Random Flashback for Friday 2/28/14

And as this month ends, so ends this month of posts about the first of two theatre retreats that the LVC kids took twenty years ago, in the late winter of 1994.

Oh, and I should mention ... it wasn't just the kids that went, as Smokey, seen here in this photo, attended our weekend getaway as well.  You might remember Smokey ... the communal kitty that lived in the dorm room at the end of the hall in FE 2nd floor.  (Technically, pets weren't allowed ... but technically, we were at the end of the hallway, so, embracing our exaggerated sense of uniqueness, we "opted out" of a lot of the rules and regs.)

If kitties aren't your thing, maybe asses are.  Today's BONUS photo is a shot of Gully's ass print in the snow outside our chalet.  I'd like to say that it was all part of some dare ... or double dare ... or triple dare ... but I think it was really more just about the fact that Gully has an ass and there was snow on the ground ... so why not combine them in the same spirit of ... you know ... peanut butter and chocolate ... or peanut butter and jelly ... or peanut butter and fluffernutter (I have no idea why Rich's ass is being played by the role of peanut butter in this story, but I should probably stop while I'm ahead ...)

Random Thought for Thursday 2/27/14

So ... I initiated my lunch-walks from the new domicile this week ... seeing how far and to where a one hour round trip walk would take me (they are basically placeholders in my weight loss plan until I can get a bike to ride all about).  So far, I've figured out walks for due east (to the Hustler Publix ... not named because there are sex workers in the parking lot, but because it is in the same intersection as the Hustler store), due south (to my bank's ATM) and due north (to two of the bars on the routine bar crawl route ... not that I stop there over lunch, mind you).  Due west may or may not happen ... as the "westier" one goes, the sketchier the 'hood.

I've also figured out what will be my second complaint about Florida (the first was the yellow tap water ... and don't get me wrong ... the grass is *literally* greener here on this side of the where-I-live fence, but everything can't be perfect in paradise [namely, it did rain for about ten minutes today]) ... but I didn't realize how good I had it in Chitown when it came to being an empowered pedestrian.  In Chicago, not counting the early morning hours when drunk drivers and drunk walkers did a dangerous dance, pedestrians could basically pedest to their heart's content with a chip on their shoulders, knowing that the law required vehicle drivers to stop on a dime, permitting them to confidently stride into crosswalks.

Not so much here in Ft. Lauderdale.  I haven't actually seen the sign as presented in the image that accompanies this post, but, from the actions of all the drivers, I'm sure they exist and that someone somewhere is keeping score.  Sheesh.

PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY:
http://www.activetrans.org/blog/mkohara/governor-signs-hb-43-law-pedestrian-safety-prevails

PEDESTRIAN UNFRIENDLY:
http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/blogs/the-10-most-dangerous-american-cities-for-pedestrians

OH NO ... I *MIGHT* HAVE TO WEAR SHORTS TOMORROW NIGHT:
http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Fort+Lauderdale+FL+USFL0149

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/26/14

Four-screening.

Used in a sentence:  "I went four-screening yesterday, and I have to tell you ... it made me feel quite young."

Yes, you read that right.  I didn't say I went four-wheeling ... after all, I'm not at the family compound in Indiana, where that activity is in the mix (when it's not so wintry out) ...

There I was, working from home on my work laptop, with the TV station on in the background on the news channel on mute to see the crawl, and I had the personal laptop set up to watch the episode of CW's Arrow that I missed because of the big move, all while I was occasionally checking my smart phone when it beeped to catch any WordsWithFriends or personal email updates.

That's when it hit me.  This is what the kids do all day long.  No wonder more and more of them have ADHD!  (In *my* days, we blamed MTV for that ...)

Now if only I could get me some Google Glass action, and then I'd have the quint-fecta of screen time!  (Oh snap!  A bonus wordplay hidden within the normal wordplay!! What-what!!!)

FOUR WHEELING IS PART OF THE HOTEL PACKAGE AT THIS JOINT IN OHIO:

http://www.pinelakeslodge.com/activities/four-wheeling-fun/

BECAUSE SOMETHING HAS TO FILL MY TIME WAITING FOR THE NEXT BATMAN:

http://www.cwtv.com/shows/arrow/

MTV IS TO BLAME!:

http://johnwscott.hubpages.com/hub/The-ADHD-and-Music-Connection

Random Tune for Tuesday 2/25/14

Why *this* song tonight?

Because I actually drove past Chattahoochee on the trip from New Orleans to Ft. Lauderdale during the drive on the path for the big move (I think).

I also passed Tallahatchee (so expect an Ode to Billy Joe in a week or two).  And Lake Okeechobee (although I don't know of any songs that feature that locale).

Bottom line ... it's time to break out the map of multi-syllabic funny sounding names (... that I assume have Native American origins?) in order to figure out my environs.

