ohmygawd... Two Tornados

 
 
 
 
Two tornados blew through here. They were named Vyron and Darius. Ohmygosh!

'Mom' and the boys stopped by so 'mom' could use the pc and phone. While she was doing that these two tornados kept me hopping. Had to pick up things after the mop handle knocked them over... retrieve the dirty silverware that Darius, the dishwasher, put away in the drawer. Too much to list out. Lets just say it was a whirlwind of energy blowing through here.
 

Just another day

 
 
 
These are a few pictures from this morning... just a taste of what a typical day is like living next to 'the neighbor'.

The first one is a group of two females (one extremely high on something) and two males. They are searching through a bright green purse. The way they were doing it I think it might have been stolen. They had first come to 'the neighbor's' door and he turned them away saying something about "around the corner". I couldn't understand what was said except for that phrase. They were on the corner for several minutes doing the search.

There have been 12 people come to 'the neighbor's' door between 5:45am and 9am. Some were turned away, as the people above, and others went inside. Between 7:30am and 8am around four or five people left the apt. a few minutes apart. Its like he's running a flop house or something.

The next two pictures are of a whore. She arrived yesterday with a guy. It looks like they both, along with others, stayed at 'the neighbor's' place all night long. She came out of the apt. with two guys... they left and didn't take her with them. When she knocked on the apt. door it wasn't opened so she was stuck out on the common porch area for a while. Finally she knocked again and was let in. She's wearing a very flimsy blouse thingy that barely covered her ass, but that doesn't matter too much since you can practically see through it anyway.

Last night some people who live upstairs were setting off illegal fireworks from the deck area. The sparks were falling so that if you wanted to leave and walk down the steps, you had to wait until they were between roman candles going off. Someone told them what the fine was if they were caught ($250) setting off these fireworks and they stopped. At least they aren't totally retarded.

In Oregon you can't set off anything that goes into the air or moves more than a couple of feet on the ground. Washington has different laws so lots of people travel the couple of miles and buys their fireworks in Washington. In turn, the Washington people come over to Oregon to buy things so they don't have to pay sales tax.
 

Can you say 'cold' ?

 
This is a picture of a beautiful bush of red that resides on the corner. The color in the photo is no where near what its like in real life. I think its roses, but I don't know for sure since I didn't go up close.

This morning it is almost cold. Yahoo! I had the windows open for maybe 30 minutes and then thought to myself 'this is silly.... close the windows before you turn blue!' so I did. Excellent sleeping weather. yawn.

The coffee is filtering through the pot and will soon be ready... thoughts of scrambled eggs keeps coming to mind... I'm going to take the hint and go have breakfast. I want to be ready to watch The View at 10am. I want to see what they have to say about Star Jones' announcement yesterday. There are always questions. Was her contract not renewed? Or I guess the term should be 'picked up'... same thing. So was she fired or was it in protest of Rosie's coming to The View. I suspect there was a lot going on behind the scenes in regards to personalities and egos.

(and what do you think about Star's transformation from fatty to skinny? I find I don't recognize her until she speaks. If you are ever a hunted person, either lose or gain a lot of weight and change your hair style. It is the best disguise there is... just remember not to open your mouth or the personality comes out and thats a sure give-away.)

UPDATE: Can you say DIVA DUMP!! Ohmygosh...Barbara Walters put it all out there. I doubt that Star will be working anywhere except perhaps a local gig. When you make a public announcement that a network did not want you any longer...well, baby, that's it. They were willing to keep that private so Star could save face, but Miss Revenge just screwed herself. I can only imagine what happened after yesterday's show that caused them to not have Star on the show at all now. BIG O FIGHT comes to mind. I've heard Star's ego is huge. Perhaps this will help her get back down to earth. (Wonder how long the new hubby will be around with Star being unemployed?)
 

Bummer - with an update

I thought 'the neighbor' was going to have to move because he failed to pay his portion of the rent (section 8 thing), but I just found out today that someone (or some agency) bailed him out. Something else will need to occur I guess, cause he doesn't seem to be able to see the 'writing on the wall'.

