OMG!

OK so i finally decided (after a lot of internal conflict and soul searching) to take my fifteen year old daughter to the clinic for a check-up and to have her put "on birth control", talk about a scary prospect! I decided better safe than sorry! While she claims to still be a virgin she has gotten serious enough with this latest jerk that i decided i was way too young to be a grandfather. I also wanted her to hear the stats about V.D. and other various and assorted problems from a health professional (As i tend to think once i start speaking in the "father" tone she switches "off") while she was a captive audience (if you understand what i mean)...lol. While i realize the fact that she is on birth control now might sway her decision to experiment with sex sooner rather than later i finally told myself it was the right/sane thing to do. Is it odd far a Father to wish his daughter to be a lesbian? When seeking advice from my own father he simply stated that all you can do is hope that what you have taught them sticks when your not around, that you need to be there for them when they come to you to talk and to try and provide an atmosphere that encourages communication by being non-judgemental. Wow talk about a tall order.....I have told her on many many occasions that she can talk to me about anything and that yes i may get upset but that i would do my best to understand and help. I really wish being a parent came with an instruction manual, but knowing my luck it would be in Japanese...lol

Whoever said life gets easier with age...lied

Later...

Ghost Rider Freak! (Geek)

Well According to the synopsis of the film released by Sony, Ghost Rider works as a bounty hunter chasing down rouge demons for the devil. uggghhh! In the original story line Johnny Blaze was the son of stunt motorcyclist Barton Blaze, the top attraction at Crash Simpson's Daredevil Cycle Show. The Elder Blaze was killed performing a dangerous stunt, and Johnny, now an orphan (his mother Clara having died shortly after his birth), was adopted by Crash Simpson and his wife Mona. At first frightened of motorcycles, Blaze soon conquered his fear and became an accomplished amateur motorcyclist. Blaze practiced stunt riding on his own, and became romantically involved with his stepsister Roxanne Simpson. Blaze also began to take interest in the occult. Just when then the Simpson Cycle Show was about to get a chance at fame with a booking at New York City's Madison Square Garden, Crash Simpson learned that he was dying of a rare blood disease. Desperate to save his stepfather, Blaze performed a ritual to summon up the "devil," whom Blaze believed to be the Biblical Satan but was actually the demon lord Mephisto. Mephisto agreed to save Simpson from his fatal disease in return for Blaze's soul. At Madison Square Garden, Crash Simpson performed the greatest stunt of his career, a cycle jump over 22 cars widths, and crashed to his death. Blaze was shocked, since he believed the "devil" would protect his stepfather. When Mephisto appeared to collect Blaze's soul, the demon explained that only promised to save Simpson from the disease, and nothing more. However, before Mephisto could take Blaze's soul, Roxanne Simpson arrived and recited a spell of banishment she read in one of Blaze's occult books. Mephisto was forced to leave without Blaze's soul, but was able to graft the essence of the demon Zarathos to Blaze's body. Zarathos was a demon who attacked human souls. In order to capture Zarathos, many centuries ago Mephisto stole the soul of an American Indian now known as Centurious. When Zarathos' attacked on Centurious therefore proved ineffective, the demon's followers lost faith in him. Mephisto then stole the living flames that was Zarathos' soul. Over the centuries Mephisto amused himself by placing the essence of Zarathos within various human hosts. Johnny Blaze was the latest of these. Blaze was unaware of the separate consciousness of the being that dwell ed within him, and believed that the demonic personality was a sinister side of his own personality. At first the demon manifested itself every nightfall, mystically burning Blaze's flesh to become a fiery skeletal being. Using his demonic hellfire to create a fiery motorcycle to ride, the composite Zarathos-Blaze entity became publicly known as the Ghost Rider. Whenever the Ghost Rider returned to human form, Blaze's flesh would immediately restore. At first Johnny Blaze dominated the Ghost Rider's personality. After a few months, Blaze's automatic transformations at nightfall ended. He then became the Ghost Rider whenever he mystically sensed "evil" in his vicinity. Later, Blaze was able to control his transformations as well as the actions of the demon when it manifested itself. It was during this period that the Ghost Rider became a member of the Champions of Los Angeles, a short-lived group of superhuman adventurers. But the more Blaze became the Ghost Rider, the stronger the demon became. Eventually Zarathos tried to take control of their composite form. Blaze no longer summoned the demon within him to help him accomplish his ends, such as fighting crime. Instead, Blaze valiantly struggled to prevent Zarathos from taking control and wreaking havoc. Centurious still lived and sought vengeance on Zarathos for being the reason why he lost his soul (as well as revenge his girlfriend who had been sacraficed to Zarathos). Centurious entrapped Blaze's soul within his "crystal of souls" and then defeated Zarathos. Zarathos cracked open the crystal, releasing Blaze's soul and many others, and entrapping Centurious within the crystal when it mystically resealed. An associate of Centurious offered to send Zarathos into the crystal to take vengeance, and the demon agreed. Zarathos' essence was sucked out of Blaze's body into the crystal, where Zarathos grapples eternally with Centurious, neither able to defeat the other. Johnny Blaze thus been permanently freed his bond to Zarathos. Blaze and Roxanne Simpson traveled through America together by motorcycle. then they (Marvel Comics) did away with the character after 81 issues, much to my and many other peoples protest....(Including the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club) years later they brought him back in another incarnation during the rise of the Midnight Sons storyline. The Ghost Rider roared to life once again when a teenager Dan Ketch and his sister, Barbara, chanced upon the illegal activities of the crime lord Deathwatch. The siblings attempted to escape, but Barbara Ketch was mortally wounded. Soaked in blood after dragging his sister's body into a trash heap, Dan Ketch came across a mysterious, mystical motorcycle. Touching its glowing gas cap (actually a mystic amulet), he stood transformed into the Spirit of Vengeance. Ghost Rider's return attracted the attention of Blaze, who believed him to be Zarathos. Blaze set out to exorcise the demon, thereby liberating its hapless host. But when Ghost Rider convinced his predecessor he was not Zarathos, the two became allies. Later, Blaze and Ketch learned they were long-lost brothers (the whole family was cursed by the way) Eventually losing his wife and children, Blaze again finds himself possessed by the demon Zarathos (Long story). And so Ghost Rider -- blood-born Spirit of Vengeance, High Lord of Hell on Earth -- haunts America's highways, visiting his righteous wrath upon the souls of the wicked and the damned. (geek I tell you). OK so now all of you know way more than you ever wanted to know about a childhood hero of mine, i just hope the movie does the character some justice. I'm not encouraged by the previews so far. However i had to eat my words when Tim Burtons' Batman came out as well as Neil Jordans' Inteview with the Vampire.

