Vines

I decided to take on a minor home outside project on Tuesday, and I think I actually succeeded, without incident. If you have read past posts, then you know my last outside project lead in a broken lawn mower. While the boys, "Two" and "Other Two" were at their weekly scout meeting, I decided to remove the vines crawling up the side of my building over my garage. The vines were all over the side of the garage, and over top of the garage door in front. I don't know what type of vines they are, since I am not a herbologist, botanist, or whatever "ist" that knows about plants and vines. I do know the following: The vines aren't poison ivy, they are smelly, dirty, and look nasty on the side of my building. So I went to the bottom of the wall, and found where the ivy grows from the ground, applied my pruning shears, and snipped. Then it was a simple (relatively actually) matter of pulling the vine off the wall. The hard part was getting the vine off the top third of the wall as I am only 5' 7", and the wall is about 12'. This is where I should have gone into the garage, pulled out my step ladder and completed the job, BUT... Being a relatively new home-owner, I don't have a step ladder yet. However, I do have a small step stool that I use inside. With that, and a metal rake, I was able to get most of the ivy completely off the wall. The job is done, except I now have a pile of vines drying in front of my garage door. I was supposed to clean the vine remains up Wednesday night, but I visited "Sweetie" instead... That's another story.

Now if I could only figure out how to get the remaining scraps of old, dry, clingy vines off the rest of the wall, I would be very happy. I also have to keep an eye on it and trim it back if it attempts to sprout up again.

Comcast

Comcast is my local cable TV provider, and in the past few years has also been providing a high speed Internet connection, and digital phone service. I have been using Comcast for all of these services for at least 2 years now, and I haven't had any problems with the service, although the billing statements are a little difficult to read and understand. The only other problem I have ever had is that I have a DVR (Digital Video Record) box, and it has "flaked out" a few times and had to be replaced, which caused me to lose some recordings... It replacements didn't cause any major problems, just some annoyance on my part over the lost recordings. "Sweetie" has over the same period of time has had many problems with Comcast. A little over a year ago she switched from Verizon to Comcast for her phone line, and went from dial up Internet access to the Comcast High Speed connection. She only kept both for about a month because her phone service was unreliable and she would lose calls, or get disconnected in the middle of conversations. She switched to back to Verizon phone service, and installed Verizon DSL, but since she could not install a dish at her place, she kept Comcast cable TV. She has had Verizon for almost a year, and the only problem she had with Verizon was the DSL was that it was a little flaky with the wireless router I had installed. So we corrected this by just unhooking the router. Her son, "Other Two," felt the DSL service was slower than Comcast, and as he is apt to do, reminded her constantly about how he wished the Internet was faster. So when she got an good offer and a promise from Comcast that her phone problems would not happen again, she decided to switch back to Comcast. Her installation was scheduled on this past Thursday between 4PM and 8PM. Apparently they have to give a 4 hour window. I mean if the installer would have arrived at 8PM, would you still want him working on it that late at night? Anyway, the install was scheduled while I was at the bowling alley, and to be honest I didn't expect there would be any problems. Around 5:30PM, on my way to the lanes I called her to see if the installer had arrived yet, and she said "No" and was worried they were not going to show. She was also getting pressure from "Other Two" to take him to the YMCA so he could swim. Since she had to wait for the installer to arrive, she couldn't take him to the Y, and he got more frustrated the later it got. I called her on my way home from bowling and found that the installer, Jason, arrived around 6PM, and after a little over 3 hours worth of work he wasn't able to get the phone or Internet working. "Sweetie" was at her wits end and told him that he had to go because she had to get up early for work the next day. Plus "Other Two" freaked out about getting to the Y so she arranged with her Ex to take him down and back, which didn't make her happy. You would think that Comcast would automatically reschedule some one to finish the job the next day, especially if they are customer oriented... Well, Comcast installation/support is FAR from customer oriented, which you should be able to tell by the "4 hour windows" for arrival times. I called Comcast Friday morning (remember she doesn't have a phone now), to get someone to finish the work. They promise me a "second level" tech will be at her place after 4PM. By 8PM, there was no tech at all, first, second or third level. In the mean time I had spoken with a service representative named Tim, ever hour from 5 to 8PM. Each time I was told he was doing everything he could, which was not very effective, since no one showed up. He promised me to talk with a supervisor, which never happened. At 10PM, Tim called me back and did offer me a credit on the billing of $20.00 for our trouble, and attempted to schedule someone on Saturday by 4PM... Gee thanks! Saturday morning, Jason, the original installer called "Sweetie" and said he would like to finish the job, but "Sweetie" was uncomfortable having him come over, as she felt he wasn't competent to do the job. I called Comcast and pleaded to get someone there sooner, but they just weren't able to get there before 4PM. Around 1:30PM, Jason called back and asked again, and at this time I was willing to try anything, so I agreed to meet Jason at "Sweetie's" house to finish the job at 2PM. At 3:40PM, Jason was still working on it, and the scheduled Comcast installers showed up. They talked briefly with Jason, and then explained to me that he was one of their best techs, and they would be doing exactly what he was doing, and taking just as long, because the problem was on the company's side, not Jason's work. 2o minutes later, Jason succeeded in getting the phone and Internet working... FINALLY! I found out later that Jason came to "Sweetie's" house on his own time to finish the job, as he was supposed to have the day off on Saturday. So there are people who care at Comcast. Thanks Jason! Sweetie is up and running, but a little nervous about Comcast because of the rocky start. Hopefully she won't have any other problems, because if not, I think someone at Comcast will be losing a body part. :-) Later Lou

