Lunch Break Notes

So last week I had to do one of the most difficult things in my life. I had to say goodbye to a friend that has been in my life every single day for the past 15 years. Levi was a good dog with a typical outlook on life. If it moved, bite it, if it smelt good, eat it and if a spot looked warm and cozy, lay and claim it. My wife had rescued Levi from a shelter as a gift to me for losing another Jack Russell previously. Clyde too was a great dog. He would attack your pant leg when you would go to leave the house. Sadly, he chased the wrong car and it got him. Levi was an incredible addition to our family. He was adopted under the notion that he was still somewhat f a pup but quickly came to realize that he was well past his childish phase. When we first got him, he would not bark at all, instead he would just sit and watch. It was not until my wife's cousin thought it would be funny to teach him to bark at specific races of people. After that he was a normal dog, ba

   This year has been one of the best years for Halloween, speaking for myself here. Sure the day was great when I was a kid. I couldn't wait till I got home from school and got into whatever it was that I was being for the night and meet up with friends to go around to the so called "rich neighborhoods" to gather a bag full of treats that I would never eat. It was all fun and games but never has it felt so great. I find that to be true to the fact that our 2 year old is obsessed. I wrote about this obsession before and am still amazed by it. I live in a town where Trick o' Treating happens a day early and so as I write this, I am able to share that my daughter was more entertained by the pumpkins, ghosts, zombies and bats that covered trees and houses than the actual treats that were being given. It was incredible to see her so happy.  One other thing that helped along the buildup for the big day, last night, is always the TV shows, movies and specials that are

   It has been quite a while since I last wrote anything. Life has been crazy and time has been.. well, there's just not enough of it. Since my last note a lot has happened. For starters, I now live in Toms River, a place I never fathomed living. I've been a Monmouth county resident my whole life and anything else seemed... not right. But oh how right it is! Living in Toms River is really something else. We have been greeted by almost every neighbor within 2 weeks of living here. Our next door neighbor gave us a pie on our anniversary, Mealz actually has a nickname for her, RoRo. People approach us to just talk. It is an incredible change of pace from where we were.  Now one thing I never imagined about Toms River is their love and devotion for my favorite holiday. Not Christmas, we lived in that town and it was a bit creepy, yeah I'm looking at you Ocean Grove. This town loves Halloween so much that they actually celebrate the Trick or Treat part of it a day early so

As the old saying goes... Tonight i went to visit my mothers grave. Something that I do with my step dad about twice a month. My mother was the first one to be put into the new plot at the cemetery when she was buried. Since then, there have been quite a few additions to her surroundings. She has new neighbours if you will. One of those new neighbours happens to be a friend of myself and Lex. Our friend Wes is now buried in line with my mother in a far off plot in a beautiful cemetery. As soon as i got out of the car tonight and saw his headstone something inside of me just went click and then the cloud came over me. It could have been any other Wes but something told me it was the crazy fun Wes that we knew. The same Wes that my wife worked with at two jobs. The same Wes that only a couple months before invited me into his Dungeons and Dragons group. Boy, do I wish i took him up on that invite. I could not believe that a friend of ours lies just at my mothers feet so now when I vi

In light of recent events I am strongly considering a long term vacation from Facebook. This decision came to me ever since my feed has been filled with arguments among friends and family.How did we go from sharing pictures of our kids and waffles to spewing hateful words and tragic stories, a direct bi-product of said hateful words, for all to see? I know the answer and many people will not agree or believe this but... this is what is now being called, the Age of Trump or the Trump Era. Tragically this is a time where it is OK to curse at illegal immigrants and laugh in the face of those less fortunate. White supremacists march not only in the South but our northern cities as well. I myself do not align with what is known as the Left or the Right. Lots of people will call me a "Snowflake", which is a joke itself being that it is a term used by supporters of our current leader. It is because of our leader that this hate is so front row in our lives.  This s

   Don't get me wrong here, I know that there is a lot of underrated television out there today but man oh man!!! Last man on earth was truly something different. A story about the "supposed" last man on earth is a storyline that could go stale quicker  than a sourdough left out, yet they kept it fresh!  Even though this show was written as a comedy with some bits of drama, actually there is quite a bit of drama in it, making it a drama-dy. It touches on aspects of the end of the world like no other show. Such topics that are brought up are what to do when gasoline goes bad or what happens to the people in space and the nuclear plants. These are topics that no other show touches. The Walking Dead has been on for YEARS but not once did they consider what to do with all the vehicles once fuel runs out or goes bad. It gave the show a very bleak and serious touch when dropping "turds" or "oh fart" lines. The final episode was and is

Things are always changing here in good ol' Jersey. As of lately... for the worse.  Over the past few years it has become increasingly tough to maintain a life in New Jersey. For those of you that think it's all Guidos and nightclubs on the beach, well.. that's one reason it's been getting tougher. It seems that businesses here and landlords alike are only interested in satisfying the needs of the summer crowd that plagues, yes...plagues, our lovely little oasis. Not only are there no places to live year round but the cost of staying here is ridiculous. It seems to me that landlords want a chunk of that New York money that is no longer enough to sustain a life in the big city and its surrounding areas. I have seen the rent go up in our area at least twice a year for the past few years and there is no knowing when it will stop. I am sick to my stomach with knowing that it is only a matter of time before we go broke and are flat on our asses and forced to va

I am a huge Star Wars fan so when I heard there was a film coming out about Han Solo I was pumped. Only thing was, I had to go alone due to there being a one year old involved. I can't just leave her in the crib alone while I go see the movie. Luckily though, my wonderful wife agreed to let me have the night so I may indulge myself in my inner child...geek..whatever you may want to call it. That's enough of the how now lets get to the what. The what, of course, being the film. Solo was incredible. It was absolutely everything and nothing at all what you would expect in a Star Wars film. I agree with many when I say that it was nice to not see the Skywalker story play out. It was gritty, not at all magical and that was quite nice for a change. Going into a movie alone is... weird. With that being said, I quickly forgot how weird it was once the movie began. No opening crawl like past films and right into the action, just like past films. I loved the sewer- setting of Ha