April 29, 2003
This site is powered by Windows Notepad! Wow, I probably shouldn’t be bragging about that, should I? Actually, it’s even worse than that. My HTML was so rusty, I used the hosting sites “builder” tools for the basic layout and design. I’ve been chopping and relearning ever since. So what does this mean to you. Well, I’d like to turn this into a more traditional blog, with inline links and side bars, but that would be a major pain in Notepad. Anyway, I’ve been experimenting with some blog software, and if I can figure out how to get my free software to talk to my free hosting site you can expect some serious changes. After all, I really am pretty broke.
April 28, 2003
All in all, I think we had a pretty good weekend together. Friday night I gave my daughter her Birthday presents, and judging from the reaction, I did O.K. The major present was an ello set. If you’ve never heard of “ello”, think Legos for girls. Very cool. I think they’re an idea that was long overdue. We built about a thousand different things already.
We spent most of Saturday and Sunday afternoon at my girlfriend’s house. She has a daughter about the same age as mine, and thankfully, they get along pretty well. I helped put some landscape timbers around the swing set in their back yard, and we filled it in with cedar chips. Softer landings for the girls, and if I may say so, it looks nicer too. My girlfriend did manage to fit in an excellent Sunday dinner before we had to run off and do “the swap”.
I’d say the only sour note was when we met up with the ex. When she pulled in to the parking lot, my daughter was a little annoyed. “Why does she always have come with to pick me up?” Referring to the ex’s girlfriend. “She always asks a million questions about what we do on our weekends.” Great, now my kid’s getting the fifth degree! Are the ex and her girlfriend looking for dirt, or am I just being paranoid? Sunday nights on my weekends are emotionally rough as it is, but I’ve been blindsided too many times by this woman not to be a little paranoid.
April 26, 2003
This is our weekend together. More later.
April 24, 2003
I finally heard from my ex today. She didn’t even bring up the messages I’ve left. She wanted to know how I felt about enrolling our daughter in a gifted students program that her teacher wants her to apply for. We talked about it for a few minutes, and initially I think we’re both in favor of it. I know my daughter gets bored in class sometimes. This would be a half day thing with transportation to and from her current school. I’m a little wary about disrupting her schedule again. She’s been to three schools in the last three years due to her mom’s frequent moves. My girlfriend’s reaction has been the funniest so far. “Does it cost more?” Now that might sound cold, but this is the woman who has spent the last year picking me up every time my ex and her lawyer felt like firing another shot. She’s seen too much of my ex’s greed and vindictiveness to bother being kind toward her. She’s also the kind of girlfriend who will skip going out on date night so I can borrow gas money and never complain.
On a separate note, I got my first email from a reader today. It actually surprised me how much it made a difference. I knew I wasn’t the only Dad putting up with this, but it was still great to hear from someone else who’s been there. Thanks Kevin.
April 23, 2003
When you don’t get to spend every day with your child, you end up missing some of the most mundane things. Dinner together, homework, just talking about how you spent your day. The single thing I miss the most though is story time. I’m not sure which of us likes story time more. It’s our special time. Her mom is usually too busy or too tired to read to her. My little girl very rarely falls asleep while I’m reading. She doesn’t want to miss anything. How many story times have I missed out on in the last four years? Worse, how soon before she’s too old to ask “Read me a story, Daddy”? Two weekends a month just doesn’t cut it. Still no callback.
April 22, 2003
You think you know someone, I mean, come on, you were married at one time. We all know that marriages don’t always work out, but does that actually cause a person to change? I mean really change! Not just the little “learn from life” type changes, but a fundamental change. How can you go from wanting to spend the rest of your life with someone, to being so bitter that you try to keep them out of your child’s life? Now I’m not perfect, and I know I share in the blame for the divorce, but is wishing my daughter a happy birthday too much to ask? Still haven’t talked to her. Didn't really expect a callback anyway.
April 21, 2003
Today is my daughter’s Birthday. Still no answer at my ex’s house, so I left a message again.
April 20, 2003
Happy Easter! I tried calling my daughter, but got the answering machine.
April 18, 2003
I got a phone call from my bank today. More aftermath from having my checking account frozen by my ex. Last month I deposited $30 to pay for the service charges after she cleaned out the balance. At that point I had a positive balance (barely), and promptly stopped using the account. Now it seems that the bank imposed another service charge, which left me overdrawn again. Then, they’ve been posting a fee for every day that the account has a negative balance. I’m up to $70 so far.
April 17th, 2003
Welcome to my world! This is where I'll be posting my complaints and rants.
