My Life as Brutus' Dad

It's Moving Day (for my blog)

2008-03-23T15:43:00.003-04:00

I have decided to move my blog to another site. Hopefully with the changes, I may blog more.

I also changed the name a little.

My Life as Rocky's Dad

Rockys Day at the Office

2008-01-24T07:37:00.000-05:00

While I am working up in our third floor office, this is how Rocky spends his day on the couch behind me. He does occasionally get up to bark at the UPS man but this is really about it.

Oh, and he farts once in awhile just to remind me that he's there as well.

Just When You Think Life Has Settled

2008-01-23T07:19:00.001-05:00

I changed jobs again! The company that I was working for laid me off a couple weeks ago...yeah nice. I was freaked out and immediately went into job search mode. I started calling some old business contacts, etc. I talked to the VP of the company that I had left back in October to see what was going on. He knew that I left because of the franchise owner that I worked for and not the company itself.

Well to make a long story short, after talking to him that day and then a few more calls the next day, I was hired back. Not only was I hired back at a corporate level (not working for a franchise) but I was hired back as the Senior Account Manager for the Northeast region. I am so happy about this! I love working for this company and while it has its issues just like everything else, I truly believe in its product and services and enjoy selling for them.

The ultimate best part is that I work from home! They don't have a physical office in this area and really don't have any intentions of having one so they set me up at home. HOW AWESOME IS THAT? I get up, have my breakfast and commute to the third floor. Too cool.

Everything else is good here, not much to report. We went to one of our best friends' 40th birthday party last week and had a blast. I was of course in the mood to celebrate the new job as well.

Yet again, I have fallen behind in posting and I will really try to keep things up. Thanks for sticking with me.

Resolutions

2008-01-01T19:56:00.000-05:00

I thought this was a great video.

2008 The Year to Win

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T10:05:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody, welcome to 2008!

A lot has happened since my last post. I turned 38, which I'm having issues with. We had my family here for Christmas. I found out that the company that I recently left is going down the tubes. And Mike and I have been settling into the new house.

All in all, not a bad way to end the year.

Last New Years, Mike said that 2007 was going to be "The Year of Ron and Mike", and I really think in a lot of ways it was.

Some friendship pruning went on, other friendships were strengthened. We did things for ourselves and focused on us.

I have decided that for myself, this year will be "The Year of Follow Through". What does that mean? It means that I am going to focus on finishing things that I start, and following through on goals and promises that I make to the best of my ability.

As Mike and I head into the end of our thirteeth year together this spring, I need to remind myself more of what a friend told me after observing the two of us together. He said "Wow, Mike is really devoted to you." If I can remember that on a daily basis, that I can do my part to ensure that we last another 13 years and beyond.

Happy New Year to my readers and best wishes for 2008 to all of you!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2007-11-27T06:25:00.000-05:00

The weekend was great. We picked up my Mom on Wednesday night and then went to my niece's for Thanksgiving dinner. She did a great job as usual and I ate until my stomach hurt.

On Friday we had some friends come from out of town. Ken from Chicago and Rich from Florida, came to spend the weekend. A couple other friends came over to spend the day to see them so we had a houseful for the day. I enjoyed every second of it. Ken is one of out best friends and I have a blast just having him around.

The next day, we all piled in the car and trekked up to New Hope for Santa Saturday. That is an annual event attended by leathermen and "bears" mostly and they raise money for charity. ALWAYS a good time. I love the event and Mike and I have been going for twelve years.

We ran into a lot of people that we haven;t seen in awhile and even reconnected with a couple that used to be our best friends. I walked by one of them and found myself deciding that enough was enough and maybe we should try to get past the drama that caused us to stop hanging out together. The four of us ended up talking for a few hours and the outlook is very hopeful. I feel like it truly made the day worth it.

After things wrapped up there, we headed out to a local diner for our yearly post Santa Saturday dinner and then went home. Ken and I stayed up and looked at stupid videos on You Tube and then we finally turned in like everyone else.

On Sunday we met Mark and Bill for lunch so they could get to see Ken and Rich for a little bit before they headed home. Mike and I went back kto their house afterwards and Bill and I cracked open our first bottle of our holiday brew that we made last month. Well let me just tell you that the Baldy Brewing Company's "ChrismaHanaKwanzishy" Brew is AWESOME! We did a great job. A couple more weeks and it will be even better.

Mike and I came home Sunday exhausted but happy after a great weekend. We already missed our friends being in the house but we will see them again soon.

Gonna Write it Through

2007-11-26T21:30:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling a bit of the funk coming on again, along with a lot of introspection. I think I'll see what writing it out will do.

