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[Monday November 30th, 2009 at 12:19am ] [ mood | awake ] [ music | Nothing at the moment. ] I can't get to sleep again, so I might as well get this over with. It would be very nice not to have things like sugar and caffeine fuck up my system, but at least I know I'm not alone. Mikel tends to take it far worse than I do, so I have that as a comforting thought. Hopefully Markez has stopped running all over the neighborhood and has finally settled down. Thanksgiving was good, with a lot of good food to be had. That's no surprise, I'm sure. Good cooking is at a premium around here. There's still a lot of it hanging around, even after my family got through with it. There are probably far too many baked goods around here, but it makes Penny happy to bake, so I can't complain. I just have to try and resist temptation. I haven't done that very well, I'm afraid. Topaz will be leaving tomorrow morning, leaving us without her for a few more days. This gets very tiresome. It will be nice when we don't have to do this anymore, but that day is probably far off. However, with the progress I've been making with my physical challenges, it might not be as long as all that. With all of the work I've put into my therapy, I'm feeling pretty optimistic. That's a first, I think. I spent so much time mired in pessimism that this new outlook feels strange. I'm not complaining, however. If I can manage to keep up at this pace, there's a chance I could be back at work within a year or so. Rick's doing a very good job running the company, but I'm anxious to take over again. I'm sure he won't mind getting a break from it all. It can be quite stressful. His wife will probably be grateful when it's over. He spends far too much time working, and that always makes a person's personal life suffer. I think I'm going to try and walk some more of this off. Once or twice around the neighborhood couldn't hurt, at least. At least it will keep me from waking up Topaz again. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Tuesday November 10th, 2009 at 1:05pm ] [ mood | busy ] [ music | Penny going over her list ] This particular two week period appears to have gotten away from most of us. It's close to the end of it, and very few have written. In everyone's defense, there has been quite a bit of work moving Gayle and everyone to the new house. It seems like everyone has done more work than John, but I probably won't go too deeply into that. It annoys me. There's still quite a bit left to do since there's a lot of stuff, but we're managing all right. There's no big rush to get everyone done at once, so things can be taken over a little at a time and set up before going to get more. They also had a plumbing problem that had to be taken care of, which took some work on the part of the plumbers since it involved a leaky outdoor pipe and a root. That's all been taken care of, however. The place seems quite sound overall, which is more than I can say for the house they've been using for so many years. That one might as well be razed to the ground. It would be more cost effective to just build another one. With Thanksgiving fast approaching, Penny's been spending a lot of time planning her part of it. She's very excited to have this come around again and to be able to work with the others who are contributing to the meal. It's always fun to watch her at times like these. I'm glad that now she can get some happiness out of the holidays. It will never make up for all of the years of pain and misery she went through with her biological parents, but we can do everything possible to make sure that every holiday is now a happy one for her. We've succeeded pretty well so far, I think. It's nice to be able to do that for her. I suppose I should get up and get to doing a few things now. I need to take Penny with me to the store to get a few groceries, and then I'm going to go help pack a few more boxes into trucks. Maybe we can even spend the day after that relaxing. Stranger things have happened. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Thursday October 22nd, 2009 at 6:59am ] [ mood | annoyed ] [ music | Mikel accepting a breakfast invitation. ] Today should be prove to be an interesting day. I have to go to Ramon's school and talk to them about a fight that occurred yesterday. He's been temporarily suspended for being part of that fight, and so I need to get some things dealt with there. Considering his past, getting into fights is not a good idea for him, but I can't, and won't, fault him in the least for it. Apparently, he ended up facing down the boys who've been making fun at Sonny and Rafiq. He overheard them talking about pulling some humiliating shit on Sonny, and so he felt the need to go to them and tell warn them about the mistake they'd be making by doing so. This led to posturing on the parts of the other boys, who just left to go to class at that point. However, during lunch they ambushed him when he went outside, and found out that he's not such an easy victim. He gave far better than he got, even considering that there were five of them, but before it could get too far, a teacher broke it up. That led to suspensions for all of