Mattie Escapes

So, tonight (or last night), I went to the House of Blues for Hawthorne Heights, touring for the 20th anniversary of their "If Only You Were Lonely" tour.  As I often say, this whole concept of tours for albums is a new thing,  That said, it was... fun?  These are the songs of my 20s, and it was nice to escape for a bit and go back in time.  I parked for $8 by the Cathedral, and I couldn't help but note how Downtown has... grown as a residential location?  More apartments, more businesses, that sort of thing.  Quite cool, actually.

It was nice to get away because I have been busy with work, not sleeping well, and then trying to do more of other things -- and not exactly succeeding at any of them.  Much to do, as always, and not enough time to do them (especially when I take off for concerts).  The emails and such other things are piling up.  Sigh.  At least my blood sugars are fairly normal, and I have been able to get a walk in at lunch -- my weight is down a bit, but not nearly enough, in my humble opinion.  I crashed hard last night; it would be funnier but also serious...

Student test scores are in a decade-long decline
This could be me, but isn't this something we should be stressing in the gubernatorial debate?  For all the talk of Acton and her personal issues, it is her policy choices that are most troubling to me; much of the decline in test scores can be attributed to the choices she made, and has yet to be called to the carpet for it.  Funny thing is, I agree with many of the other ideas here -- schools should test to the same standards, private schools get too much funding -- but the fact of the matter is that the public schools have chosen poorly, and we have all suffered for it.

This Counts For Last Night

So last week I went out after work every night....not sure that is good, but it was, sort of.  Thursday night I met a friend from church and his wife -- wanted the full scoop on the Polish Festival and such... when he went to chat with someone, his wife said he was dealing with some health issues... not sure what to say?  Glad to know, but...it did put a chill on things.  Then last night was haircut and I went to dinner.  Funny; I was checking my restaurant list, and I saw a place -- LBM -- that was on it.  It just closed (the Viking bar in Lakewood), and not only did I miss it, but places do NOT stay open if we don't visit.  So, last night I made sure to hit a place on the list -- Local West in Gordon Square.  They were out of the recommended Italian beef, but it was...pretty good?  I mean, not sure it is worth $23 with tax and tip, but it was a pretty good Cubano and four-bean salad.

I slept in a bit but still hit the gym and did some errands.  I bought a new vacuum; I went to a vacuum store in Strongsville and spent more than I imagined on one.  I will see how it works -- I have bought cheaper crap from big-box stores, and we will try this.  I have a feeling I will clean more if I have a good tool.  I have a bunch of little things to do, and here I am blogging and watching tOSU and not doing any of them.  I crashed, sort of, last night -- then I couldn't sleep and did stuff -- and watching the J! backlog or other things were not done.  Oi.

The Mystery of the Disappearing Airplane Barf Bag - WSJ
Funny; the last time I flew I noticed this as well.  Now, not that I need them, but they are awfully nice to have around, if you get my drift.  The fact that I may have to buy my own.... oi!

Happy Times

Just realized I had not posted in a while, so here we are...I have a new sensor acclimating in my arm, so technically, I am waiting for that to kick in before hitting the hay.  This week is going to be busy -- today was Pub Quiz (second), and yesterday I helped some friends move some furniture and met some other people for a post-Festival catchup.  No real news, might hear some this weekend.  As for last weekend, it was good?  Caught up on some stuff, worked, did some paperwork... rah.

I don't want to sound like a GOP propagandist, but...I went to Mousey Moussey -- that French/Asian fusion bakery in Parma.  Always wanted to try it, and I was going to the cemetery to visit Mom and Dad, so... I had coffee and a slice of cake.  With tax and tip, it was $15.  Mind you, it was quite good, but that seems a bit steep.  That said, the place was quite busy when I was there, and I couldn't but notice they did some Doordash/Ubereats traffic as well... which seems expensive for that.  Anyways, for all the talk of the economy being in the tank...   As the main criteria...would I go back...yes, I think I would; couple of things looked interesting, and I would try them.

‘Literally crazy’: Convention center expansion talk sparks backlash over county priorities - cleveland.com
I got a kick out of this.  First, the coumty has a social services levy out there, and while it will probably pass, it seems odd that they have the money for this and not that.  Second - and I texted the cleveland.com people about this -- this is why the GOP never wants to deal with them; they slobber over Dems, endorse them, endorse them religiously (in so far as they do anything religiously), and then act surprised when they fuck us over.  Really, there is no point for a GOPer to do anything with them to get shit upon, when the Dems get the royal treatment...

