Sanjaya! - 12/17/2007

Yes, this is his school picture. A Co-worker said "Hey, it’s Sanjaya!" Oh, it’s ok! It’s not like I am posting naked baby pictu…..










Huh. How'd that get there?

Gonna Find out Who's Naughty or Nice !- 12/13/2007

"Mom," Jake says. "Today, David asked me if I wanted to see if I could figure out what's in our stockings. I told him no way, it's cheating.......then we did it anyway."

This, dear friends, is my husband's wise influence yesterday. He & my son proceeded to touch, shake and manhandle all the gifts in their stockings!

Today, the phone rings at work.

Me: Thank you for calling blah blah blah, can I help you?

David: I can't believe you used industrial packing tape on the presents.

Me: Why are you touching the presents?

David: You taped them all over the place with this stuff!

Me: CAUSE YOU'RE A CHEATER WHO OPENS PRESENTS AND THEN PUTS THEM BACK!

He does. He peels them open and looks at them. WHY? Why do this? Why ruin the surprise? It made me SO mad!

I get home this evening.

Jake: Mom, David was shaking his present all around trying to figure out what it is.

I don't get this. Someone please explain this to me.

Patella Expands - 12/06/2007

This weekend, David is sitting in the loft, playing Call of Duty 4 on-line. It's late and I am laying on the couch in the loft. I could go to bed, the bedroom door is 5 feet away. But I don't see David much except on the weekends, so I feel bad going to bed (he's a night owl). I compromise and lay on the upstairs couch with a blanket and pillow.

David's got his head set on and is talking to the guys on-line that he is playing with. I slip in and out of consciousness. Then I hear:

"Damn it. Negroes killed me!"

Huh??

I pop open an eye. I look at him and say "Honey?!? Why the heck are you saying 'Negroes' on-line?"

David stops, stares, and then starts laughing, hard. "I just got it!," he exclaims. He says it again to me: "Negroes." and then he spells it out: K. N. E. E. G. R. O. W. S. Knee Grows. One of the guys he is playing with has the screen name of Knee Grows.

And it took David a couple of hours to figure it out.

David's screen name? Lard Tub.

Touched - 12/01/2007

I was talking with Tampa-Sister today. I just called her to see what was up with her & hers. We discussed kids, potty training (kill me now), home sales, and got around to Christmas. I told her that this year, we decided that financially, we were not prepared to buy gifts for the 13 or so people on his side and the 10 or so on my side. This is not counting us and the kids, AND the fact that both David and Jacob have December birthdays. It's too much. I also told her about my paring down the Christmas card sending.

She said she and her mom (my step-mom) were talking about me this week. About how I am so good at seeking people out, seeing how they are, taking care of people, knowing what they need and being there for them. She said the way I am is a gift from God. That most people are not blessed with it and I should not let others ruin it for me. She knows people don't appreciate things much or say so, but she said she & her mom were discussing how special I am and wondering how the heck I do it. I was getting a lump in my throat and thanking her. I especially liked her "Don't let others ruin it for you" thing, because it is so true. Wanting validation and not getting it is a tough and embittering thing. Expecting people to validate what you do can set you up for huge disappointments. I am just trying not setting myself up for more, but I am also not letting myself become embittered (I hope). I want a shiny, happy world full of 1800's values, I suppose.


"Touched," Buffy Season 7, Episode 20

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Knees and Toes - 11/19/2007

The inventor of the annual female exam MUST have been a man. Who else could come up with this stuff? Men, just turn around. Click the "back" button. No need to go further. Women plumbing is not for you.

I call this my "annual overhaul." I work in a place where the all the equipment gets checked and serviced every time it goes out the door, but once a year, the motors must also have an "annual overhaul." On the calendar at work, it said "Kaaren in late; Annual Overhaul."

I have never been a fan of this exam, but have never really had any horror stories. I have been blessed with really great doctors. I have two actually that I use; my regular practitioner (who I call Egon)

and my OBGYN, who I will call Theresa, as she is a saint. They are in separate offices. Egon's staff are the ones who did Jake's toe. My OBGYN was booked through December, so I scheduled my appointment at my regular doctor's office and got the new nurse to do the job.

