Saturday, September 29, 2007

OUCH

I had a really mixed day today. It started off great, playing with the three most beautiful children in the world. Afterwards I had a pile of chores that needed mu attention and that included doing a lot of work with my arthritic hand. From that point on the hand got worse and we all packed up for an evening at my aunt's house for dinner and a little bit socializing with my aunt and my mother. It went really well, but at some point I really pulled something in my back. And I mean I really hurt something.

At this point I'm not sure what and how much med I took (although I wrote it out somewhere) and I'm a bit tipsy. I'm still in pain and I'll probably take one or two more. I tried sleeping and it just wasn't working.

I have a new writing project coming up called The Veil It starts October 1st, so you definitely don't want to miss this. You can even head over now and see just a few things if you'd like!

And before I forget, you should check out my MySpace Profile. I just got it redone and I think it's freaking awesome!!

Time for my pain pills, wish me luck.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Seasons Change

Now that Autumn is here, I think I may be the only one on my block that's still running his air conditioner regularly. In my defense it's been pretty muggy and I hate it when I get to feeling sticky and the air is thick. I just may run that thing until November.

The arthritis in my hand has been continuing to bother me to the point that I face every day with the option of limiting how much I do versus getting doped up on pain meds to combat this. I really hate having to take meds, so this is a situation that I absolutely hate. So I finally broke down and I called my surgeon to set up my operation for the hand. I won't know for a few more days, but the surgery will be either Oct 15th or Oct 17th. I imagine the recovery is going to hurt like nothing else has in a while, but if it can get me back to a more quasi=normal life, then I'd rather get it over and done with now.

I've had a rough couple of days counseling someone about homosexuality. I won't name names, but someone I know has pretty much come out to this friend of mine and it's a very tough situation for that person. I was pretty shocked at some of the opinions and positions that the person has about this because I thought the person was more liberal about this, but when push came to shove and the issue became a part of this person's life, their true feelings and thoughts came out. The encouraging thing is that the person really wants to do the right thing and to understand. I think that's the most important thing to do and I'm really proud of that person for taking those steps. It's very brave and it would be so easy to go the other way and act close-minded. I'm sure I will get frustrated to no end at times over this, but I think in the end things will really work out.

On a lighter note, thank God the Bears have decided to bench Rex Grossman after 3 games and turn the offense over to Brian Greise. He's nothing spectacular, but he has got to be better than the crap we've seen from Rex. With the Defense seeming to fall apart more and more each week with injury, something needs to be done to stabilize the offense and find a way to score!

Well, the pain in my hand that woke me up has been defeated by the meds I took, so it's back to sleep for me.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Haunted

It's just after 3:30am and for some ridiculous reason I am still awake! I can hear the engine of my idiot hillbilly neighbor's car as he leaves for work, yet I can't get myself into a relaxed enough state to sleep. If I were 10 years younger I'd just stay up and trudge onward. LOL, too bad I'm not 10 years younger though.

Thursdays are becoming really tough for me mentally. I think I've said before that I'm now watching my friend's son during the day, and while it's a complete blast, having 4 babies around the age of 1 can be quite a ride! This cute little guy, Finnegan, is still getting used to be away from Mommy and watching 3 other giant babies crawl and walk all over the place (and over him if he's in the way) and I spend much time comforting him and protecting him from my three. It's such a drastic change for him to come from a house where it's just him with Mommy and Daddy to cater to him then to come to my house and he's the smallest and slowest of this new "pack" that he's slowly getting integrated into. He's a trooper and a good sport, so I think he'll get better and better each day he spends with us. But right now I give him lots of extra attention and love so that he's OK and as a result I have less to give to my three. Lucky thing for Finn he's damn cute and worth it all!

Let's see, my sister-in-law Missy is coming out for the weekend to visit a bit and attend a seminar for work. It's going to be nice to see her and spend some quality time with her. When we go to Ohio there is always so much going on and so many people around that I don't feel we get a chance to visit the way we'd like to. I'm looking forward to that and I think the kids are also.

