The Meanie Mommy Chronicles

Another wonderful day in the rat maze

2011-07-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

Drama at work, as usual.

Had to give a statement about a former employee who is suing because she didn't like getting fired for stealing--just wonderful!

Had a call from the resident whiner who thinks my being a union rep means I have to talk to her all the time and provide legal advice. Today it was about her feral cat collection being picked up by Animal Control by mistake. I really have to bite my tongue when she calls because I just want to tell her to pay me the same rate she would pay a lawyer or shut up.

Then there is the entire department that is being fired for stupid stuff that should have garnered no more discipline than letters of reprimand. All are long-time benefit employees and in an area slated for downsizing, so I really think this is a way to do it without having to do a RIF.

The only nice thing about the day was that I decided to have a dinner out and tried a place I hadn't been in a long time (had a coupon). I was pleasantly surprised and, since I get coupons for that place every week, will be going there more often.

As for the rest... If today was a program on the DVR, I would press "DELETE" immediately.

It has been a long, long time

2011-07-27T21:54:00.001-07:00

The last year and a half have not been easy on me and I took to another venue to vent.

Work--sucks and there WILL be changes.

Home--can't post everything here, but let's just say I don't have to go to Hell when I die since I've already done my time.

Family--:( :( :( :( There have been serious problems that are still unresolved.

Love--what's that?

Friends--well, I have some.

Right now, I am fuming over something I read elsewhere that really made me upset. I found out that D's father and his then-wife were in town with his mother and he never bothered to make any attempt to let D and her grandmother meet at all. Talk about absolute thoughtlessness and meanness! What would it have hurt since the grandmother was ill and it would have allowed some closure before she died. As I understand, she wasn't told until she was already sick and wouldn't have had a lot of time to spend with D. I don't know if she ever had contact with D's half-sister, but that would have been just as mean to D.

Yep, I am in a wicked-mean mood tonight. As it is, I already know what work is going to offer in the way of dreck tomorrow, I am not going to be a pollyanna for the next few days.

Oh, and the guy who named the iconic fashion doll Barbara Millicent Roberts 5 months before I was born (see, she's older than me and needs plastic surgery to keep looking good) died earlier this month. So did Amy Winehouse, who joined the "27 Club". :( You don't know just how much that scares me personally.

My dad turned 75 about 4 minutes ago (he lives in the central time zone). I would call him, but I think his girlfriend would be put out if I did.

The joys of cell phone ownership ("Can you hear me now?")

2009-11-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

Or not...

After reading this article, I have to share my own "happiness" with the same provider and those like it.

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/verizon-how-much-do-you-charge-now/?apage=16

For the last six weeks, I have been in battle with Verizon over a phone they sent me by mistake. It was the wrong one, but they didn't want to take it back in person. I had to send it back via FedEx and "slow boat to Ft. Worth". So I did so. But, in the meanwhile...

The personnel at the store I was originally told to take the thing to is more proof that the people running the cell phone companies' HR departments never actually see the people they hire. They were young, sloppy and were too busy gossiping with each other to actually get up. OK. I went to the young man at the podium and explained to him what I was told to do with the phone by their customer service people. This silly man laughed at me and told me I was wrong, that no one would ever tell me to do any such thing. Then he wanted to argue with me about the equipment being theirs to begin with--this despite my having the entire kit, complete with receipt, in hand. ON top of that, he tried to sell me another phone even though I was trying to get the mix-up on one I already ordered corrected. Then his pals came over and suggested I was scamming them. I was getting so angry by that point, I dialed the company directly and started complaining about them right there on the sales floor.

It took almost two hours for them to figure out how I was supposed to get my correct phone and get the other one back. The final agreement was that we would cross-post the phones--I send the wrong one back at the same time they ship the correct one. Here is where it falls apart. I shipped the wrong one back and received the right one. BUT they claimed never to have received the other one and started tacking the full price of the phone onto my bills.

After that, came the calls threatening to cut off my service even with the tracking number that proves the phone was signed for by their people. It seems like every day, I end up talking to those fools and giving them that number over and over. Meanwhile, they refuse to adjust the bill to remove the cost of that old phone. They want me to pay for it now and wait for a credit. Nuh-uh! I know how that works and I would prefer not to have that mess hanging on my account in any form.

I was also jumped on over and over for choosing a smartphone and not wanting the data plan. I wanted a smartphone because I wanted Office Mobile and a touch screen to draw quick diagrams on. I want the equivalent of a laptop that I could put in my pocket, basically. Sometimes a full laptop is just much to carry into the desert. But why should I have to justify my phone choice to them? I am the customer here and why I choose an item is really none of their business. The sad thing is that the phone was my first upgrade in years and was a freebie.

In all of this hassle, I learned some nasty things about my provider and all the others who are not "pay as you go".

First, any new phone that is considered a smart phone is now saddled with a data plan, whether you want it or not. Your provider will tell you the phone won't work without the plan, but that is a lie. The last three phones I had never had data plans and they worked just fine using free WiFi connections (the built-in WiFi is why I bought them). But now, the scam is to force everyone to use at least the $30/40 MB plan and get them to go over their limits and then move them to the $60 plan which still sucks at a maximum of 5 GB, then per KB charges apply. I don't use the data (preferring the WiFi) because, even with the plan, it is hard to figure out whether you have hit your puny limit. Bandwidth limitations, my Aunt Fanny.

Funny, though--if you don't have a data plan on your old smartphone, they are still quite able to charge you $1.99 for each 0.02 KB*. This is their best revenue stream--accidentally hit the Internet connect button for even five seconds and they charge you that $1.99 no matter how fast you disconnect. Some reports put their income from the accidental connections at over $300M PER MONTH, so they sure aren't losing money. Check your bill, no matter who you get service from--bet you will see some sort of data usage charge, too, even if you have never knowingly connected to the Internet.

Most people think it is a tax and pay it, so the claims of having to refund all those charges are also bogus. I mentioned the possible charges to some of my friends and nearly all of them have seen something similar, but never realized what it was and they have paid dutifully.

Second, there are some sneaky conditions that keep getting added to the contracts at random. For those who missed it, Verizon has decided to just about double their early cancellation penalties. The claim is that they need to recoup the cost of your so-called "free" phone if you leave before your two years are up. Considering that the fee for new (after 6 November of this year) activations is nearly $400, there is no way they can claim with a straight face that all those cheap Samsungs they hand out cost that much. Not when you can buy a similar phone from TracFone or Virgin Mobile for under $30 in a grocery store... Again, they are counting on the customers not being able to find all the terms they posted in the outhouse of an ashram in Outer Mongolia.

Third, the incredible arrogance of their people really set me off personally. In all those calls, the overriding theme was "because we can". I asked where I could find a printable version of their new terms. I was told they didn't have to provide those anymore. They just had to pick a day and make the changes. It was up to the consumer to figure that day out. If that consumer decided they didn't like the terms, they would have to pay up no matter how long they had been customers. With the new penalties, even a paid-off phone would still result in a balance due. But, again--"It's our company and we don't have to tell you about that until it is too late." Verizon is having a lot of issues with people complaining about what seems to be a lot of bait-and-switch going on with their contracts, not to mention with ATT (another one who operates pretty much the same way) suing them over the 3G claims.

In the end, I am almost tempted to use D's old phone for regular calls and keep the new phone for strictly the Pocket PC and WiFi features. It just doesn't seem worth it to keep dealing with the jerks. I only stay with Verizon because nearly my entire family is on it and we get free mobile-to-mobile calls 24/7 (good for my mom who is retired and on a fixed income). It also really does have better 3G coverage than the other guys. But is it worth the hassle?

*One more thing: why does Verizon charge $1.99 per MB everywhere else in the world, but charge its U.S. customers that same rate per 0.02 KB? Again, they claim bandwidth limitations, but they cleaned up in the last administration's frequency auctions and own a large chunk of the airwave frequencies available for wireless communications.

Oh, and for the record: the darned phone, according to FedEx, arrived at the Verizon depot almost three weeks ago. Verizon still insists it hasn't even with the tracking number, FedEx confirmation and the name of the guy who signed for it.

Half a century

2009-09-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

That is how my brother wished me "Happy Birthday" with a 7 AM call this morning.

That was the high point of my day.

A friend had to miss a flight out here due to a plane with a bad engine. You-know-who had to be her usual whiny self because I dared to expect her to behave this one day out of the year. I also had to go in to work tonight for a while.

Yep! Another milestone down the tubes...

Oh, to be 17 again!

2009-09-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

In two days, I hit the big 5-0. That doesn't bother me because I should have died in 1961 and didn't, so EVERY day on this side of the grass is OK by me (even the suckish ones). Some of the perks include cheaper buffets and movie tickets in one casino chain as well as admission into the senior center around the corner from my house which has the only indoor pool this side of town that does NOT allow kids (woo-hoo!). The center also has all sorts of free classes I might take just for funsies.

But, when I think about it (as all who hit milestones are wont to do), I keep thinking that when I was 17 it was my best year in so many ways.

• I could stay up for days and never complain about being tired.

• I spent the night before I took my SATs getting drunk with a friend, got an hour of sleep and STILL hit four digits comfortably. I doubt I could move now with only an hour of sleep.

• Sachsenhausen was always open and no one carded us because it was "Germany, man!"

• I could sit in the Hauptbahnhof at midnight and not worry about some perv making a grab at me.

• Prom and the Military Ball meant spending the entire weekend in Frankfurt and riding the StraBe all over the place.

• I still had that long, Marsha Brady hair and could rock hot pants without looking like I was wearing pants with rocks in them.

• The art school scholarship I should have taken no matter what my dad said.

• Friends that really did understand it sucked when it was time to move for the 10th time.

• Castles, fairy-tale rivers, Roman ruins just up the road, parties for cities that were thriving even before the Aztecs and Mayans had gotten their stuff together...

• The 2nd annual Rockfest at the Lorelei with Ted Nugent and Aerosmith!

• Still feeling like I could conquer the world if given the chance (well, we know how that went, don't we?).

• So much more, but I think just about everyone has had that one year in their life when they were sure of it all.

Now, life is more about compromise and knowing that you have to make choices you would have screamed about and refused to choose in that one special year. Pay your mortgage instead of going to the rockfest? Never! Staying in to catch up instead of sneaking into Gruenberg Park during the third period break? No way! Now I am reaching the place where I sound like those people I laughed at when I was 17.

You know what? It sucks not to be 17 anymore. There are days when I look for the "do-over button".

Alrighty then!

2009-09-04T21:56:00.001-07:00

So long since my last post and I cannot make it up all at once, so bear with me...

D did have to go to summer school for math. Here you have to PAY for it and I was determined she was going to get through it and at least get a "D" to pass, which she did. If she had done all of her homework, she would have gotten a "C". But the goal in doing a whole semester in three weeks is to pass and I was not going to push harder than that.

She also went to Georgia to visit family and to finally meet someone she only knew from emails, blogs and MySpace. It was maybe a good thing, maybe not. But they needed to spend time together and that was accomplished. I guess she had a good time, but she didn't talk to me much while she was gone. A combination of teen angst and her conditions made her surly towards me for most of the time. But, according to most accounts, she was a sweetheart 99% of the time. One semi-bad meltdown at the end, but other than that, it couldn't have been MY kid.

Went to Reno last week and didn't see any of the city except from a window. It was like ten miles from the Reno casinos, so I didn't even get to see the "biggest little city" sign. :(

It was ALL union business and I think I left interior of the hotel/conference center ONCE--on the day I left and for only half an hour. I went down to the pool and read a good book for a little while. It wouldn't have been so bad except we spent most of the time trying to reinvent the wheel and only succeeded in fattening the tires. Everything else stayed as it was before we started. I was sorely disappointed because we had such high hopes for getting some stuff through that would protect our workers and ONE agency where the workers make like $70K a year whined about every little penny or proposal whether it impacted them or not. I cornered one of the ringleaders at the airport when he happened by and explained to him what he and his buddies ruined by being childish (holding up signs behind people speaking on resolutions and issues, shouting everyone down that spoke for reforms, throwing things at the chair...). His jaw dropped when he heard about all the things they killed by being asses. Now we have to wait three years
to effect those changes and we may lose a lot of ground in between. Really a sad prospect...

D stayed with her friends while I was out of town and I swear there is a Stepford factory somewhere in this city. I am SO tired of people telling me what an absolute angel she is when ten minutes later, she lets it rip! I swear I am going to start taping her rants and posting them on YouTube for those who think she is so sweet. It makes it hard to work when I am always in one battle or another with her and her issues, which wears me out and keeps me too tired at times.

I am working too hard and there is too much to do in too little time. I managed to get hurt because someone who should have known better did something stupid. Why is it the stupid ones don't get hurt by the things they jacked up? Anyway, that makes it harder to do my job because I can't lift anything without making it worse (pulled ligaments in left hand/arm). Oh, well... At least I don't have to pay for the care myself as it was a WORK injury.

More overnights coming, more stuff to fix behind other people. And my 50th is coming up--joy. If it mirrors every other birthday for the past ten years, it will end with D whining she isn't getting all the attention. She already stole my early birthday present (a netbook) for herself. :(

Addictions in general

2009-07-12T21:41:00.001-07:00

Not the normal ones like to alcohol or drugs, but to more subtle things like dieting.

The dieting addiction is the most troubling of the things listed. Once a person jumps on that wagon train, some go off the deep end and treat their diet as a religion. I am seeing this with the online support group my best friend/sister belongs to. Those people are just like Jesus freaks when it comes to their weight loss.

OK, so you lost a little or a lot of weight. It isn't like you saved the world or earned the Nobel Prize for physics. You decided you needed to lose the weight and did so. Great! I am happy you stuck to your guns and achieved your goals. But, for the love of God, do NOT presume to tell me that being overweight the tiniest bit makes you less than human or not normal or a freak. You are a person with a weight problem that you are trying to tackle. Saying anything else is just plain stupid and could cause serious issues for others who think they are "fat" and will take that negative validation as their cue to anorexia or worse. I even said as much, only to be told that they are NOT human or whatever until they become skinny. That is too sad.

One girl I work with had lap band surgery and now is so skinny, a good wind would blow her way. She is afraid to eat a salad with dressing for fear she will "balloon up". A freaking salad, for the love of Pete!

Those are the people that make me never want to be the weight I was in college, sick as a dog and never eating in public. Not anorexic, but a stomach issue that kept me from digesting properly. I still have that problem and my metabolism is now so slow, a single grape can cause me great distress and to gain weight disproportionately. I am also not diabetic, but the opposite where my blood sugar is always too low. Sucks, but I am not going to freak out and join a diet cult to become "normal".

Yes, I understand that women of a certain size category cannot walk into Macy's and buy off the rack. Why would they want to when they know that the "plus size" category isn't profitable for those stores unless they skimp on quality, style and quantity. The fabric is cheap, the cut is just a misses size expanded which kills the proportions (too long in the armholes, too much fabric in the thighs, waistband not cut right, etc.), the styles are from 10 years ago and they never have enough of a halfway decent item. There are stores that DO carry quality items, but I think there is a certain category of large women who insist on shopping at the major names to prove to themselves they are NOT "normal" or "human" or whatever. Or they go to Target, KMart or that abominable WalMart, buy the nasty polyester items or "Just My Size" just so they can whine they cannot find "nice" things. Several women of size that I know dress like they are ready to address the board of directors or Congress on less than I make, so I know the clothes are out there.

