Sunday morning.

It's Sunday morning, I've had two cups of coffee and the house is quiet.  I need to write something, ANYTHING, so I put my fingers on the keys and .. GO.  Sometimes it's like that.  I just open up my brain and words tumble out.  Sometimes I start with an idea in mind and really have something specific to say and sometimes I just babble.  Today is a babble sort of blog.

I am reading a book written by my friend, Kevin Sutton.  It's called "Dear Midol" and it is a series of essays about being the father of five daughters.  In his introduction he asserts "My wife is a saint"  as I read, I have to agree with him.  Ellen is a tolerant woman.  If Kevin were married to me , he'd have to sleep with one eye open.  Thankfully, this is not the case.  The book is very funny, as is Kevin, but I can't seem to finish it.  I have been burning my candle at both ends lately and yesterday I slept about ten hours.  I need to be cloned.  I think I am overbooking myself, so in the next few weeks, I think I am going to scale back some of my activities and actually have a "Day of Rest" Yeah.  Right.   This week's activities include:  A possible dinner with someone who is flying into LAX late tomorrow.  We will see if the stars align on that one.  Tuesday? Tai Chi class.  Wednesday? A McGroarty Board meeting and I need to do my homework on that one.  Thursday?  Dinner with friends who always make me laugh and relax.  Friday?  Ah NOTHING ON THE CALENDAR!!!!  Yes!  We have a winner.  Saturday is a lecture at Central about the reopening of the building.  I MIGHT go.  Dunno at this point.

Last night, we got together with some of our neighbors to watch "Casablanca"  I seem to be the only one who ever saw the whole movie.  It was great. We talked about how classic films from the 30's and 40's are story and character driven and how films these days rely on personality and special effects.  I am lobbying for "The Maltese Falcon" for the next one, but we will probably end up watching something SciFi.  It's all good.   We have dinner first at Casa Myers. I made homemade pizza.  It's pretty good.  The dough takes forever to make, but it's worth the effort in my book. 

Planning a lazy sort of day today.  I have a few things that MUST be done, but I am factoring in a long read and a bit of a siesta in the afternoon.

Just a bad day.

I try to remind myself from the lyrics of a Berkely Hart Song the "it's just a bad day to have a bad day, any other day would have been ok, nothing you can do and there's nothing you can say.  It was just a bad day to have a bad day."

Yesterday, I had a telephone "encounter" with a supervisor from another department that threw me into the worst anxiety attack I have ever had.  I stopped breathing, My chest felt like my heart wasn't working either, I really thought I would need paramedics.  This "man" and I use the term loosely, as a person who bullies and threatens to get his way is not a MAN in my book, has done this before.  No more!  I am asking to have NO telephone contact whatsoever with him.  Should I need to contact him, it will be via email or I will ask someone else to speak with him. He is a bully and I don't need to have someone speak to me in such a way as to cause me medical distress.  I am a fairly strong person.  Hell, when I was nineteen, someone broke into my home, loaded a shotgun in front of me and put it to the back of my head and I remained calm.  I don't need work to be a battleground.  Luckily for me, I work with some of the most wonderful people in the world, and they came running to help me.  I appreciate my LAPL family every day, but yesterday really showed me that I am working in the right place.  My co-workers could not be more kind.

I am glad it's Friday.  I am looking forward to the weekend, to a movie night with friends.  I am planning on making my homemade pizza. There is something about working with dough that is soothing.  As Fall approaches and I can get back in my kitchen and use the oven I plan on trying my hand at artisan breads and my Dad's pretzels.  Cooking and baking "grounds' me and I need to feel like myself again.

I start Tai Chi classes next week!  I am looking forward to seeing how I feel afterward.

Tuesday evening

OK, so I am annoyed today.  Maybe I need a vacation.  My patience is as thin as hospital soup.  Stuff that bugs me:

There is a cot room on our floor in the library.  People are supposed to be able to rest if they need it.  I often use it to take my "power nap" which helps me focus and get through the day.  I really HATE it when I go to the cot room only to find someone reading ( there are other couches for that) or lying back on the couch chatting on the phone.  OK, it's not MY room or anything and there are others who use it for it's intended purpose.  It just bugs me to have to lie on the floor or on the other couch in the middle of the kitchen if I am not feeling well ( and I wasn't today!)

