I'm back home after a really good week visiting my parents.  Sadly, we only got a teensy bit of snow on Christmas Eve.  Not really ideal for a White Christmas.....you sort of need the "white" part.

I had a nice time.  Getting away is ALWAYS good.  I'm glad to be home with Gotham though.  Plus, there is nothing like coming home after a trip and sleeping in your own bed.

As always, my dad had me laughing most of the time I was there. He really does have a wicked sense of humor.  Mom kept busy with her online puzzles and the horse racing channel on TV when we weren't out Christmas shopping.  Surprisingly, we only got in to one "mini" argument and I think I only pissed her off a couple of times. Score!!!

I was sad to see that their cat was healing really slowly after surgery.  He's such a feisty guy, so to have him limping around and on pain meds really breaks my heart.  They don't think he will ever lose the limp or the meds.  Poor guy. I hope they're wrong.

Tomorrow, it's back to work.  I hope we close up early on Weds. My cats' face cancer flared-up while I was gone, (they think stress might be a trigger) so I need to try to get him to the vet and I'd rather not wait until Saturday.  Unfortunately, the vet closes at 6pm, so unless I get off early, there's no way I can get him in until Saturday.

It's nice to have the rest of the day to do nothing and just relax.  Sundays are the best!

I just spent a fun couple of hours with Samantha and David at EC's. Danny behind the bar making the best margaritas...the place was jumping!!!  Only thing that would have made it better would have been if Manny and his wife would have been able to make it.

I had to work late (again) tonight. I wish there was something interesting to do after work in the area around my office.  There has to be an activity better than sitting in traffic, cussing at everyone who cuts me off.  Tonight was particularly bad. I even rolled down my window before I stopped myself from calling a driver a REALLY bad name.  I should have taken the bus this morning, but I just couldn't do it.  My Esgic-Plus hadn't started working yet and I was in no shape to leave the apt.

I wish I could take the bus tomorrow, but I have to make a few stops on the way to work.

Btw- what's up with Amazon saying that stuff I ordered has been delivered?  This is the 3rd time their tracking has posted my items as delivered when it's still on the truck.  Fuckers.

Only a few more days until I'm off to visit my parents....

The Thrilling Adventure Hour Holiday Show last night was amazing.  TWO installments of Sparks Nevada, Marshall on Mars as opposed to ONE.  Okay, the second was disguised as a Red Plains Rider episode, but they closed it as Sparks & it was a progression of  the Sparks storyline.  Beyond Belief closed out the show, as always.  Paget looked amazing in her red dress (with holly hair accessories) and Paul looked dapper (as always) in his red plaid jacket. Actually, he looked even better with his King of Coffee crown earlier in the show. :-)

I was sad that Craig Cackowski and Josh Malina weren't there, but everyone from SuperEGO was. :-)  Other guest stars: Julia Duffy (remember her from Newhart?),  Misha Collins (Supernatural), Molly Quinn (Castle), Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Concords), Keegan-Michael Kay (Key and Peele) and a host  of others...it was a HUGE cast.

As always, my friends and I met lots of neat people in line.  Elizabeth, from Sweden, was super-nice. I couldn't imagine taking such a big trip on my own, especially at 21!!!  I only went to the first show, (no photos or autographs afterwards) so I hope she was able to get a photo with Paget after the second.  Oh yeah, I was seated behind Len Wein again. (If you know me, you know the joke).

I had Friday off work, so I was able to get most of my weekend "out and about" errands done then.  Apart from my normal weekly home chores, all  I have to do is take a walk up to Trader Joe's to pick-up a couple of things I forgot about Friday,  then it's back to my pad to get stuff together to mail to my parents (I hate checking bags at the airport, so I'd rather mail their presents).  I also need to start getting the Christmas cards I need to mail addressed and written out.  I like it when I have easy chores to do!!!

Looking forward to the Rudy Casoni Variety Show and Reading Aloud this week.....

Being single and without family during the holidays sucks. I've been invited to three different Thanksgivings, but I think I'm just going to stay home. I'm grateful (and thankful) my friends wanted me to come over, but it just feels weird and depressing going solo.

I miss spending Thanksgiving with my parents. :-(  I tried to plan a surprise trip, but my uncle couldn't do it and there's no way my car could make that drive.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Hopefully Gotham doesn't expect me to make a big, traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

Blah, I've been sick since Saturday morning.  I forced myself to go to breakfast up at Marsten's in Pasadena, but other than that, I've been either out of commission or at work.  I couldn't cancel on breakfast, it was with my former staff members and a few others from my former job.  I really value the time I spend with those ladies.  They drove me nuts when I worked there, but I still love them.  Plus, come on, Marsten's corn flake crusted french toast?  You HAVE to take advantage of any opportunity to have that for breakfast!  I don't even like french toast!!

The biggest bummer about being sick is that, because of work, traffic (I drove in because I couldn't deal with the bus) and the fact I had to go back to the office after I left, I missed seeing Eric Idle interview John Cleese. I had been so excited to go, but I just couldn't make it in time (it was in Glendale).  As a HUGE Python fan, I'm devastated.  It's even worse because friends of mine went and said it was awesome.  Plus, I was forced to miss Steve Martin interviewing Martin Short...... Crummy luck with Alex Theatre!!

At least I have Rudy Casoni to look forward to.  Frank Sinatra's bastard son (not really) and his variety show at the former Steve Allen Theatre.  He hasn't performed in a few years, so I'm excited.  Plus, it's on a Friday! I may be able to get out of work early, fingers-crossed!

Yikes, I feel crappy. 😕

Took the Big Blue Bus and it got caught up in the snarl of traffic near my work, so I missed my second bus. :-( I guess waiting at a bus stop near UCLA is an interesting way to spend part of a Friday night....

There was a disabled and, I think, homeless man that just barely made it on to our bus (the driver was nice enough to wait) and I'm not kidding when I say that the entire bus smelled by the time he got off. I feel bad for the guy because the other people on the bus (there were only about 7 of us) were talking in Spanish to the driver about how bad the smell was. FROM THE BACK OF THE BUS. It was mean and rude. What if he understood Spanish?

He did smell bad. The driver held a hankerchief over his nose and mouth while driving. I can still smell the guy even now. It's so sad.