I am truly pleased that my sis has taken the initiative for her own sake but am not impressed by the people who are "supporting" her. They all have fallen victim to the fanaticism of their struggles. Lose the damn weight if you people must, but stop acting like y'all have done anything that will change any world but your own. After all, if you are losing weight for any other reason than because you personally need/want to for your health or whatever, then don't expect me to cheer you on. I will not cheer on someone who has gone from size 26 to 6 and talks about how "fat" they still are or discusses 50 different ways to make rice cakes taste like anything other than rice cakes (can't be done).

T, you done good and I am thrilled as you are for every pound you shed. Don't you stop working towards your goal. And don't let those people drag you into a life where you will be a slave to the scale. I love you no matter what!

Now, don't get me started on former smokers and those who feel married to their weapons. At least not tonight... Later this week.

Michael, Farrah and how they will be remembered by me

2009-06-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today, both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died.

Jackson dropped dead of an apparent heart attack in L.A. His health has been the stuff of rumors for a while, but his handlers swore it was all just "exhaustion" and that he would be more than fine for the concerts he was supposed to perform in England next month.

Now, when you turn on the news, click on a news site, read a forum or even a blog ( :D ), Michael's death is the one dominating the airwaves. I suspect his picture will be on the top fold of every paper in the land tomorrow--hopefully one from his younger days. You know, before vitiligo set in and he stopped being black...

I suspect it is because we cannot resist the tragic last act to an already tragic story. Jackson was a very talented performer, songwriter and choreographer. He could move in ways you would not expect and he looked GOOD doing it. But his talent was overshadowed in the end by his alleged (never quite proven) prurient fondness for little boys. THAT became the focus of Jackson's public life. Every joke was about Michael Jackson and molestation.

No one was able to prove it, even though he once paid out a good chunk of change to shut one family up (the dad was a failed screenwriter and was trying to convince Jackson to bankroll one of his scripts or something). Later, after he allowed a cancer patient and his entire family to move into his Neverland mansion, paid all their bills and treated them pretty good, that family swore Jackson was molesting the cancer patient, getting him drunk and groping him. Again, there were questions--the mom was a serial lawsuit filer and wanted more money, plus a house and other stuff. The kid took back a lot of what was said. Jackson was found not guilty.

But the damage was done. In the first case, the authorities made Jackson drop trou so they could take pictures of his penis for evidence. Those pictures were taken before Drudge and Ain'tItCool, so they didn't get wide distribution. But you can bet they are out there somewhere. In the second case, the police raided Neverland, filmed all over the place, took pictures of everything (whether pertinent or not) and those DID get a wider show. Jackson abandoned the home he worked hard to create.

He didn't work anymore, so he paid some nutcase to have babies for him. She married him, but the truth is she probably just wanted the money she got for signing away her rights to said kids. Jackson tried his hand at some comebacks and the shows in London were supposed to be his Britney moment. Alas, not now...

I don't know if he did all the bad things attributed to him. I don't think it matters now. He was the man who wrote and performed "Thriller" and told us about "Billy Jean" and got Eddie Van Halen to play some badass guitar on "Beat It". He made wearing one glittered glove and jackets that looked like Members Only look good. AND he brought back military/band jackets as a fashion statement (but The Beatles did it better).

He owned a lot of The Beatles' music. He owned a lot of Elvis's, too. I see a MAJOR fight brewing as Paul, Yoko, Lisa Marie and every Motown star starts their own bidding wars. Meanwhile, who gets those kids conceived by methods I do NOT want to have a mental picture thereof.

____________________

Meanwhile, there is Farrah to think about. A beautiful, almost-star known as much for this iconic poster which appeared over many a young man's bed (including the beds of both my brothers) as for her acting chops. Face it--her first gigs, like on "The Partridge Family" where she was always credited as "Pretty Girl 1", pretty much marked her as "dumb blond" for a long time.

Charlie's Angels made her a kind of role model for a lot of girls because she was part of a trio of smart women who really could kick ass and take names.

Then she decided to become a "serious actress" and proved she could handle the tough roles. If you ever saw "The Burning Bed", "Extremities" or "Small Sacrifices", you knew she was the real thing. But she never got the movie roles she deserved. In "Logan's Run", she was a ditzy blond--probably there as eye candy and to contrast Jenny Agutter. We won't even talk about "Saturn 3" lest all our gag reflexes kick in.

Did people know that Farrah was an artist? She was a pretty good one, too--even if she DID paint with her naked body for Playboy a while back.

Farrah's death was expected, as she had been fighting cancer for several years and it was a foregone conclusion she was not going to be around much longer. She made a wonderful documentary about her struggle that will be watched for years. I hope her end was peaceful and that she died with a minimum of fuss. I figured when they sent her home from the hospital earlier this week, she was going home to die. One of my co-workers swore she was going to ease the transition along. So what if she did? I wouldn't want to linger like that, either.

Jackson was hauled out of his house on a gurney, people (including, I believe, one of the paramedics) snapping pictures like crazy. How would you feel if the last picture of you was taken as you WERE dying? How would your kids feel?

I hear Geraldo is already talking overdose as the COD for Jackson. At least wait for the autopsy, dude!

I hate weekends!

2009-06-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

Weekends are spent chasing down The Diva and trying to catch up on the housekeeping and never relaxing at all.

I am never at rest and am worn out.

That is all.

Reno is in August. I hope I last that long.

Hard to come back, but here I am

2009-06-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

I wanted to give Sam the proper respect he deserved before coming back with my ramblings. I still pull up his "Miley" column to show friends because it is great advice for ANY star coming into a city to film for any length of time. It should be mandatory reading for all of them.

Having said that...

School is out for the summer and I am SCARED!!! There is NOTHING in this freakin' city for kids D's age to do. It is too hot for the parks already, the pool near our house is nasty and the rec center around the corner is geared for little kids and old people. Most kids will hang out at the casinos because that is where the arcades, bowling alleys and movie theaters are. Not a single theater complex on this side of the valley is NOT connected or in the middle of a casino. Sad.

I am thinking summer school for math because she didn't do very well this year and the credit system for the school district is weird--middle school SEMESTER credits have to be earned for high school. I just had to pass the year, not two quarters in one semester. But that is how it works here. Dumb!

I dread the long periods of her on her own and am not sure what to do about it yet.

When you just want to cry a river and then a lake and then an ocean

2009-04-21T20:26:00.001-07:00

A dear, dear friend of mine--Sam Johnson--has passed away.

I think you have seen the link to his blog under "Cool Visits". I hope you click over there and read some of his material. It's very good. With a professor's encouragement, he was consolidating some of the best pieces for publication. Find his post about Thanksgiving dinners or the one about weak-ass fake chili. You'll laugh out loud and click for more.

Speaking of clicking, did you see the link to something called "Donate for Sam's Sake"? It's been there for a reason. You see, Sam needed a kidney transplant and in our country, you have to have a giant bank account for after-care as one of the preconditions. Yep, you need to have $100K or more before serious consideration unless you have the Rolls Royce of insurance that will cover 100% of all your costs with no caps and low co-pays. I'll save the insurance rant for later this week...

Anyway, that means Larry Hagman was able to afford getting a new liver (to perhaps destroy with more drinking) and that Natalie Cole will get HER kidney before the end of the year. Did you SEE how many people called/emailed Larry King with offers to give one up to her?!? Meanwhile, click on that link, too, so someone will get closer to THEIR future and say "Sam's friend sent you".

Some very good people did their best to help Sam with raising money, but times are hard and people don't give to causes that aren't "sexy" in terms of garnering headlines. But his friends still did what they could. If nothing else, we clicked the Paypal button to made sure he had pizza and comic book money.

He was working out to build up his body for that ever-pending call to haul butt to the hospital, he went back to college and had a career planned, he was working on the book... He never gave up although I know he had "those" days. I just hope someone got him those "preview" copies of certain films he was wanting to see.

I hope his transition was peaceful, slipping from slumber to slipping earthly bonds. I am confident, no matter what, he went knowing that he had friends who loved him and will miss him madly.

This is Sam during one of the fund-raisers; it was the picture he used for his profile.

This picture is one from his blog, taken at DragonCon, I think. Do ya think he had a good time?

This is an oldie from the local access TV show (UGS) we did in Savannah, a great ensemble cast and a lot of comedy that was like working-class MadTV or early SNL. In other words--no budget, a lot of hilarious ideas and a cable access station that was willing to overlook a lot of things. Soon after this, the first head-shaving occurred.

I'd post the Tom Jones video he did for the UGS New Year's show in 1995, but he would come back and jerk me around... And then laugh his ass off as he chased some kids off MY lawn!

About "sexting" and silly laws

2009-03-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know, there has been a rush of late to charge random teenagers all over the country with child pornography because they are "sexting"--that is, sending naughty pictures of themselves to their friends and significant others. Now why is that so wrong, you may ask?

The laws against child porn are clear in that they all state that adult EXPLOITATION of a child for sexual purposes is to be prohibited and handled in the harshest manner. Offenders have to do time and, (no) thanks to Meghan's Law, register as sex offenders no matter what for the rest of their lives. None of the sexting incidents fall under that exploitation umbrella. In fact, in these cases, there is no legal adult involved at all.

These cases are about girls and guys showing off their ADULT bodies. And yes--they are ADULT bodies. If a girl is menstruating and a guy is able to maintain an erection with ejaculation, then they are physically adults with all the urgings that come with the territory.

One case involves a girl who posted pictures on her private MySpace page for her boyfriend and someone saw the pictures. Another case involves girls posting pictures of themselves at a slumber party in those stupid flannel pants everyone wears these days and bras (or bra-like tops). They weren't posted for adults to have one off to or for some perv to download. They were for specific people and someone else shared.

These girls (where are the boys' cases?) are facing serious jail time for TRAFFICKING in child porn. They would also have to register as sex offenders, which means that most jobs open to women even these days would be off-limits to them: nursing, teaching, store worker, flipping burgers at the local Mickey D's (kids come in there, plus work there).

OK. They were frakking stupid for sharing their stuff in places where others could stumble upon them. They were doubling stupid for thinking their "friends" would not download and share the pics. But criminals? No way on God's green earth!!! All they need is a good whoopin' and some down time working at the local kid shelter or something similar.

You may ask why I think what they did is not so bad. It's not. It's stupid because things come back to haunt people in the most importunate moments--like when one becomes famous. I personally know of a set of pictures still out there that would embarrass a prominent actress, but that's another story... But we ALL did something similar when we were that age.

When I was in HS, there was no digital media. You used film and hoped that the Walgreen's didn't actually look at your pictures. Lucky me--my dad was/is a photographer and I had my own darkroom to develop my stuff, so that was not an issue. OR... You used that magical invention called Polaroid!!! Many a party I went to back in the day featured at least four or five instant cameras and lots of pictures I would not want posted anywhere now. But we didn't think of that then. We wanted FUN MEMORIES. We wanted pictures to slip into the lockers, backpacks or math books of our "one true love" (for that week). Some of those pictures may well have been shown around in the gym locker room or on the bus going to the football games, but that didn't matter, either. We were sharing ourselves. FTR: no, there are NO pictures of me in the 100% altogether floating around from high school, although I have to say I did look great back then.

The other problem with these types of laws is that there are thousands of people out there, mostly young men, who are registered sex offenders for having CONSENSUAL relations with their girlfriends who might have been just a tad below "legal". So what? Those girls are not exactly innocent flowers, are they? In just about every case, these couples have been having it on for some time and the complaint came not from them but from parents (usually the girl’s) who refused to believe their little darling would be doing something like that.

Think about it—there is a young man still sitting in jail in Atlanta for getting a BJ from a girl at a party; someone with a cell phone recorded it and sent it to everyone at school. Apparently everyone knew about this girl’s—um—talent except her mother and that is who screamed “Rape!” Not the girl, not the other girls who were also doing “stuff”, not the young man… Only the mother who refused to believe her daughter was capable of knowing what sex was, let alone indulging in it themselves.

I sat on a grand jury once where every single person knew the people involved in a similar case. The girl had been “seeing” boy for a long time, but then mamma wanted a piece of the action. The boyfriend refused to share and mamma filed charges. No matter how hard many of us argued, there were some idiots who were more concerned with the letter and not the intent of the law. This kid was indicted and ended up doing time for not wanting to do someone’s mother along with his girlfriend. He also had to register as a tier 1 offender for “statutory rape”, as the charges were brought just AFTER the age of consent laws in Georgia were changed.

So we are back at the original point: some laws are really, REALLY stupid when they make major criminals out of young people who have discovered the life beyond Barbie and Ken going on “dream dates”.

Would I be angry if I discovered my daughter taking the more extreme pictures? You betcha!!! Her punishment would be to lose all the electronics for a while and a good butt-kicking. Would I want her going to jail for doing so? Criminal charges and a permanent blot that would keep her from holding down a job for the rest of her life? Hell, NO!!

How to deal with the rotten kid your kid hangs out with?

2009-03-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

OK, I have been MIA for a while because of work projects that required crazy hours and lots of OT. I am in between those and the next set, so here I am--and I am ranting!

For D's 13th birthday, I upgraded her secondhand cell phone to a nicer one-the Alias. She was so thrilled to get it because it was a lot smaller than the eNvy (aka "The Brick") and it fit in her pocket easier. It also had neater features. I say "had" because the same little bee itch (AC) that stole her jeans earlier this year apparently stole the phone when they were all at the skate park.

Of course, the little monster swears she doesn't have it, although it was being answered/hung up when we called to see if it was in the house. When D called AC to ask about it, the girl got very defensive and then hung up. Later, she claimed she never saw the phone to begin with. Then she went into "you people are crazy" rant and told us to leave her alone. But she keeps messaging D on her MySpace page and calling the house and hanging up.

Yesterday, at Extreme Thing, AC saw D and ran off. Other kids mentioned that she was bragging about the phone to them.

The phone service is suspended on that number, but the girl has a brand new phone with a new microSD card and all D's contacts and pictures. God only knows what the heck she will do with them. The last time she got her hands on that kind of information (from another kid), she called and texted the contacts with all sorts of nasty trashy messages. The pictures ended up on MySpace.

The contacts can be gotten back because we get the backup service from our provider and I had just synced the numbers earlier that day. But that is not the point... This girl is allowed to run wild because her parents just don't give a sh!t.

I am sorry her parents are alcohols and drug addicts and her brother deals drugs. However, it is NOT my responsibility to provide her with clothing, food or anything else. The girl thinks that, if she worms her way into our house, she is entitled to pick up any of D's clothes she likes, take food out of the fridge and steal whatever else she likes. Of course, D is afraid to say anything because of the girl's family.

Unfortunately, there are way too many kids like that around here. Parents drink or do drugs, work weird hours and leave the kids alone most of the time, forget to buy food for the house, etc. Yeah, I feel sorry for them, but I also am a parent and I work.