also..other tidbits the Ghost Rider, Blaze possessed superhuman strength, enabling him to lift (press) about 5 tons, and immunity to must forms of conventional injury. He could create mystic "hellfire" that could harm or traumatize a human soul, and with which he created a fiery motorcycle he rode. Blaze possessed none of these powers in human form. Johnny Blaze is one of the greatest living stunt motorcyclists (hence the flaming motorcycle). He has some knowledge of the occult, but has forsworn using it.

OK so I bit the bullet and went to see the film today with my eight year old son in tow...I explained the story to him before we went and told him i had read all the reviews and i wasn't expecting much. Well I have to eat my words......the movie is a bit campy in parts and was obviously written for a young to teenage male audience, but it was fucking great. While Nicholas cage does not exactly fit the comic book visual for Johnny Blaze and even though his approach was a bit odd (puts me in mind of Peggy sue got married) he was awesome. The special affects were top notch...and even though the really screwed up the mythology of the character by blending old and new story lines...the movie actually did justice to the character. And I have to tell you i literally transformed into an eight year old myself siting there in that dark theater watching one of my childhood heroes come to life and roar off the comic book page on to that big screen. Girls probably won't like it but if you even slightly enjoy comics go see this film.

after we left the film all jazzed up we went over to the toy store and bought a few Ghost Rider Toys...and then we popped into the local Comic book store to discover there is a new Ghost Rider series out. We bought all eight issues to catch us up to current and flew home to play and read. It is nice to share something near and dear to me from my childhood with my child.... Maybe someday he will remember and share with his child. (I can only hope)

Later...I have a toy motorcyle to play with...lol

Teenage Girls are all Insane!

