A New Place For Our Stuff...

When sitting in a rocking chair on a hardwood floor, one must make faces. It is the law.

My apartment is virtually empty of my stuff now. Still remaining is a small pile of dirty laundry, some cleaning supplies, and a few miscellaneous items destined for the dumpster or recycling bin. We're still working on emptying Jeanine's place, but hopefully that will be accomplished by the end of the day. The end of the month is upon us.

At the house, things are magically settling into place while the girls, unconcerned with the piles of boxes, play video games.

Dexter the cat arrived howling, and spent the better part of a day with his tail all poofed up. He's better now, and is making the house his own.

More to follow...

Flux

Boxes pile up both here and there, and at the moment we're waiting for the tent to come down. The fumigators put it up on Wednesday, and apparently neither Jeanine nor I are trusting, because we both drove by at different times to check to make sure that the job had actually been done. It had, but they didn't give us one of those colorfully striped clown tents. Instead, we got a black one. If you're going to tent a house, you should try to make it look like a clown house. I'm not sure why. It just seems like the right thing to do. The world needs more clowns or, at the very least, places that look like they could be clown residences.

Yesterday, since we couldn't move anything, we went for a walk at Hidden Villa. It's Horned Lizard season, but we didn't see any. We saw fewer Whiptails than last year too, although we did see a few, like the one pictured above. Early in the hike, Jeanine spotted a Jerusalem Cricket scuttling across the trail. That's a strange thing to see in the middle of the day. I wonder what disturbed it enough to inspire this atypical diurnal activity. There were fewer ticks along the trail than last time, although we did find a few of them patiently waiting on some trail-side plants. Later, I found one attached to my chest near one of my nipples. Sneaky little bastard. Its meal was cut short.

Currently listening to: The Iditarod "the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel"

And So It Begins In Earnest

For me, the act of moving is like going on vacation. It doesn't seem to have any weight or reality until the hour is nigh and the routine of living is shuttled off onto a new track, or to put it another way, until the suitcase (in my case, usually a hastily stuffed backpack) or first box is full of my stuff. It's a sad commentary on my tendency to hoard that some of my belongings only get handled when I'm moving them from one residence to another, but that's a whole other subject. I'm working on it. Really.

I stripped a bookcase of its stories today, and filled a number of boxes with books. I came across one book (Swine Lake, by James Marshall) illustrated by Maurice Sendak, and I plan on sitting down later today and reading it in memory of his passing, the news of which greeted me when I woke up this morning. Lets all hold a wild rumpus in his honor.

The new house is scheduled to be tented tomorrow, ensuring that the dry wood termites discontinue their gnawing. I'm not a big fan of using poison gas on insects, but I think I'd be even less a fan of having the house collapse on top of us at some indeterminate point in the future.

Still to be scheduled is the chimney work, and some plumbing repairs. Right now, if there was an earthquake, the chimney would probably fall on the neighbor's house.

Currently listening to: Accept "I'm A Rebel"

First Photos

The empty house awaits our clutter. Hopefully it will wear the extra pounds well. Jeanine is better at getting rid of things than I am, but I've chucked a few things myself. We're going to have to start a list of things that we need to buy though, so the next month will see a frenzy of jettisoning and acquiring. We're especially lacking in the yard maintenance equipment department, since the postage stamp-sized patios attached to our current residences can't be graced with the word "yard". A new bed will also have to be purchased.

Here then are a couple of photos. Over that last couple of months spent viewing hundreds of online photos of houses for sale, I've been amused to see the various tricks of the trade - photos stretched to make the house look more expansive, low angled shots to make the house look more mansion-like, and other similar bits of trickery. I can't now recall what the "advertisement" photos of our house looked like. I learned to more or less ignore those photos anyway.

Currently listening to: Bowline "s/t"

More Than A Month Has Passed...

My last post was on April Fool's Day, and this one falls on the day after Cinco De Mayo, which was also the evening of the so-called "Supermoon", a moon which my 2012 moon guide (courtesy of the wonderful Nebula Girl, who mails them out for free at the beginning of each year) calls Big Leaf Moon. It was noticeably closer than the average full moon, even though I missed the moment when it first peeked above the East Bay hills.

In addition to all of the home buying activity, this period of silence has been full of activity. Perhaps most importantly, my brother Greg, Willow, and I finally got off of our isolationist butts and visited relatives. This meant traveling to Cape Cod to see my mom's sister and her son, Peter, and then on to Minnesota to see my dad's sister and her family. I had reconnected with my mom's sister, Marilyn, and my cousin Peter, when Jeanine and I were in Boston for a balloon convention in February, but Greg and I hadn't seen our relatives on our dad's side of the family in decades. Willow had never met any of them. I'll not recount the entire week here, because it won't be that interesting to the casual reader, but the trip was definitely a success. Our Aunt Marilyn even got us into the Edward Gorey house before it was open for the season, and while we were on Cape Cod, we visited our friends Matthias and Carla, who live in a pleasingly rustic house right near the beach (although everywhere on Cape Cod is right near the beach). The trip was well documented.

