Kevin's Watch

Got back from London very late last night (almost this morning). The cold started Thursday morning (must have caught Ali's) and my corn was back therefore spent the whole three days coughing, sneezing and limping. Had to stand most of two days, smile, talk to people etc. etc. Nightmare However, the corn came off this morning, and the cold is much better tonight.

Didn't get much reading done. About half an hour Thursday night, and none Friday night. I did try, but I had to get all the way under the bedclothes to keep warm and my glasses wouldn't stay in the right place so I gave up.

I'm Murrin wrote:Throwing stuff out there onto the net that no one ever actually sees or gives a damn about.

The ugly truth behind the internet dream.

--A

I'm Murrin wrote:Just when I think I've started getting better at Twitter, I realise I've dropped back down to only a couple of actual followers (plus the small group of bots and other accounts that don't actually follow the people they follow). It's feeling like my blog did up until recently: Throwing stuff out there onto the net that no one ever actually sees or gives a damn about.

I've made a sort of pledge to spend more time on Twitter this week. I'll look for your tweets and retweet a few. Not that I have a ton of followers or anything, but every echo helps.

love shows itself in many ways. one way i know that Julie (my beautiful wife) shows her love for me.

my dad was a Nascar fan. he even raced some as a young man. he took me to a local race as a kid. i loved it. you could feel the cars as they passed. i grew to love racing.

being a good New Englander I followed Ricky Craven (from Maine) the closest I could get a driver from my glorious home state of New Hampshire. when I followed him he drove the #32 Tide car. this was from 2000-2008.

in 2003 he battled Kurt Busch for the win at Darlington, defeating him by .002 seconds in what was then (and continues to be) the closest race ever in Nascar history.

we happened to turn on the race that day to watch and as soon as it finished i called my aunt to see if she had seen it. (she is my dad's sister) she said she had and had instantly thought of me as Ricky won the race. my dad had passed away a couple of years before and it was a nice moment for us to share thinking of dad.

well Ricky moved onto racing Nascar trucks in 2008, retiring that year.

well this past fall i complained to Julie that i missed Nascar and wanted to find another New England driver to follow. she looked it up on the computer and told me that she found nobody. so she suggested that maybe i should follow someone far away from New England. curious I asked who she had found.

Marcos Ambrose form Tasmania is who she found. I considered for a bit and asked what he drove. a Ford was her reply. I knew we had it right there.

Julie helpfully adds that Marcos doesn't win a whole bunch (two career at this point) so I won't have to worry much. (Ricky had two career Nascar stock car races) so Julie even managed an inside joke when helping me pick a driver.

well I got to watch some of the race Sunday, Ambrose finished 18th. the old thrill was there. the excitement of the race. and I have Julie to thank for that.

she agrees that eight years is plenty of time to have been loyal to the memory of Ricky's racing career, and that even he would encourage this move.

you can't say that i'm not loyal .

when I followed Ricky Julie would get me lots of hi swag. (his car in toy form, etc.) the greatest being a life size cardboard cut-out of him from a local store.

how cool is she for that?

how many a wife would go that far for their husband? she even watched a few races with me.

she is the greatest wife ever, and I know how lucky I am to be married to her.

null wrote:
she is the greatest wife ever, and I know how lucky I am to be married to her.

That's beautiful, man.

It's definitely Monday. I'm pretty fed up with Nigeria right now. No electricity all weekend. No internet. I can no longer feel safe in my neighborhood at night, it's the Wild West. During the day, expats are in danger of kidnapping. So I can't even enjoy a relaxing walk. There are no libraries, museums worth visiting more than once, no concerts or other cultural resources. There is a theater festival this week, but we've been told not to go out at night, so... There are a couple restaurants worth going to. The only thing to do for enjoyment is work, read, and listen to music. I need something physically stimulating. Even work is getting truncated; my husband was going to teach a seminar in another state and Nigerians told him, Don't go, you will be a target. I'm fed up with living as a "soft target".

Thus endeth my rant for today. Sorry to be so negative.

Well, there you go Null. That's love for you. I've no doubt you do the same for Julie.

Deer, the fact that you stay there amazes me. But perhaps that is why you are there. Stay safe!

Fed up with this cold. I look as if I am wearing very red lipstick that has over-run the edges. Must find the chap-stick!

deer of the dawn wrote: It's definitely Monday. I'm pretty fed up with Nigeria right now. No electricity all weekend. No internet. I can no longer feel safe in my neighborhood at night, it's the Wild West. During the day, expats are in danger of kidnapping. So I can't even enjoy a relaxing walk. There are no libraries, museums worth visiting more than once, no concerts or other cultural resources. There is a theater festival this week, but we've been told not to go out at night, so... There are a couple restaurants worth going to. The only thing to do for enjoyment is work, read, and listen to music. I need something physically stimulating. Even work is getting truncated; my husband was going to teach a seminar in another state and Nigerians told him, Don't go, you will be a target. I'm fed up with living as a "soft target".

