I have seen some shit in my short 28 years of life here on the planet that we call home. I have seen the fall of the twin towers. I have seen the declarations of war. I have seen suicides and murders. I have seen tears and agony. Happiness and smiles. Hugs and kisses. Friends and enemies. Out of all of that stuff, I have been able to handle pretty much all of it with a quiet stoic voice. I have seen crazy "challenges" that have gone viral and populated a social media with the rapidity of a nasty virus. Again, I have stood by and watched as people did some of the stupidest things that I have ever seen. I've witnessed on the news about the shootings in schools and movie theaters. People going "crazy" and killing other people. Race crimes out the yin yang because somebody has some beef with someone else. Criminals getting off free because of a myriad of reasons. Things that shouldn't happen are happening. It bothers the living crap out of me.
I say all this because I am finally tired of seeing it all happen. I'm tired of watching people shoot up places because they feel they are superior to others. I'm tired of seeing people get into gang fights or having race crimes happens because you had a misunderstanding and you think the violence will solve it all. I lead into all of this because we, as Americans, are fucking stupid some times. For example, one of the most recent challenges that I have been seeing flying all over the interwebs is this "Stomping the American Flag". Like seriously? Do you have nothing better to do than to hate on a symbol? Or let's go to the recent decision of the state of South Carolina and them removing the Confederate Battle Flag from their government buildings. Why? Why would you remove something that is a part of the history of the United States? Is it because you fear this symbol? Is it because you are "offended" by it? Or is it because some racist little asshole shot up a church in your state, killing 9 church folk, because he "was doing what god wanted him to do"? So in your panic to "find an answer", you petitioned to have a national symbol removed? You are under the belief that it symbolizes racism and hatred. Have you actually done any research at all? Have you looked past your insecurities and discrimination to actually find the right answer before you went ahead and did something that I see as stupid?
Before you all start barraging me with links and hate mail about why I am wrong or how I am going to hell because you think I support this recent act of lunacy, I want you all to know that I actually did some research because I feel that this is a topic, while touchy, is a rather good one. I looked up the meaning of the Confederate Battle Flag and it's history. I went into different sites because no good researcher only uses one site to find all of his/her information. So while I was at work the other day, doing nothing, I perused about 15 websites about the Confederate Flag. I read all manner of interpretations and reasoning behind all of the hatred and whatnot that is surrounding this part of our history. The one thing that sticks out the most is this one phrase: "Only the winners write the history. The Yanks won so they got to write about what happened." Take that at face value. In all reality, this is probably the truest statement that I have seen written. Why would you let the loser write about what happened? If you were boxing against someone and you lost, what would they talk about in the papers? THE WINNER! You, as the loser, would get mentioned, but that is roughly about it.
It is people like the politicians that are in office now and those that have severe knee jerk reactions because they think that they have "to do something" when a tragedy happens is what is completely wrong with the world right now. I could say all day that I wish for world peace, but I know in my heart that it is an impossibility. It is because of people and their inability to be flexible. To be understanding of others. To just shut the fuck up and listen.
I am also one of those people that believe in evolution. I don't really care what we evolved from, I just know that we didn't just show the fuck up one day and call it good. We all had to start somewhere. I was reading this article last week while at work. I was perusing the webs and I came upon this article about this 22 year old guy that died over the 4th of July weekend. At first, I was a little sad because no parent ever wants to bury their child. It's not the natural order or process of things in life. Sometimes that is unavoidable and you take it and roll with it, you move on. As I was reading this article, I was dumbfounded to see that it was all this guy's fault. Let me set this up for you. Guy was 22. Legal drinking age. Hanging out at a party with his friends and family. Has fireworks that he is setting off. One in particular is a reloadable mortar. Gets the bright idea to reload it and tell people that he is going to light it off while it is on his head. People tried to stop him and failed. He lit it off. He now lays 6 feet under.
Now to me, I think this dude needs the Darwin award. Evolution and Natural Selection has done it's job. They took someone who wasn't too bright and removed him from the equation. While I feel for the family, I still have to laugh because this all could have been avoided. A few days later I was again perusing the news and saw another article about the mother of said deceased man calling for stricter laws when it comes to fireworks. Her main arguing point was that "he thought it was a dud." I'll just let you think about that last statement right there........ Remember, he had a RELOADABLE mortar that he just lit off........ Finished reading the statement? Got what she said in your head? See how STUPID it is? Fortunately, the cop like person that they interviewed hit the nail on the head when he made a statement saying that he thought it was highly unlikely that the dead dude thought the mortar was a dud. Again, the knee jerk reaction I mentioned earlier. While in the state of Washington it only costs $10 dollars to go out and get your pyrotechnics license, you save yourself a whole lot of hassle is you just THINK about what it is you are doing. The end of the article made me chuckle because they mentioned the use of common sense. In fact, I even posted it to my Facebook because I found it so humorous. What this whole situation boils down to is the ability for people to think about what they do before they do it. It leads to the age old saying of "If he jumped off of a bridge, would you do it?"
Let the hate mail and nasty comments commence since I am sure that I pissed someone off by even posting this. If you don't like my view point, oh well. My opinion and my freedom of speech that I personally FIGHT FOR TO PROTECT. I'm not saying that you are wrong, I'm just saying, think about it. Mull it over and go do some actual research. The world is ruled by technology nowadays so it won't be too hard for you to go find what I mentioned. Just don't be lazy and actually read what you find. Don't let the news and the social media sway you from being a THINKING person capable of your OWN THOUGHTS.
With that in mind,
I'm OUT!!!
Sunday, July 12, 2015
It's Been A While....
Since I last talked to you guys. Things have been going insane over the course of the last month. I have spent countless hours at work and at home like normal. Spent some nights on watch when I would have rather been spending it asleep at home. You know, the typical things that you would hear a service member whine about. Fights have been had and tears have been shed. Things aren't always sunshine and rainbows around here and we definitely don't try to tell you that it is.
I think I am coming down with a small cold or something because my nose has been runny/stuffy for the last two days. I really should go look for the medicine to see if I can kind of cut this off at the pass. I hate being sick and my wife hates me when I'm sick. I turn into a huge baby about it. I'm eating soup right now so hopefully that will help some. I'm not sure if I told you guys, but I am so ready to get back to a submarine. It's not that I haven't enjoyed shore duty because I have, but I am ready to get back to the normal routine and the job that the Navy is paying me to do.
As I sit here at the desk listening to the kid's show that is playing on the TV and the autoplay of my phone game, I am reminded that today is Sunday and I have to go back to work tomorrow. These last two weeks at work have been short weeks with only four days in them. The last week of June went by crazy fast and I rolled right into the 4th of July weekend like nobody's business. The following week, last week, took forever to get through. Then again, my week did start on a Tuesday so I guess it threw off everything else for the week that was supposed to happen. I actually felt very accomplished last week while I was at work. I legitimately did actual work. I didn't go down to the boat or anything, but I did do a lot of paperwork and the turning in of parts. Then I have spent pretty much the last two days doing virtually nothing. I have dishes and such, but nothing to major. Last Sunday I went all hog wild on the house and cleaned pretty much everything. It was nuts!!
Last night was pretty awesome for all of the boys. We were listening to the live broadcast that my uncle does on a weekly basis and he did a few shoutouts for them and got them to dance. Last night was also the first time that they have gotten to stay up and hear the whole show. Normally, I just put it on and only turn it loud enough for me to hear because I can escape through the music to a happy place. Well, I was drowning the babies last night (bath night) and so I put it on so that I could listen to it while I was tending to them. Needless to say, we stayed up and listened to the whole show. They enjoyed it because they got to listen to the music and dance. It made their day when they heard their names said over the speakers. Beverly was downstairs sleeping because her job is..... well...... I think I will skip out on this subject because it does tend to piss me off and I'm in a good mood so I really don't want to ruin it right now. I think I need another dose of soup. Hold on a sec....... Need to go cook it.... Need it to cool down..... Theoretically she is going to part time hours soon. She told me that in September she is only going to be working two days a week. Friday and Saturday on the grave shift. Sounds like it will be easy enough for her to handle. She is also supposedly not working any other shift nor working any other days. I'll believe that when I see it though.
She is currently on a road trip with one of her friends. They are taking a 14 hour round trip down to southern Oregon to pick up a dog. She hasn't slept the last couple days. Well, slept for more than a few hours for a nap. She got home from work and went all impromptu which usually isn't like her. It's whatever. Hopefully, they make it back in time for me to go to work in the morning. I have money that says I am going to come home from work tomorrow to her sleeping on the couch. My entire paycheck says that is what is going to happen. It's like I know my wife or something.
Is it bad that I slowly count down the hours until bedtime for my kids? It's not that I don't like them, I think it's just that I'm getting older and the only thing I have been wanting to do recently is sleep. I am actually surprised that the last couple days I have gotten to sleep in. Yesterday, I got up before all of the kids. Surprised the hell out of me. I drank my coffee in peace and I even got to watch about half of the 1989 Batman before they all got up and came downstairs. This whole having an extra room upstairs for all of their toys makes things so much easier. If they are all upstairs, then I can watch whatever I want to watch. I do need to get a universal remote for the play room though so that we can have them start watching their movies and stuff upstairs. Then again, getting a new TV for mine and the wife's room sounds like a better idea. That way there they can have a bigger TV and a built in DVD player. Currently, they have my XBox 360 in there as it is collecting dust. I haven't played on it in god knows how long. I think I will hook it up to my TV in my bedroom tonight and play some on it. Although I do need to get my games and controller back from one of my wife's friends since she borrowed some stuff from me.
Well, I guess that it is for this post here in the Arena. It is time for me to get back to being a dad and stop spacing out here on the computer. All I keep hearing is the fighting going on on the TV which means that the Netflix is getting its use out of us. We totally got rid of cable since we pretty much watch everything on the Playstation anyways. Off to go find myself something to watch.
I'm out!!!!
I think I am coming down with a small cold or something because my nose has been runny/stuffy for the last two days. I really should go look for the medicine to see if I can kind of cut this off at the pass. I hate being sick and my wife hates me when I'm sick. I turn into a huge baby about it. I'm eating soup right now so hopefully that will help some. I'm not sure if I told you guys, but I am so ready to get back to a submarine. It's not that I haven't enjoyed shore duty because I have, but I am ready to get back to the normal routine and the job that the Navy is paying me to do.
As I sit here at the desk listening to the kid's show that is playing on the TV and the autoplay of my phone game, I am reminded that today is Sunday and I have to go back to work tomorrow. These last two weeks at work have been short weeks with only four days in them. The last week of June went by crazy fast and I rolled right into the 4th of July weekend like nobody's business. The following week, last week, took forever to get through. Then again, my week did start on a Tuesday so I guess it threw off everything else for the week that was supposed to happen. I actually felt very accomplished last week while I was at work. I legitimately did actual work. I didn't go down to the boat or anything, but I did do a lot of paperwork and the turning in of parts. Then I have spent pretty much the last two days doing virtually nothing. I have dishes and such, but nothing to major. Last Sunday I went all hog wild on the house and cleaned pretty much everything. It was nuts!!
Last night was pretty awesome for all of the boys. We were listening to the live broadcast that my uncle does on a weekly basis and he did a few shoutouts for them and got them to dance. Last night was also the first time that they have gotten to stay up and hear the whole show. Normally, I just put it on and only turn it loud enough for me to hear because I can escape through the music to a happy place. Well, I was drowning the babies last night (bath night) and so I put it on so that I could listen to it while I was tending to them. Needless to say, we stayed up and listened to the whole show. They enjoyed it because they got to listen to the music and dance. It made their day when they heard their names said over the speakers. Beverly was downstairs sleeping because her job is..... well...... I think I will skip out on this subject because it does tend to piss me off and I'm in a good mood so I really don't want to ruin it right now. I think I need another dose of soup. Hold on a sec....... Need to go cook it.... Need it to cool down..... Theoretically she is going to part time hours soon. She told me that in September she is only going to be working two days a week. Friday and Saturday on the grave shift. Sounds like it will be easy enough for her to handle. She is also supposedly not working any other shift nor working any other days. I'll believe that when I see it though.
She is currently on a road trip with one of her friends. They are taking a 14 hour round trip down to southern Oregon to pick up a dog. She hasn't slept the last couple days. Well, slept for more than a few hours for a nap. She got home from work and went all impromptu which usually isn't like her. It's whatever. Hopefully, they make it back in time for me to go to work in the morning. I have money that says I am going to come home from work tomorrow to her sleeping on the couch. My entire paycheck says that is what is going to happen. It's like I know my wife or something.
Is it bad that I slowly count down the hours until bedtime for my kids? It's not that I don't like them, I think it's just that I'm getting older and the only thing I have been wanting to do recently is sleep. I am actually surprised that the last couple days I have gotten to sleep in. Yesterday, I got up before all of the kids. Surprised the hell out of me. I drank my coffee in peace and I even got to watch about half of the 1989 Batman before they all got up and came downstairs. This whole having an extra room upstairs for all of their toys makes things so much easier. If they are all upstairs, then I can watch whatever I want to watch. I do need to get a universal remote for the play room though so that we can have them start watching their movies and stuff upstairs. Then again, getting a new TV for mine and the wife's room sounds like a better idea. That way there they can have a bigger TV and a built in DVD player. Currently, they have my XBox 360 in there as it is collecting dust. I haven't played on it in god knows how long. I think I will hook it up to my TV in my bedroom tonight and play some on it. Although I do need to get my games and controller back from one of my wife's friends since she borrowed some stuff from me.
Well, I guess that it is for this post here in the Arena. It is time for me to get back to being a dad and stop spacing out here on the computer. All I keep hearing is the fighting going on on the TV which means that the Netflix is getting its use out of us. We totally got rid of cable since we pretty much watch everything on the Playstation anyways. Off to go find myself something to watch.
I'm out!!!!
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Easy Saturdays are the best
It's another Saturday that has given us sunshine and warm weather. It also gave me a chance to catch up on housework and other things that were needing my attention. Nothing better than getting a nice day to do the simple things and relax. As of right now, I have laundry going and the TV is equipped with the Netflix that has been streaming Fraiser for the last couple of hours.
There seems to be a method that goes with being able to be caught up with stuff that makes a day easier. I spent the morning doing a quick cleaning of the kitchen and I dabbled in the dishes. Some of the dishes still need to be done, but I moved on to the living room so that I could at least show progress to my lady since she got up around 4 this morning to go to work. It's this new schedule thing that she is trying out. It gives her Thursday and Friday off so that she can hang out with the boys and whatnot so that she isn't always at work. I enjoy it since I know that I will get her during the week instead of worrying about when her days off are.
She also put in her notice at work telling them that she is quitting in September. She will be full time for a little while longer and then she will start cutting back her hours at the restaurant and be part time. I can't wait until that happens because I do enjoy her being home as much as I like her earning her own money. The part time will be nice because she will be at home a lot more than normal. She will still have days where she works, but I think that she is going to only be working for 3 or 4 days out of the week. Once September rolls around she will go back to being a stay-at-home mom. I'm excited for that because then I know that she will be happy and hopefully start regaining her health so that she isn't always so stressed out and sore. I do hope that it will help her be able to sleep at night because she has been having issues with that recently.
I would like to make this a little longer, but I do have to finish some of the laundry and get ready to start supper. Plus, I know that the radio show is coming on later tonight so I want to be present for that as well. There are so many things that I would like to do tonight, but I do have chores that I need to get done so that everything can be done for tomorrow. With that information, I gotta go and I will be back later to talk at you some more.
I'm OUT!!!
There seems to be a method that goes with being able to be caught up with stuff that makes a day easier. I spent the morning doing a quick cleaning of the kitchen and I dabbled in the dishes. Some of the dishes still need to be done, but I moved on to the living room so that I could at least show progress to my lady since she got up around 4 this morning to go to work. It's this new schedule thing that she is trying out. It gives her Thursday and Friday off so that she can hang out with the boys and whatnot so that she isn't always at work. I enjoy it since I know that I will get her during the week instead of worrying about when her days off are.
