Oh HELL yeah, it's a holiday on Monday. I was going to go work w/the Marine division but I decided that after these next couple busy days I really am going to need Monday to decompress. Here's what's on tap:
Tonight: patrol w/Mudflap. Should be fun! I miss patrol and I need to keep my cop skills up. We'll be out from 8p-2am-ish.
Tomorrow: sleep as much as possible in the morning, then eyebrow appt. at noon. After that I meet up w/Mr. Wonderful Stefano so we can hit the road to Palacios TX (about an hour away) for his gig on the water tomorrow night. Mmm, shrimp dinner! We also have a room in a local legendary little hotel. My dad knows the hotel and has stayed there. There's no tv's in the rooms!
Sunday: if we're not too hungover, meet Stefano's bass player and his wife for breakfast. Head back home to Houston.
Monday: I need to go for a run and relax w/Stefano and read and maybe hang out by my pool!
Last night was waaaaaay fun!!! Went to the blues jam where Stefano's band was hosting. Although I didn't bring my bass I soon regretted it b/c I did in fact get the itch to play (Stefano's bandmates hadn't seen me play yet so of course I wanted to show 'em what I could do) and I got turned down by 2 bass player friends who are weird about letting people play their basses. Leo showed up and signed me up to play with him and he asked a female bass player to loan me her bass and she agreed. This girl was not all that and only used 3 left hand fingers--I HATE that. But it was very cool of her to let me use her bass. Leo and I played w/this 17-year old little girl guitarist who fucking solo'd her ASS off! I was staring as I was playing! Whoa! Obviously we attracted a lot of attention from the crowd, also b/c I was wearing a new sexy black dress. One coco rum and two tequila shots later before I knew it, it was after 1am and I headed home where Stefano met me as soon as he unloaded his gear at his house.
Dinner on Weds. night w/JR was fine. The hamburger was delicious and he also bought me a walnut brownie. I hate to admit it but when I saw him I thought, "Damn, he's cute." Oh well. I told him just a little bit about Stefano but not very much b/c I know guys don't like to hear about their ex's new loves, esp. if they still hold a torch for that ex as JR does for me. JR did admit that he hasn't forgotten about the $90 he owes me, so that's a good thing. He's working now, cleaning pools, so I am going to keep after him to pay me back as much as he can. We'll see. He says he wants us to hang out again and go do stuff together. He tried to invite himself back to my house after dinner but of course, that wasn't happening!
Today Stefano met me at a great seafood restaurant between my Job #1 and our 'hood. I wanted to see him since we won't be able to spend tonight together. We had a great meal of fried shrimp and oysters. He refused to let me chip in for the meal. Like I told JR, I finally have someone who takes care of me and I deserve it after all these years. (I didn't say that to JR in a mean way--but JR knows it's true too and he nodded.)
Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Dinner Tonight With Trouble
I agreed to meet JR, aka Little Tattoo Kid, aka my 1st boyfriend after my divorce, tonight for dinner. He wants us to try again, as in, try being in a relationship again, but I of course am having none of that. I told him I'm no longer single and that's all there is to it. Frankly, I do have some ulterior motives for meeting him. Although it's true that I'm curious to see how he's doing--and by his text message accounts he's doing well, working, and has opened up an actual bank account--I have not forgotten that $90 I forked out for his tattoo on his birthday. I'm curious to see if I can recoup ANY of that, and also get my Krav Maga Tshirt back from him. My li'l bro, an ex-junkie himself, says this is all a very bad idea and to be thankful that's all JR got out of me.
Anyway, I told JR he could take me out for my birthday and we're only going to Fuddrucker's tonight as I've been craving a good hamburger and fries lately. I'm also gonna make JR buy me one of their humongous rice krispie treats for dessert. Kinda strange to me that I'm craving a hamburger in light of my recent swearing-off-of-meat kick. Oh well, the occasional burger ain't gonna hurt anything!
Rehearsal was cancelled last night and I was so glad as I really wanted another night to relax at my house. My atty. says the quit claim deed was signed by S and submitted to the county clerk, so my house is TRULY 100% MINE now!!! I enjoy my house and wish I had more time to hang out there. I considered going to the pool to lounge and read as I still haven't been to my pool this year yet, but had too much stuff to do inside such as paint my nails (silver) and catch up on some DVR'ing.
Anyway, I told JR he could take me out for my birthday and we're only going to Fuddrucker's tonight as I've been craving a good hamburger and fries lately. I'm also gonna make JR buy me one of their humongous rice krispie treats for dessert. Kinda strange to me that I'm craving a hamburger in light of my recent swearing-off-of-meat kick. Oh well, the occasional burger ain't gonna hurt anything!
Rehearsal was cancelled last night and I was so glad as I really wanted another night to relax at my house. My atty. says the quit claim deed was signed by S and submitted to the county clerk, so my house is TRULY 100% MINE now!!! I enjoy my house and wish I had more time to hang out there. I considered going to the pool to lounge and read as I still haven't been to my pool this year yet, but had too much stuff to do inside such as paint my nails (silver) and catch up on some DVR'ing.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Revised Will
Not that this is technically legal, but I still want my wishes to be known as the following. Obviously now that I'm divorced, lots has changed. This is the list from a year ago, now revised. So if tomorrow be my great getting up morning:
- My Fender bass guitar and amps and accordion go to my brother. Surely he'll have fun with them.
- My violin and guitars go to my brother.
- My keyboard goes to Mr. Wonderful Stefano since he wishes he played piano better.
- All my cherished Band collection stuff (autographed CD's and other paraphernalia, T-shirts, etc.) will go to my brother. J2 has permission to contact my brother and get some of it if she so desires.
- My ever-present .38 Smith and Wesson "Gus" goes to my brother, unless someone else expresses interest in it to me before I go.
- My cop gear and the big guns go to my brother.
- All my clothes and shoes and all of my jewelry go to my mom so she can pick out anything she likes. She bought some of it for me anyway so now she can have it back!
- Pearl necklace/earrings to my mom.
- CD collection to my mom.
- And I want Brandone to somehow finish the film "The Reserves" for me. Ha!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Oh Yeah... Fun Days Were Had
Well, except for the part where I drank a bunch of "Texas Teas" at my gig on Thurs. and consequently got so freakin' wasted that I acted a damn fool and did a bunch of regrettable stuff. And frankly, this is stuff that makes me wonder if that jerko ex-so-called friend "R" was a little justified when she dropped me as a friend, citing that I am "out of control." Heh heh. So here's what I did:
So anyway, on Friday I was in pretty bad shape, but I still managed to drag my ass downtown first thing in the morning and get a divorce. My atty. said I had to "prove up" in the 309th court and verify to the judge that I, as the petitioner, was agreeing to this divorce and more importantly, that I agreed that the terms of the mediation agreement were "fair." She granted me the divorce and I was free to go on living my life.
I struggled into work and could barely stay upright, I felt so bad. Around noon I ate an Egga Muffin (only 300 calories) and felt better. The bad thing, for me at least, about the next day's hangover is that although you're supposed to stay hydrated, I almost always get sick from all the water/tea and want to throw that up too after awhile. I snuck out of work after my chat and desk hours, went home, and lay on the couch for the rest of the afternoon 'til it was time to get up and get pretty for Stefano's CD release party that night.
I had a really pretty new long white strapless sundress that I'd been saving for the occasion. In a private show of bitter irony, I wore the long pearl earrings I'd worn on my wedding day. Stefano's band was playing at this place I'd been to only once before, about 15 years ago. My mom and stepdad showed up, also my fave aunt and uncle. Later on J. showed up, and JFu and her hubby too. Leo, who I was angry with for taking advantage of a crazy drunk bitch on Thursday night--me!--showed up very late and he was totally contrite and apologized to me (and Stefano, I later found out) for his behavior the night before. I said it was ok but that I would have my revenge someday. I warned him that revenge is a dish best served cold. All in all it was a fun evening and some of Stefano's friends that I knew also showed up. His parents finally got to meet my mom too! The only bad thing of the evening was this place's expensive food wasn't all that, and I KNEW I was going to splash tomato sauce on my pretty white dress and I DID!
Since neither Stefano nor I got drunk and in fact I did not have ONE drop of alcohol at his gig, we were able to wake up early on Sat. morning and go to the local Farmer's Market. Obviously he and I are scarred forever from the Food, Inc. documentary! It was an absolutely delightful experience! We got there about 9am and walked around and I was totally enthralled by all the interesting and fabulous foods there. I bought naked chicken salad which is homemade w/nuts, grapes and celery and with NO mayonnaise or anything in there. I bought dried orange peel shavings w/sugar--tastes kinda like candy! And I bought a 1-lb. loaf of cranberry bread. I almost bought the apricot bread, but I'll get that next time. Stefano bought me some local honey. And we shared a big cup of fresh-squeezed peach lemonade, sold to us by a woman who recognized us from one of my gigs. Cool!