So i get up this morning after having only 3 1/2 to 4 hours of sleep and realize my daughter has had a slumber party....There are five teenage girls here...yes i said five. I should have figured it out when i pulled into the driveway at 3:00 a.m. and found my 100 foot extension cord plugged into the outside wall and a boom box at the other end of it in 30 degree weather....lol but it is an improvement over the bleak outlook she has had over the past few weeks. I guess since i don't have a vagina i don't get it...I really cannot understand why girls spend so much time grieving over these lazy stupid useless piece of shit boys, who aren't worth one ounce of their tears.

Back to my original thought...Teenage girls are all Insane.

Later...

Strange Trip?

Ever have one of those weeks where you should have just stayed in the bed? Man I have, I won't go into the details; but i would much rather have skipped the majority of last week entirely. Me and the kiddos went on a very long road trip today. We were in the truck for almost the entire day. We drove halfway across the state of Texas to pick up snakes that ended up being very sick. It amazes me that people will spend upwards of $400.00 dollars on a reptile and then not do what it takes to keep them healthy, the thing that kills me is that i have spoken with the guys several times over the past two weeks as well as by e-mail and never mentioned that the animals in question were covered in parasites and had several layers of stuck shed on their bodies. Naturally I'm a dumb ass and brought them home anyway...Hopefully the vet bill won't kill me....

My daughter was actually a very suitable companion today considering her recent mood. It amazes me that she is so into "my music" at least in that arena we don't have much of a problem...we just enjoyed the ride and listened to tunes most of the day. We stopped a few times to pick up junk food etc. and even though it made for a very long day I had fun, which is more than i can say for myself in a long time.

We spent the rest of the evening picking mites off of reptiles and chowing down on burgers...all in all a good day.

Later...

The Past Week

The past week to say the least has been busy and somewhat surreal. My daughter is still nursing her wounds from her break-up with jerk-boy. I wish there was some way to regulate teenagers hormones...lol I wish there was someway to take away her hurt but it is basically a "no win" situation if i try to console her i'm bugging her and making it worse...if i leave her alone the i don't care about her...so i have to find a happy medium for both of us. We are also in the process of letting go of some of the animals in our collection to give us more time for other endeavors. While i hate to see them go, it will allow me to spend more time with my children and my wife, which in the grand scheme of things is much more important. I loaned some of our adult female Ball Pythons to a friend so that he can pair them up with one of his co-dom males. I also managed to pick up a few new babies in the process. The first one is a "Nabire type" Green Tree Python which was just too good a deal for me to pass up even though i wasn't looking to pick up another one until i could determine the sex of the mainland "Wamena type" that i picked up a few months ago. The second one is a "Jungle Type" carpet python which i picked up to go with the intergrade coastal x jungle that i already own. Tyler and I had a fairly good weekend, we spent several hours in the truck on a road trip talking and listening to music, and yesterday we tossed the football around for about an hour. He gave me a lot of crap at bed time on Sunday..he has been doing that a lot lately he attitude seems to be getting worse when he gets disappointed. I need to find a way to channel these little outbursts. As a result i made him go to bed earlier tonight that seemed to get the message across. Work sucks lately...the few people that i seemed to have any kind of simpatico with have found better jobs or quit, leaving me behind. I would dearly love to quit but i can't find a job that pays what i make in my area. The animals of the four legged variety seem to be acting strange around here as of late, they have been much more affectionate and right up our asses. oh well life could be worse.

Later...

Universe and Messages!

