Monthly Archives: December 2014

A Couple of Things…

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stiches1. My surgery was pretty much a complete success.  I say “pretty much” because I’m a little disappointed on my prognosis.  Okay, I don’t want to sound ungrateful, so on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being thoroughly disappointed, I’m a “1”. The doctor fixed my knee, he repaired a torn cartilage and Mencius tear and cleaned up some arthritis.  I was on crutches and pain meds that day and a little the next.  The out-patient procedure was Friday; I was back to work on Monday.  Stitches removed on Wednesday.  I start physical therapy to strengthen my left knee next week.

The problem?  It’s been recommended that I give up running/jogging due to the arthritis.  I was looking forward to my first 5K in 2015.  Yeah, I know it was just a recommendation, but I’m leaning towards swimming, biking, brisk walking and some hoops from time to time might have to be enough; but I can’t help but think, my knees had never given me trouble before the injury.  I never noticed I had arthritis.

I am completely thankful I’m no longer in pain.  I had just been so proud that I had pushed myself out of my comfort zone and started exercising four years ago.  I turned off that little voice trying to talk me out of pushing my body.  My first time sweating due to exercise was four years ago while running; now I totally consider sweating a badge of honor!  I had never run before; I had never pushed my body. Oh well, I’m healthy, I’m active, I have other exercise options.  Glass half full, right?  And…it was a recommendation.  One 5K couldn’t hurt, right? companyBy the way, the two days I was on the couch, I had lots of comfort from my furry friends.  I knew I could count on Sammy to keep me company, but I was quite surprised that Molly felt the need to keep close. So sweet!  And the two actually did their best to tolerate each other.

2. Sydney Rose will be home for Christmas.  She comes in on Tuesday but has dinner plans in LA so she won’t be around that night.  She’ll be home Christmas Eve and Christmas and back on a plane to Oregon Friday evening.  Short visit, but so worth it! I sent her the picture of the stitches on my knee which grossed her out…but she did say she was going to show her boyfriend the photo.  Confidence is high my knee will look pretty much normal by the time I see her in a week.

Charlie-Brown3. One evening recently “A Charlie Brown Christmas” came on the TV  while I was working on websites.  I had seen it every year growing up, it was a tradition in my family; but now I fear times have changed and this cartoon special doesn’t hold up.  Those kids were just plain mean; they actually bullied Charlie Brown.  That Lucy was a bitch! And even though the kids had a change of heart at the end, I couldn’t imagine that comic strip special would get released nowadays.  Even Snoopy turned on Charlie Brown!  Damn!!

Santa4. Another thing I like about City Hall is the annual chance to visit with Santa Claus where City employees round up their kids who get to visit with St. Nick. One of these days I’m going to take advantage of a photo op and sit on his lap. 😉

Oh!  And yet another thing I like about City Hall…every week us employees receive an email called “Open Line” from the City Manager’s office and it’s an update on what’s happening in the City and some updates from all the different departments.  Each one of these memos start with a “Quote of the Week”.  Last week the quote was: “Who can’t relate to the idea of leaving one chapter behind and moving on to the next?”  – Mike Shinoda

Yeah, that’s Mike Shinoda from Linkin’ Park.  I even double-checked with the City Manager’s office to see if there was another Mike Shinoda, but I was told, “Oh! He’s a member of a band called “Linkin’ Park”.  How cool is that?

5. Did I ever mention I use to do surveillance work?  Yep, my friend had a P.I.’s license (Private Investigator) and he use to hire me to keep an eye on certain people.  Trust me, this was the most boring job I ever had.  Most cases were women trying to see if they were being cheated on.  The stupidest case was a psychiatrist who wanted to see if her boyfriend was seeing other women; the kicker?  She was married.

chia-pet6. Hchia-pet-bas anyone ever received a Chia Pet for Christmas?  Do people still give those away? While searching for a picture of Chia Pet, I came across a real live chia pet.  Love this sense of humor!  Poor pup!!

