Today is Thursday, September 1st and the summer is winding down to just a measly four days. It’s been an interesting summer at that: beautiful weather, clubbing on Fire Island and the city, hanging out with friends, dinners, lunches, doctors appointments and colonoscopies, etc., etc., etc. I’ve had a great time, mostly, but I think it is finally time to get off this ride…







The Grove with Reet



My good friend and fellow teacher Rita has been asking to go to Cherry Grove for awhile and yesterday was finally the day. She’d never been there before, at least as far as she could remember, and I was only too happy to take her. Ever since the hurricane/tropical storm on Monday, the weather has been picture perfect, almost fall-like, so it was a great day for a visit to the Grove.







There wasn’t a lot of activity over there, I guess because of the recent Irene visit, but you could sense the slowly building re-population leading up to the big weekend. Damage was really non-existent as far as we could tell. The only signs that Irene had come through were the buried fences around the sand dunes and a boarded up Jumping Jacks. Other than that and the small crowd, you’d never have known a hurricane had passed.







Rita and I had a nice day, walking around, having lunch, and of course having a drink or two at Cherry’s. Margarita’s was the drink of choice. Yum! In all, we spent about four hours in the sun, and really enjoyed a lazy, relaxing day in a beautiful place!







Time to get off this ride



Last night was the last time I would be going to Circus for awhile and in a way I’m glad. I’d planned on partying it up this last week and by the way things worked out last night, I’m going to follow through on those plans, but I definitely need a break after Sunday.



Rita, who’s had a newfound freedom these past couple of weeks, was ready to continue the party by joining me at Circus last night. Ozzie was going to be there as Ozzie, not Ruby, and it turned out he was one of no less than five people I’ve been connected with in recent months. Not a good thing!



I won’t go into the sordid details, but there were plenty of uncomfortable moments and by the time the drag show had ended I was done, mentally exhausted and I couldn’t wait to get home. I’m glad I’m going to Splash tonight because at least there I won’t know anybody…I hope!







Odds N Ends



I want to give a special shout-out to my friend Ivan, who I met in the city the other night for some dancing. Ivan is such a good guy and I’m so happy that he and I have remained friends. I had a blast with him and I hope he did too!



I just got off the phone with my ex, Joe. It’s funny because I was thinking about him a lot yesterday and viola, he called. Every once in awhile I get to missing him and even though our life together was a lifetime ago, I still feel like I need to connect with him sometimes. He’s still a great guy and I do miss having him around in my life, and even though I may not show it to him, I still get a little sad when we talk and I have to hear about his wonderful life with his new partner. Sigh!



I got a call from Arnoldo yesterday. He’s out of the hospital again! Let’s hope this time its permanent.



Writing Wednesday



Well, even though it’s Thursday, I’m going to post “Writing Wednesday” today since I missed it yesterday. Here’s what I’ve been up to…



Gather



Hurricane Irene weakens as it slams New York



New Music Releases for the week of August 29th



Lots of good stuff this week!



Y!CN



Though I missed a paid assignment on this topic for Y!CN, I still put a couple of articles up before, during and after Irene:



Waiting on Irene



A Not So Welcome Irene



The Cleanup



I also posted one assignment:



Twitter for iPhone



Examiner



Fun Stuff on Long Island this Labor Day Weekend





Can anybody say Elton John?



Of course, all of these articles are on top of the great stuff I've written here, lol. I wanted to mention also that I've got a couple of new sponsors for the site. I only choose places that I think are valuable and where I shop, so please feel free to click on any of the links below or anywhere else on this blog for great deals on cool stuff! As always, thanks for reading and have a great day!















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Happy Hump Day everyone! It’s yet another beautiful summer day on Long Island and here I sit in my office, in the middle of the day, typing away, lol. This is my last bit of writing for the day, thankfully, and then I can get on with doing stuff I should be doing…outside! Here’s the latest from my so called life…





Photo Source: cbs news



Come on Irene!



