To add to the rant

I also hate those people with obscure "religious charity" affiliations who stand in the middle of the damned street with collection buckets. I specifically hate the people who walk in between cars during red lights, waving at you and shaking that bucket. Then they won't get out of the freakin' way when the lights change!

There was an investigative story on those groups a while back on TV here. Turns out that many of those "religious charities" are just a front for pan-handling. People pay $15 for the regalia (bucket, T-shirt, etc.) each day and then get to pocket whatever they collect. They get driven all over town and set up on busy corners to make their collections. I cannot give to them any more than I can give to the professional beggars. No freebies for those who refuse to play fairly.

Not to be completely mean, I will give to the Shriners, the firemen collecting for their "boot" funds and to charities that are vested, sanctioned and properly registered and recognized.


In other commentary, I called the Peterson thing wrong. I still think that in the long term something will come out to show that the jerk-off didn't kill Laci and Conner after all. The man is too crass to do something so neat and clean. He seems to be the type that would brag to Amber about the ultimate sacrifices he made for her.

Tis the Season to be Greedy

On a furum board that I frequent, the subject of charity donations came up. The paper back home does a "sad story of the day" thing where they appeal for donations and someone posted about the nature of the family profiled on one particular day (getting public assistance, living in subsidized housing, paid utilities, etc.; three kids with perhaps different fathers and another on the way). Despite all the aid she was already getting, the woman was asking for someone else to provide presents for her kids. This sparked a debate on the legitimacy of those "Empty Stocking" type pleas. While someone must nominate the people, one has to wonder how hard they really screen those folks.

The subject then turned to the question of people getting aid, yet dressing in the latest and greatest and driving better cars than those of us who haul ass to work everyday to make Christmas nice for our family. One person specifically mentioned the $150 Nikes and cell phone sported by a kid getting a free lunch at the school where she works while she was scrounging through her purse to find lunch money. Another made the point that sometimes you can buy designer at the thrift stores, but it was pointed out that you don't get cell phones at the Goodwill. I know you can get good jeans and some basic items at the thrifts (I live for Savers and $.99 Mondays!), but not those Nikes!

I hate to come off like Scrooge, but I am getting tired of all the calls for my money and people whining that they need, need, need! Damn it! I need some things, too, but I don't stand on the street corner with a sign demanding that people give me money.

However, that seems to be the career of choice for so many in this city. I understand that some of the professional beggars can make 3 times what I make for putting in a little face time on the corner. There's a somewhat apocryphal story about a lawyer who supplemented his income by doing so on his lunch hours. Changed clothes at a nearby fast-food restaurant, stood on the corner for an hour, then changed back and hopped into the Benz to go back to the office. Why work when you can get someone to give it to you?

My biggest gripe this week has to do with the Freecycle phenomenon, though. I am a member of the local group and will likely get booted for this, but I have to say it: STOP BEGGING FOR PEOPLE TO OUTFIT YOUR HOUSE AND BUY YOUR CLOTHES AND FOOD!!! My other bitch is that the people offering items have now taken to make it a "sob story" contest- whoever comes up with the saddest story gets the item, whether or not the story is confirmable. That is not what the thing was created for. The original concept as posted at http://www.freecycle.org is that it would be a way to dump the stuff cluttering up your house or garage by passing it on to someone who is looking for just that stuff. It was never meant to be a charity clearinghouse where every hard luck story in the world could be posted in hopes that someone will give them whatever. The thing that gets me is that people can't afford a lamp or a chair (or so they post), but they DO have a computer at home.

The nerviest post of the day to me was the lady who asked for a digital camera (with all attachments, designed for Windows XP) to take pictures of her kids to make Christmas cards. She also asked for the photo paper to print the things!!!!! This woman was asking for toys a few days ago. Now, if she had asked for someone to loan her the camera (not mine-I see "pawn shop") or take the pictures for her, I wouldn't be so derisive. I guess I am getting tired of people asking for cars and furniture and clothes and major appliances, only to have to compete with some of them for some little item I might be able to use and losing because I'm not needy enough!

So I'm freakin' cynical! Sue me! I would love to be able to go to the store and not have to buy the store brand $.88 TV dinners for D because they are cheaper than cooking "real" food! I would also love to have something for breakfast other than $.25 Cup-O-Noodles, but sometimes there is only enough to take care of D. I go without, I drop some weight (though not much because cheap food has more empty calories than quality food). D goes without, I go to jail for neglect.

