A Glimpse Into My World

So I used to do this thing pretty regularly. I thought the prompts had ended, but I just found out they’re still going to I figured I’d post one up real quick while I’m waiting on a script I’m running to finish….

The premise is pretty simple, Melanie over at Sparks of a Combustable Mind posts four usually non-invasive questions, and I get to answer them. What a fun game!!

QUESTIONS

Do you ever feel more excited about getting the package in the mail, rather than the item that’s in it?

Depends on what I ordered on Amazon the day before. If it’s a present for myself, then I’ll get excited. However, if it’s just a couple more bottles of toothpaste, like it was yesterday, blah…

What is the difference between your ideal self and your real self?  (i.e. what attribute or physical feature would allow you feel the ideal ‘you’?)

Well, my ideal self is much skinnier than my real self. My ideal self also has a better handle on his emotions and knows how to cope with them, good or bad. But I guess my real self is okay most of the time.

If you found $2,000 on the ground and there were no witnesses, what would you do with it?

Pocket it. I mean, if it’s not in a wallet or anything, it’s free game, right? RIGHT???

Are you ever morally obliged to take action? Under what circumstances?

Not sure how to answer this one. If you’re asking if I feel morally obliged to take action, then yes, in certain situations, I feel a moral obligation. That’s the trick, though. Everyone’s morals are unique, so defining moral obligations is difficult. I could spend an entire day listing possible circumstances in which I’d feel morally obligated to take action on something, but to be purposefully vague and intentionally brief, I’ll just say that I generally feel morally obligated to act if I know I can do something to prevent another person from getting hurt.

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GRATITUDE SECTION

Please feel free to share how last week went for you.   Bright or not-so-bright spots?

Oh, last week was an emotional rollercoaster for reasons I’d rather not delve into right now. It’s the beginning of the school year here in backasswards Indiana, so work has been crazy, and I’ve been working…a lot.

That being said, there was one thing that is equal parts bright and not so bright….Baby C started 6th grade today. I don’t know what I’m more upset about: that C’s now old enough to be in middle school or that I now have to get up an hour earlier to get him off to school. HOW IS HE IN 6TH GRADE ALREADY???

Interview With a Trooper – Episode IX

Well hello there! It’s time again for me to answer questions from some strange person on the internet because evidently I have nothing better to do. Okay, nothing better I want to do. Do you feel better now that you’ve forced that confession out of me. DAMN YOU!!!

Ahem. Anyhow….so I answered stuff….

1. What is the first movie you remember seeing? Probably one of the Star Wars movies. Dad used the VCR to tape them from TV somehow and I would watch them on repeat. Except for the last few minutes of Return of the Jedi, because he ran out of tape.
2. What is the first thing you do when you get home? Shut the front door.
   
3. What is the first thing you do when you open your eyes in the morning?  Close them again and try to go back to sleep.
4. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? Why the hell am I up??
5. What is the first time you were allowed to put on make-up? Idk, I still haven’t asked yet.
6. What is the furthest you’ve ever been from home? Lost somewhere in my own head.
7. What is the hardest part of your job? Walking out at the end of the day knowing I didn’t get everything done I wanted to.
8. What is the last book you read? Exile by RA Salvatore
9. What is the last compliment you got? Um…not sure. I don’t keep a log I can consult.
10. What is the last film you saw? Spiderman Homecoming
11. What is the last movie that you saw at the cinema? The Rise of Skywalker.
12. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer? Handbrake so I could convert a video for someone at work.
13. What is the last thing you watched on TV? Um, Spiderman Homecoming. You already asked me that.
14. What is the longest period you’ve spent in a hospital? A day and a half…which was only two weeks ago.
15. What is the most boring movie you’ve watched? Jesus of Nazareth. Every. Freakin’. Easter.
16. What is the most difficult thing you’ve done for love? Not leave.
17. What is the most important thing in your life? My children.
18. What is the name of your favorite restaurant? I don’t have favorites. Of anything.
19. What is the name of your first pet? Bunky. I’m not quite sure how mom came up with that name, but when she was naming our dog that was the name she answered to, so it stuck.
20. What is the one item you can’t leave home without? My body.
21. What is the pettiest thing you’ve done to prove a point? I’m sure I’ve done plenty of petty things in my life, but I’m not able to think of anything right now.
22. What is the scariest movie you’ve watched? In 7th grade I was shown a video of a live birth in sex ed. That was pretty brutal.
23. What is the strangest thing you believed as a child? My uncle had an Atlanta Falcons helmet on his mantle at home. He had me convinced for years that he had been a kicker for the Falcons back in the 70’s.
24. What is the thing you change the TV channel with? It’s called a remote control, you tool.
25. What is the weirdest thing you’ve seen in your life? Trump supporters.
26. What is the worst grade you got on a test? An F, obviously. You can’t get any lower than that.
27. What is under your bed? The floor. Duh.
28. What is your all-time favorite town or city? I don’t have favorites!!! Why? Because I just don’t!!
29. What is your best childhood memory? Not a specific memory, but just having the freedom to go outside and play with friends or to play with my brothers in our basement full of toys without a worry in the world.
30. What is your best physical feature? Idk. My smile?