For the first time in a long time, we here in the northeast are under watch for the latest hurricane, Irene, which seems to be heading in our direction. We’ve had these types of warnings many times in the past and a lot of them turned out to be nothing more than some rain and a little wind, and I hope that’s the case this time, too. They’re saying Sunday, so anything can happen between now and then. We haven’t had one since I bought my house in 98 and I shudder to think about one hitting here full force because I have a lot of trees in my yard. Fingers crossed and stay tuned…





Photo Source: Watt's Up With That?



Earthquake? What Earthquake?



I think I am probably the only person I know who didn’t feel the Earth trembling at yesterday’s earthquake, which struck in Virginia but was felt all over the Eastern Seaboard. I spoke to a couple of people who felt it around 2PM, but I didn’t even know about it until much later. They say it’s the strongest earthquake to ever hit the area at 5.6 on the Richter, and of course the end-of-the-worlders are out in full force. Gimme a break!







Opening up



As I told you the other day, I’ve been struggling a lot lately with the things I put on this blog. It all started when I got a nasty and derogatory email from a reader that made me do a lot of thinking. More than a week has passed now and several friends have given me cause to keep doing what I’m doing and not be affected by such malicious nonsense. After all, this is my space and if anyone doesn’t want to read it, they don’t have to.



Though I have no idea specifically what the emailer was referring to in his rant, I had removed a piece I thought he might have been responding to, a poem about my recent face to face encounter with him. At the moment I have no plans to republish it in full, but here’s an abridged version of the original that I had penned a week ago Sunday:



Yet another regretful episode in this muddled story

A chance meeting unforeseen

At almost the very spot where we first met

We’d both imagined this in our minds

Yet neither could know what really to expect



It all happened so suddenly

I looked up with disbelieving eyes into your face

And saw you looking into mine

And in a flash, all I could think of to do was turn and run

But you saw me as I saw you and called to me from behind



At that point, the deed was done

The circumstance of our encounter was settled

You were excited and I was terrified

My reaction dampened your evening and mine

The latest in a series of miscommunications between us



Running away was not the mature thing to do

Yet it was an impulse borne out of months of despair

And yes, anger, at the very thought of you

I regret the action and wish I could take it back

But what’s done cannot be undone



I don’t know how you expected me to react

With a smile and a hug, perhaps

Some genuine catching up of old friends

I laid it all out for you the last time

In a way I believed to be noble and complete



Whatever happens from here forth

Please understand that there were reasons for my action

Perhaps a little subconscious hurt thrown your way

In return for the hurt I’d endured

A little bit of karma in action



I know you couldn’t see

Through all of the discomfort between us

That deep down it was nice to see you again

In the flesh

The same person I so cared for once upon a time



So take good care of yourself

I’m happy to hear you’re in a better place these days

Should there be a next time, don’t worry

I promise not to turn my back again

Next time I’ll flash you a brilliant smile, I promise!



Reading this over once again, I don’t think there's anything about it I need to feel bad about writing, either on myself or on him. It's just the openness and feeling that I always express in my writing, no matter the subject. Yes, my experiences with him were some tough moments in my life and even though I’m in a good place now, contact of any sort inevitably brings back memories, bad and good. So I make no apologies for penning the piece, and I’m glad to share it once again with you.



It’s funny, but things have taken a sad turn even since I wrote the piece. After not having seen him for seven months, I ran into him three straight times at Splash, the last time being last night. Though I meant what I said in the last stanza, things haven’t gone exactly that way in subsequent encounters. There’s kind of a distant iciness there now, like we're both sort of pretending not to see each other while we’re standing just a few feet away. It's weird and uncomfortable, and no fun at all. I guess the circumstances from that night have brought us to this, starting with my reaction almost two weeks ago.



It’s a little unnerving and sad, but I guess that’s just the way it’s going to be. At least there’s just one more week of Splash Tuesdays and/or Thursdays for me, and so I’ll return to going there on Saturdays again afterwards and these random contacts shouldn’t happen anymore anyway.



