Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in sparkymus' LiveJournal:

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Saturday, October 6th, 2007
10:58 pm	Being an avid vidio gamer, comic book reader, sci-fi fan, and Star Trek cast member, Wil Wheaton spends a lot of time at sci-fi and comic, and gaming conventions.  He wrote in an artical, not too long ago, some guidelines for behavior at these cons that can be summed up as just one simple mantra; Don't be a Dick!  As I was reading these guidelines, it struck me that these guideline are not just for geeks.  They are aplickable to nearly every aspect of life.  A,sort of, "All I Needed to Know in Life I Learned From Ubergeek Wil Wheaton".  The wisdom fo the ages, Don't be a dick, and everything will be ok.  Wil's blog, if you are interested is at wilwheaton.typepad.c­om Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: State of Mass... - Dropkick Murphys (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 30th, 2007
4:26 pm	Kids... So my mate and spawn just got back from the groomers, Wifey says,"did you give Daddy his suprise?" Bernie, my oldest(by 15 mins.), then holds out a jar of Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts.  Very proudly proclaiming,"Here's your nuts! In glass... in a jar, a glass jar." Kids are funny, even when they don't know why.   Current Mood: bemused (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 23rd, 2007
3:06 pm	Well, it has been a while but let's see if I can think of any thing to write.  Well, it has been a while but let's see if I can think of any thing to write. In the morning (about 3am) I get up with my wife. I help her get ready for work and, with the kids still sleeping, it is time for just us two. Everyday when it is time for her to go, I walk her out to the driveway or wait in the doorway to see that she gets headed off to work ok. Then I go back inside, turn off the lights, and go back to bed. As I lie there alone in our bed, holding her pillows to my face and chest. I try to ward off the crushing lonelyness, with little success, as her now cold pillows are a poor substitue for her soft warm skin against mine. This whisper of the spinning ceiling fan mocks the memory of her heartbeat and lullaby rythum of her beathing. And the faint hint of her scent that clings to her pillow jus makes me long to press my face into her hair. Body and soul, I ache for her touch. Sometimes even when she is only across the room. Current Mood: calm Current Music: war pigs - cake (Comment on this)
Friday, April 28th, 2006
1:40 am	A belly full of beer, an' a possum in a sack... OR got nuthin left for me an' mine, I'm going home. Sacramento. I never feel quite right anywhere else. After Sept. I am going back Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: war pigs - garth brooks (Comment on this)
Monday, August 1st, 2005
4:48 pm	Summertime and tha livin's easy... Yesterday was great. we got up early and went down to the park. It was a sunny morning well before the heat of the day began. The kids were eager to get to it so Razz and I set up the kites as quickly as we could. In all this was a rather disappointing part of our day, there was too little wind. We decided to pack it up and head off to a local festival. The festival was on it's last day, so most of the vendors didn't bother to show up. Disappointed, we headed to a local fountain where they let kids play. It is one of those where the water shoots straight up from the flat pavement. Razz and the kids had a great time and me not being so big on the public wetness, enjoyed watching my little family frolic in the water, like happy river spirits. So after two strikes we hit a homer on the third swing. Yay team us!! Today, we had family lazy day. Nothing on the schedule, no obligations ...until. Sis-in-law calls asking could we watch some of her many youngin's so she can take one to the doc office. Well ok, after all it is just for a couple of hours. Four hours later. Where could she be? No word. No call. Nothing. This is indicative of the treatment Razz receives from her family on a daily basis. But She has an amazing capacity for forgiveness. See they think they are taking advantage of her, but you cannot take advantage of somebody as generous as her. She does it all out of love, even for those @$$#*!&$. I have so much to learn from her. Current Mood: good Current Music: Some Surf tune (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 16th, 2005