And, by the way, with Polar Vortex III:  Frigidity Strikes Back hitting Chicago today (my phone alerts are still set to my last home, so I was awakened this morning by an Accuweather notice),the fact that we broke a high temperature record here today (hitting mid 80's) seems like an acceptable stand-in for the aforementioned "hoochie coochie" hotness.

A LOT ABOUT LIVIN' AND A LITTLE 'BOUT LOVE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW5UEW2kYvc

Random Memorial for Monday 2/24/13

Gone but not forgotten:  clear ice cubes.

Okay ... this may be my first complaint with regards to the move to Ft. Lauderdale.  I noticed it first in the water put in to the cat bowl, but my suspicions were confirmed now that the ice trays are executing the task for which they were designed.

*The water here definitely has a brownish-yellow hue.*

So if anything were to happen to me, perhaps that should be the number one lead that is tracked down.  The good news ... yellow water in Ft Lauderdale is such a popular search phrase that the google auto-filled it for me ... and it is apparently tested and regularly meets EPA standards, according to officials.

But still ... frozen blocks of ice from the freezer in Chicago that didn't look like they were dealing with a bout of jaundice ... you are missed.

NO WORRIES ... IT'S A KNOWN THING:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g34227-i98-k2494497-Yellow_water-Fort_Lauderdale_Florida.html

AND THE CITY PUTS OUT ITS WATER QUALITY REPORT:
https://www.fortlauderdale.gov/public_services/water/water.htm

OH NO ... MY WATER IS ALL ICTERINE:
http://phrontistery.info/colours.html

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 2/23/14

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

... the fact that Incognito is now fully forced out of his hidden-in-the-locker room numero uno a-hole status.

(Well, maybe it was actually more what they were talking about *last* week, when the report came out ... but give a boy a break ... I've been without TV since leaving the resort on Thursday [but I gots it now, yo!])

It's hard not to comment without wanting to say things like he should have picked on someone his own size (had he been able to find someone of his own size [oops, I think I've slipped into bullying in my anti-bullying post]) ... and full disclosure, I was always more of a scholar than an athlete, so I can't even reference "my days in the locker room "(unless you want to count the awkward ones during high school gym, but I've blocked most of those I'm-a-late-bloomer-memories), which maybe discounts my opinion on this subject ...

But with the scathing report released, here's hoping some kind of sensitivity training comes out of it -- if not some other more deserving-punishment.  (And to those who say, overgrown boys will be overgrown boys, let's not forget that this is a workplace for these professionals.  Consider what you'd do if the person in the cubicle next to you [or the google hangout, for those virtual employees] would have acted this way toward you.)

And henceforth, all "yo' mama" jokes (or "your sister" jokes, more accurately stated in this scenario), shall be banned!

THE WELLS REPORT REPORTED:
http://nfl.si.com/2014/02/14/richie-incognito-jonathan-martin-report/

NFL NOT IDEAL FOR ANYONE "SOFT":
http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/13/bullying-in-the-nfl-problem-or-part-of-the-game/

BOYS WILL BE BOYS IS NEVER AN EXCUSE:
http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/boys-will-be-boys-is-out-of-bounds-in-98466/

Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/22/14

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

... even though I may be new to the scene down here in southern Florida (which may explain it), I still don't understand why the local zoo would so proudly feature an exhibit of animals made out of Legos.

Zoos and I don't always get along as it is ... there's nothing more painful than to go past an exhibit with a big cat pacing back and forth in anxious circles ... or a polar bear doing laps almost obsessive compulsively ... instead of either animal enjoying the freedom it so deserves.  Admittedly, a few habitats have done it right, and they've managed to turn the tables so that it seems more like it's the animals who are observing the humans shuffling past their expansive areas ...

But still ... if I am going to decide to risk how I might feel and go to a zoo, you can best be assured that I'm going to want to see real animals ... not animal facsimiles.  [Unless, of course, it's a Lego giraffe that they are dismantling to feed to the Lego lions.  That might go over a bit easier than the news stories I've seen of late.]  Look -- I don't know if it's a tie-in with that movie or what, but come on, zoo-leadership ... this is really supposed to count as something to see?

DESPITE MY RANT, IT APPEARS TO HAVE A CONSERVATION BENT:
http://www.miamimetrozoo.com/articles.asp?Id=936&categoryId=1.

MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE LEGO INVASION:
http://www.local10.com/news/lego-animals-invade-zoo-miami/24177264

ARE ZOOS GOOD OR BAD ... THE ANIMAL PLANET OPINION:
http://www.animalplanet.com/animal-facts/zoos-good-or-bad.htm

Random Flashback for Friday 2/21/14

So I've been talking all month long about the retreat that the LVC theater kids circa 1994 attended (it was actually the first weekend in March that year, according to my records) ... and although there have been snippets here and there in the weeks past, it seems only right to post the big group shot that was taken on the steps of the chalet/lodge/cabin thingy where we all hung out for the weekend some twenty years ago.

