Friday, May 16, 2008

It's a Situation

Shay took his cell phone with him when he went to dad's, and that's a very good thing. He called me, in tears, asking to be picked up because his dad's girlfriend was picking on him and yelling.
Normally I get him to calm down and I tell him to go talk to his dad about it. Which, really, is the right thing to do.
But this time he was sobbing and I couldn't get him to stop. So, I hopped in my car and went straight over there.
It was ON. His dad's girlfriend was belligerant, loud, unreasonable, and it didn't matter what I said she wasn't listening. Basically I laid it out: I'm mom, dad is dad, we make the rules and we don't want some other person bossing Shay around.
She has forbid him from going to play with his cousins next door, because she doesn't get along with them. I say, too bad. He should be immune from her drama problems.
She has also decided that she doesn't have to get him up so he can get ready for school. (she hasn't driven him to school all year, because of a DUI she lost her license. so I pick him up and take him, even when he's over at dad's)
Last week I picked him up for school and he hadn't eaten, showered, or brushed his teeth.
He didn't have an alarm clock in his room, and he overslept. But his dad's girlfriend was down the hall gossiping with someone on the phone. Too busy to wake him up.

When I explained my side of things, without raising my voice or using a curse word, she responded by yelling obscenities. When I told her that my son is stressed out from all the drama and problems over at their house, she said, "Fine, Shay, get your shit, get out, and don't come back!" His dad just stood there. I could tell he was just wore out from all the fighting that goes on with this woman, so I certainly didn't pick on him anymore. I left with this, "That is your son crying in my car, and these huge fights are what he's going to remember about his childhood with his dad. How can you stand to hear him cry over something your girlfriend started??"

I'm not making ultimatums about whether or not Shay can go back to dad's house, but I'm definitely going to make sure he doesn't go back until things are fixed over there.

Five minutes with me, and Shay was already better. But then he got to my house and discovered his new Super Mario game had come in the mail. Suddenly, dad and his girlfriend didn't exist.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Nice Stack

Steve asked me today what my schedule was, as he was walking out the front door.
"Well, if I could get that stack of paperwork done over there, I'd be FREEEEE!"

The stack is literally 1 foot tall, and it's from putting off some things that I really shouldn't have.
Besides doing the billing for the two huge events we just did, I need to pay a month's worth of bills for our office and also for my boss. He pays me to take care of his house expenses. He has six mortgages, which is two for each house. That includes two rental houses that he has never seen in person.

I've been sleeping so well, lately, so it was a surprise to be jolted out of slumber at midnight, with the freight train sound of very high winds hitting the house.
I put on my robe and headed outside to see what damage I could avert, like moving patio furniture to safety and making sure there weren't garbage cans flying around the neighborhood. I knew the wind was coming, but I didn't know it would be a friggin hurricane. I looked at the weather channel out of curiosity, and it said 35 mph winds all the way thru Tuesday night. So one thing I don't need to worry about is my hair!!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

HaPPy MoTHers DaY

Well mine went very nice. I got eggs benedict for breakfast and a lovely card. Quite unexpected!!

Yesterday we accomplished an event that was actually very challenging. I can't say it was a pain in the ass, because really it all went according to plan and there were no fatalities....but it was challenging.

It was a boat regatta for a manufacturer that is very quirky to say the least. They are not a very outgoing bunch, and they are picky about certain things. Pair that up with a venue that is sometimes difficult to work with, and several changes to the schedule that people have come to get very acquainted with, and you have a big stress mountain.

Part of every event is the helicopter photos. Boats line up for their chance to get a professional photo taken of them racing down the lake in their boat. The photos are taken from the helicopter, and the starting point is a boat with me standing on it instructing them with a megaphone. (pictured below, I'm in the cowboy hat)


We usually do about 60 to 70 boats like that, then we rush to the next portion of the event. This is me, on the way to the next venue:


We had an article in a southern california newspaper last year, talking about how we conduct these regattas with a minimum of five different venues. Set up, tear down. Set up, tear down. A lot of times I'm jumping from boat to boat, then from boat to dock to get to where I'm needed. Run on the beach, pick up a few things, then dash off to the next thing on the schedule. Gee, I wonder how come my feet hurt....

One of the magazines that we do some work with is owned by a guy named Chris Davidson. He's a huge guy, big red-headed goof who gives the impression that he's not very saavy. I love and hate those kind of business people. They act like they don't know what they're doing and fool you into believing they're just a 'dude' that is lucky in life. But really, he has his money and his magazine because he knows just what the hell he's doing. He is not only a publisher. He's an Elvis Presley fanatic. He collected Elvis stuff for many many years, and eventually opened an Elvis museum in Vegas. When he tired of that, he sold a lot of the Elvis stuff to Graceland and made several million dollars from it. He didn't sell it all; he still has quite a collection, and it's stuff like jewelry, watches, pendants, clothing, etc. My boss has been to his office, and there are days where there'll be a big gawdy watch sitting on his desk--Chris says, "Try it on, that's an original Elvis piece."
Whoa. Touching something like that would be like touching an artifact from the pyramids in Egypt. But apparently Chris wears this stuff like it's nothing.
Yesterday Chris was on the boat with me, and I noticed a big "EP" pendant around his neck. I got to touch it and take a picture:



So that made my day, for the moment. As soon as I got off the boat I hit the ground running so I could get the banquet hall set up.