Bowling update

Real short bowling update: My bowling team won 5 out of 7 points last night, which means we won 2 games, and total pins for the night. This is quite a feat as we are in eigth place in our division and we were bowling against the 7th placed team! :-) Later Lou

Chat with me...

If you haven't noticed I added a new feature on my blog.. Over to the right in my "sidebar" you will see a little grey box titled "Chat with me". Until recently, I haven't used an instant messenger for quite some time, and I finally decided I wanted to get back into it again. I have used AOL's Instant Messenger (AIM), Yahoo!IM, ICQ, and MSN Messenger, and I have accounts and contacts on each of them, and in the past I used to keep all of them running at the same time... Then I found a software package called "Trillian" which is a single IM client that allows you to connect to all of the other services. It worked great at home, but I couldn't use it at work, because I am not allowed to install software at work. Since I spend a considerable amount of time at work, and most of my computer time at work, and very little time at home on the computer, I really didn't get to use the software much. When my computer needed to be reinstalled because I crashed the harddrive, I decided to not reinstall the chat software. A few weeks ago I heard about this software called "meeBo". I heard it was a IM client like Trillian, so out of curiosity led me to the site http://www.meebo.com/ to check it out. What I found was something better than Trillian. I found that it was indeed a single IM client that uses multiple services, but even better is that it is web based, and doesn't require software to be installed on my computer... WOW! That meant I could use the software ANYWHERE on any computer including at work (as long as they don't block the site). So I signed up for free, set everything up, and was very surpised to see works great! And to add the icing to the cake, it's not blocked at work! So now I am able to chat with all of my friends (I think I still have a few) on the various chat networks with my Internet Explorer window at work! I am very happy with meeBo, and I started poking around in the setup and I found something rather neat and unexpected. When I was going through the setup for the site there was this thing called "meebo me", and at first I didn't understand what that was. I spent a little time investigating, reading, and experimenting, and I found that "meebo me" allows me to embed a chat client on my website (blog) so people could chat with me right from my site! So being the techie geek, nerd that I am, I quickly added the client to my sidebar, and now you can see that when I am online, and can chat with me real time without needing to install a chat client or even sign up for any service! Cool huh? Later Lou

My new lawn mower

I went to the marital home tonight to do a little more yard work. I hadn't been there for two weeks ago Wednesday with "Sweetie", "Two" and "Other Two" when we did the first major clean up of the yard. It wasn't really bad, but after the last few days of rain, it started growing up again.

I got the lawn mower out, and pulled the starting cord, and it started in one pull... You just got to love new mowers! I had only used the lawn mower once before since I bought it a few weeks ago from Home Depot. I started mowing along the front of the property, where there is a small strip of grass between the street and sidewalk, and then I moved to the side of the house near the alley. I knew that "Ex" had thrown into that area broken cement blocks in an attempt to turn that section into a parking spot, and I thought I knew where all of the blocks were because I had cut the grass there before.

I used the lawn mower, which did a great job, around the edges of the area where the block is, and when I was done it looked a lot better than it had before when I used the weed whacker. I got a little ambitious since things were going well, and I decided to walk the area and pull out any blocks that were sticking up and mow that area with the mower. It was going really well right up until I hit a big stone that I didn't see during my walk through. It stalled the mower. Well I found the stone, removed it, restarted the mower and continued, only for the mower to hit another stone and stall. I decided I better take a look because I was pretty sure there was no stone there.

This is what I found:

Here's another view in case you can't make it out:

If you still can't make it out, let me "'splain it to you, Lucy..." The blade hit the rock or block, and bent down, so when the blade spins it digs a trench in the ground, which is why the second time I started I hit something that I couldn't see, because the "something" was IN the ground.

