Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Creative Re-gifting

Christmas growing up was not as exciting as it is now. I have kids now and I truly enjoy seeing them on Christmas morning. Their little faces all puffy and swollen from sleeping, bad breath (really bad breath), mussed up hair-do's and the smiles, the smiles are worth a million. When I was a kid, Christmas was still very fun, very exciting and something that I waited anxiously for each and every year. It was different though. I didn't get as many things that my kids get. I never got that super great, unforgettable, unbelievable present. I got weird stuff. Sometimes I got good stuff like books that I wanted and one year I got a little portable stereo that I loved and had for like 10 years but usually I got socks or a sweater with a little bear wearing a hat or the occasional pack of pens and pencils. Here's the thing though, my mom was really poor. She did the best she could and my brother and I knew that. I might sound bitter but I don't mean to. She worked at minimum wage jobs and rode the city bus back and forth to get to them. She put stuff on layaway and couldn't afford to get it out when the time came (I probably have some cool stuff on layaway somewhere waiting to be paid for...). She wasn't very good at getting me the exact thing I asked for but she always got what she could afford or the next best thing.
Often times, (like every year), she would buy something mid-year and hide it. We didn't get these gifts until way after Christmas when she was cleaning out the closet or something and suddenly I would have a Christmas gift in April or May. This, honestly, was fun. Sometimes they were wrapped. This should've been a clue to what would later come... The weird re-gifting was later in the game.
I was in my teens when she started this and it was funny and sad at the same time. One year I got my old Cincinnati Reds t-shirt wrapped up in a gift box and everything. It was really small, at least 3 sizes too small, and it was a shirt that I had worn when I was in the third grade or so. I was re-given this shirt for Christmas when I was 15 years old. I looked at it and held it up and said "thank you". I looked at my step-dad and was thinking, "what the hell is wrong with you people? You can't put $10.oo in a friggin card or go to the store and get a pair of socks?" It was so strange, I thought it was a joke. It was not a joke. She looked so happy and excited to see my face when I opened my favorite shirt from third grade. I mean, I actually went to The Broadway and paid money for their gifts. And they give me my old t-shirt that was stained and streched out and could not possibly fit me. I knew my mom was crazy but this took the damn cake. She had to have found it in storage or the back of my closet or something and where was my step-dad when this was being done? Was he on the golf course and just handed her a couple of bucks and said "go for it, see what you can do with this?" What the hell?
It got better the next couple years and I ended up just asking for cash. This she did pretty good and I didn't ask for much, I quit asking for specific cassette tapes or albums. I got a job and bought my own stuff and even loaned her money for gifts so that my dad wouldn't get his old boxer shorts from his Air Force days. Then, after I had moved out, I came home for Christmas and there, in a box wrapped with bows and everything, was a unicorn mirror that I had won at the fair 3 years earlier. I had to say something. "Mom," I said, "I already have one of these. In fact this is the one I already have." She laughed, thank God, and said she wasn't sure if it was mine or not. "Wait, I have something else for you." I held my breath. "Here, we brought this back for you." Wrapped up in tissue paper was a can of LaRosa's pizza sauce from an Italian restaurant in Cincinnati. Now that was cool. You can't get LaRosa's sauce here in California and I lived on my own so food was something I could use and appreciate. She didn't need to wrap it but I think it might have been the best present ever.
As I write this, I remember a lot of crazy shit my mom did. We didn't realize at the time that she already had Alzheimer's and I guess if we had, life might have been different. I might have taken her shopping at Christmas and helped her pick out clothes from my closet to wrap that actually fit me. In any event, she was fun and now I have some great stories to tell. I'm sure that I will post some more funny stuff about my life with her as time goes on and as my memory allows. Hopefully my kids won't have as many weird stories to tell about me and hopefully I'll stop and remember before I re-gift something to them that they've already gotten.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hey everyone! Merry Christmas to all...
Well, Santa came to our house and he did a great job. Thank you Santa. We love you.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. I am. I have a great story about my mother's famous re-gifting that I became accustomed to over the years but that will come later. Right now I have to clean up the crazy mess that goes along with ripping open gifts that took so long to wrap. Love tradition.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Oh-Bama!

What a dumbass! He really pissed me off this time. I have a friggen' Obama shirt for God's sake!
So... Rick Warren... hate-filled pastor. Super wrong and really bad. He does good things for Aids and Africa but he goes along with the hard core right wing Christians who think that gays and pedophiles and incestuous people are all filed in the same hell bound category. That is just so wrong. I get what Obama is trying to do. He's trying to show the other side that he's still a Christian and he wants the folks who didn't vote for him to say "oh look, he hates gays too.". Ok, that's not his point but what is? I mean this is like a "ha ha ha" to the gay people that were so excited to see him win. We all thought this would be a new era... we would have "change" and "hope". Now, I think we might be sad. Prop 8 passed... now this shit. Hell no! You are going to see gay people everywhere stand up and be heard. I'm not giving up on Obama, I still think he'll be a great President, I'm just disappointed and nervous. I know that this gay drama will be over soon and gay people will be allowed to get married and most people will come around. It just might be a while. And another thing... the people who keep saying we have the same "rights" are trippin'. When you get married, that's it, your married. To have the rights without getting legally married is not that easy, it's a lot of paperwork, lawyers, paying for court stuff and the "rights" can still be challenged. Marriage, under the law, requires much less and gives much more. It's easier, cheaper and much more binding. When children are involved, the only guarantee that you have is the actual legal contract of marriage. So... the crybabies that keep saying "you have the same rights... why are you so in need of our title... 'marriage'". Well, dumbass, because it's neat and clean and easy. We should get to have it neat and clean and easy like all of you. I'm a good parent and a good wife (although my "wife" might challenge that statement) and I see no reason for all of this protest. I get it though, opposers want to pretend gay people don't exist so they don't have to explain it to their children and they can't side with gay people because they might not get to Heaven. Hey, I understand, they are scared of that which they do not understand. That's why, right now, I'm scared shit less about the choice our new President has made as to who will stand with him on his Inauguration stage.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Waiting for Santa

two trees


Now we usually get a nice 4-5 ft tree and decorate and the kids get plenty of room for presents to be spread out etc... But this year we were on a budget so we got this little "Charlie Brown" tree. My kids were sad but finally came around. Then... one of my sweet little soccer players over heard me saying how we had to get a little tree and within a day, he bought us a huge 6 ft tree, bigger than any tree we've ever had in our house. It was crazy. He spent his own money and told his parents that he wanted to get us a tree because that's what Christmas is all about. What? Can you believe that? How sweet. I started crying, his mom started crying... it was awesome. This kid is 9 yrs old and he spent his own money that he does chores for to buy his (obviously favorite) soccer coach and family a tree. Wow!! That is what Christmas is all about. I'm so proud of that kid. I love Christmas and my family now has a gorgeous tree to light up our season.

