Bathroom Re-do..

Thanks in huge part to my friend Jim W. I completed the task of redecorating my bathroom yesterday. It got a new paint job on the walls and ceiling, a new light fixture and some other small comedic things to make the whole thing look nice. These included painting the metallic part of my medicine cabinet (under the lights) and new handles for the cabinet under the sink. The silver towel rods, etc., were already in the bathroom.

The “artwork” are collages I put together from magazine pics. The bathroom is one of the few places I feel I can get away with such a “gay” theme. They really look nice against the gray walls now. And it’s always nice to have good looking men smile at you as you complete your grooming and showering… <snicker>

I am very happy at the result even though it was a lot of work… here are some pics:

Spring has arrived....

As the cool rain hits the parched earth, and the mighty seedlings yearn for the warmth of the sun yet rejoice in the liquid of life, I watch from my window wondering when I will have to mow the yard again and would you look at those new weeds back in the corner of my yard by the peony?

Spring in Cleveland is a mixed bag.  From days of beauteous weather to weeks of cool rain to 8 inches of April snow, the old saying of if you don’t like the weather just wait 5 minutes as so true.

And inside the house, the want of nice weather becomes so strong that I refuse to turn the furnace back on and believe it or not yearn to clean my windows and perhaps the carpet.  Spring is a time of renewal and part of my soul’s renewal lie in cleaning and organizing. I have always wanted to be anal-retentive and strive to join the likes of some of my friends but always arrive a day late and a bit shy of a 1st down.  

I just completed the small task of putting some large patches of gray paint on 2 walls on my bathroom in order to make sure that I like the color.  I do like it so tomorrow I plan on painting the entire bathroom. Pics to follow.

I find the urge to be active so strong that it overwhelms me to the point of in-activity.  When I get these feelings I can almost understand the people whom you hear about who live in fear and their phobias freeze them in time and space.

But then I regain my senses and complete some small task to prove to myself that I am in deed in charge of my life and myself and can complete a task without melting back into my couch.

So off to water the plants then perhaps off to have my oil changed then off to pick up Lynne and we are off to Twinsburg to play cards with Sam and Wendy.

Off course the WPT (World Poker Tour) is coming on TV as I type on this Saturday early afternoon, so maybe a few minutes of watching are in order….

GUT: An overview...

A theory that ties all forces of nature together, from the micro to the macro, this is the basic definition of the Grand Unified Theory.  But I think it may go far beyond physics and gravity and the speed of light.

I have been called a Hindu on more that one occasion. I don’t like to pigeon-hole myself with too many labels and since I don’t believe in any kinds of deity, I like this idea of the Grand Unified Theory as “religion.”  It all starts with the “Golden Rule” of treating others as you would like to be treated.  From there it bubbles up through a layer of what you do today will impact something or someone somewhere at some time.  

Now don’t get the idea that I sit and worry about a decision and wonder how it will affect the amount of the blueberry crop in North Carolina this year, but I do believe that if I decide to say hello to someone I pass on the street that I have affected that person in a positive way and who knows maybe they will do something good in the future in part due to my salutation.

I think where my theory might fail though is I don’t as easily follow it through to the negative end.  That same person I don’t say hello too may end up doing something bad because I didn’t give them that moment of my day.

So where does this leave us in the grand unified theory of EVERYTHING.  Not sure but I will still say hello to a stranger and hold the door open for the person behind me and throw a few  extra bucks into the pot when out with dinner with friends because I never know when that person might be beside me at a blackjack table and they take they 10 that would have busted me and instead I get the 9 which gives me 21 and wins me a bit of money.

Why I Gamble....

There is something about sitting or standing around a gaming table in a casino, making bets, winning and losing, that is so unique that I can understand why one can become addicted to it.

Besides the obvious feeling of winning money, there is a feeling of comradery that until you actually experience it you will just say something like, yea right.  I have found myself in conversations with perfect strangers, sitting at a blackjack table, that I would either be afraid to talk to or who I wouldn’t give a second glance to in real life.  Sometimes the conversations are superficial but more often then not you get to learn about someone and their wants, desire, loves and yes even deviations.

