Post Xmas, Pre-New Years

It's Sunday, Dec. 28.
Food.
Sweets.
Diabetes 2 and an army of meds -- 11 every morning and some again at night. Yikes.
How old a person am I? Don't tell me.
I've gotten into two movies as a senior, so I guess there is some vague reward for this, even if we ain't exactly quite truthfully ancient and venerable yet.
Cut me open and count the rings. Tap me and make syrup. Knock on wood.
"Hello?"
no one is home
Cyclops is blinded once again
It's all Greek to me.
How's by you?

On becoming the Professional Patient

If ever there was a drug problem, I got it and I got it bad - all prescription, all the time. Every trip to the doctor at Boston Med Ctr or to any of the myriad facilities within, I seem to get another couple of prescriptions added to my vast array of meds. The one stand-out is Neurontin, for the constant pain in my feet, which has been a horrible reality for way too long (uh, years) and has finally been addressed. oh yay. Not completely eradicated but somewhat diminshed. oh yay.

All the other meds are doing nothing that is readily detected by blood glucose monitoring or gettting my BP read.

It's all fun.

I do suppose this is making something not happen, but it doesn't seem to be easily noticed so far as anything actually happenning.

Life goes on.

Manana we turn 58.

Fall in New England

And I can't get up. Shall we discuss beta blockers? Nah.

Next week at this time, or thereabouts, I shall have conducted a sleep study at Boston Medical Center. Oh the thrill of lessping with electrodes and wires and... oooooh so very Frankenstein's lab - and this the day after Halloween, November 1. Today is the 26th. In two months it will be the day after Xmas.

And next weekend we get our annual thrill of daylight savings crawling back into darkness once again.

Wednesday, Guy Fawkes Day.... and I think I'll be 38. Ahem.

Closing in on Labor Day

Yikes. This weekend we put away the white shoes? No. Never.

What a wet but wet summer. Green and lush and then some.

Branden visited in July and that was magnificent. Ptown and the 4th on the Esplanade with him was great. Marshall was in town for some of this also. He was also here after that for another visit with a check in to the Mass Eye and Ear for tinnitis -

Right now, I am alone in a quiet house. Peg has been running with her children all over creation - first a family reunion for many in Buffalo, which I had the fun of watching from a germ to full tilt reality. Joey and her son, Joel, and her BF, Dan, came for this, and Joey is off with her to Vermont and NY 'til tomorrow and then, I believe, off to Starr Island for a week.

And I am here alone, digging the solitude and the quiet.

A fox appeared on the back lawn the other day. The day before, neighbor here at 18, Christine, espied it and thought it the dreaded Fisher Cat. NO!!! and, no, it was a fox, which by showing his cute but cute self the next day, ta da - fox. Them fisher catgs have one hellova rep, as I heard one devour one of the cats in Gilsum last summer. Unholy, to be kind. Mercy.

Not once into Walden Pond this year - or last, for that matter. It being so close but me without transportation makes that reality a difficult one to pull off. OH well. It's easier for me to jump on a bus and go to the ferry to Ptown than to get to Concord. Go figure.

Could I/Would I go to Revere Beach by public transportation? I could.... I haven't.

Lots of thnder storms this summer. Branden and I caught two rainbows in two days; once in Boston and the next day when leaving Ptown. magical. Perfect.

A visit from Branden

June 29th - Branden arrived from Los Angeles via Long Beach/Jet Blue.

What a week. With a rental car availed, we did a lot. Museums galore and Ptown. Graveyards; Mt Auburn wins.

THE FIREWORKS. Yowza. We spent many many hours sitting on the Esplanade awaiting. Sound was piped in all over and it sounded good. Zillions of people. Estimated at half a million, I think more than that. At the end - and what an end - the crowd scene was simply amazing.

What fun.

What fun? It was all good.

Ah, love.

Did I mention two rainbows in two days, one in Boston over the Tobin Bridge, the next in Provincetown as we approached the ferry home. Dazzling.

