Sometimes Things Started Rough

Had a very rough start to the weekend, Thursday night, my shoulder was killing me. I have had problems for the last year and a half with my left shoulder, I don't know exactly what I did to it. There is a constant pain and the heavy lifting at work really seems to aggravate it. I told the manager Friday morning that I would not be in that night, she saw how much pain I was in and got the shift covered. I called the doctor after work and made an appointment for 10 am, it was early so I called the Saturn dealership to see if the had an opening, I was getting a loud noise from my car's back end. Sounded like the wheel bearing, and I was right, hey, it's a 2002 Saturn Vue with 100,000 miles on it, it was due. I left the car at the dealership and they gave me a loaner car so I could make my appointment, go home and get some sleep. There's not a lot the doctor can do for me right not other than give me some powerful painkillers. I will set up a physical therapy session this week and I have an MRI set up for next week. We will just have to see how things go. I got a couple hours sleep and went to pick up my car. The bill; 963.00, OUCH!!! What the hell it's a nice car and I have to take care of it,don't I. My entire driving life I have buying piece of crap cars and driving them into the ground. Hell the last few cars I bought I got from my boss making payments to him, the car would break down and I would have to take it to the shop next door and make payments to the mechanic. Yes, they did help me but it was becoming a bad cycle, at one point I owed them about 3500.00. I was working 2 jobs, 6 days a week to pay them off. I met Darlene during this time, It's amazing we had and time to fall in love. Well I busted my ass, got them paid off before the car broke down again and worked on getting a better car. This is my baby and the only people I will let touch it is the dealership, yes it cost a little more but I don't have to worry about anything "breaking" while something else is being fixed.

On Saturday, I took the family to the Puyallup Spring Fair. Seeing that I didn't go to work Friday night, we were able to go earlier. The only problem was I had to have my arm in a sling and couldn't go on any rides or really do much other that keep Andrew on a leash. Darlene had to pack everything this year(heh, heh,evil laugh!!)

We had lunch there then we went to see my friend, Steve Hamilton A.K.A Steve the Pretty Good. He puts on a very entertaining show and the crowd really liked him, I met him about 10 years ago when he first came to a Tacoma Magic Club meeting, he has come a very long way!!!!

We checked out the booths, sites, had some treats, and saw the pig races. Then it was time for the event we came for, the Slam Fest Demolition Derby. I have never been to one of these, and it was a blast!!! These guys are nuts!!!! The loud pyro and engines were a little rough on Andrew, We had to cover his ears. Once the cars started crashing into each other, he went nuts!!!!!

Now it's Sunday morning and I got some errands to run, grocery shopping, pick up some shoes and get my registration paid for the D-Day scenario game at Operation Paintball for June 6th.

Well, Spring almost started.

I had a rough start to the beginning of the month, the 2nd was my daughter Margaret's 18th birthday. I was hoping to take her out to the Space Needle for dinner only problem was that she had to get dressed up. She doesn't like to do that, so instead of a night out I just got her a nice cell phone. When I gave her her birthday present, it was the first time I've seen her in 2 months. She stayed just long enough to get her phone and get it activated. She was supposed to come over this weekend with her brother for a visit, didn't happen. When I arrived to pick up her brother, I was hoping she'd come out and say HI, but she had already left with some friends. I guess now that she's 18 she no longer feels that she has to visit her dad. To bad child support isn't based on how often you get to see your kids, I bet their mom would make sure that I would get the time the court says I'm supposed to get!

My stepson, Jasper, is adding frosting to the drama cake. He's taking collage classes that he and his dad are splitting the cost of. Well, grades are out, his dad wants to see them, he won't show them, he won't even show us. The last time he pulled this stunt was high school when he failed several classes. We have him signed up for basic health insurance, we are paying that based on his income,17.00 a month premium and he makes a 15.00 co payment per visit and 15.00 for meds. To keep that coverage we need proof of his income, which he has yet to give us. His insurance is about to be cancelled. I have lived without health insurance,it sucks.

Things are rough at work, the business is being investigated by Liquor Control because it was reported that an under aged employee has been buying herself beer and drinking it on the property. She was written up and was supposed to be suspended for a week, the suspension never happened. This really bothers me, in December, I didn't make sure the gate was locked and although there was no proof that someone went back there on my shift and broke into one of the tow trucks, I got 3 days off. A coworker "copped" an attitude with the boss and was suspended, he later quit. These suspensions took effect immediately, hers has yet to happen, I don't think it will. The boss feels betrayed and is upset because a former employee ratted him out. I am on the fence on this, I have been there 14 years and don't always agree with the way he treats his employees, but I need this job. There is a lot of favoritism there and I feel morale is low because of it. Oh well enough bitching about that.

