December thoughts

Since my last post was two months ago, I thought I would add a new one.

Besides, it is COLD and raining outside and I have to go to work in a few hours.

Mostly happy stuff. Daughter and her sons have come to Texas to visit from Korea. She initially stayed at my house, which meant I had some cleaning to do, but it was worth every minute of vacuuming, dusting and washing. Marek is now four and Rowan is three months, but wearing six months clothes as he is that big already. Marek and I have been goofing around, playing with Legos and other kid stuff. I have had the opportunity to feed and then change diapers on Rowan. Kyla is in the business of making different fudge recipes for her clientele in Korea and experimented with a couple here in Sherman. It's alll good.

Kathy finally moved into an apartment. She has been living in motels and going on various trips to keep herself occupied. She is slowly finding out all the shit I had been doing for her and not telling her. I just smile and nod when she mentions it.

Grandson JM2 had his tonsils out. and then that branch of the family all experienced some sort of bug. Good part is that they are all over it now and cousins can get together.

Aaron is about done with his drafting classwork. Now to find a job that can use what he has learned. He says he may have some leads.

My social circle is increasing. Well, not necessarily social circle, but I am meeting more people. Most of them I call "doctor" and they all seem to have "-ologist" in their title: cardiologist, pulmonologist, hematologist, nephrologist, etc. I had an incident of a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in my lungs which made my heart and kidneys stressed and a few other things. I have now been tested and probed and sampled and evaluated in several different ways. I think I am all right for a 70 year old obese white male, and the tests are saying, so far, that I may live a few more years, at least long enough to finish working on this house.

I finished painting the living room, dining room (dog's room), and hallways. Carpet is ordered and will be installed in a couple of days. Yes, I went a little expensive for the carpet, but it will be the last carpet I install in that room, and I got the premium pad to go with it.

I painted the garage and most of the trim. I installed the corner trim and am waiting on friendly weather to get to the fascia. I will then do the decorative trim on the east side of the garage, which almost no one will ever notice but me and a couple of the neighbors.

After abovementioned family departs, I will be tearing out the tile in the entry and hallway, leveling out the floor and installing a wood plank floor. With luck, it should take one or two days for removal and aboutbthe same for installation. I may have to install an underlayment becasuse there might be just OSB down there. Just more dollars expended, more effort, but I will have a beautiful floor.

And I am starting to look a new vehicles again. The Astro keeps on making weird noises and my dashboard indicators light up at random. The local guy can't catch whatever is going on when it goes on, and everything runs okay for a while, but then the machine gets tempermental. I have looked at chevy and GMC vans online and even the Chevy Traverse. A couple of Suburbans have shown up that appear attractive, but with outrageously high mileage. But I will keep looking. I think this van will last a short while as it is.

So. Things are moving along well. I don't have a lot to complain about. And whatever I am complaining about is minor compared to the good stuff happening to me.

Now, if we can get donald out of the White House and in front of a firing squad, all will be better in the world.

Lunch? Nope!

In the last year or so, almost every time Kathy and I have gone somewhere for  sit down meal, I get my ass handed to me for something I didn't do or had little or no control over.

For example, Last week she asked me to go with her to look at houses in Denison. After looking at a bunch of places  that not even I would live in, she offered dinner. She was sweet. At least up until we placed the order. Then she flipped. I got all the shit about our daughter coming to the States for Christmas, even though she professses to be pagan. AND the baby shouldn't travel until it;s six months old. AND she will stay with a family Kathy has alienated after influencing their eldest daughter to go to a school not in their neighborhood Just because Kyla was being forced to go to that school since Kathy worked there. Her excuse was that there were so many teen pregnancies and physical assaults at the school closer to home. It was bullshit: a way for Kathy to exercise control over her daughter.
I ate my meal without even tasting it. I was so upset, I ate everything, just stuffed it in. And had a stomach ache and heartburn for a day or so afterward.