Well so much for being "ambitious", and thinking I could spot, remove, and otherwise avoid all the obstacles and cut the grass with my new mower. I now have to remove the blade, figure out where to get it fixed or get a replacement. Both of which cost money, that I don't have.

BTW: On a semi-related topic, I contacted "webuyuglyhouses.com" and they are going to meet with me and see if they are willing to buy my "ugly" house! So maybe I will get rid of this money pit, and possibly recoup some of my losses? Well, I may be training myself to be optimistic, but in this case I am not holding out much hope. Based on how things have been going with this property, I am sure I am going to be stuck with it.

Wanna buy a house? Cheap?

Later Lou

YMCA visit

Last night after work I picked up "Two" and "Four" from "Ex's" place, and we decided to go visit the YMCA. At the beginning of the year, one of my resolutions was to start working out more frequently so I could improve my health, and get in better shape. I haven't done a very good job at that resolution. I make it once or twice a month now instead of two or three times a week, like I did when I first started.

It's not because I don't want to, it's just with the fact that "Three" doesn't like to go to the Y and buying my home, getting another house dropped on you, and still working a 40+ hours a week at my job, it's not like I have had a lot of free time... OK you are right, that's an excuse. I could get up earlier in the morning and go before work, or make it a priority and do it in the evenings... BUT... (we will leave it there)

The reason I brought up the Y is because recently they remodeled and added on a few new sections to the building. There is a new gym, and a new pool, both of which I haven't used yet. As a matter of fact, I am not sure how to even get to the new gym and the new pool is only used for special programs (I think)... So for me a YMCA visit is exactly the same as it has been since I started... I walk on the elliptical machine for about 35 minutes, working up a good sweat, then I shower, and hit the pool for 15 - 20 minutes, and then I clean up and get out of there.

Before we went to the Y, I did a drive by to check out the yard at the marital home, and saw that I am going to need to run the lawn mower again. I am planning to do the yard work tonight after I drop of "Two" at his Boy Scout meeting. Speaking of the martial home, I went online to "webuyuglyhouses.com" to see if they would be willing to take that building off my hands. I got a response saying that they would have a representative give me a call. So I am going to cross my fingers and see if they want it, and then I can walk away from it. Of course, I would love to make money off of it, but to do that I need money to do a "refurb", and that I don't have, and I haven't found a lender to help me out. If you want to send me money, just let me know and I will Email you my address so you can send me a check! :-)

Later Lou

Dream

I know that one of the most boring things to listen to is someone telling you about a dream they just had... Well, since no one is reading this anyway, I won't be boring anyone when I tell you about an usual dream I had last night.

There are all kinds of dreams of course, but for me lately, I have been having very vivid dreams. Dreams that to me at the time feel like the real world. Of course when I wake, I wonder how I could have ever considered that real. Because of the vividness of the dream, it's memory lingers awhile, and I sit and contemplate the dream, and whether there is any meaning or significance of it. I have never read a dream interpretation book, or had anyone try to explain my dreams to me, and to be honest, I am not sure I would want to know what they might mean...

During this past weekend during my brief conversations with "Sweetie", she mentioned that she had a dream about her ex husband, that she hasn't seen or heard from in many years. Last night, I had a dream in which my ex was in. The dream wasn't about her, but she was in it.

The dream had a couple of different parts, and I won't bore you with the details, but I do want to share a few of the highlights. The dream started with myself and "Ex" riding bikes down a long stretch of road that I don't frequent very often, and I believe I was trying to get to work. This particular road doesn't go between my house and work in real life, but in my dream it did. It also seemed perfectly normal for me to be riding a bike with Ex along the road, like I do it every day. We stopped at a yard sale, or some kind of rummage sale, and I found a pair of slippers that had what looked like real toes at the end of the shoe (to be honest here, I believe that's from a picture I saw on the internet of shoes that looked like feet). In my dream, they didn't look like real feet, they were soft bottomed white slippers with just some plastic toes attached to the front.

Anyway, besides these slippers looking unusual with the toes, when I wore them, I didn't touch the ground. When I walked my feet never touched down instead they kept me a few inches off the ground, so the white bottoms of the slippers would never get dirty. If I concentrated, I could lift myself about 6 feet off the ground and hover there, and in my dream, I still felt it was normal!

