Thanksgiving Eve

Dragon Mood? -- befuddled

Today is Wednesday, Wendishday, December 6th.

Where have I been? .......... (slow sigh) ......... Well, I've been here ... and there ... and sometimes it feels like everywhere!

Let me back up to Thanksgiving week. (ahem!)

Steph and I worked Monday and Tuesday. We arrived back at the pine trees house around 10, Tuesday evening? Caroline and Josh rolled in around 1 or 1:30 a.m. I was already in my jammies and snoozing on the couch.

Wednesday we arose leisurely, drank coffee, skipped breakfast (as I recall) and headed pretty much straight for El Azteco. I rode with the kids, Steph followed later. Jess was in town from Phillie, via Chicago, to visit with her high school peeps. We sat in the smoking section on the benches that back up to the kitchen -- perfect vantage point for watching the streetscape before us. We ordered lots of pitchers of Margaritas, numerous bowls of El Az's spicy cheese dip, mountains of their homemade tortilla chips and then .... we ordered lunch.

Lina took lots of pictures. We caught up on one another's lives. We talked about plans, or rather non-plans for Jess's graduation. We talked about the Jersey shore. We talked about NYC. We talked about things I can't even remember!

Steph joined us and the conversation got livelier. And more argumentative. As I recall? But then again, I was drinking margaritas. Does anyone really know? Care?

After a long leisurely lunch at El Az's, we mosied over to Campbell's Smoke Shop and bought some see-gars. Well, Lina did.

Then, it was on to Beggar's. You know, the place that I like to drink dirty martinis? Actually, my second favorite place to drink dirty martinis. (My first place is Jeanne and Joanne's. That's 'cuz Jeanne puts all kinds of loving TLC into her dirty martinis. And big olives stuffed with almonds. And .. they're free!)

Things get a little fuzzier around this time. Oh yes, now it's coming back to me. Steph headed home -- to take a nap, the little stinker. Josh, Lina and I headed to Meijer's to do some last-minute Thanksgiving shopping. This is now 4 o'clock, Wednesday afternoon. We're pretty well tooted, if you know what I mean. Lina, of course, is insisting that she's not tooted, but the more she wandered Meijer's aisles, the more her tootedness became apparent.

As I recall, the three of us were like heated molecules in the store, bouncing all over the damn place. Amazingly, I think we forgot only two or three items. Which, when you consider how much alcohol we had just consumed, is pretty darn good.

We got home, and thankfully, all helped to put the groceries away. Then we all headed to our respective horizontal surfaces to get, well, horizontal.

I slept for maybe an hour-and-a-half. It was dark when I woke up. Dehydrated and a bit disoriented. Everyone else was still sleeping. I started cooking and before long, out wandered S. She made some coffee, drank some coffee, woke up slowly and started cooking. Around 9:30 or 10:00 p.m., Caroline and then Josh woke up and the whole famn damily was now awake and cooking. We cooked until 1:00 or 1:30 or so. It felt good to get a headstart on all the food preparation awaiting us.

I was looking forward to our Thanksgiving together. All in all, it was a very good day!

a Friday-turned-weekend meme

You can only type one word. No explanations.

1. Yourself: here
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend: fierce
3. Your hair? silvery
4. Your mother? missed
5. Your father: remote
6. Your Favorite Item: colorfulness
7. Your dream last night: huh?
8. Your Favorite drink: bloody!
9. Your Dream Car: cooperish!
10. The room you are in: darkly
11. Your Ex: unsatisfying
12. Your fear: boredom
13. What you want to be in 10 years: healthy
14. Who you hung out with last night? furry
15. What You're Not? entreprenurial
16. Muffins: fattening
17: One of Your Wish List Items: laptop?
18: Time: mystical
19. The Last Thing You Did: insufficient
20. What You Are Wearing: relaxed
21. Your Favorite Weather: foggy
22. Your Favorite Book: magical
23. The Last Thing You Ate: Campbell's
24. Your Life: unexpected
25. Your Mood: happy
26. Your best friend(s): precious
27. What are you thinking about right now? weekend
28. Your car: trustworthy
29. What are you doing at the moment? lunch
30. Your summer: jobseeking
31. Your relationship status: committed
32. What is on your tv? Jeopardy
33. What is the weather like? November-ish
34. When is the last time you laughed? morning

Shout-out to Ruth!

Dragon Mood? -- celebratory

And .... I want to give a "Happy Birthday" shout-out to my dear sister, Ruth who turns .. uh, fifty-two today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RUTH!

Wow! In my mind, Ruth and I will always be young. Always.

We talked on the phone tonight and made each other laugh. When I hear Ruth laugh, I feel young. It's a wonderful thing -- an immediate, jump-in-and-splash fountain of youth.

I love you, Ruth! Happy Birthday!

Two doors closing

Dragon Mood? -- feeling the imperceptible breath of destiny

Last week I had the distinct sensation of hearing two doors closing.

The first one I closed. My former employer, one of the Big Three automakers, wanted me to come back and do the type of work I did for over twelve years for them. After a day's deliberation, I decided that "Nope, this doesn't feel right" and turned them down. Four days later, it still feels right. I'm glad that I didn't take the job.

The second door was closed to me. An international aviation supplier company that I had interviewed with called to tell me that they had chosen the other candidate. From a large pool, it was down to the two of us and they chose the other guy. Damn. I was disappointed, but I am trying to live by what S and I have been saying to one another, "Trust the process. The Universe (God) has a plan and we have to trust the process." I did have the presence of mind to say to the HR person that called, "Well, if this candidate, for whatever reason, doesn't work out, I hope that Mr. R and Mr. T will reconsider me as a candidate." (sigh) Politically correct. Businesslike and positive. Hopefully, anyway.

And ... this provides me with another opportunity to be thankful for the job that I have, temporary and transient and interim though it may be. Every hour that I work is another little chunk of money in my paycheck. Ker-chunk, ker-chunk, ker-chunk. I am thankful for it and don't want to take it for granted. Not for a minute.

Thank you, God, for this job. I am trusting this process .... this process of unemployment and and insecurity and vulnerability. I believe there is a purpose to all of this -- even if I am never able to know it.

Catching up!

Dragon Mood? -- amazed at my slackerly slack-ing-ness

Yes, I am indeed amazed at my slacker-coma in the blogosphere. All I can say is that given the incredibly bad marks that the nation gave George W., a vote of "NO CONFIDENCE, GEORGE!,"an amazingly uniform thumbs-down on Iraq, I was in a daze, a haze, a coma of such epic proprotions that only now am I emerging!

Wow! Can you believe what happened on Election Day!???!!?

Isn't it great? Isn't it wonderful? Isn't it amazing?

Amazing I'll grant you. As for great and wonderful, well, that remains to be seen. Can the Democrats really sustain all this "bipartisan" rhetoric and bonhomie? I rather doubt it. But ... I am a person of faith and I want to believe that they will indeed DO some of the things that they're talking about. I do, I Do , I DO!

First of all, Iraq. Or as my red-wine-befuddled fingers want to type, "Iraz."

Secondly, the minimum wage. Congress-People, "SAY what you mean and MEAN what you SAY!" Do it! Forgo the bloated, embarassing raises that you love to give yourselves and cough up the incredibly overdue cost-of-living adjustment to the people who are at the bottom of the income ladder and need it most.

Prescription drugs. Or more broadly, a short-term and long-term strategy for the national health care crisis which is rearing its ugly head ... and only getting uglier. We need it. We definitely need it. Not just the old. Not just the uninsured. Don't forget about all of us middle-class folks who are getting squeezed every which way we turn. Please don't leave us out of the health care costs equation. We want to see that our government representatives recognize and respond to the ways in which our current health care system screws us too.

Whew! Okay. I'm getting lightheaded up here on this soapbox. I'll climb down now.

But I may have more to say!?!

feeling nervous

Dragon Mood?  -- hopeful while nervous and antsy

 

Today, the news is full of polls and updates regarding our national election tomorrow.  It sounds like the Republican machine has kicked into gear, to maximize registered Republican voters voting as well as those poll-defying independents. 

 

Don't get me wrong; I'm all for people voting.  That is the right of all American citizens.  But simply put, I don't trust the Republican Party, I don't trust Karl Rove, I don't trust that our elections won't be tampered with.  A sad confession, isn't it?

 

Tomorrow, I hope that all people who want to vote can.

 

Tomorrow, I hope that polling places are well staffed, smooth operating and that all votes cast are counted.

 

Tomorrow, I hope that the Republicans get run out of office on a rail.  Tarred and feathered would be even better.

 

By the end of this week, I hope Governor Jennifer Granholm has a chance to relax and spend time with her kids.

 

By the end of this week, I hope Senator Debbie Stabenow can settle back into work and focus on getting prescription drug costs reduced for all of us folks who need them and can't necessarily afford them.

 

By the end of this week, I hope Nancy Pelosi is settling into her new role as House Majority Leader.

 

I hope!

Picking up the slack

Dragon Mood? -- winding even further down from a relaxed, low-down weekend

Yup ... I've been slackin'. Slackin' on the postin'.

Suffice to say that this past week was a bit terrible as far as work was concerned. I got threatened. Threatened with the axe. But you know?... I don't even want to validate the ephemeral nature of that threat and the transitional nature of this job by writing about it. It's a paycheck and it's keeping the modern-day wolves away from the door. That's it.

Next topic?

