Author Archives: Joe Cummings

About Joe Cummings

Aquarius. Traveler. Gamer. Writer. A New Parent. 4 of these things are easy. One is not. But the journey is that much better for the new people in my life. A life I want to share with others, to help them, maybe, to make them feel less alone, sure, to connect with the greater world, absolutely.

Keeping Score – Playing Hardball

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Joe Cummings

So now it’s time to learn me some baseball. In the future, I think I’ll volunteer only for things I like to do (or can, actually, do.) Something like official team pizza eater. Or World of Tanks Game adviser. Or … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Sports | Tagged bad news bears, Baseball, bull durham, errors, hits, league of their own, no crying in baseball, passed ball, plate, RBIs, runs, scorekeeping, the natural, zombie | Leave a comment

Striking Out – Scorekeeping 101

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Joe Cummings

As I get older and older, I believe less and less in trying new things. I have to fight hard to get out of my comfy-cozy fortress of solitude (like Superman’s fortress only less ice and more big screen TVs). … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged Baseball, batter, errors, fortress of solitude, hits, little league, pitcher, runs, scorekeeping, simpsons, volunteering | 1 Comment

10 Best Kid Smells

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Joe Cummings

The list of bad kid smells could fill a book, but maybe there is another side – Smells that are awesome and you pretty much only get them around kids. Crayons. Now this could just be me, but opening up … Continue reading →

Posted in Parenting, Stepdad, Top 10 lists | Tagged baby shampoo, bandaids, baseballs, books, bubble gum, campfire, chlorine, chocolate chips, cookie dough, cookies., crayons, dodge balls, glue, model glue, mothballs, no more tears shampoo, plastic glue, playdoh, pools, school books, sesame street, shampoo, sharpies, smarties, smell, smells, stephen king | Leave a comment

Piano Man

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Joe Cummings

A Delicate Little Flower Now the last thing The-Oldest would want me comparing him to is a delicate flower, but that’s how I feel about his latest and most amazing endeavour. Learning to play the piano. First of all, much … Continue reading →

Posted in Parenting, Piano | Tagged Beethoven, caramilk, chocolate, classical music, fear, funeral dirge, humor, humour, moonlight sonata, Piano, play, playing the piano, step-dad, stepdad, stepdaddy, stepdaddying, the oldest, the prettiest-girl-in-the-world | Leave a comment

Oh the Horror – A Movie Review and More

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Joe Cummings

At some point in a boy’s life, he becomes… well, let’s say ‘interested’ in horror movies. ‘Obsessed’ might be a better word, but ‘interested’ will do. The-Oldest has reached that point. He’s read It. He’s watched movies like Nightmare on … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Review, Parenting, Stepdad, writing | Tagged babadook, child's play, chucky, exocist, Horror movie, IMDb, jennifer, jennifer kent, Metacritic, movie, movie reviews, nightmare on elm st, Rotten Tomatoes, step-dad, stepdad, stepdaddy, stepdaddying, the oldest | 2 Comments

Missing Them

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Joe Cummings

Much to my surprise, I found myself missing the boys. Both of them had gone off to Mexico with their dad (and his family), so I thought, wow, The-Prettiest-girl-in-the-World and I would get some couple time. You know, sleep in, … Continue reading →

Posted in Parenting, Stepdad | Tagged birthday, blanket fort, deadpool, hockey practices, missing kids, parenting, rick and morty, step-dad, stepdad, stepdaddy, stepdaddying, the oldest, the prettiest-girl-in-the-world, the youngest, valentine's day, walking dead, war stuff | Leave a comment

Spelling Test

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Joe Cummings

Oh, the joy of spelling. To be honest, I’m not the best speller in the world. This will not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me. It’s why I think that the greatest invention in the world was … Continue reading →

Posted in Homework, Parenting, School | Tagged almost, also, awesome, awful, because, caution, cough, crawl, false, faucet, halt, humor, humour, lawyer, officer, parenting, saucer, soft, speedometer, spell tests, spelling, stall, step-dad, stepdad, stepdaddy, stepdaddying, the youngest | Leave a comment

Dungeons and Dragons – Part 2 – The Evil in the Forest

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Joe Cummings

We finally managed to get everything set up for another D&D session. Big piece of paper for mapping. Lots of dice for rolling. Painted miniatures for representing the characters, pencils to record hit points and erasers to erase wounds. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Parenting | Leave a comment

Top 10 Things Learned From the Tournament

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Joe Cummings

There’s always something to be learned from every situation and I’m a life-long learner, which means I usually screw up constantly. Here are the top 10 things I learned from the hockey tournament… There is a sliding scale of when … Continue reading →

Posted in Hockey, Hockey Life, Parenting, Sports | Tagged bad coffee, Einstein, goalies, hockey tournaments, karl sagan, matrix quotes, Minor Hockey, more cow bell, norse gods, rav 4, sheldon, the prettiest-girl-in-the-world, the youngest | Leave a comment

Tournament Trials – The Loss – Part 7

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Joe Cummings

So, after 5 games, the boys had won four and lost one. The last one. And we were in serious danger of missing the ferry. Worse, we still had a ceremony to get through. The boys lined up on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hockey, Hockey Life, Parenting, Sports | Tagged asshats, BC Ferries, dumbass, hockey, hockey goalie, humor, humour, Minor Hockey, MVP, parenting, pastor, rav 4, step-dad, stepdad, stepdaddy, stepdaddying, the youngest, Traveling with children, trophy | Leave a comment