Da Goddess

My dad must have irritated all the right people, he was discharged from the hospital yesterday. He’s currently settled in a my mom’s house. This is the part where one would normally add “and much hilarity ensued” – but I’m thinking there’s nothing funny about two older adults bugging the shit out of each other until one, or both, resort to murderous thoughts/behavior.

I’m glad he’s out of the hospital. He was starting to get a little grumpy at the end there.

Sigh.

Val. Guantanamera is, without question, one of the loveliest songs. I have a favorite version, of course. Everyone who’s heard it does.

The couple dancing in the photo above were from Cuba. They came to America for a chance to raise a family free of fear. They moved with a special grace that comes only from dancing together many years.

Watching them dance was a thing of beauty.

How does a goddess spend her birthday? Intermittently editing photos, eating a handful of Good & Plenty – cuz they’re just like me, “I’m good, and there’s plenty of me”, listening to Edwards, Jake’s Obsession, and Joe Bonamassa, and seriously considering a nap.

It’s a glamorous life and someone has to lead it. It may as well be me.

Later, I was given beautiful flowers by a dear lady. Hopefully she’ll be posting here soon. (Encourage her to jump in and tell you some hair-raising stories…c’mon…she needs to get blogging!)

I had dinner with the Smashes and Little Dude. Puppets and chocolate were involved. It was good.

What else? Phone calls from my Bonamassa friends. A card and a check from my dad. No dishes or trash or chores of any kind (except for plunging LD’s toilet) and a quick little nap earlier today.

Oh yeah! I almost ran over Obi-Wan Kenobi. Not a bad way to spend a birthday if I do say so myself.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! It’s been a really nice day.

Well, I’ve been blogging for three (as of two days ago) of my thirty-nine years (as of today. )

Hardly seems possible.

I know a lot of people never thought I’d live this long. I know there are a few who didn’t think I would stick with blogging as long as I have either.

Go figure.

has done something really interesting – Cuba Nostalgia. Please stop in and take a look. If you can, add to the stories he’s collecting via blogs.

Quite possibly the best episode of “Two and a Half Men” ever tonight.

Sure, scoff if you want, but it’s true. From beginning to end, it had us laughing our asses off.

After the anti-climactic ending of “Everybody Loves Raymond”, it was just what the doctor ordered. Now, don’t get me wrong – “Raymond” is normally top notch entertainment. However, aside from small sweet moments, the finale wasn’t what I was expecting. Frankly I preferred the pre-show behind-the-scenes show.

Back to “Men.” The whole bit with Jake was absolutely priceless. The sushi, the squab, the spaghetti, the tub, and, in a moment of inspired genius, the closing theme song.

I love when T.V. is done well.

Chuck Lorre deserves the golden squab for this one.

My dad is happy…he’s not home, but he’s happy. He’s not in any pain and he’s not feeling ill, so he’s happy. That makes me happy.

My friend, is done with law school and enjoying the next couple of weeks until the Bar Review starts. I’m proud of him. He worked awfully hard to get to where he is. Good job, Greg!

My surgical consult is scheduled. It’s not as soon as I’d like, but it’s scheduled. That works for me.

I made an incredible trade today. I gave a few photos of Honeyboy Edwards to a brilliant local artist – Brian Banash – and in return, he gave me one of his incredible John Lee Hooker prints.

I first became aware of Brian’s work through the Blues Lovers United of San Diego – of which I’m a member. His artwork graces the back of our t-shirts, the organization website, and many other things. He’s not only very talented, he’s a damn nice guy.

To be quite honest, I was surprised that he gave me this print. Surprised and very honored. That photo (click the link at JLH up there) doesn’t do justice to the piece…it’s simply amazing.

I’ve seen several of his paintings and each one has its own special feel to it. His early work is interesting, but his most recent creations shine. Again, all have “feeling”, but the new stuff comes from a deeper level. It’ll be a while before he begins on a new painting. Brian has an exhibition coming up and he needs to finish work for that. Once the show gets underway…well, hopefully Honeyboy will be the first one to make it to canvas.

