SPOILER ALERT

If Erin Stewart's political career lasts exactly one term as mayor of New Britain, you can chisel SPOILER ALERT onto her political gravestone. It has NOT been a good week for the mayor.

And really, it's not about the AA Rock Cats leaving the city at the end of 2015 for a promised larger, more modern stadium in Hartford. That, perhaps, was inevitable. Anyone with two eyes could see that coming - the Rock Cats regularly fill up their existing ballpark, or more specifically, the parking lot thereof; Wikipedia reports for all the world to see:

Because the attendance at games frequently exceeds the number of available spaces (especially on weekends), parking often overflows into grassy areas around the stadium, or onto nearby streets.

As a New Britain resident who lives near the ballpark, I regularly drive past the ballpark on game day watching the parking staff shoehorn cars onto the grass and any flat surface; and see a line of cars backed up onto Rtes. 71 / 571 / 9. I keep track of home games to avoid those roads before and after games.

So that the Rock Cats, who will have spent 20 seasons at New Britain Stadium, might be looking for someplace larger, with some room to grow should not have been a surprise to anyone. Except, apparently, the mayor of our city. And sadly, yes, I go back long enough to have attended New Britain Red Sox games at old Beehive Field, and cannot imagine the "new" stadium and the "Rock Cats" are both 19 years old, but there it is.

Someone on the mayor's team needs to take the smartphone out of her hand and run her social media for her. You should have PEOPLE for that, Mayor, people who might do some fact checking before sending a SPOILER ALERT tweet that demonstrates being completely out of the loop. 

And the recent "Rock Cats need to call me" debacle, as reported by (complete with video) the Hartford Courant, is just embarrassing. Nobody NEEDS to call you, nobody NEEDS to call anybody. The team has a lease, the lease is up at the end of 2015; the team has called New Britain home for 20 years. They did not HAVE to leave, but it's certainly their perogative. And the fact that they will be paying nearly 5x the annual lease at the new ballpark is indicative that it's not simply a "playing off Hartford vs. New Britain for the best deal". They want a better location, more seats and parking spaces, the status of being in the state capitol city, and access to two major highways; none of which New Britain can easily give them at the present location.

Now whether moving to Hartford is a good idea for the team is another story, which I will not bring into this post. Nor will I comment on the wisdom of Hartford's investment in a new ballpark. I'll leave that to the folks in Hartford, many of whom are already weighing in.

I'm not a huge fan of Mayor Stewart. It's no secret I lean left, although I'm also a New Britain homeowner and tax payer so I can appreciate a more conservative fiscal policy. But mostly, I am not a fan of political dynasties - be they called Bush, Clinton, Gore, Romney, Kennedy, or Stewart. She was elected on the strength of her father's reputation, not her own track record, and her inexperience and youth are pretty evident in the present situation.

 Her father, former mayor and present Chamber of Commerce president Timothey Stewart, notes in the Thursday morning New Britan Herald:

...he now knows negotiations have been going on between the Rock Cats and the City of Hartford for the past two years — “ever since this ownership group took control of the operations a little over two years ago. Unfortunately it appears that they never had any intentions of staying in New Britain.”

One wonders if this is a bit of sanity intended to calm the rocky waters of his daughter's recent public face.

Mayor Stewart, get over it. While perhaps the time to engage the Rock Cat's ownership was before your term began, it's likely that the Rock Cats were moving on regardless of what improvements, incentives, or concessions were offered. Now is the time to be gracious and magnanimous - thank the team for more than two decades of partnership, wish them well in their new ballpark, play up the new CT Fastrack as a way to get from New Britain up to Hartford to see them play, and commit to the citizens of New Britain that you'll start immediately working to find another team to occupy New Britain stadium.

There's that serenity prayer:

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.

It's that last bit - wisdom. No matter how smart, how dedicated, how hard-working one is, wisdom is something that comes with age and experience. And at 27, Mayor Stewart is still working on that one....

Hard Hittin' New Britain

I've been relatively quiet, but things have not been quite so calm down in my neck of the woods - Southeast New Britain along the Berlin / Newington town lines. 

Over Memorial Day weekend, there was a train-car accident, as some thieves apparently broke into one of the auto-recycling places on the east side of the tracks, cut through the fence, and were attempting to drive the cars across the tracks into my neighborhood (on the west side of the tracks, no fence or barrier). Must not have been all that exciting - I slept through it.

And yesterday, there was a hit-and-run accident over on Christian Lane (east side of the tracks) - as a pickup truck struck and dragged three pedestrians (reportedly a grandmother, mother, and child). It's a weird street, with a high volume DSS office (I often see folks lined up outside at opening time), a lot of vehicular traffic (auto-recyclers, Dattco bus lot, body shops, etc.), and a fairly main conduit from Berlin Turnpike / Rte. 9 up into New Britain. 

