My 200th post

Its 9:19 pm

    Its a cold wet rainy night in SE Michigan. The temps are sliding down into the 40s as Paladin and I are getting ready for a major house repair project next week.
 I have a leak in my kitchen that is coming from outside and is causing a split in a seam on my left side of the kitchen. I had to reach out again to Howard Burkeen for his expert help and he and his crew will be here come next week to repair this. Howard is also going to help out with a couple of other issues as well to make this house tighter and better prepared for winter. This will help once the really cold winter weather gets here!
   Yesterday was my first day back with the emergency food giveaway program my city hosts the third Wednesday of every month. Lori and I volunteered the first year together,then after her job made it impossible for her to attend,I continued for another year after that,even after Lori got her cancer. I then only made one appearance in the past two years. It felt good knowing I was going to be back and I went to bed early after watching some TV on Tuesday night.
  I set my alarm for 6:30 am and then promptly had another night of insomnia...tossing and turning,turning and tossing. And that was with my CPAP machine on. I finally fell asleep around 3:45 am-ish and ended up sleeping through my alarm. So you are thinking "poor bastard,he missed his project"...uh,nope....because at 7:20 am I was awakened by a 11 pound buzzsaw of a cat curling up on my chest and purring loud enough to wake me. I got up,got dressed,gave Paladin a cat treat,brushed my teeth and bolted. I got there at 7:55 am and I was the FIRST one there!

   Another volunteer drove up and I helped her unloaded toiletries that her church has been donating. Then we set up the tables and prepped the bags. The same crew was still there except for one gentleman who had jury duty. Jessica,the city employee who runs the program walked in and brought a small box of donut holes to share. We then prepped the toiletries,each guest would receive a 4 pack of toilet paper,a roll of paper towels and a 2-3 pack of bar soap. Doesn't sound like much but as I blogged before about this program,the people here for most part are very grateful for even the smallest gesture.
  Next we waited for the food...and I noticed two things,the amount of food was very small and that instead of the usual 65-70 people we get,we are now at 101 families and rising. I helped do the intake and was surprised when a group of about 10 people plus handlers came in for food. They were pretty young and looked healthy enough. They each gave Jessica a slip of paper and got a bag of food. When they left,I asked about it.
  Turns out they are rehab patients who are transitioning back into society from the rehab center. They go from the center into an apartment where they can work on their sober living skills in a controlled living condition. We only see the patients once and they never come back...but it is newish and adds a bit of a burden to Jessica when she goes and orders the food.
  Other then that,it was a nice quiet shift,one new person started crying when she signed up,she was a grandmother who just had been awarded custody of her three grandkids,I don't and didn't pry into her story but we assured her it was going to be okay. We handed her the calender for the last two dates of 2013 and all of 2014.She was very grateful for the help and thanked all of us.
  I left at noon and filled up my car with gas before heading home.

Christmas is hitting our store now as we are switching over to the holidays. Our Halloween was extremely limited compared to last year as in what we had to sell...we cut back on decorations and not selling any Halloween candy this year. Makes it easier to switch over when the time comes...I am glad I am working Halloween night as I had no intentions of doing candy this year...but maybe next year. This was Lori's favorite time of year...(summer as well) and we always tried to do candy. We made up 3 bags for the neighbor's kids and then passed out candy for about 90 minutes or til the supplies ran out.
  The houses in our neighborhood have some decorations up but not as many as the past couple of years. Marlene (Crash's mom) has a very cute display and I will post a picture of it in my next entry.
  Its Friday and its 3:44 pm

Its cool and overcast outside. I was supposed to be writing about my volunteer project in Inkster but I had a severe case of insomnia last night and didn't fall asleep til 4:30 am...and I was supposed to be at the project at 7 am!! I know I having some serious stress issues as of late...but this is starting to get to me. I feel very disappointed with myself but I did go to bed early yesterday. I was going to do a edition of Dollar Tree Theater before going to bed but I didn't even do that,I just went and laid down. Of course this starts a terrible cycle of going back into the past three years and you just can't turn it off. I have tried watching TV or reading but that doesn't help very much.
  Sometimes I will turn the iPad on a long YouTube video and let the noise try and lull me to sleep but more often then not,it fails as well. Today I am trying the walking idea,heading down to the park and walking a trail. Of course its just now getting cold so getting insomnia heading to winter is just bad luck as well. I am sure I will figure it out...I don't want to let yet even more people down...

