lottolaughs's Blog

Yes, come summer time I will be taking a break from the Post. Really gotta finish a children's book I started 3 years ago.....it's nagging away at me.

After my latest publications I feel I really don't have much more to offer at this time. Like I've mentioned in some of my threads...everything you see me doing are methods that are in the books. No need to have to rely on anyone for your numbers anymore. Get yourself a Platinum Membership and the books (if you'd like to learn how I use the search drawings tool) and wha-la! You can be lottolaughs too!

The monthly contest will continue so please enter if you haven't already!

I will be checking in from time to time but if you need to contact me, please visit my site for my email address if you don't already have it. It can be found in Todd's first post.

https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/286011

 

Around the end of May I will start closing up shop until the Fall. (Let's see how long I'll last without my daily dose of LP! Wanna start taking bets?)    

Can you believe it? Next May will be my 10th anniversary here,can't believe how the years have flown by. Gotta be here for that....can't miss it! lol. 

I've been to more funerals than weddings in my life which sort of strikes me strange at my age. 49's not so old. It's after 2 AM and am having a restless night after spending a good part of my day at another one yesterday. 

Death is a funny thing. We all know it's going to happen. But there's something about seeing a casket that can still take your breath away. Especially when you know who's inside.

The first one I ever attended was for a friend's grandmother in my early 20's. She was like a third grandmother to me and lived on the corner of my block. It was an open casket. I remember walking up the aisle to view her. The orange makeup-y face is forever burned in my mind. I gasped and broke down in tears. (No one else did. Not even my friend cried that I remember.) My friend's mother helped me stumble back to the pew.

It wasn't until 10 years later when 4 of my relatives died one right after another. First my father. A year later my grandmother. Then my other grandmother and a week later my uncle. Funerals were starting to feel like old hat. 

Yesterday was for my aunt's sister. No blood relation but I knew her for most of my life. We all knew it was going to happen. She'd been battling an awful cancer for the past 2 or so years.

Haven't been in a church for quite some time. The church I was in yesterday was one I grew up in attending Mass at for most of my youth. Not much has changed. Same pews (though now they seem much smaller. Or did I get bigger?lol) Same lighting. Same kneelers. (though my knees are not the same and had a hard time teeter tottering back and forth. Were they always that flimsy?) It felt good being there,though, even under the circumstances.

The one thing that wasn't the same were some of the words of the Mass.

It's amazing how those words stick in your mind. I haven't been to Mass in ages but somehow knew all the responses. Thought I did,anyway. But here and there I noticed my responses were a little different than other people's. But I said them anyway. Because that's how I learned it.

It was a little disconcerting. Kind of like when I found out the priest who gave me all my sacraments as a child was no longer a priest. Like something was taken away from me. Guess you never expect any changes when it comes to religion. Should we? 

What was wrong with the old words? There were subtle changes, just a word here or there but enough to make me feel like a stumble bum. Enough to rattle me up at 2 AM in the morning to write about.

Guess that says something.

Another thing was my aunt and the man sitting next to me grabbed my hands when we went to say the Lord's Prayer. Yes, we were all holding hands and after the prayer they were saying some other responses I didn't know and lifting my arms up further at the elbow.

This new interactive Mass made me feel like a stranger in my own land. Not that there was anything wrong with it. Just threw me off guard. Made me feel like I was from another time, another place. Was this still a Catholic church I wondered.

Shouldn't have let myself be so distracted by all that. After all I was here to pay tribute to someone, pay my respects and to comfort my aunt who sat next to me. Who made me cry with her tearful outbursts during the ceremony. For her loss and pain. For knowing she'll never see her sister again in this life. 

I remember her being at my father's funeral. She came to me in tears after it was over when I had none. They came later. But during his my eyes were dry.

He died right here in my family room where I am sitting now. My mother came into my room that night and said, "I think dad's gone." We walked over to the hospital bed that had been delivered just a few days before. His eyes were half opened, a half smile frozen on his face. I touched his arm. It felt stiff. Tried to close his eyes but couldn't get them to stay shut. He must have been gone for awhile but my mom just thought he was sleeping. His robe was opened at his chest and I remember how bony it looked. But I didn't cry. I felt relief that his suffering was over. Through it all, though, he never complained once.

