I am a roving gambler, I've gambled down in town, whenever I meet with a deck of cards, I lay my money down

Therese came to work late this morning. As she was getting settled, she told Sharon and me that she was delayed because she couldn't find her keys. After searching everywhere in her house, she finally found them in the grass near her front door. Immediately, I saw the problem with this scenario. "So how did you get in the when you came home yesterday?", I asked. Her jaw dropped slightly and her eyes widened. Barely perceptible, but I caught it. I wasn't in the business of trying to catch her in a lie and didn't want her to have that impression, so before she could respond, I said, "Or was someone home already?"

Instead of replying that indeed one of her sons or husband was home , she said "Oh, we don't lock our doors. I suppose we should, but we don't." Therese is the type to install a metal detector in her doorway. This business about leaving the doors unlocked during the day doesn't ring true.

Throughout the day, it became more evident that Therese was late for a reason other than the one she provided. At one point, when recounting her search for her keys, she said her son, who's been unemployed and at home for the last week, helped her look for them. I resisted the urge to ask her about a spare set of keys, but I did wonder. If Therese doesn't have a set of spare car keys filed away somewhere in her house, clearly labeled and visible, then I'm the newest cast member of Jersey Shore. And if she was worried about her house key, well A) she already established they don't lock the doors, so no worries there and B) her son, Billy, is home all day, so even if she was in the habit of locking the door, she wouldn't have needed to this morning.

It's possible Therese was telling the truth, but I doubt it. I was fairly amused by the whole thing but a small part of me felt hurt that she couldn't have told me the truth. Maybe the truth was too embarrassing. What if she was late because she was having a little morning delight with her husband. Maybe she had spent all night at a cock fight and overslept. Ah, I'll probably never know the truth. All I know is that Therese needs to lie better. She needs to look for holes in her story before she presents it, otherwise she could get caught in a lie. Hey, we can't always bring our A-game to the table.
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I haven't heard back from Ella, our new roommate, yet. After she accepted our offer, I emailed her asking her about when she'd be available to drop off her rent check. That was on Sunday; still no response. I'm not too concerned, but I hope I hear back from her soon. If she bails on us, it could really put us in a bind. One thing I've kept in mind is that throughout our correspondence she's never gotten back to me right away. I suspect the reason for this has to do with the fact that she might not have frequent access to a computer. She's staying with a friend and hers might be packed away somewhere. We'll see. I'm crossing my fingers. How many days do we let go by without a response before we pull the plug and seek out another roommate? Hmmm, let's hope it doesn't get to that point. If I don't hear from her by tomorrow, I'll shoot her another email. I don't have her number (I asked for it in the last email), but she has mine. She doesn't seem the type to bail, but you never know.

In the meantime, we're counting down the days until Rich leaves. I'll get into it another time, but he's really getting on our nerves. What else is new.

And now it's time for me to shut it down. I have laundry to attend to and I may watch Sita Sings The Blues.

She passes him on the spiral staircase, thinking he's the Soviet ambassador

Haven't posted much lately and I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe this has run its course. More likely I just haven't been inspired to write lately. It happens. I haven't been reading much these days; maybe there's a connection. Things have been happening, though.

For one, I just received confirmation from Ella that she will be our new roommate. Janelle and I are pretty happy about it. We only met with three people - everyone else was filtered out for various reasons or were no shows - and each we thought would make a good roommate, but Ella stood out. I kind of wish we had enough room for everyone. Mind you, I only kind of wish that. As things develop, I'll convey Ella in more detail.

Last night, I sat and listened to music. I did little else. On a Saturday night? Before you feel too sorry for me, understand that I enjoyed myself quite a bit and only felt the tiniest pang of guilt for not being social. Hey, sometimes you get a night where listening to music is all you want to do.

I listened to Richard Thompson's Sweet Warrior, Bob Dylan's Desire, The Band's Greatest Hits, and then some more Dylan: his Blonde on Blonde, an album that's confused and perplexed me as much as any relationship I've had. It's his White Album in more than a couple of ways. I sometimes have trouble deciding whether it's an absolute work or genius or at best, uneven. Last night, I leaned closer to the former assessment. Just the fact that it has Sad Eyed Lady of The Lowlands on it makes it a very good album, even if every other song was rubbish.

