A year ago today.....

....Heath Ledger passed away. There are so many reasons why I remember the date, let alone the time I found out- @ 1:45 pm PST, about 5 minutes after it was posted on TMZ. I remember being in such shock that it really didn't hit me until later that night when the horrible, disgusting & ignorant baptist church group from who knows where in the south decided that they wanted to protest his funeral. They wanted EVERYONE to know that since he played a gay character that this was God's way of punishing him. They were going to basically be there to make a ruckus & inform everyone that he was going to burn in Hell. I was blown away when I saw that & it was then that it hit me. It made me think of all the other work he had done and then I just sat in bed & started to just cry. I was & in a way, still am a mess over his passing. I don't know if it was that he was only a few years older than me or that him & the amazing talent he had were now gone. 

I, being the Queen of all knowing gossip & info in entertainment, remember seeing when they announced he was going to be the Joker in the upcoming Batman movie. I was skeptical yet when I saw his make up/appearance in pre-production pics & heard all the acclaim he was already getting before the movie even wrapped up, I had a feeling it was going to be amazing. Hell, I even remember people saying he should get an Oscar nod BACK THEN! So for people assuming he's getting all this attention now, just because of his passing, you're wrong.

Below is a clip from the movie that not only introduced us to the person that was Heath yet made me & others see how great he was:

So I know he can dance!

Last night was the finale of "So You Think You Can Dance". I had predicted ever since the first time I saw the auditions that Stephen "Twitch" Boss was going to take the WHOLE thing! Well, I was close....


See, like I mentioned in a post before, I have known Twitch for about 6 years. I remember meeting him at the 2nd workshop Wade held at the Hilton in Universal City. We had both seen each other dance that day & I went up to him to tell him that I thought he was one of the most amazing dancers I had ever seen! He said thank you & told me that he was impressed by my dancing abilities as well (but seriously, mine are NOTHING compared to him!).


About a month or so later, I was flipping through the channels and landed on CBS. The show "Star Search" was back on TV with new host Arsenio Hall. For some reason, RIGHT when I landed on the channel, not only was it the dancing competition part but of all people on there, it was Twitch! Total randomness!

So, a few more months pass and now there have been auditions for Wade's show on MTV. There were a few but the real honest to goodness audition was held in LA at the Highlands club in Hollywood & Highland. Well, what do you know??? Twitch is RIGHT in front of me! For the whole day, we hung out & auditioned in the same group. We both even moved on to the next round together! *At first, they were kinda getting my hopes up, making me think they were going to have me on it as a contestant. Wade and a few of the people thought that it was great for someone my size could not only dance but would also be a motivating factor for other plus size people to go out & follow their dreams. In the end, they picked some girl who was a lil big (but not really) and basically had her saying what I told them in regards of being plus size & a dancer. Pissed me off & it hurt yet held my head high & just continued on attending the show.

Well, after a month of attending the show and schmoozing it up with the people at MTV, a friend of mine & I were in charge of check in! We also were in charge of the audience holding room! It's crazy what happens when you're just an outgoing & talkative people! Anyways, since I was basically behind the scenes, we would get to talk to & hang out with the contestants. Between the show & Wade still having dance class, all the regulars at class had become pretty close. This was in 2003, which I feel is so far the best year of my life.

Here's Twitch from Wade's show-




What I wanted to find but couldn't for the LIFE of me was when he came in 3rd on Wade's show. Not only was it a shock to EVERYONE but in the background, you hear someone literally yell, "WHAT!?!!?" Well, that person was me! I wish it was on the internet somewhere but after hours & hours of searching, I found NOTHING!

The last time I saw Twitch was about a year or so ago at the Choregrapher's Carnival that's held once a month in Hollywood at the Key Club. My friends and I always made sure to get the early cuz we 1- wanted to be RIGHT in front of the stage (like I'm leaning my body on the stage!) and 2- to say hi to everyone we know who would most likely be performing that night. When we walked in, within minutes, I hear, "ELIZABETH!!!" I turn & there's my dear sweet friend Stephan "Twitch" Boss. We run up & give each other the BIGGEST hug and let me just say, I am NOT a light person. Actually, I'm nowhere close to light and this guy basically lifts me off the ground! The man is just one solid muscle! Seriously, there's no way of finding any fat or loose skin on him! This was one of the performances he was in that night:

* BTW- it's pretty NSFW but it's TOTALLY worth watching! You can also see me for like 3 seconds in the front!