You also find yourself cheering each other on and when someone wins others at the table are happy for them and sometimes even cheer.

Sometimes these cheers become weird.  Last time I was in Vegas back in February I sat down at a “Wheel of Fortune” quarter slot machine and on my 2nd spin hit a combination of 2 white 7’s and a wild that multiplied the spin by 4.  AS the credits began to accumulate, several people near by, both the young woman playing the slots and their hunky husbands watching, begin to count off the hundreds of dollars as the counter climbed up.

The counter stopped at 1600 (400 dollars) and as I stood up I was surrounded by several of the hunky husbands/boyfriends who began to touch my arm and back while I heard several of them say something like touch him and get some of his luck.

It was at this point that the dirty part of me should have just stayed calm and enjoy the attention, but I began to panic as one of the guys said “Rub his nipples for luck.”  Now in hindsight I should have enjoyed this and played it up and who knows maybe I would have gotten some Vegas nookie, but no I ran away like a little girl….

This type of thing only happens in a casino and yes I was OK with it if not a bit freaked out…some sort of inferiority complex I’m sure… what hunky guy wants to rub my nipples?  LOL

This sense of comradery is something that I think I enjoy right below winning money (after all, if one didn’t have a chance to “hit it big” would we still gamble for just the comradery?).

Makes you wanna experience it for yourself don’t it?

Home Update and More Woes (to watch out for)...

After another estimate, I had my fascia problem fixed this past Monday for $650.00. But as I watched the guys finish up that job, I began to look around the outside of my house and started to see all the things that will soon enough have to be done. Oh, well, gives me a reason to keep going to Vegas so I can win money for home repairs…

A friend of mine’s house was broken into earlier this week. While luckily not a lot was stolen, it’s been a headache for her, as she has to deal with all the clean up, both literal and psychological. One of the shows I enjoy watching is “It Takes a Thief” on Discovery. For those who haven’t seen it here is the description straight from the website:

You lock every door and window in your house. But they know every trick in the book. Two expert thieves size up, break into and rip off real homes. And unless you know how they get in, you don't have a chance of keeping them out.


According to the FBI, in 2003 there were more than 2.1 million reported burglaries in the United States — that's 740 burglaries per 100,000 inhabitants. The majority of those offenses — 66 percent — were residential, with the thief taking away an average $1,600 in goods and cash from a home like yours.

So how safe is your house?

Enter It Takes a Thief, a unique new Discovery Channel series that offers viewers something they've never seen before: a home burglary performed by convicted former thieves that is taped as it happens, followed by a lesson in what steps to take to prevent such a violation from occurring again.

Hosted by reformed ex-cons Matt Johnston and Jon Douglas Rainey, It Takes a Thief exposes home-security flaws by unleashing these two uniquely qualified experts onto the properties of people interested in learning just how vulnerable their houses are, if at all. Watch along with the homeowners themselves as the burglars size up, break in, and ransack the home in search of valuables. And in so doing, discover what items are attractive — and why — to a burglar.
Then, sit back as our experts give the property a full home-security makeover, reworking everything from locks to landscaping. How foolproof will these new measures be? Homeowners and viewers alike will find out when Matt and Jon pay an unannounced visit some weeks later to test them.

Will they get in this time?

I watch it and still wonder how safe am I. I don’t really want to answer that here as that would be a bad idea, but now with the recent burgler to my friend, I need to begin to think more about the topic and I think any homeowner out there should as well.

OUCH....

The joys and pains of home ownership are many. I bought my house in the fall of 2002. It is a 3 bedroom colonial on the Westside of Cleveland. It was built in 1917. Some of the joys are the sense of ownership and home that I get when I work on making it more mine. It came with new windows, new siding, a new front porch, updated kitchen and bath… a whole bunch of nice stuff for suck an old house.

The house still has its original slate roof and that’s OK because there seem to be no leaks and the roof is very stable. However it seems when the previous owner had all the updates done, which included new gutters, they or whomever they had complete he work didn’t do such a great job.