The new chair almost had me laughing aloud. It was a regular old chair and next thing I know, it's an inverted U and I'm all over the place. It was possibly the best annual exam, as far as these go. I felt not a darned thing. And the new nurse practitioner was SOOOOO NICE. She gets an A+.

Let's fast-forward to this morning. I have another exam to do. This one involved drinking 32 ounces of water before arriving. I did so, got to the office early, and sat in the waiting room. And waited. And Waited. And Waited. I would like for you to measure out 32 ounces of water, drink it in a half hour period and then not pee...for 2 & 1/2 hours. I was crying, really crying, in the waiting room. I felt like such a fool, but I have never had my bladder this full in my LIFE. I was hyperventilating. I was convincing my self to be calm, while also convincing myself to forget this crap, cancel the appointment and just go pee. It was the worst feeling I have ever had.

The receptionist saw me crying and said "We'll be right with you." Five minutes and I am in the exam room. Fifteen MORE torturous minutes and I am finally allowed to use the rest room.

Go, drink 32 ounces. Let me know how it goes for you. *gag*

Goodbye to You - 11/15/2007

We're sad. The cool neighbors moved one month early. They were leaving in December. These are the neighbors that gave us their lawn mower and whose daughter is Isabel's first *real* non-family friend. *sigh*

Mr Neighbor came over Saturday to say they moved up their move...to Thursday! WHAT? Huh? No!

I planned on making a scrap book of all the cool times Isabel and their daughter spent together; Isabel's birthday, her birthday, 4th of July, random days where we watched her or she came over to play, the football game her dad officiated and we went to see. I printed pictures, bought a mini-scrap book and went to town. I finished it last Friday. He told us they were moving the next day. Talk about timing. (and "chip-missing" David turns to me in front of him and says "Hey, did you finish that thing you were making for them?" My reply, "Yes, you moron." Anyone have a sensitivity-chip available?)

I invited them over to dinner on Wednesday. In the meantime, random things kept appearing in our garage. Three gallons of unused bleach. A bike. Car mats. Yesterday, they came over for dinner and asked to borrow Isabel's wagon. They emptied their fridge and freezer and brought it over. Holy cow. And all their cleaning supplies (the moving company won't transport chemicals). We had fajitas (steak, shrimp & chicken) with all the fixings, including rice and refried beans.

Mrs. Neighbor loved the scrapbook.

The moving van just left. Mr. Neighbor came by to bring more cleaning supplies, give me a hug, and drop off a $100 Visa gift card (he said for mowing their grass while their house stays on the market, but that was what the lawnmower was for). There they go.

Must....Choke....Phone - 11/15/2007

I hate cell phones. It is no secret. I hate that people assume that the if a cell phone rings that we MUST answer it. We are so self-important that this phone call MUST be the end-all and be-all call. I know one who answers the cell phone while using the bathroom! Really? Is it THAT important that you cannot wait 3 minutes and check your call record? Or people who are in a conversation with a live person in front of them, their cell rings and they cut the live person off to answer the phone. How rude!

Let me explain something about me: If I am tired, watching tv, bathing my daughter, taking a nap, talking to my son, cooking dinner, reading a book, etc. etc. I might not answer the phone. Sorry. LEAVE A MESSAGE. I will get back to you; you know how great I am at keeping in touch.

I have a couple of people both at work and in my personal life who will:

1) ..beep me on the two-way and immediately start talking. I AM ON THE PHONE WITH A CUSTOMER and all I hear is someone talking very loudly about something they need. Here's a tip: Give a "Courtesy Chirp." Beep someone....and WAIT. Don't assume that because you have free time, that the person you are beeping is free. I've been in the bathroom at work and heard my two-way chirp and the person start talking. I'm in the can....away from the phone - I can't hear you!

2).....beep me or call me on the cell while I am on the land-line talking to someone. When I don't immediately answer the beep or call, they immediately call my office land-line. HELLO???? I did not answer the cell phone or radio for a REASON. Why didn't you leave a message? Don't immediately call back on the land-line. I am busy with the many people calling me needing something.

There is no cell-phone courtesy and it kills me. I don't understand the rudeness of taking calls in a meeting, in a restaurant, while talking to someone in person. STOP IT ALREADY.

