Blithering Dragon

My October post... Sad news :-(

2008-10-30T01:38:00.004-04:00

My wonderful dog of 14 years unfortunately had to be put down last night. Kali was the best damn dog anyone could hope for and want. Nothing but 80 pounds of love in that puppy. :-) I'm gonna miss that wonderful puppy. I still don't think anyone ever gets as excited as she did to the last day when she saw me. :-) What a bright light dimmed in life. :-(

She'd been ill for a good 8-9 months with cancer of the heart, and they only gave her 2-3 months at that time. :-) So we lucked out for some extra time with her. So glad to have had her in my life. Dogs are such wonderful companions!!

Off to the Shaggy Bob Oasis this weekend. Good times coming for a good Halloween bash!

Another month gone by

2008-09-28T20:30:00.002-04:00

And here I am once again blogging. Another month gone, and not a whole lot going on. Been working my butt off, and there's not much left to go.

My softball team made the playoffs, but we lost in the first round. :-( By 1 run. Ugh. It was a good season, and I had a lot of fun. I always enjoy softball, its such a release from the rigors of everyday.

Been golfing still, and am really having my best year. I've been in the high 80s consistently, a marked improvement for me!! LOL. I'm glad to finally be seeing this improvement.

Work sent me to Seattle this week. First time I've ever been there. Unfortunately, it was only for a day. 6am flight on a Thursday, meeting in the afternoon, and then client dinner. Fly back at 6am Friday. Ugh. Not fun. But I really liked the look of Seattle. One day, I'll have to go there to visit for a few days. Pretty good stuff.

My new nephew is great!! :-) He's such a happy little kiddo. Really is great for my brother and his wife, they're such great people! I'm actually excited again for Christmas, as they will be coming back and I will get to see his first one! :-) Such little things to make the days better.

Hopefully something good will happen soon, and I'll have better things to write. Until then.

Heh, here I am

2008-08-26T22:22:00.002-04:00

Ok then. Well, it's been near 2 months since my last post. Deep funks of no brain activity kinda suck. :-\ I've just felt like I've had nothing to say, or just not wanted to write. This is me, those of you who don't know me well, welcome. lol.

So what's been up? Wow, so much, yet really so little. I've been playing my favorite past time a ton lately, softball. 2 leagues, Wednesday night and Thursday nights. Great fun, and I enjoy it so much. Such a great physical outlet for my angst. Unfortunately, my Wednesday night league is over, we missed the playoffs by not winning our last game. Suffer!! :-( My Thursday team is doing well, with our last regular season games (double header) this Thursday. We win one, we're definitely in, win both and we climb a seed to 3rd in the league. Not bad, really good team. As long as we get into the playoffs, I think we have a shot at winning. :-)

What else, you ask? Geez, nosy people... lol. So, LOTS of baseball this summer. I've been to at least 8 Red Sox games, including an INCREDIBLE weekend of seeing my favorite St. Louis Cardinals. Yes, weekend. All 3 games. :-) Can you say HEAVEN?!?!?!

More? A weekend in Maine with some good friends that was great fun. We went golfing at Sunday River Golf club, which was just amazing! See http://www.sundayriver.com/Golf/index.html. I tell ya, there's nothing like driving off a tee and seeing for MILES over the mountain edge. Just incredible. I've been around to see some good friends, including the Shaggy. Hey Shaggy, how's the 32" HDTV treating ya??? :-) Sorry I talked you into that!! lol!

I went to NY with Vinnie Bags and we caught a couple NY/Boston baseball games. Now that was good fun! Let me tell ya, walking home at 4 am blasted from playing Beirut (with Vinny and I being undefeated!) is good fun. Especially when its like a 40 block walk. With a pit stop at an all night diner... heh. NY - Horrified! Nice job Vinny.

Then there's been lots of just golf. Need more, I'm on the edge of getting so much better, just need to play some more. Low 90's right now, so getting there!

had a good friend who was put out for a month or so, cause his place had some broken pipes!! Not good for him. But I let him stay with me while he was getting it all fixed, and it was good to have a room mate again. He's a good guy, and probably one of the 2-3 people I could ever live with. We did well, and some fun along the way. He's all set now, and has been able to move back in. He's happy, cause it sucks to not be home no matter how welcome you are anywhere. I totally understand.

