Caj 1992 - 2007

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Caj is resting quietly next to me as I work on the computer. You can see the orange bandage where his IV is. Thank you for all your support and thoughts.

Disney Land is expensive

So, I went to Disney Land finally. I wasn't feeling well and only stayed until around 3 or 4 (though I did get there right when it opens at 10am.) It was a great day to go. It was chilly and a little drizzly. Really, I am not being sarcastic as it would seem. It was pretty crowded and I have to assume that it was a light day because you know that people from Southern CA are basically afraid of the rain.

So, I erroneously thought that I wasn't paying for entrance so I only had $40 with me to pay for incidentals, like gifts (sorry, that didn't happen). So imagine my surprise when I had to pay for either a $66 or $91 ticket for one day!! My friend wanted me to get the $91 pass which I guess also gets you into Adventure Land or some such thing. He has a season's pass so it was all free to him (though to be fair, I should note that he did pay for parking and bought me a slice of pizza.) Thank god that I brought a credit card (I think). Anyway, as I mentioned, I wasn't feeling well and had just been to the doctor the previous day and was on antibiotics (yes, I did go again and got stronger stuff and I am better now - so no worries. Just sinuses...) He had plans for us through midnight, which of course I didn't last through.

I would be happy to go back when I am feeling well and it really would be great to go with a child like Abby or Zack. It is a massive park; I didn't even see half of it. I guess you would have to go over several days and get some kind of package deal. I really don't know how people afford it. I guess it may be cheaper than a trip to Japan (yes, I still really want to visit Sanrio Puroland!! Although a daily ticket there is only 3000 yen.)

I took a few pictures. most of which turned out poorly. My favorite ride was based on Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. I had no idea that was a Disney movie. Now I want to see it (I have it on DVD but have never watched it.) They are playing it at the El Capitan in Hollywood in 3D so I am thinking about going...I am also thinking about copying their Christmas wreaths. They had wreaths made of red berries and then a skull on top. Cool, huh? I bet my HOA would LOVE to see that on my door! Click on the picture below and see an example of a cool wreath on the left side of the clock.

Brea Downtown

I went to dinner with a friend of mine to downtown Brea. It is an area that is like a small old town Pasadena but instead it's on one main street, Birch Street. (Hence the name, the Birch Street Promenade!) We happened to go on Tuesday evening and that is the day that they hold the Farmer's Market.

I meant to take some awesome pictures for everyone but we were starving. By the time we finished eating (and yes, yapping) it was already dark. Even though this picture is horrible with bad lighting, etc. I think you can still see how beautiful it is. (Really, how can it not be gorgeous with all the palm trees flanking the road?)

Old posts, pre-fires

I've been a little under the weather the last few days. Nothing to worry about, I am already feeling much better. Anyway, I am several post behind and some of them seem way too carefree and glib considering the state of Southern CA right now. Of course, I live in Long Beach by the beach so I am pretty much protected from the fires getting to me. But outside you would think the fires are only a mile or two away. The sky is always smoky as is the air. There are ashes everywhere. The postgirl (I guess that's what you call female postmen, maybe I should say the "postal worker"?) is wearing a dust mask as is anyone else who is outside for any length of time. On the news, Southern Californians are warned to stay inside. And I am NOT complaining. We are the lucky ones as we are safe and do not have to evacuate or worry about losing our homes.
So, I am going to post some of these older posts, just remember they were supposed to be posted pre-fires.

A Very Worthy Cause...

One of my very close friends, Susan Todd (who is in the blue man pictures with me) is going to be walking 60 miles for breast cancer next year. She has a goal of raising $2200 for breast cancer, more specifically to support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund.

I know you get asked to give money for many charities but it would mean a lot to me if you at least visited her site. And if you could support her goal as well, that would be awesome. I'll be sure to post some pictures of the event.

Click here for her page:

Meet my new maid, Roomba

I just got a Roomba and I love it! I took this video of it in use for the first time...


Here is a quick picture of Caj walking by Roomba without really caring that it is swirling around. I have decided to purchase Roomba's sister, Scooba, who will start work this weekend. I will let you know how she does!



UPDATE: Sadly, Sccoba did not adapt well to our household and had to be returned. Although she really tried to clean her best, she "slobbered" way too much and left my floor soaking wet.

What's inside a DVD player?

Besides my DVD that I couldn't get out?

If any of you reading this are really mechanical, then excuse the naiveté of this post. I took apart my DVD player today and was amazed at the insides. It really is like a mini-computer. The wonderment of it all! Fun times, eh?

Lancaster or bust...

...and it was a bust, literally. I was in my car with a co-worker, driving from Cypress in Orange County to Lancaster in northern LA County. At around 7:20 am, my car got a flat tire. We were in the car pool lane in rush hour traffic on the 605/91/105 interchange.
By the time we got all the way over to the emergency lane - which was on a bridge - my tire was merely a rim. We started to call my road service but LA County has a free road service that stopped to help us (there's a link to their website on the picture at the end of this post.) We had to drive forward on our rim (gasp!) as we couldn't get out of the car without risking death! Turns out my brand new Volvo bought from the dealership did not come equipped with the key to unlock the nut from the tire. The Volvo dealership located less than half a mile off the freeway (the very exit we were next to) would not bring the key to me. (Don't even get me started about the all the phone calls I made to get a "no" from them.) So I had to send the free road service away and call my roadside assistance again who had to TOW my car to the dealership (1/2 mile away- remember?)
Because Lancaster was too far away and after we had to go to Burbank airport, we could not drive on the spare and had to get a new tire. The new tire is hard to get and had to be brought in from Torrance. I got the flat at 7:20 am and was ready to drive on my new tire around 1:30pm! Needless to say, Monet and I totally missed the meeting (that we were supposed to be actively participating in) which ended at 2pm. What a long day... I will probably never buy a Volvo again as the dealerships I dealt with were SO unhelpful. Trust me, you are getting the abridged version of the story. The good news is that we ended up safe and the tow truck came just as it started raining. (Although standing by the freeway during rush hour traffic does cause a lot of dirt and debris to be all over you. Yuk!)

I love LAS

The Las Vegas Airport that is. I often fly from LGB (Long Beach) to LAS (Las Vegas) for work. Both airports have free internet access! (I think Columbus, OH does too so I know you guys aren't that impressed.) Very few airports have free access so we are the lucky ones. I am sitting in the Las Vegas airport right now posting this! (Better than gambling at the slot machines, I think.)