Back to Blogging

Lately I've been slowly returning to my former dedication to blogging. When I started school at the beginning of the semester I wasn't able to dedicate as much time as I had before. Now the semester is nearing its close, and I've rediscovered the value of putting my thoughts (and opinions) into my blogs.

Long Wet Weekend

Get Moving
This is it. It's the last weekend of the month and the last month of our current apartment lease. Our things will be moved on Sunday evening (poor timing, I know) and Dayna and I are going to be spending the weekend boxing up everything that has not been already. Calamity!

Even though we do not have to do the actual moving, the packing is going to be difficult in itself because Dayna is over six months pregnant now. She's not going to be able to do much. We will probably have some help though; Shannon is coming over tonight and possibly tomorrow and Grammy is ready to come and help too.

Hudson went away with Honey again this weekend so that we can get this done. Yesterday we realized that when he comes home it might be to a different place. I'd like to try and get him back before the movers come so that he can see where his things are going and why he's going to a different place.

A Long Evening at Cafe Jake
After dropping Hudson off in Humble yesterday, I took the opportunity to visit [my best friend] Jake, Amanda-Jayne, and Nick, as well as the children. I don't get a chance to visit them that often and it's nice when I do. Because I knew I would be going over there and probably staying late I decided to defer my second dose of XR until 8:00pm. This turned out to be a mistake on my part.

I left their house about 11:30pm, but after arriving home I could not go to sleep. The hours went by and on and on; no sleep. At about 5:30am I decided that my chance had passed. I went ahead and prepared myself for the day (and a long, wired day at that). I came in to the office just before 7:00am and completely rearranged my office, which I had been planning to do.

Now it's 1:00pm and I'm still not tired. I don't think I'm going to try that again.

Early Rising

This morning Wade and I both showed up at the office 15 minutes early. He and I are hardly ever on time (we're supposed to be here around 9am); one of us usually shows up right after 9am and the other later in the hour. It's not coordinated, just circumstantial. It's a rare occurance for us to both be here at the same time, let alone 15 minutes early.

What are some things I need to do today?:

1. Update my sister's FAFSA information on the web
2. Work on the Sandstrum family history
3. Mail a few bill payments
4. First steps of Essay 5 for English Comp
5. Next game on the Google Da Vinci Code Quest (I'm going to win!)

Corporate advertisers profit from sexual offenders

Executives, politicians, and other "higher-ups" have been more and more frequently caught and exposed in the news, usually having been chatting online with underaged girls, then taking a risky chance on meeting up with these girls--sometimes undercover officers posing as girls--with the implication of sex. Go cops!

Now, a new Reality TV trend has been born: exposing potential offenders. The program starts by making them believe they're setting up a rendezvous with an underaged teenager, luring them to a residence where they believe the teenager is, and then confronting them on arrival.

Clever! Some would argue that this is a great way to deter men from seeking to meet up with underaged girls (or boys) because of the risk of being widely exposed. They don't want to be humiliated as those men have, which surely may ruin their lives. They could lose their wife and/or family, their friends, their jobs. No one would want to risk that...unless they doubt that it would happen to them.

Others may argue just that: this is something that could (and most likely would) ruin the lives of these men who are exposed for making a big mistake and that it may not, in fact, deter other potential offenders.

Of course, most people think that men who seek to have sex with underaged girls, especially those that are pre-teen and younger, must be caught and punished. But are we going to allow ourselves to be entertained by this? None of these TV programs that expose these few men are actually trying to be vigilanties making a difference in society; they're exploiting the desire of many Americans to see perverted men being caught and humiliated between commercial breaks.

Most of us feel the same about sexual offenders. But try not to allow your viewing time to be sold to advertisers trying to get you to buy something else. Get up off your ass, turn off the TV, get out into the world, and try to make a difference yourself.