The good news is someone associated with the people upstairs failed to pass the background check so she won't be moving into the currently empty apartment. (I haven't talked much about the people upstairs because they don't have the same amount of traffic, but I do believe they partake in the drug.) An ex-BIL, who is working for my son, may be moving into the apartment and I think he's someone who can get in people's face if the need arises. So... I'll be on one side of 'the neighbor' and the BIL will be on the other side.

UPDATE: I just got a call and my ex BIL will be moving into the empty apt. this weekend. And they are going to put a notice up that he is manager. In that way, he will have more clout to get someone evicted than a "disgruntled tenant". I am sooo glad, because I did not want to get the police involved...and besides, this is so 'small' they probably wouldn't do anything anyway.

The other good news is my son has sold his home and will be moving to a bigger place in town... closer to his office. Six bedrooms, which he needs with their brood. His first born is going to graduate from college in three years instead of four. (She's currently in Argentina on some kind of intern thingy and she loves her host family.)

And more good news... the wispy clouds from this morning are getting a little thicker today and I'm hoping it means cooler weather. We're suppose to be getting up to 90 degrees (am I repeating myself? you'll need to get use to it)... and that's still hot, but better than 102. Tomorrow comes the 80s. I hope I'm able to get the apt. cooled off tomorrow morning. Most times I can't open my window because of the druggies. And with this I acknowledge I'm repeating myself.

The breeze

It was down to 88 degrees at 9pm and best of all there's a strong breeze which helps to pull out the hot air. The down side is I'm sitting here with the window open in front of me and the stink of crack is also coming in. So many people here seem to be using. Its over running the country. Soon we will probably be a third world county.

I hope "traffic" isn't too heavy tonight so I can keep the front window open a while. Its suppose to be down to 65 or 68 degrees by 6am... yahoo.

I'm melting.....

Oh lordy, noon and its 90 degrees already... expected to reach 102 degrees. I have to go outside and then come back in to find out for sure that its cooler inside than outside. But it will cool down to 90 degrees tomorrow. Be still my heart.

It was difficult to get the place cooled off during the night. The news said it was 73 degrees at 3am... back up to 78 by 9am.

Whine ... but just a little. Its not like I live in Southern California or Arizona. I'm just very very thankful I don't have a job where I have to work outside... like putting down asphalt or something.

Last of pictures

 
 
 
 
Here's a better shot of my SIL. I got my pictures mixed up. Also more pictures of the 'new' neighborhood. If their street ended with a circle it would be called a cul de sac, but it just ends at the field and a graveled driveway. But hey... there are sidewalks up to that point!

There's one picture with a brown spot in a field... that's a horse and its just next door. They are bordering on country, or what use to be country. In another picture there is a spot of blue behind the berry bushes... that's a car parked in a field. Can you say red neck? In a nice way, of course.
 

More pictures

 
 
 
 
Uh Oh... now I can't remember what photos I included here (I'm using Picasa to upload). Picture of their new house, which has increased $40k in value since its purchase one, maybe two years prior (before the house was even built... they were able to lock in the price early, and got the first pick with the largest yard).

Another picture of the party with most faces turned away... you know, invasion of privacy and all. My SIL is the tall black man in the back. There have been many many people who have scheduled appointments with Ulf, expecting to see a white man of Swedish decent only to be totally surprised when he showed up. And, as I understand it, a few of them made it clear through their reactions that black was not the color they were looking for in an employee. We don't have a clue as to what its really like to be a minority... even though we are becoming one. Perhaps its part of global warming.
 

The celebration

 
 
 
It was a nice little celebration. The celebration was for one of my son-in-laws who managed, with a lot of "understanding" from his family, to get his Masters degree. I can't swear to it, but I'm guessing its in business administration or some kind of teaching/social work. I should know this, but I don't.

My daughter, his wife, said he had really been looking forward to the party... more than expected. I was the only family member that showed up, but what else can be expected from dysfunctional groupings like families. We pick our friends and are stuck with our family. But there were plenty of friends... with their kids.

Most of the friends fit the bill of 'social worker' types. They are very similar in action as well as dress and manner of expression. Two of the women even wore the same straw hat. They were all very nice. One older man (older as in about my age) was really very funny in a low-keyed way. He was SIL's mentor and the one who encouraged him to get his Masters.

