Pittsburgh 5 Vancouver 0
Evgeni Malkin - 2 G, A
Casey DeSmith registered his second career NHL shutout
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Penguins @ Flames 10/25/18
Pittsburgh 9 Calgary 1
Derrick Brassard - 3 A
Evgeni Malkin with a 6 game point streak (2 G, 10 A)
Derrick Brassard - 3 A
Evgeni Malkin with a 6 game point streak (2 G, 10 A)
Penguins @ Oilers 10/23/18
Pittsburgh 6 Edmonton 5 OT
Patric Hornqvist - 2 G, A
Pittsburgh has a point in 5 straight games
Patric Hornqvist - 2 G, A
Pittsburgh has a point in 5 straight games
Saturday, December 1, 2018
Laundry day
Sitting in ye olde laundromat just washing some work clothes before I kick off a relatively easy work week for myself (only one double), but whilst I was away some things did happen which require my attention, or some cleaning up as one doing laindry might say, which I just did.
I am bummed by the quick closing of "Hug Thai" here in Oakland. I know, you don't know where or what it is, but it appeared to be a Thai restaurant around the corner from my apartment. Now I am not one that has a hugely experimental palate, I am not as bad as my mom was in that department, but I can honestly say I have never had Thai food, so a place so close to my apartment tempted me to try it soon. I figure i could get something to go, if it sucked too bad I could always make something at home, but this would at least be between me going from points A and B, rather than going out of my way to try something I didn't like. Except they were open for like two weeks, so by the time I was able to stop by after work onenight there was a closed for renovations sign on the door. Perhaps this saved me, if they could only make it two weeks, i am thinking even if Thai food was good, this was a poor representation of said food.
So, Leveon Bell decided not to sign his franchise tender offer with the Steelers and chances are good he will never play in the black and gold again. I don't get the mindless peeps that immediately went to critical mode of him. Yes, I get he could have made $14 million this year and it is more than anyone reading this blog will make in their lifetime, but NFL contracts are just paper. Everything is about guaranteed money, not just this season but going forward. Otherwise a team can cut you, and regardless of what your contract says financially, NFL players are basically "at will" employees, they can be cut or fired at any time for almost any reason. So I get Bell wanting some form of security in the form of guaranteed money. The fact James Connor has played well in Bell's stead, makes it all the easier to FU Bell from the fanbase's perspective. But what happens whoen Connor's rookie contract comes up, and he is seeking and exponentially larger increase in salary than Bell sought, given Connor is pkaying on a third round rookie contract right now. James Connor better be watching what is taking place right now, because unless the Steelers lock him up under a long term extension before his contract comes up, the same people loving him right now will be offering up the Bell treatment to him soon enough.
Lastly, I should probably pontificate on the elephant in the room, that being the shooting that took place at the Tree of Life synagogue a couple of weeks ago. First off, I am not surprised in the least. As I have often said, nothing is going to change because dead bodies are just the cost of doing business in America. Sooner rather than later we will be able to teach our kids geography by the number of people killed in a certain location. What was off putting to me, besides the carnage, was the Stronger Than Hate thing that popped up immediately afterward, as if somebody saw this occur and thought to themself, this is a prime branding opportunity. Because clearly it is incorrect. Mr. Bowers was exposed in the same concoction of geography, so certainly the region itself is not stronger than hate. I'll admit, I am not stronger than hate, I keep all emotions, including hate, available in my emotional toolbox, as one does not know when a specific emotion may be called for. I am aure that comes from a childhood where the first memory of my father was of him trying to choke the life out of my mother. I guess the trend now is to offer thoughts and prayers, but how has that worked out for Sandy Hook, or Orlando, or Parkland. It is the emptiest of gestures to do.
I am bummed by the quick closing of "Hug Thai" here in Oakland. I know, you don't know where or what it is, but it appeared to be a Thai restaurant around the corner from my apartment. Now I am not one that has a hugely experimental palate, I am not as bad as my mom was in that department, but I can honestly say I have never had Thai food, so a place so close to my apartment tempted me to try it soon. I figure i could get something to go, if it sucked too bad I could always make something at home, but this would at least be between me going from points A and B, rather than going out of my way to try something I didn't like. Except they were open for like two weeks, so by the time I was able to stop by after work onenight there was a closed for renovations sign on the door. Perhaps this saved me, if they could only make it two weeks, i am thinking even if Thai food was good, this was a poor representation of said food.
So, Leveon Bell decided not to sign his franchise tender offer with the Steelers and chances are good he will never play in the black and gold again. I don't get the mindless peeps that immediately went to critical mode of him. Yes, I get he could have made $14 million this year and it is more than anyone reading this blog will make in their lifetime, but NFL contracts are just paper. Everything is about guaranteed money, not just this season but going forward. Otherwise a team can cut you, and regardless of what your contract says financially, NFL players are basically "at will" employees, they can be cut or fired at any time for almost any reason. So I get Bell wanting some form of security in the form of guaranteed money. The fact James Connor has played well in Bell's stead, makes it all the easier to FU Bell from the fanbase's perspective. But what happens whoen Connor's rookie contract comes up, and he is seeking and exponentially larger increase in salary than Bell sought, given Connor is pkaying on a third round rookie contract right now. James Connor better be watching what is taking place right now, because unless the Steelers lock him up under a long term extension before his contract comes up, the same people loving him right now will be offering up the Bell treatment to him soon enough.