  On Tuesday,I ran some errands,I got new wiper blades for my car and headed over to PetCo. to get Paladin his Science Diet plus I had a coupon for a buy 2 cans,get 1 free for PurinaPro for cats. I headed for PetCo first and walked in. As always,I headed over and checked out the cats. As the case in October,there were a lot of black cats to be adopted. I stayed and said "hello" to everyone before walking to the cat food section. As I rechecked my coupon,I had to shake my head,the coupon was for PetSmart..I got my items and headed up to check out. I made small talk with the cashier and I asked her if they accepted coupons from another pet store. She said "It depends" so I showed her my coupon and she said they would honor it. So I was able to get Paladin three cans of good canned cat food. I was very thankful for such a nice gesture.
  After I went to AutoZone and got my wipers,I went to Target...Pacific Rim was released on DVD and I wanted to get my copy. I went in,got the film and walked the food area looking for sales. I had stumbled across a great microwave popcorn deal the last time I walked through so I hoped I was going to be as lucky.
I did find a dinner for under 3 bucks and also found cat food (notice a theme here?) on clearance so I picked up 3 more cans.

  Now I use a Target Red Card when I shop here. It saves me 5% on my purchases and I pay it off right there. And I did the same thing as I always do...but somewhere between buying my stuff and getting home,the movie got lost...I think it fell outta the bag when the cashier handed it to me but because my bag was a bit heavy,I didn't notice it until I got home. I wasn't planning on watching it Tuesday night but Wednesday would have been nice. I called Target and explained the situation,they were gracious and said I could come get another copy. But when I went there last night (I ended up working late on Wednesday) to get the movie,the manager on duty was rather nasty about it. She seemed to suspect some funny business which I picked up on right away. She wanted to see my receipt and I showed her my payment receipt and she said the original one. I said I had not gotten that back (which was my fault,I should have noticed that) and she said I would have to sign the book which showed this happen. But since I got the vibe that she thought I was scamming her,I got a little edgy and asked to bubble this up to the manager,she said that was her and I said then your manager then. She calmed down then and I explained what happened which she never had really given me time to do. It wasn't the most pleasant experience I have had there to say the least which usually isn't the case.

  I found a unopened EP that I got from the Dollar Tree that I am listening to as Paladin is looking outside his window. He was a little testy but after I closed the window for 5 minutes,he meowed and I put him back on it....he settled right down and he is bird watching.


  The EP is from a singer named Serena Ryder,a Canadian singer-songwriter who is doing quite well for herself. My EP,"Sweep the Ashes" is from 2008 (typical for a dollar store) and was pleasantly surprised to really like what I heard. She was a nice husky voice that recalls a young Melissa Etheridge but just a tad lighter which I think helps Serena. Too bad my habit of not always opening my new music happened on this little EP because Serena just was in Ann Arbor playing a small show at the Ark. I will definitely keep my ears and eyes open for her other releases. I love finding new voices...even if its a 5 year old EP!


Learn more about Serena by going here

Thinking about about 17 Oct 89,the big earthquake that struck San Jose/Santa Cruz/San Francisco killing 63 people and injuring 3,700. Its another thing that I don't miss about about California! I saw my friends post their memories of that day...I still recall my day as well...I was on my way to watch the baseball game when the quake hit.
   I went into a crouch and scanned above for falling power lines. The ground rolled and buckled and people either were frozen or screaming because you couldn't walk. I was crouched by a car when I heard a couple of loud bangs,I turned towards the sound and watched a chimney being literally shook apart. The bricks were like missiles and they were hitting the car I was behind.
  I moved to the drivers side and resumed scanning the power lines....and then it was done,except for the screaming of course.
 San Jose was extremely lucky,despite being only about 35 miles from the epicenter,the main destructive thrust went up north to Frisco. The power was out but it was restored in San Jose pretty quickly.


