Holiday colors

I liked the box of huge bulbs for the tree setting up in the Cove.  The one little white-silvery one caught my eye and camera.

Found the holiday party outfit in ten minutes, shoes ten minutes later and a purse.  Then today I got the necklace to go with it and hair accessories - I know it will probably be hot next weekend and my hair never stays pretty with severe heat so I plotted ahead of time. 

Still haven't started writing yet - maybe later this week. 

NaNo in the past

It helps when you skip sleep to finish up NaNoWriMo.  Naturally I want to polish up a few more chapters or twelve.  But today I am resisting and going shopping for the company party next weekend.  I am not a fan of spending money on clothing just for one event.  Go figure. 

Hope to get down to the beach today and enjoy a bit of the sunshine.

Farmers Market

Walking around the local farmers market I enjoyed the sunshine and the stuff folks sold.  Not only do they hawk things but they also have a massage person, some crazy person selling wind chimes on a windy day (ouch) along with samples of treats tempting us to buy.

The grapes looked nummy but not for nearly five bucks a pound.

I am thinking about picking up the airferns or other things like orchids then I remember the wind chimes and can't think of a single place to put them without risking damage!

I am writing in spurts but not as much as I would like.  That said I do enjoy the twists and turns my tale is taking so I won't curse it.  Thanksgiving a week away.  Sheesh!

Pier - Age

Had lunch at beach and snapped shot of the damaged pier.  The left side as you can see has a sudden 'oops' drop off.

Thankful for lovely weather and gorgeous scenery that I took some more snaps.  Even at farmers market (basically outdoor flea market to some extent but with homemade crafts and suchlike no stolen stuff).  I loved the crisp evenings but was growling when rain greeted me early in the morning.

One full week of work ahead then a three day work week next week!

Reminders of Sandy

There used to be a lovely rail that fishermen leaned against while dropping their lines.  As you can see on the left side of the pier tis gone.

Brisk this morning on my walk - 57 degrees but it was mid 60s when I took this shot at lunch.  The water has brilliant shades of blue that aren't as clear in this shot.  But my grilled chicken had arrived and I didn't want it to get cold.

Back to NaNo.  Cleared 13K so I'm behind in my word count.  Sigh.

NaNo and away.....

I cleared 10K last night after deciding I couldn't go to sleep with my Brazilian neighbors having an impromptu party that was extremely lively.  I had no desire to go to bed hung over either so I kept away from them - sweet people but no concept of anyone having 'normal' hours.  I think they were even in the pool and it was like 55 degrees last week...sooooo.....brrrr.

Taking Friday off to write and not obsess about work and my supposed position raise and all that which keeps getting shoved back.  Not to say I am not working like a maniac.  My stories will tell - enough said.  I doubt I'll be paddle boarding this Friday since a Nor'Eastern (however that's typed) is coming now and dropping temps mean all the locals are running for their boots and furs (yes laugh...66 degree weather and you'd think it was 10 below zero here).  I still get 'looks' when walking in my flip flops, shorts and tank tops.  Oh, well.  Its not like Michigan where is was 20 degrees and I was wearing the same stuff while bbqing in the yard.  There at least the looks made sense. 

Aftermath of Halloween

I probably haven't had a Tootsie pop in a few decades.  So when all the Halloween candy was dumped by parents around the office I saw one and figured why not?  They are still as addictive as when I was a kid.  Can't resist sucking then crunching the last bits.  I never saw the point in sucking on the 'meat' of the tootsie pop because it is chewy! 

That was fun. 

NaNo is still fun.  I clocked over 2K in words last night and am still roaring to go.  Just need to carve out time in my life.  So I am using one of my vacation days for next Friday in case I am not up to my word count goals.  I am not worried at this point because my muse is starving for action.  Pretty things to pull me into writing. 

Cusp of NaNo

I caught up with all my fellow bloggers posts here and it dawned on me I hadn't blogged in a bit.  I've posted pictures places and I've written a bit but haven't actually blogged.  This past month was a blink of time for me.  I feel like I just finished month end reports for September and here I was back doing them today.  I got to catch the edge of Sandy with a free day off work on Friday because of wind and schools.  Winds were going to be gust upwards 35 - 45 miles per hour so public transit shuts down mostly and the school closed in our area so we got a free day off.

Ah, the sweet temptation of money had most of my co-workers slinking in on Friday despite the paid day off.  How did this happen?  Well, Thursday we were officially closing at 11 am because of hurricane prep and early release of all the schools in our area.  Before 10 am had even rolled around came the whispers of something 'offered'.  Here it was - those of us who stayed the full 8 hour day would be given 4 extra hours as incentive to stay.  And *gasp* if you could safely wander in on Friday you could get an addition 8 hours!!

I'd already clocked 37 hours by the time I left Thursday and wouldn't be getting overtime because that was not how the ball was going to bounce so Friday morning I said, "Hello no" and stayed home so I could catch up on life basics.  Of which carving my pumpkin was one such 'basic'.

Happy Halloween!

Size matters?

