My tip for the day...

If you're having problems with the key fob to your car and you've replaced the battery and it still doesn't work...check and make sure you put the damn battery in the right way.  Trust me, you'll be thankful you double-checked.

Quiet night in the house.  Julian and Ashley left yesterday.  Aidan slept in and played Zelda on my nintendo most of the day.  We're going to Dave and Buster's tomorrow for his last night.  Not my favorite place, but it's what he wants to do.  Wish I could say we bonded really well and had some great conversations while he was here, but that's just now how it's going.  Nothing going wrong, we're just not close.  He may need to grow some before we can find things to bond over...I can be patient.

Hands have been sore lately.  I hope it's not arthritis.  Patty already suffers from RA along with her fibromyalgia.  I need to schedule the floats Patty got me soon.

Listened to an episode of Security Now and watched The New Screen Savers (casted to my tv from the chromebook) today.  It was nice to here and see the old TechTv folks again.  I'm happy Leo has kept this going and I hope it continues for many years to come. 

Well, winding down and gonna read for a while before going to sleep.  I'm currently reading Under a Scarlet Sky.  Story of an Italian boy/man who works to help Jews escape Italy over the Alps during WWII.  I've heard they're going to make a movie of it, but glad I'm reading the book first.

More later
Tim

Stream of thought

This isn't as much of a stream of thought as a "I need to work on my typing skills"...I've been away to long to have the thoughts go directly from brain to fingers...I'm slow right now, but hope to improve with the new chromebook...I'm also hoping that they update this damn thing quick so I can run Android apps on vice just Chrome Store stuff...

Good smells coming from the kitchen tonight.  Julian and Ashley are making fajitas.  Nice break from the abundance of beef based meals we've had over the holidays so far (exception being the butter chicken I made that was realllllly good).  I made meatballs on Christmas eve, and prime rib for Christmas dinner.  Both were "okay" by rating, but others seemed to enjoy.   Next year I think we're going to go simpler...If we're not in Mexico, then I'm going to be making stews that will not only fill the house with comforting smells, but allow folks to graze at their own pace.

Blood pressure has been really off this week.  I need to exercise and meditate soon and start working on getting it back down.  Patty got me a 4 pack of floats that I'm really looking forward to.  I love floating as a way to relax.  She did good.  I got her tickets for us to see Book of Mormon this spring.  I had already got her Game of Thrones live tickets for her birthday, and Hamilton tickets as a "just because" gift.  It's nice that we'll be able to get out and do things together.  Patty is also looking at getting us movie pass so that we can have another reason to get out of the house. 

I'm looking at getting a stand for my mountain bike (well actually a magnetic trainer) so that I can ride it in the garage on days when I don't want to leave the house...might even be able to bring it in the den some days and ride during work...I'm hoping I can get the treadmill settled somewhere and have it still be functional.  The blood pressure and the current pain in my hands (as well as my weight) has me scared about my health more than I've ever been and I want to correct it as much as possible.  Wish me luck.

Amber got engaged.  That was funny to hear, but I'm happy for her.  The "it's going to be a long engagement" text I got speaks both to her fear of commitment and possibly the fact that in some ways she's settling on this guy.  Her and I would have made a good couple if it had worked out, but I think each is now content with the direction our lives went...

Need to wrap it up for now...I really think I'll be able to do more of this now that I have a keyboard in my lap whenever I want one...

More later
EZ

Just Testing

Got a new chromebook for Christmas...just checking out how well the keyboard etc work.


More later
EZ

Thanksgiving 2017

Thought I was going away didn’t you?  Well I’m still here.  Thanksgiving was one of our most successful holidays yet.  Julian got a little drunk and obnoxious towards the end of Wednesday evening, but recovered quite well for the rest of the weekend.  No issues with food, nobody burned, no strange rashes….A good time was had by all…

Working on setting up a quick trip to Ft Campbell to get Windows 10 installed on one of my laptops…apparently this takes an act of god and approval from congress before it will happen.  I’m just looking forward to a day on the road without anything else to think about….

Back in a few, I have a meeting…

Well the meeting ran long…it was also somewhat pointless and could have been handled in a short email, but we decided to waste an hour instead…

Christmas gifts starting to arrive…I have this time of year.  I’m not opposed to gifts, I would just rather not have to reset my budget or lose ground in paying off bills each year because we decide to overspend.  I didn’t put any emotion or thought at all into Patty’s gifts this year (to be fair to myself I did get the Game of Thrones live tickets for her birthday and Hamilton tickets just because so I don’t feel too bad) I just went through her Amazon wishlist until I reached the budget I had set.  Aidan will be here this year (he may be calling himself Emrys, but I’m not willing to make that change).  I’m hoping to encourage him (and myself) to start exercising more.  He’s young and already in very poor shape.  That is a bit upsetting.  I don’t feel like we have a real father/son relationship…I feel like I’m more of an obligation he would be happier not dealing with…it may just be his age or his generation….

