Month: August 2004

The original Halloween picture. 

Today is our 3rd Anniversary of our marriage.

I met Cathy on Oct 23, 1999. She had come to a Halloween party that my first wife and I were throwing. That marriage was at its end. During the party while my first wife danced and flirted with the array of guys in the room, Cathy sat back and took in the scene. Although I was playing super host and only got a few words in with Cathy, she stuck in my mind as something special. I remember my thoughts of infidelity as “if I weren’t married I’d want to be with her” but they stopped there. Little did I know at the time that my first wife had gone far beyond just thoughts.

By December my first wife was openly in a relationship with another man and Cathy and I were scheduled to have a lunch date. I stood her up. I think I stood her up a 2nd time in January. She should have run like hell.

My first wife officially asked for a divorce on Jan 3, 2000.

On January 15, 2000 Cathy tried to find the annual party my best friend and I would always throw called “The Long Island Tea Party.” She could not figure out how to get to the house.

On February 12, 2000 we had our first date. Some good friends brought us together thinking the both of us needed a good one mutual one night stand (which didn’t happen btw. Good clean fun all night long.). I was nervous as I ever was in high school. I rapid fired every joke I knew. I could not take my eyes off this gorgeous woman that had honored this pathethic man with her presence. I knew the rest of the room (we were playing pool) was jealous of me! Cathy is smart, witty, sharp as tack, self-confident, and beautiful! I was trying to be unpressuring at the end of our date and tried to say “there is no pressure here. We can take things slow.” I was trying to be kind. The words fumbled out of mouth sounding something like “if you want to have sex without commitment I’m your man!” (not those words of course but the meaning was about as bone headed). Cathy should have run like hell.

I spent one whole day going back to the pool bar, taking pictures and piecing together a picture of Cathy from the Halloween party to make this animation:

As my business failed, first marriage failed, and illness brought down various members of my family, my mental health failed. Cathy stood by me and helped keep me alive. She is an incredible humanitarian. She nursed me to stability. She should have run like hell.

We dated all of 2000 and in 2001 I took Cathy to the mall and we put her engagement ring on layaway. She thought it wasn’t a real engagement and that we had played a game.

During the early dating, Cathy found creative ways to introduce me to one child at a time as to not overwhelm me. She is extremely aware of other people’s feelings and tactful. I remember well her introduction of Sarah to me. I was playing frisbee golf with friends and as we come off the last hole she stood there tall as a tree, silent and all knowing, protective and assuring, glowing as an angel but the angel was standing beside her. She studied me to measure my reaction. I knew instantly that this was my family.

In August of 2001 I could not take the wait anymore. My divorce had finally come through (long after Cathy’s more complicated divorce-her’s took less than 6 months with children and property issues while mine concerning nothing took almost 2 years) and I didn’t like Cathy not having a ring on her finger. I ran to the jewelry store and bought an affordable engagement ring that was not to the caliber that she deserved to wear but it much more than the nothing on her finger. I hid it in a gift and proposed. Sarah walked in, saw what was happening, and immediately ran out to tell Cathy’s folks. A couple of days later I was looking out the window into the cove thinking, “the kids need to be here now” and Cathy and I ran to Gatlinburg, popped into a wedding chapel where the cloths are pinned together in the back, and have been happily married since! One week after the marriage the whole crew had moved into the house of horrors. Cathy should have run like hell.

In our 4 and 2/3 years together, we have had glory days and we have had hard days and even harder days. Our love is strong! Cathy is so special, so endearing, so unique, so beautiful and so much more that I could go on and on until my keyboard melted away. She means the world to me! When I see her, my heart races. When she kisses me, the world goes away and I see nothing but her. When she cries, I bleed. When she holds me, I am safe. I want to be with her forever! Cathy, thank you for everything! I especially thank you for never running like hell. I love you! Happy Anniversary!

Noah: “Dad could you help me untie this? It’s in a knot.” Hands single knotted shoe to Dad.

(image from http://coe.jmu.edu/ecscience/Shoe%20Tying.htm)

Dad: Ok. He’s a scout but a young scout. We must work on knots. Looks for the knot. “Noah come here. Hold here.” Places Noah’s thumb and index finger one the end of one shoe lace. “Ok. Now with your other hand hold here.” Places Noah’s other thumb and index finger on the other end of the shoe lace. Then holds Noah’s hands and pulls them apart thus causing the knot to come undone by Noah’s own hand.

