Random Thoughts

Last Edit February 20, 1999

My younger son has slipped all-night video net gaming in on me - subtle little brat that he is!
I just ripped his heart out and sent him to bed (I woke up 'cause it was 2 hours and time for bleaching trays to come out. So I could sneak a cracker and a cup of tea.) He had told me at 11PM "just a minute" - said the same at 1AM - and he needs to work tomorrow.
He sneaked that over on me too. I signed for 20 hours then I needed to sign something else - it was a different form and gave him license for 40 hours and I didn't read it. He knows how I am. Harried Mom. Give my kids anything. Sign things for them. Sneaky kid.
But since he must go to adult school in two weeks - his manager and I cut his hours back. He really does well at work and it is positive for him. He gets depressed at school. When I asked for accommodation for a language-disabled child (he is dyslexic - slower to read and take in - very slow to write) the response is that he needs to turn work in on time. Are they all hearing-disabled? Can we say one brick short of a load? You bet we can!
I have told him that as long as he gets out in 1999 - so the $500 class ring is still valid - I don't care and neither will junior college. Work up from there. We have a plan.
He does the BSA Eagle project (completion Sun) and I need to fly him to Disneyland. We have had two weekends of rain and cold - and kids in the driveway building two table-bench assemblies. Just need to get off the rest of the bolt ends and coat several layers of protective stuff. Grinding WHS into them is optional but would be nice. And the older boy, THE ONLY ADULT WHO SHOWED UP TO HELP LAST WEEK, has walking pneumonia and still came, will transport them to the campus with his notorious Tacoma.
I love this. 15 years as a scout Mom and my kid has so little support. But, the 2-3 boys who showed up to help want to come back for the third day (it's the pizza) and told their parents they enjoyed it. That's what it's all about. The kids were here from 9-10AM to 2:30-3PM both days - wouldn't go home! They were playing with tools. Wrenches and brushes and screwdrivers. (Power tools are run by the over-21 crowd only.) Man-stuff!
My older boy has pictures of his truck in snow and in mud and at the beach. And Cisco put up a fence to keep his truck off the river bank. Bad boy.
If they get done (and they should - it's supposed to rain Saturday and just be cold Sunday - so I will build a fire), I get to nag my contractor to finish the house. Needs a completion date. Tired of heating the underside of the carpet where the heater vent goes and of not having screen doors and of the last of the insulation not being in the attic and of the smoky plume up the front of the house - looks horrid - where a vane needs to be bent or a deflector added. Little crap.
And the front yard needs to be finished. So I can get on with selling the wood from the redwood tree. Any crafters can just get in touch. 45-Yr. old tree. Big wide pieces. Make nice weather vanes.
I came home to find that the insurance on the house in San Diego is canceled - and a refund check issued. This after I asked for the house in Fremont to be under expanded coverage for the new addition! Whoops! No explanation given. Wrong key on some form perhaps?
Panic attack. I left a terse message. Talk about PO'd! And they have to give you the news on a Friday night just so you can't do anything about it for days except become hysterical and hope nothing happens to the house in the interim. It is to be my home when I retire and my son's residence this coming fall-winter or whenever he gets out of high- school.
And somewhere I must have two years in tax returns in this chaos and I have to clean up for the appraiser. Refinancing is such a joy. You know that game, right?
And then there is the need for a "focal" review - raise time. Oh good! Just when I was settling in buying software right and left and building websites (internal to Synopsys) so much that I need to rest my wrists.
It would be cheaper to bring a Pentium unit home. If it's 300MHz or more and has 128 Meg RAM.
Well, so-so - I have $5,000 worth of Mac software and the same on the NT.
Dreamweaver2 is lovely - I am playing with that on the NT - and guess which site gets handled with that expensive toy? Hmmmmmm. I like to have fun when learning.
Oh a merry life I lead!
It's OK - I need to go to Disneyland too! It's closer to LA!
Fabio's office is quiet. No updates.
But Fabio's presence is known if he's in E! gossip and now being wronged on Talk Soup (tonight). They spare no one.
There are new web links. I am now building page 4. I got a bunch in the e-mail basket. Thought I had them all but....
Nina sent me a new link. And I found two more. She thought the image was different from one I had. It's the chest-up crop of the Fabio-tying-on-a-wetsuit photo, bare chest, hair flying, scowl. Love that chest!
My reply: It's the one on my Tee shirt - the one I had made. Actually my son had it made for me to wear to the sales conference.
Her reply: NICE choice. Must've scared 'em all back. I can make m' own T-shirts now. between wrestling, hunks, and Sailor Moon, be afraid.
Oh dear!
Actually, my son can pull his chest up to look like that - just a little more working out. So it will stay there.... And maybe I'll find a reason to keep him at home! Well, I can always threaten. Makes them motivated to move out you see.... .I like to plan ahead.
Try a THIRD $1600 repair bill on the van! Something about the alternator has oil on it and it's been 80,000 miles (right on the money) since I replaced it. It has oil because the power steering pump was leaking. Hey, it's been 2,000 miles since it was serviced! And they "only did a visual check". So they missed the oil? ("It looked like a rebuild with paint. It's only oil if you touch it.") Oh, I see.
I threatened them with another web story (oh they do remember that one do they!) - got a rental car for a week and 10% off the bill. Like I need three cars. It is parked at the curb. Of course I drove it back and forth three days while waiting for the van.
Nina's comment: They're just waiting till Christmas to give you a brand new one right?
Ho Hum. Actually, I am eyeing a little white convertible. Something about Momma gets a new car when last kid leaves home. Maybe. But I will keep the truck. He gets the van. And the bug gets back on the road for weekend runabout. ('64) (original owner) (classic) (needs paint, new fluid)
My 3400C notebook computer has been in for repair since November 25th. Time to check on it.
Apple is replacing everything (second time) except the case! OK - now return it! 'Cause the little old IIci is stuttering and the monitor is past it's life expectancy and "rings" at me (transformer going). It's a matter of time. And the 56K modem is almost running at the same speed of the 14.4 - because the computer can't keep up with it!
Notice how my son's Performa and 56K modem can handled Myth just fine. And he says he wants a G3!
My elder son says the domain www.fabio.com is in the hands of someone who just bought up names and if I can, I am going after it. Or there's always www.fabiofan.com. Matches my license plate - almost. Need one more letter on the plate.
I need to ask Fabio's office if they ever trademarked or registered the name. It would be helpful if they have. I thought I heard something about that......
Earlier books had his name as copyright.
So how come Dangerous is only available as a 36-copy floor display?
It's one of the better books! Features him on the bike. One from that shoot. Scowling again of course. But oh my.......
There's an idea for a raffle prize(s)!
The book - not him!
And, in the as if I didn't have anything to do department, I need to enter that contest. I can cook. I do use ICBINB. So......
Maybe I can bake up one or two or three recipes tomorrow and feed them to the boy scouts on Sunday. There's a plan! Let me check those rules.....
They still will require pizza.
I just realized - I saw Fabio for what? 5 seconds in New York? Wrote a bunch of stories.
Starting to slow down.
Heard from his office....
Started writing again.
Notice how this works......
Now Amelia wants out of her box - that pesky ghost wants me to finish her story....
If it's not one child it's another....