so don't ask if you don't want to know
Posts tagged casey
They're gone
Feb 2nd
Casey has his own apartment. He and Kira packed their shit and I dumped them off this morning on my way to the studio.
No more (regular) babysitting. Sure, an occasional weekend night. I’ll miss her but not enough to get that close to full time again. This is my vow to NOT get sucked into taking her every weekend or for an entire weekend. Grammi’s a people, too.
Tomorrow I’m doing a thorough house cleaning. Tonight I’m taking myself down to Mill Ave to just walk around and get dinner and maybe a drink. I’ll be the one in the Keepsie’s Bar tank and all by myself.
Another tattoo
Jan 29th
Casey made out pretty well with his tax refund so he treated me (finally) to my second one. It’s on the outside of my right calf.
Still no news on the car and still driving the loaner.
Mother called and gave the low-down on her husband’s condition. I wasn’t really paying attention. Something about hospitals and he’s still alive. Oh well.
I planned on scheduling my hearing today, but I decided to wait until Casey actually moves out so I don’t have to worry about dragging Kira along. Supposedly he’s moving out this weekend. I have my fingers crossed. He’s paying most of his fines off so he can get his license. He’s also paid me a small chunk so I could put it away. I hate being broke broke so now I have a small nest egg if something goes bad again. Or for airplane tickets to D*C if things go well for a while.
Speaking of which, if I don’t end up having to pay anything on these new repairs – as I shouldn’t – I will be caught up on all my debts this Friday. So my March check will have quite a bit left over and maybe I can start planning a real life around that. I want to go to D*C in September and to the New Media Expo in August. I really need to sock some cash away for those. Maybe I’ll get a real job when I don’t have to babysit anymore.
Things are going to start happening to me now.
And here's how it stands
Jan 25th
The Car From Hell: I’ve had a loaner for the last week, while I “decided” whether to have them fix my POS car for the low, low price of $1,064. Charlie the Service Writer left a fairly pleasant message yesterday that he really couldn’t pay for the rental anymore and I really needed to make a decision please. So I called him back this morning and told him to go for it, but I can’t pay anything until next Friday and that I shouldn’t really have to pay for it anyway. I’d taken the car in for service in October for this very problem and I was sent on my way with a few new bearings, a pat on the head, a suggestion to get new tires and half my disability check for that month gone. I bought the stupid tires and everything got worse. Why wasn’t the BROKEN DRIVE SHAFT discovered the first time? He’s going to have his boss call me back about that.
I have an entire speech in my head. Mentioning the advice from my ex-husband, the Master Mechanic and the various blogs and online forums I’m a member of. I might even mention my friend who works for the Tribune and another friend who writes for the Arizona Republic. Let’s throw in the Disabled Veteran pay that I barely live on, my teenage daughter who also drives the car, the infant who rides along and maybe I’ll cripple the dog, too.
The Son: Every morning we get up at 4:00 am and I take him to work. If Kira stays asleep I leave her here and Ginnie knows to listen for her while I’m gone. If she wakes up she goes with me. Every morning as I exit the US60 on Mill, I think of machinegirl down the street. I just know she’s snuggly snoring at that time of the day. I go back home and sleep for another 2 hours until I have to take Ginnie to school. Then Kira and I stay up and play until I can get her to nap at 10. Then I sleep, too. Pick up Casey at 1:30, run around trying to find him an apartment and get his life together, then pick up Ginnie at 3. Kira goes to bed around 8 and I’m in bed by 9. Someday soon I’ll catch up on everything I’ve been DVRing. Hopefully this will only last another week, and then he’ll move and I won’t even be babysitting anymore.
The Big D: I tried to schedule my court hearing using eCourt and their program kept crashing. So I called and the lady told me I had to wait until next week to call. Gotta love the government.