Finally, the big news is the possible relocation of the New Britain Rock Cats to Hartford. It sounds like it might be a done deal if (and that's a big if) the city of Hartford can put a stadium deal together. Apaprently, Erin Stewart (new mayor of new Britain) is getting schooled in politics, her June 2 tweet: 

SPOILER ALERT: The Rock Cats aren't leaving New Britain. @RockCats #newbritain

seems more than a little out of touch. "Nobody told me so it must not be true"

I'm of mixed mind about the Rock Cats. I've never been a huge fan, although I've certainly been to a bunch of games over the years, and have been at least nominally aware of them since they were the 'Brit Sox (and before that, the Bristol Red Sox, playing at Muzzy Field). I live very close to the stadium (close enough for the Friday night fireworks to be a mild annoyance, in terms of Elo the dog getting freaked out) and in addition, I keep an eye on the schedule so as to avoid driving past the stadium on game days - the traffic gets kind of annoying.

It's hard to see the Rock Cats putting MORE fans in the seats up in Hartford (they've just come off a record breaking weekend, 21,000 over a four day stand) - but apparently a proposed Hartford stadium seating 9,000 trumps the present stadium's 6,100.

On the plus side, New Britain based fans can jump on CT Fast Track to get to the game up in Hartford, right? Somebody will need to ride that thing!

Dining Alone

I live in New Britain, not too far from the Berlin Turnpike. My "neighborhood" is mostly north of my home; working in West Hartford, my band rehearses in Manchester, arts and socializing in Hartford. So I spend a lot of time driving along the retail ghetto of the Berlin Turnpike.

One thing I have noted as I drive along that road are the many restaurants - restaurants I have not dined in since I've moved to New Britain. Because dining out is not something that one does alone. It's a recurring source of bitterness and angst in my life as I make my way north or south several times a week - just last night I stopped by Lowe's to pick up some stuff, and noted that the Lowe's parking lot was filled with overflow from three adjacent restaurants on a busy Saturday night. The list includes:

• Plaza Azteca
• Outback Steakhouse
• Ruby Tuesday
• Ming Palace
• TGI Fridays
• Chili's
• Bertucci's
• Bonefish Grill
•  Ruth's Chris Steak House
• Joey Garlic's
• Cavo's
• Puerto Vallerta
• Tunxis Grill
• Elaine's
• Makris Diner

I do go to Panera Bread often, but always alone and almost always take it to go - I've often looked out at those dining in, with dining companions, and thought that doing that, just once, would be a real treat.

Being single, living without a circle of friends that might call up and say "let's grab a bit" now and then, sucks.

Madame President

I was called to a meeting of my condo association last week, and, as I expected, I was elected president of the association.

Truthfully, it's not that big a deal - we're a small (four unit) building, each of us is an officer, things roll around. Kate, the outgoing president, is moving to a new place in Newington and renting her unit out, the other two owners are an older retired woman who had a mild stroke (she's OK, but not great in the memory department) and a young single guy who is not really that interested. So....it's me.

Not that hard a job really - we have a handful of regular expenses: insurance, water & sewer, a small shared electric service. We have a few regular maintenance tasks - lawn care in the summer (I've been doing it) and snow removal in the winter (seems to be kind of ad hoc at this point). And the seasonal stuff, power washing, trimming trees and bushes, etc.

Along with my responsibilities, I was handed a meticulously balanced checkbook (I have not kept a personal check register in many years), and an antique accordian-fold file (about the size of a microwave oven). My first official duty was to run down to Staples for a plastic file box replacement, some hanging folders, and a PAID stamp (no particular reason, what's the point of being president if you do not get to stamp stuff).

I spent this evening going through the falling apart accordian folder to see what we have. Water and electric bills going back over a decade. Checking account statements for close to 20 years, ranging from Fleet, Bank of America, Webster, and Farmington. 15 years of insurance documents (State Farm and Travelers) including a roof leaking problem in 2006 that was probably ice dam related, and I've thought about it this year as well. Federal tax forms, state of CT incorporation stuff, some old legal documents, and small piles of snowplow, landscape, and maintenance records.

We're not a very progressive association - the condo fees are very low (agreeably so for all concerned) and we're not making a lot of major repairs or upgrades. The bank balance seems healthy. So for now, it's stay the course.

I have some geekery to set up - Kate emailed me a very old and barely useful spreadsheet of expenses / income (I can do much better), she's been keeping the record of condo fee payment in a chart that is one step above crayon. I see in the archives that a past president did an annual budget projection that I'd like to resurrect, and I'd like to send out a periodic condo association letter to keep folks updated.  

I'd love to do some things this summer - trim the trees, create a bricked garbage / recycling can area (presently some plywood on the ground), perhaps repave the parking lot and add a few spaces (presently 6 spaces for four units, I and the guy on the end get one space, would be nice to have two)

I've been coasting for a few years now in terms of "adult responsibilities" - time to step up again! 