These leaves are bigger than my whole face.  I am used to the cute little plant growing in a vase of water with roots and yellow streaked green decorating desktops and offices.  These things grow like they're fed Miracle Grow from Mars.  Liked the shadows and green mixed with fence line decaying beneath the foliage. 

Oddly October

It's been a very odd October already.  Technology is not my friend currently and I've crashed work programs right and left through no fault of mine.  Have been 'locked out' of my system 3 times in the past hour and half.  And it's only the 3rd!

Weird things with the full moon and the locals. I'll try to elaborate later.  Basically so bizarre I already booked Friday off as a vacation day by 10 am on Monday.  Little did I know how much I'd need it. 

I'll catch up with everyones blogs later.  Just if a giant mass of metal tears free from one of the many planes in the area and hurls towards earth know that I am probably under it or snapping pictures.  Nightmares of epic proportions last night and the night before - eerie odd.  Still can't shake the nightmare hangover.

Night Fading

As sun sets I tend to snap pictures.  The dance of light and shadows has always fascinated me.  This weekend had much in the way of 'real' weather and quite a bit of rain.  Rainbows and thunder clouds.  All catching my eye.

Went with a friend to hear a band up north a bit.  She didn't want to drive by herself and had been assured we'd have reserved seats.  Many decades ago I used to sing in bands and we called what we did "cover band" - which means we covered other songs done by some famous folks.  Now they call these bands "tribute bands" and they do the same thing but get more money at the door.  The band was good.  They did spot on Eagles.  Weirdly was the crowd.  Many men well into their 50s and 60s with 'dates' around 25 tops.  Some dang near had price tags on their tightly clad bods.  As the drinks flowed the woman were more touchie-feelie with the older men.  That or they were slipped a stray hundred. 

The promised table didn't happen which worked out better because the band was pretty loud.  We sat back at the bar and watched.  There wasn't really a dance floor but as the evening wore on more of the crowd spun around and jiggled on the thighs of their dates (a sort of 'pole' dancing if you get my drift). Was amusing. 

Yesterday talking to my folks my mom said her best friend (who is 90 years old) was fading.  Her heart is operating at half normal and her lungs simply aren't working well.  She's at a home with her equally failing husband and they both have hospice care coming in.  My mom is naturally upset. 

And so begins the week. 

Tis the Edge of the world as I know it

It was an intensely deeply layered storm with lightning crackling in between the layers.  I have a few better pictures but didn't get chance to upload them.

For all the clouds and thunder with lightning I was surprised that there wasn't much rain for my area.  See the streets are dry!  Impressive anyways.

Work is work like.  I need more three day weekends while getting paid for working a full week!

Suddenly September

The sun was rising and banked light on the clouds drifting inland.  I found it oddly spooky.  I think because it reminds me of fire and smoke. 

September is here and now that the holiday has passed there aren't any 'real' days off barring a hurricane or vacation day burned until November and the Thanksgiving four days off.  I already have my notion for the next book in my series currently running "The Pursuit" which is a bit of a spoiler title if you are currently following the work in Pikers.  But that more than likely will be my NaNoWriMo tale.  Then I can coast...ha...I amuse myself.  I am really not one to stop writing for very long.  Well except when it is over 90 degrees inside the house and a hundred out.  Heat and writing do not mix for me. 

Relatively quiet weekend for me personally.  One of my friends had too much drama.  Some of it was self-deluded sort of nonsense that shouldn't happen once you are over the age of 15 - but then I never was very good at being a 'girly girl' type.  If someone is making you unhappy LEAVE.  Don't allow your self to be dragged back time and time again.  That old expression "first time shame on you...second time shame on me" does apply.  A poorly delivered bad/good excuse once is part of learning curve.  A repeat means get off the road.  I never was one to work myself up over and over again.  Also, driving by an ex-partner's home or their ex's home is wrong.  My aunt - who I love madly - has been one of those women.  She doesn't trust her man or herself on choices and she'll drive miles off her beaten path to just see 'if' they are somewhere they shouldn't be.  "Drive by" tune from the band Train......

So we'll see how the rest of the week shapes up.

Updates and curiosities

Okay, let's see last we left chez Lydia it was roasting, cable-less and storm heading for doors....right?  Or maybe I forgot to blog it all.  That said here's the run down:

Wednesday Aug 22nd came home and a/c had died.  The landlord promised to have it fixed by Friday.  I was understanding that to be Friday the 24th...silly me.  After horrific nights of nearly no sleep and little relief I finally came home last night and it was 80 not 85 inside the house.  By morning it was 75!! Woohoo livable. 

Sunday Aug 26th as the tropical storm Isaac approached the cable decided to die right before the 8 am update.  Thankfully my Internet was up so I was able to check in the Weather Channel for news.  I found out in the middle of the night that my 'smart phone' had a feature that gave horribly loud alerts letting me know of weather problems.  Damn near gave me a heart attack when it went off.  But it did let me know that tornado warning in my area along with flooding and severe weather.  And mid o'dark the fire station had another alarm going off for everyone to panic.

I already knew the weather.  What with the lightning illuminating the entire sky at the same time as the thunder boomed out.  I found out yesterday that one of my friend's house was struck by lightning.  Fried the power in his home and his 50 inch TV.  His daughter a teenage was NOT happy nor was his girlfriend.  He just shrugged and drank beer for three days in the heat. 