I briefly met up with a guy I went to high school with the other day. I had some old computers and various parts to give away and he just happened to answer my ad that I posted on freecycle. I caught up with him a bit and unfortunately he just broke up with his girlfriend of a year and it has hit him pretty hard. I sure hope he gets through this alright. It makes me realize how lucky I am to have Meva!

Perrin is still doing well after his surgery. He has to get an antibacterial ointment put in his eyes twice a day at the moment and he is none too happy about it. Like all things I do, there is almost a Spartan efficiency in my method of tenderly restraining him and administering this that really pisses him off. All things considered he does well.

Big football game this weekend between my beloved Bears and the sanctimonious Dallas Criminals, I mean Cowboys. If our offense can at least be proficient on a college level, we should be able to handle Dallas. They're good, but our defense is really unbelievable and I think more than a match for them. Sorry carry, but your Cowboys are going down hard!

Well, it's time for me to put down whatever it is that's haunting my sleep so that I can get at least a few hours rest before I have to get the kids up. Wish me luck or it's going to be a murderously long day tomorrow/this morning.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Context and the Grid

I remember being a little boy and wondering why the adults all sounded angry when they talked about the world. I couldn't understand why anyone would be mad in a world that had cartoons on all morning on Saturdays, chocolate chip cookies, and a creek I could play in all the time. Of course now that I'm an adult I know that the cartoons are now just glorified commercials, the cookies are going to clog my brains and give me a heart attack, and the creek was filled with harmful chemicals!

The thing that makes me think about this is all the stupidity about that guy who was tasered at a John Kerry function at the University of Florida. Events like are what I usually consider nonsense, and I pay the briefest attention to them when I see them, but I was instantly skeptical about the entire incident. Then I started getting these ridiculous emails and bulletins about how we live in a police state and the infringements of our 1st Amendment rights.

That is the shit that makes me want to just pull out my hair!! So, slightly enraged I watched this video and all I saw was that someone resisted being removed from a room and was tasered for failure to calm himself. The video doesn't start from the beginning as it's obvious there was more that had happened prior to the start of the video. Faced with just this alone, you can't make an accurate judgment of whether what we see is uncalled for or extreme.

All it took was some simple, and I mean very simple, research to find out that more did indeed happen, that this knucklehead has a history of staging stunts, and that he acted aggressively and erratically while in the presence of an elected Federal Official and easily looked like a dangerous person who needed to be removed. When he refused, and make no mistake the video shows he refused to comply, he was taken into custody. I wish I was there, I would have tasered him myself given the chance!

Having the right to free speech doesn't mean we can say anything and jump around and cut off other people while we verbally harass a US Senator at a public institution. We are less than a year from an incident where a college student goes on a shooting spree on a major campus. I think every officer involved acted prudently and gave the guy ample opportunity to avoid his outcome.

The problem is the average citizen in this country. We have become a stupid, thoughtless, and arrogantly ignorant society that allows itself to be pulled around with our eyes open and our minds closed.

And then there is the entire over exposure by the media of the latest OJ Simpson soap opera!!

Thank God we can now look away from Lindsey for awhile!

Seriously, this isn't only not the world I want to live in, it's also not the world I want my children brought up in. I'd miss many things, but more and more the thought of living off the grid becomes more and more appealing.

That's why I haven't posted here in a bit--- it just hurts sometimes to talk about what's going on.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Week 2

The second week of the NFL season has hit and it looks like there were some fantastic games that took place. Scoring, defense, and incredible stories that kept you in your seat and glued to the screen. It's what makes the game such an incredible spectator sport, and when you add in fantasy sports to the mix, it creates a holiday atmosphere.

But I had to work! I missed the Bears unimpressive win over the sad Chiefs, the incredible 96 point game between the Browns and Bengals, and few surprising upsets. The worst part is that I sat at work kicking ass and ringing up big sales. I can't wait until I'm done with this job and I can have my weekends back.

