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Go look over here!!!

The Past Is The Past…right?

I recently started cleaning out my garage in order to make more room around my pool table, and to start using it more as pool table as opposed to just “table”. I came across a couple of boxes of photos with some dating back as much as 20 years — found a great photo of me, my kids, my grandfather, and my dads (Not a typo. I’ll explain later.) — and I also found things that went directly to the trash can. In a couple of other boxes of miscellaneous this-and-that stuff I found my old journals, and they made for an interesting read.

Was My Daughter Hit On?

This morning, my daughter told me that she received a compliment on her shoes — her old, beat-up, comfy, rainbow flip-flops — from “someone” in the tutoring center at school the other day. I asked half-jokingly what “his” name was, to which she said she didn’t know his name. I then proceeded to share with her that a guy wouldn’t complement a girl on her shoes unless he has an interest in her. She then proceeded to tell me that I was wrong.

I need your opinion on this:

Friday Ramblings: The Next Phase

When I first sat down to write this post I only had the tiniest bit of focus, and as I continued to write even that went astray. My first draft covered a wide variety of topics, but I only pulled a few together for this post. The upside: there will be another post from the leftovers soon.

This coming week both my children start at a new school.  My son starts his freshman year in high school, and my daughter — sigh — starts her freshman college year. I think they’re more ready than I am for this next phase in their lives.

I’m Hungry: Farmer’s Market Pizza

One of the things that prompted me to start writing a blog was the good intention of trying to convey some good information to other single-parents, especially those that find themselves new to the role. One topic that often comes up IRL† from friends and others that find themselves in this single-parent world is the subject of food. Usually in a two-parent household one parent is the primary cook. This means that 1 out of 2 people that become a single-parent may feel ill-equiped to cook for their kids, let alone themselves. I wanna help. I’m no great chef, but I do seem to be able to make things that my kids eat. To me, that’s a big part of it. Other times though, I do cook for myself.

Today’s recipe: Farmer’s Market Pizza

Kids Know When You Don’t Care

This weekend my daughter begins living with me full-time; no more scheduled back and forth between her mom’s house and mine. Although the ex and I live only a mile apart, my soon-to-be-18-year-old daughter decided that she just wants to call one house “home”. She chose mine. This has not set well with her mother fucker of a mom.

Movies In The…”Park”??

A couple of weeks ago I took my kids to an outdoor movie. You know, one of those movie showings they do during the summer where you bring a blanket, sit out under the stars, munch on a picnic you’ve brought and enjoy a bottle of wine (or beer) while enjoying an older can’t-find-it-in-theaters-anymore movie.  This venue is a little different though; you get to watch these older films with actors, directors, writers and crew, some who may have worked on the film you’re watching — especially the older films. You don’t get to actually see them though, at least I hope not. You see this venue…it’s a cemetery.

If Only It Paid Better

A couple of years ago my kids and I took the train to the County Fair. Along the way I took an impromptu photo of my son as the train paused on the tracks. It was unplanned and quickly taken with my iPhone camera; 1st generation iPhone at that! I liked the photo.

I’ve been absent

I feel bad. I haven’t written in awhile, not even anything original on Twitter. I’m not really sure where my head is at, but I know that it hasn’t been on sitting down and writing.

I was a little upset at WordPress on the iPhone. I had written a nice, long, thoughtful post about a variety of things that the app didn’t appreciate as much as I did; so it ate it. It was 45 minutes of ramblings while sitting at the mall. (Don’t worry. I haven’t become one of those unemployed, handing around the mall, staring at the hot MILFs shopping. I was waiting for an appointment at the Apple store. So while I was waiting I only temporarily was staring at the hot MILFs walking around.)

I do actually have a few posts started, and hope to finish them all this coming week. Some have been sitting dormant for a bit, but still relevant, and still reflections on who I am. I need to just write and try to not overanalyze what I’m writing. (OCD much?)

But, the most recent post that I actually need to start is a little thing about how to push your children further away by assuming they’re too dumb to figure things out on their own. (I’ve realized that my ex has given me 3 great things; My Son, My Daughter, and material to write about.)

For now, I go. While I have a variety of time consuming events this weekend — going to watch the movie Airplane tonight in a cemetery, my dad is receiving a Man Of The Year award tomorrow, and my son wants me to spend some time with him in Azaroth (yes, I said that) — I promise to find time to finish what I’ve started.

Horoscopes Can Be Spooky

Yesterday was a bad day. There was some drama with my daughter — nothing major, just very emotional, more for her than me — crap with my landlord, and the most upsetting was that a friend’s ashes were scattered on Thursday, but nobody told me it was happening that day.

I wasn’t happy.  Sure, the drama with my daughter allowed us to have a very productive conversation and it was good practice for her to be able to open up; her mother had “trained” her that if she speaks her mind she’s selfish. The issue had actually started the night before when at 1:00 am I had said I wanted the TV off and she didn’t want to go to bed, so she sat on the couch for 30 minutes just to make a point about it being her choice on when to go to bed. (I’ll write another post about this “I’m growing up” experience later.) The other things that happened were very annoying and emotionally draining. I needed a break.

I had tried to get in touch with my friend Stacy to see if she wanted to go to the NHL Draft in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. I have season tickets to the LA Kings, so the tickets to the draft were free, it would be a chance to get a summer hockey fix, and I’d be in a neutral environment and able to relax. I finally heard from her around 4:30 — the draft started at 4:00 — and we decided to go for it.  When I got her house we decided that LA traffic SUCKS and that we wouldn’t make it to the draft anyway. Backup plan: margaritas and music at a local bar.

Pulling into the parking lot there were two parking places available, next to each other.  The car in front of mine pulled up as if he was going to back into the 2nd spot, so I simply pulled into the 1st spot. Next thing I know he’s out of his car, yelling that I stole his spot, and simply going off the deep end…with his wife and 3 kids in the car. A fine example of a father. We calmly told him that we didn’t take his spot; there’s another one right next to us! Granted, it was on the end and wasn’t very clear that it was a spot, but it was. He shut up for a moment, looked at the parking strips at his feet, and appeared humbled. Well, he couldn’t “lose” an argument, so then he started yelling and saying that I was right on his bumper as we pulled in to the lot. Um…no. This guy was not helping my day. Finally he got back in his car and went and parked elsewhere.

We made it inside and started on a pitcher of margaritas. I needed this. Stacy asked about all the stuff that was going on that day — I had only told her it was bad and no specifics — and just talking about it helped.  Telling her about the conversation with my daughter was very helpful, since she had been through similar things with her now adult kids. Talking about my friends ashes being scattered revealed just how much that had affected me. I didn’t realize it until I discussed it, but again, talking about it and getting reassurance that it doesn’t change the friendship I had with him helped. All in all, sitting with this good friend of mine, hearing her wisdom, helped.

Horoscopes Scare Me Now
I don’t usually read my horoscope. When I do I know that its all entertainment, and more of the things they say are very generalized and can fit into almost anyone’s life. Many times I’ll read them the next day just to see if they were accurate. That way, what they say doesn’t provide any sub-conscience influence the day ahead.

This morning I read yesterday’s horoscope:

Conversations with those you look up to prove to be most rewarding. Unexpected developments could force you to regroup. A family member acts out in order to get your attention. Tonight’s Tips: TGIF. Meet a friend.

Like I said, pretty general…but in this case pretty accurate. I think I need to go grab today’s paper now.