'my thoughts.11.3'

(09 Nov 2012 - 14 Nov 2012)

completed: 14 Nov 2012/9pm

*a place to say what's on my mind,

and in my heart...

09 Nov 2012/1pm

good afternoon...

I have had a fairly busy day so far today,

and admit upfront I could not have gotten everything 'completed' without grandpa jack's assistance.

actually, my day started earlier than usual;

as I received a phone call at 3am this morn that the

mexi-godfather has had abit of a setback with his 'healing proccess' and is not going to be discharged anytime soon.

so I will be going to the west covina area

later this afternoon to see whats-what,

and then go straight to the ucla basketball game from there.

*l.g. WILL NOT be joining me at pauley pavilion tonight either, as she has some things to take care of before we leave for vegas early tomorrow morning. *if we go at all.

as far as the game tonight goes;

I don't think I will have a problem getting rid of my extra tickets, it just 'completely blows' that I will be going alone. ya-ya-ya, I know poor me!

I'm sure 'old man palacios' would rather be in the stands cheering than where he currently is,

and jack graciously offered to 'watch' the girls on day-1

of their imprisonment in casa-kiss.

I even made a comment to the girls this morning as I finished making their french toast that

I'm being punished also.

then elli made the comment;

"you can take us off punishment tonight for the game"

ha. nice try little girl.

*actually, I had already thought of that. but I cant.

well, not that 'I can't', just I shouldn't. right?

ah, the termoils of being a bad parent!

anyway, it's suppose to be cold/wet today;

so far it's a little breezy out and chilly, but no rain as of yet. also, I heard of the possibility of some light snow on

cajon pass on I-15 enroute to vegas,

but it looks as if that is no longer a threat.

*I really was looking forward to going to las vegas for this 3day w/e, but it may not happen after all. so... whatever.

ok then. I've got some things to do before I get going

to west covina, so I'll see you guys later.

I have no idea where I'll be tonight...

10 Nov 2012/12pm

good afternoon from las vegas, nv...

l.g. and I decided last night to go ahead with our plans to 'get away' and follow thru with our weekend excursion.

I had my alarm/coffee maker set for 5a,

but decided to get up at 4:20a.

l.g. got to the house last night before we returned from

the ucla basketball game.

ya, I said 'we';

I decided that last night's event of the 'new pauley'

re-opening was special enough to relieve the girls from one night of punishment.

(but we did agree to 2 extra days extension)

and with the girls going,

grandpa jack decided to join us also. so, no extra tickets.

the entire experience last night was awesome,

the bruins even capped the evening with a decisive victory. after a very slow-start, the team finally started playing well halfway thru the 1st period.

the new pauley pavilion was beautiful;

the girls got some new sweatshirts,

and I picked-up a few mementos as well.

one more thing I would like to mention concerning

last night's event, was the ncaa ruling of our

'number 1 recruit shabazz muhammad'.

I am not going to take sides on this very disappointing decision that will no-doubt effect the final outcome

of the ucla basketball team's season,

but just give my 'simple' opinion.

apparently, 'recruit bazz' has been 'ruled ineligible' on his amatuer status for excepting moneteray benefits during his visits to duke/north carolina universities.

this really pisses-me-off on many levels:

'bazz' is no dummy, attending bishop gorman high school here in vegas (which is a college-prep private school).

he has smarts, but did he use them? apparently not.

he, his parents, and the 'family friend' who financed the trips knew they were 'at the very least' smudging the line of breaking the ncaa rules.

so 'bazz' acting as if he is totally innocent just

infuriates me more. he has known he was guilty all along. not knowing ALL the 'behind the scene' facts,

I can only make speculations.

was 'he' walking around like a 'big man on campus' with wads of bills in his pocket, flashing his coin for all to see?

did he order expensive room service?,

stay in outragious lodgings?,

dress as if he was a asswad rapper boy?

or did he just 'mouth-off' to his piers trying to impress?

