SOLANA - The Life and Times of Me

Old Ball & Chain

2008-12-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

Well, we did it. We got married. We were able to pay for everything wedding-related with a lot of help from our parents. People have asked if I would do it all again if I could. The answer the day after the wedding and still today is no. There was way too much stress, everything about the day was too expensive and it just wasn't worth it. I got to wear a real pretty dress though! If I had to do it all again, I would have eloped to get married with just Mike and I on a beach somewhere and come home and thrown a big party for less than half of what it cost to have a big wedding. That doesn't mean I regret it...it was WONDERFUL! We had a wonderful time, a fantastic day and we have some beautiful pictures to show for it. I just wouldn't do it again.

After the wedding, we went on our honeymoon to lovely and amazing Thailand. I didn't want to come home! In fact, I am kind of wishing that I was one of those farangs (Thai for "gringo") stuck there because of the siege pro-democracy protesters are waging on the Bangkok airports. I read today that 10,000 westerners are stuck in Thailand because there are no flights out. BUMMER! If it were me, I'd just get on a bus and head south for the islands. I could live like a queen for $20 a day!

The first question everyone asks is "How's married life?", the second is "When are you having kids?". Answer: 1. the same as non-married life; 2. someday.

Less than 5 months now....

2008-05-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

I cannot f-ing believe it is coming so fast.

We started planning the bachelorette party this week. It's been decided that a trip to Catalina in September would be the ticket. Lovely Jenna, the MOH, sent out an email to the "ladies" this week and so far there are 11 people confirmed. I feel pretty bad that I won't be able to invite everyone to the wedding. The guest list is really getting out of control. The Turf Club has a maximum capacity of 220 for a seated dinner. Its gonna be hard to trim when the existing list of 242 still doesn't include many of Mike's family. AND, since his pops is paying for the food, I feel obligated to invite more of the Mejia family.

We also have not spoken to anyone at the catering company because, once again, Mike feels the need to talk to his insiders at the fairgrounds before I can make contact. I feel like such a nag, constantly asking him if he was able to talk to anyone yet. I don't like feeling this way. We have had a discussion about this on 2 prior occasions. I told him that I am ok with doing everything myself but if he wants to help, it needs to be done on time. Waiting for a month or 6 weeks to contact the catering company is not gonna fly. Those decisions need to be made so the people paying the bills have plenty of warning as to how much they are going to have to fork over.

I don't mean to be bitching about Mike. He is really doing a lot of work on our house and the yard trying to get everything to look nice for when we have a bunch a people there on October 10th for the rehearsal dinner. It is definitely going to be a giant project and getting it done will be a challenge. I think we can do it though.

Effing Bridesmaids

2008-05-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

How long does one person need to complete a task? I guess it depends on what the task is, right? What if the task is to get your measurements taken for a bridesmaid dress? On 3/25/08, I sent an email to all the BM's asking that they please get measured and give me the money for the dress by 4/10/08. I told them that the dresses must be ordered before 5/1/08 to ensure timely delivery of said dresses. How many do you think did either? NONE. When 4/10/08 came and went and still no one had gotten back to me with their sizes, I sent another email asking that they have the money and measurements to me by the 20th. How many this time? Actually, one. I had to pick up the phone and threaten 2 of them to get measured or they would be off the island! WTF? Like, how hard is it? I just don't understand.

Bottom line: I finally got size selections from everyone and money from everyone by 5/5/08. I had to float a check, but thankfully all worked out fine. It took over a month, though.

Note: My fiancee has told me to tell people that the wedding date is a week before the actual date so shit like this doesn't happen as we get closer to the date...I think I will take his advice from now on.

The Jip Continues...not really

2008-05-07T10:51:00.001-07:00

So...after the conversation with my parents where I was told there was only $5k available to me for my wedding, my fiancee and I talked and we decided to postpone the original date in late April '08 to October '08. We made this decision mostly because we wanted to give ourselves more time to save for the wedding. I told my parents.

About a week later, my mom calls and says that if we were willing to postpone, then they would be willing to reconsider their original "offer" and asked if I could get as much information as I could and come back to them and they would "see what they could do". In the meantime, my future father-in-law offered to pay for the food for the wedding. WHAT??!! That's a huge expense taken care of. What an amazing gift, right? So...I did all the planning I could. We met with multiple vendors to talk about prices of flowers and photography and cakes and I got estimates for everything. We agreed on prices, signed contracts, made deposits. I was pretty nervous signing the contracts because I still wasn't sure how they balances were going to be paid.

Last week, we finally met with my parents to give them the information. What happened? They said "No Problem". They complimented me on all the work that I had done and made me feel a lot better about everything. It seems to be working out.

Big Fat Jip

2008-04-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

My younger sister got married about 3 1/2 years ago. My parents, mostly my mother and step-father, paid for the wedding. I'm not saying how much they spent, but $25K is a lot of money. I was told that I would get the same consideration. When my boyfriend asked me to marry him last August, I assumed that I could start planning my wedding. I bought a dress, started picking colors, started shopping for vendors; all the things you do when you are planning the biggest party you've ever thrown. We picked a date that was a little less than 9 months away. Then, out of the blue, they told me that they couldn't afford to give me more than $5,000. "We were surprised", they said. "We didn't think you were ever going to get married", they said. "You're older", they said. "You're more established in your life than she was. You guys live together. You have a career."

Are you kidding me? I'm older? I'm more established? We live together??? I don't want to sound like I'm ungrateful. I am not. I appreciate the fact that not everyone has parents who will give them ANY money for anything, even the most important day of their life so far. AND I am thankful that my parents have the means to provide me with 5 grand and are willing to do so.

