Endings and Beginnings

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So many things....

So many things to do. Tying up loose ends, paying bills and cleaning my apartment for when I leave. Not enough hours in the day!

Meowza

The best I can

I passed the CTU course about growing medical cannabis. Yeah!

Very happy it's over. I guess it pales in comparison with an MBA from GW, but fuck it. This one will get me a better salary. And it's a dream. Better to give it a try than always wonder. 

Like the solitary pine
On a bare wind blasted shore
We can only grow the way the wind blows
-Rush

Shots

I spoke with my friend, Kathy, for the first time in a year or two. She's been a dear friend ever since freshman year of Fairfield.

We spoke today and she is well. I filled her in about me moving to Colorado to grow. I also told her how I plan to self-publish the novel in early 2016. 

She said she was happy for me, for knowing what I wanted and give it a shot. 

It's good to have great friends, even when you don't always keep in touch.

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
-Wayne Gretsky

A Growth Industry

I just learned that a pound of marijuana, on average, would cost $3,000 for a dispensary to buy. It can then be resold for about $6,000.

Now that's what I call a growth industry! 

The Seahawks played a crap game last night. Wilson through a terrible pick that sealed the game. They can still be a playoff team but it's not going to be easy.

Bullshit

I watched Exodus: Gods and Kings tonight. Later I did a lot of research. Did you know that there is not a single historical reference to the Hebrews ever being slaves in Egypt? It was all a crock of shit. Like all of the bible. 

We can only believe in ourselves. And medical cannabis. And Mum. And solar power. And the fact that I can kick your ass.

The Grand Parade

The sun set at 6:55 today. In Madrid it was light at night from spring to fall. Jim and I went to go see Maggie and Emma at halftime of the Newtown football game. Emma plays clarinet and Maggie is in the color guard. It was fun. They were great.

And then we went back to Jim's and we jammed with Maggie on bass. My, how they've grown. She's a frosh. 

The Mets beat the Yankees but then they lost today. Tomorrow is the rubber game.

Winding Down

My time here is winding down. A week from today I head to Jersey with the good doctor. Time is flying. What once seemed a distant trip to Denver is almost at my doorstep. I always hated the Broncos. That will be annoying.

But I'm ready. I'm excited. I'm ready to see what life has in store for me. For the first time since teaching, I am looking to do something I know I love.

Another Time, Another Place

photo by Kristal Kraft

Wow. I had no idea how much there was to learn about growing marijuana. The course has PDF files and videos to watch. The videos are very good and have, I shit you not, reggae music in the background. Informative and hysterical!

The only time I was ever in Colorado was 9/11/01. It was tragic, watching the Towers fall. And then it was a backbreaking 2,000 mile drive across the country. It took 4 days. Not the happiest of times. But before the Towers fell, I thought it was great. Beautiful landscapes and lots of kayaking! I wasn't into kayaking back then, but I did go fishing, which was why I had a car rented.

----

Got an 80% on how to be a Budtender and work in a dispensary. I am 67% of the way there.

Now it's on to marijuana law. Is that really a thing? It's a long freaking module too.

---
I got on an 84% on marijuana law! One more module; Opening a Dispensary.

---

On average, Denver gets 4.5 feet of snow a year. Ansonia gets 2.5 feet, on average, but in 2013 we got over 3 feet of snow in one storm. Either way, I can live with the extra two feet.

Sounds of the Day

Rocky Mountains

Peyton Manning is done. I believe the Broncos will get killed by the Chiefs tonight. Denver did not have an offensive TD on Sunday. Manning is mired in the worst ten game stretch of his career. Time to start looking for an offensive coordinator job.

Great weather. September is a great month.

Mets magic number holds at 10. They are off tonight and start a 3 game series with the Yankees tomorrow.

Today is a day I hope to get a lot of studying in. I just passed the halfway mark yesterday.

Two Weeks

TUESDAY

Two weeks from today I head to Colorado. Woo hoo! Never thought I'd be moving there. This is an exploratory visit, but I have five weeks to get my mojo working and gain employment.

If you haven't watched Peaky Blinders on Netflix, what are you waiting for? It's about an Irish Gang in Birmingham in 1919. Many of them saw horrors in the French trenches and are still haunted. The first two seasons are now on Netflix and it's only six episodes a season. But it is brilliant. The lead is Cillian Murphy, who is brilliant.

