While at I-Fest on Saturday, I ran into 2 friends of mine that I haven't seen in a really long time. They asked me, "What's it like being a mom?" I said, "It's a lot of work. But great." But man, the work part of it really kept me and S busy this weekend.
S and I had to have a very serious discussion about parenting on Friday night. It was a long night. S was really tired and had had the hell-day at work, had picked up the baby for me for the first time ever, had to take her back to work with him, and they got home around 8:30 pm. We played with her for a little while, but then I told S he had to put her to bed and this time, with no movies or cartoons playing like he always does. I told him we need to be getting her used to not going to sleep watching movies at our house since this fall she will start Kindergarten. This is a bad habit that S lets her do, and I've allowed it so far only b/c we only see her on the weekends and this is some time at night that we can spend with her, watching movies together. But I don't like the fact that she stays up until midnight, 1 am sometimes, watching movies. 3, 4, 5 year olds do not need to be doing this! And if we are about to get primary custody of her next month, like I believe we will, then I want us to start giving her a glimpse of what life is really going to be like with us, and how it's not going to be party-time all the time like it's been, mostly.
Well, she wouldn't stay put in bed and kept coming downstairs to crawl and cuddle in S's lap. I told him he needed to do what he needs to do (put her butt in bed and make it stay there!!!) and so we had an argument about that, him saying he was going to do it, but do it his way. I said he was allowing her to walk all over him and I refused to let a child run this household. Plus I pointed out that when he is lax with the rules, and she doesn't think she really needs to obey us, then the next day when he goes to work, I'm the one that is left dealing with her and her little attitude, and that is not fair to me!!!
So after much discussion, some of it heated, he told her for the 4th time she needed to go to bed. [Side note: I made S do all of this b/c I am tired of being the disciplinarian/bad guy all the time. We've had fights about this in the past as well.] I told him that b/c of her behavior, she was not getting any ice cream on Sunday which is what we always do with her before we take her back to the whore and that he was going to tell her why; he agreed that was fair enough.
Sat. a.m. he went off to work, exhausted since he'd been up so late dealing with her and with me, and I decided that I wasn't going to take her to the Children's Museum on Sunday like I'd planned. I was just tired of being Super-Mom and taking her to have all this fun all the time like I always do. I decided she could run errands with me, which I needed to run, and it certainly wouldn't kill her! However, we did go to I-Fest, since I had our tickets already. I also decided that all her wanting to be carried everywhere is going to stop as well, and S is working on it with me.
S and I both agreed that 90% of the time, she is good. But I will not tolerate that 10% when she is bad; not in my house. I understand she is going to slip; but she will learn. That 10% is going to become 5%, then 3%, then 1%. I have read too many biographies to realize that it is possible to raise a well-behaved, well-mannered, obedient, respectful child. I'm specifically thinking about in black families where black grandmothers rule with an iron fist and you don't even dream of being bad, or you go out and cut your own switch!!! So although I'm not going to have the iron fist or switch-cutting, I am very big on her losing her privileges and extras, like ice cream and trips to the zoo and Children's Museum. Which is what happened this weekend!
I know that she's only going to be 5 next month. But I argued with S that kids are very smart, and they know exactly what they're doing. When she tries to manipulate us, she knows perfectly well she's doing it! But as her parents, it is our job to teach her. It's our responsibility. And I told S he can't have it both ways, having all this fun with her but then hesitating when it comes to discipline. I have learned that kids don't need their parents to be their friends; they're going to have plenty of friends, at school, in life, etc. But they only get 1 mom and 1 dad, and in the baby's case, she only has 1 decent mom, which is me. But I have to admit, in spite of all my tough talk, I'm still struggling with finding the right balance. For example: at La Mad at breakfast yesterday, we got her some strawberries and cream to eat and bread and jam. My French breakfast arrived a few minutes later via the waitstaff. She saw my plate, said, "Ooh, bacon!" and reached right over to take some. I said sharply, "Excuse me???" and she immediately withdrew her hand. And this is the 2nd time she's done this (the last time was last summer). I looked at S so he could talk to her (like I said, I'm tired of always being the bad guy) and he told her she needed to ask nicely and say please if she wanted some bacon. She looked down and wouldn't say anything, so we just went on talking and ignoring her. Finally after a few minutes, S asked her if she wanted some bacon, and told her what she needed to say. She said it quietly and I held my plate out to her and helped her. Later on I asked her if she wanted some more and she did.
Later S said that maybe she just got excited about seeing the bacon; I admit that's true, but I am still not going to put up with this Helen Keller crap. Anyone reading: your thoughts? Are we teaching her the way kids need to be taught? Suggestions? Like I said in a previous post: It is my goal to be one of the coolest moms around, with endless fun, enrichment, culture, support, encouragement, etc. And I think I've done an awesome job so far. But here's the catch: in return I expect nothing less than total obedience and respect. If you're going to be under my roof and be on the receiving end of all my love and awesomeness that I have to give, isn't that fair???
Monday, April 30, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Why go to the park and fly a kite when you can just...
pop a pill? I thought about that scene from Seinfeld last night when I got home after the 2nd 12-hour workday this week and, tired of being tired, took a Valium in the hopes of knocking myself out for the night. And it worked! It worked so well I didn't even care too much when S called me at God knows what time (I picked up after lots of cell phone rings) to tell me that he'd had too much to drink at the bar with his work buddies that had taken him out for his b-day, and he was just going to crash at one of their apartments for the night. All I did was ask how much had he had to drink, remind him that alcohol is real bad for his stomach, and tell him that I didn't want to hear about any of his stomach problems caused by this.
He came by my work this a.m. so we could trade out cars since he is going to pick up the baby this afternoon. Man, I'm relieved at not having to go up there. I love to drive but I've done way too much driving this week.
Looking forward to tomorrow, though. Plans for me and the baby are: to go to storytime in the morning. Make it down to I-Fest by 1:30 to see the stupendous Carolyn Wonderland play. Later we'll see the Shaolin Temple martial artists, the Capoiera group again, I'll let the baby run amok in the children's area, then we'll see local blues great Sherman Robertson, my friends the funk band Fondue Monks, and I imagine soon after that she'll be done. I'll drag her little butt around in her new radio flyer wagon and it's supposed to be a beautiful day.
He came by my work this a.m. so we could trade out cars since he is going to pick up the baby this afternoon. Man, I'm relieved at not having to go up there. I love to drive but I've done way too much driving this week.
Looking forward to tomorrow, though. Plans for me and the baby are: to go to storytime in the morning. Make it down to I-Fest by 1:30 to see the stupendous Carolyn Wonderland play. Later we'll see the Shaolin Temple martial artists, the Capoiera group again, I'll let the baby run amok in the children's area, then we'll see local blues great Sherman Robertson, my friends the funk band Fondue Monks, and I imagine soon after that she'll be done. I'll drag her little butt around in her new radio flyer wagon and it's supposed to be a beautiful day.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
On the road again
I am officially tired of being on the road again. Today was all day in Montgomery County. The real bummer was that although I had another $15 per diem for lunch, since I was out in the sticks there was no cool place to have lunch. I had to settle for Arby's, and spent all of $8+! Even with an apple turnover for dessert! Lame.
Speaking of dessert... last night we enjoyed a wonderful DH birthday dinner with R. and her main man at the Chili's near our house. But since DH isn't big on cake or desserts the rest of us had to share their legendary Death By Chocolate thing.
So now I'm at Job #2. I think I've driven 3,000 miles in 1 month b/c my oil change sticker says not to come back until June but I'm already over the limit. Fortunately, DH says he thinks he can get off work early tomorrow to go pick up the baby and give me a break from doing it. I am so tired of making that long ass drive and paying $2.50 for the tollroad. I'm just tired, period, and NOT in that good way.
Plus I've got some anger management issues to deal with. First thing tomorrow morning I'm going to our EAP (Employee Assistance Program) to get an assessment done and see if I need to take Anger Management. I neglected to mention this in a previous post but I almost got into a fight at the George Clinton concert. Like I described, I was standing in the front row next to one of my friends. This friendly guy was standing on my other side and we were just casually chatting. Well, when George Clinton comes on, this girl holding a beer bottle and a digital camera, from out of nowhere, literally crams herself between me and friendly guy, pushing into both of us and literally pushing me to the side!!! I was so startled and pissed by her bad manners, I pushed right back into her and said something nasty that I can't remember, probably something like "You can't just get in here!" or something like that. I was really pissed. She looked at me and said, shocked, "Are you serious?" I snapped back that she could've at least said "Excuse me." Then I looked away. I saw that she was still staring at me, so I looked back at her and gave her a real bitchy look right in her grill! A look that said, "Do something, bitch!"
I heard the friendly guy tell her she could sit in his lap if she wanted. So then I felt bad. I felt bad that once again a knucklehead had invaded my peace and acted a fool and I was forced to react. Here we were, trying to enjoy a George Clinton concert and someone has to force me to bring the good vibe down. Still, it was extremely rude the way she just shoved right into me. And I'll acknowledge that being a cop now makes me even more sensitive to people getting into my personal space. They told us at the academy that once we became cops we would find ourselves avoiding crowded places like bars and nightclubs for that very reason. At the time I seriously doubted that would happen to me, but I guess that's exactly what did happen when she shoved me to the side. I just had an instinctive, self-protective reaction. But unfortunately, I always react at a Level 10. Even if someone just offends me at Level 1, or 3, or 5, they always get Adela Level 10 back no matter what. And so I'm beginning to wonder if I need to seek help for this.
Anyway, so during George's 1st song I just stood there feeling bad. Around the middle of the 1st song the girl leaned over to me and finally apologized, saying she didn't mean to offend me by trying to squeeze in there. I put my arm around her and rubbed her shoulder telling her it was ok, that I just don't like people shoving into me. Then she took a pic of us with her camera and I smiled big and put my arm around her. I rubbed her back again just to show no hard feelings and we went on and enjoyed the concert.
I actually have a book on anger management and I pulled it out the other day to take the little quiz inside. It said I do have a "moderate" TAS (Toxic Anger Syndrome), not extremely high but definitely above average. All I know is it takes a lot out of a person when they get really pissed off the way I do sometimes. It can't be good for my heart.
Speaking of dessert... last night we enjoyed a wonderful DH birthday dinner with R. and her main man at the Chili's near our house. But since DH isn't big on cake or desserts the rest of us had to share their legendary Death By Chocolate thing.
So now I'm at Job #2. I think I've driven 3,000 miles in 1 month b/c my oil change sticker says not to come back until June but I'm already over the limit. Fortunately, DH says he thinks he can get off work early tomorrow to go pick up the baby and give me a break from doing it. I am so tired of making that long ass drive and paying $2.50 for the tollroad. I'm just tired, period, and NOT in that good way.
