The Diary of Tara

Update Already!!

2006-10-25T00:04:00.000-04:00

It's been a while. Sorry. I haven't had much to write about. I've just been working. Not very interesting.

To update, Mom finally sold the house!!! Yep. It's a done deal. No more Long Island!! WOOT WOOT!!

I went to Disney with my friends, the Barney Lupus fish and Clarity. I had a great time. It was great to be together again with my chicks.
Ladies, we MUST do that again, soon!!

I still haven't figured out what I'm going to wear to Dead Kittie's wedding. We have to dress up in costume for the wedding.
Anyone have any suggestions??

VEGAS, BABY!!!

2006-09-15T23:43:00.000-04:00

My bestest friend, Deadkittie, is getting MARRIED!!! Yep, that crazy bitch is settling down. Her man is a good guy. I'm happy for her.

But the best part is that it's going to take place in Vegas!!!

I'm soooooo looking forward to it. All my friends from High school. Drunkeness, gambling, getting hitched... good times!!!!

Sweet 16

2006-08-04T19:54:00.000-04:00

OK, Clarity, I'm updating. Even though I have nothing to say.
Let's see...
I MIGHT go to NY at the end of the month for my friend's daughter's sweet 16 party. I'll see how much the flights are and if I can get off from work.

SWEET 16... Wow. That takes me back.

I didn't have what you would call a "traditional" sweet 16 party. You know... Rented hall, gowns, d.j.- a big ol' to-do.

I had about 100 people in my back yard with a band in my garage. It was November, mind you, so it wasn't exactly nice out.
It was chaos. Kids everywhere. It was loud and out of control. I had fun, though. Good friends of mine came down from Upstate NY and Conneticut. I have good memories. The cops didn't show up, so that was a good thing.

And for my readers (both of you), tell me about your Sweet 16.

2006-07-14T01:18:00.000-04:00

Queer As Folk prom dance

My favorie scene from Queer as folk. Brian and Justing are a couple. Brian is the tall dark haired older man and Justin is his young blonde "boyfriend". Brian SWOOOR he would never go to the prom.. But...he caves in to see his man happy. The first act of real kindness towards poor justin, only for the night to end in tragedy.
I LOVE this show. I reccomend it to anyone. It shows an honest portrayal of gay men and women. I have many straight friends who have watched it and got addicted.

My Trip to NY

2006-07-06T00:12:00.000-04:00

My trip to Long Island sucked. Why, you ask? Well, I'll tell you.

Day 1- I fly in, get in my car, it starts overheating. Fine. I pop the hood, it's low on coolant. Ok. I go to Kmart to get some coolant, try to pop the hood... it doesn't happen. The hood latch broke. I had to go BACK to Kmart for a ratchet set to take the dashboard apart to get the damn hood open. All of this in 90 degree heat. The car BARELY makes it home.

Day 2- Drop the car off at the mechanic and dump about $200 into it. Nice.

Mind you now, there is no A/C at my mom's house. All we did was pack all day and night for a bunch of days in the humid miserable heat.

I did, however, have a good night with my old Pals from work. We went to Houlihans for dinner and drinking. It was nice to catch up and laugh for hours. I needed that.

Day 3,4,5- packing. Hot. Car still running like shit.

Day 4 was Bob's birthday. We went to the VFW to dump his ashes in the memorial. It was nice. Very respectful. I'm sure he would have appreciated it.
But then I got WAAAAAY to drunk. Not good.

Day 5- The Def Leppard concert. The real reason I came up to NY... The thing I was looking most forward to.
It rained ALL day.
The person I was supposed to go with ditched me.
I was angry.
But... Luckily my good pal Clarity and her hubby Eric took pity on me and went with me. After a long rainy ride and Eric not having a ticket, it all worked out.