Oh ... and bonus points to Rachel M, for wearing the coolest show sweatshirt ('twas a tradition back then) ... (at least, it was the coolest one in my humble opinion, for reasons most people in this photo will understand).  Good times ... good times!

Random Thought for Thursday 2/20/14

Normal hotel rooms often make me feel tall (yes, folks, these are my random thoughts ...)

Me ... I'm 5'9 and 3/4" ... which doesn't exactly make me the tallest one in the room (unless that room is located in a Pacific Rim country) ... but I don't know what it is about compacted construction and attempts to squeeze as much rentable real estate out of a hotel establishment, but I feel like a downright baller it certain places.

If I ever win the lottery that I don't play (which, now that I see it in print, seems like it can never logically happen), I'm going to build a house in the same fashion just as an ego boost (not that there's anything wrong with short people ...)

TRAVEL TIPS FOR HOTEL SLEEPING:
http://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-tips/hotel-and-b-and-b/33-ways-to-sleep-better-at-a-hotel

WELL ... NOT THIS SMALL:
http://weburbanist.com/2007/12/20/7-of-the-smallest-hotels-and-hotel-rooms-in-the-world-from-pipe-rooms-to-capsule-hotels/

BALLER MADE THE LIST:
http://www.thetoptens.com/top-ten-dumbest-slang-words/

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/19/14

IsHeInYou.com

Used in a sentence:  "I will tread lightly so as to not offend anyone, but, after seeing a similar billboard to the one pictured when driving down to New Orleans from Chicago two weeks ago, it was unclear to me whether the site featured -- IsHeInYou.com -- would be a SFW website."

Turns out it is work-friendly, in that it's a website for proselytizing, and the "he" referenced in the question is Jesus.  However, let's face it ... it's not a naming convention that really should have made it past any advisory committee responsible for vetting such things, due to the ease with which it can be double entendred.

And that's all I have to say about that.

THE OFFICIAL SITE:
http://www.isheinyou.com/

INTERNET SLANG SITE FOR YOU OLD FOLKS OUT THERE:
http://www.internetslang.com/SFW-meaning-definition.asp

WAIT A MINUTE ... THAT PHRASING ISN'T EVEN IN THE BIBLE?:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2012/07/ask-jesus-into-your-heart-a-history-of-the-sinners-prayer/

Random Tune for Tuesday 2/18/14

Tonight's tune is *not* the "Invisible" as heard on Jimmy Fallon's premier episode of The Tonight Show (and wasn't it just precious how he got all choked up last night taking a classic show into the next generation ... and kudos to him getting Joan Rivers back on the program ... if only for a minute) ...

Nor is it the "Invisible" from fifteen years ago on Reba's "If You See Him" album ... nor is it the "Invisible" from fifteen years before that by Alison Moyet ... nor is it any of the other dozen or so songs one can find courtesy of the OCD-sufferer's favorite website known as the Wikipedia.

It is, however, the new Hunter Hayes song, as heard (by me anyway) on the Grammys just the other night.  Without a doubt, it's a tune just dying for a Glee treatment (or it would have been perfect to play out those going home on The Glee Project [had that show not been cancelled]).  But here's the part that resonates the loudest with me ...

Every heart has a rhythm, let yours beat out so loudly
That everyone can hear it, yeah, promise you don't need to hide it anymore --
Oh, and never be afraid of doing something different,
Dare to be something more.

*THIS* INVISIBLE NOT *THAT* INVISIBLE OR THE *OTHER* INVISIBLE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucA63CEuXpo

Random Memorial for Monday 2/17/14

Gone but not forgotten:  the roof ... the roof ... the roof is collapsing (we don't need no more snow, let the $#%@ fall!).

One of the many things for which Facebook is useful is how I can move anywhere in the country and still be tied in to the news stories back home (in this case, home home in Lebanon PA, not home in Chicago).  Which means I learned that the local TV station back home home had a roof collapse in this last round of snow storms.  That, in turn, reminded me of the roof collapse that was in my past ... the winter that the back storage room at Hills came crashing down, with security guard Oliver having just barely escaped with his life.

Load bearing structural failures resulting in roofless buildings (recent and ages ago), you are missed.

ALL CLEAR SOUNDED!:
http://www.wgal.com/news/susquehanna-valley/lancaster/wgal-back-up-and-running-after-roof-collapse/24502570

A FAN SITE:
http://tokensafari.com/hillsstores/

AND ANOTHER (THIS TIME ON THE OLD FACEBOOK):
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hills-Department-Store/92491012242

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 2/16/14

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

Admittedly, I'm new to the scene ... but I've quickly learned three things about Floridian's relationship with their cars.