Well,that is about it for now...I know some of you don't get see to see Paladin so I will leave you with this shot.




Shout Outs

Go Tigers!
Melanie V. - It was so cool to run across you again!
Chris Alexander - I thought you handled your business like a boss!
Bill Bean,wrestler.....has a weird ring to it.
Tiffany Hendra- Just because
Eric Stuart - Happy birthday and I hope you raise enough cash for the video shoot
Sarah P- You are extremely charming and so very English. Thanks for the kind words.
Theresa- Happy birthday!
Michael and Amy- What other couple could celebrate a birthday,anniversary and then jet to Haiti for a week of volunteering at a orphan's mission?
Serena Ryder- great voice!

everyone else,thank you so much for hanging with me....

Adventures in Volunteering (and other stuff)

Its 8:28 pm


Its dark outside,the house is quiet...Paladin is downstairs catching his breath from chasing his new laser pointer all over the house. He seems pretty happy the past two days after a rough night involving the window.  This morning was pretty cool as he hung out with me for over an hour curled up under a blanket purring away and making biscuits.
   Been a good week so far...I completed the first of 3 volunteer projects yesterday at my job.
What was originally was a team of six employees ended only being three and almost not even that as our store manager had to stay while 2 others simply never showed up. But it left us three heads and soon we were driving into Detroit. The ride was pretty quick as we chatted about business and various other items. When we left Canton,the sky was perfectly blue with a little chill to it but as we got closer to Detroit,we hit a fog bank that popped suddenly popped up...which led our driver to make a left turn on a one way street!


Lucky we had enough time to veer clear of becoming a headline new story and got safely back on the road.
10 minutes later we saw the project site,it was VFW Post 2233 and the crews from various stores were already working or just like us,just getting there and ready to work.


   We checked in,got a badge that showed we had worked on the project and headed for the landscape crew...well,almost for me. I got pulled aside and was asked to paint inside. Not a problem and I went inside to find a crew of 20 hard working fellow employees painting,scraping,cleaning,gathering fresh supplies and picking up trash.
  I got a roller and a wall and started painting. The mood was light,slightly chaotic but determined. The commanding staff of the Hall walked around smiling and thanking folks. The VFW,which means,Veterans of Foreign Wars,supports the men and women who served out of country during their service. Not everyone has fought an hostile action but many have stood post during the Cold War days with the Warsaw Pact,or in Japan and South Korea. They have served our country proudly and it was a honor to be able to give back in a small way.
  I spent a hour with the paint crew and painted a wall and a half with two other folks. It was pretty much like the Wayne project,paint what we can with the rollers and then have another person paint the hard to reach areas. It worked out great that way.
   Next,I helped clean up the coat room as it was being stripped and new wall base was being put in. The old was just beyond filthy with age and was had dead bugs all behind it. I stripped and trashed the old pieces while another man worked on removing the old baseboard. The room was small and we made quick work of it and then a paint crew started prepping it while I want back and painted a small hallway near an emergency exit door.
   My two co-workers came and got me so we could say hello to our district manager who was working on a landscape team. They were working to remove trees that were so old that they had grown into the chain link fence. They had removed two and were working on a third with the fourth one still one deck.
  We think we were the only crew from our district to show up and our DM thanked us for supporting the effort.
   Soon enough lunch came up and while we were being fed,the host store introduced us to the Post Commander who in turn introduced his staff and other leaders who had shown up to watch how the project would turn out. They thanked us and said how much our veterans hold our company up with respect because the service we do for them.
  Lunch was over and back at we went. My small team laid out a new Allure floor for women's bathroom,despite the fact we never had done one before!


