The Really Swell News Thread

[Eivion]

My dad came home from the hospital today. They think he had a brain aneurysm though it seems to have healed on its own before they could find out for sure. He is back to himself and only seems to be walking a little slow right now due to being in a bed for nearly a week. I'm just happy to see him in the state he is now. I'm always a little fearful just for the various things that can happen at his age with some of his health issues, but last weekend was just so damn scary. I'm just thankful that the worst has seemingly passed though my older brother and myself will probably be watching him like hawks for at least a few weeks.

Edited May 17, 2021 by Eivion

[Eoae]

Had a surreal lunch with my brother today where he talked about his feelings (I think that's what you call those things) and told me I'm a good dad.  Our dad was rather stoic, so we don't really talk about these kinds of things and, honestly, I would never have guessed my brother thought I was doing a better job with my kids.   His family seemed like a model family growing up.  He and his wife had a knack for child-rearing that made it look natural.  I always felt like I was struggling at things that he took to easily.

Of course, all's not wine and roses.  The impetus for this outpouring of affection is that my brother's model children basically hit adulthood without the slightest idea what they want to to with their lives.  One is trying to make it as a professional crossfitter (hint: aspiring crossfitters don't make much), another is bumming around the country jobless, a third is dating an anti-vaxxer and thinks taking the Covid vaccine will sterilize her.  I don't think my sibling sleeps well these days.

Meanwhile, I sleep a helluva a lot better than I did when my daughters were younger.  They seemed to start figuring it out when they hit college.  At the moment, everyone seems to be on a good career path, most of them are in stable relationships with guys who *gasp* have careers.  And ambitions.  And resumes (yeah. this wasn't the case when they were younger.  Ugh.  I hated so many of their boyfriends).  Everybody seems happy and healthy, so...

My brother confessed he thought my kids were kinda feral when they were younger.  That's insulting.  They were basically good kids who were allowed to be kids.  We never had any major issues with them.  No habitual lying, trouble with the law, drug use, pregnancies, etc.  My brother expects kids to be tiny adults because he was like that growing up.  I remember him telling me that, before he had kids, he thought people whose children acted up in public were lax parents.  I never thought that, and, if i had, I would have revised my opinion the first time I took our bunch to a restaurant.

I just realized that it says something that my nieces and nephews are mostly out of college but I still think of them as kids.  I don't even really think of my daughters as "kids" most of the time.  They seem ready to be adults, so far as I can tell.

Anyway, yeah, odd day.  Put me in a weirdly reflective mood.  Bought flowers for my wife took her out to dinner.  Fortunately, she had a bigger influence on our daughters than I did, lol.  I deserve some credit here, but, really, it was mostly her.

Lol, when I told her my brother discussed his feelings and told me I was a good dad, she fussed because she thought I was making it up.  Then she asked if my brother's health issues had returned (they have not).  Like I said, stoic brother and father.

Everyone, have a good night. 

[Gordi the former AEW fan]

On 5/17/2021 at 4:20 PM, Eivion said:

My dad came home from the hospital today. They think he had a brain aneurysm though it seems to have healed on its own before they could find out for sure. He is back to himself and only seems to be walking a little slow right now due to being in a bed for nearly a week. I'm just happy to see him in the state he is now. I'm always a little fearful just for the various things that can happen at his age with some of his health issues, but last weekend was just so damn scary. I'm just thankful that the worst has seemingly passed though my older brother and myself will probably be watching him like hawks for at least a few weeks.

My dad passed away a couple of years ago at age 94. We weren't able to go back for the funeral because of the pandemic, but we got to spend some time with him while he was still alive, in the summer of 2019. Which is better, in my opinion. We had our first real health scare when he was 80 years old, but he went on to survive colon cancer, a heart attack, and a stroke. In my experience, dads are tough and can survive a lot. Hopefully that turns out to be your experience, too.

On 5/18/2021 at 8:32 AM, Eoae said:

 I remember him telling me that, before he had kids, he thought people whose children acted up in public were lax parents.  I never thought that, and, if i had, I would have revised my opinion the first time I took our bunch to a restaurant.

 

My girls are 9 and 7 years old now. They can totally handle going out to a restaurant and maintaining decent behaviour (most of the time), these days. My wife and I still talk about how nice it is to be able to relax and enjoy a meal again. 

[BrianS81177]

So as some may know/remember, my mom passed away back in December. She had been unwell for a long time as she had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma 2 years previously and had suffered a stroke 5 years prior that left her unable to use the left side of her body as easily as she could her right. So she needed a lot of care after my dad died. I moved in with her to care for her because it was just her and my oldest nephew, Caleb and I didn't think it fair to ask a teenager (he would have been 17 when she had her stroke) to provide in home care. For the first few years she managed for the most part on her own aside from minor stuff like needing someone to go shopping for her, and sometimes being too tired to make herself something to eat. But all in all she was doing alright and didn't require a whole lot of actual care from me. 

