QUESTION OF THE DAY

IF BIRDS AND CHICKENS ARE GETTING THE FLU'..... THEN DO WE FEED THEM PEOPLE SOUP???

What Goes On in Vegas ..... Comes Home in My Suitcase!

On the next day, my last day in Las Vegas, when I went to get out of bed that morning, I literally almost fell over when I stood up! I could not put my weight on my left foot at all! It was scary and so excruciatingly painful, that I thought for awhile that I wasn't going to be going anywhere that day! I thought it was from all the walking I was doing, but strangely it was only my left foot. The best way I can describe it is that it felt as if there was a rusty nail stuck in my heel! I proceeded to get ready, as I had to check out of the room, but all I could think about was how the hell was I going to make it through the day with my really sore foot! However, the more I was up and on it, the more the pain eased up, thank goodness! Put on my most comfortable walking shoes and off I went for the day.

I wanted to go up to the Venetian, so I decided to try out the new Monorail. It seemed like an ideal and fast way to get from one end of the Strip to the other, and I saw that I could catch it at the MGM Grand, 'just across the street' from my hotel, The Tropicana. Well, I say 'just across the street', with tongue in cheek, because to get from my room to the Monorail entrance at the MGM Grand was one giant ordeal, and especially since I was limping! You can't just 'cross the street' in Vegas! You have to trek up and over an overpass that crosses the Strip and then walk waaaaaaay to the back side of the MGM Grand to get to the Monorail. In 97 degree plus heat, I think I now know why they call it the Strip ..... because after you walk down it for more than 2 minutes, you are so sweaty and hot and worn out, that you feel like STRIPPING!

Anyway, I finally made it to the Monorail where I bought my $3 ticket. Now, the Monorail is both good and bad...

GOOD: Because it gets you to where you are going really fast (55 mph)..

BAD: Because it gets you to NOT quite where you are going! It lets you off waaaay in the back of the casinos on a street that is off the Strip! So in the end, you end up walking your feet off again! Moral to the Las Vegas Story: You cannot see Las Vegas without walking A LOT!!

Even if you take a local bus down the Strip, you have to work out which bus and which Casino you want to go to. I took one bus one day and wanted to get off at the Mirage, and found out that it went whizzing right past the Mirage and stopped quite a few LONG blocks down from the Mirage! Again, MORE walking! Oh, and forget trying to hail a cab on the Strip! It's now illegal for cabs to stop anywhere on the Strip to pick up anyone! To get a cab, you have to go a Hotel/Casino's entrance or to a side street! I used to like the Pedicabs that took you from where you hailed them to exactly where you wanted to go, but unfortunately, they took away the Pedicabs, as they were deemed 'dangerous'.. In actuality, the reason was that they were taking the fares away from the taxi companies!

I re-visited the Venetian, where I was still on a quest to find the same pair of sunglasses that I bought a couple of years ago in Vegas. As I mentioned, the original ones are now broken, and I want to find another pair like them so bad, but alas, no luck. But instead, I bought a few other goodies and a pair of really comfortable gold sandals! There was one shop in the Venetian where I could have bought almost every pair of shoes in there! And the jewelry and clothes!! Achhhhh! Oh, to be as rich as Paris Hilton!!! I wanted so bad to revisit the new expanded Caesars Hotel/Casino and Forum Shops, but there was no time to tackle that as Caesars now takes up more than 4 huge city blocks! It's humongous!!

Then I returned to my hotel and spent the last few hours at the pool. Total LUXURY!! Soaked up the sun and sipped a few more Mango and Melon Daiquiris, and boy, did that pool feel refreshingly fantastic after getting so hot and sweaty walking down the Strip!

Flew home as the sun was going down and had a pleasant flight back. Felt quite smug and smart that I brought along my own small flask of Bourbon, so that on the plane, all I had to do was to ask for a free 7-Up in order to have my cocktail without paying $5.00! Anyway, It was a fantastic weekend, and I was still floating over the fact that we got to be special guests of S&R and got to meet and talk Roy Horn.

But one of the best parts of going to Vegas was coming HOME to my little cat, Nefer, my very own little White Lion! She had been taken care of by my neighbors while I was gone, and it was so good to come home to her and see her again! As soon as I put the key in the lock to open the front door, there she was waiting for me like a little puppy dog, only in place of a wagging tail, was a loud rumbling purr!

A Magic Day in The Secret Garden

On Sunday afternoon we all met up again at the Mirage's Secret Garden, where Siegfried & Roy's animals roam in a natural jungle-like preserve. All of our Sarmoti group wore our T-shirts and brought with us a huge bouquet of 61 multi-colored roses for Roy's 61st birthday! Each rose had a yellow ribbon tied to it with a personal note written on it by each of us. It was truly impressive what the organizers of all these weekend events went through to make everything just perfect.

We had time before S&R's arrival to leisurely stroll through the Secret Garden and visit all the animals. This was absolutely awesome as you feel like you are in a real jungle. You can get up very close to the the white tigers, the Siberian gold tigers, the white lions of Timbavati, the leopards and the black panthers as there is only heavy barbed-wire fence between you and these magnificent beasts! Unfortunately, we were too late to see their beloved elephant, Gilda, who starred in their show as she had passed away only weeks before. Other than the sounds of birds, occasional growls, roars and the exotic jungle music of The Secret Garden being played in the background, there is almost a hushed, reverent silence as people walk around. Being in the presence of nature's most awesome, stunning, majestic creatures just takes your breath away, and induces somewhat of a trance! One huge male white lion, stood no more than 6 feet away from me and just stared right into my eyes! It sent chills through me, not from fear, but from CONNECTING!!