Related post: Untitled



Writing Wednesdays



Well, I already missed the second week of Writing Wednesdays, and so here are links to some of the pieces I’ve been up to…



Gather



Amy Winehouse Tributes by Green Day, Coldplay and at the VMAs



Gaga’s “You and I” exemplifies her musical versatility



Spotlight on new music releases for the week of August 22nd



Preview of the 2011 VMAs



Yahoo Contributor Network



Elton John's Top Twenty Songs



Pesto: Easy, Delicious and Versatile



Volunteer's Corner: Working to Protect and Preserve the Environment of Long Island and Beyond



What Are You Listening To? Summer 2011



Examiner



Fun outdoor activities on Long Island this weekend



H is for "High Rise"



During my "Song of the Day" posting in dedication to Nick Ashford, who passed away yesterday, I mentioned another of Ashford and Simpson songs that I loved whose title just happens to start with the letter "H," the next letter in our Z-A Blogger's Challenge. Bonus! The vid's a little grainy, but the song is oh so sweet sounding! Enjoy!











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Since I first started this blog as a means to promote my writing elsewhere, I've been somewhat remiss in doing so as this blog has takenn a new life of its own in recent months. Nevertheless, I am still writing for other websites and that's where I get paid, so I decided to do a new feature called Wednesday's Writing Recap. It is aimed at promoting all of the articles I've written (choice ones, anyway) during the past week, and so in our first installment, we have a little more than a week's worth to catch up on. Please feel free to click on any of the titles that might be of interest as it would help me greatly!



Gather



Gather is the newest site that I write for and even after three months I'm still learning the ropes. They are search engine driven, and as such my articles there only stay up for about a month's time. Unfortunately I don't get paid for anything I write there until I reach 150 page views and some of the articles below are close, so please do some clicking...



Missy Elliot comeback begins with new Katy Perry remixThe top ten videos of the '80s, chosen by the fans



I've always loved Missy Elliot and finally, after six long years on hiatus, she is back with some new projects and her upcoming 7th studio album, "Block Party."



David Guetta's Hot, New "Nothing But The Beat" Coming in August



Writing this one revved me upp for this album, the long-awaited follow up to the deejay/producer's smash "One Love" CD.



MTV VMA's first three performers announced



The VMA's are coming and they're always quite a spectacle. With the announcement of these artists to the performers list, this year should be no different. (*Mental note - Need to do a follow-up on this one!)



Amy Winehouse's music sure to follow trend in posthumous album sales



This one's all about how music artists' music after their death sometimes becomes more popular than before. Amy Winehouse has a lot of unreleased stuff that's sure to make waves once it hits the airwaves.



What to expect from Madonna's new album



Yes, as of July 4th, Mo is back in the sstudio. It's been a long time and any Madonna fan is super excited at the prospect of a new one from the Queen.



Fallon and Timberlake's 'History of Rap' proves genre's staying power



Recently Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake did another mash-up tribute to some of raps greats. There's a video linkk in this one, so be sure to check it out.



Yahoo Contributor Network



A Teacher's Unforgettable First Day at School



This was an assignment for Y!CN writers about best and worst memories of the first day at school. Since I'm a teacher, I shared memories of a day I'll never forget as a teacher.



Crossroads: A New and Unfortunate Direction



The latest and most unhappy turn of events in this real-life series....stay tuned...



Thank You for Being a Friend



A drag performance of the Golden Girls theme inspired this one!



Music Suggestions for a Gay Wedding in New York



This one was meant to be funny...lol



Amy's Legacy



My own personal tribute to Amy Winehouse.



Examiner



Keep cool this weekend at LI Theaters



Some really good stuff happening this weekend at theaters around Long Island.



The Coasters of Six Flags Great Adventure



This one's been updated to include the new Green Lantern coaster.



Five Guys Burgers n Fries



I've discovered a great new burger joint!



LI Catering Venues get in on Gay Wedding Market



You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?



Ascension Beach Party Weekend at Fire Island Pines



I soooo want to go! Kristine W, Alexis Jordan and Crystal Waters will be performing.



