Ms. Know It All

Hello!  It's Friday...  I should be in a good mood.  The week is over, my boss is gone, I have the office to myself, and there is a large coffee at my side... WRONG..  Ms. Know It All is here!!   Oh, if I only could make an escape...

Have you ever had the misfortune of working with one of those types?  Well, this Ms. Know It All was hired as a temporary "floating" employee.  Every other Friday, and basically whenever our receptionist calls in sick, and there is no other clerical to cover, (which happens a little too often--but that is another story) Ms. Know It All is sent down to take over.  After working in her position for what has been approximately 3 months, she KNOWS EVERYTHING about the department, and has made her opinion known that EVERYTHING is done wrong.  She has questioned every clerical job duty; and is also now an expert of criminal law.  They might as well hire her as a probation officer, or better yet, promote her to the Chief of Probation chair!!  

Today, I am the only clerical besides her.  Today, I must retrieve calendars, deliver documents to the court..etc..etc... AND be at Ms. Know It All's beckon call if she has a question.  Her questions are never short and sweet.  If she doesn't have a question, she has a comment, or she has questions or issues of how things have been done in this department for the last 40 something years..  You would think she wouldn't have any questions since she is KNOWS IT ALL, but she does.  Because of her ALL KNOWING attitude, she often keeps clients waiting at the window, while she goes off on the phone with questions, or giving ill advised advice to the public.  She also has barked at clients, and basically has been quite rude with them.  Okay, so they are criminals, BUT that does not give you an excuse to demean them further.  A majority of these people have mental issues, and I would not be surprised if one of them just "snapped" at her.  (Quietly I am hoping that this may happen.) 

She has worked in other county departments, and left as an "expert" in all of those positions.  Of course, surprisingly, shenever stayed at any of those positions for very long...  I wonder why..  Frankly, this woman makes me nervous, and I do not feel comfortable working with her.  It's 8:30, and I've been keeping my distance from the lobby area as much as possible.  The last time she was here, she changed the lighting in the lobby and in the receptionist office, making it so blindly bright, you could actually see the faces of our clients...eeek!!!  (Not a pretty picture).  She also attempted to move furniture.  Okay lady, you are here one day every other week, what gives you the right to move and change lighting in another person's work area? 

                                                  

She frightens me. 

I just got back from helping Ms. Know It All..  Oh Lord, it's going to be a long day... I don't even want to tell what I was helping her with...   

Something to think about...

I am happy to report that the neighbors that were vacationing in Lebanon are safely back home.  The oldest child, Stone, came by to the house today on his little motor scooter and spoke to my daughter.  He wanted to tell her how much fun he had while on the cruise ship that took him home.  Apparently, however, he wasn't ready to come home yet; he was having too much fun in war torn Lebanon.  I guess the turmoil over there really didn't effect him, so for this I'm happy and  glad he and his family are back in the neighborhood--I was really getting worried.  One more thing to cross off my worry list! 

I came across the story on AOL today; please read:  http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/irish-worker-finds-ancient-book-of/20060725162309990024?ncid=NWS00010000000001

I just find it a little creepy that this book was found so very recently.  It makes you think..  At least, it makes me think.  Israel is God's country.  I think someone is trying to send a message...

Last Night's Concert

As mentioned in my previous entry, last night we went to the Jason Mraz concert in beautiful Saratoga.  For ones who are unfamiliar to Saratoga, let’s just say that it’s a very lovely little town, surrounded by oak trees, and beautiful gated mansions all in a row.  It’s the “Beverly Hills” of the Silicon Valley.  The concert was held at Villa Montalvo---a beautiful spot, up on a hill, surrounded by shady trees.  For anyone who has heard of the place, and wondered about it, I would absolutely recommend going there to see an outside concert.  The outside stadium seating was beautiful, and pretty much every seat was a good one.  

 

The weather yesterday evening was a comfortable 85 degrees; considerably nice, after three days of blistering 104 degrees weather.  Call me crazy, but I wore nylons—I was trying to avoid panty lines, okay?  I felt a little out of place for most of the crowd was wearing shorts, but my daughter insisted I wear this bright pink dress that has been hanging in my closet since 1999.  According to her I needed to stand out as the “Mom in Pink”.  If you are familiar with Jason Mraz, he calls himself, the “Geek In Pink.” Anyways, despite by one may consider my nylon faux paux, I  had a truly enjoyable evening listening to Jason Mraz and he band playing acoustic under a beautiful summer sky.  He does have an impressive voice.  He and his background/bongo drum singer, “Toca” voices sounded like velvet—if velvet could make a sound—soft and smooth--I guess I'm a fan!

