Red Dirt

A long time ago, the hubs (then boyfriend) won a bunch of money gambling on football one season. So we went to Hawaii.

Hawaii has red dirt.

Hawaii also boasts the world's largest maze. It is at the Dole Plantation. We went there on our day trip around the island.

About half way through I noticed my flip flops had kicked up a bunch of red dirt onto the back of my legs. For some reason that is one of my most vivid memories from that trip.

The hubs and I completed the maze. We celebrated with some delicious Dole Whip and went on our way.

Ordinary People?

Continuing on my Inappropriate Responses theme:

Last night we caught a bit of the 11 o'clock news. They were reporting on a series of sexual assaults out in the Riverside area. As per usual, they interviewed a few townsfolk. One lady said something along the lines of, "I think people just need to be better parents. I would never let my children walk to school."

If I Could Write Like Anyone...

If I could write like anyone, it would Paul Simon. That man is a lyrical genius. He has some wicked imagery skills. Now before you go giving me "Oh, really?" examples, remember how many songs this guy has written. I have no idea how many he's written, but it is a lot. Not every artistic expression is earth shattering.

Paul Simon has been one of my favorite musicians since I was a young girl. Bridge Over Troubled Water was one of the first tapes I owned, You Can Call Me Al was the hit of our road trip to Disneyland and the Grand Canyon when I was 10, and he was the first concert I ever attended. The rockin'est nights with my sister always include a dance to Late in the Evening.

Megan came with me to that concert. During You Can Call Me Al, Chevy Chase came out on stage. It was great.

Monday Blues

So, the news of the day is that I am looking into an opportunity in a different industry and a different part of the state. The job is in northern California. I don't necessarily feel that anything will come of this, but nevertheless I am looking into it. The guy would have to take a chance on me when there are tons of people with the specific experience also looking for work. It is a chance to get back into management and get out of the mortgage industry. Those are things I really need right now. The northern California part... eh, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I think I'll have to take all the kids with me if I go. The hubs wavers between excitement for a new adventure and the statement, "I can't live up there, Annie." We shall see what the future holds. In my best Eeyore: Think I'll end up stuck in this rut awhile longer, though.

I don't know, I'm moody today. I'm going to start my period soon. I don't like jokes about PMS, but boy do I ever get it.

So, for Meet the Press Mondays, I confirm that I do, indeed, menstruate. It really happens even though nobody ever talks about it, especially not using words like 'menstruate.'

King James Version 2

Ways in Which I am my Father, Part Two:

pre-folded paper towels

(be prepared)

Cravings

I have lived and worked in many cities in California, and everywhere I go I find a sandwich place. I can't always find a good one, but I can generally find one that is good enough. I am a big fan of good sandwiches.

Of all those sandwich joints in all those cities in California, there is only one that I still miss. I think about it at least a few times a year, the memory sweetened by the pink colored lenses of nostalgia, the taste hyperbolized by these past 13 years of longing. Every time I think about them I decide, "I'm going to go back there one day."

If, for some reason I can't imagine, you find yourself passing through the small, tucked away community of Alamo, CA, I highly recommend the sourdough roll for your choice of bread. It is their sourdough roll that I've crave the most. Man, I hope it hasn't changed. You can never go home again, you know.

Brass Bear Delicatessen

I cannot testify to the quality of the Walnut Creek location, or their sourdough roll. I assume, since it is a chain, it is all the same. But you know what happens when you assume.

p.s. still not my tweets. the torch is running out for you, twitter gadget...

My Own Reason

According to the American Red Cross, you don't need a special reason to give blood.

My reason not to give blood is that I am crazy. I have never given blood, and I do not foresee a future in which I will give blood. I can't really explain my decision. Crazy is a hard thing to rationalize when one isn't in denial.

I wholeheartedly believe that giving blood is the good and right thing to do. I know that my body will make more blood after I give it, and I can therefore give so much by giving up nothing.

When I think about giving blood, I get the heebie-jeebies. I have them right now. It is making me want to stop this post so I can stop thinking about it.

My blood. Mine. You can't have it. Mine.

p.s. Please donate blood! It is the good and right thing to do!!

p.p.s. Still not my tweets there on the right...