2009..... A look ahead

OK, so here it is. 2009! The year of..... something.

I have made several commitments for the year. Let's see how well I keep up with them.

I am going to really get into this blogging thing. I'll review restaurants, pizza joints, bars, amusement parks, gas station bathrooms (trust me, I see alot of them), and anything else that tickles my fancy. Did I say that right? Sounds kinda kinky. Anyway.....

I'm going to spend more time with the important people in my life, particularly my kids.

I'm going to kiss my wife and tell her I love her everyday.

I'm going to be even more successful in my job, and I promise to post funny crap that happens to me in customers homes.

I'm going to be smarter financially while still enjoying life.

I'm going to be more postive and happier in general.

2009 will be a great year.

Oh yeah, I'm gonna mail out Christmas cards this year too!

As for the bigger picture, I hope Obama gets this country out of this economic nightmare that we are in. I know it won't be easy and won't happen overnight but, a positive outlook by all will help immensley. I hope this thing in Iraq comes to a true end. I know we can't just pull our troops out all at once but we need to start bring the troops home. I hope Governor Patterson wakes up and realises how stupid he sounds. New York state is bad enough, we don't need it worse. Does he really want to put an obesity tax on soda? What the hell is that? Ughh.

So, 2009, here I am. Bring it on!

2008.... A year in review

It's been a long time since I last posted on here so I wanted to do a little something to catch up or whatever you want to call it. I'll sum up the last 2 months of 2008 quickly then get on with the show.

As a family we had a wonderful Thanksgiving as we always do. It's a great Holiday for family to get together and enjoy each others company and that's exactly what we did. Lots of food and some good company is always pleasant. Did I mention that I'm allergic to that stuff in Turkey that makes ya sleepy? I eat it anyway. Too good to pass up.

My oldest son turned 15 on the 4th of December. He's a great kid and never complains about anything and does what is asked without hesitation. Knowing this I wanted to do some special stuff for him. I got him the rest of his paintball equipment and scheduled a huge outing for a bunch of us to go paint balling. It's gonna be a blast.

Christmas.... Usually the most stressful holiday of the year for me. I want my kids to be happy, not just with gifts but with us as a family. This year, they all gave me their list which were incredibly small. Granted, they are all older and their ideas are more expensive but it made me proud that they didn't expect a ton of things. They each had one large (expensive) gift and the rest were small, relatively inexpensive things. It took a load off my mind. All 3 of them told me that as long as we were together as a family on Christmas, they were happy. That was enough to make me cry. So far, we've raised good kids. I spent less money on gifts this year than I have since I only had 1 kid. Not so stressed anymore. Once again, Heather and I did not get each other anything. We have each other, our kids, and a beautiful home, that's all we need. Life is good.

OK, now for 2008.

My life has come to a point where I have all the right things in place to make it better. I received a massive raise at work while many places were laying people off. Heathers disability payments are in effect. Heather is working a part time job for some extra income. Our relationship has grown even more. Our kids continue to do well in school. I will look back on 2008 and know that it was the year that it all began to come together.

I learned who my friends really are.

I learned not to expect more from someone than they are willing to give.

I learned that when someone says something that upsets me, I need to walk away and settle down before I react.

I learned that little things mean a lot.

I learned that no matter what I want, my kids are still going to grow up.

Most of all, I learned.....

The glass is always half full!

Lesson

I learned a valuable lesson from a very good friend of mine. He told me that when someone in your life constantly disappoints you, change your expectations of that person and you won't be disappointed anymore. I know it sounds kinda weird but, I did it. The end result, I'm happier. I think this is advice everyone can use. There is no reason to go through life expecting something that won't happen and continuing to be miserable over it. One of the definitions of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting different results each time. I'm not insane. I'm done playing the games. I need to be happy for my own sake.

Thanks Mike!

Catch Up

Man, I need to get on here a tad more often to update. I get so much going on and so much I want to say, by the time I get around to posting I want to say a million things and can't remember it all. I'm just going to start in order of which is on my mind heaviest.

