Category Archives: Writing

‘I almost puked at work today’ … or, ‘The anxiety attack that launched my writing career.’ One of those.

By Daddy Scratches | Published: February 28, 2012

Something awesome happened this morning: I was pulling into the parking lot at my place of work, and as I did so, I spontaneously blurted out loud to no one but myself the name of the completely uninteresting, uninspiring, unexciting-to-me-in-any-way-whatsoever company for which I work … and this verbal reminder of just what it is I’ve ended up doing with my life caused me first to erupt into a sort of crazy-person laugh, and then to literally dry heave a couple of times. For a moment, I was fairly sure I was going to have to lean out of my… [read the rest]

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Also posted in Cubicle, Life | 49 Comments

I’m not really as desperate and pathetic as my previous post suggests. Please believe me. I’m begging you. (Which, I admit, is both desperate and pathetic. Go figure.)

By Daddy Scratches | Published: September 9, 2011

One of my regular readers left a comment on my previous post, the one in which I (half-)jokingly lamented my failure (thus far) to reach blogging superstardom … and I was going to reply to her in the “Comments” section of that post until it occurred to me that she probably wasn’t the only reader thinking what she was thinking. And so, because I am a selfless giver who always tries to serve the Greater Good, I shall address her remarks here for all of you. Allyssa writes: I’m a long-time reader (found you from a comment on dooce’s website)… [read the rest]

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Also posted in Life | 13 Comments

Oh, good: I’m not the only wanna-be-Internet-famous daddy blogger wallowing in obscurity while sucking down a tall glass of dashed hopes mixed with a paralyzing fear of failure

By Daddy Scratches | Published: September 8, 2011

Sometimes, dreams come true … and all of the twists and turns in the road suddenly make sense … and all of your hard work finally gets you where you want to be … and all of your obsessive dedication to a seemingly fruitless quest is vindicated. Or so I’m told. And sometimes? Sometimes you have to settle for finding comfort in the fact that you’re not the only guy to have dreamed your particular dream, and that another guy with the same dream is standing beside you outside the fence, looking through the bars, both of you watching your… [read the rest]

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Also posted in Life | 36 Comments

I’m baaaaa-aaaaack

By Daddy Scratches | Published: July 29, 2011

A few months ago, I was feeling all blogged out … to the point that the thought of abandoning this whole thing crossed my mind on more than one occasion. Fortunately (or, depending on your opinion of my blog, unfortunately), Wonder Woman stepped in and killed that option. Some serious soul-searching followed, the outcome of which was that I decided it was time to refocus on my dreams and set my sights on a new creative-writing endeavor. At the time, I would not have predicted that the “new” creative-writing endeavor would actually turn out to be the rebirth of a… [read the rest]

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Also posted in Inspiration, Life | 54 Comments

The one in which I reassess my life and contemplate my future … which should be about as entertaining for you to read as a stock prospectus for an embalming-fluid company, except less so

By Daddy Scratches | Published: May 18, 2011

My mother gave me that album when I was seven years old, and it changed my life … for the better, I used to think … but now I’m starting to wonder. To make a long story slightly less long than it’s probably going to end up being anyway — because we all know how much I love the sound of my own voice — that album, and the band that made it, basically carved into my young and impressionable DNA the lifelong belief that I should never give up on my dreams. (Spending one’s childhood worshipping four dudes who… [read the rest]

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Also posted in Cubicle, Inspiration, Life, Music | 46 Comments

Working, man

By Daddy Scratches | Published: November 18, 2010

As you may or may not recall (because it’s been so long since I actually, you know, wrote something here), I got laid off back in May … and although I was courted by a Big Financial Services Company and briefly flirted with the idea of becoming the new Aflac duck, I passed on both of those opportunities in the hopes that something better might come along. Prior to my layoff, Wonder Woman and I had already decided to move our family from the Boston area to the Philadelphia area, so the week I was laid off, I haphazardly fired… [read the rest]

Also posted in Life | 24 Comments

NaBlowMe

By Daddy Scratches | Published: November 3, 2010

Feeling like an underachiever because you can’t even conceive of having your shit so together that you could successfully participate in NaBloPoMo? Well, fear not, friends, because this pathetic, wanna-be blogger is starting his own little cool-kid clique: NaBlowMe! As part of my First Annual Daddy Scracthes (… [read the rest]

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Also posted in Inspiration | 34 Comments

So there I was, a lone drop of testosterone floating in a sea of estrogen …

By Daddy Scratches | Published: June 15, 2009

Here’s how I know that I’m really gung-ho about this whole blogging thing (you know, aside from the fact that I have essentially given up sleep in order to maintain this site): On Saturday, Wonder Woman, the Wonder Twins and I drove 30 miles to the house of a woman I’d never met in order to hang out with her and a bunch of other women I’d never met, and their families. To say that doing such a thing is out of character for me would be to redefine the term “understatement.” So why, pray tell, did I do this?… [read the rest]

Also posted in Inspiration, Life, Marriage | 19 Comments

Some long-overdue love

By Daddy Scratches | Published: October 30, 2008

Back at the beginning of the month, I was checking my traffic stats for this here website, and noticed that some folks were showing up here via a link at Suburban Turmoil, a blog written by Lindsay Ferrier, and via another link at Petroville, a blog written by Kimberly (just Kimberly). Intrigued, I followed the stats links back to the aforementioned sites so as to see just why it was they were pointing their readers to my humble abode here on the Internets. Fearing that I might find the links to my site housed within the body of a piece… [read the rest]

Posted in Writing | 1 Comment

I like this Army better

By Daddy Scratches | Published: November 16, 2006

A few weeks back, my workweek began with an assignment that kicked much ass. I was invited to attend an exclusive, in-studio performance by Army of Anyone, a new rock group that features former Filter frontman Richard Patrick, former Stone Temple Pilots members/brothers Robert DeLeo (bass) and Dean DeLeo (guitar), and former David Lee Roth Band drummer Ray Luzier. The show took place at Boston radio station WBCN. Following the performance, I got to sit down with Richard and Robert, who I interviewed for about 40 minutes. Though I’ve done a number of interviews in the past, this was my… [read the rest]

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Also posted in Geek, Music | 2 Comments