Adela, Your Working Boy

Here's me, hard at work with ice tea in hand at that medical student mixer last week. This was before we pigged out on fajitas, rice and beans, and cookies!

Now that li'l bro is proudly and gainfully employed, we were trying to remember the names that Ignatius (Confederacy of Dunces, one of the best books of all time) used in his journal, and remembered that "Lance, Your Working Boy" was one of them.

Tomorrow is going to be a loooong day. I am going to Stafford in the a.m. straight from home to attempt to teach a class; then tomorrow night I have to teach a class at my friend A.'s branch library. It will be nice to see A. again; unfortunately her library is in the worst possible location to be driving to in Houston rush hour traffic. I am leaving at 4pm in order to get there by 6pm.
As DH would say, "Big suckin' it!" A. and I used to be such good friends. I had my first (and last) absinthe at her apartment one night.

Speaking of DH, apparently I snored real loud in his ear in the middle of the night. It frightened him and he thought that there was a wild animal in the room. There was, heh heh!

Ok Here's Your Silly Tag Answers

J2 tagged me, so having nothing better to do while sitting here at Job #2 on a Tuesday night, here is the tagging premise:

RULES - Post rules before giving the facts - Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves - People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules - At the end of the your blog you need to tag six people and list their names - Leave them a comment on their blog, telling them they have been tagged and not to forget to read your blog.

1. Having grown up in a neighborhood where the "Goodie Shoppe" bakery was just a couple of blocks away from the house, I was raised to appreciate a love of quality sweets: pastries, cupcakes, kolaches, etc. So to this day I am somewhat of a sweets snob. I cannot STAND hard, nasty little cookies! I think the Oreo is a foul, disgusting, black little crumbly thing. Gross!

2. I find running so incredibly boring that in order to survive doing it, I have to play movies in my mind's eye while running. If you see me running there's actually a mini-dvd player going on in my brain.

3. Since I was a pre-teen I've been afflicted over the years with various nervous tics that come and go based on the amount of stress I have in my life. I hope they are subtle enough that you don't notice them, but maybe you have. (Do I have a slight version of my favorite syndrome, Tourette's???)

4. I'm currently sitting right now in the very library where my dad taught me and my brother to play chess. I can picture it like it was yesterday thought it must've been about 25 years ago at least.

5. I've voted in every presidential election and most local elections since I turned 18 and could. I'll be damned if women fought and died and suffered for the right to vote and I don't honor them and their battle!

6. I try to remember to cross myself before leaving the house to go out on patrol but sometimes I forget.

7. I've seen the movie The Karate Kid dozens and dozens of times. There was that summer where my stepfather would drop me and my brother off at the dollar theater several times a week and we always watched that movie.

8. I love the thong! Who needs ugly pantylines and saggy granny panties? Sure, sometimes I have to tug and adjust a little but thongs are mostly what I wear... and DH will tolerate nothing else! :-)


So now I have to tag some folks and either they'll obey or they won't. I hereby tag:

Joel

Ranger

Claudia

Janel

and I don't know 2 other people to tag in this venue.

My arm's not hurting so much today; yesterday I could barely pick up a piece of paper. Last night after the sheriff's meeting Mudflap and C. and I went to our usual haunt, the Hard Rock, where I had apple cobbler with ice cream. I realized today that I don't have hardly any free time to myself until over a week away. Tonight I'm at Job #2; tomorrow night I'm "supposed" to rehearse with Jimmy (I'm going to see if I can get out of that b/c I seriously am going to need some time for life and other things!); Thursday night I have to teach a class at a local public library; Friday night is J. Fi's wedding rehearsal and dinner; Sat. night is the wedding; Sunday is the post-wedding brunch and then I have to work at Job #1 until 6pm; and Monday is a holiday but I will be busy with the baby.

Maybe the title of my autobiography--since R. poached Cake for Days from me!--should be When Mad Schedules Happen To Good People.

Ow My Achin' Tired Right Arm

That's what happens when you shoot 10 rounds through a .12 gauge shotgun. Yes, I successfully completed my annual firearm qualifications yesterday but instead of just settling for my "passing" mark I of course had to insist on getting the actual score. Ouch, I passed but only by 5 measly points!!! That is hardly the sharpshooting Adela I--and others in the Sheriff's Dept.--used to know and love. I hereby resolve to start getting my ass to the range at least once every couple of months. Also to practice dry-firing at home. Still, it was nice to hear yesterday that I am still "cool" and "sexy" b/c of my beautiful shotgun with scattergun technologies!

I'm so tired today due to yesterday's non-stop activities. So after having spent a couple of hours at the extremely hot, sweaty outdoor range, I rushed home to change into my uniform so Mudflap and I could get to the Mexican Flea Market asap. Where I almost found out "What It Feels Like" to get your ass kicked by a Mexican transvestite! No, seriously, my Sgt. came out to play with us and he pulled over a car being driven by a dumbass who was squealing tires and whatnot. So dumbass ended up getting arrested for traffic warrants and the Sgt. told me to keep an eye on the passenger. All of a sudden this Mexican tranvestite man emerged from the flea market and walked towards us and headed towards the car. I was all like, "What do you think you're doing?" and she replied, "Going to see my friend." I said, "Noooo" like you do when you're talking to a child or a dog, and told her to get back NOW. So she did but gave me the look from one killer to another and looked me up and down like she wanted to kick my ass! I stared back as if to say, "What? Bring it on!" Body language really is 90% of all communication!!!