Everything is basically good, and actually seems to be getting better, but I still feel kinda cloudy on the inside.

OK So I'm a little bored at the office

2007-11-19T11:18:00.000-05:00

68%

Mesa Dating

Really worth a book?

2007-11-15T08:39:00.000-05:00

Last night the girls from up the street came over to see the new furniture. We ended up sitting up in the third floor den for a couple hours just talking. Of course my fucked up family came up in covnersation and Mike was filling them in on some of the dysfunction. After they heard some of the stuff, they told me that I should write a book. I wish I had the ambition to do that. I have wanted to do that for years and I just can't seem to sit down and start working on it.

On the other hand, does the world really need another story about a messed up family? I think it's an interesting story, but would anyone else?

Who knows. I have considered it for a long time and even mentioned it here a few times.

One day you may see the Ron story out in hardcover at a store near you and on Amazon.com

Update from the "Hood"

2007-11-06T05:48:00.000-05:00

The new job is going great. I get to leave my house over an hour later than I used to and I;m home a hell of a lot earlier; sometimes as early as noon. Well, when I'm home that early, I finish up the day working upstairs so technically I'm still working. The house is coming along as well. We put in new light fixtures, bought some new furniture, put in a storm door and now we are getting estimates on the fence.

All in all things are good. Mike and I have settled into our new schedules and find ourselves relaxing a lot more and sleeping better. We have gotten to know a few of our neighbors pretty well so far, well the lesbians anyway. It still makes us laugh that we seem to have our own little gayborhood back here.

One of the girls and I are thinking about running to be on the board of the homeowners association. Mostly because we can't stand one of the women on the board now. Yeah go figure, been here a month and we already have drama.

Rocky has not one but two girlfriends in the neighborhood. One is a little silky terrier next door named Shante and then there is another little dog two doors down named Tiffany. He does well for a guy with no balls.

Well that's the update from here. I am really trying to stay up on blogging...seriously I am. I have been luring around all of your blogs still and occasionally commenting so I am still here.

Saturday Morning Quiet

2007-10-20T08:49:00.000-04:00

What a nice Saturday morning. It rained most of thie night last night, so it finally feels like October outside.

Kevin came over last night and we walked across the street to see what was going on at this restaurant/sports bar that we really like. It turned out it they were packed for a Friday and so we went across the street to get Chinese food. Of course it started to pour about half way back to the house, but that's life.

I was still recovering from a bout of bad mayonnaise from a sandwich I had eaten at work the day before so I was kinda feeling rough anyway.

So we ended up sittin around watching bad TV, eating Chinese and just hangin out. Turned out to be a good Friday night after all.

Mike and Kevin are still in bed at this point, so I got up and took Rocky out and now I'm just enjoying a quite morning. I love this house! I wish all of you could see it. I'm very proud of it.

Big Giant Sigh

2007-10-17T21:48:00.000-04:00

What a month! We are all moved in to the new house and we love it. Turns out that there is a lesbian couple up the street and a single lesbian right next door. So we have our own little "gayborhood" out in the county surrounded by the Amish.

Everyone else that we have met in the neighborhood has been cool so far too. It's a very interesting mix of people. Gay and lesbian couples, interracial couples, older retired people, you name it. Plus, almost everyone has a dog so Rocky is in heaven meeting everyone.

We have had weekends full of projects to get the house to the level that we want it, but Mike and I have decided that this weekend is enough. We aren't going to do any projects!

So on top of all that, I started my new job this past Monday and so far, I really like it. It's nice to work for a real company again. I only have to do my job and mine alone. I don't need to worry about creditors calling the office or bounced paychecks anymore. Talk about a load off of my mind.

I feel like Mike and I have started a whole new chapter in our lives and it's very exciting. Now I can work on getting myself back into a regular schedule of blogging too. I need to catch up on everything.

It's Moving Day!

2007-09-27T09:44:00.000-04:00

The truck was packed up yesterday. We go to closing on this house at 4 this afternoon. We'll be spending the night at Mark's tonight, then we go to settlement on the new house tomorrow morning and move in!

Lots going on!

Oh yeah, and then I found out this morning.....I GOT A NEW JOB!!!!!!

One More Week

2007-09-21T08:47:00.000-04:00

Well we go to settlement on the new house one week from today. YAY! Packing has commenced with a vengeance and we are moving quick.

I actually got a little melancholy about leaving. I looked around the back yard and saw all of the pine trees that we have planted in the last 12 years, that used to be Christmas trees.

I see the siding that Mike and I put on the house during a great summer together.

