Elder Abuse Saga, Continued…

Those of you who follow this blog may remember hubby’s and my struggle early last year to get mom-in-law (Bub) into assisted living before evil niece and her boyfriend bled her of every last cent. Things have been going pretty smoothly since then, up until today.

Bub’s granddaughter Katie (hubby’s niece) is currently serving a six-month jail term for stolen credit cards in San Diego. She and her worthless boyfriend are serving their terms at the same time. She’s due out in August.

She calls and writes Bub occasionally, telling her all sorts of ridiculous lies about getting her GED and taking college-level courses. In jail. We hear she writes THE MOST brilliant, well-composed, intelligent, and lyrically beautiful letters ever written in HISTORY. It’s so sad. But mostly harmless.

Until recently. Bub asked Rich about giving Katie a small sum of money, and he sort of let it blow by. Later she asked about it again. Then she called me and asked me about it. Katie says she wants $5 (really?) for stamps, a couple of books, and a birthday present for her 4-year-old daughter. We got her a book of stamps recently; she’d only sent two letters to Bub, though. There are no books for sale in jail. And I suggested in might be nice if Katie made something for her daughter. These requests should really have been a warning sign.

Apparently, Katie and boyfriend has been calling Bub from jail, collect, EVERY DAY, begging her for money. Which Bub no longer has control over. Rich got the phone bill today and just about blew a gasket. Each call averages around $10. Rich tried calling Bub all day – no answer.

Bub is now hysterical with worry that Katie needs money, and how can she get it to her? Last week, Rich agreed to send her $20, cash, in a letter. Apparently it doesn’t work that way. One has to make a deposit to an inmate’s account.

Bub finally called this evening, literally breathless, she was so anxious to get some money to this parasite. Rich calmed her down, promised to figure out how to deposit money to Katie’s jail account. Called her back later to reassure her this was in the works. We’ll send $20 – that should buy her about ten cigarettes.

AT&T was nice enough to simply reject the third-party charges incurred. We explained that Bub has dementia, has no idea what she’s agreeing to, is being harassed from jail for money from the perpetrator of elder-abuse crimes against her, and that if we had to pay these charges we’d be forced to file YET ANOTHER elder-abuse charge against Katie, this time in La Mesa courts. (She’s got records in Riverside County and San Diego already.) They didn’t want any part of that.

There just seems to be no end to the evil that girl is capable of, even from inside jail.

*UPDATE* We’ve also gotten the number from jail blocked, and we’re not sending SQUAT.

For all the Dungeons & Dragons Fans…

Most who’ve played role-playing games are familiar with the concept of “alignments.” Before you start playing, you develop a character, through whom you will be playing. Like an avatar, only before the digital age. One has to choose many different characteristics, like profession (fighter, cleric, paladin, magician, etc.) or race (human, elf, orc, hobbit, etc.). Some things are determined randomly with a roll of the dice, like intelligence, comeliness, and strength. Alignment is a gauge of personality type, how your character views the world. While alignment can be chosen, it may impose restrictions on profession. For instance, one cannot be Chaotic Evil and be a Paladin – they are diametrically opposed. Paladins can only be Lawful Good, period.

There have always traditionally been nine alignments. For options, we have Lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic. We also have Good, Neutral, and Evil. In the center is “Ture Neutral.” Like Switzerland.

Anyway, this chart is an excellent visual and cultural representation of what the nine different alignments are like, personality-wise, based on iconic movie archetypes.

New Shoes!

Despite the fact that I’m of the female persuasion, I could probably count the number of shoes I own on two hands. There’s the 8-year-old, no-longer-waterproof-in-any-way-shape-or-form hiking boots I need to replace soon, my fantastic snow boots from Lands End, a pair of UGGS, short city boots, tall riding boots (sensing a trend, here?), and various decaying Converse and tennis-style flats. And a couple pair of pumps that never get worn anymore. What’s that? Around ten, like I said. Since about a year before I got laid off three years ago, I have not bought a single new pair of shoes. That’s a long time.

I used to be able to find old-fashioned, simple espadrilles at the local swap meet for four bucks apiece. I’d get two or three pair every summer. They’re somewhat disposable, because the soles are made of woven jute rope. Works great for some while, but if you get them wet, the soles start deteriorating at an alarming rate. I stomped all over Europe one summer in a pale yellow pair that I loved. But I can’t find them anymore. They’re all dressed up and fancified, and 10 times the price. Recently, I saw a girl at the lake wearing a pair. I ran up to her and asked where she got them. “Ensenada.” Not going that far for espadrilles.