BUT WTF?

Why does my sis get a big fat wedding and I get bupkus? So my fiancee and I are expected to pay for our own wedding because we're older? I just don't understand this logic. If you can't afford it, fine. But, you couldn't really afford it 3 1/2 years ago either.

6 Months to go!

2008-04-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

Holy crap. There are just 6 months left before our wedding in October. There is no way I am going to be ready for this!

I totally thought that I was going to be ready for all this and now - after 2 months of doing nothing - I am totally behind!

Long Time!

2007-09-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

20 things that have happened since my last post (in no particular order)
1. My niece was born - Cambria Anne Torretto
2. I turned 33.
3. My live-in boyfriend asked me to marry him. I guess that makes us engaged.
4. I went roller skating.
5. My doctor informed me that I have 2 herniated disks in my spine and will need surgery to repair them.
6. I got a new computer monitor.
7. I went on vacation to Cabo San Lucas.
8. I spilled soda on my phone and it broke.
9. I got a new phone.
10. I got a hair cut.
11. My fiancee` turned 40!
12. I went to Pismo Beach for a work conference.
13. I got drunk.
14. I bought a wedding dress.
15. Summer came and went.
16. 3 of my friends' parent passed away.
17. I got some new music on iTunes
18. I started a Facebook page.
19. My back gave out on me.
20. I went to a quinceanera.

Granny's going to a home

2007-05-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

I am a horrible person.

Let me back up a bit. For the past few months, my grandmother has not been doing too great. Twice she was found fast asleep while her dinner burned on the stove. Had my mother not stopped by to check on her, the house would have surely gone up in flames and her along with it. After that, we decided it was not a good idea for her to have to cook dinner for herself. (Breakfast and lunch were ok because they did not require the use of the stove or oven) So, my mother and sister and I started taking turns going over to her house to spend some time with her, cook dinner and get her to bed. This was fine until 2 1/2 weeks ago when she lost her balance and fell down. She wasn't hurt, but she is so frail and weak that she couldn't get herself up off the floor. Then, later that day, I was there to cook dinner and watched her through the window slip off her bed and onto the floor again. She had been struggling to get her shoes off for about 20 minutes before I got there and for 10 minutes I watched helplessly as she continued to fight with those damn shoes. I kept telling her to forget about the shoes and crawl over to the sliding glass door and unlock it so I could come in and help her. She either wasn't listening or she didn't hear me because she kept messing with them. She finally lost her balance and slipped off the bed and onto the floor. It's a good thing my BF was there to figure out how to break in because I didn't have a key. After that, we decided that she can't be alone in her house at all anymore. "So how is that supposed to work?", I asked. I was told that we would "just figure it out".

The thing is, I have a job that requires me to actually be at work. My sister has a job that requires she be at work. My mom...the same. How can we be with her 24 hrs a day and still earn a living? There is another thing. That is, granny doesn't want to move from her house and she doesn't want anyone to live with her. That puts a real monkey wrench in any plans any of us had for the near future. Also, to top it all off, my sister is about 8 1/2 months pregnant and will soon not be able to do anything but take care of her new baby. That leaves me and my mother to take care of granny 24 hours a day.

It seems that we have the daytime taken care of now. Grandma's Long Term Care policy provides a meager amount to pay for home health care. We now have Maria come Monday-Friday from 7am-5pm. This allows everyone to go to work. That leaves us with taking care of her from 5pm-7am. Yep, you guessed it, spend the night. Also, she needs 24 hour care on the weekends. You guessed it again, we take turns spending 24 hours with her. The worst part is that she doesn't want to leave her house. So when it is my day, I have to spend the entire 24 hours inside her house with the windows closed up tighter than Fort Knox. (old people chill easily, you know). I never knew time could pass by so slowly! This brings me to my original statement: I am a horrible person.

Never in my life would I have thought I would want to put granny in a "home". It always seemed to be such a death sentence. But the reality of this situation is that she can't live by herself with no one to supervise her and she refuses to have someone come and live with her. So, we have to pick the lesser of two evils at this point, right? This "home" is an assisted living facility that would provide her the care and attention that she needs.

I feel horrible that we are even considering this, but I CAN'T be counted on to spend every other night at my Grandma's house. I have commitments and responsibilities that I either can't or don't want to cancel. I need those activites for my sanity. I know my mom feels the same way. I think I am just trying to justify the fact that she needs to go but I don't want to be the one to put her there.

My Civic Duty

2007-04-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

I had Jury Duty yesterday. For the first time, I have a job that pays me while I am out doing my civic duty. I used to get jury summons all the time and would claim "financial hardship" as an excuse for why I couldn't serve on a jury. This technique has worked for the last 15 years. This time, I figured I would take the day off from work to sit around and fulfill my responsibility to the justice system.

It was a long day. I took the train from N. County to downtown SD. Of course, to get there in time I had to take the 6:27am train. This meant getting up at least 90 minutes before I usually do when I drive to work. But, I didn't have to worry about paying for parking and I got a free ride on the Coaster! Getting there early actually was nice, since I got to sit around and read my book for 40 minutes while the room filled with prospective jurors. Finally, at 8:00am, they started the "orientation" that lasted for 45 minutes. A judge came and addressed us and they explained what would be happening throughout the day. Ok, fine. I had forgotten to bring my summons and when I heard my name called, it felt like I was being called to the principal's office. But it was just to pick up the official juror badge with my name and bar code on it.

