Thursday, September 28, 2017

2017/09/28 - My 125

My 125


This is my prize tank. It's 125 gallons. I love that I can keep two schools of tiny fish alongside much larger schools. This is because the larger fish are vegetarian!
I have: 
4 very large clown loaches
12 very large silver dollars
2 Huge Pacus
25 tiny Cardinals
20 tiny Remmy noses 
2 HUGE places
2 small catfish

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

2017/09/26 - Just another day in my life

Today was actually a fairly good day.
I started out the morning at the periodontist hearing that "Everything looks great", but when I asked  "When exactly will I get my 3 front teeth back" (the result of a recent cycling incident), he replied "about 4 months". Wow... I think to myself "This will be an exercise in humility, maybe I should move to Ward Colorado, where half the population is missing at least one front tooth."
So when I get home to my heatless house (my furnace broke down on Sunday) my mom starts bugging me, asking when the repair guy is coming, did you give him any money, if I think it's a scam, how much will it cost, etc, etc. She's like the walking dead, sidling up behind me every hour or so, and startling me. I can't help but get fucking aggravated. I need to put a bell on her.
I tell her there's more important things to worry about, but her only concern is that the temperature has dropped below 73 degrees, and she's cold.  I tell too put a sweater on. She asks for me to stop yelling at her. I reply, "I'll stop yelling, if you stop worrying about the little shit, we've got more important things to worry about".
Then Val calls later and says "Heloisa got in trouble at school"
And I think to myself before I close my eyes to sleep tonight,  "This is what happens when you let the days go by".

Monday, September 25, 2017

2017/09/25 - Nobody

Lately I've been realizing that I'm no longer somebody. I used to be somebody, but nowadays I've become nobody.
Seriously... Years ago I was somebody. Newspaper reporters actually interviewed me! I was the "14er guy", one of a select few who had made over 400 Colorado 14er ascents. I was a professional outdoor photographer. I taught mountaineering and led dozens of trips each year for the Colorado Mountain Club. 
In those days I was somebody that a lot of people knew. I was popular in certain communities. Now I'm just an old guy with an invisible past.
Even at my job at Texaco, I was once somebody. For years I had been the project leader for ESP (the Estimated Sales and Purchases computer system), and had a pretty good reputation as a hotshot application developer. 
Later I created and managed 14erWorld, a popular mountaineering website with thousands of members over nearly 10 years online. 
But nowadays I've become Norman Bates taking care of my elderly mother, while managing the Hoffmeyer House. I've become a prisoner in my house. I've become a nobody. I'm just that old guy across the street that rides his bike a lot. 
I guess when you get older you start to look at yourself in a different way. 
I ride my bike for sanity and little things like having a glass of wine or two after dinner with Val have become great pleasures to look forward to. 
I'm not complaining, nor looking for pity. I love my life and for the most part I've "got it made". I have my health, I'm comfortably retired, I'm able to play chess, take naps, play with my many pets, and cycle every day. 
Maybe I just miss the spotlight.