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Showing posts with the label vacation

True Story©… My Life in (Bad) Timing

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  … and we’re back!        It should be noted that I spend roughly a third of my time alone with my dogs.  Wife Person™ leaves for work at 7am, and twenty minutes later I take Ava to my mom to drop off at school, from which she will also be the one to pick her up.  I am out and back before I clock in by 8am.  I am in the house by myself until Wife Person™ returns at about 4.  Carve out the eighty minutes I spend exercising before waking them and I’m alone with the boys 11.5 hours a day five days a week and there went 57.5 of 168 hours.      It is further noteworthy that middle-child-by-birth-order life has already instilled me with the social awkwardness that allows one to become their own favorite company.  I say that to say that social cues have and likely will never be my thing, and that working from home will prove to have done nothing to fix this. Anyway…      Despite my normal isolation and my absolute comfort with it, so long as there is music, a podcast or some combination of

True Story©… Gullible’s Travels

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       Thursday of last week was my birthday… I say that to say that I was off celebrating.      Next week is my daughter’s birthday.   For the first time in her whole life, she will not be with me on her birthday.   She will be with my ex wife a woman I had a wedding with once.   I say that to say that we are celebrating this week/end instead.      Wife person came up with the idea that we jump over to Sweet Valley Ranch in Fayetteville for the dinosaur thing today, I can report back on my findings when we’ve done it.      The point of this story is yesterday though… We had to clear the front room of the house before we left to prepare it for some contractors to come through and do their thing on our floors, then take the dogs to the sitter’s place, then grab one more niece and hit the road.   Only a 90ish minute trip to the destination and there we are. This is where the shit gets crazy.      We arrive to the hotel and I am unloading the back of the wagon and the kids wh

True Story©… The Mystery of Soapboxin’

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       Have shenanigans, will travel… It is spring break and since my daughter is with me and not the woman I had a wedding with once her mother, my wife and I make a point of doing things with her and my great niece, so I took the week off like they got so I am not the only asshole in the house telling everyone to pipe down because I am working and they are not.      Back when outside was open, a thing to do was go and park downtown and walk around.   While there one could eat good, people watch, score drinks and/or dessert.   I have even seen people find their forever mate and/or religion. Speaking of “religion,” you could count on the Hebrew Israelites standing in front of the Civil Rights Museum and SCREAMING at white people (and not-black-enough black people) as they walked by just trying to get a taco on the next block.   Before ‘Rona, Ava used to get her done hair across the street from this amazing spectacle, so sometimes I had to park RIGHT in front of it when picking he

Pause and Eject--... No, Reset!

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     Aside from what is already in the queue scheduled, I am done with my postings for the year.      It has been a great year full of laughs, wonderful food, fun stories, funny raps from the so-called president and various other things.  The exercise of writing has been cathartic to me.  2018 will promise to bring more of the same.      This isn’t to say I won’t be WRITING during this last two weeks, just that I won’t be posting what I write until January. I’m tired, but I am tired from being tired, I am far from tired of writing.      My queue consists of Thursday and Sunday postings.  Tuesday and Wednesdays require last-days writing and a different process than I am willing to take time away from my family to leg out these holidays for right now.      See y’all January 1 st !

"I'm on a boat," pt VII - the 'homeward bound' edition.

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I left you on the last one kind of abruptly, but I left that day kind of abruptly myself, and I would be damned for it. No big deal, I fall asleep often when I have been up and physically exerting myself. ... 0030 - Back up from my little nap, the game is now in the 3rd and the Lakers are up 9. [ Phlip note - You didn't REALLY think I would leave you hanging, did you?] 0052 - The Heat are making a run for it and have gone up late in the 4th quarter. 0108 - 'Foul and play your ass off' strategy employed and the Lakers are within 3-5 points. Derek Fisher 3 brings the game to within 1, Miami hits another free throw and are up 2... 0115 - 3.2 seconds remaining, NO question who gets the ball here. [ Phlip note - Miami SHOULD have fouled him, lol] One dribble, two dribble, off-balance and fading to the weak side... HO-LEE-SHEEIT!!! Kobe Bean Bryant for 2009-2010 MVP. 0119 - Back to bed, dammit. ... and now we can get back to business here, no? 12/05/2009 Final Day at Sea 0

"I'm on a boat," pt VI, the 'last port of call' edition

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This is to be our last "stop" on this trip, and it is to another place that I have been before, but again this should not be a problem at all, as I enjoyed my time here the first time. Luckily, it was not as hot this time as it had been 2 years prior. Having been here also provided the enviable position of knowing generally where shit was as well, making navigation of the very small area we were situated in quite easy as well. 12/04/2009 Cozumel, Mexico 0846 - Awake and into el bano, not due to arrive until about 10am, but the map on channel 19 tells me that we're close and are actually slowing down as if close to port. 0930 - Breakfast buffet. I am still less than thrilled at the fact that I cannot find any real cheese on this fuxing buffet. On our way in to the cafe, Linda and Cornelia were already on their way down to the gangway to get the city out of the way. 1000 - So, this is how it goes... I knew this 2 years ago when I was on the Carnival Valor this same week.

"I'm on a boat," pt V - the mid-week edition

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Grand Cayman... It is where your favorite crooked Wall Streeter is storing your bailout money. Laugh to keep from crying at that, because it is absolutely true. For such a small island, there are a LOT of nice cars here, and that is to say "nice" by your standards OR my own. Not a lot of lead in to this one, as I have actually been to this port once before and know what to expect of it. Trudging through to it in spite of should speak to the fact that I liked what we will be up against here, even if I DON'T have a ton of pocket money to play with here. 12/03/2009 Georgetown, Grand Cayman 0808 - Wake up, use bathroom and notice that the ship doesn't feel like it is moving right now... Strange, we're not supposed to arrive til like 9am. Turn on the TV to the channel showing our course and confirmation that we're not moving is reached. Fine, let's get ready for breakfast and get ready to hop a tender over to the island. *Pause button* For those of you unfamili