The Big E

Butter sculpture at the Big E fair in Agawam, Mass.



Carolyn came up from Long Island and we we saw a terrifying cross section of America at the Big E (Eastern States Expo.) It was the best and worst New England has to offer. We saw 1,000 pound pig. They sold fried veggies and deep fried butter on a stick. We even saw the crazy burger; a hamburger that used a donut as a bun. I was able to get a vodka martini in a plastic cup to go. We went on a giant slide and a roller coaster. It was a trip.

Grey but Restless No More

VIERNES
12:49

Restless no more! Going to do some computer work for Stamford and then get some food for tonight.

Mas musica: District 97 - Trouble with Machines. 

I read about these guys in Prog Rock Magazine. They are damned interesting for a small time prog band. John Wetton and Bill Bruford have said nice things about them and Wetton is on a song on the new album. Their lead singer, Leslie Hunt, was a 2007 American Idol finalist. And then she joined up with these guys, who are very Liquid Tension Experiment /Dream Theater influenced. Yet Hunt brings an Indie influence. She's got quite a voice. One thing i always hated about Dream Theater was their lead singer's impossibly polished voice. Prog vocals should be a bit on or a bit rough. But with a woman singing, it has a bit of a different vibe (me like woman sing pretty.)

13:41

Did some online training for UNH. They have a system for grading and advancing. It seems like a good one. It was interesting and valuable, but it was a head full. I have 2 hours left. 

It been pouring all night and all morning. At some point the TV bleeped an alert, and the damned thing was off. I know if i had turned the TV on it would have told me about storm and possibly tornado warnings. But i still have one ear and can look out the window, so i already knew.

Restless

11:38

What makes you think you're the one
Who can laugh without cryin'?
What makes you think you're the one
Who can live without dyin'?
-Fleetwood Mac

Class at 14:15, then it's the weekend. 

I am restless. Must be the inactivity of having gout. 

Carolyn is coming up this weekend.

Up? NJ was always south when folks came to visit. It's a brave new world, i guess.

Musica for a restless life;
Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion
Tusk - Fleetwood Mac
A Life Within A Day - Squackett
Stadium Arcadium (disc 1) - Red Hot Chilli Peppers 
Somewhere in South America - Steve Hackett
Hyperborea - Tangerine dream
Open - Stick Men

Okay. Fuck it. Shake it off. Send out these two CV's. Vaccum, shower, eat, drive, teach, drive and then home.

It's not that funny, is it?
-Fleetwood Mac

19:58

It's the weekend. No classes to teach manana but I'll do a few hours of reports and training that i'll get paid for. Then 
Carolyn comes for the weekend. Woo hoo!

VIERNES

00:46

Whew! Mum's heavy duty vacuum hadn't been clean out in years and was much the worse for the pounds of cat litter it had eaten. But i fixed it and now my room is finally clean. 

The Washington Natioanls won again and moved closer to clinching the division title. 

Fifty Days

17:05

I've lived in the United States for 50 days now. I am in the midst of a massive cleaning / personalization of my room. Much dusting and such to be done. This room has not been properly cleaned since the turn of the millenium. I've never actually lived here as more than a guest for a few weeks in the summer. 

A man needs a maid
-Neil Young

More music to clean by;
The Tokyo Tapes (disc 1)- Steve Hackett
Stadium Arcadium (disc 1) - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Music to chill by:
Ghosts on Magnetic Tape - Base Communion
Underwater Sunlight - Tangerine Dream
Autumn in Hiroshima - Tangerine Dream

Mully, mum's cat, is rolled up in the covers of my bed snoring. He snores like a madman.   

19:52

Closer..., ever close to cleanliness. 

Watching the Washington Nationals as they try to get one game closer to clinching their first NL East Title. 

FIFTY DAYS OF REPATRIATION, HIGHLIGHTS:

“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent, but if we can come to terms with this indifference, then our existence as a species can have genuine meaning. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.”

― Stanley Kubrick

• Seeing family and friends and their much grown up kids
• Teaching in the USA 
• Everyone speaks English
• Portland, ME with Sarah
• Long Island with Carolyn
• Baseball and American football
• Kayaking
• Barbecuing
• Getting my MacBook fixed
• Having the Toyota again
• A fresh start

in the flow

14:49

A rare afternoon off as the highschool only has a half day. That is progressing well. BIG difference being with children again. 11 of them. They have the attention span of nats and free base hand held devices. Plus they have just had a FULL DAY of school and now that have to practice English. But they are learning and we are moving along nicely. I help them with their homework as well, which allows me to address their different levels.

And I am really enjoying this upper level at UNH that i've subbed all week. They have a level closer to the sudents i had worked with in Madrid.

