Walt Disney is satan?

Well we are almost there, we are going to disney next week on this tree of the desrosiers first real family vacation. Sure I have gone places with the kids seperately, and jenn and I went out what like ONCE? But this is our first all together outing, I am excited for it.

I have heard very bizar tales of disney from multiple source, kids in strollers with 3rd degree burns, passed out from all the "fun". Mothers in the bathroom with their kids smacking them because they spent so much money on this trip you better have "fun".

I am a entirely different person, for better or worse, when on vacation. I say for better or worse because it usually means I spend a bunch of money I didn't have to, but the point of these trips is to build memories, not spend as little as possible. If I coulsnt afford to go, we jus wouldn't but since I am away for so long this is a good time to get re aquainted.

Some of my friends were suggesting going to mgm, or universal, but as I said to jenn last night, its not like this is the last trip we will ever take. This is the first, and mgm would be cool if you are 10 or 20, disney kind of looses its wow factor after 14.

Things are good at work, we have a new real estate agent who is actually showing an interest in selling our place so I am boyed by that. Looks like our property is going to be tough tp sell though, at least until municiple water comes in (god only knows when that will be). I figure we will sit on the land, leave it on the market and see. Maybe the people who buy the house will also buy our land, maybe not. I've had a pretty blessed life, someone is watching over me and I firmly believe, as hokey as it sounds from a pragmatic rationalist, that things happen for a reason.

I am where I am because I met Jenn and we had kyle. If I hadn't would I have been as driven, and motivated to excel, probably, would I be where I am today? Almost certainly not. I would likely be an electrical engineer, cause that's what my dad is, and more or less miserable. To this day, I could really tell you what a eng does. I'm sure its some cool shit, I just don't know what it is. All things considered I should probably have gone into computer programming (like my bro) because I like it, and am relatively good at it. Too late now though, so I use it when I can and try to pickup new languages as it is possible and relevant.

I bought an iphone the first month it came out, and hacked it so I could use it in canada. An amazingly large cellphone bill later, I stopped using it for the most part as anything more that a phone and video player. Friend of mine wants to buy it, allowing me to invest in an I touch, hush now. Yes I know an I touch is just an iphone without the phone, but this is seriously the coolest piece of geekwear I have ever owned. Apple outdid themselves, while they did overlook some rather obvious items, push instead of pull for email, they did well overall. The screen, at arms length as if reading a book, is the same size as my 42 inch plasma (I no right? Such a small screen? Well I bought that the way I buy everything, one weekend went to look at tvs having done no research and bought the best one we couldn't afford.) The video is very crisp and now that I live in the states, content for it is awesome. You can rent movies for it and everything... Makes the bus ride home that much more tolerable...

I plan on posting a blog, it might even have pics (gasp) of disney, maybe even one for each day. Not bringing the crackberry or laptop so we will see...

Happy new year?

I was all set to post on my blog this morning about how great my holiday season was, how I enjoyed spending time with my wife and two kids (kyle is 13 and a vampire, I think I saw him a total of 3 hours in 10 days and then only necause we forced him to come out for breakfast and dinner) but today we received some shocking news that a friend of ours passed away at the age of 42.

You never imagine these things happening, sure you think if I passed away what would happen to the kids and jenn, but you never give much thought to those around you and that they might not be there the next time you turn around. This loss has hit jenn hard, he was an old boyfriend of hers and a source on anx for me (pretty sure I spelled that wrong), but a fixture of sorts in our life. Facebook reunited them recently and they were comparing notes on life and getting back in touch. A blessing of sorts was that he passed quickly and painlessly, those left behind would rather some warning but by the same token its a reminder to not left things unsaid.

Kyle, your growing up great. I am harder on you that your brothers because you are older and have always acted older. I don't know what is normal for a 13 year old and don't know what I can or should expect from you, but all the same I love you, am proud of the man you are becoming, and hope you will leave room for us in your life.

Tristen, I love both of you. I love the tempermental grumpy kid who can't take anything I say without crying, I love the happy go lucky kid who understands that dads need alone time too, I love your sense of humour, your wit and desire to please. You too are growing up a fine young man, just stop measuring yourself against kyle. He does things his way, you do them yours, no one is better we are all different. Wheb you measure yourself against someone else, one of you will be disapointed. Be your own person, be the strong willed independant person you are, but do what I say!

Gavyn, oh my Gavyn. I hope I am strong enough for you litle man. You are the strongest willed of all my boys, and the only one who has won the vegetable argument. You take life at your own speed and the hell with life if it doesn't like it. You do need to lighten up a little and be more aware of those around you, that they have feelings to and though you can't feel them theyu hurt just as bad as yours do when someone calls you a name or makes fun of you.

Jenn. The center of my being, the only reason I do any of what I do. I know I don't say it often enough, and could never say it often enough, but I love you. I love you more and more each day we spend together. I don't know what I would be had we not met, so much of my life has been shared with you, so many if my experiences with you that I literally cannpot imagine what life would be like without you in it. Nevermind what would happen to the boys etc, I just do not know how I would go on without knowing you are a phone call or email away. I love you.