While I'm on the subject of mob films, Things to Do in Denver When You are Dead (1995) is absolutely brilliant. One of my favorite movies, ever. It has Andy Garcia, Christopher Llyod, Gabrielle Anwar and Christopher Walken as a paraplegic mob boss. Need I say more?

Doc is asleep next to me. He's a great cat. As far as I am concerned, we rescued each other. 

It was so cool the past fews days that I wore pants. Foregoing work dress codes, I never wear pants! The days have been beautiful and the nights great for sleeping.

I'll try to post more often, as Mum admonished me, via text, to update my blog. Luckily, she is not my editor. He lives, off the grid, in a secure location.

I'm also taking notes for the next novel, which I've had for a while now. Yesterday was a breakthrough as how to tie it to history. Once I have it, all will be revealed.

This just in from NYTimes.com; the number of people in the USA without health insurance dropped by 8.8 million. Repeal that, GOP.

My last weekend in CT is looking to be one spent with the Sheridans and Tietjens. Last week was with the Smiths.

I can't wait. CT was good to me years ago in college. It has been a complete and utter whore to me the past three years. Mum was great to me, and my friends as well. But there is no future for me in a one-horse state like CT. So away I go....

Message to Russell

The Seahawks suffered a loss to the division - rival Rams that they really should have had. Marshawn Lynch's mother says that offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, should be fired, and I agree. For those of you who are in the "know,"Russell Wilson has said that God spoke to him after the Super Bowl pass of great infamy, when the 'Hawks lost the game. He said God said that he was "testing him."

Well, now meanddoctorwu.blogspot.com is the first to report that God texted our offices today with the following statement.



Dear Russell, 

It's me. Lord of Lord, King of King's, Yaweh, also known as Jah, The Alpha and the Omega, and sometimes as Bad Ass of the Universe.

This is an order to cease and desist in the following;

1. Shut up and try winning a ballgame once every seven months. You looked rustier than a 1970's Neil Young album.
2.Convince Kam Chancellor to come back. The defense looked like the Toledo Mud Hens on the game tying pass. The Seahawks can't cave in to him because of this new thing called The Salary Cap, which has been around for 20 years.
3. Sleep with your hot girlfriend, the pop star, Cialis. What the hell is wrong with you?
4. Stop telling people I spoke to you during the Super Bowl! It makes you look like a whack-a-doo. And it makes me look like a wanker. With all the things wrong on your planet, putting you on a level with Moses, over a football game! It just makes me look shallow.

Smitingly Yours,

Yaweh

PS. Just a note. In the spirit of full disclosure, I apologize for tobacco, ostriches, avocados (the pits are too big) and incorrectly pronouncing Ciara.

Flood

It's raining, for the first time in weeks, I guess. Flood warnings abound across the Constitution State.

They're breakin' beams and crosses with a spastic's reelin' perfection
Nuns run bald through Vatican halls, pregnant, pleadin' immaculate conception
And everybody's wrecked on Main Street from drinking unholy blood
Sticker smiles sweet as Gunner breathes deep, his ankles caked in mud
And I said, "Hey, gunner man, that's quicksand, that's quicksand, that ain't mud
Have you thrown your senses to the war, or did you lose them in the flood?"
-Bruce Springsteen

I took the quiz for the section on the medical uses of cannabis and got an 89%. 

That'll do pig. That'll do.
-Babe (1995)

The Mets swept the Nats and have 7 game lead in the NL East. Say hello to Mets playoff baseball for the 1st time in 9 years.

The Yanks trail Toronto and they play 7 more games against each other. Delicious!

I got a 95% on the quiz for how to cook and make extractions with Cannabis. Woo hoo! Maybe I've finally found my calling.

Mets Take a 6 Game Lead over Washington

Mel told me the other day that now Mum says cannabis. I can only infer that she finds it unsettling. That's my sister!

The Mets came back from a 7 - 1 deficit in Washington to win 8 - 7. Their magic number is now 19. The last two games have been epic. Finally, it looks like they will return to the post season, where they'll face The Dodgers.

Hot. So freaking hot. Is it not September?