I'm going to meet Samantha and her husband at EC tonight. It will be nice to catch-up! Not sure how I'm going to get there, or at what time!

Because of all the construction between work and home, I've been taking the bus to and from work. There's a red express bus that has a stop not too far from my office. Just a quick walk down Barrington! It still takes a while to get back to the other side of town, but at least I'm not driving.  Yes it's crowded and yes it smells and yes it's noisy, but it's still less stress. Plus, I can read for a while (if I get a seat....I can't read standing up on a bus for some reason, it makes me queasy!).

Last night, having left the office at 5pm,  I got off the bus at 6:20pm.  If I take that same bus, then get on another one up to Sunset..... Argh! Should I even bother? Maybe I can find some other bus lines?

This is turning into work, LOL!!!

Great commute home.  I was almost to Wilshire and Santa Monica when some jerk decided to come into my lane (behind me) before there was enough room for his car.  He hit my passenger rear corner!  Luckily for the other driver 1) it was rush hour and I didn't want to block traffic, 2) when i got out, I didn't see too much damage, 3) I'm not a bitch. So I told him "no worries, get back in your car and have a nice night".  I was exhausted from fighting traffic for 40 minutes and still only being halfway home.  Even listening to Frank Sinatra didn't make the drive better.

By the time I got home, I didn't even want to fix dinner....after only having a couple of tiny mini biscotti to eat all day.  I finally managed to eat and have a glass of wine. I'm just about ready to hit the sack, I'm so tired.

I'm excited to be going to the Thrilling Adventure Hour tomorrow.  Maybe Len Wein will see me and (yet again) not realize we have met at least half a dozen times before.

Yay!

Crap, I should just go to bed.

After putting it off for months, I finally went in and got a haircut this morning.  I seriously have needed to do it for a while now, it has grown way too long.  In the back, it was down to the middle of my shoulder blades (just above the middle of my back) and in the front, it was down, er, to my chest. This is what I told the gal who does my hair (and who usually doesn't listen to me):

"look, just cut it to my shoulders. I don't care.  Just cut it to my shoulders. YES I'm sure. It will grow back.  YES I'M SURE".

So she did. I don't know if it looks good or not, but it feels better.

It was a productive morning. Drove all the way out to my bosses house in the pouring rain, did my house watching duties, drove back here, went to the vet and then to the salon where I got my hair cut. All before walking back through the door to my place at 9:45am.  I have a few more errands to run, but I figure I can do them either early tomorrow or on my way to the benefit tonight. Probably tomorrow. I'm not getting up at 6am again though. No way. Too early for a Sunday!

I decided that I want to make a batch of white bean and chicken chili tomorrow, so I need to get to the grocery store to pick up a few things. I hope this cooler weather holds out! Chili is best when it's been cooking all day when it's cold outside. Makes the house smell good too. Lately, I've been cooking various types of pasta and different sauces. It makes it really feel like Fall. Plus, my place smells great! Italian hot sausages, onions, peppers, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, garlic. My dad always made great pasta sauce throughout the year, but it (and his chili) always remind me of this time of year.

So, anyway, I guess I get to unveil my new 'do tonight at Largo. I have a ticket for a benefit show for "The Detroit Creativity Project".  I bought it a while back when they announced it at the Thrilling Adventure Hour Keegan-Michael Kay guest starred in and, until I was reminded of it earlier this week, I'd completely forgotten about it.  I think there are still tickets available, if you're in the area, have nothing to do, and want to contribute yo a good cause.  It's going to be a variety show with lots of talented people (Keegan-Michael Kay, Marc Evan Jackson, Pagett Brewster, Kumail Nanjiani, etc.).

If you go and happen to see me, don't laugh at my hair....at least not to my face.

I've been going to my bosses house every day to check on things while they are on vacation and, I have to say, it's been a stressful nightmare.  Nothing to do with actually checking the house, though.  It's been a traffic nightmare.  Between the issues I'm having with my car, West Side work-week traffic, construction delays and school run traffic, I've started to shudder and get on edge every time I get in my car.

This morning I left the house just after 6am purely so I could avoid the jams around all the schools between my place and theirs and then again between their home and work.  I ended-up getting to work two hours early. I'm still expected to be there until 5pm, so it's not like I can leave early. It also sucked that when I got into my car to go home that I had to sit in San Vicente traffic.

I even hit traffic congestion over the weekend!!! While it took me about 90 seconds to go, what took me 40 minutes during the week last week, I still hit road closures in Westwood and then got turned around (lost) around the little streets surrounding UCLA.  It took me an hour and a half to get home. This was before 9am on Saturday!!!!

I'm exhausted and stressed out.

Surface street traffic is getting even more ridiculous (if that's possible). It took me 30 minutes to get from the signal at San Vicente / Darlington to the signal at San Vicente and Wilshire. It's not that far!!!!  It should take 3 minutes.

All I could think about was the fact my car was probably going to die and I should look around and find good, reasonably priced hotels west of the 405 that I can stay at when traffic sucks this bad.

I owe an apology to all my fellow commuters that I was a bitch to. Sorry.

BTW- What was up with all the law enforcement vehicles screaming along Wilshire west-bound?  I was stuck in even more traffic along that corridor, just west of the 76, but at the top of the hill, and at least 7 police SUV's, motorcycles and sedans went tearing the other way with lights and sirens on. Nothing was mentioned on news radio the rest of the way home. Weird.

Late this afternoon I passed the written exam for the M-1 drivers license.  Now I need to take a class on how to operate a motorcycle so I can get the permanent license and maybe the next step is to get the Vespa I want.

I also had lunch with a bunch of people I used to work with / for. It was an annual birthday luncheon I used to plan when I worked there.  It was very nice, but weird. When I planned it, the seating chart had people who knew/liked each other sit together. This was kind of random, so people didn't chat much.  Lots of awkward silences, which is a shame because it was a beautiful lunch.

I was really happy to see a few people, a couple of others, not so much. My ex-boss seriously thought I was there to ask for my job back. Um, no. I guess he thinks that there is no way I could possibly succeed outside that firm.  Why he sat next to me, I don't know. I just wish that he could let go and just be cordial. He still talks trash about me! I guess I take up a lot of space in his head.  Even if I was fired from my job, there is no way I would ever willfully work for him again.

