Juicy!

We live in a condo with stacked parking in the Garage.  Since we switch cars with my mom everyday because of the car seat (we have only one car seat and it hooked up to the Honda), we have to plan ahead as to which car is parked in the front and which car is parked in the back.  It’s already a pain in the tooshi having to think about it.

But what happens when your neighbor parks so close to the line that divides his parking space and your parking space?  Does he not know how to park his car correctly?  It’s so close that I have to park more to my left.  But that leaves me virtually no room to open my door (there’s a pole that can block me from opening my side of the door all the way).

So how do I even get the baby out?  So I just bang my door against his door to make me feel better.  Of course, I don’t have the heart to actually dent his car or anything like that.  I wish I was brave enough to take revenge so that he’ll learn his lesson!  But I know it’s not the best solution because I know he can do worse things to my car.

But why do people do that?  Why do they park so close to you?   Why are the so inconsiderate?  What ever happened to random acts of kindness?

With the baby now in the house, I no longer make cleaning the house a priority.  Arg.  The  house is such a mess!  We live in a 1000 sq. ft condo and most of the space on the floor is occupied by the baby’s toys and other baby paraphanalia.  And worse of all, Home is beginning to smell…

Need to spend some time to pick up the things lying on the floor.  Need to spend some time scrubbing the bathroom.  Need some time to wipe down the dust.   And need some time to just sit down and enjoy a cup of tea without worrying about having to clean up.

Where does a busy mother find time to enjoy herself?  I don’t know how single mothers do it.  I know when you’re put in that kind of situation, you adapt and you do whatever it takes to survive.  But I just can’t seem to imagine me doing everything by myself.

I received an email from a colleague of mine today.  It offers an interesting message to parents.  The email reads:

The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a Methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question.

‘Why didn’t we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?’

I replied, “I had a drug problem when I was young: I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.

I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn’t put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.

I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profanity.

I was drug out to pull weeds in mom’s garden and flowerbeds and cocklebur’s (aka thistles) out of dad’s fields.

I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.

Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today’s children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.

God bless the parents who drugged us!!!!

If this is what happens when we “drug” our kids, I really do hope our children gets drugged more often.

Sometimes, I feel the weight that I carry on my shoulders gets heavier and heavier every day.  Being the oldest child of 4 children, you tend to have this odd sense of parental responsibility - the need to make sure your family is OK.  So you carry this burden on your shoulders and tell no one about it. 

Then you come home to your family and make sure that they are together as well.  I was once told that it is the woman in the family that really carries the family.  I am beginning to think it’s true.  Couple that with being the eldest child.  So now you’ve got to hold your own family together as well as the family that you grew up with - your parents and siblings. 

Sometimes, I just want to hide from it all.  Run away.  But where to?  But the guilt!  I love my family. I love my parents.  l love my siblings!  So I can’t run and I can’t hide.  It’s up to me to keep the balance.

No, I’m not depressed.  OK.  Maybe just a little.  But don’t worry.  It’s just a phase.

My new intern started last week.  We’ve been waiting to meet him for months now.  He’ll be here only for the summer (3 months) and then boof….gone.   So why even spend the time to train these guys?  It feels like such a waste of time sometimes.  How much can you even train the guy?  The moment he starts to understand things, he’s ready to start school.  Why why bother? 

I remember being really grateful for being trained as an intern one summer while I was in school.  And to have “experience” at a large corporation…wow.  I am sure it helped me get my first out of college job.

It seems that these days, finding a job requires more than just grades.  The 4.0 GPA doesn’t cut it anymore.  Companies now want experience!  But what about summer school?  What about wanting to graduate early to reduce those rising tuition costs? 

Students, high school and college students alike, are under so much pressure these days.  I wonder how it’s going to be when my 11 month old is in high school and is preparing for college.  Will the Princetons and Yales be untouchable?  And then UCLA and Berkeley become the next Princeton and Yale?  Then the Cal States get bumped up the UCLA levels? 

Hard to imagine.  My little cousin, who is graduating from high school this year, is graduating with a near perfect GPA.  The only school he got accepted to was UCI and UCSB.  She’s a bright girl.  10 years ago, her credentials would have gotten her into UCLA.  Mind you, I’m not bashing UCI or UCSB.  Those are great schools as well.  But let’s face it.  UCLA definitely has a much better academic reputation.

Well, kids, it’s time that your teachers teach you time management because you’ll be expected to be a student, work, be involved with your school, and be involved with your community before you can even get anywhere.  Best of luck to you guys as I can feel your pressure.

