Friday, December 30, 2011

2011 Review - also, tattoos are permanent, sweetie.

There is one more day left in 2011. I have a lot of FB friends posting about how 2012 is going to be "their year!!!!!" and good things are coming and blah blah blah. What I know for sure is you only have this very second to live. January 1, 2012 isn't guaranteed to any of us and why wait until Sunday to begin your best life ever? Start now.
My 2011 fairly consisted of a beautiful love story carried over from it's unlikely beginning in 2010. This year my kids have continued to grow and remain healthy. They're not perfect, but then, I'm not nearly the perfect mom. My bar is set lower than most, probably. My wish is that they carry over tomorrow what they're practicing today and that they continue their forward progress. My best hope is that they make decent enough choices to see them into a productive and self-reliant adulthood with minimal stresses and heartbreaks. I would call that a Success.

This year also opened up new internal doors for me. While I've largely been content being a secretary, I suddenly decided it wasn't good enough any more. Enrolling in university (online) has given me a new avenue in terms of my brain capacity and possible future educational, professional and economic opportunities. I plan to maximize every.single.resource. available to get to where I'm meant to go.

My extended family has made some interesting life changes this year. My exhusband went from homeless to having a roommate. Last I heard, he was on the road to being homeless again. Part of me wishes there was some miracle that would get his mind right. Part of me doesn't care. The stepkids have gone in completely different directions. My stepson is still in the Marine Corps and he seems to be doing well. My stepdaughter...well. She is still jobless and living with some dude and 4 other people in a one-bedroom apartment. It's unfortunate, but there's little I can do to get her to see where's she's headed. Let's face it, she's been doing the same thing for about 2 years and she's in the same spot: nowhere. On the plus side, she did get a new tattoo. It's a "peace sign" with a butterfly on it. Except....not really. Even my nine year old daughter said, "wait...


.....isn't that a Mercedes sign?" FML.

My resolution for 2012 is to just keep doing what I'm doing today. Your only opportunity to be great is TODAY.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

I guess I need to put Armageddon on the 2012 calendar?

My need for order forces me to calendar specific events with each new year. Events such as national/work holidays, kid days off school, daylight savings....and, apparently, the end of the world. Whilst researching the actually day the clocks move forward in spring 2012 I stumbled upon the following list on the http://www.day-finder.com/ website:

When are other Important Days in 2012?
Huh. mmmmm'kay. So, should I put that one on the calendar? If I do calendar it, when should I set the reminder? Fifteen minutes? A week? What is the customary reminder for the end of the world calendar notice? WAIT A DAMN MINUTE! The calendar says the end of the world is December 21st, 2012. Do you know that today is December 21st, 2011! WHAT THE ??

Listen. I don't believe in coincidence. But I do believe in weird shit. Like zombies. And Tinkerbell. And I think it's no coincidence that I just now got a paper cut without touching any paper whatsoever. Unless I got it earlier and just now noticed. Still. I find it strange and mystical. And I bet that wound is totally related to the fact that one year from today, the world will end according to Nostradamus. Won't it be a trip if the prediction is actually right and we all disintegrate? I'm not much a believer in psychic shit, so I won't be giving all my worldly possessions to some crackpot spiritual leader. I won't be spending my last dollars on whores and whisky. I won't walk off the job on the 20th of December 2012 and tell my boss to go fuck herself sideways. But juuuuust in case...I will likely have a quiet dinner at home with ALL my loved ones. You know....just.in.case.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

New Years Eve 2011 - how the new old folks do it

A couple of years ago I went to a house party on New Years Eve. Actually, I went to 2 house parties.  I had invited a date (let's call him Ed) to go with me to both parties. Earlier on New Years Eve, around 5 or 6pm, Ed calls me and asks if he can bring someone to the party with us. Uh..."someone"? Yeah. I guess he inadvertently invited a date to go on our date.

Ed and I met up at Party #1. He had his date with him and all 3 of us went in. It was more than comical. I'd never been to this couple's house before, but I knew of them and I was specifically invited to the party. While we were there, I made it clear that I was unhappy with Ed bringing an extra date...when I'm uncomfortable, I tend to say mean things. I was very uncharitable to the extra date girl, but really? Who invites herself on someone else's NYE date? Damn desperate.  Anyway, I ran into another couple that I was vaguely acquainted with. The wife asked me who my date was - when I pointed him out, she looked at me and said, "um, who brings sand to the beach?" Exactly. I decided that it was time for me to make an exit and go to Party#2 so I could really let loose. I gave Ed the address for Party#2 and I made it clear that his friend would not be welcome at Party#2 since it was a By-Invitation-only, fully *ahem* adult party.

I don't remember what exactly happened, but I do know Ed showed up at Party#2 at some point, sans extra date. I was told he partied for a while and then left. It didn't matter much to me...I was very busy getting my adult party on. I left that party at 8am. I went home, showered, took a 2 hour nap and went back over to the house to continue partying for the rest of the weekend.  It was one for the books. 

That was the last real outlandish NYE party I attended. This year I wanted to fly away for a 24 hour turnaround trip. It was going to be a surprise for Baby...a la "pack an overnight bag and grab your ID. You'll find out where we're going once we get to the gate." However, between the thought and the execution, the air fare doubled and my plans were foiled.  So, we'll be going to an NBA game and chilling in a hotel downtown for NYE like some old folks. I better pack my fishnets and thigh high boots.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

I am really bitter about the salaries of sports athletes

So, I've decided to get some professional sports tickets for Baby for Christmas - our NBA is back on, the NFL team is in the playoffs, we have a college bowl game coming in January. So, I go online to buy a handful of random NBA tickets and, WHAT THE FUCK? If I want to sit in a seat and actually SEE the basketball court, the tickets for certain games are outrageous!!! Baby happens to be a Lakers fan. In March, the Houston Rockets host the LA Lakers. But the tickets?  Check it out for yourself....

Rockets Vs. Lakers Tickets

To get the half decent seats, I'd have to spend 1/2 my rent money.  The HELL? And why, WHY do these teams need to charge that much money for simple tickets. It's not like we're asking to sit in an owners box. Or even at floor level. It's astounding. It would be cheaper to FLY to Los Angeles.

Which is also why I encourage my son to do well in sports and get a college scholarship *heh heh*....I have no problem with him having a piece of that pie!