my thoughts.13.1:

(11 Nov 2011 - 18 Nov 2011)

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

and in my heart...

11 Nov 2011/0700hrs

good morning it's veterans day 2011.

take a moment out of your day today to think about the millions of men/women who have served or are currently serving in the United States Military.

for 364 days a year, most all of us pay no mind to the sacrifices that these men and women make every day to keep this Country strong and free.

Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard and the National Guard;

thank-you all for everything you do, and God bless you, your spirit and your family.

may God bless the United States of America, always.

-continued/0845hrs-

good morning.

I slept so good last nite; and when I awoke early this morning I was so warm, tucked-in, and comfortable;

I 'did not' want to get outa bed.

but alas, once I open my eyes and begin to move around,

the kidz begin to stir (especially the cats).

so laying in my comfy bed only lasts for a couple minutes until the restless tumbling, barking and over-all excitement takes over.

oh, there is also that bladder thing 'for me'.

ok then, I've been up a couple hours now; grandpa jack once again did my 'shit-duties' this morn, grandma jo is making blueberry muffins right here in front of me causing the aroma of freshly baked bread to radiate throughout the entire house. I'm not sure if this action will be enough to justify my daughter and her 3 sleepovers to arise from their slumber, but they'll be up within the hour tho,

I guarantee it!!!

so, busy day is just begining.

grandpa palacios will be here by noon with two of his grand-sons, and then the weekend will officially begin.

as for myself, I am feeling so much better,

this 'bug' was disgusting.

we won't be tailgating before the ucla basketball game today, I've only been there once before and don't know the rv rules and so forth.

parking is quite easy tho, being it's adjacent to the LA memorial coliseum. will have to inquire about their tailgating proceedures tho for the next couple of games.

I'm thinking we will leave around 4pm today for the game; even though the arena is only roughly 40 miles away:

it's friday nite, the bruins first game of the year and who knows where we are to park

(I do have my parking pass, for whatever that entails)

just starting to get excited about tonight's match-up,

not to mention the other sporting events we will be attending this week-end.

well now, the girls have made their way down to the kitchen. I'll check in later.

-continued/1111hrs-

I have time for a quickie (I'd rather have a 'nooner' tho), when I last left you the girls had just arisen from their slumber, and instantly began to brief all of us on

their future plans for the day.

to begin with, even as fresh muffins were being baked and a wide assortment of jellies, jams and butter were avail for immediate scarf-age (a new word from girl-6), my 'little girl' flashed her baby-blues and 'asked' if 'we' could have bagels and cream cheese... please! yes, yes 'we' can.

so I did the bagel/cream cheese run, and picked-up some dry cleaning while I was out.

as I was eating my 'everything bagel w/pineapple spread' I was also informed the girls were 'hoping' to meet some friends at the movie theatre around noon.

the movie; jack & jill starring adam sandler.

and of course my immediate response was; 'which friends'?, which encountered a reply of giggles, laughs and

non-answers... which means one thing; boys!!!

fucking boys!!!

so they are all upstairs readying themselves, music blaring, dogs barking; it's a mad-house here right now.

*it's no wonder the elders are out back drinking their coffee. grandpa palacios just called to say he was getting ready to leave and is on the way

(he still doesn't use his cell phone),

and he should be here by the time I return from shuttle service. ya, I'm also looking forward to Ash getting her drivers license (kinda, sorta).

alright, gotta go change clothes and take these chicks to meet their afternoon dates.

ah, to be a fly on the ceiling of the movie theatre. (hmmmm...)

-continued/1530-

we have already started our week-end;

margarita's have been made, nacho's have been eaten and my brand new ucla basketball apparel is ready to be worn.

*remember you heard it here first;

the ucla basketball team 'will' make it

to the final four.

see you guys in new orleans...

ok, ok; I may be just talking out my ass-cheeks,

but 'the bruins' actually do have a very, very good team this year even though we did lose 2 of our premier scorers. reeves nelson, joshua smith, the wear twins, tyler lamb, brendan lane and the rest of the boys.

plus we have a 'great coach'; ben howland.

ok, the girls have just returned from the movies

(they're running late)

and I have to rush them along if we are to leave in 30min, will check-in after the game;

have a safe friday night everyone...

-continued/2300hrs-

oh my goodness!!!

the ucla bruins once again lose their first game of the season, un-fucking-believable!!!

I will not recant my earlier statement of saying the bruins will be going to 'the final four';

but jeesh, we looked so lethargic.

ucla basketball 2011/12 is so damn talented,

maybe that is the problem.

