6:15pm.  Still at work.  If we don’t hear back from the site by 6:30 we are going to re-evaluate whether or not we have to stay.  We’re doing the right thing around here and the customer probably isn’t going to notice.  That’s okay.  I can’t control that.  I can only control what I do, and I feel like I’m doing the right thing.  Thumbs up, bro.

It’s been a long day.  Every day is a long day these days.  We are a few weeks away from a vacation.  I can’t wait.  My step daughter is off to college in the fall so this might be the last big trip with all four of us.  It’s going to be fun.  Sure the kids are going to want to go off on their own.  They are old enough.  They’ve been dealing with my dumb ass for 12 years so they’ve earned it.  It won’t be the whole time though.  We’ll get that quality time.

Until then, long days.  Short nights.  That’s supposed to be a good thing, but when you’re passed the point of having Summer vacation for 2+ months it just means your drive home is probably in the daylight.  Raise your hand if you miss Summer vacation.  My hand is emphatically up in the air, like Arnold Horshack.  Ooh, ooh, Mr Kotter!

I’m tired.  I’m always tired.  I don’t want to be, I just am.  I slept for almost seven hours last night, but I’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea, which begs the question: Did I get seven hours of sleep or did I get one minute of sleep 420 times?*  The good news on that front is that I’m scheduled to get one of those CPAP breathing machines on Saturday.  Here’s hoping I can get some actual rest for a change.

Well, it’s time to call it a night.  I might get a phone call from work tonight, but that’s okay.  I’ll deal with it if it happens.  Otherwise, back at it tomorrow!

*note: Seven hours times 60 minutes per hour is 420 minutes.  I did that math in my head because I are smart.  However, just to see what happens, I went to Google and entered “how many minutes are there in seven hours” and it returned the right number.  So Google is pretty smrt too.

Exercise is for suckers, which makes me a sucker.  Sort of.  A tiny bit.  Almost.

We’re going back to Disney World in a few weeks and I am clinically fat and out of shape.  I suggested to my wife that starting tomorrow we should go to the gym and practice walking… because really, I need the practice.  She suggested that we go for a walk around the block tonight.  I scoffed.  She insisted.  I caved and went.

It was only 20 minutes and it was okay because it is gorgeous out.  I actually worked up a tiny bit of a sweat, but that is probably because I’m so ridiculously fat and gross and awful, though 30 pounds less fat and gross and awful than I was a few months ago.

I learned one thing on our walk.  I learned that at least one of our neighbors is a jerk face.  Why?  Because there was a band rehearsing in one of them there houses and they have never invited me to play!  I mean, I am a thoroughbred dad-band shred master with all the coolest vintage style gear.  I mean, come on dudes… I own a Klon pedal (not the Centaur though) and I own TWO (2) 40+ year old Gibson guitars!  I am dad-rock gold!

Maybe this summer I’ll try sitting on the front step with my amp at full blast and see who comes visiting.

Maybe.

Change of subject:

Why do Sushi restaurants have fish tanks?  Is it advertising?

Today fucking sucked so here is the ocean.

I’m sitting at my desk at home. I just had a little weight watchers friendly breakfast. I’ve been searching around for Star Wars related fathers day jokes while watching the bird feeders. Mostly though, I’ve been trying to adjust to not having anything to do right now. The last two days were hyper and exciting and busy and rushing rushing rushing, and today… at least prior to dinner tonight, is quiet and responsibility free.

The graduation festivities are over.  We’re back to normal.  It feels a little sad.  It feels a little, “now what?”  The kids are at their Dad’s today and that makes it worse.  I miss them both like crazy.

The graduation ceremony was perfect.  It was super windy out but otherwise the weather was great up until the last half hour or so when it got really cold.  That was okay.  Everyone managed.  There was only one speech that felt long, but it was okay.   They had a keynote speaker and he was only up there for about three minutes.  Clearly the guy understood what his audience wanted.  My step daughter had a smile on her face from the first moment they walked in right up until the moment she went home.  You couldn’t have moved that smile with a jack hammer.  She looked down right giddy.  I am so happy for her, so proud of her.  I keep saying it because I keep meaning it.  She is amazing.  Watch out world, here she comes.

