Well, the big weekend has finally arrived. I am happy to say that help was not as hard to find as I feared. Yesterday, I worked the 2nd job until 10, came home and changed clothes and called my friend to see how soon he could get here. I then packed the cats into their carriers and called Deb to pick them up. They were staying at her place for the day so I didn't have to worry about escape attempts while men moved my furniture out. I would have taken them to her, but I'd managed to get my truck parked across the two spaces directly outside the door we'd be using. If I moved the truck, I'd lose those spaces, so she was a doubly good friend and came to get them. I know Holden didn't mind. He loves the boys and is good with them.
People began trickling in and moving whatever we could fit. The last arrival was the pickup with the trailer. Nolan had to pick it up from another co-worker and I guess there was a delay. But his arrival couldn't have been timed better if he'd planned it. He got there just as we were pulling in for the last caravan of stuff and were trying to figure out how to load a queen sized box-spring and mattress, a full-sized box-spring and mattress, a large dresser and a computer table onto cars, suv's and vans. Since we now had the trailer, we got it all loaded up at one time and made the last run in the mid/late afternoon.
I had a total of 8 people helping me and four of them were men. I nearly cried with joy to see such a great turnout. It really made a huge difference. Today, I'm taking the clothes out of my closet, and the food out of my fridge. I'll be packing the computer up as soon as I do a few last minute things on it. Then I'll clean this place up and be on my way. But not without spending a few minutes on the balcony absorbing what I can of my view one last time.
Then it will be back to unpacking the new place and figuring out just what I want where. This time, though, I think I'll put the pictures on the wall. I'll be here at least a year, I might as well look like I live here! :)
There are things I like about the new place, too. Not the smell. The last tenant must have been a heavy-duty chain smoker. The smell is so entrenched in the walls that as soon as you finish spraying freshener, the smoke smell is back. Ew. I'll have to really work hard to fix that! But the property is pretty quiet, and there are lots of beautiful, old trees. So far the folks I've seen seem pretty friendly. My next door neighbor has a windchime that makes a very pretty sound in the breeze.
Ok, that's all for now. My foot is falling asleep because I'm sitting on the floor typing this. I won't have constant access to the internet for the next two weeks so this will probably be my last note here for a while. But, never fear. I'll be back. ;)
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Monday, October 24, 2005
Hurricane Shmurricane
Not really. There really was quite a lot of damage from Wilma. Fortunately, most of it was well south of me. Not that I would wish it on the folks down south; but I am glad the worst of it wasn't here.
This morning, I left early to make sure I had plenty of time to get to work. It was pretty dark out there still, the rain was coming down fairly heavily, and the wind was blustering and blowing. I was relieved to arrive at work unscathed in spite of numerous idiots flying past as if the sun were shining and the roads were dry.
Work was typical. No more or less phone traffic than any other day. Many of our clients were closed for the day since they were in the direct path of Wilma. I imagine tomorrow will be fairly busy, since those folks will be re-entering their buildings and assessing the damage. That's how it was the last two times, anyway.
I left work pretty close to on-time. I wanted to come home and check on the fur-bellies. They were on my mind all day. When I left this morning, they were pretty nervous and jittery. I needn't have worried. When I came home they were their normal hungry selves. I enterred the apartment and did the cats between my feet walk to the kitchen, fed them, then went about the business of checking out the apartment for any signs of damage.
I'm happy to report the apartment is fine and so are my belongings. I was nervous about that after walking through the building to pick up my mail. I noticed water on the floor of the North tower, pretty much all over the first floor. The South tower, where my place is, didn't look too bad on the ground floor. But when I got out of the elevator, there was water all down the hallway. That's when I really got nervous. But like I said, my place seems to be fine.
