What was your average day (probably) like on....
- Thread starter sadchild
- Start date
In Toledo that probably is worth a 30 second segment halfway through the 11 o'clock news.
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I'm going to talk about how my family and I voted, and currently vote, for President but to be abundantly clear I'm not going to talk about any policy or positions. I'm really just trying to tell a family story but if I go out of bounds I get that posts need to be deleted sometimes. No harm no foul.
Election night 2008 was on 11.4.
Mary Ann died on on 11.6.08. Mary Koopman Obituary - FL
My whole life I knew her as a GOP voter but I more or less emulated her hippie younger years......when she was a kid she went to UPenn (so way smarter than me yet she didn't get her degree there). After UPenn she joined VISTA for a few years which is kinda like the US domestic Peace Corps. So she clearly was left as a younger woman.
Anyway in November '08 she was bedridden. We had a hospital bed in the middle of her condo.
I think I helped out with my dad when he was at the end but that was nothing compared to what he did for her. Like she couldn't get up. The bed had like balloons in it that would inflate and deflate at random times to prevent bed sores. She couldn't get up to do bathroom stuff so my dad took care of all that. I never had to do that for him.
Anyway she was super Catholic at this time. She'd pray the rosary every day watching the Catholic channel.
However she was on board with Obama. And I was so fervently for him in '08 I did like phone banks and shit. So he was the 1st Dem I saw her vote for in my entire life. It was cool for her to live just long enough for us to see and share that historic election together.
I was always told the story that when I was born the first thing she said to me was "You'll always love your mother". I was lucky enough to be there with her the moment she died. I got in bed beside her and as she died I told her, "I'll always love my mother".
And I lucked into that moment. It was the right time, right place situation. I had just finished an overnight work shift and was heading to their place as always when the hospice nurse called and said it was time to be with her......as I was in the hallway walking to their condo.
I lived with my dad for like 2+ years at his end and I missed that moment with him and it makes me sad. While super sad, it's a beautiful, great last memory I have with my mom.
Fuck this random date generator sucks.
The kinda funny thing is that after she died my dad who voted GOP along with her his whole life all of a sudden became a Dem. I'm convinced he just went along with her to avoid any trouble. Mary Ann was the alpha of the Koopman family. I'm sure my dad was like, "After the shit I've been through you think either of these parties seem so bad to me? I'll just go along with my wife". And while I was all about Obama and so happy she voted for him.....after she was dead and Obama served both his terms I became MAGA. So it's kinda funny how once our matriarch was gone both my dad and I did a 180 in terms of our political views. It took me a little longer. For Hendrik it was like 2 weeks later hahah.
I just think it's a cute story. I'm not trying to push any side's agenda. I just want to bookend this post with that to be abundantly clear.
Election night 2008 was on 11.4.
Mary Ann died on on 11.6.08. Mary Koopman Obituary - FL
My whole life I knew her as a GOP voter but I more or less emulated her hippie younger years......when she was a kid she went to UPenn (so way smarter than me yet she didn't get her degree there). After UPenn she joined VISTA for a few years which is kinda like the US domestic Peace Corps. So she clearly was left as a younger woman.
Anyway in November '08 she was bedridden. We had a hospital bed in the middle of her condo.
I think I helped out with my dad when he was at the end but that was nothing compared to what he did for her. Like she couldn't get up. The bed had like balloons in it that would inflate and deflate at random times to prevent bed sores. She couldn't get up to do bathroom stuff so my dad took care of all that. I never had to do that for him.
Anyway she was super Catholic at this time. She'd pray the rosary every day watching the Catholic channel.
However she was on board with Obama. And I was so fervently for him in '08 I did like phone banks and shit. So he was the 1st Dem I saw her vote for in my entire life. It was cool for her to live just long enough for us to see and share that historic election together.
I was always told the story that when I was born the first thing she said to me was "You'll always love your mother". I was lucky enough to be there with her the moment she died. I got in bed beside her and as she died I told her, "I'll always love my mother".
