I started off two weeks ago by packing up the Jeep for the drive back to Ohio. I loaded her up with stuff that I don't use anymore, like my bike. As I put the last item in the back, I rolled up the window and it stopped about 6 inches short. It wouldn't go up, wouldn't go down - It didn't do anything. That got me worrying, oh great, another $500 to the Jeep Gods, ha ha.
Before I left I ended up talking to a nice guy that let me park in front of his building. George and I talked about all the changes in Hoboken over the years, he's a life-long resident. Usually I want to get the heck out of there but it didn't kill me to talk to someone. And with my window busted, I figured, what's the hurry.
The ride back on route 80 was the worst! I hit about 6 or 7 major traffic jams and they all seemed pretty stupid.
There was no reason
Two lanes going into one and each time there was no sign telling people which lane is closed down. So you had two lanes not knowing which is the correct lane right up until it was time to merge. Oh, it was driving me nuts! The third time this happened and traffic wasn't moving, I heard someone say, "Hey, we like your Jeep" -- I looked over and these nice people were looking at my car:
Nice people
We had a nice little conversation, right there on route 80. I didn't get their names, bad reporting on my part but I really enjoyed talking to them. You can always tell when you're talking to good people. After they told me that they liked my Jeep, I asked them if they wanted to buy it, ha ha. Even in traffic, I still got it.
I was trying to get my window to work the whole way back. Finally in Ohio, I hit the switch and the damn thing went up. I told my friend Tim about my window problem and he said, "I'd never use that window again."
Ohio was great! I enjoyed the local casino with my Mom and I discovered something new for me - generosity. I don't mean to pat myself on the back but I have to talk about something, ha ha. My nephew needed a bike tire, so I bought him a new bike. My Mom needed a TV for her kitchen, so I paid for half of it (It was an LCD TV, I didn't want to pay for all of it, I'm not Elvis, ha ha). And I threw my Brother $50 so he and my sister-in-law could enjoy a lovely dinner. It felt good doing stuff for the people I love.
I drove back to Hoboken a week later to start my second week off. The plan was to go to the Hamptons for a week. That's right, The Hamptons, playground to the rich and famous. My friends Walter and "Sally" were kind enough to let me crash at their place. But first, route 80. WHAT THE HECK!? It was bad coming back too! I had a horrible drive that got me back to Hoboken around 9PM.
I unloaded the cats, rested for an hour and then ironmaned it out. I got there around 1:30AM. The next day I went to the supermarket to get some items and I noticed that it was really crowded. Hard to believe that a beach community would be busy in the summertime but that was the case.
The people out there freaked me out. I just wanted to kick it and live. I didn't think I'd be dealing with traffic, people and parking spots. So I stayed inside for a lot of that week and ate my meals from the supermarket. Man, that sounds so bad. I blew it, I know. I just didn't want to be the guy in the restaurant, alone, every night. I let my fears get the best of me. I did have a good relaxing time, just too much time with me. It sounded like a good idea a few months back, ha ha.
I made a major purchase for myself, I bought a laptop computer from my friend Jay. I love Apple so much and have been thinking about upgrading my used G4. So rather than do what I normally do with money, piss it away, I'm going to buy something I want/need. I'm looking forward to getting this huge desk out of my small apartment.
I think that's it. Good to be back!
Stay beautiful,
Bob