OK so my daughter and her boyfriend broke up...I'm of two minds about it I glad to see the turd go but at the same time i hate that she hurts....(she has too much to accomplish to worry about boys anyway I need a Vet in the family...lol)

She had her wallet with $30.00 bucks in it stolen, along with her cell phone (what a nightmare that's going to be....already called and cancelled the service to her #...now the cost of replacing it)

on the plus side she won a medal for her OAP, and a snake deal i had in the works has apparently come through...not to mention My amazon tree boas, and the wife's' spotted pythons and her Beauty snakes have been knocking boots for some time so, maybe we will have some hatchlings this year after all...

My dog has vanished we have not seen him for a few days now, this seems to be a pattern here with dogs going missing out here in the boonies (this is the second one to go missing I did however find the first one dead from an apparent snake bite)

the wife has been so tired from her new work duties that i have literally only spent 3 hours with her in the last two days (which really sucks..unlike some husbands i actually enjoy my wife's company we were friends first after all)

The son (Tyler) and i spent the day piddling around town checking out stuff for the gals for Valentines Day and shopping for lumber to build new snake cages with, and helping me wash and dry some cypress for some cages i had already built and needed to finish. I also showed him a couple of judo take downs which his mother wasn't to happy about but her a little bonding never hurt anything...lol. He was a huge help in the snake room on Saturday cut my cleaning and feeding time down to 4 hours instead of 6....I gave him a dollar coin which he spent today poor kid just like me burning a hole in his pocket gotta spend it!)

all in all a typical weekend here at the old homestead...lol

Later...

Life in General

I constantly hear teenagers remark that adults don't have a clue how hard life is for them in today's society....lol seriously try being a parent in today's society....

When I was a kid i took off at fist light and as long as i was home for dinner me and mom were cool, she had no idea where i was or what i was doing.....today I make my daughter call me every couple of hours and tell me where she is, what she is doing, and who she is with (without running up my cell bill to the level of the national deficit). I have to constantly monitor her computer habits to make sure she isn't being stalked in a chat room or downloading a virus onto the computer that is supposed to make my life easier.....she has "friends" that are 13 and 14 having babies...."friends" that have already overdosed or being arrested for being drunk in public, or running away from home cause their second or third step dad is beating the shit out of them, and friends that are making themselves throw up cause they think they are too fat.

I have to trust that what i have taught her and warned her about have taken hold and have been understood because lets face it i can't be with her every second of every day can i? but hopefully my words are.

She called her mom last night saying that she and her boyfriend "broke-up"....I had to stop myself from doing the happy dance for a minute and consider things from her viewpoint. This is her first "real" crush and i can remember first real break-up and it sucked! but at the same time she is 15 and she has her whole life and plenty of boys ahead of her. I mean seriously in a few months is going to make one bit of difference? it might but i seriously doubt it. Teenagers seem to forget that we were once their age, and we lived through it to get to where we are today!

She is involved in the drama department at school and her group won first place at their OAP today she called very happy and excited..It was nice to hear her happy for a change.

Being a teenager is hard?....try being a Father....

Later...

New Day

Well I had a much better day today I didn't hate the world when i opened my eyes.....

Spent most of the day cleaning cages and feeding my babies...I love spending time in the snake room for the most part.

My daughter actually did her chores today without having to be reminded or told it was a bright spot for a moment until i realized she wanted something....ah teenagers gotta love em'

I made one of my famous dishes for dinner tonight....I start with a boneless whole chicken breast which i pan sear, then i stuff it with caramelized sweet onions, sugar cured bacon, and portabello mushrooms and smoked provolone and bake. Once out of the oven i top it off with a special honey mustard vidilia onion sauce. The wife says it almost as good as sex..lol

i'm sitting here watching Rob Zombies' House of a Thousand Corpses....i had to watch it a few times to appreciate it...the first time around i thought it was a simple shock flick....however about the third time around i begin to see under the exterior and see things i didn't see before....

I'm going to go now and climb into the warm bed with my wife before she gets up to get ready for work and prepare to deal with the next day.

later...

