Just returned from 12 hours of traveling to get back from San Francisco. Traveled by car and then train and then plane and then bus and back to car again. Finally broke down and bought the headphones to fully appreciate the interactive screen on Virgin Air. I enjoyed listening to songs by Bob Dylan and Jay Z. Strange juxtapositions of artists on the list...Bach or B.o.B., Brahms or Bo Diddley? Catching a glimpse of all the other people's screens, I also wanted to be watching Seinfeld, Everybody loves Raymond, Sex in the city and Vanguard, this (illegal) American life.
I have a new brother-in-law. He does a good demonstration of someone trying to use a computer while sitting in those cramped airline seats. The trip home was a bit better than the trip out in some ways. There were more noisy kids, but the trip is an hour shorter coming East and I think the headphones helped.
I was also intrigued by the books people brought on the trip:
- Me: Monkey mind : a memoir of anxiety, by Daniel Smith
- My sister: Parallel communities, the Underground Railroad in South Jersey, by Dennis Rizzo
- Her boyfriend: The nautical chart, by Arturo Perez-Reverte
- Guy behind me - Beyond the wall, exploring George R.R. Martin's A song of fire and ice, edited by James Lowder
- Woman beside me - The men they will become : the nature and nurture of male character, by Eli Newberger
Monday, October 15, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Stuff people ask the concierge
Lady wants to know why there is a discrepency between two different weather sites and what is the weather really going to do? Cripes!
Had a decent little breakfast at the Super 8 Berkeley. Found out it is reunion weekend at U.C. Berkeley. Ear plugs tonight! Am having a SECOND breakfast at the Hotel Shattuck Plaza where my sister is staying. Walked from my hotel to her hotel admiring the variety of stores and restaurants. Even the homeless people seem to have something "deep" to say when you are away from home.
All of my pills fell out of their containers in the airplane. I may or may not have gotten them back in the right places.
Had a decent little breakfast at the Super 8 Berkeley. Found out it is reunion weekend at U.C. Berkeley. Ear plugs tonight! Am having a SECOND breakfast at the Hotel Shattuck Plaza where my sister is staying. Walked from my hotel to her hotel admiring the variety of stores and restaurants. Even the homeless people seem to have something "deep" to say when you are away from home.
All of my pills fell out of their containers in the airplane. I may or may not have gotten them back in the right places.
Friday, October 12, 2012
People and their phones
Really, MUST you talk on the phone when you are in a stall at the Philadelphia airport!?!?!
Am really enjoying being out of town. I hate packing but once I get going...look out.
Getting up before the crack of dawn is not my idea of a good time, either. When I went into the tiny cubicle they call a bathroom on the airplane, I discovered that I had my blouse on INSIDE OUT. That is what happens when you get dressed in the dark.
Had a great time flying Virgin Air. Now I LOVE Virgin as much as I HATE Spirit. They leave on time, the seats are somewhat roomy, they serve Diet Coke, they have a cool interactive screen you can play with, and the stewards are friendly. I am fortunate to be DRIVEN for a change, TO the Philadelphia airport and FROM the San Francisco airport by my sister. We drove over the University Avenue Bridge into Berkeley and almost slammed on the brakes to stop at the first Indian restaurant we came upon. I think I deserve an extra meal today due to the three hour time difference, don't I?
Am really enjoying being out of town. I hate packing but once I get going...look out.
Getting up before the crack of dawn is not my idea of a good time, either. When I went into the tiny cubicle they call a bathroom on the airplane, I discovered that I had my blouse on INSIDE OUT. That is what happens when you get dressed in the dark.
Had a great time flying Virgin Air. Now I LOVE Virgin as much as I HATE Spirit. They leave on time, the seats are somewhat roomy, they serve Diet Coke, they have a cool interactive screen you can play with, and the stewards are friendly. I am fortunate to be DRIVEN for a change, TO the Philadelphia airport and FROM the San Francisco airport by my sister. We drove over the University Avenue Bridge into Berkeley and almost slammed on the brakes to stop at the first Indian restaurant we came upon. I think I deserve an extra meal today due to the three hour time difference, don't I?
Thursday, October 11, 2012
A cool and crispy day
Guy on Rowan University radio made me laugh this AM. I have heard of a CRISP day but never a CRISPY day. That is quite an eclectic radio station if you happen to be in the Southern New Jersey area (89.7).
Going away for the weekend. Being away from my car makes me anxious. I know fear of leaving home is agoraphopia. But what is it called when you are afraid of being far from your car? Also wondering whether I want to bother taking my laptop with me for a four day trip. Wishing I was the sort of person who knew how to live only from the phone, but I am not that person. I don't even have APPS.
Just finished another book, This is how you lose her, by Junot Diaz. Another book of short stories. I seem to be drawn to them. The stories may have involved the same protagonist, but they certainly weren't in chronological order. A lot of cursing and unpleasant thoughts about women but nicely put. Also a lot of Spanish, some of which I did not know. But I was happy about the Spanish words that I DO know! It was an easy read and gave a good flavor of ethnicity (Dominican Republic), poverty, young men coming of age, relationships, New Jersey, and ghetto life. I love Dominican people so I make a point of reading everything by this author.