My son will be having eye surgery tomorrow. He has strabismus, which is the crossing of his eyes. I had it myself when I was a boy and I had a similar surgery to correct it. With all the advances in medicine within the 35 years since I had my procedure, this should be cake for him. But still, he's been through a lot in his young life and I hate that he has to go through anything else, even one that is relatively safe.

I'm not int the mood to get too political or critical of society at the moment.......there's so much wrong and I can only write for a bit tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

Friday, September 14, 2007

20 years, where have you gone?

Tonight I blew off my 20 year high school reunion in a manner that truly has marked me as a crotchety old man. It wasn't because I felt too poor, too ugly, or too unsuccessful. The reason I didn't go was that I felt it didn't come close to meeting my standards. My chief complaint being that it was cost $81 per person, for a buffet dinner. I don't know why it was this much or how they came up with $81 as opposed to $80? It's just a ridiculous idea for me to pay $162 for my wife and I to eat fried chicken, pasta, and roast beef sandwiches. We could go to a five-star restaurant in Chicago for that price. Had they just offered me a choice of under-cooked chicken, rubbery London broil, or limp & tasteless vegetables---I would have went. But paying 5-star money for a cafeteria meal? It's just not happening.

The sad thing is that I really had a good time at the previous reunion and I know that even as I write this, I would have enjoyed meeting up with people and catching up. But no matter how bad I think I might miss it, I have to remember that I really wasn't that social in high school and as such I don't have too much in the way of memories to reminisce about. I'm not really upset about that, but when I remember that I would be put into a banquet hall with people that for the most part, my only connection is shared school assignments, the perspective is finally gained.

In other news our house is now officially off the market and we're staying until at least the spring. I'm too tired to be disappointed about this turn of events and I'd much rather put my energies towards what may be the first memorable holidays for my children. As it is, I'm really already getting excited about Christmas!

It's late and I have to work, so this one is going to be short. I'll write more later.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Theivery & Vicodine

Lately depression has been kicking my ass and I'd have to say it's got to be either something chemical or some deep-rooted issues from way back. I haven't been able to pin-point it, but overall things have been pretty good for me lately. And then I left to go to work this morning.


Sometime during the night someone entered our yard and tore apart the inside of my wife's car. I was on the verge of running late for work to begin with when I got to the car and saw that the thieves had went through the glove box and all the storage areas of the car searching for drugs as it turned out. They left all the change and our cell phone, but the emergency bottles of pain medicine that we keep in the car for when we travel was taken.

In no way am I naive about the area I live in or the times, but it sure does take the luster off of the neighborhood I live in since it was most likely one of my neighbors. Vigilance will be the new keyword around here.
Our house is still on the market, but for one more week only. We entered a real dead zone for awhile, but once we notified our agent that we weren't going to renew our deal to sell, all of a sudden we've had a spike in showings, with a high percentage of them being agents from the same office. Talk about a bunch of BS. If these are people that are honestly interested in our type of house, that's ok (but where have they all been?) but if they're just buyers that our office is trying to force our house upon now that they sense the end is near, that doesn't say a lot about them. It would make me wonder how well we were really being served. Anyways, I would be surprised if someone came through this week with an offer, so for all practical purposes this is over for now and it's time to focus on the family and the coming autumn/winter.
The NFL starts it's season this week, and my beloved Bears have to face a very tough San Diego Charger team tomorrow. I don't think the Bears are going to walk away with a win, the Chargers are that good and that explosive. I hope I'm wrong, but we'll have to see how things shake out tomorrow. Fantasy football wise, this looks like a real fun year. Counting all types of leagues, I am in about 8 different leagues and I'm loving it all. There are few times of the year that are as much fun as football season for sure.
Oh yeah. For those of you who know me, you'll know what this means and how big of a deal it is, but it's pumpkin spice coffee time!!!