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[25 Oct 2017|12:01am] ( everything you need to know about OWEN EASTON ) post comment

[10 May 2010|01:18am] The kids spent Mother's Day with Lindsay. They've been spending most of their time with her lately, which is probably a good thing. I haven't really been in any shape to deal with all three of them at once. Erin is doing exceptionally well in school this year, which is a testament to the change in environment, I think. Lindsay actually called and thanked me a couple weeks ago, which was a surprise. It's not a secret that my ex-wife and I don't always get along. The last seven or eight months have been a catalyst between us. We've been working on mending bridges and all the things you do when the possibility of death is thrown into the equation. I'm not dying, by the way. I may look like shit, but the chemo is doing its job. I don't like talking about it specifically because I feel like it makes people uncomfortable. I can understand that. If it were the other way around, I'd find it pretty damn uncomfortable, too. But back to the kids. Erin is out of school in two weeks. She's already signed up for two different summer camps: a general science camp (like last year) and some sort of biology/anatomy camp. I tried to read the brochure, but I didn't understand half of it. I think it involves pre-med like stuff. She's gone back to wanting to be a doctor, which I'm happy about. I didn't like the thought of her running off to Egypt and digging around in the desert. She burns easily, you know. Emma is doing pretty well in school. After a tag-team lecture after the first grade reports came out, she buckled down and focused on her studies. The little jackass she was seeing is long gone, thank God, and she's been hanging out with her friend Trish more. I like Trish. She's kind of a tomboy, but she's good people. Emma's even going with her to some end of the school year dance or something. Then there's Tucker. He's grown two inches in the last seven months and is starting to look more like a teenager than a little boy. Not completely, but the change is beginning to happen. He's going to end up hitting puberty head-on. I'll wake up one morning and he'll have grown up without my realizing it. That's a scary thought. He's going to be spending most of his summer at football camp and some other camp. Emma seems to be the only one not going away for the summer, so I may end up having only her for a while. It's retreat time again. I'm packed and ready to go, even if I feel as though I've been hit by a semi truck a few dozen times. I like the fresh air and the retreat in general. I've always had fun. Does anyone want to sit with me on the bus? post comment

[10 Apr 2010|05:47pm] I cut my hand open and accidentally poured white vinegar on it earlier. Slicing beets is a dangerous job. I don't know why I didn't buy them pre-sliced. I probably wasn't paying attention. My favorite part of Easter is using the hardboiled eggs. My mother used to make pickled eggs, which taste better than they sound, every year. Growing up on a farm, it was one of those things that were always there. It was a staple of our summer diets. My kids like them, so I continue to make them. Luckily for me and my limited culinary experience, they aren't difficult to make. There are three types that I know of - vinegar, beet and dill. Basically, you can soak your eggs in vinegar for a few months (or a year) and they'll taste like vinegar when you're done. If you add some beet juice to your vinegar, then add some beets, you wind up with pickled eggs and beets. The eggs end up a deep fuchsia color and look interesting in a salad. Dill eggs, you just save your dill pickle brine in a large jar, put the eggs in and voila. They taste of dill, but look piss-yellow when you're done. That's more than anyone needed to know about pickled eggs, but what the hell. I didn't have anything else to post about. 22 comments|post comment

[12 Mar 2010|09:48pm] I've started smoking again, which is pissing off my daughter and doctors. I'll quit again, but it's my choice. Erin is too smart for her own good sometimes. She changed the wallpaper on my laptop to a photo of a smoker's lungs. I'm not sure how she figured out my password, but it was a little disturbing to log in and find that. I think that was the point, but it was still disgusting. I wish I could say that I'll be paying her back, but it would probably constitute as child abuse of some sort. I don't need that kind of trouble. I shouldn't watch Dateline NBC. There's this program about a black widow, which makes me rethink ever signing up for a dating site. I've met some crazy women in my life, but this woman takes the cake. I don't know what I'd do if someone set my bed on fire or tried to kill me. Has anyone seen the film The Bad Seed? This woman looks a little like that girl. You wouldn't expect her to be that evil. I could be watching Numb3rs. 16 comments|post comment

[28 Feb 2010|08:27pm] I don't want to update this, but I need my goddamn job. So the Olympics are over. The closing ceremonies are supposedly supposed to happen sometime in the next half hour, but all of the events are over. This is the first time in years I've actually watched a significant amount of the televised events. I watched a lot of snowboarding, a lot of luge, skeleton and bobsledding, a lot of hockey, a lot of figure skating. Okay, the last one was more Erin than it was me. I also had to hear her talk about the science behind lifts and spins and various tricks. It was interesting for the first five minutes. Then it became annoying. Nathan came over for Valentine's Day. That was awkward and a little embarrassing. It was good to see him, though. And to see Evangeline. I miss them both, more than I've been able to really say comfortably. How do you tell the man who dumped you after a year and a half that you miss him or that you have feelings for him still? There's really no way, so I shut the fuck up and come to work and keep my nose clean. I don't know how to talk to anyone here and most of the time I don't want to. That makes it difficult when I do want to talk to someone. Catch 22 if there ever was one. I need to dig out the Jameson. I heard Avril Lavigne's name dropped. If she's going to be on this damn thing, I'm going to need several drinks. 32 comments|post comment