I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of him! When I saw him audition on SYTYCD for the second time that I knew he would go far! I even said he would win. Well, in my opinion, he did. One thing about the dance world, everyone is like a family. You can consider Twitch like the big brother who looks after everyone. He is the nicest, sweetest, most geniune guy you'll ever meet! His talent & personality alone will take him anywhere his heart desires. If for some reason anyone were to ever question how he is, well, this clip will show you exactly how he is a class act:

So congrats to someone who I may not see all the time yet know that he is the epitome of a man with the biggest heart & soul out there in the dance world!

me =)

The Dark Knight

Well, I saw it last night with my mom & LBS....

All I can truly say is that it's absolutely amazing! I was honestly sitting at the edge of my seat!

I actually had this fear that I wouldn't be able to enjoy it for the simple reason that I am honestly still a mess & shoken up by the passing of Heath Ledger. I just kept telling people that I know I'm going to be sobbing while watching the movie, just thinking about how everyone was right & gave the performance of a lifetime and that this would be our last time ever witnessing the amazing talent he was. Well, what do you know??? LBS was right! She actually saw it last night and said that it wasn't til the end where it hit her that he was gone. You get SO captured by the performance he gives that you truly do forget he's gone. And let me tell you, there were a few times that my semi-pessimistic/masochist mind wanted to remind me that, "Hey, remember, he's gone...." and before it could finish reminding me, something would come to my mind and basically bitch slap it out and say, "FUCK YOU!!! Soak it up & enjoy!" and I did.

If you haven't seen it yet, please go. You won't regret a second of it! I mean, comic book stories/movies aren't my "forte" yet this did NOT come off as a comic book! It was beautiful all around. Make up, music, scenery, script, EVERYTHING was absolutely perfect! Don't get me wrong, there were a few lil "really?" moments but there's so small and dumb, it's not even worth discussing!

Oh, just promise me that if you go, make sure BEFORE the movie starts, you check to see if they're are any idiots who have decided to bring either young children or BABIES! Yes, we had someone bring a 1 to 2 year old about 15-20 mins before the movie started and LBS & I just looked at each and I said, "I'm on my way...." So I went to customer service to inform them that I have just paid $11.50 to enjoy this movie I have been waiting for quite a while to see and I did NOT want the experience to be ruined by having to come inform someone WHILE the movie is showing to let them know some idiots thought it would be ok to bring their BABY to an 8 o'clock showing of a movie that's not only 2 1/2 hours but rated PG-13, almost R! In doing that, I not only had a security guard in there the whole time but I also had 2 employees in there as well watching and making sure there would be NO disturbance from babies to idiots! But they did try to tell me that the parents had EVERY right to bring their baby in cuz they were "giving" their child "permission" to see the movie since they were under the age of 13! You should have seen my face when they told me that. I basically said everything but the phrase, "BULLSHIT!" to them.

Take it from me, if you do that, you'll enjoy the movie that much more...

me =)

PS- And yes, the moment the end credits came on, I had to contain myself from sobbing cuz if I didn't, I would have made the BIGGEST fool out of myself!

Wow....

I just basically had the phone version of John Cusack in "Say Anything" but the hilarious and sweet version that a very good friend would do.... Yeah, it wasn't Q who did it! It was, well, the person I thought I was never going to be able to speak again- HO. It was a nice chat and HO did what HO usually does when HO calls, which is pretending that HO's some kind of telemarketer or a person who has a wrong number and has a TERRIBLE accent! Today, HO pretended to be a recruiter from Bloomingdale's.... I don't know.... If you have ever met HO, you would know that HO's a character!

Anyways, HO decided to call me and just update me in life and whatnot while I was at work today. When I finally realized that we were on the phone for about an hour, I thought I better get off just to be proper and all since I wasn't the only one in the office (and yes, I was doing work the WHOLE time!). About 30 seconds after I hung up, I saw the "unknown number" come up again on my phone. Having a good feeling it was HO again, I was planning on answering with "Yes, Bloomingdale's recruiter....." but before I could even say anything, HO was playing "our song". Well, it's actually one of his favorite songs that we used to listen & sing along to while we were driving around, bored out of our minds back, oh, 5,6,7 YEARS ago!!! This is how we would be:

HO- "I'm bored."
ME- "Me too."
HO- "What do you want to do?"
ME- "I don't know. What do you want to do?"
HO- "I don't know. Wanna come pick me up?"
ME- "Sure. Be right there."