them, although at least Ramon's is only three days while the rest of them are suspended for two weeks since they started the fight. I doubt that the school will be able to break policy and take away his suspension, but I'm going to try. I wish I could do it on my own, but I still can't talk well enough to get too far. Mikel will be going with me, which at least gives us a shot considering his particular talents when it comes to convincing people of things. We'll see, however. I'm certainly not going to be angry with Ramon for what happened. He did the right thing in telling the boys he overheard their conversation, and he was just defending himself when they jumped him. At least the school has been very understanding and accommodating about everything with the family, so that helps. Not all schools are so accepting. Ramon not being there takes away one line of defense for both Sonny and Rafiq, but there may be nothing to be done about it. At least the other boys are gone for now. We just have to make sure they don't try anything before or after school, especially with Sonny since Rafiq gets taken to school and picked up and doesn't take the bus. All right, I need to get ready to go. Penny has breakfast ready, and wouldn't you know it? Mikel just walked in. Food comes out, Mikel gets here. Typical. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks 1

[Wednesday October 7th, 2009 at 7:24am ] [ mood | hungry ] [ music | Penny calling me from the kitchen ] Since I'm already sitting here, I might as well get this written now. I can occasionally manage an early post, at least. Things have been fairly quiet with our neighbors lately. He seems to have been working quite a bit of overtime, so he's not around as much. Either that or some other woman has been duped into thinking that he's worth spending time with. It's hard to say, and I really don't care. I'm glad he's not around as much, for Sonny's sake. If only his other parent would follow that example, it would be better for the boy, I think. Ramon has been trying to befriend Sonny lately. They see each other at school, and Ramon tries being friendly and talking to him. Sonny hasn't seemed very receptive most of the time, and seems to prefer to keep to his solitude. He's been getting made fun of behind his back because of it, although Ramon says that it doesn't seem to be a lot of kids who do it, but a particular group. There always seems to be at least one group like that, it seems. They've also made comments about Rafiq as well, which obviously annoys the hell out of me. Those two do not need anymore trouble, but Ramon says that he gets the feeling that those boys aren't going to just leave it behind their back forever. He has good instincts, so I believe him. I'm not sure how we're going to handle it, but Ramon is keeping a close eye on the situation, and Jason is helping how he can. Hopefully one or both of them will be around if there's trouble. If nothing else, Rafiq has Mikel's cell phone on speed dial, so if he feels the need to use it, he can. Rolin and Amber have spoken with the principal about the boys, and he's asked Ramon about them, so hopefully they can nip it in the bud. We'll see what happens. Other than that, it's been getting colder lately. It's thirty-two degrees right now, which I'm very sure thrills the hell out of Doug. I like taking walks in the morning in this kind of weather, so I'm content with it. I'm going to take one right after breakfast. Penny said she might go with me, but she's not completely sure. She has a good coat, so she might break down and go with me. Having a hot breakfast will certainly make it easier, and we have plenty of hot chocolate for when we return. Speaking of breakfast, I'm going to go wash up and then eat. Although, I think I'm making a trip to the school before my walk. It appears that Ramon left his backpack on the couch. Again. This is only the eighth or ninth time. I should get a hot glue gun and attach it to him. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Monday September 28th, 2009 at 7:27am ] [ mood | okay ] [ music | Penny in the kitchen ] It's a chilly morning, which had Ramon grumbling about having to head out to the bus. I find it refreshing, myself. I like this time of year. I think I'll probably take a walk after I'm done with this. Getting so close to the end of the year has me wondering what we'll be doing in 2010. I'd like to be back at work, running things once more, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. I'm doing better, but I still have a ways to go. I can try and be optimistic, however. I haven't been that way much since this all happened, so maybe that's what I need. Of course, conjuring that up won't be easy. Topaz wasn't able to show up this weekend, but there's always the next. It's difficult being separated like this so much. I suppose you don't realize just how much you come to depend upon someone else's companionship until you lose it. After so many years, I suppose we just take it for granted that the person will always be there. I'm being far too philosophical there. I need to not do that. In the end, I suppose we'll see where it all goes. I'm not sure how we're going to work all of this in the end. As much as we do like it here, home is back there and we don't want to make a permanent move. Penny might, however. She's become quite fond of this place, and here is Duante and other people she's grown quite attached to. I get the feeling that she'll be staying here when we go back. That's going to be rough all around. We'll manage, however. And it isn't like we don't visit back and forth a lot anyway. I have no idea why I'm talking about all of this. Perhaps I need more sleep. I didn't get much last night. I think I'll take that walk and then try to unwind a little. I'm feeling suddenly in need of some cold air. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Tuesday September 15th, 2009 at 5:45am ] [ mood | annoyed ] [ music | No more music, at least ] Another day, another frustration. That seems to be the status quo lately. I was awakened about twenty minutes ago to the sound of loud music blaring out of the house next door. The teenage girl apparently decided that listening to her hellish music with the window wide open, the window that faces the window of my bedroom, I might add, at full volume. This woke me out of a sound sleep, my first impulse being to yell at Mikel. It's strange where the mind takes you sometimes. Exercising my rights as a pissed off neighbor, I went over and knocked on their door. Both parents were up and laughed when they saw me, the father making some smartass comment that I don't even remember. I do, however, remember the satisfying look on his face when I suggested, via gestures, of course, a less than neighborly course of action if the music didn't get turned down. As he blustered about that, trying to pretend to be brave, I held up my phone and started to dial. I think he prefers avoiding having the police show up there, so he made his daughter turn the music down. We'll see if I have problems with that again. Part of me hopes I do. We'll see. So that was not a pleasant way to start the day. My brain is still a little fogged from it all. I hate being brought out of a sound sleep. It pisses me off, and my brain doesn't want to function correctly. I'd drink some caffeine, but that would probably best be avoided. I have to see my speech therapist today at nine. I'm not looking forward to that. I hate the speaking exercises he gives. They annoy me. But I suppose it's working, so I'll live with it. Besides, Penny would never let me get away with not doing it. She's quite an enforcer when she wants to be, and all it takes is a pleading look. I'm such a sucker sometimes. Time to get some breakfast and make Ramon get out of bed. If I have to be up, he has to be up. And he has school, so it's a good reason for rousing him early. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Sunday August 30th, 2009 at 5:20pm ] [ mood | worried ] [ music | Someone laughing outside ] Pushing the envelope again, but that's fine. I'm getting it done. It's been a weekend full of ups and downs, although those reading will understand without my saying anything since you also read Rafiq's and Rolin's journals. I wish there was an easy answer to all of this, but there isn't. I just wish that this would all stop haunting Rafiq so he could get on with his life without it hanging over him. I know that we have to take it a step at a time, but it's hard to do that. Our family is used to forging ahead without stopping, and that makes this all the harder to get used to. We'll manage, however. We always do. I just hope the asshole who caused all of this is undergoing eternal, endless agony. Since she managed to tie up her last case, Topaz took this coming week off from work so she could be here for all of this. Family solidarity is important right now, and we're going to make sure we have it. Whether Rafiq ends up going to school or not, it's going to be rough on him. If he doesn't go, he's likely to be kicking himself rather hard and feeling like a failure. I wish we could prevent that, but it doesn't seem possible. We'll do what we can to help him with it, but a lot of it has to come from within himself. We also have the annual Pig Out in the Park event coming up next weekend, or well, starting Wednesday, I believe. I'm not sure Rafiq will feel up to going, but hopefully we can coax him out. Food is involved, after all. We all enjoy it quite a lot, and if we can manage to get him to go for even one day, that would be a good thing. All right, I think that's all for now. My hands are not having the best day, and Penny wants to take some things that she baked over to Rafiq. At least she seems to know what to do when worried about someone. What better to cheer them up than homemade baked goods? Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Friday July 17th, 2009 at 11:44am ] [ mood | aggravated ] [ music | Nothing at the moment ] It looks like it's already starting to be one of those weekends. Topaz won't be able to make it back here due to a new case she's working on, so that will make it somewhat more tedious. Penny's going out with Duante tonight, and they're spending tomorrow together as well. I have quite a bit of work to do around here, and while Ramon has volunteered to help, I'm not going to take away his entire weekend. I know he likes to get involved in the chaos that goes around, and it picks up by quite a lot on the weekends. So for quite a bit of the time, it'll be just me and Puppet, and Puppet isn't exactly the most sociable person. Even on the rare occasions he is out here, communication between the two of us is difficult. He can't see and I'm still not a hundred percent with talking, so it's tough. Such is life. The neighbors are still being a constant bane, although the youngest seems to be more scarce. I hear that Cheyenne didn't catch him to invite him to lunch until two or three days ago, but he hasn't been the terror he was since his talk with Bree. Let's hope this is a good sign. I'd like to see one of that family turn out to be decent. Both parents next door work during the weekdays so that leaves just the teenagers around for a good part of the day. That's not any sort of relief at all. The boy has tried to pick a fight with Ramon on a few occasions, but so far Ramon has managed to resist. It's difficult, I'm sure. But he's trying to stay out of trouble, and so he just walks away. I'm not sure how long that will last, and I certainly won't blame him if he does finally give in to the urge. The little bastard next door should be more careful. I don't think he could stand up to Ramon as well as he seems to think. The girl continues to act like, for want of a better word, a little slut. Her friends aren't much better. I don't like using that term, but I'm not sure what other one to use. They dress as skimpily as possible and make offers of the most explicit kind to several of the males who come over here to visit, although they're far more overt with Mikel. All of them are being very careful not to reply, or even look that way, let alone go anywhere near the girls. They don't need any possible accusations coming their way about inappropriate behavior, which is always a possibility. It just amazes me that the daughter can act that way in front of her parents, and they get some sort of sick kick out of it. The mother joins in on occasion as well. These people don't seem like they're for real sometimes. They're like bad caricatures out of some strange movie. I have to wonder if the parents of the girl's friends know about all of this or if they're left in the dark. Perhaps Topaz can find them and have a telephone conversation with them. I'll have to check with her on that. She'd enjoy speaking with their parents, I'm sure. As for Alyce, she's doing quite a bit better. She's still in the hospital, just in case, but they're thinking she can probably go home soon, barring any new setbacks. It would surprise me if she didn't leave sooner, rather than later. Sitting still is not in her repertoire of tricks, and she's probably driving the hospital staff crazy. They can feel my pain. Time to actually get to work on some of this shit. It'll at least keep me distracted, so that's something. Someday perhaps I'll actually get to go back to work and contribute more than just a few fucking chores around the house. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Thursday June 25th, 2009 at 8:06am ] [ mood | angry ] [ music | The lawn mower just outside the window ] I'm going to write this earlier than usual since I'm seriously contemplating something that could get me arrested, thus taking away my ability to post later. I suppose that's a little dramatic, but I was ready earlier to put myself into that position. Lewd comments by the females of the household toward Mikel are one thing. Lewd comments toward Penny by the teenage boy which are encouraged by his father's laughter are quite another. If Ramon hadn't grabbed my arm to keep me from doing it, I would have likely vaulted over the fucking fence to rip the asshole father's head off. Penny ran into the house, completely mortified, and Topaz is now in her room with her, talking. I'm not usually inclined toward violence, especially when only words are involved. Mikel and Topaz are the ones who usually cover that. But these people are trying my patience to the point that I'm ready to teach some rather serious lessons. At least Mikel has been working with other troublemakers to come up with things to make the lives of the neighbors miserable. I'm very anxious to see what happens. I certainly plan on joining in where I can. There are some interesting things planned that will hopefully start tonight. I'm sure someone, probably Mikel, will keep people posted. I get the feeling that Duante is going to soon get involved after he hears about this morning's incident. That should prove to be interesting. He does tend to be rather protective toward Penny, after all. It's nice to see Mikel distracted by something, at the very least. Something good is coming out of it. That's as much of looking on the bright side regarding this situation that I can manage. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks 2

