Jan 31

Well, the book didn’t get to the editor today. I ended up working thirteen hours and then it started snowing. I just didn’t want to do anything after that. So, it looks like it is going to be tomorrow or the next day depending on the weather. All of the schools are closed tomorrow and we’re supposed to get several more inches overnight. It’s also supposed to be minus ten degrees tonight and including the wind chill, it’ll be like minus thirty. Yeah, I get to work in it. (That was sarcasm by the way. It’s going to be a miserable night.)
Well, our heater blew out today. Yep, it planned it for the weather. So, it was freezing upstairs all day. When my wife got home, she took the girls out to buy a new one. It’s much nicer than the one we had. She didn’t tell me how much it was, but she got it on the target card, so it was five percent off.
My granddaughter didn’t get to come over today. There was too much snow and we didn’t want to have to worry about getting her home and it was too cold up there for her without the heater. But, I think I’m going to get a new picture of her with me to put on the book when it gets finished. I had two different ones when I started so that her as a baby with me was on two or three of the books. Then, her as a one or two year old was on about four or five of them. Then, the one I have on my Facebook page as the rest. But, I had to redo the covers to add a price to them so a local store would carry them and when I redid them, I had to upload a new author picture. I didn’t have the others with me at the time, so I put the Facebook one on all of them. But, I think it’s time for a new picture.
I’m anxious to get started on the next one, but I need to make a synopsis, a cover letter, a query letter, and look up SCI/FI mystery agents and a whole bunch of other stuff. So, this week I’m going to be busy doing that. I’ll let you know when I start the next one. I hope I can get this other stuff done quickly so I can get started.
I think I’m going with an all girl playlist tonight. I heard a Til Tuesday song and it just got me in the mood. So, I’m putting in some Cindy Lauper, Patty Smyth, Janis Joplin, the Go Gos, Bananarama, and Heart.
-Thom

Jan 27

American Idol messed me up today. I was sitting on the sofa watching and my wife was on the computer on the other side of the room. The last contestant of the day came on and she was accepted to Hollywood. The judges told her to bring her family out and had her sing a song with them there watching. So, she has to say that she was going to sing her parents song. My wife heard that and immediately said that our kids could never do something like that because we don’t have a song. I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t want to get in the doghouse. Then, later on, as I was getting ready for work, Two and a half men came on. Their song that goes men men men manly men came on. Well, either we watch that show too much or my granddaughter just likes the words because they’re easy. But, she always sings it. She even does the wooo hooo hooos at the end. So, my wife informs me that even out granddaughter who is only three has her own song and we don’t. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I have to come up with a song now or I might never hear the end of it.
Cutie Pie, Baby Pie is officially done and I am starting the re-read today. I don’t think there should be any major changes I have to make. There will undoubtedly be some spelling issues. And, there are two places that I know I have to add something. But, by Monday it should be ready to go to the editor. It’s a sci/fi mystery. It’s not what I usually do, but it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. Like I said yesterday, I’ll put up a link and a picture of it on Facebook when it is ready.
My job decided to have a mandatory meeting on Sunday the 14th. In the memo they passed down, it said that everyone must show up in business casual dress. It also said that there would be disciplinary action against everyone that didn’t show up or didn’t dress appropriately. I don’t know what that’s about. I wonder what they’re going to do when I show up in shorts and a t-shirt. Sunday is my day off (If we stop working 7 days a week) and I like to be comfortable on my day off.
I’m putting some Men at Work, Pretenders, Genesis, and the Monkeys in the playlist tonight for background music and it’s time to get started.
-Thom

Jan 26

Today’s the day. I’m finishing Cutie Pie, Baby Pie today. I’ll re-read it to make sure there aren’t any problems over the rest of the week and send it off to the Editor on Monday. Then, I’ll send it out for rejection after that. It shouldn’t take more than about two months to be rejected. But, my New Year’s resolution was to try harder to get it sold. So, I might have to send it off to more than the usual two or three places. So, it might take longer than the end of March before I put it up on Createspace and Smashwords. That’ll give me plenty of time to get the cover picture done. When it’s ready, I’ll post a picture of it on Facebook.
After I get all through with all of the boring stuff involved with sending my book out, I’m going to start the next one. It’s called My Private Dance. It’s totally not what I usually write and I have no idea what it’s going to look like. But, it’s itching to come out and I just want to get it over with. After that everything goes back to normal and I’ll begin the River of Magic. In fact, I might even start doing a little of each just so I can have some sanity. After the River of Magic comes Sabertooth and then I’ve been playing around with the idea of putting out a sequel to the Great Detective. I don’t know if that’s going to fit in there or if I’ll start South Tegner, the third book in the K-bar series. That’s a long way off, so we’ll see how it goes and what’s pushing its way out of my head at the time.
The kids are doing ok. My daughter cracked the screen of her new laptop she got for Christmas and her phone was stolen at school. The phone we couldn’t do anything about, because it was stolen. But, we couldn’t get insurance on it from the phone company so we can’t replace it. I’ve been wondering about the laptop, however. Usually you can return things in thirty days. Christmas was only thirty one days ago. Tomorrow it will be thirty two. I wonder if they would still return it. I could tell them that she didn’t open it until a few days after Christmas. I could say she was out of town. But, they would probably go by the purchase date. Oh, well, I guess I’ll have to take it in to a shop. Or, I could just buy the glass and take it apart myself. We’ll see how that goes too.
Well, I’m kind of anxious to finish that last chapter, so I’m going to put some Chicago, Styx, Boston, and REO in the playlist for background listening and get started.
-Thom