Fast forward to her getting diagnosed with Myeloma. She starts getting weaker and is soon needing help standing up and using the bathroom. My sister (Caleb's mom) is absolutely no help to me whatsoever so I'm doing this all myself because I really don't want to subject Caleb to it. By this point Caleb has been diagnosed with severe anxiety, bad enough to have to take Sertraline every day to control it (it was so bad he was unable to finish high school). After several months of me caring for my mom, he comes out to my room to ask me something one night and sees me visibly trembling because I am trying my hardest to not cry I'm so frustrated (my mom was basically giving up by this point and would not do any of the exercises her doctors had given her so she could re-build her strength). He asks what's wrong and I tell him and he goes back in the house. Now usually, I would get woken up every couple hours by my mom needing something (having to use the toilet, dropping something she can't pick up, etc). That night I sleep like a baby for the first time in I don't know how long. I go in the next morning and ask her why she didn't wake me during the night and she tells me Caleb told her to let me sleep and that he would handle whatever she needed. After that, he regularly helped me with caring for her even though it VISIBLY made him uncomfortable. He even quit his job when she got real bad so someone could be home with her at all times. After she died, I told him I appreciated his help and he responded "Of course. You needed it.". Again this is a kid with severe anxiety. Anxiety so bad he couldn't go to school without having a panic attack. So bad he never learned how to drive. And he spends the better part of a year having to help his grandmother use the bathroom (including helping her wipe herself), get dressed, etc all because he loves his uncle. 

So why the long winded, kinda sad story in the Good News thread? He texted me today all excited that he finally found a job. He's also looking for an apartment with a friend of his, and will be testing for his driver's license soon. He's a good kid with a good heart, but his anxiety has held him back for years and to see him now confident enough in himself to get his own place and try for his license makes me so proud. I've been working real hard trying to help build his confidence up and it makes me so happy to see him finally coming into his own as an adult. 

[Shartnado]

Wow, Brian S, there were many sad and unsettling things in your post, but it ended up being happy news anyway! That is awesome!

[The Natural]

I had my second coronavirus vaccine jab, May 19th. I chuckled when I booked it a few weeks ago.

Edited May 21, 2021 by The Natural

[The Natural]

I really don't like dentists (with the exception of Dr. Britt Baker) since a kid even though I've never had any fillings or work done, just a clean every now and then. I'm there next week so I've done a commentators curse on myself!

[Technico Support]

7 minutes ago, The Natural said:

I really don't like dentists (with the exception of Dr. Britt Baker) since a kid even though I've never had any fillings or work done, just a clean every now and then. I'm there next week so I've done a commentators curse on myself!

Good luck!  I won't tell you about falling off my bike and smashing my chin on the street, necessitating multiple double root canal attempts, or needing those root canals re-done 20some years later.  Nope!  :D

[The Natural]

2 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

Good luck!  I won't tell you about falling off my bike and smashing my chin on the street, necessitating multiple double root canal attempts, or needing those root canals re-done 20some years later.  Nope! 

Thank you and bloody hell, mate. I have this saying...If you're going to do something, do it good and proper.

[The Natural]

I have a bad feeling this go round at the dentists, I have to say.

[Shartnado]

Ok, I have my first vaccination scheduled for tomorrow morning. That's the really swell news. The really SWOLL news can be read in the Health and Fitness thread, as usual.

...and now I got the shot of Pfizer and feeling fine so far!

Edited May 22, 2021 by Shartnado
Got it!

[Technico Support]

3 minutes ago, Shartnado said:

Ok, I have my first vaccination scheduled for tomorrow morning. That's the really swell news. The really SWOLL news can be read in the Health and Fitness thread, as usual.

Nice!  Good luck.  I have my second one (Moderna) next week.

Looking forward to having my own SWOLL news eventually.  Heath problems that started in February are slowly clearing up.  Doctor says I may be able to run again sometime in the next few months, and I'm finally seeing a specialist about another issue next week.

Edited May 21, 2021 by Technico Support

[Curt McGirt]

So far our move is going well. The movers dropped some boxes so making me worried about the records but we also had a short sale (which I'm not entirely sure what means) on the house from the seller's side which worries me worse. As it is, though, if everything works I'll be beaucoup happy. 

[BrianS81177]

On 5/21/2021 at 5:00 PM, Curt McGirt said:

So far our move is going well. The movers dropped some boxes so making me worried about the records but we also had a short sale (which I'm not entirely sure what means) on the house from the seller's side which worries me worse. As it is, though, if everything works I'll be beaucoup happy. 

I believe it's when the home is sold for less than what the outstanding balance on the mortgage is

[Eoae]

2 hours ago, BrianS81177 said:

I believe it's when the home is sold for less than what the outstanding balance on the mortgage is

Correct.   Home is sold for less that outstanding balance on the mortgage, proceeds of the sale go directly to the bank & the bank agrees to forgive the remaining amount.

[Matt D]

My experience is that short sales rarely work out, but that's from around ten years ago in a very different market.

