LUCKY

I am so damn lucky! I have water! I never lost phone! I lost power for less than 24 hrs!!!! No water entered my apt (just some sand??)!! It amazes me that sand can get inside a 25th floor balcony. Almost every one else in the bldg had water coming in, but those of us on the northwest facing corner fared very well b/c the storm came from the southeast. Some windows did break though not as many as i had thought.

Statistics:
*98% of Dade county is w/o power. That would be 2.9 million. I am one of those very lucky 41,ooo with lights. I knew the beach would get pwr first b/c they do it in a way that gives the most people pwr at once. The hotel next door went out at the same time we did and here, tourists are more important than locals, plus this is a very tall bldg and elevators are really nice when they work.

*22,000 sq miles were affected

*Broward county got hit the hardest - harder than were the storm hit landfall.

*Out of 2,600 traffic lights in Miami-Dade county only 18 are working.

*All schools in Dade, Broward and Monroe counties are closed this week

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Ok - I JUST heard that Miami Beach is under a boil water order. After I drank about 2 glasses of water and fed the kitties water. This is something I really should have assumed but was so psyched by that fresh glass of ice water that I wasn't thinking. I really hope we don't get sick but I guess considering my other wonderful luck something bad has to happen. I really hope the kitties don't get sick. They should not have to suffer from my stupidity, and i guess i would suffer too from picking up their runny poo. NOT ON THE CARPET PLEASE!

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Nature can be a wonderful self cleaner. During the night all the windows and balcony were covered with leaves and twigs. The balcony floor was all mud. But when the winds shifted in the morning they wiped the windows and balcony squeaky clean.

Its so weird when you have no power. I knew things weren't that great for me but I also knew that things were horrible for others but I had no idea. Now that I can watch the news I know that all of South Florida is fucked in comforts but mostly safe.

There are only 8 ice and water distribution centers in Dade. Thank god I don't need to go to one b/c the lines are hours long. -Just heard my first complaint about FEMA - we really need to have more of these and have them more spread out b/c this is a huge county.

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My power went out right after sunrise and that was when the wind REALLY started to howl. The metal frames were squealing and the windows were vibrating like crazy. I got some video w/ the camera against the window so you can really see the vibrations. All the paintings on the wall were crooked afterwards. The chandelier was swaying so I guess the building was too - probably why the non-opening window frames were also squealing. The wind did not stop howling until last night - about 8 hours after the all clear. Basically this morning was perfect. I woke up w/ all the lights on and everything stopped shaking.

I was so happy that the worst of the storm hit during daylight. I would have been scared shitless hearing all that wind and squealing in the dark. I have been watching the bridges and they have had stopped traffic all morning. Now they seem to be letting people on and off the island so I think I am going for a drive.

not quite sure

Just took a walk around the floor. Wind is really howling though the elevator shafts. Don't know if they are working. Normally the hallway is a crisp 40 degrees. Now it is humid and hotter than my apt. That and the fact that a door of an apartment that faces south is really rattling and I swear I hear rain inside makes me think that a window broke. The cats are also (were) crowded by the front doors. It is getting so loud. My windows are definitely shaking (only a little) and I hear really loud noises. I think the penthouse of the hotel next door lost an awning just now. Something loud flew by. That fine. Just keep flying by -NOT IN. GOT IT YOU "W" STORM (lack of sleep makes me forget what his name is but its fun to associate him with the other W dontcha think) I don't pray. I talk to the weather and the ocean. As if it normal. Yelling at the waves for keeping me out - damn they were tossing me out. Cant wait till sunrise!! Only 40 minutes to go!
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With some light I can see that one of the penthouses in the hotel next door lost about 3 sliding glass doors. I think the hotel was built in the 60's and the penthouses were under renovation but I think this was the one they were working on b/c the lights have been on for about a month in it and still are on despite the hurricane going on inside. I went to check another floor to see if it rattled as much and ran into a security person. She said the 43 and 44 floors were shaking like crazy. The apt below the one in question had no shaking door and no rain sounds so I do believe we lost a window on our floor. As the bad weather is just starting to begin I wonder if that could pose a real danger? If the door blows open it will suck.
I cant believe it but there are actually twigs and leaves stuck to my windows. So long for my theory that debris wont make it 25 stories up. I still don't think heavy debris can do it in a cat 3; maybe a 5 though. So would not be here if it was a five. The building lost its ground flood lights but my apt is still brightly lit. For a last resort the stairs were completely silent w/o a hint of shaking.
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Looking north I see nothing but a periwinkle cloud. What I originally thought to be one penthouse w/ broken window was really all four. It is so surreal watching the curtains whip around. The lights of 2 letters also went out on the hotel. Indian Creek Canal, normally resembling glass, now brings white water rapids to mind.
Sing to the Beatles: The wind, its getting louder every minute.
Now that I can see, its getting rather disturbing. Large debris is flying by. Its going to fast to see what it is but I am really hoping they are palm fronds and not something a bit less flexible, not that the right frond couldn't totally fuck things up - I just picture it stuck to the window until it dries up and fall back down from where it came. More red bull & noni.
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Another walk around my floor led me to discover that the 3 doors on the other side of the bldg are also strongly shaking w/ rain sounds inside. The pressure in the hallway is high/low/different. When I close the door behind me w/ the deadbolt out so I don't get locked out the door normally slams into its proper place. Now it stays open about an inch.(8am)