She also put in her notice at work telling them that she is quitting in September. She will be full time for a little while longer and then she will start cutting back her hours at the restaurant and be part time. I can't wait until that happens because I do enjoy her being home as much as I like her earning her own money. The part time will be nice because she will be at home a lot more than normal. She will still have days where she works, but I think that she is going to only be working for 3 or 4 days out of the week. Once September rolls around she will go back to being a stay-at-home mom. I'm excited for that because then I know that she will be happy and hopefully start regaining her health so that she isn't always so stressed out and sore. I do hope that it will help her be able to sleep at night because she has been having issues with that recently.
I would like to make this a little longer, but I do have to finish some of the laundry and get ready to start supper. Plus, I know that the radio show is coming on later tonight so I want to be present for that as well. There are so many things that I would like to do tonight, but I do have chores that I need to get done so that everything can be done for tomorrow. With that information, I gotta go and I will be back later to talk at you some more.
I'm OUT!!!
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
As I Reflect
As I reflect on everything that has gone on in my life, whether it was good or bad, I look to the one positive thing that has rung true for the last decade. Today marks my 10 year Naval anniversary. Uncle Sam and I have been steady for the last 10 years. Last Friday, I told the Uncle that I would give him another 4 years of service. There was a little bit of paperwork, a lot of pictures and handshakes, congratulations all around. It felt good to tack on another 4 years to an already extensive contract.
Now one might say, "Josh, it's only been 10 years" to which my retort would be, "That's like an eternity some days." Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have done more than my initial enlistment if I didn't like my job and the loads of fun that can be had beneath the waves, but there are just days that are worse than others. It is that way with every job. You just have to find more good moments than bad. Ten years ago today, I was sitting in a classroom at RTC Great Lakes getting a routine "YFG" speech from a Chief. The division was fresh of the bus and working through fatigue since we had a late night flight from wherever it was we were coming from. We all arrived on a charter bus at around midnight. Most of us slept on the bus that took us from the airport to the base. When we finally stopped, most of us were ripped from our pleasant dreams of home and when we would see it again by the yelling of grown men telling us to "MOVE MOVE MOVE!!" There really was no questioning anything that they were saying. It was just do it as fast as possible so that the yelling would quit. They got us lined up and in ranks. The yelling continued and then we were marched into a room with a plethora of pay phones. As a parent of four children, I dread the day that there is a possibility of getting that late night phone call that says my child is dead. I dread it severely. It might never happen in my lifetime, but you stay on your toes. I had to call my mom and dad at like 1 or 2 in the morning to tell them that I arrived at RTC safe and sound and that I wasn't sure when I would talk to them again. I told them that I loved them and that I would see them again soon. The rest of that day was spent running to every place that the Recruit Division Commanders (RDCs) needed to take us to get us checked in and our careers started. There was no sleeping AT ALL during that first day. There was an assembly line of doctors that gave us shots, dentists that looked at our teeth, people shepherding us around to get our uniforms, and then more running with a seabag on our backs.
After a full 20 hours of being awake and moving, we finally got to set up our racks and settle down for the night. That night was definitely a night that I remember sleeping good. Things got progressively harder as boot camp wore on, but I will never forget that first day. From there I moved on to BESS in Connecticut and further on from there to my first submarine. The rest is, how they say, history for me. I have been thriving and succeeding as much as I can for the last 10 years. I have fallen and failed on more than one occasion. It's just part of life. I have met a lot of people along the way. I thank most of them for helping me get to where I am. Without their tutelage, I wouldn't have made it past my first enlistment. I consider a lot of the people that have crossed my path to be brothers and a few sisters. I served onboard a submarine with women on it. It wasn't as bad as a lot of you would make it out to be. I'm under the belief that as long as a person does their job, I don't care if they are male or female.
So enjoy the quick trip into my past and I hope that you spend some time reflecting on your past and seeing what it was that led you to the place that you are today. There is nothing better than looking back at all of the fun memories that life can bring you. Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday and we will see you back again for the next issue of The Arena.
I'm out!!!
Now one might say, "Josh, it's only been 10 years" to which my retort would be, "That's like an eternity some days." Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have done more than my initial enlistment if I didn't like my job and the loads of fun that can be had beneath the waves, but there are just days that are worse than others. It is that way with every job. You just have to find more good moments than bad. Ten years ago today, I was sitting in a classroom at RTC Great Lakes getting a routine "YFG" speech from a Chief. The division was fresh of the bus and working through fatigue since we had a late night flight from wherever it was we were coming from. We all arrived on a charter bus at around midnight. Most of us slept on the bus that took us from the airport to the base. When we finally stopped, most of us were ripped from our pleasant dreams of home and when we would see it again by the yelling of grown men telling us to "MOVE MOVE MOVE!!" There really was no questioning anything that they were saying. It was just do it as fast as possible so that the yelling would quit. They got us lined up and in ranks. The yelling continued and then we were marched into a room with a plethora of pay phones. As a parent of four children, I dread the day that there is a possibility of getting that late night phone call that says my child is dead. I dread it severely. It might never happen in my lifetime, but you stay on your toes. I had to call my mom and dad at like 1 or 2 in the morning to tell them that I arrived at RTC safe and sound and that I wasn't sure when I would talk to them again. I told them that I loved them and that I would see them again soon. The rest of that day was spent running to every place that the Recruit Division Commanders (RDCs) needed to take us to get us checked in and our careers started. There was no sleeping AT ALL during that first day. There was an assembly line of doctors that gave us shots, dentists that looked at our teeth, people shepherding us around to get our uniforms, and then more running with a seabag on our backs.
After a full 20 hours of being awake and moving, we finally got to set up our racks and settle down for the night. That night was definitely a night that I remember sleeping good. Things got progressively harder as boot camp wore on, but I will never forget that first day. From there I moved on to BESS in Connecticut and further on from there to my first submarine. The rest is, how they say, history for me. I have been thriving and succeeding as much as I can for the last 10 years. I have fallen and failed on more than one occasion. It's just part of life. I have met a lot of people along the way. I thank most of them for helping me get to where I am. Without their tutelage, I wouldn't have made it past my first enlistment. I consider a lot of the people that have crossed my path to be brothers and a few sisters. I served onboard a submarine with women on it. It wasn't as bad as a lot of you would make it out to be. I'm under the belief that as long as a person does their job, I don't care if they are male or female.
So enjoy the quick trip into my past and I hope that you spend some time reflecting on your past and seeing what it was that led you to the place that you are today. There is nothing better than looking back at all of the fun memories that life can bring you. Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday and we will see you back again for the next issue of The Arena.
I'm out!!!
Friday, June 5, 2015
Bad Things Come in Threes
Hello again everyone and welcome back to the Arena. Today marks edition number 94 and it is a sad one. So let's just get started.
There is a saying that all bad things happen in threes. I can now confirm that this is probably one of the truest statements ever spoken by anyone. I have been around and lived through a lot of bad things in my life. I have lost friends and loved ones along the way. Some of the best people that I have known have been tragically taken from me either at such a young age or it was their time to go. I don't fear death nor do I fear the loss of a great thing. I have said goodbye to shipmates that were like family to me. I've had to say goodbye to family members that I wasn't ready to lose. I have been divorced once and was on the verge of a second one.
As you can see, I am no stranger to heartache and loss. I have persevered through it all because I have found the bright side of things and was able to press on with the ability to bottle it up all inside. There was always a point in time that I was inconsolable to the loss, but I was able to pull through with the help of others. I have fought tooth and nail to recover what I assumed to be a lost cause between my wife and I. This year alone, since 2015 started, has been one that has been filled with loads of frustration and heartache. Between the wife having to go through so many medical problems that it just seems like they will never end to the events of last night and early this morning, I just feel like I am numb from head to toe.
It all started last night when I got the text from my wife telling me that my oldest stepson has broken another bone. Well, two bones to be exact. According to his dad (we share custody with his dad), they were goofing around last night before bed and I guess Carter fell down just right to snap both of the bones in his lower arm just behind the wrist. They took x-rays and they are out at the doctor's office now to rebreak and reset the bones so that they can heal. He will get to spend the summer in a cast, which for him is going to suck. I know what it is like to do that. I remember breaking my arm in 6th grade. That was the worst 8 weeks of my life. Boot camp was easier that having to deal with all of the itching and being one handed. So he might have to miss out on some of the fun things that we have planned for the summer. This was bad news #1.
Bad news #2 came a few hours later when I got the message that my wife separated her right shoulder while trying to hold down her son. He was fighting the sedation that they were trying to give him to help ease his pain. For being 9 years old, he is a strong kid. I can't even say he his little because he isn't. He stands just under 4'7" and weighs roughly 120 pounds. He's a big kid for that age. I guess with all of the struggling in trying to keep him still, he managed to work her shoulder in just the right way to knock it out of place. So, after Carter and his dad went home, she got to stay and get her shoulder looked at. She still plans to go to work tonight and in the coming days because she is one tough cookie. I honestly have no idea how she does it. She is an incredibly unyielding woman. I really do admire her strength and courage to continue being the best that she can be when being dealt the hand that she has. She is currently at the hospital with Carter while they try to fix his arm. Hopefully, they won't have a need to do surgery. I will know more in a few short hours.
Around 3 in the morning here on the west coast was when I received the 3rd and final string of bad news that is probably the worst that anybody can get. I had been in and out of sleep for about an hour or so at this point because I wanted to be able to respond to my wife with everything that was going on. My phone went off with a saying from Final Fantasy Advent Children (one of my favorite movies). It's the default alert so I just assumed that it was my wife telling me what was going on. Instead it was from my father telling me that his mom, my grandmother, was gone from this world. Now, being half asleep, I was able to give a response that expressed some of my condolences. It wasn't that I was being heartless, it was just not something that I was expecting to see that early in the morning. I spent the next two and a half hours tossing and turning with my mind racing. I was unable to really get back to the REM sleep. At five thirty, my alarm went off and that was when I commenced with the numerous phone calls that I needed to make that early in the morning. My first call was to my LPO to inform him of what happened. He got the information that I needed to relay and I was excused from work. About an hour or so later, my phone started ringing again with the need of my presence on the line. This time, it was my LCPO trying to get more information from me and trying to get me the things that I needed to make sure that I was going to be alright. I gave him the same information and explanations with the information that I currently had at that time. After phone call, I made another futile attempt to sleep. My mind wasn't having any of that. It kept telling me that there was more that needed to be done and I needed to do it quickly. I had reset my alarm to seven thirty so that I could be awake to support getting Eli to school since my wife didn't get home until around five this morning after everything was all said and done. I was able to get him off to school with no issues and I have been up and out of bed since then. I made more phone calls to my Chief to give him some updated information. I called my dad to confirm some of the information so that I could pass it along. I called my duty section leader so that he knew what was going on. I spoke with my LPO again to give him a better update of the current situation since he got his ass chewed for not getting all of the information that he needed when I talked to him the first time this morning. He's new to the job so I don't blame him for not knowing everything to ask when this situation arises. He's an E-5 like I am. He hasn't had to experience a phone call like the one I gave him this morning. I even called to set up another appointment to speak with my psychologist because I know that I will need to get this off my chest at some point and she will give some insight to what I will come to experience with the coming weeks as I work through all of this.
I feel bad because it has been so long since I last talked to my grandmother. The last time I spoke to her was a little over a year ago. She was visiting my both of my uncles down in Florida like she loved doing. It was a simple visit. My Uncle Tim contacted me via Skype and my phone battery was dying even while it was connected to the charger. I sat and spoke with her as long as could because of the battery situation. My mind wasn't really into the conversation either because I was dealing with everything that was going on between my wife and I at the same time. What is really making me feel bad is that I never got to tell her goodbye or that I loved her. My phone kept cutting in and out and it completely died before we could finish our chat. She was such an awesome lady. I remember when she had her first stroke. It was the one that started it all. She lost the function of her left arm, but she always tried to have a smile on her face. It was almost 20 years ago when that happened. I remember my Uncle +Chuck Bisbee coming to live with us and sleeping on my bedroom floor. It was a bedtime ritual for me to lay out his blankets before I went to bed so that he could have a semi-comfortable place to sleep when he got home from work late at night. My dog, Midnight would keep him company. He would wake up with me in the mornings and we would ride our bikes to our respective schools. He was going through art school at the time and I was still in elementary school. He wasn't really a morning person. He still isn't if you are wondering. He is the best uncle in the entire world. Don't care what you say, nothing will take his place. Even through her divorce from my grandfather, she still managed to show her love and compassion for us. She always tried to have a smile and she never stayed mad at anyone for long. My grandfather took his own life a few years after her first stroke. Suicide and I aren't really good friends. While he was a gruff and stern individual, he was still my grandfather. I was 15 or 16 when that happened. She then met a kind and gentle man that I have the great pleasure to call my stepgrandfather. He loved her so much and treated her like a queen. He really is a great man. It was sad to hear that he had to put her into a nursing home because he couldn't take care of her anymore. My sympathies go out to him because he loved her so much. I know that she is now in a better place and that when I look around that I will catch a glimmer of her in a smile or the way my mother in-law cares for my own children. I will miss her and she will not be forgotten.
So as you can see, the bad things come in threes. I have been able to keep my mind busy most of the morning, but I knew that I had to get this out eventually. My words here can't express all of my feelings because I'm still having trouble finding all of the right words myself. I don't like seeing my child (even if he is a stepchild) hurt. I don't like seeing my wife hurt. No one likes knowing that a loved one has passed over to a place that none of us can fathom. The point of all of this is that somewhere along the way, things will start looking up and I am going to get through this. It is just something that I have to face and push through. So once I finish posting this, I will be off to continue keeping my mind occupied. I'm trying really hard to not lose it in front of my kids. I'm not trying to hide anything from them. I just don't think that they really need to worry about what is going on right now. They need to focus on being kids and having fun and playing. I can take time out for me at the end of the day when I'm in the sanctuary of my bedroom tonight. It's just really hard to keep the emotions at bay unless I am actively doing something. With that being said, I bid you all a farewell and I hope that your Friday passes smoothly and without incident. Remember to tell the ones you love what they mean to you. You never know when it could be the last chance you get to do it. Live for the day and worry about tomorrow when it comes.
*Drops the mic and walks out of the Arena*
Wickid
There is a saying that all bad things happen in threes. I can now confirm that this is probably one of the truest statements ever spoken by anyone. I have been around and lived through a lot of bad things in my life. I have lost friends and loved ones along the way. Some of the best people that I have known have been tragically taken from me either at such a young age or it was their time to go. I don't fear death nor do I fear the loss of a great thing. I have said goodbye to shipmates that were like family to me. I've had to say goodbye to family members that I wasn't ready to lose. I have been divorced once and was on the verge of a second one.
As you can see, I am no stranger to heartache and loss. I have persevered through it all because I have found the bright side of things and was able to press on with the ability to bottle it up all inside. There was always a point in time that I was inconsolable to the loss, but I was able to pull through with the help of others. I have fought tooth and nail to recover what I assumed to be a lost cause between my wife and I. This year alone, since 2015 started, has been one that has been filled with loads of frustration and heartache. Between the wife having to go through so many medical problems that it just seems like they will never end to the events of last night and early this morning, I just feel like I am numb from head to toe.
It all started last night when I got the text from my wife telling me that my oldest stepson has broken another bone. Well, two bones to be exact. According to his dad (we share custody with his dad), they were goofing around last night before bed and I guess Carter fell down just right to snap both of the bones in his lower arm just behind the wrist. They took x-rays and they are out at the doctor's office now to rebreak and reset the bones so that they can heal. He will get to spend the summer in a cast, which for him is going to suck. I know what it is like to do that. I remember breaking my arm in 6th grade. That was the worst 8 weeks of my life. Boot camp was easier that having to deal with all of the itching and being one handed. So he might have to miss out on some of the fun things that we have planned for the summer. This was bad news #1.
