viv

To the Birthday Boy: I figured it made sense to start with you since I could take the opportunity to write this to you on your birthday and I know how much you love having it made into some big thing. I really wish I could be there to celebrate with you and make you some birthday cake while you hug me from behind. Instead, you

I really like the idea of the opportunities this gives me, so I think I

Viv: knock knock Viv: i come to fixing the pipe... Viv: okay? Viv: zoey just came running in all WHAT THE ACTUAL f**k!? Rich: ? Rich: the rapist is back? Viv: cause there are strange men and plastic and ladders and the couch and table are moved and ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh Rich: ok Viv: water's off now Rich: ok Viv: why do all repairmen smell like oil and paint? Rich: standard issue cologne Rich: eau de manuel labor Rich: manual Rich: well i suppose manuel probably fits most of the time Viv: haha exactly Viv: oh, a painter now too Rich: that is comedy gold right there Viv: totally Viv: and so we have a saw again Rich: he has to make an even shape Rich: rectangle or square Viv: meh, who needs this insulation? ::throws over shoulder:: Viv: oh it's raining and not men Rich: um...good Viv: joykill Rich: well i don

LOL! Yes, they did... that used to be 'the situation' before ridiculous douchebaggery took over America.

Help my friend Ron recieve a $15k scholarship, which he could really use. Any help is greatly appreciated. The URL to his submission is: http://fastweb15years.com/entries/3697/ Please go there and vote for him. You can vote once a day, I believe. Thanks so much!

WOW! Thanks you guys! What a great thing to wake up to! It's so great to be able to celebrate with so many friends... ::HUGS::

I'm SO gay...!

Next time you want me to start a thread about how much I (we) all love you, such extreme measures are not necessary, okay? Just ask... GEEZ! We've talked a lot outside of GA, about all kinds of things during your recovery, and I just want to tell you that I'm so proud to know you and to have been able to see the way you've stood up (no pun intended) and fought every day to make your life yours again. It's funny how some things change and others stay the same, and I know you know that I'll always be here cheering you on... maybe not so much when you try to move a gigantic TV down five flights of stairs by yourself, but that's another story entirely. I love you lots! Vivian

I think I might be having a mid-life crisis. Except, if you do the math, that means I'll only live to 66, although that's 10 years longer than either of my parents made it, but still, not nearly long enough. I keep running from it, like if I can put it off for another decade or two then that must mean I've outsmarted death somehow. It's inevitable. Death, I mean, but that doesn't mean I'm going willingly. Do you know that it's less than 1200 days until my daughter graduates from high school? I really can't stop it from happening, and for a control freak like me, nothing is scarier. I have so much I want to do, accomplish, see before that happens and lately I feel like I'm running in circles because I can't decide where to start, what to focus my energy on. I want to write, I started on something I think I'll try to get published, which sadly means I won't be posting it here, but I'm in love with the idea/plot. I wrote a song, actually two, but the first one is... not my story, just my interpretation of someone else's so I'm leaving it up to him. I am in love with words and the affect they have on people, what they can mean to someone, how they can make someone see something or feel something new or differently. I read like crazy, I sing all the time, and I have music on as much of the time as possible. I dance around and people I love make faces at me, but I want to dance. I get attached to people because I invest myself and my emotions in them. I'm real, and I don't waste time pretending to be someone I'm not. I feel like I see and hear so much talent every day and I wonder what makes me so different? Is it cause I'm not 18 and blond, even if I do have the rack for it? Not that I want anything that way, cause I don't. I've spent a lot of my life working to get peoople to look past it to my brain. Is it because I'm not skinny to the point of anorexia? It certainly can't be because I don't love it or put my soul into everything I do. Maybe I'm scared. I think that's a safe assumption. I've been listening to Parachute a bit lately. They have a full sound I really like and the lyrics are just interesting enough to make me to pay attention. Pictures of Spencer Smith smiling from behind his drum kit make my heart swell. Rich has been playing his guitar again, but only when I'm not here to witness it. I'm going to be Tony's date to his friend's graduation from college. These are kids I've watched grow up, and maybe at some point they'll stop being kids to me, but time is just flying by me and at some point it's going to be upsetting that I can't rein it in, slow it down. It might already be. I used to say that I don't feel any older, just that the kids are getting older. That is still mostly true, but I know (logically) if I take better care of my body, it'll last longer. That's one way to think about it. Dear Death, I'll trade you one workout for one more day of life. If these terms are acceptable, please sign below. Sincerely, Viv Knowing myself, I'd spend all day doing that and miss everything else. It's a fine line to walk. I'm secretly hoping that if I admit this here, it'll stave off the impending implosion for a while. I decided the other day that I think Diablo Cody would be an awesome choice to make From Behind Those Eyes into a movie. On Monday, Rich and I will have been together for 17 years. Longer than we haven't been together, actually. Time is just kicking my ass, it seems like yesterday. Some things never change. On Mother's Day at work, I had this older man ask me if I was going to get to see my mom after work. I told him no, since she passed away 12 years ago. I asked about him, would he be seeing his mom? He said no, same... So I told him we should hang out then. He laughed. How do you like it here in my head?

