29: What a Holiday Season!

I been absent for a while now. Here's why:

Car Accident:

Thursday before Thanksgiving week, I was in a "Hit & Run" Car wreck. Yes, let me explain:

I left work around 6pm. due to Day light saving time in November it gets dark here in California. I entered the round about, and instead of heading straight to the highway, I decide to take the back roads in case of a holiday accident to avoid sitting in traffic as I made that right turn, something told me to take the more straight forward route, and I didn't.

Before I reached the back roads by the apartments, a Dodge caravan in the opposite lane began drifting into my lane at the last minute. I immediately swerved to my right side of the lane, and the driver scraped up my. New. 2018. HONDA CRV and kept driving off. I immediately flipped around, called the cops, and continued chasing her. The emergency person on the line stated, "Doe the driver appear to be drunk?"

I stated, "I. I don't know. I'm in the middle of chasing her down!"

So here is the punch in the nut sack. I continued to honk, throw on and off my high beams to let her know I'm behind her, and you know where she stops? 50 feet from my job! Can you believe that? Here's a Google Earth view of the fun:

If I remember the story correctly (Notes sent to her insurance), We both got out of the car and the following conversation took place:

Me: "Are you okay?"

driver: "Your headlights blinded me."

Me: "What are you doing staring at them in the dark?"

driver: "Did you call the cops?"

Me: "Yes! You drove into my lane and destroyed my car!" I point to the damage.

driver: "I didn't think I have to stop. I didn't think I did that much damage?"

Me: "You stop no matter how bad it was, so the police can inspect the collision damage, area, location..."

So, the police came took both our information, cited the driver for the hit & run, and sent us both home. The driver never started a claim, so more work for me to do. Just this past week, the driver admitted fault, so now I need to get the car fixed.

House Appliances:

Damn the car accident drove and continued on into my home, starting with the stove. Yup, it stopped working. It got bad to the point you had to light the damn thing up with a BBQ lighter, and only one burner worked. We got a new one. And yeah, this was a lengthy story as well.

I asked Amanda to ask her dad if he knew of anyone that could cut tile. Through text, he stated, "I can. I'll help you out."Her dad suggested to go through Craig's List to find a cheap/new one. We decided to go through Home Depot or Lowe's. New Gas ovens 36' sizes (closest that will fit the hole on our counter) ran around $400 and up, due to Black Friday/ Holiday sales. 

Luckily, I went to Amazon and found a new one for $250.00 and it was child proof! And it just fit the hole we needed! Boom, Amanda's dad just needed to cut 1/2 inch of tile on only one side!!!!

He comes over one weekend to do this. I thought it was nice that he wanted to help, and we stated it would our Christmas present. This is what went wrong...

He began complaining. He suggested I go to Home Depot or Lowe's and order one that fit the hole after he told me to go on Craig's List to buy a used one. Geez, I called this out before it happened. I told him the following:

Larry, I did the following:

-I went on Craig's List for 2 hours

-I went to 3 different Home Depot Stores

-I went to 3 different Lowe's stores

-Both stores said the same thing after looking at the picture

a) It is an "OLD" model.

b) The cut out dimensions are different from the newer models

c) The hole will need to be cut to fit any new model in

d) The Amazon model is the closet I found that will fit and less work to do

So what does he do...

-Larry...ignores my explanation

-Calls a local Home Depot

-Asks a sales rep to give him the cut out dimensions for multiple gas top ovens

-In the end after two hours, the sales rep tells him what I told him

-Larry decides to install what I bought anyway

In the end, we took him out to lunch, and off he went. Thank you Larry.

The refrigerator:

The following day from the oven experience, the refrigerator stopped working. No joke. Ice melted, food stunk, and the family and I had to throw out $200 plus worth of food. The SEARS repair guy came and charged us $100 to tinker around with it. In the end, he handed me a 10% off coupon and stated the compressor was broke and there was no fluid to keep the food cold. He temporarily fixed it, and our $1000.00 refrigerator comes in Monday. I'm planning to do some food art and will probably deduct this from taxes.

Health:

From the car wreck, I recently got X-RAYS & a MRI done. I come to find out (I believe if I read the report right) I have (4) bulging disks in my spine, and the start of scoliosis. And I still need to speak to my doctor to see if I read that right, and if a doctors note is needed for work? 

Rigg LLC Logo (top picture):

I recently got my Rigg LLC formed. I love the new logo. What are your thoughts? Here is the meaning behind it:

When those have a great idea most think it is in a straight line. You start it, peruse it, and finish it. In reality, you start the idea and in the process start making mistakes along the way. Interestingly enough, it is through these mistakes we take these odd turns to learn a great deal, and create something great within this chaos.

My logo is an arrow of how an idea starts and finishes. The dragon bubble represents the great idea created from these same mistakes (the dragon here also represents my Chinese new year animal, which I think is wicked, lol!).

Now for the slogan, I am stuck between either:

"Always moving forward."

"Making your mark."

Until next time,

~D

28: Thanksgiving Nom Nom's...Harry Potter: Pumpkin Juice & Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe!