LIGALY's "Refresh Everything" proposal to fight anti-gay bullying on LI



LIGALY is always fighting the good fight, so get out there and help them win this grant.



Circus Wednesdays at Lizard Lounge



My new favorite Long Island gay bar!



Well, that's all she (or rather he) wrote! As always, a great big hearty thankk you to all of you who check in with John's World regularly. I truly appreciate your readership. Have a great day!



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Happy Saturday everyone! Today is the first regular post I’ve done in awhile, I’m currently still trying to think of a “P” word for my next A-Z entry, so until then I figured I’d just catch up a bit. The past couple of days have not been good ones. I’m not sure why exactly, but I’ve been finding it difficult to keep up that new attitude I’ve been trying to keep lately.

Splash Friday

I ventured out to Splash last night and it was the usual Friday night fare. The music was better than normal and I had a good time overall, though I can never understand why the bar is not as crowded on Friday nights. I’m going to head back out there tonight for its been a couple of weeks since I last went there on a Saturday. I’ll be looking forward to it all day. I need some dance therapy!



Kylie’s Coming in 3 Days…

One thing I’m really looking forward to is my next concert. This week, Kylie Minogue will be performing three shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. I had been planning to go all along, hoping to get my ticket the same way I got the Lady Gaga tickets last week, but just last night I was invited to go by my new friend, Ivan. He’s got seats in the balcony, which gives a much better view of the stage. The last time I saw her there, my friend and I had to stand on the main floor and we spent the whole time on our tippy toes trying to get a view of the show.

As many of you can tell from past posts, I love Kylie! She last came to NY in the fall of 09 and of course I had to see her. It was her first foray into the US in many years and she was promoting an album, “X,” that wasn’t even released in stores here. The show was absolutely awesome and “X” is one of my favorite Kylie albums, with plenty of great mid to up tempo beats, the kind I like most. Check out one of my favorite tracks from “X,” “2 Hearts”:






My Week

It always seems that short weeks are just as long, if not longer, than normal ones, and this past week was no exception. It feels like last Monday, my last day off, was forever and a day ago. Earlier this week I pinched a nerve in my upper leg and was hobbling around on it all week, so maybe that had something to do with the drudgery of my work week, but thankfully I’m feeling back to normal once again (or I wouldn’t have been able to go dancing last night or tonight).

For anyone who thinks that school needs to be run all year long, they should try being a teacher at this time of the year. As soon as the weather starts turning nice, the kids are done. Lately it’s been so hard to get them to do anything in class and I can’t wait until summer just to be done with it. Yesterday I lost my temper in the worst way I ever have and I actually startled my students. It worked because they were quiet from then on out, so I’ve got to remember that for the future even though I hate yelling.

As for my poor attitude these past couple of days, well you can see from what I’ve said how it all started, but there’s more that I just can’t point my finger at. Maybe it’s just a combination of things in my life at the moment. My move is stagnant and I don’t have any choice but to wait it out, which is kind of depressing. Going into the city for fun is good, but when you meet people they usually live in the city and when I live an hour away, well… So I guess my love life sucks, too, and that’s getting me down a bit. He still pops in and out of my head often enough and the whole thing just makes me sad. I miss him terribly, and I’ve got to realize he’s probably gone forever and so I need distractions to occupy my mind more. I often wonder if he misses me, too, which I think is probably so, but I guess it doesn’t matter. Hopefully once Memorial Day gets here I’ll be spending more time out here on Fire Island and juicing it up a bit. I don’t know.

Writing

Earlier this week I joined a new writing site which I’m kind of excited about. The site is called Gather and they accepted me into their entertainment division with a special emphasis on music. Their pay scale is way better than Y!CN’s and I just may start moving some of my pieces from there, like my monthly “New Music” segment and my weekly “Pop Music News” over to Gather.

I’ve been having bad experiences with Y!CN ever since I got rejected for that Featured Music Writer job last month. My page views have dropped significantly. I’m actually getting more hits to this blog than I am over there, which is not a good thing since this makes me no money.

