:: My Reality ::

:: Saturday, February 15, 2003 ::

Heading into the homestretch at the Library on Saturday, last hour between 1:00 and 2:00. Then I'm heading to Macy's. They are having a phenomenal 'Going Out of Business Sale' because they are really, truely going out of business, having been bought out by the competiion, Rich's. I found cashmere sweaters at $41.99, 80% off! Shirts for $9.99, even $7.99. I'm telling you, if you live in a town with a Macy's that is closing, GO! (WomanChild, are you listening?)

It's warming up down here, no really cold weather in a couple 'a weeks. It's the middle of February and I'm already thinking about fertilizing the lawn, and putting out some colorful plants to ring the yard. We'll have a one or two more cold snaps, but the really long spells of temps in the twenties and thirties are past us. No more bundling up in big coats...just sweaters and shirts for the next two months. No snow this year down here. It came as far south as Chattanooga (75 miles north) and the North Ga. Mountains (about the same mileage) but nothing in Atlanta. March is a good time for a freak snow here, with Gulf moisture overriding cold air in place. We shall see. I do love the snow, you know:

Yes it's Snowing
White stuff everywhere
Schools are closing
Travelers beware!

:: Tom 1:41 PM [+] ::
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Many years ago, when I was having a scary visitation, I turned not to the Bible for comfort but to John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress.' When the storm appears overwhelming, there will always appear a life ring. After struggling all his life to know God, St. Thomas Aquinas (for whome I was named), received a message while in prayer and never uttered another word. He was struck dumb by the realization that words could never explain the understanding given to him by God. Some accounts of the philosopher's later life only say that he went mad. Philosophy is an attempt to explain the nature of and relationship between, the World, the Self and God. It is my belief that there is more to it than just saying they are all the same. There is remarkable interplay between these three. Events, Feelings, Force of Will, charge My Reality with an electric hum. The essences of ozone, incense and sweat mingle in the air. Some of my friends focus and order Nature to proceed this way and that. Others are swept away by their own arrogance. A prescious few make us laugh and love life. I am dazzled by the flow of the Universe. The Ten Thousand Things march in steady procession while real drama is played out in our hearts. I love you all, this the fourteenth day of February, Two Thousand and Three..

:: Tom 3:37 PM [+] ::
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Wearing: Dark wine cotton pullover with strategically placed broad black stripe that runs up to my chest then stops ($45.00 at Rich's/Macy's I got it on sale for $9.99) Gray cotton Old Navy pants ($15, originally $23)

Listening to: Sinatra! He's the best. And Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra...well it doesn't get any better.

I was in an accident yesterday. Fifth accident in eight months, only one was my fault. This time I was sitting at a stop light, waiting for the arrow. This woman in a Mazda van rear-ended me. I'm getting use to this. I tell my self that with a 45 minute 20 mile commute each morning and afternoon, that I'm just natually going to be in some accidents. But this is ridiculous! No one was hurt. The offending driver's van had no brakes! She said that had I not been there she would have ended up driving through the intersection and being hit broadside. She was right. BTW my Guardian Angel is still with me. She hinted strongly three times for me to try alternate ways to work but I was too pigheaded to listen. Oh well, I saved the woman's life. Kind of like Vehicle Jesus...you know, I gave my rear bumper so that you would live. Speaking of The Christ, I ran accross this site and laughed and laughed.

:: Tom 9:29 AM [+] ::
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Wearing: Dark Olive polyester slacks ($40 from Macy's, a Christmas Gift from my lovely wife) and wheat colored cotton knit polo shirt ($12.00, on sale at Kohl's Dept. Store).