That would be happen about 5-6 times a week! We would usually end up finding something to do, let it be going to the bar we frequented or shopping somewhere (HO loved to go to Ikea or TJMaxx/Ross, SERIOUSLY!), we always entertained each other. I even got HO to leave OC a few times when HO usually just hated leaving the city of Orange! I would drag HO with me to San Diego to visit PH or other friends I had down there. One thing we always had was music to listen to. I got HO into the kind of music I liked and HO would sometimes get me into stuff he liked yet this one song we had never heard before until LBS introduced it to us.....

Here it is--> Click here <-- BTW- VERY NSFW!!!

Yeah..... So that's "our song"! Inappropriate- yes. Disturbing- even more but that was us! I guess we're just weird... After LBS introduced that song to us, HO would LITERALLY play it EVERY time we got in the car!

Now if I hear that song (which is VERY seldom and random now!), I always think of HO and all the lil adventures we would have! When HO played it today, it really brought a smile on my face, a real genuine smile that I haven't had in a while.

I know HO doesn't read this but if so, thanks HO. What you did today really made me feel good and granted we're both bummed cuz we can't jump in the Odyssey anymore and drive around like we used when we were bored, we at least have those memories to think about and treasure.

<3,
me =)

Is this really happening???

I mean, really? I am really getting old or have high school graduations become the BIGGEST waste of time to attend for the simple fact that, well, it's a waste of an hour. Do I sound like a cold hearted bitch who should remember that I once graduated from high school? Well, 1- I've mentioned my graduation before (reader's digest version but you get the picture) and 2- see if you won't agree me with after my latest experience:


So we went to AB's and our other cousin's graduation Thursday night (they went to the same school so at least we go to kill 2 birds with 1 stone!). I was actually really excited to go, being that I was just in awe that AB was graduating. Not that I didn't think he would! It was more of the fact that I remember his mom showing us her belly when she was pregnant with him and especially, when we had the baby shower for my aunt, the house we were at had a Nintendo and I passed the whole game of Super Mario Bros. (the OG) without losing a life!!! That's hardcore for an 8 year old! I've told AB that story so many times that he now makes fun of me....


Anyways, back to the graduation! It was at 8 at night (BIG + in my book), they had the choir sing like 2 or so songs that were very nice and pretty (a + plus again) and then the ended the whole graduation with fireworks. At first I was like, "Chees-zay!" but right when I was going to say, "Why are we watching these lame ass....", the fireworks got pretty good! Like there were 1/4 of the size of Disneyland's night show! That's impressive in my book.....


And you know what??? THOSE WERE THE ONLY HIGHLIGHTS!!!!!!! Everything else, SUCKED! We couldn't even heard ANYONE'S names, let alone see them, the sound system was absolute shit, there was WAY too much noise, ala "let's bring horns, pots, PA systems, and whatever else we can use to annoy others around us". I even yelled at someone cuz she didn't bring anything to make noise so she made her own by shrieking as if she was in a horror movie about to be chopped into very fine pieces and ready to be thrown in a wood chipper! She was sitting behind us, RIGHT behind my father and he was already irritated about being there and then this stupid hunk of meat did that. I turned around and said, "REALLY!? Did you REALLY have to do THAT!!!?!?" and her response was that her brother just graduated. I then said, "I don't care if your whole family is up there, that was rude and stupid! Who do you think you are??? You just screamed into my father's ear, let alone who knows who's names others missed because of that! You idiot!" All my family was telling me to shut up, especially LBS cuz she thought I was going to get "shanked"!

I always thought that my graduation was SUPER lame cuz we couldn't cheer or clap when someone's name was called. Now I kinda see why.... BTW- I'm still going on record that my graduation still sucked, just not as bad as this one! From having to wear all white (full & half slip under the gown!), walking in as if we were going to get married (seriously, 175 walking in like that tooks about 30-40 mins, no lie!), not being able to wear sunglasses at 8 in the morning and looking/facing right into the sun, to the infamous speech of "anyone who cheers will be escorted out" and then repeating, "we will call security on you if you continue to cheer" (cheering being a "yay" or clapping, not bullhorns or pots & pans!), mine SUCKED!!! It was not an enjoyable day, let alone not even an emotional day! I was a fucking mess for my 8th grade graduation and all I wanted was to leave my high school graduation and go back to bed!!!


