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February 26th, 2018

As I write this I am on my exercise bike, trying to make up for the 4+ miles I walked every work day. This is my greatest fear, by the way; that I will succumb to sitting on my ass all day, which I previously reserved for days off. So my plan is 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night. Weekends off!

I turned 65 in October of 2017, but I wasn’t really 65 until I retired. Suddenly I have found myself looking for senior citizen discounts. I’m one of those old people I kept seeing at class reunions.

One of the first things I have discovered about being retired is that you don’t have to get anything done on time; when you are retired there is no such thing as “on time”. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow have become: got through that one, don’t feel like it, and gonna get my shit together. It is such a weird feeling to not be burdened by a schedule.

 

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February 25th, 2018

Yesterday I retired from my job of 24 years, 1 month, and 16 days, and from the last 40+ years in the restaurant and then retail businesses.

My first night of retirement I dreamed I was out shopping for house dresses. I’m a guy, and I have never worn nor do I anticipate wearing a house dress. Unless this is a harbinger of the future.

Speaking of the future, there are two incredibly annoying questions that everyone asks when you say you are going to retire.

Why are you retiring? Because I am tired of working.

What are you going to do when you retire? Not work.

Here is the truth. People retire with the sole intention of finding out how much fun they can have before their money or their health runs out. It’s all a gamble, of course, and a fine balancing act. Have too much fun and all of a sudden you find out you are broke. Have less fun and find out you are terminally ill with a shitload of money still in the bank. (Spell check is correcting “shitload”. But I say if “shipload” is correct than “shitload” should be as well.)

More annoying questions:

Are you going to sleep in? Not on purpose.

Are you going to travel? Some.

Are you going to play golf? See above concerns about having too much fun.

Watch golf? Yes, indeed.

Are you going to write a blog about retiring? Most definitely!

And, in fact, today I have accomplished, in the first 10 hours of my first day of retirement, the following: slept in; traveled – from the bedroom to the bathroom to the kitchen to the office; and watched golf. Not only have I already completed 3 of my retirement goals, but I filled my pill boxes for the next month. And if that isn’t the definition of a fulfilling retirement, I don’t know what is!

 

 

 

 

 

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My Billy Stats – Updated April 14, 2013

61 shows as of April 14, 2013 (22 in London; 34 in NYC; 5 in Sacramento [BETM Tour])

Uncle Dave’s Mini Billython – Sacramento – April 11th – 14th, 2013:
Thursday, April 11th, Matinee – Mitchell; Sam
Thursday, April 11th, Evening – Drew; Jake
Friday, April 12th, Evening – Noah; Sam
Saturday, April 13th, Matinee – Drew; Jake
Saturday, April 13th, Evening – Ben; Sam

Uncle Dave’s 60th Birthday London Adventure – London – October 3rd – 11th, 2012:
Thursday, October 4th, Matinee – Redmand; Thomas
Thursday, October 4th, Evening – Harris; Joe
Friday, October 5th, Evening – Kaine; Thomas
Saturday, October 6th, Matinee – Harrison; Jack
Saturday, October 6th, Evening – Redmand; Thomas
***Sunday, October 7th – Matilda – My 60th birthday!
Monday, October 8th, Evening – Harrison; Thomas
***Tuesday, October 9th – Mamma Mia! – with JJF; met Leon Cooke and James Gaddas at stage door.
Wednesday, October 10th, Evening – Redmand; Joe

The Last Pirouette (The Closing of BETMNY) – New York City – January 6th – 9th, 2012:
Friday, January 6th, Evening – Julian; Cameron; Tade as Tall Boy –  (Fan Appreciation Event in the afternoon!)
***Saturday, January 7th, Matinee – Rent
Saturday January 7th, Evening  – Joseph; Cameron; Julian as Tall Boy
Sunday, January 8th, Matinee – Joseph, Peter, Julian, Tade; Jack & Cameron; All Billys played Tall Boy – Final Performance of BETMNY!! (Met Joshua Denyer – OZ Billy – at stage door!)

