Day 5: Something that makes you happy

I kinda had to think about this. I could have just put a picture of my kids, but I wanted to go bigger than that.
Before I moved to Southington, I lived in West Haven and I hated it. I hated the neighborhood, the people and mostly the fences. I grew up in a neighborhood where kids could roam freely and not worry. In West Haven we had a little yard that was fenced and it was a crappy area so even at age 8 I wouldn't let Alyssa walk anywhere.
So, I have here a picture of our backyard now, its not just that that makes me happy, its the entire home. I love being where I am so much right now and so does my family and their happiness is what makes me happy.

Day 4: Siblings

I have a brother (Andy) and a sister (Michelle). Michelle is two years older than me and Andy is four years younger. Yes, that makes me the middle child and those two definitely had it better.

My sister and I for the most part got along, altho we did fight quite a bit, as I'm sure most brothers and sisters about the same age do. Once she hit about 8th grade I was now the 'bratty little brother', no longer an ally but a pest...I played this part well. My job was to bug her when she was on the phone and attempt tirelessly to get her diary. She did get me on that big time once.
I was about to start 6th grade while she was going to 9th (she skipped 2nd grade, thus the three years apart in school). I broke into her diary and this is what I read...Mom just told me that Bryan is going to need glasses and braces before he starts Middle School. He is not going to be happy about that and she's waiting to tell him...
So, being completely outsmarted I flipped out and in turn got myself busted for reading my sisters diary, I guess I had that coming.
My brother and I were partners in crime. Altho as my sister said he was a rather benign one. I think he just liked seeing me get into trouble. My brother is wicked smart and is now an Electronic Engineer. This makes perfect sense to me because when we were kids he was always taking stuff apart to see how it worked.
One of our favorite pranks to pull was at dogshows during the summer. We would go around to all the Porto-pots and prop the door open with the lever lock so the little window read "occupied". Then we'd hide close by and watch the chaos begin! We once had 4 in a row with easily 6-10 people in each line, we were dying laughing. It took about 5 mins for the first person in each line to realize the doors were slightly open and the stalls were empty.
I have millions of stories with Andy, mostly causing random chaos at dogshows.
I don't remember Michelle and I having as many adventures, but I'm sure I'd remember some if I tried.
Well, those are my sibings, Michelle and Andy.

Day 4: Your parents

The more I think about my past; love, parents, and siblings (tomorrow) the more I am convinced I could have a better book than Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (read it). So, here I go back to memories of the 80's.....

My parents are Lonny and Marc, they dated in highschool and married in 1976. They were AKC judges and bred Akitas. We spent a lot of summer traveling to dogshows, so yes, I grew up on a "dog farm" so to speak in Meriden (see how I must write a book). They are kinda retired from that now, but still have Akitas.

My mother, how to describe my mother....well, she doesn't take crap from anyone I can tell you that. Did you ever see that show Roseann? Kinda like that, ya know how when someone did wrong to one of the Connors and you couldn't wait to see Rosie get them? Well, I do have a good short story. I was in 6th grade and was given detention for not doing my homework (typical). My troll teacher Mrs.Schwartz made me stay after that same day, without 24hr notice. I usually walked home, but for some reason that day my Mom was picking me up. When I got outside I could already tell something bad was about to happen. She asked me where the hell I was and I told her Schwatrz made me stay after. Well, I waited in the car while she marched into the school, I figured not being a witness would be the better way to go, I didn't want to have to testify in court. I don't know what happened in that classroom, but the school then had a 24hr detention policy and Mrs.Schwartz was scared of me the rest of the year.
My mother was also an avid reader and so were we, we spent a lot of time at the library on hot days. I get my sarcastic, ball busting sense of humor from her and it has served me well. A quick wit can come in handy sometimes.

