(I am certainly undisturbed by employers answering my inquiries.) Some weeks, I only shave every other day. The life of an unemployed job-seeker during a jobless economic recovery is not so bad, but sometimes it gets monotonous. It would be terrible to be standing out there in breadlines on frigid days like these. I'm thankful that technology has actually improved the process of getting unemployment benefits. Man it is freezing here in the shadows of commerce. Somebody noted that since none of us have jobs this year, we don't really need to do it on a saturday. In fact, with his bushy moustache, he looks a lot like a Saddam Hussein.)Īfter lunch we each go home with our bags of presents, which we hide in the closet until xmas (we get them wrapped at the Mall), and nap on the couch while pretending to watch the NFL game. (George says he is on the Atkins Diet and recently eschews the ambient sugar in alcoholic drinks. Actually, I am the only one who still drinks more than one beer nowadays - I think the others are on medications that do not agree with alcohol. Then we trundle back to the Pub for beer and burgers. )Īnyhow, we spend an hour or so, looking at the discarded legacy of the ancient world. I like stainless steel and teflon and battery powered clocks and modern refrigeration. I am firmly a here-and-now person, and I don't think old hunks of junk have any monetary value. I never buy anything, but I am amused and entertained by the sheer variety of old china, crystal and other junk that some people will pay real money to possess. (This is mainly George's influence, he likes to surprise his wife with some antique treasure such as used irish silver fish forks or jewelry that was old when grandma was a girl.
Sometimes, after a quaff or two we will then stroll across the street to check out the Antique Mall at Echo Bridge. They open at 11 and we are usually their first customers. Then, it's over to Newton at our favorite Irish pub for Bloody Mary's. None of us are typical shoppers - we are dressed like middleaged straight guys - Dockers, Sweatshirt, Baseball Cap, work boots - and so our questions to the perfume counter clerks ("Got anything that doesn't smell like a fart?" or to the sales person at Victoria Secrets "What have you got in a triple X Teddie?") are often met with fear and distrust. Then we spend 2 hours trolling the mall with our gift lists. We get to the Chestnut Hill Mall (or sometimes the Atrium) before the parking lot becomes too crowded. Four of us (George, Bill, the other Dennis and Me) have been doing this every saturday-before-Christmas for about ten years. I usually drive, since I am the only one with a car big enough to hold us that is not despoiled by dog hairs on the seats. Another traditional annual event where I and 3 of my closest buddies get together early to go shopping for our wives and loved ones. I have a new suit, I got new socks for Christmas, I'm positive and. The continued positive economic news probably means that there will be a lot of opportunities opening up as 2004 rolls out. Cave-in and hit the midnight buffet!Īnyhow, after several weeks of snow/ice blocked sidewalks, one can now venture forth for an invigorating walk. How can you justify a cruise ship if you aren't interested in eating five times a day! No sympathy from me. Her real problem is that she is not food oriented. She says, "I can't see the difference between a cruise ship and being locked up in the New York Hilton for 4 days sitting at the same table, with the same people at the same time for dinner every night." Poor thing. I received an e-mail from a friend who was complaining about being bored after only 2 days on a 4 day cruise ship near the Florida keys. Half the fun of a winter vacation is hoping that your friends and neighbors back home are envious that you are enjoying unfettered sunshine while they are freezing their collective butts off back home. It would really annoy me if we had taken a post Christmas vacation to escape the winter blues - and then to read in the morning paper that my $200 a day resort hotel room was only a few degrees warmer than my humble New England abode. If global warming continues at this pace, we will not need to plan a retirement in the South, since scientists say we will have the same climate in Boston that is currently enjoyed in Atlanta within a few more years. It's 55 degrees here in the Northeast today - a week after the official start of winter.
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