Hodge Podge

We had a weekend. Good? Bad? It depends on one's perspective.

My poor darling Diva got sick Friday night. Really sick. She basically turned her stomach inside out. After she had lost everything she had in her stomach she kept retching for hours. She was up almost all night. Superman sat with her until about 1:30, and I stayed with her until 3:00. She had been on a chair in the living room, but at 3 she crawled into her bed. I asked her if she wanted me to stay up for her, or if I could go to bed. She said "Go to bed, Mommy." It was so sweet and sad! But she got Superman out of bed before 6:00. And this was all before the air conditioner was working. We all felt icky and sticky.
Diva update: I took her to the doctor this morning. She tested positive for strep. She is now taking an antibiotic and hopes to feel better soon. But right now she just feels icky. Her head is throbbing and her throat hurts. I'm trying to encourage her to rest, but Sproing keeps trying to engage her in conversation, activity, or argument. It's time for another dose of Tylenol now...

Saturday morning the poor dear had a fever. I didn't take her temp, but she felt very hot. We got some Gatorade for her. She had trouble drinking because her throat was so sore. She slept almost all day. Sunday she felt a bit better, drank some more, but her throat and her head hurt. This morning she still has a headache. The fever is gone, though. I'm calling the doctor in 45 minutes when the office opens.

Twitch came home from scout camp on Saturday. He had a wonderful week. He is a senior patrol leader for one of the patrols in his troop. He is well on his way to Eagle rank. At 17 now, he only has until mid February to complete all the Eagle requirements. On his 18th birthday he turns into a pumpkin. Or an "adult," and is no longer eligible to earn scout ranks. Last week at camp he completed the work for two badges required for Eagle. He was in a great mood, had a terrific attitude when he got home. He's been kind and helpful ever since. This is nice!! The older he gets the more pleasant he is to be with. Now if we can just get Sproing and Diva through puberty and the teen years...

Other stuff happened this weekend, too. Can't remember if any of it is noteworthy. Laundry is not noteworthy at this time. Neither is reading the Sunday paper. I painted a little bit in Sproing's room. The walls are nasty. I got a first coat of primer on the wall in one corner. Made a mess. Dripped paint on his bedsheet. Oh, well. My hands and feel are both speckled with paint. I managed to get the spots of paint off my face this morning in the shower. Besides that, I can't think of anything else worth mentioning. And frankly, this entire paragraph doesn't say anything worth mentioning, so you might as well not read it. Oops! Too late.

A/C Update, take III

It is now cool in the house! Superman's friend, the HVAC expert came by this morning and worked on our a/c unit. He oiled the fan motor, recharged the refrigerant, and I don't know what else. But now we have cool air blowing through the vents. I told him he is my He-ro for the day.



There is other news, but I'll save that for another post. This one is all about air conditioning.

A/C Update, take II

Superman replaced the capacitor, as I mentioned. It was defective, he knows, because the thing was "swollen up like a gourd." He turned on the unit, the fan began to blow, the air began to move, all was well with the world.

Was.

The air in the house cooled off for a while, but is getting warm again. Superman got home from work expecting a comfortably cool house, but alas, 'tis not to be. Now the coils are icing up again. Oh, and he corrected me. These are not the condenser coils as I said previously. These are the evaporator coils. That seems to make a difference. If it makes a difference to you, then you are one of those people who cause me to swoon with your great mechanical knowledge. I'm a tramp, I know.
I forgot that the a/c unit has been wonky for a week now. I didn't realize it has been messed up that long. We've had some brief periods of coolth, but nothing consistent, obviously. I'm trying to make the best of things. At least I have internet access now!

A/C Update

Superman replaced the capacitor for the fan in the air conditioner unit and we have cool air blowing out of the vents inside the house. This is a very good thing. :) Current temperature outside a very humid 82F. It was 10 degrees warmer and a bit dryer before the thunderstorm.

Road Trip meme

It's about time for something more cheerful, don't you think? I was tagged for this meme by Rod at Kickin Tina.

This is a great meme for me, since I love to take road trips. Parties, not so much, but we’ll do what we must.
So … you’re about to embark on a road trip to a theme party. You’re only allowed 5 CD’s, 3 essential items and are prompted to take along one outrageous/stupid item of clothing that you have to wear at the theme party to make you stand out (you must currently be in possession of this item of clothing).
My 5 CDs

1. The Kingston Trio/ …from the "Hungry i"- Kingston Trio
2. Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3; Carnaval des animaux- Dutoit, Montreal Philharmonic
3. The Road and the Radio- Kenny Chesney
4. Life in Cartoon Motion- Mika
5. Greatest Hits- James Taylor
   

My 3 essential items

1. C-PAP
2. cell phone
3. laptop
   
   

My outrageous wardrobe item

My long hooded purple cape. This assumes the weather is cool, of course. I made this cape many years ago for a similar event. The fabric of the cap is a dark purple wool blend with flecks of gray and other colors woven into it. The hood is lined with deep purple velvet. It is quite striking.

