When the wind blows fresh on the hills

It is a blustering night here in my little town and the rain in coming down in sheets. (first I typed sheep!) At times the storm is so that my house feels like it is swaying. Some response to yesterday's post brings me to comment further. Sundogs are a phenomenon that is fairly common here on the central coast and I'm not sure why here more than other places. Actually I have seen some in Florida too. Maybe it is because of the low-lying ground level that allows us to observe them better. Or maybe it is because of the proximity to the ocean. Anyway, they are a fascinating occurance and really look like there are other suns in the sky whey they are very vibrant. Yesterday's was not so bright, but enjoyable all the same.
Today I also received an e-mail from a local band that will be performing. They are quite good and one of the member traveled with us last summer. Human No Longer play a mix of jazzy funk that is greatly enjoyable. I think I will get a contingent of co-workers to go enjoy their great sound.

Oh, and I found out that the little ritual of pouring milk over pornography was actually more so the paper would degrade faster and not leave picture for all to see. My mistake.

Today was a frustrating day at work, but it was tolerable. I started to read Burro Genius, from Victor Villasenor. I really had liked rain of gold when I read it and expect I will like this one too. Tomorrow I have a training that I guess will be less than interesting, put on by some corporate deal from out of town. And it starts at 8:30, so no workout for me, and that means all than pent up energy will find somewhere to go and that is not always good!

Hidy-hidy-hi-di-ho

We just returned from a short town trip to SLO town. SLO-San Luis Obispo. It is a slow town, and brings the perks of a closed-knit community. The whole family went down today to run a few errands and enjoy some swing music played by some folks that we know, one of which being the music program director who was in europe with us last summer. It was lots of fun to watch them as well as the crowd of folks dancing. Now I do love to dance, but I'm not comfortable dancing to a scripted dance such as swing. So I just watched. The bar they were playing at, and do so most sundays, is an old style saloon. Granted it has only been there about ten years, it had the flavor of an old west saloon. There are two large stuffed animal heads, a ram and a moose, and "the largest round mirror" behind the bar. I don't know if the claim still stand, and what is the actual perimeter that it applies to, but it still is a very nice mirror behind the bar. The ceiling is made of that tooled metal that reminds me of my uncle's kitchen in an old farm house when I was a child, and there is a system of pullies that activates the fans to refresh the audience. It is a fun place to hang out and one of the main places where I go dancing at night with the hords of "poly-dollies" or young university girls who barely have reached the US drinking age. It was fun to hang there while savoring some decent brew.

As we drove home, we were treated to an awesome sunset, complete with sundogs reflected from some particularly luminous clouds. The late afternoon light was reverberating off of the hills and the grass took on that amazing glow that a friend of the Kid calls "alpine glow." The sky was separated by a vaporous cloud with one half turquoise mottled with orange clouds, and the other half true sky blue with greying clouds. I just love seeing such sights. It may be one of the main reason it is so hard to leave this area. (No, I don't have any plans to leave soon, unless something extra-ordinary happens.)

Yesterday the Hubby and I saw the Waybacks. They were quite entertaining. It was a fundraiser for my agency, and lots of folks who work with me attended. It was very fun as the Office mate and I sold drinks tickets, while the bookkeepers filled the glasses. It was an inverted world as I certainly can't count. We had fun and the music was out of this world.

I also talked to the sis yesterday, and for a change it was a pretty decent conversation. She did not cry--amazing--and was able to speak of her ex in a negative, but not victim-y manner. It was great. I feel like I might have my sister back. She still complained about the young folks she works with, and how incompetent they are. I don't think younger folks are incompetent, I see plenty of older ones who fit that bill. Anyways, it was the best conversation we had in 6 years, so it does count for a lot to me. She was just returning from a trip to Venezuela, poor thing! I know she has the rough life. She did let me know that the ex told her that he was very sad not to have an occasion to see me when I went home in January. Like I would want to see him! Although if I did get a chance to see him, I would let him know how I always thought he was a simple thief that looks for an opportunity to cheat others whenever he can, and that those are not qualities that impress me, no matter how much cash a person has to throw around. It's still stolen good.

Wow two posts in two days! A record for me!

Un Pas Devant, Un Pas Derriere

Since Spin is abandonning the lyrics title, I thought I could do it this one time. Well, it just came to mind since yesterday was really a day where you feel you are taking a step back.

