1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week? In a week filled with so much it's hard to pick out just one. But, the moment that sticks in my mind is looking at our new house and realizing that in many ways I have chosen to return to a very simple life. It's what I always said I would do when it was time to raise my kids.
2. What one person touched your life this week? Technically it was Saturday, but since that is the day after the last Friday Five, I will say our friend Dave. He shared something very personal and difficult with me in the slightest way and I don't think he has any idea of what that means to someone like me to know he chose not to hide what he was going through.
3. How have you helped someone this week? How do you answer that without sounding egotistical? I'll let everyone else decide that.
4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?Everything associated with moving, basically clean, clean, clean. However, I pledged to myself to have it all done by Tuedsay so I can spend the rest of the week doing nothing.
5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place? I do my best to put a little joy and laughter into everyone that has come to help with the move. That hopefully spreads.
The packing people have been here since 9 this morning packing up the house. I wasn't prepared so they are packing things I didn't really plan on taking. They should be done in a few more hours then tomorrow the driver will be here to load the truck up and off everything, except me and the dogs, will go. Everything is disconnected except this computer, I decided to keep it with me since I still need to finalize my itenerary for the road trip and with no TV until Saturday this will at least keep me amused. I rarely think about it, but right now I really wish I had a laptop. I'll update more later.
Ok it's later now and opposed to making a whole new entry I thought I would just continue this one. The packing people were here until 6:30 pm and though it is only 9 now, I am really tired, but can't go to sleep yet, tomorrow the washer and dryer will be taken away so I have to do laundry now. My nerves are kind of frayed, it's hard being alone in the house when everything is in boxes, it's very unsettling.
I don't know what I'm going to do after they take everything away, I have to get George and Emma out of the kennel tomorrow, but we will be returning to house devoid of any furnishings, except a computer sitting on the floor. I have had a couple invites to go stay at friends houses, but I don't think any of them took into consideration that I would have George and Emma. I have a feeling I will end up on the floor here with my dogs.
I think I'm going to go up to bed and watch some TV, hopefully I won't fall asleep as I still have to more loads of laundry to wash. Hopefully I'll be able to get my sister's dryer going when she moves in, if not I'm going to have to go to the laundromat to wash my clothes. OK my spelling and punctuation have just hit the wall, I'm going...
less than 24 hours to go until I have my baby in my arms again!
Today was cleaning day and we got so much done, so proud of the boys' they really helped as much as they could. I did have one really bad experience that threw my day out of whack for a while.
Apparently while I was upstairs cleaning, the dogs, well George I'm sure, knocked out a loose fence board into my neighbors yard and all the dogs went into their yard. This prompted a nasty message on my voice mail from the woman next door about what happened followed by a threat that if the dogs came into her yard again she would lock them in and call the humane society to take them away. Pardon my language, but what a bitch. How neighborly, the first time anything like this has ever happened and the reaction is to threaten to have the dogs taken away. I went over and pounded 5 inch nails into the fence boards (the one's actually facing their yard BTW) and kept the dogs inside as much as I could for the rest of the night. I'm taking this as a sign that we really are doing the right thing by moving away from here. If the roles were reversed I know I would have walked her dog back home and probably gone out and fixed the fence myself, but then again my mother raised me right. What can you expect from someone saddled with the name Jacquenette, I'd be bitter too.
Maddy might be coming down with a cold, she just started crying and when I checked on her she seemed only slightly warm, but had a cough. I gave her some Advil, and now I'm off to stay with her.
Sebastian seemed to have a great birthday today. Took the kids to Spoon's to celebrate and he got a very loud happy birthday song sung to him, he was so thrilled he turned pink. They are getting so excited that Mom is going to be home soon, but they are soooo bummed that I have put my foot down and let them know Wednesday (tomorrow) is cleaning day for them. They must sort through all their toys so they can box them up to take with them. I have to do major amounts of laundry too. I want to do all the bed linens and towels and I need to get everything in the garage either washed or clearly ready to be thrown away. Plus I need to wash and get all the kids clothes ready to go to Va.
Brie signed the lease today and gave them April's rent, that makes it all official. Everyday it becomes more real.
