Aaaaand I’m still retired.

Well, I have to admit, this has been pretty good so far.  My last day “on the books” was spent north of the Cheddar Curtain at a Ryan Adams concert in Madison and it was just outstanding.  Great concert going experience with excellent people.  And remember kids, live music is always better live.  Also, I highly recommend the venue; Breese Stevens Field, as a place to see live music.  They do it right there.  And I’m actually blasting the setlist through my headphones as I write (brief pause while I crank up the volume) today’s missive (And I wonder why I have hearing loss).

Well.  I was going to insert a lovely picture of the lovely concert here.  Instead after no less than 45 minutes of error messages and a fruitless search of Word Press’s site trying to find some way other than tagging onto someone else’s issues, I decided instead to use this space to launch a scathing, profanity-laced tirade, because, why not?

So, to the (expletive deleted) at (expletive deleted) Word Press; Listen you smug, self-satisfied (expletive deleted), YOU may feel an email is not the proper way to answer someone’s (expletive deleted) question, but I, in fact, feel it’s perfectly (expletive deleted) appropriate sometimes.  I thought your (expletive deleted) site was supposed to be (expletive deleted) user (expletive deleted) friendly.  Friendly?  My (expletive deleted)(expletive deleted)!!!  The main reason I chose to use your piece of (expletive deleted) site was that it was simple to use.  Simple to use.  I got your (expletive deleted) simple to use right (expletive deleted) here.  If your site is so simple to use, why then, if I did (expletive deleted) nothing, NOTHING, different on my end do I suddenly get (expletive deleted) HTTP (expletive deleted) error messages?  Explain that (expletive deleted).  Go ahead (expletive deleted), I’m (expletive deleted) waiting…

Ohhh that feels so much better.  Sometimes you just need to vent, amirite?

Despite some of the recent events (pour one out to a great dog) I’ve been through and some of the normal aggravations dealing with lenders/mortgage people/home inspections/insurance/getting ready to move a thousand miles away, I feel like I’m in a really good place right now.  Maybe the best I’ve been in a long time.  For a variety of reasons, most of which I won’t go into here, but if you know, you know.

So… you know…

Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

Anyway.  Yeah, I’m encountering a hurdle or two along the way, but nothing ridiculous. I think.  Probably nothing the folks that have gone before me haven’t experienced already.

Two cool, unrelated side notes; well only one to go on here, although after checking with the particulars involved I’d really like to put something up here about the other.  I’ll leave one as a teaser… But the one I can comment on now; a few months back, at one of our meetings for the AFFI Labor History Committee, I was asked by Jim Schrepfer (President of the Illinois Association of Retired Firefighters) if I’d like to write a column for the biannual (not biennial, I looked it up to make sure I had it right.  So back off grammar police wannabes) retired guy newsletter (not its real name) and, of course, I was thrilled at the offer.  Jim was happy with the result and I must say I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out too.  Maybe I’ll put it up here in a few months, I just feel like they should get a little exclusivity, you know?

Ok, I’ve frittered away enough of my day with this hot mess, time to find more mischief.

Peace.