Success!

My DMV saga continued today as I built my day toward completing certain tasks! My Olympics if you will. I entered three events today. Licensing in less than an hour, Mexican fabric shopping, and classroom decorating, all in less than 4 hours.

I breezed though DMV with my three ID's and a tax return that proved I am who I say I am. I have my photo taken and was presented with a paper document to suffice as a license until the authentic plastic one arrives by mail. That'll be $39.00 please!

Joann's fabrics is phase two. I am hunting chili pepper cotton fabric for a table cover in my daughters classroom. Wow, Joann's is huge and has so many neat things, I was temporarily distracted from my event. Back on track, I find the perfect selection and toss it in my basket. Right near by are my two other targets, bright turquoise blue and bright yellow fabric. I cannot be stopped now, just get a number and wait for my turn with the fabric cutter! I was in and out of there in record time, (and $60.00 later) and on the road to Newberg to meet my daughter and start transforming her sterile, easy-eye beige room into a delight for the senses!

Wow, two hours to go and we just jumped on the project. Covered her bulletin boards with the fabric, got posters and teaching aids up, hung beautiful boarders around the top of the room, and put the cute little monkey around the flagpole! We win, and never dropped the baton!

Seriously, her room is so inviting and open to learning in a pleasant, non- intimidating atmosphere that I believe her sections will enter in with a good feeling about getting started. I was so happy to be invited to work on it with her. It's so different doing these things for her classroom instead of working with my old staff. It's fun making a place for her where she can do her thing. I am so proud of her and the life she is building there. Good people around her too! What more could one ask.

No where's my gold medal?

Gotta Love the DMV!

Once again I had a befuddling and frustrating day at our wondrous DMV. My license is expiring and new rules require me to appear in person. It is now necessary to produce three pieces of ID for renewal to include 1, the old license, 2, a passport or birth certificate, and 3, a social security
card. I arrived with the passport and license but neglected to bring my ss card. In fact, I don't believe I have seen it since I retired. Never mind, as instructed by my friendly DMV employee, they must apply the new rules evenly to all people applying for license/renewal, and even though we have record that you have been driving for 50 years, we still need proof you have had a ss card and are not trying to work illegally in this country. They sent me and about 10 Mexican nationals 15 blocks down the road to the ss office to get the proper documentation.

Recognizing the faces from the DMV at the SS office, we all quietly waited our turn to see someone who would stamp the paper work needed to get back to the DMV for the coveted license.

Back to the DMV and in line again. I present my new paper work proudly, the employee looks at the new paperwork, looks at me, looks at the paper. "Madame," says she, "this will not do!"
"Your social security number is not on the this temporary form!"
Say What? I went where you said with the paper you gave me and got the stamp and signature you requested, but it's wrong? OK, now what.

"Well, we can issue a temporary (which I can pay for) and you can come back in a few weeks when your new ss card comes in the mail. " " I think not", I say, "I am at the end of my last nerve standing in lines and waiting for formal stamps and documents, so if you don't mind, I'll just drive on home on my expired license and come back tomorrow with my a new note from my mommy and an other fresh ss document."

As I was leaving the office, one of the Mexican fellows who had been to the same circus at the social security office and back again with me says in his heavy accent, Hey Lady, you really got f--ked! Wow, he spoke good English! He made me smile and get over myself. So I'll go back tomorrow and try again to prove I able to drive the roads of Oregon. In the meantime, I'll just show my international drivers license and play dumb if I get stopped.

A Good Day!

I had a great day going through the birthday plan. First went to my daughters new classroom with the idea we would get her bulletin boards up, decorations around, and help her organize the room the way she wants it. Unfortunately the "tool" of a teacher that had it before her left a real mess. Files full of old student work, torn up teacher resources, instructional CD's out of their cases, and a filthy desk. We spent our time sorting and tossing instead and will return tomorrow to "Lysol" clean the place and hang things up. It is a great space and will be terrific when it's the way she wants it. Tomorrow we will stop at a office supply place for some odds and ends she needs, get a few more Mexican items to add a little international flavor and color to the room and get going on the project. It will be great.