I had thought ahead and unplugged the computer, stereo, etc. I hadn't thought ahead and taken anything out to thaw for dinner. I decided to take advantage of the blissfully cool temperatures outside. I walked to Wendy's a block and a half to the North. It was the only fast food place open in walking distance. I could have gone to the pub on the corner, but I wasn't in the mood for smoke. On my way to Wendy's I took note of some of the damage. There is a postal center a couple of buildings North that had all of the newspaper boxes blown over, with all their newspapers still inside. There were lots of branches and palm fronds on the ground pretty much everywhere. A United Way sign was leaning precariously forward. The sign at Wendy's had been blown out of its frame and shattered all over the place. I found pieces of it in the parking lot of my own building.
Power seems to have taken a small hit, but not more than could be withstood. I am glad I unplugged the electronics, though. Water seems to be OK also. Since it's so comfy outside, I turned off the AC and cracked the balcony door open, opened the half of my bedroom window that works, and turned on the fans to move the air around. It's very nice. Ahhhhh. This I like!
I'm looking at video from farther south--South FL and the keys. I'm really glad I'm not there.
The sun has been setting while I've been typing this. A soft red glow is touching the horizon to the southwest and the sky is clear and beautiful. If I had someone to walk with, I'd probably be out there enjoying that beautiful sky from the outside. The temps overnight tonight should be around 50. Yay! I'll be sleeping comfy tonight!
Ok, I've got packing to do in preparation for my move this weekend. Since all my stuff didn't blow away in the storm, I guess I'd better get busy!
This morning, I left early to make sure I had plenty of time to get to work. It was pretty dark out there still, the rain was coming down fairly heavily, and the wind was blustering and blowing. I was relieved to arrive at work unscathed in spite of numerous idiots flying past as if the sun were shining and the roads were dry.
Work was typical. No more or less phone traffic than any other day. Many of our clients were closed for the day since they were in the direct path of Wilma. I imagine tomorrow will be fairly busy, since those folks will be re-entering their buildings and assessing the damage. That's how it was the last two times, anyway.
I left work pretty close to on-time. I wanted to come home and check on the fur-bellies. They were on my mind all day. When I left this morning, they were pretty nervous and jittery. I needn't have worried. When I came home they were their normal hungry selves. I enterred the apartment and did the cats between my feet walk to the kitchen, fed them, then went about the business of checking out the apartment for any signs of damage.
I'm happy to report the apartment is fine and so are my belongings. I was nervous about that after walking through the building to pick up my mail. I noticed water on the floor of the North tower, pretty much all over the first floor. The South tower, where my place is, didn't look too bad on the ground floor. But when I got out of the elevator, there was water all down the hallway. That's when I really got nervous. But like I said, my place seems to be fine.
I had thought ahead and unplugged the computer, stereo, etc. I hadn't thought ahead and taken anything out to thaw for dinner. I decided to take advantage of the blissfully cool temperatures outside. I walked to Wendy's a block and a half to the North. It was the only fast food place open in walking distance. I could have gone to the pub on the corner, but I wasn't in the mood for smoke. On my way to Wendy's I took note of some of the damage. There is a postal center a couple of buildings North that had all of the newspaper boxes blown over, with all their newspapers still inside. There were lots of branches and palm fronds on the ground pretty much everywhere. A United Way sign was leaning precariously forward. The sign at Wendy's had been blown out of its frame and shattered all over the place. I found pieces of it in the parking lot of my own building.
Power seems to have taken a small hit, but not more than could be withstood. I am glad I unplugged the electronics, though. Water seems to be OK also. Since it's so comfy outside, I turned off the AC and cracked the balcony door open, opened the half of my bedroom window that works, and turned on the fans to move the air around. It's very nice. Ahhhhh. This I like!
I'm looking at video from farther south--South FL and the keys. I'm really glad I'm not there.
The sun has been setting while I've been typing this. A soft red glow is touching the horizon to the southwest and the sky is clear and beautiful. If I had someone to walk with, I'd probably be out there enjoying that beautiful sky from the outside. The temps overnight tonight should be around 50. Yay! I'll be sleeping comfy tonight!