11:57 am	Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. I am never 100% sure of anything. Who is? I look at my son and see so much joy, his sisters were already trying to be sneaky at 3yo. He is so open, often telling the plain truth even if he Knows he will be in trouble for it. I envy him in that, he comes by naturally what i have worked so hard to gain. And maintain. I don't think I was ever the "typical" boy, and I worried that he would be odd as well. I needed not worry, he is perfect in his boyness. He hits his sisters,is too aggressive with the cats, is so very preoccupied with anybody with superpowers, and anything with a motor. He fills his time wrestling, or playing with his cars or planes. when he is not playing with the toilet, toilet brush, or plunger. several times a day, I find myself mentally quoting Hank Hill,"That boy ain't right" But I know that he is, just like the sinking suspicion that the twins are going to be all girly girls no matter how tuff I try to make them. Well at least they are smart. Nobody likes a slow witted girly-girl, except those who wish to take advantage of them. I have many hopes and wishes for my children, and foremost is that they will find in life only the things and people that make them happy. Current Mood: amused Current Music: The screams of my kids mid battle royal (Comment on this)
Sunday, July 10th, 2005
4:13 pm	nothing realy matters... I could wish for a lot of things right now. Wishing has never realy done it for me though. So, now I can try to get the things I want, or decide that I don't realy want them. There has been a lot of pushining the boulder up the hill, only to lose it inches from the top and have to start over. Let me just say that the health care at my work is a joke, completely useless to people in our situation. In order to feed my family, I have to set the paqyrole dedution for health insurence at the minimum, and that sets the deducable at it's highest. The problem is that the first time i have used it since my son was born, and i am paying all out of pocket. I am so frustated and angry, I have dumped thousands of dollar into this and got nothing in return, NOTHING! My son broke his leg and the $900+ ER bill is coming out of my pocket, except I. DON'T. HAVE. $1000. IN. MY. POCKET! where the hell did all that money go? I've been with this compny coming up on five years, most of which I have been paying into these a-holes and getting nothing back. I mean if I have already paid between five and ten thousand bucks to them why do I still have a deductible? And why should it be more than $50 or $100? Wile we were getting his cast put on one of the PAs said,"At least you have insurance to cover this." HA! Anyway, the fury is cooling just wanted to get that of my chest. Current Mood: angry Current Music: because i got high - Afroman (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2005
7:41 pm	Ah, Date Night! You Singles out there don't *really* appreciate or value Dating, and I'll tell you why. You see dating as a means to an end, and not something to hold in it's own right. It is like the saying 'Youth is Wasted on the Young', Dating is so often wasted on the single. My wife, Razz, and I have , like so many other couples these days, Date nights. If you don't know, Date Night has a few simple rules; 1) Don't talk about Date Night, No really, if the kids hear you are going to the movies Project: Grown-up Movie, gets dumped down the porcelain round file. 2) don't talk about the kids or house or bills. See how simple that is? So, Sunday. Date Night. Plan; Dump kids w/ responsible 3rd party, Movie, Dinner, then home to bed or... *whatever*. Oh, cruel Fate, how oft thou interfearest w/ the plans of men. Reality; Responsible 3rd party...unavailable, Last min. sub Razz's g-ma w/ whom kids overnight=not an option, also I lost track of time, and it being my day off had not even changed out of me PJs at ten 'til we were s'posed to ditch kids and hit the movie house. So, I go into Super Sparky mode and, in the time it takes Razz to lode the kids in the van, I; put in contacts, shave, shower, brush teeth and hair, and change into appropriate Date Night attire. And off we went to lose the kids, then giddy w/ kid-free-edness, on to the movie. We saw Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy...!!!LOVED IT!!!, so did Razz. Next, on to dinner,where we acted like Jr high crushers, we talked and laughed and teased the wait-staff and flirted w/ eachother. It was awesome! I love Razz everyday, and it is somehow aplified on Date Night. It is hard, ya know? The day to day, forever in danger of letting "I love you" turn into something we "just say". We already cut out all of that," you too," crap. You know how one of you says I love you and the autonomic responce u2 or luv u2 just falls out of the other persons mouth, no thought, just autopilot. We decided not to do that any more. See, I figure in that split second it takes to actualy respond with the full I love you and not u2 , luv u2, or even i luv u 2, you are stating something and not just recipricating thier statment. That is what bothers me, if you say i luv u 2, all you are realy saying is that you might not have said it if they had not said it first. And that SUX!!! In summation; don't take dating for granted, things rarely go as planned, Do see hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and Say,"I love you", not,"I love you, too". Current Mood: loved Current Music: Razz blowing her nose (Comment on this)
