Curious and Curiouser

So Dad tells me again that his car stereo displays my name differently when he places a call to my cell phone. Cell to cell, my name is however he entered it into his contacts. But using the car stereo's speaker function and my name becomes one I created oh so long ago. Weird, right?

First of all, I haven't used Yasminalia Zoya Relas as a name in ages. Like probably before I even left Anaheim. Second of all, I hadn't recalled associating that name with my cell phone. And finally, to my knowledge, I removed it from any profiles and whatnot. So unless there's an account out there that I've completely forgotten about, it's just ghost data out there.

After some searching, I was able to find a couple matches. Yahoo/Bing gave me nada, but Google found a blog I placed a couple comments on using that name (no links to a profile used to make the comment though) and a Pipl search with no real contact info. Well, the first time it had no contact info. I did the whole name search via Google again and today the Pipl search listed two things. One led to my MSN profile, which after a moment's thought I do remember having used that name as the display name oh so long ago. The other was to link me to a Daniel Newkirk (who I THINK was the author of that blog I commented on), but his name doesn't come up with anything on Pipl.

Now that I know the name is linked to MSN, I can see why it might be attached to my cell number. But that still doesn't answer why Dad's car stereo displays that name. I mean that is still a mystery. MSN's profile system has changed and even before that I had changed the display name. So the stereo is seriously drawing from some ghost data somewhere. Which is weird. And why?? Cuz that's the weirdest thing.

UPDATE: Dad tells me when he got his phone and uploaded contacts, he uploaded contacts from all his accounts, including MSN. And since he added me oh so long ago, he'd have the Yasmina name. :-P I guess the stereo just has more room for displaying stuff, so it shows up on the screen when he's using the speaker. Mystery solved.

Out the Window

I'm bummed to say the various plans I'd made last week did not happen.

One was a minor plan and so not a huge deal. It just sort of spoiled the little bit of fun I was going to have with Dad. Sunday before last, while at Dad's house, I had planned to hide his birthday card in his house. I can in no way afford to buy Dad a spiffy gift, and he tends to get his cool toys throughout the year himself even if I could. :-P So, I thought I'd be clever and hide his card and then send him a text or whispered call/voice mail message guiding him to it. So, after our usual breakfast and shopping fun and we're back at his house, I wander around while he's in the potty. Had to find a spot he wouldn't easily stumble on and was also simple enough for me to guide him to it. I mean it had to remain hidden until Thursday. Time was running out and I thought I'd found the perfect place. A stack of TV series box sets, stacked high on a shelving unit. I shoved it in between two seasons of the West Wing. I tried to hide it as best I could, but again with the time running out thing.

Alas. The edge of the envelope was sticking out. That combined with the fact that Dad made way more trips than usual past that stack led to him finding it like the next day! Grrr.... Punk. Le sigh. So much for a fun way to surprise him. Ah well. I was able to find a cute and funny pic to post on his wall on the day. Maybe next year, I'll get more creative or sneaky. :-P

The other plans were for this past weekend. Mom and I were interested in seeing the new Trek movie almost as soon as it came out. For whatever the reason, we still hadn't gotten around to it. After talking to Sarah and joking about being bad Trekkies for not having seen it yet, I told Mom we had to see it. So we watched the first one with intent to see it on Saturday. And as I had mentioned it to Dad before and he'd given me his usual vague answer as to whether he'd like to see it, I asked again to see if he'd want to join us. I said we should see it soon because the showtimes were fewer the longer it was out and new movies were pushing older ones out of the theatres.

Sooo.... The plan was we'd meet Dad at the same theatre on Saturday. Whether we ate afterwards or just went our separate ways didn't matter to me. I guess I should have known something was off when I went to bed "early" and Mom asked if I was going to bed like she didn't know why. I got up on my own (go me) and Mom was snoozing. I figured she was napping before we went to prevent last trip's sleepiness. :-P I got in and out of the shower and as I was getting ready I noticed she was still not moving. I woke her and she started to get ready. But since she wasn't fully awake and the lateness gave her a sense of urgency she was darting around fast. The motion while tired and anemic made her dizzy I guess. She was stumbling around, which happens when she goes through the laundry room with clothes on the floor like she did that day, so I didn't think too much of it. Not until I heard a loud thud. She'd completely lost balance and fell on the floor in her room. Safe to say plans were cancelled.I called Dad....or tried to....before it got too, too late. Alas, he was already en route and had to turn back.

Bleh. Mom tried to get him to come get me I guess. Mostly cuz she felt guilty for ruining the day's plans. All the talking to and fro between her and Dad and her and me.... plans were made for the next day. I mentioned that before she went to bed and she seemed okay. I mean she protested a smidge with not wanting to intrude on Father's Day of all days, but not much..... Until the next morning. >.< Still tired and probably grumpy as a result, she again protested not wanting to intrude. And then later admitting she just didn't feel like going anymore. Okay fine, I'll call Dad and just tell him we're back to normal Daddy Daughter Day plans. Oy. That made her feel guilty and she suggested we go alone. :-| Some days....