After about an hour of waiting, my name was called to go the Department 36 of the Superior Court. It took about 20 minutes to get all the jurors over there and when we were all there, they told us to just wait outside. The criminal must have made a deal with the attorneys, because 2 people walked out, closely followed by the bailiff who told us to go back downstairs and report that we had been "released by the department". That was just before lunch. Another 30 minutes of waiting and we were sent off for a 1 1/2 hour lunch break. "Be back by 1:15pm", they said over the PA system. I walked to Horton Plaza, ate some cheese fries, shopped around looking for accessories for a wedding that is on Saturday, and then walked back to the Hall of Justice.

Once they had herded us back into the jury room, another round of PA annoucements called 3 separate groups to courtrooms. I, thankfully, was not called. Another 90 minutes and we were released for the day! Yippee! Too bad it didn't happen 30 minutes sooner, or 30 minutes later because when I got back to the Santa Fe Depot, I saw that I had just missed the last train north and the next one wasn't for an hour. That's crap. So...another hour of sitting around waiting. What do I care? I was reading and listening to my iPod. Finally got home after 4.

All in all, it was an OK day. Nothing real exciting...and I didn't have to be at work!

F-ing Cat

2007-04-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

I'm tired today. It would be nice to think that I was tired for some great reason (too much sex, great movie, party-time!), but not so much today. I am tired today because my fucking cat kept me up all night with his meowing and pacing back and forth on the window sill. He used to be an inside cat. In fact, he never went outside until 2 years ago when I moved in with my boyfriend and he found some way to escape from the house. In retrospect, it probably wasn't that hard for him to find a way out since there aren't screens on many of the windows and doors.

Anyways, he was fine as an outdoor cat until a few months ago when he started getting his ass kicked by the neighborhood cat-bullies. He got a bad infection in one of the war-wounds and cost me a bunch of money to fix. AND, he had to stay inside until the stiches came out. So, that was 2 weeks of him driving us crazy with the crying and whining about "I wanna go outsiiiiiide". The third week was better, probably because he had gotten used to being inside kitty again.

He proved his master escape artist skills by using the dog to trick my boyfriend into leaving a door open. He came back with another injury. Well, I'll be damned if I am spending another $400 on this damn cat, so I cleaned the cut and kept him inside for a few days. I let him out (again) after he had healed (again). Now, we are on the 4th round of keeping him inside until he heals. This was all fine until last night when he wouldn't stop pacing on the window sill right next to my side of the bed. I know what you are thinking. He's a cat, how loud could it be? Well, let me tell you. It's not that his footsteps are loud. It is the incessant drumming for what seems like hours. And the MEOWING every 15 seconds. I couldn't sleep to save my life. To top it all off, just as it was starting to get light outside, he fell asleep in his usual position curled up next to me. Would you believe he actually looked annoyed at me when I got up to get ready for work? Must be nice to sleep all day...

In loving memory

2007-04-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

My grandfather died on Friday. He was 94. For the past few years his body has steadily been shutting down. He was in a pretty large amount of pain and decided last Sunday that he did not want to continue with the treatment that was sustaining his life. He passed on peacefully at home on Friday evening at about 10:00pm. I was heartbroken to see my grandmother, dad, aunts, uncles and rest of the family so sad. I was happy that he is not in any more pain. He has been wanting to stop the dialysis for the last 6 months. He fell and broke a hip in January.

I really want people to know that Hospice is the most amazing organization around. They made all the arrangements to make sure that he was as comfortable as he could be. Everything was taken care of! All it took was a single call to the social worker assigned to his case and she arranged medicine, oxygen, etc. A minister came, people came to take the body to the crematorium and everything was arranged by Hospice. I would encourage anyone with an elderly relative to consider Hospice if it is possible. They really made what could have been a very sterile and institutional experience a tolerable and remotely pleasurable experience.

In loving memory of Alfred Amado Roman August 9, 1912 - March 30, 2007

My favorite things

2007-03-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

Happiness is:
Waking up next to the one I love (even though he kept me up all night snoring).
When my cat comes when I call him.
Spending time with my family.
Having friends who have more drama than me.
Getting all the work done that needs to be done for today.
Getting a new hair cut.
Roller skating.
NEW SHOES!
Planning a vacation.
When the dog doesn't knock over the garbage can so I come home to a kitchen floor covered with trash.
Going on vacation.
A dirty Belvedere on the rocks.
Getting a letter in the mail.
Hearing from an old friend.
New York City.
San Francisco.
Super nachos from Filiberto's.
Snowboarding on freshly fallen snow.
Waking up for work on Saturday and realizing I don't have to work on Saturdays.
Going out of town for the weekend.
Watching TV all day when it is raining outside.

Masturbating Dog

2007-03-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

OMG. I saw this video and could not stop laughing.

Heartbroke Discount

2007-03-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

I had someone disappoint me recently. This disappointer is not someone whom I would consider a friend but the injury to the soul of a person I truly love is where the disappointment starts. I was not the injured one yet the fact that I witnessed the heartbreak - and cried some of my own tears during this weeks long break up - makes me really, really sad . Break-ups are never easy. If they are, you weren't really in love. I don't belive that they should be easy. That being said, you never want to see a great friend in pain.

I am not sure why this person did what they did. Honestly, I don't care. When you say, "I love you," you better mean it. I do not believe that this person meant "I love you". I believe they meant that "I really like you a lot and I really like making out with you and the chemicals in my brain are telling me that it must be love".

