December 2002
|
December 2002
|
|
Sunday December 1 , 2002 You live longer once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted. Ruth E. Renkl 24 days till Christmas... wheew... I hope Christy has done some shopping because I sure haven't, time is getting short, and I haven't got a clue what the kids want and need...
Monday December 2 , 2002 Ignorance is more likely than knowledge to give confidence. Charles Darwin Today was expensive Christy and I went down to pick up the upright freezer she bought on Saturday... we waited in line a few minutes and asked for our freezer, the 'associate' asked to see our Pick-Up Order. I said "We don't have one, my wife bought this last Saturday, it was a bad joke, the first guy she dealt with got the order started in the computer and then decided his break took priority and handed her off to another trainee, Christy said "I want to pay for it now while it's on sale and take it home on Monday because it won't fit in my car" The kid handed her a piece of paper that said that the freezer had been delivered, Christy said "This says the freezer was delivered, I need a paper saying it's paid for and will be picked up on Monday." He went to get another fella, also a trainee. The new guy said, all you need is this paper I will put a note on the box saying you will be in to pick it up on Monday... Christy was dubious but said OK because I was sitting out in the car with 5 kids of the 7 for 45 minutes and she was pissed. I was too. Well, guess what... no freezer, there was no freezer to put an note on... the little weasel was being a big-shot and hadn't a clue. The extenuating circumstance is that all three of the Fry's Rejects that tried to help Christy were trainees, and last Saturday was still sale day... but don't lie to the customers... damn. We bought some Christmas stuff at Best Buy and at Wal-Mart... I don't even want to think about how much we spent. Mike's therapist called from school and announced that Mike was sick... he vomited... this has happened several times lately, Christy seems to recollect that it happens most often after he has spent the day with his buddy Donnie... when we pick him up he gets home and always has a miraculous recovery... it's amazing to contemplate the healing effect this house has. I told her to let him lie down for a while till he feels better. If he comes home he will watch TV and pay video games at least there he will get some rest. I was just getting into the van from picking up the mail here in Acton when I noticed it was missing... I Banzai'd back to Best Buy and they had it under the counter for me... wheeew... My digital camera is in it... plus all the Kaiser cards and a bunch of other hard to replace stuff. When I was helping Christy check out I left my fanny pack at on the counter. This is about the third or fourth time I have done this, one of these days I will not get it back. We got home in time to go get Cindy and "B" Christy got them and I went to get Autumn and Monica... While I was gone "B" and Christy had an altercation because "B" was tormenting Cindy, "B" ended up pushing Christy down and she pulled him down and held him while "B" wailed on her. Mike came home and put "B" in his room... there is more to this story but I'm not telling it here. It's late and I'm tired... Tuesday December 3 , 2002 I am an agnostic; I don't pretend to know what ignorant men are sure of. Clarence S. Darrow (1857-1938) - The World's Most Famous Court Trial, 1925 Mike has an appointment with his Probation Officer today. I picked Mike up at his school and we arrived at probation at 0955 for a 1000 appointment. I walked up to the bullet-proof window and waited for the fella sitting there to turn and face me... speaking through the microphone the Archie Bunker looking obstructionist asked "May I help you." With the same tone of voice I would have expected if I had just opened the door to the bathroom he was using. He acted as though I was imposing on him. I told him "My son Michael Daggett and I had an appointment with Officer Daniels." He said "Officer Dainels wasn't in" that he would "page him." Then he told me to sit down... I didn't; I have an instinct for when I was being screwed with Officer Daniels wasn't in and he wasn't going to be in and Archie knew it. I said; "OK, Is there someone who could look at his calendar and see if I have the date wrong or something." He narrowed his eyes and said "It's up to you to keep track of appointments not us." I said, "I did keep track of my appointment that's why I'm here, I need to find out why Officer Daniels isn't here." I finally talked him into letting me in to be escorted back to the offices. The lady walked past the office where Mr. Coleman had recorded the appointment. I stopped her and said "It's in here." When I pointed to the office the calendar was in my escort said; "That's not Mr. Daniels office his office is over here. I said pointing to the office to the left of the one she was heading to; "Well this is where he wrote down the appointment." She said "That's Mr. Coleman's office, he's in training today. I said "I guess I got the name wrong, but I had an appointment with him and he's not here." and I lifted up the November page on the calendar and showed