T-Minus

+1

I've never had cable or satellite except for Internet access, and only rarely even rabbit ear antenna. Always just rental content - VHS, then DVDs, now streaming. It's there as much as you want, when you want it, pause at-will for real life without missing a thing.

When your hour-long show is only 42 minutes (and that's including the intro and credits) you start to realize how much advertising they throw at you.

No internet?  That's hard core.

This is kind of interesting.  I'd be curious to see how many of us who are "out" don't have cable or watch less TV than the average bear.  Perhaps the sucking away of years lends us to cherish the future more than watching the boob tube allows.

And as for this weekend?  We will both most certainly enjoy ourselves.  I'm going to her place, so she will treat for dinner.  I was just thinking about it, but I've never been treated on a date in my life.  It will be an interesting experience.

Well, my lady has already travelled 7 hours (here and back) to see me. I am going to do the same to see her. And in 2 more weeks we will repeat the process.  Seriously...learning to game mileage cards is huge whether visiting someone or just running amuck.

The next trick I have is to figure out how to keep my kids away from the house the next time she comes over.  We don't have a huge tradition of privacy / personal space in our family.  I want them to feel welcome...this is their home too.  But I also don't want them to know that I'm dating...probably a bit too soon less than a month out.  I've got about 3 weeks to figure this out, so I've got a bit of time.

The thought has crossed both our minds but the problem is that due to, volume concerns, we might not hear them come in before it's too late.

Thinking about barracading the door with a chair or something lol.

You should do that or get some rubber door stops. 

I am so happy for you.

T-Plus-27: Divorce Finalized
T-Minus-3: Shammy performs a taste test of boner medicines while visiting his lady

Hello campers...today's subject is erectile dysfunction, cutting my cable, and moody teens (these are all quite unrelated)

So, I fly out to see my lady in 3 days. As a precaution against the, uh, difficulties I had last time, I've engaged the services of my physician for a medicinal solution. If we were in the same town, I'd prefer the trial/error method, but not if we are having to fly halfway across the country. I got my prescription this morning, and can't wait to experiment. When I was researching, I liked Cialis, but Christ on a cracker, that shit is EXPENSIVE! Without insurance, it's like $40+ per pill. Granted each pill is supposed to last 3 days, but even so...But I got a prescription for it anyway (not sure if I'll fill it).

I also got a prescription for a generic that has all of the active ingredients in Viagra. There isn't really any generic available for any of these medications, but my doctor says this is what she typically prescribes, and depending on how much I want to use, it is enough for anywhere between 10 and 20 doses and is only $30 without insurance. So I'll give that a try, but bring the Cialis prescription with me just in case. Honestly, I don't know if I'll need it at all. I suspect that after 20 years in a SM and 3 years in the monastery, there are probably just a few wires crossed. But I'm in my mid 40's now, so don't want to rule out anything. I do know that I am actually excited to try this stuff out, whether I truly need it or not

It was a bit disconcerting that my doctor had an assistant with her typing notes on the computer as I discussed the fact I was having trouble keeping a boner. Gotta love them electronic medical records! I still have to take a "I'm not going to kill myself" questionnaire every time I go to the doc from the time years ago telling her about my marriage-related depression. Oh, and it's also a thrill to fill out survey on how much booze I can knock away when I don't drink anymore. It was also an esteem-building moment when I got my physical a few months back. I had to fill out the survey indicating I hadn't been laid in years. I guess the only way I get off all that shit is to switch doctors, and I've been happy with her for the most part.

Speaking of firm cables, I decided to actually cut the cable at the house. My cable bill was running me $177/month for pretty much basic channels. I got on the phone with the cable company and they transferred me to the "loyalty" department. That's an odd term since my request was to kick them to the curb (quite disloyal IMHO). I told the guy that I wanted to keep the internet but kill the cable, he asked why. I told him that it's because I really don't watch TV anymore (yet another way I let my life slip away as I coped with my failed marriage). He then proceeded to tell me what a great deal on TV I would be missing if I didn't bundle. Essentially, he could bundle things, sign me on a 12 month contract and spend $95 / month (without mentioning why I was being ass fucked for an additional $82/month now).

Well, I reminded him I didn't want the TV and he informed me that the internet without a contract was $74. I asked him how much it was with a contract. He told me $59, including equipment rental. The equipment rental is the cable modem and router ($10). Buying a cable modem and router on Amazon is like $75. So for the amount I am already overpaying them, I could buy the modem in a month. That brings me down to $49 per month as soon as my cable modem arrives. Done. Modem will be ordered tonight.

So, I've got Netflix for something like $15/month, already have Amazon Prime video, and can look at Sling TV ($20-$40) if I really find I can't live without "My 600 pound life". I figure that I'll save at about $100 / month by cutting the cord. On average, that's about 1/2 a flight to see my lady (or in perspective of my Viagra replacement, 30-60 rock hard boners). Yeah...I dropped cable like a hot potato.

I had the kids last weekend and we floated down the Comal river. I've never done that sober, and honestly, it is a lot more fun drunk. A couple two liter bottles for the two hour float (a 6 pack fits exactly into a 2 liter bottle...good to know when no glass is allowed), and I'm usually good. but I had the kids, and it was the water wagon this time. We did some other things over the weekend, and this is the first "trip" the three of us have done since we announced the divorce to them. One of the early casualties of my SM was family trips. I'd say that of the trips we went on as a "family", only about 1/3 of them actually included all the family members. Instead, my ex took them on some trips, I took them on others. So traveling with the kids by myself isn't unusual. This trip, however, something seemed a bit "off".

I'm not sure if it is now that they are both teenagers now or they are actually hurting from the divorce. It's probably a combination of both, and I really don't know how to discuss it with them. When I ask how they are doing, I get the standard teen "fine" response, and the discussion stops there. There really isn't any drama. My daughter is a bit snappy, but she was a bit snappy before. Both kids are confused as hell about the custody schedule. I tried to explain it to my daughter (16 years old), and she was still confused. Hell, sometimes I'm confused. I did say that the schedule was mom's request. I wanted a simpler plan: one week with mom, one week with dad. It was a bit of throwing the ex under the bus, but if she wants the more confusing schedule, it shouldn't be up to me to make sure the kids understand it.

The summer is wrapping up. I will be running amuck in Southern California in 3 days. Two weeks later, due to the miracle of reward card frequent flyer miles, my lady flies to see me in Houston. Over Labor Day, I will take the kids on a road trip to the Florida panhandle (thinking Fort Walton Beach). Hopefully, everything is more settled by that point, and attitudes improve. Or I need to resign myself to the fact I have teens...divorce or not, they are going to be a pain in the ass from time to time.

I actually can't wait until October-ish. Temperatures will be dropping, and I can take the motorcycle out more. On weekends by myself, I plan on tossing a hammock in the saddlebags and going for multi-day trips at a lot of the state parks I haven't had a chance to visit yet (Texas is pretty fucking big).

On the pills, totally gonna get them.  Might need them, might not.  But if I do, I've got em.

As far as the calendar, I've already got one for kid's activities.  I do most of the populating on it, and I've already explained to the ex that it's her job to explain it to the kids.  She's the one who threatened to go scorched earth on that particular issue, so IMHO, it's her responsibility.  And, yes, I'm more than a tiny bit bitter about it.

Dads...if you think you'll be OK with unequal custody, you won't be...especially if you're an extremely active dad.  I'm glad I didn't put the kids through WWIII, but it still does suck.