The last part of my dream I was back on the bike again, this time without "Ex", and I was going home from work. A co-worker was also going home, but in a different type bike. His bike looked like a small child's "pedal car" made to look like a bike. He sat inside this toy like car and sped down the road faster than I could go on my bike. He pulled over at a service station and I caught up with him to compliment him on his speed and to check out his "cool" bike. I was amazed that it could go so fast when it looked like big plastic toy. The service station was near the river, and so after I was done looking at the toy I went to the back side of the service station and looked down into the river and could see a lot of fish swimming in the river. And even though the water was murky river water, I could still see the fish.

So there you have it. I dreamt about bike riding with my ex, and a coworker. I had a pair of magical floating slippers and I could see fish in the river... You thought I was going to tell you about a sexy babe or something cool like that huh? Well, maybe next time.

Later Lou

Weekend Work...

I had to go into to work this weekend, since I missed two days earlier this week (my mental health days) and I had a deadline for my project this past Friday. I mentioned earlier that I work for a software company, Retalix, but what I didn't mention is what I do there.

I am a software developer, in otherwords I write computer programs. I get to design, create, and modify the software. Unfortunately, the software I work on isn't as exciting as a game nor it is as well known as Windows, but I have been working on it for over a decade, and to me it's pretty cool. Recently, I have been starting to work on other software products that the company sells and getting some new experience, but my heart is still in the product I have worked on the last 10 years. The deadline I missed is for the product I have been working on.

Since I didn't have the kids this weekend, and "Sweetie" has decided to"move on", I had the time so I stayed at work until around 11PM on Saturday. I got most of the work done Saturday, but I had to go back today to finish it up and test it. Well I got the work done, and it will be ready first thing Monday morning. I will have to spend a little bit of time showing the rest of the team my work and testing it again to insure it works without any issues, and then I will move onto the next project.

Before I went to work this morning, I called "Sweetie" to talk. I was trying to figure out if she really wanted to "move on" without me, or was she just frustrated at the time about something else. Well we talked, and I still don't have the answer to that question. However, she did invite me to stop over after I was done working to visit for a little while. When I got there her father, her daughter "Other One", "Other one's" husband (gotta think of a nickname for him), and "Other Two" were all there. "Other One" even brought their cute dog. So we visited a little bit and then "Other One" had to leave to catch a plane, as she had to fly to Chicago for a business trip. "Sweetie" invited me to stay for dinner and have left overs, which was probably the best food I ate all week... (We won't go into my inability to cook in this post). After "Sweetie" took her father home, we sat and talked briefly before I had to head home because "Two" was coming home to get ready for school this week.

I am not sure exactly where we "are". We didn't really make up, but we didn't really say we would stay apart... We are somewhere in between. I will keep you updated when we determine which way the scales will tip. In the mean time I have to get to bed and go back to work, and try to focus on my life... I need to pay attention to my fianances, and insure that the bills are getting paid, but that's another story for another time.

Later Lou

Lunch

I am sitting in one of my local lunch hangouts, a place my co-workers and I refer to as the "$2 pizza place", but it is actually called "Adrian's Pizza". They have a lunch special for $1.99 where you get a small (personal sized) cheese pizza and a drink. The pizza is actually pretty big, yummy, and it is paired up with a free refill drink. All together it makes a great lunch. The $2 pizza isn't the only lunch special, and it's not the only good, inexpensive food either. I usually get the Italian Hoagie lunch special: a good sized Italian sandwich with a large order of fresh fries, and a free refill drink, all together for under $5. Who says you have to carrt in a lunch to eat inexpensively? However, eating healthy is a whole different issue!

Last night (Thursday) our bowling team lost big time... I mean really big time. We didn't win a single game, and lost all 7 points. No oppurtunity for optimism there, except that next week we bowl a pretty weak team, unlike the team we bowled last night... To be honest, the team we bowled against wasn't really the problem, rather we just really didn't bowl well last night. I once again bowled under my average, and I believe most (if not all) of my team mates bowled under their averages as well... I think we need to start practicing, get professional training, or maybe we should wish upon a star?

Wednesday night I finally gave in on one of my new year's resolutions: No carbonated drinks. I had run out of bottled water at home, and I didn't feel like making iced tea. Sitting in the fridge was a few remaining cans of root beer that "Two" had asked me to get for him. I was at home alone, and still feeling a little down about "Sweetie" telling me she was "moving on", so I fell off the wagon and had the beer... the root beer. But I didn't stop with just one... I had two, and after last night's loss, I had another... I think I am becoming a root beer aholoic! :-)

It's time to go back to work, yeah... I went back to work yesterday, after my two day mental health break. I have talked briefly to "Sweetie", but there isn't anything positive to report on that front... (sigh)...