Monday, May 2nd, 2005
5:57 am	1. What's the first movie you ever remember seeing? Wow, that does take me waaaaaaaaaaaay back. It was this great movie called 'If You Could See What I Hear'. It was about this blind guy. Incidentaly he went on to teach Ben Afleck to act like a blind guy in Daredevil 2. what's the worst lie you ever put on a job application? To the best of my memory, I do not think I have ever lied on an app. 3. Would you rather have the ability to turn into a female version of yourself, or be ten years younger with all of your current knowledge? Female ver. of me... 4. If you had to have one, would you rather have a hamster or a tortoise? tortoise, definately, and without question 5. If your best friend told you that they were really an alien, what proof would you require before believing them? From my BEST friend, nothing Rules: 1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me." 2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions. 3. You will post the answers to the questions (and the questions themselves) on your journal. 4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. (or a separate post, but not too long after. Be honest here, people!) 5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. Current Mood: okay (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 1st, 2005
3:25 pm	Your brain: 140% interpersonal, 100% visual, 80% verbal, and 80% mathematical! Congratulations on being 400% smart! Actually, on my test, everyone is. The above score breaks down what kind of thinking you most enjoy doing. A score above 100% means you use that kind of thinking more than average, and a score below 100% means you use it less. It says nothing about how good you are at any one, just how interested you are in each, relatively. A substantial difference in scores between two people means, conclusively, that they are different kinds of thinkers. Matching Summary: Each of us has different tastes. Still, I offer the following advice, which I think is obvious: Don't date someone if your interpersonal percentages differ by more than 80%. Don't be friends with someone if your verbal percentages differ by more than 100%. Don't have sex with someone if their math percentage is over 200%. My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 95% on interpersonal You scored higher than 67% on visual You scored higher than 74% on verbal You scored higher than 62% on mathematical Link: The 4-Variable IQ Test written by chriscoyne on Ok Cupid Current Mood: restless (Comment on this)
Monday, April 25th, 2005
9:44 pm	It's funny... I just found out some rather intimate info on a relitive online tonight, yup, on...line. this person is family! Well if I am finding these things out over the 'net, I am not paying enough attention to my family. GRRRR! In my youth the greatest thing in the world to me was my family. Tho my parents were no longer together the vast majority of thier families all lived within the same county. They were Always there, always. Then one by one they began to pull my world apart. I don't blame them, they were doing just as I would in turn do years later. but at the time it was nohing short of devistating. I missed them teribly, and I still do. I find it to be a little bit worse, now as I had tried to replace them with friends, who also in thier time left me behind, or were left behind by me. I must admit I am now a little skittish about make a connection with any one as the pain of parting, hovers over me always. Of all the pains I have felt in my life that is the one that cuts deepest. The Baboo's birthday is tommorow. That is my son, and he is a good boy. I know it is corny to say, but I see in him all th potential in the world. I look at him there watching a movie, clapping at the end, and hope. I hope he has a famly of his own someday. I hope he is more able to show his feelings to his loved ones. I hope most of all that it does not take him 25 yrs. to realize that happiness is more important than neerly anything else. My little man is growing up, He will be three years old, and we can finnaly stop counting his age in months. Although I have decided to staet counting my age in months, I'm 367 months old. Well, it is late, gotta work tomorrow time to put me and the kids to bed G'nite Current Mood: hopeful Current Music: Forever Young-Alfaville (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 5th, 2005