The Death and Afterlife of an American Con Man - The Ringer
I think it is...well, not exactly sad, but something is missing that the younger generation really didn't experience this.  Ok, they do -- Joel Osteen comes to mind -- but in my day it was new and fresh (the power of cable!) and certainly something alien to my faith tradition (Catholics just don't give as much, I suspect).  These people mostly flamed out (Pat Robertson did not, and Jerry Falwell skipped it, though his kid...) but it was funny as hell while it happened.

Mattie wakes

 I fell asleep last night so this will count for Friday.  I took yesterday off -- a delayed recovery from the Festival -- and honestly I needed to.  I slept in a bit, did a gym double (am and pm), and did some much needed errands -- paid bills, did some groceries, banking, etc.  I forgot one thing (to do today) and of course there is more to do today (like watch J! episodes) but it was just good to be off and able to do what I wanted.  Yesterday was the first day I felt mostly normal after the PF.  I still have a raft of emails and links to handle, but....today is another day.

I also took a mid-afternoon walk and will try to do so today.  I do have a few extra pounds -- I can feel it without seeing the scale -- and while food is part, so is exercise.  I need to do more, especially now before winter.  There is no reason not too, and even just strolling about the house during commercial breaks on J! will help.  I am overdue for a foodie visit but I think I can wait on the pigging out until this dietary emergency is resolved.

I Went Shopping. When Did I Become an Unpaid Employee?
Quite true!
The Mighty American Consumer Is Crashing Through Inflation and Driving Growth - WSJ
Also true.  I have friends who joke that try getting into a restaurant on a Friday night (or any night), and the economic data isn't showing a pull down.  But I suspect that the bottom third is simply NOT doing well, and we miss that.  I am a frugal guy, and I tend to go out for a reason, but we all know plenty of people who do it because it is Tuesday... and I suspect some of them are pulling back.

The ‘Cornell 7’ Lawsuit Has Reignited America’s Debate Over Sexual Consent - WSJ
I found this interesting because...in my college days, the drunken hookup was very much a thing.  Not by me, of course, but...you get the drift.  If both are intoxicated, the man could easily say that he was lured it into it by the woman.  I realize no one will believe him, but that is reverse sexism (and how can liberals define a man, anyways), and at that point...well, you may as well throw away the law books.

I Went Back to Idaho to See How the Hard-Right Transformed This Deep Red State - WSJ
Interesting.  Will this cross over elsewhere?  Not sure it will happen here, but....

Alive Albeit Barely

It has been a while since I posted... last weekend was the St. Stan's Polish Festival, and I was involved with that.  Wednesday I went to help unload the truck from Chicago (we all joked about "accidentally" breaking Father's hooch) and then to make cucumber salad.  Thursday was off to make beet salad (quite good for both, actually), and then home to make brownies.  Then...Festival for three days.

It went fairly well; with the Social Center construction, we had the kitchen, but tents were outside for the food, which had to be trucked around the campus.  The runners kept it good, we had warming units, but...hopefully we will not have to do this again.  The crowds were busy and steady; we ran out of food (with a truncated menu) and I think we made decent cash.  That said, I think I did too much - it is a lot, to do 14-hour days for five days, to say nothing of dehydration and eating food but once a year (my stomach is still a bit unsettled; not that I do not like kielbasa and stuffed cabbage, but...).  Suffice it to say, my dupa was kicked, and not taking time off from work wasn't wise, either.  I am off Friday, and will not be setting a clock.  In the meantime, here I am, waiting for my blood sugar to return to a normal level.

But yes, I was away -- I crashed earlyish Monday and Tuesday.  Monday my sister and I had our annual post-Festival dinner at Panera (good but pricey, though the new menu items are interesting) to go over the Festival and catch up and Tuesday I went and played PQ with Team XI at Saucy Brew Works; they have decent food and the J! bar league is fun.  I do need to get out of the house more... I also need to walk more, as I feel the fatness, if you get my drift.  Today I tried to chill and catch up on stuff, and I think we all know how that went.  I guess this is why we have weekends.  :)

Where did all the vegan restaurants go?
This could be me, but I suspect that the main reason is that most cities simply do not have the market for more than one or two?  And, given how restaurants go the way of all flesh anyways...

