Anthrax-Now and Then. A head to head comparison of Among the Living and Worship Music.

As there has been a tremendous amount of chatter about the new Anthrax album, "Worship Music" I began thinking if it was as good as everyone has been saying. I first listened to it on Spotify. I liked it immediately. I listened again. And again. And again. And then I went out and bought the cd.

The chatter on facebook continued among my friends, hyping the new disc. It was also up for discussion on VH1 Classic's That Metal Show. So now I'm chiming in just for my own entertainment. I find that when I write about music I am forced to listen much closer than if I'm just listening. I have ADD, my attention wanders. But if I write while I listen, I LISTEN.


So let's start with the cover art. The Among the Living cover is damn solid. The wall of obedient minions bowing their heads uniformly like the good disciples they are communicates much about blind obedience to authority. Randall Flagg in the middle looking all "preacherly" and with the holy glow around him is just plain creepy. It's classic.


But....the cover art for Worship Music just blows it out of the water even though they tap the well of zombies that is so overplayed these days. But it just looks way fuckin' cooler. And I can't get it to upload here but the blurred images add motion to the image and these zombie are drawn to the holy glowing Anthrax logo like moths to a flame. Actually, thematically both covers are very similar. These brain dead zombies are drawn to the light of the logo. The brain dead zombies on the cover of Among are diseased....by Flagg's artificial majesty.


Point 1 goes to Worship Music.


Track 1: AtL: Among the Living. An open chord hums and the second guitar twangs away gently dum,de dum dum. Then another guitar chugs like a train starting and then it all kicks in together...DUM DE DUM DUM. Benate's drums sound great. He bangs away on the toms. The lead guitar comes in mirroring the main riff. There's a couple of rolling fills on the drums and then it gets heavier than shit. Dum de dum dum. chug chug chug chug. Thrash is born. de dum de dum de dum. Then Benate totally spazzes out and the double bass gets knockin' and the song kicks in. The pace of the song is frantic. The weakest part of the whole machine is Belladonna's vocals. They sound thin and processed. Everything else is heavy as fuck. "I'm the walkin' dude! "....3rd verse it sounds like Joey is trading off vocals with someone else but I think it's Joey. His voice sounds a bit better here. I love the gang hardcore backup vocals. 1st real lead of the song is all right. Nothing super impressive. Dan Spitz was replaceable. Benate's drums are brutal. Belladonna's screams are better in this part of the song. When his voice is shredding as oppposed to the falsetto singing, he is worthy of fronting such a heavy unit. AMONG AMONG AMONG AMONG....FOLLOW ME OR DIE!!!!


WM: Opens with a synth/organ/siren/muddled voices/some guitars....just an intro so I'll count the next track the actual track one. Earth On Hell: It begins in a total fury of blast beats and riffing guitars. The main riff is jack hammer pounding but it doesn't live up to the standard set on Among. It's fast and brutal, but the grove just isn't there. Once again Benate's drums are beastly. The guitars sound great in this tune. A lot of stop start chugging. I can't stop listening to Charlie's drums. His fills are so good. I like the leads better on this one. Belladonna's vocals are tougher. The chorus of this one has the best riff of of the track...the ticking clock part leads to another great fill by Charlie B. Lars from Metallic should take note. The drums sound great.


Point 2 goes to AtL. 1-1.



Track 2: AtL: Caught in a Mosh...some open chords to start and guitar 2 is chugging. Then that fucking bass line comes in nananannananan....the guitars mirror the bass line and then some blast beats and then the song lashes out into an all out frenzy. The vocal pattern on the 1st verse isn't great....it's been sort of just thrown on top. "now get the hell out of my house." Great
vocals on the bridge though. The shouting backups are hardcore. Joey's singing is best in the chorus. There's a nice little bass fill in there too. At the 230 mark there is an excruciating scream from Joey...and it's good. When the song breaks into the main lead solo Joey intros it with a scream/singing thing that is dreadful. Harmonized solos ala Iron Maiden. Another verse and it's over.


WM: The Devil You Know: Stop/start riffing. Charlie's banging on toms and a snare. This one's got a groove. Some triplets by Charlie and then song starts. Joey's vocals sound very classic 80s here...whitesnake? A part sounds just like Cadillac Rock Box off another Anthrax album with John Bush. An arena sized chorus...is this Anthrax or ??? I just can't place it. Warrant? Some of the old school Anthrax gang vocals. "Gotta go with the devil you know"...song gets interesting around the 240 mark. Solo is kick ass. Sounds like a little bit of Wah Wah in there...not sure. Charlie's riding on the open high hat....this chorus is huge!!!!