For this meme I tag Indigo, since he'll be taking a road trip next week to come to South Carolina!! I also tag Sorted, since he hasn't done a meme for me in a little while, and Gregory, because I'm always fascinated by his eclectic music choices. I also want to know what sort of outrageous item of clothing Gregory has hiding in his closet. Three is the number of bloggers I tag, not 2. And 5 is right out.

As a matter for update: I am feeling much better today, even though I still don't have air conditioning. It's amazing what proper medication can do for a girl. J Hopefully we'll have cool air flowing through the ducts by evening. PLEASE!!!!!!!!

Further information

My life still sucks, but I realized part of the problem. It seems that yesterday I failed to take some important daily medications. My bad! I didn't notice that they were missing from the pill organizer I use. I ran out. The refills were waiting for me at the pharmacy. I've just returned from the pharmacy, and have taken the meds. Maybe, oh maybe today will be better.

The air conditioner is not working, though. Sproing is very fussy. Diva is working (mopping the kitchen floor as I type) but is beginning to get that pouty look on her face. We shall see what the day brings.

Enough of this rediculous cheerfulness

It is time to get back to the clusterfuck that is my life.

Diva got herself kicked out of summer school this morning. Diva was angry because she was put with a different working buddy at math time. The pairing was rearranged because she had begun getting too chatty with her other work buddy, laughing and playing instead of working. In her anger she wrote "Fuck Mrs. H_____" (her teacher) on her worksheet. One of the other teachers overheard her say "I'm going to kill Mrs. H______." She was sent to the office. I got a call.

And let's talk about Sproing. Remember him? That "sweet" little boy who yesterday said "I haven't stolen anything today, Mommy." He can't say that today. Diva lost a tooth, and the tooth fairy gave her a dollar last night. Sproing stole her dollar, rode his bike to the convenience store, and bought some candy with his sister's money. He isn't supposed to steal. Duh. He isn't allowed to ride to the convenience store. He can't have candy any ol' time he choses. And now he can't go with his Dad to the scout camp to see Twitch. He gets bupkis. I believe we'll have gruel for supper.

Diva is spending the remainder of the day in her room. She is supposed to be cleaning up in there. Last time I looked in on her she was sitting on the floor singing to her teddy bear. I took her teddy bear away, told her to clean. I still hear singing. I don't have the emotional strength to look in on her again right now.

Children will be children. This is no excuse for bad behavior. Bad behavior needs to be punished; discipline is necessary. The behavior I see in my children now, if it continues, will cause serious legal trouble when they get just a little bit older. It is unacceptable behavior. They know better than this!! It's not like I never tell them, haven't taught them right from wrong. They just seem to not care. I care.

I know the sorts of things I need to do with them/to them (I'm afraid to get close enough to touch them right now. I'm afraid I might not be able to control my urge to smack them across the face.) They need discipline, hard work, close supervision.

What do I need? Is it wrong for me to feel overwhelmed? Frustrated? Like my world is spinning rapidly out of control? I'm lost.

Merry Christmas!

We are halfway there. In exactly 6 months it will be Christmas. It isn't too early to begin your Christmas shopping.

It never gets any better

Here are the visual aids for the previous post. This first picture is for comparison and a piece of background information. See the bit of the wheel well on the right? There, in front of the door. It should have a piece of molding over it, continuing the line of the curve and filling in the triangular gap. I knocked that piece of fiberglass molding off a couple of years ago when I was backing up too close to a post. I was watching behind me and forgot to check the front. This is on the driver's side of the car. My bad.

This is the front wheel well on the passenger side of the car. See that bit of wheel well on the left? There, in front of the door. It should have a piece of molding over it, continuing the line of the curve and filling in the triangular gap.
That's what S did yesterday when he backed his car out of the driveway and got too close to the van. He also knocked off that metal rim that covers the inner edge of the tire. Either he or Superman knocked it back on there. It looks alright now. So there is no difference between what S did yesterday and what I did 2 years ago. Should I really be making a fuss?

It isn't about the van. It's about the stress. Or something. Or is it all about me? Should I just shrug my shoulders and get on with my life?

Here is the crack in Manny's windshield. It's a bit tricky to see. This is from the inside of the cab.

