Quand On n'A Que L'Amour

Wow, it has been a month. Sorry about that. The holidays just flew by this year.

Here is a recap, briefly I promise, of the past few weeks.

Van broke - $3000

Thanksgiving – Philadelphia with ma chere, the Ts and my sister and some charming friends

Christmas – Washington, DC with ma chere, the Ts, my sister and some charming friends

Vacation – R&R in Washington, DC and Baiting Hollow

New Year's – Baiting Hollow

For those that like the "Webster's Unabridged", here is the filler.

A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, the transmission on our van stopped working. By "stopped working", I mean one second we are doing 55 on Sound Avenue heading for Greeenport and the next we are coasting to a stop with no power from the engine reaching the wheels. Thankfully, we have some fantastic friends that live not too far from where we were stranded. Their eldest son gave ma Chere and T3 a ride back to our house while I waited for the tow from AAA.

In the course of one of my conversations with AAA over the fact that the tow was 45 minutes late, I was called a "dumb-ass" by one of the Wisconsin representatives. I kid you not, she said, "DUMB ASS" as she put me on hold. Needless to say, I was livid, fit-to-be-tied, died in the wool ticked off. Of course, while AAA was somewhat apologetic, I never heard back from any of the supervisors that claimed they would get to the bottom of it. I guess in this economy, they can afford to give customers away.

Two weeks later and a few thousand dollars the van was back in our driveway.

Thanksgiving was spent with my sister in Philadelphia. She actually lives in Washington, DC but Phili is a good spot in between Washington, DC and Long Island, NY. We had a wonderfully prepared meal, compliments to my sister and ma chere. We spent some time at Reading Station on Friday before heading back to Long Island. There is a great food market there with good eats and great grocery deals.

The situation with the van put a damper on our Christmas preparations. We also decided that the trip back to Milwaukee would be too expensive and too hard on the new transmission. Ma chere made the most of it by setting out the decorations earlier than we normally set them out. The house looks very nice all dressed up for the holidays. Next year, I will try my hand at outdoor decorations.

I had my 5 year colonoscopy the Monday before Christmas. The preparation for that is always worse than the actual procedure. However, having to wait an additional 2 hours because the doctor was behind schedule almost constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The good news is everything came back clean and clear. And, I will not have to worry about it again until 2013. T1 will be a senior at that point, a camera up my backside might seem like a vacation then.

We enjoyed a nice service at church on Christmas Eve. I had the pleasure and honor of doing the Old Testament and Epistle readings for the candle service.

After the kids came downstairs on Christmas Day, we ate a quick breakfast and headed down the Washington, DC. It is about 320 miles from our place to my sister's. It takes about 6 hours. We celebrated Christmas dinner near Bethesda with a charming couple and their children. They are friends of my sister's from the first time she lived in DC. The rest of the weekend was spent in tourist mode. We spent time at the Museum of the American Indian, Arlington Cemetery, the National Zoo and Annapolis. We got back to Baiting Hollow Sunday afternoon and did leave until Tuesday morning.

A winter storm hit the east coast on Tuesday during the day. By Midwest standards, it was relatively small except that the temperature dropped from 35 to 20 while it was still snowing. The roads were all covered with black ice. The New Year's party was cancelled, leaving ma chere, Ts 2 & 3 and I with a cheese and sausage platter and chocolate mousse for 16. We found a way to survive until Midnight.

We passed the rest of the week with a run into Manhattan to visit the American Museum of Natural History on Friday. It was a nice way for ma chere and I to pass our 16th anniversary. Saturday was T3's 7th birthday. We moved all the furniture around in the living room, set it up "theater-style" and watched movies with an obcene amount of hors d'ourves.

And that, as they say, was the month in round up. Pretty generic stuff really. Just living the middle-class dream.

Title by: Jacques Brel

One (Hu)'man One Vote

"Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority." - Henry David Thoreau

Do not forget to vote today. It is the best way to "Support the Troops". Today is the day they are fighting for.

Title by: Johnny Clegg & Savuka

I Know A Place

One of the things I find interesting about living on Long Island is how people relate to the place. It is usually sited as a location. For instance, during the Presidential Debates, reporters on location would sign-out by saying "For Rockhead Press, this is Barney Rubble from Long Island." They were not in Hempstead, NY or even Hofstra University (Ok, granted, you would have to be from Long Island or follow La Crosse to have any idea where Hofstra University is anyway.)