I'm so tired tonight, I must go get some rest, I won't get much for the next week and a half.
Apparently a bunch of neighbors started calling my landlord today to complain about George barking on Saturday night. It was raining really hard so when I left for the evening I opened the door from the garage to the backyard hoping that the dogs would stay out of the rain, instead it would appear George spent the evening standing out in the rain barking. I understand that it was my fault, I should have locked them in the garage. What I don't understand is why do all my neighbors complain to my landlord and not a single one address me? My landlord called me to basically tell me she told them all to get a life and leave her alone. She knows that I don't have problem dogs and she doesn't understand why after one bad night they all started calling her, but yet didn't say a word to me. She wanted to make sure I knew not to change anything for a few days because someone was rude to her and she doesn't want them to think she gave in to them. LOL... She is so great. I told her I would leave George outside without his bark collar all night the night before I left and we laughed.
Only three more days until Brie's home. I'm getting so excited. The next couple of days I need to really hunker down and focus on getting this house clean. I won't have time to do anymore until the day the packing people arrive next Thursday.
I was frustrated to just find out today that our new house does not have a gas hook-up for the dryer. That means we need to go buy a new electric unit and they don't make our model anymore, so we won't have a matching set. The good news is Brie tells me the laundry facillities are inside the new house, not out in the garage, that will be so nice! I also found out I will not be able to see the house prior to moving in. The owners are so busy trying to get out of the house by the end of the month that they won't have time to have me come look inside. That is verrrrry frustrating as I won't get to plan out where the furniture is going or even know what the inside of my home looks like until I'm already responsible for it. Since the movers are doing the unpacking that means Brie will have to decide on the lay-out of everything and if I want things moved I'll have to do it myself. I am trying to be positive, but I feel it's going to be hard to call it home for awhile when I'll have to learn where everything is.
It looks like Abby is going into heat again, so I'm not sure I can get her fixed before I leave. She is whiney and fussy all day long and constantly wants something to chew, what a pain! That means I need to go get her a new diaper as well.
Tomorrow (18th) is Sebastian's birthday. Just amazing! He got a good report card today, he is a solid, but not exceptional GATE student. I was glad to see that. He's changed so much over the last few months, he's really gained a lot more focus. I hope having the next two weeks off before starting his new school won't be that hard on him.
Got my morning off to an adrenalin pumping start. When I got back from taking Sebastian to school I thought I would put my car back in the garage after leaving out over the weekend so I could work in there. When I opened the garage door I noticed a few things I had to move so I got out of my car to move them, after about 10 seconds I notice my car is getting closer to me. Doh! I left it in gear and it was driving into the gargage. Luckily I got the door open and got my foot on the break before it hit everything I have stacked up. Whew that was a close one!
Ok, so you first need to read my email to Amazon posted in my blog, doesn't it make it perfectly clear in the last paragraph that I want nothing to do with them anymore?? So I get a response a few hour later and it rambles on about how patient I was, how it wasn't their fault their inventory changed, blah bla blah! But, the capper is where they say "I hope that you will consider this error as just an aberration and give us another chance to serve you better." Ummm Hello! Anyone home! My email said do not contact me accept to say my account is closed. I responded, with the demand that they close my account (again), if they don't respect that email, I'm going to call and make some supervisor feel very small and worthless.
Here is a copy of the letter I sent to them, the last contact with them I will ever have.
Dear Amazon,
Just thought I should send my final email to your company, I've reached my breaking point.
The story ...
On Febuary 28 I ordered something from my Gold Box and a DVD. Used the super saving shipping and waited. Kept checking with UPS to track the item and UPS kept saying they received the billing information, but not the actual package.
Contacted you by email and got a generic response about checking my delivery address and to wait another day, even though I made it very clear UPS has no record of ever receiving the package.
When the package did not arrive by the final delivery date (13 days after the order was made) I get told that the items will need to be reordered and sent 2-Day, which somehow means in your world they'll be there in 5 working days (7 if you count the weekend).
Then today (a Sunday no less) I receive an email that says the Gold Box item that was already being reordered is actually now going to be delayed as well and it isn't expected to be shipped until somewhere between April 13 and 27th.
