Phear the Waffles
First of I have to say of all of the WKRP in Cincinatti episodes ever this is the funniest one ever. Thanks a ton to Haley for reminding me of this episode. If you know me well you can see why this appeals to my warped sense of humor.
I played in the Mookie last night. Some numbnuts scheduled it an hour early by accident so we only had 36 people playing. It really sucked. Someone must pay! I had one of the most interesting nights ever. Normally when I play these things I get SO MUCH action. However tonight EVERYONE pheared me or got no cards or something. I swear I got AA-QQ like ten times and never once got a call. Finally I am so short stacked I have to basically push with AK. WillyWankah calls me with JJ and Jack are Ok. Now I am the first person to say I love respect but that was crazy. I sense a conspiracy.
I also played a 90-peep SNG and had the same experience. I finally went out AQ vs AK with a small stack. Meh. I plan on having some fun tonight and busting a ton of Donks to take out my frustration.
I did play well enough in the Stud-8 and Razz cash games to cover all my loses and basically break even for the night. So not all was a loss.
Boring personal stuff below:
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My wife is a freaking moron. I am sorry but she is just so annoying. She is a serious hypochondriac. She is the type that if her head itches she take an aspirin. Then she wonders why her body is so addicted that aspirin it is causing her to have constant headaches. I am the opposite. If I get a headache I wait until it becomes a brain tumor before going to the doctor. My normal remidy for a headache is to close my eyes under my covers and shut out the entire world until it goes away. If it will not go away I will finally capitulate and take an aspirin.
So anyway our lovely Son who has always been both brilliant, wonderful and charming.. and also a HUGE pain in the ass to deal with has been having some school issues. The way I see it is that subjects he likes and does well in like Math he applies himself and gets good grades. The subjects that bore him and are harder and need more repetative studying cause him to lose interest and not try. Hence he is falling behind is his reading and spelling.
He actually is a very brilliant child and I can entirely understand where he is coming from. I think the solution is to force him to study anyways. Not allow him to watch TV or play any games until he has studied properly and have him decide which is more boring: Learning some spelling words, or sitting at the table for hours. As parents we owe it to our children to torture them for their own good.
I did this with him last night and my wife complained that I was torturing him because he was whining and yelling that he WAS NOT going to STUDY. I just kept giving him his two options and eventually we made it through 3/4ths his spelling test correctly. I.E. He was forced to buckle down and he brought himself up to the challenge.
I have no doubt in my mind that he will be successful in the field he chooses to take part in. Like his Dad something will catch his interest. In my case it was computers. I have no idea what he will decide on.
However in school these days every kid must be normal. What is normal? I guess it is making the teachers day go as smoothly as possibly and making the school appear as if it is teaching kids something. If you do not follow these norms then you get labled as having a problem and they want to do all kinds of things to "Fix" you. I honestly beleive that if Albert Einstein went to public schools these days he would be on Ritalin and the only thing he would ever have discovered was how to tie his shoes.
I have seen the effects of giving children the easy excuses in life. My sister and I both had the exact same upbringing. We basically grew up in the projects. It was a semi-nice projects as in there were no shooting or beating and only a rape every once in a while. We had our hardships living in bug infested appartments and having to deal with being poor. My sister quickly found out that she could be labled as having a learning problem and not have to do any work. She basically was just pushed through school and is a failure to this day. Not because she is not smart or able to function but because everyone has always told her "Do not worry, it is not your fault, We will take care of you". I am sure my parents thought this was the right thing to do. The end result is an un-wed mother who sends her child to his grandparents so she can do her own thing and living off the welfare of the state and my parents. It is very dangerous to tell people they do not have to try. Although my parents tried to screw me up as bad as my sister they were only partially successfull as I never liked taking the easy way out.
So anyways I end up going to one of these school meetings and one of the teachers brings up ADHD or ADD. We finish up the conversation and the next day my wife is telling me how we need to go talk to a doctor about medication for the boy. Now while I have thought the kid might need medication for years now I made the logical assumption she was talking about Ritalin and told her I thought it was a bad idea. I looked through web pages and all kinds of material and talked to her and all this time she did not say a thing.
So we went to meet with the doctor today and it turns out that I was totally wrong. All the doctor was considering prescribing were some drugs for anxiety. It is a long story but the school and doctor think that he has alot of anxiety around not doing well in school and that some small dosage (1 drop) of some kind of medication might calm him down. I am not sure how I feel about this either but it is a hell of a lot better than what I have read about Ritalin. Side effects of that shit seem to be anything from Brain Damage, Death, Zombieizm, and Drug Addiction.