July 2008 - Branden's visit to Boston

Thrilled I am/was - Branden travelled from LA to Boston to witness the fireworks on the Charles with me July 4th. Lovely - rental car and destinations. Purpose driven life. Zoom.
One day we did three museums, starting with the DeCordova and adding the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum and the MFA later that same day. Whew.
Run ragged but loving every moment of it, as I hope he did also. Never a dull moment.
Yeah, I'm still in love. Oh dear. There's so much history. Pun pun pun.
Peg's been in Gilsum all week - hope that's well. Marshall has been staying in the Bedford Motor Inn or whatever it is called, down on Great Road. We linked up here at 18 last night as Branden readied to get outta Dodge via Logan very early today - like leave here at 5 am.
Marshall and I drove to NH this morning. Lunch at Mary Chung's in Central Square - yum.
And here I am. It is some kind of muggy out right now. Hey, it is July... We did Ptown and the whole shwbang

merry merry month of May

Dis May. In Bedford. Let's see... Marshall visited the first week of this month, just as Peg was getting done and doner by MGH. Green. Everything is flipping leaves and turning green. Today it is wet. Florabunda deluxe.

Have been to see the El Greco/Velazquez show at MFA and the glass exhibit at Harvard's Natural History Museum last week - I thought the sea creatures recreated in glass were larger than what I saw - nope. But going to this place was wondrous for the overall take on life in its many forms. Plus, a trip into town always excites me. Oh yeah, went to see Iron Man also at the Kendall Sq Cinema - talk ablut hiding a venue. Yeesh - leave early; this is a hike.

Planning on planning a vacation. Where to and for what? A week. The Vineyard? Maybe. Savannah? Could happen. By train? Yes. WOuld love to do Montreal, but, alas, I know no one and would need help venturing into that unknown. I would love Wash. DC too, but that same thing applies - alone? No, doesn't cut it for me.

Had a long-running realtion with a charmer from Pawtucket on a chat/forum bear thang - and he up and disappeared last week. Gone. Oh well. And all seemed so right and... live and learn. Got another live one on yet another place that seems all too - and we have mutual acquaintances. Gotta love that. A musician! And talented! Say Hello to Elijah Black.

Akron Ohio beckons. Uh huh, Akron.

here at 18 hillside

Life goes on? Peg is in MGH getting tests done. Her breathing is very taxed with the slightest movement. She's been there since Wednesday.

The laptop I have courtesy of Charlotte and Tom's sister Betty went oin strike yet again yet somehow came back online tonight. That's three times this week. All setting are blown out as are bookmarks and names, passwords - what a hassle. But, online, nonetheless.

I am happy.

Mercy. Went through everything on this, condensed files, did all sorts of things to onlky have it fail and refuse to go online - everything else appearing quite alright. Go figure.

So, here we are., May 2008. May. Bedford.

So much to tall.

Chances are

Thanks to Frank Martin, tickets were realized for last night's preformance at the old Music Hall (older Metropolitan) Wang cum Citi Center Theater by Mr. J. Mathis. Wonderful Wonderful.

Sister Rita's 60th Birthday extravaganza. Woohooo. She and her elder sister Theresa joined me for this lovely evening out.

The night before, Theresa had an evening out, as in Out of her mind. Fucking annoying, but how does one deal with an onbnoxious drunk in public - a sushi restaurant in Bedford? Get up and leave. We really should have. It made me wonder what kind of nightmare I was facing for the following night. Oh, it was really horiible, really really. Fucking embarassing it was. Sister T was very demure at yesterday's surprise birthday bash held at Rit's son Greg's new zillion dollar manse. Nice digs, kids... but, did I say demure? Oh yeah. So much so that she sheepishly asked if we were still going to the concert. I guess some part of my voicing great displeasure sunk in - threats! Mercy, it was mind-boggling. I so love getting stared at for other's actions in public.

Anyhow, all seemed to take care of itself and all that.

