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| It's a tradition and I can't break it. Posting my New Year's Resolutions here on Xanga, then going back a year later and seeing how I did. I didn't do too hot on my 2010. Actually, I'm trying something different. I think I"m going to make my resolutions within my control. Things that I can only blame on myself if I don't do.
So here it goes.
For 2011, I resolve
To really prepare for the apocalypse, even more than I am.
Have by April, at least 20 of my books uploaded to Kindle and so forth. (Hey, it's ambitious, but if anyone can do it, I can)
To get back into the publishing world on the business side, I'm thinking Agent.
To take a vacation this year with my kids and grandkids.
To Complete (Other than the feature) two more short films.
To submit to no less than 25 film festivals.
And to go on at least three dates this year. I haven't been on a date in a long long while, my choice, so I think I may be grown up and go on a date.
And to remain, the coolest, kick ass Nana around. | | |
| As if I do anything normal. Weather getting bad, snow blowing, boroughs completely ignoring the roads, I decided to do a little midnight madness Christmas shopping at the Walmart. I’ve been tossing a few bucks in an old formula can for piece mail shopping and decided, even though it wasn’t a lot, to do a little before I nickled and dimed my funds away.
I’m not done shopping by any means, but why dive into my insanity alone, I called my friend Terri to come along. She agreed, she had to go to the grocery store anyhow.
I knew what I needed and one of the items was Baby Alive. I had been eyeing up this doll for some time. She coos, giggles, bounces, babbles, and is motion activated. I grabbed her and all through the store this baby is jumping and laughing. OK, must be the lights. The clerk commented that the baby was scary. Oh, please. I bag the baby separate, put her in the back seat.
Terri gets in the car from the other store, mid way in, the baby giggles. She pauses, looks at me and says, “What the hell was that?”
I explained that it was baby alive, motion activated and the car light must have set her off. We weren’t even out of the parking lot, the baby is cooing, Terri grabs my coat and throws it over the bag. “There,” she says, “That’ll shut her up.”
Not.
A half mile down the road, the baby starts again. I’m rationalizing it’s the movement of the car. Terri is telling me, “That doll is possessed.” Nah. Until we stop at Terri’s. Car not moving, the baby coos. Ok, now I’m thinking, weird, but it has to be sound activated, too.
Terri gets out, baby is still covered, I drive home.
The roads are slick, I’m driving slow, no radio . . . ‘Giggle, giggle, giggle’
Shit. My heart skips a beat. My mind races, ‘it’s the movement, movement’. More driving, slowly, eerie feel of winter, I stop red light.
Silence. ‘Baby squeal and laughter.”
Now, it’s weird, no movement, no noise, no light. She finally quiets, I pull into my driveway, turn off the car and reach for my purse . . .
“boo!” Followed by hysterical baby doll laughter.
I screamed and raced from the car into the house.
Baby Alive is still in the car. I think I may return her. | | |
| Christmas is just around the corner and this year, I haven’t yet gotten those Christmas blues that usually hit me every year about this time. Maybe they’re late, maybe they won’t come. Perhaps it has a lot to do with my whacked out world I have created with my grandchildren.
Noah and I were talking about Shutter Island (By the way, I’m still shuttering over that film). If you haven’t seen it, you must. It really dives into insanity and makes you think. Anyhow, I said besides eccentric, I was insane, and asked Noah if he thought I was insane. He said, “No, you aren’t insane, you’re mad.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Insane is when you don’t really know your insane. Mad is when you do voices, hold conversations for inanimate objects, pets and babies, know exactly what you’re doing and don’t care who is around. Like you do.”
Hmm.
Speaking of being a grandmother . . . man I am getting old. You know you’re getting old when you hate seeing pictures of yourself because you look old.
Why doesn’t Rob Lowe have this problem. It should be illegal that a man is as beautiful as he is. He isn’t aging and has no flaws. I want him to be in a movie I write one day. That’s a goal. I would want to marry Rob Lowe, but then I’d spend my entire time with him being self conscious about how unattractive and old I looked next to him.
Speaking of old . .. I took the babies to the Christmas Cruise on the local boat. Santa was not a hit with Baby Frank. The rest of the cruise he loved. Violet got seasick. I was holding her by the window, watching the river go by, I turned her away from the window and she gacked. It could have been the motion or that dead rat that seemed to just float along beside us.
She was fine after she threw up. I then fed her some pizza and French fries with Jalapeño Nacho cheese, which she loved. Tore up that cheese. Ali thanked me later on that evening when she changed her diaper. | | |
| Let me start by saying that I think my granddaughter is probably one of the brightest little babies I have ever seen. I think it has to do with hanging around Baby Frank. When he’s playing she follows him in the walker and waits patiently for him to play with her.
When he laughs, she laughs. When he babbles, so does she. In fact, she babbles so much, it’s weird. And she bitches, too.
Anyhow, today I called the electric company to make sure they received the payment. With Violet in my arms, I phoned them. It was an automated system.
‘Thank you for calling Allegheny Power, please states a short description of how we can help you’
I say, “Check on payment’ however, Vi starts babbling at the same time.
“Did you say change your service.”
No—babble
“I’m sorry I didn’t understand that reply. Please state your request again.”
“Check on Payment” (Instert Violet’s babbling.)
“Did you say, report a power outage.”
No.
“I didn’t understand your response. How can we assist you today.”
Again, I try, I speak louder, slower, mistake. “Check (Babble) on (Babble-coo) Payment”
“Did you say ‘make a payment arrangement?’
“No (Babble) wait, yes (Babble) that would work.”
“I did not understand your reply. Necesita instrucciones en español?”
“No.”
“pulse uno para hacer un pago, dos informar de un pago’
Shit! Not knowing what to do, I just press ‘0’ until I get a person.
They answer, “Gracias por llamar energía de Allegheny. ¿Cómo puedo ayudarle hoy?”
I just hung up and started over, this time without the baby. | | |
| I actually was going to leave this blank, but the past year, has been pretty good.
But since I blogged last, let me fill you in.
Got that really good paying job for the small law firm remember? The one that stressed me out so bad? The one where the boss was just horrible to work for.
Enough was enough and I quit. It was so bad, that I actually got unemployment compensation.
But I still work part time, this time for my brother. Picking up tables at his hotel. And I’ll tell you, the last three months of working there, holy cow, it’s been great. I loved working at the Nursing home, but it was stressful. Then the law firm. Super stressful. This . . . not. It has it’s moments, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t take my job home with me and I don’t have nightmares about it.
For real. I had nightmares about my law firm boss for nearly two months after I quit.
Freddy Kruger had nothing on him.
Started pre production on my newest feature film, ‘Tomorrow When the World is Gone’, yes, I wrote it, yes it’s about the end of civilization, but my son Noah is directing it, it is gonna be a blast working with my kids on a project.
Let’s see, I left Duke’s and came back to Dukes. Feels good. Especially to be told by Duke that it was good to have me back and he appreciated me being there. Hey, come on, it’s like going home. You always want to return.
That’s all I can think of for now. Getting ready for this years BIG Christmas theme, ‘Pixar Christmas’. I’m psyched!
Baby Frank and Violet loved Toy Story. He adores Cars, the movie, we watch it every morning over breakfast. I never tire of watching him watch that movie.
More tomorrow … trying not to go back in my blog entries to see my 2010 resolutions. I always wait until the end of the year. | | |
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