Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Sites | Writers | Advertise | My Orble | Login

The House Dad - by Jonathan Rosen

The House Dad - June 2007

Anniversaries and sick kids

June 29th 2007 16:15
Good morning everyone,
Hope evryone is well today. Yesterday was my 10th anniversary. It really does seem like we just met, but anyway, my wife wanted to go to one place and I wanted to go to another restaurant, so we compromised and went to the place that she wanted. We dropped the kids by my parents and went to a Japanese restaurant. It was one one of those places that you take off your shoes and eat sitting on the ground. Man, was I uncomfortable. Food was decent. We have a regular sushi place that i liked more, but I didn't tell my wife because she would think that I was saying it on purpose. But really, it wasn't as good, I promise. After dinner, we went to make a shiva call. (A Jewish custom that you visit a family when there has been a death.) Someone we know, lost a son in Iraq. I know it is the right thing to do, but it put a downer on the anniversary.Just terrible, when we walked in, his uniform was hanging there, with the American flag in the triangular case nearby. Very sad. We then went to my parents to pick up the kids and my mom told me that my son was throwing up all night. He had told us that his stomach was hurting, but we thought that he was just hungry, since it was late for dinner. My youngest daughter had a bad rash from diarrhea. Poor baby is all red, she was crying a lot. And at 1:30 in the morning, my oldest comes in because she threw up in her bed. Just a fun night. So, they are all home today and driving us nuts, aaah, the joy of parenthood.

I was very annoyed last night. Checking out the Oriole game and it is pouring. They stopped the game and it was terrible weathe, but then they let them play and the Orioles were angry because it was hard to grip the ball. When they first stopped, the Orioles were ahead of the yanks, but then when play resumed, the yanks scored 4 runs due to sloppy play and then they stopped the game again. Now, if they resume, it will be on a clear day when the yanks don't have to play defense in the bad weather. Just B.S. It irks me, because the yanks always seem to get these breaks. I just want them buried already, so I don't have to see them or worry about them getting in the playoffs at all and I can just enjoy baseball.

Now, on to my manuscript. (Collective Groan). I found out that my wife has a cousin in Harper Collins. She is not a big shot, but at least she's an in. Maybe she can help me somehow. I wrote her and told her that she should start thinking about what she can do for me. I like to endear myself right away. She wrote to me and told me to call her over the weekend. Keeping fingers crossed. Anyway, that's all for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Later,
Jonathan
32
Vote
   


Good morning everyone,
Hope everyone is well today. I live in S. Florida and it is a beautiful place to live. It feels like I'm always on vacation. Just a paradise where I look out my window and see palm trees. Then there's the summertime. I don't mind the heat at all, so that's not it. It's just that it pours every day. Usually just for an hour a day and then stops.It's like clockwork, same time every day. Except of course, hurricane season and days like today. It is just dark gray outside. It was coming down hard this morning and it is supposed to do that for the rest of the day. I guess it's good, because we have been in a drought for a while and need the rain and it certainly has been raining the past week or so. It should continue to do that for a while also. I don't care normally, but on certain days, I have softball also. I hate when it rains on those days, not because those games might get rained out, because I am one of those rare players who never cares if it gets rained out. Don't get me wrong, I like playing and coaching as I do, but I don't mind staying home and relaxing as well. The field I play on never cancels the games ahead of time. It could be a monsoon out and they'll have a message on the machine. "Gametime determination." I hate driving out there and then it gets cancelled. Once I'm out, I want to play.
Today I couldn't have played anyway.Today happens to be my 10th anniversary. I tried to tell my wife that it would be good for her to just relax and take care of the three kids while I'm out playing softball, but she wasn't buying it. I really can't believe it's been 10 years. It seems like yesterday that we first met. And they said it wouldn't last.Oh wait, actually that was just my mother-in-law that said that. I have mentioned before that we have a tough relationship. When she called to wish us congrats today, it was through gritted teeth. It always amuses me when we speak, she speaks for 5 minutes and then the conversation trails off. It's like she can't wait to get off the phone with me. Sometimes, I can't wait either and sometimes, I like to stretch it out and make her suffer. Today, I had other things to do, so I let her off the hook. Speaking of which, I do have to go. Hope everyone has a great day.
Later,
Jonathan
7
Vote
   