Stefano and I had decided that yesterday would be a total chill day. After the Farmer's Market he took me to breakfast at a notable Houston hip eatery that I'd never been to before, unbelievably, especially since I've lived in that neighborhood 3 times! Then we went to the high-end grocery store to buy fixings for homemade hummus, and Stefano's idea to make homemade crawfish meat dumplings for dinner. Then back to his house where we just lounged around and relaxed, me reading one of my many library books. Stefano's tomato plants are exploding and he took pictures of me picking the 1st tomatoes of the season!
As the day progressed we made our hummus and snacked on that. Then Stefano sliced his tomatoes, picked some basil from his garden, and made Tomatoes Caprese. Finally it was time to attempt the crawfish meat dumplings. I got to chop the green onions, and I'm handy with a knife for sure! It took us awhile to get the hang of putting just the right amount of onion/meat mix into the dumplings and sealing them with egg whites. But when Stefano dumped all our dumplings into the boiling water most of them opened up and it became a big soggy mess! I was upset b/c of all that time and work wasted! Stefano said we might have to order takeout but I insisted we salvage the meal. In the end we just piled all the meat and soggy dumpling dough onto a plate and ate it that way. I gave our meal the name of "Dumpling Madness." Stefano called it "Deconstructed Dumpling Surprise."
I was finally able to stomach a glass or 2 of Riesling w/the meal. We went to bed early and I ended up sleeping 12 hours until this morning. Needed it!!! Now I'm at Job #1 for a short Sunday shift and when I'm done here Stefano will meet me at my house and we'll finish watching the doc Anvil.
Health note: my back was feeling a lot better on Thursday, but then I almost ruined myself w/all that booze and it was back to hurting again on Fri. Today it hurts bad again too. I may be forced to take a couple days off from work in order to just lie around and see if that helps.
- Mooned Leo
- Flashed Leo a bare tittie
- Pulled my panties down around my ankles when Leo demanded that too
- Sold said panties to a total stranger out on the sidewalk for $20
- Threw up around 1am
So anyway, on Friday I was in pretty bad shape, but I still managed to drag my ass downtown first thing in the morning and get a divorce. My atty. said I had to "prove up" in the 309th court and verify to the judge that I, as the petitioner, was agreeing to this divorce and more importantly, that I agreed that the terms of the mediation agreement were "fair." She granted me the divorce and I was free to go on living my life.
I struggled into work and could barely stay upright, I felt so bad. Around noon I ate an Egga Muffin (only 300 calories) and felt better. The bad thing, for me at least, about the next day's hangover is that although you're supposed to stay hydrated, I almost always get sick from all the water/tea and want to throw that up too after awhile. I snuck out of work after my chat and desk hours, went home, and lay on the couch for the rest of the afternoon 'til it was time to get up and get pretty for Stefano's CD release party that night.
I had a really pretty new long white strapless sundress that I'd been saving for the occasion. In a private show of bitter irony, I wore the long pearl earrings I'd worn on my wedding day. Stefano's band was playing at this place I'd been to only once before, about 15 years ago. My mom and stepdad showed up, also my fave aunt and uncle. Later on J. showed up, and JFu and her hubby too. Leo, who I was angry with for taking advantage of a crazy drunk bitch on Thursday night--me!--showed up very late and he was totally contrite and apologized to me (and Stefano, I later found out) for his behavior the night before. I said it was ok but that I would have my revenge someday. I warned him that revenge is a dish best served cold. All in all it was a fun evening and some of Stefano's friends that I knew also showed up. His parents finally got to meet my mom too! The only bad thing of the evening was this place's expensive food wasn't all that, and I KNEW I was going to splash tomato sauce on my pretty white dress and I DID!
Since neither Stefano nor I got drunk and in fact I did not have ONE drop of alcohol at his gig, we were able to wake up early on Sat. morning and go to the local Farmer's Market. Obviously he and I are scarred forever from the Food, Inc. documentary! It was an absolutely delightful experience! We got there about 9am and walked around and I was totally enthralled by all the interesting and fabulous foods there. I bought naked chicken salad which is homemade w/nuts, grapes and celery and with NO mayonnaise or anything in there. I bought dried orange peel shavings w/sugar--tastes kinda like candy! And I bought a 1-lb. loaf of cranberry bread. I almost bought the apricot bread, but I'll get that next time. Stefano bought me some local honey. And we shared a big cup of fresh-squeezed peach lemonade, sold to us by a woman who recognized us from one of my gigs. Cool!
Stefano and I had decided that yesterday would be a total chill day. After the Farmer's Market he took me to breakfast at a notable Houston hip eatery that I'd never been to before, unbelievably, especially since I've lived in that neighborhood 3 times! Then we went to the high-end grocery store to buy fixings for homemade hummus, and Stefano's idea to make homemade crawfish meat dumplings for dinner. Then back to his house where we just lounged around and relaxed, me reading one of my many library books. Stefano's tomato plants are exploding and he took pictures of me picking the 1st tomatoes of the season!
As the day progressed we made our hummus and snacked on that. Then Stefano sliced his tomatoes, picked some basil from his garden, and made Tomatoes Caprese. Finally it was time to attempt the crawfish meat dumplings. I got to chop the green onions, and I'm handy with a knife for sure! It took us awhile to get the hang of putting just the right amount of onion/meat mix into the dumplings and sealing them with egg whites. But when Stefano dumped all our dumplings into the boiling water most of them opened up and it became a big soggy mess! I was upset b/c of all that time and work wasted! Stefano said we might have to order takeout but I insisted we salvage the meal. In the end we just piled all the meat and soggy dumpling dough onto a plate and ate it that way. I gave our meal the name of "Dumpling Madness." Stefano called it "Deconstructed Dumpling Surprise."
I was finally able to stomach a glass or 2 of Riesling w/the meal. We went to bed early and I ended up sleeping 12 hours until this morning. Needed it!!! Now I'm at Job #1 for a short Sunday shift and when I'm done here Stefano will meet me at my house and we'll finish watching the doc Anvil.
Health note: my back was feeling a lot better on Thursday, but then I almost ruined myself w/all that booze and it was back to hurting again on Fri. Today it hurts bad again too. I may be forced to take a couple days off from work in order to just lie around and see if that helps.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Ouch My Fingers
Last night we shredded, man! And consequently my fingers and Leo's fingers also got shredded! This a.m. it hurt to touch anything. Finally the pain is lessening. It begins again tomorrow night with our gig. I can't believe we lost our callouses after only 2 weeks of not playing. Lesson learned, big time, man. Especially b/c with the extra free time I had in the past few days I fully intended on pulling out my guitar and working on writing some songs. But I've been too busy doing little things around the house, reading, and catching up on my DVR'ing and TV watching.
Getting increasingly concerned about this pain in my back. After my dentist appt. yesterday a.m. I went to do a little clothes shopping w/a gift card I had, which was fun, except trying on some of the tight tops hurt that spot in my back. Then I grabbed lunch, then I went home to sit around and relax. I am the proud owner of 1 tree and I pruned its branches so that the new solar yard lights I bought for when I come home so often late in the dark could have more sunlight which with to function. I marveled at the fact that I was doing yard work, such as it was, being in a patio and all! Heh. Then I had to shlep to Job#2 of course, then rehearsal.
Leo asked/told George and me that we'd be having 2 singers, at least on one song this Thursday: Leo's girlfriend Mir and her friend. George and I both said that was fine as long as, according to George, "It doesn't cut into our pay" and according to me, "Yeah, as long as they don't get a taste of the gig!" Leo said if these 2 chicks become a regular fixture he'd just start charging more for the band to play. You got that straight! Or, as Leo himself would say, "Damn skippy!"
I had fun playing with my right thumb last night. It was an idea I got after seeing the Holmes Bros. in Chicago. I watched Sherman Holmes with awe as he used his thumb on most of the songs and I decided that since I worship him, I could also try doing so. And I really liked the sound it gave me! There's more meat on a thumb and the strings sounded fuller and rang more! Even George and Leo commented it sounded good. Now I just have to get used to it so my timing is just as good as it is when I play w/all 4 fingers. Still, I'm gonna keep the thumb thing to just the Muddy Waters tunes and the 1 country song Leo wrote. No way in hell can I play "Rude Mood" that way!