Jan 24

You know it’s going to be a bad day when you wake up and you are already in trouble. I still don’t know what I did while I was sleeping, but I’m going to have to kiss a lot of you know what to get out of the doghouse.
I usually take my granddaughter home as I’m going to work. Tonight, she didn’t want to go. She was having too much fun playing with her cousins. So, when I got downstairs, she didn’t have her shoes or jacket on. My eldest daughter had the rest of her things together, but she wouldn’t let her put on the rest of her clothes. So, I took hold of her foot and tried to put her shoe on. I didn’t do it meanly or roughly, but she started crying. She knew she was going to have to go home. So, as soon as I got her dressed, she didn’t want to talk to me. I was being the mean grandpa that was making her go. So, she latched on to my daughter and would only go if she took her. Tricking her, my daughter brought her out to the car and strapped her in. After she got out of the car, my granddaughter started crying. I tried to calm her down for three songs on the radio, but she just wouldn’t forgive us. So, I implemented the old grandpa standby. I told her if she stopped crying I would stop at the store and get her some chocolate. It was amazing how quickly she stopped crying. (I’m such a bad grandpa) But, while I was at the store, I picked up some M&Ms for me so it all worked out.
I didn’t play as much Farmville as I thought yesterday and I got a lot of work done. I’m starting chapter 80 today. I’m still positive that it will be done by the end of the week. So, to meet my deadline, I better get busy. I’m putting Pink Floyd, Ozzy, and Dio in the playlist tonight for background music.
-Thom

Jan 23

Well, I’m one for one today in football. And, since I picked the Jets to win the Super Bowl, I’m zero for one on Super Bowl Sunday and it’s still a couple weeks away. The Green Bay Chicago game was relay good. I was voting for Green Bay, but I liked the third string quarterback they put in. He did throw a couple of picks, but he did much better than I expected. The Bears were being blown out until he came in and he brought them back making it a close game. The Jets game was a big disappointment. They also didn’t do much in the first half. But, they came back and made a game of it. If they would have stopped the Steelers on that last play, they would have had a shot. So, now I’m going to have to vote for the Packers in the Super Bowl, because I don’t like the Steelers.
I’m working seven days a week indefinitely again. They fired the new guy for sleeping on the job and they don’t have any prospects yet to fill his position.
My wife made a family get together on Saturday for her side of the family. She made roast, potatoes, green bean casserole, the works… It was incredibly good. I even ate some leftovers for breakfast after I got off work. In fact, I could eat some more right now if I had some. There wasn’t a special occasion or anything. I think we’re going to have to have more of those days.
I Think I’m playing Farmville too much. I’m starting to see little pink upside down triangles when I close my eyes. But, I saw one of my friend’s farms and it is soooo much nicer than mine. He’s about thirty levels above me, but I’m still going to catch up. I just happened to be looking through my uncle’s Facebook friends and found some cousins or maybe wives of cousins or at least someone with the same last name. (I need to be more talkative to my family. I don’t think I’ve even met half of them) I friended them all and some of them play too. I got about a dozen baby trees from one of them which was pretty nice. When they all grow, I can fill up my orchard. Those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about need to play. It’s pretty fun as long as you don’t let it take over your life. My wife sometimes sits at the computer with it open while she’s doing other stuff and watches as her crops grow. But, she finds a lot of stuff and sends it to me, so I’m not complaining. In fact, I’m going to play sometime tonight.
I’m working on chapter 76 tonight. I finished chapter 75 yesterday and I would have started 76, but I was playing Farmville. But, I’ve put off finishing it for a few days. I should be done before the end of the week. Then, I’ll send it off to the editor and wait for the rejections to start rolling in. I’m putting some Who, AC/DC, Aerosmith, and Dokken into the playlist for background music. And, it looks like I found an old Krokus song. Does anyone remember them? I’m going to throw it in as well.
-Thom

