Coffee shops look to oust 'laptop hobos'

Coffee shops look to oust 'laptop hobos'

I miss bumper stickers

I saw two good bumper stickers today. There were quite a few on this car and you don't see THAT any more either! 

- "I listened to NPR before it was cool".
- "Are you hearing voices of crazy people?  Turn off FOX news".

Holiday weekend approaches.  I don't like holidays.  Nothing is ever happening due to the holiday.  I never have any plans.  I emailed my sisters and none of them have any plans either.

Torrential rains yesterday.  Ceiling leaking again.  I guess a leaking ceiling never gets any better, only worse.  (One can always HOPE, can't one?)  So here are my main problems today...

- a leaking ceiling (roof)
- a dead bat somewhere in my house
- a barking pit bull next door
- cell phone battery is inexplicably dying and I need to make some phone calls
- rash on my leg is starting to itch again

Other than that, life is just hunky dory.  I will try and think of some GOOD things now...

- the competition at the health club is almost over so I can stop feeling inadequate
- I am starting to walk better due to losing weight
- everybody is very well behaved over here at the Vineland Public Library
- I rebooted my laptop and overcame the nonfunctioning
- Serena Williams is one hunk of a woman (I just perused Tennis magazine)

Low productivity today

Can't get focused today.  Day looking increasingly threatening.  I think it may have finally started to rain.  August has been amazingly pleasant, as Augusts go.  It got to 90 degrees the other day for the first time since July.  I have been enjoying the pool.

Book review: Neighbor law, by Cora Jordan (c2006). Read this fascinating book on my Nook.  Actually borrowed it through the Overdrive system at the Vineland Public Library.  Chapters on dogs, fences, boundaries and other topics of interest to me.  Also learned about things that other people could sue ME for, such as my falling down fence.

Book review: Quite enough of Calvin Trillin : forty years of funny stuff, by Calvin Trillin (c2011).  My sister gave me this book for Christmas and I greatly enjoyed it.  Short essays and poems, just right for my attention span.  The offerings are divided up under topic headings, such as "English and some languages I don't speak".  The very first story is called "Chubby" and relates to a story about a collie dog and finding out the real truth about what happened to him later in life.  He didn't really "go to the farm".  I had a very similar tale about Mandy the lamb so I loved this story, which was really about memory.  I also enjoyed the story called "Paper trails" about the difficulties of composing a note to put on your car.  As the essays and poems are dated, it serves as a bit of reminder of our history.

Living with a bat

Freaked out by a bat the other night.  Ran into another room and then it quieted down.
Have had discussions lately with friends about how to handle bats.  Supposedly there is a $500 fine for killing a bat.  I had not had one for decades.  I did volunteer to move one at church.  It turned out to be dead, but I didn't know that when I volunteered.  So, I actually went to sleep knowing that there was a bat in my house (the power of Ambien).  The next morning I saw it resting above my kitchen cabinet.  By the time I got organized to get it, it had MOVED and I didn't know where it went.  So, the next night, it started flying around at 8 PM and I ran into the other room to escape it.  I think it may have gotten trapped in some clutter and expired.  But I will have to go home around 8 PM to see if it flying around.  I thought bats could get out of any spot.

Put out the recycling tonight.  People are going to think I am a lush.  Some people had a party behind my house this week.  They thoughtfully put 5 empty bottles of Hurricane malt liquor in my recycling bin.  I had to pick up some black plastic bags that they carried the bottles in, but...

Pros and cons of my day....

Cons:
- struggled with my oral surgeon while he "pulled" two wisdom teeth
- the pain of the needles going in to give me the novocaine
- getting a paper telling me about possible swelling and pain for ten days
- missed the VMAs on TV last night cause I didn't even know they were on
- no dental insurance now that I am retired

Pros:
- watching some YouTube videos by Anna Kendrick and Mackelmore
- neighborhood peaceful today
- yoga this AM at Cumberland County Library
- got some really good pain pills from the oral surgeon
- a friend who had emergency surgery is doing better
- doctor gave me 20% off due to my lack of insurance

Sittin' on the "group W" bench

I went to Municipal court this week.  I forgot to take a Xanax and I really needed it.  Felt like Arlo Guthrie, sittin' on the" group W" bench, with mother stabbers and father rapers and the like (listen to the song/album called Alice's Restaurant if you don't know what I am talking about).  I sat there for a deadly but entertaining and educational three hours listening to all the other cases.  Finally got called in to the prosecutor and felt like she blew me off (actually I should have had a succinct statement ready).  I had a one page document and a chart of all of my neighborhood annoyances, but a 15 word statement would have been more to the point.  She referred my case to "neighborhood disputes" of which I had never heard.  I guess it is some kind of mediation which I learned about reading a really fascinating book called "Neighbor law", put out by Nolo Press. ( I really should have read the one called "Dog law").  I signed a complaint against my neighbor who insists on having a pit bull live on her steps.  I have lost the use of my yard and the peace and quiet of my home due to the barking.