Windy

Cant sleep. Bad weather keeps me excited plus the fact that I am trusting my life to glass panels, one of which once pretty much exploded on a clear sunny non-windy day. The developer of this bldg is from Brazil. He built a vaguely similar structure in Rio. 2 big towers that are exactly same. Really cool looking - Round. One teeny problem. One of them is uninhabitable. And b/c of all the bldgs nearby, undemolishable. So it will be there until a natural disaster takes it down.
Have given up on sleep. Now drinking red bull and noni. I find the noni gives me a healthy joint. Hmmm. Meant to write jolt. I have never had a Freudian slip typo before.
Lovely - storm is stronger than expected. I hear a little bit of wind howl and see madly swaying palm trees and street lights. The Miami/Aventura skyline is significantly darker and I am still seeing at least one green explosion per minute. I am pretty sure the green is a transformer blowing but I also see huge orange bursts every so often and don't really know what they are. Now it is either pouring or shitloads of people have no power b/c looking north is very dark. Its weird living high up. For some reason, even during a hurricane, the rain rarely hits the windows so you can only see it - not hear it. I also thought I saw lightning which I did not think happened during hurricanes - kinda like a blizzard I guess.
I told my parents I would stay away from the windows put I am pretty much pressed up against them most of the time. The green explosions and all the twinkling lights, combined w/ lack of sleep are fascinating. I just started the dishwasher and it is freaking me out by making noises that sound too close to wind.
The worst is supposed to hit between 8 and 11 and I want to see it! So I cant sleep b/c I am the worst waker up ever.
OOOHH - getting the 6 o'clock update: cat 2 & 3 winds are hitting Naples and the eye is just off shore. They say that if the eye passes over, b/c it is so huge it could take over an hour and this storm is moving about 15-20mph. One good thing - the largest storm surge is hitting the 10,000 islands which is uninhabited.
The green flashes keep coming, but my lights have stopped flickering and the view keeps losing more and more points of light. I have almost every light turned on at the moment. I rarely do this. Damn. Just heard a random noise. They kinda freak me out b/c this place is normally as quiet as a tomb. The kitties are acting stranger than normal. They are walking very close to the ground. So Want To Walk The Beach!!!! In daylight - i can wait. I think I ought to get a job w/ the weather channel. Send me into the worst storms. Make me one of those idiots I used to make fun of. I would love it! Lights just really flashed - no battery - posting! Chaio!