After coming back, I hopped in the car with Jeanine and we headed for Big Sur, where we took in a Godspeed You! Black Emperor show and camped under the redwoods. That week, Sophie's class was at camp, and since the kids' school always attends our second site, I switched sites and worked days. We wrapped up the week with a second Godspeed show, and the next morning, Greg and I flew to Seattle to see the newest Bela Tarr film, The Turin Horse. Perhaps this is how my second childhood has chosen to manifest itself - plane flights to see films. This also meant that we were in Seattle on Record Store Day, so we bought lots of music while we were there. I came back with quite a variety of sounds, from bird songs and a double CD/book collection of old 78 recordings, to Ennio Morricone doing bossa nova and neoclassical sounds that used a previous Bela Tarr film as inspiration. As for the film we had gone to see, it was everything we expected it to be, although at least one audience member must have been expecting something different, because she walked out and didn't come back.

I've started another walking challenge as well. Somebody who is even nerdier than me has figured out that Frodo and Sam had to walk 1779 miles to walk to Mordor. Since I started the challenge, I've walked a mere 11 miles. Only 1768 more to go.

I did a reptile/bug party yesterday, and in preparation for the party, Jeanine and I went on a short bug hunt Friday, which netted me a little California Forest Scorpion and a Jerusalem Cricket, not to mention a Garter Snake (I found two under a board, but only caught one). In addition to the two Garter Snakes, we saw eight Rattlesnakes. After the party, when I went to release the Garter Snake, I discovered that the board under which I found it still had two Garter Snakes under it. Nature hates imbalance, I guess.

Here's Rattlesnake number eight. He was still there the next day.

As for the house, after lots of last-minute craziness involving the lenders, yesterday we finally got the keys. I went over in the afternoon, and when I arrived, our realtor was sweeping the floors (talk about a full-service realtor!), and the sellers were bundling the last of their possessions (and their cats) into the car. They were leaving for Oregon. They left behind a few things for us, including the patio furniture and some yard tools. Later, Jeanine and I converged on the house and thoughtfully wandered through it. Jeanine brought out her tape measure and did a few calculations, and I hauled a few things in from my van. We're having the house tented for termites on Wednesday, so we won't be moving a lot of things over there until after that's done. We have the whole month to be out of our current residences, so there isn't too much of a rush.

So now we're homeowners. I guess I'm a grown-up now. I've lived in my studio apartment for nearly three and a half years now, and while there are some things I like about my apartment, I'm ready to step into a larger space again. I'm ready for our new yard, with its towering avocado tree, garden, citrus trees, artichoke plants, and expansive lawn. There is a compost area and a worm bin too.

Currently listening to: Natural Snow Buildings "Shadow Kingdom"

Another Long Silence...

My last post was on February 22nd, a handful of days before Willow turned 9. A lot has happened since then. The times when I am most prolific with my blog writing always seem to coincide with long stretches of routine, when very little news of excitement or importance occurs.

Jeanine and I, sometimes with Willow and/or Eva in tow, have spent the last month or so looking at open houses. A realtor that we met at the first one we went to has been showing us around. The houses have ranged from dumpy and forlorn to interesting and appealing. Our first actual bid was rejected, mostly because we wanted the owners to take care of a rather sizable termite problem. Our second bid wasn't even in the top 3, despite the fact that we bid $15,000.00 over the asking price. It seems that the low interest rates have encouraged a vast number of people to buy homes. For the third house we bid on, we bid $15,000.00 under the asking price, and the sellers didn't respond by the time the bid expired. The fourth time was the charm. We bid the asking price, and it was accepted. The fourth house is the only one of the four where we actually met the owner, and I think the fact that we're planning to occupy it with our children instead of using it as an investment worked in our favor. The house has been in the seller's family for half a century, so its fate seems important to her. More on the house in future posts.

Needless to say, all of this searching and bidding has taken up a lot of time. Not to mention the fact that I've been working days for the last couple of weeks while Willow's mom has been in the hospital for a planned surgery. While working as the night supervisor at camp, I tend to take for granted my daytime freedom, so now that I'm working days, I'm surprised at how little time I have. I have two more weeks of hiking with kids before returning to my nocturnal schedule - one because my boss asked me to, and one because Sophie's class is coming to camp. Sandwiched between those is a week off which coincides with Willow's Spring Break. Tax day looms as well. In short, much is happening in a short period of time.