Bad news #2 came a few hours later when I got the message that my wife separated her right shoulder while trying to hold down her son. He was fighting the sedation that they were trying to give him to help ease his pain. For being 9 years old, he is a strong kid. I can't even say he his little because he isn't. He stands just under 4'7" and weighs roughly 120 pounds. He's a big kid for that age. I guess with all of the struggling in trying to keep him still, he managed to work her shoulder in just the right way to knock it out of place. So, after Carter and his dad went home, she got to stay and get her shoulder looked at. She still plans to go to work tonight and in the coming days because she is one tough cookie. I honestly have no idea how she does it. She is an incredibly unyielding woman. I really do admire her strength and courage to continue being the best that she can be when being dealt the hand that she has. She is currently at the hospital with Carter while they try to fix his arm. Hopefully, they won't have a need to do surgery. I will know more in a few short hours.
Around 3 in the morning here on the west coast was when I received the 3rd and final string of bad news that is probably the worst that anybody can get. I had been in and out of sleep for about an hour or so at this point because I wanted to be able to respond to my wife with everything that was going on. My phone went off with a saying from Final Fantasy Advent Children (one of my favorite movies). It's the default alert so I just assumed that it was my wife telling me what was going on. Instead it was from my father telling me that his mom, my grandmother, was gone from this world. Now, being half asleep, I was able to give a response that expressed some of my condolences. It wasn't that I was being heartless, it was just not something that I was expecting to see that early in the morning. I spent the next two and a half hours tossing and turning with my mind racing. I was unable to really get back to the REM sleep. At five thirty, my alarm went off and that was when I commenced with the numerous phone calls that I needed to make that early in the morning. My first call was to my LPO to inform him of what happened. He got the information that I needed to relay and I was excused from work. About an hour or so later, my phone started ringing again with the need of my presence on the line. This time, it was my LCPO trying to get more information from me and trying to get me the things that I needed to make sure that I was going to be alright. I gave him the same information and explanations with the information that I currently had at that time. After phone call, I made another futile attempt to sleep. My mind wasn't having any of that. It kept telling me that there was more that needed to be done and I needed to do it quickly. I had reset my alarm to seven thirty so that I could be awake to support getting Eli to school since my wife didn't get home until around five this morning after everything was all said and done. I was able to get him off to school with no issues and I have been up and out of bed since then. I made more phone calls to my Chief to give him some updated information. I called my dad to confirm some of the information so that I could pass it along. I called my duty section leader so that he knew what was going on. I spoke with my LPO again to give him a better update of the current situation since he got his ass chewed for not getting all of the information that he needed when I talked to him the first time this morning. He's new to the job so I don't blame him for not knowing everything to ask when this situation arises. He's an E-5 like I am. He hasn't had to experience a phone call like the one I gave him this morning. I even called to set up another appointment to speak with my psychologist because I know that I will need to get this off my chest at some point and she will give some insight to what I will come to experience with the coming weeks as I work through all of this.
I feel bad because it has been so long since I last talked to my grandmother. The last time I spoke to her was a little over a year ago. She was visiting my both of my uncles down in Florida like she loved doing. It was a simple visit. My Uncle Tim contacted me via Skype and my phone battery was dying even while it was connected to the charger. I sat and spoke with her as long as could because of the battery situation. My mind wasn't really into the conversation either because I was dealing with everything that was going on between my wife and I at the same time. What is really making me feel bad is that I never got to tell her goodbye or that I loved her. My phone kept cutting in and out and it completely died before we could finish our chat. She was such an awesome lady. I remember when she had her first stroke. It was the one that started it all. She lost the function of her left arm, but she always tried to have a smile on her face. It was almost 20 years ago when that happened. I remember my Uncle +Chuck Bisbee coming to live with us and sleeping on my bedroom floor. It was a bedtime ritual for me to lay out his blankets before I went to bed so that he could have a semi-comfortable place to sleep when he got home from work late at night. My dog, Midnight would keep him company. He would wake up with me in the mornings and we would ride our bikes to our respective schools. He was going through art school at the time and I was still in elementary school. He wasn't really a morning person. He still isn't if you are wondering. He is the best uncle in the entire world. Don't care what you say, nothing will take his place. Even through her divorce from my grandfather, she still managed to show her love and compassion for us. She always tried to have a smile and she never stayed mad at anyone for long. My grandfather took his own life a few years after her first stroke. Suicide and I aren't really good friends. While he was a gruff and stern individual, he was still my grandfather. I was 15 or 16 when that happened. She then met a kind and gentle man that I have the great pleasure to call my stepgrandfather. He loved her so much and treated her like a queen. He really is a great man. It was sad to hear that he had to put her into a nursing home because he couldn't take care of her anymore. My sympathies go out to him because he loved her so much. I know that she is now in a better place and that when I look around that I will catch a glimmer of her in a smile or the way my mother in-law cares for my own children. I will miss her and she will not be forgotten.
So as you can see, the bad things come in threes. I have been able to keep my mind busy most of the morning, but I knew that I had to get this out eventually. My words here can't express all of my feelings because I'm still having trouble finding all of the right words myself. I don't like seeing my child (even if he is a stepchild) hurt. I don't like seeing my wife hurt. No one likes knowing that a loved one has passed over to a place that none of us can fathom. The point of all of this is that somewhere along the way, things will start looking up and I am going to get through this. It is just something that I have to face and push through. So once I finish posting this, I will be off to continue keeping my mind occupied. I'm trying really hard to not lose it in front of my kids. I'm not trying to hide anything from them. I just don't think that they really need to worry about what is going on right now. They need to focus on being kids and having fun and playing. I can take time out for me at the end of the day when I'm in the sanctuary of my bedroom tonight. It's just really hard to keep the emotions at bay unless I am actively doing something. With that being said, I bid you all a farewell and I hope that your Friday passes smoothly and without incident. Remember to tell the ones you love what they mean to you. You never know when it could be the last chance you get to do it. Live for the day and worry about tomorrow when it comes.
*Drops the mic and walks out of the Arena*
Wickid
Sunday, May 31, 2015
End of May
It is Sunday the final day of the month of May in the year of 2015. We are back again for issue 93 of The Arena. We are one day closer to no more school for my children and another day closer to the beginning of football season. I'm so excited to get the season started again. There are a lot of things that you guys have missed that I will now have the joy of updating you about.
Since last Saturday, a lot of things have happened. I got a nice 4 day weekend last weekend due to some well placed cleaning and a few shenanigans later. I do love a good scam to get out of things. It makes me enjoy being part of something with people of the same mindset. So I spent the weekend with the kids and they spent some time outside. My wife spent most of the time at work since she, you know, has responsibilities and such. So I got to spend a lot of time at home with the children being able to watch TV and play with toys and such. I spent some of my time hanging out and relaxing, but I even did some chores around the house just because they needed to be done and I was going to be the one to do them. I even was nice enough to do some dishes and cook some dinner. Tuesday through Thursday passed by with a quickness. I lost those three days because I wasn't really paying attention. Work flew by and I was in and out like the flash. Wednesday was an easy-ish day because I went to work with a horrible stomach and I was home about 20 to 30 minutes later. I have a civilian supervisor that is nice enough to notice when people are sick and sends them home so that nobody else gets infected. So I got lucky enough to spend Wednesday at home. I tried going back to sleep when I got home, but the kids got up relatively early for school and I went downstairs and was able to fall asleep again until about ten thirty. The TV and Netflix was my savior for the little boys. They do love being able to watch their kiddie shows.
As I lay here in bed trying to focus on this and remember the events of the week, I find myself distracted by watching M.A.S.H. on Netflix. I'm in season 10 out of 11 so I am finally almost done. Thursday was spent doing menial paperwork and randomly walking around doing random things. Friday, I spent the day quickly doing a cleanup followed by a trip home to get changed and I headed out to Tacoma with my buddy so that we could go to my Chief's re-enlistment ceremony. We got treated to some wings and some potato wedges. Came home to a nice nap that lasted all of two and half hours because I had to take my sister in-law back to her apartment. She came over long enough to watch the dogs so that they weren't outside in the heat all day. I know that I said heat. It has been a decent week or so with nice sunshine and some high temperatures. I took her home and made it back in time for my buddy to come back to the house to pick me up so that we could make our way through the Friday afternoon traffic all the way to Kent so that we could be present for an LFL game. Basically, its a football game with women in pads and sports bras and boy shorts. Pretty much lingerie without it being all super sexy like. I was actually surprised to see those women going hard and playing like they meant it. They were beating the hell out of each other. It was fabulous. The quarters were only ten minutes long and it was a good ten minutes. The quarterback for the visiting team had an arm on her. She threw two long bombs that went for touchdowns. Now to set the stage, has any of you seen arena football? A 50 yard long field with the 25 yard line being midfield. They were on the 15 on their side of the field. She chucked this ball 30 yards and the receiver did the rest of the work. I was really impressed with the game. I think I might find a way to go back so that I can get better acquainted with the game. I think I might even convince the wife to go with me so that she can enjoy the game too. Those girls were even muscle-y and stuff. Like 8 abs on their stomachs. I gotta go back. The tickets were rather cheap too. Must research the schedule and stuff. Saturday came and went like a flash as well. I think I spent some of the afternoon playing Monster Hunter. I had to put in some work, leave me alone. I need some finger exercises to keep me fresh. That and I really do like playing that game.
It is time however, for me to get off here and turn the light off so that I can find a way to get some shut eye before my lovely lady comes and joins me in bed for the night. I swear that woman works too hard. Lucky for her, she gets tomorrow off. I can't wait until she doesn't have to work much anymore so that I can sleep with her every night. I do like the snuggles. With that, I bid you a good evening and good morning(depending on your location) and I will see you again in Episode 94 when I return to The Arena.
I'm out!!!
Since last Saturday, a lot of things have happened. I got a nice 4 day weekend last weekend due to some well placed cleaning and a few shenanigans later. I do love a good scam to get out of things. It makes me enjoy being part of something with people of the same mindset. So I spent the weekend with the kids and they spent some time outside. My wife spent most of the time at work since she, you know, has responsibilities and such. So I got to spend a lot of time at home with the children being able to watch TV and play with toys and such. I spent some of my time hanging out and relaxing, but I even did some chores around the house just because they needed to be done and I was going to be the one to do them. I even was nice enough to do some dishes and cook some dinner. Tuesday through Thursday passed by with a quickness. I lost those three days because I wasn't really paying attention. Work flew by and I was in and out like the flash. Wednesday was an easy-ish day because I went to work with a horrible stomach and I was home about 20 to 30 minutes later. I have a civilian supervisor that is nice enough to notice when people are sick and sends them home so that nobody else gets infected. So I got lucky enough to spend Wednesday at home. I tried going back to sleep when I got home, but the kids got up relatively early for school and I went downstairs and was able to fall asleep again until about ten thirty. The TV and Netflix was my savior for the little boys. They do love being able to watch their kiddie shows.
As I lay here in bed trying to focus on this and remember the events of the week, I find myself distracted by watching M.A.S.H. on Netflix. I'm in season 10 out of 11 so I am finally almost done. Thursday was spent doing menial paperwork and randomly walking around doing random things. Friday, I spent the day quickly doing a cleanup followed by a trip home to get changed and I headed out to Tacoma with my buddy so that we could go to my Chief's re-enlistment ceremony. We got treated to some wings and some potato wedges. Came home to a nice nap that lasted all of two and half hours because I had to take my sister in-law back to her apartment. She came over long enough to watch the dogs so that they weren't outside in the heat all day. I know that I said heat. It has been a decent week or so with nice sunshine and some high temperatures. I took her home and made it back in time for my buddy to come back to the house to pick me up so that we could make our way through the Friday afternoon traffic all the way to Kent so that we could be present for an LFL game. Basically, its a football game with women in pads and sports bras and boy shorts. Pretty much lingerie without it being all super sexy like. I was actually surprised to see those women going hard and playing like they meant it. They were beating the hell out of each other. It was fabulous. The quarters were only ten minutes long and it was a good ten minutes. The quarterback for the visiting team had an arm on her. She threw two long bombs that went for touchdowns. Now to set the stage, has any of you seen arena football? A 50 yard long field with the 25 yard line being midfield. They were on the 15 on their side of the field. She chucked this ball 30 yards and the receiver did the rest of the work. I was really impressed with the game. I think I might find a way to go back so that I can get better acquainted with the game. I think I might even convince the wife to go with me so that she can enjoy the game too. Those girls were even muscle-y and stuff. Like 8 abs on their stomachs. I gotta go back. The tickets were rather cheap too. Must research the schedule and stuff. Saturday came and went like a flash as well. I think I spent some of the afternoon playing Monster Hunter. I had to put in some work, leave me alone. I need some finger exercises to keep me fresh. That and I really do like playing that game.
It is time however, for me to get off here and turn the light off so that I can find a way to get some shut eye before my lovely lady comes and joins me in bed for the night. I swear that woman works too hard. Lucky for her, she gets tomorrow off. I can't wait until she doesn't have to work much anymore so that I can sleep with her every night. I do like the snuggles. With that, I bid you a good evening and good morning(depending on your location) and I will see you again in Episode 94 when I return to The Arena.
I'm out!!!
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Saturday Diligence
Welcome back everyone! We are here in the Arena for the 92nd time and we are enjoying a peaceful Saturday. The morning was spent in joyous bliss even right after I crawled out of bed. I had some coffee right after my morning cigarette and I proceeded to make breakfast. There was just something about this morning that made everything seem so much easier. I spent most of my morning doing typical household chores and making sure that things were cleaned up and good to go. It made my wife happy when she came downstairs. I was even nice enough to bring her breakfast in bed. So she got a nice wake up call this morning. I hope she appreciated it.
We had a quick lunch today and then we finished up the last of what we needed to do chore wise. The living room and the couch are now clean. Much better than what they have been for the last week. Now we are all scattered about the living room with Batman: The Movie playing on the TV. You know, the one with Adam West and Burt Ward. The kids have requested a "Bat-a-thon" and I am definitely not one to deny them that. As much as I am a Batman fan, I still look at this movie in wonder and I love it. Even if it does look a little corny and I am no longer a child that is in awe of it's awesomeness. Oh is it cheesy, but the kids and I love it. I just might be nice enough to watch as many as possible before it is time to take the boys up for drowning tonight. What makes this movie even more ridiculous is the way the used footage of an actual Polaris missile to write a riddle in the sky with perfect letters. I still love my Batman movies though.
I think that I can make this a short one since I am supposed to be spending time with my kids watching movies. Even in the older one, the romance between Batman and Catwoman was very present. Now time for me to get back to the movies. See you guys and gals later! Don't forget to tune into B2kradio.com later tonight so that your eardrums can get some good tunes to soothe you after a long day.
I'm out!!
We had a quick lunch today and then we finished up the last of what we needed to do chore wise. The living room and the couch are now clean. Much better than what they have been for the last week. Now we are all scattered about the living room with Batman: The Movie playing on the TV. You know, the one with Adam West and Burt Ward. The kids have requested a "Bat-a-thon" and I am definitely not one to deny them that. As much as I am a Batman fan, I still look at this movie in wonder and I love it. Even if it does look a little corny and I am no longer a child that is in awe of it's awesomeness. Oh is it cheesy, but the kids and I love it. I just might be nice enough to watch as many as possible before it is time to take the boys up for drowning tonight. What makes this movie even more ridiculous is the way the used footage of an actual Polaris missile to write a riddle in the sky with perfect letters. I still love my Batman movies though.
I think that I can make this a short one since I am supposed to be spending time with my kids watching movies. Even in the older one, the romance between Batman and Catwoman was very present. Now time for me to get back to the movies. See you guys and gals later! Don't forget to tune into B2kradio.com later tonight so that your eardrums can get some good tunes to soothe you after a long day.
I'm out!!
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Massive Disdain
Welcome back ladies and gentleman! This is Wickid live on scene in the kitchen for the latest in the World of Wickid. Almost like WoW, but much better.
