Hello!

[Valerie]

It was suggested I introduce myself here, so I thought I'd just say "hi" to the folks of FreeConservatives....

I'm a long time California resident, recently of Kern County (Bear Valley Springs). I work for an investment services company, with most of my clients enjoying their retirement years; a function of the area in which we live.

My hubby (a NASA employee) & I enjoy the slower pace of our small town, but we'd appreciate a few more good restaurants moving into our area.

:smirky:

We have 2 rescue dogs, although our girl gave a scare a couple of weeks ago with a stomach bloat. She survived the operation to save her just fine, even if her spleen didn't, bless her heart!

One question for the group: has anyone here had LASIK surgery? I'm scheduled for next month, and I'd love to hear about anyone's experiences with this operation. They tell me it'll only take about 50 seconds per eye, so I figure I can handle that. Any advice would be appreciated.

I guess that's about it for now...

:wave:

P.S.-Love your smilies list!

[Taylor1]

Welcome Valerie. You'll feel at home here. Thats a great story about your rescue dogs! I'd like to live in a small town one day.. as for the LASIK surgery, sorry I can't give you any advice on that, haven't ever had it. I hope it goes well though, I'll make sure to remember you.

[PrezLeefun]

Welcome! Happy Posting. Be sure to read the rules. Hope you have fun.

As for the surgery.... I wear glasses and have since I was 2. I dont believe in putting hot burning rays into the eyes so I say cancel that appointment. :lol: But that is just my opinion.

[Valerie]

Thanks Taylor1, & PrezLeefun - I've been a fan of DOOL since 1965, girl!

[PrezLeefun]

Oh you are my kind of person! lol

[wayne]

It was suggested I introduce myself here, so I thought I'd just say "hi" to the folks of FreeConservatives....

I'm a long time California resident, recently of Kern County (Bear Valley Springs). I work for an investment services company, with most of my clients enjoying their retirement years; a function of the area in which we live.

My hubby (a NASA employee) & I enjoy the slower pace of our small town, but we'd appreciate a few more good restaurants moving into our area.

:smirky:

We have 2 rescue dogs, although our girl gave a scare a couple of weeks ago with a stomach bloat. She survived the operation to save her just fine, even if her spleen didn't, bless her heart!

One question for the group: has anyone here had LASIK surgery? I'm scheduled for next month, and I'd love to hear about anyone's experiences with this operation. They tell me it'll only take about 50 seconds per eye, so I figure I can handle that. Any advice would be appreciated.

I guess that's about it for now...

:wave:

P.S.-Love your smilies list!

Tehachapi here from 80 to 86. I had some land out in Stallion springs then across from Jack Palances ranch by the golf course.

[Beowulf]

Welcome aboard, Valerie. Can't help you with the LASIK as I've been 20/15 my whole life. From Mexifornia? You poor thing!!
Just one rule, we fight Liberals with the glove off. Be careful of Doc as he gets a bit cranky. Maggie gets into some pretty nasty fits so stand clear when she does.
Look foward to your posts.

[Taylor1]

Welcome aboard, Valerie. Can't help you with the LASIK as I've been 20/15 my whole life. From Mexifornia? You poor thing!!
Just one rule, we fight Liberals with the glove off. Be careful of Doc as he gets a bit cranky. Maggie gets into some pretty nasty fits so stand clear when she does.
Look foward to your posts.

Oh yeah, I forgot to warn you bout Doc, but I don't think he'll be the person you'll butt heads with.

[Valerie]

Hi wayne! From what I hear, it's changed around here quite a bit since you lived in SS. We used to see Jack around town a lot before he got sick. We were sad to see him go. I worked out there for awhile when we first moved here, selling timeshares at the Golf Course, and yes it's as horrible a job as you can imagine...

It's not so bad, Beowulf. I actually love California, even with its problems. I'd probably only consider one other state to live in, but that's not until retirement!

[Taylor1]

Hi wayne! From what I hear, it's changed around here quite a bit since you lived in SS. We used to see Jack around town a lot before he got sick. We were sad to see him go. I worked out there for awhile when we first moved here, selling timeshares at the Golf Course, and yes it's as horrible a job as you can imagine...

