Last year I got myself a new (to me) GMC Envoy with enough room to hold my entire family. I LOVE this vehicle. Talk about loaded, this thing even has washers for the headlights, I shit you not.
My favorite feature, however, is easily the satellite radio. The fine folks at SiriusXM were kind enough to give me a free preview month and then offered my a six month deal at just five bucks per month. This is quite possibly the best $30 I have ever spent.
Those who know me well, or at least those who knew me in college or before are no doubt aware of my musical interestes. I often wondered when I was growing up how my dad could listen to all those oldies stations playing nothing but stuff from the 60s and 70s. I guess you kind of never really evolve after a certain age, because it's now better than 20 years since the Seattle sound exploded into the mainstream, but I am still very much stuck in the Grunge era.
Granted, there are no more chain wallets, no more flannels, no more Doc Martens, but I still cannot get enough of bands like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden. I was never a huge Nirvana fan, but I feel like they have to be mentioned here as well. Bands like Candlebox and Blind Melon were, in my opinion, far better to listen to.
And while the early to mid 1990s were certainly defined by the bands I listed above, there were many others who came to prominence during that time who were wonderful in their own rights. That's why, when I tuned in my free XM radio this past summer, I was so overjoyed at finding channel 34 - Lithium - I channel dedicated to, in their words, "90s alternative and grunge." What could be better?
Unfortunately, I have noticed a very disturbing trend over the past month or so. It seems whomever is creating the playlists for this channel has a bit of a thing for three bands in particular, as their music comes up a disproportionate amount of time. The Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all see heavy rotation on Lithium while bands like Nirvana get relatively little airplay, especially their earlier songs. I find that particularly odd since Lithium is, in fact, a song title from Nirvana's iconic Nevermind album, an album that, along with Pearl Jam's Ten, ushered in the Grunge era and announced Seattle's presence as the new Mecca of alternative rock.
Now, I never loved the Pumpkins, but I did like a good number of their songs and while Billy Corgan's voice annoys the hell out of me sometimes, I can appreciate the music. I wish they didn't play the Pumpkins quite so often, but I can deal with it and I rarely wander off to a different channel when they come on the air.
Seriously though, there is zero excuse for the other two bands to be seeing anywhere near this much airtime. I mean, is Flea of the board of directors for SiriusXM or something?
Jane's Addictions was a short-lived, but talented band that featured guitarist Dave Navarro and frontman Perry Ferrell. I don't love Ferrell's vocals, but the he and the band had a unique sound.
Bassist Flea was a brief member of Jane's Addiction, though not a member of the original lineup. JA's success came as headliners of the first Lalapalooza Tour in 1991, years before Flea became involved. Unfortunately for the music-loving world (or at least me, as I recognize I may be alone in this opinion), Flea had gotten "big" (in quotations because he's actually very short) with the Chili Peppers, who, as best I can tell, did all of the exact same things Jane's Addiction did only not nearly so well as Jane's Addiction did them. This includes, but is not limited to, songwriting.
I mean honestly, is there a Chili Peppers song in which Anthony Kiedis does not spend at least one verse simply making incoherent mouth sounds instead of singing actual words? It's as if he wrote the song and realized he only had enough to cover about two-and-a-half minutes and needed to stretch it out to four. Instead of writing another verse, he decided just to throw in some ba-dinga-dong-dangs for a minute and a half.
If you've seen the Big Lebowski, and I assume all of you have or else we are very likely not friends -- or at least shouldn't be, there is the scene where The Dude catches a cab home from Jackie Treehorn's pad and winds up getting tossed by the cabbie for overzealous complaining about the Eagles, that's pretty much me when it comes to the Chili Peppers. I mean, I hate the effing Chili Peppers, man.
They are easily the most overrated, and over-played, band of all-time.