Mudflap and I had planned to call it a night at 1900 hours so we could meet S and Mano at the sports bar for the wrestling PPV. In actuality, we didn't get there until almost 9pm and by then we were tired, hungry, sweaty, and spent. That is b/c we got assigned a very special call and we ended up having to use our valuable CIT training that we both just got from that 24-hour long class. We got called out to some kind of sad, shabby, old assisted living facility that looked like it was a poorly recycled nursing home or something. In fact, dispatch had put on the notes that the caller "sounded like he was in a mental hospital." We also saw that 2 other deputies had already been out there earlier but they got "preempted" to another call. There were a couple of people sitting on folding plastic chairs out in a sad, dirty little courtyard, just hanging out, including a good-looking young white guy who seemed normal except for big holes in his socks and a couple of old black women. We'd been called out there to speak to "Sammy", a 38-year old black male who we were told was bipolar and had just returned from a 2-week stay at a hospital. Sammy came out to talk to us to let us know that while he'd been away people had stolen his potato chips and scanner from his room. As he talked to us he seemed articulate but his hands were involuntarily shaking. He told us he owned the place. While speaking he rambled just a little bit. (One of the staff members pulled me aside to tell me that Sammy was seeing things of value in other residents' rooms and claiming that they belonged to him and trying to take them; unfortunately, I believed her.)

We offered to come to his room to see where the items had been stolen from. I walked down the hall next to Sammy and used his name and even got him to smile at me a couple of times. Sammy had a tv remote control in his shirt pocket and pulled it out and spoke into it for a minute. He told us his scanner had been stolen and that it was worth $38 thousand 500 million billion dollars. The strange thing was how normal and serious he seemed in spite of what he was saying. He also told us that his Mercedes Benz was outside. Thanks to our CIT training, Mudflap and I kept straight faces throughout it all and I instructed Sammy on the importance of marking your property and writing down serial numbers so that his stolen items could be retrieved with no problems. He agreed with me. We told him he was going to have to discuss the thefts with the property administrators, Dr. Dawn and Miss Teresa when they were on duty during the week, but that if he still needed to call us after that then he could. I asked him what medications he'd been prescribed at the hospital. He named 4 med's but I only recognized 2 of them: Haldol and Seroquel, and boy do I know what those are for thanks to the research I do at Job #1 for Dr. P. Haldol is what Andrea Yates was on when she did what she did. Poor Sammy. He said he wasn't taking them anymore b/c they did nothing for him. I secretly wanted to scold him for that but that's not my job or place to do so. I did tell him the importance of trying to get along with everyone and our neighbors and how we all need to work together as a community and he agreed with me.

Sammy offered to walk us out and we chatted amicably and in a relaxed manner. I got him to smile some more. He also told us of his special powers that he had where he could see visions, and I asked about them and how long he'd had them. He asked us if he calls back for the police can he ask for us specifically? I was touched, and wondered if the deputies who had been there earlier deliberately split and if they'd had CIT training, and if they'd been rude or dismissive. But who knows. Mudflap and I said we couldn't guarantee we'd be the ones sent back but we did write down our names for Sammy and told him to call the police again if needed. I felt so bad for Sammy, and everyone there. As depressing as nursing homes are, this place was even sadder and was so shabby and rundown. But, I guess, it sure beats being homeless and I do know from the CIT class that 50% of homeless are mentally ill.

So that's why Mudflap and I were late to wrestling, but we also knew from CIT training that you can't rush these kinds of calls. Sammy really needed someone to talk to and that was us. When I finally got home I passed out where I fell, on top of my bed, still sweaty and surrounded by my uniform, belts, vest, and even gun (unloaded by that time). Tonight is our monthly sheriff's meeting so it's a full day for me today as well. I just hope all this hard work is keeping me young!

Changed for the Better

I was reading an email that a friend of mine wrote to a mutual friend of ours who has spent the last 6 years in Japan. My friend's email said that I'd gotten married, had a new name, and had "changed for the better." The email went on to say that in spite of that, they still enjoyed the "Adela edge" from college. I thought it was a nice email and I agreed fully! Although, I'm still working on changing for the better even more, constantly.

Spoke to S a little while ago; he says that the Comedy defensive driving class he's taking today is not that funny. Oh well, we're only in it for the insurance discount! I told him he could get a massage if he wanted to sometime soon, after redoing our budget based on his good paycheck yesterday. We've got some room to play with, even after assisting a certain li'l bro with grocery expenses and putting some more $ into savings to replace what I had to take out due to all those recent car repairs.