2013 Recap

One of the benefits of being a cranky holiday curmudgeon with a social network insufficient to drag me out on New Year's Eve is that I have the internets to myself this New Year's Day. And although 7:00 am is far from early, it should be noted that's I've already made myself breakfast (the "almost never in the larder, but left over from xmas" bacon and blueberry pancakes) and done the dishes. So I'm up and at 'em.

Once upon a time I would scroll back through this blog to recap the past year. Alas, social media has cannibalized a lot of the minutia and epherma of the blogosphere - so I'll resort to Facebook to remind myself what the past year wrought.

Recurring Events

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (for the 20th time, I think. Or 21st. I forget). Camp Camp (third year). Both commitment I'm planing to keep for 2014. As a single person who has done a lot of traveling over the years, without a ton of money, these are perfect times to get off the grid, step out of the ordinary, and immerse myself in loving and entertaining communities. Although "working vacations" (I spend most of the "fest" time at Falcon Ridge in the merch trailer, and teach 10 yoga classes at camp) are probably something I ought to take a long hard look at.

On the yoga front, still teaching yoga, 3x a week plus occasional subs and intro classes. Still assisting with the teacher training program at the studio (since mid-way through the 2010 training; this will be my 4th full year). The studio did Om Street: Yoga on Lasalle Road again, and I (again) ran the sound system. (again with the "working vacation" theme)

On the ballooning front, I actually dragged myself out to the Frozen Buns Rally (coming up again soon), the CLAS annual dinner / banquet (on a very snowy night in Southington), and the CLAS Safety Seminar. All three are on the calendar for 2014. I have (thankfully) stayed out of management with the CT Lighter Than Air Society (although they keep trying to drag me in)

New and Notable Events

We had a pretty awesome snowstorm last February that took several days to escape from. Power and cable stayed intact, so a few days of hunkering down and nesting. I went to Boston to see a Red Sox game for the first time in decades, with the Camp Camp crew. Got down to Pennsylvania for the Trees Family Reunion for the first time in years - Falcon Ridge Folk Fest has historically conflicted about 80% of the time, but with the new fest dates, I hope to be more of a regular.

I had two natural visitors this year - a mother robin nested under my back porch, laying four eggs and fledging her chicks. And a pretty cool spider spun an orb web at my front porch over several weeks this summer. Those, along with my perennial suet cake feeder friends, provided good feedback that I'm carving out nourishing and nurturing space in my life.

And I made two runs at cleaning up my life, food wise this year - a 21 day Detox Cleanse and a 7 day juice fast (with 6 am kundalini yoga, what the hell was I thinking?) - and although both were interesting and useful, neither seemed to be the key to unlock whatever physical, psychological, and emotional impediments I bear that keep me eating poorly.

Music, Playing

My beloved Guinea Pigs kept busy this year. We started the year at MCC on Main (for the first of two gigs), opened for 41 Prospect at the Hartford Road Cafe in Manchester, played Hartford Hodge Podge, Blue Back Square, numerous farmer's markets (Wethersfield, Higganum, Billings Forge, and Bozrah, where we played without AC power), the Audubon Nature Center, and the Glastonbury Apple Harvest Festival. We snuck in an open mike appearance at Lasalle Market in December to close out the year.

In addition, I made my Camp Camp musical debut playing bass for the Scat Orrs (don't ask, it's kinda gross), the infamous camp lesbian folk rock ensemble. I also backed up one of the solo artists on bass. Lot of fun! And although I barely have memory of this, apparently I played bass for several Grateful Dead songs at a UU service in Manchester.


Although it does not really count as playing per se, I ran the sound for kirtan at West Hartford Yoga (twice) and for Little Ugly at Blue Back Square.

And broadening the category to all performance art, I did a piece at the December edition of The Mouth - the theme was "I Fought the Law" and my piece was titled Burger Prank Foiled

Music, Listening

As usual, a diverse musical year. Dervish and Deborah Voight were two "tag along with friends because I'm the one who can drive at night" shows that were nevertheless delightful. The many artists of Falcon Ridge (of course). I snuck down to the CT Folk Fest this year (which has become a mini Falcon Ridge reunion) and saw several notables, among them Honor Finnegan and Poor Old Shine.

Also, Dar Williams at the Iron Horse (twice!) as well as Meg Hutchinson. The Iron Horse has become a nice place to meet up with friends from that part of the world (holla, Amy and Patty!). Little Ugly (total age-inappropriate music crush) many times, most notably a WNPR livecast from downtown Hartford. Kate Callahan twice (once at West Hartford Yoga, once at the nascent Hartfolk Fest). String Theorie (loved 'em!). Hugh Blumenfeld's new group, The Faithful Sky at Roaring Brook Nature Center.  FRFF Emerging Artists from years ago Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin. And Girlfriend Project, one of my friend Julie's many musical projects.