Musica;

Shepherd's Bush, London 31 - 10 - 11 - Steven Wilson
Clockwork Angels - Rush
The Power to Believe - King Crimson
Live '75 at the Rockhopper - Fleetwood Mac
Happy with what you have to be happy with - King Crimson

bridging

>The Seattle Seahawks win a wild, badly officiated Monday night game on a Hail Mary pass, beating the Packers 14 - 12. It was bizarre as hell. 

>Got 4 classes at UNH manana and then off to Stamford. 

>The gout is getting much better. I want to throw my cane out the window. I don't need it as much anymore.

>I never sleep anymore. Must be the predinose. I'm always kind of wired at  night. Soon i'll be back to normal, whatever that is.

The boys are back

Still hobbling around, but less so.  Gout is a putada. 

Saw my old friends, The Adults, play agreat gig in Fairfield last night, the town we all went to college in all those years ago.

The pool is winterized, thankfully. It's all covered and ready for winter. It was very chilly this morning. 

I Skyped with Maria today. That was fun. Otherwise just prepping for classes this week and watching some American football. 

the doctor is in the house

The doctor diagnosed me with goat today. I started taking prednisone and it's already getting better. I hope to be free of my 'doctor house cane' by Sunday. It was incredibly painful but getting better. My diet is toatlly different than the last 5 years so that could be it too. Adjustments can be made.

WTF?

The doctor told me she thinks i have gout! It fucking hurts. I'm not an 18th century sailor! What next, scurvy?

I have to take a cane to teach today and I'm not even doing my Gene Kelly impression!

Tormentas

So I try to say
Goodbye my friend
I'd like to leave you with something warm
But never have I been a blue calm sea
I have always been a storm
always been a storm
-Fleetwood Mac

Big tropical storm coming, but it's Bender Tuesday! SO bite my shiny metal ass!

Big Trouble in Little China

It seems lika a dream
you've got me hypnotized
-Fleetwood Mac

Went golfing with Mum and the Sis and her wife yesterday. It was fun. Then watched Seattle crush Dallas. 

Today i started at the high school in Stamford. There were 9 kids instead of 5 which led to a swarm of chaos. They are all Chinese. One kid could barely speak English at all. And chaos does not benefit 14 and 15 year olds. So manana, i will be the Sheriff. Hang'em high!

It all work out. Some of the kids were nice enough and i already know who the rabble-rousers are now. The good news? No children (or teachers!) were maimed today. 

roadkill

Coming home from Mum's birthday dinner i hit a skunk. I couldn't stop. He just walked out in the road. He looked sick. There was an awful chunky sound as he went under the wheel. Sorry skunky. Rest in pieces. 

And I had just washed  my car and cleaned the inside this afternoon. Now it smells like dead skunk. Hopefully it will wear off by manana. 

In My Wheelhouse

My favorite Weapon








Got a job teaching in ESL in Stamford. I start Monday. Did some sub hours for University of New Haven. I am in my wheelhouse. It's all coming together, slowly but haphazardly. 

Mum's Bday, Happy Bday! Martinis were had.

Went kayaking the other day on lake Zoar. It was a cloudless 27C day. Beautiful. It's good to be near water again. I've been eating seafood til it comes out my ears.

Back to the drawing board

And if the bottle's no solution
Why does it feel so warm
And if looking back is no solution
Why are we all just children inside
And if to feel is no solution
Why does the whole damn world feel so broken
So outside and out-of-sorts
-Marillion

SABADO
Tonight; I am meeting Pat and Laura for Pizza for Connor's 9th Bday party. Then out to Newtown.

Manana; watch part of one of the kid's football games and then back to Ansonia. Then off to New Haven around 16:00 to watch The debut of the Russel Wilson era as the Seahawks take on Arizona. Football is back baby!

MARTES
The Seahawks but Mum and i had a great time.

Things fell apart at University of New Haven. I can only assume that the academic director does not know her ass from her elbow.

FRI > i asked if i could work in the morning only because i had another job from 14:30 - 16:30. She me back and discouraged me because she said she needed me to teach afternoons and could ramp me up to full time during the initial 3 months.

MON> i went to training, got my faculty ID and parking pass. My trainer said they normally have 30 students on testing day and that they had 78, so there would be lots of work.

I got a call at 16:20 and the AD told me she had no class for me this month, and that i should contact her at the end of Sept for classes on Oct. She said she had 20 less students than she thought. So i called her bluff and said that Shannon had said that had 78 entrants taking tests when the norm is 30. She it was still 20 less than she expected. SO she was lying. Don't know why. Don't care. SO i have an interview manana in Stamford with the owner of the other co, EduBoston, that i otherwise wouldn't have had. SO i should be working for them by Sept. 24th.

