January 2000
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January 2000
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Yeah…
Right… Saturday January 1,
2000 …I
left my PC on, 1205 January 1, 2000… Y2K…Ho Humm nothing happened. Christy,
Mokie Calie, Christian and Mike stayed up with me… LA put on a pretty good
show… I am tired and my brain seems to be a little sluggish… The
football games were all pretty good Michigan – Alabama especially… I
really veg’d out today… Well
the Y2K celebrations were spectacular… all the media hype about the Y2K Bug,
terrorists, anarchy, and all the rest though… damn… why do we listen to the
talking heads. The media has zero credibility and we still hang on every word…
I think that what we have to keep foremost in our minds is that the News Media
is a business and their business is to sell the news, the public has a short
memory so damn the facts, fear sells and paranoia is a national disease … so…
sell sell sell… Sunday January
2, 2000 …Since
I am a CPA (That’s, “I am a charter member of Couch Potato’s Anonymous”) I
watched football wall to wall… I got up for Sunday Morning, it comes on at 0630
here… I have always enjoyed their end of the year shows… Not this time, I’m
afraid Sunday Morning needs a reincarnation of Charles Kurault. The damn show
is boring as hell. Charlie Osgood is a sweet guy… just got no grit to him, I
can’t help myself from comparing him to Kurault Kurault had a calling and he was tough… Saw
this in Wordsmith: From: Sally Lampe Just had to send this
to you in case you hadn't read it. I spotted it in The Oregonian, Homes and
Gardens of the Northwest section, December 16,1999. "Ground was
broken for a public park in Greenwich, Conn. The park, which will open next
summer, is dedicated to raising awareness of children with cystic
fibrosis. The park will be called Sixty-Five Roses, a name derived from
the way one 5-year old pronounced his disease." Monday January 3, 2000 …First day of school… <read huge sigh of relief here> I finally did my walk, bout a mile and a half … Hope I can keep it up… Christy took Autumn to therapy I went out and drove around to no particular place for no particular reason… had lunch at Don Cuco’s … just generally wallowed in freedom for about 4 hours… Picked the kids up… watched another football game Christy took Cindy, Calie, Monica and Autumn out to get something… They brought back Scottish Food (McDonalds) Tuesday January 4,
2000 …
Autumn’s first day back at school… she has a bit of a cold… I bought her a pair
of knit gloves for $1.98, you would think I had bought her the most wonderful
whirligig on the planet, she laughed and giggled and showed her gloves to Mom
and both the cats and gave me a big hug. Autumn owns my heart, if she ever
finds out I’m doomed. Dan
wasn’t the bus driver, Grumpy was, damn, I’m sorry, I just don’t like that guy,
with Dan, I feel that driving disabled kids is a calling, he really enjoys it
and the kids all love him. Grumpy is making a buck, he had memorized the
“Bus-Drivers Handbook” (If there is such a thing) and he’ll be damned if he is
going to take one extra step that he doesn’t have to. Or say anything he doesn’t
have to… or smile. Dan gets out of the bus to greet Autumn, he tickles her
chin, he talks to her. Grumpy just sits there like he is driving the County
Sheriff’s Prison Bus. Dan
brought her home, she was laughing. Wednesday January 5, 2000
 Christy
and I went to lunch at Don Cuco’s… it’s nice to just sit and talk… we don’t do
it enough. #2
son Robert called, he and Stephanie are going to fly down tomorrow or the next
day… Stephanie is his girlfriend, she’s a stewarde… oops… Flight Attendant…
they have been going together for about a year I think… Rob has really fallen
head over heels for her… well, we finally get to meet her… cool… hope she likes
us. They
are taking a flight out of Seattle to Minneapolis, then a redeye from
Minneapolis to LAX… apparently she is going to introduce Rob to her folks too…
sounds like the prelude to something matrimonial to me… but I’m a hopeless
romantic… don’t pay any attention to me. Christy
said Grandma and Grandpa are coming over and #3 son Jeff is coming up from Simi
Valley… more cleaning… Christy is taking Autumn to LA for Therapy tomorrow and
I am taking Mike to Canyon Country to see the Russian… I want to reschedule
these visits to accommodate Autumn’s Therapy… it is inconvenient for us both to
be gone at the same time… Thursday January 6,
2000 … Some
TelCo installers got to the front of the school at about 0700, and set up
Safety Cones in front of the school so no one could drop off kids… I would have
been mad if they did that and were working, but they set them up and went to
breakfast…that made me furious. Logistics
today is a bit of a problem… Autumn and Mike have appointments at the same
time. So, I had to take Mike to Canyon Country to see the Russian, I had to get
the house clean for visitors, and I have to get food for about 15 people. I stopped
in and saw the Principal, Mrs. Wegman,
about Cindy…Cindy took over two and a half hours to finish her
homework…We were assured by Mrs. Conant that her homework shouldn’t take over
twenty minutes… I am sure Cindy is doing something wrong, either doing a weeks
worth in one night or misunderstanding the assignment… She has the ability to
make you think she understands when in reality she is clueless… Mrs. Wegman
seemed to understand… Christy
took Autumn to Therapy…we had the time wrong and she got there about a half
hour early and the therapist was about 15 minutes late…so she got out late.