Jan 20

Yesterday was a weird day. There was so much going on that I’m survived. It turned out the guy that they were going to fire didn’t get fired. So, I had to babysit him all night after they wrote him up. He was depressed and I felt sorry for him, but there wasn’t much I could do except re-train him on everything. Between doing that, I had to finish those stupid online training classes. There were twelve of them in total, and it took the whole night and the whole night the night before. But, I have them all finished. The only bad thing is that there are going to be two sets of them per month from now on. That’s really going to suck.
I successfully hooked my wife and youngest daughter on Farmville. They’ve been on it all night passing presents back and forth between each other. My daughter even took a page out of my book. She invented a daughter and set her up with a farm. (I’m so proud, I taught my daughter how to cheat) She sent out a bunch of friend request with her fake daughter and just like my fake friends, everyone accepted. I just started working on my real brother and sister. I’m going to get them hooked too.
Since I’ve been working on those stupid online classes, I haven’t been able to work on the book. In fact, I’m not sure which chapter I’m on. So, I’m going to check on my Farmville next (because I couldn’t get on at home because my wife was hogging the computer) and then I’ll get started on the book. I’m close to the end, so I am pretty sure I’m make the end of January deadline.
-Thom

Jan 18

Ok, I got my wife hooked on Farmville. It’s a Facebook game that doesn’t take too much time. I usually check on it once a day and I’ve got all kinds of stuff going on with it. She started last night, and today she was on the computer for hours. Of course she was looking up old friends too, but she kept checking the farm to see how her crops were doing. It’s pretty fun.
It looks like they’re going to layoff one of the new graveyard guys. So, it looks like I’m back to seven days a week until they hire a replacement for him. But, we have that new car, so maybe I can get an extra payment in or have that little extra to make sure I can balance the bills like before. I hate when I get a new bill and forget about it. Then, when payday comes around and I log on to pay everything it’s there and I’m bummed the rest of the day.
It turns out that I was two and six over the last two weeks of football. Can you believe the Patriots lost? I’m predicting a Packers/Jets Super Bowl, so we’ll see how good I do this Sunday. That would be a very good game, with the Jets winning of course.
My granddaughter came over today, but she didn’t want to play with me. Her cousins were also over and for some reason she wanted to play with the kids. But, sometimes it’s fun just to watch them running around.
I’m considering not writing anything tonight. We have to complete some online classes with the new company, and I haven’t done any yet. I should just knock them out and get it over with. I’ve been thinking about it for the last half hour. But, I’m so close to finishing the book, I kind of want to just get it done. But, I also don’t want to be late with the classes and then get a nasty gram. So, I think I just talked myself into doing them. If they get too boring, I’ll just do a few and then get a little writing in later on in the night. The worst thing is that we can’t have the music on at the same time as the class.
-Thom

Jan 17

I just couldn’t get to sleep yesterday. It was one of those days where you have to work overtime and every time you look at the clock, its twenty minutes later and you know that you just blew twenty minutes you could have been sleeping. But, I must have gone to sleep eventually, because I woke up and I’m at work.
I spent the day with my granddaughter the other day. It was just me and her. Everyone else was out doing things. She came over hungry, and I didn’t catch on right away. When she got there, she asked for chocolate, because she knows that grandpa almost always has chocolate. But, a little while later, she asked for cookies. Then, a little later she asked for ice cream. I was starting to catch on a little later when she asked for a popsicle. Of course I gave her all those things. So, when I realized that she was really just hungry, she didn’t want to eat the stuff I made for her. So, a little later, we had some spaghetti and everything was ok. (At least it was until my wife got home and found out.) But, the most amazing thing happened. I’m sure it is just me being soppy. But, we went into the bathroom to wash off either the chocolate or the ice cream, I don’t remember which one. I stood her up on the little chair and we got her hands wet. I squeezed out a little soap and she started washing her fingers. It was soooooo cute. She was like a surgeon on a doctor show. She got between each of her fingers and she gave me a lecture on how she has to keep her hands clean. I know I’m just being a grandpa, but it was really cute. It makes me think about my kids growing up. I don’t think I ever watched them wash their hands. Actually, their hands might still be dirty from way back then. I don’t think I ever even told them to wash their hands much less watched them do it.
I finished chapter 65 yesterday. It’s getting down to the wire. Everything is falling into place. I kind of want to rush it so that I can get it finished, but there are still several loose ends that I need to clear up. And, I don’t want to rush them. So, I’m going to put the radio on for background music instead of making a playlist. Time to get going.
-Thom

