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Monday, May 29, 2006

My trip to LA

After the wonderfulness of giving a pint of blood, I packed up my belongings and headed off to LA. But first, I made a stop at WW and am happy to say that I got my next 5lb star! I was then 2.3lbs from reaching maintenance. However, in LA, I gained 5lbs and am now 7.3lbs from goal. Hopefully, most of that will drop off in a couple of days as I stabilize my eating/drinking habits again. It sure was fun though!

Wed evening found me in LA at Alisha's house. Wine, a good meal and good company were all waiting for me. I gave Alisha and Andy "Finding Grace" as a wedding gift and really felt as if they loved it. I was happy to see them so happy.

Thurs, I was off to check on the work being done at my house down there. The shower had been rebuilt after mold had eaten through the grout and wall board. A new vanity was put in as well as new faucets and new piping. The interior was completely repainted with up to 7 coats in most places (due to the heavy smoking of the tenant) and new mini blinds were put in throughout the house. All of the wooden windows were unstuck and freely sliding. New light fixtures were put in throughout (where did the old ones go? No one seems to know) All the work that was done was just what would be done for a new tenant except that the old tenant is still there. Lucky guy isn't he?

First, I took a look at the shower. Despite Merry Maids and another cleaning lady having "worked on it" it was still dirty. There were yellow stains on the pink tiles, the grout had not been cleaned and the side next to the glass door was not even touched. Mold still stood about 1/4 inch deep on it. The handyman tried to tell me that the stains could not come out because of the years of damage. I was not believing it. I told him and the tenant that I would not pay for the cleaning since it wasn't done. After checking out the rest of the house and making a list of what still needed completing, the handyman left and I began the task of scrubbing the shower myself. With cleaners and a pot-scrubber sponge, I scrubbed for an hour, cleaning most of the grout and removing the yellow stains from the pink tiles. It still wasn't completely clean and I was tired. It did show however that it was cleanable. I was pretty disgusted that I was spending my time and energy cleaning up after my tenant when he was still living in the house. However, the shower needed to be cleaned in order for me to see the work done by the handyman and understand what further work needed to be done.

By that time, I needed a break. The rest of the day was spent visiting the San Gabriel Mission where I was unexpectedly led to the grave of Father Aloyisius who apparently was a great healer and is a site of pilgrimage for cancer patients. I had no idea. From there, I headed off for a manicure, pedicure, leg and arm massage....ummmmmm...wonderful. That evening, Alisha, Andy and I shared more drink, food and good company.

Friday found me driving down to the hall of records in Norwalk to take care of some business and then going to visit with another breast cancer patient in Laguna Niguel who was recovering from a mastectomy/DIEP flap reconstruction performed two weeks before. She was doing great and it was wonderful talking to her.

That evening, I met up with my friends Kathy and Doug in Huntington Beach where we walked the piers and downtown before settling in for the night. So relaxing...I love the beach and the ocean and the smell of the fresh sea air. Wonderful company too. Saturday morning, we headed off to Laguna Beach for a delicious brunch on the patio of Las Brisas overlooking the ocean. The rest of the morning was spent at the sea lion center, watching them get fed and cared for.

At last on Saturday, the real reason for the trip - Lorraine's 50th birthday party. It is amazing how quickly the time passes (not the trip in LA - which passed quickly too - but the years of life). It was a great event with lots of friends and family, an entertaining quiz on Lorraine (who would have known she prefers click pens over pens with caps?) and, of course Gold Greyhounds! I was pleased that she liked the gift I gave her - a painting called "Aspen Changes" of her hiking in a place called Maroon Bells in Aspen, CO. The evening was spent in the Jacuzzi and talking with Lorraine and friends before falling off to sleep.

Sunday morning, after drinking Dom Perignon mimosas to continue Lorraine's birthday celebration, we headed off to the Mission Inn in Riverside for brunch. This is a beautiful hotel built right in the old mission - lots of peace, plants and beauty. The brunch was delicious.

Finally, I headed back to my house to check on the work again. The handyman had finished everything beautifully with just the sealing on the tiles, miniblinds in the back bedroom and shelves in the medicine chest to be completed on Wednesday. I was very pleased. Somehow my tenant was not as pleased - not sure why - maybe something to do with his quitting smoking. He was very grumpy with me and when I came home, I found rude emails from him (complete with swear words) about my "telling him how to spend his money, complaining and trying to change his life and then raising his rent on top of it". I don't recall doing or saying anything of the sort and am completely baffled as to what he was talking about. And, by the way, excuse me, but did I not just spent thousands of dollars of my money cleaning up and redoing the interior of the house, not to mention the shower because his smoking had so damaged the walls and his lack of cleaning in the shower had destroyed it? And did I mention that his rent is far below market value and doesn't begin to cover the thousands of dollars of work I have had done on the house. And how about me having to spend an hour scrubbing his shower? I asked him if he had a problem with me and he just said that "money was tight". And this is a reason to lash out at me?

After that and the long drive back from LA, I was happy to get home and wanted only to relax and let my stomach calm down from the "tenant stress". I really was happy to see the dogs. The house was in good shape and they were well fed and happy thanks to the great care given to them by my niece. Thanks Stace! It is good to be home but I do miss my friends in LA and really did have a wonderful time (despite the tenant trouble).

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