Balls Are Cool.

We’ve got a neighbor with… issues. I have no idea how old she is — she looks like she’s in her mid to late 40′s, but since she doesn’t bathe, it’s hard to tell how much of her countenance is age and how much is grime.

Anyhow, this lady also two kids, who she can never get to school on time. Why? Because she doesn’t know how to drive. Or read, apparently.

She also regularly tells my wife and I how little money her and her husband have, how they’re on welfare (both from the state and from the church), and how they’ve almost been evicted three times.

What. The. Fuck.

I have told this woman several times that I don’t want to know the details of her sorry life. (I was a little nicer then that, but the basic message was the same.) She doesn’t get it. I don’t know if she wears her sad life as a scarlet letter, or what the hell’s going on in her mind. I strongly suspect that she’s got some sort of mental illness, but I’ve known people with some pretty bad shit goin’ on that have pulled themselves up and made something of themselves.

Now, I’m not a cold and heartless bastard (though, you may already think I am). I can understand that everyone falls on hard times, and everyone needs a hand from time to time.

What I don’t get is, when people continue to find themselves in the same situations… over and over again… year after year… why they don’t decide to do something with their life and make a change.

In this particular case, knowing what I know of this woman, I suspect that the main problem is laziness. Yeah, I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that these people don’t want to do SHIT and expect the rest of the world to take care of them. Her husband has had long, LONG bouts of unemployment, and invariably his parents end up taking care of them. Why work when Mom and Dad are willing to pay your bills?

What pisses me off more then ANYTHING, though, is the fucked-up example these two are setting for their kids. These kids are not far in age from my own children, and actually come over to my house semi-regularly to hang out with my kids. I hear from others in the neighborhood that these kids are BAD KIDS and that they do BAD THINGS. What I see is a couple of kids with no parental guidance in their life.

That’s what makes me the most angry about their situation. I think that  once you have kids, you lose the right to be stupid. Period, end of sentence. Yes, I am well aware that the world does not work this way, but it’d be a damn better place if it did, wouldn’t it?

Tags: Stupidity by Balls!
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I love my kids. Really. They are so freaking awesome.

Sometimes, though, they are not. And one of those times is when we are grocery shopping.

I once mentioned the frustration I feel when I’m trying to shop with four kids who are tired, ornery, and ready to be out of the store. This friend has a kid, so I was kinda surprised when he acted like it was not as big of a deal as I was making it.

I wanted to punch him in the mouth.

First off, as anyone with children knows, kids lose interest in things quite quickly. They think the idea of going to the store sounds fun, till they realize we’re not buying them treats. (This used to be a semi-regular occurrence, but we’re trying to help them develop healthy eating habits.) And after the first few minutes, they’ve lost interest in the toys we’ve brought them and have either started to pick on each other, or started to cry (depending on the age).

Second off, there is the sheer volume of food required to feed such a group. We’ve been fortunate in that I have a skill set that is somewhat in demand at the moment, and as such I’ve been able to make a living. And thank God, because my grocery bill keeps going through the damn roof! The other downside to this, aside from the cash, is the fact that we can’t get through a week’s worth of shopping without using two carts.

I’m sure that I am part of the problem. I have little patience when it comes to going to the store. I want to go in, get what I need, and get the hell out. My wife, on the other hand, regularly adds things to the list (usually things she’s forgotten), or wants to look at other non-food items (such as clothes for the kids). Usually this results in an angry “lets-get-the-fuck-going-now-because-I-can’t-take-this” statement, to which she usually replies “All right, all right” and gives me a  (well-deserved) dirty look.

The other people at the store frustrate me, too. I mean… sweet Jesus, you are NOT the only person at the damn store! Move your cart out of the middle of the aisle, please. And what’s with the dirty look you give me when I ask you to move it? It’s not like I said “Get the fuck outta the way asshole!” If you recall, I said “Excuse me, please.” How can you take offense at that??

But worst of all is the feeling I get when I bring it all in the house. “$250 bucks and this is all I got?”

Tags: Family by Balls!
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Today, my wife had her wisdom teeth removed. She was fadirly nervous about the whole thing, though I assured her it’d be no big deal.

Turns out I was slightly wrong. See, my wife is… well, let’s just say she’s slightly over 30 so I don’t piss her off by telling everyone her age. As I’m sure you know, usually having them removed at a younger age makes things easier.

