Long Holiday Weekend

Always makes for a busy week following.  Add in this is month end so buried in things to do.  I had a good weekend but I am more than a bit tired.  Got my tale typed up for Sand by the skin of my teeth.  I have the next bit in long hand I still need to transcribe and do an edit.  I now have two stories eating at my spleen.  Okay, maybe not the spleen, just the mind.  I am consumed by both different characters.  The one, as-of-yet-unnamed, gal is a Holly Golightly sort in the strange architecture of my vampire lands.  She's got some history that is yet to be told.  She first showed up for "With No Announcement" writing prompt and when given "Good Morning :)" she naturally had a bit of time on her hands to fill my mind.  Well, she didn't let go with a simply 2,000 words but seems to be running amok as only my female characters can. 

With the sudden death of my friend David I have been treading softly with my tale "The Building".  I find myself scratching out things as they are too dark, even for me.  I know I am still angry by the loss and this weekend was the first time a lot of us got together since we heard he'd passed away last week.  We taped a picture of him flashing a peace sign that was taken in March to one of the outside poles under the covered tables where we all usually sit around bs'ing and cooling off from sitting in the sun.  Last weekend we began playing a dice game LRC (Left Right Center) that has become a new pastime for us when there are more than 4 of us outside and not in the pool.  The group I hang out with are all in their late 40s to mid 60s and thus we grew up playing dice, cards or board games during the summer time.  It's better than watching TV and letting it rot your brain.

3 of the gals joined me yesterday seeing the latest Pirates movie.  Smuggled in Walgreen candies and water and one of the ladies sprung for tub of buttered popcorn.  We laughed and enjoyed it while it was hot and humid outside.  I laughed and enjoyed the silliness that only Johnny Depp can bring to a roll.  Pictures snapped but still in the camera or up in Facebook. 

Here's a 'getaway'

I used to read the Chicago Tribune online.  I still get stuff from them.  This cracked me up.  They are talking about an Amish Getaway for $99!  Basically camping with folks wearing old fashioned clothing.  I tried to paste it here but it won't work.  I am not skilled enough to drop it in.  See if the link will work. 

http://www.amishacres.com/

  Amish Acres, 1600 West Market Street Nappanee, Indiana
    (800) 800-4942
    amishacres@amishacres.com

Summer winding up for a major run

I have yet to see a baseball game here.  Which is probably because Miami isn't exactly the fun in the sun you see on 'Burn Notice' and 'The Glades'.  There are neighborhoods that are in transitional stages - larceny to murder from the reports.  Not to say I didn't go to games in Detroit.  I just went with my 'posse' of ten to fifteen fellow bookstore workers.  Yeah, geeks liking sports.  In San Diego I went to tons of games.  Started when I was a little kid because my aunt worked for the Padres and got us tickets to all the games we wanted.  Also got to see the concerts they held with the fireworks shows to back the music.  In Detroit I watched games played in the old Tiger Stadium and then when it moved to the downtown 'revitilized' area (translation they bulldozed historic old Detroit to make room for the new and improved stadium).  In San Diego I went with my dad to watch the last game played at Jack Murphy Stadium and then later one of the first games at the new 'Petco Park'.  Complete with dogs - I mean players.  There's something that spells summer to me sitting in a stadium getting pounded by the sun while screaming along with the sucky plays.  Both major league teams tanked right after they got their new stadiums.  I think the club ran out of money or the team ran out of energy from all the back door deals they had to broker to make the new stadiums rock.

As I was watching the sun peak over the clouds today on my drive into work I found it funny to think I'd yet to go to a Marlins game.  Maybe next year.  I'm just not motivated to run down and see if I can get carjacked on a sunny afternoon. 