The disappointer is young and inexperienced in life. I am not what some might consider "old" but I have a few life experiences to draw from. I learned important lessons from some of these experiences, and some I had to repeat a few times before I learned the lesson. I'm not perfect. However, I would NEVER tell someone that I loved them and then leave a note to tell them that I have moved out of the house that we share. I would NEVER make up lies about them and talk about them to some of our mutual friends.

The thing that disappoints me the most is that now my great friend might be emotionally damaged to the point that any future healthy relationship might be extremely difficult. A heart was put on the line here. A heart that has not been opened to anyone at this level in any previous relationship. I am guessing that this heart will not want to be broken again and therefore will guard itself extremely carefully. It's a real shame.

Case of the Mondays?

2007-02-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

I knew that a bachelorette party trip to Vegas could possibly end in disaster, but I had absolutely no idea how much could happen in 36 hours. Drove out early Saturday morning with Friend #1, hit a little traffic - but not too much - got to the room to meet up with Friends # 2 & 3, who were already there, about noonish. Made myself a nice mixture of vodka and cran and headed to the Forum shops with Friends #1, 4 & 5 after 3 cocktails. Bought some new jeans, went back to the room to get ready. 6 girls getting ready in one room is a lot, so Friend #4 went back to her room and the rest of us stayed...decorated some plastic cups with jewels and feathers, drank some almond champagne, showered, changed clothes. The bride-to-be wasn't happy with her clothes. She wanted to look prettier. Tears. She apologized for being silly. Nothing silly about it, I said. Fixed her hair and make-up. Everyone's happy. Go to dinner at Social House in Treasure Island, meet some New Yorkers while we're waiting to sit down. Friend #1 likes one of them but we say good-bye and sit down. Eat a nice dinner (ya right, mostly cocktails), run into a group of guys from Florida that the girls hung with on Friday night (before we got there). They are a bunch of high-rollers with $ to blow on 6 hot chicks. Nice enough though. Off to a super lame club (it's called Tangerine and don't bother to go there. The DJ sucked, the people were lame and it was WAY overpriced and crowded) for a drink and then to Pure in Caesar's to hook up with the Floridians. Spent an hour waiting to get in, then one of the guys came out and paid off a bouncer to get us in. Went VIP style with a table in private area. That was COOL! The guys were nice - All the vodka crans I could drink, and I drank a lot of them. Left Pure, went to an after-hours club, Empire I think, with the same peeps. Lost Friends #4 & 5 on the way. More VIP, more vodka crans. #1 threw up in her hands, party's over. Back to the room. One of the boys walks us up to make sure we are ok. Comes in for a minute. Says good-bye. Pass out on the couch in my clothes at 6:00am. Wake up at 11, shower, pack up and hit the long road home. Stop at Bob's Big Boy in Baker for some much needed food. So hung over, I think I might still be drunk. Not shocked. #4 drove for me, she's so sweet! #1 gets text message that recent break-up is for real, all the stuff moved out and she has to go back to an empty apartment. Ouch. More tears, this time me too. Pull over 3 times for #1 to puke, once in a sandstorm and get pelted by grains of sand. Could she be any more cliche'? Throwing up on the road home from Vegas...nice. Home around 6ish. Tried to watch Academy Awards, but didn't happen. Sleep. I hate Mondays even more today.

Mammoth Bruise

2007-01-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

It is quite possible that I have the largest bruise in the history of the world on my left butt-cheek. Mammoth Mountain kicked my ass for trying out my new snowboard. The base there is a mere 36" - 48" and with a storm that brought no more than 6" a few days before we arrived the mountain looked very bare indeed. It was hella cold, though. Lows in the 2-3 degrees range and highs in the 25-30 degree range. Perfect conditions for snowmaking. I was hoping that my first trip to Mammoth for skiing would be a little better, but what can you do?

It's official...

2006-12-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

I am so ashamed. I called the cops on a party in my neighborhood last night. They were being loud after 11:00pm on a weeknight and I called the cops. I suppose I could have gone over and asked them to keep it down, but it was cold and I didn't want to go outside. Could I be any more Ebeneezer-like? I have become that which I swore I never would...old! Why do I think I am old, you might ask?

Reason #1: I like to go to bed early. By early, I mean before the bars have last call and after Grey's Anatomy is over (post 11:00pm, but not much!). Young people don't like to go to bed early, they like to stay up late. Probably some way of rebelling against the parents for making them go to bed early for 16 years.

Reason #2: My joints ache when it is cold. This is clearly something that is exclusive to old people.

Reason #3: I injured my back. This one is not as exclusive to "old people", but I hurt mine by lifting a box of papers, not from rescuing some cat from a tree or playing sports, so it can be counted as one of the reasons. Nice logic, huh?

Reason #4: I think kids play their music too loud. Loud music seems so ridiculous to me now. I walk by Abercrombie & Fitch at the mall and have to plug my ears because it is so noisy. I can't even hear myself think. I wonder about the hearing damage those employees will have to suffer because of their employer. Probably grounds for a class-action lawsuit.

Reason #5: People drive too fast. This is not age-ist of me. Old & young alike are guilty of this crime. I suppose I am flexible on this one because freeway driving doesn't seem fast enough. However, when you are driving down a residential street, you should slow down. There are kids, pets, OLD PEOPLE, etc. who may be walking and...just SLOW DOWN!!!

Reason #6: I like things the way I like 'em. Although I feel that I am open to new ideas about the world and other points of view, I am surprisingly set in my ways regarding daily operations. Last week, I got mad at my boyfriend for not cleaning something the "right" way. I'm sure he is perfectly capable of cleaning, but not the way I do it. Therefore, he must be wrong, right?

