New truck

Well, there goes my savings... my new truck, 2015 Kia Sorrento All Wheel Drive. Blows my Blazer away, obviously. Seven seater, plenty of room for hockey bags, hockey sticks, baseball gloves, bats and the kids and their friends on day trips to the beach or wherever.The coolest thing was it only had ten miles on it when I brought it off the lot. It's got all the bells and whistles-- rear view camera and Bluetooth; however as basic as my Blazer was, it has lasted 220,000 miles and that's a tall order for any vehicle.

Strange when you think of the life of a vehicle or what you were thinking when you first bought it. I bought my Blazer in 2001 (2000 model with 17,000 miles on it at time). I remember the main reason I got it was that I liked the size, gas mileage and it was made in America. I could carry my tools and transport condenser units if I had to. At the time, I had no inclination about having children. I used it as a service vehicle all over New England. It went across the country twice, once to Quebec City and twice to Montreal. It was a true road warrior.  

My new 7 year old Mathew and his friends last T-Ball game/trophy presentation

C U Next Tuesday

Some people are just plain rude and ignorant despite the fact you are working in their house to provide future comfort for them. Case in point, after my day job, remodeling the Audi dealership in Norwell, I went to a side job, also in Norwell but 15 minutes south, wiring an AC job for Scott. Well, the lady of the house hold, pregnant and ready to go anytime is there, surly attitude, pained smiles but whatever. I gave her the benefit of the doubt because she's pregnant-- even though generally the pregnant wife or girl friend gives friends and family the attitude and not the strangers working in their house. So I'm cleaning up my stuff, and then take a piss in the bathroom and as soon as I'm out, she's wiping down the toilet seat, the sink as if I had some toxic paint dripping off my forehead and then comes out and says nastily, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't use this bathroom." Ok whatever. The next day, a handwritten note is taped to bathroom door: Do not use this bathroom. Ok again. So Scott takes a piss in the apparent germ zone bathroom downstairs and then she bitches at him for not shutting the lid afterwards. At this point I refuse to say hello, goodbye, nothing unless she asks a job related question. The last straw was that it was probably 150 degrees in her attic where I was working and I was sweating so bad, the sweat got in my eyes and they began to burn. When I was done, no thank you or how about a cold glass of water? Just, "What time is Scott coming back?" Unbelievable. One of the worst, not sure if the worst but in recent memory, the worst customer I've had to deal with. I wanted to piss on her lawn on my way out of there. Ok there's my vent. Probably would have been a good Facebook post, back in the day.

Looking back a little 1994

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcfLy6OC8f0



Just some footage I found on one of my mom's old VHS tapes. I edited it down a lot (voice overs, bad shots, lingering scenes but didn't spend hours making seamless edits either) just enough so that those in the video can watch it and get a laugh. Scenes like this were typical at my parent's house back then... full of life and laughter. In those days, summer week-ends were filled with family, friends, horseshoes, pool-- and at night, beer and good times. Card games and music. In 1994, the addition to the house was just about finished (my mom's idea-- big socializing room with juke box, bar, bumper pool table, karaoke and the sky lights she so dearly loved). In 1994 I was still living at my mom's (although I did move to Hawaii in 1992 for 5 months and in 1993 to California for like a month and a half before realizing I wanted to come home and go back to college, do something in the creative arts like writing or photography). My sister and brother were still living at my parents too (my brother never moved out and still lives there with my dad and Uncle Bobby; the pool is gone, the horseshoes lost or layered with rust, the shrubs for the most part are overgrown and the silence there now is deafening). On the show Seinfeld, George Costanza proclaimed he would have a Summer of George well in 1994, I had my Summer of Jim. I won't bother with those crazy details but life around my parent's house was, on looking back, a beautiful time in my life (although at the time, living through it, I took much of those days and people for granted as I was always a little self absorbed). Anyway, just a little throwback video I uploaded to YouTube for the family.

Love Minus Zero

One of my favorite
Dylan songs. Been
feeling it lately.