Plus I've got some anger management issues to deal with. First thing tomorrow morning I'm going to our EAP (Employee Assistance Program) to get an assessment done and see if I need to take Anger Management. I neglected to mention this in a previous post but I almost got into a fight at the George Clinton concert. Like I described, I was standing in the front row next to one of my friends. This friendly guy was standing on my other side and we were just casually chatting. Well, when George Clinton comes on, this girl holding a beer bottle and a digital camera, from out of nowhere, literally crams herself between me and friendly guy, pushing into both of us and literally pushing me to the side!!! I was so startled and pissed by her bad manners, I pushed right back into her and said something nasty that I can't remember, probably something like "You can't just get in here!" or something like that. I was really pissed. She looked at me and said, shocked, "Are you serious?" I snapped back that she could've at least said "Excuse me." Then I looked away. I saw that she was still staring at me, so I looked back at her and gave her a real bitchy look right in her grill! A look that said, "Do something, bitch!"
I heard the friendly guy tell her she could sit in his lap if she wanted. So then I felt bad. I felt bad that once again a knucklehead had invaded my peace and acted a fool and I was forced to react. Here we were, trying to enjoy a George Clinton concert and someone has to force me to bring the good vibe down. Still, it was extremely rude the way she just shoved right into me. And I'll acknowledge that being a cop now makes me even more sensitive to people getting into my personal space. They told us at the academy that once we became cops we would find ourselves avoiding crowded places like bars and nightclubs for that very reason. At the time I seriously doubted that would happen to me, but I guess that's exactly what did happen when she shoved me to the side. I just had an instinctive, self-protective reaction. But unfortunately, I always react at a Level 10. Even if someone just offends me at Level 1, or 3, or 5, they always get Adela Level 10 back no matter what. And so I'm beginning to wonder if I need to seek help for this.
Anyway, so during George's 1st song I just stood there feeling bad. Around the middle of the 1st song the girl leaned over to me and finally apologized, saying she didn't mean to offend me by trying to squeeze in there. I put my arm around her and rubbed her shoulder telling her it was ok, that I just don't like people shoving into me. Then she took a pic of us with her camera and I smiled big and put my arm around her. I rubbed her back again just to show no hard feelings and we went on and enjoyed the concert.
I actually have a book on anger management and I pulled it out the other day to take the little quiz inside. It said I do have a "moderate" TAS (Toxic Anger Syndrome), not extremely high but definitely above average. All I know is it takes a lot out of a person when they get really pissed off the way I do sometimes. It can't be good for my heart.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
It was 30 years ago today
That S was born in, of all places, Denton TX!
Anyway, I spent all day yesterday in Lufkin, TX. S was supposed to come with me but they called him into work on his day off. Whatever, we need the $, that's for sure. So I picked up a nice rental car, a silver Impala, and shoved off so I could work the Women's Lifestyle Expo. I can't believe I got pulled over by a state trooper!!! And guess what for (this is just the perfect reason to pull over a fellow cop, I swear): I was driving too slow in the left lane. Give me a break. I got out of the car, holding out my credentials so he could see immediately that I was a cop, and I said, literally and truly flabbergasted, "What did I do???" He wrote me out a warning, which means absolutely nothing and which I thought was a strange thing to take the time to do. I immediately called my Sgt. to tattle-tale on myself. Later when I told Mudflap he wondered if the trooper pulled me over b/c I was driving a rental car. (We had learned in the academy that rental cars on major interstates are suspect b/c they are frequently used by drug runners.)
I am so tired of eating. I had a $45 per diem to spend yesterday and man, it is HARD to eat $45 worth of food in one day! I got kolaches and donuts and juice for breakfast: $5.50. Lunch was Chinese w/appetizer and drink: $7+. For dinner I picked up a large supreme pizza and 2-liter of Diet Pepsi just b/c I could: $20. Then at the Lufkin Expo my booth was right across from the Coca-cola girls and they loaded me up with Sprite and Orangeaid and this new Diet Coke that has vitamins & minerals in it. Also everyone had candy and cookies and other snacks to give away. I brought home a lot of these leftovers but I still don't think any of my pants fit anymore. Fortunately when I got home around 9:30 pm S was there with Mano and Mano helped himself to some of the pizza.
This a.m. I gave S his remaining b-day presents: a Rocky Balboa t-shirt and yet another wrestling DVD. He says he does not want any cake, boo! I offered to take him out for sushi tonight but he doesn't know if he'll be home in time for that. I told him he could go get a massage soon, too. I haven't gotten him a card yet b/c this week has been too crazy, but hopefully I can snag one tonight.
Tomorrow I will be teaching in another county all day long, then I have to work at Job #2 tomorrow night due to missing my regular night last night. Then it's another weekend with the baby, activity-filled as always!
Court case note: We have a hearing on May 17 to change the custody order, meaning the baby will come to live with us and the whore will get visitation! Our lawyer is trying to decide which of our witnesses to use. Once again... I can't wait for our day in court to get here.
Anyway, I spent all day yesterday in Lufkin, TX. S was supposed to come with me but they called him into work on his day off. Whatever, we need the $, that's for sure. So I picked up a nice rental car, a silver Impala, and shoved off so I could work the Women's Lifestyle Expo. I can't believe I got pulled over by a state trooper!!! And guess what for (this is just the perfect reason to pull over a fellow cop, I swear): I was driving too slow in the left lane. Give me a break. I got out of the car, holding out my credentials so he could see immediately that I was a cop, and I said, literally and truly flabbergasted, "What did I do???" He wrote me out a warning, which means absolutely nothing and which I thought was a strange thing to take the time to do. I immediately called my Sgt. to tattle-tale on myself. Later when I told Mudflap he wondered if the trooper pulled me over b/c I was driving a rental car. (We had learned in the academy that rental cars on major interstates are suspect b/c they are frequently used by drug runners.)
I am so tired of eating. I had a $45 per diem to spend yesterday and man, it is HARD to eat $45 worth of food in one day! I got kolaches and donuts and juice for breakfast: $5.50. Lunch was Chinese w/appetizer and drink: $7+. For dinner I picked up a large supreme pizza and 2-liter of Diet Pepsi just b/c I could: $20. Then at the Lufkin Expo my booth was right across from the Coca-cola girls and they loaded me up with Sprite and Orangeaid and this new Diet Coke that has vitamins & minerals in it. Also everyone had candy and cookies and other snacks to give away. I brought home a lot of these leftovers but I still don't think any of my pants fit anymore. Fortunately when I got home around 9:30 pm S was there with Mano and Mano helped himself to some of the pizza.
This a.m. I gave S his remaining b-day presents: a Rocky Balboa t-shirt and yet another wrestling DVD. He says he does not want any cake, boo! I offered to take him out for sushi tonight but he doesn't know if he'll be home in time for that. I told him he could go get a massage soon, too. I haven't gotten him a card yet b/c this week has been too crazy, but hopefully I can snag one tonight.
Tomorrow I will be teaching in another county all day long, then I have to work at Job #2 tomorrow night due to missing my regular night last night. Then it's another weekend with the baby, activity-filled as always!
Court case note: We have a hearing on May 17 to change the custody order, meaning the baby will come to live with us and the whore will get visitation! Our lawyer is trying to decide which of our witnesses to use. Once again... I can't wait for our day in court to get here.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Funk-Adelly!
Wow, what a weekend! It was almost non-stop. The highlight was definitely seeing George Clinton and Funkadelic on Sat. night at I-Fest. George Clinton, who I've seen before back in around '01 at Galveston Mardi Gras, is not so much a musical concert as it is a genuine life experience. One to recall on your deathbed, even!
Unfortunately, S had to miss the Law Enforcement Barbeque AND George Clinton. He missed the BBQ b/c he was sick to his stomach, and he missed George b/c he had to work late. :-( So I went to the BBQ with Mudflap and his girlfriend. (On the way there though, we stopped by this lady's house so I could buy her radio flyer wagon for only $25! I found her on craigslist, of course, and thought this would be a great thing to have when taking the baby to the zoo, etc. Now when she doesn't feel like walking, I can stick her in that thing and tow her around, along with all our other provisions.) The BBQ was pretty good and we ate lots. Mudflap and I even did a couple of jello-shots! We were there until after 11pm and when I got home S was fast asleep.
Saturday I relished sleeping in. Then I went to pick up little bro and his girlfriend so we could head to I-Fest! We saw the Capoiera act, as I do every year. We caught this wild local band called the Medicine Show and that was great--they played washstand bass and even a cigar box guitar! Also banjo and harmonica and mandolin and they all sang and passed the instruments around as well which is one of my favorite things to see in a band.
It was such a beautiful day for I-Fest too, sunny but not getting really above 80 degrees. We ran around checking out the sights and as always, I saw bunches of people I know. We caught an awesome act from Congo at the same stage George Clinton was to come on so we could already be there to get our positions ready. I made sure we were in the FRONT ROW for George, and we were!
I got to touch "Mr. Nose" here when he came down front to grab us all! Whooo! Clinton played for 2 solid hours until I saw my friend Lupe, who was the stage manager, getting nervous and agitated since the cop presence was growing, and he managed to get George's attention and finally put a stop to the insanity. I am serious, I was getting worried there that the entire audience was going to start having sex with each other. Good Lord, though... what a show! He's got like, 40 people in that band and they all work their asses off to whip us all into a mad frenzy! It made me want to rush out to the nearest salon and get multicolored braids weaved in my hair. How come people in bands are so cool???????
After the show was finally over I was sorry to have missed Tito J.'s b-day dinner, but I had no idea George would play until 10pm. I dropped off li'l bro and I went home where S was with "Mano" who he'd invited down. I couldn't stop singing "We Want the Funk" and my feet hurt SO bad from all the dancing!
Sunday I slept in and slowly got my ass up to go on patrol and joined my "Coffy Brown" partner late, not getting to the substation until 10am. He himself had been at the Jimmy Buffett concert the night before! (He's married to a white woman who drags him to all these terrible concerts like Cher and Barry Manilow! But I have to admit, I wouldn't have minded seeing Jimmy in concert. After all, I grew up with "Son of a Son of a Sailor" and have the CD in my car right now!) We both agreed that hopefully neither of us will be called up for drug testing soon, due to the fragrant air we both breathed in at our respective concerts. Anyway, patrol was mostly uneventful since we were told by the Sgt. to not go hunting, and stick to the calls that were coming in. My partner, who's been on the force for 25 years, loves to go hunting and he's damn good at it. He can sniff out anything, I believe! His cop sense is honed! However, the last call of the day was a little dramatic, as it was a weapons call and when I heard it come over the radio I begged, "Oooh, let's get that one!" Granddaughter had grandmother at knifepoint. So we raced over to these apartments, but got to the wrong damn one, crap! We raced to the correct one and this little boy threw open the door and pointed! Everything was so fast! My partner had his Taser out and I had "unlocked" my holster. We ran to the back bedroom where these 3 women were screaming and crying. Partner told me to get the older women out of there and to cuff the younger one. However she was holding onto her mom and wouldn't let go. I tried to pry her hands off and cuff her and Partner pointed the Taser at her. I yelled, "You better let me cuff you or he's gonna Tase you, I mean it!!!" She saw the laser light on her and stopped resisting.