We are here for the 91st edition of The Arena and the cycle of fun starts again. Today I found out a multitude of things. Some of them good and some of them bad. I have had a perception shift with a few items that are in my life. Again, both good and bad. I just found out this morning that I did not make E-6 this time around. Another exam down and another round of PNA points. For those of you that are scratching your heads, PNA stands for Pass Not Advanced. It is what they give you as a consolation prize for not being good enough to make rank. There was 218 people that took the STS1 exam in March. Out of all of those people, only 28 were lucky enough to be "selected" as the new crop of First Class Petty Officers. It literally works out to a 12.84% chance of putting on the final chevron. While I was hopeful to be one of those twenty eight, deep down I had a feeling that I didn't do well enough to join the E-6 club. I was right. I can't even say that I was passed over because that's just it, I wasn't "passed" over, I just didn't score well enough on the test to make rank. So as I make supper for myself and the kids, I ponder about what could have been and what will hopefully be later in my career. I'm to the point now where I'm not running out of time, but it is coming down to the wire of what I want to do as opposed to what I need to do. Truth be told, I only have four years left of my career if I fail to make rank, which means that I just didn't have enough juice to finish the twenty that I want to do. Will that upset me? Of course it will! I have a goal and I would be rather distraught if I was to fail to meet it. I don't typically fail things. I miss the mark quite often, but it's rare that I fail. So I feel bad because I didn't make it. My wife would love to quit her job so that she can start being a stay at home mom again. As much as I like having the second income, I would rather her stay at home with the kids so that she isn't always stressed out and tired.
My children have also found a new way to frustrate me beyond all belief. Eli and Carter are the only children old enough to have homework from school. That is an obvious thing. Today after I got them home from school, they sat down to do homework because I totally forgot to have them do it over the course of the weekend. They get new homework packets on Thursday and have all week to complete them. Well, the weekend and the following Monday through Wednesday to get it all done. For some strange reason, both of them like to become lazy and try to get me to do their homework for them. As much as I love them and the fact that they are rather smart, it fills me with a sense of massive disdain that they try this on me. It is so frustrating to have to sit there and watch them purposefully get the answers wrong instead of doing the work. Yeah, I check their homework and I make sure they find their way to the correct answers so that they can get the best grade possible. I value education and I want them to have the best one possible. So when they decide that they want to be lazy, I get very upset at them. Some of Carter's work is actually a little weird to understand. I do some complicated stuff on the submarine when I am actually doing my job, but when I read some of his stuff, I have to read it about four time before I actually understand what it is that the question is requiring. So I know that he actually might have a little trouble understanding it, but Eli has some pretty easy work. Like really easy work. Things that even Damen can do right now and he is still in preschool. It might be an unfair advantage because of Damen having Autism and him learning things at a very rapid rate. There are still some things that he won't understand quite yet, but for the most part he can get almost anything for a first grader.
I was last on here a week ago and it seems like this has become the norm for me when it comes to you guys. I have tried to get on more often, but with the early mornings and the fact that by the time lunch rolls around I feel like I need to sleep for a good 12 hours before I can get anything accomplished. Now, ideally, I should already be used to this schedule with little problems staying awake until after the kids go to bed. Right now I am doing okay because I had just over seven hours of sleep last night. I also got to get up a half an hour later than I did yesterday. I do have plans to drown the little boys and then go lay down for the night. The big kids had their showers last night. I think that I have a good system going with staggering the bath nights for each group of boys. It definitely does make things easier. I'm not trying to rush 4 kids through the water in a single night.
I got introduced to another game yesterday thanks to a buddy of mine. It's a mobile game called AdVenture Capitalist. Look it up on the Google Play and try it out if you want. It's a rather easy game that is just there for me to burn up some time with when I'm not really doing anything. In fact, it is going right now while I sit here and type this all out for you guys. The basic premise of this game is that you are a poor man that starts out with a lemonade stand. You spend the profits upgrading this little stand until you buy a manager so that the timer goes down and repeats its process automatically. The more profit you make, the better the stuff you can buy. There are a total of ten different ways to gain money. You obviously have to get the profits to buy the better things. The more you upgrade your "businesses", the faster the timer goes and the faster you make money. You can even watch advertisements to gain a double profit bonus for four hours. You can only do this 5 times a day, but the 30 second advertisements are worth the four hour bonus. After you start making into the trillions of dollars, you start getting angels that you can sacrifice to "start all over again". It is worth starting over again because you make more money faster. Its a little difficult to explain. If you go to www.YouTube.com, you can find videos for the game. It is really fun. My friend has had the game for only like 2 weeks and he is into some seriously big worded monetary values. He makes more money than he spends in the game. It is rather amazing.
We also got custody of Feylin again. Due to the recent issues at my sister in-law's house, she has asked us to take care of him for a little while longer until she can get the rest of the deposit paid off for her apartment for him to reside there. I don't mind personally, but my wife has some few choice words that she is keeping to herself about it. She understands, but she isn't happy about it. We finally got Chloe (our dog) to get her house training under control and not to be a jealous little puppy. It was nice to only have to worry about one dog. I'm just ready to not have to worry about anybody else but my family. One day I won't have to worry about supporting other people. One day.
It is about that time for me to start drowning my littlest children so that I can get them into bed and the big kids can clean up. I'm so ready for this Hump Day to be over. At least I have lunch with my wife to look forward to tomorrow. Mongolian BBQ is so delicious!!
From the couch that is in the Arena, this is Wickid signing off. I'm out!!
We are here for the 91st edition of The Arena and the cycle of fun starts again. Today I found out a multitude of things. Some of them good and some of them bad. I have had a perception shift with a few items that are in my life. Again, both good and bad. I just found out this morning that I did not make E-6 this time around. Another exam down and another round of PNA points. For those of you that are scratching your heads, PNA stands for Pass Not Advanced. It is what they give you as a consolation prize for not being good enough to make rank. There was 218 people that took the STS1 exam in March. Out of all of those people, only 28 were lucky enough to be "selected" as the new crop of First Class Petty Officers. It literally works out to a 12.84% chance of putting on the final chevron. While I was hopeful to be one of those twenty eight, deep down I had a feeling that I didn't do well enough to join the E-6 club. I was right. I can't even say that I was passed over because that's just it, I wasn't "passed" over, I just didn't score well enough on the test to make rank. So as I make supper for myself and the kids, I ponder about what could have been and what will hopefully be later in my career. I'm to the point now where I'm not running out of time, but it is coming down to the wire of what I want to do as opposed to what I need to do. Truth be told, I only have four years left of my career if I fail to make rank, which means that I just didn't have enough juice to finish the twenty that I want to do. Will that upset me? Of course it will! I have a goal and I would be rather distraught if I was to fail to meet it. I don't typically fail things. I miss the mark quite often, but it's rare that I fail. So I feel bad because I didn't make it. My wife would love to quit her job so that she can start being a stay at home mom again. As much as I like having the second income, I would rather her stay at home with the kids so that she isn't always stressed out and tired.
My children have also found a new way to frustrate me beyond all belief. Eli and Carter are the only children old enough to have homework from school. That is an obvious thing. Today after I got them home from school, they sat down to do homework because I totally forgot to have them do it over the course of the weekend. They get new homework packets on Thursday and have all week to complete them. Well, the weekend and the following Monday through Wednesday to get it all done. For some strange reason, both of them like to become lazy and try to get me to do their homework for them. As much as I love them and the fact that they are rather smart, it fills me with a sense of massive disdain that they try this on me. It is so frustrating to have to sit there and watch them purposefully get the answers wrong instead of doing the work. Yeah, I check their homework and I make sure they find their way to the correct answers so that they can get the best grade possible. I value education and I want them to have the best one possible. So when they decide that they want to be lazy, I get very upset at them. Some of Carter's work is actually a little weird to understand. I do some complicated stuff on the submarine when I am actually doing my job, but when I read some of his stuff, I have to read it about four time before I actually understand what it is that the question is requiring. So I know that he actually might have a little trouble understanding it, but Eli has some pretty easy work. Like really easy work. Things that even Damen can do right now and he is still in preschool. It might be an unfair advantage because of Damen having Autism and him learning things at a very rapid rate. There are still some things that he won't understand quite yet, but for the most part he can get almost anything for a first grader.
I was last on here a week ago and it seems like this has become the norm for me when it comes to you guys. I have tried to get on more often, but with the early mornings and the fact that by the time lunch rolls around I feel like I need to sleep for a good 12 hours before I can get anything accomplished. Now, ideally, I should already be used to this schedule with little problems staying awake until after the kids go to bed. Right now I am doing okay because I had just over seven hours of sleep last night. I also got to get up a half an hour later than I did yesterday. I do have plans to drown the little boys and then go lay down for the night. The big kids had their showers last night. I think that I have a good system going with staggering the bath nights for each group of boys. It definitely does make things easier. I'm not trying to rush 4 kids through the water in a single night.
I got introduced to another game yesterday thanks to a buddy of mine. It's a mobile game called AdVenture Capitalist. Look it up on the Google Play and try it out if you want. It's a rather easy game that is just there for me to burn up some time with when I'm not really doing anything. In fact, it is going right now while I sit here and type this all out for you guys. The basic premise of this game is that you are a poor man that starts out with a lemonade stand. You spend the profits upgrading this little stand until you buy a manager so that the timer goes down and repeats its process automatically. The more profit you make, the better the stuff you can buy. There are a total of ten different ways to gain money. You obviously have to get the profits to buy the better things. The more you upgrade your "businesses", the faster the timer goes and the faster you make money. You can even watch advertisements to gain a double profit bonus for four hours. You can only do this 5 times a day, but the 30 second advertisements are worth the four hour bonus. After you start making into the trillions of dollars, you start getting angels that you can sacrifice to "start all over again". It is worth starting over again because you make more money faster. Its a little difficult to explain. If you go to www.YouTube.com, you can find videos for the game. It is really fun. My friend has had the game for only like 2 weeks and he is into some seriously big worded monetary values. He makes more money than he spends in the game. It is rather amazing.
We also got custody of Feylin again. Due to the recent issues at my sister in-law's house, she has asked us to take care of him for a little while longer until she can get the rest of the deposit paid off for her apartment for him to reside there. I don't mind personally, but my wife has some few choice words that she is keeping to herself about it. She understands, but she isn't happy about it. We finally got Chloe (our dog) to get her house training under control and not to be a jealous little puppy. It was nice to only have to worry about one dog. I'm just ready to not have to worry about anybody else but my family. One day I won't have to worry about supporting other people. One day.
It is about that time for me to start drowning my littlest children so that I can get them into bed and the big kids can clean up. I'm so ready for this Hump Day to be over. At least I have lunch with my wife to look forward to tomorrow. Mongolian BBQ is so delicious!!
From the couch that is in the Arena, this is Wickid signing off. I'm out!!
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Into the 90s!!
Hello and welcome back to The Arena!! We are finally here!! Into the 90's we go with this, the newest edition. It's another Saturday that is almost gone from the books and we are still raring to go! There is a plethora of things to do and not much time to do them in. I'm still in the process of making supper and the tunes are blasting through the speakers. The kids are out in the living room watching Netflix. They have been changing the shows up so much that I'm not really sure what they are watching, but at least it is cartoons and they are being quiet. That is the important thing.
I spent most of the afternoon outside with the kids. They got to play with the neighbor girls in the little kiddie pool just out front on the sidewalk. They made themselves a water slide. Some ingenious little kids we have. I spent that time catching up on my Monster Hunter. I just made G2 so I am moving up slowly in the world. I think I have an online man date with my buddy later. It all depends on when he texts me to tell me that he is ready to play. Hopefully he is up to playing tonight. I need to farm a few monsters for armor and weapons. That G-Rank Zinogre is calling my name. I want both the regular and Stygian armor. Such badassery that I need. Even if he doesn't play, I at least plan on playing until my wife gets home. She was supposed to go out tonight, but now she isn't sure if she is going to or not because her shoulder is feeling so hot. She hurts so she just might come home and try to sleep. I will try to get her to let me rub her legs and feet though. She usually needs it and I know how much it makes her feel better. Plus, tomorrow is Mother's Day so she needs to be treated right. Don't forget to call your mom!! That shit is important to them don't you know?
Saturday night marks the halfway point of the weekend. It means staying up late and doing things that are fun with the ability to make Sunday into a lazy day. If only I could do that, I would feel amazing come Monday morning. Just had my weekend brighten up a little bit. As most of you readers know, the wife and I finally got her sister to move out of our house. Yeah, we lost our babysitter, but we gained some much needed relief and space. Scheduling has been a little conflicted, but it is nothing that we can't handle. Now bear in mind that she moved out just under 2 months ago. I was making my supper for the night since the kids wanted something easy and I decided against making what I was planning on making in favor of saving it for breakfast tomorrow and I got a text message from my sister in-law asking to come over. I said sure because I'm a nice guy and I figured she wanted to see the kids. She texted me back saying nevermind Josh got arrested. Upon further inquiry, I learn that Jamie (my SIL) is kicking her friend Stephanie out of their apartment because of a bunch of drama. Quick story: my sister in law lives with her friends Stephanie and Josh (not me obviously). Josh and Jamie both have jobs that they go to everyday to help pay their portion of the rent. Apparently Jamie cam home from work or something today to a bunch of dudes in Stephanie's room. We don't ask questions here so I advise you not to either. Jamie didn't feel safe so she called Josh to have him come home and help out. Josh gets there and there is supposedly a shouting match that happened between another guy and Josh. Stephanie calls the cops because Josh is being "too threatening". These aren't my words, I'm just relaying the story. Cops come and haul Josh off to jail and Stephanie starts verbally attacking Jamie and yelling at her. Well, there are some things that you just don't do to your friend's and my family. That just so happens to be one of them. So Jamie gets tired of it and like an adult, she is kicking Stephanie out of the apartment. If I remember right, it was Stephanie's idea for them to all get an apartment. Jamie had had enough because Stephanie was refusing to get a job or something. I agree with Jamie. You don't want to get a job to help support yourself and your friends, then you need to go. Plain and simple. Now, all of Jamie's sisters and her mom plus me told her that this was probably a bad idea from the onset. Bev and I told Jamie that once she left that was it. She wasn't moving back in with us. She needed to get out there and either fail or succeed. Truth be told, the family only gave them about 3 months before it all fell apart. We didn't tell her that because we all secretly hoped we were wrong. This has been apparently going on for a few days now because Bev and I were the last ones to find out. Makes no difference to me. I'm just glad to know that Jamie is handling it herself and making the right decisions. So Gold Star and Kudos to her.
This is your 5 minute warning. B2kradio will be on here shortly and I will be too busy #chairdancing to be typing to you guys. Things as simple as this are what make my weekends complete. So, off I go to get ready for the dancing in the chairs!! You guys go have fun doing whatever it is you are doing. If you need something to do or want something new, I suggest that you go check out www.B2kradio.com and tune in. Get some Chuck.. In.. Your.. Ear...
I'm out beeches!!!
I spent most of the afternoon outside with the kids. They got to play with the neighbor girls in the little kiddie pool just out front on the sidewalk. They made themselves a water slide. Some ingenious little kids we have. I spent that time catching up on my Monster Hunter. I just made G2 so I am moving up slowly in the world. I think I have an online man date with my buddy later. It all depends on when he texts me to tell me that he is ready to play. Hopefully he is up to playing tonight. I need to farm a few monsters for armor and weapons. That G-Rank Zinogre is calling my name. I want both the regular and Stygian armor. Such badassery that I need. Even if he doesn't play, I at least plan on playing until my wife gets home. She was supposed to go out tonight, but now she isn't sure if she is going to or not because her shoulder is feeling so hot. She hurts so she just might come home and try to sleep. I will try to get her to let me rub her legs and feet though. She usually needs it and I know how much it makes her feel better. Plus, tomorrow is Mother's Day so she needs to be treated right. Don't forget to call your mom!! That shit is important to them don't you know?