Getting increasingly concerned about this pain in my back. After my dentist appt. yesterday a.m. I went to do a little clothes shopping w/a gift card I had, which was fun, except trying on some of the tight tops hurt that spot in my back. Then I grabbed lunch, then I went home to sit around and relax. I am the proud owner of 1 tree and I pruned its branches so that the new solar yard lights I bought for when I come home so often late in the dark could have more sunlight which with to function. I marveled at the fact that I was doing yard work, such as it was, being in a patio and all! Heh. Then I had to shlep to Job#2 of course, then rehearsal.
Leo asked/told George and me that we'd be having 2 singers, at least on one song this Thursday: Leo's girlfriend Mir and her friend. George and I both said that was fine as long as, according to George, "It doesn't cut into our pay" and according to me, "Yeah, as long as they don't get a taste of the gig!" Leo said if these 2 chicks become a regular fixture he'd just start charging more for the band to play. You got that straight! Or, as Leo himself would say, "Damn skippy!"
I had fun playing with my right thumb last night. It was an idea I got after seeing the Holmes Bros. in Chicago. I watched Sherman Holmes with awe as he used his thumb on most of the songs and I decided that since I worship him, I could also try doing so. And I really liked the sound it gave me! There's more meat on a thumb and the strings sounded fuller and rang more! Even George and Leo commented it sounded good. Now I just have to get used to it so my timing is just as good as it is when I play w/all 4 fingers. Still, I'm gonna keep the thumb thing to just the Muddy Waters tunes and the 1 country song Leo wrote. No way in hell can I play "Rude Mood" that way!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Lovely Weekend. Simply Lovely
I did a whole buncha relaxin' which was MUCH needed, as always. Stefano and I had a great weekend together. Our friend's blues band on Friday night, sleeping late on Saturday, after which he made a breakfast of egg whites w/onion, avocado, and his yellow banana peppers from his garden that I got to pick! Even Saturday night dinner w/my pater familias, his girlfriend, and my brother was quite enjoyable. We swapped stories about Chicago and ate at our fave Thai restaurant, followed by a trip to get ice cream. Sunday was another sleep-in day, and then I had to go see my mom to fix her latest computer problem. Sunday night Stefano came over and we got in bed to snuggle and watched Food Inc. Gross! I am OFF meat for awhile now!
The only bad thing was that, all of a sudden, beginning last Thursday (or maybe it was Friday) I had this painful knot in my back, underneath my right shoulderblade. I have NEVER had back problems in my life, not ONE! It sorta went away Sat-Sun but this a.m. it was back. I am guessing maybe it's b/c of the mediation on Wednesday?
So it was kinda funny b/c I had received one of S's bank letters at my house again a few days ago, but instead of being a bank statement it was a reward card to Starbucks in the amount of $10! He had cashed in some of his points from his new debit card, I guess, since no one on earth will give him a credit card. I wrestled ethically w/that for a bit. Should I return the card to him? Or should I just SPEND it?!?! I decided to SPEND it! That is but a mere drop in the bucket towards the $ he owes me. So before mediation I ran by the Starbucks and got myself a delicious egg salad sandwich, chicken pasta salad, and a fatfree coffee cake. All I can say is... YUM.
When I got to mediation, no surprise, S was there w/his fatass ugly mother. I told my atty. no way in hell would I agree to her participating. (After all, when S and I had attempted mediation w/the whore, she demanded I stay outside too.) The 4 of us were led to a conference room where the mediation would take place. The mediator was an old-school expert in mediation, my atty. told me later. When my atty. objected to S's fatass mom being in there she was led next door to another room by the mediator and S got up and followed, being a big loser brat as always. But my atty. offered to also step out and the mediator said it was sometimes helpful for the 2 parties to just have some alone time w/the mediator to get things out initially. So that's what we did.
The mediator let me begin since I was the one who had commenced the divorce. I laid out the whole story of our marriage/problems/breakup in about 10 minutes and when it was S's turn all he said was basically, Fine, whatever, I don't have time for this, She left me homeless and with nothing to my name, Let's just get this over with so I can get out there and find a job, blah blah blah poor me, poor me. Why was I not surprised??? What was really upsetting though--again, not that I should be surprised--was that he lied about how his daughter is so scared of me now that "whenever I come around" she pees her pants. OH MY GOD. This is the whore accusing us of bullshit all over again--the lies are SO outrageous as to be laughable. I am SERIOUS.
Since S and I clearly hate each other so much, the mediator then led S to go be with his mommy so she could kiss him on the head and wipe his nose and ass for him. (Even my atty., who's been divorced, said he thought it was way creepy to want to bring your mom to your divorce mediation.) Then my atty. came back in w/me and we began to discuss tactics. The mediator went back and forth between the 2 rooms. At one point I could hear S and his mom through the thin wall (I was standing up by the window) and they were talking loudly about my guns! WTF that has to do with anything was beyond me, and I frankly couldn't understand how S wants to waste time talking about bullshit when he claimed he just wanted to "get it all over with."
The really upsetting thing for me came when my atty. and the mediator pointed out that S really has nothing to lose since he 1. has no real source of income and 2. is living with his mother and 3. is driving our Ford Crown Vic which is, to quote S, "falling apart." I, on the other hand, have a home in my name, a good car, 2 retirement accounts, and plenty of money including several checking and savings accounts--all of which S still has claim to since we are still, technically, married!!! I was horrified. I just wanted S to pay me back the remaining balance of the custody battle debt on my credit card but he was now claiming that if he gives up interest in all of MY assets then that should leave him square. What it finally came down to was, I could continue to fight him on the custody battle debt, continue to pay my atty. to handle my case for the next few months, and who knows what the judge would finally decide to do? He may even decide to make us pay an appraiser to come and appraise the house and then force us to sell it! (And yes, I was worried about an appraiser coming in b/c of all the improvements I have been making w/J. and the renovating she's done and how nice the place is now.)
The only guarantee was that I would continue to pay my atty. And the math was too iffy, but I certainly did NOT want to lose my house and I definitely do NOT want S to have any claim to any of MY assets. I could continue to fight for months, or I could sign the mediator's paper and be done that afternoon. After a couple of hours of this, I decided to sign. The mediator thanked me for my ability to step away and see the big picture. I was pissed off at S for not doing the right thing and taking the remaining $14K custody battle debt off my hands--but he sure did sign off on all the things that I had to lose.
I also couldn't believe that the mediator wrote in his ruling that we will keep whatever possessions we currently have in our possession. I have several valuable items of S's that he said he wanted back: his police academy papers/books. A closet full of clothes and shoes. Some of his furniture and some other very valuable things. The 2 boxes of custody battle documents, evidence, etc. 2 of his child's baby teeth and some photos of her from when she was a baby and dozens more of her life with me. Wow, so I get to keep it all. I didn't WANT to keep that shit, I wanted him to pay me my $ and I wanted to give this crap back to him.
All in all though... I'm done. I have to go to court one last time to verify to the judge that I agreed to the mediation agreement. Then my atty. will write up the divorce decree and we'll all sign it and I should be officially divorced next month, God willing. I have to say, I've had a couple of bad dreams/nightmares since last Wednesday. Most of all, I just can't believe what S has become. I can't believe the man I married has turned on me so. I am amazed and bewildered at how badly this marriage turned out to be. I was looking at him in mediation and felt like I was looking at a stranger. That is really what hurts the most. Not that it hurts for very long, b/c it's true that I am so much happier now and Stefano is Mr. Dream Come True. But this was not how I planned my life with S to be at all and I just feel... bamboozled. Me! It's appalling. But--I don't ever have to see S again and I can really, finally move on w/my life for good. Except for having to pay the rest of the custody battle debt, which is going to take me a long fucking time. But all my assets are completely MINE at least--forever.
The only bad thing was that, all of a sudden, beginning last Thursday (or maybe it was Friday) I had this painful knot in my back, underneath my right shoulderblade. I have NEVER had back problems in my life, not ONE! It sorta went away Sat-Sun but this a.m. it was back. I am guessing maybe it's b/c of the mediation on Wednesday?
So it was kinda funny b/c I had received one of S's bank letters at my house again a few days ago, but instead of being a bank statement it was a reward card to Starbucks in the amount of $10! He had cashed in some of his points from his new debit card, I guess, since no one on earth will give him a credit card. I wrestled ethically w/that for a bit. Should I return the card to him? Or should I just SPEND it?!?! I decided to SPEND it! That is but a mere drop in the bucket towards the $ he owes me. So before mediation I ran by the Starbucks and got myself a delicious egg salad sandwich, chicken pasta salad, and a fatfree coffee cake. All I can say is... YUM.
When I got to mediation, no surprise, S was there w/his fatass ugly mother. I told my atty. no way in hell would I agree to her participating. (After all, when S and I had attempted mediation w/the whore, she demanded I stay outside too.) The 4 of us were led to a conference room where the mediation would take place. The mediator was an old-school expert in mediation, my atty. told me later. When my atty. objected to S's fatass mom being in there she was led next door to another room by the mediator and S got up and followed, being a big loser brat as always. But my atty. offered to also step out and the mediator said it was sometimes helpful for the 2 parties to just have some alone time w/the mediator to get things out initially. So that's what we did.
