Sometimes Life Surprises Me!

Every now and again life hands me a little surprise.  As anyone who reads this may recall, I had not one, but two bad roommate experiences over the last couple of years.  I moved into a new place with new roommates over 8 months ago.  I am pleased to say that the honeymoon is not over and we still get along famously.  And, because we live in a large house, my daughter and her boyfriend and baby are living with me too!  So I have the best of family and friends all under one roof.  I would have never thought that it would all work out so I could be close to my grand baby and still have great roommates too.  I am glad life handed me what it did.  I learned a lesson about people and managed to end up in a much better place over time!  

Lesson Learned is simple "KEEP THE FAITH"

Just Too Lazy

Hey all, just plain been too lazy to write anything here lately.  Considering some life changes and maybe a move to North Carolina.  Looking at the Wilmington area.  Cheap housing and a Wal-Mart, what more could a guy want, lol.  Seriously, company may transfer me and not sure what direction I want to go.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hello all, I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!  I hope that everyone who reads this enjoys more blessing in 2010 than in all previous years combined.  May your lives be filled with joy and gladness!  

A bag of POOP!

I have decided to use my blog as a forum to tell off a few people.  I have always made it a practice to try to be a gentleman when confronted, especially when I was not at fault.  But I find that as I get older, it gets harder to swallow.  So, I just want to say a little something to some of those who have offended me.  

Today, I am giving this space to the lady who hung a bag of cat poop on my door in Newport News.  I know you will never read this, but it makes me feel good to tell the world what kind of person you are.  You accused my cat of littering your flower beds with waste on several occasions.  I was kind and gentlemanly and explained that I do not let my cat out of the house and pointed out that there were two cats who were almost identical to the one you see sleeping in my window in our building alone.  They looked so alike that the cat owners would even get confused.  But you insisted that the offending beast was mine.  

One day when you thought I was not at home because I was having my car worked on.  You attached a bag of feces to my door.  I watched you do it through my peep hole and my neighbor also caught you in the act.  When I politely confronted you, you lied.  I pointed out that I watched you in the act and so did my neighbor.  You still had the nerve to lie even when confronted with eye witnesses.  

The bottom line is simple.  My life has moved on and I no longer live next to a pill who lies and does spiteful acts to her neighbors even when she does not have the facts in order.  I do not have to live next to a deceitful liar who does not have the courage of her convictions.  I simply do not have to tolerate your nonsense any longer.  Sadly, you still have to live with yourself and the hatred and ugliness that you spew.  

I am also grateful that because of you and a minute few others like you.  I no longer behave like a gentlemen.  I confront at the first offense and I do not back down.  If you were my neighbor today, you would have been removed from the complex because I would have brought the pictures that I took to management and laughed as you were evicted.  Thank you for making me a stronger person!  

Thanks to you, I am still a nice guy.  But I am no longer a doormat for abusers!

A Monday in November

Sometimes I would like the world to stop.  Just for a moment, just long enough for me to gather my thoughts and to figure out what is next in my life.  But I guess that's the trick to 'real life'. You have to live it realtime as it plays out.  You don't get a pause button or a break.  The clock ticks whether you are ready or not.  I am grateful for what I have and for what I have experienced, but I do wish the world would pause for just a moment and let me catch up!

Holiday Blues

Hi All,

I am writing this note just to vent about my holiday blues.  I love the holiday time of year.  But for the last several years, the holidays have become a time of stress and worry instead of being a time for joy and family.  

As I look at the coming Christmas season, my heart is filled with worry and doubt instead of joy.  I am spending today alone until this evening when I will be with my family.  Unfortunately, when I am with them, it will be at my ex wife's place.  Not an invitation I wanted, but one that came as a result of her changing plans.  

She had made plans for tomorrow because she did not want to do the celebration today.  So one of my sons and I made plans together.  I had a nice place to go with friends, but canceled so my son would be able to enjoy the holiday with someone he loves.  Then the ex changed her plans and my son got me invited because he did not want to leave me alone (I did not tell him I had plans and canceled them for him.)

Being with my ex usually means that every time she will corner me at every available opportunity and tell me what a terrible man I was and how I ruined her life.  Oddly enough, she does not ever do that to the two other husbands she left in her wake or to the two other live in boyfriends she leaves behind.  And the guy she is with now will join the ranks, it's just a matter of time.  

So now, instead of enjoying my son.  I will be sitting at a place where I know the host does not want me and I will be miserable, even with my children and grandchildren.  But I will pretend to be happy because I love them and don't want them hurt.  

And next comes the pressure from the extended family.  I live in Virginia and lived in Colorado for over 18 years before I came here.  I can count the number of telephone calls and visits I have received from them in all those 28 years on my fingers.  One of the calls was to tell me my father died and one visit was when my oldest son got married.  These people obviously don't care much about me or my  life. But if I don't call them and make every effort to show them how much I love them at the holidays, I will hear about it every time I make contact with any of them. 

I am always supposed to understand that it is somehow my place to make all contact with my family.  And frankly, I don't.  I am tired of being everyone's last thought.  I am tired of not being invited to family occasions and I am tired of not feeling loved or cared for even at the most basic level.  Why can't they think of me, just this once?  

And then comes the money stress.  I live on a very tight budget and barely survive at that.  I am not starving and my needs are met, but there is not a lot extra around here.  I do not begrudge anyone any gifts and I love giving them.  But the stress to find money where there is none is just more than I can stand at times.  I just wish I was able to show the people I love how I really feel about them.  I wish I could spoil my grand children rotten!  But instead, I will buy some modest gift and hope for the best.  

When I was young, there was the hope that one day I would get past the hard times and life would get easier, but now I just don't believe that any longer.  But I also don't have that will to be creative and to keep surviving beyond it all.  

I just wish there was a place to go to escape the hurt.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello Everyone, Just a note to tell everyone I hope you have the Best Thanksgiving Ever and may your home be filled with blessings through the coming year!