Thirty Days Hath September

Remember that little ditty from school? Thirty days hath September, April, June and November...

Funny how some things you remember like that, but other things you totally forget. Like the name of the really cute kid on my paper route when I was 10. He was a little older than me and every Saturday when I would collect he'd be the one to pay me and with the $1.75 he always gave me a tootsie roll. I am sure his mother gave it to him to give me, but I always wished it was actually him that thought enough of me to give me candy each week. But for the life of me I can not remember his name.

The same way I forgot the name of one of the women that interviewed me on Thursday. The interview went great and at the end I wanted to impress them that I remembered their names, so I said Thank you to each of them calling them by name, except the second girl's name was Bev, not Joyce. They don't even sound alike. I hate it when my mind let's me down like that.

DJ is working from 10-1 this morning and then 5-2 tonight, so I have the Saturday night all to myself. Not that I am looking forward to that, because I'm not. I'd prefer him to be home with me while I sit on the computer...no really I am not going to complain, I am just thankful that one of us is working. So I suppose I will spend the rest of my Saturday writing.

So how many days does September have?

New Pictures

Hey go over and check out my new pictures of the grandkids on FLICKR. I have a link to my site on the left hand side of the blog. And while you are over there click the link to Lulu.com and buy my books, that is if you haven't done so already. You know you want to.

Total Disregard

What is it with these companies that spend the money to place an ad; hire a staff called Human Resources; hold interviews paying this staff to interview potential employees; have a background check done on a potential employee and then after all this expense fail to return potential employees calls or e-mail??

Can you tell I'm just a wee bit upset?

Well not really upset.
Just extremely frustrated.

A week ago Monday had an interview (and you know my feelings regarding those) with the local cable company for a position in their customer service department. My appointment was at 9:00 a.m., I arrived at 8:40. I waited over an hour before the interviewer arrived. She was obviously unprepared. (no pencil, not even a pad of paper). She found the writing utensils and put me in a room, which by the way looked like a storage closet with a table in it, and conducted an interview asking predetermined questions from a script she had in front of her. The complete interview lasted about 20 minutes. She explained to me that if the HR department felt they didn't need my services that I would be sent a postcard stating just that. If I did not receive that postcard I was to call her office the following Monday to follow up. I never received the postcard and now I have left four messages on this woman's answering machine and two e-mails requesting her to let me know if they would like me to come back for another interview or what. I still have not even been given the decency of a return call or e-mail. And what is so bad is that this is the second company I have interviewed for that has treated me in such a callous manner.

How totally unprofessional! Would one want to work for a company so rude and unprofessional? Well not really but I need the job. They could at least CALL ME BACK!

But all is well, as I have another interview tomorrow with a government agency. Let's see if they do any better. I doubt it as I sent my application to them over two months ago and just now received a call for an interview.

At this rate, I am bound to have a job before the year ends

Clearing My Head

If you recall I told you the other day about all the time I had on my hands and all the mundane things I do to fill that time. Well I began to think about all the time I was wasting on things that were not all that important. I mean I enjoy blogging but do I really need 7 of them? No one reads them anyway, right? So I cleaned house. I now only have three blogs and they are all under one account. I have Reality Check, which I will probably never get rid of, even though I have said on numerous occasions that I was closing it, just to reappear. I like blogging about my life, even if it isn't all that interesting to others, it is therapeutic for me.

The other two blogs, A Reality Past, is a compilation of research that I have been doing since 1980. It is my genealogy. My family tree. Some of my family members have wanted me to put all the information that I have researched into book form. But I find that very tedious, so instead I have started posting family bios via blogger. That way they can get the information they want and even copy the pictures that I have found and gathered over the last 26 years.
My other obsession is movies. All kinds of movies. I love the old ones, the classics, the bad ones and current ones. So what does one do with that kind of obsession? They blog about it. That is what Cinemania! is about. So if any of those interest you feel free to check them out.

So by eliminating 4 blogs and keeping only three I think I am in the right direction in freeing all this time I have on my hands. Plus, hopefully I will find out if I get that job I interviewed for on Monday by next week so my time spent blogging will be limited after that. It's a good thing. Trust me! Also by eliminating those blogs I feel I have more time for my other obsession, writing. Who knows maybe now that I have restructured these un-important details of my life I can work on the important ones.

That's a scary thought.

Good news on the finance front. DJ got a job!! Yes, he is returning to the ever-exciting world of serving tables. He has worked in the service industry before and enjoys it. Not only that, he is GOOD at it. He has the knack, the patience and the personality it requires to be a good server. It takes a special kind of person to serve tables, and Lord knows I'm not that type of person. DJ on the other hand is a pro. Due to these skills he always made excellent tips. This news came just in time, as we received a notice today from our rental company. It's time to renew our lease. I was being a bit hesitant about that due to being unemployed, but now we can stay here!! I really do not want to move again, at least not for a while. All we need now is for that call on Monday saying that I too will join the ranks of the gainfully employed.

