The M2 Collision place had a power outage the other day , which explains why no one answered the phone. They weren't exactly thrilled to see my BMW driving back in yesterday. So I have yet another rental car to figure out. I wonder how long it will be this time? They better have put the car inside or it's going to be a BMW pond. It's always nice to have the option to shower in your car while driving on those days you're running late.

Well, this is my last entry of the year, I can't believe 2004 will be gone in a few hours. I always tell people that in the bar business as soon as Halloween comes around, you blink and it's New Year's. Superbowl isn't until February, so I get a month off between parties. I better get this party in the rental and head to the bar...............................

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Deva's stayed open until 2am on Christmas and we had a steady stream of customers. Everyone is so much nicer on Christmas, a few people even brought me turkey dinner.

So I left my car outside last night in the pouring rain, or as the media refers to it; "The big Storm!" That was a good test for my supposedly "fixed" car. I sat down in a lovely puddle and had a nice shower as I drove to the store. Apparently the water soaked all the way through the convertible top and I'm sure that's going to smell wonderful after the rains go away. It's okay though because I called M2 Collision where they fixed my car and the phone just rang and rang. Maybe they are out of business I thought. So, I called my insurance agent and he is out of town for 2 weeks. They promised me someone else would get back to me right away. It's after 6pm and I guess they forgot. I hope the "Doc" I'm going to see in the morning doesn't mind working on a soggy patient. ( Yes, my back is still killing me!) I guess I will need a new car after all. That's if I can get my insurance company to understand a new phrase I picked up called "diminished value."

Well, I've vented enough for this evening. Back to cooking my rainy weather beef vegetable stew.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We had quite a few people come by deva's yesterday. There's already a few there this morning. I guess most places are closed so at least there's somewhere to go if you're alone on Christmas. Today hasn't been much different than any other day so far. I did paperwork, went through the banks, and now I'm getting ready to go bartend. Deva's has never been closed for a day since I bought it over 6 years ago. So when no one volunteered to work this year I got to be the lucky bartender:) I better get my Santa hat on and start serving those "Holiday Spirits!"

Here's a cute little Christmas poem............ enjoy!

THE LITTLE GIRL AND THE COP

A city cop was on his horse waiting to cross
the street when a little girl stopped beside him on
her shiny new bike.

"Nice bike," the cop said, "Did Santa bring it to you?"

"Yep," the little girl said, "He sure did!"

The cop looked the bike over and handed the
girl a $20 ticket for a safety violation, saying,
"Next year tell Santa to put a reflector light on
the back of it."

The young girl looked up at the cop and said,
"Nice horse you got there sir, did Santa bring it to you?"

"Yes, he sure did," chuckled the cop.

The little girl looked up at the cop and said,
"Next year tell Santa the dick goes underneath the
horse, not on top."

I just returned from the Grand Opening of the new renovations at the Harrah's Rincon casino out past Escondido. The place is extremely nice, they did an excellent job with the $168 million they spent. I left them a little cash to help with all the expenses, I'm good like that! JJ and I had a great time and I will definitely be going back after the new year. I needed a "Girl's night" out, maybe we'll do an employee's trip from deva's.

Anyway, I'm off to the bar to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

It's only 5 more days until Christmas! I spent the entire weekend laying in bed trying rest my back. Just me & my cat watching every stupid movie on the dozen movie channels I have. I didn't get to go Christmas shopping like I usually do so I hope $$ fits everyone just fine. I tried to get near South Coast Plaza last week, what a nightmare! An hour in the mall was all I could handle. I was lucky to find a place to park, good thing I had my little car back. Everyone has an SUV which can't fit into the "Compact" parking spots without taking up two spaces. Guess if I buy a Hummer I can't go shopping anytime soon.
Well, off to work................... Happy Monday!

It's been a long week! I've been to the Chiropractor and the Electrogenics "Doc" and I feel absolutely terrible! My back is hurting more than ever at this point, I can't believe it. I'm sure you're as tired of hearing about it as I am tired of complaining! It just helps to vent, so I can't help it.