I was quite surprised to hear last week that the cleaning ladies at our company are not allowed to pick up our can and bottles for recycling. I was saving up a bag full of recyclables for her to take home. She said it was her source of income for her kids’ school supplies.

She took the bag of bottles two weeks ago. Last week, she comes over and tells me that she is no longer allowed to accept them. Her management will not allow it - it is the property of my company and is considered stealing.

How can it be considered stealing if I personally hand over the bag to her? If I had personally collected the bottles myself? And if those bottles were my own drinks? The only explanation I can think of is that their company contracts with my company.

Well, then great company of mine! Why don’t you put out those large blue trash cans with those triangle forming arrows on them then? What are we supposed to do with our soda cans and bottles? Just toss them in the trash with our candy wrappers and half eaten lunches? Isn’t that just a waste?

Large corporations such as the company that I work for really ought to place those recycle trash bins all around the company and recycle themselves. If they do not have such trash bins, then why do they have policies against our cleaning ladies taking them home?

Dear CPK Server:

I thought about what I wrote on that CPK Bitch back on March 24th.  I have to admit that I was being a little harsh on her - especially over $5.  I was just extremely upset at that moment in time.  It was just that you didn’t seem too apologetic when you gave us the $5, even though you apologized and said that you were embarrassed.  It didn’t seem sincere.  I didn’t meant to be a difficult customer. We just wanted our $5 back. 

Half Pint was correct.  Although I do know of folks who wait on people, I myself have never served.  So, please accept my apology.

Thank you.

The Asian Glow: When an asian person drinks a little bit of alcohol and turns red but is not really drunk.

I get the Asian glow when I have a few sips.  Last night, a few of us went to La Ferria in Inglewood for happy hour.  I ordered a margarita.  Took a few sips and started to blush.  When I finished that, I ordered a Mango flavored Mojito.  The server must have thought my asian glow was a sign of being drunk because the Mojito he brought to me was watered down!  I had to order another drink instead.

I was pulling into a Chevron gas station today to fill up my half empty gas tank.  Recently, it has been a habit of mine to look at the screen to see how much the person before me paid.  Usually, it’s around $60.  This time, I expected to see that amount again. 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t.  The screen showed $105.  Wowsers!  $105!  That’s one large tank of gas that car’s got there!  Either it was a Toyota tundra or it filled up two cars worth!  I guess I shouldn’t be complaining about the $32 I use to fill up half my tank of gas on my little green Honda.

It’s amazing - I still remember how the gas prices used to be $0.99 per gallon, the price of an ice cream scoop, the price of a Burger King Whopper!  $105 can sure buy me an awful lot of Whoppers!

Since the baby, the house has been a mess.  I have heard and have been told many times to let the laundry sit and to not be so obsessive when it comes to keeping a clean house.  But it has finally taken its toll on me.  The mess is catching up.  The baby has only been in my life for 9 months.  By the way, isn’t it strange how the 9 months of pregnancy seems to last forever but the 9 months of life for your little one passes by you before you can blink?

Anyways, not only do I have piles of unfolded laundry on the couch, but I also have piles of unread mail in my office, and a mountain of papers to file, and layers of dust sitting on the furniture and floors.  I haven’t done any spring cleaning as of yet and don’t know if I’ll even get to it this year.

And the stress.  Oh the stress!  Lately, I’ve been working long hours and haven’t had a chance to pick up the baby until 7 or even 8 pm.  That doesn’t sound too late but it actually is when you’re in the office around 5 am.  So I’m quite exhausted by the time it’s time for pick up my little man.  So I don’t sleep until midnight.

It’s hectic with the little one around.  Why do we even bother with kids?  Life is just so much simpler without them in our lives, isn’t it?  I have to admit that sometimes, I do feel trapped.  Trapped because I can’t just pick up  my things and go on a weekend trip.  Trapped because I can’t go to the movies with  my friends on the weekends.  Trapped because I can no longer spend my money on my clothes.  And trapped because my little man is now getting attached to me.

So why all the trouble?

It’s when he jumps up and down happily and claps his hands when he first sees me when I come home from work that makes up for everything that has gone bad for the day.  It’s when he puts his head on my shoulder when I carry him.  It’s when he laughs when I play with him.

Seeing those cute little palms close up in front of his cute, peaceful looking face as I kiss his cheeks goodnight puts a smile on my face every night.  That makes everything worthwhile.