Runester

Well, today was one humdinger of a day. First, I had to get up and ready for my weekend with Lisa. Then I had to go to work, install an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) and reboot some servers, and test that everything was working. Then I had to find a jewelry store nearby – and I did, The Jewelry Exchange. Then I had to call my bank to get them to increase my credit limit. Then I went to the jewelry store and bought an engagement ring. Then I drove to Lisa’s where we had a late breakfast, and then went to Home Depot to buy 960 lbs of quickrete and eight (8) fence posts. We got everything back to her house just in time for me to drop off the materials, wash my hands, and then drive all the way back to the jewelry store.

The ring was ready and perfect! I picked it up, stopping to refuel my truck which I’d been driving back and forth across the state all day. Then I got back to Lisa’s. Since today was her birthday, she knew my sudden departure had to do with her birthday gift … and she may have suspected something, but she wasn’t sure. In her own words, “It was either a ring or a laptop!” I had already gotten us reservations for a very nice Italian restaurant in Dedham, MA named Isabella’s. So, I had to shower, shave, and dress – swapping my tee-shirt and quickrete covered jeans for a French Blue dress shirt and slacks. While getting dressed I slipped the ring into my pocket.

We arrive at the restaurant right at 6:00 PM, and it’s lovely. We get a quiet table over to the side and order appetizers. I keep wondering when I should propose … of all the research I did on this subject, this particular item seems to have been left out. I figured it would be good to bring the subject up … so I kept trying to have a serious conversation about marriage, marriages we knew about, and commitment. She kept interrupting with stories of how this restaurant used to be a little breakfast nook named “Mug and Muffin.” I must have looked a little yellow or something, she kept asking, “Are you all right? Is something the matter? You have an odd look on your face.”
Finally, sometime after the appetizer and before the main course came out, I said, “This is something I should have done five years ago … Will you marry me?” Lisa got all choked up and teary eyed but didn’t answer, so I pressed further, “Will you be my wife?” At which she croaked out a very quiet and emotional “yes.”

Then I added, “Well, here’s your consolation prize …” and reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring. It was still in it’s small black box. She took it and opened the box up and her eyes lit up.

“Oh, it’s just lovely!” she remarked.

And with that, I have become an engaged man. We finished our dinner, many women who were seated around us congratulated her and asked to see her ring. She was floating on cloud nine … I was mostly relieved that I had been able to get through the day and accomplish the most important part with at least a measure of acumen.

As soon as we got back to her place, she showed her mother the ring who was practically giddy with gladness. Marilyn embrassed me and declared, “My son!”

All in all, it’s been one hell of a day … with a wonderful, wonderful ending. And, a good beginning!

I haven’t written in a long time, and I have lot’s of news. Some of it, not so good.

First …

My gf‘s uncle, Frank, went into the hospital for an Angioplasty. Instead, they found much more blockage then they expected and performed a quadruple bypass with heart valve replacement. He’s been in Intensive Care ever since. We went to see him on Sunday, and he looks very frail and week. After the bypass he had a stroke which affected the left side of his body. They can’t tell how much was affected by the stroke because he still has a breathing tube in his mouth and can’t talk. When they finally take the tube out (hopefully tomorrow, or sooner!) he will be much more comfortable and then they’ll perform some tests to see if his swallowing &/or speach were affected by the stroke.

Prayers on behalf of Frank are certainly welcome!

Second …

A few weeks ago I found some more lumps on Snow, my senior, female, all white, cat. I took her to the vet last Monday where the Vet confirmed that they were tumors and recommended surgery. She had the surgery on Friday and I got to bring her home Monday evening.

For what it’s worth, she seems to be doing very well. She is active and acting very normal … albeit with an E-Collar on her head (to prevent her from licking out the staples over her new scar). This time the vet cut significantly more and the scar wraps about 60% around her body! I have to keep it clean, apply an antibiotic ointment, and give her two doses of antibiotics, daily. For everything she’s been through, she seems to be doing pretty well.

Here are a few photographs.

I’m just wrapping up a very pleasant weekend spent with Lisa. We went and saw the new James Bond flick, “Casino Royale” – and it was very good! Daniel Craig makes a great James Bond, and this film really seems to be getting back to the roots of action hero instead of gadget-guy. Well, done.

I wasn’t exactly on-diet this weekend, though Saturday was my “day off” and I did pretty good on Sunday (well, there was that piece of pumpkin pie!). Tomorrow morning, I’m back in the gym and back on track. I can say I’ve lost what little weight I gained before my two (2) weeks in vacation in Michigan. Everything from this point on will be new progress.