Hello All,

Took a break from life. The book is my main focus now. I got something going on over seas at the moment. It's quite a hush hush... for now. Its Big but in the mean time, we have Thanksgiving is among us so I got (2) recipes to share: Pumpkin Ice Cream (P.I.C.) and the Harry Pumpkin Juice.

So, Let's get started:

Recipe one: Pumpkin Ice Cream: No churning needed, just freeze

Ingredients:

-4 large bananas (quicker if frozen)

-1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

Optional:

-Raw honey, pure maple syrup, non-irradiated cinnamon, or chocolate chips

Instructions:

-Blend ingredients together for soft serve texture, and freeze for firmer ice cream. 

-If in the freezer for a while, let it soften for about 5 minutes.

Recipe Two: Harry Potter's Pumpkin Juice

Ingredients:

-3 cups Apple Cider

-200 ml Apricot nectar

-1 1/4 cup Pumpkin Puree

-1 tbls Pumpkin Pie Spice

-2 tbls. Sugar
-For a little more kick add Bailey's Pumpkin Spice liquor (adults only!) 

Directions:

-Add sugar and pumpkin pie spice together in a separate bowl and set aside.

-Pour water, apple juice & apricot nectar into a large bowl and stir.

-Whisk in pumpkin puree until fully incorporated.

-Take sugar and spice mix and add to juice mixture, mix well.

(Serve chilled or strained with ice. Enjoy!)

#27 Hannah

A lot has been going on in my life right now. I'd like to put my problems a side and focus on Hannah Hutchinson. To my understanding, she has been sexually harrased at her school in U.P. Michigan. This needs to stop! We need all educational institutions to keep our students safe! Phillip Hutchinson has stretched his resources and talked to the admin, superintendent, school board, and now the govenor. Still this continues. Please show your support, and leave a comment! I will help bring awarness and help Hannah the best I can! Please read below on Phillip's struggle to keep Hannah in a safe enviroment! Thank you.

Phillip Hutchinson

November 8 at 2:28 PM ·

"What I have to tell you now is horrible. Hanna is being sexually harassed again in school. This time it's by two boys. I reported it 2 days ago and it happened again yesterday. They filled out the "what's the problem" report and not the "harassment" report. This is how they get away with it. Because wasn't reported as harassment it can't be a second second offense if it happens again! However it already has. How much you want to bet these kids don't miss a day of school. Just like the last kid. And the kid before that."

Phillip Hutchinson

November 3 at 1:09 PM ·

"Some of my friends and family wanted an update on the Inland Lakes school situation so here it is. Not only is your principal under investigation by the school board but also by the office of civil rights your superintendent is now being investigated by the school board, so is your vice principal Frank Schneider. At the last board meeting I explained to the school board that the counselor Hannah was talking to after all these incidences has been sharing privileged information with the superintendent Brad Jacobs! The one man we would not want to have this information! We're accusing him of aiding and abetting in the harassment of my daughter and he should not have privileged information from the counselor. I also stated the fact that he received privileged information on many occasions and that he knows receiving privileged information is wrong let alone sharing privileged information. Not sure if there's any law against receiving privileged information but I know it can't be right if you're harassing a child and receiving privileged information on that child. That doesn't sound right at all does it? So I guess you can throw the counselor Miss Taryn DavisHanson from Cheboygan Otsego Presque Isle School District on the list of people harassing my daughter. And how is it these people have not been held accountable? The school has neglected the safety of a child for over a year. The school has neglected the safety of a child repetitively. I got to believe it's no longer child neglect it's child abuse. I've caught them in lies, filing knowingly false reports, disregarding reports, failing to follow policy, sharing privileged information on a child to a person that is harassing that child and Delaying investigations. Miss Taryn Davis- Hanson has shared reports on medical condition, medical status private phone conversations with Hannah's mother, custody status, School issues, private conversations with me and did this with a computer. Not only did she share information on my daughter but shared information on me and Hannah's mother also. We now have it in writing at Cheboygan Otsego presqu'ile School District that Miss Taryn Davis-Hanson is not allowed to talk to my daughter. And now it is up to the school board to take action.
It just never ends.
Lord help me"

Phillip Hutchinson

October 15 at 9:14 AM ·

"A principal a superintendent a vice principal and the counselor could not keep 1 kid off of my daughter for 8 months. Or should I say "would" not keep a kid off my daughter for eight months? I'm going to say would not due to the fact it was 8 months!
Let this sink in.
4 adults would not separate one boy from one girl with charges of bullying and sexual harassment"

#26: Uesugi Pumpkin Farm!

The family and I escaped to Gilroy and bought some pumpkins at the Uesugi Pumpkin Farm in Morgan Hill Ca today.

At this point, I should label it a tradition. We go, because Lizzie loves...loves picking out pumpkins. In the picture above, she already had her eyes set out on that perfect pumpkin. The rule we tell her is, "If you can pick it up. It's yours." Lizzie always attempts to get one her height and breaks the huge stem picking it up. I can't blame her for trying. My younger self would have tried just the same technique, lol.