I liked this description of a woman from the story The sun, the moon and the stars..."She's the nerd every librarian in town knows, a teacher whose students love her."
About another woman in the story called Miss Lora: "There were a lot of these middle-aged single types in the neighborhood, shipwrecked by every kind of catastrophe, but she was one of the few who didn't have children, who lived alone, who was still kinda young. Something must have happened, your mother specultated. In her mind a woman with no child could only be explained by vast untrammeled calamity. Maybe she just doesn't like children. Nobody likes children, your mother assured you. That doesn't mean you don't have them."
Going away for the weekend. Being away from my car makes me anxious. I know fear of leaving home is agoraphopia. But what is it called when you are afraid of being far from your car? Also wondering whether I want to bother taking my laptop with me for a four day trip. Wishing I was the sort of person who knew how to live only from the phone, but I am not that person. I don't even have APPS.
Just finished another book, This is how you lose her, by Junot Diaz. Another book of short stories. I seem to be drawn to them. The stories may have involved the same protagonist, but they certainly weren't in chronological order. A lot of cursing and unpleasant thoughts about women but nicely put. Also a lot of Spanish, some of which I did not know. But I was happy about the Spanish words that I DO know! It was an easy read and gave a good flavor of ethnicity (Dominican Republic), poverty, young men coming of age, relationships, New Jersey, and ghetto life. I love Dominican people so I make a point of reading everything by this author.
I liked this description of a woman from the story The sun, the moon and the stars..."She's the nerd every librarian in town knows, a teacher whose students love her."
About another woman in the story called Miss Lora: "There were a lot of these middle-aged single types in the neighborhood, shipwrecked by every kind of catastrophe, but she was one of the few who didn't have children, who lived alone, who was still kinda young. Something must have happened, your mother specultated. In her mind a woman with no child could only be explained by vast untrammeled calamity. Maybe she just doesn't like children. Nobody likes children, your mother assured you. That doesn't mean you don't have them."
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Trying to be more sensible about eating
Had a Greek yoghurt with a cereal mix in it. Somewhat sensible. No clean pans for making French toast. One day here is what I ate:
Breakfast: donut
Lunch: Subs
Dinner: kettle corn
No wonder I feel like crap.
Things I don't like about yoga:
- the boat pose
- balancing on one foot with a strap holding the other foot
- seated forward bend cause I can't GO anywhere
- the smell of those mats (sort'a chemical?)
- the IDEA of those mats (all over the floor)
I could be happy doing "legs up the wall" for the entire class. In fact, I am quite partial to any poses you can do LYING DOWN. I also like:
- woodchopper's pose
- forward bend (I can touch the floor)
- the relaxing part at the end
- knees over to the side stretch
- windmill pose
Someone just asked me to do some serious research. I haven't done too much of that lately. Yesterday, I DID help with a reference question in a library (I was just being a patron but I overheard a need). How would you know that you could get something notarized at a taxi stand unless you had personal experience? I get around and I find stuff out!
Breakfast: donut
Lunch: Subs
Dinner: kettle corn
No wonder I feel like crap.
Things I don't like about yoga:
- the boat pose
- balancing on one foot with a strap holding the other foot
- seated forward bend cause I can't GO anywhere
- the smell of those mats (sort'a chemical?)
- the IDEA of those mats (all over the floor)
I could be happy doing "legs up the wall" for the entire class. In fact, I am quite partial to any poses you can do LYING DOWN. I also like:
- woodchopper's pose
- forward bend (I can touch the floor)
- the relaxing part at the end
- knees over to the side stretch
- windmill pose
Someone just asked me to do some serious research. I haven't done too much of that lately. Yesterday, I DID help with a reference question in a library (I was just being a patron but I overheard a need). How would you know that you could get something notarized at a taxi stand unless you had personal experience? I get around and I find stuff out!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
I can't believe I didn't wear a coat.
All last winter that is. I was paying the AIR CONDITIONING bill yesterday and my fingers were FREEZING. On the news the other night, they were interviewing a young boy who was snow boarding. He said that the previous week, he was WATERSKIING. I guess I shouldn't complain as the conditions were much worse (colder) in the interior of our country. I love fall, don't get me wrong, it is the touch of WINTER in the air that has really got me down. Also the realization that, now that I am retired, I will be paying for my own heat during the daylight hours.
Have been finishing up books like crazy. Soon, I will have so few books by the bed that it will be time for an ANXIETY attack. Any less than five and I start to feel deprived. I will write down some thoughts before I return these books to the library. The two books of essays BOTH had an essay about CRYONICS!?!?