Noah: “I tried that but I only pulled one.”

A New Day!

Let’s start the day off with a PayPal donation link:

This Morning

This am I was up at 4:38 and rearing to go! So what happened? That “just 20 more minute” seductress we call “Bed” pulled me back. Her siren’s song was weaker than normal but none the less effective. My day had to begin at 6am.

On Monday I went and began the task I committed to a friend. They had some water damage in their kitchen that resulted in the need for a new floor. In the process they removed a wall. My job is to re-route the electric that is now just hanging in space and put some new dry wall in place.

It was fun being up in the attic because the spot where I am working gets reeally tight. So I’m doing gynastics and gravity defying tricks to get into position to add reinforcing boards to hold the ceiling. I am attired in jeans, a long sleave shirt and a breathing mask that makes me sound like Darth Vader and look like I’m cleaning up a chemical spill. So I’m feeling like what a tunnel rat must have experienced (I suppose not after reading that article) and my phone rings with the theme song to Mission Impossible. Seemed very apropos.

Yesterday I returned to work on my friend’s house, and did computer repair at two clients locations.

I paid the cable bill yesterday (which is also our Internet connection bill). I choose this over food because if I play my cards right I’ll have some more money, however minor, trickle in over the next couple of days. If I had waited one more day on the cable bill they would have doubled the price of getting the cable plus a reconnect fee. Since all the jobs I am seeking I am finding on the Internet and my coorespondences are by email, I logiced this was a resource I could not let die.

A New Day!

Let’s start the day off with a PayPal donation link:

This Morning

Up at 5. Way alive. Tried to rise. Demise. Some quick R.E.M. and back again. 6 is good for kicks.

Amy lost her bop (pacificer), and nite nite (blankey) so she was crying. I got her settled and considered getting Sarah up but it was really 15 minutes early. Roll the dice. If Amy sees me getting Sarah then she will get up. I will chance her going back to sleep and me getting Sarah up in 15 minutes. No good. in 15 minutes Amy insisted on joining us.

Amy in a jolly mood. Unprompted stacked her stacking boxes. Unfortunately she did it on the couch so when she tried to stand to stand the next one they fell down. She looked sad and confused for just a moment before moving on.

Noah, the early riser, got up on his own accord, got himself ready quickly and is cheerful as usual. What a great guy! Sniffles.

Sarah is trying her best to happily get ready for school and entertain Amy at the same time since Amy won’t leave her side.

Tommy remains in bed of course. He doesn’t know it but his bus had a route change and won’t pick him up until 8:15. I’ll let him stay in bed a bit this morning.

I smell the lunatic. Watch for murph.

—

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

One of the unique pleasures you have as a parent is one that no new parent ever really thinks about or expects and that is sitting on the side of your tub cheerleading for your two year old as she sits on the toilet.

Dad: “You can do it! Push out the poop.”

Amy, pointing to the pictures on her special toilet seat: “Look Daddy! A duck!”

Dad: “Do ducks poop?”

Amy, shaking head: “NooOOO”

Dad: “Yes they do. Ducks poop.”

Mom from hallway: “Everyone Poops.”

Dad’s inner thoughts: That book is wrong.

Dad: “Does Molly poop?”

Amy: “No”

Dad: “Are you sure?”

Amy: “Molly poops inside!”

Ugh! Back to cheerleading… “Push the poop out! You can do it! Aw, that was a poot not a poop. Keep trying. Push it out! Shove it out! Waaaayy out!”

  

I find this humourous and interesting. My referrer log shows that within 28 seconds I had visitors from:

22 Aug, Sun, 22:32:31 http://monk101.blogspot.com/

22 Aug, Sun, 22:32:59 http://adirian.blogspot.com/

Of course, if you are not a fan of the show “Monk” then this has little meaning. And yes, I know “Adrian” but its close!

  

The Premiere Episode

A New Day!

Let’s start the day off with a PayPal donation link:

This Morning

Alarm at 4. Woke strongly at 5. Sat in bed until 5:11 being excited that I would get an hour’s work in bedfore waking the kids. Slept deep! Work at 5:12. That was wierd. Decided to lie in bed and ponder how 1 minute of sleep could feel like an hour. Woke at 6:14 to rise.