This Weekend: Phoenix Comicon, which is technically in Mesa. No recording at the studio as everyone is attention the Con at various times. I think everyone is going to the Zombie Beauty Pageant tonight. After that, who knows. I plan on FUN.
No title. Get over it.
Jan 13th
I didn’t go to the studio yesterday morning. Lorrie’s Step-mother passed and they had to fly out to Nebraska. I spent most of the day lolling about in bed reading or napping. Until it was time to leave for the . . .
Arizona Twitter Meetup. Had fun with a few people I knew but missed more. Elizasea was in Vegas with husbean and family. Evo and Sheila were up in Flagstaff with people they like better. Leanne and Jack never responded. Dani and Dan and CJ and I and Ladawn and Crystal and Sean ended up migrating over to the Dave & Busters which was a bust. We asked for a table for 20ish and were told to wait an hour and a half. Then the rest of the bunch came in and we blocked the whole waiting area and we still didn’t get any respect so we all migrated over to Genghis Grill for my first Mongolian stir fry. My verdict is: not my first choice but I can eat it.
Home by 10 and in bed by 11. Good thing because idiot #1 son called me 2:15 am
(You know, I swear I learned am and pm as lower case letters. Seriously. But every where I look now they’re AM and PM. What gives?)
to beg for me to pick him and Kira up from his ex girlfriend’s brother’s house in Phoenix. 16th street and Bell. Walking distance to the studio, BTW. And I’m such a Mom that I went. Duh-me. So they’re here now and probably will be until the day I die. Couple of weeks.
Somebody slap me.
Mr. Ed
Jan 1st
No, not that one.
Casey has this buddy. I think I’ve mentioned him before. He used to babysit Kira right after Venus left. Nice guy. All the years I’ve known him he’s been either homeless and flopping on somebody’s couch or off living with some new woman. Can barely hold a job and I don’t know why, maybe it’s his general laid-back attitude about life or something. Just your average never-gonna-amount-to-nothing guy. Barely in his 40′s and from what I’ve been told:
Hung like a horse.
So over the last week he’s been hanging around, and we’ve decided to drive Casey nuts. I flirt, he flirts back. I’ll bend over to pick up toys right in front of him and he’ll appreciate the view – just so Casey gets mad. Stuff like that. We keep joking that he’s going to move in here to service Mom though I keep saying I just want sex, not a relationship. He stayed here over the weekend and Casey went bananas making sure we stayed away from each other. His other friends are getting in on the game, too. Jake wants to know if I’m planning a take-a-number board. It’s just too funny.
Poor Casey is now convinced we really mean it. Has threatened Ed’s life. And now every innocent comment sets it all off again. Ed offered Casey a clean shirt and I said I wanted it! It’s long and I wanted it for a nightshirt! Seriously. I’m wearing it right now. Hangs down to my knees, which might give you an idea of how tall Ed is. Casey left this afternoon kind of mad at me. Told me I’d better not ever have sex with any of his friends, especially Ed.
Damn. Hung like a horse. Tempted!
The story so far
Dec 23rd
I have managed to get one (yes 1 – one – uno) Christmas present so far. Ginnie and I went halfsies on a Fisher Price Baby Gymtastics Bounce and Spin Zebra (which, BTW, we got for $40 at WalMart – who the fuck would pay $199 for this?) and that’s all.
Casey showed up late Friday and Rene right behind him and between their screaming match outside my door and me being sick and trying to remember Kira’s medicines to go home with her . . . I forgot to get paid. This cold has kicked my ass. I’m not going to admit to anything flu-like because I got a stupid flu shot so it can’t be the flu so there.
Anyway, they didn’t come into town yesterday at all and if I want my money I have to go out to Florence and get it. Swell. I really don’t want to take my car out to the boonies but I need money. I need to get Ginnie something for Christmas.
And groceries, and gas, and it’s a long way til next Friday when my VA check comes in. Oh well.