Yeah, it's been one of those weeks...

Long time, no blog

Been too busy to sit and post. Danielle is getting ready for her "Nutcracker" debut next week. Lots of rehearsals and driving back and forth across the valley. It's a killer, but in the end it will be fun and a great first resume entry for her. Then a month off before Spring Concert jazz rehearsals-luckily, only on Saturdays after class.

Other than that, work, work, work and more work...

John Lennon was killed 24 years ago last night. I cried all over again. I will always cry because I will never be able to get over that kind of loss. Danielle feels the loss, even though she is a little girl, because she has been raised on the Beatles and classic rock and roll. Raised her right!

Going home in two weeks for the holidays. We're going to do the New Year's Eve Savannah riverboat dinner cruise again, which Danielle loves. Hopefully there will be a nice day for New Year's as we need to hit the beach (as usual). Sand castles all around, I say!

Video releases I must have:
Mary Poppins 40th Anniversary DVD
The deluxe Return of the King set

Next month, I get to see Styx in concert!!! I won tickets from KKLZ and the concert is on a weekend, so we can go and not have to worry about school. We also have tickets for AdventureDome again, so I think we will make a day of it. Time to start saving up! Free doesn't come cheap on the Strip...

Scariest, neatest dream of the week:
I dreamed of Olavi Arens this past Saturday night. In my dream, there was some history conference in Henderson at the new college. I saw his name as a speaker so I drove down there. It was a great seminar and I was enjoying being around all the stuff I went to college for in the first place. I didn't think that he even saw me, but then he walked up. I about fainted because I still had that weak-in-the-knees feeling that I always have around him. We exchanged some pleasantries and I was thinking that he was still some sexy thing. The scene switched and we were having drinks somewhere. Still just exchanging pleasantries and talking about departed friends. Then it switched again and I was running through the airport to catch up to him before he got through the security checkpoints. I did and his reaction was to ask what took so long to make a move. We did the whole swirling airport montage thing like in the old movies, following it up with a major lip-lock that jolted me awake and made me sit straight up. Damn! There was at least a medium "O" in that moment! I can't help myself if I still get the shivers when I think of him. Pity I didn't just jump his stuff 20 years ago (or even 10) when I was still "cute."

Still waiting for the dust to settle

The election is over, but people will never be able to get over it. Too much nastiness and crap tossed around.

In my life-had the shoulder surgery on the 19th and am waiting for it to mend. Just started physical therapy yesterday and go again tomorrow. It hurt like Hell afterwards, but I need to get strength back into it, even if it will never be 100%.

Funny side note-ran into my doctor at the Academy last Saturday. His daughter is a Bon-Bon in "The Nutcracker" and he was there to drop her off. I got the feeling it was his weekend with the kiddies and he wasn't comfortable with the "Desperate Housewives" set.

I am pouting at the moment because property taxes are going up, as is the gas bill again!

I called the Peterson thing on the forum board I belong to-a week ago. I think Scottie-boy will walk with all the jury issues and the fact that not a single thing shows that he did anything to Laci. Speculation is all they have... Same with the Binion trial. Two different pathologists say that Ted was doing enough junk to do himself in...

Owies!!!

Had the shoulder surgery Tuesday. Although it hurts like a mutha, some of the related pain is slowly going away-the pinched nerve seems to be relieved, for one thing. I have a huge surgical bandage pack over the area, but I get to take the thing off tomorrow and get my first peek. Luckily it was arthoscopic surgery, so I am only supposed to have three relatively small boo-boos. Joy of joys-I WILL FINALLY GET TO TAKE A SHOWER AGAIN!!!! Washcloth bathing and washing hair in a sink truly sucks.

I spent most of the down time puttering around the house. I finished Danielle's jacket, so I have taken up crocheting again. I have a bunch of quicky cap and scarf patterns, so I made D a couple of 70s-style hats (close-fitting with the flowers on the side) and a scarf to match one of them. I am officially the cool mommy at both her school and the Youth Center. If the 4H guy and I can get it coordinated, I will be teaching a course in beginning crochet for the kids who want to learn. One of the patterns I have will be perfect as it makes up in literally one evening.

I also spent WAY too much time watching the Ted Binion retrial. Dang! There are some real nut jobs on the moneyed side of the Beltway! The doctor should have been retired long ago. If after 30+ years in country, the man still can't "speaky the English" or understand it, maybe it is time to give it up. So far, the prosecution has said nothing to convince me that Sandy Murphy and Rick Tavish did the deed. They might have been around, but I think Ted did it to himself because he was upset at Sandy for doing Rick. Who knows?