Today is to be action packed. A charitable friend is going to save my tail a bit by paying me to do some work on his house that he otherwise would have done himself. He also knows I would do the work for free. It’s good to be loved.

Ok. Here is where I mess up as a guy. My wife wants a clean house. I see the dog chewing on a dryer sheet and I think, “wow! I can keep the wife happy by throwing this trash away and keep the dog from getting ill at the same time.” So as I walk past my wife to get to the trash can, while I have one leg in motion she turns toward me and crams a bottle of spray n wash in my hand holding the dryer sheet, and a spray bottle into the other hand and turns back to her washing machine without a word.

Stupid move #1: Walking too close to a woman in task mode

Stupid move #2: Asking the question, “What do you want me to do with these?” Agast woman replies, “You looked like you needed something to do.”

Stupid move #3: Blogging this and pondering writing an essay on the subject of “looking like you needed something to do” because it occurs to me that rarely when I have been doing nothing have I heard those words. They usually occur when I am indeed doing something. I can only assume that my deaf ear is missing a word.

Let’s extrapolate:

“You” No hidden meaning there. I think that is pretty direct and to the point. No other words yet so nothing to read between.

“looked” Ok. Was I looking? That could very well be part of the problem. She has misinterpreted my desire to not walk into walls as ‘seeking’ instead of ‘seeing.’ Let’s see. Put it together “You looked” Hmm.. Past tense? Could mean she actually was examining me. Ah! Checkin’ out my bod! That’s natural, ok, and to be expected. Now the hard part. Let’s look for what is missing. “You lazy son of a gun looked” “You ignoramous looked” “You looked stupid” Not quite there.

“like” A comparison. I see where this is going. It’s sexual. She’s comparing me to old glorified memories of previous lovers. Remembering 5 inch Charlie as 10 inch John. Obviously this is a cry for more nurturing and touching. My baby needs a hug!

“you” see above. Except! Let’s read the hidden meaning. “You looked like you” So obviously she has this image of me at an earlier time in our relationship stuck in her head and longs for me to be that way again. As I picked up the trash from the floor I commited a chivalrous bowing motion that caused her to swoon and long for my presence to be extended. Since it was obvious that I was about to make a hasty exodus she had to confuse and delay me thus the placing of two foreign objects in my hands without instruction. Her inner thought, “that’ll stupify the moron for 10 minutes.”

“needed” She’s lonely. Not in a male sexual relationship kind of way but for a same sex friend to lean on companion kind of way. You know. Two women that can be best of friends and share secrets until one day they are being silly and things get a little out of hand then they can’t ever talk to each other but individually live the rest of their lives with that echo in their head “hey, that was kind of nice and he just doesn’t do the same thing.” But mostly I think when she says “needed” she is seeing my feminine side. Perhaps it showed in my grace as I swooped down to gently remove the dryer sheet from the canine’s canines. And she relates to me better now the way she would relate to that best friend. Cool! I’m getting laid!

“something” I’m getting laid!

“to” Twice!

“do” I’m getting laid!

All in all when you come down to it, I am pretty certain that “You looked like you needed something to do” really means “You looked like you were doing the wrong thing and I needed to correct you and have you do the thing that I needed you to do.”

Yes dear.

George Bush’s resume

Student: I have such dreams!

Master: There are dreamers that dream. There are dreamers that do. Which are you?

The automobile insurance has lapsed.

The fire protection on the house has lapsed.

The next things to go in rapid succession are cable tv (yes a luxury), Internet (a necessity), cell phones, electricity and house phone.

The funny thing about losing a utility or getting behind on a bill is that when you get a small amount of money you still can’t pay the bill because its jacked with reconnection fees and late fees and penalties so you end up making a choice between one bill and another. The same amount of money may have previously covered both bills but now you have to skip one to pay the other. Later you will have to pay the skipped one and it will have all the same fees and penalties so you will be back to squares.

Fire protection is right around $200 for the year. Let’s say now that its expired that the house catches fire. They still show up. They still save the lives and put the fire out. However, you then end up with a $9000+ bill to pay for water, salaries, etc. So, if you could not afford the protection when you had a house with a computer and a potential means, how are you supposed to pay $9k with everything water damaged and burned?

My policital compass:

Economic Left/Right: -4.88

Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.77

I think like Dalai Lama!

Thanks to Whoa Mama! for the link!