Which is why it pains me so much that the greatest musical discovery of the past 10 years of my life is so often tainted by not only the presence of the Chili Peppers, but the ridiculous number of times they are played. I even took into consideration that I may be overreacting a bit. Surely, it only seems like they are played too often because I despise them so much that I notice it more than the number of times Filter hits the airwaves, for example. Not so. I actually predict with a fair amount of accuracy when the next Chili Peppers or Jane's Addiction song will be played. I pretty much just guess they are mandated to play one of those two bands, in particular, in every five song block at least once. I'm rarely wrong. And I hate it each time.
There is not a single Chili Peppers song I like enough to not change the station when it comes on.
So, my six month deal is up in just five short weeks and I'm sure they'll try raising the price on me. I'm totally in love with the product excepting that whole playing-my-least-favorite-band-far-too-often thing. I just hope they give the Chili Peppers their own station like they did with Pearl Jam and Jimmy Buffet and Bruce Springsteen.
I mean, the Grateful Dead have their own station and they only ever had one radio "hit." The Chili Peppers, regretfully, had many, though all of them sucked. If they get their own station, maybe I'll get to hear some occasional Lithium on Lithium. What a novel idea.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
He Is Who We Thought He Was
Yeah, about that...
So, in my last post, I extolled the virtues of Bio-dad and how he had seemingly turned a corner. Not shockingly, he has reverted to old form. I've delved into the gory details far too often on these virtual pages already and frankly, this guy isn't worth the time to devote to writing about him.
Suffice to say that we'd all (Bio-dad included) be much happier and much better off if he'd simply renounce his rights so Valerie, the kids, and I can move on as the family we already are, but with matching last names.
That's really the only way this ends well for the kids.
So, in my last post, I extolled the virtues of Bio-dad and how he had seemingly turned a corner. Not shockingly, he has reverted to old form. I've delved into the gory details far too often on these virtual pages already and frankly, this guy isn't worth the time to devote to writing about him.
Suffice to say that we'd all (Bio-dad included) be much happier and much better off if he'd simply renounce his rights so Valerie, the kids, and I can move on as the family we already are, but with matching last names.
That's really the only way this ends well for the kids.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Credit Where It's Due
I have spent a decent amount of time on these virtual pages pointing out the flaws of Bio-Dad. In the near five years that Valerie and I have been together, he has shown himself to be pretty darn close to worthless. If he's breathing, he's lying and he has made a habit out of telling the kids he's be there to pick them up, only to go days or weeks without so much as a phone call.
In fact, it's far more frequent that he doesn't show than he does. It's well past the point where we expect him to disappear; it's damn near shocking when he actually spends more than six hours a month with his kids. That is not an exaggeration.
So last week he contacted my wife and told her that he was really going to try to see the kids and spend time with them. As if it's some kind of chore. Of course, this is the same guy who also said, the last time he was going to try, that he would "give them a chance." The guy has a lot of nerve. I'm not sure what a seven and six year old have to do to be worthy of his time, but I can't imagine thinking something like that, let alone saying it. This guy is a winner.
Anyhow, so he tells her that he's planning to pick the kids up from school to spend an hour with them before he goes into work. Sure enough, to my shock, the kids didn't come home from school on Monday because he actually showed up to get them. Then Tuesday came and the same thing happened. And Wednesday. Thursday the kids came home, but he called immediately apologizing to them saying he had some errands to run and didn't make it back in time. The next day, he got them from school again.
Of course, the weekend would be different. This is a guy who actually brought them home at 1 am on a Saturday one weekend. He has prioritized his social life (drinking mostly) over his kids and he's flat out told Valerie that he has no intention of making any sacrifices in his personal life to accommodate them.
But he did, in fact, show up on Saturday and he didn't call saying he needed to go jam with his band or anything silly like that. Instead, he kept them overnight and then did the same on Sunday, taking them to school, on time, on Monday morning. If that wasn't enough, the kids spent an hour after school with him before he went to work again.
