Lets see, what has gone on over the past 7 months?  Well this fall I finally got rid of the hideous wallpaper in my living room and gave it a paint job.  Looks great.  Now I just need to do the rest of the house.  I’m thinking actaully of trying to hire someone to do it but alas, I trust nobody around here to actually give a shit and do a good job so it’s likely I’ll just end up doing it myself.  Gavin the Wonder Dog had knee surgery about 3 weeks ago.  I guess that was the big event of the year for me.  Talk about nerve wracking.  Not so much for him I guess as for me.  He is my child after all and having to put him through reconstructive knee surgery was pretty stressful.  You never quite know how a dog (or cat) might respond but he seems to have pulled through with flying colors and he is getting his stitches out this coming Friday.  He should recover about 80% use of his back leg by summer if all goes well.

Speaking of family.  I hosted my first Thanksgiving this past year at my house and it was a blazing success.  Everyone showed up, everyone brought great dishes to pass and nobody complained that I didn’t watch the football game with them on TV. LOL.  Really, it is wonderful to me to have so many family members living in this area.  They are all solid people and they’ve always given me plenty of encouragement in my life, sometimes when I’ve really needed it.

Sister Sarah and Brother-in-Law Brian were here for Christmas with my niece Lucy and nephew Christopher.  They’ve grown accustomed to staying at my house which actually has worked out quite well.  For everyone.  I’m always awestruck by young children.  Their lack of inhibitions and curiosity about everything around them is entertaining at the least and knowing how wonderful  their parents are at least gives me hope that they won’t mind contributing to my retirement fund once they start working.  The wonder years are ahead for them and I can’t wait to be that “cool but somewhat weird” uncle that likes to play Lego and shoot the shit with Ken and Barbie.

So beyond that, there is not a lot of new shit going on right now.  I am looking forward to profit sharing coming up at work and I’m looking forward to paying off my debts and maybe getting a couple toys as well.  Stay tuned for that.

I will promise that this year I will try to keep this blog updated more often.  Seems that whenever I have thought about writing, I’ve always managed to find something better to do with my time.  I guess that comes along as one of the pitfalls of home ownership.  There is always something to work on.  So, until next time.  Cheers!

Today was a very busy day for me.  Today I learned how to start up my sprinkler system.  I am so happy that I have one already installed in my yard.  It should give me quite a good lawn all summer.  I only had one hiccup and had to replace one sprinkler head that got crushed over the winter.  Turned into a rather big hassle and I ended up with a big hole in the ground.  The yard is in such good shape however that the patch job I did should recover.  Got a load of fertilizer on the yard today as well and also had a second estimate for my fence.  I should know tomorrow which company I am going to use to install.  The one that came out today buys all their stuff exclusively through my employer so his estimate should be good since I know what he pays for his materials.  I am shooting to have the fence installed and done no later than June 1.  Once that is up then I can start doing the sort of landscaping I want to do but I need to get the hard scape installed first so I know what my boundaries are going to be.  It’s exciting.

On the work front things have been crazy for the last 8 weeks.  My assistant has been on maternity leave and I have been working generally no fewer than 50 hours a week.  To say the least, when I get home from work, the last thing on my mind is writing an entry in this blog.  She is due back this next week and I can’t wait for things to finally settle down again.  I’ve been short people the entire time she has been away so I’ve been struggling to keep up.  I managed to fail an inventory audit which will create more work for me as a result but luckily, it has little baring on my employment.  Thank God for that.  So aside from the daily dose of crazy I get from people at work, things are getting into a grove.

I’ve been thinking about mom lately as she has started treatment for breast cancer.  Chemotherapy is really rough on your body and I can only imagine what it does to your head.  She seems to be doing OK with it although she’s a bit concerned about her hair.  Both Dad and I offered to shave our heads as a token of support but, never being a person to step outside the lines, she insisted we both looked better with hair.  It’s taken me a little time to face the reality that both my parents are in fact getting older and both seem to spend more time at doctor’s appointments than anyone else I know.  I suppose that is normal though.  All my grandparents died before I was out of High School so I don’t have very clear memories of their aging process and processing the reality of aging is quite different to a kid than it is to an adult in their mid 30′s and getting closer to 40 every day.  The good thing is that both Mom and Dad are realistic about their own health and are taking the steps they need to take to keep things under control.  While I don’t often say it, I’d pretty much bend over backwards for either of them and I’m sure they know that…. they’d do the same for me.

So tonight I’m enjoying a cocktail in celebration of actually getting something done today around the house and I’m hoping that you all will continue to check in every now and then for updates.

We are finally starting to approach spring up here in the northwoods.  The pot heads are coming out of the forest and visiting the store once again stinking up the place, and the roads are full of pot holes again too.  Life in Michigan: where tourists can pretty much count on losing an axle on the roads as soon as they cross the state line.  Speaking of traveling, I did finally take a vacation (after 6 months of constant work) and took a trip down to the corn fields of Iowa to meet my new niece Lucy.  It was nice to see that Sarah and Brian run a tight ship, emulating the fine examples of our parents.  Christopher has grown and is finally learning to speak using complete sentences, something that will always make him my favorite nephew (make sure you remind him of that) and Lucy was sporting a fine head of hair, clearly preparing to wear home made barrettes made of bright pink sequins for the annual family pictures.  It was nice to see them all and even help them to acquire new channels on their TV.

