2020- A Start Of A New Decade

Well, here I am in 2020. Going through the most trying time in my life. Last year was pretty crazy and the winter wasn't as bad as I thought it would be considering we here at the SouthCoast in Massachusetts did not get that much snow and the only time we got a lot of snow this past winter was the 1st week of December with only 8 inches and that was the most that we got around here this past winter. January & February was pretty quiet here despite the fact that I started off the New Year throwing up but I felt better enough to go to work but I went straight home and slept for a long time to make sure I had the strength to work more. The first half of March started pretty good and then I went on my usual March vacation and all h-e-double-hockey-sticks broke loose in this country when COVID-19 hit America. Some states all over the country started shutting down and Massachusetts got into the act only 3 days after I got back to work only for me to go on a forced vacation mandated by the government closing non-essential businesses, which means the mall that I work at is closed, so I got some serious time off. But I filed for unemployment, which was a smart move for me, during the quarantine. Folks are blaming the President, each other, other politicians, the Chinese government and acting crazy protesting. Even some folks are putting on their mental tinfoil hats by spewing some crazy conspiracies. I just chose not to read into everything but I will respect the new rulings during this SDIQ (Social Distancing Isolation Quarantine) period.

As for me, I have been 95% cool, calm and collected during this whole ordeal. Why? One, the Lord Jesus Christ has my back and I put my trust in Him! Two,my family has helped me keep sane and knowing they are there makes me feel better knowing they are there for me. And three, I have a lot of things in my room that I can do that will keep my mind off this whole ordeal as well. 

As of writing this blog, all the summer events here in New Bedford have been postponed until after Labor Day, including the Whaling City Festival. Which means some of these events can still happen later on this year. Only one event in New Bedford that is cancelled and that event was the Feast Of The Blessed Sacrament aka the Madeira Feast aka the Portuguese Feast aka the Festa. Some folks ,myself included, are not very happy about this but there is nothing we can do about it. It is what it is. A lot of folks, myself included, are not very happy about how this summer is going to turn out, concerned about how the children are going to feel during the summer. Heck, school ended early and the high school seniors have missed out on proms ,parties and graduation ceremonies. Families who lost their loved ones during this period ,missed out on a proper funeral and could not see their loved ones in the hospitals during this time. Weddings have been postponed, birthday parties have been cancelled, parades have been cancelled. Church services have been closed during this time as well. But there are essential workers from every essential worker in the medical field to every essential worker in restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores and the police and truck drivers and delivery drivers trying to help keep the country from "drowning" by providing us with necessities during this trying time and I am thankful for each and every one of them. 

Most of the sports have been cancelled except the WWE and AEW, whose workers have putting in a huge effort to help us keep our minds off this whole global debacle we are in right now and we thank them for it, too! As we slowly approach reopening up the economy here in Massachusetts this coming Monday unless Governor Baker decides to extend this SDIQ period, we all need to be safe, be smart, stay strong and stay positive and not give in the negative feelings that might set us against each other. We are in this together and we will make it! We will get through this and we will conquer this! Never give up, folks! 

2019- The Last Of The 2010s

Hey, folks! Haven't blogged in here for a while! A lot of crazy changes has happened since I blogged in here last time! A fallout between the oldest daughter in my family (aka my sister,the 2nd oldest in the family) and my parents occurred this past October before my other sister's wedding when she decided that she wasn't going to go. My parents weren't happy about this and since then,my sister and her family are no longer on speaking terms with us. I was supposed to move in with them last year in April but they changed their minds and decided not to have me move in. I was disappointed in the whole situation. I always believed in family but sometimes things happen that make you turn your back on family and trying to look out for yourself but sometimes it just makes things worse in your life. I love everyone in my family but it is difficult to accept things the way they are right now. Gotta stay strong,gotta move on.

This year, 2019,was a very surreal year. This past winter was pretty mild...no major double-digit snowfall totals, no major blizzards and it was pretty cold at times as well. This spring wasn't that bad either,had my vacations and I have been enjoying my Saturdays off. Power Rangers Beast Morphers premiered and it is really cool so far! As far as video games are concerned,I have downloaded a lot of games for the Nintendo Switch and got New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and really enjoyed it. I also picked up an authentic replica of the WWE Intercontinental Championship Title belt and it is really cool-looking!! It is my all-time favorite wrestling championship belt! But the SouthCoast Massachusetts region lost another mall within 3 years as the Swansea Mall closed its doors for good on March 31,2019. 

This summer is only now 10 days left as I am writing this blog right now! Downloaded more games for the Switch, got Super Mario Maker 2, celebrated my niece's 1st birthday. The Whaling City Festival went well without incident and it will be bigger next year! The Madeira Feast went well without a major incident as well! But the sad news is that the SEARS Department & SEARS Auto Center has also closed its doors at the Dartmouth Mall this year as well. Until 2015, it was my father's workplace until he retired during the holiday season instead at the end of that year. Had jury duty but wasn't needed,which was cool. Plus,I saw Hobbs & Shaw at the movies and recently got the Disney live-action Aladdin on DVD. But this year and this decade of the 2010s is not over yet,we still have the holiday season of 2019 to contend with and next month is a big month for pro wrestling on TV! A lot of wrestling shows moving to different TV channels and it will be insane to keep up with,LOL! As I conclude this blog,I will be editing and adding things to this blog as we go along for the final 3 months of this year and this decade of the 2010s.

Summer Of 2018

This summer of 2018 was primarily a not-so spectacular summer for me personally. The Whaling City Festival..for the first time....did not live up to my expectations because they did not have the Tilt-A-Whirl this year but I got a picture with former WWE Superstar and current Lucha Underground play-by-play announcer Matt Striker and I also saw Robbie E live in action so that part was cool. What was not cool is the fact that I did not go to the Portuguese Feast at all,it seems that every time the Feast happens,my family has something going on that weekend.  A lot of changes occurred at work as now I am working 5 days a week instead of 6 with now I have Saturdays off. My sister,Jewel,just had her first child and she is getting married next month to her fiance,the father of her child,Jessy. I am very happy for them! My brother,Mike,who was Soldier Of The Year back in May,got Presidential Recognition. Also,my cousin finally got married to her boyfriend/fiance of 19 years. I got a new phone,the Samsung Galaxy S9. I also got myself a Nintendo 2DS XL and a Nintendo Switch as well. Also the former Ruby Tuesday building is starting to be remodeled into a new store known as Five Below at the Dartmouth Mall. The lowlight of the summer was when we had to put down our family cat,Sunfire,after he suffered a stroke. We felt that we did not want him to go through the pain and suffering so we had no choice but to put him down,it was not easy because we loved him and he loved us,he was family. Maybe that is why my summer wasn't so spectacular: Too many changes going on. Well,let's see what the Fall and Holiday season of 2018 brings to us.