Don't faint; Scary Shari's blogging again!
If we're only friends here on LiveJournal, you probably think I fell off the face of the earth. :/ If, however, we're also friends on Facebook &/or in-person, you know I'm very much still in the game! I've actually been writing this update over the course of THREE days, but only now is it finally done. I've also been adding, deleting & rearranging during that time.
SHOOTING @ COUSIN'S SCHOOL; SHE'S FINE BUT MAKES NATIONAL NEWS!
Where to begin on this embarrasingly tardy update? Well, how about starting w/ today (Tuesday, Feb. 23), since earlier in the day something terrible happened at Deer Creek Middle School, attended by my 13-year-old cousin Deanna. She's fine, thank goodness, but 2 of her classmates got shot by a gunman! :((( Of all the pix that could've been used at the top of this Denver Post article, I was surprised to see my Deanna & her mom Debbie! I'm agog! :O I didn't know this happened until long afterwards, but I think it's probably better that I didn't. The heroic Mr. Benke was even one of Deanna's teachers last year. Deanna said that last year, he told his class that if there was ever a gunman at school, HE would take the man down. AND HE DID! This is the "closest to home" a school shooting incident has hit me. Even tho I live in California, it's WAY too close, since this involved someone in my family. As if this isn't creepy enough, Deanna's older brother Joel attends Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. And we all know what happened there! Thankfully he was too young to be there when that happened.
What is it with school shootings in recent years? I truly wonder, sometimes, if society's going mad!! :( I'm also glad I don't have kids, or I'd be way more worried about them these days than my (very overprotective) parents worried about me growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. I'm thinking very positive thoughts for the two kids who were shot!! According to the hospital, neither kid's injuries are life-threatening, although one of them was hurt pretty seriously.
DAD'S BIRTHDAY
And now for happier family-related news! Saturday, Feb. 20 was the 87th B-Day of my dear old dad, Al. My aunt Janie & cousins Julie & Brandon (Julie's son) joined my folks & I for a festive lunch party of salad & Round Table pizza (with cake later too, of course!) My dad has advanced COPD, plus other ailments including cognitive decline, asthma, degenerative osteoarthritis & post-shingles neuralgia, so it's an inspiring & happy thing that he's celebrating 87 years! :D He loved his party & loved being w/ the family! And I love my daddy! <3 OH, before I forget, as usual Brandon & I squoze in time to watch a few SpongeBob SquarePants episodes from the DVDs he always brings to family get-togethers.
VISIT TO SHAWN
After everyone went home & I helped my mom clean everything up, I went to Redwood City to spend the rest of the weekend w/ Shawn. For those who might have lost track, Shawn & I have been together since the autumn of 2008 and I'm happier in this relationship than I've ever been in my 37 years! :D He is very much a keeper!! We hung out, took a nice walk, had dinner at a little Vietnamese place whose name I forgot, found a geocache in/around the parking lot behind it (YAY! I got him into geocaching! My friend Becky S. would be proud! *giggle*), stopped @ Safeway for our cookie craving, did some nerdy Facebooking back at home (darn that FarmVille! LOL), did some reading, etc. Then we had a nice breakfast in the next morning for a change, since we often go out for breakfast if I'm there on Sundays. Eating in is both cheaper and (in general) healthier than eating out. heh Speaking of food, the dish I had at the Vietnamese place had some things in common w/ Bun Bi, but that wasn't its name. :"> It also had several eggrolls (cut in pieces) on top. Delicious!