Jan 16

It’s the little things that mean so much. Before my girls were even born, we took my son to the National Western Stock Show here in Denver. It is a big event in Denver. It lasts for two weeks. There are dozens of events including a rodeo and a kid’s rodeo. It’s pretty fun. When we took my son, two of the more memorable things that occurred were when we put him up on a pony and got a picture of him riding around the little corral and a section of the kid zone where he made a lasso. We kept the lasso until it unraveled, and I still have the photo. Anyway, my granddaughter is now three and she is very interested in animals. If Santa is her favorite subject, animals would have to be her second. When we told her that there were going to be animals at the stock show, she told us at every opportunity that she wanted to go. So, there wasn’t any way that we weren’t going to take her. Unfortunately plans became screwy. My wife was going to go take her parents and visit her brother out of town on Saturday. So, I volunteered to work if any overtime became available. On Friday, my wife wasn’t feeling good and she told me that she might not go, but she didn’t tell me for sure. Friday, I worked a day shift instead of the graveyard. And, while I was there, the weekend guy quit. Since I had offered to work earlier in the week, they penciled me in. When I got home, my wife said that she wasn’t going to take her parents. She wanted us to go to the stock show. I told her that I had to work, and of course I got in trouble. But, that didn’t stop her from taking the kids and my granddaughter. When they got back, Tecia said that she had the greatest time. She was able to see all of the animals, except there weren’t any chickens. Even though she loves animals, she isn’t too keen on doing new things. So, she wouldn’t get up onto the horse until my eldest daughter got on with her. We got a picture of that. Then, they put her on a pony by herself and she rode it around the little corral like my son did eighteen years ago. Then, they found the rope maker and she was able to make herself a lasso just like he did. They didn’t get a picture of that, but overall, they had a blast. I’m going to put the pictures of her on the horse and the pony on my Facebook page in case you want to check them out.
It is Sunday today of the next week, and they still haven’t replaced the weekend guy. So, I’m here at work again. I was able to watch the two games yesterday and I did better with my pics than I did the week before. This time, I picked Green Bay. But, I didn’t pick the Steelers. So, I’m one and one. I started watching the Bears game today before work. I’m not bitter anymore about Cuttler being on the Bears team, but I still didn’t pick them to win. But, during the first half, the Sea Hawks hadn’t done anything. So, I’m probably going to lose that one too. I’m not voting for the Patriots tonight either, so I’ll most likely be one and three for this weekend. That’s not too good, one and seven overall.
I did get a little work done whatever day I was able to do it. I’m on chapter 62 today. Some of these next chapters are small ones, so I plan on getting a few of them done. I tried to get the cover started on Saturday, but I couldn’t find my drawing paper. I might have to go out and buy a new pad. It sucks, because I wanted to update my website with it. But, I guess that will have to wait until next weekend. That is as long as I don’t have to work. I’m putting in some Cat Stevens, ABBA, Carly Simon, Heart, Gordon Lightfoot, and Neil Diamond in the playlist today. I know those aren’t the usual choices, but it’s just one of those days.
-Thom

Jan 12

It looks like we’re going to go on vacation. My eldest daughter is going into the army right after she graduates high school. She’s already signed the papers and everything. So, that means she’ll get out of boot camp in August. What we’re thinking is taking a week off. (A weekend, a week, and then another weekend, so we’ll have nine days.) We’ll probably have to take two cars, so my son’s family can go too. We’ll drive from Denver down to Ft. Jackson South Carolina, pick her up, maybe we’ll spend a day or so there to see what there is to see, then drive down to Orlando Florida. The map says it’s about three hundred miles, so it won’t be too bad. We’ll spend a few days there, maybe take in a couple of the parks, check out the beach, and avoid the hurricanes. It should be fun. Then, we’ll drop my daughter off in Georgia on the way back.
We were on the east coast back when we were living in New Jersey, but we never made it down to Florida. Actually, we were there for four years, and we only went to New York, Atlantic City, and Washington DC. We planned on seeing a lot of other places, but we were always working or something came up. Since we don’t live on that side of the states anymore, I think it would be foolish to miss out on the opportunity while we’re there. Because, no matter what, I am going to go to see her graduation. I don’t care if there is no one to work, I’m taking the time off.
I helped my brother move a monster TV today. One of the guys at his job (I think it was his boss) was giving away one of those gigantic wide screen TVs, the ones before they had flat screens. It took up half of the bed of the truck. But, it was free. So, we borrowed my father-in-law’s truck and headed up to Boulder. I told him that I was going to wake up at about three in the afternoon and he was going to meet me at my house. Well, I forgot it was Wednesday and he woke me up at twenty after. Since I forgot it was Wednesday, my father-in-law didn’t remember and took the truck to go pick up the little kids from school. So, after waiting until he came back, we managed to get to Boulder before rush hour. But, we landed right in the middle of it on the way back. (I knew I should have peed at the gas station before we left Boulder.) My Brother lives way down in Centennial (Which is south of Denver), so we got the traffic the entire way. I didn’t get back to my house until nearly eight. But, the guy giving him the TV gave him two TVs instead of just the huge one. So, he made out.
I finished chapter 49 yesterday and I’m starting chapter 50 today. I’m putting Def Leopard, Cinderella, and Wasp in the playlist tonight. On the way to work, they were playing a lot of hard rock and it just got me in the mood. In fact, I might even throw in some Metallica. (Their old stuff, Masters of Puppets and Ride the Lightning, not their new stuff.)
-Thom