After speaking with my brother about his business ventures this weekend I learned something new and disheartening. Nothing is ever as easy and straight forward as you hoped. He does research on a business and gets to know the current owner and looks at the books and assembles his co-investors and then … the soap opera begins. These facts were hidden and that person who hadn’t even made an appearance before decides to cause trouble now, etc., etc., etc.

The point? That the hard part of being an entrepreneur is not the financials or the operations or even the risk. The hard part is managing the intangibles and the constant background level of chaos that exists. Do you know why you’ve never read that in a book on business management? Because while high-falutin’ intellectuals are theorizing about how business should be managed with fancy whiteboard diagrams, the reality is stuffed up toilets in the women’s room and a vindictive ex-employee spreading rumors to your regulars.

So, here I am in a spare bedroom of my brothers house; back in Michigan again. Already today, I’ve seen my Mother, Father, Brother, and his Fiance’ – plus some friends. It always surprises me how quick it is to catch-up with family. I may have two weeks here, but most of the visiting and seeing their faces was done today.

I still have a very strong desire to move back here and be part of their lives, again. As well as participate (in my own small way) in the excitement that my brother brings to his life with business ventures and solid accomplishments. Massachusetts has become much too comfortable for me – and I could easily see myself maintaining status quo indefinitely there. The problem with that, is that I am 37 and status quo isn’t nearly good enough. If I end up 47 or 57 in the same situation? Well, life only hands you so many do-overs and second chances.

The downside is the economy here. To say it sucks would be over-hyping it. Detroit leads the nation in job losses, unemployment, and mortgage foreclosures. To live here, I need to be able to support both myself and my (one day soon) family. This may be a serious challenge under the current conditions.
I can’t wait until my gf arrives so I can make all of thoverhypingtions – she still has never met my brother or any of his friends, even forclosuresf these years. Further, I am hoping that a measure of the excitement and possibilities I feel here will rub off on her.

Finally, though in a previous comment abogf the fire at Izzy’s … I stated my desire for a thorough investigation of the cause … the current theory (as forwarded by the investigators) is faulty wiring in the attic. Ironically, even though that is currently being reported, the insurance company has yet to pay on the policy and still insists on investigating everyone involved. This may sound like prudence – except my brother is still on the hook for the mortgage payment every month, only now with no business to pay it with. Anyway, he’ll get through this like he gets through everything else.

The gf and I spent today walking around Province Town, MA. We took the high-speed ferry from Boston, about a 90 minute ride. Then we walked our asses off, seeing shops and galleries and such. We took a 40 minute trolley tour around the whole thing, and learned a lot about the history. Such as: the regular population is only 4400 which swells in the summertime to 50,000 and on holiday’s like the upcoming July 4th … 100,000!

A lot of people ‘warned’ me that P’Town has a very high concentration of homosexuals. I guess they didn’t want me to be shocked or something if I were to see two men holding hands or two women kissing or something. Little ol’ me has been around the block a few times, and I wouldn’t have been bothered by this. In fact, while there were many homo’s about, the behavior was far from outragious and the whole place had an extremely welcoming and friendly feel to it. At least what I could perceive for the ~ 6 hours we spent there. I wouldn’t mind coming back, especially if we could secure a room at one of the inn’s (everything was sold-out for this holiday).

Of course, I’ve also been told that the behavior is a great deal more risque` after sun-down, when most of the tourists return to Boston. So, who knows.

The only annoyance, and slight at that, was the emphasis on homosexuality in weird places. It’s not a book store, it’s a “Gay and Lesbian Studies” book store. It’s not an art gallery, it’s a “Gay and Lesbian Experience” art gallery. Etc. Etc. Etc. Why did this bother me? Because it’s like I walked around with a T-Shirt that proclaimed loudly and to everyone I met, “Uncircumcised Male, and Proud!” and then only went to stores that catered to the uncircumsized always tried to hang-out with other’s in the ‘uncircumcized’ movement (whatever the hell that is).

At some point, it’s a private matter and sometimes I just want to buy a book at a bookstore or a CD at a music store … and not really have to stop and wonder about the state of the authors / singers / store proprietor’s sexual preference / foreskin / dietary needs / whatever.
Well, whatever floats your boat – or high speed ferry back to Boston!

[PS: I took hundreds of pictures, hoping to find a handful of good ones. I'll try to get them posted by the end of the week.]