Apparently the cake decorator was not familiar with the name of Ulf and so it looks like initials on the cake. Oh... and the cake was very good. A Costco cake.
 

5am

 
Five o'clock in the morning. My windows are open trying to get some cool air in the apartment. Two guys come up on the 'common porch' area. They seem to be completely "into" themselves... unaware of their surroundings, not because they are drunk on alcohol but because they are focused on each other. Perhaps doing some kind of mating dance before they go "on the down-low". They are probably 'speeding'... perhaps on crack, who knows.

Even though my flash went off on the camera, they were unaware that I snapped this picture.

They just hung around right in front of my window talking. Then they sat for a few minutes on the steps... talking. Not trying to be quiet. After a bit they came over and knocked on "the neighbor's" door.... he didn't let them in. They then continued to lock eyes and talk to one another. If it had been male and female, I would have been sure it was a mating dance, but you can draw your own conclusion.

"The neighbor" came out twice. I couldn't hear what was said but I'm guessing it was to ask them to move along or to be quiet or both. They barely acknowledged him, but they certainly ignored him.

They continued to hang around and then went upstairs. I could hear them knock, but apparently no one came to the door. (No doubt because people were sleeping or trying to.) They then stood on the stairs.... talking and doing their ? flirting, their mating ritual. At least that's what it appeared to be to me.

All of this made me nervous. I mean, when my window is open its like they are right there in my front room. I called the non-emergency police number to say these people were loitering... that they hadn't done anything against the law (as far as I knew) but it was making me nervous and if there was a patrol car not busy, could they please slowly drive by the apartments. Perhaps that would encourage these two guys to be on their way.

It looked like they were finally walking away but then 'the neighbor' came out and called them back. WTF? Anyway, they managed to get someone upstairs to let them in so when the police officer came by, no one was around.

I'm hoping word spreads that there is someone here who cares about what goes on... a one-person neighborhood watch. However, I am also hoping that they don't know for sure that it is me who calls the cops. They can guess all they want, but guessing and knowing are two different things... up to a point.

I'm tired and cranky now. Not enough sleep. There are days when I want to be crusty and this is one of them.

Oh... like my kewl antenna in the picture? Isn't it just as modern as all get out? One thing fer sure... its not a clothes hanger, although there is some tin foil on the tips. Ya do what you have to do. Besides, it keeps me humble.
 

Yada Yada Yada

 

A view from my friend's front porch.

I don't have much to say but it has been a few days since making an entry. Its heating up here in the Northwest. Its suppose to be in the 90s today and work its way up to 100 degrees by Monday, or before. And its only June. Not my kind of weather. Global warming? Soon Southern California will be like Death Valley and we'll have the California weather up here.

I opened the windows up around 6am to get things cooled off. There was a nice breeze. If it had been fall, it would have been too cold in here. Its all about mind games.

I'm going to a celebration later this afternoon. One of my son-in-laws just got his Masters Degree. They don't wear shoes in their house.... and I can't find a pair of socks to wear... and my feet are not what one wants to look at if given a choice. Maybe I'll run to the store and buy a pair.... those light-weight kind. Then I'll be able to slip and fall on my ass easier.

Watched a couple of baby squirrels playing this morning. They are not afraid of humans.

I think this is about it. I can't think of anything to run off at the mouth about.
 

Ross, the Intern

I just watched Ross Matthews on the Tonight Show and laughed my ass off! He is so frigging funny. If the name 'Ross Matthews' doesn't ring a bell you may have heard of 'Ross, the intern.' (His blog may have short video's that you can watch.) His segment tonight was about his visit to Florida and his experience of being a weatherman for a night. He is hilarious and always entertaining.

I feel validated

I feel validated.... on the Today show they interviewed a man who tried to cancel his AOL account and ended up having to demand its cancellation over and over again before AOL's customer service accepted his instructions. But before this happened the man was interrogated. Interrogated is the correct word to use. The phone conversation was recorded and we heard it.
(I looked on the Today Show web site for the write up about it, but its not there...yet.)