Books and Movies Weekend

Dayna's and my weekend started off well enough. On Friday night I went all-out and rented three movies from Redbox at the McDonald's around the corner from our apartment. We only had the chance to watch two of them--Walk The Line and Brokeback Mountain--before having to return them before 7pm the next day to avoid paying another $1.08 per movie.

I took Hudson up for my mother to take for the weekend, so it was just Dayna and myself until yesterday afternoon. A trip to the bookstore on Saturday morning was nice and cozy and inspiring. I always get inspired to read and learn more after going to Barnes & Noble or Borders or another bookstore. Hardly ever do I know exactly what I want to look for.

I don't usually buy books from those stores because they're expensive. I'd rather buy them from a discount bookseller like QPB (of which I am a member), or from Alibris, which sells used books. I don't like to buy from Half-Price Books because I think they rip the seller off: they'll offer you 25 cents for a book you paid $25.00 retail for, then sell it for $12.50. No one makes 5000% profit off of me--NO ONE!

Books and Movies Weekend

Dayna's and my weekend started off well enough. On Friday night I went all-out and rented three movies from Redbox at the McDonald's around the corner from our apartment. We only had the chance to watch two of them--Walk The Line and Brokeback Mountain--before having to return them before 7pm the next day to avoid paying another $1.08 per movie.

I took Hudson up for my mother to take for the weekend, so it was just Dayna and myself until yesterday afternoon. A trip to the bookstore on Saturday morning was nice and cozy and inspiring. I always get inspired to read and learn more after going to Barnes & Noble or Borders or another bookstore. Hardly ever do I know exactly what I want to look for.

I don't usually buy books from those stores because they're expensive. I'd rather buy them from a discount bookseller like QPB (of which I am a member), or from Alibris, which sells used books. I don't like to buy from Half-Price Books because I think they rip the seller off: they'll offer you 25 cents for a book you paid $25.00 retail for, then sell it for $12.50. No one makes 5000% profit off of me--NO ONE!

Books and Movies Weekend

Dayna's and my weekend started off well enough. On Friday night I went all-out and rented three movies from Redbox at the McDonald's around the corner from our apartment. We only had the chance to watch two of them--Walk The Line and Brokeback Mountain--before having to return them before 7pm the next day to avoid paying another $1.08 per movie.

I took Hudson up for my mother to take for the weekend, so it was just Dayna and myself until yesterday afternoon. A trip to the bookstore on Saturday morning was nice and cozy and inspiring. I always get inspired to read and learn more after going to Barnes & Noble or Borders or another bookstore. Hardly ever do I know exactly what I want to look for.

I don't usually buy books from those stores because they're expensive. I'd rather buy them from a discount bookseller like QPB (of which I am a member), or from Alibris, which sells used books. I don't like to buy from Half-Price Books because I think they rip the seller off: they'll offer you 25 cents for a book you paid $25.00 retail for, then sell it for $12.50. No one makes 5000% profit off of me--NO ONE!

Insane!

Wow! Today has been a nightmare! I'm supposed to be joining a board meeting right now with the Fibromyalgia Association of Houston (FMAH) right now, but there's no way I'll be able to do it. They asked me a couple of weeks ago to come, and I was looking forward to it.

However, our day at the office has been chaos. First, two medical health inspectors surprise us with a visit to the office this morning. They stayed for around four hours. Having to summon obscure paperwork and everything else they were asking for took too much time. Our network printers have been down since Friday, so all of our orders are having to come to us in different ways. Right now our company's California office is printing out our delivery tickets for us, and then faxing those to us.

On top of all that, Dayna has the car and is running errands with Grammy, so I wouldn't be able to get over there anyway.

I need to be working on my essay today, but I haven't had a chance yet. The final draft is due tomorrow. Yikes!

Last minute on tax day

Here I am back at the office. I was so focused on getting my essay completed that I forgot that today was the last day. After I returned home from school and put Hudson to bed, Dayna and I were watching The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. Stephen Colbert was who reminded me to file my taxes.