Last Wednesday, she stayed in my house so I could drive her to the airport early the next morning. She was pleasant as she unpacked and repacked her suitcases. She was even thankful to do laundry in a clean machine.I made sure she had a fan blowing on her so she could sleep better. We decided to go out to dinner at a restaurant in town I wanted to try. Once again, she was gracious until we placed our order and then Olga the Witch came out of her. I let her talk. I just didn't listen. There were some nasty things she said about somebody, but I just let her vent. I didn't even smile and nod. The food came and she sort of went back to pleasant, but not entirely. She critiqued the food as she ate. I let her pay the bill.
Oh, by the way, I had stayed home from work, missed eight hours of pay, because she asked me to be there to help her.

Daughter says " You know you are divorced, right?" and "You don't have to put up with her crap any more: she fired you!"

So. No more meals with Kathy. If she asks why, I will explain that I want to enjoy my mealtimes, not suffer through them. If she has so much venom (as her mother did before her) in her soul, so much feeling the victim, so much self centrism, then she can eat alone.

about average

Yeah, I decided to sit at the computer and blog again after promising myself, although no one else ever sees these things, that I would make an entry at least once a month.

It is six months later.

I am in the new house. I have painted the breakfast area to be a lot more pleasant, the dogs have the "dining room" as their sleeping quarters, the third bedroom has been repainted and surround sound installed with the 4k tv on the wall. The electricity has been upgraded to a 200 amp panel, with a 70 amp service out to the garage and I have wired that in for outlets and lighting so it can be a workshop.

The problem with the garage as a workshop is the presence of flying, biting things in the summer and no heat in the winter. I will make it work somehow. There is also a problem with drainage, so torrentially rainy days are not days to be working in there. Hence, the surround sound in the spare bedroom.

My lovely ex-wife has been travelling and may, once again, be thinking of obtaining a place to settle into. She is paying over $600 a month, I am guessing, for her storage of her personal goods at Sunbelt Storage in Plano. She has, I think, four units full of her shit. My mortgage is less than $500. Her wants are not to be found in north Texas. She is looking for a condo or a shared lot place with no maintenance. Not a lot here.

On my side, I am still working at Home Depot in the electrical department. I have learned a bunch about electrical questions, and am finding out that "I don't know" is an acceptable answer. Most of what we do is pull stuff out of the overheads and fill shelves. I am getting tired of all that, but it pays for the home improvements. I am figuring on another two years of this shit and I should have this house fixed up how I want it. Then I can start using some of the money I have been putting away to add to my Social Security check.

Well, the aforementioned ex just called and wants me to meet with her so she can look at houses to possibly "flip". I told her if lunch was involved, okay. I should be in the garage hooking up more electricity and moving out cardboard that is soaking up the flooding. But I still feel obligated to her somewhat. So, I will go up to Denison and see what she wants me to see.

More later. Hopefully sooner than six months

Well, another opportunity to tell absolutely no one what I am thinking.

It is not often that someone gets to have their wedding celebrated on  a Wednesday and then their upcoming addition to the world's population celebrated on Saturday.

My daughter did just that this past week. Yes, there are pictures to share. No, I will not post them. Mostly because they are private family things, but also it would be a waste of time because no one ever gets to see this posting. I mean, they could if they wanted to, but according to my stats page, nobody ever comes to visit me. If you happened to stop by and you do see this, leave me a message and I will post pictures.

In previous posts, I mentioned the loathe in which I hold the current occupier of the White House. Turns out I was and am correct in my assessment. the donald (and I won't capitalize his name anymore out of lack of respect) is finding new ways to fuck over this country while finding ways for him to make more money and aid his buddies to also make more money. I certainly hope Mr. Mueller is as thorough as I have heard and finds a way to get him locked away for Treason against the United States of America. There will, hopefully, be a lottery for a chance to be on the firing squad, and I guarantee I will buy several tickets for that.

