INTRO
We started our 2010 Playground Fest today 05/16
I will log where we go and stuff. I decided to do this realizing that my mother makes awesome scrapbooks. What better way to give my son a lifelong memory then take him out a as many playgrounds around our area as possible, document it with pictures and turn it into a scrapbook? I thought it was a good idea so that's when I invented the whole #2010PlaygroundFest idea.
UPDATES
09/08 This might be it for Playground Fest. It's getting colder now and we about ran out of playgrounds to go to. I do know of a few places we could still go but they are very far away and not very close to each other. The next weekend Isaac is here is when the PT Fall Festival is on so we will definitely be there. By the time I get him again it will be October.
So in 114 days we went to 52 playgrounds. (actually half that because I only see him every other week)
So in 58 days we went to 52 playgrounds and got over 700+ pictures. That is crazy. Well I can say now that we did a lot of work. We know which playgrounds and parks are awesome and which ones to avoid. I guess we can start on the scrapbook now. I'll probably make a digital version out of this blog. I'll flesh out the descriptions and add pictures and get a verdict from Isaac on each other as well. We can be official 'Playground Critics' now. :D
08/23 I thought we had maxed it out last weekend but I guess I was wrong.
I got Isaac not soon after I got home and we took right off. The Westmoreland Fair was going on so instead of eating first I figure we'd go out and do our thing and when we ended up there we'd eat. So off we went I had plotted out Greensburg since that's where the fair was. We ended up hitting 6 that night including some good ones and probably the worst one yet. Then we went to the fair and rode some rides. They didn't have Walking Tacos which is what Isaac wanted though. :(
Saturday morning we woke up and took off early in the opposite direction. We went out far first and came back. My camera died right when it was time to eat so we stopped at Dairy Queen and got some food and took it home. We ate and watched 'The Secret Of NIHM' while the battery charged. I was prepared to call it a day at that point but I asked Isaac if he wanted to go back out and he said yes. So we hit the second part of the trip which was about 4 more before it started to rain. A total of 9 that day. We cleaned up a bit at went to Jim's to watch the Steelers game and Moddy got to meet Isaac. Needless to say she LOVED him!
Now on Sunday we were supposed to go clothes shopping for Isaac but my mom was too tired from whatever she did Saturday so that was off. I realized that after the past 2 days we had exhausted the list playgrounds I had. How could that even be? So in the morning I got on the computer and checked out some in an area we had yet to hit, Latrobe. I came up with about 9 more we could do and I didn't think we'd hit them all but I mapped it out anyway and we left. We did about 5 before we just became too exhausted to go on. We went home and called it a weekend. I think 20 playgrounds was enough for anyone. Next time he comes with me we're going to Virginia and hit a few more down there with Pappy! Summer is coming to an end and the 2010PlaygroundFest is almost over.
08/09 Man we went a little crazy this weekend. I thought we were in for the night on Friday but Matt stopped by with Maddy and we decided to go over to McCullough to play. That turned out to be a great idea. As much as I love doing this, it's really for Isaac and when we go to these playgrounds where there are no kids, it's really not that fun. McCullough always has kids plus he was with his buddy Maddy so that was great. Plus Daddy and Matt got to shoot some hoops while we were there.
Then, which will ever go in history as Playground Day, we hit 8 playgrounds on Saturday. Yes you read that right, EIGHT. I didn't plan it like that, it just worked out. My main goal was to hit Twin Lakes and Mammoth and then fill in a few of the in-between ones but damn. Some were super fun, some there was nobody at and were pretty lame. Needless to say we were exhausted by the end of the day. As fun as that was I think 4-5 max in one day is good from here on out.
07/13 I had the idea for the scrapbook to have the schedule on the first page and have each playground written in different colors. That way when paging thru the book the backing of each photo will be the corresponding color. EH!!
I also thought to make a google map with a pin at each area and print that out and put that in there as well.