her. She said condescendingly "Well that appointment is for the 10th why don't you come back then." (she was looking below my finger) I said; "No it's for the 3rd and showed her where he had written "DAGGETT 10:00 AM" She snapped "Well that appointment is for 1030" ... I squinted and said "No, it pretty clearly says 10:00" I was really getting pissed now the madder I got the more softly I spoke and the more I smiled. She was about to go into cardiac arrest; she seemed to be incapable of believing that some low-life from the other side of the bulletproof window could possibly be right about anything. We walked back to Archie Bunker and I said; "What do we do now?" He gave me a two minute speech about how he was only here at the window because he had sprained his ankle and yada yada yada... I said; " ... but what do I do now?", He said; "Don't worry about it I'll tell him you were here." I said; "Can I have his phone number or a contact." He said; "Officer Coleman will call you to set up a new appointment... here fill out this form." I said; "What for" He said; "I'll put it in his inbox so he'll know you were here." I bent over to fill out the form and he snapped; "Fill out the form in the waiting room... please." I was really pissed... I grinned at him... and shook my head resignedly. Went into the waiting room and walked to the bulletproof window and I filled out the form with such terrible penmanship I couldn't even read it. I handed it back to him and he pointed his chubby finger at me and said "You call him first thing Monday Morning and set up an new appointment." I said "You just said he would call me." Archie said "It's your responsibility to set up an appointment, you call him on Monday... you hear me!" I smiled, but it took me a minute before I figured out why he was no longer my confidant and looking for sympathy for his sore foot. When I was standing by his desk I was a fellow human being, but now I was back on the other side of the bulletproof window and now I was scum again. Those people are so pathetic... I hate em. ... the poor bastards who have to report to that window are deemed, by their mere presence, to be stupid, losers, deadbeat criminals. The Obstructionists sit with their back to the window and ignore you, they will stare at you like you are talking a foreign language and make you repeat everything at least twice, they will dismiss you with a wag of their finger and say "Take a seat." Burrrrr I hate 'em. One of the problems with our society is bullet proof windows...and the presumption of the people being protected by the windows and high counters is that they are special that the public on the other side is somehow inferior . The DMV, some banks, the Police Department, IRS, School administrative people... on and on, people that work behind windows and high counters and wield a little bit of power or authority with arrogance, officiousness, insolence and insensitivity are the real scum of this planet. They can, by their presence alone, spoil a whole day... t I went out to the van with Mike... two and a half hours of my day wasted because it was beneath "His Imperial Probation Officer Self" to call and reschedule. I pulled out of the parking space and then I pulled back in and went up to the bullet proof window and told Archie that I want a copy of the paper I just filled out as proof that I had come in... he said "That's not necessary."... I said... "Yes it is." He looked at me and nodded and asked one of his minions to copy it for me...the only good thing to come out of this experience is this rant. <grin> I feel better now... I am waiting anxiously to call Officer Coleman on Monday... You hear me! Calie and Christian went to the Crystal Cathedral down (Appropriately) by Knott's Berry Farm and the Wax Museum... they get to see the Christmas Pageant... Christy had school this afternoon so she will be picking them up at 1700, she will be home about 1800 and turn around and go back to the college for a meeting/reception at 1900... I just spent way too much of my valuable time laughing at this site... it is absolutely astonishing to me how gullible we are... http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/ Take the Photo Hoax quiz... Just got an e-mail from a fella I used to work with a long time ago, Ed Makabenta. Ed wrote to say that Dennis Williams had just had a heart attack and died at 10 o'clock last night. Dennis was the husband of Micki Loftin, Micki (Michelle) was a friend who worked for Pac Bell with Ed and I... she had sold her place here in Acton and moved up north of Fresno, she and Dennis bought a 40? acre ranch to raise Paso Fino horses on. Dennis is younger than I... I heard he had some blood pressure problems but this is a total shock... poor Micki, she must be devastated... I sent out a notice to my list of folks I used to work with... wish there was something I could do for her. Her step daughter is there, a friend, Sherry Bragger, drove up to be with her and some of her family is on their way up too... damn. Wednesday December 4 , 2002 His mother had often said, "When you choose an action, you choose the consequences of that action." She had emphasized the corollary of this axiom even more vehemently: "When you desire a consequence you