my stepmonster [and i say that with great affection] has sent me an update about my paternal grandparents. after my father died, 10 years ago last friday, my stepmother stayed in PA for a while, then moved to denver, and eventually phoenix. my grandparents are living in sun city, and she basically takes care of them. their only other child, my uncle jerry, lives in LA, and he is there frequently. but it’s basically my stepmom who watches over them. she’s been a saint, really. although i doubt she’d agree, because she’s so tired and frustrated. [saints don’t get tired and frustrated.] but to me she is. here is an clip of what’s up with granddad:
At Christmas, I didn’t think he was going to make it through the night a couple times but he rebounded. He’s pretty much lost what was left of his mind now, however.
Yesterday when I was up there, he was in his wheel chair, which he can actually push himself around in. He was out in the hall and kept telling me he had gotten a hair cut but had walked out and hadn’t paid for it so he needed to go pay the barber. (I’ll point out here that his hair hasn’t been cut in months and even though he’s bald on top, the sides were sticking out all over the place.) He wheeled himself down to some old ladies room and was sitting in the hall yelling at her “how much do you charge for haircuts?”
I pointed out that this was not the barber shop and he insisted it was. Then he says, “well, she’s not too busy today. There’s no one here. She must be a crappy barber or there’d be more people here.”
Later, we had gotten him back into bed and I was sitting in his wheel chair talking to him. He said he needed a new wheel chair because this one was too small. In making small talk, I said it fit me pretty good. He says, “well, okay. I guess I won’t call you fat ass anymore.”
Gee, thanks, Grandad!!
i wish i could go down and help her… it looks like he will be released to a care facility soon. i hope he and grandma can be together again, as she is not as loopy as he is. but still quite loopy. she talks to me about my “uncle don” who died 10 years ago all the time. reminding me who my stepmother is, my uncle don’s wife. stuff like that. plus, she apparently is also loopy enough to believe all the loopy things my granddad tells her. her called her from the hospital telling her that someone had left him at the dentist and he needed someone to come pick him up. sigh.
my stepmom asked me to shot her if she ever gets that senile. and i think i will agree to it. unless … maybe being senile is fun?

what’s your cowboy bebop theme song?


Which Cowboy Bebop character are you?

my aunt vickie is throwing an engagement party for my mom and bob. it has a secret theme. i feel fairly confident in telling you this theme, as my family does not read this blog. because i havenít told them about it. except for josh. anyway, the theme is to come dressed as a member of the wedding party. bride, groom, best man, children of the bride… whatever. you are too be creative in your costuming. now, i figure, i can come as a child of the bride quite easily. i could pull that off better than anyone. except maybe my older brother. however, i bet its specific to a child of the bride attending the wedding. forget that. iím not going to get all dressed up to look like me all dressed up. so here is what i think i should wear…. iím going to be a bride. i want to find a big tulle skirt, even a ballet skirt would do, as long as itís white. then i am going to wear my doc martinís [black] and maybe my white and red striped witchy poo socks. then, i will wear a white baby doll shirt i have that says, in small black courier print ìmy cat hates you.î and then the ubiquitous veil. sound pretty? i think so.

hello dear internet friends. today, while i drink my chai tea at cafe ladro, i will share with you my recipe for a great day off. [i took yesterday off]
first, make sure its raining torrents of rain. this is important, because you are going to have a lot of driving to do, all over town, and you are going to want traffic to slow down to a crawl. make many many appointments, spanning the entire day. this is where the rain comes in, to interfere with the delicate dance that is your schedule for the day.
your first appointment is going to set the tone for the day, so do the most depressing and humbling task first. might i suggest meeting with a lawyer to discuss filing bankruptcy? if possible, pick chapter 13 bankruptcy. in a chapter 13, not all of your debt is wiped away. they go over your budget, and all the money you owe, and decide how much you can apply to your debts. they can force banks to give you a fair market interest rate on your car loan, if you donít have one. they can fix it so the IRS will not charge you any more fees or penalties. they can lower the interest rate on everything, and wipe out some kinds of debts. however, what they will also do is take HUGE chunks of your paychecks, to apply to the debts they believe you could pay. this continues on for a fix period of time, let us just say, hypothetically, 4 and a half years. they will leave you NO extra money for savings, saving is not an option. neither is fun. or luxury of any kind.
wait, did i mention that the lawyer should be located as far away as feasible, while still staying within your county? look for a lawyer in bum fuck egypt. miss your next appointment due to the length of the appointment with the lawyer. barely make the appointment after that.
go home for 40 minutes and fall on your bed. contemplate your total life suckage. figure out how old you will be when the bankruptcy is over. instantly start feeling your age. go ahead and get a splitting headache. you deserve it!
go to your third and final appointment with your general physician. make it for a check up. make sure it includes a pap smear. because without it, you will not suffer enough humiliation to truly make this the most special day off ever.
if you do it right, the above can take you pretty much the entire day. enjoy!!

loon has made me very happy, because she is going to read Tanya Huff’s Summon the Keeper. i keep telling people how funny it is, and how they should read it. but no one will listen to me. *sigh* it’s their loss. but not loon’s!
the problem with christmas is this… you get used to buying stuff. nonessential things. pretty things. gifty things. things that you don’t really need. then, when christmas is over, it’s very difficult to stop that trend. and i think you must keep that in mind when i tell you what i did over the christmas holiday. i bought The Soap. the soap , as you may remember, is the $34 black japanese soap i first read about on pamie.com and then later at weetabix. and i was powerless against it! i couldn’t help it! it’s a “vision of pure beauty!” or maybe it’s a “pure vision of beauty,” i don’t know. promises were made, hype was spread and i bought into it. i’m weak.
i’ve been using The Soap for about a week and a half now, and let me say this, it’s some damn fine soap. i have yet to determine if it’s worth $34, i think i need to give it a couple of weeks. but my skin is smooth and the tone is even and pretty. it has a slightly funny smell. it sorta makes me sneeze. but other than that, so far i think it has big potential don’t worry, kids.. i’ll keep you updated on my progress with the soap. you know i will.

my new 12″ apple powerbook has arrived! it’s cute as a bug. and yes, her name shall be squishy. i’m customizing her as we speak. i cannot believe how adorable she is. i must go out and buy her accessories right now. even tho, squishy is a work machine.
sorry so quiet. been busy busy. i’m sure i will write later… from squishy.

occupants of hell are ice skating today… for the unthinkable has happened… i have found an anime show that i like! i mean really like. as in “ok tivo… record this whenever it’s on, please” like. *sigh* i’m a little ashamed.
it’s called The Big O. sounds naughty, huh?

sooo bad

and it’s lovely. i’m working on a little thing right now for you. so exciting. it’s all about me, of course. and why wouldn’t it be? myblogmyblogmyblog. no, actually, i am just writing out the results of my tarot card reading on new year’s day. complete with pictures. i did it myself! the reading, not the pictures. anyway, doing that right now, it’ll be up later. i’m enjoying the snow fall outside my window.

i don’t care what operating system you have, just go here and download iTunes. and if you have a spare 8 fuckin’ dollars, launch iTunes, and download the Joss Stone Soul Sessions album. do it now and thank me later. or actually, thank joss. fucking little british teenager sings like nobody’s business.
8 fuckin’ dollars!! can i get an amen, people?