Fall

Rumor has it that it’s now Fall.  However, I’ve yet to really see a change.  Sure there was some fog this morning.  Okay, a lot of fog.  

 

Fall?

 

 

But then the fog burned off and the temperature reached 81-degrees.  Hardly fall weather, wouldn’t you agree?  Certainly not any sort of fall weather I’ve experienced.  Well, not in the last three years, anyway.  

I want the leaves to change and slowly start to fall off of the trees, but then I think to myself, What trees?   I’d like the air to become crisp and cool – and not just early in the morning but all throughout the day.  And I am certainly not getting that here in southern California. 

So of course I’ve been looking forward to this weekend.  We’ll be in Portland for our friends’ wedding and we’ve both ben hoping for a little rain.  Not enough to ruin the wedding and reception, of course, but just enough that we can dust off our jackets and maybe a beanie and just be cold all weekend.  I was looking forward to the being away from the sun for three whole days.  

But (of course there’s a “but”) it’s supposed to be in the 70s and 80s!  Not cool at all.  Maybe a bit cloudy, but still sunny and warm.  Not what I was expecting at all.  

I am excited about seeing friends from San Francisco and, of course, getting to see two friends get married. Also, there is going to be a popcorn machine at the reception!  I love love love popcorn but so rarely get it.  My favorite kind of popcorn is day-old, or at least a few hours old, and when I lived in Santa Barbara my aunt and uncle would bring me back popcorn from the movie theater.  It would make my day.  So, needless to say, I’m excited about that.

Blank Pages

Is there anything better than a blank notebook?  The possibilities are endless.  The thoughts and ideas that can cover those pages – just the thought of that makes me a little giddy.

Of course, I mostly get stuck on the What should I fill these pages with? phase.  

Last week I bought a new journal and a new 2009 date book.  I know there are people out there who refuse to pay full price for a date book since they drop considerably in price the first week of January and, usually, I agree with that philosophy.  However, this year, I cannot wait.  And here is why: last year I waited too long and when I finally decided I wanted the 2009 date book, it was already February and the one that I wanted was no longer there.  No longer there!  The fantastic Moleskine calendar book that I’d been fondling sweetly for the previous three months was nowhere to be found because who wants to buy a calendar in February?

Procrastinators, that’s who.  Why, oh why isn’t there a store that caters to people who procrastinate?  A little late on the latest fashions?  No worries, just head on over to the Procrastinators General Store.  Or something like that – I wish I had a catchier name, but I don’t.

That’s not really where I’m going with this, though.  I’ve just been sitting here looking through all the days of 2009 and entering birthdays and anniversaries in the front pages so as no to forget them, which I tend to do.  I was hoping to enter a couple of dates (Wes’ district meeting at Disneyland, my cousin’s wedding in Seattle) but I can’t find these dates anywhere!  I thought gmail saved everything?  So why can’t I find these e-mails in the thousands upon thousands of e-mails that I have?

Or why can’t I figure out once and for all how to sync my iPhone to my computer and to mobileme (formerly .mac – seriously, Apple, you couldn’t find a better name?).  Because, let me get this straight: if I enter a number on my phone then I also have to enter it on my computer or risk having it deleted when I sync it?  But if I enter a calendar date on my computer I also have to enter it on my phone or risk losing it?  But if I want my photos downloaded from my phone to my computer (or vice versa) I just have to allow it when I connect my phone?  Good lord this is difficult!

So, yeah, a couple of things are lost and that means my calendar book is full of blank pages just waiting to be filled with such things as the Presidential Inauguration in January (please please please let Obama win because I really do not want to be the party pooper at this momentous event) and Thailand at a somewhat later date.  

And it might also be filled with due dates.  Um, for classes, people.  Geez, give me a little credit.  I’ve been thinking about taking some courses in technical and professional writing to, you know, give me some much-needed options in the way of my career path, which are right now pretty minimal.  This would allow me to write and the job hunt would be much easier when we finally move out of Southern California.  So that’s what my days are filled with: figuring it all out. Do I need another Bachelors degree, or can I just get by with my B.A. in English and some technical/professional writing courses?  Questions like that that need to be answered before any real progress can be made.

Things I’m Doing to Avoid Folding Laundry

One of the things that I hate about staying at home all day (other than the boredom that sets in around two o’clock) is that I’m left to do the laundry.  Not all the time, of course, but most of the time I do it.  And yeah, it adds to my day, but man, it’s still an awful thing to do.