I don't know, but he surely does.

and apparently, so does the ncaa.

if you break rules, you must pay the consequences.

*we've ALL broke rules, and we've ALL paid retribution for our misguided steps.

but when something you do 'willingly' affects an entire community, I have no remorse for you.

'he' knows he's a great player,

he knew he was going to make an immediate impact on 'whatever program' he chose to play for,

and 'finally', he knows he is going to be a 'one and done' college athlete, using the ucla basketball program platform as a stepping stone to the inevitable conclusion:

playing in the nba.

I have NO RESPECT for a 'one-and-done' athlete.

I compare them to a casino blackjack dealer who changes casino's to whatever new gambling hall recently opens-up.

NO LOYALTY what-so-ever.

a somewhat 'good' arguement for discussion says that even though the athlete is using the university for eventual employment of his/her professional sport of choice,

so the university is ALSO using the athlete for athletic competition to better the schools overall worthiness

of attracting top-notch individuals to

enhance the school's image.

this all this comes down to one thing;

MONEY.

money for the athlete to earn in his chosen profession,

and monies for the schools to be paid for their

sporting competition excellence.

I hate it.

a quick remedy solution to this flawed situation;

all athletes wishing to compete on a professional level should be required to have at the very least an 'associates degree' in some subject benefiting their 'future' career.

(after their athletic career has ended)

to wit: finance. almost 60% of all professional athletes file bankruptcy after the paychecks for their professional services have ended.

the expensive cars/clothing/vacations, mansions, jewelry, entourages, etc. all vanish.

and what is left is an empty shell of an individual;

who at one time was 'on-top-of-the-world'.

ya I know, blah-blah-blah.

it's sounds as if I'm bitching, but I am just saying what's in my heart/on my mind.

I don't agree with ucla's plan to appeal, why waste the time/effort/money?

make a bold statement ucla;

release freshman shabazz muhammad from his scholarship, make his parents (or him) pay for his schooling.

*he's not earning his keep now, is he?

besides, why would you have an outside player come-into-the-program after however many games he is going to miss, and disturb the playing attributes of a team that has 'gelled/performed' without this individual.

example:

the now world series champions san francisco giants,

and their former 'cheater-player'; melky cabrera.

the giants didn't need him after all.

ok then. I'm done.

going to go out to lunch w/l,g.,

have a wonderful saturday everyone.

**one last thought though;

I was just as excited as any ucla fan as to the possibility of the number one high school player in the nation coming to play for my favorite team.

now, not so much.

-cont/11pm-

hi guys,

this will be quick but sweet;

had a pretty busy day for not having much planned after we got into town...

l.g. and I decided 'not' to hit-the-strip today,

and just go to a 'locals' casino.

*the casino's of the local area's which are spread throughout the las vegas valley are just so much more fun;

not as crowded, better odds at winning,

excellent food values,

and more convenient for travel/parking.

the 'stations casino's are the favorites for most of all casino workers, and there are quite a few located in quite

a few neighborhoods.

my favorites are santa fe station, texas station,

and the fiesta rancho.

all three casino's are within a 15-20min surface street drive, and are located here in the north west of las vegas.

*I know I need to start/finish my las vegas page.

I have great ideas for it, I just haven't optimized them yet.

today we had a fun time gambling, we ate italian,

drank a 'few' drinks,

and watched most of the ucla football game

in the sportsbook. they looked good.

as far as tomorrow goes;

we're going to drive to the red rock conservation area,

drive the loop, take some pics,

and then afterwards go to a friends house and watch

the sf49ers game.

after football, lg. and I are going to 'the strip' and have dinner at michael mina and then go see 'O' cirque du soleil,

both at the bellagio.

this will be my second time seeing 'O',

and first time eating at mm's.

*l.g.'s all excited about seeing this crazy show.

I didn't really care for it the first time, but Ash loved it. speaking of Ash;

her and Elli spent their first weekend of 'punishment' doing laundry, cleaning all the bathrooms in the house,

and brushing the dogs and horses.

no tv, no cell phones, no computers.

