I am able to lift out of the funk but not hoist myself up the mountain of happiness. I know I am in prison, but once in a while a body needs to soar above the slings and arrows of everyday life. Please do not think of this as whining. I am only writing this out in an attempt to see if it eases my mind in any way.

The lesson of accomplishing two major tasks in one day, making sure one unit had a working ice machine and our unit had a properly functioning large screen television, reinforces the fact that I am very capable of handling more responsibility in the maintenance department, but am kept "down" by certain staff members with the feeble excuse that I am the carpenter.

If I do not have a carpentry project to do, then I am supposed to sit around and wait for one. Thankfully the regular officer that supervises us (and just returned from a two week vacation) has me do other tasks as long as I do not have a carpentry project to work on.

I just finished going through the Sunday NY Times and read with interest the article in the Styles section about Perez Hilton. Hmm let me see... blog about the lives of Hollywood stars, has millions of hits, and my humble blog... Is this a case of style over substance?

Being honest, this blog has not had all that much substance of late, but hopefully the six pages I sent last week plus more to follow this week will bring about some more spirited comments and possible debate.

I just realized as I typed a short memo for another inmate right before I started this missive, that I forgot all about my dad's birthday, and still never sent you the birthday card I promised. Blame it on the funk. I will have to atone for my lapses post haste.  ¶ 9:36 PM