We've finally seen a bit of rain too. March had a few rainy days, including yesterday when I led a "reptile safari" along some of the trails near camp. This was for the son of a woman who hired me through Jeanine's website, and despite the rain, the party was a success. Most kids don't mind mud and rain, as long as they don't have to stay out in it too long. The parents were good sports too. The reptiles we found were sluggish due to the chilly temperature, so the kids caught some lizards and I caught a couple of Rattlesnakes. Fun was had, cake was eaten, and I even got a $40.00 tip.

A lot of my childhood literary interests have factored into recent weeks as well. Willow has finally started being interested in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, thanks to the Retro Dome, which has showed the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy on its screens recently. She is currently reading The Hobbit. We saw the Tintin movie too (which was very good), and Willow has started reading the Tintin books. I was so excited by this that I dropped $120.00 for a box set of the entire Tintin series (I reread mine until they were shedding pages). We also saw the John Carter movie (based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian novels, which I happily read and reread as a child) and I quite liked it.

Welcome Spring. This is definitely a Spring during which many things are happening. I feel more or less caught up now.

Currently listening to: Dead Can Dance "A Passage In Time", and looking forward to seeing them play in August.

Overheard

As I was walking yesterday, I overheard two conversations. The first was one half of a phone conversation, overheard as a loud guy was walking towards me on the sidewalk. It went something like this: "THE DOCTOR DON'T KNOW NOTHING ABOUT CHILD SUPPORT! DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME IGNORANT, BITCH! FUCK YOU, BITCH!". The man, if you can even call such a character a man, angrily ended the call and huffed on past me. I feel sorry for his kid, who is stuck with a deadbeat asshole for a father, and for the woman who was such a poor judge of character to let things get so far with this guy. That is, assuming I read the exchange correctly. It's amazing to me that some people seem to exist with such a complete lack of dignity, as evidenced by their angry public tirades. Mobile phones sure have dragged a great number of private conversations onto the street, and a lot of people seem to be too dumb to notice the difference. It's sort of like people who pick their noses while in their cars, as if the fact that they're in an enclosed space makes them invisible. Being on the phone does not soundproof your conversation, especially if you're yelling like an enraged hyena.

The second overhead conversation took place inside a store, between a little girl and her dad. The girl, who couldn't have been more than two or three years old, gleefully proclaimed, "I are a dummy!", as she toddled along the aisles. Her dad kept trying to correct her: "don't call yourself that! You're silly, not a dummy". The girl kept insisting though, "no! I are a dummy!"

I couldn't help but think that the person who should have been saying this was the first guy, but he was too self-righteous and full of himself to ever admit such a thing. In fact, he got angry when he was called on it, responding with trite insults delivered at excessive volume, as if he subconsciously wanted to broadcast his ignorance as far and wide as possible.

Currently listening to: Espers "III"

Winter?

This is the bluest, driest February I can remember. There was a bit of rain last weekend, just enough to entice some green from the parched soil up in the hills, but now the sky is boring and blue again.

At the beginning of the month, Jeanine and I went to Arizona for the 2012 Twist & Shout convention - several days in a Sheraton, playing with balloons, eating pizza, and in general, having a fun time. Arizona felt like Spring, with blue skies and temperatures in the seventies.

Other than that brief vacation, I've been working. There have been more homesick kids at camp than usual, and nocturnal incontinence has been an issue with more than a few campers. This week, in a failed attempt at egg theft, a camper filled his water bottle with pond water and newt eggs, but dropped it in the evening, during the astronomy program. A cabin leader, feeling thirsty, retrieved the bottle and took a swig. Unsurprisingly, he was unhappy to discover that he'd ingested pond water. I'm glad that he didn't swallow any newt eggs. California Newts contain a poison called tetrodotoxin, which can kill humans if ingested in sufficient quantities. I did some quick research on newt eggs anyway, but still don't know if, or how much, poison is contained in the eggs. I'll add this to the growing number of cautionary tales in my repertoire. Look before you drink.

The most significant thing that happened this month is that I finally asked Jeanine to marry me, and she said yes. I asked her while we walked the trails at Rancho San Antonio, where around 2 and a half years ago, we went on our first date. I'm excited at the prospect of looking for a home together. Both of our daughters seem happy about this too. This should be an interesting and exciting year.

Currently listening to: Greg Weeks "The Hive"

Work Continues Under Dry Skies

Gray light filters down outside, but despite the clouds, everything remains dry. Other than a tiny bit of rain a week ago, there has been no rain for at least a couple of months.

I'm nearing the completion of a lot of the tasks associated with my dad's passing. It has been almost 3 months since he died, and there has been more than enough to keep me busy during that time, but very little time for mourning or reflection. I still have his taxes to figure out over the next couple of months, and I'm not messing around with it. I'm hiring an accountant.