I wasn't in a hurry to do it though. Dayna and I owe the government this year. This is the first time that has happend to me. I've always received at least a little tax return. Nope, not this time! Uncle Sam and I will be working out an arrangement for me to hand over $178.00 on behalf of my wife and myself. You can't fuck with the IRS. You just have to bend over and take it up the ass!

Easter Sunday

Schooling in the office

Instead of attending any Easter festivities (i.e. church or Bunny & eggs), I'm taking the time today to work diligently on my research paper for my English Composition class. I spent the entire day yesterday with Dayna and Hudson, so I don't feel bad about missing it. Dayna and Hudson drove down to Missouri City to attend service at Mr & Mrs Smith's church. Afterwards, I believe, they're going to have a big lunch at their house. (I'm told they'll be reserving a plate for me and sending it with Dayna.)

Grammy purchased a very handsome baby-blue outfit last week for Hudson to wear this morning. I got up early with them and put it on him while Dayna was getting ready. I brushed his teeth and tried to make some order out of the bedhead he was sporting. Dayna came later with a wet brush and parted his hair. "I see, so dorky is okay for Easter Sunday," I said. Dayna usually complains when I part his hair after bathtime.

Motherland

After they had left I sat down to check out the news while I drank some coffee. Searching through the DirectTV guide I flipped over to a documentary on the LinkTV channel. A documentary was starting called Motherland about a group of black people from Britain selected to trace their origins (presumably Afrikan) through DNA sequence testing. This has been an interest to me for a while and is something in which I wanted to participate (see The Genographic Project). Ancestral origins are a hobby of mine; I currently spend a lot of time researching my family history on Ancestry.com.

On the documentary, results of one man's testing showed that his paternal lineage had in fact originated in Europe, not in Africa as he had expected. However, later testing of the same data found that his mitocondrial (maternal) DNA did trace back to the Karuni tribe in southern Niger.

The results of one of the women's testing linked her more accurately and directly to a tribe living on the island of Bioko, just off the coast of Camaroon. In fact, testing of many of the families there led her to a woman whose DNA sequence were nearly the same, identifying her as a direct relative. The woman visited the island and met up with the village people among whom her family lived. The village people pronounced her "lost daughter" of the tribe, and even gave her a piece of land there as part of her rite.

It was amazing to see this kind of reunion of blood lines that is capable through this kind of science. I believe that the near future holds amazing possibilites as this kind of research continues and improves. I would imagine that tracing ancestral lineage through DNA will become common practice for everyone in the coming years.

Greener

Things seem to be looking brighter...knock on wood. I'm starting to write some (good) checks for my bills, and by Friday I should be caught up with most of them. At the end of the month, we'll be packing our things into boxes and getting ready to move. We're having all of our stuff moved for free because we used MoveForFree.com to locate our apartment. Once we're in our new place life will be much simpler financially. I'll be saving hundreds a month just on rent.

I'm working hard on research for essay #4 for my English Composition class. My topic is on the Government Vouchers for Private Schools debate. I will probably post the edited version of it on my According to Jao blog at the beginning of May, so be looking forward to that. I would love to hear some comments and critiques.

My mother is down with the stomach flu today and was all last night. Two weeks ago it started with Hudson who passed it along to the following people: Dayna, Grammy, me, Shannon, Samantha, Mr. Smith, and now my mother. I don't know if this bug has completed its destruction, but I apoligize for Hudson to those who suffered and those who have yet to experience its wrath!

A Muddy Money Hole

I am in a financial twilight zone and there is no exit. It seems to be getting worse and worse every month. Most every one of my bills are late, and I just found out that my rent check bounced (I expected it to if it posted before I was able to secure yet another payday loan). My check register isn't exactly accurate. I'm really not motivated to keep up with it daily; why should I be when it's always bad news.