The difference is that I pay the bills first, then buy food for the house. Only then do we entertain extras like a trip to the mall or buying a bunch of silly stuff. D doesn't like to see drinking so much as a beer around her because of those other parents, so I don't keep alcohol in the house at all. I think my biggest vice is sneaking in a box of Cella chocolate-covered cherries once in a while.

The biggest problem is that I cannot keep D from having contact with those kids. They go to her school, they hang out at the same places... I tell her that she needs to stay aloof because there is going to come a day when something horrific is going to happen with those kids and I do not want her to get dragged into it. I know that when they do finally bust AC's family, anyone in the house will go to jail with them. I just do NOT want my kid to be within a country mile of their place when it happens.

Right now, AC is harboring a runaway at her house and her parents are letting the girl stay there. D found out and saw the girl's sister and told her. I know some of you will say that's snitching, but AC's house is no place for her, let alone someone else's kid. I tried to get the police to investigate that family before, but they say they have too many other things to deal with. Too busy now, but when some tragedy strikes, they will be all contrite and swear they did their best.

It is impossible short of moving (and that may be a possibility) to keep the bad kids away from your own kids, but I am darned sure going to do everything in my power to keep that contact to a minimum outside of school (where they WILL have to interact since some are in the same classes).

If I thought I could get away with it (and I know I can't), I would spank the little brat myself and then personally drive her over to Child Haven since Juvie is always full up.

Now D tells me Little Miss AC is trying to be friends again. Who knows what she has up her sleeve now?

Update on the birthday

2009-02-02T22:19:00.000-08:00

The little brat who stole D's jeans has been texting her all day with threats. She also goofed up by telling D that she does have the jeans, but she got them from someone else. Except that the store she said they came from doesn't sell that brand and the girl she claimed to have gotten them from wears like a size 13 and the jeans are size 0.

I hate to get all "Vendetta" on this kid, but you know... How do you keep lying and then send threats via a method that can be traced? I'm just angry that the criminal got her hands on D's phone and deleted a lot of her contacts (and I think copied others), along with sending rude messages to other people using her phone. Guess the little darlin' hasn't heard of the instant statement from the cell company.

A trip to the school in the morning, a trip to the cops to update the event report... Yeah, my Tuesday "mental health day" is going to be SUCH a treat.

One more thought on turning 13

2009-02-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

With The Diva turning 13, I got some emails which annoyed me. Microsoft, Disney and a few other sites where she has a kid account informed me that, at 13, my child is NOT a child to them and now has access to the grown-up stuff on their websites.

OK....

Now, please explain to me how taking a minor off moderation is protection for them. At 13, do ALL children suddenly become mentally mature and get a common sense chip activated? Doubtful, knowing my newly-become teen.

And people wonder how the pervs find teens on the Web to exploit.

13 the hard way

2009-02-01T20:40:00.000-08:00

Today is/was The Diva's birthday and I am so glad the day is over. It was a train wreck!

First, she spent the night with a girl whose family are really insane and trouble broke out. The girl steals and she keeps stealing D's clothes. Well, the little twitch stole a pair of jeans that my dad bought for D and I wanted them back. I also wanted the sketchbook that the girl was holding on to. The headbands the girl is welcome to keep because D said they looked nasty after this girl wore them D didn't want lice.

Well, this kid's mother decided to accuse D of being a psychopath because she has nice clothes and wants to wear them. She also swears her kid only has five pairs of jeans (this while throwing a pile of at least 10 pairs at me to go through). The husband apparently spends a lot of "quality time" in our local lock-up and just got home from the latest visit, so he was not very cordial, either.

I could replace the jeans, but the sketchbook is another story. What really made me angry was the attitude of the parents about their child stealing--"All this fuss over a pair of pants. Go buy her another pair if it is that important." "It's just a sketchbook. They cost four bucks at WalMart." Well, it is the principle here--first, I should not have to replace something your brat is standing there wearing in front of us and second, D has been working on some clothing designs over the past several months and that work is not easily duplicated. The father was like "Well, I draw too and I don't get upset when my stuff gets messed up!"

Both these people are missing the major point--their kid is a thief!

Well, I asked them to just let D see if she could find the book and they started cussing and screaming and threatening me. I just backed away and called the cops at that point. It took over an HOUR for the police to show up, giving those miscreants time to hide/destroy stuff and call someone to come get the pot out of the house (apparently the older brother makes his living via the informal pharmaceuticals trade). I watched the person go in, get the hand-over and then carry it away. Meanwhile, the parents coached their little "darling" on what to tell the cops. You could hear them yelling at her about what to say all the way down the street. Basically, the phony claim was that we went over unannounced and tried to break down the door. PLEASE!!! Anyone who knows me knows that I am not going to break down a door--especially when I know there are completely INSANE mofos on the other side.

Anyway, the mother had time to take her meds (speaking of "psychopath") and get the girl to say that Danielle was crazy and was always showing up over there. I can attest that is not true--text messaging records are a wonderful thing... The cops weren't buying their story and told me how to sue them, giving me an event number and nothing else. As if suing would ever get the artwork back.

It just about ruined The Diva's day because she had plans. However, we did salvage most of them. She and her "bestee" went to a movie and then hung out for a while, going to the park and then playing on the computer. D was so tired after we dropped her friend off back home that she crawled into bed after dinner and missed her cake. I might just wake her up in the morning with it.

Poor thing--I wanted her to have a nice birthday and it ended up being memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. Well, maybe this experience will finally convince her that there are some real bitches out there even in middle school and that when I say I want to screen these girls and their families, I'm not doing so just to be nosy. I won't be able to protect her from everything, but I will do my best to protect her as much as I can.

Today is a very good day to be alive

2009-01-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

This says it better than I ever could.

But the sheer hope I saw in people's eyes today was pretty wonderful.

An actor you never knew, but did...

2009-01-19T10:07:00.000-08:00

Bob May, the person who sat inside and operated "Robot" in "Lost in Space" has died.

He was particularly fond of his Robot role, once saying he came to consider the suit a “home away from home.”

Lockhart said May wore the suit for hours at a time and learned the lines of every actor in the show so he would know when to respond to their cues. Because it wasn’t easy to get in and out of the suit, he kept it on during breaks.

“He was a smoker,” Lockhart remembered. “From time to time (when he was on a break), we’d see smoke coming out of the robot. That always amused us.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090119/ap_on_en_tv/obit_may

Hair update

2009-01-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

The votes are in!!!

Agents and ballet teacher have threatened bodily harm if she touches her hair again. Most of her friends are like "Eh..." because her hair is not as poofy as Emo hair is supposed to be (whatever that means). It never will be because Ms. Girl's hair is spiderweb fine and flyaway. Her doctor is not thrilled because it is a manifestation of other things. So, basically, everyone has told her that I was right to be angry and she still doesn't get it.

Judge for yourself. I blurred her face to protect the guilty:

I guess it isn't horrible from this angle, but there are whole sections where she hacked off her hair only two inches from the scalp. I seriously overtipped the stylist because she was able to make those areas look like they were part of a hair style and not a "Sheer Genius" challenge loser.

A Bright and Shiny New Year!

2009-01-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

OK! I stole that from a Rudolph special, but you know...

Anyway, the holidays were a blur. I spent most of the final two weeks of the year working and managed to get hurt on the job again. But, again, no one had time to do the accident report and so I haven't been to the doctor yet. Those people owe me TWO good knees and I want them sooner rather than later.

Ms. Thang decided (with the help of her screwy friends) to chop her hair "a la Emo". It made for a three hour rant and cutting off her Internet access for going on the third day now. I had to haul her butt to Great Cuts to get what was left of her hair in a salvageable state. It was really fun telling two agents and a manager that her hair had changed--AGAIN. One was OK with it, but the other two were not so amused. Can't wait for the ballet teacher to see it!

My dad came down this past weekend on the way to see my almost-93 y/o grandpa. We were supposed to go, but D has too much school stuff going on for her to miss almost a week of classes. So we just caught up on stuff, swapped the latest family pictures and gossip, talked smack about my youngest brother and went out a few times.

I love my dad, but he is at an age where he is having to be reminded of stuff (73). He has also decided to fixate on his time in the Marines and is now sporting all sorts of Marine clothing. He also is embracing the Cherokee in our woodpile, so he has grown his hair long and wears it in a ponytail. That was cute to see. But no matter what, he is my dad and I have to humor his foibles because he worked hard all his life, went to war and got injured, and still worked till his eye got messed up (Dr. Imhof Lazik clinic--don't go there!!!)

He plans to take a trip to Russia for his next birthday with his scary girlfriend. He earned it and I hope he has fun.

Me? I turn the big 5-0 this year and I *may* get as far as the beach at Santa Monica for a day or so. I'll prolly just spend it hanging out around the city and taking in a movie. I anticipate more planning and all that for Ms. D's 13th birthday bash. I believe the theme is "Rubber Duckies"--all the guests are supposed to wear yellow (the "must-have" color this year) and the goody bags will have yellow stuff like bath oil, puff scrubbers and duckies. Remember when a party was just "show up and have some cake"?

Well, POOP!!!

2008-12-26T17:59:00.000-08:00

Judge rules in "Watchmen" dispute:

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/12/judge-in-watchm.html

In the meantime, there are anxieties, questions, and theories: Will Warner Bros. appeal? If it does, Watchmen’s release could be held up by months. If Warner Bros. doesn’t appeal, what will Fox get in return? A cash payout per Gordon’s original contract? A cash payout plus penalties? A share of Watchmen’s total revenues? Might Warner Bros. settle the lawsuit by selling or ceding the film to Fox? If Fox got control of Watchmen, would they release Snyder’s film in its current 2 hour 30 minute form, or would they order him to (gulp) trim it or (double gulp) make changes?

To be continued…

I was waiting patiently for the movie to come out and now I am PISSED!!!! Guys, make nice and come to a settlement before all the fanboys and girls come after y'all!

Happy Christmas, y'all!

2008-12-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

Hope that my friends and family members who keep track of me here are having a wonderful holiday.

It is 1:30 in the afternoon and a certain little Diva who stayed up half the night trying to make sure she got at the presents early is still asleep. The presents are still unopened, staged for her to get her butt up.

Correction--she just woke up and now it is time to watch the carnage.

Sad Tidings

2008-12-18T20:06:00.000-08:00

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry has gone to join Gene in the Undiscovered Country.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28300175/

She worked her butt off to keep Gene's vision alive and did his legacy proud.

In addition to playing Number One and Nurse Christine Chapel in the original series, she played Deanna Troi’s mother on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

.

I chose the Number One picture over the Nurse Chapel because the former character showed what the series might have become. I never cared for the Nurse Chapel character because she seemed to be so obviously there only to serve as a sob sister for Spock and his issues. The whole "unrequited love" thing bugged me even as a kid.

And Majel also voiced the computer of the various starships used throughout all of the TV shows and movies from the sci-fi franchise — she just completed her voiceover work as the voice of the Enterprise in director J.J. Abrams’ reboot of “Star Trek,” due in theaters on May 8, 2009.

I had the opportunity to meet her a few times at Cons and the like, including at an event back home which Shatner also attended--this was way back in the day when he didn't charge for autographs (yes, I have a real Shatner autograph that I didn't have to fork out $50 or more for). I think they were just getting ready to launch "The Next Generation", so that tells you just how long ago it was. Ms. Barrett was cordial, shook hands with everyone, posed for pictures as long as she could and told stories of her days on ST-TOS.

Nice lady who was tough as nails when it came to defending the worlds her husband created.

Malls are the Devil's playground!

2008-12-14T10:23:00.000-08:00

For those who don't know, The Diva does some modeling (mostly for the experience). Yesterday, she had a show at Dillard's so we had to make a trip to the mall--something only slightly higher than getting my eyes dilated on the list of "fun things to do".

Now, if you have had ANY experience with malls combined with any girl near "teenagedom", you know that it is a toxic combination to the poor parent who has to be there with her. After the fashion show, we had to go into every freakin' store that caters to the fashionable teen (and the wallet of said teen's parental unit). Hot Topic, Wet Seal, Tilly's, PacSun, Hot Catz... We are not talking The Gap by any means. At least we weren't at the mall with the Betsey Johnson store--The Diva loves her clothes, but I am not about to spend $400 on a dress with less than two yards of material!!!

I admit--I did buy a few things for The Diva. However, she was told "Merry Christmas" with each purchase because I mentally added those to the presents I was going to get anyway. It was probably easier because it means she got what she wanted and I don't have to hear that I don't have a clue--coupled with the eye roll that is perfected around the age of 12. Besides, I was able to get the stuff on sale before it was completely picked over.

OK--to sum up the fall

2008-12-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, I really have been that busy.

Since I am the only one doing the job I do where I am, I am knee-deep in all the hoopla. I had three new facilities to get networked and the IT equipment in and am getting another one ready to open.

The Diva decided to change dance schools because she never had the same teachers two sessions in a row and the training was inconsistent. She's also had a few auditions and done some fashion shows. School is much the same. They don't know what to do with her because she is so smart, but the wiring in her brain doesn't work the way they want it to and so they are willing to let her slip through the cracks. Sadly, with the outrageous budget cuts, the little money there is will be even less for the rest of the year. No tutoring help, no special equipment, no monitors... I would homeschool, but I work and I know The Diva would not do the assignments on her own.

I also have spent most of the last month with pneumonia, followed by bronchitis. Codeine has become my best friend at night because I have at times sounded like I was trying to cough up Cleveland.

Other than that:

•Work sucks, but it is a job and I really am happy that I have a crappy job at all. I also can say that I can see the light of early retirement finally so I can pursue a different career.

•My family makes me happy I live on the other side of the Continental Divide.

•December is a good month for potlucks at work. We have at least five coming up in the next two weeks. I never have time to cook, so I donate my lunch money for the privilege of eating all the lumpia I want. Oh, I cannot forget to mention Nina's homemade corn chips, salsa and bean dip!

•Christmas is coming and I am actually close to being done with my shopping/designing/creating. I just have a few things to finish up and I can wrap everything and be done with it.

•My dad is supposed to come out so we can go see my 92+ y/o grandfather in San Jose. It will be nice if he does come--without the annoying GF. See what I said about living on the other side of the Continental Divide...

•SJ better publish that book or I will never go bowling with him again!

http://www.candystand.com/play.do?id=17884

•Like I said before: they fired Victoria Stocki-Kim (VSK)from NBT, even though it really was too late to save the Academy which is faltering badly now with half the students decamping to other schools. She applied to Fern Adair, which is part of the reason I think The Diva was having issues--the threat was that the beotch was going to be teaching pointe there. Fern had already said no, but it still affected her thinking.

I heard ol' Vicky, along with some of the NBT cast-offs, was going to try to establish her own school in Summerlin. Considering what happened in Michigan with that company she and her hubby tried to start (the corporation they set up went bankrupt), I am amazed she could even get a dime to start anything up.

Well, we shall see and hear about it along the dancers' grapevine...

Summing up the summer

2008-10-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

1) Ms. Thang still hates homework.

2) She is taking dance at Fern Adair and seems to be happier. It is a lot looser and the kids are not total stuck-up beotchs.

3) VSK got fired from NBT at the beginning of the year. No youth company, the mandatory classes are no longer mandatory.