Needless to say. We won't be doing that again. Star Trek may have to wait til DVD now because I have no interest in trying organize that again nor does Dad. I'll probably not even mention it again til it's out of the theatres.

Irksome though the morning was, the rest of the day was filled with Daddy fun and antics. :-)

My Job or Yours?

I realize my not working means I'm not contributing monitarily my fair share. I pay for half the utilities (water and power is a BIG bill that Mom has to pay) as my rental contribution. I also wash the dishes everyday, do all the laundry, water bottle washing/rinsing and refilling (since we drink bottled water which we freeze for extra coldness), throw out trash, Mom's clean sheet bed making, litter duty, and, when awake and home, I also take care of all kitty duties (feeding, cleaning messes on floor or kitty). Neither one of us cook much anymore other than quickie foods, but I was the one who did more of that for however infrequently it was done. Oh, and since Mom rarely leaves the house, I also do all the shopping, carrying in, and putting away.

Now I'm a terrible housekeeper, and I know that. The house is a mess and I know it needs a good thorough cleaning. But when it gets done, it is me who does it. She offers, but there are some things I don't want her doing cuz of her bad back. I mean her back first went out cuz she was sweeping pine needles on the carpet. Sweeping is out. Moving a heavy vacuum about is out. Bending over to clean and scrub is out... So yeah, I may deny help there, but she only started offering help recently cuz the house is a mess.

So whether my chores and bill paying offer a even trade or not I don't know. But somehow I got one more chore tacked onto my list. I get to warm up the car every other day for twenty minutes to make sure her car battery doesn't die.... cuz she's an idiot who has essentially killed her car from lack of use! I kind of want to just say, it's not my car, not my job. But since I don't pay half our share, money-wise, I keep my mouth shut.

I wish I was a better housekeeper, then those little things wouldn't bug as much. Or had a job to contribute more. Heh, but then I wish I could just skip over the job hunt process, because that I'm completely useless at. Like my boyfriends, my jobs just sort of fell in my lap. But now with the gap in work history and sucky credit, they look at me funny. And with vision and transport limitations, I'd be more choosy, a luxury I don't really have.

Bleh... Can I just fast forward to a point where the house is clean and I have a job and Mom and I are doing great?

Family Fun Time

Sunday's Daddy Daughter Day turned into a family outing, or at least the first part of the day did. :-) Movie and breakfast with all three of us and then usual shopping and hanging at Dad's with just two of us. :-)

Game plan was for Mom and I to drive to our old theatre and Dad would meet us there. After the movie we would go to Huff's so Mom could finally taste the Greek omelette I always brag about. :-D We both left a smidge late, but arrived about the same time. Since it was the first showing and not the opening weekend, the theatre was fairly empty. I dunno why, but I always prefer an empty theatre. I mean space to spread out if I want, naturally, but less munching noises during the movie is always a plus! Of course, some moron still brought a baby. Kudos for it not crying throughout the whole movie, but towards the end, it wouldn't shut up and the moron didn't even bother to take it outside!

Despite not sleeping as much as I should have, I didn't nod off once! Mom had been up since 2:30-3a.m. like usual (cuz she's a nut!), so she struggled here and there. :-P And Dad nodded a smidge too, but then he usually does that while watching movies at his place. Hehe. Nodding and baby crying aside, it was a fun movie with lots of OMG moments. :-D And of course, it set it up for the next movie. :-) Mom of course said she was game to see it again! :-P I told her, sure....when it comes out on DVD.

Mom and I followed Dad (or tried when other cars weren't in our way) to the restaurant. As Dad and I regulars, we usually get our favorite server to wait on us even if it's not in her station. :-D So Mom got to meet the famous Judy. And Judy and the hostess (whose name I rarely hear so always forget) both seemed to love Mom. And Mom enjoyed her Greek omelette when she wasn't falling asleep. Hehe.

I moved my stuff from Mom's car to Dad's and Dad gave her directions (or tried to :-P ) to make her way back. But seeing as how she was sleepier than she realized, she almost got lost and had to keep calling to get new directions or confirm the routes. But she DID make it home safely.

Meanwhile, Dad and I headed off to Wally World...a.k.a. Wal-Mart and did some of the quickest shopping we've ever done there. Unloaded the car and spent some time trying to pick ONE of Dad's hundreds of movies to watch. It's sooo much easier when I know before I get there, like when he buys a new one I want to see. I should keep a list of movies I haven't seen that he has. Anywho, we ended up watching the Total Recall remake.

I was perfectly alert all morning. Surprisingly... But I guess for payback on teasing Mom, the sleepiness hit me. I probably only saw half of the movie. :-P From what I did see, it was enjoyable. I mean it was mostly just a spruced up version of the old one. The ending was a bit less something. But overall it looked cool.

Sleslaxed some more while watching (snoozing to) the rest of Finding Nemo, before heading off to a market trip and grub pick up. Subway sammiches with there oh so nummy broccoli cheese soup. Even Mom woke up some to eat that. :-)

So it was a funtastic family morning and a nice relaxing afternoon-evening with Dad. I hope we do it again. Not like all the time, but now and then would be nice. Maybe next time, we can treat Dad. :-D