It's been a while since I've blogged here, so I thought I'd drop by and spill my guts on a few things:
It's such a travesty what our society has come to with the recent murder of Redskins DB Sean Taylor this week. The sad part is that he was at home with his fiance' and baby daughter when a bunch of teenagers (at least that's what's been reported) decided they wanted to make a point and ended up taking a life. This story hits home to me in two ways: 1) He was only 24 years old- the same age as my lil sister Stephanie, and 2) He was a father to an 18-month-old daughter that will now have to grow up without a significant male presence in her life. Being a father myself, I can't even stomach the notion of my son having to grow up without me being alive to see him follow in my footsteps. This is yet another sad chapter to a story that seems to be rewritten more often than not, taking away not only a gifted athlete respected by his peers and coaches, but also a father, son, fiance', and friend. I wish I could say that there's a solution to this growing problem, but I'm not God, so all I can do is continue living my life and raising my son to have a better quality of life than me.
As the calendar gets set to turn to December, it amazes me how fast 2007 has flown by. I won't start reflecting back on the year right now because we've still got a month left, but so much has happened that I can't even to begin putting it into words. Because I'm fighting a cold that my wife may passed on to me, I'm going to sip my hot lemonade, watch the news on channel 3 (WFSB for you out-of-staters), and turn in early since I have to go pick up a sofa and love seat tomorrow morning. Until next time...
Friday, November 30, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Wastes of Space
So I'm coming back from Misquamicut last night with the fam when we decide to stop at a Chinese restaurant to order dinner. There was a really old Chevy Impala sitting in a parking spot near the entrance. I didn't think to glance at it when I first went in, but when I came out, I had to do a double take because I had never seen such a disturbing image in my life. It was filled with nothing but absolute garbage.
When I came back to pick up our dinner, it was an opportunity to grab the digital camera and snap a pic so that I could write a blog about it. My question is: Who in their right mind would use a car to fill it up with that much garbage? Given, I'll throw a few things on my floor here and there when I'm in a rush, but I'd never let it get to this point!! The fact that it's even parked there amazes me.
I'm just glad the windows were up so that the undeniable stench didn't seep its way into the air. The only suitable destination for something like this is a landfill!! A junkyard won't do this piece of crap justice!! Let me know what you think (trust me, I'll spare you the location!!). Until next time...
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Looking Back...
So I was sitting on the front porch downstairs this morning talking to Gram Rose while the exterminator was making his way through the house, and we were talking about the history of our street while one of our neighbors was working on his yard. It just amazed me how much simpler life was around here back in the day when my mom was my son's age. Back then you were able to have bread and milk dropped off and not have to worry about anyone coming and stealing it off your doorstep. Even was I was younger- say, 20 years ago- it was safe enough for us to go outside in front of our house and not have to worry about the environment around us because we had our neighbors looking out for us little ones. Now that I'm a parent, and currently raising my son in the same house I was raised in, it pains me to see the state in which my street has become. The comfort zone we had to about halfway down our street no longer exists, as I keep my son inside watching "Wonder Pets" or another one of his cartoons. The more that I see him grow, the more I need to get him and Karla out of here and into a better situation. I love my childhood home, and I love my grandparents and greatgrandma dearly, but as long as I'm still breathing on this earth, I can't afford to have my son waste his education here. The environment is completely different, the interaction around the neighborhood is minimal to damn near nonexistent, and I don't want to see my family's potential wasted staying in the house or having to travel somewhere just to have a good time. The harder Karla and I work, the sooner I know I won't have to worry anymore. If life as we know it today was as simple as it was 50 years ago...
Until next time...
Until next time...
Friday, July 13, 2007
Long Time Comin'...
So I haven't exactly been doing so well in holding up to my promise of blogging more here than I do on MySpace. Oh well- shows how busy I really am!! Anyway, a lot has happened since my last blog:
- Finally made to the end of a challenging school year
- Visited my family in Orlando
- Finished a 10-day intensive grad school course in 7 days, not to mention getting a brief experience of college life again minus the dorm drama (and I'm quite satisfied with my final project I might add!)