Finally, we were told to go stand near the gift shop, and TO NOT MOVE! The excitement was really now beginning to build up, as by then we knew that we would be actually meeting S&R! In fact, Siegfried & Roy paid for all of us to get into the Secret Garden, which is normally $15 per person, and were making an appearance just for us! Only our club and a few other people were allowed to be inside the Secret Garden for the private meeting and birthday party! What a thrill! The closer it got to their arrival, the more everyone got in a 'every man for himself' mode, trying to get in the best position, the best spot, and a little pushing and shoving ensued! One particularly obnoxious German gal kept shoving my arm and demanding that I "Don't Move, don't move!!!", and I finally retorted with "GEEZ, Will you JUST STOP shoving!!"

In the meantime, the LV TV station did an interview with our group, and not only did we eventually get on Las Vegas TV, but the interview (and yours truly) got on Entertainment Tonight, Extra Extra, Access Hollywood, Inside Edition and even German TV! Here are some clips - look for me on the right and in a turquoise cowboy hat!

http://home.comcast.net/~kovacssandra/roysbirthday2005.wmv
http://www.sarmotiworld-fanclub.com/media/clip_LVNewsClips.htm
http://www.sarmotiworld-fanclub.com/media/clip_punkt.htm
http://www.sarmotiworld-fanclub.com/media/clip_rtl_october.htm
http://www.siegfriedandroyfanclub.com/Site/Photos/AccessHollywood_03october05.wmv
http://www.siegfriedandroyfanclub.com/Site/Photos/ET_03october05.wmv

Then all the camera people rushed over toward a back door entrance, where in came Bernie Yuman, S&R's Manager, followed by the beautiful Lynnette Chappell, the 'Evil Witch' in their show. At that point, all mayhem broke loose, with people pushing and shoving and cameras being thrust in front of me, and then in WALKED Roy!! Yes, he WALKED in! Those of us who were there could not believe our eyes, for there was Roy WALKING in un-aided!! Truly a miracle after nearly dying. His nurse would stand behind him to steady him, and he would alternate, walking by himself and using a 3-legged cane. He has no problem showing his scar and his weaknesses. His scar shocked me, actually. It is from right under his chin almost all the way down to his breastbone! I was able to present a rose to Roy, and he kissed it when he accepted it. I was hoping to meet Siegfried too, but Roy told me that Siegfried could not be there that day as he was in Paris for a wedding.

After all the hoopla, with people trying to talk to Roy, get photos with Roy, pose with Roy, we were all invited to share his birthday cake with him! The cake was gorgeous and what a privilege to have him share his birthday with us, while we all sang Happy Birthday in German, which we had been practicing since the first night at the cocktail party!

I also got my pic taken with Roy and the group which now is on the Official S&R website. That evening, S&R also treated all our group to "Havana Nights" at the Stardust Casino, the show which they produced! None of us had to pay a cent. It was an exciting, gorgeous production showcasing the music and dance of Cuba. S&R had to fight to get this production going as Castro wouldn't let these performers come to LV, and persecuted them and their families. Finally, with much dedication and perserverance, the mission was accomplished. It is a beautiful, breathtaking show, one I highly recommend if you go to Vegas.

After the nightclub show, we all went over to the Hofbrauhas in LV where S&R love to go. It is a huge German beer hall, where we all Oom Pah Pahed, Ein Zwei Drei'd and downed more than a few Octoberfest beers! Needlesstosay, A wild time was had by all! Luckily, I got a ride back to my hotel afterwards which made me and my aching feet very happy!

Red Rock Rocks!

On the Saturday evening, our group all gathered at the Mirage where we hopped on board a bus that took us to Red Rock Canyon Ranch, 20 miles west of Las Vegas. It is referred to as 'Red Rock' by locals because of the striking red-colored sandstone formations found throughout this small valley. These formations can be seen from almost anywhere in Las Vegas. The Red Rock area was, for most of the last 600 million years or so, originally part of a deep ocean basin. Movements of the Earth's crust began occurring about 225 million years ago, causing the seabed to rise slowly.

As soon as we left the city of LV, the terrain and landscape changed dramatically, where we found ourselves smack in the middle of the Mojave Desert with tumbleweeds, cactus, Joshua trees, coyotes and other critters all around us. It was hard to believe that just a few miles away was the infamous flashy, neon-lit, bustling Las Vegas! Not too many people know about the Ranch where anybody can arrange to go there and have a huge bar-b-que or go horseback riding, although it's mostly done for groups of people.

When we got to the outskirts of the ranch, we all given cowboy hats with a leopard hatband(!) and then boarded horse-drawn stagecoaches and wagons! Off we went, like a bunch of pioneers, across the rugged landscape, as the sun was setting. The mouth-watering aroma of barbeque greeted us as we pulled into the tented and picnic-bench area, and just seeing the campfire, made me feel like a kid at camp all over again! We had all kinds of wine, beer and soft drinks and a FEAST of a chicken barbeque with corn on the cob, salad, huge baked potatoes, and the best darn baked beans I've ever tasted!

After dinner, we had a huge raffle, with the proceeds of the raffle sales going to Siegfried's sister, Dolore, in Romania who is a nun and runs an orphanage. I won 3 prizes, one of which was a gorgeous, huge autographed poster of Siegfried & Roy posing with a white tiger! Then we roasted marshmallows, made S'mores, had hot chocolate, and even had fun taking our little trips out to ye olde Out House with the ye old kerosene lantern!