4) The casting for "The Nutcracker" resulted in only one of the "anointed" getting the part of Clara. Two parts went to girls in Level FIVE and one went to the only girl I would have given it to. The part was promised by VSK to several of the girls' mothers in exchange for "behaving" and not complaining about the way she treated everyone.

5) VSK tried applying to FA and was turned down. HEH!!!

6) Work is the same. Everything that KK is involved in turns to poo. Several managers are leaving just to get away from him. But we can't get shut of him because no one else wants him.

7) Yesterday, there was a 3.8 magnitude earthquake just on the other side of the mountain. Didn't feel a thing because the jets are flying low and shaking the ground anyway.

A hard month for heros

2008-06-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

I cried when I heard Tim Russert died. I was at work, but it didn't matter. My Sunday mornings didn't start till I had my dose of "Meet the Press". A heart attack felled him as he prepared for another Sunday's show. I still think he had a DVT from the two trans-Atlantic flights he took just before. Does it matter? No Tim on Sunday anymore and Tom Brokaw, while pretty impressive, is just not going to be the same.

But the worst was yet to come...

I woke up this morning and the first thing I heard was that George Carlin had died, also of a heart attack. I busted out crying like a baby. That man was a better measure of the time I grew up in than just about any other icon. His wicked take on the stupidity of the world we live in was spot on. Let's face it, he was right when he said

"I sort of gave up on this whole human adventure a long time ago," he said a couple of years ago. "Divorced myself from it emotionally. I think the human race has squandered its gift, and I think this country has squandered its promise. I think people in America sold out very cheaply, for sneakers and cheeseburgers. And I don't think it's fixable."

My dear, RW wingnut father hated Carlin and tried to keep him away from us kids. Well, I had my OWN money and I bought the LPs despite him. I also watched the HBO specials whenever my dad was out of the house. I knew all seven words and could rattle them off to the admiration of my friends who always managed to stutter on the last two.

Those words are now immortalized in a Supreme Court decision--sort of ironic, don't you think? You'll have to copy/paste the links because the Blogger gods won't let the code work tonight:

http://w2.eff.org/legal/cases/FCC_v_Pacifica/fcc_v_pacifica.decision

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/filthywords.html

I was lucky that I got to see George Carlin in person, back home. I had a front row seat and managed to smuggle a few pictures. I need to dig them out and upload them because it is important to me that I shared a few moments of his life.

My grandmother said George would go to Hell for making fun of God and that I would go to Hell for laughing at him doing so. My take? If a man so intelligent and insightful is going to Hell, then please save me a seat in the audience.

To end this with one of many favorite quotes:

Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.

You know the most ironic thing of all? On the above album cover, there is a parental advisory. On my original LPs of "Occupation: Foole" and "Class Clown" and his other 1970s albums, there are no such warnings. He fought for our right to use all our words, but we are still being warned that words are bad.

Maybe this quote is better:

"There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad intentions...and WORDS.

A rant against homework-again!

2008-05-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

Homework is stupid for so many reasons. Let me list the ones I would highlight in a legal argument:

1. It seems to be a method by which the teacher gets out of actually teaching. The Diva actually got a test paper back with a note saying that she would have known the answer IF SHE HAD DONE HER HOMEWORK. Not if she "had paid attention in class" or if she had "participated in the class discussions"--it was if she "had done her homework". That tells me that he expected her to learn the material on her own.

2. Homework is sent home with little information for the parents to guide the work. How many times have you had YOUR kid come home with an assignment that basically said nothing except "do it"? Again, The Diva brought home an assignment to write an essay. No guidelines, no outlines, just "write and hand in".

3. There is no indication that doing a binder full of work every night makes the kid any smarter. In fact, most of it looks like "busywork". The last five science assignments brought home were word searches and crossword puzzles. WTF is that going to teach besides spelling? There is not much else going there that I can see.

4. It wastes a lot of time that kids need for other things. I am sorry, but school is NOT the only thing in the world any more. Kids do need to have some time for other activities and to just veg when they get home. I have nothing against projects that span the grading period, but the nightly crap has got to go. A night spent doing busy work is a night wasted.

I am not the only one who thinks homework is a waste, either:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-560499/Homework-primary-schoolchildren-complete-waste-time-claims-study.html

http://timesonline.typepad.com/alphamummy/2008/03/ban-homework.html

http://www.averageteacher.com/2008/02/homework-waste-of-time.html

http://www.megaessays.com/essay_search/homework_waste.html

Most teachers toss the turned-in papers at a parapro and tell them to grade them. That works with fill in the blanks and word searches as above, but how is a parapro qualified to grade a random essay or similar? And when does the parapro have time anyway since he or she is usually tapped to team-teach the kids the teacher is not working with at any given moment.

When I was teaching, I never assigned homework. I knew that it would get done half-assed if at all and that I would waste precious instruction and prep time having to grade it.

My rant is selfish in a way, I'll admit. The Diva has a disability that severely hinders her ability to concentrate at times. I have asked multiple times for an alternative to the homework as she cannot muddle through what they assign. However, the school district is of the opinion they do not need to provide her with extra help because she is SMART. Yes, she does have a high IQ and she scores high on the standardized tests, but she still has a disability!!!! However, I suspect that the money is so tight here that they are using any excuse not to provide the required services. Forget that she has a proper diagnosis and is on meds! Meanwhile, they just give her a shitload of "F's" and tell me she is just lazy and needs to apply herself more.

I hate yelling at her to at least try to do some of it because then she just shuts down and I can't get anything out of her at all. That sucks because only a few years ago, the same friggin' idiots who refuse to help her were telling me I need to put her in a school for geniuses. I would just like to get her into the private school here for kids like her--smart, but needing help with focus issues.

Anyone willing to spare $12K a year for the next five years so another smart child doesn't fall through the cracks?

A Rite of Passage

2008-05-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

This week, I had to face the reality that The Diva is growing up in a very specific way.

She had to shave her pits for the first time! That meant going out, picking out a razor that wouldn't nick her (ended up with a Venus Breeze because of the all-around lotion thingy) and then teach her the right way to do it.

That was so funny and sad in a way. The whole time I kept thinking about how the biggest grooming issue was how to make the little wisps of hair on her head look less wild.

Why I hate the twitches at NBT

2008-05-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

1) I have a very good idea which one decided to be "concerned" and call DFCS on me because I spanked The Diva for trying to bite me.

2) The usual brats were invited to "audition" for scholarships again this year. One of them is the teacher(ES)'s daughter, DS. WTF is with that? How can that be fair? Another is a whiny little brat named after a major coastal city in Australia--no talent, but she is a pal of the other one I am pissed about: the PITA who has done nothing but make D's life miserable all year. That's right! The daughter of that crazy woman who also took it upon herself to NOT allow me to help with costumes even though I had been asked by the wardrobe person to do so. HA and the city-named brat have parents who kiss ass and drop extra checks into the kitty so they will be rewarded by getting some of that money back. It never goes to the kids who really need it. GR will get another scholarship as well, I am sure.

3) VSK is still there and just as big a twitch as ever. She sops sugar over YA doing a little bit of handwork, yet walks right by me when I am working on the design for another class's entire costumes.

4) The brats mentioned above keep telling D things that are wrong so she will get in trouble. Today, it was telling her they were keeping their pointe shoes on for "Etudes" rehearsal (big lie!). She still had them on when it was time to begin and she was late because she had to change them. ES knew good and damned well what the spawns had done, but blamed D anyway for making the rehearsal start late.

5) The teacher's kid DS is throwing a Justice/pool party and D was not invited. This same girl pretends to be D's friend and texts her all the time.

6) The scores for the exams are still not up and I want to see what D was given. She told me that several of the girls (including every one of the ones nominated for scholarships) made major mistakes and at one point, they stopped them and made them do the combination over. That is the first time I heard of that; do-overs are not a normal thing in the middle of exams. The scores and placements will help me make my decision as to whether or not D stays at that hellhole.

After all the bull, why do I want her to stay there? She has been there a while, she knows the teachers, she knows the routine and she knows the kids (no matter how ugly they are to her). The teachers are familiar with her way of learning, so no breaking in needed. It would be hard for her to start over at another school, even though I am looking into a few options just in case.

D is a good dancer and could be a lot better if it weren't for all the politicking and kissing the arse of alleged money. Their no-talent spawn get the attention because the administration can soak them for all sorts of "extras". However, I know better about the money. Several people who "front" are less liquid than I am and that is saying something!

Government in action

2008-04-19T09:44:00.001-07:00

You know, I had to do all the legwork again to provide the information for The Diva's father so that CSR could locate him. Why aren't they doing it?

They seriously deserve this:

They swear they only found out he moved on the 16th of this month. OK, but he moved two months ago and I notified them as soon as I found out (on the 14th). His new job was announced on the freakin' Internet and they couldn't find him?!? Two minutes on Google and I had the job announcement AND the address thereof, complete with phone and fax numbers.

So now the new bosses have been sent the paperwork to start withholdings again--in 4 to 6 weeks. Meanwhile, I have to shift money all over the place to cover D's expenses that came out of the support money. I mean, that is what child support is for--the kid's expenses, right?

I hate having to keep saying we can't afford something because someone is being stupid again. But then--this is the same man who told his other kid that he was moving to MARRY ME!

Never underestimate the power of pissed-off people

2008-04-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

You know who this is addressed to...

We've heard you are in the Memphis area, but I'm thinking Jackson, Mississippi. Whichever place, you need to get your ass down to the post office and pay your child support or your driver's license and registration are toast. You will also have ALL your wages garnished since you are close to "enforcement" status.

Not only have you made sure that you have ruined any chance you had of EVER making nice with either of your acknowledged kids, but you have also made sure that you will never be welcome in the homes of their mothers. That is not something to be proud of.

Daughter #1 is friends with your old girlfriend's daughter (my goddaughter). She spilled the beans about daughter #2 to #1. Goddaughter has also met daughter #1's mother and enlightened her as to relationships and connections. Let's just say that your ears should be burning and you should be ashamed of how the whole crowd speaks of you.

You owe an apology to everyone from LV to Savannah whose trust you have irrevocably broken. Get over that "W-O-L-D" thing and man up already!!!

Another ballet bulletin

2008-04-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

Bad enough that The Diva was injured in class during observation week and the usual suspects ignored the injury AND the fact that she showed up for rehearsal, dressed out and ready to watch and take notes. All I got was “make sure she heals during Spring break”.

In other news, no good thing ever stays good. I was told a few days ago that JK is back at NBT, this time on the professional side of the house and vying for KDL’s position. Since that is one of the alleged reasons for the departure of BS last Thanksgiving, that is a truly stupid move on the part of NBT. According to what I heard, the Board didn’t want to have any more scandal or controversy, so they rolled over and created another position for JK.

Fine if they are all about the CYA aspect of their little company, but DAYUM, people! What are you telling the kids he scared and injured? That covering the blemishes is more important than their safety? That keeping the money rolling in is more important than the children whose tuition fees and participation in “The Nutcracker” keep their happy asses open on the professional side of the house?

The crazy oriental mothers who think that all males are gods are all “well, that is how it is done back home and it must work.” My favorite is “well, they do that at the Kirov and the Moscow companies”. I looked at one of them—a former dancer herself--and pointed out that those companies also teach the children to smoke by 8 or 9 so they will stay skinny (Did you see “The Simpsons” episode with Lisa that featured the Roy Scheider dance teacher? This was the running theme!), then asked her if she would support that for her daughters. I got a lot of stuttering and eye-shifting. Thought so… *Snap!*

Of course The Diva had to show her ass last night and tried to bite me. I smacked her to make her let go and one of her classmates saw it. The little brat then ran to tell everyone else I "beat" D. I am just waiting for the busy-body brigade to be all over me today.

And—speaking of tuition—it is going up again. The summer class schedule is up and darned if all the fees went up enough to make parents second-thought their commitments to the place. I worked out my projected July raise with the tuition hit and I can do it, but it will be painful. There are parents who are getting hit with the ARM sledgehammer and some who are getting less hours at work; they are looking into less expensive options. I’ve looked at Fern Adair and am thinking of having The Diva take a class or two with them over the summer to see how they stack up with their pointe program.

Meanwhile, Ms. D is going to take a theater workshop with the Rainbow Youth Company during the summer if she can (the low age is supposed to be 13, but depending on the class size, they may allow her in anyway). Get some training, take some voice…

She sure won’t make it as a Rhodes scholar--not because she is stupid, but because she won’t do homework no matter how much I plead. But that is another entry.

An open letter to CitiMortgage

2008-04-12T09:18:00.001-07:00

Since Chinese interests now own your majority stock, you have become insane!!!!

In all the time I have had a mortgage with you, my payment has NEVER gone in on the first because I don't get paid that way. For six years, you have never had a problem with that. So why, after all this time, are you calling me non-stop because your local freaking office hasn't posted my payment yet?

I have only been "officially with fee" late once and that was because the check got shredded in the mail sorter and I had to issue a new one. Other than that, always on time. So WTF already!!!? With business practices like this, it is no wonder you needed bailing out. Tell your Chinese bosses to kiss my pale ass because I am going mortgage shopping.

Car trash

2008-04-06T13:22:00.001-07:00

Why, in the name of all that is revered, do people think it is acceptable to empty their car trash in parking lots or--worse yet--in the street at a red light?

I don't want to drive through or step in your discards! Emptying your entire ashtray out a window while you drive is a violation of the law and of my personal space. I don't like having to keep my windows closed all the time to keep your ashes out. Nor do I care to jump over your discarded Mickey D's bags or NASTY-ASS dirty diapers.

It drives me nuts to see people toss trash out within feet of a trash can or dump it in a shopping cart for the next user to deal with. And don't get me started on shopping carts left all over the place, including right OUTSIDE an empty corral! I have a dent on my cute little car because of some asshat not putting the cart away on a windy day.

Vacay with The Diva

2008-03-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

OMG! Never again!

We went to L.A. for a few days and it was supposed to be to relax and have some "Mom and me" time along with being available in case an audition or two came up. It didn't happen that way. The Diva was a total beotch nearly the whole time. "I don't like _______!", "I don't wanna _______" (fill in the blanks), "That's gay!", "This is stupid!", "Whatever!" (with much eyerolling)--anyone with a teen can come up with the list. In addition, she had sprained her foot during Modern Dance last Friday and so was whining about that the whole time, putting on a big act with exaggerated limp when she was bored.

I just wanted to do touristy stuff--you know, the beach, Hollywood Blvd., movie star hunts, eat in a "star" hangout... The only shopping I planned on was the American Girl Place, but then *someone* discovered shopping in Beverly Hills. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! We couldn't walk down the street without her dodging into a shop to look at the "cute top". Only good shopping was walking into a Barnes & Noble and discovering that Gene Wilder was doing a book signing.

On top of it all, one of the stores double-charged my CC and refused to reverse it without a second receipt. I think the PITA clerk screwed with it and pocketed the difference, but the store manager wouldn't do a thing. I can call their corporate office and I have already done a challenge through my CC company, but while I wait, I do not have that balance in my account.

