Back Home Again

Well, I had a nice trip to Oakland. Stayed near a movie theater and saw "Traitor" with Don Cheadle. I went into the movie with very few expectations, so I was kind of ready for anything. The movie was quite good. I won't spoil it here, but it was worth seeing. Don Cheadle is such an underrated actor. I loved him in "Hotel Rwanda", too.

Then came the homecoming...I was scheduled to fly out of Oakland on Friday at 3:15pm - I thought it would be less busy at that time of the day. WRONG. It was a totally packed zoo, so when they asked for volunteers to delay their flight, I was first in line. I got a $200 flight voucher plus the price of my ticket returned and was booked on the 9:50pm flight - only to be delayed until 10:25pm...Um. I could have stayed at work, or gone to the Farmer's Market...or something... Oh well. I read an entire book. And worked on Act One of "Phantom". I guess that is something.

So, I am home. I was not able to get a copy of "Life is a Verb" in Oakland - the Barnes and Noble didn't have it yet. Disappointing. But I got it yesterday!! at Borders in Beaverton. Go figure. I would think that Oakland rated before BEAVERTON, but whatever. I'm happy because I have my book.

Oakland Images

Ferry from Oakland to SF - the Ferry Building



Ferry Building in SF - exterior



Ferry Building in SF - interior



Everett and Jones BBQ - Jack London Square



Everett and Jones BBQ - Jack London Square

Oakland trip

Well, I definitely stayed in a place closer to all the stuff. I haven't seen anything though, because one of the people from work invited me to dinner with her family, so I didn't have to scrounge for food. Haha. This time, there is all kinds of stuff around me.

On Sunday, we rode the ferry across to San Francisco and went to the Ferry Building. We didn't know it was going to be closing at 5pm or we might have planned better. We got a little shopping done and then waited for the Ferry to come back. It was a good chance to talk. Then a bit of dinner and then off for home.

I will post some pictures if I get a chance.

Music Meme (from Lost and Found Memes on the Daily Meme)

Instructions:

1. Grab the nearest CD
2. Put it in your CD player (or start your mp3 player, iTunes, etc.)
3. Skip to Song 3 (or load the 3rd song in your 3rd playlist)
4. Post the verse in your blog/journal along with these instructions. Don't name the band or the album title.


"Something in the way you love me won't let me be
I don't want to be your prisoner, so baby wont you set me free?
Stop playing with my heart,
finish what you start when you make my love come down.
If you want me, let me know.
Baby let it show -
Honey don't you fool around
Just try to understand
I've given all I can
Cause you've got the best of me..."

Going to Oakland again

Yes, I am on my way out of town again. This time, I actually had some warning. I will be down there for a week. This time, I decided to stay a little further away from the office I am working in so that I could have some entertainment and food. Turns out I picked a perfect place (assuming that the hotel isn't run down and horrible)...right near Jack London Square - shopping, farmer's market, cinema, Indian and other restaurants all nearby - and a Barnes and Noble.



I will be going in to see if I can purchase the book "Life is a Verb" by Patti Digh. I am VERY excited to get it and I might, in fact, buy it for my friends who will be meeting me tomorrow.



My good friends from California, whom I haven't seen in a LONG time, are driving up from the Sacramento area to visit with me tomorrow. I wish it was a longer stay, but alas, it is just for the day. Shari, Barbara and Carol will be meeting me at my hotel at around noon-ish. I can't wait to see them.


Barbara and Shari (Reno Christmas party)

Who knows if I will be able to use the business center in this place to keep you all updated. The first hotel I stayed in down there had a little computer in the lobby, but the @ key didn't work, so I couldn't post because I couldn't even log into my account. Sigh. The second place had a business center that was busy EVERY TIME I checked, so I finally gave up. Suffice to say, I may or may not be able to update my adventures before I come home next Friday.

I have a wicked schedule here for a couple of weeks...1 week in Oakland, signed performance "Phantom of the Opera" on Sept. 4, teaching a workshop Sept. 12, 13,14 (I think those are the right dates) and Region V Interpreting Conference in Sacramento September 24-28. I'm also supposed to start teaching that week. YIKES!!

Murphy's Law?

So all the computers in my work life have gone insane with the dreaded Blue Screen of Death...it is driving me crazy. And I ordered a pair of just white tennis shoes and when they came (I get what I deserve for ordering shoes off the internet), they were grandma tan - you know the kind. For about a nano-second, I thought, "Just keep it. It is less trouble than sending them back." I even looked at the box, sure that I had just pressed the wrong button and deserved the hideous looking things...but NO. The box said SPORT WHITE. Now, unless I am insane, SPORT WHITE was never the kind of tan that these shoes are...Seriously - orthopedic shoe tan. Now, if I needed an orthopedic shoe or if I had ordered a tan shoe, I would be fine with that. I didn't. I ordered white.

Pretty...

This is the best I can muster today...It has been a long week. Plus, I have been staying up late watching the Olympics! Fun, but tiring. And it is like 100+ degrees outside..

Olympic Fever - Confession

I LOVE the Olympics. I always think, "This time, I won't really care...I don't know any of the atheletes anyway...I will read about it..." then the reality. I LOVE watching the Olympics. I love that people are competing for their country, I love that 3 atheletes come from some tiny country we have never heard of and they probably won't win, but they are just proud to be there. I love the triumph of the spirit and the surprises because someone told them they couldn't win.