7.  By the way, not only was my doctor the best, but the team at CMH outpatient facility totally took care of me.  They were cheerful, attentive, caring and professional.  I didn’t even have a mark on my arm where the IV was inserted!  I’d do it again in a heartbeat!!

8.  Now something even harder to confront.  Wish me luck, I’m about to start my Christmas shopping…any day now.

9.  No matter what religion you follow, I wish you a happy and safe holiday season.  I suspect my next post will be after Christmas.

10.  From my favorite quotes file, “”My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” — Bob Hope Thanks for your time!!

A Couple of Things…

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Meniscus-MRI1.  The surgery is set.

  • Lung x-ray:  check
  • EKG: check
  • Blood work: check
  • Pre-op appt: check

I’m good to go.  Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow (Friday, December 12) on my right knee.  The surgeon will be fixing a torn Meniscus and taking a look at a torn ligament behind it.  He’s an good-looking older guy who explained to me what to expect as he himself had a torn Meniscus repaired years before.  He told me he wouldn’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t do after the operation which is an out-patient procedure.  I told him I was bummed because I had already arranged to have someone else shoot a show Friday night at the Ventura Theater.

Well we got to talking about music and my website.  I asked if he liked jazz (because he was older), and he said, “No.  My wife and I love punk music.”  I could have died!  I laughed and told him the show I was missing was Pennywise and The Dickies!!  We both had a good laugh how us old folks are old school punkers.  They’re going to the X show Saturday night.

In any case…wish me luck!

2. It’s too funny when a waiter or waitress brings your change when the bill is $14.95, and they give you a five dollar bill and a nickle.  More times than not, they’re going to lose that gamble. Now when it’s 24.95, that might actually work…depending on their stellar service.


3. I have a new “One of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen a man do” moments. I guess now I’m starting a new trend on my blogs.  I saw it posted YouTube.  A video of a wife surprising her man when he returned after a year of service from Afghanistan.  The troops were returned to California, but his family was in Maryland and he was not expecting to see is wife until he got back home.  but she surprised him.  His reaction was about the manliest, most loving conduct becoming a Marine I’ve ever seen. My God! I cried like a baby.


I admit I got sidetracked while searching for the marine video (it was originally posted on Facebook) by a video called Kitty kisses. Turns out I added another “one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen a man do” to my list.  🙂

4. I have to say I think that bulldog puppies are about the cutest of puppies until I see more photos of puppies…any puppy!  They’re all so freakin’ adorable!!

5. I ran into a guy (out in the civilian world) who comes to City Hall to get permits from time to time and he gave me a really nice compliment, one I had never heard before.  He said he always thought I looked good in jeans.  I had to smile, then a short time later after further conversation he discovered and said with mild shock that I was old enough to be his mother.

Yeah, that’s right.

6. This next photo comes from my new developing file I now call, “Things that are wrong” file:
So wrong

7. I’m of the opinion that Christmas shopping shouldn’t start until the week before Christmas, probably because that’s always when I start my own.  It makes it much more exciting that way don’t you think?

8.  The only thing worse than getting hiccups until you feel drunk, is to actually be drunk and then get the hiccups.

9. I’m still waiting for my midlife crisis to hit. Of course, I may have already missed my window of opportunity. 😉

10. I’ve made a big decision regarding Facebook.  On my personal account, I’m going to delete everyone who has never liked or commented on my posts.  What’s the point of being “Friends?”  If you’re on Facebook to just promote your business or your band, then stay friends with VenturaRocks Facebook page.  Just sayin’!

11. From my favorite quotes file: “No man is a good doctor who has never been sick himself.” ~Chinese Proverb

Thanks for your time!

A Couple of Things…

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city-tech-xmas-20141. Every year in the Transportation Division the Supervisors (Rick Gallegos & Jeff Hereford – 4th & 5th from left) treat the Techs to a Christmas breakfast to show their appreciation for their hard work during the year at City Hall.  This year every one opted for beers & wings instead of eggs & ham.  I like their way of thinking…and so appreciate they include me in this annual tradition.