Cable is free in my place because of an association thing. Eventually they came out after missing two appointment times.  They sweetly offered a $50 rebate and I kinda bit off their head saying that doesn't mean anything to me.  The guy showed up Wednesday and fixed it.   He also pulled the power lines up from where they were hanging and fixed them higher.  Another little bit of chaos from storm was the swaying of the lines tore free from roof line and the power company doesn't want to fix.  They claim it is landlords responsibility because the power pole is in the backyard common area. 

Monday was nearly at work when the emergency hot line finally said we had day off.  I'd been calling it on and off since 6.  I didn't see anyway they would have us work with all the flooding and storm damage.  So I naturally went back home and still no a/c but got to meet some poor dude who was stuck telling my landlord the cost (that was the 2nd one I met ...I don't know how many quotes he got til he caved).

Happy news on Wednesday one of the gals that was temp to perm was let go.  She was NOT a nice person so that was very good news.  One of my co-workers actually jumped in the air and clicked her feet together (she turns 60 in Dec and it was a sight!) for joy.  Not a single tear shed.  Karma is a bitch and so am I but I actually hadn't said a word about her to anyone higher up because I didn't think it was my place as she didn't do much for me.  The one time she tried to get nasty with me I gave her a lovely searing glance and she kind of sucked up to me ever after...funny that 'evil eye' works.

Yesterday early morning walk before dawn break I got to watch a bat collecting bugs overhead.  I cheered that as good omen cause mosquitoes carry stuff.  Then oddly on the way home I witnessed a man getting 'serviced' near as I could figure on the sidewalk by a ...can't say what but rhymes with slut...oh wait...that's it...on her knees between his thighs with head bobbing. During rush hour.  Okay bats to blow....jobs?  Is that crazy or what?

So that pretty much brings the basics up to date.  How you all doing?

Tropical Storm Isaac moved on

Poor Louisiana folks.  They didn't get the nasty back side of the tropical storm Isaac like we did here but instead it decided to become a baby hurricane (category one as of 6 am).  That means sustained winds of over 70 miles per hour. 

Okay, here's a little perspective on that sort of wind, as a kid my dad firmly believed in the old 4 window a/c.  Drove the car fast on the way to Las Vegas (family out there) with windows down and me clinging to the back of his headrest watching the speedometer spin higher. 

The road from Los Angeles to Las Vegas back in the day used to be an epic ride.  Long stretches of nothingness with rolling roadway.  There were exciting dips and places where those Detroit steel monster cars actually 'caught air'.  No seat belt laws and mom puffing away on her menthol cigarettes trying to put her foot through the floorboard in front of her looking for a brake pedal.  Cut to the flora and fauna in the desert.  There is dry brush that become 'tumble weeds' that us kids were supposed to watch out for.  Not because we couldn't entertain ourselves but because they scraped the paint job and mom would get a tad upset when dad swerved to avoid one.  There were tons of bugs.  The windshield was a vast graveyard of wings and legs and assorted colorful spatters.  Also Monarch Butterflies.  Enter my experience with massive sustained winds.  When driving well over the posted speed limit and the windows all down there was definitely a sustained wind of at least 70 miles per hour.  You have any idea what it feels like when a Monarch Butterfly hits your cheek bone?  Not good.  I was bruised for a while and never got a motorcycle just for that reason.  My cheek was the windshield and that butterfly didn't finish its journey.

Cut back to Louisiana.  Now imagine all that sort of wind blowing for three to four hours with driving rains and flora and fauna airborne!  The only upside is we need rain in middle America.  I hope everyone is doing well with the latest weather path!

Zzzzzzzzzz

Beyond exhausted today.  My air conditioning system decided to go butter side down while I was at work yesterday.  The landlord is 'working on it'.  As of now no go. It was 86 degrees in house last night.  Fans and open windows don't do spit when it's in the 80s outside.  *shudders* and so if the hurricane does hit I will not be a happy camper.  Tonight if it's not fixed I may ask ever so sweetly (see fangs) that the landlord put me up in a hotel as required.  We will see. 

Yes I know

Wicked weather heading this way.  I consider it research for my current episodes of The Complex.  My vampire is in middle of hurricane.  I always think it is helpful to experience what I can of my characters issues.  Given I am not tapping a vein any time soon I'll go with blustery weather.

*hangs head and grins slightly knowing how wrong this is*

Isaac ...not just an employee on the "Love Boat"...but exciting and new.....

Another shot

I was trying to add this picture this morning because it is deep and dark in all the right spots.

Warm and stormy

This was the beginning of last night's storm.  Last three or four evenings have been electrifying so to speak.  I was sitting out back with my friend Suzanne and the clouds were rolling around the area on Saturday.  A few stray rain drops and we were still enjoying the pool and the sun.  Then in the distance over the ocean we saw a huge lightning bolt go from approximately the height of these clouds pictured above and hit the ocean.  Figuring if we could see the storm the lightning could certainly find us next to the large body of water and the tall telephone pole in the corner of the yard we headed inside. 