See it here - > http://bit.ly/a7IhEY
PLAYGROUND LOG
* * * * *
10/20 Eliot Company Playground : 5/10
While looking for Geo-caches we found another playground we didn't even know existed
09/06 Oak Hollow : 9/10
Always tons of kids, weird equipment but lots of it and fun, in a huge park w other things to do
09/06 Bushy Run American Legion playground : 5/10
Close to home but not that great, small equipment and a swing set. There are hoops though.
09/05 Gordon-Barbour Elementary : 8/10
Another one that separate's the big kids playground from the baby one, cool drum thing and a jeep on springy things, you can tell this place is older because it is faded.
09/04 Dad's personal playground : 3/10
At least it's close to home.
08/25 Harrison Park Elementary : 9/10
We finally hit Isaac's school! This is one of the better playgrounds. The best part is that daddy himself help build this for Isaac and all the other kids by volunteering his time.
08/22 Legion-Keener Park : 9/10
It's like Little Knights Kingdom!! 100% original awesomeness
08/22 Baggaley Elementary : 6/10
Standard stuff, nothing spectacular, one side of the school was the baby playground, the other side was the big kid version
08/22 Mt View Elementary : 9/10
Big, wooded area, nice standard stuff plus and lot of unique extras
08/22 Burger King playplace : 4/10
small area, can get food
08/22 Maxwell Elementary : 8/10
Standard stuff, nice area
08/21 Sheridan Terrace Elementary : 7/10
Standard equipment, nice and new also with a weird enclosing fence, I don't understand the purpose of that
08/21 North Irwin playground : 4/10
Merry go round and tire swing and that's about it
08/21 White Oak park : 6/10
Big area but spread thinly, most of the stuff was older, pluses for the merry go round and the train though
08/21 Stewartsville Elementary : 7/10
Standard equipment, nice and new in a weird enclosed area behind the school
08/21 Sunrise Elementary : 7/10
Standard equipment, big area, nice but was lacking something
08/21 Level Green Elementary playground : 8/10
Standard equipment and some unique stuff as well, big area, the old caterpillar thing from Harrison Park looks to have found his way here
08/21 Woodland playground : 8/10
Standard equipment and some unique stuff as well, a few things we've never seen, surprisingly better than we expected
08/21 Trafford Elementary : 8/10
Standard equipment and some unique stuff as well, big area
08/21 Monroeville Community Park : 7/10
Nice park, big area, lots of stuff, equipment was kind of weak, nice disc golf course (for beginners)
08/20 West Point Elementary : 9/10
Standard equipment and some unique stuff as well, tire swing, climbing wall, cool monkey bars, big area, everything seemed really nice
08/20 East Hempfield Elementary : 1/10
2 swings and a slide, worst playground ever, we pity the poor kids that have to go to this school
08/20 Amos K Hutchinson Elementary : 8/10
Standard equipment and some unique stuff as well, big area
08/20 Pearl Carroll Memorial playground : 5/10
Several mini-playgrounds strewn throughout the grounds, a few cool things but the main attraction here was the pool
08/20 Stanwood Elementary : 8/10
Standard equipment and some unique stuff as well, big area
08/20 Fort Allen Elementary : 7/10
Standard stuff, big area, other kids
08/12 Bovard Elementary playground : 6/10
Sliding thing was broke, standard stuff, nothing spectacular
08/12 Hawksworth Apts : 4/10
Unique stuff but old and beat up
08/09 Jack Town Park : 5/10
Small area, not much equipment
08/07 Norvelt Elementary playground : 5/10
Nice area, not much equipment although it is new, too far away
08/07 Mammoth Park : 10/10
Huge area, multiple mini playgrounds throughout, lots of kids, big slide, awesome merry go round, fun for all
08/07 St. Clair Park : 6/10
Not very big, not much stuff, at least it's close
08/07 Twin Lakes Park : 8/10
Huge area, multiple mini playgrounds throughout, lots of kids, digger, too many people with dogs
08/07 Thomas Lynch Field playground : 9/10
Huge area, lots of kids, lots of other stuff to do, equipment is very unusual though
08/07 Dr Robert F Nicely Elementary playground : 7/10
Nice sized, friendly environment, standard equipment
08/07 Hempfield Park : 7/10
Big area, multiple mini playgrounds throughout, lots of kids, ground always seems wet there though, must not be good irrigation
08/07 Pedora Park : 5/10
Not very big, not much stuff, too far out of the way