Getting ready for deva's Christmas party tomorrow night. Yes, it's a "Christmas Party!" It's not a "Holiday Party," it's Christmas and that's the way it's going to stay. We have a "Christmas Tree" not a "Holiday Bush." Growing up I never would've imagined everyone trying to take the "Christ" out of Christmas. Politically correct Holidays............. give me a break. Everyone can celebrate whatever they believe in, I have no problem with that. December 25th is Christmas, there's nothing else you can call it that would make sense to me.

Have fun at whatever politically correct event you attend this weekend!

The Holiday party was really nice last night at Alexandria Coronado's parents home. Alex even played the piano for everyone. She is such a genuinely nice person, I wish she would've kicked Loretta Sanchez' butt! Well, maybe next time we'll be able to get Sanchez to actually debate.

I went to the Chiropractor again today to get heated up, worked over, and iced down. Therapy is rough but hopefully it will work. I'm so tired of feeling this way!

The latest rumor on my recently departed employee is that her ex-boyfriend in New Mexico, whom is living on her property, used her gun to kill someone and buried the body on her land. I did see the listing of the land and a picture of the house, it's one of those under ground types. I forget what you call it but it's the kind of place you would go where you definitely have privacy, could live off of the land, and just disappear. Spooky. The ex also embezzled all the money from their business together, wrote bad checks from her account, and didn't pay any taxes for a few years. The property is supposed to be in foreclosure, it's comprised of 171 acres. I guess I can understand why she had to leave. She's moving out of state next week. Crazy!

Well, I better get ready for a Holiday Boat Cruise in Newport Harbor tonight. The Orange County Federation of Republican Women are having their annual Holiday event, this should be fun!

Tustin News - Online Edition

Okay, it's not a real big deal but I'm in the Tustin News today. I'm on page 10 if you care to look at the picture. I have my hair pulled back so I almost didn't recognize me:)


I'm off to a Holiday Party!

I just got back from the Chiropractor and I feel like a truck hit me. It's really painful getting worked on but I know it'll help. On the way home I stopped by Weinerschnitzel to continue with the Chili Dog Diet. Their 2 for $2.22 deal is going to make me fat! I heard a commercial last week and now I'm hooked. I've been to Weinerschnitzel twice in my life until then. I guess their advertising is working well. At least their fries still taste good, unlike the "healthy" grease they use at McDonald's. Jack In the Box & Burger King have horrible fries as well. That's my expert fry opinion being the self-proclaimed fast food critic.

Well, I had an employee quit last night. It seems she was under too much pressure from the job. I can completely understand how pointing out to her that it was not a good thing that she left the back door open to the bar one night last week was really being cruel to her. Also, I have to admit it was extremely pushy of me to request she come in early so I could attend a City Council meeting last night and to show disappointment when she showed up on time for the first time in months instead of early. I didn't even get to part where tabs were mysteriously not rung in the register, yet the banks came out perfectly even. I'm such a difficult boss to work for, a real slave driver. Most of my employees think that their shift starting times are merely suggestions. Any rules I may have are basically guidelines. I have to say I have several rules they must adhere to........... kind of.

Rule #1 Don't get drunk while working. Which was later modified to "No drinking while working." Which ultimately led to them to keeping the shots to a minimum.

Rule#2 Be on time for your shift. Which was changed to "Please try to come in somewhere close to your starting time." Now no one feels the need to rush in and out of traffic as they make the mad dash to work because they leave their homes 5 minutes before work and seem to forget that this Southern California and there may be just a little bit of congestion on the parking lots that we refer to as "Freeways."

Rule #3 If you need a day off please let me know way ahead of time in order to get your shift covered. That became " Call at least the day before if you're going to miss work." Which then was changed to "At least call sooner than 1/2 hour before your shift when you finally get your lazy butt out of bed and realized that you're to hungover to schlep booze all day long to dirty old men that are trying to look down your top."