Point 3= .5 each


Track3: AtL: I am the Law....opening riff is a classic. du duh du..der...ner...ner...ner...ner...some interesting bass. then we're chugging right along...chug, chug, chug, .....bass...some open chords and when the vocals kick in they accompany what might be the best riff on this album. Vocals are weak again. Especially the scream about mega city was ....bllllaaaahh.. whatever. RESPECT THE BADGE. fuck yeah...that's hardcore. YOU WON'T FUCK AROUND NO MORE. The scream on "Judge Jury and Executioner" starts really strong and ends barely hanging on....at about 340 the song goes berserk and goes into warp speed. More dual harmonies...bad leads. Some nice double bass....another scream by Joey as the song slows down and gets back into some singing. This might be the best scream on the album.



WM: Fight em til You Can't" - an attempt at a White Zombie type sample. I don't think it's a real sample...doesn't sound great. Could've gotten a stronger voice in there. Song starts with a der ner ner ner.............then kicks into some serious riffing....the main riff of the song is great, especially once the second guitar kicks in. Charlie leads into the vocals with some great fills. Joey's voice sounds strong, nice harmonizing with backup vocals. Some more classic Anthrax mean guy backing vocal shouts. A nice lead in the chorus....the bass sound on this song is really fat and chunky. There's a cool whispered part just before it slips back into the verse. The double bass plays right along with the guitars on the chugging riff here. Some more wah sounds from the lead guitar. Interesting melodic lead. Charlie's drums go crazy once again. Scott riffs...and riffs. The bass sound and interplay between the riffing and the double bass really carry this on. A double hit on the snare. The chorus again...it's big. Arena sized again. The final bridge/chorus/verse thing is good but somewhat familiar again...I can't place it.

Point4: AtL 2.5 - 1.5

Atl: Efilnikufesin....guitar is a bit whiny. dual harmonies again. another nice chugging riff. bello's bass is really clankin' away in the background ala steve harris. vocals processed again. not a great vocal pattern, it's almost like he's talking...the bridge leading to the chorus is the best part of the song..."wasting your life...." nice riff here and charlie's drums
blast away...N.F.L...nice shouts again. Bello's really going nuts on the bass again. Boring solo. Great riffing by Scott

WM: I'm Alive: Nice soft strumming...both guitars working together. The chugging riffs come in. Some toms and bass drums. Chanting vocals. It's all building and being led by the drums. Again, Charlie's snare sounds great. Open high hat. A little bass fill and the vocals start. Joey's voice is strong again. The chugging riff grooves. Another GIANT chorus. Vocal harmonies. A blistering guitar solo. Great tone. I don't need to listen to any more of this track...it's the best on the album thus far. Still listening...330...great stop start break. Another kick ass solo. it's not just fast but it's got emotion in it. I love the guitar tone here.

Point 5 = WM. 2.5-2.5

AtL: A Skeleton in the Closet. Chugging...Chugging. Snare high hat. Double Bass. Jackhammer riff......great bass sound by Bello. Charlie's double bass drums are leading this song. Another Bellos bass blast. Some great lead riffs here....almost danceable. Charlie's drums make this song. and Frank's bass. I do like the leads here...they're switching from ear to ear....sirens and cries. they really add to the song. The more I listen, the more I like Frank's playing here.

WM: HYMN 1...sound like be all end all...Cello. I like it. Cinematic...but it's not a song. So now we're into the chiming bells of In the End. Nice looping riff. A nu-metal sort of lead over it. Charlie's drums are pounding...dududududududududududud. This has the feel of an epic. A double bass fill...chugging guitars. a stop. start. Nice vocal pattern...voice still sounds strong. Good guitar work. Big chorus. Dual guitars harmonizing again....big looping riff. Bells, crowd cheers. Officially an epic song. Whoooaaaaaoooaaahhhh....chanting. Chorus. Booming drums.

Point : WM 2.5-3.5

AtL: Indians. The tribal drums. The chanting guitars. After listening to Worship Music, this sounds hollow and thin. Then it kicks into the blitzkrieg lightning riff...blistering. then the main riff dances around. Joey's voice just sounds shredded. Great mean guy backup vocals again. Classic song...that fuckin riff is the best on the album.

