I'm not one who has the gift of an outstanding memory, but inevitably some things just stay with you forever for whatever reason. Such memories etch themselves onto your mind, like a deep wound that scars your skin even as it heals.

Some days, such as that Tuesday eight years ago today, I'll never ever forget.

Lately I've been looking back at significant parts of my past. I think one of the most fun, satisfying, and memorable phases of my life was when I was actually a practicing "musician" and songwriter.

I'm not daft enough to call myself a real musician because, well, I'm really not. I used to play guitar with a modicum of proficiency, but I'm not really a musician. Musicians are what you call people with real talent; I'm more of a ham-and-egger who just has far more enthusiasm...

The first domino has fallen.

Now that the mayor of Los Angeles has signed the budget for the upcoming fiscal year (which starts on July 1st of every year and runs through to the end of June of the following year), the long-rumored layoffs and mandatory unpaid furlough days for Los Angeles City employees pass from possibility to likelihood. If there is no opposition to the acceptance of this budget (none is expected), the first round of layoffs will commence, starting with 1,200 City...

These are somewhat strange days of late for me.

I've intimated to a few select OCN friends about the major event demanding my attention; I now wish to disclose it to everyone who might be reading this.

There is a very real danger that I might be laid off by my employer.

I work for a municipal government, and not even we are immune to the very serious financial crisis currently at play. Though nothing is for certain at this point in time, the threat...

So much has happened since the last time I updated this here blog, and so many things are still happening. As John Lennon sang memorably, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

Work still dominates the majority of my time and attention. Lately we have had people feeling ill, or having family members being sick, so this means that the workload increases for those of us more fortunate to not have such maladies. This is not a complaint, of course, merely...