We did get to do *some* sightseeing at my insistence. I got brave and drove up into the hills all the way up to Mulholland to look at the Hollywood sign up close and personal. You cannot go up to to the sign itself, but we got close enough. I took a picture of the "Keep Out" sign on the fence along with the others I took. I couldn't get the sulky one to take one of me, though. She was too busy whining about something random.

I did make sure we did full-on tourist and drove down to Hollywood Boulevard, pointing out all the famous landmarks. But I was on a mission for myself. I wanted to get a picture of me by Roddy McDowall's star at 6632 W. Hollywood. Nice neighborhood....

Then we drove over to the Kodak Center to park in the city garage (parking in crappy public lots was like $10 cash up front and not very safe). Diva hit the mall immediately, so we lost some sightseeing time. Once she was bribed with a Build-a-Bear bunny, we did the Walk of Stars. I found a lot of my favorites and took pictures. We then went to Grauman's and played in the footprints for quite a while. I wanted to find the Hollywood Bowl to pay homage to where The Beatles played, but got lost.

Getting out of L.A. during rush hour was a total bitch and it took almost two hours. By the time we got out, it was almost dark. The Diva was cranky, I was tired and we ended up stopping in Baker for the night. The room was austere (to be gentle); Ms. Thang said it looked like a gas station bathroom and she was kind of right. Oh, well... It was a bed. We left as early as we could and got home about 9 AM yesterday.

Good things: Meeting Gene Wilder at a book signing, spending time with The Diva when she wasn't being obnoxious, down time, sharing an elevator with the guy who did the psychedelic lighting effects for "The Trip" (1967 movie with Peter Fonda-Jack Nicholson wrote the screenplay; luckily I've seen it and could truthfully tell him I liked his work).

Bad things: Spending time with The Diva when she WAS obnoxious, wasting time in stores when we could have been exploring, stress.

Pictures to follow.

Balletland is on notice

2008-03-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

I have held off as long as I can. I will likely be contacting the ACLU in the next week to file an ADA suit against VS-K and the actual company. I wonder if, after all the other scandals they are trying to sweep under the rug, they can take another hit.

Zippers or lack of same

2008-02-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

Something came to mind when I was doing laundry the other night.

I am one of those who goes through all the pockets twice and then pulls up all the zippers and buttons all the buttons before tossing stuff into the washer. As I was doing so, I noticed that all the zippers on my pants were full length and the ones on The Diva's pants were maybe 2-3" long, even on the junior sizes!!! I dawned on me that I hadn't worn pants with such tiny zippers since I was in high school and hip-hugger elephant bells were in style. FYI: yes, I did own a few pairs of those AND I WAS CUTE!!!

Earlier in the day, The Diva pretended to gag when I threatened to make her wear jeans like mine because that was the day I had on a pair of cringe-worthy elastic-waist jeans. (They were the only ones I could find--hence doing the laundry). She screamed "NO WAY!!" and accused me of wearing GRANNY jeans! Well, I do own a few pairs of those, I guess and I get lazy sometimes. There are days when I just am not up to dressing for the cuter Izod or Levi's that I own but I have never been accused of wearing "granny pants" before. I admit that I have caught hell for the "mom" jeans at times, but never the others.

Those tiny zippers made me nervous because the pants aren't Britney Spears show-it-all low, but they do ride below the waist about an inch. They also reminded me that Ms. Thang is less than a year to official teenager status. The clothes are changing subtly and it is sad in a way. I look at the cute little baby and toddler outfits and wish I could buy them again. I already know that even the more stylish outfits in the older girls' department no longer pass muster. She heads straight for the juniors department now, coming back with what can only be called "hoochie" clothes because that is all that seems to be sold in that area. Depressing...

Of course, it didn't help that we used the free kid's birthday coupon yesterday for dinner at Sweet Tomatos. That was her last "little kid" freebie. WAHHHH!

No car = insanity!

2008-02-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

Today is a holiday, which means no work.

I don't have a car to go anywhere, though. My car is in the shop AGAIN for the same wiring issue it was in for a few weeks ago. So, if I want my dash lights to work, I have to let the dealer fix it. Meanwhile, my whiny child is working my nerves because she was hoping we could do something fun today. And she won't do the homework she has due tomorrow! AAARGH!!!!!!!!!!

It is almost 2 PM, they promised me the car by noon and now I am worried about having a car for work tomorrow. Craptastic!

This week in Balletland

2008-02-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

Well, Mr. K is gone for good. Too many parents complained because of the way he was physically hurting his students. My daughter was always crying because he had a nasty habit of pushing her in the small of her back with his Danskin heavy-duty dance sneakers (or the weird tuxedo shoes he also wore). I heard the last straws were when a classmate of D was picked up off the floor by her neck and then later when the daughter of a cop had marks all over her back. Papa Cop apparently filed charges. But the bad thing is that they waited a month before explaining to the parents that he was not coming back and we were in limbo, because his missus didn't have the common courtesy to let us know what was going on.

The substitute (MB) that taught the class during that time was a godsend, though, because he managed to get a room full of depressed and scared girls back on track and happy to dance again. Towards the end with JK, the girls were drooping and dreading each and every class. They were actually saying they hated ballet and wanted to quit. Now, instead of keeping the sub that made the girls want to be there, they are replacing him with the mother of one of the girls in the class (and a company principal). Most of us have already tossed any notion of impartiality out the window as well as any chance of our girls even being recommended for the scholarship auditions.

On top of that, on the professional side of the house, the artistic director (BS) has left under somewhat cloudy circumstances. No one is talking about specifics, but all his choreography was pulled from this weekend's show and replaced. You can read between the lines in this article to see that it wasn't all champagne and roses at his departure. Oh, and he was actually gone BEFORE "Nutcracker" (right after Thanksgiving, I was told), but they kept it hush-hush because they didn't want any bad publicity.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jan/14/were-going-miss-him/

Of course that brings up the question about "Nutcracker" for this year. BS owns the choreography for the version NBT performs and the rumor mill is going full force about what is going to happen. The company needs the revenue from Hell Month (December) to fund the rest of the year and they are going to have to either pay BS through the nose for his work or come up with something else in a big damn hurry.

Sadly, that likely means that tuition will go up to ridiculous levels (although things like Summer Intensive have gone up big time). And I can't wait to see what "fee" they come up with for the Youth Company next year.

Fern Adair is looking like a plan at this point. I think Ms. D will be taking a class with them this summer--just in case...

Oh, and D still has a mark on her face from the incident at "The Nutcracker" in December. Big ol' red spot on her jaw that you can't miss! And, no--VS-K never asked about her injury or checked on her at all. So much for all that phony "spirit" she tries to sell to those of us who know better. Sheesh!

Sad news--Roy Scheider dead

2008-02-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/10/obit.scheider.ap/index.html

Roy Scheider died today of what was probably multiple myeloma. I cannot imagine having blood cancer, let alone the pain he must have been in.

Picture from:
http://www.moviegoods.com/Assets/product_images/1020/188236.1020.A.jpg

Of course all the obits are concentrating on THIS:
I guess they forgot every other thing he ever did in his life or has in the can now:

http://imdb.com/name/nm0001702/

I hope the Angel of Death that came for him was as hot as Jessica Lange was in "All That Jazz".

Of course, I always wanted to be her because I thought Roy was just as hot playing a thinly veiled Bob Fosse and I wanted to get REAL close to him.

Another day at the ballet

2008-01-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

Well, R came in last night with her mom and announced she was quitting NBT. The official excuse was that she wanted a break and, since they weren't going to be here for the Spring Concert anyway, it would be a waste of time for her to learn the numbers.

D tried to speak to R, but she ignored D completely so D just walked away and didn't say anything else. You would think that at the end, the child would have enough manners to be civil. Well, it just shows the rampant meanness that prevails.

I also heard that Y is going to attempt to home school because she doesn't want her children exposed to the great unwashed masses and general populace before high school. I cracked up when I heard that because her older girl is already a beotch and pretty much the person Mommy wants her to avoid. Sad, really.... And she is STILL playing that "victim" card about how I picked on her. Y, just get over yourself! People see you for what you are and are getting bored--they just don't say anything because they think you might have money and have some small influence over NBT people. Uh-huh...

In other news, there is a big stink brewing over the way JK handles the girls. Several of them were talking about him Wednesday night, saying that they are beginning to hate ballet because of the way he treats them, grabbing them roughly and kicking them. NZ's parents grabbed him off after class that night because he apparently grabbed her by the neck to "adjust" her posture in class last week. I have spoken to him in the past about the way he physically pushes D around. She came out of Youth Company rehearsals in tears last week, wanting to quit right on the spot, because he was mishandling her and grabbing her in that spot between the clavicle and the shoulder blade whenever he repositioned her. I told her to yell in pain every time he grabs her and then tell him loudly that he is hurting her. That way, everyone hears it.

There is a rumor going around that the administration in the Academy will be undergoing a drastic change next year. I can only assume it might be because the current curriculum and policies have cost them students and so revenue.

I hear the money flow is so bad that the real reason they HAD to change the original prize for the dance essay (two tickets to the B & W ball-once around $200, now $750) to one month's tuition and some cash was because they couldn't afford that original prize. I just fear a huge tuition hike (after all, according to JK, ballet is for "wealthy people") which would send a lot of girls right out the door.

Fern Adair is looking better and better...

D's essay for the contest

2008-01-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

And, no. She didn't win. But as with all the girls who entered, her picture and a quote from her essay will be featured in a video to be played at the B & W Ball. I guess Twyla Tharpe will then be presented with a copy of it.

When I’m Dancing, I Feel…

Better! At least most of the time…

In reality, when I am dancing and things are going right, things do seem much better for me. I can participate in something difficult and beautiful and sometimes fun. Even though there is a lot of stress in dance, it can also be a way to let go of some of the other stresses in life. At times I can imagine myself as someone (or something) else, like a peacock or even a mermaid. Even though it might seem weird, doing that helps me feel in control of myself.

A lot of adults forget that we kids are under a lot of stress in our lives. We have school and family and other activities that we have to deal with, along with our dance lives. We work hard at each thing but we can get really upset and stressed when we can’t be perfect at everything or we have to give up other activities. But, for me, the stress can go down or even away when I have a good night in my ballet class. When I learn a new combination quickly or get through a class without being the one getting yelled at all the time, it makes me happy and I have a big smile on my face (even though I know I still have to go home and finish my homework so late at night).

A fun dance, with lots of big moves and the beautiful costumes makes me shine like a peacock. I get to show off to everyone that I CAN handle the material and am not that much different than everyone else. Sometimes I like to pretend that I am some magical thing like a mermaid. Mermaids are graceful and swim like they are dancing in the water. A beautiful dance piece can make me feel like I am flowing through the water, all smooth and silent, letting the music move me like waves. It might sound stupid, but I like the calming effect.

You see, many people don’t understand that I have some issues that cause some problems (FOR THEM more than me, it seems like) at times. I have what my mom calls an alphabet soup of conditions --ADHD, PBPD, OCD and other stuff-- that make me do things at times that might seem like I am not paying attention or that I am just goofing off. Being accused of not concentrating gets frustrating because I really am paying attention even when I might seem to just be fidgeting or staring off into space. Some of the teachers have been meaner to me because they say they don’t have the time to wait the few extra moments it might take for me to catch on, even though I always do and I have been here long enough for most of them to know I am going to learn my part and not mess up any more than anyone else.

I said dance makes me feel in control of myself. I sometimes tell people that I hate it-usually after a class was very bad and I got in trouble for things that were not always my fault or even doing. But most of the time, I love to dance because I am different in an invisible way and dancing takes away some of the differences. That feeling when I find my control and my imagination takes off so that I can do something exactly as the teachers and choreographers want is one of peace and self-control and joy that no one can take from me, no matter how hard they try.

Breaks your heart, doesn't it? The usual little brats won--each of them girls who are already getting scholarships or whose family has more money than they know what to do with. As it is, the grand prize winner gets FURS and $500 shoes for Hannakuh, for Petesake! And she is only 14!!! So the month's tuition just means she gets an extra trip to the mall.

I just wish for once there would be a scholarship for financial need. But I hark back to JK telling me that ballet really is a wealthy person's avocation and I cringe for the company's future.

The Holiday Roundup

2008-01-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

As another year starts, I have to put in my 2¢ about how the last one ended. "Nutcracker" is over and D is still wearing the wounds from her last performance. The mother of the girl playing "Clara" on the 24th decided she just HAD to take pictures on stage. So she made all the other kids who were warming up get off and go behind the scrims to the other side. Well, it is freakin' dark back there (as a backstage volunteer, I KNOW it is) and no one helped the kids with a light. D tripped over a lighting cable and fell right into the castle drawbridge set piece and hit the right side of her face. One of the moms who was waiting on that side slapped some extra blush on her face and she did her thing after a quick cry. When I got backstage at intermission, she cried all over again. The thing is, I know shit happens, but neither JK or VS-K said "jack" to her or to me. D complained that her really swollen jaw hurt for the rest of the day, but luckily no teeth were broken or anything.

A week later, it is yellow and green and the top part is almost faded. The bottom part is still rough.

Other than that....

We got through Christmas OK. Went out to eat at Sam's Town as usual. D got a lot of stuff and still found a way to fuss about not getting everything she wanted. Geez!!!

We spent this last weekend being touristy. Sunday night, we enjoyed MY Christmas present--VAN HALEN tickets!!!! All I can say is--"DAMN!!!!" I got some pictures, but I had a too-small SD card in the sucky (just in case they were taking them away) camera and didn't get nearly enough. Here is a taste, though.... It's only the opening, but you will get the point.

I just hope that they stay together much longer and don't piss each other off again. It was like they never broke up (even though Wolfgang is now playing bass instead of Michael Anthony). D and I both rocked out and sang along to everything. Hey, I raised my kid on Rock and Roll and she knows a good thing when she hears it.

I had to work yesterday, but last night we went to see Danny Gans just to do a Strip NYE thing. Before the show, we went to one of the ice cream shop outside the theater and had something. At the next table, Elvis was having a light snack. It was definitely Vegas! It was a good show and we got out of the area before it got really insane. The plan was to watch the fireworks but D conked out in the car and we watched it on TV.

Today was supposed to be a "tidy up the house" day (you can actually see the floor in D's room again). D had a friend over this afternoon who is home from Germany for the holidays and they played video and computer games before whipping out the old Uno game and then doing their nails. So even though B is coming tomorrow, the house is not as clean as it needs to be. But then--what else is new? For a house where people only seem to use as a way station, the place always looks like a cyclone hit it.

Back to work tomorrow... *Sigh*

In other news...

2007-12-15T16:55:00.000-08:00

Ballet politics are the same. Childish and annoying.

Nutcracker is in performance now. So that means a lot of schlepping over to UNLV for performances. D is adorable in her silver princess gown, but keeping her hair curled is a booger! Also, she got about half the rehearsal time as the other girls because she is the ONLY one NOT in A or B casts and RH-N never bothered with her--but she seems to be doing pretty well for learning by watching. Petty beotches think they were clever, but OOPSIES! D has proven once again that she is more than up to the task despite them.