First day of school around here so the highways were fairly deserted but the McDonalds full as moms ready their kids to fall asleep in school. 

The Heat is On

With the warm waters off shore and the blazing days of August the evenings aren't dropping below 80 degrees at night.  It means I take many walks to feed the local state bird (mosquito naturally) and hope to get a cooling breeze to break up the sweat.  The sky gets my attention all the time because of the layers of clouds and different types of clouds.  I tried to snap a picture of dog shaped clouds on way into work this morning but haven't uploaded them yet to see how they turned out.

I did get some more words in yesterday.  I want to write all weekend and am hoping for some weather to keep the visitors down.  It never seems to work that way.  The weekends that are supposed to be rained out end up gorgeous and I have friends visiting and enjoy the pool.  The weekends I have predictions of zero chance of rain end up being gully washers (old western movies talked about them when the rains would slosh down the sides of the sandstone canyons and cause the 'crick' to rise and threaten the town).

*crosses fingers for rain*

Middle of August already???

This time flying stuff is really getting pretty ridiculous.  I mean wasn't I just whining about it being June or something?  I've been writing in smatterings but definitely not enough to keep the vampires and werewolves at bay.  The nightmare landscape has gone supernova and I know that means I need to write more.  It just seems like there keeps being real life obstacles that are time consuming at best and horrific on average.  The ripples are still bouncing out from my Director's passing.  He'd kept far more in secret than the higher ups ever knew.  My new departmental supervisor simply rubber stamps her emails right to me to handle.  At times I can but other times way above my pay grade.  The result is come lunch time - the hour I usually get to empty my mind and write - I am growling in all the wrong places.

My folks naturally want me to find a job out their way again.  That doesn't make psycho ex disappear so I don't see myself opening that door up any time soon.  My uncle's death hit my mom pretty hard even though he'd had been mentally gone for so long.  Alzheimer's is not a glamorous death on any level.  It robs a family of a loved one long before the body gives out.  My dad did dig up a lot of pictures and the cousins used them in the memories of my uncle.  I pointed out to my dad that the heatwave out their way was worse than here because here there is a/c and no power outtages. 

Well time to work.  Hope you all have a great day.

August hot and steamy

It poured rain on and off today.  More expected this evening with thunderstorms.  Naturally I want to get pictures of the lightning but at the same time I have a healthy respect for electricity. 

Not writing nearly enough.  My tale is eating into my brain and my nightmares have definitely taken on a bizzaro-land turn or three.  One where I watched from the sidelines as an evil woman slipped her body into a tub of what seemed to be water in order to escape the consequences of something (sort of like a Criminal Minds episode feeling) and the male cop figure reached down into the liquid to grasp her as her face begins to slough off and her skin melts away while she is gargling and cackling pulling him into the apparent acid.  I said something in the dream like, "Why wasn't she screaming in pain?"

Then I snap away with bad leg cramp.  Yeah, I drank water immediately. 

Another twist and turn has a creature from the pond near my work coming up from the water wanting to snack on me.  And NOT in a good way.

If it really does rain like promise all weekend I need to get more words out. 

Dog days of summer

Sadly I didn't get a shot of the clouds yesterday morning.  They literally looked like two dog heads with their noses touching.  Heralding the 'Dog days of summer' I figure.  High 90s with 'feels like' 104 temperatures.  Thank goodness I work in a building with a/c and have a/c at home.  That truly is appreciated.  Storms roll in every afternoon and early evening.  Some drop tremendous amounts of water while others just menace and dance with electricity.  Last night's offering had a prism on the top with a rainbow like appearance.  Twas cool.  Then the layered sunset an hour later. 

It's supposed to rain all weekend as the corner of a tropical depression forms.  I hope so.  I need the writing time!

Crazy end to July

The funeral was horrifying.  After taps played and ten minutes of sobs while the flag was presented to the wife it began. My CFO spoke, the wife of 30 years sobbed her way through her eulogy and then there was a family friend reading a heartbreaking letter his brother sent and crying with heart thick sobs.  Needless to say the 18 year old son got up and tried to keep from crying while saying good things about his dad.  Last call brought up my boss' brother who had no canned talk but raw emotions.  That was all done in 45 minutes inside a packed room with my boss' remains - or cremains I gather since I doubt they had an ice bucket up front - then we left. 

Cut to Saturday.  It was really hot but I still worked my way through some yard work and laundry.  Well, until the fire started at a nearby and made a hell of a mess.

From there it only got worse.

And at the end there were tons of firemen running around trying to prevent it from spreading.

If you look closely you can see the firemen on the outside hammering on doors.

In the end there was sadly one perished homeowner and a few injured firemen.

The sunset was haunting that night.

Weird how it looked like the fire in an oddly lit way.
July definitely wasn't the usual humid storm riddled mess but instead something more horrific.  At times it is overwhelming how many things have happened lately.  But still I go on.  Hug those you love.

Friday with a twist

The Sahara Dust is still blowing across the Atlantic shading the skies with an amber glow that at time appears surreal and other times spooky. 