Within the valley of shadowless death
They pray for thunderclouds and rain,
But to the multitude who stand in the rain
Heaven is where the sun shines.
The grass will be greener till the stems turn to brown
And thoughts will fly higher till the earth brings them down.
Forever caught in desert lands one has to learn
To disbelieve the sea.

-GENESIS

Behind the Curtain

Legalize it - don't criticize it
Legalize it and i will advertise it

Singer smoke it
And players of instruments too
Legalize it, yeah, yeah
That's the best thing you can do
Doctors smoke it
Nurses smoke it
Judges smoke it
Even the lawyers too

-Peter Tosh

Cannabis has more medical applications than any other medicine known to man. However, many insurance companies, like Kaiser, will not put you on a list to get a necessary organ transplant if you use medical marijuana.

Why does the federal government still classify cannabis as a schedule one drug?

From www.dea.gov;

Schedule I

Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are:

heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote.

Schedule II drugs are considered to have a high possibility of addiction but seen as less addictive than schedule I drugs.  less than 15 milligrams of hydrocodone per dosage unit (Vicodin), cocaine, methamphetamine, methadone, hydromorphone (Dilaudid), meperidine (Demerol), oxycodone (OxyContin.)

Okay, so our government is saying that OxcyContin, methamphetamine, Demerol, Vicodin and cocaine are less addictive than marijuana? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. And it's just not true!

From this day forward, I vow to grow medicinal cannabis for those with illnesses that can benefit from it. I also promise to set the record straight and expose the US government's lies and hypocrisy on this subject. I shall refer to it as my Hippopotamus Oath.

Hopes of Labor Day

Three weeks from now, I'll be heading for Colorado, in hopes of a livable wage and a future in the Medical Cannabis business. And it will be legal.

How beauteous mankind is! 
O brave new world! 
That has such people in't!" 

-Shakespeare

 Helen Mirren as Prospera in The Tempest. Photograph: Allstar/TOUCHSTONE PICTURES/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

I'm sure it will be an interesting trip. James was the best friend I ever made while I was living in NoVa, so it'll be great to see him. Also, to see how he's doing with the M.S. It's such a debilitating disease. An awful illness.

Mets leading Washington, 8 - 5, in a huge game. Mets lead WAS by 4 games. 

Doctor Wu is well. He's asleep under my comforter, even though it is 88 degrees. Never too hot for a cat.

The Point of Departure

From a point on the compass
To magnetic north
The point of the needle moving back and forth

From the point of entry
Until the candle is burned
The point of departure 
is not to return
Anything can happen...
-Rush

Okay, I've got my flight to Denver. I leave at the end of Sept. and I'll be back the first week of November. I am so excited. I also just shat myself.

Excitement. Fear. They've both been such a part of my life every half to full decade, I may not even know the difference.

I am Daniel in the lion's den. I am the Jews murdering themselves at Masada. I am Miley Cyrus at the Video Music Awards.

Yes. I'm that much of a puddle of goo. But I am a puddle of goo with a vision of what the future will bring.

Back to School

The kids are back in school and so am I. So much to learn! How to kill spider mites, how to prevent powder mold, how to clone females (sounds like Weird Science,) and how to set up a hydroponic system. I am a sponge. Lay it on me. 

Football is almost back, so let's talk Redskins. 

1. Their name and logo are a relic of a an era of rampant racism.
2. They gave up 3 first round draft picks to St. Louis for RGIII (assholes for helping a team in Seattle's division.)
3. RGIII is no longer their QB, Kirk Cousins is.
4. RGIII should have told Mike Shanahan to go fuck himself and come out of the 4th quarter of 2013 Wild Card playoff game vs. Seattle. He was limping. That injury will likely mean that he'll never be the same player again.

So great job, Daniel Snyder. Since 1999, the team has played 6 playoff games, and the Skins have won 2. Attendance is crumbling as you jacked up ticket prices. And you refuse to listen to reason and rebrand the team (which wound generate billions of dollars in new merchandise sales.) You took a once great franchise and ran it over with a car, pissed on it, and then stole it's insurance money. Well done!

Mets Watch

The Mets are 15 games above .500 They have 29 games left and their magic number is 24. Any combination of Mets wins or Washington loses chips away at that number.

Colorado Crime

The following is from america.aljazera.com, and was written by Wilson Dizard on Jan 6, 2015;

A year of legalized recreational marijuana in Colorado has brought the Rocky Mountain state significant savings, reduced crime rates and tax revenue gains from the sale of the plant and its byproducts, according to a study published Tuesday by a drug policy reform group.