It has been just a week, but he has finally followed through on something he said he would do. I know Sebastian couldn't be happier. He idolizes that man, and I will never come close. That's not his fault and I'm not mad about it. It's just something I have to accept. The fact is that I am not the biological father of those two kids and no matter how much Bio-Dad lies or disappoints the kids, he'll always be number one.
I doubt this little phase of his will last. If he's shown anything in five years it's that he isn't terribly interested in being a dad. I hope, for Sebastian and for Lillian, that this phase becomes habit.
I just have a lot of trouble believing it will.
In fact, it's far more frequent that he doesn't show than he does. It's well past the point where we expect him to disappear; it's damn near shocking when he actually spends more than six hours a month with his kids. That is not an exaggeration.
So last week he contacted my wife and told her that he was really going to try to see the kids and spend time with them. As if it's some kind of chore. Of course, this is the same guy who also said, the last time he was going to try, that he would "give them a chance." The guy has a lot of nerve. I'm not sure what a seven and six year old have to do to be worthy of his time, but I can't imagine thinking something like that, let alone saying it. This guy is a winner.
Anyhow, so he tells her that he's planning to pick the kids up from school to spend an hour with them before he goes into work. Sure enough, to my shock, the kids didn't come home from school on Monday because he actually showed up to get them. Then Tuesday came and the same thing happened. And Wednesday. Thursday the kids came home, but he called immediately apologizing to them saying he had some errands to run and didn't make it back in time. The next day, he got them from school again.
Of course, the weekend would be different. This is a guy who actually brought them home at 1 am on a Saturday one weekend. He has prioritized his social life (drinking mostly) over his kids and he's flat out told Valerie that he has no intention of making any sacrifices in his personal life to accommodate them.
But he did, in fact, show up on Saturday and he didn't call saying he needed to go jam with his band or anything silly like that. Instead, he kept them overnight and then did the same on Sunday, taking them to school, on time, on Monday morning. If that wasn't enough, the kids spent an hour after school with him before he went to work again.
It has been just a week, but he has finally followed through on something he said he would do. I know Sebastian couldn't be happier. He idolizes that man, and I will never come close. That's not his fault and I'm not mad about it. It's just something I have to accept. The fact is that I am not the biological father of those two kids and no matter how much Bio-Dad lies or disappoints the kids, he'll always be number one.
I doubt this little phase of his will last. If he's shown anything in five years it's that he isn't terribly interested in being a dad. I hope, for Sebastian and for Lillian, that this phase becomes habit.
I just have a lot of trouble believing it will.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Here We Go Again
It wasn't all that long ago, now that I think about it, but it seems like a lifetime has passed between then and now.
I have written previously about what Dr. Suess referred to as the most useless of places: the waiting place. For a full year I was stuck there, waiting for a job at Proctor and Gamble to come through. I filled out their application and completed their online questionnaire. I waited two months to hear back from them, then went to and passed their two hours worth of tests. Another month or two passed and I was interviewed. A week later, I was informed that I'd be placed in the hiring pool, where my name would stay for up to one year. If a need was there, I would be called.
A year passed. That call never came.
It was a year that I wasted, personally and professionally speaking. I was maniacal about checking my email, badgering others in the pool (I knew of two in my same predicament) if they had heard anything. Rumors floated around about the company adding 40 jobs within a month or 60 within a year.
Nobody actually knew anything.
All I knew was that P&G was my lottery ticket. People who work there retire in their fifties. It's the kind of money that can change a life, especially for the patriarch of a struggling family of seven.
My year was up last April. In June, I lost my job at the car dealership I had worked at for the past six years. Since then I have raised my kids and looked for work that hasn't been found.
A month ago, I got an email.
Proctor and Gamble was hiring again, it said, and they had extended a special early offer to those of us who had run out of time in their pool. We would be the first group invited to apply again.
So, once again, I applied and then I completed their online questionnaire. I heard nothing back from them, not even a confirmation that they received my assessment. Not even a thanks but no thanks letter. Days into weeks into a month passed. P&G is great at leaving you twisting in wind, it would appear.