Dec 11

Wow, buying a car sucks. The last time we bought a car, we put it in both my wife and my names. Her name was first on the application because the car guy put her down first. We got the car and then went down to the DMV to get the plates. I wanted to get the USMC plates like we had on our old car. But, since her name was first, they said it was her car and since she wasn’t in the military, we couldn’t get them. I had my DD214 and everything, but they wouldn’t let us get them. So, we need to get another car for my daughter to go back and forth to the Army and College. To make sure I get my USMC plates, we got it only in my name. Everything goes through, but the car guy wants proof of address. That shouldn’t have been a problem, but somehow everything is in my wife’s name only. (Don’t know how that happened) So, we start calling all of the utility and cable places to see if I can be added to the contract so I can give proof of residence. But, everyone wants a new contract. Finally, we get AT&T to agree to transfer everything from my wife’s name to my name. (They wouldn’t just add me on) But, we have to do it online or pay a $35.00 fee. Feeling it is a stupid fee to pay, we decide to do it online. Nearly four hours later, after fighting with the computer, we have to call the help desk again to have them walk us through it. We got stuck on everything from making a new sign on and password to moving each of the services. Their website kept kicking us out and then not letting us sign in and I could go on and on. So, the help desk guy went with us step by step. (Actually my wife, I gave up and was watching TV.) We didn’t have to pay the $35. Dollars, but it would have been much easier for the guy to just do it. Since he had to do it alongside of us anyway, it would have saved us a few hours and him an hour or so. But, we have a new car, so Woo Hoo!
It was laundry day today. When I woke up, my wife was already down at the laundry mat. The girls were supposed to go down there after school, but for some reason they weren’t there by the time I arrived. I called my eldest first. She answered and said she was a block away. My youngest didn’t answer all three calls. She finally called back ten minutes later and said she was at school still, but she was on her way. While we waited, I had to match the socks and fold the towels. (Usually I just load and unload the car. They don’t like the way I fold stuff.) My youngest got there first, and my eldest didn’t get there for another twenty minutes, even though she was only a block away. My youngest was quick to note that she didn’t come in the correct door. While trying to explain that, my youngest caught her in another stretching of the truth. But, we managed to get everything finished. We went to McDonalds afterwards and it was my youngest daughter’s turn to get into trouble. When she tells a story, she doesn’t know how to give out all of the pertinent information. The last time, she said that she had a lot of fun at the soccer tournament. She slept with twenty three guys. That’s not the best thing to tell your dad, especially when you’re just fifteen years old. What she should have said was that she fell asleep between the matches on the grass at the tournament and the rest of her team also fell asleep because they had to get up really early to drive all the way down to Colorado Springs. This time, we were all sitting around the table eating and talking and she said that she likes to play with her friend Alex’s hair when he’s sleeping. She forgot to say that it was during class in school and he just nodded off.
I had a little trouble with chapter 48 yesterday. I decided some of the things were happening too soon, so I shelved it and started over. It turned out ok and I was able to get 49 started. But, it took most of the night and I should have realized it sooner. But, that chapter will fit in later on with just a little bit of tweaking. I’m going to finish 49 today. I’m putting in some Steve Miller, Lynyrd Skynyrd, James Taylor, America, and Alabama into the playlist tonight. I think I’m tired of the one-hit wonders.
-Thom