Well, I had the flu this past week ... sadly enough, on Halloween. Monday afternoon I suddenly felt achy and my throat hurt. I thought maybe I was coming down with a cold. The achy-ness persisted, the sore throat went away and then it got really fun -- I started feeling extraordinarily tired and three-sheets-to-the-wind dizzy. What a way to have the flu -- like you've drunk too much and got twirly beds! I slept, woke up, felt sleepy and slept some more. That went on for a day-and-a-half. And then it was over.

Friday, I saw my doctor. My doc is a woman and a longtime acquaintance from our children being in school together. I really like Wendy. She's a good doctor and a caring person. She and her staff have been an absolute godsend to S and my precarious financial state this past year. Every time I go in, she and her staff load me up with office samples of the numerous meds that I take. Thank God for Dr. Wendy!

My lab results came back and looked pretty good. I don't have the sheets here in front of me, but generally all my numbers looked pretty good. Another thing to be thankful for!

Like I said about my mood, I'm windin' down. Not much more to say. Good night!

Random thoughts

Dragon Mood? -- clearing out too many rattling-around thoughts

I haven't posted for over a week because I'VE BEEN BUSY.

Here's some things rattling around in my brain:

• I'm settling into my new schedule. I started this past Monday on a regular 8-to-5 work schedule, although for me it's more like 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. I'm hoping to work four nine-hour days with a short Friday so I can get outta the Motor City before the traffic gets hellacious.
• I'm discovering that I'm a bit sad at ordering my life around the alarm clock -- again. Yecch, I don't like alarm clocks. And ... I had a surprising revelation. The days are getting shorter. Being on second shift, I really wasn't noticing it. In the mornings, I was sleeping. At sunset, I was working in a windowless room, staring at a computer monitor. I simply wasn't dialed in on it. Now, back on days, I'm VERY aware of it. Another reason to be just a little bit sad. Good-bye, Summer. (heavy sigh) Hell-o, Winter.
  
• I am really struggling with a modeling problem at work. It's occupying way too much of my available brain area and locking out other more pleasant, silly thoughts.
• S and I did manage to get away this past weekend to celebrate our twenty years together. (See my previous post.) One of the images that I keep seeing in my head is while we were sitting in my car at the Stoney Lake beach parking lot. Lake Michigan was wild and wooly-looking with big waves, frothy whitecaps and the most beautiful blue-green color (lots of sand kicked up in the water). S and I remembered playing in water like that, in one of our past summer sojourns at Lake Michigan. Just not at the END OF OCTOBURRRR!
• We visited Claybanks Pottery, one of our favorite destinations over on the west side of the state. We bought each other a mug to honor our anniversary, mine which is sitting in front of me here as I write, full of warming hot green tea.
• Yesterday, I called my dad to wish him a Happy Birthday. He is now 78. I'm embarassed to say that I haven't seen him for two years. I call him and Evelyn almost every Sunday evening (as I drive down to the pied-a-terre). I wish we could be closer. I do miss seeing him.
  
• I'm feeling a bit anxious about my upcoming visit with my regular doctor. Heaven only knows what news may await me. I suspect I've put on a few pounds with my unorthodox schedule of the past ten weeks and what impact that has had on my cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin levels remains to be seen.
• Trusting that things will work out, I booked S and I for a week in St. Pete's Beach in mid-February. I also reserved airline tickets to get us down there. It's not exactly money that we have laying around, as you may well imagine ... but dammit, we need to have some fun in our lives. I loved staying at this funky little beach motel. According to the young lady who helped me with our reservation, the unit we're staying in this year (#3) is "2000% BETTER" than last winter's unit. Not funky, but actually NICE. I can't wait!
• S continues to have too much trauma-drama with her mother ... this time over pictures. I'm trying to stay out of it, be a sympathetic listening ear when I can, but I can tell you this: I don't like it. S and I have been having numerous conversations about her trying to reduce the amount of "negative energy" in her life, because it has a direct correlation to her health. And her health is the worst it's been in the twenty-three years that I've known her. This ongoing thing with Sally is LOADED with negative energy. Yeeccch!
• And finally, on a more pleasant note, I'm looking forward to us watching S's grandbaby, Preston, this weekend. He is now nineteen months old and just the sweetest baby you'd ever want to spend a few days chasing. As S and I say frequently to each other, "He's such a HAPPY baby!" He's also SUCH A BOY! He loves to push buttons on things. To that end, I bought him a baby "cellphone" that has a keypad, makes sounds and lights up too! He LOVES it. He walks around the house, pushing the buttons and offering up the cellphone for us to talk too. "Can you hear me NOW?"
• I'm posting this at 5 in the morning. Earlier, I couldn't sleep. Now, I'm tired. I'm going back to bed.
  

20-year anniversary

Dragon Mood? -- dragonly reflective

Today is S and my 20-year anniversary. Can you believe it? I hardly can.

We count the beginning of our time together when she and I were still both married, had husbands and were not 'looking' to leave our marriages. Or were we? One of the metaphors or similes that I've used over these years to describe my feelings for S is simply this: connecting with her was like going from watching black-and-white TV to color television. A whole new world. And once you experience color, who wants to go back to black-and-white?

I never could have imagined my life going this way. Never. S and I come from very different backgrounds, both socio-economically and relationally. Even today, in my head, it doesn't make sense to me that we are together. But you know what? -- in matters of the heart, your head doesn't always get to be the driver. In this case, I let my heart drive and made my big, over-inflated commonsensical head get in the backseat.

I love S. I absolutely LOVE her. Why I love her sometimes is as maddening a question for me as her behavior -- maddening. I've told her in my less kind moments that she is like a burr under my saddle; you are here, you are annoying and dammit, why can't I get rid of you? But obviously, after 20 years, I have no desire nor inclination to get rid of S. Here's where my head gets all twisted up in its analysis: even though sometimes I want to push S away, in my heart I never want her to leave and I will go through all kinds of crazy-making efforts to keep her close. Ask her; she'll tell you. And now, come to think of it, she's described that very dynamic, saying that she feels pushed away and pulled close by me all the time.

I think it's called EMOTIONAL INTIMACY.

Thank God that S has got her own crazy reasons for being in this relationship because I need her, I want her and I love her.

Twenty years. Wow! It's a long time. And it's a blink of the eye. I hope that I get to have the privilege of another twenty years with S. That would truly be a gift.

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

Black Monday

More people got the axe today -- thankfully, I wasn't one of them.

Our little second-shift group went from eight, down to five, and now down to three.  And, as of next Monday, there will be no more second shift.  We three survivors are moving to the day shift ... and Chris and I are definitely the folks with the least seniority.  If the work tapers off, runs out or we simply don't measure up, we'll get the boot too.

Scary days here in the Motor City.   Don't take your job for granted.  I, for one, am not. 

Thank goodness for the simple joys of the Tigers.

Chortling AND Laughing Dragon

Dragon Mood? -- jazzed up and laughing, even WITHOUT coffee!

Look what I found! I've had this site bookmarked for ages ... and just happened to visit it today.



Please look around and note the colors you're seeing on this blog page.

For all you doubting Harrys out there, this Dragon is LAUGHING at you!

Quote for the Day

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
US poet (1874 - 1963)

Fiery, relaxing Sunday

Dragon Mood? -- dragons LOVE fire!

Sunday morning was my morning to sleep in. Lina and I postponed our dragon-y bonfire two nights in a row due to tiredness. Sunday morning was our last chance.

I woke up sometime around 9. One of my first thoughts was, "I bet Caroline is already up, thinking about starting that fire." Then I heard a noise outside that I didn't recognize. I got up out of bed and looked out the window. There she was, already dressed, standing at the woodpile, selecting various pieces of wood.

I dressed quickly and headed out to the kitchen to make some coffee.

Caroline had the fire going already, in the firepit on the lower deck. I scouted up some more small pieces of wood while she tended the fire.

Happy dragons! Happy bonfire.

We sat around the fire for at least three hours. Mostly we burned wild cherry wood (a.k.a. chokecherry), but there were two or three pieces of oak and hickory that burned slow and hot. Oh, the scent of burning wood was wonderful!

More to come ....

Socializing Saturday

Dragon Mood? -- a slightly hungover, draggin' dragon

Saturday was alllll about S, Lina and me socializing.

We went over to J & J's in the early afternoon, with Dakota Suzita as our fourth (and canine) female. Crabby Yellow Dog we left at home.

We spent a glorious couple of hours out on J & J's pontoon, enjoying the midday sun, the nice cold beers (I drank water -- mostly) and the pleasant camaraderie of our friends. We talked about this and that in our meandering conversations and though we didn't solve any of the world's persistent problems, IT WAS FUN!

Around 4 o'clock, the sun was noticeably lower in the sky, the temperature started to cool and Captain J announced it was time to go in -- she had to go to the bathroom.

We said our goodbyes to J & J, took Dakota back to the house, picked up more beer for our next social engagement and headed over to Matt & Sarah's house.

Wow! -- talk about a beehive of activity. There were probably five guys along with Matt up on the roof, repairing the sub-surface on the back of the house and shingling on the front. They all had that slightly dazed look of guys workin' their butts off on an activity they're not exactly used to; tired, sore and ready for quittin' time. But they persevered while they had daylight and even then some.

S and Caroline and I wandered around the house, greeting all the different family members and exchanging hugs. Caroline got to see Madison Hope for the first time. The baby was all decked out in a sweet little print frock with a onesie underneath. Like all newborn babies, she slept, got hungry, got fed, peed, pooped, repeat. Unlike other babies (that I've experienced), this little gal likes to stre-e-e-etch those long, thin legs of hers O-U-T and flex her ankles too. I've never seen a baby do that like Madison does.

