Another Year Gone By, but a Damn Good One!

I pull my 2012 calendar off the wall and the first thing noted on January 2nd is my credit score.  I get my score pulled in January and July.  I just got my score noted on credit card statement last week and it has gone up 96 points.  That is friging AMAZING!  I haven't had any last bills this year, and I've been very fiscally responsible.

We went to lunch with Mikee's old roommate Sean and his new wife.  Damn! Its been year? We had a blast that day, we went to Slaters for brunch.  I added to my Xmas card list.  I hope we don't loose touch with them since they moved to Vista.

Christie and I went to the Pearl for drinks.  I think it was the only time we went out me and her the whole year. :(

We did a tour in January of High Tech High with a ton of other parent with their finger's crossed.  Shea went to the Orthodontist for the first time.  She was so scared, then he told her to come back after she lost all her baby teeth.  I took a Small Business Management Course and an Accounting.  Shea & I went to a Cat Show at the Del Mar fairgrounds and it was so crazy lady bizarre!

In February, I took Shea to the Pearl to see Dirty Dancing outside at the pool.  She went to Prescott with her Dad and his family for her birthday.  She made honor roll and there was neato assembly.  We got Zoo passes.  We went camping at South Carlsbad beach.  I think I was working at Clark security in February. 
Shea, Mia & Savy went to Belmot Park for her birthday.  Shea also did Catechism classes all this Spring.

March was a busy month. I went to brunch with Monica.  It is so great to have her and her family back!  Swung by Big Dan's birthday party.  We made a trip down for the best wings in SD.  Shea did her reconciliation.  We drove to Mount Laguna for a snow day.  Shea got her 1st communion dress.  We went to see the Hunger games at the IMAX. The Science Expo at Petco Park.  There was the Busker Festival at Seaport Village and we rounded the month off with a rocking dinner and dance party at the Brass Rail!

Angel of Babylon

But how the hell can a person
Go on to work in the morning
To come home in the evening
And have nothing to say

I never want to be the one with nothing to say, finding I speak way too much.. it's better than the former.

I learned to say "why" in Serbian.. Zashto! A reclusive family of Chaldeans moved in our complex, I hope to meet them, I understand they are family of he guys who run Sabatinis up the street, and they are super cool.  I never heard of Chaldeans until I moved to SD.  I find the Urban Dictionary's posts pretty insightful :)

*Chaldeans don't give a fuck about anything except the important things in life: Family (friends are already considered family) and Prosperity. Also to get married so they don't have to hear "whenna zowage whenna zowage" everyday we wake up. The only way you will ever be able to get into a Chaldeans house is when you are respected and only that- respect is more important than anything and it goes both ways.

Upon taking your shoes off after you close the door behind you, you are greeted by parents who want to know your last name and what village you're from and if you know 30-40 other Chaldeans they might think you're related to. At the end of these type of conversations you find out you're basically my 4th cousin and you are welcome to help yourself to the fridge anytime you are in the hood. By this point you will notice ashtrays are actually being used for Pistachio shells and there are several plates of almonds/cashews/sunflowerseeds all put at strategic places - by televisions or phones or where baba sits. That and there are two freezers and we're not alowwed to let you know where the other one is because it contains 3000$ worth of meats.

It doesn't matter how old you are, if you're Chaldean and you're 16 or 24 your mom will still give you a call if its past midnight ...

*

The proper name given by the Pope to describe the ethnic Assyrians who split from the Assyrian Church Of the East to the Roman Catholic Church known as the Great Schism. They speak a dialect of Chaldean Neo-Aramaic. For four centuries the Catholic Church tried to convert the Assyrians to Catholicism. It must be mentioned that the Assyrians of different religious denominations (Orthodoxy, Nestorian, Catholic, Maronite etc.), due to their lack of education, are not united as one nation but hate each other, thinking the others are foreigners! The King of Assyria; Essarhadon, had 2 sons named Ashurbanipal (who had already been in control of Nineveh to the North) and Shamash-shum-ukin (The Predecessor of KALDU). After King Essarhadon's death, Babylonia was left to be governed by his son Shamash-shum-ukin and eventually revolted against his brother in 652 BC. In 626 Bc, Babylon had eventually threw off the Assyrian rule under King Nabopolassar's reign thus creating the Neo-Babylonian Empire (Chaldean Empire) with Babylon as the capital.   I truly enjoyed our last neighbor, Fauiza who taught me some interesting things about her Persian culture.  I wish her well, she was  really thoughful and just a great lady.  Azizam Khodahafez to you, friend.

Joy Luck Club; movie vs book

Nearing the end of the audiobook on my commute drive, the story is riveting.
The details in each mother and daughter story are intricate and weaving, the elders leads into the younger. I think a lot about how my actions and nonactions will mold them.
What will the stories they remember be like? One a constant, one a distant.

We watched the movie, I was hoping to see the landscapes of San Fran, my favorite place. There was no way possible the movie could have included each wonderful detail. I think we Shea and I will reread this aloud. :)

Base! How Low Could You Go?

You know the button "log" or "ln" on the calculator? I finally know what to do with it. Logarithms! I still wonder why I will use them aside from passing algebra... But ok! I'm down with the log base 10 to the x+4, and the newly explained "bra bar" method.

Algebra

Oh how tired I am of you

Books for Shea & I

We're still trekking chapter by chapter though Watership Down. We started Where the Red Fern Grows over our Thanksgiving Drive. Last night, we read a short book about the California Gold Rush. Also, a book about Obama:) I'm listening to the Joy Luck Club on the commute.

Mikee Finally Got His Wish - Palm Springs Aerial Tram

 Headed up to the tram.. "CaCAW"

 The view 8000+ feet up into the Coachella Valley

 Fancy Dining

Arizona - Trek to the Desert 2012

Desert Tower

 Alien in In Ko Pah

 Blair Witch Thingys

 Casa Grande Indian Ruins

Slavic, Long Cat, Addy & Shea

Early Home Gift ? Yes, a Dyson!

 

In defense of the close to $600 vacuum...  

we tell ourselves.. Target had a $150 off coupon and another 5% with the Red Card... We got it for 4... this SOB better last forevah!

Salton Sea ... ewww Pooh Bear

We drove home by way of the Salton Sea. The creepiest place I have ever seen, very post apocalyptic.

Palm Springs Weekend November 2012

Mikee really digs Palm Springs.  I can appreciate its only a few hour drive, its got a big gay population, its clean, and there aren't alot of kid running around and there is a casino.  We stayed at the Palm Desert Resort, our patio opened up to the pool and we were a block from Marilyn.  I came up ahead at the casino and we did lots of relaxing!

Mikee got a Lady Gaga toothbrush that sings Bad Romance while he brushes ! Haha!

I never had moar pillows!

All showgirls over 60! Friggin' LOVE Palm Springs!

Los Tortugas es Grande

Dia de los Muertos

San Diego's Day of the Dead in Old Town was cool. The altars were set up, there were skulls all over.

Saturday we drove up to the Santa Ysabel Mission, to the little cemetery and lit candles, it was pretty creepy ;)

Halloween 2012

CA Prop 30 - Sales and Income Tax Increase

California Prop 30

If paying more taxes means better funded schools, then I will support this.

Again, State taxes will not be increased for those under $250k. & Sales Tax only goes 7.5% from 7.25%

Reading is Cool

What we're reading right now.
Shea & I are reading Watership Down & A Day No Pigs Would Die, and I'm listening to an audio book of On The Road in the car, I haven't read that in a while.  Makes me want to hitchhike! :)

Running Circles as the Sun Sets

October is cool.   Costumes conjured up become reality. I wonder when time change is.  Thanksgiving plans materialize. Christmas dreams begin.  The end is in site for Fall classes.  And the daylight goes away.
Which isn't always good, obviously getting getting more done in the daylight.

Its been such a busy fun month, at Humphreys, we enjoyed Crosby Stills & Nash, Bonnie Raitt, and George Thorogood.  We had a great dinner with Christie & Henry at Lido's, a new gem.  A whole in the wall Italian spot hidden in Lemon Grove.  Speaking of Italian, we finally went to Marinos in PB, and checked out the new drive in.  The only bummer was their sound system was jacked up. :(



Shea started Cotillion, and that makes for a fun Monday night. Mikee & I spent a night in a Jacuzzi Cabin, found the Plank Road, went to the Territorial Prison Museum.  I took Shea to the Girls Expo at the Town & Country Resort.  It reminded me of when Carmella takes Meadow to Tea at some hoity toity NY City place, the Plaza I think.  We went to a School of Rock show, where we battled a cook, then enjoyed the Haunted Hay Ride.  All the while, I am getting my ass kicked in Algebra, again.  Mikee his number in line to take the General Contractor's test.  My hit my 90 days at my new job, and am finally feeling a calm sense of clarity, where I think I'm understanding it all.  Its a completely new field to me, so it's been quite an undertaking, but it is all coming together, and its a great feeling to feel like I understand.  Remind me of my old Nethere days, when the guys would give me shit about not understanding DUN.  Ugh ;(

Today is the OB Rec Halloween carnival, tonight is the Old Town Zombie walk, next week is Halloween, the HTH Halloween Dance, Dia de los Muertos in Old Town and then I want to go to the Santa Ysabel Indian Cemetary, for their Dia de los Meurtos ceremony.  We are expecting a full moon and the Santa Ana's for Halloween.

Whew! Yeay Fall.

When is time change again?

Jacuzzi, A-Frames and Clampers

You know me and my crazy ideas... "Amber's Wacky Adventures" well, here is one of those weekends!
I booked a night at the Live Oak Springs Resort, in a A-frame cabin with a jacuzzi in the room. Diggit!
The place is mile and a half behind the Golden Acorn casino, nestled up next to a trailer park.  There is a algae filled pond behind the cabin, and the stars are bright.

Our reservation included dinner in the restaurant/bar.  We has steak and shrimp, and it was fantastic.  The restaurant had a very small town feel, everyone knew each other.  Grandma's were drinking beer, playing pool and selling their seashell houses they made.  And the place was full of Clampers.  Yes, men of all ages, in red shirts, with leather jackets covered in patches and some in top hats. Yes, I said top hats.  We drank our beers, ate our steaks, feed raccoons toffee popcorn and hung with the locals.  We caught a ride to the casino, with a designated driver with a fan full of drunks.  At the casino, we were too loose to do any serious gambling. That had long past, with the guys in the handlebar stach'.  Leaving the casino, it was apparent there were no cabs, no more rides and we walked our asses back to the cabin.  It not every day us city slickers find ourself walking by moonlight.  A was more than little freaked out!

The cabin was from a whole 'nother era.  The decor was straight from Grandma stuck in time, and it was hilarious.  I loved it.  Oh, did I meantion a mirror over the bed on the A-frame? Yep.

We woke up, and jacuzzed and headed off to find In Ko Pah and the Plank Road. 

Bates Nut Farm - Beautiful Fall Drive

Bates Nut Farm is super cool!  We will surely make this trip an annual event!