08/06 McCullough's Boundless Playground : 10/10
Big area, lots of kids, nice equipment, pretty standard but there is a lot and some of it is unique, sand pit w digger, close to home
07/28 Warrior Wonderland : 8/10
Big area, lots of kids, nice equipment, pretty standard but there is a lot, close to home
07/27 Wolfe Field playground : 2/10
Old and run down, no other kids, no swings on the swing-set
07/27 Jeannette McKee Elementary playground : 5/10
Dirty, lots of garbage, no other kids when we visited, seems like it was not put together properly
07/24 Chick-Fil-A playplace : 4/10
Small, other kids, can get food there
07/24 Boyce Park O'Block playground : 8/10
Nice, seemingly brand new equipment, other kids, seemed like most of the stuff was walkways to other parts, a little different than the standard stuff, also located in a huge park with other stuff to do
07/14 Penn Park : 8/10
Nice, newer standard equipment but there were a lot of unique things strewn about, ringing bells, race cars, other kids
07/14 Manor Park : 7/10
Standard stuff, big area, other kids
07/09 Adlai E Stevenson Elementary playground : 7/10
Nice equipment, no other kids at the time of visit, had a cool piano that really played so that was unique, cool looking climbing thing but playing on it was awkward
06/26 Keystone State Park playground : 8/10
Nice, newer equipment although it is the standard stuff, other kids, right by the beach and in a huge nature park
06/13 Irwin playground w Little Knights Kingdom : 10/10
Enormous area, tons of varied equipment, custom equipment, no cookie cutter playground here, tons of other kids, top notch playground!!
05/30 Romas playplace : 6/10
Small area, indoors, not much equipment but had coin operated machines, nice climbing wall, other kids, can order food there
05/30 Trevillains Elementary playground : 8/10
Huge area, tons of varied equipment, no kids there when we went
05/29 Shenandoah Crossing playground : 9/10
Big area, lots of different equipment, other kids to play with, digger and sand pit
05/16 Altman Park : 8/10
Nice equipment, other kids to play with, solid playground
05/16 Christian Fellowship Church playground : 4/10
Not much equipment, no other kids to play with, area was filled with crazy shredded tire stuff
* * * * *
Yet to hit
Metzgar Elementary School
New Derry Elementary School
Loyalhanna Elementary School
Blue Spruce Park and Playground
VA
Grace Adams Davis Memorial Playground
Washington Park
Monday, May 17, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Revacation part 3
2010/03/28
We woke up on Sunday and I was hungry. I wanted to go somewhere and get some food. Ale thought it might be a good idea to eat of the free cereal and crap that the hostel had. I was not having any of that. So we got up, got ready and got started on another wonderful day with each other.
I think we just left the hostel and walked to find somewhere to eat. We went to a different part of the city that I didn't see yesterday. There were all kinds of new sights to see. We found an electronics store and we went in because I wanted to see how it compared to what I know. Ale was right when she told me it was more expensive then in the US. They had God Of War 3 for PS3 but they wanted like 400 pesos for it. That would be $100 to me and that's insane! I balk at paying $50-$60 for a new game let alone more than that. No wonder they were all pirates down here. I wouldn't put up with that crap either.
It was quite difficult to find a breakfast place down here for some reason. I guess they really don't eat a normal breakfast like us. Well actually there aren't really that many breakfast places where I live either. We do have Denny's and that but it's in the south where all the Ihops and Waffle Houses are. We did eventually find a place that seemed pretty nice called Quincy's
and they had wifi which was good. (I had to put my phone in airplane mode so I wouldn't rack up any international roaming charges so wifi spots were the only places I could check my email and catch up on my 'online' life) The place was empty. I guess they were gearing up for the lunch rush but we went in and took a seat and soon a guy came and took our order. I needed to get an omelet. That's the kind of food Marc eats for breakfast. Ale was not pleased with the prices at this place but I told her we were on revacation and not to sweat it. However much it cost, it was very good. When we walked out of there I felt very satisfied.