So while I sat in torture, I thought about the 3 best high school graduations I had ever gone to:

Starting at #3- Vista High School, C/O 1999 (San Diego County)

It was not only PH's high school graduation but also my "Will's"..... Yeah there were the bullhorns and what not but you could still hear EVERYONE'S name. I also sat with a great bunch of people that I had become friends with. Afterwards, I was looking for PH but ended up with all of "Will's" friends and some family. I had a blast taking tons of pictures and actually celebrating my friend's accomplishments. It was a really great time.



#2- El Modena High School, C/O 2000 (Orange County)


So this was actually a very bittersweet graduation for me. This was actually suppose to be my graduation. See, I went to public school from K-6 then my folks had me go to a catholic school for 7th & 8th. I said, "Fine but I'm still going to Elmo." They said I could yet when it came time to apply and take tests for the private schools, my folks urged me to take them, you know, "just to see how I would do and see if I could pass the test". Well, since I did, they basically said that I needed to go! I fought. I fought HARD!!! I had ALWAYS imagined, since I was in kindergarten, that I was going to be president of the school, play softball for Elmo (I even met the coach!), do drama and just have a good time with all my friends! Nope. Didn't work out that way. I will say that my mom did try really hard to get my dad to let me go yet he had always wanted his girls to go to an all girl's school to get this "best education around" (BTW- El Modena- One of the BEST public high schools in SoCalifornia, let alone maybe the STATE!). Now, if the high school I went to were to burn down, my father would be the first to piss on the ashes!


Anyways, back to the graduation-- One of my very good and dear friends from Prospect (the elementary school I went to) invited me since you needed a ticket. As I sat there in the bleachers, I was so happy and proud of all my friends that I saw but I just couldn't help think that I should have been walking with them. It was truly an enjoyable time. Everyone was so happy and excited and truly worked their asses off! I saw some of my friends who didn't have the best up bringing, their first language being Spanish and would have a difficult time with school work actually graduate and when they saw me, they gave me hugs and asked how I was. One guy in particular had the up bringing of living in a REALLY bad neighborhood with the worst gangs in Orange County (some of his really good friends and family members were part of them!) and there he was graduating. I went up to him and gave him the biggest hug and told him how proud I was of him since I didn't see any of his other friends graduate with him.... All and all, it was basically a perfect graduation, with just the lil exception that I should have been with them graduating....



And #1, by FAR:


Trabuco Hills High School, C/O 2007:

Wow. That's all I should just say but of course I can't! This was a MINDBLOWING graduation! See, this was a graduation for my friend yet I was closer to her brother, who at the time, was my best friend (Since September, we went on our separate ways due to the fact he thinks with his dick than with his head/heart.... AKA- chose the stupid bitch he was going out with over me to hang out with, who, since god knows when, they broke up! Anyways....)


So at first, I was kinda worried since I had never met their folks. I knew that the parents were on the verge of getting a divorce and I didn't know how they would be since I was basically sitting by myself with them for awhile, waiting for my best friend to arrive! Well, the mom and I got along RIGHT from the start! She's a great lady! Even though it was a late afternoon/early evening graduation, we had very good seats that were NOT facing the sun, while we waited for the actual graduation to start, they had some of the students tape record messages of thanks to their parents and shared memories of school, the whole "everyone walking in" process was REALLY fast, PERFECT sound system (some feedback yet really, compared to all the ones I had attended, this was like a rock concert sound system!), not only heard everyone's names but heard the speeches and the inspirational stories of some of the students-

Examples- one was a student from Bosnia, who at first, didn't know the English language very well and was now going to Stanford on a Scholarship, 2 students had cancer and won the battle and were there graduating, and there were about 20-ish students with full on athletic scholarships to some big time colleges! Seriously, impressive!

Oh and these kids were SO creative and had spunk while giving their speeches, just amazing! If EVERY graduation was like that, they would probably be more tolerable! I think the best thing high schools should do to stop from every "Joeblow" person from attending would be having a set amount of tickets! Except for the Vista graduation, the other 2 graduations and mine had tickets. So if any of you work for a high school and have the same problems at your graduations as them being HORRENDOUS, try the ticket thing....

I'll end this with what I did at LBS's graduation. I was still very pissed about my graduation so when I had to attend hers at the same high school I went to, when they called her name, I was basically right there with all the teachers taking pictures of her getting her diploma. Right when they called her name, I yelled her nickname as loud as I could to the point everyone turned around and looked at me! Yeah sure, call me a hypocrite for yelling at LBS's graduation yet I got mad at the girl behind us but ya know what??? I felt I had EVERY right to do that and I was giving the infamous "Fuck You!" to the damn school I went to and damn it, it felt great! All LBS did was turned and waved....