Cold

I'm beginning to understand my father just a little.....I never could figure out why he never wanted to come home from work and now i think i know why. He wasn't important at home. What i mean by that is the house ran without him. Mom did the house work, i mowed the lawn and took out the trash and fed the dogs, my siblings had their own chores etc. in essence all he was required to do was bring home a paycheck and do the occasional "honey do". At work he was important, he mattered, he had a purpose and a function. Sometimes i would go for a week or so and never see him. I never understood why he got upset when we all went to do our things...and now i know, he was never included or asked to be included because we all assumed he would be working. He wanted to do things with us but by that time we had all made plans which obviously didn't include him because he was at work!

well now i'm wearing that same hat...shit happens around here and i don't find out about it until after its happened...when i am home I'm in the way here because they have their activities already planned. And they can't seem to understand why i get upset when these plans don't fit around my schedule....they simply just don't consider me as important. My son threw a hissy fit today because i asked him to get off the computer so i could check my e-mail and bank account before i had to go to work...he had the entire rest of the day to play his video games....but because i interrupted his schedule he became upset, i ended up having to spank him and ground him from the computer....when all i needed was 15 minutes.....great way to start my day....but its just an example...my dughter is at that age where she never wants to be home which is fine i suppose, except she expects me to drop everything i'm doing on my days off to be a taxi driver and cater to her every whim, forget the fact that i'm at home doing shit nobody else would do while i was at work, including her chores which she didn't bother to do before she left.

I only get to see my wife about 20 to 25 hours a week and she dosen't seem to understand why i get bent out of shape when she makes plans to do other things during the only time i get to see her...apparently she doesn't feel the same way about me that i do about her. Apparently i'm not supposed to have feelings, wants, wishes, desires, or opinions on anything in their lives and when i happen to voice one i'm instantly an asshole. Simply because i wasn't here i'm not supposed to become involved in discipline or anything else around the house except laundry, dishes, paying the bills, or driving friends home.

no one should feel like i feel now, i wouldn't wish this feeling on anyone. I feel invisible, unimportant, unwanted, and useless. It sucks, i guess i'm doomed to be my father.... work myself to death and have nothing to show for it. He now spends his time off sitting in his easy chair in front of the television with a diet caffeine free Dr. Pepper (high blood pressure) in one hand and a cigar in the other being ignored. I don't go to visit him very often as i don't feel comfortable talking to him we are just to far apart now but apparently have much more in common than i thought.

I don't know why i write this shit nobody reads it and nobody cares. If i didn't come home how long would it take before they noticed? they don't seem to miss me now would they notice at all?
oh well....at least they miss me at work...when i'm not there the shit piles up...they notice that.

Still Raining

My Daughter had her 15th birthday tonight and I had to work so i missed the whole damn thing...story of my life (and there is no cake left)

Once when i was a small child i went shopping with my mother, we went to sears and i had a bad habit of climbing into the middle of those circular clothing racks to hide...i did it all the time and as long as i didn't pull down any of the clothes no one really seemed to mind. On this particular outing however my mother went into one of the dressing rooms to try on some clothes and i lost her...suddenly a world that used to make sense and a world that felt safe and secure was frightening and lonely as hell.....I remember that day vividly! eventually my mother found me and everything was right with the world again. I feel that way now, I feel lost and disconnected. I feel like a puzzle piece that doesn't fit. I feel like a stranger in my own life. I seem to just be going through the motions most days.

on a bright note i did amuse myself this weekend with a new toy. My daughter got a 2 gig MP3 player for Christmas and naturally my son wants to be cool like his big sister. So as we were out shopping for her birthday this weekend i spotted a USB flash drive/MP3 player combo on clearance so i bought two (hey they were a really good price) basically you just plug it into your USB slot open your windows media player and drag and drop the songs you want onto the drive. It only holds about 60 songs but it made him happy and it was very easy to use, he can even make his own play lists and put them on himself without the hassle of converting files etc. so i travelled a little down memory lane and made my own play lists. Its a cool little gadget and i can plug it into my car stereo..best 15.00 bucks i have ever spent so far.

also one of the new snakes i have been stressing over finally ate!

maybe my mood will improve when the rain finally stops

maybe i just don't deserve to be happy

somedays if it weren't for the kids or my wonderful wife i'm sure i might not make it

Later...

