The Prodigal Blogger Returns

It’s been a while, fellow WordPressers.

I see the app has changed quite a bit since the last time I was on here. That’s always exciting—and annoying.

Even though I haven’t blogged in a few months my stats show that a few people still have been dropping in to see me, which makes me very happy.

The past several months have been hard. I’ve been adjusting to the role of a new dad, which I’m pleased to say has not been as difficult as I led myself to believe my entire life. Alexis, my fiancé, and I have been absolutely blessed with the greatest baby girl any parent could ever hope for. She’s absolutely beautiful with red hair and denim blue eyes and the attitude that comes with both. She’s tall, smart, and extremely vocal (she gets that from her father.) So parenthood has been going great.

I don’t even want to get into talking about COVID-19. It fucking sucks, man. I lost my temp job months ago because it was nonessential, our vacation out to Michigan for my brother’s wedding ended up being confined to my parents’ living room for a week. Back in California, no beach. No gyms. Having to wear a mask everywhere you go, which sucks for me because I am claustrophobic and overheat within seconds of putting a mask on. The lack of money, the physical stagnation, and repetition of every true crime documentary on Hulu and the same few funny YouTube compilations have done wonders for my mental health, as well as everybody else’s I know.

Maybe I should have gone back to blogging sooner. Maybe I wouldn’t have felt so bad…

But now, things have changed. I parted ways with the employment agencies that I have had mediocre luck with for most of my working life and now I’m permanently employed by Home Depot, which is a store I always thought would be cool to look at whenever Mom and Dad would bring us there when we were growing up. School is being figured out—again—-and when it finally dawned on me that my piss poor eating habits may have caused me far more harm than I ever thought possible, I signed up for Weight Watchers. I start on Monday.

What I am most pleased about from a personal development standpoint, however, is that I have been replacing video games with books. For the past month I have been averaging a book read every other day. One day on Amazon I found a cool true crime book about a cold case squad and devoured it. Then I found a similar book about the LAPD and that was done in a couple of days, also. Since then I have read multiple mystery novels, true crime books, the memoirs of President Grant, The Virginian, and have now made my way into personal development books. I am currently reading my third in three days. Thanks to Kindle Unlimited, I have two or three more currently in line for when I finish this one (should be tonight unless the blog takes most of my focus away.)

Coincidentally, the book I’m reading right now has been talking a lot about blogging, which made me remember this old blog of mine. I’m trying to make better decisions and pull myself out of a ruck I’ve been stuck in for most of my life. I remember when this blog first started to take off and all the joy and confidence that it gave me, only for me to all of a sudden stop just like I have done for so many things in life. For some reason, though, this blog is something I always keep coming back to. I guess that means it’s with me until the bitter end. Might as well start back blogging again!

I know better now than to make any promises. I’ve promised that I would blog every day or three times a week or whatever and I’ve failed in every one of those promises. I say I’m not going to stop blogging but then I stop. I have no excuse. However, my goal is to return to regular blogging and hopefully not bore the shit out of you while I do it.

Alright, that’s enough ranting for now. See you all later!

Dirty 30

Today is my 30th birthday. I know I’m no different than I was yesterday but for some reason I feel like a totally different person than I was when I was 29.

I feel old.

I love having a January birthday because it allows me to restart New Year’s Resolutions that might have fallen by the wayside in the first few weeks of January.

New year, new decade of life. The twenties are over. I’m not a kid anymore. Lots to get done, time to get cracking.

That being said, how are things?

Happy New Year, Blog

With the holiday happening on a Wednesday this year and me having to go back to work tomorrow morning, it’s hard to believe that today is the start of a new year.

Even though I’ve had some long pauses in between posts on here, I am really hoping that 2020 is the year my writing career truly begins in earnest. I’ve been extremely active on Twitter with various writing groups and I’ve even been humbly included in a couple of lists of writers to look out for in 2020.

Therefore, I must provide!

I brought back the old CrapPile title because having a blog solely focused on being a new dad is a bit too cliche. I prefer to be able to write about what I want, when I want without feeling the constant need to attach a photo of Kenway (although you will still be getting plenty of those!)

My goal is to post a minimum of three times a week of more quality posts than I have before. What’s happened since the beginning was I would bullshit and write whatever was on my mind and then post. I did not pay attention to spelling and grammar or even if I rambled a bit too much. My newer posts will be more thought out, organized, and edited before I publish. Hopefully this will keep my writing polished and help me continue to craft my own style as I start work on my novel tonight.

