Bringing home the Bacon

So, I guess you heard I got a job. Well, if you haven't heard, then let me tell ya now that I did indeed find gainful employment. So far it seems like a pretty good job, with a great company and pretty good benefits. I will admit that it feels very good to be back in the workforce and even better to once again provide for my family.

We'd been doing OK on the funds from the sale of our last home, but that was destined to run out at some point. Now, we're able to actually think about the possibility of both of us working and becoming prosperous again. (though to a lesser degree than in the old economy)

And that brings me to the really good news we got this week. Vicki will be going in to interview for a job on this coming Tuesday.

If there were any justice in our economy or the slightest bit of fairness, she would have been employed months before I found work. But we all know that isn't the case in our country, perhaps not in any country, that the best qualified and hardest workers always get the best jobs first. So, a semi-slacker like myself gets a good gig and my hard working and vastly qualified spouse sits at home.

Such is the plight of the working class today. Your fate rests on the spin of the wheel, the quirks, age and attitude of the interviewer and in my wife's case perhaps the gender as well. She has sensed the reluctance of young female interviewers to pass her along to the next step. We think it's the intimidation factor of her age, experience and qualifications. A case where the better qualified she is for the position the better chance she has of not getting it.

It would be funny were it not so frustrating and unfair for Vicki.

Wish her luck this next week, will ya?

RT

A short post on spam comments and spam creators

A while ago I discovered that some people were posting spam comments on this blog.

To alleviate this problem I instituted moderation on the blog comments. Now each time I write a new post I check for them and delete the nefarious spam.

To those individuals who thought they could use this blog to propagate and advertise their spam bullshit, I have just one comment. Bite Me!

On an entirely different topic, my wife had a good time at the Renaissance Fair this year, though not as good as in the past. The idea of a girl's day somehow eluded some of the family participants and it just didn't turn out to be the quality female bonding experience it had been in the past. Knowing my wife and daughters I'm sure they'll find another event and time to replace it. They are a loving and tightly knit group, so they'll figure it out.

Vicki and I are headed to the Chandler Jazz festival tonight. The stately San Marcos Hotel is a great place to kick back and listen to live music while eating the Hotel's awesome Quesadillas.

Take your wife someplace nice this weekend and tell her you love her.

RT

Away from the Blog for far too long

I apologize for the long interval since my last post. Things had been sticky with job hunting and family and you know, life. On the bright side, I finally got a good job with a good company. On the dark side, my wife would have preferred to be the one going back to work. She is feeling down about not getting hired. I am doing my best to remind her what a great worker she is and how valuable an employee she will be be when she does get hired, but in the meantime she's disappointed with her situation.

She has been so supportive of my needs during the first week of my employment that I bragged a little to my coworkers. I am grateful for her support and care. When you've been out of work for a while it takes a bit to get back into the schedule and flow.

We celebrated my first week of work this Friday with some dancing and a visit to one of the local Casinos. We listened to a great band and actually managed to leave with not only our money, but a couple of bucks of the Casino's as well. The night turned into the wee hours keeping us there till early morning though and it's taken the whole weekend to recuperate from the adventure.

Things are going fairly well with the rest of the family. Vicki is planning the girl's yearly outing to the Renaissance Festival for next weekend and it looks like they'll have quite a group again this year. I look forward to seeing more pictures from their outing. Last year it was a great set of pics with the Tortuga Twins.

One of the great pleasures of Husbandhood is being able to take joy in your spouse's independent activities and achievements. I know this annual girl's outing is a fantastic way for the women of the family to bond and enjoy themselves absent the filters needed when in the company of the male family members. This event and others like it allow my wife to stay close to our daughters, her mother and her sisters. While men can't replicate the closeness and essence of feminine relationships, we can at least take comfort that our wives have them. Women without those bonds tend to be psychotic and strange.

Take it from me. The last thing you want in your life is that.

Hang in there my fellow husbands.

RT

Meeting our first blog friend

I received an e-mail a couple of weeks ago from an excellent writer and my blog friend Lisa Wines. She authors "Politics after 50" and "OMyWord", two great blogs that she pens from her apartment on the right bank of the Seine River in Paris.

She was coming back to America, Phoenix in fact, and wanted to know if I would like to get together. My answer was: Abso - fricking - lutely! I have lived my life vicariously through her exploits in Paris and we both have enjoyed the other's take on politics and life on our blogs. I was anxious to meet my first blog friend face to face.

Vicki and I met her at our local Starbucks and I spent the entire time grilling the poor woman about life in Paris, customs, language, culture, business, hobbies, sports and fifty thousand other questions about life in an exciting foreign country's capitol. I even managed to learn two, count em, two, French words. The first is "arondissment" which is means district or something to that effect. Each section of Paris is numbered and the sections resemble the parts of a spiral sea shell. It is pronounced "A- Ron- Dis-Mon".

The second word was "Boulangerie." This is a bread shop. Each district has several, and each day after work Parisians line up to get there bread before going home for the evening meal. This one is pronounced Boo - lingerie. Like in what they sell at Victoria's secret

Anyway... So much time was spent in getting to know each other that before we knew it, it was close to dinner time. Lisa followed us back to our place just a few blocks from the Starbucks. We had intended to grill, but after discussing it with our guest, we settled on Chinese takeout. Lisa explained that Chinese was just too different in Paris. As luck would have it, we have an excellent Chinese food establishment close by.