I talked with both these little hoodlums a few hours ago,

and they were playing the 'trivial pursuit' board game

with grandpa jack.

plus they were baking reeses pieces chip cookies, my fav. (little ass-kissers!)

tomorrow the girls and grandpa jack are taking 7 big plastic bags of clothing (mostly grandma jo's) to the downtown women's shelter in los angeles.

I told Ash and Elli because of them washing all the clothes and bagging them according, they can both each choose one dvd movie and then watch them together.

BUT afterwards, I told them I want a 2 page handwritten story outline on each movie.

(Ash does one, Elli the other)

they both agreed.

on monday when l.g. and I get back to the house,

we're going to take all 5 kids out for dinner and discuss some important life decisions that may come into play soon.

time will tell...

11 Nov 2012/12am

today is Veteran's Day.

tell a Vet thank-you today... they'll appreciate it.

good night.

-cont/10am-

good morning everyone.

as you can see, 'we' were up pretty late last night,

had that 'vegas-fever' thing going on. lol

considering there is absolutely no 'fresh' food

here in the house,

(or coffee, thank-you jessica)

I made a grocery/fast food run this morning.

picked-up a freshly made box of coffee from starbucks

(let me just say; strong-ass-damn coffee!),

fresh fruit, oj, yogurt, and some 'snack foods' from 'smith's, and a few breakfast sandwiches from jack-in-the-box.

this is a crazy thing;

I lived here in vegas for nearly 17yrs,

and never really noticed how 'bad' the produce was from the local grocery stores.

but now that I'm used to the incredible fresh fruit

from SoCal, I can so taste the difference.

and the avacados I saw this morning are barely the size of my testicle-sack, and just as hard! ha.

seriously tho; my 'ex' always bitched about the produce here in nevada being shit compared to what she was used-to in pennsylvania growing-up.

I would always just chalk-up her 'complaining'

as to her being 'a bitch'.

but maybe she had a legitimate statement.

(she was still 'a bitch' though)

*ha. I'll hear about that 'little add-on' in the next day or two. anyway. our plans for the day are still basically exactly how I listed them above.

will be heading-out within the next 30min to the red rock area, and then go from there.

and as far as going to my friends house to watch

the sf49ers game; probably only stay until halftime,

and then come back to the house and get ready for dinner/show at the bellagio.

l.g. and I are having a wonderful time so far,

we really do care for each other.

she is one of the best girlfriends I've ever had.

on that note: ok then, I just got the 'look', time to go.

I'll check-in a little later.

Happy Veterans Day;

Army-Navy-Airforce-Marines-The Guard...  

12 Nov 2012/10am

good morning everyone.

today being the 'observed' holiday for veterens day;

no banks, no mail, no school,

and no 'normal' business traffic for workers.

here in vegas though, casino workers traffic is never ending. the normal shirts for the casino worker;

12a-8a

(graveyard)

8a-4p

(days)

4p-12a

(swings)

the reason I bring this particular subject up, is because everywhere else on a federal holiday the traffic on the roads is 'slim to none'.

but here in vegas, that relative thinking doesn't matter because of the 100,000+ people who work each shift in the casino's still congest the roadways.

meaning when we were going to a friends house this morning to meet for breakfast,

we got caught in the 'day-shift morning rush'.

l.g. was surprised as to all thecars on the road,

until I explained to her about 'casino workers'.

ok then. last night was exceptionally fun.

to be honest, I was not looking forward to seeing 'O' again

(I still think the show is just mindless-fluff entertainment), but I really did enjoy myself with l.g. having

such a good time.

after living here for such a long time,

I still take alot of things for granted.

and I have to remember 'how I felt' when I first moved to nevada nearly '25yrs ago'. (reno/5yrs & vegas/17yrs+)

I guess when anyone lives in a place for a lengthly amount of time, you just get used to your surrounding area and forget how special certain things are. dinner last night was also spectacular;

fried ravioli stuffed w fresh crab,

filet medallions, loaded baked, and veggie medley.

