Last Day of February, 2007

 

 

Progress shot of the demolition. One pic is the beginning of the day, the other is the end of the day.

Its been rainy and windy. We are currently under a snow alert and it is snowing in the hilly parts of town. Its not expected to snow down here at sea level, though.

Things have been very, ah, very quiet. Boring. Maybe I will be able to think of something else to blog later today.

A "Real" Funhouse (virtual tour)

Now here is a house that would take a lot of time to go through and see everything... if you are not prone to motion sickness.

Now the total virtual reality tour of Ricky's incredible home and atelier is here for your touring pleasure on the web.

This artistic work-in-progress is called Luna Parc after an amusement park in Rome.

The on-line tour now includes extravagant mosaic work, whimsical outdoor sculpture, and a bathroom like nothing else in the world. Luna Parc, like all of Ricky's creations, reflect a sensibility that is wholly original and uniquely Ricky Boscarino.

Quote

“One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.”

- A.A. Milne

Judge Larry

What a fiasco!! What a joke!! And the most scariest part is that HE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE, PEOPLE!!

I'm opinionating about the latest legal session regarding Anna Nicole Smith. That hearing or trial or whatever it was, was a total circus.... and I think Judge Larry needs to be seriously looked at with regards to his competency. Our judicial system. How frigging scary is that!! As they say the rich get off and the poor get justice. The rest of us get a freak show.

What a mess Anna's whole life seems to have been. And I must say I think the most loving thing Anna could have done for her daughter was to die. Is that mean of me? No, that's reality. Can you imagine how screwed up a baby could become with a mother like Anna Nicole Smith? And lets not get started with that creepy Stearn character.

What I find ironic is that Anna Nicole spent her life using her body to get what she thought she wanted.... and now her body is laying in the morgue decaying. There's a message in there somewhere.

The whole thing is so sad. And its also sad to see the videoes of Smith when she can't even talk or walk straight. Its like watching a stalled car on the railroad tracks when a train is coming. You want to look away, but you can't. You can see it coming but you can't stop it.

I don't know anything about the photographer who has been trying to get custody of the baby, but out of all of them, he seems like the better choice. Now how sad is that!!

One thing about it... Anna Nicole Smith will be part of our entertainment history, even if its for only a few decades. Fame...what does it get you?

Demolition

 
 
 
 
The demolition of the house next door continues at a measured pace. They are definitely taking it apart carefully.

Time passes so quickly. The days drift by at an amazing pace!

Monday, Presidents' Day

 
 
 
 
I was scrolling through my photo files to see if there was anything I could use on my blog. Yawn. These are part of my dance to bring spring early this year.

Saturday I went shopping... grocery/supply shopping.

That's about it. Nothing much happening on the home front and I haven't been in a "talkative" mood for a while. I'm sure it will come back... maybe.

"Rain drops keep falling on my head..."

 
 
 
Rain drops keep falling... but I'm thinking 'spring'. Creating my own reality, you might say. While it may be raining.... and raining... and raining, I am very grateful that its not snow and ice.

Not much happening here.

"The Man Who Planted Trees"

I just watched a delightful little 30 minute movie... an "animated" movie. The Man Who Planted Trees. I liked it.

Wednesday

 
 
They have begun demolishing the house next to us again. Last month the siding was removed. Then it just sat there. Now they are taking it down...and taking it down carefully. Looks like they are going to recycle the stuff. Good for them. Good for the community college that bought the place.

I've already been to the grocery store (bread and coffee), mailed a past due bill, and stopped to get cigarettes. This before 7:15am.

There is/was some police action a couple of blocks away. A two block area is blocked off.

Ooops... there was just some "breaking news" on the TV. Apparently a body has been found in a garage around 5am this morning and they are currently doing an investigation. My guess is that it is crack related only because this area is filled to the brim with drugs.

Remember the 'nice' neighbor here that I smoke with? The drama/crisis person? Ohmygosh...every day seems to bring another crisis or drama. That's a hard life to get through. Anyway, she apparently has received notice that she has to move. She's been having trouble paying the rent. (minimum wage jobs.) In a way I'm kind of relieved. Drama has a way of spilling all over and I didn't want to get wet.

She's got serious health concerns...seizures, metal rod in leg, and I think she might be diabetic. And no health insurance yet. She had lost custody of her teenage children because of drug use and abusive home life and now she seems to be getting them back, one by one. She's been clean for a year. Her 20 yr old daughter and newborn has moved in with her. She already had a 17 yr old boy with her and now a 13 yr old has joined them (got out of foster care). I think there are two others of legal age. All these new mouths to feed on an $8 an hour job.

I would say I don't know how she does it, but I do know. You do it when you don't have any other options. I hope she is able to find a decent place to live that she can afford, but that's like wishing for a pony on your birthday. Odds are...you're not going to get one.

All the more for me to be grateful for my boring, dull life. My Cup 'O Joe!