WM: The Giant...great guitar sound to start. Sort of annoying vocal patter. No melody. Sounds like an industrial song. The bridge is interesting. But the main verse sucks. Yuk

Point: AtL 3.5-3.5

AtL: One World: nice bass. Boring guitars....humming insects to open. cool fills by charlie...roto toms???? Typical thrash riff of the time. Could've been Exodus. Main riff is cool once Joey starts singing. ONE TWO, NOT, THREE FOUR.....IT'S NO EXCUSE. I love the Anthrax metal backup vocals...hardcore. Throwaway song. Good main riff....could've been something.

WM: Skipping Hymn 2...Judas Priest. Ok start. Like the lead to open. Another nice Chugger once the riffing starts. Main vocal pattern during verse is boring. Bridge/Chorus is more interesting than verse pattern.

Point: .5 each 4-4

AtL: ADI/Horror of It All: Nice little acoustic ditty. Actually, not very interesting. Chug, Chug, Chug. It's a march....the bass sounds great....the song keeps building and climbing. Straightforward drumming by CB. When riff changes it still sounds cool...leads are annoying. Spitz sucked. Very long lead in to this song.Double bass...back to cool ass riff. Vocals mediocre. "Whoa,..oh....oh. It's time to say goodbye...it's a horror" Melodic and catchy. More annoying leads. Great riffing though.

Wm:Crawl: sound like a strumming banjo. Is this Velvet Revolver? Holy cow...the vocals...is this velvet revolver? Is this velvet revolver? Now It's any modern rock radio mainstay of the past 5 years...BORING!!!!

Point: AtL 5-4

AtL: Imitation of Life: Dull start. ooohhhh...but wait. What a fat fucking riff after that start...the dull start actually makes the big fat riff fatter. Genius!!!! This song crawls along...then blasts into the stratosphere. More great speed riffing. But once the song speeds up the vocal patter sucks. Worst screams ever...ah....ah.....ah.....Anger burns.....the song is now a blur of sounds......more of the worst screams ever. nothing very musical about this part of the song....great mosh break in the middle.

WM: The constant: opening riff sounds like Saliva. It's a straightforward rocker. Nothing different than the last song from this album. there's one more track...Revolution Screams---sort of noisy. Not the great riffing I heard before. More big radio arena rock...but not original. The song gets a little interesting at 450 mark.

Point AtL 6-4....

and there you have it. Among the Living is still the classic Anthrax album.

A Day in the Life (of a Teacher)

Today I decided that I'd start logging in all of my activities while at work and home. During last year's legislative session, the messages on the news bombarded the nation with this and that about "lazy teachers" living with their "fat pensions" and "cushy hours." I've been at this for almost 15 years and I'm good at it. I like it. And I hate everything about it that's not involved with classroom instruction with students. Everything else it involves is total and complete bullshit.

And how did we get here? That's a long story for another time. My current focus is on what goes daily in an ordinary high school classroom in a public school. Somehow, since everyone has spent some time in a classroom they think they can teach. Or at least tell teachers how to teach.

All of the public accolades go to police and firemen. I'm not saying they don't deserve it but if teachers were unable to reach as many students as they do imagine how many more people the police would have to deal with. Ignorance is at the root of so many social ills and being an educator, a truly driven and motivated teacher, can be the solution to this all-encompassing problem. Dealing with the problems after they have already become problems is not a solution. It's the same with American medicine, we wait until someone is sick before we try to cure/fix them. If we could change lifestyle and eating habits before a patient becomes sick, we've cured the problem before it even comes into existence. So why all of the negative press and lack of attention to the truly inspired and effective teacher? Aren't we trying to extinguish society's ills before they begin to form?

Police, firemen, and professional athletes are heralded as champions of our society because their deeds are far more dramatic than the teacher's. Even when we turn to fictional characters we find the flawed everyman embodying heroic values through the occupations of firefighting and policing. Look no further than Jimmy McNulty or Tommy Gavin, characters from The Wire and Rescue Me. They have the stuff main characters are made of. Integrity. Honor. An ability to cut through bullshit and do the job the way the job is meant to be done. They butt heads with bosses and bureaucrats. They ignore horseshit policy in the name of common sense and doing what's right.

Even though these gentlemen are fictional characters, they are the embodiment of my fundamental beliefs. They are archetypes who have a true sense of right from wrong. Honor lies in doing the job well, not for money nor glory but rather because doing something well is a reward in and of itself. That's something these twats in Tallahassee and Washington know nothing of. And what's the price a man has to pay for trying to wade through oceans of bullshit in order to stay afloat and do the righteous thing? As art so often imitates life, we find our protagonists frequently self-destructing. In Hollywood this provides drama and allows for empathy. But in real life the disconnect between what is and what should be is so often disconcerting and it has to be dulled some how. Some people turn to god, others to doctor's prescriptions, and we Irish tend to self-medicate.