After therapy Christy took Autumn to school so she didn’t get home till about
one in the afternoon. I
took Mike to see the Russian for therapy, but she was on vacation…good, more
time to clean… I
ordered a three-foot Submarine Sandwich from Acton Meats… so much for Din-Din, I got home about eleven
and started cleaning. Grandma
& Grandpa got here about 1500, Rob got here about 1600, Jeff and Keagan
arrived at 1930, he is sick… they all left at 2100… We had a pretty good visit
with them… Christy would have liked for it to be longer, so would I… Stephanie
is a beautiful young woman, I was impressed with how she got along with the
kids, strangers are usually a bit defensive when they meet these guys for the
first time. The
three-foot sandwich was excellent… Friday January
7, 2000 We
got the kids off to school and got ready to go meet Rob and Stephanie for
breakfast Phone
rang as we were going out the door, it was Lumpy asking if we could bring a
page of homework that he forgot, what was it? I don’t know. Where is it? I
don’t know. What does it look like? I don’t know. Christy said he did all his
homework ask her not to bench him. She said ; This is an ongoing problem, If he
doesn’t have his homework, he will be benched. Pretty cold… and a little
stupid… with an ADHD kid about the last thing you want him to do is store up
more nervous energy. Christy
and I disagree about what the next step should be… she wants to go to war, pull
him out of school and kick some butt… I just want him to turn in his homework.
He gets good grades, he just doesn’t turn in his homework… Met
Rob and Stephanie at Bakers Square and had a nice breakfast… they are on their
way down to La joya meet her Dad… she is an only child… Rob had better mind his
P’s and Q’s (Anybody know what P’s and Q’s means)… Went
shopping for Christians B’day mañana… couldn’t find what we wanted… I bought
myself a Video camera and a TV Card for the PC. It’s 0200… it is finally installed and thoroughly played
with…I’m going to bed. Saturday January 8,
2000 Christian’s
B’Day …Two
playoff games today, one was good, one was not… Christy went to church alone…
Calie and Cindy were pretty upset about being left behind but Cindy wouldn’t
wake up and Calie was mad last night and said she didn’t want to go… so… The
kids were very good all day… I am trying to figure out what I’m doing right. We
had Christians 10th Birthday and he got everything he wanted… all PlayStation
stuff… haven’t seen him since. Sunday January
9, 2000 …More football playoffs, two very good games… Christy made Belgian waffles again… they were much better than the first batch, she must have measured wrong on some ingredient last time. These were thin and crispy and as good as any I have tasted. Christy took all the kids except "B" to Bonnie’s house so they could rollerblade… nothing much else to report… I finished up a Genealogy report for a fella last night, I was a week late but this branch was exceptionally prolific two families had 12 kids and one had 18… I entered one family with ten kids… eight of them died between June and September of 1863… how tragically sad…I wonder if I will ever find out how they died? Mokie is Superstar of the week starting Monday… her birthday is tomorrow… THE BIG 07
Seven blunders of the world that lead to violence: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics without principle. -Mahatma Gandhi-(1869-1948) Monday January 10, 2000 (Monica’s 7th Birthday)
 Tuesday January 11,
