Eek! It has been some time since I took my trip backward...the holiday doldrums tend to put my creativity into a kind of suspended animation...that and my walking as well!
After waiting out the beginning of 2021, it was soon apparent the holidays were indeed finished. January 6 clinched that, in fact.
Looking back at my previous entries about the early 21st century, it is apparent that while there were some decent periods, my personal life was in a serious state of ennui. Catching up on not getting laid for my first 29 years of life wasn't doing the trick enough...I needed more out of life, a more solid connection with another woman that would be longer-lasting. A 3-month relationship in early 2004 had proved fruitless and an attempt at shacking up with another in late the same year proved disastrous...making 2005 a sort of hangover-and-recover year.
That brings us to...
2006
I was more determined than ever to find "the one" with the new year. I had taken myself off the market in fall of the previous year to shed some old shit off of the soul. The trouble with that was after about 2 months my loins were holding protests. Therefore, after Christmas I got myself back into the game. It started to happen fairly quickly even if sparsely.
On the way back from my holiday time in San Diego, I met up with a woman named Melanie in Laughlin. What I hadn't quite gotten from her profile was that she had one eye. Eh, not a biggie. We had a nice dinner and chat before I headed home, listening to more of my new Spenser audio book on the drive. We made plans to meet again.
A couple of weeks went by with nothing really going on. I sent messages to various ladies but with little to no response...though one would prove fruitful later.
During MLK weekend...the Monday in fact... I met a girl online named Vanessa who really wanted to meet right away or not at all. Having no plans I met her at a bar later at night, bought her a drink or 2 plus a pack of cigs (at least she didn't blow it in my face), then we went back to her home, a trailer in her parents' yard, and proceeded to have a nice time of it. What I discovered pretty quick was that she liked a certain technique that gave her a LOT more pleasure than me, but not before I got my jollies.
Shortly after that, I met up with Melanie in Laughlin again, this time getting a room. We had dinner, had fun in my hotel room, then she left to be with her boys, with whom I bowled the next morning. Melanie was a nice person, but she was way too down on herself. I recalled I was feeling the same way regarding myself not too long before and realized I did not want that in my future.
I hung with Vanessa a few more times but before long I came to understand that her mood swings were pretty quick, and I wasn't getting much pleasure emotionally or physically from her. Also, as she didn't have a car, I found myself driving to the southwest to get her, sometimes eat with her, and then take her home. The physical end of the relationship had already died down, so the writing was on the wall.
A promising start to the year it was not! However, there was a person I had contacted previously whom I had not heard from that finally messaged me back. Her name was Vickie Johnson and she didn't have regular computer and internet access, hence the delay.
On February 7, our school had a hard lockdown that went from 12:30 p.m. to almost 6. Everyone was pretty freaked out, and no kids were required to come in the next day if they needed a day to recover... though some came. On my way home (finally) after it was over, I called Vickie, and we talked every night after that and made a plan to meet on Saturday the 11th.
On that Saturday, I had to go get a blood draw and had not made an appointment, and as it was a fasting draw, I was pretty hungry and had a big headache when it was all over. I called Vickie and asked her whether she wanted to wait a bit and let me shower or just come over in my cleanest dirty shirt...she chose the latter.
I picked her up and we went to Pick Up Stix for lunch. My headache was still going even after we ate, so on the way to the movies, we hit up Albertson's for some Advil...for which she had a coupon! What a great omen! We went to see "The Pink Panther" with Steve Martin, during which I felt much better. We had a nice time...and didn't see much of the last part of the movie!
Afterward, we played some slots for a bit, then went on a drive around town and just talked. It was nice to just be able to get to know someone without getting to the obvious home plate. We stopped and ate at South Coast (later South Point) at the diner, then later headed back to my place and talked and smooched a bit more while watching "Revenge of the Sith". Before we knew it, it was 2am! It had been a long day for me, but I really liked being with her. I made her an offer of sleeping on my bed and I would sleep on the couch (I had napped there many times so no big deal). After some thought and seeing how tired I was, not wanting me to get into an accident taking her home or on the way back to mine, she agreed.
The next morning, I got up and after she did, I made us breakfast and we just hung out talking and whatever until mid afternoon when she had to get ready for work. I took her home, waited for her to get into her Arby's uniform, then drove her to work. We made plans to have dinner on Valentine's Day, 3 days later. Pretty much immediately after, I went to the store and got her some flowers and a card. I couldn't WAIT until Tuesday!
I think my kids at school saw something different about me on Monday, I seemed more relaxed and easygoing. On Tuesday after work, I picked Vickie up and took her to my apartment where I made her meatloaf with turkey along with my Nana Moore's piquant sauce (ketchup, brown sugar, and nutmeg). I asked her if she wanted to be my girlfriend and she agreed. When I took her home that evening, I couldn't hold it in anymore...I told her I loved her. Now this was almost a classic case of me running off the cliff like Wile E Coyote again...but this time I was covered...she told me she loved me, too.
The End!
No! You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? However, seeing as Vickie and I are still happily together 15 years later, there is so much more!