Last weekend I wrote a piece on new music for May and submitted it for upfront payment. I’d done 12 of these to date, all under the heading of the old Featured Contributor program and was paid $10 for each of them, so I figured it was a safe bet to do it that way. I was wrong! After four days, they finally reviewed it and rejected to offer me any money for it, saying that I used too many italicized words and something I didn’t understand about my links. I looked back at my past pieces and saw that I did this one the same exact way I had done the others, so I am totally confused about the rejection.

I wrote them a complaint about it and as of now I am still waiting for a response. Meanwhile my piece is still unpublished, still in limbo and tomorrow is May 1st. WTF??? I will keep you updated on this one.

In the meantime, here are some pieces I’ve published since my last set of links:

Y!CN

Outrageous British Sitcom “Absolutely Fabulous” Set to Return

As I reported here last week, ABFab, one of my all time favorite shows, will be returning sometime soon. This is the whole scoop.

Lady Gaga’s “Monster Ball” at Nassau Coliseum: Great Entertainment and a Whole Lot of Fun

My complete review of last Saturday’s Gaga concert.

Pop Music News Weekly, April 26th

An update on this year’s Lollapalooza lineup, a remembrance of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes on the 9th anniversary of her death, and an obituary for legendary jazz-pop singer Phoebe Snow, plus the weekly charts.

Memorial Day Events on Long Island

This was an assignment at Y!CN. Fun stuff, too!

Examiner
I published a couple of pieces on Examiner this week…I’m not sure how much longer I’ll continue there as it hasn’t been doing well ever since Google changed their search algorithm. Anyway, here’s what I posted there:

Cherry’s on the Bay opens for the summer May 6th

Yes, summer’s coming and Fire Island will soon be my summer playground. Getting excited!

Fairs and craft sales on LI this weekend

Gather

Here are two of my first pieces on Gather:

Remembering Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes on TLC’s 20th Anniversary

The 2011 Billboard Music Awards is Back in a Big Way

Well I think I’ve gotten it all out, lol. I apologize for such a long post and not to wait so long in between. In the meantime, here’s some visual candy for you, just a couple of cool photos I found around the Internet. As always, thanks for reading!


Fire Island, NY



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I’ve got to say, I’m getting more and more surprised every day with the number of page views this blog is getting. I know that by most standards, a couple of hundred hits a day is peanuts, but to me it’s more than I expected and I’m very pleased about it! So if there are any of you out there who read this blog regularly, please let me know who you are by following me either through Google (on the sidebar) or via Networked Blogs on Facebook. And, just in case I haven’t said it enough, thanks for reading.

Spring Saturday

Today is Saturday, and it was a beautiful day outside. Spring is definitely in the air and it feels good. Since it was such a busy week and I didn’t get much done around the house, today was a day of chores. Though I’m not really the biggest fan of household chores, there’s something about making your house clean on a beautiful day that’s fulfilling. You know, windows open and all. Besides, I had my music to help get me going…



Stuck in Neutral

I really need to do another Crossroads piece, but for the past couple of months I’ve been kind of stuck in neutral. I’ve been looking for a job, but one can only do so much without jobs being posted. Hopefully as the school year draws to a close, more districts will be advertising. Fingers crossed!

I really don’t want to make a move on the house yet either, but I may have to soon. Summer’s approaching quickly and I don’t even have enough saved yet for the two mortgage payments that’ll be due. Yikes, I could really let this bother me, but I’ve been working on a brand new attitude lately and it’s helping. From here on in I’m going to take things one day at a time and not get bogged down with worry. Hehe, I’m finally following my own advice. I’m hopefully going to find some summer employment to help out, so there’s no panic in the streets just yet.