My personal opinion: AOL sucks.... it tries to suck everything out of your wallet. And I have serious doubts regarding its business ethics.

I once tried their 3 month free trial service. At the end of three months I called to cancel the service because I did not want it. The customer service person refused to cancel it immediately. She told me she would cancel service in 30 days and then she hung up on me. This would ensure AOL at least a month's worth of charges. Well, they didn't get their money.

Are you familiar with their current ads stating AOL believes all their customers should have high-speed access to the internet? Well thats a crock of you-know-what, too. They want to show prospective advertisers that they have a huge number of customers with high-speed access in an attempt to get more advertisers signed up. (However... to be fair, a large number of companies use deception in their public personna.)

AOL claims to have fired the customer service representative because of this incident. He became the scapegoat. These representatives reflect the policies of the company and its management staff. But its always the little guy on the line that gets the axe in order to keep the ogre living a little longer.

With a little help....

 
 
'Mom' and the boys stopped by to take me to get my drivers license renewed. I was concerned about passing the vision test without glasses. Apparently you have to be almost blind to flunk it, so I'm good until 2013. This might have been my last renewal.

While here I did manage to grab a couple of pictures of the boys. Darius was in heaven as he "washed dishes". I'm going to remind him of this when he's older and grumpy because he has to clean the kitchen. And little Vyron still had a cold. He's a little screamer, too... but it usually gets him what he wants. He's one of those high pitched, blood curdling screamers! He was just tired and cranky.

And again I get to learn (or be reminded) that we all need each other... and even if I want to be totally independent from others, the universe will not allow it. My neighbor, the one with people coming to his door 24/7, offered to change my flat tire. My options were none, so I accepted his help. Turned out his 'brother' actually did the changing. 'The neighbor' said he had never changed one before. (I'm not even going to ask why he offered to do it, then. sigh) I did give him $5 and a cigarette to show my appreciation.

I put the word brother in single quote marks because the neighbor seems to have a boat load of so called relatives. Everyone's a cousin or uncle or brother.

But back to my tale of tires.... my daughter offered to take the car and get a couple of like-new used tires. Bless you my child! I was not looking forward to doing that. I'm not sure why, but it wasn't something I wanted to deal with. So now I'm 'back in the saddle again....'

Now I'll rework the budget and see where I stand. Hopefully it won't be too near the edge.
 

Monday June 19, 2006

 

A picture of the 'wee one' from his birthday party a couple of months ago. I've searched for some good pictures of him to share, but I could only find ones where he had a cold or he had food smeared all over his face.

'Mom' and the boys stopped by for a couple of minutes yesterday to return something. I was standing outside when they pulled up. I could see D's forehead straining up to see over the car door. When he saw me he started yelling "gamma!! gamma!!" all excited like. Sniff. I savor these moments because I know they will not last.

He came running up the stairs... well okay, he walked up the stairs but then ran into my arms. We're buddies. He then pushed me aside and grabbed a chair and pushed and pulled it over to the sink. "I gonna wash hands" said with a big grin. This was followed by frowns as we tried to point out to him that he was only going to be here a minute, yada yada yada. Then I slapped my forehead, figuratively speaking. What in the hell were we doing, discouraging a dude from washing his hands!?! So he washed his hands while they were here. They were only beginning to get wrinkled by the time they had to leave.
 

Its Humid!

Its not hot today... or even warm, but it does feel humid. "Feel" is the operative word because I just checked and I don't think the level of moisture in the air would be considered 'humid' by most standards. And I fully acknowledge that anyone from an actual humid area would, no doubt, double over with laughter at my whining and call me a wussie. But I'd be a sweaty wuss... one with 'a gentle glow' upon her face whenever she moved about, whining as she went.

uh oh... I'm sitting here with the window open in front of me and I just got a very faint whiff of what I think crack smells like; I've never been in the presence of someone smoking crack... I'm basing my guesses on the chemical smell and my intuitive instincts. There's just no where to go when using this drug except down. Its only a matter of time. It doesn't matter how strong a person thinks they are... they're going down unless they are physically removed from all access. And good luck with that one. The drug seems to be everywhere. If not crack, then meth.