Reason #7: I think mini-skirts and too much make-up are "whorish". (Insert picture of my 87 year old grandmother here)

Reason #8: I no longer live paycheck to paycheck. I know this should be a relief but when I think about how I lived as a young adult - pay rent late, getting gas & electric shut off, stealing food from the supermarket because I didn't have enough money to get essentials like peanut butter or tortillas - I long for the freedom from credit card bills, car payments and mortgages.

Reason #9: I think my parents are smart. It came as a real shock when I realized my parents actually did have some life experience to draw from and weren't just telling me to do things because they wanted me to be miserable.

Reason #10: I have to dye my hair to cover the gray. Tragic.

Reason #11: I like to take photos of flowers.

Am I an OLD LADY or what?

Nail polish Robot?

2006-12-20T15:37:00.000-08:00

Why does my toenail polish always chip when it's cold? Seriously. I can go weeks and weeks between pedicures in the summer and fall and the polish never rubs or flakes. But it gets to the 40's or below at night and all of a sudden my polish is CHIPPING! Is there some kind of built-in sensor the cosmetic companies put in the polish? Maybe there's a robot in there that malfunctions under 45 degrees. And no, it's not because I wear closed-toe shoes more often. I wear flip-flops every damn day in the Winter too!

Robin Masters

2006-12-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

Was Higgins from Magnum P.I. really the famed Robin Masters?
I think so, and here's why:
1. Magnum never really met Robin Masters. He always "just missed" him
2. Higgins always had an excuse why Mr. Masters wasn't around
3. Higgins was really bossy

Anyone else have any reasons why this could be true?

Bah Humbug

2006-12-07T15:50:00.000-08:00

As the "holiday season" gets into full swing, I feel the need to vent about how much I hate this season. Really, it is the day after Turkey to December 25th. The week between X-mas and New Year's is probably one of my favorite weeks of the year. All the pressure to get the perfect gift has been lifted and I can enjoy the company of friends and family without having to worry about whether the wrapping paper I chose is appropriate.

When I was a teenager and my parents had recently divorced, there was a lot of responsibility placed on my 16-year-old-shoulders to transport myself and 2 sisters to all the right places at all the right times. Mom's house for breakfast, Grandma's house for lunch, Dad's house for early dinner, Auntie's house for late dinner and finally (phew!) to another Grandperson's house for dessert. It should be noted that these locations were all over the county. There was at least a 30 minute car ride between all of them. "Everyone at (insert name here)'s house wants to see you", my Mom would say. Never mind that we've been up since the crack of dawn to open presents. Never mind we have full bellies of food and need a nap at some point.

Why does this all need to happen on the same day? Why is there not some expectation that people cannot be in 4 places at once? Why does my mother have this vision of Norman Rockwell's paintings in her head as what this day is "supposed to be"?
I did this running around for a few years and then decided that I didn't want to do it anymore. I did not feel that I was being unreasonable. My mother, however, sure did and made it known to me that I was "disappointing" her. Great. The guilt trip. Love that.

I have decided that December 25th does not mean anything to me. I don't believe in God. Therefore, I don't believe that Jesus is the son of God. So, why should I celebrate his birthday on a day that isn't even his birthday?!?!? If my family could agree to get together on some other arbitrary day, it would mean just as much. Why not April 12th? How about August 30th? It just seems that as the years go by, there is less and less reason to celebrate something that irritates me so much.

If only we could be like the Grinch and the Who's down in Whoville, I might have some reason to get into the Holiday Spirit.

Winds of change

2006-11-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

What a relief! I could feel the shift in my bones on Tuesday night. People across the country are tired of the status quo and want a new direction. I believe the Dems are capable of making this change. The question that remains is "Will they?". This is a real opportunity for "the LEFT" to adjust attitudes towards America and Americans around the world. I only hope they are not caught up in the advancement of the party to the detriment of the people who put them in office. We need to remind them as much as possible of this fact. I don't think it will happen right away...but it took almost a decade for the GOP to start getting caught with their proverbial pants down.

On a lighter note, I find it ironic that Republicans are now complaining about the voting machines not working. Maybe they can just pull up some footage of some Kerry or Gore in 2004 or 2000 and replay it. You know, to save time and hot air.

Fat kids make everything funnier

2006-11-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

This kid is in real trouble and all his mom does is laugh :-)

A few things...

2006-11-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

Silver Lining:
Well, the Yanks didn't win. They didn't even make it past the first round. I pretty much lost interest in the series after that. So depressing. But George always has someting up his sleeve. I read today that Steinbrenner & Co. are looking at Clemens and Pettite for a Yankees reunion. Yippeee!! Clemens is the reason I became such a die hard Yankee lover. His pitching with Boston for 13 years and his domination of the AL during the late '80s and early '90s made it harder for my team to go up against the Sox. It was a sweet day in 1999 when it was announced that he would be a Yankee after 2 years in exile (a.k.a. Toronto). I'm so excited about this I can hardly wait!

E-Voting machines:
At least there is a paper trail to follow when the machines aren't working. Did we honestly think these things would work? Whoever authorized the purchase of these giant pieces of crap ought to be sent hunting with Dick Cheney.

Another socialist nation:
It looks as if Daniel Ortega might have rallied enough support to become the president of Nicaragua again. Another ally for Fidel and his Cuba! We shall see if Ortega really has the interest of the people in his heart, or if this is just a power grab. I like that Jimmy Carter is there to monitor the electoral process.