                            

19 years? What what what? That can't be right. We met in 1996, married in 2001, 14 years ago today... Man oh man is Time running now. Look out!

ok so hockey game is over, I'm bored and just tried to watch 50 Shades of Grey... think I'll just be bored by my own ennui rather than Mr Grey....And so I have found a way to cure my boredom... checking out my old skits on YouTube... man, those were the days. Skit bloopers here I come. Good night Blog... excuse me... Mr. Blog!

What rotten luck

January... spin out on unplowed highway road and hit guard rail. Right rear end damage. February... got it fixed. May 15... as I'm waiting to take left hand turn on to my street, a woman, not paying any attention whatsoever slams her truck into mine... same spot I just had fixed in February. May 29... my wife's car is parked on the street in front of the house... neighbor's 19 year old daughter who just got her license, backs out of her driveway, slams into wife's car and wife's car is totaled. Girl says she thinks it "rolled away" from her. What the fuck.

The woman I married, Robin MacKinnon in 2001

White Mountains 2002

Zion National Park 2004

York Maine 1996

Waimea Bay Oahu 1999

Kaneohe Oahu 1999

Braintree Ma 2009

Aunt Carol's 60th bash

Within the last couple of years I had taken some old family VHS tapes and recorded them on to DVD. Now recently I finally was able to pull the movie files off DVD  and turn them into MPEG which allowed me to edit the video. Original tape was like an hour long but I took the better moments out and such and made it into a little over 9 minute video. Aside from some of my cousins (very young at time and very old now lol) there is funny footage of my sister and me-- footage of Zizzy, my mom, dad, brother and Slabs. I posted this on YouTube for my cousins so when my sister tells them about it, they too can enjoy this trip back to 1994.

Like

"I didn't defriend you... I defriended Facebook. However, you were never my friend anyway so stuff it."



Just a general thought I had that stems from my distrust of the shallow network of Facebook friending. I can't help but think people may think,' sheesh that Jim guy defriended me.' Yes, you and everyone else.

Copper fit. Day 1 excellent. Day 2 and we shall see.

UtHouse Gang

https://myspace.com/stacktrickmedia/video/the-uthouse-gang/29307876


My Uncle Bob, Uncle Dickey in front; my brother Dave, Dad and Mike Eurick. My mom filming. I'm posting this so I can find it easier than navigating through MySpace crap. Bobby wants to see the video. It was filmed most likely in 1995. It's in the new huge addition that my parents had built. Good idea at the time, when the house was full of life and people, not so much now. I got this from my old MySpace account. I swear to God I have no idea what is happening to all these old video files, the original video files I used to upload to MySpace or Facebook or YouTube. They should be stored on CD's somewhere. Sucks that if I want to use my own files, I have to use them through the web sights I had once posted them through. It's like they are no longer mine... but I suppose that's the contract. I just wish I could find the originals!

Happy birthday mom, wherever you are... Love you

I've come to suck... your... crap-- how does that saying go again?

Beauty at 5:50 am. Like a Lite-Brite board, the sun lit the trees for a minute and when I went to take a second picture, it was gone. Nice way to walk to the car to start a crummy work day!

I don't know what it was or where it came from. Maybe it's just the confusion of life, the struggle to love and live... but I just couldn't get it out of my head. I don't even know if it was something I read once or if it just popped into my brain out of my own depths. Over and over this thought just kept turning over until I was forced to write it down: enjoy the moment but embrace the past for the future is not promised. Then once I got it out of my system I was able to get on with my thoughts.

Waltham job

A collection of pictures from my camera as well as a few others who texted their pictures to me. I was here from July 3rd 2014 until March 2015. Just another fun work video. I published it on Youtube so the guys could see it as I keep this blog guarded. Maybe Brunelle Electric should hire me to maintain their web sight!

Shenanigans White Mountains 95 (in progress)

A little unfiltered river water anyone?

Spring time and I am white as a ghost and two days earlier just having been beat up in Harvard Square. Got more pics... of Dano and Rich I want to post. Eye opening weekend. Just so busy. Ugh.

That Santy

                                             Ha ha... found this on a USB thumb drive. Fun with Santa