Took the wife to Orr Lake today to see Tess and to do some fishing. Had a great time, though the two youngest kids were very cranky from being sick. It was kinda hilarious because Tess came to our camp to visit and some time later her "boyfriend" drove his truck over to see what she was doing. She ended up leaving our camp to return to him. Before she left though she said she was definately moving here in August and that she plans to bring her son with her.

Speaking of her son, I think that is gonna be a major sticking point in her plans. She intends to send him here to visit her parents and then use his trip to make the move over. But, I think she is asking for major trouble from her ex-husband. She seems to think that she knows best in this matter. I hope she is right. Frankly, I fear for her. She's burning alot of people in this move.

I think my wife doesn't believe that Tess will move here, and in some ways I see her point of view. Tess hasn't done much to prepare for the move. And she seems very content with her life now. It's hard because I'd like to see her move here. She's a good friend and someone that we can trust. Im confident that she won't screw us over like everyone else has seemed to be doing lately. Also, I feel in my heart that Tess is someone we could trust in helping us start our business. In many ways her presence here would be like adding someone to our family. I just fear that everything will fall apart at the last minute.

Tonight the wife and I went to see Men in Black II. Now I should say as a rule of thumb I dislike sequels. But, this one was funny. The plot was a little hollow but overall it was entertaining. I'd recommend it to anyone. Also, I got to see the trailer for Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers. Oh my God!!! I just can't wait. An insider friend of mine at Games Workshop said that this next movie is supposed to have 30 minutes of straight battle scenes. I think that Momoka will be happy because Legolas gets plenty of screen time. But, I'm sure the movie will still be good(Elves, Yuck!!!).

Yesterday I took the kids to a place called Orr Lake to do some fishing and to see Tess. The short story is that we caught one small fish and got to visit for about an hour with Tess. It was good to see her. She looked really good. In fact, it's the best I've ever seen her look. Unfortunately, I was unable to talk to her about anything because there was always someone around. I found myself wanting to give her a big hug and a kiss, but her boyfriend was around so she kept her distance from me.

Speaking of her boyfriend, I don't like him. In fact, I think I hate him. He looks a little like me but, that's where the similarities end. He struck me as a beligerant redneck and acted "stand-offish" to me. I think he knew I was a former boyfriend of Tess. I was also irritated by the way he talked to her. Though I know that he is not physically abusive of Tess like her ex-husband, I sensed that he was at least emotionally abusive of her. I felt like running him through.

We plan to return to Orr Lake on Friday so that my wife can visit Tess. It'll be funny to watch because my sweetie won't tolerate a beligerant redneck. Especially if she senses that he is abusive in any way to her friend. Tess may be leaving him and moving here sooner than she thinks.

Well, It's the height of Summer here. It's very warm and the days are lazy for everyone. In a few days we'll have the 4th of July celebration. I plan to take the kids out to the lake to see the firework show. Hopefully my darling wife can make enough money in the next few days from tips to buy some fireworks for us to set off.

I'm kinda upset today because my Armenian friend stood me up... AGAIN! We were supposed to get together to haul some stuff to the dump. It really bugs me when he does that. I can't help but take it personally. He talks so much about being my "Armenian Brother". But, he's just not there when I need him. I've tried to be there for him. I'm so sick and tired of fair weather friends. The ones who only come around when things are good. When we can offer something to them. My "friend" Stout came over yesterday. I asked him what's going on and he said he just stopped by to see how we were doing. Then, in almost the same breath he asked to borrow some books from me. DAMN!!! I haven't seen the guy for weeks and when he does come over it's to get something from me.

I guess it's safe to say that I have but one friend, besides my wife, that I can count on.

Well, my house has turned into the den of disease. Every one of my kids is sick with a sort of flu like thing that makes them throw up and leaves them feverish and grumpy. So far, the wife and I aren't sick(knock on wood). I hope everyone is feeling better by next weeks 4th of July celebration.

I tried my hand at running a Star Wars RPG game today. A few friends of mine form way back came over and we played. I felt bad because the stoy I came up with was lame. Everyone saw through it and it ended kinda stupid. I should have prepared more. Of note I played with Tess's brother ho is a difficult person to deal with in the game. I like to run dramatic adventures and he kept interrrupting me with comical side jokes. It made it hard for everyone to focus. My other problem was that everyone was afraid to do anything or take any chances. As a GM you can only guide the party so far before the game becomes a giant narrative. I'll try once more to run a good game. But, if it doesn't work out I'll give up for the time being.

I finally got to take the boy fishing yesterday. We stayed out at the lake way past dark but didn't catch a thing. I think my hook was to big and the catfish just nibbled the bait right off. I'm gonna try again real soon. Also of note, I discovered that my boy is afraid of the dark. I shouldn't surprise me. But, I was glad that I was there for him to hang on to. I think my own calmness set him at ease. I think if there is anything I want to teach my children it is for them to be calm in tense situations, even when they are afraid.