- Successfully launched my summer volleyball league (not without a 2-day delay due to a state-mandated air test)
While I'm proud of all those things, I'm proudest of the last 2 because not only am I finally getting my Master's work started, but I was finally able to see something that I spent months planning come to bloom. It wasn't without a lot of help from a lot of people, so many thanks go out to all those who helped make this summer league happen.
I've been putting off this blog about probably my biggest pet peeve for years, and now I've motivated myself to finally put into cyberspace. Ever since I became a licensed driver, I've despised many facets of the world of driving, from the lack of skills to the equivalent of hell on wheels- the minivan. In terms of the lack of skills, the things that bother me most are people who drive slow in the high-speed lane (that's what the slow vehicle lane is for!!), people who don't signal (I've had to avoid many accidents because idiots can't take the 0.5 seconds to put a blinker on), and (forgive me for saying this) older drivers who don't belong behind the steering wheel of a car.
I'll admit that I like driving at a good speed on the highway- it's in my blood- but nothing irritates me more that getting settled into my groove (most likely in cruise control) only to be interrupted by a Sunday driver who takes their time taking in the sights in the wrong lane. There are certain places for people like this- A PARK!! Take in the sights and smells of roses doing 15 mph around Elizabeth Park, not doing 55 in a 65.
People who don't signal irritate me more than that. If I'm waiting at a light and the car in front of me doesn't have its signal on, I'm assuming they're going the same direction as me. To my dismay (more like fury), they wait until the very last second before entering the intersection to turn on their blinker as if they forgot to do it in the first place. Of course this happens as the steady flow of traffic whizzes past us in the opposite direction, and before you know it, the red light is back on, and that idiot in front of me is just taking their turn. Lucky me...
Don't get me wrong- if you have the ability to drive deep into your adulthood- God bless you. But if the times seem to have passed you by (not to mention the dozen of SUVs and sedans blowing their horns at you), then maybe it's time you passed that set of wheels onto a new generation and hitched a ride with someone. Not only will it be safer, but you'll spend less time being disoriented and not having to figure out which pedal you have to use.
Lastly, the concept known as a minivan seemed to be pretty cool when I was growing up (our family didn't go that route, opting instead for the Silver Bullet known as the Chevy Eurosport station wagon), but now I'm driving on my own they seem to just get in the way no matter where you go. Nine times out of 10 they're driven by soccer moms who just can't seem to find their way to little Johnny's soccer practice. I say that we do away with minivans and keep the SUV/minivan hybrids they're making these days. At least then they'll look like something that civilized people drive around in rather than mini school buses not painted yellow with motorized stop signs on the side.
Enough blogging for now-anvils have secretly attached themselves to my eyelids. Until next time...
GO WHALERS!!
- Finally made to the end of a challenging school year
- Visited my family in Orlando
- Finished a 10-day intensive grad school course in 7 days, not to mention getting a brief experience of college life again minus the dorm drama (and I'm quite satisfied with my final project I might add!)
- Successfully launched my summer volleyball league (not without a 2-day delay due to a state-mandated air test)
While I'm proud of all those things, I'm proudest of the last 2 because not only am I finally getting my Master's work started, but I was finally able to see something that I spent months planning come to bloom. It wasn't without a lot of help from a lot of people, so many thanks go out to all those who helped make this summer league happen.
I've been putting off this blog about probably my biggest pet peeve for years, and now I've motivated myself to finally put into cyberspace. Ever since I became a licensed driver, I've despised many facets of the world of driving, from the lack of skills to the equivalent of hell on wheels- the minivan. In terms of the lack of skills, the things that bother me most are people who drive slow in the high-speed lane (that's what the slow vehicle lane is for!!), people who don't signal (I've had to avoid many accidents because idiots can't take the 0.5 seconds to put a blinker on), and (forgive me for saying this) older drivers who don't belong behind the steering wheel of a car.