The graduation party yesterday was nice too.  Bellana did an exceptional job as the center of attention.  She made sure to spend some quality time with everyone.  It was interesting seeing the kids’ other extended family.  Their father’s sister has two kids who are roughly the same age as my step kids.  I hadn’t seen them since they were little, and now one is a high school graduate and the other is a high school student.  Kids grow up so fast.  If you look away for a minute you miss it and BAM they are all grown up.  I got to see my niece and my nephews, which I love.  My friend Larry’s son seemed nervous when he first arrived but eventually he worked his way into whatever my brother and sister’s kids were doing and that was great.  He also reminded us that we promised him a game night.  You are correct, sir.  We did promise.  There will be a Ticket to Ride match coming soon.

Then there is today.  All of those major events are over and I’m just sitting here.  I slept kinda late, which was absolutely wonderful.  We are having a fathers day dinner with my side of the family tonight.  I’m not sure if my parents are going to make it or not.  I’ll give my Dad a call this afternoon and make sure I wish him a happy fathers day.  I always feel weird at fathers day.  I’m not a father, but people act like I am.  Some people just assume, like the woman at Dunks did earlier today.  I don’t think my niece and nephews quite get it, and that’s okay.  I just feel like I’m stealing someone else’s thunder.  I kinda feel like a fraud.  Now if they had a Step Fathers Day, I would be all over that.  I would wave flags and have parades and all kinds of stuff.  Today though… it’s just weird.

I’m not sure what I want to do today before we go to dinner.  The weather is a little crummy so I won’t be hanging out on the patio.  Jen is taking advantage of the down time to get a little work in.  Earlier she was researching things we can do to let our 100% indoor cat play outside.  She was talking to the kids’ step mother who told us about these pet cages that you can put your cat in and then bring outside.  The cat gets to hang out in the nice weather without risk of it running into the woods and getting eaten by the hawks, or whatever other nasty predators are out there.  One of the cages we looked at on amazon.com even has a cat hammock!  How awesome is that!  I might play some guitar today, but I don’t know.  There’s a good chance I might just be super lazy and watch TV all day.  I’m about halfway through What We Do in the Shadows and it’s really funny.  Season three of Jessica Jones, the final Marvel Netflix season, came out on Friday.  I am only one episode in, but I might binge it today.  I also haven’t started watching the new season of Archer yet.

Happy Fathers Day to all of the Dads out there.  May your kids spoil you rotten for a day.

I got back on the weight loss wagon back in early March.  Today I realized that my new behavior patterns could have negative side effects for other people.

When I was at my pig-out worst there were two fast food restaurants that I routinely visited.  One was a Burger King in Methuen, the other was a Burger King in Salem, NH.  Today I drove past the Burger King on route 28 in Salem and was stunned to see that it was gone!  Closed!  Out of Business!

It’s my fault!

I had no idea that I was eating so much fast food that I was single handedly keeping that place open.  Sure, I ate there regularly, but I didn’t think they were depending on me.  I’m so sorry to all of the employees who were let go because I stopped buying a #13, large with a coke, and two hamburgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner six or seven times a week.

I’m not falling off the wagon though.  Even with going up a pound and a half today I am still down 30 pounds since March 9, 2019.  Saving the chicken fries from extinction is not enough to pull me out of this now.

 

The Mighty Spicket is mighty sad. I just weighed in and I’m up 1.4 pounds. Crud.

Well, she did it.  She graduated.  First in her class.  Her Valedictorian speech was everything you would expect from such an exceptional person.  It was smart, funny, insightful, optimistic, charming, and concise.  It was pretty much perfect.  We even had random teachers coming up to us afterward to tell us how good it was.

Bellana is brilliant.  Bellana is amazing.  Bellana is a high school graduate.

Congratulations to the class of 2019.  I expect great things from all of you.