Rick Bradford's Retirement: It Ain't Easy

 OSCAR RIDICULOUSNESS AND THE INTRODUCTION OF "THE RICKETTES" As I do every year, whether I've seen many movies or not, I watched the Oscar telecast last night. What was that? In my opinion, it was probably the worst Oscar show ever! Just the fact that they presented the Best Director award as the seventh of the evening indicated that they did not have a clue as to what they were doing. The last four awards have always been Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Picture being announced last. To add to the shit-show, they announced the Best Picture before they announced Best Actor and Best Actress categories.. Really? Whoever was responsible for this production needs to face a firing squad, at the very least. I have no problem with who won the awards, just the way it was done. I actually liked the fact that Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor, instead of Chadwick Boseman (may he rest in peace). I did not need to see the weeping widow give another speech about her depa...

 RANDOMNESS ABOUNDS Many of you have heard of Carmen Miranda, the old-time movie start that was known for wearing fruit on her head. My crazy husband loves using his Photoshop and created the photo you see; I refer to it as "Rick Rubic Cube Miranda" -- lovingly, of course. I hope it elicits a chuckle from you when you see it. The verdict was read this afternoon in the Derek Chauvin trial and it was gratifying that he was found guilty on all three charges. It won't bring George Floyd back for his family, but I hope they find some solace from what occurred. Had a meeting at my bank last Friday. I've added Martin to the account, so that when I print out the monthly statement in May, it will list both of our names. That was the last item I needed for the agency we are working with on getting his Green Card. He was worried about the meeting but admitted afterwards that it went better than he ever anticipated. I've already gathered the photos of us from 2015 to the curr...

 BALLROOM DANCING AND MARCH MADNESS My husband Martin loves his Photoshop program and created this photo of us doing the Argentine Tango. I love the looks of the people in the background. His is so creative, I had to publish this photo. I love watching March Madness NCAA men's basketball, though because Martin does not have a single sport's gene in his body, I feel fortunate whenever I actually get to watch a game. I've been able to see quite a few games, and I feel honored that he's "allowed" me to see as much as I have been able to watch. I'm really pulling for Gonzaga because they are from the West Coast Conference, the same conference as University of San Francisco and I feel they are a "local" team...plus they are undefeated, which almost never happens in men's NCAA basketball. I really hope they go all the way. They are currently into the Final Four and will be playing UCLA next, who has gone from the "first four play-in game"...

 ROLLERCOASTER WEEK Last week was a real rollercoaster of a week. At the beginning, I found out that a dear lady I had worked with for over 20 years had passed away. Florence Nacamulli was the accountant at Harder+Company, where I worked for over 25 years. She and I worked very closely over those 20 years, establishing a great working relationship along with the love of each other. We shared many great times together including holiday parties, staff lunches, Fun Day celebrations and private lunches when we could really "dish" the other people we worked with...many laughs and lovely memories. RIP, Florence. You were very special to me and my heart goes out to her husband Steve. After she retired, we kept in touch mostly over the phone as they had moved to Eugene, Oregon. At the end of the week, the rollercoaster took an upturn as Martin's younger brother Armando and his wife Elizabeth arrived in town. It was the first time in over 30 years that they had seen each other (we...

 THE VANISHING WALLET I had the strangest day yesterday. I went to Walgreens to renew our Clipper Cards (the cards we use to ride public transportation). His covers both MUNI and BART, whereas my only covers MUNI and it's a Senior Clipper Card (I guess it has something to do with my age...ha ha). After arriving at Walgreens on Geneva Avenue (closest to the apartment), they had a sign stating that the system was down and they weren't doing any Clipper Cards. I hopped on a bus and went a bit farther down Mission Street to the Walgreens across from my bank. Their system was working, so I renewed our two cards to cover the month of March. After I did that, I went to the back of the store to buy some dental products. After waiting in a small line, I got to the register and because of the small purchase price, decided to use cash vs. my ATM/Debit card. I pulled out the wallet and gave the clerk a ten dollar bill and she gave me my change. While waiting for the change, I put the walle...

 I'VE BEEN SHOT! I was out yesterday minding my own business when I got shot. Yeah, it was only a shot in the arm and it was the first of two shots of the Moderna vaccine against COVID, but I try to bring a small smile to everyone's face when talking about it. Hahaha...my second dose is scheduled for March 12. I had seen a posting from friend Joan Pettijohn on Facebook that she had received an email from the City about various clinics around the city administering shots to people 65+ and was for specific zip code areas. Luckily for me, my 94112 was included. I arrived about 10am, checked in and had my shot within 15 minutes; had to stay for another 15 minutes to make sure I didn't have an adverse reaction (which I didn't), so overall, it was very easy-peasy. My arm was a little sore last night, but other than that, I'm fine. I'm also just about fully recovered from my urinary tract infection; taking the rest of the antibiotics as you're supposed to use the w...

 URINARY TRACT INFECTION Early last Friday evening around 5pm, I had the urgent need to go to the bathroom. I thought of it as driving down the freeway and seeing a sign that said "next rest area 50 miles" and my thought was "Oh shit, I am not going to make it that far." After going to the bathroom, the same thing happened about a half hour later. This went on all night long; I did not sleep at all because I had to keep getting up to run to the bathroom urgently. At Martin's urging, I finally relented Saturday afternoon to go to the ER, as you can't reach the doctor on a Saturday. Because we use public transportation, I knew I'd never make it as it would take over an hour on the bus to get there, so I called Lyft and it only took ten minutes. As soon as we entered the ER entrance, I asked if I could use the bathroom because I had to go "real badly" and after taking my temperature, they allowed me to use the restroom. We then went to the check-i...