Here I was, feeling rather good, not too upset about anything except the tedium of daily life which I find at best boring, when lo and behold the hubby gets a terrible news. Since he is already prone to depression, I always grit my teeth when he has something sad to announce. This time, the news could have a very direct impact on his life. The theater he has managed for the past 20-odd years is getting closed down as it does not meet the earthquake proof regulations. Of course it is better to not be in such a building when an earthquake occurs, but this theater has been his life for the past 20 some years and it is having a very strong impact on him, emotionally. Luckyly, the financial impact is not devastating, and we do not know yet if he will actually lose his job; but for sure, with the theater closed, his job would change drastically. Over the years, the theater has been under fire in a variety of ways such as budget cuts, 9/11, and a young vandal trying to set fire to the place, but something always came up to safeguard the building and the program. Performers such as David Benoit, Chick Correa, Winton Marsalis, and even Stan Getz, the first show the hubby did there, have graced the marquee with their names and filled the hall with their talent. I hope a solution is found that can enable this venue to continue bringing all these world class performers as well as small time community shows. The Kid also was very sad as she grew up in the backroom, played with equipment, and feels that the venue was part of her life.

I will keep you posted on this one.

Now the ongoing christian saga.

I have shared here that a co-worker's son died last month. The co-worker resumed work this week and I can tell it is very difficult for him. We would be talking about clients, and periodically, I would see him drift a little, and could sense that his thoughts were turning to his very intense pain of missing his young son. Unfortunately, I feel I am holding back from reaching out to him because of his very intense faith. He even sent an e-mail to the whole staff on Monday stating that if we attended his son's service (where the pastor attempted to recruit new souls) and we wanted to know the "Truth" we could come to him. It so rubbed me the wrong way that I made an harrassment complaint to HR. So I feel that if I reach out to him to offer support, I will get more prosetilizing. ARRGGHH! It bothers me because I really, genuinely like this young man, and would like to be a support for him, but my pagan ways would be too sacrilegious for him. Sigh.

Another good one on the christian front is that I found out that you can "purify" pornography by pouring milk over it! Anyone out there heard of that one? You can't make shit like that up, I tell you!

Amazing Moon

Yesterday, as I was leaving work, I was treated to a wonderful sight. The full moon was rising over the hills that surround the small town of San Luis Obispo. The sky was mostly clear, but a few clouds rested softly over the hills directly under the moon and reflected the organge glow from the huge disk as it rose into the night sky. It was breathtaking.

Tonigh, I got a good laugh watching the daily show. Stewart was interviewing a man who wrote a book called "Misinterpreting Jesus" about how over the years and centuries, thousands of scribes, either purposefully or by mistake, have altered the words of the original bible. The man was very interesting and Stewart actually did a very serious interview, but he concluded by saying "that was a hell of a book." Whether it was planned or not, it sure gave me a good heartfelt laugh.

This Friday, I will go see a show from a group from Montreal that is performing right here in our little town. They are Theatre Sans Fils and feature large marionnettes (up to six feel tall) that are operated by actors who are litteraly under them. I had seen one of their productions a long time ago, and am delighted to go see them again. It is pledge week for our local PBS station and that was the price for one pledge. So I immediately called and won the tickets. I hope to take the little cutie daughter of my office mate (and my office mate) as well as the Kid who said "ohh it could be a mothers-daughters thing!" Isn't she the cutest!

Mumbo-Jumbo

From a Punk group from Quebec: "I now understand that I did not understand you when you said: "Mhmph mhphm mhpphmm." They have very funny lyrics, as you can see.

This was a very fun week-end. The piercing and tat exhibit was very wierd and somewhat interesting. I was surprized to find out that Mystic hopes I will change my mind about getting a tattoo. Some of the work being shown was very odd, but others were quite beautiful. The band "X" performed and unfortunately, I had to miss their show as they started half hour late, and I had another event to go to. The whole indoor exhibit room which is often used for animals during the mid-state fair was buzzing and humming from the tattoo needles at work on at least thirty person being tattooed at a time. Some were large canvas-like projects, others where simple and small. Something I had never seen before and that was disturbing to me was the piercing where several rings are put on the side of a person, and then laced like a corset. One young man did have this work on him and all of the laces joined at his collarbone where they were tied to a leash that was held by his girlfriend. That would be a little disturbing if I did not know that mostly they seem to want to shock and attract attention in true teen fashion. Anyone else has seen this type of work?
I did find an artist from San Francisco who could probably capture the effect I am looking for. I will send her some sketches and see what we can come up with. The Kid found an artist in Oxnard that could do her design. Too bad we have such different taste and won't be able to have it done together (our original plan).