My dad also has a sense of humor, but its more a goofy kind, which I also use quite a bit. He loves sports and Presidents, he knows some very good President trivia and is good at History. The one thing I remember most about my Dad growing up was that he was never there during the week. My father worked and never took a day off (except weekends), and during spring and summer his weekends were spent driving long distance to dog shows around New England, he must've been pretty tired. I got up for school at around 7 and he was already gone for the day and wasn't home till around 6. When he did get to watch sports he usually did so thru his eyelids which must be tough lol. He never complained tho, and if he did I sure don't remember. Those are things you don't notice as a kid, you only realize what your parents are really like as an adult. Makes me wonder what my kids perception of me will be when I'm old.
So, in a nutshell, that's my parents. I have thousands of stories but you'll have to wait for the book...

Interrupting for this rant...

When George Bush went and attacked Iraq without approval from Congress or from the U.N we were appalled. It is no different for Obama. What is funny is how the right wing fat bloated pig Rush can say Obama is wrong. See, I am not a hypocrite, I am against attacking Libya purely for oil. Oil is what this is all about, just like with Iraq. We were asked by NATO allies to join in, but why? I will tell you. Oil. Bush never admitted why he went into Iraq, he claimed wmd's. Bullshit. This hypocrisy is what drives me nuts, if Obama is wrong then Bush was wrong and so was his Daddy.
We don't want American World Police. Obama better get on the ball before 2012, he is going to drive the people right into the arms of Palin.

Day 3: Your first love

I have been thinking about how to approach this for a few days. I could go with the obvious and tell you about my wife, who I met in 1996 in my Biology class, or I could go deep into my past....

I've decided to open up to my readers (all 3 of you). Honestly, when I was a kid I fell in love almost daily. I remember as a youngin' around maybe 9 or 10 when Punky Brewster started 'developing'. I was in love. The same for Alyssa Milano on Who's the Boss? Then there was Jennifer Connoly in Labyrinth. I'm pretty sure at some point I was in love with our babysitter Jennifer (she was also a brunette). This continued thru Elementary school, there was a girl Heather Dow (brunette), Mindy something (brunette), Sarah Hall (also brunette) and I'm sure countless others.
Now, in my hometown of Meriden there is good sections and bad. My elementary school Nathan Hale was in a good area, but when I started Washington Middle I got mixed in with other schools and made a great discovery...Meriden has lots of Spanish girls and they are all brunettes! The biggest problem was I was not very popular but the Puerto Rican girls were always very nice to me, this did not sit well with the Puerto Rican boys. As a result, I made sure my highschool was not in Meriden.
I went to Lyman Hall High School in the clan run town of Wallingford. And of course on my first day while sitting on the bus nervous as hell, the one Puerto Rican girl at this school just sits next to me and starts talking like she's known me forever. I was sure to keep my eyes open for any angry spanish guys. She was cute, and at one point I did have a thing for her but we were better off as friends. Now, all these crushes have led up to one point....
Back to 1996, when Heather walked into Biology class and lo and behold her seat was next to mine. A very cute brunette sitting right next to me for 45 mins a day, could my luck get any better! Sadly for me, I was very,very shy but luckily for me I heard thru the grapevine that she liked me! Unbelievable. So, we started as good friends and yadda,yadda,yadda we now are married with two kids.
So, who was my first love? Well, despite the "crushes" on every other brunette in the world my first true love was my wife to be.

The End.

Day 2: Meaning of Blog name

This one is pretty simple because I just recently renamed my blog.

I chose The Red Mosquito from a song by Pearl Jam (which is on my playlist below). In the song the mosquito is a messenger from the Devil, sent to remind the person that he is waiting for him. It seems in the song that there is a past sin that he is now paying for and regrets. The song ends with the lyrics "if I had known then, what I know now" repeated. And since I often blog from the left view and am anti organized religion, I know some people consider me a sinner. So, I play on that and now show myself as a messenger of Satan. Not that I think us leftists are evil, but to the extremely religious right wing we are, and I embrace that.
My blog used to be called Life of Bryan, which I got from the Monty Python movie Life of Brian. I actually hate Monty Python movies but I liked the idea of being a messiah, which I believe is what the movie is about.
Until tomorrow....