the salad wasn't what I had expected though

(too much onion in their specialty dressing).

we actually cruised the strip last night after the show, experiencing bumper to bumper from mandalay bay all the way north to circus-circus.

so afterwards we just came back to the house,

sat in the jacuzzi

(which I had just filled/heated the day before)

drank a few bottles of bubbly and then we both

just 'crashed'.

and this morning, as I stated above, met with a friend of mine and her son to have breakfast together.

it's amazing how you can remain friends with someone for so many years knowing 'everything' they've gone thru.

(both her and I know so much about each other)

after breakfast, we came straight back to the house,

and now we're talking about 'not leaving' until

early tomorrow morning.

as long as she's back at her office by noon, it's all good.

so we'll see what's-what.

I'd like to go back to the casino's this afternoon,

and maybe even catch a movie.

I'll be back...

-cont/10pm-

hey ya.

getting ready for bed.

we're still here in vegas,

and we'll be leaving at about 5am to drive back to SoCal.

I've gotta say,

I did gamble a little bit while I lived here

(as everyone usually does every once in a while),

but I never-ever had the luck I had while here this time. three seperate times I was dealt a winning hand, awesome. l.g. even had some jackpot luck herself.

(besides the slots, she won me! quit laughing!)

anyway. besides having breakfast this morning,

and then going to gamble this afternoon,

and then shopping at my 'favorite' wal*mart superstore to buy a few early christmas presents.

*hey, the best place to buy dvds & video games by far.

we really didn't do anything all that special.

for dinner tonight; we decided on 'panda express',

and then watched the movies 'galaxy quest/1999'

and 'career opportunities/1991'.

omg. I was so in love w/jennifer connelly in this movie.

oh, I did burn 2 bags of microwave popcorn,

I think they were old.

we did eat the 'non-burned' pieces though.

l.g. is just getting out of the shower,

and I guess it's time for bed.

I'll update again after I get back home.

hope you all have a great week,

good night everyone.

13 Nov 2012/1pm

good afternoon.

just got back home over an hour ago.

the drive from vegas was uneventful, which is always good. had breakfast with l.g. at the iHop in victorville, ca.

ah, victorville;

the entertainment hub of the california high desert.

I think I have some family living their,

who knows... who cares.

speaking of family tho;

l.g., myself, and the 5 kids will be heading back up to vegas on thanksgiving morning to spend the holiday

w/my former mother-in-law,

and have a little fun with the kids.

*I know it's a little weird about spending time w/n.j.,

but she has absolutely nobody up there. so I do what I can. we'll probably just go to a buffet for the holiday dinner,

and as far as the rest of the weekend,

it's 'anything goes'.

my plans for the rest of today;

take a nap,

visit w/the girls after school,

and then go to pauley and watch the ucla basketball team play the uc irvine anteaters...

*actually, these two teams 'were' the main characters in my 'semper five' story, but I've had to tweek-it a little.

ok then. the girls are going to be home in just about 2hrs,

so I'm going to lay down on this couch for a minute or two. see ya...

14 Nov 2012/midnite-ish

well now; I went to the ucla basketball game by myself tonight, and having a few extra tickets, thought I could at least get 'face value' for them. ha. not only did I 'not' sell them, I couldn't even give them away.

pauley was barely, BARELY half full

(or half empty if you rather).

ya it's a tuesday night,

ya tip-off was 8:30p,

and ya it was a semi-second rate team.

but you know what;

it was a damn good game that went into overtime.

and ucla basketball won by one!

it's funny that 4 nights ago, the place was packed.

*even with a few 'wanna-be-seen celebrities'.

and tonite... not!!!

fair-weathered fans,

are just as bad as fair weathered friends.

and then when these douche-bags do show up,

they pretty much are arrogant fuck-heads that should just stay home and watch the game on tv.

ok then. I'm pretty tired;

and I have some errands to do early in the morning,

so I need to get some sleep. nite...