Looks like we will soon become the proud owners of a Weider weight machine. I don't know what that is but I hear it's a really cool, really expensive home weight workout system. Apparently we have lots of room in our humongous master bedroom in which to place this thing. Our delightful friends B. and T. say they are going to Uhaul it down to us next weekend from Ft. Worth, as a gift to us and free of charge! I said then the least we can do is take them out to eat and let them stay at our house. I guess the baby will get to sleep in our room, next to the Weider, so B. and T. can have her bed! And I already told them we'd be gone that evening for J. Fi's wedding. Yes, I did buy the white strapless dress last night for the rehearsal dinner on Friday. I paid even less for it that I did the black dress. I am the Queen of the Deals! How's that for changing for the better?

Tonight my future is gun-cleaning. I have to clean both guns, the handgun, Esteban and the shotgun, Vasquez. I should've done it last night but I had no more energy after dress-shopping and grocery shopping. Then S and I need to watch the movie Breach, which came highly recommended from several reputable sources. Then again, you can't go too wrong with Chris Cooper.

What It Feels Like

As a longtime fan of Esquire magazine, I eat up their "What It Feels Like" features. Lately I've been reading some amateur writings on the msn Men's Lifestyle boards. Fascinating!

So here's what it feels like to go to a court hearing where the doddering old fool opposing counsel is deliberately trying to use a stall strategy and attempt to price me and S out of our custody fight for our daughter: SO MUCH FUCKING AGGRAVATION YOU THINK YOUR HEAD WILL EXPLODE. Yes, nothing happened today b/c the judge did not have time to hear the dod. old fool's continuance motion, so that means that our hearing on Monday is also postponed. I was so pissed I started crying, I couldn't help it. I asked our atty. was all this time and $ just wasted on the 2 previous hearings. At first she said yes, but then said no b/c we can use all the testimony in the transcripts. However, now it looks like custody will not be reversed until we go to trial, which is either going to be in October or November. Let's count on November, maybe. Ha fucking ha.

I'm so fucking pissed, but as S always says, we can do 2 things: nothing and like it. Anyway, our atty. also says not to worry about the baby getting enrolled in school near the whore's house on Monday b/c since the whore demanded a jury trial, our atty. says juries do not care about pulling kids from their schools in order to change custody, whereas judges do care. I just told our atty. how we are bleeding dry as far as funds are concerned and they are trying to price us out of this fight since the doddering old fool is doing this for the whore pro bono and I was counting on collecting $350/month from the whore for child support beginning next month. She just put her arm around me and told me not to worry, that everything happens for a reason, that in her experience it's best not to rush these things, etc. etc. Whatever.

I'm trying to calm down but as always, it's hard. I spoke to J. Fi last night and she said that when I look back on this whole experience, I will never say that I wish I hadn't fought this custody battle... and she's right. Of course, that's b/c I am fully expecting for us to win. If it ever fucking happens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, there are some actual good news items on the front. S's paycheck today was so much $ I couldn't even believe it. His paycheck was even more than mine which is like, unheard of! So his hard work is paying off, finally. That's why I'm glad he's at a job where he gets rewarded for how hard he works, at long last, even if it is tough on him.

Ok, here's another What It Feels Like, in this case, what it feels like to get a hell of a deal. For the wedding next week I'd been wanting to get a new dress for it, since I am in the house party and all, and I never get to buy new clothes for myself anymore. I found out that the bridesmaids' dresses are black strapless. So I thought it would be cool if I could find a black strapless dress to echo the bridesmaids'. I had a coupon from a local store and hit the party dresses, but found nothing to my liking. I went to the clearance rack. Bam! A lovely black strapless dress that fit beautifully! (Size 6, yay.) It rang up with a staggering double discount, and with my coupon I got almost $60 off the total price. In fact, I'm too embarrassed to state publicly what I ended up finally paying for it. They should've just given it to me, let's just put it that way! They wouldn't have missed their measly profit! So I got another coupon and am going back maybe tonight to buy a white strapless dress I saw also on clearance. After all, I think now I deserve to buy another new dress for the rehearsal dinner! I done good yesterday, and even got a free dinner thanks to a medical students' mixer I had to work outside on the front lawn of Job #1 where they were nice enough to feed everyone.

So Job #2 is going to be a long one tomorrow since we have to open the library an hour early in order to accommodate a local congressman's Town Hall Meeting going on in our auditorium. Sunday is early shooting at the sheriff's gun range for annual qualification, then Mudflap and I will torment the malfeasants at the Mexican Flea Market, and to end the day, the latest WWE Pay per view with S and Mano.