Katrina....Rita......Wilma

Many changes. So many. Katrina dropped a beautiful large tree that made our driveway what it was. Where we lived we lost power and cable so we went to Miami Beach where surprisingly enough there was power and cable. The "we" didn't last too long. Too much fighting. I decided that we (mainly I) needed a break. I needed peace and quiet and solitude. I feel that a few months ago I fell of the horse called Life, and I am still scared to get back on. It feels like it's something I have to do by myself, though sadly I am still stalled. I first few months after I liked going my shrink b/c I KNEW I HAD to get better, but now I am back to not knowing what to talk about. Its like I am paying someone to look at me trying to talk for half an hour. When I do get on a talking roll and he doesn't have a following appt he does extend mine w/o charge though. Its weird - I sometimes slip and call that day the day I killed myself though I am obviously still alive and bitching. Doesn't seem to healthy does it.....But I did make a great new friend. The Ocean. It has given me a great body. Almost as good as when I was 21 - 10 YEARS AGO! Not only did I lose fat, I have muscle in my arms! The Ocean -she resists me, shoots stinging water up my sinuses, but still softly envelops me with what I feel is a great positive universal energy. I find it mind boggling that little ole me is swimming in this huge gigantic body of water that is literally a primordial soup. Life came from the ocean. Cheesy, but it feels like a womb. I love bobbing like a cork in the waves. So comforting. Unless there is a hurricane near by. I swam daily until H Rita was near. My new found friend, Ocean, would not let me in. I wasn't thinking about swimming, merely getting in. A wave knocked me flat on my back and I had to fight like hell to stay on the shore. I liked it and proceeded to let Ocean Waves to pound me as I walked along the shore. The power of water fascinates me. That day I did some laps in the pool and was put off by the chorine. I cant believe how attached I have become to the beach. I used to love pools and now, well quite frankly, they suck. Unless you see sharks which I have not, though others have. And jellyfish - those fuckers scare almost more than sharks b/c they're damn near invisible w/ tentacles that can reach 10 Ft. Bastards. But I figure I gotta go swimming at least every other day so I wont feel it when the water gets colder. When I lived in VA I used to go swimming every Christmas - last year I thought it was too cold in October. When someone tells me its cold that day I just run for the shore and dive right into a wave. Its so much fun. I used to be one of those sissies who go in little by little. Jumping right in is so much better - got to stretch that theory to LIFE.
Which some way or another brings me to the here and now. I am currently in a beach front condo on the 26th floor - where my sideways picture was taken(actually 25th b/c there is no 13 - so all you people on the 14th stop kidding yourself - doesn't matter what its called - it is what it is) on the north west facing corner which is good for this hurricane because the strongest winds are coming from the south east. This bitch has been really annoying. Almost 24 hr storm footage since TUESDAY. Some poor people evacuated Key West on WEDNESDAY. I cant imagine spending so much time in a shelter, it seems like it might be worse than the mental hospital with all the nervousness and anxiety and uncertainty brewing with so many people in such close quarters. We Americans like our personal space - such thing does not exist in Mexico.
I am a bit scared b/c 4 windows in the building did break during Katrina and the apartment is pretty much mostly floor to ceiling windows except for the smaller bedroom where me and the kitties will spend the night. That one has one window that unfortunately wont lock - at least I got it firmly closed for the first time in years. Miami has been over reacting to hurricanes b/c we ignored Katrina and she gave us a big surprise. Hurricanes don't like trees. Even if it is only a category one. Which is what Wilma was supposed to be. She just turned into a 3 - should hit Miami w/in 8 hrs as a 2, hopefully 1, but her damn track changes every half hour. Sometimes she is predicted to go north (sorry Ed) and sometimes she is headed straight to Miami. The higher north she hits the better for the east coast b/c FL is quite narrow at the bottom. Sweet - just saw a projection that takes her pretty north.

Its almost funny. Nobody gave a shit when Katrina passed though until morning when we saw the damage. So many big old trees down. So sad - Miami has the smallest tree canopy out of any major city already. The storms don't help. The houseboat still floats but she has no walls. Its pretty cool. Its like she is unsinkable. We found her pretty much under water - waves were lapping in over 3 sides but she stayed level and her bow was proudly floating. She don't got shit, but she got float, and damn, she got it good. But just as much as we were under-prepared and under-warned for Katrina - the news is making it up for us. Now they send us into a panic if there is a slight chance of any bad weather. It's hitting the other side of the state - you would think that that buffer would mean something but she is moving about 20mph so they say she won't have much time to break up. I shall see by tomorrow afternoon. At least a cold front is following this wind - we on the south side of the storm aren't supposed to get much rain, merely most of the strong winds- so at least we wont be sweating our asses off during clean up.
BTW - have not posted in forever b/c I had no internet or computer in the condo and just get really down when I am in the townhouse. I found a 5yr old laptop in the office closet and as they didn't know it was there they said I could keep it! Helps to be related. My only (ha!) complaint is that it wont hold a charge. A new battery shouldn't cost too much right?
My mom is losing her mind w/ all these damn storms and I think I have finally convinced her to get a summer home in the Blue Ridge or somewhere nearby. I think she's biting! It would be perfect. As soon as June hits you go north and stay till the leaves are done turning to come back south to enjoy the nice Miami winter. Anybody know of anyone who has land w/ lake or large pond in the area?

Just had a brown out so posting - BYE!
Summary - still hiding from life but loving the ocean (w/ tons of sunblock cuz I like looking 25)

More bitching - I can't believe the is a fucking tropical storm ALPHA out there. I don't even hear any wind but the news just said over 1,000,000 were already w/o power in Dade and Volusia counties.

I have faith in this building. AC is good. TV is good. Computer is good. Non broken windows are good. Cable is good. And most of all, nice fat, furry healthy kitties are good. May they all be as good tomorrow afternoon. The flickering lights are bugging me though. OK - new TV update - seems Miami will not see hurricane force winds! Slightly just north of us though. Hope things are good for you Ed and everybody else. Just cuz I am happy does not mean that I don't feel really bad for those north. Just heard a new word - "tornadic conditions". Never have heard that one before. Neither has blogger spell check, but then blogger spell check does not recognize the word "blogger". Are meteorologists making up new words now? Depleting the state of its supply of Xanex isn't enough? Now you gotta make things up??