But yesterday my tears flowed freely. It's that music that gets you. And feeling my aunt's pain. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose my sister. But in this life you never know what can happen when. You just know that it will happen.

I never understand why after a funeral people get together to eat. Who really wants to? Walking into the reception was another shock to this "old school", outdated girl. Tables full of people eating sandwich's and bean salad, cookies and cake. Drinking punch and coffee. I know it's all part of the protocol but still...it's hard to eat with an eyeful of tears and a lump in your throat.

Yes, funerals can be hard to swallow.

But we have to. We need to. 

And they're not so bad.

Sometimes they can be very peaceful and moving. Sad? Always. But think about this...what other time in life do you get to hear and say all the good things about a person?   

Most of the time I don't think people hear one word the priest says. It's one of those events your mind picks and chooses what it wants to remember.

Certain images will always stay with you.

Like the ghostly face of my friend's grandmother. Like my father's casket just sitting there in the chapel in front of us looking so hard and cold as the priest droned on. Like the "hear a pin drop" total silence except for the gut wrenching sobs of my aunt's sister's husband yesterday as they placed her coffin in the wall. 

Sad? No. Heartbreaking.

Now please pass me another tissue....and some of that bean salad.

I don't know about you but the word "avatar" sounds to me like some planet from another galaxy. Guess "character", "icon" or "persona" just didn't cut it. No, we have to be an "avatar".

Came across destinycreations' post yesterday on this thread and it got me to thinking as it brings up a good point of how we are "perceived" by our avatars..  

https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/286887

(BTW this is a fantastic system by CTNY which is why I visited this thread in the first place :)

I can relate to destiny's dilemma. We get so used to seeing each others "picture" that when we discover it's changed it does throw you for a loop.

Trying to remember the first avatar I used when joining the Lottery Post but am coming up empty. I remember changing it a couple of times before settling on the spinning dollar sign. But that's because it was the only picture I found that moved (love moving pictures!) and looked suspended in air and 3D'ish. Didn't really think at the time of what it "represented".

I really love this line that destinycreations wrote:

Her new Avatar feels like the Energy of a "nurturing mother/teacher type".

If I could have found a spinning "nurturing mother/teacher type" photo from the get go I would have.

Because in all reality that's my real  avatar and sums me up in a nutshell.

One of my favorite things as a child was a chalkboard. My father hung it on the fence with some cord and used to take pictures of me out chalking it up and teaching my imaginary class. I was in 1st grade and remember very vividly wanting to be a teacher. 

I guess all firstborns are the bossy ones, the "know-it-alls", the ones everyone comes to for advice. The icebreakers. We are, in a sense, second parents to our younger siblings and are expected to set a good example for them. And I had a little sister. Don't remember teaching her anything,though,lol. She was a little bossy herself.

As I grew older, the teacher dream faded into the background. A new one took its place. Writing. Mainly because I found I didn't particularly care for school that much and would rather be home reading books and writing.

It's been a long journey to here and what I do today. Guess a little bit of the "teacher" finally came out in me after all. I love helping people and making sure everyone eats healthy meals and gets to bed on time. If there is a sick person in the family,well, you can guess who the caretaker winds up being.

I remember when my father was diagnosed with cancer. At the time I was working at the liquor store selling lottery tickets. My first instinct was to quit my job. And I did. My father got mad but I knew someone had to be home, just felt it was the right thing to do. My mother worked, my sister worked.    But I am the one who stayed home with him even though he didn't need much help. I thought that someone should be near just in case.

Two years later as he was getting thinner and weaker I always remember his last words to me. "Big gentle Brenda." (I could have done without the "big" in there,lol. Since I was  taller than him I'm hoping that's all he meant :) To this day, it's always struck me as such a strange thing for him to say. My father and I were like oil and water, perhaps because we were too much alike in a lot of ways. Our relationship was always full of bickering and angry undertones. There were not a lot of warm fuzzies by any means. But despite all that I guess all along he realized who and what I am deep down.