Obviously, Lizzie got a traditional wheel barrel ride, I lost another 20 pounds in the picture above, making my weight loss 120 pounds. Geez, I'm wasting away!

The family hopped on the train, and took it around the park. Whether I was 400 pounds or 260 pounds, I still cant sit in those seats at 6'1 feet, lol.

Lizzie did her regular animal zoo visits, and rode another pony named, "Smiley." The employee there stated, "If you blow on Smiley's nose, he'll smile!"

Any who. So, after the rides, we went into the pumpkin patch and got 3 baby sized pumpkins, a fairytale pumpkin and I believe a Cinderella pumpkin shaped ordeal. 

After this adventure, we made a stop to go eat. Keeping up on the weight loss, I had shrimp. The girls went to Popeye's Fried Chicken. We also made another stop and got some frozen yogurt.

Man, when we got home, I was drained, and had zero energy? Not sure what happened? Amanda took a long nap. When she woke up, she tagged me out and I laid in bed for a good couple of hours.

As far as the book series goes, I am working on the 2nd book, and I'll be posting characters sketches on FACEBOOK. 

As we enter another Halloween theme month, be sure to stay safe, but at the same time have fun!

Stay Frosty Friends!

~D

#25: Facebook Page!

Hello there! I do believe this will be one of my shortest blogs yet! I spent a good time on a Saturday afternoon creating my FACEBOOK page to promote and create a voice for my novel THE WORLD IS RIGGED.

There, you will find all my characters from the book, promotion, release date(s), and where I'll plan my meet and greet locations.

So, lets cut to the chase. Go there and check it out!

FACEBOOK PAGE

Boom! That. Just. Happened, lol.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

~D

#24: Lizzie's Birthday 5am-9:30pm

My day began at appx 5am in the morning. Knowing on what Amanda and I decided on celebrating Lizzie's birthday party a few days early, I knew this would be a long...fun...day, lol.

My mom joined us for this extremely long road trip, which was nice. we all hopped in the car and left around 8:45am. As we went down the road, I asked if Amanda had her iPhone? She said, "No." We turned around and drove back to the house, just to find out it was in my pocket all along. Back off, I'm already tired damn it, lol.

As I drove towards highway 1, Amanda went online to buy tickets for the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz. Low and behold, families were all ready purchasing tickets in the morning (our plan to get back early). So, we were able to buy tickets for 1:45pm.

So, plans were changed. Now, We needed to do something up until we have to go to the Mystery Spot. The decision was made to hang out at The Santa Cruz Board Walk. "The Plan" was to go on some rides at 10am for an hour or so, before we head over to the Mystery Spot in order to kill time. As we arrived, ides were not open until 11am. The family was unaware that the Boardwalk had a family tent sleep night. Rolling our eyes (Why us?), we had to entertain Lizzie, and make this day frigging memorable, even though, it seemed like A National Lampoon's Griswold's vacation to Wally World deal (look up the movie for you younger generations and watch it). The arcade saved us. As we checked out the games, I saw a claw machine where you "COULD" win a stuffed animal. Well, I walked passed one with dinosaurs. Can you believe it...Lizzie at 4 is seriously into dinosaurs, seriously! So, I had my mom and Amanda keep Lizzie occupied with games, so I can surprise her with this giant Dinosaur. There I was. Left alone. Me and this cheating machine. I swiped the card and played. I moved and angled that damn claw over the dinosaur. I hit the damn red button to descend the claw, and it picked up the dinosaur. As the claw pulled up the dinosaur about half way into the air, the claw flinched slightly open, dropping the helpless dinosaur back to the stuffie depths of hell with the other prisoners of war. This was a repeat of my 3rd attempt to win the damn thing for my daughter. My luck took a turn for the worse as Lizzie stops in the middle of the blinking lights taking her attention away from all the games to say, "Where's Daddy?" She runs over to me and says, "Oh! Dinosaurs. I love dinosaurs!" Lizzie smiles up at me, squeezes her face to the glass, wanting that dinosaur. I'm thinking to myself, "I need that. Damn. Dinosaur..." So, I:

-Swipe the card on the 4th attempt.
-Grab the joystick.
-Move the joystick over the dinosaur.
-Moved three times closer to the hole.
-Hit the red button to descend the claw.
-Hop, like a Black Widow, the claw goes down for the kill.
-Saw the claw grab and pick up that dinosaur.
-The claw "MID-WAY" jerks to drop the dinosaur AND FAILS.
-The dinosaur is "STUCK" in the claw.
-The claw is forced to bring my daughters dinosaur to the "Exit" hatch!
-The dinosaurs is dropped into the hole, but is now stuck from dropping.
-"DAD" (me) punches the damn glass arena, and rattles the dinosaur to drop through he exit.
-Lizzie jumps up and down in excitement fist bumping in the air for her dinosaur.
-"DAD" (me) aggressively shoves arm into the hole:
a) Grabs the dinosaur
b) Gives dinosaur to Lizzie
c) Takes that damn trophy (picture above) to remember the damn experience, lol!

