With the new year come new goals...

Resolutions...

The new year is synonymous with resolutions. But why limit yourself to just making goals to start the year. It's been a while since I have shared whats going on so let's catch up. 2017 was a year of great change and yes resolutions that we achieved as a family.

Independently, I met a major life goals. I finally bought a house. It was only 50 miles from where we thought it would be, but hey, it happens.

It's closer to family, we got to host Christmas dinner for the first time ever and we still have a small town feel for where we live. I am most excited to have a space where I can  work on cars, continue to repair cell phones if I chose to relocate, etc...

So what am I most grateful for? Well, my wife is right at the top of that list. She made this all possible by supporting me and guiding me forward. Motivating me to want more and be able to provide more for my family. She took a new job that really made the move possible. My children for being patient and helping by doing their part. I remember what changing schools was like and moving and making new friends.

So what's next...

Really settling in to the community and discovering all the new awesome things to do with family and friends. I want to really find our place in our new town and begin to grow as part of it. I eventually want to get my cell phone repair business going strong again. I want to see about co-ed sports with my wife. I haven't decided yet on if I want to continue to coach soccer but I might. My littlest are at the age where they may want to play soon. So there is definitely more to come. And most I really want to do more sharing. 

I guess in closing, don't limit yourself to setting goals once a year. It's a start but as you achieve them, set the next goal right away. Keep pressing on and keep growing.

The Great Kentucky Rivalry

Today was perhaps the most important day in Kentucky College Basketball. The University of Louisville took on the University of Kentucky in the semi-finals of the NCAA Tournament. A fan of both UofL as well as UK I must remain loyal and show my support for Louisville.

The build up of any UofL vs. UK game is always intense as many states have bitter rivalries within them but this is a special rivalry truly showing the magnitude of college sports in this great nation ( a big blue nation if you choose to support UK). While all great rivalries bring out the best a true fan has to acknowledge the level of talent each team possesses and how to appreciate it. Unfortunately all fans are not created equal.

UK fans associate UofL fans as ghetto, thuggish, douchebags, etc. UofL fans view UK fans as arrogant, pompous and downright narcissistic to put it mildly. I think UK fans fit their stereotype a bit more. Especially in recent weeks proven by the amount of fan apparel based on negative views of UofL rather than positive views of their own team.

Hate Louisville
Looserville
Louisville Sucks

I pride myself on the positives a team brings rather than the negative of the the opponent. I have UK clothing and if they aren't playing against UofL I even root for them. They have a tremendously talented group in their program right now and I certainly think that they have the number one player in the nation right now in Anthony Davis. They play consistently well and work well together. They make few mistakes and this evenings semi-final game was a testament to that.

Louisville has a strong team and play an aggressive game that disrupts any opponents game plan and they deserve to be where they are as well. Siva, Behanan, both Smiths and Dieng are a fantastic lineup along with Kuric. Their downfall this evening was that they fell into foul trouble once again along with missing many shots that some would say the dome has something to do with it. I believe they led offensive rebounds and played aggressive defense throughout. They simply couldn't stop Davis while he could stop them.

However as great as a game this was the fans proved once again their own stereotypes. People where absolutely obnoxious and ranting as well as destroying things openly without regard for others. My hats off to a handful of UK fans who congratulated Louisville on a tough game and that prior to the game looked forwarded to regardless the outcome a Kentucky team would be playing in the championships. Those are great fans. To you I remove my hat and congratulate you you and your team with a well deserved victory.

As for the rest of you, I simply hope you make it home safely and without a new item on your criminal record. Go CARDS!!!

And go UK against Kansas! Bring that NCAA championship to Kentucky once again!

What To Do?

As most of you already know if you follow me, I am a proud father of two daughters who I had in a previous marriage and went through an awful divorce. Not only in regards to me, but also for my daughters. I have joint primary custody and want more than anything to get full custody. What pains me the most is having to defend my ex-wife's behavior to my daughters when they don't want to go to see her but are torn as they wish to see their two younger siblings she has since conceived.

