Tim Kissane :: Blog

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The Change

One hand

Reaches out

And pulls a lost soul from harm

While a thousand more go unspoken for

They say what good have you done

By saving just this one

It’s like whispering a prayer

In the fury of a storm

And I hear them saying you’ll never change things

And no matter what you do it’s still the same thing

But it’s not the world that I am changing

I do this so this world will know

That it will not change me

This heart

Still believes

The love and mercy still exist

While all the hatred rage and so many say

That love is all but pointless in madness such as this

It’s like trying to stop a fire

With the moisture from a kiss

And I hear them saying you’ll never change things

And no matter what you do it’s still the same thing

But it’s not the world that I am changing

I do this so this world will know

That it will not change me

As long as one heart still holds on

Then hope is never really gone

I hear them saying you’ll never change things

And no matter what you do it’s still the same thing

But it’s not the world that I am changing

I do this so this world we know

Never changes me

What I do is so

This world will know

That it will not change me

*Recorded by Garth Brooks

*Written by Tony Arata and Wayne Tester

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Yesterday, I was reading my friend Meg’s blog, and she had a photo of this mug in her post. Isn’t it cool?! I can’t help it, I love girly stuff like this (sometimes)!

(FYI:  It’s available from Fred Flare for $17.)

To see more participants, visit Wordless Wednesday.

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Give me 5 tips or tricks for keeping your house clean and clutter-free.

1. Try to put things away as you finish using them. Saving it to do “later” usually equals “when there’s a huge pile of crap that needs to be put away.”


2. Don’t have kids!


3. Set up a routine. And stick to it!


4. If you already have children, attempt to confine them to only one room of the house. Or, better yet, the garage!


5. Do a little each day, throughout the day. See #1 for reason why.

The ‘Give Me Five’ Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here’s how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn’t have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.

Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net.

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Last night, I found out that Sam from Temporarily Me has been pregnant ‘forever’. Her friend Karen (Karen Sugarpants) wanted to try to cheer her up by throwing her a virtual baby shower, and having other moms share their overdue baby stories. Please visit Sam and leave her some words of encouragement!

My first child, D, was 15 [long] days late. He was due on June 17 but didn’t actually show up until July 2. Being June/July, it was hot, and I had gained about 50 pounds during my pregnancy; needless to say, I was a little cranky. Since this was my first child, I think I was more impatient than anything.

On the evening of July 1, I finally started having real contractions. I spoke to my doctor on the phone, then proceeded to take a shower and shave my legs. (Hubby thought I was crazy, but I wasn’t leaving the house without a shower!)

My baby D was born at 9:17 a.m. on July 2, 1987. All the crankiness and pregnancy discomfort was forgotten as I held my firstborn son.

Pregnancy number two also went past the due date. This time, by six [long] days. (Funny how the days seem much longer when you’re overdue!) I was much crankier that time. I hadn’t gained quite as much weight, but it was hot again and I wanted to be un-pregnant!

M was due on May 30 and finally arrived on June 5, 1989, at 2:18 a.m. (yeah, my boys liked the morning for some reason). Once again, the misery of the last couple of weeks was replaced with joy!

My average did improve with the next two children…

S (son #3) was born on October 22, 1991, at 6:55 a.m.–on his due date! (Thank you, S!)

And my daughter (baby #4), B, was born on March 23, 1995, at 5:07 p.m. Two days before her due date!

So, there is hope, Sam. And, one medical certainty: You will not be pregnant forever! Best of luck to you and your family! I want to see pics of the new arrival when you get the chance!

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For the first time since I started Real World Mom, I’ve gone a whole week without posting anything. That sucks!

I’ve been so tired from working, that when I’m home, it seems I’m always trying to play catch up: rest (hope that actually happens someday!), housework, laundry, emails, etc. I’m still having a hell of a time trying to get into a routine with all this.

Then there’s the writer’s block. (Not only have I neglected my sites (realworldmom.com and thesaltymooch.com), but I haven’t posted on New Jersey Moms Blog or The AntHill in a while either.) I don’t know if it’s because I’m just so tired all the time, or I’m just having trouble switching gears back into ‘blogger mode’ when I have the chance, but I feel like I’ve just got nothing to write about!

The job still sucks ass, a little more now because it’s killing my back. I think I’m just too freaking old for this shit!

Haven’t registered for school yet, and I’m hoping it’s not too late.

I always feel like I’m not getting a damn thing accomplished, and that I’m just doing what I can to get through the day. What a crappy way to live…

Some good news too:  I was selected to become a member of cre8Buzz!’s  Buzz Board!  This, my friends, is very cool to me!

Anyway, I’m still alive, and hopefully I’ll be back–for real–soon!

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 I’m one of those Linux fanatics who enjoy trying new distros almost constantly. Because of the freedom inherent in the GPL and other “open” licenses, there are always new flavors of my favorite OS springing up.  Early spring of last year, I found an Ubuntu-based distro called UbuntuSE.  I was attracted to the screenshots of the dark blood-red and black theme.  This was essentially Ubuntu with fresh artwork: splash screens, window themes, wallpapers, and amazing 3D screensavers.  The SE, it turned out, stood for Satanic Edition.