Business in the Front - 11/07/07

For the past few months, I've had odd encounters with some neighbors. I use the term loosely, because they don't live on my street. They live on one of the streets that my street intersects. This street is the "back" way to the Wal-Mart that's less than a mile away, hidden (for now) by trees. I use the "back way" only when I go to Wal-Mart. In going this way, I often pass by the Burnt Orange Hummer House. (The Hummer's orange, not the house). Often-times I pass the Hummer itself driving on the street. The driver, I can't tell if it's a he or a she, emphatically WAVES at me. Full-on spaztic "HEY THERE" waving. I have no idea who they are. We have never met, never spoken. *I* think they are confusing me with another Silver Jeep like mine whose owner lives somewhere in this neighborhood and I have seen a few times. I'll lamely wave and kind-of shrug. Sometimes, I'll drive by their house, and the lady of the house waves enthusiastically at me as I drive by. I smile and wave back. No clue who they are.

David and I are driving the back way from Wal-Mart one day and it reminds me to tell him about Hummer people. Right as I start to say "Oh, yea. There's these people in a Hummer...." the Hummer drives by and arms wave happily. I wave and finish my story with a "See?? See?? Who are they?" David doesn't know them either.

This Saturday, as I come back from buying something I am sure we needed, I pass by Hummer House. Never again shall it be called "Hummer House," because...as I drove by and waved back at the man riding the lawn mower, all I could think was...."Business in the Front, Party in the Back."



The man possessed the most perfect, most fantastic, most mulletastical mullet EVER. Pin straight LONG black hair, stopping right at his lower back. Oh, yes indeed there is a party in the back. Spikey short hair up front, for those board meetings.

Mullet Mansion man and I, waving emphatically back, will share that memory forever.

Raise You Hand if EW! - 10/20/2007

My poor, poor boy has had an ingrown toenail for a while. Months. We thought nothing of it, even when he would YELL if anyone accidentally stepped on his toe, or he hit his toe on something. Even then, I thought "Overreact much?" Then, Isabel stepped on it, and pus came out. That caught my attention. I scheduled an appointment with my doctor (Jake & Iz's doc moved to Apopka, way too far away for us).

The first visit was pretty much just to say, yea he needs to have that cut off by our doctors, please pay your $25 co-pay. We scheduled "surgery" for 3 days later (please pay another $25 co-pay. Losers.)

On Friday, the 4 of us went to the doc (David brought him from school because I was not driving from work in Seminole county, to get him in Volusia county, to take him back to Seminole county for the appointment).

Let me preface this by saying, Jake's dad is an $%^&+*. (I don't care who reads this; you know who you are!) WHY the heck would anyone tell their child about to have surgery "You make sure they knock you out. I had that surgery and it was the worst pain in my life. The needle they stick in your toe to numb you hurt like hell. The worst pain I ever felt!" Who does that?!?!? He is not your "buddy," he is your son. Your job is to protect him, not scare the crap out of him. SERIOUSLY.

That's what I was dealing with as I went into the room with him; terror. He started to freak a little, and I told him: "The thing about pain is, you have to breathe through it. You cannot freak out. You have to breathe and stay calm. Freaking out is only going to make it last longer. Just get through it and it will be done." He asked me when did I become a Zen Master.

The doctor came in (she was 12, Indian, pretty and sweet). She explained the procedure while Jake tried not to hyperventilate. When it came time to numb the toe, they placed a rubberband tight around it, and then stuck a 20 gauge needle into his toe, to slowly push in the medicine. I turned my back to them, looked at Jake, held his hand and told him to relax and breathe. I could tell he was in pain. They numbed one side, then it was time for the other. The return of some feeling to my hand led me to believe that the first shot was working. Jake was afraid that he would feel them cutting into his toe and voiced that fear aloud. That's when I told him that they were injecting him a third time. He had no idea.

Last time he had to have an injection to numb something was in Kindergarten. He sliced his finger open & needed stitches. As the doc was putting the injection in his finger and Jacob screamed bloody murder, the room looked a little too white and bright. A nurse said "Mom, are you o.k.?," sat me down on a chair and shoved my head between my knees.