You see, I only had 2 tickets. But Eric, being the wonderful man that he is, took us anyway- and made fun of Def Leppard the whole way to Jones Beach while we were listening to the CD. Clarity and I headed into the concert and left poor Eric outside the venue.
Eric tried to scalp a ticket with no luck. Finally a security guard took pity on him and gave him a ticket for free. We snuck him into our section and all was well.
I had a great time. And Eric seemed to as well. I think the best part of the show was watching Eric rock out like he was Def Leppard's biggest fan. The rain held out an all was well.
Thanks again, Clarity and Eric, for making it a great night!!

Day 6- the final day...
I packed all day until my flight. Only to get dropped off at the airport to find out I have a 2 hour delay. I sat at the airport bar and drank a few $7 beers until my flight decided to show up. I didn't get home until like 3am but it was good to be back!! Hopefully I won't have to go back again any time soon.

New York, Here I come!!

2006-06-15T16:27:00.000-04:00

So it's less than a week until I leave sunny Florida for Shitty New York. I bumped my flight from Thursday to Tuesday so I could (hopefully) get more accomplished while I'm up there.
I have to say, I'm not looking forward to it...
It's going to be a lot of work. My Mother sold her house so I need to help her clean it out. Most of my stuff has already been cleaned out of there so I don't even have a place to sleep. It should be very interesting.
BUT... I AM looking forward to seeing my friends and my nephew. I haven't seen that little bastard since January. His mother, my sister, is a big bitch. She uses him to piss me off by not letting me see him. It's a shame. I'll figure something out. Some way, somehow, I'll track him down or maybe I'll kidnap him or something. We'll see...

I know I keep saying I'm going to write stories about my youth, and I will... Eventually... I'm just lazy.

It's been a while

2006-06-01T10:54:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't checked in for a while. I've been working a lot and honestly haven't had much to write about.
Work is ok. Well, no, it's not. It's starting to piss me off. The residents are ok for the most part but some of the staff need a kick in the face. They just have NO work ethic and that's really frustrating. But other than that, it's fine.

I booked my flight for NY!!!
I'm going from June 22nd to June 25th. Just a long weekend (that's all I could get off of work). I'm going to my Def Leppard (shut up) concert and I'm going to clean out my crap out of my Mom's house- she's in the process of selling it. Hopefully I'll be able to see a few of my friends while I'm up there as well.

I know I promised more stories. I'll try to gather up some photos and post later tonight.

Happier Times

2006-05-10T00:37:00.000-04:00

So the other night I was talking to my old friend, Michelle, for quite a while- some of you might know her from Clarity's blog leaving creepy comments about how Clarity never calls her. Anyway, we were reminiscing about our lost youth. We had quite a few laughs. Michelle has a great memory. She remembers stuff I forgot about a long time ago. When she tells me the story, it's like reliving everything all over again. All the memories come flooding back.

So I figured I'd share a few with you.

For starters, the picture posted above is of my good friend "Deadkittie" and myself. My Mom loves this picture. She had it enlarged and framed. I hadn't seen it in a while. My Mom went to NY for a few days, found it, and brought it back to FL with her. It was at Deadkittie's sister's graduation.
Deadkittie and I never had a graduation picture, since we didn't graduate (GED chicks). So we "borrowed" a couple of cap and gowns and took a picture. We did the phony "woo hoo we graduated and now we're on to bigger and better things our lives are just beginning" pose.
Deadkittie and I are still good friends to this day. We still talk at least once a week despite the fact that she moved to Arizona and I'm in Florida... Friends who drop out together stay together!!

Gotta go. My computer is dying. I'll post more stories tomorrow..

Some people are so demanding!!

2006-05-02T23:44:00.000-04:00

So Cha Cha (a.k.a. Clarity) is a bit of a pain in the ass when I don't update often enough. So fine. I'll ramble about nothing important..

My job is going OK. The staff seem pretty nice and the kids are cute. I think it's going to work out fine.
Mind you, my opinion could change at anytime.