We were making good progress when once again,the paint leader approached me for some support is laying new wall base down. Naturally I said yes and went with her...only to find that no one wanted to do such a tedious job and that entire activity room along with 3 other rooms needed it done. I had never laid wall base down myself but with the help of two other guys,we attacked it with gusto.
  40 minutes later and 20% percent done,one of my guys said we had to leave because he had to work a overnight at our home store. I said goodbye to my wall crew and grabbed my sweater and we left..the buzz was still strong and I saw some fresh people start showing up.
   The ride home went quickly and soon we were back at our store where I picked up the Rodger Young and headed to Target to get some cat treats and a couple of cans of catfood.
  As I was slowly walking around Target,I thought of the countless times Lori and I went to there together. We both loved the store and it was a trip always worth going on. Just walking around brings back those fond memories and how I wish she was here with me. Its so jarring to go inside alone. Most times when a person shops alone,you never really think about it,you just do it. But for me,its a source of pain and a reminder of the loss. But you have to push through it because Paladin needs to eat and so do you.
   After I made a lap around the pet section,I walked over to the DVD section where I saw a movie that I heard great things about from my fellow Jet Jaguar/Jaeger co-pilot,Chris Alexander,who also edits the only horror magazine worth talking about,Fangoria. (how is that for name dropping??)
  The movie is called "Frankenstein's Army" and its set in World War 2 when a lost Russian patrol stumbles across things almost as bad as the Nazis they are fighting. Fangoria said the movie was one of the best horror movies of the year and it was on sale,so I said "what the hell,splurge a little bit" and picked it up.


  I know,they do sort of look like the Koch Brothers,don't they? So that will join my small pile of DVDs that I have gathered to watch. I am now waiting for "Pacific Rim" to come out on BluRay next week.

I'm off tomorrow and I will be working in the backyard weeding and pruning. This is so far overdue and I am saying that despite the fact I was out there a month ago and completely weeded my yard. I am throwing away our old BBQ grill which is starting to rust out now. The weather has been  beyond nice and very unusually warm this year. But I have no real desire to grill at this point in life,maybe next year but for now...its now going into the trash. I know my neighbors are still grilling because I can smell it when I get home. It feel so much more like summer then Fall.
  


That is all I have for now....not very exciting I know but I am very happy you are still coming by and supporting my efforts here. I am glad I am back writing more now. It does a lot to release the stress.

And lastly....a quick note that the amazing Jane Monheit has a NEW album out now called "the heart of the matter". Jane is the best jazz vocalist in the world today in my opinion and you have if know if I am saying this,it has to be true,right? *LOL*



To find out more about Jane and where she is playing,please visit http://janemonheitonline.com/ for more info.


"Love and only love,will endure" - Neil Young


Shout outs

Amy and Michael,what a week! A birthday,anniversary and a trip to Haiti! Be safe and God bless you both!
Kerri and Andrew- Congrats on your award for the film that you worked so hard on.
Scorpion - You look ghastly in that Choke Sox cap! Here is hoping the new man cave becomes a real life bat cave!
Sydney in Ohio - Sending you warm thoughts and yes,I have noticed you have been here often and I thank you!
Jimmy- After thinking about it,my Black Crowes comment was too flip and I apologize.
Jane - Why no Michigan dates?
Darryl and Justin- Had a blast,lets do it again soon
Kayla and Jeni- Miracles DO happen!
Craig - you know I just now figured Boo was a girl!
Shea- Thanks for the band tip....see above for mine!
Kwame Kilpatrick - 28 years and I hope you do every single day! You let so many down here in Detroit.


If you are Twitter,add me @Jinzo_2400

Acts of Kindness

Its 10:20 am

   Been a restful evening here...it was a chilly and overcast day here in SE Michigan. I was woke up by a 12 pound ball of purring cat in my ear again. Paladin is enjoying sleeping on a dining room chair at night but dashing up and cuddling up in the morning. He is a very loving cat and I can't help but think of his old owners,their carelessness in letting such a great cat go outside to be lost is tragic. He still runs at the sound of a door opening but I pick him and talk sugar to him while leading him away from the door.