Home Improvement

So yeah, I was a busy beaver. My friend Nykki moved into a new condo, and watching her spiff up the new place motivated me to redo my upstairs bathroom. What started out as a "slap a coat of paint on the walls" became two steps shy of a total tear-down. I replaced all the lighting fixtures, all the electrical switches, the thermostat, the towel racks and sink fixtures, the faucet and drain, and, to ice the cake, the shower curtain, towels, and rug.

In addition, I replaced an old (and never used) ceiling fan / light fixture in my kitchen with pendant lamps (dimmable LED technology), replaced my kitchen sink fixture with undercabinet light bars (which force me to clean the sink area far more often), two outdoor light flxtures (front porch and back deck) with downward facing fixtures (to reduce light pollution).

I also fabricated some spiffy shade screens for my front porch (to both block afternoon sunlight and give me some privacy from the building next door)

In the sense that ART = HOME IMPROVEMENT, I picked up some nice pieces - a series of Guinea Pigs doing yoga poses (keywords META YOGA CUTE), a beautiful photo of a blue heron in flight, an original hand-drawn bird print. My home's walls have become a nice reflection of my soul....


Toys and Consumerism

The biggies this year were sound and audio gack. I picked up a 14 channel audio mixer, 16 channel snake, and a pile of audio gear (mics, stands, monitors, power cables) - building myself up a nice little sound system. Right now it (mostly) augments the studio's sound system for kirtans, but I aspire to do more.

I also picked up a cheap ukulele (I blame Camp Camp, and my friends Eden and Kaia) and a cheap Epiphone electric guitar (I blame fellow Guinea Pig and guitar hoarder Dan)

In the non-musical territory - a tripod sunscreen / shade for Falcon ridge (intended to provide rain and sun shade for my tent, not all that effective), a small windo A/C unit for the basement office (the summer got pretty insufferable around August) 

I finally gave up and purchased a flat-screen HDTV (totally a late-acquirer, the cost came down to the point it was cheaper than my CRT television was when I bought it in the early 90's) - and with that came the decision to "cut the cord" (with HDTV, the low cost analog cable I was buying seemed kind of stupid) - I bought a cheap antenna which I hooked up on the outside of a second floor window, and that, along with a Roku box and subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu Plus, and the free apps on my iPad, are all the television I really need).

And lastly, I retired my old canister vacuum cleaner (a Kenmore unit I'd been lugging around since the mid 80's, one of my first adult purchases with my Sears credit card), replacing it with a much lighter Dirt Devil unit. I also started to use the vacuum cleaner to clean kitchen and bathroom floors (heretofore I've been sweeping them, how dumb / luddite-ish am I?). And bought the first dustbuster I've owned in 20+ years. (I had taken to using a hand broom to brush the dog hair off the bed each morning, and came to the realization that this might be one contributor to the dog hair covered rug up there). So now I vacuum my bed most mornings. TMI, I know.

Transitions

I'd note all the new babies in my life, except THERE ARE TOO DAMN MANY OF THEM. But special welcome to Nate and Freya, who parents are particularly beloved. I will say that, although there are many young children in my world, without exception their parents are amazing, healthy, sane, and full of love and life, and the world will be a better place for each of these new life journeys.

I was fortunate to have no significant deaths in my life this past year, although friends did lose parents and loved ones. RIP especially to Lola the pug; her mama moved to Califormia this past year and although we did not spend a lot of time together, she was always a bit of a guardian angel to me.

This year I decided to stop playing with the studio's kirtan group - I was finding the events to be a huge sink of energy for me; I'd end up with a 2-3 day "hangover" from each kirtan, and be filled with resentment at those who I saw as taking from me, but not sustaining me. The group has survived (with a new bass player and guitarist, apparently it takes two people to fill my seat, although both are far better musicians, and their involvement has affirmed my decision) and I've taken on a new role a sound engineer which lets me be part of it (OK, I'm still there for hours of set-up and tear-down) without draining my energy. I'm very happy with that decision. 

This year I also seem to have made a decision to stop traveling for work. It was less than conscious - it was in fact very awkward. I took a trip out to Portland, OR - and never finished the trip report, never billed the customer. I've just grown tired of that aspect of my work - I'm busy enough with the things I can do remotely, it disrupts my financial, teaching life, and travel has become such an unpleasant chore. Getting older? World changing? Life changing? Not really sure.

Finally, my yoga practice has transitioned this year into something different. I've been (over the years) a "Type A" yogi - hitting the mat 5+ times a week for a vigorous power practice. Whether it's age, the physical cost of being overweight and eating poorly, wear-and-tear from the practice, or some combination, I know I am good for maybe 2 power practices a week with a very select set of teachers. Add an angsty relationship with the community itself (and my own difficulties balancing my expectations and roles as teacher, student, friend, community member) and lack of resonance with some of the available less vigorous classes, and I'm just not spending a lot of time on the mat there.