30 Blogs in 30 days

My sister has found an idea for any struggling bloggers who just can't shake writers block. I don't often have writers block because I usually blog my opinions on current events. But these seemed interesting to me. The only hang up I may have about it is that with the new blog and new name I was trying to stay more anonymous, but everyone who reads this already knows my name and what state I am in, and kids names so I think I'm just gonna go for it. So, the theme is 30 Blogs in 30 days. Basically, you are given 30 blog subjects and you are supposed to use one everyday. Sounds simple enough. Maybe I will learn something about myself along the way...

Day 1- Introduction, Recent picture and Five Interesting Facts

Well, my name is Bryan, as you know from my former blog Life of Bryan. I have been married to my wife, Heather for 4 years (it will be 5 this August), but we have been together for almost 15 years! That may not sound like a lot to you, but keep in mind I'm only 31 so that is almost half my life. We got engaged in 2000, then two years later had our first child, Alyssa (8). It took 6 years but we finally got married in August of 2006 and in 2007 we had our second child, Devin (3). I am a sign guy (I install and service signs) at Arnco Sign Company, where I have worked full time since 1998.

I have found a somewhat worthy picture of me, I used this one on Facebook for quite a while.

I know I am making a weird face in that picture but that is what I usually do because I hate my picture being taken.

Okay, five random facts...hmmm

1.I love Chinese food and could eat shrimp fried rice and crab ragoon everyday.
2. I put A1 sauce on mashed potatoes and mac n cheese. My wife actually got me into this.
3. I have never broken a bone, altho I have taken two very big hits to my nose, as you can tell by the size of it (that's a joke, I just think my nose is very wide but that comes from my father)
4. Altho in this picture I am at a Dunkin Donuts, I do not like their coffee. I am a Starbucks or McD's guy.
5. I have flat feet. Like no arch at all. I also have to get wide sized boots/shoes. I wear 11W, but I have no bought sneakers in, well, I don't know because it has been so long. 4 years maybe. I hardly wear them, but now I am getting into a 6th fact.

So, whether or not I actually do 30 in 30 days is yet to be seen. I will cut in with my usual posts of ranting about some bullshit.

Do you Lent?

I was just curious if anybody out there celebrates Lent. If so, what have you given up and do you eat only fish on Friday?

I was thinking about this because I'm fixing lights at a few Burger Kings today and have noticed many people ordering the Big Fish meal (which I also had). I don't celebrate Lent, I just really like the fish sandwiches.

I have heard many rumors that the no meat thing is a completely man-made rule by the Vatican because of poor fish sales. I don't really believe that because if you look at Italy you can kinda tell that seafood is a big thing there, much more than beef.
I haven't found a solid answer on that yet.

Parents vs Non-parents

I was walking thru a outdoor mall today and I overheard a parent telling their child that the horse ride is broken. You know the kind I'm talking about, where you pay fifty cents and the kid is rocked back and forth for 60 seconds and its the highlight of their day. What I found funny was that the kid didn't even question that the ride was broken, and it most likely wasn't, that's just something us parents say to make our kid shut up faster. If I wasn't a parent myself I would've popped in a quarter to prove it worked, but I can't now because I know better. I am a parent now.

When I was a non-parent, I'd see kids going crazy to get their mothers attention. I'd be in a mall and the Mom is talking to someone while this kid is pulling at her mother saying "mom,mom,mom....MOM!" I used to think "I would never do that" (when I was a non-parent). Now I know that child has nothing relevant to say. Nothing that kid says after being a pest for attention will affect anyone's day. The kid may think its very important information, but they must learn that 85% of what they think is vital is really nothing at all. A non-parent does not understand this. A non-parent will give you a dirty look for being so mean to a child.

I've walked by cars in the grocery store and seen a parent loading up 3 kids all under 10 years of age and completely snap because one kid asked for a piece of gum. I used to feel bad for the kids, when I was a non-parent. Now I know that kid was most likely bugging the parent for every thing he's not supposed to have in the store.