For the past week or so, I have been getting calls from the Monitoring Center about one of the branches.  I open a job ticket and when the tech gets there, there is nothing in the system and it is clear.  The tech and I weer puzzled about this, until today.  TODAY I got a call from the senior complaining about the system.  She said "it's been going off every day and I reset it but it does it again the next day.  ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!  When you RESET it, you erase the history.  THAT explains it.  I emailed the tech.

I am on the election committee for my union ( I'm the chair)  Today we had a meeting to review the candidate paperwork and put together the slate.  We need to do this NOW, as it is time critical. We got there and the staff had thoughtfully provided dinner and all the paperwork so that we would get out parking covered and the meeting stipend that our union allows.  What WASN'T there was the freaking candidate paperwork.  We searched but it was not to be found!

I came home and Chris was making dinner ( I had made a meatloaf in the morning and it was in the fridge waiting for whoever came home first to pop it in the oven) but the oven wasn't working and by the time we got it lit we were starving.  The meatloaf came out just fine and I had a nice bottle of Chateau St Jean Cabernet to mellow me out.  JUST what the doctor ordered.

Friday morning.

Note to self.  Make sure the POT in in place BEFORE activating the coffee maker. Yup.  I had coffee and grounds all over the place.  Never make a pot of coffee until you have a cup, I suppose.  I hope this does not portend the type of day I am going to have.  I fell back to sleep after the alarm went off, something I never do.  I must be tired.  I have an event this evening and I wonder if I should cancel and just come home and get some rest. I will see.


I am looking forward to the weekend.  It's been a long and busy week here at Casa Myers and maybe, just MAYBE I will have some down time to rest on Sunday.  I think I will plan on it.


I ordered a book, written by a friend.  It's called "Dear Midol"  by Kevin Sutton about the challenges of being the only man in a six woman household.  Kevin is one of the most genuinely funny people I know.  I am looking forward to reading this book.  I need a good laugh.  If it's a funny as I think it's going to be, I will be posting complete reviews all over the place. It may be a "vanity press" but it's available on Amazon.

Looking forward to getting together with friends this weekend for a much promised dinner of  Toad-in -the Hole.  I believe at least one family member was disappointed that I will NOT be using real toad. Real toad is had to come by in the Fall  JUST KIDDING PEOPLE-   it's a sausage dish.  I love to cook and find it relaxing to get in the kitchen and chop things. 

C'mon Coffee do your job!

Up late last night, as we welcomed our friend Jenn who will be staying with us a bit, trying out Los Angeles to see if she likes it here.  Went out to Long Beach airport to pick her up.  I like Long Beach Airport.  It has the feel of an old fashioned airport with a modern take.  While we waited we went into a little shop that advertised "Gourmet Coffee"  yeah.  Folgers.  They didn't have anything like the specialty coffees I am used to.  One guy tried to get ICED COFFEE.  Nope.  All they had was coffee.  HOT and in a cup was how it was.  The  counter guy didn't offer any special creams, just half and half.  Ah well.  It was coffee and I needed some last night.  I am on my second cup this morning.  I drink two cups every morning and that usually does the trick; but I am tired and hope to gain some kind of jolt from the caffeine.  Gonna be a long day and an early night.  I am super busy at work this week; I have two projects I am trying to finish and if another fire alarm goes down I am going to lose my mind ( what there is left of it anyway).

I just realized I didn't post this yesterday, so this is a TWO day post.   We went to the Foothill Blvd food-trucks last night.  We are Johnny-come-lately on the event and it seems to be winding down.  There were only about half the trucks there used to be.  Nothing thrilled us and we went to one of the new brick-and mortar places we have gone to before.  Pena's actually started with the  Food Trucks and got a place up there.  They were not hurting for business and the food was pretty good.   We laugh about the lack of good food options up her, you have fast food or Mexican. There is a good Italian deli, but they are just take out; and I make Italian style food mostly ( right now- yes at 7 am) I am making sauce and meatballs in the crock pot.  Gonna be an BUSY evening and I need to make SOMETHING for everyone to eat.