So even though I'm not some mastermind you may imagine sitting behind twelve computers with blinking lights running at top speed everyday I can still help give you the best possible numbers that I believe will be heading your way soon in the lottery :) 

I feel bad that I burst the avatar bubble,destiny.       

I'd love to be as full of energy and exciting as that spinning dollar sign but...I'm just an old softy who does research in her pajamas and writes systems by hand with paper and pencil while sneaking a rare shameful smoke in the garage now and then.

I hope you won't take me any less seriously because I'm in my slippers while figuring out your numbers,lol.

And complete with a freshly coiffed pixie! It never fails. And underneath the bangs is the face of my mother, a little worse for wear,but yes,here she is one year later. It will be a long 2 weeks,lol.

The voice. That is the first thing I hear before I even lay eyes upon her. My cousin had the honors of opening the garage door this time to help her wheel in the luggage. Already it is high pitched, animated, and excitably full of the story of the SuperShuttle ride that she has just embarked upon.

Well heavens, can you believe the driver missed our street!! And he had to make a U turn and come back around! Can you imagine? And then the plane trip stories. Oh yes, wasn't it strange how the man sitting next to her put his carry on bag on the opposite side of where he was sitting? Didn't he know he was supposed to put it above him on his own side?

I give her a once over. Yes, she's gained a few pounds. Always in her stomach. The rest of her is pretty thin. Guess the trip to the casino she took with my sister and her husband the day before didn't help. Sis said she really chowed down at the buffet. No surprise. There will be none of that here.

I had lunch ready. Baked herbed fish,spinach,some of the Barefoot Contessa's creamy basil potatoes. She didn't ask for seconds. She never does when I cook. I always ask if she liked the meal. It's always "good". I don't believe my mother has ever put anything into    her mouth that I've made that was "delicious". Hmmm, funny since everyone else in my family has nothing but compliments and requests to make such and such dish again.

We have problems. At first I thought she might be having a stroke. Her talking was a little slurred. Then I find out she had bitten the inside of her cheek the day before so our conversations have been peppered throughout with occasional "ouch's!" The bottoms of our feet feel "sore" and "burning" and she can't figure out why. This can be an affliction with diabetes which she has recently acquired.

I mention that to her. I say, "you have to do more exercise and keep moving." I'm saying this while she's sitting in the easy chair next to me. She looks down at her feet, lifts them up and swirls her ankles around. Somehow I don't think that counts.

My sister calls to make sure mom has arrived. Mom jumps up to take it. From the other room I'm hearing the exact same conversation I heard as she walked in the door. Word for word then a squeal of laughter. About the Shuttle Driver missing the street. I sigh.

Already I'm thinking, "when's nap time?" I thought after she ate she might wind down. After all she "hadn't slept a wink" the night before. No such luck,lol. After the phone call she settles down in the easy chair again. Starts chat chat chatting again. Then she said she was cold and still trying to warm up. The plane was cold, the shuttle ride had the air conditioner on. It is almost 70 degrees out and I want to open the doors. Instead I crank the heat up and get her a soft throw.

She's staring at the TV as she's talking. I know she wants me to turn it on. But I don't.    She grabs a magazine instead as I get up to go into the kitchen. There is a container of blueberries I need to use up and am wondering what to do with them. Good excuse for an escape. I ask mom what should I make and hear "cobbler" come out from behind the magazine.

I find a "diet" cobbler recipe in one of my cookbooks. I am always watching my diet and try to "health-ify" most everything I make. She's got to watch her sugar and carb intake but I figure it's her first day here, okay, a little treat. Before I even begin gathering my ingredients I take a peek around the corner. Ahhh...Nap time has finally arrived.

The magazine splays open on her throw covered lap. Her head is tilted to the side. Dead out.

Yes, it's February but as I mentioned a flew blogs ago I have mom's Christmas presents waiting here for her. She doesn't sleep long and is up from her cat nap in seconds. (It feels like) I turn on the little fake 3 foot tree decoration to get her in the spirit. The gifts are just little things. "Oh, you got me my puzzle books." She loves circle-a-word puzzles. "Oh,you got me my almonds". She loves Trader Joe's sugar free chocolate covered almonds. "Oh you got me a Trac Phone card".