And here's the origin of the crack. Does that look to you like it was hit with a rock or something? This is the outside of the windshield. This one needs to be repaired.
The windshield has had some scuffs in it since before I got the truck. The whole surface of the windshield is pitted. I have needed a new one from the beginning. Now the insurance will pay for the repair. I was pissed off to see this crack, but at the same time was glad that I finally get a new windshield for the ol' boy.

Today was a hard day for me. I am so worn out by all the shit in my life. I've been tired, tired, tired all day. Not so much sleepy (well, I was this afternoon, and had a lovely nap) but just worn down to nuthin'.

Sproing was being his usual annoying self this morning. His self-defined purpose in life is to get on other people's nerves. He is very good at it. It brings him a perverse joy. I am so tired of dealing with it, of trying to convince him to have a friendly, helpful attitude, to get along nicely with his siblings (and his parents!).

I think it shouldn't be this hard. Maybe I'm disillusioned, and parenting really is this dreadful. It just seems wrong to me that I dread spending time with my child. Is it me, or is it him? Or both?

I had a tearful talk with the boy this morning. He was dry-eyed, I was tearful. I told him how discouraged I was. I try to teach him the right way to behave, to have good manners and treat others with respect. Really, though, he knows how to do it. I told him he did. I said, though, what I cannot do is make him behave well. That's something he has to decide for himself.

He and Diva both lie and steal. Someone stole some cash out of my wallet recently. "Nobody" did it, of course. I told Sproing today that it is incredibly important for him to make good decisions about how he conducts himself NOW, while he is 10 years old. Because what he does now sets the precedents for what he'll do when he is older. I asked him if, when he is grown up, he wants to be known as a thief and a liar. He said he didn't. I told him he MUST begin NOW to make those changes in his behavior so that he is not a thief and a liar.

Maybe the discussion will do some good. He told me late this afternoon that he hadn't stolen anything today. Oy. Well, good for you, dear. Keep up the good work.

I need to have a similar discussion with Diva at some point soon. She lies and steals a lot, too. She tends to be nicer to people than Sproing is, usually, although she can be a real foul-mouthed bitch when she gets on her high horse.

Damn this is hard work. Damn I'm tired.

Tired

Not just sleepy, or over worked. No. I am tired. As in "tired of it all." Tired of all the crap I have to deal with around here.

The latest, in two parts
Part the first:
Manny's windshield has a big crack. He has been parked in the back yard for over a week. I haven't needed him before today. Today I needed the truck.
Superman had the van, I needed to run an errand. So Sproing and I got in the truck to head to the store. I looked up the driveway and noticed a large crack down the center of my windshield. I asked Sproing "What happened to my windshield???" Guess what his first words were?
"Diva did it..." I could have made book on that one.
According to him, Diva was trying to get away from the neighbor's dog. This is the same dog who was in heat a few months ago. Friendly young girl. Enthusiastic. Likes to jump up on the kids, but isn't harmful. Mainly just annoying. And they jump and bounce, too, getting her more excited. Then they wonder why she jumps up on them. Arg! The story is that Diva got up on the hood of the truck to get away from the dog, then climbed up the windshield to get on the roof of the cab. The windshield cracked.
Diva was home from summer school when Sproing and I got home. I asked Diva about the crack in the windshield. She didn't do it. Of course not. No one ever does these things. She did not blame Sproing, though. She said she did get up on the hood, but went no farther. She noticed the windshield was already cracked when she got up there. Well, maybe.
Superman and I looked carefully at the crack later in the afternoon. It looks as though a rock or something small and hard hit close to the edge of the windshield, causing a starburst crack pattern. One of the cracks extends from the top of the glass all the way to the bottom, between the windshield wipers. I don't know how it happened, or who "happened" it. Doesn't really matter, I guess. The fact remains that the windshield needs to be replaced. :::Sigh:::

Part the second:
S backed his car into the van today. Superman was home for lunch. Sproing and I were out running our errands. It was mid-day, around noon. The boys left to go do whatever it is they do. S woke up, got in the car, and backed out of the driveway. I doubt he'd been out of bed more than a minute before he put the transmission in reverse. He told me that he looked behind him to the right. Thing was, the van was parked to the left of him. He hit the area around the front wheel well. Crushed parts of the fiberglass body, and knocked the rim ring off the tire. And he drove on, oblivious.
He called me at 4:00 this afternoon to mention that he may have bumped the van on his way out this morning. He said it was kinda dark when he left. I asked (knowing within half an hour) what time he left. Um, about 11:30. It wasn't dark at 11:30 this morning! "It was for me. I had just gotten up."
Superman called me right after he got back to work to tell me that their car had hit the van. He was quite mad, especially about the fact that they hadn't even stopped to come in and tell us. He had been trying to reach their cell phones since he first discovered it. They conveniently didn't answer. S called me a good 4 or 5 hours later. I know he called me because I don't yell at him. I speak crossly, but don't holler (much). Superman hollers. I told him that Superman was mad.
S dropped by the house while we were eating dinner. He spoke very briefly to us, then left again. It's 10:00 now, and they still aren't back.