Today marks the beginning of the fifth week of science camp this year. I'm only working the first 2 nights though, because I have other plans for the last half of the week.

Currently listening to: Isengrind "The Stone Breads of Golden Bankets" from "Menagerie 3" compilation

Two Years

Exactly two years ago today, I spent an afternoon in Oakland in small photography studio. I had with me 4 snakes, who were kicking off their reptilian modeling careers on the shoulders of members of the Oakland metal band, High On Fire. The photos eventually surfaced in the April, 2010 issue of Decibel magazine. The Burmese Python used in the shoot died this Monday.

When I arrived home from the shoot, it was to the news that my mom had died suddenly, so today marks an unpleasant anniversary. I remembered her by drinking a cup of good tea. The tea, Peet's Ancient Trees Organic Pu-erh, was in one of her cabinets at the time of her death, along with lots of other types of teas. My brother and I often gifted her with interesting teas, and truth be told, she had more tea than she would have been able to drink if she lived for decades longer. I think that she would have agreed that it's nice to have a variety though, because like me and my brother, she loved to surround herself with excessive amounts of the things she loved. I didn't actually try the Ancient Trees tea until yesterday, when all of a sudden I felt compelled to get it out and brew some. So, today I raise a steaming cup of tea in the memory of my mom.

Additionally, I think she would have felt she was in good company if she'd known that the week of her passing would one day be shared by Theo Angelopoulos (see previous post).

Also, R.I.P. Riot guitarist Mark Reale, who passed away yesterday. This week is not a kind one.

Currently listening to: Ordo Equitum Solis "Paraskenia"

"What Am I, If Not A Collector Of Vanished Gazes?"

This morning, soon after I got up, I read an announcement that Greek film director Theo Angelopoulos had died. According to the news article, he was hit by a motorcycle while crossing the road near the film set of what was to be his new film, "The Other Sea". He was the same age as my dad.

It's not often that the death of somebody I didn't know upsets me this much. The world has lost a filmmaker who can't be replaced, someone with unique vision. It looks like his newest film is stillborn, which is a shame indeed.

Earlier today, Jeanine and I watched his 1995 film, "Ulysses' Gaze". It seemed like the thing to do. "Ulysses' Gaze" was the first Angelopoulos film I saw (at a sold out screening at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, no less), and it's still one of my favorites.

As long as their are archives and collectors, Angelopoulos' gaze will never vanish. Even when his physical form is dust and nothing, we can still look through his eyes. There is some comfort in that.

Currently listening to: Eleni Karaindrou "Music For Films"

A Day In the Life...

Nearly five years ago, I randomly chose a day during which I took careful note of everything I did from the time I woke up to the time I crawled back into bed. It ended up not being the best of days, which of course made it much more readable. Nobody wants to read stories in which everything goes according to plan. That said, my primary motivation behind this kind of writing is selfish. I like to go back and look at these little slices of life, these little verbal time capsules. Because of this blog, I know exactly what I was doing every minute of February 22, 2007. Now, years from now, I'll be able to look back and know exactly what I was doing on January 23, 2012. Like the 2007 post, it ended up not being the best of days. In fact, death figures into it. Read on.

6:30 - Alarm goes off. I flail at the alarm clock until the noise stops. I keep doing this every 9 minutes until shortly after 7:00.

7:10 - I manage to become vertical and shuffle to the kitchen, where I brew some coffee and pour myself a heaping bowl of 9 Whole Grain Crunch with almond milk. While consuming coffee and cereal, I check e-mail and recent news stories.

7:20 - Willow wakes up. I make her toast with butter. She gradually gets ready and makes her toast disappear, except for the crusts, which sit forlornly on her plate.

7:20 to 7:55 - We finish getting ready. Willow makes sure to put her stuffed monkey, Monkey, into her backpack. Monkey, along with stuffed animals belonging to Willow's classmates, is having a sleepover at school this evening. Willow wonders if he'll be homesick.

7:56 - We drive to Willow's school.

8:10 - Arrive at school. I walk Willow to her classroom.

8:16 - I get back to the van and start driving home.

8:25 - The cop who has been following me for several blocks pulls me over. I have to open my door to talk to him because my window is broken. He asks the usual cop question: "Do you know why I pulled you over?" I reply that I don't. It turns out that one of my brake lights is out. Sigh of relief. At least it wasn't a moving violation of some sort. He doesn't give me a fix-it ticket, but tells me to get it fixed.

8:35 - I arrive home.

8:40 - Check e-mail, download new Jolie Holland Daytrotter session.

8:45 - Decide to chronicle my day. I start list of what I've already done while listening to Far Black Furlong.