MS OFFICE NIGHT CLASS
Earlier in the week last week, we transitioned from Word to Excel in my Microsoft Office night class. Those not on Facebook might not know, but toward the end of January I began a twice-weekly night class that teaches several MS Office programs. It's offered thru the Central County Occupational Center/Metropolitan Education District. Despite being a user of Word since the 1990s, there are certain fancier/more advanced features I never much delved into, plus I'm almost a complete newbie to Excel & PowerPoint, and a 100% newbie to Access (which I think got cut from the class due to a last-minute syllabus change but we'll see). The reason I took this class is because I want to become more marketable in California's awful job market. Even if I don't end up w/ another job in my field, maybe I can get a job w/ a temp agency if I can gain at least "average" proficiency in Excel & PowerPoint. BTW, for those who don't know or who may have lost track, I was laid off from my dream job (copy editor & proofreader for various magazines of Gannett Healthcare Group) in April 2009. And I am NOT being emo or dramatic by saying that that was one of the worst days of my adult life! Anyhoo, my classes began Tuesday, Jan. 26 and run thru either the last week or next to the last week of March. The California EDD (unemployment dept.) supposedly will pay for this, since I'm educating myself in something that will make me more employable. However, even if they don't, my accountant told me there's a certain education-related credit I can get on my tax return next year. :)
THE LOSS OF MY RATTUMS
The reason I remember the exact date the MS Office classes began is b/c the day before that, Monday, Jan. 25, was another of the worst days. It was when my amazing, loving, loveable, silly, social, sweet & smart pet rattums Blueberry & Jellybean passed away. :'( Actually, they were euthanized by their vet (who they knew & liked), Dr. Jen Lawrence at Santa Clara Pet Hospital. They were 2 years, 8 months, fairly old for rats. Both had rather advanced hind leg mobility problems, due to a degeneration of spinal nerves common in old rats, especially males. It's not painful, but it's frustrating & undignified. Jelly also had a lipoma (benign fatty tumor) on his left haunch that was growing despite being benign, although it was extremely slow-growing & he'd had it for months. Additionally, Berry had what was most likely a fibroadenoma on his side, a common benign rat tumor but unfortunately it was growing faster than Jelly's lipoma, even tho it hadn't been around nearly as long. Berry's skin was even starting to ulcer a little, b/c it couldn't keep up w/ the expansion from beneath. On top of all this, Jelly developed some type of bladder or kidney blockage or dysfunction that developed in just a few days before the 25th. He was eating less & drinking more but not peeing much. Dr. Lawrence & I examined him to see if he had a penis plug (sounds gross but it's not a big deal). That would've been easy but alas, he didn't have one.
So, all things considered, my mom & I decided it was time to say goodbye to the boys, since their age & their conditions made them sub-optimal candidates for surgery. My mom pointed out that as brothers, they came into this world together, so how appropriate for them to leave this world together. (I almost feel like crying, thinking about this!) Also, if one were euthanized and one was not, the remaining rat would've been LOST without his brother! :( Berrykins & JellyBelly were EXTREMELY bonded to each other & loved each other dearly, so it almost would've been cruel & unusual punishment to make one go without the other. So I guess in a way it's fortunate that they both developed health issues around the same time, and with a fairly matched progression. I will ALWAYS love those little boys! (Actually big, squishy boys! heh) I know they knew how much I loved them, and I also know how much they loved me! <3 They showed me that frequently, with all the bruxing (tooth-grinding), boggling (eye-popping), twinkying (standing up on hind legs to reach me), happy hiccupping, and licking they did for me and/or to me! X{:8((()))~~~
VALENTINE'S DAY WEEKEND W/ SHAWN
Onto a more happier topic and further backing up in the month, I had a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend, which was also the long Presidents' Day weekend. Shawn knows how idealistic & romantic I am, and how many long years I spent NOT having anyone special to celebrate Valentine's Day with. Plus he's pretty romantic himself! <3 So, he whisked me to a bed & breakfast called The Inn at Benicia Bay. Bay Area folks might not think there's much interesting about Benicia, but it's a very nice, clean, attractive town, both quaint and modern! :) Plus, did you know that it was once the capitol of California? It has more history than you might think, and I love learning more about the history of my native state, as does Shawn.
The B&B was beautiful, and so was our room (the Commandant's Quarters). It even had a two-person jacuzzi tub, which was AWESOME!!! It also had free WiFi -- the room, not the tub, LOL -- which we both nerdily took advantage of to Facebook while there. OH, but obviously before the hottubbing & Facebooking, we had dinner! We walked across the street to the Union Hotel, Restaurant & Bar, which had a special menu just for the Valentine's weekend. We both started our meal w/ "refreshing adult beverages" (heehee), then enjoyed entrees that were both delicious & attractively presented. I had squash ravioli w/ cheese & veggies, & Shawn had duck w/ a citrus glaze/sauce + mashed potatoes & veggies. However, describing them doesn't do them justice. I wish I'd already downloaded & photoshopped my pix from the meal; I'll do it shortly, I hope! :"> PLUS various other pix from the weekend!! After the meal, we each got a decadent dessert!! Shawn had bread pudding (one of his all-time faves) and I had a slice of a light but lovely strawberry lemon cake thingie.
