I am in the process of buying a bicycle from Deb. She bought a new one, and didn't need the head-cracker anymore. I like the bike; it's got wide handle bars and a wide seat and it's a comfortable ride so far. I need a helmet though, just in case it wants to keep cracking heads.
This morning I took it out before it could get too hot for me to enjoy. I rode in circles around the complex several times, just getting the feel of it. It's been a long time, and there's a lot more of me than there was the last time I rode a bike, so I'm letting myself get used to the process again. This is the third time I've done this within the complex. I will break out into the real world with it over the next few weeks, once I feel more confident.
There was some rain last night, which has mostly dried up already, but a few small puddles remain. The kid within demanded that I ride through each puddle I found, and I happily obeyed. The circles I was doing were no more than an acre in diameter. But when I came back around to puddles I'd gone through, my tracks had already vanished and all signs of my passing were gone.
It's going to be another scorcher with temps in the mid 90's, even with a 60% chance of rain. Good thing I did it this morning. ;-)
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Random Words
From various email conversations with various friends. Yes, we often email in mono-case type.
*people have a crazy tendency to hear a vague possibility of a moderate change and translate it into definite proof of impending, painful and messy doom.
*holy screaming babies batman!
*i have no idea what you're talking about... so here's a bunny with a pancake on its head.
*I could just dip him in ranch dressing and eat him.
*I've never seen a crane with invisible wings before. You should sprinkle salt on them so he can't fly and then you can sell tickets to see him.
*SORT OF LIKE A KIDNEY STONE. WON'T BE PLEASANT, BUT IT'LL EVENTUALLY WORK ITSELF OUT.
*I might be lying.
*Q: do you have fitty cent?
A: i'm not into gangsta rap. but i have some quarters you can have. i'll hold them ransome...
*That would seem very logical.
*No need to confess unbidden. Just move forward.
*Stop making me snort chewing gum.
*pastry, of course, being my favorite way to commit suicide.... who knew?
*Evanism of the day: If you sit on a cactus, it will poke your bum.Friday, August 10, 2007
ATTENTION
This blog has been attacked by a pink monster. All viewers are advised to take caution when approaching this blog. The possibility exists that incautious viewers may find themselves covered with pink flowers edged in starched white lace.
Please bear with us while a sedative is applied to the blog so that a template more suitable to Marvelous Mystical Magical Mad Madam Mim can be installed to replace it.
Please bear with us while a sedative is applied to the blog so that a template more suitable to Marvelous Mystical Magical Mad Madam Mim can be installed to replace it.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Up, Up, and Away
The shuttle launched again last night, once again taking a school teacher along for the ride. No horribly tragic explosion this time.
I drove over to Searstown Mall and parked, then called Yaw. "I'm just leaving work," he said.
I waited a few minutes, then realized that while he could run from here to our viewing spot, with the heat index around 105 and the air so think it would stick to you, I knew I'd be risking an asthma attack if I waited for him and had to run. It's only about a block, so I took my ice-cold bottle of water and started on my way.
As I approached the street corner I spotted Deb and Ian crossing US1 with their bikes. Yaw called to ask where I parked and I told him, and said I was already on the move. He parked next to me and headed out to catch me up. I reached Deb and Ian and we chatted while I watched constantly behind me for him to make it around the corner. He made it with about 2 minutes to spare.
We stood, chatting, all of constantly aware that at any time we should see the tell-tale candle-stick glow. I worried that we wouldn't see it as well because of the thick haze. No worries. We could see just fine.
We stood and watched until we could no longer see the microscopic dot of light in the sky--a distant star moving farther and farther away.
I drove over to Searstown Mall and parked, then called Yaw. "I'm just leaving work," he said.
I waited a few minutes, then realized that while he could run from here to our viewing spot, with the heat index around 105 and the air so think it would stick to you, I knew I'd be risking an asthma attack if I waited for him and had to run. It's only about a block, so I took my ice-cold bottle of water and started on my way.
As I approached the street corner I spotted Deb and Ian crossing US1 with their bikes. Yaw called to ask where I parked and I told him, and said I was already on the move. He parked next to me and headed out to catch me up. I reached Deb and Ian and we chatted while I watched constantly behind me for him to make it around the corner. He made it with about 2 minutes to spare.
We stood, chatting, all of constantly aware that at any time we should see the tell-tale candle-stick glow. I worried that we wouldn't see it as well because of the thick haze. No worries. We could see just fine.
We stood and watched until we could no longer see the microscopic dot of light in the sky--a distant star moving farther and farther away.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Random Ramblings
I went to a friend's house after work and shared some idle chat and some wine. It was a pleasant evening, well spent. We talked about cats and I mentioned a cat I grew up with who had coloring similar to her cat. Foxy was a stray who wandered into the front door one winter day and never left. She had numerous litters of kittens, and some of those kittens remained with us their whole lives. Foxy was a terror though. She weighed no more than 4-5 pounds and was all fur, claws, teeth and purr. I remember one time a big German Shepherd came into our back yard thinking to play with the little kitty. Foxy chased him all the way down our street, yowling in terror the whole way. Somewhere in my box of photos, I have a picture of her face surrounded by blades of grass, looking at me with her piercing green eyes. If I can locate it, I'll scan it one day and put in here on the blog.