I close on my new house this coming Friday, the 13th. They said I could close as early as Tuesday, but that will be Family Zoo day. The whole family, especially the cousins, will be at the Dallas Zoo. Kathy and I will be going down via the DART light rail system. She panics every time I drive south of the LBJ interchange. And I take the grandson and his mom to the airport on Thursday. So, Friday it is! Hopefully, in all the running around, I will get all the right information to get all the right money and other paperwork ready for the event. I am told all is prepared and I can sign earlier, which I am hoping, means they have all the numbers ready for me to go. I know I have to get a cashier's check for the down payment and escrow account, but I don't know how much.

Then I have to get one of my sons to help me move boxes and furniture up to the new house. Since the close is on Friday, I won't have time to move a lot of stuff that afternoon. So Saturday and Sunday and possibly Monday will be my load and go days. If past indicates future, I will be doing most of the loading by myself. And unloading. One slight complication to this whole ball of wax is that I am scheduled to work at my old location from 1900 to 2300 on Saturday. I start at my new location on the 17th, which is Tuesday, which is the day the HR person is supposed to be locked away in her office insuring the schedules for the store are being prepared. I'll make it work somehow.

Ex-wife is treading in the deep end of despair and loneliness and woe-is-me and a shitload of negative emotions. She is, only now, beginning to seriously look for housing. She still has two rooms full of "stuff" to deal with. I have a few repairs to finish, and most of my stuff is out of here, so I can be done with this abode any time. She says our daughter is hating her and disrespecting her. Our sons don't want to talk to her. Her own sister is not as chirpy around her as once was. None of the folks at church will speak to her. The vet was curt with her. And on and on and on... Or so she perceives. I am still talking to everyone, joking around, having a good time. I found a house (not the best house ever, but a livable dwelling). She has spent the last week and a half living in hotel rooms, eating here occasionally or at restaurants. She asks permission to come to this house, asks me what everybody else's schedule is, was eggshell walking polite to everyone at the wedding and baby shower, left early from the shower because "she didn't want to be in the way". She is isolating herself from the rest of the world and doesn't see it. She needs therapy, but will NOT take advice from family. The divorce was her idea. 

I am going to go walk the dogs now. Post more later.

Be@Peace

A few quick, unimportant thoughts

I won something in the Texas lottery! Got 4 out of 6 so I win $44. Thanks be to whatever diety influences this.

Grandson, his parents and her in-laws get here in about an hour. See if you can figure that one out. Grandfather park wanted to see the Mormon temple at Easter on his 70th birthday. American airlines, SFO airport and US Customs made them late for the connecting flight, so he got to visit the Temple, but I think he missed the big shindig.

Did I mention my GRANDSON is coming?

House is getting empty. Most of my stuff is out, not a lot left. Kathy still has a shitload of stuff she can't figure out what to do with. She has four storage units packed with shit.

Everything seems to be progressing on the new house in Sherman. Got transfer to HD in Sherman set up. Loan and title checklists are being completed. Just gotta figure out how to get all my stuff up there as cheaply as possible. 2 sons and a UHaul gets most of  it.

Shopped at H Mart today to get some fresh Korean food for Kyla's father-in-law. Proud of myself that I found most of the stuff myself. Apparently Papa Park was missing hometown food. I hope this helps some.

We have some carpet in the house!  Thank you Home Depot and Cooper floors. The guys came in when scheduled, nailed in tack strip, set the pad and laid the carpet. one hour and a few minutes. Done. Gone. Beautiful!

Kathy is staying at various hotels while the smell of that new carpet is in the house. I get to adjust the thermostat as I want at night. Just getting in practice for when I am by myself. She just makes unscheduled entrances, chews me out for something, and leaves for her rented bed. Which is unusual for her. Sleeping in a bed, that is, because she usually sleeps on the couch instead of the $2500 bed she was so proud of. She invited me to the LaQuinta to stay with her, but I'd rather be with the dogs, they appreciate my company.

So now off  to the airport to meet and greet my counterparts from Korea. We will have no idea what the other is saying. Just smile and nod, I am told.