The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) examined state statistics and found Colorado saved millions of dollars because it was no longer locking up as many people for marijuana violations. Police arrested only 1,464 people for marijuana-related offenses, compared to 9,011 in 2010 before legalization, according to the study.

"Given that arrests such as these cost roughly $300 to adjudicate, it is reasonable to infer that the state is saving millions in adjudicatory costs" for marijuana-related arrests and prosecutions, the study said. 

Additionally, tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales brought in at least $40.9 million into the state’s coffers.

Medical Marijuana

I learned today that the (CBD) in marijuana fights cancer cells and also arrests Alzheimer's Disease. It's also very helpful to reduce symptoms of chemotherapy and symptoms of MS. My friend, James, has MS and is actually taking some medical marijuana meds now.

Down the Rabbit Hole

One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all

Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call

And call Alice, when she was just small

-Jefferson Airplane

Well, I learned how to make cannabis butter in a crockpot from my classes. It really is like going through the looking glass in many ways. I will probably have many tales to tell as I fulfill my dream of growing medical marijuana. 

But fuck it. I tried to be a normal, contributing member of society. It's just not something I'm very good at. Everyone has an angle. I guess this is mine.

So thank you dear reader, and the good Doctor Wu, for coming with me on this amazing journey. We might just learn something, but I'm sure we'll have a hell of a lot of fun.

I guess I'm blown away that I'm am moving away from most everyone I know. Again.  Maybe it's just my destiny. Either way, I am very excited about this opportunity in front of me. 

Getting Schwifty

Rick and Morty

Oh, yeah,
It's time to get schwifty
Getting schwifty in here
-Rick and Morty

Just got back from Lake George. We camped on Fourth Lake (breathtaking, it's so unimaginative). It was gorgeous. Great weather, great time. Upstate New York is awesome. 

My Training Progresses

Didn't kayak today, but going Sat. with Kevin. On Sunday, Carolyn, her friend Christine, and I are heading up to Lake George to o camping for a few days. More kayaking! I may as well get upstate one last time before I go.

I took a quiz on growing cannabis today and got 80%. Not a bad start for rolling through that section once.  The key ingredients are PNK; phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium.

"Finally we may reveal ourselves to the Jedi"

I am starting to get nostalgic about leaving, yet I am so excited. Maybe even more excited then when I went to Madrid. 

It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk cannot win.
-John Paul Jones, Soldier, 1747 - 92

But this would all not be possible without the support of my friends and family.

Like Mum says, "At least you're staying in the country tis time."

The Future Is Now

Well, my good friends, James and Kara, who I met when living in NoVa, have said I am welcome to stay with them in Denver to establish residency. It's amazing to have such good friends, it really is. So, I will try and get my shit together and finish these courses. i will earmark Oct. as the time to go.

We're really doing this Doctor. Deep breathes. The world is my oyster, but there's still a lot of oy! 6 weeks. I've got 6 weeks to plan.


West.

Colorado.

Grow medicinal weed.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

Well, you can stake that claim
Good work is the key to good fortune
Winners take that praise
Losers seldom take that blame
If they don't take that game
And sometimes the winner takes nothing
We draw our own designs
But fortune has to make that frame

We go out in the world and take our chances
Fate is just the weight of circumstances
That's the way that lady luck dances
Roll the bones

-Rush

A Break from the Dog Days

The Hibiscus plants have gotten to the three month stage now. I pulled some weeds, dropped some red mulch, and even had to give the yellow a stick to use use as a trellis.

Studying goes well. I'm learning a ton. It's all pretty interesting how you manipulate a plant into growing what you want.

Beautiful day today. Nice day to be in the yard for a bit.And now the house is nice and cool.

I am eyeing October as when I'll try to establish residency in CO. It's only written in chalk, but I do have a plan.

Think I'm going to kayak tomorrow out of Milford, in the sound. It look like I can then wrap around the the mouth of the Housatonic River, where I've been kayaking for years, further up in Derby.

The Mets lead the NL East by 5.5 and are 5 - 0 on their current road trip. They also have scored the most runs of any NL team in August. Shocking, considering that they were last in runs in July.

