Written by Puzzlehead, in Dad, Depression, Family, Relationships
It looks like I’m back from my long hiatus. Things have still been really tumultuous in my life and it has been really difficult trying to deal with it. In fact, if a Dagwood sandwich was made of crap that would be my life right now – one layer of crap on top of another and […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Farley
I’m going to give the tl;dr (too long; didn’t read) first for everyone before I get into this post so that if you want to stop reading you’ll at least get the gist of what I’m going through. So far, the month of January – spanning the past decade or so – has decidedly delivered […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Relationships
I’m writing this here to document what my mornings are like. Why? I don’t want to forget. This has been my routine, for the better part of the past decade. There are a few variations over the years (vacations, roster of pets, trips to the gym) but for the most part this has been my […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Dad, Relationships
By reading the title of this post one would think that I’m one of this little piggies but, alas, I am not. Let me also preface this post by stating that Angela and I have two completely different views of making things public. While she is more reserved and private I’m willing to let people […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Relationships, Sex, Work
As I sit here acknowledging another year gone by I thought I’d take this time to reflect and send the past me another note. My last letter brought me to the 10 year mark. This next decade will be a little more difficult to get my head around… Dear 11-20 year old Me, Congratulations, me! […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Relationships
It’s been just over 6 weeks since I had my heart attack and I can honestly say that, while I didn’t exactly have a ‘come to Jesus’ epiphany, I was able to look back on my life and realize “Holy crap, I wish I was smarter.”. Which is why I’m going to take the next […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Azrael, Family, Relationships
It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. You may think that I just forgot. No, no. I remember quite well that I have a site to maintain. Unfortunately, the mind has a way of short circuiting and causes me to either shut down due to laziness or plain forget. Unlike my wife who has […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Dad, Family, General, Relationships
Never, EVER underestimate the power of my sloth. No, no. Not the animal (although a very slow, superhero sloth would be cool). I mean my lackadaisical approach to writing a post for my own blog. You have no idea how many times I’ve started a post on my iPad, continued it on my phone, worked […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Relationships, Technology
Facebook, Facebook, Facebook. Having dealt with online communities, trends and technology for approximately the past 20 years (egad!), I’m still amazed at how this application has connected me to so many people. However, before I continue with this post, let me toss a few truths out there and get them out of the way: I […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Tobey
It was one year ago today, December 26, 2008, that Angela and I came home from early morning post-Christmas shopping and breakfast and we found my Berner, Tobey, had passed away. It seems fitting that the skies are crying with me again. Over the past year a lot has changed. There isn’t a day that […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Entertainment, Family, Relationships
Currently, Angela and I don’t have kids. We have 3 dogs and a cat. Somewhere down the line we may have one or two (or 15). Are we missing out? Maybe, maybe not. I do know, however, that sometimes the thought of having kids to do stuff with is pretty cool. I dunno. Stuff like […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Dad, General, Relationships, Tobey
I don’t plan to write on this blog this weekend so I thought that posting this early would be a good idea. When I was in college I remember lugging around cameras all over the place. I would take pictures of my roomies, my friends, the campus and everything else around me. It was a […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Dad, Family
It is strange when I think about my father’s death. It only happened two years ago and it feels like forever has gone by. So much has happened since then – I’ve moved back to Northern Virginia, changed jobs, Tobey passed away. It all seems to be a blur when I look back on it; […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Relationships
There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about our big boy, Tobey. I keep feeling like I’m missing something, especially when I think I want to hug his big, lumbering body. Although nobody will ever replace Tobes, we have decided to get another Bernese Mountain Dog. So, the bitch carrying our […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Farley, General
As I write this I am laying down on the floor with one of my dogs, Farley, trying to get some sleep. When I originally started to write this post it was when I would try to sleep in my office with Tobey. After the devastating loss of my little giant I find myself sleeping […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Azrael, Family, Rant, Relationships
[myspace]http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=43874870[/myspace] Yeah, pretty much enough said.
Written by Puzzlehead, in Azrael, Family, Relationships, Technology
I was reading through Crunch Gear and came across Smittens – mittens for lovers. Oddly enough, these things are available through one of my favorite stores, Restoration Hardware. Ok, really? REALLY? Trust me, I love my wife, Angela, but if we were to ever use these things I would expect us to have matching outfits. […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Relationships, Tobey
It seems like an eternity has passed since Tobey died in our home. Since then we’ve run the gauntlet of emotions. For the most part we’ve come to accept that our puppy is gone and, due to his medical conditions, it was probably for the best. Last week he finally came home to us. His […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Tobey
The pain of losing my little giant, Tobey, is at times overwhelming. He was our baby, the most inncocent and ‘pure’ dog in our family. He had the face and personality of a clown, constantly smiling and laughing and always looking lovingly at Angela. He was her little boy, brought into this house when he […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Relationships, Tobey
As I write this, it has only been an hour or two since Angela and I came home from the emergency vet. We had brought Tobey there as he passed away this morning. I’ll fill in the gaps soon. I just wanted to get a few things out of my head. Angela & I don’t […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in General, Tobey
Poor Tobey. The big/little guy just can’t seem to get a break. First he gets hit with some mysterious auto-immune disease that they still haven’t been able to diagnose. He winds up having to take prednisone for the past 6 months. Second, the prednisone is known to weaken the muscles via atrophy. The result? Toby […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, General, Work
It has been just over a year since I last spoke with my friend Martin. It has also been just over a year since he passed away. It is still hard to fathom that he’s no longer here. Martin & I became friends in North Carolina. We shared an office together and became really good […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family
Ouch. Right now, that’s all I can think of this morning. I had gone out with my friend Queltor last night and my body is starting to feel the effects of it. Let’s face it, folks: I ain’t no Spring chicken anymore. Which is fine. Angela knows where I’d be (drunk downtown). If the situation […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Entertainment, Family
I have a small problem that I may be blowing out of proportion. See, I’ve turned into a grumpy old fart but I still like to think that I have an open mind and I’m pretty liberal. Recently, though, I’ve hit a brick wall and it involves my 13 year old niece. I was at […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Relationships
When you’re married you tend to turn a blind eye to many things. Ok, so Angela likes to sleep in while I like to wake up before the rest of humanity. Angela and I have an informal competition to see who can wait the longest to do the dishes, unload the dishwasher and do the […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Dad, Family, General, Relationships
We’re off to Arlington to see dad today. It is Father’s Day, my second one without him. It hasn’t gotten any easier trying to cope with this. All week long I’ve felt myself starting to well up to cry whenever I think about it. I’ve been jealous of all the people wishing other’s Happy Fathers […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Family, Tobey
Our largest dog, Tobey, has been in and out of the vet this past week. We’ve been through numerous scares and emotional rollercoaster rides. There were several times where we didn’t think anything could be done for him and we didn’t know if he would even make it. There was the distinct possibility that we […]