A quest for normalcy

Wake today for my friend's son... I really didn't want to go, of course, for many reasons, but then of course I thought that my attendance cannot be any worse than burying my son, and thus I went out.  And it was...ok?  Very sad, and even my kind words felt hollow.  I went to high school with his first wife -- vaguely remembered her (not of my year) and I ended up seeing some HS people I knew, including some who were friends.  So it wasn't the worst...should go to the Mass tomorrow, but I suspect I will not be able to.  I also need to clean my house, but tonight I need to finish my book -- due back at the library -- so we will have to "tomorrow is another day" approach.  Sigh.

At DraftKings, AI Targets the Gamblers Likeliest to Lose - The New York Times
This could be me, but of course a company based on gambling is going to do everything it can to make money from problem gamblers.  But, at what point do we need to say that it is the fault of the gamblers?  I would think that if you go and lose your money, time after time, you can't fault the company for wanting to maximize their winnings.  The mention our governor regretting his choice, and all I can say.... he should have seen this coming?

In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own? - The New York Times
This is one of the funniest -- unintentional, I am sure -- things I have read.  She will probably win a Pulitzer for this, even though all it has done is reveal her to be as a bigger idiot than imagined.  If, of course, you can imagine that...

Can Democrats Reclaim the Christian Moral High Ground? - The New York Times
Only in the NYT can anyone think of a way to say that Democrats even had, at any level, a sense of Christianity or the moral high ground....

Checking in

Quite the absence, as always, without blogging.  In the meantime, while I wait for my blood sugar to recover... here we are.  Interesting day today -- last Sunday of normalcy, if you will, and there was church/gym/coffee and Communion with my friend in Edgewater... she asked me if I was being paid to take her Communion.  I was amused by this, because, well, I guess she can ask, but I was like, of course not, and nor would I accept such cash -- this is my "job" as EM, and quite frankly, we are friends now, so... 

Then it was off to the volunteer appreciation picnic for Hunger Network... interesting.  I got some info about food rescue for the Hot Meal -- I am not sure we can use all the stuff they can provide, which may or may not be a concern, and then I had an interesting conversation with one of their managers; basically, he shot down my concerns about the (lack of) accuracy in the reporting of the monthly statistics.  Let's just say I passed those comments along to the Board, and they were... as snarky and cynical as I was about it.  I do not think it is a concern as of now, but as with everything else about the OC, it simply requires...monitoring.  

Then it was home for some work, paperwork, a walk outside (it was quite beautiful), and some reading.  Quite nice.

Saturday was OC duty -- 152 and we had 518 for the month -- a bit high, especially considering it was a three-Saturday month.  It was a bit chaotic up front -- not sure why, though I have my theories -- and the other November co-manager and I agreed that we would have a bit more order up there.  The upsurge in count was interesting; could be the much-rumored increase in site visits, could be an early start to the Turkey Day season, or...

Late lunch -- it was the Grainger Township Volunteer Firefighter chicken dinner, so I met my cousin-in-law and fam for that (quite good this year), and then that night I had a late dinner at St. Mary Magdalene European Festival.  It was after 7 when I arrived, and the menu was...truncated, as I should have expected.   I had the schnitzel (will have chicken paprikash next year), noodles, and cucumber salad.  Quite good, actually, so I will go back (and early).  After dinner I went to the church itself; it was dark out, and I couldn't out the windows from afar, but it was quite nice; sepulchral and adding to the contemplative nature.  Speaking of, I was praying and an older woman tapped me...she was giving a mini-tour, and would she disturb me.  I rushed through my prayers (finished later) and joined her; it was very informative and detailed; I learned quite a bit about the Byzantine Rite in the 15 minutes she was there, and I thanked her profusely.  I have NEVER had that happen to me, and I was...fascinated.

The Six-Year Quest to Find the Mystery Woman in an 18th-Century Painting - WSJ
Interesting -- we all know I love stuff like this.

A World War II-Era Feud Is Threatening a Pivotal Alliance for Ukraine - WSJ
This would be funnier (if you will) if I didn't hear stuff like this in church with regularity, especially from our Polish community.  To be sure, these are recent traumas, with living memories, so I should not be so dismissive of them, but...the whole damn eastern half of the continent is a morass of these things, and I could not even begin to unpack them....