Duuuuude:
These are the biggest waves I have ever seen in San Diego. So glad someone got it on the record.

Sorry for all the links....but this is probably one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

Stop the High Fives!

2006-09-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

I really hate football season. The fantasy leagues, the pools, the armchair quarterbacking, the Monday mornings when people are talking about what a great game so-and-so had yesterday and how many yards he had passing/running. It's not that I don't like the game of football. I actually enjoy it thoroughly. But I cannot stand all the analysts and talking and "human interest" stories the reporters down on the field do. And the celebrity watching by the cameras in the stands. Just because TomKat is on the Redskins sidelines, doesn't make the 'Skins somehow a better team. Can we just watch the game? Do we have to have John Madden or Joe Theisman or some other retired player/coach tell us what is going through the mind of the left tackle right before the ball snaps? The play-by-play is tolerable, but everything else is too much. I want to hear the sounds of the game. I want to hear the crunch of bones; the slap of skin against pads; the thud of bodies on top of bodies on the ground. Football as a sport is animalistic and that's what it should be on TV too! Don't homogenize a violent game, that's what we are watching for in the first place.

And what's with the "high-five"? I've never understood why fans high-five eachother after a successful play by "their" team. Are they on the team? Do they have some kind of financial interest in the team (other than gambling)? I don't get it. Joe Blow fan and his buddies didn't have anything to do with the successful completion of said touchdown/sack/pass completion. Their mere presence doesn't help the team. These are professional athletes that have been playing this game for quite a while now. They don't really care if you show up or not. Please, for your own sake, stop the high-fives. You just look ridiculous.

Sorry for the negative tone of this post...I think I am just bitter about the nearing end of MLB for the next 6 months. Hey, I've still got the playoffs! Prediction-Yanks in 6 over Mets.

The definition of cowardice

2006-09-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

Again, Olbermann is the ruler of the universe.

Did we really need a report to tell us this?

2006-09-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

This article says that jihad is spreading. That America is less safe now than we were 5 years ago. Well no shit. I have done just a little bit of traveling outside this country in the last year and I can tell you that Americans are guilty by default. People in other countries want to know why we went to Iraq in the first place. I told them that we were lied to and told it was the right thing to do.

Of course, the baby boomers that went through the "conflict" in Vietnam knew better and called a spade a spade. It was the blindly supportive right that supported it and the spineless left that were trying to appease voters and not seem "soft" who allowed it. Disgraceful.

We are guilty of going to a part of the world and imposing (that word seems too lenient) democracy on a country that needs to figure out it's own way there. Forcing elections when the infrastructure of government isn't established is not only overzealous, its just plain poor planning. Piss poor, really.

What happens when you are losing the playground basketball game? You take your ball and go home. I hate to say it, but that's what we should be doing. Today. Not in 6 months, not in 6 weeks, not in 6 days. Today.

Things I can't do because of my social conscience

2006-09-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

1. Buy diamonds. How many people in the history of the world have been exploited in the name of diamonds? I don't know, but it has to be a lot. For this reason, I cannot in good conscience contribute to the death and/or dismemberment of any human being by purchasing diamonds. However, I don't mind accepting diamonds from one who has not used my money to purchase said stone, for those keeping track.

2. Shop at Wal-Mart. I don't really want to shop at Wal-Mart anyways. In the state of California alone, Wal-Mart employees cost the state $8 million in welfare benefits in 2005. These are employees who are not provided health insurance by their employer. These employees are not paid enough to support themselves or any children they may have. When these employees or their children get sick, they must go to emergency rooms for treatment. The ER's are not allowed to turn them away. Also, Wal-Mart discourages their employees to form unions where they might be able to find protection from low wages and no insurance.

3. Eat grapes picked by non-unionized workers. I still eat them sometimes, but I try not to contribute to the exploitation of laborers.

4. Buy gold. Almost the same reason for why I can't buy diamonds. Millions of people have perished in the name of gold. Maybe they weren't told that they were dying for gold, but they were. Mexico, for example. The indigenous people were rounded up by spanish conquistadors and subjected to all kinds of bad things so the spaniards could get their shiny stuff and send it back to europe.

to be continued....

Gulity, really?

2006-09-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Isn't this the guy who has been proclaiming his innocence in the Abramoff scandal since it all started? I can't help but wonder at this point, how far does this go? Apparently there are photos of Abramoff with the President. Can it be possible that W and Jack were in bed together? I say most definitely. DeLay is still under investigation for his involvement and should be charged as well. I can't wait for all these crooked sons-of-bitches to be on their knees begging their voters and the American public to forgive them. They will take responsibility by blaming their actions on a prescription drug addiction, or an alcohol addiction, or a golfing addiction. They'll serve their time in the Federal prisons with special sections for white-collar criminals and then they will go to their home states and live out the rest of their lives in peace and prosperity living on their Congressional pensions. It is getting really tiresome listening and reading about all these people who have taken advantage of their positions just because "that's the way it has always been". My hope is that they are all held accountable and a "new breed" of congressman/woman be born from all this scandal. Will it happen? Probably not. But we can be cautiously optimistic.