Well, I guess I've brain dumped enough for now. I'm off to NY this weekend to visit the parents and my brothers are coming into town. My new nephew is going to be baptised, and I'll be able to meet him for the first time!! I'm very excited! Should be fun.

Take care all, and I'll try and get better at this. Maybe even once a month.... :-)

So, its been a while

2008-06-01T22:57:00.002-04:00

Not sure what to say, for the most part. I've been busy as heck at work, way too much going on. Had my second trip to Santa Monica to see our #1 client. Was there a few days, had some fun at night, but over all, it was business... bleh.

I hosted some fun Memorial Day weekend. Had some people over and partied the days away. Good fun! BBQ's a nice brisket. On the grill for 7 hours, and oh yummy goodness came out!! We played Baggo, and drank more than needed, which is just about the right amount! Jaeger bombs are liquid crack some nights.... Oh, and turned another year older. Yikes... getting up there now!

No idea why its been so long, I have had chances. I just haven't been in a writing mood, and just no ideas as to what to say. Busy with work. Softball has started, so I play Wednesdays and Thursdays. Fit the girlfriend in between, and when she's not busy as heck herself. Not a good mix.

This coming weekend looks to be more goodness. Off to Maine with Wilby, Tool, and Shagz to go golfing in East Bumblefuck. Newry. Where the heck is Newry!??!?! lol. Oh well, it will definitely be good times with these guys.

Till the next time, which hopefully will be sooner, unless you don't like me... in which case, why are you reading this anyways???

For fun

2008-04-18T00:39:00.003-04:00

Ok, Shaggy. Here we go:
1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Your significant other?Kentucky
3. Your hair? messy
4. Your mother? remarkable
5. Your father? dead
6. Your favorite thing? living
7. Your dream last night? dunno
8. Your favorite drink? morgan's
9. Your dream/goal? worry-free
10. The room you’re in? office
11. Your ex? clueless
12. Your fear? debt
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? comfortable
14. Where were you last night? g/f's
15. What you’re not? happy
16. Muffins? sure
17. One of your wish list items? BMW
18. Where you grew up? suburbia
19. The last thing you did? typed
20. What are you wearing? jeans
21. Your TV? baseball
22. Your pets? alive :-)
23. Your computer? self-built
24. Your life? floundering
25. Your mood? flat
26. Missing someone? :-\ yes
27. Your car? junk
28. Something you’re not wearing? hat
29. Favorite store? dunno
30. Your summer? softball!
31. Like someone? absolutely
32. Your favorite color? red
33. When is the last time you laughed? earlier
34. Last time you cried? week
35. Who will repost this? someone

There ya go, Shaggy. Enjoy.

They come in threes...

2008-04-03T09:44:00.002-04:00

Ever heard that phrase? Well, I'm a believer. Hasn't been a grand bit of time. Busy as heck at work, too much going on, and everyone in a hizzy about us being sold off (with no known buyer yet.). Always a great situation. Not enough fun lately, but some.

So now, about the "threes" comment. They say bad things come in threes. Three bad things, all in succession, all within a close proximity of time. What definition of close is, I'm not sure, but I believe there's quite a bit of play in there. So, I'm in the midst of my threes. :-( I have 2 down now. Now the anxiety of the third. My three, you ask?
1) Puppy dog Kali is sick with cancer, could pass away any day as far as we know. :-(
2) just happened yesterday, my grandfather passed away. off to his funeral today for the weekend.
3) just awaiting to pop up, and ruin another day.

My grandfather was a wonderful man. He ran one of the largest dairy farms in upstate NY for many years. Had 8 children, my mother being the oldest. Such an amazing family, hard workers, and all down to earth people who have not let anything go to their heads, despite a few of them becoming extremely successful. He lost his wife of 65 years a few years ago, and had to be ripped off his farm and working it when he was still 84 years old. :-) Now that's dedication and passion for your life. He will be sorely missed, but we will always remember him for the strong man he was, and the loving father and grandfather. Thanks, Grandpa, for helping make me who I am today.