Got Drugs?

 
A 3 minute doodle.

I finally have some batteries for my camera. Hooray.

My car was on a flat this morning so I asked my grand daughter #2 to take me to the store for a quick trip. She just graduated from high school and is currently working for her dad. (the office is about eight blocks away.) I have a bad habit of saying I will do something before I even begin... I then have a commitment hanging over my head. I did that this morning, even though I had promised myself I would stop doing this. I told grand daughter#2 that I would do a portrait of her for graduation. (I did one for grand daughter #1 last year.) Teenagers being teenagers, I wasn't sure if a portrait would be something she would want. ("I'd rather have a Prada bag.") However, she seemed pleased. She said every time she looks at her sister's portrait its "so right on!" (stroke me stroke me.)

I have a photo of #1's portrait... I've posted it before, but I'll do it again.

Added:  

Cranky

Been a bit cranky today... lack of sleep. All the knocking on the neighbor's door is like Chinese water torture. It has started invading my dreams, too. Things have slowed down for a while.

Monday

 


"The world is not to be put in order, the world is order incarnate. It is for us to put ourselves in unison with this order.

~Henry Miller
via Wayne Dyer's
Real Magic : creating miracles in everyday life
 

The Key to Happiness

I was just doing my normal morning routine, blog surfing, and came across one that I wanted to share with everyone. The author, Bohemian Girl, has described the key to happiness beautifully. Click here to go to this particular entry.

I know most of my readers are already aware of being in the Now, but her write-up brings us right down to the nitty-gritty of what Now means. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Attack of the Giant Tomato

 
This is a picture of a friend's Beef Steak Tomato from a season or two ago... I kept a little of her arm in the picture to help show its large-ness.

I asked her one time if she had ever added up the cost of growing it to compare with the cost of buying one at the store. She replied, "I don't want to even think about it." I understood why. One thing for sure, the taste would not compare well at all. There's nothing as delicious as that which is grown with love.

She hasn't grown any tomatoes since then. I think its because there has been too much of 'life's downers' going on and she hasn't felt like dealing with a garden.
 

Thursday

  

'ello Wall

 


I just dribbled a little coffee on the left edge of the keyboard. Some might say 'oh...too bad' with empathy, having done it themselves, but I say "holy crap, Batman! Look at that.... it didn't get on me! Be still my heart."

You see.... I'm a slob. There, I said it out loud. A slob. I can't seem to help it. I can't seem to hide from it, either. I can put on a white 'frock' and go to the center of the room and just stand there. Within 30 minutes there will be a spot on the frock. If not a spot, then a huge dribbling country-lane of red rasberry juice flowing freely down the material. (cue the grandkid to run through the scene with his red vine licorice.) Or a semi-oily fingerprint stemming from extra strength handlotion. It... it is my purpose in life. And I've come to accept it.

I try to keep "good clothing" hanging in the closet ready for duty. If I go anywhere, I carefully put it on and as soon as I return, I just as carefully take it off and put it back into the closet for safe keeping. I think I'm down to 1.5 outfits in 'good' standing. The rest of the time I'm lounging around in my own personal stains.

I worked against this tendency (I'm being gentle with myself, here... tendency, indeed) for most of my life and it was just one bitchy thing after another. Some called me stand-offish. You better believe it! "Don't come near me, I'm clean!!" Others knew me for what I represented. "Don't set her too close to the table. You know what will happen with Crusty around. Sigh."

Anyway, I'm done fighting against it and its been a lot more restful around here.

All this from a dribble. How about that.
 

Starlight Parade

 

My daughter stopped by long enough to just drop something of mine off. She took her family to the Starlight Parade last night.

I don't know if the parade is the "official kick off" to the week long Rose Festival celebration or not, but it is to most of the folks around here. This is a somewhat short, night-parade that wends through the downtown area. It has grown over the years. I can remember when it was very informal and could barely be considered a parade by most standards. But now it is a 'bonified' paaa-rade!

'Mom' said Darius really got into the parade.... he danced and danced and then he marched and marched. Sounds like he made a memory or two. Of course it rained... and a small blessing was that it started towards the end of the event.