This kid is AMAZING! I'm making everyone I can watch this... He's spectacular! I hope that in a few years after puberty, his voice is still as phenomonal as it is now.

That video is misleading... traffic NEVER moves like that in LA, even in a city at night. Also, I hope those breasts are over 18... that is all.

He danced into her life; it

... and I'm still laughing! I just got home from work and Rich and I are eating dinner and I'm talking to my fourteen year old daughter and she tells me that her colorguard instructor told them all they should watch some movie she can't exactly remember the name of because it's FUNNY! After much nonsense, we figure out the movie is Pee Wee's Big Adventure... This is what happened next: Me: Didn't he go to jail? Rich: In real life? Yeah... Me: Tell her what for. *insert uncomfortable pause* Rich: Uhh, well... He was in an adult movie theater... My daughter: Where they show pornos... Rich: And he was touching himself... My daughter: Masturbating... Me: *pointedly not saying a thing cause this is going to be great* Rich: STOP SAYING GROWN UP WORDS! Me: ::hysterical laughter:: My daughter: Dad... Rich: *pleading SOS look* Me: She pretty much told you...

I've never been real good at cutting someone off completely. It happened to me once when I was 15, and even then, I knew it wasn't me, it was her and she did it because she was selfish and jealous and probably hurt. That didn't make it any easier when something you've grown up with, that is a big piece of your life just disappears. It's not even like they died, cause you still see them every day, but maybe that's worse. The thing is, she made that choice, just like those kids made their choice when it came to you, and I think that your perspective is a little backwards. Perhaps, it's them who are the disposable ones. Even without them, you went on, you made yourself into this good, smart, caring, successful man and that means something. Often, as a kid, and I see it every day in adults still, you do what you're told, or worse, what you're frightened into doing. People don't think for themselves, and they let their fear make the wrong decisions for them. A lot of time I feel like being right, or doing the right thing, and being alone is better than being surrounded by the weak and the ignorant. It's hard to put that expectation on a kid who's being told that it's wrong and that God says so, and probably a hundred other worse things, but that doesn't make it hurt any less when the people you called friends and invested emotion in just walk away from you. I guess what I'm saying is that being who you are and going through the things you have means that you're strong. It means you're not disposable at all because you're rare. The world we live in is full of people who don't ever think for themselves or fight for what they know to be right because it doesn't affect them. This world, the one you and I exist in together, the one my kids are growing up in, needs you as an example and an advisor. You were already an example to those kids that walked away from you a lifetime ago, and it's very likely that the ones that you loved, loved you back and think about you and the friend they missed out on. It was likely just as much a lesson for them as it was for you. Just a different side of the same coin. It's all about perspective.

I think that this book is AMAZING. It's everything you need to know about what's actually important in life and I think you only get out of it what you put into it. I'm glad you finally chose to read it and that it moved you so much. I've also read The Five People You Meet in Heaven and For One More Day, and they all have a great message in them. Enjoy!

