The Northwoods Is No Place For A Pink Flamingo
Family
Summertime, and the living is easy….
Jun 19th
For those who don’t have to work anyhow.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted an update on this blog. Life is crazy for me right now. Work, Work, Work, sleep, sleep, sleep. It’s a redundant cycle that won’t end until late August it seems. All things considered, this is turning out to be a pretty decent summer. The weather has been SO much better than last year, temperatures have remained fairly consistent in the upper 70′s to 80′s. Right where it should be. The boat is in the water at the cottage and the folks are keeping very busy building fences, making cookies, and keeping up with the neighbors (as much as they can stand it anyhow). Looks like sister Sarah and nephew Christopher are going to be making a trip up to the northwoods as soon as this next week. Sounds like Sarah might need a break even before their road trip in August. Looking forward to seeing them, especially Christopher. I’ve only seen pictures since last Christmas, I’m sure he’s growing fast and will eventually be in shock to discover a new sibling draining some of the attention away from him. First born’s tend to get the best and the worst of things. They are of course always FIRST, but the loss of devoted attention when a new family member arrives is a big step for any child to deal with. Most do just fine and I’m sure Christopher will too. He’s got great parents.
Things have been fairly busy on the national news front lately. Of course the BP oil spill is the consuming story. It has been interesting to follow things as they have developed. It sickens me that our government as well as BP seem to think that an escrow account with 20 billion dollars in it is going to help solve this massive environmental disaster. It doesn’t even matter any more when they eventually cap the flow of oil out of the hole in the ocean floor. The damage has already been done. Millions of gallons of oil and thousands of tons of methane now displacing what once was crystal clear waters in the Gulf will be killing us slowly for decades. News came out today that oil and gas is now seeping up through the ocean floor near the well which is presenting another issue. Could it be creating a sink hole due to pressure? Nobody knows but if that is occurring, the worst of this disaster is not even close to being over yet. We’ll see what happens.
In other news, the Prop 8 trial held closing arguments this past Wednesday. Once again, proponents of the ban on gay marriage in California sputtered and shouted but in the end produced absolutely NO evidence to support their position. This is a hugely significant case that will eventually make it to the supreme court. A decision is expected in a few weeks and then it’s off to the appeals process. I don’t have the energy to recap the whole thing, if you want to know about it more than visit the Prop 8 Trial Tracker web site for a full re-cap of all the arguments. It really has been a pleasure watching one of the most successful lawyers in this country defend my right to exist and it amazes me that in a courtroom, where politics is NOT the key element, all those who are so intent on upholding discrimination against the GLBT community simply fall flat on their faces. It’s been amazing to watch.
I have been able to keep up a little bit on my photography. I’ve uploaded a few new galleries to leelanauphotography.com since my last entry. Please be sure to check them out. I’m looking forward to eventually having some time off this summer to really do some exploring with my camera, perhaps in places I’ve not been. So, until my next entry which might be tomorrow, or several weeks from now, enjoy this picture of early summer in Leelanau.
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Spring Time
Apr 3rd
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve done an update via the old blog here. This is my busy season at work and I’ve been swamped, putting in about 50 hours a week or so right now. The 12 hour days are taking a toll on my legs but I’ll only need to do this for a couple months and then it will slow down again and settle into summer.
So, tomorrow is the day of reckoning for Jesus Christ and the Easter Bunny. I’ll be headed out to the lake to have dinner with the folks and hopefully Gavin the wonder Dog will have a chance to run for a while. It has been raining all day today so he’s been stuck inside…not that he would not go out in the rain but because the smell of wet dog is heinous. It looks like the family is finally set up on Skype and everyone finally has it installed and working. If you are not a user, you should try it. You’ll need a web cam and some basic knowledge of how to install software. That’s about it. One of these days I’ll get to have a conversation with nephew Christopher although I suspect he has little interest right now.
So, aside from work and warmer weather lately, I’ve not nothing much else to say! I’ve put a few new galleries on my web site, you can check them out by clicking HERE. This was taken using my new camera.
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FIRE THEM!
