Last stop on the Arlington line

I've just dropped a huge hint to anyone who reads this blog with regularity.

I'm pleased and (to some degree) surprised that I've been at this for going on 3 years. A lot of change (of the blink-and-you-missed-it variety) and a lot of being able to say what's on my mind in a clear, honest and helpful fashion. I've tried to make this blog as bullshit-free as possible. Whether it was playing at being reporter when The Punch Line was recording, or subsequently the (admittedly, a little more than veiled than it should have been) frustrations of how the band was becoming (what with the personal nonsense invading the creative process) to the changes in my own life--it's been a helpful and healthy friend to me. I hate diaries; I hate the "on-stage" pretense effect--when people act in a certain manner since they know they're being watched--I don't think I've let the blog degenerate to that degree. I've just said what I had to say, tried to be direct and not victimized, and whatever I've been thinking has been put down for the record and onward I go. A good purging system.

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Work for me has been as busy as ever, which is great since I hate the holidays. This year, no Xmas gifts, no cards--nothing. I don't have the time, patience or funds to waste on empty acts.

Liz has been amazing. That's all I have to say. She will be working again soon enough.

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Ever since we moved back, we've been more into the history of my home borough. There have been a few books I've purchased to delved deeper into the background of Staten Island; there was a recent program on public television devoted to S.I. and we've been consciously favoring local long-time establishments and businesses. Not to get falsely left-wing, I think places like Denino's or The West Shore Inn are treasures of this borough and what gives it the charm it isn't recognized for, along with the amazing parks and places of historic note. But enough of my sounding like a member of the Chamber of Commerce. If you've ever had those typically obnoxious viewpoints ("oh, you have to get there by a ferry" or "do you have hospitals?"), visit the Island, come over for coffee and we'll show you.