With the weather getting nice, I actually don’t feel like I’m in a rush to move to the city. Long Island is so beautiful in the summertime and of course the beaches and Fire Island are close by. My perfect scenario would be to find a job, sell my house in the fall and then move into the city, and of course have the best summer ever! I so deserve it after the crappy winter I’ve had! We’ll just have to see what happens…



Y!CN this week

I haven’t spent too much time writing at all this week, and go figure: the page views at Y!CN have been doing well. I’ve been spending a lot of time ‘workin’ it” on Twitter and I think that’s helping. I’ve been averaging between 500 and 700 daily hits, so woo hoo! Here are the two pieces I published this week:

Pop Music News Weekly, April 5th

This week’s coverage was pretty good: a new John Mellencamp/Stephen King musical in the works; the ACM Awards; an update on the Britney Spears tour coming this summer; and of course the weekly charts on iTunes and Billboard.


Taylor Swift: ACM's "Entertainer of the Year"

Keys to Life#6 – Take Care of Yourself

I penned this one earlier in the day and since it’s on the topic of health, no one can leave a comment. (scratches head!)

…And on Examiner

I penned two pieces for Examiner this week, both of them on restaurant events.
Check them out:

“Patchogue’s Perfect Plates” offers incredible $5 deals on dining

What a cool deal! Five dollar entrees at restaurants in Patchogue all day long this Tuesday!

Long Island’s First Spring Restaurant Week

Okay, so this one’s almost over, but there’s still one more day to catch a great meal at a great price at many fine restaurants across the island. Sunday, April 10th is the last day.

Mary’s ‘Work That’

Here’s a video for a relatively unknown, but make-you-move kind of song from Mary J Blige. It got me going earlier and I hope it’ll get you moving, too, on this wonderful Saturday night.




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Happy Hump Day! We’re now back on the downward trajectory towards the weekend, thank goodness. It’s funny, but early on in the week I always say to myself that I’m only going to go out one night the following weekend, but once I’ve worked a couple of days I can’t wait to go out and I usually end up going out both nights. Oh well, we’ll just have to see. Here's what's going on in my head today:

Yahoo Featured Contributor – On to the next step!



Great news! I received an email today from Yahoo Contributor Network saying that they liked what they saw in my application to be a Featured Music Contributor and I’ve moved on to the next step in the process. Already I can see that this program will be much more stringent than the earlier one, but the prospect of getting it means more exposure and exciting opportunities ahead.

I was asked to do a test feature story comparing two aspects of music. The subject can be bands, genres, time periods, etc. I have until Sunday the 27th to write it and if it gets accepted I will be thereby accepted into the program, so the pressure is on! My first thoughts are to do a piece comparing Lady GaGa with Madonna at this stage of her career. Since today’s generation seems to think that GaGa’s the next best thing, I’d like to actually look for myself and see where the two compare at respective stages of their career. What do you think? I’d love to hear feedback on whether or not you think this would generate readers.

Writing

I thought it was going to happen today, but I just fell short of hitting the 300K mark on Y!CN. As of this morning I hit 299,987 page views. I’m sure by this moment I’ve already hit that mark and considering how long it took me to get from 200 to 250K, this is amazing. Much of it is due to my Top Ten Valentine’s Day Songs, which was featured for about two weeks in early February. It just goes to show you what exposure can do for your page views and your earnings.

For those of you not in the know, Google has recently changed their algorithm concerning its searches. The purpose was to weed out the dime a dozen crap stories that are out there, and unfortunately the move has hit many of us who freelance online. The change happened just a few short weeks ago and many of us at Y!CN have seen our page views taking big hits as a result, myself included.

I haven’t been publishing too much on either Examiner or Y!CN lately because I’ve been taking assignments at another site that I work for. The site is called “Textbroker” and what they doo is put out calls for articles from their clients. When I use that site, I look through dozens of calls from website owners looking for content for their pages on any of various topics. The assignments are one shot deals and I don’t usually ever get to see what I’ve written there online. It’s a quick and easy way (sometimes) to make quick cash which is what I need to do for the upcoming summer.

Here are some of the pieces I’ve written in the past week.

On Y!CN:

Pop Music News Weekly, March 22nd

This week’s stories include the death of singer Loleatta Holloway; Chris Brown’s outburst on the set of GMA and news on an upcoming all star relief album for Japan.