It was horrible being in court, even though I was the filer of a complaint and not the perpetrator of a crime.  They made everyone, complainer and criminal alike, wait in this tiny vestibule with no chairs for a half an hour before letting anyone enter the court. THAT was awkward, but I got the feeling that lots of these people do this very often.   I was out on the porch listening to a woman and a man talk about their domestic violence history, where one person files a complaint and then the other person turns around and countersues.  When the police come around to serve them with papers they just don't open the door.  When they do get into court they generally say that they aren't going to press charges.  What an unpleasant way to spend your afternoons!  It is just a game and a big waste of time.  The woman talked about just getting an ROR.  What's that, I asked.  Release On Recognizance, she said, (but she didn't pronounce it properly).  Some of the people had multiple "crimes" at once....driving offenses, domestic violence, paraphernalia possession.  One guy didn't know (me either) that on the third paraphernalia offense you get a mandatory 90 days in jail.  He was wearing orange at the time.  A really FAT white woman came up and declined to press charges against him.  Then ANOTHER large white women was there with a black guy and as they walked out, having declined to press charges, I noticed a large hickey on her neck.  Some of the people were polite, some had major attitude and some were snickering.    I did learn of some unsavory individuals who live near me. 

Below you will see a photo of a flower blooming at Giverny in July.  I borrowed this pic from a blog I read called Eye prefer Paris (doesn't everyone?)  He said that July was  REALLY hot in France, just like it was here.  I need to take time out of every day to enjoy beauty and calm and elegance.  Thinking about my vacation in France is quite pleasant.  I need to start thinking about the next stage of my life.  Living in Bridgeton is getting pretty taxing, what with the changing neighborhoods.  Too much coming and going around me and people who think the barking of pit bulls is not annoying.

I don't watch TV

I just listen to radio shows ABOUT TV! NPR seems to be obsessed with all of these shows on HBO. I know they are all the rage, but I am one of the many HBO-deprived amongst us. My TV watching consists of moving around the dial and watching 5 minutes of a few shows or until the commercial comes on. I prefer old 1/2 hour sit-coms. (Yeah...I'm just an old fuddy duddy!) Here is what I like:
- Seinfeld
- Everybody loves Raymond
- Mind TV - 5 minute self produced videos
- The big bang theory
- The golden girls
That said, I rarely watch anything on purpose, other than 60 minutes. I am SO behind the curve. Heard about a new book called Difficult men, featuring the new anti-hero in television series, such as The sopranos, Breaking bad, etc. All the heros now seem to be gangsters, meth makers, prisoners. Thought about getting that book for my sister as she has watched all of these shows enthusiastically.

Book review: The Lumby lines, by Gail Fraser. This was recommended by a friend. I was not able to finish it as it became overdue at the Cape May Court house Library (F Fra). It was the first in a series. Lumby is a small fictional town in the Northwest. Two out-of-towners buy an old abbey and renovate it to be an Inn. They get to know people from this small town, some supportive and some not so. Some of the obstructionists are powerful people in the town. I found the book a bit too cutesy or maybe I just wasn't in the mood. Interestingly, the cover art is by the husband of the author and depicts the town in a primitive style.

Book review: Here, there, elsewhere: stories from the road, by William Least Heat-Moon. I have sort of forgotten about this author since his seminal work, Blue highways. He was quoted in an article somewhere so I decided to give him another look. This is a collection of short essays from throughout his career. While he does visit interesting places, and provides maps and black & white images, I found it hard to stick with. I wished that some of the images were in color. He does have a knack for getting around. Very helpful indeed is the index of places at the end. I got this book on interlibrary loan from the Woodbury Library. Unfortunately, now that I have retired, I have to PAY if my books are late so I am returning this one not completely read. (910.4 Hea)

The only thing "stronger than the storm" is Chris Christie's ego

I could agree with that. Today we are having a multi-billion dollar special election in New Jersey for the primary seat of Frank Lautenberg. The reason for this special election? SO that Christie won't have to be on the same BALLOT with Corey Booker! Boy, is it hard to pick between the party people. They are ALL good, or bad, depending on how you look at it.

Not sure if that is actually the picture of the book I read upon a friend's recommendation. Saving Ceecee Honeycutt is by Beth Hoffman. It was a delightful read about a young girl who has a dysfunctional family and is sent down South to live with an older woman when her mother dies. She meets some interesting characters down there and becomes especially close with the black woman who works for the aunt. I borrowed this book from the Cape May Court House library (LT F HOF) and must return it tomorrow so I don't get fined. Have to drive an hour to take two books back.

More and more things are becoming problematic on the public computers at libraries. Not to mention the problems I am having with THE PUBLIC. I should be a hermit, there are so many things which bother me....barking pit bulls, running children, loud people, littering people, ignorant people, crowds, traffic. In fact, I have thought of stopping my writing because all I seem to be doing is WHINING.