May everyone enjoy those who are around them today, especially the family that you love.

Just stopping in

2008-03-18T01:39:00.002-04:00

Just thought I would stop in and say hi. Been kinda busy, going to a few hockey games, birthday parties, having poker at my house... etc. You know, just trying to be a bachelor!! No major complaints, and no real ups either. Kind of a blah spell. Hopefully trying to make it to the oasis this weekend, and I should be able to. Just have to see about the fantasy baseball draft on Saturday... might just let it auto pick for me. I'll have to see :-) No worries, tho, that's for sure!!

Have a good one.

Just an update

2008-03-03T16:02:00.002-05:00

Well, of all the things, the puppy dog is doing ok. They don't know how long, but for now, she's the happy puppy she's always been. She's home again, and playing with squeaky toys, even had a walk with my Mom. That's good :-) They're not sure with out a ton of more tests to know exactly what's up, but for now, my Mom and I can just enjoy her being herself again for a while.

Dogs

2008-02-22T21:11:00.003-05:00

Not sure if any of you have ever had a dog, but I've had a dog in my life for all but a few years of the 34. I'm a huge fan of dogs. In those years, its only been 3 dogs. Our first, Duffer, was a border collie, and was a great dog. Loads of fun and intensely loyal to my father. He was there until I was around 16. Then came Bandit, the golden retriever. Strange dog, but still was loads of fun, and was that ever wonderful man's best friend that you look for in a dog.

Then came MY first dog on my own, a black German shepherd mix, Kali, that is a joy of my life. I got her from a friend as a pup, who decided he couldn't deal with training a puppy. She's been the most wonderful dog anyone could have. I have that dog that is intensely loyal to me, and she's been nothing but great. She loves frisbee, and ball. She loves curling up with me when she can and getting her tummy scratched. Just an all around sweet dog. And now, I just learned that she's passing. Cancer. She probably doesn't have long to live. She's 13, and I hope I have made her life as full as she has made mine. She's been the best friend a man can have, and I will miss her dearly.

If you have a dog, scratch its tummy. If you've had a dog, you know what I'm dealing with. If you've never had a dog, get one. :-) You'll never regret it, they are such a joy in your life.

Kali and me, Christmas 2006. Ain't she adorable???

Howdy ho

2008-02-16T01:11:00.002-05:00

Been a little while, sorry about that if there really is anyone out there who gives a rats ass. :-) Work, work, play, play... been busy all around.

My favorite time is beginning, that wonderful season of BASEBALL!! I'm a fanatic, I admit. I can't get enough baseball. Their showing up, and its time to get it on! I'm a happy camper.

I have learned something new in the last few weeks. Hard work CAN finally pay off. (beware, the next couple lines are self involved, and I did hurt my shoulder trying to pat myself on my back) I believe myself to be a very dedicated worker, I work hard, and I finish what I start. I do the long hours thing, I get involved, and learn all I can. Never had it pay off, always got the short end up the anus. Left a job cause my boss was taking credit for my work. Left another cause I was too good at it, and they sent me EVERYWHERE, and when I said "pay me", they said "let's talk about this again some other time". Three times. Not good enough, see ya. So finally, I have a job that I am good at, and a good boss who recognizes it. So, you're sitting there saying, "big whoop, how's that paying off?". I'll tell ya how. Can you say 50% salary bonus? :-D Yessir, you see that right, and I'll type it again. 50%. Retention bonus in 6 months for sticking thru the sale of our division. That'll pay a few bills. Yes, I make more than chicken scratch, a lot more. VERY significant money, and that means that I can finally be debt free!!!!!!!! :-) Its gonna be a good year, FINALLY.

2008-02-04T18:39:00.000-05:00

Heh - I'm an alcoholic :-)

2008-01-31T18:15:00.000-05:00

97%ALCOHOLIC

I'm hurting, sir...