The president of the company (who I worked for many, many years ago) looked good and it was nice to chat with him a little. With 12 people there, it wasn't appropriate to monopolize his time, so we just chatted a bit. I miss him and one of my other bosses (along with my other friends).

Bonus- I was told that I smell really nice.

Another creepy weird bonus- when I was in line at the DMV to get the paperwork to show I passed my tests, the young Portuguese lad in front of me (who didn't pass his exam) was all over the place, leaning, bending over, etc....and when his baggy shorts slipped, he showed all of us behind him that he was wearing thong undies. He was a CHILD. Plus, I didn't know males wore that kind of underwear.

Surreal day.

After a couple of weekends being sidelined due to hurting my back, I was finally able to get up and out of the house this past Saturday night. Went with a group of girlfriends to see Jeff Garlin interview Michael Sheen. Jeff Garlin is hysterical and quite an interesting interviewer.  Some of the questions were so out of the blue! Not your typical celebrity interview, thank goodness.

Priceless moment of the show: Michael Sheen doing his flying monkey from The Wizard of Oz impression.

Good stuff.

I'd go to the next one, but I'm not sure I have enough interest in Ryan Adams to take a seat that could and very well should be filled by a hard core fan (he has those, right?).

You know how every so often you get hit with a truth that you always knew was there, but it still always comes as, if not a shock, a disappointment? Each and every time?

I've been reminded (by myself, no one else) that I'm a coward in some respects. While I normally like to take problems and issues head-on, there are just some things that I try not to think about, because if I don't, they don't exist. But mine is a two-prong issue. I don't think about the issue, so I get a small space of time where I have relief because it doesn't exist, then I get reminded of it and then I stress out overtime and obsess , until I can put it aside again.

Innocuous example: my car. I made a decision a while back that I wasn't going to get a new car for two years. I like my current car and I really can't afford a big car payment coupled with an increased insurance premium that comes with a new car or a lease. I only drive about 8 miles each way to /from work, so my car doesn't get a lot of miles put on it. Plus, I already know what I want my next car to be and I want to stick with my 2-year plan and not get a used car car that will put off me getting the other car I really want.

Anyway....

My sweet ride just came back from having work done on, but still needs A LOT more done to it. Nothing that will cause it to stop running, but necessary repairs for safety, etc. Well, honestly, my car isn't worth the money needed to make those repairs, so I've been ignoring the issue. Until I get into my car. Then I start imagining that the expensive thing I just got fixed (that caused it to stall when I was at stop lights, etc.) wasn't fixed and that I'm going to be that asshole blocking traffic in the west side during rush hour. Then I start thinking about what would happen if I got into an accident because I haven't made those other repairs. This goes on and on until I'm out of the car and able to take my mind off it......until I get back in the car.

(The only thing I have in my defense is that I'm going to take my M1 license exam in the next week or so. Then I need to either take a skills test or a class to waive that requirement. When I get all that done, I may get a Vespa and keep my car for emergencies or inclement weather.)

Yup, I'm a full-on coward. It's not just the car either. If it was, it wouldn't be an issue.  I thought I was better than that. Avoidance isn't a good trait.

:-(

Yay, President Obama is in town, I'll get to REALLY put in some freaking-out / obsession time tonight while I'm stuck in traffic on the way home.

Pathetic? Absolutely.

Just thought I would put up a quick note- due to recent crummy luck with my car, I will not be going to LBCC this year. In case anyone was wondering. It's safe to go, you won't see me, which I'm sure will be a boon for everyone.

Keeping a positive attitude is hard. :-(

Well, I have to say, had a pretty good weekend this past week.

On Friday night, a friend and I went to a taping of the Dead Authors Podcast at the UCB Theater. We go every-so-often and it's always hysterical. This month one of my favorite comedians / performers, Matt Gourley, portrayed Ian Fleming.  If you're familiar with Matt, you know he's a huge James Bond fan (for more info, please see his podcast "James Bonding with Matt and Matt". His take on Fleming was great! Thoughtfully slow with a definite creepy leer in everything he said. He's a victim! It's the women's fault! Good stuff! I'm just sad that the blue terry cloth onesie he had made (and was so excited about) didn't fit.  As always Paul F. Tompkins brought his A-Game as H.G. Wells.  I don't know how he does it. Everything Paul does is achingly funny.  If you're interested, you can look up the Dead Authors Podcast online.  I recommend all of them, but anything with Chris Tallman, Craig Cackowski, Mark Gagliardi or Matt Gourley will be especially good. Particularly Chris Tallman. The man is a genius!!!!

After that my friend and I met another friend at the 1988 gallery on Melrose to see an exhibit of art inspired by Joss Whedon. Very crowded, hot and steamy! The art was neat. It was difficult to see everything though, it was too crowded and I felt bad lingering when there was such a long line outside.

On Saturday my friends and I met up once again for our monthly appointment with the Work Juice Players at Largo for the Thrilling Adventure Hour. Once again, I was seated behind Len Wein, who I have given up saying hello to, as he never remembers that we've met before. AT LEAST FOUR TIMES!  Anyway, there was a buzz in the air while we waited in line for the seat assignments to be handed out. A big mysterious purple curtain was put up in the courtyard for the table read so we couldn't see or hear it (they'd never done that before, to my knowledge). Exciting! Bonus - I got to meet Hal Lublin's dad Bill, which was cool.  Such a nice, funny man, I can see that Hal got some of his talent from him!