We had a couple of nice days last week, Saturday and Sunday. It was great, only problem was on Saturday I couldn't get any sleep due to all the motorcycles riding by. We live next to a biker tavern. Andrew got a kick watching all the motorcycles go by. I gave up on sleeping and just sat up with him and watched the show. I was too nice to stay in anyway.

Sunday, I went down to Famous Dave's, picked up a couple slabs of ribs and a chicken,came home, ordered Wrestlemania on pay-per-view and vegged. Great show!!

Easter weekend, my son, Nicholas came over and on Saturday we BBQ'ed some steaks, tasty meal!!!! Stayed up late watching Idle Hands on FEAR.NET. I love this movie!!!!

Easter Sunday we slept in, had Andrew hunt some eggs in the house as it was raining outside. I will be making a nice ham dinner this evening before I have to run Nicholas home.
A few weeks ago I decided to invest in some equipment to make busking easier.

I bought a Crate Taxi battery powered rechargeable speaker and a Sennheiser battery powered wireless headset transmitter and receiver. I am looking forward to trying this out. I think I will head out to the Seattle city center on the first warm dry weekend this summer and see how it goes.

ARE YOU @#$&*% KIDDING ME!!!!!!

Well, here it is, the end of March, you figure it's gonna start warming up as we are getting Spring fever, we want to get outside and start enjoying the warm days to come. Nay,Nay I say, for this is the state of Washington. Over the coarse of less than 24 hours, we experienced all 4 seasons. It started raining on the 28th around 5pm, by 7 it was a rain/snow mix....made for an ugly drive home. By 9pm it was a full blown snow storm!!! By the morning of the 29th, we had about 8 inches of snow on the ground, a pretty sight to wake up to.

By noon, the snow on the roads had melted and we were able to do some shopping, it had gotten up to 50 degrees!!

Been trying to get together with members of my magic club to put on a show at he Shakabrah Java in Tacoma, doesn't look like that's gonna happen. I am ready to perform for a drinking adult audience, but the guy who wants to perform with me is not. Don't get me wrong, he IS trying and his heart is in the right place, but he is not ready to perform for a live crowd or be accepting money for his performances. When a magician performs, he is a representation of all magicians. People will remember a good magicians performance, but they will NEVER forget a bad performance by a magician. Unfortunately, magic is not like stand up comedy, if a crowd sees a bad comedian, they are likely to give the next one a chance. This is not so with magicians, you go to a party and perform poorly, this will make it harder for another magician to get a gig with them. I had something similar happen to me in December, I had a gig for small businesses Christmas party, I found out it was for adults but as always, I ask where the line is on humor. The lady running the party says no profanity, I ask if some double en tong is O.K. she didn't seem to have a problem. I am doing my closing effect, the Cups and Balls, I get to the point where I have someone examine the balls, I say "Give them a squeeze, but not too tight, otherwise I'll go blind. That's is what my dad always says, son if you don't stop that , you'll go blind." She didn't like that, I don't think I'll be back next year, HEH, HEH.

I decided to make am investment in some equipment to make busking at fairs easier, I picked up a Crate Taxi rechargeable battery powered speaker, a battery powered wireless headset mic and a good speaker stand. Last year I did some busking at Meeker days in Puyallup, 3 days, 3 hours a day yelling, my voice was shot. I had fun though!!!

Ran into another magician while I was there, he heard I was performing so he thought he would come by and do some magic. This gets under my skin, it's not like he cost me any money, that's not the point. The point is you don't go to another performers gig and start performing. You wouldn't go to a Rolling Stones concert with your guitar and start playing Brown Sugar in the lobby, would you? Magicians are notorious for this, I have seen David Copperfield twice and both times there was a guy, on his own accord, doing magic for the folks waiting to get drinks or anyone who would watch. AND NO this guy was not hired to perform walk around, Copperfield is not gonna have someone stepping on his toes!! When I go to a magic show the magic stays in the car!!

Gonna Try to Work on Some New Stuff

It's been a while since I have tried to learn any new magic effects, a couple of years to be exact. I have been VERY busy with the wife and Andrew. I am not upset, mind you, it's just seems that every time I try to go downstairs to my den and get busy on an effect, Darlene calls me up for something. This weekend, I will get up early Sunday, get my den organized (again), get the new ropes for the Professor's Nightmare prepared and work on some effects. I have learned Paul Gertner's "Unshuffled". I understand the concept of a faro shuffle, now I just have to perfect it. I have been practicing it while watching T.V. or while I have some down time at work. I'm driving my wife nuts. I am also trying to work on a Linking Ring routine, I would like to add it to my Busker's set. I just sent in my application to Meeker Days in Puyallup. I have been busking there for the last 2 years. The first year it rained all weekend and I didn't make very much, the following year, clear skies and warm weather. I made about 300.00 that weekend, all in ones!! I am looking to buy a small rechargable sound system so I don't have to yell the whole time. Last year after yelling 3 hours a day for 3 days, my voice was shot. I am looking into getting a Creat sound system, but we'll see how things go. My daughter, Margaret, will be turning 18 in April. I feel so old.