What is going to happen with our cars? The windshield must be fixed. The van works, but is getting uglier and uglier, pieces "falling" off bit by bit. This isn't the first bump the van has experienced, and I don't know if we should bother having it fixed. Why this one, when the wheel well on the other side looks almost as bad. (Not quite, but almost. And that one was my bad) Why do I have to mess with all this crap? Why can't the other people in this house be responsible about things?

I am tired. Tired of it all. Too tired to get worked up about much.

(Will try to get some pictures of the broken bits and will post them here. Check back later in the day to see if I've accomplished at least this much.)

snippety update stuff

• Superman has lived up to his name once again. We have cold air moving all through the house! The condenser coils were frozen over. He turned off the unit to allow them to thaw. Twitch got our little pressure washer and had lots of fun playing with it. Oh, and in the meantime he cleaned the condenser coils. But mostly he played with the pressure washer. Superman then turned on the a/c unit, and voila! Cool air! I'm so thrilled. I'm in a much better mood now.
• Our internet access problem seems to have been a bad wireless router. We've got the new one hooked up and access has been no problem. I'm in a much better mood now.
• I spent the entire day Sunday watching old movies on Turner Classic Movie channel. I feel as though I've been culturally enriched. I'm in a much better mood now.
• Light fixed a batch of brownies at my request this afternoon. They turned out weird. They're spongy without much taste. This happened last time I baked brownies, too. I don't know what happened. She is a very good cook; it isn't her. We used the Baker's Chocolate One Bowl Brownie recipe, and the Baker's unsweetend chocolate. I have used that recipe for years with great success. This time she melted the chocolate in the microwave per recipe instructions. I did too, last time I made them. That's the only difference I know of. Usually I melt the chocolate in a saucepan on the stove. Anyway they are practically inedible. What went wrong? I could be in a better mood about this.
• Twitch left for a week of Boy Scout camp this morning. They return Saturday. He was very excited. His dad took him to the meeting spot from which they departed for camp. Usually I go, but I slept in late. He actually gave me a kiss on the cheek before he left, and asked if I would be there Wednesday evening for parents' night. I probably will go. One of the reasons I like to take him to the meeting spot is to get info on the plan for parents' night. The families from the troop typically bring pot-luck type dishes for the whole group to share. Being the unsocial bitch that I am, I don't know any of the other mothers, so don't know who to call to get my food assignment. Should I take the lemon squares that Twitch is so fond of? That's my standard, but 2 years ago he said he'd rather I brought something else. (Last year he missed camp because he went on a bigger, longer, more fabulous scout adventure.) I will pretend to worry about the parents' night supper briefly, until I forget about it. Hopefully I won't forget to go see him Wednesday! That would be uncomfortable. My mood about this is yet to be determined.
• I intended to get to bed earlier tonight so I can get up early with Superman before he leaves for work. Somehow time sped by unnoticed, until now it is 2:00 a.m. We shall see if I can get up in 4 hours. I might just pull it off, who knows? I will shut down this demon box and go to sleep after I post this and check the Boy Scout troop website to see if there is any news about parents' night. Really. I promise. No more surfing tonight. We won't discuss my mood anymore tonight. Thank you for your kind attention.

Update update:

Light made another batch of brownies this morning. They turned out very well! She realized at least one of the problems. She mis-read a measurement. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup butter and 2 cups sugar. The sugar is listed below the butter, and she read 3/4 cup for the sugar as well as butter. It is amazing what a texture difference the absence of sugar made. If indeed that was the only goof.

The new batch of brownies is gone now. They were good. (No, I'm not the only one who ate them.)

For your entertainment today...

Now for a little bit of culture, Java style.

Just checking in

Some updates on what kind of mess I've been in recently

Internet access has been sketchy. We got a new wireless router last night, and it seems to be working better than the old one. I've had internet all night. Lucky me.

In other news, our air conditioner isn't working right. The compressor is compressing, the fan out there is blowing, but we've got no air movement through the vents inside the house. Superman's plan is to crawl under the house this morning to see what he can do about it. In the meantime, I'm hot and uncomfortable and grumpy, etc. I don't want to talk about it anymore right now.