Later Lou

Mental Health Day

I know that today isn't the "World Mental Health Day", which means it's not October 10th, but I took a Mental Health day off from work today anyways.

Yesterday "Sweetie" told me she wanted to "move on" and not be with me any longer. She didn't say that because she has met anyone else (that I know of) or because I am treating her bad or anything that I am aware of... and knowing her, I am sure she would have told me if I was... no she is "moving on" because we can't seem to agree on some things... specifically my "baggage".

If you read my profile (see it's on the right of this blog), or have read any number of posts in this blog then you know I am a single father with four wonderful kids (one of which is on her own now). Well she wants someone without baggage, or someone with a lighter load. I know that sounds bad, but she wants what any woman would want... (I think anyway)... A man who will devote himself to her completely, and since I see my kids pretty regulary I can't be with her all the time. She has her own kids (one of which is on her own now as well), and she doesn't want to be the "Brady Bunch".

We have been dating for quite some time (almost 5 years), and I kept hoping that she would warm up to the idea, and come to not only accept it, but enjoy it, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I really love her, but I can't stay in the relationship if she can't accept me for me... and unfortunately for the situation "me" is a father of 4 (3 still under 18).

The biggest thing she doesn't enjoy, and for this I don't blame her, is the things that I go through with "Ex". She dropped a house on me recently, not like Wizard of Oz, but she abandoned the marital home, and now it's my responsibility. "Sweetie" thinks I should just get rid of it, and even though I would love to, it's not really that simple. To get rid of it, I need to sell it, and in it's current state, no one wants it. So I have to fix it up with money I don't have, and hope to sell it or rent it. With the market being what it is recently, I am sure selling isn't an option any time soon. "Sweetie" doesn't want to share the responsibility of that baggage either. Again, I don't blame her for that, I don't want it either, but I don't really have a choice.

I don't blame her for any of her feelings... She has had a lot of crap in her life, and she just wants an uncomplicated relationship, or at least an uncomplicated life. My baggage makes our relationship and her life complicated. She has a choice to be a part of my complications or not, and she is choosing not to... I sometimes wish I could make that choice... but if I did, I would miss out on all of the things I enjoy... my kids, her, her kids, my work, my friends, and everything in between...

I want it all including the complications, and apparently that's not how it's going to happen.

"Sweetie" if you read this, please know that I love you and I always will. I want to be with you, but I can't stop being me. Hopefully someday you may change your mind and join me on my roller coaster, but if not, I understand and will still love you and want you to be happy. You are more to me than a girlfriend, you are my best friend, and I miss you already. You helped me to become more than I thought I ever could be, and I hope you will always think fondly of me.

Later Lou

Happy Birthday Sweetie

Happy Birthday "Sweetie"!

You are the best, and deserve at least 100 or so more great birthdays!

---

Today is "Sweetie's" birthday. So I am hoping for a little birthday grace, so that she will forgive me for causing things to run a foul yesterday.

It all started yesterday morning (Sunday)... It became a huge lounge day. I had planned to go finish up the yard work at the old marital home that we started last Wednesday. But all day rain kept me inside and on the couch. The few times I did get out of the house were to take "Two" to work and back, and then later out to a friends house to work on a group homework assignment. I can't say that it was uneventful, as I was able to upset "Sweetie", which of course is something I am apparently pretty good at. This fact and her being sad depressed me, and probably contributed to my continued lack of desire to get off the couch later in the day. Might have also contributed to my feeling of 'raining' inside as well as out. Here's the short story:

I tried a few times over the weekend to find a opportunity we could see each other with or without the kids, and it seemed that going out for lunch or dinner might be the perfect opportunity. It's all good on paper... Anyway, because of "Two's" work schedule and his need to get to his friends house later after work, I wasn't able to schedule the dinner at Olive Garden at a time that worked for her. I made things complicated because she, sensibly, wanted to go early to avoid the wait, and I couldn't go till later. She got upset with me for making things complicated, and went without me.

Why does it have to be complicated all the time to arrange things. I sometimes wish I was 17 or 18 again without a responsibility in the world and could do what I wanted when I wanted... Then of course I would miss all of the unexpected fun things that do happen and I would miss the sense of accomplishment when something works out... but then again I would also miss the sense of disappointment when it doesn't... hmmm... Later Lou

Early Knocking

There was loud knocking on my door this morning at 7:30AM... It was a sound that woke me a little earlier than I planned to get up on this Saturday morning. "Two" had to be at work at 9AM, so I had planned to get up a little after 8AM. The owner of the air conditioner shop was ready to start installing the new A/C units on the roof this morning, and he wanted to get an early start to avoid the expected rain. When I opened the door I saw that the rain had already started, but he was still insistent, and wanted to do the install. So by noon he had the old units removed, the new ones installed and working and was sitting in my living room wanting a check. I don't think things are perfect yet. I think there may need to be a little adjustments made because the units don't seem to get the house below 75 degrees, and seem to be running all the time.... BUT... The building is no longer an oven!!!