Among other things that weekend, we strolled up & down the streets of what I guess I'd call "old town" Benicia, we fell into a used book sale from the Friends of the Benicia Library (we both bought stuff), and we went geocaching! Shawn has a brand-new Garmin GPS that's waterproof w/ a full-color touch screen, & it proved very handy! We found several caches, although we failed to find some too. One of the caches was at the Benicia Fire Museum, which was a treat to visit in and of itself! I've never seen so many different types of fire hydrants in one place, not to mention some lovingly restored vintage fire trucks, engines & other things. :) Very cool! OH, and speaking of museums, we also toured both the outside & inside of the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park. I learned a lot in the Capitol building there! We even hunted for a geocache on the grounds, but that was one of our FAILS. heh
MISCELLANY: WEATHER & MY TEETH
My teeth have nothing to do w/ the weather; I'm just sticking both of these topics together. In the last 2 months or so, California has had the RAINIEST winter in literally decades! I just wanted to record that for posterity. Even though we most commonly have wet winters & dry (thankfully non-humid summers), this winter was crazy-wet!! We also had more thunderstorms than normal, and even a few tornado warnings in both Northern & Southern California! I was really, really freaked out about that, since I am deadly afraid of tornadoes!
More mundane is also the fact that in recent months, I had more expensive dental work than I've EVER had done! Two adjacent molars on my upper right jaw had to be crowned. Both of them had fillings that had been redone & redone over many years, and the fillings & teeth were getting to the point where they were too "tore up" to last much longer without the fix of crowns. So I had it done, even though I have no dental insurance & pay strictly out-of-pocket. OUCH!! Fortunately the office is very considerate about situations like mine & arranged a payment play w/ me. With NO interest, I might add! :"> OH, and on top of needing 2 crowns, I also had one filling on a molar elsewhere in my mouth. That wasn't nearly as expensive as a crown, but it wasn't cheap either. :( I am STILL paying off this costly trio of dental procedures. It sucks having no dental insurance!!! Tho at least I have good medical insurance!
And now I'm really done! Thanks for reading! *group hug*
SHOOTING @ COUSIN'S SCHOOL; SHE'S FINE BUT MAKES NATIONAL NEWS!
Where to begin on this embarrasingly tardy update? Well, how about starting w/ today (Tuesday, Feb. 23), since earlier in the day something terrible happened at Deer Creek Middle School, attended by my 13-year-old cousin Deanna. She's fine, thank goodness, but 2 of her classmates got shot by a gunman! :((( Of all the pix that could've been used at the top of this Denver Post article, I was surprised to see my Deanna & her mom Debbie! I'm agog! :O I didn't know this happened until long afterwards, but I think it's probably better that I didn't. The heroic Mr. Benke was even one of Deanna's teachers last year. Deanna said that last year, he told his class that if there was ever a gunman at school, HE would take the man down. AND HE DID! This is the "closest to home" a school shooting incident has hit me. Even tho I live in California, it's WAY too close, since this involved someone in my family. As if this isn't creepy enough, Deanna's older brother Joel attends Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. And we all know what happened there! Thankfully he was too young to be there when that happened.
What is it with school shootings in recent years? I truly wonder, sometimes, if society's going mad!! :( I'm also glad I don't have kids, or I'd be way more worried about them these days than my (very overprotective) parents worried about me growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. I'm thinking very positive thoughts for the two kids who were shot!! According to the hospital, neither kid's injuries are life-threatening, although one of them was hurt pretty seriously.
DAD'S BIRTHDAY
And now for happier family-related news! Saturday, Feb. 20 was the 87th B-Day of my dear old dad, Al. My aunt Janie & cousins Julie & Brandon (Julie's son) joined my folks & I for a festive lunch party of salad & Round Table pizza (with cake later too, of course!) My dad has advanced COPD, plus other ailments including cognitive decline, asthma, degenerative osteoarthritis & post-shingles neuralgia, so it's an inspiring & happy thing that he's celebrating 87 years! :D He loved his party & loved being w/ the family! And I love my daddy! <3 OH, before I forget, as usual Brandon & I squoze in time to watch a few SpongeBob SquarePants episodes from the DVDs he always brings to family get-togethers.
