Category: Life

We’re Back

How time flys when your having fun.

We kept busy on our trip to Orlando and Daytona Beach Florida.  Our first three days were spent primarily at 3 different Disney theme parks, Animal Kingdom, MGM Studios and of course what I call “Disney World” but is formally known as The Magic Kingdom.

The ladies had some troubles on our trip.  Taylor was getting over strep throat, and Rachel was was starting to have symtoms of what is now known as bronchitis.

The most breathtaking part of the trip was our visit to the beach.  I had never been to Daytona Beach before, and it had been around 25 years since I had been to the atlantic ocean.  To keep Taylor away from the typical Spring Break festivities we went to the north side of Daytona.  We got to actually drive right onto the beach!

I was amazed at how fine and soft the sand was, and how calming the sounds of the tides were.

We took over 300 pictures and shot almost an hour of video.  I am currently working on uploading the pictures, and will post some as soon as possible.

Now it’s back to life as usual, and next week we have our new heat pump installed.  Right before we left we received our electric bill, $260 – ouch!

Bugz

Tonight, my daughter had a musical program at her school.  It included the entire 1st grade class.  The name of the program?  Bugz, and each child was one.

There were ladybugs, army ants, butterflys, a praying mantis, a stinkbug and a maggot.  My daughter was a beautiful butterfly.

I recieved some news while at this program.  It has been announced where my daughter will be moving, Ft. Cambell, KY.

It is the closest solution possible, which should be good news.  I’m just not taking it well.  Was it the fact that I was “stuck in the middle” of 2 very strong personalities? (my ex and my wife)  Or was it that I am so tired of this job and can’t wait for this vacation?

Anyways, I enjoyed seeing my daughter up on stage having fun with her soon to be ex-classmates.

The teachers are fun to look at too! 🙂  Especially my daughters’ teacher, Mrs. P

Good Neighbors, Bad Friends?

Today my wife accidentally drove her car into the ditch on one side of our driveway while returning from running some errands.  We received another 4 inches or so yesterday, which made it hard to spot exactly where the driveway is.

Her first instinct was to come wake me to get her out.  So I went to assess the situation.  Before we could get back to the car – our driveway is about 150 ft. long, both of our neighbors were there.

I thought the angle in which her car was at was too great to simply push the car out, so I went back to the house to get my log chain and my 4×4. 

Before I could get back to the scene, Rachel was out and coming straight at me.  My neighbors banded together and rocked her car out.

They are good neighbors.  Always helpful in a time of need, and always there to talk about whatever subject is in mind.

There is a dark side though, as my one neighbor (a former contractor) is somewhat pushy and nosy when it comes to anything we do to our place.  I understand he may have a lifetime of experience with these things, but I am no dummy.  He is pressuring us to convert our total electric house to gas.  I am mainly against this due to reasons which are hard to explain.  The main point is that it’s my home, not his!

The Date Draws Near

My lovely daughter, will more than likely be moving away from me in around 3 months.

When I was first told of this, I took it in stride.  Now is a different story.  Since I have to work on the weekends (when I generally have my daughter) I don’t get to spend the quality time I used to with her.  That’s all she really wants.

2 of the nights I work, I am alone.  I’m all alone right now.  I could be washing a tractor or trailer, but I’m not.  I’m contemplating my life right now.

I don’t know how much I could go on about how I’m pissed off at the “system.”  My hands are tied when it comes to anything regarding keeping her here.  I try to think of myself as a good parent, but I have my self doubts.

Through what my daughter tells me, the environment she has at home is not kind to her.  She thrives on attention and participating in creative endavors.  I like to call her my “little helper.”  She enjoys helping me around the house.  She even helped me with demolition of my garage.  It makes her feel like she’s a part of something, that’s one thing she doesn’t feel when she’s at home.  She just feels in the way.

I was raised in a similar situation and I really feel for her. 

She had a cat named “Polkadots,” her stepdad didn’t like Polkadots, so he went out a bought a dog to scare her away.  Which worked.  This theme seems to run it’s course through every aspect of my daughters life lately.

I’m not trying to blame here, nothing I say or do will change the end result.  Ever since I met her stepdad, I think he felt threatened by me.  Until he left for basic training, I couldn’t even talk with my daughters’ mom alone.  Now he will just have an inflated ego because he’s in the army.

Part of me feels that she would be better off to stay with us until her stepdad and mom get the big picture.  When you have children, your wants and some of your needs become secondary to theirs.  I don’t want to start that argument though.

I hope our upcoming vacation to Disney World will show Taylor that she is loved, and will always be loved by her daddy and Rachel.  I am starting to work on a present to give to her before she leaves.

This is hurting me worse than any thing I can imagine.  Compounded by the problem that I cannot fix it, I can only deal with it. 