At quarter past seven tonight, I got another email. It didn't even talk about the process to this point; only directed me to see the attachment for instructions on how to schedule the test.
Once again, I'll chase the job. It's not that I necessarily even want the job at all. I love being able to raise my own kids instead of trying to find a sitter and having them raised by a stranger. But I also like the idea of getting siding on the house, getting new windows, maybe even renovating the kitchen. I like the idea of being a family that has enough money to tell my children "yes" instead of "maybe someday."
At the same time, I'm ever hopeful that my role with the network will become something more than a hobby. There are several indicators that such a dream could be reality within a matter of months, if all goes well. Imagine being able to work from home and make a decent living without having to waste a 30 minute commute or drop the kids at the sitter's house.
So, of course what will happen is that I'll wind up having to choose one over the other; it's always the way these things happen. It's like when you're single and no woman will give you the time of day, then, as soon as you're seeing someone, there are suddenly three hotties that are trying to catch your eye.
The situation will hopefully resolve itself and I'll wind up landing a job with one of the two companies. Given the speed with which P&G has moved in the past, we are still months away from anything happening there, if it ever does. Unfortunately, it's the same timetable for the network, I think.
Until then, I'll make myself comfortable, enjoy my kids, and try not to drive myself crazy wondering when, or if, I'll land one of my two potential life-changing jobs.
Sooner or later it has to be my turn to win, right?
I have written previously about what Dr. Suess referred to as the most useless of places: the waiting place. For a full year I was stuck there, waiting for a job at Proctor and Gamble to come through. I filled out their application and completed their online questionnaire. I waited two months to hear back from them, then went to and passed their two hours worth of tests. Another month or two passed and I was interviewed. A week later, I was informed that I'd be placed in the hiring pool, where my name would stay for up to one year. If a need was there, I would be called.
A year passed. That call never came.
It was a year that I wasted, personally and professionally speaking. I was maniacal about checking my email, badgering others in the pool (I knew of two in my same predicament) if they had heard anything. Rumors floated around about the company adding 40 jobs within a month or 60 within a year.
Nobody actually knew anything.
All I knew was that P&G was my lottery ticket. People who work there retire in their fifties. It's the kind of money that can change a life, especially for the patriarch of a struggling family of seven.
My year was up last April. In June, I lost my job at the car dealership I had worked at for the past six years. Since then I have raised my kids and looked for work that hasn't been found.
A month ago, I got an email.
Proctor and Gamble was hiring again, it said, and they had extended a special early offer to those of us who had run out of time in their pool. We would be the first group invited to apply again.
So, once again, I applied and then I completed their online questionnaire. I heard nothing back from them, not even a confirmation that they received my assessment. Not even a thanks but no thanks letter. Days into weeks into a month passed. P&G is great at leaving you twisting in wind, it would appear.
At quarter past seven tonight, I got another email. It didn't even talk about the process to this point; only directed me to see the attachment for instructions on how to schedule the test.
Once again, I'll chase the job. It's not that I necessarily even want the job at all. I love being able to raise my own kids instead of trying to find a sitter and having them raised by a stranger. But I also like the idea of getting siding on the house, getting new windows, maybe even renovating the kitchen. I like the idea of being a family that has enough money to tell my children "yes" instead of "maybe someday."
At the same time, I'm ever hopeful that my role with the network will become something more than a hobby. There are several indicators that such a dream could be reality within a matter of months, if all goes well. Imagine being able to work from home and make a decent living without having to waste a 30 minute commute or drop the kids at the sitter's house.
So, of course what will happen is that I'll wind up having to choose one over the other; it's always the way these things happen. It's like when you're single and no woman will give you the time of day, then, as soon as you're seeing someone, there are suddenly three hotties that are trying to catch your eye.