On the way back on the horse drawn carriages, our two horses bucked when we went up a hill!! Guess the horses were trying to tell us we all ate too much!! Anyway, they were bucking and neighing to the point where our wagon almost toppled over!! We all had to get out while the driver calmed down the horses!! It was really just like the wild west, and was a complete blast. The wagon ride back down to the bus area was just magical: clop, clop, clop, holding on for dear life (!), a full stomach, wonderful new-made friends, singing crazy songs, and all under a warm night sky full of a millilon stars! I haven't seen that many stars in years, since the sky in the City has so much haze. Out there in the desert, the air is clear and so invigorating, and unlike the Las Vegas Strip, the only light was from the moon and the kerosene lanterns on the wagons... It truly was a special, magical night I'll never forget.

After we returned to the Mirage and all went our own ways, I decided to walk down the Strip aways to browse the shops and see if I could find a pair of the same type of sunglasses I bought a couple of years ago in Vegas. Those are now broken, and I wanted to find another pair like them so bad, so the search for these same sunglasses became 'A Quest'! I swear I must have looked on every damn sunglass rack on the Strip! Anyway, I kept walking and walking, and thinking that, oh well, I'll just go as far as the next bus stop, and then hop the bus to get back to my hotel. But when I'd get to the next bus stop, there was no bus, and so I would decide to walk a little further to the NEXT bus stop! Well, it turned out that I was so mesmerized by all the shops and stuff to see along the Strip, that I just kept walking, until I finally found myself back at my hotel!! Now, THAT is one LONG walk! I walked from the Mirage all the way back to the Tropicana which I'm told is about 4 miles!

By then, I noticed that a pain in my left heel that had been there before I left for Las Vegas, was now getting worse. But I just figured it was from all this walking on the hard pavement. Just about collapsed when I finally made it back to my hotel room where it felt like heaven to take a hot bath and order room service! Little did I know what was wrong with my foot, but more on that later!

SARMOTI!!

And now for the Las Vegas story! I flew out on Friday morning Sept 30 on a gorgeous sunny day. Fabulous views from the flight and arrived in LV around 11:00 am. Checked into the Tropicana right on the Strip and got settled in, trying to orientate myself to how the hell you find the entrance out the casino! My room was fabulous on the 15th floor with a great view of the Strip, but it was soooooo far from the entrance to the hotel/casino, that it took at least a half an hour just to get from my room out to the Strip! Then, of course, if you've ever been to LV, you know that you can't just cross a street! You have to walk 'miles' and then over an overpass that goes over the huge, wide Strip! And in 95 degree-plus weather, you are exhausted and sweating before even starting out!

The first thing I did was head down to the pool. Luxurious and tropical!! After about an hour there, sipping on a Mango Daiquiri, I then made my way across the street to the MGM GRAND to see the Lion Habitat. I saw this on my last visit to LV, but this is worth seeing again and again. It's a glass enclosure that you can walk through where you can come face to face with lions! Saw about 4 lion cubs that day with their trainers, playing like any household kitten! Absolutely mesmerizing.

That first night the Sarmoti fan club (SARMOTI = Siegfried & Roy Masters of the Impossible) members were all invited to a cocktail party at the organizers' suite at the Bellagio! Well, I would probably never see the inside of a suite at the swanky Bellagio if it hadn't been for this invite! That alone made the weekend worth it! We had to all go up with Security as the Bellagio will not let anyone past the elevator banks unless you are a registered guest or have permission. Was escorted to the 36th floor where about 45 members from all over the world were, and was given a Goodie Bag containing all sorts of neat stuff, such as a detailed program of the weekend events, T-shirts, candy, and animal print stuff,and a name tag. Of course, there were wonderful drinks and appetizers and even a bowl of M&M candies with "Siegfried & Roy" and "Sarmoti" printed on them! The suite had 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a TV in each bathroom and bedroom, DVD player and Fax machine, a kitchenette and bar, a gorgeous chandelier, a breathtaking view of the Strip.... well, you get the picture! Lots of German gals, some Austrian men and the others came from different parts of the states. We all had a great time getting to know each other.

After the get together, I came back down into the Bellagio and headed for the Fontana Bar.. THE bar at the Bellagio. You may have to wait in line to get in, but it's worth it. Then ask for an outside seat. Inside, there is always some headliner performing, but outside where it is cool with a panoramic view of that part of the Strip, you can catch the hourly show of the Bellagio Fountains set to Andrea Bocelli's sensual and soothing music. Sat there, with a chilled Bellini, taking in the gorgeous fountains and gazing at Paris across the way! Let me tell you, it doesn't get much better than Bellagio, Bellini and Bocelli all at once!!!

SIDEBAR

My heart goes out, and I am so very distressed to hear about the horrific murder of Dan Horowitz's wife. I had the honor of being able to meet Dan during the Peterson trial in Redwood City earlier this year, and he is a genuinely nice and decent guy. He was kind enough to stop and take a photo with me even though he was extremely busy and in demand from all the networks wanting his legal commentary.

Seeing him break down and cry tonight on Nancy Grace (CNBC) was just absolutely heartbreaking. How sad that after he met and married his one true love and soulmate, he had her snatched away from him in this horrible manner. How ironic life is: the Defender becomes the Victim...

Father of the Pride

I went to Reno to get to Las Vegas! I get these free trips all the time by going to timesharing presentations, and this trip to Vegas was because of a free trip to Reno my mom and I took last year, compliments of the same company! You'd think they'd get the drift by now, that I'm never going to buy into their timeshare plan and am only sitting in on these to get the free trips! But noooooo.. So ok, fine with me. I can put up with 90 minutes of strong-armed sales people pitching why I should buy a $8,000 timeshare condo package, if it means a free 2 night/3 day stay somewhere INCLUDING airfare for 2 people!! That is what makes it worth it all - the included airfare! And they always put you up in decent hotels.