Weary

Once I got home I had to plug my cell phone into the charger and begin my calls.  It wasn't pretty.  Telling friends I'd just seen over the weekend one of our friends was dead was exhausting.  In between my making calls my dad called to let me know he and my mom had finally made it home safely.  One of the hotels they had stayed at was the Hampton Inn or some chain like that in the town in Missouri that was decimated (Joplin).  That hurt the pit of my stomach.  Not ten minutes later my older brother called to let me know the folks were home.  I didn't mention that "Daddy" called me first *slight grin*

A memorial service is being planned for David.  It was tough last night cause pictures are being posted over facebook of David.  He wasn't big on his picture being posted so I have yet to dig into my files (yes I have some good ones).  Heart sore.

Sadness

I just found out a friend of mine died.  He was diagnosed with male breast cancer about six months ago.  I last saw him around two months ago then he just up and left.  I called and left him a message.  He called and left me a message.  No more messages. 

David wasn't a typical guy.  He was rough around the edges, had done his share of bad boy things, he fathered a child, buried his twin brother.  His 'jobs' varied.  But mostly he did household painting, sailed his boat and treated his friends well.  I was one of the first people he told he had something wrong.  He told me he had a lump that appeared suddenly on his chest.  I nagged him to get to a damn doctor.  He actually did.  They cut out his lump, biopsied the mess and told him the worse.  He did a few months of chemo after fighting with everyone who cared.  He left his girlfriend of four years, pushed away all his close friends and tried to keep it together.  We mended fences around New Years.  His was the first New Years Eve party I went to a few years back when I got here.  He came over swam in the pool, flirted outrageously with all the gals that come over during the weekend and sun like lovely lizards by my pool. 

David won't be buried here.  He'll be up in Rhode Island with his family.  I don't think I'll go to the funeral but he will be mourned. 

Fifty what?

I don't feel any different than yesterday.  A bit tired but then that may have more to do with the cognac I had with dinner than aging.  Light rain fall on and off last night cut some of the heat for the moment but it promises to be in the 90s later. 

My neighbor (the no longer missing one) text me at 6:15 happy birthday, put a purple star balloon and card on my car.  It was sweet.  And yes my sister did pack and wrap 50 gifts with the help of my niece.  One of the gifts was a topsy-turvy tomato plant, with a huge hook to screw into somewhere to hang the plant.  I will ponder the best place and let you all know how it works.  Everyone I know who has tried the plants were not successful.  So we will see. 

Sushi for lunch!  Woohoo. 

Twisting winding down a decade

Hours from now I can no longer check that box that says I'm under 50.  Odd thing this aging process.  Once you feel you finally get a grasp on the world at large it begins closing in on you ever so quickly.  I am less concerned about things that used to fuss and worry me a decade ago while still aware that the machinery is over halfway done.  Biologically I am past middle age by any actuarial charts.  The odds of me living well into my 100's aren't necessarily null but I am not sure I want to keep working for another 40 years to be able to retire.  Dang I wish that was a joke.  The structures in place in America for the last of the baby boomers (which technically is my era) aren't going to last as they are now with the government borrowing heavily from the coffers saying, 'Foods around the corner' and 'May I have a hamburger today and surely I will pay you on Tuesday' or words like that. 

When I turned 40 I was living in Michigan and flew home for a party.  My mom is a paparazzi sort and has pretty much horrific pictures of all of my friends and family that goes back decades.  She took dozens of pictures and pasted them to a large poster board with the decades of my life.  I had arrived a few days prior to the party and to my utter disbelief saw a few of the shirts and dresses on the board.  Naturally that resulted in an immediate trip to the Mall (said with Cali tones and flair) and I picked up a few dresses and shirts. 