Happy Anniversary

Friday will mark the 6th Anniversary that DJ & I first met. 6 Years! WOW, it seems like yesterday. I know I say that all the time, but it sure does not seem like six years. Now six years later, three cats, several moves, a few arguments, even fewer fights, several employment issues, a massive DVD library and 2 grand kids later we are still going and growing strong

DJ was at the right place at the right time. Or I should say I was at the right place at the right time, because he changed my life that night. And every day since then I have become a better person because of that cute guy sitting in the corner of the bar, all alone, in that sexy unbuttoned shirt. I asked him to dance, and I knew right then that this guy could not get away.

Thank you again to Kare Bear and Bri for taking me out that night. If it wasn't for you two insisting to go out I may have never met my best friend, my soul mate, my partner and my strength. Thanks DJ for being patient and allowing me to tear down those walls and let you in.

To all of you guys out there still looking, it can happen. And to all of you out there that do not think a committed gay monogamous relationship can last more than 6 months to a year, I am here to say I know better.

And to DJ... I love you more!

Too Much Time On My Hands

I have really got to get a job! I have WAY too much time on my hands. I now have 7 different blogs that I write, two flickr accounts that I maintain, and 6 e-mail accounts. Not to mention that I have been writing like mad since I opened my account on Lulu.com. Plus I also signed up for two online survey accounts. I am sure DJ is tired of the time I spend on the computer doing really NOTHING.

Well I do have a routine. Every morning I get up and check my e-mail, and then I check the job postings on the three accounts I have, careerbuilder.com; monsterjobs.com and jobsonline.com and then post my resume. So I am at least doing something pertinent.

I talked to a friend tonight and found out that the relationship that they had been in for the last three years is over. They have went their separate ways and divided their things and have called it quits. Now they are starting over, again. I know how hard that is and I feel for them and hope that things will look up soon. They have told me they are ready to have some quality time with themselves and not get into another relationship right away. I hope that they do.

Speaking of time, where has September gone!? It is already the 20th of the month. I can not believe how fast it is going. It is going to be Christmas before we know it! Well I have to go, I just heard a ding on the computer and I have to check and see what e-mail account has new mail. Or maybe someone bought another one of my books on Lulu, or possibly I have another survey to take....

Deje Vu

You would think at my age, and as many jobs that I have had that I would not be as anxious as I am concerning my interview tomorrow. I've spoke of my position about interviews here before. I'm not a fan of them. I really do not think interviews are an applicable tool in determining a potential employee. But regardless of my own opinion that is what employers use to gauge if they want a person on their payroll. My interview is at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed!

Last night Silver and his son came over to join DJ and my two sons in a night of D&D. We have been playing D& D now over a year and I think I have always been the dungeon master each time we have played. Most of the dungeons I have played I have found on the Internet. A couple I have written myself. Last night we began playing the dungeon and it seemed rather familiar to me, but we continued. Finally about four hours into the game we all realized..."We've done this before!" So not to make the entire night and game a squander I mixed up what remaining time was left with two or three other dungeons and finished our game. I gave the players extra experience points due to my poor memory.

I've had three sales so far on my books at LuLu.com, so I am looking for the rest of you that I sent e-mails to purchase them fairly soon!! Honestly though I am surprised at the hits I've had already in just a few short days. I've had over 25 hits on my page at Lulu, so at least someone is looking at what I have to offer. Now if they would just buy the books.

Another weekend has come and gone, and fall is creeping in quicker than I really want it to. I love the autumn but winter is right behind it, and winter is not one of my favorite seasons. Tonight and last night it was cool enough for us to shut off our air conditioning and I am sure within a few days or weeks it will be turned off for the year. Then the heat will have to be turned on. YUCK!
We have been here over a year now. (That in itself is hard to believe.) But our electric bills have been very acceptable. Hopefully this year will be more of the same.

I used to do this quite a bit, but haven't featured a fellow blogger in a while. If you like reading blogs, check out LOVE LEMMING. I've been reading his blog for quite some time now and enjoy finding out what is going on in his life. Plus he is a SIMS2 freak like me! He has recently moved to Portland, so go see what he is blogging about!

Again, wish me luck tomorrow; I will post an update when I hear anything.

Looking Up

Things seem to be moving in a new direction around here the last two or three days. I received a response from my resume and had a phone interview last night and a person-to-person on Monday. It is with the local cable company so I would also receive free cable and Internet service in my benefit package. Hell that alone is worth it!