Half of them had curled roots, which made it a bit difficult to remove them. I’m not saying it was a huge ordeal or anything (I’ve heard some horror stories), all I’m saying is that if she’d had this done earlier, she probably wouldn’t be hurting as much right now.

Her being in pain means that I get to play mommy, something which usually doesn’t thrill my younger kids. I don’t think I’m quite as loving as she is. It’s a Dad thing, I guess.

I tell you what, though — it really makes me appreciate her. Sappy, I know, but it’s the truth. She does a HELL of a lot of work in one day. I mean, a day job is rough sometimes, too, but chasing the kids around the house, trying to keep the place semi-clean, and keeping them entertained is a BITCH!

I wonder how she has the energy to do ANYTHING at the end of the day. I mean, I only did this TODAY (well, I hope, anyhow), and I’m totally wiped.

Tags: Family by Balls!
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My wife and I just got done watching a National Geographic special about 9/11. They focused on speaking with the people that were actually there, and in a lot of cases talked to the emergeny operators and survivors.

I was surprised how emotional the whole thing made me. A lot has changed in my life since that day, most especially the fact that I now have a wife and kids. I think it hit closer to home as they talked about speaking with people in their last moments of life, and how most of them just wanted their families and loved ones to know they were OK.

Another  emotion that erupted from within, which somewhat surprised me, was anger. That there were people in this world capable of inflicting that kind of damage on an entire society, merely because we believe differently then they do.

This is not anger with Muslims, Arabs, or any particular race or culture. This is the same anger I feel when I read about the man in Utah County who shot his wife, Kristy Ragsdale, as she was getting out of the car to go to church Sunday. Or when I read about Verne Jenkins, who was shot and killed after chasing a would-be thief out of a convenience store for stealing, of all things, a pack of gum.

It leads me to ask the question: What the HELL is wrong with these people?

Sometimes, I think people like this should be taken somewhere and executed. Painfully. Or tortured, or something far worse. Think of the pain and suffering these people and countless others have evoked on the friends and family these people have left behind.

And on the flipside of that intense hate, I wonder what circumstances could possibly have led up to these tragic events. What types of environments could these people have lived in to cause them to feel that these actions would somehow grant them a paradisiacal afterlife with God? Or, that shooting this person was the only way out of their current situation? What drives a person to kill?

In some ways, it’s why I fervently hope there is a God with the power to dish out punishments worthy of such offenses.

Unfortunately, all I can do is hope.

Tags: Random, Religion, Stupidity by Balls!
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Today, a former employee came to visit us at work. (Actually, the guy that I replaced.) As I understand it, he left because he had several disagreements with other employees. I guess he just got to the point where he couldn’t stand it anymore, and walked out.

It became clear that he was still pretty upset with one of the individuals, in this case the “straw” that broke his back. When she said hi to him, his response was “Fuck you.” And I thought… “Wow, how classy. What a jackass.”

I started thinking about how silly it was that he was upset with her after several months had passed.

But, as I thought more about it… don’t we all hold grudges to one extent or another? I know I do. Especially lately… since it’s come to light that my in-laws are not particularly happy with me for one reason or another. I think that, for the most part, these sentiments wouldn’t bother me if these people were not such a big part of my life. If a co-worker expressed the same opinions, I would be a little bothered (to the extent that it affected my job, anyhow). If a complete stranger told me they thought I was a manipulative jackass, I’d tell them where they could stick it.

But these people are my wife’s parents. They are my children’s grandparents. As much as I’d like to deny it, their opinions (no matter how misinformed) do affect me to some extent. And, honestly, it’s a bit troubling that they feel so maligned by me.

Bottom line: I am holding a grudge against THEM just as much as they are holding a grudge against ME.

So, that’s a nice thought. Now, how do we fix it? That’s the hard part.

Tags: Family, Stupidity, Work by Balls!
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Seems like blogs are full of “here’s what I’m changing for my new year’s resolution.” Man, that’s so cliche.

So I’m gonna do the same thing.

Mostly it’s about health for me. I’m overweight, and I have sleep apnea. There’s a little cause and effect going on there. So I got a gym membership, and I’m giving up all forms of soda (and anything else that has sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or aspartame in it).

I tell ya what, I’m rockin’ it right now. I didn’t think I’d make it this far.

Tags: Random by Balls!
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