Classic Rant #1,008 (July 28, 2013): I'm Back!

Yes, I have returned from vacation to once again write about whatever I feel like writing about.

Today is my last day of vacation, and tomorrow, everything starts up again, so I figured I would start the week the right way and get back to writing this blog.

We didn't go away this year, basically had a "staycation," and all I can say is that it is just about over.

Good riddance.

Nothing much went right during this time off for me nor my family.

We didn't have very much to do at all.

We ate out a few times, went to the movies, tried to find things to do, but alas, without a planned vacation this time around, it was pretty difficult to look at this time off as a vacation.

It was simply time off.

The weather was generally horrid.

The week before, it was 90-plus degrees each and every day.

This past week, we had one day that was in the 60s.

We managed to force ourselves to swim one day, but it really wasn't that refreshing.

I didn't do nearly as much driving as I do when we actually go away, which was good, I guess, but what little driving I did led me to get a ticket for going through a red light ...

Or so it was claimed by Nassau County.

Certain lights here have cameras, and the cameras are very quick to nab you when you go through a yellow light.

I claim that I went through a yellow light, but go fight City Hall on this one.

Yes, I paid my fine already. No sense arguing this. You can't win, although others have fought this.

Not me.

Normally, I drive over 2,000 miles during our vacation, and I have never gotten a ticket anytime we have been on vacation.

This time, I drove a fraction of that amount, and I got a ticket.

Figures, doesn't it?

I watched lots and lots of TV during this time off, which at least filled in the time when we had little or nothing to do.

I watched lots of baseball, and sad to say, the Yankees aren't very good this year.

No surprise there. I didn't think they were any good at the beginning of the season, and I guess my prediction was true.

There were actually some high points during this time off.

My family and I saw one of the latest round of Monkees concerts, and we had a good time at the show.

When I hear music from this era, I darn well know that the kids today really don't know what they're missing. The music today is so bad, it really can't compare with what I listened to when I was a kid.

I guess I am becoming an old fogey.

We also had a nice, relaxing, family barbecue, with my family, my sister's family, and my parents.

That was fun.

But it took us away from reality for maybe a day, and just overall, the news kept on churning on our vacation, err, staycation.

The news continued during my time off, with the Anthony Weiner saga continuing full tilt.

As you might remember, I told you when this thing originally broke that Weiner, as a toddler, lived in Rochdale Village, the community that I grew up in in Queens.

Well, we all don't behave this way, so it has nothing to do with Rochdale Village, I can tell you that.

But anyway, I am back.

I have no idea what my wife and I will do today, but hopefully we will have a pleasant, stress free last day off.

And yes, I am writing this blog at 2:30 in the morning.

I got up from sleep--I went to bed pretty early last night, because there was nothing on TV that thrilled me--and I am not tired now.

I will probably try to go back to sleep when I am done here, so maybe writing this blog will have a calming influence on me.

Certainly, this "staycation" didn't, that's for sure.