Endings

Ouch.

BB be sore, very sore. I've got lower back pain like crazy. We're just reaching critical mass with our bad, old mattress. We have the means to get a new one this week, and I can't wait. Until then I may not even sleep on the old one anymore. I'm walking like Frankenstein today.

Yes, that's a change.

***

Good weekend overall I'd say. I got the study cleaned out, sort of. One can walk around in there now. It was just sort of a wreck after last semester. I spread out so many papers and things for advanced abnormal psych that it became a real disaster area.

You know how they say all brilliant men have sloppy offices? Well they're not the only ones!

(Badoom!)

***

Man, it's gonna take a miracle to get this sore old man into Krav this week. Phooey.

***

We also got a new receiver yesterday, perhaps a decade later than we should have. We now have a modest Yamaha receiver with DTS (or 5.1 channel surround) capability. I'm glad to have it, and pleased with the sound, but messing that that exacerbated my back issues.

***

Great endings:

Jack in the box, circa 1984, when the boss informed me that $50 was missing from the drawer from my previous overnight shift, and that he was thinking of firing me. Now, I was a fry cook, and had no clue how to open the drawer even if I HAD been a thief (which I wasn't). But as Dylan sang, "you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."

I told him I understood how he felt. Then I told him it was time for my break.

I left and haven't been back.

*

Leaving the Austin PBS station, my final gig as an audio engineer was the Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan. Oh, the truth of the matter is a I had one more piddly thing there after that, some teleconference or something. And I've had scattered audio jobs over the years since. But the SRV tribute was a good way to mark the end of my time there.

*

Leaving Belo. Hoo boy. As soon as I turned in my notice they cited their "non-compete" policy and showed me the door. You know, I'm told it's pretty common for TV stations to do that to ad/traffic folks when they leave for another station in the market.

Now, I'd worked only with Arizona stations at that point... seems to be a stretch that my presence across the metroplex would be deemed competition in any way, but I didn't argue.

*

Leaving our local CBS/clothes hanger network affiliate, complete with a rent-a-cop breathing down my neck as I loaded my crap in the van. Yes indeed, little did I know that being terminated early due to my flagrant use of the word "annoying" would start the best year of my life, career-wise.

(Note: Please email me if you'd like a partial list of the words I would have been fully justified in using.)

May 12 will be the anniversary, and I've gotta say, I'm considering sending them a commemorative cookie basket. Flowers?

Dear reader, will you take the time to post a comment and share suggestions as to how I should perhaps celebrate the anniversary with them?

***

This just in from Jamey Newberg: "The Rangers have announced that the ballpark is being renamed Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, immediately. The renaming follows an agreement with Ameriquest Mortgage Company to return the naming rights to the team."


Whoo hoo!



***

When I worked at Yahoo in 2000-2001, I was the sole breadwinner in our house, and we struggled. I often spoke of getting a second job, and my supervisor was cool with it.

MOBB and I spoke about a couple of startup business ideas during that time, none of which came to fruition.

We came close, though, to starting a pet-sitting business. We started to assemble a business plan, but there were some flaws, such as rising gas costs, and what to do with our infant son. We abandoned the idea.

After Yahoo laid us all off, my supe started her own pet-sitting business, but seemed to have no recollection of my idea when I mentioned it to her. And now this: http://www.thepoochpatio.com/TheVoicePoochPatio.pdf

I should be collecting royalties!


***

Gotta go. Be good.