Mar 14th
Once again, Bill Maher has penned an honest portrayal of the idiocy in this country. I admit, I’m a bit biased when it comes to this but lets talk about education for a minute. First, my background. A significant number of my immediate and extended family members are teachers or have been teachers at one point or another in their lives. Growing up, education..or more to the point, GETTING ONE, was the number one rule, ahead of anything else despite my pathetic attempts to think otherwise at times. My folks made time for reading every night to my sister and me whether it was reading TO us or allowing one of us to read to THEM. They both struggled along with us trying to figure out ways to tell a 14 frustrated year old that Algebra is actually relevant and to just suck it up and learn it and they RE-LEARNED it with me. My folks went out of their way to provide Sarah and me with educational opportunities, not because they wanted genius children (hopefully that was not their wish) but because they both knew and understood the importance of a basic education. They sent Sarah and I to enrichment programs, they participated and helped us to participate in Cub Scouts, Brownies, plays, programs, events, museums, and yes, even instruction about shoveling shit on the farm. Education is important. It was important to my parents and it was eventually important to me. I’m not talking here about post-secondary education but the basic shit. Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic — K-12 public education.
Firing all the teachers may feel good – we’re Americans, kicking people when they’re down is what we do – but it’s not really their fault. Now, undeniably, there are some bad teachers out there. They don’t know the material, they don’t make things interesting, they have sex with the same kid every day instead of spreading the love around… But every school has crappy teachers. Yale has crappy teachers – they must, they gave us George Bush.
According to all the studies, it doesn’t matter what teachers do. Although everyone appreciates foreplay. What matters is what parents do. The number one predictor of a child’s academic success is parental involvement. It doesn’t even matter if your kid goes to private or public school. So save the twenty grand a year and treat yourself to a nice vacation away from the little bastards
Click on the link above to read the rest.
I get so sick of the bullshit in the papers and on line criticizing teachers for ‘failing kids’. Bullshit. The only teachers who are failing kids in this country ARE THE PARENTS. Yes, there are bad teachers, AND bad doctors, lawyers, and scientists but come on if you are going to take the time to write in to the newspaper editor, at least show your kids that you know how to use a spell checker or that you can FINISH a fucking thought in a single sentence! So, the next time you get an urge to criticize a teacher, stop and think for a minute about what you are doing. Is little Jimmy’s failure to learn his times tables the fault of the teacher OR is it YOUR fault for failing to make sure little Jimmy got home after school to DO HIS HOMEWORK! OR, is it YOUR fault for failing to drill them into his head like you were asked to help do by the note you got from the teacher BECUASE YOU YOU COULD NOT BE BOTHERED TO SHOW UP FOR PARENT / TEACHER CONFERENCES!
One reason, among many others that I got out of the Education thing for myself was that I had a very difficult time understanding the lack of involvement of parents in their kids lives because it was SO foreign to me. Growing up I couldn’t shit without one of my parents asking me about school and about my life and good Lord there were times when I absolutely HATED their incessant nagging, prodding, and scornful stares and I would slam my books on the table and leave for coffee at Denny’s just to piss them off more. My parents were doing their jobs, THEY were being teachers, never mind their own backgrounds. THEY were demanding accountability from me and THEY were going to stand by me and help me even while frustrated with me to make sure that at the VERY least, I got my ass through High School with an education. Yes, I know everyone has shit going on in their lives but come on, you do not have to be a scholar to be a teacher to your child, you only have to be there and show that to your child. They will know your expectations, you don’t even have to explain what they are, that’s the beauty of a parent / child relationship. The kid WILL come to you for help even when they know you won’t be able to give them the answers.
Lack of parental involvement is the #1 reason that our education system in this country is shot. It is not however broken and it is not un-fixable. It is also not the sole responsibility of teachers in this country to raise YOUR CHILDREN.
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Mid-Winter Blues
Feb 7th
Finally, I’ve had a reasonably relaxing weekend. Of course tomorrow I head back in to hell for what will likely turn into a 6 day work week. We begin a major re-set in my department tomorrow morning, there is a ton of work to be done and only 1 week to do it. I’m going to have to be a cheerleader most of the week and that is indeed exhausting work.