I can not tell you though how pissed off I am that my wife did not tell me that we were not seeing this doctor about anxiety and not ADD. When I mentioned to her and the doctor I thought we were here about that she said "I never said that". No fucking kidding bitch but might you have not said that earlier as I ranted about the evils of giving kids class II narcotics? Jesus. Most days I have no idea why I got married. We are just so different. I do know why I stay married but that is another story for another day.
So anyways just felt like getting that off my chest. I really need to step in and direct my son a hell of alot more than I have been doing. I refuse to let him settle for a mediocre life when I know he is capable of so much more. It is not easy dealing with someone with his force of mind and personality. Even his teacher has nicknamed him Donald Trump. She says "You do not tell Mr. Trump what to do, you just try and make a deal that works for both parties". It is pretty hard to not sleep most of the night (Insomnia and Sleep Apnia, What a fun combination!), then work all day (Wife is a stay at home mom and constantly tells me how hard it is especially with both kids in school from 9-3, whoo, I need to wipe the sweat from my brow just hearing about that tough schedule), and come home and have the energy to force structure into my sons life. I really do not think my wife is going to do it though so for his sake I need to get my act together and start taking care of things.
As with all of my ranting posts I reserve the right to express my own view of the world which may or may not reflect what other people consider sane.
posted by SirFWALGMan at
9:49 AM
5 Comments:
Wow. Just read your post. Not sure if I could put all that personal stuff on my site, actually I know I couldn't. I believe you know the right course for your son and that is to give him the attention/direction he needs. Sounds like you were self motivated growing up and only want the best for your son and not let him fall into any trap. My son had some problems at school but we determine that it mainly came from our constantly moving and him being in a new school every year. I would be so opposed to any type of medication unless absolutely necessary. I also do without drugs as long as possible. (Not a good idea after eye surgery). I do take an aspirin now because it supposedly is good for the heart. Luckily, with more attention towards my son's issues and more interaction from both parents, he came around as now is mainly an A student. Good luck with your situation.
Also, great lay down at the Mookie when you had AK and I had AK but pushed into the other player who had a hand. Should have pushed preflop or folded after the flop, bad play on my part, excellent play on your part.
11:56 AM
I am not so sure I should have called Duggles 720 re-raise.. In my earnest desire to play post flop more I cold called. I probably should have folded or pushed.. you basically did a delayed push.. heh. It was obvious Duggles being of the school of Felicia had SOMETHING. Now it easily could have been 72o. So not sure my laydown or call were great but I keep adjusting.
12:52 PM
I agree with New - no way I'd post that much stuff in mine. Heck, saying what I'm planning on doing other than playing poker is out of character.
That said - outside of severe issues (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc...) or truly out-of-control situations (and by truly, I mean not just because the parents are lazy), I'm fairly anti-meds. Like you, I'll let the headache run its course instead of taking anything. Same with colds.
And really? Anxiety? It's school. He's a smart kid who isn't "getting" something and can't figure out why. Of course he's anxious. What he needs is positive reinforcement and disciplined study until it clicks. Chances are he doesn't get why it's important. No different than a student saying, "I'll never need calculus," and then not studying it. Point out why spelling and reading are important. Find things that interest him that require reading/writing. Have him learn how to play a game by reading the instructions, or play Scrabble Jr. with him... give him a reason to improve that's better than grades.
Not everyone gets every subject. Unfortunately, people focus more on the kids that don't get math than the ones who don't get non-math subjects. When someone doesn't understand something, then they need it presented in a different way. My brother can't get math... unless you stick a dollar-sign in front of it. Money he gets... raw numbers, not so much.
Just my 2 cents. I'm not a parent, but I went through school bored with how mundane it was. It wasn't until my mother pushed that the teachers realized I was't learning disabled, but too smart for the class. You realize your son is bright, so it's up to you to bring that out of him, and to ensure that those responsible for him 6 hours a day do as well.
1:13 PM
You have to do what I did...I married a teacher! That way my daughter will be in class at school and at home! We're going to have to keep her away from the streets of the town I live in (Lawrence) until we can afford a better house in a better town. Let me tell you you're doing a great job by caring enough to do something. My wife teaches special Ed. in Lawrence and nobody cares a crap about any of those kids...they don't even know their fathers....not one of them.
1:51 PM
Just be there to give support and reward some positive behavior as well... most people in my industry suffer from crazy amounts of ADD but that in the end is why we are successful... a little crazy perhaps but usually successful.
In the end I would give your wife a bit of a break... it is impossible to know what days alone at home are like. Try to get her to find something more constructive to do during the day... maybe playing 12 tables of 200 NL perhaps?
Then again what do I know... my wife probably wants to kill me some nights when I get home way too late.
I am one of those guys who loves my compound return table that is on my fridge to remind the wife about saving money. Yes Astin I am one of those guys!
3:40 PM
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