Desire is such a gorgeous album. I love the songs, the production (all that reverb - the drums sound huge!), the lineup, the cohesiveness (even though one of the criticisms people have of the album is that it lacks some). I came to Dylan fairly late, but I always felt I'd someday get him because I admired his propensity for expansion, his fearlessness when it came to trying new things. Listening to Desire as I type this. Great singing - he and Emmylou Harris have some fine duets- and there's a breezy, Mediterranean, feel throughout. Could be my favorite Dylan album

I've experienced some significant breakthroughs during my last couple of sessions of yoga. Been more flexible, stronger. I've been challenging myself a bit more and I've felt the results. I feel like I've made it to another tier in my practice.

Time to go play a bit with Pooch Edward Bottoms, aka Baby Boy Z.

And honey believe me, I'd sure like to call you my girlfriend

Heard Pearl Jam on the radio today, can't remember the name of the song - something from their middle period - and I had the same reaction I usually get when I hear them: Yawn. It shouldn't be that way, especially considering their bread and butter is energy, at least as concerns their live shows, but I'm here to tell you that pretty much anything they've done after their debut I find to be pretty lukewarm. I may be in the minority with this assessment, but I can't change the way I feel. What should happen is Eddie Vedder should join The Who. The guy does Daltrey better than Daltrey.

A guy came by to check out the apartment last night. Nice guy; we clicked. Turns out he used to live next door back when Bob TV was taking his sweet time moving out of our place (see earlier posts for more details; will be worth your while) and got to live with him for a week or two when Bob TV crashed on their couch. "Don't be like Bob and we'll have no quarrel", I should have told him. I guess, in a more indirect way, I probably did. That Bob TV was a pip, he was.

By week's end, we're hoping to decide on a new roommate. We're looking forward to the change and so is Rich, I think. The guy needs a change of scenery, to be sure.

No one's coming by tonight. I'll be taking advantage of the free time by watching some Mad Men and maybe some of the Celtics preseason game. I want to do some reading, too. Haven't done much lately and I miss it.

While waiting for my number to be called at the Registry of Deeds in Cambridge this afternoon, the guy sitting behind me tapped me on the shoulder and asked me about my phone. I already had a private grievance against this guy because he was in line ahead of me at the security check at the entrance of the building and took forever emptying his pockets of change, keys, more change, and a bunch of other stuff. The security guard looked about ready to scream "Dude, you know you're going through a metal detector - leave some of this shit behind, son!"

Anyway, I tell him about my phone, disabusing him of the notion that it was a Blackberry. "Nothing of the sort", I told him. "Pretty basic." I wasn't in the mood for a chat, but I didn't want to be rude, so I tried to mask my annoyance when he kept talking to me. When someone he knew would walk by, he'd call them over and break into a diatribe about his kid's education or some shit. He obviously couldn't detect or didn't care to acknowledge the body language of his victims, because the second he'd pause for breath, they'd start walking away, only to be called back.

The thing is, this guy seemed pretty nice. If he died today, I bet everyone who knew him would comment on how affable and sweet he was, and they'd probably be right. While alive, though, I bet these same people find him annoying and avoid him like the plague. And they probably feel kind of bad about, like I would, but some people, and I suspect this applies to him, have no off switch. Bob TV had no off switch. He'd go on and on and on.

Speaking of going on and on and on, I'm in danger of doing that very thing, so I'm out of here.

Cheers!

Happy Birthday!

I can still hear the sound of those Methodist bells, I'd taken the cure and had just gotten through

A glorious day weather-wise. We had our first potential roommate come by earlier in the day. Young guy - affable and warm. We both liked him. There are more lined up in the coming days. It may be tough deciding who to pick. Not a terrible problem to have.

Afterward, I went for a run, making a pit stop in Davis Square to check out the Honk parade. All sorts of eclectic street bands. Real joyous, lots of fun. I love a parade!

Went to my parent's house yesterday morning and stayed most of the day. We went out to lunch at the China Buffet and I had to pace myself. I was starving by the time we got there and felt I was in danger of over doing it. I did okay, but almost everyone else there were a bunch of pigs. Really, this place attracts the gluttons. Why not? It's a buffet- time to pig out. It's the American way!