The following weekend was Presidents' Day. Vickie and I went to breakfast, then out to Valley of Fire. We filmed a little informational video while walking around, then drove around some more. While driving, I was starting to feel quite ill. Recalling that at a school staff function the previous day I had some hot dogs, I figured those were the culprit. I asked Vickie if she could drive. She said she could, but was uneasy about it even though she had a license. After a bit, I took over again and we made it home. I was feeling horrible and she took good care of me. Sometime during that evening I asked if the name Vickie Moore sounded good to her. At the time I wasn't sure if she was humoring me, but she said it had a ring to it. She made some chicken and corn and later I threw that up...and felt much better later!
The next morning, I felt even better, but discovered my computer wasn't working. After breakfast, I called a mobile tech guy to come out, a wheezing 300+ pound guy named Barry. It cost $300 along with a new hard drive (the old one was virus-stricken), but he got it going again. I left him there to work while I took Vickie home so she could get ready for work.
About a week later, I took her over to her brother Mark's house to drop off a birthday present for her 5 year old niece Kaitlyn. I met her, Kaitlyn's brother Brendan, and Mark's girlfriend Laura. Not long after, we went to Joe's Crab Shack for Vickie's birthday where I met her brother Mark and her mom Laurie. At this point I had met most of the family in town...all except her half brother John, with whom Vickie did not have the best relationship.
Soon after came track break number 2. Vickie and I spent as much time together as possible. On many days I would take her to work, do my thing for a while, then pick her up to hang some more. I took a very short trip to San Diego during track break, but was in a hurry to return to Vickie. She really didn't like being in her own place, which was a house in which she rented a room and had use of the laundry and kitchen facilities. Her roommate, whose grandfather owned the house, was quite the bitch and held the only mail key. Vickie got disability checks due to some previous medical situations (including 2 bouts of childhood leukemia and resulting other things) and was waiting her her monthly installment one night so we could go to dinner. The roommate Christie was taking her time getting home and Vickie went to check with Christy's brother if he had a mail key but he didn't. For some reason that pissed Christy off, but finally she got home with the mail so we could go. Soon after, Vickie rented a box at Smith's to avoid the hassle.
Not long after, Christy let some family friends stay at the house and they pretty much had the run of the place while Christy put restrictions on what Vickie could do and when, including laundry. They got into a huge fight about it one night, after which Vickie hugged me for support and said, "Let's go home." We also got my friend Robin to help us get Vickie's rear projection TV from the house garage to my apartment.
In April, we went to San Diego together for my dad's 60th birthday celebration. We stayed at my mom's and she got to meet my mom, Don, and dog Sabrina and cat Callie. The birthday celebration was at a country club where some of Becky's family had also traveled. Well, everyone who mattered had met everyone who mattered. Later that month, we took a little trip to Primm and stayed at Whiskey Pete's. Little trips like that when she wasn't working were a treat for us.
In May, I was thinking a lot about her. We had done things nice and slow, pretty much just enjoyed being with each other. I knew I was always happier when I was with her and vice versa. Somewhere in my mind, the m word was rattling around...yep, marriage! As Memorial Day weekend was coming up, we planned a short trip to San Diego. Before going, I bought her a nice simple ring. When in California, we went to the beach and I proposed to her...Wile E. lucked out again, she said yes! Shortly after, we went to a celebratory lunch at Bully's North in Del Mar with Mom, Don, and his business partner Bob Ellis...who had me say "REAL ESTATE" so he could make it a business expense.
As we were now engaged, we decided it would be good to live together before our November wedding. It was a great time, too, because my apartment complex had changed hands and was now run by an outfit that was horrible and cheap when it came to maintenance and repair, especially with water leaks! We looked around and with the help of realtor friend Treasa, we found a really nice 2 bedroom apartment not too far from the Arby's where Vickie worked. It was spacious, well lit, and a perfect place for Vickie's cat Mitzy Mew to romp around in. During the final track break of the year, we hired Starving Students to move things from the apartment and our friends Lauren and Aaron helped get Vickie's things from the house. On the final morning she would ever see that house, Vickie got some final things from there and had a fairly nasty confrontation with Christy...I think she had been looking forward to that. All I remember is Christy following us out of the house in her pajamas just woken up. She looked pretty stupid as we drove away.
Indeed, as the move had happened during the week of July 4th, it was an independence for both of us in our new home. It was a slow process unpacking our boxes. The spare bedroom has the bed Vickie had used in the house. Our kitchen table was a mere card table for the time being, but that was ok. Also during that summer I met Vickie's grandpa Walt. We got along immediately, and he accidentally got my name wrong, calling me "Dave". It was a running joke for years right up until he passed in 2016.
We got in another trip to San Diego, which was memorable because on the way back we stopped and had something to eat at the Excalibur Café with a friend. I played my first round of keno then and won $600! That paid for Vickie's wedding dress and alterations. I haven't won at keno since.
In July we traveled to the L.A. area for my friend Rob's wedding to Samantha Ross. We hadn't made a reservation so we scrounged around for a hotel and found one in Azusa for $75. It was a bit dumpy and it was also a night of power failures. The next day we drove around for a while until it was wedding time and then went to Pasadena. It was a good wedding and Rob looked genuinely happy with his new bride. As Vickie had to work the next day, we drove home that night.