Freelance Writing

June 27th 2007 15:11
Good morning everyone,
Hope everyone is well today.I have recently started reading all about becoming a freelance writer. If ever there was a job I thought I would like...This sounds great to me, but it does look like a lot of hard work to get started. But what the hell, sounds like a fun thing to me. Combining something I love, with maybe actually getting paid to do it. I have to start going through the steps quickly, because I need to do something about different employment and fast. Can't keep going the way I am now. I think we are getting to be on thin ice. First it is trying to get published on some magazines. It's a good way to build up a portfolio and your resume. After that, I have to start specializing in a field. That way, whenever anybody need something in that particular field, they'll think of me. It is a tough field, but one that I would enjoy. If anybody has any advice, please let me know. I am reading everything that I can on this subject now.
Once again, the Mets piss me off. This team is not going to do anything unless changes are made. They are a sloppy baseball team right now. Nobody hits consistently and mediocre pitchers are shutting them down. I have a very bad feeling about the rest of the season. Please Omar, make some changes. One of those changes better not be Jose Contreras like I am reading now. Another past his prime player. Why can't they ever get a premier pitcher? I am so aggravated about this.
I have been watching Kathy Griffin's reality show. I enjoy the reality show, but I don't find her that funny. My sisterjust loves her. but for me she's not that funny. I also can't take the way she shamelessly promotes herself all the time. I guess it's a celebrity thing. She does seem nice enough as a person, but comedy...eh? Unless, she ever reads this, then, I love her! She is the best.
That's it for now, hope everyone has a great day.
Later,
Jonathan
12
Vote
   


Magazine writing and summer camp

June 26th 2007 14:30
Good morning everybody,
Hope all is well today. First as usual, I have to start with my Mets.They have now won 4 in a row and I am feeling a little bit better than I did last week. Even though I still don't think they have enough hitting. There is no real clean-up hitter on the team. Not with Delgado hitting like he is. They definitely need one more big stick in the line-up, but I have a bad feeling that it's not going to happen. I'll give Omar Minaya the benefit of the doubt until the trading deadline and hope he will do something good.

[ Click here to read more ]
8
Vote
   


Monday Morning and all is good

June 25th 2007 14:27
Good morning everyone,
Hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was pretty good. First as always, I will start with baseball. I really enjoyed this weekend. My Mets finally played well for the most part. Two out of the three games against the A's they played well but they still managed to win all three. Hopefully, this is the start of a turnaround for them. I am pretty worried about Carlos Delgado. We are halfway through the season and he still hasn't hit. I am concerned that this is more than a slump. Some are saying that this is the decline for good. I hope not, but it's what I think. The Mets are in big trouble if they have to rely on this guy, who I think is signed for next year as well. They desperately need another big bat in the middle of their lineup. Hello... Adam Dunn! Unfortunately, I think it's going to be someone like Randy Winn. The Mets piss me off with this type of stuff. I also liked how the yanks lost two out of three to the Giants. Loved it, just want to keep pouring dirt on the grave. Of course, now the yanks are said to be getting Buehrle and Dye from the White Sox. I think their payroll will near 250 million by the end of the season. Obscene. Let them keep adding payroll and let's hope they lose. It makes it all the sweeter.
I bought some books this weekend on publishing and writing proposal letters. I am near sending out my manuscript, entitled Billy Buttles and the Gravesend Witch. It is a children's book and I think it is pretty good, if I do say so myself. Hope others feel the same. I think it is for middle grade readers. So far the people that have read it have liked it, although I know that doesn't mean anything, it is encouraging. Wish me luck