We started walking again when we left and I got to see a lot more of the city. I would have never ever guessed that there was a Chinatown in Buenos Aires. We had a very specific destination in mind but that is really not something I'm going to go into here. Let's just say the next few hours were very awesome.
Now it was time for some of the famous Buenos Aires ice cream that Ale always was telling me about so we found a place called Volta which was one of the most popular places to get it. For an ice cream place it was super fancy.
The store was neat and all the employees wore the same fancy brown uniform which made them look like chefs almost. One of the gimmicks here was for all the million flavors they had, there were no markings or signs on the containers. I guess the major part of training here was to learn where everything was. We each got a small container and you could pick 3 flavors to put in it. Whatever you told them they knew exactly where it was which was kind of cool. I forget what flavors I picked but they were all super delicious.
We went back to the hostel after eating our ice cream because we had to get cleaned up for our special night out. If all would have went as planned I should have been here on Valentine's Day and we would of had a nice dinner and everything so since this was revacation we were going to have a revalentine's day dinner. There is a touristy place out by this waterfront area that is full of restaurants called Puerto Madero. So we got showered and all dressed up and went down there to check it out. It was very nice especially at night. We explored and got our picture taken on the 'Puente de la Mujer'.
The restaurants went up and down the sides of this body of water and we stopped and examined all their menus to see where we wanted to go. We eventually picked the place called Spettus because I wanted steak. That is what I always expect to eat for dinner on this particular holiday and I figured I'd better get that out there now. It was pretty awesome. They gave you this disc that was green on one side and red on the other. As long as you kept the green side up these guys kept coming to your table with these huge hunks of meat on skewers and would shave you off a piece. Each one had something different and although we kind of just did this the night before at her parent's house it was still super awesome and delicious. Again I didn't know what half the stuff was. Ale told me but it didn't really matter. Some of it tasted 'off' but for the most part I probably could have lived there the rest of my life here eating their food and gotten real fat before I died.
We were both stuffed when we left that place so we walked out of that area to the main road and got a taxi back to our room. Every day just kept getting better!
TO BE CONTINUED
We woke up on Sunday and I was hungry. I wanted to go somewhere and get some food. Ale thought it might be a good idea to eat of the free cereal and crap that the hostel had. I was not having any of that. So we got up, got ready and got started on another wonderful day with each other.
I think we just left the hostel and walked to find somewhere to eat. We went to a different part of the city that I didn't see yesterday. There were all kinds of new sights to see. We found an electronics store and we went in because I wanted to see how it compared to what I know. Ale was right when she told me it was more expensive then in the US. They had God Of War 3 for PS3 but they wanted like 400 pesos for it. That would be $100 to me and that's insane! I balk at paying $50-$60 for a new game let alone more than that. No wonder they were all pirates down here. I wouldn't put up with that crap either.
It was quite difficult to find a breakfast place down here for some reason. I guess they really don't eat a normal breakfast like us. Well actually there aren't really that many breakfast places where I live either. We do have Denny's and that but it's in the south where all the Ihops and Waffle Houses are. We did eventually find a place that seemed pretty nice called Quincy's
and they had wifi which was good. (I had to put my phone in airplane mode so I wouldn't rack up any international roaming charges so wifi spots were the only places I could check my email and catch up on my 'online' life) The place was empty. I guess they were gearing up for the lunch rush but we went in and took a seat and soon a guy came and took our order. I needed to get an omelet. That's the kind of food Marc eats for breakfast. Ale was not pleased with the prices at this place but I told her we were on revacation and not to sweat it. However much it cost, it was very good. When we walked out of there I felt very satisfied.We started walking again when we left and I got to see a lot more of the city. I would have never ever guessed that there was a Chinatown in Buenos Aires. We had a very specific destination in mind but that is really not something I'm going to go into here. Let's just say the next few hours were very awesome.