I know... it's been entirely too long. I really do miss you, old friend. I wonder if this is why I haven't been sleeping well, why I'm so exhausted. It could be the getting up before 5 a.m. thing, but I think it's more mental. I NEED a place to dump everything out, sort through it, pick the things I want to hold onto, put them back in an orderly fashion, and then put the rest out there with a sign that says: FREE! PLEASE TAKE! There are a million stories to tell, things to laugh about, tears to cry... Maybe I'll try to sum up. Clearly, I have found Boys Like Girls. I have a weird connection to them for a few reasons, but I like their sound and I love their lyrics. I absolutely spent at least a week listening to nothing but Thunder. I can admit it. Sometimes I wonder if people look at me and think I'm a prude... I find the very idea an oxymoron, but then, I know things they do not. Nevertheless, I'm always amused when people, mostly men, apologize for their behavior and language in my presence. Those of you who KNOW me, know better. If they only knew... Today, a guy I work with called me his mapquest. This is also hysterical if you know me... I suppose I've been called worse, though. Apparently I'm also the resident Jamba Juice store locator, which is far more fitting of a title. Saturday was a day of chaos for me, no lie, but my daughter and her group won first place in the tournament they competed in, and everything magically worked out. There is an awesome recording of their performance on my facebook, but not on youtube... WTF? There was a diorama of fail, as I have aptly named it. Translation, Rich refused to help, even though he's the artist of the family, and in turn, he ended up with a pissed off me, a crying her, and a diorama of fail. What's the moral of the story here? Listen to Nike. This older guy hit on me the other day at work. It was ridiculous and resulted in him comparing my worth to a TV in Rich's eyes, which resulted in me telling him that I am WAY funner than a TV... But seriously, folks, as I say this, Rich is watching TV, and it is clearly providing him more entertainment than I am. We watched Daniel Tosh's Comedy Central Special from when he was in Orange County... He's clever and hysterical and just that side of improper. It's definitely worth the watch. Also, I was kidnapped, if that can happen in your own living room, and made to watch The Fantastic Mr. Fox... Kristofferson was my favorite, and I liked that it was ::waves hands:: different. Work is a ridiculous clusterf**k of changes right now, mostly for the better though, so I'm not going to whine too much. Instead, I'll just hold on tight until the world stops spinning again. Steve took me to see Valentine's Day. I believe the reasons were tri-fold. He was instigating the cattiness that my daughter possesses over the Taylors. He got to see the guys in the movie again, and every one of them was a nice sight, so I can appreciate this reason. The third, was that he knew I would like it... I think he said it had a 'Viv Aww Moment'. I'll admit, I cried a little, but more interestingly, I had the whole plot figured out, EXCEPT the gay guys... In what world does THAT happen? In my defense, one of them was played by Bradley Cooper. I have a pajama ninja in my life. It's kind of weird... not gonna lie. She's in love. She's got the summer blowing through her hair. He's in luck. He's got a fire burning in his eyes. She's alive. She's got him rushing through her veins tonight. Damn it! I JUST realized that I forgot to buy a paper towel holder for the kitchen... AGAIN! Argh! ::sigh:: I'm reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Rich read it, and evidently, it's now my turn. We'll see how that goes. There's definitely a shortage of romance, but it has some interesting concepts. And now, I'm inching through the tall grass, I'm longing for the breeze. I need to step outside just to see if I can breathe and find a way out. Maybe there's a way out. Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer. Do you know you're unlike any other? Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors. I don't wanna ever love another. So bring on the rain, baby, bring on the pain, and listen to the thunder. FREE! PLEASE TAKE!! Vivian

I think at this point, you're in the group of 'trusted authors I know will give me what I want', but generally, I don't want to know exact details, just that I'll end up satisfied and happy I spent hours of my life reading it. PS. Milo ate my SOUL... AGAIN!