A Great Weekend!!!!

Had a fun weekend, Saturday, I managed to get a bit of sleep and got up to get some stuff done around the the house. At around 4:30, it was time for me to take Darlene out to the Ram for a Valentine"s Day dinner. This wasn't a date-date as we brought Andrew with us, but we still had a good time.
Sunday---Sunday--- Sunday, On Sunday I went to see a WWE pay per View event called No Way Out live at Key Arena in Seattle. I bought my ticket back in October, great seats!!! It's one thing to watch these guys on T.V., but it's quite an experience to see them live. I really wish I could have brought Darlene and Andrew with me, Darlene doesn't care for wrestling and there's no way Andrew could have handled standing in line for 2 hours to get in and the loud indoor fireworks.

Here's a few pictures from the event, these guys are Nucking Futs! Wrestling may be scripted, but the falls and chair shots they take are real.

I Really Need To Get Things Together!!!!

Did you ever have one of those days, weeks, months, years, or lives??? It has been going rather odd for me as of late. I hate my job, hate, hate, HATE, my job. It is boring, unfulfilling, and there is NO! chance for advancement of any kind, at least for me. I have to be in a gas station overnight instead of sleeping in my wife's arms or get up in the middle of the night to check on Andrew. I have to stick this out because of the economy, I could leave my job, but then what? Do I take a job at Mc Donald's or go back to making pizzas? I would love to do magic full time, preferably as a busker. But here in WA. I don't think you can make a living just busking on the few warm sunny days a year we have here.

This was a very sad weekend, Darlene's pet of over 10 years died. She was not taking it well, her dog was taken to the vet for emergency surgery, sadly Boo Boo did not survive.

I'm Gonna Bitch a Bit First......Then to some fun!!!

The last couple weeks have been really hectic, one of my coworkers was fired and another couldn't make it to work over the weekend because his brother was out of town and didn't have a ride. Here's the problem I have with the a fore mentioned scenario, when I couldn't make it to work because of the heavy snow, my boss threw a fit, someone else calls in over the weekend because he doesn't have a ride to work, t hat's O.K. Oh well, what's done is done and being bitter will only cause stress. I ended up working 12 days straight, and that led to a very nice pay check. It was a poor trade off though, the weekend are the only days I have to do thing with my family, so I had to give that up. I mentioned before that I got in some trouble at work because I didn't make sure the gate to our parking was closed and locked. During my extra "time off", I did some thinking, for years I've been coming in early to help out swing shift as there is only one person there from 10-11pm and it can get a bit busy for one person. I thought to myself ", Why am I doing this? Where is it getting me ?" I don't get paid for that extra time I am there, it never got me employee of the month. (which, by the way, is a popularity contest, not a who does their job best contest). Two management positions opened up and I was never so much as asked if I would be interested. No one else comes in early, I get off at 7am, my relief doesn't walk in the door till 6:59 AND I'm there 10-15 min a day doing paper work that I don't get paid for. I sat down and figured it out dollar wise, an hour early a day, 5 days a week. At regular pay that would be 58.25, times 4 weeks, 233.00 a month. That's a payment on a brand new car!!!!, and I have been giving that away. Well, now I have been getting there about 20 min early, early enough to get the trash outside changed and get my till counted down to get swing shift out on time. Things are getting interesting at work now, there have been a couple of guys who stuck six packs of beer in their coats and walked out( How the F@#$ do you miss that?) and a fight that broke out in the store. All situations I could have stopped or prevented had I been there early. My wife and I are enjoying the extra hour I am spending at home, and it's great that we don't have to rush to get stuff done in the evening before I have to leave for work. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I am mad at the boss or don't care about the place. My attitude now is, do my job well, what happens at work, happens and don't get upset over things I cannot change. I am just tired of putting a job at a gas station ahead of my wife and child, it should have never gotten that way, even when I was with my first wife.
I have been really sick for the last week and I mean to the point where Darlene was insisting I call in at work and see a doctor. It was bad, body aches, throwing up, sore throat. I am much better now.
My wife, Darlene has plans for me today, we are going shopping, going to my magic club meeting, and then going to a book store. She wants to have us each pick out a book, then discuss why we chose that book while we have coffee, then to dinner....... Okay... this is new. She wants to try a different type of date each month. I get the feeling she has been reading relationship books. This will be awkward, as we have COMPLETELY different tastes in books....and music.....and movies. I am gonna have a hard time discussing with her why I picked out this months issue of Teen Jugs (just kidding) Really, as for books, I, if I'm gonna read one, tend to lean toward graphic novels.... or magic books. The thing is last night, Andrew was up late and woke up early, I got up with him this morning. By the time we get to the book store, I will be wiped. This still sounds like it may be interesting, we'll see......