Rule#4 Don't Steal. The fact that you forget to charge your friends for that last round of drinks is completely permissible considering no one is perfect and little mistakes can happen, besides it's not like we have to inventory.

Rule#5 No boyfriends at the bar while working. Modified to " Well, if he's there you might as well have him get you ice, stock the beer, and please buy him a drink on me." After all he's only there to eyeball any customer that may attempt to flirt with the bartender, affectively scaring away customers spending money or taking up too much of the bartenders time by ordering drinks, asking for change to play pool, or other activities which could cut into the quality time they could be spending together. Besides the bartender doesn't actually need all those extra tips anyway.

Rule #6 Don't flash... Ever! No modification on this one, I'd like to stay in business. There was one particular blonde that thought I was kidding. She lasted about 3 hours.

Rule #7 No Drugs! Again, no changes to this rule. One employee actually thought it was okay to smoke pot during her shift as long as she went out back............. she was both Wrong & Unemployed quickly! After she left someone found the bottle of Tequila with her name on it she hid behind the jukebox. No wonder she played so many songs!

Everyone thinks they want to own a bar someday. Follow me around for a week and I'll change you're mind real quick! Don't get me wrong, I have good employees as well that go out of their way to help make deva's a fun place. It's just the turnover in this business is high for a reason.

Finally! I just got the message that my car is ready! I don't believe it, it's only been 8 days short of 4 months! Now if I can actually drive it, that's another story. On Monday I argued with the M.D. that is supposedly treating me. Dr. Sharma told me there's nothing he could do because the MRI results came back normal and there is absolutely no way my sciatic nerve could be causing me pain. He said I would need to go to "pain management" and get shots in my back. I refused and he told me to get another doctor. I don't do shots, especially in my back! I refused to go to therapy until I was seen by the Chiropractor that runs the office. That was earlier today, and it took him all of 5 minutes to diagnose me with piriformis syndrome. The piriformis muscle irritates the sciatic nerve and causes pain in the back, rear, and down the leg into the foot. The pain is basically "sciatica." Figures, I don't trust doctors that don't listen to their patients and dismiss them as anxiety ridden females because their medical results say that nothing is wrong. They worked me over pretty hard today and iced me down, I have a feeling I'll be bruised tomorrow. That's okay as long as I start feeling better. Finally! I guess this is my lucky day, after almost 4 months of intense pain they figured something out and I get to go pick up my car! My car should be perfect by now!

It's Monday....... again. Still no car, still in extreme pain, still not able to sleep well. On the bright side I get to go to work and do inventory, deal with the liquor salesmen, wait for the phone to ring to see who can't work for whatever reason. I had to bartend yesterday because one of my employees decided to go to Vegas Saturday at 3am and just couldn't make it back. Lovely. This is the same girl who called in hungover 1/2 hour before shift, and missed the following week because she fell down and sprained her ankle (while drinking). She's a sweet girl, just not all that reliable. The best excuse was when another bartender called in and couldn't come to work because her luggage was lost at LAX returning from vacation. Apparently she couldn't come to work because she had no panties or makeup to wear. I had one girl a couple of years ago who called in that her Dad had a heart attack (which was a lie), the next week she didn't show up because she was in a coma, and the next week she couldn't make it because she was in jail (not really). There's' never a dull moment in the bar business.

Finally I can actually get to my "create" page to write on this blog. The last several times it wouldn't let me connect for some reason?
On November 19th the Tustin Area Republican Women Federated had "A Salute to America and our Military" at the Tustin Ranch Golf Course. It was a terrific event honoring several of our local Military members. The " Catch the Spirit" singers provided the entertainment. They are group ranging from age 4 to college students that celebrate the U.S.A. in song. Paula Burton started this group several years ago to teach people about our Constitution, the Military, and to celebrate this great Country. The Honorable Todd Spitzer said a few words and donated generously to our event. He seems to be involved with just about every event here in Orange County, where does he find the energy?