Interview With a Trooper – Episode VIII

It’s been a bit since I’ve posted an interview segment (because reasons), so I figured I’d get another post on the wall. How’s everyone doing??

1. What did you do for your last birthday? Idk, that was 7 months ago. I think the twins came over, we cooked out, and I had some celebratory drinks.
2. What did you dress up as on Halloween when you were eight? Probably Luke Skywalker or Han Solo. Either way, I was winning.
   
3. What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was very young, a baseball player. In high school, a teacher. In my 20’s, the best dad possible. In the 30’s…same. Now, in my 40’s, I want to go back to my childhood.
4. What do you call carbonated drink called? Call 911! I think the interviewer just had a stroke!
5. What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?  Weird.
6. What do you call your grandparents? I never met either of my grandfathers. Well, technically, that’s not true. One died before I was born, the other when I was two months old. So I did meet one of them, but I don’t remember it. Both of my grandmother’s I called grandma. Unoriginal, yes, but still loving.
7. What do you consider unforgivable? Cheating, or any other form of betrayal from someone in whom you’ve placed trust.
8. What do you dislike about living in your neighborhood? Nothing, so far. I mean, being this close to train tracks is somewhat annoying, but it’s not the end of the world.
9. What do you do for a living? I do IT support in a K-12 school corporation.
10. What do you do if you can’t sleep at night? Do you count sheep? Toss and Turn? Try to get up and do something productive? I’ll normally either read or put on a movie I’ve seen a million times (like Star Wars) and eventually I’ll pass out.
11. What do you do most when you are bored? Um, find something to do that isn’t boring. Duh.
12. What do you find yourself always procrastinating? Procrastination.
13. What do you like about your home? The roof is nice. It keeps out the rain.
14. What do you love about living in your neighborhood? Um…IDK. It’s a neighborhood. I just live here.
15. What do you love about your favorite TV Show? I don’t really have a favorite TV show. I don’t really have favorites of anything.
16. What do you think about more than anything else? I’m trying not to think about anything these days. It keeps me from despair.
17. What do you think about the most? Well, right now I’m thinking…how is this question any different than the one before it, and how it’s not, and that this is a stupid question.
18. What does your name mean? It means I answer when someone says it.
19. What drains your energy? What doesn’t? I haven’t had much energy at all these past few months. Hopefully, that will change as I recover from surgery.
20. What dreams have you given up on as unrealistic? Having a child who doesn’t talk back.
21. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister? Uh….I don’t know. I’ve never wished for another sibling. My family is already big as it is.
22. What flavor of tea do you enjoy? I don’t really like tea. I pity the fool.
23. What has been the hardest thing for you to face or learn? Hell, I don’t know. Even if you narrowed that question down to the last six months I couldn’t pick just one thing so much shit has been happening.
24. What has required the most courage of you in your life so far? Walking away from my first marriage, methinks.
25. What inspires you? I don’t know if inspired is the right term, but my children keep me motivated. Without them I don’t know what would keep me going.
26. What is a strange occurrence you’ve experienced but have never (or rarely) shared with anyone? That my first wife used suicide as a tool to keep me from leaving her. I’ve written about it at length here, but it’s not something I shared with many people in real life. For some reason, I still feel a bit of shame about the whole ordeal.
27. What is an ideal first date for you? Not having one.
28. What is at the top of your bucket list? Creating a bucket list.
29. What is good about how you are living your life right now? So far I have not given into despair.
30. What is hard about being a parent? EVERYTHING.
31. What is hard about not being a parent? NOTHING. I mean, that’s probably not true, but I’ve been a parent so long I can’t remember what it was like to NOT be a parent.
32. What is on the walls of the room you are in? Pictures. I am surrounded by family pictures. I love it.
33. What is one guilty pleasure you enjoy too much to give up? Coffee?
34. What is one of the worse things that could happen to you? It already happened, I think.
35. What is one thing that you’ve never revealed to your parents? See question 26…
36. What is one thing you’d rather pay someone to do than do yourself? Why? Move. I hate moving and have moved way too many times in my life.
37. What is something about yourself that you hope will change, but probably never will? How easily irritated I sometimes can be.
38. What is something most people don’t know about you? Me and Vader hang out and play Texas Hold ‘Em every Saturday night.
    