Monday, December 15, 2008

size 10 1/2

Oh my goodness! Was that awesome or what? I thoroughly enjoyed watching that reporter from Baghdad throwing his shoe at ol' Bushie. It was glorious. I do appreciate what Bush's reaction was though, he said that the shoe throwing was an example of democracy. I get that a little bit. Maybe before we attacked their country and killed their mothers and children that reporter might not have been able to throw his shoe at our president. Then again, maybe he wouldn't feel the need to express his extreme anger through the most insulting way possible towards our president. It is sad to me that we went into that country to try and help them and ended up destroying more than we helped. The money for rebuilding Iraq? Where is that? How did that go to any good use? Haliburton? Hmmm... and who is responsible for this? We'll never get the straight answer. I'm sad for them and I'm embarrassed for us. Oil, oil, oil... gas prices went down, conveniently enough and hopefully they will stay low because I can't afford to go anywhere when they are high like they were. I wish I could know a little more about what happened in Iraq and I wish that more questions were asked and answered before we went in there. I think that the people of Iraq are worse off then they were before we went there. I would throw my shoe at Bush too if I were there. Who do we think we are, going into a country that didn't need our help. Iraq actually has more money in their country than we do. How does that make any sense? They need to loan us money for our bailout. And did that guy get his shoes back?

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Tooth Fairy?

My sweet, innocent, wondrous little 10 yr. old daughter has just told me that she "knows" the tooth fairy is not real. Her friend heard on the news that a 15 yr. old (shockingly) still believed in the tooth fairy. What kind of fucking news shows is this child's mother allowing her to watch? I am appalled and saddened by this whole notion that my little girl is a non-believer. Has she lost her faith and hope in things that are fantasy and completely ridiculous? I'm not even mentioning Santa... don't go there. I should be relieved because I will save some money (she has several baby teeth still in that non-conforming head of hers) but I'm not. I can't lie to her but at the same time, I can't allow this in my home. Her brother still believes and oddly enough he hasn't lost nearly as many teeth as her. You'd think that, even knowing the truth, she would play along for a while just to get the payout... Oh my God... she's known for a lot longer than she's led on. That little tooth losing, under the pillow putting, "mommy did the tooth fairy come?" asking weasel. She's probably known for years. I can't even think about Santa and the Easter Bunny. What's next? Is she suddenly going to come home from school and tell us that her friend said she should be a Republican because shes afraid she'll turn into a "Socialist"? I'm not so sure about this friend... same friend whose dad said if gay people are allowed to get married then "hobos will want to marry trees"... that friend. My little girl is sweet and innocent and if hanging around this little hoodlum prevents her from enjoying her childhood, I will have to talk to her parents (I despise that father of hers... he's a whole posting of his own that I won't waste my typing skills on). I hope that she slows down on the questioning of imaginary people/animals that leave gifts for a bit because I don't know how much my heart can take at one time and I have a personal connection to the Clause's that I'm not willing to break off just yet.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Vacation

I'm on vacation and I do nothing. I have a chore list longer than I can explain but I have no desire to do anything. It's annoying. I wait around all day and get nothing accomplished. I haven't even written a bunch of stuff on this blog. I never go anywhere or do anything exciting. People always say, where are you going for your vacation? My response: The back yard to clean it up.
2 more days... what ever will I do... laundry and dishes. Whoo-hoo, I love vacation. The best part is having coffee and breakfast with my girl but beyond that... not so fun. Can't wait to go back to work. I really need a hobby.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

A Day Without a Gay

I did not know about this day. I am a gay and I did not read this in my monthly gay newsletter. I am feeling out of touch and it's a good thing I'm on vacation because I don't think I would not show up to work. I'm not that into the whole "prove a point" thing when it comes to work and spending money. I won't be spending any money today because I have no money to spend and I don't think that has anything to do with being gay. Anyway, cheers to all the gays that didn't go to work today, I hope you don't get fired.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

It's a sad day for the Hornets

Well, it's all over. We are not moving on the the quarter finals. We place 3rd in our pool. The team that won our pool had 25 pts., the second place team in our pool had 24 pts. and we had 23 pts. It was that close. We lost our last game and they played really, really good but we couldn't pull it off. My boys had a wonderful season and we are always going to be the 2008 U10 division champions for Ventura region 39 so I'm still a happy coach. We will have our last practice tomorrow where the boys will play this soccer game called "pac-man" that they have been asking me if they could play all season and I haven't let them because I don't know the rules but tomorrow, they can do whatever they want. Then on Sunday, we will have a pizza party and celebrate our excellent season. One family has offered to have a pool party in January (only in California can you have a pool party in January) for all of us.
I'm proud of the Green Hornets, I'm proud of my son and all his great plays (he headed the ball like 5 times this weekend and it was awesome), and I'm proud of myself for not crying just now when I found out we are out of the next set of games. What a run we had! Now I wait until spring soccer which I will coach again without all the pressure of playoffs and points and placement. Spring is just for fun. All of this is just for fun and we all had a lot of fun!
Thanks for reading and praying and crossing your fingers. It helped.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Hornets do it again!