As some of you may have heard/read life has been challenging lately for me in the health news of friends and family.  My Uncle passed away and his memorial ceremony will be August 11th.  I won't have time to fly back for it due to time and finances but I did get to catch up with my cousin last weekend so we had some fun moments.  When my plane landed in Monday I had a voicemail from my lead asking me to call her at work, home or on her cell as soon as I could.  She added the kicker, 'Its not about you'.  I took that to mean someone was fired or quit over filling my job for a mere three working days (it has happened before).  Instead I was informed that our department Director died.

He was only 54 years old.  Granted he'd been looking gray lately but that wasn't unusual given the stress level of the job.  He and I have been working on all the new acquisitions around the country and getting along better than we had.  He was finally getting to appreciate my work ethic and how I was organized.  He'd seek me out in my cube farm and ask questions.  That wasn't his usual manner but historically he'd call my supervisor and pass on whatever he wanted to say.  He also was the only one that knew what was coming up.  I still haven't a clue.  His funeral is today.  We are all pretty much expected to go and it's a political move since our CFO will be giving one of the eulogies. 

While I was gone one of my friends who lives here had a heart attack and was operated on and had a triple by-pass.  He used to be a football player I knew from college.  He is alive but there is concern about his general well being.  He just finished winning a lawsuit from a local chain store that accosted him and accused him of stealing meat.  They roughed him up and half stripped him in public to discover he had a large tumor.  That he is also African American added into the profiling and the verbal and physical abuse.  I think he may have 'celebrated' his financial win a little too much and pushed his heart into overdrive. 

My cousin's husband who 'beat' leukemia twelve years ago now has something in his lymph nodes which doesn't look good.  Found that out at the luau last weekend.  She said he's undergoing more tests but they aren't overly hopeful.

So all this is why I haven't been posting much.  One good thing was a got a nice shot of clouds from the plane without any power lines (another complaint from a different cousin)

Dates and Times

A couple dozen or so years ago on this date I was once walking down the aisle in a handmade silk wedding dress.  The day before it had poured rain and I remember my white satin high heels getting stuck in the lawn when I went to the champagne tower my dad had constructed for me and my groom.  In the background a small band played whimsical music with nearly a medieval sound - the poor musicians were dressed in satin and plush felt costumes like Ren-Faire people.  I got lightly sunburnt even through the mesh and lace top on my dress because it was brilliantly hot and sunny.  There were sad bits during the day - the passing of a dear friend was told to me half way through the reception and I burst out in tears because I hadn't realized she was that sick.  More than a few of my friends ended up drunk and passed out under trees in the yard.  I thought I was all grown up and ready to face a new chapter of my life. 

Funny what one thinks.

I find myself looking back to the younger me at times and wanting to scream warnings.  Other times I laugh at my arrogance and stupidity.  Memories of the joys and the heartbreak entwine during my self-absorbed analysis of bits and pieces of life.

Life has a funny way of doing what it wants regardless of my stray wishes. 

Sorrowful weekend

My family had the passing of one of my absolute favorite folks.  My Uncle Pete who has had Alzheimers for the past decade broke his hip six or seven weeks ago and was healing okay up until two weeks ago.  Then he had some digestive issues and stopped eating.  From there it was just time ticking until he stopped.  He went through the Korean war.  During which he'd been talked into the 'intelligence' side of the war and was captured and tortured.  Healing for him took him out to the Anzo-Borrego Desert for a number of years.  He was my mom's friend from the time she was 18 or 19...hence "uncle" in name and heart not blood.  He carried me home from the hospital and nicknamed me Lady.  I was called that for years.  When my older brother and I were young my mom would want to escape the Los Angeles grind and her two smaller children.  We'd drive out to the desert and visit Uncle Pete. 

Years later I found out he was suffering some traumas from the war and we kids pulled him home.  He used to walk us towards the mountains in the early morning hours and we never made it (the desert is huge and the mountains always looked much closer than they were).  Took us up to Palm Springs to play in the snow...in the summer.  I remember riding in the gondola as it went up and loving it.  I was maybe five or six years old.  Always felt safe with him.  He married my mom's best friend further cementing the links.

In high school I was offered jobs from careers with alphabets for names (think about it) and he told me he'd block any and all attempts for me to head into those jobs.  He did.  Thus a writer was born.  Still he would talk to my older brother and I about slices of his life - stuff most folks don't share.  Both my older brother and I were offered more jobs in those alphabet fields and he wanted us to know the real versus the made-for-TV special.  We both skipped it but still ended up in jobs at time where we had to have clearances.  To this day I wonder how the officials handled our background checks. 

He will be always missed and always in my heart.

Crazy Lazy Dayz

Time folds in on itself without any interference from me. Working with specific time frames intensify the effect.  I can't believe it's nearly half way through July.  I could've sworn it was just November and I was doing NaNoWriMo. 

Haven't blogged much lately because the crazy part is how much work I am doing.  I am the 'face' of an entire new purchase of towers in April.  I am the 'go to' person who hasn't got a clue at times where I am heading.  Because of this I tend to hit the ground sputtering and printing out explanations.  'No, we really don't need to charge back $12,000 to the old company because the bank bounced stuff - it will screw up the works.' Said nicely and naively as if I am hesitant because I'm talking with one of the main directors five levels above my pay grade.  I go back to consult him on something a bit later and he parrots back what I told him as if it was his 'thought'.  Such is the life of the busy little drone bees. 