The next step

First of all, I am panicked at having to learn how to adult. Yes it is also a verb. My daughter told her then fiancée that I am a 16 year old in a 70 year old body. About right.

I have, ever since I was forced into this world, been told where to go, what to do, what I was going to eat, when to go to bed, all the stuff a good parent tells his kids. Only rarely did I have to decide my schedule and meals, but someone always came home and got me back on her schedule. I will miss that.

Well, the Kimsey family seems to have accepted my bid for a house in a very depressed part of Sherman, Texas. The son sort of worked on it for a few years and kinda screwed up a bunch of stuff. He probably thought that no one would notice the shitty tape and bed job in the living room if he put enough texture over it. Nope, I saw it as I walked into the room. The mud job on the walls in the master bedroom is also extremely amateurish. Way too many bubbles in the skip trowel pattern.

They set 8x8 tiles OVER 8x8 tiles in the kitchen. 'Nuf said. The backsplash in the kitchen is black tile with black outlets and black outlet covers. See? No you can't. The countertops are dirt ugly. The choices in paint colors are a little hillbilly weird. No insulation to speak of in the attic. Outside will need new paint soon, maybe next year. The air conditioner is small. There are multiple splices in the wires from the thermostat to the furnace. The thermostat itself is one of those old mercury and bimetal spring models made by Honeywell.

They left a plastic storage locker in the back yard. The garage is filled with the hoarding of the guy next door, who just happens to be the father of the guy selling the house. The next door side yard is filled with old building debris from years of collecting trash. Harvey had quadruple bypass surgery several years ago and doesn't get around so well. His wife Linda has macular degeneration. Neither of them move too fast. I have no idea how they are going to get all that stuff out by the closing date. Or where they are going to put it all. It is a 20x20 garage.

Oh, and there is no tile on the floor in the master half-bath. Or mirror.

I have been agonizing over appliances. There is neither a range or a refrigerator in the kitchen. I will probably move the refrigerator from this house, but I have been shopping for a new range. Tom at our Home Depot helped me talk it through. I do not need all the bells and whistles of a $1600 range. I will probably get the white on white GE unit with a smooth glass top. About 600 after delivery and cord added. I will fight for my military discount, however.

There is a back yard for the dogs to poop and pee. Got some work to do there as well. Last folks have a short chain link fence and a sand-over-tarp pool underlayment. Fence goes, tarp and sand go, will seed and fertilize until grass takes hold.

Got a lot of shit to do.

And no one to tell me what's next.

And so it begins....again

The divorce was signed off as final on March 2.

That's enough for now.

Good night.

Posting again? So soon?

Ah yes, my freaky little readers, I am posting again, just to blow off steam,. And I know that no one who gives a shit will ever read it. And if I offend anyone at this late date, too effin' bad. I intend no offense, but some take it as a matter of course, because in violation of Newtonian Physics, the universe revolves around them.

Got some good news today. I finally got with my store manager. I told him about the upcoming situation and my move to Sherman, Texas. When I told him I was looking at a transfer to that store and I told him the name of the store manager there, he immediately got on his phone and called the guy. It seems both Mike and Jonathon had worked together at another store and Jonathon wanted to make sure I was given a fair shot at getting on board there. My interview will be Monday, the day after tomorrow.

Now, all I need is a house to move to.

On that note: I have been looking at the internet, watching several houses in Sherman and Denison. There have been a few that might be a small stretch to get into, but doable. With the delays that Kathy has thrown into all the paperwork completion, these desirable houses have been put under contract and made unavailable. One, in particular, was at the top of my desired price range, but it was totally remodeled: new floors, new windows, new kitchen. It lasted four days on the MLS. Another that was more affordable, but needed a lot of work to make it a suitable living place, made it through a week and a half. There is still one house, not MLS or on realtor.com that I have been watching and is for sale by owner, is still being listed on Zillow. It is not as flashy, and it doesn't need as much work, but it has a very deep two car garage for my woodworking tools. The yard and neighborhood is nice, as much as I can tell from a drive-by. And it is in the middle of my price range.