And I lucked into that moment. It was the right time, right place situation. I had just finished an overnight work shift and was heading to their place as always when the hospice nurse called and said it was time to be with her......as I was in the hallway walking to their condo.
I lived with my dad for like 2+ years at his end and I missed that moment with him and it makes me sad. While super sad, it's a beautiful, great last memory I have with my mom.
Fuck this random date generator sucks.
The kinda funny thing is that after she died my dad who voted GOP along with her his whole life all of a sudden became a Dem. I'm convinced he just went along with her to avoid any trouble. Mary Ann was the alpha of the Koopman family. I'm sure my dad was like, "After the shit I've been through you think either of these parties seem so bad to me? I'll just go along with my wife". And while I was all about Obama and so happy she voted for him.....after she was dead and Obama served both his terms I became MAGA. So it's kinda funny how once our matriarch was gone both my dad and I did a 180 in terms of our political views. It took me a little longer. For Hendrik it was like 2 weeks later hahah.
I just think it's a cute story. I'm not trying to push any side's agenda. I just want to bookend this post with that to be abundantly clear.
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IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
We're back!!!!!!
This was the day after my 40th birthday. It was not a good time. Pam had this huge thing planned for me, she was going to take me to Disney and going with her would have been so awesome but I fucked it all up. So this one doesn't have very good memories attached.
This was the day after my 40th birthday. It was not a good time. Pam had this huge thing planned for me, she was going to take me to Disney and going with her would have been so awesome but I fucked it all up. So this one doesn't have very good memories attached.
I just noticed I hadn't done this one. On the 9th, we went to the Christmas by the sea festival in Ogunquit's Perkins Cove. Santa and the elves come over the bridge, and there are firepits for smores, and hot chocolate.
A couple days later we got our new MoccaMaster coffee maker. It's made in the Netherlands.
A couple days later we got our new MoccaMaster coffee maker. It's made in the Netherlands.
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
12/9/2023
About a week prior to this date, I saw the Indigo Girls perform live for the first time. They were very good (one of them can still sing very well, the other is only singing ok). I was with my wife, sister-in-law and 13-year-old niece. The opening act was a one girl pop act named Bitch who talks about taking the words bitch and pussy back (from being insults). She performed a song about 'pussy manifesto motherfucker number one'.
About a week prior to this date, I saw the Indigo Girls perform live for the first time. They were very good (one of them can still sing very well, the other is only singing ok). I was with my wife, sister-in-law and 13-year-old niece. The opening act was a one girl pop act named Bitch who talks about taking the words bitch and pussy back (from being insults). She performed a song about 'pussy manifesto motherfucker number one'.
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11/9/2008
This is around the time I started doing song reviews for 411mania.com. The first one went live 10/29. Here is (the first half of) my debut review:
Britney Spears – “Womanizer” Review
Hit Today, Gone Tomorrow – A Forgettable Anthem for Gum-Chomping Airheads
Ten years ago, millions of men aged 14 to 40 drooled over the new teenaged girl dressed in a revealing school uniform on MTV begging her man to “hit me baby one more time.” Britney Spears' debut single then rocketed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Apparently what the American Family Association described as a "disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality" was a very successful way to launch a music career.
A decade later, after spending more time on the cover of tabloid magazines than at the top of the charts, this twice-divorced, rehab-visiting, head-shaving, custody-losing lip-syncher has finally scored her second #1 single by combining a stolen beat, cheesy music, silly stuttering and mindless repetition.
Britney’s eco-friendly fans will be pleased because aside from adding the sound of a faux hi-hat cymbal alongside the cheesy clap snare, music producers The Outsyders have basically recycled and repackaged the beat from Soft Cell's Top 40 new wave hit "Tainted Love." Once you've heard the first few seconds, you've basically heard what the entire song has to offer.
As for that soul-searching poetry we call lyrics, Britney offers the following revelation, "Womanizer, woman-womanizer, you're a womanizer, oh womanizer, oh you're a womanizer, baby. You, you, you are, you, you, you are, womanizer, womanizer, womanizer, womanizer."