The mediator let me begin since I was the one who had commenced the divorce. I laid out the whole story of our marriage/problems/breakup in about 10 minutes and when it was S's turn all he said was basically, Fine, whatever, I don't have time for this, She left me homeless and with nothing to my name, Let's just get this over with so I can get out there and find a job, blah blah blah poor me, poor me. Why was I not surprised??? What was really upsetting though--again, not that I should be surprised--was that he lied about how his daughter is so scared of me now that "whenever I come around" she pees her pants. OH MY GOD. This is the whore accusing us of bullshit all over again--the lies are SO outrageous as to be laughable. I am SERIOUS.
Since S and I clearly hate each other so much, the mediator then led S to go be with his mommy so she could kiss him on the head and wipe his nose and ass for him. (Even my atty., who's been divorced, said he thought it was way creepy to want to bring your mom to your divorce mediation.) Then my atty. came back in w/me and we began to discuss tactics. The mediator went back and forth between the 2 rooms. At one point I could hear S and his mom through the thin wall (I was standing up by the window) and they were talking loudly about my guns! WTF that has to do with anything was beyond me, and I frankly couldn't understand how S wants to waste time talking about bullshit when he claimed he just wanted to "get it all over with."
The really upsetting thing for me came when my atty. and the mediator pointed out that S really has nothing to lose since he 1. has no real source of income and 2. is living with his mother and 3. is driving our Ford Crown Vic which is, to quote S, "falling apart." I, on the other hand, have a home in my name, a good car, 2 retirement accounts, and plenty of money including several checking and savings accounts--all of which S still has claim to since we are still, technically, married!!! I was horrified. I just wanted S to pay me back the remaining balance of the custody battle debt on my credit card but he was now claiming that if he gives up interest in all of MY assets then that should leave him square. What it finally came down to was, I could continue to fight him on the custody battle debt, continue to pay my atty. to handle my case for the next few months, and who knows what the judge would finally decide to do? He may even decide to make us pay an appraiser to come and appraise the house and then force us to sell it! (And yes, I was worried about an appraiser coming in b/c of all the improvements I have been making w/J. and the renovating she's done and how nice the place is now.)
The only guarantee was that I would continue to pay my atty. And the math was too iffy, but I certainly did NOT want to lose my house and I definitely do NOT want S to have any claim to any of MY assets. I could continue to fight for months, or I could sign the mediator's paper and be done that afternoon. After a couple of hours of this, I decided to sign. The mediator thanked me for my ability to step away and see the big picture. I was pissed off at S for not doing the right thing and taking the remaining $14K custody battle debt off my hands--but he sure did sign off on all the things that I had to lose.
I also couldn't believe that the mediator wrote in his ruling that we will keep whatever possessions we currently have in our possession. I have several valuable items of S's that he said he wanted back: his police academy papers/books. A closet full of clothes and shoes. Some of his furniture and some other very valuable things. The 2 boxes of custody battle documents, evidence, etc. 2 of his child's baby teeth and some photos of her from when she was a baby and dozens more of her life with me. Wow, so I get to keep it all. I didn't WANT to keep that shit, I wanted him to pay me my $ and I wanted to give this crap back to him.
All in all though... I'm done. I have to go to court one last time to verify to the judge that I agreed to the mediation agreement. Then my atty. will write up the divorce decree and we'll all sign it and I should be officially divorced next month, God willing. I have to say, I've had a couple of bad dreams/nightmares since last Wednesday. Most of all, I just can't believe what S has become. I can't believe the man I married has turned on me so. I am amazed and bewildered at how badly this marriage turned out to be. I was looking at him in mediation and felt like I was looking at a stranger. That is really what hurts the most. Not that it hurts for very long, b/c it's true that I am so much happier now and Stefano is Mr. Dream Come True. But this was not how I planned my life with S to be at all and I just feel... bamboozled. Me! It's appalling. But--I don't ever have to see S again and I can really, finally move on w/my life for good. Except for having to pay the rest of the custody battle debt, which is going to take me a long fucking time. But all my assets are completely MINE at least--forever.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Chicago Dream Birthday, Part 2
Ok, so after returning from the disappointing Kingston Mines, back at the hotel we took a luxurious bubble bath together in our big deep tub along w/drinks (well, a drink for me). Sunday I slept in again while Stefano did his coffee/newspaper thing downstairs. But I couldn't sleep in TOO long as we'd plans to go check out the Maxwell St. Market in the late morning, also made famous in The Blues Brothers with the John Lee Hooker scene. However, we had to go to the NEW MSM as the OLD one is now defunct, having been moved by the city to safer environs. (As I told Stefano as we were walking through the neighborhood, any place with a bunch of white girls jogging and that has a Bed Bath and Beyond is a safe neighborhood!)
We took the El down there and had a very nice walk to the Market, including over the river where we snapped some nice pic's, downtown skyline behind us. Ok, so the New MSM is almost totally Hispanic, I'm guessing mostly Mexican. It's similar to the flea markets here in Houston. It was amusing to just walk around and look at the stuff (crap) and people watch, though Stefano did buy me a stainless steel 3-piece shaker set, something I've been wanting since Christmas! (Price on it was $24.99, Stefano paid $5!) Stefano had been hoping to find some blues CD's, but the only music was Hispanic and pop. Also--the only live music going on was an unassuming WHITE 3-piece blues band that had been relegated to playing on the very edge of the market. No respect! Stefano took a pic of them and gave them a tip.
After that we headed a short El ride away to 1060 West Addison, also a place I just had to see b/c of The Blues Brothers, my favorite movie of all time. At that time Stefano advised we could have our 1st meal of the day (I hadn't been hungry all day yet after the previous night's pizza!) at the famous Billy Goat Tavern, made famous by John Belushi on SNL. So we took our quick snapshots in front of Wrigley Field's famous sign, then walked down the street to find the Billy Goat. Stefano, who'd eaten there before years ago while attending a Cubs game, was perplexed at not being able to find it, and a quick duck into a nearby store to inquire led to the discovery that it had closed down, at least at that location. So we realized we should grab a cab to another location, one actually not far from our hotel. Before doing so we stopped into a used bookstore to see if they had any good blues CD's. They didn't but I found a book I have been looking for for over a year, the Walter Murch editing book! Stefano bought it for me.... awwww!
So we grabbed a cab which dropped us at the address we had for the original Billy Goat. We had trouble finding it at 1st b/c it's actually located underneath the street--interesting! So we went on in and Stefano ordered a double cheeseburger and I ordered a single. The loud cook said "No, double!" I insisted single. He said "No, double," and pointed at the patties on the grill, which were indeed thin. I acquiesced. I'd been hoping for fries but no, you have to have chips there! And of course, no Pepsi, only Coke! (Diet Coke for us.) Then he loudly ordered us to move down the counter so we could pay. It was kinda like the scary Soup Nazi, only not as mean! Anyway, the cook also pulled out one of their famous paper hats and gave it to me so I could put it on. I ended up wearing it the entire meal b/c I was too scared to take it off, thinking I'd get yelled at or something! The burgers were great and it was a fun experience. While eating I overheard the cook ordering people they also had to order a double. (One lady actually got away w/ordering a single--she musta been REALLY adamant--and he said "Next time, double!") They had this busboy or something, this old black man w/only 1 tooth, that walked around the talked sports endlessly w/us and the other patrons. Stefano bought a souvenir tshirt before we left.
Back to the hotel, which we walked to. It was a beautiful sunny day, if still a bit cold. Everyone was trying to walk on the sunny side of the street, including us! I had a craving for something sweet. I'd brought Dots w/me on the trip and M&M's but I wanted a cupcake or something. So we stopped in a nice bakery and I satisfied my craving w/a huge chocolate cupcake which we took back to our room. I ate 1/2 of it while Stefano relaxed. After awhile, it was time to get ready for the Main Event of the Whole Trip: The Holmes Brothers concert!!!
I was so excited! I was trying not to think of the concert too much b/c I was worried I'd get too freaked out and excited!!! We took the El there and it was a very nice ride. After getting off the El we weren't sure which way to go but a nice couple pointed us right there. It was also a nice neighborhood, very trendy and kitschy. The Old Town School of Music was a really groovy place, very hip and a real nice vibe. The audience seemed to be all old white folks my parents' age, which I am totally used to by now, as my taste in music seems to run that way for some reason! I had bought the best seats my money could buy, and we were a few rows away from the stage but truthfully there was not a bad seat in the house. Even the balcony was close. Before we got our seats I bought a CD out front, not their latest one but the one before that. I only had enough cash for 1 CD and this one had Levon on it!!! Thrills! Also the merch. lady confirmed that the Brothers would be out after the show for autographs. Yay!!!