2008-01-31T17:51:00.001-05:00

So, its been a couple weeks. What have I been doing, you ask? Ha! I went to Santa Monica, CA for a few days for work. Big client meeting. Not too bad. Took them out to dinner, and 9 of us spent $2k. :-) Some damn good bottles of wine. Flew home on the red eye, got home at 6 am Friday. Woke up at 11, worked for a couple hours at home, then boogied on off to Upstate NY for some snowmobiling with a couple friends, Bird and Baz. Great weekend fun of bombing around in snowmobiling to all the bars we could find, back to their hideaway in Nowheresville, NY to drink some more. Back home Sunday evening. Home, you say?? Oh yeah, I remember that place...

Then work this week, lots of it. And, I have fallen ill. UGH! Nasty little cold. Been on me the last few days. Gee, wonder how that could have happened with what little I've been up to? Hehehe.

Here I am again

2008-01-16T01:27:00.000-05:00

You might ask why I am writing at 1:30am. Well, I'm waiting to work, at 2:30am. UGH. Ridiculous that again I sit here and have to work at odd hours. I thought I was rid of these days 5 years ago when I was with Nextel working all night shifts after the full day of work. Oh well, I guess its one of those unwritten things in those contracts for your salary... being the bitch. The good thing is that despite all the crap going on at work, with the potential sale and all, is that they have been "singled out as a critical employee", and "will be contacted with what this means." Hmmm. Rumor? :-) Retention bonus!!!! Nice. This could be the HUGE break this guy has been looking for!! Could 2008 FINALLY be the year that I make it out of the barely getting by? Now, by no means am I bad off, just that I'm not as comfortable as I want. Call it wanting to live REAL nice, not just nice :-)

This weekend should be yet another good time. I am having people over to have a little soiree. One of my friends birthdays is Saturday, and we all have Monday off... so, why not a PARTY!! Good times a-coming, again :-D Anyone in the area, drop me a line and come on by the old digs, and have a beer. Or two. Or however many you want!

More snow...

2008-01-14T14:34:00.000-05:00

That's right, a regular Nor'easter hits New England... again. Luckily looks like we escaped with only about 7" this time. Even so, I decided not to chance the travel and am working from home. As you can see, I am not working all that hard :-) Oh well.

Been a nice weekend, not too bad. Got to play some poker, and just hang out. Good by my measures. This weekend should be more fun, as I am having people over. Why not, its a long weekend for a lot of people, including me, and we should celebrate, right? SURE!!! So, come one, come all... heh, that is, within reason!! Party, my place, Friday thru Monday. Woohoo!!

All work and no play...

2008-01-11T00:39:00.000-05:00

Makes me a dull boy. That about sums up the last week, work and more work. At least Wednesday my friend Tool scored some tickets to a local college hockey game, BC versus Vermont. Good game, good fun to watch. BC won 4-1. They had this little guy that, I admit, I kinda laughed at in the intros. The guy was like 5'5", and 100 pounds in pads. His line mates were each 6'+, 200 lbs. He looked like a little kid. Next thing you know, he's making everyone on the ice look like kids in a man's game. AMAZING player!! Fast as heck, and great skill with the puck. He had 1 goal and 2 assists in the game, and was the 1st star. The credo "never judge a book by the cover" strikes again.

So work has decided that I need to travel to my top client and teach them how to do their job. Yippee. Now I have to go to Los Angeles in a couple weeks, and make nice nice with this client. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't play the kiss ass game too well. Ugh. I guess the things you have to do for someone who brings in almost 50% of a company's revenue gets things like this. Oh well, its a free trip to LA to scope it out. Been there once, but just drove thru to get to the airport. Could be interesting, I suppose. Look at the bright, as I always try to tell myself.

Happy New Year :-)

2008-01-06T17:38:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are, 2008. I hope everyone had a great holidays, I know I did. I had almost 2 whole weeks off, and it was much needed. Christmas was fantastic, being at home with my parents and brothers with their wives. Its nice to have such a great family. I got some good stuff, needed no less. When did it happen that Christmas became a matter of actually getting things we need, instead of things we desire? When did we grow up and become responsible? Ugh, to be a kid again. :-)

New years was yet another great time. I went to Connecticut to visit some friends and hang out with them and other fraternity brothers. What an outstanding time!! We got there Saturday, so it was a nice extended party. Talk about good fun!! And oh my, did we drink! Nothing like ringing in the new year with a game of champagne pong, with the champagne still in the bottle!! LOL. Good fun, and massively drunk after that!! Good times, good times...