The situation will hopefully resolve itself and I'll wind up landing a job with one of the two companies. Given the speed with which P&G has moved in the past, we are still months away from anything happening there, if it ever does. Unfortunately, it's the same timetable for the network, I think.
Until then, I'll make myself comfortable, enjoy my kids, and try not to drive myself crazy wondering when, or if, I'll land one of my two potential life-changing jobs.
Sooner or later it has to be my turn to win, right?
Monday, December 31, 2012
A Long December
New Year's Eve is always a convenient time to take stock of where you've been in the past year. Something about the turning of the calendar that makes reflection appropriate.
It would be difficult to imagine a more tumultuous year, but in the end I'm not sure there's been one more rewarding for me.
Little Atticus is nine months old today, which sounds so much older than he can possibly be. He's oh so close to walking. He pulls himself around the coffee table and he has so much to say. But he's also probably every bit as moody as his daddy is. Guess that's what I deserve.
All the kids are so grown up all of a sudden. When I started this whole stay-at-home dad thing back in June, I was more a fan of the idea of staying at home than actually doing so. Now I have a bit of a routine and it has allowed me to do some writing as well, which is important. I've gotten to know my kids so much better than I had before and I've seen them become more comfortable with me as well. Eight months ago, if one of them would have gotten hurt, there is no way they'd want to hug anyone but Mommy. Now I am allowed to soothe them as often as she is. It makes me feel important and necessary.
Don't get me wrong, I still feel like a butler far too often, but I suppose that will change as the kids get older and I can assign them some of the housework. For now, though, I handle the vast majority of the cleaning, the cooking, and the laundry. It's also my job to get them up and around for school and I'm proud to say that the only time they were late to school this year was the one night they stayed with Bio-Dad.
Valerie has returned to work full-time as of August and she's basically running the place now. She's more satisfied by her job than I can ever remember her being. Keep in mind that she works at a pig farm. How anyone can be satisfied by that I have no idea. But my stunning wife is a rare bird. Of course, we already knew that I suppose. Not many women would subject themselves to a life living with me. I guess it stands to reason that she might enjoy other less-conventional things as well. Things like "sleeving" sows. You don't even wanna know what that means.
So Santa broke down and brought Lillian a DSi last week. I was convinced that he should have waited another year, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a seven-year-old who is more mature or responsible. Think of every seven-year-old you've ever met; Lillian is nothing like any of them. If there is anyone who should be rewarded, it's her. I just hope it's not the beginning of a downward spiral of video gaming. I already worry she doesn't get enough physical activity. She's joined Girl Scouts and will be selling cookies starting next week. My blood sugar can hardly wait.
Also, she gets great enjoyment out of using the phrase "that's what she said," but she has no idea what it actually means. I so look forward to the day that it clicks for her. I can't wait to see the look of horror on her face when she realizes the innuendo that has been floating over her head this whole time. hehe
It sort of feels like I'm required to recap each child in every post, like I'd be neglecting one of them by not devoting a paragraph or two. Instead, a brief summary.
Sebastian runs hot and cold. I'm so proud of the way he's handled school this year. We went to his conferences in November and I swear I wondered if the teacher was talking about the right kid. Clearly, the decision to place him back in kindergarten for another year was a wise one. He went from being one of the youngest in his class to being in a group with kids his age. He's no longer playing catch-up. He's more comfortable. He still has behavior issues at home and he's got tremendous and sudden mood swings sometimes (not really anger, but depression). But there has been progress, I think.
Okay, so that was more like a paragraph. Now I'm really gonna feel bad for slighting Leyton and Amity.
Leyton is half-way through his first year of pre-school. He's still so tiny, but that kid talks like an adult. His mind will be the way he survives I think; I mean socially. He won't ever be the biggest kid, and his mouth will get him into trouble, but he'll also be able to out-smart the rest of them. There is a lot of Braden in him, I've been told.
