Oreo?

A correction is to be made. I actually ended up with an ‘A’ in my law class. Maybe my classmates were right...wink wink. I feel better now.

The weather has been great lately and has encouraged a little action in the hood. The one day a skanky neighbor girl was running up and down the street arguing with 2 guys naked. I missed most of it since it was one of my late days at work so she had a small dress on by the time I witnessed it. 2 days later John and I had walked over to the tennis courts so he could skate and I could let the dog run a little. 5 minutes into it we heard a series of pops and screaming. For a few seconds I figured it was fireworks since July isn’t too far away. Ok, I’m stupid but Mary Jo, who was in the park with a neighbor boy at his baseball practice, actually looked up in the sky to see them. Well, of course there were more pops then I saw a hoard of screaming children running toward the playground and I figured it out. John immediately hit the ground. I guess that comes from his boyhood in L.A. but I just stood there like an idiot. We started running toward the houses not knowing where this fool(s) was shooting a gun. The basketball court was full and within 20 seconds was empty and once I heard some of the guys yelling about what type of gun it was, we took off too. We took refuge between 2 houses and met up with Mary Jo. We watched a car drive down our cul de sac street and drive back up then get stopped by 5 cop cars at the top. Everyone got out and was searched but then let go. The ghetto bird was then circling us for awhile and cops were driving all over the park and streets for about an hour. I never heard anything else about it so I have no clue if they caught them or if anyone got shot. And we complained about our neighborhood being too quiet. Ha!

I don’t think I mentioned this but right after Tommy died, Ian went downhill quickly and passed away too. It was a little too much to deal with in a month especially with Sky’s surgery and all. It’s not like it’s a shock to lose cats that are almost 20 yrs old but it’s still hard. Maestro seemed so lost and lonely so we got another cat, Oreo. He’s basically a baby, 11 months old, and a rescue. He’s a little high strung and jumpy but super sweet and a talker. Maestro just loves him and I think it has really smoothed the transition. They play constantly and sleep together. The dog is a wimp about cats so she’s scared of him. Sometimes she’ll play with them both but if Oreo jumps on the couch and she’s lying there, she immediately gets up and moves onto the floor.

Taxes somehow got paid this year. I am relieved that at this point I no longer owe taxes with the exception of the back taxes we are still paying off but are nearing the end of…it’s been a long hard road. I currently get taxes taken out of my checks. I know that will end once I start selling Real Estate but for now I feel good about it.

Getting caught up...

Sky is doing much better now. The swelling is down considerably. It was kind of crazy for a little while. He was so swelled up, he looked like he was wearing a fat suit. Instead of graphing his jawbone from a cadaver or his hip, they used some sort of chemical that promotes the bone growth and the doctor said the bone should be solid within 3 months like it never happened. He has to eat soft food for 6 weeks or he could fracture his jaw. They took a lot of it out so it’s just a small sliver of jaw there now. He got morphine in the hospital but didn’t take any pain meds since then. That leaves us with 2 bottles of codeine elixir. Hmmm…? No, surprisingly we haven’t touched it. He’s a tough kid. After hiding his face under a hoodie for a few days, he was showing his face to the world. He swelled so bad a few days after the surgery to the point his eye was swelled shut so the doctor had him come in for Xrays to see if he had fractured it but all was fine. Thankfully it’s all over now, his post-op checkups have been good and all we have left to remember these good times is a $25,000 hospital bill! Jeesh, it was only one night at the Children’s Hilton for crying out loud. Sky seems proud he could rack up that high of a bill while I have a heart attack. Get in line behind the numerous other doctor bills we have a stack of from the process of finding out what this was to begin with. Onto better news…

I am done with my Real Estate classes. I passed the law class with a ‘B’. I am disappointed I didn’t do better but it’s been a rough couple of months and the instructor was really nice and cool but I didn’t feel he went over the material very well and I slacked a bit in my reading. Our instructor took the over 21-ers out to a bar after the final and paid for the first round. Someone else bought food so it was pretty fun. I had to catch a ride with my teacher which brought on jokes from my fellow classmates about me trying to “get an ‘A’”. I have never ridden in a BMW (I have financially impaired friends) and have never hung out with a lawyer so it was an interesting evening. John met us down there and had a good time. I am excited it’s over but I still have a long road ahead of me studying for the state license exam and paying for it.

We have been showered with wonderful weather the past few days which included this past weekend. It was very relaxing and we even busted out the Cornhole boards on Sunday just for Inga! We also went over to Dawn & Jeff’s to play some Rock Band on Saturday.

Dawn's house...

Jeff, Lillith (his daughter), Summer and Evan playing Rock Band and Dawn and Summer making coffee. Dawn looks irritated which I can't figure out because I have yet to see her without a smile on her face. Maybe this is what happens when I let John control the camera.

Timeline of surgery photos...

The first is Sky with his initials on his cheek so they operate on the correct side. The 2nd is after they gave him the "happy juice"...I asked for some but they said no. That was right before the "sleepy air" when he had a long conversation with the anesthesiologist about the history of Indians in Ohio that he doesn't remember. The 3rd is in the recovery room and makes me cry whenever I look at it. The 4th is his worst day of swelling. Don't ask about the funky hat or pajamas, it was out of my control. He was actually smiling but his face wasn't cooperating.