Back to work, and a new year. Hopefully this one is better than the last, as always I hope, and may it be better for everyone. Happy new year all!!

Shopping

2007-12-19T21:18:00.000-05:00

Ugh, one thing in the world I hate pretty close to the most is shopping. I generally do well, but it takes me forever to get the intestinal fortitude to get out there and get it done. So, that being said, the holiday season is a living nightmare for me. ARGH!! And, to top it off, its the g/f's birthday around this time, so now I have to have "thought" into that gift as well. :-p I have nearly all of it done, save for a last few. I'm proud of myself, cause this could quite possibly be the earliest I have ever finished shopping. Its been standard for me to have to shop Christmas eve to get at least most, if not all my gifts. :-) I'm good under pressure.

The good thing, I get to enjoy this Christmas, cause I actually have some semblance of money to blow on the family this year. Nice. I leave Saturday to head to the parents for the week, to visit with my brothers and their wives, and my mom and step dad. Good times a plenty!! If I don't post again, Happy Holidays, all!!

Ugh, the Northeastern weather

2007-12-17T00:12:00.000-05:00

What a crappy few days. 11" Thursday, Friday was nice, Saturday was ok. Then last night thru today... yuck!! Rain, snow, sleet, ice... all of it. Bleh!!! I'm getting too old to shovel this 40 lb. per square inch wet snow crap. Nothing worse than wet snow, and nothing better to break your back in. How did I get to be turning 60 in my mid 30's??? Guess that's what happens when you have 7 surgeries in your youth for screwing up every joint in your body. :-) Good fun.

Well, someone has returned from the west coast, so my week of relaxation is over. No sooner was it over, than there's been 3 fights about things that I don't even know. 1am, after a night of drinking and being a tired s.o.b. is NOT a time to start an argument over something that I STILL don't know what it was. Argh.

Hopefully I can even make it out of my road tomorrow to go to work. Then again, I can work from home, and it's SO much quieter at home to work. Hmmm... My road is still one big sheet of ice. My little P.O.S. Honda Civic ain't gonna make it, most likely. Oh well!! ;-)

One more week, and then I'm outta here for the holidays. Home to visit the fam-damily for a week, then off to the Bags's in CT for a party. GOOD TIMES, baby!

2.5 hours

2007-12-13T18:38:00.000-05:00

What kind of time is that, you ask? That's how long it took me to get home from work today, thanks to the 8" (and still going) of snow. Ugh. The kicker? How far do I have to travel from work to the digs?? 20 miles, 30 miles? No, a mere 5 MILES!!! Yep, 5 miles, 2.5 hours... that hurts to even figure out the mph I was doing. Why is it a state in the Northeast like Mass has drivers who drive like they have never seen snow before?!??! WTF????

I'm spent, and that means there will be imbibing of my fave, the captain, for the evening. 'Nuff said, time to make life fuzzy ;-)

An easy week

2007-12-12T21:34:00.000-05:00

This is going to sound bad, and I know I'll get some good comments out of this, but... It's a good week. Why? you ask... cause the time is all mine. That's right, California called someone for a week, and now I get a week to myself. :-) Wonderful. Mean, kinda. True, definitely. I need to recuperate, and regain myself, and get some aspect of what's going on. This is a nice way of it happening. No worries, I can make dinner without a half hour discussion, and I can be at my house all week relaxing. Sweet.

So, upcoming plans for the holidays are looking good. Going home to visit the parents, and brothers with their wives. Good times there, my family is great. New years? HA! Weekend long party coming!! Vinny Bags is hosting, and this guy has some beer pong redemption in mind... Bringing the Manson CDs, and rocking out, baby!! :-) Its gonna be one helluva way to bring in the New year.

Work is work, and today we were officially unofficially told that we're definitely, but not definitely, being sold off. Huh!?? Yeah, its called reading between the lines. Ugh. Another change in ownership. All we can do is hope that its someone who wants to do something with us, unlike certain current owner screw ups. :-p

Anyone want to do my Christmas shopping for me? I hate shopping. Its my only anxiety of the holidays, cause I always hate the gifts I get people. Pay and pray, I call it. Here's to hoping I do well this year.