I will say this though;

l. jones has not improved at all since last season, j. smith needs to lose 20-30 pounds, and the tempo of the game needs to be sped-up, not slowed down.

coach ben I love you man, take charge of your stallions and kick some basketball ass!!!

alrighty then; besides 'the team' not winning, we had a pretty good time there. 15 of us ended up going, including the 4 girls, even tho they walked around the entire time. the arena was barely at 30% capacity,

and may be less than that next tuesday for game #2 against middle tennessee univ.

anyway, it's nearly 11p here; the girls are down stairs in the movie room watching 'something', grandma jo & grandma p are in the den watching 'it's always sunny in philadelphia', and the old men are sitting out back smoking cigars.

as for me, well I'm plucking away on these keys boring you guys with my exciting life. I'll be in bed within the hour, as we have a car picking us up at 5:15a to take the '3' of us to LAX for our 8:30a flight to san fran tomorrow morn.

I am so looking forward to oregon-stanford, should be a fantastic game and I'm willing to bet there won't be a empty seat in stanford stadium.

we arrive in the bay area around 10am, and by the time we check-in to our hotel it will be near noon, so we're planning on having lunch at fisherman's wharf before driving south to palo alto to watch the game.

we actually scored pretty good tix on stub-hub, sitting on the visitor side in section 236. after the game, both grandpa jack and the mexi-godfather want to explore 'the city',

so I'm thinking 'anything goes'.

(wish I could remember the name of that 'gay bar')

and of course we have the 9ers sunday afternoon,

then flying back here at 8:30p.

I was told the weather in the bay is forecasted to be in the mid-60's and partly cloudy both days, perfect.

ok then, I'm going to go downstairs and 'check-on' the girls, say 'hey' to the grannies and then 'brave' the stinky smoke and talk to the boys before crashing.

ugh, I CAN'T BELIEVE UCLA LOST!!!!!!!!!

not worth losing sleep over tho,

it's times such as these I wish I had 'someone' to

just talk with.

yes it's true; you can have alot of people around you all the time, get tons of emails daily, and still be lonely and feel kinda empty inside.

don't get me wrong, I'm as happy as I've ever been,

just not content; something/someone is missing.

good-nite all... 

12 Nov 2011/7a

good 'early' morning.

(I've been up nearly 3hrs already)

currently sitting here at LAX in the united terminal drinking like my 10th cup of coffee, and yes my bladder

is getting exercised.

been watching sportscenter on the tv,

can't believe 'college gameday' is airing from the stanford campus this morning, how cool is that?

I refuse to mention the game of last night, ugh,

I was/am so disappointed.

maybe I should cheer more 'vocal' for my 'other' alma mater; the gauchos of uc santa barbara. in fact they are '1-0' after a very impressive win over chapman college.

alright, I'm over it.

the elders are going to make this week-end sports journey very memorable, trust me. it has already started with grandpa jack's banter with the coffee barista concerning the over priced fare of the coffee and the $9 bran muffins.

sure they a bit 'over-sized' and kinda tasty for this bran-shit (pun intended), but seriously; $9 for a muffin? ridiculous! there are a couple service members here in the boarding area, navy personnel. and the mexi-godfather and grandpa jack are treating these 5 young men like 'rock stars',

it's actually kinda funny to observe. you'd think they were talking to ann-margret or sophia loren.

so our flight leaves in just over an hour, and we should be in 'the city' by 10am, checked into our hotel by 11am, and eating lunch at fisherman's wharf by noon.

I am just as excited about the oregon-stanford game tonite, as I am about the sf49ers tomorrow afternoon.

I would imagine the crowd at stanford stadium will be more intense/loud than the candlestick park peeps. but then again, sf is 7-1, playing the giants of ny, so they both

may be equally crazy. I'm so thankful that I'm feeling better today, would have seriously sucked-ass-hair to be still sick with all this 'fun' going on.

argh; I gotta get rid of some of this coffee again, so I'm just going to sign-off and publish this entry.

I will try to 'check-in' again before we head to palo alto,

after that... who knows.

have a fantaz saturday everyone.

-continued/11:45a-

afternoon from the san francisco bay area.

oh my goodness, I so love it here.

the flight from LA went smoothly, until we started our approach and encountered some major turbulence.

no worries.

we're all checked-in; staying at the hilton near the wharf again, where we will be heading down to eat lunch very soon.

just the fresh smells and the sounds of the bay is compelling enough to make you want to visit here as much as possible. grandpa jack and the mexi-godfather are sharing a 'double' and I'm directly across the hall; very nice room with a view. would have liked the sun to be shining in a crystal blue sky, but will take a couple of days of non-rain as it is.

alright, was just 'told' it's time to go for lunch.

not really sure what is more entertaining;

a meal with my daughter and her friends in a public forum,

or a table of 3 with the elders.

both are proving to be a challenge either way you look at it. ok, I've gotta go. will 'check-in' before we leave for the big game later this afternoon.

