Excerpts From The Life Of
Happy Keller

December 29, 2022 This photo is an example of being a Character-ographer - the characters are common, but they are wearing outfits they'd...

I never thought I would have another one of these Many months have passed since my last blog entry. Last time I did, I had just been approved for Social Security Disability. I started receiving it in August. My attention turned towards getting my own place. I had money, and some "help", so it should have been quick & possible. It wasn't quick... The "help" didn't help very much, and the calendar just kept turning with no progress towards my housing goal. In October, I finally

December 6, 2022 (NOTE - This post has been posted before... Taken down... and reposted. If you think that you have seen it before, you might have.) As I sit here, still going over all of the actions (and inaction) that got me here, as well as looking through all of my previous blog entries, I realize that I have written very little about the recent past. I am going to try and rectify this now. Back in December of 2018, I realized that the attitude of my then employer had ch

I was sick when this photo was taken (and didn't even know it)... January 11, 2023 The last time I tried to write about this subject, I was surprised by the amount of rejection that it received. So much so that I pulled the post down from my site (I have since re-posted it). Don't get me wrong, I would rather write nothing but "fun" stories too, but I feel like I need to write about this subject (especially since I now realize how much it has dominated my life). So since I g

December 12, 2022 You don't have to be there AT Christmas to enjoy it at WDW! Well, I made a promise after the downer that was the last post that I would write something a little lighter (as well as with some "Holiday Flair")...I hope this lives up to those promises. As usual, "Elephant Parts" is my way of cheating in a post - there are several smaller stories here rather than one big one. Enjoy! "Holiday Time" (?) At Walt Disney World As I have already made it ridiculously

So how is this "Halloween Horror Story" going to start??? Running Is The "Gateway Drug" To Cycling (?) During my first few seasons of Saturday Sessions with many fellow marathon runners as part of TEAM In Training, there were several times when our Run team would be starting from the same location as the Cycle team. While at first I thought of these cyclists as rather odd and crazy (after all, who really wants to ride 100 miles in a day?), they were very friendly and I picke

10/18/22 I have been going back and forth regarding whether or not I should, or even have the right to, write this blog entry. After much consternation I have decided that I am going to complete and publish it. There is one huge reason "why?" - in spite of how everything eventually ended up, I have far too many fond memories to not share them. I met my Bride via a dating service. I had been a member of the service for over a year, and had very little luck connecting with anyo

10/17/22 Please note - this is the first full entry where I have spoken the entry into my computer / phone and then attempted to edit it. Speech to text apps do a better job these days than in the past, but what I ended up with was one huge rambling paragraph that I needed to shrink down into this entry. Another Lucky Role (Roll) As l stated in an earlier post, for a time I seemed to be as fortunate as Forrest Gump - traveling through my career at EA having talented people

Sorcerer Mickey has always been my favorite "How Did You Become Such A 'Disney Nut'?" (aka "How Were You Seduced By Such An 'Evil' Corporation?") The above question, or some other form of it, where someone asked me "How?" or "Why?" I became such a "Disney Nut" has been asked of me more times than I can count. My deep love for (most) all things Disney is one of the things I will probably (or is it hopefully (?)) be most remembered for. As with other things I have typed about

8/26/22 As I look back on all of the good fortune I have had during my life, I have expressed it to others as having "Forrest Gump-ed my way through life" - I happened to be in certain places at certain times as significant things were happening, and I got to witness those things from a very close vantage point. This story is about one of those things - my time "helping" during the making of Earl Weaver Baseball. Starting Lineups While I was lucky enough to have worked on th

8/20/22 "Why This Subject Hap?" Since my scrambled equilibrium won't allow me to drive at all these days (Uber is great, but I still miss driving myself around), my brain decided to focus on how exactly I learned to drive in the first place. It did happen in stages, although not in the order that most people I know learned to do so. Yes, the beautiful classic red 1961 Porsche 356b pictured above does have something to do with it (but probably not in the way you'd expect).

8/13/22 Why Golden Retrievers Are The Best Dogs In The World! Okay...that's just my opinion... Sorry about that, but I find myself...

Most folks don't remember this game, but Robot Rascals changed my life [when I last left off, The Great Dungeon Master In The Sky was going to roll for me again...] My First Experience With "In Development" Software At an EA Friday Company Meeting, as so often happened, individuals were encouraged to make their own personal announcements. At one such meeting, David Grady made the announcement that Dani (then Dan) Bunten would be in town during the next week with an early pro

(When we last left The Great Dungeon Master In The Sky, he was just about to roll again for me...) When "Fulfillment" Has Multiple Meanings After my solo days stuffing envelopes with Deluxe Paint upgrades, the "real" EA job started in a new department named "Fulfillment". Sharon Haug gave the three of us who were hired to be the first in this new department both a pep talk, and a reality check - "Welcome to EA!...I do have to tell you that we have to ship $30,000 in orders i

We didn't even see this before the preview 7/21/22 I apologize that it has been a few days since my last entry but, as we all know, life can get a little hectic at times. While my version of what qualifies as "hectic" these days would (most likely) be far less than what you would probably experience during a "normal" day, it still has been a bit much for me to try to deal with. In any case, I am back at the keyboard now, and none of you readers will be spared! As with the l

Since I still fashioned myself as an athlete... The Accident (summary) Just to save you from having to read every entry in this silly blog, I will quickly summarize the tail end of a previous (Video) Adventure - I was training on my bicycle at night, and a driver who thought a STOP sign was a suggestion, struck me. I (obviously) survived and was taken to a local hospital. Nothing was broken, but I did have a concussion, plus a lot of pain (mainly in my back). I couldn't wa

7/12/22 [Note - After fighting with myself, I have decided that I am going to name names within my stories where appropriate. If you are one of the individuals that crossed my path, got mentioned, and didn't want to be - just drop me a note and I will edit you out. There are so many great people who I was lucky enough to know that I felt that not mentioning them by name was a disservice.] How I Met My Good Friend Susan... After my behavior blew up my first marriage (I am st

Just hanging out in front of my island's Starbucks (with Brewster) in Animal Crossing New Horizons 7/10/22 While I started putting some other posts together about some life events that had enough of an impact (memory-wise) to make me want to write about them, I started to have some concerns about referencing other people within my recounting of these events. The last thing I want to do at this point is offend. I have decided to write about some of my favorite games / franch

I always visited Walt Disney World dressed like this (not really) 7/9/2022 So, a good friend the other day reminded me of my showing...

San Diego TEAM In Training - New Zealand Ironman TEAM 2012 re-edited 7/8/2022 [A brief introduction - I wrote most of this a long time...