I remember seeing some of the 1976 Olympics when I was a little girl - we lived in Germany at the time and had visited the Olympic stadiums in Munich. We watched Nadia Comaneci - the first time I had ever watched gymnastics knowingly.

Anyway, I have just loved the whole Michael Phelps challenge to win 8 gold medals and the greatness of Dara Torres coming back to swimming for her 5th? Olympics at age 41. The US Men's Gymnastics team performing despite losing 2 of their team leaders. The women's Gymnastics team coming together to do good work despite injuries. Watching the Chinese Men's gynmastics team perform at home, the synchronized diving, etc.

Did I say I LOVE the Olympics?

Kind Deed or Manipulated?

I know I have been away...I think I have that reaction to Nablopomo - I enjoy it, but it is a lot of pressure to come up with something new every day. This week has been kind of crappy, so I just took a break from the blog.

So, here's a situation that happened yesterday that I was thinking about...

I went to Safeway during my lunch break and as I was approaching the entrance, I saw a man sitting in a wheelchair. He looked to be in his late 40s, just sitting in his wheelchair. He wasn't close to the door - he was over to the side in front of the soda machines there. When I walked by, I expected him to ask me for money or to be selling something (even though he didn't have a table or any items). Sometimes they have had veterans outside of the store selling lapel ribbons or something. He didn't say anything to me as I walked by and I breathed my usual sigh of relief. I know there are people out there - panhandlers - who are just looking to earn a fast buck, but there are also people out there who are so desperate for some drop of kindness and some help that they resort to begging. I have a hard time with that - how do I know which they are? If I'm downtown, I usually can spot the difference, but here in a suburban area...who knows? So, with relief, I entered the building.

When I came out of the store, he was still there, but my guard was down. I had forgotten to buy a drink inside for my lunch and I walked to the vending machine. I tried to go to one that was a little ways away from the guy. As soon as I stopped walking, he said, "I don't suppose you could spare some change? I've been turned down for disability and have refiled, but it takes a long time." I asked him to hold on just a minute and I would see what I could do. I bought my pop - with the only singles I had in my pocket...since when do sodas cost $1.50 from a vending machine for goodness sake? I knew I only had $20 in my pocket. I talked to the guy for a few minutes. I told him not to give up and that my friend had been in a similar situation - applying for disability and getting turned down. This guy was worried he might have to hire a lawyer who will then take 30%, but he had broken his back and was still recovering.

We talked for a few minutes and I tried to be encouraging - he seemed very sad and spoke in a soft voice. I took the $20 out of my pocket and handed it to him. I said, "I hope this helps a little. What's your name?" His name was Steve. I told him my name and I told him to hang in there and not give up. I wished him a good day and looked him in the eye as I shook his hand.

As I walked away, I hoped I did something kind for someone in need. If he was manipulating me, I don't ever need to know. He will know. I shook his hand and treated him with humanity. If he was lying, I hope he never forgets that sometimes people just try to do the right thing.

Places I've Lived...Nostalgia continued

This is where we lived in Florida

Panama City, Florida - 5230 Park Street. The marker is on the wrong house. We were the corner lot on the inside. We lived across the street from Nina Haanio (her father was Hawaiin), Thalia Smith, Julie (big hair), Debbie (Italian family), Sandy (mean girl lived down the street), Robert (Linda's big crush), Joe Pitt lived somewhere around (Robert's friend), Dee Dee Small lived on the opposite inside corner lot. We rode our bikes around doing the "what do you want to do?" "I don't know what do you what to do?" lament that kids do when they are 11 and 12. During the summer, we went swimming every day - either at the base pool or in the Tyndall Bay.


Here are some pictures of the beaches where we swam and the pool, too. My sister has all the pictures of our house and friends in Panama City, so I have to try and talk her into scanning them for me.

Panama City Beach


Mexico Beach




Tyndal AFB Swimming Pool



It is hard to find pictures of some of this stuff, even online. I was trying to find the schools I went to, but some schools don't even have pictures online. Some of the schools don't exist anymore, I think.

Anyway...just trying to record some of this so that I won't forget.

100 Posts on WILD RUMPUSING

This is my 100th post to Wild Rumpusing! I have two main blogs that I have been working on, and between the two have 173 posts (there are others from when I was dabbling, but these two are the ones I have focused on).

100 posts is a great place to stop and celebrate. As I said in an earlier post, it's not like I've been writing the blog of the year or the great American novel, but it is a starting place. When things happen, I think about what I will write here, so I think it has definitely turned my brain to a place of thinking and writing that it hasn't been in for a LONG TIME.

When I was in high school, I wrote something every day - a lot of it was useless dreck but some of it turned out all right and I worked my writing muscles, if you know what I mean. I guess that's what I'm doing with this whole blogging thing - working out my writing muscles. When my Dad died, I starting thinking about all the stories that are lost and all the things people will never know about us. I am reminded of this anew each time I lose someone close.

I have a lot of stories to tell and a lot of memories I don't want to fade into the background, not to mention all the things that happen in life and thoughts that we have about strange things. I guess I thought this was an interesting way to capture those things.

Anyway, Happy 100 posts!