Ok, I've got packing to do in preparation for my move this weekend. Since all my stuff didn't blow away in the storm, I guess I'd better get busy!
Monday, October 10, 2005
Happy Samhain
Last night, Rick and I decided to go to Universal’s “Halloween Horror Nights.” I’ve been to many haunted houses in my day—some real, some theatrical, some as a part of the cast. Universal knows how to do a haunted house. “Of course they do,” replied Rick when I noted this half-way through a jog between two such attractions (on opposite sides of the park). “They do make movies with lots of special effects.”
I’ll grant that. And they certainly had a good crew picked out for the sexy-wild-demon-things on stilts. What amazing body-paint (if that’s what it was). I didn’t get close enough to touch their skin. Besides, I doubt they would appreciate me pawing at their legs to see if it was a body stocking. No matter, the overall effect was fantastic.
Rick explained to me that they had a cast call for this, and the folks who did it are actually hired for the entire run of the event, which lasts through Halloween, I believe. I think they made good choices.
And the sets for the houses and the outdoor effects were just as incredible. Green laser lights cut through the fog from the smoke machines; music ranging from haunting background theme music to wailing, head-banging rock; wherever a queue formed up for the entrance to a house, the folks in line were entertained by footage from numerous (Universal) horror flicks. Not being a large fan of horror, some of these required me to turn my head and go back to looking at trees, stars, and other guests. Yes, I know. I’m not a large fan of horror, yet I drool at the thought of tromping around for 6 hours through a park dedicated to horror, and doing this after working an 8-hour shift at McD’s.
Was I tired today? You bet your tail feathers I was! But it was very much worth it.
So what were my top creepy spots? (Weak stomach? Skip past the *’s.)
** The teddy bear room is definitely in the group. There’s something infinitely creepy about a child’s room with out-of-tune “Jack-in-the-box” music playing and growling sounds coming from some unknown location. Oh, and don’t forget the random clacking of some door or window in another room.
** Most of the houses led us through mazes made more fearsome by dangling fabric, packing blankets, strips of plastic, “blood-stained” gauze. All of these were creepy to me. Very creepy.
** But none of those danglers compared to the body collector house. The whole point of this house seemed to be to cause people to vomit. Not that I did that, nor did I see a live person do it (but there was that cool dummy vomiting in a trashcan). But I thought I might when I reached up to move one of the large plastic bags hanging from the ceiling out of my way. The bag wasn’t what creeped me out. It was the inside. They had done a very good job of making the bags feel like they contained the softened remains of what once had been human beings—bones, tissue, everything. Ew. People who know me, know that I’m not a very girly-girl. But icky is icky and that is that. And that was icky.
Rick finally got to get a good chuckle at me because I was finally REALLY creeped out instead of being fascinated by the make-up or the props or the set… Well, I’m glad he enjoyed it. That’s ok. He was creeped out by the alien house. And he’d done it before. So there.
And now, I’ve completed my tale of mystery and intrigue (I have no idea where that came from. I’m tired. I said that already.), and I am going to watch a non-creepy movie on the couch with a blanket and my favorite two fur-bellies, hoping to stay awake past the opening credits.
Happy Samhain!
I’ll grant that. And they certainly had a good crew picked out for the sexy-wild-demon-things on stilts. What amazing body-paint (if that’s what it was). I didn’t get close enough to touch their skin. Besides, I doubt they would appreciate me pawing at their legs to see if it was a body stocking. No matter, the overall effect was fantastic.
Rick explained to me that they had a cast call for this, and the folks who did it are actually hired for the entire run of the event, which lasts through Halloween, I believe. I think they made good choices.
And the sets for the houses and the outdoor effects were just as incredible. Green laser lights cut through the fog from the smoke machines; music ranging from haunting background theme music to wailing, head-banging rock; wherever a queue formed up for the entrance to a house, the folks in line were entertained by footage from numerous (Universal) horror flicks. Not being a large fan of horror, some of these required me to turn my head and go back to looking at trees, stars, and other guests. Yes, I know. I’m not a large fan of horror, yet I drool at the thought of tromping around for 6 hours through a park dedicated to horror, and doing this after working an 8-hour shift at McD’s.