 

On the Edge

2pm and my life is my own once more.

Yesterday 'mom' asked if it would be possible for me to watch both boys (2.5 and 1 yr). I said "No, I can't. I physically cannot do it." Yay for me. I said it calmly (meaning no deep sighs followed by whining) as the fact that it was. And 'mom replied, "Okay." Her and friends were going to be having some drinks (at home, I think) and she wanted overnight care so they could sleep longer in the morning. If that wasn't her plans, that's how it turned out since she had the youngest one with her.

Darius was looking particularly cute to me when he arrived. Its always a treat for me and I think for Darius. What follows later is another matter...but the first bloom of greeting is always sincere and heart-felt. Last night was no different.

He had my full attention and when that happens, everything seems to go smoothly. He has trained me well.

As soon as I was able to get him to lay quietly for three minutes, he was asleep. Alas and alack, though... neither of us slept well. He woke up four different times. I think it was because of my movements coupled with him sleeping 'in a strange bed.' (How quickly that will probably change in his teen years.)

I couldn't sleep for listening (and then watching) the drug traffic stomp a furled path to the apartment next to mine. And I gotta tell ya, that's not easy. Its cement.

About 2am I decided to count/time the arrivals. I darkened my apt. and opened the blinds just a few centimeters... enough to look out and no one could see in. (I tested it a couple of times when I first moved here.)

To get to the infamous apartment one has to walk, or stumble as the case may be, right past my window... up close and personal. I counted 12 people in an hour and fifteen minutes. That's about one every seven minutes, by guesstimate. One of them even had his wallet out as he strode to the door. Too much. I mean how stupid am I suppose to be... and I'm the mother of the property manager. Does DUH mean anything to him?

Later in the morning, at a normal time of day for normal people, Darius and I were outside and the guy - Mr. Aging Teddy Bear, looking nothing like what you'd expect a drug dealer to look like, said he had talked to my son and he was going to be able to get out of his lease and move. Mr. Aging said something to indicate he was moving because of how the people upstairs behaved... ghetto-ish... but we know the real reason. If he stayed he would be evicted for drug activities and he could lose his section 8 housing assistance.

Mr.-Drug-Dealing-Aging-Teddy-Bear is very good at putting up smoke screens, but terrible at concealing facts. This is an excellent example for me as to why it is so important to pay attention to the facts during a trial, and not the defendant's presentation. I mean, look at OJ, fer gawd sake. (If you're innocent, have a judge-only trial, if you're guilty, have a jury.) But I digress.....

After doing a little mental happy-dance over the good news about the move, Darius and I continued to have a pleasant day. Around noon, however, we both began to feel shop-worn. We became frayed around the edges.

Lack of sleep began to show on both of us. Fortunately for Darius, 'mom' called right in the nick of time, and she didn't take longer than I estimated for her arrival. We were both on the edge, as it were, but we were able to maintain with only minor confrontations. (If you were wondering who was in control, I'd call it a draw all the way around.)

Now I will no doubt be getting comfortable soon. I can clean up the messes (note plural) later. Gamma has done her duty and she enjoyed it, but when its time, its time.

Friday June 2, 2006

 

Bummer... the batteries in the camera were too weak to take pictures of 'my guy.' I knew they were getting low and my fingers were crossed, but to no avail.

He's just growing way too fast. He is also moving into the age where spending the night with gamma is boring. He does get my undivided attention and that helps, but still....

Tonight I watched him play in the water as he brushed his teeth for 45 minutes. If I tried to wander away unnoticed, I would be called back to 'watch gamma, watch.'

We spent some time printing letters...first with the left hand, then with the right. He liked it when I drew a circle face with circle eyes, grinning line mouth, and a dot nose. He liked doing that.

I didn't get him into bed before he fell asleep on the couch. To be honest, I was more than willing to let him sleep on the couch if he would go to sleep easily. I'm not going to try to pick him up and carry him to bed. Couch or bed... its all the same to me. I've got one of my dining room table chairs up against the couch to help keep him from rolling off.

Life is so much easier if I let him do what he wants... up to a point, that is; I am, after all, a bit crusty so don't cross me.