Friends and Relationships

It's been a tough year on that front - a lot of holidays and weekends spent by myself, digging in to a cave of loneliness and self-pity. Yet there have been some highlights.

My friend Cheryl, the dark spirit of my teacher training class who terrified me (and was therefore someone I was curious about) has become such a good friend. Although we are on such different wavelengths (she runs somewhere between 4x and 10x as fast as I in just about everything - jobs, passions, living arrangements, relationships - so it's hard to keep up with her) she is nevertheless the one person who I can count on for a "how you doing?" text or an out of the blue invite for pancakes or pho. 

My friend Amy, who has transitioned from being on the periphery of my life (we've been Dar List / Dar Camp and Falcon Ridge acquaintances for many years, although truthfully she was mostly memorable for her hat and her camera for a lot of years) to being a good friend through Camp Camp and Falcon Ridge. She's helped to bridge the lonely weekends with Facebook chat and the occasional folk music foray (yeah, Iron Horse!) - and I can only admire her stamina when it comes to getting out to see live music!

And my "Little Buddy", Kaia (which she has noted, makes me "The Skipper") . I've no kids, but if I did, and could pick, she'd be atop the list - smart, talented, beautiful, real. It's been such a pleasure (and honor) to watch her life journey unfolding and she's one of those "I knew her back before she was famous" people.

Finally, my friend and teacher Barbara, who puts up with all my bullshit and flailing around (and 2013 was a big year for both) and neverthless continues to hold a place for me in the yoga teaching ranks, honors me with the opportunity to assist teacher training, makes sure I have at least one healthy meal per month, and drags my sorry ass up and down the hills of Colchester periodically, occasionally in a downpour. 

And although my single status and lack of a life partner seems to be a recurring source of struggle for me, well, there are signs of life. Faint maybe, but they are there.

In Summary

So...much as I whine and kvetch about how sucky / empty / lonely my life is - don't let that fool you. I had a pretty full and awesome year. If 2014 brings more of the same, who am I to complain?

I'm going to publish this now (while the day is young) and then go back and hyperlink the hell out of it. Because that's how I roll.

Local New Britain

Dug in a little deeper to New Britain CT (my home town) this weekend.

1) Visited the New Britain Museum of American Art  (or NBMAA) - primarily to see the Maurice Sendak exhibit, but also to become a member. I live in this fair city, might as well support some of the local arts organizations. There was also an opening (Hawaiian art) and a Kwanzaa celebration - so plenty of music and food. The Sendak exhibit was lovely - and when I think of him I recall his last Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross and cry a little.

2) Dropped by the New Britain YMCA to hand in my Groupon (6 months membershio for $99) - I was a member a while back and enjoyed the pool 1-2 times a week, hoping to get back on that particular horse starting this week. I love swimming; it seems to be good for my shoulders, and then I can get a nice soak in the jacuzzi. And might even find my way back onto the racquetball court or some of the cardio machines.

3) Packed up two cases of empty bottles to return to Avery's Beverages (still in the car though, they are not open Sunday or Monday) - the bottles have been hanging around since summer, waiting for me to finish up the last strays. I'll probably pick up a case of adult mixer soda's (their Orange Dry is particularly good, as is the Lime soda) in case I feel like a little holiday cocktail. I do not drink a lot of soda, so do not mind spending a bit more for local and unusual flavors.

Other New Britain hotspots and organizations I need to explore a bit more: Trinity-on-Main (a local church transformed into an arts space), Hole-in-the-Wall Theater, and the Greater New Britain Arts Alliance.

In the Neighborhood: Starbucks and Chipotle

I've been watching the Newington corner of the Berlin Turnpike and Rowley Street (heretofore the location of a kind of slimy bar / gentleman's club, adjacent to Stew Leonard's, LA Fitness, Toy's R Us, among others) - and this afternoon I noticed the signage going up for two new retail shops: Starbucks and Chipotle.  A quick web search uncovers the contractor, JLN Contracting

Kind of excited to have a better quality mexican food alternative so close (Taco Bell, right across Rowley Street, is probably less excited).

Being something of a lone wolf without a lot of local dining out companions, I tend not to frequent the myriad of sit-down restaurants that line the Berlin Turnpike. Despite driving by several times a week, I have never actually stepped in the doors of: TGI Friday, Chili's, Outback Steakhouse, Ruby Tuesday, Plaza Azteca, Joey Garlics. I've eaten at Bertucci's, Puerto Vallerta, and the Olympia Diner in years past, but not in this recent memory.

But Chipotle is definitely some place I'll visit now and then. So yay!

Community Project

They are plowing the apartment building across the street; with a bit of a community effort.

Our recently plowed parking lot is the holding area / overflow for the apartment complex while they clear the lot. Can't complain, the apartment complex plow dude took care of us after he got the main area of his parking lot opened up and while he waited for the residents to come move cars.