On my way home from Iowa I managed to spend $10 on tolls going through Chicagoland only to end up at Ikea to spend a paltry $35.  I had never been to an Ikea store before and I had planned on making some bigger purchases to help furnish my new house.  Once there, I decided that other things really needed to be accomplished prior to setting up a Swedish sweat lodge in my basement.  Really, I simply can’t have a country bumpkin, collection of random things going on.  I need more consistency than that so some planning is going to be in order.

I am enjoying my new 47″ TV that I purchased with my profit sharing bonus at work.  Of course everyone I know is simply amused that I refuse to get cable TV to go along with it, they all think that I’ve wasted my money because I can’t watch 600lb men behave like fools at national sporting events in 3D.  Little do they know that there is more to entertainment than learning how many feet there are in a yard.  Like, perhaps watching the latest episode of Glee.  Gavin the wonder dog has been having a good time exploring his new house and it has not taken him long to get quite comfortable wandering around outside, soon I’ll be able to fence him in and I won’t have to stand out there and watch him every time he needs to go out.

I won’t even go into all the drama lately at work.  Let’s just say I’m glad I’ve got my shit figured out since at least that means I’ll be able to keep my job.

So that’s about all I have to say for tonight.  We’ve sprung the clocks ahead by an hour this weekend and so my body still thinks it’s much earlier than it really is.  I must be off to bed if there is any hope of me waking up in the morning.

I am eagerly awaiting news from Iowa within the next several days.  For anyone totally out of the loop, I am expecting news of the birth of my niece!  Sarah and Brian are expecting their second child any day now and the parents have gone down to Iowa to be with them.  I know that Sarah is very much ready for this to be over with and of course the grandparents are just beaming I’m sure.  Should be within the next few days….I hope.

Not much else going on up here in the northwoods.  I have the weekend off and I’m planning on going out to the lake to dig out my folks.  Hopefully I can figure out how to run their snowblower.  Then I am going to take the dog over to Lake Michigan to take some pictures.  Good Harbor should be mostly frozen by this point and I’ve not made a trip into Leelanau for quite some time.  It’s time to use that camera of mine.  I’ll upload new pictures to my web site if I manage to capture some good ones.

I’m off to bed now.  Hopefully I can convince myself to write again soon.  By the way Happy Birthday  A. A. Milne

As we get closer now to the new year, it’s time for a little reflection on this past year.  It’s been quite a year for me.  Back in January of 2010, I had no idea that by the end of the year I’d be living in my own house, that I actually would qualify and get a mortgage after so many years of financial damage had been done to my credit report.  I had no idea that it would take me the better part of 6 months to fight with the credit reporting agencies about their own failure to report and document things correctly or that, by the end of it, it would only take me 30 days to close.  So now I own a house with a mortgage, in the little town of Interlochen with a dog, a yard, and new neighbors.  And I’ve done all this largely on my own except for the bits and pieces of financial help and MASSIVE amounts of encouragement I’ve received from my folks.  I think they are as impressed as I am that I was able to get this done without having to borrow lots of money from them.  It makes me feel good that I didn’t have to, after all, I SHOULD be doing these things on my own at this point in my life.  I have a good job, a good income, and finally, I will now have a tangible asset and of course a LOT more responsibility.

This has also been quite a good year for me at work.  My income only continues to grow but more than that I’ve finally reached a point now at work where I can be considered an experienced manager at least by my companies definition.  In April of this next year, I’ll be entering my 7th year with my company and my 5th year as part of the management staff.  I think that without question, that gives me a degree of credibility and earns me some respect from my peers and employees.  People listen to me as a leader, not necessarily because I’ve got the experience under my belt but more because I have and can keep a level head in a VERY unleveled working environment.  I have been able to stick it out and make my job work for me as my career and I’ve been able to promote (or rather convince) other employees that retail employment can really work for you if you let it.  NEVER in my life did I envision myself becoming a retail manager, I think this job is not one that most people dream of having.  I never did.  But, it has worked out very well for me despite having to put up with random idiots, freaks, and fools, I do enjoy my job quite a bit and I enjoy the fact that it keeps me entertained.  I could never go back to a desk job at this point.  How boring, how tedious, how monotonous.  Every day is new adventure for me and I hope that I’m never forced to change that.  It takes a toll on my body but that is of my own doing.  Part of my new routine now going into the new year is to start taking a little better care of my aging body in hopes that it will last me a while.

My photography has also taken off quite well this year.  I purchased a professional level camera in February which has allowed me to capture quite a number of truly amazing photos.  While photography is still just a hobby for me, my work has been featured on Leelanau.com 4 times in the past year, I’ve had multiple requests from people to buy my pictures, I’ve even had to sign an affidavit at Meijer because they could not believe the pictures I was developing with them were my own.  That puts me in an exclusive little club at this Meijer up here.  Their little file isn’t very thick which I suspect says more about their inability to develop quality images using quality materials than it does about me since there are so many great photographers in this region who rightly choose to develop their photos through professional photo labs.  I am looking forward to moving ahead with my photography this next year and perhaps doing another book in addition to the others I’ve already published.

