Tuesday, September 27, 2005
san diego, part deux
Dad gave me a cold, dammit. I've been fighting this chest cold crapola for days now. I would have liked to do a bunch more stuff if I had felt better, but that was not to be. As it is we did plenty.
Bill and I went back to Solana Beach and hurried home so we could all go out with Dad, Linda, Eric, and his chiquita. However! He had to work so that didn't work out. I'm not real sure what else we did on Friday night because frankly I had a lot to drink. ;-)
Saturday - again was pretty damn fun, although I don't remember a lot of what we did. I'm thinkin there was sun and resting and probably coffee and cigarrettes. Oh yeah, Little Eric was here. Great kid. Teneille (Not-So-Little Eric's ex wife) came over so I got to see her. She was miserable and feeling morning sickness and I so did not envy her. I did ask her why she slept with Eric without any birth control. She had no answer for me, but she was always less than wise when it comes to that kind of thing.
Later on Saturday we went out to dinner at La Tapatia in Escondido. Have I once mentinoned how FUCKING great it is to be able to eat real mexican food and not have to blow someone to get hot salsa??? We had an amazing dinner and some margaritas. It was really nice to have hand made tortillas. Bill and I both had poblano enchiladas with shredded beef. The salsa they served with chips at the table was actually spicy. Imagine that. =P
Sunday we headed out to Kobey's Swap Meet in Point Loma and did some bargain shopping. I LOVE that place. It's a buck to get in, and there are stalls of merchandise (trust me I use that word loosely for some of these stalls) as far as the eye can see. A lot of items are just knock-offs of what would otherwise be an expensive thing. Like sunglasses and stuff. Bill and I picked up suitcases for $10 each!! He got black and I got purple. I also picked up some toe rings (very cute, drive the boyz wild, I tell ya) and what Bill called a "mantilla." It's a crocheted shawl, hand-made and gorgeous. If you check out photobucket you'll see it. Anyway that was only $27!!
I love Kobey's.
Monday was the Wild Animal Park, an offshoot of the San Diego Zoo. Originally it was a place for them to breed the animals, and now it's a giant preserve. That was wonderful. We saw all kinds of birds, gorillas, giraffes, and basically lots of things native to Sudo-america and aafrika. That trip to the Wild animal Park was just me and dad and Bill, and we had a blast. We took the hour long train ride that goes around the park, and got to enjoy the sights and animals. There was a woman who rode next to Bill and she spilled her water all over the floor of the train, but she was nice and we ran into her later in the Lorakeet cages. Dad took pictures of her son with a lorakeet on his hand and I guess was going to email them to the family. The woman told me she loved my laugh and could listen for hours - that was the nicest thing!
So anyway we had a very good time and the WORST fucking iced mocha of my life. I needed some caffeine since I was seriously draggin from this chest cold. I drank it and ONLY thought about the energy I would be getting from it.
Today, Tuesday, Bill and I headed down to Golden Hill and Hillcrest in San Diego, to check out the old places I used to live in and frequent. That was seriously fun, except for when we went to Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop (where I used to work) and all these fucked up Randy memories came flooding back. He was the reason I left San Diego, and it took a lot of therapy and time for me to be allright with myself again.
So, that was a bit of a bummer walk down memory lane but it was good to get it out. Besides, ice cream is really a GREAT pain killer. *grin*
After that we drove around down by the harbor and ended up in Seaport Village. We shopped and walked around the Wyland Gallery. Amazing stuff there, let me tell you! Although the gallery woman was just very pushy and salesmanlike. "Bring that home with you!" Uh huh, cause I have an extra $2 Grand sitting around waiting to spend on sculpture. I would LOVE it, sure, but who has that kind of cash sitting around??!
So tomorrow we leave REALLY fucking EARLY. We're up by 4am, and out the door by 4:30 so we can get to the airport by 5am. Two flights later and one long bus ride home and we'll be back in Madison. It'll be nice to sleep in my own bed. The guest bed at my parents' place is allright but I just can't live on a futon that's only full size. I'm a Queen, baby, Queeeeeeeeeen!!
Pics are UP!!
