Hola...Housekeeping!

So as many of you know I work at a hotel. I am a catering sales manager. Sales- as in I gotta look the part. I wear heels and get my nails done... I wear make up and jewelry and try my best to make my hair cute everyday. It's kinda my job.

Because I work in a hotel, I am surrounded by housekeepers. And I am being truthful, not at all racially biased, when I say they are ALL Hispanic. They are. And a few of them that speak a little English are incredibly sweet and laugh at my feeble attempts at Spanish. I feel a lot of guilt for the most part, standing up and grabbing my own trash out of the can when they come into my office to clean, or holding doors open for them as much as possible. I walk on tiptoes away from the clean parts when they're mopping floors, I've even tried to sit with them in the break room at lunch where they told me in no spoken words at all they They. Don't. Like. That.

So I try to be nice, "Hey, I'm just one of the girls" and that doesn't work... One lady and I spied each other as I was coming into work this morning. I was getting out of my car, juggling a giant purse, my keys, a Lean cuisine, a bottled water and my cell phone. She was coming out of the hotel with 4 giant bags of garbage- one of them leaking some form of smelly, fermented liquid- and taking them to the trash.

"Hola, Maria!" I said smiling, and asked how she was doing.

How the fuck did I think she was doing? She's taking out the trash at 7:30am!

I made a move for the trash to help her and she smiled and giggled and said no. Which I knew she would- they always do, and I was secretly grateful.... Is that wrong? I mean... the bag was leaking.

Is that why these women won't sit near me at lunchtime? They think that I think I'm better? I swear I don't! I'm just glad I don't have to take out the trash or clean toilets! But I am extremely grateful to them for doing so! I really am.

So why are they talking about me in Spanish and then laughing, but won't and/or can't tell me why? Am I being to sensitive about it? And what do I do? If I am extra nice they feel like I'm pitying them. Gah! How do politicians DO this?!?

Manny Being... A Dodger

Now that the newness of it has worn off a bit, I feel like I can talk about it now...

But really, how freaking weird is it to see him in BLUE?!

Anyway, I knew he was pushing to get traded before the deadline and being as much of an ass as possible, but I really thought the Sox would tell him to sack up and play some freaking ball until the end of October, THEN send him off on his merry way... Maybe I'm just naive, but I really didn't see it coming. Which is why it was so mind blowing to me to see him standing there, all shits-and-grins talking about how he 'lubs Cal-ee-for-nee-ah beddy, beddy much". And like a punch in the gut to see Joe Torre right there with him...

Now I see the games and it's much like seeing an old boyfriend out and about with his new girlfriend. And they look happy together... and they're rubbing it in my face. I feel like he broke up with me and I gotta deal with it.

Granted Jason is proving himself nicely... but he's not Manny. And I know, no one was Pedro or Nomar or Trot, blahblahblah...

I'm getting over it.... and a big 'ol trophy will help me immensely ;-)

Stay Classy, San Diego

I will have photos soon, but we spent a week in beautiful San Diego with the kids last week. I don't think there's a section we didn't see- Old Town, Downtown, Seaport Village, the Maritime Museum, Petco Park, Gaslamp District, San Diego Zoo, Legoland, Coronado Island and on and on... We went to Solana Beach, Imperial Beach, Del Mar and Mission Beach. We played games at Belmont Park, we had ice cream at the cutest ice cream diner ever and, oh yeah, I damn near broke my ankle.

The first day at the beach I spent the first 2 hours counting to 4- all four kids present and accounted for...over and over and over... then as I finished rubbing Conner down with sunscreen I counted again... 1,2,3... 1,2,3... 1.....2...........3. Where was Matthew? He was no where to be seen and I freaked. I ran to the water, I screamed his name and then everything went into slow motion and I couldn't see straight. It was like seeing underwater.... All I could do was run...right into a hole where I rolled my ankle completely in and landed on it. It hurt, but I couldn't think about anything but Matthew. So I ran...and somehow found the lifegaurd station.

They assured me nothing happened in the water- which I immediately called bullshit on. "The water goes FOREVER- how do YOU know nothing happened in the water???!" So they put out an all points bulletin- little boy, olive green trunks with orange stripes, blonde and tan, missing front tooth. All I could think of was the damn water... he's in the water...

And at bedtime last week when I kissed his face and he asked me "Will I always be in your heart, Mommy?" "Yes, baby, of course... You're my number one guy"

And he was missing...

4, 5, 6 minutes go by. One lifegaurd walked me down the beach and I had to stop to puke. I vaugely realized that I was having a hard time walking fast in the sand.

5 or 6 more minutes passed and she got a call on her radio that they'd found him. NOT in the water, thank blessed gawd, but TWELVE blocks down the beach. He'd gotten disoriented when he came out of the water and of course, couldn't see without his glasses! I hadn't even considered that! I had to wait 3 more long minutes for them to drive my son back

I expected his face to be melting off with tears, but he was fine. "Hi, Mommy... Where were you?"

I carried him back to our spot because I couldn't let go of him and almost fell the whole way. We promptly packed up and headed away from the beach and as soon as the adrenaline stopped pumping, I fell apart. MY face melted off, the ankle blew up to the size of my knee and started turning black.

It was the scariest 15 minutes of my entire life. I don't think I would have been more terrified if someone had been holding a gun to my head. I am still shaken when I think about it.....
But I iced that bitch and wrapped it up like I was going in to fight Rocky. I made it 12 hours at Legoland the next day and 6 hours around the zoo the day after that. No wussy ankle was keeping me down!

We still had a great week with me hobbling all over San Diego and everyone we met was fabulous. The next time we went to the beach, we parked ourselves directly underneath a HUGE red flag and told Matthew "See the GIANT flag? We're UNDER it" and then got him busy digging a trench from our towels to the water... So what the tide came in and ruined it? Start over...and over...aaaaand over. There ya go, son....

It's looking way better now, but in commemoration, here ya go...Pretty, no?

Posts! They are A'Comin'!

I know its been awhile, but after the whole Manny incident, I couldn't think straight. And then I was in San Diego for a week, then the wheels fell off at work...blahblahblah, excuses, excuses! I know! BUT! I do have plenty to share the least of which is my opinion on Manny playing under...gulp... Joe Torre. I know, I know- everyone has a take. Did he need to go? Maybe. Did I see it coming? Yes. Did I see it coming before the end of this season? Hell to the No, I didn't.

Had fun in Cali, if not for a few not so fun adventures which I will share soon...

Stay tuned!