Is this considered accpetable to you?? That taking 2 months to deliver something is a good way to treat customers? I felt I had no choice, but to call customer service and get a refund.
This has been easily the worse shopping experience I have ever had, period. I honestly do not think I can ever shop with you again. I want my name and account number completely removed from your system and other than a reply to say my request has been honored I want no contact from your company ever again.
it's with a saddened, but relieved heart that I announce that Dean, our cat, past on last night. I knew it was coming, she had spiraled downward ever since I posted that I would have to put her down. It's almost as if she knew what was coming. Yesterday I found her under Sebastian's bed, a place she would normally never stay. I could actually see it in her eyes, she was going. I picked her up, put her on a blanket in a quiet room and talked to her for awhile petting her and letting her know it was ok, it was time. I'm glad I was there I have a sense of relief that she knew I was there when she went to sleep for the last time. This is not the first time I have had a pet die in my company. Sean and I lost a puppy when we lived together at my dads. Compared to that experience though this was a peaceful and calming. I could go on and be sentimental, but I won't, all I'll say is she is missed.
You have a dominant kiss- you take charge and make
sure your partner can feel it! Done artfully,
it can be very satisfactory if he/she is into
you playing the dominant role MEORW!
What kind of kiss are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
You're the suggestive grin,mostly used while
flirting and accompanied by the come-hither
look.You're either an attention hog or way too
insecure to not be in the spotlight at all
times.No one can quite tell.Calm down and learn
to be regular,ya perv.
What Kind of Smile are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Thought I'd make my nightly entry a little early tonight as I'm not sure how late I'll be up. My sister and her youngest daughter are on their way over to spend the night. I was suppose to take my car into the shop tomorrow, but forgot and instead made plans to go rent a trailer and haul stuff off to the dump. Yay me, nothing funner than spending a Saturday afternoon working out in the garage throwing things away by myself, I think Brie owes me big time for doing stuff like this on my own.
I sold off my motorcycle today, got $450 for it which is exactly what I expected. Even though I haven't ridden it since we moved to San Diego I'm really going to miss "buckwheat virago", that's right I gave it a name. I'll buy another one in about 5 years... maybe it will be my 40th birthday gift to myself.
Sebastian is still ill today. He is the only child I know who takes a cold and makes it seem like he has the flu. He won't eat he looks horrible, but he doesn't have anything except a mild temperature and a slightly stuffy nose. At least we can get over this now so he'll be better for his birthday party and the flight to Virginia.
I was completely unmotivated today, I think it's because I've been spending too much time at the computer. I only managed to do one load of dishes (needed to do 3), clean the main room of the house (the family room needed cleaning more) and I didn't do any laundry even though I have three hampers filled with dirty clothes. Ugh!
All week I have been looking forward to going to the Lichtenfeld's house for dinner and now it looks like I will have to cancel, unless Sebastian comes around tomorrow there is no way I can take him over there which isn't fair to Keegan as he really wants to go see Jacob.
Ok well, Maddy is literally begging me to take her to bed, I better go...
The end of yet another day without Brie. Sebastian came down ill today so he didn't go to school. I hope the other two don't get it, though it's usually inevitable. Hopefully we can at least get everyone better by Monday, however we do have dinner over at the Lichtenfeld's on Saturday. Not much to do about the move today so I started putting together details for our return to Califorina in August for Brie's youngest brothers wedding. It looks like all three kids are going to be in the wedding so I'm quite excited.
As you can see I set-up several of our friends with blogs today. Hopefully they will use them. If not I'll just delete them as users .. LOL
Here is something for everyone to think about, Brie got a check today from work and they had withdrew California state taxes, when she had her payroll department recut the check using her Virginia residency it was $300 more. All that came from the difference in taxes Virginia takes out compared to California. I think I'm going to like Virginia, less taxes and better schools. I'm not going into details, but even though Brie took what looked like a pay cut the reality of it is when we got her first check we realized she was going to be bringing home just about the same amount of money because California was taking out so much more in taxes. I never realized how terrible the taxes were in this state, no wonder so many business owners hate it here.