Thing 1:  In addition to amber alerts, there are silver alerts down here for when old folks disappear in the family car.  Actually, I guess silver alerts are everywhere, but ... you know ... the laws of statistics worked in that this was my first exposure to it, what with the average age of the population in my new 'hood and all.

Thing 2:  For reasons not completely clear, every broadcast this week included one news story about someone driving his or her car into a house ... or a business ... or off of an overpass ... Maybe it's peer pressure or some other desire to be trendy, but I have a sinking suspicion that alcohol is involved -- although it does beg the question ... "How drunk do you have to *be* to not be able to stay on the road?"

Thing 3:  In general, there doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency about things (i.e. my customer "service" experience at the Steak and Shake yesterday).  I'm attributing that to the southern influence on everyone's way of life -- although the one exception does appear to be kids playing "fast and furious" on the various highways nearby.  For a brief moment, I was letting that rile me up ... and then I just starting picturing that the drivers of the cars weaving in and out of traffic at triple digit speeds were all probably Justin Bieber -- and I just can't think of him without giggling, since he comes across as a miniature gangsta figurine that you pick up at the thug gift shop (so adorable!).  Alternatively, I've always subscribed to the notion that idiots in tricked out cars tend to be guys whose appendages are so small that even the auto-flush urinals don't realize that these over-compensators have come and gone and done their business, so ... you know ... let them have their high speed fun, I guess.  You have to catch your mate somehow when you're disadvantaged in that manner.  [Note:  no car I've ever own has needed to be tricked out, in case you were wondering.]

STUDYING UP ON THE LOCAL TRADITIONS:
http://www.floridasilveralert.com/

I'M TELLING YOU ... *THIS* IS AN EVERY DAY OCCURRENCE:
http://www.local10.com/news/2-hospitalized-after-car-crashes-into-nw-miamidade-building/24473194

TRICKED OUT CARS ARE NOT THE ONLY SIGN (CONSIDER THIS A PSA OF SORTS):
http://www.iwishiknewthis.com/5-signs-he-may-have-a-small-one/

Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/15/14

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

... this has been stuck in my craw now for two weeks, ever since the Super Bowl weekend in NOLA that kicked off this fortnight being used to address the big move.

To the gentleman who hissed at us in the vestibule of the St. Louis Cathedral because someone in our party was wearing his baseball cap ... and to the family who cast dispersions on us in the restaurant for not standing during the operafied version of the national anthem as we were wrapping up our meal ... fie on you both for your intrusion into my life and judgement as to me and mine.

First things first ... I have to believe that the God we worship is sufficiently occupied with other things than whether the Cubs got free advertising in that sacred establishment because a chapeau wasn't doffed in time.  This strict adherence to form over substance is so much of what's wrong with those who choose to ignore how the New Testament interfaces with the Old.  And I'm not knocking a proper showing of respect ... but this cathedral is in New Orleans ... and it is promoted as a place for tourists to visit ... and I did put money in the donation box so that good work can be done for Christ's sake.  (That's not me cursing ... that's me saying ... literally ... money that will be spent in doing something for Christ's sake ... something other than policing tourists regarding their head wear.)  Priorities, man ... priorities!

Second things second ... I am more willing to waive my disdain to the family who judged us in the restaurant once I consider the likelihood that you all might have been first generation immigrants who may have originated in a country where nationalistic pride was much more formalized ... but I still didn't need your sideways glances because we didn't stand during the Star Spangled Banner.  Were we physically at the Super Bowl, we might have had a different response ... but this was a restaurant ... and it was a broadcast ... and you were the only ones standing after all.  Which was your right -- but that right ended at my personal space and with my personal decisions to keep on sampling the gumbo, beans and rice, jambalaya, etouffee and fried green tomatoes from a seated position instead of a standing one.

All I'm sayin' ... you be you ... and I'll be me ... and I don't need your opinion about *how* to be me.  Got it?

BEAUTIFUL (HAT ON OR OFF):
http://stlouiscathedral.org/

THE SCENE OF THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER CRIME:
http://www.daisydukesrestaurant.com/

ALL THAT ASIDE, I GUESS MAYBE SHOULD REVIEW THIS LIST:
http://www.emilypost.com/everyday-manners/common-courtesies/479-hats-off-the-who-what-when-where-of-the-hat

Random Flashback for Friday 2/14/14

Love is in the air.  Well, love *was* in the air twenty years ago in 1994 when the LVC theatre kids went to Gretna Glen for the weekend for a retreat.  Well, *pretend* love was in the air during that weekend, as this photo (and a few bonus ones on FB) are from a rousing game of "If you love me honey, won't you just please smile.".