The Boys

 

 

 

Final Confirmation

I just spoke with Candace and they made it to Bakersfield okay. She said they arrived about an hour ago (4:30pm).... they must have made good time, considering the vehicle. She drove straight through taking a short break in Redding to sleep in the car. I bet everyone was really stiff once they got out.

Now I can completely relax. Well, as relaxed as a parent can get.

This was a miracle trip.

Across The Border

I've been kind of in a limbo period, wondering if my daughter and two grandsons were really gone or not. Were they truly on their way to California? I just got confirmation. A friend of C's just called to see how I was doing and if I needed help cleaning up my apartment. (She's had C stay with her before so she knows what its like.)

The friend had talked to Candace a little while ago and C said she was over the border. She was out of gas and out of money. Her friend had wired some money and she had to find a Western Union to pick it up. Sigh. But if she's over the border that means she's made it through the mountain passes. I think.

The friend had tried to call C a few minutes ago but didn't get an answer. Maybe they are sleeping or...???? All I know is that if they are over the border then it would be close enough for the friend to go pick them up if needed. If possible.

I'm semi relaxed. I can start doing things around here without concern of little fingers getting ahold of something. Or without concern about whether or not something will stay clean, once done.

I'm still a little tense and will be until I hear they have arrived okay.

Gone or Not Gone

That is the question. And I don't know the answer.... yet.

The question really is: Is 'Mom' and the two grandsons gone now or will they be back.

'Mom's' plan was to pack the car up this morning, go and get her windshield replaced, and then hit the freeway heading south from there. She didn't have an appointment for the windshield place. Its a first-come, first-served set up on Saturdays and she wasn't in a hurry to get there early. Maybe they will be able to do it today. Maybe they won't. Time will tell. I'm also thinking that they may tell her not to drive on the freeway for 24 hrs to give the windshield a chance to "set" good. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. So these two things are what is making me unsure as to whether or not the family unit is really gone or not. (oh...and the boys were really cranky this morning. What fun for 'mom'.)

Its very possible that they may be knocking on my door later today. I have to wait on time to find out.

Beyond that.... there's the hard part of waiting to hear if they got to their final destination okay or not. The nail biting period of time. The pacing... the underlying tenseness in the gut.

I'm not a big risk taker.... although I've certainly taken my share of stupid risks. But to jump into a raggedy old car for a trip is not something I would be prone to do. Not even when I was younger.

ohcrap... just gotta let go and trust all will be well.

Shhhh..... its called "Quiet".

We are all getting a little respite from each other. At least I am. 'Mom' and the boys just left to go visit a friend. I didn't allow myself to do the happy dance until their car actually pulled away from the curb.

I am luxurating in the quietude. The sense of Peace. Its wonderful. Wonderful as long as I don't look around. The mess can be overwhelming. My survival sense says to disregard. It will work out better in the long run.

The boys have been demonstrating their sense of frustration. At everything. They so need their own space so that they don't have to continuely hear "no" to almost everything. And 'grandma' needs her own space so she doesn't have to continuely scream "no".

"NO! Put that knive down. Now!"

"No, please don't bang on the walls with the toy hammer."

"No. Get out of the tool box. You can't play with my hammer!"

"Stop hitting your brother!"

"Stop hitting your brother!"

Oh... and how wonderful is this? I'm sitting at my pc with coffee near and I don't have a munchkin pushing me off my chair trying to see the monitor. Watch. I can even get up and leave the pc for a moment or two and everything will be as I left it.

.

See!? How grand is that! A blessing. A blessing, I tell ya!!

I Live...

...therefore I think.

It feels like I've made it through the Valley of Death. Okay, maybe not that bad, but the crud that seems to be going around really kicked my butt. Upper Respiratory Infection... a cold. This cold brings with it an extremely strong cough. I thought I would hack up a lung. I feel like Mike Tyson used my torso for boxing practice. I've got seriously bruised muscles on my left side from coughing so I'm still moving around like an injuried person. Protective stance and all.

Yesterday I surfed/searched google until I found some free software to get rid of some stinking marketing virus. It has something to do with Antivermens[sic]. The attack consists of a popup warning message saying my machine has many dangerous adware things on it. When you click the warning message you are taken to a web site selling software to get rid of said virus. Word on tech forums is that this virus was created simply to sell the fix. Business ethics...whats that? (the popup warning message keeps happening every few minutes. Very irritating.) Anyway, here's where I found the free fix.

This morning the boys and I cleaned the glass coffee tables. Darius got to spray and Vyron and I wiped. They like to be helpful like that but it takes a minute job and turns it into an hour. Lets see if it helps them keep their feet off the glass. Yeah. Right.

Virus

Seems my machine now has a virus on it that was created by the people who build software to remove said virus. Currently all I have to deal with is a pop up alerting me to the danger. Its extortion.

I've run spyware removal software and anti virus software... they all come up clean. Perhaps this thing is too new to be on latest versions. I don't know.

Ya'll already know how I feel about these types of people.

Comment Verification

I've had to reinstate the word verification feature because of stinking bastard automated spammers. Sorry for the inconvenience. May the bastards' dicks get no harder than watery jello.