It was pretty woot.... =)

On this day....

....6 years ago, I did the hardest thing ever in my life. I had to put down my first dog.

Yeah, I know. You're probably thinking, "Well, that happens to everyone & it's hard but not the hardest thing. What's your problem???" Well, to me, someone who waited 17 years to have their first dog EVER, it was harder than you could EVER imagine.


So I hope you're comfortable and have a snack and drink cuz this is a LONG one! Sit back, read, and soak in all that is about my baby, Boo Boo....


I still remember the day when I was 2 asking my folks for a dog. They said no. Through out the years, they would warm up to the idea yet they would have mixed opinions on if it should be an inside or outside dog, how big of a dog and all that good shit. Finally, on Christmas of 2000 (When I was 19!), one of my gifts was a letter letting me know I could have any dog I wanted. Well, I went on a search! What I've always wanted (since I was about 9-10 years old) was an English Bulldog, before they became as super popular as they are now! Since I knew my folks didn't want to spend $2000 on a dog, I looked for alternatives routes in possibly getting a rescued bulldog or maybe something else in the bulldog family.

Then one day, my cousin sent me an online classified listings for bulldogs in OC. The first one I saw was for an American Bulldog in the Westminster/Garden Grove area (which is about 15 mins away from my house). I called the people and they said I could go over and see him. Well, it turned out where I went was a lil' part of the area called "Little Saigon". The house was kinda shady looking and the guys were even shadier. I walk in and see this 10 week old dog that was about 20 lbs.! He looked like "Petey" from the "Little Rascals" and man, he was HUGE! They informed me they named the dog "T-Bone" so I started to call him by his name but he didn't budge. Found out that I would be the 3rd owner to this poor animal in his short lil life. Poor thing was scared. I, of course went by myself (dumb ass move), asked about where they got him (from a breeder; they were "waiting on the papers"), got to know the dog, stayed for about an hr. and after seeing the dog and the living conditions he was in, I just said, "I'll take him." I asked if they could send me the papers or if I could even come by to pick them up when they got them and they said, "Sure". <--(We'll get to that soon....) So I called my folks to know that I was bringing home a dog. They were shocked but they were ok with it. When I got home and my mom saw how big his paws were, she was like, "Oh shit. He's going to be a big boy!" Well, she was right! I took him to the vet literally every week for the first few weeks I had him, just to make sure he was ok since where he came from was so dirty & shady. He was fine & every week he was gaining like 10 lbs! Before I knew it, when he was about 3 months, he was 60 lbs but PURE muscle! At first, he was still very nervous and sketchy yet after awhile, he knew we were his family. If anything, the more he & I were around each other, the more him & I were like the same person! I don't know if an animal & a human could be alike but we sure were! People were afraid of him cuz he looked like he could eat them but if they only knew he was just as afraid (maybe even more than them), LBS and I came up with the name "Boo Boo". He taught himself to jump onto my bed, which at that time, was at least 3 & 1/2 feet above the ground! So here was this big ass dog & my manatee ass on a twin size bed! I don't know how we did it but it worked and we slept like that every night! I also taught him how to sit, stay, catch food (Favorite Food- French Fries, especially Jack in the Box fries) in his mouth but my favorite was that he knew how & when to give a kiss when someone would ask. He was just amazing.



I have to say, maybe for the fact that he was basically around me all the time, he didn't act like your "normal" dog. This was some dog! Boo Boo LOVED car rides more than any other dog I have EVER known! He would sit as if he had a seat belt on! He even went as far as going 2 exits away from Mexico with me and being cool the whole way there and back! I was able to take him anywhere and everywhere and I LOVED doing that! Oh and Ladies, if you ever want to get checked out by guys, get an American Bulldog or some kind of good looking BIG dog! I can NOT tell you how many times I would see a guy tell me to roll down my window cuz they wanted to ask about my dog! Every time that ever happened to me, I would always turn around and say, "Thank you baby." and Boo Boo would just look at me confused.





Another thing that made him not a "normal" dog was that he hated going for walks. He, on more than several occasions, would either hide or chew up his leash! Thank God he did know how to walk to and from the car without running away! So instead of going on walks, every night around 11-ish, Boo Boo & I would go pick up "Ho", grab a Slurpee and then sit at an open field by my house and just let him run away until he was ready to go home. The great thing about that was all I had to do was say, "Ok baby, let's go." and he would just go straight back to the car. There were times when he would actually go back by himself and look at me like, "Alright let's go! I'm done." Those times at the park were the best. Me, Boo Boo, Ho, Slurpees, broken sprinklers (Thanks to Boo Boo), great talks with Ho and watching Boo Boo have a blast...... Those are some of the best memories. I keep those memories fresh in my mind because of how good they were and how I smile every time I think about them.......