I'll admit that I like driving at a good speed on the highway- it's in my blood- but nothing irritates me more that getting settled into my groove (most likely in cruise control) only to be interrupted by a Sunday driver who takes their time taking in the sights in the wrong lane. There are certain places for people like this- A PARK!! Take in the sights and smells of roses doing 15 mph around Elizabeth Park, not doing 55 in a 65.
People who don't signal irritate me more than that. If I'm waiting at a light and the car in front of me doesn't have its signal on, I'm assuming they're going the same direction as me. To my dismay (more like fury), they wait until the very last second before entering the intersection to turn on their blinker as if they forgot to do it in the first place. Of course this happens as the steady flow of traffic whizzes past us in the opposite direction, and before you know it, the red light is back on, and that idiot in front of me is just taking their turn. Lucky me...
Don't get me wrong- if you have the ability to drive deep into your adulthood- God bless you. But if the times seem to have passed you by (not to mention the dozen of SUVs and sedans blowing their horns at you), then maybe it's time you passed that set of wheels onto a new generation and hitched a ride with someone. Not only will it be safer, but you'll spend less time being disoriented and not having to figure out which pedal you have to use.
Lastly, the concept known as a minivan seemed to be pretty cool when I was growing up (our family didn't go that route, opting instead for the Silver Bullet known as the Chevy Eurosport station wagon), but now I'm driving on my own they seem to just get in the way no matter where you go. Nine times out of 10 they're driven by soccer moms who just can't seem to find their way to little Johnny's soccer practice. I say that we do away with minivans and keep the SUV/minivan hybrids they're making these days. At least then they'll look like something that civilized people drive around in rather than mini school buses not painted yellow with motorized stop signs on the side.
Enough blogging for now-anvils have secretly attached themselves to my eyelids. Until next time...
GO WHALERS!!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Knowing Your Priorities
We had some severe storms fly through our area this afternoon and early evening, and as I was washing some clothes in the basement, I just found it fascinating to see everything happening from below ground level. I even opened one of the tiny windows by our dryer just to get a clear look at the raindrops falling to the ground. Sometimes it's just interesting watching nature do its thing from a different angle.
However, this isn't the basis for my title today. A situation came up today where I had to make a choice: attend to a family situation or ignore it to go to practice. Where I come from, no matter what the situation, family comes first...PERIOD. The fact that I explained my situation should've been enough, but there are some people in this world who don't exactly remember what their priorities are, and I thank God everyday that I'm not one of them. I told my mom what happened as I was attending to my family situation, and just hearing her calm me down in her soothing voice just reminded me that I would be making the right decision in a couple days regarding my future. She said it was the final sign I needed to validate my decision, and now it was just time to just follow through with it calmly and professionally so I can move on. The hardest part now is getting to that point and making it happen. I'm sure once I have, the monkey I feel is on my back will emphatically jump off and run away. Until next time...
However, this isn't the basis for my title today. A situation came up today where I had to make a choice: attend to a family situation or ignore it to go to practice. Where I come from, no matter what the situation, family comes first...PERIOD. The fact that I explained my situation should've been enough, but there are some people in this world who don't exactly remember what their priorities are, and I thank God everyday that I'm not one of them. I told my mom what happened as I was attending to my family situation, and just hearing her calm me down in her soothing voice just reminded me that I would be making the right decision in a couple days regarding my future. She said it was the final sign I needed to validate my decision, and now it was just time to just follow through with it calmly and professionally so I can move on. The hardest part now is getting to that point and making it happen. I'm sure once I have, the monkey I feel is on my back will emphatically jump off and run away. Until next time...
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Hello!!
Hi all... I was directed to this site by my grad school professor. Seeing as how this is my intro post, I'll keep it short and sweet. My name's Pat Douglas. I'm 27, married with a 20-month-old son, live in Hartford, CT, and work as a middle school math teacher and high school volleyball coach. Hopefully I'll do a better job posting to this site than I do to my MySpace blog. Feel free to share comments, complaints, or just about anything. Until next time...
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