Lunch with friend was fun and learned about a new place to go for Reuben sandwiches and such. Of course I don't remember the name but will post it tomorrow! It's after 1:00 am again, so my memory fails once more! I really do need to address this insomnia problem. It's not incapacitating yet but I realize it could be so, got to figure out a way to get to sleep with the noise laying next to me. Drug him or drug me? hummmm. To be determined.

Had a fabulous time at Piazza Italia as usual. I love that it never disappoints. The food superb and the staff warm and homey. Just what I wanted for my birthday. Josh, LJ , husband and parents all had great meals and interesting company. My family is so off the wall sometimes, with bizzare conversations that come for now where.

I have noticed that now my parents are as comfortable talking about their dogs potty habits as they are about their own( it's an old thing I am told). Both subjects totally unacceptable and more than I want to know, but there it is. The dog is their baby so the poor thing has not one unobserved and documented moment in his life. I still do not want the lab notes on his bm's at anytime, much less at dinner! Size, shape duration, hang time,....gross! Thank G the restaurant is buzzing and we could change the subject in short order. BUT REALY?

I did feel comfortable taking out my new face. LJ has some photos I will publish tomorrow when I get them off her camera. Wow, I have come a long way. Never would have allowed a public photo even a week ago. See? I am growing!

I shal now tuck my one year older bod back into bed with the hope of catching some "z"s. More with photos later...of the dinner, not the dog!

It's My Birthday!

Hurray, I have healed enough to go out into the night with only light Shades on and as a bonus, I won't frighten little children. I will be a able to go to my favorite little Italian haunt for Bresole and field green salad, and scuaceritteli, a little red table wine and great atmosphere. The best thing about Piazza Italia is the is is so authentic, run by real Italians, and makes me feel like I am back in one of the neighborhoods meshing "with my People"! It will be a little celebration of just 6, possibly 7 people and a simple little evening. Just what I want. I am excited.

This morning I will get to go to Lindsay's classroom and help decorate some of her boards, make space plans, etc. I am anxious to see her new digs. It will be fun experience helping her plan her world out there. I am getting some posters made from her travels abroad and hope they will be available before her classes are in session. Should be nice to have some of her actual photo posters rather than the usual travel posters. I will definitely enjoy my morning with the Lindz.

I will have lunch with an old friend (who is an makeup artist and is anxious to see my restoration project). She will have hints for doing my makeup and emollients for soothing the still sore areas. She saw me three days into this project and was amazed how well I was progressing so I am anxious to see what she thinks now. Having practiced in San Diego for years, she knows her Facial plastic procedures. See, yet another birthday activity all about me. It will be far better than pin the tail on the donkey.

I believe Wednesday night my new "pen pal" and her family will be coming here for dinner. I am excited because after our girls night out with our daughters, I know there is sooooo much more to say. I was amazed at the conversation between the four of us, that the amount of wine consumed was commiserate with the amount of mother/ daughter roll reversal behaviors. God help me, I believe I have crossed over! I wonder how long it will take me to learn the new rules of the M/D game; you know the one where I her original thoughts, fight back tendencies to blurt out embarrassing childhood memories, and generally admit that things have changed since my time at this point in her life. All true I must say. Thank God again, that it's no longer my turn to learn how to build for the rest of my life, decide which friends I want to know 40 years from now, get a career moving, and generally do it all correctly. Bless the youngsters. I'll know they'll do it better. I am old enough now that if I accidentally hurt peoples feelings or say something foolish, I have an excuse. ha!

It's another ambien night due to a sleep machine that sound as though it in the depths with Jacques Cousteau, a my ever-lovin's constant flipping and flopping around trying to get comfortable. I am now into Olympic recaps!

I shall get my restorative beauty sleep and prepare for my birthday. Hurray!

Let's Hear It for the Olympics!