New Britain Plow Update

Still no sign of a city plow, since early this morning when a plow came through just to make a path for emergency vehicles....here's a street by street neighborhood update as of 2:00 pm on Sunday 2/10.

Roosevelt St looking north from Edgewood

Edgewood Ave, looking east from Roosevelt

Kennedy Drive, looking North from Edgewood. Nary a tire tread, but someone with a snow blower cut a walking path

Benson Street, looking north from Edgewood

Fulton Street is driveable (with caution), single lane

Hudson Place, looking east from Fulton. Not plowed, sorry Dattco....

Astor Place, looking east from Fulton. Suspect someone on the (dead-end) street had a plow truck.

Parker Control Systems on Edgewood. Lot is nice and clear, has been since yesterday.

New Britain Neighborhood Update

Here's the present state of the roads in my New Britain neighborhood:

 

Fulton Street has been nominally plowed with a single lane. Someone ran a plow down Edgewood (and backed it up) - limited access and not really what I'd call plowed. Fulton, Kennedy, Roosevelt, and Crescent have not been touched. 

I walked the dog up Edgewood and all the way up Fulton - folks are digging out. While the snow plow owners were pretty quick to get out and clean up, it was pretty amazing to see the shovelers also doing a decent job of digging out. 

No sign of street plow today, nor anyone to clean up our condo lot, although there are signs of life - a pickup did a first pass on the apartment lot across the street.

I suspect today will be a day of waiting - and hoping that those with transportation do not get out and about too early. Already there's a pickup parked on the street (visiting? resident who parked off site and came back?) that was in the way of the lot plow dude, and will obstruct the town plows if they show.  And another dude rolled through in a Pontiac Sunfire (a shitbox in any weather, but particularly unsuited for the snow) and got stuck on Edgewood Ave - five of us out cleaning up pushed him out.

New Britain Gets It Right - Dog Registration

Let me start off by saying that I have lived in, and owned a dog, in several of Connecticut's larger cities - Waterbury, Hartford, and now New Britain. And invariably, registering my dogs has been a hassle. They only register the dogs during one month a year (typically June) and it often requires a trip to town hall. No notice, no reminders, and if you miss the registration windows there are either penalties or late fees. So I'd say my dog registration percentage was about 50% over the course of the last two decades, and never without a trip downtown.

But here in New Britain, they make it easy. You can go to the website to get the dog license application - when I filled this out last year I got the tag / license within a few days. Everything is very clear. And yesterday, June 1, I received a postcard reminding me to register my dog before June 30 - talk about prompt. It had the rabies expiration date (handy), little Elo's status (neutered male), as well as a form in case the dog has moved on, or changed status. Took me two minutes to write a check, enclose a SASE, and put it back in the mail. Done.

Nice to see government working efficiently and well. I do not feel bad at all about the $8 it costs to register the little guy.

Doing my Part

Lopes Wins 24th House District Seat

Yeah, I voted. I always vote. In these small, single candidate, mid-season elections, my vote seems a lot more potent.

Unofficial results show Lopes polling 785 votes, while Republican Peter Steele got 583. Petitioning candidate Thomas Bozek, a hard-line conservative and former state senator, pulled in 404.

Curious that Bozek, the candidate who sent me a comb and railed against low income housing and public assistance in his mailing, seems to have swung the election for Lopes - assuming that most of his support would have gone for Peter Steele had they voted at all.

Right Below the Surface

Here in New Britain, we're getting ready for an election, as Rick Lopes (D), Peter Steele (R), and Tom Bozek (I) vie for now Mayor Tim O'Brien's seat. I'm a registered Democrat so I've been getting calls (thankfully, live persons) from Dem HQ; as well as a fair number of typical campaign mailers. Yesterday, however, I got a real winner.

Tom Bozek sent a letter, in an actual envelope. The envelop was lumpy (my first though; anthrax or letter bomb) - what it contained was a blue comb (hey, I can use that to clean my hair brushes!) and an emory board, both emblazed with his name and political aspirations. However, there was also a flyer, which places Mr. Bozek just to the right of George Wallace, despite his assertion that he is a Registered Democrat.



My favorite parts:

1) Bozek opposes the NB-Hartford busway for the usual reasons (will not work, costs too much), but also IT LEADS TO MORE PUBLIC AND LOW INCOME HOUSING (bold and caps, his).

2) Bozek is pretty clear about his intention to REDUCE ENTITLEMENTS, which he identifies as "Welfare, Medical, Rents, etc.) no mention of those pesky Social Security entitlements though.....

I'm a pretty faithful (some would say, neurotic) participant in the electoral process. But I'm pretty sure I will not be voting for Bozek.

New Year, New Energy

Coincidentally, today ended up being a "doctor's appointment" kind of day.

