I sure do miss her.

Erin Aljoe Schlather
September 3, 1977 - July 3, 2004

A Few things

1. Big shout out to Willis Carrier, the inventor of air conditioning. I was outside at a concert and as I walked home I was secure in the knowledge that my room was currently at 65 degrees. God bless that man. Las Vegas owes his family more than it could ever pay.
   
2. God Bless Bonnie Raitt. I saw her and Keb Mo. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure which one I was more excited about. If you don't know Keb, please go to ITunes or your current music store and buy his latest album. It was a great night, full of great blues and good beer. And thanks Chuck for being part of our gay little duo. There weren't a lot of male straight duos under 30 there. Good man for coming with.
   
3. I found out today that I got into grad school. It's not a huge deal. I didn't really tell anyone, because I applied late and that's sort of how I roll anyway. But I'm going part-time to Suffolk University in the fall for my Masters in Public Administration. Kind of cool, and kind of frightening.
   
4. Oh, and see History of Violence. Good violence. Better sex scenes.
   

Start a vigil...

Please keep David in your thoughts and prayers.

1. What kind of super shaving does he do?

2. Who's gym has chandeliers? His I guess.

Guess where the hell I am!

So as I type this blog entry, I am rolling down the MassPike on a bus. No, Fung Wah has not gotten hi-tech. This is the Limoliner. A rolling luxury coach with about 30 seats. It's got streaming broadband and big leather seats. I'm about to get served my drink by the attendant. And the bathroom is huge and has fresh cut flowers. I can still do work while I'm on this thing, and 4th of July traffic doesn't really bother me at all.

Now it is $79 each way, which is steep. I would have flown had JetBlue had some better fares. And the train was more than this, at about the same speed without the amenities. I'm probably breaking even over driving, with gas, tolls, wear and tear and snacks along the way. I decided that I plan to ride the bus in style. This is how I roll.

Besides, I wouldn't have the chance to post to a blog that no one reads. I recommend it, even just once. It only goes between Boston and New York, and I'm not sure if they have expansion plans.

Healing Hands

Hey all,

So earlier this week I had read about a massage school that gives massages on the cheap. And feeling rather stressed at work, I called and got an appointment for tonight. So I go to this place, which is on the second floor of this strip mall near my house. Past the Weight Watchers meeting, where I overheard the lady telling my chubby brethren that they can go for a kayak ride on the Charles, and straight to the Massage Institute of New England (MINE). I was told I was going to see what sounded like "Magoo" which conjured up images of an exotic woman with her hands on my body.

So it was Matthew. Yeah. I was a little skeeved out about having this guys hands on me. I felt especially weird when he asked why I came in today, and I didn't have any technical reason. "I like massages" sounds cool with a woman, but a little shaky with old Matthew. So I could have fought the whole thing and not relaxed, or I could spend my 50 buck and enjoy it. And Matthew laid his heeling hands on me and life was good.

The oil on the chest was the oddest part, but I got over it. I strongly urge those in Boston to click on that link and make an appointment. With Matthew, or anyone. And to those outside the Hub, just look for Massage Schools as they generally have great rates to teach the students.
One final funny thing....MINE only takes cash after 5PM. So in my Outlook Calendar at work I wrote:

7:30PM - 8:30PM: Massage - CASH ONLY

There's probably a less sketchy way to convey that. One without a Happy Ending.

Why the T sucks

So I am riding the T back from a Sox game tonight, they won, and it struck me how much they really suck. I have only really experienced one other mass transit system in detail, New York City's and it is far superior. Now before you start moaning and crying, I'm not even going to discuss that one is 24 hours (NYC) and one stops at 12:30 (Boston.)

1. The T is dirtier. I know all you Boston snobs think New York is a cesspool, but the T has far more papers on the floor. Mostly thanks to the Metro, but really when was the last time you saw a T employee with a broom on the T?
   
2. In New York, they stage trains for the Yankee and Mets games. They plan for people leaving the game, sometimes a little early and handle the trains with swiss precision. In Boston, it almost seems like the games have caught the system by surprise.
   
3. New York has subways that look like subways. The Red Line is the only one in Boston that can pull it off. The Orange and the Blue lines look like temporary shuttles until new cars are ordered. The Green Line looks like a bus, built in Poland in the demise of the Cold War. Finally the Silver Line is a bus. New York knows better than to sneak a bus line into a subway map. What kind of stupid shit is that?
   