First there’s the sorting, which I’m hoping to get away from by sorting it in hamper, which, so far (and it’s only been one load), is working.  But then there’s the walking down the flights of stairs (two of them) and over to the laundry room.  And then after that you’ve got to go back down to change it over and then go back one more time to remove it from the dryer!

This new apartment is a better than my last apartment in terms of laundry facilities because there are several laundry rooms with 8 washers and dryers in each room, so that way you don’t spend all night or day washing clothes.  

But still….it’s a pain.  I can’t wait until I have a house with laundry in it.  Here’s hoping that I don’t live in apartment buildings forever.  Damn you California and your expensive housing!  

The big problem with the laundry though, is that there is so much of it.  Who knew that two people could generate so much dirty laundry?  So instead of just one trip down with two loads of laundry, I’m splitting up the darks and lights into four loads.  Good God, it seems like all we do is go around changing clothes every thirty minutes and throwing them in the laundry.

(Incidentally, that’s how my brother and I were forced to start doing our own laundry.  We would throw clean clothes into the laundry to avoid having to hang them up.  I know, so sneaky.  I’m surprised my mom ever caught on.)

(Also, why is it the woman who is always doing laundry?  I might have to make some changes once I start working and have a little more leverage of the “I don’t have time” sort.)

Any how, for right now I’m the laundress.  Because, what else is taking up my day?  Well, here is what I’m doing to avoid folding the laundry that taunts me from its basket:

1) Blogging, which I now have to step up since this has gone out to all of my family (welcome to my life, but let’s keep it between the internet pages, shall we?  No need to call to discuss my laundry stories, or whatever the case may be)

2) Watching Ellen.  I still think she’s very funny no matter what anyone else thinks.

3) Wondering why the hell the Apple people would show me how to do something on their computers and their iPhones without asking me if I had made the first step to sync the two?

4) Wondering when I will go back to Apple to make the aforementioned first step to sync my computer and iPhone.

5) Wondering (lots of wondering going on over here) if I’ll make it through the Half Marathon I signed up for in October.

6) Waiting for Wes to call me to pick him so that he can play soccer and I can run (in hopes that I will be prepared for the 13.1 miles that wait for me in San Francisco).

Still, the laundry is there.  And I should probably fold it before it wrinkles, as laundry is wont to do.

Sock Weather!

One of the things I really miss about San Francisco (and Idaho, and Utah) is the weather.  The cooler temperatures, to be exact.  When I was working in Palo Alto and living in San Francisco, I loved when I’d come from weather too hot to even want to go outside to the chilly confines of the city.  On my commute home you could tell when the temperature changed and it was one of the best parts of the day.  I loved the jackets, scarves, hats and socks that kept me warm.  

Now, those same jackets, scarves, hats and socks that were such a staple of my wardrobe are now hiding in my closet.  

And this doesn’t mean that I don’t like the sun – I spent as much time as anyone at the park enjoying the sun – it just means that I like seasons as well.  And I prefer the colder ones to the disgustingly hot ones.

Southern California, unfortunately, is lousy with hot weather – keeping the cool days as rare as the hot days in San Francisco.  And yeah, it’s fun when you can sit by the pool or hang out at the beach.  But I’m ready for a change.

This week has been surprisingly cool in the mornings and I’ve finally been able to get away from my uniform of shorts and tank tops and put on jeans and a light t-shirt.  And, oh, man, has it made a difference in how I feel.

I know it won’t last.  In fact, it probably will start to warm up in the next two hours or so.  And getting through the winter season won’t be as exciting without the threat of snow (but I haven’t had that since I left Idaho, so I suppose I should be getting used to that) or really cold days.  But I’ve got two trips to Portland and one to Boise planned for this winter, and that will help.

In the mean time, I’m enjoying sock weather:

 

Sock Weather

Welcome Home

 

Welcome Home Presents

 That’s my signed first edition David Sedaris book, nestled between miniatures of the columns at Powell’s Bookstore, my home away from home when I’m in Portland (so I guess that would actually make it my home away from my home away from home.  Or something).  Wes got them for me as a Welcome Home present when I finally made my last trip from San Francisco to Orange County.  