Lastly, I should probably pontificate on the elephant in the room, that being the shooting that took place at the Tree of Life synagogue a couple of weeks ago. First off, I am not surprised in the least. As I have often said, nothing is going to change because dead bodies are just the cost of doing business in America. Sooner rather than later we will be able to teach our kids geography by the number of people killed in a certain location. What was off putting to me, besides the carnage, was the Stronger Than Hate thing that popped up immediately afterward, as if somebody saw this occur and thought to themself, this is a prime branding opportunity. Because clearly it is incorrect. Mr. Bowers was exposed in the same concoction of geography, so certainly the region itself is not stronger than hate. I'll admit, I am not stronger than hate, I keep all emotions, including hate, available in my emotional toolbox, as one does not know when a specific emotion may be called for. I am aure that comes from a childhood where the first memory of my father was of him trying to choke the life out of my mother. I guess the trend now is to offer thoughts and prayers, but how has that worked out for Sandy Hook, or Orlando, or Parkland. It is the emptiest of gestures to do.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Penguins @ Maple Leafs 10/18/18
Pittsburgh 3 Toronto 0
Evgeni Malkin - 2 G, A
Sidney Crosby tied Gary Sittler for 60th place on the NHL all time scoring list with an assist.
Evgeni Malkin - 2 G, A
Sidney Crosby tied Gary Sittler for 60th place on the NHL all time scoring list with an assist.
Canucks @ Penguins 10/16/18
Vancouver 3 Pittsburgh 2 OT
Jake Guentzel, Carl Hagelin - G each
Pittsburgh has lost three straight to Vancouver
Jake Guentzel, Carl Hagelin - G each
Pittsburgh has lost three straight to Vancouver
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Of mice and a man
So, I have found use of these overnight shifts at work, plenty of time to work on my blog. And with things that have been taking place recently, now seems as good a time as any.
First, for all of you long time blog readers, you are familiar with the concept of the change meter. For those not in the loop, the change meter is basically an accumulation of the money and material goids where a definite value can be established, that i find on my forays to and from places. On one of my not so recent posts i mentioned that I was going to add tips to the meter, simply because i do not view my job at Uncle Sam's as tip worthy, after all usually all i do is dress sandwiches and nobody tips the burger flipper at McDonald's now do they? So in my eyes it is simply more free money I have come across. That being said, I had little idea how much that decision would change things. When we last left off, the change meter was sitting just north of $800, not even $100 a year for the existence of the blog (you have to go waaaaay back to the early days of Yahoo 360, then later Multiply to trace the blog's history) and the change meter was one of the first things i ever did with the blog. Well, since our last update, back in Dec of 2017, we are adding a substantial amount to the total, $1832.49 to be exact and our new total is now $2655.79.
With that out of the way, a little fantasy talk is in order. I dropped one of my fantasy football leagues this year (Pittsburgh Bloggers), not for anything they did, but just wanted to focus my energies on other things. There are some fine people on Pittsburgh Bloggers, and I would highly reccommend checking out their work (there are usually links on the Friday entry on their Facebook page), they take blogging much more seriously than I do. But then we all know that I view blogging as the illusion of work, writing when I should be doing actual work. Anyway, the fantasy leagues I stayed in (one football, one hockey) are littered with people I used to work with, both at Smithfield News and at 1360 AM WPTT.
In football I am off to a 5-1 start, this week figures to be important given I am playing the only other team that has my lofty record. Though no one hangs a banner for a regular season title, so I am content to finish with one of the top 4 records and get a playoff spot. Right now I am in a good place to secure one of those. The hockey league I have been less than successful over the years. I have never gotten a handle on the scoring system, perhaps I should read the rules some day, but we don't play tor cash, just bragging rights, so losing is less painful, at least financially. So far though I am off to a 1-0 start, which might be the first time in years I have been over .500 in that league.
But none of this explains the totle of the blog, now does it? Rather it was something that occurred ove the last week and a half (other than hockey vids, which are almost up to date to this point), since my last entry. I was sitting in ye olde apartment, just minding my p's and q's, I was probably on my laptop or tablet, when I saw a mouse run along the baseboard of one of the walls. This is an event because, a) it is a mouse and b) i have not seen a single mouse in my place the previous 11+ years I have lived there. Now it should be noted my apartment was carved out of a larger house, I live in the back in an efficiency apartment, my neighbors tend to change every school year. During the down time, usually over summer, the landlord does all of the requisite repairs, updates to the unoccupied units. Since I have never seen mice before, my best guess is they came in while fixing up the frontal unit simply because while working inside they would leave the door open for hours at a time. I could be wrong, it could be another way the mouse found it's way in, but I am sticking with the most obvious.