I'm glad I'm getting rid of Cox soon. In the last month the amount of spam I've been getting has doubled. Plus, somehow I got on a mailing list for gay lifestyle stuff so all of a sudden I'm getting subscription offers for Out and Unzipped magazines. Spam for penis enlargements, junk mail for Gay magazines, is someone trying to tell me something??
well, off to bed now... goodnight gracie!
1. Do you like talking on the phone? Why or why not? I love talking on the phone. I've been known to get on the phone with friends and dish through the entire Academy Awards. I can talk for hours or sometimes just sit there and work on my own stuff while chatting as if the person was sitting right next to me.
2. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone? My wife ... less than a week now babe and we'll be back together!
3. About how many telephones do you have at home? 2 - one upstairs and one downstairs, both wireless so that's all I need. Unless you count cell phones, then we typically have two of those as well.
4. Have you encountered anyone who has really bad phone manners? What happened? hmmm I have bad customer service on the phone which doesn't necessarily me bad phone manners. I myself sometimes lose focus on the conversation and miss entire sections of talk, that's pretty bad.
5. Would you rather pick up the phone and call someone or write them an e-mail or a letter? Why or why not? Letter, never! I IM a lot, but don't like having to explain things via written communication, for that I prefer the phone. It also depends on the person, some people I only have contact through email others primarily the phone.
Man oh man, you'll be reading about this, but Brie missed her connecting flight at Dulles airport in Washington D.C. today and it was all the airlines fault. So she had to sit in the airport for 4 hours until the next flight arrived.
Took the kids to McDonald's again today. I reallly like how tired they get after an hour of playing there. I'm a bit concerned though, Keegan has developed a cough and Sebastian keeps saying he is nauseous, though I think that is just a ploy to stay home. He did say to me I'll be better on Friday, which is fun day at his school.
Worked out more details with the move, contacted Sebastian's current school, the kids doctors, the Vet, trying to get all the needed medical records together before the move. Got a confirmation from the movers that the 27/28 is good for the pack and load. I even rented a bounce house for the birthday party. Now I just have to order a cake.
As for me personally, well, I'm a little worn down today. As hard as I try I can not keep on top of the house cleaning the way I would like. I have an ad running this weekend to sell off my motorcycle which makes me sad, I hope I can get a new one in another couple of years, like after Maddy is in school then I can drive it while the kids are in school. 8 days from now I will hold my wife in my arms and give her the bear hug of a lifetime. I can't wait. I can't even put into words what it is like to be apart like this. I can only say that it feels like part of me is missing.
Lastly, I've set-up a blog for Sean. I'm hoping to set them up for other friends as well, so if you want to have your own blog/journal contact me, I'll set it up and show you how easy it is to start keeping in touch with your family and friends as well as yourself.
And like that this is my last weekend to really get stuff done before the movers come. I am going to have to make a trip to the dump this weekend and really sort through things before then. Not my fault completely I thought my sister would be coming over all day every Saturday and Sunday and she hasn't so I haven't really had time to do the things I need to do without the kids.
Cait's visit was very mellow, she slept what seemed like a majority of the time. I don't think we even got through a whole movie without her falling asleep. We did get out for dinner and some shopping yesterday. I got to visit Cost Plus World Market and the dining room chairs I liked are $119 each .. egad I'll have to buy one a month for 6 months before I have all I need. I'm in search of a nice china hutch, Brie's mom Kathe has given us all of the cool gold designed china she had been storing with us and I really want to put it on display in the new house since we will have a formal dining room again.
Mailed off some CDs I made for someone I met online who lives in Sweden. It's very funny, though we have never met and I'm sure have very different lives we share very common tastes when it comes to music, though from his collection it would appear that where I augement my love for 80's electronic music with rock and other more aggressive forms of music he is much deeper into dance. Still it's great to have a new friend that I can share my love of music with. I can't wait for the CDs he's made me.
I can't express how much I love my new camera and how cool Ofoto is. I look forward to taking lots of pictures on the drive across country so I got a 64Mb smartmedia card on Ebay. It will allow me to take sixty-five 2288x1712 pictures which make great 5x7 prints. When I get to Virginia I want to take a digital photography class at a local college.... did I mention that in an earlier post already ??