8:50 - I start "watching" a couple of Natural Snow Buildings auctions on eBay.

9:07 - I do the dishes and gather stuff to put in storage. A couple of boxes of my dad's stuff will be joining the others in the storage space that my brother and I share.

9:16 - E-mail Jeanine, wishing her good morning.

9:23 - Finish listening to Far Black Furlong and get ready to go.

9:30 - Eat banana and discover that when I play with the round magnets on the fridge, they make interesting sounds. Think about recording them.

9:35 - Leave. iPod on shuffle.

9:40 - Once on the freeway, I see a rainbow.

9:43 - Arrive at auto parts store, buy brake light bulbs, replace the dead one, and then discover that I'd actually already had a spare in the glove compartment.

9:49 - Head for storage space.

10:06 - Arrive at storage space, drop off boxes and get wheat bag (one of those microwaveable bags, most commonly used to warm sore next muscles, but in this case slated to be portable heating unit for my python, who I'm taking to the vet).

10:28 - Arrive at work and check on python in the Nature Lab. He's in a bad way, in fact at first I think that he's dead, but he is moving slightly. Late last week, it was discovered that there was blood around his mouth, and after observing and treating him (for possible mouth rot) for a day, I decided that he had a respiratory condition and needed to see the vet. Unfortunately, the soonest I could get an appointment was this morning). It's not quite time for his appointment, so I wander up to camp. I chat with coworkers for awhile, finding out that there was a half hour power outage over the weekend, which when one considers the condition of the python, was really bad timing. I microwave the wheat bag and get the python into a pillowcase for his ride to the vet.

11:04 - I leave for the vet. iPod on shuffle.

11:26 - Arrive at vet and check in.

11:40 - while sitting in the plastic waiting room chair, I check on the python and realize that he is dead. The vet double checks and confirms this. I talk with the vet, and he asks if I want them to determine cause of death, although given the symptoms he agrees that it was due to a respiratory condition, most likely pneumonia. Whatever it was, it sure acted quickly, because a week ago the python exhibited no symptoms. I decline. I also decline their offer to take care of the corpse, preferring instead to bury him at work. I am not charged for the visit. R.I.P. python (No, I never gave him a name, since snakes don't come when you call them). He was 20 years old, give or take a year. In 2010, he was immortalized on the April cover of Decibel magazine. The photo shoot took place on the day that I was told my mom had died (which will have been exactly 2 years ago tomorrow). Strange coincidence.

11:50 - Back in van.

12:15 - Back at camp. I eat lunch and talk with coworkers and the teachers who have arrived with the kids attending science camp this week. We discuss classroom pets, and the fact that most districts have banned them.

12:34 - I bury the python in the garden. While collecting rocks to place on top of his grave (so local scavengers don't dig him up), I startle a small Tree Frog.

12:50 - I go back to Nature Lab, feed the Tegu some cat food, feed crickets to the Scorpion and Tarantula, get some blackberry leaves for the Walking Sticks, and give some insect food to the Hissing cockroach. I give water to the animals that need it.

1:07 - I head for home.

1:28 - Arrive home. Check mail.

1:32 - Read mail.

1:40 - Go online, check e-mail, reply to Jeanine and Paul Roland, first spending some time looking through my Paul Roland collection as I try to figure out what I'm missing so I can take him up on his kind offer of a free CD. I decide that I'm missing the most recent reissue of "Duel".

2:24 - Come up for air from the murky waters of the internet.

2:28 - Gather clothes and quarters so I can have some laundry fun.

2:30 - Stop what I'm doing to read an entertainment news article on the film speed of the upcoming Hobbit films (speed doubled to 48 frames/second to make images more lifelike. Cool!)

2:33 - Back on track.

2:39 - Laundry is now in, and I'm listening to the Far Black Furlong bonus disc while cleaning the apartment.

2:58 - I'm still cleaning. Willow, home from school, calls about softball from her mom's house. I need to sign her up for a slightly younger team because she misses the age cut-off by about 2 months.

3:05 - Finish cleaning (more or less) and go put laundry in dryer.

3:10 - Check phone messages and call back bloodsucking creditor (who is after money that my dad owed when he passed away). She is shocked to learn that I'd already mailed a check.

3:18 - Check e-mail (because, you know, there could be new ones).

3:20 - Pour a tall cup of ice water and drink.

3:21 - Update list of executor expenses and assets (because I'm executor of my dad's estate)based on new information gleaned from today's mail.

3:28 - E-mail Willow's softball league in an attempt to get her onto a slightly younger team.

3:34 - Get sucked into internetland for a minute or two.

3:36 - Put on a Valravn cdr (sent by a certain Mr. Potter with a recent CD order because we share an interest in Scandinavian folk music). Valravn sound like the bastard child of Bjork and Hedningarna. This is a good thing.