... and, oh, how I hate the game. If I were six or seven, you might 'let' me win, and if I was ten, I'd take my proverbial ball and go home. Around thirteen, I'd try to revise the rules in my favor, and at sixteen, I'd hold you to every literal word of them and use them against you. At some point, you realize that if you don't get caught, sometimes it can work out in your favor to do things the way you want to as long as no one gets hurt. The laws are made for the lesser of our society... the idiots who need to be told to put their kid in a carseat or a seatbelt, to put a helmet on before they ride a motorcycle, not to take from other people, that it's not okay to punch someone. But it's not these laws or rules I'm talking about. It's the unwritten rules, the things that get left unsaid, but are expected, obvious. So, here's the thing... Why is it that the expectation for all of us, I'm even guilty of pushing my children into it, is that we all go to school, grow up, go to college, and miraculously end up with some great job we hopefully love? We ask them what they want to be when they grow up, and we laugh when it changes daily, and then when it stops changing, we're glad, like at least something is decided. Ready for the next step. I have such a hard time swallowing the idea that I have to give, at the very least, four years of my life and tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, and play 'the game' so that I can emerge from the other side, allegedly educated, with a very expensive piece of paper in my hand that offers me no guarantees. The only guarantee is 'they' want you to have one. Sure, they put it in a snazzy cover for you, and hold a ceremony, complete with motivational speeches, shake your hand, and send you on your way, but that's it... no guarantees, You're on your own. Now you're in debt, you can't make as much money starting out as I make now working in a grocery store for thirteen years doing mindless work and garnering amazing health benefits for my family, and you start the same competition over again. Isn't that what it always is? A competition. Intelligent and eager vs. participants who operate on a balance of expectations and laziness? Rich vs. poor? Who you know vs. what you know? As a fairly intelligent person, I have always found fault with this 'system'. It's extremely frustrating and it makes me truly sad that there is some 'kid' out there whose daddy is rich and paid for the new computers in the library, or the auditorium at the private school he also pays for, and this kid doesn't know any different. He shows up every day, along with all the other kids in ties, as if that makes this better, whose parents pay for their spots, and at the end of it all, his dad is going to call his old 'friend' or his favorite professor from his alma mater and before you know it, this kid has a spot in the Ivy League and he doesn't even know what that means, what it could mean, what to do with it. Meanwhile, across town... There is a kid who goes through the public school system, collecting his free lunches along with his non-descript education, and even if he, like me, loved school, did well, had a great GPA, was involved in a variety of extra-curriculars, and passed his AP tests, is still struggling, hoping that he qualifies for some obscure scholarship that is going to help him pay for what is supposed to be next. He doesn't though, or maybe he does, but even so, he ends up at some JC, sitting next to every other less motivated, less intelligent kid still living at home, getting his half-credit experience and education for a third or fourth of the price. Either way, what happens after that ceremony, complete with the handshakes and speeches is the same. They write their resumes, they email, one from his macbook in his bedroom which is as big as the other kid's whole apartment, and the other from the public library with the free internet. Then Mr. Corporate Guy is looking through this stack of applicants and, gee, how ever will he choose between Ivy League Kid and Junior College Graduate? The stigma, the discrimination doesn't stop, not even after you play the game... so why even play? What happens if you don't play? Can't play? What happens when you're 32 and you still don't know what you want to be when you grow up? I suppose that's not actually an accurate statement. I do know a few things I'd love to do. I guess the better question is... what happens if what you want to be doesn't require some degree, your participation in 'the game'? What if what you want to be actually is based on merit and talent and you get what you should? That's a whole different game, I guess, but I'm much more willing to play that one.

I

Just borrow someone's uterus... No biggie It's people like you who SHOULD have kids, just saying.