Now it was time for some of the famous Buenos Aires ice cream that Ale always was telling me about so we found a place called Volta which was one of the most popular places to get it. For an ice cream place it was super fancy.
The store was neat and all the employees wore the same fancy brown uniform which made them look like chefs almost. One of the gimmicks here was for all the million flavors they had, there were no markings or signs on the containers. I guess the major part of training here was to learn where everything was. We each got a small container and you could pick 3 flavors to put in it. Whatever you told them they knew exactly where it was which was kind of cool. I forget what flavors I picked but they were all super delicious.We went back to the hostel after eating our ice cream because we had to get cleaned up for our special night out. If all would have went as planned I should have been here on Valentine's Day and we would of had a nice dinner and everything so since this was revacation we were going to have a revalentine's day dinner. There is a touristy place out by this waterfront area that is full of restaurants called Puerto Madero. So we got showered and all dressed up and went down there to check it out. It was very nice especially at night. We explored and got our picture taken on the 'Puente de la Mujer'.
The restaurants went up and down the sides of this body of water and we stopped and examined all their menus to see where we wanted to go. We eventually picked the place called Spettus because I wanted steak. That is what I always expect to eat for dinner on this particular holiday and I figured I'd better get that out there now. It was pretty awesome. They gave you this disc that was green on one side and red on the other. As long as you kept the green side up these guys kept coming to your table with these huge hunks of meat on skewers and would shave you off a piece. Each one had something different and although we kind of just did this the night before at her parent's house it was still super awesome and delicious. Again I didn't know what half the stuff was. Ale told me but it didn't really matter. Some of it tasted 'off' but for the most part I probably could have lived there the rest of my life here eating their food and gotten real fat before I died.We were both stuffed when we left that place so we walked out of that area to the main road and got a taxi back to our room. Every day just kept getting better!
TO BE CONTINUED
Monday, May 3, 2010
What is a father to do
This weekend I finally returned to my old marital home to retrieve my belongs that have been denied to me for so long. I'm not even thinking about trying to rehash and recount all that has happened so far with this affair. If you know me then you probably know what has transpired. If not then this blog should be a good introduction to what kind of human I am being forced to deal with.
I have been trying to get my stuff for over a year now. According to her she never wanted to keep it from me. She agreed that her stuff was hers and my stuff was mine. It was written into our divorce papers even. I get all my video games and vg-related materials, all my sports collectible stuff and whatever clothes are still there. Also my dressers that my mom bought for me when I was still living with her and just the misc stuff that she knew was mine, boxes of magazines, etc. There was really no argument there. The problem here was that this was the only thing she had on me. She had my stuff and to her that was some measure of control she could use to mess with me. This was some kind of thrill for her to tell me week after week that I come come on a certain day and then cancel that right before that day arrived. I repeatedly requested from here that she just let me get a car load of stuff every week or so. That way it would be easier to handle and after a time the task would be complete. Yes this was a logical way of doing things that would be easy for both parties involved so of course there was no way she would agree to that.
A few months earlier the sheriff delivered me some papers telling me that the sheriff sale on the house would be held on May 3rd since no one was paying the mortgage anymore (I had to declare bankruptcy over this). If the house sells they post it and put a lock on the door, all possession not removed from the premises are forfeit. I was not risk losing my stuff even though the sheriff himself pretty much told us that the house would not sell, not for what the bank wanted to get out of it. I don't exactly know how these things are handled but again I was not putting my things at risk. I had it set up for Sunday May 2nd then. No more excuses or delays or mess ups. It was happened then so help me God. My crew was assembled. Chuck was going to let me use his truck and his trailer. We even put together a kind of housing on it to keep everything dry since it did rain that day. I texted Lisa the prior week to let her know what was going on. I don't think she actually believed I was coming over but that was not my problem. I guess people that cry wolf over and over have a hard time believing what other people say sometimes.
