there is

NOTHING TO SEE HERE

so what are you looking at?

What makes me happy

my wife

my son

writing

books

listening to music

comic books

movies

fantasy football

man's exploration of space

law & order

unemployment

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What I dislike

Working at uninteresting, unfulfilling, jobs

My wife on PMS (hey, at least I'm honest about it)

Ignorant people who are unwilling to learn

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One current obsession

Digital Video Creation

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Sequential artwork I've recently read

**** out of *****

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If I were single, here's who I'd like to ask out and inevitably be turned down by...

Sanaa Lathan

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Serialized television viewing

DEADWOOD

****^1/2out of *****


<< previous post(s)

MIT Technology Review

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Reading or Read Recently

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Listening

**** out of *****

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Cooler than a penguin's feet

Venus and Earth

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(most recent article on top, earlier articles on bottom)

July 29, 2006: 1656 hours

QUICK HITS ON AN UNEMPLOYED MAN'S WEEK

Hi. Remember me? I know, I know. To quote Rakim on his hit I Know You Got Soul: "It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you." Needless to say, it's been a very busy month. The past week hasn't necessarily been busier than the previous three weeks, but it was busy in a manner that prevented me from posting here. What's been going on? Here's a taste.

1) My sister-in-law had a medical procedure performed Monday. Prior to that, she and my brother had drive here from where they live (three hours away) for some tests, then again for the pre-op visit. After the surgery and an overnight stay in the hospital, they returned home so my brother could work a couple of days before returning today for the post-op appointment. The previous visits, I offered to keep their two kids to make things easier for them. Because their son is autistic, "watching" the kids becomes a full-time job and not simply a give-em-something-to-do -and- you-go-do-something-you-want-to-do-while-they're-busy task.

It seems like I spent half my days chasing after him saying "gimme that dvd, gimme that cd, gimme that clock, gimme that, leave that alone, don't do that." The bad thing is he doesn't get it. You take something from him, and as soon as you turn your back, he has it again. So you never turn your back, and then the phone rings and when you turn back, he has something you don't want him to have. So, you take it away. Then one of the other kids needs your attention, and when your turn back, he has it again. So, you take it away. Oh, did I mention that taking it back is rarely as simple as holding our your hand and asking for it? Anyway, you get it back. Then you have to go take a piss, and when you get back, you guessed it, he has the fucking thing again.

It's like walking across a field of quicksand that's fifty city blocks long, and not just regular city blocks, but New York City sized blocks. And NYC blocks are like the dog years of blocks: every NYC block is as long as seven normal city blocks. So you're walking across this autistic quicksand and before you know it, the day goes from sunrise to midnight and you realize you haven't done two fucking things on your agenda for the day. So you're walking and sinking, and sinking and walking, but you never really sink completely because that would mean you get to stop walking and you'd get a break from the struggle. No, you just keep on walking and you stay alive so you keep on walking some more, but you're still sinking all the same.

That's when I have this heart-wrenching sympathy for my brother and his wife and I get really sad for them. And now she's having this medical procedure. It's not life-threatening (at least not at the moment) but it just doesn't seem fair. Really, it doesn't.

2) Since we've moved into our new house, I spent the first couple of weeks moving items from the old house and getting the new house into some semblance of normalcy. The past week, I was recruited by my stepfather to help upgrade the old house so it can be rented to new tenants. I've helped a little, but the simmering resentment that he never did a lot of "upgrading" for the eight years (was it really that long) that my wife and I lived there made it kind of hard to put my heart in it.

When we moved into the old house, we painted it, carpeted it, hung ceiling fans and/or lights, lived with holes in the walls and floors, lived without half a wall between two rooms, and more. Over the years, I've made some improvements. My stepfather and mother have failed time and time to make any repairs, except when the problem in question was an immediate health threat.