It was time for ice cream! Lizzie agreed to be, "All hands on deck." So we all packed up and went to Mariannes Ice Cream. They are the Willy Wonka with 105 flavors. Check out the link I provided! My mom, she got Blackberry ice cream, Amanda got white mint, Lizzie got Watermelon, and I got sugar-free green mint ice cream (picture above). Of course, Lizzie had to sample everyone else's flavors, and we were happy to help. I take it upon myself to snap off another (picture above) photo of Lizzie and Amanda making ridiculous faces for the viewer.  Next, Lizzie just wanted mom to feed her the ice cream? I get it. Before we left, we had Lizzie use the bathroom, before heading out to The Mystery Spot. I know my kid hits the bathroom every 60 minutes or so. Finally, Lizzie stops in front of a mother and older daughter and says this in a lisp, "Hello!" She waves and then finishes with, "My name is Lizzie, and I am four years old!" Lizzie then holds up four fingers to the mom. The mom laughs and says, "Hi Lizzie. I'm (so and so)!" Lizzie then replies, "Okay! Bye," and leaves the ice cream shop with us.

As I fast forward, the family magically arrive at "THE MYSTERY SPOT." as I do my research. It is not a mystery. The original location was in fact in Prunedale, California in the mid 1970's. They say the location is mysterious due to the gravitational pull of the land, and they prove that with a tilted house built at an angle. They have some interesting points to prove this fact like: rolling a ball at an angle for it to fall, but rolls upward as if it launches into space. As an end result, because everything is built at an angle, it throws off ones perception and makes it believable (Similar as working at a job and how everyone curbs their office dialect to talk and manipulate one another). It was fun for the kid, and that is what counts, right? My mom got nauseated from the steep walk, and tilted architecture. Amanda was already kind of sick, and had to step out. Lizzie had a blast, so this made me smile that she had a great time (pic above).

From here we headed home. Around 5pm, we met up with Amanda's mom, and headed over to Sapporo. It is equivalent to Benihana, just way better! The did the choo-choo train with the onion and did, "FIRE," and, "EXPLOSIONS!" Lizzie had a blast! The chef even played basketball using pieces of chicken to shoot into our mouths. The chef bricked pieces of chicken off my face three times. The chef then tossed a piece perfectly into Lizzie's mouth, and she ended up choking a little bit (She's perfectly okay). 

At the end of the meal, the Sapporo's crew sang happy birthday to Lizzie and gave her a pineapple boat of fruit. So, ya, in my 16.5 hour day, I believe Lizzie had a great time. Her dad (me) won her a big dinosaur that she now sleeps/ protects her from the monsters bumping around at night. The Mystery Spot gave her super human powers that allowed her to walk on walls. She got to see "FIRE" & "EXPLOSIONS" in a far away country who was nice enough to sing her a farewell birthday song. To a four year old, it was an adventure. To her, she did the daring adventure some kids won't get to have. For Lizzie, she knew without her parents, this would never have happened. When Lizzie reads this blog as she becomes an adult, she will probably cry, hug me when I'm old, and say "Thank you" for these great times. 

Happy 4th birthday my love. I wish you more smiles to come!

~D




16.5 hours spent awake!

#23: The Santa Cruz County Fair

What does one do when they have artist's block? Pack up the family and head to the Santa Cruz County Fair, that's what?

Welcome back. Today, we played it smart. We got up early (7am), took showers, ate breakfast, and head out to the fair grounds. The plan was to get there at 9:30, get close parking spots, and jam out by noon... or 1pm the latest to avoid the heat, and the crowd.

The fair is pretty much for Lizzie (our daughter), because our job as parents is to make sure we keep her safe, and a smile on her face. What made this time special was that G.G. came with us. This is a blue moon, because she does not get out much, and the kid always wants her to come with us, so that's why it was special for Lizzie.

Once in, we walked the strip, and checked out what food stands were there so we had a plan for lunch as we made our way to the opposite end of the fair to meet and greet the animals. Lizzie is a true animal lover. So... Lizzie got to ride a pony, pet the goats, and fed the donkeys, sheep, and pigs. We actually got Lizzie to pose with a turkey outside at the pheasant house. After using the bathrooms, we washed our hands and headed towards lunch.

Back on the strip, the family headed towards the food tent we picked. On the way there, we ran into a lady in a tiny cartoon truck holding a blue bear puppet. Lizzie loves stuffed animals, so she immediately ran to her. The lady was really good making this blue bear animated and magical for Lizzie, so I took the iPhone and snapped a picture (look above). I almost forgot, we also bought Lizzie her traditional watermelon/strawberry mixed ice. For lunch we decided on getting "Dinosaur" fries and nachos, before we hit some carnie rides.

After fueling up, we hit the rides, before we decided to leave. Lizzie got the courage to go in a blown up bubble and play over the water (pic above). We have seen these before at circuses and other fairs, but Lizzie was super timid at the time. The results, she flipped off her cowgirl boots and hopped right in. Lizzie's courage spiked even further and decided to get strapped into bungee cord, and jump 25ft into the air (picture above). It's like today she had no fear. It was if she was trying to jump to the moon. After this ride, Lizzie tells us she doesn't like her jump house at home, she like the one at the fair, lol. We did one more ride, a three story slide, and she went on it twice. Once with me, and the second with mom. There must be a expiration date regarding age, because when I went down the slide with Lizzie, my stomach turned with the Dinosaur Fries as we hit mock 3. The slide had "3" jumps. On the second jump, the kid and I caught air and my ass hit back down on the slide pretty good. We came to the end with a smooth stop.