Never heard of the game?  I actually learned it at Hebron church (which should be a sign that it is relatively chaste) ... although I don't think you were allowed to touch the person in the original version of the game.  The premise, the person who is "it" has to pick someone in the room, ask them the titular question, and that picked person has to reply "I love you honey, but I just can't smile" ... without smiling.  If the chosen one smiled, he or she became "it" ... if the chosen one didn't smile, the "it" person had to keep on trying until he or she could get someone to crack.

Just some good wholesome fun ... taken up a notch by all involved, since most were actors and actresses at heart.  Seemed like the perfect photo (set) for Valentine's Day!  Happy happy to you and yours!!

Random Thought for Thursday 2/13/14

So far, the employees at the checkout lines of the grocery stores in southern Florida are failing the old "elevator pitch" concept.

Newly transplanted here, it's key to find the right place to fill one's pantry (anyone who followed my years in Chicago knows how intimately I am connected with my grocery provider [on retrospection, that kind of sounds like I exchange relations for dry goods ... which I don't ... just to be clear ...]).

So far, I've been to the Winn Dixie (they drew me in with their signs about a bacon fest) and to the Publix.  Both times, as I was handing the cashier my cash, I asked, "So what makes you the best grocery store in town?".  Winn Dixie lady hemmed and hawed, and finally spurted out, "we have great sales ... with that card" (ugh ... I thought loyalty cards were *soooo* the naughts).  Publix employee did much the same, until a manager passing by jumped in to declare, "we bag your groceries for you ... and take these to your car", which, naturally, I declined, as aged-and-decrepit status is still a few years away.

I have to say ... I'm not yet impressed with an answer (that Publix manager did almost recover by sharing that "our stores are wholly employee owned", which sounded intriguingly like socialist groceries of some form or fashion).  Therefore ... other grocery stores in town (except Whole "Paycheck" and Walmart, as I'm familiar with your business models) ... conisder yourself ON NOTICE ... I'm a-comin' to your checkout line, and I'm a-expectin' to be wowed by your reply.

NOT COUNTING FOR DUPLICATES, I HAVE 890 CHOICES:
http://local.mapquest.com/p?query=Grocery+Stores+Fort+Lauderdale+FL&offset=0

GROCERY STORE CHECKOUT FOLKS ... STUDY UP!:
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/elevator-pitch.htm

MOST INTRIGUING THING I'VE HEARD SO FAR AS A REPLY:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/07/26/walmart-losing-to-quirky-florida-based-publix-employee-owned-company-touted-by-forbes-as-wal-mart-slayer/

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/12/14

That's NW as in ... Kimye's kid.

Used in a sentence:  "As explained to Ebony, the customer service person on the other end of the phone at ComEd earlier today, when discussing to which address the final electric bill should be sent, 'xxxx NW 2nd Ave ... that's NW as in ... Kimye's kid.'".

Note -- apparently it's unsafe to provide complete addresses directly on the interwebs -- hence, the xs -- and besides, the guest room isn't ready yet (since the moving truck doesn't actually arrive with the furniture until next Th, Feb 20th).  But bills must still be paid, yo -- and mails must still be delivered, yo -- so folks must still be informed, yo!

IT TURNS OUT THAT NORTH WAS TO AVOID KKK DRAMA:
http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/07/26/kim-kardashian-north-west-name-meaning-kkk/

I CAN DISCLOSE MY NEW ZIP CODE (YOU'RE GETTING WARMER!):
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?zipcode=33311

SPEAKING OF CELEBRITY BABY NAMES:
http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/17/moxie-crimefighter-celeb-baby-names-explained/?iref=allsearch

Random Tune for Tuesday 2/11/14

Nothing like a bit of karaoke to make one realize that one's maybe never *really* heard a song before.  [And no, I was neither high nor in the mountains at the time I heard someone else perform this song this past weekend.]

I mean -- sure, I could sing along to the chorus with the rest of the bar crowd (Co - lo - ra -do ...), but it turns out the song is pretty darn wordy and the chorus is actually pretty darn short (even if oft repeated).

In the end, I'm not certain that it is the best bar song to sing (allegedly, it was dedicated to the fact that Florida is actively considering allowing medical marijuana ... but Johnnie D himself testified before Congress in the eighties that the "high" he was referencing was about getting inspired by the natural beauty of the CO wilds.)  But I can say it will stick with me now for how melancholy it actually is ... and for the line in this google image screen grab, which echoes Icarus but actually reminds me more of P Jam's "Given to Fly".

And one last connection (even in a bar in the midst of karaoke, my mind just doesn't stop a-spinnin') -- I got crazy once and lost a friend but kept the memory ... and DJ would have turned 38 yesterday.