It's not so bad, Beowulf. I actually love California, even with its problems. I'd probably only consider one other state to live in, but that's not until retirement!

I'm gonna take a wild guess and say Florida...

[wayne]

Hi wayne! From what I hear, it's changed around here quite a bit since you lived in SS. We used to see Jack around town a lot before he got sick. We were sad to see him go. I worked out there for awhile when we first moved here, selling timeshares at the Golf Course, and yes it's as horrible a job as you can imagine...

It's not so bad, Beowulf. I actually love California, even with its problems. I'd probably only consider one other state to live in, but that's not until retirement!

Hi Vaierie, People that bad mouth Ca. dont really know much about it. Are you aware of how many celebs lived in that area? Chuck Conners was there as was Red Berry or was it Noah? I disremember. Their were others as well but I cant recall them all.

[Naturalized-Texan]

Hi, Valerie. I worked for IBM as a contractor with NASA, Houston, producing software for Apollo, Space Shuttle, and Space Station Freedom before it was replaced with the International Space Station. My middle son works for NASA, Goddard.

[Elgalad]

Greetings Valerie, and welcome to Free Conservatives! :wave:




-Elgalad

[Teenager]

Welcome Valerie! I hope you enjoy your stay here. My parents have two dogs. Ours are just mix breeds. What kind are your rescue dogs?

[Republican_Legion]

Welcome Valerie. :)

Hi Vaierie, People that bad mouth Ca. dont really know much about it. Are you aware of how many celebs lived in that area? Chuck Conners was there as was Red Berry or was it Noah? I disremember. Their were others as well but I cant recall them all.

They also dont know that the majority of the countys in California are Red yet the populated ones are mostly blue.

The famous folk from my neck of the woods is Richard Nixon and John Wayne.
John Wayne died here and Gene Autry founded a baseball franchise here in the biggest Red County of california.

[Neil Peart]

Hi Vaierie, People that bad mouth Ca. dont really know much about it.Don't get me wrong, I've been there a few times, and the scenery is great. But unfortunately, California's cities are a haven for people who are so far left, they make DailyKooks look moderate. And unfortunately, RL, while there may not be as many blue counties as there are red counties in Cali, the population of the former definitely outweighs that of the latter.

[Republican_Legion]

RL, while there may not be as many blue counties as there are red counties in Cali, the population of the former definitely outweighs that of the latter.

They do outweigh us but we have a handful of Conservatives in congress that quite among the best like Duncan Hunter and Dana Rohrabacher.
If they were to cut the state into 2 states the southen part even with LA would be turn Red.
There is no Hunter or Rohrabacher like politicans in states like NY or MA.
Those 2 states also had a higher % of votes for Kerry in 04 than CA.

There still is nice places to live here and some of them are even the safest citys in the country. There still is a sense of california pride among conservatives here who are proud of their Red countys and citys.

[Taylor1]

I listened to an interview with Duncan Hunter, he seems that if he would've got more attention he could be the nominee. I really liked him.

[UnkHiram]

Welcome Aboard

Feel Free to bash LIberals, Read the rules and listen to Homsey whenever she speaks. Carefull of Doc, he is a grouchy old bear but he is our Grouchy old bear. Beware of the Ocelot and dont even think of touching the "Coveted Toaster OVen"

[DoctorDoom]

<center><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/DocDoom777/BB%20Pix/WelcomeToFC1.gif" /></center>

I deny all those mean things that they say about me. Like Rush, I'm a harmless little fuzzball, as my last portrait clearly shows.

<center><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/DocDoom777/Strange/inferno.jpg" /></center>

[Beowulf]

dont even think of touching the "Coveted Toaster OVen"

Oh yeah, thanks Unk! Also, my Liberally hated assault screw driver is off limits as well.

[ColonialMarine0431]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/ColonialMarine/Welcome/WELCOME3.jpg

[DesertFox]

Glad to have you with us, Valerie.

[Wolfcounsel]

Welcome, Valerie. I've had two people tops tell me LASIK surgery made their eyes worse, if you want to take that into consideration.