The gift that got the biggest "Oh," was the new slot machine casino game disc I got her. It has Texas Tea on it. She loves playing those on the computer.

The tape recorder is still waiting in a box. Something in me is hesitant about giving it to her.

It is morning now. I tip toe towards the living room and hear snoring. She insists on sleeping on the couch. I slide the door shut and say yippee to myself inside as I sit down to write this.

OOP! It's not long before she wanders out. She's on her way to the bathroom with bedhead. She walks into the hallway and doesn't even see me sitting in the family room. She looks lost. Funny how she can look so lost in a house she lived in for 40 years.

My peace and quiet is gone for the day.

My mother is sitting next to me now rambling on and on about the games she doesn't like at the casino and how she gets so annoyed when they page people over the loudspeaker while she's there. Out of the corner of my eye I see shadows dancing but it's really her arms waving back and forth as she's talking on and on and on...day 2 has officially started.

And I am thinking to myself....Do I really want this tape recorded? lol.

Max came over to visit yesterday.

He is one of my neighbor's cats.

He was also BusterBrat's very first friend.

Max is a Manx, one of those tailess cats. He first showed up unexpectedly in my backyard years ago as a gawky skinny teenager. BusterBrat was a little older and I wasn't sure how that was going to go over because Buster was not too friendly with most cats.

Surprisingly there was no friction. I would be shocked sometimes to look out the window and see Buster sprawled out resting on the patio and Max would be nuzzling him or jumping over him trying to play. Buster just squinted his eyes and didn't seem to pay much attention to him at all. By then I guess he was too old to care. 

Max came over just about everyday back then. He'd spend a few minutes trying to get a rise out of Buster then proceed to eat the rest of his canned food. I thought Max was cute the way he ate. He used his paw as a spoon and used to just sit there and dig out every little bit of food with his left paw. Buster was only interested in the gravy and pretty much left the meat. 

Max always tried to get into the house but I never let him. It was hard getting in and out of the house at times because he was so quick. One day I left for some errands and when I came home I noticed all the blinds were askew. Things looked "different" and out of place and as I walked through the house Max went darting by and out the door! Somehow he had snuck in as I left. And I'd been gone for 3 or 4 hours! Oh that cat! 

As time went on Max started getting a little persnickety and would sometimes hiss at Buster. Guess he was growing up and getting a little more dominant. He even started hissing at me so I used my Scram Patrol device I bought that supposedly lets out a sound to scare unwanted pests away. It doesn't hurt the animal, just sends out a laser beam with a sound that of course we can't hear. I tried it on Buster once for the heck of it and he just looked at me lazily like,"what the heck are you doing?" And he wasn't deaf by any means so who knows if the dang thing worked? LoL.

But it worked on Max. I'd be in the front yard and see him getting ready to saunter into the backyard where Buster awaited and turn it on. He'd run away like crazy. It got to the point where I'd just stand there with it and he'd run. I know that sounds mean but I didn't want any fights. Buster had had his share,believe me. One even left a permanent slit on the top of his ear that never mended. It gave him character.

So eventually, Max stopped coming over.

Until a few days ago. I hadn't seen him in years and almost didn't recognize him. He's filled out now and a little chubby. I was hesitant to reach down and pet him but he came right up to me and rubbed on my legs. Which shocked me because he never used to be so friendly.

Age must have mellowed him. Yesterday I stood outside on the back porch with him and he went back and forth purring against my legs. I gave in, he was just too cute, and bent down to pet him. He loved it. Couldn't get enough. He stood at the door looking at me through the screen door for an hour or more after I came inside. Went back out and petted him. Then I opened the gate and he went on his merry way. I THOUGHT. Two seconds later I turned around and he was squeezing through the hole in the fence and coming right back. It was hard to get in the house again because he's STILL trying to follow me in. So I rubbed his back some more.

We're friends again. All is forgiven. 

The Scram Patrol is still out in the garage. Haven't used it for years.

I guess I can throw it out now. 

.....between the gas pedal and the brake then you probably shouldn't be driving.

There are quite a few elderly people in my neighborhood. Well, maybe more than quite a few,lol. And nowadays you take your chances walking out of the house. I'm no spring chicken myself but....