And then there is the Princess. What can be said about her? I think my (hopefully) future sister-in-law summed it up the best when she remarked on a photo of Amity by saying "there are six billion children in the world and I would be comfortable arguing that she is the most beautiful." Every day she gets more adorable. I used to think that Valerie spoiled her too much. Now I don't think that's it's possible to spoil her as much as she deserves to be spoiled. I can't believe she'll be three in a few months and starting school next year. Ugh. Where does it go? Why can't we keep her this exact age forever?
I'm certain I don't want any more kids and I don't really think Valerie does either, but she likes to say that she'd have Amity a dozen more times. I have to agree.
So, I had a third son, lost my job, gained a new perspective and a new responsibility at home and somewhere in the in-between I wrote about 350 or so baseball articles. In August I took over as Senior Editor at our general baseball site, Call to the Pen. I have free reign to cover any and all baseball news across the whole sport. It's been extremely challenging and just as rewarding. In four months time, I have improved my traffic by 400% and put Call to the Pen back among the elite of FanSided sites; which is where it should be.
2013 is just a couples hours away and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. All things considered, I have very few complaints about where I've been in the past 12 months and I have nothing but optimism about what's to come next for me as a writer and as a husband and father. If you know me at all, you know that optimism isn't something that comes around often for me.
I'm pretty glad the Mayans were wrong. Happy New Year.
It would be difficult to imagine a more tumultuous year, but in the end I'm not sure there's been one more rewarding for me.
Little Atticus is nine months old today, which sounds so much older than he can possibly be. He's oh so close to walking. He pulls himself around the coffee table and he has so much to say. But he's also probably every bit as moody as his daddy is. Guess that's what I deserve.
All the kids are so grown up all of a sudden. When I started this whole stay-at-home dad thing back in June, I was more a fan of the idea of staying at home than actually doing so. Now I have a bit of a routine and it has allowed me to do some writing as well, which is important. I've gotten to know my kids so much better than I had before and I've seen them become more comfortable with me as well. Eight months ago, if one of them would have gotten hurt, there is no way they'd want to hug anyone but Mommy. Now I am allowed to soothe them as often as she is. It makes me feel important and necessary.
Don't get me wrong, I still feel like a butler far too often, but I suppose that will change as the kids get older and I can assign them some of the housework. For now, though, I handle the vast majority of the cleaning, the cooking, and the laundry. It's also my job to get them up and around for school and I'm proud to say that the only time they were late to school this year was the one night they stayed with Bio-Dad.
Valerie has returned to work full-time as of August and she's basically running the place now. She's more satisfied by her job than I can ever remember her being. Keep in mind that she works at a pig farm. How anyone can be satisfied by that I have no idea. But my stunning wife is a rare bird. Of course, we already knew that I suppose. Not many women would subject themselves to a life living with me. I guess it stands to reason that she might enjoy other less-conventional things as well. Things like "sleeving" sows. You don't even wanna know what that means.
So Santa broke down and brought Lillian a DSi last week. I was convinced that he should have waited another year, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a seven-year-old who is more mature or responsible. Think of every seven-year-old you've ever met; Lillian is nothing like any of them. If there is anyone who should be rewarded, it's her. I just hope it's not the beginning of a downward spiral of video gaming. I already worry she doesn't get enough physical activity. She's joined Girl Scouts and will be selling cookies starting next week. My blood sugar can hardly wait.
Also, she gets great enjoyment out of using the phrase "that's what she said," but she has no idea what it actually means. I so look forward to the day that it clicks for her. I can't wait to see the look of horror on her face when she realizes the innuendo that has been floating over her head this whole time. hehe
It sort of feels like I'm required to recap each child in every post, like I'd be neglecting one of them by not devoting a paragraph or two. Instead, a brief summary.