had damned well better take the action that would create it." Lois McMaster Bujold, writer (1949- ) Today went smoothly, makes me a little nervous. I took the kids to school, drove to Kaiser, stopped at the Pharmacy and ordered medicine for Cindy, "B", Monica, Christian and myself. I wandered over to to the lab to get some blood work done, went back to the pharmacy and picked up all the medicine. I needed to fix my pouch, purse, fanny-pack thing-a-ma-bob so on the way out I asked a couple strangers if they knew where a shoe repair shop was and they both referred me to a shop in Palmdale on 25, next door to SuperCuts... I drove over there and dropped off the bag and got a haircut them went back and picked up the bag and went to I.H.O.P. for some Swedish Pancakes. Best Buy said the Freezer would be ready Thursday and for some reason I was thinking today was Thursday so I drove over. I presented my slip to the same lady that helped me on Monday, she said Hi, I remember you, let me check to see if it's in... Cross your fingers." I said "No thanks, I'll just cock my gun."... It was there, we had to take it out of the box to get it in the van and it fit like a glove. Christy got home about noon. She went to pick up the Lancaster kids and I got the rest... been a good day. Makes up for yesterday... almost. Not much more info on Micki and Dennis... apparently there will be a service up there and Memorial Service down here later... Yesterday I was trapped in a construction traffic jam on the 14 Fwy... Californian's are pretty good drivers but there are some awfully rude ones... to merge from three lanes down to one all you have to do is stay in your lane and merge when your turn comes... some people just don't get it though,,, they try to merge too soon or try to get a jump by driving on the shoulder or squeeze in with the car in front of them instead of waiting for the next opening...why... is it that they think they are special, do they just see automobiles and not the people in them? Rude, insensitive, discourteous? What is it? When we went to Chuck E. Cheeses Autumn would walk up to a game and stand patiently with her hands behind her back and wait for the game to become free. Little kids would come up and push her out of the way and barge in front of her even knock her down, she would just stand back up and put her hands behind her back and wait for the kid to finish... No parents, no one to protect her but me... I can't do anything, I would like to throw the rude, disgusting little snots through the plate glass window but I can't, as much as I want to at least yell at the rotten little bastards I can't because I would have some 250 pound, pierced, tattooed, mommy all over my ass... not worth it. Autumn was banging gophers and some little brat came up and tried to take the mallet out of her hand... unbelievable. Why are there so many unpleasant people in the world? I guess it's somewhat comforting to that they stand out because there are more polite people than rude ones. People don't even acknowledge courtesies like they used to. If you wave someone through an intersection they should nod, or wave or at least look at you. Am I just getting old? has it always been like this and I just didn't notice or is our society just becoming impolite. Thursday December 5 , 2002 An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. -Spanish proverb Today was yesterdays evil twin, "B" forgot his jacket so I got my motorcycle gear and got ready to take the bike down to him, I put the key in the bike and ... nada. "B" had brought me the key to my bike the day before thanksgiving thinking he was doing me a favor, he turned the key all the way to Park and pulled the key out... park turns on the parking lights, it has been sitting out there under the tarp for a week and a half with the parking lights on... the battery is trashed. It took me about two hours to get it started, I drove it down to the 76 Station and had to turn off the ignition to open the gas cap, It wouldn't restart so I pushed it back to to the garage and got it jumped. The battery is trashed, I can charge it but it has no amperage, it won't turn the starter motor. The mechanic at the 76, Travis, asked if I wanted him to call Acton Auto Parts to see if they had a battery, I said "Sure". They didn't so I asked Travis to see if they could order one, they could have one here by tomorrow... I said fine, I asked if I had to go over and pay for it and Travis said "No" so I rode it home and, just for the hell of it I put the charger on it and went back down to Don Cuco's for lunch. When I got back from Don Cuco's I went out to lock the shed and try to start the bike but I couldn't find the key, I came back in the house and looked but I couldn't find it, I have been looking for it ever since... I have had three keys for that bike but I can't find any of them. This is making me nuts!!!... I have looked everywhere but I can't find any of them... I have torn the house, shed and van apart, I have called Don Cuco's and wracked [what's left of] my brain... nothing... I have retraced every step I took in the course of that hour... except for the step I took when I lost the key. I finally found a key, not the one I was looking for but... it works.