 

After the concert, of course my daughter wanted to see ifshe could meet Mr. Mraz in person.  Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, and it was a little disappointing, but we did meet his 2nd hand man, Toca , among other characters..  One of the stagehands bore a striking resemblance to Rod Stewart—I mean, EVERYTHING, the hair, the nose….only younger-the resemblance was uncanny.  After the concert, as we were passing the stage that was being cleared off by the crew, we saw “Rod” on stage.  My daughter told him, “Hey, you look a lot like Rod Stewart!”  He smiled and chuckled.  

<---I found this picture from his website!  Yes, there is Rod!  He was wearing this outfit last night. 

 

While waiting for the appearance of meet and greet of Jason Mraz, which never happened, Rod came on walking back and forth.  “Viva Rod Stewart!” I exclaimed.  He looked around, and of course I ducked behind a bush.  Each time he passed by my daughter would sing a Rod Stewart song, “If you think I’m sexy….”  He just continued to smile and turn around to look who was singing.  Surprising enough, he decided to sit about a foot away from me, and he took a smoke and chatted with two other shady looking people with stage passes.  At that point, I wanted to pee my pants.  “Lizzy, take a picture…take a picture!”  I whispered in her ear.  Of course I didn’t want Rod to know…  I mean, it would be rude to just interrupt him and ask to take a picture, but at the same time, it must have been obvious to him that we were calling him Rod Stewart throughout the night.  It was almost as if he liked the attention if you know what I mean.  I have a few pictures of me laughing with a profile of man in the background.  Very silly, but pretty funney.

 

From where we were sitting we could see Jason Mraz and some other band members eating pizza inside the Montalvo Villa.  It was a little disheartening that he didn’t choose to come down and greet some of his fans.  There were only about 25 people at the most…most teenage girls, and a few mothers and fathers lingering about trying to lure their children back into the free shuttle and go back home.  I will say that Toca, was so nice, and made a point of meeting and greeting everyone who was outside waiting.  He even let people take pictures, and we do have pictures with Toca.  What a guy.  It was interesting seeing some of the people shmoozing it up with the guy.  One guy asked about his tattoos, and Toca made sure that he and his two daughters got passes to see Mraz.  Too bad I didn’t bring up the tattoos.  I also saw a few girls talking sweetly to some other band members, and a security guard.  Of course these “girls” were, lets just say dressed a little, um…well…scantly?  I don’t want to say “skanky,” but may be that is the word I need to use. 

 

   <---Toca!

Finally, security announced that the last shuttle was leaving, and that because of the curfew, everyone needed to leave the premises.  There was Jason, next to “Rod Stewart” (how I wish we could have spoken to him when we had a chance!) talking away in plain view on a balcony overlooking the few of us left.  The She-Man security guard told us all to leave.  At that moment a sweet looking teenage girl broke out in song, and sang a small little song that was obviously made up on the spot, but it was sung really impressively.  In the song she asked for a hug because she had to wake up early for summer school.  As she sung, there was complete silence from the balcony.  Mraz came up to the edge of the balcony, and blew her a kiss, and sang “have a good day at summer school.”  To say the least it was a disappointing moment, and a huge let down.  Poor girl.  My daughter was extremely disappointed.  “I don’t know if I like him anymore,” she murmured.  “What a douche!”  Don't worry Jason; Lizzy still loves you.  She is determined to see you again, and she knows that one day, one way, the two of you will finally meet! 

 

We both walked out and waited for hubby to pick us up from the grand villa of Montalvo.  We could still hear Mraz and his friends talking away, as we sat on the grounds trying to take picturesque pictures, trying to avoid the shuttle buses.  Lizzy ran through the sprinklers.  The night wasn’t a total loss.  We still have some nice pictures with Toca and even a lovely profile of “Rod”.  I shall post these soon.    

 

             

 

pictures courtesy of google..  will post my own later... 

Another HOT night, in a cold town...