Oh my goodness people. We are on mother lovin' fire!! We did it again. 1st game... outstanding. 4-0 our favor, total sweep... we earned 10 points (maximum allowed) towards the seeding. It works like this: 6 pts for the win, 1 more pt for a "shut-out" (that's when they don't score at all), 1 additional point for each goal scored over them up to 3 goals. So with a 4-0 win, we earned 10 pts! The hard part about all this is that once we are up by 4, they want us to slow down and not score anymore. It's to prevent teams from running up the score and it's good sportsmanship but when your boys are playing well it's really difficult to tell them not to score. Especially when it's a chance for a player who hasn't scored yet to get a goal for the 1st time. Anyway, we won the 1st game easily and it was beautiful.
Second game, a little different. We won but it kinda was wierd and almost a loss. We played Fillmore's #3 team and they were way better than I had been told (don't trust the Santa Barbara asst. coach for future reference...). These guys were fast and scored on us right away. They got a lot of fouls and played really rough. One of their players got a kick to the face (accidently) and their coach had a fit because the Ref didn't see it. Well he yelled at the Ref really badly and pissed him off. Nice, thanks a lot dude. Not a way to coach, it never works out well when you do that. So, what ended up happening is we were tied at half time. Then we scored in the 3rd quarter. I had pulled one of my #1 players and my son for the 3rd quarter with plans to put them back in for the 4th and have them rally for another goal or 2. Not so lucky, the Ref was so distracted from the Fillmore coach yelling at him that he forgot to call in the fourth quarter subs so we played the whole second half with the same players and no subs. Didn't bother me, we won but Fillmore "yells-a-lot" was sooo mad. The poor little Ref. He's all "Ref error, sorry, call stands" (that means we won no matter what). Holy moly, that was a lucky break and a happy moment. I mean I think we still would have won but maybe he pulled his best guy 3rd quarter too and that's why he was so mad. Anyway, we are doing well and I am happy to it. We earned 7 points for the second game and now everything rides on tomorrow. A 3-0 win would seal the deal and put us in the quarter finals next weekend then to win that and the semi's and... dare I say it... The Finals... then we would be Area W champs... that's huge. We need to play smart and think positive. These kids from these other cities, they are good. We need to be better. I can't wait for tomorrow. Say your prayers and cross your fingers. We need this win!
Thanks for reading, I will post the results tomorrow.

Friday, December 5, 2008

league playoffs begin tomorrow

well, my championship team moves on to league playoffs tomorrow. we play 3 games, 2 saturday, 1 sunday. hope we do well. i'll let you know tomorrow. i have to wake lukas up at 6 am. hope he's ready. lily has to get up shortly after that, poor thing, she is not a morning person. me either.
big day.
go hornets!!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving

Oh my goodness. Do I love Thanksgiving or what! Yes, yes I do. It was exactly 5 years ago today that my mother passed away. She died on Thanksgiving day right around dinner time. Alzheimers related illness. What excatly would that be? She forgot to live? Something like that. Someday, I will write a book about her and in it, I will explain all the little sorted details about her life and death. Should make for an interesting read and write, I suppose. In any event, my point is that I love Thanksgiving and the fact that my mother, my very best friend in the world, died on this day is great. It makes me appreciate it even more. My father dying on Christmas day also poses an interesting ice breaker. People love when I bring that up in conversation. What the fuck do you say to someone after that? I should probably not mention that anymore. It might make folks uncomfortable... I don't like to make people uncomfortable. Having your parents die is hard enough but having them die on major holidays is pretty crazy. My dad died a long time ago, I was four. He was sick and had a lot of heart attacks (7 is a lot...he was only 40), so he had heart disease and wasn't going to live to see me grow up. It sounds so sad, but it's not. I'm glad that he passed away on Christmas. I'll never forget the day he died, and it makes me appreciate Christmas a little more. I used to be really bitter about it and act like a little cry baby but now that I have kids of my own, I can enjoy the day through their eyes and that is awesome. So, the parents dying on the two favorite holidays is a memorable thing that sets me apart from all my other orphan friends (I don't think I have any other orphan friends nor can I say I'm an orphan... I'm a little old for that) and I do believe that it has made me a better person. I have learned to find the good stuff beyond the "bad". I really think that my father dying when he did made my life better. I probably would still live in Ohio (since Ohio voted for Obama, I'm really happy with them right now) and would have gone to Catholic school and been all long hair and dresses... how horrible would that have been? His passing caused my mom to move my brother and I out to California and we've been here ever since. Had he lived, she wouldn't have packed up all our stuff and hitched a ride with a friend to "start over" (another chapter in the book about my mom...). I haven't quite figured out what benefits there are from my mom dying so early but, I'm sure in time, I will.
Well, after all that dramatic bullshit, let me say this: Thanksgiving was wonderful and Suzanne made a delicious dinner, once again. It's great having a mother in law who cooks really well and is truly a genuinely nice person (shout out to Suzanne, thanks for dinner...) I wish I was a stoner again on Thanksgiving because then I could eat and eat and eat.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

the kids become bloggers

O.K. The kids have started their own blog (I cannot allow small children to pester me about writing on my blog... I just can't have it). If you go to my profile, their blog is listed there. I don't know what the protocol is about having kids do blogs but, whatever. Should be interesting. They are cute and pretty funny and it's neat to see what they have to say at times. They've been given the rules about saying mean things or revealing too much information so I think it is safe enough. Anyway, enjoy their words (they know how to use spell check but grammar is another story... ) I know I do.