Our judgment for leaving around noon to one p.m. was on Que. By the time we left it got hot, and it got packed with the locals. As we exited we saw the blow up alien Lizzie wanted, and she won it by taking the sledge hammer, and smacking the bottom to ring the bell. She named her green alien, "Buddy." When we asked, "Why?" Our three year old daughter said this, "I need a buddy to sleep with me at night to scare away all the monsters. 

As we got home, Lizzie runs in her room with her 5 foot buddy, and places him next to her bed to stand guard at night. 

What an amazing kid I have. Next week is her forth birthday. So we plan on going to  the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz. And buying Lizzie a specialty cupcake instead of a birthday cake (Lizzie's request).

Take care everyone!

~D

#22: Cancer

Josh has a deadly brain tour. From what I understand, He loves the Avengers. For his support Ryan Reynolds, Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Hugh Jackman, and others contacted Josh to support him on his journey. Here is his twitter link: https://twitter.com/josh_braveheart

I fought cancer, obesity, and abuse as a kid. I continue to live a pretty hard life involving health.

For now, if you have a second, please use just a bit of your free time to send your love to him. Its the least we can do for him. Its hard to understand, if you never were in his shoes.

Thanks,

Dustin

#21: Describe your favorite spot in your home, and why you like it?

Describe your favorite spot in your home, and why you like it?

Welcome back...

The bedroom. The bedroom is my favorite spot on the home front. The runner up would be the bathroom (I'll get to that in a bit). It's obvious to family, if I head in there straight after work, it means one $#!t of a day, period. But once I'm in there, shredding out some shooter games level me out pretty quick. Once I unload, then I come out and hug my daughter and have that venting talk with my wife (Come on, we all do it). 

If the about don't work, then I attempt to cheer myself up with some of my favorite shows like: Impractical Jokers, Tosh.0, or the Carbonaro Effect.

Last attempt, I'm in there researching and working on my 2nd novel (top secret, hush, hush...). I don't like reading books, but I like writing and telling adventures. I know its ironic, but either way it who I am, and its my personal opinion.

It is where I sleep, eat, and dream I really like laying there after our daughter goes to bed, and just talk to my wife. Just talk. Like, "Where are we going? Where do we want to be in one year? I just love talking bucket lists with Amanda.

It was this room, we decided to pack the family up and move to Arizona. We are currently looking for jobs. California is done with us, and this family do not need to be where we are not needed? Nothing personal, we all met some interesting and great people, and there were a lot of memories made here. Have you ever woke up, and felt like you were being pushed out of your job, society, well bringing, and happy place? Its just time. That is all. We all give it our best, but you wake up one morning ready to move on. I feel we all go through this at some point in our lives. I can't wait to pick up, move, and start a new where no one knows us. 

Funny thing is as I talked to locals in Arizona in Prescott, Tombstone, Chino (etc); they all roll their eyes and simply agree with me. Some left Cali to Arizona to escape. Some said they left due to the $$$ of living. Others stated they are not missing the ridiculous driving. And some mentioned the self absorbed attitudes where they visited in Cali. I'm not throwing shade on California, but I'll agree the cost of living is beyond understanding.

Why did the bathroom fall just under 2nd place? Sure I'm left alone to think in peace, but there is no TV, computer, bed, and at some point someone to talk to.

On an off topic, I pull in readers from France, places in Asia, Russia, Indonesia. what are your thoughts? I see you read, when I look up Target locations behind these blogs. Please, don't be shy, leave a comment. No one will upset me.

Cheers,

Dustin

I am definitely looking for a balance. How about you?

"Describe your favorite spot in your home, and why you like it."

#20: Are you shy about your body?

The answer is, "Yes." I been abused my whole life to be honest. My mom dated an alcoholic after my mom & dad divorced. 

from the years between 8-17, her boyfriend would say, 'Why are you crying? Why don't you go out and get your self a braw and a dress?" You how much that hurts to a kid, when they are over weight.

These comments got me bad grades in high school, and not graduate my senior year.

Then I starved my self and got skinny. Can you guess what happened next. Right, another insult.

In college, I focused on weightlifting, and gained stacks of muscle. Now the drunk knocked me down and said, "What are you a tool? All those muscles and no brains, figures..." Lord Jesus, what an asshole!

I wondered for a while, after I called the cops, and got rid of him this. Why was I having so many health problems? Could you imagine losing dramatic weight one year, gain weight the next, putting on muscle the following year, then getting huge after that. Geez, I put my body into shock through each change.

Parents/ guardians please remember this, "Children are so fragile, precious, and sensitive to what is said to them." So please be careful with their hearts. You all got one shot to raise them, don't make this mistake. 