Update - news people fucked up - not 1,000,000 w/o power just 11,900.
Cool - I went near the big window to kiss the big kitty and saw a transformer blow across Indian Creek. Naturally this led me out to the balcony. As I was looking at all the multi-million $ homes below in the dark their lights popped back on. Lucky bastards but it was damn cool to see. Everyone told me not to go to the beach but I REALLY want to. Only fear is that the elevators will stop working and I will have to do 25 flights or that a coconut will bonk me on the head, but that just might do me some good.

If this post is a sign of anything (I have posted and updated it about 5 times already) you might see something close to daily spewing/posting. Maybe.

Please answer

Hi - I cant access my gmail. Is it gone? Or is my computer fucked? Somebody please let me know if gmail still exists.
Thanks - Mish

Happy but stupid

Happy - just got a new couch, coffee table, and cool lamp delivered. It's a leather sectional w/ 2 recliners.
Stupid - The couch is white. I have two dogs. What ever made me think I was up to the task of daily couch maintenance?

I haven't updated in a while because Husband switched the office and the bedroom and we have had the box disconnected till now. What rocks is that husband connected the box to the TV downstairs so I am writing this from my nice new reclining leather couch with 2 doggies sitting next to me. I just realized that this is the first time the husky, Jackson has hung out on the couch for a while. He always stuck to the floor when we had old yellow couch. Guess he likes leather. Guess I am a freak for wanting my dogs on the couch...

Material Bad News -
Cute little purple car - flooded. Gone. Bye-Bye. I guess I now understand the whole flash flooding concept a wee bit better. It filled up to just under the top of the trunk on a CITY STREET. Sad thing is I wasn't driving so I never got to say a proper good bye. I did see her before she was towed (5 hours later) but thought that she would dry out OK. I was wrong. Took a few pictures once the water had gone down about a foot with my new Razor cell. To get near the car I had to walk though upper calf deep muddy water sans shoes (quite a stupid move actually) so naturally stubbed my toe on the submerged curb and started falling face first into the water. Luckily I have arms and they hit the ground nice and straight so that the rest of my body didn't have to. Unluckily, the one of the hands that is connected to one of my arms happened to be clutching previously mentioned phone. Funnily I happened to snap a picture while going down. Luckily phone dried out and now works fine. Hopefully I will figure out how to extract pics from phone and post them. A few blocks away from where my car drowned there was a manhole cover shooting streams of water up to 3 feet in the air. Interesting pic if not too clear.

Question-
I have not been able to log into gmail for over a month. Did I not hear about something? Anybody else having this problem?

Weather
Wonderful for me. Sucks for Cuba and then the Keys and then for some other poor town. Today is all sunny and windy with some of the lightest showers ever to cool things down a bit occasionally. Whilst others get pummeled by Hurricane Dennis.

Thinking of the water reminded me of my birthday. We went to John Pennycamp Park which is part of Biscayne National Park which has some great shallow water snorkeling. There are a bunch of reefs and a wrecks that you don't need to dive to. -WILL GET PADI CERTIFIED THIS SUMMER- We hit one reef, got kinda lost finding the next reef and then the boat broke down. But not enough that they would come get us. Boat went like 2 notches above idle. We were a no wake zone. It took us 5 hours to get back. With no wind to cool us down. And the BEEEEP. The Whole Time There Was This BEEEP. CONTINUOUSLY. As is we were not acutely aware that the motor was not working it had to remind us constantly in the most annoying way known to man, or at least me. I once left a full shopping cart at Walmart b/c there was this beep that no one could shut off. Beeeeeps drive me nuts.

Its getting gusty out there! Thank you for your kind words. Seriously - thanks. They mean a lot. I am doing OK. Not wonderful but its gonna be good.

STUPID but Alive....

This is something that is going to hurt. It will hurt to write and I am sure that all the writing will be throuh tears. If anyone out there has grown to care about me in the slightest way it will hurt them. If anyone out there has felt the same, hopefully it will not only hurt them, but help them as well. For a wee bit of backgroud please go here. It is a small (very) history.