My brother. What a bonehead. My brother has been with the same girl for quite sometime. I think like 7 years. They always seem to have a good relationship although my brother can be very difficult and pig headed at times. They have a little boy together and on September 1st welcomed a new baby girl to the world. She had lots of complications with the pregnancy and ended up have an emergency c-section. She was overdue so I'm not sure emergency is the correct word but still. Yesterday, I get a text from him that simply says "in trouble, %#@$$ left" I was kinda shocked but in the same sense knew it was coming. My brother is addicted to his job and cannot get a break from it ever. Hell, we had a golf tournament and his phone rang on every hole. It was ridiculous. I called him up and spoke to him about it and I told him to find a different job. It was way too consuming and he hates it anyway.
I spoke to my wife about this and she called his wife to make sure she was OK and she found out the real reason. She didn't bash my brother but constantly asked what she did wrong. Turns out my brother was being a jerk and treating her like crap. Being a lazy husband basically. Not helping with chores, not taking the kids out, not spending time with them as a family. I guess the final straw was he called her lazy and said she wasn't crippled. This was an hour after she got home from the hospital.
I was pretty ticked off when my wife called me back. I don't usually get involved in other peoples relationships but I wasn't not going to say something. I vowed to meet up with my brother later on after work to talk. Well, that lasted about 2 hours. I ended up calling my brother and tried to pry out of him the issues, playing stupid at the same time. He first said they had nothing in common. What a line of BS that is. Suddenly after 7 years you have nothing in common. I told him to try again. He started making excuses so I went off. I yelled at him a bit. Told him to get his head out of his ass and be a father and a real husband, not just on on paper. I explained to him what good husbands do and how to treat his wife. I was ticked and on a mission. I told him to stop taking relationship advice from a guy that's been married 3 times, his best friend in particular. Hell, that's be like me taking financial advice from my father. Not really a good idea. I went off for about 20 minutes. The one thing I told him over and over was to get his head out of his ass because his family is the one thing he doesn't want to loose. When I was done, I told him I loved him and will always be here for him. He was crying, so I know I struck a nerve.
My wife went to see the baby last night and take some gifts we had gotten. She had a great conversation with his wife. She's a good person, he's just pig headed. His wives father went to my brothers apartment to pick up some stuff for the baby and her. When he came back, he said my brother was cleaning the apartment. Maybe he listened to me. I can only hope.

This November is very important for this country. I'm a big follower of politics and have my opinions on it all. I'm a registered Republican on paper but a registered American at heart. I'll vote who I feel is better for this country as a whole. I don't care what party they are from, what color their skin is or what kind of package they have in their pants. I want, as all Americans should, whoever is best for the future of this country. I think both candidates have excellent qualities and both candidates are idiots at the same time. I think Obama made a huge mistake for not putting Hillary on his ticket but, then again, does he really want someone that wants to be President more than anything in the world just a bullet away from her goal. I'm not saying, I'm just saying. Know what I mean.
The one thing that may keep me from voting against Obama is the fact that he throws the race card out there too much. I don't care that he's HALF black, which he fails to mention. I don't care if he was half purple. Color doesn't matter. I want to know what he can do for our country, to bring it back to greatness. What is he going to do for the economy, the war on terror, our illegal immigrant situation? What? That's what's important. I do like his lack of experience in the political world. I think that is a good thing only for the reason that he hasn't been corrupted by Washington as much as others. That may be his strongest point for me.
McCain, I'm not so sure about him. He had my vote until he started flip flopping. Make up your mind. Pick where you're going and go there. Don't change your mind on critical issues just because. He has no clue on the economy, at all. That part scares me. I know with him, the war on terror will not be forgotten, that's a given. Despite what others say, I like his choice for VP. She's smart and stands up for what she believes in. I watched an interview with her from about 4 months ago and she has an excellent head on her shoulders. As for her family issues. That's none of my business. Her daughter getting pregnant at 17 just goes to prove that she's more like the rest of us average citizens. That's not a bad trait.
So who will I vote for? I haven't got a clue. The next few months when I see the debates and where each person stands on issues, I'll make up my mind. As of right now, I wouldn't know what lever to pull.
To all the people that say harsh words to each other over their party status i say this..... Get a life! Quit your bitching and get a life. When it all comes down to it, we all belong to just one party and that is the AMERICAN Party.

My job here is done for now. Keep in touch with yourselves.