(Time to) Ketchup..

For the past week I've been without posts.  I apologize.  Truth be told I haven't really done anything interesting in the past seven-ish days but I still like to get random BS up for kicks.  This helps me to feel like I did something rather than like I am today, looking back and asking myself, "What the hell have I done lately..?"

As last week got to hump day and then proceeded to come to a close I was bumming for much of it due to Question One being passed, again banning gay marriage in the state of Maine.  But to be honest I wasn't really upset at those who voted Yes, which supported reenacting the ban.  Of course I do disagree with their vote, but I’ve become especially unhappy with myself because in hindsight I feel like I could have offered a lot more to the No on 1 cause than a single four hour volunteer shift.  I don't know if things actually would have been different, but I know when this issue makes its way back onto a ballot sometime in the not so distant future, if I am still in the state I hope to find the time to do much more.  And the same should go for all of you out there who support equal marriage rights for all.  If you think going to the polls and voting is enough, or throwing a facebook status update is enough voicing your displeasure with the results, I disagree.  Get out and volunteer your time, as much as you can.  For everyone who feels like they did EVERYTHING they possibly could (and I know there are some, and I commend your efforts) I’m sure there are ten, or 100, or more for each of those people who all could have done more.  There are many ways to support the cause even if you don't want to interact directly with possibly supporters over the phone or face to face.  I know this is a tad late, but I hope this will not be forgotten the next time this makes its way to the polls.

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On a lighter note I didn't work on Friday and instead spent much of the day in Portland helping Liam move out of the apartment he and Rachel share, as they are planning a move into a new residence sometime very soon.  For those of you who never made it to their old place...it was maybe 400 sq feet.  This is not a joke.  The place was tiny.  But those two packrats managed to fit, oh, somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,000 boxes of stuff in there
(Six thousand may be an exaggeration, but at least 5,500..).  It was a 2nd floor walk up which wasn't too bad, but I've had better days off and we can just leave it at that.  So while Liam and Rachel were gallivanting around the Bahamas post move, drinks in hand...I spent the weekend circa de L/A on roofs.  Awesome.  And Sunday I managed to do something bad to my eye so it's been red and sore since then, and I have not been working.  Boo-hoo.  I'm going to see my doc at 11 this morning for my first "I don't have insurance and I'm unemployed but help me anyway..." encounter, so we'll see how that goes.  Let me tell you...I'm excited about this...eh.  And know that this has been a pain in the ass for me to stare at a computer screen for this long.  I’m a trooper.

Oh, I told you about helping Liam move to tell you this story:

After we loaded up the U-Haul van Friday Liam, his mom and I went down to Becky's diner on the Portland waterfront to have some breakfast.  I guess this place is popular because at 11:30am on a Friday it was absolutely packed.  We were in no hurry so we waited for a table and were finally seated after 20 minutes or so.  Liam was outside talking to his realtor, Rachel, Rachel's mom, and I'm sure many other people, so this provided some time for Liam's mom and I to catch up and survey the sights and sounds of the restaurant.  And we were in luck.  There was an old salt sitting at the bar right across from us who did not disappoint.  For starters, the wait staff must know this guy because he ordered a merlot and got it served in a 10oz juice glass.  Props to you, old timer.  Maureen and I were amused, and while I was tempted to get one of my own when my omelet was served I decided against it in an effort to keep a somewhat respectable appearance.

But this was not it.  When he got his meal served, a nice spread of eggs, sausage, and homefries, he proceeded to start shaking a little pepper on things.  I appreciate this.  I'm not a salt guy, I'm a pepper guy.  Salt’s bad for my ticker.  And everything is a little tastier with a couple shakes of pepper.  For this guy, a couple shakes were not enough.  Maybe the top was clogged, I don't really know, but at any rate he unscrews the top of the pepper and dumps ::I shit you not:: at least a third of the pepper shaker on his meal. Needless to say, both Maureen and I were completely dumbfounded.  Neither of us had ever seen anything like it.  And for the most part he cleaned his plate, except for the immediate "ground zero" of the pepper shake.  I'm still baffled by it.  The guy is nails.  That's my only explanation.  So for all of you who give me shit about my love for ketchup, know two things: My love of ketchup in no way comes close to Campbell's affinity for it (he puts ketchup on his pizza, for chrissakes..), and my love of ketchup has got to be less weird than this old timer's love for pepper.  I'll leave you with that, and hope that leaves you with a smile.  Cheers.