I expect that I will receive my third eviction notice sometime next week. Luckily I get paid again next Friday, so I will be able to take care of it. But that doesn't take care of the late bills piling up. To add more stress, our lease is up at the end of this month. I haven't been able to submit the application for the apartments that Dayna and I chose because I can't really afford the $40 application fee, not to mention the $200 deposit I'm going to have to come up with.

Here's the light at the end of the tunnel (provided all goes well): Grammy will be moving in with us at our new apartment; she will be paying part of the rent, which is already $130 cheaper than what we pay at our current apartment. That being said, I'll probably be saving roughly $360 a month in rent. Whew.

But to backtrack on that improvement, I'm going to be spending much more on gas commuting back and forth to work because the apartments we chose, The Belmont Apartments, are in another part of town (Houston). Compared to where we are now, which is directly behind my office, is an extreme difference! With the price of gas at its unbelievable height right now,--about $2.70 per gallon--that's going to be a hefty bill. There will probably be some tears.

For those of you who don't know me, as you'll read below, I have a wife, Dayna, our son Hudson, and...get this...twins on the way!! How can I survive in a financial situation as this? My wife and son are on Medicaid, and I'm hanging on to my mother's health coverage policy by a thread (the insurance company doesn't know that I'm married yet--nonetheless, my coverage will cease when I turn 25 in December).

Right now, I'm trying to inch my way through higher education. I can only do one or two classes a semester right now, but I want to try my best to make it through to something substantial like a degree! That's the only way I see myself digging my way out of a lifetime of paycheck-to-paycheck living, which I don't want for my family.

I'm determined to get out of the muck I'm in, believe me! But, am I able? Honestly, I've proven to myself over and over again that I'm not. Anytime I get anywhere near financial par, I start spending like I'm in first place. I simply am not a good manager of my finances, and that's a fact. I've continually sought help on the issue, but it's either a gimmick to get me to buy something, a service that I can't afford, or simply nothing. My mind is screaming out a plea to some unknown nothing, "HELP!" No one answers, because no one can hear it.

I guess I'm going to keep trying my best, for what it's worth. I'll keep looking here and there for some real substantial advice and maybe, one day, I'll find someone who really cares about my situation. Sure, if you have some advice, or know where some can be found, you're welcome to fill me in. I'll listen to what you have to say. Unless you're trying to sell Jesus; I don't have time for that bullshit and I already know all about it. I need real...substantial...advice.

Growing twins

Today I put a few hours into research on private school voucher proposals. It's for the fourth and most important (30% of my grade) essay for my English Composition class. For a week or so I was torn between that and the USA Patriot Act. The latter seemed very broad and would take, it seemed, much more research time and effort. Plus, with the school vouchers issue, I was able to do a page of freewriting on ideas and opinions I already had on the issue.

I limited my time because there are so many other things I want to do. I've been trying to keep up, at least briefly, on what's happening in the news. I was glad to hear yesterday that Tom DeLay is quitting the House and his campaign in Texas for re-election. "Let's move on...without DeLay," as the bumper sticker says. That's good news.

Today, Dayna took Hudson to his doctor in Missouri City. It's time for another vaccination (I'm not sure which one). Dayna is getting uncomfortably pregnant now. She's at 19 weeks. She's been able to feel the babies moving around for several weeks now. The other day, while she had her hand on her tummy, she felt them bumping around. It looks like we're going to have a couple of storm troopers on our hands.

At her doctor appointment on Monday, Dr Korhonen said that there was a 90% chance that the twins would not be identical. I'm not disappointed about that. In fact, a little glad. Even if they were identical, we've decided that we did not want to raise them as mirror-images of each other (dressing them the same, letting them sleep in the same bed, etc.).

Dayna's read many stories about the things that identical twins try to get away with. We theorized that they feel empowered with the feeling of connection and duality. It's interesting, but we're going to avoid raising a demon duo!

I think I'm going to get back to my book now. I'm reading The Human Story: Our History, from the Stone Age to Today.