Dec 10

Yep, I can pick um. I was supposed to be off this weekend, so I was going to veg on the sofa and watch football. Well, it turned out someone quit at work and I just happened to be there. So, I was roped into working. But, I had already made my picks for all four games. Saturday, I thought was a lock. Who was going to beat the Saints and the Colts? But, yep, I was wrong. Then, on Sunday, the games started a little earlier so I was able to see the beginning of the Kansas City game. They were down during the first half, but they were holding their own. I knew that was going to be a close game, and what I watched was close. But, I assumed they would pull it out in the end. But, nope, I was wrong again. Then, I picked the Eagles, so I was 0 for 4. So, to make a long story short, if you want your team to win the Super Bowl, let me know who it is and I’ll vote for the other team. You’ll win for sure.
I did stay up late last night watching a very riveting show on animal planet. It was about infestations. This one lady in Canada was living in a house full of rats. A family in New Jersey was living in a house filled with bed bugs. And, the last family was living in Phoenix in a house full of scorpions. I knew I should go to sleep, but I just couldn’t turn it off. These people were going crazy, and I was just sitting there scratching at imaginary bites just thinking about it. It turned out that the lady in Canada had to move. The rats won the battle with the exterminators and poisons and traps and everything. She was just renting, and honestly, I wouldn’t have stayed as long as she did. Rats really freak me out, and they were running across her feet and she would wake up and see them in her bed. Yeah, I would have been gone. The Phoenix couple owned their house and the scorpion invasion happened when the recession started, so they couldn’t sell their house. They ended up just living with the problem and killing them whenever they found them. The New Jersey family said they spent 18,000 dollars in exterminators and throwing away furniture and stuff, but they finally got rid of the bugs when they hired a company to heat their house to over 120 degrees. As it turns out, the only thing that really kills bed bugs is heat. At 120, they die whether they are eggs or already hatched. The company they hired brought in big tubes and heated it to 150. After seeing that, I really don’t want bed bugs either. My skin is crawling just thinking about them.
It snowed pretty good this weekend. I can’t wait until I win that lottery so I can be rich. The first thing I’m going to do is buy a house with a big garage so I can put my car in it and not have to scrape the windows. I’ll have to hire a kid to shovel the walk too, but scraping windows is worse. Today I woke up early so that I could help my wife get to work on time. So, I shoveled the stairs, the walkway around the house to the front, the front stairs, the sidewalk in front of the house, the sidewalk in front of the two neighbor’s houses (They’re little old ladies and can’t do it themselves), and then I had to scrape the windows from both cars. I had barely gotten started when my wife was down ready to go. I got one drivable and got her off. Then, I finished the other one and went upstairs. I was expecting to take a nice long hot shower. I was sure that my daughter had to be at school at eight. But, I just got my gloves and jacket and stuff off when she called and said that she was ready. So, I had to put everything back on so I could take her to school. Actually, I’m a little disappointed in the school system. They should have given the kids a snow day. Then, I might have been able to go back to sleep for a little while.
I managed to get quite a bit of work done this weekend. I didn’t get started on the cover, but I’m on chapter 47. I’m going to finish that today and start on 48, so I’m just over halfway done. I’m putting on some more one hit wonders for background music. And I better get started.
-Thom

Jan 06

We bought a new car today. Well, it was a used car. But, it was new to us. It is officially my wife’s car, but it will be my eldest daughter’s after a while. (Probably as soon as I pay it off like what happened with my son’s car) It’s a black SUV, like our other car. My car has one of those automatic car unlocking devices on my keychain. So, if they are parked beside each other, I’ll be able to tell them apart by clicking the button. The new car is a Japanese car that starts with an S. I don’t remember which one. We went to the car place originally to get a Saturn. That’s the kind of car we have now and our last two or three before it were Saturns. We found the car on the internet, and when we went down there, someone was buying it. But, I think we got a better one although it was twice what we intended on spending.
Like all car places, we spent about two hours there waiting while they did paperwork. It would be nice to have someone invent a car place where you could go in and pick out the car and drive out with it in less than a half hour. But, they had a nice little play land for the kids. My granddaughter and I had fun playing with the blocks. Then, after all of the paperwork was finished and they handed us the keys, I had to go and open my big mouth. They hadn’t taken our down payment yet. I was standing there like an idiot with my card in my hands looking around for someone to give money too. We could have skated out the door and no one would have known. I’m sure they would have figured it out eventually, but it still would have felt good to have gotten over on them.
My youngest daughter is in the running to be the military ball queen. It is between her and two other girls. The voting is going to be on the fourteenth. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. It’s too bad I can’t vote. But, I don’t want to be back in school. I looked at some of her math homework and the only thing that didn’t look like gibberish was the place that said “Name” at the top.
I finished chapter 36 yesterday. I’m going to start chapter 37 today. I’m just putting in Def Leopard in the playlist today. There are just too many good songs. It’ll take me all night just to listen to them.
-Thom