Was I tired today? You bet your tail feathers I was! But it was very much worth it.
So what were my top creepy spots? (Weak stomach? Skip past the *’s.)
** The teddy bear room is definitely in the group. There’s something infinitely creepy about a child’s room with out-of-tune “Jack-in-the-box” music playing and growling sounds coming from some unknown location. Oh, and don’t forget the random clacking of some door or window in another room.
** Most of the houses led us through mazes made more fearsome by dangling fabric, packing blankets, strips of plastic, “blood-stained” gauze. All of these were creepy to me. Very creepy.
** But none of those danglers compared to the body collector house. The whole point of this house seemed to be to cause people to vomit. Not that I did that, nor did I see a live person do it (but there was that cool dummy vomiting in a trashcan). But I thought I might when I reached up to move one of the large plastic bags hanging from the ceiling out of my way. The bag wasn’t what creeped me out. It was the inside. They had done a very good job of making the bags feel like they contained the softened remains of what once had been human beings—bones, tissue, everything. Ew. People who know me, know that I’m not a very girly-girl. But icky is icky and that is that. And that was icky.
Rick finally got to get a good chuckle at me because I was finally REALLY creeped out instead of being fascinated by the make-up or the props or the set… Well, I’m glad he enjoyed it. That’s ok. He was creeped out by the alien house. And he’d done it before. So there.
And now, I’ve completed my tale of mystery and intrigue (I have no idea where that came from. I’m tired. I said that already.), and I am going to watch a non-creepy movie on the couch with a blanket and my favorite two fur-bellies, hoping to stay awake past the opening credits.
Happy Samhain!
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
More about my view
Most mornings, I walk down to the end of the sidewalk, where it meets the wall of the river/lagoon. I look at the sun through the beuatiful, medium-size Magnolia tree, and watch how the sun is reflected off the water as I approach. And I look at the VAB and launch towers and think good and peaceful thoughts before heading off to work.
On mornings when it is hazy or foggy, this has a completely different effect. The sun doesn't shine through the Magnolia tree, and many times it isn't visible on the water. The haze usually covers the sun so that the sky resembles something from a mystic story of old--Merlin, or Vikings, or some such. There's usally a fog across the water on those mornings, and the cape is invisible behind it, even though I know it's there. This adds to the mystique and causes my day to start in a dreamy, disconnected from reality sort of way. Not a bad way, mind you. Just a sideways view of the world around me kind of way.
At the moment, it's cloudy out and there's a good breeze/gentle wind going on out there. It is late afternoon and the sun is sinking behind the clouds. I am sitting at my computer with the balcony door to my right and I am looking out from my tree-house view at the tops of the trees as they wave and rustle in the wind. I'm not playing any music and the TV is off. The world is giving me music enough right now.
I'm really going to miss this.
On mornings when it is hazy or foggy, this has a completely different effect. The sun doesn't shine through the Magnolia tree, and many times it isn't visible on the water. The haze usually covers the sun so that the sky resembles something from a mystic story of old--Merlin, or Vikings, or some such. There's usally a fog across the water on those mornings, and the cape is invisible behind it, even though I know it's there. This adds to the mystique and causes my day to start in a dreamy, disconnected from reality sort of way. Not a bad way, mind you. Just a sideways view of the world around me kind of way.
At the moment, it's cloudy out and there's a good breeze/gentle wind going on out there. It is late afternoon and the sun is sinking behind the clouds. I am sitting at my computer with the balcony door to my right and I am looking out from my tree-house view at the tops of the trees as they wave and rustle in the wind. I'm not playing any music and the TV is off. The world is giving me music enough right now.
I'm really going to miss this.
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