As this is drifting off into philosophical pondering not originally intended, I'll end that here and give you a glimpse into a single day of my life a teacher. There's nothing extraordinary here. There's nothing exaggerated or embellished to make it more dazzling or eye opening. Just straight up 1st person narrative of a single day. A day that runs in direct opposition to everything we heard last winter/spring regarding the failure of America's "lazy teachers."

9/19/2011
As the day begins at midnight, I am asleep. This lasts until my 3 year old daughter wakes me and my wife up at a little after 1am as she's been having nightmares lately. We get her back to bed and find ourselves awake again in less than an hour. Another nightmare. This time it takes me over and hour to get back to sleep. I think about work for most of this time. I have a lot to get done this week including communicating the summary of my department meeting to my principal, ordering supplies for my department, leaving plans for my sub for Tuesday, grading papers, and getting union info out to schools in my district.

When my alarm initially goes off at 530am, I hit snooze. There's no way I'm getting up. I'm beat. The second time it goes off I hit snooze again. I get up before it goes off again though. Once up I get myself washed and dressed, let the dog out and feed him and then proceed to make my lunch. I pack several items into a cooler and then go up to get my kids up. Getting them out of bed takes about 2 or 3 minutes. They go off to brush their teeth. My daughter returns to me to ask for help getting toothpaste on the toothbrush. I help get their shoes on and help them tie them. My son can tie his own shoes but his laces are very short and he can't get them tied hard enough to make it last the day. His teacher won't tie shoes at school, so I help him with the double knot. My daughter puts her pants on backwards. I help her with them. I help my son wet and brush his hair. Again, he can do this himself but he has a terrible cowlick that he just can't manage. I grab my cooler and my backpack of clothes for the gym and put them in my car. I return to get my coffee mug and a breakfast bar which I will eat on the drive into work. I hug my kids, kiss them, tell them I love them and kiss my wife goodbye. It's 630.

On the 15 minute drive to work I again mull over the most important tasks of the day. I listen to music very loudly to get the blood pumping and come alive. But I mostly think about what I need to do when I walk in the door and mentally prioritize.

From 7 to 715 I check my email. There are 16 new ones. I respond to 2. While composing the second one a former student comes in to ask about a recommendation to the naval academy. After a few minutes I get back to the second response. I cut it short so I can send it off and move on to other tasks.

Around 715 I move out into the hallway to supervise student travel and keep an eye out for any "issues." At 720 class starts and I then begin "sweeping" students who are tardy. I jot their names onto an index card to be turned in to our In School Suspension Dude and write them tardy passes to 1st period. Today I only get two. There are more students in the halls but I also have cart duty that requires me to drive a golf cart around campus to secure two gates and check the campus for any suspicious activity and check student passes if they are roaming campus. I am also supposed to ticket illegally parked cars. Our contract stipulates 15 minutes of duty during our planning period. I get back to my room at 740.

From 740 until 816 I grade papers, organize my desk and classroom, post assignments on the board, review the day's lesson plans/assignments, check my emails again, and complete a leave form for a professional development workshop I will be attending next week.

At 816 I have hall duty as students change classes. During this time I discuss a "chunking" strategy that was presented at the last department meeting and is a school-wide requirement to meet the goals of our school improvement plan and our response to intervention guidelines. A student interrupts discussion to talk about his weekend. He's new to the school and has no friends. I ask one question about his weekend and then send him back into the classroom to begin the day's work. I finish the conversation about "chunking."

I am back in my room at 821. While students are completing their grammar warm-up activity, I grade some more papers after taking attendance and putting it in the computer. After about 4 minutes when they should be finishing, I get up and pass out the week's vocabulary assignment. I then recirculate the room to put a stamp on completed grammar warmups. We then spend about 5 minutes going over the activity. I call on students to answer and praise correct answers and prompt students to explain why they answered how they did. When students were wrong I thanked them for giving a response but turned to others asking for corrections and explanations as to why the answers were wrong.