3:37 - Start week 3 of the 100 Push-Ups challenge.

3:48 - 46 push-ups completed and e-mail checked again. Willow is now on the proper softball team. Sitting and resting for a couple of minutes.

3:55 - Pause Valravn so I can get laundry.

4:08 - Valravn back on. Laundry put away.

4:09 - Check Facebook and Failbook. Laugh.

4:15 - Put on pants, still warm from the dryer. Read e-mail from Jeanine. Turn off computer.

4:17 - Go for a walk, with the intention of checking out houses for sale in the neighborhood.

4:25 - I see a nice little house for sale. As I pass, a kid leans out of the front door of the neighboring house and shouts, "Hey! You're the guy from camp!" I say hi and keep going, thinking that it would probably blow his mind if I were to buy the house next to his.

4:37 - Still walking, I notice a tree, a light pole, and a fire hydrant decked out in colorful macrame outfits. I wonder if it has something to do with Chinese New Year, or if I've simply wandered into a strange neighborhood.

4:40 - Hundreds of silent seagulls fill the sky overhead.

5:22 - Back home.

5:24 - Glass if ice water, turn music back on, check e-mail, then log miles on DailyMile (3.91 miles today).

5:29 - Rest for a minute. Read some news.

5:40 - E-mail Jeanine. Continue relaxing. Put on Fovea Hex CD.

5:45 - Cook vegetable fried rice with fake beef. Add lots of pepper.

5:53 - Dinner is served.

6:02 - Dinner is done. Continue listening to Fovea Hex and farting around on the internet.

6:15 - Preorder expensive Fall Of Efrafa box set reissue from Alerta Antifascista records in Germany. Chastise myself for being a spendthrift.

6:27 - Put on Fovea Hex remix disc. Nice.

6:28 - Feel cold. Put teakettle on.

6:35 - Sip Dim Sum Bo Nay tea (which is great for making Bod Jha, or Tibetan butter/salt tea). Listen to Fovea Hex remix.

7:04 - Replay Fovea Hex remix. Put away clean dishes, clean dirty ones, and wipe down counter and stove.

7:18 - Finding and reading my blog from 2/22/07.

7:32 - Put on Natural Snow Buildings CD and start getting ready to go to work.

7:38 - Interrupt myself and clean off framed photos of Willow, salvaged from my dad's apartment last November. Think about hanging them, but can't figure out where. Put them back.

7:42 - Turn off laptop and put it in bag to take to work.

7:44 - Reluctantly turn off CD.

7:47 - Put on hat, scarf, and jacket, then leave for work.

8:10 - Get to work, check in with Hub Host (it's Meadow this week), turn on heater to cabins, turn off some lights, check to make sure pool bathrooms are unlocked, and take a moment to listen to the frogs singing out in the darkness.

8:25 - Meet with cabin leaders, discovering that all but 3 of them are return volunteers. Meeting is short. Spend a minute talking with Meadow, Moonlight, and Bunny. Congratulate Bunny on his recent engagement.

8:45 - Sing closing song, "I Wish You Well", with campfire staff and kids.

8:50 to 9:10 - Do introductory night talk for campers, include some bad puns for my personal amusement, and end it with a quick question and answer session. Kids mostly ask questions on subjects that I just covered during my talk. cluing me into the fact that not everybody was listening very well.

9:15 to 9:40 - Supervise campers as they're getting ready for bed, talk to homesick kids (there are two of them, one boy and one girl) and convince them to go to bed. Play music on my tarka.

9:40 - Ring five minute warning bell. Check in with teachers.

9:45 - Ring final bell. Camper gets sent to me for talking after the bells have rung. I explain to him why he shouldn't be talking (as if I didn't cover this several times during the night talk). Teachers start night patrol (checking to make sure kids are quiet and cabin lights are out).

9:50 - Plug in laptop and clock. Get book out ("House of Windows" by John Langan).

9:53 - Talk with a teacher for a moment.

9:57 - Check e-mail. Send e-mail to Jeanine.

10:05 - A girl gets sent to me for making noise after lights-out. I find out that she is also homesick. I counsel her for a few minutes and send her back to bed.

10:08 - Go make myself some mint tea in the dining hall. Have brief conversation with a teacher who is also getting tea.

10:13 - Arrive back at the Hub to discover a whole group of boys waiting for me. They got sent over by their cabin leader for making noise (knocking on wall, fake farting, etc.). I find out which one was most at fault, and proceed accordingly. I send them back to bed after sorting things out.

10:17 - I drink my tea and read.

10:24 - A girl comes in and, while leaning over me, tells me she feels like throwing up. I tell her to go to the bathroom, because I'd rather she throw up in the toilet than in my lap.