This weekend was not a normal visitation weekend but I was selfish because my wife had purchased an awesome birthday present for me and the ex-wife was out of town for her visitation. She has been somewhat civil and asked to have the kids this weekend since she had returned. Against my wife's better judgement I agreed and she drove to us to pick them up.

My wife and I have a great weekend and Sunday morning around 10am I get a call form my ex-wife screaming "Come pick up your thieving as children, stealing money outta my purse and lying!" I and still hocked from the initial screaming and accusations. While I am trying to sort out what is going on, she of course accuses me of being in their area and to turn around and come get them. We live two hours away and she was going to have to wait for me to get there. I hated the fact that we were so far away because I knew the girls were getting worse then I was over the phone.

We leave and in the process I call her back to talk to my oldest daughter and find out what is going on. She is telling me her side of the story about how they found the money at vending machine in the lobby and she assures me she wasn't in her mother's purse nor did she steal anything. Suddenly I hear the ex-wife yell in the background "Tell your daddy to hurry up and come get you. I don't f**king wan't you down here no more no damn way." At this point I am almost livid and my daughter is emotionally upset and beginning to cry. I tell her to go to her grandmother's vehicle who happened to be with them at the time.

The drive gets slightly faster and my blood is racing. I know I have to calm down because our exchange takes place at a police station in a county about 2/3 the distance from my home. When I arrive my daughter is upset and my other daughter is not aware of what is going on other than she was accused of stealing as well. However all the sudden the ex is calm and refusing to say anything. her grandmother is pleasant and asking me to ignore my ex. she doesn't want to lose the visitations as she usually cares for them when they go down there. She assures me nothing happened and everything is okay. She evens gives them enough change to get something from the gas station to snack on for the drive home. I can't believe and I am extremely upset but I try to be calm.

We get my daughters gathered and into the car and drive away and I try to discuss it with my daughters but at this point I no longer have an ounce of desire to defend my ex. i will refrain from speaking badly about er but won't defend her and since my daughter's don't want to see her i won't. The downside is we have a divorce decree that grants her visitation on the 1st and 3rd weekends of each month. So what do I do now...

They need to learn to speak our language...

So I am sitting at work today and I run across an email in our customer service mailbox that really points to the idiocy of today's society. Let me first start by saying my ethnicity or race has no involvement in the following view. If you must know I am Hispanic. I agree that Naturalization needs works and I also feel that people who choose to come to the United States should make an earnest attempt to understand and effectively communicate with others as it should be for anyone going to any other country and wanting to establish themselves in that country. However that doesn't mean that you don't deserve the right to be here until you can speak the dominant language. That shouldn't deny you the opportunity to live the American dream of providing for your family and better your life and the life of your family.

I work for a company that does business internationally and offers bi-lingual and starting multi-lingual support to its customers. As an active participant to in this business you receive a web page that allows you sell services to customers in any country that we operate in and in those languages we support. So when an event promotion email goes out and includes bi-lingual messages, English first mind you, why are you so willing to respond to the company and copy other people to say "WHEN ARE YOU GONNA MAKE THEM LEARN TO SPEAK OUR LANGUAGE TO BE HERE AND WORK HERE" and then one of the copied parties also replies all to your response to include a similarly written message.

Why do you choose to participate in an international company that you know operates this way and you still want to basically spam customer service with your bigot opinions. Then stop doing business with us. Cancel your accounts and services and try to find another company that only works and speaks your language. Stop benefiting from people on your sales force who help to make you money that you show this distaste and disgust for.

I experience this in every aspect of life. School, work, charities, children's activities. Why do you bother to take part in any organization that operates against your beliefs. You can't join something knowing how it functions and it expect it to change how it does business to match your needs. You sought that organization out.

I fully expect to see people who disagree and I welcome your perspective. I value your opinion and hope to hear from you. I also expect to see random obscenities and unfounded comments. Go for it. You are simply giving others the chance to see my perspective better by irrationally giving a different point of view.