For the remainder of class we are watching a video on essay writing. It is a summary of the previous weeks' instruction. I remind students of the task at hand, comparing the video to my instruction. Their notes will be collected at the conclusion of the video. While the video is playing I grade more essays. I stop the video to discuss salient points at 845, 851, 856. I call a student to my desk to discuss his rough draft. He is a week behind. He finally has it right and I praise his work. At 859 I start putting grades into my computer. At 906 I check my email again. From 907-912 I conference with individual students showing them their grades and telling them what they can do to improve or praising them for great work and effort.

At 912 I am in the hall for the change of classes again. I discuss a failing student with a colleague who had her last year. He confirms my assessment of her. Smart but lazy. She will skate by with a D and be satisfied with it, as will her mother.

The start of 3rd period is much like 2nd: I circulate and grade and praise and go over answers and talk with one student quietly about her mother's recent recovery from a stroke. The student apologizes for falling behind. I tell that it's no problem and ask more about her mom. I tell her to take care of herself before worrying about classwork.

At 944 I put the video on and start grading more papers. Like last period I stop the video to discuss important points but this time I put a diagram on the board to illustrate. Every lesson improves after doing it once or twice. The best ideas usually pop into my head as I'm doing something else.

At 959 I am still grading papers and writing specific feedback on essays. I am still stopping the video from time to time to highlight points. At 1005 I call students up to discuss grades.

1008 -Hall duty for the change of classes. This time I discuss certification requirements with a colleague who has questions about a letter she received from the county office.

Fourth period is the same as the previous two until we start going over the grammar drill. These guys aren't getting it even though we've been doing it for almost a full week. As I call on students, they give incorrect responses. I have to give extra explanations while also calling out specific students to maintain attention. They are a chatty bunch more concerned with socialization than academic achievement and I have to refocus them at least 5 times. All of my classes are honors classes even though this class really isn't. They can't compete with the previous two periods. They are almost two weeks behind my other two English classes. It takes 15 minutes longer to complete a simple grammar activity regarding pronouns. I forgo the second part of the activity in an attempt to make up some time. Sometimes things have to be skipped or glossed over for the sake of time.

1104-11:11-hall duty. I skip it to grade a few more papers. I'm not even 1/2 way through the stack I have in front of me.

11:12 I give the instructions for my Speech class. They are to work in groups and finish the assignment we started on Friday. They have 10 minutes until they begin presentations.

11:13 I go to the bathroom for my first piss break of the day. I slip out and ask my colleague across the hall to keep an eye on my class.

11:15 I take attendance and then presentations begin. Between each group I provide immediate verbal assessment and feedback. At 1145 a student asks for a pass to guidance. At 1152 I have my 1st casual conversation of the day as our athletic director comes into my class to boast about his fantasy football victory over my team this week. Our conversation lasts 2 minutes. 1154 we are back into the presentations.

I eat my sandwich during the last presentation at 1158.

12;07 a student asks me to proof his college application essays. I confirm that I will but assert that I will need a bit of time. He leaves them with me. I put them off to the side of my desk. By the end of the day they are under piles of papers and books.

1210 I begin grading papers again as the presentations have concluded. I give my class 5 minutes of free time. 1212 I have to get students back into my room and close my door as they meander into the hall in hopes of leaving for lunch early so they can get to the front of the ever so alluring chicken nugget line.

1215 the bell rings for lunch. I have 30 minutes for lunch. I've already eaten. I grade papers as a student from 6th period pops in to drop her stuff off. She has an Individual Education Plan and is labelled as an Emotional Behavior Disorder or some such jargon. She talks and talks and laughs and I smile and nod but want to get my papers graded. She finally leaves.

1219 I finish with the work from period 3 and input numbers into the computer. I am finished with inputting at 1235 and proceed to pull materials to be scanned for department-wide "chunking" assessment. I scan the documents and then email. In the email I compose a directive regarding these assessments along with information about professional development. I solicit feedback for my future meetings with the principal and reading coach.

Students begin filtering into my room at 1243 for 6th period, another speech class. A boy wants to discuss the book he's reading. I ask him to wait until I am done with my email. He goes over to a couple of other students who lack interest and returns to me and begins talking. I continue my email and try to ignore him. He still goes on and I find my attention divided. I end the email without feeling it's complete but send it anyway. Check...something else off the list.

As class starts at 1250 I give the same directions as I did in the previous period. They work for 10 minutes while I circulate the room and provide assistance where needed. At 102 I return to my desk to check my email again and a student approaches with questions regarding my assessment of her last speech. We talk for a couple of minutes until her questions are answered. I receive an email from the YMCA regarding student youth in government. I have to meet with a colleague across campus to get her materials and discuss this info. I jot it in my appointment book and get back to class.

