Further Ranting

Rant #3: The Homeless

There were 4 homeless drug addicts in my apartment complex parking lot today asking for change. After spending the past 7 years living and working with the homeless, drug addiced, mentally ill masses I can spot them a mile away. And to their credit they can probably sense my ambivilance so they give me a wide berth. So to avoid me and the dog (because Oreo can also spot our former clientele from a distance but his is most likely based on smell) they went up to a little old lady who had taken refuge in her car near the mailboxes. They were en masse, knocking on her car window and asking for change. I made a bee line toward them and wore my stern "get out of here" face. They beat a hasty retreat (in my 7 years working with them I was trained extensively in "crisis prevention" but I found my facial expressions work much better).  My point is that I moved down here hoping to be done with the homeless.  After my previous job I hoped to never deal with them again in any manner. Why, then, are they creeping into my quiet suburban/edge of oblivion apartment community?  While we were in California, Kevin and Hugh flushed the woods near the apartment (Kevin having even more years of experience with the population) but, as we all know, if you don't continue with the maintenance they quickly reinfest.  I knew they were there but they weren't venturing into my space and weren't bothering anyone so I really didn't care.
I am not pleased with this new development.  One of the saving graces of living here was not being surrounded by degenerates, open air drug dealing, spent hypodermic needles littering the grass or constant bombardment by requests for spare change.  I had enough of that in Seattle.
These people are not products of the current economy.  They are people who have mental ilness or drug addiction (generally a combination of both) who believe that they should reap the benefits of a politically correct society that wants to cater to them.  In my experience they are not satisfied with handouts and are always demanding MORE.  And they keep getting MORE.  And the MORE they get, the MORE they want.  It needs to stop.  I do not like this turn of events.  I will keep saying "NO" to spare change and will make a pest of myself to the city when I find drug paraphenalia on the path in the park.  
The upside of this infestation will no doubt be my exit from Olympia.  I'm still suffering from the PTSD brought on by my last job (I hope to never again find dead bodies, watch anyone OD or have my building set on fire by a carelessly discarded crack pipe) and I know Paul won't live in a community surrounded by the homeless (since he's still in social services and grows ever more disgusted by their sense of entitlement).  This may just be the proverbial straw on the camel's back that convinces him we should move sooner rather than later!!

More Ranting

Rant #2: The News

I have been on a news fast ever since I read the most inane "news" story ever about a month ago.

[An excerpt I just found from the actual Seattle P-I story about the "Super Moon":
Superheroes and super villains are all over the news in Seattle thanks to masked vigilante Phoenix Jones, and now the moon is getting jealous.

It’s planning its own “super” appearance this weekend, causing collective Seattle to roll its eyes and feign a yawn. Come on, moon. We are so over super things.

It’s not like the moon even understands what it takes to be a superhero. NASA tipped us off today that we’re in for a “super moon” Saturday night and Sunday morning, but didn’t make any mention of whether it will be wearing a costume or fending off bad guys with a can of pepper spray.

The only thing we can really count on from this weekend’s super moon: It will appear to be really, really big.

Bigger than Superman, who once had a fistfight on the moon and might have inadvertently contributed to the moon’s superhero aspirations.

Can anyone else feel the intelligence draining from them?]