Friday December 6 , 2002 Went looking for a funny Christmas card today... I really liked last years:
Unbeknownst to most theologians, there was a fourth wise man, who was turned away for bringing fruitcake. "B"'s AB3632 Hearing was at noon today, I'm not sure how it went with "B"'s interview but ours went well I think, We are trying to get him more services. What we really want is to get him out of High Desert School and into "Day Treatment". He needs to be in a different setting where he doesn't stand out so much. He needs some more intensive therapy too. I went down to Acton Auto Parts and said "Is the battery charged?" He said "You want that battery? You didn't come over to pay for it so I didn't order it... (I uttered an obscenity at this point). He said he could have it by 1700 so I wrote him a check... I should have driven down to the Honda Shop in Palmdale... but... that's a hassle too. I am going to go see "The Transporter" tonight, it's by the French Director that did "The Professional"... I saw it... interesting action flic, absolutely awful script, lots of fun in the beginning but the plot got so stupid after about 15 minutes the audience started groaning... then laughing... in the end when the French hero is rescued by his Chinese girl friend. After shooting the bad guy in the back who just happened to be her father she says, "He was a bastard, but he was my father." I actually saw three people get up and leave the theater. Saturday December 7 , 2002 I realize that most of the folks who read this couldn't care less about Motocross but I am wasting about 4 hours listening to a 'WebCast' of a Motocross race from Geneva Switzerland... I expected to hear a real Supercross race but it is a pretty pale imitation, I will see this same race on ESPN2 next weekend. The two best riders aren't there. The races are very short, the announcers are inane... at best. They are airing the French Announcers too and they sound like they are announcing an MTV Award contest... really lame, the American announcers aren't any better. The last race was pretty exciting for a while... even on the radio... the two guys fighting to take on the leader David Vuillemin took each other out by colliding in mid-air going over a jump... it was a cake walk for him after that. For some reason the best riders and the AMA Champ Ricky Carmichael stayed in America and the American 125 class didn't even race... I scoured the net but I see no reason posted. Christy went to church and then to Bonnie's she got home about 1900, Mike brought Mark home with him, I spent the day with "B" and Christian... Mark and Mike are on the trampoline, they plan to sleep out there.. it will get down to 40 tonight. Sunday December 8 , 2002 Leigh's Birthday Leigh is my youngest sister... I lost track of time and sent out her birthday card a day late so she won't get it till tomorrow. Leigh is the wisest of us I think, she has always been able to cut to the chase. She is a bit Pollyanna about some things, but she is usually bang on when it comes to divining the why of a thing. Susan makes thing's happen, she is the motivator and is a tough no-nonsense critic, hardest on herself I suspect. Me... I'm just along for the ride... Today was a laid back day... did some laundry, did the dishes, helped Calie and Mokie work on their new 'fort'. Mike and Mark went down to Justin's house... I think they got high but I can't prove it... Having Mike for a son is a lot like having a boarder. He is still defiant... when I catch hi doing something wrong he says "Sorry Dad, I won't do it again." I believe him completely, what he has just said "Sorry Dad, I won't get caught next time." He lies to my face so well I have gotten to the point I don't believe anything he says... It's getting harder to find things to talk about... to be more accurate, it's hard for me to write about the things I want to write about... It just seems like the things that come to my mind are a bit too Nitty Gritty and personal and would make me a little uncomfortable to write about. I seem to be getting into a funk again. I can go back over this journal and see where my mind is at. I am listening to a fella (Dan Glass) on NPR describing a Total Solar Eclipse incredible. He did an amazing job describing an event on the southern tip of Venezuela. Christy told me that there is a Regional Center interview for Cindy... here at the house at 1500 tomorrow... she said she told me but I sure don't remember... I have to take Mokie to the Dentist for a crown tomorrow. That's not going to leave a lot of time to clean... I think Christy will be home tomorrow... I hope so. Jean Sibelius: Symphony #1 in e Op 39 is on the radio now... Sounds like "Victory at Sea", Finnish classical music sounds like Russian Classical Music... just as passionate but a little more lyrical and less in-your-face. Tchaikovsky been a favorite of mine since I was a teenager. I used to listen to my fathers records at night... I ruined two recordings of Concerto #1, for Piano & Orchestra, wore them out. I have been wanting to put out one of those saccharine Christmas Newsletters everybody else in the world is so good at for about four years now, I just can’t seem to get it done… same with cards, I am a world-class, card carrying, idolized by some, scorned by most, procrastinator. Jerry sends out a Christmas card every year with his face on a Santa... cute... I can't even do that. American political parties explained, Part 1
|