Started off with an appointment with my APRN (closest thing I've had to a doctor for a few years now) over at the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain. No biggie there - although she did refer me to a PCP doc over in Unionville. I ended up calling and getting an appointment for Thursday. So I'm starting 2012 off right by getting my health back at the top of the list.

While I was over in that neck of the woods, I stopped by the New Britain YMCA. I've been saying "I want to find a place to swim" for a while now (friends go to Cornerstone in West Hartford, a little too far for me) - and I visited the YMCA website over the holidays and it seemed nice. So I took a tour, got a couple of free passes, and plan to get my butt over there a few times this week to use the pool. They waive the "new member" fee in January, so I expect I'll be signing up later this week.

An amusing coincidence - the desk person called a staffer to give me a tour, and when she took my info form, she noted "Oh, D lives on your street". D, at the start of the tour, noted "you've been here before, right, you look familiar" - turns out she lives down the street, and her dog goes bonkers when I walk Elo - we've had a nodding acquaintance for a while but had never met. That seemed like a good omen.

The YMCA facility is nice enough - plenty of cardio machines (with TV screens), nautilus, free weights, a pool and jacuzzi, a gym and an exercise room. Not modern and slick like a health club, but it feels kind of comfortable there. Best of all - five racquetball courts. I played in college, and the first few years out of school, and it would be fun to hit the court now and then for a friendly game.

While I was in that part of town, I stopped bu the New Britain Library, and got a library card. I've only been in town two years. Bout time. Since I plan to be over that way more often, I might actually use it....

Finally, a dental appointment, where I got some not so great news. Two decay areas, in already filled teeth, are begging for crowns. $3200 worth of dental work, and although I've got some insurance now, it does not cover crowns. So.....yuck. Have to see if I can swing that.

But, all in all, not a bad morning. A lot of change bubbling up as 2012 gets underway; I've been feeling stuck for a while now.

Life in Da Hood

I was out of state for a few days this week; work in Wilkes Barre PA. When I returned on Wednesday afternoon, I came home to this lovely site.




The low rents in the apartment building next door occasionally drive across the lawn - I've always assumed it was an "end of the month, moving out, too lazy to carry stuff 20 feet" kind of move. But this seems to have been either a case of drunk and stupid or just plain ornery. They left tired marks a good 40-50 feet along the back of their building, and another 10 feet or so in our lawn, where they apparently got stuck.

Of course, in the process of getting stuck and trying to get unstuck, they plastered the side of my condo unit with mud - 1/2" - 1" thick mud, all over the siding, foundation, and electrical and utility boxes.






Being not so smart, the perpetrator left his car right where it ended up, still mud spattered and with tire tracks intact. CT License 157-YBE, I see you.....


I called the local police, an officer showed up who was friendly but mostly unhelpful - she took some pictures, did a plate search on the car (came up clean) and found it was registered to the place next door. But was unsuccessful in contacting the owner and confessed that there was nothing she could do (because apparently this happened on Tuesday, so to charge them on Wednesday involved "warrants" which I guess means paperwork, and besides, this was not a vehicular matter (tickets) but a criminal one. etc. etc.

So, I found an email addy for the management company, and sent off the photos; our condo president is going to contact them via phone / snail mail. Someone apparently came over to try to clean off the side of the building with what appeared to be Windex and paper towels (uhm, nice try, loser) - I ended up going out this afternoon with a hose hooked up to the washing machine's hot water feed, a bucket of soapy water, and a scrubber on a 6' extension. It took a while but it's pretty much cleaned up.

The yard is still a mess, but I assume the apartment complex will have to do something about their own property so hopefully will address ours as well. Once we get the police report, maybe we can find the perps name and follow-up on our own.

A Long, Cold, Dark, and Wasted Week

I lost power here in New Britain for most of the past week. Power went out early in the storm (Saturday afternoon, around 4 pm) and returned Friday evening around 5 pm. Here's a brief synopsis.

As soon as power went out, I ran out to find some propane canisters - I've stopped bringing the stove and lantern to my folk fest so I was out - and was able to pick up a couple. I also had (coincidentally) gotten a full tank of gas the day before, which helped a lot in the first few days.

At first, I was fairly well situated. I have a bunch of camping lanterns (LED based, they go forever) and a propane stove. My house is all electric, but the hot water tank held up for a few days. And although the house got cold, I opened up the blinds during the day to solar heat, and had a bed dog. So all in all, not so bad. I was able to make my morning coffee and oatmeal on the propane stove, cooked a few simple meals, and got the rest to go. The yoga studio had power through Tuesday morning, so I grabbed showers on Sunday - Tuesday when I was there to work, practice, or teach. On Sunday, I cleaned out the fridge - tossed a lot, and put the rest on ice / snow in the cooler on the back porch. It kept cold fine all week. And at least I got the fridge cleaned out.