It made me so irate I wanted to just go shake the editor and yell "What is wrong with you?! Is this responsible journalism??!!" I decided it was high time to stop following the news and go cold turkey. My decision made me much happier. I have done news fasting in the past and I find I sleep better and feel better over all without all the sensationalized junk swimming through my subconscious.
For some unknown reason (perhaps a lack of decent coffee?) I ventured into the news today. I really wish I hadn't.
I really just wanted to sit on the sofa all day and be a slug. I really wanted to be able to flip channels and watch silly TV shows. But daytime TV has sunk to some pretty amazing depths and I had to give up... but not before stopping ever so briefly on the local news...
Yesterday there was a crazed gunman on the loose in Seattle. (So happy to be out of that city!) He shot 6 people, killed 5 of them. Tragic, senseless, horrific.  The local news, I suppose for a lack of anything pertinent to say, actually said that today there were five families grieving. Really? Why do they say things like that? Back when I followed the news regularly I wouldn't even have noticed the lack of imagination in news writing. Now it leaps out at me and grabs me by the throat. I had to change the channel.
I turned on the Weather Channel. Sounds harmless enough. I figured that listening to what's happening in the rest of the country weather-wise and then my local forecast every 10 minutes on the "8"s can't be too painful. Boy, was I wrong. Now they have filler shows (because, I guess, the weather isn't interesting enough?). I happened to catch a few minutes of some life or death show in which they had a recreated scene of someone being buried in the sand on a beach and the team of emergency personnel digging frantically. They had the fire chief or someone who had actually been there and he said that he started getting worried after 20 minutes because people can't survive after about 5 minutes without oxygen. Maybe that was just an expression. I don't know. Personally I'd have been worried the minute I found out that someone had been buried deep enough in the sand that an emergency response was needed. Guess that's why I'm not an EMT. Could they not have edited it? Could someone have suggested a better turn of phrase?
Turned to the internet to check on the arrival of my Netflix. On MSN.com (boy, I am a glutton for punishment today!) there was a story about a 3 year-old who had been kicked off an Alaska Airlines flight after refusing to stay in his seat with his seatbelt fastened. The story was in fact an opinion piece disguised as a story (they tease with a headline so you are lured into clicking on the story). In the piece, the author thought it was outrageous that everyone was so impatient with the kid and that the father of the boy was right to be upset with the pilot. Quite honestly, what has happened to child rearing that a 3 year-old is allowed to hold a plane load of 300 passengers hostage to his temper tantrum? And why, exactly, does the world need to be so damn understanding of ill behaved children? This is why China is kicking our ass.
I'm done with TV. No more internet news blurbs sucking me in. I've decided I'll be better off watching some old Hope and Crosby Road movies (and probably better informed as well).

Ranting

Rant #1:  Coffee

Paul makes the best coffee.  No matter how hard I try to duplicate his efforts I just can't come close to making coffee as well as he can.  I don't know how he does it.  So I do the cooking and he makes the coffee.  It's a fine arrangement.
This morning I got up to find he had already left for work (without saying "goodbye," thank you very much).  I further discovered he had left me with about half a cup of coffee in the pot and no pre-packed filters to make more.  Normally he would either have the pot ready to go (coffee and water already in place so all I need to do is push the "on" button) or he will leave a filter or two on the counter filled with coffee so I just need to add water and filter to the pot and press the "on" button.  But today I had no such luxury and it has thrown off my entire day.  I made my own pot but it was weak and translucent and a cup of no fun.  Actually, the whole thing has left me very bitter (no coffee puns, please).  This lack of coffee courtesy will have a trickle down effect for the rest of the day.  I am not going to make dinner (he can have leftovers) and I'm leaving the dirty dishes in the sink.  (I can't be bothered to wash dishes in my present state...) 
I'm also completely scattered and everything is pissing me off.  Instead of trying to cheer up I have made a firm decision to just go with it and be in the worst mood I can muster up and damn the consequences!!  (I must not be very convincing because the dog is sitting at my feet with his pink flamingo toy hanging from his mouth, wagging his tail and urging me to play while the cat is rubbing against my elbow and purring.  Fools!  Have they no sense of self-preservation?  But I'm not mad at them so a little playtime, treats for everyone and then leave me alone so I can be mad.)

Wanderlust

Ever since we came back from the California trip I've had a bad case of itchy feet.  Not the kind of itchy feet you can cure by a trip to the drugstore and a two week supply of foot spray but the kind that can only be fixed by hitting the road.

(Last night I dreamt I was traveling the country in Fozzie's uncle's Studebaker from The Muppet Movie.) 