 As you may know,I am all about paying it forward. I think that random acts of kindness are one of the things that is sorely lacking in this world. Right now at work,I am being subjected to ACTS of kindness by a gracious lady named Barb. What started out as "pick up me a Dr. Pepper and I'll pay you back" which was declined,has grown into getting a bowl of homemade chicken soup a week and a sandwich a couple of times a week. I have offered to pay but the Manning Rule (thanks again,Todd!) has been invoked. I have tried paying her back many times,including asking someone else to slip the cash into her apron. Of course it was top secret and when Barb found the money,she asked the person who gave her this...which in turn,my asset,burned me and sold me out. Barb walked over and said "No,this is yours".
  Being that I am living on the edge as so many of us are doing,I am very grateful for the meals. Its very touching to know that someone is doing such a unselfish act for me. And in this day,when it all it seems that people just want to "take",its truly is awesome to give.
  Which brings me to this,yesterday saw me heading to Target for some cat supplies. I needed a new pooper scooper,a scratch pad,some catnip and whatever else I might have seen.
  While I am standing there in the cat food section,a man is on the phone asking what kind of cat food to get. I wait til he finishes his call and asked him if he needed help. He said "yes" so I spent 10 minutes explaining the differences between cat food. He asked several questions and I was pretty much able to answer them all and gave a couple of suggestions I picked up from Cat Fancy Magazine.

  I finished getting my items and headed up to check out. Again,here is where Barb came into play. She had generously gifted me a 15.00 gift card for Target before Derek Jeter passed away,I had planned on using that for cat litter but instead,I used it for Paladin's new items.
  The cashier was new and when she bagged my items,she made top heavy...and one bag spilled on the floor. As I bent over to pick it up a young woman's voice  asked "Do you need help,sir?" I picked up the bag and turned to look at a young couple with their daughter. They were in line waiting to buy some kids clothes and a couple of toys. I smiled and said "No,but thank you so much for asking". Its sad that this stands out because 99.9% of people would have said nothing to me or anyone else for that matter.
 As I was now paying for my items,I saw the toys and clothes. I looked at the parents again,they seemed a like a nice couple and the father was doting on his daughter.
  I reached over and selected a clothes item and a toy and said I like to repay your kindness. The young mom said "You don't have to do that" but I said "I know,which is why I want to". She then introduced herself and her husband,Starr and Tom, and said "Thank you!".
The amount that was rung up? 15.00......the same amount on the gift card. I said good-bye and headed home.
  Paladin was waiting for me at the window...I called his name and he started meowing and purring. I can't get over such a huge purr in a small cat!



   Kudos to Michelle Wolford Ball whose 5th Annual Bras for a Cause was another major success. The event,which raises awareness for breast cancer,is a labor of love for her both for the loss of a beloved friend but also a celebration of life as well. Michelle herself is a breast cancer survivor (as is Lori's best friend,Deb...the lady who went with me to the Memorial service which I blogged about) and works tirelessly to support others with breast cancer or in our case,uterine cancer.
  You'll note that the show was hosted by our own Amy Lange (seriously,when do Michael and Amy ever rest?) who gives back so much to our community. While I had originally planned to attend this event,the UM Memorial came a week before this and I don't think I would handled two events back to back. Besides,I think there larger forces at work,if I had gone to the show,I would have missed out on meeting and adopting Paladin. But next year,count me in 100%,Michelle!.




That is it....I know,two entries in a week! Feels great to get back in the saddle...


Shout-outs

Huron Valley Humane Shelter - Thank you very much for helping me find Paladin. He is a wonderful cat!
Barb- I can't thank you enough,I am very grateful.
Rob W - Thanks for the late night chat,you will always be a Hall of Famer in my book
Kim and Angie - you rock
Melanie and Terrie - Angels!!
Kerri - I can't wait to squeak!
Brad - How about those Pirates and Roberto is one of my heroes as well.
Bene - How about beating the Warriors this week! Can't do it without you!
Wendy- So nice to reconnect again on Twitter,you are doing wonderful things!

Thank you all so much for reading my blog,please feel free to hit the "Follow this Blog" on the upper right side.