At 107 a student approaches for a grade correction. I fix it.

At 109 I announce we are going to begin presentations. I evaluate and provide feedback like the previous period until 136 when presentations are finished. I check my email again. I have 8 new ones. I respond to 2.

At 140 students leave and I eat a snack at 141.

At 145 I begin typing up my directions for tomorrow's substitute as I will be at a committee meeting with the deputy superintendant, the director of human resources, and various other county administration regarding the development of the new assessment tool we created last year to comply with the Federal Race to the Top grant along with the new Florida Teacher Merit Pay Bullshit Law.

I am interrupted immediately by the school's reading coach who requested a meeting with me on Friday through email. I told her I would find a time when things calmed down a bit. She apparently thought she should still come to meet me as English Dept. Chair in order to discuss future professional development. She talks for the majority of the 53 minutes she is in my room. I tell her honestly that the last strategy was a waste of time and we get into a philosophical discussion regarding the modern state of education. We discuss many notions and seem to agree on most. I ask why do we constantly rename and reuse the same old strategies with tweaks here and there and find no miracle cures and go on to suggest that maybe the strategies aren't flawed but perhaps it's the students who are flawed. It's the parents who are flawed. It's the testing that's flawed. It's the grading of schools that is flawed. In years past a good or bad teacher really wasn't the focus of instruction. Not in my day nor my father's. The onus was on the us as students. Read, study, do the assigned work, learn, pass the test. If not, there were consequences at home. Now, there is very little accountability for the student. It's all been placed up on the school and teacher. But once again, that's another discussion for another time.

241 she's gone and I check my email. There are 6 new. I reply to one about shoes and clothing donations for a needy student. The teachers at my wife's school have gotten her a bunch of stuff. I have to now get it to her teacher who originally inquired about a single pair of shoes because the girl didn't have any, just an old pair of busted flip flops.

At 252 I finish printing out my directions for the sub. I leave work and still have made absolutely no dent in any of the paperwork and grading awaiting me.

301 I am pulling out of the parking lot after being stopped by two more colleagues. One has questions about the new teacher evaluation system and the other confirms my pending absence tomorrow in order to check on the sub.

At 321 I am home. I get the mail, let the dog out, go to the bathroom, and change into my gym clothes.

340 I bike to the gym.

350 weight training at the gym

430 bike home

447 put bike in garage, hop in car, pick up kids from daycare. They talk ALL THE WAY HOME....my daughter cries twice on the ride. She's tired.

509 we are back in the house and by 511 I start dinner. My wife is now working at her second job. While the beef is browning in the pan, I usher my daughter into the shower. While she showers I wash the dishes from the morning/last night, empty my cooler and rinse its contents, and then have to return my daughter to the shower because she comes out telling me it's too cold. Less than one minute later she's scared of a bug and is out again. The beef is still browning.
522 I add the other ingredients to the beef...yea!!! hamburger helper in the skillet and a can of spinach drained and microwaved.

525 I wonder if I should make a cup of coffee or have a beer. I decide upon the coffee..it's the only way I'll make it through the night. A beer on a Monday would confirm the McNulty/Gavin syndrome.

534-my daughter has just said "Daddy" at least 15 times in the last 3 minutes. I set the coffee pot for the morning.

536 my son tells me that he "took a 12 minute bath" three times.

538 I tell the kids to stop talking or else I will have a nervous breakdown.

540 dinner is finished and served. I forgot to get their drinks. I pour two glasses of milk.

542 my daughter cries and says she doesn't like dinner.


544 my wife comes home

545 I sit to eat

549 I finish and begin cleaning up from cooking.

605 i am done cleaning. i help my kids video call their grandmother in NY.

615 they get to watch tv. I surf the internet.

630 we head upstairs for bed. I read to my son for about 10 minutes. Then I lay in bed with him and talk about school. He tells me about his tests and his work. We joke about stuff and I get silly and tickle him and kiss him goodnight. He hugs me and tells me what he tells me every night, "Please don't go, I love you so." I tell him that I still have to shower and shave and get ready for tomorrow.

I say goodnight to my daughter after playing "jump up and down. She then comes down out of her bed 3 times because she is overtired and crying.

By 715 I'm back downstairs and typing this up. I still have to recheck my school email for a couple of things and then I can shower, shave, and get into bed. it will be about 10 o'clock.

I just remembered that I forgot to marinate the steak that we're having for dinner tomorrow night. Off to the kitchen....