D wrote her contest essay for the NBT (I'll post it later). The prize is a month's paid tuition, some academy store credit, a small check and tickets to the Black and White ball next month. But I am sure she won't win... I don't spend enough money there to buy her a victory like the likely winner's parents do. In fact, most of us have private bets as to who will "win" and we all have the usual suspects names in the hat. Besides, her essay was not all full of BS about lightness and ethereal thoughts and kissing ass vicariously. It was an honest assessment of how she feels when she dances even when she is treated like crap, so you know that went over really well.

This year, her last performance is Christmas Eve, so most of Winter Break will be resting time for her--except for catching up on homework and finishing a book report. School is a nightmare for D because she cannot keep track of her papers and she ends up getting in trouble for not turning in her work--even though she does it. She is the only person I know who can lose an assignment in the five feet between her desk and the teacher's. At least, after the quarter ends, she will be put in another math class so that she might get better attention (her current math teacher has decided D will be her scapegoat this year and has made life hell for D).

Oh, yeah--I found out today that D's "grandmother" died in the Spring without ever meeting the grandchild she wanted from J. Despite his lies over the years that she never wanted to see D, the awful truth (as I heard it) is that he never told her D even existed. So two people were cheated out of some extra joy. I also hear that J and F are divorcing now. Eventually, I will get to hear why, but I have my suspicions.

Finally, I hope made S very happy because I found the perfect Christmas present for him. After this last month, he needed something cool and I think this was the schitz! Enjoy, my friend!

Clicking like mad! The great Hannah Montana ticket battle!

2007-12-15T16:43:00.000-08:00

Well, Hannah Montana fever hit Vegas this week with the announcement of Miley Cyrus' shows at the MGM. The tickets went on sale at precisely 12 PM local and Ticketmaster was overwhelmed by 12:01. I had someone on another computer, also clicking furiously in an effort to score the golden tickets as an early birthday present for D. I kept getting bumped, the other person's had tickets but then the system released them just as the CC was being processed... Then the two shows came up as sold out. WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

But then... Just as one sad little Diva was about to cry, a third show was posted. Clicking again madly, we scored decent seats on the floor. YES!!!! Just for S & G, we tried to get another set of tickets for speculation and found that even that show was gone in less than five minutes.

So now, for at least a few minutes, D has bragging rights like crazy. That is, until I sell them because she still doesn't want to do her homework. Yeah, I'm mean like that.

Oh, yeah! Someplace in all of this...

2007-12-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

I GOT TO GO TO HAWAI'I FOR UNION TRAINING!!!

It was only for a few days, but it was HAWAI'I!!!

It was good training and I have a lot of good information for our local to use. I didn't get a lot of down time, but I made the time to go to the beach and watch the sunset. It was raining in the distance, but even that was picturesque.

Yes, there were hula boys with muscles and tattoos in all their island goodness!

Of course, the assmunches at the place where I work had the overwhelming need to call me constantly for piddly stuff. And, of course, I put in for overtime. Ruin my last day in Hawai'i, will they?

Just about to contact the ACLU

2007-12-01T21:03:00.000-08:00

Today was another rehearsal for "Nutcracker". The kids had to be there at 9:00. Party scene didn't even get to start rehearsing until almost 11:00 and RH-N didn't let D rehearse--AGAIN!!! D is the only one who is not in A or B cast, so she didn't even get a single run-through. Since RH-N ran most of the main dances over and over, there should have been a chance for D to rehearse each dance at least once. The part of Russian Princess #2 is being filled by three girls--D and two others. One is in A cast and one is in B. D is in C & D. So she was the ONLY party scene girl who didn't get to rehearse.

I asked RH-N why not. She hemmed and hawed about why, but you know--she just whined about time and how she had to do what she could. I basically told her (and JK later) that people don't know who is in what cast and they are paying the same amount for tickets no matter what. She just rolled her eyes and stomped off. JK wanted to go back to the day D left class to throw up after he made the girls do 50 reps of crunches followed by 50 reps of sit-ups and leg lifts. I asked him what that had to do with rehearsing for a show that opens in two weeks and of course he had no answer either. I told him the same thing I told RH-N: they want to complain when D messes up, but then they don't let her rehearse, so of course she isn't as prepared, therefore she messes up and then they bitch again. I also repeated the thing about the ticket-holders paying the same price no matter who is dancing. I know it will get back to VS-K because he cannot help but tell his missus.

My kid isn't there as a "Future Dancer" charity case or on scholarship. I pay the same freakin' tuition as every other parent does for their child and I expect that she get the same treatment. I am not in the mood to hear all the ephemeral crap about "art" and "grace" and "the soul of a dancer" as an excuse for discriminating against my child. And that is what I am seeing--they know D has neurological issues and therefore not "perfect" enough to be in what is fast becoming an exclusionary environment.

Why do I keep her there? Because they were supposed to let the girls start pointe in August...! Now, JK keeps putting the girls off and they haven't done anything with pointe since observation week (and that was only for the parents' benefit). I am seriously considering other dance studios--mainly Fern Adair, but it is too late for this year. If she does switch, Adair's girls get to dance with the Moscow Ballet when they do The Nutcracker (in Henderson every November). I also understand that they aren't as assholish about their students actually having lives outside of dance.

Besides, D is of the mood to prove them wrong. She even wants to write an essay for their silly contest about why she loves dance. I might just help write that one. Let's just say that I could open some eyes with it. Unfortunately, I expect that the silly beotch will "accidentally" lose D's entry. I am still trying to figure out why the receptionist was proofreading entries. Makes me wonder who ghostwrote the pre-selected winner (one of the usual suspects, no doubt).

Another fun day at the NBT

2007-11-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

D had to miss rehearsal last week because she had an audition in LA (unfortunately, she didn't get the part). So this week, instead of catching her up to speed, the "beotch" in charge of the party scene made her sit out the whole damned rehearsal and watch. This woman (RH-N) is the same one who was teaching D's class last year and managed to be absent for so long that the girls missed out on starting pointe when they were supposed to. She also left them less than prepared for the transition to the crazy plans VS-K has in mind for the NBT. But it is supposedly all D's fault because she isn't "prepared". In the meantime, how in Hades is D supposed to learn if she is sitting in a corner and not allowed to participate? Doesn't that sound like they are TRYING to keep her from learning so they could put her out? How stupid is that?

I complained to the principal and her reaction was that little 10 and 11 y/o girls are responsible for learning their own choreography. Basically I was told that if D doesn't get another 11 y/o to teach her what she missed, she cannot be in the production. BULLSHIT!!!!

I am sorry, but we are talking about children here. They are not going to the Kirov School and to assume they are is really stupid.

The woman is there because she and her husband are best friends with the Artistic Direct on the professional company side. There was NO "international search" or even an attempt to advertise (and I looked, believe you me). BS just waited till VS-K's contract was over at her previous position. Then he sprang her on everyone like she was the result of painstaking screening and all that jazz.

I don't think they want the lawsuit I am about to spring on them if D is not allowed to dance. It has nothing to do with her not knowing the choreography (she does), but because RH-N doesn't like D and has decided to use this occasion to hurt her. Isn't it nice that they waited till they got a shitload of money out of me to "discover" AFTERWARDS that D shouldn't have been in their first-year Youth Company?

You know, I may call and request an appointment with Nancy. It's her baby-let her hear how it is being abused in the name of "art".

Oh, and on the stuck-up Japanese front--D told me this afternoon that one of the girls in her class was talking to her when H walked by and shot the girl a dirty look. The girl said "Sorry, H" and left D to go join her. H did the same thing the other day in front of me when A.T. was chatting with D. In fact, she pulled A. away and whispered loud enough for me to hear that she wasn't supposed to talk to D if she wanted to stay friends. AND I have on film where H and her little friend R are playing around during class when D is not. So much for the "H is a good girl. She doesn't play around in class. She concentrates every minute." Poor little victim Y-mommy is still playing that "D is evil and H is perfect" crapola. Sheesh! I wonder if I should post the video for Y to see and make sure that H loses her alleged private lessons with Ms. E.

You would think with the alimony and child support she is allegedly sucking out of her poor ex, she would buy a clue. But then I hear the money is not as good as she claims... If it were, Y would have sped out to buy both her girls a video Nano because D has a regular Nano. That is how she is. Interesting to note that H is wearing some of mummy's clothing and that little sister is now wearing Target instead of Nordstrom and Macy's. The place is better than Wisteria Lane when you want to get the dirt on some of those sad women there. I think the women who actually work and have lives are better off and more stable, that's for sure.

The war goes on

2007-11-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

Y is still playing out what a sad victim she is of the mean old trailer trash mommy who mad her feel inadequate. She has her little court of brittle Wisteria Lane clones who hang onto her every word as if they were gold. But you know what? Some of the cracks are showing. Y is not that special and a lot of people are starting to see that. Her divorce made her some enemies and I know of at least one secret about her and her "perfect" life as a single parent that would destroy her oh-so-perfect reputation.

Stoic little performance artist that she is, she forgets that not all people are fond of Kabuki theater. The grey hairs are showing and the designer clothing is wearing thin. I notice the kids are dressed in Target more than Macy's now and the trips to Starbuck's are less frequent. Wonder how long before she starts dipping into the girls' trust funds?

Class Wars, continued

2007-09-22T18:52:00.001-07:00

Well, the "rich" bitch who continually makes a big deal about everything being so cheap is a hypocrite and a liar as well.

I tried to talk to her about her older daughter (and her best friend) doing things to get my daughter in trouble in class. She turned it into a tirade about how perfect her little angel is and how bad my child is. She turned every point into an indictment of my child's behavior. You know, I never thought that my child was beyond reproach, but DAYUM!!! H is a spoiled brat who allegedly is going to come into a trust fund when she is older and Y brags all the time about how her girls will never have to work.

Basically, the issue is that H and her friend R whisper and play around when Mr. K's back is turned, then point to D when he turns around so guess who gets in trouble? I will be the first to admit D does her share of playing, but she is NOT the only one. Mr. K told Y that H is not "misbehaving" and that is all Y heard. She missed the part about all the girls having to be called down at one point or another. I asked Mr. K to separate the girls as best he could within the limits of what he has planned for the class as a whole because I am tired of D crying at the end of every class because the damned little "princesses" are making her life hell.

Y told me these wild stories about how D was always hitting H on the shoulder in class and how she supposedly put her foot up on C's shoulder and wouldn't take it down. Amazing that the TEACHER never said a word about either incident and you would think he would notice someone's leg propped on the shoulder of another student. Then she told me that she heard D during the Spring Concert last June (behind a curtain and in the middle of a 120-decibel madhouse) clearly say that "Ballet stinks. Why are you doing this 'shit'?"

So why not mention it then? Or sometime during the dozens of other conversations since then? She wanted to make it out that I was bringing D up wrong or that I didn't have people to talk to and so was making things up to stir the poop.

To add the pee topping to the poop cake, she dragged all the girls from the class together and put them on the spot about H making it clear that if those girls were nice to D, she wouldn't be friends with any of them. Of course they all told Y what she wanted to hear because I don't believe any of them wanted to be in the middle. The ones that looked like they wanted to say something different were effectively shut up by Y gloating over all the room that she was "right". Poor D wanted to confront them about how mean they have been, but then Y started yelling at me and all of the girls scattered as quickly as they could. D ran into the bathroom crying. I chewed out Y for not letting D ask H to her face why she was so mean to her. Y got all stupid and told me I was never to talk to her again and got all ridiculous about how I was nuts.

I caught up with Mr. K and asked him why he lied to Y. He told me what he told her and obviously she didn't hear anything past the first sentence. As I said above, he allowed that ALL the girls get called down. He also told me that they did discuss D's issues before letting her into the Youth Company (yes, she made it in) but that they also saw something in her that made it clear she had what it took to succeed (with some molding).

I let him know that there was a whispering that H and R (and I think their mothers) think getting D in trouble would get her kicked out and R in. You see, R sucked at the audition and didn't make it into the Youth Company. You should have seen the scene her mom made, crying all over the place and checking the list over and over to see if she missed R's name. She was also pointing to some names and moaning that R should have made it over this or that girl. Mostly, she pointed and bitched in the general vicinity of where D's name was on the list.

Y seems to think that her girls have minds of their own and would never hatch such a scheme, but I know better. Girls at this age want to impress their parents and can pick up on the hints EVEN IF NOTHING IS EVER OPENLY SAID. If H and R think they would make their moms happy by picking on D and making her out to be the bad guy, they would pick at D 24/7/365. AND they would get their friends in on the game! That is what girls do.

I am so ready to out Y for the hypocritical little bitch she is. She is trying to keep it secret that she is divorced because Japanese women lose face when they lose their husbands. Gee, I wonder why she lost hers. I suspect she is living off her parents as they have money to burn (or so she intimated in the past--back to the trust fund story...). I do know one thing about her situation, but I promised not to say anything as it is someone else's secret to tell. Let's just say, she isn't that far up the scale from me and has a helluva a lot of nerve telling me how common and low she thinks I am.

So now it is open warfare. I am sure she has been on the phone and on the computer all afternoon telling R's mom and whoever else thinks she still is "hot stuff" what a bitch I am. It's all crap and now D is determined to prove them wrong with ballet and with her acting. I will laugh my ass off when D makes it big and those same little brats and their moms start kissing up to her. She has my permission to act like Julie Smith (aka Julianne Moore) and say mean things about the Academy and her classmates if she ever gets on talk shows. I know--it isn't mature, but if it makes D feel better and gives her motivation, I have to make this one allowance.

There CAN be nice days

2007-08-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

D and I went to Six Flags Magic Mountain yesterday and had a nice LONG day together without arguments, fighting or D running off when she is confused.

I even got her to go up to the top of the Sky Tower and into the Log Jammer ride, although both had heights that worried her. She is very proud of the fact she faced her fears and did some fun things as a result.

Class warfare in the halls of dance

2007-08-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

As I have indicated before, D takes classes at the local professional dance company (there's only one, so you look it up). She has been going there for five+ years (along with the three years at Gretchen's before that) and has progressed through the levels as required. Well, this year it may be different because of the new principal at the Academy.

The new principal is a graduate of the Kirov Academy in Washington, D.C. and wants to turn the local dance academy at "The Money" (aka Summerlin) into a Kirov clone. She has already changed the class structures, fired all the company dancers who were teaching classes (there are now LESS teachers than before) and requires a mandatory training program for the students as if they ALL planned to join a dance company when they grow up. If they do not indicate that desire, the students are relegated to a general ballet "training track" where the instruction is not as good and the girls are not pushed to the limits of their skills (some look downright sloppy when you see them perform; their training is treated as "casual" because they are supposedly there "just for fun"). So what if they all do not go into some professional company for $200/week (what they pay locally) in the Corps du Ballet? They are learning skills, healthy habits and grace that will serve them well their entire lives.

All this restructuring is bad enough, but the final straw is going to be the Youth Companies. The big event every year is "The Nutcracker" performances and the students look forward to their chance to dance with the company. In years past, all students were allowed to audition for the show and it was pretty fair all around. THIS year, this is not going to happen.

The new plan is to make all the students who want to dance in "The Nutcracker" audition for a Senior or Junior Youth Company from which the cast will be chosen. The kicker is that the students are then required to commit to one of those companies for the entire year! They will be required to give up every single Saturday from September to June, dance in every performance showcase the adult company requests and are not going to be allowed to miss more than three days total, even for school or family functions! Our children will be worked like galley slaves for the year and we have to pay even more fees!!!