Holiday for me!

Tomorrow is a federal holiday for me, but school is in session for Danielle. YEA!!!!!

I got lucky with Freecycle today and scored a trash compactor, which I pick up tomorrow after I drop off D at school. It isn't a necessary thing, but it will be nice to have because I don't like putting stuff in the trash with the cats in the neighborhood.

I'm trying to get my Dr. Demento fix from the Newsgroups, but Cox is being a pain in the ass with its frequent timeouts. I should be able to get all my files quickly with the increased bandwidths, but not when I keep gettting "connection timed out" and a countdown. I guess it's supposed to be to prevent piracy, but that is not the only use for the groups. Sucks!!!!!

I have a lot of projects cut out for sewing while I'm on sick leave next week. I still need to get the red velvet for Danielle's Halloween costume. She decided upon a princessy thing with a royal blue satin skirt and a red velvet overblouse. To top it off, there will be a rainbow-striped hooded cape. We are going Trick-or-Treat on base with her friend Brianna and her family. More candy than around here, and less walking.

In "Nutcracker" news, Danielle and two of her friends get a cute bit at the end of the Mouse King battle: what they will be doing is dragging in the stretcher for the dead King and trying to get him on it, but not being able to do it right. She calls it her "solo" and is thrilled to bits. They get to do it every night they perform, so it will be a bonus for her. I don't know yet if I am going to be a room mommy, but one night I will have to lay out the money to see the show properly. Hopefully, Bob is going to try to get out to see one show. Depends on the scheduling...

We finally got the tickets to go home for Christmas, but ended up losing a day. Since NBT still doesn't have the cast breakdowns posted, I needed to make sure I didn't lose a shot with booked seats. So we will leave on the 24th and not the 23rd, getting to Savannah in the evening. Rental car waiting, New Year's Eve riverboat cruise planned, maybe a trip to the beach on New Year's Day like last year. Spend a day with some friends and go out to the PX and snoop around, probably. I will also spend some time at the shop, too. And I need to check out the new Target at Savannah Mall. Yeah, I know they're all over the place, but I'm curious to see how they remodeled the old Belk's.


On to more laundry and trying to decide what dinner is going to be. I forgot to take out hamburger for meatloaf, so it may be fish filets and vegetables. Danielle will eat whatever if I let her choose the veggies.

Desperate Housewives?

ABC must have come to the suburbs of Las Vegas to do their research. For sure, they had to have made special trips and taken lots of notes and pictures of many of the ladies lunching (LWL) in Summerlin!

I spend a lot of time around these women while waiting on Danielle to finish ballet classes and, DAMN!!! Women pretty close to my age are dressing like Christine Aguilara during her "X-tina" phase and with less success. There is one mother in particular that, God love her, is a sweet woman and does a lot of volunteering, so I give her some props for that. However, she weighs about 50 pounds more than she did in college, but still wears the same size clothes. It is scary to see a 30-something woman squeezed into tube tops and short little ruffly skirts that she is afraid to even bend over in. Edwina from AbFab is the closest example in terms of style/shape/clothing size. But she's tame, compared to some.

We have an entire squadron of "trophy wives" cluttering up the scenery, too. Silicone "D" cups for acres and aren't they proud of them? Tube tops, bikini tops, shirts only closed with one or two buttons to let as much bosom hang out as possible and all with the leathery skin of too many sessions without any sort of sunscreen. We had one come in today with an "adorable" little three-piece set: capri pants, shirt-jacket and halter top. The woman was older than me (or just sun-dried beyond accurate age judgement), yet she was showing more boob than some of the women in the adult reviews. The grandfather of one of Danielle's friends just shook his head and went "uh, uh, uh!"

Another perennial exhibitionist is the bleached-blonde that eschewed foundation garments of any sort beyond the occasional thong. She favors cutesy little skirts and butterfly poncho-y tops that let all sorts of things flash at random. Shame is, her little girl (who looks to be about seven) tends to dress like mumsy-all tummy hanging out and tight clothes.

My very favorite is a volunteer who favors tight tanktops to show off the DDs her much older hubby bought her last year. She also wears tight pencil skirts and 5-inch heels that make her mince not unlike Mrs. Tudball from the "Carol Burnett Show." She walks very slowly with those shoes and everyone tends to make some really catty comments as she passes.

