I hate moving

Today, with my ONE nephew's help, I spent moving. From 10:30 a.m. when I picked up the 26 foot U-haul until about 11pm. I am one tired sombitch! It just happened to be one of the hottest, most humid days of the summer so far. I was wondering if my nipples were lactating after moving a few boxes but it was just sweat!

I was supposed to have the help of another nephew. We'll call him James Michael because that's his name. A couple of weeks ago he sent my wife an instant message saying, "Whenever you guys move, I will be there to help!"

Well, my wife called him late this morning/early afternoon. I was surprised he answered the cell phone. She asked him what he was doing and he said, "just sitting here." She heard one of my nieces in the background and we assumed he was over my parents' house. He was going to come over last night (Thursday) to start helping me pack and some other minor things but he had to work Thursday day...but that night he was available.

Anyway, my wife asked him if he was going to come help us move. He said something about his battery being low. I think he was referring to the cell phone battery and not his car battery because he hasn't been driving his car for a few days or so. Basically, he was trying to make up some lame-ass excuse for not wanting to come help.

She told him that he said he would help and he said that we volunteered him. WTF is that crap? He instant messaged us about a week or two before we moved saying, "when you need to move, I'll be there!" Either way, the things I have done for that boy should have at least warranted the respect of him showing up to help!

Stupid, white trailer trash bastard!

I just couldn't believe that he kicked us to the curb like that. I never did anything for him that I expected things in return but some respect should have been a given to me for this weekend. He's always talking about what trash his older sister is but he just proved to everyone that he was no different. He screws over family just like she does.

I was so pissed that I could have killed his ass if I saw him that day or the next few. I still don't care to see him. If I saw him in a wreck on the highway and he was bleeding to death, I would feel no guilt in leaving him there like I never saw him.

Honest! I'm like that, ask my wife and family. I can cut you out of my life in an instant! If you have no respect for me or my family, then I don't need to associate with you. End of story!

Anyway, I moved most of my crap with my one nephew. It would have gone a lot quicker if we had more help but that's the way the world (and family and friends) screws you over. It was a long, hot day and it was going to continue tomorrow. I basically just have my computer room to pack and move. It's a lot of little shit like wires, monitors and stuff. It shouldn't take too long. I have to have the truck back by 4pm anyway so I have to be done by 3pm at the latest. I'm very tired now, so I'll type more later.

Big brother is watching from everywhere

They recently put up some traffic lights near my parents' house at a major intersection. I was wondering what the point of the "spy" camera is. Big brother is always watching!

Texas weather is ever changing

Once again, the weather went from hot and sunny to hot, humid and rainy in a matter of hours.

A roller hockey CHAMPION!

Finally, after five seasons of Over30B roller hockey, I am on a championship team!

I can retire a winner now!

Today is our Independence Day!

We went to our friends’ house for the Fourth of July and it turned out to be a pretty fun day! We’ve known this couple and their children for 12+ years. I worked with him for about 7 years and we’ve played tennis almost every Saturday for 10+ years. We used to hang out more often when we lived closer but now since we are about an hour away from each other, we don’t get together as much. He and I still see each other on tennis Saturdays and occasionally during the week when we make a tennis date.

He’s typically pretty busy with work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. so there’s not much weekday tennis anymore. He is a division manager for a big freight trucking company and in that business you are expected to put in the time whether you need to or not. It’s about work and then image and then family with those types of companies. Hopefully, he’ll be able to cut back and enjoy daily life instead of having to wait until the weekends.

Anyhow, their neighbors have a pool and they are out of town in Jamaica and told our friends that they could use their pool while they were gone. Not too bad of a deal. So, we went over with the kids and they swam and had a blast. They didn’t want to leave even though we stayed from like 2 p.m. until about 9:30 p.m. It was a good time but most of us had work the next day.

I was supposed to make a stop by my oldest sister’s house. She invited over the family for food, fun and fireworks down the street from her if people stayed that long. I didn’t realize how late it was and before I knew it, it was pretty much too late to stop by. We called when we left our friends’ but everyone had already gone home. My kids got to see some fireworks displays as we were driving home. I felt a little bad about them not getting to sit and watch a display but I think they enjoyed hanging out with our friends’ kids and our friends’ friends’ kids. Confused? LOL!