Today I packed up the dog and headed out to the lake. The sun has been out for the past few days, something exceedingly rare this time of year and I figured I would take advantage of it today by bringing my camera along. I ended up going down to a beach I had not been to in quite some time. It was further south than I usually go but still on Good Harbor Bay, just down the road further. It was quite nice. There were a few people out today but because of the Super Bowl and my complete lack of interest in sports, it was pretty quiet overall. Gavin was able to run around off the leash for a while and I spent some time trying to capture a few good pictures. I’ve uploaded a new gallery at leelanauphotography.com, just click the picture below to check it out.
The folks are off to Iowa for about 6 weeks tomorrow morning. They’ve decided to spend some time away from here this winter since it’s easy to get really stir crazy this time of year. We still have a good 3 months of shitty weather before spring starts to hit, I really hate this time of year up here. Luckily, my job keeps me quite busy so it’s hard for me to care much. Mom and Dad will be staying with Sarah, Brian and Christopher and I’ll be interested to hear how that all works out. I love my folks to death but given the choice, I would not choose to have them live with me for any extended amount of time. I’m pretty sure my folks would say the same about me. Our family dynamics are a bit much to tolerate day in and day out. And, at my age, and their age, that’s the way it should be. Christopher will be spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa for 6 weeks, and, that’s the way THAT should be too! He’s a lucky kid, even if the only words he can say are “doggie” and “LOOK”. We’ll see if Grandpa can teach him a few words during his stay.
I have made a new purchase since my last entry in this blog. Last week, I broke down and bought a Wii so that I too could join the ranks of 30 something’s who are sick of being out of shape but who don’t want to join a gym. I have always enjoyed video games even though I suck at them and I like the concept of being more involved in them rather than just sitting on a couch with a controller. The Wii promises to at least get me off my ass for a little bit each day. Eventually I’ll buy the Wii balance board and Wii Fit Plus game so that I can actually start getting in shape. Sadly, they are sold out nearly all over the country and it’s going to be several weeks before they get back in stock. Oh well, I’ll be busy enough at work.
Bonus time at work is fast approaching. Profit Sharing checks are handed out Feb. 16th and my Managers bonus is due in mid March. Crazy thing about my job is that I make more in the first 3 months of the year than I do the next 8 months of regular work just because of bonuses. It’s nice to get big fat checks but it’s also dangerous because it’s easy to just go out and spend it. If I had this job at any other time in my life, I’d be broke all the time but fortunately I’ve learned how to manage my money in much healthier ways so I’ll be able to save what is necessary but I’ll also be able to go out and get a few toys to play with. This year I am buying a keyboard and I’ll write more about that when the time comes. So for now, enjoy the new gallery.
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Holiday Pics!
Jan 7th
I finally got around to uploading the holiday pictures from Christmas. You can see them at leelanauphotography.com. Not much new going on right now in the northwoods, at least nothing I care to write about right now. I have the weekend off, I’ll write later on. Enjoy the pictures!
Uncle David teaching Christopher to be a nerd. He got up on my lap without prompting indicating that even though I only see him a couple times each year, he clearly knows who the “cool” uncle is!! haha.
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The Season for…
Dec 3rd
Well, I made it through the crazy Black Friday madness at work and things are settling down now for the Christmas Holiday. I spent my day off today out at the lake decorating the parents Christmas Tree and enjoying some meatloaf. Really Mom, you ought to make that more often. It was good and it doesn’t appear to have taken any more effort than a frozen Lasagna. I’m preparing now to head off for the annual trip to Eau Clair Wisconsin for my company’s yearly training seminars. I’ve always got mixed feelings about these things. On the one hand, I am thankful that for a huge company they still take the time to make sure their managers know about the products they are selling. On the other hand, it’s all crammed into a 2 day period consisting of 16 hour days each day. By the end of it I am whipped and as the years go on, I don’t come out knowing anything that new or exciting. Oh well, it’s 2 days away from the rednecks up here I guess.
