The things in my head go ’round and ’round

At some point the question always comes up.

Why do you blog? Why do you put yourself out there for everyone to see and to comment on?

First off, not everyone sees it. Usually when you start writing the crap that goes on in your head, only the people you tell about it actually read it. Unless you are incredibly lucky to have stumbled on a SEO keyword that brings folks in. But that isn’t the usual.

Secondly, it is fun. It is interesting, and can be cathartic. As long as you obey the first rule of blogging.

Rule #1. Don’t blog about work. Period. Don’t allude to it, don’t try to change the name of your company, or your co-workers, just don’t do it. Someone will find it out and you will have to face the music. And it can cost you your job. Yes, it can.

So, again, why? MLW asked this question on her Facebook page, and I answered it as succinctly as I could. MLW is a very private person, with a great amount of class. I am not. I am an attention whore. Have been from the get go, and don’t see it changing much in the near future.

This has caused MLW to shake her head in amazement in the past. Hopefully it hasn’t caused her too much embarrassment. I am the one who walked on stage at a jazz band concert, without prior permission or approval and started playing songs that I had written on guitar. Just did it. Freaked my parents out. Made my middle brother laugh. He didn’t think that I had it in me.

Surprise.

I am the one, at the tender age of 16 while at band camp, took some liberties with some music, added some lyrics that talked about the camp and the totalitarian policies there (remember I was 16), and played the finished song at the camps talent show. Again without approval. I had gotten approval to play another song, but pulled the first one out of my back pocket when I was on stage. To a standing ovation, mind you.

So, I write here because I do like writing. I like crafting stories, and getting feed back from them. But I also do it to show who I am to everyone who will read this. I am the third son of three sons. A Gemini. I have this need to talk about myself, and about the thoughts in my head. And it can be irritating.

I am ok with that.

And I write to help me understand me. I would hate to make some broad generalization here about people and their personal quests for understanding, but I do believe that we all are looking for who we really are. Are we the sum total of who we married, where we live, where we work, where we spend our time? Or are we something more? I am a believer in the something more part. I am a Father, but I am more than that, I am also a Husband, but there is more to me than just that. I am a mid-level executive, hell a can jockey, but I am a whole lot more than that. I am a son, and a brother and more than that. I am something that I haven’t put my finger on yet. And I keep learning more each and every day. Putting those thoughts down on this electronic piece of paper helps me sort it out. Mostly by helping me see that there is always something more to me than just what is going on right now. Because with the typing of those words, “right now” is gone.

See how I am going all esoteric on you now?

I find it amusing that of my 4 kids, the youngest doesn’t read this any longer. It is of no more interest to her. The youngest son reads it occasionally, though his ex-girlfriend checks in pretty much every week. Hi Dani. The eldest son, I don’t think that he even reads this, but in talking to him on the phone the other night, he gets it. And that made my night. He gets blogging, understands the mechanics of it, and was encouraging me to continue. I was floored, and elated all at the same time. That eldest daughter is so busy between work and college that I am surprised that she can even breathe. But she reads every now and then.

So that, in a nutshell is why we blog. And specifically, why I blog.

Any questions? Please leave any comments below.

Namaste.

All summer long we, MLW and I, talked about how The Princess was going non-stop. That there was no down time for either her, or us with all of her sleep-overs, trips to the shore, trips to Hershey Park, etc., etc.

The reality of it all is is that child is busy ALL FREAKING YEAR LONG. She never stops. And now we are back to the reality of combining school with her busy social calendar.

Last night she was at a sleep-over/birthday party. I picked her up this morning, she is currently snoring in her bedroom so that she will be sufficiently rested for the football game that she won’t be cheering at. She has to sit out because of being absent for another game and practice due to being in Hawaii.

Verizon has a catchy little commercial wrapped around that little phrase. Started out with the one geekly looking guy walking around with his telephone out asking

“Can you hear me now?”

And a lot of us bought it. Hook, line, and sinker. Me, and MLW included. See, a year ago we were with another cell phone carrier. And not happy. Seemed like we were being nickel and dimed to death. Rate increases, and we weren’t getting that great of reception. And then a few of MLW’s friends started talking to her about Verizon.

You see, MLW goes camping in the Fall with some of her High School classmates. In the mountains of Pennsylvania. All of her buddies were able to contact their significants without any problem. MLW had to borrow one of their phones to call The Princess and I.
That did not go over well. It was an inconvenience that did not need to be. So we started talking about changing carriers, and because I got a corporate rate from Verizon, we went with them.

Then we had to pick out phones. Me, I am not cool so I went with a Nokia flip phone. I works. It rings, life is good. But The Princess had to have a Strawberry Chocolate, and MLW had seen The Razr. That was that for them.

Until MLW found that her nifty, cute little phone got worse reception than what she had with the old company. So I called Verizon and told them our concerns. The nice lady on who answered the phone suggested that I take it to a Verizon store, or kiosk at the mall and have them do a “download”. And I did. Unfortunately, the nice young man at the kiosk told me that there wasn’t a whole bunch that could be done. That the Razr was a quick produced phone to match a competitor and would never equal the reception I get with my Nokia.

And I had to go back home and tell that to MLW. Not good. What was even more frustrating to her is that on our vacation last week, both The Princess and I had wonderful reception on our phones. While MLW had zip. So, she would have to use one of our phones to make any calls that she wanted to make.

Verizon, I am asking nicely. Please get me a phone that gets the reception that you advertise, is stylish, and I can afford for MLW. She is a hard working woman who has to put up with me on a daily basis. Let’s help the woman out, ok?

Thanks.

Namaste.

Cell phone drama is nothing unusual in my house. There is usually one of the phones that is lost, isn’t working right, needs to be charged, isn’t cool enough any longer (though it isn’t even a year old, and cost as much as a house payment. And don’t try to say that you lost it, you won’t be getting a new one for another year!), or some such insanity.

When we switched carriers last year I had the easiest job picking out a phone. I wanted a nokia. Why? Because I have never had any reception issues with any of the nokias I have owned in the past.

MLW and The Princess were not in the same boat as I. They spent a lot of time choosing their phones. MLW ended up with this one:

MLW never has had reception in the school where she works. When she goes on her weekend with her girlfriends she never has reception there. Even though her friends who are on the same carrier as us have perfect reception. It is because of her phone.

The moral to this story? A phone is not a fashion statement. It is a phone.

Namaste.