After grabbing dinner we walked back up to the theater and got into our seats. Again, there was a buzz in the air. Now, if I was plugged in to social media like I used to be and still went to cons, I would have probably known why there was a buzz in the air.  Since I'm not and I don't, I was clueless. It was the return of Cactoid Jim and Jefferson Reid, Ace American!!!!!  Yes, after about a two year absence, Nathan Fillion was back with the Work Juice Players for the Thrilling Adventure Hour and it was AWESOME!!!!!  Nothing else can describe was cool it was. This show was jam packed with neat guests, including Colin Hanks and Jason Ritter. It was probably the best Thrilling Adventure Hour I've ever seen. I even broke my rule of not standing in line for photos, so I could get a picture with them. Too bad none of them turned out (not one was good enough to share) and too bad I didn't have anything with me for them to sign (I didn't want to wait in the merch line and I didn't bring one of my show prints from home). We did go stand in line again so I could re-take the pictures, but he line was so long that as it grew late, Nathan walked through it quickly to sign stuff for people so he could leave and not have people left empty-handed, that we just decided to bail (I was the only one who wanted a photo, everyone else was just after signatures). That's okay though, it was still a cool night and I can't wait for next month! They always have great guests and I'm sure next month will be no different. I don't think it's been posted yet, but you can always check out other episodes of the Thrilling Adventure Hour online. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Switching to a different topic altogether, everything is fine at work (just fine, no better). To give you an example of the class divide (my boss is rich and I grew up middle class), he said to me one day "wow, you look really glamorous, like you work at Neiman Marcus or something". Not "shop" at Neiman Marcus", "WORK"at Neiman Marcus. I wasn't sure if I should be offended that he thought that the highest level of glamour I could possibly have would be a retail salesperson at a department store or not (no offense to the many great people who work there). Every so often I find that my bosses can't help themselves, they just make comments that point out that I'm not on the same level money-wise. Ah well, no job is perfect.  It's still better than the last one.

My lunch break is about over, I suppose I should eat something. Btw- typing on mobile devices is awful.

Wow, Labor Day already.  This year seems to be going by especially fast.

I spent a good portion of yesterday with my former uncle.  By that I mean that he's the ex-husband of my mom's sister.  They divorced when I was a small kid, but our family tended to like him more than my aunt, so we always had a good relationship with him.  Not that we saw him a lot, but we did see him more than my aunt.

Anyway, he's 86 years-old now and still as sharp and active as ever.  He even works out every day (I don't work out at all).  I met him down in Marina Del Rey, where he keeps his boat.  Yes, he still sails his boat at 86.  I guess he splits his time between Marina Del Rey and his home out of state. 

It was wonderful seeing him after all these years of, well, not seeing him.  It's been decades.  We spent hours catching-up.  It was neat getting to know him as an adult.  I really hope we keep in touch now that we have reconnected.  I let my parents know that they need to reach out to him and I've got my fingers-crossed that they will.  He may not be blood-related, but he is still family.

I usually spend Labor Day cleaning and doing things around my apartment and today is no different.  Too bad it's so hot out.  Because of this darn heat, I don't think I have the enthusiasm about this project that I used to have.  I hate the heat!!!!  Another thing about this apartment is that it's in an old building.  Sometimes, no matter how much I clean, it still looks dirty in some places.  This is really frustrating and disgusting.  I think that when the owners of the building have fixed-up apartments before renting them, that they might not have cleaned before painting.  Painting over dirt is never a good idea.  The bathroom and kitchen are particularly bad.  I just used a bunch of cleaners and the bathroom still looks gross. I don't know how far I should keep going with the cleaning in those two rooms.  I've got other rooms to work on and I haven't even gotten the vacuum out yet.

Well, my break is just about over.  I need to get back to cleaning my pad.

It’s been an interesting time since I last posted.

I had a gal come in that was supposed to help me clear some of my crap out and unblock the negative energy in my apartment.  Now, I must preface any comments by saying she was great.  She knows her stuff and was super-nice.  Was it worth the money?  I’m not so sure.  I did unload a ton of stuff, BUUUUUUUUUT, I could have done that with a really no-nonsense friend.  I was really disappointed that we weren’t able to get to documents and stuff like that.  It’s was 5 hours of “Do you love this?” because, according to the rules, I shouldn’t keep anything I don’t love.  The thing is, I had to put a bunch of stuff on the “do not discuss” list (comics, cd’s, my CBLMW box, record albums, etc.).  It ended-up being okay because we were kept busy with the huge amount of other stuff I have.  Besides, since I have the clown car of apartments, I got rid of so much stuff, yet seem to have even more left than what I started with!

I got rid of about 2 minivans worth of stuff.  The lava lamps and concert shirts were the most difficult to let go of.  The fact that I knew they were going to good homes made it much easier.  I've got great friends who will take care of and cherish everything I let go of, and for that I'm grateful.

The weird thing is, right after I did that first stage of the big clear out, I had the worst luck!!!  The shittiest week in ages.  I mean, REALLY bad.  Work and home both.

Plus, now my apartment is a wreck.  Between pulling shit off shelves, out of cupboards, closets and out of drawers, it’s a mess.  I’ve had a couple of things going on since then, so I haven’t had a really good chance to clean-up or get stuck in and do more.

The next "out of the ordinary thing" was that I reached out and got a hold of my cousin (on my mom’s side).  I hadn’t seen  or spoken with her in 14 years, so, for some reason, I thought we should re-connect.  I don’t have a lot of close family and ever since my parents moved away I’ve felt that acutely.  I have one uncle that I talk to, but that’s about it.

I drove out to her place and from what I saw of it, it was beautiful.  We spent an ENTIRE day catching-up.  Both of us had a lot of questions about the family stuff that we don’t know about.  Unfortunately, her memory is crap, so I ended-up answering more things than I got answers to.

I should probably say that I didn’t really like my cousin growing-up.  We were never close.  She is a couple of years older than me and always gravitated towards my older sister (like all kids).  She was really actually quite the mean girl to me most of the time.  At camp, when we went at the same time,  we were forced to be in the same cabin, which neither of us liked.  She didn’t want her younger, ugly,  nerdy cousin in her cabin and I didn’t want to be with my older, cooler cousin who hated me.  It sucked!  I was put through the ringer.  Her friends hated me as well and they made that abundantly clear.  When we would sail to Catalina, I got ditched and ended-up sunburned, seasick and miserable.  Her dad was the only person who was nice to me.  Kids can be nasty and mean.

She was the pretty one.  Rich, pretty and popular.  I, on the other hand, was not.  Any of that.  To be honest, not much has changed.  She is still pretty and popular.  Rich, I don’t know.  None of my business.