[30 Jan 2010|11:53pm] [ mood | tired ] My kid will be eleven tomorrow, or in seven minutes if you want to get technical about it. Tucker is my youngest. His mother is throwing a birthday party here tomorrow in some asinine attempt to force me to be social. Why does she care? If it was just for the sake of our kids, I wouldn't bitch about it - but it isn't. She's on some sort of quest to make sure I'm 'not alone'. Fuck you, Lindsay. Don't you have a new husband to torture?. Luckily we're past the stage where he wants themed birthday parties. Well, almost. The theme this year is Star Wars, but without the costumes. I'm glad there won't be costumes, as I don't want to be stuck walking around dressed as Chewbacca for six hours while entertaining a crowd of children ages ten and under. My eldest child made me feel extremely old last week when she declared that Star Wars was "some old crappy movie no one cares about". I saw Episode IV in the theater back in '77. Of course, I was only five years old, but I still remember the experience. Tucker wants to see Avatar in 3-D as his birthday present, which isn't an unrealistic request. It's a hell of a lot better than the year he wanted an elephant for his birthday. He was six, maybe, and was obsessed with the zoo and elephants. Now he's a little sci-fi geek, which does my heart good. He still wants the X-Files complete series on DVD, but I told him he had to wait a couple years for that one. Every time I think of that show, I only remember that one episode - The Host. To this day, I check the toilet before I use it. My eldest kid, Emma, is eligible for her learner's permit at the beginning of March. Her school doesn't offer Driver's Ed, so Lindsay (my ex-wife) has decided that I'll be the one teaching her. I'm terrified of doing this. If it were Erin or Tuck, there would be no problem. Emma, however, is the one most likely to commit vehicular manslaughter while talking on a cell phone. She'd also be the one most likely to upload photos of the accident to Twitter and Facebook. God help us all. This had nothing to do with work. Sorry about that. 9 comments|post comment

narrative for Christmas Break writing challenge [02 Jan 2010|12:24pm] who: Owen Easton what: Holiday Narrative (via writing challenge) when: 26 December 2009 notes: it's kind of depressing. I'm sorry! ( In time of sickness the soul collects itself anew ) post comment

[11 Dec 2009|11:36pm] ( private ) I had a haircut the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It's really short but I like it. I have to wear a beanie when I go outside now, though. I get cold easily. I don't care about the anonymous post. I saw it listed, but didn't look at it. I'm sure it isn't as fun as it used to be, anyway. Natalie isn't around to throw a shit fit and most of you shit talk each other face to face anymore anyway. 20 comments|post comment

[24 Nov 2009|07:09am] I forgot what day it was. I didn't realize it was my birthday until my mother called me ten minutes ago. Yes, she still calls at an obscene hour in the morning to recount the entire process of my birth. Yes, it's embarrassing. She's my mother. What can I do? Especially since I told her I wasn't coming home for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year. I don't feel like celebrating the holidays. Yeah, this from the guy who got excited over every holiday known to man. just don't want to deal with the family drama. Or the questions. Or one of my asshole brothers telling me that having my nut chopped off is God's way of telling me that fucking men is wrong. I'm thirty-seven years old. In three years, I'll be forty. Shit. 6 comments|post comment

[21 Nov 2009|02:26pm] I'm taking a break from watching the OSU/Michigan game. We're in the lead right now, by the way. The kids and I have too much pizza sitting around. Betty and Veronica are sniffing at the boxes like they're going to attack as soon as our backs are turned. My son painted his face again this year, except he tried to make it look like Brutus the Buckeye. It's a little disturbing. I can't remember why I opened up this window. If I figure it out, I'll come back and edit. 19 comments|post comment