Rain

Ok so i have been in a bit of a funk lately.....nothing seems as bright, as shiny or as warm as it was before....I don't seem to get as much satisfaction from my favorite things anymore...some days i simply just don't want to leave my bed. I could blame it on the rain and I'm sure it does have a little to do with my bad mood but it's not the only cause...

A gentle rain,

awakens me from my

darkened stupor.

An electric display answers

my epileptic nightmare

of word stream.

I perform

a centuries old ritual

a ballet of pain

with each step

a loss of balance

definitions become blurred

with the use of a hammer and chisel

a state of seeming bedlam

and confused animation

Cryptic designs

crowd the blackness

of my room

An unexpected knock at the door

a sinister second glance

out the window

something is broke inside...

Later i hope...

OK So it has been quite some time

So shoot me I have been busy....not really lol. I have had a lot to actually blog about however I have been way to invested in these particular topics to put my true and honest feelings down without sounding like a madman. We had a good Yule, My daughter made out like a bandit she got a 2 gig MP3 player as well as a new cell phone (Yes I'm insane i gave a cell phone to a teenage girl..lol). My son Tyler got a new bike as his old one was too small for him these days and his grandmother bought him ramps, platforms and rails to feed his skating habit (which means we don't have to carry him down to the skate park everyday). He also ended up with five different magic kits as his current hero is Chris Angel...he runs around making things vanish and making me pick cards it is cute and just a little annoying. The wife ended up with a new leather coat, and a few new pieces of jewelry which she is still wearing (means she must like them..lol). I got some new jeans and socks (which i really needed...lol) as well as a Cold Steel sword cane (i know but i have always wanted one even if i am only 37 and can't get away with carrying it around just yet...I'm just getting a jump on the future...lol). Work sucks as usual...and everybody here at the house thinks I'm an asshole so.....same old shit different year.

I'll have something good to post about next time i promise!

Later...

OK well I just sat down and watched Clerks II. I have to say that since i heard Kevin Smith was making this film i had mixed feelings about it. After all in the original version of Clerks (not the studio version) Dante died! aside from that i have to admit i miss seeing Jay and Silent Bob..they are like and old pair of jeans or and old blanket that you just love and can't quite seem to get rid of no matter how old or worn out they get..these two never cease to make me laugh, and the original clerks is one of my all-time favorite films so why would he want to fuck with perfection? Is he out to make a buck? (although Mallrats is a close second). So anyway I hummed and hawed over it and finally said WTF i will get it and see what the man has wrought. On a side note i ran in to Kevin a few years ago at the San Diego Comic Con when he was there promoting one of his many projects, and I was there trying to pimp a small unknown "indie" comic that i wrote that never went anywhere..lol (Even though my now ex-friend and penciler went on to work for Alan Moore...long story) he is a super nice guy, very down to earth and quite funny i might ad, not to mention he was outside smoking with the "normal people" no attitude like you find in most of the movie and comic types with a household name, which makes me like his work even more but i digress......OK back to the review. While i don't think anyone outside the Askew universe will find the film as satisfying as me, it has its moments. Overall i was very happy with the film, it was good to see that there was finally some closure given to these characters, Randall as always funny as hell and says it like he sees it, Dante was no where near as pathetic as he was in the original, and while i would have like to have seen Jay and Bob get more face time...the movie is really about the relationship between Randall and Dante and i suspect in some way on some level about Kevin and Scott's' relationship as well. I was just a little put off that there wasn't a least one "snootchie" or "snoogins" in the film. If you are a fan of Kevin's' work you can't miss this movie. If your not a fan you will laugh but may not understand the inner workings of the film (Which means you will have to go rent clerks! and if you haven't hand over the keys to your Beemer, take off the polo shirt, get off the ex-cheer leader, put down the tennis racket and get a life cause this shit is funny, albeit in a very male potty humor kind of way i have friends who are these guys, by the way my wife hates them..lol) bottom line see the film its like having a cigarette after great sex! Thanks Kevin I enjoyed myself and its obvious you are a movie fan as well as a director keep up the good work and i'll keep going to see your endeavors. By the way I thought you got screwed with the whole Jersey Girl thing...it was a good, cute movie and i totally got what you were trying to do (just stay way from Ben in the future...lol) oh and the Pillowpants bit had me rolling on the floor for like 20 minutes!

oh and by the way check this out http://www.viewaskew.com/

later...

