A review

I went back and reread my ymca entry, and realized that it was rather lengthy. I thought I'd summarieze, for those who don't like reading a novel.

I went to the YMCA, took my kids to the gym, that was reserved for the Childwatch program. My kids got socialized, and I stayed around to keep after non-walking Lance. after 3 months of doign this, I was confronted after walking in, and told I was not welcomed anymore. The kids could stay, but I had to go. I met with admin people, who told me that I had every right to be in there with my kids. There were some ugly parts, and parts where they tried their best (not the admin people - the regular staff) to make me feel like a real dumbass.

Im still not sure what prompted this event - parent (women) complaints about me, staff members not liking me in there, of staff members afraid that my interaction made them look bad for being such slackers. I realize Im an anomoly - no other parents bring their kids there to "play" like I do, and none stick around to observe/interact. All the mommies drop their kids off like they are delivering laundry - "I'll be back in an hour - make sure it's ready."

Regardless of the originating event, I have no other course of thought than to feel it was gender based. It happened, I played my card right, and my kids won. I wonder what they would have felt they could get away with if I had just left quietly?

OK - time to rant about other things:


BURGER KING -ADVENTURES IN STUPIDITY
Tonight, we went to Burger King for dinner. Logan wanted an Ice Age kids meal, and got a toy that has a sloth standing on top of a maze. There is a hol ein the top where you drop in a ball - and another hole in the bottom (at a different location) for retrieving the ball after you complete the maze. EXCEPT that there was no friggin ball. None in the package. So I took it to the front, where 2 girls half ass listened to my problem. One tried to look in the bags of 2 other identical toys, to see if there was a ball in there, but the other one yelled at her, and said to both of us "There's no ball in any of them - they just come like that." Just come like that? A kids toy - a maze - a hole to drop in a ball that it doesn't coem with? WYF? I hear Carlos Mencia behind me yelling "DEE DEE DEE!"
So I got back to the table and explain what happened to my family. Part disbelief, part laughing our asses off at not only the people who MADE this item, but what dubmasses the BK girl was for blowing me off like that. I played with every single toy that came thru McDonalds when I worked there (back in high skool). I liked to consider it "product awareness". So we're laughing and all, and I start to read the paper that came with it. Directions? Where the hell did THIS come from?? I read on - you're supposed to fill the Sloths left hand with WATER (not a ball), let it drop into the hole (and into the maze) , and you use WATER to navigate the maze. No wonder there was no ball. I feel stupid, sure. DEE DEE DEE! But not as dumb as the BK people, who tried to tell me that you just imagine a ball in the maze. (BTW - before we read the part about the water, we balled up a small piece of bun, made our our damn ball, and rolled the bitch around in the maze until it fell out the other hole. Logan suprised us both by showing very good skill at doing this (the maze navigating, not the bread to ball magic trick.

WIFE SWAP

Just finished watching WIFE SWAP, where they traded a Star Wars mom out with a stern religious mom. If you didnt see it, you'll be a bit lost at this entry - but if you did see it - remember that families name . Not the SW one - the other won. Some day, either that wife or those kids are gonna snap, and kill the father. Maybe even kill the mother too, just cause she was a meely minded nincompoop who felt most comfortable under the thumb of some tight assed, obsessive compulsive neat freak , who put his cleaning in front of his family. This guy has the warmth of a doorknob, and his wife the typical "abused wife type" that won't say shit to him, and actually PREFERS to be controlled. Uptight, self centered religious control freak
husband piss me off. But he'll collect his dividends - just bide your time. Oh, and it was cool to see that the SW family, although disconnected and problematic, had the most openess for accepting change that brought them closer together.


Jack Black and Nick Awards

Jack Black is the host of the Nick Tv channel awards show. I hate Jack. An overbearing, non-acting putz. I didn't see Kong, but I hope that big ass ape (Kong, not Jack) got eaten. Dont care if it was the gorilla, or the T-rex, or a group of displaced cannibal ribesmen from New Guinnie. But, if anyone has watched Nick recently, that song that he does "Jack is a bringin on the fun..."...that song is catchy. I like it - just wish someone else had done it.

Is that even his real name? I heard a while back about how Michael Keaton really was named Michael Douglas, but because there already was a Micheal Douglas in the actors guild, he had to change his name. Jack Black sounds like something I'd come up with on the fly when one of those annoying ass collection agency people get me on the phone.

Dr WHO?

Not really a knowledgable person on the show - but I tuned into the Scifi channel the other night and fell in love. I haven't had much use for the Scifi channel since they shafted Farscape, but BILLIE PIPER, an actress on the Dr WHO show, is HOT! She reminds me of Olivia D'abo. And I LOVES me some Olivia D'abo. HEY - I just did a search for them both, and came across a side by side comparison - Olivia and Billie (its about half way down the page)

THIS PLACE IS LIKE A ZOO

Ok - it actualy WAS a zoo. Today , I took the boys to the zoo. I got frustrated at how often Im chasing after Logan, at Lance's expense. When Logan was a baby, we spent loads of time at the zoo. I'd point to different animals, or bugs, or whatever, and say their names. I think it had a profound impact on his vocabulary and his general knowldge and awareness. Also, it created a love for animals. But Lance isn't getting that same opportunity. Whether Lance is in a backpack, or in a stroller, most of the time he's being whooshed around chasing Logan, who had run ahead. Today, I had enough. I warned Logan twice that if he ran ahead, and I had to yell for his to come back, that he was going into the stroller. And of course, it happened. He threw the biggest temper tantrum Ive ever seen (almost). He lost his friggin mind - yelling and screaming that he was a BIG BOY, and he was NOT getting into the baby stroller. Short story - he did. He was nto happy, and neither was I, but his ass stayed in that stroller while I pointed out all the neat stuff to Lance. Like the elephants (which Lance got a bit scared of, but was ok with once we waved "Bubye" to them. It was only about 15-20 minutes, but I really got a chance to see how much more of my attention Lance needs. I didn't ignore Logan (well, not really), but when he started to flair up a bit, I reminded him how unfair he was being to baby, and to enjoy the view from the stroller like Lance usually has to. At least he got to view things a bit slower, fo rnot having to chase after anyone. I hope today made an impact on him. I really stuggled with the idea of letting him out after a while. I'm a firm believer in "letting him have the chance to do better, not just punish him". But I also got the feeling that his temper, while full blown, was still superficial. So in the stroller he stayed, and after a while, out to the truck we went. I didn't want to beat a dead horse, but talked breifly on the wy home about how unhappy I was about what happened, and how I hoped that our next trip to the zoo would be a happier one. He agreed. Guess time will tell.

Oh shit - I just remembered - we went to Walmrt today, and I bought Memoirs of a Geisha. I shoudl be watching that. Gotta go ya'll - thanks for reading!