Dec 05

Man I’m glad I’m not a girl. I don’t understand them and I don’t think they ever will. Although, it might just be wives that are crazy… wait, wait, I’m doing it again. Let’s just leave it at girls are crazy. Today, we were having a lazy day. My wife and I were just lying in bed watching TV. Then, one of the girls called as asked if we were going to make anything for dinner. We didn’t feel like getting up, so I told her that if they would go get us some food, I would buy them something to eat. After I hung up, my wife said that she didn’t want to eat any fast food, but she didn’t want to make anything either. So, they came up and got my credit card and the keys. When they got to Burger King, they ate and then the called to ask what we wanted. I told her what I wanted and asked my wife what she wanted. She still said that she didn’t want anything. Knowing she would complain later, I told them to get her that buy one-get-one free chicken sandwich. She could have the soda from my combo. While I was on the phone with them, my wife told me that she wasn’t going to eat it, but to have them make it with pickles and ketchup. I told them and then hung up. As soon as I put the phone away, she started complaining that I didn’t get her any fries.
Since we barely got out of bed, we really didn’t do anything today. We didn’t even go get the baby from the kids. We’ll have to make it up to her tomorrow. My youngest went to some school thing after messing up my Burger King order. She told me what it was, but she was talking so fast I didn’t really catch it. When I was driving to work, I decided to be a parent and find out where she was, because it was after nine and I hadn’t heard anything else from her. I called her twice and it went right to voice mail. Luckily, I saw her walking home. But, she wasn’t walking home alone. There was a boy with her. I’m going to have to have a few words with her tomorrow morning.
I did get chapter 32 done yesterday. I’m going to start working on chapter 33 tonight. I had a lot of fun with the one hit wonders, so I’m going to put a bunch more of them in the playlist for tonight.
-Thom

Dec 04

My daughter-in-law was in a car accident today. She wasn’t hurt and neither was the car, but it did shake her up a bit. She made a wrong turn and tapped into another car. She said that the side mirror dented her door pretty good. They didn’t stay for the police to show up, but they exchanged insurance. I’m sure we’ll be hearing about it from them in a few days. The car is still in my name because neither of the kids have a valid driver’s license. My daughter-in-law has a permit, but hasn’t gone in for the driver’s test yet. We were thinking about changing insurance companies anyway. We need to get another car, because the kids have that one and me, my wife, and my eldest daughter are sharing mine. Since the insurance went up when my daughter got her license we were going to try to find a cheaper one. Now we’ll have to wait to see what happens.
I had to work during the day for four hours and it was sooooo boring. I had to work downstairs where nothing happens. I survived, but it threw my sleeping off. Since I work nights and usually sleep during the day, I tried to get a few hours in after I got off and before I had to go in tonight. I should have just stayed awake. I don’t think that nap did anything and now I feel like I should go back to sleep.
Speaking of overtime, there are about ten shifts next week open and I didn’t get any of them. I must have made someone mad. But, it’s ok. I can work a normal shift for once.
I finished chapter 30 yesterday so I’ll start chapter 31 tonight. It’s moving along really well so far. I know I shouldn’t project an end date, but I’m thinking the end of January. I think, since I don’t have to work any overtime next week, that I’ll start on the cover. I’ve already got it planned out. It should look ok. I’m putting Duran Druan, a bunch of one-hit-wonders, Deep Purple, Beach Boys, and Rush into the playlist for background music.
-Thom

Dec 03

Bonus checks shouldn’t have taxes taken out of them. It wasn’t much of a bonus, but it was better than nothing. After taxes, it was almost nothing. But, its money my wife doesn’t know about, so it’s still good. I got it today. It was for signing on with the new company that took over the account at work. We get a whopping one fifty after thirty days and another one fifty after ninety days.
My daughter fell down the stairs today. She’s ok, but she did bruise herself pretty good. That’s one of the big drawbacks of snow. It makes stairs and shoes slippery. It came right after she decided to give up her little puppy. One of her boyfriends gave it to her for Christmas. It’s a cute little puppy, but she doesn’t have anyone to watch it while she’s at school. So, she’s going to give it back to the boy so that he can watch it for her. The little guy (girl) came up and pooped on my bedroom floor today. I knew there was a reason I liked outside dogs better than inside dogs.
School starts again tomorrow. (Woo Hoo) I know everyone is looking forward to that. It’s nice for the kids to have some time off at Christmas, but it would be nicer if the adults had some time off to do stuff with them. But, no one ever listens to me.
It was laundry day today, again. It seems like that stuff just piles up every week. It was much better when we had our old apartment with a washer and dryer inside. I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t like going to laundry mats. It’s not like I help much anyway. I would rather mow the lawn or even go with my wife to look at shoes that do laundry.
Well, it’s time to look at my lottery tickets to see if I won or not. The Colorado Lottery had a raffle ticket drawing on the first. The tickets were twenty bucks each, but they were only selling less than one hundred thousand. That sounds like a lot, but there are much better odds than the Powerball or the regular lottery. Speaking of which, I think the Mega Millions is up past three hundred million. I know that’s a looooooong shot, but I better get a ticket just in case.
I didn’t get a chance to get any work done yesterday, so I’m going to get it done today. I’m putting some Jim Croce, Bread, and Paul Simon in the playlist today for background music. So, I’ll start after I check my lotto tickets. If I become the next millionaire, I’ll let you know tomorrow.
-Thom

