Monday, April 16, 2012

Catching Up


Too busy lately to post much except videos and stuff.
  • Finished my taxes over the weekend - a weight off my mind (and out of my wallet, too).
  • Have mentioned previously that Daughter started riding a bike on her own over Spring Break. 
  • She's already mastered the single-speed 20" bike - will start looking for a small-framed 24" mountain bike on Craigslist.
  • To celebrate her achievement, on St. Patty's day her Mom brought us some Shamrock Shakes and cupcakes.
  • Mmm.
  • We sure have seen a lot of snakes this year.  This is one I spotted before Daughter saw it:


 
  • Although I wore ties to work for 20+ years, my current job doesn't require it.
  • I started wearing them again last week (though not every day).   I actually sort of like wearing a tie, but am very particular - I don't agree with the old tradition of giving one as a gift, it's a very personal choice.  If someone gave me one, chances are that I wouldn't like it.
  •  Am considering ordering some shirts from Paul Fredrick's on their first-time customer special.  Two button down collar and two English tab collar with French cuffs (I have lots of cuff-links).
Antiqued Square Cufflinks
    • Monogrammed?  Of course - they're including it in the promotion. Block letters and diamond - I don't like the script monograms.
    • Undergarment trifecta last week - brand new:  t-shirts, boxer briefs (TMI, I know), and socks.
    • I enjoyed the 60 Minutes special on Mike Wallace.  Though there wasn't much footage I hadn't seen in prior retrospectives, or, in some cases when they originally aired, one couldn't help but be amazed at the breadth of 20th century notables that he'd interviewed.  What a life.
    • Those were the days:
    • Attended a birthday party for an old friend over the weekend (if you call 79 old), complete with folks I've worked with over a 30 year period.  Seems a lot of them have moved out west - a couple of them between Azle & Boyd, one in Justin,  another in Alvord, one north of Chico, and one between Sunset & Bowie.
    • Makes me want to get out of town, too.
    • An old boss's wife (I think the world of both of them) asked me if I was dating.
    • Um, no.  I may be a glutton for punishment, but I'm not stupid.
    • Without any noise, bump, groan, clatter, grind, clunk or anything, my car's transmission stopped transmitting about a mile south of 114 on FM 51 last week, as I was driving along at about 65 mph.
    • The car is now in sick bay to determine what's the matter.  Ugh.
    • At least I had cellphone service - glad that didn't happen last month when I was between Vernon & Seymour - lots of places along 183 where I was out of range for 20-30 minutes or more.
    • When trucks used to be made of metal:

    12 comments:

    Jarhead™ said...

    I bought some Paul Frederick shirts several years ago and was very, very disappointed. They are kleenex thin and are extremely wrinkly when they come out of the wash.

    I'd think twice if you haven't already bought them.

    If I've learned one thing in my career it's never skimp on suits, shirts and especially shoes.

    $0.02

    an Donalbane said...

    Jar - Actually, thanks for the heads-up. Had read a similar online review but discounted it - it carries more weight coming from someone you [kinda] know.

    And no, I hadn't pulled the trigger yet.

    I wish JCP carried their Stafford executive pinpoint easy-care button downs that they had 15 or so years ago - nice crisp, durable shirts. Vestiges of that style are still available online.

    Jarhead™ said...

    I wear almost exclusively Jos A. Bank Traveler shirts and pants.

    They're an "investment" of sorts, but they wear really well and you hardly have to iron them.

    I've had really good luck with Johnston & Murphy shoes also.

    Anonymous said...

    Hey Don!

    here hoping this "tranny" works out better than the last "tranny" you had.


    Dew

    an Donalbane said...

    @ Jar - I've had mixed results with JAB purchases, but based on the emails I get, they do appear to be having some good sales.

    @ Dew - A graduate of improv school and that's your best material? BTW, it turns out to be the torque converter. Ugh.

    Kathleen... said...

    Donald, I laughed at the "are you dating?" question. Bless your heart. And btw, the snake pictures are awful!

    an Donalbane said...

    KW - I'm not much the fan of snakes.

    KS - If I were better 'heeled', pun intended, there are a couple of styles of Allen Edmonds I could really dig, but, dang, they're expensive.

    RPM said...

    That looks like a '63 F100. Granddad had a '62 then a '68 (that wound up being my 1st car). But don't get me started on Ford trucks right now...

    Anonymous said...

    So instead of getting a tranny your getting torqued???

    Im not writing this mess, you are~!


    Dew

    Anonymous said...

    So instead of getting a tranny your getting torqued???

    Im not writing this mess, you are~!


    Dew

    an Donalbane said...

    Oh, great. Now your computer's double-posting!

    aroundthecorner said...

    Cuff links and monogramming?
    Never heard of such things. There are just snap hoops on my overalls, but they do have a lot of pockets.