[Saturday May 30th, 2009 at 6:12pm ] [ mood | discontent ] [ music | Topaz breathing ] Time to get this done, I suppose. I'm not exactly feeling in the mood to do it, but I doubt I will be tomorrow either. It's better to get it over with. Topaz is back for the weekend, which is at least some good news. She was going to be busy with work, but after what happened this past week, she wanted to come back and check on things. She's never sure how things are until she's checked into them herself. Kendra was very glad to see her, and Topaz and the rest of us were over there for a good part of the day. I'm still worried about Kendra's mental state, although she seems to be doing better. Experiencing what she went through is never easy for anyone, let alone a kid. She's tough, but that's not going to stop us from worrying. Even Markez has been nice to her, which feels quite surreal. Penny's been doing what she always does when feeling worried and stressed. That makes for a lot of baked goods for everyone. Nobody is complaining about that, of course. She's actually out with Duante at the moment, since he felt she needed a little time away and Topaz fell asleep on the couch about an hour ago. She hasn't been getting much sleep lately due to work, so we're trying to be quiet and let her sleep as long as possible. I think Ramon is better off just trying to go about things as usual. Trying to be quiet has resulted in him knocking three things over and pushing the front door shut just a little too hard. He decided to just settle for going over to bother Mikel, which is a new favorite pastime for him. He's very good at distracting Mikel from things, and Mikel seems to be constantly in need of distracting lately. Puppet's been trying to push his limits again lately. This is a good thing, to a point, but with things how they've been lately, it keeps me worried that he might decide to wander outside on his own and run into trouble. There seems to always been trouble to run into around here lately. Of course, that's how it's always been for our family, it seems. I've been trying to keep track of him, but it isn't easy sometimes. He wasn't thrilled with being dragged with us today, but there was no way that I was going to leave him here alone. He needs to get out more anyway. All right, I'm going to find something to read, if I can concentrate well enough. My head is aching a little. Of course, I can handle headaches far better these days, considering that they feel like basically nothing compared to what I used to go through. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Wednesday April 29th, 2009 at 6:21am ] [ mood | restless ] [ music | The neighbor's dog barking his head off ] Wasn't it just yesterday that I posted? It certainly feels like it. After some discussion, not that it feels like much of a discussion since I can't contribute as much verbally (but then, when Topaz is involved, that's not a new thing. The reasons have just changed), it's been decided that Topaz will be leaving next week to go back to work. She's going to attempt to come up every weekend, but realistically, it will probably not be quite that often. Her line of work doesn't always make such things possible. It's going to be strange with her gone. I know I went awhile without her before, but it's been nice being together again. More adjustments will have to be made, but I'm sure we can handle it. Penny is quite self-sufficient, and Ramon is for the most part, so there shouldn't be any trouble with the two of them. Puppet, on the other hand, could be a different matter. Since he can't see, we have to get the point across with words and no gestures, so I'm going to be working at a big disadvantage. I'm feeling quite a bit of trepidation about this, but we'll just have to make do. It won't be easy, however. While Penny and Ramon can help, they're not exactly going to be able to be firm with him, which is needed when it comes to some things. He's independent enough that sometimes you just have to force him to allow you to help, and they just aren't going to be able to bring themselves to do that. I'm sure I'll have help from others at times, but those others are only here on occasion, and I'm certainly not going to expect anyone to come stay here with us. I suppose part of that is my own sense of independence talking. I don't want help when I force someone else to accept help. No need to point out the hypocrisy of that. I'm well aware of it. I'm sure you'll all understand if I don't go on anymore. I'd like to spend as much time with my wife as I can before she leaves. It doesn't seem like very far in the future, and I want to take advantage of our time. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Wednesday April 15th, 2009 at 6:43am ] [ mood | cautious ] [ music | Ramon trying to figure out where the hell his shoes are. ] It's been one of those mornings, and I've only been up for a little over an hour. Hopefully it's all over and the rest of the day won't be all over the place. I'd say it could be worth going back to be for, but going back to bed when I'm not a bit tired just doesn't appeal to me. It started out with Topaz's cell phone ringing and her trying to answer it. It woke her up, so she was half out of it, and when she reached for it, she managed to not only knock it on the floor, but the lamp and a glass half-full of water as well. That was a rude awakening, especially accompanied by the cursing she let loose. Of course, I like it when she curses. She shows such personality. I suppose that all set the tone for the morning, at least. It's