I warned you..

2007-12-04T20:56:00.000-05:00

that I wasn't good at keeping up on things like this. Especially with a chaotic work place lately, and "other things" that take way too much time and effort. Ugh. I am one worn out mofo right about now. Too much work, too little relaxing and enjoying myself.

Work... what a fitting word. Last 2 weeks, no less than 50-55 hours each, week before that, over 60. And salary, so, no OT, and no comp time. How nice. And now?? My company has put us on the chopping block. That's right, a mere year and a half after relieving my fun little start up company that was all happy and growing enormously, sending us to hell and back by becoming part of the big giant ass momo corp that they are, they've decided they bit off more than they could chew. Sooo, we're up for sale. How nice. I hate big corporations. :-p

And if that don't top all, there is no relaxing at home. Always the constant struggle to find the way to recharge, and home life ain't cutting it. I'm just bitter.

Oh, and I hereby resurrect one of my all time favorite acronyms.... AWAC. Those of you who know me, know what it means, and its been in storage for several years. It is now alive and well, and someone please let me know if there is any sane ones out there.....

Adios, till next time.

Yeesh...

2007-11-14T01:12:00.000-05:00

So everyone is getting on my case about my rant, friends that is. Telling me that I'd be toast if someone saw it. Tough crap. I made this so I could rant about whatever I want to. :-) That was it that day, cause I just needed to vent, and someone was not able to handle it. So I wrote, and it was a good release, and now its gone.

Thank you all for your concern, I'm a big boy. Live in my shoes for a day, you'd have rants as well.

Why like now, I would have a nice one about work, which I am just finishing up now, after a 14 hour day. And my reward? I have to be on a conference call at 7am tomorrow.... er, today. Yee haw. And, I have to be up at 5am on Thursday as well, for another 12hour day... can you see my excitement thru the computer? Really, look hard, I think you might be able to...... ARGH!!

On a better note, Shaggy's a great host, so I had a great weekend. We got stupid, we drank, and backgammon with 3-man rules is a fantastic game!! :-) Shaggy... We WILL do that again!!!

Like I said, I'm not good at this...

2007-11-07T17:59:00.000-05:00

So here I am on post 2, finally. Yeah, few days past, but I guess that's what happens when you are a slave to the man. Well, and the woman... ugh. Let's just say, work is a pain, cause there apparently is no one else in my company to do what I do. So, it all falls on me. Yay... not. :-p

Let's also say, women are a scourge on men. If they weren't so beautiful and had that special something that I like, I'd be done with them. Me, I have a thorn in my side known as "E". She can be one miserable pain in the butt. Loves to fight, whereas I couldn't care for it, and am way too laid back a person to get into it. She hates that. Women, listen to me... when something is over, its over. No recalling it 100000000000 times to rehash what happened. OK, I didn't call you while you were out partying when you said I could. Ok, I said sorry, didn't know that meant TO call you, no matter what. I said sorry. Ok, an hour of fighting in front of my friend, Tool, STILL DOESN'T SOLVE IT. It does nothing more than PISS ME OFF!! Sorry, lots of yelling, but really, how many times can you keep going on about something??

Rant over.

I'm off this weekend to go see my good friend, and fraternity lil bro, Shaggy. Good times a coming!!! Should be sweet. Short 3 hour drive on Friday, women left at home, and able to drink all the damn beer I can handle. :-) Good times. Off to the Oasis in 2 days....

so i decided to start doing this

2007-11-01T23:07:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I'm joining everyone else. More so some of my good friends, like my fraternity little bro. Kick ass kid, good fun.

Why am I doing this? Not sure, guess I have a lot of rambling in my head, thought it might be interesting to put it out there. I'm sure I won't be an everyday blogger, I'm just not that dedicated of the get-go, but I'll do what I can. Let's see how it goes.

The name is Timmy Z. I'm not young, I'm not old. I love having fun :-) I work hard, and try to play hard.

I'll have to work on what I'm really going to write here, but at least here's a start, and a welcome.