Punching the Clock

Student Protests re: Immigration

2006-03-31T21:39:00.000-08:00

NOTE: THIS POST IS NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT & THAT'S OK

I'm sure many of you saw the student protests here in Los Angeles this past week. Although as an attorney I am all in favor of the students' first amendment rights, the protests call out for me to ask these questions:

1. Do the students know the difference between legal immigrants and illegal immigrants?
(Because there is a fundamental difference. Most people oppose one set and not the other).

2. If you are proud to be in this country, then why are you waving the Mexican flag?

3. Why doesn't the school district bill the parents of the kids that were truant the $28/per pupil assessment that the district lost due to the students' absenteeism?

OK...........I'm off my soapbox now, but may have to get back on it if the protests start anew.

Countdown

2006-03-31T21:33:00.000-08:00

I'm in my last 10 days until the Mrs. is due. We've got the house ready by moving the office furniture into the garage and creating a corner in the master bedroom for the office. All of which means, less space and I can't park my car in the garage. We're supposed to have some yard sale to sell the office furniture. Like the people that come to yard sales want to buy an oak rolltop desk?

I think we're ready for the impending arrival. Still am up in the air on names (with my last two kids, we had the names done prior to their entry), but I'm hoping that the old adage of "when you see the baby, you'll know the name" is still valid.

I'll check in soon after the birth---while I'm on the 3 am feeding shift.

Three's a Charm?

2005-09-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

So after --

1. Bragging to everyone I know that I would not have another offspring (I have 2) unless I was the victim of blunt force trauma; and,

2. Getting a puppy for the family to satisfy the Mrs. desire for a young un' around the house; and

3. Starting to actually feel my age......

I found out that the Mrs. is expecting. I do not have a shovel blade sticking out of my head and we still have the dog AND I still feel old (even more so now knowing that my youngest one will be 5 when the new one comes along).

So just when I could carry on a conversation with my kids and try to relate to them and include them in "adult" activities, I am starting over.

I have until April to start rearranging the house before the baby is here---I'll need every last day. Although I am excited about our new addition, I can only hope that my trepidation over the impending arrival will be unfounded.

Vacation

2005-08-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when people are taking their vacation. Some of you like "Bruingirl" don't limit yourself to a vacation. Others, like "TwistofKate" go to exotic destinations like Wisconsin (that is a foreign country isn't it). Heck, even my dad, who hasn't been anywhere his whole life, went to France for 2 weeks.

So where is mi familia going this year? We are going to Mammoth. We had talked about going to Maui, but all the kids want to do is swim in a pool and for those of you with kids, we all know that vacations are for the kids, the parents are only along for the ride.

I am excited about going to Mammoth. We plan on fishing and taking the Gondola up to the top. We also plan to hike around. I am hoping that the kids will like it. I have only been to Mammoth in the winter, so it will be a new experience for us. Considering the place were staying has a pool, I know the kids will be happy.

Sugar Free Cereal?

2005-08-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

So the family was at Bob's Big Boy over the weekend (not sure if the location in Burbank is the last remaining restaurant or not). The kids thought Bob was pretty cool with "Big Boy" on his chest.

Anywho, when we were seated, my daughter (who is 7) noticed a sugar "shaker" on the table and asked what it was. I remembered that nowadays they usually serve sugar (and sugar substitutes) in packets. We informed her that it was sugar. Seeing it reminded me of something from years gone by---which is the short focus of this post.

When I was growing up, my parents would not allow me to have "sugar" cereals. I could only have Corn Flakes, Cheerios, etc. I remember taking the sugar shaker however and adding a healthy dose of sugar to the cereals to make it sweeter. Ahhh, those were the days--skirting around my parents' mantra to make sure I had my sugar intake.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2005-08-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

With apologies, yet reverance to this classic Clint Eastwood movie...I bring you this Monday post. I have been meaning to write about this for awhile, but it has taken me the better part of a month to feel comfortable to put this on "paper."

The Bad
My family decided to spend the day at the beach with another family (we each have kids around the same age. Two kids around 7 years old and 2 around 4 1/2 years old). My wife has some nostalgia for Zuma tower 11 so we decided to meet there. After arriving there in record time from the Valley and marvelling at the 20 degree drop in tempature, we found our spot and spread out all the crap. I was determined to teach my chitlins about sand crabs, so we proceeded to find sand crabs and place them into a bucket.

So far so good (so why the "bad"---be patient, it's coming), the other family arrived and the Mrs. decided to use the restrooms. When she comes back, I look up and ask her where my 4 year old son is. She thought he was with me. Well, he was with me at one point, but I thought he went with her. We look one way and look the other---no sign of my offspring. My first thought--if he's in the ocean, he's dead. He can't swim and the riptide was pretty strong that day. Not sure why I wasn't worried about him being kidnapped by Michael Jackson or one his merry men, but all I could think about was the ocean.....forboding, endless.