After gorging ourselves on egg rolls, pot stickers, chicken - both orange and cashew, we moved out to the patio. There we continued the conversation, smoked (Lisa a few cigarettes and me a good cigar), imbibed a few adult beverages and exchanged political views, thoughts and impressions. Of course I asked more questions about life in Paris. Both Vicki and I were fascinated by the lifestyle experienced by Lisa.

Sometime during the evening I dug out my guitar and learned that Lisa has a great Blues voice. It's hard to not like a chick that knows the blues.

So... my first experience meeting a blog friend turned out to be pretty cool.

Hopefully we'll get to see her one more time before she heads back to Paris. I'd like to hear her sing a couple more blues songs while I lay down a jam. Also, there's still some whiskey left at my house and we should probably work on that too.

Life is a funny, beautiful and wondrous thing; so is meeting your first blog friend in person.

The Daily Husband

Happy Birthday Vicki

I won't be talking about how old she is today, cause that's just plain stupid. I mean stupid beyond even most husbands stupid. So we'll just leave it at that.

It took me a long time to understand how important the role of a husband is to a marriage and to the husband himself. If you are making the effort day in and day out to be a good mate it makes all the difference in the world. Sure, you're going to mess up. That's natural, we're guys and we're wired that way. The point is: are you doing your level best on a consistent basis to be a good partner or maybe even a great partner?

If you can answer the above question in the affirmative, then you are most likely happily married.

So on the day of my wife's birthday I want to congratulate the millions of husbands out there that feel as I do. That life isn't complete without the companionship and love of your spouse. That living together with one person for years on end is actually fun. (If you like the person) And that having a good wife and a good marriage completes you.

Each year I spend whatever time it takes to find a card that says what I'm feeling. This year I found one that was succinct and to the point.


It simply said: "I love you like everything, because you are."


Happy Birthday Baby






The Daily Husband

Knowing When You're Blessed

I have refrained from discussing this year's birthday on my blogs, but I am 60 years old today. It doesn't seem like it's been sixty years since my birth. So much for my time sense, huh?

Vicki and I have planned a short trip up into the mountains for our birthdays, since hers is 5 days later than mine. For 5 days every year I hear about how I'm three whole years older than her. I never tire of the taunts and ribs. The trip was to be our presents to ourselves and nothing else was planned; or so I thought.

We spent this last weekend just chilling. Nothing special going on and looking forward to a really lazy weekend.

In the middle of Sunday morning Vicki announced she needed to go to the store later that day and run some errands. What I didn't know was that she had been scheming and planning for over two weeks to surprise me.

A couple of hours after she left there was a knock on our front door and there stood a bunch of our grandkids. I invited them in and then the rest of the crowd showed up. We have 5 kids and 13 grandkids so we hardly ever see them all together cause they are spread out throughout the country. The group that came on Sunday was comprised of the local ones along with Vicki's parents and some friends of my oldest daughter.

It was a great surprise and warmed my heart in that:

a) My wife had thought to do this and planned it all
b) My kids and grandkids had taken time out of their weekend to come see me
c) They all understood how this was the absolute best gift a guy turning 60 could get

We had a great time, I hung out with some of the grandkids and we terrorized our Adult neighborhood a bit. The group was convivial and teased me greatly about my advanced age. I received a pin to wear that lights up and an old geezer's hat. I immediately donned the aforementioned chapeau and wore it in the fashion of Art Carney's character "Norton" in the Honeymooners. Don't worry if you're too young to remember this famous show starring Jackie Gleason; you're young baby, enjoy it.

For those mature enough to understand the reference you should be able to picture me as the height of fashion and studliness in the hat.

Here's a portion of the group that showed up. This is as many as I could get to sit still for a picture. The others not seen were adults, most specifically my wife (who told me when I asked her to sit for the picture, "You see me every day."

I feel truly blessed to have family and friends who'll come celebrate my continued aging with me on a warm Sunday afternoon in Phoenix. Thanks everyone for coming.

Here's their picture....



I might be 60 today, but at least I know I'm blessed.

The Daily Husband

Second Fiddle

The are many names for it. Playing second fiddle, taking a backseat, and being supportive are just a few. What these all have in common is that they are the backbone to a good marriage. Listen up husbands, this could help you.

No matter what you do for a living, from Astronaut to Zoologist, you are always a husband first in your wife's mind. And in order to be a really first class husband, you have to understand the importance of being second.

Women in general and your wife specifically are much more important to your family and the world than you are. Name one man who can give birth. Can't can you? (and please don't use that lameass chick that had an operation and then got pregnant) But I bet you can name a woman who just had 8 children, huh?

So, on the biological level alone, your wife is wwwwaaaaaayyyyy more important than you are. Sure you had to be there for conception, but after that, not so much. Think about how many millions upon millions of our kids are currently growing up in single parent households. I don't believe it's as good as having two parents for them, but they are doing it.

Anyway......not to get too deep in this, cause it's really a simple premise.

A good husband knows when to take a backseat to his wife. Knows when to be the Jesse James to his Sandra Bullock, the Prince Phillip to his Queen Elizabeth and the Stedman to his Oprah. It really is all about them. Get used to it. Embrace it and enjoy it.

Women make the world go round guys. Think how much stupid stuff you did to impress girls.

So now, when you're married, why not do the smart thing to impress the most important girl in your life? Give in to the truth and let her know how much she means to you. Want an easy way to show that feeling? Make sure you're always playing backup to the lead singer in your relationship. And make sure she knows it.

It ain't all that hard and it makes a marriage fun. Like the commercial says: Just Do It!

The Daily Husband