We got her into the back of the patrol car where Partner's IPOD of funk, R&B, soul, etc. was playing and calmed her down a little. Turns out she was a 19-year old mental patient among having other health problems and they couldn't afford her Zoloft anymore. So she went nuts. An FTO and his partner stopped by and a few phone calls were made. It was determined that rather than take her to jail (no one was hurt by any knife or any other weapon) we were going to have to do an emergency psychiatric commitment. The FTO transported her for us and we went back to the station where I wrote my 2nd report ever!
When I got home Mano was chilling out, having spent all day at our house. He had figured out how to work S's Total Body Gym and promised to show us how when S got home from work. I had to take a power nap, I was so tired (but again, in that good way that I get). When S got home we went to eat Mexican food w/a coupon. Later the 3 of us went for a walk around our entire block, which took about 25 minutes. It was a great night out and a nice walk. Nice end to an awesome weekend!
Unfortunately, S had to miss the Law Enforcement Barbeque AND George Clinton. He missed the BBQ b/c he was sick to his stomach, and he missed George b/c he had to work late. :-( So I went to the BBQ with Mudflap and his girlfriend. (On the way there though, we stopped by this lady's house so I could buy her radio flyer wagon for only $25! I found her on craigslist, of course, and thought this would be a great thing to have when taking the baby to the zoo, etc. Now when she doesn't feel like walking, I can stick her in that thing and tow her around, along with all our other provisions.) The BBQ was pretty good and we ate lots. Mudflap and I even did a couple of jello-shots! We were there until after 11pm and when I got home S was fast asleep.Saturday I relished sleeping in. Then I went to pick up little bro and his girlfriend so we could head to I-Fest! We saw the Capoiera act, as I do every year. We caught this wild local band called the Medicine Show and that was great--they played washstand bass and even a cigar box guitar! Also banjo and harmonica and mandolin and they all sang and passed the instruments around as well which is one of my favorite things to see in a band.
It was such a beautiful day for I-Fest too, sunny but not getting really above 80 degrees. We ran around checking out the sights and as always, I saw bunches of people I know. We caught an awesome act from Congo at the same stage George Clinton was to come on so we could already be there to get our positions ready. I made sure we were in the FRONT ROW for George, and we were!
I got to touch "Mr. Nose" here when he came down front to grab us all! Whooo! Clinton played for 2 solid hours until I saw my friend Lupe, who was the stage manager, getting nervous and agitated since the cop presence was growing, and he managed to get George's attention and finally put a stop to the insanity. I am serious, I was getting worried there that the entire audience was going to start having sex with each other. Good Lord, though... what a show! He's got like, 40 people in that band and they all work their asses off to whip us all into a mad frenzy! It made me want to rush out to the nearest salon and get multicolored braids weaved in my hair. How come people in bands are so cool???????After the show was finally over I was sorry to have missed Tito J.'s b-day dinner, but I had no idea George would play until 10pm. I dropped off li'l bro and I went home where S was with "Mano" who he'd invited down. I couldn't stop singing "We Want the Funk" and my feet hurt SO bad from all the dancing!
Sunday I slept in and slowly got my ass up to go on patrol and joined my "Coffy Brown" partner late, not getting to the substation until 10am. He himself had been at the Jimmy Buffett concert the night before! (He's married to a white woman who drags him to all these terrible concerts like Cher and Barry Manilow! But I have to admit, I wouldn't have minded seeing Jimmy in concert. After all, I grew up with "Son of a Son of a Sailor" and have the CD in my car right now!) We both agreed that hopefully neither of us will be called up for drug testing soon, due to the fragrant air we both breathed in at our respective concerts. Anyway, patrol was mostly uneventful since we were told by the Sgt. to not go hunting, and stick to the calls that were coming in. My partner, who's been on the force for 25 years, loves to go hunting and he's damn good at it. He can sniff out anything, I believe! His cop sense is honed! However, the last call of the day was a little dramatic, as it was a weapons call and when I heard it come over the radio I begged, "Oooh, let's get that one!" Granddaughter had grandmother at knifepoint. So we raced over to these apartments, but got to the wrong damn one, crap! We raced to the correct one and this little boy threw open the door and pointed! Everything was so fast! My partner had his Taser out and I had "unlocked" my holster. We ran to the back bedroom where these 3 women were screaming and crying. Partner told me to get the older women out of there and to cuff the younger one. However she was holding onto her mom and wouldn't let go. I tried to pry her hands off and cuff her and Partner pointed the Taser at her. I yelled, "You better let me cuff you or he's gonna Tase you, I mean it!!!" She saw the laser light on her and stopped resisting.
We got her into the back of the patrol car where Partner's IPOD of funk, R&B, soul, etc. was playing and calmed her down a little. Turns out she was a 19-year old mental patient among having other health problems and they couldn't afford her Zoloft anymore. So she went nuts. An FTO and his partner stopped by and a few phone calls were made. It was determined that rather than take her to jail (no one was hurt by any knife or any other weapon) we were going to have to do an emergency psychiatric commitment. The FTO transported her for us and we went back to the station where I wrote my 2nd report ever!
When I got home Mano was chilling out, having spent all day at our house. He had figured out how to work S's Total Body Gym and promised to show us how when S got home from work. I had to take a power nap, I was so tired (but again, in that good way that I get). When S got home we went to eat Mexican food w/a coupon. Later the 3 of us went for a walk around our entire block, which took about 25 minutes. It was a great night out and a nice walk. Nice end to an awesome weekend!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Big Plans... for the weekend
I'm glad we're going to the Law Enforcement BBQ tonight. That'll be good eatin'. And I'm really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. Later, I'll head to I-Fest and wait for S to get there at 8pm for George Clinton!!! Sunday I have to go patrol. Should be fun as always.
The BBQ is held every year at the Farm and Ranch Club. It's quite a drive out in west Houston. It's where we had our day of police driving and testing in the academy. There were several driving tests, and we had to set up the courses ourselves with a couple of hundred orange cones. I got to drive the white van full of all the cones and I was in a God-awful mood thanks to my car having been towed the night before at the Prince concert. Anyway, the hardest course was the last one, which had 3 separate sections and one of them had to be driven backwards! Of the 200+ cones you could only knock down 6 of them, or else you failed. Keep in mind, you had to do all the tests within a certain amount of time, as well! The final, hard test was to be done in under 2:25 minutes or something like that. I knocked down 4 cones and finished in something like 2:10. I did it by praying! Here's some pic's from that day, courtesy of Mudflap:
Taken from a safe distance away. One of us is in the white patrol car and the instructors are in the dark, undercover vehicle, following and timing us. Also some of the tests required fast stopping at, for example, the next-to-the-last cone and the instructors had to observe that we did it right.
Some of my esteemed fellow cadets. I was in an antisocial mood that day and didn't mingle much, so there's no pic's of me. Plus, I'd been assigned to share a car with my nemesis and another guy who, while riding in the backseat while I was driving, got sick and had to be let out! Ha ha! I forgave him later when he gave me the good tip to not use my mirrors while driving backwards, but to turn and look. That worked much better for me!
Ok, I better get back to work here. Dr. P has called in 2 more lit. searches and they are always interesting. Now I get to research another mental illness related to an individual publicized in recent media stories, but b/c HIPAA applies to me too, I can't discuss it for now. However, since I've had to do research for him in the past on Andrea Yates and that creepy JonBenet Ramsey claimed killer, rest assured, this latest one is also fascinating!
The BBQ is held every year at the Farm and Ranch Club. It's quite a drive out in west Houston. It's where we had our day of police driving and testing in the academy. There were several driving tests, and we had to set up the courses ourselves with a couple of hundred orange cones. I got to drive the white van full of all the cones and I was in a God-awful mood thanks to my car having been towed the night before at the Prince concert. Anyway, the hardest course was the last one, which had 3 separate sections and one of them had to be driven backwards! Of the 200+ cones you could only knock down 6 of them, or else you failed. Keep in mind, you had to do all the tests within a certain amount of time, as well! The final, hard test was to be done in under 2:25 minutes or something like that. I knocked down 4 cones and finished in something like 2:10. I did it by praying! Here's some pic's from that day, courtesy of Mudflap:
Taken from a safe distance away. One of us is in the white patrol car and the instructors are in the dark, undercover vehicle, following and timing us. Also some of the tests required fast stopping at, for example, the next-to-the-last cone and the instructors had to observe that we did it right.Some of my esteemed fellow cadets. I was in an antisocial mood that day and didn't mingle much, so there's no pic's of me. Plus, I'd been assigned to share a car with my nemesis and another guy who, while riding in the backseat while I was driving, got sick and had to be let out! Ha ha! I forgave him later when he gave me the good tip to not use my mirrors while driving backwards, but to turn and look. That worked much better for me!Ok, I better get back to work here. Dr. P has called in 2 more lit. searches and they are always interesting. Now I get to research another mental illness related to an individual publicized in recent media stories, but b/c HIPAA applies to me too, I can't discuss it for now. However, since I've had to do research for him in the past on Andrea Yates and that creepy JonBenet Ramsey claimed killer, rest assured, this latest one is also fascinating!
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Family Night Madness
Here at Job #2 it is "Family Night", complete with games, free ice cream, movies, etc. etc. Soon I will get some ice cream, like I really need it. Seriously, on Monday while getting dressed I had to try 2 pairs of jeans before the 3rd pair would close. A little depressing! But I always slim down in the summertime. It's just that I've been eating a lot of sweets lately b/c I've been down about life and stuff. It all needs to stop!
It looks like I'm going to have to cancel my Pampered Chef party I was going to throw tomorrow night b/c the girl won't come do it if I have less than 8 people and I only have 6 rsvp's. After I totally cleaned my kitchen last night, too! Oh well, I wanted to go to the Law Enforcement Barbeque tomorrow night anyway, and Mudflap got me and S free tickets. Also I was too confused last night in the grocery store on the ingredients I had to buy for the Pampered Chef meal, and had to call L. and ask her what the hell "Butter Lettuce" was.
