another day in the neighborhood

geez its been a long time!!! let me see, what has happened.........

well tracy is still driving me nuts and despite my threats to send him to the frozen tundra (nebraska) he just didn't believe I would follow through. I guess I don't fault him, as he has only known me about 15 years and 10 months. I may be slow to follow through, but sooner or later I get er done.

So when January rolled around and his grades were still in the toilet and I didn't know where he was spending his time while I slaved away at work, I purchased a one way ticket to Omaha for him to stay with the Galloways. They used to be the "Galloways" of Iowa, known for being the only black family in Iowa. I know, because I drove the state several times and all I ever saw were white people, and fields of corn. but the Galloways moved to Nebraska, where Mr. Galloway is a teacher.

He is responsible for the class of kids otherwise known as "future felons" or "future janitors and McDonald's cooks" because these are the kids who just don't listen. They want to screw off all day and torment teachers, and really believe they don't have to be responsible for their actions. One step away from being arrested.

So tracy went to stay with them, and lo and behold, we discovered, that Tracy can actually (a) read (b) do homework, and (c) do as he is told. In one short semester he brought his grades up high enough I think to be on the honor roll. He did his homework on time, even if it meant getting up and doing homework on a saturday morning at 7 am (" because Johnny said I can't go anywhere unless its done." I could threaten him with grave consequences and he would smile and lie through his teeth that he had it done. So since he did so well the last five months, I was gracious enough to let him come home for the summer, figuring he has learned his lesson. (yes, I still have multiple episodes of stupidity).

Since he has been home we have had to clarify the rules on a daily basis and go through definitions of common terms again. "Clean the house" means exactly that, clean your room, the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, and do laundry." "staying on our block" means staying on our specific street, which is only one block long-it doesn't mean going down to some apartments three or four blocks away and hiding out at their pool. "being home by 7 pm, regardless of any other circumstance" means just that, have your ass in the house by 7 pm. But Tracy apparently has mental confusion whilst living in NC because he is back to his old tricks, and there are current plans underway to send his hiney right back to Omaha.

hmmm, what else? well the military dude and I are planning on moving in together, with our combined sons, dogs and cats. If Tracy is allowed to stay, we will have a 16 year old, a 19 year old, a 21 year old, two old dogs (that would be Bill and I), two old canines, and three cats. Its a test to see if we will kill our kids, our pets, or each other. If we manage to go six months without any of the above occurring, the other option will be on the table. so now the issue is just finding a place. Been looking all over Cary (to get tracy out of current school district) and get his sons closer to their mom and gramma, and bill closer to his brother and sister. Now the catch is finding a house that is big enough, that has a fence, that will allow pets, that is affordable, which won't care that I have a house under foreclosure in Orlando. Time is running out and there are plans in the making to put our stuff in storage and sleep under the trees if necessary. Time to be thankful North Carolina has a lot of forestry :)

I'm in a new position now, legal nurse consultant. Fancy term for meaning I read medical records from patients to see if they have suffered due to malpractice, in a significant way that is worth pursuing it in court. I have been happy to discover that 99% of the cases we get are not malpractice, just poor health. And the cases that actually appear to be neglect, almost zero from nursing. I have gained more respect for nursing, but lost respect for some physicians. I have known of three or four bad docs at a couple institutions, but I didn't realize how stupid some doctors really are. Because of confidentiality, I can't say specifics, but I know for sure, I will never ever undergo a laparascopic cholecystectomy no matter who does the surgery, nor will I ever have back surgery. screw that shit. If they need my gallbladder, just cut my belly wide open and take a good look around at everything that is there and hold it up in the air to see what you are really cutting. For my back? I'll eat pain pills until I die before I would ever let someone put a scalpel through my spine.

still have my old doggies and "the cat" faithfully by my side. My old brownie has a bad back and is having a hard time getting around these days. It appears that the only time his back isnt' hurting is if there are cookies, pizza or some other goodie left on the kitchen counters. All of his muscles and bones work magically to retrieve these items if necessary. I've had it out with the vet over appropriate meds for him, but thats another story for another day that I should title "Losing my mind and the people I have yelled at over the past two months". Mocha the cat is now friends with Lobo and they play together, although they pretend they don't. If they see me watching, they look the opposite way, because I am not supposed to know they get along.

well thats enough for tonight, let's see how long my promise to post regularly lasts :)