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...

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

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?

Work, work, work

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.