PO'd

We'd gotten a letter from our atty. on Friday that we did not understand. It contained a fax and letter from the doddering old fool and said something about a hearing this Friday the 24th. We called our atty's cell on Sat. and left her a message. Then I emailed her on Mon. morn and also called and left another message. Today I called again and they got her on the horn b/c I needed to talk to her! She said that the doddering old fool is going to go before the judge this Friday to say that we need to postpone our hearing on Monday the 27th--you know, Court Hearing Part 3 of 3 where we are all expecting custody to be reversed like it needs to and so we can move the baby in with us and we can enroll her in school on Tuesday the 28th!!!--b/c the lying old bag has allegedly recently had foot surgery and cannot testify--pardon me, COMMIT AGGRAVATED PERJURY--on Monday!!! So our atty. is going to go before the judge and object strenuously that this is BULLSHIT and if the lying old bag is such a material witness then the dod. old fool should have deposed her previously. Our atty. also told me today that she has discussed this with the amicus atty. and he also thinks this whole ridiculous saga needs to be wrapped up YESTERDAY. I heard him say that himself, from his mouth to my ears, that this has gone on long enough and it needs to stop. So our atty. invited me to attend the hearing this Friday a.m. and I am going to. I need to see with my own disbelieving eyes if this gets postponed again and again and over and over like it's been getting the last fucking year-and-a-half of our lives!!!!!!!!!!!!! I begged our atty. to get sanctions against the dod. old fool and the whore. It has to be quite obvious to everyone involved now that they are maliciously and intentionally delaying litigation. Our atty. did draft a doc asking for lawyer's fees from the whore for when we go to trial b/c of all their bullshit stall tactics. Seriously, enough is enough and they must be punished. And I have nothing else to say on the matter for now.

Yesterday S took the info we needed to turn into the school (Choice #2, which is now our Choice #1, the Music Academy elementary) in order to enroll the baby. They told us their Kindergarten class is full. Ok, well that's the school we're zoned to, so now what??? They said we'd have to see what happens next week when and if we do actually bring the baby to start attending classes. Meanwhile I've got a bag full of school uniform clothes that match the colors of Choice #1 and #2. Of course I saved the receipt in case any exchanges need to be made, but still, this is truly aggravating.

So last night I took myself shooting, which did relieve some tension. I shot 140 rounds but my shooting was only fair. I just hope I qualify with no problems on Sunday b/c I do not need any more stress these days. I didn't take the shotgun to shoot b/c I did not have the energy to deal with it. After shooting I went to the park to meet Tito J. for a run, but we missed each other so I ran alone, which I haven't done in a long time. He made it up to me by meeting me today for lunch and now my innards are protesting b/c I think I ate too much.

S went to work today although I insisted he could stay home if need be. He went for most of the day and left early. I tried to explain how it does not make economic sense for him to be returning to work before he is well enough to do so. I appreciate what he is trying to do but honestly, it is better that he get 100% well.

I Find this Hard to Believe

Mano and I donated blood yesterday at church and my non-fasting cholesterol level came up to be 162. It has not been that low since I was training at the Academy and doing all that jogging and had put on 8 lbs. of muscle. Seriously, I have a history of cholesterol levels usually being near the 220's for many years! So I'm viewing this low number with a skeptical eye. Especially since Mano had made delicious, decadent french toast for the household earlier that morning! How can this be?

Poor S is at home sick right now, again afflicted with that stomach bug that we both had earlier in the summer. Now let's see if this time I can avoid it altogether. He got sick late last night after we dropped the baby off. She was not very well-behaved this weekend, and by that I mean we had incidents on Friday night and on Saturday night. In fact, on Saturday night, S and Mano went to the movies and I was in charge of bedtime duties. The baby ticked me off so bad that even though she had been napping from about 4:30pm-8pm, I made her go back to bed at around 10pm and I put her little butt in her room and turned off the lights and closed the door and made it very clear she was to stay in bed until the next morning. And she did!!! She knows better than to mess with me after she has screwed up! But that's ok, b/c it shows she's learning, by God. She had the nerve to come to me yesterday and ask if she could have the sno-cone that was in the fridge. Ha, I don't think so! I reminded her of her bad behavior the night before. How quickly they forget, and how eager I am to remind them!

But otherwise we had a good family weekend. We saw The Simpsons movie on Sat. and although S and the baby could've probably either taken it or left it, I loved it! I laughed throughout and S just looked at me like I was nuts. The baby just sprawled across my lap and seemed mildly entertained.

So I'm leaving work early to go and take care of S until it's time for my date tonight with myself to go shooting. I have to qualify at the sheriff's dept. on Sunday and have not shot this gun, Esteban, in probably over a year. I stocked up on balloons yesterday at the $1 Store, as I love to blow up balloons and send them down range and shoot 'em up.

Muy Flooded but not at Graceland

And the rain is comin' down! I'm just wondering how much longer we'll have to stay put at work. It's my night to work until 6pm, dammit. I think S is going to go home eventually (if he can make it) b/c there's no work for him to do.

I would love nothing better than to be home right now, sleeping it up! I didn't get home last night until 1:30 in the a.m. That's b/c we had to take my car in yesterday for repairs, and they said it wouldn't be done until maybe Friday, so I had to go get a rental car (which they pay for, mostly), and the rental car folks made me wait 2 hours, so I didn't get to Jimmy's to rehearse until almost 8:30. We've got a gig on Friday night, and even though my lovely friend L. was waiting for me at the Last Concert Cafe, we just had to finish rehearsing with Jimmy! In the end I missed seeing L. due to the late hour at which we finally finished but not before I had already convinced Jimmy and our drummer, "Buzzy", to get in my shiny new rental car so they could accompany me to the LCC. We ended up going to the country jam at Blanco's instead. God, sometimes I wish I could have a drink! Just one frosty cold Shiner Bock... yum. Cold beer and country music: proof that God does exist!