10:27 - The girl is back. She informs me that she threw up "a little bit". I quickly discover that she is nauseous because she is feeling homesick. I counsel her for a little while and send her back to bed. Then, I resume reading.

11:23 - Check e-mail. Back to reading. Discover pretzels in the staff room. Eat them.

11:55 - Turn off heaters so it doesn't get too hot in the cabins. Surprise raccoon in the trash.

12:11 - Finish book. E-mail Jeanine, noticing thematic similarities between her last e-mail and the book I've just read.

12:20 - Briefly look at Facebook. Shut down computer.

12:32 - I crawl onto the top bunk in the Hub, and begin my several hours of light sleep. The alarm is set for 5:30 AM.

If Only We Could Banish the Bureaucrats

It's the second work week of the new year, and I feel like I'm doing more work at home than I am at my actual job. It all has to do with the undue importance that certain financial organizations place on arcane procedures and convoluted paperwork. Some of them aren't so bad, but at the moment I'm stuck in a bit of a catch-22 situation with another. I filled an entire afternoon with meaninglessness, and I don't even have anything to show for it. Finally, I stopped and put on some music. Music makes almost anything better. It's frustrating that I can't just be done with all of this bureaucratic nonsense, although I guess it's necessary as long as I continue to be a functioning member of society. I can still rant about it though.

The kids at camp this week are really nice, although in general they seem even younger than they are. For example, a kid came into the Hub last night sometime after 1:00 AM and told me that he'd lost his sleeping bag. "It's on the floor next to your bunk," I told him. His response was, "really?". I knew it was without even looking of course. There hasn't yet been a case of a sleeping bag growing legs and running off.

Things are currently being made better by: Forrest Fang's Sans Serif "Unbound"

Do the Math and Then Forget It

I helped out at a rehearsal for the musical Annie today. Willow and Sophie both have small roles in it. Of course, most of what I did involved helping to lug ungainly bits of stage from a shed over by the kindergarten rooms to the "cafetoriunm" where the rehearsals take place. I also briefly helped one of the girls with her math homework because her mom, who was sitting nearby, had forgotten how to do elementary school math. This inspired me to reflect on the purpose of learning math in the first place, and outside of some of the more obvious reasons to know basic math (all having to do with money), I couldn't really think of much, other than the inevitable necessity of having to help your kids with their math homework. Of course, I'm sure that many people are like this particular mom. They've forgotten how to do it, making all of those hours they spent learning math a complete waste of time.

Thinking about money, I reminded myself that math is important in a society where quantity is increasingly more important than quality. Continuing along the rails with that train of thought, I have to conclude that massive debt, whether it is personal or national, is as pervasive as it is because most people are like this particular mom. They've forgotten elementary school math.

Or maybe they done been raised up wrongly.

Currently listening to: Efterklang "Daytrotter Session"

First Night Of Work This Year

I'm drinking a cup of Earl Grey tea before heading to work. This is my first night back since mid December, and it just so happens to coincide with the Quadrantid Meteor Shower, so it looks like I'll get a lightshow in the middle of the night. Sometimes it's the simple things that make me happy. Sometimes it's little bits of flaming dust.

It will be nice to get back to work though. Kid energy always makes me feel more alive.

Currently listening to Simon Finn "Through Stones"

A New Year...

This is the view of the sky at sunset on the last day of 2011, taken during our very last walk of the old year. I've logged 1007 miles since April. Here's to the next 1000.

I spent the final hours of 2011 at the India Gate restaurant in Sunnyvale, making balloon swords and braids for excited young partygoers. Jeanine was next to me, painting faces and arms. One of the great things about working at this particular restaurant is the free buffet. This is the best Indian restaurant I've been to in the Bay Area, and we both ate until we were stuffed. We hung out together as the minute hand passed the 12 for the final time in 2011, and everybody whooped it up. Lots of people came up and shook our hands, wishing us a happy new year. It was nice.

As for 2012, I've made some resolutions. I don't believe that anything changes at exactly midnight on December 31st. Time is a spectrum, not something that happens in discrete movements. Nonetheless, it is nice to imagine pushing the reset button and looking forward to the next chunk of time. Most of my resolutions concern consuming less and producing more, which I'm sure is quite common. My rather vague goals, made around 365 days ago, for the most part didn't come to fruition. This year, I've decided to try being more specific. We'll see if it works.

Later this year, I'll see the 10 year anniversary of this blog. It has already seen me through marriage, the birth of my daughter, the ending of my old job(s) and the start of my new one, divorce and the resulting move, the earning of my teaching credential, the start of my relationship with Jeanine, and the recent deaths of both of my parents. In fact, most of the major changes in my life have happened during the last 10 years. It makes me wonder what the next 10 years will hold.