strange how that can happen. We got up, had our showers, and then went downstairs. I opened the door to get the paper, which was several feet short of the porch and in a puddle of water. So much for that. Then a few minutes later we heard a yell from the kitchen, and when we went in there, Penny was holding her hand under water. She apparently grabbed at the pan when it started to slip off of the stove, and didn't manage to catch it by the handle, but by the other part, which was quite hot. She's got a couple of blisters forming, but I don't think it's too bad. We called Amber to come over and look at it, just in case. She can be helpful on occasion. Hopefully the rest of the day goes smoothly. Topaz is making breakfast now since Penny's hand hurts, and I need to go check on Puppet here soon to see if he's up and wants anything to eat. With as antisocial as he's become over his time here, that's always an enjoyable thing to do. I wish I knew how to get him out of his antisocial funk, but I have no idea how. It's not good for him, but I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it. Even his friends can't get through to him very well. I hope something breaks there, and soon. Well, now breakfast is done, and without anymore mishaps. Perhaps that's a good sign. We'll see, I suppose. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Tuesday March 31st, 2009 at 6:04am ] [ mood | hungry ] [ music | Penny and Topaz ] Time to get this done, I suppose. The last week or so has gone by rather quickly, while the rest of the month dragged by. That probably has a lot to do with the moods of Rafiq and Rolin, although I'm sure the flu had something to do with it as well. Hopefully things will get better all around as we move into April. It's Spring break for Ramon, meaning that he's planning on being lazy for the week. I can't say as I blame him. He was pretty damn sick for awhile there, and has been helping with others since feeling better. I'm sure he'll still help, but not having school will cut back on his workload. He's actually doing quite a bit better all around in school than he was, which is nice to see. He's become more interested in improving his grades, and it's done quite a bit for his self-esteem. He's even pushed his math grade from a D to a low B, and is hoping to get it all the way to an A at the end of the year. I think he can do it, so long as he continues to push himself. Now that he's started to believe in himself a little, that's going to improve his chances immensely. Now that breakfast is done, I'm going to see to applying myself to that. I get the feeling it's going to be another busy day, so I have to steel myself for it as best I can. A good breakfast is perfect for that. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Sunday March 15th, 2009 at 6:13pm ] [ mood | worried ] It's been one of those days. I think the rest of the month is promising to be that way as well, considering Rafiq's waning mood. I don't think any of us realized just how this month is affecting him until he wrote his entry last night. He's hidden it very well. I'm glad that he wrote about it, although he's probably wishing he hadn't. He's so busy worrying about bringing others down and worrying them that his own feelings just aren't mattering as much to him. It's hard to convince him that it's best all around that we know what's going on with him. He's stubborn, which I suppose is no surprise to anyone. Of course, with Rafiq being down like he is, Rolin is burying his own feelings. Like father, like son, I suppose. It goes to show that it isn't just the Denny blood that contributes to these traits. Hopefully Rafiq's doctor can help with this when he goes to see him. I keep hoping there's some solution, although I'm not sure there is, besides having him and Rolin both ride it out. That's hard to do when you see that they're in so much pain. I just want my entire family to be all right. There's too much of this shit going around, and nothing I can do about it. I fucking hate feeling helpless. That's another thing that I'm sure is no surprise. But between Rafiq, Rolin, and Mikel, there's plenty to worry and feel helpless about. I suppose there's really not too much more to say. All of this is keeping my mind rather well occupied, so I don't have much more to talk about. Hopefully the month will go quickly and that will help. I suppose we'll see. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks 2