Funny to have her chime in on the take on the numbskull woman singing along at the show who was seated next to Rita. Yeah, pretty annoying, huh? Jeeesh, what if she was drunk? No, but in dire need of meds - this poor woman was hyper to the point of.. well, done and over.. leave that old trollop at the river's edge. Press on! It's a new day!

Why is my back killing me? Killing me softly. ow.

Information beyond any 411 reality

yup - reality. Scores of the stuff. Setting up a journal page - well then, what the hell is this? So much stuff - Facebook, MySpace, Bears of every stripe and color dot org dot com. Involved.

Although, there are the perks. A lad from Pawtucket weakens me in the knees and others entertain me as I guess I entertain them. Not one to "put out" (am I serious?), I posted profiles and awaitied to see what - and, indeed, what? It is muy interesante. Si.

Got approved for Mass Health after my visit to Boston Medical. My overnight visit which was a complete and total surprise. Ta-da.

Went to Gene's for Easter last weekend. Lovely, as always. Karl. the Unstopable, makes his way out in his wheelchair, parks it out front of the building, and proceeds to drag himself up the stairs and into the apartment. I salute him for this fortitude. SALUTE! Dinner was lovely.

Agnus Dei. I ate a ton of yummy olives which in turn bloated my all-too sensitve feet into puffy sausages of water weight. Like coals sewn undewr the skin. Really something. Gene an I were flummoxed as to what casued such - then, light breaks on Marblehead... olives. Would I eat them again for this return? Do I look like I need to suffer? Oh, but no.

On the way home, I picked up a Phoenix to see what's what in the entertainment world. Land O Goshen! Playing at the Brattle Theater (The Brattle!) during some 'underground' film series, there was "Underbelly," about Pleasant Gehman! Played Sunday afternoon. Was she there for the screening? We dispatch emails and get 4 in return - 2 from MySpace account. Hello! No, she was not here for it, but has gone to London (Brrr, she says). I am so out of the loop, but I did find out, so... much like the deal with Sweet P on Bravo's Project Runway. More for my frail tiny thin MySpace reality.

We proceed.

Let's see... Sister Rita turns 60 on April 1 - this coming Tuesday. Sister Theresa comes in from San Jose to luncheon with the girls, of which, yes, I am that missing Sinclair daughter.

Johnny Mathis is in town that weekend. I asked if he wants company or a tour... we'll see.

Now, about this boy in Pawtucket... yet another Sean. Funny. Oh, and I got a plethora of newsy stuff from Torrance from Sean Kelley - we have this really odd thing with finding doppleganger-esque cartoons with themes bleeding into a common stram of consciousness of some random design. Muy interesante.

Oh, and with a dusting of snow - it snowed? - on everything this morning, later on those 5 deer show up and take in what foliage they can. Y'gotta love it.

documentation hooray

Sent to Sean Kelley, photographed by him and returned via email.

Life is good.

Winter is long.

Ars longa and lion's roaring... vita breva... no.

Christmas dreams

Sometimes...
a lot of the time...
oh, whatever - this is really odd shit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTz7nojEC80

do enjoy.

a year in transit

Yikes. What was the date - Feb 16? - that the landlord gave me a notice while I was visiting here, Boston?.... yup.
Nomadic. Very mad at. Over it. Under the weather, over the top. Here we are.
Gray. Has been for days on end. Cabin fever, anyone? Nae, we prefer to work, seeing that we have an inordianate amount of time to do just that.
Maybe a day trip to Boston to visit Gene, who is staying with one of his "kids," Larry, who is getting over some surgery to throat and nose and all that - fun? I doubt it.


Getting loads of hits from posted profiles at bear411 and bearciti - me who is over and done with any and all with bear in the name of it. Ohw ell, did I say Cabin Fever? Some truly nice guys have given a jingle. Some a little bit more than that. Hey, I was spotted on NYE by someone from the pix at 411. Amaze me.
Nah. Just be very careful of what one posts. The truth hurts.
It's why I walk this way...
This way, please.

more snowy goodness

and I just wanna dance...

creaking floorboards and cans o worms

Gadzooks. Gadzooks II. Sequels, prequels, epilogues, post scripts... the amounts of folks coming out from the past is sublime. Sixties. Earlier.