-continued/2:15p-

just got back from 'the wharf'; I love it there.

ya, I've had a couple drafts; but I have just begun.

lunch was not as entertaining as I had hoped it would be;

in fact we hardly talked among us, we were too focused on the seafood pleasures being brought before us:

shrimp cocktails, seafood nachos, crab bisque, fresh squid wraps, clams/half shell and the main course.

as for myself; I had the double lobster tail w/lemon-garlic butter on a sourdough roll, warm kettle chips with sauce and a couple of house drafts.

we will be going back there tomorrow before the 9er game to eat again, and shop to have some fresh seafood and other gifts sent south. I wanted to get a stanford sweat-shirt, but couldn't find any, so I guess I will buy one at the game.

we are going to be leaving in about an 1/2 hour, no idea about the traffic, parking and so on. the car-nav says that stanford stadium is 35.28 miles from here and gives a travel time of 45min. but the address that came up is

625 eucalyptus road stanford; hopefully we get there.

I guess we'll see the stadium somewhere along our route. ha

I can't tell you how excited I am for this game today;

it's been such a long time since I've attended such an important college football game that didn't have ucla scribbed on the side of the helmets. (and as far as a ucla game of importance, well I can't remember back that far.)

I guess I'll sign-off for now; not sure what our plans are after the game, I'm thinking we'll play it as it comes.

will try to update before I go to sleep tonight, we'll have to see about that also...

have a safe saturday night everyone.

go Stanford

13 Nov 2011/3:30a

just got in a little bit ago.

after we left the karaoke bar,

we decided to have a late snack/early breakfast at the denny's about a block (city block) away.

I had pancakes and a chocolate milk,

in case your wondering.

well, I lost my party-buzz hours ago;

just didn't feel like having a hangover tomorrow,

so I stopped gulping the shots with the mexi-godfather and started drinking soda water. ya, I'm boring.

after the oregon-53 stanford-30 game, we came back to the hotel and parked (at $45. a nite for valet) and decided to make our way via yellow cab towards the embarcadero, china town, and the castro district among others.

most of the shopping areas were closed, so we were just enjoying the lights and sites until we came upon a karaoke lounge; the mint club. and that is where we decided to spend the rest of our evening.

nothing really special to report;

I sang a couple songs, the mexi-godfather also jumped on stage once. grandpa jack was too busy talking to a couple of independent construction contractors and discussing the in's/out's of all the local unions.

we left about 30min before closing, around 1:30am.

took a cab to denny's, ate and boom... here I am.

we talked about not leaving until monday morning,

but will make a phone call to 'the girls' first later this morning before deciding.

I guess to ask permission, or to make sure the house hasn't burned down. who knows.

so let me talk about this game we attended earlier tonite that seemed to just get away from 'luck and the boys'.

now I have to tread 'very softly' here;

as I'm sure I mentioned in another entry that the mighty cardinals of stanford totally kicked the shit outa my bruins last month 45-19. and we don't play oregon this year.

(thank god)

so anyway; the crowd was massive and psyched, the weather was perfect, and up until halftime, I had thought this was going to be one of 'the great games' of all time.

it wasn't. to begin with, unbeknownst to me at the time at the start of the game; apparently the playing field had absorbed alot of water from a storm the previous night which made it very slippery. causing the players to fall 'almost' during each play. but what I don't understand is why was 'only' stanford falling down regularly?,

oregon fell a couple of times,

but ran over the cardinal defense. alot.

I'm thinking it was an equipment issue.

ie; cleats on the footwear, or lack of. length that is.

another thing that was just pissing me off; the receivers weren't catching the ball. mr luck must have hit a dozen of his wide-outs in the hands or near enough to be caught,

and they just dropped the ball. unbelievable.

and lastly; oregon may not have been the better team,

but they were definately the fastest. real fast.

ok then, just one more thing before I go to bed.

andrew luck is a fantastic player/role model,

to wit; he never quit, ever.

I observed him on the sidelines constantly give his team-mates moral support throughout the entire game.

even when the game 'was over' and there was still time on the clock, he was going from player to player giving what appeared to be words of encouragement. he is the real deal. we all left with almost 2min left, so we could beat

some of the traffic.

I just really wish stanford had won.

ok, I'm actually tired now,

I'll check in tomorrow before the sf49ers game.

good nite/good morning...

-continued/11:15p-

good, good, good evening.

we decided to stay one more night here in 'the city',

leaving midday tomorrow.

it's late, and I'm really tired, so I'll update in the morning after I've had a chance to catch up on my sleep. good nite...

-continued/11:45p-

have you ever been so damn tired you can't fall asleep?

that is me this very moment!

even tho I'm still awake,

I'm not in the 'mood' for an update right now.

so I'll listen to sportscenter on the tv and play around

with my site abit.

good nite, for the 2nd time tonite...

14 Nov 2011/9:30a

good morning everyone. I finally got to sleep around 2am,

(I think) and was awaken by the mexi-godfather at 7:30am. I'm still groggy/tired,

but have alot planned today before we leave tonight.

well, the sporting event weekend ended on a very high note with a sf49er victory. I wish the other 2 games had brought a win also, but sometimes things just don't go the way you imagine or hoped they would.

yesterday at candlestick was perfect;

the company, the weather, the crowd, the team, the beer, the win over the new york giants.