[ Click here to read more ]
17
Vote
   


Last day before camp

June 22nd 2007 15:21
Good morning everyone,
Hope everyone is good today. Today is the last day of freedom for my kids. It is the week between the end of school and the beginning of camp. I have to say that of course it has been hectic and wild with them running around screaming, while I have been trying to work. But at the same time, it has been a lot of fun having them around all day. First, they have been entertaining my 17 month old, instead of her being on top of me all day. Go figure, she would rather play with her siblings than hang around her father. I like hearing all of the giggling in the house. Makes it fun. I also like going out and seeing them play. It warms my heart, as corny as it may sound. It seems like just yesterday that my first was born and now here we are, nearly seven years later. Time really flies and I'd better enjoy them while I can. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who feels that way.
On to my manuscript. I know, a collective groan from the readers of the blog. I was up late last night trying to edit it and look for places to submit it. There are a lot of places out there and I hope just one of them accepts it. I am also trying to write new stories, while at the same time working on my resume trying to find a new job. It has been non-stop in front of the computer. I get bleary-eyed staring at the monitor all day. Hopefully, it will all be worth it at the end


[ Click here to read more ]
8
Vote
   


Ready to jump off a cliff

June 21st 2007 14:52
Good morning everyone,
Hope everybody is good today. This is what I am used to being a Met fan. Last season actually got my hopes up. ANd this season started off well, and then...Bam! The rug is pulled out from under me. I'm not sure this team will ever win another game. They are dreadful right now. It just seems that once they get behind in the game, the game is over. They have no spirit right now.Amazingly, they are still in first place. I just have a bad feeling for the rest of the season. They desperately need to make a trade. Things can't just be left alone. They are a stagnant team right now and need a shake-up badly. Let's see what happens.
I also have a bad feeling about the headhunting service I hired. They have not returned my calls for the last two days.Is that a bad sign? Maybe they feel I'm unemployable. Why do I always have luck with these things? If they don't answer me today, they are going to get a very stern e-mail from me


[ Click here to read more ]
8
Vote
   


Way to go Mets

June 20th 2007 15:12
Good morning everyone,
Hope everyone is well today. Well, glad to see the Mets sustain some momentum. A day after I praised them for finally playing a crisp game all around, they looked terrible last night. I know they were playing against Johann Santana, but you got the sense that once they fell behind a couple of runs, the game was over. They just don't have any fight in them. It's like they're going through the motions. This team needs to make a move, even just to shake things up. Give an infusion into the team. For once, I hope the Mets don't just put a band-aid on it, I hope they do something big. A big bat or a pitcher. Something to show the fans and the players that they care. Adam Dunn would be nice, so would Carlos Zambrano or Dontrelle Willis. Sigh, I know that it instead means Randy Winn or Mark Buehrle.
I have been writing every night, as I have said often. I think that things are coming along nicely and the editor that I hired has made some good suggestions. I think before the end of this month, I will start submitting it to agents and editors. I am getting somewhat encouraged, only because I have gotten some positive feedback and I see some of the trash that has gotten published. Not to disparage the works of others, but there really is some crappy stuff out there. Alright, I did disparage the others, but who cares? I will keep everybody posted


[ Click here to read more ]
7
Vote
   


Finally

June 19th 2007 14:43
Good morning everyone,
Hope everyone is well today. Have to start off first with my Mets. After two weeks of watching terrible baseball in all aspects, the Mets finally played a crisp game all around yesterday. It was fun to watch. Only thing I fear is that tonight they have to play against Johan Santana and may revert to taking feeble swings again. Also, I read a disturbing rumor about the Mets yesterday. I read that there is a divide in the clubhouse between the Latino players and the non-latino players who think that they will be replaced. I really hope that is not true. I like to think of the team as having great chemistry and all getting along. Perhaps its naive, but I really thought that.it was a one for all clubhouse. Hope they nip this in the bud fast.
Been writing everyday and hope think that things are really coming along nicely. Don't know if any publisher will feel the same way, but I am enjoying it. I keep hoping and have been looking for contacts for this. I have been writing short stories for magazines along with another manuscript. Any which way to hopefully get published. Will see how it goes. Anyway, going to the hospital soon to see my father. He is coming along and hopefully will get out this week. Hope everyone has a great day


[ Click here to read more ]
9
Vote
   


Write's conference.