I'm cooking Jamaican patties on the grill. We'll see how that goes.

The days are getting shorter.

Here Again

You know I've, I've seen your face before
Is it ever gonna, ever gonna change again?
Oh, oh, I've, I've been in one place too long
Is it ever gonna, ever gonna change again
-Rush

I've been away for almost a month. I've started online classes at Cannabis Training University, otherwise known as CTU. I never knew such a place existed, but there are several. They started a few years ago as medical marijuana become popular.Twenty-three states and DC allow medical marijuana.

Last week I drove up to Augusta, Maine, for my friend Sarah's wedding. It was great. I know her from Madrid. I also saw a handful of other's I knew from Madrid. It was great. I went kayaking on Messalonskee Lake and ate as much seafood as possible. I swear, it's like there is a lobster on every corner holding a can of microbrew ale. 

Okay, back to my studies. Pot doesn't grow itself.

Deadline

Well, I gave myself an August 1st deadline of finishing the new story to send it off to Jim to be edited. Here it is July 31st and I finished it last night. When Jim and I are done, I will e-publish it as Buying New Soul. It's just over 87,000 words, which means it should clock in at about 350 pages, which is a good size in today's market. So this is great news. 

Most importantly, I still enjoy reading the damn thing even though I've read it about twenty times. So if you're having a beer or a glass of wine tonight (it being Friday,) have one for me. I first started writing this 2007 and 8 years is a long time.

HOT

Hot as Hell.

Job hunt progresses. I am learning more about legal marijuana than I ever realized existed. Now I just have to find out how to get certified as a grower and where to go. The possibilities are D.C., CO, WA, OR, or AK. Alaska seems a bit far. DC and OR are not going to open dispensaries until 2nd or 3rd quarter 2016. 

There's a lot of places you can take online courses. I just need to figure out which one is best for me. It's a brave new world of legalize pot out there, I just need to find my way in it.

Dr. Wu is well. Growing big! He must be almost ten pounds. I'll weigh him today. It's 2:00 and he hasn't gotten his lazy ass out of bed yet. Kids these days.

Humping It

Hump day, and I have lots of shit to hump over. The best news is that it is 78 degrees and there's a great breeze, which is a blessing over the last three days of sweltering humidity.

The Mets try to take 2 of 3 from Washington today, and the USA plays Jamaica at 6pm in the Gold Cup Semi-Final.


THURSDAY

Well, The Mets blew the game in the bottom of the 8th. Parnell got whacked around for the first time this year.

And the USA lost in the Gold Cup to Jamaica, 2 - 1. I felt that the Reggae Boyz had a good chance to win this one. They scored two amazing goals and got unbelievable goalkeeping from Thompson. And then Mexico advanced over Panama after another two very controversial penalty kicks. There was one on Sunday over Costa Rica in the 92nd minute. Can you say, Mexican Cartels really want them to win? I hope Jamaica beats them 4 - 0. And after 17 years of absence, Jamaican Football is finally back as one of the top teams in CONCACAF.

Cool again. Thank you, Mother Nature. 

Pat's son, Connor, plays Little League for Newtown, CT. They won the state championship and will play in Providence next Saturday. If they win the New England Region, they will play for the Championship.

Peeling Away the Onion

Hey brother, I’d love to tell you
I’ve been busy
But that would be a lie
‘Cause the truth is
The years just pass like trains
I wave but they don’t slow down

Hey brother, I see the freaks
Dispossessed on day release
Avoiding the police
I feel I’m falling once again
But now there’s no one left to catch me

-Steven Wilson

Time goes by and I am making strides in my new career quest, but it's slow. And time just keeps flying by likes trains. Time does not slow down. And there's no one there to see me wave.

One foot follows the other until you get where you're going. Or until you walk off of a cliff. Either way, there's closure.

There's a lot of information to process on this new world of legalized marijuana. I processing it as fervently as I can. Where to go? How to get a job? How to establish residency? How to get licensed? 



All will be revealed
-Led Zeppelin

Been a Long Time

It's been a long time since I rock n rolled
-Led Zeppelin 

Forgive my long absence. I was up in Londerry, VT for the 16th Annual Rock and Roll Rage. Our friend, Peter from Fairfield U, is the main architect. It's a guys only scene where friends from school all get together between Wed. and Sunday. More than 75% play an instrument, so we just hang out and jam all weekend long. We had some rain on Wed., but then it was low 80's, sunny, with low humidity. There's a mountain spring fed pond to swim in. And the food! Burgers, steak tips,  steamers from RI, and Kevin made his now famous jambalaya. It has a bit of kick and it's so nice.