Last year I was wondering what all the hub-bub was going on at my Wells Fargo bank. I thought they had been robbed. The whole front door and frame was completely smashed in. Come to find out some elderly lady had driven right through into the bank! She made her own drive thru window I guess. Scary. I stand in line right where she wound up. Guess it wasn't my time to go yet.

Cut to yesterday at the small shopping center down the block where there's a liquor store and Round Table Pizza I used to work at many moons ago. Was going to buy my PB ticket and noticed the whole front door and frame of Round Table was smashed. Guess what? ANOTHER elderly lady drove right into the door. I didn't realize their pizza was almost to DIE for. Geese. This is getting to be an epidemic.

You can bet I'm going to be watching my step from now on around here.

C'mon folks,give me a BRAKE!!

I admit I probably spend too many minutes of my life making comments on yahoo news stories. Sometimes you just can't help it. You see a story and naturally have an opinion. (And what woman doesn't? lol)

It seems I always start on one story then get distracted by something else and click on that and that and that and then wonder how the heck I wound up where I did.

Here was my chain of events today.

One of the headline stories was some supposed heartfelt performance of Christina Aguilara's. So I clicked on and it led me to YouTube where I watched her sing "Say Something" with some group I've never heard of for about 2 minutes.

On the sidelines where they show other "suggested" videos, Judith Hill caught my eye.         

It was her Voice audition. She really stood out on the show to me a couple of years ago,what a beautiful singer. Then I remembered she was going to be on Michael Jackson's last tour before he died. Punched that in and watched her and MJ singing "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" at the rehearsal. What a passionate performance that was! Wow, lucky girl. 

(Sorry Christina...your heartfelt song was no comparison but thanks to leading me to one!)

Well,once I heard that it made me think of Billie Jean. I mean, what was the 80's without Billie Jean? lol. Funny watching that video now. The lighted steps, the sleeve lift, the tippy toes. I kept waiting for him to really break out and DANCE but it was surprisingly very restrained. Lots of slo mo and stops. So so 80's. Were we really that campy back then?

You know how one MJ song can keep leading you to the next one. They're like potato chips...can't watch (eat) just one! I HAD to watch "Remember the Time", one of my most favorites. Don't know why but I really dig that song.

It takes about 3 1/2 minutes before the King of Pop shows up.

He's got the dress, the spaghetti strap halter, face paint.

The first thought that popped into my mind was Bruce Jenner!

Wonder if this is what planted the idea into his head. LoL. Let's see, he would have been about 43 when this video came out. Did he see it while he was in Mid Life Crisis territory?

Poor Bruce. What else can we chalk it up to, this sudden "wanting to be a woman"? Maybe not "sudden" but first we heard of it.

A former strong male Olympian reduced to fingernail polish and a straggly ponytail.

This has to be one of the more bizarre stories of 2015. I really didn't believe the rumors until reading he's going to be 'coming out' about it soon. Crazy.

But that's the least of the world's problems. And after watching the MJ video it's not even "news" anymore. 

Sorry Bruce, MJ was there first! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeiFF0gvqcc

Quite a scary thought,isn't it? Imagine my surprise when clicking on Yahoo and seeing a neighborhood hospital as front page news. With the dreaded word "ebola" next to it. My first thought...do I know the person? I highly doubt it. People from all over go to Mercy Hospital. 

I went to the Catholic school about 1/2 a block away in my younger years. You can see the hospital from the playground. I have been in this emergency room they closed down yesterday to "scrub down". Once when my mother toppled down the porch onto her back when watering the bushes. Another time when my sister was admitted for a panic attack. 

When you read about these horrendous diseases you never think they will hit so close to home. But when they do all of sudden they are "real". The boogie man is really out there. I can't help wondering where this person may have been frequenting. The grocery stores I go to? The post office? Restaurants? WHO IS THIS PERSON? lol Chances are they aren't even from around here.

I found this out right after receiving some good news. My mother's mammogram came back negative. She had cancer several years ago but has been cancer free since. Up until a day ago. We THOUGHT. During her latest test "something" showed up. She got called in for a ultra sound yesterday so I was waiting on pins and needles. Thank the Lord she is fine. They are always overly cautious when she is tested. Which is good.