As I mentioned on Wednesday, I have published some of my work on Lulu.com for distribution. So far I've had several hits on my site three and have three book purchases! All that in less than 48 hours of posting my work. So lets hope this continues. I wasn't sure about self publishing, but Lulu.com has a very simple procedure and very cost effective. If you are interested is getting your work out there for others to see you may want to check them out.

Due to the response I have received from my book postings I have been working on some of the other work that I had put aside. I have been writing for over 15 or twenty years just as a way to release stress. Some of the works were just a page or two, but others were full compositions. Not edited of course, so I have been going through my database and notebooks working on editing and completing some of my writings. I added a third book just last night for purchase on Lulu.com

If you would like to read my work I have put a link on the right hand side of my blog. Just hit that link and it will take you to Lulu.com and put my books into your cart for purchase. Thanks in advance!

Other than that everything has been somewhat quiet around here. I'd say things are looking up.

I'm Published!

Over three years ago I started blogging to help me overcome my writer's block. I never really got over the block, and now I have 7 blogs...But

I published my first two books. It is not what I envisioned my books to be, but hey they are out there. Now for the small price of only $3.25 per book you can download my words onto your computer for your reading enjoyment.

I've been writing for most of my adult life and I've never actually even let anyone read what I've written, except for a couple of people. Now it's online for anyone who wants to read it. I also have several books I've started but never finished, and maybe now that I have actually put something out there I will have the drive to finish them and publish them as well.

They are e-books and you can find them here...REALITY CHECK.

Who knows, if these go over well maybe I will actually use Lulu.com to really publish them into a hardback book and send them out to bookstores. And if it goes even better maybe I can call a screenwriter and see if maybe I can make a movie based on my short stories.

Now who would I want to play me??? hmmmmm

Memories

The weekend went off without any problems. My night of babysitting was good. Rylan decided to sleep until 4:00 a.m. and then woke ready to eat. He is definitely a morning baby. He woke up in a good mood, smiling and cooing. At 4:00 a.m.! He definitely doesn't take back after grandpa.

The rest of the weekend was kind of quiet. DJ worked Saturday and then we had a nice dinner and watched TV. Sunday was more of the same, watching TV, talking to my youngest brother who turned 37 on Sunday, and having a nice quiet dinner. We played some scrabble Sunday evening (I was beat twice, but only by one point the first game) and then some "Smallville" and off to bed.

Today being 9-11, I really don't want to watch the TV, and just don't want to relive all that horror, so I suppose I will clean house and job hunt.

I remember that day very vividly. I was at work and had went into the break room for some coffee and a couple of girls were in there saying that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. Of course we thought at first it was just an accident but then as the dram began to unfold we realized this was not an accident. Within 15 minutes the break room was at full capacity and work came to a halt throughout the office. It was just so surreal.

Isn't it amazing how our minds seem to store those kind of events in our minds with perfect clarity? I also remember the day Elvis died. I was at the Ohio State Fair for the week with the Ohio State Choir and heard it on the news. The first thing I did was call my mother. She was an avid Elvis fan. We cried together.

Or the day that Bobby Kennedy was shot? I was outside on our front porch talking with a neighbor kid and mom came out and told us to come inside. We sat in front of the TV watching the events unfold. Or the day Martin Luther King was killed? I was at school and we were sent home early. I remember teachers crying as they loaded us onto the buses. We had no idea what was happening until we got home. Of course I was really too young to understand who he was and the importance of his work, but I do remember mom saying that it would never be the same now.

Those days that mark history, mark our minds with memories of tragedy and horror. But then I think about those that were there. I was safe at work that day in September, miles away from ground zero. But those that were there that lived through it, that suffered a loss of dreams and hopes that day. There memories will be much more real than mine were that day. The effect of those days events will forever be part of their lives too, but in a much more horrific sense than I could even begin to imagine.

Memories.
My first weekend with my grandson. I prefer those kind of long lasting memories in my heart and mind. But we also have to remember those events in our lives that were not so pleasant to understand what life is all about.

Our heart goes out to those that lost loved ones that day. As all our lives changed after 9-11, their lives were shattered.

Grandpa Reality

Well it is now official. I am officially a real Grandpa. I know I was one on June 15, and August 11, but today I had my first taste of grandfathering. I picked up my grandson at noon today and he is staying the night with grandpa and DJ.

Now you have to remember the last time I was with a baby for that long of a time was when my youngest AT was a baby. He is now 13. And then his mother was just a few feet away. DJ worked today so I was on my own until about 5:30. It wasn't bad. Rylan and I watched The Emperor's New Groove, Shrek and Shrek 2. He had three bottles and one "poopy" diaper. He even had a little nap. All was good.