I truly felt that Boo Boo thought he was human. Call me crazy (it's ok, I know) but I felt like him and I shared the same thoughts and feelings. At times, I felt he would be more patient with me than I would be with him. One day I'll never forget was when 9/11 happened. Like everyone else that day, Boo Boo & I just watched the TV for hours. At one point, he looked at me with this sad look on his face and I, with tears in my eyes, just said, "Yeah, I know". I then told him to watch the TV again and he did.



One thing that people could not deny was how he was with lil kids! For my cousin, who has SEVERE anger & attention issues, him & Boo Boo were the best of friends! He just knew how he was and my cousin knew how to be around him. Also, another cousin of mine was SUPER afraid of dogs, let alone this huge animal that looked like he could tear her apart within seconds and she would take him for walks all the time and just say, "Come on Puppy" and there he went. I think of anything, he did have something against adults though. I'm pretty certain he was abused by one or both of his past owners so he had major issues with most people who came over.



Well, if most of you don't know, Bulldogs have MAJOR health issues! The first thing that was a problem was his allergies. I would have to give him Benadryl about 2-4 times a day, depending on how much he would sneeze or scratch. Our backyard looked like we lived in Chernobyl and I, at the age of 19, had a curfew of midnight that way I would be home to give him his meds.! And let me tell you, if my ass wasn't inside at 12, my phone would ring! One time I was just about to open the door and my phone rang! I opened the door & said, "I'M HERE, CALM DOWN!". The longest I was ever away from him was 4 days, which was when I went on a plane for the first time, to Boston, with a friend. That was 4 months after 9/11 and man, was I freaked out going on a plane!!! All I told my friend on the way home was that I just wanted to get home to my baby.... I'll never forget when I got home, he zoomed down the stairs and just gave me all the kisses he could. I promised I would never leave him for that long again.....



Then, on December 26, 2002, we woke up and did our morning routine of going to the restroom yet when Boo Boo jumped off the bed, he kinda limped and tucked his back leg in. Since I took this dog to the vet every time he sneezed the wrong way, I rushed him to the vet..... They kept him there all day, doing every sort of test and at approx. 5:38 pm, while I was on my way to work, the vet called saying I needed to go over there. Called my work & told them I couldn't make it in and headed to the vet.



Once I got there, they informed me he had Hip Dysplacia in both of his hips. One was completely out and the other was on the verge. I was devastated. All I could do was cry. Then my sadness turned into anger. Of all the times I EVER took that dog in, knowing that Bulldogs have a history of this sort of thing, it NEVER occurred to them to test him, even just examine the area??? Man, I was LIVID and right then and there, I demanded a copy of his file and I was going to get a 2nd opinion. Unfortunately, every place I took him to, he was in so much pain and was also just plain scared that they would have to muzzle him. I just couldn't believe this was happening!



We randomly had a family get together and I was telling a 2nd cousin of mine about what was going on with Boo Boo & she recommended her vet. She couldn't stop talking about how great she was and maybe she could do something in helping the situation. So I called to make an appt. and the only appt. they had was when I was working. By the grace of GOD, LBS saw how depressed I was and offered to take him for me. I was BLOWN away just for the fact that 1- She has NO patience and 2- It's all about her........ I thanked her profusely yet I had to warn her to keep her cool and she had to be the epitome of patient. She needed to know that they may need to muzzle him and to just make him feel comfortable.



Man, you'll never know how nervous I was that day. I called right when I had a chance to see how the appt. went. Assuming that it was just going to be really hard and that they would have to muzzle him for the fact he probably snapped at the vet and that he couldn't get along with the staff, I called LBS really worried. These were LBS's exact words-- "Ummm... He couldn't stop giving her kisses." I started to cry..... From then on, we went to her and to this day we still go to her for the filthy animal we have now. Let's just say that if I were to move across the United States, I would make an effort to take my pets to her about once or twice a year need be! She's amazing and if you need a vet, ask me and I'll give you her info.