Jan 2

Happy New Years everyone. I know it’s actually the second, but I didn’t work yesterday. I took the day off for my granddaughter’s birthday. She is now three and was a New Years baby and was the first to be born at the hospital, but not the first of the new year. Luckily her party was at four in the afternoon. It gave everyone a chance to sober up or recover. I did have to work on New Year’s Eve and I didn’t get off until two in the morning. I had to stay because they were shooting off fireworks and the boss wanted to make sure nothing happened with all of the drunks. The fireworks were nice. They weren’t as good as last year. It might have been because it was minus three degrees, or they just might have been better last year. If anything, they were loud. There were also a lot of police around to keep the peace. They should have given a lot of tickets out to the idiot parents that took their babies to watch the fireworks. I wanted to go over and slap the you-know-what out of a few of them. They came all bundled up in jackets and winter stuff. But, did they bundle up their infant kids? No, they wrapped them up in little blankets. Half the time, I could see little legs and arms sticking out. When they are that young, they don’t know what fireworks are and don’t care. They just want to be warm.
When I did get off, I went over to my brother-in-law’s house where my wife and one of my daughters were celebrating the holiday. Yes, everyone was three sheets to the wind. (Except my daughter, she hooked her computer up to the stereo and played DJ for all of the inebriated people.) Since I was sober, I was the designated driver. But, since it was so late, there weren’t very many people still standing. I tried to stop off and get something to eat on the way home. Wendy’s was closest and open 24 hours. When I got there, at about four in the morning, there was a line about twenty people in line and only two employees working. When I got in line, they said that they weren’t even taking any new orders for another fifteen to twenty minutes. Instead of staying, I decided to go to 711 to get nachos. But, on the way, across the street from Wendy’s, there was a Burger King with a twenty four hour drive through. Pulling in, there were only two cars in front of me and they zipped in and out.
Pouring my wife into bed, I ate and went to sleep and didn’t get up until noon on Saturday. It took us forever to make it out the door so we could get to the baby’s party. We dropped off a bunch of tables and chairs and then had to go get her a present. We went to Target, and it was difficult finding something that we didn’t get her for Christmas. (Just kidding. We spoiled her, but not that badly.) We did, however, want to get her something good. I convinced my wife that, being grandparents, we had to get her the best present. So, we got her a Barbie Princess collection. There were seven dolls all in one box. It had all of the main princesses, Little Mermaid, Cinderella, etc… After picking out the present, I let my wife look at the baby clothes, because she can spend two or three hours doing it and never move from one rack to the next. I wandered up to the front to go to the bathroom and I had to pass all of the registers. It seemed like every hot woman in the store took that time to check out. I wanted to take my time, but I had to go. When my wife was done looking at the clothes, and it was our time to check out, there were only old ladies and guys up at the register.
The Princess collection was the right choice. At the party, after the food and the cake, when she was opening presents, she wanted to open our first. Then, between every other present, she kept wanting to return to ours so she could play with it. Before we left, however, all of the dolls were missing all of their shoes and tiaras. The party was a sleep over for a bunch of the little girls. I’m sure that by the next morning, all of their hair was untied and all of the clothing was missing. I’m not sure why all Barbie dolls end up naked in our house, but they do, even when my girls were little.
Today, I went to the Bronco game. It was the last game of the season and it was great. We didn’t win, but it came down to the wire. There were some mistakes. Tebow threw two interceptions and some of the play calling was ridiculous. But, in the fourth quarter, we scored, bringing us within five points. That included a few fourth down conversions. We were under a minute and we had to do an onside kick. At first it didn’t look like we were going to get it, but somehow one of our guys fell on it. We had twenty three seconds to do something. Tebow threw one to the sideline. It was a completion, but short passes like that weren’t going to do anything for us. Down to sixteen seconds, he threw two into the end zone. Both times, they were very close. But, we didn’t come down with either. Instead of blaming anyone on the team or the coaches, I’m going to blame this loss on the cheerleaders. Me and my nephew went, and we had really good seats. We were on the first level, only twelve rows from the field. We were down near one of the end zones, but we could still spit on the field if we wanted to. Anyway, we had a really hot bunch of cheerleaders right in front of us during the first quarter. While they were there, we scored and kept the Chargers from scoring. But, then they had to change the cheerleaders and San Diego started scoring.
I’m not sure which chapter I’m on today, but I’ll get it started after I do some work work. I’m putting on some Guns n Roses, Cinderella, Dio, and Dokken on the playlist for background music.
-Thom