Rules: a) Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search (http://www.flickr.com/). Using ONLY the first page, pick an image. c) Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Mosaic Maker. (Change rows to 3 and columns to 3.) (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php) d) Save the image and post it! The Questions: 1. What is your first name? (Vivian) 2. What is your favourite food? (Pasta) 3. What is your favourite colour? (Green) 4. Favourite band? (Panic! at the Disco) 5. Dream vacation? (Italy) 6. Favourite hobby? (Reading) 7. What you want to be when you grow up? (Someone who changes the world) 8. What do you love? (Writing) 9. One word to describe you. (Caring)

I blame the fact that I cannot feel my hands. Our heater hasn't worked for like... 4 or 5 years now and it's 45 in here. I literally don't need a refrigerator for my food. Also, if we ever meet and you wonder why my skin is so well preserved and I look far younger than my 32 years... that would be why. Between working and living where the average temperature is WAY TOO f**kING COLD, I maintain my youthful appearance apparently. Last blog I mentioned that my house is in foreclosure and so I thought I'd explain that. So, when my mom died my brothers and sister inherited the house we grew up in. About 3 years ago we refinanced the ridiculous loan my parents had and pulled out some of our equity and Rich and I bought my sister's share so then we own half. When we refinanced, it was an adjustable rate mortgage that happened to adjust up to $1800 a month last year when Rich got laid off. We worked it out with our mortgage company and did a loan modification that lowered our payments to something we could pay. The third month into that agreement we got our bill, but it was $400 higher than the afreed upon amount and we called to find out why. They said it was an escrow account for property taxes and we explained that we aren't the only owners and that we pay the mortgage and they pay the taxes and could they please remove that charge from our bill since we clearly cannot pay that ammount. They said sure, just send in a request in writing so we did, but they never removed the charge. Each month I would send in the agreed upon amount and noted specifically on the stub you send in with it how to apply the money. As it turns out, they don't actually care what we want and once they have our money they can do whatever they want with it, oe something. So after months of this, our account went into default and we received 38 letters... thirty-eight! saying that our house was in foreclosure. I called my brothers, and we've decided to sell it, but not without some bitterness and anger between the four of us involved, which probably makes it a good thing overall that it won't be an issue between us anymore in another couple months. Rich and I and the kids will be moving into an apartment somewhere nearby and for the fist time since I was 3, I'll have a new home. So why the bitterness and anger? Well, a few reasons really. One is that one of my brothers said we should have sold the house 3 years ago when we refinanced instead, and I suppose given the market now and how our house is suddenly worth over $100K less, we should have. Also, we bought my sister's portion for what is turning out to be about 3 times what they'll get to split. Additionally, my one brother seems to think that saying "this isn't an investment for me" absolves him of all responsibility which is both untrue and rather frustrating. There are few things I let myself hang onto anger and bitterness about because it just takes too much energy and life is just to short to waste on being angry, but one of the few I allow myself is tied into this situation. 12 years ago my mom died and Rich and I decided that the best thing we could do for Tony was to take care of him and raise him in our family with our kids, in the same house he had been growing up in, at the same school with the same kids he had grown up with. I have no regrets or bad feelings about that decision, at all. Not one. What does bother me, though, is that my older brother took off out of here as soon as he could. Right after graduation, he got about as far away from this all as he could and went to college for 10 years. He's got a PhD in astronomy and lives on the other side of the country fromthe rest of us. When it was my turn to go to college, instead I was taking care of Tony, and then a sick mom, and then dealing with her dying and leaving Tony, and here we are 12 years later and I've never been able to go to college. Now Tony has graduated and has his Bachelor Degree and is in law school, and our brother is so proud and just throwing money at him and it BOTHERS me. At Thanksgiving he and his wife were here for the first time in years because he happened to be in town for work, and I told him during some comversation that some of us get the chance to go to college and make the life they want, and some of us clearly just don't. It's really easy to sit over on his side of the country and act like it's so easy to do that when he has no one he's responsible for but himself. When he offered to pay for the food I bought for Thanksgiving, that I shpped for and I prepared, I almost told him to f**k off. Needless to say, I'm ready to move on and make our own way in this life now that Tony is basically out on his own, too. My brother is a smart, nice guy... I just don't think, no, I know, that he doesn't even get how much we have saacrificed so that he can have his life with no responsibilities, where he just cruises into town for a few random days a year and throws money at us. Anyway... So, we went to a funeral today. Fun times, right? It was for my dad's cousin. We didn't really know her well and had only recently become reacquainted with her and her kids, but she was a great lady. She was buried in the same cemetary as my dad, just around the corner from him so for the first time in 15 years, I visited his grave. I don't really have any good reason for why I haven't gone except that I think that when you die, that's not you anymore and I don't actualy have to go anywhere to visit you. I visit you in my memories and in my heart and so... whatever, I never go. But my sister was there, and she wanted to go, and since we were there anyway, why not, right? She tells us she has this 'tradition' when she goes, that she always lights a cigarette for him because he was a smoker, like she is. So today, I watched her light a cigarette and lay it down in the grass next to his headstone... in LA... while silently hoping she doesn't light the cemetary on fire. Then she decided that we should also go visit the grave of someone else we love very much at another cemetary and alright, why not. Also haven't been there in the 6 years since she died, but we went, and I'm not joking when I tell you that she THREW HER BODY DOWN on this gravestone. I'm not sure how we ended up so different, but I'm really glad that I don't have all those what? Issues? In much more fun and exciting news... I spent 4 hours on a bus on Saturday with 49 teenagers going to San Diego and back for the SCSBOA Championships where my daughter and her band and colorguard won FIRST PLACE!!! Not without a little drama, courtesy of my kid, but all is well now that she's wearing a first place gold medal around her neck and is part of the best 5A band and colorguard in Southern California! So yeah, we'll be moving in a few weeks and anyone who happens to be in the area and wants to help... I'll be happy to feed you and give you many hugs and smiles and snuggles and you can stare at my amazingly hot husband for the day... see: Davey is sick and it's his birthday tomorrow! Get well, happy birthday wishes anyone? Hugs, Viv

