Most popular thing heard the night before a Boy Scout camping trip [both boys]: "I can’t find my head lamp!"
Category: Daily Life
Ramblings, often stream of conscious, journaling the events of my life.
Coding requires concentration
I spent half my day on the phone and half the day coding. Some of the time I spent on the phone I was also coding but that is akin to driving and reading a book at the same time–neither gets done very well and something is likely to go wrong.
On a personal note, I have finally, after nearly four decades, learned how to spell bureaucracy!
Their typo causing grief
While I was getting ready to prepare dinner, someone drove up to my house and said, "I don’t mean to sound insensitive but I saw on the Internet that this house may be up for sale." He failed. That did sound terribly insensitive and lowly. See, the mortgage company has misplaced some of my payments. Fortunately, I always use Western Union for mortgage payments making transactions very traceable. I call department A and they say, "Oh yes, department B has make an error. I can see it here." Corrections are supposedly made and I am told to call back in 72 hours. The next day department B calls and refers me to department A and the cycle repeats. Of course, in the meantime, this has not stopped department B from bringing in lawyers and threatening foreclosurestarting foreclosure proceedings complete with setting an auction date.
I understand people go through misfortune, and other people will take advantage of that misfortune to make a buck or two, but how greedy do you have to be to approach a family during their dinner before their house is even in foreclosure? I guess tomorrow the mortgage company and I need to get this straightened out. "Lowry! We’ve got another one."
A brief pause
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for a bureaucratic pause. Tasks: a) convince a creditor that they have misapplied my payments and to back their lawyers off, b) figure out how to get Cathy’s last name updated with Social Security without having to drive to Illinois, and c) figure out what’s not happening with FASFA. Bets? 30 minutes or 6 hours on the phone?
Update: a) done until tomorrow when I have to call them again. b) Cathy got taken care of (hurrah! Super woman!) c) next.
How stressed?
On a scale of 1 to 10, my stress level is hovering right around 57 currently.
Tommy goes to college in 3 weeks – maybe
Tommy’s financial aid is in jeopardy because the paperwork says Buttle not Tuttle.
Ear buds fast track to deafness
From the mouths of babes
Amy, teared up and unhappy with my insistence that she take a bath: "You’re mean!"
Dad: "Yes I am!"
From the mouths of babes
Tommy, almost 18: "Amy you can’t say that."
Amy, 6 years old: "Yes I can."
Tommy: "No you can’t."
Amy: "Yes I can!"
Tommy: "No you can’t! Quit it!"
Evan, 3 years old bouncing and chanting: "Amy, bebe. Amy, bebe. Amy, bebe."
Amy: "Evan, stop it!"
Evan, adds some sway to his shoulders and bobs his head: "Amy, bebe. Amy, bebe. Amy, bebe."
Amy, tearing up: "Make him stop! Evan’s calling me a baby!"
Oh how they slip down instead of rise up. Do the younger of the species always win?
Tough Decade Ahead
I can feel that the next ten years are going to be harder than any of the previous ones. Where’s the line between realism and defeatist? One foot in front of the other. That’s a mighty tall mountain.
Dinner
Hamburger helper, green beans and watermelon. So far 1 teen stared at it blankly and walked away without a word.
A 2nd teen has picked out all of the meat to eat only the noodles and green beans, totally ignoring the watermelon.
A 2nd teen has picked out all of the meat to eat only the noodles and green beans, totally ignoring the watermelon.
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From the mouths of babes
Evan, 3 years old: "Amy, I gotcha your nose!"
Amy, 6 years old, covering face with her book: "No you don’t. It’s protected!"
Amy:"Hey! That’s cheating."
Evan:"I gotchit!"
Amy:"I got your nose."
Evan:"NO Ammie!"
Evan:"Give you me my nose!"
Amy:"No. Give me my nose."
Evan, crying:"NO.. AAAAaaMY!"
Noses should have been designed to stay on our faces better.
Waking in a box, underwater
Imagine being trapped in a coffin like box having just been plunged into the depths of a lake. Water rushes in as you pound the sides trying to break free. That is what a panic attack feels like and most mornings, that is how I wake up. As I leave the dream world in which I have spent the night fighting my demons, my conscious mind begins to run through the list of things left unaccomplished from yesterday, the list of action items for the day, long term goals, commitments I must keep under any circumstances, health of the children, time flying by, unfulfilled dreams, my aging body losing its health, the needs of my wife, bills that are due or coming due, money, money, money, desires, paperwork and legalities, and it goes on. By the time I fully awoke, my heart is racing and I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack. The dog rests her chin over my ankles consoling me and restraining me to the bed. Using her as an excuse, who wants to disturb the dog?, I pull the covers over my head and try to calm myself. Instead my mind again reviews its frightening list and adds a few things. When I finally rise, my muscles ache and my mind is exhausted.
Seesmic interest declining?
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From the mouths of babes
Amy, 6 years old: "Dad, did you get a cinnamon roll?"
Dad:"No. I don’t need one. Thanks."
Amy: "Well, I’m eating the last one already."