Florida and gay adoption

I have just learned that a judge in Florida has ruled that not allowing gays to adopt is unconstitutional. Uh... ya think? Hello!! Why was that even an issue. I tell you, I am so irritated by these people that are not allowing children to be raised by gay adults in a loving nurturing homes I could just spit. I won't though (how butch of me to spit). It just makes no sense to not find homes for children without anyone else to love them. How ridiculous. Let's just allow them to stay in orphanages or random foster homes because potential parents are deemed unfit or "deviant". Unfit, not because they are abusive or selfish but "unfit" because some religious group or conservative agenda doesn't want to acknowledge people that have a different sexual preference than they do. Lets focus on pedophiles or child abusers as unfit and dangerous rather than gay folks. I mean get your fucking priorities right!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Nutcracker 2008


Well, she did it!! My little princess has completed her first Nutcracker performance. She was fantastic. The whole production was beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was proud that she was a part of that wonderful ballet. She was really cute and her part this time was small but still, she was excellent. I watched her give the flowers to one of the teachers at the end and I knew that was a thrill for her and exciting for us too. She really is very good at this ballet thing and I love that she does it. She has a lot of confidence and her self esteem has been boosted. I have watched this little girl twirl around and dance everywhere, no matter how inconvenient it may be (the grocery store, in line at fast food restaurants, in the middle of the street, etc...) for years. We now have an investment in this kid and I know that she will continue enjoying ballet and there will be many more Nutcracker performances to enjoy. Good job Lily!!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

My son Lukas posts an entry


Hi my name is Lukas . I am nine. Today i beat my championship games. My team is number 1 in the whole division! I had a great time . We faced my friend's team. They are called the Blue Dragons. We were almost got beat by them. My team is called Green Hornets. Today was one of most exiting days of my life!I was defender that is when you guard the goal. Another game I played is called Gallaxy.We beat them 5 to 4. WE TOOK THE WHOLE THING!!!

2008 AYSO Region 39, U10, Division Champions!!!!!!!

Here you go folks! We did it! I am probably one of the happiest people in the world at this time. I know that is usually a ridiculous statement to make and mostly exaggerated but at this time I believe it's true. WE DID IT!!!!
Holy crap, I can't believe it. It was the most awesome season finale game I can imagine (not that I have ever played or coached in a season finale championship game but... if I had, this would be the most awesome I bet). This was beautiful. My boys, notice this blog is way more about me than my son or the little kids on my team... they are my boys, not their parents boys, oh no, my team. Anyway, they played fantastically, I was very impressed and pleased. I have to admit, 2 games ago, I knew they had this thing, it was in the bag, but I didn't want to jinx it. I actually visualized this game, and told anyone that would listen, to pray for us and cross their fingers. And dammit!! We did it! We are the champions. I'm going to have that as my ring tone for a while. I promised our division director I would sing that song to her and I did. It was glorious. She thinks I'm a retard but I so don't care. I realized with AYSO I don't care. All the people involved are so down to earth, they all want the same thing. They all want the kids to have fun. It's actually really cool. And I love these kids, I am so impressed by them. Kids are like little people. They are so funny and totally have personalities and then I get to know their parents and I see why they are the way they are and it's very interesting. In any event, we totally kicked ass today and deserve this title. Lukas and I have awesome trophies and we are truly awesome. I can't express much more emotion as I have had a lot to drink and I'm exhausted both emotionally and physically and I have completely lost my voice (although that does not affect typing). This was great. Now tomorrow I will have my daughters performance to brag about. Amy and I are proud mommas right about now and we have a lot of things to be at and go to. I will write more later when I am more awake.


Friday, November 21, 2008

Championship Tomorrow/ Nutcracker starts

Tomorrow are the two final games of our regular fall 2008 U10 soccer season. 1st is the semi-finals and then the finals. Whew... what a season it has been. I am excited for tomorrow. I really think this team can do it. We've got a shot at 2008 Champs! Wow!!
And, as if that's not cool enough, my daughter is performing in the Nutcracker with her ballet studio and professional dancers. This is a big weekend for our family. The kids are both doing really important things at the same time. Amy has been helping with the ballet and I have been coaching my son's team so we both are exhausted. My daughter has 3 hour rehearsals every night and today she performed for a bunch of kids bussed in from all kinds of schools and Amy had to help backstage. Plus Amy has to study for college and I work 40-50 hours a week. What the hell? We need a vacation. After tomorrow, I'm freed up a bit but Amy has to do this thing Sunday and my poor daughter is so sleepy... I wouldn't change it for the world. I love this stuff. We have wanted to get the kids involved with something constructive for so long but never could because of our full time work schedules. Now that we can, it's both exhausting and expensive but to see their little faces when they do well or when we cheer them on makes it all worth it. I guess this is the fun stuff people always talk about when it comes to their kids. I always thought the fun stuff was after they go to bed. That's fun too but this is pretty cool. I'm proud of my little ballerina, my soccer player and my college girlfriend. I'm proud of myself too because after they all fall asleep, I get to get drunk and pass out (I'm proud that I waited for them to fall asleep before I pass out...).
Wish us all luck tomorrow!
Go team! Go dancers! and Go Moms!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Repeal Prop 8

Today the kids and I protested on the street. We stood amongst about 200 of our fellow citizens and held signs and shouted out slogans. It was beautiful. My daughter is all about the "no on 8" protest. She told me as we left "these people here are all about love". It was fantastic. I'm not a big gay rights person (you would not guess that from my previous posts) but this thing has my attention. This prop 8 thing has really opened my eyes to what equal rights are all about. I know that sounds stupid, of course I know what equal rights are, I just didn't think I needed any special rights for being gay. I mean, most people aren't gay but I've never had anyone say that I was different or wrong or not entitled to the same thing everyone else is... until now. Over the last few years I have come to realize that keeping my family together is more important to me than anything else. I stood out there with everyone and shouted our slogan: "what do we want?"... "EQUAL RIGHTS!"... "when do we want them?"... "NOW!!"... It was awesome. I started to cry a little, watching all of these Homos uniting on the street in front of both a Catholic Church and The Knights of Columbus hall. I got all caught up in the emotion and I went to hug my daughter and pull her close to me and she pulled away from me and said "Don't!". It was funny, she's the same, either way. Still a brat. Just like me. Gay or straight, legally married or not, our kids reach that age where hugging their parents in public is not O.K. Kids don't get emotional about this crap, they don't care what the law says. All they care about is that someone they love is there to wake them up with a hug and a smile and tuck them in with an "I love you to the stars and back"... They are not emotionally affected by watching a huge group of people standing up for their beliefs, they just want to know if they can get an ice cream on the way home. They have no clue about what's going on...sometimes, in some situations, I wish that was true... but we all know, they pay attention to everything, and that's not always so bad. Especially today, when they saw all of us together, peacefully, loud and proud telling our story. They will remember this forever, and so will I.

