I don’t know if it’s the Monday blues, but depression was getting the best of me yesterday. I caught myself longing for the days in which I was a husband preparing dinner for all of us to eat together. In all, I guess I miss having a best friend. I also guess some of it had to do with what I thought was a potential relationship. Everything seemed to be going in the right direction. All the right things were being said. There was occasional body contact, then radio silence. I got my hopes up and then they were flushed down the toilet. I also think a lot of it has to deal with my surgery next week. It’s one thing to go into such a thing knowing you have someone there for you in sickness and in health, and another knowing you are basically doing it all on your own. It’s a feeling of loneliness, of isolation. Perhaps it’s the fear of accepting my best days are behind me. I mean, could my life be better being married with two great kids in our own house and be able to save for college? Maybe another part of it is just being in constant discomfort with my back, never able to get into a comfortable position, even laying down. Something also triggered my PTSD, I just couldn’t shake the emotions, feelings, and thoughts of my kids being kept from me and not knowing the next time I would see or talk with them.
I’ve bought some wall art with inspirational quotes to try to perk myself up. I also bought a new couch just to change things up a bit and rid myself of some old memories. The couch arrives tomorrow. It’s still weird making a “major” purchase alone without any consult.
Several of you have been kind enough to reach out by sending thoughtful emails. You have no idea how much I needed to read those words. The timing was just right. I’m working on replies. Some days, like today, it’s really hard to put together something for y’all. But I force myself, it’s a bit therapeutic and gets my mind off wishing for the end to come.
I’ve been working from home for about 13 years and I embraced the isolation. Now, I dread it and dream of daily human interaction. I’m scared of changing jobs. My grass may not be greener, but I know everything that goes into making it green, I don’t know what makes my other yards green. There’s a part of me that wants to make more money, but I think I want to find something that makes me happy. The problem is monthly income. I have to come up with $2,100 to pay rent for my tiny cruddy rent house and $1,600 for child support.
DaughterGeeding has a softball game in Fort Worth this evening. I have to drive to Dallas to get my laptop worked on. I won’t have enough time to charge my car to make the drive to Cowtown, so I’m forced to rent a car. Sometimes I think I should just buy a new car, but I don’t like having a car payment. It seems like I have to rent a car three or four times a year, which would be the equivalent of a single car payment.
DaughterGeeding had the best night of her life at the Taylor Swift concert. I’m happy for her, but jealous the best night of her life was spent with her mother. While it’s not a competition, there’s no topping a Taylor Swift concert.
Just a random and special shout-out to longtime readers Cowtown Doug, Bryan B., Bizzarro BigTex, Ricardo Perry, and the man patrolling the streets of Mineral Wells.
A new survey, drawing notice in academia, shows that 1 in 4 applicants decided against applying to a college this year solely because of the politics in its state.
Whenever I have to type “colonel” I always have to look up the spelling.
BoyGeeding likes to play a game when he sees restaurant signs. He renames the establishment using what he thinks is the complete opposite. So, when he sees “Whataburger” he calls it “Dry Soup”. Yeah, we both know it’s not “Waterburger” but that’s how most people say it.
The silver lining for Trump is that he’s going to make so much money and get so much attention from this indictment. If there are two things he loves, it’s money and attention. The indictment is almost a wish come true for him.
I love watching Stephen Colbert. He’s a devout Catholic and has taught Sunday school. It appears he’s madly in love with his wife, who is Presbyterian. I never thought about what it would be like to date or marry someone who prefers to go to church separately, but I’d be open to it.
A California girl’s pet goat is feared to have been slaughtered and served at a community barbecue, a lawsuit claims.
I found this story using my dummy account on The Facebook. Here’s a video about him and here’s an article.
Speaking of The Facebook (yes, I know it’s just “Facebook” but I like calling it by its original name to sound goofy), I gave The Facebook Market Place a try. I must have undercut myself. Within two hours of posting my couch (a sleeper sofa), I had five inquires and sold it that day. The guy who bought it looked just like Uncle Jesse on the “Dukes of Hazzard.” He was trying to move it by himself, almost ripping his overalls several times. So, I had to help if I wanted it out, but I was trying to avoid doing so with my back problems and all. Now I’ve put a nicer piece of furniture online, a recliner. I must be asking too much this time around because there’s been no dice.
I decided to buy a new sofa for several reasons. Sure, I wanted one that reclines because it’s more functional for my small living room, but I also sold it because I’m looking to have a fresh start. So, I’m getting rid of things I have an emotional attachment to.
I want a new career, something in which I help people, something that makes me feel fulfilled, something that I think I’m good at. But, I feel I’m stuck in my career until the kids graduate. My father told me not to wish my time away, but the next six years are gonna go by slow. But then again, I like the saying, “The days are long, but years are fast.” There’s truth in that.