This birthday I will work on the day and Saturday a few of my friends are supposed to show up for a barbecue.  I haven't a clue how many can or will show since May is a busy month.  I've started receiving cards and gifts from far away.  Every day either the PO Box or home has something to make me smile.  This morning I got a box my sister had told me she sent.  It appears to be fifty gifts wrapped.  I've opened a dozen or so laughing the whole time.  Once I get the loot unwrapped I'll snap a picture.  They seem to be from Family Dollar or something like that.  Notepads, magnets, pencil, eraser, ruler, gardening gloves, sleep mask and a table cloth with party hats so far.  I giggled and stuck them all in the back seat to explore the rest later.  It's not about the gifts for me....truly hasn't been ever.  It's the thoughts seriously.  I have had some of the most thought provoking things given to me over the years and some of the sweetest things that I'd never have picked out on my own.  One of my favorite gals sends me sunflower items (she has seen all the sunflower pictures I took over the years) and I have a sunflower apron (somewhere???) sunflower knee pads (for gardening!) a great sunflower drawstring purse and now a sun catcher designed like a sunflower. 

So full moon tonight and a new decade begins tomorrow.  Well, that's if the world doesn't end at 5pm on May 21st like the one man predicts (is that 5pm EST????)

Odd weekend

Those of you who know me realize that is not a huge leap for my world.  But this one was particularly bizarre.  One of my new neighbors is my age and having trouble adjusting to the fact she's not a teenager much less a young woman any more.  She is the one that keeps spontaneously doing things like cruises, Eco-camping and taking off without telling anyone where she's going and when she'll be back.  Both of her boys have my phone number in case of emergency and her oldest son called me Wednesday.  He was at the ER and had been trying to contact his mom to wire some money.  She wasn't picking up her phone and he was getting worried.  I said I knew she'd taken off and had the other gal in our compound watching after her cat and plants.  Here's where it got odd.  I was pretty sure that she'd checked herself into rehab because I knew she was getting out of control and she was worried about it.  But I didn't know for a fact.  The gal watching her cat kept playing coy with "She's taking a vacation from her vacation." 

Her son was freaking out completely by Friday and getting her entire family up in Wisconsin freaked out.  I told the neighbor to call the kid and let him know she knew where his mom was.  She kept saying, "Just tell him she's fine."

I was honest and said, "I don't know that she's fine."  Another guy popped in with, "Just tell her family that she's fine."  I looked at them both like they were the village idiots and said, "I am not telling them that because I don't KNOW that.  If anything has happened to her I'd be the one the cops would be grilling."  Yeah, a few too many Law and Orders...but hey it's true.  I said, "If you know where she is tell her family because they are calling the police and filing a report."  They both laughed at me and I walked away shaking my head.

Well, I heard from her sister next who was now freaking out too.  I said, "I don't know where she is but the gal watching her place probably does.  I figure she either went down to the Keys and is out of cell range or finally checked herself into rehab."  The sister wasn't as sure so she asked for the local police info which I gave her.  By 8:30 in the morning on Saturday I was talking to the local sheriff at MY door.  Naturally the gal watching my neighbor's place was passed out and unresponsive.  I told John, the sheriff...hey wait that makes him Sheriff John...nevermind...anyways I said that I was pretty sure she was either in the Keys or rehab but had no way to confirm it and wasn't privy to the facts.  He said he'd come back later. 

There is a reason I stuck to my guns.  It's odd down here and things happen.  Heck check the newspapers locally some time.  Alligators biting on cop cars and old ladies rolling their cars into canals.  I have been on the other side of the missing person equation.  When I was 17 my sister ran away from home without telling anyone but a few close friends who lied to my parents.  The day she decided to call (two weeks later) after dealing with the police, concerned family and friends my dad had just gone to the morgue to thankfully NOT identify my sister.  I never forgot how it felt or how the entire family was changed.  To this day my older brother has little to no respect for my sister and her games.  She came back reluctantly, sullenly and somewhat damaged.

The neighbor came back in the afternoon and the sheriff caught up with her and talked with her.  Her son was grateful that I helped in the small way and said to his mom that she had to tell me when she was disappearing because the other gal played games.  That unleashed those childhood memories of how I'd felt when I discovered later how many people had helped with the lies to protect my sister while she 'escaped'.  My feelings of anger were close to the surface, my respect for the two people who kept encouraging me to lie to the cops while they knew where she was fell further.  It wasn't some casual acquaintance looking for the woman but her kids and sister - why would anyone make a game of it? 

