Signs that Maybe You're Having a Problem with Trump

Les jeux sont fait, mes amis. It’s over, folks. Trump will be taking his first dump at the White House on January 20, 2017 whether you and I like it or not. So please stop with the “Not My President” bullshit and find some other form of opposition. Whether you have resigned yourself to this fact or not you may be suffering some side-effects. Here are just a few of the symptoms people are reporting as Inauguration Day draws near.

1.    You purchased a new office chair that allows you to work in the fetal position.

2.    News reports of miserable refugees fleeing hell holes in the Middle East and Africa make you sigh with envy.

3.    You have almost convinced yourself that perhaps George W. Bush wasn’t so bad after all.

4.    You have almost convinced yourself that perhaps Benito Mussolini wasn’t so bad after all.

5.    You find yourself buying more and more nonperishable food items and storing them in the basement—and you didn’t have a basement before the election so you dug one.

6.    As you drink more and more you have run out of projects for the wine corks you have saved since the election so you built the USA/Mexico wall with them.

7.    You are still clinging to the hope that this is all some reality TV hoax and that Obama will come on the air and tell us that he was just fucking with us.

Judías Planas con Garbanzos y Sardinas

I boiled some of the long, flat green beans we have here in salted water with bay leaves and a heaping tablespoon of tumeric for a minute or so then added a jar of cooked garbanzo beans. I strained this and served it with canned sardines in olive oil. I could live on this little dish.

The Best Things in Life

The best things in life may not be free but they usually require a communal effort as in the case of this great new bike path in Valencia’s historic center. I happened upon this new bike path by accident as I returned to the city on Saturday after a ride in the country. This used to be a street I completely avoided on my bike because of the intense traffic and lack of a clear area to ride. It wasn’t even a good street to walk along because of the din of automobile traffic. It was difficult to cross and the beautiful Torres de Quart were all but blocked out by the bullying of drivers in a hurry.

This bike lane not only serves the needs of cyclists entering the city center but it helps to calm traffic in this historic area of town. Valencia continues to improve, not only for bike riders, but for all of its citizens.

When I’m King of the World #1*

When I’m king of the world everyone will have to do their own housework so if you want to have five mansions and a couple of yachts you won’t have much free time because that’s going to be a lot of windows to wash in your New York Penthouse, a lot of lawns to mow on your country estates, and a lot of keels to scrape on your boats. I live alone in a three bedroom flat and it’s all I can do to keep this place from being condemned.

*And when I’m king of the world it’s going to be about income equality.

P.S. Make America Great Again? Like when this was made in 2013? Thanks again, Obama! I’m not all that knowledgeable about all things Broadway but I think those in the know would  call this little number  a show-stopper.

January Sucks

The absolute worst month of the year in Valencia is January. Sure, it’s not really that cold here compared to just about anywhere but when you don’t have central heat and your place isn’t well insulated it can be uncomfortable. I don’t know why they make apartments here as if there is never anything approaching a winter. My ceramic tile floor is beautiful every other month of the year but in January it is like putting your foot down on solid ice.