WE DID IT!!!

Hallelujah!!!
WE DID IT!!! My soccer team won today's game 7-4 and we move on to the semi-finals. That right there is really cool but wait, it gets better. Today's games were the deciders of who goes on and who is out and one of the teams that played today were the Wizards and they are the number one team in the division (we were 12th out of 30 teams by our 8th game), and if they win and we win, we would have to play them in the semi-finals, (this team is the kind of team that is undefeated and really, really good... like 9-1 good... the most anyone has scored off of them is 2 goals... that kind of good). So... I knew that even if we made it to semi-finals, there was a good chance that the Wizards would beat us and we'd only get 3rd or 4th place BUT... guess what? They LOST today. They freakin' lost. We are not playing them in the semi-finals!!! We are playing another team, a good team no doubt, but not the Wizards! We've got a shot at winning the whole division. Can you believe it? I am so excited...can you tell? I mean holy crap, the whole thing could be ours. We can do this, I know my boys and how they play and I'm telling you, WE CAN DO THIS!!! Practice on Monday is going to be long and tiring but we are gonna take this baby all the way to the bank (I realize that means nothing anymore but...).
SO EXCITING!!! Wish us luck. I'll keep the updates coming.
WHOO-HOO!! GO GREEN HORNETS!!


Friday, November 14, 2008

Big game tomorrow

Well, say your prayers and cross your fingers people... we have a big game tomorrow. If we win, we go on to the semi finals where we 1st play the #1 team in the division then we play the winner of the other two teams playing that day. The 1st game we would be competing for 3rd place and the second game we would be competing for 1st. Can you imagine? 1st place out of 30 teams??? I can and I am!! YES WE CAN!! That's my attitude. Now, if we lose tomorrow then it's all over and the season is done... that will not happen. I will not allow it, I am having too much fun. Never mind what the kids are feeling, it's all about me. No, just kidding. I want these guys to go all the way. They've worked really hard and I know they can do it. It's going to be bitchin' tomorrow. It's going to be a fun and exciting game and successful! We will be triumphant!!
Say your prayers and cross your fingers. Semi-finals here we come!!!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Lighten up

All right, so I have been a little heavy here lately. A lot of stuff to spew about I guess. Well, until I tried to fix my leaky tub faucet, my day was great (I will not share my plumbing experience with you today, I'll save it for after it has been fixed... don't hold your breath). My soccer team has made it to the playoffs and today they played two games. They won them both which means we go on to next week and if that's a win then it's the semi-finals. Amazing team that I was blessed with this season. My son doesn't get along with them though because, although they play well, they are little assholes (if you can call a couple of 9 year olds assholes...). Most of them are good guys but 3 or 4 are mean. I cannot tolerate meanness. It puts me in a bad spot and my son too. I don't want to fight his battles for him but at the same time I can't allow them to tease him. I want to punch their little faces when they start picking on him and he sometimes starts it so that's hard too. In any event, they play really good so we keep winning. We are 8 wins, 2 ties and 2 losses for the season so far, that's really good for their age group. Today was one of those days where as a coach and a parent I was really proud. The second game had a little conflict over the score. The other team thought we had tied. They somehow lost track of the fact that we had four goals and they had three. How do you not know that we scored when I jump so high in the air and scream my lungs out so loud that the neighbors in the town next to us can hear me and feel the earth shake? They said that they believed us though and they just thought that we had tied. I was like... ok, review your video tape and let me know. They decided not to contest it though. They were actually really nice guys and later after the game the assistant coach told me that he thought I was a really good coach and that my team was awesome. That really made me feel good. I am a good coach. I love coaching these little assholes (ok, I really shouldn't have called them that, it's not their fault that their parents allow them to treat my kid like crap... they will learn when my boy grows up and beats the hell out of them what it feels like...). I love watching them get excited when they score or when they assist and give each other high fives. I love to see these guys use the moves that we've taught them at practice and watch them race for the ball or pass to each other when they see the chance. It's really changed my life. I sort of got suckered into coaching last season when we signed my son up. It took us a couple of years before I finally got him to sign up for soccer but when we did, it turned out there were not enough coaches. I got a phone call a couple of weeks before the season started and was told that if they couldn't find a coach they would have to refund our money. I gave all the excuses that I could come up with and then after an hour and a lot of thought, I called back and said what the hell, I can do this. Well, two seasons later, here I am. Now I'll coach his teams every year and live vicariously through my boy. The way the kids look up to me and thank me at the end of the season, and the parents who tell me what a great job I've done with their kids and how I am the best coach they've ever had etc. etc. (I don't know how much of that is really true but it sounds great to me and my already enormous ego...). I even coached both my son and my daughter's team last spring (luckily soccer was not really her thing and she decided on ballet). Coaching two teams was really hard. I kept calling the boys team the name of the girls team and I got all the parent's names confused. My old stoner brain cannot handle too many things. Anyway, the season is almost over and I can safely say, I'm kind of glad but really sad too. With the election over and soccer over, what the hell will I do now? I will try to keep this blog interesting and expressive (although this particular entry is probably not too exciting). I will try to save all my aggressive thoughts and opinions for this space and I will find new and fun things to share with all who care (I do realize that's not many...).