YOU MIGHT SAY HE FOUND A KEY FOR EVERY DOOR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOB4VdlkzO4

Random Memorial for Monday 2/10/14

Gone but not forgotten:  the Wilton apartment.

I should clarify, as it only now hit me that I'm moving from Wilton Ave to Wilton Manors, which may be confusing to those processing the address change (of note ... if I owe you a private message with my new location, it's coming ... slotted it in as a task once I get back in the time frame waiting for the delivery truck).

Speaking of the delivery truck, thanks to driver Willy and the boys (Josh, and the other two who did the majority of the heavy lifting).  Sorry about the dispute with the landlord over the propping open of the door in frigid temperatures ... and for the neighbors and the police who either didn't move or didn't care that they didn't move with regards to you getting the 18 wheeler lined up out front.  For now, take good care of yourself and the things ... and here's to seeing driver Willy (with new local boys I assume) if a few days.

While I'm thanking "people", special thanks to poor Murder, who is completely discombobulated by all the activity, and who now refuses to leave my side, napping with me right by my ear, and now, as I type this, literally sitting between the keyboard and I.  I'm trying to convince her that she's really going with me tomorrow, and that she won't be left alone, but I don't think she's taking any chances.

Last of three places in which I lived during my dozen years in Chi-town, after one last night here, you will be missed.

SO FAR SO GOOD ...:
http://www.bekins.com/

YEP, SHE'S ANXIOUS:
http://www.vetdepot.com/recognizing-signs-cat-anxiety.html

NOT THAT I'M ANTICIPATING ANY ISSUES OR ANYTHING:
http://www.illinois-attorney.com/law/city-of-chicago-residential-landlord-and-tenant-ordinance/5-12-080-security-deposits-chicago-residential-landlord-tenant-ordinance/

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 2/9/14

What Chicago is talking about this week:

Well, for one thing.  It's still pretty freakin' cold.

Which I know personally since I came back "home": for a super-fast 72 hour period, mostly to meet the movers, to return the keys to the landlord and to claim the kitty for the flight back to what I should now start calling "home" -- sunny southern Florida!

This does provide me with one last opportunity to put out there that this move was not about wussing out (what with the winter weather), but that it had been planned for awhile, almost executed in the fall of 2008 and now FINALLY happening.  Or, by Tuesday night, will have FINALLY happened.

All that said, although I fully expect to visit this Chicago "home" many times in the future ... I'm also fully likely to manage those trips such that they are not during such record breaking weeks.  To those left behind ... please stay safe and warm -- and come visit when you need to get rid of the chills!

THIS HEADLINE SEEMS EVER RELEVANT THIS YEAR:
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/920ecd692acb4c4982be1c2745db0152/IL--Chicago-Cold

BUT NOT TOO COLD FOR THE SUPER BOWL (JUST TOO SMALL?):
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2014/02/07/washington-chicago-are-best-bets-for-next-cold-weather-super-bowl/

I'M NOT TRYING TO RUB IT IN ... AM I?:
http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USFL0149

Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/8/14

I don't mean to go off on a rave here, but ...

... when things are meant to be, they are just meant to be.

AKA ... here's the rental property in Ft. Lauderdale to which my mail will soon be delivered.  It's in an up and coming 'hood, and is a whole house (I've not lived in a house since Harrisburg in the late nineties).  My excitement doesn't stop there ... it's even got a giant back yard (is it wrong to be excited to have a lawn to mow?), is situated next to a lot that the neighbors have turned into a park, and is on a street that was recently converted into a dead-end 1.5 blocks away so as to keep the area quiet and mostly for just the residents.

Oh, but it gets better and better.  In case you haven't picked up on it, I've fully embraced my eccentricities and prefer atypical and/or slightly abnormal to a boring existence.  The landlady ... practically Fraulein Schneider from Cabaret -- is a first generation German immigrant who is taking care of matters for her daughter, who actually said, when she saw the application and lease, in that German accent ... "Neidermyer.  That's a good German name."  AND "Thanks for doing such a good job with the paperwork."  (We Germans do love our order!)

And that's not all.  In addition to the original touches that make this place unique (more pics are on Facebook ... including the artwork in the roof and the "chandelier" in the dining space), it comes with a floor-to-ceiling original piece of artwork called "Flora" (that pic is a bonus photo below).  She's a protector, according to the landlady.

Oh right ... one more thing.  After the keys were turned over, then and only then did she disclose that she's kind of psychic, and that she saw a ghost watching her spruce up the place.  A "dapper" young skinny man dressed in such a way that she feels he was from the 1920's, with an old timey cigarette hanging out of his mouth.  Once the ghost saw her looking at him, she imitated the shocked face he made (if only had a picture of that to share), and then he left.  So yes, that's TWO protectors for this one location.

