Ah, my sweet, sweet, stinky-faced dog, Farley, had a birthday on November 13th. He’s my little guy. This year the fuzz butt turned 10 years old. I’ve had him since he was 12 weeks old and since then he’s: Been through 2 marriages 1 divorce Deaths of my Dad and grandparents Five residences An exodus […]

If you remember I had my friend that I called ‘RollerGirl’ post something on my blog titled “Life and Love…or not…“. Man, after a while that nickname starts getting on my nerves. From here on out she will be referred to as ‘RacerX’. Anyhow, there were a few questions that were asked and she took […]

I got back into town Sunday evening. Wow. California. Nice place but I wouldn’t want to live there. One of the first things that Harrison told me when I got there was ‘All the men here are complete pussies’. Then he recounted how they behaved like spineless freaks when confronted by women. You know that […]

The following post is from my good friend that I will call “RollerGirl”. Why do I call her that? First, it is the name of Heather Graham’s character in ‘Boogie Nights’. Second, whenever we talk about what we’re wearing, I tell her “Tube top. Hot pants. Rollerskates.”. There have been a few edits – mostly […]

The people that are close to me know that I’m in a pretty big blue funk lately. We won’t go into the specifics. Let’s just leave it at that. I’ve hit a depression that I need to work my way out of. I’m really lucky, too. I have a very understanding wife who is trying […]

You know, I’m starting to cultivate a very bad reputation at work. Not necessarily ‘bad’, more like ‘nefarious’. The happy hour that we had last Thursday was a pretty good success. Aside from hiking 1.3 miles in the summer sun dressed in monkey suits, RFD turned out to be a pretty good place to hang […]

I was speaking with someone a few weeks ago and she intimated to me that she keeps a journal. I thought that it was pretty neat that people still keep journals, especially during an age when it is so easy to hop online and produce the type of tripe that is out there. She would […]

I’ve been in a deep, blue funk for the past week. Aside from having the Chet Baker anthology on my iPhone (1953-1997), I’ve been on the Metro listening to music that helps me maintain that funk. You know how it goes – you gain momentum and you just can’t stop. In some weird, strange way […]

Deborah Last week I was able to catch up with Deborah (of 32 Poems) over lunch at Finemondo. Deb used to work with me at Lockheed Martin and has since moved off to other opportunities. It is always interesting meeting up with her. She’s in a completely different universe than I am – she’s smart, […]

NOTE: The following post was done by my wife, Angela, and appears without edits. Guest writer time again, kids. I will say that I am nowhere near as eloquent as my husband (my talents lie more in pure intimidation and inciting fear), but I will give it a shot as I feel this will help […]

Sons of a bitch. That’s what we were in the market for. Two little male dogs. That’s what we were on the hunt for this weekend. The following is a tale of good intentions and futility. Let’s start off with my mother. Michael’s Mom My dad passed away in April. It was a pretty traumatic […]

I hadn’t written about this before because I didn’t want to jinx her: Angela quit her job. Her last day was today. I am so proud of her that she found a new job as a Director of Marketing just a few minutes from our house and with the larger salary, greater responsibility and something […]

In almost every office that I’ve worked in I’ve had the pleasure of having someone in my life that I affectionately refer to as my ‘Work Wife’. Each iteration of my Work Wife has been a very attractive woman that I was able to confide in, joke around with and essentially play the role of […]

One woman. Two women. A gaggle of women. Here is another one of my favorite tricks to attracting members of the opposite sex: hang out with them.  I don’t know if it is like using other people as bait, but it sure as heck works. Here’s my theory: women like to know that a guy […]

Oy. That last thread went over well. Thanks for taking one for the team, Sid. Liz, don’t make me suspend your account. Portnoy asked if I have any dirty little tricks. Here is one of my favorites. Be confident; be determined. Earlier I said that you should be confident with yourself. When you enter a […]

NOTE: The following post was done by my good friend Sidney as per my request. Hello. My name is Sidney. Please forgive me if what I write is awkward. I’ve never done this before. Michael asked if I would mind writing about how we first met. At first I didn’t know why and then I […]

So, our first lesson was simple – don’t be stupid. Or was that get pinned to the ground and ravaged by a cougar when you’re a young lad? Either one is a pretty good lesson. Let’s lean towards the first option, though. By being aware of what’s going on in the world around you, being […]

I have a weird gift. Some people call it a talent. My friend Sam says that it is a talent that I am letting go to waste. What is it? I have an uncanny knack for getting to know women. To me, this seems like a win-win situation. I love women. Getting to know them […]

Someone, please help me. PLEASE. Especially if you work for Cingular, AT&T or Apple. Or even if you have a friend with sticky fingers or possibly deals in shady business practices out of the trunk of their car. Angela is driving me nuts with this iPhone obsession she has. Right now she’s already ‘shushed’ me […]

I went to dinner with my friend Allie on Monday night. I absolutely adore her – she’s completely insane and hot. Nevermind the fact that she’s also really high maintenance. Well, not really ‘high maintenance’ per se. She just has really, really great taste. Did I also happen to mention that she’s pretty insane? Nothing […]

My Dad was laid to rest last week. It was nice closure for everyone around, albeit rough. I’ll be visiting my Dad after work tomorrow, just to say ‘hello’ and spend some quality time with him. After this post, I’ll be writing my regular article – life will slowly be returning to normal. Thanks again […]

The day has finally come when we lay my dad to rest in Arlington Cemetary. It is sort of weird because I’m both happy and sad at the same time. During his viewing last month I felt awkward taking a few pictures while people wept and his casket was open.   He’ll have a few things […]

I was having a discussion at work the other day with one of the database developers. We’re a decent group of people ranging from late 20’s to a guy who has been there for 26 years (I’d guess he’s in his 50’s/60’s). We got into a discussion about the signs of getting older. You know, […]

4:45am this morning. Did you hear it? The screeching of a little girl in the early morning hours? No? Are you sure? It sounded as if someone took a 4 year old girl’s favorite stuffed toy and beheaded it in front of her. Oh, wait…that wasn’t a little girl. That was me screaming. In pain. […]

My dad’s body will be flown into Dulles tomorrow. From there he’ll be transported to a funeral home in Herndon where he’ll lay and wait until his funeral. My mom still cries and my sister still utters apologies for not being able to bring him home. With the exception of the funeral we have very […]

I would like to thank everyone who has either left a message for me here, via email, on my cell phone, on the various forums I frequent. Both I and my family appreciate your thoughts and condolences. It has been a very, very difficult 24 hours. From learning that my dad’s health was so fragile, […]

EDIT – At 10:37 this evening my oldest sister in Denver called and told me that my dad had passed away. I’m sitting here, alone in my apartment, after getting off the phone with my middle sister. Angela took the dogs with her when she returned to Northern Virginia which leaves me absolutely alone in […]