On the family side of my life, I am looking forward to the addition of a niece named Lucy.  This will make child #2 for Sarah and Brian and I could not be a prouder (is that word) Uncle!  I am always saddened that I don’t get to see them very often however that is not uncommon for people in our age group.  Families simply don’t all live in the same city or state any more and I accept that fact I think more than my folks do.  I know they would like to be closer to their grandkids and to Sarah and Brian but it’s not a reality that is possible at this time.  At least it gives all of us a reason to get out of the state every now and then and visit other places.  I’m sure if we did not have family in Iowa, we never would have made it out to Colorado this past fall.  Exploring our environment means having to take risks and having to take trips.  I can’t wait to make a trip out to see little Lucy and her brother Christopher this next year.  I look forward to learning the nickname for Lucy to counter Wally.

I’ll wrap this post up for now and leave by saying that I hope you readers do stick around.  There are lots of things going on in politics right now that I want to write about and share when I can find the time to do it.  At the very least, you will all find some amusement or pleasure in reading what I have to say.  Today then I’m off to clean out my garage in hopes that I’ll soon be able to park my car inside it.  Cheers!

Tomorrow night I’ll be sleeping in the new house and I can only pray that Gavin the Wonder Dog takes chill pill by then.  He was a ROYAL pain in the ass today although I can’t blame him too much.  His world and daily routine has crumbled right before his eyes in the past few days and he’s taken it fairly well.  It will take some adjusting at the new house for him but I’m quite sure that he will come out just fine.

It’s going to take me a while to recover from this.  Tomorrow night, I will have to get the house in some sort of order so at least I can get from one end of the place to the other without falling over boxes.  It’s going to be a real challenge.  I’ve got a lot of shit.  You don’t realize what you’ve got until you have to pack it all up and move it.

Now, I’m off to bed to try and get some sleep before all hell breaks tomorrow.  Hope everyone is doing just grand!

On Friday, I spent the better part of 2 hours with my mortgage broker signing my name to no fewer than 30 documents detailing the loan I am applying for.  This purchase is contingent on the acceptance of my loan among other things.  There are still a few hurdles I have to jump over before I am free and clear.  The biggest news I have about the loan process is that because of what I asked for in the offer, the seller effectively paid points for me.  I was able to lower my interest rate an entire point with the money I would have otherwise had left over from what the seller is paying on my closing costs.  With the help of my broker, I ran multiple scenarios playing with that money.  We looked at paying the principal loan amount down with it and we looked at various point options.  In the end, I determined that since I am likely to be there longer than 5 years, the lower interest rate was the way to go.  My good faith estimate now shows my rate at 4.25 and the net result is a savings of about $9600 over the life of the loan in interest savings.  Not huge, but not bad either.  As it turns out, my mortgage payment will end up being about $1 less than what I am currently paying in rent.  Obviously my utilities will be a bit higher but shit, they aren’t going to be through the roof by any means.  I am fortunate that I am in this position today.  The housing market is basically at a bottom meaning there is a good chance I’ll make money on my purchase when I go to sell the house down the road.  So, on that front, I’m happy.

While all this was going on, Jirar managed to fly up here for a visit, thus, you will find now a new gallery on my web site of our Fall Color Tour through Leelanau county.  We hit all the major spots.  Glen Arbor, Pyramid Point, Peterson Park and all the beaches in between.  Put 125 miles on the car too and blew a half tank of gas doing it.  As a side note, not sure what to think about Jirar right now.  There is no denying that we still click with each other.  I don’t get as emotional now when I see him but I still wonder if someday we might get back together.  The demeanor of our relationship has not changed much, even since we split up, as though we might simply be taking a break.  Neither of us is foolish enough (or perhaps wise enough) to wait for the other to suggest something but neither of us will deny our feelings for the other.  Right now, I can’t let it bother me or cloud my head.  I’ve got lots going on and I’m not waiting for anyone but myself at this point.

Sunday I’m heading out to the lake to take out the dock for the winter, a job I hate but one I’m willing to put up with since it benefits me and saves my folks a few bucks.  I’m glad they are finally paying someone to put it in when spring rolls around.  I appreciate the example my folks set for me by being frugal but really, there are some things simply not worth saving a buck over.  Nobody in this family has a good back, I’d rather like to keep mine for a few more years.  On Monday the inspections are to occur on the house.  This is a necessary step in the process and one I’m actually looking forward to.  This purchase is also contingent on nothing major being wrong with the house so we’ll see what happens with that.

I’ll be trying to write more as we get closer to my closing date which right now is officially set for December 1 although we are pushing to get it done sooner so I can move in by Thanksgiving.  I really hope that happens, I’m not all that interested in moving in the snow.  So, stay tuned for further developments.