Have a good weekend everyone!

I’m quietly boldly adding the Team America DVD to my wishlist. It comes out the day before my birthday. Considering that discussion about the DVD came up at dinner, about two hours before I saw the first commercial, I took it as a sign.

My dad just had a second, unexpected surgery today. They went in and cleaned things up a little more and he’s doing okay.

I saw my doctor today to follow up after the nerve conduction testing. There is evidence of impairment based on the EMG and the doc agrees that it’s time. It’s time for a visit to the surgeon. Now it’s time to wait for them to call. My doc isn’t sure if we’re looking at surgery on just the neck or if we’re talking about the whole back.

All this waiting and nothing to wear.

In other news, I won dinner for 4 at Outback from a local radio station and a gift card for $100 for a day spa from a local TV station. Turned out that the dinner prize also included five CDs and two concert tickets. All for just being a mom and entering a silly drawing.

It takes so little to amuse and distract me.

Ooooh! Look! There’s a pretty shiny thing over in the corner! Gotta go!

P.S. If you’re curious enough to check out photos I took of the living legend mentioned in a post…click here.

My dad’s doing fine. The procedure went well and he’s feeling good at the moment.

Thanks for all the prayers!

In case you hadn’t guessed, I’m really crabby this week.

I’m tired of itching. I’m tired of bitching. I’m tired of pain. I’m just plain old tired.

My dad is back in the hospital. He hasn’t been home yet since his surgery. He’s been from the hospital to the rehab center and now back to the hospital. There’s an infection at the surgical site and it looks like he’ll need more surgery.

On the plus side, my mom and I have spoken more in the last two days than we have in the last two years. I suppose if you were looking for something positive, that would be it.

You know what’s weird? I’ve been thinking about my grandfather a lot lately. While I had my mom on the phone the other day, I asked about some of the bands he used to play with. I remember the stories of him playing with Kay Kaiser, but I wondered who else he may have met back in the 20’s and 30’s.

What I do know about my grandfather is that he could play any instrument necessary. He had his own banjo, accordion, and electric organ. From what my mom said, though, he could fill in for anyone in any band, all they had to do was say the word.

By the time the 40’s came around, there was a war and he was locked into his job at the bank. He didn’t play around town much after that, but he often gathered with friends to jam.

There are huge gaps in his story that we’ll never be able to fill. I’m hoping that my kids and I can avoid this with my parents and get their stories told while they’re still around.

Okay, I guess Little Miss Cranky is gone – for the moment. Whew! Glad that’s over.

You’ve all seen that No-AD sunscreen stuff in the stores, right? Right. It’s not as inexpensive as it used to be, but it’s still cheaper than the big brand name products which makes it a bargain in comparison.

Well, let me introduce myself. I’m the No-Ad blogger.

I was reading and Steve’s posts on the Pajama Media thing…and grateful that they wrote something so that I didn’t have to.

I got the pitch. I tossed the email. Like them, I don’t see how the average blogger will 1) make money or 2) get anything published anywhere but on their own blog. It doesn’t make sense for someone like me to do something like that.

The fact is, I moved off blogspot years ago to get rid of the ads that were plastered at the top of the page. I have never had ads on a site that I pay for and never will.

I’ve talked to others about it…like Smash. I understand that he gets tons of traffic and his bandwidth usage is outrageous. Getting a little revenue to help pay for that makes sense in his case. I mean, he was blogging from the other side of the world and people were flocking to his site lke crazy. He came home and they still gather around. Then again, he’s a lot smarter than I am and says things more eloquently than I.

Anyhow, my philosophy has always been this: if I can’t afford a domain name and hosting fees on my own, I should get the hell out of blogging.

Could I make a little extra cash with ads? Maybe….once upon a time. But I wasn’t willing to sell my soul to do it. I didn’t start blogging to earn money. I didn’t start a blog because I thought I was some major undiscovered writing talent. I started a blog because I wanted a place to unload the crap floating around in my head.

