March 31, 2014

27th anniversary of my marriage coming up. We always spent Final Four weekend in a hotel in the city. Usually the Millennium Hilton. Most of the time it was Palm Sunday eve.

March 30, 2014

Well, the April showers are early. As long as it isn't snow.

March 29, 2014

Spring Laundry. I won't hang the sheets outside but I liked this painting by Meg West.


 


Was putting my taxes in late because I thought I owed 5K. I believed my program told me I had to file as single but someone told me I should qualify for Head of Household, Qualifying Widower for this year and the next 

Voila !

I get a small Fed refund and a larger NYS one. I didn't answer a simple question in the beginning correctly. A potentially costly mistake. I now have to re-adjust my W-4. Should up my paycheck by at least $300 a month as I now have that as single. I do these things so quickly, I have to slow down and think once and a while.

March 28, 2014

Sudden death of a friend was jolting yesterday and another friend is going through ALS. Each day is a gift, try to enjoy.

March 27, 2014

Going exploring at lunchtime today. First visit, the Peking Duck stall in Flushing.

March 26, 2014

I use Quicken as my personal finance software. Great product but little glitches pop up once in a while especially with connectivity to financial institutions. Luckily, with Google and a little tweaking I solve these problems on my own. There is only one account that needs to be entered manually and that Credit Card will be paid off in two months. All my transactions are automatically entered and balancing my checkbook has never been easier.

March 25, 2014

My oldest binge-watched Breaking Bad, now my youngest is doing the same for House of Cards. People at work rave about both series. My viewing: sports, Seinfeld reruns and Family Guy.

March 24, 2014

This year, I had a main bracket, which is now dead, thanks Syracuse, and four alternate universes. Two of them are now dead, thanks Wichita State and Syracuse again. Two more left, go Arizona or Florida !

March 23, 2014

This year I completed five brackets. I am still alive in three. Syracuse killed my best one, Duke harmed my other ones. Still, one of the best tournaments so far.

March 22, 2014

One load in, one to go. It is Spring at last. NCAA's are great, Knicks are on a winning streak, all is good.

March 21, 2014

My bracket was 10 for 10 at one point, wound up 13 for 16, 90.6 %.

March 20, 2014

I've completed my Bracket and let the games begin. Starts today at 12:15 pm.

March 19, 2014

Spring is here tomorrow. Yeah !

March 18, 2014

Still trying to get to the 200 mark, these last seven to eight pounds will be the hardest. Right now at 208 after going down to 206. Eating less and more work-outs seem to be the answer. I do feel better and my waist is down, some clothes are a bit looser lately. Good to have goals, mine is under 200. Lost 8-9 pounds in a month.

March 17, 2014

Google gives us a Claddagh doodle. My spouse wasn't Irish but she wore the Claddagh ring I bought her. She always wore something green for the day. I don't do the crazy things I used to, but will have several Irish Coffees this morning.

March 16, 2014

Irish Coffee to start the day, half and halfs to finish.

March 15, 2014

Leprechaun laundry. Whenever St. Patrick's Day falls on a Monday, it is officially St. Patrick's Day weekend. Time for soda bread and Irish Coffee. One load in, one to go.

March 14, 2014

Good food, good drink. I like the Barclays Center. A great place to watch a basketball game,

March 13, 2014

Taking the day off to see some A-10 Basketball. Going by myself. Should be interesting. I like the Barclays Center and the beer and food are top-notch. Last year was Buffalo Wild Wings, This year is a reception inside the arena and to meet the current University President. Will take a train there to indulge in adult beverages throughout.

March 12, 2014

Going to take some time off to see the A-10 championships. Barclays Center is a cool arena.

March 11, 2014

One of my accounts would not load in Quicken and a security question was "What city did you meet your spouse in?". My account did reset but I remembered the time. Funny stuff and somehow she ended up with my pants, she was with a whole group that wound up in my apartment and it rained heavy that night. She sent it back washed. We started the relationship several years later.

March 10, 2014

My workout routine is to run every other day for a mile on the treadmill followed by a half-mile walk. I now increased it on the two off-days to a half-mile jog, half mile walk. Weekends are off. Now, I couldn't work-out Friday, so what happens: I felt bad yesterday. Really down, had to find something to do to occupy myself. So I watched the BBC Sherlock Holmes "His Last Vow" which I had previously DVR'd. I then read the story on which it was based: The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton. Now, feeling a little better. Do I need exercise for mental health ?




 Lars Mikkelsen was great as Charles Augustus Magnussen, the name in the TV version.

March 9, 2014

What You Learn When You’re 60.

Having friends is better than having money.

It’s fun learning what the people you grew up with are up to, but you really don’t want to hang with any of them that you weren’t hanging with before the Internet.

March 8, 2013

One load in the dryer, another in the wash. Be done by 7:30 am.







Yeah, another $22.50 win.

March 7, 2014

My mantra used to be work smart, play hard. Now it's don't do too much playing and just working hard. Got to get the old mojo back.

March 6, 2014

The 33-foot-long dinosaur called Torvosaurus gurneyi was the scourge of Jurassic Europe. Torvosaurus means "savage lizard", and is derived from the Latin word torvus meaning "savage" and the Greek word sauros (σαυρος) meaning "lizard." T. gurneyi—named after paleo-illustrator James Gurney—was part of a group of big two-legged meat-eaters called megalosaurs.

March 5, 2014

Ash Wednesday, a day of reflection and fasting. I have already started a Lenten ritual: no snacks, no sodas. A great way to reexamine one's cravings and habits. My early start on this because of an attempt to lose weight was so much easier from my Lenten rituals.

March 4, 2014

Ok, I am Knick fan. The first step is to recognize that you have a problem.

March 3, 2014

Watched the Oscars last night. Another year in which I hadn't seen one nominated film. Ellen Degeneres was amusing which is what the job calls for. Went on too long, not very good speechifying but still a must-watch event.

March 2, 2014

Yikes, more snow. At least it won't be 12".


 


Today's game won't be fun but I'll be watching and hoping for a miracle.

March 1, 2014

Every Saturday, like clockwork, two loads. Right now, one in wash, one in dryer. Be done in about an hour.