Last night I watched, fascinated, the videos/photos that maniac sent to NBC. As an amateur criminologist, I never pass up the chance to study psychopaths or other disturbed individuals. It's why I never get tired of reading true crime books, although S is bothered by my fascination with crime and criminals. Hey, it's my way of learning to identify those kind of people so that I can successfully keep them out of my life! S would've benefited from having the same attitude. After all, he made the huge mistake of getting mixed up with the whore--a true antisocial personality-narcissist-sociopath--and his other asshole friends that I have put a stop to him hanging out with. Not to mention his family although they're not necessarily criminally-minded, just self-centered, mean-spirited jerks! Although his mom is in fact a confirmed liar, but S attributes that to vague mental-health issues. They should all seek psychiatric help but they won't, so that is extremely unethical if not borderline-criminal. Anyway, I'm sure you'd find versions of their kind in the DSM-IV.
I'm finishing up Robert Shapiro's book, so now I've read most of the O.J. trial books. I have to admit I'm getting a little burned out on them. I might take a hiatus. There's so many true crime paperbacks here at Job #2 that have caught my eye!
It looks like I'm going to have to cancel my Pampered Chef party I was going to throw tomorrow night b/c the girl won't come do it if I have less than 8 people and I only have 6 rsvp's. After I totally cleaned my kitchen last night, too! Oh well, I wanted to go to the Law Enforcement Barbeque tomorrow night anyway, and Mudflap got me and S free tickets. Also I was too confused last night in the grocery store on the ingredients I had to buy for the Pampered Chef meal, and had to call L. and ask her what the hell "Butter Lettuce" was.
Last night I watched, fascinated, the videos/photos that maniac sent to NBC. As an amateur criminologist, I never pass up the chance to study psychopaths or other disturbed individuals. It's why I never get tired of reading true crime books, although S is bothered by my fascination with crime and criminals. Hey, it's my way of learning to identify those kind of people so that I can successfully keep them out of my life! S would've benefited from having the same attitude. After all, he made the huge mistake of getting mixed up with the whore--a true antisocial personality-narcissist-sociopath--and his other asshole friends that I have put a stop to him hanging out with. Not to mention his family although they're not necessarily criminally-minded, just self-centered, mean-spirited jerks! Although his mom is in fact a confirmed liar, but S attributes that to vague mental-health issues. They should all seek psychiatric help but they won't, so that is extremely unethical if not borderline-criminal. Anyway, I'm sure you'd find versions of their kind in the DSM-IV.
I'm finishing up Robert Shapiro's book, so now I've read most of the O.J. trial books. I have to admit I'm getting a little burned out on them. I might take a hiatus. There's so many true crime paperbacks here at Job #2 that have caught my eye!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Yay, I get to go soon
I'm leaving work early today to go teach a skin care class and make another $75. I just got paid for the last one which was nice since that'll definitely help take the edge off (a little bit) of the check I had to send to the KGB/IRS this week. I might have to reexamine my W-4. Or not. Maybe I'll just stick more $ over at the credit union where our property tax money hides so tax bill money can hide there too. Speaking of which, I just got notice that our property assessment went up another couple of grand. That's good, in the sense that our home is more valuable now, but bad in the sense I guess the property tax bill next year will be a smidge higher. Oh well!
This is my only free night of the week since I have to work at Job #2 again tomorrow in order to make up for the Saturdays I won't have this month, and Friday night is my Pampered Chef party! Meaning I better tidy up the house tonight. I have a Hispanic Health Coalition meeting tonight at a restaurant however. My board duties never end! Oh well to that too.
My love! You know, for someone who was once approached about being a model, he just does not take good pic's! Especially not compared to photogenic me! Exhibit 1:
Me at the legendary Big Pink. Taken a few years ago when I was way skinny.
This is my only free night of the week since I have to work at Job #2 again tomorrow in order to make up for the Saturdays I won't have this month, and Friday night is my Pampered Chef party! Meaning I better tidy up the house tonight. I have a Hispanic Health Coalition meeting tonight at a restaurant however. My board duties never end! Oh well to that too.
My love! You know, for someone who was once approached about being a model, he just does not take good pic's! Especially not compared to photogenic me! Exhibit 1:
Me at the legendary Big Pink. Taken a few years ago when I was way skinny.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Lord, what a busy weekend
No kidding! I even passed on going with S and the baby yesterday to see the new Ninja Turtles movie so I could stay at home and take a power nap on the couch!!! After they got home we went and picked up a pizza and went to Uncle Mudflap's house to watch wrestling.
Saturday in Galveston was the occasion of the baby's first time ever to the beach! She was so good that day at the beach condo during my board retreat. We were there all day from about 9-2, tucked into this tiny 1-bedroom condo and it was a tight squeeze indeed, just like I told them it would be. But I'd brought along plenty of baby provisions, as I always do since I can't stand a bored child, and she had fun watching movies up on the top bunk of these built-into-the-wall bunk beds. But after awhile she wanted to be with me, so she joined us in the living room and sat in my lap and played quietly and snacked on all kinds of goodies along with the rest of us. No lie, we ate all weekend long! At the retreat we had breakfast tacos, fruit, muffins, juice, and then they fired up the crockpot for chips and queso. Besides that there was chocolate and candy all over the place! Then when we broke at 2 we went to lunch at a local seafood joint! I had the shrimp scampi and the bread pudding. It was all totally unnecessary! :-)
After lunch we bade adieu to everyone. They gave us the little pails the candy had been in and told me how good the baby was! Then we went to the beach where the baby immediately started digging up seashells. It was just a shame it was too cold to frolic in the water (although Galveston is nasty). I think next time we take her down there we'll take her to Moody Gardens instead. Anyway, we had fun for awhile on the beach until it was just too cold and windy to be out there too much longer.
Then that night we had the engagement party at J. Fi's parent's house. The baby stayed with her Auntie R. The party was a'ight. We were very late due to S's not being able to leave work in time and we just barely got there before the caterers removed the food! There were a lot of drunk yuppies there. S spoke cars and motorcycles with a couple of them so at least he got in some good conversation.
Sunday once again I had to get the baby up way early to come with me to the health fair that I had to work. She had had a bad night--sometimes she gets those growing pains in her legs and feet and she had kept S up until 3am crying and fussing. She woke up in the car on the way down to the health fair and started crying and screaming again and I honestly didn't know what to do. I tried not to panic but she was carrying on so much I thought I might have to turn the car around and just go home. I even tested her by saying that if her feet hurt so much we couldn't go to the zoo later with L. and her son Rhett, so did she still want to go play with them? She said no, so I knew she was hurting pretty bad. She kept asking for S. I finally figured out that I should just drive with one hand and massage her feet with the other. That seemed to help a little bit, though she still kept crying. Finally when we got to the health fair about 30 min. later she seemed to calm down. I distracted her with the leftover candy that was still in the car and she didn't seem to be in any pain anymore.
I carried her inside and got her set up with the laptop so she could watch movies next to me while I worked. They had doughnuts and I let her get some. Then she was fine! After awhile since we were at a church, some kids came into the activity center and she wanted to go up on stage and play with them. I took a break and we went up onstage and we all danced, even me! Then I told her I had to go back to work and she stayed and danced and ran around with all the other kids. Guess the feet problem was solved!!! Later the church people served us lunch and I let her eat Doritos and a cookie since she didn't want a sandwich. (I hate letting her eat crap like that but it's hard to eat healthy when you're on the road! Anyway, a little crap eaten now and then ain't gonna kill her. I'm too hard on myself sometimes.)
Right before we left we got a visit from my friend and fellow deputy, C. and his wife! I had called them in advance since we were at their church, and had told them to come and say hi to me. The baby has even been to their house one time when it was C.'s birthday, but I wasn't sure she remembered them. They also have a bad cat who actually chased the baby around a chair at one point! I made C. be in my health fair-photo op:
At 1pm it was time to pack it up and head for the zoo! (First we made a quick stop to pick up some KFC and see my grandfather.) L. and her little boy Rhett met us at the zoo--along with L.'s new man! Much fun ensued.
Unfortunately, she was bad when we were leaving the zoo b/c she didn't want to walk to the car after I had piggybacked her all the way to the front gate. She lay down on the pavement and I just walked away and waited for her to catch up. I had to have a serious talking to her. I definitely let her know I was pissed and I was not going to put up with any crap after all the fun things I let her do!!! I threatened her little butt with never coming back to the zoo if she pulls that crap again and made her apologize to me! When we got home I made S reiterate our intolerance to her bullshit. He is really good about backing me up--as he needs to be!--and is now cooperating with me FINALLY on stopping all her wanting to be carried everywhere, which is also a bunch of crap! She had another bad sleep on Sunday night, this time apparently with an earache. Once again I let S handle it, as I had to work yesterday AND get up early to take my mom to the Dr.! But she slept through the entire night last night, so that's good. I had the children's Motrin at the ready though, just in case.
Right now they should be at storytime at the Library with Tito J., then we'll all meet for lunch in a bit. Today's my long day of 2 jobs, and S will take her back tonight. I did get a call from our lawyer yesterday who updated me, saying we should be able to get that hearing set for us to get emergency temporary custody for the end of May. Also, that October already filled up for trials so ours is now set for November 5, period, the end! Plus the whore did pay our atty.'s fees like she was supposed to, although she was $98 short so our lawyer will have to work on collecting that. She said it came in via cashier's check so I'm sure there went the whore's tax refund! Ha ha!
So yeah, I'm exhausted. But, as always, in a good way.
Saturday in Galveston was the occasion of the baby's first time ever to the beach! She was so good that day at the beach condo during my board retreat. We were there all day from about 9-2, tucked into this tiny 1-bedroom condo and it was a tight squeeze indeed, just like I told them it would be. But I'd brought along plenty of baby provisions, as I always do since I can't stand a bored child, and she had fun watching movies up on the top bunk of these built-into-the-wall bunk beds. But after awhile she wanted to be with me, so she joined us in the living room and sat in my lap and played quietly and snacked on all kinds of goodies along with the rest of us. No lie, we ate all weekend long! At the retreat we had breakfast tacos, fruit, muffins, juice, and then they fired up the crockpot for chips and queso. Besides that there was chocolate and candy all over the place! Then when we broke at 2 we went to lunch at a local seafood joint! I had the shrimp scampi and the bread pudding. It was all totally unnecessary! :-)
After lunch we bade adieu to everyone. They gave us the little pails the candy had been in and told me how good the baby was! Then we went to the beach where the baby immediately started digging up seashells. It was just a shame it was too cold to frolic in the water (although Galveston is nasty). I think next time we take her down there we'll take her to Moody Gardens instead. Anyway, we had fun for awhile on the beach until it was just too cold and windy to be out there too much longer.
Then that night we had the engagement party at J. Fi's parent's house. The baby stayed with her Auntie R. The party was a'ight. We were very late due to S's not being able to leave work in time and we just barely got there before the caterers removed the food! There were a lot of drunk yuppies there. S spoke cars and motorcycles with a couple of them so at least he got in some good conversation.
