My birthday month

Here it is, the month of March. Sometimes I feel like such an old lady slowly creeping into my fabulous 50's. I'm almost 4 years away from that number. I've been super busy with my personal life as I have vacation for the next two weeks. I was in Hawaii for my birthday with my good friend Darrell from work. We had a wonderful time doing tourist things, sightseeing, partying and eating. Events that we were not looking for were presented to us on a silver spoon without fail and we went with the flow of things. It's great that we are both like that and make for awesome travel partners. Besides my Lynn, Darrell is the next best thing to a travel companion. We rented a cute little convertible Sebring for two days and toured the rugged country side of Waianae and Makaha. It's desolate beaches and pristine sand made the long journey worth wild. We explored a roadside cave, picnicked alongside the beautiful blue ocean and enjoyed the warmth of the sun with the car top down and my long "ruffly" hair flowing in the wind. We managed to sneak in a parade, saw a Tahitian competition, watched the "girly boys" show off at Queen's beach in Waikiki and had the Royal Hawaiian Pineapple drink at the beautiful "pink palace". Leaving Hawaii is always hard for me because of my roots here. But then again, leaving Hawaii is hard for everyone.

First

full day off from work and I'm revelling in the peace and quiet. I'm sitting here at the laundromat drying my clothes and piggybacking off of a restaurant wireless Internet which I can always count on. I'm slowing down on my postings due to my work schedule and I'm just too tired to stay up and write. By the time I come home, I'm totally exhausted and fall right away to sleep. Lynn is at her chorus rehearsal and will be calling me soon. We have a party to attend, a 50th, birthday of a lesbian couple that we met last year during the summer at a women's music festival this Saturday. Her partner is throwing this shindig at a Moroccan restaurant complete with belly dancers, champagne and appetizers. It should be a lot of fun. Lynn and I will also be overnighting somewhere close because after drinking a few glasses of wine, we don't want to drive too far and plus we get to spend some much needed time together before I fly off to Hawaii for my birthday. Yes, I will be going without her and will be attending this trip with my good friend Darrell. Time, money and her daughter keeps her from going. Lynn and I will be going to Las Vegas at the end of this month to celebrate a birthday bash at my hotel that always gives me comp rooms. They are throwing a party for all of the March babies. That should be wildly fun too. My last day at work officially will be March 12th and I'll be off from work for the next three weeks. I will most definitely be picking up overtime, if they'll let me. Because of the Easter holiday coming up, we will be swamped and with the amount of sick calls, I would be a good candidate to pick some of that up. My laundry is done and I'm going to the grocery store to pick up some items for home. This is the best time to run errands, when no one is in the store.

Fatigue

sets in as my long enduring hours of standing and constant work keeps my body from getting it's proper rest. I am right back to my old self again working tremendous hours a day for somewhat low wages and I cannot afford to do part-time work. In order to maintain my mortgage, bills and credit cards, I have to work maniac hours. By the time that I finish my work shift in the morning, I am completely exhausted by the time I get home. I have little time to nibble on something to eat before falling effortlessly to the comfort of my flannel sheets and firmness of my bed only to wake up at eleven in the evening in time to catch the news. I had a few tasks to do today but was too tired to complete any of them, one of which was to go to the bank and transfer some money which I will have to do tomorrow and to get a lab checkup for my primary on my glucose levels to test for diabetes which is an annual thing for me due to that it runs in my family. I want to try to prevent any diseases that my parents had and keep myself in check so that I can live a long comfortable life. Basically, whatever tests that I can afford under my insurance, I want it done.
I talked to Lynn on the phone and our conversations have been somewhat short due to our work schedules and family time. But we always manage to get a few moments in. She was a little upset tonight because Greg wants her to go to Hawaii with his mother, daughter and him for a family reunion. Lynn is not at all convinced that she is invited to go by her mother-in-law but at Greg's insistence. It would also be around the time that her daughter Camden would be coming home from London and we would be going there to escort her back which he seems to have forgotten. I told her that it sounds a little "fishy" to me since he initially wanted his "girlfriend" Pam to come up with her grandson in the summer to stay and visit which Lynn is "dead set" against because of her manipulating tendencies and destructiveness of self with no concerns of anyone but her own. I have met the woman and my take on her is completely opposite of what I would imagine Greg with as a partner. Her physique is slender and petite with short sandy brown hair with blonde highlights. She seems very fragile and shaken. I would not be attracted to her in the least if she were an eligible lesbian woman. Their talks will continue and I will lend my ear for listening and trying very hard not to be critical of what developes.

Veteran's Holiday

As the fog rolls down over the hills above me, this time of year is an especially sad one for me. My father passed away in August of 1999 and my mother in December of 2003. This is the time of year when I should be excited about the upcoming holidays, cooking, gatherings of my children around me, friends and joyousness. I find myself hiding away more and more very much missing my mother and father. I don't return the phone calls of my friends for the want of not talking or listening to the trials and drama of their lives. Instead, I bury myself in memories of happier times long ago.

My father was a Veteran of WWII. He was a mechanic in the Army/Air force at that time and very proud family man. He was crane operator for the Local Union 3 by trade and loved to party with his brothers and extended family that moved to the "mainland" from Hawaii. My mother, for most of my life, was a stay at home mom until all of her children reached High School ages and she went back to school to receive her Diploma and went on to manage an office facility of caregivers that helped the elderly. She was a very independent woman and between the both of them, instilled good values and independence in their three children. Growing up, we were good kids, got in the usual small time rebelliousness as teens and minded our father. If not, we would get spankings from him on the butt or worse yet, the belt! I would say looking back on it now, he was a harsh disciplinarian. I love them both very much and miss them terribly during this time, a time of joy and sadness, a time of remembrance.