I'm not sure which environment was louder; college or pro.

as the game progressed, it was the 9er fans who were more 'into the game' because of the closeness of the contest.

and with the outcome being victorious, it was a much more upbeat atmosphere than the night before.

so after the game, we made our way back to fishermans wharf with some 'new friends' in tow

(no LB, they weren't girls... smartass!!!)

and proceeded to have a wonderful and entertaining time eating, drinking, laughing and telling stories.

we made it back here to the hotel before 11pm in anticipation of getting up early to see some sites and enjoy ourselves without much of a time restraint.

in fact, we are going to head over to the east bay and have lunch at a favorite restaurant of mine that my grandmother had taken me to on numerous occations

when she lived in albany.

'spenger's fresh fish grotto' in berkeley; it's been over 20 years since I've eaten there, but remember the menu/fare being spectacular.

after lunch, I am going to take my 'senior travel mates' on an abbreviated tour of my bay area past.

every so often when I come back here I like to go drive by my grandparents old house, the park I grew up playing at,

and just check-out the surrounding areas.

the grandfathers actually seemed excited when I brought up the notion of us doing this, poor guys having to listen to my stories of days-gone-by.

feel sorry for them this afternoon, I already do.

after my 'kiss tour' (ha ha, very funny grandpa jack),

we were thinking of taking a red/white boat tour,

but decided not to chunk all our time with one event.

so we will probably just come back to this side of the bay nearer to the airport and find 'something to do'

over here. we already have made our 'orders' for seafood shipments home, and even found the time to acquire a large assortment of gifts for 'everyone' back in LA.

speaking of which, I had a very nice convo with my daughter last night; she is having fun while I'm away,

but says she misses her daddy.

my heart just melted when she said that.

I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again;

"I'm owned by this little girl."

alrighty then; I need to start to get ready so we can leave soon. I want to be at the restaurant when it opens for lunch at 11am, and I'm unsure of the travel time to

get there this morning.

will 'try' to update again from sfo while we are

waiting for our flight tonight.

have a great monday everyone!!!

15 Nov 20011/10a

good morning.

well, we made it back home last night around 10:15p.

and after the hugs, face licks (from the dogs, you wierdo's) and sharing some stories,

I finally made it to bed just after midnight.

and now here I sit in the backyard once again surrounded by my pooches, drinking coffee and enjoying the wonderful silence of a beautiful day. well, silence being; the humm of traffic in the far off distance, the constant chirping of birds, the sounds of hoofs pounding the dirt/grass and an occassional disagreement of the pupz.

since my wonderful web-site provider 'vistaprint' was again having issues, I couldn't update from the sfo airport staging area as I had planned.

so here we go;

after checking-out of our hotel, we made our way over to the east side of the bay (where all the po' folk live... lol)

and ate another fantastic meal at a childhood favorite of mine, 'spenger's fresh fish grotto' located a couple miles west

of uc berkeley on university ave.

there are 100's, maybe even 1000's of excellent seafood eateries in the bay area, but because of the history/memories I have of this particular place,

I will always make a special journey here

just to eat a simple meal.

note: the crab cakes are spectacular.

after lunch, we journeyed north on san pablo blvd passing the various apartment complexes my gram-mary

used to live in;

the 'ivy room' in albany

(which was a bar I learned to play billards in as a young teenager, while my grandmother visited with her friends,

I miss that era of my life),

the 'albany bowl' where I once rolled a 281 as a youngster by just pushing the ball down the lane with absolutely no talent what-so-ever.

after boring the seniors with stories of memory-past,

we ascended the hills of richmond, also

known as el cerrito, california.

this area was 'the place' where I have the fondest memories of growing up, and the part of the world where my family is originaly from. my dad and his 3 siblings were born here, went to school thru high school here,

and where my parents met.

as I mentioned before in this forum,

I was a 'high school baby' causing all my grandparents to slightly favor me forever. I guess I never really noticed it growing-up as the rest of my family did, and some of my relatives were jealous of that fact. (in fact, a couple cousins 'still' hold that against me-and I really don't give a fuck!) *ya, I'm being slightly sentimental this morning, as the wave of emotions that rushed thru my soul yesterday was extremely intense; I was grasping my past and embracing my future by sharing so many wonderful stories of my 'old family' with members of my 'new family'.

it's strange how life works sometimes.

so after seeing my grandparents old house, the park that I played in as a child (which is totally different now),

we ventured back to the west bay area to

the san francisco international airport.

oh, while we were driving on 'the old nimitz' which is now refered to as 'the eastshore freeway' (I80/580),

I explained to them that this part of the freeway was once 'double-deckered' and had collasped during

the san francisco quake of 1989. I so remember that very day as if it had just happened. I was living in reno, nv and had just put my dinner tray in front of me to watch game-3 of the oakland a's & sfgiants world series. and boom, the tv screen went blank for a couple minutes.

after turning the channels I was informed that an intense quake had indeed hit the bay area; my first reaction was to call my grandmother (gram-mary) who was still living in albany, ca. but I couldn't get thru until the following day. that was a sad, sad day for 'the bay area'.

alrighty then, I'm finished with memory-lane... for now.

so after we returned our chrysler-300 rental car, go thru the screening process (it was strangely crowded),

we hit a airport bar, watched the packer-viking mnf game until our flight left... and then back home.

