stoppin' on a dime

my last post on lucky pennies (or the recent lack of them) was premature. today, I found a penny that I wasn't looking for—and then, moments later, also a dime!

inspired thought

the problem with a daily blog—which, ideally, should consist of a post of an inspired thought—is that, by the time I write my post, the thought is usually gone.

not the G.I. Joe nemesis

buy your meds & schedule eye, dental, and medical exams right after open enrollment—in case your hours are reduced & benefits canceled, and you end up in COBRA!

new new rule

it might be time for a new rule; it's been a while. maybe try harder to avoid starting a post with the word "I" (we kind of figured out that this is about you).

my two cents (I wish)

since my last post on lucky pennies, I've found not 1 red cent. as with a slumping ballplayer, the problem lies in trying too hard—instead of letting it happen.

a new pair of shoes for daddy?

when my biological father died on June 6, 2001, I bought a new pair of shoes. when my dad died on Oct. 21, 2010, I got a haircut that reveals my sudden graying.

shrinkage

I saw my shrink today. it seems (she reminded me) that we hadn't talked in 11 months. anyway, we discussed my family, marriage, job, anxieties, drinking, and...

pill-ill

I have a gripe with drug companies, whose ads show people happily going about their daily, pill-addled lives—while they mention potentially lethal side effects.

word!

here are a few more words that we could stop using in 2011, right now: "impact" (as a verb), "quality" (as an adjective), and "apropos" (to mean "appropriate").

an announcement

having hoisted a few last night, I announced to my wife, "people suck." my standards might be high, but employers, recruiters, and friends can be disappointing.

courtesy, runner!

if you're going to hang out with a friend, and talk softball, and share beers & shots & ciggies, and have a good time, consider saying goodbye before you split.

160*

I'm trying to think up a new name for my blog—to which I post daily using no more and no fewer than 160 characters—but I'm stumped. I'm not digging "Yetton141."

a sign of my times

watching a film like The Remains of the Day makes me think about the hundreds of good films I haven't seen—instead of the hundreds of good books I haven't read.

meaning, like Christ

I just saw someone referred to as "a religious Christian." ah, yes! many Christians aren't religious—or Christian, for that matter—and certainly not Christlike.

jewels from the rough

"shit, shower, shave" (a dorm-room poster I saw in college, re: morning-ritual rank).

"seat, seat belt, mirror" (my driver's-ed teacher, re: car-readiness rank).

le$$ is mo'.

it'd seem to follow that if mo' money equals mo' problems, less money would equal fewer problems. however, recently I've found less money equaling mo' problems.

unignore

dear married men: if your wife's sister wants to Friend you and you ignore her, and then your wife's mom wants to Friend you and you accept, do the right thing.

a blue & maize screed

have you read my book? it's for adults only. as the author of the whole matter, I have an authority that no one else can approach. (thank you to Jack Saunders.)

p & f and f & d

patience and fortitude I have; what I lack are faith and discipline. but, with faith or discipline, you must have it if you want to develop it (and vice-versa).

linked in

my LinkedIn account is now, er, linked to my blog. probably I added it there out of a perverse hope that someone at work would learn that I plan to quit my job.

oh, lucky day!

if—based on what they think we want—marketers ever run customized TV ads, it'll be my lucky day. it'd mean that I never have to sit through another TV ad again.

humpy

this crazy ol' feline lately has been humping my forearm as if it were going out of style! I swear, if he's not more careful, he'll buy the farm—albeit smiling.

World Series rice bowl

not getting my paycheck reminds me of a couple of expressions: "breaking my rice bowl" (The Sand Pebbles) and "messing with my World Series money" (Hank Bauer).

in the hole

since starting my blog in mid-December 2010, I've missed posting four times. so, although I (unwittingly) posted twice on New Year’s Day, I'm still in the hole.

zip it, lippy.

it is everyone's right not to have to sit or stand next to—and, by extension, to feel free to walk away from—anyone who has the discourtesy of jawing endlessly.

hardly acting

you act so hard—because you're in the Bronx and, naturally, you think you have to (though, sometimes, you really do have to)—then you miss your subway stop. oh!

lawd, gimme Patience & Fortitude!

buying postcards at the NY Public Library, I ask the cashier which of the two stone lions out front is Patience and which is Fortitude. "I rilly dunno." uh-boy!

actually, more than 9

in my second post on lucky pennies, I gave New Yorkers too much credit for coinspotting. (what would you have me do?) so far, I've found 9 pennies & many dimes.

monthly might be best.

in the interests of full disclosure, here are my New Jersey Lottery Mega Millions Quik-Pik numbers: 4, 24, 36, 41, 49—Mega$$ 41. and I'll take monthly payments.

maybe not firecrackers

no one celebrates the arrival of the New Year like the 'hood rats near my mom's place in the Bronx: loud music, horn-honking, and what sounds like firecrackers.