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Evil wins for now

The "Crazy Christians" have succeeded for the moment. We will fight this and we will prevail. The Constitution cannot be changed just because a movement of fear mongers have decided this is their cause. I felt so fueled by this proposition and my anger of seeing all of these bumper stickers and lawn signs really got hold of me. When I saw people attached to the signs, standing on street corners screaming and waving with their children, it really hit me hard. To know that a lot of my customers and neighbors and some of the people that I work with voted yes on this discriminatory, hateful and wrong thing just blows me away. I really have to question things. I served so many customers yesterday and I was so nice and positive and happy to each of them and what is so sad is that probably 1/4 of them, even more maybe, are totally against me and the life that I live with my family. Those people are disgusted by me. They think that I am sick and awful and deviant. People that I talk to every single day, people that my children invite to their birthday parties, people that have known me and my family for years. That is sick, awful and wrong. How can anyone who knows me and my family vote against the chance that me and my wife would have to raise our children without fear and without worry about our rights being questioned? It hurts my feelings. I can go to the birthday parties and the camping trips and pretend that it doesn't bother me, I can decide not to talk about religion and politics at these get-togethers and just pretend that it's all OK but is it? I mean is it OK to hang out with people who think that your lifestyle is unfit for the title that they and their husband or wives are allowed to use. Is it OK to allow your children to play with the children of these discriminatory and hate-filled people? Is it discrimination on my part to not hang out with these people or allow my children to play with theirs? I was thinking that the logical me says to just ignore their opinion and stay friends with them because we've had good times together and the emotional side of me says the same. Then I wonder which is the logical feeling and which is the emotional feeling? Logically I should not hang out with them? Emotionally I am invested in my beliefs that these people are wrong but I am emotionally attached to their friendship. What a dilemma! Why do I have friends like this? I don't really have a lot of gay friends and the gay folks that I am friends with don't have kids so it's not like we would do the same types of things with them that we do with the non-gay families. Not all of our straight family friends think that we are wrong but even one or two voting against our right to be married just seems crazy. I always used the term "it's against my religion" as kind of a joke but some people take it way too serious. I mean, not eating meat on Fridays is one thing but denying a person a fundamental constitutional right because somewhere in the Bible it says so is completely ridiculous. It also says that when your daughter is the right age, sell her off into slavery. And the Mormons... the frigging Mormons, they are polygamists for Pete's sake. I only want one wife, one family and one chance to preserve our relationship under the law so just in case something happens to my wife, my children legally stay with me. If, God forbid, anything happens to one of them, I can take care of them legally and allow the Dr's to take care of them, and when either my wife or I die, we are protected under the law. I want to be able to say my children and my wife and not have anyone question that title.
This will not pass. They will not win. They will try and they won't give up, but they will not win. God loves me and my wife and our family. God does not want the constitution changed and Arnold Schwarzenegger will veto this bill and the right to marry will be given to all consenting adult human beings whether it's in a church or not (this does not mean people will start marrying dogs or farmers marrying sheep...as so many ignorant people believe). We will be treated equally, there are too many of us to be held back.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Proposition 8

I am still awaiting the result of California's proposition 8. I pray that it does not pass but it's close. When I find out the result, I will post a response. It will probably be tomorrow.

President Obama

Holy smokes!!! what a beautiful, wonderful day. Hallelujah... we are saved from the evils of the Republican party!!! I am so proud of my country and my fellow Americans. Landslide? I'm gonna say hell yes! I was about to cry but I did not. I am happy, so happy for this election result. We did it and the thing is, the most awesome thing about all of this, he's a mother lovin' black man. Do you know what that means for this country? It means we are starting to come around. Granted, there are still some hillbilly back country folk who don't quite get the whole civil rights thing and never will, but thank the Lord that most of the country has woken up a little. This guy is smart, he's articulate, he's Presidential and he's not related to a politician that pulled some strings. He actually started out like most of us, regular. He knows how to talk and doesn't mispronounce everyother word that comes out of his mouth. He wants to actually solve problems with common sense and outside opinions rather than just go to war or make profit off of others disadvantages. And those people that call him a Muslim or a terrorist... are they idiots? The Bush folks are closer to the Bin Laden family than most people realize and they are very tight with the Saudi's... that's another story. And nothing wrong with being Muslim anyway, anybody that is extreme enough to hate someone for their beliefs and display intimidation is a terrorist. Sound like any Palin we know... allright enough negativity.
We all need to celebrate. This man will bring our country back together, he will reunite us as Americans instead of the lefts and the rights. He has already given the country the boost it's needed and to listen to him speak, it just fills me with peace and comfort. Now, I still love Hilary Clinton, she still fills me with confidence when I think about her efforts toward this country but since she's not in the running, I can be proud of my vote today and proud of the country who put him in charge. Now, let's get something done America. Let's pass some shit and change the order of BS that's been ruling this land of ours for the last 8 years, let's get the hell out of the money pit they call "Operation Freedom", let's get rid of "No Child Left Behind" which sucks, let's get some health care goin' on here and good gosh, let us get out of this ridiculous economic crisis and finally, one thing I would love to see change, the oil companies profiting so much that it's disgusting. All the big companies. It's embarrassing to me that they get away with this. Whatever, we now have a chance and with the Senate and the House holding out Democratic, a lot of stuff will change!! A lot. This will be astonishing toward helping our country once again become the most powerful country in the world. I have high hopes and I am sure that President Barrack Obama will not let me down.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

sorry

I realize that some of my entries are really long and sort of run on. sorry about that, that's just how I think.