Of course I had my iPhone, and the networks stayed up, so I was able to communicate, commiserate, and see everyone's struggles via Facebook. Definitely a 2011 spin on the "great power outage" - back in the day we'd only have newspaper and radio....

Nights were pretty cold but with an extra blanket and a warm dog, I was fine. And WNPR was my savior - I had no battery powered radio, but I cobbled together an old AM/FM armband thing I used to use when I roller bladed with a battery powered speaker I use for my iPod - and had plenty of radio all week. I'm going to invest in a couple of small battery powered radios when all this is over...

Tuesday morning, the yoga studio lost power. And that evening, something snapped. I realized I was falling behind on work, my main client was getting antsy, so I packed my desktop into my car and took Elo up to MA to visit grandma (who had power and internet). I stayed up there two nights - getting caught up on work, taking a few warm showers, and taking care of a lot of mom's little chores (programming two remotes, installing her casino software on her new computer, flipping her mattress, etc.)

I came back Thursday - my ex Zippy got power back so I assumed I was not far behind, but alas, no. So I set my office back up in the dark, and hunkered down. Thursday night slept at home. Went out to balloon Friday morning (too windy) but we did watch the Farmington fired department roll past in force en route to an apartment fire near Brickyard Road. But when my CL&P "power restore" time came and went (Friday morning, 8:30 am) I decided to punt once again; packing up Elo to stay with Zippy Friday night. I ended up working off my room and board by lopping, chopping, and chainsawing a large tree branch that came down in his yard.

When I got back to the condo Saturday morning, power (and cable) was back, judging from the thermostat timers it was restored Friday night at 5:00 pm. The weekend was busy (balloon chasing, tree cleanup, hiking) so I'm really just getting my life back together now.

West Hartford Yoga remained without power as of yesterday - I teach 2x today so we'll see if there is power this morning. But slowly, life is getting back to normal.

Terry

My landline (dually purposed for my business, and usually pretty quiet except for an occasional call from clients thanks to cell phone dominance) has been ringing off the hook the last few weeks. Terry Gerratana, Democratic candidate for CT's 6th Senate seat, has been beating the bushes for votes for the special election this Tuesday, Feb 22nd. I've also gotten 4 or 5 post card mailings from her (compared with 1 from the Republican candidate, Mayor Tim Stewart). Some of the calls have been from campaign workers, but at least one of the messages was from the candidate herself.

I'll probably vote, I'm usually pretty fastidious about civil responsibilities, and I'll vote for Ms. Gerratana assuming I get to the polls. Mostly just in an "I lean to the left" kind of way, although Mayor Stewart's potential double-dipping does not sit well with me - I'd fear he's let his New Britain responsibilities slide if he tried to fill both posts.

Just be happy when Tuesday rolls around so my landline goes back to it's normal state of rest....

Slabs of Cheese

Last night, taking Elo out for a quick bio break after coming home after a Guinea Pigs rehearsal, I discovered in the yard between my place and the apartment building next door, two slabs of cheese.


These were unwrapped - one looked like a Stop n' Shop slab of sharp chedder, the other some sliced swiss. I picked them up and tossed them last night, but pulled them out today to recreate the scene of the crime, for my Facebook friends. Hard to wrap your mind around slabs of cheese appearing in your yard.

I'm befuddled about this cheese.

I could understand wrapped cheese - someone bringing home the groceries and things fall out of the bag. I could understand rough chunks of moldy cheese - an animal gets into the trash and drops some cheese. A few slices - somebody is decheesing a sandwich or grinder. But these looked remarkably fresh and almost as if they were dropped into the yard deliberately.

My theories:

a) Some domestic dispute next door that resulted in cheese being tossed out the window. Dammit, I wanted provolone!
b) The cheese is poisoned, and placed to take care of vermin, feral cats, or perhaps even Elo (he's a pretty good dog but who knows what might piss off somebody - his barking antics when we get ready for a walk, or perhaps a pissed off dog walker who Elo terrorized one time when he got off the leash.

In any case, I'll be keeping an eye on the lawn looking for future foodstuffs....

Summertime

The guy who plows the small parking area of my condo planted some stakes in the ground at the edges and corners - so he could see where to plow (and where not) in the snow. These hung around all winter, around the middle of April I pulled them out and piled them up near the trash cans. They've never quite made it out to the garbage.

Today, heading out for an ice coffee, I watched as three young boys (maybe 10 - 12 years old) collected the stakes and headed off down the street. One was on a bike, one had a few gathered in his arms, and the last boy was dragging his armload behind him, no shirt and his baseball cap askew on his head. It was a quintessential summer scene, right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

No idea what they were going to do with the stakes - play weapons? building materials? just something to mess around with? Regardless, this was a treasure trove to these little guys....

Oh, to be 12 years old, on a summer's day, with nothing to do but hang out, collect wood, and walk the fine line between entertaining oneself and getting into trouble.

Slow News Day in New Britain