Anyway, I decided to employ my trapping skills, (I know, you are wondering about said trapping skills, but as a youngster I used to get up early and walk with my uncle when we checked traps that he set along a neighborhood stream) and after work one Sunday when I made one of those notches in my schedule where I give myself some relaxation time, this time it was to go see Venom at the theater on a Sunday during a run where between both jobs it will be three weeks without a day off, I made a quick veer into Target to get some mouse traps. I got the cheapies, the ones with the snap bar that breaks the mouses neck (fuck the humanitarian shit when deal with rodentia), went to dinner at Primanti's', saw the movie (which was okay, not great, not awful) I went home to set my traps. I say traps because just because I had sen one mouse does not mean there was only one. I baited traps with crunchy peanut butter, which was originally going to be for sandwiches for me, I guess this is what they call repurposing, i put one where i had previous had seen said mouse, and a few others around ye olde apartment.
I go to work the next day, come home and sure enough i had a mouse with a broken neck. I started singing "Let's Get It Started" just for that break your neck line, but as with real life trapping, where you catch one, you want to reset as soon as possible because usually there is more than one. Sure enough over the next week I have caught 4 thus far (don't doubt my trapping skills), but I am at the
point where I think maybe I should call an exterminator, rather than rely on my own substantial skills.
Anyway, that is all I have today. Once again, another fine example why I don't use Twitter, who can keep me to 180 characters.
First, for all of you long time blog readers, you are familiar with the concept of the change meter. For those not in the loop, the change meter is basically an accumulation of the money and material goids where a definite value can be established, that i find on my forays to and from places. On one of my not so recent posts i mentioned that I was going to add tips to the meter, simply because i do not view my job at Uncle Sam's as tip worthy, after all usually all i do is dress sandwiches and nobody tips the burger flipper at McDonald's now do they? So in my eyes it is simply more free money I have come across. That being said, I had little idea how much that decision would change things. When we last left off, the change meter was sitting just north of $800, not even $100 a year for the existence of the blog (you have to go waaaaay back to the early days of Yahoo 360, then later Multiply to trace the blog's history) and the change meter was one of the first things i ever did with the blog. Well, since our last update, back in Dec of 2017, we are adding a substantial amount to the total, $1832.49 to be exact and our new total is now $2655.79.
With that out of the way, a little fantasy talk is in order. I dropped one of my fantasy football leagues this year (Pittsburgh Bloggers), not for anything they did, but just wanted to focus my energies on other things. There are some fine people on Pittsburgh Bloggers, and I would highly reccommend checking out their work (there are usually links on the Friday entry on their Facebook page), they take blogging much more seriously than I do. But then we all know that I view blogging as the illusion of work, writing when I should be doing actual work. Anyway, the fantasy leagues I stayed in (one football, one hockey) are littered with people I used to work with, both at Smithfield News and at 1360 AM WPTT.
In football I am off to a 5-1 start, this week figures to be important given I am playing the only other team that has my lofty record. Though no one hangs a banner for a regular season title, so I am content to finish with one of the top 4 records and get a playoff spot. Right now I am in a good place to secure one of those. The hockey league I have been less than successful over the years. I have never gotten a handle on the scoring system, perhaps I should read the rules some day, but we don't play tor cash, just bragging rights, so losing is less painful, at least financially. So far though I am off to a 1-0 start, which might be the first time in years I have been over .500 in that league.
But none of this explains the totle of the blog, now does it? Rather it was something that occurred ove the last week and a half (other than hockey vids, which are almost up to date to this point), since my last entry. I was sitting in ye olde apartment, just minding my p's and q's, I was probably on my laptop or tablet, when I saw a mouse run along the baseboard of one of the walls. This is an event because, a) it is a mouse and b) i have not seen a single mouse in my place the previous 11+ years I have lived there. Now it should be noted my apartment was carved out of a larger house, I live in the back in an efficiency apartment, my neighbors tend to change every school year. During the down time, usually over summer, the landlord does all of the requisite repairs, updates to the unoccupied units. Since I have never seen mice before, my best guess is they came in while fixing up the frontal unit simply because while working inside they would leave the door open for hours at a time. I could be wrong, it could be another way the mouse found it's way in, but I am sticking with the most obvious.
Anyway, I decided to employ my trapping skills, (I know, you are wondering about said trapping skills, but as a youngster I used to get up early and walk with my uncle when we checked traps that he set along a neighborhood stream) and after work one Sunday when I made one of those notches in my schedule where I give myself some relaxation time, this time it was to go see Venom at the theater on a Sunday during a run where between both jobs it will be three weeks without a day off, I made a quick veer into Target to get some mouse traps. I got the cheapies, the ones with the snap bar that breaks the mouses neck (fuck the humanitarian shit when deal with rodentia), went to dinner at Primanti's', saw the movie (which was okay, not great, not awful) I went home to set my traps. I say traps because just because I had sen one mouse does not mean there was only one. I baited traps with crunchy peanut butter, which was originally going to be for sandwiches for me, I guess this is what they call repurposing, i put one where i had previous had seen said mouse, and a few others around ye olde apartment.
I go to work the next day, come home and sure enough i had a mouse with a broken neck. I started singing "Let's Get It Started" just for that break your neck line, but as with real life trapping, where you catch one, you want to reset as soon as possible because usually there is more than one. Sure enough over the next week I have caught 4 thus far (don't doubt my trapping skills), but I am at the
point where I think maybe I should call an exterminator, rather than rely on my own substantial skills.