I've been doing a lot of research about how to get a job growing ganja in a legal state. I'm still not sure. More research! I also got a very cool book on how to grow. In the interim, my hibiscus are doing well and are absolutely gorgeous. 

Fourth of July

Happy 4th! My favorite holiday and the one I missed the most while living in Madrid. I went over to Lynn and Dean's on the 3rd and had a blast. They have a beautiful pool and we barbecued clams, sausage and shrimp. It was awesome. 

Spending great gulps of time getting my ass in gear. I think I'm all set with unemployment, as far as my initial filing. I have been investigating the converting of my green thumb into growing marijuana legally. I will need reach out to a few friends and that starts tomorrow.

I watched the DC fireworks on PBS, but it was accompanied by Barry Manilow singing live from the Capital. It kind of weirded me out. Question; when the hell did Barry Manilow start looking like this?

I had to turn it off, it was so disturbing.

Unemployment: The Breaker of Souls

I tried to file my unemployment claim online. They said I still had a claim open (which I do not) and that I had to call. I have been holding for exactly an hour now. I unloaded the dishwasher, loaded it again, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the living room, and I am still waiting! I cannot wait to move out of this state.

Plus, I've had to listen to their annoying menu fifty times.

You must report all gross wages while you are collecting, no matter house gross it is. Did you;

Work in a morgue and touch dead people?
Clean up roadkill on the Merritt Parkway?
Sell an organ?
Prostitute yourself in any way?

To prevent errors that may result in over-payment, please be accurate [I just lost my job and you want me to be worried about being over-paid?]

Because of high volume, you can call us back at the end of the week. However, this may delay you receiving your benefits or make you ineligible. [What?!]

Violation of any of these rules, or the one's that will be sent to you in a convenient 800 page manual, may result in;

• Termination of benefits
• Eviction from the state of CT
• Sterilization
• Indentured Servitude

What's Next?

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”
- Charles Dederich

July 1, 2015. I was laid off yesterday at LSD Pumpkin. So my job search officially starts mañana, hardcore. Say it with me people, because it feels so good;

"GOOD-BYE SALES!"

What lies ahead, I know not. But I care not, because I know there's got to be a better way. And the Doctor loves have me home. It's almost July 4^th anyway.

Watching the USA vs. Germany in the Women's Semi-finals. I think this one could go to penalties, 0 – 0.

In the darkness of the night, only occasionally relieved by glimpses of Nirvana as seen through other people's windows, wallowing in a morass of self-despair made only more painful by the knowledge that all I am is of my own making ... 
When everything around me, even the kitchen ceiling, has collapsed and crumbled without warning. And I am left, standing alive and well, looking up and wondering why and wherefore. 
At a time like this, which exists maybe only for me, but is nonetheless real, if I can communicate, and in the telling and the bearing of my soul anything is gained, even though the words which I use are pretentious and make you cringe with embarrassment, let me remind you of the pilgrim who asked for an audience with the Dalai Lama. 
He was told he must first spend five years in contemplation. After the five years, he was ushered into the Dalai Lama's presence, who said, 'Well, my son, what do you wish to know?' So the pilgrim said, 'I wish to know the meaning of life, father.' 
And the Dalai Lama smiled and said, 'Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?

Exactly!

Rejoice! Celebrate! We don't get too many new beginnings in our lives, and this is one. The Mets have won 4 in a row and their rookie pitcher, Steven Matz, gets the win and has 3 hits and 4 RBI in his major league debut, so anything is possible.

USA 2 GRM 0

New Life

I want a new life. I need a new life. Good-bye sales. I want to make a difference in people’s lives if I can. I want to teach. Or train.

I love to plant and to be in the garden. I bet I could learn to grow really great weed in Colorado or Washington State. I’m feeling it’s time to leave CT anyway. There are no jobs.

Last night, I finished watching Wayward Pines (love it!) and the news came on after. It was about how another employer could be getting ready to leave CT. Gov. Dannel Malloy has been abysmal with job creation. Please he spells his first name wrong.