When I came home, B had our parking spot, so I parked over by the mailbox and walked in. The temperature was a little cooler (finally) than it had been during the day, and there was distant lightning occasionally adding hints of purple to the dark-blue of the evening sky. As I walked the 500 feet to my building, I took advantage of the time to enjoy the street lamps shining up into the oaks and palms with their Spanish moss dangling down. I remembered how the moss has always reminded me of spooky places and eerie scenes because it has so often been present in ghost stories of the south and various caricatured stories of dire times. It still brings that sense to me, but not as vividly as it used to. As I looked at one palm tree, I took particular notice of a frond that had come loose and fallen into the basket-weave of fronds that grow up the sides of the trunk. It was positioned perfectly horizontally and with the wide flair of it's frond at one end, and the straightness of its stem at the other, it seemed a perfect Floridian semblance of a witch's broom. The witch herself was missing, but I felt she was most likely just lolly-gagging about in some of the nearby Spanish moss.
Another friend of mine has recently discovered some unpleasant extra features within her person. Trying to keep things light, we spoke of it as if it were simply some alien visitor that would soon be leaving. She'll have surgery for it, and everyone is fairly certain that will be the end of it. Jokingly, I told her she would have to take lots of pictures of her hair as soon as possible just in case the alien requires more persuasive measures to be evicted. She laughed and we joked about how she could buy wigs and be a different person every day. She said she'd buy the cheapest, most horrible wigs she could find, just because. And I know she would. And I would laugh myself to tears over every single one.
There was a rocket launch this past Saturday in the early morning before the sun was up. I had intended to wake up and drive over to the little park by the water to watch it. I forgot to set my alarm. I also forgot about my hair appointment until 10:15 when my phone woke me up with a message from Michelle asking if I was still coming. I didn't forget to feed the cats though. You just don't forget something like that unless you're completely oblivious to the constant weaving of rubber-fur-meow creatures in, around, on, around, under, around your feet. I don't think I would have made it out the door alive without feeding them first. As usual, I walked out of the salon with movie-star fabulous hair, which remained until last night when I finally gave in and washed it so I could try to repeat her styling. Yeah, right. I managed a flattened length, with a tiny bit of curl at the bottom. But the curl was cute, and definitely more than I usually do for a regular day at work. Of course, it was pulled back in a clip by the time the day was half over.
When I came home, B had our parking spot, so I parked over by the mailbox and walked in. The temperature was a little cooler (finally) than it had been during the day, and there was distant lightning occasionally adding hints of purple to the dark-blue of the evening sky. As I walked the 500 feet to my building, I took advantage of the time to enjoy the street lamps shining up into the oaks and palms with their Spanish moss dangling down. I remembered how the moss has always reminded me of spooky places and eerie scenes because it has so often been present in ghost stories of the south and various caricatured stories of dire times. It still brings that sense to me, but not as vividly as it used to. As I looked at one palm tree, I took particular notice of a frond that had come loose and fallen into the basket-weave of fronds that grow up the sides of the trunk. It was positioned perfectly horizontally and with the wide flair of it's frond at one end, and the straightness of its stem at the other, it seemed a perfect Floridian semblance of a witch's broom. The witch herself was missing, but I felt she was most likely just lolly-gagging about in some of the nearby Spanish moss.
Another friend of mine has recently discovered some unpleasant extra features within her person. Trying to keep things light, we spoke of it as if it were simply some alien visitor that would soon be leaving. She'll have surgery for it, and everyone is fairly certain that will be the end of it. Jokingly, I told her she would have to take lots of pictures of her hair as soon as possible just in case the alien requires more persuasive measures to be evicted. She laughed and we joked about how she could buy wigs and be a different person every day. She said she'd buy the cheapest, most horrible wigs she could find, just because. And I know she would. And I would laugh myself to tears over every single one.
There was a rocket launch this past Saturday in the early morning before the sun was up. I had intended to wake up and drive over to the little park by the water to watch it. I forgot to set my alarm. I also forgot about my hair appointment until 10:15 when my phone woke me up with a message from Michelle asking if I was still coming. I didn't forget to feed the cats though. You just don't forget something like that unless you're completely oblivious to the constant weaving of rubber-fur-meow creatures in, around, on, around, under, around your feet. I don't think I would have made it out the door alive without feeding them first. As usual, I walked out of the salon with movie-star fabulous hair, which remained until last night when I finally gave in and washed it so I could try to repeat her styling. Yeah, right. I managed a flattened length, with a tiny bit of curl at the bottom. But the curl was cute, and definitely more than I usually do for a regular day at work. Of course, it was pulled back in a clip by the time the day was half over.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
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