Uncle Dave’s Stealth Vacation – New York City – October 17th – 24th, 2011:
Tuesday, October 18th – Giuseppe Bausilio; Jack; Joseph Harrington as Tall Boy
Wednesday, October 19th, Matinee (no evening show today) – Peter M; Cameron; Myles as Tall Boy
***Thursday, October 20th – Jersey Boys
Friday, October 21st- Myles; Cameron; Tade as Tall Boy (he was still in training so not playing Billy yet)
Saturday, October 22nd, Matinee – Giuseppe; Jack; Joseph as Tall Boy
Saturday, October 22nd, Evening – Joseph; Cameron; Peter as Tall Boy
45 Sunday, October 23rd, Matinee – Peter; Jack; Myles as Tall Boy; Laura Marie as Mrs. W.
46 Sunday, October 23rd, Evening – Myles; Cameron; Giuseppe as Very Tall Boy; Laura Marie as Mrs. W.

Uncle Dave’s Liberation Celebration – New York City – April 11th – 18th, 2011:
****Tuesday, April 12th – Wicked
Wednesday, April 13th, Matinee – Joseph Harrington, Cameron Clifford
****Wednesday, April 13th, Evening – How to Succeed in Business…
Thursday, April 14th – Alex Ko, Neil Caffrey (fans gave a going away party for Tessa Netting prior to tonight’s show)
****Friday, April 15th – Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Saturday, April 16th, Matinee – Jacob Clemente, Neil Caffrey (dinner between shows with Thommie Retter and other fans)
Saturday, April 16th, Evening – Joseph Harrington, Cameron Clifford
****Sunday, April 17th, Matinee – The Book of Mormon
Sunday, April 17th, Evening – Peter Mazurowski, Cameron Clifford
(Ben Cook was Tall Boy for all shows this week)

Uncle Dave’s Third Annual Birthday Billython – New York City – October 5th – 10th, 2010:
Tuesday, October 5th – Alex Ko, Gabriel Rush
Wednesday, October 6th, Matinee (no evening show today) – Jacob Clemente, Neil Caffrey (my first chair drop in Dream Ballet; he had 5; turns out he had the wrong chair)
Thursday, October 7th (my 58th birthday) – Dayton Tavares, Gabriel Rush
Friday, October 8th  – Peter Mazurowski/Alex Ko, Neil Caffrey (Peter was replaced by Alex for Act II) (Billy Elliot Adult Workshop before show with Thommie Retter, Greg Jbara, Tessa Netting, David Alvarez & Kiril Kulish)
Saturday, October 9th, Matinee – Alex Ko, Gabriel Rush (dinner between shows with Thommie Retter and other fans)
Saturday, October 9th, Evening – Jacob Clemente, Neil Caffrey
Sunday, October 10th, Matinee – Dayton Tavares, Gabriel Rush (dinner between shows with Thommie Retter and Bobz; met Rarmian Newton at stage door)
Sunday, October 10th, Evening – Peter Mazurowski, Neil Caffrey

Friends in Defiance: The 5th Anniversary Adventure – London – May 7th – 13th, 2010:
Friday, May 7th – Tom Holland & Joe Massey – Tom’s acting was stunning; maybe the best acted BETM I have ever seen; great Electricity but he slipped on his opening tumbling run.
Saturday, May 8th, Matinee – Rhys and Jake Pratt – Good show, Rhys still new. Jake very funny.
Saturday, May 8th, Evening – Dean-Charles & Joe Massey
Monday, May 10th – Rhys and Connor Kelly; David Bardlsey as Dad – Connor is great Michael and liked David B’s dad as well.
Tuesday, May 11th – Tom and Joe – Tom’s Electricity was even better; another great show.
Wednesday, May 12th – Dean-Charles and Connor
Thursday, May 13th, Matinee – Ollie and Connor – Ollie was exceptional, best Angry Dance
Thursday, May 13th, Evening – Rhys and Jake, nice solid show

Uncle Dave’s Second Annual Birthday Billython – New York City – October 3rd – 8th, 2009:
Sat Night – Kiril (last show), Keean as Michael, Jacob as Tall Boy
Sun Mat – Trent, Trevor as Michael, Jacob as Tall Boy (Haydn’s last night)
Tues Night – Alex Ko, Keean, Jacob – debut for Alex Ko and Kate Hennig
Wed Mat – Trent, Keean, Jacob – sucky show
Wed Night – Alex, Trevor, Jacob – Awesome Show!
Tommy B. was injured again!! 🙁 🙁

Uncle Dave’s Memorial Weekend Big Apple Adventure & Billython – New York City – May 20th – 25th 2009:
**David A. x 2, Kiril x 2, Tanner x 1, Trent x 1; David B. x 6, Frank x 0 🙁 , Tommy B. x 0 🙁 🙁 ; **first NYC Billy (Frank was out of town or injured, and Tommy B was injured)