Dougs. Two of 'em. Doug MacLeod found me on some classmate site that I had sent to me some time ago; so long ago that I have no idea how or... I was thrilled to have him find me, especially after having invested some time some time ago in finding (or not) him. My mother ran across him many moons ago during a senior outing to a winery in Western Mass. That was some time ago.

Doug Wilds called after I had sent him a Christmas greeting. He was hellbent on coming off Martha's Vineyard - his hime for the lat 20 years or so - and he eventually did just that, coming here to 18 Hillside for a couple of days. Interesting visit. It was a take on where we both had been and are now. He left afgter two days to see his mother, Joan, who lived just a couple of houses down here on Hillside. Fascinating.

Upon Doug's leaving the house, I get a phone call from Ellen Leverenz, whom we know from days past at Fernald School, where Doug worked with her too. Amazing. More amazing is that she has a house on the Vineyard in Chilmark and will be visiting next month, possibly. I got to be her telephonic therapist - her family has driven her a bit nuts. Hey, that's what families do.

I plan on a visit there when and if she arrives.

Today is Charlotte's birthday. She's having a rough time of it all. She got taken out by her fellow nursing staffers yesterday to Salem, which she found depressing, what with closed shop after closed shop. She needs a boost; she needs a laugh. I know not what to do. She doesn't know either. I have seen her very little since sister Mary visited in September. Very little.

We let it be as is. It is beyond my capabilities and she wants the distance, I can only surmise from.. what? The fact that she cannot call? That amongst other factors. It hurts me a bit, old thick skinned me, finding out of huge gatherings at her house that I am not included. Oh well. Her husband is out returning a running suit that she said NO to. Yellow. We did have a small laugh as to that not being her fisrt choice. Poor Tom; what is he going through? The walls.

I am on the sidelines.

Pom pons not included. A cheer for the team.

go team.

Yay, Bedford.

A large storm is due here tonight/tomorrow. A foot of fresh snow? whooopie ding.

Twelfth Night - January 6, 2008

Might I say Egad! Yes. Vociferously.

Might I offer... something? Gold? Frankincense? Myrrh?

House of Bread, House of Cards. Aces. Queens. King of Kings. Sixes and Sevens.

Heirophants and Elephants and Donkeys. New Hampshire and Iowa.

I owe nothing. I have it all. In Spades.

The temps have risen enough to get much ice gone. Treacherous steps here at 18 Hillside. Cold.

Sunday. Last week seemed a wash - days after the holiday drifting away midweek.

I worked at the Hynes for First Night, a Boston celbration that I had heard so much as to. 4 to 9. Good hours, so I was told. Clueless, I went, watching as the paying crowd wandered with no idea as to what or where. Ice sculptures on the Common went unseen by these eyes, as I was dog tired with tired dogs - my feet didn't care for the solid solid floors - stone tiles and concrete.

We went to the Alley for Guinness afterwards. Midnight. Kissed by strangers - one that recognized me from a site online - bear411. Go figure. Missed the fireworks at the harbor. Close enough to possibly attend; too tired to move, and, I had a seat. Perma freeze.

The next day, at Gene's in E. Boston -- I had arrived before going Usher at Hynes, so I had a key to let myself in. No transit to Bedford on Sundays and holidays kept me there, and we whiled away the first day of the new year glued to the TV with Chinese delivery.

All is good, all is bright.

Missed out on a group gathered - a yearly event, I take it - at Ilene's south of Boston. Bill Schuellein called and told me of Mal (Craig now) coming to pick me up. Uh, can't go.

Seeing if Doung Wilds arrives as he said he would this coming week.

The stars must have something to do with this. The US Postal does to - cards sent and so forth.

Details when there are some more.

Pix? Wouldn't that be something? It could happen.