The point is, however, most people in the rest of the country answer with the name of their town or the nearest city or even their State when answering the question, "Where are you from?". Ask a traveler from Shorewood or even Racine where they are from and a likely answer would be "near-Milwaukee" or "Wisconsin". Ask a traveler from Calverton, New York where they are from and the likely answer will be "Long Island"; not "New York" or even "near-New York City". "Long Island" takes on that name.

(Of course, New York City, poses yet another exception to that rule. Natives are rarely from New York City. They are from Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx (mind you, not Bronx, but "The Bronx" but that's yet a different story) or Staten Island.

There are very few places I can think of that become a "I'm from here" location. I guess someone could say they are from "Napa Valley"; but no one claims, in my experience anyway, to be from "The Rockies", "The Poconos" or "The Bad Lands". "The U.P." is very locally used. I have experimented with that little colloquialism while out here. No one out here has any idea what a Yuppie is except maybe the sound a 5 year old makes on their first pony ride.

For some reason, "Long Island" resonates with people. It is that place that is not New York City, or any of the eastern sea-board cities for that matter. It is the location for Great Gatsby. Thomas Fairchild drove Linus Larabee to Long Island in Sabrina. Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Billy Joel all hail from Long Island. Once ago, it was mostly farms, farm towns and fishing towns. Now, all but the eastern 40 miles is one long suburb. The Wikipedia article makes the point perfectly though. It categorizes Long Island like it was a state with breakdowns in demographics, economy, education, etc.

Tell a New Yorker you are from "Long Island" and they get a far-away look and usually tell you how lucky you are to live "out there".

Well, from Long Island, this is CmentMixer. And, yes, I am lucky to live "out there".

Title by: Bob Marley

Pride and Joy

It has been a busy few weeks. Sorry for the lapse. Ma chere and the Ts are all safely back on Long Island. I flew out to Milwaukee a few Fridays ago; spent the night out with family; golfed 18 at Greenfield (119 - not bad for no golf for a year and using my sister-in-law's clubs); had a late lunch; napped and left Milwaukee for New York at 6:00 PM on Saturday. We pulled into our driveway at 11:30 AM Sunday. We stayed close to home on Sunday and Monday to recuperate from the drive.

The Ts started school just after Labor Day. T2 & T3 are in new schools from last year. T2 "graduated" to the 5th & 6th grade middle school. We moved T3 into the school affiliated with our church in Aquebogue. He needed to get back to what he was used to at Atonement.

All in all, it was good to get everyone home again.

Title by: Stevie Ray Vaughan

Boom De Ah Dah

I promised myself that I would not let my blog fall victim to the latest viral media craze. Unfortunately, I just cannot help myself with this one. These are all the shows I spend my summers watching. It is too much fun not to pass on.



And, now, LIVE!!!



Title by: The Discovery Channel

Blessed Relief

The couple of weeks with the new housekeeper went well. With the Ps off on travel, it helped that we could focus on just the house for the first few days.

Ms. D is a much shyer version of Ms. C. She has a great eye for what needs to be done and is self-motivated to do it. Ms. C and I are both relieved to be back to full staff. It was a crazy 6 weeks.

Title by: Frank Zappa (Can you believe it has been 15 years!?)

We Have All The Time In The World

My plans are pretty low-key this weekend. The Greenport Greek festival looks like it will be fun. There is also an Irish festival in Calverton. I will probably end up tat the Greek festival tonight and head over to the Irish festival tomorrow for some Guinness and shepherd’s pie. It will also give me a chance to ogle the local red-heads (yeah, yeah, oink, oink, oink). I am, after all, a semi-bachelor. There’s something James Bond-ish…”taken not stirred”. (I’ll have to work on that line a bit, I think.)

It is interesting that both cultures provide for great pleated skirts. Too bad the Greeks dress their men in them. ;-0

Enjoy your weekend.

Title by: Louis Armstrong (From"On Her Majesty's Secret Service")

Feels Like Home

We spent last Saturday afternoon in Times Square and Central Park. We drove in to Manhattan late Saturday morning and hooked up with ma chère's cousin, his wife and a couple friend of theirs on 57th & Madison. We bruised our way through the crowds down to Hard Rock and after lunch we walked passed the M&M Store for dessert and then up to Central Park to let the Ts blow off some much pent up steam. They had a blast on the huge rocks in the park and one of the many play areas. Then we walked back up to the van on the Upper East Side. You cannot believe the crowds on Madison Avenue and Time Square. It was an incredible sea of people.

We spent the rest of Memorial Day weekend mostly around the house. It has been a long time where we just hung out together. We got down to the beach on Sunday. The Ts braved the water while ma cherè and I laid out on a rock close to shore. Ma chère chatted with a woman whose vacation home is just down the street from our house.