Anyway, I think they were quite pleased with the day and night. I stopped by my parents’ house and dropped off my brother’s computer that I was working on. It’s basically a giant paper weight. I mean it runs and all but it is snail-ass slow! I think it was a 300MHZ Intel Celeron with 64MB RAM. If that doesn’t tell you how old it is, I don’t know what would. It was frustrating me just to wait 2-5 minutes between mouse clicks. I tried to talk him into getting a new one. He said he check on it the next day. He just uses it for his son’s games (he’s 3 or 4) and to check his email and do some work things in Lotus Works. I told him I could build something for him for about $300-$400. Not over the top, but definitely way better than what he has. We’ll see if he buys one or waits for me to build it. Either way, he can only get better than he has.

I got home around 11 p.m. and I was butt-ass tired. My kids were too! I didn’t have anything to do so I checked my email and went to bed. The wife had some things to do but I don’t know exactly what. She was working on her laptop though. I was lying in my bed and I was almost out when I heard my cell phone go off. I knew it was my brother whose computer I just dropped off because I got one of those phones that you can set different ring tones for different names in your phone book. I answer it and my brother can’t get on the internet with his crap machine. He is having withdrawals because it’s been a couple of weeks. He’s on dial-up still so to me he wasn’t missing much but for him since that’s all he is used to, he was missing it. I tried to walk him through some troubleshooting over the phone but, as mentioned, his machine is crap. I wanted to reload the software back to “from the factory” status but he didn’t leave me the disk when I picked it up this past Friday when he was out of town camping. I understand his frustration. I’ve been there many times. He finally said he was thinking very hard about buying a new one but he didn’t want to spend $800 for one. I told him if he spent that he’d have a machine that would last him for another 5 yrs or so for what he uses it for. But again, I said I could build one for about $400. He said he’d think about it and let me get some sleep and call me in the morning if he was going to buy one.

Finally, I put my head back down and was probably out within thirty minutes. I was beat down. Not so much from the wonderful Texas heat but because I hadn’t gone to bed before 1 a.m. Friday, Saturday or Sunday and got up the next mornings early. Saturday, I was up at 7:30 a.m. to go play tennis until 1:30 p.m. Sunday, I got up at 8:30 a.m. to watch the men’s Wimbledon final – which sucked royal ass by the way. Monday, I got up at 9 a.m. because the kids were hungry and I had to make scrambled eggs with jelly toast for them. We were out of milk so they couldn’t make breakfast (cereal) for themselves.

To some extent, we had a very eventful weekend! I could have used another day to just rest, relax and take it easy even more than I did!

Can't think of a good title...

The sister-in-law came over again today. They were going to swim and almost didn't because my wife and her sister were being pretty lazy. I was too but I had to play a hockey game at 7 p.m. and didn't want to tire myself. Around 5 p.m, they finally took the kids to swim. James Michael was still at my place and the kids asked him to go and he eventually did. I would have but I had to leave for my hockey game around 6 p.m. and if I swam it would tire my legs which would have been no good for my roller hockey game.

I was getting my stuff together around 5:50 p.m. and my wife calls on my cell phone telling me the kids want me to see them dive before I leave. So, I walk about a block to the pool, taking my camera with me. I get there and they are all excited and get out of the pool ready to dive from the side into the deep end. This is why people should have kids: the pure excitement and joy they express at the little and big things. Anyway, after about 20 minutes of snapping pictures of the kids, I told them I had to get on my way to my game. It was about 6:20 p.m. now and the rink is about 15-20 minutes away depending on the traffic.

James Michael decides he wants to go with me so we get all my stuff together, jump in my Jeep and are on our way when I realize I have a voice mail. I check my vmail while I'm about to get on the highway service road and it's the coach of the team I play on. Turns out, the team we were playing forfeited. It is Fourth of July weekend so I'm sure they had a tough time with people showing. Not a problem for me. I am more than willing to take an easy win. With this win, we are automatically into the final championship game on Thursday the 7^th. That'll be almost two weeks I haven't skated. I don't know if that's good or bad.

I turn my Jeep around and we unload all the stuff and go back into my place.

Now, I am supposed to play in another game at 10 p.m. for my Over30A league team but I don't think I'm going to play. It's about 9:30 p.m. right now and I don't feel like getting out. If I was already there, it would have been different. Also, I don't much like playing with that team. It's nice to play on a team with my brother and friend but the other guys aren't reliable and they don't know how to play as a team. They don't pass. They want to be one-man gangs and try to win it all on their own. That's why we were 2 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie — the worst team in the four-team league. Lucky thing there are only four teams, so we all made the playoffs which is what this game is tonight - the second game of the playoffs. Remember I missed the first one because I was in the ER with my brother.

