River in Egypt

Da Nile (denial) ain't just a river in Egypt, I hear.

I've been so busy deep in my own shizzit I haven't updated for months. I've had several of my readers wondering why.

Well, the X developed a brain tumor and is still recovering. This put the kibash on her marriage, which means no extra income for moi, even though my monthly expenses have increased since my move to Wausau. I'm not dealing. No, not much at all.

Credit card is getting higher. Living pretty much hand to mouth on borrowed time -- and money.

Really pissed about how I'm being treated at work, so I'm seeking Wausau alternatives. That would be huge because I could then tap into my 401K to pay off the card. Plus I'd be working closer to home.

Good news? Plenty of it. Girls are great and healthy. I've spent a week at the new medical complex I helped (in an information systems way) bring together, and have made really positive contributions. Spending the day there tomorrow, too. Awesome stuff!

Am bowling on a league (don't laugh it's really fun), and am improving week to week. I think I may prefer bowling to golf. It's also cheaper.

Can't promise the frequency of future updates, because that seems to lead to long lapses.

I love you all, and hope you'll keep reading and posting.

-Teken

Did the Lake

OH! By the way, when we swam at Sunny Vale on Sunday, 94, 97, and I all crossed the lake and played on the other side. For three hours. We were very well sun screened though, so no burns! Wow, how great to float, relax, splash, and just play with the girls!

Post-o-riffic

• Way to go shuttle crew! Wish you well on the last space walk.
• Most of my coworkers suck festering wounds.
• Apple is selling a multi-button mouse. Wooo.
• A bunch of Americans were killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq today.
• Those Air France passengers all survived yesterday. Thank God.
• Sam's Club is offering a 1GB flash drive for real cheap. 'Bout time.
• I haven't seen a significant thunderstorm this year. CRAP!
• Brewers lost yesterday in an extra innings, bases loaded WALK.
  Keep on sucking, brew crew.

Never Posting Again

In order to get myself to post here more, I'm declaring that I'll never post again. Never, never, never!!

There, that should do it!

No Marriage = Me Bankrupt

Apparently the marriage of my X has been delayed. Have you ever felt plastic melt in your hands? I am in debt up to my nether regions. Was counting on the extra money (read spousal support) when I moved. Everything I buy, everything I owe, is now going on my credit card. My life is plastic. And it's melting... MELLLLLLLTIIIIIIING!!!

This is Teken on the brink. Life's way too short to worry alot about something as ridiculous as money, but I'm starting to sweat a bit.

X is doing well. The brain growth is shrinking now after the gamma knife. Thank God for the gamma knife. However, she's not getting married on August 5. I understand, but I am very worried. I moved to be closer to the girls and give them a place to live with me that was actually, well, livable. It costs me $275 more a month. It also means going from a walking commute, to a 40 minute car commute which costs me about $240 a month in gas.

I am fully moved, though.

Things at work have gotten interesting. Crack down on wireless internet usage. Crack down on how we log our hours. When I started at MC, my boss said, and I quote, "when I log my hours, I just basically guess. You can do the same.". Well, that's changed.

Kids are great. Today we went to "Sky High". Good movie. Very reminiscent of Harry Potter, but funny. I'd recommend it.

Later!

How 'bout a TEKEN Packers License Plate?

To the World: Cherry, you inspire me. Thanks alot. What a fucking burden. Again, thanks.

};)

Okay, so, for the most important question of the day: should I spend 40 bucks for a vanity Green Bay Packers license plate for the hoopty that reads TEKEN? Huh? Should I? Must I? Oh, I think so. But please, I so love your feedback.

The Teken proginy and I spent five hours swimming at Sunnyvale Park this afternoon. What a blast! Thank you, God, for: 1) Sunscreen, and 2) Banana Boat After Sun. Got my atomic-white skin so burnt last weekend that I needed both this weekend.

No word from X today. Thank you God.

I am way into country music this year. Never thought I'd be there. Never. My current favs are:

Rascal Flats "Fast Cars and Freedom"
"Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On"
"Keg in the Closet"
"That's What I Love About Sundays"
"Hick Town"
...song with lyrics including "you get a line, I'll get a pole, we'll go fishin' at the crawfish hole. Five card poker on Saturday night, church on Sunday mornin'."