I just uploaded a bunch more to my San Diego album on Photobucket. Here's a preview:
the rest are at my Photobucket site.
Friday, September 23, 2005
saaaaaaaaan diego
Tuesday, 2:20a: Rode the bus from Madison to Chicago, caught plane.
Tuesday, 11a: Arrived Denver, Bill left his backpack in the security checkpoint. Caught another plane.
Tuesday, 2p: Arrived San Diego after joining the mile high club. Got rental car. Fox Rentals upgraded rental car for free- car is still a piece of poo.
Tuesday, 3p: Went to Dad's work, followed him home. He gave Bill some crap for having an earring. Bill went one better, pointed out that he has two, not one. Go Bill!
Tuesday, 5p: Boys go shopping, sister Heather comes home, stepmom Linda comes home, everyone is good.
Tuesday, 6p: Boys cook. Okay, mostly Bill. Dad harrasses.
Tuesday, 7p: Yeah- dinner took some time. It was great. Heather had giant seconds. yay!
Rest of the evening was fun - the visit is going well.
Dad mentions that Friday we'll be going out to dinner with stepbrother Eric and his GF. Oh, and he's apparently impregnated his ex-wife within the last month. They're all wondering if his girlfriend knows. That's the best gossip I've heard in a while. In case you're wondering - ya- Eric is the same one who tried his "wiles" on me last year. I think he just can't keep it in his pants. He's still cute though. Nice kid.
Wednesday:
this involved lots of coffee and lounging in the backyard watching the tops of houses back in the hills behind Escondido. Beautiful.
We spent the entire day lazing away, which seems about right for a vacation. Later in the day we went to Solana Beach to see the ocean.
The drive from Escondido to Solana Beach is very cool. It runs straight through a very beautiful area filled with trees and curves and rich people. Rancho Santa Fe is the town nestled in the hills there and it's nothing but gold-plated everywhere you look.
The beach was deserted at 3p- we got a space in the public lot (FREE PARKING) and headed down. There isn't the typical sandy beach there, instead it's flat and goes along the cliffs. We walked in the water and collected shells. It was late in the afternoon and we still came back with some pink from the sun. Unreal. Besides which, I'm already pretty tan, so wtf? I also collected some cool-ass rocks. They have two or three colors melded into the rock, and they're all smooth from the ocean.
Later we had steaks on the grill and watched a plane make an emergency landing by Los Angeles. Apparently the front wheel of the landing gear was sideways. My dad the pilot was saying the best way for him to land would be to slow the plane way down and land on the back wheels first, then after the speed was cut, then the front could come down. We watched it live, and the pilot of the plane did exactly what Dad said would work, and the plane did not crash. There was some smoke and fire as the wheel was running along the ground the wrong way, but all in all it was SUCH a perfect landing. Tony called while we were watching the landing and I wasn't really up for talking to him- I hope I wasn't too rude but I really had to see that plane!!
Tony did say that he'd be in San Diego by the weekend. That'll be cool to see him after 14 years.
Thursday was basically a day for a. post office to mail postcards, b. breakfast, and c. Ocean Beach.
Holy shit it was SOOOOOO cool to be back in OB. Bill and I walked the pier, which is actually the longest pier in Southern California, took some pictures, and then hit the beach. Nothing has changed in that place. I love OB. I used to go there all the time when I lived in San Diego, because it's a locals beach for the most part, and I hate tourists.
We went into the water and FROZE. The water temp at OB is always way colder than any other place, because the Gulf Stream flows right by there and it's an arctic current. This helps the waves, however, and it's a surfer's haven because of the gi-normous breaks.
We went in twice, with a break to warm up in between. The second time the waves were HUGE, and we totally had our asses kicked by the surf. I got yanked underneath at one point and couldn't get up for a good 15-20 seconds. It was awesome, feeling the power of the tide. Heh. Tidalgrrrl stops ranting and gets her ass kicked by waves.
It was a blast. We went after that and had carne asada burritos (because we could) at a restaurant in OB where we sat at the front of the place where there aren't any windows and looked out on the street. There was a drunk woman who sat next to us for a while and it was really bumming me out. She seemed young enough and normal, but with a serious drinking problem. It was just very sad.