And the things you overhear with the cell phones and casual conversations! These women don't seem to understand that you just do not talk about your hubby's business dealings or his mistress. People also do not want to hear you natter on and on about the problems with the maid or how much the most exclusive private school in town is raising its tuition (last figure heard-about $8-10000 depending on the grade). There's one mother whose husband seems to be into speculative business investments and she loves to discuss them. That is, when she is not moaning about how crazy the man is!

We have the rabbi's wife whose kids always seem to get the better roles in the productions because he has some money and they sit on the board. There are also a lot of women that have three or four kids trailing behind and nothing to fall back on when the husband leaves them for some youngster he picked up at one of the casino clubs during a "business meeting."

Most of the working moms in that area tend to be in real estate or "exclusive" boutiques. A very few work in education (the above-mentioned grandfather's wife is a school principal; he's a college professor). One mom used to be a network administrator, but quit her job when she landed a rich husband. Now she complains a lot about being bored now that the kids are old enough for school.

Then there are the moms like me-we aren't rich and we all work because we have bills to pay and families to take care of. We are the women in jeans and t-shirts, wearing underwear that comes in a 3-pack from WalMart or Target. There are a few that have tattoos. Victoria's Secret? No one really wears silk drawers all the time when they have to bend, stretch, twist and turn all day. We drive across the valley to the Academy because they relocated into the toney section. We pay our tuition just like the rich moms and yet we are treated with less respect because we are not living in 5,000-sf sarcophagi with almost no lot space (my little double-wide came with more land than some of the Summerlin lots).

I've been working on an embroidered denim jacket for Danielle for a year (I think as of today) and one of those LWL tried to commission me to make one just like it for her child. She thought $200 would be adequate-as if! I have others asking if I take in sewing. I probably would make a nice little side living doing custom work if I had the time, but not with these gals!

I want my work to be appreciated and not taken for granted. The only sewing I would consider with that lot is helping with costumes, but the wardrobe mistress is a major twitch who thinks all volunteers are trying to take her job (her son is a rising star there and gets free tuition because of her job). Her assistance is a real queen and will undercut anyone attempting to help out.

But who needs ABC when the "Desperate Housewives" put on a show every day at the studios?

Sulking

Hurricane Jeanne killed my Miami trip! Boo-hoo! I was really jonesing for this one as I needed a break and was looking forwarded to spending a week with adults who share my interests. Danielle is happy because I am staying home.

My birthday was on the 20th. Sucked as all my money went to an electic fan motor, tires and brakes for "Valentino" the van. Nearly $600 I didn't have-had to cash in some savings bonds, which was really bad. I still need to replace the back brakes and get a tune-up (another $200-300 bucks).

In other news, I took the plunge and applied for a Civil Service job. I have been trying to get a transfer with AAFES, but they are refusing to move people. They prefer to promote unqualified people locally, hoping those people will be able to self-teach OJT. That's fine for sales since nearly everyone has had some past experience, but we're talking computers and networks here. There was an opening at Ft. Gordon which would have been great. Instead of moving someone with qualifications who wanted to go there (like me!), they laterally moved a visual merchandiser with no computer networking/hardware/software maintanence. I know the girl-if it isn't preinstalled, she can't handle it. There is also an opening at Warner Robins that I have made it known that I want.

To add insult to injury, I found out that for the entire time I have been with AAFES, despite having copies of my official transcripts, the system used to score promotions was never programmed with the fact I have a degree. So for all this time, I was being passed over for promotions. Tomorrow, I have to call someone at HQ and see what I need to do to get the situation corrected. Moving me back home would be a nice start, as would a raise.

Surgery has been changed to the 19th because I needed a little more prep time to get things in some sort of shape before I'm unable to lift anything for a while.

Meanwhile, it's off to Target in a little while to buy Teeniez for Danielle and a few other supplies. Then I come back home, do laundry and sew a little.

I'd still rather be in Miami!

PS: Is it just me or is that Sarah Jessica Parker/Lenny Kravitz Gap commercial the most annoying thing on TV lately? It was cute for about 10 seconds, but now it just grates! I still think Lenny is smokin', though.

News and random thoughts

1) Surgery on my shoulder on the 7th of October. I can't wait because I hate the grinding when I move it. It also sits high and to the front of where it should, so it hurts like a mother! Luckily, the doctor can do the arthroscopic surgery so, instead of a long ugly cut along the shoulder, I will have three small incisions that will heal to teeny little spots.