Mom, dad. Pretty sure neither of you know this exists, but I love you as well. I understand each of you more and more as my boys grow, and understand what I put you through and often wonder how you coped with you emotionally retarded self centered son.

Phil, don't think we ever got to know one another. You've always been my bigger brother the fountain of all knowledge, most of it later determined to be complete bullshit, but I've never know you as a person, or really though of you as anything more than my big brother. We have a bit in common, not a lot though I am sure if we made an effort we would find it was more than we expected.

Ulan, I know you read this, so chill out. The saphron raid this weekend was a pleasant change where when you screamed at the shammies for dropping a elemental totem you could laugh it off. Palla, bear with him, I think deep down there might be a nice guy in there somewhere, I'd recommend a golden retriever puppy to find it... Worked for me.

For the rest of you, if your not crying like a baby seek professional help. Lord knows I should.

Home for the holidays

Well its that time of year again, we've been listening to christmas carols since Halloween and the time is almost near where we can say good bye to those horrid songs and move back into the real world. I get to spend 10 days at home, due to a very nice boss, this christmas. Jenn has decided she wants to be martha stewart again and invite everyone over for dinner on christmas day. She always makes a fantastic spread, but I don't get to see her for the entire day, so it will be Dad waking the kids up at 5am to open their presents (yeah you read that right, Dad wakes the kids up) and then off to the kitchen for much chopping and cooking until everyone shows up at 5pm.

That means that I have to solo clean the house!! I hate cleaning, not sure anyone likes it, but I hate it. It shows too, since I do such a crappy job at it. Maybe I'll make Kyle and Tristen do some of it… on christmas day… The Grinch is calling he wants his hat back. Christmas is a very stressful time of year, and with the economy the way it is apparently shop lifting is up 60% since september. If someone you know and love had to steal your present so they could get you something, would you feel as good about receiving it? Give the person something heartfelt and home made, cookies whatever, and tell them look, I wanted to get you the PS3, but I can’t afford it since I lost my job. Of course it would be hard to stuff a PS3 down your pants and walk out a store, but you get the point.

Our house is usually a zoo on Christmas, we over do it every year. Last year (or year before I am sure Jenn will correct me) we bought computers for everyone. Yeah definitely the year before, last year was Gavyn, anyways the tv room had a pile of gifts in it that was about 4 ft high, and 5ft around. You couldn’t even see the tree. Did the kids appreciate it all, no. They loved their computers, but I think we still have one of the gifts we bought downstairs in its box, unopened for 2 years. It is however nice to be able to buy the boys whatever I want whenever I want. I am sure it will not last forever, but while it does I spoil my boys because I love them, and can't be with them as much as I want to. Even when I am with them I don't know how to be with them, some bagage there I know but I'm working on it.

Tristen has gotten closest to me because he reminds me of me, and he plays WOW. We leveled a character together until I was having too much fun and instead of waiting for him kept playing. I quickly pulled too far ahead for us to play together anymore and he's been struggling ever since. Bad dad in the works.

Enjoy your holidays, put the crackberry down for a couple of days and spend time with your loved ones doing whatever it is that they want to do, instead of what you want to do.

Joys of holiday travel

Well its been awhile huh. I could lie and say I have been busy, but apart from the go live that went smoother than anything I have ever done in the past, I haven't really been doing anything... Not true, I have been heavily investing in my mage persona in world of warcraft...>.<

I poke fun at people who play sims and are so enamoured with that game where they are essentially building a social network and life for what? If you invested half as much time in your own life as you do in the game I am sure you would find it improving too. But anyways, holiday travel, what a treat... I went home to montreal this past weekend, left on turkey day eve, came back on sunday... They say that the day before thabksgiving is the single busiest travel day of the year. I believe them now. The trains from ny penn station were sardine cans... The line to buy a ticket for a train was easily 2 hrs long... Luckily I'm a rebel.... Don't tell the sheep standing in line, but you can buy a ticket on the train!! Skipped the ridiculously long line and withing 6 minutes of entering the station I was on a train headed to the airport, good start to the weekend!

Spent four awesome days with jenn and the boys. Went to the "bugtarium" to check out all manner of creepy crawlies. We promised the kids several outings this summer, but as usually happens summer got away from me and we didn't do most of them. But we are going to disney so hopefully that will make up for it. I try and avoid making promises unless I know I can keep them. That way the boys know where they stand. Yes means definately, maybe means no, no means I can't believe you even asked...;)

Even though things are a little weird right now in our living arrangements I still feel incredibly lucky to not only be married to the most amazing woman on the planet, and have three of the best boys I've ever met, but I am also working for a pretty cool lady too, who gets that this is a strain and sticks her neck out in these financially tenuous times to fly my sorry can home so I can be with my family.

So even though I almost never show it, I do appreciate it, comes from being a guy...

Report card time!

Well its that time of the year. Report cards are coming in to mixed reviews, and mixed feelingd from the boys. Good old gavyn couldn't care less, kyle wants us to see it and tristens mysteriously did not come home.. Might have had something to do with the intervention that happened...