VISIT TO SHAWN
After everyone went home & I helped my mom clean everything up, I went to Redwood City to spend the rest of the weekend w/ Shawn. For those who might have lost track, Shawn & I have been together since the autumn of 2008 and I'm happier in this relationship than I've ever been in my 37 years! :D He is very much a keeper!! We hung out, took a nice walk, had dinner at a little Vietnamese place whose name I forgot, found a geocache in/around the parking lot behind it (YAY! I got him into geocaching! My friend Becky S. would be proud! *giggle*), stopped @ Safeway for our cookie craving, did some nerdy Facebooking back at home (darn that FarmVille! LOL), did some reading, etc. Then we had a nice breakfast in the next morning for a change, since we often go out for breakfast if I'm there on Sundays. Eating in is both cheaper and (in general) healthier than eating out. heh Speaking of food, the dish I had at the Vietnamese place had some things in common w/ Bun Bi, but that wasn't its name. :"> It also had several eggrolls (cut in pieces) on top. Delicious!
MS OFFICE NIGHT CLASS
Earlier in the week last week, we transitioned from Word to Excel in my Microsoft Office night class. Those not on Facebook might not know, but toward the end of January I began a twice-weekly night class that teaches several MS Office programs. It's offered thru the Central County Occupational Center/Metropolitan Education District. Despite being a user of Word since the 1990s, there are certain fancier/more advanced features I never much delved into, plus I'm almost a complete newbie to Excel & PowerPoint, and a 100% newbie to Access (which I think got cut from the class due to a last-minute syllabus change but we'll see). The reason I took this class is because I want to become more marketable in California's awful job market. Even if I don't end up w/ another job in my field, maybe I can get a job w/ a temp agency if I can gain at least "average" proficiency in Excel & PowerPoint. BTW, for those who don't know or who may have lost track, I was laid off from my dream job (copy editor & proofreader for various magazines of Gannett Healthcare Group) in April 2009. And I am NOT being emo or dramatic by saying that that was one of the worst days of my adult life! Anyhoo, my classes began Tuesday, Jan. 26 and run thru either the last week or next to the last week of March. The California EDD (unemployment dept.) supposedly will pay for this, since I'm educating myself in something that will make me more employable. However, even if they don't, my accountant told me there's a certain education-related credit I can get on my tax return next year. :)
THE LOSS OF MY RATTUMS
The reason I remember the exact date the MS Office classes began is b/c the day before that, Monday, Jan. 25, was another of the worst days. It was when my amazing, loving, loveable, silly, social, sweet & smart pet rattums Blueberry & Jellybean passed away. :'( Actually, they were euthanized by their vet (who they knew & liked), Dr. Jen Lawrence at Santa Clara Pet Hospital. They were 2 years, 8 months, fairly old for rats. Both had rather advanced hind leg mobility problems, due to a degeneration of spinal nerves common in old rats, especially males. It's not painful, but it's frustrating & undignified. Jelly also had a lipoma (benign fatty tumor) on his left haunch that was growing despite being benign, although it was extremely slow-growing & he'd had it for months. Additionally, Berry had what was most likely a fibroadenoma on his side, a common benign rat tumor but unfortunately it was growing faster than Jelly's lipoma, even tho it hadn't been around nearly as long. Berry's skin was even starting to ulcer a little, b/c it couldn't keep up w/ the expansion from beneath. On top of all this, Jelly developed some type of bladder or kidney blockage or dysfunction that developed in just a few days before the 25th. He was eating less & drinking more but not peeing much. Dr. Lawrence & I examined him to see if he had a penis plug (sounds gross but it's not a big deal). That would've been easy but alas, he didn't have one.