Saturday night marks the halfway point of the weekend. It means staying up late and doing things that are fun with the ability to make Sunday into a lazy day. If only I could do that, I would feel amazing come Monday morning. Just had my weekend brighten up a little bit. As most of you readers know, the wife and I finally got her sister to move out of our house. Yeah, we lost our babysitter, but we gained some much needed relief and space. Scheduling has been a little conflicted, but it is nothing that we can't handle. Now bear in mind that she moved out just under 2 months ago. I was making my supper for the night since the kids wanted something easy and I decided against making what I was planning on making in favor of saving it for breakfast tomorrow and I got a text message from my sister in-law asking to come over. I said sure because I'm a nice guy and I figured she wanted to see the kids. She texted me back saying nevermind Josh got arrested. Upon further inquiry, I learn that Jamie (my SIL) is kicking her friend Stephanie out of their apartment because of a bunch of drama. Quick story: my sister in law lives with her friends Stephanie and Josh (not me obviously). Josh and Jamie both have jobs that they go to everyday to help pay their portion of the rent. Apparently Jamie cam home from work or something today to a bunch of dudes in Stephanie's room. We don't ask questions here so I advise you not to either. Jamie didn't feel safe so she called Josh to have him come home and help out. Josh gets there and there is supposedly a shouting match that happened between another guy and Josh. Stephanie calls the cops because Josh is being "too threatening". These aren't my words, I'm just relaying the story. Cops come and haul Josh off to jail and Stephanie starts verbally attacking Jamie and yelling at her. Well, there are some things that you just don't do to your friend's and my family. That just so happens to be one of them. So Jamie gets tired of it and like an adult, she is kicking Stephanie out of the apartment. If I remember right, it was Stephanie's idea for them to all get an apartment. Jamie had had enough because Stephanie was refusing to get a job or something. I agree with Jamie. You don't want to get a job to help support yourself and your friends, then you need to go. Plain and simple. Now, all of Jamie's sisters and her mom plus me told her that this was probably a bad idea from the onset. Bev and I told Jamie that once she left that was it. She wasn't moving back in with us. She needed to get out there and either fail or succeed. Truth be told, the family only gave them about 3 months before it all fell apart. We didn't tell her that because we all secretly hoped we were wrong. This has been apparently going on for a few days now because Bev and I were the last ones to find out. Makes no difference to me. I'm just glad to know that Jamie is handling it herself and making the right decisions. So Gold Star and Kudos to her.
This is your 5 minute warning. B2kradio will be on here shortly and I will be too busy #chairdancing to be typing to you guys. Things as simple as this are what make my weekends complete. So, off I go to get ready for the dancing in the chairs!! You guys go have fun doing whatever it is you are doing. If you need something to do or want something new, I suggest that you go check out www.B2kradio.com and tune in. Get some Chuck.. In.. Your.. Ear...
I'm out beeches!!!
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Club 89??
Hey everyone!! It's me again dear friends! We are back for the 89th episode of The Arena and we are coming at you live from the kitchen again. This time I am making supper for the little kids while trying to figure out what it is that I want to eat to finish out the night. The kids are in the living room watching the Netflix. I turned them onto Yu-Gi-Oh since I was tired of listening to all of the other shows. Eli loves it because of all of the cool monsters and stuff that he gets to see. My wife told me no, but we all know that I tend not to listen to her sometimes. So I have left the show on for them to watch. I'm an awesome dad, I know, but it might get me in trouble later.
I know that the title may be a little bit confusing for you, but if you know even just a little bit about me, you know that I typically always have music going so I figured that if I ever had a club, I would name it Club 89. Seems feasible right now, but it the long run it probably isn't. Who knows what the future will hold for me besides military service. I do have to get to my goal first, which is retirement. Whatever happens after that is pretty much done slightly by the seat of my pants. I say this now, but you know that I will come up with some sort of plan in the next decade to figure out what I am going to do with the rest of my "adult" life. Then again, I have to make E-6 first. That is currently the goal, but those damn quotas keep holding me back. Some people need to retire to make room for the up and coming youngbucks like me to advance. So many older folk in the Navy. I'm just playing. I wish everyone a long and successful career. Ugh, my burrito needs to hurry up and finish cooking. Yeah, that's right. I have a frozen burrito in the oven. Who knew that it took 40 minutes in the oven? The insides are theoretically going to be molten hot lava when I pull it out of there. If I'm lucky, the whole thing will be warm and not just like the center area that tends to be molten hot when you cook them in the microwave.
Last night was a pretty good night. I made supper for everyone and the leftovers are sitting in the fridge right now. I made Lemon Pepper and Herb diced chicken with peas and rice. You just asked, "Well Wickid, if you have leftovers, why are you making a burrito?" My wife ended up falling asleep while I was making supper last night. I made her a plate and got it all covered and into the refrigerator. I even have a bowl leftover for me. The most impressive thing about last night's supper was the fact that all of the boys tried it. Damen even ate two helpings of the chicken. Lucas tried three bites of peas and chicken, which is all that was required. Eli ate his required bites too. At their age, we only require them to eat the number of bites equivalent to their age. For example, Eli is 6 so he is required to take 6 bites of a new food. I don't believe in them taking small bites so of course the wife and I see to it that the bites are of a pretty decent size for them so that they can at least get some sort of flavor from the bite. I was rather surprised that he even did it without a fight. Then again, his mother was sleeping on the couch so I think he knew better than to argue with me.
Ah, the joys of having supper sitting at my desk listening to the kids' show and counting down the minutes until bed time. Then it is a quick clean up of the living room followed by about 2 hours of Diablo 3 with my buddy. Something that I have looked forward to today since the wife is at work. I probably should maybe get to be at a reasonable hour, but 10 p.m. is still rather decent. It theoretically grants me about 7 hours of sleep. You know, I find it strange that the shows from my youth really haven't changed much, but it always made me think about what would happen if the shows were actually real. If only I could be in those worlds. Some things would be made a lot easier. HAHA! I'm just kidding. Fantasy worlds just aren't that practical.
Well, since I have very little time left and the kids are starting to test my nerves, I shall leave you guys here to read this and ponder what it is you are going to do tomorrow. Always enjoy the Friday as it comes to you. It just means that the weekend is just around the corner and then it is on to Monday. Monday sucks, we all know that, but it doesn't stop it from coming.
Until next time, Wickid
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Sunday, Monday, Judgement Day
Well that escalated quickly. It is now Tuesday and we are back for another fun filled edition of The Arena for you to enjoy at your leisure. Are you ready to get started? I know I am.
Sunday was just a mere two days ago, but it was a great day nonetheless. The sun was shining and the temperature was up there. Up there enough that I kept the kids at the park pretty much all day. We got up that morning after the wife and I spent most of the night just talking. Around 3 in the morning Sunday, we finally went to bed. We just talked about random stuff. Well, she talked. I listened and responded as was appropriate. I think it made her feel good to get some things off her chest. Anyway, we got up about 5 to 6 hours later and started the day. Eli got up around 7:15, but I was not having that. I slept in until like 8ish. I got her up about an hour or so later because she was taking Eli to go see the new Avengers movie. Apparently, he decided to see Home instead. So she obviously acquiesced to his request. Meanwhile, I packed up the little boys and we headed over to Evergreen Park. I hadn't been there since the one event that I don't remember the name of happened there. The park wasn't much to look at then. I didn't think much of it as I was driving over there to take the boys to play. I was very surprised when I got there and saw that it was completely updated and redone. It was amazing! There was AstroTurf, new swings, new play set, everything. It was awesome. We played until about lunch time and then I brought the kids home to eat. I even tried to convince the wife to skip work that night so that we could have a picnic dinner out there. We had lunch, the wife went to work, and I prepped some food for dinner at the park that afternoon. I even picked up my mother in-law so that she could join in with the kids and have some fun with them. We finally got back to the park at a little after 2 and it was jammed packed! Everyone and their mother was out there having a blast. I didn't expect anything less though. The rare few days that it is sunny out here need to be taken advantage of. You can't skip on these days. Most afternoons, if it is nice outside, I let the kids play out front of the house until around suppertime. The wife finally made it to the park around 6 and we left there around 630. We got home and we watched a movie with the kids and then sent them to bed.
Monday rolled around and I started my day at around 5 in the morning. I didn't have coffee and I had to be to work early. Not a great way to start the week. I get into the shop later that morning and ended up having to assist a different shop because they needed people for a big job. Not too big of a deal because I am used to getting farmed out to other divisions and such from my time on the boat. I still got home around lunch time anyway. We spent the afternoon watching the first and second episode of Star Wars. May the 4th be with you! The wife fell asleep during the second half of episode two so once it was over, I took the kids upstairs and put them to bed. I attempted to get her upstairs so that she could sleep in bed, but she wasn't having any of that when I first asked her. I went back upstairs and watched some TV. I went down around 930 to try again to get her to come upstairs. She said she would and I went back up and went to bed. I started my day early so I planned on ending it early. I guess she came up around 11 or so because that is when the TV came back on and I rolled over and went back to sleep. According to her, I hogged the bed again last night. I'm not sure how much of that I believe because the dogs also sleep up there with us and they definitely take up more room than I do.
I got up this morning with a little bit more pep in my step because it isn't Monday. I even went without coffee today. That's day 2 in a row without the Joe. Of course, that could also be because I have no creamer and I need to get more from the store. That, I think, is the real reason why I haven't had coffee. Today was a very slow day at work. Everything seemed to take forever, except for the maintenance. I had one tasking this week and that was to get the maintenance done. My swing shift counterpart went ahead and did 3/4 of the maintenance that I had assigned myself to do. I would have done the stuff yesterday, but I was on the boat for most of my work day. Not that it matters because we are all one team with the same goal in mind. I don't feel too bad, but you know that I like to do things that I say I am going to do. My friend has his re-enlistment today so I got a free lunch because he treated me and the former LPO to lunch. My new LPO "had things to do today", which I'm sure is true, but I think he could have taken a little time out of his leave period that he is on to spend some time with a shipmate. Yeah, my LPO is on leave until I think Friday because he didn't want to be on base during some crazy area wide drill they are doing. I don't see a reason to take leave for 3 days, but that's just me. I picked up the kids from school today. I parked in the handicap spot because I have the placard thingy. As I was sitting there waiting for the boys to get out of school, I couldn't help but notice that I might have been getting stared at. To be honest, I used to be the judgmental person sitting in the parking spot across from you thinking that there was no reason for you to have that placard hanging from you mirror in your window. Now that I am a special needs parent, I have had to look inwards and change a lot of things about myself and all of the misconceptions that I had because of this new life that I have. My youngest 2 children are Autistic as all of you readers know. They don't look it, but then again people don't look stupid until they open their mouths and prove me right. I used to judge these people because I didn't see anything wrong with them or their children. I didn't know their full story. I couldn't get on the level of understanding that I have now. I have that understanding because I am now that guy that has a handicap placard hanging from the mirror on my windshield when I pick up my kids. I feel like other people stare at me and judge me for having it without knowing my story. I feel that way because I was once that way. There are some days where I still judge some people, but those are few and far between now because I know what the stares feel like. I know the thoughts that run through the heads of those that I once judged. It isn't a really good feeling and I feel all defensive to tell my story so that people can understand. Not all people care so I don't bother telling it unless someone directly comes up and asks. So I have learned to not be such a judgmental ass like I once was. Lesson learned now that I am wearing the shoes.
As the day ends, I can reflect on the fact that I have learned some new things and that I have made it through another day still breathing and yelling at kids to clean up their mess. I am still a dad and I will get to sleep in bed with my beautiful wife tonight after she finally gets off of work. Another successful day down, many more to go until the final breath. Keep chugging along and keep looking forward. Enjoy the rest of your day and we will see you again!
Until next time, this is Wickid and I'm out!! Time to make dinner for screaming children and myself. My tummy is all rumbly meaning I am hungry!!
Sunday was just a mere two days ago, but it was a great day nonetheless. The sun was shining and the temperature was up there. Up there enough that I kept the kids at the park pretty much all day. We got up that morning after the wife and I spent most of the night just talking. Around 3 in the morning Sunday, we finally went to bed. We just talked about random stuff. Well, she talked. I listened and responded as was appropriate. I think it made her feel good to get some things off her chest. Anyway, we got up about 5 to 6 hours later and started the day. Eli got up around 7:15, but I was not having that. I slept in until like 8ish. I got her up about an hour or so later because she was taking Eli to go see the new Avengers movie. Apparently, he decided to see Home instead. So she obviously acquiesced to his request. Meanwhile, I packed up the little boys and we headed over to Evergreen Park. I hadn't been there since the one event that I don't remember the name of happened there. The park wasn't much to look at then. I didn't think much of it as I was driving over there to take the boys to play. I was very surprised when I got there and saw that it was completely updated and redone. It was amazing! There was AstroTurf, new swings, new play set, everything. It was awesome. We played until about lunch time and then I brought the kids home to eat. I even tried to convince the wife to skip work that night so that we could have a picnic dinner out there. We had lunch, the wife went to work, and I prepped some food for dinner at the park that afternoon. I even picked up my mother in-law so that she could join in with the kids and have some fun with them. We finally got back to the park at a little after 2 and it was jammed packed! Everyone and their mother was out there having a blast. I didn't expect anything less though. The rare few days that it is sunny out here need to be taken advantage of. You can't skip on these days. Most afternoons, if it is nice outside, I let the kids play out front of the house until around suppertime. The wife finally made it to the park around 6 and we left there around 630. We got home and we watched a movie with the kids and then sent them to bed.
Monday rolled around and I started my day at around 5 in the morning. I didn't have coffee and I had to be to work early. Not a great way to start the week. I get into the shop later that morning and ended up having to assist a different shop because they needed people for a big job. Not too big of a deal because I am used to getting farmed out to other divisions and such from my time on the boat. I still got home around lunch time anyway. We spent the afternoon watching the first and second episode of Star Wars. May the 4th be with you! The wife fell asleep during the second half of episode two so once it was over, I took the kids upstairs and put them to bed. I attempted to get her upstairs so that she could sleep in bed, but she wasn't having any of that when I first asked her. I went back upstairs and watched some TV. I went down around 930 to try again to get her to come upstairs. She said she would and I went back up and went to bed. I started my day early so I planned on ending it early. I guess she came up around 11 or so because that is when the TV came back on and I rolled over and went back to sleep. According to her, I hogged the bed again last night. I'm not sure how much of that I believe because the dogs also sleep up there with us and they definitely take up more room than I do.
I got up this morning with a little bit more pep in my step because it isn't Monday. I even went without coffee today. That's day 2 in a row without the Joe. Of course, that could also be because I have no creamer and I need to get more from the store. That, I think, is the real reason why I haven't had coffee. Today was a very slow day at work. Everything seemed to take forever, except for the maintenance. I had one tasking this week and that was to get the maintenance done. My swing shift counterpart went ahead and did 3/4 of the maintenance that I had assigned myself to do. I would have done the stuff yesterday, but I was on the boat for most of my work day. Not that it matters because we are all one team with the same goal in mind. I don't feel too bad, but you know that I like to do things that I say I am going to do. My friend has his re-enlistment today so I got a free lunch because he treated me and the former LPO to lunch. My new LPO "had things to do today", which I'm sure is true, but I think he could have taken a little time out of his leave period that he is on to spend some time with a shipmate. Yeah, my LPO is on leave until I think Friday because he didn't want to be on base during some crazy area wide drill they are doing. I don't see a reason to take leave for 3 days, but that's just me. I picked up the kids from school today. I parked in the handicap spot because I have the placard thingy. As I was sitting there waiting for the boys to get out of school, I couldn't help but notice that I might have been getting stared at. To be honest, I used to be the judgmental person sitting in the parking spot across from you thinking that there was no reason for you to have that placard hanging from you mirror in your window. Now that I am a special needs parent, I have had to look inwards and change a lot of things about myself and all of the misconceptions that I had because of this new life that I have. My youngest 2 children are Autistic as all of you readers know. They don't look it, but then again people don't look stupid until they open their mouths and prove me right. I used to judge these people because I didn't see anything wrong with them or their children. I didn't know their full story. I couldn't get on the level of understanding that I have now. I have that understanding because I am now that guy that has a handicap placard hanging from the mirror on my windshield when I pick up my kids. I feel like other people stare at me and judge me for having it without knowing my story. I feel that way because I was once that way. There are some days where I still judge some people, but those are few and far between now because I know what the stares feel like. I know the thoughts that run through the heads of those that I once judged. It isn't a really good feeling and I feel all defensive to tell my story so that people can understand. Not all people care so I don't bother telling it unless someone directly comes up and asks. So I have learned to not be such a judgmental ass like I once was. Lesson learned now that I am wearing the shoes.