4. The Porter Square escalator. I live near the deepest station in the system and it seems like one of the three escalators are always out, sometimes two. How hard is this crap? Who's brother owns the repair company?

Okay, rant's over. Return to your sub-par mass transit system.

Red-eye

So this weekend I went out on a quick trip to the San Francisco to visit my friends Montu and Casey. It was a great trip, though far too short. I came back this morning on the red-eye. I flew Jet Blue on their Airbus A320, in the back of the plane which has more room. They have a promotion with Bliss Spa, so I got earplugs and an eye mask.

But you can't deny that the red-eye is no fun. I got 4 hours sleep, tops. And I left work early, because I was incoherent. Not recommended. Berkley however is very recommended. As is the best burger chain in the nation.

Why Graham hates the media

I've never really liked the media. I hate the fake voice the TV reporters use. I hate the fact that no one ever gets the story right, and I hate the sneaky ways they work.

I was teaching a class on hurricane preparedness on the Cape last week. So there was a reporter there who wanted some comments, so I gave him some good, appropriate lines to put in his daily rag. So this guy sits in my class, and unbeknownst to me, writes down what I say. Now, when I teach a class, I use sarcasm, hyperbole, and a lot of humor. Most of this doesn't come out in print.

So here is Graham in the press. Try to guess what lines I knew were going to be in the paper, and which ones I had no clue he was going to put in there. The Director of my agency thank God has a sense of humor about the whole situation.

Blood suckers...

Another sign the world is ending

Cops on TV

I would like to take one small second of your time to point out another fallacy on movies and television. Almost every single male cop has a messy place, in an incredible apartment with an awesome view of the city they protect. And plenty of beer in the fridge. (That last one is true.)

They never show the handsome cop living at home, or in basement apartment 12 miles outside of the city. Cops can't afford views. I wish I was a TV cop.

I saw this again watching the movie Ice. Hard to call it a movie really. It is very, very bad. And I love it very, very much.

Das Gym

So today I made it to the gym. I go near work, otherwise I'll never go. So I went and it was packed. I did weights today. Perhaps tomorrow I'll do cardio. However I have better chances of winning the lottery than going to the gym two days in a row.

So I'm lifting weights and doing curls and I realize that I'm not doing a lot of weight. There are many women that are probably doing my weight. And not women like this freak on the right....small women who look like they just graduated high school. So I've started to pretend that I'm doing physical therapy, which is why I'm not using that much weight. I just need a shirt or something that says, "I had a horrible industrial accident and all I got was this stupid T-shirt. "

Or maybe after each rep....I keep muttering, "As soon as I get stronger....I'm going to shoot that guy back."

State Government Slumber Party!!

So, Massachusetts is expecting a few more inches of rain and the decision was made to activate our State Emergency Operations Center. This is the building I work in.

It's 40 feet underground, with no windows and two large blast doors on either side. There is a 2-person morgue, and the buildings rests on springs in case of earthquake or nuclear detonation. I'd like to tell you that it's in a secret location, known only to me and the Governor. However someone spelled out the agency's name in shrubbery a long time ago, thus ending a lot of the mystique.

So I'm here until 8AM. Just me and this really nice guy Peter, who's our Public Information Officer. I just wolfed down some Taco Bell, so I'm ready for any emergency they can throw at me.

Go ahead....give me your best shot.

I am not a cook...

So I hit the gym after work and on the way home was wondering what healthy thing I could eat. I remembered that I had some frozen ground turkey in the freezer. I decided to make turkey burgers.

When I got home, I noticed that the sell date was in mid February, leaving me to wonder how long turkey can stay frozen. So I defrosted my icy block of turkey and it was very watery. I wrung it out over the sink and made two decent sized patties. During grilling I noticed what I think was fat or some congealed substance spreading from the patties. Of course I ate them. They tasted fine. With some cheese and pickles and condiments.

However this leaves me to wonder if one day my ignorance in the kitchen will one day kill me or put me in the hospital.

My tummy is starting to hurt.

Memorial Day Post.....

This is a little long, but I think this guy hits the nail on the head perfectly, talking about the responsibility we have to the troops. Thanks to Steve for finding this for me.

Click here for the goodness.....

A great day for a wedding.....

So as I told you before, my friends Sam and Lizzie got married this weekend in Great Barrington, MA. It was a great ceremony and I got to hold the chupah. It was a jewish wedding, and the chupah is a canopy under which the bride and groom are married. It symbolizes the home. So myself and my friends Ben, Nick and Chris all held up the chupah. Waka gave a nice reading, which is appropriate as he is the thespian.