I believe the time has come to figure out where to go from here.  Returning to Olympia has only reinforced the belief that Olympia is not for me.  Still, I'm glad to have gotten out of Seattle but this is not the place to stop.  Maybe it's the extended hangover talking but I believe I should take stock and make plans.  I know Paul is none too happy to be back from the beach but he's mired in schoolwork and needs to concentrate on that.  I, on the other hand, have nothing to preoccupy my brain other than the deep yearning to travel.  I'm even beginning to obsess over it.  Walking back from the bank this afternoon I pondered the practicality of buying a used van, bolting the sofa into the back, packing up the cat and dog and taking off for parts unknown.  (In my fantasy we were all singing happy road trip songs, the roads were always paved, hitch-hikers always smelled good and the van never broke down or ran out of gas.  It was nice.)  My daily horoscope told me:   "Turn down your analytic engine and stop thinking so hard about things! Just relax."  So I'll take a trip down reality lane tomorrow.  For now I'll just build up the fantasy.  I can take it down later.

The Lost Weekend

Oh, I'm getting too old to drink the way I used to...  Still recovering from the Ballard excursion.  It was fun (at the time) until the next day when the after-effects kicked in.  No photos from the night in question (luckily) but here's a file photo from past a Ballard event to give some slight indication of the general amount of imbibing which took place.

This recent event did not take place in the back yard but rather on historic old Ballard Ave. (my old home territory).  We started by having a large meal (and drinks) at the new Greek place, and then to Gerald's (new bar) for more drinks, after which we ran into Eric (haven't seen him since moving to Olympia) and drank more at the Lock and Keel which was followed up by cocktails at Hazelwood.  Around 2am we headed back up to Catherine's and finished off a lovely bottle of wine.  I'm really taking my time getting better.  Over indulgence... It's a lesson I keep learning over and over and over...  No doubt I'll do it again but it won't be anytime soon!!

Back From California... On To Ballard

We returned from California on Wednesday night (reluctantly).  The trip, while crazily busy visiting Paul's not so small family, was great!  Laguna Beach was very cool.  People were nice.  The hotel was perfectly situated with the beach right there.  I must say that I am a sucker for a beach.  Every morning I had to go down and see what was happening on the beach before we headed out to family functions.  And every morning the dolphins were out to greet me.  It was wonderful!  (Now the "brilliant idea" is to put Guatemala on hold and move to Southern California...  I'm not arguing with the new plan.)
I did not manage to get a lot of photos due to the fact that we spent the bulk of our time visiting Paul's family and the other fact that the times when I was free to sight-see it was foggy (usually mornings and late evenings).

This one was from under the pier at Huntington Beach.  The beach is a long, expansive place.  There were lots of people playing frisbee and volleyball on the beach and tons of surfers in the water but since the beach is so huge it was uncrowded.

And the other thing I was particularly interested in (because I love things like this):  UNEXPLAINED ROOFTOP ANIMALS

in Laguna Beach.

They're right on the Coast Highway, perched on top of a roof that appears to be part of little shopping arcade (or on a building between the arcade and the street behind?).  I couldn't find any information about why they are there.

(Here's how they looked from the roof of our hotel.)

And here's a cloudy view from the roof of the hotel.  It was beautiful when the clouds burned off but it became so crowded up there later in the day that I found it difficult (being vertically challenged and therefore unable to get above the crowd) to get a shot at the view when it was clear.

So now I am off to Ballard.  Catherine is coming down to collect me this afternoon (haven't seen her for months!).  I'll take the camera and try to document the holiday excursion for posterity (I'm really trying to carry the camera everywhere to get in the habit of taking photos).

PS

In case I don't get to post for the next week be assuerd that Oreo and Frank are in good company.  (Oreo loves Hugh!)

Leaving tomorrow

The jury's still out on whether or not we want to take the lap top.  Thinking it would be nice to spend a week devoid of accessible internet (the hotel has a connection if we take the computer...).  This means I may or may not be posting for the next week.  If I do take the lap top, I'll send frequent updates (as time allows) because it would be lovely to feel some connection to familiarity.  But, if I don't take it, I'll be free from ties to technology and that's always a nice thing!
So, if you don't hear from me for the next week you'll know the decision.

