Tuesday, April 1st
I didn’t pin any April fish today, and nobody got me either. I’ve done it and been fooled a few times over the years, but never really got into it. Then again, the night is young.
Christina amazes me. She just finished her schoolwork while talking on the phone and chatting online with half her buddy list, which comprises the population of most of the known world.
The war is on, and the reporting is really getting monotonous fast. They’re so strapped to fill in time that they’re devoting countless air hours to reporting on the quality and bias of the reporting itself! At least Geraldo Rivera got booted out of the war zone by the US military — the high point of the war so far. I’m praying for a swift end that’s as bloodless as possible, and have confidence in our armed forces to be as humane as possible from plan to execution.
Tuesday, April 8th
I just unintentionally added an organic lubricant to my keyboard — a mixture of catsup, mustard, and onions (finely chopped). That’s the last time I eat lunch while playing Free Cell (solitaire). Incidentally, I’m also a Reversi (Othello) junkie, and win on “expert” most of the time — when I need to get back to work!
I also played some Morrowind Saturday night for a couple of hours (and it felt great to get back), while Christina was “three-way calling” with about six other people — I don’t even know how to do it with two!
Sunday afternoon, I introduced Merry’s aunt Mary to the internet. She loves it! She looked up her Ellis Island records, we found a spaghetti sauce recipe, and just surfed around for fun.
Wednesday, April 9th
Last night, I heard what I consider to be the foreshadowing of a possible nightmare future — China refusing the UN intermediation regarding North North Korea’s nuclear proliferation, and Korea’s considering even economic sanctions to be an act of war. Everyone is backing off and wearing the kit gloves, but Merry is still making a list of end-of-the-world emergency supplies we should have on hand if it ends for the worst down the road.
Then this morning, I witnessed on live television the toppling of a huge statue of Saddam Hussein in the center of Baghdad. It was very symbolic of the whole war — the people did what they could, but needed out help. We waved each other’s flags, danced and cheered, and I cheered with them, a tear in my eye. The only ones upset looked like American protestors — I laughed my arse off when I say a human shield banner carried by Iraqis through the streets, changed to read “GO HOME Human Shields US WANKERS”. And I was clinched that we did the right thing when I saw a picture of a man kissing a framed painting of President Bush in front of an American flag, above which was written “The Hero of the Peace.”
But the post office seemed to get it wrong. They had the flag at half-mast earlier, and now at full mast. I think it should fly proud to the end, and then half mast for the fallen when it’s over. Then again, it was probably for a local fallen soldier, Orlowski (I think), from West Seneca.
In any event, I did some work, but it felt like a vacation — I was high as a kite all day. Iraq is free, and the people thank us for it.
And even the weather is looking up! We had freezing temperatures, even four inches of snow a couple of days ago. Pretty, but a little depressing at the same time. I’m glad I didn’t put the salt and shovels away.
April 22nd
On Good Friday, I did the usual stuff. It was a beautiful day. I stopped at my Mom’s mausoleum, “Our Lady of the Snows” in St. Adaulbert’s, and roamed around Lancaster, driving by houses my family lived in. Later in the afternoon, Chrissie and I (I finally am starting to regularly spell her name like she does!) walked around the beach in Hamburg and climbed to a shortcut to the road. She was the first to realize that the soft deposits we were walking on were made of ice! It was a mini adventure, and we had a good time.
Today, I just found out who was tying to play around with one of my Kentropolis accounts, trying to act as a negotiator to take over their web site. The person at their office said it was someone I went to High School with, and he was doing community work there as part of a 100 hour requirement as part of a court judgment for being a slum lord. I always felt like my old schoolmates were some extension of my family, for better or worse, or else I would but his name in bold here. What an arse he turned out to be.
On another note, I recently got a pre-approved credit card application for a dead chicken, “Quiche”. At least it could have been for our live chicken.
Oh! One more thing! My wife now started a business devoted to my genius ideas, called “Another Hare-Brained Scheme”. The first project is the George W. Bush “Axis of Evil” World Tour, which can be found online at www.BushWorldTour.com.
Friday, April 25th, 2003
The night before my birthday, some people said they saw snowflakes. This morning I had to defrost the windshield, and now I’m wearing T-shirts again! They’re even having a garage sale out front.