Bay Area Thanksgiving.

I was glad I made the drive to the Bay area for thanksgiving. I had such a great time that I will count this as one of the best of 2006. It was nice to see auntie slowly getting over uncle's death. The key word is slowly. She still sobs every morning calling his name. Grieving sometimes takes time specially when you miss the man you loved for 49 years. She prays her rosary and talks to him while she does her house chores.

I get to see the twins and E. They are growing leaps and bounds. E turned 5 this year and she had a growth spurt that made her overgrow most of her clothes. It left my sister unprepared, thus leading to some clothes shopping for the 5 year old.

The twins are walking now and they look like penguins. Hobbling around their play area, tripping over soft toys and tackling each other. They pretty much entertain each other. In contrast to early this year when they need constant attention from other people.

Each of the twin has their own personality. One is active while the other is passive. According to their father one is like their mother and the other is like him. A good balance for twins I think, what do I know?

Watching the girls play is just fun. Joining them is even better. They will climb over my legs like an obstacle course. There is the occassional smack on the face but not as strong as E's. E can give a strong whack on the head or face and that's just her way of saying HI out load. Whammo!

E's doing great. She follows directions but getting her needs across is still a challenge. Fortunately, her needs are simple and thank God her parents are smart and patient enough to figure them out. Her smile and laughter is just infectious. A child should always laugh like her. She also shows love and care to her twin sisters. She kisses them and gives them the occassional whack on the head.

I also get to bowl after a long many years of not playing. I believe the last time I bowled was in the early 1990's. More than 10 years ago. My brother taught me how to bowl and I managed 3 strikes my first time out. The second day was not as good as my posture was crooked and I was just not in the game. Oh well, gotta play some more.

Crab was the main dish of the thanksgiving week. My brother and sister-in-law bought crabs in Oakland Chinatown and he brought it to us in my sister's house. We pigged out on crabs, I ate the fatty part by the shell. Yummy, it's been so long since I ate fresh crabs. The following day we ended up eating more crabs at Fisherman's Wharf. I ordered my fix of Calamari, yummy. The next day I went to Oakland's Bart's Crab Shack, or something like that. This time it's crabs cooked in butter and mushrooms. Yummy, yummy, yummy. It was uncle's birthday and I get to spent some QT with some great people.

Driving back home was a little sad but good things don't last forever. Looking forward to another great Bay area visit.

USC is going to the Rose Bowl. PAC-10 football champions for 5th straight year.

It was a close game for 3 quarters against the California Golden Bears. Both teams defense were impressive. A low scoring game too. Fortunately for the Trojans, they were lucky enough to pull this one out. Gone were the days of Leinart and Reggie Bush. The long passes and fantastic completed catches were things of the past. The Trojans doesn't look like champions. They win by a touchdown or less in the past few games. The Cal vs SC game was hard hitting and has it's moments but not a classic.

True champions have the game play of Ohio State and Michigan. That game was a true classic. Hard hitting, and high scoring game. It was a game to remember.

Changes suck but they're here to stay.

A lot of changes at work. First two CNAs have left in the past 2 months. The one that I think should retire finally did. She is old and needs to hang the diaper for the younger blood. The other one thinks she is gods gift to nursing left for Montana. May she find warm welcome to the rednecks of that state, she's Mexican and can barely speak english. If you look up lazy in the dictionary, her picture will be next to it. Bad things happen to bad people and they are the proof.

It's been 5 months since I've started at Casa and it's ugly head has appeared. The Team nursing is non existent. Everyone does what they want and it was pure chaos. I work hard for the money while the minimum wage CNAs are nowhere to be found. It's hard to be motivated if you barely make any money and you wipe ass for 8 hours. Lack of education and inability to speak english are also problems facing this people. Oh well, not my problem. I do my 12 and off another 12.

It's been 4 years since I have to deal with CNAs. At Casa, they are indespensable as they are the ones who help the patients go to the bathroom and pass and remove meal trays. Other than that they disappear to the deep. One LVN said they go out to the parking lot. Interesting, not a usual place to hide but I guess very effective. This LVN smokes so she gets more breaks than non-smokers.

No all CNAs are unmotivated. There are those who are working on their RN. They have good work ethic and knows how to work with other CNAs. The rest does their thing and work alone, frequently over whelmed and unable to get the job done.

There are bad RNs and LVNs too. I like to believe I'm on the good side as most of my patients tell me I'm a good nurse. We have RNs who complain a lot. From the start of the shift to the end, she complains and complains. I try to listen but sometimes I'm tired of listening to her moaning and groaning so I try to avoid her.

The benefits and retirement are good here at Casa so I need to keep reminding me that it's a 3 mile drive to work and other than the laziness, it's not a bad place to work.

Borat: Cultural...

This movie is one of the funniest I've seen since Home Alone. It's R rated so leave the kids with the babysitter. Borat is a journalist from Kazakhstan, a former Soviet block nation. He and his manager went to the US to learn about American culture that will benefit his country.

The movie had limited showing of 800 theaters and still made $23 million it's first week, beating top notch movies of Russel Crow and Brad Pitt. Fox then decided to expand showing to 1200 theaters.

IMDB members voted the Borat movie as 149th film of all time. It garnered an 8.4/10 score.

Watch this movie and you will laugh your gut out. You will get offended in a funny way.

Happy birthday Mom!

It's my mother's birthday, she would have been 69 years old. I miss her dearly. God bless you ma. I love you.

A New Era in American Politics.

Read the news and it says it all. The Democrats are in power and Rumsfeld is out. I'm sad that the governator is still in power but Angelides has the personality of a slug. I don't want him for governor but I voted for him.

The Dems rule the House and the Senate and there is a new hope in the horizon. The Pres got the boot and hopefully it hurts, fucker! Up your fucking ass! He calls it a thumping, LOL.

I love Sen. Polasi calling the idiot, dangerous and incompetent. LOL. They are now having lunch.