There was a weirdo across the street who was wearing a fireman's helmet and yelling at some (other?) homeless guy - and it made me remember how many weird folks are in this town. There was another woman smoking in a trenchcoat (this is one block from the ocean, did I mention?), and she appeared to have mental health issues as well.
***BREAK***
I FUCKING DETEST RONALD REAGAN AND HOPE HE'S BURNING IN HELL RIGHT NOW FOR DOING WHAT HE DID TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA'S MENTALLY ILL POPULATION.
***BREAK***
Allright. Later we came back to Dad's and watched Survivor. I think Bill's seriously reconsidering the state of our relationship after discovering that I...LOVE...Survivor. He'll have to learn to deal. After all, he's got bad habits too, I'm assuming? I don't know what they might be...but I'm sure they are there.
Hmmm....lesseeee...he um...gets me coffee whenever I need it. Not a bad habit. Dammit!
AHA! I've got it!! Shit. I don't. He's great. Dammit!! =P
Ok, Survivor aside, it was a great night, and so far this trip is turning out to be wonderful. I am not looking forward to going home because I know my surgery is impending. Like doom. Grrrarrrrrgh. Dooooooooom.
Monday, September 19, 2005
ben folds!
...tickets went on sale (or so I thought) on Saturday. So I went down, so happy I remembered and it turns out they've been on sale for weeks at the Orpheum. D'oh!! It was Ticketmaster who was going to start selling on the 17th.
So...
There are TWO, count em TWO tickets to see Ben Folds in my wallet. The Orpheum had plenty to spare and it's gen admin.
WOOT!
Friday, September 16, 2005
I hate to admit it
Ok. fuck it. Bill was right. It's not specific to vampires. God-DAMN it! =P
and I forgot to eat any ice cream. hmpf!
can't fucking sleep - round two
Tonight was so much fun. I was on-call so no drinky but that's not such a bad thing.
I went over to Ellie, Kori and Bill's for some non-dicey game-like time. We played Munchkin Bites, but Ellie wouldn't join in. Pete came over so that was cool too. We got to see the fun cards and argue rules. I was tempted to not argue rules, but then I remembered the fun of Munchkin comes from debating things, and decided to just go for it. Besides, I was right. *haha*
What we were debating was whether a card function was considered a disadvantage of a race. I had a card that protected me from any disadvantage a race could bring, and Pete pulled a card that would demand I help him if he had the same race as me. From my perspective that would apply as a disadvantage, because if I was not that race then I wouldn't be in danger from his card. I can see where from another perspective the spirit of the game would be race disadvantages such as minuses to attack, or special bonuses to monsters vs. a race. However! This is Munchkin. The spirit of the game is taking everything literally and pushing those boundaries to get your way.
So! If being a vampire means that Pete can make me put myself at risk to help him because he would become a vampire, then I consider that a disadvantage for being a vampire. Which means I'm protected by the non-disadvantage card I had on my race card. I think that makes sense. Well, only in the spirit of the game. Not just any game, cause in any other game the rules would be clearer. In this case I had to argue for my side. I should be a goddamn lawyer.
I was caffeine-inspired to bike home at top speed and I made it through the dark spots so fast I barely had time to stress about sounds in the woods.
I say barely because I'm just so scared of the dark in general, and I'll always feel the creeps.
When I got home and online my friend was on MSN and we chatted for a long time. I'm happy that he's found a love interest, because truly he's a cool guy. We debated styles and preferences in choices of sexual partners, and I told him to study Cosmo for the best tips before he gets into things with his woman. She's very inexperienced but not religious so that may balance out. I don't know. I can't actually recall EVER being 20, so I can't identify with her.
I really tried to see things from a guy's perspective and it was tough, I tell you. It's so much easier to be a woman as far as sex goes, because really, the pressure isn't on women to perform and please. Ok, I know that for me personally I really think it should be in order to have a balanced and equal sexual relationship. But for most women I think they probably are okay with just going with things and letting the man be responsible for them and their needs.