The lazy part has been my weekends.  Since my laptop still isn't fixed I am getting out and swimming and reading in the sunny afternoons.  Mornings usually are the laundry/shopping/general mucking around the house stuff but by one or two a few of my friends have been showing up with appetizers, bottles of wine and tales.  Some I read to them and others they are telling me about the latest bits of their lives.  The summer is half over and I am amazed at how it detoured completely off the track.

Still catching up with my writing schedule.  Not having my laptop at home is making me structure my writing time more than I am used to but I have had some fun ideas I've been working into The Complex. 

Eve of memories

For me certain holidays have memories that I never erase.  They become layered over time with newer images and thoughts like a double exposed piece of film.  Back when I used a dark room with family and friends I became somewhat fixated on the process of deliberately double exposing a piece of films to cause specific effects.  The ghostly images of people crossed with scenery or stark emptiness colored in various shades of gray captured my mind. 

That is how my thoughts are near holidays.  Driving through the desert on the way to Reno with my family and in the distance all the fireworks.  We drove into towns that littered the way that were completely deserted as if the occupants had all be snatched up.  The music in the distance wherever the town was gave off a feeling that everyone had gone.  Those images forever haunting the holiday for me.  The writer mind already spinning the magical thought, "What if...."

Massive firework display in the sky overhead while a band played fusion jazz on the stage.  My friend and I wandering amidst the scattered picnic blankets and people quaffing wine while softly talking.  The back drop of the ocean and the wind picking up the scents of briny deep mingling with coconut oil, clove cigarettes and Taboo perfume.  Then the heavier percussion of the fireworks as the wind shifted and the scent of burning.  A misfire by the pyrotechnic 'experts' and suddenly the lovely evening was interrupted with screams and hysteria as it began literally raining fire.  My heart racing as my friend and tried to make it back to her car while avoiding stampeding people and bits of red embers. 

Sitting on the edge of a canyon overlooking the fairgrounds in pitch black.  Swatting lazily at mosquitoes that nibbled at me.  The aroma of Off that wasn't working along with the local chaparral odor.  A thick scent of pine, manzanita and odd bits and pieces of brush that drifted up from the canyon floor.  Sitting on the sandstone cliff with my feet hanging off into the nothingness that was below.  Bursting lights a mile or so away at eye level.  A brush of a hand over mine - a friend?  An unknown male trying to catch my attention while I gazed with flutters in my stomach wondering who was he?  Did he live here?  Yet, I was too shy to talk and just took the casual hand trailing gently down my arm in the dark. 

Walking over to a friend's house and going up nearly to the top of the building to watch the pier light up with bursts of light.  Oohing and ahhing in time laughing while the sky is lit up with red, blue and purple always ending with the traditional red, white and blue no matter how long the show lasts.  Seeing the boats in the water of the Atlantic having an ocean view of the display.  Knowing now one of the faces in the crowd I used to share the balcony with is no longer alive.

So goes the layering of my memories of the 4th.

Half a year gone

Working like I do I am constantly keeping track of time.  Due dates, processes that have to be done with specific time frames and such like. But still every now and then I look at the actual date and go "whoa!"

My company expanded again.  I don't know yet what that will mean to my job since every time we expand my job is redefined.  Oh well.

Supposed to be nicely warm (understatement fracken hot is actually what I heard) this weekend.  Sunny days ahead.

Debby on the move

I doubt Debby is going to do 'Deerfield' as my sister-in-law and brother took great pleasure in messaging me.  The skies are gray and filled with bothersome ugly clouds that do nothing to drop the air temperature but rather increase the mosquito population and the dripping humidity.  June Gloom is a West Coast phenomena while here it just gets 'mucky' for the lack of a better word.  But see here everything is air conditioned.  The much lauded Pacific Coast breeze is the only A/C I had most of my life and when the winds weren't blowing it was hot.  I appreciate the A/C and don't whine too much when the power bill shows up. 

Work has been hectic because of my company's growing pains.  We've gone from a medium sized company a few years ago to a rapidly growing company.  In the past year we've outgrown the three story building and taken over space in one building next door and later this summer the one across the street.  That's some serious growth when you consider over half the cubes in my cube farm were empty two years ago.  They had our division meeting last Friday and unbeknownst to me I got my 'one year' plaque.  Note I started working here July of 2010.  You do the math. 

I have been writing in the early morning hours and during lunches lately because my vampires are hungry.  With all the work changes and 'growth' there's been a bit of pressure (anyone who knows me realizes I understate rather severely at times).  The directors don't want any overtime but still we are expected to get it all done.  We do but it means we work way too quickly at times.  My team is pretty cool.  We've ironed out the kinks and support each other.  To me that's the best part of my job.  But the tensions of the time constraints means my writing keeps me sane.  Okay relatively sane...why lie?