Age has mellowed her personality a little bit, too bad it didn’t touch her looks.  She looks the same!  She was nice for most of the day.  The competitiveness that used to be so inherent in our relationship seems to be diminished.  I think maybe it finally occurred to her that I don’t compete for anything, so it’s no fun being like that with me.  Overall she was nice to be around, although, she did make one comment that hurt my feelings and has stayed with me.  I mentioned it to my dad, not in a tattle tale way, just as an aside and he didn’t seem too pleased.  There was no need for her to have said it to me.  It did not offer anything to the conversation.  It was a “By the way…..”. Disappointing.  I like her though (the grown-up her) and realistically, that was one of the few negatives of an overall nice day.

My cousin has a few kids.  The two I’ve met, I haven’t seen since they were little, so it was great to see them as adults.  Her son has grown-up to be a fantastic, successful, handsome, young man.  One of her daughters was on a trip so I didn’t see her, and, believe it or not, this was the first time I was able to meet her other daughter, who is around 20.  She’s an amazing girl.  My cousin should be proud of all of her kids.

It was a really long and exhausting day.  I made sure I left with contact information for her dad.  I adored him growing-up.  I get the feeling that they don’t talk much, but that doesn’t involve me and I’m not getting in the middle.  I gave her the same advice I give everyone with parent problems: “Our parents did the best they could with the tools they had”.  None of them purposefully fucked anybody up.  That’s just a bonus.

I was able to get in touch with him via email and we will hopefully get together the next time he’s in town.

The next person on the list is her brother.  I think it’s been close to 30 years since I saw him last.  Neither of us were sure if he’d gone to our grandfathers funeral or not (that was almost 20 years ago).  I’m not holding my breath for that to happen though.  She seems very disinterested in the two of us meeting-up and I need her help to get his contact information.

I hope another 14 years doesn’t have to pass before I get together with her again.  We may not ever be the best of friends, but we are family.  With us, that’s a very select group. 

I think I have a quiet weekend ahead of me.  Maybe I will be able to take a little bit of time out and clean my apartment and actually go grocery shopping.......my fridge is empty.  Why am I so fat??!!!??

First off, let me say that I got dates mixed-up in my last post. Since I've enacted a total media blackout, I didn't know that the convention is next week, not this week. Doesn't really change much though. There are other contributing factors to this mood / emotional state.

This week saw, what would have been, my sister's 48th birthday. I wasn't close to her by any means, but I call my parents every year on that date. We don't talk about her or anything, I just make sure to call and touch base. It does, however, make you think about things and wonder how much different our family would have been had there been a positive relationship between her and the family.

There are others issues at play this time of year as well, but it's too much to go into now.

I was asked about the vague SDCC mention in my last post. Okay, the reasons I'm not able to go:

1) I'm not really in a head space where I can go and see people I used to know or sit in on panels. I used to love nothing more than reading comics and going to Comic Con every year. I allowed that to change. My fault completely and I'm still hopeful that things will go back to how they used to be, it will just take time (yes I know it's already been a long fucking time, but I never said I was on a normal schedule, right?).

2) I can't fucking go because a few years ago, as a result of something I'm not going to go into here, I returned the ticket I'd stood in line for over 8 hours to purchase. Now, you don't have a chance of getting tickets unless you attended the previous year, so, as I missed a year, I'm not able to get a pass unless someone gives/sells me one. It's a messed-up system.

So that's it. I'm allowed to be emotional once a year, right?  I will try not to think about San Diego (and I hope my friends won't mention it) but if I do, I will be sending good thoughts to SDCC and wishing everyone a good time.  If anyone reading this is going, have a wonderful time! If you're up for any awards, I hope you beat your competition to a pulp (get it? Pulp? No? It's a publishing joke...ah forget it).

Sorry for the cussing.

For the past three years these next few July days have been hard for me.

Everything starts Wednesday (today) and ends Sunday. I wish I was able to go, like I did for so, so many years, but I can't. :-(

I'm trying to keep my mind off it and I'm avoiding all possible news stories, but there's always some well-meaning friend who forgets that I can no longer go and they ask me my plans.  I don't want to be a jerk, so I just say "I don't go anymore, I wish I could, but I can't". I try to keep it short, succinct and friendly, it's hard though.

I went to see comedian Jeff Richards perform at Flappers in Burbank last night.  You'd probably remember him as "Drunk Girl" from Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live, but I liked him best as Jarrod's creepy jock roommate.  Anyway, my friend and I didn't go in with super-high expectations, but we ended up having a really good time.  All of the people we saw were funny!  It was cool that the club has an area set-up on your way out where you can meet the performers from your show.  Of course Jeff Richards was especially nice to my friend (everyone is ALWAYS especially nice to her!  Even when it's me forking over the $20 for their merch..... some things absolutely never change, LOL).

My friend and I made a pact that we were really going to try to go to more comedy shows.  We used to go fairly often and saw some cool acts (and no really horrible and awful acts that we walked out of, actually, there was only one...... I'm looking at you Joe Rogan.  I can take dirty.  I can take rude.  I can even take unfunny.  But when you hit the trifecta of all three, I'm out.).  We really did see some amazing gigs.  A Damon Wayans surprise act, a REALLY young Carlos Alazaraqui, Charles Fleischer, Kevin Meanie, Greg Proops, the list goes on and on and on. 

It's time to get back to comedy!  The shows are cheap and you can usually get away with diet cokes for your two drink minimum.

Something to think about.

I think I'm finally settling in to my job.  I'm still training and learning, but I'm starting to get comfortable.  We still have the big quarterly project coming-up, but at least I'n not as on edge as I was....

I'm going to EC tomorrow after work (after driving home in traffic and walking to catch a crowded bus, not to be confused with a Crowded House) with my cocktail partners in crime, Sam and her husband David. I can't wait to have a nice flaming margarita and relax. :-)

Maybe Sam will remember to bring my mail this time....bah, probably not, LOL!

I was saddened to receive a text yesterday from my friend letting me know that Rik Mayall passed away. This was from the same friend who called and told me Phil Hartman had been murdered.

When I was in high school, I was a nerd. Seriously nerdy. I read comic books, was obsessed with music, Monty Python, comedy shows, reading, watching old TV shows and everything British and Australian (Kiwi too). Don't get me wrong, I had friends, but I was a little different. I liked my friends, but since we lived kinda far from everything, I spent loads of time on my own.