Not "Looking Up"

Ha!  I was going to do a blog in which I took a bunch of pictures looking up at the absolutely beautiful sky (ya, know, through the trees, at birds, etc.) but it just wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be.  (The photo above is actually one I took last year from the Road Town Ferry.)  I was going to be clever and call it "Looking Up" but I have been even more clever and scrapped that idea.  Maybe I'll revisit it when Paul and I go touring National Parks (redwoods would be cool "Looking Up" material... so would mountains... hmm, the Grand Canyon?  The possibilities boggle the mind...).
The weather has delivered a lovely weekend!  It is warm and sunny and wonderful.  I am inside, over-thinking what to pack for the trip to California.  Starting to panic.  I always do this before I travel.  I hate to pack anything I'm not going to use.  Consequently I have to go through everything I own and pair it up with everything else.  Following that, I get into the obsessive weather checking phase to make absolutely sure I won't need that parka or I will absolutely need two bathing suits.  That's about where I am now.  (It's 67 in Laguna Beach and 76 in Fullerton...  Egad!)
Everything will turn out just fine and I'll do exactly the same routine on my next trip (where ever that may be). 
Happy Mother's Day!  Happy Birthday to Jessica and Nick!  Birthday wishes to Sam!  (Just covering everyone for now since I don't know if my mind will be able to clearly formulate a post in the near future.)

Too Good To Be True?

Okay, the weather is getting nice (at long last)!  After a freeze warning on Tuesday the forecast is calling for steadily rising temps (79 tomorrow, 80 on Sunday and 82 on Monday!!).  BUT it isn't hot yet.  I went out this afternoon and the temperature had only just reached 60.  I was wearing a sweatshirt, t-shirt, jeans, socks on my feet and I was still a little chilled.  Having lived in this neck of the woods for the past 25 years I do realize that we're all a little Vitamin D deficient but people packed the park in BIKINIS.  I really think that's going a bit too far for 60 degrees.  Sure, we all want to work on eliminating that Seattle prison palor but at least wait until it warms up.  I don't recall seeing bikini clad women out in the park when it was sunny and 40 degrees...
Mt. Rainier is still proving a worthy opponent.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky today and I walked and walked.  Got to the highest point in my general vicinity and still no mountain.  Yesterday I think it was disguised as a cluster of clouds.  When I took Oreo to the groomer I could swear that one section of clouds wasn't moving like the others.  Must be patient.
And speaking of scenery, I finally looked up the big metal cows down the street.  They adorn a private property along Hwy. 101 and I've been curious as to why (but always forget to check by the time I get home). 

According to http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/13475 they used to be in Woodinville but ended up in Olympia a few years ago.  Don't know why.  Coincidentally (or perhaps not) they also report that "March 3, 1876 chunks of meat rained from a cloudless sky."  Huh, how about that?  Next time you come to visit we can walk over and have a look, maybe pick up dinnner?

No More My Fluffy Puppy!!

Oreo got a furcut today!  He really needed it.  He was especially matted up after the camping trip.  The sand and sea just made his fur rasta right up.  Now he's one skinny little bald pup!

He's really playing up the tourtured dog bit.  He keeps shivering and I keep falling for it by giving him hugs and treats.  He'll be happy for his summer cut when the temps go up into the 80s this weekend (fingers crossed the forecast is right on that!!). 

Next week we head to Southern California so Frank and Oreo will be playing with the big boys when Kevin and Hugh come to stay.  He'd better get all the sympathy he can while the getting's good.  It'll be all John Wayne movies, tequila and beef jerky while we're gone!