There was an opening band of 4 white dudes that was RIGHT up Stefano's alley. It was old-school, low-volume blues just like his band. After they played Stefano went up to say hi and come to find out, he found out from the guitarist that we definitely did not get the best of Chicago blues on our previous 2 nights out. Live and learn! Then I saw the incredible, angel-voiced Popsy from the Holmes Bros. onstage adjusting his drum set. I was thrilled to see him! And when they introduced the Bros., I was really out of my mind w/excitement now! But then... Wendell sat behind the keyboard and introduced the song "Fair Weather Friend" and the story behind it made me totally start to cry. Tears were streaming down my face! Wendell had been diagnosed with cancer and his best friend totally deserted him. I couldn't believe anyone would do that to such an amazing man, such a sweet soul, such an incredible talent! The song was so sad and beautiful, it just killed me. I also couldn't help but think of R., who deserted me last fall when I needed friends the most. So yeah, I related a little.
I finally stopped crying around the 4th song! Stefano also loved the Brothers! They put on such a great show. They didn't do any of my real favorites, and as I'd warned Stefano, they are heavy on the Jesus-songs, but it was totally ok. I was so glad to be in the same room w/them--they're old men! God knows when I'll get to see them again! I'd bought these tickets back in January, and there they were, right in front of me in person!!!
After the show I raced outside to the lobby and I was the 1st person to greet Wendell, who walked right to the merch. table, no break needed for him! I told him I'd come all the way from Texas to see them! I told Sherman I was also a bass player! And they sat down and signed my CD and Stefano took a pic of me w/them. Then Popsy came out a minute later and I also greeted him happily. He was so sweet (I'd been told he's actually the most talkative of all of them) and signed my CD and I got a pic of just the 2 of us. Stefano also bought an Old Town School of Music tshirt. I was so overwhelmed and ecstatic!
I was still a little teary as we walked back to the El. Stefano had brought along some of my beloved coco rum and we both took swigs. He said we needed to go to a bar and have one drink and toast to the Brothers. After the El took us back to our hotel's area we decided just to swing into our hotel's adjoining fancy bar. Fancy, indeed! 2 shots of Irish whiskey cost $20! Back upstairs we had another bubble bath while listening to the CD on our room's CD player. Perfect ending to a wonderful day/concert/birthday weekend!
The next morning Stefano did his coffee/newspaper thing and I went to the hotel's exercise room for a quick exercycle session, while catching up on a This American Life podcast, natch! The bike overlooked the street from a huge window--great view! After I was done we had time to go across the street again to "Pancakes House" but this time I had the southwestern skillet. After that we took a short walk down to Lakeshore Drive, walking in front of the famous Drake hotel. Then it was time to get back, finish packing and grab a cab to the airport. We arrived in plenty of time so we had another drink in a hotel bar and relaxed and read the paper and watched the news, etc. Again an easy flight home and it felt so nice to be back in warm weather. But yeah, it was the best birthday of my life and of course that is saying a lot.
We took the El down there and had a very nice walk to the Market, including over the river where we snapped some nice pic's, downtown skyline behind us. Ok, so the New MSM is almost totally Hispanic, I'm guessing mostly Mexican. It's similar to the flea markets here in Houston. It was amusing to just walk around and look at the stuff (crap) and people watch, though Stefano did buy me a stainless steel 3-piece shaker set, something I've been wanting since Christmas! (Price on it was $24.99, Stefano paid $5!) Stefano had been hoping to find some blues CD's, but the only music was Hispanic and pop. Also--the only live music going on was an unassuming WHITE 3-piece blues band that had been relegated to playing on the very edge of the market. No respect! Stefano took a pic of them and gave them a tip.
After that we headed a short El ride away to 1060 West Addison, also a place I just had to see b/c of The Blues Brothers, my favorite movie of all time. At that time Stefano advised we could have our 1st meal of the day (I hadn't been hungry all day yet after the previous night's pizza!) at the famous Billy Goat Tavern, made famous by John Belushi on SNL. So we took our quick snapshots in front of Wrigley Field's famous sign, then walked down the street to find the Billy Goat. Stefano, who'd eaten there before years ago while attending a Cubs game, was perplexed at not being able to find it, and a quick duck into a nearby store to inquire led to the discovery that it had closed down, at least at that location. So we realized we should grab a cab to another location, one actually not far from our hotel. Before doing so we stopped into a used bookstore to see if they had any good blues CD's. They didn't but I found a book I have been looking for for over a year, the Walter Murch editing book! Stefano bought it for me.... awwww!
So we grabbed a cab which dropped us at the address we had for the original Billy Goat. We had trouble finding it at 1st b/c it's actually located underneath the street--interesting! So we went on in and Stefano ordered a double cheeseburger and I ordered a single. The loud cook said "No, double!" I insisted single. He said "No, double," and pointed at the patties on the grill, which were indeed thin. I acquiesced. I'd been hoping for fries but no, you have to have chips there! And of course, no Pepsi, only Coke! (Diet Coke for us.) Then he loudly ordered us to move down the counter so we could pay. It was kinda like the scary Soup Nazi, only not as mean! Anyway, the cook also pulled out one of their famous paper hats and gave it to me so I could put it on. I ended up wearing it the entire meal b/c I was too scared to take it off, thinking I'd get yelled at or something! The burgers were great and it was a fun experience. While eating I overheard the cook ordering people they also had to order a double. (One lady actually got away w/ordering a single--she musta been REALLY adamant--and he said "Next time, double!") They had this busboy or something, this old black man w/only 1 tooth, that walked around the talked sports endlessly w/us and the other patrons. Stefano bought a souvenir tshirt before we left.
Back to the hotel, which we walked to. It was a beautiful sunny day, if still a bit cold. Everyone was trying to walk on the sunny side of the street, including us! I had a craving for something sweet. I'd brought Dots w/me on the trip and M&M's but I wanted a cupcake or something. So we stopped in a nice bakery and I satisfied my craving w/a huge chocolate cupcake which we took back to our room. I ate 1/2 of it while Stefano relaxed. After awhile, it was time to get ready for the Main Event of the Whole Trip: The Holmes Brothers concert!!!
I was so excited! I was trying not to think of the concert too much b/c I was worried I'd get too freaked out and excited!!! We took the El there and it was a very nice ride. After getting off the El we weren't sure which way to go but a nice couple pointed us right there. It was also a nice neighborhood, very trendy and kitschy. The Old Town School of Music was a really groovy place, very hip and a real nice vibe. The audience seemed to be all old white folks my parents' age, which I am totally used to by now, as my taste in music seems to run that way for some reason! I had bought the best seats my money could buy, and we were a few rows away from the stage but truthfully there was not a bad seat in the house. Even the balcony was close. Before we got our seats I bought a CD out front, not their latest one but the one before that. I only had enough cash for 1 CD and this one had Levon on it!!! Thrills! Also the merch. lady confirmed that the Brothers would be out after the show for autographs. Yay!!!
There was an opening band of 4 white dudes that was RIGHT up Stefano's alley. It was old-school, low-volume blues just like his band. After they played Stefano went up to say hi and come to find out, he found out from the guitarist that we definitely did not get the best of Chicago blues on our previous 2 nights out. Live and learn! Then I saw the incredible, angel-voiced Popsy from the Holmes Bros. onstage adjusting his drum set. I was thrilled to see him! And when they introduced the Bros., I was really out of my mind w/excitement now! But then... Wendell sat behind the keyboard and introduced the song "Fair Weather Friend" and the story behind it made me totally start to cry. Tears were streaming down my face! Wendell had been diagnosed with cancer and his best friend totally deserted him. I couldn't believe anyone would do that to such an amazing man, such a sweet soul, such an incredible talent! The song was so sad and beautiful, it just killed me. I also couldn't help but think of R., who deserted me last fall when I needed friends the most. So yeah, I related a little.
I finally stopped crying around the 4th song! Stefano also loved the Brothers! They put on such a great show. They didn't do any of my real favorites, and as I'd warned Stefano, they are heavy on the Jesus-songs, but it was totally ok. I was so glad to be in the same room w/them--they're old men! God knows when I'll get to see them again! I'd bought these tickets back in January, and there they were, right in front of me in person!!!