This was my weekend to have my kids, and my daughter, "Three" decided last night that she didn't want to be here... I am not sure why she didn't want to be here... maybe the heat, maybe I smelled bad or maybe it was because it was "boring" here... She has not been wanting to be here, and it has really been bothering me. I miss her being around, I miss her wanting to be around, and I miss having a family all together instead of split between two homes. Not that I want to be back with "Ex" by any stretch of the imagination, just that I wish my kids didn't bounce back and forth. I am trying to be understanding, but my own emotions keep me from just allowing her to do what she wants without too much control (or oversight) from me. As I mentioned, she wanted to go home last night, but I didn't let her go home until today because I thought if I could get her to just spend a

little time here she might decide it wasn't that bad and want to stay a little longer... However, my plan failed. (sigh)... She is still struggling in school, and last year she skipped a lot and her grades really suffered because of it. This school year is only 2 weeks old and she has already skipped a day. I know as kids get older they start doing their own things, but how can you explain to a teenager that the things they are doing may have long term consequences? The good news is so far this year, her grades are good... She is a smart girl, and always has been, but she inherited my emotional "instability". Hopefully she grows out of it at a younger age than I did. The rest of the day was pretty quiet. "Sweetie" (my girlfriend), usually has her son, "Other Two" the same weekend I have my kids, and we mostly do our own separate things on that weekend. Occasionally we do a group outing, but not all the time. This weekend "Other Two" is staying with his Dad and he will be with her next weekend. His Dad traded to accommodate going to the Steelers game. "Sweetie" has been enjoying a kid free, bachelorette style weekend. To make a few extra bucks each month, I take software support calls in the evenings and weekends every other week, and my scheduled support time happens to coincide with the same weekend I have my kids. Regardless, I still find time to hang out and do things with my kids. So far this weekend the number of support calls has been pretty low, and it has been pretty quiet. Last night I took the kids to see the movie "Balls of Fury". I usually miss most of the movies because I have to take a call, but last night, I didn't get any calls, and I was able to sit through the whole thing... But what surprised me even more was that I actually enjoyed the movie. I expected the movie to be one of those really dumb comedy movies, and while it wasn't a movie from Mensa, it stayed above the idiot level and was a pretty good movie, and of course, very funny! I would recommend it! So quit reading this and go watch the movie! Later Lou

Unexpected HVAC issue

I am in an extremely pessimistic (glass half empty) mood today, which is not my general tendency. To be totally honest, that isn't exactly true... I am pessimistic by nature, but I have been trying the last few years to train myself to be optimistic. For the most part I have been doing very well. When I got the ticket the Wednesday, I didn't freak out, and tell myself all kinds of horror stories about why this was bad. Instead, I told myself with my self imposed optimism, that since I have now gotten a ticket the police probably can't ticket me again.

Bowling update: As I mentioned yesterday, last night was our first night of bowling. When we arrived, our team (Retalix Strikers) was started in second place slot in our division. This position was based on our total team pin count from last year. We bowled against the team listed in first place within our division. Well, we haven't bowled since the end of last season which was this past May, and if you would have happened to have watched our games last night, you would have assumed we had never bowled in a league before. Needless to say we were a little rusty, and we lost the first two games without question. However, we did squeak out one win with the last game of the match, but for the night, we only took 2 out of 7 points.

FYI: A match is made up of three games, and the winning team of each game gets 2 points, and the team with the most pins over the three games gets an extra point. So each night a team can win up to 7 points.