(a grandson of the mexi-godfather met us at LAX)

after getting in, I was 'partially briefed' on the weekend activities of my daughter and so forth. I am having a feeling that I may not ever be told of all the 'happenings' around here while I was gone though. no worries.

sometimes what 'you don't know, can't upset you!

jeesh, I just read this mess; sorry for 'rambling-on' today.

I am just still feeling the 'warm-fuzzies' of being back

in my younger life.

so, I've got many errands to attend to today,

issues with some current business ventures including this 'script thing' (it's a mess), and want to take 'all' my kidz to the park, it's beautiful today. I'll check in later.

-continued/10:45a-

hi guys.

I've been trying to post the above update for over a half-hour now, to 'no joy' (top gun talk).

not that this is really a big deal in the trials of my life,

I just hate paying for something and not getting

what I've paid for.

also, I totally understand what 'technical difficulties'

entail and that some things 'of course' can't be helped.

but what really chaps my hide is that when I call

(starting yesterday while I was at sfo) to inquire of the non-working aspects of my 'paid for service', I get the runaround and no direct answers to my questions. finally, after talking with a supervisor, I am told that 'vistaprint' had a major power-outage, and it is going to be 'some time' before normality is restored. ok, shit happens, I'm good with that. but what irks me is the lack of respect I received as a paying customer (who's monthly fees pays the wages of the reps I talked with) not being told why I wasn't getting my services. again, customer service these days; suck ass!!!

-continued/12:45p-

ha ha. I just re-read the above entry and have to say I sounded a little like a disgruntled customer, oh well.

even tho these updates are unable to be posted,

I will just keep them current anyway.

so apparently there was a party here saturday night,

with approximately 25-30 teenagers.

there were also about a dozen adults present,

most I would trust with my life.

I do know there were 'no drugs', 'no alcohol', 'no sex'...

ok, so my permission was not obtained before I left town; but from the way the grandmothers explained it to me;

it just sort of evolved from a normal 8 girl sleepover,

to what it ended up as, a full blown 'non-keggar,

pizza/soda, video game playing, dance party.

and apparently once the 'boys' started to arrive,

(there were 7 vermins in all) grandma palacios called a couple of her sons to help supervise, beautiful!!! but as grandma jo pointed out, everyone was too busy having a great time to cause trouble.

and with the large amount of cars in my drive and on the street, a couple of my nieghbors came over to see what was happening, and to see why they didn't get an invite. apparently not only did my daughter acquire her dad's good looks, but also his knack for throwing a great party.

*ya, like none of you 'never' threw a party while

your parents were outa town?!

I bet the 'jacobson twins' had a hellava party back

in the day, eh girls?

not quite sure if I will mention this new knowledge I have acquired to my kid or not, or see if she brings it up. we'll see.

-continued/5p-

in regards to my above inquiry:

I had picked-up my young, sweet innocent daughter and 3 of her friends from school and was enjoying a soda while they were having a snack at taco bell when suddenly, to my surprise it was mentioned, by Ash.

and the short 'but' direct convo went something like this: Ash: "daddy I think I need to tell you something."

me: "yes?"

Ash: "please don't be mad at me, but I kinda had a party at the house saturday night."

me: (just looking at her)

Ash: (starting to talk fast) "I had my friends over, and then we called a couple more because grandma said it was ok, then more showed than we invited and two had their boyfriends and then some boys came to meet one of the guys who were already there and I didn't know what to do,

and then..."

me: (as I hold up my hand to stop her, and smile) "I know"

at that moment all four girls look at one another in pure amazement.

me: "that's why I have security camera's 'in the house." again they look at one another and almost in harmony say; "duuhhh!"

Ash: are you mad?"

me: did anyone go upstairs that shouldn't have?"

Ash: "no"

me: "did anyone go outside and disappear?"

Ash: "no"

me: "did you maintain control at all times?"

Ash: "yes dad, I so promise."

me: "were the dogs fed junk food?"

Ash: "um, well, maybe a little, but I told the guys to stop." me: "did you kiss anyone?"

immediate laughter errupts from the other 3 girls,

and my innocent little girl's face turns beet-red.

me: "nevermind, I don't want to know."

Ash: "are you mad daddy?"

me: "at what?, the fact you had a party,

or you did your last name?"

nervous laughter from all four girls.

Ash: "either?"

me: "ask next time... for the party, k?"

Ash: (HUGE smile) "k daddy, I love you." (kisses me)

one of her friends: "damn daddy kiss, can you adopt me?" everyone laughs.

ok, so we are all getting ready for another ucla basketball game at the LA sports arena tonite; hopefully we win,

AND there is more than 100 fans in the stands.