Anyway, that is all I have today. Once again, another fine example why I don't use Twitter, who can keep me to 180 characters.
Monday, October 15, 2018
Penguins @ Canadiens 10/13/18
Montreal 4 Pittsburgh 3 SO
Evgeni Malkin - 2 A
Justin Schultz left the game with what turned out to be a fractured leg.
Evgeni Malkin - 2 A
Justin Schultz left the game with what turned out to be a fractured leg.
Golden Knights @ Penguins 10/11/18
Pittsburgh 4 Las Vegas 2
Phil Kessel - Hat Trick (3 G)
Casey DeSmith had 35 SV in his first start this season for Pittsburgh
Phil Kessel - Hat Trick (3 G)
Casey DeSmith had 35 SV in his first start this season for Pittsburgh
Monday, October 8, 2018
Canadiens @ Penguins 10/06/18
Montreal 5 Pittsburgh 1
Riley Sheahan - G
With an assist, Kris Letang became the highest scoring defenseman in Penguins history (441 points)
Riley Sheahan - G
With an assist, Kris Letang became the highest scoring defenseman in Penguins history (441 points)
Saturday, October 6, 2018
Capitals @ Penguins 10/04/18
Pittsburgh 7 Washington 6 OT
Kris Letang - 2 G, A
Pittsburgh is 6-0 against Washington in season openers
Kris Letang - 2 G, A
Pittsburgh is 6-0 against Washington in season openers
Thursday, October 4, 2018
"Cock"-a-doodle-doo
So I am at work tonight and one of the things about that place is we get copies of the City Paper, a local, independent newsweekly. It isn't much of a paper, most of their most talented people have left for hopefully greener pastures, though one of my old radio partners in crime, Lynn Cullen, still does a daily podcast for them. None of that matters regarding today's story, which is what I saw in the paper.
Towards the back of the paper are the classifieds and the crossword puzzle. So i opened to the crossword puzzle, at work we sometimes treat it as a communal exercise, everybody adding their own intellect to it in hopes we can complete it. I was reading through the clues to see if any easy answers jumped out at me, and after that I am looking around the rest of the page, which had some classified ads as well as adds for phone sex numbers or party lines or whatever the kids are calling them theses days. There were a few help wanted ads as well, most of them were get rich working from home scam type things, but then i came to the For Sale ads, and this is where the comedy ensued. In there was this (none of the information here is changed, if it is good enough to be published in a paper, it can be published here as well).
For Sale
The 6-page autobiography of Frank Franc, "Young Man With Extremely Large 'Appendage'"
Send $10 To:
Frank Franc
P O Box 101804
Pittsburgh, PA 15237-9998
I could not stop laughing. 6 pages for an autobiography, such a short story for such a large appendage. And you know it couldn't be six written pages, there has to be a dick pic, just to prove the existence of this monstrosity he is packing. To be able to sum up your life in 6 pages though is quite sad. Especially when your life seems to be fully engrossed in your cock size. It's funny and saad at the same time. Assuming there is at least a page of penis pic(s), he better be Hemmingway-esque if he thinks I am dropping $2 a page for a cock and bull story.
While I will not be a member (these puns almost write themselves) of the group that buys this short story, it may make a great Christmas gift for someone on your list. Just don't buy me a copy.
Towards the back of the paper are the classifieds and the crossword puzzle. So i opened to the crossword puzzle, at work we sometimes treat it as a communal exercise, everybody adding their own intellect to it in hopes we can complete it. I was reading through the clues to see if any easy answers jumped out at me, and after that I am looking around the rest of the page, which had some classified ads as well as adds for phone sex numbers or party lines or whatever the kids are calling them theses days. There were a few help wanted ads as well, most of them were get rich working from home scam type things, but then i came to the For Sale ads, and this is where the comedy ensued. In there was this (none of the information here is changed, if it is good enough to be published in a paper, it can be published here as well).
For Sale
The 6-page autobiography of Frank Franc, "Young Man With Extremely Large 'Appendage'"
Send $10 To:
Frank Franc
P O Box 101804
Pittsburgh, PA 15237-9998
I could not stop laughing. 6 pages for an autobiography, such a short story for such a large appendage. And you know it couldn't be six written pages, there has to be a dick pic, just to prove the existence of this monstrosity he is packing. To be able to sum up your life in 6 pages though is quite sad. Especially when your life seems to be fully engrossed in your cock size. It's funny and saad at the same time. Assuming there is at least a page of penis pic(s), he better be Hemmingway-esque if he thinks I am dropping $2 a page for a cock and bull story.
While I will not be a member (these puns almost write themselves) of the group that buys this short story, it may make a great Christmas gift for someone on your list. Just don't buy me a copy.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Tim Hortons
As any self respecting person may know (which does not include Starbucks people, over priced coffee that tastes burnt), the standard order at Tim Horton's is a "double double", meaning two creams, two sugars. I have come to calling my Friday, Saturday portion of my weekly schedule my Tim Horton's portion of the week, since I double between both jobs both days (aka my double, double). Not that my schedules are set in stone, but they are at least reliably consistent. Occasionally i may only work one of the two jobs on either of those days, chances are most likely i will work both though. Or i will work one and catch a double on Wednesday also, so most weeks i have at least two doubles, usually three. So i get my schedule at the one job Saturday night, it looks like the previous week, Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, which means i will have my three doubles again, as well as a Timmy (double, double) on the weekend. So i emerge from my overnight slumber today, thinking i still have like 7 hours or so to make something to eat before going to work my overnight shift Tuesday night.