2000 … What a day…I got the kids to school, and rushed back to Acton School to attend an IEP for Cindy from 0830 to 1030 We scheduled another immediately after for "B" from 1045 to whenever… whenever was 1430, (See LHC). After the IEP Christy went to Don Cuco’s with the lawyers and I got the mail, picked up the kids from school, took them home. I got Autumn from the bus and took her Calie and Monica to Bonnie’s out in Lake LA. Then raced over to Lancaster to help Christy with the kids at the Talking Doctor,( Dr G. C. D. )…he had scheduled a marathon session with Mike, Cindy, "B" and Christian. He is really a good guy, He seems to care quite a bit about the kids the session was scheduled in ½ hour segments from 1700 to 1900… he finished up with "B" at 2030… Wednesday January 12, 2000
…Last
night I screwed up and didn’t take Calie and Mokie to McDonalds on the way back
from the babysitters … so I promised them that I would pick them up at school
and take them to lunch (Cindy mooched a ride too) it was fun Errands…
went to Kaiser to drop off prescriptions at Kaiser, then took Mokie Mike and
Calie to Red Robin to get Mokie’s Birthday dinner then back to Kaiser to pick
up prescriptions (15 different bottles of drugs) Dr Doane changed all of their
medications…then to Albertson’s to get groceries and deposit some money (ATM
inside… too damn convenient) then to Post office. On the way home Christy
called and told me to pick up Cindy from dance (Christy had forgotten her) we
were 20 minutes late picking her up… Cindy was oblivious, she was watching the
advanced ballet class… Thursday January 13,
2000 …Today
was a hectic day too but boring… Christy had to remind me it was ROF day… at
1630 I went to the ROF but left early, about 2000, because I wasn’t feeling
good… I got home and apparently just missed a big argument… I suspect that the
medications we changed to are not the optimum arraignment. Mike was a basket
case and so was Christian… Christian was really odd, He tunes us out most of
the time but for some reason he was in a world of his own… I hate not knowing
what is going on, Christian is so intelligent that I am particularly distressed
when I can’t communicate with him. Friday January 14,
2000 …
Christian and Cindy to new Kaiser therapist. Mike asked me to take him to the 6th
grade dance at the Acton Community Center. I hadn’t heard that there would be a
dance but I said OK with me if Mom says OK. (Old time Daddy Cop-Out)… I was
going to drop him off at 1900 and pick him up at 2100… sure… I parked the car
and went up to the ACC on foot. I found an adult, Mike Buntz, He was
Christian’s soccer coach, he and his wife and Lisa Harmon and her husband
organized it, Lisa was Mikes 4th grade teacher… they did a good job
.I was impressed… The
problem is this is for 6th grade through 8th grade kids,
they had their hands full keeping the High School Kids out… Saturday January 15,
2000 …I
watched most of both games… one was an embarrassing rout for the Dolphins and
the other was a pretty good game. Christy was gone all day at church… I picked
up the boys and Mokie and Autumn at about 1030 and she kept Cindy and Calie
with her… those two are the only ones who really seem to enjoy church… the
others go only when they are pushed. They take after me I guess… Sunday January 16,
2000 …We
cleaned the house for company… I tried to watch the Rams but missed much of the
game… today is the day Christy decided we would celebrate Grandma, Christian
and Monica’s birthday… plus their 56th wedding anniversary is
tomorrow. I was still vacuuming when
Pat arrived and Karen, Blaine, Grandpa and Grandma showed up soon after…
Watched the Rams beat the Vikings and then the Titans stole another one This
time from the Colts. I
ordered another 3’ Sub from the meat market on Friday, Christy picked it up, it
was a hit… Monday January 17, 2000 …MLK
Day… Christy realized it was Autumn’s day to go to Therapy west at 0915, she
had to be there at 1030… I got her there ten minutes late… I thought…When I
found Beth she was with another patient… our appointment wasn’t till one… damn.
