03.15.2005
11:25 a.m.
Destruction and Explanation and Drunkening
This seriously makes me want to cry. The idea that they could have enough votes to open up the Arctic Wildlife Refuge makes me ill. Bush has already caused enough environmental destruction. I think he truly will not be happy unless he destroys everything and anything protected...and sacred...and special.
*deep breath*
Only 3 more years. 3 more years. 3 more years.
God, he can ruin SO MUCH in that time.
Perhaps repression and denial are the way to go with this one. I sign every petition I can. I e-mail/write letters to politicians. I donate money to causes that support my ideals. Beyond that, I am only one person in a country where the government has already proven that they don't give a shit about my beliefs, unless I'm a conservative Christian Republican.
Bah.
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To answer SingleDadGuy's comment from my last entry...
To clarify, my husband and Alex's mom were never married. They had been dating (on and off) for three months when she "accidentally" got pregnant. He tried briefly to stay in a relationship with her, but realized after much thought (and talking to his priest) that he would be miserable forevermore if they stayed together.
No marriage = no divorce = no attorneys (divorce or otherwise)
After Alex was born, her mom said she would be willing to take money from Mr. Science-Girl directly, without going through Friend of the Court. For some reason or another that didn't work out, so they ended up going through Friend of the Court. (Do other states have that? I think it might be unique to Michigan.)
My husband pretty much had no idea what his rights were or how to do things. He was trusting in the system. His ex-girlfriend had been through the whole child support rigamarole before with the father of her son (who has been in jail in Florida for quite a few years), so she knew pretty much what was going on. Neither of them had attorneys.
The Friend of the Court basically uses a set formula to compute who pays what to whom in child support. They can enforce a custody order, but they do not issue them. So, they established parentage and set up child support (which is garnished from Mr. SG's wages and sent to Alex's mom), but custody and visitation really never got officially taken care of.
Alex's mom and Mr. Science Girl agreed that when she was done breastfeeding he would have Alex every other weekend and every other holiday, and his ex was pretty good about sticking to that schedule.
I came into the picture when Alex was about 9 months old. I didn't realize until a bit later that they had no custody or visitation agreement. I've been suggesting to him for the past few years that he go to court and get both, as I'd seen how pissy and vindictive his ex got when he wouldn't just hand over the extra money she asked/nagged/guilted him for. I think he had just trusted her at her word until recently.
So, that's pretty much the story on that. If you want to know any other details about it, feel free to ask my husband about it. (If he ever updates his diary and gets it to show up again.) I can't testify to his thoughts or actions in Alex's earlier life, as I didn't even know he existed at that point.
All I know is that I finally have hope that it will get better. Since his ex actually agreed to sign the petition of joint legal custody, that will be (mostly) taken care of. Hopefully his ex now realizes that we will call her on her lies and that we're not able to just give her hundreds of dollars at a time when she asks for it.
Hopefully.
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Last night I enjoyed a few wonderful hours over beer and bar food with my sister and her fiance, our friend Chrysee, my sister's two roommates and our Amazon friend Liz. At the end of it I delcared that drinking with them had been the equivalent of doing at least 100 crunches. I was laughing so hard at one point that I actually thought, 'Shit. What if I can't breathe again and I pass out?'
I only had 2 tall drafts of Blue Moon beer, but DAYUM. I was happy when I went home.
(PSA: Don't drink and drive.)
I had a very good time. It definitely made me look forward to this summer when the Mixer starts up again. Laughter and friends and beer and standing around in the sunshine listening to music is never a bad thing.
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Wow. I'm whiny and boring today. Sorry about that.
Hopefully I'll have something fun and exciting to talk about after this Sunday, when the Mr. and I meet these superb people for burgers and drinks. It's been way too long since we've seen them...
Listening to: Charlotte Martin - In Parentheses. (It's 4 SONGS! I think I'm addicted.)
Reading: The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success
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