While I know a lot of people don't care for all the hoopla and tv time given the Olympics, I truly am a fan. I couldn't have picked a better time to have to lay low because I have been able to watch on two stations most of the interesting events and see athletes from so many countries do their thing. Mostly I feel a sense of awe for these "kids"who have given so much of their young lives to become the very best they can be. I marvel at the discipline, dedication and what ever it is in them that makes them tick the way they do. For two weeks, they will do their thing in all the various events. When you think of the fact that even the kids who finish dead last in their events are still in the top 20 in the world at what they do! Geez, how is that a loss? I hope they know that when it is all said and done they still deserve our respect and admiration for what they have accomplished. As to the winners; wow! So I shall go on watching and learning about some sports I have never paid attention to much less understand the rules for, and the glamor sports as well while enjoying and marveling every minute. Here's to the Olympians, wherever they are from. Too bad the worlds problems cannot be decided in as civilized a way.

I had intended to post a day by day diary of my voyage through the vanity surgery maze but discovered pretty early on that 1.) I could not see through the swollen slits of my eyes to read much less write 2.) The drugs made it impossible to compose a full sentence with any kind of an ending thought and 3.) the tendency to whine when the whole experience is self inflected would be too great! So here I am two weeks post scurgery and feeling really pretty good and feeling more satisfied with the results as the days pass and the swelling goes down. It's a "left" side "right" side kind of race. Oooo, right side looking good today! There is a reason folks, why there are back doors to all vanity surgery clinics; You never use the front door or waiting room post surgery, just for initial consultations. Us graduates always are brought in from the back door straight to the treatment rooms. New candidates would pee their pants and change their minds if they saw us three days after surg having the first recheck. Me Too....I would have chickened out.

Seriously, the process has gone well, but I will admit, I underestimated the discomfort level a bit. I wouldn't call it painful as much as gnawing irritation, pinching, I want these damn stitches out kind of pain. The drugs work well, but I am not a fan of feeling out of control and hallucinating so I swapped them for Extra Strength Tylenol and got by. Oh my, the hallucinations! The worst one was the night I saw Japanese Shogun masks fading in and out of the window over my bed. They were exquisite but frightening. All red and black lacquered Dragons in various forms with flared nostrils, smoke and fire! Wish I could have sketched them as they were spectacular. The odd thing is I knew I was "out there" so wasn't scared as much as just worn out. I could squint my eyes and realize I was seeing reflections of computer lights and cables forming the visions on the window, but the brain tires of reality in a hurry on drugs. I decided it was time to end the show! No more Vicodon. One of Lindsays friends says I may have been subliminally influenced by pre-olympic visions from tv adds. Could be. I also have a love of masks and a small Italian collection of theatre masks so who knows. I did feel as though I had been out of town for a while. The combination was a powerful creation of my mind and drug interaction and perhaps I will be able to sketch them out some time. I'll post my critters if I ever do.

I had the best care possible from my best ever daughter thank goodness. She has a true aversion to seeing wounds, blood, stitches, etc, so I really don't know how she managed to help me through the first few nights of ice bags and pain pills but she trooped through it for sure. She kept my bunny ear ice bags full and applied through the night as my husband slumbered blissfully on ambien up in our bed. He was just exhausted thinking about all this! haha He took over the day shifts and was good (and smart) about giving me ice, pills, and a wide berth! I lived on jello, sherbet and H2O for the first three days (5lbs, yes!) and then graduated to Speghetti O's! can you imagine a good Italian girls eating that stuff from a can? It's great cause you can sort of suck it through your teeth, it's soft and not much chewing involved. It all worked well and I remained nourished.

I get out the last of my sutures tomorrow. I will celebrate by going to a darkened theater with my daughter to see Mama Mia! I am almost to the point where I don't look like a car wreck but could possibly caught a right hook to the left eye and cheek. Not bad for two weeks but I am told I will be astounded in a month. Ok, I'll take it.

I'll talk more of this adventure soon, but this just to let you know I am still out there, feeling better and happy with my results so far.