So, all things considered, my mom & I decided it was time to say goodbye to the boys, since their age & their conditions made them sub-optimal candidates for surgery. My mom pointed out that as brothers, they came into this world together, so how appropriate for them to leave this world together. (I almost feel like crying, thinking about this!) Also, if one were euthanized and one was not, the remaining rat would've been LOST without his brother! :( Berrykins & JellyBelly were EXTREMELY bonded to each other & loved each other dearly, so it almost would've been cruel & unusual punishment to make one go without the other. So I guess in a way it's fortunate that they both developed health issues around the same time, and with a fairly matched progression. I will ALWAYS love those little boys! (Actually big, squishy boys! heh) I know they knew how much I loved them, and I also know how much they loved me! <3 They showed me that frequently, with all the bruxing (tooth-grinding), boggling (eye-popping), twinkying (standing up on hind legs to reach me), happy hiccupping, and licking they did for me and/or to me! X{:8((()))~~~
VALENTINE'S DAY WEEKEND W/ SHAWN
Onto a more happier topic and further backing up in the month, I had a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend, which was also the long Presidents' Day weekend. Shawn knows how idealistic & romantic I am, and how many long years I spent NOT having anyone special to celebrate Valentine's Day with. Plus he's pretty romantic himself! <3 So, he whisked me to a bed & breakfast called The Inn at Benicia Bay. Bay Area folks might not think there's much interesting about Benicia, but it's a very nice, clean, attractive town, both quaint and modern! :) Plus, did you know that it was once the capitol of California? It has more history than you might think, and I love learning more about the history of my native state, as does Shawn.
The B&B was beautiful, and so was our room (the Commandant's Quarters). It even had a two-person jacuzzi tub, which was AWESOME!!! It also had free WiFi -- the room, not the tub, LOL -- which we both nerdily took advantage of to Facebook while there. OH, but obviously before the hottubbing & Facebooking, we had dinner! We walked across the street to the Union Hotel, Restaurant & Bar, which had a special menu just for the Valentine's weekend. We both started our meal w/ "refreshing adult beverages" (heehee), then enjoyed entrees that were both delicious & attractively presented. I had squash ravioli w/ cheese & veggies, & Shawn had duck w/ a citrus glaze/sauce + mashed potatoes & veggies. However, describing them doesn't do them justice. I wish I'd already downloaded & photoshopped my pix from the meal; I'll do it shortly, I hope! :"> PLUS various other pix from the weekend!! After the meal, we each got a decadent dessert!! Shawn had bread pudding (one of his all-time faves) and I had a slice of a light but lovely strawberry lemon cake thingie.
Among other things that weekend, we strolled up & down the streets of what I guess I'd call "old town" Benicia, we fell into a used book sale from the Friends of the Benicia Library (we both bought stuff), and we went geocaching! Shawn has a brand-new Garmin GPS that's waterproof w/ a full-color touch screen, & it proved very handy! We found several caches, although we failed to find some too. One of the caches was at the Benicia Fire Museum, which was a treat to visit in and of itself! I've never seen so many different types of fire hydrants in one place, not to mention some lovingly restored vintage fire trucks, engines & other things. :) Very cool! OH, and speaking of museums, we also toured both the outside & inside of the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park. I learned a lot in the Capitol building there! We even hunted for a geocache on the grounds, but that was one of our FAILS. heh
MISCELLANY: WEATHER & MY TEETH
My teeth have nothing to do w/ the weather; I'm just sticking both of these topics together. In the last 2 months or so, California has had the RAINIEST winter in literally decades! I just wanted to record that for posterity. Even though we most commonly have wet winters & dry (thankfully non-humid summers), this winter was crazy-wet!! We also had more thunderstorms than normal, and even a few tornado warnings in both Northern & Southern California! I was really, really freaked out about that, since I am deadly afraid of tornadoes!
More mundane is also the fact that in recent months, I had more expensive dental work than I've EVER had done! Two adjacent molars on my upper right jaw had to be crowned. Both of them had fillings that had been redone & redone over many years, and the fillings & teeth were getting to the point where they were too "tore up" to last much longer without the fix of crowns. So I had it done, even though I have no dental insurance & pay strictly out-of-pocket. OUCH!! Fortunately the office is very considerate about situations like mine & arranged a payment play w/ me. With NO interest, I might add! :"> OH, and on top of needing 2 crowns, I also had one filling on a molar elsewhere in my mouth. That wasn't nearly as expensive as a crown, but it wasn't cheap either. :( I am STILL paying off this costly trio of dental procedures. It sucks having no dental insurance!!! Tho at least I have good medical insurance!
And now I'm really done! Thanks for reading! *group hug*