Damn tree mushrooms...

Yet again the city of Huntington Beach is trimming our Moreton Bay fig tree out front. There's a guy in a cherry-picker snipping off branches about 20 ft away from where I sit waiting for my toast to pop up. They do this every year a couple of weeks before the 4th of July, so it looks "nice" before the big parade. But instead of doing a proper trim job, i.e. removing deadwood, crisscrossing branches, opening up the interior of the tree and letting in air and light, they just trim the outside branches so it's pruned into a mushroom. It looks stupid and cheap - which is exactly what it is - they can't be bothered to do it correctly, but they do as fast as possible. I suppose we should be grateful they even rake up the leaves. When the damn thing blows over onto our house in the next El Nino storm because it's a big windblock, are they going to pay for it? Somehow I doubt it. I ought to hire a tree surgeon to do a proper job, and bill the city.

Damn tree mushrooms...

Yet again the city of Huntington Beach is trimming our Moreton Bay fig tree out front. There's a guy in a cherry-picker snipping off branches about 20 ft away from where I sit waiting for my toast to pop up. They do this every year a couple of weeks before the 4th of July, so it looks "nice" before the big parade. But instead of doing a proper trim job, i.e. removing deadwood, crisscrossing branches, opening up the interior of the tree and letting in air and light, they just trim the outside branches so it's pruned into a mushroom. It looks stupid and cheap - which is exactly what it is - they can't be bothered to do it correctly, but they do as fast as possible. I suppose we should be grateful they even rake up the leaves. When the damn thing blows over onto our house in the next El Nino storm because it's a big windblock, are they going to pay for it? Somehow I doubt it. I ought to hire a tree surgeon to do a proper job, and bill the city.

(no subject)

The phone rang at work yesterday, and after giving the standard greeting, I got no response. After saying "Hello? Hello?" several times, I was about to hang up until I noticed some intriguing background noises.

First I heard muffled voices, and then water gurgling and splashing

I'm thinking "Great, the 2-yr old has turned on the phone, hit the redial button, and dropped it down the toilet."

Then I hear several loud bangs and thrashing around.

Slightly alarmed now, I'm thinking "Someone is being shot to death in their bathroom, and their cell phone randomly dialed my number!"

Then I hear a recognizable female voice saying "Thank you, I'm glad I could get that from you," and am relieved to realize it's D. She's at a fish market, measuring white seabass, and thanking the dealer. She must have leaned against something and hit the button to dial my number on the cell phone in her pocket.

I have an overactive imagination.

A few minutes later, she called to check in. I said "You just got a sample somewhere, didn't you?" Mystified, she replied "Yes, I did - How did you know that?" I explained about the previous phone call, and we both had a good laugh. She said that a few days before, M. had had her listen to a voice mail message from the same phone, consisting of nothing but M. driving around in the truck singing along with the radio. I guess you've got to be careful with that thing. You never know who might be listening!

(no subject)

The phone rang at work yesterday, and after giving the standard greeting, I got no response. After saying "Hello? Hello?" several times, I was about to hang up until I noticed some intriguing background noises.

First I heard muffled voices, and then water gurgling and splashing

I'm thinking "Great, the 2-yr old has turned on the phone, hit the redial button, and dropped it down the toilet."

Then I hear several loud bangs and thrashing around.

Slightly alarmed now, I'm thinking "Someone is being shot to death in their bathroom, and their cell phone randomly dialed my number!"

Then I hear a recognizable female voice saying "Thank you, I'm glad I could get that from you," and am relieved to realize it's D. She's at a fish market, measuring white seabass, and thanking the dealer. She must have leaned against something and hit the button to dial my number on the cell phone in her pocket.

I have an overactive imagination.

A few minutes later, she called to check in. I said "You just got a sample somewhere, didn't you?" Mystified, she replied "Yes, I did - How did you know that?" I explained about the previous phone call, and we both had a good laugh. She said that a few days before, M. had had her listen to a voice mail message from the same phone, consisting of nothing but M. driving around in the truck singing along with the radio. I guess you've got to be careful with that thing. You never know who might be listening!

(no subject)

T. is our union president and has been spending all kinds of time in Sacramento trying to negotiate some kind of emergency measure so, hopefully, we can get paid our full salary come July 1. Apparently the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association sued the State government and won, saying that if the state budget isn't signed, state workers can only be paid minimum wage. The budget is not likely to be signed immediately since it's an election year and the legislature has some bones to pick with Governor Gray. Even when the economy is positive, the budget is rarely signed on time.

Does this group just assume that state employees aren't taxpayers too? Because of this group, California has the worst school system in the country. Now we get this. Even from the grave, Howard Jarvis is screwing us.

I suppose minimum wage is better than IOUs, which has happened in the past
AND if that weren't bad enough, the state employee payroll database was hacked, so we all have a chance of getting our identities stolen. Not that I'm too worried about that; anyone trying to bilk credit off my name and SSN will definitely be getting a sow's ear instead of a silk purse.

(no subject)

T. is our union president and has been spending all kinds of time in Sacramento trying to negotiate some kind of emergency measure so, hopefully, we can get paid our full salary come July 1. Apparently the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association sued the State government and won, saying that if the state budget isn't signed, state workers can only be paid minimum wage. The budget is not likely to be signed immediately since it's an election year and the legislature has some bones to pick with Governor Gray. Even when the economy is positive, the budget is rarely signed on time.

Does this group just assume that state employees aren't taxpayers too? Because of this group, California has the worst school system in the country. Now we get this. Even from the grave, Howard Jarvis is screwing us.

I suppose minimum wage is better than IOUs, which has happened in the past
AND if that weren't bad enough, the state employee payroll database was hacked, so we all have a chance of getting our identities stolen. Not that I'm too worried about that; anyone trying to bilk credit off my name and SSN will definitely be getting a sow's ear instead of a silk purse.

(no subject)

John went over to his friend Jerry's last night when I got home, ostensibly to watch the Laker game, but he hates basketball Maybe to have a bit of a wake as well. He says watching Angus and Gareth playing together reminds him too much of he and his brother. I hope his wanting to isolate himself away from his family is a temporary thing. It seems like taking care of his kids would be a good distraction, but everything reminds him of Jay. I want to give him time to heal from this, but his mother is already suggesting grief counseling. I know it was over a year before I started feeling normal after my mom died

(no subject)

John went over to his friend Jerry's last night when I got home, ostensibly to watch the Laker game, but he hates basketball Maybe to have a bit of a wake as well. He says watching Angus and Gareth playing together reminds him too much of he and his brother. I hope his wanting to isolate himself away from his family is a temporary thing. It seems like taking care of his kids would be a good distraction, but everything reminds him of Jay. I want to give him time to heal from this, but his mother is already suggesting grief counseling. I know it was over a year before I started feeling normal after my mom died