We are having a technical miracle here in the Johnson house today. Steve has taken on the mighty task of digitizing a lifetime of VHS tapes for his family, and he got the final box of tapes from Carolyn this weekend. On the way home from Santa Barbara we stopped at Fry's Electronics for the necessary equipment.

Here's the miracle part...

Steve hooked up the machines, AND ITS WORKING. He did not have to leave the house for another cord, disk or hard drive.

How awesome is that? So far my favorite video has been heart warming holiday story about Senor Steve and his puppet friend Pacho, played by Jack Halpin.

Dexter Says

how cute is that?

I'm having a hard time trying to find a day care solution for Dexter.

The past few weeks all of the Crank Yankers girls have been hard at work on a new pilot for a show. Right now, it looks like it could actually get picked up sometime in the relative near future, and more than likely be union. It would be very nice to be able to get 8 or 10 weeks of union wages and benefits. That would enable us to switch back to MoPic insurance for at least a year, and give Steve some wiggle room if he really wants to leave G4.

That said, Steve does still work full time, so What About Dexter. All of the pre-schools in the neighborhood that I've researched so far need him to be at least 2 years old, which won't happen until next May. If this show goes in the fall, he will be about 18 months old, and falls in the the Infant category. There doesn't seem to be a lot around, at least when it comes to Google and yelp.com.

I did check out the one sponsored by Motion Picture. It was absolutely amazing. It looks like a day care center in the movies. I would kill someone with my bare hands to get Dexter in there. It ain't cheap, but Leonard Nimoy (!) provides financial aid. The total bummer??? On the other side of town. I'm sure it's only 12 miles away, but it took 45 minutes to get there, and not during rush hour. If Steve's work was still over at the old G4 building, it would be perfect, but it's not. There is a waiting list anyway. A list that costs $50 to sign up for, BTW.

The have a new location out in Woodland Hills, but that is also way too far out of the way as well.

The sort of good news is the woman who runs it did tell me that every studio does have one, run by the same company. Too bad I never actually work on the studio lots, but instead end up at the smaller lots in Hollywood. Perhaps I should be gunning for a costume shop job at WB's.

There is a little place run out of someone's house in Echo Park near where we used to live that has been recommended to me, but I would rather Dexter be in a "real" facility if I can help it.

When you google "Infant Day Care" there are many corporate places that come up, I'm just so surprised that NONE of them are around here. Maybe in Burbank? I could drop him off and then loop into Hollywood...

Dexter called the police Friday.

I don't like to let him play with the phone, which means it is the most desirable thing in the world to him. He loves to clutch it in his chubby hands and push the beeping buttons. Here is some proof:

So on Friday, against my better judgement, I let him hold the phone. He was sitting on my lap while I was writing an email, and trying to bang on the keyboard (more buttons that beep.) If I just keep hanging up the phone after three or four beeps, he can never call Zimbabwe, right? Quickly finished email, extracted phone and we went about our merry way.

About twenty minutes later, we are quietly hanging on the couch while Dex has his 5pm bottle. BANG BANG on the door. I thought it was UPS, the afternoon guy tends to just bang on the door. I swing it open, and there are three of LA Finest.

"Uh...can I help you?"

"You called 911?"

I was absolutely mortified. Dexter was delighted to see new people, and cooed and smiled in my arms.

"I let the baby play with the phone. Oh my God. I'm not going to get a ticket or a fine or something?"

"No ma'am. Are you sure everything is okay?"

They then proceeded to ask about Steve and his whereabouts, and the neighbors (we live in a duplex) but didn't actually ask to search the premises, which I found out later is usually the standard procedure in case someone is hiding out of sight and putting me up to talking to police. I must have been pretty convincing, as they just went away after that.

I should find it funny, but I'm embarrassed to have wasted taxpayer money on a false alarm. Steve said most of their day ends up being stuff like this. I guess a cushy false alarm at the end of the day is not the worst thing that happened to those cops on Friday. Steve saw them hanging out chatting down at the corner when he came home 15 minutes later, so they weren't in that big of a hurry.

Dexter is no longer allowed to play with any phones.

OMG. Enough with the garbage already!

Turns out, we have been paying for the garbage for both units. Ben and Helen used to live in our unit for a few years while they were finishing building the other side of the duplex where they live now, so the garbage is on the bill for this unit. We got another letter from the city this week reminding us that we have extra cans and were going to have to start coughing up an extra $5/month for the privilege soon unless we called to have them removed.

It reminded me that I had talked with Helen when we moved in about the DWP bill, back when the garbage was $7/month. It was going to be too big of a hassle to get the bill switched next door, so we agreed to just keep it on ours. We have a great deal on the rent and it seemed like not a bad trade off.

She and I are playing phone tag, but I'm sure we will get it resolved. A relief.

To answer some comments...

We pay the DWP bill bi-monthly, but if it was quarterly, we'd be paying a whopping $108.96 after the proposed increase. The garbage is billed to all homes and apartments with city cans, both owned and rented homes, condos and apartments. Most condos and larger apartment complexes have private dumpsters. A lot of houses here have rental properties in the back, and 2,3 or 4 unit apartments are very common.

The ACME show is SUPPOSED to be available online, but I'm not sure if it is yet. I can find out. It should be archived at the very least, but they are trying to stream them live as well for a modest fee. I think you can watch the previously recorded shows at www.acmecomedy.tv

Wore a "pre-pregnancy" dress this weekend. Another milestone reached.

I am becoming Obsessed with the Garbage Lady. We got a mailing from the city this weekend, announcing a hearing at the end of July, because they want to raise the garbage rates again. They are already scheduled to go up next fall, '09. from $26/month to $28. Which I'm already paying, so WTF? But now the city would like to not wait, but jack up the rate THIS September to $36.32. This is actually the highest rate, paid by single family dwellings and duplexes. Three units and over pay about ten dollars less. Most apartment buildings actually have private dumpster hauling and don't even deal with this. So 3 people living in a one bedroom apartment are paying the same amount as a 5 bedroom house.

The mailing does mention that this cost covers the full cost of refuse service in the city, all 447 square miles, including recycling, hazardous waste disposal and large object hauling. When you put it that way, it actually sounds like quite a deal. What I'd like to see is the budget breakdown, and where were they getting the money two years ago to run this whole operation if the cost has gone from $7 to $36. Local taxes? Was garbage completely cut out of the local budget so now it needs to support itself entirely? Am I the only person in the city who thinks this is a little extreme? I feel like a crank, but it's not a bill you can change or conserve. I can drive less, turn off the lights, and not talk on the phone, but I'm paying for that can whether I throw anything away or not. And our recycling is picked clean a couple times a day by guys pushing shopping carts collecting cans and bottles, so unless I fill it with cardboard the blue bin is never filled either.

Hey you kids! Get off my lawn!