I went over to the local college this week. Talked to an admissions counselor. I am one step closer to going back to school. This is good news. There is a lot to say about that, none of which I will say now. Stay tuned.

I still have a couple of stories to tell about meeting bloggers on my latest road trip. You remember that one? The one I returned from over 2 weeks ago? I'm a good procrastinator.

You may have noticed in that first paragraph I said I've had internet all night. Yes, that means I've been up all night. It is close to 7:00 a.m. now. Don't know why I do this to myself. I have had a wonderfully peaceful time blogging and emailing tonight, though. I'm going to sleep very soon. The words on the screen are beginning to run together.

Goodnight, and thanks for all the fish.

Mrpeenee Auto Haiku Tag Meme™

The darling Doug of Dewey's Dartboard has tagged me with a meme originally from Mrpeenee by way of Tigeryogiji. This is gonna be a tough one for me. It involves writing a Haiku. No trouble with Haiku per se, but this requires that I describe parts of my life in one line of Haiku. That indicates brevity. If you've been around here for any time at all, you know my trouble with brevity. But here goes:

In five syllables, no more, no less, describe the worst movie you can think of. You can include separately the title and a description, but the line can only be five syllables.

In seven syllables, no more, no less, describe your worst date. Certainly, describe in an aside the situation. Bonus points if it was sordid. Subtract points if it sounds too much like an overweight fifteen year old Goth girl.

In five syllables, no more, no less, describe the worst job you ever had. Same as above. Extra bonus points if it consists of Grim, Taxi dancer.

The worst movie I can think of is the one I am watching right now. That would be Dune. Why am I watching Dune right now? I'm looking for humor amid the travesty. Mostly it is confusing. And ridiculous.
Big worms, bad acting

The worst date I can remember was with a guy I met at a wedding. My mother thought he was charming. She has always had poor judgment in men. This guy took me to the shops at Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, at the time a small shopping center affiliated with Disney World. I think it no longer exists as such. We did a little shopping. He bought his dad a polo shirt for his birthday, or maybe it was Fathers' Day. It doesn't matter.
After shopping we got back in his car. He drove the car to the far, empty end of the parking lot and turned off the motor. That's when I saw his animal nature, that of an octopus. His hands were all over me, especially trying to get up my skirt. He evidently hadn't understood the phrase "No means no." Maybe he was uninitiated. I tried to push his hands away, but he insisted. Then I slapped the back of his wandering hand very hard. That got his attention.
He removed his tentacles from my thigh and started the car. We drove back to my house in silence. Silence is golden. When he dropped me off in my driveway he said (can you guess? What does a selfish slimy straight guy say to a girl who has just slapped his hand red?)
"I'll call you."
Shit, you asshat. Don't do me any favors. He never called. I never expected him to. I wasn't sorry.

Slimy straight guy, octopus

The worst job I ever had helped me realize that I just don't like women very much. Through a mistake in the cosmic order, someone at Macy's hired me to be a sales clerk. I had previous, but limited, sales clerk experience at Belk, where one Christmas holiday season I worked in men's clothing. A year or so later I was looking for a job in Atlanta, GA, where Superman was enrolled at the North Avenue Trade School. My higher education pursuits were on hold until he was graduated. We needed some way to keep a roof over our heads, so I went looking for a job. I wondered into Macy's, they were conducting interviews, and they hired me. They must have been desperate. Further proof that the cosmos was misaligned: they put me in women's wear, in the Lennox Square location. It wasn't meant to be. Women are crazy. I cannot work with snooty rich women who are looking for the latest fashions to take on safari in Africa. Sorry.

Women are crazy

Big worms, bad acting

Slimy straight guy, octopus

Women are crazy

Quote

Unless you are educated in metaphor, you are not safe to be let loose in the world.
-Robert Frost

For an interesting story about Frost's poetry applied to real life, look here.

PRIDE

Proud to be (associated with) Gay

This is the Pride flag image that Kelly is encouraging bloggers to post this month. He suggests we post the flag and tell our coming out stories.

But what is my coming out story? As far as sexual orientation goes, I'm heterosexual. I did "become gay" in spirit a couple of years ago. I've told some of the story in previous posts, but I'll try to encapsulate the essence.

I used to be a homophobic fundamental Christian. Early in 2006 I met C, who was at the time 17 and just coming out. He was a good friend of my daughter, Light. I met him, got to know him, then came to love him. When he came out to his mother and stepfather they kicked him out of their home. He now lives with us.