As the day ends, I can reflect on the fact that I have learned some new things and that I have made it through another day still breathing and yelling at kids to clean up their mess. I am still a dad and I will get to sleep in bed with my beautiful wife tonight after she finally gets off of work. Another successful day down, many more to go until the final breath. Keep chugging along and keep looking forward. Enjoy the rest of your day and we will see you again!
Until next time, this is Wickid and I'm out!! Time to make dinner for screaming children and myself. My tummy is all rumbly meaning I am hungry!!
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Twofer!!
You guys are in for a treat today!! You get a twofer!! I'm doing a second post today just because I can. That and this is just one more closer to the century mark. We are slowly creeping towards the 100th post here at The Arena. I'm excited! Are you? You;ll eventually get there if you aren't already.
Today has moved rather slowly and I'm enjoying that because that means my weekend lasts longer. I dropped the kids off at their Aunt's house today because she wanted to see them for a few hours. I was super stoked to have them go visit her. I was even more excited to know that I wouldn't have kids for a few hours. Needless to say, I dropped them and pretty much ran away at full speed. I came home just in time to see my beautiful wife off to work and then I got the whole house to myself. For the first hour or so it was rather nice to not have the little tyrants running all over the place. I spent time playing Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (MH4U) since I didn't really have anything else to bother me. I could have cleaned or organized something in the house, but the call of the hunt was too strong. I couldn't ignore it. I got the new downloadable content yesterday and I was kind of itching to try it. Instead, I farmed a certain monster a few times and finally got the armor set that I wanted. I keep forgetting when I go online that I can look for certain things like a room farming a certain monster for materials and parts. Anywho, I got about a good 10-12 hunts in before I had to go pick up the kids. In all honesty, after about the 5th or 6th hunt, I started looking around for the children. I'm not used to them not being here at home with me. Tomorrow, Eli gets to go on his date with his mom to the movies and watch the new Avengers movie. I will admit that I am a mite jealous, but he needs his alone time with his mom. He doesn't really get all the attention that he deserves. We are busy parents with two special needs kids. Sometimes he gets put on the back burner.
Hell, I just had to put you guys on hold. There was a hunt that I couldn't pass up. We took on a Stygian Zinogre. So much awesome in one monster. The other three people were worried that I wouldn't survive. I kicked ass like a boss and only got hit like 3 times. I know that monster like I was it's daddy. I've hunted enough of them to know how they move and what their tells are for when they go to attack. It was just awesome. Of course, once we got started, we just couldn't stop. So I did a few more hunts with those guys. At least I think they were guys. Who knows. Anyways, I only stopped because I had kids in the bath and the battery was going dead. I still have tons to do in that game so it's not like I'm going to get rid of it anytime soon. Now, I await my friend Steve to get home so that we can go dungeon crawling on Diablo 3 Ultimate Evil Edition. We made it to Act IV and I think we are going to up the difficulty level because we are level 41 and the weapons we have are pretty much one shotting every enemy that comes our way. We are playing hard mode and I think we are going to move up another level. It will not only gives us a challenge, but it will also give us a 150% boost in EXP and Gold on top of the 10% that we will get for playing cooperative play.
With that information presented to you, I'm going to cut out here so that I can quickly do the dishes and get them all cleaned up while getting my ears some relaxation with my uncle's tunes in my ear. His radio station is playing right now. Hit up B2kradio.com to join in on the fun. Chairdance your night away!!!!
I'm out!! Stay tuned for next time peeps!!
Today has moved rather slowly and I'm enjoying that because that means my weekend lasts longer. I dropped the kids off at their Aunt's house today because she wanted to see them for a few hours. I was super stoked to have them go visit her. I was even more excited to know that I wouldn't have kids for a few hours. Needless to say, I dropped them and pretty much ran away at full speed. I came home just in time to see my beautiful wife off to work and then I got the whole house to myself. For the first hour or so it was rather nice to not have the little tyrants running all over the place. I spent time playing Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (MH4U) since I didn't really have anything else to bother me. I could have cleaned or organized something in the house, but the call of the hunt was too strong. I couldn't ignore it. I got the new downloadable content yesterday and I was kind of itching to try it. Instead, I farmed a certain monster a few times and finally got the armor set that I wanted. I keep forgetting when I go online that I can look for certain things like a room farming a certain monster for materials and parts. Anywho, I got about a good 10-12 hunts in before I had to go pick up the kids. In all honesty, after about the 5th or 6th hunt, I started looking around for the children. I'm not used to them not being here at home with me. Tomorrow, Eli gets to go on his date with his mom to the movies and watch the new Avengers movie. I will admit that I am a mite jealous, but he needs his alone time with his mom. He doesn't really get all the attention that he deserves. We are busy parents with two special needs kids. Sometimes he gets put on the back burner.
Hell, I just had to put you guys on hold. There was a hunt that I couldn't pass up. We took on a Stygian Zinogre. So much awesome in one monster. The other three people were worried that I wouldn't survive. I kicked ass like a boss and only got hit like 3 times. I know that monster like I was it's daddy. I've hunted enough of them to know how they move and what their tells are for when they go to attack. It was just awesome. Of course, once we got started, we just couldn't stop. So I did a few more hunts with those guys. At least I think they were guys. Who knows. Anyways, I only stopped because I had kids in the bath and the battery was going dead. I still have tons to do in that game so it's not like I'm going to get rid of it anytime soon. Now, I await my friend Steve to get home so that we can go dungeon crawling on Diablo 3 Ultimate Evil Edition. We made it to Act IV and I think we are going to up the difficulty level because we are level 41 and the weapons we have are pretty much one shotting every enemy that comes our way. We are playing hard mode and I think we are going to move up another level. It will not only gives us a challenge, but it will also give us a 150% boost in EXP and Gold on top of the 10% that we will get for playing cooperative play.
With that information presented to you, I'm going to cut out here so that I can quickly do the dishes and get them all cleaned up while getting my ears some relaxation with my uncle's tunes in my ear. His radio station is playing right now. Hit up B2kradio.com to join in on the fun. Chairdance your night away!!!!
I'm out!! Stay tuned for next time peeps!!
Alphabetical Posts??
Good morning everyone!! It is Saturday and we are up and at it again. I got a decent amount of sleep last night. According to my little Samsung Gear watch, I got 9 and a half hours of sleep last night. The kids decided that 0730 was a good time to get up this morning. I'm letting my beautiful lady sleep in since she has had a really rough week. She has gone back to full time at work and she has been working her ass off. These last few months with her not really working has really killed our budget, but it isn't something that we can't handle. Just have to move some things around and we got it. Another story of life with a few bumps in the road to teach you a few lessons.
Since it is Saturday, you all know what is about to go down tonight. Bohica2k Radio will be live on air tonight pumping out the tunes for you to enjoy. So get some +Chuck in your EAR!! I will be there tonight listening it up with the rest of you. I'll be "drowning" kids tonight so it is the perfect time to tune in. Now to just get through the day so that we can get to the tunes. Not that I want to rush a Saturday, but Pandora only goes so far, you know? This post might take a while to complete because I will be back and forth with all of the chores and such so that I can make it easier for my wife tomorrow. She theoretically has the day off tomorrow. I do think that she wants to pick up some extra hours though. I'm not really sure. We haven't been home together long enough to really talk about it.
As Chevelle starts playing on Pandora, I sit here at the desk and I'm sort of lost in thought because I lost a shipmate earlier this week to a heart attack. Don't grieve for me. Grieve for his wife and grandchildren. I will leave the name out of this post for the privacy of the family. I'll just use a letter associated to him so that you know something. J, as I will call him, was a wonderful person, mentor, and friend. He was a fellow submariner that I had the honor of serving with during my time on the USS Nebraska. He was a gruff individual with a tender heart. You would know when he showed up to work because you could hear the yelling throughout the boat. He wasn't always yelling at somebody, he was just a very vocal person, kind of like me. I can be very noticeable when I want to be and that is how J was. J was also a senior enlisted guy. Part of the Khaki Belts as we like to call them on the boat. J was always there to give you what you needed. Whether it was an ass chewing because you weren't being the best that you could be or the time you asked for because you wanted to learn something from him. He seemed to always find the time to help out us young sailors with anything that we needed. J was also a very funny individual. He would crack jokes that took you a second to get. We were on the Maneuvering watch one patrol and a friend of mine had stepped down to the galley. He grabbed a cookie and took a bite out of it. From Sonar (2 decks up) I heard, "Hey! We don't eat during the Maneuvering watch!" My buddy had a deer in the headlights look on his face as he made a split second decision. He jammed the cookie in his mouth and ran from the galley with a second cookie in his hand. I could hear J laughing from Sonar. He was intimidating, I'll give you that, but if you could get past the gruff exterior and know the J that I knew, you would have loved him. J had a nickname that will stick with us forever. We liked to call him "78". If you look through my facebook friends, you will see a lot of them with a profile picture of the number in remembrance of him. He stood a watch in control called the Diving Officer of the Watch, or DOOW, for short. Standing DOOW was something that J did exceptionally well. You always knew when he was on watch too. The boat was always level and whenever we went to PD, all you could hear was "78" about every three or four minutes. Classic line, "Dive, Mark your depth." "78 feet, coming back to 78 feet". We never laughed so hard in our lives. J wasn't at 78 feet, but he was damn sure coming back to it. No matter what depth he was at, J's response was always 78 feet. My experience with J was a notable one. It was roughly my third year on the Nebraska and my 5th patrol there. I was so ready to leave and I was pretty much done with the Navy at that point. Every day, I would see J come into work. I tried to avoid him because I was in a rather dark place at that point. My first wife left me and I was in the moods of just not giving a flying F about anything or anybody. J was gruff with me because he knew that tough love was what I needed. He would yell out my name and I would get aggravated because I really didn't want to talk to him. He would look at me with caring eyes behind the mean mask and yell at me about actual important things. Like the fact that I was always behind on qualifications or that I wasn't looking like a clean cut sailor that he knew I could be. After about a month or so of this treatment, I finally pulled my head out of my ass and became the great sailor that I am now. I'm still rough around the edges, but that is just who I am. I like to see what limits I can push. I loved J like the brother that he was. He was a Khaki belt and I was a lowly black belt. He made sure that I learned the things that I needed to learn to be a better sailor. I will miss my Khaki brother and I know that he is in a better place. He will be command handing whoever is with him in the afterlife telling them to go clean the bilge or something. It's just who he is. May he rest in peace.
The title probably has you wondering why it is that I chose that title. Well, I will answer your burning question. I like to give you the suspense and all, but I think you want an answer. I had this brilliant idea hit me square in the face this morning while I was taking out the trash. I was thinking that it would be a good idea to have at least 26 posts about something random that wasn't me rambling on about my days. Put simply, "A is for Afternoon" could be a possible future post. I'll just talk about the afternoon. I'm of course going to put more thought into it than that, but right now I am typing on the fly and that is the first thing that happen to flash before my eyes. Not my life, just the title of a post. Funny how things happen yeah? I'm weird I know, but it will give you something to think about while I work on getting you guys your next set of reading material. So go out and enjoy the Saturday while I spend mine doing things that I have been neglecting for the past week. Go on now... Get out of here... Hang up the phones and put them away. Go spend time with family and/or friends.
Seriously, get out of here. You can read this later. I gotta go. See ya!!
Wickid
Since it is Saturday, you all know what is about to go down tonight. Bohica2k Radio will be live on air tonight pumping out the tunes for you to enjoy. So get some +Chuck in your EAR!! I will be there tonight listening it up with the rest of you. I'll be "drowning" kids tonight so it is the perfect time to tune in. Now to just get through the day so that we can get to the tunes. Not that I want to rush a Saturday, but Pandora only goes so far, you know? This post might take a while to complete because I will be back and forth with all of the chores and such so that I can make it easier for my wife tomorrow. She theoretically has the day off tomorrow. I do think that she wants to pick up some extra hours though. I'm not really sure. We haven't been home together long enough to really talk about it.
As Chevelle starts playing on Pandora, I sit here at the desk and I'm sort of lost in thought because I lost a shipmate earlier this week to a heart attack. Don't grieve for me. Grieve for his wife and grandchildren. I will leave the name out of this post for the privacy of the family. I'll just use a letter associated to him so that you know something. J, as I will call him, was a wonderful person, mentor, and friend. He was a fellow submariner that I had the honor of serving with during my time on the USS Nebraska. He was a gruff individual with a tender heart. You would know when he showed up to work because you could hear the yelling throughout the boat. He wasn't always yelling at somebody, he was just a very vocal person, kind of like me. I can be very noticeable when I want to be and that is how J was. J was also a senior enlisted guy. Part of the Khaki Belts as we like to call them on the boat. J was always there to give you what you needed. Whether it was an ass chewing because you weren't being the best that you could be or the time you asked for because you wanted to learn something from him. He seemed to always find the time to help out us young sailors with anything that we needed. J was also a very funny individual. He would crack jokes that took you a second to get. We were on the Maneuvering watch one patrol and a friend of mine had stepped down to the galley. He grabbed a cookie and took a bite out of it. From Sonar (2 decks up) I heard, "Hey! We don't eat during the Maneuvering watch!" My buddy had a deer in the headlights look on his face as he made a split second decision. He jammed the cookie in his mouth and ran from the galley with a second cookie in his hand. I could hear J laughing from Sonar. He was intimidating, I'll give you that, but if you could get past the gruff exterior and know the J that I knew, you would have loved him. J had a nickname that will stick with us forever. We liked to call him "78". If you look through my facebook friends, you will see a lot of them with a profile picture of the number in remembrance of him. He stood a watch in control called the Diving Officer of the Watch, or DOOW, for short. Standing DOOW was something that J did exceptionally well. You always knew when he was on watch too. The boat was always level and whenever we went to PD, all you could hear was "78" about every three or four minutes. Classic line, "Dive, Mark your depth." "78 feet, coming back to 78 feet". We never laughed so hard in our lives. J wasn't at 78 feet, but he was damn sure coming back to it. No matter what depth he was at, J's response was always 78 feet. My experience with J was a notable one. It was roughly my third year on the Nebraska and my 5th patrol there. I was so ready to leave and I was pretty much done with the Navy at that point. Every day, I would see J come into work. I tried to avoid him because I was in a rather dark place at that point. My first wife left me and I was in the moods of just not giving a flying F about anything or anybody. J was gruff with me because he knew that tough love was what I needed. He would yell out my name and I would get aggravated because I really didn't want to talk to him. He would look at me with caring eyes behind the mean mask and yell at me about actual important things. Like the fact that I was always behind on qualifications or that I wasn't looking like a clean cut sailor that he knew I could be. After about a month or so of this treatment, I finally pulled my head out of my ass and became the great sailor that I am now. I'm still rough around the edges, but that is just who I am. I like to see what limits I can push. I loved J like the brother that he was. He was a Khaki belt and I was a lowly black belt. He made sure that I learned the things that I needed to learn to be a better sailor. I will miss my Khaki brother and I know that he is in a better place. He will be command handing whoever is with him in the afterlife telling them to go clean the bilge or something. It's just who he is. May he rest in peace.
