OWWIEE !!! OWWIEE!!!

I don't know where to start on this one, it has been a real crappy couple of months. I guess I can start with my daughter, Margaret. She turned 18 on April 2nd,at the end of March I got one of those REALLY nice cell phones, the one that opens up with a keyboard as she likes to text alot. Her and Nicholas have unlimited texting on there phones, which is a good thing as Margaret averages over 5000 texts a month. At the end of April, Margaret starts sending me texts demanding 13,000.00 for school after she graduates. I asked her if she has applied for aid or a grant and whatever they don't cover I will help her mom cover the rest. She refuses to to that and starts laying into me for not having collage money for her. I asked her if she has a job, she won't look for one. Now over the last 5 years whenever she wanted something her mother couldn't get for her, I got it, when she wanted money, I told her to come over, do some chores and earn it. She has squandered ever cent I have given her, and I called her on that. She got really mad, told me that she wasn't getting me a ticket for her graduation ceremony and told me to "F@#$ Off". I told her to apologize or the phone was getting shut off, well the phone got shut off. She wasn't happy!

Seeing that she wasn't getting me a ticket, I decided to go thru the Principal to get one and just sit in the back. I told them the problem and they had a ticket at the school for me. Margaret bought a prepaid phone and minutes(no money for school, bit money for this??). She lasted about a month on that before I got a call from Nicholas saying that Margaret wants me at her ceremony. Margaret asked if I would turn her phone back on, I told her"Not until you apologize for what you said and admit how disrespectful that was". We talked and she admitted she was wrong, so I turned her phone on. Now I don't have to hide at the ceremony.

During school, one of her classes read the book "Into the Wild" a biography of Chris McCandless. Now she wants to go backpacking across the Alaskan wilderness........SIGH.... apparently she didn't pay attention how the book ended....... he died....of .....starvation!!!!! I've been trying to talk her out of it, but it's like getting a German soldier to attend Temple during WW II.....not happening. Anyway at least we are talking.

On June 6th, I attended a reenactment of the D-Day invasion at Operation Paintball in Graham. I have been doing this for the last 4 years, but this year was a real CLUSTERF@#%. There were 3 teams, the Allies, the Axis and the French. if you know your history you can see where this is going. The French turned on the Allies, so in this game the French could attack either side. Apparently none of the young people have read a history book. One mission, I was given an assault team to take a German outpost and hold it for 15 minutes. I was given 10 men from the Allies team and 7 French. Before the assault, I explained if we encounter enemy fire, to move in 2 man teams performing a 3 to 5 second rush. That means as one man is providing cover fire, the other gets up, runs for 3 to 5 seconds, then gets down. Yeah right, of the 10 Allied men I had only 3 made it with me, we took the base, but for some reason ALL the French made it. We set up a parameter and watched for the enemy. as the 15 minutes was coming to a close I took a chance, I talked to my Allied team mates and told them to follow my lead and trust me, WE turned our weapons on the French and told them to surrender, one of the French said they were on our team and I shot him"Anyone else". They dropped their weapons and the game ended.. We waited for the guy running the game to come by so points could be assigned to the proper team, when he got to the German post that we had taken he is surprised to see one dead Frenchman and 6 Pow. Turns out,that at the last minute, the French were going to turn on US and take the base back for the Germans if we had succeeded in taking the base. I was asked " How did you know?" I was stright "A"s in history in high school and I love watching the History channel. The game broke down from there. After our Markers were Chrono'ed at 285 feet per second, someone cranked there's up to 400 fps and there was an injury, we all were rechrono'ed and the offender was kicked of the field. Then a fight broke out because when a guy got shot, was called out, had his gun up and was leaving the field, he kept getting shot. the guy running the game blew up and said the day was over and the field was closed. I was into this day for 200.00, the field fee and 2 cases of premium paint and we only played a half a day...a good share of that was waiting because of people being stupid. the owner stepped in and said "NO". Then the guy running the game quit. The offenders were kicked out and the game got going again. This time the right way.... for the most part. We got in a couple straight hours of good game play with some GREAT firefights, I did really well not getting shot. Then it was time for the "Final Battle" this is the all out "lets use up all your paint" game. The idea is to take the house in the center of the field and hold it for as long as possible. I was supposed to take it easy because of my shoulder and I did until the last game. I went Balls to the Walls!!! It was a 25 min game, my rifle ran out of air and paint at 15 minutes so I tried to finish the game with my pistol. I shed my Tac Vest and rifle and was able to move faster with just the gun belt and pistol. I managed to charge a few positions and take out several people before charging into a German "nest" and REALLY getting lit up!!!! I we counted the welts when I got home, I got hit 20 times in that charge. But hey, I was ending the day with a BANG!!!!

Me before the mayhem

Some guys setting up

Mother's Day

Well, as everyone knows,Sunday was Monther's Day. Of course, I called my Mom and spoke with her for a while, letting her know her grandchildren and daughter in law are doing fine. I haven't called her in a while so it was good to talk to her.

The Friday before, I asked my wife, Darlene what she wanted to do for Mother's Day. She wanted to go th Ocean Shores, WA. So I started things off Saturday night by making her a grilled New York steak, grilled corn on the cob and some Alaskin King crab legs. She was in heaven!!! Got everything cleaned up and packed for Sunday. We got up early and headed out, it was a 2 and a half hour drive, and a pleasent drive. I have never been there before and really enjoyed the drive..... As you can see the weather was a wee bit on the chilly side



We pulled in to a parking lot near a beach and found a souviner shop where we bought a kite for about 20.00. There as a nice wind so we each took turns flying a kite.
Then we made the mistake of renting one of these stupid contrapions, we learned that not only are these things HEAVY, we learned we are out of shape!!!!! We made it about 100 yards before we decided it wasn't fun anymore, turned around and went back!!!
For dinner we went to a pizza place called Dugans, it was a nice place but the pizza wasn't that great. Andrew doing his impression of a hampster

HOT... HOT....HOT!!!

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.