why does it have to hurt

as many of you know, we have a lot of projects going on around the house. last night was the roof on the garage. it is about 11 squares. i had to go get the shingles. unload them. then i packed them all onto the roof. each pack is about 100 pounds. so up and down the latter 33 times with 100 pounds on my shoulder. then we moved them into a better place and started putting them on. lots of work. i have two friends over to help, so we got allot done. we had to get a lantern out because it got dark. we finally came down at bout 9:30. all of us dirty, tired and i was hungry(ended up going to taco bell). we did not quite finish though. still have about 1 square to go. ill have to do that tonight by my self. the problem though, is that this morning.... the word ouch comes to mind. i took a bit to process the fact that i was in pain. i slept through my alarm. renae had to wake me up. when i got up i knew i was in trouble. my feet felt like they where on fire, my back popped no less than 5 times as i sat up and my shoulder feels like its broken. not to mention several abrasions all over. but hey, at least my garage roof looks good.

my turn

having read lizes poem the other day i remembered one i did a while back. now i have never tried to be a poet but, one day an idea for one popped into my head. i have no expectation of quality on this, its just a short little diddy i put down. i know some wont like it because it rhymes. i know, how boring, a poem that rhymes. but, for what its worth, i think you will see some truth in it(at least the line about me talking to much) and i like it so there.


Now I write upon this pad
Words of wisdom from your dad

I will tell you all I may
So you need to listen to the words I say

I hear you gasp and see you roll your eyes
You say I talk too much and this you despise

I have a lot of things going on in my head
But I may keep it to my self instead

I might learn to hold my tongue as you say I should
But someday you may decide my talk was good

My words that were then tedious and so much ado
In the future may seem very important to you

When that day comes if I no longer live
I have still this advice to give

Of all the knowledge that I may have had to impart
I’ll say what I believe with all my heart

It is good to be strong enough to fight
To face the foe will all your might

But when life troubles their ugly face have shone
It is much harder if you must go it alone

Those who have been truly blessed know this to be true
Life is much sweeter with a good woman next to you

So when troubled times start to draw near
Try never to cower in fear

And if the trials of life have you floored
Stand next to your wife with faith in the Lord

i win!

ok. let me fill you all in on some thing. my wife rocks. all you men out there, i don't care who your wife is, mine is better. case in point. the other day i hurried home to try to get the grass cut be for it rained. i was using the big mower in the back yard when i looked up to see my almost 8.5 month prego wife out doing the trim work with the small mower. it was like 90 outside and the humidity was way up, but there she was helping me beet the rain. she tries so very hard to be good. she is a great example to me. i usually have dinner fixed for me. i have only washed laundry maybe 3 or 4 times in the 14 years we have been married. she doesn't complain too often about my spending habits. she claims to like bigger me(some thing she only did after i got fat), she makes beautiful babies. and she is hot. so say what you will about yours, mine is better, and nothing you say will convince me otherwise. I'm going to stop now and go spend some time with her. so bye.

uhhhhh... no!

After reading Dania's recent blog i decided to tell this story. apparently women not only get hit on by jerks, they get propositioned for prostitution allot to. well i have been propositioned in the other direction on a couple of occasions. it all happened one day(i love stories that start that way), when i was going to college. my class was going to go on a tour of a manufacturing plant. one of my friends from class lived right down the road from the school. the school was not in a very good section of town. i drove to his house so he could ride with me as he had no car. when i got to his house he was already gone. he had decided to meet me at the school. so i turned around and headed back. when i stooped at an intersection my passenger door suddenly opened and a woman hopped into my truck. taken slightly aback i asked her "can i help you?" "yeah take me up this way." i figured she really needed a ride(no pun intended) and thought i looked like some one she could trust. after going up a couple blocks she asked "what do you wanna do?" i told her "i need to go to school." "you didn't want nothing." "no, just on my way to school." "dang, i was hoping to make some money." at this point i chortled a little and said "sorry, i only got about a 1/4 tank of gas and $3, so i really can't help." she looked at me like i was trying to play her. when she realized i really "didn't want to do any thing" she turned and looked out the window, and immediately jumped out when i stooped at the next intersection with out a further word to me. when i told my friend about it, he laughed real hard. he had me describe her. he recognized her and even told me her name. apparently she is well known in the area for "wanting to make some money."

I get the message

A couple times recently at the Tae Kwon Do school i attend i have been reminded of the fact that i am a large person. example #1. I went to judge some people testing the other day. the head instructor called all the black belts to gather for a conference before it started. At one point he told the group "Now when we get to self defence, i want you all to switch in and out a lot. we have some big guys testing today. both Levi and Mark go about 210." then he looks at me and says, "well they are big to us normal people." then the other night i went to demo practice. the instructor way giving out assignments for every one on self defence. when he got to me he paused for a sec and said "i think we will just have you be a fall guy(the person every body get to smack around and generally abuse), your so big it would just look like you where picking on every body." so basically i get to go get beat up by several people, and hold boards for breaking(take the chance of getting my fingers kicked). i will git to have one bit of fun though. i get to be a chucker(nun-chucks) during the weapons section of the demo. but only because every body loves to watch nun-chucks and I'm the only person at the school who can do it well. other wise it would have been "why does that big guy need a weapon, what a jerk." just because i look like i could break you in half does not mean...... well maybe he has a point.

not how i intended to start may day

i told you all about how my life is a bit on the crazy side right now. all the projects(there are many) 4 kids and a prego wife, its hard to get a chance to breath sometimes. i, for some reason thought it would be a good idea to add one more thing to the list and be part of the show my martial arts school is putting on this Saturday. because renae should be delivering late this month and i will be taking a week of work i need to get way ahead so who ever takes my place for that week wont screw any thing up. but despite all this, i try to be a good dad and hang out with my kids. last night we set up the tent in the back yard and slept out side. problem one, the zippers for the doors are broken, so you cant close it properly. problem two, a thunder storm rolled in at about 4:50 this morning. i forgot to mention, no rain fly on the tent. so i had to get all the kids up and into the house, go back out and find a tarp to try to keep as much water out as possible. i then went back into the house and figured i would try to get a little more rest before going to work. next thing i know my cell phone is ringing. "hello, this is Bruce." "hey man, this is Jason,(Jason is my boss) I'm up in your office and it looks great. you did a good job cleaning it out" "your in my office? what time is it?" "8:05, where are you at?" "hold on ill be there in about 20 min!" like i said not what i had in mind for the start of my day. fortunately, my boss know i get all my work done and will make up the time, so he was pretty cool about the whole thing.