(a slight exaggeration... slight)

grandpa 'and' grandma palacios are still here and will be going along with some of their family meeting us there. grandpa jack is staying home with grandma jo; but Ash is again going and taking 4 of her friends.

no tailgating tonite, will wait until a weekend day game

to drive the rv.

alright, will try posting this again before we leave, hope all of you had a fantastic tuesday.

16 Nov 2011/7a

after getting in around 11p last night I wasn't really in the mood for my thoughts to be expressed via this forum.

ugh! I am just so discouraged by the facts coming to light not only concerning the current dismal ucla basketball season, but the over-all ucla athletic department.

too many man-boys being led/supervised by non-leaders and coddled too often for their sporting influence

representing the university.

yes, I realize that with 'everything else' going on right

this very moment here in the united states/world,

this should actually be the least of my worries.

but it still affects me.

ok then, quite a few of you have emailed me about my opinion(s) concerning these 'occupy' movements occurring throughout the country.

most of you have expressed your beliefs and thoughts on this subject, even sending me links to your blogs and

internet scribs describing 'your' opinions.

I try to read as many of your postings as I can, but if I read them all, I would never get outa the house.

almost all of you blame a corrupt government whose involvement with wallstreet insiders started the ball rolling towards the countries current financial demise.

I am in total agreement with that thought process,

but I am very hesitant to blame a particular political party. now, I normally 'do not' consider discussing my political views (or lack of) in this type of expression posting.

but because 'so many' of you have inquired about

'what I think', I will just touch this subject rather lightly;

not because I am afraid of insulting any of you or perhaps you will stop visiting my site here. not at all.

I just do not feel it to be appropriate for me to state something as 'known knowledge' when I really have no in-sight what-so-ever as to what the fuck is really happening. what I do know is our country is currently in a state of shock, and may take years or maybe even decades to recover.

but know this;

nothing will ever be the way it was ten years ago,

too much damage has been done.

so, after reading alot of articles, soaking up knowledge from a very wide assortment of different people's opinions,

I have come to a some-what minor conclusion;

it's everyone's fault.

it's rather odd that one person blames the other,

all political parties slam their rivals,

and how current leaders in power-positions will project that the problems exsisted before they ever

assumed their new duties and resposibilities.

let me give some examples concerning our current housing delima that help cause the abrupt esculation of foreclosures that basically started a downward spiral of our countries current financial woes.

you have to go back to the mid 1990's when life was all about 'greed, power and wealth'. people lived way above their means of surviving, and assumed mass debt doing so.

one of the biggest villians in this housing collaspe fiasco is the consumer, you and I. we all wanted more, more, more.

a bigger house, a bigger yard, a bigger pool... whatever.

we applied for property loans we knew we shouldn't have qualified for, but we had an eager accomplice ready to assist us with 'blurring' the appropriate paper work; the gargoyles sitting on their perches looking for their next eager victim: the real estate agent.

(having a girlfriend in the real estate industry during that specific time-frame, I saw it all.

and the stories I could tell... oh boy)

the false paystubs, the cover-up of current debt ratio, the greed of commisions by felon-to-be agents,

and those fucking 'arms',

better known as adjustable rate mortgages.

that is what sealed the deal, the arms!

having people sign a 5yr 'arm', and telling them that they 'will' qualify for even a better rate once their 'arm' expires; lies, lies, lies.

buyers were conned by agents, banks, developers, and even themselves into believing they could afford something they never could.

and once these loans came up for renewal,

starting in 2002-2006,

the bubble of good fortune burst and the domino effect was all ready beginning to show it's torid face.

I believe that the main reason we are where we are as a country in distress started silently with the placement of these horrid loans being approved and accepted.

there are of course other elements involved that help fuel the fire; but when someone's house payment triples or worse, everything else suffers. no frivolous spending, no new car every two-three years. no extrodinary vacations,

everything comes to an abrupt halt.

and when you lose your home, you feel worthless, weak and ashamed. you want to start over, you move,

and in some cases you just give up.

I realize that this is just my opinion,

and I'm good with that. yes, I was raised as a republican, but that doesn't mean I will lay blame on the dems.

we are 'all' americans, and must share the responsibility of our country's condition.

is obama to blame? NO! gw bush? NO! clinton? NO!

maybe all of them as a 'whole' for looking the other way when things got tough, but as individuals? NO!

yes, I believe there is mass corruption in the government ranks, but there always has been, and there always will be, ALWAYS!!!

so, that is my opinion, and I'm sticking to it...

-continued/10a-

ok, so my ealier entry has yet to post,

but vistaprint has assurred me that once I hit publish,

it will eventually be published, we'll see.

anyway, I am about to 'ready myself' for a 'lunch date' with someone I have previously seen in a romantic environment some time ago. I got a call from her this morning telling me she is town again and would like to 'get together',

I'm good with that.

