I think I'm going a bit stir-crazy...

as I spent almost the entire day on Thursday in my room.  Aside from going to the dining room for breakfast and going out to pick up lunch and dinner, I was in here all day.  I watched "Meatballs" on DVD in the morning and a lot of television in the afternoon/evening.  I wanted to get some writing done.  I did some but not nearly enough to meet what my expectations were for the day.  We are working on end of year lists for the website I write film reviews for, www.TailSlate.net and I did a review for a film that opens tomorrow.  But it was basically a wasted day.

Today is another day of going to the VA, although I hope I won't be waiting forever to be seen.  Because I'm seeing a specialist and I have an early appointment I am hopeful.  But I know there will be an extended wait at the lab for a blood draw.  That seems to always be the case on Mondays and Fridays. 

I'm a little frustrated because there are two movies I want to see that are opening today, but only in New York City.  And worse yet, one of the other movies I'd like to see would require me driving to the Valley.  I haven't been to the Valley since before I got ill and I have no desire to go over the hill now.  I loathe that drive.

Strange how these things work.  The LAPD was set to lay off roughly 100 employees on December 31st.  Now they've suddenly found enough money to avoid those layoffs for at least six more months.  Weren't we hearing that the city would have to lay off cops as the justification to put a city sales tax increase on the ballot?  So what changed?  The city's employee unions fight a proposal to reform pension plans, the city is going to lay off employees and suddenly "poof", there's more money available.  Where did this money come from?

Street gangs are getting more sophisticated if what happened yesterday in Long Beach is any indicator.  A gang had members arrested for taking part in a scam that stole over $1 million in fradulent income tax refunds.  They filed false returns using stolen social security numbers.  That's a far cry from selling drugs and strong-arming people for protection money.

Why is it that when I'm afraid I will oversleep, and put in a wake-up call, I awaken well in advance of that time and there's no point in them coming to wake me?  If I hadn't put that call in I'd probably still be sleeping.

This Date in History:

On this date in 43BC, Cicero was assassinated.  He was the author of one of my favorite quotes, "the welfare of the people is the highest law".
On this date in 1776, Marquis de Lafayette enters the U.S. military as a major-general.
On this date in 1787, Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
On this date in 1869, Jesse James committed his first confirmed bank robbery in Gallatin, MO.
On this date in 1917, the U.S. declared war on Austria-Hungary.
On this date in 1941, the Japanese Imperial Fleet bombed the U.S. fleet that lay at anchor at Pearl Harbor.  Visiting the Arizona Memorial is one of the most humbling experiences in my life.
On this date in 1972, Apollo 17, the final mission to the moon is launched.
On this date in 1988, the late Yasser Arafat recognized the right of Israel to exist.

Famous people born on this date include Eli Wallach (1915), Ted Knight (1923), Johnny Bench (1947), Larry Bird (1956), and "Ravishing" Rick Rude (1958)