Still needing GALLONS of coffee or more sleep!

Happy Birthday, Kaye Darwin Thomas

I worked with Kaye Thomas during all those library moves during the second phase of the library construction project.  Like most of my crew chiefs, he became my right hand in getting the work done quickly and with out too much drama.  He ran a tight crew- no "liquid lunches" like the Crest Movers of old.  We usually had the same guys on the job and that made it easier.  He was a former Marine, who had served in Korea.  He told me he had been blown out of a jeep and had a problem with his hip.  He talked about his family, how he had killed a man in a bar fight and was sent to jail because at the time Utah did not recognize self defense.  It took a year for him to be released and in that year he had told his wife to "make a life for herself" and their marriage ended.  I always got the sense he never stopped loving her.  He was proud of his granddaughter, who had followed his footsteps by joining the Corps.  How he wound up working for Crest Movers in downtown LA and living in a fleabag hotel is beyond me.  He was always neat as a pin and ready  to work.  I worried about him, he wasn't a young man and he wasn't in the best of health.  He was getting ready to go into the hospital, the VA, to get his hip replaced when he died.  He had a heart attack on the job, THANKFULLY not MY job, although I probably would have made him go to the hospital sooner if it had been one of my jobs. The guys told me he looked awful but he was a stubborn man and he told them he would be alright.  One member of his crew actually did CPR while waiting for the paramedics to show, but it was too late.  They called me to tell me while I was on vacation.  I asked about services and here's where it got bad.  BECAUSE he had no family who stepped forward, the County held is body to bury him in a pauper's grave.  I went NUTS!  The man was an honored member of our armed forces ( remember he was getting service from the VA, that meant he was honorably discharged).  I went to work on the Coroner's Office.  I was SUCH a pest, they declared me Friend of the Deceased, and gave me information regarding the plans.  They would NOT look into getting him a Military burial, until I was talking to a co-worker, crying in anger and frustration.  She had a cousin who worked for a County Supervisor.  Lo and Behold the VERY NEXT DAY, I get a call telling me they are releasing him to the military and giving me the name of the funeral home taking care of it.  Surprise, Surprise Surprise!   I called to find out about services, but was told that because there was no family, there would be none.  There would be an honor guard, but no one else was allowed to attend.  I started to cry.  There is an Irish tradition, that someone must shed tears for the dead.  I sobbed on the phone to the poor woman at the funeral home who said that she wasn't supposed to do this, but i could add an inscription to the headstone.  I looked at the paperwork she sent me and found that the words "dear friend Semper Fi" just fit in the space I was allowed. I wanted someone who visited his grave to know he was loved and honored.  I tried in vain to find his family.  I know he had a daughter he spoke of and his granddaughter, but was unable to find them.  I hope somehow they found out and have visited his grave.  I have visited twice, as my parents are also buried in Riverside National Cemetery.  I miss him and was honored to have called him a friend. 

So, wherever you are--Happy Birthday, Kaye.

Defining moments

Yesterday marked the 12th anniversary of the attack on our nation by a group of cowards.  Everyone who is old enough to remember will always remember where they were when they heard and how we watched the terrible events unfold and the courage of those New Yorkers at the World Trade Center and those on Flight 93 who fought back.  We will never forget the attack on the Pentagon.  The thing is, that our enemies forgot to study the American character.  When you attack us, we gather together.  We help each other and become a stronger.  It does not shatter us, it focuses us. 

Every generation has this type of defining moment; the loss of our innocence.  For my generation, it was the assassination of JFK. I was five, but remember the event clearly.  For my parent, obviously, it was Pearl Harbor.  This is the defining moment of my daughter's generation.  How they chose to live decided it's meaning. This is a quote from a poem about JFK, but it resonates in all events that are filled with injustice.  Do we lie on the ground and huddle in a ball and not fight back?  Do we become paranoid and suspect everyone?  If we do, "they" win.  We must remember that there IS evil in the world, but there is a lot of good out there too.  We must not let it dictate our lives.