Back in the day, I could have told you right away that I was different.  I had no concept of my sexuality in any significant way before age 13 or 14 but I knew I was not like the other boys my age.  I could not really comfortably label myself as gay before I was 15 or 16 and by age 17 I had simply accepted it for myself even though I didn’t really come out until a year or so after that.  The month of September has been a deadly month for gay kids this year.  In just 30 days, there have been 3 suicides and boy with a broken arm that is continuing to be harassed.

• Seth Walsh, the Bakersfield, CA 13-year-old who hanged himself from a tree in his back yard after years of being bullied, died Tuesday afternoon after nine days on life support. Police investigators interviewed some of the young people who taunted Seth the day he hanged himself. “Several of the kids that we talked to broke down into tears,” Police Chief Jeff Kermode said. “They had never expected an outcome such as this.”
• Asher Brown, 13, an eighth-grader killed himself last week. He shot himself in the head after enduring what his mother and stepfather say was constant harassment from four other students at Hamilton Middle School in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in Houston Texas. Brown, his family said, was “bullied to death” – picked on for his small size, his religion and because he did not wear designer clothes and shoes. Kids also accused him of being gay, some of them performing mock gay acts on him in his physical education class, his mother and stepfather said.
• Billy (William) Lucas, 15, a student at Greensburg Community High School in Greensburg, IN, was found dead in a barn at his grandmother’s home Thursday evening – he had hanged himself. Friends say that he had been tormented for years. “He was threatened to get beat up every day,” friend and classmate Nick Hughes said. “Sometimes in classes, kids would act like they were going to punch him and stuff and push him. Some people at school called him names,” Hughes said, saying most of those names questioned Lucas’ sexual orientation.
• An Ohio mom is disappointed that her son’s school didn’t do more to stop at least two boys who allegedly picked on her 11-year-old cheerleader son until the bullies beat him so bad they broke his arm.  She says the beating didn’t break his spirit however. Tyler Wilson has vowed to continue cheering with hopes it helps him get into college some day.  ”I’m going to keep going. I’m going to make a lifestyle out of it,” Tyler told ABC News affiliate WTVG.

All 4 of these stories have been getting airtime on the national network news channels.  This sort of thing is nothing new for gay youth.  Every day gay kids are beaten up, harassed, called names and generally tormented because they have identified as gay or others PERCEIVE them to be so.  It’s easy now as an adult to simply ignore all of this and that’s why I’m writing this post.  It shouldn’t be ignored.  I get really angry when I hear that another kid killed himself because he was fed up with being bullied over his sexual orientation.  That kid might have been me.

The memories I have left of grade school and middle school (with certain exceptions for my time at ABS) are not good ones for me.  We are again talking about a different time and a different era but I was routinely picked on at school by certain kids.  My involvement in music was a constant source of ridicule and teasing even into high school.  I was a sissy for being able to sing or play the piano, or I was just a dumbass for not getting into playing football on the playground.  I was fortunate that despite the daily combative atmosphere I had teachers and more importantly parents that I knew supported me and to whom I knew I could turn if things ever got to a point where I could not deal with it on my own.  It also helped that the kids I hung out with at home were different kids than those I went to school with.  The neighborhood was much different for me than my school life.  I was a pretty independent kid.  I didn’t really care all that much what my peers thought of me and even today, I’m not really all that concerned about what others think of me.  I’m not on this planet to please them or to make them happy.  I’m here for ME and to live MY life.

I don’t really know the demographics of the people who read my blog but I know there are more people reading this than just my parents.  Some of you might be gay kids, some of you might be gay adults, some of you might be straight conservative Christians.  I don’t know.  What I do want to say though is that I would be lying if I did not admit that during my youth I contemplated the idea of suicide.  Growing up is not an easy thing to do and I’d be hiding the truth if I could not admit that I disliked 2/3 of my childhood experiences outside of my house.  It’s that other 1/3 though that has made me into the adult I am today.  Those experiences I had as a kid, especially the experiences that made me feel good about myself and about my life, shaped me into who I am today: someone that tries very hard whenever I’m given the chance to give a shit about the lives of other people.  My life got better and better as I grew up and as I got out of school and started living my own life.  And even today, each day is a new challenge and a new adventure and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s very hard for adult gay males to be involved with kids in any significant way.  It’s easier now than it used to be but straight society STILL sees us (especially men) as sex obsessed predators.  That’s a HUGE reason for why I got out of education and why I gave up my work with the boychoir.  It doesn’t matter how good a person I present myself to be, the assumption always is that it’s just not a good idea for me (gay men) to be around kids.  Even if I had the support of 99% of the parents of the kids I worked with, the 1% who couldn’t deal with it could potentially destroy a career over no other reason than their own bigotry and ignorance.  I wanted nothing more to do with that atmosphere.  Why was I continuing to try and live my own life by their standards for so long?