It could have been worse, and if I wanted to look at things as an optimist, I would be saying we did a good job and that we were lucky to get two points! Yippee..! But the pessimist in me sees that the glass is less full than it is empty, and that we lost most of the points. So, the optimism training has failed me for today. After the game, as I was driving home, telling myself that I should be happy that we got two points in bowling, and that we still had 31 weeks to make up for the measly 5 points we lost last night, I got a phone call from my son, "Two". He informed me that the house was still very, very hot, because the central air conditioning was definitely not working. Earlier before bowling, I had him check the thermostat and the switch, and both appeared OK. So I told him to turn off the air conditioner (A/C), and open the windows. I only have a few windows in my side of the duplex building, so opening them didn't help very much. The building is only one story and has a flat roof, and there is very little attic air space, so on a sunny day like today the building turns into an oven. We ended up sleeping in a building that felt like a whole house sauna, even though the temperature outside was in the low 70's. This morning I called a local HVAC company to check out the A/C unit on my roof (no yard so the only place for the A/C unit is on the roof). He told me that the compressor on the unit was "seized up" and not working, and he could fix it with a new part that costs around $1,200 or so. He also said that since the unit was so old, it really wasn't worth spending the money on the repair, and I would be "throwing good money after bad. Besides", he said, "the price of a new unit is only a few bucks more". So what's a guy to do? Instead of getting a simple A/C repair, I told him to give me a quote on a new unit, and while he was at it to see if he could get me a quantity discount for two units so I could provide my tenant A/C as well. (I had promised my tenant when they moved in that I would have A/C in their apartment by next summer. I have felt bad for them the last two months, since I know how hot the inside of the building gets in the summer. ) Anyway, he called me about a half an hour later and said that he could install a new single A/C unit for my building, including labor (which includes lifting the A/C new unit to the roof) for approximately $2,100. He also said he would give me a discount of $400 if I did both units at the same time since it would be cheaper for him to do two at once because he would only need a lift one day instead of two, and only one crew. Yep, you guessed it, tomorrow I am going to be around $4,000 lighter in the wallet. Actually since the wallet is empty, the credit statements will actually be heavier. The day wasn't all bad news, there is good news. As a matter of fact the good news for today is two fold... It's Friday WOOHOO!! And I don't have to work for the next two days, and I got my car into the shop today, and it passed it's inspection without needing anything, which is I believe the first time that has ever happened to me! See, even when I am pessimistic, my optimism training kicks in and finds something good for the day. :-) Later Lou

Bowling season starting with a ticket...

Today we start the new bowling year for our league. I belong to the team "Retalix Strikers". Retalix is the name of the company I work for, and they have sponsored the team by getting us team shirts. This is the logo that is on the back of our shirts.

The team is made up of my boss here at work, myself, my brother, and two of my brother's co-workers. It's a a men only leauge, which is a sore spot with a few of my women co-workers. Last year we made it to the playoffs, and ended up making it to the "Super Bowl" of the league, and played the number one team. We didn't beat them, but we did win one out of three games against them, but just making it to the final playoffs was worth it, and a new experience for our team. If you are interested in watching our statistics you can check them out at this link on "League Secretary".

On a different topic, I mentioned yesterday that we were going to the old marital home and doing some major yard work. Well I got home later than I had planned, and we didn't get started until almost dark. We got an hour's worth of work into the place, and most of the yard was mowed and trimed. The hill side in front of the house still needs work, and the small piece of land next to the garage where "Ex" spread broken cement block needs to be done. Even though there is still a lot of work to do the place looks 100% better.

The reason I was late getting home last night wasn't because I left work late, but rather than I got pulled over by the state police for speeding. Apparently I was going 77 in a 55 mile an hour zone. Well, he found that my car's inspection sticker was expired, and made me an offer. He said he would only give me one ticket, and I could choose which one I wanted. I could either have the ticket for speeding or the ticket for the expired inspection stickers. It wasn't much of a choice since the speeding ticket is a moving violation and would add "points" to my driving record and cause my insurance rates to go up. So I chose the expired inspection ticket, and it came to $107.50. I am thinking of starting a legal defense fund, so if you want to donate to the cause, please Email me! :-)

Later

Lou

Bring you up to speed.

It's been awhile since I have posted. I don't have any big reason or excuse as to why I didn't post. I just didn't, and I am not going to spend time trying to analyze why, I am just going to move forward and start posting again. I presume most readers (if I had any) gave up checking for updates... So that means I have a new opportunity to start over again with a new audience. If you are reading this, then you are part of that new audience!

So let's get started with the updates:

The biggest update is I am still here, and I am still alive, and I am still healthy. Woo Who!!!

Let me take a moment to give a little background about myself, and a little review of recent history, and then we can move forward.

I am a single parent with four kids. My oldest (we will call her "One") has left the nest and is on her own. She is working full time and managing her own home in Ohioville, PA with her fiancè (we will call him "PlusOne"). "One" and "PlusOne" haven't set a date for their marriage yet, but are doing well. The other three kids are living between my house and the Ex's house. My second oldest (we will call him "Two") who is a senior in high school, is living primarily with me, and the two youngest girls ("Three" and "Four") are living primarily with Ex. "Three" is a junior in high school, and "Four" is in middle school.