So, yea, the room is getting a little whiter and man, it's hot in here. MY doctor walks in to help out 12-year old doctor. He sees me and says "Are you o.k. mom?" I laugh and sit down.

Jake was listening to his music on his MP3 player so he did not hear the CRACK of the nail coming off, or the doctors laughing about how loud it was. I'm trying to refrain from sticking my head between my knees.

They bandaged the toe before we could see it, showed me the HUGE piece of nail embedded in his toe, and gave us instructions for the next few days.

Crazy Love - 10/08/2007

• In the 12+ years I have been working where I work, the office has been in the same area. We've moved twice in my 12+ years there, but we've moved exactly 2 streets over from where I started. In my 12 years, on various lunch breaks and such, I have seen an odd couple. They are always walking from various places, running various errands. Sometimes they are pulling a cart full of groceries behind them. Sometimes they are walking their bikes through the intersection. They are always primly dressed. The old man is in his 70's. His midsection is round, his pressed pants held up by suspenders. He wears pressed-long sleeved shirts, regardless of the Florida heat and always wears a baseball cap. His companion is a man in his 50's. He wears nicely pressed slacks, pulled up past his stomach, held firmly by a belt. He is often wearing plaid long sleeved shirts, his hair reaches the nape of his neck, but it is always neatly in place, slicked back by some product. He's a little slow; maybe disabled. The old man takes him everywhere; holds his hand as they cross the streets of our city. I think of them as father & son. Dad taking care of his son. Last week, after 12 years of seeing them, I saw they younger of the two, plaid shirt, slacks pulled too high, belt, sandals & socks....walking alone. Down the street passing the CVS. And my heart hiccuped for just a second. Just one. Where's dad? Is he ok? Is son just out for a walk on his own? Where's dad? Who'll take care of the son? He seems ok, nicely pressed pants. I have to turn left now, I can't see where he's going. Who'll hold his hand when he crosses the street?

A Whole in the World - 09/11/2007

Although I have been in the doldrums and have not felt like blogging as of late, I do want to take a moment to remember today.

Why We Fight - 08/29/2007

Ever feel rut-like, In a rut, rut-a-licious? (I was going to say rutted, but that's really not polite in some circles).

Monday through Friday, work work work. It's all so exhausting. Then to have to come home and start dinner, pick up after the kids (and sometimes the husband) gets to be a monotony I don't enjoy. It's a fight with monotony every day.

Last night, sitting on the overstuffed arm chair with the ottoman, reading a book, Isabel sits in my lap and leans back on my chest to watch tv. With my right hand holding my book, I place my left arm loosely around her front. She grabs my arm with both of hers and hugs it tightly against her body, leaning her head on my arm. Holding on to it for dear life, she then plants two perfect kisses on my arm. I am mush. This is why we fight.

Objects in Space - 08/09/2007

I have a MySpace page; yes I do. It started as a means to look at 3 of my sister's pages. They'd say "look at the blady-blah I posted," and when I would go look, it would tell me I needed to be my sister's "friend" to see their page. But...I am their sister!!! I signed up. My page is completely Buffied, as I am a geek.

Jake also has a page, mainly full of anime stuff. I monitor his page all the time. He won't post anything I would find objectionable, because he knows me.

I am his parent. I am not here to be his best friend. I am a parent. My job is to love him, nurture him, feed his body, mind & soul, house him, lead him by example and hope he takes to my instruction and grows to be a good man who will be honest, a hard worker and will treat his future girlfriends and wife with dignity & respect. I am not here to be his best friend. I won't be like a male parent I know, who told me that he would rather his teen boys drink alcohol in his home where he can monitor them. What? Uh, NO! I am a PARENT. I am not Lindsey Lohan's mom. He respects me, he loves me, he thinks I am old and a dork. He's not wrong.

I was reading and looking at his friends' pages. He leaves his page logged on and up on the screen on our computer. He has nothing to hide and I am proud of him. Some of the things I see, though, lead me to believe that some parents have no idea what is going with their kids' MySpace pages. Junior High girls posting pictures of themselves in their underwear? I doubt their mom knows about that. 13 & 14 year old girls who set their smiley icon mood to "Horny." Bet mom doesn't know about that one either.

