I’ve come to a conclusion…as I approach what will be my 37th trip ’round the big old yellow ball in the sky…that every day is going to be SOMETHING.  Who knows?  Dunno.  But I will come up with an idea…let me keep writing.

There is method to my madness.  (Note to Peanut Gallery:  HUSH!  You know who you are)

Today I decided that it was Cuban Dinner Saturday.  So I did what I think I do best.  (Note to Kristin:  No…not THAT!)  I cook.  And any man who can attest to being able to hold my fancy for long, hasn’t remained thin whilst in said company.

So yes…Cuban Dinner Saturday.  Replete with picadillO (Carlos likes to make sure I am grammatically correct in my latin diction), congris, croquetas de jamon, yuca, plantanitos, cuban crackers y ensalada.  (And because for some strange reason…they, meaning most Cubans I’ve known, use correct Cuban terminology on everything…except crackers.  Why?  Dunno.)  We even had little plantain chips.  My Abuela would be very proud.

And probably happy cause she just got home from a cruise with my Abuelo, Tia Julie, Tio Juan, Pop & Mom.  So she wouldn’t have to cook.    I love my Abuela.

Dessert was Banana Creme Pie, courtesy of Marie Callendars (I miss living on the West Coast sometimes….I said some.)

Like I said…this coming November 25th will officially mark my 37th trip.  They seem to get closer & closer to one another each year.  Why is that?  Dunno.

And I ask, why is all the rum gone?  Because we indeed have lack of rum in said abode…and I just thought of the conversation I was having with Dale yesterday.  Why am I thinking of it today?  Dunno.  (Besides…I love it when Jack Sparrow says it.  ::SIGH::  Johnny Depp.  Who woulda thunk from 21 Jump Street to a Pirate.  Weird how the gears in life work out sometimes, right?)

I’m telling you…there IS method to my madness.  Yes, there is Kris…hush already.  Before I have to duct-tape you.  And I’m a Southerner so you KNOW its in my tool box.  And glove compartment.  And kitchen junk drawer.  And on my dresser.  And in the laundry room.  Yeah…I think that’s about it.

Its been an arduous year in the life of Me.  6 bouts of pneumonia, 2 surgical procedures, 4 hospital vacations, 10 hospital visits, probably about 100 meds filled and now 1 nasty case of bronchitis.  Did I mention the 2 near brushes with death?

Yeah…I’m a maverick.  And no, I’m not stealing it from the McCain ‘09 Campaign.  Just read along more & learn.

I’ve always lived each day to the satisfaction of someone else.  My mother.  My brother.  My sister.  My Dad.  My Pop.  The kids.  The ex.  Old bosses.  The mechanic.  Former In-Laws.  Friends.  Bill collectors.  You follow the wash.

Being the eldest in my household, and being the daughter of my parents…there came a certain level of responsibility & duty.  And while I shirked my share of it from time to time…I’ve always come back to toe the line.  And somewhere along the way….I lost that joie de vivre that made me unmistakably me.

And with all I’ve endured this year….I miss me.  And as Cache Seel just so eloquently put it, “Life sucks.  But the alternative is unacceptable”.  (Why yes, my dear Discovery Channel viewer friend, I AM watching Deadliest Catch right now, thanks for asking!)

So here I am….full circle.  Back to my original thought and main post (Yes…I have gone off on a tangent…no, don’t look at me like that).  I’m trying to make everyday SOMETHING.  Be it a meal.  A way to clean the house.  A music groove.  A movie marathon.  A channel watching.  Weather chasing.  Read a Blue Book.  An indoor picnic.  Whatever.

And since I’m still in a cooking mood…tomorrow is SOUTHERN FISH-FRY SUNDAY.  Yes…I realize I’ve done lots of fried shit this weekend.  I also drank Pabst reminiscing about my Dad, and stealing beers from him & my Grandpa & Uncle’s while they didn’t know I was doing it.  Did I mention I was like 4?  Yeah…I was cool even back then.  And I’m back on the yoga in the morning.  I promise. With my mother coming up here in a few weeks…I don’t need no shit about the size of my ass when she first walks through the door.  I still know who to be afraid of in this world.  And her initals are:  ETM (remember…she did marry Pop…and now she’s a Martinez)

I guess I’m sitting here cracking jokes & shit…but still trying to tell you dear reader, to make everyday memorable.

Even if it is just a bit silly to those around you, make everyday count.