9:06 pm	Grrr... It is late. Later than I should be up. The kids should have been to bed hours ago, but they are cleaning thier room. Well Razz is making/helping them. She was kinda proud to have all of the laundry caught up, no small thing in a household of five. Then she found the kids' room in total disarray. We have no way of knowing if the clothes on the floor are clean or not, so into the hamper it goes. She is raely into it now, Barking commands, like a cap'n on deck. She is angry, and I don't blame her. Our kids are in trouble, see, they know what to do, and can do it. It is thier choosing not to that makes Mom mad, and I get to be the bad guy. By the time our disapinary systen rolls around to any physical punishment, she can't do it because she is upset. We don't let each other punish the kids when we are upset, so I step in calm, and dole out the swats, one for each year old. It is nessasary, but unfortunate, and now I have to go to bed with that being the last ineraction with one of my babies. And thelast thing for her tonight is swats from Dad. That sucks. That's life. Sometimes life sucks. Current Mood: disappointed Current Music: none (Comment on this)
8:40 pm	To all the pets I've loved before... it has been a few weeks and it has taken a kind of toll on me the mrs. is looking for work and since we have a dial-up I have to wait til after business hours to get on the net lest we miss a call for an interview or the like, so wish her luck, and our wishes will be for your good fortune speaking of well wishes, I was reading Wil Wheaton's blog and he has had to make the very difficult decision to euthinise a beloved pet, and I envy him in a small way. See, while I understand how hard it is to give up on a pet for health reasons, I have never been finantialy able to see a vet, we have to scrap to take the kids on doctor visits so spending the kind of money on a pet no matter how loved is out of the question. Fortunately our pets have rarely had health issues which require vet visits, and so have seldom had to deal with this particular hard ship. When a pet did fall ill it was hard for me to watch him die, all I could do for Mr. Biglesworth was make him as comfortable as possible and pray for the miraculous recovery I knew would not come. As hard as it would have been, I would have chose to have him put down, if we'd had the money. I would have taken him to the vet at the first sign of trouble. We loved him,and we had to watch him die. Some people think it is easier with so called disposable pets i.e. fish, rodents, reptiles, and hermit crabs, but in my experience it is not. I cried when my four year old oscar,Usul, died for no apparent reason, worried and sweated as my hermit crab, Fatboy, molted for the first time (a particularly vulnerable time for hermit crabs). Pets are an investment in love, care, and nurturing. Happy health pets are the return on that investment. So, Wil, if your out there, take comfort if you can in knowing that the vet visits and having the ability to put your cat down are more than some of us are able to do for our pets. blessings on you, Wil, for the mercy you give to Felix. This entry is sadly dedicated to all of the pets I have lost to death or in other ways, there have been many here are the ones I can remember; Rontu(dog), Squeaker(cat), Spunky(cat), Azure(cat), Spot(cat), Sydnie(cat), Sleeper(cat), Ike(dog), Rags(dog), Twerp(cat), Maj. Carter(cat), Winter(cat), Mr. Biglesworth(cat), Lil(cat), Goat(cat), Shadow(cat), Usul(fish), Whitey(fish), Hagrid(cat), Thor(hermit crab), and Chewie(hermit crab). Current Mood: gloomy Current Music: Scotty doesn't Know (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 17th, 2005
5:16 pm	Somebody thinks I'm cool ! So, here's this guy, Derek, and he had the coolest site on the web. It was the Wal-mart recipt site, that 's right, just a site full of his recipts from w-m. People could see what he bought and comment on it. It was cool and it led me to discover that he had lots of sites with othr cool stuff. For example, http://www.blacksunn.net/11111001111/ is his weblog, this is where I found links to Wil Wheaton dot net, and other friendly blogs, then there is http://www.blacksunn.net/iam/ Where you can tell the world just who, what, where, how, or possibly why you are. oh, and on http://www.thriftshopvoices.com/ you can hear little slices of random peoples lives as D plays snippits from tapes he picks up at thriftshops. Man if I had more time I would tell you all about his coolness, but the coolest thing is that while reading his blog today I found that it had a link back here to my humble LJ, yay me! Yay D! Yay St. Pat's Day!! ^_^So go check out DE's sites, and I hope You like them as much as I do. Current Mood: touched Current Music: The Silly Pizza Song - Signing time vol. 2 (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 10th, 2005