*sigh*
It's very sad to think about all those misguided, unhappy souls. I truly enjoy giving back what I get. It's just more FUN that way. Watching the top of a man's skull just about pop right off his head in pleasure is just plain cool. How can anyone not have fun with that?
So- I wish my friend luck. The game of love is fairly unpredictable.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
fumbling towards the door
What a week! I feel like everything is so crazy right now. It's a relief to not have to drive but I'm so used to having everything timed by car that I'm sort of stressing about it. Well when am I not stressing? I am glad I'm going to California next week because otherwise I'd be crying about needing vacation. I still can, you know. =P
Wah!
Ok, now that's done.
Yeah, I'm under pressure these days...bills, work, transportation, family, friends, significant other, weather, illness...
How do other people stay so stress free? I will say that after riding the bike yesterday I was way more relaxed than I've been for days. Tired though, and my knees hurt. Freakin arthritis. Dr. Vic said that I should bike as much and as often as I can ;-) so I will keep doing that. When a cardiologist tells you to do something- best advice is to do it.
I've also noticed that I when I'm not having a beer or other drink I have to keep all that crap in my head. It's kind of sad to realize how much I self medicate when it comes to stress. I'm not giving up alcohol or anything (perish that thought!) but I think I use chocolate too. Chocolate and Alcohol use for a happy and productive life. Hmmm. Probably leave me fat and without a liver, not to mention unsightly gin blossoms and bad skin from too much sugar. Yah. I'm real upbeat today I guess.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
cardiac update!
I had my ICD checked today and indeed the batt'rie is on its last legs and needs to be replaced. My cardiologist is going to put in an entire new device, this time dual-chambered and Medtronic instead of Guidant. Apparently the Medtronic devices have a good record for dealing with upper chamber atrial fibrillation in patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Speaking of upper chambers, Dr. Vic is also going to add a lead to mine. Currently I only have one lead to my lower ventricle, and when all that shit went down in May they were unable to get a good read on what my heart was doing. My new lead will not be there for pacing, and instead will be to track activity so they can treat me better.
I go into Meriter Hospital on Wednesday, Oct. 5th around 9am, and will be there until Thursday Oct. 6th. My actual procedure will be around 11am on Wednesday, and I'm not sure how long it's supposed to take.
Dr. Vic says I can be back to work on Monday, or even a half-day on Friday if I'm up to it. I doubt I'll feel up to it, since I remember the last time all I wanted to do was sit with an ice pack on my chest and wallow in pain, whining about life. Hey that's not such a bad idea right now...
Just kidding. Actually I'm feeling just fine. I biked to the hospital this morning and then to work, and it is a beautiful day. My new boss says that his first official duty is to tell me "Don't die!" heheh - the look on my other co-worker's face was priceless. She doesn't realize that Alec and I have a sick sense of humor. =)
Ok! There's the scoop, and wish me luck!!
total fucking boner
It finally happened. I pulled such a fucking boner I can't believe they let me live. Next I'll be on the Darwin Awards or something.
I got pulled over for expired tabs on my license plate, and it turns out my license is suspended and has been since last year, and I had no idea. So I got a couple of really expensive tickets and I have to get my license back before I can drive legally again.
dammit! I feel like a giant moron. Worse upon worse, I had to explain to my BOSS what happened, since driving is so integral to my job. Now I have to ride the bike (not really a bad thing except I can't get things done) to work until I get this situated.
I'm considering taking care of whatever I need to get my license back, and then going to court to try to get the other tickets reduced, since I don't have over $300 just sitting around to pay them. Of course, whatever is outstanding for the suspension isn't going to be small change. dammit!
What got me into this mess is when Rob gave me the car and procrastinated about signing the title over to me. I was lax about getting new plates, and I got pulled over for it. Of course the asshole Fitchburg cop said I was driving a stolen car, and other stupid shit cause I'm pretty sure he was just bored.
Well I either forgot to pay the ticket or paid it late (I can't remember), so they apparently would have sent a form letter telling me my license was suspended. I remember the ticket and it was like $80 at the time- but it's just stupid that I wouldn't have known about my license or lack of one. It's been quite a long time. I guess since I haven't been pulled over I wouldn't have been told by a cop either.
dammit!
so I have to figure this out and regain some dignity about it somehow. god, I'm a fucking moron sometimes.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
just like old times
I got an email last week from an old friend from high school. We were really good buddies for about three years, and even dated for what might have been 3 weeks (hehe) when I was 16.