One of the things that I was missing in my childhood and the childhood of these kids who have killed themselves this past month was a healthy gay adult role model that was visible.  There was nobody I could look at and say “he turned out OK, maybe I can too” during those times when I was getting picked on for whatever reason.  I had the support of my parents and all these kids may well have had the support of their parents, but all of us left behind stories of being different and singled out.  The difference was that people intervened in my life at different times as I grew up and kept me going in the right direction, those boys were never given the chance to develop an idea that their lives might just get better if they just stuck it out a little longer.  Nobody helped those kids or their parents deal with what they were going through, nobody recognized the problem because homophobia and ignorance are still the rule, not the exception.  This has to change in our society.  Gay kids are not going to just go away and neither are gay adults.  This fear and ignorance has to be dealt with if we are ever to see a slow down in suicide rates.  If you didn’t already know, gay and questioning kids are 4 times more likely than their straight peers to commit suicide and 9 out of 10 gay kids report regular harassment in their schools for being gay or from others perceiving them to be gay.  I’ve posted these statistics before.  They are very reviling and very disturbing.

So I’m going to end this post with a video of a new project that has been started online.  Much like the internet, this sort of thing never existed when I was growing up and after spending some time watching these videos of people my age re-telling their stories of growing up gay, I wish something like this had been around for me.  It might have made things easier for me to deal with.  This project won’t bring back the 3 boys that took their own lives this past month but it’s a step in the right direction and maybe a small bit of hope for all those gay kids who have no support system and nobody to talk to.

If you are a kid or young adult reading this blog, there is a link on the sidebar to the Trevor Project.  Visit that web site and know that there is someone available for you 24/7 every day of the year.  Watch the intro vid for the “It Get’s Better Project” below and then click the video to go watch more on YouTube.  I won’t ever do a video cast of myself, this blog post will serve as my entry.

It Gets Better Project

This has been a long summer for me at work and not necessarily in a bad way.  I average about 50 hours a week or more if it’s needed during the summer months.  My selling season is from late April to late September.  I need to keep focused and I need to keep a fire under not just my own feet but my employees feet too during this short season.  If I don’t, I can’t reach my goals for my department.  This has been a good year for reaching my goals at work as it has been for the other departments as well.  We’ve all done better than expected and that keeps things going in the right direction.  That also means however that I have to consider the future.  The better I do year after year, the better I am expected to do the following year.  Keeping up that momentum is critical to my success both as a leader and manager but also for my own self fulfillment.  I’ve been able to score some important political points this year which allows me to get help when I need it and make decisions that impact both my career and the careers of my employees.  I have the freedom to make decisions and also the support to defend them.  That’s important in retail.  Fall will be a season of change for my department at work.  That’s all I can say here.

As the title of this post implies, I’ve been thinking about Mountains and Chasms lately.  And not because there are days when jumping off a mountain is appealing.  In a couple weeks, the folks and I are headed out west on a road trip of epic proportions.  Not only will we be driving 12 hours down to Iowa to visit Sarah, Brian and Christopher, we will then be driving another 12 hours west to Colorado for 4 days to see the Rocky Mountains at Rocky Mountain National Park.  I put emphasis on the driving 12 hours bit because thats the one part of the journey that I’m not looking forward too all that much.  Thats a LONG time to be in a car with anyone, especially when it involves driving through some of the most boring countryside on earth.  Alas, airplanes are expensive and we don’t yet have high speed rail in this country so I have no choice but to just suck it up and find something to do with my time in the car perhaps I’ll just sleep.

Anyhow, I’m very much looking forward to seeing Iowa again and even more I am looking forward to finally seeing the Rocky Mountains up close and personal.  I’ve flown over them many times but never had the chance to see them up close.  I am sure that I’ll be taking tons of pictures and I’ll upload them all to my photography web site.  We are staying in Estes Park which is right on the edge of the National Park and I’m praying that the weather is going to be cooperative.  As of right now, we are planning a day trip down the Trail Ridge Road which is the highest continuous highway in the country.  It crosses the Continental Divide and sweeps through some of the most impressive vistas you could find, all on a road with hairpin curves and steep grades.  I found out yesterday that sadly, much of that road has been under construction this summer so we may hit some delays along the way.  Doesn’t matter as I’m sure the view will take some of the stress out of that.  I’m still debating on paying for a photography tour.  I’ve found a few groups that offer “Photography Safari’s” through the park, going off road in Jeeps and back into the depths of the National Park.  Would cost me about $100 for a 4 hour excursion.  I’m not so sure I’d see anything on those however that we could not simply find on our own traveling in our own vehicle.  We’ll see.  I’ll post more once I figure out what I want to do.

So, stay tuned.  As we progress into fall and then into the long cold winter up here in the northwoods, I’m quite sure my writing will increase again.  I’ve been pretty quiet this summer on this blog.  Some of that is on purpose, some of it is because I work too much.  For now, I hope everyone is having a good Labor Day holiday.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted an update on this blog.  Life is crazy for me right now.  Work, Work, Work, sleep, sleep, sleep.  It’s a redundant cycle that won’t end until late August it seems.  All things considered, this is turning out to be a pretty decent summer.  The weather has been SO much better than last year, temperatures have remained fairly consistent in the upper 70′s to 80′s.  Right where it should be.  The boat is in the water at the cottage and the folks are keeping very busy building fences, making cookies, and keeping up with the neighbors (as much as they can stand it anyhow).  Looks like sister Sarah and nephew Christopher are going to be making a trip up to the northwoods as soon as this next week.  Sounds like Sarah might need a break even before their road trip in August.  Looking forward to seeing them, especially Christopher.  I’ve only seen pictures since last Christmas, I’m sure he’s growing fast and will eventually be in shock to discover a new sibling draining some of the attention away from him.  First born’s tend to get the best and the worst of things.  They are of course always FIRST, but the loss of devoted attention when a new family member arrives is a big step for any child to deal with.  Most do just fine and I’m sure Christopher will too.  He’s got great parents.