June 18th 2007 14:25
Good morning everyone,
Hope everybody had a great weekend. Friday morning, we drove to Orlando for a chlildren book writer's conference. We didn't stay in the hotel where it was being held, because it was pretty expensive, especially for two nights. I was going to go by myself for one night and return right after the conference, but my wife said that the kids would like Orlando, so we took them as well. While I went to the conference on Saturday, they went to Dinosaur World. My kids had a great time, except that my oldest daughter fell into some gravel and scraped her knees and hands. Poor baby, she was all scraped and hurt. She had trouble walking for the rest of the weekend. My son and youngest daughter both complained that their ears hurt them. We took them to the doctor yesterday and were told that they had swimmer's ear. That is just great, because they are home this week for the in-between time between school and camp and now we can't even go swimming. Should be a fun week in the house.
As far as the writer's conference, there were around 150 people there, who were broken down into smaller groups, depending on what you were interested in. I chose the middle-grade section. I had trouble deciding between that and the young adult section. Figured I would try that one this time and the young adult one next time. The two women who spoke in our section were editors in a publishing company. I also thought I had an in when they mentioned that they were from Brooklyn, same place as me. I made sure to mention it during introductions. This way, if I ever submit anything to them, I will reference it during my letter. So , there I am thinking that everything is perfect and they will read the first page and offer me a contract right away. Instead, they made suggestions to critique the first page. That's all you submitted, was the first page. They definitely gave good suggestions to enhance appeal to an editor. When i got home, I immediately went to work on it, following their advice. Again, keeping my finger's crossed that this thing pays off. It is a dream of mine. Let's hope


[ Click here to read more ]
12
Vote
   


Writer's conference

June 15th 2007 14:57
Good morning everyone,
Hope everyone is well today. Unfortunately, I can't write a lot today, because I am rushing out to a writer's conference in Orlando. This is the first one that I am going to and I hope it will be a lot of fun. I want to learn from this and get pointers, as well as maybe network and meet some good contacts. It is a children's writer's conference. I enjoy writing more for children. I like a lot of the elements of children's books, fantasy etc. Hopefully, something good will come of this, so keep your fingers crossed. I am being rushed now by my wife, so I will give a full recap on Monday. Have a great weekend everyone and Let's go Mets.
Later


[ Click here to read more ]
13
Vote
   


I Hate Baseball

June 14th 2007 15:23
Good morning everyone,
Hope everyone is good today. Last night, we had tremendous thunderstorms, which caused my power to go out for around 4 hours. I should thank the heavens for that, because when I went to bed, the Mets were up 1-0. Then the power went out. As I have mentioned numerous times, I write every night until late, trying to complete my next manuscript. This night, I couldn't do anything, so I actually went to bed at a decent hour. I have to tell you, I feel wonderful today. Absolutely refreshed. What an amazing thing a good night of sleep can do for you. When I woke up this morning, I saw that the 1-0 lead turned into a 9-1 loss. The power outage here in south Florida apparently also hit the Mets and the storm saved me from looking at that misery. They have now lost 5 in a row and 10 out of the last 12 and are amazingly enough, still in first place. They are just dreadful right now and I am very, very concerned. To make matter worse, the yanks won again. This whole season ia now a nightmare. I fully know what's going to happen on this weekend's subway series and I can't live with that. It makes me sick. I hate the yanks so much and it really burns me when they win. I know I need help, but that's the way I feel. I will have to shut off my phones to not hear a thing from any yank fans afterwards. But who knows, maybe the Mets need this to wake them up.
This weekend, I am going to Orlando for a writer's conference. It is the first one I'm going to and hopefully, it will be a lot of fun. I also am going to use this opportunity to network and try to meet some agents or publishers. I think things are going well with my first manuscript and have high hopes for it. Would like nothing more right now


