On the lighter side...

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1. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms.
   
   
   
   1. Is full of raging fires.
   
   
   2. Is full of assasins with loaded weapons.
   
   
   3. Is full of lions that haven't eaten in three years.
   
   Which is the safest?


2. A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go out together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?


3. There are two plastic jugs filled with water. How could you put all of this water into a barrel, without using the jugs or any dividers, and still tell which water came from which jug?


4. What is black when you buy it, red when you use it and grey when you throw it away?


5. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?


6. This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it. It is unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out.

Click here for the answers, if you need to.

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Am I feeling beter today? Yes, and no. I'm feeling better because Deb and I had a long talk last night, and I was able to let her know what was bothering me without any confusion or acusation. I'm also feeling better today because Deb was a little extra affectionate and cheery. I still feel rather blue due to the result of our long talk, though. As it turns out there is no short term plan for recovery, and the deeper we get into it, the more problems crop up that need to be delt with before we can even think about addressing the original problem. The conversation ended without any clear plan. I learned a lot about her, and I think she learned a lot about me. That makes me feel that the conversation was posative and productive. But at the same time I feel that it was very open ended, and didn't really solve anything. I guess there is nothing for me to do but try to be posative and supportive, and wait some more.

The dungeon

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This weekend I managed to make myself feel totally worthless. The one thing that we needed to do more than anything was to get the basement cleaned out. We have a new washing machine being delivered in the morning and we also wanted to set it up like a play room for the boys. Well, after 3 years of neglect, the basement was a rather pitiful sight, to say the least. It was turned into a haphazard burial ground for old clothes that were worn out or too small, broken toys and boxes of grossly outdated computer parts. All of which needed to be removed. The problem was that I could only spend a few minutes down there cleaning before I was having an asthma attack, and needed to go out for air. I really felt like shit, leaving the bulk of the work to Deb. She said not to worry, that it was no big deal, but to me, it was. When she needed me, I was not able to help.

I'm also feeling inadequate on another front. The frustrating part is that the more I do about it, the worse it gets. And if I do nothing, then it still gets worse. So, what to do. Damned if I do, and damned if I don't. Maybe, the only right answer, is the one I have been avoiding all this time.

Blue?

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Well...It's been a long time since I've last updated this thing. I've been in a rather strange mood lately. Not feeling very creative. I've sat down and attempted to write, because it usually helps get me in a better mood, but it just hasen't gone anywhere lately. Maybe I'm just blue due to the time of year that it is. That sucks, 'cause this used to be my favorite season. I don't know, maybe I'll feel better soon....

Holiday wrap up...

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It has been entirely too long since my last post. A lot has happened in the last thirteen, or so days. So, let's see if I can remember it all.

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Christmas

Christmas went very well, this year. Deb was a little concerned because our funds were rather short this year, but the boys were very happy with what the got, and did not notice any difference at all. The only thing different for them was that none of them believe in Santa this year. That turned into a plus for Deb and I. We didn't have to put all the presents under the tree in the middle of the night. We, instead, left all the presents in our bedroom, so they could not start opening them before we decided to get up.

This was the first year that I had Zachary with me on Christmas morning. Hard to believe, seeing that he is twelve years old. His Mother always had some reason, or it was in the middle of the week. This year it landed perfectly on my weekend. I picked him up on Christmas Eve and dropped him of in the afternoon on Christmas Day.

This was also the first time, in many years, that Deb and I put some serious thought into the gifts that we got each other. Deb got me a new watch. One that also will serve as a clicker for the TV. This may not seem like the ideal gift, however, if you knew how much time I spend every day looking for the damn clicker. Jakob likes to hide it, so that he will not have to look for it. Meanwhile I spend a good portion of my day searching. In light of this, I could not think of a more fitting gift.

My gift to Deb was a three stone diamond ring. A little more money than I wanted to spend, but I thought that the symbolism behind the three stones was just the message I wanted to convey. She absolutely loves it. She even posted pictures on her new blog.

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My Birthday

My Birthday was the best in years. No party, no presents, just doing nothing all day. Deb made my favorite supper, and baked a cake. I don't think I could have asked for anything more.

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New Year's Weekend

To me, New Year's is the stupidest holiday of all. But since they give me a day off from work, I'm willing to observe it. This year, we all went up to my Mother's. A 340 mile trip with three boys in the back seat of my little car. Not exactly an ideal situation, but it gets us there on one tank of gas. The van would have been much more spacious, however, the extra fuel costs were rather unpleasant.

Once at Mom's we discovered that she had done some redecorating. The biggest change was the addition of a bed in the basement. Also the addition of a TV in the basement. This was just the perfect place for Deb and I. It was almost like home. I could lay in bed and watch TV prior to going to sleep, rather than staring at the ceiling. NICE!!!

Our first full day there we spent the afternoon and evening at my Sister's house. Her oldest son was home from college. The only one missing was Havah. Her oldest Daughter, who is spending a year in Ecuador as an exchange student. But we were able to spend time with her eight sisters and brothers. The next day we went to my Brother's house for lunch. And we spent the afternoon there. That day, my Mom made me a "Birthday" dinner, along with the cake she always made for me on my birthday. It's called "Dark Midnight" cake, assembled in four layers, with whipped cream icing. Man it is GOOD. I can still taste it.

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Somewhere along the line, during the last two weeks, Deb and I managed to get a night away from the boys and went to see John Valby at Toad's Place in New Haven. What a show. It was the first time that we saw him perform, and he was great. We managed to get good positioning, we were right against the stage at one end, so there was no one blocking our view. They say, he does a Christmas show at Toad's every year, and that it is the best place to see him. We had a great time, that's all I know.

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Sometimes, I sit and think to myself that I should have taken the blue pill.