So anyway, all this stuff on the news this a.m. about Elvis reminded me of my 1st and only trip to Graceland. It was somewheres around Spring Break, I believe 1995. Maybe even 1996! There was supposed to be a big group of us going to Hot Springs in a rented minivan; for some reason it ended up only being me, Sean, and Hand, 2 of my best friends and honorary adopted older brothers throughout college. After finding out it was just going to be the 3 of us, we decided to go on the trip anyway! So we headed up to Hot Springs, AR and I believe it was Hand who said that Memphis was just across the river, so why not spend a day or 2 in Memphis? Capital idea! So we did, and went to the Civil Rights Museum and Beale Street and Graceland. I took lots of pic's, and in honor of Spinal Tap softly sang "Heartbreak Hotel" at the graves of Elvis and his parents.

The rain seems to have slowed momentarily so maybe I can grab some lunch. I hope my rental KIA is seaworthy!

Educational Choices

Today we went to Choice #1 for local elementary schools to pick up an app for the baby. But after thinking on it this a.m., I might now be leaning towards Choice #2. But S and I are going to go ahead and submit app's to both places and if she ends up "having" to go to Choice #2, then I will be fine with it! That is b/c Choice #2 is a Music Academy school!!! And Kindergartener's "have" to choose either 1. Suzuki Violin, 2. Suzuki Cello, or 3. Music Enrichment! How cool is that!

Really the only reason I was leaning towards Choice #1 in the 1st place, which is a Language Arts Academy (choices of 1. French, 2. Spanish, or 3. Japanese--how cool is that!) is mainly due to the demographical breakdown and the low percentage of kids on the free lunch program there. Choice #2 is much more racially diverse and has a higher percentage of free luncher's. I just don't want her surrounded by a bunch of ghetto/barrio kids, or at least as few as possible. Am I a total snob for that? Of course, I went to an elementary/junior/1st 2 years of high school surrounded by inbred rednecks and poor white trash and was totally miserable for most of my childhood school career so I guess you take a risk no matter what public school you go to.

Anyway, we'll see what happens. S and I already discussed what we will enroll the baby in at either school: Choice #1, she'll take Spanish. Choice #2, she'll take Music Enrichment. As much as I would love to enroll her in Suzuki Violin so she can take after me, there's some reasons I'm not ready to do that at this stage of her life.

1. Man, we just cannot afford to do that right now. I was thinking today of how amazingly expensive it was for me to play the viola for 12 years and I don't know how in the world my mother managed to make it all happen!!! It cost her thousands and thousands of dollars, year after year. My mind spins thinking of it. (Of course, I would say that she definitely got her return and then some on her investment, since playing the viola got me into college, got me through getting 2 degrees, which led me to the good career and salary I have today, which provided for my house, car, 401K, etc. etc.)
2. While I definitely am going to "force" music onto the baby b/c it has been proven time and time again the benefits of music on the brain, I don't feel comfortable forcing a musical instrument on her. I want her to pick out what she wants to do so that she owns it, and owns her passion and commitment to it. At Choice #2 starting in 1st grade she will have to finally choose something, but the choices expand then to include voice and piano. So she's gonna play something, dammit, but it'll be her choice. I'll never forget the day in 5th grade when they brought in the orchestra from the middle school to play for us, and I had an epiphany: I wanted to do that! Although it was the percussion and specifically the xylophone that grabbed me, I chose to play a stringed instrument, and I chose the viola b/c "everybody" plays the violin! Of course I had to be a little different! And owning that passion, it being all mine, is what motivated me to keep it up and then get good at it.
3. Although we are working on the baby being and acting more like us, which will happen naturally anyway once she comes to live with us full-time, in the end I don't want her to completely be my "Piece of Clay", like Marvin Gaye sang about!

Had a great time at home last night with S. We lounged around and watched one of our new fave shows, The Pick-Up Artist. We would love to send Mano on that show, as he needs it! Either that one or Beauty and the Geek!

Zero Tolerance

Mudflap and I had a good time last on our special assignment, "Zero Tolerance." Mudflap called me up after leaving the task force meeting and told me I was going to love it b/c we were under instructions to arrest anyone who had no driver's license and no insurance! Oh boy! Finally, I had permission to be as mean as I wanted to be. And it's not like I'm really being mean, I just fully enjoy arresting people who need to be arrested.

Unfortunately, after a long night of pulling over all kinds of people with no front license plates (my favorite kind of PC, or Probable Cause) we'd written several tickets but found no hard-core criminals. For awhile there it seemed like we were pulling over nothing but priests, nuns, and Sunday-school teachers for everyone had their shit together! I did get to yell at one knucklehead though, b/c he was being a total knucklehead. He only spoke Spanish (of course) and had a head wound that was bleeding down his face. He claimed he'd been jumped by a gang of about 15 punks inside the Mexican flea market parking lot, so we made him go back in and we followed him so we could find the punks. But it wasn't long before we determined he was actually drunk ("I only drank 1 beer!") and was acting erratic and a fool besides. I got in his face and yelled at him to quit wasting our time and even nice little Mudflap got pissed off at him. Then we sent him home with one of his knucklehead friends.