Sunday once again I had to get the baby up way early to come with me to the health fair that I had to work. She had had a bad night--sometimes she gets those growing pains in her legs and feet and she had kept S up until 3am crying and fussing. She woke up in the car on the way down to the health fair and started crying and screaming again and I honestly didn't know what to do. I tried not to panic but she was carrying on so much I thought I might have to turn the car around and just go home. I even tested her by saying that if her feet hurt so much we couldn't go to the zoo later with L. and her son Rhett, so did she still want to go play with them? She said no, so I knew she was hurting pretty bad. She kept asking for S. I finally figured out that I should just drive with one hand and massage her feet with the other. That seemed to help a little bit, though she still kept crying. Finally when we got to the health fair about 30 min. later she seemed to calm down. I distracted her with the leftover candy that was still in the car and she didn't seem to be in any pain anymore.
I carried her inside and got her set up with the laptop so she could watch movies next to me while I worked. They had doughnuts and I let her get some. Then she was fine! After awhile since we were at a church, some kids came into the activity center and she wanted to go up on stage and play with them. I took a break and we went up onstage and we all danced, even me! Then I told her I had to go back to work and she stayed and danced and ran around with all the other kids. Guess the feet problem was solved!!! Later the church people served us lunch and I let her eat Doritos and a cookie since she didn't want a sandwich. (I hate letting her eat crap like that but it's hard to eat healthy when you're on the road! Anyway, a little crap eaten now and then ain't gonna kill her. I'm too hard on myself sometimes.)
Right before we left we got a visit from my friend and fellow deputy, C. and his wife! I had called them in advance since we were at their church, and had told them to come and say hi to me. The baby has even been to their house one time when it was C.'s birthday, but I wasn't sure she remembered them. They also have a bad cat who actually chased the baby around a chair at one point! I made C. be in my health fair-photo op:
At 1pm it was time to pack it up and head for the zoo! (First we made a quick stop to pick up some KFC and see my grandfather.) L. and her little boy Rhett met us at the zoo--along with L.'s new man! Much fun ensued.Unfortunately, she was bad when we were leaving the zoo b/c she didn't want to walk to the car after I had piggybacked her all the way to the front gate. She lay down on the pavement and I just walked away and waited for her to catch up. I had to have a serious talking to her. I definitely let her know I was pissed and I was not going to put up with any crap after all the fun things I let her do!!! I threatened her little butt with never coming back to the zoo if she pulls that crap again and made her apologize to me! When we got home I made S reiterate our intolerance to her bullshit. He is really good about backing me up--as he needs to be!--and is now cooperating with me FINALLY on stopping all her wanting to be carried everywhere, which is also a bunch of crap! She had another bad sleep on Sunday night, this time apparently with an earache. Once again I let S handle it, as I had to work yesterday AND get up early to take my mom to the Dr.! But she slept through the entire night last night, so that's good. I had the children's Motrin at the ready though, just in case.
Right now they should be at storytime at the Library with Tito J., then we'll all meet for lunch in a bit. Today's my long day of 2 jobs, and S will take her back tonight. I did get a call from our lawyer yesterday who updated me, saying we should be able to get that hearing set for us to get emergency temporary custody for the end of May. Also, that October already filled up for trials so ours is now set for November 5, period, the end! Plus the whore did pay our atty.'s fees like she was supposed to, although she was $98 short so our lawyer will have to work on collecting that. She said it came in via cashier's check so I'm sure there went the whore's tax refund! Ha ha!
So yeah, I'm exhausted. But, as always, in a good way.
Friday, April 13, 2007
I really feel for this guy
Angry dad? We feel your pain!!!
However, our pain is tempered by the fact that today is the deadline for the whore to have to pay our lawyer $2,048 in attorney's fees! She better do it, or it's between her and our lawyer's office to report her to the judge for being in contempt of court--again. And if she does pay today like she's supposed to, then I also take great joy in her being $2K poorer.
However, our pain is tempered by the fact that today is the deadline for the whore to have to pay our lawyer $2,048 in attorney's fees! She better do it, or it's between her and our lawyer's office to report her to the judge for being in contempt of court--again. And if she does pay today like she's supposed to, then I also take great joy in her being $2K poorer.
An important lesson in stopping to smell the roses
This is WILD. I definitely would've recognized Joshua Bell and would've stayed listening there as long as he stayed. Right before I went to New York City for the first time as a high school senior to play at Carnegie Hall (no, not as a soloist, duh) I saw a program on 20/20 or some such show on a Juilliard-trained subway violinist. That's what he did for a living, he played in the subway! Well, while in NY riding the subway I saw/heard this guy! I was astounded, and took his picture. I always enjoy listening to street musicians although usually I can only contribute change.
The lesson for today is that it's an important part of life to just pause sometimes and take something in for the sake of taking it in, and it doesn't even have to be a world-class musician like Bell. Put the pause button on life (like in that bad Adam Sandler movie, Click) and listen, smell, taste, feel.
Also today now I'm feeling more than nostalgiac for the days when I lived my life as a classical musician.
The lesson for today is that it's an important part of life to just pause sometimes and take something in for the sake of taking it in, and it doesn't even have to be a world-class musician like Bell. Put the pause button on life (like in that bad Adam Sandler movie, Click) and listen, smell, taste, feel.
Also today now I'm feeling more than nostalgiac for the days when I lived my life as a classical musician.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Generation Me
I'm intrigued by Jean Twenge's work. She says she is not going to make her daughter feel more special than any other kids b/c doing so leads to destructive narcissism. She says this is what happened those of us born after 1971 and it has ruined us. Interesting.
I have to say, there does seem to be unprecedented selfishness, poor behavior, lack of manners and entitlement running amok in the young people in this country. Lord knows I've been guilty of it too! But at least I'm trying hard to reform my bad ways and be a good influence to the baby, whom I will take zero lip from nor spoil, like I did and was. I'm at Job #2 right now and I just kicked out these young black girls who, every time they're here, seem to cause trouble. I got a complaint that they were having fun taking surreptitious pictures of a small girl whose skirt was falling down! I stomped over there (God, when did I become the righteously indignant establishment???) and saw them laughing at their camera phone. I told them, "Out. NOW." and they did not protest. Guilty, much?
I have to say, there does seem to be unprecedented selfishness, poor behavior, lack of manners and entitlement running amok in the young people in this country. Lord knows I've been guilty of it too! But at least I'm trying hard to reform my bad ways and be a good influence to the baby, whom I will take zero lip from nor spoil, like I did and was. I'm at Job #2 right now and I just kicked out these young black girls who, every time they're here, seem to cause trouble. I got a complaint that they were having fun taking surreptitious pictures of a small girl whose skirt was falling down! I stomped over there (God, when did I become the righteously indignant establishment???) and saw them laughing at their camera phone. I told them, "Out. NOW." and they did not protest. Guilty, much?
Started new blog; gum test
I decided to start another blog, this one called Latina Personal Finance blog. The reason I did that is b/c there doesn't seem to be one like that out there. So I'm going to stop my bitching and kvetching and strategizing about money on this blog from now on! If you want to see what's going on in my personal finance life, you can check out the other blog.
S and I watched a few Shield's last night. The fascinating character played by Forest Whitaker did an interesting thing: he was trying to convince the old captain to join him in taking down a corrupt cop; the captain was reluctant but finally agreed. Forest Whitaker casually popped a stick of gum in his mouth and offered one to the captain. The captain refused. Forest said something friendly like, "C'mon, it's a brand new pack of Juicy Fruit!" The captain, who you can tell doesn't like Forest, paused, but then said firmly, "I said no. Thank you." Forest smiled and said, "Most people would just take it after the second offer. You didn't. That's a sign you won't crack under pressure." I laughed my ass off!!! I told S, "That's good. I'm gonna use that."
However, later on in the show Forest tries the gum test on a woman; of course she takes it after the second offer. I told S though, that that test is not a fair one to use on a woman. We women tend to want to be polite (which is also why we're victims of violent crimes so often) and would take the gum just to take it. S and I agreed though that women DO also tend to crack under pressure, such as in an interrogation setting! So Forest should've just saved his gum, and not wasted this test on a woman. I guess it could work the other way, trying to find the rare woman who won't crack. That's a lot of wasted gum though.
In a related (cop) note, my Sgt. called me yesterday just to "check up" on me, like he does from time to time. We had the following exchange:
Sgt: So when's Mudflap gonna transfer to our district?
Me: Actually, he's trying to talk me into transferring to his.
Sgt: (surprised) Oh, really?
Me: Yeah, and... he already ran it past his Sgt. who ok'd it.
Sgt: You don't want to transfer too often. Besides, [our captain]'s not gonna go for that.
Me: (surprised) Oh, really?
Sgt: Yeah, he's got a hard-on for things like that.
Me: Ok. Well, I like the captain.
Sgt. Besides, I like having you in our district!
Me: [Literally biting tongue so I won't yell, "Then stop picking on me so much!!!!!!!!]
So I guess I won't be transferring after all. I told Mudflap, who was extremely disappointed and kept trying to get me to change my mind. I said I'll hold off for now. I'm not sure what the captain would do if I tried to transfer, but it sounded like he might show up at my house and boil my bunny. Anyway, I'll wait. I like riding with my "Coffy Brown" partner anyway.
S and I watched a few Shield's last night. The fascinating character played by Forest Whitaker did an interesting thing: he was trying to convince the old captain to join him in taking down a corrupt cop; the captain was reluctant but finally agreed. Forest Whitaker casually popped a stick of gum in his mouth and offered one to the captain. The captain refused. Forest said something friendly like, "C'mon, it's a brand new pack of Juicy Fruit!" The captain, who you can tell doesn't like Forest, paused, but then said firmly, "I said no. Thank you." Forest smiled and said, "Most people would just take it after the second offer. You didn't. That's a sign you won't crack under pressure." I laughed my ass off!!! I told S, "That's good. I'm gonna use that."
However, later on in the show Forest tries the gum test on a woman; of course she takes it after the second offer. I told S though, that that test is not a fair one to use on a woman. We women tend to want to be polite (which is also why we're victims of violent crimes so often) and would take the gum just to take it. S and I agreed though that women DO also tend to crack under pressure, such as in an interrogation setting! So Forest should've just saved his gum, and not wasted this test on a woman. I guess it could work the other way, trying to find the rare woman who won't crack. That's a lot of wasted gum though.
In a related (cop) note, my Sgt. called me yesterday just to "check up" on me, like he does from time to time. We had the following exchange:
Sgt: So when's Mudflap gonna transfer to our district?
Me: Actually, he's trying to talk me into transferring to his.
Sgt: (surprised) Oh, really?
Me: Yeah, and... he already ran it past his Sgt. who ok'd it.
