Never Trust a Raisin

Never Trust a Raisin.

I really need to start updating more. I write things down but then I forget where I wrote them. Things have been such a blur the past few weeks though. Im dreading my review at work. Ive been going toe to toe with my boss alot lately. Its not so much my job but the lack of her doing hers. Can you believe that she got on my case for being in the gym during the spring concert because I should have been in the classroom with the kids? Im just the para. The teacher was in the class with them and part of the time that I was in the gym was during my break time. But she expected me to miss out on seeing my own child on stage. As she puts it.... "The children are more important. And once you step in the door, your child becomes one of the schools children." I see her point but she doesnt see mine. Its sad that I had to wait til she was in a really super good mood to ask her for permission for the day off to go with my child on one of her field trips. I dont get paid to go so I dont see her reason to bitch about it.

My mom is settled in at the camp now. Its still a bit chilly there at night so the plastic is still up around the deck to keep it a little warmer there. Its so nice to just go down there now and hang out for the day. I wont be spending the nights there until after school ends. Mothers Day was nice. We relaxed and had a nice dinner. I brought her a huge hanging basket of flowers to hang outside.

Oh, going along with the title to this post, my father has a problem. He is amused at scaring the living shit out of me. Like this is anything new. I was over to his house one day and he wanted me to clean. I was all ready to do so when I noticed something on the kitchen floor. He said he dropped a raisin. So stupid me bent down to pick it up. Then I saw it move. Geezes creepers it was Godzillas brother. Or sister. Doesnt matter. I must have startled it because it was stretching out its legs and started to walk. I jumped back and told him to clean his own damn house. He stood there laughing at me. Glad he got some fun out of it because I was shaking. I heard a scream in the back of my mind. Oh wait, that was me outloud.

So he gets out the can of Raid and shoots it. Its still moving. He shoots it again. Its still moving. I told him to step on it. I dont think I said it too nicely to him though. He laughs some more. Im glad I can be such a help to his amusement. So I decided to get brave and walk back into the room to step on it myself. It started to walk again and I thought twice about it. It would leave a hell of a smear on my shoe. Yeah thats the reason. I will stick with that. Regardless, I told him that I would be back the next day and he better not have any raisins on the floor.

Things have been picking up on business too. Ive been getting alot of orders. Id rather start selling the stuff on the site though. Word of mouth seems to be working wonders for me though. I have made a few more items for gifts and stuff. One necklace set went to Australia. Im excited that I have that sort of 'word of mouth' spread out. The item went to a fellow Scaper for his wife's birthday. She loved it and that made me feel great. I like it when I can create something that blends with someones personality. It makes me feel good that there are people out there that enjoy my work and that they wear it with pleasure.

The other thing about this is that my father has taken an interest in it. Its hard to explain but he has never taken an active interest in anything I have ever done. I never went to college like he wanted me to. So in a way, I have always sort of felt like a failure in his eyes. I know he doesnt feel that way towards me but sometimes it seems that way. Sort of like when I was growing up. He wasnt there from the time I was 9 til I was 19. So he never saw my achievements in music or school. Hes not one that likes to talk much and he can be a bit gruff when he does. Hes the sort that complains alot about nothing. Most of the time he does it out loud. Like when a waitress isnt fast enough with the food even though its only been five minutes since she took the order. So if hes not complaining, I know something is wrong.

But anyways, he has been sneaking behind my back on this one. When I see him, I always wear my latest creation so he can see what I do. At first I think he thought I was buying the stuff and claiming it to be mine. I dont think he was taking me seriously enough. I think he figured it all out on Easter Sunday when he walked in my house and I was working on a bracelet at the table. He watched me make it and was impressed. He didnt say so but he kept picking it up and looking it over. It was a very intricate piece where I was making beads out of beads. They are really cool but they arent easy to do. I have been taking classes on stitching lately and that was one of my first projects that I learned. But I could see it on his face that he liked it.

Then I showed him another one that I was working on. This is called a byzantine link and although its amazing to look at, some think its extremely difficult to do. It really isnt. Just looks that way. He really liked this one and wanted the gold one I had already done. This link can be worn by men and women. I didnt know what he wanted it for though because I havent seen him wear it.

So one day, I was out and ran into my cousin. She mentioned to me that hes been at my uncles house (he goes there daily for coffee and visiting) and he was talking about my stuff. He showed my aunt the bracelet. Apparently he was praising me and my work. Now he would never admit it to my face but for him to tell this particular aunt was the cream in the coffee. I felt really good about it. I never mentioned to him that I knew this though.