…to my friend, my mentor, my father, my Boss.

Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night.

I miss you like hell.

OK, so things here in the hacienda aren’t back to the status quo.  DC is still unemployed (and I’m terrified about what will happen if he doesn’t procure employment & October gets here…that money runs out), and I’m waiting to hear back on my financial aid.  I filed about 5 days late because I was in the hospital…again.  And when I was sent my verification packet, I did all that & sent it in within the allotted time.

Having checked on my FA every day since about mid-June, I’ve got nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.

Now…I’m panicking.  Fall ‘09 semester is rapidly approaching and I’ve got nothing to pay my classes with.  And the fact that I had to drop all my courses this past Spring, they’re being assholes.  They don’t know IF they’ll put a hold on my classes (which means I may lose cause this campus is now getting crowded) and IF they approve my FA, I’m going to have to pay out of pocket for the Spring & wait for a reimbursement once all the Fall grades post.

It doesn’t matter that I was on the Dean’s List, doesn’t matter that I was recommended for the honors program.  They’re just pissed that I dropped in Spring & they don’t care that I almost took the “long dirt nap”……twice.

Considerate of them to be so understanding, huh?

On the medical front, my MD is battling my health insurance for everything.  They don’t want to cover my reduction, they don’t want to cover a new MRI of my lower back, they didn’t cover my last visit to the PT (which I have to go see because its part of the recommendation process).

I will applaud myself because I haven’t been back in the hospital since May.  Which is wonderful.  Sad that I’m excited over that.

Otherwise, kids are back in school & loving it.  And my parents will be here sometime in August (which I am SERIOUSLY dreading).

That’s the update & I am out of here.

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UPDATE: Just received word from my FA counselor that they’re going to hold my classes & I should report to school on August 17th!!  AND the insurance thing is being looked into by the HR contact for Union Pacific.  WOOHOO!!  Maybe things ARE looking up!!

Since I don’t want to post about all the crappity-crap-crap going on in my life any longer (because it seems the more I bitch about it, the more it seems to pile up…seriously), I’m going to do one of them answer quiz things you find all over Facebook.

Yeah…I know….boring.  But the alternative is even worse.  So here we go.

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1.)  Seven states you’ve been to?
FL, CA, NV, NC, AZ, TX, LA

2.)  Six things you’ve done today.
put crap in the dryer, put in a load of laundry, got Jake dressed, brushed Lea’s hair, brushed Jake’s hair, logged into Facebook

3.)  Five favorite things in no order
my friends, my kids, history, facebook, my cell phone

4.)  Four people you last talked to
Mom, Pop, Bubba, DC

5.)  Three wishes?
for DC to find a good job, my FA to get approved TOTALLY, to feel better mentally

6.)  Two things you want to be when you grow up?
history professor, egyptian paleoanthropologist/archaeologist

7.)  Has anyone ever tried to ruin a relationship you were in?
Yes

8.)  This survey gets a little personal .. can you handle it?
Sure

9.)  When were you last picked up from the ground?
It has to be a while now.  I think it was when I fell on the floor in the garage.

10.)  When did you last go in a car with a boy/girl?
Yesterday.  Dale drove me to my PT appointment.

11.)  When were you on the phone last and with who?
The other day & it was with both my mom & pop

12.)  What are you excited for?
Well, I was excited for the upcoming school semester…but FA is being stupid.

13.)  Are you scared to fall in love?
Nope.

14.)  How fast does your mood change?
Too quickly.

15.)  I bet you miss someone today?
I do.

16.)  Can you honestly say you’re okay right now?
If by OK you mean, being broke, having only 1 car that works currently, not knowing when my FA will get approved, wondering how much longer it’ll be before DC finds a new job…then yes, I’m OK.

17.)  What were you doing at 4am?
I think I got up to get a drink.

18.)  Where do you live?
Raleigh, NC.

19.)  What do you drive?
A 2000 Nissan Quest

20.)  Are you a jealous person?
Nope.  I feel you can do what you want.  Its your life & you’ll have to live with the repercussions of your actions.

21.)  What are you listening to?
The ending credit music to Harry Potter.

22.)  Would you go in public looking like you do right now?
Yeah, but I’m pretty sure I’d get arrested, since I don’t have any pants on.

23.)  Is there someone in your life that can always make you smile?
My kids.

24.)  What’s something you really want right now?
More than I want to go back to school, I want DC to get a job.  I feel better when he feels better.  And right now we’re both caught in a vicious cycle of making the other feel worse.

25.)  Are you slowly drifting away from someone?
Yes & no.

26.)  Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?
Depends on my mood.

27.)  When is the last time you saw your sister(s)?
Like 5 years now?  We don’t see one another because she lives in Miami.  But she’s also dating an incredible butthead, so even if I WERE in Miami, I wouldn’t see her.

28.)  Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
Oh yeah!  Famous:  Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio.  Non-famous:  Todd, my niece Amber & my great-nephew Julian.

29.)  Where did you get the shirt you’re wearing right now?
Old Navy.  That’s where I get most of the shit I wear.

30.)  What are you doing this week?
Being depressed, playing Sims, trying to clean the house, go bitch to Sprint

31.)  Do you put ketchup on top of your french fries or on the side?
On the side.

32.)  How many 20 dollar bills do you have on you right now?
None.

33.)  How is your relationship with your mother?
Dysfunctional is a good term for our relationship.  Tense is another good way to describe our relationship.

34.)  Does anybody hate you?
Not that I know of.

35.)  Ever been out past your curfew?
I was known to ALWAYS bust my curfew. 

36.)  Anyone of the opposite sex been on your mind lately?
Yep.  But not in that sex/love way.  Cause I’ve been thinking about my Bubba

37.)  Are you nice to everyone?
I try to be.

38.)  Do you like funny people or serious people?
Both.

39.)  What is your biggest regret?
I’m going to plead the 5th on this one.

40.)  Would you ever date someone who was gorgeous but they had a conceited attitude?
Nope.

41.)  Expecting something to change in the next month?
I’m hoping something will change, but I’m not holding my breath.

42.)  Yesterday night, what did you do?
Pretty much cried myself to sleep.

43.)  What is your favorite color?
Black…it matches my mood.

44.)  If you were kicked out of your current residence whom would you call?
My mother….unfortunately.

Everything in life is cyclical.  Its a proven fact.  Climate change, religion, fashion, etc.

So here I sit.  On the eve of my children’s first “OFFICIAL”  concert, it takes me back to my old high school days.  Billy Idol, Whitesnake, Bad Company, Right Said Fred (yes…I actually went to that one, I am ashamed to say…and some of my Face Booking friends did too…LOL!), The Monkees, Weird Al Yankovic, Wham! (another of those WTF moments now that I’m older…), Chicago & Zeppelin (which I don’t actually remember, since I was an infant at the time…proof positive that my mother & father are both morons) & not to mention countless others that have come between infancy & now.

And tomorrow the kids will be introduced to something far cooler than Wham!;  That was my first REAL concert I did, that I really, really, REALLY wanted to go to & desperately tried to win tickets from Y-100 for days on end…only to find out that my mother got the tickets for us to go with Dale (not DC, but my other Dale friend) at Bobby Maduro Stadium.

While I was as happy as a june-bug to see Katrina & The Waves along with Wham!, I’ll admit…I’m a far cooler Mom than my own mother (and there are countless of you out there who can attest to this theory!)

Living in Raleigh not only gave us the opportunity to live in one of the most historic parts of the United States (13 colonies ROCK!), its greatly improved the children’s educations (and lets face it…you can get a better education reading billboards along the interstate than you can in most Southern California school systems), it will help with their future schooling (as we have some of the BEST colleges all conveniently located within like, 30 minutes of one another!), they also offer a wicked, FREE concert series in the summer down at Moore Square Park.

Now I know that there will be like TONS of people there & its supposed to be about a million degrees, but that will not deter me on my quest to educate my children in the School of Rock-n-Roll.  (See…I’m a COOL MOM)

While they will be introduced to some local bands & such, which is always a good thing because EVERYONE should have a diversified musical profile, the headliner is none other than Joan Jett & The Blackhearts.  Yes, they will be rocking out to “I Love Rock N’ Roll”,  “Crimson and Clover”, “I Hate Myself for Loving You” & “Bad Reputation”, just to name a few.  The kids have been rocking out to “Bad Reputation” since its on Rock Band & cannot WAIT to experience it all LIVE & IN PERSON.

It’s kinda cool, watching my progeny follow in my footsteps.  And tomorrow, they will come out tired, sunburned & hopefully extremely satisfied.

LONG LIVE ROCK-N-ROLL!!