After the tat show, I went to a concert put on by the faculty of the music departement at the Hubby's college. Some were amazing and some needed a lot of work still. One young woman, who just joined the faculty, Inga Swearingen, was amazing, and another woman who I have known for several years sang opera. She has the most beautiful voice. It was very enjoyable and I got to visit with some friends I had not seen in some time.

Then on Sunday, I went to a baby shower for a co-worker, (we are a baby factory, I swear) and the event was held at an amazing home in the valley, it was simply beautiful. We had a great time with everyone that is fun that is from work. Here are some pics, views from the deck.

















Finally, here is something I lifted from fellow blogger Rabbits, Toyen and so forth that was sent to her by a friend:
'There's a new Russian vampire-thriller out called Night Watch that I have no desire to see, and I can't imagine it would be likely to appeal to you, either. Nevertheless, I thought the following line of description from a review I read had something to recommend it: "Aided by Olga, a woman who has spent 60 years as a stuffed owl, [the hero] must guard a boy who seems to be in danger."'

That really makes me want to go see it, it just sounds strange enough to match my taste.

Friends in High Places

We have had some strange weather out here in coastal central California. Today storms would it with a crazy force and then be done in 5-10 minutes and blue sky would come out. The sea is raging and I could see it break over the breakwater from the house (well from the street in front of the house.) Tonight, the sky is clear, it is cold and many constellations can be seen. I wonder if all or most of the northern hemisphere can see the same at this time of the year. Right now we have the Big Dipper, Orion, and so many more. The moon is on its side too like a boat. Very nice.

I can relate to Spin saying how she thinks of all these things to post and then forgets them by night time when she has time to do it. I am sorta the same way. Several time this week I had strikes of geniuses, but never made it to my page. One thing I have been thinking of putting on here is that I am curious to find out what goes on in other folks' head when they see some abandonned thing on the freeway. As I drove to work all week, I went by a shoe that must have fallen from someone's car. How did it get there? Is the owner missing it? Was it thrown there? What do folks in blogland think?

As for the friends in high places. Yesterday I worked very hard to catch us up in our documentation, an ongoing saga that is the most frustrating aspect of my job. Kids assaulting their parents and peers, no problems; parents not being able to set limits and undoing everything your whole team as worked on for six month by giving in to the kid after they have made some gains, I can handle it; but reading tons of notes documenting all we do: drives me nuts. Especially since we have to return half of them to the employees writing them for very stupid errors like not spell checking.

Anyway, after a gruelling day of frustration, I went to see Coco Montoya, a great blues guitar player. First, I walked in without paying, as the show was put on by my friend and co-worker the SpinDoctor, then I got a free beer, and just had a great time dancing to some first class music. I felt like Jake and Elwood would walk on stage at any time. The band had a guitar, played backwards (left hand with a right hand stringing, bass on the bottom!) a kick-ass bassman, a keyboard, and a drummer who did a 15 minute solo towards the end of the show. They were great. Several friends from work were there and folks from the Hubby radio station were there as well. It was lots of fun.

Part of the entertainment was this wierdo guy who was dancing, flailing all over the place. He was jumping and shaking and jiggling everything and looked bizarre the instant he came on the dance floor. But then, he decided that he took and interest in me (I always attrack the wierd ones). As we were dancing and enjoying the music, he came up to me and faked offered me a hit of a fake joint! As I declined, he tried to explain to me that it was not real (as if I was to obtuse to notice he had nothing in his hand). A little later, he came by again to ask me to dance; and as I was declining his offer, the young woman who was dancing with me, who went to school with the Kid, thougt maybe I would not know how to get rid of annoying men in bars (since I am just a little old lady who never went out, and also whenever we go out as a group from work we look out for each others). She comes closer to see if she can send the guy away. He then said (and I am not making this up) "Ooh, I get it. Do you know where I can find some heterosexual girls around here?" We laughed so hard, that was just too funny. Of course any woman who could resist him must be queer! Later the same guy was "humping" the column that is in the center of the room. He was quite entertaining. We all loved the music though, it made all the crazy work dissapear for a few hours.

Tomorrow I go to a tattoo fair in Paso Robles. Maybe I'll get my first tat!