As luck would have it, at 4 pm the other job calls and asks if I know I am working tonight, which I in fact did not know. I was off when I checked the schedule on Saturday, but I made a mistake. Mind you i have been there 11 months, and my attendance has been pretty reliable (late twice, called off once), so it isn't like I mind working. But over the course of those 11 months i have been in the same position every shift. It is monotonous to be sure, but makes it easy when checking the schedule or so I thought. Turns out the switched my position for the first time, which is why i missed it on the schedule and why this week I have two Timmy's, Tuesday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday. I would complain but vacation is less than two months away and I am already starting to book things when i get there. So until vacation passes, Timmy me up!
As luck would have it, at 4 pm the other job calls and asks if I know I am working tonight, which I in fact did not know. I was off when I checked the schedule on Saturday, but I made a mistake. Mind you i have been there 11 months, and my attendance has been pretty reliable (late twice, called off once), so it isn't like I mind working. But over the course of those 11 months i have been in the same position every shift. It is monotonous to be sure, but makes it easy when checking the schedule or so I thought. Turns out the switched my position for the first time, which is why i missed it on the schedule and why this week I have two Timmy's, Tuesday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday. I would complain but vacation is less than two months away and I am already starting to book things when i get there. So until vacation passes, Timmy me up!
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Terminal
Well, I am back and it didn't take the better part of a year this time. With less than three months to go, I am officially putting my next trip to Vancouver on the clock. This year I am going over Christmas, in part because there is no use in celebrating Christmas in the states anymore. With my mom passing, the one person who I might have wanted to do sonething with at Christmas is gone. While i am sure I couuld meet up with some family members, who would have me at their familie's festivities, I would feel more like a third wheel than anything else. Since I am not willing to feel like an intruder, I figured I would go do something for the holidays. Besides, it will be my third season in Canada, having been in Vancouver for spring on my first trip and summer on my second. I am jokingly referring to it as Canistmas (Canadian Christmas), but knowing how beautiful that city is, I am curious how decked out it is for the holidays. After that, I am content to die.
I know, how horribly to end the last paragraph, right? In the grand scheme of things though, I've reached a point where some of my contemporaries have already died, friends and acquaintances alike. For me, I work two shit jobs that i pretty much despise, it sucks getting up in the morning, knowing at least part of your day is going to be miserable. And given I am closer to my expiration date than my birth date, mentally I am like the Pittsburgh Pirates most Septembers, just playing out the string. I have become quite content with my eventual passing, i just ask that when I do die, it is not made into some theatrical event, just dimp my body off a bridge into the river and everyone should get on with their business. This is not a cry for help, it just is what it is. I will not choose my brother's path and commit suicide, but I am getting to be too old to reinvent myself. The day to day nonsense of doing what I need to do to get to the next day is just tiresome and hardly rewarding in and of itself. Even the little nuggets i leave myself as things to look forward to, they just don't seem to be enough anymore.
I find most of my interactions with people these days to just be draining, as if I would be better off not having them to begin with. Who would have thunk I would do a blog entry this damn depressing, perhaps it is because I am typing from one of those jobs I loathe so much. But my overnights at work consist of chasing panhandlers off of our lot and selling blunts to potheads. Many of my liberal friends would question me on both, panhandlers are just down on their luck, which I admit may very well be true, but we are a gas station, not a fucking social program and I am not cool with people harassing my potential customers. Likewise I am sure there are plenty of people who will defend marijuana use, hey it's not addictive and yada, yada, yada. That doesn't pass the eyeball test I see every night. I don't ned a clinical study to formulate my opinion. When I shut down the store for about 15 minutes every night to run the daily reports and I have people beating on the door so they can buy their next blunt, I don't have the problem, they do.
Not that my other job is any better, where you basically have to fail the piss test to be employed. Not sure why they took me on, as I don't fit that description at all. The biggest problem I have there is when someone cries that they need more hours, usually it is mine that get cut. Seniority means nothing, even if I am not the most senior person there, after 10 months I have at least moved to the middle of the pack on that ladder, if it meant anything. Apparently it does not. And the ones that are there, it feels almost high school like clique-ish. I am too old to be trying to fit in with a bunch of youngsters whose life goal is getting from one high to the next.
Well, that was even more depressing, but i should get back to work now, selling blunts to the public. Oh joy!
I know, how horribly to end the last paragraph, right? In the grand scheme of things though, I've reached a point where some of my contemporaries have already died, friends and acquaintances alike. For me, I work two shit jobs that i pretty much despise, it sucks getting up in the morning, knowing at least part of your day is going to be miserable. And given I am closer to my expiration date than my birth date, mentally I am like the Pittsburgh Pirates most Septembers, just playing out the string. I have become quite content with my eventual passing, i just ask that when I do die, it is not made into some theatrical event, just dimp my body off a bridge into the river and everyone should get on with their business. This is not a cry for help, it just is what it is. I will not choose my brother's path and commit suicide, but I am getting to be too old to reinvent myself. The day to day nonsense of doing what I need to do to get to the next day is just tiresome and hardly rewarding in and of itself. Even the little nuggets i leave myself as things to look forward to, they just don't seem to be enough anymore.