Sebastian runs hot and cold. I'm so proud of the way he's handled school this year. We went to his conferences in November and I swear I wondered if the teacher was talking about the right kid. Clearly, the decision to place him back in kindergarten for another year was a wise one. He went from being one of the youngest in his class to being in a group with kids his age. He's no longer playing catch-up. He's more comfortable. He still has behavior issues at home and he's got tremendous and sudden mood swings sometimes (not really anger, but depression). But there has been progress, I think.
Okay, so that was more like a paragraph. Now I'm really gonna feel bad for slighting Leyton and Amity.
Leyton is half-way through his first year of pre-school. He's still so tiny, but that kid talks like an adult. His mind will be the way he survives I think; I mean socially. He won't ever be the biggest kid, and his mouth will get him into trouble, but he'll also be able to out-smart the rest of them. There is a lot of Braden in him, I've been told.
And then there is the Princess. What can be said about her? I think my (hopefully) future sister-in-law summed it up the best when she remarked on a photo of Amity by saying "there are six billion children in the world and I would be comfortable arguing that she is the most beautiful." Every day she gets more adorable. I used to think that Valerie spoiled her too much. Now I don't think that's it's possible to spoil her as much as she deserves to be spoiled. I can't believe she'll be three in a few months and starting school next year. Ugh. Where does it go? Why can't we keep her this exact age forever?
I'm certain I don't want any more kids and I don't really think Valerie does either, but she likes to say that she'd have Amity a dozen more times. I have to agree.
So, I had a third son, lost my job, gained a new perspective and a new responsibility at home and somewhere in the in-between I wrote about 350 or so baseball articles. In August I took over as Senior Editor at our general baseball site, Call to the Pen. I have free reign to cover any and all baseball news across the whole sport. It's been extremely challenging and just as rewarding. In four months time, I have improved my traffic by 400% and put Call to the Pen back among the elite of FanSided sites; which is where it should be.
2013 is just a couples hours away and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. All things considered, I have very few complaints about where I've been in the past 12 months and I have nothing but optimism about what's to come next for me as a writer and as a husband and father. If you know me at all, you know that optimism isn't something that comes around often for me.
I'm pretty glad the Mayans were wrong. Happy New Year.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
The Waiting Place
When last we spoke, I was one day removed from being, well, removed from my job. Now more than five weeks later and I'm still holding out hope that my unemployment claim will get approved. It was denied once, but I filed an appeal and I'm hopeful it goes through. Until then, I wait. And hope. On the plus side, I have an interview tomorrow in Celina, so this might be the one. We'll see. If nothing else, it's an excuse to shave. I haven't done that in a while.
Sebastian turns six in two days. He had a dry pullup a couple days go, but not last night. He didn't even want to talk about it. It was like he was embarrassed to have not peed his bed. Sometimes I think he's wired backwards. He's rarely happy, at least not for long, and he goes through long stretches of depression. He's only just about to turn six. I've never seen any child, let alone one that young, who is so troubled. It worries me. Of course, just as we were getting him going to see a doctor about these problems, we lost our insurance and this doctor doesn't take medicaid. I guess poor people aren't allowed to work through their issues.
Amity has been learning to pee on the potty lately. She's had an accidents, of course, but she's getting pretty good at it. We even drove to Columbus on Saturday without incident. For the record, she wears a diaper to bed and even though she sleeps for at lest ten hours a night, the diaper is almost always dry.
So for the past five weeks I've been a stay at home dad. I make dinner every night and take care of most of the housework. This gig at the network looks like it might actually become more than just a hobby at some point. I've been with them for two and a half years and for the first time, I really think it could eventually become like a real job. We have some news coming up next month and after that, I think traffic will just explode. How cool would it be to work from home? Then I'd get the best of both worlds.
This has been a short post today and it's jumped around a lot. I feel rusty. It's been a good long while since I really wrote something. Let's hope this post knocks some of that rust off so I can do better next time. I'll try not to wait five weeks.