We hung around for several hours, holding the baby, watching the MSU-U of M debacle of a football game (U of M won, 31-13) and the glorious, joyous winning game of the Tigers/Yankees post-season series. The Tigers beat them, 8-3, I think it was. That was really fun to watch.

We headed home, tuckered out from all the fresh air and the extended socializing.

Friday & Drinkin' Dragons

Dragon Mood? -- excited and work-fatigued

Late Thursday night (actually early Friday morning) I arrived back home amongst the pine trees about fifteen minutes after Lina. It was a nice change of pace for me to arrive home with the lights on, the house opened up and my sweet little girl's smiling face awaiting me.

Dakota and Cisco had their few moments of reacquainting, circling one another, trying to get a good sniff of the other's butt. Dogs are so funny. But come to think of it -- they probably think or believe (in whatever canine form that may take) that we greet one another in odd ways too.

After not enough sleep, we got up, made coffee, did our ritual mid-morning leisurely chat, dressed and headed into town. First stop: El Azteco, for a snappy pitcher of margaritas and a Mexican lunch. I had enchiladas suizas while Lina had the infamous topopo salad. TOE-PO-PO salad. It's as funny to say as it looks; a veritable mountain of iceberg lettuce with happy little green peas, and other accoutrements mounded in there for a Mexican(?) salad. Go over to Wild Wend for most likely a spot-on description and a killer photo to boot.

Lina had several local shops she wanted to visit for Spartan paraphernalia. We also hit Campbell's Smoke Shop for some Upmann cigarillos and several see-gars that Carolina picked out.

Then it was on to Beggar's Banquet to relax, kill some time and have a drink. Or three. Well, truth be told, I had three ... three dirty martinis, each with three stuffed olives in them, because I wanted happy olives, partying with one another, in a jovial mood as I prepared to devour them. So ... let me see ... that makes nine stuffed olives I gorged on, at least 12 ounces of pure-D-alcohol (even though alcohol doesn't begin with a 'D') and at least two hours of talking, laughing, shooting pictures of anything and anyone that happened within range. But just to make myself sound a little (more) better, a little less alcoholic, a little less SNOCKERED ... Caroline had FOUR martinis, one whole martooni MORE than me! Sheesh! What a lush!

From there, our dear Taurean guardian angel, Joanne, swooped in, picked us up and delivered us to ELHS for their Homecoming parade ... where Jeanne was the grandest Grand Marshall (GM) you could ever hope to put your drunken eyeballs on. She looked cute in the school colors, her nephew's old high school varsity jacket and Mardi Gras beads hanging around her neck. She was excited and elated and cute.

S rolled in from Motown and I gave her a long, snockered hug, glad to see her and glad for her to join in the frivolity and fun. We watched all seven minutes of the parade and then headed off to another bar for more -- what else? -- drinking.

Suffice to say that when we finally rolled into the house around ten, I was still quite inebriated, even more tired than inebriated and beginning to feel the effects of overindulging myself with all that liquor. Holy cow! I managed to watch several innings of Friday night's game between the Tigers and the Yankees (Hurray, Tigers!) and even Bill Maher's Real Time at 11:00. (Recalled with smugness and sanctimony) Caroline had, by that time, passed out on the futon -- lightweight that she is.

S was still going strong. What a woman!

And that was Friday, the first day Lina was here.

antsy, antsy

Whew! It's Thursday evening, I'm at work and I'm ready to not be at work.

I interviewed for another job today. It's with an aviation-related company, here in the Motor City. I thought the interview went reasonably well, but honestly, I have no earthly clue as to whether I'll ever hear from them again or not. As to how I feel about the possibility of working there, I don't yet know. I'm a slow processor, you see.

But slow processing is not the reason I'm feeling antsy. The reason I'm feeling antsy is because Lina is ON THE ROAD as I write, wending her wenchy wild Wendish self home ... to the place where I am NOT as of yet, because I am still at work. ArrrghhH! I'm really looking forward to seeing her!

I have managed to accrue three extra hours which will enable me to leave tonight at 11. I'll run to the pied-a-terre, pick up my stuff and the pooch, give S a sweet good-night kiss (she's staying tonight to go to work in the morning), and heading back to the OTHER house, to our home in the pine trees.

I'm feeling antsy when I really could be kicking back, enjoying the end of my work week and relish seeing Lina in just a few short hours. The antsy-ness is a substitute for lack of sleep, fatigue and leftover anxiety from the interview this morning, I guess. Nothing that a cold beer probably wouldn't relieve in a few short minutes.

After Lina and I drink our ritual thank-God-you've-arrived-safely beer, we'll give each other a long, warm dragony hug ... and then I will be comatose. Instantly.

...

...when gas prices become a NEWS BULLETIN!

The Detroit Free Press has a front page article on their website about record low gas prices. It's labeled as a NEWS BULLETIN.

Two Speedway service stations in Flint are offering gasoline for $1.99.

They are among the first gas stations to post sub-$2-a-gallon gas prices in metro Detroit in more than a year [my emphasis], according to AAA Michigan ... The average price for gasoline in Michigan, which has declined for eight straight weeks, is now $2.16 a gallon. Today's prices are 75 cents lower than they were this time last year. Nationally, gas prices are still averaging $2.30.

If this all isn't politically motivated, I'll be a monkey's uncle!

My prediction: Within six weeks of November's election, gas prices will head straight back up.

Celebrating our colorful world

Dragon Mood? -- loving this colorful world!



I love Flickr.

Runned voer

Dragon Mood? -- bleary-eyed and weary-scaled

Yippee, it's Friday. Too bad I feel like I've been "runned voer" (as I initially typed it) by a Mack truck this morning. Five-and-a-half hours of sleep is NOT ENOUGH!

After I got home from work last night, I DOWNloaded the photos that S and others took of the baby, reduced and cropped them in Photoshop and then UPloaded them to Flickr for Caroline Marie and the rest of the world TO SEE!

It felt good and fun and creative to do -- even at four in the morning!

But now? Aye-yaye-yaye! Don't ask.

September 21, 2006 -- A beautiful world

Madison probably is still catching up on her sleep from her speedy arrival into the world yesterday.

But when she wakes up, she's got a WHOLE WIDE WORLD out there to spend a lifetime exploring. And Flickr is a great tool for expanding your ideas about just how big that world is ... never mind how BEAUTIFUL it is!

Thanks to Flickrleech (whose name I detest) for the ability to capture a WHOLE page of thumbnails. As Flickrleech puts it so succintly, "Paging sucks!" See the original collage here.


Brought to you by all the talented and generous people who use Flickr.

Celebrating Madison's imminent arrival

So ... Sarah and Matt are at the hospital trying to have a baby. Caroline and I are both at work, pretending to be engaged in our tasks, but really thinking about Sarah, about the baby and simply enjoying chatting with each other on Gmail's messaging tool. As part of the fun and excitement of Madison's imminent arrival, we had an informal "pool" going on the time of her about-to-be birth.

3:35 PM Caroline: I said 4:55, you've got 5:55, Hope's got 6:24 and Steph's making Sarah suffer all the way to 7:32.
So, how are we doing this -- just whomever is closest to the time, regardless of whether you go over or not? So, if she goes anywhere up until 5:24:59, I win? And what do I win, exactly?
3:36 PM Caroline: Do I get to be the baby's God Dragon Mother? I WANT TO BE A GOD DRAGON MOTHER! Speaking of which, do we know what this kid's Chinese sign will be?
I'll go check...
3:38 PM me : I don't know .... I think we're talking about a drink or a shot of tah-kill-yah or something like that!
3:39 PM As for being the baby's God Dragon Mother .... sheesh, I dunno! Sounds like a little pagan and piratical to me!
3:40 PM Caroline: And, your point is???
3:41 PM me: Ha-ha-ha ....
3:43 PM Caroline: Whooo-hoo! She's gonna be a FIRE DOG!
me: ... Oooh, a FIRE DOG!
Cool!
3:44 PM Caroline:I think a fire dog sounds WAY cool!
Not quite as cool as a fire dragon, but we can't all be perfect...
3:45 PM :D
me: ha-ha-ha
Or cool like a WATER dragon!
Caroline: Or ANY kind of dragon!
Dragons are the best
3:46 PM Caroline: Bestest dragonestest!
3:49 PM me: Did you ever text-message Matt?
4:05 PM Caroline: You know, I wonder if cell phones are even allowed to be on in the rooms? Matt might not have even gotten my text message.
me: Oh, that's probably the case ... but EVENTUALLY he'll get it, tell Sarah and they'll have a good laugh about it ... after she's done PUSHING THAT BABY OUT!
4:06 PM Caroline : Yep!
4:14 PM me: Sarah is in quite a bit of pain/discomfort, so the doc gave her another epidural. He said to expect that things will probably move right along now.

Later
Caroline: I'm bugging on outta here -- give me a call on my cell when you have any more info on the Fire Puppy. Love you!

Later still
Caroline: Hello-hello! Are you there? I'm home from my dinner. Any news on Madison's first few hours?

Well, Madison was born at 4:36 p.m., an arrival so unexpectedly early even the doctor didn't make her delivery! She arrived healthy and well, with all ten fingers and toes, 7 lbs. 6 oz., all 19-3/4 inches of her beautiful and perfect. Mommy and Daddy (I hear) were ecstatic and emotional.