Sgt: You don't want to transfer too often. Besides, [our captain]'s not gonna go for that.
Me: (surprised) Oh, really?
Sgt: Yeah, he's got a hard-on for things like that.
Me: Ok. Well, I like the captain.
Sgt. Besides, I like having you in our district!
Me: [Literally biting tongue so I won't yell, "Then stop picking on me so much!!!!!!!!]
So I guess I won't be transferring after all. I told Mudflap, who was extremely disappointed and kept trying to get me to change my mind. I said I'll hold off for now. I'm not sure what the captain would do if I tried to transfer, but it sounded like he might show up at my house and boil my bunny. Anyway, I'll wait. I like riding with my "Coffy Brown" partner anyway.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Wanna be one of my 5?
Our new cell phone plan lets us have unlimited calls to our 5 "favorites" so I've had to decide this week who makes the cut, heh heh. The first 3 were easy--S, my mom, and Mudflap--but the next 2 were not. Fortunately, we can change the 5 once a month so if I should need to change them out for some reason it can be done on a regular basis. Anyway, I was trying to decide who I talked to the most often, or would be talking to the most often this month, and finally I added my brother and... oh, I'll leave #5 anonymous here for now! (Don't wanna make my pals all jealous of each other.) Maybe #5 can be the "rotating" friend from month to month. Stay in my good graces, maybe you'll be promoted! "Friend of the Month" as it were.
Tonight I am going to get advance tix (much cheaper than at the door) for I-Fest. How can I say this delicately... I LOVE I-FEST! I've had some of the best times of my life there! I have no problem going even by myself every year, b/c I always, always, always run into a million people that I know. Plus, as a cute single female, it's always better to be solitary, the better to get right up front against the stage so that Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Robert Cray, Los Lobos, etc. see you and smile at you and even sweat on you sometimes! However--this year I will not be alone for once, as I plan on taking the baby out there one day, and S has insisted that we go see George Clinton and Funkadelic as well. I do have to say though, that this year's musical lineup did not thrill me very much. Usually I can be found desperately racing from stage to stage in order to see 2 or more bands at once, and this year that just ain't the case. I am almost always out there all 4 days and this year it looks like I'll only be out there for 2.
I tried to get out of going to Galveston on Saturday, but it is not to be. They are definitely going to hold the meeting at the beach condo after all. L. says she and her little boy will come with me so she can watch the baby while I am busy in the meeting. I just wonder if it'll be too disruptive having my "nanny and entourage" there! Ah, screw it, I don't care. Saturday will be one busy day--after Galveston the baby should be passed out by then and when S gets home we are going to drop off the baby at Auntie R.'s house so we can go to J.Fi's engagement party. I sort of didn't really want to go to the engagement party, but I am serving some sort of TBD function in the wedding party, so I'm kind of obligated to go. The main thing was, I don't really have anything in common with J.Fi's people. They are all major yuppies, no kidding. I just have nothing to say to status-seeking, career-climbing, football-loving, image-preening, stock-investing, BMW-driving yuppies. At J.Fi's fiance's b-day party that I went to a couple of months ago (where, by the way, I couldn't help but notice that I was the only non-white there), I spent all my time with his parents! His dad and I talked guns big time. Oh well, at least this party at her parents' ginormous expensive house is guaranteed to be very nice with more than enough booze and food so DH and I should at least have a minimally decent time.
Job #1 note: The candidate to replace our boss has accepted employment elsewhere so we are still recruiting. Ha, good luck! Meanwhile, my 2 colleagues seem to be fine with dumping all the literature search requests on me, the consumer health librarian. What the hell do they do around here, anyway? Seriously, we had 17 lit. searches last month and I did 12 of them. Now I've got 2 more waiting on my desk. Whatever. I'll take this as a sign that I'm a damn good librarian and an expert searcher and possibly superior to them (denial: it's not just a river in Egypt!) and they know it. Still, why can't I find any articles today on hormonal additives in cow's milk leading to adolescent girls' menstrual dysfunctions???
I just want tonight at home to get here ASAP. I'm going to make bagel pizzas and S and I are going to settle in for a long night of The Shield watching.
Tonight I am going to get advance tix (much cheaper than at the door) for I-Fest. How can I say this delicately... I LOVE I-FEST! I've had some of the best times of my life there! I have no problem going even by myself every year, b/c I always, always, always run into a million people that I know. Plus, as a cute single female, it's always better to be solitary, the better to get right up front against the stage so that Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Robert Cray, Los Lobos, etc. see you and smile at you and even sweat on you sometimes! However--this year I will not be alone for once, as I plan on taking the baby out there one day, and S has insisted that we go see George Clinton and Funkadelic as well. I do have to say though, that this year's musical lineup did not thrill me very much. Usually I can be found desperately racing from stage to stage in order to see 2 or more bands at once, and this year that just ain't the case. I am almost always out there all 4 days and this year it looks like I'll only be out there for 2.
I tried to get out of going to Galveston on Saturday, but it is not to be. They are definitely going to hold the meeting at the beach condo after all. L. says she and her little boy will come with me so she can watch the baby while I am busy in the meeting. I just wonder if it'll be too disruptive having my "nanny and entourage" there! Ah, screw it, I don't care. Saturday will be one busy day--after Galveston the baby should be passed out by then and when S gets home we are going to drop off the baby at Auntie R.'s house so we can go to J.Fi's engagement party. I sort of didn't really want to go to the engagement party, but I am serving some sort of TBD function in the wedding party, so I'm kind of obligated to go. The main thing was, I don't really have anything in common with J.Fi's people. They are all major yuppies, no kidding. I just have nothing to say to status-seeking, career-climbing, football-loving, image-preening, stock-investing, BMW-driving yuppies. At J.Fi's fiance's b-day party that I went to a couple of months ago (where, by the way, I couldn't help but notice that I was the only non-white there), I spent all my time with his parents! His dad and I talked guns big time. Oh well, at least this party at her parents' ginormous expensive house is guaranteed to be very nice with more than enough booze and food so DH and I should at least have a minimally decent time.
Job #1 note: The candidate to replace our boss has accepted employment elsewhere so we are still recruiting. Ha, good luck! Meanwhile, my 2 colleagues seem to be fine with dumping all the literature search requests on me, the consumer health librarian. What the hell do they do around here, anyway? Seriously, we had 17 lit. searches last month and I did 12 of them. Now I've got 2 more waiting on my desk. Whatever. I'll take this as a sign that I'm a damn good librarian and an expert searcher and possibly superior to them (denial: it's not just a river in Egypt!) and they know it. Still, why can't I find any articles today on hormonal additives in cow's milk leading to adolescent girls' menstrual dysfunctions???
I just want tonight at home to get here ASAP. I'm going to make bagel pizzas and S and I are going to settle in for a long night of The Shield watching.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Inching up
I feel a little lonely. All my librarian friends are gone to TLA, or soon will be. Tito J. is apparently in San Diego, which is why we didn't go running last night (S and I should've anyway, but I had no energy or motivation and instead stayed home and made new and improved salmon patties).
Anyway, inching up... today I bit the bullet and again increased the percentage of my salary that will be withheld for retirement. I went up another 3%! Yep, David Bach again (see previous post). I am nowhere near the 12.5% he says you SHOULD be contributing, but I'm getting there slowly but surely! This most recent increase will do a couple of good things for me: intensify the compound interest magic and hopefully save me a little more on my tax bill next year. My paychecks now will be a little less, but they shouldn't be too noticeably less. I'll find out on Friday!
S and I got our new phones yesterday. They are pretty nice! Unfortunately it looks like I'm going to have to pay a $175 contract cancellation fee through Cingular. There's ways to get out of that, like telling them you're leaving the country, but I already bitched at them last week so I don't think they'll buy it. There's also websites where you can post your plan and phone in the hopes that someone out there will snatch it up, but we only have 4 months left and I'd have to pay a $20 fee for that service. Anyway, the good news is that S and I have something like 4 Cingular phones to sell on craigslist, so we'll definitely recoup some of that $175. Plus, the new T-Mobile plan will pay for the rest in about 3 months with the $ we'll be saving. I don't even care too much, I just want out!
Here's some pic's from the baby shower on Sat.
Aunt Adela and the soon-to-be big sister!
The guest of honor opening our gifts:
Anyway, inching up... today I bit the bullet and again increased the percentage of my salary that will be withheld for retirement. I went up another 3%! Yep, David Bach again (see previous post). I am nowhere near the 12.5% he says you SHOULD be contributing, but I'm getting there slowly but surely! This most recent increase will do a couple of good things for me: intensify the compound interest magic and hopefully save me a little more on my tax bill next year. My paychecks now will be a little less, but they shouldn't be too noticeably less. I'll find out on Friday!
S and I got our new phones yesterday. They are pretty nice! Unfortunately it looks like I'm going to have to pay a $175 contract cancellation fee through Cingular. There's ways to get out of that, like telling them you're leaving the country, but I already bitched at them last week so I don't think they'll buy it. There's also websites where you can post your plan and phone in the hopes that someone out there will snatch it up, but we only have 4 months left and I'd have to pay a $20 fee for that service. Anyway, the good news is that S and I have something like 4 Cingular phones to sell on craigslist, so we'll definitely recoup some of that $175. Plus, the new T-Mobile plan will pay for the rest in about 3 months with the $ we'll be saving. I don't even care too much, I just want out!
Here's some pic's from the baby shower on Sat.
Aunt Adela and the soon-to-be big sister!
The guest of honor opening our gifts:
Monday, April 09, 2007
So I did transfer...
...a whole bunch of money, like $7,000, from 2 credit cards to another! I am very excited about this b/c the deal is that the APR will be 6.9% until the transfer balances are fully paid off!!! This is awesome, and a much better deal than any bank or credit union loan would be able to give me (believe me, I tried). I feel like DH and I can breathe a lot easier now. Now I can stop feeling like I have to put more $ than we can really afford over on all 3 credit cards every month, and can concentrate on paying just one card down and not as fast as I need to anymore. Thank you, David Bach, who gave me the idea the other day! I am currently listening to his book on CD, Start Late, Finish Rich and it is chock-full of awesome ideas. His book even told me to demand from my credit card company that I want my monthly due date changed to one that is better for me, and I contacted them today and they did it, no questions asked!
I just got a strange phone call from Mudflap. He got an email from a Detective in the Burglary division about the report that I wrote. What is it with these people? What am I, chopped liver? We were riding under MY unit, in MY district, and it was MY report! So why does Mudflap get the communication??? DH says I am being too sensitive. The comment was that I should've used the "Firearms" tab in the report-writing system since a gun was stolen from the guy's house. Mudflap says I should contact the Detective and ask him if he wants me to amend the report or how I should follow up. I told Mudflap that if I'm not even going to get the courtesy of being contacted about my own report, then the detective can fix it his own damn self.