Still haven’t watched The Last Waltz yet…mostly a logistics issue.  I did manage to catch Planes, Trains and Automobiles a few times Thanksgiving day.  I live the idea of sticking to traditions…

Hard to get over here to the laptop and not have anyone else around at the same time…Guess my blogging may just become something I do to take a few minute break from work….

Got to see and catch up with Kami on Saturday.  It had been about 10 years since we last saw each other and it’s been 24/25 years since we were in Germany.  I still think of that time as my college days and have fond memories of my friends from that era in my life.

Front row seats to the end of the world…

I guess you can say that I’m too old for this shit.  We have an incompetent president and staff (who are systematically destroying every policy put in place by the previous administration), an opposing party that isn’t any better and a country that just doesn’t seem to give shit about fixing anything, they just want to bitch about how they were wronged by the other side….I don’t have a side I just look at the qualifications or the individual or the merit of the argument in question… Checking social media only makes me angry these days… I almost wish I could build an anachronistic town that is permanently stuck in the early 90’s…Life seemed so much simpler then.  The music was better for sure.  Anyway, I don’t want to get too negative right now…

I’m trying to get myself back into blogging…mostly so I have something to look back on a remember what life was like when I was younger (maybe try and capture the mood, spirit and events of my life in way that will accurately tell the story years from now when I look back)…I still go back regularly and read old post from 10+ years ago when I was still fairly active in blogging.  Blogging for the fun of writing seems to have gone out of style now…most blogs are political rants.

Favorite entertainment medium right now is podcast.  I love putting on one of my regulars when I get in bed for the night…something about the familiar voice that I find comforting.  Two favorites are Never Not Funny by Jimmy Pardo and The Chick McGee show.  I think Pardo has it down a little better (and makes regular updates) but Chick’s views on life resonate with me…

I feel like I don’t really live any more….not sure exactly when I died though…I still love music (bluegrass in particular of late), but I don’t have the desire to attend a concert or festival…Most of that stems from not having someone to go with.  Patty and I don’t really have the same taste in music.  At 44 I find it almost impossible to meet people I can be friends with who have enough similar interest.  I’m glad I’m with Patty, but I really wish I didn’t live in the Midwest…it’s depressing here. 

I need a hobby…I’ve never really gotten into anything.  I tend to lose interest once I learn the basics.  I think I might try astronomy though…I’ve always loved looking at the stars….maybe that will get me back into camping as well (they two seem to go hand in hand to me). 

Okay so this is day one of trying again…Not my best post over, not my worst. 

More later

Tim

Thanksgiving

OK, so it's Turkey day...mine is sitting in a tub of water right now. It was still a little frozen this morning, but seems OK now. I'll prep it and get it in the oven in a couple of hours. It's a small one, so should be good to go by this afternoon. Taking a break from trying to clean up my place. I get happy just thinking about Patty. When it comes to Christmas, Patty is getting the better end of the deal. I'm getting her the large size photo printer she wants, and an Ipod touch, and most of the Jane Austen movies she had on her wish list. A part of me sees me and Patty ending up together and being happy (at least on some level) together. We'll each have that other person out there who makes our collective hearts sing, but we'll comfort each other. We're also both mature enough to realize that you don't always get the fairy-tale ending in life.

Watching Joan Biaz sing on "The Last Waltz". It's one of my Thanksgiving traditions. I also like to listen to "Alice's Restaurant"...other than that, it's turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes and the rest of the usual food stuff. Will probably end up going to see the Twilight movie tonight. I started the 4th book last night. It hasn't received the best reviews, so I hope it doens't ruin the series for me....I also hope the movie does the first book justice.

Just remembering last Thanksgiving...I drove up from Panama City Beach to be with Patty and her mom and son....Patty burned her arm with gravy...not fun. Later (or possibly the next day) she broke out in hives...we think it may have been the pet carpet cleaner stuff...we had moved furniture around in her bedroom and she was crawling on the floor quite a bit as we did...anyway, she was miserable for a couple of days, but got better.

Was the Macy's parade always so lame? I remember loving it as a kid.

Rise from the dead

So it's been years...and well let's see what has changed...