I now have a house, a great wife, and a 3 year old daughter who (Due to my childhood) I carefully plan out her life. She has a chance to grow up and have the life I never had! I consider her a winning lottery ticket, and there isn't anything. Anything I wouldn't do for her. Every weekend, we take her out to do stuff: hiking (Big Sur), swimming, teach her cooking/art, science projects, parks, so you get the point, right!

She might be young now, but she will start school soon enough. She'll make friends (a lot), and I know she will come with us with this question, "Was I a mistake/accident?" 

I can proudly say, "Honey. Mom and I planned for you to be here. We went to college and got our B.A. degrees, found jobs, got married, saved money, and planned you. Lizzie, Mom and I are happy/proud to have you in our lives. You are not an accident, we both meant for you to be here with us! I love you!"

I can't wait for this book to be published next year! The main characters (D & Panda) are shy about their body. When they find out about their special abilities, D uses their abilities at the Monterey's "Farmers Market" to buff himself up for his sister's friends, lol. So ya, he's ashamed/ shy of his physique. D comes to understand his bod doesn't matter anymore... I do not want to give in to the plot.

That's for now. So, what are your thoughts? I gotta go grab a late dinner.

Peace,

Dustin

19: Family Loss

Sunshine Video

This morning I had to put Maddie (Our family dog) down. She was suffering from being blind, severe arthritis, and dementia. 

It was hard. Driving her to the vet was another feeling hard to explain. questions were running through my head like, "Does she know where she's going? Does she know what is happening to her?" I got to the vet in Castroville, Ca and a lady stopped to take a glance at me after talking to a nurse there. She had no idea, nor did I say anything about what was going on. Maybe she read the tears in my eyes. As this same unknown person started to cry, she tells me, "I'm sorry. They are a member of the family." See I appreciate she stated, "They," not "It."

Soon after, two nurses and myself went to go get Maddie from the truck. She was shivering, shaking, and had no mobility since the night before. The nurses got her on a trolley and they wheeled her back into a room.

The doctor came in and stated she had dementia, and confirmed the arthritis. The doc also stated it is her time and this was the right thing to do. Maddie was in so much pain. The doc got the shot ready. I took off my cross and held it on Maddie. That shot was hard to swallow mentally. I looked at this and stated, "This is it. This is it..." The shot was administered. It happened so quick. The doctor and nurse in the room gave me a hug and stated I can stay as long as I needed. The doctor gave me a hug and stated, "I know. I know how hard this is."

I just stated that I will stay until she passes. The nurse listened to her heart beat and replied, "She had passed." I said, "Thank you. I need to go now." I left. On the drive home, I had spiritual shocks. I knew it was Maddie telling me not to worry she's okay. I went home, took a shower and told my mom I needed to take a drive.

It's funny, my mom simply said to me, "Thank you for doing this. It is hard." I said, "No problem." I left and saw my director (Francine Stewart) checking up on me through text. Ironically, I saw this text at 11:11am, and the song that came on the iPod in this moment was "Paint it Black," by The Rolling Stones. WTF! What lesson had to be learned here. Well, angelic meaning of 1111 is to keep your thoughts positive. So, I thought about Maddie in Heaven, and that my dream of publishing my book will happen.

When I was thinking about the book, I find it just a tad funny that I thought about the main character's struggle of the loss of his mother, and how their is a type of struggle between him and his sister (kind of like a grudge). I come to the fact that unknowingly parts of my personal life is added in this book. I got loss, fear, humor, adventure, and struggle.

Oh, in memory of losing Maddie this morning, I placed a link of my three year old daughter Lizzie singing Sunshine with her grandma. If you notice, Lizzie glances over her back, because G.G. stated before the video, "If you sing, the blue belly lizards will come out again." Maddie where ever you are. We all love you, and you will be missed. May you forever run on clouds of meadows and eat your fill in food, until we meet again.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this,

Dustin

18: My Ancestry Results

Here are my results from Ancestry. I had to get it done, and here's why. My family had always stated I was German, Italian, and Welsh. So this is not entirely true as you can see above, lol. And this proves my theory on family in general. Generation after generation information is past down to the next. Whether it may be in regards to culture, religion, or traditions. But every generation always  leaves out a little information through each passing. I encourage everyone to get this done. You will be surprised. I am surprised by the results. Now I'm thinking on a whole other cultural level.

Ever here sayings from other cultures like: 

"Mi casa es su casa." -Moctezuma, The Aztec Emperor

"I think it was that we were seasoned musicians. We had serious roots that spanned different cultures, obviously the blues." -Jimmy Page

"We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies." -Shirley Abbott

These are great quotes, because my results say that I am (12) different cultures. Wow! Amazing. I walked around for a long time having strong connections to other cultures. To feel their pain. To love their food. To understand them on some level, and not know why. These results validates, "Why?" We all are connected to one another on some level. Frankly, this is just another puzzle piece to the big picture.

I leave you with this, if you visit another culture and someone invites you and your family to eat with them, do it. If someone from another culture visits your culture for the first time and asks what they can experience, while they are there. Help them with ideas. We are all close to one another more than you think.

