So, we now have a new addition to our household. We bought a kitten. The little guy looks just like Puss in Boots from Shrek. It took us awhile to come up with his name. Dawnn and I thought about it and discussed options. I wanted Damien. She didn't. She thought of Spaz, which suited him and we put it on the maybe list. I came with with Furby (short for furball). She liked it but ultimately decided it didn't suit him since he's a short-haird cat. It was her sister who came up with the name. While Dawnn was talking to her on the phone, she called out to me that her sister suggested Lucifer. I burst out laughing. Dawnn said she liked it. So, Lucifer is the name of our new pet. So far that name has offended two christians. Hopefully more will be offended in the near future.

The other thing that I would like to discuss--ok, I mean rant--is my ex-wife. I'm sure if anybody is reading this, they don't really care about my ongoing feud with the ex, but I really need to vent.

At the end of the last school year, on the very last day, my 5 year old son, who has since turned six, fell of a jungle gym and broke his arm. Now it would have been nice if my ex-wife decided to pick up the phone and inform me of this, but of course she didn't. I heard it two weeks after the fact from my mother. Now, I realize that I do not live in the same city as my children, and I really hate that fact. I would live near them if I could, but right now it isn't possible. For personal reasons I had to move away. SO, now my kids live with their mother and step-father and as far as they're concerned, I am no longer the father of my children. My kids have even started calling their step-father "Dad." This irks me to no end.

So anyway, the same son  who broke his arm (I have to specify this since I have enough children that some people thought I was shooting for a baseball team) is going to Barrie, ON for dental surgery. Apparently he has nine cavities and needs a tooth capped. Now, did I hear this from the considerate ex-wife who informs me of all the things happening to my children? Of course not. I heard it from my mother since my ex has her head so far up her ass that she can't be bothered to inform me of anything going on with my kids. Apparently, they're not my kids anymore even though I was there when they were born (even cut the cord of the first three), I rocked them to sleep at night, I drove them to the hospital when accidents would happen, I stayed with their selfish bitch of a mother just so  I could see them everyday. I remember staying up all night in emergency when the two older ones had pneumonia. I put up with heartache of one of my kids refusing to talk to me everytime I call because he's still mad at me for leaving. But will my ex treat me like I'm their father? Of course not.

Hell, when we split up four years ago, turns out she had just gotten pregnant with our fourth child. She didn't even bother to tell me for seven months! I even overlooked that and tried to reconcile our marriage because I wanted to be with my kids. But apparently, none of that is good enough.

I call them when I get the chance, but will she actually pick up the phone and call me so I can talk to my kids? Of course not.

So, I am at a loss as to what I should do about this. I know I wasn't the greatest husband or father, but I did my best. But still, my kids are calling someone else "Dad" and that hurts me more than I can ever put into words. I feel like I've lost my kids.

I started thinking about this yesterday when Dawnn suggested that my compulsive book buying has something to do with the fact that I am trying to compensate for something that is missing in my life. She pointed out that when some people get depressed they eat, or starve themselves, or drink. Apparently I buy limited edition signed hardcovers. Speaking of which, a few more should be arriving in the mail either today or tomorrow. I am so stoked.

But anyway, I'm getting off track. If anyone has any advice on this subject, please let me know. I really don't know how to deal with this situation and it's driving me nuts.

Writing updates: Hatred really wasn't going well at all, so I scrapped what I had and started over last night. I think I started too early in the story, so I picked a later point and started there. We'll see how that works out. Still waiting to hear back on my submission "The Demon Inside Her." I'm quite proud of that one, being my first flash-fiction piece. I think I did quite well. I'm getting really impatient. It's been over a month, so I hope to hear back soon.

That's all for today.

Until next time,

Joe (aka psychomule)

I thought this was so funny that I had to post this:

I was made of aware of the website www.youvebeenleftbehind.com the other day. The purpose of this website is for Christians to write e-mails to their none christian friends and family. Then, once the rapture has occured (that's when Jesus comes back to take all his followers to heaven), these e-mails are sent out to them to explain what happened and give them one last chance to accept Christ. All this for the low price of $40 a year.

The sad part is...apparently over 1000 people have been suckered in by this scam so far and it's a brand new website.

I make it no secret that I'm not a big fan of Christianity and I see all these people who claim to be christians taking advantage of gullible people who think they are serving god, but this is a bit much. This website has already pulled in $40,000 this year for a service that may not even be used since the rapture is a debatable and contraversial subject amongst christians. They haven't decided yet if it's going to happen.

Anyway, I got a chuckle out of this because I thought it was the most ludicrous idea for a website I've heard to date.

Writing updates: "The Demon Inside Her" has been sent away for consideration for publication in an anthology (fingers crossed). I'm having trouble getting my story "Terror Eyes" the way I want it. "She" another story is in the first draft stage and I hope to have it finished in the next couple of days.

That's it for now....


Cheers,

Joe