The title probably has you wondering why it is that I chose that title. Well, I will answer your burning question. I like to give you the suspense and all, but I think you want an answer. I had this brilliant idea hit me square in the face this morning while I was taking out the trash. I was thinking that it would be a good idea to have at least 26 posts about something random that wasn't me rambling on about my days. Put simply, "A is for Afternoon" could be a possible future post. I'll just talk about the afternoon. I'm of course going to put more thought into it than that, but right now I am typing on the fly and that is the first thing that happen to flash before my eyes. Not my life, just the title of a post. Funny how things happen yeah? I'm weird I know, but it will give you something to think about while I work on getting you guys your next set of reading material. So go out and enjoy the Saturday while I spend mine doing things that I have been neglecting for the past week. Go on now... Get out of here... Hang up the phones and put them away. Go spend time with family and/or friends.
Seriously, get out of here. You can read this later. I gotta go. See ya!!
Wickid
Friday, May 1, 2015
Friday Funnies
Welcome back everyone! It is Friday and we are here for yet another edition from the "famous" hands of Wickid. The music is going, the oven is coming up to temperature, and the kids are cleaning while I have Round 2 of the NFL Draft playing out in the living room. I'm only really concerned about 4 teams anyways. My two teams and my wife's two teams. It is rather nice to know that you can talk football with your wife. It makes me happy to know that Sundays aren't a day that my wife dreads because I do nothing but watch football. She is on the couch next to me enjoying it as much as I am.
Another week of work is in the books and we have approached the weekend. Tomorrow Eli, my 6 year old, is getting a Mommy-Son date so that he doesn't feel left out of anything. They are going to go see Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. I'm actually excited for him because I know how much he likes his superhero movies. On the other hand, I am excited to see the new Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The trailer that I saw gave me like an instant boner because it looked so cool. I'm still working on coming to grips with Ben Affleck being the new Batman. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt though so we will see how it goes. Just the fact of the new Batman movie coming out makes me happy. I haven't been this excited since I found out about the Dark Knight Rises. Christian Bale did an alright job as Batman although most don't understand why he changed his voice between his characters. Do you know why he did it? I, myself, will have to look it up because I know I read it somewhere. It really is a rather logical reason which is why my anger towards him in Batman Begins faded once I read the article.
As the corn dogs and chicken nuggets cook, I spend this small amount of time typing here to you guys. I have spent most of my sleepless nights playing on the PS3 instead of trying to sleep. You know how it goes, tired most of the day, but the minute you go to lay down, BOOM you're wide awake. Probably one of the worst feelings ever. I hate having it happen to me. Like right now, I have been fighting to stay awake for 3 hours. Very hard to win the fight, but I have been managing. I found things to do while I was outside watching the kids play. Mainly, I was on my phone keeping my hands busy. I have found out over the years that if I sit idly too long, I start to fall asleep. So my wife tries to keep me moving so that I don't because a lazy blob. I'm pretty sure that she already thinks I'm one regardless of what I do.
Sorry about the quick "break" I had to take. I'm trying to get the kids to sit down to eat a full meal together. Maybe once we get a bigger house that has more space for a respectable table that isn't made for the kids, we will be having family dinners together like we used to. Nobody was allowed to get up until everyone had finished their food. No cell phones or electronics were allowed at the table. It was a nice time. I enjoyed it.
So go out and enjoy your Friday night. Make it fun so that you can remember it down the road when you are old and grey. Things like spending time with friends and family doing gawd knows what. I want a dedicated night of Cards Against Humanity. If you haven't played that, you should. Probably some of the dirtiest things that you will ever hear or see in your life. Fair warning though, it isn't for the easily offended or faint of heart. There are some things that just shouldn't be said in a conversation and CAH makes you say them. So many laughs while playing this game.
So with that, I leave you to your business. I'm out!!
Another week of work is in the books and we have approached the weekend. Tomorrow Eli, my 6 year old, is getting a Mommy-Son date so that he doesn't feel left out of anything. They are going to go see Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. I'm actually excited for him because I know how much he likes his superhero movies. On the other hand, I am excited to see the new Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The trailer that I saw gave me like an instant boner because it looked so cool. I'm still working on coming to grips with Ben Affleck being the new Batman. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt though so we will see how it goes. Just the fact of the new Batman movie coming out makes me happy. I haven't been this excited since I found out about the Dark Knight Rises. Christian Bale did an alright job as Batman although most don't understand why he changed his voice between his characters. Do you know why he did it? I, myself, will have to look it up because I know I read it somewhere. It really is a rather logical reason which is why my anger towards him in Batman Begins faded once I read the article.
As the corn dogs and chicken nuggets cook, I spend this small amount of time typing here to you guys. I have spent most of my sleepless nights playing on the PS3 instead of trying to sleep. You know how it goes, tired most of the day, but the minute you go to lay down, BOOM you're wide awake. Probably one of the worst feelings ever. I hate having it happen to me. Like right now, I have been fighting to stay awake for 3 hours. Very hard to win the fight, but I have been managing. I found things to do while I was outside watching the kids play. Mainly, I was on my phone keeping my hands busy. I have found out over the years that if I sit idly too long, I start to fall asleep. So my wife tries to keep me moving so that I don't because a lazy blob. I'm pretty sure that she already thinks I'm one regardless of what I do.
Sorry about the quick "break" I had to take. I'm trying to get the kids to sit down to eat a full meal together. Maybe once we get a bigger house that has more space for a respectable table that isn't made for the kids, we will be having family dinners together like we used to. Nobody was allowed to get up until everyone had finished their food. No cell phones or electronics were allowed at the table. It was a nice time. I enjoyed it.
So go out and enjoy your Friday night. Make it fun so that you can remember it down the road when you are old and grey. Things like spending time with friends and family doing gawd knows what. I want a dedicated night of Cards Against Humanity. If you haven't played that, you should. Probably some of the dirtiest things that you will ever hear or see in your life. Fair warning though, it isn't for the easily offended or faint of heart. There are some things that just shouldn't be said in a conversation and CAH makes you say them. So many laughs while playing this game.
So with that, I leave you to your business. I'm out!!
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Slow Saturday Fun
Welcome back to the 84th edition of the Arena. We are here in the living room on a very slow Saturday where the weather is about as moody as a pregnant woman in her first trimester. It has been sunny, rainy, chilly, and warm all in the same day. We have had a bit of fun today even though the day started out rather rough for me. I'm not sure why, but I just wasn't in the mood to put up with anybody or their shenanigans this morning. Of course, that led to me being in trouble with the old lady because I was being a jerk to everyone. Things have gotten better since then because the kids did what they needed to do and I was able to have my coffee this morning without actually murdering someone.
Today we celebrated Lucas' third birthday today with cake and chicken nuggets and pizza. Today will be a rather lazy easy day for everybody because of this. The only cooking that was done was when I made the cake this morning while I was in the middle of cleaning the kitchen. My wife picked up some boxes from work and we made little cardboard cars for the kids to sit in to make it seem like they were at a drive-in in the living room. We had pizza delivered today so that there was no actual issue with having to do things that required a lot of time. Oh, and I cooked the chicken nuggets in the oven, so there was more than just the cake that was done. I could easily go back and delete that line so it doesn't exist, but then it would just make this post shorter and I'm not all about doing that. There isn't going to be much to do tonight so I think that I will relax tonight with Netflix and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. I have some things to do on that game and I would really like to play it tonight. I get to go back to doing housework tomorrow.
Things will be a little easier tomorrow night since Carter is going back to his dad's house for the next two weeks. That and my schedule is now a firm day shift schedule because that is what the Chief and the boss both wanted. I wanted to go back to swing shift, but after being told that I would have to transfer to a different shop, I decided that it was just better this way since I will be going back to a boat soon and I won't be able to choose what my schedule will be. I figured I would pop in and say hi and drop you guys a new edition since my lady is sleeping on the couch. I think she might be going to work tonight, but I'm not sure. She said that her boss told her that she could work a few hours tonight and tomorrow if she wanted to. I think I might try to convince her to go in for a bit so that she can get back into the swing of working before her schedule next week kicks in. I don't know how many hours she is working, but I do know that she will be at work most of the week so I will be on my own at night with the kids. I can handle it. I just have to figure out what to make for the boys since I know Luke will pretty much eat only chicken nuggets for his meals.
He went to his well child checkup yesterday and the doctors are concerned about his weight. He seems to have dropped off the growth chart again and that is a problem. The doctors say that if we can't get him to gain weight, there is a possibility of having to put him on an NG tube so that we can get some calories into him to help him gain weight. It is a last resort option so we are hoping that we can get him to gain some weight and maybe find something other than chicken nuggets to eat. We have our fingers crossed and we hope that the good vibes you guys will send after reading this will help out in our constant struggle to get him to eat more than a few things.
As I mentioned earlier, this episode of the Arena is being brought to you from the living room. I think I mentioned a few posts ago that I got the desk downstairs so that we could have a place to do budgeting and bills since we pretty much do everything on the computer. Things are moving at a slow pace in getting the house back in order, but they are coming along. I just need to finish cleaning the carpets in the boys rooms so that everything upstairs can be done. Unfortunately, we can't move the toys and stuff upstairs until after that is done. The spare bedroom will be holding furniture while the carpets are being cleaned. I will do each room on a different day so that there isn't too much pressure to try to do them both in the same day. That and the fact that Eli doesn't always go straight to sleep when he is told and I don't want him in his little brother's room keeping them up most of the night. That will require me to be mean and I really don't want to do that right now.
Well, its time for me to go. I have kids to relax with and a little bit of cleaning to do later once everything gets settled down. Plus, I think it is almost time for me to change the movie. Lucas chose to watch Paw Patrol and Mickey Mouse for his drive-in movie day. They already watched Mickey Mouse so they are now on to Paw Patrol. Did you know one of the strangest things about being a parent is being able to pretty much sing any kid's show theme song at any random time throughout the day? Luckily for me I have been able to forget most of them. The shows that they tend to watch rather frequently have stuck in my head and that is unfortunate, but alas, it is the things that I do for my kids because I love them. At least some of their shows are decent. Blaze and the Monster Machines makes me question whether or not the damn car is a superhero or not because they tend to break the laws of physics with some of the things that car does. That is a story for another time though.
You guys enjoy the rest of your Saturday and I hope that the weather is nicer than it is where I am at.
Until next time, from the Arena, this is Wickid signing off.....
Today we celebrated Lucas' third birthday today with cake and chicken nuggets and pizza. Today will be a rather lazy easy day for everybody because of this. The only cooking that was done was when I made the cake this morning while I was in the middle of cleaning the kitchen. My wife picked up some boxes from work and we made little cardboard cars for the kids to sit in to make it seem like they were at a drive-in in the living room. We had pizza delivered today so that there was no actual issue with having to do things that required a lot of time. Oh, and I cooked the chicken nuggets in the oven, so there was more than just the cake that was done. I could easily go back and delete that line so it doesn't exist, but then it would just make this post shorter and I'm not all about doing that. There isn't going to be much to do tonight so I think that I will relax tonight with Netflix and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. I have some things to do on that game and I would really like to play it tonight. I get to go back to doing housework tomorrow.
Things will be a little easier tomorrow night since Carter is going back to his dad's house for the next two weeks. That and my schedule is now a firm day shift schedule because that is what the Chief and the boss both wanted. I wanted to go back to swing shift, but after being told that I would have to transfer to a different shop, I decided that it was just better this way since I will be going back to a boat soon and I won't be able to choose what my schedule will be. I figured I would pop in and say hi and drop you guys a new edition since my lady is sleeping on the couch. I think she might be going to work tonight, but I'm not sure. She said that her boss told her that she could work a few hours tonight and tomorrow if she wanted to. I think I might try to convince her to go in for a bit so that she can get back into the swing of working before her schedule next week kicks in. I don't know how many hours she is working, but I do know that she will be at work most of the week so I will be on my own at night with the kids. I can handle it. I just have to figure out what to make for the boys since I know Luke will pretty much eat only chicken nuggets for his meals.
He went to his well child checkup yesterday and the doctors are concerned about his weight. He seems to have dropped off the growth chart again and that is a problem. The doctors say that if we can't get him to gain weight, there is a possibility of having to put him on an NG tube so that we can get some calories into him to help him gain weight. It is a last resort option so we are hoping that we can get him to gain some weight and maybe find something other than chicken nuggets to eat. We have our fingers crossed and we hope that the good vibes you guys will send after reading this will help out in our constant struggle to get him to eat more than a few things.
As I mentioned earlier, this episode of the Arena is being brought to you from the living room. I think I mentioned a few posts ago that I got the desk downstairs so that we could have a place to do budgeting and bills since we pretty much do everything on the computer. Things are moving at a slow pace in getting the house back in order, but they are coming along. I just need to finish cleaning the carpets in the boys rooms so that everything upstairs can be done. Unfortunately, we can't move the toys and stuff upstairs until after that is done. The spare bedroom will be holding furniture while the carpets are being cleaned. I will do each room on a different day so that there isn't too much pressure to try to do them both in the same day. That and the fact that Eli doesn't always go straight to sleep when he is told and I don't want him in his little brother's room keeping them up most of the night. That will require me to be mean and I really don't want to do that right now.
Well, its time for me to go. I have kids to relax with and a little bit of cleaning to do later once everything gets settled down. Plus, I think it is almost time for me to change the movie. Lucas chose to watch Paw Patrol and Mickey Mouse for his drive-in movie day. They already watched Mickey Mouse so they are now on to Paw Patrol. Did you know one of the strangest things about being a parent is being able to pretty much sing any kid's show theme song at any random time throughout the day? Luckily for me I have been able to forget most of them. The shows that they tend to watch rather frequently have stuck in my head and that is unfortunate, but alas, it is the things that I do for my kids because I love them. At least some of their shows are decent. Blaze and the Monster Machines makes me question whether or not the damn car is a superhero or not because they tend to break the laws of physics with some of the things that car does. That is a story for another time though.
You guys enjoy the rest of your Saturday and I hope that the weather is nicer than it is where I am at.
Until next time, from the Arena, this is Wickid signing off.....
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Sinceriously Sunday
Holy Cow!!! It's sunny yet again here on the West Coast and the temperature is actually rather comfortable. I know that those over in the southeastern portion of the United States are enjoying this exact same weather, but you just don't understand how rare this is over here. They say that Florida is that "Lightning Capital of the World". While that is true, because I lived there myself for a little under 19 years, and I enjoyed the thunder and the lightning and all of the torrential downpouring rain that we had. Here over in the Pacific Northwest, we get the misty, annoying drizzle that causes people to act like complete idiots!! In a state that has probably the most "rainfall" that I have ever seen, you would think that the people that live here would know how to drive in it. People smoking pot, nobody bats an eye, but the minute it starts to drizzle, everybody loses their minds!!!
Lunch time is just around the corner here at the house so of course, I am taking some of that down time to come out to see you guys. Two days in a row! This hasn't happened in quite a while, but I figure since the wife is sleeping and resting comfortably in bed, I might as well get one of these typed out while I can.
In the time it took me to type that last paragraph, my wife has arisen from her slumber and meandered downstairs to the delight of the children. Not that I am an angry ogre that likes to be mean to children, it's just that she is now up and I have four momma's boys. Theoretically they will grow out of it and then we can get them to be independent and able to do their own thing.
Now that she is awake, I am making her lunch and then I will be getting to work upstairs with the manual labor and the moving of the rooms. I am excited to finally have the master bedroom again. There are just some simple pleasures in life that I enjoy. The master bedroom happens to be one of them. I am excited to have a little bit more room and the two closets are just an amazing feature. I get to have my own closet!! Not that I really need it since we can fit both of our stuff into one closet and still have a little bit of room to spare. So after I finish eating lunch and getting the wife taken care of, I will be progressively busy getting things done in the bedrooms.
With that happy information, as long I can get done what I want to get done, we will be sleeping in the master bedroom tonight and I will make my presence known on the Monster Hunter Online community so that I can get some hunting done tonight before bed. I am excited!! I haven't been able to hunt all weekend and it has been horrible.
It is now Thursday and I have just realized that I started writing this out, well typing this out, four days ago. Do you know what happens when I work day shift? I work and then forget about things like this because I come home and immediately start doing housework. I know that it is the thing that I have to do because I'm an adult, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. The good news is that I have the desk downstairs and the master bedroom is populated with all of our stuff. Now I just have to clean it all up, clean the carpets in the other room and get the boys' rooms picked up so that we can finish moving all of the toys and such upstairs into the playroom. It will be so nice to not have to worry about that stuff being in the living room anymore.