After the show I raced outside to the lobby and I was the 1st person to greet Wendell, who walked right to the merch. table, no break needed for him! I told him I'd come all the way from Texas to see them! I told Sherman I was also a bass player! And they sat down and signed my CD and Stefano took a pic of me w/them. Then Popsy came out a minute later and I also greeted him happily. He was so sweet (I'd been told he's actually the most talkative of all of them) and signed my CD and I got a pic of just the 2 of us. Stefano also bought an Old Town School of Music tshirt. I was so overwhelmed and ecstatic!
I was still a little teary as we walked back to the El. Stefano had brought along some of my beloved coco rum and we both took swigs. He said we needed to go to a bar and have one drink and toast to the Brothers. After the El took us back to our hotel's area we decided just to swing into our hotel's adjoining fancy bar. Fancy, indeed! 2 shots of Irish whiskey cost $20! Back upstairs we had another bubble bath while listening to the CD on our room's CD player. Perfect ending to a wonderful day/concert/birthday weekend!
The next morning Stefano did his coffee/newspaper thing and I went to the hotel's exercise room for a quick exercycle session, while catching up on a This American Life podcast, natch! The bike overlooked the street from a huge window--great view! After I was done we had time to go across the street again to "Pancakes House" but this time I had the southwestern skillet. After that we took a short walk down to Lakeshore Drive, walking in front of the famous Drake hotel. Then it was time to get back, finish packing and grab a cab to the airport. We arrived in plenty of time so we had another drink in a hotel bar and relaxed and read the paper and watched the news, etc. Again an easy flight home and it felt so nice to be back in warm weather. But yeah, it was the best birthday of my life and of course that is saying a lot.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Brief Drunken Update
Ok so I'm a little tipsy right now, having just bowled the worst game of my entire life (hey I usually bowl at least 100) and having drunk 3 Lemontini's at Lucky Strikes. Crap... gonna have to do Chicago Part 2 tomorrow. Looking forward to tomorrow! Stefano is taking me out to our fave blues club and I am gonna have plenny drinks. Yesterday was stressful indeed. S. and his fatass loser mom showed up and told many, many lies. I guess they don't want to go to heaven, is all I can think. I do the right thing b/c it's the right thing to do, also I believe in Karma and I fully intend on going to Heaven. Then again, Karma certainly is a bitch. S., his fat ass mom, and his whore baby mama--NONE of them are winners in life. So there you go.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Not Only the Best Birthday Weekend Ever...
But one of the BEST weekends of my LIFE, ever. For. REAL!!!
To the airport, park the car, check in, find our gate, and first order of business: the first birthday drink of the day! He had a Bloody Mary and I had a screwdriver--hey, it was like 10am! Then we got shoe shines so we could confidently travel in style and class. Nothing like a good shoe shine to make you feel like a million bucks!
Legendary. It was like a church, with that holy feeling, you know? We took many fun pic's of course. And dropped some dimes at the gift shop area: I got a shot glass, a lanyard for my work badge, and 2 very cool long-sleeved Chess Records t-shirts, one for me, one for me Ma. Then we wanted to take the El back to the hotel; we'd only grabbed a cab there in the interest of time since the tours ended at 4pm. First we stopped in a crappy convenience store to buy liquor (they sell liquor at convenience stores, even 7-11's up there! They HAVE to--it's so motherfuckin' cold liquor is NEEDED, man!). Then we found the El and the hotel told us over the phone how to get back on the Red line. Fun!
Back at our hotel we finally had the chance to unwind a bit, have quality time together, and start drinking. The hotel was really beautiful and is even mentioned in my Chicago guidebooks as well as has over 90% glowing reviews on the Internetweb! We took a shower and got dressed for the evening's activities: reservations for my birthday dinner at a romantic Greektown restaurant that Stefano had been to one of his previous Chicago work visits, followed by Mississippi Heat's CD release party at Buddy Guy's. We took a cab to dinner and the restaurant was so romantic and divine... We had a wonderful meal w/wine and got to feeling pretty damn giddy. But we ate so much that I didn't even have room for dessert and we decided to walk to Buddy Guy's.
The restaurant printed out Mapquest directions for us and said it was about a couple miles, but I was up for a nice Chicago walk and so was Stefano. I don't think it was 2 miles, but it was at least a mile. Anyway, it was a very nice walk and we were bundled up against the cold and we were FULL of amazing Greek food so it was totally do-able. We arrived at Buddy Guy's and found some stools near the back bar. The opening band was more blues-rock, which neither Stefano nor I care for, particularly. I personally, hate roadhouse blues and that kind of sound. Mississippi Heat was alright--Stefano's harmonica player had recommended their harmonica player, and Stefano went to say hi and pay his respects. However we only stayed for about 3 songs and then we were ready to grab a cab back to the hotel and enjoy our beautiful room as well as each other!
Saturday Stefano got up early as he always does, so he could go downstairs and get coffee and read the paper. I slept in awhile longer, then got up and began to get ready for another fun-filled day! After a lazy morning we went across the street--literally!--to breakfast at the Pancakes House. (And I kept insisting to Stefano that we say it like that, "Pancakes House" and in a low voice like the thug in the movie Fargo, ha haaaaa!) After a long line to get in, I had the Apple Pancake which was a little embarrassing b/c whenever the waitress brings one of those things out, the whole restaurant stares at the size! I also had a side of thick-sliced bacon, mmmm... I didn't eat the whole thing, natch but it was deee-licious!
After breakfast it was time to take the bus down to the Art Institute. I was so excited!!! Even my pater familias told me how jealous he was of me going, that the Art Institute is one of his favorite places ever. We even got a free ride on the bus b/c the cash payment box wasn't working. Sweet! There was a huge Matisse exhibit going on, and we hit that first. Then of course had to wander all over and catch the famous paintings on permanent exhibit. Picassos, O'Keefes, Miros, Hoppers, Rauschenbergs, Van Goghs, etc etc etc!!! My head started to hurt after awhile--it was just too much! But wonderful, wonderful... After a few hours there we headed back to the hotel and were trying to find the El when it started to rain a little, so Stefano grabbed a cab. We had the rest of the afternoon for major R&R in our hotel room.
In the evening I really wanted to have some famous Chicago deep dish pizza. My mom used to take us to a Chicago deep dish place in Houston when we were kids and I had always loved going there. So we checked w/the concierge who told us that the famous Gino's East was within walking distance, and he gave us a card for a free item as well as "priority seating." Good thing too b/c when we got there, the line was out the door and it was freezing outside! But the hostess showed us right inside and we opted to sit at the bar. We got beer/wine and free garlic sticks and ordered our deep dish, 1/2 cheese and sausage and 1/2 vegetarian. It. Was. So. GOOD!!! And once again, no room for dessert!
After dinner we went back to the hotel since we still had time to relax before we needed to get to the music venue of the night, Kingston Mines. I actually ended up falling asleep for almost an hour--damn that pizza was good! Then we grabbed a cab, got to the place and went inside where we found the 1st of the 2 stages, that had this party band onstage, meaning they were playing crowd-pleasing stuff. Bullshit like "Shout" and "Superstition." Whatever. The place was PACKED with white folks, and we went to the 2nd stage to sit, where the next band would be coming on soon. The 2nd band was this pretty cool chick whose band was not bad. But again, all covers. Hmmm. We didn't stay very long, even though I was impressed the joint was open til 5am!
Gonna hafta finish recounting the trip later, as I have to get ready to leave work and head downtown for mediation w/S. I am ready to kick his ass.
Back at our hotel we finally had the chance to unwind a bit, have quality time together, and start drinking. The hotel was really beautiful and is even mentioned in my Chicago guidebooks as well as has over 90% glowing reviews on the Internetweb! We took a shower and got dressed for the evening's activities: reservations for my birthday dinner at a romantic Greektown restaurant that Stefano had been to one of his previous Chicago work visits, followed by Mississippi Heat's CD release party at Buddy Guy's. We took a cab to dinner and the restaurant was so romantic and divine... We had a wonderful meal w/wine and got to feeling pretty damn giddy. But we ate so much that I didn't even have room for dessert and we decided to walk to Buddy Guy's.
The restaurant printed out Mapquest directions for us and said it was about a couple miles, but I was up for a nice Chicago walk and so was Stefano. I don't think it was 2 miles, but it was at least a mile. Anyway, it was a very nice walk and we were bundled up against the cold and we were FULL of amazing Greek food so it was totally do-able. We arrived at Buddy Guy's and found some stools near the back bar. The opening band was more blues-rock, which neither Stefano nor I care for, particularly. I personally, hate roadhouse blues and that kind of sound. Mississippi Heat was alright--Stefano's harmonica player had recommended their harmonica player, and Stefano went to say hi and pay his respects. However we only stayed for about 3 songs and then we were ready to grab a cab back to the hotel and enjoy our beautiful room as well as each other!