LBS really stepped up and I couldn't thank her enough for doing what she did for me! She did inform me that the vet said to really keep an eye on him because yeah, he can live through the pain (which I guess he has been doing since he was born) but if he started to become aggressive, we really needed to be more worried about that. The vet told us to give him aspirin twice a day, plus he also had his allergy meds so this poor thing was just a pill popper! At least he was really good at actually digesting his meds.


Through out the next month or so, we went to check out how much it would be to actually fix the hips. We had 2 options- 1, Taking out the ball from the socket and having him go through physical therapy: that costing a mere 3,000 grand per hip.... or 2, Having him become the "Bionic" dog and replacing the whole ball and socket yet knowing that 9 out of 10 times, it fails: that costing 5,000 PER hip! You would think when spending that much money, that shit would be good & legit! Then, he did become very aggressive towards people coming over. We would have to lock him up and he would be so upset. I felt horrible. I didn't want this for my baby so I would spend as much time as I could with him.


Well, towards the end of March of 2002, his aggressive was getting so bad, he started turning on my mom & I. We were to closest to him and he was turning on us. I then talked about it was my family and some friends and I came to the realization that I really shouldn't be selfish and think of "just me". What about Boo Boo? What about all the pain & suffering he's going through? He's lashing out and becoming a violent dog because of the excruciating pain he was in. I then called the amazing vet and asked her how much of a horrible person I would be if I put him down. She told me that I would be actually a good person because I would be thinking of his well being and that he wouldn't be suffering anymore. I then decided that it was time.

On Wednesday, April 17th, I laid in bed with Boo Boo all day. Watched TV, gave him his favorite fries from Jack in the Box, and just cuddled with him, giving him all the kisses I could. At around 4:15, I left, uncontrollably sobbing, to pick up Ho to go with me to do what was best. By the way, Ho, if you're reading this, you know how I will always have the up most respect and love for you going with me that day. We arrive at the vet around 5-ish and they take us in Room 2. They sedated Boo Boo that way he would be relaxed when they did it. Now, here's the semi-kicker: Both Ho & I were there when they put him down. Now, I know, I have admitted it more times than not, that I am a masochist yet I knew if I just dropped him off that the last image in my head would be him trying to come back to me and damn if I was going to live a life with that in my mind!


When they brought him back into the room, I asked him to give me a kiss.... He did. He then laid across my lap as I just cried and held him. The doctor came in and she gave him the shot. It took about 5-7 mins. She took his pulse after that time and she informed Ho and I that he had passed. I laid there for about 30 mins afterwards and just cried. Even Ho, who's the epitome of trying to be a hard ass, couldn't hold back the tears. Ho then got me off the ground and he drove me home. Ho actually took me to another park (the now infamous, "Brown Bagging" park) and we had a Slurpee. I was ok after a while. The next few days were really tough though.


Then, my sadness and depression turned into anger and rage. I told Ho that we needed to go to the people who I got Boo Boo from and ask about the "papers" I was suppose to get, informing of any problems or history and whatnot about him! So we go over there and they never answered the door. I even tried calling them and never heard back from them. To this day, nothing. There was nothing much I could do from there.


A few months later, I found out about how people were getting dogs from Mexico that were sick and selling them here for like NOTHING. It was a pretty big news report here (SoCal) and I just figured that's what happened to me. I got a dog, who was sick, and was taken advantage. But I can't really say I was totally taken advantage because the time that I did have Boo Boo, I was truly the happiest girl you would ever see. I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason. The reason I had Boo Boo was to give him the best life he could have and he was here to show me how to become a stronger person. After everything that I went through with him, I truly feel that I am a stronger person for having him in my life.


Last year, for the 5th anniversary, I got dog paws tattooed on me. I saw them one thing somewhere and I cut them out and held on to them in my wallet until last year. They're on my back and they look like they're walking. So now, I like to say that he's always with me whatever I go in life.


Now that I have been crying like no other while typing at work, I should end this but I want to end saying this- No matter what happens to me or how many pets I may have in my life, I will always think of Boo Boo, my baby. He was my first and I will always hold a special place for him in my heart.

me. =:::)

One week....

...and it'll ALL be over! Well, until next year around February 1st. You know, I worked at a firm last year and yeah it was busy & I was tired but MAN, I'm wiped out this year! Yet, like I mentioned before, I'm doing a HELL of a lot more than I did last year at the other firm......