I'm going to NY for a visit in June.
One of my favorite bands, Def Leppard (laugh all you want. I don't care. They rock and I'm not ashamed!!), is playing at the Jones Beach Theater. There is NOTHING like a show at Jones Beach. The stage is right on the water and the whole place is outdoors. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully while I'm there I will get to spend some time with some of my "friends" that are up there.

Well, Clarity, I hope this entry satisfies my quota for the week.
Ta Ta for now!!

1st Day

2006-04-27T11:03:00.000-04:00

So I had my 1st day "shadowing" staff at the group home. 6 boys live in the house. They have all different issues. From M.R. to just emotional issues.
About an hour into the shift, the office door got kicked in and fell off the hinges by one kid. Then a little while later, another kid pulled a plastic knife on me- I thought that was kind of funny. There were behaviors all day long, mostly the kids fighting with each other. Nothing too serious. I think they were just showing because there was a new staff in the house.
The next day was much smoother. But boring as hell. All in all, I think the job will work out. It's easy and the kids are pretty good. If only the pay was better. But... what can you do, it's Florida.

On a more positive note...

2006-04-22T16:52:00.000-04:00

After my last depressing entry, I figured I should follow up with something a little more upbeat.
I finally started my new job this week. The whole week was training in a classroom setting. It wasn't that bad. I met a new staff that will be working in the same house as me. At first I wasn't to keen on him, but he turned out to be a really funny and nice guy.
I begin working in the house tomorrow. I've never met any of the residents or staff besides the new guy I trained with. So it should be interesting. I'll keep you posted...

Always the bearer of good news

2006-04-21T20:17:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, after my Uncle Greg had passed away, I noticed a man who looked eerily like him. So much so my Mom and I nicknamed him "Uncle Greg" (clever, I know). His name was Dean. He was about my Uncle's age. He and his girlfriend/wife, Dayle came into the bar I worked at every Friday night. They were homeless. They worked as day laborers and would save up enough money during the week to come to the bar to have dinner and a pitcher of beer every Friday night (the bar served dinner every Friday for a good price as well as provided entertainment). The couple was always polite and friendly.
As it turns out, last Friday was Dean's birthday. The Commander of the bar bought Dean and Dayle a pitcher of beer. Instead of drinking it, they took a chip which they could use at a later date.
They came in this past Sunday, the bar was serving lunch for Easter. The couple came in, used their chip to get a pitcher of beer, and hung out for most of the afternoon.
Dean had become friendly with my Mother, who also works at the bar, in the past couple of weeks.
Yesterday, I read an article in the local paper that a homeless couple had been killed by a hit and run driver in this area. I didn't think anything of it.
When my Mother and I arrived at work today, our boss expressed that she was concerned, not knowing their names, that the people killed were infact Dean and Dayle.
We all waited for Dean and Dayle to arrive, usually at 6pm.

Dean and Dayle never showed up.

I then came home and did a little research online.
http://www.local6.com/news/8804493/detail.html

As it turns out, Dean and Dayle passed away Tuesday night.

I don't understand how someone could hit 2 human beings and leave them on the side of the road to die. Just because they were homeless doesn't make them any less of a person. I hope the woman who did this to them rots in Hell.

EVIL

2006-04-14T20:00:00.000-04:00

See that face?

That is the face of PURE EVIL!!!!

Last night after work (and a couple of beers), I took my dog, Eddie for a walk. Usually Eddie and I walk around the condo complex and back home again. Down the road from us is a park (as featured in earlier posts) where we walk during the day and THE DAY ONLY.

Why, you ask? Well I'll tell you.