[ Click here to read more ]
12
Vote
   


Good morning everyone,
Hope everyone is well today. Am very tired now and I have nobody to blame but myself and the Mets. They are on the west coast in Los Angeles playing the Dodgers for a couple of days. Off topic, I still hate the Dodgers since 1988. Anyway, the game doesn't start until 10:00 p.m. my time but I have to watch anyway. They get up 3-0 like they have done the past few days and just like the last few days, they fall apart late. Another day, another loss. Now 3 in a row and 7 out of the last 8. Is it too soon to get concerned for me? Nothing is clicking right now. The pitching is bad, the hitting isn't timely. Everything seems disastrous. I have this bad feeling that they will be swept by the yanks this weekend and I will have to move. I live in south Florida, but there are many New Yorkers here. Like another borough. That means, lots of yankee fans. Now, I'm sure you know this, but I'll say it anyway. yankee fans are the most insufferable people in the world. People who have nothing else in their lives so decide to get behind a 200 million dollar juggernaut that makes them feel better about themselves. Of course I am generalizing, (but it's true). Let's hope better things are in store this week.
My fantasy baseball team is falling apart. Aramis Ramirez is hurt and B.J. Upton as well. My ptiching , which I thought was a strength, is getting shelled every night. I was in 2nd only a week and a half ago and now I have dropped to 5th. Now, I live for this stuff and it is very disconcerting. The guy that is in the lead is running away with it. I know there is a lot of season left, but things are looking bleak. Nobody trades and it is frustrating. Oh well, enough venting. Hope everyone has a great day


[ Click here to read more ]
7
Vote
   


Operation today

June 8th 2007 13:35
TGIF.
Hi everybody, hope everyone is well. My father is being operated on at this very moment. He was supposed to go in at 11, but they took him early. My mom was besides herself, because she was planning on getting there prior to the operation and then took him early. She was crying and we had to tell her that he would be alright. Thankfully she had a chance to see him before he got taken in. I am going to be anxious until my wife gets home from work so she can watch my daughter so I can go to the hospital. I think he'll be fine. Will update on Monday, because unfortunately we have to go to NY tomorrow. This weekend is the unveiling of my father-in-law's tombstone. My wife is very nervous about it, because she underwent depression after his death last year. I want to be there to support her and at the same time, worry about my father here. Tough weekend.
I have been going crazy trying to finish off editing my manuscript, while writing the new one. I am so far behind my timetable for submitting it to agents. Hopefully, something good will happen from it. I am now submitting short stories to magazines in the hope of being published. Just anything to get my name out there. It is a hard field


[ Click here to read more ]
16
Vote
   


Writing away

June 7th 2007 14:17
Good morning everybody,
Hope everyone is feeling good. Busy Thursday right now. My father is going in for surgery tomorrow, for a hernia. It has been a recurring condition and the doctors are fearful that it may leak into the pancreas. Always something. This happens the day before I'm supposed to leave for NY for two days. We are going for the unveiling of my father-in-law's tombstone. I have been dreading this, because my wife underwent depression for a while and was taking medication and speaking to a therapist. She seems to be doing better now, but I am fearful of a relapse. I am going to be there for her, while at the same time I am going to be worried about my father. Sounds like a fun weekend.
I have been really busy writing this week. Both manuscripts and articles that I'm sending in for magazine submissions. I think that if I get published in any capacity it is a good thing to be on a resume. It is my dream and I am pushing hard right now to fulfill it. If I do say so myself, I am enjoying what I am writing. I guess that helps, because why continue if you don't enjoy it. If anybody reading has gone through the publishing process, please let me know what the steps are. I am finally close to sending it out to agents. Hopefully, something will come out of it. Heading to the hospital soon, so going to keep it short. Hope everyone has a great day