Keys to Life#4 – Make a Difference

The latest in the series, and so far my favorite. Please check it out if you haven’t already.

On Examiner:

Food and drink at Smithtown’s Restaurant Week and the Spring Beer Fest

Splash Bar, NYC

An objective and informative piece about the famous gay club.

Stalker Update

Well, after my newest visit on Monday by Fuzzy, some friends convinced me to finally call the police. I really didn’t want it to go this far, but since he came back after I warned him I realized that my friends were right. A really nice officer came by and I told him my story and he took a report. He advised me that though there is no set number of times you have to be bothered to file a complaint, I should probably do so if he comes around again.

The officer called him from the patrol car and told him to leave me alone. At first he told the cop that he had no idea who I was, but when the cop told him he got his number off of my cell phone he clammed up. What a creep!

I felt better afterwards, but knowing what happened after the last time I’m going to be feeling guarded at best for at least a little while. I’ve gone back to staggering the times that I get home from work and keeping an eye out for his car in the area of my house. My worst fear is that he’ll pull up when I’m getting out of my car. I just hope that it’s over.

Well that’s all I have for right now. As always, thanks for reading. Here’s another video from Kylie off of her “X” CD. It was the biggest hit off of the album and its typical dancy Kylie style. I’m hoping to go see her again this May at Hammerstein Ballroom and I can’t wait! Enjoy!


Kylie Minogue - WOW by Elo_pitchounne56

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Happy Saturday morning! Well, we’ve dried out a bit from yesterday’s rain and it looks like it’s going to be a nice day out today. As usual, I’ve saved all of my school work for the weekend before heading back to work, so it looks like I’ll be a busy boy for the next 48 hours or so. Here’s some of what’s been going on in my so called life:

I’m a One Car Man

Well, it finally happened! After of almost a full 4 months of owning two cars, I finally sold my Nissan Sentra yesterday. Though I didn’t get nearly what I originally wanted for it, at least I’m now able to save money on having to insure two cars instead of one. Big smiles!


My Nissan

YCN and Examiner

I haven’t done nearly as much writing this week as I would have liked. I penned one piece on YCN called Keys to Life – Key #1 – Live in the Present. It’s the first in a series revisiting, one at a time, an earlier piece I wrote called simply Keys to Life. It’s pretty good, I think. Check it out by clicking the link.



I also penned a piece on Examiner called Weekend Events in Long Island’s Wine Country. I work on the North Fork of Long Island, which is home to more than 30 world-class wineries. It’s always a lot of fun to visit them, as there are special events going on all the time and wine tasting can always be great fun. Here’s an earlier piece on Long Island’s Wine Country if you’re ever interested in visiting.

A Better Place

Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity for me from morning til night. I started off with several appointments for people to take a look at my car and once I found a buyer, it was off to the bank and the DMV to get it all done. Once I got home I thought I’d relax and take a nap so I’d be raring to go out last night, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

As soon as I got home from the DMV I saw that I had a message on my answering machine. It was from Joe. I had forgotten that he had mentioned he might stop by on Friday and that was precisely why he called. Luckily it had only been about twenty minutes since he had called, so when I called him back he was still in my area.

For the first time in a long, long time he and I had a great visit. It was the kind of visit I had always envisioned with him: a nice, normal visit between genuine friends. I know that being friends with Joe has always been a precarious thing, and things have gotten more complicated since he’s been in a relationship (He actually turned me down for the MJB concert back in October because he didn’t want to upset Brett (not his real name!), his other half. Brett was okay with him going, he said, but he still felt a little weird about it, and I totally understand.).

We discussed Brett, among many other things, and I told Joe that I would love to meet him. After all, from everything I’ve heard about him, he seems like a really great person. Joe tells me he told Brett about my visit the other day and he told Joe that he understood…after 20 years together, how could he and I not still have some sort of a connection? I couldn’t agree more and I’m truly happy that Joe’s found happiness with him.