Uncle Dave’s Birthday Billython – London – October 7th – 11th, 2008:
*Tanner x 3, Tom x 2, Fox x 2; Shaun x 2, Lewis x 4, Jonty x 1; *first Billy

Billy Totals (26 boys seen, though Tade was only for 1/4 show):
Alex Ko x 5.5
Peter Mazurowski x 4.5 + .25 (BETMNY Final Show)
Joseph Harrington x 4 + .25 (BETMNY Final Show)
Tanner x 4
Tom Holland x 4; He was, by far and away, the best actor I ever saw in the role!
Jacob Clemente x 3
Trent x 3
Kiril x 3
Rhys x 3
Redmand x 3
David A. x 2
Dean-Charles x 2
Fox x 2
Dayton Tavares x 2
Giuseppe x 2
Myles x 2
Harrison x 2
Drew Minard x 2
Julian x 1 + .25 (BETMNY Final Show)
Oliver G. x 1
Kaine x 1
Harris x 1
Ben Cook x 1
Mitchell Tobin x 1
Noah Parets x 1
Tade x .25 (BETMNY Final Show)
Tommy B x 0

Michael Totals (17 boys seen):
Cameron Clifford x 9 + .5 (BETMNY Final Show)
David B. x 6
Neil Caffery x 6
Joe x 5
Lewis x 4
Gabriel Rush x 4
Thomas x 4
Jack x 3 + .5 (BETMNY Final Show)
Keean x 3
Conner Kelly x 3
Sam Poon x 3
Jake Kitchin x 2
Jake ?? x 2
Trevor B. x 2
Shaun M. x 2
Jonty x 1
Jack x 1
Frank x 0

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Best New Restaurants in London

Category: Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Regions, Restaurants, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe — Emyr Thomas @ 11:31 am

2012 has been an incredible year for London, not only because of the Olympics, the Paralympics and the Queen’s Jubilee, but also by firmly establishing itself as one of the hottest restaurant scenes in the world. Here we share some of the best new restaurants to have opened in London this year.

Bubbledogs, Fitzrovia

Champagne and hotdogs don’t naturally go together, but that’s about to change with the launch of Bubbledogs, which serves just that. There’s a menu of ten hotdogs served with carefully selected grower champagne.

The chef, James Knappett, has previously worked at The Ledbury, Noma and Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, so he knows how to cook. The restaurant also features a separate ‘Kitchen Table’, which will seat a maximum of 19 guests around one table watching the chef at work.
Continue reading “Best New Restaurants in London”

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London for BETM Fans

London for BETM Fans
A map for finding, theatres, airports, hotels and places to eat in London.

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Victoria Palace Theatre – London
The Mother Church of BETM! Lobby is on Victoria St.; Stage Door is on Allington, to the left of the VPT when facing it.

Victoria Palace Theatre
14 reviews
Victoria St
London SW1E 5EA, United Kingdom
0844 248 5000
victoriapalacetheatre.co.uk

Cambridge Theatre
Matilda

Cambridge Theatre
8 reviews
Earlham Street
London, Greater London WC2H 9HU, United Kingdom
0844 412 4652
cambridgetheatrelondon.co.uk

Cherry Court Hotel – London
A very nice place to stay; small, family run B&B. Clean and inexpensive, but be prepared for a TINY room.

Cherry Court Hotel
2 reviews
23 Hugh Street
London, Greater London SW1V 1QJ, United Kingdom
020 7828 2840
cherrycourthotel.co.uk

Comfort Inn Victoria London Belgrave Road – London
Some fans have stayed here and liked it.

The Victoria
8 reviews
46 Grosvenor Gardens
City of Westminster, SW1W 0, United Kingdom
020 7730 8069
universalrentals.co.uk
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Continue reading “London for BETM Fans”

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Subject: 5 MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE

Subject: 5 MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE

Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor.

Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel.”

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob.

After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, “Who was that?” “It was Bob the next door neighbor,” she replies.

“Great!” the husband says, “did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?”