I.  Can't.  Stop.  Smiling.

Random Flashback for Friday 2/7/14

Twenty years ago (or more precisely -- nineteen years and eleven months ago [since this photo is from March of 1994]), all the cool kids involved in the theater at LVC started a tradition (I think we can call it that, because we did it twice) ... and went away on a weekend retreat.

Kicking off the extravaganza, we were hosted at this party by Karen H (it's her beautiful house), and I'm pretty sure this is either just before or right after the whole lot of us went to see a Lancaster production of the play that can't be named.

I'm guessing my attempt was to get a candid shot, which is why there are some back sides and some side sides in this photo ... and Gully, of course, who always knows when the camera is on him.  I had a choice between this group shot and one of Rachel M reprising her "union suit" performance ... and decided to go with the one that would require more FB tagging (sorry Rachel!)  Expect additional photos all month!

Random Thought for Thursday 2/6/14

It has come to my attention that an addendum is in order.

On June 30,2010, I posted about the time I tried to cure insomnia by counting sleep(spots) instead of sheep.  I had some rules attached (for instance ... it wasn't *every* single place I've ever slept [my OCD is of the manageable variety, and my elephant's memory is not quite to the HSAM level], but it was any place where a bed was dedicated to me ... to use ... for slumber).

I ended at 26 in Wrigleyville (what can I say, I was a child of divorce who once had a co-visitation schedule and I apparently do not mind a nomadic lifestyle).  To be most accurate though, I need to clarify that Wrigleyville was sleep(spots) 26 *and* 27 (for a few years, the apartment was on the Waveland side ... and then, in the best move ever [of which I am highly envious now what with the big move to Florida underway], we went across the back porch to the apartment in the same building on  the Wilton side.

Which then makes the place that is pending here in Ft. Lauderdale ... (final paperwork being dropped off in the am!) ... sleep(spot) 28 in my lifetime countdown!

MY ORIGINAL POST NOW BEING AMENDED:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/2010/06/random-wordplay-for-wednesday-63010.html

I PROMISE IT'S MOSTLY A COUNTING THING:
http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/h/mild-ocd-symptoms.html

EVEN H-SAMMERS SOMTIMES REWRITE HISTORY:
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/body-odd/even-people-super-recall-tripped-false-memories-study-finds-f2D11603596

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/5/14

Smoking or non-smoking?

Used in a sentence:  "I will readily admit that that phrasing is not so much of a play on words EXCEPT that I did think that it was an anachronistic question that just didn't get asked any longer ('cause, you know, that's precisely what anachronistic means ) ... until this trip to southern Florida by way of New Orleans, when I heard "Smoking or non-smoking?" at multiple restaurants and hotels.

Talk about being sheltered by the big city!  I thought it was a foregone conclusion that one needed to exit a public establishment to suck on a tobacco stick   That's certainly de regueur in Chicago -- despite the fact that twice recently, it was more than negative thirty (or is that less than negative thirty?  ... I need someone more mathy than I to weigh in here).

I felt like I was being asked something illegal in a job interview ... shocked at first, and then answering under my breath in case anyone else was listening.  What a time warp!

NOW MY TRIP EXPERIENCES MAKE MORE SENSE:

http://www.no-smoke.org/pdf/WRBLawsMap.pdf

ANOTHER (MAYBE MORE POWERFUL) VISUAL ON SMOKING OR NON-SMOKING:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/31/health/smoking-aging-identical-twins/

ONE MORE SMOKING OR NON-SMOKING RELATED STORY OF LATE:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/05/smoking-cvs-health/5230621/

Random Tune for Tuesday 2/4/14

At the risk of this Tuesday post turning into something more akin to a Saturday soapbox rant ... who knew America the Beautiful would shine a light on 'Merica the Ugly?

And that the Super Bowl Coke ad could somehow serve a dual purpose to promote capitalism and to serve as a hellish torment of a twisted I-Spy game for certain xenophobic small minded individuals whose heads are so far up their own asses that they missed the fact that our world has become globalized since the early 1900's ... or that their own forebears very likely spoke multiple languages in their first generation immigrant homes ... or that diversity is something to be celebrated and embraced and honored for the role it played in how our country earned its place in this world where isolationism no longer works now that the oceans are more easily traversed ...

Oh right ... I mentioned the twisted torment I imagine such that I hope this tune is playing on giant video screens in hell for certain individuals (let's call it the Jesse Helms suite) ... so that they can spend eternity crying out in pain ... "I spy a Jew!  I spy a Muslim!  I spy a gay!  I spy someone (gasp) singing a patriotic song in another language."

Now, to be fair, since I do believe that America *is* so beautiful, that means I also support your right to demonstrate your ignorance by commenting as you see fit (I'm looking at you [generically] when, in your [generic]  patriotic fervor, you [generically] refer to the song as our national anthem [idiots, did you not listen when the opera singer lady performed before Joe Namath proved that the fox ... doesn't say anything before a coin toss ... but I digress]) ...

