03/27/007 - Just keep swimming

Some of my daily horoscopes are more apropos than others. Today's is particularly apt:

"You may be facing a basic conflict between needing to work and wanting to play, yet you aren't receiving enough support to ease your concerns. Let's face it: you have been burning the midnight oil in order to get everything finished. Unfortunately, it's not quite time yet to slow down. Pace yourself until you complete your work. The fun will follow."

03/25/007 - Walk at the Beach

This is what last Sunday looked like. Foggy, waves crashing, sea breeze made us cold and sticky with salt spray. Birds and flowers and sand o my. Walking, walking, chatting, taking photos, eating, and walking back. Girls day at the beach.

03/18/007 - Lord tie my shoes for me...

St. Patrick's day was going to be my day. All day, a me day. I am my own best friend, ma amie. What does that mean? It's my life; why is every day not my day? Truth is I wake up every day thinking about other people, worried about other people's lives. My family, my ex used to consume me. For a while my troubled teen consumed me. My family, I left behind, often fills my dreams.

C fills my days, even today. Took me hours to look at the car in the garage. But then I did some of the things I had planned to do and it was a good day.

As I was sipping coffee, the doorbell rang insistently. I had dressed by then so I went to open it. Ahhh, good. Just a couple guys in suites with fliers in hand. Not the cops. I smiled at them, prepared to be polite but firm. The front guy held out a flier and tried hard to get out his spiel but sputtering did not resolve into a speech; the utterance would not come, so I started looking at the flier and he let go and passed it my way. I said thank you, I will read it. I smiled a genuine kind smile because after all, they were not police here to give me more bad news.

The guy behind, poked his head out and said something perfectly clearly, about participating in an event, detailed on the back of the flier. OK. Off they went, picking their way carefully off my stoop and back down the short side walk. Tidy suits but oh , one shoe is untied. I hope their lord and savior looks kindly at their efforts and gives him credit for trying to speak. Please don't let him trip, I pray.

Later that night, I packed up fuzzy boots and ripped jeans and schlepped those across town to the bistro where C is working. Valet guys had packed it in by then, so I could park the truck all by myself, and drop her clothes off. Asked why girls were screaming in the adjacent room. Party... 40 young people. Whatever.

On my way home, 10:30 ish, in the few minutes since I had left 101 to cruise across town, the way back to highway has been turned into a DUI/Traffic Safety Check funnel. All lanes are compacted into one and as I inch forward, roll down the window and prepare to...blow into a balloon? or have a flashlight shine into my eyes. Guy in front of me was waved to the side where folks were out of their cars, among the crowd of cops in reflective vests...carefully walking straight lines.

Cop looks at me...well looks into my truck and yells at me to keep driving; drive on through. Almost in disgust. Huh? That gigantic spliff I just smoked gone unappreciated? haha just kidding but WTF? Am I too old for a sobriety check? Damn. That was the end of my day.

03/14/007 - Remember the blender

Don't forget the blender...I wrote it on my wrist. Don't forget the blender; too bad I took a shower. So I forgot to bring my blender to the potluck party at the office today. My mind is like a sieve. Solve the problem, just go home and get it before the party. Oops stop for gas first. $3.01 for regular at CostCo. My fill up stopped at the exact same amount as the previous customer...to the penny. How wierd is that??

Then home. Reluctantly lift the lid off blendy and sniff inside. Examine him carefully; is he clean enough for the office? No! some debris from Chocolate protein shakes clings to the base. And there is crud between the buttons. At least the jar has been through the dishwasher; so no worry about that.

Now, clean enough...gather it all up in my arms and run back to the car...oops my neighbor hands me a check that has come back from the bank. Someone wrote the amount in numbers and a different amount in words. Sheesh. Did the teller have to read it? There was a pile of checks all for the same amount...our HOA dues. I made the deposit. Never noticed the discrepancy. Damn, why did they have to question it? Out of context it looks weird but amongst the pile of checks all for the same amount, same every month, and same for the past 4 years...oh well.

Going back to the party, thinking I'm in a hurry and it is mid -day and I still have to stop by the post office to mail the HOA Corp Tax filing that is due for CA tomorrow. I'm mailing it today...I am so good. But then it happened.

Looking for that little U shaped loop that takes you by a bank of post boxes at window height; looking for the drive by post office. And there she was in a red car, waiting patiently to emerge and there I was looking for the entrance, but she thought...well I guess she thought she could read my mind and felt sure I was going to turn into some non-existent entrance, so she pulled on out and kept on coming and I'm being forced into the opposite lane, and OMG! I just squeaked by and found the mail drop and thought I'd be lucky to make it back to the party in one piece, with my old blender in my arms.

I was thinking, remember the blender in the "Brave Little Toaster"? Got his base in a vice and rudely got his motor yanked out for spare parts. Very sad and really gruesome. Not for my old blender. Cleaned him up pretty good. Good enough to make some "Irish Pirate" blended drinks.

Oh yeah, and Erin go Brach...blendy go brach too.