Yeah, I’m about to have quite a few of those. Much is on my reptilian brain this morning.

I saw this photo on a friend’s Facebook wall today. I am redoubling my efforts to be a barracuda against bullying this year at school. Gay, straight, malcontent, square peg…doesn’t matter who you are. No one deserves to be bullied. (Well, maybe St****rs fans.) So a warning to all and sundry who want to be mean people at school: I’m comin’ for ya.

Speaking of beating up on folks, the Browns did that in fine style last night. ‘Bout time someone from Cleveland can beat a Detroit team. But can Cleveland catch a break? No. If it’s not a lack of offense or pass rush, it’s injuries. I swear.

So why all the whirlwind weekends? The Thriller and I have done really well with treating ourselves better. Since April, he’s lost 36 lbs., and I’ve lost 29 now. We stopped pumping ourselves full of sugar and animal fat, and cut way down on our wheat consumption. It’s taken only four months to lose this weight, which is a surprisingly short time. I don’t usually post about weight issues, because I never wanted to get caught gaining it all back and having to explain yet another failure on that front. But it’s good now. I feel confident that it’s gone to stay. Yippy!

Anyway, my point, and I do have one, is that we are going to use every Sunday as a cooking marathon. Once rehearsals for the musical start up next week, it’s full sails and into the wind for me, but I refuse to let my nutrition take a back seat to my schedule. So, we cook and prepare and plan. (It’s the “plan” part that usually gets me.)

Anyone who has any great ideas on cooking ahead, post away. I have several, but always looking for more!

Happy Finkday — I’m off to pay bills, then to the crazy weekend(s) ahead.

What, already?

One of my favorite — albeit tragically sad — lines from Immortal Beloved is when Beethoven, in his final death struggle, reflects on his life and says with great bitterness and regret, “The comedy is over.”

And so it goes with Summer 2013 (except without the bitterness and regret part). Yesterday, I went to Earth Fare with Kay and bought some groceries, then spent the better part of the evening relaxing. It was the last time until, oh…Christmas break. This morning, it’s back in the Old Routine — yeah, man.

Things are changing all over this fall, especially with public education in Ohio, and indeed, the country. I don’t know where I’ll be (in my head) next Memorial Day, when this year is over. I hope I can keep my attitude positive and my outlook fresh. It’s sort of self-defeating any other way, ja? Life is what you make it, and all that happy crappy, as Stephen King says.

One thing’s for certain: next year’s Odyssey will be fun. It’ll be shorter, but still exciting. In the general plan is a trip to Virginia Beach, followed by the sights in and around Washington, DC and Philly (the Thriller has never been to either place), and a jaunt up to Atlantic City. The only bad part? Surviving Pennsylvania. (This is the state that never ends; it just goes on and on, my friend…)

We’re really not beach people, so the trip to the ocean will be for the view and not the sunbathing. But we hope to see fantastic things, and we’ll enjoy the planning process. The saving-up process, not so much, but it will have been worth it when we finally take off next June.

Next June…are we there yet?

It sure has been lazy. I’ve done nothing but read, drink coffee, read, eat breakfast, and then I read some more.

Last night’s concert was great! And just as awesome was the chance to reconnect with people I hadn’t seen in years (old high school classmates). It was a grand time, with some excellent music. RtB fiend Candace was sensational in the band.

So I slept in a little this morning — all the way till 7:15! Nice, eh? I know I should be getting to work, as there are only nine days left before teachers report back, but I just can’t pull the trigger on it yet this morning. So instead…

This would actually be an idea for the many things that need changed around here. It would take some organization, but if history teaches, it just might work.

I keep reading more and more about people getting post-retirement careers. For a long time, I thought I knew what I wanted to do (bake for people, which I still do), but there may be other possibilities out there as well. Let’s face it, I can’t stop working when I retire. I’m going to need other avenues. Time to think outside the metaphorical box, mayhap?

Maybe I’ll do that, but not today. Today is for relaxing! In fact, we’ll do a lot of it when we stop for dinner somewhere after hitting the Titanic Artifact Exhibition and IMAX movie Titanica with Bob and Kay this afternoon, up at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland. Looking forward to it bigtime, as I’ve wanted to see it ever since it first went on tour. I guess that means it’s probably time to shut this down and hit the shower. Have a great weekend, all of my 100-some worldwide readers. You are small but mighty! (And appreciated)

I hope you’ve had a good week! Mine shaped up nicely, as we had the Js all day yesterday, and today I will have coffee with Rae on my back porch. Haven’t seen her since her wedding back in May.

After that, maybe some grocery shopping, then out to a concert tonight at a local orchard, where I’ll reconnect with some old high school friends and hear some great music by a band that’s reuniting for one night, for a good cause (the Wounded Warrior Project). It’ll be like a Class of ’77 reunion, but without the dressing up and overpriced food. Fun!

I hope your weekend plans are shaping up. Riding bikes, fishing, relaxing in front of TV, boating, choral arranging…whatever makes it enjoyable.

We hates it. We hates it forever!

Now and again over the last 5+ years, I’ve been known to yammer on about any number of issues that bug me. Some just annoy me slightly, while others make me want to launch a puppy at a speeding truck.

As I’ve been up since 3:10 this morning (can you tell that school days are near?), I’ve done quite a bit more reading than usual, which increases the likelihood I’ll read something that’ll honk me off. So in the interest of continued harmony here, but mostly just because I’m crabby, behold the Please don’t list:

Please don’t tell me any of the following: Oh, just calm down; Chill out; Relax, or the like. If you crave a manifestation of the full, unrelenting force of Newton’s third law, then have at it. Otherwise, know that I would never intentionally grate on your everlast nerve by insulting your intelligence and completely ignoring and invalidating your feelings. Intentionally.

Please don’t listen to sensationalist fearmongering (also known as The Weather Channel). This morning, I learned that 1400 asteroids were plummeting towards Earth. One of them is the size of a “golf course.” (???) The most poignant statement comes at the end of the clip, where Matt Sampson says (with a straight face — I am not making this up) that “scientists believe that if one of these objects collided with the earth, there would be devastating consequences.”  (*bLiNk*) Not that this is the same channel that produces It Could Happen Tomorrow or anything…

Please don’t cruise in the passing lane. This hasn’t happened to me this morning, of course; I’m just reminding all for the common good.

Please don’t parrot the lie that teachers “get paid 12 months for doing 10 months of work.” If I read that insipid, ignorant crap one more time… Here’s the deal. I work a 10-month contract at a laughable 10-month wage, which my school district stretches out over 12 months. Bam.

Please don’t believe for a New York minute that Bill Gates is giving away $5,000 if you “like” a post on Facebook. Don’t believe that Disney is giving away free tickets, or Olive Garden is giving away free meals, or that something will magically happen to your screen if you click “like” on the picture. (Yes, people really, really fall for this.) And if I see another “liked” post with the comment, “I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try, haha!!” I’m gonna…oy.

Ah *slurp another sip of cafe mocha*, I feel better. Not so crabby. I shouldn’t have read anything this morning. DO NOT READ! IT’S BAD FOR YOU!

SmeagolFink out.