Weekend adventures

Friday night, Chris and I went to see Hamlet presented by the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company. As I said, it is a marvelous production and I am hoping to see it again with friends this Sunday.  It is a unique slant on the classic piece ( who KNEW Rosenkrantz was a lady?- It WORKED!)  I urge you to see it, in any case.  We need to support local theater.

On the way there, the GPS decided to take us to Torrance rather than West LS- who knows why, but we figured it out BEFORE we went the wrong way.  We needed to grab a bite to eat and stopped at a Fatburger.  Now I ask you, WHO in their right minds names a business FAT burger.  It sounds so.. unappetizing. But the thing is a chain and I hadn't been to one in ages, so in we went.  I got the chicken strips  with ranch dressing on the side.  They were ok, nice and crispy and not greasy, which is a bonus. CHRIS should have read the sign as to just what they put on the burger.  He HATES pickles and mustard.  He asked for NO pickles, so they loaded it with pickle relish.  YUCK ( I really hate pickle relish)  There was also a sea of mustard.  We used more than a few napkins to try to clear the burger of the unwanted condiments.  He liberally doused it with BOTH kinds of Tabasco, which were at the table, but there was no ketchup, which I found odd.  The had this really weird soda dispenser.  It had about a gillion types of soda it dispensed.  I got orange sparkling water, which had a little TOO much orange and not enough water. It had screen after screen of choices.  I felt a bit overwhelmed. I might have been more amused if we didn't have about 15 minutes to eat.

Sunday at Yuca's, sitting at the sidewalk table was a wonderful way to wind down.  It was a lovely day, not too hot and the food was, as always, terrific.  It's always good to celebrate with friends!

LA Friends.  We have a friend who is moving to LA and will probably be looking for work in the next few weeks.  Any leads on Administrative/office work would be appreciated!

Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company's Production of Hamlet

Let me first say that I really love the idea behind the Women's Shakespeare Company, so I was thrilled to be able ( via a Facebook post) to attend a Preview night last evening.

Chris and I had a little GPS adventure, but we both had a better idea than our stupid mechanical directional device and we made it there in good time (with time enough to stop and get a burger at Fatburger- which will be another post).

The Odyssey Theater is a small venue, but apparently had TWO shows running last evening.  The lobby was JAM PACKED and I wondered how so many people would get in to see the play, especially when we went in and the theater was nearly full and there were still scads of folks milling about.

I had read the play in High School and in college, but I don't think I have ever seen it performed.  I was looking forward to seeing Lisa Wolpe as Hamlet.  I always enjoy Lisa's performances and this time was no exception.  She was riveting as the tormented prince.  Chastity Dodson as the luminous Ophelia was wonderful, especially in her " mad speech".  There were some hiccups, as befits a preview night, but all in all a wonderful adaptation of the classic play.  The sparse set worked very well and the costuming is gorgeous.


So, if you love Shakespeare- GO!  If you've never seen Shakespeare- GO!  If you love local theater- GO! If you've never experienced local theater- GO!  I think we have tickets for an upcoming performance and I am looking forward to seeing it again!

Divorce and other overwhelming questions

DISCLAIMER  DON'T PANIC!!!!!  Chris and I are still happily married.  I love this man to bits.   No one else would put up with my crud the way he does.  It's just that I read a post from someone I know; celebrating her long marriage and the first statement she made was "Divorce does not exist"  or something like that.  Well, that MAY be the pact she made with her husband, to work out all the troubles and I am happy that they are happy ( they are two of the NICEST people you could ever know) but sometimes troubles are insurmountable.  Sometimes, two people who once loved each other grow in such opposite directions that staying together is a misery.  Sometimes there is cheating, a break in the trust that all the talk in the world cannot repair.  Sometimes there is violence.  No one should live in fear of being attacked by someone they cared about  in their own home.  I don't think that your first disagreement should result in you throwing in the towel, it's just sometimes you have no other choice.  I for one am GLAD I chose that road, as it led me to this place of happiness.  Marriage is like an ocean, there is an ebb and flow and the tides roll back and forth.