But the Atlas Van Lines Migration Patterns study for 2013 suggests that Connecticut is losing residents faster than any other state.

Since 1993, the Evansville, Ind., based moving company has issued a yearly report detailing whether its customers who were moving across state boundaries in the previous year had moved into or out of each state.

In 2013, 60 percent of its customers who crossed the Connecticut state line were leaving the Nutmeg State, while just 40 percent were relocating here. In total, 1,230 customers moved out; 825 moved in.  From  http://blog.ctnews.com/

-         - - - 

Good news everyone! The Supreme Court has upheld state subsidies for the Affordable Care Act and said that gay marriage is a constitutional right. Amen! Now that breathes new life into our country.

The Stories We Could Tell

I am reading An Act of God by David Javerbaum, which was just made into a play staring Jim Parsons. It is hysterical (I needed a few laughs in my life.) When talking about Job, God wonders if Job is loyal only because of the bounty he’s received and wonders if he would still be so loyal if God had never given him any anything. “In other words: was he a Yankees fan or a Cubs fan?” Frigging hilarious. Plus, I’ve studied on read up on many of the major religions – this is a natural by-product of going to Catholic school for 17 years; you find a new religion or become an atheist. I chose Buddhism, which is more of a philosophy and has at least one foot, up to the ankle, in the atheist world. So I kind of chose both. I always was an overachiever.

I'd love to have a beer with God. If he existed. Instead, people have been killing in his name since the beginning of the human race. It's big business. Look at the Crusades! Al Quaeda. ISIS. Jim Jones. Manson. Heaven's Gate (who also castrated themselves, crazy bitches.)

The world is full of crazies and fanatics. But a beer with God? The stories he could tell.

Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage
-The Smashing Pumpkins

The wheels have really come off the bus at work. I found out more disturbing news yesterday which just underscores the fact that this business is not going to make it. They failed to take into account the fact that the US market bears no resemblance to the European market. Add that to the fact that they’ve done zero marketing. The overall sum is a hot mess. And that bobbing head, trying to stay afloat in tidal wave of chaos, that’s me.

Black Friday

Tuesday, June 23rd

When Black Friday comes
I'll stand down by the door
And catch the grey men when they
Dive from the fourteenth floor

 When Black Friday comesI'll collect everything I'm owedAnd before my friends find outI'll be on the road

When Black Friday falls you know it's got to beDon't let it fall on me-Steely Dan

The radio this morning said watch out for rain, hail, and vivid lightning. What the hell is vivid lightning? Webster’s Dictionary describes vivid as Perceived as bright and distinct; brilliant. Isn’t that what lightning is? Anyway, it sounds apocalyptic. I’m not going to like driving in it and Dr. Wu is not going to enjoy it when it hits Ansonia.

Doctor has grown like a weed and is now somewhere between 7 and 8 pounds, which means he’s double in size in the four months since I got him. He’s getting very long. But he still barely touches the wet food and devours the hard food.

ESPN: The Mets have lost five straight, scoring six runs over that span, and are 23-32 since their 11-game winning streak. For the season, the Mets are 10-24 on the road, having won two of 10 road series, and are 13-20 vs. non-division opponents. They're also 11-19 against teams above .500. -- Joe Janish (@metstoday),

This does not bode well for the 2^nd half. They need to get some more bats and an every-day third baseman with Wright out indefinitely. And playing some fucking defense wouldn’t hurt! 6 runs over five games? You’re killing me.

Do you take me for a fool
Do you think that I don't see
That ditch out in the valley
That they're digging just for me

And I'm going insaneAnd I'm laughing at the frozen rainAnd I'm so aloneHoney when they gonna send me home-Steely Dan

O Brave New World!

“You should know I disagree with a lot of traditional advice. For instance, they say the best revenge is living well. I say it’s acid in the face—who will love them now?”
- Mindy Kaling

You can go your own way

- Fleetwood Mac

Monday and the winds of change are sweeping in. What the future holds for Doctor and I, I do not know. But it will be better. Brighter. Good-bye sales. Friends and family agree, it's the right move.

All salesmen are back-stabbing douche bags.

-Mel

I assumed I was not included in her sweeping statement. But I have to agree. And never have I heard this sentiment put so succinctly or eloquently. It's a brave new world; population = me.