So we went over at like 10 in the morning. Luckily Lisa wasn't even there so we wouldn't have to deal with her. She never changed the door locks although she told me at least 3 times that she did (Did I mention she can tell quite extravagant tales?). She was so terrified that I was going to come over and DO SOMETHING!! Oh noes!! First thing we all noticed when we walked in was what a damn disaster area this place was. My son has to live here every other week? That is unacceptable. (I later called and filed a report with the Children's Bureau. I know they won't do anything but to have the report on record is good enough). It looked like she was actually packing to leave so that in itself was amazing. I shot right upstairs and went for my closet. There were some boxes but it seems like she thought it would be a good idea to dump my stuff out of boxes and leave it lying on the floor. My friends Jim and Joel showed up to help me so that was a big help. We starting hauling stuff out. I was amazingly surprised that the move went so smooth. I think I temporarily gained some kind of unlimited supply of energy. I kept moving and did not take a break until the job was done no matter how many heavy boxes were left. Everyone kept taking breaks and was exhausted but I kept going. Thank God for adrenaline. We got books, magazines, boxes and some dressers. I didn't see my video games though. This did not please me so I went in the basement. OMFG what in the hell is going on down here? It's even worse than upstairs. It was a absolute mess. You would think no one even lives here with how utterly disgusting it was. There were clothes piled knee deep for as far as the eye could see. Apparently this is what happens when I am not here to keep it clean down there as I used to. I feel so bad for Isaac having to live in this squalor. What kind of example does she think she's setting for him? How has this place not burned down? I cried and held him later asking him why he didn't tell me he lived like this. This was almost too much to take. Good thing I had witnesses about how this household was kept. [inside video here]
There wasn't much of my stuff downstairs just a bunch of old junk that I took anyway. Why do I not see any of my boxes of video games? I had a collection of about 600 or so games and maybe since this all went down she has returned 100 at most to me. That would leave 500 games unaccounted for. I frantically ran all over the house and even went back into the shed. They were simply not in this house. I don't know what she has done with them and I still don't as of this time. After everything that was mine that we grabbed was loaded I decided to give her a call. I needed to inform her of what happened so she did not freak out when she got here thinking someone robbed her. I also needed to find out what happened to my games. That was the thing I came over her for above all else. Needless to say she did not answer my question. Has she ever? No instead she decided to have some kind of hissy fit. Whatever I did not call to hear that so I hung up and we left.
Turns out she went to the Jeannette police dept to report me for something. I got a call from some Colonel or Corporate somebody who took her ranting and raving way too seriously. I had to call him back because I missed the exchange due to the fact I was unloading everything and when I did he threatened me with burglary charges. I had to hold my tongue which I am not usually good at doing with authority. I explained to him as calmly and as kindly as I could everything that was going on but as always he didn't seem to listen or care. The stuff he probably has to deal with on a regular basis as a cop who works in Jeannette has no doubt changed this guy in some way that I never want to even try to understand. I just kept trying to be respectful and let him know how things were as far as I understood, not the misinformation he was given by [edited for politeness sake] that human. How is it that I do everything right and yet I am the one who is constantly getting screwed over? I called the Sheriff of Westmoreland County's office this week and it was them who approved my plan. Until the sheriff sells that house it's my name on the deed. They told me I could even smash a window to get in if I had to. It was my house! She may live there but can someone tell me the last time she paid rent to anyone? Is her name on the deed? I don't even know exactly what his terms were. He seemed more interested in berating me then trying to figure out what had actually transpired here. I got a text from Lisa later that said 'Sorry'. Sorry? For what? Going to the police because you wouldn't let me get my stuff? For the abhorrent conditions you subject my son to living in? For doing whatever you did to my video game collection that you refuse to man up and tell me about? I texted her back that I absolutely refuse to talk to her about anything until she can grow up and hold an adult conversation with me about this. Whatever she wants back from me can surely be dealt with easily if she would just come clean with whatever dastardly deeds she's been up to.
