Howdy

Not much has been going on around here. After Christmas seems so anti - climatic. Such a build up for months, then, POOF, it's over with and you wonder what all the fuss was about. The hours are back to normal at work, thankfully! I was really getting fed up with such un-necessary hours. We were never busy enough to justify opening or closing so much later than the rest of the mall. The department manager is a joke. A horrible leader in every respect. I'm not worried about it. I do my job and go home. They hired her, they can deal with the fallout. I've been called so many times since she has been hired because of lack of coverage in the schedule. Their problem, not mine. I do what I can, when I can, as best I can. I'm not working all those days in a row again to cover her mistakes. She can work them.

An old friend of mine asked me to do free consulting on a political website. I agreed. We have emailed back and forth and should met sometime next week. I laid out my ideas to make it more appealing and maintain it's focus. They have someone else to actually do the website with the proper software. I would have had to decline otherwise. Ideas I can do. Implementing, not so much with my current computer and software.

I went to a New Year's Eve party at the home of one of the old high school gang. She has just moved into a new place with her new boyfriend. He seems like a nice guy and makes her the happiest I've seen her in quite sometime. More power to them. It was a blast as always. They are all straight. I'm like the token gay at these shindigs. Of course I'm always asked to bring someone, which if I had someone, I would. They are cool like that. Maybe the next one, I'll have someone.

I've chatted on the phone and by email with Richard, the handsome fella that left Macy's. He is so cool. Wish he was closer. Maybe he will move back or at least visit. He is so my type. And just a lot of fun and full of surprises. I like that.

Tommy and I chat as well. He is trip. I enjoy the heck out of him. I really don't see it going anywhere though, as much as I wish it would. He is bummed out about his unemployment from his full time job. So sometimes he is really down or doesn't want to talk or socialize. I fully understand that. I make sure to stay in touch regularly with him to try to keep him out of funk. I got to work with him a couple of days ago. He is so much fun to be around. All I wanna do is hug him! Not good at work, but I do find ways to touch him. A string here. Lint there. Or squeeze past a little closer to him than I should. I'm bad.

My mother ordered a hospital bed for my father. He wasn't sleeping very well in a flat bed, so now he has one that will incline. It seems to have helped. The doctor also gave him a nebulizer which has done an outstanding job with his ability to breathe better. I know the improvements are basically short lived. It is only a matter of time before he will have to visit the hospital because he can't breathe. I dread that phone call, but it will come. I've braced myself for the inevitable. He is still trying to get things organized and finished up so the old place can be sold. He still ask me about the house plans and has proposed something a bit bigger than originally planned. I think he is worried it won't get done if something happens to him before then. The trust they set up will take care of it, whenever the time comes. I told him not to worry. As much as I want out of this place, his health and well being means more.

Not much really going on here. Same stuff, different day. Different year. There is still plenty of time left to see how the year turns out for me and the family. I can wait. I'm good at that.