It is not quite "home", yet. But, we are working on it. We all miss the connectedness of being in Milwaukee.

Title by: Randy Newman (Performed by Bonnie Raitt)

The Statue Got Me High

This one is for the long-time "forward, not straight" crowd. It rates right up there with "It's better to be pissed off than pissed on...Just ask Chuck."

Why Fire Engines are Red...
Fire engines are red because fire engines have four wheels and eight men.
4+8=12
There are 12 inches in a foot.
A foot is a ruler.
A famous ruler was Queen Elizabeth.
The Queen Elizabeth was once the largest ship to sail the seven seas.
Seas have fish.
Fish have fins.
The Fins fought the Russians.
The Russians are red.
Fire engines are always rushing.
And THAT is why fire engines are red!

Title by: They Might Be Giants

I Will Possess Your Heart

The timing on my heart gets a little messed up once in a while. It starts with an uncomfortable feeling in my chest and then what can only be described as a flopping around the inside of my chest. It takes my breath away; and, I do not mean that in a "WOW, would you look at that view" kind of way. One episode usually lasts a few seconds. The after-effects (shortness of breath, a dull ache in my chest and a general feeling of fatigue) last 15 or 20 minutes. The problem comes when I get recurring episodes before I recover from the previous one.

To my horror and humiliation, this happened at work this morning. The flutters started during my commute. I was shaking off the first round during the dog walk when the next round started. By 8:00 AM, cold sweats and a blood pressure drop made it hard to stand on my feet. And sure as Bob's Your Uncle, I found myself being escorted to the South Hampton emergency room by my principals. This was, as they say, highly irregular. Seated in the back of a beautiful luxury sedan while my boss is seated in what is normally my seat when we are together in a car.

The condition is technically called Arrhythmia. This is not necessarily a new condition for me. I was looked at a few years ago for the same problem. In my case, it is likely stress induced. The good news is my blood work and EKG came back positive.

Title by: Death Cab For Cutie

Just Might (Make You Believe)

My friend, Cat, started a new blog not too long ago.

http://aswebecomeourselves.blogspot.com

She and her husband are working on adopting a foster child. Check out her stuff and give her some much deserved props.

Title by Sugarland

Little Things

The Ts are taking to Long Island life well. T1 went out for the Lacrosse team. He also went on a 4 day trip to Quebec City, Quebec with the French Club. T2 is starting to make friends. He has been frustrated because it is taking a bit longer to make connections than he expected. T3 is grooving along well enough. He shares his other brothers' frustration in making friends.

Four things about me that you may or may not have known in no particular order.

1. 4 jobs I have had in my life:
Water Ski Instructor - Deer Park Lodge, Package Truck Pre-loader - United Parcel Service, Usher/Doorman - UA Theaters at Northridge, On Air Personality - WXPR Rhinelander
2. 4 movies I've watched more than once:
Ground Hog Day, Star Wars (A New Hope), Steel Magnolias, Hudson Hawk
3. 4 places I have lived in my life:
Fort Campbell, KY, Winthrop Harbor, IL, Deerfield, IL, Saint Germain, WI
4. 4 TV Shows I watch:
Heroes, Myth Busters, Monk, CBS Morning Show
5. 4 places I have been:
Pearl Harbor, HI, USA; Bruges, Belgium; St. Peter's Cathedral, London, UK; Helen Keller's Tomb, National Cathedral, Washington D.C., USA
6. 4 people who e-mail me regularly:
Amy, Bill, Tirzah, Joe
7. 4 of my favorite foods:
Gumbo, Pho, Pod Thai, Yorkshire Pudding
8. 4 places I would rather be right now:
On the golf course, On a warm beach, On a deck at sunset, On John's boat in the middle of Alma with Alt Nation cranked to 11
9. 4 people I think will respond:
You guys hardly ever respond. To be fair, though, it took me 3 months to get around to it.
10. 4 things I am looking forward to this year:
Selling my townhouse, Turkey Shoot back in Milwaukee, Summer sunsets on the front porch, The WOP's graduation party

Someone did reply to my customer support issues at Symantec. I posted their response in the comments, if you are interested.

Title by: Lily Allen

One Hundred Years

Happy Anniversary, Blog!!

12 months later, the only thing left unchanged is our townhouse. Why can't we sell the dang thing!!

My previous entry created a bit of a stir at Symantec. I was contacted by someone that is apparently going to look into my questions. I'll let you know how that works out.

Title by: The Cure

I'm on My Way

I couldn't say it any better than ma cherè.

At long last Moving day is here!!

