Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

This, Of Course, Was On The Outer Door

This is the label that explains how to put the instruction label on the door to the fire hose in the new hospital in Santiago. It is not the label that is supposed to be on the door. It doesn't matter, however, because, no one speaks or understands English.

Home Of The Battery Free Flashlight

This store sells all the shit that you see in informercials. Bogus exercise stuff, weird ovens, and just a load of other junk. Funny thing is, there's actually a chain of these stores.

The Real Name, No Kidding

Shithara

When Is A Broken Clock Right Four Times A Day?

When the clock is in Santo Domingo. Last week I was in the capital and saw the clock that you can barely make out under the striped sign. I was stuck in the same spot for more than 8 minutes, due to the horrible traffic jams that are a normal part of life in Santo Domingo. During that time I noticed that the clock kept changing the time. It kept alternating between 12:04 and 12:16, for the whole time I was stuck at this intersection. You can't really make out the time on either of the two pictures that I took, but trust me on this one.

Sometimes The Legend Plays Without His Glasses


I recently was the Tournament Director at a tournament in Santiago. Jacobo Fernandez, one of the great players in the game, and a really nice guy to boot, played in it. The picture behind him, of himself, is always there, whether he is or not.

Not Only Dogs Love To Put Their Heads Out The Windows Of Moving Cars



Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Lucky Shoes

Once in a while I allow someone to see how crazy I really am. By revealing myself here I don't really feel as though I am letting anyone in on a secret, since no one but myself reads this. Massiel is probably the only person to whom I confide my lunacy. I am actually borderline Obsessive Compulsive. I have known it for a long time. It's manageable because it only has to do with a few numbers. 3 and 4 to be precise. I was always afraid of heights. I used to hate flying. However, in the early 90s I started to fly a lot. It got to the point where I actually enjoyed it. I had one ritual that may have gotten me started on my O/C journey. I remember that whenever I would go into the bathroom, after using it, I would always wash my hands. Anybody reading this blog on a regular basis knows that already. However the washing became somewhat ritualized. I had to hit the soap dispenser three times and take four paper towels to dry my hands. Some how the three hits of the soap dispenser has always stayed with me. The four paper towels, however, has morphed into something much bigger. First of all, many times the towel dispensers give out such paltry paper towels that more are needed. What to do? If you guessed that I take 8, you are correct, Sir. But the number 4 has lead me by the nose. Everything that I take, be it mints or sips of a drink, or anything, has to be done in multiples of four. I make myself a salad most mornings that consists of 4 tomatos and some queso crema, kind of a cream cheese (which is what it means), but somewhat different. I use 4 large squirts of salad dressing and the day goes from there. If I am playing Poker online (which I do regularly at miniscule stakes) I play 4 tables simultaneously. You get the idea. As crazy with the number 4 as I am I never really considered myself to be superstitious. That's really what O/C disorder is, just a prolonged, never ending superstition. Now however I have to come to grips with the demon of flat out superstition.

I was never what one could consider a clothes horse during the years I lived in New York. I dressed well, I thought, and always bought good clothing. I always bought expensive shoes and since I was in the garment business, I always made sure that the quality of the clothing I bought was very good. I never bought crap. I shopped in good stores and enjoyed the clothing that I bought. The proof of the pudding is in the eating and so it is with clothes. Good clothes/shoes last. I have been here 10 years and since I am not exactly flush with money, one of the things that I have not bought is clothing. The other is shoes. I came down to the DR with about 5 pairs of shoes and a few pair of boots. Three of the five pair are still wearable. They have needed repairs at times, but they still look good. One pair of brown shoes, however died about 3 months ago, and I needed new ones. Massiel took me out to force me to buy some new ones. I am now the proud owner of Lucky Brown shoes. I won't go into detail, but several really terrific things happened the first time I wore them. One worth mentioning is that I ran into someone I hadn't seen in a long time and his greeting to me was, "Hey, I owe you money, don't I? Here it is". The night only got better from there.

Friday, December 11, 2009

This Is Harry


And this is the bed under which he lives.

Great Tree

Every year the tree in front of City Hall is beautifully done up in lights, and every year I think to myself, "I really have to take a picture of it". Well, this year, I did.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

So Just Exactly Who Is Losing?

The baseball scores
The Escogido are staying strong atop the Dominican Winter League standings. Last night they beat the Toros 7-2 and added a 2-game cushion to their lead. The Aguilas beat up on the Estrellas 4-2, while the Gigantes beat the Tigres 6-4.
Standings
Team W-L Avg. Diff.
ESCOGIDO 25 - 16 .610 --
LICEY 24 - 18 .571 2.0
AZUCAREROS 24 - 18 .571 2.0
GIGANTES 21 - 21 .500 5.0
AGUILAS 20 - 22 .476 6.0

Monday, December 7, 2009

CIty Slickers Kind Of Sums It Up

Value this time in your life kids, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices, and it goes by so quickly. When you're a teenager you think you can do anything, and you do. Your twenties are a blur. Your thirties, you raise your family, you make a little money and you think to yourself, "What happened to my twenties?" Your forties, you grow a little pot belly you grow another chin. The music starts to get too loud and one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother. Your fifties you have a minor surgery. You'll call it a procedure, but it's a surgery. Your sixties you have a major surgery, the music is still loud but it doesn't matter because you can't hear it anyway. Seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale, you start eating dinner at two, lunch around ten, breakfast the night before. And you spend most of your time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate in soft yogurt and muttering "how come the kids don't call?" By your eighties, you've had a major stroke, and you end up babbling to some Jamaican nurse who your wife can't stand but who you call mama. Any questions?