She moved her lunch to one o’clock and took Autumn at noon… pretty nice of her.
Calie went in with Autumn to see what happens… I will try to take each of the
kids at least once…Beth wants Autumn’s braces modified to give her arches more
support and it keep her leg from pushing through the front… Mike
came home from spending the night with Austin… He hadn’t taken any of his
medicine and he was a handful… damn… he promised me he would take his
medication and he decided not to… not forgot to, he decided he didn’t need it… grrrrr. Christian
was in his tuned out manic mode… I tried to get through to him and couldn’t… He
told me I wasn’t his “real Dad” and stormed out of the house in his boxers and
shirt… it took me about 20 minutes to find him, he was down at the end of the
driveway. The doctor that treats him is convinced he is clinically depressed… I
hope not. I think he is just so damn smart he is having a hard time coping with
his brothers and sisters who are more challenged than he is… He’s also a real
brat at times… Tuesday January 18, 2000 …
We had a meeting with the Principle and Christian’s teacher… not much was
resolved but I feel better about his teacher… Christian is still an enigma… I
hope we can get him figured out soon… we caught him playing with matches
tonight… he hasn’t done that in a long time..worrisome… Wednesday January 19, 2000
…Today
was Wacky Hair Day at Acton School and Meadowlark… Cindy and Calie did themselves
up real weird, Calie must have had twenty ponytails… she was pretty cute… We
had a meeting with Randy Gracia, "B"’s CSW, he arrived about 10;00. He
explained the next steps that we will take through the courts… he is going to
walk the whole mess through and with the help of our intrepid lawyers we will
do what we can… Randy feels that the courts will find in our favor… he is also
asking a lady from the Education branch of his office to look into this too… he
is really exasperated with the whole mess… Christy
took Christian, "B" and Cindy to the Lab at Kaiser to get their blood
drawn… Christian had an EEG Christy said they were awful at Kaiser and in the
car coming back…"B" put his foot on the accelerator and Cindy was screaming
and even grabbed the steering wheel on the freeway… they were little banshees
when they got home too. Thursday January 20, 2000 …Got
the kids to school and picked up Autumn, I made it to Therapy West with about 3
minutes to spare, finished a crossword puzzle in the waiting room and took her
to McDonalds and then to school in Palmdale by noon… 127 miles and that filled
up the morning. We
were called by Devereux and set up an appointment to take "B" in again to
keep the evaluation current… it has been almost a year since the last one. The
kids are having a hard time behaving, we are not sure if it’s the medication
changes we made last week or something more subtle… like puberty… at least in
Cindy and Mike’s case… Christian is too weird to even try to describe, he’s obstinate,
angry, defiant… he hops around and does summersaults while he’s talking to you,
completely on another planet. We have a call in to Dr. D. … I want to wean
him off all his medication and see what we have… Calie isn’t much better, she
is a handful every night… her crazy antics last about 2 hours, we can’t
communicate with her at all and controlling her requires physically holding on
to her… we usually just try to let her get it out of her system but lately she
is getting mean and we have to intervene to protect someone or to protect her
from being hurt by someone she has provoked… what a mess… Autumn even slugged
her teacher yesterday… time for a break. "B"
had dance class so I was going to drop him off and do some grocery shopping…
Christy called and said I needed to come home because Cindy and Calie were
fighting… pulling hair and throwing things… Mike helped her out and after a few
minutes Christy had things under control again… I bought some tape cassettes
for the camera… we need to document this stuff for posterity… not to mention
covering our butts when Cindy shows up at school covered with bruises… Lumpy
cut his thumb with a table knife on purpose, sort of, because he had to prove
to Mike that table knives weren’t sharp…. Friday January 21, 2000 …
Went to the Dr. Hendrix (the bone doctor) again, my shoulder isn’t getting
better. When I got to Kaiser a big chunk of the parking lot was he said that I
will need surgery but he doesn’t know what to cut yet, had an X-Ray today will
get an MRI in w week or two, X-Ray will find Arthur Itis and the MRI would pick
up a tear… Saturday January 22, 2000 …Christian
stayed over at one of his friends house last night… I picked him up about
10:00. Sean’s mom said they didn’t get to sleep till 04:00. We paid for it all
day… Christian was a serious jerk…Not a fun day, not a good day not a bad day…
just a day. If anything interesting happened I don’t remember it Sunday January 23, 2000 The
Football was almost good, the first game was excellent and the second was too,
unfortunately the game was tainted by a bad call and the Referees, once again,
influenced the outcome of the game and not the players… Christy
and Bonnie went on a walk, originally they were going to go to Placerita
Canyon, which is a beautiful place to walk but they ended up at the Governor
Mine instead. The Governor Mine is about a mile from here, as a matter of fact
I can see it from here… They packed sandwiches and water and mad a big
production out for going on a grand adventure and ended up down the street… so
strange… they were gone about three hours… 
Health nuts
are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital dying of nothing!
