August 1, 2015 | Awake & Dreaming

I am so tired. From late Thursday night I have had this sore throat that developed into a sore throat and a bad cold by Friday morning. It didn’t help that the ac in the company cab ride back home in the early hours of Friday morning was on full blast and it was so cold inside the car. I waited till the others got down before asking the driver to switch it off, which he did. After a 6 hour sleep, I woke up with a runny nose and a sore throat. Friday morning I spent drinking just coffee, black and lots of it, until it was time for a quick lunch and going back to the office.

Friday I treated the two other members of my team to a pizza dinner. We walked about 15 minutes to the little restaurant and had a nice dinner and then came back to the office. It was fun and the pizzas were delicious. Still suffering from a bad cold, but luckily the throat is fine, from 11 am till 2:30 pm I spent today looking for a book shelf to keep in my bedroom and showcase all my Star Trek ships. I walked and I walked and it was a hot and sunny and sweaty day. I had lots of coffee today, I think 6 cups and little food – though I did have a chicken burger for lunch – and was spent by the time I reached home.

The large steel almirah is now gone from my bedroom, with the shop owners who are nearby coming in buying it from us. My room feels a lot more roomier now and the wall on that side looks bare. I have ordered a 5ft tall, 1 feet wide book shelf with 5 racks so I can display some of the stuff on it. I will have photos of it up once they deliver it to my place on Wednesday.

The Wrestling world loses another legend taken much before his time. Legend and cult-film favorite “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has died after suffering a heart attack at his Hollywood home at the age of 61. He earned the nickname “Rowdy” by displaying his trademark “Scottish” rage, spontaneity and quick wit. Despite being a crowd favorite for his rock star-like persona, he often played a villain. Aside from his ring name, he was also known by the nickname “Hot Rod”.

Born Roderick George Toombs, in Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) Canada, Roddy Piper rose to success as a member of the World Wrestling Federation after working in various lower-tiered pro-wrestling organizations, including the National Wrestling Alliance, throughout the ’70s. After joining the WWF in 1984, Piper started out as a manager for up-and-coming combatants in the squared circle. Toombs’ character, “Rowdy,” was perpetually clad in a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Hot Rod” and a kilt; he would enter the ring to a bagpipe theme and say he heralded from “Glasgow, Scotland,” despite actually being raised in Winnipeg. Piper headlined several major pay-per-view events; he participated in the main events of WrestleMania I and WrestleMania X – as a special guest referee in the latter. Never a world champion, he nevertheless accumulated 34 championships in various promotions during his career. Piper was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and named No. 1 of the Top 50 villains in wrestling history by WWE.

A formidable opponent in the ring, Piper truly found his calling as a trash-talking shit starter when he began hosting “Piper’s Pit,” a segment where Piper would insult and antagonize other members of the WWF universe. Some of the more infamous segments on his talk show-inspired segment included being manhandled by Andre The Giant after insinuating that the big guy may not be very intelligent and smashing a coconut over “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka’s head. He also starred in several movies including Hell Comes To Frogtown, Body Slam & They Live. He leaves behind his wife Kitty, 4 children and a grandchild.

Roderick “Roddy” George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 30, 2015)