I'm still waiting for my car to be completed! Can you believe it? It's been 3 1/2 months! My back is hurting worse than ever but I thought you could fix a car faster than a person. Maybe I'll have it back for next year??

Well, I've got a turkey in the oven that needs my attention. I'm cooking a big Thanksgiving Dinner for the patrons at deva's like I do every year. Happy Turkey Day!

Before the "Salute to the Military" event on Nov.19th with former Gunnery Seargent Jeremy Hauser. 

"Catch the Spirit" singers on Nov.19th at Tustin Ranch Golf Course 

I had a fairly busy weekend. Friday night I went to the Opera at the O C Performing Arts Center to see Turandot. It was terrific! I would highly recommend this Opera to those of you interested. It certainly did not drag on like some shows tend to. The costumes, staging, and lighting were all excellent as well as the talent. Well, that's my expert opinion anyway.
Saturday I had to bartend, one of my girls got rear-ended on the freeway on the way to work. Seems to be going around. She's okay though. Speaking of which, I still do not have my car back. Apparently it's now at a BMW dealership because M2 Collision can't get the top wired back on correctly. Let's see, it's only been over 3 months now! That's slightly off from the 3 weeks they told me it would take in the beginning.
Well, it's Monday............. off to work!

I attended a meeting yesterday with Gordon Dillow as one of the guest speakers. I really enjoy his column in the OC Register, I'm glad he's back. He quit his job earlier to go to Iraq as a freelancer with the Marines he went with the first time. It's so amazing to hear how things are over there and what our Military goes through on a daily basis. He told us how our Marines risked their lives to help save the lives of Iraqis attacked by their own people. How sad. Gordon pointed out that the media doesn't cover the good stuff going on over there because it's not what the media gravitates to. The media doesn't cover planes that don't crash. I guess that makes some sense, just wish they could do more stories on all the good we are doing there.

The other speaker was Congressman Gary Miller from the 42nd District. He made me laugh talking about how the IRS audited all the returns the first year they were in business when paying taxes was actually voluntarily. Figures. Anyway, he went on to point out that we cut down something like 350,000 trees a year to print up the tax forms because they've become so elaborate. That should upset the environmentalists! He also talked about how difficult it is to provide enough affordable housing in this state because of the environmentalists. He made an excellent argument about safe guarding some of these endangered species. Why should we bother saving a kangaroo rat that is too stupid to save itself? Apparently they live in a wash basin that drowns them when it rains and they're too stupid to go live somewhere else. Which means that developers end up spending millions of dollars protecting the dumb rats habitat instead of building affordable housing. I heard on the news the other day that a housing development was put on hold while Fish & Gaming where determining whether a dead fish they found there was a protected species or not. Give me a break............. it's dead........ it's a fish. Anyway, even though I had never heard of Congressman Miller before I'm glad I had the opportunity to hear him speak.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thank you Marines for keeping us free!

In honor of the Marine Corps Birthday, please see below... Semper Fi!!!

USMC Rules for Gunfighting
1. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
2. Decide to be AGGRESSIVE enough, QUICKLY enough.
3. Have a plan.
4. Have a back-up plan, because the first one probably won't work.
5. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
6. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun whose caliber does not start with a "4."
7. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.
8. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral & diagonal preferred.)
9. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
10. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics.They will only remember who lived.
13. If you're not shooting, you should be communicating, or reloading.
14. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
15. And above all ... don't drop your guard.

Navy SEALS Rules For Gunfighting
1. Look very cool in sunglasses.
2. Kill every living thing within view.
3. Return quickly to looking cool in latest beach wear.
4. Check hair in mirror.

US Army Rangers Rules For Gunfighting
1. Walk in 50 miles wearing 75 pound ruck while starving.
2. Locate individuals requiring killing.
3. Request permission via radio from "Higher Up" to perform killing.
4. Curse bitterly when mission is aborted.
5. Walk out 50 miles wearing a 75 pound ruck while starving.