Happy New Year. I truly hope that it is a good one for all of us. Yes, even you. The year will be what we make it.

Currently listening to Tenhi "Saivo", which is one of my very favorite albums of 2011.

The Final Week Of The Year

I have this perception of the final week of the year as a week when nothing much happens. I'm aware that my mindset creates a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, guaranteeing that nothing gets accomplished during this week, but since many people share this mindset, it's hard to accomplish anything that involves getting hold of other people. They're all "away from the office" in whatever way that trite phrase applies. For me, that means the head of steam I built up before Christmas has now somewhat dissipated. That's okay though. I'm enjoying the evenings spent hanging out with Willow or reading, and I'm enjoying waking up to discover that it's already mid-morning.

Willow is spending her time with her new toys. I wonder how much longer she'll get enjoyment out of that sort of imaginative play. Yesterday, I spent around 2 hours putting together her Playmobil hospital, and now I'm thinking that I'm going to have to move to a bigger place just so we can have room for her toys. Right now, Willow is using her digital camera to photograph her Playmobil people. At least that's a step up from taking pictures of the TV screen. This year, she requested and got a CD player too, which is an almost retro gift for kids these days. Maybe my adherence to physical media inspired her in some way. She only has one CD here, but since she's a kid, she is content to listen to it over and over again.

Christmas without parents was weird, but I think we managed quite well under the circumstances. I couldn't have been happier with the company and the gift exchanging.

As the year winds down, I'm working on lists, both "to do" lists for the future, and reflections on the past. I plan to make some important things happen in the coming year.

Currently listening to: Bloody Panda "Summon: Invocation"

Yuletide Greetings

Up until almost the last minute, I didn't really feel prepared for the holiday season this year. I've been using my time off to trade e-mails and phone calls with bankers and lawyers, which for me is sort of like trading phone calls and e-mails with Martians. Still, the things I need to accomplish as executor of my dad's estate are slowly getting done. In honor of the holidays, I've given myself a few days off from those tasks, using the time to make sure that there would be a tree with presents under it for Willow. She's at her mom's this morning. We trade off on the holidays. I'll be picking her up a little later, walking as usual. I've pretty much given up driving to get her, instead enjoying the 35 minute walk, and then enjoying walking and talking with her on the way back home. The best conversations always seem to happen when we're walking. She has walked well over 100 miles since we've started keeping track, and I'm closing in on 1000 (although to be fair, at least a couple hundred of those miles were done on a bike). If I've accomplished nothing else this year, at least I'll be able to say that I traveled 1000 miles with only my legs to power me.

There is a comforting blanket of gray over the sky today, although the cloud cover may burn off before afternoon rolls around. I'm hoping that the gray stays though.

Currently listening to: Tim Eriksen "Star In The East"

Hollow Holidays

Holidays lights, like nighttime flowers, are blossoming in the dusk. There seem to be more of them than usual this year, but that might just be because I'm spending more time walking than I used to. I just got back from a 5 mile walk through the surrounding neighborhoods, during which I watched the sun set and halfheartedly wandered through a few stores, looking for Christmas presents.

This will be my first holiday season with no parents. I'm still in the middle of dealing with all of the financial and legal matters surrounding my dad's passing, and I'm finding it's a slow process. It might be that I'm making it slow, only dealing with a certain number of things a day, or it might be that others are making it slow, taking their time to get back to me. As usual, I'm sure the truth takes the middle ground. The legal and financial worlds are alien worlds, and they speak strange languages there. I'm sure that in time the dust will settle.

I'm off work for the next two weeks, and there is much to do. I feel like I'm in a bit of a slump today, and I'm hoping that will wear off when I head out the door to go see Marissa Nadler perform in San Francisco tonight. Live music always helps.

Currently listening to Syven "Aikaintaite"

A Rainbow For My Dad

Leroy Henry Scharpen, 10/15/1935 to 11/2/2011

My dad passed away Wednesday afternoon while we sat at his bedside. He went quietly and as far as I know, painlessly. He was diagnosed with lung cancer last December. Early this year, he went through radiation treatment, which seemed to have helped for awhile. He was admitted to the hospital on October 21st, and kept his good humor right up until the end. Everybody who took care of him during that short time really liked him. Willow got to see him the day before he passed away, and they had a good visit together.

I haven't yet told her that he is gone. I'm not looking forward to doing that.

For now, I will only add that on the way home from the hospital, I saw a rainbow. Back in January of 2010, while on the same freeway, I also saw a rainbow. Less than an hour later, I got the phone call informing me that my mom was dead.

A rainbow for my dad, through the permanently closed driver's side window of my van:

A rainbow for my mom, a few miles to the north on the same stretch of asphalt:

I think they would have been pleased by this.