For the Company commitment, the parents are going to have to PAY either $250 (junior) or $300 (senior) upfront for the dubious privilege of allowing their children to be exploited by the company. The only kids who *may* not have to pay are those in the "Future Dancers" program (free ballet for girls from "at risk" schools). Their will be covered by grants, gifts-in-kind and tax money. "The Money" is talking about how reasonable the cost is like it was just another pair of shoes or a trip to the Strip. OK, nice for them...

The problem is that those kids who are NOT in Future Dancers or do NOT have parents who pay more in taxes than I make in a year before taxes are being winnowed out. Ever since the dance company moved from the more egalitarian location on Flamingo to "The Money", the trend has tended to be toward catering to "The Money" and telling the rest of us to fuck off. The scaled tuition based on number of classes a week has changed to a set fee based on class level. There are so many extra expenses because now the principal is requiring specific brands for shoes, leotards, etc. and of course, they are only locally available at the Academy Boutique (with, to be sure, the appropriate "profit" markup for the house). Oh, and with the extra required classes, we are going to get hit for a minimum of four costume fees at $80/costume right at Christmastime.

Then there is the process they introduced to exclude girls from scholarship consideration if they aren't popular or have connections. The auditions used to be open to ALL students and are now "invitation/approval only". That means that a lot of girls with talent were not and will never be considered because the teachers now have to recommend them for the auditions--"pets", anyone? Scholarships are now pretty much given to those girls invited to audition, even when they ALREADY GET FREE TUITION via Future Dancers!!!

In my daughter's class, only two girls were recommended and one of them was NOT even close to the best in the class. The one we all thought should have gotten a scholarship was not even considered. The teacher's excuse? She was "rushed and couldn't come up with a proper list". WTF? She's been teaching the class all year and she didn't have a clue?!? Many of us stood there in disbelief when we saw girls whose tuition was already covered (Future Dancers) or whose parents could well afford paying for 15 or 20 classes a week without breaking a sweat being given EVEN MORE breaks. My daughter actually spoke up about it after the recommended two did indeed get scholarships because even an 11 y/o knows a screwover when she sees it.

This is NOT what ballet should be. But here, it has become so political and so kissy-face to "The Money" (the ballet company is even featured in commercials for Summerlin as if that municipality owned them) that it is hard to justify the effort to our kids when they see the same few girls getting all the leads and scholarships and preferential treatment while they see us busting ass until we break under the financial strain.

Of course, when we brought our concerns up to the principal and company head, we were poo-poo'd. The adult company's director seemed shocked that there were children coming there for classes that were NOT from "The Money". The principal was equally shocked that there are working mothers bringing their children there. She has a dream to turn the Academy into an all-day dance school (with a hefty price tag) as "the mothers will be homeschooling". No more evening classes for "those who are not serious about dance". Can you imagine the reaction of the working women in the room? We all went ballistic!

I have talked to other parents in my income bracket and we all seem to have the same opinion of what is going on. For the rich kids, ballet is de rigueur and for the poor kids, it is an entitlement. For the middle-class kids, it is fast becoming out of reach. I'm even considering seeing about getting my kid in Future Dancers so I can afford her extra tuition and all the fees. We all agree that we will keep sending our children there as there is no other professional company in the entire state. But it will mean giving up food and most extras in order to come up with the extra gas money and the fees, along with the time sacrifices because this is for our kids in the long run.

Added on the 23rd: I have enrolled D for the fall. BEFORE pointe and character shoes which I still have to get, the fees to date have been almost $400. The shoes will be another $100 or so. And there is still the pesky $300 YC fee to come up with if necessary. YIKES!!!

Gimpy (aka John) the Professional Panhandler redux

2007-06-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

OK.

I have been out here for almost six years and I have seen this guy limping back and forth on the median strip on the corner of N and LVB for all of those six years. He is out there day and night, even in the dust storms, hoping for someone to hand him a buck or two out a barely cracked window. Because of the limp, most people just refer to him as "Gimpy".

But his real name is John. He is NOT homeless, he is not hungry and he has enough money coming in to live comfortably. But John likes meth, I am told by a former friend of his. So he needs to beg to get the money he needs to feed his habit. You can see how the drug is messing him over as he shuffles by the cars waiting for the light to change. I won't give him money, but occasionally I see a "touron" (a word I am borrowing from a friend. It means "tourist moron") pass him something.

I may get stuck at the light and have to watch him shuffle along at least four or five times a week. He has become part of the scenery. But then I have to wonder...

He gets picked up by the cops at least once a month. They keep him in jail for a couple of days and then he is right back on the corner. This kind of ties into my belief that jail time is NOT the solution for the drug addicted. They aren't kept in jail long enough to dry out and get the help they need. How can 48 hours even begin to do any good?

Meanwhile, all you see is the man limping along every day, looking pathetic and hoping to get enough money to feed his habit.

"Fairness" Vs. Expediency

2007-05-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

For the past two weeks, I have had time to ponder the use of the word "fairness" when it is obvious that the person using the word actually means they are just taking the quick way out.

This has come about because of an incident that happened to D at her school (a magnet elementary school in LV that prides itself on its "international" affiliations and a politician's wife on hand).

To lay out the background, fifth grade at her school has a sleep-away science camp at the end of the year. The entire year, the kids are psyched up by the school about this event. In fact, it is held over their head as a threat like Damocles' sword. As it is a sleep-away event, the parents had to sign a sheaf of forms that give the school permission to seek medical aid, give medicine, transport the kids in school buses and ALL the papers said it was a school function (including the packing list for the trip, which told the kids they had to pack according to the dress code).

Well, in the two weeks before the trip, my daughter started getting harassed by her teachers. Every perceived "bad look" or "disrespectful" action was turned into a big deal--the incidents were mostly where a teacher or other student accused D wrongly of doing something and she spoke up to defend herself. Apparently that is a bad thing at her school. So is standing on a ball court when calling someone out, it seems.

The Friday before the camp, I had gone to the school to warn the assistant principal that some of the kids were planning to entrap and get D into trouble somehow (the little monsters were planning it the night before IN FRONT OF ME and one of them even mouthed off to me!!!). I was promised that she would be watched and protected by this same AP. Alas! That was not the case at all.

At recess that Friday afternoon, D was invited to be the judge in a game of tetherball. When she called one of the little brats out, the girl ("A") refused to leave. She then told D that "when the ball hits [her], it would be an 'accident'". Then she spiked the freakin' ball into D's face!!! She followed that by a kick to D's leg (a real no-no to me because of D's dancing). D ran to the AP who was supposed to be looking out for her (but was hanging out with another teacher) and told her what happened. The other girl figured out she was going to get in trouble and messed up her own clothing and then accused D of hitting her, too. But she freely admitted that she hit D first, no matter what else resulted. No matter! BOTH girls were banned from the camp without the principal being consulted or the other parent having a chance to come in. Then the AP left a chickenshit voice message apologizing, but still banning both the girls "to be fair". Total BS!

I went to the school first thing Monday AM before her class was due to leave and had a confrontational meeting with the principal (nice lady-NOT!!!). She was pissed because I was making her late for a meeting and she didn't want to discuss it. Then the beotch had the nerve to say that D instigated the fight (not there was any proof there ever was anything but A attacking my kid and then lying) because she "was standing in front of A and didn't move"! WTF is that kind of logic?!?! Then she pulled out a bunch of alleged incident reports that neither D nor I had ever seen before and said that she would have kept D from going for any one of those reports.

As for the reports: one was for D supposedly being disrespectful to her GATE teacher (the one who allegedly keeps adult type magazines in his desk--when reported the response was "Oh, no! Not at our school! We don't have those kinds of teachers here!") when he accused her of doing something she wasn't doing. Another was when her keyboarding partner started messing with the controls and the music teacher told her to stop and D said it wasn't her. Piddly shit, to be sure, and not worth more than a note to me (which I never got). BUT it was already known that just one report would keep a child from going to camp and a lot of teachers used those reports to keep kids they didn't care for from attending. Yeah... Really "fair", huh? She was holding the reports "just in case" she "needed them". Again, WTF??? She as much as told me that she was going to use something, ANYTHING to keep D from going. To add to the Bitch Quotient, the idiot woman had the nerve to tell me that it really wasn't a school function anyway and she could control who got to go anyway. So what was with all the forms with the school district logos and official letterhead all over the place that they made us sign?

The favorite word tossed around at the school is "investigate". Every incident must be investigated. Investigation is usually on the level of "Who did it?" "X did." End of investigation. No independent collaboration, no checking the tapes, nothing! Or, in the case of D and A, not even that was done. My daughter had the other girl's shoe prints all over her, quite visible from across the room. When I asked if they checked the other girl for similar marks, I was laughed at and told I watched too many crime shows. When I was teaching, it was standard practice to examine EVERY kid for evidence. Apparently, there was nothing to see at the time. Later, A had a tear in her shirt and claimed D bit a hole in it. It wasn't examined closely to see if it was a tear or cut, but they took A's word for it and said D did it. No proof, no witnesses, but that didn't matter. It was easier to be "fair" to the girl who assaulted my child by taking her word for it that my daughter bit her shirt than to be 100% certain. Expediency over fairness!

And what about the alleged "knock down-drag out"? With teachers and the AP on the playground, wouldn't you think that someone might have noticed that there were children fighting? Especially if there was clothing-rending and yelling? Not a single adult saw any altercation! And, of course, the surveillance cameras are not trained on the playground as it would mean they would be liable if there were a tape. My daughter had to go get the AP, crying all the way, when she got hit. But D was alleged to have been capable of tearing a shirt at the same time. PULEEEZE!

What I really take umbrage with is the portrayal of D as "a danger to others". I was told that to my face. My child had only one other referral in the four years the school has been open for fighting and that was when she was being choked by a bigger girl and she bit the girl to get free. Unfortunately, the girl was the daughter of a favorite substitute teacher and they wanted to keep the momma happy, so D got in trouble.

Part of the issue is that D has a 504 plan for her ADHD and PBPD (another parent I know is going through the same issues, so it isn't just D, BTW). The school, priding itself on its "elite" status, really doesn't like to deal with 504s and IEPs or anything that doesn't exude perfection. They don't like to deal with the paperwork or the special accommodations or 1:1 instruction, so they pick on the kids. It is far easier to single out the 504 kids as "troublemakers" and punish them constantly for anything they can, hoping the parents will pull the kids and the school wouldn't have to deal with them anymore. That's why the principal went to mandatory uniforms--she hated keeping track of the regular dress code.

Sadly, D didn't get to go to the camp at all (even though I gather Mr. H--the region supervisor--had told the principal to let the girls go and punish them some other way). D spent three days in a class with a sub doing worksheets and having the other kids alternately making fun of her or blaming her for getting A "in trouble" even though A attacked D to begin with! The other kids also spread the story around that A was minding her own business and D just walked up and hit her for no reason. The same little monsters who have been picking on her all year have been given carte blanch to make the last few days miserable for D and the administration of the school are being "fair" by allowing it to go on because my child is ALWAYS wrong, no matter what. I have tried to get her to go to an adult when she has a problem. It doesn't help when her teacher (more on her later) tells her to stop being such a tattletale.

A note about the other girl: I was told what an angel she was and how she NEVER got in trouble. Uh-huh! This girl has beaten up just about every kid in Safekey. Still on school grounds and contracted by the school district, right? So it is still a school thing, however obliquely, as far as I am concerned. Yet, despite the fact that Safekey went to the school when D tossed a pencil box at me and I yelled at her, I was told that Safekey had nothing to do with the school and visa versa, so A's fights there meant nothing. But D gets referrals? Like I said...

I didn't get the money for camp fees back, either.

Work, work, work

2007-04-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

OK, if I am such a fuck-up, then why am I now responsible for a buttload of stuff needed to open a new facility? Oh, I know why! The idiots in charge changed the timeline and instead of three months, I only have one to do it all.

It's hometown, but not "home" anymore

2007-04-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

Just got back from vacation "back home" and frankly am very happy to be back here in my own house. It was nice to see people and to hang out with friends, but in the end, it was catching up on gossip and then what?

I did get some paperwork I needed--like D's birth certificate and copies of the court order for the support. I couldn't get the CSR paperwork because some bitch there made a big deal about having to "sanitize" the file so I wouldn't see any personal information about J. Give me a freakin' break here! I think I have more than enough "personal information" to last me a lifetime and probably more than that beotch will ever have in her little folders. I ended up having to fill out a form requesting the information and hoping that they will let me know how much they actually expect me to pay for the sanitized copies. I mean, this includes the DNA test, so how are they going to sanitize THAT?

Anyway, D and I had lunch with S on the Friday before we came home. J chickened out at the last minute--he "just isn't ready". It's been 12 years, counting gestation!!! So when WILL he be ready? About the time he needs a blood transfusion or a kidney? If/when D becomes famous? S and I discussed some hard truths about the man. S has to stand up for his friend, but I suspect even he is starting to figure out that J is way past the age to be pretending to be footloose and fancy-free.

On top of that, S tells me that J's mother is dying. OK. So tell us all--did J ever bother to tell her that she has not one but two granddaughters? Has he ever shown her so much as a picture? It sucks in so many ways that the woman who really, really wanted grandchildren was cheated out them for so long and may in fact die without ever getting her wish. It's just another example of his fundamental self-absorption and selfishness. Only now he's letting his mom die in ignorance to protect his own promiscuous ass!

The best note is that I went by my alma mater, showed D where I went to college and introduced her to two of my old professors that are still teaching. And I DO mean OLD. One is still teaching her stuff at nearly 70 and the other is close to retirement. But that doesn't mean that I still wouldn't consider "doing" him in a New York minute!!! I scared the poo out of him when I insisted on hugging him goodbye instead of just shaking hands. I pointed out that I am nearly 50 and we are way past the professor-student crapola. I did pick up a few alumni souvenir type things--the license plate frame, a t-shirt, bumper stickers. As much as I HATE the word "alumni" when used for a singular, I will still put the damned frame on my car because I paid enough money back in student loans to earn the right!

D got to see her little boyfriend and they are happily sending email love notes to each other. Of course, mommy monitors each and every one. They are pre-teens, after all, and I want to make sure they don't get TOO lovey, if you catch my drift... :)

We did a day at the beach, but even that has changed. Too many condos and chi-chi little boutiques crowding out the things that made T I such an eclectic place. Now it is completely homogeneous like every other beach on the coast. :(

Dad is packing his shit up to move to Indiana, so even the first place we lived in as a family that wasn't military housing and that was permanent is now going on the market. So the only "home" isn't home anymore.

I think the next vacation there will be just me and D, playing tourist. We won't bother to tell family or certain friends we are even in the same area code. Then I won't have to deal with all the bullshit anymore about "When you giving up that job and coming home?" or "You moved but you could have found something here." Yeah, right... Where? Target isn't even hiring in my field yet. They weren't even there when I was still there anyway.

Besides, we have been out here long enough to qualify as "native" (more than five consecutive years residency and I own property).