I told him about my relationship woes and like a true friend, he listened and offered encouragement. We spoke about music, one of our favorite common interests. I gave him a whole bunch of CD’s he’d been missing, as I’ve moved on to digital music only these days. I also gave him a whole mess of his old memorabilia, cards and such that I had had here in shoeboxes. He had asked me about them a long time ago and I spent one night going through them all. Talk about emotion! That was a rough one, reading some of the many cards he used to give me when we were first going together. That was a long time ago!

All in all, I am happy with the state of our relationship. I did spend 20 years of my life with him and he’ll always have a special place in my heart. Though I’m happy that we’ve both moved on, I’m also happy that we can remain in one another’s lives in some capacity, and I genuinely hope to meet Brett one day. I think we’ll get along splendidly.

The Rest of the Evening

Even though once Joe had gone I had still planned on going out, my phone kept ringing and that would eventually tucker me out. I spoke with my mom and Rebecca, my student teacher from the fall who wanted some advice on a job she’s been offered, and my old student Max. Max was one of my very first students. He’s a Russian national who moved here from Kazakhstan (Yes, where Borat was from!).

Max and I have had a very special relationship over the years and in the past year or so we’ve stayed in contact. His parents moved from the town where I teach and whenever he’s out here he looks me up mostly because he doesn’t know too many people where they’re living now. Though it can be a bit much at times, it feels nice to have someone who still looks up to me and actually thinks I’m cool enough to hang out with.

Max came by for a little while and though he didn’t stay long, I was tired when he left. I decided to save some money and stay home. I never had the chance to take a nap like I had wanted to, so I went to sleep early for a Friday night, but I guess I needed it. I saw on Facebook that the singer Charo was at Splash last night giving a performance, which would have been cool to see. Oh well, that would’ve been cool, but…

Getting Better

As for my state of mind, I’m following my own advice and taking it one day at a time…living in the present. Selling my car yesterday was a big boost, and so were my visits with Joe and Max and the phone calls, as well. My life isn’t so bad, after all! I’ve got to learn more to appreciate what I have and not muddle in what I don’t. Of course, he lingers on in my mind, but I think I’ve become more accepting of the situation.

I think like before, anger has replaced sadness and I’m feeling like maybe I wasn’t so crazy through this after all. I’m mature and intelligent, and my perceptions and feelings were valid enough that they deserved more consideration than they got. For a little while, I was still hoping for some sort of reconciliation, but I see now that that’s improbable. I feel like I’ve been completely erased and that’s probably better for me in the long run. As always, I have to keep on keeping on…

As always, thanks for listening…

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Skybox Restaurant and Sports Lounge, located at 23 Hallock Avenue in Mt. Sinai, is your typical sports themed eatery. The pub took over the spot where the famed “George’s Handlebar” once stood and is a nice place to enjoy comforting noshes with friends or family while taking in the latest big game.

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One of the most common New Year’s Resolutions is to save money. In this economy, many of us are saddled with debt and disposable incomes are at low levels for many of us. Finding opportunities to save money doesn’t always come along so easily, but there is one place you can go to save big on dining out. YourLI.comis a website that offers great deals on dining discounts at fine restaurants all over Long Island.

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Pantano’s Kitchen, located at 3535 Merrick Road in Seaford, is a great little bistro serving up great food every day, all day long. With a plentiful menu of specialty pizzas, salads, paninis, wraps, entrees and so much more, Pantano’s is a great place for dining in or taking out.

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The historic Pine Grove Inn of Patchogue has been serving people in one way or another for about 100 years. The charming building is located in a beautiful setting alongside one of East Patchogue’s tributaries just south of South Country Road. The restaurant serves up good quality German cuisine at reasonable prices in a warm, cozy atmosphere.

Though I’ve lived in Patchogue for the past twelve years, I’ve never been to the Pine Grove Inn before, so when a friend suggested it I agreed to give it a try. I’m not a big fan of German food, though the only German cuisine I’d ever tried was sauerbraten, which I didn’t like. My friend assured me I’d find something on the menu to whet my appetite, and he was right.

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