The email:
Shelly,
Are you still at this email address? Hopefully you don't change email addresses as often as I do! I lost contact because I am a huge dumbass...I've been on the largest life rollercoaster I have ever been on. I want to catch up...
Please be at this last known address...
~ Tony
Sacramento, CA
So that was cool considering it's been years since I talked with him and we were such good friends. I spent a Thanksgiving or two at his family's house and just loved his mom and brothers & sisters.
We exchanged numbers and started playing phone tag. Finally last night I talked with him for over an hour. It's like we never lost touch. He's had hard times, sold his business, got sued because one of the partners broke the contract, wife left him & took his sons to another state, etc. He seems to be handling things well given the circumstances.
He was saying it was no big thing to lose everything because even when he had lots of money he was frugal with it. Anyone who thinks they're poor should see our old neighborhood, I told him, and he was in complete agreement. When we were in San Berdoo it was such a disgusting place to live. I'm glad we both got out.
I mentioned that I'm going to be in California next week and he's going to drive down to see me. He said the nicest thing last night- that all the time we spent together was something he always treasured in his heart and never forgot, even though we were just kids.
I just know that he was one of the best people I ever knew. I always thought about him once in a great while and hoped he was doing well. I always knew he'd have a family since he was always helping his single mom raise his brothers and sisters, and he loved it. I think it's part of why I never slept with him in all the time we hung out. *haha* I knew he'd be all in love and wanting to make little Tonys. He was to this day one of the best friends I ever had. I think it'll be really cool to see him.
He's driving down to San Diego (his little brother Adam lives there) and hopefully we'll get to hang out some.
OMG- Little brother Adam, btw- grew to be 6'9" and is a famous tattoo artist now. He was always so sweet. That whole family was nice. I asked Ton-E if he has a lot of tattoos and he doesn't even have one. He wants Adam to make him one that is special to him- that symbolizes their relationship and that can be a piece of art that comes from his heart. Who knows? Maybe he'll get one next week. =)
Monday, September 12, 2005
rectification
Ok. So I called the pacer clinic last night cause I was freaked about the beeping-ness going on. The nurse there explained that there were many reasons for a beeping machine, not least of which that I need a new one. She was going to check it out with my specific nurse and get back to me today.
She did. I need a new one. I have an appointment in two days with my doctor to discuss when and what. He told me before that I might need a new lead going to my upper chamber too because of those weird occurrances the past few months. Also, he said I need an echo test done. No biggie there.
I guess my biggest concern would be the money thing. Last time they went in do do this pacemaker thing I got a $68,000 hospital bill. Insurance covered everything but 10% - but that's still $7 grand. So we'll see. Maybe it's not going to be as much because it's all outpatient this time. Once I get the surgery I am going to need time off so maybe Vick can fit me in before I go to San Diego in a week and a half. Hmmm........Anyway that's what I did last time. I got the surgery, hopped a plane, and recovered at my dad's place. ;-)
Until they fix it this machine's gonna beep every six hours. At least it's warning system works.
can't fucking sleep
Yeah. After midnight once again. I had an interesting day and night. I woke up this morning with just the most amazingly cute guy next to me. So I'm glad I had a witness because my pacemaker started beeping. I guess I blew it off at the time but I was pretty weirded out.
Gaming was pretty fun. We had to rustle cattle to save some peasant chick. It's a lot more complicated than that, but here's the basics. We decided to steal cattle from an asshole Lord in the *bad* land to pay ransom for some girl that I don't even know but who cares cause it's fun to save people, right? Ok.
So we have teleportation tattoos. I had one of my own, and one borrowed from the elf in the party. The plan was simple: teleport in, the psion mind touches five cattle, then I teleport myself and the cows back to the rendezvous point in elf-ville or wherever.