Things have been fairly busy on the national news front lately.  Of course the BP oil spill is the consuming story.  It has been interesting to follow things as they have developed.  It sickens me that our government as well as BP seem to think that an escrow account with 20 billion dollars in it is going to help solve this massive environmental disaster.  It doesn’t even matter any more when they eventually cap the flow of oil out of the hole in the ocean floor.  The damage has already been done.  Millions of gallons of oil and thousands of tons of methane now displacing what once was crystal clear waters in the Gulf will be killing us slowly for decades.  News came out today that oil and gas is now seeping up through the ocean floor near the well which is presenting another issue.  Could it be creating a sink hole due to pressure?  Nobody knows but if that is occurring, the worst of this disaster is not even close to being over yet.  We’ll see what happens.

In other news, the Prop 8 trial held closing arguments this past Wednesday.  Once again, proponents of the ban on gay marriage in California sputtered and shouted but in the end produced absolutely NO evidence to support their position.  This is a hugely significant case that will eventually make it to the supreme court.  A decision is expected in a few weeks and then it’s off to the appeals process.  I don’t have the energy to recap the whole thing, if you want to know about it more than visit the Prop 8 Trial Tracker web site for a full re-cap of all the arguments.  It really has been a pleasure watching one of the most successful lawyers in this country defend my right to exist and it amazes me that in a courtroom, where politics is NOT the key element, all those who are so intent on upholding discrimination against the GLBT community simply fall flat on their faces.  It’s been amazing to watch.

I have been able to keep up a little bit on my photography.  I’ve uploaded a few new galleries to leelanauphotography.com since my last entry.  Please be sure to check them out.  I’m looking forward to eventually having some time off this summer to really do some exploring with my camera, perhaps in places I’ve not been.  So, until my next entry which might be tomorrow, or several weeks from now, enjoy this picture of early summer in Leelanau.

So, tomorrow is the day of reckoning for Jesus Christ and the Easter Bunny.  I’ll be headed out to the lake to have dinner with the folks and hopefully Gavin the wonder Dog will have a chance to run for a while.  It has been raining all day today so he’s been stuck inside…not that he would not go out in the rain but because the smell of wet dog is heinous.  It looks like the family is finally set up on Skype and everyone finally has it installed and working.  If you are not a user, you should try it.  You’ll need a web cam and some basic knowledge of how to install software.  That’s about it.  One of these days I’ll get to have a conversation with nephew Christopher although I suspect he has little interest right now.

So, aside from work and warmer weather lately, I’ve not nothing much else to say!  I’ve put a few new galleries on my web site, you can check them out by clicking HERE.  This was taken using my new camera.

Today on the Huffington Post

Firing all the teachers may feel good – we’re Americans, kicking people when they’re down is what we do – but it’s not really their fault. Now, undeniably, there are some bad teachers out there. They don’t know the material, they don’t make things interesting, they have sex with the same kid every day instead of spreading the love around… But every school has crappy teachers. Yale has crappy teachers – they must, they gave us George Bush.

According to all the studies, it doesn’t matter what teachers do. Although everyone appreciates foreplay. What matters is what parents do. The number one predictor of a child’s academic success is parental involvement. It doesn’t even matter if your kid goes to private or public school. So save the twenty grand a year and treat yourself to a nice vacation away from the little bastards

Click on the link above to read the rest.

I get so sick of the bullshit in the papers and on line criticizing teachers for ‘failing kids’.  Bullshit.  The only teachers who are failing kids in this country ARE THE PARENTS.  Yes, there are bad teachers, AND bad doctors, lawyers, and scientists but come on if you are going to take the time to write in to the newspaper editor, at least show your kids that you know how to use a spell checker or that you can FINISH a fucking thought in a single sentence!  So, the next time you get an urge to criticize a teacher, stop and think for a minute about what you are doing.  Is little Jimmy’s failure to learn his times tables the fault of the teacher OR is it YOUR fault for failing to make sure little Jimmy got home after school to DO HIS HOMEWORK!  OR, is it YOUR fault for failing to drill them into his head like you were asked to help do by the note you got from the teacher BECUASE YOU YOU COULD NOT BE BOTHERED TO SHOW UP FOR PARENT / TEACHER CONFERENCES!