I'm not really sure what my 'take is' on exploring avenues for a serious relationship,

there are so many factors to take into consideration;

with my daughter being the most important.

no matter how 'attracted' I am to someone, how awesome we get along, our 'past history';

if I don't think you would make a 'great mother'

(fuck that step-mother shit) you and I will, never, ever be.

no worries, I think there is indeed someone for me somewhere. I'm just getting rather discouraged

trying to find her.

oh well, life is day to day; an exciting adventure.

I'll see ya guys later, gotta shower.

-continued/9:15p-

apparently my web-site is once again being published properly, and I know this by the amount of 'replies' from the entry of 7am that are currently littering my inbox.

truth be told,

I've only recently scanned over a few of your responses before begining this update,

and from what I've read so far, is favorable.

but let me say that I did not give my opinion above to hold an open forum for purposes of a discussion concerning this particular subject matter.

I just wanted to express myself because the subject was brought up consistantly in a majority of your emails.

my opinion is just that, my opinion.

just as your opinion, is your opinion.

so, let me move on to more boring things.

my lunch with madam x today was fun, exciting

and stress releaving.

and the meal was pretty damn good also.

jeesh. just when I think I have a grasp on reality and what my current frame of mind is, something 'like this happens.'

I need to just move on from this subject.

Ash stayed after school today with friends for study hall,

and cheer squad practice.

I picked her up at 7p and we went to dinner

(just the both of us) to talk about some things

that are coming up that will be affecting the both of us.

her mother coming to stay with us for the next week was

at the top of my list.

a friend of mine that I have known for over 20yrs now told me that maybe having Ash' mom staying at the house with us during thanksgiving week may confuse my daughter into thinking her 'mom and dad' may end up together.

nope, no confussion here.

in fact, grandpa jack and grandma jo seem to have more of an opinion about their daughter staying here

than Ash and I do. with that being said; the grandparents are planning on going down to san diego early saturday morning and staying until the day before thanksgiving to continue the search for a house, and to also give the '3 of us our space' to get to know one another. whatever works I guess.

I do not foresee any type problem, but if one arises,

there are numerous hotels nearby.

(and I can be checked-in to one within seconds... ha) seriously though, I really am looking forward to having my daughter's mother here. I think it is very important to have a relationship (of sorts) with the mother of my child.

and as I told her tonight, there is no reason we can not

all get along wonderfully. minus the intimacy of course.

my kid laughed when I said that.

so after dinner, we went to a walmart super store

and did some shopping.

picking up some groceries, a dvd player for the kitchen (ya, I know... why?), a couple cute t-shirts for Ash, and some new christmas decorations. I can't believe that the stores already have christmas stuff on display. remember not so long ago when the day after thanksgiving was the day you went to the mall just to see the decorations?

shit man, pretty soon the damn stores will start their holiday decor routine the day after the 4th of july.

so after getting home from walmart, we took the pupz on a much needed walk thru the neighborhood and that pretty much brings me to this exact moment of me plucking away on this keyboard, having a scotch, and listening to grandpa jack talk to the tv while he watches the latest episode

of survivor: south pacific. grandma jo and Ash are up in her room doing... something. and my flea-bags are scattered thru-out the house accordingly.

so enough boredom idle chit-chat for one day;

I'm really thinking of getting to bed early tonite,

maybe within the hour. hope you all had a great wednesday, and I'll be 'seeing you' tomorrow.

good nite and sweet dreams.  

Happy 50th Birthday

to:

Lisa Mann

of

redmond, washington

17 Nov 2011/7a

good morning.

beautiful day starting out here this morn.

not much will be going on today,

I'm thinking again of 'possibly' unpacking the boxes that are still in the garage that have been there since my move.

I can't even remember what is still in those boxes,

but if I have gone 'without' for this long, maybe I just need to think about just getting rid of this stuff.

I am a little bit of a 'pack rat' and hate throwing stuff away, especially things of my past.

but there may be people who can use the things I just have stored away. I did the garage sale thing once after my divorce, I'll never do that again. too many people just show up to snoop and go thru your stuff.

it was strange having complete strangers making penny-bids on items you once held important to you.

so who knows what I'll do with what-ever is in those boxes. oh, real quik before I sign-off;

the 'toys-for-tots' campaign is almost ready to start this holiday season. if you feel as if you can give a new, un-played with toy, contact your local marine corps recruiters office for information on where their drop-off location would be. also, local news stations normally will have a collection area for this wonderful holiday tradition.

ok guys, gotta go. have a great thursday.

-continued/6p-

I always thought unpacking stuff was alot more

enjoyable than boxing it up.