what's wrong with being a bottom? *I* ALWAYS have to bottom... and I like it

HAHA, mkay <3

These words are absolutely a figment of your imagination... I've started to write a blog here about fourteen times in the last month, and every time I click 'Add Entry' this overwhelming feeling comes over me that I won't be able to do it justice because my brain is focused on about forty-seven different things and so, I quit before I even start. In case you were wondering what actually happened to me... High School Marching Band and Colorguard ATE MY SOUL. No lie. In addition to that I've been sick, recovering from being sick, having visitors (Jeff and Thorben), my house has gone into foreclosure, gone to Disneyland twice, and working. I'm not really sure I can tell all of what has gone on, nor am I sure that more than a few people actually want to read it, but I'll try to sum up and include some pictures. I was sick, a small little sinus thing that didn't feel too bad, but kicked my ass in the feeling tired for weeks department. Now I'm well... no big deal. (That was easy...) Jeff and Thorben came to visit over Halloween weekend!! They arrived late one Thursday night and we sat around and talked for an hour before we all gave up and needed to sleep. On Friday, Jeff flew to Sacramento to see his VERY pregnant sister he almost never sees, and Rich and I took Thorben to The Block to shop, see the Vans Skate Park, and have his very first Jamba Juice!! We picked kids up from school, baked oatmeal raisin butterscotch cookies and a pineapple upside-down cake, went to TGIFriday's for dinner where there were several men dressed as angels with wings and halos for Halloween. We went back to my house and Jeff arrived from the airport and we carved pumpkins and had cake and then all passed out. Saturday was Halloween and we went to Santa Monica Pier where Thorben stuck his toes in the Pacific ocean, and then much more than his toes. It was the farthest he's ever been from home and pretty exciting for him to get to see things like the Hollywood sign and other things he's only ever seen in movies or on TV. We dressed Matty up as Anakin Skywalker and dressed Annemarie up in her costume and make-up for her performance and dropped her off at school. We took Matty trick-or-treating and Thorben got to do that for the first time in his coordinating Darth Vader t-shirt. Then we QUICKLY drove over to the stadium to catch Annemarie's performance and Jeff got to be a big marching band geek again for a few hours. Annemarie's school has been consistently winning and it was awesome to have them see it. (I'm going to put a link here to the show, and I'm going to make serious threats about anyone even THINKING about doing something stupid regarding my kid and her school. Also excuse the screaming, but this was a football game...) We got to bed after midnight and then dragged out butts out of bed again early to go to Disneyland. Jeff and Thorben briefly met my sister and then we were in and waiting for a certain Steve that may have overslept... We had long cinnamony goodness and watched fireworks. The next morning I worked and Jeff, Thorben, and I had a quick goodbye breakfast at the local IHOP. Anyway, the drama with my house is both a good and bad thing, but I think that in the end, everything will work out for the best and we'll finally be on our own. Either that, or I'll be asking to come sleep on your couches... I've been reading bandom. There's, like, a SERIOUS lack of good stuff to read out there lately... said the one who's not contributing at all. Rich has a sort-of beard going on. It's not long, more like a scruffy, hasn't shaved in a week thing, and it's alright. We'll see how that goes and if I can deal with it. I