I’m the worst at commitments and I’ve broken way too many promises over the years. Every goal I’ve set out to do with my blog or my writing I’ve failed at. My fingers are crossed that the imaginary power of January 1 will help me succeed where I have failed many, many countless times before.

Happy New Year, CrapPile! Let’s hope it’s a good year…

The Blog Reboot—Again

Hi all,

I’m sorry again that I’ve been quiet. As you can imagine, a newborn and full-time job squeezes the life out of you. I’ve only been active on Twitter and my pillow the past month.

I’ve been doing a shit ton of reading and outlining for a science fiction novel I’ve already started picking away at writing, so I’m considering returning the blog to the original CrapPile moniker. I want to start writing more about writing and books on top of parenting and opinion pieces. I’m going to set a goal of three or four (hopefully more) posts a week. Hopefully while I’m at work I can think of some good topics and return this to its former glory.

Until then, be patient!

On Parental Responsibility

It’s no secret that being a parent is hard work. My daughter has only been in the world for a week as of today and I already feel that I’ve worked harder than I ever have before. This is coming from a guy who served in the Marine Corps, worked at Walt Disney World Resort, managed multiple locations at once, and various fast-paced industrial jobs over the years. It is definitely not something for the soft or weak-willed. It takes someone with a deep sense of love and responsibility, or someone with the mental acumen to have a light switch flipped on in their heads once a baby comes into their life.

The biggest tragedy in the world is that too many parents, old and new, these days are too irresponsible and immature in every way that a parent should not be, and it’s them raising the next generation of children. And this newer generation do not know the morals and values that many of us have grown up with over the years, much less even the slightest hint of responsibility.

I won’t mention any names or anything, but I am very acquainted with someone like this. This particular individual does not work, lives in their girlfriend’s parents’ house, does not try to find work, cannot even be trusted to do a single chore around the house, mooches off of their generosity and their girlfriend’s small paychecks, and even made their mom buy an engagement ring so that the girlfriend could be proposed to. They use an alleged disability as an excuse to not work, look for work, do chores, or anything else around the house that mature, responsible adults do. The only time they make an effort is if it somehow benefits them, such as bringing in giant armfuls of groceries and carrying a solid metal vacuum cleaner up two flights of stairs in order to vacuum their bedroom (yet taking out the trash and putting away a couple of plates and bowls is too much work).

To make matters worse, not only is this person a moocher but also vindictive, sexist, manipulative, and controlling. They often try to pick out clothes for the girlfriend/fiancé that they want them to wear, has convinced her that she cannot drive unless she receives two years of trauma therapy to recover from an accident that happened years and years ago (although the other family members involved in the crash had it worse and all have at least tried to make an effort), and believes that they are entitled to whatever they want in the house for every reason under the sun. And if they don’t get it, they hold a grudge months and months after the fact. The theory/excuse is that they grew up with a mother who sucked and did not teach them the ways of the world and because of that had to develop their own warped sense of right and wrong, but still. Nothing can excuse or condone that kind of disgusting attitude and demeanor.

The reason I’m talking about this now is that they have been talking to me recently on multiple occasions about how they want kids and are planning to start a family together. The person who is in dire need of having their whole twenty-plus years repeated so that they can learn the right things wants to be the one to bring one or two babies into the world and be the one responsible for guiding them into the next generation. The blind leading the blind. The bum raising the bums. God forbid the children are of the opposite sex as them, because then their deep-rooted sexism will make for a godawful experience.

Here’s what I’ve been asking myself: if you can’t wipe down a tabletop or take out the trash, how the hell are you going to change a baby’s diaper or carry one around all the time? If you claim you can’t sit down for long periods of time or drive for long periods, how can you drive a kid to and from doctors appointments or rock them to sleep, especially if you’ve convinced your significant other that they can’t drive? Even better yet, if the other one has a small income and you refuse to work, how can you provide for the family like you are supposed to?

If you’re a parent, you need to step it the fuck up. You need to understand that you are now second banana to your child. They must come first each and every time, no excuses. You need to do whatever it is that needs to be done to make sure that they are taken care of. If you can’t, you either need to sign over custody to someone else or not be a parents.

AND NO, ABORTION IS NOT A VIABLE OPTION!

Every action has consequences. We are responsible for our own actions and this must live with the fallout of said actions. It’s called being an adult. Man up or move the hell over. Children deserve nothing else but the very best from all of us.