2) The engine fan, tires and brakes all went bad at once this week. So much for birthday money to play at the casinos next week.

3) Call me selfish, but please don't let another hurricane hit Florida until AFTER my trip to Miami! I am so looking forward to learning some new ways to be an advocate and I am also SO looking forward to walking on a beach without screaming for Danielle every two minutes. I know, she's my kid and I love her, but I need a break once and a while.

4) New GM is here and trying to make nice with me. I am civil, but drop the hints to him that I am not ever going to adore his short little self. Poor "GM Junior" is beside herself because the new boss isn't buying her BS.

5) Danielle is going to be a mouse in "The Nutcracker." She was disappointed that she didn't get to be an angel or one of the doll dancers. But she is having a good time pretending to be a mousie, sneaking about and making squeaking noises. We still have her tail from Halloween before last and the teacher said she can bring it in for rehearsals, so that will be more fun for her.

6) Danielle has also decided that she wants to try out for modeling again. I told her that she could, but there will be hundreds of other kids there, so don't get too worked up and hopeful. At one point, John Michael Powers thought she was cute enough to offer her a major discount. Maybe she'll get lucky with this one (Aquarian) - at no cost!

6) To rub it in, the medals are legit and those idiots who wanted them taken away can go away themselves.

7) Congress got backbone for once and are trying to reverse the stupid OT rules that Bush snuck in while they were in recess. Unfortunately, they also voted themselves another raise. Gee, I would be happy if I just got my COLAs when mandated.

8) Davey turns 44 tomorrow, so it's "twin" day. I turn 45 Monday.

An Observation

I had originally posted this on a forum that I frequent. The usually rabid right-wing fascist that likes to call me bad name refused to respond to it, so I guess it was too close to home for him:


In the attempt to give all the accessible candidates a fair hearing, I went to see Ralph Nader speak today (and yes, I took my daughter). It was a good forum and he actually took questions from the audience that weren't scripted. I know they were off-the-cuff because I was late and still got to ask something.

The point that this is leading up to is a question my daughter asked. Not knowing that Nader has Bell's Palsy, she asked why he didn't smile as much as Bush or Kerry. She assumed it was because he was very serious. This, along with a poll shown on Meet the Press this morning, got me thinking about appearance.

The poll asked two sets of people the same set of questions about the issues with one difference: however, one group was asked about which candidate looked more "friendly" and "presidential." The first group was more for Kerry based solely on issues, but the second was more for Bush because he looked more accessible.

The frightening prospect is that too many people will be making crucial decisions based on looks. It's all about the outer package as if how any man looks is more important than how he acts (ie: BMBF, the name-caller, and his "Lurch" comments). In this day and age, are we still teaching this to our kids? I was taught that judging strictly on looks is a bad thing for any person.

If you recall some history, rememember that there were two sets of numbers during the Kennedy-Nixon debates in 1960. Nixon had the flu and looked like sh*t (unshaven and slightly green) on Kinescope TV while Kennedy looked like he had just been laid. Those who saw the debates on TV thought Kennedy had won. However, those who only heard the debates on the radio gave the victory to Nixon. The upshot was that Kennedy went on to win, partially based on how good he looked vs. Nixon. That was also an issue that came up in 2000 with Bush vs. Gore (Bush was the cool frat boy and Gore was the class nerd).

I can't help but wonder how many people are voting pure appearance and really couldn't care less what the candidates are saying, as long as their hair is "right."

(Oh, yeah... As for Nader, he's the same candidate he was in 2000 and his platform/message is the same. His purpose for coming to Nevada is to challenge the way this state counts petition signatures for all ballot initiatives and candidacy qualifiying. Georgia ain't got nuthin' on the "new math" used in Reno!)

Work is a four-letter word!

Work sucks! I spent so much time on upgrades and installs this week that my eyes are crossing! I woke up last Thursday morning and went to bed on Friday night after a nightmare Burger King upgrade. No one there bothered to do their part of the prep work, the hardware failed and people wouldn't get out of the way while I worked.

Then a video rental computer died - who knows when? No one let me know until late Friday and the idjits expected me to drop everything to fix it. I made them wait till yesterday. There was one glitch that needed fixing today, but in the meantime, one of the clerks felt an overwhelming need to yell at me for not coming as soon as they called. I told her to shut up and get to work, then reported her. Damn! I don't think I have much of an a$$ left to chew because people refuse to be patient and wait their turns.