Even then, after you settle on a date with them, they then call and ask you if you want to upgrade your package. For maybe $200 or less, you can then upgrade to an even BETTER hotel and choose what airlines and flight times. So in essence, even with an upgrade, you are only paying $200 or less for 2 PEOPLE to go to Vegas (or wherever), including a fine hotel AND airfare! Just cannot beat that for price!

This year I planned this Vegas trip around a special event . The European Siegfried & Roy World fan club was holding its first official get together in Vegas with loads of special events planned. I wanted so bad for my mom to be able to go with me, as she too has become a big fan of S&R ever since we went and saw their incredible, mind-blowing show at the Mirage in Vegas in 2003, just two weeks before Roy Horn's terrible accident. If you have seen their show, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, it's a pity, as it is something that will never happen again, unfortunately. It was a Las Vegas show that was THE Las Vegas show to see. It was everything Las Vegas is about - Glamour, Over-the-Top Costumes, Astounding and Top Notch Stage Choreography, Music that Permeates Your Soul, and of course, the Mind-Boggling Unbelievable Magic Tricks that Siegfried & Roy performed. Now, add all that up, and then INCLUDE wild white tigers, lions, and elephants who did tricks on cue, and you would be left with your mouth hanging open and saying "How DID they do that!!??".... It's one thing to do magic tricks with people, but to get wild beasts to cooperate, was just beyond comprehension. It truly was Magic.

When Roy had his accident, all of us who are familiar with the show and S&R, just knew that the tiger, Montecore, was not trying to kill Roy, but to protect him. During the show, Roy had tripped (some say he had a mini stroke then, as he did have a re-occurring problem with mini-strokes), and it threw the tiger off track, since the animals are all choreographed to every little move as a cue. Montecore first grabbed Roy's arm as if to keep him from falling. Roy then tapped Montecore on the nose with the mike, as that is how he would bring an animal back to attention. But for some reason, Montecore was confused, and decided to 'pick up and take' Roy backstage to protect him. Montecore instinctively saw that Roy needed help. As you know, cats (big and little) pick up their young by the scruff of the neck to carry them around. Montecore, not realizing Roy did not have the protection of thick fur like a cub would, picked up Roy by the scruff of the neck, carried him backstage, and then dropped him. If Montecore wanted to really maul and kill Roy, it would have been a more violent shaking and it would have been over in a minute. Roy had raised Montecore since he was born, and therefore, I believe with the strong bond they had, despite this was a wild animal, the tiger was not trying to kill Roy. But by then, the damage was done. The first thing out of Roy's mouth, I am told, after the accident, and as he lay there profusely bleeding, was "Don't hurt Montecore". To this day, Roy still visits Montecore and has no hard feelings toward his special beast.

Roy nearly died on the operating table twice, and since then he has had an excruciatingly difficult recovery, as I'm sure you have read about. There have been rumors and talk of him wanting to commit suicide and that he was on the verge of death, but this is not true. The major strokes he had after the accident have left him partially paralyzed, but with continual rehabilitation, he is now able to walk un-aided for periods of time and talk again! Siegfried has been by his side throughout his ordeal. As Siegfried once said, "Roy is still the magic; I'm only the magician".

When I first heard about this get-together in Vegas, I wondered if we would actually get to meet S&R, but the organizers could not and would not promise such. In any case, it would be awesome just to go to the events and meet other fans from around the world! All the events, but one, were free. The only event I had to pay extra for was a big Bar-B-Que event on the Saturday night and that was only $40 per person. The organizers of this event were two woman from Germany and one from California, and even though I was excited over this whole thing from the get-go, little did I know just HOW great the weekend would turn out or what these gals had in store for us!

My Car is in The Pits, But it Ain't Nascar!

The day before I was due to leave for Vegas, I was running a few errands. As I was driving around town, I kept hearing a scraping noise. Oh no, now what, I thought. When I got back home into my garage, it was then that I noticed that my muffler on my car was almost dragging on the ground!! Geez! Well, it was too late to do anything that day, as it was already almost 5 p.m, and I would just have to tackle this problem upon my return from Vegas.

But it really bummed me out. Approx. 3 months ago, I had my Corvair mechanic (specialist) put a rebuilt engine in my car. His shop is located in south San Jose, more than 50 miles south of San Francisco, so while it was down there, I told him to check everything on the car and give me a report of what it needed, since getting down there and back is a hassle. Depending on the cost, I told him I'd have to get work done on it on a priority basis. However, I made it VERY clear to him to take a good look at the WHOLE car. He had it down there for over a month, since I coudn't get the time or money to go get it right away after he finished, so he had plenty of time to check things out.

One week after I got the car back, the fan belt flew off, and I got stuck in the City and had to be towed back to my garage. Came to find out later, that it was more than just the fan belt..... the harmonic balancer (what? I have an orchestra under my car?) under the belt area had broken in half! Hmmmmm... a coincidence?? Well, had to call my mechanic and get him up here to fix it, which he did do a whole week later when he came up with his girlfriend in tow.

But only a couple of weeks or so after that, the brakes went out on me right during the week my Australian friends were visiting here (little did they know that they were having a REAL thrill ride down the San Fran hills and almost ended up in the Bay)! Again, I had to tow it to a local shop, only to find out the it was the front master and wheel cylinders that were shot! That took a total of 5 days while the shop tried to locate the right parts!

