Plastic Totes

As you sit to read this, there is undoubtedly one item at least within 20 feet of you.  Some call them totes, some call them tubs, and some call them storage containers.   Regardless what you call them, they are one in the same.   These magical ‘tubs’ are typically the answer for a place for something that doesn’t belong anywhere else. They are made by different manufacturers.  They range in size, color, & shape.  Their purpose in your house can range from simple organization, to moving, to a child’s submarine.  Trust me, this house has seen its share of ‘tote abuse’. 

If you have ever been blessed to take a journey through my basement, you would have seen these stacked on top of each other along each of the four walls from the floor to the ceiling.  One day whilst attempting to polish off some laundry I sat and pondered.  Now when I say “sat & pondered” I actually do mean I took a break from folding the accumulating pile of towels and sat down and stared at this wall of multicolored plastic.  “Whats in all of these?” I wondered.  “Well this one has Christmas decorations, oh, and that one there has some extra blankets incase we were to enter a nuclear winter.”  But what about the rest?  As I sat there and really thought about it, the answer became strikingly clear.  They are memories.   Some of them are full.  Full so much so that the lids don’t even ‘click’ shut anymore.  They have mementos from happy times, times from 15 years ago and a very different world.  Man, nothing gets me more excited than cracking open an old container that  hasn’t seen the light of day for several years.  It could be something monumental, something pivotal from your youth… or it could be something so arbitrary like a ticket stub or something you can’t even for the life of you remember why you would have kept it in the first place. 

Then I realized there are some that are half filled.  Ones that are being filled daily with memories from right now, right this very moment.  Memories from the NOW!  There are drawings and craft projects from the kids and photos.  Those are really fun to go through too.  Next to those are tubs that are empty, waiting to be filled with tomorrow’s memories.  Oh the things that occupy that empty space.  Can you imagine possibilities?  Just space yearning for new ‘junk’ to keep safe from the elements.

Well that’s it right?  That covers it.  That’s what’s in those silly ‘boxes’.   Wait.  What’s that?   There’s more.  There is another stack over in the corner.  They are boxes packed with the objects that you keep to try and fill a void.  Things from people who are gone and no longer with us.  Sure, folks tell me I’m a pack rat, and a hoarder.  Maybe I am, I am not denying it, but these are the things I couldn’t imagine just throwing in the landfill.  And then it hits me… One day these tubs, MY tubs, will be someone else’s keepsake.  Someone else’s memories, someone else’s void.  I guess it was just another moment in time when you realize that time is cruel, and it will run out on you. 

I always tell people, more importantly to remind myself, that there are only two absolutes in life.   You will be born, and you will die.  The rest is what you put in your tub…

Here today, hopefully some of it gone in a couple months....

So I have decided to try & take off a little weight. Maybe it was the decision to make a family trip to the beach this summer. Maybe it was to try and live a little bit healthier.... Or perhaps because my pants were seemingly getting more snug around the waistial region. Starting weight as of the end of last week was 182 lbs... So far I'm down to 177. Mostly I've just cut out a lot of the crap I was eating. i.e. cookies, chocolate, candy, pu................. okay you get the point.....

Top Gear started back up Monday night and I am pretty happy about that. I just do not feel like myself if I do not get a regular dose of British television. It's just so good. Everyone should at least give it a whirl.

In other news, my new airplane arrived the other day in the mail. I have yet to get it out of the box yet though. I was hoping to build it up at the hangar, but it is hard finding time. Plus I need to repair the one I already have.

More to come people.....

Stay Classy!

It's Back......

That's right folks, in order for me to keep up with the things I want to change in this Year of Our Lord 2011, I have decided to take my Blog off the DL. Hopefully I can find time to post regularly once again as I did in the days of old. With working by ones self and being away from home 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, it gives me a lot of thinking time. So I thought, why the hell not throw it out there for the world to read. Who knows, maybe I'll run for office one day, leaving this blog, and your comments, political gold!

-drainy

"Sooner will a camel pass through a needle's eye than a great man be "discovered" by an election."

-Adolf Hitler...

I find it interesting that a man with so many ideas and outlooks for a future of his choosing, would be, at the same time, so evil.

So today was okay... Allison had to have a glucose test today so I took her and sat with her while she waited the required hour. We came home and I went and got my hair cut since who knows when I will have the cash, or the time in the upcoming weeks/months. Overall I have just been a haze all day... Not happy, not down...somewhere in the middle...almost numb you might say... I just think it's the weight of our situation bearing down on me. I can only take so much before it gets to me. I try not to wear my emotions on my sleeves, so I do my best to keep it bottled up inside like aging French wine.

So I'm watching a lot of TruTv now... I guess its the old Court Tv channel... They have a lot of neat shows now... all dealing with law enforcement in different locations...i.e. beaches, lakes, etc... and now even a 'Speeders' show... which is basically cops picking up speeders. But the other shows are even better.... Imagine Cops meets Baywatch meets a reality show.