Navy Rules For Gunfighting
1. Go to Sea
2. Drink Coffee
3. Watch porn
4. Send the Marines!!!!
US Air Force Rules For Gunfighting
1. Have a cocktail
2. Adjust temperature on air-conditioner
3. See what's on HBO
4. Determine "what a gunfight is"
5. Request more funding from Congress with a "killer" PowerPoint presentation
6. Wine & dine 'key' Congressmen, invite DoD & defense industry executives
7. Receive funding, set up new command and assemble assets
8. Declare the assets "strategic" and never deploy them operationally
9. Tell the Navy to send the Marines!!!!!!!

Just wait until tomorrow, I'm sure I'll have lots of fun stuff for Veteran's Day!

Happy 229th Birthday to the United States Marine Corps!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS!

SEMPER FI

What an election day yesterday! Early in the day I had friends calling me worried after they heard the exit polling results. I knew common sense would prevail and we would vote for the man who will stand up for America! My home state of Ohio came through......... finally!

I went to the Tustin Brewing Company to celebrate with Lou Bone & Jerry Amante who will both be representing Tustin on the City Council. Then off to the Sutton Place Hotel for the big party here in Orange County. Van Tran is now the first Vietnamese Assemblyman, he was having a nice victory celebration. Bill Jones did win in OC, but Boxer with all her millions just couldn't be stopped. She ran so many commercials painting herself as such a caring person concerned with protecting a woman's right to choose and helping seniors with their prescription drugs. How touching. The thing is, it actually worked. I was so hoping we could get the word out for Bill Jones outside of OC. Alexandria Coronado unfortunately couldn't catch Loretta Sanchez:( Sanchez would've lost if she had actually debated Alex in public. Guess she knew how to hold onto her seat.............just shut her mouth and send out mailers which made her look like a strong supporter of our Military. That's funny considering she voted against honoring them and was getting friendly with Cuba to help our farmers. Last time I looked there weren't many farmers in this district unless you count my neighbors growing corn in their front yard. Politics; too bad the best candidates don't always win. Alex did an outstanding job campaigning, I'm sure next time she'll do it!

Four More Years!!!

I just voted about an hour ago. Surprisingly there were no lines at the High School and it only took about 5 minutes. Too many parties tonight! We have to celebrate a Bush/Cheney victory!

Sexy glass washer! 

Halloween........ the fun never ends! 

Rockin' Karaoke 

Blondes have more fun! 

JJ looking hot on Halloween! 

Captain Bart Rice from the 82nd Airborne came in to collect on a beer I promised him when he was in Iraq. 

A little friend that appers to be hungry! 

Hawaii on the other side of the Mariott property. 

I took some time off and went to relax on a beach in Hawaii last week. Just laying on the beach reading a book was exactly what I needed. Unfortunately the plane ride to and from was a nightmare with my neck and back aching. I'm glad I got away though, I needed it. The weather here is so depressing, it's been raining ever since I landed on Sunday evening. Hawaii was just perfect at about 89 degrees everyday. I went to Ko'Olina on Oahu where the Marriott is in the process of building a beautiful resort on the North shore of the island where it's still peaceful and quite. Wakiki is so busy and commercial these days it's not very relaxing. One thing I will say about Hawaiians is that almost every car had a "Support the Troops" yellow ribbon displayed. It was nice to see the support!
I'm going to finish cooking a large pot of vegetable beef stew, perfect for this rainy cold weather.

I'm only a few rows from Arnold at the townhall meeting last week! 

Irvine Hyatt last Wednesday Arnold held a townhall meeting to urge a "NO on 68 & 70" 

Me & Jennifer at the OC Swapmeet registering voters. October 18th is the last day to register! 

There wasn't much on the Recall Anniversary, but they did mention some of what I'm doing now. Just click on the link that follows this entry for the OC Register article.

I went to see "Doc" in Orange yesterday morning, he does Electrogenics. So far it looks like he has helped me, I can actually stand today and walk without tremendous pain. I didn't sleep the night before because my back was hurting so bad.

