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Kali dog 

Long time no posting...oops!

Skylar bowled an impressive 111 in his last game of league. This week they had their end of the season awards banquet. Skylar got a patch for a 250 series. I guess he was supposed to get 2 other patches in November but the senile old lady who runs the league never gave them to him.

Grandma did a semi-pop-in on Tuesday but just in time for Kung Fu so she followed us over to watch class. They are training for a tournament in May so they fought. Skylar did much better this time so hopefully he will fight better in the tournament too. Grandma's visit was to bring Sky's Xmas gifts down. He got a Spiderman chair and ottoman for his room and a gumball machine that even with a pile of pennies next to, Ed puts a quarter in it to get an itty bitty piece of gum.

I'm definitely not a person who tans easily. This year I thought I would break a strict vow of mine and visit a tanning bed. My goal being to build a decent base so I did not get burned the first time I shed my clothes to the sun this season. Also, in case we make it to Florida this year (my poor skin paid the price last time). I have to be fairly tan if I want to go head to head with the Florida sun that will eat my Euroskin for lunch. I know nothing about tanning beds but I gave the girl all my info and she obviously saw how Winter white I was (I know she was thinking the word "creampuff"...hell, Mau even called me that) and set me up for 8 minutes. Apparently that was like 7 minutes too long. Ok, probably more like 2 minutes too long but I got burned. Mau comments "With all the research you do online, I'm surprised you didn't read up on this first.". I read up on it after the fact...after melting off parts of my body that have never been exposed to the sun before. Yeah, ouch and aloe are the 2 words coming to your mind. I have to wait until it dies down before I go back and start over.

I played a sub-satellite tournament online with 93 players and I got first. Wow, I am still in shock. I won a seat to a satellite this Friday night. If you advance past that point, you are entered into the $250k final.

I was walking the dog through the park a few days ago. I stopped to pick up Kali's poo and this older hippyish looking guy is walking toward me. Not walking around me like a normal person but right up to me. I keep my distance but Kali lets the guy know right off the bat that she doesn't have a vicious bone in her body by jumping all over him. He pets her a little then says "I have a lot of free time on my hands, do you?". WTF kind of question is that? I sternly say "No, not at all...let's go Kali.". We take off walking and he follows us. Kali stops to poop again (she's a dual pooper most days) and he passes us. He then turns around and starts talking about some invention he thought of to pick up dog poop. I walk by him like he's not even there and head straight for a park worker that is up on a ladder with my cell phone in hand. I tell the park guy there is a creepy guy following me. I see the freak keep walking so I high tail it the opposite way toward home. Just then, I notice "Creepy Grandpa's" car parked right where I am walking. I take a look around to make sure he's not walking toward me but no, instead he's right behind me! My heart jumps and, knowing he could follow me in his car, I take off through the insanely wet grass toward a road that is not mine (in case he follows me on foot). Luckily the road cannot be viewed from where you can drive in the park so I made it safely home in my sloshing shoes and wet sweatpants. I swear! I understand perverts tend to hang out in Cincinnati parks but 2 in one day? That's just too much creepiness for me.

Hand over the money Miss...

I paid my taxes. I know, it seems so unlike me. With the government having me in check for the last year, I have no choice now. Even though I have had them done for months now, we were still doing last minute tax stuff. I had to go back and do the PDF fill-in online and reprint them out, photocopy all gazillion pages (I swear it looks more like a novel each year), make out the check and all that. Really, that is what it comes down to...I would have mailed them off awhile ago but didn't have the money yet. This last minute rush to the post office drop off people has become a tradition of sorts. As Skylar bitched about us "having to run too many errands" we reminded him he had better get used to this day every year cos this is "just what we do on April 15th so there :P". Gotta teach the kid the timely art of procrastination (as my mother used to say is my middle name).

Yay! ... for now.

Whoohoo, we are still in 2nd place in league. I have been bowling like shit lately so I was worried but we did alright this week and got 3 points. I was talking with Keith & Mary Jo and we are planning a hostile takeover of the league to win 1st & 2nd so we both get gift certificates and can all go out to eat together. Not exactly a coup that will go down in history but a plan nonetheless.

Ed got miffed because I won the last 2 poker games we have played with him so he opted out of the usual Sunday night game. Ed doesn't care much for losing to me. He also really doesn't care much for the way I analyze his facial expressions while we play. It's poker for fuck's sake...you gotta read people. I don't watch the cards come out. I watch his face and reaction to the cards that come out and I can tell (90% of the time) what he's holding or waiting for. It's nothing against him, he's just easy to read and it works to my benefit. I think what really pisses him off is the way I talk about what I'm reading in him. When he's got a hand, he shifts nervously in his seat, lets out a little chuckle then puts on a baseball hat and pulls it way down so I can't see his eyes. Feel free to take notes in case you ever play against him.

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I start the training young! 

Learn something new!

I did not attend the funeral but I heard it was nice...you know, as far as funerals go I guess. Her mother told me the name of what she was born with. I looked it up and this is what I found on it: What is Schizencephaly? Schizencephaly is an extremely rare developmental birth defect characterized by abnormal slits, or clefts, in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain. Babies with clefts in both hemispheres (called bilateral clefts) commonly have developmental delays, delays in speech and language skills, and problems with brain-spinal cord communication. Individuals with clefts in only one hemisphere (called unilateral clefts) are often paralyzed on one side of the body, but may have average to near-average intelligence. Individuals with schizencephaly may also have an abnormally small head, mental retardation, partial or complete paralysis, or poor muscle tone. Most will experience seizures. Some individuals may have an excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain called hydrocephalus.

Mary Jo put together a BBQ in the park then a fire out front in her honor. It was nice since just a week ago Danni really enjoyed a toasted marshmallow that Mary Jo gave her. Her mother told me she thinks maybe meningitis is what she died of. They aren't sure since a spinal tap could have pulled her spinal cord down and killed her instantly (something along those lines and equally unpleasant) so it was not done.

Super nice weather is pulling everyone out of their houses. Sue & Ryan stopped by to say they'd gotten Karaoke Revolution and they wanted to play a round. Freyja made sure to make her presence known as Mau sang and had Sue & Ryan nearly dying with laughter.

Mau got a new job! I know, this should be headline news. He's working at a restaurant supply company where Keith works making deliveries and doing installs. He just started yesterday but he says he likes it a lot...c'mon, anything's gotta be better than that fucking restaurant. He still has to put in a few more weekend shifts at the feedbag since it'll be a few weeks until he gets paid and we are broker than broke with taxes and a zillion bills to pay before I get paid. After that, we should definitely see an improvement in the financial area. No more dealing with the plethora of excuses as to why no servers at the restaurant made anything that particular day...baseball games, bad weather, good weather, catholic holidays, Mondays, Tuesdays, The Apprentice. The list goes on. It's hard relying on money when everyday something is going on in this city that prevent people from eating at that stupid place. As an example, the baseball game the other day got Mau a whopping $13. Unfortunately none of our bills (including groceries) can be paid fully or even partially with $13. I stand corrected...a bag of dog food would be covered with that. Eat up Kali! No, wait Kali...we have to put insanely expense gas in the car every 3 days. Alright, I'm done with that because Mau FINALLY GOT A DECENT JOB! Let us bow our heads and give thanks to...well, Keith.