Stop it, already...

Short story, cuz I've only heard one side, my dad and his only living sister are estranged. He pissed her off several years ago, she packed her stuff (at his house for a visit) and left. Aunt M has a daughter in Washington. Two years ago, dad and stepmonster were going on a cruise. Gonna drive to Seattle, then a little further (2hrs, one way) to see cousin K. Dad got an infection in his foot and they canceled the trip.

It's 2009, dad and stepmonster need a vacation wicked bad. I get the BRILLIANT idea to take that cruise. We make all plans, all they need do is pay their way. First day I mentioned it to him, he says he wants to see K. I say, "that won't be possible" in a very curt way. What he wants to do is try to get back in with his sister before he dies (he'll be 81 in April). K is mid-50's and certainly more able-bodied than he is. She has made no effort to see him, and from what I can figure, she hasn't called/written him with any regularity either.

We've mapped a plan, and we're cruising in/out of San Francisco. No chance of seeing K unless she met us in Victoria, B.C., our last stop before we head back to Cali. Hmmmm...maybe I could try to set that up...but that requires contacting Aunt M (whom I still have a relationship with...exchange Christmas cards/occasional e-mail) to get K's info. Dunno. Will have to think about that.

It's unfortunate that my dad is talking about dying. Not death itself or that he's ready to check out, but that he said, "this will be the last time I'll get a chance to see her" (with regard to K). He also is frustrated that he's "incompetent" to do the work around his property that he started 20+ years ago and now can't finish (cuz he's too eff'n stubborn to hire a contractor at a going rate and get it done...claiming he can't afford it. I'll have to ask him if he can afford NOT to).

So, here I am, potentially setting myself up for disappointment (again), but hopeful that stepmonster can manage him. The good news is that when I just got off the phone with him, it sounded like he's on board (no pun intended) with focusing on the vacation. (I suggested to him that he send money to K and have her come to him...I don't think she needs his money, I think she just doesn't feel the importance of seeing him as much as he feels the importance of reconnecting with his sister...apples and oranges, but he'd never see it like that...sigh...)

Honky Cat...

Stacy did it in her Facebook notes, but I'm doing it here (maybe I'll copy it there...)

1. Put your MP3 player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer (questions below)
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS (option to put the name of artist in brackets next to it)
4. Tag at least 10 friends who might enjoy doing the game as well as the person you got the note from.

1) IF SOMEONE SAYS "F*** YOU!" YOU SAY: Ukiah - Doobie Brothers

2) WHAT'S THE BEST THING THAT'S EVER HAPPENED TO YOU? Life Is a Highway - Rascal Flatts

3) WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT'S EVER HAPPENED TO YOU? Train Wreck - Sarah McLachlan (though I've never been in a train wreck, thankfully)

4) WHAT WILL OPRAH'S NEXT SHOW BE CALLED? Shadow Captain - Crosby, Stills & Nash

5) WHAT WILL OBAMA'S FIRST EXECUTIVE ORDER BE? Kiss From a Rose - Seal

6) IF YOU COULD SAY ONE THING TO THE PERSON YOU LOVE, IT WOULD BE? Have I Told You Lately - Van Morrison

7) IF YOU COULD SAY ONE THING TO THE PERSON YOU HATE IT WOULD BE? World On Fire - Sarah McLachlan

8) WHAT WOULD YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY BE CALLED? New York Minute - The Eagles

9) WHAT IS LOVE? Chasing Pavements - Adele

10) WHAT IS HATE? Coming To Get You - Carly Simon

11) WHAT IS YOUR BEST TRAIT? The Sea Refuses No River - Pete Townshend

12) WHAT IS YOUR WORST TRAIT? - Like We Never Loved At All - Tim Mc Graw & Faith Hill

13) WHERE WILL YOU BE IN FIVE YEARS TIME? The Greatest Man I Ever Knew - Reba McEntire (oooohh...that one gives me a chill)

14) HOW DO YOUR FRIENDS DESCRIBE YOU? No Love To Be Found - Michael McDonald

15) WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR YOU? Constant Craving - k. d. lang (hahahahaha!)

16) WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR YOUR BEST FRIEND? Real Good Man - Tim McGraw

17) WHAT DO YOU WISH YOUR LOVER WOULD WHISPER IN YOUR EAR? If I Could - Seal (hahahahaha!)

18) WHAT WILL SAVE THE WORLD? Getaway - Train

19) WHAT IS SEXY? Power of Gold - Dan Fogelberg & Tim Weisberg

20) WHAT IS FUNNY? Come Away With Me - Norah Jones

21) WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH? Not Myself - John Mayer

22) WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS? Wrapped Around Your Finger - Sting

23) WHAT DO YOU DREAM ABOUT? Winter Song - John Tesh

24) WHAT GIVES YOU NIGHTMARES? Two Out of Three Ain't Bad - Meatloaf

25) WILL YOU EVER FIND 'THE ONE'? True Companion - Donald Fagan

26) WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY? Always in My Head - India Arie

27) WHAT MAKES YOU SAD? What's Your Name - Lynyrd Skynyrd

28) WHAT'S THE STUPIDEST THING IN THE WORLD? Hysteria - Def Leppard

29) WHAT DO PEOPLE LOVE ABOUT YOU? Here Comes The Rain Again - Eurythmics

30) WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? Honky Cat - Elton John

Stick a fork in me...

I'm not really sure why this pisses me off so much, but it does. Gal who is a mom of both a football player and a cheerleader in our organization sent an "article" that she was going to send to one of the local rags to another mom/former cheer director. That mom forwarded it to me and I told her to e-mail the other gal back and tell her not to send it cuz I was already working with our 'media relations' gal on an article that she was submitting to both local rags (same publisher, catering to neighboring communities) along with a picture. Our media gal writes stuff all the time, so it was a good article (though I see one bit of info is incorrect) and what the mom wrote is awful. Thought we dodged that bullet a month or so ago.

As luck would have it, the larger of the two rags didn't publish the original story/picture. Not sure why. Mom texts me yesterday and asked me to put something out to everyone (or send her a list of my contact info) to let them know the article will be in the paper on Wednesday. Ummm...nobody GIVES A SHIT!! It doesn't name any of the players by name, and if she uses a picture, it won't have everyone in it (about 75 kids). I'm dragging my heels about it. I'll prolly send something out about it, but mash it in with other info I have.

In saying it outloud to a friend not associated with the whole cluster fuck, what pisses me off is: 1. NOBODY checked with me to ensure that something wasn't already being done
2. It's poorly written, and that is a reflection upon all of us (I would have edited it for her so she didn't make us look like numbskulls if we didn't already have something in the pipeline)
3. It piles on to other things that have happened/been said that I'm taking as people not thinking I'm doing a good enough job. Maybe that isn't their intent, but it feels disrespectful that things are being taken on without consideration for what is being or needs to be done that I'm either DOING or have KNOWLEDGE OF.
4. I said it out-loud to my friend that I'm no longer here for the 171 kids in the program. I'm only still here for my "boyfriend" (we started this mess together), and that I want to put everything in a box and hand it off to someone. What stops me from doing that is my own procrastination. Things aren't in order, and I don't want anyone to see that I'm doing this by the seat of my pants.

So, I fired off an e-mail to Boyfriend when husband-of-mom asked for contact info via e-mail today so he could send something out about the article being published (uhhh...no, not giving him EVERYONE's info out of respect for their privacy...he doesn't sit on the board, has no 'position' in the organization) and will see what he says. I'll send the stoopid reminder out, but when I'm damnfuckinggoodandready. Paper publishes on Wednesday.

Gah. I just want to be done.