39. What is something that amazes you? How people keep defending Trump and the actions of the GOP somehow blocking witnesses to his impeachment trial.
40. What is something that scares you that you would never ever try? Jumping out of a plane. Or even flying in one.
41. What is something you are gifted at? Sarcasm.
42. What is something you look for in a partner? A sense of humor.
43. What is something you wish you were gifted at doing? Writing.
44. What is something you’ve never done that you’d like to try? Winning the lottery.
45. What is the best compliment you have ever received? You’re a good father.
46. What is the best part of your job? There’s a lot of things I like about it. The camaraderie with those I work with. Interacting with the students (most of the time). The freedom I have to run the network as I deem best and the trust that’s been given to me to do so. The list goes on.
47. What is the farthest-away place you’ve been? Bentonville, Arkansas. That was an interesting trip…
48. What is the first amusement park you’ve been to? Six Flags over Georgia, I think.
49. What is the first app you check when you wake up in the morning? Depends on which notification is at the top of the list.
50. What is the first book you remember reading? One of the Hardy Boys novels. When I was in middle school I read a bunch of those books.

Interview With a Trooper – Episode VI – Return of the Sarcasm

It’s that time again!

No, no. Not time for the Wheel of Morality.

It’s time for another interview with me, your favorite trooper!

Oh, shut up…

1. In what area of your life are you immature? I think the more appropriate question is, “In what part of my life am I NOT immature?”
2. Is anyone in your family in the army? My step-sister’s husband. So, I guess that makes him my step-brother-in-law? Is that a thing? Anyhow, he does that army thing.
3. Is the glass half empty or half full? Depends on what was in it. If it was coffee then it’s completely empty and I need a refill. If it was chocolate milk then the same. If it was….eh, who’m I kidding? I drank it all no matter what it is. Get me a refill.
4. Is there any item you collect? I used to collect Star Wars stuff, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten less passionate about it. I still have the collection, but I’ve not added to it in quite some time. I also collect gray hairs, but that’s quite a reluctant collection…
5. Is your father bald? He has a small spot on the back of his head where hair has vacated the premises.
6. Last time you swam in a pool? Labor Day at my dad’s house. Good times.
7. Most ridiculous thing you’ve had to visit the hospital for? I can’t think of any visits that were ridiculous. Any time I’ve been to a hospital it’s been for a serious injury, illness, or the birth of a child. You know, the good stuff.
8. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, rate your fashion sense? Uh, 5?
9. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, rate your driving skills? Uh, 9?
10. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, rate your cooking skills? Look, the last time I stepped on a scale the number was a bit higher than 10…
11. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, how good a kisser are you? You know, I’ve never kissed myself. I have no clue.
12. One thing you know now that you wish you had known as a kid? Adulthood is a trap.
    
13. Pick one, a comedy movie or a horror movie? Comedy. I’d rather laugh than piss my pants. Or, if I piss my pants, I want it to be because I’m laughing and not screaming.
14. Pick one, cats or dogs? Dogs. Cats are no fun. And they normally have shitty attitudes.
15. Pick one, chatting or phone call? Doesn’t one of these entail the other?
16. Pick one, cheat or be cheated on? How about neither?
17. Pick one, chicken or beef?  How about both?
18. Pick one, Coke or Pepsi? Coke. Pepsi tastes like Coke that someone spilled sewage in…
19. Pick one, exceptional strength or intelligence Intelligence, for sure.
20. Pick one, forgiveness or vengeance? Ugh. Neither, really. But if I must choose, forgiveness.
21. Pick one, free health care or free education? Ideally, both. But in this insipid scenario I’d pick free education to become a doctor and give myself free health care.
22. Pick one, Halloween or Valentine’s Day I’m not a fan of either, but Valentine’s Day is the most ludicrous holiday there is. Well, except for President’s Day. I used to think President’s Day was cool until some dick with a dead animal on his head and orange skin ruined it.
23. Pick one, IOS or Android? Android, FTW!
24. Pick one, kill or be killed? No! You can’t make me!
25. Pick one, meat or fish? I mean, fish are living creatures, so shouldn’t their flesh be considered meat?

News: I have completed a rough draft of my novel! I’m going through my first edit currently. Yay!

Query: What news do you have, meatbag?

Interview With a Trooper – Part 2(+2)

Guten tag! It’s almost the weekend! I’ve been posting these on Saturdays, but tomorrow I’ll be in the middle of my umpteenth move. Evidently my landlord is such a drunken, abusive ass that his wife kicked him out and he needs a place to live, so he basically told us to get out.

Today is also Black Friday here in ‘Merica, the day people go out and beat each other senseless for stupid shit on sale for stupid cheap the day after allegedly giving thanks for stupid things they already have. How stupid.