As I began to love C, I started questioning the church's position on homosexuality. From mid-spring to late summer of 2006 I did a lot of research, a lot of thinking, and a lot of soul-searching. I came to the conclusion that God made gays, therefore being gay wasn't a sin. That's where it started, and I continue to learn and grow.

Once I realized it's OK to be gay, I became proud of "gay" and got defensive if anyone said or did anything to contradict my new-found reality. Having been in the church for 30 years or so, most of my friends were people who believed as I used to. By autumn of 2006 I was (as gently as possible) telling my friends about my revelation that gay is OK. The message was not well received. As important as faith and spirituality are to me, I couldn't make myself sit through a worship service in the congregation where we are members. None of my old friends from church agreed with my new opinion of homosexuality. At this point these people are my "former friends."

I wanted to meet other gays and lesbians. The only gays I knew were C and his partner S, and they are both still teenagers. I wanted to get to know older, more mature people with broader experience and adult perspectives. I've tried to find them here in Greenwood, South Carolina with very little success. I know they are here, I just can't find them! We got involved with the PFLAG chapter in Greenville, about an hour's drive north of Greenwood. But that city is far enough away that socializing with anyone there is too difficult. (Especially with gas prices as high as they are now!)

Eventually it occured to me that this is the 21st century; I could look online for gay and lesbian contacts. That's how I found this blogging community. I have met so many wonderful men and women through this medium, and everyone has been so open and honest with me. I now understand a vast range of gay life experiences.

I continue to learn, to grow, and to reach out to the gay community. My 5 year goal is to return to school, hopefully to get a Master's degree in some field relating to GLBT issues. I want to devote my time and talents to support homosexuals and eradicate homophobia wherever I can.

Grammar Rules!

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

a couple of random things

Quote of the day:
Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen. -Louis L'Amour, novelist (1908-1988)


And this in my inbox. They're getting better at avoiding spam filters.

Greetings!
I'm the owner of a new Masturbators Blog http://masturbators.blog.com/
Now I'm seeking for new friends and partners.
I want to propose you to exchange links with your blog http://javajones-mylife.blogspot.com/ for visitors interchange.
I'm sure our cooperation will be useful for our visitors.

I think I'll pass on his kind offer.

visits with friends

Since I don't want to think about what a bad day I had yesterday, I'm going to tell you more about my last trip. I want to talk about my friends.

Before I left Baltimore on Tuesday (of last week) I wanted to see another blogger friend of mine*. We emailed, we phoned, we tried to arrange a meeting. I was running late, he overslept... It was that kind of day. He suggested we meet at a coffee shop near Johns Hopkins University there in Baltimore. I met him on the way, he rode in my truck (a dubious honor) and he directed me to said coffee shop.

The visit was well worth the hassle we had getting together. The coffee shop is super nice; Donna's Coffee Bar on Saint Paul St. I had coffee. Just coffee. Nothing fancy, just coffee; black. Ha! And so did he! He's the first blogger I've met (as far as I know) who drinks his coffee black.

We sat there talking and laughing for, what was it? Two hours? This was the day I was trying to leave Baltimore. It was close to 11:00 when we met, and 1-ish when left. I hadn't even finished packing all my stuff together, much less put it all in the truck. But my, how much fun we had! I hated to leave him.

Then I really had to go pack the truck. I really needed to leave. It was so hard to go. I did get packed up, but I took a long time doing it. Long enough for Indigo to get home from work. That's what I was waiting for. I wanted to see him again before I left. And leaving was hard.

'Twas Indigo I went to see in Baltimore. He was the primary reason for the trip. Well, there was a two-fold purpose; a leaving from and a going to. I needed to leave home, get a break. And I needed to go see Indigo.

Indigo's partner Doug was gone for the week. He got home the Sunday I went to New York. So when I got back from New York I got to meet Doug, too. That was lovely! Doug is a terrific guy. He is a librarian, which right away puts him high on my list of favorite people. He is currently on a committee that is reading books for teens to find good ones to recommend to young people. That "young adult" category is one of my favorites. It seems like some really good books are written for that age group. The Newberry Award is given in this category. Although I didn't get to spend much time with Doug, I really enjoyed getting to know him a little bit, and talking about books with him. I understand he also likes to do needle crafts such as knitting. We have that in common, but didn't have a chance to chat about that. Next time!

There is much I would like to discuss about my visit with Indigo, but I believe that will be a post for (hopefully) tomorrow. For many reasons Indigo needs a post of his own! It's complicated. You'll see.

*I don't identify him because there needs to be a degree of anonymity in this situation. It's OK. Trust me.