Drill Baby Drill

O.K. let's take a little look at this. When, in a hundred years,historians look back on this campaign that McCain/Palin are running they are going to be appalled at the "Drill Baby, Drill" slogan. It's kind of funny to me. I'm not sure why it's ok to drill anywhere instead of looking for alternative energy sources. I know that it will take a while and in the meantime, we do need to drill for oil but should it be such an exciting and whoo-hoo kind of thing? I mean, YES! Let's friggin drill in Alaska and shoot shit from helicopters and not teach our children about birth control but forbid them to get an abortion and continue to teach abstinence... all right, I'm getting off track, sorry. But when the crowd is chanting "Drill Baby Drill" and Palin's saying "God gifted us with oil rich land" but the whole rest of the country is "going green", I'm confused. I know that the Republicans and the super Christians don't believe in global warming but I'm pretty sure Al Gore and a whole shitload of scientists haven't been dedicating their lives to a fake fear tactic. Seriously, doesn't it make sense that we might have a little tiny bit of something to do with the polar caps melting and the increase in gnarly hurricanes and the massive increase in CO2 in the air in the last 50 years? Not to say that everything is global warming attacking us but come fucking on, to say that it has nothing to do with man is sad, pathetic and scary (not just for any average person but for a politician that is potentially one heart attack away from the Presidency...). That's just not ok with me that they have nothing else to use to draw votes than what a terrorist the other guy is or how the answer to our problems are drilling for oil. I mean if your going to run the country you have to know a couple of things one of which would be, your job description. Sarah Palin might be the all-american woman for some but for me she's just a little bit scary. Any one who wants to say that Obama doesn't have enough experience to run the country sure as shit better not say that Palin does. And, yes, she's wanting to be the Vice, however, she still needs to know the First Amendment Rights and she should probably know that when a third grader asks her what she's going to do if they win, she can't respond with..."I'm going to help change the laws in Washington"...she doesn't actually do that. She's only the tie-breaker if they need one. I don't know a lot but I do know that. I don't totally fault her for her lack of knowledge, I don't want to sound like Rush Limbaugh talking about Hilary Clinton but I do worry, I do fear for our safety when I hear her propaganda. I'm all for free speech but she's a little bit of a loon-bag. And to say that she's worried about First Amendment Rights because the mainstream media uses her words against her makes not one bit of sense. She might have said that on accident. She's in 5 different states on a daily basis giving friggen speeches, the media occasionally cover that type of stuff...I just don't know about this choice. I know she's a woman and she's from Alaska and that's reason enough I suppose. 3 more days, 3 more days and none of this will matter because she won't be giving anti-Obama speeches. Talk about un-patriotic, bashing the opposing side is a classic move when nothing else is working. And, don't even get me going on "Joe the Plumber", that is a new post I will save for tomorrow. I just think that now is the time to really look at who is potentially representing us and when Sarah Palin talks about how she and McCain are Mavericks and how they are going in to Washington and shake things up I can't help but think it's all a sick joke. I am embarresed for the Republicans right now. 4 years ago, I was embarrased for the Democrats. Their choice of slow talking, horse face ugly-ass Kerry was not a great idea (no offense Kerry). Now though, we've got a guy running a smart campaign, not using the usually ridiculous tactics that involve fact changing, bullshit lies. He just speaks the truth when he talks about McCain and the truth is scary enough. He seems to have stayed away from attacking Palin though, smart but probably really hard not to. I especially feel sorry for old man McCain. That poor bastard, he's just doin' whatever he can in these last few days. I appreciate this race, I can appreciate why some people are voting Republican (I wish they wouldn't), I even appreciate Sarah Palin. She's doing the best she can I suppose. Oh shit, I almost forgot, what about her husband being a registered secessionist and not wanting Alaska to be a part of America? What the hell?? Patriotism at it's absolute worst!! Good God, why hasn't the Democratic Party mentioned this?
Anyway, good luck Republicans. I hope you rot in hell... just kidding. 3 more days... 3 more days, say your prayers...pray that this time Americans make the right choice and we can work on paying off the loans from China and Iraq (who actually have more money than we do and we still are spending our money there), pray for the moose that Sarah Palin will be shooting when huntin' season rolls back around. And thank the good Lord for making Alaska oil rich so we can "Drill Baby Drill"...

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!!

Another fantastic Halloween with my happy-go-lucky, candy gettin', racing to the door to to ring the doorbell first, "can we go to that cool house?", "feel how heavy my candy bag is" children. I had to stand back and watch, I was so proud of them, they said "thank you", they didn't fight, they were ready to quit without me telling them to and they just did a good job trick or treating. I enjoyed their excitement. Now here's the sad part, I forgot to take pictures. What the hell is that? I always take pictures. The last couple of years we carved pumpkins the weekend after Halloween, I guess that's now picture time too. "Come on kids, put your costumes back on, I'm a dumbass and forgot to take your picture before you left to trick or treat". That's not going to work. And the whole idea of carving a pumpkin after Halloween is pretty damn stupid too. They don't care though, that's the beauty of it. They just want to cut the face out and light a candle. It could be friggin' Easter, as long as they get to cut a face out and put a candle in it. Remember that shit. Remember when all that mattered was how much candy you got or how much your mom was willing to invest on making your costume. I used to start thinking about what I was going to be for Halloween as soon as Fourth of July ended, because after The 4th of July it's Halloween. We often go through the holidays in the car on the way home from whatever holiday we are celebrating at the time. "Which one's next?" my daughter always asks. I try to throw in Arbor Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day or one of my personal faves: Patriot Day (I seriously hate that fucking name...Patriot Day... it's so Republican, we might as well call it "Bush Decides to Attack Iraq and Pretend He Knows What the Fuck is Going on Day". What kind of picture for the classroom windows would the kids draw for that holiday?...) They never buy the Arbor Day/Labor Day holiday list, they care about the holidays that include candy or presents or parties. And who can blame them? I sure as shit don't. I love the holidays that include candy, presents and parties. I feel the same way they do except I sometimes have to slow down and check the account balance before I make any holiday commitments like "sure, you can be a cowboy with a real horse for Halloween...". Actually it's not even the horse that costs the most money these days... go to the Halloween store and you'll know what I mean. No longer is the hobo or the sheet wearing ghost an option. Now its fairy wings and realistic looking Star Wars costumes that cost an arm and a leg. I think next year I'll dress my kids in my old clothes and they can be a "late thirties, bitter, tired, recovering pot smoker". Na, they won't go for that. I better be ready to start saving my money because come July 5th, I've got to dress 2 kids for Halloween 2009.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