Moving On, And Up?

Rachel has moved up the higher education ladder, finally.  She accepted a position with the IU school of Informatics.  I cannot remember the exact position title, but I believe it is Director or Assistant Director of Graduate affairs???

I am thrilled for her, as she has been under-employed and under-appreciated since she moved to B-Town.  Her talents and abilities have yet to be unleashed.

With this new job, comes the honor of being my sugar mamma too 🙂

I will miss everyone she worked with at The Kelley School of Business MBA Program, Admissions office.  They have become a second family over the years.  Through parties, social gatherings, and personal events we have came to respect and love each other for who we are.  They even threw us a wedding shower (I’ll never forget that).  I hope her new office has the same feeling.

So here’s some words for those I will miss.

Terill & Joe:  I will miss the annual Christmas party.  The both of you are excellent hosts.  The “gay” bathroom is something I will never forget, in a good way.
Jenny:  What can I say?  Will you miss the love letters I wrote with deep passion in mind?  I will miss your love for life, and your high maintenance ways, as you are the closest thing I have had to a “girly girl-friend.”
Jeanie:  You are one of the sweetest persons I have ever met!  You helped us move in that blistering heat!  Your passion to help others is one that I will always remember.
Jim:  What can I say?  Your a great guy, who makes some killer guacomole.  I hope to hear from you in the future.
Lisa:  I love ya!  Your killer personality amazes me.  There is no “title” that can describe, or limit your possibilities.
Tim:  Your scandinavian ways never make me stop thinking.  Rachel and I will never forget how beautiful of a team Mary and you make.  We will always remember with joy, your vocal abilities at our wedding.  We need more people (and couples) like you in this world.
Brandon:  Call me, I promise we’ll go out for a night before you go off and leave me alone with Rachel.  I’m very interested in this “Property Management” thing.

If any of you need to reach me, you can via my website, LMLVideoservices.com

Nothing Fits

So much has happened since I last posted.  This will be a mish-mosh if you will, of thoughts, ideas and updates.

Personally this has been a trying week for me.  I had an interview at IU for a position, but due to the weird hours I currently work, I accidentally overslept and missed the interview.  It was a way out of this crazy lifestyle I am currently living.

We have a new problem with the house, flooding!¬† The last couple of weeks has been very rainy in Bloomington.¬† We knew the house had flooded when we purchased it, but thought it was a one time deal, we were wrong.¬† I called some “waterproofing” companies.¬†¬†That was¬†a joke.¬† The first company said that they would rip all of our concrete block walls out and replace them, plus they would sell me some backfill rock that is “patented and revolutionary” for only $5995.¬† I can understand this in extreme situations, but this isn’t major flooding.

I had my dad get a hold of my step-uncle (long story) to take a look at it.¬† He did, and told me he thought it was leaking at the point where the water line comes into the house, which is directly under our front door.¬† I ripped out everything in the vicinity and did not find any significant signs of a place for water to come in, but cleaned the area and sprayed some “stuff” on it.¬† I guess after tonight we’ll see the results, as it’s been raining all day.

I have met a kind spirit at work, something that is lacking majorly here.¬† His name is C.J., he’s a very interesting man, who happens to be the same age as my father.¬† He is into the same things I am, and we always have something to talk about.¬† The other day he gave me a video monitor he no longer used (an upgrade I needed badly).¬† I will miss him when I leave.¬† I will make sure to give him all of my info when that happens though.

I received a new client for my video business.¬† He told me over the phone he has over 80 tapes he wants transferred to DVD.¬† I received his first shipment last Tuesday and have been working constantly on them.¬† I sent him a shipment of 8 DVD’s today.¬† I hope he enjoys the care and hard work I put into his family’s memories.

I have learned that I do have some limitations when it comes to transferring video now, so I am hoping to correct these issues as soon as the funds become available.¬† The current plan is to build another computer, using some of the available parts I have on hand, and moving some from my current computer.¬† I don’t need a power machine, just a decent one.¬† So I’m checking out my options.

Yesterday I shut off my computer and did some wiring work, installed a new surge protector and my computer wouldn’t come back on.¬† Turns out my power supply had went bad.¬† I was somewhat scared because this was one thing I hadn’t done on a computer yet.¬† $42 later, I have a bigger power supply installed (by me).

I must say something about Editor B’s speech.¬† I was not there, and only saw a snippet from Anderson Cooper 360, but I’m sure it was amazing.¬† After watching almost every episode of ROX, I have a good idea of how he spoke.¬† I hope XY got it on video?¬† It’s still hard for me to understand how it is taking so long to recover.¬† All I have to say is Andrew, how long did it take Florida to rebuild and recover?¬† I know I’m merely speculating, but come on, without New Orleans, this country wouldn’t be anything like it is today.¬† What do you think made westward expansion possible?¬† We the people need to remember that.