Rascal Flatts lead singer sounds like a girl. Ask the fruit of my loins.

Teken Under Siege

Psycho Xs suck. When X dropped off the kids tonight she claimed she "needed to talk to me this weekend". Fuck. That was never good when we were married, and it's not good now. Thinking she had some bone to pick with me, I offered to walk her to her car. Turns out her new beau blew her off for dinner tonight.

For the love of God.

She just found out she has a brain tumor (benign and treatable without carving her skull). And this guy is choosing to bail tonight... FUCK!

She asked my opinion, and I kept it mellow. For every response I was greeted with some rant punctuated with the obligatory "F" explative. In my quiet neighborhood. Shouted at the top of X's lungs. Hi! Nice to meet you, neighbor!

True, he's being a jerk. True, I'd just as soon deck him as look at him after this stunt. Also true though that he might just need a little break from the cling. I just wish he'd exhibit better judgement when establishing boundries. Bad on you, dude.

NEwhoo, it's her problem. And his. (shit, and mine too if they don't marry)

Just glad the X's tumor is getting the gamma knife instead of surgery. Just wish she'd chill and realize that people need to feel a certain amount of freedom, and expect a certain amount of respect. Just wish new beaus could either stick their heads far enough up their ass to see through an open mouth, or just plain see the pain they cause their partner.

Okay, that last sentence is completely stupid, but you get the idea.

Seems so insignificant given what's going on in London and Cuba.

Yipes!

Really busy right now. More bullet points:

• X has a brain tumor, no, not kidding, it's benign, kids are a bit stressed but doing okay
• I'm moved (more or less)
• Love my new place
• Need advice, want to buy a domain, what do you think: machopoodle.com, threwupalittle.com, any other suggestions?

Hate making these posts so infrequent and sparse, but the sheezit is really hitting the fan right now. Could use all y'all's prayers. Please.

Yes, yes, I know...

Bad Machopoodle, BAD!!

You're catching me in the middle of moving. Keeping my job in Marshfield, but moving 40 minutes northeast to Wausau, Wisconsin. Renting a 3-bedroom townhouse to be closer to the kids. Really nice, the girls get their own rooms. Attached garage for my hooptie. Deck. Washer and dryer. 1.5 baths. Thank you God!

Unfortunately, I have to surrender my cats. Kids aren't happy, but they have two of their own to play with. No worries, 'cause they're going back to kitty city, which is a no-kill shelter, and they're bound to find new homes soon.

Preparations today and Friday, major move on Saturday. I'll have to the end of June to move the little stuff.

X will wed in August, which means a big jump in my income. I'm taking a bet, though, because if it falls apart, I'm financially screwed. Say a prayer for the happy couple if you have a minute.

Looked after all five kids (John's three and my two) at a dairy breakfast this last weekend. Yum. Heard later that John's kids thought 94 and 97 have a cool dad. (me brimming with pride).

Later! Hopefully not much later, though...

CHANGE!

Still here. Bullet points, more elaboration to come:

• X is getting remarried in August (more $, yay!)
• I'm moving to Wausau
• Kids are doing well
• Last day of school for Girls is 6/8
• Work is exciting
• Spent Labor Day weekend with family (races, Lambeau, Star Wars)

Much love.

Um... Hi...

Er, hello (hee heh). So, how are you (ahem).

Wow, it's been forever since I last posted. Well, things are going fairly swimmingly. And you don't have it so bad -- it's been that long since I cleaned my apartment, too! Ewwww!!

Post more later.

Daddy: Why?!

Picked up the girls today, and, brain-fart dad that I am, I forgot that tonight was the annual Spring Dance at the elementary school. So Val said "We're getting ready for the Dance!". I said "No, we're not going", and Val was all "buuuuut Daaaaaady (sniffle, snort) YOU PROOOOOOMISED!!! So, of course, I said "sure we'll go!"

It was fun. Playing at the school park before hand, then going in to dance, eat cheesy popcorn and pretzels. Doing the hoola-hoop and the limbo. Absolute magic.

Then we drove back to Marshfield and watched part of "A Series of Unfortunate Events". Now it's bed time. Good night.

Partners in Crime

It was Sunday, a day like any other. Except that it was Emma's second communion, we got to sit (and sing) with the Choir, and make trouble at work.