One day I discovered the Young Ones.   Since no one else had heard of it, it didn't help my nerd status, but it was so great. I had such a huge crush on both Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmonson! This show had amazing guest stars that would go on to become HUGE, although we didn't know it then. My next crushes were Stephen Fry, Robbie Coltrane, Griff Rhys-Jones , Stephan Frost and Hugh Laurie. All of them were on the show at some point. I'd already had a crush on Griff from watching him and Mel Smith on their show "Alas Smith and Jines", but it was neat seeing him on this show. Then there were the bands on the show: Madness, Motörhead, Amazulu, the Damned, Jools Holland with members of Squeeze, Ultravox, , etc. this was stuff you couldn't see anywhere!  Even Emma Thomson was on the show...

I couldn't believe my luck when, a few years later, I found a vinyl copy of " British Comic Relief Presents: Utterly Utterly Live". I got it for The Young Ones with Cliff Richard, but it opened my eyes to Billy Connolly, Lenny Henry and French and Saunders.  AMAZING.  I owe so much to the Rik and the Young Ones.

Rik was in other great things: Blackadder, Comic Strip Presents (I have a cd of Bad News!), Filthy  Rich and Catflap, Dangerous Brothers, New Statesman, the movie Drop Dead Fred, Bottom, Jonathan Creek.....all sorts of stuff. It was the Young Ones that started it all. I can still recite lines from it.  Not as geeky as when I used to recite Python lines, but close. Here is a poem I know by heart, that Rik recited while looking in the mirror, pinching his face to pop a zit. If you know the show, it should bring back good memories--

"Pollution. All around. Sometimes up. Sometimes down. Pollution, are you coming to my town, or am I coming to yours? Ha, we're on different buses pollution, but we're both using petrol...ha"

If you want, I can't recite Python too....

I have had this picture for man, many years (mainly on my fridge, where it still resides), I will raise a glass to it and miss the great, crude, filthy genius of Rik Mayall. I used to have the picture saved, but when I updated my computer, it was lost. I can't find it online anymore.  Hopefully it will show up below:

Update 6/29 = I finally tracked down the image online.

For some reason this didn't publish last weekend-- trying again.

I went out to breakfast this morning with my staff from my last job. It was awesome to see everyone and spend time catching up. I can't believe it's been over two months since I left. A lot has changed at my old company... And two of my gals gave me birthday presents, I love presents!!! I miss these ladies like crazy.  We're going to do it again in a month or two.

I was lucky enough to have birthday breakfast with two friends on my bday. I'm so fortunate to have these two ladies as my friends.   My dad sent me an awesome text. My mom, of course, forgot to call. Maybe she got mixed up since I'd seen them the weekend before? I don't know. Makes me laugh though! One year she called me on the wrong day and when I pointed it out, she said "I know when it is, I was there". :-)

I can't believe I'm another year older. So much has happened in the last 12 months. I've moved, passed a major exam (it pisses me off that I'm not using the license, but hey, I passed!) and I found a new job in Brentwood.

My new bosses gave me a beautiful orchid, which was neat since my last boss never even said "happy birthday" when I worked for him.

The rest of my birthday was quiet.  I went to a special screening of the Thrilling Adventure Hour web series with a bonus performance of my favorite: Sparks Nevada, Marshall on Mars. My friend drove and I got to be the second passenger in her new SUV. It was great! They were also showing Serenity, but we bailed early. One of the actors came over to My friend to tell her he'd met her sister back east. How neat is that?

As most of you know, the passenger side mirror on my car was clipped off when I was at LAX a few years ago picking up a friend. Because it was snapped off and left hanging, the one tiny tension post that keeps mirrors like mine on, was broken in half (with half still being in the housing on the car side). This meant that I wasn't really able to fix it, so, being the classy gal I am, I flooded it with epoxy and slapped some black Gorilla Tape on it. I always hated it, but I could live with it... Until I started working in Brentwood.

Now, all of a sudden it's bothering me. What can I do? I can't really get a new one because the epoxy I originally used would have to be removed, and that would probably entail use of a heat gun. I figured I would probably melt off the plastic housing as well, so that's out. How about this, take off the tape and the adhesive residue (from 4 years of slapping new tape on) and see how well the mirror does on its own?

Great idea!!! So this past Sunday morning I go out to my car (early) armed with a microfiber cloth and a bottle of Goof Off. For AN HOUR I scrubbed. I kept going until all the adhesive was gone. Off the frame of the car and off the plastic housing for the mirror.

I thought my fingers were gonna die! Constant scrubbing for sixty minutes!

When I was done, I was really proud of myself! The mirror stayed up (barely) and my car looks presentable. A job well done!!

Until...... I woke up Monday morning to fingers swollen up to twice their normal size. It felt like I had on really sticky thick rubber gloves. It didn't hurt much, but it was hard to work (and grab things). Now that they're almost back to their normal size, guess what they're doing? Yup, PEELING!!!! Just from the knuckle to the tips mind you. So glamorous!

I hope, at the very least, the young kid who drives the Porsche and parks next to me every day at work notices the mirror before it falls off again. Maybe he won't give my car that sad look with a shake of his head anymore. :-(. Meanwhile, I'll just sit here scrubbing my hands and applying lotion.

What price vanity indeed!

(I typed this on my phone, so please excuse typos until I can get to a computer to fix them).

I recently posed this question to my friend Sam (Samantha): "how many times does it take for me to mutter to myself "well, you're just a c*nt in a Prius (or BMW, Mercedes, Ford or whatever)" on the way to/from work before it loses meaning?"  She said "never".

I hope she's right. I say it an awful lot to myself on the way to work and on the way home each night. :-)

I don't know which is worse, students on the way to UCLA (late for class, of course) in the morning or the rich Brentwood commuters getting off work each night....

Wow, I forgot what a great movie L.A. Confidential is.  Amazing acting all around.

It's been years since I saw it in the movie theater....

I came across the DVD while I was doing a little bit of cleaning this afternoon.  What a great way to spend a couple of hours and avoid finishing the cleaning.

Argh! Work was exhausting this week (again).