Work imponderables...

Why was the head of the foundation lugging a huge pool toy that looked like a giant Cecil the seasick seaserpent? He was headed toward the City Librarian's Office....

WHY would you carve your NAME on a toilet seat?  In a PUBLIC bathroom?  I had TWO request to replace toilet seats recently.  Seriously?  I think tagging is stupid, but putting your name for other people to place their butts on is the HEIGHT of stupidity.

Sometimes, I just have to shake my head.

We are going to see Hamlet this evening.  The FABULOUS Women's Shakespeare Company of Los Angeles is presenting the classic tale of murder and one very depressed Prince ( ok, it's more than that, but...)  I am looking forward to it.  I have read Hamlet many times, but never actually seen it performed.

The reason I don't watch the news

Happy Monday-Tuesday.  It's TUESDAY but it's going to behave like a Monday.  Ugh.

So yesterday, I was home early enough to watch the local evening news, which comes on at 6 and I am never home and ready to watch it.  I could only stand a small bit of it.  The "news" was more like reading the National Enquirer than I remember it being.  The anchorwoman stammered and  "ummed" and Uhed" her way through the script. The lead story was something about the actors who were going to star in "50 shades of Gray"  They glossed over the Syrian conflict and buried the story about Diana Nyad's amazing swim.  Did they MENTION it was Labor Day?  They had a ten-second shot of a rather dismal looking parade that took place in the Harbor area, that's about it. Oh yeah.  Unions=BAD!  I will stick to finding different news sources on the Internet, I suppose, but even those must be view with a jaundiced eye.  I remember watching Walter Cronkite.  He was so  certain in his delivery.  Calm and reassuring, even when delivering bad news.  You never got the sense he was spinning it, although I suppose he was.  Channel 4 News used to be better too.

I see Time Warner settled with CBS.  I guess that means I will be getting a notice of increase.  You can't imagine that they settled without additional fees?  The bummer about living up here is that there is almost NO TV reception without cable.  I have Time Warner for everything and "bundling is supposed to be cheaper.  I will probably take a look and see if it really is!  It WAS when I set it up, but now?  I need to look into that.  I live in an apartment and can't get Dish.  I like having Television, but I suppose I could live without it.

Lazing on a Sunday afternoon

It's Sunday and I have been a lazy thing all day, I took a nap upstairs, I took a nap on the couch. It's not the heat, it's the humidity.  ugh.  I am wiped out for no good reason.  Thinking about making an iced coffee so I can get some much needed work done.

I'll try to muster the energy.

In the meantime, a few thoughts on nothing in particular.

Recently I have been reminded of the old adage that you should sleep on a letter for twentyfour hours before sending it.  In this day of instant everything, people seem to forget that you should still  wait to cool down before posting that angry rant on Facebook, or sending that vitriolic email out.  It can only come to no good.  Recently I had a conversation with one friend in a group who said she was angry and would be sending a "sternly worded" email to the group.  I encouraged her not to, thought she would think my words over and was sadly surprised when I got the email from her, not FOUR MINUTES later.  Sigh.  I also "lost" a friend who sent many a misguided post and email and then seemed surprised that the outcome was not in his favor.  I tried to explain, but my email, I fear, was deleted or not taken to heart. It's frustrating!

I tried to read J.K. Rowling's book, "The Casual Vacancy"  The book is, in a word, depressing.  Not one character in it is not in some way dysfunctional.  Despair seems to cling to every surface. There is very little hope in the resolution.  I wonder if the book would have been published at all without her name attached to it.  She must have wondered the same thing, as her next book was published under a nom de plume. There is only one semi-likeable character in the whole book.  There are a LOT of characters.  I was having a bit of trouble tracking them and had to keep going back as the relationships are fuzzy in spots.  I am also reading "City of Saints' about a grizzly murder of a socialite in Salt Lake City in the 1930's  It's got good pacing and is supposed to be based on real life events.   I promise a full review when I finish it.