Have you ever sat down and written a stream of consciousness? By that, I mean you don’t have one single thing to expound; instead, you have a lot of things you have general thoughts about without getting too deep into them?


I’ve done a couple of videos on this type of thing over the years but when I was initially blogging, back in the days where I was writing more than 300 posts a year, every once in a while I’d write one of these types of posts.

They used to do well back then but these days, unless you stick to one topic, they might not be all that popular. Still, this is part of my 31 day challenge of myself, and most of the things I’m going to address are related to this area somehow. Hey, let’s see what I come up with.

1. What a warm January!

A couple of days ago I wrote a post talking about central New York snow and how it defines us. At this juncture we’re still tops in snow across the country, but if we’re truthful to ourselves it’s because of the 25″ we got in one day, when, back in November? Last week every day was at least in the 40’s, with two days in a row in the 50’s; in January in central New York? What happened to those polar vortexes we had just a couple of years ago?

2. Syracuse basketball this year…

I’ve stayed away from this topic because it hurts deep inside, but with what I’m going through now it seems really unimportant. Still, this season should prove something to the naysayers over all these years who complained that our esteemed coach couldn’t be that good because he didn’t recruit a lot of elite talent, even though he got to those almost 1,000 wins (we know lol), multiple final fours and won the Big Dance once. One of the most talented teams Syracuse doesn’t have yet only one starter that knows the system; that’s how teams with great coaches win. If you don’t believe me look at San Antonio this year.

3. Assisted living costs

If you look at the link above you’ll read part of what leads up to this one. The monthly fees you hear about might be considered steep by some, but it turns out that’s not the main issue. The big deal is that, with some of these places there are these “ala carte” services that, on the surface, seem quite innocuous, yet can cost you a lot of money if you put your loved one in one of them. As a for instance, if a glucose reading must be done 3 times a day and you decide you want someone to make sure it happens… that’s $714 a month. If you want a guarantee that they’re showering or cleaning up more than twice a week; $1,325. On and on; ouch!

4. Women advocating for women who don’t care about women

March on Washington  Protesters rally - Williamsburg Virginia
C Watts via Compfight

There was a major protest of women last Friday across the country (and locally); you know why. I applaud all of these people because I’ve basically checked out since last November because I needed to keep my sanity and put my mind at peace. Many women wore a particular accoutrement that, even if I was a woman, I’d have never put on my head, let alone let anyone know I had it. What courage these women showed; way to go y’all!

5. Two more stores closed at Great Northern

Someone wrote that they should rename it Northern Mall because there’s nothing great about it anymore. I’m not sure that it was ever “great”, but it was fine and sustainable and many times I preferred going there rather than deal with Carousel Mall. I keep hoping for solutions, especially since no one wants to use any of mine, because I think we need a viable mall presence of some sort on this side of town.

6. Come on CNY Chinese restaurants… step up to the plate!

When you best option for Chinese food is a Chinese buffet, you know you’re in trouble locally. I know it’s not my taste buds that have changed as it pertains to Chinese food because I like going to Ling Ling’s… though not that often since I tend to overeat (who doesn’t?) when I go there. Last week I had to prove to my wife just how bad a take out place we used to love had fallen. It was so bad that neither of us made it through 25% of almost anything we tried to eat, with the only thing we finished being the barbecued boneless pork… which seems to taste the same no matter where you go. If you’re recommending China Road as the best Chinese place in town then you’ve never eaten Chinese food; yeah, I said it! 😉

7. There are a lot of funny people in this world.

I like to laugh and I like to throw out a pithy line here and there. I’m starting to realize that I’m an amateur compared to the majority of people who are truly funny. I thank all of them for putting up and doing things that I’d have never done… mainly because I’d have never thought of it.

That’s it!