Watch out Maya Angelou, here comes Britney.
This is around the time I started doing song reviews for 411mania.com. The first one went live 10/29. Here is (the first half of) my debut review:
Britney Spears – “Womanizer” Review
Hit Today, Gone Tomorrow – A Forgettable Anthem for Gum-Chomping Airheads
Ten years ago, millions of men aged 14 to 40 drooled over the new teenaged girl dressed in a revealing school uniform on MTV begging her man to “hit me baby one more time.” Britney Spears' debut single then rocketed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Apparently what the American Family Association described as a "disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality" was a very successful way to launch a music career.
A decade later, after spending more time on the cover of tabloid magazines than at the top of the charts, this twice-divorced, rehab-visiting, head-shaving, custody-losing lip-syncher has finally scored her second #1 single by combining a stolen beat, cheesy music, silly stuttering and mindless repetition.
Britney’s eco-friendly fans will be pleased because aside from adding the sound of a faux hi-hat cymbal alongside the cheesy clap snare, music producers The Outsyders have basically recycled and repackaged the beat from Soft Cell's Top 40 new wave hit "Tainted Love." Once you've heard the first few seconds, you've basically heard what the entire song has to offer.
As for that soul-searching poetry we call lyrics, Britney offers the following revelation, "Womanizer, woman-womanizer, you're a womanizer, oh womanizer, oh you're a womanizer, baby. You, you, you are, you, you, you are, womanizer, womanizer, womanizer, womanizer."
Watch out Maya Angelou, here comes Britney.
6/6/2022
The day before I tested negative for Covid. From my 'diary'...
5/24 see cleopatrick and royal blood at house of blues boston. get home at midnight.
5/26 still a bit tired and sore from the concert but fine at work and playing tennis.
5/27 barely sleep, wake achy and very tired. develop a mild sore throat. take a covid test when i get home from work and it's negative, but i still feel like a hot mess with a side of achy breaky can't stay awakey with a metal rod impaled between my temples. when my son gets home i call him from the living room to his car to tell him to stay away from me despite the negative test because i might be sick.
5/28 my son does 3 hours SAT practice test in AM. i stay away from him. i test for covid when my wife gets home at 2pm and i'm positive. i quarantine in bedroom. sleep on and off all day. achy head to toe.
5/29 spend most of the day in the bedroom, except going outside a couple times for sun, space and fresh air (and badminton with masks for about 15 minutes).
5/30 spend most of the day in the bedroom again, except going outside with masks to play badminton.
5/31 feeling mostly better when i wake up despite not sleeping well.
6/5 still testing positive for covid, though the cdc and other reputable sources say i can take the mask off after day 10.
6/7 test negative for covid.
The day before I tested negative for Covid. From my 'diary'...
5/24 see cleopatrick and royal blood at house of blues boston. get home at midnight.
5/26 still a bit tired and sore from the concert but fine at work and playing tennis.
5/27 barely sleep, wake achy and very tired. develop a mild sore throat. take a covid test when i get home from work and it's negative, but i still feel like a hot mess with a side of achy breaky can't stay awakey with a metal rod impaled between my temples. when my son gets home i call him from the living room to his car to tell him to stay away from me despite the negative test because i might be sick.
5/28 my son does 3 hours SAT practice test in AM. i stay away from him. i test for covid when my wife gets home at 2pm and i'm positive. i quarantine in bedroom. sleep on and off all day. achy head to toe.
5/29 spend most of the day in the bedroom, except going outside a couple times for sun, space and fresh air (and badminton with masks for about 15 minutes).
5/30 spend most of the day in the bedroom again, except going outside with masks to play badminton.
5/31 feeling mostly better when i wake up despite not sleeping well.
6/5 still testing positive for covid, though the cdc and other reputable sources say i can take the mask off after day 10.
6/7 test negative for covid.
