Sunday, March 30, 2008

A Random Day

I'm sick of my job. I'm sad about this. I love the building I work in, love downtown Tacoma, and love my coworkers. Well, almost all of my coworkers. Sadly, I share office space with one of the most diabolically egotistical women on the planet.She's a silly, stringy-haired thing in her mid 20s. It says bad things about me if I let someone like her bother me, so I usually do a fine job of ignoring her. I think you know where this is going.

Saturday morning obnoxious coworker started in on how she's "Leading the pack" and "In line for an amazing raise!" and "The shining star of Tacoma!" I know this doesn't absolve me, but I'd only had a few hours of nightmare-infested sleep. I...wasn't feeling well. My responses to her were something to the effect of "Grrrowl!" "Grrrrrr!" and "Rooarrrrrrrr!" I sounded like something from a horror movie. I may as well have been carrying a chainsaw. She actually flinched at one point, and yes, I liked it. No, I'm lying. I loved it.

I walked out the door at noon as calm and relaxed as a rabid kangaroo on crack. I was walking with Robert to his car when he decided to accompany me on a walk. That was the start to the Random Day.

Here's a list of what happened on the Random Day, which was, by the way, very enjoyable and which possibly stopped me from leaving a Wendy-shaped bas relief in my 14th floor living room window:

1. Sat and talked for an hour and a half in a zen-like hospital lobby
2. Walked through a hail storm to get back to Robert's car at work.
3. Had lunch at Anthony's at Pt. Defiance
4. Drove into Pt. Defiance park. Passed through groves of lime-green phosphorescent
trees. Drove by the logging museum. Wandered into a covered picnic area surrounded
by majestic trees, amazing Puget Sound views and pristine fresh air. I decided
in earnest,that it's where I'd like to get married.
5. Saw a sign for "Blacksmith demonstration". I fantasized that the
blacksmith was a 6'2, 50 year old dentist who did the blacksmith thing on
weekends to build up his already-impressive biceps. Alas, we were too late
for the demo.
6. Rode the ferry round trip to Vashon Island
7. Made the same wrong turn onto the highway leading to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
that resulted in a ticket New Year's Eve.
8. Went to the T-Mobile booth at the Tacoma Mall to find out how to load photos from
phone onto my computer.
9. Went to Dairy Queen
10. Passed a "Quick Test" booth on exiting the mall, staffed by one guy with a crew
cut and the other with the kind of gigantic, two-foot high spikes in his hair
that were radical 30 years ago. Both men were behind a full-walled glass enclosure
like a zoo exhibit
11. Exited Tacoma mall trying to figure out what they were testing.
12. Passed a "Learn How to Ride!" sign and saw motorcycle neophites buzzing
in a circle around a parking lot.

I think the highlight of the day was the Vashon Island ferry. We've had bizarre weather this week, with snow of all absurd things. We headed out to Vashon Island around 4:30 pm and got some delicious late afternoon sun on the way over. With my eyes closed and the sun on my face, the horrible morning was far from my mind. Watching the sun sparkle on the water, feeling the wind blow back my hair, and taking in the panoramic views was not only therapeutic but divine. I live only three miles from the ferry dock. I need to get out on the water more often, whether it's part of a random day (which I need more of) or a planned one.

Monday, March 17, 2008

More El Paso (Read previous post 1st, if orderly type)

International Bridge. These people are walking from Mexico into the US.

How wonderful is this? I'm a condiment freak, and it doesn't get much better than chopped onions and cilantro, lime wedges, whole roasted chilis, and mole sauce. Hopefully I didn't abuse.

Downtown El Paso

Juarez, Mexico as seen from the highway. Texas on one side of the highway, Mexico on the other. Very cool.

A mile or two from New Mexico. I love this sort of barren landscape.

El Paso

Sometimes you just have to see what a dot on a map looks like in all its sprawling glory. I have a friend in El Paso, so off I went.
Here is a 4th grade geography lesson: El Paso is on the border of Mexico, and only a few miles from New Mexico. It is over 80% Hispanic.


In ways the city looks like Phoenix- blue skies, palm trees, taupe mountains. I think El Paso is prettier, maybe because it's at a higher elevation.

Since my friend Gil is an El Paso native, I got to go to the type of Mexican restaurant the natives frequent. The food was wonderful, but this Margarita was made with wine and tasted like...watered down wine. I also got to sample Horchato, a sweetened rice drink. It tasted like the milk at the bottom of a bowl of Cinnamon Life cereal.

When the Holiday Inn shuttle driver was driving me from the airport, I asked about Mexico. He pointed and showed me the lights of Juarez. He may as well have pointed out the rings of Saturn. I am fascinated by borders. As border cities go, Juarez is a bit challenged. Over 100 people have been murdered there so far this year due to the drug cartels.

El Paso Zoo

Gil had to work on Saturday, so I went to the zoo. A lot of the exhibits were being renovated, so while talking to Peter in Sweden (I decided I needed some company. and liked the idea of being on the border of Mexico and talking to someone in Sweden) I proclaimed the zoo "The worst zoo in America." After more of a look around, I upgraded it to decent.

When I told Peter I was looking at a donkey, he asked if there was a little Mexican man next to it, taking a nap under his sombrero. Interesting that such a 60s type of iconic sterotype would find it's way to Sweden.

I'm at a loss for how to caption this...

