The Yokazette - The 2009 "Electronic Edition"

A Note from The Editor:

Sharing the same fate as many other fine print publications like The Troy Eccentric and Fallon Star Press, The Yokazette has succumbed to expenses associated with printing and distributing its highest form of yearly entertainment and news. 

The editor could no longer afford the copy and postage expenses and has been forced to use electronic means to deliver its yearly dose of dull drivel that drives its readers dopey. 

For those of you who really want a hard copy of the Yokazette, simply print this page and use it for birdcage lining as originally intended. 

2009 will go down as the year of travel.  Gohar and Jim made two trips to Europe in 2009, first visiting Germany in early August, and then Italy in mid-September.  Jim also made several trips to New York for work related projects. 

The trip to Germany was a pleasant surprise.  Gohar and Jim didn't know what to expect since neither had been to Germany before.  Except for the graffiti in Berlin, it is a very clean country.  The people are polite, the trains ran on time, and the BEER IS FANTASTIC!!!!  Jim filled up on the stuff morning, noon, and night.  Gohar and Jim traveled all over the country, starting and ending in Frankfurt, and taking in the sights in Cologne, Berlin, Nuremberg, Potsdam, Munich, Oberammergau, The Black Forest and Heidelberg.

The trip to Italy covered the Northern area, starting and ending in Milan with visits to Lake Como, Bolzano, through the Dolomites and Venice.  It was the 2nd time to Venice for Jim and it was Gohar's third time; so they 'went off tour' and walked all over Venice.  Once out of the tourist trap areas, Venice has a lot to offer the sightseer.

In other news:

Andrew is 19 and is attending The College of the Canyons.  He is currently considering a major in History with an eye toward education.  He lives at home and commutes to the campus.  Andrew is still working at Moonlight Rollerway.

Marie is 15 and is attending John Burroughs High School in Burbank.  She has taken up swim events such as water polo and swim team.  Marie's ballroom dance teacher moved to another studio and the lesson contract ended, so Marie has not been ballroom dancing lately...  (ed note: same thing happened to Gohar & Jim) 

Gohar has changed from 12-hour to 8-hour shift work at County USC after sustaining a leg injury earlier this year.  Though the hours are shorter, she now has to deal with Los Angeles infamous traffic jams on a daily basis. 

Jim is still with DIRECTV and is busy with all the new initiatives that come his department's way.  There are now 44 people in Jim's division and every one of them is top notch.

Pet News:  Our guinea pig Inky passed away in April.  The other guinea pig, Bunni was lonely, so we got "Tessie" to keep her company.  Current menagerie inventory: 3 birds, 7 fish and 2 guinea pigs.

The Yearly List- Automotive Acronyms

With all the talk this past year about 'cash for clunkers' the editor thought it appropos to dig up these acronyms for autos we love to hate:

DODGE:  Drips Oil & Drops Grease Everywhere 

HONDA: Had One, Never Did Again

SAAB: Still Ain't A Beemer

AUDI: Another Ugly Deutsche Invention

BMW: Bring More Wrenches

ACURA: Another Crummy, Useless, Rotten Automobile

GM: Great Mistake

CHEVROLET: Constantly Having Every Vehicle Recalled Over Lousy Engineering Techniques

TOYOTA: The One You Ought To Avoid

FIAT: Fix It Again, Tony

The Yokazette is published yearly because we can't think of much to write on any consistent basis.  No longer on paper, The Yokazette is now a figment of your imagination.  (c) 2009 by Local Yokal Production Services, Inc (LYPSINC) - a fake corporation, much like the one run by Bernie Madoff... except for the money part.