Ten days after that, I discovered I had a totally flat tire, right down to the rim!! AGAIN, had to have the car towed to the tire shop, where I then was told it needed at least 2 new tires. But alas, the type of tires I currently had on the car were now obsolete! So in order to get 2 new tires, I really had to get 5 new tires.... 4 for the car and 1 for the spare!!! More money out the door!

And then after that, one night my neighbor calls and says "Karen, did you know your car is leaking a bunch of red liquid all over the garage floor???"... ACHHHHHH!! I almost fell over went I went down to my garage and saw that transmission fluid was in large puddles under the front AND back of my car!! I immediately called my Corvair mechanic, and his reply was "Well, that's normal if it isn't driven often"... SAY WHAT?! No, no, no, no!! I HAVE been driving it, and besides, since when is a major leak NORMAL??? The following day, slowly and very carefully, I drove it down to a local transmission shop, and was informed that the pan underneath where the transmission fluid runs had screws loose and ALL my transmission fluid had leaked out!! Well, there were some screws loose, all right, and they weren't all just under my car!

And, now there was the latest malfunction, the muffler falling off! Plus, the car still doesn't sound quite right when I start it up!

Now, I know my car is OLD, 40 years old, to be exact! However, are all these things just 'coincidences' after my mechanic was told to check everything? When I informed him about all these things, his nonchalant response was "Well, you didn't tell me to check THOSE things!"... Do I, as a consumer, have to tell a mechanic exactly what to check??!! Isn't that why we bring our cars to an 'expert' in the first place?? I am not the mechanic, and I am not knowledgable enough to know exactly what parts to tell him to check, for Pete's sake! Shouldn't a good mechanic do routine checks of these important parts of my vehicle???! Especially since he knows I am driving in a city of hills and need safe brakes and tires! What's your take on this??

Well, I still owe him $600 for the engine rebuild, but guess what. He ain't getting it yet! Because of all the other problems I've had and the money spent on that, he will now have to just wait!

Yes, It's the PITS having car problems!

TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT!

I QUIT!! Sweeter words have never been spoken!!

Two days before I was to take off to Las Vegas, I got called into my boss' office. Oh oh, I thought, now what. Seems the boss wanted to give me a lecture about taking so much time off of work lately. Well, like I said before, EXCUUUUUUUUSE ME if my mother had a heart attack, and I had my wallet stolen all in the same week! Well, I could no longer hold back all my frustrations, and we got into it. I told him I would be more than willing to make up my time, as these were circumstances beyond my control. He replied, again, "No this is not the company policy". This was just the last straw. So I threw it back at him, and asked him if he really thought I WOULDN'T take time off for my mother in such a serious situation as a heart attack, even if I was still on probation????!! PUL-LEASE!! He just looked at me with a blank stare..... like it hadn't occurred to him before that this type of dilemma could happen. DUH!! This really struck me as cold hearted, bureaucratic and downright STUPID, since he had just recently experiened his own mother passing away!

Well, I guess I have just been waiting for a moment such as this, and I decided to let the s*it hit the fan.... I let it all hang out and let him know how I felt the company had duped me into this position and put me in great discomfort and pain for making me do tasks that were sooooo not in my job description, that the company demeaned my abilities and skills, that the company was totally out of touch with reality of the present day workplace, and on and on.... I completely Flabbered his Gast, or maybe it was that I Gasted his Flabber!! In any case, he actually started stuttering and seemed not to be able to speak. But I was on a roll now. The words just flowed, and to be honest, I was so proud of myself! I felt EMPOWERED. However, still, way in the back of my mind, I was sitting there in a sweat wondering if I was doing the right thing as I NEEDED to work and have a salary coming in, but I also knew I needed to tend to my mental and physical health and well-being.

In the end, we both agreed that this job was not for me .. (NO KIDDING!)...and we'd call it quits that very day. One thing he was decent about is that he agreed to let me have my benefits for another month, and my accrued vacation pay (which totaled more than $100), so actually, I was thrilled, as it meant that I would now be getting a final check THAT DAY, and not having to wait til the end of the month!! Which also meant, $$$ in my account before I went to Vegas!

I can't even begin to tell you what a huge weight it was off my shoulders to be free of that place!! I almost tripped over my own broken feet trying to get out of there fast enough!! But, just like all their other red tape, I had to go back to human resources first to 'talk' with Ms. Personnel Lady, wait for them to cut a check, yada yada. All of this took 2 hours, and again, it had me trekking back and forth from one building to another! So right up to the end, they made me struggle just to get outta there!

Surprisingly, had a very pleasant chat with the Personnel Lady, and I say surprisingly, because I thought she'd come down on me. But it seems she realized that my goofy boss was just that....... GOOFY! She actually apologized to ME for the disappointment, so that left me feeling I had done the right thing in the end. After she handed me my check, I then had to trot, again, back over to my boss's office in the other building to have him sign off on it!

Finally, you won't believe how I said goodbye to him, as I can hardly believe this myself! .... I got up, said "Well, Ta Ta!", and I BLEW HIM A KISS!!! It wasn't so much as a loving kiss, but more like a kiss-off! I couldn't believe I did that! And boy, then my little crooked feet went into high gear to get the hell outta that building!! WHAT A RELIEF! Now, I could put the check in the bank and go to Las Vegas with a clear mind!

Went home and celebrated that night with a glass or two of my favorite, Ballatore, and slept like a log that night, knowing I'd never have to enter that god-awful building again or cut and paste any more asinine numbers ever again!

The Curse of Achilles!