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
2023/12/09
I was preparing to go to Grenada for a week's vacation. The trip started as in January 2022 when I was with my wife in Antigua. We enjoyed it so much I booked us another week in Antigua 1 year later. However, my wife was unable to fly at that time so it got pushed back to April. She also decided she didn't want to do the same resort again so I changed the resort to Grenada. Then she decided she wanted to do a trip to North Carolina and a cruise to Bermuda (her dream destination) instead so we deferred this trip to December. We did the visit to North Carolina and the cruise to Bermuda a month later. Well, as I have mentioned here she got sick on the way back from the cruise in Scranton, PA. She never fully recovered and past away in August. So I was looking at this booking having already paid for most of it. I had travel insurance and was thinking of cancelling. Then my son asked if he could go with me. The resort was Sandals and they are typically a couples resort. But they had no issue with my changing the name on the reservation (it was ok until 30 days prior to the trip date). So my son went with me to Grenada. We didn't do much aside from lay on the beach (well I did. He hung around the room playing video games on his phone sitting on the balcony overlooking the ocean. He was a lot like his mom in that way). He also discovered he liked Mango Daquaries. I of course liked Strawbery Daquries. They had reasonably good pizza for lunch and lots of places to have dinner. So we ate well. Drank well. We also noted how my wife would have had issues due to it's rather unlevel terrain. It was a good trip.
This particular date was 1 day before the trip. I was in the process of dropping animals at their sitters and last minute preparations.
I was preparing to go to Grenada for a week's vacation. The trip started as in January 2022 when I was with my wife in Antigua. We enjoyed it so much I booked us another week in Antigua 1 year later. However, my wife was unable to fly at that time so it got pushed back to April. She also decided she didn't want to do the same resort again so I changed the resort to Grenada. Then she decided she wanted to do a trip to North Carolina and a cruise to Bermuda (her dream destination) instead so we deferred this trip to December. We did the visit to North Carolina and the cruise to Bermuda a month later. Well, as I have mentioned here she got sick on the way back from the cruise in Scranton, PA. She never fully recovered and past away in August. So I was looking at this booking having already paid for most of it. I had travel insurance and was thinking of cancelling. Then my son asked if he could go with me. The resort was Sandals and they are typically a couples resort. But they had no issue with my changing the name on the reservation (it was ok until 30 days prior to the trip date). So my son went with me to Grenada. We didn't do much aside from lay on the beach (well I did. He hung around the room playing video games on his phone sitting on the balcony overlooking the ocean. He was a lot like his mom in that way). He also discovered he liked Mango Daquaries. I of course liked Strawbery Daquries. They had reasonably good pizza for lunch and lots of places to have dinner. So we ate well. Drank well. We also noted how my wife would have had issues due to it's rather unlevel terrain. It was a good trip.
This particular date was 1 day before the trip. I was in the process of dropping animals at their sitters and last minute preparations.
I've always found it funny that there are certain places Americans never vacation to. One of them is Grenada. I'm not sure why.
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
The Sandals in Grenada seemed to have the typical distribution of guests. From my estimation, 60% were American, 40% British with a few outliers like us (Canadians). The British usually stay longer as it is a longer flight. Sandals may not be typical distribution for the rest of the island. I know Grenada has had some political issues over the years. I think it is one of the few old British colonies that have had a coop (which was later overthrown by US intervention).
I think some people call this "journaling", and I have questions.
- Do you do this everyday? If so, when?
- To what level of daily life do you document?
- Do you include things like arguments and disagreements?
- Do you ever make edits, changes, or deletions?
- Do you review the journal at regular intervals?
- Have you shown it to other people?
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
I think the closest I come to that is my iPhone Calendar. It is up to date with my life and anything I did both past and future. I also do Facebook checkins but those are harder to find if you are searching for a specific date.
No. Whenever I think of it. Sometimes I have to look at my Google calendar and my texts to fill in a few weeks worth of entries. I'm sure I miss a lot.
Mostly big stuff like "new water heater" or "son's first day of 8th grade" or "saw adam ezra group in boston".
