Cutting the Cable

Valentine Brkich July 15, 2015

When we first decided to cancel our cable subscription, reactions varied. But most were that of shock. “You did what?!” exclaimed my dad, staring at me as if I’d just told him I’d gotten a bikini wax.  My mom was just plain disturbed. “I don’t understand,” she said, dumbfounded. “Why? Why would you do that?” Honestly, at…

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Attack of the Phantom Bat

Valentine Brkich July 7, 2015

It was the middle of the night when my wife’s screams roused me from a Cabernet-induced slumber. “It’s attacking me! It’s attacking me!” We were sharing a sectional couch at her cousin’s house in Boston during a short break in our two-week, whirlwind tour of New England. At first I thought I’d accidentally…

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Our Epic New England Roadtrip Adventure

Valentine Brkich July 1, 2015

Thirteen days. Nine states. Two kids. One car.  From June 7 to June 20, my wife and I, along with our two children, embarked on a Griswold-ian adventure as we toured in the not-so-cozy confines of my Hyundai Sonata. Considering we’ve never spent more than a couple hours in the car together, this was either going…

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Attack of the Man-Eating Massage Chair

Valentine Brkich June 3, 2015

My back and neck had been killing me again, so I decided to visit the chiropractor just down the street to see if he could release some of the tension. After a quick adjustment, they ushered me into another room to have me sit in their massage chair for a while. Of course, I had been on a massage chair…

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Father-and-Son Time

Valentine Brkich May 20, 2015

One of the benefits of working for yourself is that on certain days you can choose not to work, which is what I did last Friday. It’s not that I didn’t need to work; it’s just that my wife was sick and The Animal had been driving both of us crazy. So I figured the best thing…

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Father Goose Fail

Valentine Brkich May 6, 2015

I thought about recounting in detail everything that’s happened over the past six days, when my sister, brother-in-law, and their four young daughters came in from out of town and stayed with us. But honestly, it was pretty much all one big, chaotic blur. And, besides, I’m just too tired. Instead I’ll share with you…

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In Search of Sasquatch — the 24th Annual Ohio Bigfoot Conference

Valentine Brkich April 21, 2015

So, I went to a Bigfoot conference this past weekend. Why would anyone do such a thing, you ask? Well, for one, I’ve always been interested in the unknown—Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, U.F.O.’s, the appeal of daytime television, etc. Plus, I was drinking wine and surfing the net one night, and ended up buying…

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A Beastly Encounter

Valentine Brkich April 2, 2015

Looking up the path, I could see the beast staring down at me, saliva dripping from his mouth. Just moments earlier I had left my house to begin my weekly long run. The plan was to head out Dutch Ridge Road into Brighton Township. I didn’t want to risk the busy main hill, however, so I decided to take…

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The Big Four-Oh!

Valentine Brkich March 18, 2015

I really didn’t want to write another one of those cliché-ridden blog posts about turning 40.  You know the kind I’m talking about. The ones that claim how “40 is the new 30,” or that 40 really isn’t that old after all.  No, it’s not. And, yes, it is.  Honestly, turning 40 doesn’t bother…

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Surrendering to the Mess

Valentine Brkich February 25, 2015

That’s it. It’s over. I surrender. I can no longer keep up with the ever-growing, all-consuming mess of toys that has taken over my once beautiful home and infiltrated every nook and cranny therein. It was a valiant fight, and one that has brought many a gray hair to my head. But sometimes you just have…

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