Way before I left for Vegas, I began to suffer from a sore heel on my left foot. I just knew something like this would happen sooner or later from all the walking, trekking and pounding the pavement my company puts me through everyday. With severe flat feet and bunions, I just can't take the constant standing and excessive walking that this job has me doing everyday. It doesn't matter what type of shoes I wear, so to all of you out there who just don't get it, quit telling me to wear tennis shoes!! It's not the shoe, stupid!! It's the foot!

I have gone through every type of shoe known to man.. er, woman! And wherever I go, I have to take at least 2, sometimes 3, pairs of shoes with me to interchange them throughout the day. It's been like this since I was young, but of course, it's getting worse as I get older and am starting to fall apart! Anyway, no matter how much I would try to tell my boss about my condition, it went in one dumbo ear and out the other, and I had to continue through another arduous day of pounding the pavement over and over in my job.

By the time I got to Vegas, it had already progressed from just uncomfortable to downright painful. What does it feel like, you ask? Well, try to imagine walking around with a nail poking into the bottom of your foot - that's what it feels like! Every step was painful. I was hobbling and limping all over Vegas, but just had to do the best I could to get around. And if you have ever been to Vegas, it is a city that requires A LOT of walking!! Vegas is on such a grand scale, that you have to walk miles just to catch a cab or bus, cross the street or get from one end of a casino to the other! Certainly not a good time or place to have sore feet!

It was worse in the morning or right after I would rest my foot for awhile, and then when I would get up, I would just about collapse when I would try to put my weight on my left foot! I had a suspicion of what was wrong, but would have to wait til I got home and go get it examined at a foot doctor.

Well, I did just that right after returning. Turns out I have what is called Plantar Fasciitis, and/or a heel spur! The doctor says this is caused by flat feet because of the wrong distribution and placement of foot bones which causes inadequate flexibility in the calf muscles, lack of arch support, being overweight (yeah, yeah, ok, like I don't know that already!), suddenly increasing activity, and spending too much time on the feet.

The doctor took one look at my feet when I stood, and proclaimed "Oh my gosh, your feet ARE bad!!".. Nice... I am SO flat footed that it does little good to wear a non-medical arch support, as it feels like a have a rock under my foot. I do not have a weak arch - I have NO arch!! I inherited this from my dad, who had the same deformity. And that is what it is... plain and simple, a deformity. Every step is a struggle, and because of the stress on the wrong part of the foot which affects your muscles in your calves, it eventually affects your back, because your balance and posture is all off.

So herein lies part of my weight problem... I'm not supposed to increase activity and I'm not to spend too much time on my feet, so how the hell am I suppose to exercise and lose weight!!! And if I don't lose weight, then the weight adds to the condition of Plantar Fasciitis!!! Why is my life one big continual CATCH-22??!!

You've heard of Farewell to Arms?? Well, I'd like to say Farewell to Feet Problems!!

Give Me Credit, Will Ya?!

I had planned a special trip to Las Vegas for Mom and myself way back last year, which was given to her as a birthday present this past June. I had a free trip to Vegas coming to me through the Timeshare company I usually go with, and I coincided it with the weekend that the Siegfried & Roy European fan club would be gathering there to celebrate Roy's 61st birthday. The fan club consists of members from all over the world, especially Germany, Roy's birthplace, and that particular weekend, a bunch of exciting and fun events was scheduled. Unfortunately, Mom had her heart attack approximately a month before the trip, so I thought, well, that's it, and that I would be cancelling the trip altogether. I certainly did not want to go while she was sick! However, Mom's recovery has been nothing short of stellar, and she is doing very well, even though she has had to slow down, stay home from work and watch her diet. But she is back home and driving again and getting around on her own.

Therefore, she did not want to me to miss the events, and told me to go ahead and go. At first, I thought no way, as I really enjoy my Mom coming along, and she has been a huge fan of Siegfried & Roy ever since we both saw one of their last shows in Vegas before Roy's dreadful accident. I thought going on this trip wouldn't work. But if I were to cancel both of us altogether, I would have lost money that I had already invested in the trip and in the special events for that special weekend. So Mom convinced me to go. She would not be alone the weekend I'd be gone, as my sister and her sister would be coming up to stay overnight with her and help her with chores and errands.

As far as my job went, I had told them right up front when I was hired that I had this trip planned which was already paid for, and so they knew I would be taking 2 days off for this. Even so, I would be docked for those 2 days as I was still on probation. I'm sure my boss wasn't really keen on me going, however he knew he agreed to it before I was hired and came on board.

So the trip was on. The only hitch was that it was a race against time as to whether I'd get all my stolen cards and ID back in time! The rigmarole I had to go through in calling all these places to make sure the cards would be sent in time and to the right address when I'd be home to sign for the delivery was nothing short of a nerve racking, tense, will-it-or-won't-it-get-here-in-time, migraine-inducing time. Since some courier companies require a signature upon delivery, I re-scheduled the delivery of 2 credit cards to be sent to my work address instead of my home address.

Now, normally, with most companies this would not be a problem. But, remember, I work for a one-guacamole-short-of-a-taco institution... and, let me tell you, INSTITUTION is a most apropos word! First of all, we have the little problem that I am in a 'SECURITY' building, which means no one without a pass can go beyond Checkpoint Charlie. The security guards, who both look as dynamic as someone who has been on morphine for 3 days, shoo all delivery guys off to the mail room in the basement. They won't call you or write anything down. They just sit. And 'secure' the building. Yeah, right! Osama Bin Laden could walk right in with his white sheet on, and they'd probably just have him put his Rolex in the tray so it wouldn't beep at the metal detector and then shoo him right on through. Therefore, I figured I better go down to the mail room in the basement and inform the people down there that I was expecting 2 very important packages.