Perhaps I’m jaded (perhaps?!?!), but having worked 13 Black Fridays (or Blitz, as a certain store whose name rhymes with Ballmart refers to it) I have a very dark view of most humans. If you’re out shopping today, just know I think you’re crazy and brave at the same time, and I hope you’re not one of those morons who ends up on the news.

Well, enough of that. Let’s get to the interview!

1. How are you different from your Dad? He’s conservative, I lean a little to the left. I’m funny, he’s not (hi dad!). I can see multiple points of view. I’m not sure he can. Otherwise, we’re quite similar.
2. How are you different from your Mother? Mom was loyal to people who mistreated her. I am to a point, but eventually reach a point where I’m done and cut that person (or people) out. I’m a little more self-motivated than she was. She was kind of a slob, and I prefer my house to be clean(ish).
3. How are you feeling right now? Well, I just answered a questions about my mom, so I’m a little bummed out.
4. How are you glad that you are like your Dad? Dad is intelligent and really good at fixing/building things. I like to believe I am, too.
5. How are you glad that you are like your Mother? Mom was intelligent, too, and extremely funny and loving. I like to think I have those qualities.
6. How difficult is it for you to be honest, even when your words may be hurtful or unpopular? Being honest comes very naturally to me, but doing so when my words may hurt the recipient is extremely hard for me and something I often avoid way past the point of return.
7. How difficult is it for you to forgive someone who refuses to apologize? I can’t forgive some things even if the person apologizes.
8. How do you replenish your energy? I use a charger. Duh.
9. How does music matter to you? Music is life. It’s how I cope. And I love to sing along.
10. How far away from your birthplace do you live now? About 250 miles. As the crow flies. Or something.
11. How has your birth order/characteristics of siblings affected you? Hell, I don’t know. I can’t peer into the past and then from there into a different future and see things being any different whether I was the first child (I am) or the last.
12. How many Boyfriends/Girlfriends have you had? I don’t know. Don’t feel like driving down memory lane to get a count, either.
13. How many countries have you been to? This one.
14. How many days could you last in solitary confinement? I doubt I’d make it a day before going nuts.
    

    

15. How many keys on your key ring? All of them.
16. How many oceans have you swum in? I’ve SWAM in the Atlantic a handful of times, you illiterate stooge.
17. How many pairs of shoes do you currently own? Uh, four?
18. How many relationships have you been in? Serious relationships? 3.
19. How many rings before you answer the phone? My ring tone is continuous so one…if I even answer. I don’t like talking to people so I normally let it go to my voicemail, which isn’t setup. It’s a nice way to avoid feeling obligated to call people back.
20. How many tattoos do you have? We did this already!!!
21. How many times a day do you look at yourself in the mirror? No more than necessary.
22. How often do you doodle? What do your doodles look like? This is quite a personal question I don’t feel comfortable answering. How rude. Perv.
23. How often do you read the newspaper? Which paper? Which sections? I don’t read newspapers. I get my news via Google or Microsoft News.
24. How often do you skip breakfast? Much like Hobbits, never.
    
25. How old do you think you’ll be when you get married? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

How is everybody? Talk to me. Tell me things. Whisper sweet nothings into my comment box.

Share Your World – 2014 Week 31

I’ve been in kind of a bloggy funk for a while now. I’ve had no desire to write, and no words or inspiration from which to draw. So, I’m hoping to kickstart my brain by getting back into the Share Your World prompt, hosted by the fabulous Cee.

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If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be? (guest can be dead, alive, famous or someone you just know)

The first would be my maternal grandmother. She was taken far too young. She passed when I was 7, and I’ve always felt like I was robbed of really getting to know her. The second and third would be both of my grandfathers. My maternal grandfather died of lung cancer when he was only 48, many years before I was born. My paternal grandfather died when I was just two months old. I have been assured by everyone they were both fantastic men, and I would love to have a chance to sit down with both of them and have a conversation with them.

If anyone was expecting to see a celebrity on this list then you don’t know me. Celebrity culture disgusts me.

What can you always be found with?

Clothes on? I don’t know. I normally always have my cell phone with me. And my wallet…

What is the most fun thing you did in school?

Skip class. I hated school. Quite honestly, I was always bored at school. I was lucky enough to learn things quickly, quicker than it took for the teacher to lecture about it. Normally if I read it or was shown how to do it once that was all that was required.

What’s something you know you do differently than most people?

I don’t know, honestly. I don’t really pay attention to the way other people do things because I do what works for me and mind my own business most of the time. So, um, yeah….

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If anyone else would like to link up and answer these questions, head on over to Cee’s Photography!