So, I’m flipping through a Lands End sale catalog, and I spy these adorable things called Gatas. Plus, they’re 20% off with free shipping. I’m a sucker for free shipping. So I ordered them, and I LOVE them. So soft and comfy. They’re already a bit dirty.

Then about two weeks later, Yardsellr.com sent me an email. They’d set up a sister site, called Style.ly, exclusively for clothing and accessories, and gave me a $15 coupon to use. I found a pair of Toms for $40, which also look like espadrilles, and got them. Toms is a great company: for every pair they sell, they donate a pair to children in need. Seller ran out of those, but had other Toms for $45. I asked for five bucks off, and got this pair of two-tone classics. I just LOVE them.

There's African animals printed inside!

Of course, BlackBot had to try them on, too.

"What do you think? Too big?"

Aerial Ballet

Uber-cool commercial featuring Jeb Corliss‘s girlfriend Roberta Mancino:

Pic of the Day – 3/16/12 – Happy Birthday, Mom!

Here’s my mom, crossing the street in Los Angeles (Encino, actually) during a rainstorm, carrying her beloved pup, Sasha (RIP). A newspaper photographer, out looking for rain pics, got this one of mom when she passed in front of the news van. The photo appeared in the next morning’s newspaper. Never even asked permission. This was about 15-20 years ago.

Pics From Way-Back Land

Old photo of my maternal grandparents. Behind them is my mom on the left, and my uncle Ernie on the right. Mom would’ve been around 16 here.

My mom when she was around 19. Her father was scandalized by those spaghetti straps. This is, by far, my favorite photo of her. I always thought she looked a bit like Natalie Wood or Sophia Loren here.

Does anyone remember the original Banana Republic? Before they were bought by the GAP, they were all about sturdy, functional, and fashionable travel and safari clothing. The storefronts all had an old Jeep “crashed” halfway through the display window. Going through the store was like an Indiana Jones adventure. Before the change, I managed to get a black jersey travel dress with a shawl collar, side pockets, and side slits. Super comfortable for travel, and looks great with a belt or without. Still have it.

I also got a heavy brushed-wool cape. It’s 3/4-length, partially lined inside, and has slits on the sides for arms to come out or not. I STILL wear it. The cape is the absolute warmest thing on foggy, blustery days. You can wrap yourself up in the extra wool.

I would’ve been around 17 in the rest of these pics.

Me in Big Bear. Boyfriend and I went up to play in the snow, a treat for this Southern California born-and-raised girl.

Me at the South Coast Botanical Gardens. Taken by the same boyfriend. He was a pretty talented photographer.

 

Pics from Way-Back Land

A couple of my mom’s wedding portraits. She wanted me to wear the mantilla for my own wedding, and I did too, but it didn’t match my gown, and they’re not very practical, especially for a seaside wedding.

Some baby pics of me. Wasn’t I adorable? Now, to just get that skin back…

A studio still from “No Man of Her Own,” the only movie Clark Gable and Carole Lombard made together. This was years before they began dating. In fact, at this time, she thought he was a ham and a stuffed shirt, and he thought she was a prima donna. Seven years later, though, things had changed. She became the love of his life, until her tragic death on January 16, 1941.

Girl Juggles Five Basketballs at Once

And she’s a hot redhead, too!

Pics from Way-Back Land – Figure Skating

Some photos from back in my skating days.

Skaters were required to perform in shows for the rink. This one was called the “Americana” number. I’m the one on the left, not looking very happy. Those outfits were scratchy. And lemme tell ya, holding a full-sized flag upright while skating at speed isn’t easy!

I was also on the drill team. Our “Jazz” number was set to Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets,” and we had super-cool asymmetrical dresses. It was a great routine. I’m the one on the right.

I would’ve been twelve here. Just won some competition.

After doing a Christmas show.

After placing at the Rim of the World rink at Lake Arrowhead, CA. Completed my first axel in competition here. It’s the most unique rink I’ve ever seen. Half of it is enclosed, like any normal rink, and there’s a roof overhead. But the half that faces out to the forest was left open-air. You can see the trees in the background. So it’s sort of an indoor/outdoor rink, with all the amenities of an indoor rink.

Here I was just getting off the ice, after finishing my own personal competition routine for an exhibition. Loved this outfit. I was out of breath when the camera snapped, so my face looks weird!

Finally, my autographed picture of Dorothy Hamill. She is as nice as pie.

Slow Motion Slinky Drop

Whoa, man. KEWL.

Filmed at 1,000 frames per second.

I love how the bottom doesn’t move at all until the top has caught up with it. It’s actually moving up, but gravity is holding it down.