Now, who do you think I see when I enter the basement mail room? The dingbat woman who, a few weeks earlier, had a hissy fit that I took her food out of the microwave!! GEEZ! Oh well, I proceeded to give her all the info regarding these 2 deliveries, the day they would be delivered, the carrier, my name, and my phone extension. And most importantly, I STRESSED to her that it was VITAL that she call me ASAP when they came and that it was very important to me.

The day came that I was expecting the credit cards to be delivered. I waited almost all day and still had no word of the deliveries. Meanwhile I checked my phone messages on my home phone, and discovered to my amazement, that Ms. Dingbat had left a message on my HOME phone saying my packages had arrived and to come and pick them up in the basement mail room! I was somewhat puzzled why she had called my home number instead of my work number, but thought, "Whew! At least they arrived!!" So I went down to the basement and asked Ms. Microwave Police Lady where my packages were. She looked me with a blank stare and then, are you ready for this???......She informed me that because I DID NOT ANSWER MY HOME PHONE - (HELLO??? THAT'S BECAUSE I'M AT WORK, YOU TWIT!!), she sent the packages back onto the delivery truck!!!! SAY WHAT???!!! Well, let me tell you, I saw R-E-D, like a snorting bull facing a Matador's red cape, my blood pressure went up, and I was more than ready to haul off and slug her!

Me: "WHAT!!?? I told you quite clearly that this was very important and for you to call me at my extension as soon as they arrived!!!"
She: "Well, I tink I lose the little piece of paper I writed your name and number on" (HELLO AGAIN?? Ever think of looking in the company directory??!!)
Me: "But how did you get my HOME number??!!"
She: "Uh, It was the numba that was on the package"
Me: Shaking my head in total disgust, I stormed out of there and headed back to my office to call the courier. As I headed back upstairs, I saw a UPS truck parked outside!!! AH!! My packages HAD to be ON THAT TRUCK!! So I ran outside and ran up to the truck. However, it was parked and no one was in it! So I loitered there on the sidewalk and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Was the driver eating lunch somewhere? Where was he? After waiting on the sidewalk for over 20 minutes, I was dying of thirst, so I dashed into the little cafe next door to quickly buy a Snapple. Wouldn't you know it, the minute I came back outside, the TRUCK WAS GONE!! ACHHHHHH!

Long story short, I called the courier and they agreed to redeliver it the next day! And thank god, Ms. Microwave did NOT put it back on the truck that time! If she had, you can bet your sweet bippy that I would have shoved her UNDER the truck!! Somehow, I did manage to receive all my cards before the departure for my trip, but I still had not received my driver's license for ID purposes. Thank goodness I had my valid passport which I had to take to Vegas with me, but right up to the point of departure, it was all touch and go and angst over replacing my stolen cards and identity ...!

I still felt a bit guilty about going on this trip with Mom still recuperating, but she said there was nothing I could do for her anyway, and it' would only be for 4 days. She had people taking care of her, and wanted me to have a good time. Goodness knows I needed to have a rest, and really was looking forward to this special event.

More about the trip to Vegas in my next blog... Right now, it's a Friday night, and I'm more than ready for my Happy Hour. Heaven knows I need as many Happy Hours as I can get! Got to make up for all the Torturous Hours spent at the company of Hell & Highwater, Inc.

Hanging on by My Acrylic Fingernails

Did you think I got blown away by Katrina or got kidnapped in Aruba or buried in the mud of Islamabad's earthquake???? No, the non-destructible Ladygold is still here, hanging on for dear life, but at least, still hanging in there!

I dropped all my blogging right after my Australian friends came to see me and after Katrina hit, as so many things were taking place, one right after the other. Have you ever seen so many natural disasters taking place?? Hurricanes, earthquakes, snowstorms, rainstorms, bird flu pandemic and Tom Cruise & Katy Holmes planning their pregnant Scientology wedding! What does it all mean? It means, go ahead and eat that pizza NOW! What if a natural disaster strikes and you spend your last day on that damn diet!!! Fergetaboutit!!!!

Mid September brought my blogging to a complete halt, however, when my own mother had a heart attack! Mom is 88 years young, still working 4 days a week, 8 hrs a day in a drugstore, and never has had a problem with her heart. I called her on a Friday night as we had plans to go to a cousin's birthday party that weekend. She stated on the phone that she felt sick, and although it didn't sound serious, something pecked away at my mind which bothered me all night. The next day, I drove over to her house so we could go to the party together the following day.

Immediately after I got there, I could see something was seriously wrong with her. She was having trouble breathing and extremely exhausted. Because of her age and her history with high blood pressure, I said, "We're calling your doctor". Mom fought me and said, "No, no, no.... I don't want to go to a doctor or hospital...!". Too bad, I replied.... we are calling the doctor. The emergency doctor on call recommended that I take her to the emergency room JUST TO BE SAFE. Mom protested again and thought I was making too big a deal out of it all. Well, we drove to the ER, and while waiting in the waiting room, she seemed fine and was joking and laughing. But about an hour or so after admittance and being put on several monitors, the doctor comes in and informs us that she was in the middle of a heart attack!! I was so shocked that it almost gave ME a heart attack!