--Redd Foxx--
Monday January 24, 2000
 Damn,
there is so much to know, my tendency to want to have blind faith in the
expertise of doctors and other professionals is not cutting it at all… I
was so upset with myself that I left her walker there… Tuesday January 25, 2000 …
Kids were awful this morning… Cindy refused to go to school, there was nothing
we could do short of picking her up bodily and throwing her in the van… it was
a very trying scene… I was almost late getting Mokie to school, that has never
happened before. We
have left a call for Cindy’s Psychiatrist and are awaiting his call back. He
changed her medication last week and things are not going well. Cindy has been
uncontrollable in the evenings… I
took Autumn to Physical Therapy and Christy stayed home with Cindy… The
Dr called and we put her back on one med and took her off two others… so far so
good.. Christy
and I had a long talk about religion confirming how far apart we are on our
concepts … it was good to clear the air and good to be able to talk about it… I
don’t want it to become a problem. Wednesday January 26, 2000 …"B"
went to see Kathleen, his new Psychotherapist… Cindy had dance class…Lumpy sick
(Probably Strep.), Cindy sick…it was another crappy day… glad it’s over …
period … end of story Thursday January 27, 2000 …Cindy
and Christian stayed home sick today. We had to decide on whether Autumn or
Mike got to their therapy, so… Mike missed his therapy with the Russian. I
took Autumn to Therapy West and taped the entire session with Beth… Autumn was
a little brat and was not the least bit cooperative after the first ten
minutes… I had given her Dimetapp for her cold and that stuff makes her tired
and cranky… Autumn just wanted to play, it was a battle of wills and Autumn
won. I
called Kaiser yesterday and managed to get myself scheduled for an MRI today, there
was a cancellation or something, it usually takes weeks to get scheduled The MRI I have never had an MRI before, for those of
you who have I apologize, but I am going to try to describe the process to
those who haven’t. I have a friend back east who has a torn rotator cuff, she said
it was impossible for her to work, she tried to describe the pain and I managed
to empathize with her but I had no real understanding, for the past three weeks
and especially today I truly sympathized. My shoulder really hurts, I would try
to describe it but (believe it or not). words fail me. I drove to the Panorama
City Kaiser facility, went to the appointed room at the appointed time and
checked in, I was early. Eventually
the “Technician” came and collected me…I walked with him down a long hall past
all the X-ray machines, out into the Emergency Room then out the back door, and
down the driveway. We turned right on the sidewalk and walked past the hospital
and turned right again out to a small rectangular mausoleum like structure in
the parking lot… Apparently the amount of current drawn and the magnetic
resonance emitting from the MRI machine is so powerful it screws up everything
else in the hospital from pacemakers to PC’s and cell-phones . I stashed my
wallet and credit cards and cell-phone and we walked into the tomb. It was dark
with only the light from under a desk overhead and the orange glow of two large
PC’s illuminating the place. We went into the adjoining room where the MRI machine
is. He directed me to a narrow bench like thing connected to the front of a
large machine with a hole in it about as big around as I am. When
he raised the table up, it made an odd sound, it reminded me of Walter Mitty,
Walter’s flights into a fantasy world were triggered by a POC-IT-A POC-IT-A sound and the table made a POC-IT-A
sound when it was raised. I mentioned it to the Technician and he smiled like
he’d heard that analogy before… He told me to lie down on the table face up,
and to position my shoulder over a circle cut in the foam rubber pad of the
table. The hole was about 7 inches in diameter. Then he told me to put my arm
straight down at my side. He turned my hand and placed it with the palm against
my thigh and taped it to my shirt and the table in about 15 places, then he
clamped a heavy stirrup-like thing to my shoulder. My shoulder started to hurt
