I had my brother here over the three-day weekend from Friday night to Monday night.  By the third day, I was losing patience.  I was going to shower him on Sunday night, but he had an attack of defecation.  Moday morning it came when I was showering him.  Otherwise, we shopped on Saturday.

Monday night I went to bed early, so I'm up in the middle of the night.  I now face the reality that I alone am running the house, an increase in expenses of $700 a month!  On the other hand, I am quite free of responsibility for anyone else.  I must cut expenses to accommodate it.

I suppose ths week I'll have to arrange my mental goals, and try not to think of my triumph the last time this leap year had the same pattern.  Wednesday will be the toughest, for it was Wednesday, 3 September 1980 when I began my graduate teaching assistantship at the Department of History at Penn State.  I was about to have the best trip of my life, and it's been downhill since then.

15:40

In politics, I've avoided the pick of John McCain worthy of Geraldine Ferraro.  He picked an unqualified govenor of Alaska named Sarah Palin.  Michael Palin of Monty Python's Flying Circus might have been better.  With virtually no national experience and no real help to the ticket, McCain showed senility on this pick.  The attempt to grab supporters of Hillary Clinton is rather insulting.  In addition, she's involved in an executive investigation and has an unmarried and preganant daughter.  Apparently the hypocrites think government should get into others' privacy, but not theirs.  Tokenism and senility reign.

 

Meanwhile the Mets are in Milwaukee and the Phillies in Washington.  Two game separate them, but the Mets have been improving incrementally.  Aaron Heilman did blow one save in Miami, but the bullpen has been getting more outs lately.

 

Wed 3 Sept  14:47

1980 on this date comes in and out, the week of triumph in my adult life twentyeight years ago.  Nothing else seemed to matter, although the result of the presidential election took years to affect my life to its detriment.

I awoke at 4 AM and finally went downstairs while the dog stayed in my bedroom.  I spent eonough time online and on Irish before it was time to get up at six o'clock.  I walked to work -- this time all the way -- for the second time this week.  On the way,  I thought of ways to cut costs.

 

Fri 5 Sept  14:06

It was thirty years ago I began living alone.  Never did I think Reaganomics would shrink that time by two thirds.  Here I am almost four weeks into living alone, hardly realizing it.  It has been eighteen and a half years since I lived alone.  Hopefully my time has returned as I turn toward the remainder of my life.

I suppose I should begin by taking over the payments for oil.  The electric bill didn't drop much.  Usage did.  I have nowhere else to save money.

Back in 1978, I entered my former motelroom that afternoon, never suspecting I'd be there nearly six years, nor anticipating the struggle to stay there.  Nonetheless, I had fewer burdens, intellectual stimulation, and looked forward to a future.

 

Sat 6 Sept  19:30

My début at WDFM on the air occurred acidentally when no one showed up to do Fresh Trax on that evening in 1980.  "Bedtime for Bonzo" played the previous night.  Little did I know that Ronald Reagan would blighten the rest of my adult life.

I have begun cutting back on expenses.  I just put on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", and I cannot fathom why I ever watched that show -- or anything else on television in the early '70's.  I should have spent the time on schoolwork!

The oil technician came just past eleven.  I discovered all the junk in the basement when I tried to change filters.  We need filters for the furnace.  I cleaned most of the ducts.

 

Sun 7 Sept  19:15

After Hanna pelted us with rain yesterday, it was quite pleasant today.  Water didn't leak into the cellar, but I have some large branches to cart to the woods.

I was up at 5AM and went to Mass but nowhere else.  The Gospel concerned pointing out our duty to inform others of evil.  Besides the obvious problem of defining evil, the other problem remains pointing out evil to the prelates themselves!

Evenings in September are so enjoyable.  I sit here on the deck in reminiscent of decades ago when I went back to Penn State.  I seem stuck in the mode of lying in a field as the sun sets.

 

Mon 8 Sept  14:15

Intellectual stimulation occurred on Friday when I was reviewing dienes.  I realized that the bends of the alkenes probably led to rings as a matter of geometry.  Such an insight never occurred when I took the course in 1976.

Last night I recorded for Job Center why I wanted another job.  I even found one at Comcast.  I must begin searching every day.  I should take a dayoff to get more done at home.

 

Wed 10 Sept  14:10

After several futile attempts yesterday, I talked to the nurse this morning.  My brother is in Frankford Bucks for pneumonia and on antibiotics.  I plan on visiting tomorrow evening when I go to Toastmasters.  I plan on giving a speech as well.

 

 

 

 

Thu 11 Sept  14:24  Schrub's great failure, 2001

Last night I viewed more cartoons from the early sixties.  I noticed in Beany and Cecil that Beany eats sinistrally in one adventure.  Cecil has no arms and no end in any frame!  Dishonest  John often calls Cecil a "tall toad" from which one of my enemies probably stole in 1965 to use on me in the second grade!

The relatives remain mum (until Saturday), but my uncle went through an operation on the liver to excise cancer.  No one had told me.