Apparently one parent despite the high standards of parenting and having the best interests of the child in mind at all times cannot do anything legally to prevent the child from being exposed to the Jerry Springer scumball lifestyle that supports no structure or rules of any kind that is the way of life for the other parent. Unless there is physical abuse, nobody will do anything. I now understand that there can be things much worse than physical abuse. How can Isaac hope to achieve when all I try to teach him each week goes out the door when he goes over to her every other Friday? It really really makes me sad. Isaac is the best thing that has ever happened in my life. You hear people use that expression a lot but in my case it's absolutely true. I thought I knew what love and self-sacrifice were before but since this wonderful little boy has entered my life I now know that I didn't until him. I would do anything for him and I do not want him to grow up with the obstacles that Lisa's lifestyle are going to throw in his way. I can only parent twice as hard and hope it sticks with him. I can't give up. It makes me so sad but I have to believe that I can get thru this and get my life back on track for him. Get a new place to live and continue the stable family life I present to him. It's an amazing challenge but I will do as much as I can possibly can. My parents know what I do and so do my friends and they will be there to help us. For that I am thankful.
I have been trying to get my stuff for over a year now. According to her she never wanted to keep it from me. She agreed that her stuff was hers and my stuff was mine. It was written into our divorce papers even. I get all my video games and vg-related materials, all my sports collectible stuff and whatever clothes are still there. Also my dressers that my mom bought for me when I was still living with her and just the misc stuff that she knew was mine, boxes of magazines, etc. There was really no argument there. The problem here was that this was the only thing she had on me. She had my stuff and to her that was some measure of control she could use to mess with me. This was some kind of thrill for her to tell me week after week that I come come on a certain day and then cancel that right before that day arrived. I repeatedly requested from here that she just let me get a car load of stuff every week or so. That way it would be easier to handle and after a time the task would be complete. Yes this was a logical way of doing things that would be easy for both parties involved so of course there was no way she would agree to that.
A few months earlier the sheriff delivered me some papers telling me that the sheriff sale on the house would be held on May 3rd since no one was paying the mortgage anymore (I had to declare bankruptcy over this). If the house sells they post it and put a lock on the door, all possession not removed from the premises are forfeit. I was not risk losing my stuff even though the sheriff himself pretty much told us that the house would not sell, not for what the bank wanted to get out of it. I don't exactly know how these things are handled but again I was not putting my things at risk. I had it set up for Sunday May 2nd then. No more excuses or delays or mess ups. It was happened then so help me God. My crew was assembled. Chuck was going to let me use his truck and his trailer. We even put together a kind of housing on it to keep everything dry since it did rain that day. I texted Lisa the prior week to let her know what was going on. I don't think she actually believed I was coming over but that was not my problem. I guess people that cry wolf over and over have a hard time believing what other people say sometimes.