One reason, among many others that I got out of the Education thing for myself was that I had a very difficult time understanding the lack of involvement of parents in their kids lives because it was SO foreign to me. Growing up I couldn’t shit without one of my parents asking me about school and about my life and good Lord there were times when I absolutely HATED their incessant nagging, prodding, and scornful stares and I would slam my books on the table and leave for coffee at Denny’s just to piss them off more. My parents were doing their jobs, THEY were being teachers, never mind their own backgrounds.  THEY were demanding accountability from me and THEY were going to stand by me and help me even while frustrated with me to make sure that at the VERY least, I got my ass through High School with an education.  Yes, I know everyone has shit going on in their lives but come on, you do not have to be a scholar to be a teacher to your child, you only have to be there and show that to your child.  They will know your expectations, you don’t even have to explain what they are,  that’s the beauty of a parent / child relationship.  The kid WILL come to you for help even when they know you won’t be able to give them the answers.

Lack of parental involvement is the #1 reason that our education system in this country is shot.  It is not however broken and it is not un-fixable.  It is also not the sole responsibility of teachers in this country to raise YOUR CHILDREN.

Today I packed up the dog and headed out to the lake.  The sun has been out for the past few days, something exceedingly rare this time of year and I figured I would take advantage of it today by bringing my camera along.  I ended up going down to a beach I had not been to in quite some time.  It was further south than I usually go but still on Good Harbor Bay, just down the road further.  It was quite nice.  There were a few people out today but because of the Super Bowl and my complete lack of interest in sports, it was pretty quiet overall.  Gavin was able to run around off the leash for a while and I spent some time trying to capture a few good pictures.  I’ve uploaded a new gallery at leelanauphotography.com, just click the picture below to check it out.

The folks are off to Iowa for about 6 weeks tomorrow morning.  They’ve decided to spend some time away from here this winter since it’s easy to get really stir crazy this time of year.  We still have a good 3 months of shitty weather before spring starts to hit, I really hate this time of year up here.  Luckily, my job keeps me quite busy so it’s hard for me to care much.  Mom and Dad will be staying with Sarah, Brian and Christopher and I’ll be interested to hear how that all works out.  I love my folks to death but given the choice, I would not choose to have them live with me for any extended amount of time.  I’m pretty sure my folks would say the same about me. Our family dynamics are a bit much to tolerate day in and day out.  And, at my age, and their age, that’s the way it should be.  Christopher will be spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa for 6 weeks, and, that’s the way THAT should be too!  He’s a lucky kid, even if the only words he can say are “doggie” and “LOOK”.  We’ll see if Grandpa can teach him a few words during his stay.

I have made a new purchase since my last entry in this blog.  Last week, I broke down and bought a Wii so that I too could join the ranks of 30 something’s who are sick of being out of shape but who don’t want to join a gym.  I have always enjoyed video games even though I suck at them and I like the concept of being more involved in them rather than just sitting on a couch with a controller.  The Wii promises to at least get me off my ass for a little bit each day.  Eventually I’ll buy the Wii balance board and Wii Fit Plus game so that I can actually start getting in shape.  Sadly, they are sold out nearly all over the country and it’s going to be several weeks before they get back in stock.  Oh well, I’ll be busy enough at work.

Bonus time at work is fast approaching.  Profit Sharing checks are handed out Feb. 16th and my Managers bonus is due in mid March.  Crazy thing about my job is that I make more in the first 3 months of the year than I do the next 8 months of regular work just because of bonuses.  It’s nice to get big fat checks but it’s also dangerous because it’s easy to just go out and spend it.  If I had this job at any other time in my life, I’d be broke all the time but fortunately I’ve learned how to manage my money in much healthier ways so I’ll be able to save what is necessary but I’ll also be able to go out and get a few toys to play with.  This year I am buying a keyboard and I’ll write more about that when the time comes.  So for now, enjoy the new gallery.

Uncle David teaching Christopher to be a nerd.  He got up on my lap without prompting indicating that even though I only see him a couple times each year, he clearly knows who the “cool” uncle is!!  haha.

Lots of interesting things going on in politics although I don’t have the energy to report on much of it.  Eventually I’ll get around to writing another prophetic post blasting the religious right and the drag your heals left.  It’s exhausting.  I’ll leave you with a couple pictures below.  Hopefully I’ll find more time to write soon.

Santa Times 2

Tonight I am going to have dinner with my former in-laws.  Jirar’s folks are up here in the northwoods and we have planned a dinner at our favorite local dive.  It’s always good to see them and it’s nice that they’ve kept in contact with me.  Tomorrow, I am going to spend the day cleaning out my car (likely doing so out at the lake house so Gavin can play).  I need to unload the Malibu soon so that I can take possession of my new car and finally start driving it.  I have to get rid of my current car though first.  Any of you readers looking for a used car under $2000?  If so, let me know and I’ll consider your offers.

Not much else going on lately.  Fall is upon us and the weather has been shitty.  I guess I should expect it but this is my favorite season, I just wish it would not rain for a few days and be in the upper 60′s (rather than the low 40′s).  I’m going to also get out tomorrow and take more pictures.  Hopefully I’ll have a new gallery uploaded soon on my web site but for now, here is a nice picture you can use as your background on your computer!