I need to get some sleep, but had to post this.

Togetherness

It has been a pretty good week, for the most part.

Went to see Dodgeball Friday night and it was actually funny. For a PG-13 movie, it was kind of tame, but Danielle loved it and there were some good laughs.

We also went to the pool again today. NO! I did not wear the "fart suit." I found my black maillot and it worked fine. I thought the legs would "cut" too high up, but they were just right although I did do some "pruning" just in case.

I went down to the Goodwill and got Danielle a Speedo "float" suit-the kind that has the foam inserts to keep her above water. The things are like $30 at the regular store and $10 at the GW. But today was 75% off swimwear, so I got two for $5 (wanted the second for extra inserts). Normally, she wears a regular swimsuit with a life vest, but she can't go on slides with the buckles on the vest, so this will be good for the water parks.

I also found a tankini top for $1 that I will probably wear with a pair of shorter lycra exercise shorts. I'll have to see how it looks... Also got a pair of jeans for me and a pair for D-each $1. The pair for me is bell-bottomed, so I will have to do something about those legs, but they are pretty cute otherwise. And Danielle's pair is all girly with embroidery trim.

Yesterday, the GW had $1 pants, skirts and short-sleeved shirts. I went nuts and spent $40 there, but got several nice shirts and some great pants for work. The buy of the day was linen pants (with silk lining) that normally go for $60 and were marked $12, but with the sale I paid $1 for them. So while I feel a little guilty for spending that much, I got some things I can wear to work.

Later this evening, after Danielle's friend Briann goes home, D and I are going to make tacos and cookies. But I don't want to include Briann because she whines like a car with bad belts. Nothing is good: she doesn't like the drinks or the food offered-except for the expensive stuff I bought just for me and D. That stuff she eats triple helping of because my daughter is a good hostess and won't tell her "no." This kid offered to have her mom write me a list of her favorite foods so I would have them whenever she comes over. My daughter knows better than to complain about food at someone else's house, including this kid's. I mentioned her offer to her mom and hoped she'd get the hint to tell her child not to be so picky. They just made chocolate milk and opened a brand-new jug of milk.

So far they have been in and out ten times and each time the A/C kicks in - 105 degrees today.

I know that Briann is Danielle's friend, but I worry because Danielle is an honor student in the gifted program and Briann does just enough to get by... I worry that she is picking up bad habits and some laziness whenever she spends time with Briann. Snotty mouthiness is the favorite of the moment-Briann calls her mother names and hits her when she doesn't want to do something. Problem is that her mom wants her to hang out with Danielle to be around a quieter household!

Farting Swimsuits and Misleading Movies

OK, did the swim party thing with Danielle. It was actually pretty fun for both of us. Danielle got to play with her friends (including the "boyfriend"). We splashed around in the pool and I convinced her to try to swim properly. Right now, she wears a life vest when she swims and it's hard for her to do it right.

Yesterday, we went to the pool again. That is when I decided to never wear the Delta Burke swimsuit ever again! It's OK for lounging around on a chaise, but not for the water. With the rip-stop nylon shorts holding air, the danged suit kept bubbling up constantly, so I spent way too much time holding the thing down. The topper was when I went into the shallow end and the legs caught the air. As I went farther in, the legs filled out. Then there was a rush as water replaced air and my swimsuit farted loudly, complete with large bubbles coming out from the legs! George Carlin could have gotten five minutes out of the whole scene. And of course Danielle yelled out to all her friends, "Look everybody! My momma's swimmy-suit is farting!" I went underwater immediately and swam far away from the scene, air filling the legs once again, making it look like a blimp is floating on my ass.

Other than that, we had a good day. Spent almost three hours at the pool, went to Burger King and then to the movie.

Now, I need to really give a swift kick in the pants to the idiot who decided to market "Two Brothers" as a kiddy movie! After a few cute tiger family scenes (including one bit with tigers mating), it went full-force into seriously grown-up issues. Mommy tiger grabbing one but not the other cub, daddy tiger killed protecting the other, cubs tied up and dragged around, organized hunting parties where they flush out the tigers in advance, one cub sold to a mean circus owner (where another tiger was killed to make room for it) and the other raised to be a killer... Yeah, that's entertainment! I spent half the freakin' movie trying to calm Danielle down and drying her tears. At the end, there was a blurb about the plight of the tiger, but it didn't explain why the tigers were endangered which I gather was the REAL purpose of the movie.

