Standing On The Moon

Took the mice to the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park. From there we went to Dim Sum at a local place I read about in The Reader last week, it used to be a not-so-great seafood place. GREAT lunch, stuffed to the gills. The kids loved it. Major success.

Old Glory standing stiffly
Crimson white
and indigo
Indigo...

Standing here upon the moon
I watch it all roll by...

I feel like I'm at the top of the world more often than not. Life continues. The kids grow. They appear to be headed in the right direction. I am delivering the goods. I am trying my best and I think it's working. Another ten years or so and I will have made my effort.

But I would rather be with you
Somewhere in San Francisco
on a back porch in July
Just looking up at Heaven
at this crescent in the sky...

A lovely view of Heaven
but I'd rather be with you
A lovely view of Heaven
but I'd rather be with you
be with you

 

Monday, June 20, 2005 9:46 AM

Here I am. Monday morning. Nice day out. Feels like it's going to be on the warm side.

Dragged myself out of bed this morning, got ready to get the kids ready, went to school maybe slightly later than usual.

Yesterday was Father's Day. Cassidy gave me a lovely painted rock "to keep your papers from blowing away." Flynn gave me a book of coupons and made sure to tell me that they forced him to do it and that he wouldn't have done it otherwise. I congratulated him on making the gift meaningless. Diane gave me a hedge trimmer, which is weird. Do we have a hedge? Am I getting a small hedge for Christmas? Weird gift.

New couch was delivered yesterday, looks very nice.

Made some ribs, made some chicken enchiladas. Watched the Dodgers on ESPN at 5:30. Seven game losing streak. Ouch.

I've gotta attack Cassidy's room, it's a mess.

Mowed and edged the lawn on Saturday. Lawn looks good.

...

Thursday, June 16, 2005 5:29 AM

Sick. Monday I had a tight muscle on my right side and sneezed in the afternoon while I was watering the lawn and it snapped like a thick rubber band. I dropped the hose. It's somewhat better but it's painful when I sneeze. This morning I have a cold, it feels like. Monday night I slept without much in the way of covers and it was colder than I expected. I sure don't want to cough or sneeze.

I have to function and get the kids to and from school. Flynn has an end-of-the-year field trip today. Diane is going to pick up the kids about 2:30 this afternoon.

Tired, couldn't get up on time. Try and get better.

Saturday, June 11, 2005 12:55 PM

Unfortunately Diane called yesterday afternoon to arrange picking the kids up this morning, which she did. Not pleased about that. I was hoping that she was still in the hospital.

DirecTV appeared this morning (EARLY) to install a satellite box in Cassidy's room. Cassidy will be thrilled, I'm sure.

June Gloom continues outside. Cool, at least. But no sun.

Just sitting here. Got home yesterday and just sat here. I love my computer.

I'm glad that the Disneyland trip is over. It was mostly fun. It was a vacation. I think that the kids enjoyed it. I would have liked to have dragged them to see Tom Sawyer's Island but we didn't get around to that. And Cassidy probably would have liked It's A Small World, but Flynn and I both hate that ride. Really hate that ride.

It's just about one o'clock and I haven't done much. Laundry and dishes and the usual stuff. Mostly I'm just sitting here. I love sitting here on the computer.

I ought to re-join Frog's. Walk on the treadmill or swim daily. I am WAY TOO FUCKING FAT. I look bloated in photographs. The year we went to Hawaii I lost sixty pounds... then eventually regained them. I just lost interest in exercising, it didn't seem to matter.

I would like to last long enough to get the kids on their merry little ways in life. I've just gotta lose weight, seriously. Sigh. That sounds dead boring. It really does.

What else? Nothing else. It's very nice to be at home where it's QUIET. Drank some coffee over the past five hours. Ate a sandwich.

I don't want to go out. I don't like going out on Saturdays, too crowded.

Slept like a rock last night. The previous two nights sleeping next to Cassidy were not exactly restful.

Glad to have a weekend to recover after the mini-vacation.

And I am indeed happy to be back home again. Where it's quiet and there's space. Horrible full-stop traffic on the way home on the 5 at eleven o'clock on a Friday. There are too many people in California. New home developments ought to be burnt to the ground by angry residents. No one has money to build their own home. No new building until roads are quadrupled. Pave the whole fucking state or put a gate at the entrances. And I never want to see another stroller. Or wheelchair or fat person vehicle (FPV).

Or another misshapen Disneyland employee, half-witted and a neon testament to the decline in the gene pool and of society in general since about 1965, which I've decided was the high point of western civilization (tm). I remember Disneyland employees as being clean-cut and smart. These were misshapen and clueless, shirkers. The plants were not particularly well-kept. There was trash here and there. I picked up and threw out a couple pieces of trash along the way.

There was a disconnect between the Travel Office and the Hotel. Minor but annoying, particularly given how long ago the reservations had been made. The room was not impressive. Cassidy didn't like the water slide (what the FUCK?) and stupidly chose to say "help" when she hit the water, being pounced on by a lifeguard .5 seconds later (I was right there). She can swim when she wants to, but will always try and tiptoe. The pool is four feet deep. She tried a swim test and tiptoed three times. Not impressive. Really not impressive. Disappointed me. I will not forgive you, if you will not take the chance...

Ate at the Rainforest Cafe, which was good. Had some excellent soup and half a chicken "wrap" which was a little heavy. Had a couple of drinks @ The Lost Bar which was a highlight of the trip for me. It was nice and quiet and the bartender was funny and friendly. The next night I was by there earlier and there was an overamplified guitarist and no free space @ the outside bar. Sat on a planter some distance away and drank one drink. Took the other upstairs.

The kids seemed to enjoy themselves, particularly pushing the elevator buttons, which was a constant source of squabbling. And therefore delight.