I find most of my interactions with people these days to just be draining, as if I would be better off not having them to begin with. Who would have thunk I would do a blog entry this damn depressing, perhaps it is because I am typing from one of those jobs I loathe so much. But my overnights at work consist of chasing panhandlers off of our lot and selling blunts to potheads. Many of my liberal friends would question me on both, panhandlers are just down on their luck, which I admit may very well be true, but we are a gas station, not a fucking social program and I am not cool with people harassing my potential customers. Likewise I am sure there are plenty of people who will defend marijuana use, hey it's not addictive and yada, yada, yada. That doesn't pass the eyeball test I see every night. I don't ned a clinical study to formulate my opinion. When I shut down the store for about 15 minutes every night to run the daily reports and I have people beating on the door so they can buy their next blunt, I don't have the problem, they do.
Not that my other job is any better, where you basically have to fail the piss test to be employed. Not sure why they took me on, as I don't fit that description at all. The biggest problem I have there is when someone cries that they need more hours, usually it is mine that get cut. Seniority means nothing, even if I am not the most senior person there, after 10 months I have at least moved to the middle of the pack on that ladder, if it meant anything. Apparently it does not. And the ones that are there, it feels almost high school like clique-ish. I am too old to be trying to fit in with a bunch of youngsters whose life goal is getting from one high to the next.
Well, that was even more depressing, but i should get back to work now, selling blunts to the public. Oh joy!
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
There goes that year
It's been a while since i have been around these parts. Probably around a year or so, save for a slew of hockey videos that i posted which no one cares about. For the record, i never posted all of the last Penguins season, so I take full responsibilityfor last season's failure, if you call a playoff appearance and loss to the subsequent Stanley Cup champions as a failure. I imagine it is a Pittsburgh thing to call a playoff appearance a failure, especially when there are places likeNuffalo, Calgary, Florida, etc. who would be happy to make the playoffs regularly.
That being said, the Penguins success or lack thereof is not a reason for me to enter a period of lacking a desire to blog, rather it is a culmination of events that happened this time last year that has me in this relative funk. First and foremost would be my mother passing away, which has reached the one year anniversary now. Notsure such pccasions deserve an anniversary, but my mom was definitely one of the inspirations behind this page, evn though she never read it, or evn knew of it's existence. Many of the entries would be family stories or ideas that I ran by her in order to fleshout how I wanted to write about them. It would be so easy to pick up the phone and just talk to heronce something silly happened. I still find myself reaching for the phone on those occasions, only to put it back down.
Not that my mom was just my sounding board, far from it actually. While my father and I have always maintained a strained relationship, it was my mom who would step into the void, trying to fulfill both roles, trying to keep a roof over our heads. So there were many times when she would be working two jobs and I think that is where I got my own work ethic from. There were plenty of times where we would have to choose between groceries or bills, but somehow she always made it work. I rarely wanted for anything and usually went to bd with my belly full and rather quite content.
The second thing that happened was the owners at my last job opted to sell the business. I view it partially as a personal failure, if i would have been able to make the business work theway it had in the past, maybe they would have been content to keep it and continue to run it. I don't blame myself fully, because being a manager I did see some writing on the wall as it were. Cuts were made to staff and management until I was basically the only one doing most everything, Somehow we managed to run that dynamic for better than a year before not even that could maintain the status quo. While i was assured tye new owners agreed to keepme on after the sale, i knew that ouldnotbe the case. Any new owner would be skeptical with soneone theydon't know handling any portion of their finances. And what ithpught came to pass. Mind you itdidn't take long for me to find another job after I was let go, within two weeks of my termination I had two new jobs (which I still have btw) and while I don't care for either job all that much, I attribute it to that mom-like work ethic that icontinue to grind away.
The third thing was theending of a brief relationship I was involved in. It was with a former coworker from the above mentioned job, and while it only lasted for like three months, i had bought into her fora far greater time than that. Even when she left where we worked, I had went out of my way to get her Christmas Presents and a Halloween basket with candy for her son, it is something my mom had done in the past for other people (there she is rubbing off on me again), and I just wanted to make sure she and her son had something at the holidays. When this finally went from me pining after her to any sort of reciprication on her part would be last summer. And it started off well enough, until i realized that my presence was more as an enabler for her drug habit, than any sort of partnership. I held on as long as i could hoping things might change, though the user has to want that change for it to happenand she was content where she was in life, my tipping point, even after a long amount of fighting over the issue, came when my mom had her stroke, which led to her subsequent death, and i asked her to be there for emotional support. The fact I asked for any support at all, should tell those who know me just what my frame of mind was at that point. Instead I was rejected, she wanted to go party withher friends, which told me all I needed to know about how important I was.