Standing in my own way

Tough Love Edition

Why do I make the personal choices that I do? I make decisions, then I make choices. Oh so often the choices take me in the opposite direction of the decisions I've made.

On my latest excursion I thought about what I want to do with my life on two different levels. The first: What do I want to do when I grow up? This has been a recurring theme in my life for many, many years. I haven't figured it out yet. More on this at another time.

The second, to which I refer in the first paragraph: Household management. My home is a disorganized mess in terms of both the physical space and the personal relationships and responsibilities.

When I am at home, in the middle of the mess, I don't cope well. It's like learning to swim in a whirlpool. I'm so busy trying not to drown that I can't work on my strokes. While I was away from home I made some decisions about how to better manage the household in the physical and interpersonal realms. This is one of the things Patrick and I talked about. He was very helpful.

But then I came home. These things are always easier to plan than to implement. I am back in the vortex and my ideas, my good intentions are washing away. Much of it is my own damn fault.

If I stay awake blogging until 4:00 in the morning, knowing I must get up by 7:00 to take Twitch somewhere, that is not helping my cause. That's an example of a poor personal choice that is in direct opposition to my goal of being a more effective household manager.

Do I really want to change the way things work around here? Or do I just want to complain about how messy and out-of-control it is? Put up or shut up, Java.

This and that from here and there

This from here: We seem to be having internet connection issues. Sometimes I'm online, and then all of a sudden I'm not. Sometimes it's the ISP. Sometimes it's the wireless router, maybe. Sometimes it's the ether gods who hate me. Or something. I don't understand how or why.

That from there: I was there, as in New York City. Shall I tell you about that visit? I mentioned it briefly a few days ago. It was a week ago today that I went to New York. I took a bus. There are quite a few shuttle bus services that run between New York and D.C. Some of them stop in Baltimore. I was in Baltimore, and took a shuttle to New York. The trip was nice. On Sunday morning the bus wasn't too crowded, and neither was the highway. At about 12:30 in the afternoon I got to New York, 7th Ave. at 33rd Street, IIRC, just outside Penn Station. Patrick, my beloved blog buddy, met me there. I recognized him immediately when I saw him through the bus window. He seemed to recognize me immediately when I stepped off the bus. He gives really good hugs. He hugs with full commitment, if you know what I mean. So do I.

He asked me what I wanted to do in New York, what I wanted to see. I told him I wanted a drink of water, as I was parched. And that I came to see him. Anything else is icing on the cake, or something. So we decided, after getting some water, to go to his apartment first and decide what else to do from there. What we did once we got to his place was talk. And talk. And talk. Until about 9:00 when it occurred to him that we hadn't eaten. I hadn't noticed. So he ordered Chinese take out. He says that's a quintessential New York experience. What impressed me was that the delivery person (he? she? I didn't see) delivered to the door, up 5 flights of stairs.

Another thing that impressed me was that I walked up 5 flights of stairs. OK, not really. I really did climb 5 flights of stairs, but I wasn't that impressed. I was slow, though. Patrick has said on his blog that he lives on the 5th floor, so I knew what to expect. For me, the thing is that Patrick is well worth the climb. I should get in shape, though.

So we ate Chinese food. It was good. He offered me a menu so that I could choose what I wanted. Eh. I wanted to talk to him, to visit, to get to know him better. I didn't care about food. When I was with Indigo in Baltimore I felt much the same way. The whole trip, really, I wasn't about food. I was all about relationships. I had no preference or desire for food. This is new for me, as is obvious from my physique. Usually I eat too much. I was too busy feeding my soul to feed my body. I should do that more often. It's good for me in a number of ways.

Back to Patrick's place. We ate, we talked and talked some more. He had an online appointment with a west coast friend late in the evening, so I showered and got ready for bed. We talked a little bit more, then went to bed. It was fun sleeping there at the front of the apartment. The windows look down on the street, and the neighbors were out visiting on the sidewalk until quite late. Patrick worried that it would be too noisy for me, but it wasn't. I enjoyed the background chatter as I fell asleep. And I slept well, except for a strange dream I had very early in the morning about my youngest children behaving so badly that it ruined my friendships. The dream woke me up, but I was able to get back to sleep and got over that dreadful emotion the dream inspired.

Patrick fixed some wonderful scrambled eggs for breakfast. And coffee. I like coffee. This is Patrick's coffee pot. I'm in love with it.

And there is the cheese he grated over the eggs. It was a delicious breakfast. We talked over breakfast. We talked after breakfast. He showed me how to make the friendship bracelets he loves to make. I stitched up a little bean bag critter I was making for Indigo/Willow. And we talked. At one point we discussed possibly wandering through Central Park so I could see something besides the subway and Patrick's apartment, but we ended up just talking. We talked until it was time to go catch the bus back to Baltimore. This is what Patrick looks like when he's writing what you read on his blog. Studious, isn't he?