To add to the stress I'm experiencing at work (I still haven't gotten the hang of things yet),  the President was in town and, while I love our commander-in-chief, I really wish they would choose non-rush hour travel times when he needs to get around town. You know, 7pm instead of 5pm.  10am instead of 9am. They shut everything down WAY ahead of time!!!!  A stretch of Wilshire ended up getting shut down without it being announced ahead of time!!!  Luckily, I had my Waze up and running, so that when I made the snap decision to flee the snarl I was stuck in, it was there, guiding me along.

I still don't have the hang of things at work. I'm not used to things like this taking so long. What I AM used to is getting things at work right off the bat. It's a hit to my pride and confidence?

I'm frustrated and tired.

Week two-done!!!

Went to EC today after work with Sam and her husband David. We had fun! Danny is a hero behind the bar! I had a designated driver in David, so I was able to relax and have a cocktail.

I've changed my evening commute route to Wilshire - S. Santa Monica- Barton. Less traffic than the snarl I encounter in Beverly Hills each evening on Wilshire.

Bosses were out of the office the last couple of days, so we got a lot if training done AND I was able to rearrange things so that I'm not getting bruised shins when I sit at my desk.

Still haven't ventured out of the office yet during my lunch hour.  I'm using the heat as my excuse this week, but in all honesty, I'm just not at ease yet.

Not much on for the weekend. Thrilling Adventure Hour tomorrow night and chores the rest of the weekend. I'm behind because I was knocked out with a migraine last weekend.

You wouldn't believe the amount of laundry I have to do. And fabric steaming. And dusting. And vacuuming. BAH!!!

Week one at my job is done! There is so much still to learn, my head is spinning.

Apart from Thursday night, the commute has been pretty good. I usually leave my apt around 8am in the morning and have been getting there in under 30 minutes. Luckily the parking garage has amazing cell reception, so I'm able to reply to emails and send texts while I'm killing time waiting to go up to the office (the gal training me doesn't want me there until 9am). I usually leave the office between 5-5:30pm and was home either before or close to 6pm each night.  

Thursday evening was a nightmare! I FLEW through Brentwood and Westwood, but when I got to Beverly Hills, I hit a WALL of traffic. Of course it was also the day that my phone fell under the seat where I couldn't reach it, so I couldn't log-in to Waze and find another way home. It took OVER AN HOUR to get from Canon to S. San Vicente/Wilshire Blvd. I muscled my way over and made a left and took every tiny street I knew to get home. When I finally got home....no parking. I had to park three blocks away!  I was exhausted and cranky. I treated myself to a pink grapefruit juice Greyhound while I was fixing dinner. I think it was well deserved!!!! Anyway- Lesson learned! Always have my phone handy!!!!

Training has had its ups and downs. I think the only big issue I have is that I prefer to complete things from start to finish when I'm learning and that just isn't happening. It's more a case of bits and pieces here and there, so when I have to figure out the next step, I'm sometimes at a loss. 

HEAVILY REDACTED AT THIS POINT- a lot of funny (and totally immature) trash talking was at this point. If you would like the HUGE portion I cut out, let me know!!! I thought it would be best to cut it out since I've been pretty good about not doing it up to this point, no matter how much I wanted to!!!!

Everything else is going well. We've had a few bumps, but nothing major. Hopefully, I will get the hang of stuff and it will get easier.

I will try to explore the neighborhood soon. I'm just not comfortable enough to venture out yet. Ive been told there is a CVS down the way that I may walk down to one of these days. I've also got a few people who used to work with me at my last job who either live in the area or who now work there that want to either go to lunch or cocktails after work (if I go for cocktails I'll take the bus in).

Fingers-crossed I can learn everything and also get acclimated to the fancy neighborhood. :-)

Well, it's the end of the day after my first day at work and I'm exhausted. It was non-stop information overload. But, and this shows how great my new bosses are, I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I'm not expected to know and learn everything in one day. Being the people pleaser I am, I want so bad to do everything right and impress them....... Right off the bat with little instruction. I know that's an unreasonable expectation on my part, but it's in my DNA. It's what I do.

As I have said before, I'm really not that familiar with the area, but it seems nice. I, of course, got there early, so my commute was less than 25 minutes this morning and it was about 35-40 minutes going home, which is better than I thought it would be. Each way, to keep it easy, I took Wilshire straight to San Vicente.  

It's so weird, my goal was always to get a job on the west side, but I never dreamed I would be working where I finally ended up. I count myself so fortunate that my reputation and work ethic was so well known that I was recommended for this job so out of the blue. The application and interview process was long and arduous, to say the least, but it was my reputation and people recommending me that got me in the door.  As far as I know, this job was not advertised, so I'm flattered.

The best part of the day was when I was told "I am so happy you are here". That made me feel so good! So, as of day 1, I'm happy!

I guess I'm in what they call the honeymoon phase. :-)

Guess who got up at their old wake-up time this morning? Me, nervous? Nah (yeah right). I was finally sleeping in until 6-6:30 and I got up at 3:45am today. :-(

I start my new job tomorrow and I've started to get really apprehensive.  In addition to the actual job that I'm nervous about, I'm not very familiar with the area the office is located, apart from getting there and getting home.

I really want to do well at this job. I've failed at a lot of things, but I've always been able to exceed expectations at work. I don't want that to change.   It's scary!  I'm excited but very scared and nervous.

Just started reading an amazing book called "Ladies and Gentleman-- Lenny Bruce" by Albert Goldman and Lawrence Schiller. I'm not done yet, but I highly recommend it. I got it used and there was a sweet inscription at the front "August 25, 1996-- Happy Birthday Nick! Lenny Bruce - The best ever.  Love, Mum X." I love stuff like that.

I love my Kindle and IPad for reading books, but there's nothing like trolling through a used bookstore finding treasures like that. Notes from a mum to her son, photos hidden within pages, flowers dried to remember a special moment, yet forgotten and donated.....

I've been a fan of Lenny Bruce for a while (and a big fan of Bill Hicks after him), but I never really delved into the drug-induced torturous existence he lived.. It's all so sad, yet really interesting.

I used to love the Easter holiday. Candy! Time off from work! I hope I can get back to enjoying it again one day.

Just got back home from visiting my parents. I forgot how long that drive is!  They live approx. 520 miles away and my poor car is filthy and tired (me too!).