So we went over at like 10 in the morning. Luckily Lisa wasn't even there so we wouldn't have to deal with her. She never changed the door locks although she told me at least 3 times that she did (Did I mention she can tell quite extravagant tales?). She was so terrified that I was going to come over and DO SOMETHING!! Oh noes!! First thing we all noticed when we walked in was what a damn disaster area this place was. My son has to live here every other week? That is unacceptable. (I later called and filed a report with the Children's Bureau. I know they won't do anything but to have the report on record is good enough). It looked like she was actually packing to leave so that in itself was amazing. I shot right upstairs and went for my closet. There were some boxes but it seems like she thought it would be a good idea to dump my stuff out of boxes and leave it lying on the floor. My friends Jim and Joel showed up to help me so that was a big help. We starting hauling stuff out. I was amazingly surprised that the move went so smooth. I think I temporarily gained some kind of unlimited supply of energy. I kept moving and did not take a break until the job was done no matter how many heavy boxes were left. Everyone kept taking breaks and was exhausted but I kept going. Thank God for adrenaline. We got books, magazines, boxes and some dressers. I didn't see my video games though. This did not please me so I went in the basement. OMFG what in the hell is going on down here? It's even worse than upstairs. It was a absolute mess. You would think no one even lives here with how utterly disgusting it was. There were clothes piled knee deep for as far as the eye could see. Apparently this is what happens when I am not here to keep it clean down there as I used to. I feel so bad for Isaac having to live in this squalor. What kind of example does she think she's setting for him? How has this place not burned down? I cried and held him later asking him why he didn't tell me he lived like this. This was almost too much to take. Good thing I had witnesses about how this household was kept. [inside video here]
There wasn't much of my stuff downstairs just a bunch of old junk that I took anyway. Why do I not see any of my boxes of video games? I had a collection of about 600 or so games and maybe since this all went down she has returned 100 at most to me. That would leave 500 games unaccounted for. I frantically ran all over the house and even went back into the shed. They were simply not in this house. I don't know what she has done with them and I still don't as of this time. After everything that was mine that we grabbed was loaded I decided to give her a call. I needed to inform her of what happened so she did not freak out when she got here thinking someone robbed her. I also needed to find out what happened to my games. That was the thing I came over her for above all else. Needless to say she did not answer my question. Has she ever? No instead she decided to have some kind of hissy fit. Whatever I did not call to hear that so I hung up and we left.
Turns out she went to the Jeannette police dept to report me for something. I got a call from some Colonel or Corporate somebody who took her ranting and raving way too seriously. I had to call him back because I missed the exchange due to the fact I was unloading everything and when I did he threatened me with burglary charges. I had to hold my tongue which I am not usually good at doing with authority. I explained to him as calmly and as kindly as I could everything that was going on but as always he didn't seem to listen or care. The stuff he probably has to deal with on a regular basis as a cop who works in Jeannette has no doubt changed this guy in some way that I never want to even try to understand. I just kept trying to be respectful and let him know how things were as far as I understood, not the misinformation he was given by [edited for politeness sake] that human. How is it that I do everything right and yet I am the one who is constantly getting screwed over? I called the Sheriff of Westmoreland County's office this week and it was them who approved my plan. Until the sheriff sells that house it's my name on the deed. They told me I could even smash a window to get in if I had to. It was my house! She may live there but can someone tell me the last time she paid rent to anyone? Is her name on the deed? I don't even know exactly what his terms were. He seemed more interested in berating me then trying to figure out what had actually transpired here. I got a text from Lisa later that said 'Sorry'. Sorry? For what? Going to the police because you wouldn't let me get my stuff? For the abhorrent conditions you subject my son to living in? For doing whatever you did to my video game collection that you refuse to man up and tell me about? I texted her back that I absolutely refuse to talk to her about anything until she can grow up and hold an adult conversation with me about this. Whatever she wants back from me can surely be dealt with easily if she would just come clean with whatever dastardly deeds she's been up to.
Apparently one parent despite the high standards of parenting and having the best interests of the child in mind at all times cannot do anything legally to prevent the child from being exposed to the Jerry Springer scumball lifestyle that supports no structure or rules of any kind that is the way of life for the other parent. Unless there is physical abuse, nobody will do anything. I now understand that there can be things much worse than physical abuse. How can Isaac hope to achieve when all I try to teach him each week goes out the door when he goes over to her every other Friday? It really really makes me sad. Isaac is the best thing that has ever happened in my life. You hear people use that expression a lot but in my case it's absolutely true. I thought I knew what love and self-sacrifice were before but since this wonderful little boy has entered my life I now know that I didn't until him. I would do anything for him and I do not want him to grow up with the obstacles that Lisa's lifestyle are going to throw in his way. I can only parent twice as hard and hope it sticks with him. I can't give up. It makes me so sad but I have to believe that I can get thru this and get my life back on track for him. Get a new place to live and continue the stable family life I present to him. It's an amazing challenge but I will do as much as I can possibly can. My parents know what I do and so do my friends and they will be there to help us. For that I am thankful.
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