I spoke frankly to Jake about all of it. (He rolled his eyes.) "It's just MySpace, it doesn't mean anything." I told him I hoped he made choices that would not make him be a follower or a victim of peer pressure. Am I old fashioned? In this day & age, maybe so. Do I care that I am old-fashioned? Not one iota. As a parent, do you?

Cell-Schmell 07/15/2007

I have a Love-Hate relationship with cell phones. I enjoy their portability. I like that we really don't need a home phone any longer. I like that you can "take" your number with you if you switch carriers. I especially like cell phone carriers vying for my business by giving me great offers.

My dislikes are as follows:

• People who drive 40 in a 55 zone because they are not paying attention. They have their arm up to their ear and are jabbering at 55 mph. Too bad their foot can't keep up with their mouth. And why don't they have a Blue Tooth or even a cord from their phone to their ear? Why are they doing the one-handed drive?

• Being called while I am driving is also another dislike, especially when the caller knows I am driving. Don't call to say "Whatcha doing?" I'm baking a cake. I'M DRIVING!! At least I have an ear piece in use and both hands on the wheel.

• People who leave them on in movie theaters, libraries, restaurants, etc.

• Getting calls for "Gilberto Gonzalez" for two and a half years. The fact that two and a half years have gone by and I am still getting his calls is upsetting. Even worse, half of Gilberto's calls are from Sprint, his "wireless service provider." (Automated Machine Mangling His Name:) "Gelburto GONzalez, please hold for an important announcement from your cell phone carrier, Sprint". Dear Sprint: You are stupid. How do you not even know that this cell phone number is no longer Gilberto's? How do you not know that you don't even own this number, as I use T-Mobile? I have told them at least 4 times to stop calling. It has not worked.

Yea, so. Love them and hate them.

Soul Purpose - 07/05/2007

Reading "The Color of Water" really got me thinking about my own life and where I came from. A few weeks ago, I took a box of paperwork to work to shred. Papers from at least 12 years ago or more. Receipts, accounts, my past life. As I am shredding these papers, I feel myself tensing & I could understand why. No disrespect to my ex and especially my ex's family; I am not here to ex-bash. This is about me (isn't is always?) :) I was shredding bad debts, bankruptcy, my old life that I cannot even recognize, and was remembering. It was such a weird feeling.

I wish I could impart my knowledge to some younger people I know. Don't marry young. (They do). Don't have kids until you get your degree (they do anyway and drop school). Don't charge things and live beyond your means (they do). And they're drowning. I wish I could help...but we all have to make our own mistakes and grow from them. I married young, at 21, thinking someone would take care of me, and years later, I realized I was doing all the taking care of. I had nothing financially other than the hand-to-mouth paychecks I was getting. I left. I got a small apartment for my son & I. We lived on mac and cheese and sandwiches for a while (I never learned to cook and never had to during my marriage; he's still a superb cook). Poor Jacob and the tasteless meals he endured. We lived without cable for 2 years. We had no cell phone. I made my rent, my car and always made the payments for Jacob's prepaid college plan. Who needs cable anyway?

I had a good job, though, and a boss who believed in my talents. He promoted me and gave me excellent raises. Then in 2000, I bought my first home, by myself. I was 29, a single mom and a homeowner. I was ecstatic. I was SO proud of me. Some time last year, when looking at the new home we purchased, David's mom and grandma asked me if my new larger home was like a dream come true. I honestly replied "No. Buying my little blue house was my dream come true. This is on a whole different level."

I spent 6 happy years in the "blue house." My car was paid for, my son's college was paid for, I had investments. What? True. Me. Investments. I learned to cook just a little, met David, we married, had Isabel, and little blue house got very crowded.

Here I am now in my "beyond-dream" home. I remember being told by my ex "One day we'll have a house," and I waited and waited for it to happen. It never did; it wasn't given to me. I had to work my butt off to get it for myself. Now, I've owned two, sharing this one with my goofy husband.

As I shred those papers, my chest constricted, remembering the past. But this past and God made me stronger than I could ever imagine.

Him - 06/13/2007

Three "Him's" to be exact.

