Yeah, I apparently can't be guaranteed to get online every day while at Mom's to post to Holidailies. By by god, I'll at least write a daily entry even if I can't get them up.

So, Monday: after a really late start, we commenced the traditional post-Christmas shopping spree. What this amounts to really is taking back what didn't fit and then finding clothes to replace that. So I got some shiny new skirts and a nice sweater and uh, the world's funniest slippers, and Mom got a few things.

And after that and the requisite Dad visit, we went to Jack London Square (i.e. a place close to the airport) and tried to find a restaurant that was actually open, or was open and actually bothering to serve people. (You laugh, but...) We finally found one seafood restaurant that cost a dang fortune, but since Mom had already paid for parking, she wasn't going to get up and find somewhere else not in the area to eat at.

Mom has this...interesting...trait of not wanting to drop small amounts of money for something, but is willing to pay hundreds of bucks for something else. This will come into play later.

Anyway, Mauricio and the girlfriend's plane was coming in just as we got out of the restaurant. And Mom decided she didn't want to pay $2 for parking, so she'd just circle the airport and wait for them to come out and pick them up.

This was a MASSIVELY BAD IDEA.

Because guess what, the sheriff's department was out in FULL FUCKING FORCE that night. With signs everywhere saying NO WAITING, NO PARKING, NO ABANDONING YOUR CAR, NOTHING OR YOU WILL GET A TICKET.

Anyone want to guess what happened right now?

Yup. On her third go-round, she pulled over the car and instead of say, asking me to go in and look for them, she hopped out without saying anything to me, or taking her cell phone, and disappeared.

I got to sit there, watching as the nearest cop came closer...and closer...and closer... and I debated whether or not I'd be able to manage driving a stick shift van to save Mom a ticket. (Hah. Like I can drive a stick? Or a big car?) I figured I look at least fifteen years old, so the cop couldn't expect me to drive, right?

He came up and yelled at me to move the car RIGHT NOW, and I said I couldn't and I didn't know where Mom had gotten, and he yelled that there were cameras and she WILL be getting a ticket.

She showed up about thirty seconds after that. I told her. She asked, "How much do you think it's going to be?" I said, "A few hundred," and she got all mad at me for saying that. I said, "Why don't you JUST PARK THE CAR and go in?" and she was all, "I caaaaan't!"

*sigh* Two dollars versus a few hundred. Priorities.

On the fourth go-round, she finally agreed to let ME out of the car to go in and look for them. It took quite awhile to find them.

Meanwhile, as Mom did the big loop around again, there was a stoplight that she was stopped at. One of the cops came up to her and asked her if she was going to move. "Uh....when the light turns green, yeah."

*sigh*

On the fifth go-round, we finally got everyone loaded into the car.

They were in pretty good moods, as opposed to Mom and me who wanted to bite each other's heads off by this point. Course, going to New York at Christmas would probably leave me in a good mood too. Mauricio got Mom a watch and me a shiny Disney pin (he collects pins), and his girlfriend gave me a stash of chocolate-covered graham crackers. (Not as a Christmas gift, more of a "We're burned out, you like them, you take them!) She asked me about craft stuff, everyone chatted, it was all friendly and normal. Go figure.

I find that when I'm around her, I really like the girlfriend. This is strange when compared to the things I've heard. I don't know what to make of that.

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