So one day, while siting at the table with him, I mentioned that alot of this stuff was costing me and that I thought it would be easier to make my own jump rings. He asked me the cost factors of making compared to buying. Its not cheap to buy but I can get a spool of wire for less than a quarter of the cost and cut my own. I would get 10 times the amount of rings that way. But that was the end of the topic and he started to talk about something else.

A couple of days later, I showed up as usual and he had two blue mats there for me. He said that they would be nice to display the pieces on and take pictures. Also previously he purchased two tripod spotlights for using with my light tent. All this is random. He doesnt ask if I want them before he buys them. Also after he gave me the mats, he handed me a box. I opened it and inside was a couple of small wood clamps and a small table vice. He then asks what size rods I would need. Also in the box was a small hack saw. This all meant that he did some research on the tools I would need to make my own rings. I didnt tell him what I needed. He did this on his own. I guess in a way, I can finally feel some sort of greatness for myself. He has taken an interest in something I like to do.

I know this all sounds sort of like self pity though. But this really does mean alot to me. That small little achievement that I finally shine a little in his eyes. Sheesh, it only took 38 years to do this. The only other time he does do this is when he sees something that Cami does. He knows that I teach her outside of school as well and he has taken an interest in the things that she does. The only thing he doesnt do is come to the school to see it. He doesnt like the neighborhood. But he gave me the money to get her a new violin. He also buys her the books that she needs for her specific favorite topics. I guess it all counts for something.

Speaking of my father. He is in the hospital again. He called me this morning to tell me that he was taken to the ER because his lungs and chest hurt. Apparently his lungs filled up and they kept him there. Hes not too pleased with that. But they also want to run tests on his heart. This could be a good thing because Im sick of the VA doing shit for him. I hate that place. He said he will call when he gets home. I told him to stay out there til he is better. Its a two hour drive home from where he is.

I had planned on going to the bead show tomorrow but a few friends that went today told me that it was the same as last year. Expensive and just a tease to me. I cant afford the stuff they have. I actually can get stuff cheaper somewhere else. Even the classes are outragious. Not worth my time to go get teased. I have money set aside for this week. I dont get paid til Friday. Cami has guitar lessons and also Tony Vacca is back in town and I want to get a couple more of his CDs. If you havent seen any of his shows, you need to find one locally and go. He really puts on a hell of a performance.

Also this past week, Cami had two field trips. One to a local nature center and the other to teh Baseball Hall Of Fame. I didnt go with her to the nature center but she was well behaved there and had a great time. Her teacher even told me that she was one of the best students there. I went with her to the Hall though. I wasnt missing out on that. She loved every minute of it. My moms boyfriend is a major Dodgers fan and she went all out to look for everything Dodgers and Jackie Robinson. I took tons of pictures too. It was a great time. There was a moment on the way back that wasnt a happy moment but I will talk about that in a different post that I have planned. So all in all, thats the past week or so in a nutshell.

Oh!!! I forgot to tell you. We had a special guest at the school too. I know my posts are long but I seem to have a lot to say. Bear with me on this one. The special guest was this guy.

http://www.firstflight.org/shrine/mccandless.cfm

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mccandless-b.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_McCandless_II

What an honor it was to meet this man. I was in awe. I bow to him. Well the thing was that the school hyped the kids up for a "space week" before he came. So when it was time for the assembly, I went down with my 6th grade class. I noticed that half the school wasnt in the gym. I was informed that at the last minute, it was decided that only the older kids would attend and the rest of the school would have the assembly broadcasted live in the classrooms. So in the gym were only the 4th, 5th and 6th grades. I was pissed. Yep. Pissed like no tomorrow. Cami is in 3rd grade and wasnt allowed to be a part of this. So I sat there and watched the assembly thinking of how Im going to work this out. I waited til the very end when everything was said and done and all the kids went back to class. Cami's class went outside for an afternoon recess. I asked my boss, whome was crowding the poor man, if I could grab Cami for a couple of minutes so she could meet him. She looked me in the eye and told me "why would I allow this?" WTF?!?! This set me off. So I went outside, grabbed her and had her wait in the doorway. I then called the school and asked for the principal. Of course I disguised my voice. When she left the gym, I called Cami in, had her meet the man, took a photo and ran her back outside. In the mean time, I hung up the phone and ran for the hall. My boss went back to the gym just as I ducked out the other doors.

Dont... And I do mean DONT tell me that my child is going to miss out on a once in a lifetime experience when its available to her.

Touche' pussycat.