• I'm driving home from work today on a brand new stretch on road. There are two northbound lanes. It is POURING rain. I, knowing how the streets flood here, am in the left lane behind a man who is unfortunately riding a Harley in the pouring rain. On the right, is a Toyota Avalon, whose driver is really not so bright. He or she is speeding in the downpour. Motorcycle Man and I, in the left lane, notice that up ahead, the right lane is completely flooded out and has in fact come over to our lane. He puts his hand down to signal he is slowing down, but no need, as I had started to slow down as well. Toyota Avalon person? Not so much. This Einstein goes barreling through the small lake in front of him/her, and then decides to slam on the brakes....but not before completely drenching motorcycle man. I said "Ooooooooooh. Idiot." aloud as I saw the tsunami hit. Motorcycle guy was not too happy. He stared down Toyota Avalon person. The rest of the 2 mile ride was spent driving really slow, as motorcycle man kept trying to get beside Toyota person to give him a piece of his....finger and boot, actually, but Toyota person kept slowing down to not be next to him. So, we went really slow up to the point where the right lane becomes a "right turn only" lane and Toyota person had to merge with us. Toyota person let me and another truck pass before they merged. Toyota person was probably too afraid of what motorcycle guy would do. I *so* wished I had a nice XXXL t-shirt in my Jeep. I would have jumped out at the light and handed it to him to change. He was drenched, poor Him.


• David calls tonight to say his battery is acting up and he needed to go buy a new one. I told him to check the auto parts store to see if they could just recharge it. He asks me which auto parts store, as there are 2 right next to each other. Here's how this conversation went:

Me: It's the one next to the Indian place that used to be a Pizza Hut.

Him: What?? You want me to go get the battery checked at the Indian place??

Me: Are you MENTAL??

After I hung up the phone, the hilarity of this conversation finally struck me, and I started giggling, then outright laughing to myself. What could he have possibly heard over that cell phone?

• My son Jake placed his nightly call from the road to me. They are at Camp Lejune (Military base) and are having a ball. He got to sit in the cockpit of an Osprey today and toyed with a glass...something. Some kind of navigation system that is all touch screen and fancy. He was all excited. Then he says "Grandpa wants to talk to you." Oh-oh, I say to myself. What has he done? Alex (my ex-father-in-law) proceeds to tell me what a joy Jacob is and to thank me for letting him spend these 2 weeks on the trip with him. Alex has two grandkids with him; Jake and Jake's cousin Maddy. They are about the same age and as different as night and day; and not just because they are male & female. Maddy is outgoing, exuberant; Jake is introspective and thoughtful (as in he ponders & mulls things over before making up his mind). Alex laughed as he explained how Maddy pushes Jake's buttons because he is so serious. He also says that as they were in an Atomic museum, Jake saw a really neat item. Alex asked him if he wanted it. Jake turned the piece over, saw the price and said "No, it's too expensive," and set it down. Maddy walks over, looks at the price and says "I want it," and walks off through the store with it in hand. Alex told Jake "Don't you worry about cost. Only worry about if you want it." So Jake eventually conceded. Alex said "You raised him good, girl." and I was so proud. This is gold coming from him.

Trash - 05/26/2007

Ok. Seriously. This happened. I will explain more and post some pictures when I am not so tired, but I HAD to tell you this story.

David, the kids and I went to the Central Florida Spring Gathering today at Hontoon Island; a letterboxing event. We had a great time. In fact, people are still having a good time, as some are camping there in cabins or tents over the weekend.

We did a hike, just the 4 of us. It's about 3 miles, round-trip. On our way to the "end" of the trail (one-way), I notice a very thin lady in a bikini, squatting down in front of a toddler girl. I think "She's helping her daughter with something"....only I realize the lady's bikini bottoms are around her ankles.

I stop in my tracks, and turn my 13 year old son and myself around; we stand there just waiting. David and our daughter were further behind us, as a 3 year old has teeny little legs and takes longer to catch up.

I turn around to see the lady and the girl leave to our right. As we start to walk towards where she was, a British couple that had passed us earlier and were making their way back, start saying to us "Mind your step. Walk to your far right" while the husband is asking "Did you see that?" We all stop together to talk. It seems they came upon her from the other side....and she was not just peeing.