[Friday February 27th, 2009 at 8:16am ] [ mood | annoyed ] [ music | Topaz muttering ] It's been a long morning. My mother-in-law decided to call about five or so to engage in a bitchfest. Topaz couldn't get a word in edgewise for at least five minutes. Everytime she opened her mouth to say something, more came pouring through the phone from the other end. I'm surprised our neighbors didn't hear the yelling, it was so loud. She's apparently not happy about anything. This is no surprise, but she usually doesn't choose to call and bitch about it. She started railing on about everything that's displeased her since Topaz left, and went right up to an incident this morning with her nurse, who apparently chastised her for doing something she wasn't supposed to do. She went on and one about being treated like a child, all the while acting like a child having a fucking tantrum. That conversation went on for awhile, and got us both up and going. Then the bitch ended up calling back about forty-five minutes later to do it again because the nurse did something else to make her unhappy. Two more conversations later, and the phones have been turned off. We'll see what happens about that, but it looks like a full-fledged feud is taking place between the nurse and her charge. Topaz is going to call in a little while to talk to the nurse, which should be interesting. From what Topaz told me about her, I'm sure she has the situation well in hand. I like her, and I've never even met her. Hopefully the rest of the day will go more smoothly. I'm all for changing all phone numbers and not giving Topaz's mother the new ones, but that's probably not going to work. Far too bad. However, it does beat living near her. She's a walking pocket of Hell. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Friday February 13th, 2009 at 7:31am ] [ mood | restless ] [ music | Penny being excited ] I'd forgotten how it felt to have a daughter who's dating. It's been awhile. I'm having to adjust my mind for it again, although this time it's going to be different. This time I'm sadly deprived of the ability to intimidate the date in a fatherly way. There's my fun, gone right off. I can't do that to Duante. I like him, and he's been through a lot. That, and Penny likes him very much, and my intimidation tactics would make her feel bad. So now I'm left wondering just how to deal with the situation and get some fun out of it. Yes, watching her bounce around in an excited way is enjoyable, but I'm relegated to the role of observer this time. She's got Topaz locked away with her in her room discussing it, and they'll go shopping later while I sit and wonder what to do. I feel cheated. We're going to be doing quite a bit of babysitting tomorrow as well. Amber and Rolin will be celebrating by going out, as will Alyce and Jamie, so we'll have their kids here for that. Charlie always takes Kendra out for Valentine's Day as well, so he's not available to watch them. Topaz and I never bother about celebrating the day. Neither one of us is very romantic, and we reserve anything like that for our anniversary. So it's going to be quite noisy here, which will hopefully not drive Ramon and Puppet too crazy. I suppose we'll see, however. Sadly, I can't foist any of them off on Mikel due to his current distractions, so we're stuck with the job. I suppose we'll survive the experience. We always do. I think I'm going to go take a walk. I'm feeling restless, and I'll see if Puppet would like to go with me. Chances are he won't, but I have to try. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks 4

[Friday January 30th, 2009 at 7:28am ] [ mood | frustrated ] [ music | Penny reading off the list ] Just a short entry today since we're going to be heading to the store soon for groceries. Shopping in the morning is far preferable than doing it later in the day. It's less crowded. Everyone reading this knows what happened yesterday, at least as far as I know. It's obviously an unacceptable situation that we're forced to accept. Hopefully the sentences won't be too long, and if we're lucky, we can find a way to prove their innocence before too long. It's being worked on harder than ever. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully it will work out. The pair certainly does not deserve to be in jail. It's quite tense around here at the moment because of it. Mikel's mood hasn't improved any, although he's put all that aside to concentrate on supporting Gayle through all of this. Everything's been very hard on her, and he's being as supportive as he possibly can. He's a good friend to her. With all of the difficulties he's given us throughout the years, I have to say that I'm very proud of how he turned out. My kids are all pretty impressive. If anyone quotes me, I'll deny it and accuse someone of hacking into my computer to plant this. All right, Penny has her list finished, so we're going to be heading out. Hopefully this mundane outing will help make things seem more grounded and less tense, at least for a little while. We'll see. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Saturday January 10th, 2009 at 6:02am ] [ mood | awake ] [ music | Topaz cursing about something in the kitchen ] A week or so between posts. That's not bad for me. I've been up for almost two hours now. I just couldn't fall back to sleep after I woke up around 4:45. I woke up sure that I'd heard a crash, but that was probably just a dream influenced by the other morning. Nothing was damaged and nothing was awry, so it must have been a dream. Quite a rude awakening. The subconscious can be an annoying thing at times. Speaking of the crash from the other morning, we were hit (no pun intended) with $562 damage. Or we would be if we had to pay as much labor as a lot of mechanics charge. However, Doug's brother Trey is a mechanic and is charging us quite a bit less. He wasn't going to charge us at all, but we insisted. We'll see how much it comes to after parts. It's bound to be pricey. I'm very