I am Old!

Ok so my cell contract with my carrier expires this month so, the wife and i decide to re-up and get new phones. Now i don't know how many of you have gone cell phone shopping recently but things have SERIOUSLY changed in the last two years. After 30 minutes in the cell store i was ready to choke somebody...Dual mode, Tri-mode, Quad mode, GSM, Digital, Analog, Blue-tooth. (Do i really need a little piece of plastic and silicone sticking out of my ear simply beacuse i'm too lazy to actually answer the actual phone? Blue what?) Not to mention a whole host of other features...V-cast, Push to talk, GPS, MP-3, VGA camera phone with 4x zoom ,Bluetooth® wireless capable up to 30 feet, Multimedia messaging - Send text, video & photos , Live video capture and playback, Digital audio music player, Clear full-duplex speakerphone, Push to Talk with up to 30 people at once, Sturdy compact design with internal antenna, Media Net internet browsing - one button access, Download Music Tone, ringtones, graphics and games, Instant messaging - AOL®, MSN®, Yahoo! and ICQ®, Mobile email access for POP3 email, Voice dialing and voice memo (are my fingers broke I can't push a button?), Quick iTAP predictive text input (what i can't type or spell anymore?), Unique picture and ringer ID (do i need to see a picture of my great Aunt Clara staring at me in my display to know it is her calling?), wash your underwear, walk your dog, have sex with your wife, babysit your children......blah blah blah blah. Ok I want to be able to make a phone call that's what a phone is for yes? Do i really need to be able to watch tv, check my email, text message my mother, check the score of the football game, take a picture of my wife's' ass in the shower, and surf the Internet all while listening to my favorite Alice Cooper song? Um NO...not to mention all these neat little features cost EXTRA above and beyond your basic monthly bill. Would somebody please tell me why i need my phone to be a two way radio with up to 30 other people when its already a phone? And Why would i pay 10.00 extra for the ability to do so, when all i need do is push a button in the first place anyway? My kids know how to operate all this Shit, I don't and I'm the one with the degree..lol can i just get a phone to make a phone call with please? I have a computer, a CD player, a digital camera, and MP3 Player, a satellite radio receiver, a GPS navigation device etc. Why do i want them on my phone where they chew up the life of my battery and distract me even more from my so called life all while sucking my wallet dry? Mr. Bell is turning over in his grave somewhere right now! and these damn things are going to be the ruin of us all...lol

Arrggghhh yes it happened i am old!

Later...

I hate "Boys"

Ok so my daughter who is just shy of her 15th birthday has brought a "Boy" home for me to meet. Arrgghhh why do they have to grow up? Why can's she play in the mud and carry frogs in her pockets forever? Why can't their daddies be the man in the lives forever, why do they have to notice boys at all? I think i would be more comfortable if she brought home a girl for me to meet (at least then i wouldn't worry about her getting pregnant)! Just means I'm getting old i guess! Anyway he seems to be an ok kid we have the same hairstyle, we like the same music, he plays drums, I play guitar, he rides skateboards, i used to race BMX bikes and motorcross, he has facial piercings and so do I! Kind of scary and weird all in one....I told him as long as he respects me, my wife, our rules, and most importantly my daughter we are cool...and if not well i'll show him Mr. .45 acp and what it can do...lol I think it is neat that she seeks my approval, she even asked me to take it easy on him and not "scare" him too bad as she "Really likes this one"

I don't think I'm going to handle the future very well at all.....she will be driving before long.

No wonder my hair is falling out and turning grey!...lol

Later...