[Rhino]

My LASIK did wonders. I had a bit of the typical 'halo' effect at night, but that lessened over the years. I don't even notice it now. Doesn't help with presbyopia (old folks far-sightedness), and sometimes even hastens or accelerates it. Contrary to what some believe, it doesn't make presbyopia worse though, just makes it happen faster sometimes.

[Valerie]

Thank you all for the gracious welcome!

Teenager, we have Akitas: our girl is about 70 lbs, while our big boy is pushing 150 lbs. now. Unfortunately, stomach bloats are common in large breeds like the Akita (that's how we lost our last girl 7 years ago.) There are several Akita rescue groups locally, since many people get an Akita puppy not realizing what they're getting into.

Yes wayne, this area was a Mecca for celebs quite a while ago, but not so much now. Ruth Buzzy still lives up here, but "The Unknown Comic" left the area. I also hear that Christian Slater has a place up here, but I've never seen him.

Taylor1, I've only been to Florida once, in August, to attend an outdoor wedding in Miami. Needless to say, it wasn't the most pleasant experience. No, I'd love to retire in Hawaii, since my dad was born there in the '20s so I'm not viewed as badly as most of the Haolis there. I also wouldn't suffer from "island fever".

Doc, I again can't see the photos you attached (or the ColonialMarine's either)...but I'll accept your denial, you cute little fuzzball!

:biggrin:

Thanks for the info about LASIK, Rhino & Wolfcounsel. I'm trying to get as many personal experiences as I can before my appointment.

Sorry for the minor flap over California, folks. I've lived in a few different places in this state, and it really is different than what's portrayed in the media.

:thumb:

[Lubbock]

Welcome, Valerie.

Put another log on the fire and sit a spell.

Tell us more about your dogs. A good many of us are pet owners/lovers.

[Taylor1]

Hmm, Valerie, here's a tip.. don't move to South Florida, its pretty bad here in certain parts. Its not like shooting all over and gang land. But its more like thug land in some parts and I wouldn't recommend anyone EVER move to Miami. EVER.

[DoctorDoom]

Doc, I again can't see the photos you attached (or the ColonialMarine's either)...but I'll accept your denial, you cute little fuzzball!The Marine and I both use Photobucket as our image host. If you can see other graphics, perhaps your browser has been directed to block Photobucket. What browser are you using?

[Valerie]

Hey Lubbock, that's one good lookin' dog in your avatar! How old is he? I just got back from having the staples removed from our girl's belly. She was pretty excited to go for a ride, but got nervous once she realized where we were going. She's home now, & the worst is over. I just hope we don't have to go through this again with our big boy. We asked the vet about having a preventative surgery done on him, but he said even that isn't a guarantee against bloat. I can't see putting him through the stress of surgery, if it's not going to prevent a bloat from happening. I think these will probably be the last big dogs we own; I've been through this enough.

You're preachin' to the choir, Taylor1!

Doc, I'm sure it's a function of my work computer. Since this is a financial services firm, they are very picky about the software we use. No problem; I can always access from home to see the pics, if I can ever get my hubby off the computer long enough so I can use it! Thanks for the info...

[mkafrica]

Hey Valerie, welcome again! :D

[Lubbock]

Pup is a year old this month. Boxer. We didn't have his ears cropped. Son said if God had intended the dog to have pointy ears, he would have made him that way to start with.

We're looking for a girl.

Not to breed.

Just want a girl Boxer.

Pup has five brothers and sisters of the Feline Persuasion. I never wanted to get to be an old lady, living in a house full of cats, but that's what it's looking like.

[Valerie]

Hey Valerie, welcome again! :D

Hey mkafrica! Are you lookin' for attention?

:biggrin:

Good for you, Lubbock! My mom was into surgically altering her dogs (tail docks, dewclaw removal, ear crops & the like) but I never liked it. She grew up with Dobies, and her mom & dad would just take the puppies out by the shed & lop off their tails with a hatchett. She was proud of the fact that she had her surgeries done by a vet!

:sad: