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!

Falls Fallen In Line

Only towards the end of the week, did it begin to feel fallish.  When it is dark before the timed apartment lights go on, its feels a little off.

Sunday, Shea got to go Valley Girl style shopping with Aunt Maddy.  She came home with all her fancy mall bags, and I *facepalm* and fake a smile.  "You should come shopping with me and Aunt Maddy!" she offered.  Ugh, mall shopping. Sorry, kid, not my bag. Literally. I was near panic attack while she picked out Toms at Nordstoms, UGH... that place, with their icky sales people and super overpriced crap.  UGH.
I will continue to walk the line, preaching the anti-materialism and letting go, a little every day to let her be.

I countered the Valley Girl trip, with a new pink fishing pole and tackle box.  We did a little fishing at Shelter Island before putting out the lawn chairs, bbq and RC cars to listen to Crosby Stills & Nash.  Over discussion of Woodstock and that generation who defined idealism.

Math was took me one step forward and one step back this week.  I figured out one chapter, still stumped on another. Ugh.

Tuesday, Shea & I had dinner with Christie & Mr. Henry at Lodi's in Lemon Grove.  What a great old spot, it felt like the Volare of East SD. :)

Thursday, we scrambled making a few dozen cupcakes for Fall Festival

Friday, we went to the Festival, pretty big blow out!  I enjoyed watching the director do hip hop line dancing with the kid and getting dunked in the tank.  Can't go wrong with a dunk tank, right?  Shea became a kitteh and the dance troup was great to see.

Another Take on Benson

I'm watching the Raconteurs, thinking that other singer can't can keep up with Jack White... then I'm sitting here paying bills, and I hear a tune on my radio that is just beautiful, and I jump up to see who it is is and.. Bah!

*Eats Hat*

The Battle

VS

Just One More Snarky Comment

Did you get on Garage Days?



Damn!

Rock n Roll? I'll be the judge of that..

This morning, on my commute, a talking man on news radio, informed me that Rush was nominated to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame but in  his wiseness, they will not get inducted of his self declared 'lack of rock n roll'.

Welp, I'll be the judge of that.

I like Rush, I appreciate and hold in regard, perhaps just under Steely Dan and ELO but over Yes.  Are they Rock n Roll? Not according to my step dads methodology.  Does he play them often, and full volume, while playing along singing? no? Then welp. sorry. 

Good luck with that Hall of Fame thing, I'd like to hear Little Stevens take. :)

Tearing Out the Root

Ironically, I sat on the fire pitted beach last night.  Off in the distance, across the drag George Thorogood played the standards to my adolescence.  Its irony only if you know me.  The "man of the house" was a topic around my Friday night discussion.  The responsibilities of coming into a family as that man. Into a single woman and child home, where you give her a reason to believe that life will be better for her, with you, that extra piece to her puzzle.  And are you that perfect missing link?  We (ladies) dream of that link, we hear stories of how that worked our for your Aunt's cousins daughters BFF.  We apply to our reality.  And one day we see, that you are our lives destiny and responsibility too. 

And when it all goes to hell in a handbasket, where does it leave the daughter?  The one that grew up with you?  Do we chalk it up to bad genes?  Do we just keep that day to day mantra?  Do we grant leniency because of circumstances?

You took on that role, when you began cohabitation.

You took on that role, to be my role model.

I'm old now, my roots are still there. They are hard to tear out.  Music brings you back, and I think Happy Birthday, in an odd quiet way.  I'm so hard and old, and memories fade with stubbornness.
In my faded memory, its all there.  The schism between life then and now, is stubborner

.

And on that note, I downloaded JJ Cale's full discography, you want a copy on CD?