I consider myself a spiritual person, but I’m not a fan of organized religion.  One of the few things that offends me are people who are easily offended.  Especially those who  believe they somehow deserve to be protected from any speech, image or ideology which they find offensive (typically, anything not their own).  I found out there were two similar themed Ubuntus, the Christian Edition and the Muslim Edition.  With a few hearty chuckles during installation, Ubuntu Satanic Edition became my desktop for a few months.

Recently, I followed a link which took me to Distrowatch, a well-known and respected site which offers reviews and news of Linux distributions.  It is run by Ladislav Bodnar (distro AT distrowatch DOT com).  Mr. Bodnar is an intelligent man with an interesting and impressive background.  I noticed he had included the Christian and Muslim versions of Ubuntu, but not the Satanic version.  I thought it unlikely that he was ignorant of it’s existence, but I sent him a short note just in case.

Hi, Ladislav!

I wanted to inform you of another “themed” Ubuntu distro,

Ubuntu Satanic Edition or UbuntuSE. The site is

http://ubuntusatanic.org/ and it has been around since

2006. I see you have UbuntuCE and UbuntuME. I would

like to see UbuntuSE included on distrowatch. The artwork

and attention to detail are amazing. After all, Linux is a

“journey of freedom”. Thanks for a great Linux site!

Peace,

Tim

I quoted the phrase “journey of freedom” from Mr. Bodnar’s description of his experience with Linux. I received this response a few hours later:

I don’t feel comfortable with listing this distro on DistroWatch. I am not

religious or anything, but I think there are some limits of what is an

acceptable name for a Linux distribution. Sorry

Ladislav

I ask you to tell me the unvarnished truth.  Is this in keeping with the spirit of Linux, open source and freedom?  Is this arbitrary dictation of what distro shall be included based on the acceptability of it’s name to the maintainer offensive to anyone else?  I think Mr. Bodnar is not telling me the whole story  Perhaps he fears some expression of outrage by Christian and Islamic fanatics if he lists the UbuntuSE distro.  I can’t really speculate further on his true motivations.  I only post this to express my belief in freedom of expression, religious and otherwise.  That is one of the reasons I love Linux: the devotion of the community to freedom.

Mr. Bodnar is using his freedom as the site maintainer to censor the Linux community.  I don’t think he’s right to do so.  I think he needs to re-read his tagline on distrowatch: “Put the fun back into computing.”  What do you think?

Inflate the Soapbox!

ShareThis

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What is Open Blogging? According to my friend, Antman, Open Blogging is:

“Open Blogging is the use of one blog by an unlimited number of authors or contributors. Open Bloggin’, like the name suggests, is an open blogging platform where anyone from the blogosphere can post whenever and whatever they want. Open Bloggin’ changes the way blogs work by increasing the social networking interaction of bloggin’, providing more information, creating more robust dialog and feedback and offering more exposure to the authors. An Open Blog is full of energy as they are always on.”

Sounds like a pretty exciting concept, doesn’t it?

Where can you find this cool, new Open Blog? On The AntHill, of course–the internet’s first Open Blog! If you haven’t already, go see the great posts and interesting conversations for yourself!

What can The AntHill do for me? By writing posts on The AntHill, it not only gives you a larger audience of readers, it exposes you to people who may not otherwise hear of your blog! There is always new stuff being posted, and the discussions that follow are often informative, fun and an easy way to make connections with folks you may not come across anywhere else!

How can I join? Go to the sign up page and get started!

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“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”

-Helen Keller

A friend recently reminded me of this quote, and, today, it seems appropriate to share it with all of you. One door has closed for me, so another has opened. And I plan on walking through it.

One year and a day after filing, I received my final divorce decree!

My first feeling upon reading the words, “And now, 8th day of May, 2008, it is ordered and decreed that Stacey D., plaintiff, and Husband D., defendant, are divorced from the bonds of matrimony,” was relief. After such a long, and sometimes bitter battle, it felt so good to have closure!

Then, somewhat to my surprise, I felt a little sad. I guess with everything he’s put me through, I just didn’t expect to experience any sadness. However, I also believe that it’s a normal reaction. I’ve known this man for 30 years (most of my life), and we were married for over 21 years. And, an ending, no matter how much you look forward to it, is still an ending. A passing of something.

I’m glad to be able to say I have no regrets about my decision. In my situation, a divorce was the only solution. And I do not feel as though I’ve failed either. I know that I gave my marriage my best effort, often when I felt I was the only one who was trying.

I will probably call my ex in the next few days to see how he’s doing. (Seems odd saying “my ex”, without prefacing it with “soon-to-be”.) As I’ve mentioned before, I do hope that he and I will be able to maintain some kind of friendship, not only for the kids, but for him and I too. Maybe it will be easier now that we are beyond the bullshit!

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There’s something about a sexy emo girl in a corset!

The Clock Stood Still by =girltripped on deviantART

Visit girltripped’s site on Deviant for more great images like this one.

Put the E in Emo!