The basis of so many perceptions in the United States fail to appreciate whom gave us this right and opportunity to live how we do today. Defined not by a race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, disability or any other defining characteristic to societal standards dies for us by serving in the military or provides services that anyone of us feels we are above doing. They are people who believe in the right that they can do more with their life to benefit the lives of those around them.

I don't think only black, or hispanic or white people milk the welfare system. People milk the welfare system. The ghettos  are not only black, or hispanic or white . Trailer parks aren't only filled with  black, or hispanic or white people. Everyone lives the same. Social economic classes see all people at every level.

Find something you are capable of, excel at it, make you and your surroundings better off but do it not at the expense of others. Otherwise I will call it like I see. Your an idiot and a bigot.

Why We Need Healthcare Reform

Today's post is from a week or to ago but I felt it needed to be seen. My wife and I are currently expecting a baby girl. When we found out she was pregnant, her doctor suggested we apply for WIC and a medical card to supplement our current healthcare plan, a high deductible HSA. So we did. The state of Kentucky denies us based on the fact that since we already have some form of healthcare coverage on my wife that we must make less than $1,555 dollars a month combined in order for her to get a medical card.

That is equal to rent, daycare and gas to work and school. How can a family of four live of of that type of income and only be asking for assistance on a medical card? That would mean we would also however qualify for food stamps if we only made that much money a month. I don't want to be on food stamps. I am fairly proud of the fact that both my wife and I work and go to school and still make time to spend with our kids who participate in academic team and youth soccer.

I call back to appeal the case and end up speaking to a supervisor at our local community based services office.  We verify the numbers as well as the coverage we already have and our incomes. She said the denial is valid and I ask what would need to be different in order for us to get assistance. We are already seeing lab work and doctor visits of $500+ after our insurance discounts and payments for prenatal care. She is hesitant to answer and it comes to me. I very plainly ask that if my wife was not covered by my insurance could she then receive a medical card vs receiving a medical card now as a supplement to offset the costs paid for by my insurance. Again my HSA is designed that once the deductible is met then they cover 100% of our medical costs. She can't answer that but we both now the answer.

Of course I don't plan on dropping my insurance coverage but it goes to show a lot wrong with our current healthcare system if the state of Kentucky is unwilling to cover the small offset cost that our insurance is picking up upfront and rather help to cover someone who is unwilling to work, unwilling to better their situation and unwilling to seek their own coverage. Someone who would prefer to milk the system and get unnecessary coverage and benefits.

I do understand that there are those who can't work, who have viable and necessary reasons for receiving benefits. This is nothing against them nor does it have to do with them. This is for all the other situations that are uncalled for and cost a family who is truly needing the small help that can't get it. THIS IS WHY HEALTHCARE NEEDS REFORM...

Day One: Introduction

Decided to start something new today. I thought by sharing my experiences I can maybe reach other people who can learn from or simply enjoy reading about others.

So let's start with a small introduction.

I am married (for a second and final time) with two beautiful daughters, 9 and 6, with another on the way. I work full-time and also attend Eastern Kentucky University full-time as an undergraduate student. I am seeking my bachelor's degree in Network Security and Electronics. I was raised between Kentucky and Colorado and have family all across the United States. I love and miss Colorado but enjoy Kentucky as well other than the humidity within the Ohio Valley.

My parents divorced when I turned 13. My father was in the US Army for 23 years and remarried. Contrary to how many people view it I have two mothers and two brothers as well as a sister from the new marriage. Not step or half siblings. Family is family which a lot of people seem to have forgotten nowadays.

My interests include practically anything technology related, computers, soccer, reading, and cars to name a few. My kids play soccer and I assist coaching when possible. This season will be a first as my wife will be head coach for my six year old's team. We hope to pass on a lot of knowledge and technique to our players.

I also have a ton of experience with a bad divorce and further ensuing custody battle though I gained custody and have proudly maintained it since. I am extremely proud that my wife and I raise our daughters to be well behaved and respectful ladies since their mother isn't the shining example of how they should behave. They are both very smart and very athletic.

So that about covers it for my introduction. I hope to post as often as possible and hope that people can appreciate my perspective and views or be adults in expressing or debating them.