Lots of interesting things going on in politics although I don’t have the energy to report on much of it. Eventually I’ll get around to writing another prophetic post blasting the religious right and the drag your heals left. It’s exhausting. I’ll leave you with a couple pictures below. Hopefully I’ll find more time to write soon.
Santa Times 2
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Saturday Bits and Bytes
Oct 17th
As you can obviously see, I’ve once again changed the theme on my blog. I’ve decided for now to go simple but I’ve been playing around with more complicated themes and options that eventually I’ll try out on you. As I’ve said before, I change the themes because I get board with them and I like new things. I think it’s pretty neat that this sort of platform even exists.
Tonight I am going to have dinner with my former in-laws. Jirar’s folks are up here in the northwoods and we have planned a dinner at our favorite local dive. It’s always good to see them and it’s nice that they’ve kept in contact with me. Tomorrow, I am going to spend the day cleaning out my car (likely doing so out at the lake house so Gavin can play). I need to unload the Malibu soon so that I can take possession of my new car and finally start driving it. I have to get rid of my current car though first. Any of you readers looking for a used car under $2000? If so, let me know and I’ll consider your offers.
Not much else going on lately. Fall is upon us and the weather has been shitty. I guess I should expect it but this is my favorite season, I just wish it would not rain for a few days and be in the upper 60′s (rather than the low 40′s). I’m going to also get out tomorrow and take more pictures. Hopefully I’ll have a new gallery uploaded soon on my web site but for now, here is a nice picture you can use as your background on your computer!
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Rabbit bait?
Sep 19th
Well, I’ve got a problem at my condo and I’m not entirely sure how to get it taken care of. I mentioned before here that I thought there might be some sort of animal living under my house because Gavin had been eating lots of little pellet poop in the yard. Turns out I had a hole in the side of my condo leading to the crawl space and I suspected at that time, there might be a rabbit living under the house. To my dismay, I ventured down into the crawl space a couple weeks ago and there are 2 sections under there. The main part which runs under 90% of the condo was very clean and I could not locate any sign of animal activity. Unfortunately, the small addition that was put on to this unit has a foundation that fully encloses it and there is no access to this 10×10 area from the main crawl space. That’s where the animal is and now it’s starting to stink. I’ve got a couple of options. I can call the landlord and see if he can tell me how to get into that part of the crawl space (I suspect he has no idea). I can dig a bigger hole next to the smaller one to see if I can get past the foundation wall but this is problematic because this is a condo, the owner of the condo doesn’t actually own the structure and I’m not sure I want to get in to screwing around with how this place was built in order to solve this problem. I can call animal control or some pest control company and pay them to come and figure it out or I can just continue to live in what is quickly starting to smell like a barn. I think I’ll go with the first option and see what the landlord has to say. Unfortunately, I likely won’t get a response until Monday so I’ll just have to put up with it until then. In the meantime, if you have any ideas for how to catch a rabbit (although I think it might be dead already and that’s why it smells so bad) I’d love to hear it.
In other news, I continue to amaze myself with my geeky fascination over technology. Over the years, I’ve built up a rather impressive collection of old computers, cases, parts, hard drives and the like. You know you can’t just toss that shit into a land fill so I’ve just never bothered to recycle any of it. Last night, I hauled it all out, pulled out all the good components from the 4 old computers and reassembled them into a new hybrid computer. My goal? My big flat screen TV has an option to connect a computer to it and I have this urge to sit in my recliner and be able to surf the web. Actually, there are all kinds of web sites available now where you can stream TV shows and movies (either free or for a fee) and by connecting this computer to the TV, I can now watch old re-runs of Silver Spoons, Family Ties, and the Golden Girls on Hulu.com on the big screen TV! Shit, who needs cable any more, I can watch whatever I want for free via the Internet with the right technology. So this morning I am re-installing an operating system before I head out to the lake for the day and tonight, we’ll see just how well it performs.
Anyhow, I need a life.