I got out of the Air Force...maybe you already knew that. Moved to Detroit, but couldn't find a job. Got a call from Wynne and Brian down in Florida saying that they had a job for me... I thought about for a few weeks, and then decided I had to take it. At the time I was very concentrated on getting Aidan back with me. The job turned out to be very good. I lived in Panama City Beach form almost 3 years (I'll probably use another blog to fill you in on that). Then I moved here to O'Fallon, IL (near St Louis for anyone not willing to pull it up on Gooogle maps). I got a job that was satisfactory, but not anything to rave about. After the contract switched to a new company I did stay on, and I work with some very good people, who help make showing up every day worth it. I'll also use another post to try and cover everything that's happened since moving up here...like moving into one place, then moving into my own place...

So why am I back? I need a place to start putting my thoughts together again. I'm at a very confusing point in my life. I happened to stumble across my old blog and started reading it... I got nostalgic for how I used to keep things updated pretty regularly. I want to get back to that. I want to be able to look back years from now and have some sort of record of how my life went... This time around I would like to do it without many of the restrictions I use to put on myself... I would blog often, and just make comments on the day, and life with Aidan etc, but I would often edit myself based on who I knew would be reading...I don't want to do that any more. I've had good and bad things happen in my life. I've hurt others and been hurt. I've made others happy, and some have done that for me...so now as I begin my trial experiment of blogging again I will not hold back.

I'm at a point where I'm feeling pressure to know what it is I really want in life, and to set myself on the path that will most likely help me to get it. I'm probably the only one who that will be interesting to, but who cares? I'm not advertising that this blog even exist any more. I'm just going to use it as my journal and keep living my life. I'll also put in the light, weird, neurotic thoughts that cross my mind like I used to...just because I can still make myself laugh, and hope that I always will...

OK, it's almost 11. I'm sleeping at Patty's tonight. I wish she knew how much I just enjoy having her next to me...

Gotta go kids

Cheers!

Just Checking

So it seems myspace doesn't have very good archive features...so I'm thinking about coming back to the blogger site...all in favor say I.

Going Private

I've been re-reading my post from the last year or so. They provide a quick glimpse into what I was doing, but lack any emotion, and fail to capture the scope of my thoughts on many levels. The reason for this I feel is that I was posting for an audience (a small one). I hold things back to avoid confusion, anger, whatever. I was trying to please everyone, and the result is that I don't really have anything to go back and see what kind of person I really was/am. So, I'm going to make sure I capture everything I have hear and save it off to disk, then I'm going to get rid of this site and just do a private journal on my laptop. I don't think a public forum is the right place for the type of writing I want to do. Farewell and you can always keep in touch via email.

Cheers!
Tim












...Oh, and I'm moving back to Michigan this summer...

Tired of the fake postings

I'm changing the ability to post to members only. I'll add the people who post regularly as members to my site when I get home tonight.

Cheers
Tim

No pics from Halloween

My camera was completely out of power. My friends Lori and Andres took some of the kids though, so I should have copies soon. In the mean time, here's some recent pics of Aidan...




Aidan doing warmups

A picture of me just after getting my t-shirt on

Aidan on the slide at the fall festival

A good pic of his smile...

Another of Aidan on the slide...

Soccer and Halloween

Finished off the soccer season tonight with a pizza party. We passed out trophies and had cake. The kids got me an engraved key chain that is very cool. I also got a team picture signed by all of the kids. Aidan loved that he got a trophy. I placed it on one of the book shelves in the living room and let him know it was "the place of honor".

We got our Halloween costumes tonight. Aidan is going as a Power Ranger. He didn't want to be any of the home made costumes I suggested. I'm going as Arthur Dent from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Basically it means I'll be wearing my bathrobe and carrying a towel around. Aidan is doing a sleepover at the gymnastics place on Friday, and I'm going out with some friends. Should be a good time.

We're doing take two of the jack-o-lantern tomorrow night

Geek Hobbies

Starting two geek hobbies. First one is coin collecting with my son. We're starting small by getting all the currently available state coins. I'll probably get him a collecting kit for christmas.

Second hobby is going to be matting and framing. I'm going to order some equipment so I can do this at home. I think I've just finally reached an age where I need something to do in my spare time that doesn't involve being naked.

Saw some disturbing news piece last night that highlighted twin 12 year old girls who are home schooled and brainwashed. These girls travel around singing songs about how Hitler was a great man, and how they wish black people didn't exist...congrats to the mom for raising America's most fucked up kids. It was obvious from watching that the answers they provided were not their own opinion, just a repeat of what they've been told by those who have influence over them. At some point though I fear what they repeat may reach a level where it can't be undone, and become their actual way of thinking...

Open Office

For those of you who haven't tried it, or need free software that performs all of the functions of Microsoft Office, I suggest downloading a copy of Open Office

You can import and export all your documents easily, and it's an open source program so it's free. I've been using it for a while and I really like it.

