in North America that does not start when the temperature is in the single digits.

So last night and into today, there was snow. How much? Two freaking inches and you'd think there was a nuclear war being waged. Blogs and Facebook statuses were updated with spewings of hatred and fear of snow. You'd think Osama Bin Laden was controlling the weather the way the venom was flying off people's keyboards.

And the weather forecasters on the news do not help with their calls of alarm. Their sending of reporters for live remotes to the city salt barn if the temperature drops below freezing and the sky has a dark cloud. What a waste of resources. Can't they report something more important? I remember Jym Ganahal on channel four years ago, practically crying on the air because there may be ice on the roads during rush hour and he said, "Our only hope is if the sun comes out to melt the ice." As if Satan and demons were conspiring to cause people to have to drive through inclement weather. As if the world could not be a perfect place unless temperatures are in the seventies year round. This is not Aruba. It gets hot. It gets cold. Sometimes it does not rain for a week. Sometimes it rains for three days straight. It's part of life.

An inch or two of snow is nothing people, drive sensibly and it will be gone in a couple of days. Deal. Be patient. Plan accordingly. Have a plan. I understand that many cities are not equipped with the resources for snow removal and it sucks when the power goes out because of excessive ice. The bad weather will end.

People, have a seat by your window. Turn off the news. Have something warm to drink. Watch the snow fall. It's pretty.

When did people become so afraid of nature?

After Leaving Mom on the Tarmac

Technology with its small buttons and indecipherable instructions frustrated me to the max yesterday then a certain title underwriter set me off with a new hoop to jump through, after I asked weeks ago if there were any more hoops.



At least J.C. Penney came through when least expected. Thank you large retailer.

Had not been to the Eastland Mall in years. When did every other store become a shoe retailer of some sort? Seriously, A Foot Locker, Finish Line and about a dozen stores sell footwear.

Since the Blue Jackets are unwilling to make a trade or replace the coach and desperately need a shaking up may I suggest replacing the team captain. I think R.J. Umberger is ready to lead. They stunk up home ice, again, last night.

Answers I do not get to questions

Two and a half months later I'm still waiting for paperwork to be filed that would enable me to attempt to refinance the house. This is also paperwork that should have been filed almost two years ago. Her lawyer was supposed to handle this. It could have been done by now. There could have been a closing. So I wait. The bank waits, and for how much longer?

High wind warning today. Rain, sleet, snow, toads and who knows what will fall from the sky. Hope it does not interfere with my Mother's trip out here on Friday.

There's a holiday pot luck at work, Writers' Block tonight. British Chris is leaving and he asked Scott if he could host. There is going to be mayhem tonight.

Not much else happening. The kid went to bed at 9:30 last night and is starting to stir, which means it's time for me to get moving and face the day.

140 Characters in Search of Meaning

No, I do not get twitter. How much of someone's life are we supposed to know? Is it really necessary to get updates on what someone is having for lunch? I do not care if someone chooses Chipotle over Wendy's.

Yes, I've been known to put some real minutia in my live journal, but I'm working on that. Yet, I do not repost said minutia in a daily digest of twitter tweets either.

I do know my loathing of twitter says more about me than twitter.

Internet usage takes up enough of my time already, and Facebook status updates (mine included) can be boring and tedious enough to get through. They can be entertaining at times though. Do I really need to add another social networking tool to my life?

Heck, I do not even text. I do not even have a cell phone. I like my privacy, and how I choose to reveal my life is my decision and mine alone. It's almost as some of these twitterers are crying out 'stalk me stalk me!'

Do I need to know what so called movers and shakers are doing every minute of their day? I have enough troubles with my own life to be concerned about them. I have too much time keeping up on blogs, let alone having a life.

Know what else annoys me? It's when someone says 'I have a blog' and does not update it. Great you have a clever blog title, you think you're smart and cutting edge but you do not update. What's the point?

I'm not saying to be on top of it every day. But a weekly update helps. Twice a month even?

I'm back in the world of blogspot to regain some focus. Even now I'm not sure what I'm going to write about. I do not want to recap Everton, OSU Hockey the Mets or Blue Jackets. I certainly am not going to use this space to write about work. Not sure how much information I want to put about my son here.



Nor do I want to post my poetry, you have to come out to Kafe Kerouac and hear that. Do I need a theme? Probably. So it's going to take some time for me to regain some footing. The fun comes first. If it's not fun, it's not worth doing.