At night the part turns into a drug and prostitution ring. Even the Police don't go down there at night. A couple of months ago, a homeless guy was killed there. It's dark and creepy at night. I'm not afraid of much, but I'm scared of that park!!
Anyway, while I'm walking Eddie, he decides to wrap his leash around my legs and trip me!! I fell flat on my face and looked up at the dog. He looked back at me, all smug, and ran off into the park.
I ran after him as fast as I could but I couldn't catch him. He was gone.
Scared shitless, I searched for him. No cell phone, no weapon of any kind, just my drunken self, my heart beating out of my chest. I was CONVINCED this was the end of the line for me. I wasn't leaving here alive.
I yelled for him for a good 10 minutes, walking up and down the paths, to the water, and toward the streets. No Eddie.
Finally, as I was about to give up and go home without him, he emerged from the beach, looking up at me all innocently. I quickly grabbed his leash and headed home.
Once we got home safely, I scolded Eddie and threw him into my Mother's bedroom. As far as I'm concerned, I HAVE NO DOG!!!

that's my big adventure for this week. Until today when my Mom and I got locked in the mall. But that's a story for another day.

I start my new job Monday. Finally, after the drug test, FBI background check, physical, TB test, fingerprinting, and reference check, I can start training on Monday.
I can't wait to start working full time again.

That's all for now.

Percy...

2006-04-03T13:05:00.000-04:00

There you go, Clarity. The Percy clock.

It's a beautiful painting, but I have to say, that's one wrinkled dog. Not very easy on the eyes. But he does look pretty good in a suit.

Now Eddie, THAT'S a cute dog!! Classically handsome.

But whatever, to each his own.

My house...

2006-03-26T11:55:00.000-05:00

For those of you who were wondering, this is my home (the bottom right condo).

Don't start stalking me, now!!

Bored Bored Bored...

2006-03-25T19:38:00.000-05:00

Today I did a whole lot of nothing.

I NEED to start working full time. I'm going out of my mind with boredom. Not to mention being broke sucks. I have to wait for all of the paperwork to go through before I can start working. That always takes a year and a half.

The highlight of my day is taking Eddie for his walk. Not very exciting. Every day, at least 2 or 3 times a day, Eddie and I walk the same path. Out the back door, down to the park and back again.

Fun Fun Fun.

Pictures...

2006-03-23T16:55:00.000-05:00

I think I finally figured out how to upload pictures from my camera. I don't have any pictures saved since I got my old memory card jammed in my computer where it doesn't belong.

...Don't ask.

This is the only picture on this memory card. It's from my porch about an hour ago. It rained today for the first time in weeks. It's a crappy picture, I know.

Deal with it!! It's a start...

Uncle Greg

2006-03-23T16:12:00.001-05:00

So yesterday morning, my father called to tell me his brother, my uncle Greg, had passed away. Greg was in his late 40's.

Greg was sick for many years. Over the past few days, he began vomiting blood and was very ill. He lived with his Mother, my grandmother, and her live in caregiver. His mother is in the advanced stages Alzhiemers/ Dementia. He woke up Yesterday morning and told my grandmother's live-in aid that he would "Try to make it home".
About 1 hour later, he was found dead next to a gas station less than a mile from his home.
My father believes he was on his way to a bar.
I believe Greg, knowing he was about to die, left the house as to avoid a big scene involving paramedics and the police, which would greatly upset his mother.

Although dying next to a gas station all alone seems pretty pathetic and undignified, I believe Greg did a very noble and unselfish thing.

I just felt like posting this as a little Tribute to him. As I will be unable to attend his funeral service, regrettably.

J.O.B.

2006-03-21T15:18:00.000-05:00

Tara got a JOB!!!

Finally, after a month in Florida, I nabbed a REAL job. Not that bartending was that bad, it just wasn't paying the bills. Hopefully, I'll start work in a couple of weeks.

Other than that, not much going on here. There's a brush fire across the river from me. That's big news in Florida!!!

2006-03-18T12:22:00.000-05:00

OK, Clarity, you win. How can I say no to that face...

Here I am. I don't think my blog will be anywhere near as interesting and snazzy looking as Clarity's, but I'll try. I need to get a wire to upload photos from my camera, I lost mine. Until then, my eloquent words will have to paint the pictures in your mind...

2006-03-17T12:52:00.000-05:00

*Insert new entry here.*