As for me, I'm giddily celebrating for Matt and Sarah and their new baby daughter. I'm ALSO celebrating (once again) MY wonderful daughter, the delightfully deranged Lina, the Fire Dragon, the wenchiest wench and piratical Wendish princess this side of the Mississippi! I love you, Lina!

the end of WHAT?

Some new websites I'm checking out:

• http://absolutemichigan.com/dig/
  
  
• http://michpics.wordpress.com/
  
  
• Greenstone Media -- an all new, women-owned and operated internet radio station, founded by Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda.  Check it out!
  
  
• https://zyb.com/  -- sadly, my phone won't work with Zyb
  
  
• and last, but certainly not least:  http://www.spartanedge.com/
  subtitled "THE END OF PUSSY JOURNALISM"
  

Wow!

waxing ..er I mean, soaping rhapsodic about Mistral!

My daughter, the ever-so-good writer writes about the Soap Opera in Madison.  It's a wonderful, sensuous, full of knooks and crannies kind of place that you can easily spend an hour or three in.  

When I visit Lina, I usually request a stop in at  the Soap Opera and I head straight for the Mistral soaps.  They are beautifully crafted, heavenly scented, slightly expensive and totally worth every penny.   I too put them in our linen closet to make all the linens smell fragrant.

Ohh, yes ... I especially like their Linden Lettuce and the Wild Blackberry (I think that's the name -- I'll have to run down downstairs and check in the linen closet).

Talk radio by, for and about women

Dragon Mood? -- energized

Gloria Steinem was a guest on Bill Maher's Real Time on Friday night. She spoke of a new venture, Greenstone Media, launched by Jane Fonda and herself. Their home page describes themselves this way:

We’re giving women the radio they want but can’t currently find: entertaining, informative, and inspiring talk delivered in an engaging, inclusive way.

As I write this, I'm listening to an interview of Gloria by a group of women bloggers, collectively known as the "mommybloggers." It's interesting and thought-provoking. Have a listen.

We have lift off

I usually don't 'ooh' and 'ahh' over old cars ... but this one is an exception.

Look at the chrome, look at the detailing, look at the color of this vintage Caddy. Wow!

Kudos to Today is a good day!

... just how I'm feeling

... it's 1:30 a.m., I'm tired and I wanna go home.

Word of the Day

tetchy \TECH-ee\, adjective: Peevish; testy; irritable.

Flying time, layoffs and family crazies

Dragon Mood? -- tired, bewildered and muddling along

I can't believe it's been a WEEK since I last posted. Whew, where has the time gone?

I worked Tuesday through Thursday. I was supposed to work a ten-hour day on Friday, but Thursday evening, it was cancelled. I was ticked off to say the least. The reasons given seemed rather lame to me. Things continued to happen at work that gave me cause for worry that they might be laying us off ... as we completed our fourth week on the job.

S and I had a pretty busy weekend. I'll get to that in a minute.

Yesterday, I went into work at the usual time, fired up my computer and prepared to begin working. Steve, one of the other guys on the night shift came to me and said, "They're having a meeting in the conference room." I thought to myself, "Here we go." When I got back to the door into the conference room, Hany (pronounced Hah-nee), our night lead was there. He frowned lightly at me, waved his hands and shook his head. I took my cue, turned around and went back to my desk.

Sure enough, four people were laid off -- three from the night shift, one from the day shift. My coworkers, Steve and Mike, were laid off, as well as a Lansing guy who had only been there a week. Mike was the fellow teaching us how to swear in Romanian. They were told this may only be temporary, but I don't think I'll see those guys again.

Seeing people laid off cast quite a pall over our little, now even littler group. I started to get a headache just from the sheer tension of it all. Hany came and talked to me, trying to reassure me. He encouraged me to keep working, focus on accuracy and getting the drawings as "perfect" as possible. Talking to me about 'perfectionist' goals is like taking the proverbial coals to Newcastle ... but thankfully, Hany has a light and optimistic "touch" in his manner of speaking. I just buckled down and tried to get through as many of these machining operation drawings as possible.

Later, that evening, I called S as well as my sister, Ruth. I shared the job update with them. (big sigh)

As for this weekend, Ruth and I managed to eke out about an hour-and-a-half to meet up with each other. We sat over coffee (well, I had coffee) and jabber and catch up on each other's news. It was balm for my soul to have a chance to visit with Ruth. I believe she felt the same way. We have said countless times to one another what a blessing it is to have one another for talking, sharing and simply unburdening ourselves when life's events feel too heavy.

After I got back home, I changed into grubby clothes and S and I proceeded to unload a landscape trailer full of pine boughs that were originally headed for the dump, now euphemistically called a "transfer station?" When did that happen? Because of concerns about spreading the emerald ash borer, the dump/transfer station won't take tree debris anymore. So, now we've got a big pile of pine boughs and debris to deal with. ArrrghhH!

We finally got on the road, S in the truck pulling the landscape trailer and me in my little car, caravaning behind her. I felt more than a little annoyed with her because she doesn't take care of problems ahead of time, and then, the problems are inflated (by her) sometimes to crisis level and she turns to me to 'share' the inconvenience/annoyance/worry of them with her. More old family dynamics!

Thankfully, the trip was uneventful. I managed to listen to virtually the entire MSU/Eastern Michigan football game, first on a local Lansing station and then, further north, WJR, in its first season broadcasting MSU football. That was fun!

We pulled into Grayling and S peeled off to head with her brother-in-law, Jim, to load up the trailer at the storage unit where Sally has more of her too-many-belongings stored. I hit the local Rite-Aid and bought beer and a huge bottle of Piesporter. When I got to Sally and Grandma's house, I immediately unscrewed that bottle, poured us all a glass and started drinking. Nothing like alcohol to lubricate the machinations of family communication, eh!

Sally actually fixed us all a nice, sumptuous dinner that evening. Never mind that we didn't eat until after 10 o'clock. (And so much for observing Oprah's rule about never eating after seven!) I was starved and the food tasted good. We finally got to bed around 2:30 in the morning.

The next morning we were up by 9:00. I made us some single cups of coffee with our little coffee filter cup and some ground Alterra coffee I had brought. Jim and Michelle showed up and S and Jim began working on the running lights on the trailer. Again, her not attending to this problem earlier was an annoyance, but I'll let go of that (for now). They dinked around with those darn running lights for over two hours and were never able to get them to work. By now, it was after noon, so we all jumped in our various vehicles and headed the 30 miles north to Gaylord to work on another storage unit, an old pole barn that Sally's now deceased husband, Bob, had built over 15 years ago and filled with the flotsam and jetsam of his building trade, loads and loads of old lumber, some of it worth keeping, much of it not worth any thing.

To make a too-long story shorter, we made two trips to Gaylord, filling the landscape trailer four feet high with lumber and wood of every description, driving it back to Sally's house to pile and stack next to another pole barn she build two years ago. The goal is to cover it with a tarp and either use it or sell it. Hah! We'll see if that ever happens. We all joked (out of Sally's earshot) that when she's dead and gone, that pile of lumber will still be sitting there, old and rotting ... and we'll have a giant bonfire in her memory. I can see it now.

The other thing we 'rescused' from the Gaylord pole barn was an old aluminum fishing boat that belongs to S, along with a boat trailer. The boat looks in great shape (because it's aluminum -- what's to go wrong?) but the trailer was in pretty rough shape. The tires were both flat and totally decrepit. The winching mechanism needs some work. The last Michigan license on the boat was dated '92. That's how long that boat has been sitting there. Hmm.

We didn't leave Grayling until 9:30 Sunday evening. That's after only six hours of sleep, physical labor outside in the fresh air all day and I'll tell you -- I was pooped. S caravaned with me (this time) south on I-75, as I was heading for the pied-a-terre here in Detroit and she peeled off at Flint back towards the pine forest. After 190 miles and three hours, I pulled in the driveway. Mission accomplished!

Labor Day weekend recap

Dragon Mood? -- subdued

It's Tuesday evening -- I'm back at work. Unlike some of my coworkers who made the usual comments about the weekend not being long enough ... I'm feeling like I did have a weekend. It was relaxing, it was long enough and I'm still feeling extremely thankful to have a job right now. Which I'm glad to be working at right now (actually I'm on my lunch break).

S and I did have a pretty low-key weekend. We putzed around the house a bit. We re-installed the fountain on the deck after she waterproofed it two weekends ago. We visited and shared a spicy rib dinner with our eager-to-entertain neighbor and young-78-year-old lawnboy, Bill. I threw some cole slaw together and we took a store-bought apple pie as a thank-you for Bill. We watched an absolute wasteland of TV on Saturday night and I was bummed that we hadn't rented some DVDs for the evening. Just how many commercials can the broadcasters jam into one hour's worth of TV ... while re-airing tired and/or violent old movies? Yecch!

Sunday, J & J invited us over for a pontoon ride and dinner. Geez, did we have fun! At least I did! I think S was tired and feeling a bit under the weather from her ongoing thryoid problems. The weather was gorgeous. We spent at least a couple of hours toodling (is "toodling" a word?) around the lake, watching other boaters, picnickers, houses around the lakeshore and drunken partyers in the middle of the lake.

The highlight of the pontoon ride (for me) was at dusk as we watched the whooping cranes return to their lake "safe harbor" for the night. Their yodel-y warbles, calling and replying, never fail to enthrall me with nature's primeval beauty. And, of course, the sunset on the lake was lovely, with Mother Nature putting on a spectacular watercolor show. I wish I could paint like that!