Saturday Stefano got up early as he always does, so he could go downstairs and get coffee and read the paper. I slept in awhile longer, then got up and began to get ready for another fun-filled day! After a lazy morning we went across the street--literally!--to breakfast at the Pancakes House. (And I kept insisting to Stefano that we say it like that, "Pancakes House" and in a low voice like the thug in the movie Fargo, ha haaaaa!) After a long line to get in, I had the Apple Pancake which was a little embarrassing b/c whenever the waitress brings one of those things out, the whole restaurant stares at the size! I also had a side of thick-sliced bacon, mmmm... I didn't eat the whole thing, natch but it was deee-licious!
After breakfast it was time to take the bus down to the Art Institute. I was so excited!!! Even my pater familias told me how jealous he was of me going, that the Art Institute is one of his favorite places ever. We even got a free ride on the bus b/c the cash payment box wasn't working. Sweet! There was a huge Matisse exhibit going on, and we hit that first. Then of course had to wander all over and catch the famous paintings on permanent exhibit. Picassos, O'Keefes, Miros, Hoppers, Rauschenbergs, Van Goghs, etc etc etc!!! My head started to hurt after awhile--it was just too much! But wonderful, wonderful... After a few hours there we headed back to the hotel and were trying to find the El when it started to rain a little, so Stefano grabbed a cab. We had the rest of the afternoon for major R&R in our hotel room.
In the evening I really wanted to have some famous Chicago deep dish pizza. My mom used to take us to a Chicago deep dish place in Houston when we were kids and I had always loved going there. So we checked w/the concierge who told us that the famous Gino's East was within walking distance, and he gave us a card for a free item as well as "priority seating." Good thing too b/c when we got there, the line was out the door and it was freezing outside! But the hostess showed us right inside and we opted to sit at the bar. We got beer/wine and free garlic sticks and ordered our deep dish, 1/2 cheese and sausage and 1/2 vegetarian. It. Was. So. GOOD!!! And once again, no room for dessert!
After dinner we went back to the hotel since we still had time to relax before we needed to get to the music venue of the night, Kingston Mines. I actually ended up falling asleep for almost an hour--damn that pizza was good! Then we grabbed a cab, got to the place and went inside where we found the 1st of the 2 stages, that had this party band onstage, meaning they were playing crowd-pleasing stuff. Bullshit like "Shout" and "Superstition." Whatever. The place was PACKED with white folks, and we went to the 2nd stage to sit, where the next band would be coming on soon. The 2nd band was this pretty cool chick whose band was not bad. But again, all covers. Hmmm. We didn't stay very long, even though I was impressed the joint was open til 5am!
Gonna hafta finish recounting the trip later, as I have to get ready to leave work and head downtown for mediation w/S. I am ready to kick his ass.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Birthday Celebrating is in Full Swing
Because I'm the frugal art of the deal female genius, I've already gotten some good free things for my b-day this week! On Monday I got a free dessert (mouth watering delicious piece of carrot cake!) from La Mad. Yesterday I got a free brownie from Boston Market. Last night I got a free shrimp/crab meat enchilada meal from Pico's, which allowed me to buy dinner for Mr. Wonderful who was wonderful enough to join me there for dinner, along with a visiting librarian from Lebanon, my boss at Job #1, and 3 of my coworkers from Job #1. We consumed MANY margaritas and it was a real fun evening for all!
I slept really good last night. I was supposed to do my nails b/c I have rehearsal tonight but I passed out... oops! Yesterday was a good day to drink. I took the whole day off from Job #1 as I had my annual well woman exam and needed the rest of the day to relax. I ran errands, spoke to DA on the phone, and organized my jewelry, which was a HUGE task, indeed! Decided to separate the silver earrings from the gold earrings for ease of getting ready in the morning, and organize my rings. Whilst doing so I watched this amazing documentary, Trouble the Water. Whoa. Then went to Job #2 for a bit, then met everyone at the Mexican restaurant.
Mr. Wonderful Stefano and I are getting sooooo excited for Chicago this weekend!!! We have a packed agenda, packed I tell you! I probably need to go ahead and start packing tonight. The only shitty thing is there's gonna be a motherfuckin' cold front there this weekend--boooo! I have to bring heavy sweaters and tights and shit, stuff that I thought I was done with for the year since it's, you know, 90 degrees in Houston! Waaah! No cute sundresses for me, dammit. Crap!!! Oh well. I'm just so glad to be getting away w/my baby!
I slept really good last night. I was supposed to do my nails b/c I have rehearsal tonight but I passed out... oops! Yesterday was a good day to drink. I took the whole day off from Job #1 as I had my annual well woman exam and needed the rest of the day to relax. I ran errands, spoke to DA on the phone, and organized my jewelry, which was a HUGE task, indeed! Decided to separate the silver earrings from the gold earrings for ease of getting ready in the morning, and organize my rings. Whilst doing so I watched this amazing documentary, Trouble the Water. Whoa. Then went to Job #2 for a bit, then met everyone at the Mexican restaurant.
Mr. Wonderful Stefano and I are getting sooooo excited for Chicago this weekend!!! We have a packed agenda, packed I tell you! I probably need to go ahead and start packing tonight. The only shitty thing is there's gonna be a motherfuckin' cold front there this weekend--boooo! I have to bring heavy sweaters and tights and shit, stuff that I thought I was done with for the year since it's, you know, 90 degrees in Houston! Waaah! No cute sundresses for me, dammit. Crap!!! Oh well. I'm just so glad to be getting away w/my baby!
Monday, May 03, 2010
Trial Run Weekend: A Success!
Not that I was expecting the 1st weekend away w/Mr. Wonderful Stefano to be anything BUT a wild success! Man, we had a FLAWLESS, FUN, GROOVY time away together this weekend! And now we just cannot wait for Chicago this weekend. Lord have mercy! We've got so many fun things on the agenda, it's gonna be a fun challenge fitting them all in! But anyway, so to recap this past weekend...
So I worked from home on Friday which was awesome! I ran by Job #2 before heading back home to meet Stefano who was picking me up after work. We headed up north, him with a beer, me with my vanilla vodka/Sprite zero and by the time we got to the hotel I was feeling pretty, pretty, pretty good!!! We tossed our stuff into our 2nd floor room at the Drury Inn and went downstairs for the "Kickback" where they have free food and even free booze!!! I had a chili dog and chips and a Whiskey Sour, but the bartender chick demanded to see my I.D. so I had to shlep back up to the room and get it, although she didn't ID Stefano. When I gave her my I.D. I said, "I'm pushing 40, so... thanks!" After our munchies we went to the room, changed into our bathing suits and headed downstairs to the indoor hot tub after refilling our drinks w/the big bottle of coco rum I'd brought along.
Saturday we woke up in time for the final hour of breakfast downstairs, though Stefano had already been up before me and been to the exercise room. I had runny eggs w/salsa, a banana, a bagel/cream cheese, sausage, and biscuits and gravy. The trick, you see, is to not eat it all, or just eat most of everything. Then I wanted to go to the pool, lay out, read my book, and begin drinking even if it was 10am--hey man, I was on vacation! So we did just that, and had the small pool to ourselves. After a couple hours we hit the hot tub once more and then went to the room to get ready for a late lunch/early dinner. The hotel staff said we could ride a shuttle to the concert that night, so the plan was to go have dinner at Grimaldi's--our favorite pizzeria!--then come back to the hotel and catch the shuttle. It took us awhile to find Grimaldi's in the midst of all that shopping and restaurants but after a few phone calls finally we found it, just in time for them to begin the 4pm, hour-long stoking process. We decided to sit, have some wine, enjoy some antipasto and salad while waiting. It was a long but enjoyable meal!
We'd had 3 glasses of wine each while at dinner, though we ate a ton of pizza so that soaked up much of it. Back at the hotel we had a little time to relax before shuttle time. Before catching the shuttle we headed back down for the Kickback and each got a drink. Also we'd filled my 2 small flasks w/coco rum since Van Morrison demanded no alcohol sales during his show! As I said on Facebook, Richard Manuel is spinning in his grave! I badged my way into the venue w/the po-lice which is how I sneak everything in.
Stefano and I walked up to the hill and saw my Sgt. friend who said she'd be up there selling beer, and there she was! But she said they were being forced to leave once alcohol sales ceased 10 min. to showtime since they hadn't bought tickets--bummer! Stefano and I got our Diet Coke and headed to our seats. Then, amazingly, I saw another deputy friend of mine, the crazy old-school guy I used to patrol with all the time until he switched to a Mon-Fri schedule! We hugged and I introduced Stefano, then he had to get to his seat w/his wife. There were like 3 entire empty rows of seats next to us, and once the show started and the girls behind us wouldn't SHUT UP, Stefano said for us to just move over to the empty seats and we did, which was great! No one behind us, in front of us, or next to us! We made short work of both flasks quickly!