I have no idea how you do it every day. I always considered myself a well toughened woman but I couldn't live like you do. My cousin's kid joined the Peace Corp and went to Africa. I don't think it was Nigeria, though. A month after his arrival one of is co-volunteers was murdered coming out of a restaurant. You must have divine motivation to do what you do. Stay safe.

Posting mobile from hospital. Had another op. Much more major. Part of bowel removed. Six week recovery. Will be able to post properly from a computer within the week

Good heavens, Cambo. I hope it cures whatever you had! Best wishes for a quick recovery.

{{{Cambo}}}

Feel well soon!

Cambo wrote:Posting mobile from hospital. Had another op. Much more major. Part of bowel removed. Six week recovery. Will be able to post properly from a computer within the week

Good Lord......don't make have to come there and play nurse. Get better NOW.....no excuses.

Sounds like what I had to have done twenty-some years ago. A semicolon, one might say. Now you are not just a man of letters, but of punctuation too.

cambo - get well soon.

deer - maybe it is time to change?

Cambo wrote:Posting mobile from hospital. Had another op. Much more major. Part of bowel removed.

I guess they decided it was urgent after all.

Swift recovery Cambo.

And Deer, buck up. Africa isn't for sissies.

--A

Do they know what it is Cambo? Or are they just gonna keep removing bits of you until you feel better!?

On that note, I wish you the best possible recovery. Get well soon.

P.S Nice one SD

lorin wrote:

deer of the dawn wrote: It's definitely Monday. I'm pretty fed up with Nigeria right now. No electricity all weekend. No internet. I can no longer feel safe in my neighborhood at night, it's the Wild West. During the day, expats are in danger of kidnapping. So I can't even enjoy a relaxing walk. There are no libraries, museums worth visiting more than once, no concerts or other cultural resources. There is a theater festival this week, but we've been told not to go out at night, so... There are a couple restaurants worth going to. The only thing to do for enjoyment is work, read, and listen to music. I need something physically stimulating. Even work is getting truncated; my husband was going to teach a seminar in another state and Nigerians told him, Don't go, you will be a target. I'm fed up with living as a "soft target".

I have no idea how you do it every day. I always considered myself a well toughened woman but I couldn't live like you do. My cousin's kid joined the Peace Corp and went to Africa. I don't think it was Nigeria, though. A month after his arrival one of is co-volunteers was murdered coming out of a restaurant. You must have divine motivation to do what you do. Stay safe.

As must you, lorin. You deal with the failures, the ones who fall between the cracks, who have crashed and burned. I admire you greatly for what you do.

I feel a lot better, in fact I felt better after teaching a couple of classes. After all, the kids are why I do what I do. Yes, there are a few I'd like to drop-kick on a fairly regular basis but for the most part I really do love them, and what I'm doing. When my attitude isn't cr@p, I actually am thankful to be here for a lot of reasons. It is stressful, though.

A wrote:And Deer, buck up. Africa isn't for sissies.

*sigh* Yep.... I've known a number of people who NO ONE would call a sissy who just couldn't take it here any more. One guy, a surgeon, had lived in Liberia; he was one of the very last expatriates to leave when the civil war swept over the city. (He was treating victims until the last possible minute.) Last year, after 15 years here, he was mad as h@&% and couldn't take it anymore and he and his family left.

Just sat down and wrote a rough outline for a crappy fantasy novel. Hmm. I'm not sure I have the capability to write a novel, though. This one's based on a tiny seed of an idea I've had rolling around in my head a while - suddenly it sprouted a plot this morning, almost the whole thing.

The bigger problem, though, is that the plot it wants to have is one that can only end with a cliffhanger and sequel hook. I'm slightly terrified.

Can't wait to read your novel, Murrin.

Iolanthe, please accept my humble apologies for infecting you with my cold. If it's any consolation, the worst of mine seems to be over. So maybe you'll only be sick for a week or so.

Deer, you and your husband deserve a medal. Hang in there.

Sarge, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Julie rocks.

Cambo, I'm glad they decided not to wait. Get well soon! And do let the nurses know if you need a bigger dose of pain meds after SD's comments.

There's a warrant out for my arrest. I got the letter tonight. I got a ticket back in December and I swear I freaking paid it online. I even have a history of the pay online website in my browser. I checked my bank though and no deductions for the ticket amount were ever made so I must have screwed it up and just thought I paid it. Now I have to add Sarpy county court house to my list of before work errands tomorrow and hope I don't get pulled over before I get it squared away. It's kinda funny in that I have never had a warrant for my arrest out before. I feel all gangsta now. Not funny in that it's really not funny because I have a freaking warrant out for my arrest. Interesting fact though, if CA had been processing my registration/tax payment last week they would have denied me due to an unpaid ticket and I would have been forced to get it resolved right then. Apparently Nebraska does not work that way. And yet, I still want to laugh my ass off and say...

I'm wanted by the popo! I am bad ass! I'm a criminal!

for Jenn and her criminal career...

this