I see the trees we planted around the deck so we could have privacy in the hot tub.

We got rid of the stupid clock that doesn't work right, but it's the same one I kept looking at the first night we were together, thinking, "Wow after all this talking, it's still only 11 o'clock?" When in reality its was like 2am.

It's a house a LOT of memories. Some not all the great, but most of them wonderful.

But I keep telling myself, that we are moving somewhere to start that process all over again. Since it's a brand new house, it will be all that Mike and I make it to be. I really can't wait.

Stress Level - HIGH

2007-09-12T09:42:00.000-04:00

We move in two weeks. YAY! We have been throwing things out but haven't started packing yet, probably get into that mess this weekend.

I really never want to do this again. I thought it wouldn't be that bad, especially after we got through the financing and all of that, but it is and I hate it!

I keep telling myself that next month at this time, it will all be over with. I really can't wait actually and I know we're both excited but it's a lot of work.

Still interviewing all over the place for jobs, have three scheduled for this week, so I'm hoping that by the end of the month, I will have a new job as well.

Some News

2007-09-04T08:46:00.000-04:00

Well I still haven't heard from the job that I have interviewed THREE times with. My friend that works there said this is nothing out of the ordinary, they are known for taking a long time. Apparently it took the six months to hire the receptionist! SHEESH! I hope it doesn't take that long. I have talked to them by phone and email though so they know I'm still here.

I have also been interviewing at other places and I am confident that I will get on offer from someone soon.

In other news, MIKE AND I BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! AND SOLD OURS YESTERDAY!!!!!

I haven't posted anything about it because I didn't want to jinx anything, but how cool is that?

We will actually be in the same town which I think is kinda funny, but instead of out in the country we will actually be in town. We found a great townhouse at an awesome price. And it's brand new!

If everything goes well, we should be moving by the end of the month! WOO HOO!

Daily Stress

2007-08-22T05:41:00.001-04:00

I'm still waiting to hear about this job offer. My 3rd and last interview was last Monday and Im told that this is a normal waiting time for this company so I'm not concerned. (Well, other than the annoying little voice in my head that tells me "you're not gettin it and you will be stuck in your current job FOR-EVER".)

I wake up in the morning not being too worried about it but then by about 11am I'm practically having a full on breakdown. Then by the afternoon, I'm good again. I think this seriously has brought out the manic in me.

I was thinking last night though how nice it is to come home after days like that. I was on the phone with a good friend of mine telling him the whole story and I mentioned that Mike was being so supportive during this process. My friend said. "Well you guys are really good at the ying and yang thing, when one of you is stressed out, the other seems to keep the stressed one from the brink, even if they are stressing about the same thing."

It made me thankful for a great guy like Mike. When I come home I can forget about all of the crap going on during the day. When I close the door from coming in, it's like it all starts to fall off of me. Of course being mauled with kisses from an over exuberant boxer tends to help too.

I hope to be posting soon about a great new job, but in the meantime, I'm still hangin in here, just waiting for the email with the offer and waiting to come home home at the end of the day if I don't get it.

Waiting and Waiting

2007-08-15T10:21:00.000-04:00

I had a third interview which went really well. So now I am just waiting on the offer.

And waiting....

Keep Your Fingers Crossed

2007-08-08T05:18:00.000-04:00

I had a second interview yesterday at a company I'd really like to work for. The interview itself was almost two hours, then they took me out to dinner for another two hours. I think that's a good sign. I am supposed to hear something either today or tomorrow. Man this would be awesome!

Doing Nothing - Day 3

2007-08-01T08:24:00.000-04:00

Damn I love vacation. The weather has been perfect. Mike, Ken and I have been having a blast.

We spent all day yesterday out on the beach, from about 10:30 till almost 5. I think I have decided that there is nothing quite like falling asleep on the beach.

We came back took showers and then went to dinner.

Rocky has been having a good time too. He's been liking the walks around the nieghborhoods and stuff. He's even met a few other boxers.

On another good note, I got an email from the guy I'm interviewign with next week asking me if I would like to go to dinner afterwards and when I would be able to start if offered the job. NICE!

Finally on Vacation

2007-07-29T08:08:00.001-04:00

It's about 8am and no one else in the house is up but me and Rocky. He of course got me up at 7 so he could go for a walk. So now I am enjoying being alone for a little bit.

We got down to the beach yesterday afternoon. There was a really bad accident yesterday on the highway to the beach, so it was closed for awhile. What should have taken 2 1/2 hours took over 5. Yeah...I was NOT happy.