This "maybe" ebola patient has been taken to another hospital. But the waves of uncertainty still linger here. Until I see the test result I won't stop thinking about it.

2 health scares in one day,lol. Hope this isn't an indication of how this year is going to go!     

When I was in school, History was a snore! It was probably my least favorite subject (along with Math,English,Biology..etc... ) It seemed to me we never got past the Indians. Oh, there were a lot of old war dates to memorize (like those came in handy) and...gee...I can't even remember. It all went in one ear and out the other.

Now art was fun. And piano and drum class. Wound up being the teacher's helper in piano since I had lessons for years and was way ahead of everyone in the class. It was my senior year and I had to just fill in time since the only class I needed to graduate was Government  by then. 

Yesterday's holiday got me thinking. Martin Luther King. Who was he? It's sad to admit after living half a century I never really knew much about him until I started googling yesterday and getting a crash course. Now WHY didn't they teach us things like THIS in school?

It probably wouldn't have been as interesting then as it is to me now anyway. I suppose there's a lot truth in the saying, "Youth is wasted on the young." Isn't that the truth,though? When you're young and bright and strong all you want to do is play. By the time you mature and wake up you think to yourself, "If only I knew then what I know now." Somewhere in between a lot of years get wasted just living and trying to find your way. Sometimes I wake up and think,"Where did the years go? I'm still 17, right? I still FEEL 17. Who's that person in the mirror?" lol

Life all happens so quickly. This Christmas really got me thinking about that and my own family history. What the heck is it? Growing up I don't remember my parents talking a whole lot about their childhoods and their life stories.

And most everyone in my family is now gone.

Dad, grandma's,grandpa's even my mother's only sister. MOM is IT. She's about all that's left besides an uncle and aunt on Dad's side. And they're in their upper 80's and can't remember what I said 5 minutes ago.

My mother's annual visit is coming up soon. (I'm preparing myself as of this moment,lol) When I was trying to think of a Christmas present for her this year the idea of a tape recorder popped into my mind.

My mother LOVES to talk as those of you who've read my other blogs about her already know,lol. Well, I thought, let's get her talking about something IMPORTANT for a change! (besides what time the neighbor put out his trash yesterday).

Let's hear her life story. Let's hear what happened before I was born. Stories about grandma and grandpa that I don't know. MY history.

It sounds good in theory. But getting her to actually DO it?   

I was so late this year getting the presents out that I decided to just keep hers here until she comes to visit. So the tape recorder's waiting wrapped up pretty with a bow.

It's the "old fashioned" kind. One that actually uses cassette tapes. Knowing my mom it won't be long before a knob will "mysteriously" fall off or heaven forbid, she'll start talking into the machine and thought she pressed the record button but really didn't. I'm imagining the tapes getting lost or worse yet, my whole family history being "accidentally erased". It could happen.

With mom anything's a possibility,lol.

I know she will laugh when she sees it. Her nervous giggle. She will be afraid of a "machine".  I will show her how to use it. Call her on the phone and REMIND her to use it. There will be questions and I'll have to give her blow by blow directions how to use it again. She will write them down.

Like she used to write EVERYTHING down. Like how many times her co-worker used to go out and have a smoke. And what time she came back. And who wasn't doing their job. (Talk about calling the kettle black! SHE wasn't working either!)

My mother has always been a "living" tape recorder. I have found literally hundreds of tiny pieces of paper where she has jotted things down. Her purses used to be loaded. (along with the napkins and straws,lol) She was always busy writing down what OTHER people were doing. 

Even her old calendars were full of notations. "Left pinkie hurts. 7/14/75"  "Stitch on left side" etc etc. I found a bunch of these years ago and just about every day there was some ache or pain mentioned. (real or imagined? lol) They made me groan just reading them.

Her sister used to call her from San Diego. Long distance was a BIG deal back in the old days. I only remember them talking about once a year. The first thing she'd do was whip out a pad and pencil and the whole time they were talking she'd be writing. Then she'd come and read us the notes after the conversation to let us know what our cousins were up to. It was never anything THAT important. So and so's graduating. So and so bought a used car.