Sebastian turns six in two days. He had a dry pullup a couple days go, but not last night. He didn't even want to talk about it. It was like he was embarrassed to have not peed his bed. Sometimes I think he's wired backwards. He's rarely happy, at least not for long, and he goes through long stretches of depression. He's only just about to turn six. I've never seen any child, let alone one that young, who is so troubled. It worries me. Of course, just as we were getting him going to see a doctor about these problems, we lost our insurance and this doctor doesn't take medicaid. I guess poor people aren't allowed to work through their issues.
Amity has been learning to pee on the potty lately. She's had an accidents, of course, but she's getting pretty good at it. We even drove to Columbus on Saturday without incident. For the record, she wears a diaper to bed and even though she sleeps for at lest ten hours a night, the diaper is almost always dry.
So for the past five weeks I've been a stay at home dad. I make dinner every night and take care of most of the housework. This gig at the network looks like it might actually become more than just a hobby at some point. I've been with them for two and a half years and for the first time, I really think it could eventually become like a real job. We have some news coming up next month and after that, I think traffic will just explode. How cool would it be to work from home? Then I'd get the best of both worlds.
This has been a short post today and it's jumped around a lot. I feel rusty. It's been a good long while since I really wrote something. Let's hope this post knocks some of that rust off so I can do better next time. I'll try not to wait five weeks.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Careful What You Wish For
Last month I told you all that I had mentally checked out from my job at Tom Ahl's. I went to the GM and talked to him about adding some responsibilities to my tasks; sitting at a desk waiting for the phone to ring is a boring way to earn a living. At the time, Vince (the GM) sounded all excited to get me more involved. A month later, they still hadn't given me any extra duties. Instead, yesterday morning, I was relieved of my duties altogether.
So here I sit, officially one day into unemployment. I used to pick the kids up from grandma's and spend about 2-2.5 hours alone with them before Valerie gets home. Now, I get the 3-9 shift all to myself. So far, so good as far as the kids are concerned. I'm not sure how you're supposed to get anything else done around the house though.
I filed a claim for unemployment already. I should hear back in 3 weeks or so. Tom actually apologized for not giving me a warning at all, so since there was no prior disciplinary documentation at all, I'm fairly confident I'll get approved. I'm sure you're wondering: I was let go because two customers (seperately, about two weeks apart) complained about me. It should be noted that the first customer repeatedly refused to return the rental car and refused to return phone calls made in an attempt to recover the car. The second didn't like that I refused her service because she didn't have a credit card. In other words, I enforced the policy I was paid to enforce. Tom decided that since both of these customers were black females, I must have a problem with them (his words). Of course, 75% of my customers were black and I did the job for 6 years without incident, but whatever. It's done.
So now I have a chance to do something else and I guess that's cool. Hopefully I can find something a bit more challenging that offers me a bit more money as well. We shall see. Until then, I get to be a full-time dad. And that's pretty cool, too.
So here I sit, officially one day into unemployment. I used to pick the kids up from grandma's and spend about 2-2.5 hours alone with them before Valerie gets home. Now, I get the 3-9 shift all to myself. So far, so good as far as the kids are concerned. I'm not sure how you're supposed to get anything else done around the house though.
I filed a claim for unemployment already. I should hear back in 3 weeks or so. Tom actually apologized for not giving me a warning at all, so since there was no prior disciplinary documentation at all, I'm fairly confident I'll get approved. I'm sure you're wondering: I was let go because two customers (seperately, about two weeks apart) complained about me. It should be noted that the first customer repeatedly refused to return the rental car and refused to return phone calls made in an attempt to recover the car. The second didn't like that I refused her service because she didn't have a credit card. In other words, I enforced the policy I was paid to enforce. Tom decided that since both of these customers were black females, I must have a problem with them (his words). Of course, 75% of my customers were black and I did the job for 6 years without incident, but whatever. It's done.
So now I have a chance to do something else and I guess that's cool. Hopefully I can find something a bit more challenging that offers me a bit more money as well. We shall see. Until then, I get to be a full-time dad. And that's pretty cool, too.
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