French Onion Soup

I made this last week. It was awesome. Even Aidan liked it. The cheese is a little pricey, but worth it...

6 tablespoons butter
8 medium size onions, sliced thinly
4 thyme sprigs, leaves stripped
1/2 cup sherry
4 cups brown chicken broth
2 cups beef broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
French bread croutons
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese


In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, add butter and melt over medium heat. Add the onions and lower the heat to medium low. Add the thyme leaves and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions start to turn golden brown, about 25 minutes. Add the sherry and cook until the sherry is almost completely evaporated and the onions are brown, about 15 minutes.
Add the stocks and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Ladle the soup into 8 oven-proof soup bowls. Place the soup bowls on a sheet pan. Place the croutons on top of the soup, to cover. Top each bowl with 1/2 cup grated cheese. Place in the oven and cook until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly, about 10 minutes.


Good stuff...got the recipe off of Emeril except he used chicken and veal stock instead of broth...Aidan and I are going to start finding one new recipe a week that we make together. As I've given up McD's forever (really bad experience involving raw meat and what I think was mold), home cooked will work out fine. I just wish I had a good set of knives. Mine are a cheapo set called Chicago cutlery...don't ever buy that brand...the knives suck.

Birthday came and went...more of a big waste of time. Didn't do anything. Last year was really great. I had a Thai dinner with Jeff and Karen and then went to the movies, and then that weekend I flew out to see Amber and we went on a Blues music riverboat cruise.

That's all for now kids...

Cheers
Tim

Cancer N Stuff...

I'm working on the committee for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life for Panama City Beach. I'm the Retention Chairperson. I'm also working on getting some new teams signed up this year so that we break our goal. I'm working with some good people, and I hope it turns out to be a rewarding experience.

It will be my birthday in a few days. I may get myself the new Fiona Apple and Depeche Mode albums, but other than that not really doing anything. Aidan has soccer game that morning, then we're going to a birthday party for my friend's son.

I'm going to start running again at lunch time, just so I have a reason to leave the office...

It was nice to see Bush and some military members deployed to Iraq get caught on tape scripting their "unrehearsed and unbiased" interview. He's such a dick. And the military people who get on there and agree to just say whatever they're told to say should hang their fucking heads in shame...no integrity any more...

Need some new books to read, so send me some suggestions...

Small chance I may end up asking for the Team Lead position at Ramstein... just a thought at this point, but I'll keep you posted.

My week without meat ended at lunchtime yesterday at Hardees... Going without meat makes you feel hungry all the time...I can't live like that.

No meat for a week

I'm trying to go the whole week without eating meat...more for morbid curiosity than any real health issue...I've stocked up on fruits, cheese and bread. I have normal food for Aidan, but he we could both stand to improve our diets.

One more week of class, then I'm done until Jan. Actually I'll be doing some DANTES test each month because some of my technical credits don't transfer over to my school. They suggested I just do the simple humanities and health type test just to cover credits I need to graduate. I'm not really too worried about it.

I'm finally turning in my application to CSC in the morning, and I should make the switch on the 10th. The raise equates to about an extra grand a month after taxes... This time next year I should only have my car payment left as a major bill.. I'm also glad I'll be able to put more away for Aidan.

Aidan has gotten A's on all of his spelling test this year. Still waiting to see if they move him to 2nd grade for his reading classes. He just needs to work on his handwriting, but after looking at my own, I know where he gets it...

Bought a new futon, now I just need to re-arrange the office so everything will fit when it arrives...

"BushClintonKatrinafund"...why the hell couldn't they leave their names off? This is why we can't have nice things...

Allergies have been killing me lately, but I think the heaviest of it is finally over...we're expecting rain for the next couple of days, so that should help....

Finally have some movies to take Aidan to. We're going to Corpse Bride, and then the new Wallace and Grommit, and then Chicken Little...and this Christmas his mom and I will take him to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe...

That's about all for now...I was really worn out for the last month or so because of work and school, but that seems to be ending now...I actually have energy right now and feel pretty good.

Football season et al...

I've been working weekends and long hours lately, so I haven't had time to post. Aidan and I are doing good. His teacher is looking into sending him to the 2nd grade class for his reading since he's ahead of the others in his class. He also has gotten all A's on his spelling test. He's getting better at soccer too.

It's football season again, but it doesn't feel like it yet. Too hot here. I need some fall weather soon. My allergies were really bad over the weekend, but seem ok now.

I finally get to get out and do some adult things Friday. Going to TGIF's for drinks with some of the other soccer coaches, while the kids are at fun night at the local gymnastics center. We've got a DD set up so everything should be cool.

That's about it for now...
Tim

I can't wait to see this!