We went over to my building, which is exactly 1 minute and 57 second's walk from my modest apartment (according to Val's stop watch) and I did some lame work stuff. The girls -- that's right, THEY -- got the idea to pull a few pranks. I love them so!!

First, Joe's orange became his new pencil/pen holder. Bwa ha haaaa! Then we pulled Lisa's mouse cord out of the back of her PC.

Both pranks were emminently successful.

When the girls get married I won't be losing my daughters, but my partners in crime.

Hostage Web Site Apathy

Right. So I found out that web users trying to check out their appointments, going to the clinic web site could be redirected to a vagabond web site if they forgot to put a period between "my" and "(the name of our site)". I brought this to the attention of our support team, and they were all like "who cares". Well, shit, I do, since I discovered it.

The bogus website misleads users into thinking they're at our site. My suggestion was "let's buy the domain".

The response from the "support" team was"that users need to learn to type the right URL"! Not cool. This is an easy mistake for our customers to make. Then the "support" team gave me all sorts of hell over my suggestion.

I love every member of the "support" team dearly. Even now.

Turns out to be a known issue. I placed a bet with the team that this would result in us buying the domain.

I know I'm right... I hope.

Oh, BTW, Bo Bice will SOOO win Idol.

Droppin' PLATES

Tania, a coworker, left early yesterday, so I had to play a trick on her. Mandatory!

She had a stack of bright red plastic plates in her drawer. I spread them out over her desk, like a tea party. Even tacked one to her wall. Her roomy thought it would be good to put water in each plate, but I resisted. She didn't see them until today. I also spread her Carmex on the space bar of her keyboard. This is what computer geeks do. What can I say. Oh, I also opened her ubrella and put it on her desk.

Anywhooo, her reaction to the plates was awesome. She was like "Singing In The Rain". She tried to tell me that the Carmex ruined her keyboard. Nice try.

Today I put lip balm on Joe's planner. Let's wait to see what happens there...

Not about my life! Sort of...

Okay, a break from my autobiography.

It was Emma's first communion yesterday. I use the following word sparingly: She was precious. Hats off to X for dolling her up so well. And big Kudos to Emma for being so earnest and excited!

It was magical seeing her up their with the priest and all the other communicants.

Unfortunately, I was asked to bow-out of the after party, so I went straight home. But the time with the girls was awesome.

It was nice seeing Brian, Steve, and their wives again.

My Life, Part 3

I'm not gonna get too deep into the divorce thing, but I'll detail the marriage.

X and I were married in 1989. We had a great courtship. She converted me to Catholicism, which I still practice today, so for that I'm in her debt. I had tried all sorts of Christian religions, but this one seemed true.

We lived in a Wisconsin Rapids apartment for a while until she got called away to be a K-Mart manager in Burlington. I was still in college, beginning my year-long internship (no pay, so I had to work a full-time job) in Oshkosh. That year was hell; a foaming, seething, inferno of pain. I would visit our apartment in Burlington on weekends.

After that year was over, I got a nursing home adminitrator job in Port Washington, so I spent a year commuting through Milwaukee traffic until we moved to Port Washington. Ironically, she then got a job in south Milwaukee, so she did the commuting.

We had a vacation to California to see her parents, and, before I left, I responded to an offer of employment in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. When we got back, I was refreshed, and there was a message on the machine that the Mineral Point nursing home people wanted to talk to me.

Got the job and moved to Dodgeville, Wisconsin. The job was good. I got really involved in the community and helped found the "Point Forward" committee, which I chaired. This group got Mineral Point into the Main Street program as the first small community in the nation. I was also the president of the local Kiwanis Club. X and I had 94 at Dodgeville Hospital in 1994.

Later, my Dad phoned and wondered if I wanted his job at Peabody Manor in Appleton, Wisconsin. Hell yeah! Got the job and moved back to Appleton. Our apartment in Dodgeville burned down a month after we left.

To be continuted...

My Life Continued

Forgot to tell you that as a kid I was allergic to everything. Seriously: sunlight, mown grass, pets, chocolate, seafood. SEAFOOD! Convulsions, puking, the whole nine yards. I got shots twice a week to cure me. They worked! Oh, you know that test where they put a grid on your back and poke you with a needle containing allergens? Not when I was a kid. Instead of needles, I was cut for each allergen. I looked like a whipped slave when it was over.
Felt like one, too.