In early August, we wrapped up the 2005-06 school year. Unlike the previous year, this one was ending on a good note and I was sad to be parting with that group of kids. On the last day of school, Vickie and I had dinner at the Top of the World restaurant at the Stratosphere, sharing a chateaubriand dinner. We then went to Mesquite to stay the night. Our room at the Edgewater had a bad A/C unit so we got to move to a new room with a better working one. The next morning we swam a bit, went to breakfast, then drove a bit into Utah and back into Nevada while listening to good music. One thing I already knew about Vickie was that she was a good road trip co-pilot, keeping me awake with coffee, gum, and loud music.
Shortly after the 2006-07 year began, I had a couple more weddings to attend. On Labor Day weekend, we traveled again to San Diego (by plane) for my mom's wedding (finally) to Don. It was a very pleasant time, and nephew Ian and I walked her to the gazebo on the lagoon, which was pretty much the community's back yard. Afterward we had good food and the men had celebratory cigars, me included. The following weekend, we flew to San Francisco then drove up to Santa Rosa for Scott's wedding to Darlene. I hadn't been up there for a while, so the visit was great. Looking back on the wedding shots, I had been gaining a good (as in BAD) amount of weight throughout the year...we had eaten out many times.
As the new school year was progressing, so were our wedding plans. While Vickie's dress alterations were going on, we searched for a chapel, settling on Special Memories Chapel in downtown. We also got flower arrangements through Smith's floral department.
One night we were out drinking and karaoke-ing with the Mikinka sisters and Vickie had gotten a bit toasted. She fell off her stool, giving her quite the bruise, and later she felt nauseous, throwing up a few times on the way home. After getting her on the bed, I said something to her and she told me quietly to F off. I thought it was funny, but she didn't...and quite frankly has not done a lot of alcohol since.
Before we knew it, November had arrived. Luckily we had the first almost 2 weeks before the 11th to finalize things. On the 10th, everyone was coming in from everywhere, both my family and friends plus Vickie's family. There was a rehearsal dinner at Mastroianni's Italian restaurant, where my dad held podium as "master of ceremonies" so to speak, telling his corny jokes. After dinner, Vickie and I checked one more time with the chapel to make sure all was set, then she went to stay at her mom's for the night.
The next day, I got up, ate, got a haircut and shave, went to get my tux, had a bit of lunch, then got dressed. The plan was to get to Red Lobster where the chapel limo would pick me and the wedding party (Scott, his dad, Lora and Alexa, Vickie's coworker Tonya, the Mikinkas, and I) at 1:30 as the wedding was at 2. Somehow the chapel people hadn't checked this so I had to call. The limo was late and as it had to dodge around Veteran's Day traffic. On the way, I got a call from Treasa, who immediately gave her phone to Vickie, who was fearing I had changed my mind. At last we got there, but had to wait a bit for another wedding to end as we came late. At least the ceremony went right and we said our personal vows to each other.
The limo getting us to Red Lobster for the reception wasn't too bright either and took his sweet time getting there. Luckily as it turned out, due to the disasters, Scott and Sam Catania had a Sicilian style talk with the chapel people, who got us a lot of our stuff for free. Red Lobster itself was good, though I suspected that despite our chosen appetizer items we'd agreed to pay for, some full meals were put on our bill, which was about $900.
That night, we went to our apartment and changed clothes. Rob and Sam stayed there as well, along with my grandma. While Vickie and I went to Mesquite for our brief honeymoon night, Rob and Sam hung with my grandma and took her to breakfast the next day before going home. Vickie and I had a good night together and hung around Mesquite for part of the day, where we saw some of Vickie's family on their way back home. Once home, we took Grandma Jo to dinner then to the airport.
After that it was just hanging out in our apartment with each other doing whatever for a few days. We then took a small road trip up into Utah then across to Page, Arizona to check out the Glen Canyon Dam (pretty DAMN impressive), then headed down to the Grand Canyon and then home...a good 2 day trip. Not long after we went to Big Bear Lake to meet up with my mom and Don for Thanksgiving at their cabin. There was a decent little apartment above the garage for us to stay in. Dinner was great and we also took in a movie and did a little fishing. Soon after, it was time to get back to school, and that week I celebrated my 34th birthday.
In December, we got a new kitten from Vickie's friend Courtney, a pretty orange tabby we named Layla. Finally Mitzy had a playmate! Also in December, we went on a late night drive to visit my grandma as she was getting ready to move in with my aunt Terry in San Diego and needed some organizing help. One thing we attained was my grandpa Fitz's chiming naval clock. That had always been one of my favorites. Also in December we were getting some things here and there for the apartment, one of them being a wooden dining table with 4 chairs. That was a fun fit into the car trunk!
We decided that Christmas would be spent with just the 2 of us in Las Vegas instead of traveling. It was the first time I had ever done Christmas without my parents, even when they were apart. It was a nice change. And it was a great end to perhaps the best year of my life!
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