Monday was another beautiful late-summer Michigan day. The temperatures were in the low 70s and the humidity was low, as well -- in a word, perfect! I sat out on the deck in the morning, did a few sudoku puzzles, and called my Uncle George. It was great to hear his voice after these many months of not talking. My cousin, Brenda, was there too so I got to talk briefly with her also.

Late in the afternoon, we took a ride into south Lansing to deliver numerous boxes of children's books to Matt and Sarah, in anticipation of their little girl, Madison, making her appearance in the world ... 17 more days to go! Bless her heart, Sarah was very gracious about having four boxes of books rather unceremoniously dumped in her living room. S was happy to get them out of the back of the truck and delivered for Sarah and Lindsey to divide.

I complained to S that I couldn't remember the last time that I had had a hot meal (not including burgers and/or ribs). She responded by driving us to an all-night diner for a mashed-potatoes-gravy-peas-and-pork-chop dinner! It was heavenly! We got home, packed up our stuff and headed down here to the pied-a-terre. A nice long weekend!

Learning my Romanian

Dragon Mood? -- not tongue-tied

I work with a fellow at this new job who is Romanian ... or who at least can speak Romanian. A couple of us have been bugging him to teach us how to swear in Romanian. As a polite and rather gentle gentleman, he has refused so far.

But today, Steve and I did learn this:

• "Buna zuia" (pronounced boon-ah zoo-ah) which means "Good day!"

And then later, we did manage to strong-arm him into this one also ...

• "Rahat" (pronounced ruh-hot) which means "Shit" as in bad stuff OR manure.

Stay tuned, Girls and Boys, for MORE Romanian language lessons!

the road less traveled because it's a hard road!

Dragon Mood? -- yeah, I *get* that embattled feeling this thing talks about

From Astrodienst, here is one of this Sagittarian's longer term forecasts:

Solid and real
Valid during many months: At this time in your life you will be able to get along with very little if necessary, and you will be able to keep plugging away at tasks with tremendous discipline. As a result this is a good time for getting your life ready for hard times, even if this is not an especially difficult period.

However, even if this is a difficult time, you can be sure that this influence will help you make it through. It gives you tremendous tenacity and toughness and the ability to apply constant pressure on a situation until it gradually changes. Patience is the watchword of this influence - not that you need patience, but that you have it.

Whatever your objectives, you will keep working at them until you achieve them. In a slow but powerful way, this influence helps you realize your goals, and because you work so slowly, the results you obtain are very lasting indeed.

You will also probably discover that you are changing during this period, not drastically and suddenly, but slowly and at a very profound level of your being. And these changes will make your life more solid and dependable. In general your life is moving from the less solid and abstract to the more solid and real.

You may work alone for the most part now. You will probably prefer it that way, at least until you have come somewhere near achieving your goals. This is a very good time for researching alone, especially when painstaking work is required. Your ability to discipline yourself is extremely high.

Transit selected for today
Pluto Sextile Saturn
activity period from beginning of February 2005 until beginning of December 2006.

Thursday morning with my coffee

Dragon Mood? -- surprised and delighted!

Sitting here, drinking my morning coffee, I noticed the first hints of autumn in the air.

But, wait a minute. I feel like blogging so I'll check to see if our computer has emerged from its coma? Yes? Yes! YES!!!! Don't ask me, but it decided to turn on this morning. Hurray!

Anyway ... back to my morning coffee thoughts. Ahem.

Our sadly unhealthy tree out front here at the pied-a-terre has already begun dropping leaves. S mowed and mulched them up last night, not only to make the lawn look better, but to hold autumn, which is NOT SUMMER, at bay, I'm sure.

The air this morning is cool, cool, cool -- refreshingly cool after so much heat and humidity this summer. The temperature and dryness of the air ENERGIZES me! I keep reining myself in -- hold on, you just woke up -- take it easy, enjoy the moment. But it puts me in mind to paint, to ride my bicycle, to make hearty, yummy soups -- oh, so many things! And then, I think of other fall-ish things like football games, bonfires, pumpkins, gourds and all other manner of orange-y goodness! Yup, I LOVE autumn!

A tired blogger

Dragon Mood? -- pooped

Just a quick posting while I'm at work.

I interviewed for another job today. It was with a "foreign" automaker, not one of the Big Three. I was one of nine people out of 30 to make the first interview. I will be most surprised if I'm called back for a second interview. Just a hunch, an intuition. I could be wrong. I feel curiously indifferent about this prospective job.

I got way too little sleep last night. Partly that was my fault. I didn't remember that I was supposed to print out and fill out four lengthy documents prior to the interview. I realized that last night while sitting here at work. ArrrghHH! Googled, found the nearest 24-hour Kinkos, accessed my trustworthy gmail account and forwarded the four docs to Kinkos. I picked them up this morning about 2:30 a.m. Sheesh! Talk about unprepared!

Part of my general discombobulation is that our computer appears to have died ... or is in a light coma. S and I suspect that the electrical switch that fires it up has conked out. Whether that's an easy repair or not remains to be seen. But the timing is just downright lousy!

I'll post this now .... before I fall asleep sitting up here at work.

Blogging by email?

Hi  .... the ol' calypso Dragon herself here, reporting LIVE from my gmail account.

Will Blogger know what to do with this email/blog posting?

And now ... a quote to ponder:
 
"Today was good. / Today was fun. / Tomorrow is another one." 
-- Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss (1904-1991)




[UPDATE] Whoo-hoo! It WORKED! Dang, this computer stuff is COOL!!

Pssst!

Dragon Mood? -- ???

Can you keep a secret? I've got another interview for another job next week, Tuesday.

I don't know about this job -- whether I'd like it or not. But, it promises more security. A foreign automaker. That's why I'm investigating.

Wish me well!

Old dogs CAN learn new tricks

Dragon Mood? -- mind balloons and connecting the dots

Doing Sudoku puzzle this morning
I always date them
Reminded me of VISA payment due today
Eeek! -- then I remembered -- no balance on my VISA anymore
Huge sense of relief!
A little history
I've always been able to pay it down before
Couldn't do it this time
Ignored the evidence and reality based on prior experience
Is that the sign of an "old dog?"
Way back -- Josh said, "Mom, pay it off." I didn't listen.
Recently, S said, "Mary, pay it off." I finally listened.
Liquidated a stock market fund, paid it off. Whew! Good, GOOD feeling!

The MORAL of the story:
Sometimes, it pays to listen to others even when your previous experience tells you otherwise.
This old dog CAN LEARN new tricks! *SMILE*

Monday, week TWO

Dragon Mood? -- antsy

Starting my second week of work today. And Thursday is PAY DAY! Hurray!

Here's what's happened since my last posting:

• Finished up my first week of four ten-hour days. Whew!
  
• Friday felt weird. S called in sick for a mental health day. I think we both felt disoriented by my new schedule. I just felt plain old tired.
• Picked up medication office samples from my doc's office. Her providing those for me these past months has been a financial lifesaver. Literally!
  
• I couldn't and didn't sleep in Saturday morning. ArrrghhHH! So darn fatigued!
• S and I shopped until I almost dropped Saturday afternoon for the big, upcoming baby shower. S spent an obscene amount of money. I'll save my soapbox on that subject for offline.
• We hit Buddies again (second Saturday in a row!) for nachos and a mug of beer. S got on a talking jag until I almost fell asleep sitting up.
• Thankfully, she noticed how truly tired I was. We went home, got horizontal, I crashed. I slept for over two-and-a-half hours. You think I was maybe a little tired?
• S and I watched three DVDs this weekend:
  
  • Eight Below which made my heart hurt. Those dogs have such soulful eyes! Reminded me of how much I wanted to and yet hated watching Lassie as a kid. Anxiety, nervousness, sadness! Oh, the angst!
  • Failure to Launch which never got off the ground for me -- what a dumb premise for a movie!
  • And finally, TransAmerica, which I was all set to really like; again, it just didn't work for me. We listened to some of the director's commentary before watching the movie; he said the movie was really about parenting. Then why make said parent a transsexual? Bree's coming to terms with her sexuality completely overshadowed her coming to terms with being a parent, IMHO. Oh well!
• Sunday I slept until 11 o'clock. Yup, ELEVEN! It's the first day that I truly felt rested since starting these crazy hours.
• S finally got to waterproof the deck. All the interruptions over the past several weeks had made her cranky about the slow progress. I was very happy she was finally able to finish it.
• I made banana/oatmeal/blueberry bread. Turned out yummy!
• I deskunked the dog. Damn dog -- she acts like SUCH a dog sometimes! Here's the recipe:
  
  ---
  Vet-approved Deskunking Recipe
  
  1 tsp. dishsoap (preferably a degreasing one like Dawn)
  1/4 - 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  1 qt. hydrogen peroxide
  Mix all together and apply to the dog's fur. Rinse thoroughly.
  ---
  
  After applying the deskunking stuff to her face, ruff and shoulders, I drug her inside into the bathroom and thoroughly bathed her, with two latherings and two rinses. We can still smell eau d' skunk right around her skunk-sniffing nose. I couldn't scrub on that too much, unfortunately.
• Sat out on the deck and visited with our pushing-eighty neighbor, Bill. The old guy, I'm coming to conclude, is overly preoccupied with sex. He keeps bringing it up and S and I comment politely or clam up with no further conversation. (sigh) Geez, you'd think he'd take a clue!
  
• Chased dust bunnies and cleaned the floors in anticipation of a house-full of people again next weekend. Grandma and Sally are coming down for the big baby shower. Yosh is taking the ferry over from Cheeseland just to visit. I'm looking forward to his visit.
• Had a nice long telephone conversation with our friend, Joanne. Joanne has had quite a tumultuous summer selling her mom's house and moving her out of her residence of many, many years. In a family of many, it sounds like much of the work and decision-making fell to one, just Joanne. It sounds like a marathon of exhaustion and stress to me!
• Also had a late-night telephone conversation with Dad and Evelyn while I drove to the pied-a-terre. It's become quite the routine for them and me, a good routine, and something to which I believe we both look forward.
  

That's ALL, folks!

Hump day update

Dragon Mood? -- fatigued

It's Wednesday, early afternoon. I've finished the first half of my first work week at the little design shop. I think I'm gonna like it. And -- we're working four 10-hour days this week, with hopes to make it permanent. Wouldn't that be nice to have a three-day weekend plus half of Monday off? I think SO!

The biggest adjustment so far is just trying to not-so-gently bump my circadian rhythms towards the afternoon and evening. My body is protesting. It wants to wake up at 7:30 a.m. no matter what time I went to bed (2:30 last night). The first night I only got five hours of sleep. I just absolutely could NOT sleep yesterday (Tuesday) during the day. Last night I got more like seven or eight hours. I feel better today than yesterday but still fatigued and a little disoriented. I must remember to drive the twelve-minute drive to work with EXTRA caution.

Right now I'm multitasking. Posting on this blog, frying up some barbecue-flavored turkey burgers for S's dinner and my dinner (sadly apart), thinking about what I'm gonna wear to work and hoping to still grab 30 minutes of shuteye. Do you think I can do it???

Later, alligator.

The BIG Monday!

Dragon Mood? -- throbbing scales too!

Today I start a new job. FINALLY!!!

My left upper back muscles are as tight as a drum ... I'm definitely nervous. I know that once I get there, settle in, and get to work, I'll be fine. It's just the time between now and then.

S and my weekend was quiet and relaxed. We did some errands separately early Saturday afternoon and then met up at Buddies for nachos and a beer. Then we drove home and promptly took a two-and-a-half hour nap. How's that for relaxed?

Yesterday, we got a surprise, impromptu visit from our nephew Luke and his friend, Andrew. S was working on cleaning the deck for a staining update. I fixed a fresh pot of coffee, nuked some turkey bacon for them and rustled up three-egg omelettes for the two guys. S drank a beer while cooling off. We had a wide-ranging conversation (would you expect any less from S?); it ping-ponged from Myers-Briggs personality types, seeking life's purpose and jobs to the gnostic Gospels, mu waves and quantum physics. Whew! I actually had to write two notes to get a word in edgewise. S was on a roll! And to Luke and Andrew's credit, they rolled right along with her!

The guys left around 4 o'clock, I believe, and I vegged and took a nap. S did some more work on the deck, I think.

I also got to talk briefly with Yosh as he prepared to fly to Boston last night. And, Lina and I had a lovely catch-up-with-each-other conversation later in the evening as I drove down "here" to the pied-a-terre for the impending work week. Feels almost funny to say that.

My orientation starts at 3 this afternoon. Wish me well!

two of the seven dwarfs

Dragon Mood? -- ???

I'm sleepy, I'm dopey .... I just downloaded two free fonts from here and didn't know where to put them. Where DO you put downloaded fonts?

What I am ... and am NOT!

Dragon Mood? -- benevolently amused

At least I'm not a Benevolent DICTATOR!

Benevolent Creator

(move your mouse over the blocks of color)

Job details

Dragon Mood? -- catching up with dragonly duties

It's Wednesday morning ... I wanted to post yesterday, but instead, took a mental health day and didn't even log onto the computer.

Plus, I chased and cleaned up dust bunnies yesterday. Our friends, Patrick and Kevin, drove down here to join up with us. We had cocktails on the "loggia" (our aluminum-covered concrete patio out back), dinner at Zumba's in Royal Oak and then we headed for the "main attraction" of the evening, a Tigers' game downtown. Never mind that we didn't get there until the middle of the fifth inning, when the Tigers had scored all their runs for the game and ended up losing 4-2 to the Minnesota Twins. We still had fun!

Now to the job details ...

I will be working for a small design shop within a ten-minute drive of our pied-a-terre. The work is not automotive-related, but tied into the aerospace industry. Also, as my son, Yosh, pointed out, with some of my work there "now, Mom, you may be tied into the 'war effort.'" Yup, very possibly true, son. Which I'm not crazy about, but it doesn't feel so contrary to my values that I'm gonna lay awake nights worrying about it, okay?

Primarily, I will be taking 2D drawings and converting them into 3D models using the CAD software with which I'm so experienced.

Money? It's decent, not great. It's about 15% less than I got at my automotive job, but that's okay. It keeps the wolves away from the door for now.

Bennies? There is health insurance, but honestly I don't have the particulars on that right now. And even if I did, I probably wouldn't post about them here.

The biggest advantage? This job gets me back in "production" modeling, working on actual parts (rather than training parts which aren't supposed to have inherent problems), working under real deadlines and generally pushing me to sharpen and hone my skills again. Those are good things.

The biggest drawback? My work day will be from 3:30 p.m. until midnight. Yup, second shift. Because this is a contract job, the shop has a limited number of software licenses and a looming deadline. To meet the deadline, they have instituted a second shift, of which I will be a member. I start next Monday at 3 p.m. with an orientation meeting.

The other important point about this job to note is that it is a contract position, based on a finite contract with a volatile industry. As the interviewer so gently reminded me, "... there are no guarantees these days." Ahhh, yes. The faltering economy. Especially here in Michigan! So, I am not seeing this as a permanent position, but a temporary one, perhaps lasting until the end of the calendar year ... at which point, I may be looking for another job. Whew! -- ain't life exciting?

One of the curiouser things about me is that I always have these delayed emotional reactions to events. I mean delayed. Just now, 48 hours later, I'm starting to feel some dismay that my "semi-retirement" as neighbor Tom called it is coming to an end. No more languid summer days and evenings. I'm feeling relief that our money worries will be alleviated -- not completely gone -- but certainly alleviated. I'm feeling a bit of anxiety that S and I will be on opposite shifts ("Hi Honey, Goodbye Honey") although we will still be able to sleep together each night. S was hoping to take a vacation soon. She most likely will be vacationing sans me. So the emotional ups-and-downs of getting a job, losing some freedom and regaining some economic viability -- well, I'm experiencing them all. One minute up, the next minute down. (big sigh) Whew!

JOB JOB JOB!!!

Dragon Mood? -- excited, elated and electrified!

Halleleujah ... I've got a job!

Details to follow...

Quick update

Dragon Mood? -- hopeful

It's too early to tell ... but things are looking a bit more hopeful on the job front.

I heard from a recruiter that my resume got past the first gatekeeper on a job at one of the Big Three (you know, the OLD Big Three, not the NEW Big Three which now includes Toyota).

I sent off my resume for a job in the Windy City that -- well, that I think I should be a shoo-in for. But it may join all my other resumes in the galactic black hole of trashed resumes. We'll see.

And then there's Adam. An old colleague called me after networking with another old colleague and I most likely will have an interview for a job right here in Motown next week. The catch? I would be working a second shift, from 3:30 p.m. to midnight. ArrrghhhH!

And now ... I need to get off the computer, gather my shhhtuff and get ready to head home to the pines. S and I are watching Baby Preston, who is now scarily mobile and FAST, for the entire weekend! Will we survive? Breaking news -- or broken news-- on Monday!

Thanks for closing the oven door!

Dragon Mood? -- scratching her dragon head and scales

Wow! Where has the week gone?

Like so many other bloggers I've been reading, S and I are slowly emerging from the state of air-conditioned seige we've been in for the past eight days. Record temperatures and unbearable humidity have kept me in the house like a summer BLIZZARD. I've got cabin fever! It was so hot and humid that two or three nights, at 10 p.m., after sticking my head out the back door, I told Cisco, "Sorry, girl -- we're not going out tonight." On the other hot nights when we did venture out, we weren't even a block from home when she was panting hard and I was dragging along.

The heat and humidity felt downright UN-natural. Like Mother Nature left open a 500-degree oven door AND a steam bath door. The stifling feeling was horrible. How do people in Florida and Louisiana stand it? And it really did feel unnatural for us cool-air folks in Michigan.

I can't tell you how good it felt last night to OPEN THE WINDOWS, let in the fresh, cool air and fall asleep listening to the windchimes moving in the breeze. Thank you, God, for cool air, breezes and restful sleep.

Restful sleep until 3 a.m. anyway. Then I was awakened. The dog heard or sniffed something outdoors, jumped at an open window and I heard this crash of glass. I jumped out of bed and found the drinking glass that I thought had broken still intact. Meanwhile, Cisco is madly pacing back and forth, whining to be let out, so I accompanied her outside, at which point she immediately charged at the sideyard fence. I got this faint whiff of ... skunk ... and immediately whisked the dog BACK inside the house. Broken glass (yet to be found) is bad enough; I didn't want to have to deal with an odoriferous dog too.

Now my brain is on avoid-the-skunk alert. I used the bathroom, drank a short glass of milk, took an herbal Valerian, got back in bed and lay there. And lay there. Wide awake. The brain gerbils were going a 100 mph on the mind-treadmill. STOP that! Go to sleep!

At four a.m., I got up, started laundry, tidyed up some in the kitchen, and sat down in our one remaining living-room plastic Adirondack chair to play a mindless little iPAQ game, hoping that would get me sleepy. It did ... finally at 5:30 a.m. I heard S's alarm go off around six, but I had enough of The Sandman's sleep in my eyes, ignored it and continued to slide off into sweet sleep.

I woke up at nine ... should an unemployed person tell you that? It felt GOOD to get back some of the sleep stolen from me in the middle of the night. Ahhhh, another day!

And .... what about the broken glass? Well, stupid with sleep, I never even thought to worry about the dog STEPPING on glass shards. I found the remnants of a large votive candle that got knocked off of a window sill and fell harmlessly UNDER an end table where the dog couldn't reach. Thank you, God, for protecting Cisco's paws when I couldn't.

Reflections

Dragon Mood? -- philosophical

S and I had a far-ranging, rather spiritual conversation yesterday morning, over breakfast, that I want to try to capture here for posting.

We were talking about our friend, Jeanne. Jeanne and S have always felt this 'connection' that defies rational explanation. They met only about ten years ago. Within a short time after their meeting, S said to me that she felt like she 'knew' Jeanne in ways she couldn't explain. When Jeanne speaks, S feels like she can finish her sentences for her. S has actually said that she believes (hard as it may seem) that she and Jeanne knew one another intimately in another lifetime. (Soul intimacy? Probably a more common expression is "soul mates.") She has spoken about this before, so it was not a surprise for me. She thinks other people probably experience these kinds of feelings or beliefs as well. What is unusual is to meet or know someone who can validate the feelings. That is what Jeanne can do. She validates S's sense of 'connection' in the same way that S validates hers.

From that unexplainable, spiritual 'soul connection,' we talked about how each of us is feeling, about our lives and our relationship with one another.

S said it this way: "I am where I'm supposed to be." Silence.

"Where is that relative to our relationship?"

A jabbing finger pointed at me. "I'm with YOU."

I chuckled. "Yes, you are."

She went on to say that she believes we may have known one another in another life. The 'sense' she has of me is as a young, rather insecure, little girl. She believes she was an adult (rather than a child), who felt protective of me. Beyond that, she doesn't know.

And for me? What does this mean?

I don't have any knowledge or prescience or sense about other or previous lives. I do feel that I'm supposed to be with S. I used to check my feelings about her and I always wanted to be with her. It felt right. But, honestly, our relationship is not an easy one; it requires a lot of hard work and determination to be together. When I consider leaving, moving on, seeking elsewhere, seeking out someone else, there is this very clear (repeat, very clear) sense that that would be a huge mistake. I am meant to be here, in this relationship, with S, easy or not. There are things I am meant to learn from her. She is the mentor, I am the student. I will learn from her, I will benefit by her. Part of my task is to be patient, to be still and listen, to observe, to learn. That is what is very clear in my purpose in this relationship, in this life.

S, too, says having this sense of being where she is supposed to be, creates a sense of comfort. But, beyond that comfort, there is a feeling of peace knowing that she is where is supposed to be.

I suppose, that in the large scheme of things, being where one is supposed to be is a reason to be thankful.

Salivating

Dragon Mood? -- licking and slurping her dragon lips

• I'm thinking about salmon patties (I just had one for lunch, over a bed of fresh organic, baby spinach with olive oil, raspberry 'blush' vinegar, grated parmesan cheese and lots of freshly-ground black pepper).
  
• I'm also thinking about cucumber and yogurt salad with dill and pepper, possibly for supper; doesn't that sound yummy, especially when it's so hot and humid?
  
• I'm also thinking about blueberry buckle, something that came up during a conversation with Jeanne about her birthday, blueberries and a killer, blueberry buckle recipe that her mom used to make.... Which I then immediately zeroed in on while looking at Elise's website, Simply Recipes and her posting about Blueberries!
• Which then led me to scroll down, down, down to a real o-l-d recipe for Blueberry Boy Bait (this lesbian's gonna ignore all the catch-a-boy-through-his-stomach stuff)
  
  

  Blueberry Boy Bait
  2 cups flour
  1-1/2 cups sugar [you can use as little as 1]
  2 teaspoons baking powder
  pinch of salt
  2/3 cup vegetable oil
  1 cup milk
  2 eggs
  2 to 3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
  1 cup (or less) sugar [you can use as little as 2 or 3 tablespoons]
  1 teaspoon cinnamon

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl mix the first 7 ingredients with an electric mixer for 3 minutes. Pour the mixture into a greased and floured 9x13-inch baking pan. Arrange the blueberries on top, then mix together the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the batter. Bake 50 minutes.
  
  
• Which then led me to finding, again at Simply Recipes, one of Elise's favorite things, Tapioca Pudding, made by her dad.
  
  My memories of tapioca pudding swirl ALL AROUND my Nana, my mother's mother. She used to make tapioca pudding, from scratch, pretty much done as outlined below. As she would lovingly take it out of the refrigerator, where it was cooling in one of her deep, old bowls, to show us the "fruits" of her labor, she would remind us how tapioca pudding requires the cook to stand at the stove, stirring, stirring, stirring -- never leaving, even for ONE MINUTE! It was Nana's way of reminding us of her sacrifice and saying she LOVED us, all in one economical statement.
  
  Tapioca Pudding
  
  "... tapioca pudding is one of those comfort foods that conjures up happy childhood memories. It is actually really easy to make.

  1/2 cup small pearl tapioca (it comes in a box, we use Island Tapioca brand)
  3 cups whole milk (or skim milk with cream added)
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  2 eggs
  1/2 cup of sugar
  1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

  Combine tapioca, milk, and salt in 1 1/2 quart pan on medium high heat. Stir until boiling. Simmer 5 minutes, uncovered at the lowest possible heat, adding sugar gradually. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Mix in some of the hot tapioca very slowly to equalize the temperature of the two mixtures (to avoid curdling). Return eggs to pan with tapioca. Bring to a boil. Stir 3 minutes more over lowest possible heat. Stir constantly. You may cook a little longer than 3 minutes if needed to get to a nice thick pudding consistency. Cool 15 minutes. Add vanilla. Serve either warm or chilled.

  If you want to make a more light and fluffy, but still rich, tapioca pudding, separate the eggs. Use the egg yolks to stir in first to the pan with the tapioca. Once the pudding has become nice and thick, beat the egg whites in a separate bowl to soft peaks. Remove the pan of tapioca pudding from the stove, fold in the beaten egg whites into the pudding.

  Also, it pays to check the instructions on the box or bag of tapioca pearls that you have. The Island Tapioca I used in this recipe doesn't require that you soak the tapioca pearls before cooking. Another brand that I have used requires that you soak the pearls overnight."

• Don't ask me WHY I'm so preoccupied with FOOD today ... I just AM!
  

Using Google's Notebook

Dragon Mood? -- dragons love to collect glittery, notebook-ish things!

You know, I honestly can't remember how I stumbled upon Google's cool app, Notebook, but I LOVE it! I'm using it FAR-R-R-R-R-R more than I ever anticipated.

Check it out!

[Update] Oh, you wanna know HOW I'm using it? Well, I'm collecting information, hyperlinks and web pages on Adobe Photoshop, XHTML and CSS code, fun and/or inspiring quotations that I want to collect/remember/quote sometime, information on health issues pertinent just to me. That sorta stuff.

Just this morning, I gathered over a dozen web pages of tutorials on a software I'm teaching myself. The web pages had a published "shut-off" date and I knew that I wanted to access them after that time. Now, they're safely stored in my Google notebook!

New word: heuristics

Dragon Mood? -- excited

heuristic As an adjective, heuristic (pronounced hyu-RIS-tik and from the Greek "heuriskein" meaning "to discover") pertains to the process of gaining knowledge or some desired result by intelligent guesswork rather than by following some preestablished formula. (Heuristic can be contrasted with algorithmic.) The term seems to have two usages:

1) Describing an approach to learning by trying without necessarily having an organized hypothesis or way of proving that the results proved or disproved the hypothesis. That is, "seat-of-the-pants" or "trial-by-error" learning.

2) Pertaining to the use of the general knowledge gained by experience, sometimes expressed as "using a rule-of-thumb." (However, heuristic knowledge can be applied to complex as well as simple everyday problems. Human chess players use a heuristic approach.)

As a noun, a heuristic is a specific rule-of-thumb or argument derived from experience. The application of heuristic knowledge to a problem is sometimes known as heuristics.

Late night wanderings

Dragon Mood? -- slurping up colors dragoniciously

Here's a cool site with links back to flickr:


http://krazydad.com/colrpickr/

About us bloggers

Dragon Mood? -- ???

Twelve million of us. Yup, that's what the Pew Internet & American Life Project [PDF format] said.

As reported in the New York Times, the report, released yesterday, goes on to say that "Bloggers are a mostly young, racially diverse group of people who have never been published anywhere else and who most often use cyberspace to talk about their personal lives."

Well, thank you, but I'm not young, nor racially diverse, but like the other 12M, I haven't published elsewhere. YES! I fit RIGHT IN!

The report also said that 8 percent of Internet users, or about 12 million American adults, keep a blog, and that 39 percent of Internet users, or about 57 million American adults, read blogs.

Yup, I do both!