A very welcome surprise.  I’ve added it to my now-small-but-hopefully-growing Rare Books.   The book next to it is a collection of stories from J.D. Salinger, some of which have never been published before (including the short story that developed into The Catcher In The Rye).  

David Sedaris is coming to Long Beach next month and I scored tickets to see him, so hopefully I’ll add a personal note to the signature.  You know, because I’m sure that we will make a connection worthy of a personal note.  I’ve been wanting to see him ever since I missed his appearance in Santa Barbara about six years ago.  Except, not having a car, I rarely listened to the radio and wouldn’t find out he was coming until it was too late.  This time, though, the signed first edition spurred me on and I searched his dates until I found the one that worked for me.  

I cannot wait to see him speak.

Wherin I ask the internet who to vote for

Yes, I’m dating a Republican. No, I don’t especially like it. Mostly, I ignore it – which is easy to do since I’m the one making a big deal out of it.

But lately, what with the election and all, I’m having a hard time letting it go. It scares me that McCain and Palin could win. I am offended that McCain picked Palin just to pick a woman and I can’t understand why women (and men) are falling for it.

So tonight Wes and I took some quizzes: who we should vote for if we had no clue. I am astoundingly (is that the right word- there’s been some wine) for Obama on these quizzes. He’s sort of split. Which makes me happy.

But still…. This election scares me. Scares me for the kids I might want to have. Scares me for the kids friends and family are having. Is it too rash to say unequivocally that I won’t have kids if Palin/NcCain win?

I thought not.

Almost Ready

Ah, back from vacation and ready to tackle the world.  Or something like that.  I’m not sure what I’m ready for, quite frankly.  No, that’s not true.  I’m ready for a job to just fall in to my lap.  And not just any job, the right job for me.  In spite of the fact that I have no clue what that job may be.  I’m still floundering here, thinking that every potential job is A Great Opportunity and would be A Great Career Path.  But the truth is, I’m just saying that because I’m scared that maybe nothing better will come along.  

I haven’t even taken the time to sit down and think about what I want to do. What would be a good fit for me.  Ideally, just sitting at home and writing all day.  But guess what?  I can barely do that!  I have grand ideas to wake up and write every morning, but then there’s a marathon of some grisly crime drama and before you know it the day is gone.  

So today, instead of following that path I showered early (early for someone without a job) and set to writing and to thinking about what I want to do this time around.  At my last job I was miserably happy, if that makes sense.  I started out loving my job and what I was doing and then I just lost it.  A combination of a growing company and lessening duties, paired with a boss who was communcationally challenged.  But I loved the people I worked with and the perks that came along with said company so I toughed it out.  And swore that the next time around I’d do what I wanted to do and what I was good at. Except, I’m not sure what that is.

And I take it out on the fact that I’m in Southern California because I don’t want to be here and it’s easy to place the blame on failing economy than to tell myself the truth: That I’m being lazy.  That I’m afraid that if I say what I want to do and it doesn’t happen then I will look like a failure.  I’m not prepared for that.  I’m not sure if putting all of this into words will help force me into making a decision, but it’s a start.  

I’ve got to decide to make the best of this situation.  I’m not just not sure when I’ll be ready for that.

Bullet Points, Belize it or Not

I picked up a cold the last day in Belize and am trying to fight it off, so this is what you get:

 

• Diving in 84-degree water with no wet suit is a lot more fun than diving in 60-ish-degree water in a 7mm wet suit
• The water in Belize looks fake it’s so clear 
• Nurse sharks are okay to dive around – a little scary, but not much
• Caribbean Reef Sharks that are 9-10 ft long are not so fun to swim around
• Island life is slower
• We had a really nice fishing/beacg BBQ day planned – we ended up BBQ’ing at a construction site  - not quite what we were expecting
• We saw Howler monkies, tarantulas, crocodiles, large lizards, scorpions, frogs, geckos, and sting rays
• We visited a Mayan Ruin
• We went cave tubing and zip lining
• Rum punch is yummy and available just about anywhere
• I dropped a chicken at the World Famous Chicken Drop - perhaps that’s how I got sick
• Our resort’s pool was amazing – swim-up bar

That’s about all I’m capable of for now.  We had a great time but are both glad to be back in our own bed.  Diving was amazing and so were the things we saw underwater.  

Now it’s back to life and trying to find a job.  For reals this time.