I got a Secret Santa present in the mail yesterday! Way cool liquor filled chocolates and a dragon key chain from Idunnowho. Thank you Secret Santa whoever you are. I’m pretty sure it was from one of my friends on Pernese Friends but I couldn’t reciprocate so I thought I was out. But I get stuff from all my friends so thanks!
Casey handed me an unwrapped electric griddle the other night with a “Merry Christmas Mom.” Great! Wrapping would have been a nice touch, but again Friday night was a confusing blur for everyone. I need to get him something, too.
I loaded a couple more pictures on flickr. I just noticed they’re all a little off-center. It’s an old camera. Yeah. It’s the camera.
I got Father Goose, one of my all-time favorite movies, from Netflix and the last 10 minutes were screwed up. Supposedly I’ll get another copy, but that just ruined it for me.
We all watched Superman Returns last night and I thought it was crap. Seriously. I still don’t understand how these supposedly intelligent newspaper people can’t see Superman in Clark. And that frakking airplane at the beginning would have disintegrated from the shuttle speed long before it fell apart later. And I find it hard to believe even Superman could have lifted that entire land mass especially with it laced with Kryptonite. Superman is bullshit of the highest degree. Spiderman is believable, and Batman is just a rich guy with cool toys but they both tend to stay within a certain degree of believable. Everyone in Metropolis is stupid as shit (except Lex Luthor) and now there’s a kid? Who wants to bet those extra crystals appear somewhere in the next movie?
Oops, spoiler alert. Like it matters.
Weekendy schtuff
Dec 10th
Friday night Casey stayed over. Actually the whole weekend. Anyway, I went to Tempe to pick him up and we went to Ginnie’s restaurant for dinner (yuk) and then out to try and find the kid some shoes she can’t take off every 3 minutes and he and I jackets. I have a pretty heavy flight jacket but this time of year I need layers of lighter clothes. No luck on that hunt.
Saturday morning we got up and we went to a couple of stores and found THE cutest boots for Kira. No, we don’t generally need boots here in AZ, but these were the only things without Velcro we could find in her size. That girl has figured out Velcro. Velcro is LAME. And I found a zippered hoody of my own so I can stop wearing Ginnie’s Shady one cuz I’m just to old to pull off wearing a Slim Shady jacket effectively.
Kira was not fond of the crappy WalMart Santa. Better luck next time. Oh, and I loaded a few more pics on flickr in Kira’s set.
We picked up Eliza (machinegirl) and went to the studio. Casey and Kira came in for a moment and then he took the Kira to see her Mother while we did Wingin’ It. Seriously GREAT show. Very funny.
Anyway, it was reported that the Kira-Mommy visit went well. No fighting, just discussion and we might do the whole thing again next weekend. Eliza got a ride home from someone else (I hope) and we stopped for Pizza in Tempe and came home. Casey futzed around with Kira and after she went to bed he went out with friends.
Sunday? More just hanging out and finally they left and I got some housekeeping done. I’m trying to stay off the computer so much.
No subject imagination today.
Jul 16th
Yesterday we spent the day in our separate rooms avoiding each other. Today I’m back to craigslist looking for something for Ginnie and me in the area. Starting all over. I’m not waiting for him to leave; fuck the lease. Its his buddy who bought this house and HE signed another two-year lease so fuck them both.
Good news, though. Casey suggested we all go on a road trip to Flagstaff this weekend. And not just because my car has A/C, but because we have fun road trips. Gin wants to take Corey. So the um, seven of us are trooping up on Friday night and coming back on Sunday. Of course that depends entirely upon finding a motel room or two and the hope that their car makes the trip okay. We’ll see. We’re fly by the seat of our pants road trip people. Plan ahead? Where’s the fun in that?
But I’ll be missing the recording of Wingin It and Kris’ last show before she ships off to south Africa. I really like the new format. We’re still having fun, but its not the free-for-all it was before. There are actual TOPICS!!!!11!!! I still miss Evo and Sheila, but I think we’re adapting quite well.