Anyway, after my shoplifting stage, I joined a local Drum and Bugle Corps. The Americanos. VIVA!! Spent money to tour the country sleeping on gym floors and marching in woolen uniforms in the hot, humid Wisconsin summers. Did it for four years. It was awesome!

Junior and senior high school were hell for me. Made most of my friends and girl friends in Drum Corps, so I caught alot of hell from peers in school for not belonging to any cliques.

I was asked to perform with two local symphony orchestras, though, and that led to an invitation to attend Lawrence University (in Appleton). Their conservatory is pretty renowned. I am a percussionist, and spent two years at Lawrence. It got way too political for me, though, so I quit. Sorry Mom and Dad, but I love music deeply in a personal way, so I couldn't do it just for the money. Who gives a crap what Bach and Beethoven did, and to hell with you if you think I'm going to do it that way.

So I went to a local two-year college and then to the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire to earn my bachellor's degree in Health Care Administration. In total it took me 7 years to earn a bachellor's degree. Gulp.

I spent 13 years running nursing homes and got burnt out. OMG. Not a job you want, even at 70K plus a year.

I took a 50% pay cut to pursue my current career as a computer geek. The pay got better, but not by much. It ain't about the money -- trust me on this one.

I'll get into the whole marriage/divorce thing later.

EXCUUUUUUSE, MEEEEEEEE!

(thank you Steve Martin)

Why am I being so reflective lately? Don't know. Deal with it!

I'll get back to posting about the offspring soon. Hope I'm not boring you.

By the way, they're both completely addicted to this blog, and want to know who this "Cherry person" is. Take it as a compliment, Cherry!!

My Life

Right. A weighty title for this entry, but I'll give you a sketch.

I was born a poor black child.

Alright, not really. I was born in Appleton, Wisconsin very premature. I'm told my grandfather Erwin took one look at me and exclaimed I wouldn't make it. He always used to give me dollar bills as I grew up, much to my parent's disdain. "He needs to learn the value of a dollar" said my dad.

I apparently had a penchant for trouble as a toddler. I remember standing in the window of our Wisconsin Court house yelling at our cross-street neighbor (an elderly man) "is anybody home Mr. Watson says says says...". He must have dreaded going to work each day, waiting for the inevitable wailing.

Though I don't remember, I guess I tried crawling up my dresser and tipped the whole thing over onto myself. I also allegedly loved to crawl under my crib and hook my feet into the springs, thus suspending myself.

Many a toddler day was spent with me in our Carroll Street home in my Doctor Denton PJs, sitting cross-legged in front of a heating vent. There are pictures, but I don't have them right now.

I was a latch-key kid, and, with my older sister Michelle, we spent many evenings alone. Dad with his nursing home, Mom working at the hospital as an LPN.

My elementary school friend and I thought it funny to let the air out of the tires of a car parked near the school. Now, we used thumb tacks to hold the air valves open. No harm ever came to the tires. Turns out the car belonged to the cheif of police in Appleton. Crap. It's the only time my Dad ever hit me in the face (open handed and he felt terrible). What was I thinking?

I found shoplifting as a hobby, and got caught twice: Once at Prange's and once at the local Park 'n Market. Ooops.

Growing older, I spent alot of time with my female cousins in Door County, at our "cabin". We had a coupla acres of land, and my cousins and I used to spend hours playing "Star Trek". I would alternately rescue the girls from intrepid alien threats. Made phasers out of makeup compacts, and communicators too.

I befriended two Door County boys along the way. We got into trouble. They kept a Jeep in an storage shed, and one day we decided to check it out. There was a gallon of fuel in a jug in the front seat. Of course the shed was totally dark, so we used a lighter to check out the contents of the jug. WHOOOOOOSH!! Apparently fuel is not very appreciative of an open flame.

Me and my Door County friends got into other trouble, smashing headlights on old derilect tractors and the like.

Here's the weird part: These same two boys vandelized our house in Door County, breaking anything breakable, and flooding the house by putting rocks in the sinks and starting the faucets. Still don't know what they were thinking.

Enough for now.