Brie is in Oakland for the next three days. It's frustrating to know we are only a 2 hour flight away from each other yet we won't be able to get together. Still I must say I do feel better knowing she is here in California.
A list of things Sebastian wants for his birthday;
Super Mario Party E-reader cards
Balloon Fight and Pinball E-Reader games
Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie (dvd)
SpongeBob Squarepants : Nautical Nonsense and Sponge Buddies (dvd)
LEGO - Bionicle stuff
Gameboy Advance games
Didn't make an entry yesterday, I was wiped out early after taking the kids to McDonald's Playland. It just happened that the one boy Sebastian wants to invite to his party was there with his mom. It took me a while and some encouragement from Brie (via cell) before I could walk over and introduce myself to her. I hate being so shy, for someone who loves having friends it makes it real difficult that I am unable to talk to strangers without being introduced first.
Today was the cleaning day yesterday was suppose to have been. I threw out two large trash bags filled with stuff. I need to buy more trash bags, I've still got a long way to go. My sister told me some upsetting news, it would appear Dean, our 15 year old cat, is on her last legs and it looks like it is going to be best if I just have her put down before we move. I'm very saddened by that. It's the end of an era. She is the sister of kitten we got as an engagement gift. She actually belonged to a roommate originally, but he abandoned her when he moved out. She is the last of our cats, at one point we had 5. Still I take solace in the fact that I know she has had a great life and 15 years is a long time.
It's after 10 pm and Cait is still on her way here from Vegas. She had to work late today which wiped her out so she went home and took a nap before hitting the road. If she wasn't on her way I'd probably be in bed buy now. The kids and I did some major cleaning from 8-9 tonight so I'm pretty tired.
The time before Brie comes back is seeming much shorter now, 12 days and counting. I've got so much to do before then. Tomorrow (Sunday) we are going to head over to Party City and get the decorations for Sebastian's party. He's decided on SpongeBob Squarepants. It was a toss up between that and Yuh-Gi-Oh for a while. I'm glad he picked SpongeBob, I love watching Yu-Gi-Oh, but it's not as fun a theme as SpongeBob. The party is going to be great, so many of our friends are coming to celebrate and see us off. I just wish Sebastian was inviting more than 2 or 3 friends from school.
I think that's it for now, I could ramble on because I'm so tired, but I won't!
I got this from the above mentioned site. It's from a commencement speech that Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) gave last spring at Dartmouth. I just had to pass it along as I was one of those kids that Mr. Rogers had a big effect on.
I'd like to give you all an invisible gift. A gift of a silent minute to think about those who have helped you become who you are today. Some of them may be here right now. Some may be far away. Some, like my astronomy professor, may even be in Heaven. But wherever they are, if they've loved you and encouraged you and wanted what was best in life for you, they're right inside yourself. And I feel that you deserve quiet time on this special occasion to devote some thought to them. So let's just take a minute in honor of those who have cared about us all along the way. One silent minute.
Whomever you've been thinking about, imagine how grateful they must be that during your silent times you remember how important they are to you. It's not the honors and the prizes and the fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It's the knowing that we can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock of our lives from which we make our choices is very good stuff.
1. What was the last song you heard? eek, let's see in the car I had on Prehistoric Razormaid! disc 2 and it was playing, Sub Culture by New Order I believe.
2. What were the last two movies you saw? Well, I don't get out to see movies in the theater so today I watched Inspector Gadget with Matthew Broderick then the Jimmy Neutron movie, both on DVD. Can you tell I was with my kids?
3. What were the last three things you purchased? I just ordered some 5x7 prints of this amazing picture I took of Maddy today so I can give them as gifts to family. Before that I got dinner for the kids and I at Rubio's, and before that I got 2 gallons of milk and some dog food from the grocery store (I know, thrilling)
4. What four things do you need to do this weekend? Oh the list is longer than 4. I need to get the new foam glued into the Anvil case I got for my OB-8, I need to get through the laundry, I'm taking my car into the shop for it's 60k service, and I'm having Cait over for the weekend.