Tonight's random tune ... is *proudly* ... this Coca Cola ad from this past weekend ...

PLEASE REMEMBER TO DRINK TONS OF SODA, AS *THAT* IS THE 'MERICAN WAY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MEsOzzunPQ

Random Memorial for Monday 2/3/14

Gone but not forgotten:  the daily installments of my short story "Lorem Ipsum:  The Aloysius Angelasia Archives."

 Meaning ... they've been gone again what with me so busy preparing for the move (including the bonus series counting down the 50 things I'll miss about Chicago ... which has now ended) ... but I haven't forgotten about them so they'll be coming back tomorrow!

Of course, you may not even know I'm doing this side project ... which means you might also have been confused about the randomness that shows up here.  The good news ... you can get caught up by reading the completed chapters on the blog ... or on Facebook via photo album ... or you can just jump in to the story tomorrow with Chapter 11 when the main character (a college student learning about a new super power of sorts is about to have lunch with the mysterious woman he spotted at his graduation ... and to learn family secrets for the first time that will change the course of his future).

Or not ... whatevs ... your call.  Either way, starting tomorrow, they return ... so they will no longer be missed.

GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING ... CHAPTERS 1-9 POSTED HERE:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/search/label/Lorem%20Ipsum%3A%20%20The%20Aloysius%20Angelasia%20Archives%20COMPLETED%20CHAPTERS

CHAPTER 10 POSTED HERE:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/search/label/Lorem%20Ipsum%3A%20%20The%20Aloysius%20Angelasia%20Archives

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 2/2/14

What New Orleans is talking about this week:

Sure there was an election yesterday and a marathon today ... but, understandably, what with this being the second annual "chasing the Super Bowl weekend" (last year Indy ... this year New Orleans ... next year New York [the New Jersey part of NY] and, in 2016, Phoenix!) ... it's expected that so many of the conversations have been about this year's big game.

In an unscientific poll, most of the drunks with whom I've interacted these last few nights were going to be cheering on the Broncos.  Of course, writing this post as I am after half time, I'm a little concerned that that means there will be a lot of sad drunks out and about on the last night of this mini-vacation.

Me, personally, I didn't come into tonight's game with any horse in the race (I wanted to see Colin K there for the second year in a row, because he's my fantasy).  [Fantasy player.  Oops.  Forgot an important word there at the end of that sentence.].  Which, of course, means that I'm just rooting for the puppy to get back together with the horse.  [Spoiler alert:  since the ad was leaked ahead of time ... he does.]

AWWWW ... PUPPIES AND HORSES ... BEST FRIENDS FOREVER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQB7QRyF4p4

AN ALTERNATIVE TAKE ON THE AUDI AD:
http://www.chicagonow.com/raining-cats-dogs/2014/01/audi-super-bowl-ad/

IS IT TOO SOON TO START PLANNING THIS 2016 TRIP?:
http://www.visitphoenix.com/things-to-do/index.aspx?gclid=CMig3LTwrrwCFYNQ7AodgxsAdw

Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/1/14

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

To morph a Faye D as Joan C quote ... No.  More.  Justin.  Bieber.

And while we're at ... No.  More.  Dennis.  Rodman.

Look -- nothing against either wack job.  My real complaint is how quickly those stories took over the news cycle.  I see absolutely no value in knowing that the Biebs wanted to up his street cred by living dangerously such that he now may face a felony egging charge (what thuggery!).  And yet that information seems to be inescapable such that even the President is now needing to comment on it.

If only just a fraction of the 100,000 people who took the time to petition for his deporting channeled that passion into requesting change for something worth while.  And here's a novel concept ... maybe the depth of coverage devoted to those two yahoos over the last fortnight could have been better spent highlighting real problems and real issues -- you know, like the economy and joblessness ... or the lack of quality support for returning veterans ... or the fact that too many children go hungry in our land of plenty.

Hell, I'd even take more raising the debt ceiling vitriol or the anointment of front runners in the 2016 presidential race instead of one more second of airtime about a spoiled "celebrity" brat or a drunken "celebrity" turncoat.

[Irony alert ... By using this post to comment on the phenomenon, I'm guilty of the same charges I'm leveling against the establishment.  But I promise ... it's the only time I'll comment ... I swear.]

WHY OH WHY OH WHY IS THIS NATIONAL NEWS!:
 http://newsfeed.time.com/2014/01/29/white-house-petition-to-deport-justin-bieber/

HEY NEWS PEOPLE -- COVER *THIS* INSTEAD OF BIEBS:
https://www.nokidhungry.org/

HEY NEWS PEOPLE -- COVER *THIS* INSTEAD OF RODMAN:
http://www.returningveterans.org/