The last 72 hours completely sucked. Sorry this’ll probably be long.
Mrs.stuffinb finally made me get a TV for the bedroom*. I was not to come home Friday night without it. I grab my son Jock and off we go to Walmart. After looking around I settle for this 19" color job. We then go to Radio Shack for cable and a splitter. As we’re driving home my son mentions he wants one of those scooters all the kids are riding. His timing couldn’t have been better. Because while I’m formulating a response on why I don’t want him to have one. We get a prime example.
We’re driving down International Blvd, approching 98th avenue. It’s 6:30pm and the sun has just set. The traffic is heavy. The car in the right lane in front of suddenly swerves into our lane. I came within 2 inches of hitting it. What happened? An 8 y/o kid on one of those scooters darted oout of a parking lot right in front of this car. The kid has stopped on the median. The driver in the car that nearly hit the kid is an old lady maybe 75. She asking the kid what he was thinking about, when his mother who was apparently across the street runs up shoves the old lady and starts berating her for “yelling” at her son. 
I make my way home.
Cut to saturday, it’s 9:30 and I’m laying in bed watching the Zeta Project, hell since the TV’s here I might as well enjoy it. The signal goes to hell, you can barely make out anything through the snowy picture, 10 seconds later my kids are yelling throught the door that somethings wrong with the TV. :::sigh::: I figure maybe a wire I ran last night has come loose. Nope. I check the phone line that runs to the digital box (I have no idea of whether this would effect the signal but WTF, might as well be thorough) Nope that ain’t it either. I call cable, spend an hour on hold, answer some pretty inane questions (Of course the TV is on you ass) and they tell me someone will have to be home till 5pm to wait for a technician. Great! Just great, as my wife is already at the hairdressor, I’m screwed.
Cable shows up about 4:30. Turns out the $6.95 splitter I bought lasted 12 hours. My wife and the cable guy pass each other. Me: “Hi hon, your hair looks great” “Cable’s fixed” “I’m going to the bookstore”. I couldn’t do anything else I wanted to do, at least I can get a few books. Hey it’s my lucky day I think when I finally find a copy of Catch-22. Off to home.
I’m home 20 minutes when I hear the kids coming. The youngest is repeating over and over again “it was an accident” shit this can’t be good. 
The door opens, “Daddy” the oldest is quick to say “Cris broke a window”. “Where?” I’ll show you, says Jock, meanwhile Chris is still repeating “it was an accident”. Stuffinb*2 is having no part and makes himself scarce. We get to the window in question. The resident of the apartment is waiting on me. Three thoughts occur immediately “It’s after six, the window is too large to board, this is gonna cost me” I tell the lady I’ll have it fixed immediately.
Cut to Sunday. I’m $275.00 poorer. My wife is sleeping. I’m relaxing after just having put a load of clothes in the washer downstairs. The phone rings. It’s my downstairs neighbor and babysitter. “Hey, do you know there’s smoke coming out of the laundry room, you have anything in there?”
What did I do to deserve this!!!
*this has been an off and on argument. My position has been hey that’s one place I can entertain myself. 