Monday, March 10, 2008

27 Years Later

Twenty six years and ten months ago (May 10, 1981) I finished my bachelors degree. Now I have my masters.

I finished with a 3.9 GPA. I'm proud of this simply because it took a lot of self discipline to do this while working 40+ hours a week.

Now that I have some free time, I'm contemplating what I am going to do and learn next. I'm going to work as much overtime as I can because the more money I have, the happier I am. I'm planning on taking dance lessons again. I'm probably going to join some kind of writers group. Other than that, I'm not sure. Maybe one night- just one- I'll sit in front of the TV and do nothing but stare at it. Hopefully I can find something worthy of this mission. Are there any channels that show Beavis and Butthead reruns?

Planet *uckin'

An auto salvage yard paid me $150 for my car and towed it away. I was sad to see it go. I'd fantasized that it was the miracle disposable car. One day, I dreamed,it would reach the half a million mile mark. Perhaps I should have fantasized further and given it retractable rotoblades to whirrrr me up out of traffic all together.

I haven't started shopping for a new car yet. My village lifestyle and my capacity to walk fast and far have made securing a new vehicle a less-than-urgent matter. I may even choose to not have a car for a while. What may make me cave is the idiots with whom I must share my occassional public transit foray.

I am becoming convinced that there are an increasing number of Americans whose practicing vocabulary consists of 200 or fewer words. Why, they must rationalize to themselves, bother with tedious adjectives when the word fuckin' can be substituted for just about anything?

At the bus stop I encountered three groups of people. Young man in group #1 " I hate it when people fuckin' text message me cuz I have to pay for that fuckin' shit. They're fuckin' idiots." Woman in group #2 turning to man with her "Hey, what the fuck're you doing? I fuckin told you not to fuckin' do that." The verbiage of group #3 contained roughly the same number of fuckins.

When I lived in Portland, I had next door neighbors I thought of as The Fuckins. They were three construction workers in their 20s who smoked their countless cigarettes on their balcony, thus unwittingly treating me to their witty repartee: "Yeah my fuckin' boss, my fuckin' girlfriend, fuckin', fuckin' fuckin'..."

I told my friend Tracy that the Fuckins would end up setting the building on fire. They did. This was not a psychic prediction, just one based on the fact that they balanced their cigarettes on the ledge of the wooden balcony.

Anyway, America is full of fuckins and I'm having a hard time daaling with it I'm starting to see all these fuckins as being something less than human. Perhaps one day when a toddler answers "moo" and "baa" to the questions what does a cow say and what does a sheep say, he will also proudly answer "fuckin'!!" when asked "What does an uneducated,apathetic, vocabulary-impoverished idiot say?"

I think I better start carrying my Ipod with me when I take the bus.

Monday, March 03, 2008

Tacoma It Is

This afternoon I told the regional director that I want to stay in Tacoma. She emailed back something about the Tacoma office continuing to benefit from my performance and leadership. It was nice. I feel very good about my decision. There's something 'just right' about Tacoma for me, and I won't have to give up my village lifestyle. I adore having most everything I need in walking distance. I can't stand a car dependent lifestyle. Especially now that I don't have one. Wha ha.

My coworkers had good ideas as to what to do with my car. I called an auto salvage place and am waiting to hear if the owner is interested in paying me $500 for parts. I'll take whatever the want to give me- they'll tow it away, and I'll start looking for a new car. Fair enough. It's hard for me to get excited about a new car. Cars just don't thrill me. I see them as merely a way to get from point A to point B.

One more week of school. Proud of me? Buy me a Rotato!

Actually I have no desire for a Rotato. A minimalist at heart, I am disdainful of unnecessary gadgetry. I do, however, think Rotato is a fabulous word, and quite possibly the greatest (as in most ridiculous) Ronco product ever. Or is it K-Tel? One of the companies sells horrible 70s album complilations Get up and boooogie and the other sells Rotatos and the like.

Only you know for sure.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Famous Last Words

"I think my disposable car will last another year!" I raved in a recent post.

Wrong.

It sputtered to a smoke-spewing stop three feet from the Sears Automotive Center at the Tacoma Mall. Never mind the smoke spewing and the sputtering. Did you catch the part about my car dying right in front of the Sears Automotive Center? I really am a ridiculously lucky person. Years ago when I was in photography school in Santa Barbara, I drove up a remote mountain pass somewhere around Ojai. As the sun was starting to set, I packed up the 4 x 5 camera I never made friends with and got ready for the 45 minute drive home. Only my car wouldn't start. And it was starting to get dark- and I was on a pretty remote mountain pass. Keep in mind this was in the days before cell phones. Five minutes into my quandry, a car pulled up. The driver was a mechanic. He fixed my car. Off I went.

The Sears guys first checked the oil. It was full. They sniffed and poked at a few other things (ew, that sounded gross, didn't it?) before deciding it was the transmission. Or as they first put it "This isn't good."

It's not that bad either. As mentioned, it was a disposable car. Eleven months of driving for approximately $1,500 isn't bad.

They pushed my deceased Buick into a parking space and I took a bus home. Now I have to figure out how one disposes of a disposable car. I'm hoping someone will tow it away and pay me a few dollars for parts. I'll have to ask around at work tomorrow to see how this is done. Needless to say, I'll be walking to work. Yet another reason why I love living one mile from my place of employment.