It was a nice visit. It's never a chore seeing my parents. I love them very much.

Later on, I got a call from Sean, who just moved to Vermont. Turned out, he was in the area for the night and wanted to get together. Sean is one of my oldest friends, and it's always great seeing him. Spira and I met up with him at The Independent in Union Square for food and drinks. A good time with lots of laughs. Question: is six dollars for a draft beer too expensive? How about seven dollars for a small bowl of clam chowder? Maybe I'm out of touch, but my answer to both questions is yes. Good thing the chowder was tasty and the beer smooth, otherwise I would have fire-bombed that place to hell. That, or I would have been slightly more irked than I was.

A long weekend for just about everyone it seems. Not for me, though. That's okay. If I hated my job and the people I work with, I'd be grouchy right now. Fortunately, that's not the case.

Dexter tonight, followed by a round of emailing to apartment candidates. And then, later, in the quiet hours, I will get into bed and fall asleep and dream about stuff.

I hear the window shade, I hear the silence break

Just shot off about twelve emails in reply to inquiries about the room we're renting. I put up an add on Craigslist last night and immediately got a welter of responses. Some good prospects, but we'll know better once we start meeting these people, which will be soon. Should be interesting. Foley met an ex-girlfriend of his interviewing for an apartment. I'll just be happy if we get someone who doesn't shit on the floor.

In other news...

As I was writing the top paragraph, I felt a heavy, almost overwhelming, vibration course through my body. I let it pass and didn't meditate on what I thought it was. I didn't say to myself in a cowering, weakened voice "Oh no, I'm dying! Am I dying?". Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I did kind of think something along those lines. Initially, though, and I got past it. I only bring it up because the older, younger, version of myself (how's that for a paradox?) would have made the situation worse, would have blown it up into something it wasn't, like I was on the verge of doing earlier today during a run when I almost got struck by a kid hauling ass on his bike. I'm talking full throttle! Right in the chest, I would have taken the impact. Probably would have killed me, and if I did survive, I would have been hospitalized for sure. It scared me, and, as I was replaying the event in my mind while layering outrage in thickening strips upon the scene, another voice appeared, counseling me to let it go. Immediately let it go. It happened, it's done. The kid didn't mean it, you're okay. You should be happy. You should be jumping for joy that you emerged unharmed. You should know how fortunate you are.

I didn't stop thinking about the incident until a few minutes later, but stop I did. I wasted valuable minutes of my time, of my life, stewing over something I had no control over. I could have gone on and on in my unconsciousness. I'm glad for the voice that awoke me. I saw clearly how self-centered we are, how entitled we think we are. I narrowly escaped getting slammed into by a speeding bike and all I could feel was abashed, angered.

Oh, and I have have no idea what that business with my body vibrating was all about. Maybe I sensed a disturbance in the force. I'm not even joking - it's possible that I did.

Watched The Office tonight. A good one and layered. It will stand up to repeated viewings, I have no doubt. Just like this post. Seriously, come back to it in about a week; you'll see that I'm right.

You are the law, the long hard road, grave inevitable destiny

A quick post, but it'll have to do. What's been on my mind? Let's see.

1. Been listening to The Roches a lot. I love their strangeness. I hardly expected to learn so much from them, but I have. Principally, I've been reminded what a joy music can be.

2. I've decided Lowell George is my current guitar hero.

3. Been rotating a few knew songs around. Sometimes they come in bunches. Trying to keep focused on them so that they may see completion while maintaining a flexible attitude. One of the knew songs is going to have the word rictus in it. Don't know in what context - I just love the word. It's a good one.

4. Watched Herzog's My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done. One word: Hell-Yes-Son!


5. Had a dream that woke me up at five in the morning. I'll spare you the details. Another romp through the woods of my subconscious. Mandy, the dog of my youth, was with me.

6. I just had a thought of honey-baked ham. Now I'm hungry. No ham for me, though.

7. I like this new Celtics line up. Looking forward to the upcoming season. A lot of depth and Shaq is in residence. How can you not get excited about that?