about then… with my palm up or down my shoulder is uncomfortable but tolerable…
flat against my thigh there was a steady pain, sort of like a strained muscle,
radiating from the center of my shoulder down the back of my arm to my elbow. I
thought to my self “It hurts but I can tolerate it for a few minutes.” About
that time though that he told me he was going to take 4 pictures. I asked how
long that would be and he said “You will be in there at least a half an hour,
one picture takes 3 minutes another 5 minutes the next 6 minutes and the last
is 3 minutes, plus the set-up time”… Damn… Oh well… how hard can that be… He
put some ear-phones on me, tuned to 105.5 the classical music station… cool…this
won’t be so bad… He raised the POC-IT-A POC-IT-A gizmo some more and the table
moved inside the machine about 2 feet. I thought he would leave it there, up to
my chest, but then he jammed some foam rubber pads on each side of me and slid
me all the way in, my shoulders were pressed against the side of the tube.
There was no way I could get out by myself, then my shoulder really started to
hurt. It was a little claustrophobic at first but then the machine started and
I forgot about claustrophobia… first there were a few loud clunks then a series
of rapid loud clicks then it really started to buzz… so loud I couldn’t hear
the music anymore… My
arm was throbbing all the way to my fingers now and it was very
uncomfortable…when the noise stopped I heard the Tech’s voice in the ear phones
ask me if I was ok, I said “My arm hurts like hell.” he asked if I wanted to come out but I said; “No I just wanted to
tell somebody my arm hurts, let’s get it over with.” My arm kept getting worse,
I got through the 5 minute picture. However, when the 6 minute picture finished
he said “The picture is no good, you were moving all over the place.” My arm
was spasming through out the last picture and I must have flinched. He asked if
I wanted to stop and I said “No, lets take the three minute picture and try the
6 minute one after that”…I wiggled my fingers a bit and felt a little better. I
was relieved when he told me that the 3 minute picture was OK… I made it
through the 6 minute picture some how and he finally pushed the button that
excreted me from the infernal machine… I helped him rip the tape off and jumped
off the table… I have been in worse pain I guess, but I have never been so
uncomfortable in my life. I told the tech. “The Spanish Inquisition would have
been proud of his machine.”… I think he had heard that before too, but he
smiled and said he was sorry it hurt so much, I think he meant it… I asked if the pictures were ok and he showed
me, It isn’t a picture so much as a series of pictures of what look like slices
of my shoulder, each series is taken from a different angle. He showed me the
one where I had moved it was a blur…and then he showed me a good one. It was
amazing. Even I could see the bone and joint clearly, I could see the muscle
masses peal away clear as a bell. I
asked if he could see a tear and he said he wasn’t allowed to evaluate the
pictures, I asked if it looked like I was ok he said “Oh no, there is something
wrong… see all the white area around the top of the bone… that’s fluid… it
shouldn’t be there.” I said; “Just so long as it’s fixable….” He said “Oh, he
can fix it” I hope so, I do not want to go through that again. "B"
had dance class… his teacher is a guy named Chris… he is a classy kid… Chris
started dancing at Danc’n in Acton when he was about 6… he is in his twenties
now. "B" is just barely making the motions but he keeps coming back and Chris
is very patient with him… Friday January 28, 2000 …
The neighbor kids are gone, I have mixed feelings about that… I’m not sorry to
see them go but I am concerned that I can’t keep an eye on them… Lumpy
couldn’t find his shoes so I took the rest of the kids to school and tried to
get back for Lumpy in time but when I got back we had to tear the house apart
looking for Autumn’s braces. We had to have Autumn and her braces at the
prosthesis maker person’s (he has a title but I can’t remember it) office by
0930. We had another appointment at noon for Christian so we just kept him with
us. We got to the prosthesis maker person’s office on time, with the braces. We