5. Who are the last five people you talked to? I spoke with Sean and Amy briefly over IM. Talked to all 3 of my kids as I tucked them in for bed. Spoke to Cait about going to Vegas before i head to Virginia, and talked to Brie so she could talk to the kids before she went to bed.
Took the kids to the park today, Keegan actually asked to go which is so rare. I took George with us because he needs the training. Trying to get him ready for the drive across country. While at the park I took pictures with the new C-4000 Zoom digital camera and got some really nice shots. I need to figure out all the camera can do. Tomorrow is Friday which means it's house cleaning day. Cait is coming to visit this weekend so I need to do towels and clean some of the spots where Abby keeps marking. Looking forward to her visit.
Had a good day today, which means the kids didn't harm themselves, me, or the house and I got some stuff done. But, as night settled in and I got on the computer for my "me" time I started feeling blue. You know I use to have quite a few friends I was in nightly contact with, I can remember having 3 or 4 IMs going simultaneously every night and nowadays I typically surf alone.
I was blog-jumping ... this is where I go to Movable Type, choose a Blog from the recently updated list (where our blogs now appear) and randomly read and then jump onto another blog. There were a couple of common threads, one being that true geeks are weird ... LOL to most of my family and friends I am a geek, but I'm not really... I'm just a super-user; someone who knows how to use technology really well, even though i don't know or care much about how it actually runs. I don't code or obsess about the latest things. The second was I don't have a life (I know, not this again) most of these people seem to get out and do something and see people, of course, none of them seem to have kids, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have all my friends together at the same time, it's never happened. I'd love to get them all together, just once. I'd be a very happy guy. But, it's just not realistic anymore. We are all spread out around the country and with the move to Virginia the closest person will be two days away by car.
Don't get me wrong. I love my life. I have the best kids in the world and a partner who I could never find the words to relate how much I love. But, I also have some truly amazing people who I'm proud to call friends. My life is so busy that I don't have the time to see everyone as much as I'd like and when I do I have to choose between time with my family or friends. Oh well, I guess it's better to have more friends than time .. I'd be much more unhappy if I had time and no friends ... which leads me back to where this began. With Brie gone I do have more time, though only to talk online or on the phone, but no one seems to come online and/or stay up late anymore.
wah wah wah .. enough whining, I'm starting to annoy myself now.
This post is more obligatory than anything else. Nothing much to report today, which I guess is good. By this morning Maddy's neck seem to be back in order and she was able to play all day. Brie was able to put down the deposit on the house. I made an apointment to have the Durango's 60k service done. I must say I'm very proud at how well I have kept up with service on the Durango. I found out this computer will not be compatible with DirecWay, DirecTV's sattelite broadband because it's only running Win 98 not SE. It's three years old, a 400mHz P2, so it's about time to upgrade anyway, just not something we can really afford right now, but still it is at the heart of what I do besides parenting so I'm shopping around. I'm just sitting here trying to think things to say, and since it's just mudane daily items I think I'll go now.
Tonight was a toughy. Maddy wrenched her neck dismantling Keegan's bed. I've warned her so many times to not take his bed apart. She must have dropped the mattress on her head and it hit her just right to pull a muscle. She was screaming and crying on and off for 2 hours. My nerves are shot. She is fine though, she has full motion, she's just really sore. Hopefully the Advil and some rest will help her out. The toughest part was she wanted her mommy and she made that clear. I felt so bad for Brie because I know she wanted to be here and a phone call wasn't enough.. heck i wanted her here too. We'll get through it though. 18 more days until we see her again!
Good news, we got the house. Brie should be taking care of the deposit tomorrow and we should be able to move in the weekend of the April 5th. It's weird to think there is a house I'm going to live in that is on the otherside of the country and I've never seen it. This is the first house I haven't had a hand in picking at all. I'm excited and nervous all at once.
As you may have noticed I've been putting a lot of time into the website. It keeps me busy and I'm enoying the process and the learning. I've gotten pretty proficient at Photoshop 5 and Dreamweaver. I can write html from scratch in notepad, that's where I began, but Dreamweaver is so much easier.