I once told Devin that McDonalds was closed because we didn't have time to go to the Playland and I didn't want to start a war by saying 'no'. Well, guess what? He bought it! Hook, line and sinker! Now he asks if McD's is open when we drive by and I can say "not yet". A non-parent wouldn't like that, I know non-parents or worse yet, soon-to-be's who say "I would never do that". Bullshit. Soon-to-be's are worse. They get on a soapbox over everything. But that is for another day.

Don't ask me how, it was luck...

I figured out how to add a music player to my blog, please don't ask me how lol. Well, actually, I made a playlist at playlist.com and posted it to my site but I had to select sidebar posting. I then moved it to the bottom of my page where it shall live. The only question now is how long until I, or everyone else who visits my page, gets sick of this song. I will eventually add more songs to the playlist, but for now I am just using my name inspiration, Pearl Jam's Red Mosquito. If you want to pause it just scroll to bottom of page or turn your speakers off. Most likely this will be changed soon anyway. Any requests?

trying a picture..

Feeling at home

I received complaints that the page was hard to read so I fixed my background and made the print a little bigger. I have found a bunch of people from Blogstream and have their pages bookmarked on my dashboard. I still don't like that I can't easily search for the type of blog that I would like to read but I'll get past that. Leave a comment if this background and font works better.

From Life of Bryan to Red Mosquito

Greetings in Blogger land. Altho, I don't know how many other bloggers will see this because searching for other blogs is near impossible on this site. That was one of the great things about Blogstream, if I wanted to find other current event or liberal blogs, they were easy to look up.

So, how did I become Red Mosquito? Well, I wanted to drop the Life of Bryan for a while, but you can't change that once you start on blogstream. I chose this name from a Pearl Jam song, big surprise. The song Red Mosquito, is about a guy locked in a room and being bugged and bitten by a red mosquito which he believes is the devil reminding him that he's waiting for him. Does that mean I think I'm the devil? I don't know, I just thought it was cool. "I was bitten, must have been the devil, he was just paying me...a little visit, reminding me of his presence, letting me know, he's waiting for me...."

For those who are not familiar with my blog, I will tell you about me. I'm a thirty-something father of two, I'm a working class guy, I'm married and have a dog, cats and gray hair. I hate George Bush, I wish he were dead, but he's not President anymore, thanks for term limits because this country is moronic enough to have voted for him again. Oh yes, I am not a conservative. I hate hypocrisy and the right wing is full of it! I will point this out often, because I can. They feel that if 'God's Plan" is for a girl to get gang raped and have her rapists baby then who are we to question it, but if "God's Plan" is for a man to murder an entire family then that is wrong and we must kill him. See? Hypocrisy. I say kill em all, fuck it.

I'm not religious. I am spiritual. I don't believe in organized religion, they are cults. I think religion should be a personal thing with no rules. What you believe doesn't have to be what I believe. I respect others views, but I don't always agree. I don't think going to a building and praying to a dead guy does anything, not for me anyway, but if that's what floats your boat, go for it. I don't like the Catholic church and I despise Evangelists. I will point this out often too.

People call me a liberal, whatever, I don't think that's true but whatever. I believe in the death penalty, I think thieves should have their hands cut off, and I believe in the three strike rule for violent offenders. I support unions, tho I do not belong to one. I support teachers, I think No Child Left Behind is stupid. I don't like illegal immigrants, get the fuck out, you are illegal. I am pro-choice, I am anti attacking Iraq for no reason. I don't mind guns, but I don't like 30 round magazines in a semi automatic weapon, I'm sorry if you need this you are a criminal, go to jail, do not pass go. If you want a revolver next to your bed to help you sleep that's fine, don't go to Shop Rite with it.

Well, that's me, in a nutshell. Welcome to the world of the Red Mosquito....

New Site

So, I am thinking that I am going to use Blogger instead of Tumblr. I don't like that people who are not members cannot comment and being able to is so difficult. Plus, finding other blogs is near impossible....yeah I think I have a home here.