I was hoping to drive around with my realtor this week, but she is involved with a wedding, so she will be out of pocket for the week. I think she said her associate can fill in, but Tina and I have talked enough and I think she may understand about what I am looking for. I hope so, because I am not sure I know exactly what it is I am looking for. She had steered me clear of a couple of places and took me where I had insisted to go, even though she warned me. She was right.

I have contacted several places about getting a mortgage. USAA, Quicken Loans, and Bank of America. They all are in a hurry to lend me money. I get calls every two weeks from the Quicken guy, emails from USAA, and have a standing offer to meet with the BofA guy at Dallas Cowboys headquarters, get a tour, and grab a beer. And my realtor has given me a name of someone in Sherman who is an "easy to work with" mortgage broker.

To tell the truth, all this shit terrifies me. If it all works out okay, then fine, I go with it. If things fall to shit, I have no idea what the fuck to do next. The only process I have now is to just keep on going forward and do the next thing, trying to not over-analyze the system. I should just continue to use the resources I have to make the next step. There is no try. Only do. Thanks, Yoda!

A New Phase

Oh yeah, two years later.

Finally getting around to posting on my as yet unread blog.

Except for me and one guy in Russia who wants to know how he can best influence the upcoming election.

Since the last post, my daughter and her son moved back to Korea. It was the sane thing for her to do, financially, psychically, and control of her own life wise. Maybe that makes sense. She met a guy on a dating website who fell in love with Marek ( the grandson) and then her. They are now civil service married. Right after the wedding, Barry got a notice of transfer to a city 2 hours south of the brand new apartment he worked so hard to procure. Negotiations are ongoing for a return to Osan from Jeonju.

Aaron, the sailor, is no longer a sailor; he is Aaron the student. After the Navy decided he was excess baggage, even in a critical field, he moved in with us for a year and decided to restart school at 42 years old. His initial effort was to obtain a Mechanical Engineering degree, possibly from UT Dallas. After the basic math classes, he took a drafting class and was forever hooked back into a drafting career track. There was both some frustration with the methodology of instruction and elation at the encouragement of his new advisor, who also happens to be director of the drafting and technical training section. For his sanity, he moved to a single apartment where he can work at any hour of the night and sleep all day if need be.

On the Monday after Thanksgiving, my wife of 45+ years decided it was time to sell the house and the only way I was going to do that was if she divorced me. She was right. Actually, she has been setting this relationship up for divorce for the last five or six years. And because I saw the clues long ago, I thought it best to let her be the lead on this one, because if she spent the money on the lawyer, she would feel she got the best deal and she could be more gracious to me and allow me a few victories in the who-gets-what discussion. I am making sure she gets most of the stuff, because I really don't need all the trappings in my life that her family always seems to need. The lawyer made us write out a list of the division, and after seeing a four page list, decided that it would just be an addendum to the filing.

She spent $5000 on the lawyer. I did some research online and found out a no-contest divorce in Texas can be had for as little as $75.

Her current goal is to travel around the great southwest and possibly South America and even Europe. My goal, on the other hand, has been to locate suitable living arrangements for me and the animals.
She wants to live in New Mexico, Espanola to be exact. Home of the Annual Low-Riders convention, low school completion rates, poverty on the reservation, and the WalMart closed because it was sagging into the old river bottom. I plan to live within easy driving distance to my grandkids. At least the ones in the States.

Oh yeah! As part of the wedding presents, Kyla gave Barry the results of her pregnancy test. He's gonna be a DADDY! Because of the distance, I may never see my newest descendant. I don't as yet know whether the youngest will be male or female, but I love it with all the love a grandfather can muster at a distance. Marek already has claimed a portion of my soul. I gave it willingly.

Enough for now. I gotta get up a 4 in the AM to get to work by 6. Yes, I am still working at the Home Depot, just part time. I will update, and maybe with pictures, at a later time.