We have set our moving day for February 19th

There are so many people to say goodbye to and so little time left. I would like to invite you and your families to an Open House on Sunday February 17th starting at noon. Please look for us in all the boxes and let us show our appreciation for all your support over the last months. We are truly blessed by everyone in our lives and will miss being geographically near you.

We will have chili on, the race on and some candles on a belated birthday cake for T3.

When: February 17

Time: Noon 'til

Title by: The Proclaimers

The Dog-Ear Years

I have become a whiskey drinker in my middle years. Some Jameson or Laphroaig, a beer or water back, a good book and my iTunes set on random proves that the hermit’s life isn’t what it used to be. ;-)

Title by Jethro Tull

Seasons Change

I know it has been a while and even longer since I have posted consistently. Work has been tough. There are many challenges to making inter-personal relationships work. "Communication is key", as the saying goes. The Ps and I are still on a bumpy road to figuring out the best ways to communicate with each other and get the job done. Did I mention the road was bumpy? Perhaps, the road has been bone-jarring might be better.

The time apart from my family is…agonizing. Agony is a good word to explain it. Getting rid of the house was not supposed to take this long. More than ever, I recognize that I am making life changing decisions for me and ma chère, but more importantly for my children. It is 7 months today since we had more than a few days together in our own space. My children have spent the better part of a year without their father at their side. It nibbles at my soul and breaks my heart to think of it.

I was approached in December to consider a position back home. It is a House Manager/Cook position. The responsibilities, hours, etc. are less than what I have here. So, too, is the salary. Also, it does not feel like there is any other potential with the position. I would stay in that rather limited role for as long as I would be with that family. That is not at all like what I face here. The obvious up side is I would be back with my family. Add to that my mid-western sense of employer loyalty, the past few bumpy weeks on the job, 6 day work weeks and you get a sense of my confusion.

What was I thinking in May?

Title by Corinne Bailey Rae

Prayer of the Children

May all our prayers be heard and accepted by God in the coming year. God's Blessings to you and your family in the New Year.

Title by: Kurt Bestor and performed by the Mormom Tabernacle Choir

I Believe In Father Christmas

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, And try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Just copy (not forward) this entire email and paste into a new e-mail that you can send. Change all the answers so that they apply to You. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, have fun. Just 11 days of Christmas left.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags
2. Real tree or Artificial? The smell of a fresh cut tree, Yummy. The ease of an artificial, spectacular.
3. When do you put up the tree? Mid December.
4. When do you take the tree down? Epiphany, there are 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
5. Favorite gift received as a child? Trains and slot cars (I know that's 2, but they were setup together!)
6. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes
7. Hardest person to buy for? Ma chere
8. Easiest person to buy for? My dad
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? I prefer to receive them in the mail ;-)
10. Ever recycled a Christmas present? No
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't remember what I got last year, good or bad.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Bells of Saint Mary, White Christmas
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I gave up shopping 14 years, 11 months and 24 days ago.
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Chocolate, any shape, any size.
15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear

16. Favorite Christmas songs? Secular: I Believe In Father Christmas Religious: What Child Is This?

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? This year, neither
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes
19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Both
21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? "Last Minute Shoppers Could Save Christmas" headlines. Like shopping is all that we stand to loose.
22. Favorite ornament theme or color? Gold
24. What do you want for Christmas this year? To see my family
25. Who is most likely to respond to this? I get so few comments, ma chere, I guess
26. Who is least likely to respond to this? Julia Sweeney
Enjoy the season!

New York Minute

My housekeepers both left on Thursday. One worked one day. The other never really got started. They each gave a number of reasons, but I believe it boiled down to buyers remorse.

The first woman panicked when she realized she would have to leave the comfort of being a chambermaid and actually work harder for her money than she was used to.

The other one thought she might slip by without my noticing her documents were expired. She could have worked that out if it weren't for the fact that she really preferred to work in Manhattan, not the Hamptons. She probably would not have made the summer anyway.

What does a guy have to do to catch a break in this city!

Title by Don Henley

Pretty House for Sale

Our biggest bogeyman right now is our condo. We really have to find a way to get it sold or occupied. The housing market right now is so soft that no one is even looking. Add to that Christmas and a tightening economy, I am not sure when the place will sell. It is a great townhouse; we just need to get some traffic. Heck, any traffic at this point would be a positive thing.

The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and many real-estate and financial market gurus are bearish, to say the least, on the current real-estate market. Some are predicting things will not get better for the low end of the market until sometime in 2009 or as late as 2010.

Too many sellers, not enough creditors, property values declining from unrealized highs...how do you possibly plan for this type of thing when you change careers?

Title by Charlie Pride