January 28, 2024
Flying to London tonight for our sales meeting. First time traveling out of the country for
the job. First time in London since 2001
or 2002? I’ve been at this job eight
years this year and recall during my interview when the HR person asked if my
passport was up to date. There was
speculation that our sales meeting would be in the UK. So, here I go. More later.
January 14, 2024
Instead of starting off that it has been so long since I wrote
a blog entry, I will stop and say that it’s good to be back. 2023 was the first full year, living with Meli. Our relationship is growing, and I am
grateful each day that we are together. Last
year, we went to some concerts, Mark Anthony at Prudential. It was the first and
last time I saw him. Juan Louis Guerra
at MSG which was a great show, Cheap Trick, Santana, Smithereens, and Duran
Duran. We also went to a Jets preseason
game, NASCAR in the Poconos, IronPigs baseball.
Trips to Costa Rica, Mexico City and a week in Maine. Of course, there were the trips back to Long Island. We finally saw a CC performance, a drag show. We went out to dinner many nights and took up
hiking, bike riding, joined a gym and have been working out consistently for close
to a year. I ran a half marathon and a 5-miler
last month. I finally got into fly
fishing. We had visits from family and
hung out with friends. My second novel
in the Bombastic Adventures in the Arizona Desert trilogy will be published by
Imzadi this year. Last year, an audio
book of Black Market Bones was published.
And our home has a new roof and siding and lots of plants and books. So, that is a brief summary of where we are
at.
But this is a time of reflection as well. And this is where I am. Yesterday, I had a coaching session with John
Joseph, former singer for Cro-Mags, Iron Man, a plant-based guru. It was an intro session. We need to know we
can work together and what was supposed to be a half hour turned out to be close
to one hour. I told him, I’d like to get back on task. My writing time and output has been minimal,
and it’s been this way for months. I get
in maybe 10 minutes a night and consolation were that is ten minutes more compared
to not writing at all. Walter Mosely writes
every day for hours and I was thinking, so can I. I used to get up and write before starting my
real job. I finished a novel, not in the
trilogy, that takes place in Ireland. But
since my wife is here, life is different.
She likes to have breakfast together each morning. Most mornings, I clean the dishes, make
breakfast, eggs, turkey sausage, we eat together, and I warm up her car and
scrape the windows off of any frost. I
used to drive her to work, and I am grateful that she’s driving. This saves a lot of time. But what am I doing with the extra time? I will be honest, not much.
Last year, I made the foolish decision to go back to Facebook. It’s different compared to when I was on it
back in 2017. There are now reels and
there are the same friends who are making the same comments, sharing new
pictures, happy for those who are expecting or been promoted or other positive or
not - life events which should we shared.
But most of it is whining, political or religious banter, regurgitating
of old garage bands, reliving the romantic past, but it was the reels that did me
in. Months later, I got off FB. It was difficult. There were a few aborted
attempts. It’s been months since I’ve
been there. Formerly Twitter, X was back
in my life as well, but again I realized I was in a place that was wasting my
time. It’s taking me away from my goals
and I am encountering posts that I don’t need to be exposed to. It all boils down to time management.
It is Sunday morning.
I woke up at 5:00. I want to
start waking up earlier, before Meli, so I can write. One of the suggestions
John made. Mission accomplished. It’s more than two hours since I started and
I am happy. John said many things yesterday
and I will hire him for more coaching sessions, but he said, I love what I
do. He also writes and is focused on his
projects, meals, workouts, and goals. I
am getting back. I haven’t had a drink
since January 1st. Meli and I
are on the road to transitioning to a plant-based diet. This year looks like it will be more productive
and just think, my phone is tucked away in the drawer to avoid any distractions.
Thank you for reading this,
Mike
Saturday September 23, 2023
It has been almost
a year since I posted on the blog. It’s
a good time to provide an update on things.
Today’s rain has something to do with it and with a new computer comes
the opportunities to post a few things.