The show was really, really good. I couldn't believe how incredible Van's voice sounded after all these years! I already knew he wasn't going to talk to the audience since Stefano had been up on all the recent reviews of Van's shows. I didn't care that he didn't do the "hits" that all the stupid soccer moms and dads wanted to hear. When he did "Till I Gain Control Again" I was so tickled, as I fucking LOVE that song, and I even had to tell Stefano what that song was. And Van played for 90 minutes straight, so it was well worth it to me! People were bitching after the show that he only played 2 of his hits, but I didn't care. His fiddle player even played VIOLA for crying out loud, on a few songs! Come ON! How awesome is that?!?!?
After the show we had to walk across the street to meet the shuttle, which took its sweet time getting to all of us! Stefano and I shared a cigar. Back at the hotel we were both happy and agreed it was a great experience. We both noted how many performers from The Last Waltz we'd each seen in concert, and it was so cool to add Van Morrison to the list!
Sunday Stefano woke up early (as he often does out of habit) to go get the paper while I slept in. He came back later and I decided it was time to get up and go visit the exercise room myself. Stefano came with me and we just did a quick 40 min. workout, him on the exercise bike and me on the elliptical for 10 min. and the treadmill for the remainder. Then it was time to shower, change, pack up, and get outta Dodge. On our way out of town I'd previously made arrangements w/the whore to meet her and give her 2 big bags of stuff for S's daughter: photos, her school sweatshirt, coloring books, random dolls/toys, etc. that DA had helped me pack up when we cleaned out the 2nd bedroom.
So we met her and unbelievably, the kid was in the car with her! I totally did NOT expect that and had been actually thinking how relieved I was that it was S's weekend to have his kid so that I wouldn't have to experience seeing her and whatever emotions that might bring up in me. She glanced at me through the window and waved, but then returned to whatever had her attention in her lap, a book maybe. I asked the whore as we were putting the bags into the back of her SUV what was up w/the kid being there and she said that S gets his weekends mixed up and brings her back early sometimes. Wow--interesting.
As we all drove off Stefano asked me if I was ok and I was. I felt pretty much nothing, which is weird to think about, but oh well. I said to me that was evidence of major, serious disorganization on S's part to be treating his visitation weekends w/his daughter so haphazardly--b/c they were SACRED when I was with him and his daughter. Interesting, that's all I can say. How come S's worthless, poseur mom isn't making sure they have as much time as possible w/said child? Hmmmm???
Anyway, so we had to make one stop before heading home, Stefano had to run into the grocery store and get some cash and I waited in the car. When he came out he had a bunch of lilies for me!!! He said they were to thank for me for a wonderful weekend! Awwwwww!!! Hey, I don't call him Mr. Wonderful for nothing! He also came over last night to spend the night w/me one last time before the work week starts. We leave for Chicago on my birthday this Friday and it will be another legendary weekend together for sure!
So I worked from home on Friday which was awesome! I ran by Job #2 before heading back home to meet Stefano who was picking me up after work. We headed up north, him with a beer, me with my vanilla vodka/Sprite zero and by the time we got to the hotel I was feeling pretty, pretty, pretty good!!! We tossed our stuff into our 2nd floor room at the Drury Inn and went downstairs for the "Kickback" where they have free food and even free booze!!! I had a chili dog and chips and a Whiskey Sour, but the bartender chick demanded to see my I.D. so I had to shlep back up to the room and get it, although she didn't ID Stefano. When I gave her my I.D. I said, "I'm pushing 40, so... thanks!" After our munchies we went to the room, changed into our bathing suits and headed downstairs to the indoor hot tub after refilling our drinks w/the big bottle of coco rum I'd brought along.
Saturday we woke up in time for the final hour of breakfast downstairs, though Stefano had already been up before me and been to the exercise room. I had runny eggs w/salsa, a banana, a bagel/cream cheese, sausage, and biscuits and gravy. The trick, you see, is to not eat it all, or just eat most of everything. Then I wanted to go to the pool, lay out, read my book, and begin drinking even if it was 10am--hey man, I was on vacation! So we did just that, and had the small pool to ourselves. After a couple hours we hit the hot tub once more and then went to the room to get ready for a late lunch/early dinner. The hotel staff said we could ride a shuttle to the concert that night, so the plan was to go have dinner at Grimaldi's--our favorite pizzeria!--then come back to the hotel and catch the shuttle. It took us awhile to find Grimaldi's in the midst of all that shopping and restaurants but after a few phone calls finally we found it, just in time for them to begin the 4pm, hour-long stoking process. We decided to sit, have some wine, enjoy some antipasto and salad while waiting. It was a long but enjoyable meal!
We'd had 3 glasses of wine each while at dinner, though we ate a ton of pizza so that soaked up much of it. Back at the hotel we had a little time to relax before shuttle time. Before catching the shuttle we headed back down for the Kickback and each got a drink. Also we'd filled my 2 small flasks w/coco rum since Van Morrison demanded no alcohol sales during his show! As I said on Facebook, Richard Manuel is spinning in his grave! I badged my way into the venue w/the po-lice which is how I sneak everything in.
Stefano and I walked up to the hill and saw my Sgt. friend who said she'd be up there selling beer, and there she was! But she said they were being forced to leave once alcohol sales ceased 10 min. to showtime since they hadn't bought tickets--bummer! Stefano and I got our Diet Coke and headed to our seats. Then, amazingly, I saw another deputy friend of mine, the crazy old-school guy I used to patrol with all the time until he switched to a Mon-Fri schedule! We hugged and I introduced Stefano, then he had to get to his seat w/his wife. There were like 3 entire empty rows of seats next to us, and once the show started and the girls behind us wouldn't SHUT UP, Stefano said for us to just move over to the empty seats and we did, which was great! No one behind us, in front of us, or next to us! We made short work of both flasks quickly!
The show was really, really good. I couldn't believe how incredible Van's voice sounded after all these years! I already knew he wasn't going to talk to the audience since Stefano had been up on all the recent reviews of Van's shows. I didn't care that he didn't do the "hits" that all the stupid soccer moms and dads wanted to hear. When he did "Till I Gain Control Again" I was so tickled, as I fucking LOVE that song, and I even had to tell Stefano what that song was. And Van played for 90 minutes straight, so it was well worth it to me! People were bitching after the show that he only played 2 of his hits, but I didn't care. His fiddle player even played VIOLA for crying out loud, on a few songs! Come ON! How awesome is that?!?!?
After the show we had to walk across the street to meet the shuttle, which took its sweet time getting to all of us! Stefano and I shared a cigar. Back at the hotel we were both happy and agreed it was a great experience. We both noted how many performers from The Last Waltz we'd each seen in concert, and it was so cool to add Van Morrison to the list!
Sunday Stefano woke up early (as he often does out of habit) to go get the paper while I slept in. He came back later and I decided it was time to get up and go visit the exercise room myself. Stefano came with me and we just did a quick 40 min. workout, him on the exercise bike and me on the elliptical for 10 min. and the treadmill for the remainder. Then it was time to shower, change, pack up, and get outta Dodge. On our way out of town I'd previously made arrangements w/the whore to meet her and give her 2 big bags of stuff for S's daughter: photos, her school sweatshirt, coloring books, random dolls/toys, etc. that DA had helped me pack up when we cleaned out the 2nd bedroom.
So we met her and unbelievably, the kid was in the car with her! I totally did NOT expect that and had been actually thinking how relieved I was that it was S's weekend to have his kid so that I wouldn't have to experience seeing her and whatever emotions that might bring up in me. She glanced at me through the window and waved, but then returned to whatever had her attention in her lap, a book maybe. I asked the whore as we were putting the bags into the back of her SUV what was up w/the kid being there and she said that S gets his weekends mixed up and brings her back early sometimes. Wow--interesting.
As we all drove off Stefano asked me if I was ok and I was. I felt pretty much nothing, which is weird to think about, but oh well. I said to me that was evidence of major, serious disorganization on S's part to be treating his visitation weekends w/his daughter so haphazardly--b/c they were SACRED when I was with him and his daughter. Interesting, that's all I can say. How come S's worthless, poseur mom isn't making sure they have as much time as possible w/said child? Hmmmm???
Anyway, so we had to make one stop before heading home, Stefano had to run into the grocery store and get some cash and I waited in the car. When he came out he had a bunch of lilies for me!!! He said they were to thank for me for a wonderful weekend! Awwwwww!!! Hey, I don't call him Mr. Wonderful for nothing! He also came over last night to spend the night w/me one last time before the work week starts. We leave for Chicago on my birthday this Friday and it will be another legendary weekend together for sure!
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