Today we are vegging. Both of us playing on the Net, me doing laundry and she trashing the house. Dinner is in the oven-London broil with carrots and potatoes. I have some sewing to do tonight, mending some of Danielle's clothes and finishing a tank top I am making for her. I need to cut some other clothes out, but maybe next Saturday when I have Respite night and five Danielle-free hours. On the 14th, she has a birthday party to go to and I am hoping the girl's mom invites D to spend the night.

Work issues, bikinis and pipe dreams

You know, I think my local PMO (primary management official) is schizo.

After all the speeches about making nice with her replacement, she is spending money like a drunken sailor. All the projects she said "no" to for the last year are now being fast-tracked. She wants all these projects in the works and the money committed before the new guy gets here. Talk about "making nice!" I guess she doesn't care if she screws him over because she is close to retirement anyway. However, I'm not so stupid as to turn down getting some of my postponed work financed. I spent the past couple of days working up projects and cost estimates. I've knocked out about $20K so far and have about $30K more I'd like to get my hands on (but I doubt I will). I'm thinking that I may hit her up for that small window in my door...

I talked to my supervisor today and got some more information on possible transfers. There is an eventuality for a position in south Texas that I would accept. I would have a house to move into already and it would be closer to home by half. I'd only have to contend with tornadoes and hurricanes moving inland. Well, the house I'd be moving into has been there for 20 years already, so I guess it was made well. Look at me! I don't have the job or the house yet and I am thinking of construction features. Well, being positive is a good thing.

Tomorrow I will be dealing with Danielle's summer camp pool party. I don't do swimsuits well anymore. Now 20 years ago, I could don bikinis and look good. Now I would empty the pool quicker than Bruce the shark... But I will go in my Delta Burke swimsuit with the shorts attached because Danielle wants me there. Damn! It means I have to get up early and shave my legs and underarms. At 5:30 am, I don't think that is a great idea, but I don't feel dealing with it tonight.

If I am still living here when I get next year's tax refund, I am SO tempted to get electrolysis on the legs and "pits." There's a company called Nuvo that has storefront walk-in clinics in several of the malls here to get it done. Seems straightforward enough: go in, get the treatments, pay as you go... Something my grandmother would have had a major hissy fit over! I would *almost* consider getting the bikini area done, but I don't know that I would want someone to get that close without dinner and a movie.

Reminder to me: never, ever date a man named Conner. After hearing my young daughter go on and on about her "boyfriend" of that name, I am so sick of it!!!

This week in brief

This has been one of those weeks that makes me want to move to Montana and raise dental floss!

I am nursing a dislocated shoulder and had to have a cortizone shot. The only thing the darned thing did was make me sick because it had anesthetic in it and I am mildly allergic to the stuff they used. And the shoulder is still hurting like crazy!

On top of that, I have been dealing with a pre-teen crush courtesy of my daughter. At 8 1/2, she has a "boyfriend" (Conner) that she spends all her time with at summer camp. They do all the activities together, hold hands and KISS!?!?!?! Yesterday, we went to the movies and she spent all of her time worrying because he didn't come. I gather that she and Conner decided that he would meet her at the theater and his dad sort of agreed, but forgot to tell his mom who had made other plans. If this is a taste of what I have to look forward to, please point me to the nearest all-girl boarding school in Outer Mongolia!

Worst of all is that the local manager of the agency I work for is transferring out next month. Normally not a big deal because it happens all the time. However, her replacement is a certifiable asshole! I have been with this agency for nearly 17 years and this guy coming in is the only person I ever had to file a complaint against. He kept me from a position a few years back because I was a single parent and he didn't think I could handle the work because of that. So you can imagine how I felt to see him listed as the new manager. I immediately called my supervisor and told her I want to be moved. She said to suck it up, do my job and it will be OK. Yeah, right... I know what retaliation is and I know that because he is a manager, my complaints won't count for squat.

I also need a plumber and a better spreadsheet to make the paycheck vs. bills ratio behave!

Sometimes I ramble a lot and sometimes...

I have a regular website for family news, but I decided I need some
place to make my observations, laments and general comments. It's an
indulgence and I don't know how long it will last, but we'll see...

I may be missing for weeks and then post every few hours. It just depends.