I didn't lash out at anyone.  I swum in the pool.  Sipped wine with my friend both Saturday and Sunday - rain be damned and read to her my latest story.  It was hard letting go of the anger but necessary. 

I made a kick ass bread pudding with brandy sauce, pictures and story to follow.  Marinated skirt steak in a Merlot mixture of goodness then grilled and served with honey caramelized mushrooms, steamed asparagus, roasted Parmesan garlic potatoes and tossed salad.  I am still upset but I can't see that there was anything else that I could have done. 

More sleep!

I wake up lately too early after going to bed too late.  My own fault on the too late but the too early is a function of breathing and restless brain.  The winds shifted sometime in the middle of the night stirring up a bit more of the pollution from the Everglades fire through the house.  Coughing out my lungs is not my idea of any sort of fun.  Then I am awake and my brain saying, "Get up and put the computer on and start writing" while my body says, "Try for another half hour of sleep".  Neither get their way and I am left tossing and turning.

I knew I needed a few things for the office so I made the mistake of stopping by Walgreen's before 7am.  The zombies live!!!  It is surreal at that hour.  I am not a person who speaks in the morning.  If I can make it til 9 or 10 without exchanging any more than a "morning" or "hi" that is a good day.  The woman behind me in line wouldn't shut up about the school system and how she homeschooled her kids.  That she neglected to brush her teeth was odorously apparent and I was less than happy.  No wonder drive-through places are so popular!  Michigan had drive through stores (not just liquor 'package' stores but like 7/11 places).  There's one down the street from me but they keep getting closed for selling illegal items.  Not Wheaties with milk crowd but more the herbalicious sorts.  They are closing the pill mills locally so there is a ready market for dopes.  One of the local high school's just arrested 23 kids from a long sting operation which is much like the TV show '21 Jump Street' without Johnny Depp. 

Here's the promised sunrise and what the lizards were doing when I left home yesterday.

Burning down the Everglades

Past two mornings have been tough.  There have been fires to the West that are now being blown towards the coast causing the air to grow heavy with smoke and assorted bits of nature.  I am coughing out my lungs before I get to work even with my a/c on recirculate.  This morning I woke at 4 am because inside the house there was the scent of smoke.  Having been evacuated once for such things I know how fast it happens.  The fire is miles away and there's no discussion of it even drifting this way but growing up in Southern California with their epic fires my flee factor is hardwired.  So I drove in to work exhausted. 

Upside it's supposed to rain in next few days and they hope that'll put out the flames.  And I snapped a few pictures of sunrise this morning with the smoke making the colors vivid.  Should have those up tomorrow I hope.  Here's the back yard and wishing for more of the same.

From the local newspaper:

A lightning strike set off the fire causing the troubling air conditions on April 27 inside of Big Cypress National Preserve. It has consumed more than 35,000 acres, said Mike Johnson, National Parks Service spokesman.

Summer time sunshine

Belated Happy Mother's Day to all those with children.

I called mine at 6 pm last night since Saturday it was not good trying to talk with my folks on the road.  They went from Nevada to Colorado on hwy 70 and 76 or 76 and 70 (Mom isn't always clear) and were supposed to head up to 80 to finish the cross country trek.  Saturday they were pulling into Grand Junction CO and Dad's cell phone went bye-bye.  He left me a message later telling me to get my company to buy up cell towers in Colorado. 

