A new staff member started work today, so we did our traditional thing and took her out to lunch as a group. We try to get to know new people during this first-day lunch. What we learned from her: she is an only-child; she is not a particularly raving fan of spicy food; she likes shopping; she lives in far north Dallas county and is not fond of Oak Cliff, where her mother lives, nor Irving, where she grew up. That's not much, but it's all we know. If I were interviewing someone to be a friend, I would keep looking. But I'm not. And I wasn't.
I've been reading lots of blogs of late that are written by fifty-something and sixty-something people who live in the northwest. These are erstwhile hippies who seem to have maintained many of their youthful principles as they have aged. And they seem genuinely interested in the world around them and...gasp...they come across as intelligent people! Would that I had moved to the Pacific Northwest years ago, just after college, and pursued graduate work and an academic position in a university. Well, I didn't. No use crying over spilt milk. But I do so enjoy the bloggers; I wonder where to find such interesting people in Dallas.
DirecTV just called to gush over me for making the decision to select them over Comcast a few months ago and to offer me six months of Showtime free (or a free receiver), if only I would commit to a year of DirecTV. I have no intention of going back to Comcast, now or ever, so I readily agreed and Showtime is now switched on until December 19.
Today's lunch for the new employee left my wife feeling very stuffed...so much so that she allowed as she was not interested in dinner tonight. More than that, she wants to go for a walk with me in a bit! Happy days! So, at around 8:30, when the temperature drops to about 90 degrees, we will go for a walk together!
Our house has a small flagstone patio in back, with 2" thick flagstones setting atop a sand base...no concrete pad. Decomposed granite fills the sometimes large spaces between flagstones and has a habit of encouring weeds to grow between the stones. I invited a local contractor out to the house on Friday to give me a bid on resetting the flagstone on a concrete pad and putting mortar between the stones. I also asked about extending the flagstone so there would be a 25 foot path from the patio to what may one day become a pad for a spa. The first piece would cost $3300, the second $2300. I informed the contractor that I would be planting dwarf mondo grass between the stones and creating my own gravel pathway. $5600! I was thinking maybe $750 for fixing the patio and another $1200 for the walkway...maybe I am stuck in the 60s.
My middle-age craziness keeps popping up. I have been drooling over small sports convertibles lately. This is not me. Sure, it would be fun to drive a BMW Z3 or Z4 (I think...I haven't driven one), but I don't need one. But still I keep looking longingly at them as they zip by, the drivers looking carefree and happy with the wind blowing in their hair. Then, if I happen to drive by a tractor dealership, I decide, no, I want a tractor...a compact, yet powerful, tractor with a front loader, a back hoe, a mid-mount mower, and a post hole digger attachment. I envision myself on my land in the country, working the land and building a place that will be comfortable, quiet, draped in shade, and awash in colorful flowers and the ocassional meat goat.
It appears psychosis has crept in on top of the middle-age craziness.
1 comment:
If you're talking about me, I earned just enough merit badges to be a Star Scout, but couldn't get the minimum to be a hippie. My accounting degree permanently tarnished me.
I think your instincts are serving you well. The Z3 would definitely be a waste of money. The goat, however, might be worth every penny!
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