The Syndicate

A boy arrived for us on the 7th, not long before midnight. His name is hamish. He was big but not quite as big as they expected. No sleep for me.

For those who know Sophie, she was due the same time as us but hers came earlier, a couple of weeks ago. She had a boy called Julian.

Golden wrote:A boy arrived for us on the 7th, not long before midnight. His name is hamish. He was big but not quite as big as they expected. No sleep for me.

For those who know Sophie, she was due the same time as us but hers came earlier, a couple of weeks ago. She had a boy called Julian.

Golden wrote:A boy arrived for us on the 7th, not long before midnight. His name is hamish. He was big but not quite as big as they expected. No sleep for me.

For those who know Sophie, she was due the same time as us but hers came earlier, a couple of weeks ago. She had a boy called Julian.

Congratulations!

Golden wrote:A boy arrived for us on the 7th, not long before midnight. His name is hamish. He was big but not quite as big as they expected. No sleep for me.

For those who know Sophie, she was due the same time as us but hers came earlier, a couple of weeks ago. She had a boy called Julian.

Congratulations!
Best wishes to Sophie as well!

On the topic of boys, one of my 2nd graders will celebrate his 9th birthday on Monday and asked me if I'll get him a present. To the obvious follow-up question, he said he'd like a children's book to read, but one without drawings. Thanks for setting difficulty on hardcore, kid!

Golden wrote:A boy arrived for us on the 7th, not long before midnight. His name is hamish. He was big but not quite as big as they expected. No sleep for me.

For those who know Sophie, she was due the same time as us but hers came earlier, a couple of weeks ago. She had a boy called Julian.

Thats great Golden congratulations! And sophie you as well!

Congrats golden and Sophie! Another exciting adventure awaits for the both of you.

Golden wrote:A boy arrived for us on the 7th, not long before midnight. His name is hamish. He was big but not quite as big as they expected. No sleep for me.

For those who know Sophie, she was due the same time as us but hers came earlier, a couple of weeks ago. She had a boy called Julian.

Hooray for all of you! Hope mom and baby are doing well. Wishing you all the best (and Sophie and Julian as well)!!

Congrats golden and Sophie. Pictures please!?

Thanks for the congrats everyone. Pictures will come when we get home from hospital

Props for the propogation, Goldeño.

Our school has had no power since this weekend, and many of our roads are closed due to flooding and damage.

We have no idea when we will be returning.

Time to get my guitar and make the most of it...

Golden wrote:A boy arrived for us on the 7th, not long before midnight. His name is hamish. He was big but not quite as big as they expected. No sleep for me.

For those who know Sophie, she was due the same time as us but hers came earlier, a couple of weeks ago. She had a boy called Julian.

Golden the Father! Welcome to the club, sir. Fatherhood is a lot of work but it is awesome.

Bring back the politics thread during election day/night.

Congrats, Golden!!!!

DharmaHelper wrote:Bring back the politics thread during election day/night.

Your request has been noted.

BBQ restaurant in my hometown right about now.

Is this near you? Woodlake Dam? I have a friend stationed at Bragg, and he says it is about when, not if, it goes.

http://abc11.com/weather/governor-to-pe ... t/1549633/

Vass is about 45 minutes from us.

45 minutes downhill?

S~V~S wrote:45 minutes downhill?

Eh, we're a part of the same geographic region. We're probably level.

From what I can tell, if the dam breaks, the water is going down to Spring Lake.

Epi, that's absolutely insane. Seems Matthew hit you all really hard. Any idea when some semblance of normalcy will be returned and schools will open again?

MovingPictures07 wrote:Epi, that's absolutely insane. Seems Matthew hit you all really hard. Any idea when some semblance of normalcy will be returned and schools will open again?

Sorry

Congrats to all the new mums and dads!

MovingPictures07 wrote:Epi, that's absolutely insane. Seems Matthew hit you all really hard. Any idea when some semblance of normalcy will be returned and schools will open again?

I'm predicting Monday for us. But no way to know for sure.

Epignosis wrote:

MovingPictures07 wrote:Epi, that's absolutely insane. Seems Matthew hit you all really hard. Any idea when some semblance of normalcy will be returned and schools will open again?

I'm predicting Monday for us. But no way to know for sure.

Well good luck with all of that! I can't imagine having to deal with water and damage everywhere.

As much as I like to think that I live a relatively simple life, HOLY CRAP DO I HAVE A LOT OF STUFF IN THE BASEMENT!

We're having out A/C / heat pump system replaced tomorrow and I've spent three nights shifting piles and boxes of our stuff across the basement to clear out around the internal unit and the tubing to the external unit. My back is all

It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in a relatively short amount of time, isn't it? I swear, half of the stuff just multiplies on its own, you don't even have to add anymore yourself!

About 1/3 of the problem is old kids clothes and toys from our oldest. Once Kid 2 goes through it all then we can yard sale most of it. Another 1/3 of it is my wife's fault. She started out teaching 1st grade but got moved to 3rd grade after seven years. This summer she switched districts and moved from 3rd grade to kindergarten. So now we have all her 1st and 3rd grade stuff downstairs because she could always get bumped back to either grade now that she's low woman on the totem pole. Another 1/6 of it is my wife's scrapbooking stuff that is often thought of by her but never worked on. The other 1/6 is just random odds and ends.

A white van just ran into our yard and knocked our mailbox halfway down the street.

Epignosis wrote:A white van just ran into our yard and knocked our mailbox halfway down the street.

Usually it is just the snow plow that hits ours.

there have been two (2) occasions where we have lost power from someone driving into a pole.

A black Nisan came back through and hit what was left of our mailbox. We're the only one on the street. Somebody has it in for us.