So, my mom dying, being told the business was being soldand the end of my relationship all happened within about a 48 hr time frame and i have spent the last 365 days or so licking my emotional wounds more than blogging. I would like to get back to this at some point, to not let that period of time define my life (see Captain Sisko merting the prophets for the appropriate sci-fi reference), but i needed toget all this off mychest first, if i hadn't done so already.
That being said, the Penguins success or lack thereof is not a reason for me to enter a period of lacking a desire to blog, rather it is a culmination of events that happened this time last year that has me in this relative funk. First and foremost would be my mother passing away, which has reached the one year anniversary now. Notsure such pccasions deserve an anniversary, but my mom was definitely one of the inspirations behind this page, evn though she never read it, or evn knew of it's existence. Many of the entries would be family stories or ideas that I ran by her in order to fleshout how I wanted to write about them. It would be so easy to pick up the phone and just talk to heronce something silly happened. I still find myself reaching for the phone on those occasions, only to put it back down.
Not that my mom was just my sounding board, far from it actually. While my father and I have always maintained a strained relationship, it was my mom who would step into the void, trying to fulfill both roles, trying to keep a roof over our heads. So there were many times when she would be working two jobs and I think that is where I got my own work ethic from. There were plenty of times where we would have to choose between groceries or bills, but somehow she always made it work. I rarely wanted for anything and usually went to bd with my belly full and rather quite content.
The second thing that happened was the owners at my last job opted to sell the business. I view it partially as a personal failure, if i would have been able to make the business work theway it had in the past, maybe they would have been content to keep it and continue to run it. I don't blame myself fully, because being a manager I did see some writing on the wall as it were. Cuts were made to staff and management until I was basically the only one doing most everything, Somehow we managed to run that dynamic for better than a year before not even that could maintain the status quo. While i was assured tye new owners agreed to keepme on after the sale, i knew that ouldnotbe the case. Any new owner would be skeptical with soneone theydon't know handling any portion of their finances. And what ithpught came to pass. Mind you itdidn't take long for me to find another job after I was let go, within two weeks of my termination I had two new jobs (which I still have btw) and while I don't care for either job all that much, I attribute it to that mom-like work ethic that icontinue to grind away.
The third thing was theending of a brief relationship I was involved in. It was with a former coworker from the above mentioned job, and while it only lasted for like three months, i had bought into her fora far greater time than that. Even when she left where we worked, I had went out of my way to get her Christmas Presents and a Halloween basket with candy for her son, it is something my mom had done in the past for other people (there she is rubbing off on me again), and I just wanted to make sure she and her son had something at the holidays. When this finally went from me pining after her to any sort of reciprication on her part would be last summer. And it started off well enough, until i realized that my presence was more as an enabler for her drug habit, than any sort of partnership. I held on as long as i could hoping things might change, though the user has to want that change for it to happenand she was content where she was in life, my tipping point, even after a long amount of fighting over the issue, came when my mom had her stroke, which led to her subsequent death, and i asked her to be there for emotional support. The fact I asked for any support at all, should tell those who know me just what my frame of mind was at that point. Instead I was rejected, she wanted to go party withher friends, which told me all I needed to know about how important I was.
So, my mom dying, being told the business was being soldand the end of my relationship all happened within about a 48 hr time frame and i have spent the last 365 days or so licking my emotional wounds more than blogging. I would like to get back to this at some point, to not let that period of time define my life (see Captain Sisko merting the prophets for the appropriate sci-fi reference), but i needed toget all this off mychest first, if i hadn't done so already.
Monday, May 7, 2018
Penguins @ Flyers 01/02/2018
Pittsburgh 5 Philadelphia 1
Evgeni Malkin - 2 A
Sidney Crosby has 40 points in 29 career games in Philadelphia
Evgeni Malkin - 2 A