7:39 pm	Stuff that fell out of my head... Strange how much like my dad I am. I had hoped to escape his shadow, and, be my own, individual, self. It seems I have failed in this to some degeree. So often I find myself doing something the way he would, or relating to others with his same manner. It's friggin' irritating, yup. What's worse is it is the same for me Mum. Here I am all grown up, children of my own, and I'm not more than a blend of Mum an Dad. Well not just that, I guess. I have figured some things out for myself, so I'm not a total Waste. Is it just me, or have parental expectations been in steady decline? People keep telling me that it is too much to expect of my kids that they clean thier room when asked. The twins are 4yo and he boy is 2, almost 3. I guess I'm just tired of people bugging me about how to raise my children. Not all of the advice is bad just, I wish folk would see if it would be welcome befor dispencing it. Gah! I love riding my bike. Given a choise and equitable conditions, I'll choose the bike. However, due to a lack of equitable conditions, and then lack of a bicycle, I have not ridden in some time. Then the tax return, just enough left after the bills to get a bike. Yay, Me! That said I had decided to ride to and from work, weather pemitting. Well, the weather was permitting, so to and fro on the bike for me. God I've gotten fat, and out of shape. I survived, so again tomorrow I'll to and fro, and thereafter. I am will power, but you can call me Will. -_^ Have you ever been trapped in a place you love, with people you just despise? My work has turned into a high school drama. I have decided today that I'll no longer participate in this. If I want high school drama I'll rent 90210. There is nothing more satisfying than a job well done. Unless you are me and never view the job as well done however good it got did. Nobody is reading this so why should I bother w/ spel chekkr? I would go back ten years and fix it all if I could. OK that is all, brain's empty now, as it should be. Current Mood: satisfied Current Music: Spoon full of sugar-Mary Poppins (Comment on this)
Saturday, March 5th, 2005
5:14 pm	Kill,Kill,Kill.... Such abad day at work, if I had tomorrow off I'd be Drunk by now. Current Mood: cranky Current Music: TMBG- john henry (Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 1st, 2005
3:49 am	insomnia sux... if my kids didn't look like damn angels, I'd vacuum or do some laundry. Current Mood: restless Current Music: nun (Comment on this)
Monday, February 28th, 2005
5:22 pm	I miss... I have in my past, displayed shall we say, less than steller friendship skills. So perhaps it is some sort of Kharmic backlash, that has been stomping down my friendships lately. Something always seems to go wrong, right when things are going good. First off, when I moved to the beaver state, I made some friends fairly quickly. In the usual way, some guys at work, a few at a local hang out, etc. Not yet true friends, just people I knew, a pool from which to draw friends. Standard new guy in new place stuff right? So I started giving this one fella a ride to work, and thru chatting in comute, we got to know each other, and became friends, we shall call him MacBeth. He was a good guy, friendly, open, honest(with me), and he was always happy to have me come over and hang out. Even though he was a small town guy and did not understand my Cityboy weirdness, he accepted me pretty much as I was. He was my first friend in state, and proved to be a good one. By now you may be wondering where this all goes south, or maybe not, but I'm going to tell you anyway ;) Lady MacBeth in this case, as usual, was the problem. Tho nice enough upon meeting her, I quickly came to the realization that she was much less pleasent than her front. To start she had no respect for her husband, her marrage, her children, or her family. She repetedly cheated on him, and regularly left her family wondering as to her whereabouts for days at a time. Mac was beside himself, like a spose that had been beaten too many times. He knew he should cut her loose, but could not bring himself to do it. They decided to move, away from her bad influances, Mac hoped it would help them become a family again. He was wrong, it changed almost nothing. They split and reconciled several more times, and in the end they are apart and he is better off. And I am short one friend. Thanx alot Yoko. I realy did admire the commitment Mac showed to his marrage, misplaced tho it was, and wish him all the best. * Sparky raises his glass "To Mac!" Then there was LilMatmat, who was anything but little. He was Mac's brother. He was a good friend and the worlds best rommie. living w/ him was alot like not having a roommate at all. We hardly knew he was there, but realy enjoyed his company, he moved to the coast for a job on thr rail road. Hehe, he's been workin' on the R.R., and we miss him, a lot. * Sparky raises his glass "To LilMatmat!" Then