The crowds got to me. People amble along like brainless cattle. Stop for no reason in the middle of a busy path. It reminded me of riding my bicycle on the boardwalk. By August I wanted to weld steak knives onto the handlebars to get through people who'd lope along at about .2 mph. "Can I get through here?" "Excuse me" "Are you fucking brain dead?" "What a great place to stop." "What the fuck are you thinking?" The crowds got to me. And then the parking lot drive home. Arrrrgh. Wasn't AIDS supposed to have cleansed the population by now?

It's nice to be home again. It's nice to be sitting still and it's nice that it's QUIET. The noise level throughout the trip was uncomfortable. I was glad to pack up this morning and head home. It's nice to be at home again. It was a fun trip but I'm glad that it's over.

There was a Japanese television channel that was fascinating to watch. NNK or NHK. On the trip to Hawaii there was a Hawaiian station that broadcast Japanese programming. Couldn't take my eyes off of it. Amazing visuals. My favorite was a program about everyday people's "sundries," or little knick knacks they collect, they'd meet someone on the street and follow them home and see their collections.

It's only 1:30. Seems later. Cloudy today, advanced June Gloom. God, I'm glad to not be at Disneyland any more. That thought just shot through.

 

Tuesday, June 7, 2005 8:48 AM

Cassidy woke up eventually and said that she feels better. I want to get her in the bathtub so that she can absorb some water. She didn't eat or drink much of anything yesterday.

Frustrated at not having left yesterday. Hopefully she is better today and we can continue with our plans to go to Disneyland. I don't want her to overdo it and end up sick again far from home.

Yesterday was oddly frustrating. I extended the reservation to include Thursday night so that the trip will be about the same as originally planned.

Happy and excited about the trip, but I'll be happy to be back home again after we're home again.

...

Try and get Cassidy in the tub.

...

Tuesday. Cassidy was sick Sunday night and all day and night Monday. Postposed our trip. Hopefully she'll be better today. Nothing else to do but wait for her to get better. Frustrating having planned the trip so long ago only to have Cassidy become ill. Very frustrating. Oh well. Another one of those things.

 

Ordered a new couch online. Excited about it. The old couch that Diane found somewhere for $75 is shot, has always been shot. I'll be glad to get it out of the living room. Stick it in Cassidy's room or the garage? I'd like to arrange someplace for the kids to play with their friends, maybe convert the garage into a place to hang out for them.

Friday. Hooray.

Pat and Mike will take the kids to the Pancake House or something tomorrow late morning. Cassidy has a birthday party to go to tomorrow from three to five.

Flynn has his friend Kody over.

Went to the market this morning. Bought some gasoline.

Picked Cassidy up. Picked Flynn up.

Drinking iced espresso. Tasty.

The new couch is about ten inches more narrow than the couch we have now. That will be a good thing. The new couch ought to be a big improvement.

 

Wednesday

Been busy lately. Memorial Day weekend came and went. Tried to not have any expectations, so I wasn't terribly disappointed. I was baffled when I presented the kids with banana splits on Monday night and they turned their noses up. Oh well. I enjoyed mine.

Enjoyed pulling weeds from the lawn one inch at a time on Monday morning. Need to mow the lawn again.

I gave Diane my string trimmer recharger since hers had been stolen and ordered a replacement for myself. THEN I realized that I'd given her my battery as well! So when my replacement charger arrived I HAD NO BATTERY. ARRGH. And Diane is hospitalized again. That was frustrating. Par for the course. Shrug it off.

Tried to barbecue some ribs on Sunday and BURNT them. Damn it. That was artless. Those were expensive ribs, too, and besides that I'd obtained some maple chunks to flavor the smoke. Try that again sometime once my alleged budget recovers.

Watched some old science fiction movies over the weekend. The best one was "The Abominable Snowman" which I've only seen a few times. Good dialog and they did the best they could with the cheap sets. Very atmospheric and understated.

Yesterday the kids went back to school. As they did today.

Last night at dinner (I made tacos) Flynn was humming a tune and Cassidy was following him, it was delightful. I was watching the colorful sweet peas in the rich end-of-day light.

This morning I mailed Diane's rent check and delivered two cartons of cigarettes to the mental health facility. I had paid her down payment for her automobile insurance not long ago.

Our vacation to Disneyland is around the corner, excited about that. Looking forward to it being over, though I think it will be fun. Check-in is at three o'clock. We could get there earlier and just leave our backpacks in the Prius. Go to Disneyland and ride some of the rides and things. Make the most of that first day. The second and third days we're there first thing and then head home the morning of the fourth day. After a swim. Check-out time is at eleven o'clock.

It sounds like fun. I don't know that Flynn is going to want to go again after this, he's getting older, and Cassidy hasn't been since she was a speck. We went in 2000, then went to Hawaii in 2002, then had the floors put in during 2003, then Diane lost her mind in 2004. Busy schedule. Once I got some money, the FIRST THING I DID was make these reservations, paid in full, for Disneyland.

I ought to go mow the lawn or do something useful. Like water outside. I like having the garden and lawn looking nice. The lawn could use a trim. I'm tempted to do the job with scissors to get it perfect. I'm pleased with the lawn. There are a couple of brown spots, did I trim it too closely? Have to reseed those when the weather cools down a bit, it's just warming up now. I've had the air conditioner on for part of the day off and on for the past couple of weeks. No real serious heat, just mild discomfort.

Quarter to five, do something for fifteen minutes and then contact Diane and let her know that her cigarettes were delivered. And that I don't have her current patient number. Not that I want it. Ten years with Diane was ample, really. Sad to say that life improved greatly when she was hospitalized initially. Her flipping out in October and leaving can only be seen as a good thing.