At 6 pm last night I figured I'd be the last child calling in and thus at the bottom of the rung on Mom's 'list' (we all hit it one time or another).  Instead to my shock I was the first.  We chatted (okay Mom talked and I made all the right replies) and then I quickly called my older brother and sister and let them know mom was in cell range.  I figured my younger brother is usually Mom's fave so he could spend a few days on bottom of the list.  My older brother and I figure we will take turns calling to check on the folks daily so I got Sat and he supposed to call today.  This way we know they aren't broken down in Pittsburgh wondering why nobody cares.  Younger brother is supposed to be in the phone loop but his schedule is so erratic who knows when he'll get a call in to them. 

Lots of my friends had their mother's pass this year and I felt for them all.  It's never easy losing a family member but certain days cause the hole in the heart to drift a bit larger.  I did get a chance to catch up with Mom and for that I was thankful.  I do treasure the time I have had with my parents even the bittersweet.  It all makes up the family and it should be nurtured whenever possible. 

Work's already working my nerves because of IT issues.  *sigh* some things never change. 

Leapin' Lizards

I am not one to step on bugs or insects just because my path crosses theirs.  When I was about eight one of my neighbors was all upset because the boys were using magnifying glasses to torch their little plastic green men (the kind that came 50 or 100 to a bag at the 'dime store') and the ants that came to rescue the men in arms.  She declared that she was a Buddhist and that all life was sacred and she believed in reincarnation.  She went on to tell me all the tenets of her conceptualization of the religion as told to her.  That she didn't eat meat because it could possibly have been one of her family members.  Then she wanted to know what I was doing about it.

Okay, I was EIGHT.  The concepts were a bit over developed for me back then but I remember asking her if that meant she didn't eat plants either.  I got that she wasn't going to eat meat because it was an animal - ancestors or not -  but I was always into the plants and much more than animals.  I grew my radishes, peas, beans and tomatoes with my dad's help in the yard for as long as I could remember.  I had thought plants were pretty smart knowing which direction was up and how they died if inside the house (my mom is noted for a black thumb and she's even killed air ferns).  I, to this day, do not know who left that conversation more confused but it was the beginning of my awareness of other things outside my skin.  I don't remember the little girl's name.  I do remember she never played with any of us on the street so I kind of figured her family didn't stay in the area long (very transitional multi-cultural neighborhood not for everybody).

This morning on my way into my office building I saw an earthworm making its way across the sidewalk with a fine crust of dark dirt on its skin.  Not having a garden I didn't pick it up to repurpose it but walked around bemused.  Then I badged into my building and something fell from the sky right in front of my face. A small lizard had been on the top of the door and when I opened it the creature jumped.  I watched the reptile shake its small noggin and scurry away as only lizards can.  I flashed back to my childhood and wondered if that had been that little girl's creepy uncle or something. 

Still have a nightmare hangover.  That's what I call waking up still suspended between the dreams/nightmares and the reality of the day.  I had been watching an epic about a hurricane heading for me and trying to figure out why it was going far faster than predicted.  In my dream I saw the weather channel perfectly and the map with a large out of control map of red and danger.  It had been raining when I fell to sleep so that added into the mix.  I woke at 3 am thinking it was Saturday morning but then came to the dull conclusion I was mistaken since I couldn't recall anything about Friday.  I went back to sleep to keep on with the hurricane dream.  Is it something coming or a way I am seeing how life is speeding up?  As another birthday edges me into a new age bracket I do wonder.

Rant Delayed due to Rain

So I was mentally scripting a long rant about the drought conditions and how horrible it has been for the state.  I had some facts from a few weather geek articles and was planning on coming in this morning and posting away.  I got out of my car at work to a fine mist that worked its way towards a decent rain.  It's been raining on and off for the last 4 hours.  Thus Delay of Rant due to Rain. 

The bougainvillea flowers are so crisp and pretty but not very hearty.  The bushes were in bloom for the past few weeks but the rain last Friday took them all off.  I did get a picture snapped before the deluge.