Ever have one of those days where you stop and look around and you just can't stand anything you see? Sometimes i get this tiny little voice way back in the darkest corner of my mind that says "fuck it" escape now while you still can...lol. It's not that i hate my life, far from in in fact...its just some days i think i might be missing something somewhere else. It is like going to the store to buy groceries.... and you pick up the same things you always do, because you know exactly how they taste and you like it, in fact you love it! and some days you see that new product or a differnt brand and you want to try it but you don't because it is too expensive or you do buy it and you hate it and now your stuck with it and it sits in the fridge and goes bad...and your a moron for wasting money and food and kicking yourself cause you didn't listen to that other little voice that said don't buy it.....it isn't as good as your brand! Anyway I'm ranting, i hate fighting, and i'm sick of being sick! and tired of being tired!

A quiet evening at home,

shared with the ghosts

of my past wreckage.

A funeral pyre,

the only source of light

in the darkness that is my soul.

Sacraficial clarification,

ritual self abuse,

masterbatorial rectification,

words of wisdom from a monk

caught in his own moral fiber.

Mental debate,

weakness of fortitude.

The rain falls,

but never reaches the ground.

It collects in stagnant pools,

at the base of my spine,

where it waits to be tapped,

and used for some sinister purpose.

Enough shit for now...

Later...

Finished at last

For those of you that don't know Reptile caging is very expensive..lol In an effort to defray some of that cost and to please my wife's personal taste i have been building my own cages. While i enjoy working with my hands i sometimes get really fristrated when things don't turn out they way i see them in my head. I frequently bitch about not having the proper tools...I suppose that if i were doing this for a living i would invest in said tools. But i do this too infrequently to warrant the cost of specailized power tools. (yes I'm male and i wrote that). Anyway long story short the first of my projects has finally seen completion. Overall I am happy with the results but there are a few things i would/will do differntly the next time around. I hope the animals appreciate it!!

Later...

New Child Added to the Family

I really need to post more often but lately it seems like i don't have time to do anything but sleep and work. Tuesday i received package via Fed-Ex that i have been eagerly awaiting. After much internal debate i decided to add an arboreal python species to the collection. Back during the summer the Herpetological society flew out Greg Maxwell (http://www.finegtps.com/) to speak on the topic of keeping this wonderful species in captivity. I joked with him then that i just couldn't understand why anyone would want to specialize in just one animal. Well after owning one for just a few days, i now see the attraction. It is too young to sex as of yet and i have to wait another six months before attempting to determine if it is male or female, but that is part of the fun i suppose. That also means in six months i get to ad another one...lol (provided the wife hasn't killed me by then)

enjoy the eye candy

Later...

The Gods Have a Sense of Humor

Arrrggghhh! Sick again! You would think with all of the Cipro that I have had to take in the past month that i would be immune to bugs....

Nope! My daughter got really sick on Wednesday just before thanksgiving at the same time i started to feel a tickle in th back of my throat and feel a little run down.....By friday I was running a temp and had a full blown sore throat. we also just adopted a rescued male Emerald Tree Boa form a museum in New York State. He arrived cold and after a vet check we discovered he was infected with gram negative Pseudomonas Cepacia (a cold basically..yes reptiles get sick too...) which requires me to inject him every 48 hours with an antibiotic called Baytril (or Enrofloxacin generic). He is very smart for a primitive snake...after two injections he has learned to back himself in to the farthest corner of the cage and perch with his head facing the cage door...making it very hard for me to access the area i need to administer the injection....he is not much to look at as Emeralds go but he is quickly earning a spot in my heart.....

I'm going to go and blend in with the couch and watch cheesy horror/monster movies all day

Later...

Visitor from Another Planet!

My Niece Mya has come for her first official visit to Casa de Casa...lol. She was very excited to see all of the animals. But i thought i was going to have to take her home when i decided it would be a good idea to let her pet one of the snakes. She was ok with them as long as they were in the cage...lol. I don't think the cat liked her visit though! She has way too much energy for me 3 and 37 don't mix...lol it is already midnight and i have run completely through my bag of tricks...she is currently in front of the boob tube watching Scooby Doo and our little pom is hiding under the bed....she is too much for him as well! Hopefully she will pass out soon! She is so much like her mother it's not funny!

Later...