The Day We Meet Again in General

Calendar said it was time for a haircut. Every six weeks I go to Kilroy’s to get my hairs cut. Prevents me from waking up, looking in the mirror and wondering what the frog is on my head.

Very short. #2. Pretty much what I have had my hair cut for the past 30 years. With the exception of a brief period of time living on the neck in Harpswell, where everything was a half hour away. So during the Winter of 2006-07 I didn’t get a haircut. I also didn’t shave.

Yeah. The mullet that grew in is not a good look for me. Between the raggedy mullet and the multicolored beard I looked like a deranged mountain man who had forgotten his bearskin coat.

Once I went back to work in the Fall of ’07 I took care of that shit. And have ever since.

It dawned on me that I still had dockers khakis in the closet. And a bunch of expensive dress shirts. So I thought I’m good until I figure out the informal “dress code” of the office.

When I went into the office for the first time in 2007, I was dressed in a freaking suit only to find everyone including my boss were dressed in jeans and pullover shirts. I immediately throttled back on the formality.

The first job I had after I retired from the Navy (DCS – a defense contractor) had a VERY strict dress code. If you were meeting with anyone from “inside the gate” ie Navy, you were in a suit.

I am not in the DC environs anymore, but I don’t want to be a schlub.

Turns out I am not so good on the khakis/dress shirt combination.

I have lost a ton of weight, partially from cyclic keto, and partially because of the “Open Heart Surgery Diet.” Immediately after surgery I couldn’t even gag down food. I was losing weight so fast it scared me. I was losing two or three pounds a day.

THAT is not good for you. So, I started making protein shakes with strawberries and blueberries and forced them down. That arrested the ridiculous weight loss.

Eventually I got some appetite back, but I am still surprised when I go out to breakfast with the boys and actually finish my breakfast. For a while I would get a quarter way in and stall, then ask for a box.

So. The khakis I have in the closet are two sizes too big. Which means sometime between now and the time I get the call from HR I am going to have to make a trek to south Portland to go to Men’s Wearhouse and buy a couple of outfits.

I’ve calmed down a bit since the phone call from Steve. For four hours after he called, I couldn’t stop pacing. Thought I should go for a walk, but my subconscious convinced me I would miss a call to start. Completely irrational, but impossible to control.

On the way to Kilroy’s I realized how freaking convenient was the location of the this job. Literally 2 miles from home, a quarter mile from Wally World and right across the street from my barber!

Of course I will have to make trips to the Main Yard and The Office facility on the other side of town – both about 5 miles – in either direction.

During the interview they asked me I would be available to travel. My answer: “Absolutely – send me to ‘Vegas!” which elicited a laugh from everyone. My Dad, when he was working for the companies QA department had to visit venders in ‘Vegas. Actually Henderson, but what’s the difference?

That whole interview I was freaking ON. At one point ten people around that conference table asking me questions. They could barely finish the question before I was answering.

That shit, my friends is Navy training. Anyone who has survived a Naval Aviation Murder Board knows you have to take control immediately. You can’t rock back on your heels and wait for them to come to you. You have to attack each question, in a friendly way. Between questions I name dropped like crazy (forgetting to mention my Dad worked in QA.)

Hurricane Fiona is working her bitchy self up the coast. Looks to be a direct smack on Nova Scotia. No doubt CMP is already sending trucks and crews that way. There are reciprocal agreements between Canada and the US when disasters happen.

The weather guesser on ABC this morning called it a “Generational Storm.”

I hope they are getting ready.

By Saturday we are looking at 10’ waves on the coast of Maine. Thinking, okay pondering if is a good idea to pull the half board out of the attic the wetsuit out of the closet and head to Reid State Park.

When I got my scuba qual twenty years ago, our open water dives were in La Jolla Cove. Waves were coming in at 10-15’ Actually pretty intimidating when wearing a wetsuit, a tank, a mask and snorkel, a BC, a weight belt and fins. Sweet Jebus! Just getting the fins on was quite the chore, with 10-15’ waves crashing on top ever few seconds.

I’m make the drive, then make a judgement call. If they are breaking too fast I’ll take pictures and go get a lobster roll.

The day we meet again
We will walk in peace
Through the garden down the road
Where the mist of time is lifting
See it rising in the air
Like the shadow I was chasing
When I looked, it wasn’t there, oh, no
Just in case you’re wondering
What was really on my mind
It wasn’t what you took, my love
It’s what you left behind…

-Moody Blues, “The Day We Meet Again”

Last updated September 21, 2022