Olbermann is my hero

2006-09-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

I saw this on the web this morning. I used to watch Keith Olberman on ESPN. I have watched his show on TV. I knew he was quick-witted and funny, dry and sarcastic, but I had no idea how passionate he was. I applaud him today. I will watch his show forever, just because he moved me to the point of being pissed off again. I was so sick of hearing about all the 9/11 stuff - the spin, the republicans blaming democrats, democrats blaming republicans, the ridiculous assertions that Iraq was responsible for all of it and that's why we are occupying Iraq still. It's all complete bullshit. Olbermann is right. Five years later, the space formerly occupied by the tallest bulidings in the country, the WTC site is still empty. There is no memorial for the families, there is no place for people to sit and reflect, there has been no lesson learned. Only bureaucratic red-tape and the gaping wound that is still Ground Zero.

It all comes down to this:

"How dare you, Mr. President, after taking cynical advantage of the
unanimity and love, and transmuting it into fraudulent war and needless death…
after monstrously transforming it into fear and suspicion and turning that fear
into the campaign slogan of three elections… how dare you or those around you…
ever "spin" 9/11"
Thank you Keith.

Trailer Trash

2006-09-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well, Britney Spears had another boy. 2 kids under 1. What an accomplishment. If she wasn't a "pop star" she'd be living in a trailer park in Louisiana somewhere with her he-capri-wearing husband, smoking Cools and drinking Boone's Farm or Mad Dog. What has our society come to? That this story is the headline of today's news is a real big downer. That is all.

Overdramatic much?

2006-09-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

I know this happened last week, but I just can't get enough. This clip of John Mattes, a Fox 6 reporter, getting an ass kicking is pretty funny. He talks about "getting his eyes gouged out" and being "smashed in the face" by a woman with a water bottle. I'm sorry, but that is a bit overdramatic. She slaps him across the face with a water bottle. I'm not one to say that doesn't sting a bit, but come on!

How has it changed?

2006-09-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

On this day, 5 years ago, I was on my days off from DM Fish when I decided to kidnap my sister and drive up Hwy 395 to visit the parents at a "Pack Station" in the Eastern Sierras. We spent the day of the 10th driving and woke up at 6:00am to pack up the mules and horses and ride out into the middle of nowhere for the day. We all rode through the changing leaves and next to the mountain lake that was so clear it looked like glass in blissful ignorance of what was going on on the other side of the country. It was so peaceful. Such a contrary vision to what the rest of the world was experiencing. I remember the shock I felt when I finally saw what everyone else had been watching for days. I felt like I had been in a bubble for 10 years. The names of the people on the planes were spooling across the bottom of the screen, there was no sound, only images of the smoking towers and finally the collapse, over and over and over. I burst into tears at the thought of what those jumpers must have had to consider in order to do what they chose. My heart goes out to the families of the people who lost someone on this day. I want to say that we will never forget, but future generations probably will. Our grandchildren will read about this day in history books and wonder how it got to this point.

Honestly, I don't feel that much different today than I did that day as I waded through the pristine icy cold lake in the mountains. Sure, it takes a little longer to get through security at the airport, but has this really affected me? I hate to say it, but no. The patriotism that followed was great, but where has it gotten us? In the middle of a big sinkhole in the middle east with our friends slowly but surely turning to look the other way. We're fucked, plain and simple. Sorry grandkids.

Boycott Cruise

2006-08-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

I am so SICK of Tom Cruise. It seems like every time I turn on the boob tube there is another of his movies on, or E channel is talking about him, or somebody is talking about psychiatry or Scientology or being glib and his name comes up. Ewww. I have a personal boycott going on. I have actually turned the TV off when I see his face. If I happen to have control of the remote and am watching with the BF (boyfriend), I must change the channel. If I don't have control, I leave the room. I hate him...and I don't like to use the word "hate". Last night I was flipping during one of the commercial breaks in "Rescue Me" and I thought I saw "The Last Samurai". I had a mini-seizure and changed the channel immediately. I think maybe he is my Mary Hart - the sound of his voice gives me seizures. Although, it's really a lot more serious than just the sound of his voice. Even the thought of him preaching about how much he knows about psychiatry/psychology makes me want to wretch. Now he has all his celebrity Scientologists out making statements to whoever will listen about his so-called kid. And her name, Suri, means princess in Hebrew??? No it doesn't! Suri is a Persian Rose. I looked it up here. It also means pickpocket in Japanese. In the Amazon, it is a large edible grub eaten by Amazonian natives. Nice. I used to actually be a fan of his. Top Gun was a favorite of mine. Never again. I will never watch another movie of his as long as I live. Also, I will try to convince everyone I know to never see another of his movies as long as they live. I am so glad Paramount kicked him to the curb.

Apparently, I am not the only one who feels this way. His popularity is down 40%! Sweet. On with the boycott.

Overheard in New York

2006-08-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

I think OJ is a cheap whore too. Classic.

It's a good thing New Yorkers can tolerate the tourists.

New York City is truly one of my favorite places in the world. I think if I won the lottery, one of my first purchases would be an apartment in NYC. God knows, I wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise!

I love the Neverending Story...such a great movie.