“Certainly, as a research center, we get asked about blogging,’’ Ms. Lenhart said of the reason for the surveys. “It was something igniting the American consciousness. Blogs were perceived as having a big impact on politics, technology and journalism. We wanted to go in and see what bloggers were doing.”

Pew is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center based in Washington.

So far it appears that most bloggers view blogging as a hobby that they share with a few people, Ms. Lenhart said. “The new voices are being read in relatively limited spheres,’’ she said.

Yup, my, myself and I; we are the regular readers ... and occasionally Lina-girl reads my blog, too.

More numbers:

Among the report’s findings was that while many well-known blogs are political in nature, 37 percent of bloggers use them as personal journals. Among other popular topics were politics and government (11 percent), entertainment (7 percent), sports (6 percent) and general news and current events (5 percent). Only 34 percent of bloggers considered blogging a form of journalism, and most were heavy Internet users.

More than half of bloggers (54 percent) are under 30, the report said, evenly divided between men and women. More than half live in the suburbs, a third live in urban areas and 13 percent in rural areas. Bloggers, the report said, are also less likely to be white than the general Internet population: 60 percent are white, 11 percent are African-American, 19 percent are English-speaking Hispanic and 10 percent identify themselves as members of some other race. By contract, 74 percent of Internet users are white.

Despite a potentially vast audience in cyberspace, the Pew project found that 52 percent of bloggers said they blogged mostly for themselves. When asked for a major reason for blogging, 52 percent said it was to express themselves creatively and 50 percent said it was to document and share personal experiences.

Chris Anderson, the editor in chief of Wired, a magazine about technology and culture, said the Pew report was accurate. “The finding that jumped out at me was the recognition that people are talking about the subjects that matter in their personal lives,” he said.

"Express themselves creatively." Yes, I like that. I like to think that is what I'm attempting to do here at calypsoDragon13!

A four-page application

Dragon Mood? -- oddly exhilarated

Having just sallied forth, out into an impending thunderstorm, that unexpectedly turned into a summer cloudburst ...

I gingerly sat down in their artsy chair for artsy customers, filled out the four-page application (they want to know what are my personal goals? Do I have any?) and savored the feeling of twisting myself into yet another variation of a human pretzel, applying for a job.

I am home now, ahh, the sweet expansive bliss of being out of a linen interview suit and back in my Farmer Jean denim overalls, pondering the meaning of life and design. The following quote somehow seems appropriate:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
--Excerpt from the notebooks of Lazarus Long, from Robert Heinlein's "Time Enough for Love"

BlogHer

Dragon Mood? -- a lover AND a joiner

Feeling only a little bit guilty, I surfed to BlogHer (from dooce, of course)and joined their blogrolls. I don't necessarily 'get' all the functionality at the site, but I'm E-X-C-I-T-E-D about joining!

This past weekend

Dragon Mood? -- memory overload

In the course of this last weekend:

• we had six different people spend the night or nights at our house; fire up the laundromat!
  
• we smoked numerous Cuban cigars smuggled to us by Paul via Amsterdam
• we tried to enumerate the endless list of furniture being saved "someday" for the "Someday Cottage"
• Paul and I sat for a whole two hours and talked and listened and conversed. A relaxed, meandering conversation. Wow! How long has it been since we did THAT?
• we celebrated as Paul learned of the Miraculous Moving Van Company's miracle feat of scheduling five, count 'em, FIVE days worth of labor between now and the end of July to box and pack all of Ruth and Paul's earthly possessions for the trek from southwest Virginia to Chicago.
• we celebrated only one twin's 24th birthday as the other twin was working and neither twin wanted to celebrate with the other
• we order three pizzas (something we haven't done in a long, long time); my body is noticing the likely elevations of glucose and cholesterol.
• we played countless hands of euchre and just one long, noisy game of "Bullshit!"
• we pretended not to ... but couldn't help overhearing Luke speak to his French girlfriend ... in France ... in French! Ca va? C'est bonne!
• we listened to all the stories, drinking-related and non-drinking-related, about the belated wedding reception held for the two Mormon nieces and their nice Mormon husbands by the mostly non-Mormon, definitely-drinking branch of the family.
• we listened and encouraged, chided and chastised, joked and laughed, teased and tickled, taunted and trash-talked .... and ALL the other WONDERFUL things that family members do with other family members when they get to BE TOGETHER!!!
  

What do YOU know about human rights violations?

Dragon Mood? -- back at the blogging mines too

In her semi-annual employment review, my partner, S, told her boss how disturbed she is that their employer has figuratively gotten into bed with China for some oh-so-cozy moneymaking ventures ... and how outraged she is that said employer does business with a country that has a long and disturbing history of human rights violations.

Today, I was surprised and pleased to see that Rayne Today has resumed blogging and has a post about human rights violations right here in the good ol' US of A. In response to her challenge, I'm posting about it with the intent to learn more. I encourage you to do the same.

A veritable human pretzel

Dragon Mood? -- feeling twisted

I've been threatening to do this for awhile. I think the time has come.

This week, I sent out nine resumes responding to job postings. I also sent out a cover letter and resume to a "cold" prospect today.

Here are just some of the job titles of the 50-plus postings that I've responded to in the past three months:

• Design Engineer
• Designer Unigraphics
• CAD designer
• Mechanical Drafter
• Interior Trim Designer
• Light Automotive CAD Designer
• Product Design Engineer
• Unigraphics Design Engineer
• Instructional Designer
• UG Designer
• PowerPoint and Presentation Designer
• Technical Writer
• Instructional Systems Designer
• Senior CAD Designer
• CAE Specialist
• 3D BIM Modeler
• Content Developer
• Automotive Illustrator

Is it any wonder that seeking employment is tough on a person's self-esteem? At the end of every day spent searching, I feel something like a human pretzel, twisting and contorting myself to fit the descriptions and requirements of these many, many jobs.

*big sigh* Ahhh, the realities of being unemployed! Will it end soon? Will it EVER end???

and then there's that preoccupation with death ...

Dragon Mood? -- peaceful

People who love me tell me that I'm preoccupied with death. I think about, I talk about it, I even worry about it ... occasionally. Or when I'll admit it. *heh-heh-heh*

I was perusing this morning's online version of the Detroit Free Press when I visually grabbed this article, written by Susan Ager, a regular columnist for the Freep. Here's most of it:

For Aunt Helen, we needed no concrete burial vault. She asked to move, after her death, to a mausoleum.

We did, however, choose a mid-priced casket and enlist the services of a funeral home, including embalming. With other incidentals (transportation, newspaper death notices, holy cards, a tip to the minister) we managed to work the cost of her no-procession, no-limo, five-hour funeral up over $6,000.

This time, like every time I've helped plan a funeral, I think: I sure don't want this for me.

Even the government Web site of the Federal Trade Commission says funerals "rank among the most expensive purchases many consumers will ever make." Many funerals, it says, run well over $10,000 and people rarely dicker with a funeral director.

Neither did we.

For me, the issue isn't money, although I'd rather give $6,000 to a family lacking health insurance. For me, the question is why pioneering Americans still follow rigid funeral industry traditions. First, we rush death from the house, into the hands of strangers. Then, we buy caskets and vaults to pretend to protect a body from inevitable deterioration.

Like plants and animals, our bodies should disintegrate into the earth, to nourish new life.

A simpler way to mourn
This week, I spoke by phone with a woman who has done it differently. Beth Knox of Maryland founded a nonprofit group called Crossings (www.crossings.net) in 1998, after her 7-year-old daughter was killed by an exploding airbag. She has led workshops around the country on after-death care for your loved ones. (See also www.finalpassages.org.)

Beth told me about the death of her mother two years ago: "We kept her at home in New Jersey for three days afterwards. My sister and I bought dry ice to keep her cool. From a funeral home we bought a basic casket, with a base of plywood and a top of heavy cardboard, that fit together sort of like a butter dish. We decorated that with stickers and Magic Markers.

"Then we set it on her dining room table, and my brothers carried her downstairs and lay her in it, and we put flowers and other treasures in it. We had wrapped her in silk, in beautiful clothing, and then we carried the casket feet first out into my sister's van. We drove to the crematory, which has a very nice chapel. We all said good-bye and I sang her a song. And then we put her in.

"A few days later we came back for her ashes, which we sprinkled on the dunes near her beach house. In all, it was the most intimate experience of my life."

Michigan laws a hindrance
Beth's story impressed me. She said the law is generally on the side of families who want to care for their own dead, then bury or cremate them without funeral home fanfare. Activists like her are working to help families stand up against officials who, she says, "often invoke the law inaccurately."

At the Funeral Consumers Alliance (www.funerals.org), though, which keeps track of legal nuances in every state, Josh Slocum said new Michigan laws "pose significant problems for families." His group is working to overturn them but, in the meantime, offers telephone advice at 800-765-0107.

"Your husband," Beth told me, "should have the right to load your body into his vehicle, drive to a crematory and watch as your body is put into the chamber, then come back two hours later for your ashes." Those I hope he will scatter over my garden.

One more trend Beth told me about: "green burial" preserves. In a handful of states (not ours, yet) natural areas are set aside for the burial of bodies in blankets or simple pine boxes, without embalming. Graves are marked with trees, shrubs or fieldstones.

All this pleases me. If I'm going to be dead, it's good to have options.

Well, as for me, skip the burial and just have me cremated.

As for the dry ice and being laid out on the dining room table, *big sigh*, geez, I dunno. I gotta think about that yet.