In my book, the World is Rigged, I share adventures that are tied to one another, and in the end bring these very unique characters together to over come the rapture of all existence. 

I am waiting on the day this book becomes published. It will amaze so many individuals on the twists and turns each story takes you, the reader.

So long for now,

Dustin

17: Character Profile from The World is Rigged

I haven't done a character profile in a while, so here is another character set from The World is Rigged. This is another family series, I decided to share out.

On the your far left is Rus Tafarri. He is a foreign exchange student traveling by foot to reach the Rigg family. His introduction to the book is a funny one. I wrote this specific character as societies stereotype. Take Rus for an example, I dressed his in a traditional tribal clothing, and have his start his journey romping through his native island to get to a boat that will take him to the U.S. Although he has a thick accent, Rus speaks with an I.Q. of 150, as he tosses around political reviews on how to make improvements on the island.

Now that I think about it, each of these characters are based on societies stereotypes… interesting.

Next his Sugar "Pops" Rigg. This liver spotted blue skinned elder is the grandfather of the Rigg family. I made his skin blue, to express his struggle breathing as an elderly person. I love the touch of his corduroy pants being hiked up to his sagging chest. He is a retired military vet, who shares bizarre stories of the war with his family. Knowing this, makes one think. As the author, I really do not want to ruin it for you all, so just wait for the book.

"Atomic Blast" Rufus. he is the families dog. Rufus is black mix of Chihuahua & Labrador Retriever, nothing more. A lap dog waiting for Dustin to come home and snuggle with him in bed. Then one night, Rufus followed Dustin up the hill and got caught in the U.F.O. explosion. This blast changed Rufus's genetic makeup turning his skin and fur green, and accidentally hiked up his intelligence to a genius level. Hell, the blast even gave him the ability to walk upright, and fully speak and understand the English language. Being scared  of society knowing this he pretends to walk on all fours, until...

And finally, Farmer John. The biggest stereotype of the four here. He's the redneck cousin of the family. For his design, I just drug his name in the genetic gene pool by making him a redneck, farmer, hillbilly, gun toting, and country loving farmer. He's got the brains capacity short of a simple land animal. He struggles to kill his arch nemesis, a turkey named, "Lunch Box." Let me ask you this, we can all go to the grocery store to buy fruits and vegetables, but can you successfully grow them in your backyard?

People might call these characters simple people. I will call them ideal individuals. They are colorful individuals that stand out from one another, and know who they are. These characters do not seek out to look like everyone else. They live simple lives, and each one has a story to tell.

Thanks for reading,

Dustin

16: Adventures in Arizona

Hello "True Believers," and welcome to my travel series. This go around the family and myself ran away to Arizona to visit family.

We did a ton of adventures, which are:
1. Mon: Sedona & Mortimer Farms
2. Tue: Out of Africa
3. Wed: The Grand Canyon & Horse Shoe Bend
4. Thu: Tombstone (The infamous wild west ghost town)
5. Fri: Odysea (Arizona Aquarium)

Monday - Sedona & Mortimer Farms:

Sedona was great! For those that have been to the states (like California), Sedona is very much like Carmel and Santa Cruz blended together as one town rich in red rock all around the area. The main strip (or road) has nothing but shops like: jewelry, tarot readings, trinkets, clothing, and desserts. Other shops included restaurants like Mexican, Italian, coffee, American, and etc. You really can't go wrong where one went. The people are nice, and love to chat your ears off. The heat really wasn't a big deal, and is kind of a stereotype among most individuals. It really all depends on the humidity. For instance in these two places, the humidity was low, so the weather was 90 degrees out but felt like a cool California 70 degrees out.

Mortimer Farms is just down the highway on the way to Prescott. Its a cute farm place for kids. You pay $10 dollars for each person. Once inside, there are chickens and goats the children can feed and pet. A western playground: Car tires in the shade of horses that the little ones sit on and get pushed like a carrousel, a ridiculous over size inflated trampoline, a race track with tricycles, slides, zipline, and a western playground. If a family pays extra, you can go berry picking.

Tuesday - Out of Africa:

Wow! I had a mixed review on this. I better start off with the pro's first. We did a tiger, giraffe, and a sloth feeding. I had a blast with the sloth feeding, and here's why? I do not know anywhere in California where you can pet and feed a sloth, so it was a must! Second, it was cheap here to do. $60 for up to three people. Other places to feed a sloth was $60 per person. So, I already know this is the best idea currently. I learned a lot about the sloth. For instance, the sloth has no sweat glands, so it never smells,lol. It moves slowly, has poor eye sight, and loves to be pet. The tiger feeding was $5 per person, but I also liked the giraffe feeding. All guests got a piece of celery. I put mine piece in my mouth so I would get a kiss (with a picture as a bonus!). The giraffe feeding was free, also my daughter and I weren't able to feed the giraffe, so the driver had us both go to the front of the bus to get our kisses. So cool in regards to the gift shop. The staff had a parakeet walking around on the ground. It climb on my shoulders and began talking to me and kissing my face. That was cool. My little had no fear in petting a python snake on the head.