I have been on my own since February 2000, and I have moved quite a few times, improving my living places as finances allowed. I have been living in my current home for over 3 years, and just recently (May 2007) I bought the building. The building is a duplex, and I have rented out the second apartment, which is helping to defer the cost of the mortgage.

I am a computer programmer working for an international company with HQ in Israel, and has a main office in Dallas, Texas. I live and work in Western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.

I am dating a wonderful woman (we will call her "Sweetie") who is a nurse, and a mother of two. Her oldest (we will call her "Other One") has also left the nest, has graduated college, gotten married, and is now working full time. Her youngest (we will call him "Other Two") is in High School. We have been dating for quite a few years, and we currently aren't talking about marriage, but who knows what the future might hold... You will have to stay tuned to find out more on that topic.

So now that you know a little about me, let me tell you a little about what's been happening in my life.

The last 6 months have seen a lot of changes in my life. First, as I have already mentioned, I became a homeowner in May. It's the first time since 2000 that I have owned property. Even though it's been almost 6 months since I bought the place, I am still thinking like a renter rather than an owner. The building needed some serious roof work when I purchased it, and a few other minor repairs. I got all of that done, and rented out the second apartment, and any day now I will be receiving my 3rd rent payment. It's a unique experience having someone else pay you rent. I have good tenants that pay rent on time, which I understand is a rare thing... So I hope they stay for quite some time! :-)

Buying my home was planned, and took 4-5 months to complete, but I am very happy with my decision. However, the second house I have acquired was not planned. Yeah, you read correctly, I have two properties. In June, Ex decided she no longer wished to pay for our old marital home. In August of 2006 she purchased a new home, and had been trying to sell the old marital home since then, but couldn't find a buyer. Her finances grew tight with the mortgages from both the old home and her new home, and she felt she could no longer afford the old house, so she just stopped paying the mortgage (actually there are two for that house, but that's not really important). She attempted to arrange a "short sale" with the mortgage holder, but I stopped it. Why would I stop it? Well it's actually quite simple: The mortgages were still in my name as she did not refinance after the divorce, and I did not want my credit score to be screwed over by a "near foreclosure". So to prevent the almost foreclosure, I had to take over the property, and pay the mortgages myself.

The cost of taking over the property (2 months of back mortgages, and title transfer fees) was approximately $1,800.00. Since I just spent all available cash I had on the purchase of my home, I didn't have the cash. I asked Ex to pay half and I would pay the other half, and then she wouldn't have to worry about the property any longer. I thought she agreed with that, but apparently didn't so when I withheld a support payment, she took me to court. Two unexpected things happened at the court hearing: I did not have to pay her for the withheld payment, and they lowered the amount of money I pay her each month. The only negative was that they now withhold the support payment from my paycheck instead of me paying her directly.

The marital home is in extreme disrepair. The roof needs replaced, water damage, and other damage inside the house needs to be repaired before someone can move into the place. I haven't decided if I will sell the place, or if I will fix up the place and live in it, or rent it. I don't think I can sell it easily since Ex wasn't able to sell it, and there are many homes in the area for sale, as well as the current housing market problems. So that leaves fixing it up, and either living in it or renting it. I could probably rent it pretty easily as it is very near a college, however, if it is fixed up, it would be a nicer place than where I am living now, and I could just rent out the other half of the duplex I am living in now.

So that's big financial stories, now onto the more important family stories. "Two" and "Other Two" spent the summer as counselors at Boy Scout camp. "Two" is currently ranked second in his class, and is trying very hard to get to first by the end of the year. He is also trying to decide what he is going to do next year for college, and he is trying to get his driver's license. "Three" just turned 16 last month and is spending most of her time with Ex. She hasn't been coming over to my house recently, and I am not exactly sure why, although I have heard it's because she thinks I have a flea problem in my house and I don't believe her. I haven't found any fleas yet, and I have sprayed. "Four" is coming along, and is spending something like 70% of her time with Ex, and the rest with me. All of the younger kids are now in their second week of school, and are still getting acclimated to getting up in the morning, and completing homework in the evenings.

Today "Four" said she wasn't feeling well and didn't want to go to school. She didn't look sick, and didn't feel feverish, so I sent her to school and told her to see the nurse if she didn't feel well. I hope she is OK, and will make it through the day. It's hard to tell if she is sick because she has not always been honest in the past about her health.

Tonight I am going with "Sweetie", "Two" and "Other Two" to the marital home, and we are going to do some major yard work. The lawn has gotten a little out of control.

The next post I will put up some pictures, and I will do my best to update more often!

Later