It seems that the flashing that should have been put under the edge of the slate rook to held lead water off the rook and into the gutters is missing on about ¾ of the sides of my house.

What this has done in the time I have lived in my house is allow water to get to the fascia boards that the gutters are attached to. This fascia board attached to the end of the rafters and helps to enclose the attic. Wet fascia boards leads to rotting which leads to the boards pulling away from the rafters that leads to more leaking and possible water in the attic. You get the downward spiral picture.

So I took another half-day vacation today and hade Mr. Handyman out to see how bad it was and how much it will call to fix. I have 2 more calls into companies that do roof/home repair. That should tell you that the picture ain’t pretty. The 1st estimate is about $1500 to $2000 and as little as I know about home repair that sounds about right. My only chance is if I can get the labor cheaper with another company.

Oh well… at least I can play my stereo loud and walk to the washer in my underwear!

A Story....

Here’s a story… not sure where it ends or what lesson you may learn, but here it is.

A few years back at a routine physical I commented on a bump behind my right ear.  The doctor took a look and said it was most likely a fatty tumor (quite common, like a boil) and that Ishouldn’t worry unless it started getting larger.  So over the next few years as I was to the doctor for this minor ailment or that sickness the doctor would take a look and note the tumors size.  After about 2 years it had not grown but due to a new pair of eyeglasses I was noticing the mass more and more so my HMO said I could have it removed and scheduled me for minor surgery.

I arrived at the medical facility and checked in with the surgeon, disrobed and lay on the table waiting for the doctor to perform the minor outpatient surgery.  Doc came in and quickly said, “That’s not a tumor, it’s an enlarged Lymph Node (quite common).”  I asked how the other 3-4 doctors who had seen it over the last few years had not realized what it was.  I was never given a clear answer.  So I got dressed and went home, no cutting, no pain.  I still have that enlarged Lymph node behind my ear.

Next stop on our journey begins one fall as after walking at lunchtime for a few weeks (after all the doctor had been after me for years to loose a some weight and begin to exercise) I began to notice a strange feeling in my lower right leg. I at first attributed it to the exercise and rubbed some Bengay into it.  But the pain began to get worse and worse.  So I went to the doctor who told me he thought I had what he descried as a “cold” in my leg and it should get better with time.

After a few more weeks of it getting worse to the point of constant pain and walking hunched over, the doctor prescribed a minor muscle relaxer and a minor pain pill and signed me up for 8 weeks of physical therapy.

After 8 weeks of therapy and more pain, the doctor finally decided it was time for an MRI.

After the MRI my pain began to lesson and by the time I found out I have 2 herniated discs in my lower back (hence all the therapy and drugs were useless), the pain began to lesson and go away.  I honestly believe that the final knowledge of knowing I wasn’t crazy and having to lie perfectly still in the MRI machine for 30 minutes helped the discs to reverse course and not swell any more.

The 3rd act starts in 1999 when I went to Optometrist who tells me that the Glaucoma test (the puff of air test) reading s borderline high for my right eye but everything looks OK.  After another 2 tests since then until this past February, the readings were the same but the Eye Doc suggests I see an Ophthalmologist to rule out any early stages of Glaucoma.  So I call my HMO and make an appointment (this was late Feb.).

At my appointment today, the Doc says that the pressure in my eyes is normal and everything looks good.  I ask him about the puff test and am told that it is frequently wrong.

Chapter 4 is a short one wherein my grandmother lives to be 93 after smoking for some 75 years of that time and drinking and eating whatever she wanted.

So, where does this leave me?  Maybe I’m just unlucky with doctors and such, but I am beginning to think that perhaps the docs aren’t as smart I have given them credit for over the years.  Yes I am overweight and maybe too much so, but so are the nurses who tell me I have to loose weight not to mention I see them out in front of the building smoking (I work in the same building as my primary Doctor and HMO office).  I don’t smoke and never have.

Should I continue to listen to the Docs…. yea but I’m gonna be much more skeptical in the future.  No use wasting my time and money on things that aren’t really wrong with me.