Recently in The Fuskers™ Category

The GirlFriend™ and I are splitting up. So, it will now be The Ex-GirlFriend™. After a brief explosion of anger and a bit of shouting, we settled down, and our breakup is, hopefully, going to be amicable. I do not have to move out quickly or any such thing. Also, there are financial entanglements that need to occur.

However, the most painful of moments is approaching; that of telling The Fuskers™. While I may have drifted away from The GirlFriend™ I have always seen him as my own son, even if he was not my flesh and blood.

In the end, it has been 12 years of ups and downs, of pain and anger, of joy and passion, and of happiness and ecstasy. I have come out the other side a better man for having know Gayle. That we drifted apart is regrettable, but I still would not change my past.

Of course, things are not the best financially for either of us, but I know for myself that I can survive. When I look at my past, what I have overcome, and what I have accomplished, I am certain I will be able to move on, regardless of my current indebtedness.

Me as I walk by the TV playing an updated version of a cartoon I grew up watching:

"George, George, George of the jungle....."

From the Fuskers™ bedroom:

"Watch out for that tree!"

Ah yes. The classics never go out of style.

Just do not feel like accomplishing anything this morning. Oh, I fed myself, had my morning coffee, drove The Fuskers™ to school, and did my usual round of Blogstonia. But, other than that, I have no desire to really do anything. Part of the problem is that I do not have a desk at this moment. I gave my hulk of a desk to The Fuskers™, for which he is grateful to have, and enjoying it to no end. I was tired of dealing with the huge behemoth, so large it took up half the space in a 15 x 15 room.

Anyway, I am in the market for a smaller desk. I have been looking at writing tables, but it has been hard to find one the right size. I want one big enough to house my laptop while still allowing me space on which to actually write with paper and pen. Then there is style to consider. So far, of the tables I have looked at, the finish has either been too yellow, or to dull and dark.

To top it all off, at the moment there is no space in the bedroom because of all the boxes. Yes, yes, it is but a temporary situation. Eventually The GirlFriend™ will unpack the boxes, freeing up wall space for the placement of a desk. Until then, I am stuck at the dining room table, which is simply a horrible place from which to work.

In many ways the apartment is actually more spacious. The living room is long enough to place both our couch and our love seat, along with a rocking chair. It is roomy and comfortable, compared to the cramped space of the house. Also, the two bedrooms are larger than any of the rooms of the house, allowing The Fuskers™ much more room for his belongings, even with the humongous desk taking up one of the corners. Overall, we are in a much smaller home. Yet, I feel more space here.

Then there is the deck to consider. Facing east, I am able to meditate as the sun rises, feeling it's warmth on my skin, listening to the sounds of small town Wisconsin awakening. With the St. Croix and Mississippi confluence just a mile away, I hear both train and barge traffic. It is a special treat to hear the deep bass of the tugboat's horn echo off the bluffs and up the river valley. Included are the geese, assembling in trumpeting gaggles as they prepare for the flight south. This morning I listened as two distinct gaggles, one northwest, the other east, passed by, eventually merging as one down river.

Spent Saturday at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Unfortunately, the camera's battery charger is buried somewhere in one of the myriad of boxes stacked in bedrooms, closets, or the garage. Therefor, no pictures. I must tell you, though, that The Fuskers™ had a wonderful time. His uncle made him a suit of chain-mail made out of pop (soda for the regionally disabled) can tabs. It was of substantial weight, but he wore it proudly for most of the day. He reported receiving many compliments from strangers.

But he also received a great gift from a man. The Fuskers™ asked some guy, who was with his family, where he had gotten the cloak he was wearing. Well, after a bit of a discussion, the man gave The Fuskers™ the cloak. Our Fuskers™ even attempted to give him $20, but the man told him to pay it forward. So, The Fuskers™ is now thinking on how he will do just that.

After that, The GirlFriend™ bought him a ride on a horse (technically called war horses, but they were so old, they were damn near blind) and The GirlFriend™'s daughter took a picture. Hopefully I can get that picture from her and we will have some pictures to follow.

Today's stats:

• Top Speed: 30.0 mph
• Average Speed: 11.6 mph
• Elapsed riding time: 1:17:06
  
• Total Distance: 14.91 miles
• iPod: Toad The Wet Sprocket - Dulcinea / U2 - Achtung Baby.

An improvement over Tuesday's leg. Especially when you consider I hit all 5 steep hills this leg. I did develop a side ache when I hit Feather Stone Rd, causing me to stop and do some stretches to work it out.

Feather Stone Rd. is the killer hill, which still slows me down to about 3 mph. I could walk up the hill faster. It's why I hit it at the beginning of my leg. If I hit it towards the end, it would kill me. Even at the beginning, it's torturous. But, it gives me a work out. That's why I try to hit hills after I've gotten myself conditioned; they all give me workouts. Although, others would consider me a masochist. Who knows, maybe I am. But if I am a masochist, I'm a weight losing, conditioned masochist.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've a shower to take, and a run to IHOP with The GirlFriend™ and The Fuskers™. Hey, I'm exercising, not dieting.

Okay, good day. I took The Fuskers™ to the carnival down at the river front. It is Rivertown Days, after all. We rode a few rides, including "The Twister" twice. About the only reason he enjoyed the twister, was because he was able to smash into me, pushing me into the side of the car.