I am busy tonight with Toastmasters at Frankford Bucks.  I will be visting as well, so the dog will be alone tonight.

 

Fri 12 Sept  19:45

I spent much of the day on the internet -- and it disconnected in the afternoon because I had canceled the cable.  After produce and groceries, I found out that Cornwells Pharmacy is no more.  I must fill my prescription elsewhere.

It rained this afternoon, and my nose has been running all day,  after inconvenient bleeding.  I spent little for the week, and I didn't even put out garbage.  I suppose every other week would do, maybe two bags once a month.  Still, there is much to throw out.

 

Sat 13 Sept  20:48

I spent all day alone with the dog.  It will be a long time before I can clean out the house.  Back to Beany and Cecil, I realize that I have more in common with Cecil than I'd like to admit.  While those cartoons are stimulating thoughts of my early life for an autobiography, I also find deep, ingrained habits.  I noticed that Beany and Cecil actually captures the spirit of the Space Age, along with the progressive movement at the time.  How ironic that while we looked forward to the twentyfirst century then, we are stuck in the nineteenth now!

 

Mon 15 Sept  15:30

I found a spelling error in one of the adventures of Beany and Cecil.  In Cecil Gets Careless", Dishonest John has a "Villian Kit".  There were a few episodes of the "Dick Tracy Show as well as of "Top Cat" on You Tube. 

Despite being out a day, I am a few hours behind right now.  I should catch up with the bills tomorrow.  The vendor came late, so I had little chance of saving the expired food.

I called PathMark to transfer my prescription only to find that they too are closing the pharmacy.  I must stop at Acme once I get stamps.

My sister called late yesterday while I was bathing to give me a list of things to do.  I just singed up for building a client base starting Wednesday, so I don't have much time this week to pack stuff for Mom.

Another weekend passed with little done.  Today I nally canceled the housephone, and I transferred the primary physician for my brother.  Otherwise the weekend progressed like the Mets' blowing bullpen.

I sent the jewelry and identification to my sister, but I neglected the money for my middle nephew's birthday.  I'm putting together another manila envelope of proof of income.  I hope to send it out on Wednesday.

Last night I had time only to catch up on biology noes and the calendar for October.  I'm walking to work today and tomorrow, so I on't have much time tonight or tomorrow night.

 

Tue 23 Sept  14:43

I was so tired and headachy last night that I went to bed right before 8:30.  I slept until 5:45, a total of over nine hours.  Naturally, my sister  had to call at 9:11, then complained that I didn't answer.  For the first time, I worried that I cannot cut enough expenses to pay all the bills!

 

Thu 25 Sept  14:54

I spent the afternoon mostly at nome after the meeting at 2 PM.  It was eventless, and I even had time to fill a bag at the library.  I gathered eight of nine surveys of various parts of the world in 2006.  I missed only Latin America.  Now I can throw out all the older ones, except Latin America.

I almost finished my calendar while You Tube brought me courses on biology and differential equations from MIT.  The first lecture in biology I understood, but the first one in defferential equations, I must go through again.  I hope to gain a new perspective and insight on this subject.

My brother has returned to his former room at Statesman.  The question of power of attorney eludes us.  My sister wants the financial information of our mother by Saturday, a little late to inform me for sendinby mail!

The polls finally show a movement to Obama.  I checked the internet for 1980, and it wasn't until the only presidential debate on Tuesday, 28 October when the electoral moved to the god Reagan.  My mentor in the History Department of Penn State still had thought the NewDeal coalition would push Carter to reelection, which seemed the case at the time of the debate.  Herer the movement is five weeks earlier, despite the underlying racism.

 

Sun 28 Sept  15:20

I decided to stay home after I delivered a manila envelope to the post office on Friday.  Despite the extra expense to send it overnight, it turned out that I had rushed in vain.  Like two weeks ago, I have no reason to leave the house.  In addition, it rained all weekend, so my final mowing reamins postponed.

Yesterday the University of Wyoming intoduced a bench honoring Matthew Wayne Shepard.  This event alters what I had in mind for a stamp.

Barak Obama had moved ahead while the Republican ticket languished   Then the first debate occurred Friday night when I went to bed early. Both nights this weekend I awoke in the night and wandered downstairs before I could get back to sleep.  I preer continuous sleep.

18:57

I should have bet the house that the Mets woud miss the postseason.  A combination of a constipated offense and a blowing bullpen ended the last game at Shea.  

 

Tue 30 Sept  14:27

Yesterday showed a few things went wrong, save he vendor's deposit in the garbage of three salads, three pints milk, two sandwiches , two hoagies, two bagels, one hamburger, and one beans and franks.  The vendor throws away any food past the expiration date.  should drop my food bill this week.

I visited once I came home, but there is little to relate at Statesman.  I am about to take on expenses next month while I cut others.

I've returned to searches on the internet for jobs, but the results don't encourage.  Apparently working in a mailroom doesn't even pay the meager wages I earn currently.  I retired at 8:30 last night, so I was up at 4:30 this morning.  I looked at pharmaceuticals, but those jobs were managerial.