Sidney Crosby has 40 points in 29 career games in Philadelphia
Penguins @ Red Wings 12/31/2017
Detroit 4 Pittsburgh 1
Evgeni Malkin - G
Pittsburgh is 3-6 in games where they score 2 or fewer goals
Evgeni Malkin - G
Pittsburgh is 3-6 in games where they score 2 or fewer goals
Monday, April 2, 2018
Penguins @ Hurricanes 12/29/2017
Carolina 2 Pittsburgh 1
Brian Dumoulin - G
Tristan Jarry had 31 SV and an assist for Pittsburgh
Brian Dumoulin - G
Tristan Jarry had 31 SV and an assist for Pittsburgh
Blue Jackets @ Penguins 12/27/2017
Pittsburgh 5 Columbus 4 SO
Evgeni Malkin - G, 2 A
3 of Pittsburgh's 5 goals came in the third period
Evgeni Malkin - G, 2 A
3 of Pittsburgh's 5 goals came in the third period
Blue Jackets @ Penguins 12/21/2017
Pittsburgh 3 Columbus 2 SO
Patric Hornqvist, Evgeni Malkin - G each
Phil Kessel has a point in 9 straight home games
Patric Hornqvist, Evgeni Malkin - G each
Phil Kessel has a point in 9 straight home games
Monday, March 26, 2018
Penguns @ Avalanche 12/18/2017
Colorado 4 Pittsburgh 2
Chad Ruhwedel - G, A
Pittsburgh finished their road trip at 1-2
Chad Ruhwedel - G, A
Pittsburgh finished their road trip at 1-2
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Penguins @ Coyotes 12/16/2017
Pittsburgh 4 Arizona 2
Evgeni Malkin - G, A
Win snaps a 3 games losing streak for Pittsburgh
Evgeni Malkin - G, A
Win snaps a 3 games losing streak for Pittsburgh
Penguins @ Golden Knights 12/14/2017
Las Vegas 2 Pittsburgh 1
Ian Cole - G
Game was Pittsburgh's first ever in Las Vegas
Ian Cole - G
Game was Pittsburgh's first ever in Las Vegas
Avalanche @ Penguins 12/11/2017
Colorado 2 Pittsburgh 1
Phil Kessel - G
Game was the 500th consecutive sellout for Pittsburgh
Phil Kessel - G
Game was the 500th consecutive sellout for Pittsburgh
Maple Leafs @ Penguins 12/09/2017
Toronto 4 Pittsburgh 3
Dominik Simon - 2 A
Pittsburgh has scored a power play goal in each of their last 7 home games
Dominik Simon - 2 A
Pittsburgh has scored a power play goal in each of their last 7 home games
NY Islanders @ Penguins 12/07/2017
Pittsburgh 4 NY Islanders 3 OT
Kris Letang - 2 A
Pittsburgh blew a 3-1 third period lead before winning in OT
Kris Letang - 2 A
Pittsburgh blew a 3-1 third period lead before winning in OT
NY Rangers @ Penguins 12/05/2017
NY Rangers 4 Pittsburgh 3
Patric Hornqvist - G, A
Pittsburgh outshot New York 44-29
Patric Hornqvist - G, A
Pittsburgh outshot New York 44-29
Friday, March 2, 2018
Penguins @ Sabres 12/01/2017
Pittsburgh 4 Buffalo 0
Tristan Jarry - 34 SV
Sidney Crosby has 11 points in his last 5 games
Tristan Jarry - 34 SV
Sidney Crosby has 11 points in his last 5 games
Sabres @ Penguins 12/02/2017
Pittsburgh 5 Buffalo 1
Kris Letang - 2 A
Four different Penguins registered two points in the win (Letang, Hornqvist, Malkin, Crosby)
Kris Letang - 2 A
Four different Penguins registered two points in the win (Letang, Hornqvist, Malkin, Crosby)
Flyers @ Penguins 11/27/2017
Pittsburgh 5 Philadelphia 4 OT
Jake Guentzel - 2 G, A
Pittsburgh finished with 52 shots on goal
Jake Guentzel - 2 G, A
Pittsburgh finished with 52 shots on goal
Lightning @ Penguins 11/25/2017
Pittsburgh 5 Tampa Bay 2
Phil Kessel - 2 G, 2 A
Tristan Jarry recorded his first NHL win for the Penguins
Phil Kessel - 2 G, 2 A
Tristan Jarry recorded his first NHL win for the Penguins
Friday, February 16, 2018
Penguins @ Bruins 11/24/2017
Boston 4 Pittsburgh 3
Sidney Crosby - G, A
Pittsburgh hadn't lost 3 straight since 1/11-14
Sidney Crosby - G, A
Pittsburgh hadn't lost 3 straight since 1/11-14
Canucks @ Penguins 11/22/2017
Vancouver 5 Pittsburgh 2
Jake Guentzel - 2 G
Pittsburgh has just 4 wins in their past 12 games
Jake Guentzel - 2 G
Pittsburgh has just 4 wins in their past 12 games
Blackhawks @ Penguins 11/18/2017
Chicago 2 Pittsburgh 1
Matt Hunwick - G
Pittsburgh hasn't defeated Chicago since 3/30/14
Matt Hunwick - G
Pittsburgh hasn't defeated Chicago since 3/30/14
Penguins @ Senators 11/07/2017
Pittsburgh 3 Ottawa 1
Matt Murray 21 SV
Pittsburgh is 7-2-1 in their last ten games against Ottawa
Matt Murray 21 SV
Pittsburgh is 7-2-1 in their last ten games against Ottawa
Monday, January 1, 2018
Sabres @ Penguins 11/14/2017
Pittsburgh 5 Buffalo 4 OT
Connor Sheary - 2 G
Kris Letang recorded his 400th career NHL point in the win
Connor Sheary - 2 G
Kris Letang recorded his 400th career NHL point in the win
Penguins @ Predators 11/11/2017
Nashville 5 Pittsburgh 4 SO
Kris Letang - 2 A
Pittsburgh as lost 4 of its last 5 games
Kris Letang - 2 A
Pittsburgh as lost 4 of its last 5 games
Penguins @ vCapitals 11/10/2017
Washington 4 Pittsburgh 1
Phil Kessel - G
Sideny Crosby has gone 10 games without a goal
Phil Kessel - G
Sideny Crosby has gone 10 games without a goal
Coyotes @ Penguins 11/07/2017
Pittsburgh 3 Arizona 1
Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin - G, 2 A each
Matt Murray is unbeaten in his last 13 home starts
Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin - G, 2 A each
Matt Murray is unbeaten in his last 13 home starts
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