This weekend went by like a blur..  A blur of heat.  Saturday, it was around 102 degrees, Sunday, 104..  I don’t remember it being so hot.  It’s not like we live way in the valley, only about 40 minutes from the Monterey and San Francisco Bay..  Wheewww!  I tried to pull some weeds the other night, and hubby looked at me like I had gone mad.  Okay, I’ll wait for the hottest day of the year to end, and pull some next weekend.  If we had a POOL there would be a lot less weeds to pull.  Hubby is in agreement.  We’ll look into it later this year of the possibilities of getting a real pool.  Hooray!  The baby pool was nice though.  I enjoyed squirting the kids with the garden hose, as I washed off the deck from spider webs and dirt.  I sat with my feet in the baby pool and watched my youngest blow bubbles in his diaper. 

 Tonight, I’m going to see another Jason Mraz concert.  My daughter is in love with Jason Mraz.  I don’tmind going, in fact I’m looking forward to it… I enjoy his music.  It’s not the other crazy music my daughter enjoys listening too—no Mindless Self-Indulgence, or Lovemaker music..  Thank God.  My daughter has graduated from her Spice Girls, Back Street Boys concerts to folk music; I will not complain.  The concert is at Montalvo, up in Saratoga—very fancy, fancy.  It is an outdoor concert, so I’m prepared to wear something cool.  I’m sure it will be in the 90’s. 

 

                     

 

I’m at work right now, waiting for the minutes to forge ahead.  The temperature here in Santa Cruz is a lovely 79 degrees, and I know by the time I reach home, it will be near 100.  Crazy.. 

 

Hopefully I’ll be back to post pictures.  Lizzy wants to take a picturewith Mr. Mraz, and maybe I’ll get lucky and get in one of them too.  He is kinda cute, ain’t he?  I mean, as in son-inlaw material.  I wish I was going alone with hubby.  Kids have been keeping us so busy, we have hardly any time for ourselves.  Sigh.. 

40 Questions

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
 No, only by security people at concerts.  I hide my camera in my bra and nobody notices. 

2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters? 
  Sometimes.  I was afraid of roller coasters when I was younger.  I rode the Big Dipper for the first time when I was 35.  The Big Dipper is a huge wooden roller coaster at a boardwalk in my home town.  I was always afraid to ride it until my 8 year old niece, Bonnie convinced me to go.  I rode it with her and my daughter on the day I met my now husband.  It was a magical day, and I will never forget it.  I kept my eyes open throughout the ride.  

3. When's the last time you've been sledding? 

Never sledded, but I do remember going down hills sitting on cardboard.  Does that count?  That was a bit scary.  I think I was 7 or 8. 

 

 4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? Depends who the "someone else" is...  :)   

5. Do you believe in ghosts?  Yes!  Have I seen one?  I am not sure. 

 

6. Do you consider yourself creative? 
Yes!  If I had loads of money and lots of time, I could "create" many things!! 

7. Do you think O. J. Simpson killed his wife?
Probably..because of the history of abuse.   

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Jennifer is more the girl next door, Angelina is the bad girl down the street; although I do admire her for her efforts in 3rd world countries--she is powerful and I can see her do many wonderful things! 

9. Do you stay friends with your exes?
No..  I've lost touch with them-and it's a good thing.

10. Do you know how to play poker? No..  Never had the desire to learn.

11. Have you ever been awake for 48hours straight?
Yes, when I go overseas and there is a 7 hour difference; I can't sleep in planes. 

 

12. What's your favorite commercial?  "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" with Fabio.  I'm kidding! 

13. What are you allergic to? Antibiotics make me sick--I don't like liars and cheaters either.   

14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around do you run red lights?  No

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you? Yes. 

16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees? I don't watch baseball--not a fan.

17. Have you ever been Ice Skating? No.  I wish I knew how--looks fun!

18. How often do you remember your dreams?
 I usually remember them when I get up in the morning.  It always upsets me when I dream a real nice one, or a crazy one, and I forget all that happened.  I had one last night that was pretty interesting, and I wish I remembered what happened now. 

19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?
Oooh..  It wasn't too long ago...  A week ago?  I laugh over the silliest things.  I'll watch something on T.V. and just start laughing and giggling non-stop over things that other people can't understand. 

20. Can you name 5 songs by the Beatles?  Sure! 

21. What's the one thing on your mind right now?
 Boy, these are a lot of questions.  I'm at work right now, and I'm wondering when the boss is going to come in!