-cont/7am-

good morning.

I*am*very*tired, and*semi-cranky.

I was in bed by 1am, and as I was 'almost' drifting asleep,

I was interrupted by two young girls who wanted to talk to me about something that I should have been told as soon as they had gotten home from school yesterday.

their excuse was they didn't want me to 'worry' or cancel my going to the basketball game last night.

so as I laid there in my bed listening to their reasoning as to why they felt the 'need' to not go back to their classes after lunch, and go with other girls to a movie instead,

I was begining to feel my blood pressure rise.

and my first thought of 're-action' would not have been a moment I would have been proud of.

I told them to go back to bed,

and we would discuss this in the morning.

THIS MORNING, RIGHT NOW!

and to make matters even worse;

the both of them had to be awaken by me 15min ago to get up and get ready for school. their alarms go off at 6am,

and they are to be up w/beds made by 6:15am. no excuses. this early morning wake-up 'rule' was established last year during school, because Ash said she was too old for a predetermined bed-time.

so I agreed to her going to bed 'anytime' she wanted.

as long as she kept her grades decent,

her chores were always done,

she didn't get into trouble,

and she was up every morning as agreed.

now, except for her grades

(which are once again awesome this year),

she has otherwise disappointed me.

so, it appears as if my very-laid-back fatherly skills are now taking a huge hit, and I'm going to have to 'tighten-up'.

well, well, well.

the two little 'ditchers' have arrived to the kitchen to be fed nurishment before they go off to the 'learning center'.

I've gotta go.

-cont/11am-

*sorry, I didn't publish my last update.

ok then. in reference to my 'last entry':

I informed both these young ladies as we sat down to breakfast that we would discuss this incident/punishment in absolute detail after they come home from school today. also; I would NOT be writing them a note to excuse their absences from the afternoon classes they missed.

and then I told these two little truants that I would be visiting with their counselors after I dropped

them-off this morning.

which I have just returned from.

I've learned that my daughter's attitude at school has changed dramactically from last year.

she is no longer the quiet, shy, and innocent 'new girl',

and apparently has been 'hanging-out' in the parking lot during lunches, and even missing some classes.

I've also been told that the older guy who is a 'former' student is normally seen with her.

and Elli, who 'was' an honor student the last two years,

has taken 'a hit' grade wise.

and even though Ash is getting very good grades this year,

a few of her teachers I talked with this morning said

she could be doing even better.

according to them; she doesn't appear to care anymore,

has been warned about cell phone usuage to the point of the device being taken away until the end of class,

has an abruptness attitude with one of her teachers,

and just seems bored with school altogether.

ok then. things just got real.

this boy thing and ditching school will

now cease immediately.

and everything else about her attitude and lack of interest in her studies will now be dealt with accordingly.

this discussion will also include Elli,

and maybe the fact that these two 'living together' in the same house just is not working.

is Ash bored because she isn't learning anything new,

and doesn't care?

is the school-studies-thing' my fault because I started her a grade behind what was recommended after her aptitude tests because I wanted her to have a 'full experience'

during her high school years?

*remember, she graduated from auzzy school already.

does the sudden death of grandma jo last may figure somewhere into this frustrating mess?

speaking of grandma jo;

it is becoming highly visible that this woman did alot more around here than I ever knew, or even imagined.

so I guess I took certain things for granted. sorry jo. anyway. with all this going on,

I missed two fairly important appointments this morning, and still need to go to the grocery and petco.

and considering the fact that I want to be here when these young ladies get home from school, I need to get going.

talk soon.

-cont/9pm-

I am totally exhasted, and emotionally drained tonight.

in fact, everybody here is pretty 'spent'.

I'm not going to go into 'the details' as far as the afternoon/evening activities/discussions went;

but things, they are a changing... NOW!

for the time being, no mr-nice-guy.

and with that being said, I'm going to bed.

good night... 

to be continued on 'my thoughts.11.4'...

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