Ken was already here when we got here. He had spent the day on the beach. It was great seeing him. After we got settled, we made some calls to let everyone know we were here. It turns out a bunch of our friends are here for the weekend or week too.

Our friend Amy came over with three of her friends and after a couple drinks we headed out. We ended up at this great Mexican place that we have been going to for about 6 years. Dinner was great and a good time was had as usual.

After that we walked down the avenue to a bar that we were meeting Gregg at with his friends. When we got there, the place was ROCKIN! They were having karaoke, which is the best! We were shortly joined by Mark and Bill and Mark's two sisters.

We ended up staying there the entire night, finally walking out of the bar after 1am.

So that brings me to now. The townhouse is great, and obviously I have internet access this time around so I will be blogging the week hopefully.

Well it sounds like the boys are finally up so I'm out of here.

Almost Vacation

2007-07-25T13:22:00.000-04:00

Two more days till vacation. I am really looking forward to next week. It turns out a bunch of people that we know will be at the beach the same week we are there. our friend Ken is coming in from Chicago to spend the week with us as well. Mark and Bill will be there with Mark's family and our friend Amy will be in town for the first weekend, so it will be a good time.

I'm feeling really upbeat about things for the first time in awhile. I had a very promising job interview this week so we shall see what comes of that. That's all I will be saying about it for now. NO JINX!

Big Brother is on and I have Harry Potter to read too. Yes, I'm a geek sometimes.

My boss is still unbearable and the stories have just gotten worse lately but Mike has been really supportive so it helps to know I have someone waiting for me when I get home who will reassure me that I'm not the idiot she makes me feel like.

The weather next week looks decent. It looks like the typical hot summer, humid, afternoon thunderstorm stuff. I am hoping to have Internet access this time around so maybe I can actually fire off a few posts next week.

I have decided to work on some serious writing after my last post. It's gonna take awhile but I think I can finally get the ideas out of my head and onto some paper.

OK that's it for my stream of consciousness today.

Ramblngs

2007-07-19T08:27:00.000-04:00

With my job situation that way it is, I've been thinking a lot about where I am, where I've come from and where I'm going. I have been very reflective lately.

I feel like there is something out there that I should be doing and I just keep headin down the wrong road. It's an odd thing, but I know something big is out there, I just need to focus and find it.

I know it sounds odd, but I would love to be a writer. That is one of the many reasons I started this blog, but I can't seem to keep up with it to "hone" my skills. Of course that certainly is not instant gratification as far as money, but at least I would feel like I'm doing something.

The worst case scenario would be that I end up with a manuscript that is one lone continuous thought with hardly any punctuation. (Actually it would have too many commas.)

What would I write about? WOW, I think I have enough stories in my fucked up family to fill a couple books.

I guess it's something I need to contemplate.

Life Trudges On

2007-07-18T14:39:00.000-04:00

There really hasn't been much to report here. Life is good on the whole I guess. My job sucks and I'm at he point now where I'm basically just showing up. My boss has become unbearable. One of the many things that bothers me is the constant, "Don't do as I do, do as I say" attitude.

She's out of the office again right now. I have to get a bunch of calls done, in addition to answering the phones (since we lost another admin because of her), and trying to find an install for a client that is coming in on Friday (UMMM two days from now).

When she gets back, she'll run my call report, look at me with that look I want to smack off of her face andtell me I need to spend more time on the phones.

OK let's talk about the fact that I have been here since 7am to fix something that she has screwed up. We have a meeting on Tuesday with a long standing, regular client that is no happy about the administration of her account. And...she's off again to some "appointment" that none of us ever anything about.

I NEED TO LEAVE!

I've had a few interviews but nothing that has sparked my interest or more importantly my bank account.

Wish me luck as I keep trudging along.

Vacation in 10 days!

Happy 4th!

2007-07-04T09:14:00.000-04:00

A nice day off of work in the middle of the week and plans to hang out with friends all day.

The foot is getting better. I still have one of those big boot things to wear for at least a few more weeks. I can't wait to take it off for good, mostly because it's just damn hot to wear. I take it off for a few hours here and there just to give it some air, but then it starts to ache again. To answer Patrick's comment the other day, yes it did hurt a lot but yes I did get good drugs for it!

Work is the same and so I'm still looking for a new job.

Everything family-wise is still the same, I am just choosing not to deal with it right now. Healthy? Maybe not, but don't really care at the moment.

We have plans for a great dinner out on Friday with Mark and Bill, and a pool party on Saturday with some friends we haven't seen in awhile so I'm looking forward to that.

Plus, VACATION AGAIN in less then a month!

Hope y'all have a fun 4th!