I just got a strange phone call from Mudflap. He got an email from a Detective in the Burglary division about the report that I wrote. What is it with these people? What am I, chopped liver? We were riding under MY unit, in MY district, and it was MY report! So why does Mudflap get the communication??? DH says I am being too sensitive. The comment was that I should've used the "Firearms" tab in the report-writing system since a gun was stolen from the guy's house. Mudflap says I should contact the Detective and ask him if he wants me to amend the report or how I should follow up. I told Mudflap that if I'm not even going to get the courtesy of being contacted about my own report, then the detective can fix it his own damn self.
Should I transfer?
So I slept a whole bunch this weekend, and really needed it. I had a very nice time on Saturday at the baby shower and took some pic's but did not have a chance to get them off my camera yet; I will do so shortly. My lawyer and I both agreed it was great to see each other at an enjoyable event instead of in court all the time when we are always on edge. I got to meet her sister and mom and we all ate a whole bunch and the only bad thing was playing those stupid baby shower games that I am just over! Anyway...
Yesterday DH and I slept in since he actually, amazingly, had the day off. Unfortunately we did not find this out until Saturday and I had already made plans to patrol with Mudflap. Still, I had to get some hours in for the month anyway, so there was no changing that. Mudflap and I went down to the park where we saw 3 Parks units working, so we called the Sgt. and he told us to come up to district as they were short-handed and could use our help. We handled a bunch of calls, 9 in all (which believe me, is a lot), and I wrote my first report ever, a burglary of a residence! But I got chewed out a couple of times, although once was Mudflap's fault. My Sgt. called me later and said he got a call/complaint about me too. What it was, was I didn't go over the radio using a phonetic, i.e., saying the word "Robert" instead of the letter "R." But it's like, man these deputies over here can't just correct me themselves, they have to call my Sgt. and bother him and tattletell on me??? I was a little offended. Even Mudflap said he thought they acted weird in my district. This is the 4th or 5th time I've gotten chewed out for stuff and I'm kind of a little perturbed now. So I'm thinking of transferring. Mudflap can't figure out why I keep getting talked to about certain things. He even wondered if it is b/c I'm a woman. I would hate to think that. I mean, these people should know I'm not an idiot--uh, I graduated Valedictorian of my academy class!!!
So I had an impulse yesterday to just put in for another transfer. Mudflap said I should come to his district, and that way we can ride together whenever we want so I told him to go ahead and contact his Sgt. and run it past him. He did so today and the Sgt. said that would be fine. So now I just have to decide if I truly want to do this, and when. And what reason I will give for doing so. I hope I'm not just being overly-sensitive, but it truly does seem like I'm getting talked to about things that nobody else gets talked to about. Mudflap, bless his heart, is a total goofball and somewhat slow sometimes and had to take the state exam twice in order to graduate, and no one seems to be chewing his ass out constantly like I feel like they're doing to me.
We took a quick break yesterday to visit one of our academy classmates who lives in the district and is working full-time with another local agency. It was so nice to see him. We admired his police motorcycle and his unmarked police car. He was the one that worked with me personally on physical fitness and flirted with me all the time, but I didn't mind b/c I adored him. After patrol we picked up DH and put him in the backseat and took him to dinner. The guy at the restaurant was new and forgot to give me my cop discount (ouch) but since we're not allowed to say anything about that I had to let it go. Later on I got a free strawberry shake for DH anyway, so I guess it wasn't all financially painful!
I was so wiped out when I got home last night. Patrol is fun yes, but it is still work, especially mentally. And for each call that comes up you can't help but feel your adrenaline go up a little bit--we're human, after all.
Yesterday DH and I slept in since he actually, amazingly, had the day off. Unfortunately we did not find this out until Saturday and I had already made plans to patrol with Mudflap. Still, I had to get some hours in for the month anyway, so there was no changing that. Mudflap and I went down to the park where we saw 3 Parks units working, so we called the Sgt. and he told us to come up to district as they were short-handed and could use our help. We handled a bunch of calls, 9 in all (which believe me, is a lot), and I wrote my first report ever, a burglary of a residence! But I got chewed out a couple of times, although once was Mudflap's fault. My Sgt. called me later and said he got a call/complaint about me too. What it was, was I didn't go over the radio using a phonetic, i.e., saying the word "Robert" instead of the letter "R." But it's like, man these deputies over here can't just correct me themselves, they have to call my Sgt. and bother him and tattletell on me??? I was a little offended. Even Mudflap said he thought they acted weird in my district. This is the 4th or 5th time I've gotten chewed out for stuff and I'm kind of a little perturbed now. So I'm thinking of transferring. Mudflap can't figure out why I keep getting talked to about certain things. He even wondered if it is b/c I'm a woman. I would hate to think that. I mean, these people should know I'm not an idiot--uh, I graduated Valedictorian of my academy class!!!
So I had an impulse yesterday to just put in for another transfer. Mudflap said I should come to his district, and that way we can ride together whenever we want so I told him to go ahead and contact his Sgt. and run it past him. He did so today and the Sgt. said that would be fine. So now I just have to decide if I truly want to do this, and when. And what reason I will give for doing so. I hope I'm not just being overly-sensitive, but it truly does seem like I'm getting talked to about things that nobody else gets talked to about. Mudflap, bless his heart, is a total goofball and somewhat slow sometimes and had to take the state exam twice in order to graduate, and no one seems to be chewing his ass out constantly like I feel like they're doing to me.
We took a quick break yesterday to visit one of our academy classmates who lives in the district and is working full-time with another local agency. It was so nice to see him. We admired his police motorcycle and his unmarked police car. He was the one that worked with me personally on physical fitness and flirted with me all the time, but I didn't mind b/c I adored him. After patrol we picked up DH and put him in the backseat and took him to dinner. The guy at the restaurant was new and forgot to give me my cop discount (ouch) but since we're not allowed to say anything about that I had to let it go. Later on I got a free strawberry shake for DH anyway, so I guess it wasn't all financially painful!
I was so wiped out when I got home last night. Patrol is fun yes, but it is still work, especially mentally. And for each call that comes up you can't help but feel your adrenaline go up a little bit--we're human, after all.
Friday, April 06, 2007
It's Good Friday
Let's see if I can get through the day without eating meat. I did bring tuna for lunch, but I don't know what's going to happen with dinner tonight. Also, I won't be going to church on Sunday b/c Mudflap called me yesterday to ask if I could patrol with him on Sunday at a local park. Apparently the deputy who usually patrols this park cannot do it, so they needed Mudflap to step up, but Mudflap is only certified at "first man" meaning he cannot patrol alone yet. Of course I agreed to help him out! I hope it's not too boring out there--the weather does not look good here for Easter Sunday so the park may not be full o' folks (and potential trouble) like we were thinking.
Tomorrow I have a baby shower to attend at my lawyer's sister's house. I am also looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow for the first time in a loooooooooong time. I passed out last night before 10pm even without the help of Valium. I am just so worn out by life and the events of this week. Maybe giving blood yesterday didn't help, but that's ok.
Later on today work is sending me into the ghetto to teach a class at a clinic. They tried to send me to a conference in Tucson in July but I can't go as I have to work at 2 of my part time jobs (Job #2 and teaching a skin care class). They also want to send me to Lake Charles in May and it looks like I may not be able to get out of that one since it's on a Thursday-Friday when I've got nothing else going on. I don't mind traveling for work as long as I've got nothing else going on, i.e., taking care of the baby, working at Job #2, Job #3, patrolling, etc., which is rare!!!
Tomorrow I have a baby shower to attend at my lawyer's sister's house. I am also looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow for the first time in a loooooooooong time. I passed out last night before 10pm even without the help of Valium. I am just so worn out by life and the events of this week. Maybe giving blood yesterday didn't help, but that's ok.
Later on today work is sending me into the ghetto to teach a class at a clinic. They tried to send me to a conference in Tucson in July but I can't go as I have to work at 2 of my part time jobs (Job #2 and teaching a skin care class). They also want to send me to Lake Charles in May and it looks like I may not be able to get out of that one since it's on a Thursday-Friday when I've got nothing else going on. I don't mind traveling for work as long as I've got nothing else going on, i.e., taking care of the baby, working at Job #2, Job #3, patrolling, etc., which is rare!!!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
2 Gallons of Blood
I donated blood today and received a 2 Gallon mug which is how much I've given over the years. That's a lot of blood! I'm surprised it's that much though; I can't believe I've given blood a couple of dozen times in my life. It's actually been more since the blood drives at college don't count here. Anyway, I also got a t-shirt, cookies, juice, and a big ol' ice cream sundae.
Poor S was not feeling well today and he went into work late. Part of it was my fault for stressing him out about $, but all I'm doing is reporting the numbers to him. He did fill out applications the other day for part-time work down the street at the Blockbuster and a Mexican restaurant. Once again I am freaking out about the credit card payments. I have this psychological disorder where I am bound and determined to pay a whole bunch of $ on them--hundreds over the minimum payment due, in fact--even if we have to suffer for it. I can't seem to get over it. I wish someone would slap some sense into me but I don't know who would do that that I would listen to. It hurts b/c then things come up like my car needs a transmission flush at $75 and then we get down to the danger zone in our checking account and I get psychotic and panicky. I just feel so bummed about life when $ is so tight. S gets paid tomorrow but it's already all pretty much spent.
I made toaster oven bagel pizzas last night and S even ate them and enjoyed them! I had never made these before, just read about them on the Internet and amazingly they came out really good. I also made a cake b/c cake mix was on sale for .96 cents and came with free frosting. I needed a sweet in order to lift up my mood and now I've got cake for days. I'll need it!
Poor S was not feeling well today and he went into work late. Part of it was my fault for stressing him out about $, but all I'm doing is reporting the numbers to him. He did fill out applications the other day for part-time work down the street at the Blockbuster and a Mexican restaurant. Once again I am freaking out about the credit card payments. I have this psychological disorder where I am bound and determined to pay a whole bunch of $ on them--hundreds over the minimum payment due, in fact--even if we have to suffer for it. I can't seem to get over it. I wish someone would slap some sense into me but I don't know who would do that that I would listen to. It hurts b/c then things come up like my car needs a transmission flush at $75 and then we get down to the danger zone in our checking account and I get psychotic and panicky. I just feel so bummed about life when $ is so tight. S gets paid tomorrow but it's already all pretty much spent.