Listening to: Stephen Grossman, acoustic guitarist, on "Black Melodies on a Clear Afternoon," which happens to be the finest collection of finger picking Country Blues available. It's thirty four cuts of clean, rapid ragtime guitar, played on a very woody Martin Triple Ought 18. I've mastered 3 out of the 34 on the Taylor, one called 'Blues Ain't Dry' another called 'Addies' Blues.'. The third is 'St. Louis Tickle' a different version of which I learned 35 years ago from a Dave Van Ronk record. My Taylor is not as mellow and woody as the Martin but you can hear latent power and depth in the Taylor unknown in the little triple ought. I truely cannot do the Taylor justice yet. It's kind of like going down the freeway at 80MPH and realizing that you've got twice the pedal left and the speedometer can go up to 160. It's scary!

Speaking of music, my friend Dale is back in South Carolina and is planning a birthday blowout Feb. 21 and 22 (any excuse for a two day party) I will surely be there along with all the old home folks including Pam and Don (two CD's so far) and maybe Pam's brother Dave Holder (absolutely the best guitarist I know), Diane (owner of Savannah's Restaurant in West Columbia), maybe Barbara (long time friend and owner of The Joyful Alternative Boutique in Columbia's Five Points District), Jim McMahon and his wife (who are amused to find themselves wealthy after all these years of poverty), jazz keyboardist Dickie Chappel (permanently stoned), Margie (who I dueted with on 'Honkey Tonk Women' back in 1975 and it sent chills up my spine) and whomsoever else in the state of South Carolina who can play an instrument or carry a tune. This is a precourser to the annual gathering of the Tribe which takes place on July 5 each year in North Carolina. We may not be able to stop this war but we can damn sure throw a party! Princess, Ariel and Gina, take the Concord over cause the vibes are good for this one!

:: Tom 3:20 PM [+] ::
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OK, just stole a really clever cartoon from Captain Mandrake. Typical American's view of the Middle East! The Captain has lots to say vis-a-vis the way America is perceived by the world. He gets political like most male bloggers yet doesn't take himself that seriously and you shouldn't either!

:: Tom 2:44 PM [+] ::
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Just had lunch (plain hot dog, greasy fries, coke) with two old friends Kathy and John from ten years ago at the Environmental Protection Agency. It was great fun as we remenisced about old and new times. Glad to be in touch with such good friends after so many years!

:: Tom 12:57 PM [+] ::
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Wearing: Dark grey cotton pullover from Old Navy ($6.00, on sale last June, I bought four of them, different colors) and faded olive cotton slacks from Target (my favorites are the cotton slacks, khaki and olive, they're very comfortable), about $20. If you have read "American Psycho" by Bret Eston Ellis, you'll recognize where I'm headed with this. "American Psycho" is stylistic gem which personifies the 80's excesses and alienation as a serial killer. The character ultimately tries to confess but noone believes him. It's a story of total loss of self identity and transition into depravity (good music, though). Also "Love Minus Zero" by the same author, paints a bleak picture of youth, drugs, and sex in opulent Southern California (the Valley). Let me warn you, Ellis does not hold back.

Work: Took care of about 10 boxes of records, classifying, identifying, etc, preparing them for off-site storage. Then cleared the hallways of boxes of records that people thought they would need but they haven't touched them is six months, so I convinced them to allow me to transfer them off site. Area looks a lot cleaner now.

Also getting a better understanding of the record keeping in the HR Office where I'm helping out as advisor. Planning a presentation in about 3 weeks for the boss to illustrate filing systems there.

:: Tom 12:53 PM [+] ::
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I'm getting some cool ideas from some other sites. Roo says that I should do a "comments" portion after each post. That comes from a download to my template which I think I can do. Also Caitlan has this neat link on every post that says "one year ago" and it takes you back to her posts from exactly one year ago. I think that's really neat. Don't know how to program that. I'll bet that if I ask her, she'll tell me how! She is a really sweet girl. Speaking of which, all of my links are to female authored sites! What's up with that? Well I'll tell you. Most of the male authored sites are are political commentary or they are just posts of links to articles from other sites with a one line comment. How much effort does that take. Plus there's no meat, no personal story that I can follow to find out about a guys life. Click on my site and withing a few posts you know all about my soap opera! Anyway here's to all the girls who are floating my boat!!!

PS here's 100 things about me.

:: Tom 2:13 PM [+] ::
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