Since it is four days later than when I started this post, I will end it here so that I can start another edition of The Arena at a later time. I have chores and such to do so that I can not have to worry about a few things for a while. She is already mad enough at me as it is. I need to be finished by Saturday since we are doing the youngest lad's birthday party that day. So, enjoy the rest of your Thursday and I hope that your Friday and weekend are all that you have wished for in a weekend.
Until next time, this is WIckid, signing off......
Lunch time is just around the corner here at the house so of course, I am taking some of that down time to come out to see you guys. Two days in a row! This hasn't happened in quite a while, but I figure since the wife is sleeping and resting comfortably in bed, I might as well get one of these typed out while I can.
In the time it took me to type that last paragraph, my wife has arisen from her slumber and meandered downstairs to the delight of the children. Not that I am an angry ogre that likes to be mean to children, it's just that she is now up and I have four momma's boys. Theoretically they will grow out of it and then we can get them to be independent and able to do their own thing.
Now that she is awake, I am making her lunch and then I will be getting to work upstairs with the manual labor and the moving of the rooms. I am excited to finally have the master bedroom again. There are just some simple pleasures in life that I enjoy. The master bedroom happens to be one of them. I am excited to have a little bit more room and the two closets are just an amazing feature. I get to have my own closet!! Not that I really need it since we can fit both of our stuff into one closet and still have a little bit of room to spare. So after I finish eating lunch and getting the wife taken care of, I will be progressively busy getting things done in the bedrooms.
With that happy information, as long I can get done what I want to get done, we will be sleeping in the master bedroom tonight and I will make my presence known on the Monster Hunter Online community so that I can get some hunting done tonight before bed. I am excited!! I haven't been able to hunt all weekend and it has been horrible.
It is now Thursday and I have just realized that I started writing this out, well typing this out, four days ago. Do you know what happens when I work day shift? I work and then forget about things like this because I come home and immediately start doing housework. I know that it is the thing that I have to do because I'm an adult, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. The good news is that I have the desk downstairs and the master bedroom is populated with all of our stuff. Now I just have to clean it all up, clean the carpets in the other room and get the boys' rooms picked up so that we can finish moving all of the toys and such upstairs into the playroom. It will be so nice to not have to worry about that stuff being in the living room anymore.
Since it is four days later than when I started this post, I will end it here so that I can start another edition of The Arena at a later time. I have chores and such to do so that I can not have to worry about a few things for a while. She is already mad enough at me as it is. I need to be finished by Saturday since we are doing the youngest lad's birthday party that day. So, enjoy the rest of your Thursday and I hope that your Friday and weekend are all that you have wished for in a weekend.
Until next time, this is WIckid, signing off......
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Irritating Things
Welcome back to The Arena! It has been a few days since I have been on here to come talk to you guys. I do apologize for that. Things have been rather busy here around the House of Wickid. As most of you know who read the last post, I have been moved over to a schedule of day shift for work. Not the most ideal of schedules, but it has been something that we have been able to work around. On the newest things that I haven't been able to post recently.
First and foremost, I have been told that I will be stuck on days for a little while longer. I'm not too happy about this because I was told two days ago that I was going back to my regularly scheduled programming for swings. I like it much better there because it completely fits into the way we were doing things here at home. There is just something very difficult about trying to explain to two little autistic children that mommy has to go to work so that we can have food and pay bills and have money to do fun things. It's really hard to do when they are having a meltdown. So, of course, when given the information yesterday about staying on days, I became rather irritated and annoyed. How hard is it to just do what you say you are going to do? I know that the boss may have his reasons for saying what he did, but for the love of gawd please inform the little people so we know why. I don't like being told things without a reason. A logical sound reason would have stopped me from getting so upset. I went to talk to my Chief about the issue and he was busy doing something that needed his full attention. So, on Monday, I will get to spend a little time talking to him about getting me back to the swing shift so that it better coincides with my schedule. I don't like causing trouble or stepping on people's toes, but sometimes it just has to be done. I will let you guys know how that conversation goes. If he doesn't plan on fighting for me, then I guess I will just suck it up and deal with it for the final 14 months of shore duty.
Update to the moving process of the sister-in-law. She finally has her room cleaned out. She is coming over today to go through some of the last little bit of things that she has here so that we can finish up the process. We already have the bedroom mostly cleaned. The bathroom in the master bedroom is done and I have a closet with the hang up clothes in there ready to go. Since we have two closets in the master, the wife and I will each get our own closet. It will definitely make things a lot easier when putting clothes away. I meant to finish cleaning up the floor last night so that I could clean the carpet in there and have it ready to be moved into this morning. In fact, when I get done here I need to go do that. Then again I am home with the children by myself so I probably won't get to it until after my wife gets home.
Speaking of the wife, she has now been prepped for her third surgery in 4 months. This time they are trying to save her remaining ovary. If they can't, they will end up taking it and she will no longer have her ovaries. Sucks major balls, but there is no sense in her keeping something that is causing her immense pain. The surgery is theoretically supposed to be starting here in the next 15 minutes or so. I am obviously not there because I am here with the children. She ended up having to work last night, so she wasn't home with me. I woke up to that message this morning and have been cleaning and listening to music to keep me distracted. Now that I am taking a "quick break" from the cleaning, I figured I would drop you guys a line to let you know that I am still alive and kicking. Life can't keep me down for long.
In case you were wondering, I am healing up nicely from my surgery and I am back to about 95% efficiency in my capability to do things. There is still some residual pain and tenderness, but nothing that I can't handle with a quick pill. No, I'm not taking narcotics. Simple ibuprofen is taking care of the issue. I have spent the last week at work doing actual manual labor and getting things that need to be done, done. I feel rather accomplished with myself.
Things have gotten about a million times better between me and my wife. As you may recall, we went through a bit of a rough patch because I am an idiot and made poor decisions. Those days are behind us and we have been moving in a nice forward direction. I have been keeping up on the housework and keeping myself out of trouble. For the most part. I still get into trouble from time to time, but its just who I am. It's like I'm a guy or something.
Due to my wife's health issues, she has been kept out of work for a bit. It seems like every time she is able and ready to go to work, something happens that takes her out of work for a few days. That job she had at Subway on base has ended because they have been verbally bashing her about it all. They knew when she was hired that she had health issues. They seemed to either have ignored that part or completely missed it when she told them. Needless to say, she is getting a note together, along with her uniforms, so that I can go drop it all off for her and sever ties with a group of employees that are just complete asshats. She was doing good there. Apparently, they were wanting to make her a shift leader because she was just so awesome. She obviously isn't taking that position since she is quitting. It's better this way because at least I know at Jack In the Box, the manager will accommodate as necessary to have her shifts covered. I'm glad that the manager is our friend because this wouldn't be happening otherwise.
As the music plays and I have the oven heating up to make lunch, I am reminded that it is Saturday and you know what that means. Bohica2k Radio is playing tonight. Hopefully, I can get some free time during bath time and things that need to be done tonight to get some fresh happy tunes shoved into my ears and enjoy some good music. Pandora radio is alright, but there is nothing like the radio station that my uncle runs. If you haven't checked it out, stop on over to www.b2kradio.com tonight around 10 p.m. eastern standard time. (add or subtract as necessary to figure out when it will start playing for you. It plays at 7 p.m. west coast time.) Drop in and listen to the club like tunes without having to stand in line and pay a cover charge. Plus, you can enjoy the comforts of your own home and even dance naked. (if that is your thing.)
With that little bit of advertising done, it is time for me to finish lunch for the children while feeding myself. I know that if I don't eat I will get rather cranky. So, enjoy the post and your Saturday. I am off to do things that I need to be doing. Have fun and if you can, go outside and enjoy some nice weather. It's sunny and relatively warm here in good old Washington state. I'm OUT!!
Wickid
First and foremost, I have been told that I will be stuck on days for a little while longer. I'm not too happy about this because I was told two days ago that I was going back to my regularly scheduled programming for swings. I like it much better there because it completely fits into the way we were doing things here at home. There is just something very difficult about trying to explain to two little autistic children that mommy has to go to work so that we can have food and pay bills and have money to do fun things. It's really hard to do when they are having a meltdown. So, of course, when given the information yesterday about staying on days, I became rather irritated and annoyed. How hard is it to just do what you say you are going to do? I know that the boss may have his reasons for saying what he did, but for the love of gawd please inform the little people so we know why. I don't like being told things without a reason. A logical sound reason would have stopped me from getting so upset. I went to talk to my Chief about the issue and he was busy doing something that needed his full attention. So, on Monday, I will get to spend a little time talking to him about getting me back to the swing shift so that it better coincides with my schedule. I don't like causing trouble or stepping on people's toes, but sometimes it just has to be done. I will let you guys know how that conversation goes. If he doesn't plan on fighting for me, then I guess I will just suck it up and deal with it for the final 14 months of shore duty.
Update to the moving process of the sister-in-law. She finally has her room cleaned out. She is coming over today to go through some of the last little bit of things that she has here so that we can finish up the process. We already have the bedroom mostly cleaned. The bathroom in the master bedroom is done and I have a closet with the hang up clothes in there ready to go. Since we have two closets in the master, the wife and I will each get our own closet. It will definitely make things a lot easier when putting clothes away. I meant to finish cleaning up the floor last night so that I could clean the carpet in there and have it ready to be moved into this morning. In fact, when I get done here I need to go do that. Then again I am home with the children by myself so I probably won't get to it until after my wife gets home.
Speaking of the wife, she has now been prepped for her third surgery in 4 months. This time they are trying to save her remaining ovary. If they can't, they will end up taking it and she will no longer have her ovaries. Sucks major balls, but there is no sense in her keeping something that is causing her immense pain. The surgery is theoretically supposed to be starting here in the next 15 minutes or so. I am obviously not there because I am here with the children. She ended up having to work last night, so she wasn't home with me. I woke up to that message this morning and have been cleaning and listening to music to keep me distracted. Now that I am taking a "quick break" from the cleaning, I figured I would drop you guys a line to let you know that I am still alive and kicking. Life can't keep me down for long.
In case you were wondering, I am healing up nicely from my surgery and I am back to about 95% efficiency in my capability to do things. There is still some residual pain and tenderness, but nothing that I can't handle with a quick pill. No, I'm not taking narcotics. Simple ibuprofen is taking care of the issue. I have spent the last week at work doing actual manual labor and getting things that need to be done, done. I feel rather accomplished with myself.
Things have gotten about a million times better between me and my wife. As you may recall, we went through a bit of a rough patch because I am an idiot and made poor decisions. Those days are behind us and we have been moving in a nice forward direction. I have been keeping up on the housework and keeping myself out of trouble. For the most part. I still get into trouble from time to time, but its just who I am. It's like I'm a guy or something.
Due to my wife's health issues, she has been kept out of work for a bit. It seems like every time she is able and ready to go to work, something happens that takes her out of work for a few days. That job she had at Subway on base has ended because they have been verbally bashing her about it all. They knew when she was hired that she had health issues. They seemed to either have ignored that part or completely missed it when she told them. Needless to say, she is getting a note together, along with her uniforms, so that I can go drop it all off for her and sever ties with a group of employees that are just complete asshats. She was doing good there. Apparently, they were wanting to make her a shift leader because she was just so awesome. She obviously isn't taking that position since she is quitting. It's better this way because at least I know at Jack In the Box, the manager will accommodate as necessary to have her shifts covered. I'm glad that the manager is our friend because this wouldn't be happening otherwise.
As the music plays and I have the oven heating up to make lunch, I am reminded that it is Saturday and you know what that means. Bohica2k Radio is playing tonight. Hopefully, I can get some free time during bath time and things that need to be done tonight to get some fresh happy tunes shoved into my ears and enjoy some good music. Pandora radio is alright, but there is nothing like the radio station that my uncle runs. If you haven't checked it out, stop on over to www.b2kradio.com tonight around 10 p.m. eastern standard time. (add or subtract as necessary to figure out when it will start playing for you. It plays at 7 p.m. west coast time.) Drop in and listen to the club like tunes without having to stand in line and pay a cover charge. Plus, you can enjoy the comforts of your own home and even dance naked. (if that is your thing.)
With that little bit of advertising done, it is time for me to finish lunch for the children while feeding myself. I know that if I don't eat I will get rather cranky. So, enjoy the post and your Saturday. I am off to do things that I need to be doing. Have fun and if you can, go outside and enjoy some nice weather. It's sunny and relatively warm here in good old Washington state. I'm OUT!!
Wickid
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Day Walker???
As most of you know, I work a lot at night. I feel like a vampire already whenever I walk into a dark Sonar shack on the submarine. This night job, as I like to call it, is a nice way to continue in my vampire traditions. Well, since my surgery at the end of March, I have been up and down with sleep. Not that I haven't been getting any sleep, just haven't found the right juju to keep the sleeps going. I have started working the day shift since I am light limited duty. Let me tell you, swing shift is a godsend. I can't stand having to mind my P's and Q's and making sure that I am seen by people. I just can't do it. I have spent so much time "in the dark" that I want to keep it that way. I was under the impression that I was only to do one week (this week) as a member of day shift before returning to my regularly scheduled programming. I got told yesterday that I was to remain on day shift until the end of the pay period. I'm unsure as to why it matters because I get paid differently then the civilian employees do. My "time" really doesn't matter since I get paid on a 24/7/365 pay scale. One of the few perks of being active duty. I get that money all the time. Not like I'm rich or anything, but I do enjoy knowing that every action I make, whether it is meaningful or not, is a paid action. Sitting here right now, typing this out for you guys means I am getting paid to be a blogger. Go ahead and just add that to the list of things that I am known for doing. It'll be okay.
So now that I am considering myself a "daywalker", I find it hard to stay up like I normally do. See, usually I am still up and going at this time instead of wanting to crawl into bed and go to sleep. Right now the yawning won't stop and I still have three kids to bathe. Two of them are in the tub now. The third sits in his room playing Lego Batman on the XBox. Not that he is spoiled or anything.
**After that "quick" commercial break**
As I was saying, he isn't spoiled or anything. He is currently in his room right now living it up and playing games. During the spring break we are letting him stay up as late as he wants so that he theoretically sleeps in. He has slept in for a little bit. As long as he is quiet we don't care. At least he will have his brother coming back to be here with us on Sunday. At least school starts next week.
You know what is weird? It takes most of my energy to get through three bathing cycles. Well, four if you count the fact that I have to wash Lucas and then Damen. Now that I am showered and shaved, its time to relax and hopefully get some shut eye before 2300 tonight. I;m not sure how well that is going to work out, but we are damn sure going to try.
I have noticed that the number of views for each post has been increasing as of late. You guys are AWESOME!! Keep up the views and enjoying the reading. See you guys later!!
Wickid
So now that I am considering myself a "daywalker", I find it hard to stay up like I normally do. See, usually I am still up and going at this time instead of wanting to crawl into bed and go to sleep. Right now the yawning won't stop and I still have three kids to bathe. Two of them are in the tub now. The third sits in his room playing Lego Batman on the XBox. Not that he is spoiled or anything.
**After that "quick" commercial break**
As I was saying, he isn't spoiled or anything. He is currently in his room right now living it up and playing games. During the spring break we are letting him stay up as late as he wants so that he theoretically sleeps in. He has slept in for a little bit. As long as he is quiet we don't care. At least he will have his brother coming back to be here with us on Sunday. At least school starts next week.
You know what is weird? It takes most of my energy to get through three bathing cycles. Well, four if you count the fact that I have to wash Lucas and then Damen. Now that I am showered and shaved, its time to relax and hopefully get some shut eye before 2300 tonight. I;m not sure how well that is going to work out, but we are damn sure going to try.
I have noticed that the number of views for each post has been increasing as of late. You guys are AWESOME!! Keep up the views and enjoying the reading. See you guys later!!
Wickid
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