So today I'm wiped out since we didn't get home 'til after midnight. I had made a date with myself to take myself shooting tonight (Monday is Ladies' Night at the gun range!) but I am too tired. Saturday was a very long day as well, what with working and then going to the bachelorette party afterwards, which was ok although excruciatingly boring at times. I knew I'd have nothing to talk about with the overfed, uninteresting, vapid yuppie women, but that's ok b/c I got an awesome meal for my troubles.

I only got to see the baby on Friday night and then yesterday. We went to eat at La Mad before church, then had a nice morning at church, then we went to the zoo. I don't know what we were thinking--it was so oppressively hot yesterday it felt like walking around in a damn oven. But she had a great time frolicking at the water park and she bought us sno-cones with her allowance (S and I were both totally out of cash) so it was worth it. We'll have her again next weekend and I don't have to work FOR ONCE so it'll be nice to have a long, family weekend together.

Books & Reading

I'm thinking of re-reading One Year Off. As a (former) traveler, this book always enchanted me. I haven't had much stomach or time for reading lately, due to all the mini-crises going on in my life. I haven't had much time or energy to do a lot of stuff that needs doing, such as keeping up with housework, clipping coupons or even cooking. The good news is that I learned in that CIT class I took a few weekends ago that true depressions last 2 weeks or more, so it seems I'm still managing to escape it since my funks only last a day or 2. Yay.

Yeah, so I was having fun this a.m. browing in the Dewey 910's. (Future blog post: My Favorite Dewey Decimal Areas!) I picked up another book called Honeymoon with My Brother b/c the story intrigued me, but I'm not sure I'll be able to get through it b/c it might be too testosterone-riddled.

That's why I love working at Job #2, where I am now, b/c of the public library collection! So many fun books, so little time! Today S said he was going to take the baby to storytime, which I insist on. I seem to be doing a good job of turning her into a little reader. A child reader is going to be a must-have in my household, no question about it!

On another note, I am a little horrified at J.'s recent porcupine adventure. I'm having a hard time imagining living in a place where spitting cobras and humongous psychotic porcupines are just par for the course! I'm guessing she thinks it's fun in the same way that I think sneaking up on dangerous criminals in the dark and handcuffing them and taking them to jail is fun. Her blog and tales of living in Botswana sometimes make me think of Dave Barry's travel book and the chapter entitled: "Camping: Nature's Way of Promoting the Hotel Industry." I tell you what though, I would've had one of my guns in my hand and by the end of that week, would've had me some porcupine quill jewelry!

It's Sweltering Hot!

That's what my dad used to loudly exclaim on hot days. "It's sweltering hot!" Seriously, for once in my life I don't even have the heater on here in my office.

Today we get to head up to The Shitlands to pick up the baby for the weekend. S and I are trying to find a strategic location at which we can meet up that is located near the HOV entrance and where we can also leave his car. We're going to try a new location today. It's great having him along to make that long, shitty, lonely drive that I have been making by myself for the past year. Plus we save $2.50 on tolls which as everyone knows just about makes me insanely happy!!!

I'll be at Job #2 all day tomorrow, then I've got that lingerie shower/bachelorette party thing tomorrow night, so I doubt I'll see S and the baby at all, or just in passing as I come home briefly to change clothes. One thing that I'm looking forward to doing tomorrow is going school-clothes shopping for the baby. I heard through the grapevine that there is a certain store that is really cheap for those school uniform-type clothes--yes, even cheaper than Target and Academy and those other high-dollar places! I'm on a mega-budget!--and lo and behold there is one located right down the street from Job #2! So I'll be swinging by there on my lunch hour. My first time school-clothes shopping for my child! I have to buy red/white polo shirts and khaki/denim bottoms. I hope they have a good selection for mixing and matching, which will be fun... for me! There's some other colors I can buy but I have to wait until we are sure which school we'll be enrolling her in. I have Choice #1 and Choice #2 in our neighborhood. It already sucks that she won't be enrolled until the 2nd day of school anyway, so I'm just going to buy enough clothes for now to cover her for the 1st week.

Joy

I found out recently that a few years back, someone asked Oprah Winfrey this question: "When was the last time you experienced joy?" At the time, I think she was jogging with one of her trainers. In fact, it may even have been the trainer who asked her this question. Anyway, she thought about it, and after thinking on it for awhile realized that the last time she had truly experienced joy had been 7 years before. It had been while she was filming the movie The Color Purple, and she had experienced great joy while working on the project. It made her (and me!) sad to think that someone so rich and famous and successful had gone 7 years without experiencing true joy!!! So it was at that moment that she decided to move her talk show away from being chatty-chatty and began the book club and started covering more meaningful topics on her show. As we all know, Oprah has done a lot since then to help the world.

