The Stupidsheet

News

2011-09-20T23:02:00.000-04:00

Well, life is slowly but surely starting to turn around. It got real dark around these parts, but the sun is coming up and I'm starting my comeback. I was offered two positions, and for a short while, accepted both of them. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts led me to resign from one so that I can pursue a career with the other. I seem to have landed with a good company. I'm in a brand new

Life on the Firing Line

2011-07-09T14:17:00.002-04:00

When the money troubles start, there is no peace. No quiet time, no "day off" from the difficulties. When you start being contacted by debt-collectors, it never stops. The phone rings from 8 AM to 9 PM. Every day. No Sunday's or holidays taken by these things. They call and call. And they send mail. Tons of mail. There is a big difference between refusing to pay and not being able to pay. The

Cold Hard Facts

2011-06-10T01:36:00.001-04:00

So the darker side of life is this: medical situations involving each one of my kids and me have been out of control. Being that I was no longer able to afford my own insurance ($1250 a month, then $890 a month) and made just enough to not qualify for Medicaid, I ran up about $250,000 in bills. Long story short, I've retained a lawyer to file for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. And I'm battling to keep

Some Upsides

2011-06-09T01:27:00.001-04:00

I guess it's human nature to try and see the lighter side of things, no matter how lousy the situation. I've had a lot of time to spare, unfortunately, but I've done a lot to make good of the time. I've had so much time to be with my kids. They're 17, 16 and 12 now. My oldest daughter, is set to graduate high school and head off to college. Unbelievable. My son is 16 and as big as I am, and my

The Prodigal Stupid

2011-06-08T01:27:00.000-04:00

Life has certainly taken some insane turns since I last wrote. I wish I could report that things are great but they aren't. This isn't going to be about whining, complaining and the like. It's really just something I want to do. I intend to make a major comeback with my life. I'm about as low as I can go right now, so it's got to be time for some upward movement. I'm out of work. Not

Hello Hello!

2010-12-20T09:56:00.000-05:00

I find with Blogging, I have learned that it's always better to be to the point. So here it is. My life has been an utter disaster. I'm considering changing my name to "Job" (as in the Biblical character, that is) But thanks to Kristen and Christine's guidance, I have learned a lot. And I'm keeping the faith. (Love to you both, Ladies, and thank you. Know that what you've said to me over the

BACK!

2010-09-21T01:08:00.000-04:00

In an effort to get some of my silly humor back into my life, I've revived an old (way old) Blog that I first started with back in the early 2000's Simple, silly stuff. Please join me? Beautiful Thing of the Day Back in the day, I was known for reading utterly idiotic news items and saying, "Oh that's a beautiful thing" in my inimitable New York accent. We kept piles of clippings over the years

Words To Live by

2010-08-29T23:22:00.000-04:00

Something I thought I had definitely learned was that the Internet is very efficient at exposing the mistakes of others to us. I always knew that you can't unsee something and as well you can't unsay words once you've said them. And you can't unwrite something once the person you've hurt has seen it. As long as I have been blogging, I've always been mindful about the possibilities of hurting

Coming Clean: September 2007

2010-07-05T13:02:00.002-04:00

Pop came to the house, and I moved some of my stuff in too. This wasn't going to be easy, but I felt it to be a necessary choice. Part of the problem was that Pop was affiliated with the Veterans Administration for his medical care. He was a combat-disabled veteran of the Korean War, so his medical care was essentially free of cost to him. While he lived on Long Island, his care was administered

Coming Clean: Summer 2007, Pop, etc.

2010-07-04T12:56:00.000-04:00

After I passed the Series 14 Exam, I took a couple of days off. During that time, I discovered how sick my Father in Law, Pop, was. He was to come to live at the home of my Ex and the kids. He'd been living on his house boat, but that adventure needed to come to an end. He wasn't managing his medicines properly, and the boat was not the safest, healthiest place to be. He asked if I would take up

Coming Clean, Step By Step, Summer 2007

2010-06-30T12:31:00.001-04:00

So the first thing I set out to do was to get another certification to my name. The examination was called the NYSE Series 14 Exam, which qualifies someone to be a Compliance Officer at a Securities firm. It's not an exam many people take, so there aren't a lot of study materials available. I spent a good month preparing for this exam. I figured it would be a good way to segue into another area

Coming Clean, Going Home, May 2007

2010-06-29T11:26:00.002-04:00

Well I went home feeling pretty crushed. That ride on the Ferry was the first time I think I'd ever ridden without keeping an eye out for an opportunity for humor. I was looking through the pictures on my phone, and I realized I started worrying about layoffs quite some time ago. I remembered that I kept telling myself to take pictures in and around the Exchange, seeing places, things and people

