It’s going to be a busy weekend for me, and that rarely happens. I’ve been a member of my church for something like 15-years, but have never taken part in the annual men’s retreat. This year, the retreat is close. As a matter of fact, it’s at Camp Copass in Denton, a camped I worked at for two summers. However, I will not be able to fully immerse myself because BoyGeeding has a birthday party planned at an escape room in Grapevine Mills Mall on Saturday afternoon. All of this travel from Lewisville to Denton, to Grapevine, and back to Denton is going to be challenging for my short range electric car. If I’m lucky, a full charge will get me 72 miles. Basically, I divide that number in half, and that tells me how far I can go and return without a charge. I can recharge fully in four hours, or eight hours, using a regular wall outlet. I love my car. It was perfect for when I was married and had another vehicle, but it’s tough as a single father. Rent and child support takes up 58% of my income, so it would be hard to fit in a car payment. So, for now, I just try to make do. I just hope the battery doesn’t degrade too much. I’d like to keep the car long enough to give it to one of the kids when they turn of driving age. Even if the max range is only 25-35 miles by that time, that’s plenty to get them to school and back.
Regarding the last bullet point, I had to look up the correct usage of “make do.” I initially went with “make due.”
My landlord came over yesterday for a mandatory bi-annual inspection. I was told I’m the modal tannate.
I get a real kick out of celebrities telling Elvis stories. This clip includes Liza Minnelli telling a story about the time she was in the same room as Alice Cooper, Chubby Checker, and Linda Lovelace when Elvis entered the room doing karate.
A supervisor at work complimented me on my writing. I should have shown her some comments the grammar Nazis have left me.
Graceland got its name after Civil War publisher and owner of the Memphis Daily Appeal S.C. Toof named it after his daughter, Grace. Elvis named one of his airplanes the Lisa Marie. I wonder if he got the idea from how his estate got its name.
Squirrels Mike and Colby are enjoying the treats BoyGeeding and I lay out for them. He named them after our old neighbors when there was a GeedingManor.
There’s a Civil War museum in Fort Worth that sometimes makes the news for their perception of the war. One of my kids will go there on a field trip sponsored by their conservative charter school.
It’s interesting when a divorced mother who never grants the father any extra time with the kids suddenly grants him an opportunity to host them for a night. I’m told that means the mother must have plans, plans that require privacy.
It’s touching that Bruce Willis’ current wife and ex-wife are banding together to care for him. I’ll admit, I’m a bit jealous that he’s able to maintain such a relationship.
A Denver city councilperson who uses a wheelchair said he was humiliated and dismayed after an election debate on Monday evening was held in a venue without wheelchair access, forcing him to crawl onto the stage while in full view of the crowd.
He said he had had no choice but to participate in the debate. Had he refused, according to The Denver Post, he would have had to forfeit roughly $125,000 in campaign financing.
Today is BoyGeeding’s 11th birthday. He says he doesn’t really enjoy his birthday anymore because of what happened during his ninth birthday. There are some things a son is only comfortable sharing with his dad, and he can’t bring himself to talk to his mother about how it all went down. You may recall that my ex ran off with the kids and then, for four straight nights, prevented me from contacting our children. She only relented on our son’s ninth birthday, and only allotted him a five-minute speakerphone call with me. My boy retold that story, but this time mentioned how weird the call was, talking to his dad for only five minutes after four nights of no contact.
I remember my former MIL texting me that if that call went well, then I might be able to talk to them more later that evening. I complied with their demands, but that second call never happened. Nothing but empty promises from then on out.
One thing I miss doing is talking joyfully, reminiscing about BoyGeeding’s birth to his mother. It sucks to have memories and no one to share them with.
This makes me happy as a short-range electric car owner, and should have been done years ago – Tesla will open charging network to other EVs – The company will make at least 7,500 chargers nationwide available by the end of next year.
So, people with social anxiety feel anxious sharing information about themselves because they feel like they’ll be judged harshly for it (presumably because they judge their own behavior harshly), so they hide under a layer of rehearsal. Meanwhile, on the other side, participants felt that the people with social anxiety were being disingenuous and thus were less likable.
Last month, Louisiana became the first state to require an ID from residents to access pornography online. Since then, seven states have rushed to follow in Louisiana’s footsteps. According to a tracker from Free Speech Coalition, Florida, Kansas, South Dakota, and West Virginia introduced similar laws, and laws in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Virginia are seemingly closest to passing.
Posted inPersonal|Comments Off on Bag of Randomness for Thursday, February 16, 2023
BoyGeeding handed me a Valentine yesterday. With it, he said, “No matter what people are doing, no matter where they are, they will love you.” I opened it up, and it was signed by my mother. I noticed her handwriting instantly, but she died back in 2006. Apparently, the ex found it in some stuff and gave it to our son to give to me. But, my son thought it would be more appropriate to give it to me on Valentine’s day. What’s interesting is that I don’t recall my mother making a point to give me anything for Valentine’s. Heck, that may be the sole valentine she ever gave me.
I made a simple request of my ex concerning the kids, and told her all she needed to do was reply back with yes or no, that no explanation was needed. I had a feeling that she would say no, but figured there would be no harm in asking. As expected, she denied my request, but wrote she first spoke to her lawyer and CPA. Knowing one of them may have billed her for something so small is a small victory.
The Satanic Temple, a political activist group known for protesting religious symbolism in public spaces, has announced that it will be opening a free abortion clinic in New Mexico offering prescriptions for drugs that cause abortion.
EXCLUSIVE: Teddy Joseph Von Nukem, the man in the black shirt in one of the most prominent photos from the 2017 neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, killed himself as he was due to face trial for smuggling fentanyl across the southern border. https://t.co/liTvA8I0Ou
A week ago I thought I was dealing with my depression quite well. But, it has gotten the best of me over the last week. It’s hard to focus or even to get motivated. Maybe it’s a seasonal thing. You know, the recent anniversary of my family breaking apart and all and how poorly my last encounter with my ex went.
When I tried to explain to my ex that she’s told the children some things that are simply not true, she countered saying she will tell them whatever she wants and I can tell them whatever they want, that there was no need and it was not important for us set the record straight and have one uniform story for the kids.
Two years ago, I had a very special Valentine’s Day planned for my then wife.
I was speaking of a friend who had to fill out a form in which he had to list three people he could call for help during any part of the day. I couldn’t get past one and I’m not sure if I feel comfortable listing him.
It’s funny how a life can turn upside down in two years.
U2 announced a series of concerts in Las Vegas this fall celebrating their 1991 album “Achtung Baby” in a cryptic 15-second ad aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday — although drummer Larry Mullen Jr., still recovering from surgery, will sit out this run of shows. Dutch drummer Bram van den Berg will fill in.
As a longtime fan, I’m not sure I want to see the band unless all four of them are together.