22. Do you know who Ghetto-ass Barbie is? 
No.  I'm guessing it's a Barbie dressed like a hooker?  I saw the Bondage Barbie, and it was quite frightening.   

23. Do you always wear your seat belt? Yes.  It's an automatic thing for all of us.

24. What cell service do you use? I don't have a cell service..  My phone is Virgin Mobile--pay as you go, no contract--I LOVE it!!!

25. Do you like Sushi?
No..  It doesn't taste like anything to me.  My hubby and my daughter like it.

26. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident? Yes.

27. What do you wear to bed?   Long shirt, shorts, or pajama pants.  Basically I dress like an old man to bed. Sexy, huh?    

28. Been caught stealing? No.

29. What shoe size do you have? Depends on the shoe.  Sometimes a 8, sometimes a 9.

30. Do you truly hate anyone?
 No.  I dislike some people for what they do, or done, but I don't hate anyone and wish them dead or anything.

31. Classic Rock or Rap? Classic Rock

32. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
Famous?  They are all mostly dead!  No thanks. 

33. Favorite song?  I have many..  I can't decide which one. 

34. Have you ever sang in front of the mirror? No..  I'm shy.

35. What food do you find disgusting? Cottage Cheese.  I know it's very healthy and good for you, but the texture of it makes me want to hurl!

36. Do you singing the shower? Yes.  I often day dream of being a famous singer. I sing in the car too. 

37. Did you ever play, "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours?" Is that a game?  I think this should just happen naturally. (With the right person of course.)

38. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?  Nah...co-workers--perhaps, but "made fun of"--no--not very nice, or wise.  If you  socialize with people who do, more than likely they will do the same to you.  

39. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew? Yes.

40. Have you ever been punched in the face? Yes, and got a front chipped tooth!  (It's fixed now.)

I snatched this from Gem from Journally Yours.. 

Have a wonderful day!!

......

Hey, Hey Hey...We're the Monkees....

 

Okay…  Everyone has a favorite “Monkee.”  Which one is yours?  Why did you like him?

 

                                              

 

 My favorite Monkee was Peter, as in Peter Tork. 

                                                                                     

 

Why?  Because he was tall, clueless, goofy, and he had that child-like, innocent persona that Mike, Micky, and Davy didn’t possess.  I also thought he was much cuter than the others.  Look at those dimples!  Awww...soo...cute... 

                                      

 

I was a baby when the Monkee series first came out, and you couldn’t find anything MONKEE related unless you went searching at the Goodwill back in the late 70’s, early 80’s.  Now however, Monkee memorabilia can be found everywhere.  I found a Monkee T-shirt at Target just the other day.  I was tempted to buy it.  I may just do it one day.  I may go this weekend in fact.  I know someone who would kill to get her hands on that one.  One of my daughter’s friends, who is also a teenager is in love with Mike Nesmith.  So strange..  He could be her grandfather.  Have any of you seen a Monkee in person?  The only Monkee I’ve seen live was Davy Jones—I saw him twice.  He is still short, and he still has that accent…not much has changed.

          <--Mike       <----Davy 

 <---Micky           Peter now: 

<---The Devil & Peter  (One of my favorite episodes)

Assignment #121: The #11

Weekend Assignment #121: Do whatever you want, so long as it somehow involves the number 11. Memories of being eleven, lists that have eleven positions on them, collections of eleven similar objects -- hey, whatever you want. As long as the number eleven is somehow involved, it's all good. For those of you thinking about being sneaking and using binary notation: no "11, base 2." We're talking binary number 1011 here, pal.

Extra credit: Grab a book, open it to page 11, and write out the 11th sentence.

Okay..  This is kind of strange, because my old address was #121.  Here are 11 lessons I've learned while living at my old address: 

11  Lessons I Have Learned From 11 Stupid Mistakes..

 

1. Never get dressed in the dark.                                                

 

2. Never wear over-sized underwear—no matter how comfortable it may seem.                                                                                                           
3. Always bring extra money with you when going out of town to gamble---and don’t let the person who likes to gamble know about it.   

                                                                          

 

4. If no one answers their door after two knocks; leave.     

                                                                                  

 

5. Never go on a blind date—if you can’t get out of it, meet in a public place that you know. Be familiar with all available exits, and bring a cell phone.   