So very disappointing and unprofessional, and just down right bizarre, but i don't want to work for an organization that's such an unbridled mess. Sadly, I have found very few organizations in the past 5 weeks that have their shit together. It's a lot like, dare i say it... Spain.

"God help us, every one."

EDITORS NOTE: God may or may not exist, with exception of Kansas, where HE absolutely exists.


When I meet God
I'm going to ask her
What makes her cry
What makes her laugh
Is she just stars and indigo gas
Does she know why
Love has no end
But it's dark-angel friend
Tearing women and men
Slowly apart
-Marillion

don't ask me...

don't ask me
I'm just improvising
my illusion of careless flight
can't you see
my temperature's rising
I radiate more heat than light
-Rush

Musica:
Wind and Wuthering - Genesis
Time Machine - Rush
The Tokyo Project - Steve Hackett
Thrak - King Crimson
A Time and a Place (disc 4) - ELP
Southern Accents - Tom Petty

It's Friday, which actually means something now that i am starting work on Monday. And, i'm actually getting paid to do 4.5 hours of training for UNH. 

Looks like a nice day. I'll have to take a swim while we've still got the pool open. 

Obama's speech was great last night. I'm thinking of doing a live SKYPE chance on Nov. 6th for ELECTION BENDER TUESDAY. Maybe I can set it up with J&J's. I'll have to talk to Dave. I can report live from here in the Colonies.

If the Romulan wins (he won't, he can't!) i am taking Mum to Canada with me. I have a Rush Fan Club Membership Card (Lifetime Member) which allows me to immigrant to Canada in case of dire emergency. My sister and her wife can come too. Gay people won't have much of a life under the Mitt Witt. No women will.

We got smilin' politicians(It ain't nothin' to me)Got songs from rich musicians(It ain't nothin' to me)
Called Tokyo long distanceAnd the queen came for teaMight mean somethin' to you(It ain't nothin' to me)
But when you danceI can go right with youYeah, when you danceI just go right with you-Tom Petty

Morder mi culo de metal brillante!

10:07

The NY Giants got their asses kicked in the NFL season opener. They played a terribly sloppy game, dropping passes left and right.

The Yankees are gagging left and right, not that i'm choked up but i do have to live in the same house as my Mum for the time being.



Musica para una jueves;

Transatlantic - Transatlantic
Satchurated - Joe Satriani
R30 (disc 1) - Rush
Live archive 1970 (disc 2) -Steve Hackett

I have finally completed all the forms for U of New Haven / ELS. Praise Jah!

I am free now, and thusly left to mine own devices

Attention all planets of the solar federation
Attention all planets of the solar federation
Attention all planets of the solar federation
We have assumed control
We have assumed control
We have assumed control
-Rush

15:17
Satriani's Raspberry Delta Jam-V blaring. Mom went to go take care of the nephews after school. And i am trying to put shit away in my bedroom. Going through clothes. It's like my life is folding before my eyes. Or maybe unfolding. It depends on what each particular garment needs. Some will stay, some will go. The wheat and the chaff..., blah blah blah. 

Fuck. I guess this means i'm really go to live here and stay in CT for a while.

The day before tomorrow

Music to do employment paperwork by:

Selling England by the Pound - Genesis 
This one of my top ten fave studio albums. Download it and listen to it a few times through. If you're not enchanted, you can punch me in the left kidney the next time you see me. If you can find me (the CIA, Interpol and IRS have had no luck with this.)
Heavy Construction (disc 2) - King Crimson
The Best of Procol Harum - Procol Harum
Love This Giant - David Byrne & St. Vincent

Can i tell you how much i hate Microsoft Windows? Trying to get my Mum's new computer up to speed and it's like trying to give birth to a breach birth baby kangaroo!

I have a USA bank acct! And a credit card! Hand gun soon to follow...  I am becoming re-Americanized.

Adrift

More bad news from Spain: Andalusia is broke and has asked for money.

And the number of people leaving for jobs (of which i was one) is growing, including the brain drain of the country's best and brightest.

LINK:SPAIN IS BUGGERED

In some much needed good news, I got a job today 15 - 20 hours a week, teaching ESL at the University of New Haven, which is awesome. It'll be students of mostly Middle Eastern and Chinese origin. I'm looking forward to it.

Back to School

New Haven in Autumn

Big day manana - a second interview to teach ESL at the University  of New Haven, which would be great. That's at 11:00 and then I observe a class. It would be mostly students from the Middle East and China. All else is copacetic. 

Today was Labor Day, the day of the worker and the commercial end of summer. It's back to school bitches!

Listening to:

Live 1975, Largo, MD. - Fleetwood Mac