So, the part came in at approx. 10:15 am!!! Was SUPER excited cuz I was actually SUPER nervous it wasn't! JSC (my boss) is so laid back it's ridiculous. Yeah, he was semi-cranky yesterday but he informed me he was so it was ok. When I told him I was afraid it wasn't going to come in, he was like, "Well then, we would have just gone to the Post Office." But he was excited as well when it came in. The stamps look SOOOO good! Ok, I know EVERYTHING I just wrote sounds so lame. Why would my boss & I get that excited for how a stamp looks??? Easy. It's the little things in life, people! What can we say.... We're simpletons. =)



Like I mentioned at the end of my post yesterday, today is a date that's important to remember in our family. Today is the 3 year anniversary of my grandmother passing away. She was 84. It's weird to think of her not being here anymore. Only seems like yesterday, I would call her just to say hi. You could say she was a "simpleton" as well yet she was something! She was the one who was in charge of the family. It was basically her way or no way. If it wasn't, oh.....



Her thing in life was always having something to worry about or as we call them, "temas". There was a "tema" for EVERYDAY! My dad would do everything to make sure of one not happening yet it didn't matter. She always came up with something.....


There are so many memories & stories that remind me & think of her. Here's just a few:


- The Sundays at her house and going to Arby's
- Playing on the swing set she bought just for my sister & I
- The time I jumped off a high stool & fell on a hard piece of grass when I was 5. To this day, I still have the scar on my knee.
- When she would go in the little Target pool with us in the backyard. I remember this one time I turned around and she fell back and all the water was flowing out!!! I, at the age of 4, had to help her up!
- The time we had to hide in the backyard cuz her friend (who had the beginnings of Alzheimer's) came to the front door & wouldn't leave for like an hour! My grandma didn't want to deal with her so we just stayed in the back, being as quiet as possible.
- Her black beans and rice....... Anyone who ever had them knows what I'm talking about.
- Knowing I'm the only one out of all her grandchilden who got to have a drink with her. I really treasure that! =)
- How, no matter what, she would always have clothes for me. 9 out of 10 times, they were BAD!!! But she did slip a few great things in there.
- And most importantly, that after God & the Pope, she would tell me that the 2 most important people in her life were my dad & I.


Yeah, I know. The last one sounds kinda messed up, especially since she actually said that in front of LBS too but honestly, that made me feel so special. That's something I will always hold close to me.


Well, I better go.


TTYL,
me =)

The Pope & my grandma

You know, it's weird. I know what to say. I actually wrote a blog about it when it first happened 3 years ago on Myspace.... Why can't I start this one?! 

I guess I should start with all the coverage when the Pope was dying..... It was sad. Like I've mentioned a few times, I'm not a very religious person yet when it comes to the Pope, I always felt he was a decent guy. It must have been my grandma's influence on me. See, for as long as I can remember, my grandma was all about God & the Pope. She was a VERY religious woman. Went to church quite often and to this day (in honor of her), I have a Jesus clip & Rosary she gave me to keep in my car while I drive. 

Anyways, let's actually go back a little further to about '99-'00..... I was hanging out with friends that introduced me to their friends and it was this big o' group of us. Since I lived in Orange County & these friends of mine lived in San Diego County, whenever I would visit, everyone would make a big deal about it. Well, I guess one of the girls who was a friend of a friend got irked and actually said, "Who does she think she is, the Pope?!" At first, I was a lil' perturbed yet when everything was going on with Pope John Paul II, I was finding out all sorts of things about him & he wasn't all that bad. Actually, after I found out a particular story, he wasn't bad at all.....

It was April 2nd & the Pope has now passed away. All I could think about was how my grandma was going to take it, especially since she had been sick for awhile and the doctors had said she didnt have that much more time left...... There was no way to hide it from her since it was all over the TV...... She was in the hospital at the time of his death so my mom & I went to visit her. We walked in and she seemed fine. The TV was on and she was watching all the coverage. So we were just talking & whatnot and then I remembered that she went to the Vatican like 15 years ago. Then my mom could have sworned that my grandma met the Pope. Well, all we had to do was put our stories together cuz my grandma met the Pope at the Vatican! Here's what she told us that day, 3 years ago:

When she went to the Vatican, the Pope was there and greeting people inside. I'm not sure if someone pushed her, fainted or was overwhelmed but she fell & hit her head. When she got up, she looked and there was the Pope. He then walked up to her & rubbed her head and said, "Aww". Then went on his way. I found that story out 6 days before she passed away. She passed away, appropriately, during the Pope's funeral. 

I just found that to be such a great story and I thought I would share it. It's something I know I'll always remember. 

me =)