But to her, I guess it was IMPORTANT. It's funny how what's important to one person is just mundane to another. This has been part of me and my mom's history. I'm always waiting to hear something important to ME from her. So far I've been out of luck.

I'm still trying.

Hopefully I'll get it out of her. 

If the tape recorder doesn't do it maybe I'll buy her a new calendar instead. Maybe I should have kept all the old ones. After all they were part of her history.

All the belly-achin', toe stubbin', piercing headache bit of it.

Hmmmm...sounds like our relationship. 

Guess we have had a history after all.

Yes,this is it,lol. I took this picture back in the 80's while waiting for my sister to get off work. It is just a few blocks from my house. This was her first job, my second. We both worked together here for awhile.

Ah...the old days. I can still smell the pizza. My sis wound up being an assistant manager. Me? I did everything. Made the pies, worked the bar,mopped the floors. I think my favorite time was spent in the dishwashing room. I liked to hide away and listen to smooth jazz on the radio all night. There wasn't even a dishwasher, besides me. Everything was washed by hand.

On Friday and Saturday nights there was a live dixieland jazz band. We were always packed. I loved the little stage in the back. It had a piano there and after we closed I'd go play sometimes. So I had my 15 seconds of solo fame,lol. It was probably the only time Beethoven's Fur Elise was played on that stage.

Upstairs were a bunch of rooms that used to be apartments. We used it for storage. There was always talk of it being haunted. I never witnessed a ghost but always felt a little "spooked" especially at 1 O'clock in the morning when I used to get stuck closing up. Luckily I was never there by myself.

The building is still there. It closed as Shakey's in the mid 90's but 2 other restaurants have come and gone since then. It's closed at the moment,nothing there. Before the first restaurant opened I peeked inside the window and saw how much remodeling they did. It was sort of disheartening...it didn't look the same, of course. 

One time I was on the phone during my shift with a friend of mine. He'd just been to see the Rolling Stones and was telling me all about it. My back was to the register. I wasn't paying any attention but I did heard some rustling. My co-worker was talking to a customer (I presumed) and I heard the register open.

A few seconds later, my co-worker was jabbing his finger in my arm saying, "Get off the phone, we just got robbed!" LOL. The guy actually had a gun. Here I was 2 feet away and I didn't notice a thing. Crazy. Must have been a dumb robber...who robs a pizza joint on a Monday night? I think he got away with about $300. And it was EARLY in the night too. LOL

My mother told me when she was a teenager,she and her sister used to wake up their dad at midnight on the weekends to go get a pizza here. Same place,lol. She always talked about how delicious it was.

Well...by the time I got there in the 80's it was still okay but as time progressed the quality of the ingredients got cheaper. The sauce came out of a box and the cheese was like little pellets, not freshly grated. 

It's too bad when you watch an institution go down the tubes. This place was really rockin' in its day but gradually, like most things, went downhill through the years. Near the end of my time here, my boss quit and they had nobody to replace him. So guess who wound up with the keys to lock up? Yep, me. I used to put the bag of money in the floor safe every night. (Not that there was that much,lol) Then I'd lock the door and my dad would be waiting for me in front to drive me home.

One late night I was locking the door and this drunk man came up and was trying to get past me to go inside. I saw my dad watching from the car...I could see his mouth moving like he was yelling something but the windows were rolled up so I couldn't hear what he was saying. He was also beeping the horn trying to get the guy's attention I guess. (big help,dad,LOL) I wound up pushing the dude real hard and he stumbled away and I got into the Ford Granada and we made our escape.

Funny the things you remember. I didn't feel like I was in danger or anything. (Maybe I should have seeing as my dad didn't even get out of the car to help me,lol) It all just happened so fast,I don't think anyone knew what to do.

This was my second pizza job. I was a traitor coming from Round Table,lol. But me and RT had an ugly parting. (That's another blog) Talk about fresh pizza,though. They had 2 prep people working in the morning, one for just the salad bar! (That was me!) I used to chop the lettuce,cut the cucumbers,tomatoes,onions. Open and drain the cans of kidney and garbanzo beans. Chop up eggs.