I couldn't stifle the snort/laugh when my stepfather asked me to help him fix the place up for the new tenant. Hell, I've been fixing that place up for eight fucking years! Now you expect me to paint it and shampoo the carpets for some new people?!? And you want me to do some of this work and show the house to prospective tenants while you and my mom are vacationing out of state?!? How about I hang new ceiling fans and lights where needed and you use your resourcefulness and contacts to get the rest done? Deal? Cool.

3) Fantasy football season is upon us. In addition to the league I've participated in for close to fifteen years now, I am now for the third year the commissioner of a local league. That local league is making a bold attempt to grow to 28 members spread across two conferences. Basically, it will be two discrete leagues where the champions meet for an overall championship.

Though some of the other guys are working hard to help recruit new members, I'm also helping out on that front. As commissioner, I'm also solely responsible for ensuring all of this growth is handled smoothly, that the two league schedules work, setting and running the two drafts, setting up the web site, setting up the software, collecting the fees, tracking the payouts, and a few other things. Along the way, I have to squeeze in some of the fun stuff like researching NFL players to see who I want to draft for my fantasy teams.

4) Lala, the new CD trading site has become an obsession! In less than two months, I've traded over sixty CDs. That works out to roughly 30 that I've shipped out, and roughly 31 that I've received. Actually, that should read "will ship out and will receive shortly", because I'm still waiting on a new shipment of envelopes to ship out a few CDs and I haven't actually received about ten.

This delay isn't due to a fault of the site, rather it's because over the last four days, when I've gotten on the internet most of my time has been devoted to watching my page on Lala to see if any of my CDs have been requested, and when they are I click furiously to agree to ship it away, then I stare at my page until some agrees to ship me a CD from my want list. It's like getting birthday presents every month, every week, or more often if you choose.

I've mostly utilized Lala to add classic and contemporary jazz to my collection, and to (re)acquire classic hip-hop albums. Mostly, I'm getting stuff that I can't really justify paying full price for. Really, I don't want to spend $12 for a 1990 Heavy D disc that I probably won't listen to more than three or four times in the next month after I add it to my computer. But, getting it for $2 and an old disc that I haven't listened to in four years is a great deal for me. Especially if I still have the songs from the discarded disc on my computer. It's a win-win proposition.

So, I'm hooked. I'm hearing old jazz hits from skilled cats that I'd never really heard before and never would have tried if I had to pay $12-14 for the chance. And the best news is that Lala is setting aside a portion of the advances from each trade for the original artists who created the music.

That makes it a win-win-win proposition! Except for the fact that I'm so addicted I can't stop visiting the site. My wife calls me to bed at night. Then, if I wake up in the middle of the night for some reason, I sit at the computer for a "minute" to visit Lala to see if anyone has requested one of my CDs. And when I wake up in the morning, I check again. And again and again, over and over throughout the day. And I love every freaking minute of it!

I'm addicted and I can't stop. Not right now. Maybe the passion will fade, but I don't foresee that being an imminent event.

5) I've spent a little time with my wards. I'm not rich, so I guess I can't officially have "wards". Okay, the boys aren't really my wards, but I sometimes refer to them that way. I guess it's my way of emulating Batman: Hey, Bruce Wayne had Dick Grayson as a ward.

Anyway, I've kept them for a day or two, here and there. They've been calling a lot from the school/halfway house where their mother sent them because she's too incompetent and too selfish to raise them. When they call that often, I know they're desperate out for some attention, and it seems cruel not to pick them up for a few hours of fun. Well, if you can call hanging out with my and my family "fun". The lads do, but maybe that just a sign that their minds have been irreparably damaged by their mother.

I need to make more time for them, but it's hard with all that's going on now. Then again, finding the time isn't likely to get any easier when the baby is delivered next Thursday. I guess the real answer is to just get the fucking job done. Make the time necessary to do everything that needs to get done, and whatever falls by the wayside, well maybe that wasn't meant to get done this week/month/year anyway.

6) I finally saw Superman Returns. I loved it except for one big part that didn't completely ruin it for me, but was hard to swallow. Review to come soon, hopefully.

nothing to see here