I’m convinced that my timing is worse than what most people experience. I wish I could say it was part of my aw shucks, hapless sap type of charm… a Charlie Brown lovable loser vibe… but some days it feels less charming and more loser-like than others. My ex-wife used to call me yellow-light Matt…
Category: Dear Diary
The Car: One More Year?
The dog is on the floor a few feet away chewing on a bone. Every time I look over, he wags his tail – he wants to play. We’ll be taking our first long-ish trip together when we head to Bucks County for the Thanksgiving weekend. I’ve never traveled with a dog before – let…
The Best-Laid Plans
Friday morning… For the first time in nearly two years (two Christmases ago), I’m heading back to the Philadelphia area. I haven’t seen many of those people, family and friends, in that time. I’m looking forward to it, but I hate the “scheduling” of things to do and deciding on who I’d like to see…
Low-grade Withdrawal
On Sunday afternoon (10/17/21), a little after 4pm as the sun tried to break through the clouds, I consciously uncoupled from social media. I didn’t go so far as to delete my accounts (I didn’t even deactivate them), but I did remove them from my phone’s home screen…. which is a little like putting them…
Constant Acts of Self-Interpretation
Yesterday, my chest heavy and my head dull from the beer the night before, I moved slowly through the morning. My voice was scratchy and deep from loud-talking over the music. I met two strangers, TJ and Rachel, who are both regulars at the bar. We talked about things… the local music scene, the cops…
3 AM
The dog shakes his head and in that moment, the sound of his ears flapping combined with the slight jangle of his collar seems like the most distinct sound in the world. It’s 3:24 in the morning when he does this. Now, half-an-hour later, I’m still up. I don’t want to be up. I rolled…
A Break from the Routine
Monday, 2:14 AM. That’s when my phone buzzed with an email from MyAnalytics – a type of productivity software that seems to be tied in with my Microsoft Office account. The tagline under the logo reads “Discover your habits. Work smarter.” I can’t imagine that waking me up in the middle of the night (I…
In the Cool Light of Morning
I can see my breath in the morning chill. The temperatures are in the upper 40s and I’m thinking about how I’m not ready for the cold. I’ve already noticed how much less time in the light I have for things like dog walks, trips to the park, and runs. Oddly, when I think about…
Small Thoughts, Shorter Days
9-20-21The few wisps of clouds in the early morning sky are painted cotton candy pink. The full light of day hasn’t quite reached the ground yet. I’m putting off walking the dog or getting ready – though I’ve already built my to-do list a few times in my head. I sit at the dining room…
The Grump
This was last weekend… It’s sunny and mostly clear—mid-sixties on a Sunday morning. The sky is a cloudless, powdery bluish-white. Because yesterday and today have been, and are, a mix of emotions for a lot of different reasons, I’m a little stuck on what to write and feeling wholly inadequate about it. Yesterday morning, I…
The Seasons Change on a Monday
Joe was a little drunk and ogled every woman that passed by. He loves it when they wear dresses. His royal blue safari style fishing hat with the sides rolled up was too small for his head. His hair hung down on the sides, straw colored and unkempt. He had thick, almost goggle like glasses,…
Not an Adult
Today I recognize (because celebrate is probably too strong a word) another trip around the sun. It’s strange to be as old as I am and still not quite feel like an adult… or somehow feel like I’m less of an adult than other people my age. It’s not that I feel childish or immature,…