I eventually became the main prepper later on. Yep, making dough,(man,was that heavy!) putting the sauce together, grating all the cheese,slicing mushrooms. I also had to slice all the deli meats and onions. (Had to wear goggles for that) They used to have the greatest sandwhiches back then but no more.

Pizza Pizza! For years after I quit those jobs I rarely ate it. Even to this day I don't crave it.

I left them all behind with arms full of burn marks from taking pizza out of the brick ovens. They've finally all faded.

But my memories will live on........   

Well,I gone and done did it,lol. Yes, I published a little 8 page paper on lottery tips and such with a lot of plugs for the LP here. Am passing them out here in Sac Town. This paper is geared toward California players mostly. Am discreetly sleuthing my way through the city and placing them in "waiting" areas. Or lottery playing places. The first liquor store I went into and inquired about leaving a few copies said yes! So my hopes are high as I venture out to other retailers. Coming soon to a magazine table near you!

LottoLaffs is on the loose :)

 

The Voice is one of those shows that gets me all wound up in the beginning and then disappointed at the end. Not one of my favorites has ever won on this show so I've pretty much given up.

It's kind of sad to revisit a lot of my past favorites Facebook pages or other media outlets. Most of them look like they've thrown in the towel and are back to mowing lawns or whatever they did in the past. Having a talent and not being able to share it is one of the most heart crushing realities any artist has to face. (Coming from a family of "artists" I can relate very personally.)

This new season I see another star in the making, Craig Wayne Boyd. I am not a country music fan in the least but do have to say this Battle Round was my absolute favorite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z969bTwEzRM

Craig whooped some serious a$$ on this. I didn't pay the slightest attention to him in the blind auditions but he made me turn my head this time. It's such a wonderful moment to "discover" a natural talent. We can't all be "it" girls or boys but he definitely has "it".

Unfortunately he probably won't win now. Because I like him. Sorry,Craig! 

I thought I would offer some Pick 3, Pick 4 and/or Pick 5 help to the lucky one newbie who responds here first.

If you newly joined the LP and have some questions about what's going on in your state's games right now, I hope I'll be able to lead you to a more winning path :)

AZ-92X  93X  94X

AR-90X  91X  92X

CA-07X  08X  09X

CT-51X  52X  53X

DE-27X  28X  29X

FL-30X  31X  32X

GA-35X  36X  37X

ID-83X  84X  85X

IL-48X  49X  40X

IN-06X  07X  08X

IA-53X  54X  55X

KS-47X  48X  49X

KY-07X  08X  09X

LA-50X  51X  52X

MD-86X  87X  88X

MI-31X  32X  33X

MN-82X  83X  84X

MO-85X  86X  87X

NE-23X  24X  25X

NJ-43X  44X  45X

NM-53X  54X  55X

NY-16X  17X  18X

NC-97X  98X  99X

OH-51X  52X  53X

OK-29X  20X  21X

PA-24X  25X  26X

SC-54X  55X  56X

TN-24X  25X  26X

TX-70X  71X  72X

TRI-27X  18X  19X

VA-08X  09X  00X

WA-86X  87X  88X

DC-14X  15X  16X

WV-58X  59X  50X

WI-04X  05X  06X

The Sopranos on steroids?

Recently on ebay I got a great deal. The complete series of The Shield (brand new) for $35.00. Just couldn't pass that up.

Watched the first season years ago when I had Netflix. But when they started raising prices for people who just wanted DVD's and not all that streaming crapola I ditched 'em.

I do remember really liking this show so as soon as I received it on Friday the box got whipped open and Disc 1 plunked into the player.

Yep! Just as raw and intense as my old memory 'members. Wow. This show was CRAZY and to think they showed it on regular cable. Really diggin' this.

Vic Mackey reminds me a lot of Tony Soprano. The bad guy with a heart. What a great mix for characters. You want to hate them but you wind up lovin' em. Or is that just me,lol?

Well, I always was a sucker for the "bad boys" when I was younger. What girl wasn't? We all love the danger on the outside but inside we're always hoping to tame that wildcat. 

This show is addicting. You can't just watch 1 episode!