One piece of great news to close with however..... Brian McBride seems to be making a triumphant return to the MLS.... Fingers crossed that he will return to Columbus, and if so... I will have tickets to his first game back in the black & gold...

-drainy

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe."

-Albert Einstein...
Not much to say today... Only will give a brief summary of today's events...
Went to Fricker's last night with Justin to have a beer...Tried to work on the yard for a few hours while the baby napped..Broke our shovel, and cut my headphones to my mp3 player, that pretty much ruined the day...There was also a US vs England match on, had to watch that...We watched a new Doctor Who episode I downloaded off the internet... I am now 3 whole episodes ahead of the episodes they are just now showing in the US.
I am looking forward to this weekend though... Hopefully it will be a break away from the shithole that is my current life... Saturday will be the first night flight of the Flying Lab... Monday I am hoping to spend all day traveling..flying to Cleveland, and riding on a bus all they way back... till tomorrow...
-drainy

“I was playing poker the other night… with Tarot cards. I got a full house and 4 people died.”

So, I am making a pledge to blog everyday for at least two weeks.... Think I can? Damn right I can.... If there can be another Indiana Jones film, shitty or not, then I can blog for two weeks straight....

Life has still chosen to take its shiny new pumps and graciously kick me in the crotch..... over and over again and it has gotten to the point where I feel like my balls have permanently been kicked back into my body. On a lighter note, we went to the doctor today and they did an ultrasound on the baby and everything seems to look pretty good... All the measurements were appearing to be in the norm. AND she only has two arms...which I gotta say, was a complete relief to me because I had a dream the night before that she was born with three arms....

I Wish My Grass Was Emo........

So it would cut itself....

So I'm sitting here relaxing after another long day with the wife watching "A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila"..... I guess the wife has become caught up with the show over the past few days as mayor of bed rest town.... Now mind you, when she heard that I had watched an episode all she could say was, "Why are you watching a show with half-naked women on it?".... Now c'mon, isn't that more of a rhetorical question? Now, for those of you who might have actually caught a glimpse of the show, I hate that Jersey guy.... What a prick...Moving on...

Not much new to report on our current status with Allison's condition and/or her loss of job... We are just trying to take it one day at a time and try to get through it all. Soccer is pretty much over so I will be able to work several more hours a week now so that will help out a lot.

Steve & I are still trying to finalize our plans for our big trip from Cincy to Cleveland. I did some calculating and have determined that it would be more cost effective to take a Greyhound bus back from Cleveland to Springfield than to take a car up there and drop it off and drive it back the next day. Plus I think it would make for an extra bit of adventure, as the bus station is in downtown Cleveland and would require a nice little walk from the airport. Its doable though, and with gas approaching a possible $4 a gallon, it might be the best way to go. Considering most people would pay $425 for a 45 min ride on this plane, and we are taking at least probably a 1.5 - 2 hour flight for free, I think it will be worth it! Wish us luck...There will definitely be plenty of pictures to post when we get back.

-drainy

When Life Throws You Lemons.....

And all you want to do is catch them and fucking beam someone in the head with them........
That's my life currently.......

My oh my..... It is amazing how much can change in a week..... So let me break it down for you as simply as possible.

-Allison was re-admitted into the hospital.... I actually have got this sleeping at he hospital thing down pat...
-the doc decided to put her on 100% bed rest
-and thus Allison was fired from her job...yeah...fired... since she only had 15 days of FMLA leave left, they decided that she can be on 'bed rest' for 15 days, but after that....they fire her... that means no health insurance, nothing...she will get short term disability that's it...
-she also has to be hooked up to a pump now 24 hours a day.... anyone care to take a stab at how much that would cost out of pocket??? like 6k a month.... So when it is all said and done I could have bought at least one brand new car, or several used ones!
-My dryer broke

So there is actually more, but I thought I would spare some of you the agony.... but yeah, so that was my week... For the past two days I have been re-arranging the house as to accommodate my invalid wife all whilst watching Abby, the crazy 10 month old who is now learning to walk.... I am trying to be the good supportive husband that I should be but I must confess that it is trying and I will probably need a nice little vacation when it is all said and done.

On to more exciting news though.... My dad is going to be flying to England on Liberty Belle... Mind you it will take three days with stops in Canada, Greenland, Iceland, & Scotland.... plus a nice little 650 nm jaunt over open water!!! My mom & brother are flying commercial over to meet him there.....hopefully....I say hopefully because if the plane breaks down, oh say like in Greenland, you can't really run to your local Autozone to pick up a spark plug... It's hard to find parts over 65 years old....

One more thing, there is this new guy starting at Fazoli's tomorrow.... I'm pretty excited... I think he might actually be someone to match whits with there.... which is something that rarely happens there. Anybody seen Waiting?

-drainy