After DJ got home we had dinner and then went to see DJ's sister play softball. Of course my grandson stole the show, and all the girls on the team had to hold him. So all was well there. One of the girls on the team even changed his diaper for me and fed him. Now I know why all these straight single guys like taking their nieces and nephews out with them. They are great girl "magnets!' Then we got back home about 9ish, and at 10:00 all hell broke loose.

Rylan began crying and screaming and nothing either DJ or I did seemed to help. Finally I took him into my arms, held him close and began rocking him, within 5 minutes he was asleep. I think someone at home has this guy spoiled! So he is fast asleep in his little vibrating baby chair, and I am sitting here on pins and needles waiting for that heart wrenching scream to start over.

Hopefully he will sleep until his next feeding which is due at midnight and then I pray he will sleep through the night. I promised to do this for them once a month so that they can have some time with just each other. But before the next visit to grandpa, I think I'm going to have a little talk with them about how they should not spoil him. Or at least give me a heads up on how he likes to go to sleep.

All in all I have enjoyed this immensely. With my own kids I was so busy working and doing all those other things when I was married I really didn't get the chance to be as much hands on as I would have liked to be. This way I can be hands on as much as I want to be and then hand them back to mommy and daddy...

Thinking Out Loud

Not too much to talk about today. I mean what is there to tell when all I do is sit in front of the computer all day either looking for work, reading blogs or playing Sims2?

I do know that this has to end, SOON! DJ is becoming less patient with me, not that he has said anything, but after living with someone as long as we have lived together, you begin to know them.

I've thought about something the last few days. I've been thinking about my life prior to my coming out. Most of my readers know of my past and what I did for a living back then. Why couldn't I go back into the ministry? I mean I was an ordained minister, and pastored a fairly large congregation. Which I loved, by the way. I was also very blessed in my ministry. I saw the last church I was in go from about 50 active members to over 150 active members in less than two years. Plus I have several years of education under my belt, so I am qualified.

Just because I came out and chose to live my life as who I really am, why should I be denied the ability to work in the church. I know, there are not many denominations that would allow me to be a "working" minister, but why not? It was something I loved, something I was good at, and something that benefited others as well as myself. And to be honest the pay wasn't bad either. I guess in an Utopian society this may be a possibility, but in our society as it is today I guess I need to just keep plugging away at Job Builder.com and see what is a real possibility.

I know...I need to get a reality check.

Leave Suri Alone

Throughout the blogger world today almost everywhere I landed I heard about the pictures of Suri Cruise...and every one's comments about this beautiful little baby girl.

No I am not posting a picture, there are tons of sites where you can find them. I just do not understand all the hoopla over this little girl's picture. And all the speculation if she is really Tom Cruise's baby.

Who really cares?

I posted pictures of my kids and grand kids on here for the sole purpose to share my joy with others. Not that some of my readers really care or even wanted to see them, but mainly because I am proud of my kids and grand kids. I didn't post them for people to speculate about who they are, who is really the REAL parents of them, or for others to make rude comments about them. (not that any of this has happened, I'm not Tom Cruise I guess).

I guess what I am saying is, yes we all know that Tom has pretty much turned into a nut case, and I'm not defending his actions or statements, but why take it out on this poor innocent baby? Regardless if she is or isn't Tom's biological child, she is still a child.

Let's leave the baby out of this.

BEEP!

Ah, Labor Day weekend. Relax and just do nothing.
Oh, that's what I've BEEN doing for almost two months now.

Last night DJ and I decided to sit back and enjoy some TV and one another's company. At around 11:30 we decided to call it a night and go to bed. Early for me, late for him. Then it happened....

BEEP!

A loud beep came from somewhere. What was it? Where did it come from?

About 40 seconds later...

BEEP!

Oh, okay it's the smoke alarm. No problem, that is it's way of warning us it is time to change the battery.

We have no 9 volt batteries in the house???
It's 11:30 p.m. there is no where open to buy any 9 volt batteries except for the convenience store by the house where we would pay $5 for one battery.

So what did we do? No we didn't disconnect it, because if you do it sends a warning to the main office of the complex through the alarm system letting them know that we disconnected the fire alarm, which is against the law.

We just let it BEEP!
All night long.
Every 40-45 seconds.

As soon as the Dollar Store opened DJ was there getting 9 volt batteries.

Fall Is On It's Way

Well, after four days of a flu-like illness I am finally almost back to normal. Whatever normal is. I've spent the last three days lying in bed and taking cold medicine. Fun huh?

But today is a new day and the beginning of a new month. Attitude is in check, mind-set is set to positive and hopefully things will change for the better. Fall is on it's way, and that is one of my favorite times of the year. I applied for several more jobs on-line and I am sure I will be getting a call in the next few days for more interviews.

So it's now September. By the way, does anyone know where the summer went?