Crazy Women/Greed

2007-02-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

So what the hell is in the water this week?!?

First there is Lisa Nowak (http://tinyurl.com/2osrym) going off the deep end over some dipshit co-astronaut and blowing it for every little girl who wanted to be like here. WTF is with that? Like my friend with the PhD said: "Ain't no joystick in the world worth all that!" This from a woman who was contemplating jumping Stedman Graham when she met him at a book signing this week. Point is, I don't know that many FAMILY MEMBERS I would put a diaper on so I could drive cross-country to get to faster, let along some man.

So now you have a HIGH profile woman who served as a role model for all the girls who are interested in science and space--including my daughter--who went looking for Colleen Shipman ( http://tinyurl.com/3c6u9c ) to kill her over fellow astronaut Bill Oefelein ( http://tinyurl.com/2tklhf ). EWWW! Neither one of them is particularly attractive, and Nowak is a very pretty woman. A very pretty MARRIED (although just separated) woman with three kids!!!

Then they let her out on $15000 bond and an ankle bracelet? Honey, if I went looking for someone with the arsenal she had, I wouldn't be in jail. I'd be UNDER it. Rope, duct tape, pepper spray, a sledge hammer, a knife, garbage bags... Not the usual emergency car kit, by any means. Nowak DID use the pepper spray, too, so there was evidence that she knew exactly what she was up to. But her lawyer is claiming she has PTSD over the Columbia disaster. BULLSHIT! The woman had a crush on her co-worker and was jealous because he was looking at other women. End of story!

So now she has no career, will likely NEVER see her kids again and has made NASA nervous about using women in the space program. Not a very nice way to end up... :(

Then you have Anna Nicole Smith...

Pretty girl who parlayed into something spectacular, had it all for a while and is now taking a dirt nap. But was it natural or did the "husband" Howard K. Stern help it along? He WAS there when Anna's son died and he stands to inherit megabucks if he is indeed her hubby. Then there is the baby thing. Who's the daddy? That will make a big difference in how the money gets distributed.

So did she OD? Was it the flu as Howie claims? Did he let her lie there and die if she was sick?

Personally, I think Larry Birkhead is the "babydaddy" and Howie didn't want to share the potential windfall from J. Howard Marshall's estate. That case can actually still go to court on behalf of the baby, so if Anna's estate wins against Marshall's estate, whoever gets control of the baby gets control of the money. Greed makes people do stupid things (see Nowak, above).

Makes me wish I was a rock sometimes...

Can we get a moratorium on the word "alumni"?

2007-01-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

If I see one more bumper sticker, license plate frame or t-shirt proclaiming that someone is an ALUMNI of XYZ College/University or whatever, I swear I am going to take a box cutter to the offending item! Well, not really, but I am still not going to congratulate the person on said accomplishment.

Let's get down to basics here, folks--ALUMNI is a plural! it means more than one person! The proper word for an individual who was part of any formal institutional group (not just college) is ALUMNUS (male) or ALUMNA (female). Yes, I know that most colleges are using "alumni" for individuals, but that is the lazy way out as far as I am concerned.

When I was in college, I had to take a writing exam to prove I was more than merely functionally literate. I passed it on the first attempt. Now, I hear there are people who must take it five or six times to make a minimal passing score. That is truly sad. But then, we live in a society where alternate spellings are considered quite normal. Then, when you consider that formerly fastidious editors allow the abomination of using apostrophes to indicate a plural, you just know that no one gives a damn about language anymore.

Personally, I believe that people who don't bother to use the proper words and punctuation in a coherent and organized manner when trying to present a serious argument do not deserve the attention they seek.

Goin' to work

2006-11-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

D got her first paying job as an "actress". She was called to be "background talent" for a taping of a show that is on USA Network. Five hours of hanging out, cheering for the contestants and then getting cash at the end! Worked for her...

She hadn't done any live work before, so she got to see how they set up shots and how multiple angle takes had to be filmed so that they match up in editing. She also learned that there is a lot of "sitting around" time where they all just have to stay in place and wait for things to be set up for the next shot.

I think the best part for her was the swag and the cash. They had a boatload of freebies to hand out (t-shirts, backpacks, hats, CD cases, etc.), so she got her share--with my help, of course. Then there was the pay! For five hours, she earned $54, handed to her in an envelope after filming was done. I had always promised her that her first job like that, she was going to get to spend it on whatever she wanted so we had to immediately go to the dreaded WallyWorld to seek out the Nintendo DS game of her dreams: Pokemon Rescue Rangers! She was so pleased with herself that SHE was handing over the money for HER game. The change is safely put away in the Kitty Bank because she just couldn't figure out how to best spend the rest of her loot. It will probably go for Pokemon cards or something. Hey, I DID promise she could blow it anyway she wants...

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! I was supposed to be totally today off, but I have to go into work tonight to install some equipment that came in at the last frickin' minute and "Lil Man" wants it in before midnight. Since D is spending the night with her friend, I am only hoping that I get done in time to hit at least one sale as there is a chance of scoring 1GB SD cards for $9.99 (and NO limit!).

Just one of those long breaks from reality

2006-11-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

You ever just want to scream in the middle of the street like they do in the movies? I mean the kind of scream that is supposed to echo off every wall in the city!

I am deep in the throes of 5th grader angst and there are days that I wish I had opted for the pony. Not that I don't adore my daughter, but I look back at what I was expected to do at her age and what she is getting away with and it just doesn't seem right. I had to cook dinner and look after my brothers. SHE is crying "Abuse!" if I ask her to make her bed.

Yes, children have it easier now, but--DAMN!!!! I can't see how that is fair. Now, I admit that she is terribly spoiled, but that is just about inevitable with an only child. I am trying to instill in her the notion that nothing is free in life, but she thinks that I am a never-empty ATM. We have had several arguments over her losing a toy and expecting me to just buy another one. Little diva even went on eBay to see if there was another one out there. Then she started looking at other, similar toys and telling me about how they are "only $35.00" and "I really NEED it!"--each demand accompanied with crocodile tears and much eye-batting, of course.

Now, I am looking in my closet and eyeing all the Savers bargains and wondering what part of "budget" she is failing to understand...

Christmas is coming up, as is her birthday. Luckily FOR HER, the first will be financed by my union rebate and the second by the tax refund. My Christmas will be getting my car tags renewed... Sad, isn't it?

I'm baaa-ack!

2006-08-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

You know, life sneaks up on you and you get busy. D has done two "Nutcrackers", grown about 10" and is getting too beautiful for her own good. I finally buckled and let her get her ears pierced. She has been taking care of the new earrings and doing all the new piercing stuff like cleaning and turning. The payoff is the cute little monkey (MONKEY!!!!) earrings she gets to put in this weekend (six weeks are up this Saturday). However, start a girl on jewelry.... She has a list!

Another year of school and another grade passed. The Diva is now in the 5th grade. Her dumbass principal pulled a fast one with a poor translator and got a bunch of scared Mexicans to vote for mandatory uniforms starting this year (D's final at the school). She won't even allow waivers for D's mental health. Watch me find creative ways to get around the rules without actually breaking the dress code. Never, NEVER piss off a mother with a sewing machine, patterns and a design background!

Sadly, Miss Thing says she doesn't want to do "The Nutcracker" this year because of a modeling expo she is going to attend because the prep lessons are at the same time as rehearsals. I'm righteously pissed because she would likely have been a "party scene girl" this year (after being a boy this last time around). If she skips a year, she won't be in the party scene again. Hell would free over before the "poor" girls get to be Clara or even Fritz! The only option next year is "angel" and that is the dumbest part (two minutes of dancing in smoke at the beginning of the second act and then sitting on stools for an hour). Don't let anyone tell you that the arts aren't political and that ballerinas are all sweetness and light. Baby, most of them are witches on wheels and evil because they overate (two celery sticks instead of one). I lovingly refer to them as "monsterinas".

I have a second car! And it is NEW--as in, 42 miles total off the dealer lot because I took a long test drive up 95. She's a cute little Aveo hatchback we have dubbed "Rosey" because she is red. Still have the old van and it still runs (though no A/C, so I don't go too far in the summertime when I need to drive it).

Work is a four-letter word that, should I discuss it, some wanker will try to fire me for having an opinion on my own time. Oh, yes! Blogging is now a sin, and even saying that my employer says so is a sin, too. GMAFB!

Oh, BTW--I hate spam comments and will hunt those posters down and feed them the printouts of their crap AFTER I have placed said printouts in the cat box for a week or so...

Compiling a book, I think

2005-06-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

Of late, I have been involved in some major debates on a forum I frequent. The biggest arguments are on gay pride celebrations, women's rights, child support and public schools. I am saving many of the threads for later posting and then compilation into a book about the things people say when they have the luxury of anonymity under screen aliases.

It can be quite the amusing little game to argue with some of the more mentally challenged in the lot. We have a racist who hides his racism under the guise of "freedom not to be forced into integration." We also have a Bible-thumping, pro-life, gay-hating case that hides her opinions by using that oft-overworked phrase "some of my best friends are....." Then there are just the people with too much damned time on their hands and plenty of work to do in the Devil's workshop. Even the most intelligent of the bunch likes to call a choice few names and respond to other' s posts with nasty plays on their screen names and raspberry sound effects.

Personally, I have issues with the Bible-thumper because she so obviously has secrets she's dying to tell, but she couches all her remarks in such holy-roller rhetoric while dropping juicy hints about her wild and wicked past. Her latest rants came out of a discussion about a Gay Pride rally planned for my old stomping grounds. This time around, she's bragging about a lesbian making a pass at her in the 1980s while making a stink about how all gay people are trying to recruit her. As if there is some club that you can just join! At the same time, she's going on and on about how nasty and disgusting and pervy gay people are. Someone that frequents this forum as well as another made a rude comment about her and the rants-the next thing you know, she's threatening to call the "forum police" and have the other person banned for "threatening" her. You should see how she reacts to comments about abortion and birth control!

I need to glean some choice remarks for sharing later, but believe me! The originals as written are priceless. I will post them WITHOUT corrections for spelling or grammar so that you may have the full effect of her "wisdom."

-----------------------------------------------------------

In real life, school is out. D made honor roll and passed her ballet exams, so she moves to 4th grade and into Elementary A. During the summer, she will be taking a crash course in both RAD and Vaganova methods. She also will be at the youth center summer camp, so lots of field trips. Girl Scout camping trips, too, along with her modeling stuff. Sleepovers and all that coolness. Now if she would just stop talking like she was already in high school...

Sad days for women

2005-03-08T21:19:00.000-08:00

Today is International Women's Day, but it is more a novelty than anything else for the women in our own country.

The Senate is arguing bankruptcy law, but refusing to exempt court-related debts from discharge. The main focus is on whether or not violent anti-choice demonstrators can get out of paying fines and court costs by declaring bankruptcy. Currently they can do so and some senators were just trying to close that loophole for all such debts.

The Republicans also killed any raises in the minimum wage. What does that have to do with IWD? Women in the United States are overwhelming minimum-wage slaves and refusing to give them a little more money is just mean. Especially mean when you consider that at the same time, Medicaid is being cut along with welfare benefits, food stamps and SSI.

Georgia just passed a particularly oneous abortion "reform" bill called "The Woman's Right to NO" law. It won't allow a woman to have an abortion until after a 24-hour cooling off period. It also removes the right of a rape/incest victim to be accompanied by someone other than her parents. Parents must always be with the minor, so if it is a case of incest, guess who ain't getting an abortion? It also requires "education" on fetal status (almost always incorrect when presented as a method of preventing abortions). It also allows the FOB or a grandparent to sue (!?!?) if even one "i" wasn't dotted properly. Guess what? No exemption when the FOB is a rapist or a perv relative who decides he wanted the poor woman to have the kid. All geared to force a woman to have a baby she may not be equipped mentally, physically or financially to care for.

At the same time, Georgia is contemplating a bill to change child support laws. Again, to appease the men. "The Second Wives Club" is responsible for this one. These women marry men that have children from previous relationships and marriages that they pay support to, then they bitch because the men are at least attempting to be somewhat responsible. The ONLY good thing in the whole 50 page bill is that finally men wouldn't be able to prevent their names from being put on their child's birth certificate. Oh, and the new payment charts would result in a doubling of what D's dad would have to pay (if he actually did-the schleimscheisse is in arrears/enforcement again). The bad thing is that if he became under-employed, his default payment would only be $50/month. That wouldn't even cover D's meds!

Elsewhere, benefits are being cut across the board. Bush even wants to charge disabled vets to use the VA if they have non-service disabilities. Considering that Bush's folks are declaring any injury in Iraq that didn't happen as a result of direct combat non-related (as if running over a land mine in a country we shouldn't be in would be unrelated to the war we started). So any of those pesky limb-losses or head injuries are just unfortunate accidents...

Yeah, I'm in a pissy mood tonight. I turned down a transfer to San Antonio because it was a lateral with more work, but no more money and no one would talk benefits, moving bonuses or anything close. I kept getting told "We can't do that!" However, when asked why not, I got a lot of stuttering as a non-answer. AND I would have to uproot D and probably cause her a lot of grief. She is pretty much settled now and has a routine, which she needs as a special needs child.

Besides, she may actually have a career pending as a model. Long story, but an aquaintance saw her and insisted I take her to her friend's agency. They signed her and raved the whole time about her "Nickelodeon" voice and look. Who knows? Knowing my luck, though, my FOB may all of a sudden decide he wants a relationship with her if she makes it. Like I told him in 2001, the reaction is going to be "Who are you and why do you think you are someone I should care about after all this time?" It's coming up on eight years since he last saw her in person, and that was in court when he was playing the DNA thing to delay the inevitable.

Total Cost of Ownership

2005-01-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

More work on the car-this time it was the fuel pump and the ignition switch. $450 later, it is running, but I still need a tuneup and some other things. Once I put more than half into the car than it is worth, who knows? New car, but the money will come from where?

Inventory this week, so all nights. Danielle will have to spend nights with Bobbi and then I will have to haul ass every morning to get her to school. Hopefully, there will be some overtime in this. I need it because I had to take an advance on my salary to get the car fixed. Poverty sucks!

We got to go to the Styx concert at the Aladdin on the 16th. Very cool and Danielle enjoyed it as much as I did, even though it started late and she was getting tired. The encore was the best part, with Billy Preston (which tabloid said he was near death?) and Sam Moore of Sam and Dave. For old sick guys, they kicked ass! Read the review on the Styx site.

Other than that, the same old things going on...

Danielle turns nine next week, so she is already practicing to be a pre-teen. You know, attitude up the wazoo, refusal to wear her school uniforms, nail polish... ARRRRRGH! If this is a preview of the teen years, please someone send me a list of boarding schools that offer scholarships!

To add to the rant

2004-12-14T21:55:00.000-08:00

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

2004-12-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

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

2004-12-09T20:55:00.000-08:00

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

2004-11-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2004-10-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

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!

2004-10-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

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?

2004-10-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

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

2004-09-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

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

2004-09-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

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

2004-09-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

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!

2004-08-24T23:02:00.000-07:00

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

2004-08-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

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

2004-08-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

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

2004-07-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

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

2004-07-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

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...

2004-07-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

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.