After making sure my friend's wife watched the other three kids, the Mrs. and I approached a lifeguard to inform them about our son. My friend is checking the bathrooms. I am running on the beach towards Zuma 12 looking for him. The Mrs. heads to the lifeguard tower at Zuma 12 to tell the lifeguard about my son. He picks up the phone to tell the other lifeguards about my son and tells the Mrs. that he has at Zuma 9.

We run as fast as we can to Zuma 9. I didn't realize how far it is between the two towers. After we all calm down, my son tells us that he was playing in the water's edge, got knocked down and got back up and looked for the umbrella. Not seeing it, he proceeded down the shoreline when we were probably less than a 100 feet in the other direction.

I have never felt such despair in my life. I kept thinking that he had disappeared on my watch. How could I live that down. So that was the bad.

The Good
After leaving the beach, we went back to the Valley, happy that we were leaving with as many of us as we came with. The Mrs. and I went to a concert at the Orange County Fair that evening. This was the first concert we had been to in a long time, but it was fun and the bands were good. Even though they looked old, I had to remind myself that "old" is a relative term. The fact that the bands were at the height of their popularity in the 1980's, that was my era, musically speaking.

The Ugly
Although redundant, it took us over 2 1/2 hours to get from the Valley to Costa Mesa. Both the 405 and the 5 had accidents on them and given the earlier events of the day, the last thing I wanted to do was sit in traffic. I have learned that because I take the train to work during the weekday, I have little tolerance for traffic on the weekends. I know, I picked a great place to live if I have traffic hangups.

A life lesson to be had from each of these sections, I'm sure. Hopefully, I can forget about temporarily losing my offspring.....

A Friday Tail

2005-06-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

In honor of my neighbor, Kate, http://www.twistofkate.blogspot.com, I bring you today's entry. So after Kate came over to show me and the Mrs. her new hair color, she informed us that in the gutter across the street from us there appeared to be a tail of a cat. I asked her how she could be so sure.

Anywho, being the lawyer that I am and not actually taking anybody's word for it, I decided to investigate the "tail." Well, sure enough, that's what it was---it was almost like a lizard's tail, you know how a lizard can lose its tail as a defense. Now I have never heard of a cat having such lizard like defenses and without having seen the cat that was once attached to the tail, I don't understand how the two became separated.

My main concern is that we live in a residential part of the city-I can't imagine any wild animals running through the neighborhood, but you never know. Guess I'll have to keep a better eye on my beagle pup to make sure he doesn't meet the same fate (like I'd ever let him roam in the street without me).

It certainly was a bizarre sight and if the tail is still in the gutter upon my return home from work, I'll attempt a first for this blog------posting a picture, so you can all share in my tale through a visual of the tail.............

Commuting

2005-06-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to posting again. Not sure why such a delay in between-I'll just have to chalk it up to good ol' procrastination.

I consider myself something of a rarity in SoCal. What sets me apart you ask? What makes me special?

I live in the Valley and work downtown. It's about a 30 mile commute, but for those of you who don't live in SoCal, mileage means nothing. The real way to measure a commute in SoCal is by the time it takes and my 30 mile commute takes at least an hour each way (Enough of this background).

Instead of driving, I take the train from the Valley to Downtown and then hop onto the subway to get to work. Is it any quicker than driving? No, but I drive 5 miles to the train station and can sleep, read, etc on the train to work. I know you people outside of SoCal think, so what? You take mass transit, no big deal.

Let me tell you, it is a big deal. I love my car like everyone else here. In fact, I feel like some of my freedom is taken away because my car isn't at work. However, the chance to avoid having to sit in traffic twice a day makes it worth it.

Now am I advocating that everyone try mass transit? Not a chance. It makes sense in some parts of the country, but not necessarily here.

My point?? Not sure, but just thought you should know that at least one person in SoCal uses mass transit.

D Day

2005-05-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday marks a special day in my household. The Mrs. is going to become a stay at home mom and her last day at work is this Wednesday. While I am excited for her and for my offspring, I feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility that I haven't had during our almost 12 years of marriage.

People say that things always have a way of working out, but I am not one of those people that likes to leave my fate to happenstance. With 2 incomes, I never worried about what would happen if one of lost our job. Now, I realize that I am solely responsible to "bring home the bacon." I am hopeful that with the Mrs. at home, I will be able to put more time in at work to secure my lot in life (as secure as one can be).

At least I know that while I toil away at work, the Mrs and the offspring should be enjoying their summer doing what most of us did as kids---swim, hang out and have fun. Ahhhh to be young.............

The Remote Control

2005-04-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

The Mrs. has this habit which may be unique to her or may be a trait shared by other women. Last night she was watching TV, flipping through the channels and invaribly fell asleep. When I came into the room, she was in a deep slumber. Here's the problem: The TV was on a channel such as Lifetime, Oxygen or W.E. and she is sleeping on the remote.

Now I could reach under her to get the remote, but she would interpret that as a sign of wanting something else and would proceed to berate me for interrupting her slumber. I wouldn't mind if the TV was left on a channel where there existed a remote possibility that a show that I would be interested in would appear. Not a chance with the aforementioned channels. I know I don't fit into their target audience.