got out of there in about 15 minutes and went to Otto’s Diner in Lancaster… You
can always tell a good diner by the size of the patrons. If you walk in and
don’t see anyone under 200 pounds it’s a good cheap place to eat. Otto’s Diner
and The Pines Café are that kind of place. There should be a sign out front
like they have in amusement parks only instead of you must be ‘so’ tall, it
should say “You must weigh over 200 pounds to enter here” We
got home an I kept Autumn and Christy went back to Lancaster with Christian for
his therapy… at 1430 I went to get Mokie and the rest of the kids, I took Mike
directly to his break dancing class and Christy met me there and dropped of
Christian and picked up Cindy and went back to Lancaster a third time for
Cindy’s therapy… we let the boys skateboard after dance class so I didn’t have
to load the kids up again to pick them up, Christy got them on her way back
with Cindy… Christy also did some banking, shopping, and picked up chicken for
dinner. No wonder we can’t ever get anything done around here… Saturday January 29, 2000 …I
got a break from the kids today… I went to an investment seminar in Pasadena. I
had a nice set of clothes laid out but decided at the last moment to wear jeans
and a pullover… wish I hadn’t… I was the only hick-look’n boob in the bunch… I
think I embarrassed my Financial Advisor… she barely acknowledged me… I can
hardly blame her… she would have liked to have had her clients looking at least
moderately prosperous… compared to the rest of the crowd I looked like I needed
a hand-out… Oh well, Live and Learn… The
Seminar, put on by Solomon Smith Barney
at the Ritz Carlton, in South Pasadena was pretty darn good. I may have
actually learned something… time will tell… I saw some people I used to work
with too so that was an added pleasure. I
stopped for salt for the water conditioner six 50# bags…if my shoulder wasn’t
screwed up before it is now… should have asked for help… too stupid, I picked
up $25.00 worth of Chicken McNugget Happy Meals at the local McD’s and went
home… it was still standing… Super Bowl Sunday January 30, 2000 …Well,
it may be Super Bowl Sunday for me but it’s Donut Day for the kids… first
things first… I got donuts for the kids and stopped at Albertsons for some beer
and hors d’oeurves. I considered making some munchies myself but I couldn’t
think of anything… I couldn’t ask Christy to do it because she was watching the
kids and asking her to make me a platter seemed to be a little insensitive… Oh
well… I got to the Wilsons house Micki and Tom/Dennis a few minutes early because
I read the flier wrong. Dennis Schnelle and his wife came and Joe Land and his
wife and another two couples who were apparently members of Micki's Paso Fino
Horse club…Sherry Bragger came and Urich came in about half time. The
…I got the kids to school and spun around to take Autumn to Therapy West. I took my video camera again and have concluded that my presence is too disruptive… especially with a camera… I tried taping for about 15 minutes and finally just left because Autumn was rebelling at anything Beth tried to do… Beth reported that my departing wasn’t the answer either… Next time I will just drop her off… My little world is a bit odd some times… Calie informed me when I picked her up that I needed to get her a pizza at Pizza Hut because today was the last day that her two coupons at Pizza Hut were going to expire tomorrow. and Cindy said she had one too… so, I went to Pizza Hut and ordered a pizza for Calie, then I went to “Smart and Final” for some paper plates, then back to pizza hut to pick up the pizza, then I took them to the shoe store and bought 3 pair of shoes.. one for Cindy and two for Calie, then we went to the mall because Calie needed a biography to do a book report on, at the third bookstore we finally settled on the thinnest book I have ever seen, a biography of Helen Keller, then to Albertson to get some stuff Christy needed, I called Christy and she called Pizza Hut to order the rest of the pizza’s two large and two
“Personal Pan’s” one for Cindy and one for Calie… so Calie got her two pizza’s and Cindy got hers. I got home and ate then waded through 50 e-mails, I made this entry and went to bed
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