It's funny how I tend to write under pressure to release the pressure of work.  Writing gives me a kick and lifts my spirit.  Even while my vampires are tearing out throats and pinning vampires up against the mats.  No they aren't suddenly doing the WWF but at times I wonder if I should toss one of my vampires into the ring. 

Hope you all are well.

Day breaking

The one thing this side of the globe has going for it besides no state income tax is that we don't get a marine layer like the West Coast.  Not much fog unless I'm around the golf courses (for some reason they seem to get more than swamp lands at time - I'd hazard a guess overwatering?).

Still working too much and not writing enough.  The laptop still isn't fixed but I haven't been actively trying to fix it.  After dumping nearly a grand into new tires I don't need to get 'bad news' and have to start saving for new puter - denial is such a lovely riverside walk.  May be out west in a few weeks.  I will see if that spins on course this weekend. 

Growl

I am taking mental health day tomorrow.  It's been a brutal week and I figure this may be my last chance for a while to get away.  So naturally my laptop did the blue screen of death last night.  I need to now spend time fixing THAT.  *growl*

Oh 83 at 6:30 am and probably hitting 90 by night.  Even air conditioning doesn't cut through the humidity some days. 

Weather geeks unite

Not that it'll do anything.  Most of you who read my vamp tales have realized by now I don't have much use for the weather 'forecasters'.  Bob Dale, since passed, used to get up in front of the weather map in his bow ties and tell what could happen.  What he also used to say was don't take his word for it but stick your head out the window and look before you left for work.  He didn't take himself too seriously.  Yet, he was informative.  Unlike the weather bimbos and himbos currently littering the airwaves (cable waves?). 

First off it seems necessary to be newly engaged and sporting a hunk of 'ice' at least 3 karats (who doesn't right?), second the gals have wardrobes straight off South Beach evening attire, third a lovely tan and finally the ability to giggle or cry on demand.  As for the ability to comprehend anything other than cue cards I am not so sure that's a job requirement.  In fact, I think they lose 'Barbie Doll Points' if they are able to do much more than that.  I've surfed the local channels and end up going to the weather channel on the eights or running amok on the Internet looking for satellite images and current charts. 

And no I'll admit that most of the Californian weather folks weren't any better on predicting patterns other than telling surfers to stay out of the ocean after rain fall - something they NEVER do here.  I guess Floridians don't get sick from toxic sludge run off and contamination.  Or it's their way of thinning the herd so they can pretend like those two foot waves are 'huge'.  I still snicker when I watch my neighbors run for the beach with their boards. 

Tomorrow is the official start of the 'hurricane season' and three weeks ago was the official start of the 'raining season'.  The news folks can't make up their minds if we are going to have a hurricane hit or we just are going to have a miserably hot summer.  Given it was 90 degrees yesterday I would think a bit of both probably up for grabs.  The local radio DJs make snide comments about how hurricanes are just marketing ploys for Home Depot and Lowes to sell out plywood and Publix and Winn-Dixie to empty the shelves of canned goods and water.  I'm not naive enough to think that hurricanes don't happen but I can't worry about it.  There is so much more to life than living in fear.  Things we can't change - we can't.  I do have some of the basics but I refuse to get hysterical about the possibilities.  And yes you all can remind me if one hits and I get upset.  But having grown up in the land of shake and bake (earthquakes and fires SoCal style) and living in Nevada and going through a blizzard white-out a time or two then add in the tornadoes I watched in Michigan maybe I am a tad jaded?

But at least the storms bring killer skies. 

May nearly faded

So this morning I am listening to 'easy listening music' so as to not offend the locals and not go mad having nothing to hear - and the gal says, "It's 8:31 and 81 degrees".  It struck me as odd.  It's only fricken half past eight am and it's already over 80 degrees.  AND it's only May.

Thunderstorms lining the horizon today as they did last night.  Don't know if I'll be able to log in with the storms coming but I will try to make the writer meeting.  Those slices of 'non normalacy' can keep me sane during the busy week.  And they have been busy. 

I did get to write this weekend.  I also got outside a bit between storms and was relatively unbothered by anyone.  A delightful weekend.  Made the walnut chicken recipe last night with some steamed sticky rice.  All in all the way I like my holidays to go.  Now back to the grind. 

I can see clearly now....

Yes, the rain is gone.  At least for now.  After ten or more days in a row of rain I was starting to wonder if I was supposed to be building a boat in my basement.  And yes, I do have a basement so it's not me being 'literary' or 'silly'.  Okay, I'll give you that I am silly.

Work has been madly chaotic.  Transitions all over with new folks coming into the company and old ones leaving.  My past supervisor when I first started here tendered her resignation Tuesday and is gone as of two or so hours ago.  The department director picked up a couple dozen bagels and a card was passed around.  That was it.  She'd been with the company over five years.  Completely odd to me.  The past few jobs I'd been in when I gave notice it was a big deal.  I had folks give me gifts and parties. 

Writing again.  I never really stop, my brain is constantly doing storylines and zigzag connections for what I want to get into my tale.  Oddly my current work up on Piker Press is about to catch up with actual hurricane season.  Who knows I may be getting some up close and personal experiences to clutter into the tale.  At some point I need to wrap up Jerry's little war and get back to the West Coast vampires.  Heaven only knows what troubles they've gotten into while I have kept my vamps on the East Coast.  Then there's that odd little tale I have a bucket of words in about "Good Morning" picture. 

