Oh, I Think So

The face of the business in which I work now has changed dramatically over the past ten years.  In my industry, they used to jam everyone together in an office at these round pod situations, with six people working around each pod.  Yes, I worked in a pie slice.  It's okay that they did this to us as it was also difficult to speak to someone on the other side of the pod.  The company for which I worked should have had the motto, "Lose, lose, suckas!"  (In fact, if they trotted that motto out now, it would be a perfect fit, y'all.)  Everyone was all up in the business of everyone else.  There were quiet people and annoying people and voices that carried and voices that could have been on the radio.  There were singers and people who requested songs of the singers and those who silently wished the singers would just shut it.  There were two of us who liked to one-up each other in giving each other the finger.  That last one would be to...

To clarify, if someone says, "I didn't have to do it," then it's not an emergency.  An emergency means it has to be done, attention must be given promptly.  "I didn't have to do it," means that someone is either crazy or a liar.  Guess who and guess which?

Across from the library on State Street, there's a bus shelter with a picture enticing hockey fans to buy Blackhawks tickets.  It's a very good picture of the crowd going crazy, the fans on their feet, cheering and applauding, celebrating a point scored or a game won.  Everyone is delighted but the two gentlemen in front and to the left are especially enthusiastic.  The man in left?  In the red shirt and white pants?  The bravest man in America. YES!  They scored (or something)! The man in red?  The bravest man in America!  (And someone get the kid ear protection.)

Due to a bad call at the end of the Rams-Saints game that would send one or the other to Super Bowl, the Rams are going to the Super Bowl against He of the Deflated Balls, Tom Brady, and the Patriots.  Someone asked me if I would watch the game.   I said I might have if it were a contest between two stellar QBs, Drew Brees of the Saints and Mr. Deflated Balls.  I said now, meh, who cares but please, god, let Tom Brady lose.  I am sick to death of Tom Brady.  I said I might watch Gladys Knight sing the Star Spangled Banner (because she's from Detroit and so am I).  I said I might watch Maroon Five because there were rumored to be many guest artists, but I didn't really care.  Bottom line, meh. But the NY Times, beloved to me, had a great article that explains all sports.  Enjoy and remember -- I don't care if the LA Rams win but I do not want the New England Patriots to win at all. https://nyti.ms/2UwH9gH

Moon getting set for the total lunar eclipse on January 20, 2019 Smoke on the water (not pictured: A fire in the sky) My unsteady hands bring you the moon (I think) and invading space aliens (probably not)

More snow, this time moving from north to south.  Mountains of clouds over the lake meaning the plume is moving from north to south, straight down over Lake Michigan, and they're getting nailed.  I had an appointment with the optometrist yesterday and I took public transportation. This was greatly stupid as the sidewalks were all effed up but the streets were clear. This means bus stops were icy and snow covered so when one alighted, one had to use one's walking sticks or one might fall ass over teakettle onto the sidewalk.  I had sticks.  I should have driven. Today was the laziest of all days and I never got dressed and I have put on fresh drawers and I spent a lot of time doing internet things but not thinking about this blog. And that is all you need to know.  If you have MLK Day off, enjoy it and maybe think of Dr. King and why we celebrate his birth.  If you do not have MLK Day off, then your employer may be a cheapass punk who has no respect for ...

Now I like living where I live.  Chicago is great and the actual area is vast.  The weather patterns are insane.  A plume of bad weather can come shooting south down the length of Lake Michigan and create massive snow accumulations by the lake in the city, in Northwest Indiana, and in Southeast Michigan, with the latter two getting the worst of the bargain.  I wake up some mornings and look out at the lake and it looks like there are mountains springing up from the water, evidence that there is some massive storm way off shore, moving to knock around the non-Chicago parts of the lake.  (My sister and I were once driving through Southeast Michigan on a December day trip.  One moment the roads were clear and within less than five minutes everything was white and the roads were covered.  Our conversation halted. Fortunately either it didn't last long or we drove out of it and conversation resumed.)  I don't even mind when sometimes there is a thin ba...