[12 Nov 2009|06:26am] This is going to be an awkward thing to write, so bear with me a minute, yeah? I've been out of the office a lot over the past month. There were some health issues that needed to be taken care of and I now know that it's going to be a while before that happens. I had a nonseminoma germ cell tumor removed about a month ago. The doctors were able to determine that, as far as they can tell presently, I'm suffering from a second stage embryonal carcinoma. It's ball cancer, people. I just don't want to actually say that. The oncologist is going to do some more testing to make sure it hasn't spread past my retroperitoneal and paraaortic lymph nodes. If it has, that means I've advanced into stage three. But as I said, they don't think it metastasized that far yet. Hopefully it won't. I have to have another procedure done before I can start radiation. They're going to remove the metastasized lymph nodes. I started chemotherapy a week ago. It isn't that bad. I only feel like I've been hit by an eighteen wheeler every day and I can't stop the headaches. It feels like having a mild flu bug constantly. Telling my family was difficult, moreso than telling Nathan other important people in my life. I think it might've been in part because I had to tell my parents and brothers over the telephone. My mother held it together really well. My father cried. It was awkward. I didn't know what to say. Telling my kids was easier than I thought it'd be. Not that it was easy, but at least I didn't screw it up. So that's what's going on in my life right now. I plan to keep writing my column for as long as I physically can. It helps that I have a lot of research done for future columns. I don't know if I'll be able to work from the office in the next few months, but we'll take it as it comes. Now that I've laid out my depressing news for everyone -- someone make a tasteless cancer joke. No, I mean it. I like them. 50 comments|post comment

private entry [22 Oct 2009|10:24pm] ( Private ) post comment

Malibu Pilates infomercials are kind of dirty. [07 Oct 2009|12:21am] ( private ) I still can't seem to shake this flu bug. I'm going to the doctor this week to get looked at. I hope I'm just passing this back and forth with Erin, though she hasn't been sick for a couple weeks. That's a good thing. She enjoys school too much to be missing any class. I'll have been with Spent two years at the end of the month. I'd like to say that I can't believe it's been that long, but it seems like I've been here longer than that. It's been mostly good, even with the various assholes we've had to deal with over the past couple years. I'm sitting here watching an informercial for Malibu Pilates because I've lost my remote control and I'm too lazy to get up and change the channel manually. This is why I go to the gym. I need peer pressure to get motivated. Then again, I don't know how much longer I can watch Susan Lucci in skimpy workout clothes and flirting with one of her co-stars. Where's the damn remote? 4 comments|post comment

am I updating because I have something to say or because I have to? it's a mystery. [22 Sep 2009|07:59pm] My daughter, Emma, is a Gossip Girl fan. In fact, I have seen a few episodes but I wasn't impressed by it. I can't believe my ex-wife lets her watch that sort of crap. Coming to work today, I ran into that one goofy looking kid who is on the show. What's his name? The evil one who looks like he's been smacked with a 2x4? I didn't know he was a Brit. I took a picture of him on my phone and sent it to Emma. She called me a little while ago hyper about wanting to come into the city to hang out with me at work. I said no, of course. The last thing I need is a teenage girl breathing down my neck wanting to go chase 20-something actors. I'm a bad father, but I don't care. I'm still feeling under the weather, but at least I'm above the ground. I don't think it's anything serious or contagious. I'm just tired. I have to sleep more. I'm in general favor of that. My dogs got into a pizza last night and ate the whole thing. I'm not sure what pizza does to great danes, but I'm afriad to find out when I walk them later. If it can't be picked up in a baggie, I'm leaving it there. I don't care what the law is. I'm going to go back to watching the NCIS season premiere. 9 comments|post comment

[04 Sep 2009|12:10am] There are times when the world makes absolutely no sense to me. In thirty-six years, there are still some things that I just can't explain. Like why the dogs only like to sleep on the good clothes after they've been washed, or why a peanut butter and jelly sandwich always tastes better when someone else makes them. I also can't explain things like war and death and trauma to my kids. Erin watches CNN in the time between when she comes home from school and when I get home from the office. She's been keeping up with the situation in California - the guy who kidnapped that little girl eighteen years ago and kept her locked up, having two daughters with her in the process. Erin is a smart kid, but she sat down with me tonight and wanted to talk about it. I had no idea what to say. What can you say? The 'there are bad people in the world' speech only goes so far. Being afraid for your kids comes with the territory of being a parent. As I get older, though, I have to wonder if my parents had need to worry about us half as much as I worry about my kids now. I don't think about what I would do in the situations I see on the news. I can't. If I do, then my overactive imagination will surely send me into a panic of some sort. On a lighter note, I came home to a message from my mother yesterday. It may only be September, but she wants to discuss the holidays. I usually don't go back to Ohio but once, maybe twice, a year. I try to go back for Thanksgiving, which usually coincides with my birthday. This year, I haven't given it a lot of thought. I don't know if I want to go, or if I can really afford the airfare for the four of us or more, if Nathan decides he wants to go. After last year, I don't even want to ask. It's not really worth it. as private school tuition is a bitch. I'm exhausted. I hope I'm not coming down with a cold. 9 comments|post comment

