Hair update

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!

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"?

OK--to sum up the fall

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...

Government in action

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

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!!!

In other news...

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!

There CAN be nice days

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.