The Bostonian Abroad

I almost got fired. Almost canned because I told the truth, was too transparent, and apparently, in describing my department, I made another department look bad (though I said nothing bad about that other department). If I simply describe my department and how we help people, and students can deduce things for themselves, I get in trouble. This came after 7 years of fighting for my program, my people. All my efforts have been received as "poor professional judgment," though what magic tablets they are working from are a mystery to me. I've been told to do immoral, wrong, unethical things, but since they are not illegal, I have no choice. It's "do it or get canned." Throughout all of this and the most challenging time in my career and my life (with idiopathic anaphylaxis), I have sought solace in music. I listen to my favorite musicians, emulate them as best I can, and practice as often as possible, focusing mostly on bari sax and bass guitar. I even starte

Let's categorize the latest happenings in 2023: 1. February--?? Anaphylaxis. I have had 12 anaphylactic reactions since Februrary of this year. The first one nearly killed me. The second one was almost as bad. The third one was pretty bad as well. Epi Pen saved my life the second 2 events. The ambulance crew saved me that first time. Reason? What reason to cause this? Was it food? No. Was it medication? No. Was it mold? No. What was it? Nobody knows. I had 11 vials of blood taken out of me to be tested for mutations, cancers, etc., and nothing came back as the cause. I have the lovely idiopathic variety of this condition, meaning that at any given moment, my body can go into anaphylaxis and kill me. I recognize the signs now, so I take a handful of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and hopefully it stops. If it doesn't, then I resort to my Epi pen and another visit to the E.R. 2. Next up: Weight Loss. After the cardiac doctor looked flummoxed about my heart enzymes after anaphylaxis

Wow! I am still here! Yikes! Who knows how long?? Maybe 8 more seconds, or maybe 100 more years!!

Life in middle management has been an oft-times bitter pill to swallow. Increased responsibility, longer hours, and dealing with more headaches--all while not getting a raise in salary ("lateral move," they said)--all contribute to a serious sense of unease, bordering on despair. Suffice't to say that the past year has been more stressful than I have had to deal with in over a decade, and it has left me feeling increasingly unhappy, angst-ridden, outraged, and just plain demoralized. Lately, and on an increasingly more emphatic scale, I have been looking towards my one and only real outlet for my frustrations: riding my motorcycle. I've ridden more than in years, I have formed an ad hock group of riders/motovloggers for a yearly meetup, I've bought a new motorcycle, and I've wrapped the "biker lifestyle" around myself like a blanket to defend me from the cold. After the bike purchase, I got myself a new jacket, new boots, a Harley biker wallet, c

I first learned about Dr. Martens in 1992, when my friend Matt, who was cool as all get-out, was wearing a pair on campus at the small college I was attending in New Hampshire. The shoes were Docs, the 1460s, kind of shiny, and not the boots. When I got the chance, I had a pair of my own. Wearing Docs fit in with my developing darker persona in the early-to-mid '90s. I wore mostly black, listened to the Sisters of Mercy, wore an old Army-Surplus field coat, and was pissed off at the world. Living in Boston, and living without a car, I walked everywhere. The city streets are rough on footwear, and my jobs always required a lot of time on my feet, so the Docs were great! --Once I had them broken in. As a teacher, I liked that they were tough and comfortable and fit well with my lifestyle as a young ESL teacher on the make (if an ESL teacher can ever be said to be "on the make"). Then I moved to Fiji, and Docs did not work in that environment at all. They quickly molde

As I lie here in bed with my dogs, I write this to maintain my active statusand not lose this page. Life has been great! Bike running great! Dogs cute! House tended to. Happiness in new friends. I am 45, chubby, limping, in pain, working, growing, and eager to continue living life to the best extent possible.