In other news, I continue to amaze myself with my geeky fascination over technology.  Over the years, I’ve built up a rather impressive collection of old computers, cases, parts, hard drives and the like.  You know you can’t just toss that shit into a land fill so I’ve just never bothered to recycle any of it.  Last night, I hauled it all out, pulled out all the good components from the 4 old computers and reassembled them into a new hybrid computer.  My goal?  My big flat screen TV has an option to connect a computer to it and I have this urge to sit in my recliner and be able to surf the web.  Actually, there are all kinds of web sites available now where you can stream TV shows and movies (either free or for a fee) and by connecting this computer to the TV, I can now watch old re-runs of Silver Spoons, Family Ties, and the Golden Girls on Hulu.com on the big screen TV!  Shit, who needs cable any more, I can watch whatever I want for free via the Internet with the right technology.  So this morning I am re-installing an operating system before I head out to the lake for the day and tonight, we’ll see just how well it performs.

Anyhow, I need a life.

I’m going to be 35 freakin years old on Monday.  I’m not entirely sure where the past 10-20 years of my life has gone but I can’t say that anything that’s happened has been all that bad or that I regret any of it.  I’ve always tried to live my life the way I want to live it by my rules and for the most part, I get support from the people who matter for doing so.  I never thought I would end up back in retail, I certainly never thought I would end up living in Traverse City (seeing this place primarily as a vacation spot for most of my life), and I never thought that at this point in my life I’d be single again.  That last part bugs me a little bit but at the same time, I really don’t mind where my life is at right now.  I’ve always been fairly solitary, I do pretty well on my own, and to be completely selfish, I enjoy spending money on myself rather than supporting other people.  I make more money now than at any other point in my life (as it should be), I’m healthy, my parents are healthy, and I can pretty much do whatever I want, whenever I want within the confines of a retail schedule of course.  Looking ahead, just 35 more years until I’m 70 and hopefully (fingers crossed), I’ll be retired and living comfortably by that point.

I thought I’d share this picture with you as I approach my birthday.  They say that being gay is something you are predisposed to at birth and that social conditioning plays a roll but it’s not the only factor.  Do you think this kid is being socially conditioned to be straight or does he just have parents with boundary issues?  I can’t even begin to imagine Hooter’s being an appropriate venue for a 10 year old’s birthday party!   He apparently doesn’t seem to mind.

It’s been a BUSY week for me.  Work has been a zoo but not exactly in the same way it has been most of the summer.  By zoo I mean that someone literally left the gate open at the zoo and untamed wild beasts have been shopping at the store this week!  One customer brought my assistant to tears this week, yelling at her for a problem he created, and yelling because when he discovered it he could not deal with that revelation.  I had another customer holler at me for having to come back and get more driveway sealer because what he got was too good and too thick and not like what he bought before even though what he got before was purchased at some other store in some other part of the state.  I had several other people in this week complaining that we are out of stock on SEASONAL items (stains, sealers etc.) and that I should have anticipated a shitty summer for doing outside projects and that 75% of the state has waited until the absolute last minute to do anything around their homes.  FUCK YOU, buy shit IN SEASON, you snooze you lose.  On top of the general jerks, it’s been beautiful outside now for the past 10 days and I’ve been stuck inside working my ass off.  Oh well, at least I can pay my bills…with the Michigan jobless rate above 12%, I can at least say I’m lucky to have an income.

Not too much else going on lately.  I am planning a trip to the Upper Peninsula with the folks in early October which will hopefully result in some good photography opportunities.  Right now, I don’t live any further from Lake Superior than I do from Grand Rapids (for the most part) and I’m sad that I’ve not bothered to just do a day trip up there.  If you like being out in the middle of fucking nowhere, the UP is certainly the place to do it.  I’ve been a little lax this year taking pictures.  Plenty of family pictures were taken and tons more pictures of Gavin, but I’ve not spent very much time in the woods this year like I’ve done in the past.  Most of that has to do with the fact that I live much further from nature now than I have in the past.  There are places to hike here in town but there are also lots of people, I can’t let Gavin off his lead, and I just don’t like being able to hear car horns and screaming children when I’m out hiking in the woods!  Oh well, at least I’m not sitting on my ass in front of the TV.  Anyhow, toodle for now.  Time to make dinner.

Part two goes like this.  I work at a store that is remarkably similar to big box Walmart.  I see the same clientele that you expect to see in a rural big box.  The diversity at my store is tremendous compared to the other home improvement stores because (and only because) of our massive product mix.  We sell stuff for everyone, not just nails and screws.  As I mentioned before, I read all kinds of blogs on the Internet.  Today I was sent a link to one that just cracked me up.  Not only is it funny because it pokes fun at some of the random people who shop at Walmart, it’s funny because they are the same people I see at my store EVERY day of the week.  So, I’d like you to visit this blog and look at the pictures.  THESE are the folks I am taking about when I go off on rants about idiot people, smelly people, funny people, drugged out people etc that I encounter during the course of my day.  When you work in retail, especially in big box retail with high volumes of traffic, you can see and experience the entire scope of humanity all within the course of about an hour.  This is par for the course in my life and it’s actually, despite my rants, one of the reasons I’ve grown to love retail and sales so much.  It cracks me up, makes me feel just a little bit better about myself and helps me to realize that we are all just a bunch of freaks trying to get through life…some of us doing a much better job than others.  Take a look.  The People Of Walmart.