Well, I have to say that my wife came through last night. No, not in the sex department, (yea, yea, piss and moan some more W) but she did do good by me. She was able to get her hands on Game 5 playoff tickets for the Celtics/Sixers game last night.

I made my way into Boston after work and picked my wife up. We meandered through town and parked at the Garden. It was early enough that we found somewhere to have dinner and few drinks before the game. It was a bit of a wait for a table, but a quick dinner and we headed up the street to the Garden. We made it to our seats just as the anthem was starting. The rest is history. It was a great time and a really good game. The place was fucking rocking, so damn loud in there. (Check this link out for KG's assessment of the fans.) A few more wobblie pops while there always help keep things loose, I love that I can get a Cap n Coke there now too. It was over quicker than expected, and it was a breeze getting out of the parking garage. We made good time getting back home, before I knew it, my head was hitting the pillow and I was in the land of nod. All I can say is that it made for a great night out, I'd love to go back again.

"Since then, at an uncertain hour,
That agony returns;
And till my ghastly tale is told,
This heart within me burns."


                                                 Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Distance is a bitch. You loose some of those necessary senses. There's no touch, taste, or smell.  We can have hearing and seeing with technology today, but you always long for more. I want to wrap my arms around someone and comfort them, share their pain, give them warmth, and I'm hobbled by geography. I want to spend quality time taking pictures on the left coast with a friend, feel the ocean, sun and fun. I want to revel in those senses, savor every minute. I want to explore the European and Australasian continents, let my eyes drink in long forgotten beauty. Or wake up in Paris with the balcony windows thrown wide, the sounds and smells an assault on my flesh. Lay with a sleeping beauty in the Caribbean, night engulfing us in its peaceful, humid embrace, while flesh dances.    

Her: So did you have a nice night hanging with the boys, drinking beer, and playing pool?

I: No, no, no, no, no.
   You know I don't really drink beer. It was Captain's and Coke. Silly girl.

I keep on planning to write, but never seem to get around to it, or simply don't feel I have anything worthy to share. I did have something break from the norm this past week, nothing too special, but interesting none the less.

For some reason I keep getting called for jury duty, but thankfully ever since I started going, I've never been picked, until now. Where I live now means I have to travel about 50 minutes to the new court house down in southern Mass. It was actually a nice surprise because the last time I had to report, it was some old run down, shitty court house with no room to sit or move. Not this one, this one was just finished in 2010 and cost us tax payers about $93 Million. Government at work.

After getting checked in and reading for a bit, the court officer in charge goes over what to expect for the day and then shows one of those movies that helps explain things. Then it was a few Seinfield episodes on the flat screens followed by the movie "Unstoppable", we wouldn't be able to see it all. There were only about 25-30 of us in the waiting room as there were two major cases going on in the supreme courts, we would only be needed for other cases. We all filed in and I was hopeful to dodge another jury as I was number 15 and they only needed 7 jurors. Then the challenges came, and those numbers kept getting closer and closer until I was called and seated, never even challenged, damn. One more young lady was chosen after me and they said thank you to everyone else, we have a full jury. I didn't dodge one this time, oh well, first time for everything.

The saving grace for getting chosen is, at least there was some eye candy. Two of the three women there had my attention more often than not. The woman that would eventually sit to my left got my attention on day one. As we sat in the jurors box, she would stretch her back and push out her perfectly sized chest, held tightly in the white tee, square into my peripheral vision. Needless to say, it was not just my peripheral vision for long. She always seemed to spare me a smile when there was a break in the action, or when we were trying not to laugh at the "dropped cheesecake" that kept reoccurring in the case.

I found more to like the following day when we all had to report back. Seems my new friend dressed a bit better on day number to. She was wearing some kind of grey pants that fit like those yoga pants I seem to like so much, matched with a low cut grey top and her blond hair cascading down her shoulders. Again, everytime we had to exit the court room, I couldn't take my eyes from the way those pants hugged her ass. I got a good enough look at times to see the outline of what I can only imagine is a very cute thong. Back in our sequestered little room, she would sit across from me and try to keep herself busy, as would the rest of us. Thankfully by the second day, we were all pretty comfortable with each other and conversations flowed freely between everyone.

