Just Sayin'
06/11/15 06:07
One week into this craziness they call retirement and I'm here to tell you that I'm doing just fine. No need to worry about me. I'll find things to do. Things to busy myself with so I don't get lost in my thoughts. All those shows I was planning to watch and catch up in retirement? It's not happening. Truth of the matter is I don't much care for watching television one way or the other save for an occasional drama or series that has been thoroughly vetted and approved by the masses. I'm one of those people who DVR everything but watch very little or nothing. Part of me wants, no demands, to stay organized and moving on an even plane from project to project. That has nothing to do with having worked for a lot of years doing just that but rather it is in my DNA. Just yesterday, for example, I decided that it was high time to transform a section of our backyard from the hardscrabble and largely overgrown space it has become over time to something more organized, less cluttered, more structured, and maybe even more appealing to the eye. With that accomplished, I wish that I had taken a before and after picture. There is more to do for sure but the transformation is largely complete. The mere thought of burying that section of yard beneath boatloads of snow for the long winter ahead only to be reminded of duties not yet done come Spring was more than I cared to contemplate. This is just one example of staying organized, putting one foot in front off the other until the job gets done, and engaging with my DNA in a way that satisfies an inner need. Ahhhh.
Welcome to Boston, dudes and dudettes. I'm hunkered down in Peet's coffee shop here across the street from the Prudential center in downtown Boston. I'm reminded in looking at all the new construction going up of the real estate shows I've seen on television where the threat of high rises going up next to existing real estate poses a real problem for folks wanting to maintain the value of their properties/investments. Not a lot to be done would be my guess. You can scream until the cows come home but no one is going to hear you on the 37th floor to nowhere. The world is no longer your oyster. In the words of someone famous whose name escapes me at the moment, "the thrill is gone." And so is your investment. Speaking of investments, I'll want to make sure that I get back to my car before the meter runs out. Don't want to get a ticket. The thrill would definitely be gone were that to happen. Feet's don't fail me now.
Nancy is across town at a seminar on something or other and I am just along for the ride. It is not something I was interested in attended and she didn't insist that I attend so here I am. On my own. Doing a solo. Living the dream. Fact of the matter is I'm not in a particularly good mood today for some reason so I'm wanting to see if I can slay a few dragons for the next few hours before heading back to Government Center to pick her up. I stopped by the Apple store looking to see if they had the new Apple iPad Pro on display and they did not. No word of a lie, I think they had somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand or more ipads, watches, iphones, and other paraphenalia on display but I already have one or more of the aforementioned products so my time in the store was brief. They couldn't even tell me when the new pad was scheduled to arrive. This veil of secrecy bullshit is fast approaching the end of its shelf life with me. It makes me want their products less and not more. If Steve Jobs isn't rolling over in his grave with this nonsense he should be.
I'm having second thoughts about the coffee I ordered here at Peet's. And so close on the heels of the coffee I had when I got out of bed at 6. It's a good way to kill a good buzz and turn a nice high into a frenzied nerve wracking experience which is close to the way I'm feeling at the moment. As much as I like the coffee here at Peet's, I should stop drinking it immediately. Give the caffeine in my system a chance to mellow instead of throwing gasoline on the fire. Can't think straight; can't see straight; can't keep my fingers on the keys long enough to get the words on paper; and the need to go back and correct misspellings is expanding exponentially with every passing second. It's a nice day in town weather wise. Overcast, but cool enough to just go with a shirt and a sweater which is what I'm wearing. No coat. No hat. No gloves. Not yet anyway. There is a small group of folks here in the shop looking at their phones, typing on their laptops, conversing with their friends, etc. The music is generically pop and not too intrusive but just loud enough to pass as white noise and apt at that.
Not sure but I think Boston may be one of many so-called sanctuary cities here in the Northeast. It's a little hard to tell since there is a large foreign student population attending schools here in the city so you don't know for sure who is and who isn't on the right side of the law. I guess if it is a sanctuary city then it really doesn't matter because the local constabulary is not interested in upholding the laws of our nation when and where our immigration laws are concerned. The barrister shouts out from behind the counter, "a small vanilla chai latte!" I suppose I should be thankful that he is speaking English and not trying to be politically correct by repeating the order in the requestors native tongue. We should all be that fucking talented.