Neighborhood has been slightly odd lately.  The party crowd that had been ruining my back commons area have kept it down to a reasonable sort but the other neighbor in the other half of that duplex has had the cops at her door at least three times I know about since Sunday.  Sunday when I was out watching a bad Johnny Depp movie (yes, Sand, I saw it but still liked it in that dark guilty pleasure sort of way) and having a late lunch with my gal pals there was an incident.  The neighbor has had homeless folks and a younger guy living with her.  Well the younger guy had a girlfriend when my neighbor decided he was perfect for her.  A month or two later the ex-girlfriend finally stalked them down.  Rocks through windows and mad screaming matches.  Slice of heaven huh?  Middle of Monday/Tuesday (around 1:30 am Tuesday morning) I saw more cops cars and she was yelling at cop who suggested she should kick the new boyfriend to the curb if she wanted to stop the drama.  Naturally she didn't.  So who knows what this long weekend will bring.  Hopefully writing time and some more rain!

Something is off about me *grin*

Just got the tornado warning over the radio for the next half hour and immediately I had to log into the weather site and see where.  About two miles to four miles from where I live heading this direction.  I naturally checked my battery in my camera.  Seriously. 

But it's all grist for the mill of my brain.  I've seen a few tornadoes and didn't have a camera available to my regret.  I have images in my mind from horrid disasters I've witnessed and it would be nice to have picture proof.  Two of my coworkers pondered if they should hide under their desks. 

Yeah, I know.  I'm not normal.

Moon Madness

I liked the Super Moon the next morning more than the night of the moon.  It's been crazy lately.  Folks in traffic aiming for me and my car.  The drama and traumas with work and around the compound.  I wasn't there but I guess my one neighbor went a bit crazy on Saturday.  She has had a number of folks 'living' with her.  One is a guy who told a good friend of mine that she was his 'meal ticket'.  Yeah, lovely no?  Then another acquaintance who is mooching off her and sleeping outside on the couch in the small patio area that I have to walk by to get to the laundry room.  That wasn't a lovely slice of scenery Saturday morning.  A homeless lady going through withdrawals and her lizard like 'friend' sleeping on the air mattress in her living room.  So I guess it hit some sort of crisis over weekend and I haven't seen any of them. 

I was actually able to get outside and enjoy the backyard this weekend.  The landlord must have heard that I've been looking to move.  They didn't have a huge party on Sunday with a dozen people and half dozen kids so I was able to enjoy the yard and pool with my friends.  It was wonderful!  I'd picked up the ingredients to make Chinese food Sunday but we all ended up nibbling on veggies and fruit instead so last night I cooked.  I had forgot how tasty the dishes are.  I'll get the recipes up on Piker Press sooner or later.  But here's a snap.  Chicken with Walnuts and Chili Shrimp.  White rice and it was a meal. 

Welcome to the neighborhood now get a clue!

I was home Friday to catch up on my chaotic existence and not be a work.  The added benefit is the new neighbors work Monday through Fridays and thus it was quiet!  I did laundry, cleaned the house, cleaned out the fridge, sent off a box of books to mom, frosted the leftover layer of Red Velvet cake as a surprise for my friend - her birthday was earlier in year and I'd frozen a layer so she could enjoy and not have to share, picked up Chinese food and discovered the owner was from San Fransisco and was roughly my age and had grown up skiing same places I did up in Tahoe.  All of this naturally before noon.  Wrote a bit (yeah actually fed the nightmare machine), read a bit and then sauntered down to see my friend with the cake.  She was shocked and delighted.

I'd heard it was going to be a rainy weekend possible (40% possibility which usually means I get a light sunburn).  Oh boy did they underestimate that storm.  Two to three inches of rain during the weekend at first report this morning with the weather casters admitting it was probably more.  The thunder and lightning started at 11:15 pm on Friday night and rumbled on and off all weekend.  Lightning chased the thunder and windy rain.  So perfect weather for me.  It also meant there wouldn't be any kids drowning in the pool this weekend.  Naturally they still had parties both Saturday and Sunday.  They seem to treat the entire common area in the back as exclusively theirs.  I went over to my friend Michele's work on Saturday and had a great time.  She works at this really old bar that has entertainment in the evenings.  Old folks dancing to live music.  They call all day asking who's playing and when the music starts.  We swap news and mock folks who are regulars.  This past Saturday the band was setting up and tuning their instruments for a good hour.  They didn't seem to have it together and from what Michele said they play their weekly.  Couldn't tell by what I heard!

I came home and headed out to dinner in the rain.  It was a good breezy wet day.  Naturally the neighbors had the back area full of people.  Sunday there was even more rain.  But between showers I snapped a picture to show the 'normal' number of cars they have show up weekends.  This is not the 'huge' parties where there are another half dozen cars crammed into 3 places.  Technically they only have 'one' place but they leak over constantly.  Grrrr.  Yes there are five cars squeezed into two places.  Lovely.  NOT.