Sometimes I'll put a long entry when it's a big deal like "got into a big argument with the boss today about such and such etc etc", but not often. Not a lot internal dialogue, mostly "X happened" not a lot of "and I felt so and so about it"
Rare edits/changes/deletions
No I look stuff up. Like when the wife says "last year we went to your family for Easter" I can look it up and say "Here's what I put in my diary: Went to the inlaws for Easter, [person] barfed on the rug, dog bit the cat, dessert was burnt". And she'll be like, "oh.... right...."
Nope
Here are the dates we've done so far:
2/3/78
7/17/81
8/13/82
6/18/83
12/15/84
8/21/88
9//21/88
3/8/89
7/8/90
7/25/90
8/18/90
10/13/92
5/4/94
12/21/94
5/16/95
2/19/96
11/25/97
2/7/00
5/15/01
11/29/04
12/31/04
11/19/08
7/5/18
10/18/18
10/14/21
6/6/22
5/21/23
12/9/23
Here are the gaps:
1985-1987
1998-1999
2002-2003
2005-2007
2009-2017 <-biggest gap
2019-2020
I went to the random date generator and made it give me dates until I got one in a year we HAVEN'T done yet.
Here's what I got:
2/3/78
7/17/81
8/13/82
6/18/83
12/15/84
8/21/88
9//21/88
3/8/89
7/8/90
7/25/90
8/18/90
10/13/92
5/4/94
12/21/94
5/16/95
2/19/96
11/25/97
2/7/00
5/15/01
11/29/04
12/31/04
11/19/08
7/5/18
10/18/18
10/14/21
6/6/22
5/21/23
12/9/23
Here are the gaps:
1985-1987
1998-1999
2002-2003
2005-2007
2009-2017 <-biggest gap
2019-2020
I went to the random date generator and made it give me dates until I got one in a year we HAVEN'T done yet.
Here's what I got:
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
2016/05/11
I have nothing in my calendar. It was a Wednesday. My wife was doing a job that day and was doing a radio show that night. My son had a sports club after school. This was about 2-3 weeks before my wife got sick for the first time from her first cancer which would be officially diagnosed the coming September. So this was one of the last days of our pre-cancer life.
I have nothing in my calendar. It was a Wednesday. My wife was doing a job that day and was doing a radio show that night. My son had a sports club after school. This was about 2-3 weeks before my wife got sick for the first time from her first cancer which would be officially diagnosed the coming September. So this was one of the last days of our pre-cancer life.
5/11/2016
I had been on my elimination diet for 7 months (stripping my diet down to about a couple dozen foods like rice, chicken, beef, broccoli, carrots, blueberries, kiwi.... basically no grains except rice, no dairy, no sweets or high-sugar fruits ... very restricted ... to see what food was causing my skin condition rosacea). I was getting frustrated because my skin was still bad despite all this sacrifice. We went to Florida at the end of the month to visit family and go to Disney and I broke free from the diet to enjoy myself.
I was giving guitar lessons to a 13 year old fan of my band at the time. We canceled this week's lesson because she got hit in the head and had a headache. I was playing tennis with three different people. All three couldn't play that week. <-this hasn't changed, I still schedule 3 or 4 things every week and it's guaranteed a couple get canceled - every - single - week.
I had been on my elimination diet for 7 months (stripping my diet down to about a couple dozen foods like rice, chicken, beef, broccoli, carrots, blueberries, kiwi.... basically no grains except rice, no dairy, no sweets or high-sugar fruits ... very restricted ... to see what food was causing my skin condition rosacea). I was getting frustrated because my skin was still bad despite all this sacrifice. We went to Florida at the end of the month to visit family and go to Disney and I broke free from the diet to enjoy myself.
I was giving guitar lessons to a 13 year old fan of my band at the time. We canceled this week's lesson because she got hit in the head and had a headache. I was playing tennis with three different people. All three couldn't play that week. <-this hasn't changed, I still schedule 3 or 4 things every week and it's guaranteed a couple get canceled - every - single - week.