My roommate of the last four months left for home yesterday, deciding after being away for 15 years the snowy winters of Upstate New York are better than the ice storms in Dallas. I will and won’t miss him. It’s kind of hard living with someone who has to be right, all the time. Yet the sandwiches he smuggled into the shelter every now and then were very much appreciated.

He is the kind of guy who having earphones for his television will listen to the same appliance without the earphones at a volume that is sufficient to ensure sleep won’t come easily, but not so loud as to bother those in the room next door. Yet he was more than willing to give me a ride over to the cellphone store so I could sign up and to Walmart for needed supplies when I started receiving my disability payments; plus, give me a ride up to Micro Center when I was ready to buy this laptop.

Good guy, bad guy. Nice guy, homophobic bastard. Yes, there is that problem, too. If anyone asks me if I know the definition of disparage, I can say I lived with the definition.

On the home front, I’m having a problem with obliviousness. I don’t know if it’s the all the meds I’m taking, but I been having a real problem lately of not being aware of people and things around me. I suspect it might have something to do with the hypomanic state I seem to be in. Yes, I bounced out of the gloom into happyland once again.

Also on the medical front, I have been told not to take aspirin to treat arthritis as it could, may, might, or quite possibly burn a hole in my stomach, leading to all sorts of bleeding problems. So, my good PC prescribed Etodolac, which WILL burn a hole in my stomach if not taken with Omeprozole (to reduce stomach acid) and food. What’s worse could, may, might, or quite possibly or WILL? Aspirin has been working for me for the past 40 years so why stop now?

Oh, almost forgot to tell you, but my ex-roommate let me have his old mattress. It's a real twin bed mattress, which is far better than the thin foam mattresses they give out here at the shelter. Don't get me wrong, he didn't give it to me, but he did let me buy it in lieu of selling it to someone else. Like I said, he is the kind of guy who'll give a friend the shirt off his back, as long as you have the cash.