Playing Hide And Seek With Mount Rainier

The weather has been lovely this week so I have been spending an inordinate amount of time outside and away from the computer.
Oreo and I have been on some long walks around the neighborhood and I've been seeking out the ever elusive Mt. Rainier.  As everyone who has seen it knows, it moves.  You may see it dead ahead and suddenly it's behind you.
I know that you can see it from Hwy. 101 just past the Auto Mall (not the most scenic of foreground but I can't move the Auto Mall).  Problem is that when I walk in that direction I can see the Auto Mall but no mountain. 
I thought I saw it peeking through the trees from the top of a hill but it turned out I was mistaken (or maybe it moved before I got past the trees).
Then, I was walking to the bank and, behold, there it was!  It was rising out of the dental clinic!  I figured I could keep walking past the building and take a picture from the clearing but it vanished again!!
I'm still on the hunt.  I'd have taken a photo from the front of the dental clinic but, as fate would have it, I had forgotten the camera (could've sworn I put it in my bag!)...  I will capture it one day and post a lovely picture of the majestic mountian from Olympia.
Until then:  http://www.nps.gov/mora/photosmultimedia/east-webcam.htm

Derby Day

One of my horses actually did well!  Who knows?  This could be the beginning of a new era! 
Roll on Preakness and here's hoping for I'll Have Another.  (Alas, I'll have Another isn't a name I can imagine going down in history but neither, I suppose, is Man O' War... even though he wasn't a Triple Crown winner he went down in history none-the-less.)

Tote Bag

Last year when I made my impromptu visit to Wisconsin and visited Carolyn we picked out fabric for a tote bag.  Well, CB made the bag and I received it today!  It's very beachy which is absolutely perfect for the upcoming California trip!!  Too cool.

Oh, and the upcoming California trip is from the 16th-23rd.  I'm going to be taking the lap top (mainly for Paul to do schoolwork) so maybe I can post pictures and blog.  We're staying in Laguna Beach (ooh, fancy!) because we found a deal online (same price as the Super 8 in Huntington Beach but a fancy little boutique hotel-or so we have been lead to believe).  Now, if I could just lose about 10 lbs...

[Damn, now that I've mentioned the trip I will have to think up something else to blog about tomorrow.]

 

(back and front)

May Day

The beginning of May resembles beginning of April in terms of the weather.  It's cool (40s) and rainy.  Happily there have been a few sun showers to contrast with the heavy rain showers so I suppose that's an improvement from last month!  Here's hoping for steady warming through the merry month of May!!

I must say that I am extremely happy to have moved out of downtown Seattle, today especially.  I love continuing news coverage of pretty much anything.  (Natural disasters are always more amusing when the local news is involved.)  Today has been no exception.  There should be a prize given for the decision to interview the elderly blind man about what he witnessed while in a bank when rioters broke the windows.  ("Tell us what you saw."  "Well, because of my disability I didn't see anything.")  You just can't make this stuff up.  It's endlessly amusing!
What is less amusing is the nonsense going on in downtown Seattle.  I'm all for a nice protest or even a gathering fo like minded people.  It gives the downtrodden a sense of community.  (I've been downtrodden and I liked to know was not alone.)  Sometimes even a point can be made when enough people gather and present a united front.  I think that's lovely and a true American right.  But when the gathering is marred by senseless violence it diminishes the message.

Anarchists broke windows, slashed car tires and vandalized cars and then ran off.  So the workers of the world may unite but the only thing that will be remembered is the random anarchy.  It's a shame.  The people immediately affected are the workers who are just trying to scrape by.  They're the ones who couldn't get the day off to attend a rally.  They're also the ones who were at work being hit by shattering glass and overcome by pepper spray while in their place of work while the perpetrators ran away.  Imagine parking your car on the street to go take care of business, whatever that may be, and returning to find your tires slashed and windows broken.  It just isn't right.
All of this is taking place where I used to live.  I spent 7 years living downtown and I know the smell of pepper spray.  I know how it lingers in the furniture for weeks.  I know how irritating it is to try to take the dog for a walk and be sidelined by unexpected riot police (always a good idea to make an abrupt about face and skeedaddle on home).  I am very glad to have made my escape.  I hope all my friends who are still  there can avoid trouble today.  Stay in the bar, everybody!  Have another round and wait it out!!