The good news is the ex is actually starting to co-parent instead of parallel parenting. She’s been friendlier and kinder as of late, but still refuses to talk about the divorce. I have to learn to be content that that conversation is never going to happen. Other than some of the obvious questions, I want to ask her why does she thinks the children don’t deserve to have both parents in their lives equally? If she answers that, that will give me some understanding on how she prefers to co-parent.
“I don’t like country music, but I don’t mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means ‘put down’.” – Bob Newhart
People commit suicide and people go, “I don’t understand why?’” And I go “you don’t? What do you live in a cotton-candy house or something? WTF? – Norm Macdonald
Posted inPersonal|Comments Off on Bag of Randomness for Monday, April 3, 2023
It’s interesting how Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford have never worked together. They both love to fly, so they should do an airplane movie.
Who’s fits the role of “movie star” better, Tom Cruise or George Clooney?
A special shout-out to longtime reader AndreaJN. I just wanted to say I was thinking of you, I hope all is well. You have been such an encourager, I appreciate it.
Another special shout-out to longtime reader and radio personality Mr. D.Wilhite. Thanks for making me feel I add value to the world.
There’s one reader I really admire but fear I have let him down or disappointed him with the divorce and how I handled things post divorce. I fear he now thinks less of me.
I need someone to teach me how to view and participate in Facebook marketplace. I’m not on Facebook personally, but created a “dummy” account to view and participate in my kids’ school activities. It’s so foreign to me.
I haven’t spoken to my brother since 2006. Recently, I did a Google search on him and found his LinkedIn profile. I’m proud of his professional accomplishments.
One silly reason I don’t have a LinkedIn profile is that I fear my brother looking it up and being disappointed in me. Weird, huh, how I still care about what he thinks about me? I suppose one day I’ll grow enough that I won’t care what others think of me.
I wish I would stop comparing myself to others. I do it constantly.
DaughterGeeding had another softball game yesterday, and once again started at second base. She was able to field one out and got on base twice from walks.
I’m worried the ex might be up to something. She was exceptionally friendly and stood next to me at our son’s soccer game. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so cynical. But when she’s around, I feel like there’s this big elephant in the room. She doesn’t see it, but it is distracting the heck out of me, and I want to address it. But, if I do, then that will destroy what progress we’ve made working together as parents.
I was looking at some glasses recently and I saw something called “Asian Fit“. I had no idea what that was and had to look it up:
Asian fit eyewear has thicker nose bridges. This enables them to be fitted with thick nose mount pads specifically designed to lift the frames off of your cheekbones and allow them to rest comfortably higher on the nose.
The lenses are shorter and wider, preventing them from touching your eyelashes and keeping both the frames and lenses from hitting your cheeks.
The frame curvature is reduced to keep the frames from touching your temples, ensuring they stay straight and upright.
Think on this: What’s your long-term vision for your life, and how can you make it happen?
Try this: Hug someone you love today (your cat, dog, or even yourself are all excellent options!) and remind them how grateful you are that they exist.
I’m so proud of my old friend, Jesse. He’s the son of my pastor in Mineral Wells. He, himself, has been a pastor for over 20 years and now he’s serving the community of Weatherford as a police officer. The social media team of the police department recently did an interview with him.
7. Sort your anxieties into fiction and non-fiction
“I have anxiety, and when I first admitted to myself that I needed some tools to figure out how to live with it, I went to a cognitive behavioral therapist for a few sessions. She said, ‘Pretend you’re in a library. Now find the non-fiction section. Go there. Ignore the fiction section—you don’t need that one. Stay in non-fiction and start to list the things you know are true. It’s likely you’ll soon see that most of what’s causing you anxiety is stuff from the fiction section. But you’re not in that section, so stick with the facts!’ Something about visualizing a fiction and non-fiction sections resonated SO deeply with me. For starters, the concrete visualization exercise takes me to a more meditative place right away, which distracts me from the physical anxiety sensations I feel. And then, once I start sorting [my anxieties into] fact or fiction, I start to see that a lot of what I’m anxious about is conjecture.”
It’ll boast an ’80s cyberpunk atmosphere, with a disco ball DJ booth in the center and state-of-the-art sound systems. Skaters will skate on custom-made Ride On skates and be able to simultaneously enjoy craft cocktails and mocktails. Outside of the rink, amenities will include an arcade, lounge, restaurant, and bar.
It’s going to be interesting to see our society adjust to AI. How comfortable and how much will we trust it? For some reason, I’m comfortable with self-driving automobiles that use AI, but not when it comes to dental work. https://twitter.com/HowThingsWork_/status/1640854930561933318
I’d like to speak to Evangelicals.
If you are like me, you’ve spent most of your life being told that you have to vote Republican to be a good Christian.
I understand if your convictions prevent you from voting for a Democrat. But let me suggest something: 1/10
