Damn Bills !

I missed my men's group meeting at the church this evening. Part of it had to do with the fact that I recieved a bill that my insurance company was supposed to pay to the anesthesiologist after my knee operation.I tried calling Don, who is the president of the men's club but he did not answer his phone. I got up and drove to the church to see if the meeting was still going on after nine pm. The church was dark. I went back home and re-dialed and still no answer. It makes me wonder if the meeting actually occured. Tommorow i go to the dentist to have a crown replaced. I wanted gold but I am getting porcelain. No one asked me.

Rita Strikes !

This morning, I am a little relieved to report that Hurricane Rita has been downgraded to a one, on a scale of five.I talked to my friend, David Good who is down there in Texas and he reports a lot of wind and rain. I also talked with my sister Rita last night and she is taking a little ribbing because of her name. Right now I am at work and will be giving a tour of Greystone. To be continued...

Kat-rita

As I write this, Hurricane Rita has been upgraded to a level 4 Hurricane and it is beginning to bear down on the Gulf Coast. It looks like it might give New Orleans and places like Galveston, Texas ...a BIG wallop. If Katrina was not destructive enough, the people of New Orleans will not be able to return to their homes... probably not EVER if this hurricane raveges what is left of an already raveged area. Catastrophic events have been on the increase in the past couple of years, and many feel that the end is near. As a nation and a people, we must keep the faith and remember that, "This too shall pass."

Sunday's Struggle

Today I ran the cameras in the DeBaun Theater. Our demo chef was not on her game. She stammered, she answered questions blithely, and generally disappointed me. The problem as I see it, is that she is an alcoholic in denial. She fixed her last fallout by going to an acupuncturist and taking three weeks off ( she should have entered rehab at that point). Luckily, I only have to work with her one day a week but even that is becoming very difficult to tolerate because of my behavior around her, and her behavior in general. I really cannot help her because I have let her use me and hook me into her seductive web of sexual horseplay and acting out. As a sex addict, I am playing with fire here. I am powerless over my sexual addiction and my life has become unmanageable. Right now I will continue watching the Emmys and then go off to bed. I pray that I may be able to change and move on with my life in a successful way. This must be put behind me.

Thursday's Muse

Meet Marvin. This wonderful image was created by Alex Murawski and was found in the book, " Dynamic Black & White Illustration." One Hundered years of Line Art from 1900 to 2000 by Leslie Cabarga. It feels like I knew this guy. Like maybe he was a former mob boss from the local union, or perhaps a bouncer at a club downtown. I would not want to meet this guy in a dark alley after midnight that is for sure.His gaze tells me that he does not believe my bullshit. He will take a pair of pliars and crush my fingertips until he gets what he wants. Perhaps he heard that I slept with his daughter... whatever. I don't want to cross paths with this guy. At bocce ball tournaments, he sits on the bench with his arms crossed watching every move and usually makes comments in a deep baritone from years of smoking White Owls and Juan Coronas. Nuff said.

Decompressing

Today, I find that it is easier for me to decompress at home instead of jumping in my car and going somewhere, just to go. I am working on a brochure for Ana Borquez today which is keeping me busy. She wants 50 copies and some business cards prented out the next time i see her. This is no easy task. Printing costs are pretty high and labor costs are high too, if you take into account that if I were to print these out on my inkjet at home it would easily take 8 hours to do... not to mention a lot of aggravation. So who needs this? I am still going to drive to Staples to buy a scanner and perhaps have these printers printed out there. Now I am having trouble remembering what the protocol for uploading movies to my .mac site is. Oy!

Looking alive with caffiene

I could have stayed in bed all morning. Originally I had planned to go see the Giants take on the Cubs at SBC park but I decided to go to work instead. It's not like I don't have some vacation days coming. Truthfully, I am not that big a Giants fan although I enjoyed myself at the game I went to earlier in the season, although I can't remember who played except that the Giants lost.A very nice lady named Margie McCartney gave me three tickets after I provided her and her friends with a tour of Greystone. She said that she was going to sing at the game and wanted me to come and enjoy it. I gave two of the tickets to Lori Novak, who was shadowing me on the tour.She wanted to take her boyfriend. I ended up giving the one ticket left to Jose, a chef who prepares the employee meals during the week. Lately, I have been feeling rather ho-hum. My energy level has been managed by lots of Coffee and Cola drinks. I think I need more exercise. good food and rest. Check back with me later.

Labor Day 05'

Today, a lifeguard at Bothe Park Pool asked me why we celebrate labor day. I guessed that it had something with honoring the working stiffs in this country, but I wasn't sure. Leo and I went for a bike ride there to go for a swim. Leo is going to be fourteen in ten days. He must've grown about six inches taller over the summer after coming back from Mexico. He is my friend. Later we drove our bikes into St. Helena to the Coffee Roastery for a some Mango Tea and Coffee. Leo filled his drink cup with sugar cubes and proceed to drink the whole syrupy conncotion. We sat down and played a game of chess. After I reminded him how all the pieces moved, he proceeded to beat me. When we got back to Calistoga later, he asks me about my Palm Pilot (which was in my closet, apparently broke) that he has been bugging me to sell to him for about a year. To get him off my back I told him that he could have it if he could fix it. This was also a ploy to get him to go home.He excitedly agreed and left for his house. Exactly one hour later I get a phone call asking me if I have a particular kind of screwdriver. A little annoyed, I told him that I didn't, and that if he could find the tools to fix the Palm Pilot he would have to track them down himself. A half-hour after that, Leo is knocking on my door telling me that he has fixed the Palm Pilot. My mind is a little blown now, and with Leo's birthday just a week or so away I am all to happy to have this be his present , Definately a win-win situation.

Life happens all over

It's Friday and it has been almost a week since Katrina hit New Orleans with a knock out punch. It was only today that the troops and government agencies were really able to impact the region. Here I am in the most beautiful part of the country and I cannot help but feel real sorrow for the desperate and poor people managing to hang on down at the Gulf Coast. Even though I sent a few measley bucks, I feel like I would like to do something more to alleviate thier misery. I have a vacation coming up and I was thinking about becoming a red cross volunteer for a couple of weeks just to do my part. I still want to take a step back, and not just be guided by my first impulses. Perhaps after the first relief efforts have passed and things have become less chaotic, I would be able to make myself useful. We shall see.