So here it goes. At the end of last
October, I flew down to Costa Rica to bring Meli and her cat, Blue back to the
US. After waiting for years, it happened,
and it seems like more than a year ago when we pulled into the driveway together
for the first time. Meli and I have
settled into the house with two cats and an assortment of books. Since she came, the house has been re-sided
with what looks like cedar shakes, a new roof, re-insulated. Soon we will have two new storm doors and new
basement windows before the winter hits. There are new plants and trees in the yard
and the look inside our home feels warm and welcoming but call me first if you’re
interested in visiting. Since February, Meli
has been working as a technician at the pharmacy department in Allentown Hospital. She likes her job although I think she can
earn more money since she is busy speaking to a majority of patients who only
speak Spanish. She is driving back and forth
to work with me in the passenger seat, and she is working on getting her permit
and license here. Before you send in the
cops, she has her driver’s license from Costa Rica so she can legally drive. The kids are all doing well and I will share more
details in further blogs. My job has
been very busy and I’m happy with the progress I am making on some prospects. The job allows me time to write on the side. Back in July, I submitted the second installment
in the Bombastic Adventures in the Arizona Desert. I am currently working on the third and final
book. The audio book for the first installment,
Black Market Bones will be released soon. So, look for more posts on my flyfishing,
working out, biking, running, reading and other assorted comments about this life.
10/17/2022 07:55
I have to get ready for work but wanted to write that my
wife has her visa. This is after two
plus years of us processing.
10/17/2022 22:36
Calling it a day.
Time for me to get out of the office.
10/28/2022 18:35 Bethlehem
Well, it’s happening. Flying to Costa Rica on Sunday. The plan is to stay a couple of days and fly
back on Wednesday. I’ll either drive to
Long Island tomorrow and spend the night at Ma Pa’s or spend the night here and
wake up early and head out. How much
time am I saving if I stay the night on Long Island? Maybe about an hour, so it may be best to
leave from here and make it a day. I’ll park
at the terminal. So, instead of waiting for the LIRR and heading back to Ma Pa’s,
Meli and I with her cat Blue will drive back to Bethlehem. It will be another long
day. I’ll buy a coffee at Dunkies at JFK
and make the drive. I hope we’re back
here by 1 AM. That would be incredible
but being this is her first trip and immigration and Blue’s paperwork, we may
not get back till…I don’t know. I don’t want
to think about it. What will it be like
to start at life with Meli? I don’t know? Last night I walked around the neighborhood.
Saw one lit up face in a dark living room on their phone and was curious why
they were in the dark, what was so engaging?
Engrossed in the news? I’ll pack
tomorrow. Need to buy a couple of
things. There’s a small bowl of candy
outside for the trick or treaters and I thought I may have missed the costumes. Not sure if I will see any. Need to turn on the lights outside for the rascals
and animals who will happily eat the candy. But here it is. Meli will be here, and we can take walks
together and all the sites that I see, the rivers and streams, we can share together. We already have plans to see Tina, the
Broadway show – playing in Philadelphia late next month, on her birthday, the
22nd. And there’s so many
more plans. Travels. Meeting my parents
and eventually the kids. What will it be
like? How about all the stores who know
me and our story, when will your wife be here?
Hey, look, here she is. It is all
in God’s hands. Until she is here, until
a few weeks pass, and we settle in and know this relationship is real and it is
meant to me and not something in the future, until then. More months will pass and then years and we will
create the life we want.
Thank you for reading this
9/11/2022 14:46 Covid
Last Tuesday, I woke up feeling miserable. My brain was throbbing, coughing, fatigue and
aches and the rest of the symptoms that would make anyone guess, they got it. I heard the expression a couple of weeks after
people were getting hit with Omnicom, it’s not a matter of IF you get it, it’s
a matter of WHEN. I thought I beat it. I take care of myself. I eat well and run and workout. I play baseball. But it caught me. I made an appointment at the local Rite Aid
and took a test. The results came back Thursday
morning as positive. I took a rapid test which looked inconclusive. Wednesday and Thursday I was feeling better and
thought, I beat this. Friday, I woke up
feeling sicker. Yesterday, I woke up
feeling horrible, as if I had a hold cold, but without the mucus and in the shower,
I noticed my sense of smell was gone. We
played our first in a series of three in the playoffs and lost. We were down a few players, but next weekend
we will play a double-header and that will be it for the season unless we win
those games. I feel better today. Still no smell. I heard this thing kicks ass for two
weeks. So, I am resting and reading,
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana which came from Strand as
part of a fiction Book of the month club.
I am enjoying it, the characters are in a series of train wrecks which constantly
pop up.
