Things Come in Fours?

First it was Ed McMahon dying. Nice enough guy, but really hasn't been relevant in, what? 18 years? If Donald Trump wasn't bailing him out of his mortgage woes, then I probably couldn't tell you if he was alive or not in any event. How he pissed through all that "Bloopers" "Star Search" and "Carson" money is beyond me anyway.

Then, nearly simultaneously, it was Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

Now, Farrah really hasn't been relevant since when? The twin-nipple poster that many a young man tossed one (million) off to? Charlie's Angels? Or merely being tabloid fodder for her many tumultuous relationships.

Michael, too, has really only been relevant for scandals since, what? 1987? Talented guy, yes. I like many of his songs but he's honestly more known for being a freak and, ummm....shall we say extremely poor decisions, if not disgustingly criminal behavior as of late.

And now comes the death of Billy Mays! Relevant? Hell yeah! From him I learned I can completely clean and detail my car in 3 minutes. I now know I can plant plants, till my farm and erect skyscraper footings with a cordless drill and "awesome auger". I know, too, I can easily chop vegetables in my fly-free, odorless kitchen all the while sprinkling grated cheese from my cheese grater/plate combo. Oh, and I can "Oxy" clean any product known to man.

Billy Mays? Relevant? I think so! Such an impact on my life. R.I.P. Billy.

Bad News

Bad news on the NouveauBlogger home front. We lost the baby :(.

Should be a Beatles Song

Holy shit! I think I just saw the sun!

Was it? Hmmmm......guess not. Maybe summer will make it around Labor Day.

Act Your Age

When I was about 13 my dad took myself and my two younger brothers to a "Make Your Own Sundae" shop. We thought that was the coolest thing in the world!

I explicitly remember using the men's room there one time and seeing black sharpie scrawled graffitti that read:

Flush twice. Its a long way to the hot fudge machine.

I thought that was the funniest thing in the world and nearly fell down laughing. Frankly, its still kind of funny to me.

New and Improved

New layout. What do you think?

Please sign onto the "followers" section too if you like.

Its All Good

The vote went our way in a landslide. All is well in the Nouveau world.

Vote Yes!

Remember that saying: A recession is when your neighbor gets laid off, a depression is when you do?

Tonight there is a union vote in the city and its outcome has bearing on whether my wife has a job tomorrow morning. A job she bleeds for. She works extra hours basically without complaint yet, in the end, employees are dispensable, aren't they?

So her union members vote tonight whether to give up 1/52 of their pay plus raises for two years. Yet they get 4 extra days off. If they vote against it, then 1/4 of the members will be let go in the morning. Rumor having it that my wife will be one of them.

Why her? Because she makes the most money in her particular department. That's how they're laying it out. Its silly thinking too, because a very high percentage (I forget how much, but it might be 70%) of her $63,000 is paid by grants that she obtains! So how much will the city save? And who will be as good as her at getting those funds in the future? Politics lacks so much reason sometime.

Furthermore, I recommended that she and some of the others in her position call as many members as possible in the hopes that they at the very least understand how little they have to give up to save these positions. Also, they needed to emphasize that somebody will be picking up the workload and these already over-taxed employees don't have enough hours to do so. They spent the better part of the day, yesterday, doing that. She felt a bit better after talking to the members, but then, some people tell you what they think you want to hear, but when that curtain closes, vote otherwise.

Get this: my wife is one of those who counts the votes! Isn't that crazy?

On our side, too, is many of the people on the chopping block are beloved by all; my wife included. These are individuals who work for more than a paycheck. They work for the benefits they're doing for the community as a whole. Hopefully, the likability of those rumored to be chopped plays to our favor as well. Certainly, it can't hurt.

We're basically a paycheck-to-paycheck type family and with another on the way, this could be daunting proposition if the vote doesn't go our way. We'll survive, of course, its my nature to battle through obstacles.

We're cautiously optimistic at this point. My creedo is to not worry until its time to worry. Am I concerned? Of course. There's always a significant number of selfish idiots who don't see the big picture and feel "we gave back last time! no more!". The firefighters union voted concessions down thinking the city was bluffing and wouldn't lay off firefighters. That would most definitely be bad P.R. for the city, I'm sure. But if the money isn't there.......

Anyway, think a good vibe our way. It can't hurt, can it?