Moral of the story:
If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Continue reading “Subject: 5 MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE”

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Pardon Our Interference

I have a story to tell. The other day, I went out to my car to get something out of the trunk. I pressed the remote…nothing. I pressed other buttons on the remote key fob, and once the doors locked, and then the rest of the time it didn’t work, and then once the doors unlocked.
So I thought the battery on my 8 year old remote was dead. So I got my other car keys and tried that remote. Nothing! But this did not surprise me, as the batteries had been sitting in it unused for 8 years.
So I decided to go to the store to buy new batteries. I used the key to get into my car and backed out of the driveway. I pressed the garage door remote to close the garage door.
NOTHING!
Now this was quite odd! My car remote AND my GDO remote were dead.
I pulled back into the garage, and the door opener remote worked fine.
Something funny going on here, eh?
And then I knew what had happened…
Earlier in the evening, I had replaced my old wireless doorbell with a new one. I put the old doorbell, along with the front door button, into a plastic bag in which I had kept all the parts for the old one when I first bought it, including the button for the back door, which had come with the old doorbell. I had never used this button. I had, however, left the battery in it all this time. So when I put the old doorbell into the bag, it pressed against the back door button, but since I had removed the batteries from the doorbell itself, there was no sound.
Sure enough, as soon as I removed the old doorbell from the bag, all of my other remotes worked just fine! Needless to say, I made it a point to remove the battery from the back door button before re-bagging everything.
The funny part is, if I had gotten the garage door closed and gone off to the store, I would have been very perplexed upon discovering that, at the store, I could lock my car, AND open my trunk, with no problems!
BTW, the reason I knew what had happened so quickly is that…and this is quite strange…several years ago, though I can not remember the exact details, almost the same exact thing happened to me with other devices and remotes.

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Just A Few Funny Things

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I was in the ‘Six Item Express’ lane at the supermarket, quietly fuming.

Completely ignoring the sign, the woman ahead of me had slipped into the check-out line pushing a cart piled high with groceries.  Imagine my delight when the cashier beckoned the woman to come forward, looked into the cart and asked sweetly, “So – which six items would you like to buy?”

Wouldn’t it be great if that happened more often?
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Because they had no reservations at a busy restaurant, my elderly neighbor and his wife were told there would be a 45-minute wait for a table.

“Young man, we’re both 90 years old,” the husband said.  “We may not have 45 minutes.”

They were seated immediately. 
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The reason Politicians try so hard to get re-elected is that they would “hate” to have to make a living under the laws they’ve passed.

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All eyes were on the radiant bride as her father escorted her down the aisle.  They reached the altar and the waiting groom, the bride kissed her father and placed something in his hand.

The guests in the front pews responded with ripples of laughter.  Even the priest smiled broadly.

As her father gave her away in marriage, the bride gave him back his credit card. 
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Women and cats will do as they please; and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
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Three friends from the local congregation were asked, “When you’re in your casket, and friends and congregation members are mourning over you, what would you like them to say?”

Artie said, “I would like them to say I was a wonderful husband, a fine spiritual leader, and a great family man.”

Eugene commented, “I would like them to say I was a wonderful teacher and servant of God who made a huge difference in people’s lives.”

Al said, “I’d like them to say, ‘Look, he’s moving!'” 

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Smith climbs to the top of Mt. Sinai to get close enough to talk to God.

Looking up, he asks the Lord.  “God, what does a million years mean to you?”

The Lord replies, “A minute.”

Smith asks, “And what does a million dollars mean to you?”

The Lord replies, “A penny.”

Smith asks, “Can I have a penny?”

 The Lord replies, “In a minute.”
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A man goes to a shrink and says, “Doctor, my wife is unfaithful to me. Every evening, she goes to Larry’s bar and picks up men.  In fact, she sleeps with anybody who asks her!   I’m going crazy.  What do you think I should do?”

“Relax,” says the Doctor, “take a deep breath and calm down.  Now, tell me, exactly where is Larry’s bar?”
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John was on his deathbed and gasped pitifully, “Give me one last request, dear,” he said.

“Of course, John,” his wife said softly.

“Six months after I die,” he said, “I want you to marry Bob..”

“But I thought you hated Bob,” she said.

With his last breath John said, “I do!”  
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A man goes to see the  Rabbi.

“Rabbi, something terrible is happening and I have to talk to you about it.”

The Rabbi asked, “What’s wrong?”

The man replied, “My wife is poisoning me.”

The Rabbi, very surprised by this, asks, “How can that be?”

The man then pleads, “I’m telling you, I’m certain she’s poisoning me, what should I do?”

The Rabbi then offers, “Tell you what.  Let me talk to her, I’ll see what I can find out and I’ll let you know.”

A week later the Rabbi calls the man and says, “I spoke to her on the phone for three hours..  You want my advice?

The man said, “Yes;” and the Rabbi replied, “Take the poison.”

 

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