                                                                             

 

6. If your date carries a brief case to your date, and keeps your personal facts (i.e. what is your favorite color) in his PDA…  Run!!  

                                           

7. Believe the person if they tell you that they are “not ready for a committed relationship.”

                                                              

 

8. Never be ashamed to say the word, “No.”

                                                                              

 

9. Trust your gut and intuition.          

 

10. If he hits you once; it will happen again.  Leave. 

                                                                                   

 

   11.  Good Guys may finish last, but they stick around for the long haul.   

                                             

Extra Credit:  From the book:  "Blue Beyond Blue" by Lauren Slater. 

 

                                              

Page 11, of the Introduction and sentence of the 11th line:  "The beleaguered daughter can take the role of the wicked mother/stepmother and try to tell the story from her point of view; the angry mother can explain to the passive father why it is that she is sending her children into the forest, and the role he has played in this decision."

All pictures courtesy of Google. 

Happy Birthday!

Okay, this is kind of strange, and weird.  Fellow blogger friend, Teresa gave out the news of her 1st anniversary blogging is today.  That is nice, I thought.  Today is the July 19th..  It so happens to be my husband's birthday..

                                                         

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICH!!!  I LOVE YOU!!!!! 

                                                         

Anyway, I so happened to glance at my first entry, and sure enough, it reads:  July 19, 2004.  Okay, is that weird or what?  So today is Teresa's 1st anniversary as an official AOL blogger, and it's my 2nd..  Just thought I would share this with whomever should read this. 

By the way..  Yesterday evening, me and hubby were talking about the business and work in general.  If things go as well as they going right now with the business, retiring from this county job may no longer be just a dream but perhaps a reality.  I called my friend Sharon, who informed me that I'll have my 20 years of hours with this county job in approximately 2.3 years.  WHoohooo!!  Of course, it is still awhile ago, but two years just fly by.  It seems like only yesterday I started writing this blog..  Weird.  So very... WEIRD... 

In other, less happy news, we are still waiting for our neighbors to come home.  They are in Lebanon right now of all places.  They go there every summer to see relatives.  Please send good thoughts their way--this family consist of a 4 year old boy, (Johnny), and a 13 year old, (Stone) who is a friend of my son, Andrew.  I'm worried about them--I hope they are home very soon.  The news from Beirut is getting progressively worse...  Keep them in your prayers please.. 

Carlos Enes--My cousin :)

It's a boring day at work, so I was I did a "google" on my cousin, the writer's name, and this is what I found.  Terra do Bravo is a novel set in the little village of Vila Nova--where my cousin was raised; which happens to be the same place where my mother was born.  I have so many relatives still there in Vila Nova, and it's place very close to my heart.  I cannot wait to read this...  My cousin Carlos is so great...I'm just showing off him to the AOL crowd.  Hey Carlos, when are you going to send me a copy?! 

The following is copied and pasted from the article: 

I don't suppose if any of my readers know how to read Portuguese.  I'm guessing not, anyway....  It's a story of a young boy--about his dreams during time of reform, in a small village.  I was unable to be there for the unveiling of this book last summer obviously, but I heard a fun time was had by all.  Am I the ONLY Portuguese person on AOL?! 

Terra do Bravo, de Carlos Enes, é uma edição do IAC-Instituto Açoriano de Cultura, com o apoio da Direcção Regional da Cultura; é um romance que retrata o ambiente de uma freguesia rural açoriana nos meados do século XX. Através do seu personagem principal, o jovem Morcela, o leitor é transportado para um mundo em que o real, a ficção e o sonho se entrelaçam com um humor por vezes bastante corrosivo, uma irreverência face à repressão política e social, mas também um conformismo latente com raízes profundas. Em suma, um retrato bem expressivo de uma mentalidade que percorreu todo o Portugal da época, com seus medos e fantasmas colados a cada gesto.

O lançamento de Terra do Bravo - realizado numa parceria com a Junta de Freguesia da Vila Nova e da Câmara Municipal da Praia da Vitória - terá lugar na Sociedade Filarmónica da Vila Nova, na quinta-feira, dia 8 de Dezembro, pelas 16 horas. A apresentação do romance contará com a participação de Luíz Fagundes Duarte, Luíza Figo e Belarmino Ramos, seguida de massa sovada e vinho de cheiro.