[ Click here to read more ]
8
Vote
   


Hurricane Maya

June 5th 2007 13:50
Good morning everyone,
Hope everybody is well today. As I have mentioned, I have a 17 month old daughter that I am home with during the day. She is more than a handful. Always having to chase her around everywhere. She climbs everything, onto the table, onto the kitchen counters, etc. Now, the kitchen counter is very high. She has to climb some pretty high stools to get on it. I turn for a second and there she is and I go running to get her down before she breaks her neck. She is taking years off my life. This morning, she comes into my home office and somehow has gotten the cap off a bottle of water and before I could do anything, she turns it over and there is a new indoor pool in my office. She of course giggles and runs out.
Minutes later, she comes back in and is holding the ceramic soap dispenser from my older daughter's bathroom. You guessed it, CRASH! Giggles and runs out.The soap is everywhere, the sharp pieces of ceramic everywhere and I am in a foul mood


[ Click here to read more ]
21
Vote
   


Busy weekend

June 4th 2007 13:30
Hi everybody,
Hope everybody had a great weekend. Had a very busy weekend. Saturday, as I mentioned, I went to my critique group for writers. It was my turn to be critiqued and the other two members had sheets out with their points. I listened politely and took in their points and had to say that I disagreed with most of them. Not that my work is perfect by any means, but the two women admitted to me at the beginning that they don't like fantasy stories and their critiques were basically, this doesn't sound realistic. I have a witch in my storyand she is beautiful. One of the comments that I got, was that the witch should be ugly...why? Who says that a witch has to be ugly. I thought it was more interesting that she was beautiful.I took everything with a grain of salt and nodded, but I doubt that I will take many of their suggestions. Sure they meant well, but everybody has different thoughts about what works. Still need to send to agents and publishers, what fun that will be.
So, every night, especially Fridays and Saturdays, I stay up late writing. That is my best time, because everybody else is sleeping and I won't be disturbed. So I go to sleep around 2:00 and at 5:00 in the morning, I get a phone call from my mother. Right away, I'm scared of course, because who gets good news at that time? My father is going to the hospital with shortness of breath and pain in his stomach. Thankfully, I live nearby and rush to the hospital. After a good scare, it turns out that it is probably an ulcer. I hope that is it, because my father has had a history of medical problems, including heart. Just been exhausted all day since then, but went too sleep late again, since I needed writing time. I know, I know, your heart bleeds for me, but I do hope to become a published author, so I need to write whenever I get the opportunity


[ Click here to read more ]
7
Vote
   


TGIF, Red Sox and critique group

June 1st 2007 14:00
Hi everybody,
Hope all is well. Thankfully, we are near the weekend. I have written it before, but even though I know that my problems won't go away, I need those two days off to just unwind and be with my family. Don't know what we're going to do yet, but it doesn't matter. Anything will be good. Due to money issues, we have been staying in a lot and have weekly family movie nights. The kids lie with us in bed and when my youngest goes to sleep, I make popcorn and slushees for them. They (and I) like the time together and we have a lot of fun. I guess you don't need money to just enjoy your family.
This weekend, the yanks go to Fenway to play the Red Sox. I am praying for the Sox to at least take two out of three and hopefully bury the yanks already.I would love nothing more than to see this 200 million dollar collection miss the playoffs entirely. I badly want a salary cap in baseball. I believe if there was, or even if the yanks had to at least come down to the level of the number 2 team in salary, they wouldn't even be a threat to make the playoffs every year. But, since there is not, this is the next best thing. I love it


[ Click here to read more ]
9
Vote
   


More Posts
1 Posts
2 Posts
3 Posts
89 Posts dating from December 2006
Email Subscription
Receive e-mail notifications of new posts on this blog:

Jonathan Rosen's Blogs

503 Vote(s)
3 Comment(s)
13 Post(s)
Moderated by Jonathan Rosen
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]