I made toaster oven bagel pizzas last night and S even ate them and enjoyed them! I had never made these before, just read about them on the Internet and amazingly they came out really good. I also made a cake b/c cake mix was on sale for .96 cents and came with free frosting. I needed a sweet in order to lift up my mood and now I've got cake for days. I'll need it!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
The 2 M's
Readers of this blog keep getting confused when I discuss the 2 "M"'s, i.e., "my" M. and "S's" M. So since the 2 M.'s also had the honor of being pic's 2 and 3 taken with my brand new digital camera, I thought I'd post about them. Plus, I need some cheering up today and those 2 guys generally do a good job of doing so.
Here's "my" M., from here on out to be known in the blog as Mudflap. That is what I call him (not his real name, obviously, which is why I'll use it from now on) b/c it is one of the coolest nicknames of all time, in my opinion. Here he is doing one of his favorite activities, drinking ice tea full of pink fake sugar while waiting for some greasy food to arrive. Like I posted in a previous post, he's my BFF and has fast become a good friend to S! He is a computer/IT guy and a fellow deputy sheriff. We met while going through the academy together; I learned he had never shot a handgun before and I introduced myself to him and offered to take him shooting. He didn't take me up on the offer anytime soon, but he made sure to sit next to me in class (front of the class, of course) and attach himself to my coattails in the hopes of soaking up some of my great brains and success. We were study partners for every single test, went shooting together many times, he helped me move into my apartment, helped S and me move into our house, he comes with us to drop off the baby, and we live 3.1 miles away from each other which is conveniently about a 6-minute drive. He is goofy, funny, generous, honest, and has one of the biggest hearts out there.
Here's S's M., or as we call him, "Mano" (that is kind of close to his real name, actually). He is S's BFF and served as best man at our wedding. Here he is displaying yet another example of how sensitive he is, plugging his ears b/c it was too loud in the sports bar during Wrestlemania! Mano is into hair bands, bad cheesy movies, pawn-shopping, and trying to find a decent woman to date. He lives way far away from us so has stayed overnight at our place a lot, including 3 nights just last week. He and S used to work together, which is how they met. I like Mano b/c he can eat just about anything I cook, unlike S! He is an artist, quiet, overly-sensitive, and very set in his ways, sometimes to his own detriment. But he's a great friend to S so I appreciate him a lot.
Here's the pic Mudflap took of me and S on Sunday. You can see my double screwdriver on the table!
Cell phone plan note: I got really upset with Cingular today. They took away a mid-level plan I used to have, making this consumer very unhappy. So although I've been with Cingular for 8-9 years, I am switching us to T-Mobile. Of course I did my research first, checking out opinions on the Internet. I'm getting 2 $199 phones for FREE and S and I get to keep our old #'s. My monthly bill should be about $30-40 less. This is called voting with your wallet, people!!!
Here's "my" M., from here on out to be known in the blog as Mudflap. That is what I call him (not his real name, obviously, which is why I'll use it from now on) b/c it is one of the coolest nicknames of all time, in my opinion. Here he is doing one of his favorite activities, drinking ice tea full of pink fake sugar while waiting for some greasy food to arrive. Like I posted in a previous post, he's my BFF and has fast become a good friend to S! He is a computer/IT guy and a fellow deputy sheriff. We met while going through the academy together; I learned he had never shot a handgun before and I introduced myself to him and offered to take him shooting. He didn't take me up on the offer anytime soon, but he made sure to sit next to me in class (front of the class, of course) and attach himself to my coattails in the hopes of soaking up some of my great brains and success. We were study partners for every single test, went shooting together many times, he helped me move into my apartment, helped S and me move into our house, he comes with us to drop off the baby, and we live 3.1 miles away from each other which is conveniently about a 6-minute drive. He is goofy, funny, generous, honest, and has one of the biggest hearts out there.
Here's S's M., or as we call him, "Mano" (that is kind of close to his real name, actually). He is S's BFF and served as best man at our wedding. Here he is displaying yet another example of how sensitive he is, plugging his ears b/c it was too loud in the sports bar during Wrestlemania! Mano is into hair bands, bad cheesy movies, pawn-shopping, and trying to find a decent woman to date. He lives way far away from us so has stayed overnight at our place a lot, including 3 nights just last week. He and S used to work together, which is how they met. I like Mano b/c he can eat just about anything I cook, unlike S! He is an artist, quiet, overly-sensitive, and very set in his ways, sometimes to his own detriment. But he's a great friend to S so I appreciate him a lot.Here's the pic Mudflap took of me and S on Sunday. You can see my double screwdriver on the table!
Cell phone plan note: I got really upset with Cingular today. They took away a mid-level plan I used to have, making this consumer very unhappy. So although I've been with Cingular for 8-9 years, I am switching us to T-Mobile. Of course I did my research first, checking out opinions on the Internet. I'm getting 2 $199 phones for FREE and S and I get to keep our old #'s. My monthly bill should be about $30-40 less. This is called voting with your wallet, people!!!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
No resolution... for now.
So court this a.m. was a big waste of time. We were there for 3 hours with nothing really being resolved. The amicus attorney said he was sick of all this fighting and recommended we both drop our contempt charges against each other--now, mind you, OURS are factual and the whore's are complete fiction. However, we agreed to do so, so we'd look good for the amicus, and the amicus said we would get a makeup weekend for the one the whore made us miss. Our lawyer still tried to ask the judge if she argued and presented our witness and showed evidence would he put the whore in jail, and he said probably not. So we decided to do what the amicus recommended and not waste any more time today.
The amicus said that he wants us to do what's best for the baby and quit fighting with each other since we're going to have to be parenting together for the next 12 years. He also told the whore that she better stop all these allegations against us unless she has some real evidence, and he demanded to see it; if she has none, she better knock it off. And he is going to take into consideration for his custody recommendation all her B.S. if it turns out she has no evidence after all--which she doesn't!!!
Our lawyer is still going to file a motion for us to get primary custody immediately until we go to trial b/c of the recommendation from the county lady that we get primary custody. She said with that and with the whore's repeated visitation violations, and her malicious attempts to delay litigation, and the baby's dental deterioration, we should get it. Because unfortunately, the first available jury trial date is not until October. But our lawyer says we should be able to get a hearing on switching custody within 30 days. I hope she's right. When we do, I believe that we will get custody and that will just set the stage for the jury trial come October. The jury trial will just be a formality by that point!
So poor M. came down there for nothing, but that's ok b/c the whore had that lying old bag with her and another friend of hers who was going to testify to... what, exactly? More lies. And here's the proof: M. got to court before we did, and he was sitting right near the whore and her 2 hooker friends. They did not know who he was, and he overheard them all trying to get their lies and stories straight!!! He said they were trying to corroborate their lies so they'd have the same story to tell. The whore's capacity for stupidity is endless. I called our lawyer on her cell and told her, and I also told the amicus when we ran into him at the metal detector. So it's a good thing they agreed to drop their B.S. contempt charge as well, b/c our lawyer was going to ask M. to testify about what he overheard!!!
So we all left about noon and I took S out for sushi and ice cream--we needed it. Then we went home and relaxed until I had to head out to Job #2, which is where I sit now. I'm drained. I had to take a valium last night which I never do--I hate depending on pharmaceuticals. But my fight is still in me, although I'm going to give it a break until we get the next hearing scheduled for us to get primary custody. The mind and body are just not meant to have constant adrenaline dumps. L. is worried that all this is going to make me look older before my time and I'm inclined to agree that is something to consider.
Happier blog posts to come starting tomorrow.
The amicus said that he wants us to do what's best for the baby and quit fighting with each other since we're going to have to be parenting together for the next 12 years. He also told the whore that she better stop all these allegations against us unless she has some real evidence, and he demanded to see it; if she has none, she better knock it off. And he is going to take into consideration for his custody recommendation all her B.S. if it turns out she has no evidence after all--which she doesn't!!!
Our lawyer is still going to file a motion for us to get primary custody immediately until we go to trial b/c of the recommendation from the county lady that we get primary custody. She said with that and with the whore's repeated visitation violations, and her malicious attempts to delay litigation, and the baby's dental deterioration, we should get it. Because unfortunately, the first available jury trial date is not until October. But our lawyer says we should be able to get a hearing on switching custody within 30 days. I hope she's right. When we do, I believe that we will get custody and that will just set the stage for the jury trial come October. The jury trial will just be a formality by that point!
So poor M. came down there for nothing, but that's ok b/c the whore had that lying old bag with her and another friend of hers who was going to testify to... what, exactly? More lies. And here's the proof: M. got to court before we did, and he was sitting right near the whore and her 2 hooker friends. They did not know who he was, and he overheard them all trying to get their lies and stories straight!!! He said they were trying to corroborate their lies so they'd have the same story to tell. The whore's capacity for stupidity is endless. I called our lawyer on her cell and told her, and I also told the amicus when we ran into him at the metal detector. So it's a good thing they agreed to drop their B.S. contempt charge as well, b/c our lawyer was going to ask M. to testify about what he overheard!!!
So we all left about noon and I took S out for sushi and ice cream--we needed it. Then we went home and relaxed until I had to head out to Job #2, which is where I sit now. I'm drained. I had to take a valium last night which I never do--I hate depending on pharmaceuticals. But my fight is still in me, although I'm going to give it a break until we get the next hearing scheduled for us to get primary custody. The mind and body are just not meant to have constant adrenaline dumps. L. is worried that all this is going to make me look older before my time and I'm inclined to agree that is something to consider.
Happier blog posts to come starting tomorrow.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Pray to the God of your choice for us tomorrow
We've got Enforcement Hearing Part 2 tomorrow morning. M. will be there as our witness, and will make me feel a lot better just with his presence. The judge needs to throw the whore in jail like he threatened to. So we'll see. I know God will do what needs to be done, and for His reasons, which are always right. Just in case, DH got information from the daycare located behind the house in the hopes that we will need it this week!
We had so much fun last night at Wrestlemania! DH and I and our 2 M.'s ate a bunch of tasty junk and enjoyed ourselves immensely. We lucked out and got a great table to sit at--the place was so packed we weren't sure if we would get a table at all or not, but we did after waiting for over half an hour! I took a few pic's with my new digital camera but have not yet had a chance to get them off and post them here. I promise to do so tonight.
In the meantime, here's a pic of my incredible, wonderful aunt (dad's sister) and my cute cousin. They are standing in front of my cousin's new house that she just bought with her beau! Later this year, a wedding will occur!
We had so much fun last night at Wrestlemania! DH and I and our 2 M.'s ate a bunch of tasty junk and enjoyed ourselves immensely. We lucked out and got a great table to sit at--the place was so packed we weren't sure if we would get a table at all or not, but we did after waiting for over half an hour! I took a few pic's with my new digital camera but have not yet had a chance to get them off and post them here. I promise to do so tonight.
In the meantime, here's a pic of my incredible, wonderful aunt (dad's sister) and my cute cousin. They are standing in front of my cousin's new house that she just bought with her beau! Later this year, a wedding will occur!
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