An overcast, cold afternoon saw me waiting for the bus after shopping for groceries when this elderly gentleman walked up to the bus stop. He drew a deep breath, laid one hand on the bench to take some weight off his feet, held a knee with the other hand and sat down wearily before looking towards me to see who else was waiting for the bus. I ( Read more... )

I just realized that trying to break the lull in posts (not that there was a deluge of them earlier) after a sizeable period of time is hard! This self-imposed sense of wanting to make the post that breaks the silence seem like it was worth the break is unforgiving when it comes to the editing process. I find myself scrapping one mundane post after

I have this compulsive habit of reading the preface and introduction sections to any book I pick up. Preface, About the Author, Introduction... you name it, I have to read it before I can get started on the book. I might not get too far into the book but I sure will read the preface. I've been ridiculed enough for it too ( Read more... )

The radio, streaming or otherwise, has been an important part of my music listening for a long time now. A particular Bay area favorite for rock and metal fans was 92KSJO. The station boasted great RJs that played quality rock and metal. I could always count on KSJO for a quick dose of my favorite bands ( Read more... )

Thanksgiving in America is a time to offer thanks, a time for family gatherings and holiday meals. Well, not so for some people. Thanksgiving is also the time when people watch flyers and ads like hawks for that great deal on a laptop or a plasma TV or anything else that is offered for free. After mail-in rebate of course ( Read more... )

I smell paint and thinner everywhere having spent the better part of the day helping paint the front door and a few fixtures around the windows of my sister's house. Once that was taken care of with as few paint smears on clothes and on the wrong surfaces as possbile we turned our attention to the backyard. I had plucked some 300 persimmons from ( Read more... )

When I was a kid I've had to, like every other kid on the planet, endure people dropping by and saying "Oh! You've grown sooo big since I last saw you." When I was at an age when I started forming opinions I used to think "Well, what did you expect?! Of course I've grown."That said, it's funny how the mental image that you have of a person ages ( Read more... )

A friend of mine has this belief that things he buys for himself are invariably short lived and hence is always reluctant to spend a sizeable sum of money on anything he truly needs. I was just wondering how this came to pass ( Read more... )

This morning when I tossed a bottle of water to my mom I noticed the way she caught it. She had her hands joined at the wrist and fingers spread wide. From my days of yore playing street cricket and watching the sport on TV I know that's not how a guy would catch something tossed at him. Guys tend to have their fingers pressed together ( Read more... )

I love the feeling of elation that sweeps over you when you chance upon something pleasant quite unexpectedly. I was at the public library today and saw some books on sale. I'm extremely pleased with my acquisition of a couple of books by Douglas Adams for 50 cents. I picked up "Mostly Harmless" and "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency". I ( Read more... )