[Curt McGirt]

Great. Well, we're moved in. The folks have two large checks from our definitely sold former home that they're depositing in the bank shortly. If we get kicked out in 30 days I have no idea what we'll do. They have a lawyer working with them and think they can figure it out. The whole problem is based on some solar panels on the roof that the prior owner hasn't paid on, apparently, which is absurd but whatever. I've been breaking my back going up and down stairs and moving boxes for the last two days and am in a parking lot waiting to walk into a job interview right now. The stress is a bit much.

[Technico Support]

Short sale = that sumbitch is definitely haunted

[Curt McGirt]

The owner might have been a drug dealer from my darkest estimations since the gas stovetop is used but the oven is pristine, and apparently he "can't keep a job for more than a year" according to dad's snooping on the internet. There's a full basement with an overhead projector and two couches that he left, with no fee. Totally Weeds-type identical home suburban neighborhood with old people to the left and a family with two kids to the right. So yeah, who knows, but if everything absolutely falls to shit I at least have both parents and a circle of friends to depend on. 

[Curt McGirt]

Also, the job is apparently working, so this can stay in the Really Swell News Thread haha

[The Natural]

On 5/21/2021 at 3:24 PM, The Natural said:

I really don't like dentists (with the exception of Dr. Britt Baker) since a kid even though I've never had any fillings or work done, just a clean every now and then. I'm there next week so I've done a commentators curse on myself!

 

On 5/21/2021 at 3:39 PM, The Natural said:

I have a bad feeling this go round at the dentists, I have to say.

The streak...continues! Woo!

15 minutes from the dentists is the best fish and chip shop. Don't get up there often so treated myself to fish and chips with scraps, curry sauce and a teacake. Hit the spot.

[Kuetsar]

Today is the last formal day of school! Tomorrow is the field day(yes for Jr/Sr high; working at a tribal school is different) and Thursday is teacher checkout day, but those don't really count. This has been an extremely trying year. Not sure if I have detailed all of it before, so here you go. We tried a in person/online format, so those students who felt comfortable came to school, and those who didn't were supposed to be online. Except here on the the reservation virtually all the students lacked internet capability. And we didn't even get the software going until October(we started in August), and we were supposed to transition to a BIE controlled school, and that fell through. Anyway, as part of that supposed transition we got a new principal in January, who had been here before, but left under some phony political bullshit. 

I have had no support either curriculum wise or other wise before he came in and I didn't make the best impression. Fortunately the librarian and Principal are tight and she helped me fix all the problems, and now its behind me. We have a bunch of $$$ from Covid and other things that we are buying new curriculum that I am allowed to pick out for my classroom as I am essentially the social studies department. Plus he's getting me a tutor from another school to show me how to actually teach(the finer points at least; I'm pretty good at explaining/lecturing but lesson planning? Not so much) Plus the 7th graders(Geography) have been in open revolt for the past month(not just for me, they have been a nightmare for everyone) so I am glad for it to be over.

I've been burying the lead though, as the pay scale for the district is going way up next year. I have been making around $33K(though we had a Covid bonus "hazard pay" that added 3k and I am getting another 1.5K from being on a reorganization committee), but next year it will be about $47K(which is about 6 more than the state pay scale.  So good riddance 2020-2021 school year, and may I never see its likes again.

[Eoae]

Did online learning go well anywhere during the pandemic?  Most every news story I've read or friend i talk to tells a horror story about it.  The high school my daughters attended was forced to go to online classes last spring and it was a dismal failure.  And, because it's a very expensive private high school, the kids mostly come from monied families of white collar professionals.  Fairly confident virtually everyone in the school has easy access to internet connectivity and the hardware needed for assignments.  I kinda feel like that, if they can't make it work, an impoverished public school system has almost no chance.

I really don't think we're ready for online learning at a national level.

[Kuetsar]

I'm getting some digital curriculum, but it will be paired with in class instruction. You can't get away from (hopefully) quality teaching. The ones who can do well at online tasks are going to thrive in any environment, but for the other 90(maybe 95) percent its not going to work, and even for those truly elite students you need solid parent support. 

[Tabe]

I was a great student and did online learning back in 1989/90 in high school.  That worked great.  It was part of a national satellite education deal.  We had some kind of TV hookup in the classroom and then a cabinet with a PC in it.  We were given these mini keyboard/computer things for answering questions on.  The teacher was able to get responses from every kid so he could see how everyone was doing.  It was a wonderful experience I was very luck to have.

That said...

I can't imagine doing online learning all day every.  I can't imagine being a less-than-great student and trying to do it.  I can't imagine doing it in your house instead of a classroom like I had.  Mine was me and another guy - yep, just 2 people in a class for the first semester of it - and that guy was my best friend.  Our situation was super unique and it worked.  But for the other 99.99999999999999999999999% of students and situations, I can't imagine it working well.

I truly sympathize with everybody involved - teachers, kids, parents, everyone.