I also realize that I could get up and manually turn the channels until I found a program that I wanted to watch. It's just the fact that the Mrs. has control of the remote and isn't even using it. As we all know, having the power to select the channel of one's choosing is not something to be taken lightly.

In closing, I implore the Mrs. (and any other woman out there) that when she feels she is dozing to (1) change the TV to a channel that her significant other would like and (2) leave the remote in a place that is easy to find. This way her sleep is not interrupted and us men folk don't have to be subjected to the aforementioned she channels.

Donuts for Dads

2005-04-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

So my daughter had a program called "Donuts for Dads" this morning. The premise was that the kids could have a donut with their Dads and then look around a book drive that the school was sponsoring after the donuts. Needless to say nothing attracts grown men to one location like the lure of free food, except maybe scantily clad women (but that's a different post for a different day).

Upon arriving with my daughter, I couldn't help but notice that many of the dads were dressed shabbily. Personally, I do not have to wear a suit to work, but must dress "business casual." I only wear a suit on days that I have court appearances. In the legal world, "business casual" means that you appear presentable, if not somewhat professional.

I am not one to criticize dressing down. I, for one, would wear shorts and a t-shirt with flip flops if I could. I am a firm believer in dressing comfortably to be more productive. However, considering that "Donut for Dads" was held at 7:30 in the morning, it makes me wonder, did these Dads that were dressed down go home and change before going to work? I hope that is the case. However, I suspect they have jobs that allow a casual dresscode. What are these jobs that allow one to look a couple shades more respectable than a transient? What do they pay?

It also makes me wonder how these people afford a house in our neighborhood. Is their lifestyle just "smoke and mirrors" that will crumble with any small rise in interest rates?

I know I should be grateful for what I have, but it makes me wonder if these other dads have obtained the American dream-earning alot of money in an easier way (legally)......hmmm.

Opening Day

2005-04-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year-nothing announces the arrival of spring like opening day of baseball. I associate the baseball season with the warm weather and the opportunity to spend more time outdoors.

Here in So Cal, the Dodgers' opening day is tomorrow. I used to attend opening day games, but no more. The reason.....(no, not work) invasion of the Raider fan.

Hey Raider fan, stay away from Chavez Ravine! You know who you are. You show up to the ballpark wearing a jersey that says "Dodgers" in old english script in black and silver. The Dodgers' uniform colors have never been black and silver. You get yourself liquored up and make an a** of yourself.

Opening day used to be special. A time to catch an afternoon ball game, but no more. It's all about Raider fan wanting to be seen. I can only hope that the increase in ticket prices somehow drives away Raider fan, but I doubt it.

Here's to hoping that Raider fan stays away so that the real baseball fans can enjoy the game. Here's also hoping that they abolish the DH and forbid people to put ketchup on hot dogs. Those are musings for a different day, however.

For now........PLAY BALL.

Business Trip or Boondoggle

2005-04-01T06:38:00.000-08:00

The Mrs. just got back from an out of town business trip last night. For those of you that are married with kids and have a spouse that travels, let's set a few things straight.....

Yes, you had to work all day in a city different from where you live, but because you are there without the kids, I contend it's not a business trip. Its a boondoggle, free time away from family obligations. To wit:

1. You didn't have to deal with picking up the kids by a certain time.

2. You have the opportunity to get a drink after work and hang out with co-workers (no kids to run home to).

3. You can actually go to a nice restaurant and not worry about what is on the kids' menu.

4. You don't mind if the restaurant has a more than a ten minute wait to seat you because you can have a drink in the bar while you are waiting.

5. You can go out and see a movie or go to a club and have a few more drinks.

6. You can be assured of a good night's sleep because no kids will interrupt you.

7. You have a maid to clean your room.

Don't get me wrong, I love my kids. However, if I had a job where I travelled out of town, rest assured I would make the most of my evenings (I am not encouraging elicit activity) given the fact that I no longer had the yoke of the responsibility of the kids over me.

Upon reviewing my list, I believe that business trips should be renamed boondoggles for those married with kids. Let's call it like we see it.

Returns

2005-03-31T06:55:00.000-08:00

So I got a computer game as a present and it turns out that I have it already. The title was a current release, so I headed over to the local electronics retailer to return it. I knew that I would only get a store credit, but that was fine with me. I was going to buy a different game. They scan the UPC code and state they cannot accept the return because it wasn't from their store. Never mind that they had over 10 copies of the game on the shelves. I tried to return the game to a local Target-same story.

What happened to being able return an item so long as it is unopened? Given the difficulty in returning gifts nowadays, there should be a requirement that when giving a gift, it must be accompanied by a gift receipt. If there is no gift receipt, the person receiving the gift should be able to refuse the gift on that basis alone.

The stores' current philosophy is certainly stifling the average consumer's desire to stimulate the economy by purchasing additional items.