Well, that changed all the plans for the weekend without a doubt. It also affected plans for a trip to Las Vegas at the end of the month that mom and I were planning on taking which was intended to be her belated birthday present. But more on that later. While we were at the hospital, I called my sister who dropped everything, took off work and drove up that same night. Mom stayed in the hospital for almost a week, and went through an angioplasty to put a stent into her heart. It was quite a scare. She has so many wonderful friends that eventually her hospital room resembled a flower shop! Thank goodness my sister is a registered nurse, as she was able to get the complete lowdown from mom's cardiologist, and she knew exactly how to take care of her and manage her meds. Of course, I also had to take time off of work to run back and forth the 25 miles or so to the hospital and to her house, where my sister and I stayed for a couple days to take care of everyday events, her bills, etc.

Now, to make matters more insane and chaotic, my wallet got stolen (pickpocketed on the bus!) right during this medical crisis! Everything was gone, kaput, out the door! My driver's license, my credit cards, my ATM card,my bus pass, my identification, my book of stamps, my notes and, of course, some cash I had in there! Pity the poor thief who wanted to steal MY identity!! Haha! The joke was on him as all my cards are maxed out and there ain't much money in the bank! I was now fairly frantic, trying to take care of mom and at the same time, trying to recoup my identity! Of course, having no driver's license affected my being able to drive over to see mom! If you have ever had this type of thing happen to you, of course you are aware that you have to personally go INTO the DMV to get a replacement driver's license - you cannot do it over the phone or Internet. AND .... you have to pay $20 to get the replacement... HELLO???!! I felt I was up against a brick wall wondering how I was going to do this as:

a) I had no cash on me to pay the DMV - it was stolen!

b) I did have money in my bank account, but could not withdraw it as I had no ID, no checks or ATM card!

c) Without any cash or bus pass I couldn't even catch a bus to work or to the DMV!

d) This also meant that I would have to take MORE time off work to get up to the DMV which is only open during work hours and closed on Sat & Sun! And since I had not been at this company for very long, I would get docked for taking time off!

e) And finally, calling all the credit companies to report my stolen cards became a nightmare - I didn't want to do the calling from my desk, and my cell phone (pay-as-you-go) was out of funds! And I couldn't add money to the cell phone account as the credit card on file was now reported stolen!! So there I was with a completely useless charged-up cell phone, and stuck in a prehistoric Federal building, where there are no public phones anywhere in the building! I literally had to dash out of the building several times a day to use the public phone across the street (!), and then that meant that I had the hassle of trying to re-enter the Federal building again and again without my security badge!!! This was MORE than your usual Catch-22... This was Catch 99.9!

Anyway I came up with a brilliant SOLUTION to obtain some cash for the next day... or so I thought. I felt I was really being clever when I figured I'd go down to the local grocery store and write a check for over the amount so as to have some cash the next day. Borrowed $1.50 from a co-worker for the bus and rushed home after work, quickly picked up another checkbook I had stashed at home, maniacally dug through the cramped closet to find my Passport and then dashed out to this local grocery store in the Marina I go to all the time.

I make it to the store with minutes to spare before they close, and whiz around stuffing a few items into my basket. Get to checkout. Ask the checker if I can do money over. He says Yes, maximum $40. I write check out for $40 over. He takes one look at my passport and then says "Can I see your ID". I say, "This IS my ID", explaining that my wallet and driver license ID were stolen along with it that day. He looks at me suspiciously and then back down at my passport photo. He says "How do I know that's you?!"... HELLO??? He, who is an Arab gentlemen who probably has uncles in Al Queda is asking ME to prove who I am!!!! On top of that, he says with a raised eyebrow, "So how come you have a wallet there if you say your wallet was stolen?" By now, I am ready to sock this twit in the nose with my loaf of Sourdough!!! I say "Because I had another wallet at home, BOZO, and am now using that, you DUMBKOFF!! Well, no, I didn't say 'bozo and dumbkoff', but I sure was about ready to! Then I drag out all my bills, which I happen to have in my bag - my utility bill, my telephone bill and my bank statement to prove that this is my address and that I am ME. He then switches his story and says he only cashes a LOCAL check. I say, "But I AM local! I live in San Francisco!".. He says "No, you are in zip code 94133 and we are in zip code 94123"!!! Geez, god almighty!!! I was clearly getting nowhere, and all this was taking so long that the tomatoes I had in my basket were beggining to grow mold! No matter how hard I begged and pleaded, he would not cash my check, and I've been shopping in the damn grocery store for over 20 years! Anyway, I then dashed to Safeway, where I should have gone to in the first place.. Thank god, they cashed my check for over the amount, but it meant I had to wheel the basket around and shop for those few items again! By the time I got home that night, it was almost 9 p.m. I was in a sweat and felt as if I had talked my way out of a Turkish prison at gunpoint!

The next morning I took off early and went to the DMV to get my replacement license. Even though I left as early as I could, all this made me late to work of course. All this running around and panic over the stolen wallet and mom's medical condition while trying to do my Kindergarten job was indeed stressful enough. But, no, my dumb-ass company had to make it even more stressful by harassing me and giving me crap that I 'was taking an awful lot of time off while I was still on Probation'! I told my boss I'd be willing to make up the time, but my wimpy-skinny-ass boss said, while fingering his scrawny mustache, "We don't allow employees to make up time here".... Eh??? Well, EXCUUUUUUUSE ME for my mother having a heart attack and for me being a victim of robbery!! Oh, and to make matters worse, my EMPLOYEE SECURITY BADGE was amongst the stolen items, so I had a problem entering the building!!! So to add insult to injury, I was made to feel guilty about all this!

In any case, mom is back home now and doing well. She is taking things much easier and has not yet gone back to work. And I finally have received all my replacement cards and ID, so things are fairly back to normal. Normal?? My life normal???