[19 Aug 2009|11:00pm] I think I'm going to enjoy the pajama party. Drinking and socializing in comfortable clothes? That's my kind of party. If I fall asleep in one of the rented beds, I apologize. When you're my age, you enjoy sleeping. My oldest kid turns fifteen in a few days. Emma has a boyfriend who is a junior. I don't necessarily approve of this, but I guess being a part-time parent gives me no say in the matter. I haven't met this guy yet, but I remember being that age. I remember the things I did at that age and I'm prepared to put the fear of God into him. Are we having the Spenties this year, does anyone know? I think last year's were around this time. I could be wrong. I'm just making small talk because I don't want to bitch about my kid turning fifteen and making me feel old. Cotton or silk pajamas? Smoking jacket? I need suggestions for the party. 37 comments|post comment

back up your back up. [06 Aug 2009|02:49pm] [ mood | amused ] I've been using a bright pink Dell all week at work. My own laptop is a very manly shade of dark blue. But it also has a very manly virus. While it's in the shop, I'm stuck with the pink. I'm glad that I learned how to back up my work, or else I'd be curled up in a ball under my desk. I don't want to mess up the link trend, so here's my favorite website. I learn something new every time I visit it. I hope you do, too. Anyone have exciting plans this weekend? 4 comments|post comment

thank God it's the weekend. [18 Jul 2009|12:05am] There will be no complaining about bleaching my teeth anymore. I completed the fourteen day plan and my teeth are several shades whiter. I'm sure you'll all be happy to hear it. Unfortunately, my hard work and suffering will probably be destroyed by my increase in coffee and nicotine consumption. I didn't plagiarize anything, but that doesn't make this any less nerve wracking. Any time your work is put under a microscope, there's stress involved. I'm confident that this will be cleared up soon, but there's always a chance it won't be. I really don't want to be fired. I have finally gotten to a point where I like the office. I can't afford to lose my job now. I've never knowingly read any Czech periodicals and I always cite outside sources. Even so, this is a really big pain in the ass for me - not to mention James, Dan, Sam and/or Shaun and anyone else affected by it. I can't help but feel responsible, even though I know it isn't my fault. There's nothing I can do about it right now, so I'm trying to finish up wrapping TJ's housewarming gift. I plan to stop by some time in the evening. I'm only going to take pictures of the place with my phone for Nathan. That isn't going to be awkward at all. "Hey TJ, I know you and my boyfriend aren't friends anymore.. but here's a Slap Chop and a ShamWOW set!" Britney, would you like to come with me? I know it's last minute, but I forgot to ask you yesterday. I hope everyone has a good weekend. Does anyone have any special plans? 4 comments|post comment

[03 Jul 2009|01:57pm] I hate Crest Whitestrips. They leave my lips gunky and taste awful. I have to leave them on for a half hour at a time, so I always end up with dry mouth. Also, the bleaching agents leave the inside of my lips raw. Sure, my teeth might be whiter today than they were yesterday, but I don't know if I can do this for ten more days (it's a 14 day box). So while I wait fifteen more minutes until I have to remove these, I'll tell you what I've been up to. I partook in Joey's stag party last Friday. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get arrested. Everyone loves a bad boy, you know. That's why I'm going to invest in a leather jacket and a motorcycle. My kids are spending the holiday with their mother and new stepfather. I still don't like him very much, but what can I do? I'll have them next week before Erin and Tucker head off for science and football camp, respectively. Emma has decided to spend that week with one of her friends here in the city. She's a teenager and apparently hanging out with her father cramps her style. Though, she did ask if she could stay with Nathan. Why do my kids like him more than me? I'm not sure what my plans for tomorrow are. I'll have to check with the boss and let them decide. It's not that I'm indecisive, they're just more fun than I am. That's the advantage of dating someone younger than yourself. I really don't think these things are supposed to burn like this. 3 comments|post comment

[16 Jun 2009|01:21am] I just woke up. I crashed after work on Nathan's couch shortly after dinner. My neck is so damn stiff I can barely move it. I guess that's my own damn fault. So how the hell is everyone? Welcome back Charlotte and hello to the new people. I hope you feel at home around here. It's been pretty quiet these past few months, so I don't think you'll be hazed too badly. I've noticed that I really like being a columnist more than I thought I would. It gives me great excuses to try and do new things that I normally wouldn't do. For instance, I test-drove sports cars this weekend for next month's column. You'd be surprised how accomodating a dealership can be when they think you might name drop them. Of course, I never implied or said that I would. It was really fun. If I had the money, I'd probably consider buying one for myself. Summer break is in full swing for my kids and, while they each have their own set of interests, they're all participating in the summer reading program through the library. Like every summer, I'm trying to read along with them. I'm simultaneously reading Twilight, one of the Goosebumps books and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Give me another week and I think my brain might actually turn into Jell-O. I heard a rumor that the USPS is trying to get rid of Saturday mail delivery. I don't agree with this decision. I need mail on Saturdays. I also read that the disease formerly known as swine flu is still running rampant. I guess the news just got tired of reporting about it. I dozed off while writing this. I think it's time to go back to bed. Goodnight all. 7 comments|post comment

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