I guess it normally is unless you don't know what to do with the items you are taking out of the boxes.

bedding, towels and a variety of knick-knacks was the majority of contents, and also had some 'kitchen gear' still waiting to be put away properly.

so, question: how many of you (like me) just don't like to get rid of anything?

for example; I have this 20yr old set of magnalite professional pots and pans

(the heavy duty hard anodized, not the thin alum-brushed) and even though I now use calphalon, I keep these old pots/pans like they are trophies or something.

they are actually in outstanding condition for being as old as they are; probably because they've been stored

for the past 5-7 years.

I just can't seem to want to rid myself of them.

so they are still packed/boxed and in the garage.

I started with about 2 dozen boxes this morning,

and have 'only' 6 left.

have been thinking about getting a over-head storage rack system that allows you to keep your gear where it belongs, off the floor and out of the way.

I'm reluctant to mention this outloud though, as the mexi-godfather would be here tomorrow to install it.

I actually didn't finish going thru all the boxes until just about an hour ago, and as soon as I finish this

update will be cleaning myself up for dinner,

as we are going to a local bbq place.

when my kid got home this afternoon she came out to the mess I had created and reminded me that tomorrow was her last day of school before fall-break.

an entire week off for thanksgiving, it must be nice.

I only ever got thursday and friday... jeesh.

I'm not sure what our plans will be next week,

but I'm sure we will be busy enough,

especially with her mom being here.

ok then, I best be getting ready before I get in trouble.

I may check-in later... 

18 Nov 2011/9a

good morning, it's friday... and an exciting one!

sorry about the lack of an entry last night and not

'tucking you in',

I was just exhasted after returning from dinner, and went to bed immediately after taking the kidz for a walk.

as far as dinner is concerned; we again went to a restaurant

that grandma jo had read about in the LA times,

and 'this time' it was actually as advertised.

'wood ranch' is somewhat known for it's grilled meat with a garnish of a variety of bbq sauces.

as for myself; I rather enjoy bbq steak, chicken, etc. but on the norm only with a rub of some sort, not sauce.

but the hickory bbq on my baby back ribs was extremely tasty, and not laden with a vinegar base as

others I have tasted.

also, if you ever do get down this way and decide to give this place a try, have the peanut coleslaw and the 'mega-huge' loaded baked potato... both are awesome.

after we all rolled out of the eatery into the car,

we drove to one of the local theatres and purchased advanced tickets for todays showings of twight: breaking dawn for Ash and her friends. and apparently, we weren't the only ones doing so, as one screen is already sold-out for all of today's showings; wow.

as far as my plans for today go;

I have some appointments I need to attend to and have some errands to run before Ash' mom arrives tomorrow morning.

so I won't be able to 'update' until later this afternoon,

or beyond.

so I wish you all a wonderful friday wherever you are.

*also, I do have some information concerning 'toys for tots' after speaking yesterday with a couple usmc recruiters in the immediate area and also a very nice young lady

(a navy/reserve LT- I won't hold that against her tho... ha)

but will relay this info later after I get the entire scoop.

-continued/8:30p-

well it's friday night, I'm kid-less, and I'm home by 8p;

oh my, what an exciting life I live!

actually I did have an offer for a 2nd dinner, but I really just wanted to come home fairly early tonite and just relax.

after I finish this entry, I think I'll pop some corn and then watch a movie; I've been in the mood for the flick 'j.f.k.'

and since we're approaching the anniversary,

it'll be nostalgic of me to do so.

my day was busy for me in relative terms,

but kinda boring to explain.

a doctors visit, a therapy session, a quick lunch at a deli (the prosciutto and swiss was awesome),

a costco AND wal*mart super store run, school shuttle and finally pizza dinner with Ash and her friends.

after dinner with the girls, I dropped them off at the theatre to watch 'breaking dawn part 1' and I ventured to a local watering hole for happy hour.

but as it turned out,

I wasn't in the mood for socializing and 'crowd noise' so I left, picked up some ice cream for the elders and boom...

here I am.

I have the movie 'get shorty' on the tv right now and am constantly losing my train-of-thought watching it.

do you ever watch a movie, but not the main characters?,

I do this all the time, always looking beyond the main scene and notice the background action movement.

ya, I'm strange sometimes.

grandpa jack and grandma jo are going to san diego for the next couple of days or so;

and Ash' mom arrives tomorrow mid-morning.

I expect we (Ash, her mom and I) will be doing something this weekend, I just am not sure what yet.

I asked my daughter if she wanted to have some alone time with her mom right away,

and she was very adamant with her negative response.

I'm guessing that Ash has a couple more years before she and her mother have a somewhat normal relationship again, alot of past memories are still very current

in my daughters mind.

but she doesn't want her mother to be 'alone' during the holidays, so be it.

sometimes you should give someone a 2nd chance,

they actually may surprise you.

alrighty then, I'm watching this movie more than I am concentrating on my thoughts, so I will just stop now.

this page is taking forever to load again, so I will continue this on a fresh page tomorrow.

I hope you all had an enjoyable friday and have an even better weekend, we'll 'talk' again soon. g'nite...

continued on my thoughts.13.2...

G.A.'HOLLYWOOD'KISS