conversations with crazy

I had a great talk with my brother today. We always end up having the same talk, starting with politics and ending with religion. That's never really my intention but he has this way of starting it out with: "Let me ask you this..." and that begins the confrontational conversation. He will ask me questions about George Bush then start leading into the Bible and the scriptures etc. etc. He is very genuine in all of these questions and sometimes I get the answer "right" and sometimes he thinks I'm wrong. The whole time he tells me: "I appreciate your answer to that" or "that makes sense to me". He makes a lot of valid points for his "cause" and I make a lot of valid points for mine. He doesn't know the same things I do because I am really obsessed with my radio talk shows (both right and left), I read the newspaper and I watch a couple of different shows on T.V. like the news and such. In return, I don't know about the Bible shit that he talks about. To be fair, his Bible stuff isn't shit, it's just a little judgy, crazy and sometimes hard to argue because it's so...crazy.
Anyway, whenever we talk, it's basically the same ending result, agreeing to disagree. He did, however, get me thinking tonight. He was saying that people always place blame on someone else for the problems in this country and everywhere else. He asked me, in that 'let me ask you something...' tone of voice, if I thought the financial crisis that we are in right now is Bush's fault. I had to tell him no, that I did not think it was all his fault. I know that what happened in the Wall st./mortgage crisis/ bail out bullshit involves both Democratic and Republican parties and the greedy lenders and then that's as much as I can explain. I feel like the people who pass laws about regulation made some mistakes. I think that folks who want a free market were a careless with how that was handled. I may even be wrong, I really can't argue a point that I don't fully understand. I do know that our country is in a huge deficit and that prior to Bush, we had a lot more money to be able to take care of our country. I do know that, while the bailout is not Bush's fault, the war in Iraq is. The mishandling of hurricane Katrina was also his responsibility, the fact that 7 years after 911 we still don't have Osama Bin Laden, the money that was approved by Congress to rebuild Iraq was seriously mishandled, the money that was donated for Katrina relief was also mishandled and those people are STILL living in horrible conditions. Don't even get me started on mother lovin' Haliburton...I don't blame Bush for everything (and by the way, the right wing republicans are still blaming Clinton for shit that he didn't do, but don't you dare talk about Ronald Reagan's crazy shit...) In closing, yes, we shouldn't blame others for every little thing, but someone has to take responsibility for the things that go wrong when they do go wrong. And my brother, I love you, no matter how crazy you are...

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

gay frog love


now if i did this kinda thing in a public place, ok, fine a little offensive...

happy to see like minds

Whoo Hoo!!! I saw some "No on Prop 8" folks on the corner of a busy intersection tonight. Yeah! I was so happy to see that. I honked and screamed and praised the Lord for their hard work (let's get one thing straight, I am not a Bible beating holy roller but when praise is needed, I do give it out...). I also signed up to stand with them in the coming week. I have children so I'm not all about running around town throwing myself in front of cars to advertise "No on 8" or screaming out "I'm here, I'm queer, get used to it", but the least I can do is help in the one proposition that actually affects me.
My girl and I have not gotten married yet, we plan on it, but not right away. Our marriage is not something that is going to change our lifestyle all that much. We already have a wonderful family and what I would consider excellent family values but it's still something that we will soon be allowed to do. I didn't care too much about the actual wedding certificate until George Bush became our President and decided to run our country with The Bible instead of The Constitution. When I suddenly felt threatened by his belief system I had to say "bring it on". He became the fuel for my fire. And now, here we are, it is legal now to get married to the love of my life and Bush is almost out but... another set of "haters" trying to tell me how to live, love and raise my children. When will these people learn that my life is not wrong, my views are not sinful and my personal choices are exactly that, personal.
The folks I saw tonight understand. The people on the corner, they know. Gay people are not bad, gay people are fabulous (and sometimes annoyingly flamboyant...not judging just an opinion). My point...I am happy to have seen those people rooting for the underdogs!!! We might have a chance. Yeah!

No on 8

NO ON 8. 8 = HATE.
CALIFORNIANS NEED TO REALIZE GAY MARRIAGE IS OK.
GOD IS HAPPY FOR THE GAYS TOO!!!
HATE AND INTOLERANCE IS NOT OK!!!

what do i call this?

I don't dislike Christians. I don't dislike Mormons or Catholics. I don't expect them to dislike me. I was baptized, made my First Holy Communion and I was Confirmed in the Catholic church. I believe in God and Jesus and all of the things that us Catholics are taught on Sundays. I do, however, question things. I do think freely and rely on my brain for some of my decisions and I try not to judge. I call myself a "recovering Catholic" because I no longer feel guilty for every little thing I do and I no longer try to use Jesus or God as my reason for some of my choices.
Logic is something that God gave to us and expects us to use. To say that the Earth was created 2,000 years ago instead of millions of years ago is not logical. To say that dinosaurs don't exist because the Bible doesn't mention them is absurd. I could be incorrect about the Biblical explanation of dinosaurs but I do believe their bones have been recovered from the ground, yes? Some of the religious groups that are trying to change the textbooks in our children's school so that only creationism is taught is very offensive to me. God would like us to have knowledge of ALL possibilities. He wants us to believe in many things, not just one. God is many things and ignorant is probably not one of them. The religion that I follow is Truth, Joy and Love. Whether I am Catholic, Jewish, Mormon or Christian; Truth, Joy and Love are the things that matter. Like a circle, these things need each other. Like mankind needing water, shelter and food.
Too many people follow the Bible literally. The Bible is a book of stories. The meanings behind those stories are sometimes wonderful and worth telling, but some people take these stories as total and complete truth and that is not fair to God. Our creator, whether it is named God or the Higher Power or Buddah or Imagination or Karma, is a fair and loving being. Like a candle off of a flame, we all light our own rooms and using the brain and logic that God gave us is our duty as Humans on this Earth. The leaders of our church's here in the United States need to be careful what they preach, their followers are scared of Hell when Hell is actually right here on Earth and in some peoples hearts. The preachers should stop reading the Bible word for word and start listening to their own logic.
I am worried when I send my children off to school. I want them to be spiritiual and live a life filled with love. I don't want them to be judged by their belief system and I don't want them to be questioned about the deciscions that their parents make. I know that my God loves me and created me the way I am. I know that the God that created me is proud of me and doesn't want me to be "saved" from the things that the Christians call "wrong and deviant and the work of the Devil". My God is funny and clever and loving. My God is the same God that created the Christians who hate and judge me and he is not as happy about their "wrong, deviant and devilish work" as he is about my passion and love for my lifestyle and choices. He forgives them and I pray that they are "saved" from their judgement and passion to dislike me.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

welcome to the wespeak blog

I am happy to be an american and I can't wait to express myself and my opinions. Right now, I am too tired. More to come another day.