We have a cash for grades policy at our house. I feel weird about it, like I shpuld defend it, but the real world repays you for your hard work (upper management aside, still not sure what the deal is there) so why should I not pay my kids for doing well. My parents paid me and my brother for grades, 5$ for 80, 10$ for 90, and 20$ for 95+. I only got the 20 twice, once for graduating highschool with 98 in math.

Kyle was anxious to show his reportcard because he got 45% in science, since he studied the wrong thing for the final exam. I did something similar in my final year, got 50% on my first math test because I reversed the logic used... I was so mad that I aced everything, literally I got 100 on everything, every test, assignment even the gouvernment run final exam. Hopefully kyles mistake will spurn him as well, only time will tell!

Have I mentioned we are going to disney world? February for kyles birthday we are going for a week. My sweatheart found the deal and we booked it, hindsight being what it is, we prolly should have booked it to leave from mtl and not lga... Now I will have to drive to mtl, pick them up, drive back to nj. Get the plane, pretend to have fun, then do it again at the end of the trip. 24++ hours of driving in a week... Got to be a better way...

Still no joy on the house, talking about renting it out, but we would be losing 500 a month if we did, so not sure about that whole scene...

The evils od spell vheckker

What is wrong with the world today? Why are we so bad to ourselves and eachother?

I blame the automatic door opener. Now you never have to see your neighbors... No need to converse with them, no reason to get along with them, no reason to grow as a human being. We are, in general, extremely intolerant of one another. Its amazing that any marriage works never mind about 50%.

Are we genetically programed to be a bunch of hard ass jerks who can't cut anyone slack? My dad was and is pretty intolerant of others, its somewhat of a standing joke in our house, and of course my life has been modelled after him. He characterzes it as hating stupidity and stupid people, but really he's as intolerant as I am.

I worry about how my kids will grow up, I touched upon it before, how I didn't want to corrupt them as I was corrupted and so try and keep my intollerance to a minimum, but it comes out. Jenn has taught me to thinlk differently, to not get mad at the guy who cuts me off to exit the highway, to not think someone is a bad parent because they are out at 2am with their 4 year old, for all I know their apartment building burned down and they are walking to a friend/shelter. Maybe the guy who cut you off is lost, or taking directuons from someone on the phone...

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone right? If you've never cut someone off, never cut a line because you were in a hurry, then fine cuss them out and be righteous, otherwise cut them some slack and maybe when you need to be cut some slack maybe someone will.

Comb overs, seriously who are you kidding?

Comb overs, spray on hair, hair implants, all sad. I feel really sorry for people who lie to themselves. Its totally ok to lie to others when its worth it, but you should never lie to yourself.

Going bald is a fact of life for some of us, I am 5 years away from a fuzzy toilet seat and have a pact with my wife that if I ever start dressing strange, or combing over, that she will take me out back and shoot me. Interestingly enough, she didn't make the same deal, wonder why...

But seriously, people who comb over in the morning are really trying to fool themselves not us... My dad, to this day, maintains that when he used to comb over he couldn't tell he was bald, because it looks the same in the mirror, yeah ok pull my other leg so I don't have to limp home...

Similar but funnier is women who pad their bras... Are you hoping that by the time the bra comes off the guy is going to be too distracted to notice that your boobs went with it? There I suppose its more of a wanting to be noticed problem than lying to yourself, but still sad.

You are who you are, you can enhance yourself in all kinds of ways, but you should dtrive to be happy within yourself before going to those extremes.. And going through anything like that for someone else is insane, no one is worth that.

So Tristen, yes not son num 2 anymore, plays world of warcraft as well as me. He also knows that if he wants to talk to me, he can fairly reliably find me online and bug me there. He comes on the other day and wants to use my email adress to sign up for some game or other. I already get enough spam so I cleverly say "ask your mother if you can use hers", besides at least she can make sure he's not signing up for something he shouldn't.

"She already said no."

"So, why are you asking me then? You already have your answer."

See here is where lying used to work for me... I would ask my dad something preficing it with, mom said it is ok with her, but that I should ask you if I can ... Then go to mom and do the same.. Now they both agreed to let me do something they normally wouldn't. Worked like a charm until one day dads said, "I doubt that, REG?!?" And a grounding ensued...

Anyways, since that logic tract didn't work for him he changed paths.

"But kyle has one"

"Yes, but kyle is 13, don't use kyle as a reason you should have something. It wouldn't be fair to kyle if I let you have one at 11, since he had to wait till 13."

"To think, I look up to you"

Aha, so being nice didn't work, using the brother didn't work, let's try guilt... He should be a lawyer, serously.

"Lol, so now you are going to insult me to get what you want?"

At this point he logged off and I called jenn and told her I broke tristen... She later confirmed that tristen came into her studio and asked her how long someone his size would take to starve to death. Yep, flair for the dramatic.

Jenn is making a quilt! But she refuses to make it big enough for our bed, much to my annoyance... I want one for my jersey pad so I can sleep under her love every night, but nOooooooooooo... Sigh.

No insightful sign off tonight, too tired to be creative.