So I started thinking on this same question, when the last time I experienced joy was. And I'm not exactly sure what they mean by "true joy", but I have been lucky enough to have enjoyed a lot of experiences that were purely joyful. But I guess the last time would maybe have to be when S and I first met and we had such fun together and were together all the time, as much as possible. So much so that he would come to work with me on Sundays (back when I had to work the occasional Sunday) and tag along with me everywhere and I loved every minute of it! It was so nice--and such a change--to be loved by someone who needed me like the air he breathed and spent his every waking hour adoring me the way I deserved to be adored! Of course I ended up marrying the guy! But anyway, the summer of '05 was our salad days. Lots of Icees and movies and sushi and coconut rum and friends and fun!

But since then, I've had a lot of "little joys", and I'll be damned if those don't get to count. Even this week, depressing as times have been lately! For example, it's just been me and Bob here at work since everyone else is gone, and I've savored coming in late, taking long lunches, sneaking out early, listening to Internet radio loud, etc. Little joys there. And at Job #2 the other night, now that we're down a shelver I offered to help my friend sort a cart of teen books and I really, really enjoyed that! I love getting my hands on books and feeling like I'm helping get books into the hands of others. A little joy there! And today I got invited to lunch with 2 good friends I really needed to catch up with. Great joy!

But the main lesson of the Oprah story was that people who give of their time and/or money are statistically and undeniably happier people. The Oprah story was peripheral to a tithing lesson I received. (Tithing meaning just giving regularly a percentage of your time and/or money.) So I definitely count as a tither in my work with the Sheriff's dept. And that is truly why I joined up with them, to help others and fight crime, in that order! Contrary to what it seems, I do not get sadistic pleasure in handing out tickets and towing cars. It just seems like that's all I see out there on the streets! But every now and then I do truly get to help someone, either by making them feel better, or safer, or giving them information, or whatever. I feel like I'm doing my part, however small, and that does, in return, make me feel good even if it's just for a short while.

Urban Gospel

Been listening to an urban (black) gospel radio station recently and I love it. Thumpy slappin' bass, choirs, all that good stuff. Unfortunately you cannot listen to it on the Internet and I was really in the mood for some of that today. S has my CD/radio/tape player so he can listen to music while he works his assembler job. I sacrificed it to him since we could no longer afford to buy him that (ridiculous) PSP or an IPOD.

Still down in the dumps today and listening to urban gospel sometimes makes me feel better. S and I got into another fight today and once again, it's all custody battle/money-related. We are trying something new with his car today that involves a $60 miracle fluid flush. We just need his car to last 1 more year until we can save up for another one somehow. We will know tomorrow if the miracle fluid worked or not. If not we are screwed.

I also found out that Tito J. is moving away. I texted S to tell him and he texted back "Nooo!" So that is another big time bummer and yes, I'm just being selfish.

I'm not even talking to one of my best friends right now b/c they are just getting on my nerves! So when they call I hit "reject" on my cell phone. Hopefully a little break will do us good.

2 good things to report, though: something interesting is going on with my body since yesterday. I think I'm having the painters in, but I have had zero cramps, which has never, ever happened to me before. Now that I'm off the Pill I'm getting to learn how my system functions on its own, natural way instead of the chemically-induced way to which it has been accustomed. The other nice thing I found out last night is that just in case we do have the baby for the last weekend of August (and we are expecting NOT to b/c we are fully expecting to win custody at our hearing on Monday the 27th) that having her will not interfere with our J. Fi wedding plans b/c her mother is getting a babysitter for some other kids and we can just drop our baby off there if necessary--free of charge! SO nice. But like I said, we are fully expecting not to have her that weekend b/c that will mean that custody changed hands like it needs to. Still, it's nice to not have to worry about that weekend anymore.

Buying Lingerie

It was a strange experience, mainly b/c I'm not at all in the habit of shopping for or buying lingerie. I wish I was! It was kinda fun! I do have a couple of pieces bought years ago but mainly I sleep in my birthday suit so there's not a lot of need for much in the way of bedtime or boudior wear. Anyway, I have to attend a "Lingerie Shower"/Bachelorette Party this weekend so that's why I was shopping for the stuff. However, I don't think I'd like my friends giving me a "Lingerie Shower." Too personal, too much risk of certain parts not fitting right! I just got her a simple short nightie/robe set (on sale).

Besides having a lingerie shower, J.Fi, in preparation for her upcoming wedding, also had a "Bar Shower", an "Around The Clock Shower", and several others that I don't remember b/c I couldn't attend all of them. Later this month I'll be attending a "Bridesmaids' Luncheon" and a rehearsal dinner, all on the same day! Should be a happening wedding. And it seems that this bachelorette party will be somewhat of a classy affair, as we're just going to a nice restaurant/lounge for dinner and drinks--no penis hats, limos, or asinine games, thank GOD! Although come to think of it, maybe we're just too old for that stuff now that we're in our mid-30's. Regardless, I'm grateful.

Got a call from Jimmy today who recruited me for 3 gigs coming up soon. I am definitely appreciating the $ even though it won't be all that much, but with S's car troubles anything extra is good these days. [I even considered for about 5 minutes of going to sell more plasma but then remembered what a horrible, awful, sickening experience that was. S says we'll only sell plasma if we can't make our house payment or something that dire.]