The con side:

Well. Here I go... The zoo/park is outside. It was hot 100' degree with HIGH humidity. Ya you could crack an egg and cook it on the ground. The staff stated you could walk to each exhibit, or you can take a shuttle and see everything as you were sitting down. We chose to be driven around. The family and I were drinking our weight in water, but this didn't help. I felt like I was getting heat stroke. My wife almost fainted twice, and my poor three year old girl was not doing so great either.

Wednesday - Horseshoe Bend & The Grand Canyon:

Horseshoe Bend is up near Page, Az. This was a great experience, but for a price. I kind of contradicted myself, it was free to enter, but I meant we metaphorically paid the price to get there. It was about a mile walk. The first half mile was walking at a 35 degree angle, and the other half was walking down. Remember, going back was the same experience, lol. Two, it was 87' degrees, but the humidity was ferocious! Ya, 87' degrees, but the heat felt like 120' degrees. My favorite tourists, which equaled out to tons... and tons of people. It was kind of awesome though. There were people from France, Korea, Germany, Russia, and etc. Horseshoe Bend is a giant rock surrounded by water in the shape of a horseshoe. The metal railing does not go around the whole area. If one falls, it's a nice quarter of a mile drop. I had my wife watch our daughter as I walked a round to get a good shot. I laid down on the edge and looked down. Man, I felt a case of Vertigo take over. I still got the shot though. I had to rush back, because my daughter was screaming out for me worried I will fall off the edge.

The Grand Canyon Experience:

Hmmm. How do I start this one? Let me start off with the Pro's. The place is big. It has hotels, gas stations, restaurants, animals (We saw extremely big deer: does and bucks), and trains. I got a very nice shot of the grand canyon...

The con...

It was $35 dollars to get in. A fixed price for 7 days. It took a while to get to mid point for pictures. People were difficult to deal with. Cars had to stop in the middle of the road. At first, I thought their had been an accident, or a car off to the road in need of assistance. Nope. People stopped on both sides of the road, dodging in and out of people trying to pass, because they wanted a picture of a deer eating near the side of the road. So what did I do? In order to handle the frustration, I waited until I could accelerate, and honked the car. My wife stated these people gave me the stink eye, due to the buck running away, lol. Hear me out for a second, okay. What you do not know is every 100 feet were deer. And every 100 feet was a parking off the road to take pictures, and not block the road. These people were not respectful of other families time, and were self inflated of what they were doing at that moment in time. Given those factors, I couldn't help to honk and drive away laughing...

Thursday - Tombstone (The infamous ghost town of the wild west)!

This was amazing! No cons at all. This was free to get in and parking was fabulous! The people are kind, talkative, and informal. Great people. There was something spiritual walking in this sacred town. This is where Doc Holiday, Whyte Earp, and others walked hundred of years ago. I took a picture of the "Birdcage Theatre." It is know to be extremely haunted, and they give tours. Call me superstitious, but I got a weird negative vibe walking by it, so I passed on going in. We ate at the Longhorn restaurant. Prices are great and affordable. I took a few rocks home as keepsakes. I know these were rocks that Earp, and Holiday could have walked on. It is a place of legend! My wife, daughter and I did a classic western saloon picture. Awesome. The girls got ice-cream. The owners are from California like me. I took this as a good omen, because like them, I am eager to move out to Arizona soon. I just love the people, culture and the arts out here. The heat wasn't bad at all. Low humidity, and we left early before the weather took us. Go early, and leave early and your experience will be great, partners, lol.

Friday - Odysea Aquarium:

This was the families last stop before driving back to California. It is a circular aquarium, and bigger than the Monterey aquarium. The month of July is the "Shark Experience." They got dolphins, and such. Of course my daughter had a great time. The bathrooms were rated as the best bathrooms in the U.S. Why? well lets just say the bathroom is its own shark tank. Ya, I washed my hands as a big Tiger Shark coasted by looking at me like I was a soon to be snack. The place had glass sphere chandeliers filled with water and different variety of fish in each one swimming around. At the end of the exhibit, what appears to be a theatre is actually a 400,00 gallon tank, with a seating room that turns 360' transforming the view to see each species in the exhibit. Ya! Its that cool!

Cons:

It is over priced. The same company owns the whole out door circular strip mall that houses the aquarium, outer body experience, dinosaur exhibit, swim with dolphins experience, the butterfly exhibit, all restaurants, and stores. I feel the company is greedy. This institution could do a combo sale and sell tickets cheaper for a rate for doing all the over all experience. Instead, you are charged full admission for all places!? Greed, Greed, Greed. Really hard to enjoy beautiful places like these if you are a blue collar worker. This is just my opinion.

Outside of this, the family and I had a great experience! And like this wonderful journey, I can't help to think how it relates to The World is Rigged book that will be published this year. The adventures in this story are very wide spread. There will be adventures that are spiritual, magical/fantasy, traveling through different galaxies, and going through altered dimensions by traveling into worm holes. I'll just stop it there. Like Arizona, you will have to just go and experience it yourself, when the time comes!

Again, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read about my experiences. Until next time! Here is a cheezie video I mad on YouTube, if your interested! Arizona

Peace,

Dustin