I’m going to be 35 freakin years old on Monday. I’m not entirely sure where the past 10-20 years of my life has gone but I can’t say that anything that’s happened has been all that bad or that I regret any of it. I’ve always tried to live my life the way I want to live it by my rules and for the most part, I get support from the people who matter for doing so. I never thought I would end up back in retail, I certainly never thought I would end up living in Traverse City (seeing this place primarily as a vacation spot for most of my life), and I never thought that at this point in my life I’d be single again. That last part bugs me a little bit but at the same time, I really don’t mind where my life is at right now. I’ve always been fairly solitary, I do pretty well on my own, and to be completely selfish, I enjoy spending money on myself rather than supporting other people. I make more money now than at any other point in my life (as it should be), I’m healthy, my parents are healthy, and I can pretty much do whatever I want, whenever I want within the confines of a retail schedule of course. Looking ahead, just 35 more years until I’m 70 and hopefully (fingers crossed), I’ll be retired and living comfortably by that point.
I thought I’d share this picture with you as I approach my birthday. They say that being gay is something you are predisposed to at birth and that social conditioning plays a roll but it’s not the only factor. Do you think this kid is being socially conditioned to be straight or does he just have parents with boundary issues? I can’t even begin to imagine Hooter’s being an appropriate venue for a 10 year old’s birthday party! He apparently doesn’t seem to mind.
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Car Surfing
Sep 12th
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, today I got my first glimpse of “Car Surfing”. I was driving down the road about 55mph going home from work and approaching me in the other direction was a car load of kids, although as they passed these were not young kids, they well into their late teens or 20′s. 2 of them were fully outside of the car (also traveling at a high speed) hanging on to the car door screaming and yelling (my windows were down and they could be heard as they whizzed by me). A couple cars later, the same thing! 2 more kids, a little younger this time, hanging out of the car clearly enjoying themselves but oblivious to their own safety (and everyone else’s). Now, I did a LOT of dumb ass things as a kid, hell, I did stupid things well into my 20′s that looking back now that would have clearly marked me as an idiot but I’m proud to say that “car surfing” was not one of them. I’ve always taken the responsibility of driving (and riding) rather seriously. No seat belt, no ride kind of thing. I just can’t imagine what was going through their minds, oblivious to the fact that a passing semi truck alone could have easily sucked them right off the side of their car and on to a certain and rather nasty death. Wow.
It’s been a BUSY week for me. Work has been a zoo but not exactly in the same way it has been most of the summer. By zoo I mean that someone literally left the gate open at the zoo and untamed wild beasts have been shopping at the store this week! One customer brought my assistant to tears this week, yelling at her for a problem he created, and yelling because when he discovered it he could not deal with that revelation. I had another customer holler at me for having to come back and get more driveway sealer because what he got was too good and too thick and not like what he bought before even though what he got before was purchased at some other store in some other part of the state. I had several other people in this week complaining that we are out of stock on SEASONAL items (stains, sealers etc.) and that I should have anticipated a shitty summer for doing outside projects and that 75% of the state has waited until the absolute last minute to do anything around their homes. FUCK YOU, buy shit IN SEASON, you snooze you lose. On top of the general jerks, it’s been beautiful outside now for the past 10 days and I’ve been stuck inside working my ass off. Oh well, at least I can pay my bills…with the Michigan jobless rate above 12%, I can at least say I’m lucky to have an income.
Not too much else going on lately. I am planning a trip to the Upper Peninsula with the folks in early October which will hopefully result in some good photography opportunities. Right now, I don’t live any further from Lake Superior than I do from Grand Rapids (for the most part) and I’m sad that I’ve not bothered to just do a day trip up there. If you like being out in the middle of fucking nowhere, the UP is certainly the place to do it. I’ve been a little lax this year taking pictures. Plenty of family pictures were taken and tons more pictures of Gavin, but I’ve not spent very much time in the woods this year like I’ve done in the past. Most of that has to do with the fact that I live much further from nature now than I have in the past. There are places to hike here in town but there are also lots of people, I can’t let Gavin off his lead, and I just don’t like being able to hear car horns and screaming children when I’m out hiking in the woods! Oh well, at least I’m not sitting on my ass in front of the TV. Anyhow, toodle for now. Time to make dinner.
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