I've spoken to the police twice tonight.

A large white truck is driving back and forth on our street, watching our house.

We've spoken to the police three times tonight.

This is not fun.

what the hell is up?

A Person wrote:what the hell is up?

Not sure if it's kids having a laugh or something more sinister. I am a teacher who doesn't put up with bullshit....

Epignosis wrote:

A Person wrote:what the hell is up?

Not sure if it's kids having a laugh or something more sinister. I am a teacher who doesn't put up with bullshit....

In any case stay safe and also don't put up with that kind of bullshit.

AWWWW!

Where's Epig's photo?

AWWWWW

I just now remembered I got killed by the cops in Fight Club mafia and I'm mad cuz I was playing a real good game and never even got to the second phase.

The year Robin Williams died was the same year NBC's live musical was "Peter Pan" and I cried during one of the songs when Peter crows because it reminded me of Robin. I dunno, I felt like sharing.

DharmaHelper wrote:I just now remembered I got killed by the cops in Fight Club mafia and I'm mad cuz I was playing a real good game and never even got to the second phase.

Dude, that feels like it was AGES ago. Great game, though to date it's the only game I've hosted on here that I am still disappointed with. Maybe I'll revamp and rerun it one of these days.

DharmaHelper wrote:The year Robin Williams died was the same year NBC's live musical was "Peter Pan" and I cried during one of the songs when Peter crows because it reminded me of Robin. I dunno, I felt like sharing.

It's time to go.

We live in an awful neighborhood, in case you were not aware.

In six years, our house has been robbed, our car broken into, our house was shot at during a drive-by, our mailbox was taken out deliberately by a van (after which a second car deliberately ran over what was left), and there was a street fight right in front of our house two days ago involving at least twelve people, one of whom was pregnant (a student of mine), and baseball bats.

We are at fifteen emergency calls in six years. That's not counting the ones we didn't phone in because we knew the neighbors were already on it.

We're not belligerent people or racists. We don't stir up trouble or make demands of other people. We live quietly and keep to ourselves. Yet people here mean us harm, and I don't understand why. I am told a gang has infiltrated this area, and that is why occurrences have escalated. Perhaps they are attempting to intimidate us- but to what end?

Tonight someone tried to come into our front door (it was locked, of course), and then a car drove past doing perhaps 65mph blaring the horn and shouting. The police officer tonight asked me if I had a gun. He told me if anyone tries my door again I should shoot through the door. Never mind that the person on the other side could be a friend or my pregnant student who lives nearby and comes over to do school work.

And so I stay up most nights, as long as I can lately, concerned that something is going to happen in the middle of the night. I go to work exhausted. I come home equally so. I watch. And I wonder. When will there be an escalation? And I think: What if my daughter had been playing outside the day the driver of that van roared into our yard and eliminated our mailbox, and he didn't see my little girl?

How would that change me as a man?

Our circumstances are about the change, however.

In May, we were approved for a mortgage. That might not mean much to you, but in 2008, I lost my job while my wife was pregnant with the daughter I mentioned above, and every expectation we had of a hopeful future went to shit. I couldn't find work and we were unable to pay for almost anything but the bills and groceries. We lost our car. I had to sell instruments to pay bills. We ate cabbage and baked cakes made of flour, parsley and water.

I learned to cook like Gordon Fucking Ramsay because I had to learn how to be creative in the kitchen.

Then this past May, as I said, we were approved for a mortgage. That was great news on its own- we could turn our rent into a mortgage and get out of this neighborhood. The trouble was that we could not save the down payment because our vehicle is as unreliable as a chimpanzee accountant. So I worked hard and worked hard to build our credit. We now qualify for twice as much as we did in May.

It's time to go.

My wife spent several of her evenings covered in sugar. I have taken extra work through my school, earned additional money through fantasy sports, and we are selling so much stuff- even our furniture- to get out. We are getting this down payment. I don't care if we have nothing when we move- that's less shit to haul out anyway. If all we have come the first of the year is a nice big ass empty house in a modest and clean neighborhood, and our children, so be it.

Right now my eyes burn and my eyelids sag, but I cannot sleep yet. I have to watch.

Tonight these tired eyes look over a crappy house in a shitty neighborhood sheltering a remarkable family.

But tomorrow they will gaze upon houses we could not imagine owning six years ago. And in six weeks, perhaps they will weep, knowing that we have a place that is our own. That we, of all people, arising from the gutter of bitter circumstance and despair, are homeowners.

I apologize for my lack of involvement here lately and in the immediate future. I really really do.

But it's time to go.

I am so happy that your circumstances are improving, Rob, and so distressed that you and your wonderful family have had such a hard time. If there's anything you need to help speed up your move, let me know and I will see what I can do. You've been a good friend many a year, and I'd love to return the favor. If anyone deserves a life of peace and happiness, it's you guys.

thellama73 wrote:I am so happy that your circumstances are improving, Rob, and so distressed that you and your wonderful family have had such a hard time. If there's anything you need to help speed up your move, let me know and I will see what I can do. You've been a good friend many a year, and I'd love to return the favor. If anyone deserves a life of peace and happiness, it's you guys.

Thanks man! We think so highly of you. If anything, we'd love to hang out with you again.

Although...

...say.... you are a pack animal...

Safe travels.

Here's hoping this is the start of a new beginning for you and your family Rob.

Thanks gents.

That's beautiful and wonderful Rob. Best of luck to you in your search for a new home. (Move to Oregon)

Didn't know much about these hardships, but very glad to hear things are finally looking up. You are a wonderful family and you deserve better.

We put an offer on a house this afternoon.

It's mint. It's a mint house. I'm not kidding.