Another Video

I think this is such a neat program, so I quickly grabbed some old pictures and created another video.

Easter Egg Hunt Insanity

Photo by: Richardbh

We took the kids easter egg hunting today. We started out at the community egg hunt, which went pretty well. The dog extraordinaire got to go out and sniff some butts, and the kids were able to get a lot of eggs.

Heather's friend invited her to go to another egg hunt in a neighboring town, so we all packed into the minivan and went. There were a lot of kids there. The kids were broken down into age groups, so I went with Jenna while Heather went with Ainsley. When they called the 7 and older group over, there was almost a stampede to get to the starting line. This stampede was encouraged by the parents. "Hurry up, Hanna!! You don't want to miss out." "Run, Jordan. Run!"

Oh brother.

As the kids lined up, some of the parents were whipping themselves into a frenzy. One mom even went out into the "egg area", for lack of a better term, and instructed her daughter to run to her and to grab "these" eggs. She would stand there with the basket. It wasn't the last time I had to bite my tongue that day.

There was a guy out there keeping the kids at bay at the starting line, and you could almost feel the frustration in the air from some of the parents. "Just let them go, already." As the guy was talking, some of the kids started to go, and then a parent yelled, "Go, Billy!!" and a massive wave of children moved forward. So much for ready, set, go.

It took less than a minute for all the eggs to be scooped up. Some kids did not get any. As I was walking towards Jenna, one parent was berating her child because she did not get any eggs. She wasn't aggressive enough, according to the mother. The child was near tears, being yelled at in front of all these strangers. If I would have had an egg, I would have walked up to her and given her one. It would have provided me the opportunity to tell the mother to go fuck herself. Real mature, I know. Sometimes you have to tell people like that their behaviour is not acceptable, and telling somebody to go fuck themselves is about as pithy as you can get.

I regret not saying something now.

This was only an Easter egg hunt. I can't imagine what these parents are like at sporting events. Reminds me of playing little league, and having to listen to, "Go, Larrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyy" from some mother who's only positive in life was watching her pathetic boy play baseball. Man, I felt sorry for that kid. I'm glad my parents sat in the bleachers and conducted themselves appropriately.

Parents these days. I tell ya.

Kindle

I've been enjoying my Kindle since it arrived way back when. I had to wait a little over a month for mine to arrive. There's been many a blog set up to write exclusively about the Kindle, and many groups have been formed for users to love on their Kindle or rant and rave about the long wait time. Amazon has refused to reveal how many they've sold, and they won't say what has caused the delay other than unexpected demand.

Jeff Bezos, after months of silence, has posted a letter on the homepage of Amazon re: the Kindle.

I still love mine.

Photo by bravenewtraveler

I find it easier to be pissed and miserable sometimes than it is to be happy. Being cheerful is hard.

I certainly hope you have all felt the same, or I shall truly feel....miserable.

Like when you get a big ass bonus, only to have big ass bills to pay. Only to have dreamed of the things you could do or buy with what was left, only to have your car need repair 3 days before the deposit hit the bank... and be left with nothing.


Like moving your family to another state for fame and fortune, only to find the fame and fortune wasn't worth dealing with the union loving, lazy ass, back-stabbing, pieces of shit you get to work with.


Like deciding to move home, with or without BP, instead of moving to wherever the next job takes you, only to have that information leaked to family members. Then the reality of the housing market crashes that illusion you hung on the wall right over your big, fat noggin.


Then you see your miserable looking ass in the hallway mirror, and you realize you've been acting like a chump. And you are no chump.

You realize you are debt free (ok...except the mortgage), and you should be thankful you got the bonus. Besides, your wife didn't mean it when she said you could go to London without her. And hey, those repairs were cheaper than a new car, and she's running like a hot rod now.

You realize the move has made you stronger, professionally and personally. You figure out those lazy bastards at work are really leadership challenges in disguise, and you have the skill set to turn them into performers because that is why you were chosen to come to this miserable place in the first place.

You realize you still have things you want to do while you are away from your family. Gettysburg still awaits, as does another trip to DC. You are on the downward slope, and it is only a matter of time now before your children will see your parents on a regular basis.

And you learn to stop your bitching and crying.

And you learn to wash the negativity from your mind, because that is not who you are.