But I digress. I scooted over to Cambridge to grab a little lunch at the Border Cafe where I complained about the toughness of the burrito wrap and they took the meal off the tab. I had insisted that they not do that since I enjoyed the chicken and it was not otherwise a problem. I wondered if they thought I might be looking to get a free lunch but I think they thought otherwise after I gave them my credit card with which to pay the tab. They returned my card with a tab that showed a zero amount billed and that was that. Well, almost. I gave the waiter a $5 tip for his trouble and went on my way. That is what you do when customers have a valid complaint. You deal with it head on. You do the right thing and you don't worry about your bottom line. I look forward to giving my good friends at the Border Cafe a second chance. Areeeba!
Welcome to Boston, dudes and dudettes. I'm hunkered down in Peet's coffee shop here across the street from the Prudential center in downtown Boston. I'm reminded in looking at all the new construction going up of the real estate shows I've seen on television where the threat of high rises going up next to existing real estate poses a real problem for folks wanting to maintain the value of their properties/investments. Not a lot to be done would be my guess. You can scream until the cows come home but no one is going to hear you on the 37th floor to nowhere. The world is no longer your oyster. In the words of someone famous whose name escapes me at the moment, "the thrill is gone." And so is your investment. Speaking of investments, I'll want to make sure that I get back to my car before the meter runs out. Don't want to get a ticket. The thrill would definitely be gone were that to happen. Feet's don't fail me now.
Nancy is across town at a seminar on something or other and I am just along for the ride. It is not something I was interested in attended and she didn't insist that I attend so here I am. On my own. Doing a solo. Living the dream. Fact of the matter is I'm not in a particularly good mood today for some reason so I'm wanting to see if I can slay a few dragons for the next few hours before heading back to Government Center to pick her up. I stopped by the Apple store looking to see if they had the new Apple iPad Pro on display and they did not. No word of a lie, I think they had somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand or more ipads, watches, iphones, and other paraphenalia on display but I already have one or more of the aforementioned products so my time in the store was brief. They couldn't even tell me when the new pad was scheduled to arrive. This veil of secrecy bullshit is fast approaching the end of its shelf life with me. It makes me want their products less and not more. If Steve Jobs isn't rolling over in his grave with this nonsense he should be.
I'm having second thoughts about the coffee I ordered here at Peet's. And so close on the heels of the coffee I had when I got out of bed at 6. It's a good way to kill a good buzz and turn a nice high into a frenzied nerve wracking experience which is close to the way I'm feeling at the moment. As much as I like the coffee here at Peet's, I should stop drinking it immediately. Give the caffeine in my system a chance to mellow instead of throwing gasoline on the fire. Can't think straight; can't see straight; can't keep my fingers on the keys long enough to get the words on paper; and the need to go back and correct misspellings is expanding exponentially with every passing second. It's a nice day in town weather wise. Overcast, but cool enough to just go with a shirt and a sweater which is what I'm wearing. No coat. No hat. No gloves. Not yet anyway. There is a small group of folks here in the shop looking at their phones, typing on their laptops, conversing with their friends, etc. The music is generically pop and not too intrusive but just loud enough to pass as white noise and apt at that.
Not sure but I think Boston may be one of many so-called sanctuary cities here in the Northeast. It's a little hard to tell since there is a large foreign student population attending schools here in the city so you don't know for sure who is and who isn't on the right side of the law. I guess if it is a sanctuary city then it really doesn't matter because the local constabulary is not interested in upholding the laws of our nation when and where our immigration laws are concerned. The barrister shouts out from behind the counter, "a small vanilla chai latte!" I suppose I should be thankful that he is speaking English and not trying to be politically correct by repeating the order in the requestors native tongue. We should all be that fucking talented.
But I digress. I scooted over to Cambridge to grab a little lunch at the Border Cafe where I complained about the toughness of the burrito wrap and they took the meal off the tab. I had insisted that they not do that since I enjoyed the chicken and it was not otherwise a problem. I wondered if they thought I might be looking to get a free lunch but I think they thought otherwise after I gave them my credit card with which to pay the tab. They returned my card with a tab that showed a zero amount billed and that was that. Well, almost. I gave the waiter a $5 tip for his trouble and went on my way. That is what you do when customers have a valid complaint. You deal with it head on. You do the right thing and you don't worry about your bottom line. I look forward to giving my good friends at the Border Cafe a second chance. Areeeba!