Carved out an hour last night to write and have another one scheduled tonight.  My brother sent my belated Christmas early birthday gift yesterday.  I was happily surprised by the stuff included with a little check for fun (the rules are birthday money is to be spent on wants not needs).  I got fuzzy dice obviously picked by my niece (vaguely colorful ones not the black and white), a bright yellow (wincing here) t-shirt from Encinitas Surfboards where brother used to make surfboards a few decades ago and still has a cadre of chums who let him play with boards now and then.  Best of all was the inclusion of a car sticker from Disneyland.  If I put on my car I'll snap a picture.

Sunny morning

Well I took some sunrise shots I wasn't crazy about.  There wasn't enough pollution in the air I guess.  That said I took a picture of a tree outside work.  Banyan Tree if I am not mistaken.  Either way it's that swamp sort of tree you see in creepy movies.  Thus a natural for me.

Fire hazard is still high in the area due to the unseasonably hot temps and the fact it hasn't been raining enough.  Last Friday it rained tons but that doesn't make up for the missing rainfall.  It does cut down on the humidity and raises mosquitoes like it's the state bird. 

Yesterday I wrote but didn't get time to put into computer.  I need to carve a few hours out in the next few days.  I may take off early today or tomorrow and concentrate on editing and writing.  That said, I can hear God laughing at my making plans.  I need to cause my muse is hungry (thus my nightmares are pretty much from the second I fall asleep until I wake up not sure where I am). 

Trying to help a friend get into a drug treatment program down here.  In California I had tons of connections and my old company had clinics all over but here I only have a few old connections and they haven't returned any calls yet.  My friend was injured horrifically on a job years ago (laminating machine and his right arm) and the downside of all the operations and learning to use his arm again was painkiller addition which migrated to heroin.  He is one of my Lost Boys.  A talented musician still with the rebuilt arm and all.  His mom is dying of cancer and he home cares for her so I really am pushing to get him into a program so she doesn't have to bury him.  Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

May Child

I always have liked May.  No matter where I was living.  Spring was out in Nevada, Michigan, California and Florida at some point.  Granted in two out of four of those places I also got snowed on during May but I digress.  Weather is making the news in equal measure as politics and the price of everything.  Mammoth Mountains had record snow fall I was told by my older brother who wasn't happy that he didn't have a ski pass this year.  The twisters that ripped through the mid-west have forced my dad to revise his travel from SoCal to New Hampshire.  He's heading north and along the snow path rather than the tornado zone.  My sister hopes to have her house habitable by then.  The water damage that happened Good Friday caused her to go to the hotel instead of serving her Easter Ham in her house.  She doesn't have a kitchen yet either.  I guess brother-in-law is on forced diet.  No medical mishaps this week but the week is young.  She's had a year that's for sure. 

I wanted to pop in the pool when I got home last night but one thing led to another and it was after dark before I even put a toe in.  Tonight doesn't look any better since I have a list of 'to do' stuff. 

I didn't get to write as much yesterday as I wanted.  My story "Good Morning" is pushing into my head far more than my story "The Building" yet both are winding their way in and out of my dreams.  I used real locations I've visited or lived for both story lines so that has something to do with the dreamscapes.  Okay, those who know me...nightmares.

Just talked with coworker about "The Other" which she had confused with "The Others".  Movie buffs probably recall the 1972 creepy story penned by the actor-slash-writer Tom Tyron.  Set in the 1930's it is a haunting tale of twins that stays with you long after you put down the book or the movie fades.  "The Others" which my coworker knew about is 2001 tale with Nicole Kidman and set in WWII with boys that can't be in light.  Spooky from the write up but I've not seen it.  Never been that great of a Nicole Kidman fan.  I like watching creepy movies during dark evenings.  Go figure.

Finally it seems all to be working

Yes, it only takes a minor village to get my wifi and computer linked along with the printer.  Which now needs a new ink cartridge I think.

Good weekend but I didn't do much in the grand scheme of things.  A few folks around and all but in all good.

Nothing much in my brain but getting my flickr account loaded with nearly a year of pictures.