Anyhoo, needless to say I made the executive decision to not go. Instead, I'll stay up until around midnight to rest up for tomorrow at my friend Keith's for a Fourth of July cookout and swim party.

A relaxing day, so far

Haven't done much today. Sat around thinking about packing some of my shit in my computer room and then deciding I'd much rather play some computer games.

My nephew, James Michael, was over. He hasn't come over in a long time. My kids love him to death because when he was in high school about 2-3 years ago, he'd come over to our place just about every weekend. He'd hang out with his cool uncle and his cooler cousins even though they are half his age. He would play with them and run around with them and they loved it. It was nice to have him around to help me move stuff or just hang out and do guy things - you know, play video games, watch stupid-funny movies like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, play laser tag in the woods near our place...basically whatever "grown-up" boys do. And we still made time for my kids to jump on us like we were human trampolines. It was all fun!

Anyway, he had come back with us after we had driven out on Saturday to run some errands in Euless after I got back from playing tennis and helping a friend set up his computer to his DSL connection (which hadn't been connected on SBC's side yet so it was all for not). The kids wanted to go to my parents' house to see my brothers and their cousins. So, I took them for the drive because I'm such a great dad!

We stopped by TCBY (The Country's Best Yogurt) by our place before leaving to get them some rainbow ice cream then we headed to Euless. I also had to stop by my other brother's house to get his computer to work on. He's been having some troubles with the dinosaur and I had already looked at it before but this time I was going to reinstall the factory software for him. He was going camping with his wife and kid so he left me the key. I got the computer and then went to my parents' house where my two other brothers live. The oldest brother was asleep. It was about 5:30 p.m. I assumed he was resting before he goes out. His kid, David and my children's cousin, that still is underage and lives at home was watching television in his room and playing video games and my other nephew, James Michael, was there as well. He had driven over in his mother's van. My other brother was at work still.

We hung out for just a few minutes and then decided to go to my sister's house - the mother of the James Michael - because I wanted to borrow a few DVD movies they had that I hadn't seen yet. We drive over and the wife tells me, "we aren't staying long!" She always says that. I don't know what her deal is! I never do that to her...anymore, anyways. LOL! Nowadays I go and then when I get bored I tell her I'd like to go. Simple as that!

Anyhow, we got there and my sister was sitting at her computer as she always is and her husband was watching television in their living room about to eat his dinner. He had probably just gotten home from work. He usually works Monday to Sunday from like 6 a.m.-5 p.m. with the rare occasional Sunday off. Anyway, they hadn't seen my wife in some time because usually when I go to their house I have the kids because my wife is out working or at a play with a friend. My sister actually got up from the computer and came into the living room with us to talk. See, miracles are possible! LOL! My niece has a son that my kids usually play with when they are over there but he was out of town with his mother so he missed seeing and playing with them. I think he's like 4 or 5 yrs old where as my kids are 8 and 6. But they get along pretty well and have a blast playing.

"We aren't staying long" turned into about an hour. It was a pretty good visit. We just shot the shit and all. My kids asked James Michael if he could/would come over and he actually did. They were SO excited. He's off from work for some time so he came to hang out. They love him, his time and his attention so much. It's really kind of sad to watch as people get older and things change. He grew up and he wants to hang out more with his friends and such but they still see him as the "fun" cousin! One more way life screws people over! Oh well, we move on I guess.

So...I got up early this morning to watch the Men's 2005 Wimbledon Championship Finals. It was such a disappointment. It was between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. I don't even think Andy completely showed up for the match. American men tennis players are such a disappointment these days. The Bryan twins, Bob and Mike, lost the doubles championships to a couple of qualifiers.

American athletes are going down the tubes—yes, I generalize!

I'm outta here!

Saturday tennis

This morning I figured I'd better get something to eat before I played tennis in the 95+ degree weather. I saw this sign in the McDonald's drive thru. It was kind of funny because the clearance is 8' 6". I don't know anyone that tall!

This is what the sky looked like before I started playing tennis after a night of storms.

This is my jeep at TCC (Tarrant County College) in Hurst, Texas.

Entrance to the TCC tennis courts where I play.

More TCC tennis courts.

This is the master's (my) tennis racket!

A long, busy day

Man, I am tired today but will probably be up late as always.

I got up at 7 a.m. today to play tennis. I played from about 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. in 90 degrees in the morning and about 99 degrees from 11 a.m. on.

I ran out of water in my water jug around 10:30 a.m. Sucked!