Sure, there have been times that ad revenue could have come in handy. You know, like when life took a dump on me last year.

The truth is – I don’t have the sort of traffic that big bloggers have. I don’t update regularly. I don’t write about anything with any consistency. Or, if I do, it’s about the little things in life that are important only to me. I could be a cut and paste blogger, but I wouldn’t feel very good about it. The big guys can do that and get away with it. I can’t. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

I don’t really have a point other than to be one more person jumping on the “I’m Not Jumping On That Bandwagon” bandwagon (as if that makes any sense.)

If I need money, I’ll whine about it to friends and then maybe come crawling back here with my hat in my hands if the situation gets desperate. Otherwise, I think I’ll just keep to myself and curl up with the last shreds of my dignity and all my silly dreams. I’ll let the big bloggers make money off whatever they possibly can.

Of course, if you want to pretend I have ads and pay me lots of money to do absolutely nothing, you’re welcome to do so. You can hit the old PayPal account or go fishing around Amazon for presents. But, beware….I want lots of stuff…all of it expensive.

The Good:
My son is a sweet, generous soul. He asked me what I wanted for my birthday.
The Bad:
Like I’m really going to get anything from him. He doesn’t have any money!
The Eh:
This is the price of single parenthood.

The Good:
Little Dude is with me for the week.
The Bad:
I’m crankier than a hurdy-gurdy. My back is hurting terribly…I haven’t exactly been the most patient mother on the planet.
The Eh:
That’s life, right?

The Good:
My dad’s new knee makes him happy.
The Bad:
He has an infection and is on IV antibiotics.
The Eh:
Every time I called him over the last three days, there was no answer. I thought he’d gone home. Nope. Still getting rehabbed. It’s not home, but it’s a good place for him to be.

The Good:
Gator by the Bay this weekend! Little Dude gets to experience great music, food, and he’ll be meeting some truly amazing artists.
The Bad:
It’ll be hard on the old back.
The Eh:
That’s what pain meds are for, right? It’s worth it to be able to share this with my child.

The Good:
I met a living legend this last weekend. Edwards. WOW! I even got some great shots of him. And, I got to kiss him on the cheek.
The Bad:
I didn’t print out any of the pics for him to autograph. Nor did I have LD with me.
The Eh:
I have the memories…and the pictures. Hey, it’s something! I’ll cling to anything at this point.

The Good:
I’m done with the steroid epidurals!
The Bad:
I still have pain, numbness, and tingling.
The Eh:
I have an appointment on Monday for nerve conduction studies. I have a rash, too. Okay…two rashes. One’s worse than the other, but I’m glad the first one’s going away.

Well, the City Council decided, 8-0, that a special election should be held to replace the mayor of San Diego.

I couldn’t agree with them more.

Donna Frye announced that she will run for mayor again. Dede Alpert won’t. Nor will Brian Maienschein. To be honest, I don’t believe any City Council members should run. They are as much a part of the problem as the Mayor when it comes to San Diego’s image in the public eye. I’d like to see some other candidates step up to the plate. People with proven track records of truly serving the community and capable of strong leadership.

People tend to forget that the Mayor has no more power than those on the City Council. As well, City Council members and the City Attorney have failed to consider that all their shenanigans of late only serve to project a poor image of San Diego to the citizens of the city, the state, and the nation at large. The potential for lost tourism revenue, as well as the loss of our ability to attract and retain businesses, in our city is at stake.

Dick Murphy was the first person to take a step in the right direction. His resignation indicated that he hoped to give San Diego a chance to regain its reputation as America’s Finest City – on all fronts. The City Council’s vote today should indicate that they, too, are ready to restore the City’s reputation of excellence.

I can only hope that the citizens of San Diego are given a few strong and competent candidates from which to choose. We need a clean slate. We need people who are ready, and able, to lead us into a more prosperous future.