An active listener, comfortable, humble and lovable, deep, smart, insightful, wiry, witty, wise beyond his years: Patrick. I am honored to call him my friend.

Meme redux

Indigo tagged me for this 123 meme. I've done it before, but I'll do it again because I have a different book in front of me. This is the meme where I pick up a book, turn to page 123, and quote the 5th sentence. Wait, let me copy/paste the official rules as posted at the Ashram at Pooh Corner:

Pick up the nearest book.
Open to page 123.
Locate the fifth sentence.
Post the next three sentences on your blog and in so doing…
Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged me.

"'Hi Mr. Bishop. What happened? Did you get fired?'"

The Brothers Bishop by Bart Yates, Kinsington Publishing Corp., 2005

That's the fifth, sixth, and seventh sentence on page 123. These aren't nearly as good as the last sentence on page 122 and the first four sentences of page 123. I just have to quote those, too.

"Tommy is wearing a black Speedo swimsuit and nothing else.

"Christ. If his genitals were squeezed any tighter against the fabric I could count his pubic hairs.

"When I slam the car door Simon gives me a big wave and comes running over. His hair is wet from sweating, and there's a small red pimple in the middle of his chest."

There's another book close by that I will quote from as well. This is the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.

"4. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove jars, cool (see suspension tip, page 130) and store."

What can I say. I'm an overachiever. And since I previously did this meme, I won't tag anyone this time.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

Yesterday was an extremely long day. Extremely. Like 21 hours from sleep to sleep, with LOTS of driving in between. But I am home now, and that is a good thing. (so far)

Allegedly they are happy to have me home, all evidence to the contrary. We won't even discuss the terrible disarray in every room of the house I have been in so far. When I got home I tried to come in through the garage into the kitchen. The side door to the garage was left standing wide open. It is supposed to be closed and locked before the last person goes to bed. Of course I have a key to that door. The door from the garage into the kitchen was locked, however. The doorknob is designed for interior use and locks with a twist of the center piece. The other side, the knob toward the garage, only has a little hole in the middle of it. This is not a keyed entry knob, so there is no key. Thus I was locked out of the house. Locked out of the kitchen door, anyway.

So I wandered around to the back door. It was standing wide open. This, too, should have been closed and locked. Don't tell the neighbors, but it would be incredibly easy to steal stuff from this house.

There are quite a few wonderful experiences I wish to relate about my visits on this trip. I'm too tired to do that now, but I will tell you one story of the first day of my trip. I left home before 11:00 in the morning so I had plenty of time to get to the campground in southwest Virginia where I had a camping reservation. Or so I thought. The drive turned out to be a bit longer than I anticipated, and not just because the roads were long.

I had a memorable time in Boone, NC. Not wonderful, but memorable. I was in a fender-bender with another couple from out-of-town. While daylight was burnin' we sat in the parking lot of a gas station for over 30 minutes waiting for Boone's man in blue to fill out his paperwork on the incident. It was my fault entirely. He was ahead of me, stopped at a traffic light. We were both turning right. He moved forward, preparing to turn, but stopped to check oncoming traffic. I also was checking oncoming traffic but not the car in front of me. I rolled into his back bumper. I was in my wonderful old Ford pick-up truck. He was in a beautiful shiny black BMW. My front bumper has a new "bump" in it. His rear bumper has a tiny scratch. He will have his fixed. I will enjoy the added character on my truck.

Checking in

I will be on the road today, but right now I'm sitting in Doug and Indigo's living room trying to motivate myself out of this chair to get some coffee. I got to meet Doug yesterday. He is a lovely fellow! I'd like to get to know him better.

I had a great time in NYC. I saw Penn Station, the subway, the station nearest Patrick's apartment, and Patrick's apartment. Then the same thing in reverse. That's right, we didn't go anywhere. We talked for hours. It was wonderful. I went to New York and did precisely what I most wanted to do. It was a very good trip, although perhaps a bit too short at 28 hours. Patrick is as wonderful in person (if not more so) than he is on his blog.

Today is another day of traveling. I will head toward South Carolina, but not go all the way home today. I plan to stay in Virginia tonight, and go HOME tomorrow. I've talked to the sentries on duty there, and they say HOME is a good place for me to be, please. Pretty please. [Trying not to sound utterly desperate. ]

Coffee. Now. Then a shower. Then pack the truck. But first coffee, please! [Sounding pretty desperate.]