much unimpressed with whoever it was who hit us and left. We haven't found any sign of the person yet, but people are looking. Bits of paint left on our car at least let us have an idea of what color the one that hit it is, so we'll see what happens. I'm not so worried about the money but the fact that people who don't take responsibility for what they do piss me off. An accident, especially in the weather we've been having, I can excuse. Taking off without even bothering to talk to us is another story. In other news, the other day I managed to build an entire two story building with Legos the other day. I only took one break to rest my hands, and I was done within just a few hours. I suppose anyone just browsing journals and seeing mine would find that a strange thing for me to talk about, but I trust everyone who reads it understands. It's the first time I've managed to put together an entire structure since my accident due either to knocking it down with my shaking hands or to my knocking it over in sheer frustration. This is one of the best signs I've had about everything, so I'm hanging onto it. My hands were more shaky than usual for an hour or so after I was finished, but I can accept that. I did it, and I'm content with that. I'm hoping to try again soon and cut down the time it takes me, hopefully by quite a bit. It shouldn't take me more than an hour to do normally, if that. Speaking of my hands, I think I'll give them a rest now. I've been tempted to write a long journal post at some point, but right now, with things how they are, certain things would be discussed that I probably shouldn't get into. I'm sure you all understand. When things get better, and hopefully that will be soon, I might just make a long entry. I'll just make sure it's at a time that I'm not feeling at all frustrated or useless. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks 1

[Monday December 29th, 2008 at 7:18am ] [ mood | accomplished ] [ music | Nothing. It's rather quiet at the moment. ] Another successful Christmas over. It's always a relief when we manage to pull it off with minimal problems. At least it's been easier since Mikel became an adult. Christmas when he was a child was always an adventure. I'm not sure I can think of a Christmas before he was 18 that some snag didn't hit, except for his first one since he wasn't yet a year old. He always had to do what he could to make it memorable. Markez, with his tendency toward being like Mikel, can certainly make the holiday a little wild, although he hasn't quite reached the level that Mikel did. It's easier since we're farther removed from it with him not living under our roof. I'm sure Amber and Rolin have their share of excitement with him. The mother-in-law was mostly tolerable on the important day. That's a nice bonus. We kept expecting something to go down with her, but that axe didn't fall. Perhaps the Christmas spirit helped temper her actions and words. Something certainly did, and for that, I'm grateful. It appears to be snowing again. It's been getting warmer and melting, but we're due this and more. I don't mind, for the most part. It can be a pain in the ass on occasion, but overall it's nice enough. It's certainly been a white winter so far. I think I'm going to take some time to read the newspaper and have some breakfast now. I'll be glad come Wednesday that I did this early so I don't have to rush to get it done at the end. I hope you all had a pleasant holiday. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

[Monday December 15th, 2008 at 7:32am ] [ mood | hungry ] [ music | Pans and plates in the kitchn ] It's getting a little tedious remembering this at the last minute. I have little hope of that changing, however. As it is, I have to get reminded by someone or other. It's fucking cold today. It was yesterday as well, and it's supposed to stay that way awhile. I stepped outside to get the paper and I'm lucky I returned without a hair full of frost. Next time I might take a cue from Doug and put on a parka and everything goes with it just to step outside for a minute. No snow yet, so no need to shovel anything. If we do get it, I'll have to get out there very early to do it so Mikel doesn't bring his ass over here to do it for me. I'm not helpless, after all. Passing on some positive news, which I noticed that I rarely do, my hands are getting easier to control. I find that typing doesn't take quite as long as it used to, and I make fewer mistakes based on my manual dexterity. My brain still fucks some things up, so I still have people proofread for me, but my hands are at least having an easier time. It's not a big difference, but it's encouraging to me. All the work has been paying off. Now if it would do that a little faster with my speech, I'd be even happier. Hopefully that will come before too long. I tend to have a little progress and then get stuck for quite awhile before the next bit. That's frustrating. I'm trying to be patient, however. It's not easy, but I'm working on it. It's time for me to go eat some breakfast, I think. It sounds like Penny's almost done with it. I hope so, because I'm famished. Stack Blocks ♣ Blocks

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