Frustrated

The current economic crisis has hit every field of employment, including education. Here in Western New York, many school districts are laying off teachers or imposing hiring freezes to stop the hiring of new staff. In many cases, older teachers are no longer looking to retire in the near future because their retirement funds have been hit hard, or the districts which have retirements are not looking to fill them. Needless to say, I, now more than ever, am scared to death and frustrated about the prospects of finding a job in my field (without having to move out of state and away from my family and friends).

My new nephew!

I'd like to introduce you all to my new (and first!!) nephew, Collin James. He was born January 23, 2009 at 11:12am. I am a very proud Uncle, and enjoyed holding him for the first time. He's a little angel, and as cute as can be!! I'm looking forward to being his "fairy God-Father" and being a good friend and Uncle to him as he grows up!

Hats making a come-back..

As I watched with great excitement at yesterday's inauguration ceremony, I was happily surprised to see how many men were wearing hats. All one had to do was scan the crowd of people, celebs and average Joe's alike to see that fedoras are gradually making their way back into American wardrobes.

It was a pleasant site to see, and it's always encouraging to have hope that maybe we as a people are once again start caring how we look when we step outdoors.
Former VP Cheney

Muhammad Alli
Sen. Arlin Specter


Sen. Kennedy

Best Wishes, Mr. President.

At this time, I would like to, via this public forum, give my best and warmest wishes to our (soon to be) new president, Mr. Barack Obama. He has a difficult road ahead of him as he faces much prejudice and discrimination, as well as hard financial times within our country.

While I do not agree with all his policies and opinions, I do believe he will be a great asset to our country, and usher in a period of positive change, which we so desperately need. I offer him my prayers and support for a successful term as president.

May God guide and protect him, and all public officials who lead our great country.

Words of Wisdom

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present."

Torch Song Trilogy Clip

This scene reminds me of my Mom and I going at it.. I swear deep down inside, she is part Jewish.

Sigh....

I wish I could have a healthy relationship with my parents like so many others do. Nothing will ever really change between us until I move out (and God only knows when that will be). What will be left between us by then?

A father shows the way

This makes me laugh every time I see it!! What a great dad!

An appliance that.. well... sucks!

Some friends of mine were cleaning out their basement, and we came across their old Kirby vacuum. It was purchased the year before my parents were married, and still worked. Like the modern Kirbys of today, the sucker is HEAVY, but I wanted it. I had always wanted a Kirby vacuum, despite the fact that they are monstrously over priced, and don't exactly out perform other vacs in their range.

When growing up in the late 1980s, I used to be addicted to certain movies shown on The Disney Channel (which you had to pay extra for back then). One animated film, which came out in 1987, was about a bunch of appliances that try to find their owner ("master") after his family has moved away from the old cabin in which they live. One of the characters, a vacuum named Kirby, quickly became my favorite.

I soon discovered that my grandparents had a vintage 1960s Kirby Sanitronic in their basement which they no longer used. It was almost identical to the Kirby of the movie. I used to go downstairs and play with it, pretending it was the grumpy vacuum from the movie.

By the time I got older, the vacuum had fallen into disrepair, and I had to toss it to the curb.

This Kirby, which was a VERY 70s looking machine, complete with "wood" decals, didn't last me very long. Years being in the basement must have rotted the motor wires, and one day while using it, some smoke came out, and it died.

Recently, I have come into possession of another used vacuum... this time, a Royal M 2028. They look just like the Kirbys of yester-year, but cost half as much (if you buy one new of course) and work 10 times better! This machine really does suck.... but in a good way.

The Royal actually seems to out clean the Dyson vacuum my folks have been using, and they cost about the same in price. The only disadvantages to the Royal, no hose attachment, and it's super LOUD. Seriously, you don't use this vacuum at night, otherwise you will have the cops called on you for making too much noise. Other than that.. this is a great appliance and well worth the money if you are in the market. It has a cool retro look to it.. which I love.. and is made mostly out of metal.. not PLASTIC like everything else.

Btw... part of me is laughing at you now that you actually sat there and read this entry about a vacuum cleaner. Yea.. we both need to get lives don't we? :-P

Favorite Quote of the Day...

"Blanche, 'Everlast' is a brand name, not a nickname. "

Insomniacs of the world.. Good night!

For years now, I have had a hard time sleeping. As of late, it has become an even greater problem.

The past few nights, I haven't gone to bed earlier than 2:30am. Even then, I lie in bed, tossing and turning. Part of the problem has always been my over active mind, replaying events of the day, or fixating on some minute fact that most people would not think twice about. Sometimes, it gets so intense, I find myself going back to the Internet to seek an answer to some mundane question before I can even consider falling asleep.

The odd thing is, once I have fallen asleep, I have no desire to get out of bed. I could literally stay in bed most, if not all, day. It is quite an unusual cycle.

It's almost 2am now, and I am not the least bit tired. I decided to do some blogging to help clear my mind and put my thoughts into print. Right now I'm thinking about when I am going to the local school district to get the application to substitute teach, and what type of experience that type of work will be. Sometimes even the small steps into a new frontier or chapter in life can be intimidating.

I have grown to love the smell of the beeswax pillars which burn in the candle holders Uncle Vinny gave me for Christmas (picture on the right). The subtle scent does relax me a bit, and has become part of my night world which is when I seem to be the most productive. I wish these damn candles didn't cost so much. Once these two are gone, I'm switching back to the cheap paraffin pillars. Yes, I'm a cheap bastard.

Ok.. back to channel surfing.

Carpe noctem! Seize the night!