I Need A Vacation!

The only questions are why and where, everything else is covered! 

I have been contenplating travelling to New Orleans, LA for 2 reasons.¬† Number one, to finally meet “Editor B & XY”, number 2, to go to Mardi Gras for the first time.

Since my life has been nothing but a mess lately, I’m unsure if my wife and I will be able to make this journey.¬† Which pains me so.

My wife “claims”¬†she has¬†never been¬†to Florida, even though many know she has been :p¬† So now the plan, I think, is to have a longer spring break trip.¬† We would¬†visit Daytona Beach and Tallahasee, and end our trip with I’m sure a great time in New Orleans.

I am way overdue for a long road trip.¬† My father and I haven’t been able to¬†take our annual weekend Oklahoma trip,(Imagine driving 10 hours to¬†say HI, do you have a place I can sleep, and leaving in the morning)¬†which is great time for the 2 of us to spend quality time together.¬† I must admit, I have never “been” to the “deep south.”¬† I’ve driven through ‘bama and Georgia, but never stayed.¬† Just the thought excites me.

Travelling has always been more about the journey than the destination to me.¬† Don’t get me wrong, I always love where I go, I just enjoy viewing the amazing¬†sights our country has to offer us¬†on the open road.¬† I guess it’s a guy thing?, cuz the wife does not get it at all.

911, What’s Your Emergency?

Since losing my so called career in the pharmaceutical industry, I have had to take a hard look at exactly what I want in a career, and what makes me happy.

Part of why I enjoyed the pharmaceutical industry so much is because I was helping people.¬† I wasn’t on the “front line,” the consumer didn’t know my name, but it was very self fulfilling to know I was a part of making peoples’ quality of life better.

I have tried to continue in the pharmaceutical industry.¬† It seems as if I’ve been blacklisted though, as I haven’t even been offered an opportunity to interview.¬† Some positions seemed a “perfect match” with my skills, and one job was EXACTLY the same thing I did at Baxter!

With my wifes’ help I found that Monroe county has 2 openings for 911 dispatchers!¬† (She’s amazing at finding open positions) So I went for it.¬† What I understand so far about the hiring process is it’s more about testing than just an interview.¬† I took the first¬†test last Wednesday night, and I must say it was very interesting.¬† It was completely computerized, and to my understanding just an exercise in distraction.¬† It was mainly data entry type stuff, but here’s the kicker:¬† every few seconds an “emergency” would pop up on the screen.¬† If we did not dispatch the correct agency within 15 seconds, the test would give us a lower score.¬† All while doing the data entry portion at the same time!

It was very intriguing, yet fulfilling at the same time.  I am excitied about the possibility of becoming a dispatcher as I would be helping people, which is all I really want to do in life.

I received an email yesterday from the Monroe county director of communications, I passed the test!¬† No congratulations are in order yet, but it’s the first step.¬† The email also stated I would be contacted after the first of the year regarding more testing and interviews.

Wish me luck!

This Crazy Little Thing Called My Life

I said goodbye to Big Red Liquors yesterday, and said hello to FirstLease today.

In some ways, this job at FirstLease is a dream.  I get to drive Tractor/Trailers, a.k.a Rigs.  In 2001 I went with a buddy of mine out on the road for 3 weeks, and loved every minute of it!  He let me drive a few times, not long, but enough to be addicted.  I cannot drive a rig due to my epilepsy, but I would if I could.

 

 

I must say I enjoyed today tremendously.¬† The only bad part was the weather, which in Indiana, changes like a womans mind.¬† The main tasks of this position are fueling the tractor and trailer, checking fluids, cleaning the inside of the trailer and parking them.¬† That’s it!

There is only one thing I don’t really like about this job, and that’s the hours.¬† After I am fully trained, I will move to 3rd shift, 12am to 8am.¬† I will work every weekend and have 2 days off during the week.¬† It’s¬†a decent paying job, so I can’t complain¬†that much.

Now a little update on my garage renovation.

My father called a “friend” who “knows his stuff” about electricity in to take a look.¬† He told me the best thing to do was to rip all the wiring out and start fresh.¬† So that’s what I did.

To quote J from episode 91, “we have some anal leakage.”¬† The main drain line for our upstairs bathrooms is leaking.¬† I called in the plumbers on this one, they recommended to replace a whole section of line.¬† I’m glad we got that home warrantee.

After we get the leakage stopped, I will start actually remodeling our garage.¬† Something I’ve always wanted, a nice garage.

I have almost everything picked out, or purchased for this renovation.  The only new things left to purchase are insulation, OSB and new light fixtures, I believe.