Thought for the day: Subtext is an anagram of Buttsex.
Weekend Update, Live with Regis and er, nope, just me.
Jul 9th
Friday: I really tried. I ventured into Second Life again to attend the launch party for the third 7th Son book. I got there about an hour before the party started, managed to get stuck in a corner of the auditorium and had to restart. The whole program is so frustrating to me. I don’t play those kinds of online games so I’m unfamiliar (and impatient) with how to move. I managed to find a place to stand around, but I couldn’t see the plane JC arrived in, I have no idea about the dump truck mentioned, and when every one transferred to the water tower to watch it blow up, I was frozen in the elevator shaft and had to reboot again. By the time I got back, the thing had apparently exploded, there was a group standing at the base and all they were saying was we’d crashed Second Life and everyone was giving up. Oh, and there was an enormous yellow dump truck blinking in and out. What a waste of time that whole night.
Saturday: Casey called to say he’d bought a truck (with no driver’s license?) and that I didn’t need to pick up Kira so I assumed that meant I wasn’t expected to babysit either. So I went up to the studio and sat in on the new Wingin’ It 3-D. We chatted food for a while afterward, watched Fight Club but I can’t talk about because the first rule of Fight Club is, don’t talk . . . whatever. That movie is so full of bullshit. Must be a guy thing. Anyway, we all went out to Sushi Brokers (oh wow! Mouse over the logo, it’s COOL!) where I had chicken fried rice, of course. I have tried some varieties of sushi and am completely happy with my chicken fried rice, thank you very much.
When I got home just before 10, there was Buck rocking Kira to sleep. Oops. I didn’t know we were babysitting after all.
Sunday: Spent a nice morning playing with Kira.
Max called, he’s fine. Wants me to send him certain pictures so I spent Kira’s naptime searching and not finding them.
Casey, Renee, Sara and Casey’s long time friends Ed and Mikey-O came over for a swim and so Buck could check out the A/C (or lack thereof) on their new vehicle. We had a nice afternoon in the pool and then Ginnie and Casey ran out for pizza. Then they all left and I finished a book I’d been reading.
Just another weekend.
The 4th of July, a day late.
Jul 5th
First of all, I’m all better. I know you was worried. /smirk
Secondly, we actually had a pretty great day! Pictures! Not too many as I decided to have a bit of fun rather than just shooting everyone else doing it.
Lazed away the morning and then picked up Casey’s family at 1-ish. Stopped at The WalMart (you just have to say that like you’re in deep south) and stocked up on drinks and snackage, and Renee picked up July 4th outfits for the girls. Got home and went directly up to the pool. There were other people there but it wasn’t crowded. No bratty kids or obnoxious radios, just a couple of quiet families cooling off. After Kira practically drowned falling asleep in her floatie (it has this little water pocket for baby toys and she kept keeling over face first) we all trudged home for naptime.
We loaded up both vehicle and headed up to the park (I stopped for KFC for the bunch while Buck went to find two excellent parking spaces) though we were a bit early. Got there just before 6 and parked right across from where we sat. You have to check out the map I posted. Everyone fills that park according to available shade and nearness to the bandstand, as I did last year, but this time I remembered how crowded it was over there. That entire green area fills tight with people by the end of the night except where we were and it ended up being the best place to see the fireworks (teeny trees) AND not have to walk forever to and from the cars. You don’t have see the bands (large screens, too) in order to hear the music. It was a little warm getting there that early, but we had shade from one lone tree and there was a breeze. That church at the top puts out a great fireworks display, the bands aren’t necessarily Christian, there are port-a-potties galore, and they have plenty of volunteers directing traffic. Unlike the city fiasco over at the community college.
Anyway. Nice day.
And I’m reserving comments and opinions regarding Casey’s new roommate/girlfriend Renee and her daughter, who is cute but seriously needs some attention.