It was really nice to visit my folks. I had a great time and am so glad I took advantage of my time off between jobs to spend time with them. Next time, if I drive again, I think I'm going to take Gotham with me and see if their cat will get along with him (he was really mad at me when I got home a little while ago...still is).

I'm glad to be home though.


PS: all the drivers on the road on the way up and the way back home were bitches.

I am BORED!!! I'm also getting fat because, what do I do when I'm bored? EAT!!!! This is ridiculous, I have to find something to fill my time with.....maybe I will go visit my parents.

Wow, I guess I'm unemployed for the next couple of weeks!!!  It's so weird that I don't have any chores to do or early morning alarms to set for tomorrow morning. All I have to do is make sure I move my car by 8am for street sweeping tomorrow morning.

My last day at work was hectic! I came in at my regular time hoping to be able to get work done before my replacement came in an hour and a half later at 6:30am. Unfortunately, when I got there, I found streamers, balloons and signs making it impossible to get to my desk. I was told that I could not take them down, unless I wanted to die. I decided to try and clean out my replacements desk (she isn't going to be using mine), but that took longer than I'd hoped. Plus she arrived early! Then the day long food crammed party started. I haven't seen that much food in a long time! Plus the people! So many people!!!  I was touched that so many came by to wish me well, but I felt bad because just about everyone said that she has "big shoes to fill". She doesn't need to hear that on her first day! I told her not to listen and that she would be fine. I finally had to send her home so I could get some work done!! I'd hoped to be further along than I was!

Mid-morning was the time I had to go down and see Human Resources.  I took the high road in my exit interview and I hope I was able to wrap that part up with a little bit of grace. It's funny, they were surprised that I planned on staying the entire day getting work done. You'd think that after all these years that they would know me well enough to realize I'm not going to leave a load of work for the new person to handle. At least not on purpose.

I got most everything done in the end. Sadly, our IT dept was super-efficient and turned off my phone access early. I saw I had four voicemail messages, but hadn't been able to listen to them yet. By the time I got a chance, all gone and deleted. Plus, I couldn't look at the call history to let the people know I wasn't able to listen their messages.

I left later than my normal time, but that's ok. Saying my last goodbyes was hard. I was exhausted by the time I was hauling the last of my stuff to the car. Luckily, Sam was with me to help carry things! We made good time home and were up at EC early. Delicious margaritas and good food!  A perfect way to end my last day at work.

I can't wait for this new chapter to start. It's scary and uncertain, but at least it's a change.

Tomorrow is the day!!!  I found out that a party is being thrown for me at work and I still have tons of work to do before I leave for good.....to go to E.C. after work to have cocktails. :-) those of you who know the place I'm talking about should stop by and say hello. Get there early though, because we're planning on arriving before most people are even out of work and heading home when the joint gets crowded around 8:30-9:00pm. That way I have plenty of time to hydrate and take aspirin before bed, in hopes of not having a hangover my first day of being out of work.

I'll try and post during the day, but realistically, I don't know if I will have the chance.

My friend's husband gave notice the same day I did, but he since gave two weeks instead of three, TODAY is his last day at work.  We're going to E.C. to celebrate after work.  Next Friday it's MY turn!!!  YAY!!!

Yikes!  Time at my job is winding down.  Just over a week to go until my last day.  It's been interesting.....my boss hasn't been in the office since I gave him my notice, so he hasn't been able to look at resumes or interview possible replacements (not that he'll be able to replace me, LOL!).  He's due in tomorrow and wants to start seeing people next Wednesday or Thursday, which means that there's no way he will be able to hire someone and give me the opportunity to train them before I leave.  So much for giving three weeks notice so they'll have extra time to get that stuff taken care of, right?

I know I've said this before, but the outpouring of good will from so many different people has been amazing.  The best was when the wife of the man who brought me to the firm came by my desk and asked if we could talk in her husband's office  The conversation we had was so great.  For someone in her position to take time out of her busy day (board meetings, etc) to talk to me and say such wonderful things..... I have to admit that I cried a little.

Like I said, time is FLYING!  I'm getting excited (well, as much as it's possible for me to get excited).  I can't believe I'll have two full weeks off in-between jobs!  I don't know what I'll do to fill the time, but I'm sure I'll manage.  I've got a couple of things I need to do, but other than that, nothing.  I never thought that I would have this problem!!!!

And a Happy Belated Birthday to CBLMW.  I wasn't able to post that day, but I did do a "cheers" for you. I sent you an email about the job change, not sure if you got it or not.

It's taken years, but I've finally done it. I've found a new job and gave notice at work. I gave three weeks, which is longer than a lot of people would have given, but I really want to help get someone in to replace me.

The outpouring of good will from other employees has been quite humbling. Fairly quickly after turning in my resignation, I started receiving phone calls from people in other offices, even those in other states. News definitely spread fast!

I made sure to meet with the man who brought me into the firm 14 years ago, before I went to speak with my current boss. I started out working for the president of the company and he taught me a lot. I wanted him to know how grateful I am for all the opportunities he has given me over the years. I have a lot of respect for him and his wife and it was important to me that he know that. We had a very good meeting and he was exceedingly sweet. His main question to me was "are you going to a good place?". Later in the day, he took time out of his schedule to come see me ask if it went okay telling my boss. I was touched.

I'm very excited about my new job. After all these years, I'll be returning to the land of the living! No more going to sleep between 7-8pm and getting up at 3:45am. I'll be able to go out at night and maybe even do stuff before going to the office in the morning. My new bosses look like they are going to be amazing. Through the entire process of interviewing (we're talking over two months), their main concern (apart from my qualifications of course) has been whether or not I will be happy. When we talked about vacation time, they asked if three weeks would be enough. I laughed and said that I wasn't used to taking vacation and they were aghast. They made it part of our agreement that I had to take at least two of the weeks. They even said they would make sure I took time off. How great is that?

I'm hoping that since I'm giving so much notice that we can hire a replacement and I can help get training done. I really want everything to go smoothly and that I'm able to leave with grace and no hard feelings.

Well, it's Valentines Day and I'm single (Again! But totally my choice this time.  REALLY).  I'd be glum about it, but:
 a) it's been a while / I'm over it and
b) I'm not sad because I'm going to Gallifrey!  Yay!

Hopefully I'll take pictures and post them.  No promises.