There was a clearing there, right next to the river. Her husband/boyfriend pulled his boat to the clearing, she hopped off the boat with her toddler, left her "gift", went back on the boat and took off.

The British couple were disgusted, as were we, at what this lady had just done. She did not even cover it or bury it, or even hide in the bushes. STRAIGHT on the trail.

We covered our noses and looked away as we walked by. The thought of it made David and my son want to puke. I did not EVEN point out to the two of them that a "used" paper towel was also dropped on the way to the river.

For Real.

Entropy (or why my lunchtime story is better than yours) 04/23/2007

I went to lunch with David and Isabel today at a fast food joint. We sat down facing the soda machines (self-service). I see something happening and I pay attention.

A thin Hispanic (looks like Puerto Rican) guy in his 20's was filling up water cups with soda. The manager came out and told him that he asked for water cups, and that those cups were for water only. If he wants sodas they are $1.39 each. She takes the cups away from him and throws them away. I sort-of snicker to myself. Then I see BIG fat Puerto Rican man (20's as well) come over to the table right next to me, where a young 20-ish woman pushing a stroller with a toddler has just sat down. She has a 5 year old with her as well. BIG fat man says, and I quote, and in front of me & Isabel and David: "What a F-ing C*nt. Did you see that B**ch? I'd have thrown the F-ing drinks all up on her." The young woman proceeds to agree with him saying stuff like "BullS&*T" and "b**ch." They get caught STEALING, but the manager is a C**t & a Bit**??

Young guy comes to the table with ANOTHER big guy, and what looks like a late 40-50ish year old lady - possibly the mother to some of these people and the grandmother to these little kids. Grandma says "What a F-ing B..." and they proceed to go off again cursing.

The five year old is right next to me. We're sharing a LONG bench booth thingy. The 5 year old says "Sh*t. I wanted Coke!" OMG, you guys. I did not finish my salad. I made the excuse "David we have to go, I have to get back to work" and left.

I was SO mad. THESE are the kinds of people that give Puerto Ricans a bad name. I was so embarrassed to be sitting next to them, knowing that I am Puerto Rican, and these people are a prime example of why we are looked down upon in Central Florida. Call me the 'white sister' all you want, that is NOT acceptable behavior! WHEN did this ever become o.k.? It is NOT. It is never ok to speak like this...especially in public....ESPECIALLY in front of your children/grandchildren.

Like a co-worker said when I told her the story: Trash is trash. White, black, tan, yellow, purple. Trash is trash.

How was YOUR lunch today?

Through the Looking Glass - 04/09/2007

There's a Game going around the 'net. I don't really know what it is called. I renamed it "Me in One Word" when I forwarded to a few friends. You ask people to describe you in one word and only one. They don't need to reply to anyone else, just you. And they can be completely honest.

Here are the words that were used to describe me:

Contained
Aggressive
Super-Mom
Cool
Precise
Organized
Creative
Crafty

I love that I am both contained AND aggressive. Funny thing is, the two people who said that are from two different circle of friends. The "contained" commentator knows me from one arena of my life and sees me as too quiet and calm. I hold too much inside. The "aggressive" commentator knows me from a different grouping, where in that group, I am the aggressive one. Funny, huh?

My "creative, organized, cool, crafty" friends all know the things I do (and send them from time to time). To them, I am all those things. "Super-Mom?" Sometimes. Sometimes I want to crawl in a dark little cave and hide from them. Ask David, he knows. :)

"Precise." I like that. I think I am that too.

All in all, I liked the list

Power Play - 04/09/2007

My son brought home a progress report with some bad grades back in mid-January. We were upset, and he was no longer allowed to play video games until he brought those grades up. He was good about it, too. That and I hid the game he loved the most.
I kept in touch with the one teacher with the bad grade. (The other was P.E. P.E.??? Seriously??) We e-mailed, she would tell me about extra credit, etc., etc. and I would make him do it.

He got his report card last week.....and made honor roll.

See? He wasn't really exerting himself until I took something away. How sad it that? I can't be there at school when he is not dressing out to P.E. or when he does his homework and then forgets to turn it it. *sigh* Parenting stinks.

Good job Jacob on your honor role. You did me proud.