We had a 119-degree heat index today. I felt it, with all the running around I had to do today. Poor S had to build a display outside in his work's parking lot. I hate that he has to work so hard, but I guess that's what happens when you don't have a college degree. We have decided that it is not going to work out if he does the Sheriff's Academy and work as a jailer b/c then he won't have any health insurance. We still haven't decided if he can do the academy in addition to his full-time job, which would be cool b/c then he'll have the state peace officer license like me. I did the academy and worked full-time, but then again I didn't have a family and had a lot less responsibility and stress than S and I have right now. A certain friend of ours says that S needs to make some short-term sacrifices for long-term gain, but frankly we're a little sick of listening to this certain friend these days! He eats out for every meal, buys whatever cool gadget he wants, owns 2 cars, has 2 pets and a huge 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home, yet has credit card debt--and he has the nerve to give us advice? It's like Dave Ramsey says, it's like going to see a personal trainer and you walk in and the trainer weighs 400 pounds. We love said friend, but seriously, he CANNOT relate to us.

This Quote Hit Hard Yesterday

From an email I saw recently:

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limitations."

Boy, I didn't think people could get much stupider than, say, the whore who I believe probably forgets to breathe on her own periodically. But yesterday, while out on patrol, I ran across 2 different groups of people who literally did not know where they lived. One idiot whose truck I came THISCLOSE to towing only knew his apartment #. And another lady was standing on her own front porch with a group of people and she had to go inside the house to find a bill so she could tell me the address of her house. I am not kidding. After a long, hot day of patrol Mudflap and I went to eat with the other deputies and I found out this epidemic of knuckleheads not knowing their street address is apparently not uncommon at all.

So it was a good day of patrol yesterday during which we wrote a bunch of tickets. If you saw these knuckleheads you'd write 'em a bunch of tickets too! Dumbasses. Otherwise this weekend I tried not to do much, and lazed around the house on Sat. with S, catching up on our movie-watching and getting sno-cones. Later we went out to eat with Mudflap and Mano came over to spend the night (Mudflap says we need to start charging him rent). I cleaned the upstairs bathroom which does wonders for giving one a psychological lift!

Today we had to take S's car to the mechanic's YET AGAIN and this is just getting more and more depressing. Also Mudflap talked us into signing S up for the upcoming Sheriff's Reserve Academy class but I'm not sure that's going to work for us in the long run, seeing as how S will not have any health insurance if he goes that route. I do agree with Mudflap that S needs to try and find a career instead of just trying to subsist on job after job.

Get Rhythm

...when you get the blues! According to Johnny Cash, it works. Maybe. Right now I'm in a pretty bad funk. We got down to $7 in our checking account yesterday. The whore texted us yesterday to let us know that we wouldn't be able to have our visitation this weekend with the baby since they're stuck in Louisiana allegedly tending to the whore's dying father. S and I got into a fight last night about $ and so right now I'm not speaking to him. My grandfather is not doing well. S's car is at the mechanic's YET AGAIN so we're down to 1 car.

On the plus side, I do have the entire weekend off which is amazingly rare. (I am going to go pester people at the Mexican Flea Market on Sunday with Mudflap, however.) I'm totally alone today at work since everyone else is gone and it's nice to listen to Internet radio with the volume turned up. I ate good Chinese food for lunch. And I got paid today. So I guess it all balances out.

What is that saying? "That which does not kill me makes me stronger"? Now, that makes sense. And it's only fair that I get something out of all this.

Psychotic!

Speaking of mental health... I almost got psychotic yesterday. J. called us to tell us that the baby had seemingly almost choked one of J.'s small dogs to death! J. was all like, the baby must've seen that somewhere (at the filthy whore's house, no doubt, where she has a dog), she's just mimicking, she doesn't need to be punished, etc. etc. Oh yeah? Well, I put to everyone that at 5, she DOES know right from wrong and even if she is mimicking, I got on the horn and interrogated her, demanding to know why she did that, why she was being bad. She was being quiet like she does when she knows she's in BIG trouble, so I just told her that the visit I'd promised her this weekend to the Downtown Aquarium with the ferris wheel and the sharks and the water park? NOT ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I spoke to S, J., Mudflap, and Ma who all agreed we should let the amicus atty. know about this. I sent off an email to him today, copied our atty., and the amicus emailed back right away that he wants to meet with the baby again. S thinks that the baby saw dickhead choke the whore or something, but I'm not too sure about that. It's my theory that dickhead and/or the whore kicks or beats the baby's dog that she has over there. The baby wouldn't tell J. or S where she saw that behavior but perhaps the amicus can find out.

J. says once we have custody of the baby then we can "reprogram" her, which is what S has been saying all along. I've been doing my best to squash her bad behaviors, and have succeeded in a lot of that over the past 2 years, but obviously there's more to do. Choking a small dog is sociopathic behavior and indicative of an anti-social personality, and we all know where the baby gets that from! I am NOT having it. OH NO.