Received a text from my publisher and they are scheduling interviews
and promo pieces. I need to jump on marketing
my book now that it’s out for a year. It’s
time. Worked on Part II of Bones.
It has been raining all day.
A stark difference to that day twenty-one years ago. May those souls rest.
Thank you for reading this
September 5, 2022
19:53
It’s Labor Day. I was
drilling holes in our home trying to find a way I get the Ring wires up from the
basement where’s there’s plug set up high and the mystery is getting the damn wires up and through the
wall to where the doorbell will be. Let me explain. This
house is solid. Concrete. It’s not blowing
over. I may need to hire an electrician. If you live in an older home and thinking of Ring, try the wireless. In my opinion, it will be less hassle and less money in the long run, but you need to charge the batteries. I ran earlier. More than four miles, but my right knee is
acting up. A lot of walking and I had a
shitty time in the humidity. There was
minimal traffic due to the holiday. Passed
a few dog walkers who scowled when I said good morning. The attorney called Meli from Mexico. Here’s the scoop, one of my clients works and
lives in CDMX and reached out to a friend who is an attorney. The attorney
thought Meli was in Mexico and a Mexican.
She said Meli needs to submit her birth certificate with a stamp. The good news, we found that we could request
the police records on-line, avoiding the trips back to the Mexican Embassy in
San Jose. No handwritten letters. The bad news, all of September is booked, and
she scheduled an opening on October 3rd and now she needs to get a birth
cert with a stamp. Always something. The attorney told her on Friday, we should have
the police record this week, this Friday the latest. Now that is out. We’re back to waiting for October which will
come fast. I waited for August to breeze
by since she had her interview on the 23rd. I thought about flying down to visit her, but
that would be a waste since there is a possibility, she will fly back with me
next month. I can look back on this and
say, I should have hired an immigration attorney. If I did, we may be together at this time. The normal process is two years for a spousal
visa, and yet this is not normal. She
lived in Chile and Mexico. More
paperwork. More bureaucratic bullshit.
She went to the post office and sent for her birth certificate with a
stamp. It will take two weeks from the
Costa Rican government. I need to be
patient. We need to be patient. I’ve been patient. We’ve been patient.
Thank you for reading this.
8/27/2022 21:40
Today, I installed a new Ring doorbell, clipped some wires,
and tried to kick start the thing, but it’s not functioning. I need to buy another device in hopes I get
the thing working before my wife joins me.
How is that going? Thank you for
asking. The interview we waited for was
this past Tuesday. Last week, the staff
at the US Embassy reviewed her paperwork and it was all in order. The week before that, Meli had her medical,
up to date vaccinations, a check of some vitals and she passes and had to pay
out of her pocket for it. Each trip (3)
my wife makes to San Jose can take up to five hours. She had spent nights there. Last week the interview took place and the
only thing holding the visa from being approved it her police records from
Chile and Mexico. She now has
Chile. I asked her to spend the night and
go to the Mexican Embassy the next day and explain the situation. They recommended she return this Monday and
wait in cue and once at the window, explain to the embassy rep that she is from
Tilaran which is five hours away. They
will make an appointment on Tuesday.
That would be two nights in San Jose.
She would have to go back the next day and write two handwritten letters
which will be sent DHL to the police records in Mexico City where a friend will
have to pick them up and mail it back to the embassy in San Jose CR. What happened to email? The internet?
Chile sent her police records by PDF in a few hours. I know what would happen with Mexico. On the first two attempts, they will
apologize and explain they lost the letters, or they misplaced the filing, and
she would need to start the process again.
Go back to San Jose for the third attempt, since three times is a charm,
and let’s face it, it will be a new year.
I know it. The whole concept it
too vague. But the US Embassy promised,
hey get us the certs from these countries and we will send your visa in two
days! On Monday, she’s speaking to a
friend in Mexico City who will work on this request. I asked Meli to speak to another friend whose
husband is an attorney and maybe he can assist with these records. I reached out the local congresswoman’s
office who called me back mixed up thinking I was calling about my wife working
at the US Embassy, nope, not me. I reached
out to an immigration attorney who explained she does not need the national
police, but the state police record will be sufficient. And other friends and clients have offered
suggestions, do you know an attorney? So, for now, we are ignoring the Mexican
Embassy since that will not work.
Thank you for reading this.