Now, because I am an idiot, I had a BBQ sandwich, some remarkably good french fries, and a Pepsi for lunch, prior to engaging in any carnival rides, with the boy thinking it would be funny to steal from my plate. I made a half-hearted attempt at chewing him out, but that just didn't work. Mostly because of my lack of heart. Besides, I'm going to be able to steal from his plate one day and bring today up in defense. Anyway, I managed to get through the rides without puking. I consider this a major accomplishment.

After the carnival, we headed to Wal-Mart, so the boy could buy himself a knife. He had one he liked, except for it's serrated edge. He can't sharpen a serrated edge. Trust me, he takes great pleasure in sharpening knives. How do I know? If I had a camera, I could show you the devilish, evil grin he has as he moves the knife back and forth across the wet stone. I get chills just typing about it.

Anyway, he had saved up $30.00 to buy himself a straight edge knife, but discovered it was too big for his taste. He ended up buying a similarly styled knife like the one he has, but with a straight edge, all for the exceptional price of $12.00. So, I forced him to buy me a root beer. That makes sense, right? Forcing The Fuskers™ to buy me a root beer? I got to tell you, it makes sense to me.

See, Wal-Mart has a policy of not selling knives to anyone under the age of 16. That required the additional act of The Fuskers™ handing me the money, which I handed to the clerk. Next, the clerk handed me the knife, which I......., well which I did not hand over to The Fuskers™. In fact, I held the knife for ransom, until such time as I got my root beer.

Of course, being I was with The Fuskers™, he just had to start throwing a fit. Quite the dramatic scene he was winding up to perform for all the shoppers at Wal-Mart. Hey, I taught him well, and for half a second was considering to watch this dramatic snit for the express purpose of grading his performance. But, instead, I gave him the knife before we got to the check-out lane. Guess what. He still bought me a root beer.

Now, once in the car, I caught him trying to sneak a drink from my root beer. I, being the cold-hearted bastard I am, refused. He....., well, let me put it in dialogue:

"Aw, come on!" said The Fuskers™. "I should get a drink since you held my knife hostage."

"Ah, but I gave you your knife before you bought me the root beer. So, technically, you bought it from the goodness of your heart." says I.

"No I didn't. You took advantage of me and overpowered me with your oldness."

Ouch. That hurt. I wanted to pull over, hide my face in my hands, and unabashedly cry like a pathetic little baby. So, I laughed.

"You're a little shit. You know that, don't you?" says I.

"Yup." says The Fuskers™.

"And you take great pleasure in being a little shit, don't you?" says I.

"Pretty much." says The Fuskers™.

And he is The Fuskers™, gots to love him.

I can not play live chess today. I've tried. I've been beaten by players with 800 ratings. I am better than that. Yet, today, not so much.

On an unrelated personal note: feeling better today then I have in several days. My cold, which has been kicking my ass, has receded today. Good thing too, because I've got to take the Fuskers™ to Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. Hereto forth it shall be known as NicVerse.

In case anyone is behind the times, NicVerse was once called Camp Snoopy. You know, things change.

Good morning. I actually woke up early, despite being up in the middle of the night to reset the clocks after the power was restored. Yes, that's right, we lost power here at the foreclosed castle for a couple of hours. It happened when I was sleeping, so I didn't really notice it until The Fuskers™ came down and woke me up. Anyway, since I'm up earlier, I can get my stealing of code out of the way:

Friday Blogaround
Here's the weekly lowdown from the Liberal Coalition.

- A Blog Around The Clock: climate change and sex.
- archy: take the quiz and see how liberal or conservative you are.
- Bark Bark Woof Woof: the decline of evangelism.
- Bloggg: if you can read this...
- Dohiyi Mir: Plato and why you should do something.
- Echidne Of The Snakes on the new White House Council on Women and Girls.
- Florida Progressive Coalition Blog: Who is Adam Hasner?
- Left Is Right: bits 'n' pieces.
- Left Turn Only: Multiplicity. (Welcome back, Chris.)
- Musing's musings: being gunned down by a newt.
- Pen-Elayne on the Web: Hey, Elayne needs a guest-host blogger next week. Help her out if you can.
- Rook's Rant: a tale of two metaphors.
- rubber hose: health care reform isn't frightening...
- Scrutiny Hooligans: communities coming together.
- Speedkill: Jonah's mailbox.
- Steve Bates, The Yellow Doggerel Democrat: how hard can it be to redesign the GOP website?
- Stupid Enough Unexplanation: those darned Hollywood policy makers.
- The Invisible Library reviews Watchmen.
- WTF Is It Now?? another pervy Republican caught.
- ...You Are A Tree: finding the real El Dorado.

So, how was your week

My week? Well, you know, lost the castle, lost power. Really, nothing much to write home about.

I ain't got much time, what with having to go to work and all. So, real quick, I see the Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chairman had to walk back his earlier statement. Go figure.

In the family, cute and touching moment department; The Fuskers™ gave me a hug this morning because I upgraded the graphics card in my very old computer. Why? He is now able to play Oblivion. However, I still need to upgrade my sound card, as it too is older than God.

Sometime this week I will have to upgrade to the latest Movable Type installation. Because, by gosh, I am a cutting edge blogger. So be careful and don't cut yourself while reading.

Yes, I know, that's really bad. I'll behave myself now.

And yes, I am still using Movable Type. Because, as we all know, WordPress is so much more reliable and stable when updating.

All you faithful readers have a good day now. All two of you.

Not anything of import, just waiting for the vehicle I use to get back from errands. So, I thought I'd say hi.

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Well, just got a call from The Fuskers™. He needs his Magic (The Gathering) deck for his communications class. So, I have to go.