After tennis, I went to my friend Keith's to help him set up his DSL connection. Scrooge the tight wad is finally coming into the 20^th century! He's been on dial up with Everyone's Internet because he's a cheap ass! But he finally saw a deal for SBC Yahoo DSL for $14.95/mo for the year and decided to take the challenge.

I can understand how $10/mo for him to check his email and the occasional surfing is enough but I told him once he goes DSL he won't want to go back. He did mention he was tired of waiting for the dial up browsing. LOL!

Anyhow, he did buy me lunch — a Sonic burger with tater tots so I couldn't complain too much.

Turns out his DSL connection wasn't completely set up on the SBC side so I couldn't do much other than hook up his modem and filters. I'd see him again in two days for the Fourth of July party but whether or not it would be hooked up because there is Sunday and then a holiday is the question. We'll see.

I was supposed to stop by my brother's house on the way home to work on his computer but I played so late and it took so long at Keith's that I didn't want to piss the wife off for being home even later than I already was going to be. She had already said the night before, "so I guess I should write you off for most of the day Saturday, huh?" Pissy, pissy woman. LOL! So, I just drove straight home. I figured I could drive back later or early Sunday morning to pick up my brother's computer.

I get home and the sister-in-law is there. Hell, if I would have known my wife would be preoccupied with the sister-in-law's visit, I would have stopped by and gotten the computer. But, alas, I was a good husband. The in-law came over to swim with her son and our kids before she goes out to Forney for an early Fourth of July party with a neighbor she had that moved there. Forney is about an hour or so from Dallas. It used to be the sticks but I hear it's coming up a bit. It is still what we 'big city' folk would call 'country.'

It was funny because the in-law had taken a shower and all before I got there after swimming and she had curlers in her hair. I was wondering why and then the wife told me about the Forney party. About an hour after I had gotten home, the in-law was 'ready' for the party. She walked into our living room where we were watching television and she was the embodiment of redneck trailer trash! LOL! She was wearing blue jean shorts, a blue shirt with the American flag on it outlined with sequin-type things or glitter and the 80's big hair poof. I was wondering if she was going to a Pat Benatar concert or something! Or maybe she was going to the local hill billy bar to find her child a new daddy. Ha! She finally left to go to her redneck party in Forney.

We decided to take a drive. I am antsy. The kids are antsy. The wife doesn't care to go anywhere but she decided to go for the ride. So, off we are going...

Women's Final 2005 Wimbledon

Just in case anyone cares...

Venus Williams defeated Lindsay Davenport for the 2005 Women's Wimbledon Championship!

I have nothing against Venus except that she and her sister, Serena, have always been whiners in the past and that was when they were really good but I really wanted Lindsay to when before she retires. She was very close and she played really well in this tournament and a few previous ones.

I'm sure she'll get one more major but it would have been nice to see her win this one. She's just an all-around pleasant and skillful tennis player.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't get to watch the match because I was playing tennis myself. I did hear it was quite a match all the way to the end.

We are not moving this weekend

We were all pumped and ready to move...okay, we knew it was inevitable so the sooner the better was best for us...but the landlord apparently isn't going to have his shit together for our planned July 3^rd move-in.

We think the previous tenants probably were there until Thursday the 30^th and then it is July 4^th weekend and our future landlord probably had some holiday weekend plans that he didn't want to give up to make ready the place. Understandable, but he should have foreseen this a week ago and planned with us accordingly.

Rich white people! They are so unorganized and unprepared!

So, we've pushed back the move-in to Saturday July 9^th. It may be ready by Thursday or Friday but definitely Saturday. The landlord said he'd have the carpet guys come steam clean the carpets either Wednesday or Thursday. And we'd probably not want to move shit until the carpets completely dried. There is no telling what the Texas weather will be like and the less we track in and gets set into the carpet, the better!

So, I have another week to dwell on how much I am going to hate moving. And then after moving everything, how much I am going to hate unpacking and setting everything up!

Master Yoda

The ever-wise, powerful in the Force Yoda. He sits on top of my computer monitor on my desk at home. He watches over my domain and protects it with the Force.

Failed I have. In exile I must go!

First 100 degree day of '05 in Texas and then...

It's official. According to the local paper, "at 3:57 p.m. Thursday, the temperature at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, the region's official gauge, hit triple digits."

As mentioned in my escapades yesterday, I was in that freaking hot weather!

Looking forward to more good - hot - times!

And then this morning around 11:30am, the weather changed. It was hot, muggy and then the storms came pouring down. Luckily in Texas, the weather typically changes every 30 minutes to an hour so we could have the 100 degrees back. Woohoo!




And then two hours later, this is the sky we see...