spent last Friday at Disneyland where my daughter and her band and colorguard were in the Disneyland Parade and that was pretty cool. My sister and Rich managed to get along all on their own for a few minutes, and for the whole morning in my presence. GASP! Then we met up with Steve again and had MORE long cinnamoy goodness. I might be wrong, but it feels a little like he keeps eyeing me like he wants to cuddle and is afraid to. Jeff is a BIG cuddler, and so am I, and Thorben is working on it, so I think it was an interesting thing for Steve to see... feel free to correct me if I'm wrong and cuddle me if I'm right! We didn't get ANY Smarties in the Halloween candy this year so I had to buy some from the markdown section. Contrary to popular belief, they do not actually make you smarter. Also, I didn't even sort the candy this year (GASP) cause I was SO busy doing a zillion other things, and since Annemarie was performing, she didn't get to trick-or-treat this year so Matty just shared with her... unheard of, I know. But it was really cute cause he kept leaving her little stacks of candy on her bed and then she'd come home and find them and smile. I haven't talked to Davey, outside of a random text message, in weeks cause he's moved to a new store again and living out of a hotel again. Last time we talked, he seemed much happier and told me a hilarious story I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I shared with you. Just as a refresher, he is a manager of a big store for a big chain. He told me that he has some guy working for him at the new store he's out who is totally obvious with his flaminess and also, is a lazy excuse for an employee. Several times he's had him in his offie talking to him and discussing how he needs to be trying harder, working faster, priorities, etc... and this last time, the guy told Dave he was going to report him for harassment, based on the guy's sexuality. Dave picks up the phone and calls Chris and tells the guy to tell this person on the phone what he just told Dave. So the guy, trying to stick to his bravado, repeats it and then all he hears is Chris LAUGHING. He demands to know who he's talking to and Dave says, "That would be my boyfriend..." PS. WE LOVE CHRIS! One last funny story for the road... Our trip to Disneyland with Jeff and Thorben and Steve left us with an odd number of people and so, to make sure no one would have to ride alone, I asked Annemarie to see if she had any friends with an annual pass who might want to come along. She asked this boy, J, who entertained us with MUCH Disney trivia and card tricks while we were there. Anyway, before we went, J tells me his mom wants to meet me, which, cool, cause too many parents don't give a shit where or who their kids are with these days. Turns out I had already met her at another parent meeting so we did the whole 'I know you. And I know you' thing. So she's asking if I want her to bring J over in the morning before Disneyland and I say that I' be happy to come get him, no need for her to get out of bed early on a Sunday. She asks where we live and I tell her the cross streets and she asks what street specifically like she knows the area. I tell her and she tells me that she grew up on the same street... turns out she lived four houses down from me when I was a kid, and she's much older than me, since I'm like... the youngest mom of a high schooler, but I'm trying to remember who else lived there. I remember a boy named Josh that I played with a lot, and I mention his name and she tells me he's her nephew and I say, "Oh wow! I totally kissed him by the pool when we were 6!" And of course, Annemarie and J are like ::groan:: Parents! From my own side of this very small and very big world, Viv