I better get ready to go see tonight's debate. I'd like to see "W" go after him for a change!

Most of the 135 stepped away from politics

Another day, another doctors appointment. I'm getting tired of going to the doctor all the time. Unfortunately it's necessary today because I screwed up my back really good on Sunday at the OC swapmeet. I went to register voters, but I had the terrific idea that I could actually carry a few bags of stuff I had purchased prior to getting to our booth. We did register over 50 Republicans though:) Almost half of the people we registered were first time voters or switching parties to Republican, so that's good news! I only had one Democrat yell at me, his big argument: "Bush sucks! Bush sucks!" Eventually they make idiots of themselves when they have nothing of substance to say. I just smiled.

I went with some friends today to Tustin Tiller Days. It's such a nice event with good food, rides, and a parade. Last year I walked by the parade and all over the event with a person who filmed me for a documentary. I wonder what ever happened to the documentaries from the recall? I can't believe it's been almost a year since the recall! My world certainly has changed since then. I'm going to the swapmeet tomorrow to register voters again, there's not much time left to get hose Republicans signed up!

Sanchez says no to debate with Coronado=The Hill.com=

Dr. Alexandria Coronado walked my neighborhood with me last night for a few hours. She is such an impressive person, the people we talked to were happy to meet her. Loretta Sanchez certainly never walked in my neighborhood. Loretta is confused, she even recently signed an "advocacy agreement" with Cuba seeking to get around laws restricting trade and travel to the communist nation. It's going to be a bad year for Loretta. Her husband filed for divorce and she is going to lose her congressional seat.

I'm still feeling about the same from the accident. I still don't have my car back. They could've built an entire car from scratch by now! Well, back to paperwork for now.

Wow, time sure is flying the closer we get to the election! I have so much to write and just not any time right now. I have to get to work so I'll get on top of things tomorrow!

What a busy weekend! The CFRW had the fall conference at the Hyatt in Irvine that ended today. We had really great speakers and a wonderful dinner with wives of Marines from Camp Pendleton. I'll write more later, I'm so tired I need to finish up deva's paperwork for Monday and go rest!

I finally went to the Ortho a couple days ago. Looks like I need an MRI of my neck and back to determine what is causing all my shaking and pain. Good news is that I finally have some muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory medicine. I couldn't feel my left leg the other day after being stuck on the parking lot that we call the 55 Fwy for 40 minutes to drive 6 miles. Driving is not one of my favorite things right now. I've been awake since about 5am this morning, can't sleep because my back and shoulder hurt too much. Okay, that's enough of my whining for today, I better get to work!

GOPUSA - Year in Review

It's too nice outside to stay in the house. It's about 90 degrees and the pool water is 88.......perfect! My back and neck are still hurting and it's been a month already. No news on my car yet so I will assume that it's being fixed. I'll have half a new car when I get it back:)

I can't believe it's been 3 years since 9-11. Visiting Ground Zero gives me a better understanding of what happened that day. So many are still displaced from their homes, business is struggling, and there are pictures & personal items of the victims hanging in various places. I'm sure there isn't a dry eye anywhere near there today. I hope everyone will take a minute and say a prayer for the families affected by 9-11.

It has been a quite Labor Day weekend for me. I rested by the pool all weekend trying to recover from NY. It was 100 degrees out the other day, just perfect! Hope you all had a lovely weekend as well.
Now it's back to renting a car, going to work, and off to the doctor. Fun.

Me & Pete Wilson and his wife on the U.S.S. Intrepid.

Me in a simulator on the U.S.S. Intrepid. 

I ran into Paul Walters again, this guy is everywhere! 

Having a great time on the U.S.S. Intrepid. The cutie on the left was on Bay Watch! 

At the end of the RNC on the floor.  

The RNC was so much fun! 

It felt like New Year's Eve times 100! 

The ending of the RNC. 

Right after the President's speech, his family joined him on the stage. 

President Bush & First Lady Laura Bush! 

President Bush. 

On the floor listening to President Bush!