A beautiful couple on a beautiful day. It was so much fun to get back together with the boys. Really got to do that more often. For those looking to marry people, you can become a brother in the cloth like me. You get ordained as a Reverend. Due to the fact that I married people once, I became a Most Reverend when I bought my "Wedding in a Box" kit.

Be warned that there are tax implications....and no you cannot stop paying taxes because your home is a church. And why do I always look so dumb in every photo.

New London, CT

I'm away on business tonight, staying at the Holiday Inn - New London. I'm here for a meeting tomorrow. I am lucky enough to be here with a friend. However, the situation right now reminds me of why I dislike traveling. I'm watching Deal or No Deal on a color TV in a room that smells like a hotel. I'm probably going to watch TV, because that's what people do when they stay in hotels for business.

There was a time when I thought travel was glamorous. That was in the NYPD, when the idea of the department sending me to Westchester County was magical. Now, however it has gotten old. The reimbursement process, the wrapped soaps, and the long hallways that serve to remind you that no matter how expensive the place, you're not home.

This Holiday Inn is great. They gave me some coupons and the manager even called to see if everything was fine. Deal or No Deal however, still is a horrible show.

Being single

So I've been thinking....probably because I'm going to a wedding next weekend. My friends Sam and Lizzie are getting married in Western Mass this coming weekend, and I couldn't be more happy. I love them both, and they are truly both my friends. Though, as another of my high school friends gets ready to tie the knot, I get a little wistful.

I'm not exactly worried or panicked. I don't have a calendar that tells me when I need to get hitched by. I just wonder if I'll ever meet that person. Now, the issue of finding the right person is much larger than a blog entry and obviously hasn't been solved by my therapist, so I'm not expecting any revelations.

I just wonder if I'll find that person and know. I thought I knew....but then I dived that plane into the ground, thereby ending that. So do we get second chances? Does it really happen when you're not looking for it to? (In that case, I'm pretty sure this blog entry isn't helping.)
Who knows? My friends who are married are awesome, and I do get worried at being the third wheel. Especially up here in Massachusetts. It seemed that my cop friends in New York were married, but never really "married."

I'm just thinking that at some point, this little burp on the internet will be a interesting footnote as I look back at my life. Hopefully with someone, but perhaps as a bachelor too. That uncle who spoils your kids rotten because he doesn't have to keep them.

I once thought I could write a relationship book entitled, "Watch out for this guy! " Maybe I'll shop it around.

Boston ain't big enough....

********NEWS FLASH*********

My brother, Ross Campbell, is moving to Boston. Yup, you got that right. In less than a month, my 25 year old little brother will be working for some investment firm in the Hub. Yes he will be making more money than me. That kid will always make more money than me. I work for the government.

So stay tuned. I'm trying to get him out to Somerville. But something tells me this kid has Back Bay written all over him.

The longest drive...

Sorry about the lack of posting. Though I'm not really sure who I'm apologizing to. I'm not quite sure anyone reads this. I was down at the National Emergency Training Center last week. This is where FEMA's National Emergency Management Agency is housed. It's quite pretty. And I escaped the flooding that plagued the home state. However, Friday was our travel day back to the great Commonwealth.

This also happened on Friday

Some yahoo decided to roll his tanker of highly flammable methane across all three lanes of I-90 Westbound. So that made my trip a total of 11 hours. I also had to drop Chuck's monkey ass off at home. Though Sarah did make a mean pizza, so it was well worth the trip.

Once again, the federal government screwed me.

Apologies...

A good friend wrote me to complain that I hadn't blogged in a while. This is true. I've been busy I suppose, but that's a lame excuse.

I had the opportunity on Monday night to spend the evening at the Holiday Inn in Tinton Falls, NJ. A lovely place. They had a "sports" bar named Morgan's there. This place was a sports bar I suppose because they had 8 very small TVs all tuned to the Red Sox game. Which is good. But we couldn't get sound because "that's only for the World Series." I hatched a theory about this place.

Morgan's was the shit back in the 80's. The TVs all worked and were brand new, and the waitresses were hot and the decor was slamming. And the owner decided after a year of windfall profits not to change a thing. And so this place sat for the next 20 years as the TVs shorted out, the waitresses sagged a little, and Golden Tee '99 became a quaint relic.

If you ever find yourself in Tinton Falls, NJ (near Eatontown) stop by good old Morgan's. And experience a blast from the past. Not really in a good way.