May 5th's Joke of the Week

 It’s hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally.

April 14th's Joke of the Week

Innkeeper: The room is $15 a night.  It’s $5 if you make your own bed.

Guest: I’ll make my own bed.

Innkeeper: Good.  I’ll get you some nails and wood.

April 7th's Pun

For several years, the young magician insisted on a trap-door trick in every show he did.  He was just going through a stage.

April Fool's Day Pun

Restaurant reviews for the new diner on the moon claim the food is okay, but there’s no atmosphere.

March 17th's Pun

I didn’t want to believe that he was stealing from his job as a road worker.  But when I got home, all the signs were there.

March 8th's Pun

The rotation of the Earth really makes my day.

March 3rd's Pun

 I started a band called 999 Megabytes.  We haven’t gotten a gig yet.

February 10th's Pun

My cousin works at the paper factory where his responsibilities are twofold.

October 2024 - Canada and New England Cruise

In October, I was able to get on a cruise to Canada and New England.  It was a last minute thing, as in about 48 hours before I set sail I found out I got approved to go via a program we have at work.  Fortunately, I was already planning to take the week off but hadn't made any firm plans or reservations for the week.  It was still a scramble to get everything together in time and leave, but I did it.

The cruise was round trip from New York City, and my friend Rory, who has moved there, was able to join me for the cruise, which was a lot of fun.  It was nice to have someone to do things with and generally hang out with.

Unlike the cruise I had done in September of 2022, this was one more New England than Canada.  We only had one sea day, and we had two stops in Canada.  There were still come cross overs with the cruise I'd done before, but I saw enough new that I felt it was worth it.

One stop was Newport, Rhode Island.  I'd just started a series of historical mysteries set there, so I really enjoyed getting to visit the area.  I visited with an author I like when we stopped in Portland, Maine, as well.  Other stops were Boston, St. John's Bay, and Hallifax, the last two being in Canada.  It was really foggy the day we were in Hallifax.  Like barely seeing anything in front of you until afternoon.  But that was the worst weather we had, which is pretty remarkable.

And yes, we saw fall foliage.  It took getting in Canada to really see it, but it was nice.  Nothing like the pictures you see out in the country, but still, there were some beautiful trees.

I left late the day we came back, which gave us some time to hang out in New York City.  We went to the 9/11 memorial and stopped by The Mystery Bookstore.

I was very sad when it was time to head to the airport and fly home.  It was a much needed and enjoyable vacation.

September 2024 - Going Hybrid

 Sadly, September saw a change in my life I wasn't at all happy about.

After four and a half years of working from home, I had to go back into the office part time.  We are officially hybrid, which means we are only in the office Tuesday to Thursday.  But it is such a change.  I'm really struggling to figure out how to fit everything else in my life into my evenings.  Something I didn't really struggle with before.

We have some flexibility in our hours, which is wonderful.  But with when I get home, it means I am missing about an hour out of my evening.  That's a hard change for me.

But the thing that doesn't make any sense to me is that not everyone is back in the office.  There are entire departments that are working from home still, I'm guessing due to space.  Plus, those who have moved out of the area since March of 2020 or been hired in other areas when we were told we were all going to be fully remote that aren't having to come in.  I get that last group - those who were promised they wouldn't have to move.  I'm glad they aren't being forced to move now.  But I do feel like we were lied to.  But for those who are still in the area but not having to come back to the office?  Yeah, it infuriates me.  Especially since all of our meetings are still over Teams.

But I am thankful that we still get to work from home two days a week.  They are by far my favorite work days.  I know most companies are requiring everyone back into the office five days a week, so I'm sure that is coming at some point.