Insomnia

2010-06-29T04:09:00.000-04:00

I'm lying here at 4 AM. I'm angry with God right now. Not for the obvious reasons, though. My youngest girl is 11 years old. She's one of the lights of my life. She's incredibly sensitive and loving, and wise beyond her years, which isn't always good. She played a carnival game the other night. She used her entire $10 allowance to win a goldfish. A silly goldfish. Didn't even come with a fishbowl

Coming Clean, May 2007

2010-06-28T12:00:00.002-04:00

On May 24, 2007 my world changed. It was not an entirely unexpected change, but it didn't knock the wind out of me any less. I guess no matter what the situation, we always believe we'll have more time. My 29-year-11-months career at Merrill Lynch came to an end. I'd been an employee since 1978, went from High School Intern to AVP, then VP, then Director through that time. I was an active Member

Question of the Day

2010-06-28T11:40:00.000-04:00

Here's something I'm curious about today. There are times we need to address strangers, or get their attention politely without screaming, "Yo!". I've heard a million different ways of doing it: "Excuse me, Sweetie" "Pardon me, Lady" "Yes Ma'am" "Thank you, sir No one seems to have a problem with "sir". (Occasionally someone might say, "Sir is my Dad..." but whatever). Everyone has a problem

Coming Clean...The Introduction

2010-06-27T23:08:00.000-04:00

I have been noticeably absent from the Blogger community of late. The last year as a matter of fact. There are a lot of reasons for that. It seems in times of trouble, I tend to close up ranks and fade away to work out the problems all by myself. I have often said that there was probably one guy on the Titanic who believed if he just manned those water pumps a little longer, worked a little

Hi There

2010-06-09T09:48:00.000-04:00

I'm just going through some things here, and seems it's gotten a little dusty around these parts. I've joined a lot of people who use Facebook and Twitter, and while they're fun for me, I miss the Blogosphere. To me it's a better way to touch base with the people I got started with. So could you all do me a favor? Please leave a link to your Blog if you still keep it. I'd love to start visiting

A New Friend!

2010-05-27T21:38:00.001-04:00

I've found a great new blog, just in time for summer. The Lady's name is Denise M. Smith and she's put together a great cooking blog, with recipes I can actually understand and use! Please visit http://denisemsmith.wordpress.com/ and have a read. Please tell her Lippy sent ya!

Food Rules!

2010-05-24T16:41:00.002-04:00

We all love food. We spoke about food. This is a two-part rule. In part one, I'm dealing with kinda the way our government deals with illegal immigration: Nobody obeys the law, so now we'll talk about exactly in what ways you can break the laws, ok? So... without further ado, let's take a look at Part 1: Since eating in your rooms seems to be going to happen, let's deal with that: Please

More Sadness

2010-05-24T09:44:00.003-04:00

Five months after the death of actress Brittany Murphy, her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, was found dead Sunday night in the couple's Hollywood home, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office. Monjack, 39, was pronounced dead after the Los Angeles Fire Department was called to the residence for a medical emergency, say authorities. Police spokesman Sgt. Louie Lozano

Relocation Program

2010-05-23T14:54:00.000-04:00

Here we go again! Ok, I figure it's a privilege to have a TV in your room. When one is done watching said TV and leaving the room, please press the little button that says "Power". This will turn the TV set off and cease to consume vast amounts of electricity. Failure to adhere to this request will cause the Relocation Rule to go into effect. Relocation Rule: If above rule is not followed

The Ruling!

2010-05-22T17:46:00.003-04:00

OK Kids, here is the first rule! 1. Clothes can only move if they're attached to your body. They will not magically fly up off of the floor by themselves, and the stationary bike is truly not part of the closet. The hamper has been placed there, not to cover a spot on the floor (although there are plenty of those), but rather to collect those garments no longer feasibly wearable. Since you

New Series!!!

2010-05-22T14:46:00.000-04:00

I am now the full-time father to three kids again. I'm feeling quite good about that. My life is improving daily because of the time I spend with them. I'm also becoming very aware of the need for some Law and Order in the household. I was a kid once, and I remember doing nothing unless I was told. I also remember doing things once I was told forty to fifty thousand times. We all have similar

Protocol?

2010-05-16T13:31:00.001-04:00

I'm curious about something, and I'd like your opinion/input please? The electronic age has done nothing if not accelerated our immediate gratification demands. But something good happened, and I'm not too sure what to do. I got an email from a good friend the other day. What she took time to write absolutely floored me (in a very good way). She was just so gentle, kind, compassionate and

The Question is Right Here

2010-05-11T22:54:00.000-04:00

Let's put aside partisan politics for a moment. Let's look at the State of the State of NJ. The roads are in horrendous condition because there is no money for road maintenance. Hospitals are closing because there is no money to subsidize them. The government wants to revamp the entire State pension system, eliminate benefits for State employees because there is no money to fund this sort of