Michael Harling's Blog, page 25

AFC

They don’t happen as often as they used to, but when the do, they take up a fair amount of my day and usually end in disappointment. I’m talking, of course, about AFCs — American Food Cravings.

This particular craving happened as I was returning home on the train this morning. The lunch hour was approaching and as I began pondering when I might have for my noon meal, it came—as they always do—unbidden and unexpected: I wanted a Reuben Sandwich.

For those of you not in the know, a Reuben consist...

Through a 21st Century Lens

Hands up! Who sings in the shower?

Thanks. Nice to know I am in such august company.

I have been singing, both in and out of the shower, for many years. So many, in fact, that I am actually beginning to bore myself with my repetitious repertoire. And in order to add new material, I have to stretch my memory back to the songs of my youth, rather than try updating my act, because “All My Friends” by Snakehips and Chance The Rapper or “Light It Up” by Major Lazer, Fuse Odg & Nyla don't really...

Capitulation

The thieves have won.


For those of you who are unfamiliar with the saga of Bike Number 1, Bike Number 2, and the acquisition and temporary disposition of Bike Number 3, you can go here for the full story. I’ll wait.

Back? Okay, I will now remind you of what I said a few posts ago concerning this bike:

“My newest replacement bike is in the hallway, leaning against the wall, 68 steps, two hallways and a catwalk from street level. Its tires have never touched pavement. I may like the balance we hav...

Toilet Troubles

I'm having problems with my toilet. This is how it started:

The extractor fan in the en suite bathroom began making a grinding noise and then stopped. And so, like any right-thinking individual would, I stood on the toilet seat to have a look at it, failing to take into account that household fixtures, appliances and pretty much anything else these days, are not made with the same care and quality of construction that was common in my day. Consequently, the toilet seat broke.

Fortunately, it me...

New Year Resolutions

Ah, the New Year. I can tell it’s here because the telly is cluttered with ads for nicotine patches, work out videos, dubious home-exercise machinery and scenes depicting smiling, happy people doing smiling, happy things while sucking on a mixture of water vapour and propylene glycol.

I wish them all well, I truly do, just as I hope the recent increase of joggers and cyclist we have to dodge during our morning walk will not prove to be a spike that lasts a week or two and then fizzles out by m...

Working With What We’ve Got

You may recall that, when I retired the first time, I bought a bike. Then someone stole it from our “secure” garage. So I bought a second one with a sturdy lock. The next day, someone stole it. And the lock.

As a result of this revelation that our secure facility is, in reality, an open marketplace for the light of finger, we have moved items stored in the garage that we would not want stolen and replaced them with things that, if they disappeared, we wouldn’t mind so much.



With the desirable i...

And Here It Is: Merry Christmas

Ah, Christmas. That wonderful, joyous, achingly nostalgic holiday that lives so well in our memories.

The reality, however, is sometimes not so glamorous.

When we mis-remember Christmases past, this is what generally comes to mind:

Cue "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."But at 8:00 this morning, this is what I saw:

This is the High Street
And this is what is growing out back of Sainsbury'sStill, despite the hurry and the hustle and the over indulging and the non-stop-shopping and the jaw-dropp...

Retired II - the Sequel

And just when I started warming to the idea that having a job wasn’t so bad after all.

I don’t mind, really. And considering I was hired two years ago on a six-month contract, I have nothing to complain about. So I’m not complaining. But I do wish I could be made redundant in, say, May or June. Why is it always at the end of November, when the weather is crap and the most rapacious weeks of the year are already grabbing us by the lapels and barking at us like street hawkers? It’s like, “Merry...

Paint It Black

It’s Black Friday here in Britain. I know, it’s ludicrous; you can’t have Black Friday without Thanksgiving but try telling that to the Brits.

Now, you may be thinking I’m a little late with this post, because Black Friday was ages ago, but here, Black Friday seems to be a weekend event. Hence, we had Black Friday Saturday, and Black Friday Sunday and, for all I know, this is Black Friday Monday and Black Friday Week is just beginning. This is because, although the shops are keen to cash in on...

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgivingto all my American friends and family.
I hope you are enjoying your day off, your turkey, your cranberry sauce, your stuffing, your potatoes, your creamed corn and that odd looking dish your aunt always brings that no one can identify but you eat anyway because that’s the polite thing to do.

The ExpectationOver here, for most of us Americans, it’s just another day. No day off, no big feast, no family gathering.

I am, however, having this for dinner tonight.

The RealityMarks and...