When the last witness was done and closing statements were made, we retired yet again to our little room minus one. The outspoken Portuguese woman was drawn as an alternate, phew, dodged a bullet on that one, she was already feeling bad for the defendant the previous day. It took a little convincing for two other jurors, but we all agreed on her guilt, but at a lesser sum which was all that was proven. We filed back in to read the verdict and were excused. A few minutes after the judge came in to thank us for our time and see if anyone had questions. The one older gentleman who was feeling bad about finding her guilty, but agreeing she was wrong, asked what was going to happen to the defendant now? The judge then spilled that it was her second offense for the exact same crime and she was still on probation for that offense. The older man smiled and said in his best broken Portuguese accent "I no feel so bad no more, she get what she deserve." We could not help but laugh.

We all left together and headed for the parking garage. We all joked and started heading our separate directions. It was the blond and I on the same level. I wish I could write that more happened, but all there was from me was a "it was good meeting you", she said the same, smiled and kept walking.

Yep, I do it a lot.

Helpless

It's been kind of a rough week in W's house. I've felt so damn helpless, not knowing what to do, or how to make it better for M. It started Friday with her getting a cold and being miserable that night and Saturday, running a slight temp. Sunday morning seemed better, but she was still a bit off and we had about 30 people coming over for Easter. About an hour before that time, my wife was getting M ready when she noticed fluid coming out of her right ear, M did say it hurt a bit, but she is a little trooper and does not let pain bother her much it seems. A call to urgent care netted her a "get here as soon as you can". I was left to entertain family coming to our house. Thankfully, everyone is willing to help out, so it was not really a big deal since my wife also had everything pretty set the previous day.  

She got home with M about an hour after everyone had arrived, it turns out that she had ruptured her ear drum, M seemed in good spirits though, just happy to play with her cousins. I proceeded to drink a bit and take the edge off that I was feeling. A few hours later it was over and it took another 3 hours for the two of us to get the house back to normal, some of those kids are savages I tell ya. 

Monday was uneventful, except for me now having the cold. M seemed good, but her ear was still draining way too much. This prompted a call for another appointment Tuesday, the soonest would be that afternoon. After a slight disagreement with my wife about me having to "step up" a bit more helping out (If I'm not at work I loose a day's pay, I don't get flex time, or sick days, and vacation time cannot be broken down to days with my company, yes, it's a suck ass job), I was able to work it out with my boss and leave work early to take M to her appointment. Seems her med's were not strong enough for the ear problem and now she had an infection in the other ear. So new med's were in order. The poor kid is a mess at this point, her balance is shot, she can barely hear, and her nose is all stuffed up. This is where that helplessness comes in, seeing her suffering and not being able to do more, it pains me inside more than I can explain.  

We kept her from daycare yet again Wednesday and she stayed with her grandparents. Towards the end of the day she was complaining of being itchy. Then by the time my wife got there, she was screaming in pain saying her stomach hurt. The call to urgent care took only about 30 seconds when they heard her screaming and told my wife to get her there right away. This trip resulted in M being allergic to her antibiotics and some immediate antihistamine being administered, she will also need it every 6 hours for the next two days. She was so exhausted, the kid was apparently asleep in her car seat within a minute. I was just driving home from work at the time myself feeling so bad for my little one. 

I was up getting ready for work around 5 today, after I showered my wife woke up and sounded like shit. She has M's cold too, but now it was really effecting her. Good thing she was staying home with M today. I did hear from hear a little while ago and M seems to be much better, hopefully on the mend for good. It looks like it could take up to two months for her hearing to become normal after rupturing her eardrum though. I'm feeling a nice stiff drink or two is in the works for my immediate future. 

They were all under my spell, their attention hanging on every spoken word. Their eyes held a sparkle to them as they looked up at me from the rug. Even sitting, I towered over them all. The only sound other than my bass voice was the camera clicking at me from different angles.

I was signed up by my wife, to read a book to my daughters daycare class on my day off this past Friday. I got there at 3:30 as they were coming in from playing outside. My little one was the last through the door and let out a great big "daddy" as she ran over to hug me. Then the tears started. I'm told they get a bit emotional when their not used to seeing you in the middle of the day. All the kids got settled down and my daughter sat next to me on a little chair as I started reading The Three Little Pigs. They all sat with rapt attention for the most part, just my little one trying to clarify every what I was reading to her friends. It was cute to see them all so engrossed in such a simple story (this one was a little more embellished than the original). They were all quite happy though, it was nice to see all their little smiling faces thanking me after I was done. The teacher did take way to many pictures by the sounds of it. All in all, it was not all that bad. Kids tend to like me for some reason, I have no idea why.