2. I am acutely aware how the news media puts fear into people’s lives.  They want to keep us scared!  Case in point, did you see these headlines in the past couple of weeks?  “Chocolate Companies Warn Of Looming Global Shortage” or “The World Is Running Out of Chocolate — Is it Time to Panic?” or “Global Chocolate Shortage Possible as World’s Largest Manufacturer Voices Concern”

Freakin’ Bastards!  They really know how to cause a panic!

Molly3. A newly encountered, unforeseen obstacle keeping Sammy from getting up on the bed.  Molly can be such a grump. Just sayin’ Syd!

That being said, I read an article called “9 Signs Your Cat Actually Loves You.”  Turns out, Molly may be a grumpy girl, but she does love me…if I’m to believe this article.  Number 9 is my favorite:

#9 Eye contact with a kitty kiss—if you’re lucky

Cats only tend to make eye contact with those they know well and have developed trust for – so if you catch your kitty giving you the eye, don’t be worried. When your kitty locks eyes with you, casting a slow blink once eyes are met, this is their version of a kiss. Be a sweetie and give them a slow blink in return.

Molly actually gives kisses…though she may be trying to suck the life out of me.  I’m not completely sold she isn’t pure evil.

4. So my left knee is in a constant state of pain.  Trust me, I’m not looking for sympathy.  What worries me the most is my ability to keep active. But good news!  I have found an alternate form of exercise, swimming!  So much easier on the knees.

The date is set for surgery (barring any hitches) which will be on Friday, December 12.  So grateful I don’t have to wait until next month.

5. My cooking is coming along.  I grilled my first steak on the stove, threw together homemade cranberries for Thanksgiving dinner, and I made from scratch split pea soup.  I have to admit, I’m a pretty good cook!  Who knew!  My tip to others who are timid in the kitchen? Use simple recipes.

_stones-lips6. Bobby Keys passed away this week.  I don’t think I’ve felt the loss of someone I never really knew existed before I read about them.  He is the saxophonist whose work can be heard on those 70’s Rolling Stones records…the ones I grew up listening to and to this day still love.

7. I saw a story online about a metal band in Europe where the bass player suffered at ruptured testicle while performing recently in England. The musician, Otto Schimmelpenninck (Yeah, we’ll talk about that name another day), posted on Facebook about his injury warning, “Spoiler alert: you might want to read this another time if you were planning on having sex within the hour or so.”
At least he still has a sense of humor. He went into details about having been hit from behind by one of those streamer cannons. He was in a lot of pain, but made it through the show to discover back stage his scrotum was the size of a grapefruit and at the hospital they removed more than 500 ml of blood. They’ve been able to save his left ball for now.

I can’t help but think that THIS may compare to childbirth.

Too far?  Too soon?

At least with childbirth you know the pain will go away after you endure what feels like you’re being ripped apart. And, you get a baby like Sydney Rose to help you forget the torture.

8. I love that somebody posed the question, “What makes Snopes so credible?  Who is Snopes’ Snopes?”

9. I may be entirely too unyielding when it comes to being served french fries that are not hot; however, I’m willing to live with that.  I hate cold fries!  You’ve been warned.

10. Another great post in the form of meme:

“The Officer said, “You drinking?”
I said, “You buying?”
We laughed and laughed!
I need bail money.

11. Headline story this week:  “Raccoon attacks football player after ‘selfie gone wrong'”

Now if you know me, you know I’m no fan of raccoons, but he killed the critter with a wrench after it bit him.  I call foul play.  Not cool.  The vermin was just minding its own business and felt threatened when he got too close to it.  tsk tsk.

12.  From my favorite quotes file, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” – Mahatma Gandhi

We could be in trouble.

Thanks for your time. 🙂