On the teleport in, I rolled a 03. Seriously dead-on transport. The game uses percentiles, and low is good, and high is bad. 03 is just about perfect. We went in, smooth as belgian chocolate ( I know of what I speak thanks to Henri, hehe-). I made some hide checks, etc...while Darth Moll was psionically touching the cows. (Show me where the bad man touched you...)
I teleported out when it was done, and what was the roll? Ninety-Eight. Ya. 98!!!! There really isn't a worse roll for that. You can end up just about anywhere.
So the DM rolled for the spot I'd end up. This could have been instant death. I popped up in a completely different elf city full of strangers, surrounded by BARDS. So we're talkin really high charisma. They're so pretty. hehe. I ended up with a safe haven, a new elfly boyfriend or five, a nice drink and help bathing. HA.
In the mean time there's a rescue effort to come get me. They need those cows for the trade for the girl and there's a time crunch going on, etc. Everyone's crabby and worrying and blah blah blah.
I told the rescue team to come get the cows and leave me be. The Claire Witch has things to do. *grin*
I'll leave elf city when they make me. Otherwise I'm all good to do some serious partying with a ton of bardly elf types who've probably never seen a human before. This rocks. I'll work on initiating every room of the treehouse with as many human/elf combinations as possible. You know, just for historic value.
Talk about getting my Action Points from the DM!
(that means I fullfilled my personality trait that session. Mine is to make the party laugh. Claire refusing to leave the DuSacc Elves cause they're cute is pretty damn hilarious.)
Thursday, September 08, 2005
gib me cawfee or gib me det
So I have some yummy frannnnch roast Cafe Du Monde brewing while I write; a person's gotta have something to look forward to, eh?
So I had a review yesterday with Mike and Cathy - it wasn't bad at all. Not like I was expecting worse than when they ambushed me last month or anything but it was refreshing. You could tell that Mike worked hard to keep everything positive but he was starting everything with things like..."Well in this part, even though there were areas where blah blah diddy blah....You did well and yadda yadda.." So instead of opening with good and ending with bad it was the opposite. Cathy said the weirdest thing though. She said that I fit into the office well, that I get along with everyone, and everyone likes me. That just blew my mind. People NEVER say that about me. Usually it's "doesn't play well with others." But you know, hey, I'll take that. *grin*
Last night there was no gaming at Kori's so I went over anyhew and brought Super Munchkin. We all played and it was so much fun! I hadn't played since 2 Christmas' ago, so it was great to really fuck up and be like, Oh yeah! That's a rule, isn't it?? Hehehe. Anyways I ended up winning, but it was close with another person, Ingrid, a non-gamer even! She caught on to the gist of the game pretty late on, but she was learning to Stab Her Buddy in the Back pretty well at the end there. I came back down from tucking in Bill and she and Kori were ready for me. The very next hand I had a Combat and they totally ganged up on me. I was so proud of them! =D My very own little team of backstabbers!!
I did have to explain to Ingrid pretty early on that the worse you do in the game the more smack you have to talk, such as "you just wait, I'm rallyin!" She caught on, and it was very cool that she almost won.
Friday, September 02, 2005
senseo i love your ways
Mmmmmmmmmmmm......coffee with vanilla stuff (I won't call it cream), and an english muffin with peanut butter all in the nooks and crannies.
Man I love my coffeemaker. Course - I love having it made *for* me via the JavaPuta too, but I'm capable.
Oh- Xerox almost ate my pet spider (sort of) Jed today. I've been watching this little bugger in his funnel web for quite some time and letting him be since he's not gonna make an egg sac anyway. Boys don't do that kind of rudeness in my apartment. The female in the living room bit the dust a week ago. I still have to deal with her egg sac. Anyway- Xerox followed me into the bathroom and just started trying to eat Jed. He went down in his funnel web and just hid. For a spidey his size he sure got small. Anyway, Xe gave up after a minute and went onto other things. So I still have a scary little friend in the bathroom. Until he dies, that is, or Xerox actually gets him. This is the second attempt that I know of. I'm perfectly fine with the food chain. I am just not going to kill him until he comes at me or something.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
volunteering!
Farmer's Market in downtown Madison - That's (l to r) Mike (another volunteer), Bill, and Me. I don't know why I look like that smile hurts...oh well.
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