If you have Twitter,add me @Jinzo_2400

Wednesday-Thursday

Its 9:30 am on a Wednesday

    Looking outside at a beautiful sunny Michigan day. The robins are again out in force chirping away while hunting grubs and bugs.
  Trying to sit here and focus my thoughts....today we are saying good-bye to our friend Carolyn. I have written about Carolyn before,she was Lori's old landlady who became a very close to Lori. She was the one who swept in and saved Oliver from the Humane Society when they lied about taking care of him.
  Sadly the years of smoking heavy caught up to Carolyn and about 4 years ago,she learned she had emphysema. She has been slowly dying since then and on Monday morning at 1:05 am,her husband called and said she had passed away. The last year was so bad,Carolyn didn't want anyone to see how bad she had declined. I feel relief for her husband,it must have been pure hell to see the effects of such a ugly and destructive  illness. But as he said to us,she is finally at peace.  And hopefully he can find some as well.
  The viewing is today and we'll be going this afternoon after Lori gets off work. Carolyn will be sorely missed by us.

   Work is doing okay,glad for it....and am pleased to see that what I hoped for is happening. Once I now have a job,places that I'm applying at are now calling me. Could never figure out that dynamic,you are out of work and are looking for a job...but if you are out too long,companies won't consider you UNLESS you have a job!
Seems to me the longer the person is out of work,the more grateful and hardworking they would be because they ARE working...so what am I missing here?
  The one kid who I said wouldn't last,didn't. He was hooked about 10 days after he started for sexual harassment..in front of witnesses. So far out of the 6 other people hired with me,2 are already gone. Attrition is rather high for this place but the chances for growth are also there for the taking. But until something else pops up,I'm just glad to have a job.

   Its now 4:24 pm on Thursday

         Went to the service last night,it was very well attended. Didn't really get to talk to Louie too much but saw his family and were greeted warmly and fondly. Lori was their tennant for many years and was very close to Louie and Carolyn. We stayed for about 90 minutes while several people stood up and said a poem,letter or a story about Carolyn,I asked Lori if she wanted to speak but she was too sad to speak.
 I loved this lady,I was always much closer to her because of she did for Oliver and myself. It helped she loved baseball but never watched games on TV,she only listened to them on the radio with the great Ernie Harwell. She actually attended a Tigers-Yankees game with us...and she was a pretty good trash talker and wasn't afraid to battle...which made the game so much more fun.
 But now she is gone...we assured both son and daughter we would help keep a eye on Louie. We know that he will be lonely with his girl,they would have been a couple for 50 years in 2013. Feel really bad for him yet at the time,a sense of peace as well. Watching a loved die slowly,painfully is just awful...
   But Louie is a tough old bird and well loved by the local soccer community because of his granddaughters who play on several teams. He won't be very lonely except at night and he was a night owl anyway.
  We decided to stay in town and eat at a local golf club which we had heard was pretty good....all I can say was the Dr. Pepper was pretty good.

  Our computer moniter died on Sunday morning....so one of my chores was to shop for a replacement. I zip down to Target and look at the "wide" selection of two different models they carry. One is listed at 129.00 and one at 159.00. Both looked the same except one was last year's model. I go ahead and select it and ask the clerk that if something goes goofy,can I bring it back....he sees no problem,just bring back the packaging the best I can. That should have my cue that something was up. But I take the moniter and head home. I have lunch and then start building and connecting it to the computer. I get it all hooked up except I can't the BASE of the stand its supposed to attached to. I look everywhere,I have Derek try and track it,its simply not in the box. I have to disconnect everything and put it back into the box.
  As I head to Target,I decide to take a gamble and see what Office Depot has to offer....and was I glad I did. I found a brand new HP for only 10 dollars more then I paid for the reshopped Acer I got at Target. I get my refund,zip back to Office Depot and pick up the new moniter which was even easier to get running then the Acer.
  Its one of the reasons I haven't posted as much this week. And after tomorrow,I won't have time to post until Wednesday because of the trip up north and work. How sort of cool is that??
   But the good news is that writer Joan Lemon is now working on my interview questions and hopefully I'll be to post that next week.
 
   A question for the weekend:

What is your favorite baseball related moment?