I couldn't have said it better myself

2006-08-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

I just love Maureen Dowd. Read her Op-Ed piece in the NYTimes from 8/25/06:

The Old King put the Boy King over his knee yesterday and gave him a good thwack with a lobster-shaped paddle.
O.K., that didn’t happen, but don’t you wish it had?
Junior certainly deserves it, with recent attempts to blame his dad for policies that led to 9/11 and the rise of Osama and Middle East terrorism.
As with so many things about this byzantine, Shakespearean relationship between father and son, reunited here at last for a wedding, a christening and a funeral this weekend, it’s an ironic turn of events.
The son was furious when the father was painted as a wimp in the 1988 campaign, and now he and his spinners are painting 41 as a weak leader. W.’s pain at what happened to his aristocratic dad with “the wimp factor” led him to overreact in the other direction when he became president, embracing a West Texas-tough, muscle-bound foreign policy that shunned diplomacy, nuance, compromise, multilateral treaties and allied coalitions as measures that reflected impotence.
And now it has led him to scapegoat his own father, and Bill Clinton, for sending signals of weakness that encouraged the terrorists — even as many Middle East experts say it is W.’s culturally obtuse, diplomatically averse and morally simplistic style that has spurred terrorism and made the world more dangerous.
The Bush spokesman Tony Snow recently told reporters that “when the United States walked away, in the opinion of Osama bin Laden in 1991, bin Laden drew from that the conclusion that Americans were weak and wouldn’t stay the course, and that led to September 11th.”
Afterwards, questioned by furious Bush I foreign policy types, Bush II officials tried to claim that Mr. Snow was talking about President Clinton running away from Somalia, but clearly the spokesman was referring, as he originally confirmed, to the truncated end of Desert Storm.
In Crawford recently, the president also criticized previous administrations for policies that indicated that “stability is more important than form of government.”
Translation: Dad cuddled up to the corrupt Saudi monarchy and other Middle East dictators and let Saddam stay in power and was tough on Israel. I got rid of Saddam to establish a democracy and uncritically sided with Israel, a democracy.
Of course, now W. has now been reduced to pleading with dictatorial Mideast leaders to help him quell the violence engulfing Iraq and Lebanon, and with the military dictator Musharraf to help him capture Al Qaeda members.
The Bush I inner circle whispers that W. and Condi are “in over their heads,” as one told me, and that without 41, Jim Baker and Brent Scowcroft around, there is no one to “corral” Dick Cheney from his hard-line craziness.
“They misread history,” said one Bush I foreign policy official. “43’s born-again background and lack of experience and simple view of the world made him think it was easy to define who the enemy is. But hope is not a policy — hoping to win, hoping to make a democracy. They came in with the philosophy that the U.S. was the most powerful country in the world and they could remake the world any way they wanted. Condi and others assumed that the Middle East would fall apart peacefully, the way the Soviet Union did, if given a chance. But the Middle East is a totally different place.”
They agree, as one said, that 41 is a “very private guy who loves his son dearly, and you will not catch any daylight between them. I doubt that he’s taking any joy from the fact it’s clear now that he did the right thing in ’91 and his son is screwing up.”
Poppy Bush did not like it when Jimmy Carter tried to give him advice after he took over the job and he would be very loath to do that with any successor — much less a son who was so threatened by his dad’s shadow that he drifted until his 40’s.
Father and son do talk quite a bit on the phone, and sometimes about world affairs. But 41, as one associate notes, “is not the type of guy to say, ‘George, you should be doing x, y and z.’ He might say something more oblique, like, ‘So-and-so says this is happening.’ ”
At this hazardous moment in world history, somebody has got to grab the stubborn, shuttered scion wearing the “43” windbreaker and talk some sense into him, the way Dwight Eisenhower did when he privately dressed down the young J.F.K. after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. And who better than his dad, that 82-year-old still demonically driving his cigarette boat around the Bay of Bushes?

I love living here!

2006-08-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

How beautiful is this? And how lucky am I to live in a place like this? It is sunsets like this one that make me think the world is not such a terrible place to be.

What a Crock!

2006-08-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

I've been reading about SD's financial mess. The public sentiment around SD is that the city employees are to blame for this and the "high powered unions" who represent them are even more responsible. If the unions hadn't asked for wage increases and pension benefit increases then the City would be just fine! YA RIGHT! The unions are looking out for their own. They are not responsible for granting benefits the City can't afford! If the CITY couldn't afford to give the wage/pension increases, they shouldn't have done it! The union only asked for what they wanted and what the employees deserved. If the benefits increases were agreed to and only later it was discovered that the City couldn't deliver, it is not the employees' fault. They go to work every day, just like the rest of us. They have families to support, just like the rest of us. They have to cover those family members' health care costs. Most City employees make just enough to keep their heads above water. It makes me sick that these hardworking, dedicated people are being blamed for the City's downfall. RIDICULOUS! I think I might want to pack up and move to Cuba for good!

"C" Word

2006-08-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

What is it about the "C" word that most women find so offensive? I tried to use it today when I was cut off by some bitch on her cell phone driving her 47 kids around in the Expedition. I could see that she was quite distracted by all the goings-on in her vehicle, but come on!! I had to slam on my brakes and almost get hit by the car behind me. I was so mad that I tried to call her the "C" word, but it wouldn't come out of my mouth. I was left wondering why I couldn't say it.
Maybe it's the same as Tony who hates the word "nipple" or Jenna who hates the word "moist", or Megan who hates the word "scaffolding"? Scaffolding? really? Why would you use "hate" to describe your feelings about scaffolding? Hmmm.
I just don't know why I hate the "C" word. It brings to mind that scene in "Silence of the Lambs" when Clarice Starling goes to the prison to meet Hannibal and gets Migs' semen thrown at her and he tells her, "I can smell your c***." SEE!! I can't even type it!

New Addition

2006-08-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

I got a new dog yesterday. Well, she's not so much a dog as she is a factory of slimy drool that the boyfriend seems not to notice. I can see already that there is going to be a power struggle between us two bitches over who is the boss and who is NOT.

Never having owed a dog as an adult, I am unsure of how to address this new creature. I'm also pretty sure that she wants to eat my cat. The cat will probably put her in her place as soon as he gets over the shock of having his house invaded by a stinky giant.