- The mansion of happiness : a history of life and death, by Jill Lepore, included topics such as parenting, aging, and when does life begin and end. My favorite essay was called The children's room and discussed children's literature authors, such as E.B.White, and the beginning of separate juvenile collections in libraries. And the conception of librarians battling over Stuart Little and other books! This book wasn't really such an EASY read, but it brought forth a lot of interesting tidbits of facts. Jill Lepore is a columnist for the New Yorker, which is why I made my librarian buy her book.
- Don't get too comfortable, by David Rakoff. Ever since I heard a bit on NPR about the death of David Rakoff, I have been obsessed with reading his work. I "discovered" him after his death. He is "that guy who sounds like David Sedaris but isn't". He is Canadian and has been on NPR and written for various magazines in a humerous fashion. He also appeared in a Broadway show with Amy and David Sedaris. He's Jewish, gay, prematurely balding and died too young of cancer. My favorite part is in an essay called J.D.V., M.I.A. (Joie de vivre, Missing in action) about a late-night scavenger hunt played in the streets of lower manhattan called Midnight madness. "I am not fun at all. In fact, I am anti-fun. Not as in anti-violence, but as in anti-matter. I am not so much against fun -- although I suppose I kind of am -- as I am the direct opposite of fun. I suck the fun out of a room. Or perhaps I'm just a different kind of fun : the kind that leaves one bereft of hope; the kind of fun that ends in tears."
Have been finishing up books like crazy. Soon, I will have so few books by the bed that it will be time for an ANXIETY attack. Any less than five and I start to feel deprived. I will write down some thoughts before I return these books to the library. The two books of essays BOTH had an essay about CRYONICS!?!?
- The mansion of happiness : a history of life and death, by Jill Lepore, included topics such as parenting, aging, and when does life begin and end. My favorite essay was called The children's room and discussed children's literature authors, such as E.B.White, and the beginning of separate juvenile collections in libraries. And the conception of librarians battling over Stuart Little and other books! This book wasn't really such an EASY read, but it brought forth a lot of interesting tidbits of facts. Jill Lepore is a columnist for the New Yorker, which is why I made my librarian buy her book.
- Don't get too comfortable, by David Rakoff. Ever since I heard a bit on NPR about the death of David Rakoff, I have been obsessed with reading his work. I "discovered" him after his death. He is "that guy who sounds like David Sedaris but isn't". He is Canadian and has been on NPR and written for various magazines in a humerous fashion. He also appeared in a Broadway show with Amy and David Sedaris. He's Jewish, gay, prematurely balding and died too young of cancer. My favorite part is in an essay called J.D.V., M.I.A. (Joie de vivre, Missing in action) about a late-night scavenger hunt played in the streets of lower manhattan called Midnight madness. "I am not fun at all. In fact, I am anti-fun. Not as in anti-violence, but as in anti-matter. I am not so much against fun -- although I suppose I kind of am -- as I am the direct opposite of fun. I suck the fun out of a room. Or perhaps I'm just a different kind of fun : the kind that leaves one bereft of hope; the kind of fun that ends in tears."
Monday, October 8, 2012
Boy, am I glad that I am retired and that I speak English and Spanish!
In "my" McDonald's, listening to a conversation with some prospective employees. They don't speak English and one of the workers is translating. The prospective worker is balking at the possible schedule because she wants to spend time with her family and doesn't want to get assigned every Saturday and Sunday. Also, it would cost more for a babysitter than she could make at McDonald's. I've been there, baby. I have worked SO MANY Saturdays and Sundays but, of course, I don't have a family to spend time with. And, naturally, the "new kid on the block" does get all of the worst of the schedule. That is why I don't feel like looking for a job, myself.
I said I was over 60 minutes, but now I am into it again. Lasy night learned about the dangers of Chinese computer companies and the monopoly of eyeglass companies. But the one story that made me CRY was about a guy I never heard of (shame!), Rodriguez, who wrote some songs and put out an album about 40 years ago called Cold facts. It went nowhere and he went to work as a day laborer. Somehow, he was a huge star in South Africa but he never knew anything about it. Then there was a connection and a young adorable Swedish guy decided to make a movie about him with a Super 8 app he bought for $1 for his iPhone! The guy and the film are famous now. I really want to find the movie which won at Sundance and is called "Looking for Sugar man".
It is cold and grim today. I dread the coming of winter and having to pay for my own heat all day long. My house expenses are going to put me in the poor house.
I said I was over 60 minutes, but now I am into it again. Lasy night learned about the dangers of Chinese computer companies and the monopoly of eyeglass companies. But the one story that made me CRY was about a guy I never heard of (shame!), Rodriguez, who wrote some songs and put out an album about 40 years ago called Cold facts. It went nowhere and he went to work as a day laborer. Somehow, he was a huge star in South Africa but he never knew anything about it. Then there was a connection and a young adorable Swedish guy decided to make a movie about him with a Super 8 app he bought for $1 for his iPhone! The guy and the film are famous now. I really want to find the movie which won at Sundance and is called "Looking for Sugar man".
It is cold and grim today. I dread the coming of winter and having to pay for my own heat all day long. My house expenses are going to put me in the poor house.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)