this kid I was working w/ at The Largest Retailer in the World, needed to move out of mom and dad's place so he moved in w/ me for a while. While he was sortof shy/quiet at work, I got to know him pretty good at home. He and I had a great deal in common, and ended up waiting for 15 hours t see the first showing of STAR WARS Ep II together w/ my wife and newborn son. Well unlike the others, he didn't move away we did. Finally moving to w. OR. But we promised to wait in line w/ him for Ep III. You all are welcome to join us at the tiny theater in Pendleton, OR. We still plan to be there, and hope he will too. * Sparky raises his glass "To The Kid!" So here me are, Western OR, time to do the new guy in the new place thing again. Which went swimmingly, I made a friend my first night at work. B was an ok guy, hip hop white kids usualy bug me but he was cool. Once again I got to know someone in commute. The retail busines leading up to the holiday season is a nightmare. Once a week we would down the street after a hard nights work and share a pitcher o' beer w/ whoever shoed up. Every once in a while, after work turned into all day, and the next evening a hangover. Which made work suck but at least I was in good company. B left to WA to get his life back together, and try for his daughter. Last I heard he had visitation. So I'm happy for him, and wish him and his daughter luck. * Sparky raises his glass "To B!" A short time before B left, We met Blacksmith. He had transfered from Vallejo, CA. Which was very near Sacramento, the city I still concider home. He was Intelligent, and of a singular wit, and a very good conversationalist. We hit it off nearly right away, he joined B and I for morning beer, fairly often and when B left he and I hung out more often. He and his gf came over for dinner and stuff. It was almost like a real adult friendship. Which was cool, I did not see him much after I switched to day shift, he eventualy went of to learn how to build clocks, how cool is that? Now he is somewhere in the mid-west as far as I know. To him, I say,"Good luck, man, enjoy." * Sparky raises his glass "To Blacksmith!" The whole time I was in W.OR to this point I was working in Portland, and living in Salem. Then we moved to Portland, where I met the most genuine person, Ralph, no nick name sorry, generous to a fault, good listener, and suprisingly nurturing, all around good guy. Portland didn't work out so we moved back to Salem. I still talk to Ralph every time I am in P-town, but that is not very frequently. Distance and scheual make it difficult, and he doesn't have a computer. I am ever greatful for the things he has done for me. * Sparky raises his glass "To Ralphy!" That brings us to now, back in Salem, and working here now. New guy in a new place all over again. So here I go again, perhaps not for long here either, They are tring to build a store in a suburb of Portland, so maybe I will move there. the future remains untold, and that is as it should be. Current Mood: nostalgic Current Music: The kids are watching Annie (Comment on this)
12:40 am	Damn... sideways...cows I am a man of simple tastes. Let's face it, I'm a man of simple mind. So maybe that is why it is so hard for me to understand this whole, I don't care if I am not doing a good job, at work aditude. I meanit is my understanding that when you take a job, you are making a comittment to try to do that job as completely as you can. Why do the bulk of my coworkers Half-ass, or just plane avoid the things that they are suposed to be doing? Current Mood: irritated Current Music: Dixie Chicks - Landslide (Comment on this)
Friday, February 25th, 2005
11:11 pm	So... the last two days have not been happy. First off, I work for the largest retailer in the word, I don't have to name mnames. We had inventory on Thur., so there were a couple hundred counting machines beeping. All. Day. Long. Also no ordes go to the warehouse on 'I' day. Since my coworkers did no ordering on my days off [Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<mon,>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.] the last two days have not been happy. First off, I work for the largest retailer in the word, I don't have to name mnames. We had inventory on Thur., so there were a couple hundred counting machines beeping. All. Day. Long. Also no ordes go to the warehouse on 'I' day. Since my coworkers did no ordering on my days off<mon, tue>, so three days w/o ordering means we will run out of things we need to run our dept. and serve our customers, before the next order gets there, which will be huge to compensate for the missed days of orders. Later that day I was told that the transfer to our new store that I was hoping for is a closed door until nov. dammit! Current Mood: frustrated Current Music: Tankgirl soundtrack-Bjork-Army of Me (Comment on this)