OK. Here goes. On June 2nd I took 14mg's of Clonazepam. First 6, then 4, then another 4 - all swallowed and washed down with Cuervo chugged straight from the gallon bottle. It was enough to kill me. More than enough. Now I am no longer allowed to control my own medication. My poor husband, who has probably gone though more than I can ever imagine is in control of them and will be giving me my daily dosage one day at a time. The whole day is really blurry but I really did want to die. Not for any specific reason; just tired of life. I still feel that way - tired of life, but seeing my parents, husband's, and friends hurt and caring faces assured me that I do have the inner strength to not repeat my horrible actions. Plus throwing up all day, being kept in a normal hospital under constant watch (though my room did have full ocean view), having a leaky IV attatched to me and then what followed so makes it not worth it. I know it never is, but when you see what you have to go throuh after; all your dignity is taken away, the pain in peoples eyes, the fact that I was the only one with visitors that stayed from the beginning to the end of the allowed hours, the fact that my husband was more than willing to check himself in just to keep me company. All these things. I can never cause the people who love me so much pain ever again. And I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY mean it. I don't care what I feel like. Repeating the actions for a fourth (yes three times already, but the first 2 were in junior high and didn't kill me. 30 aspirin dont work, nor does lots of allergy medicine) time is not an option. EVER AGIAN. NEVER AGAIN. I AM SO INCREDIBLY SORRY TO EVERYONE I HURT.
Husband called after I had taken the pills. I was in tears - big time. He asked if he should come home. I said no. I was given an out and I passed on it. I dont remember much past that. I have fuzzy memories of my friend Ellen calling. I almost NEVER answer the phone but maybe I was so fucked up that I forgot that rule or maybe Ellen was sending her energy over the lines willing me to pick up. I dont know. All I know is that I picked up the phone. In tears that could not be hidden. She sensed that something was wrong and I guess I told her what I did. She called husband and told him to come home - it was a life or death situation. When H came come he said that he found me waving contracts and listing papers around. He really hoped that I hadnt called any customers :) In the ocean view hospital they asked me if I had left a note. I had remembered writing but I did not remember it being specifically a suicide note. I think I sould go read it now. BRB.

Finally put my $ where my mouth is

First things first. The ladies over at Go Fug Yourself have got to see this.

Now the real post. For years I have been considering myself an environmentalist. I care about our world and honestly feel that it is losing its natural balance and is in serious jeopardy. I had always said that the first car I am going to buy is going to by a Hybrid, and it was!!! I, spoiled that I am, finally got to BUY my first new car. Not to knock hand me down cars or anything, but buying your first new car is a great experience. Especially when you are in a strange city and you ask it where the Thai food is, AND IT TELLS YOU!!! I love my car. It can find food. What else do you really need other than a car that does 60 MPG city and can find most any type of food w/in a 10 mile (or more) radius of where you are. Also a hatchback. Much better for camping. Pictures coming soon. Oh yeah, it's a Toyota Prius, silver, fully loaded. I can never get lost again!!!! Though I am sure I can still figure out a way to thwart the system.

Universitalities

You wander to the living room and search for the remote control. It is in its usual place- stuck inexplicably between the sofa cushions.
It is such a small fucked up world we live in. I thought it was so different in Iraq. It is, but there is so much that is the same also.

Happy 4/20

Sand Bud



Scratch and Sniff???

Pictures of pooh on peoples head

There are none here! Go away! I might have some nasty stuff (much more coming I promise) but none of that. No poo on heads. And it's "poo", not "pooh". Ahhh, the strange things people surf for. Isn't that just what you would love to see? Your lovers head with poo sliding off of it. Oh so horny; MUST GO!

a collage of sorts

The first 3 are on the same disk. I figured that was a bit much but knew that I had many of these so I began looking. Here's some feets.


FEET


When I noticed I might have a problem


COLOR


no foot

sand foot



one foot...



two foot...



three and a half feet!


looonnng feeeet


Wedding Foot



Wedding Feet


not really my favorite feet


Jackson feet!


Let me sneak some more Jackson in here...

Running Devil Eyed Jackson Feet


Can't sneak by this one. BIG. FAT. LIE.

To give credit where due, the inspiration for this post came by way of J's Nasty Feet.

Roach Boatel

Before




After


Our first boat plant and view out of napping window


View from tiny kitchen window





View from dining room/bed room window


View from dining room window w/ guests


View from front


View from back and neighboor




from one end to the other

Scenes from a Condo lobby

I am no longer bored when someone is late! Self entertainment is always by my side and I love it.


swirls


self portrait


orange burst


sunshine


perfect bromiliad


out of context


honeycomb walls



light


sail away

Slightly Scared

Someone from the DOD visited here yesterday. Why does that make my fucking blood run cold? I am not a terrorist or anything. I don't want anybody or anything to suffer any kind of pain whatsoever. But I feel as if they are checking up on me. And it scares me. Scares me too much to post their IP. Way too much. OK - if you come back and are not looking at me as a potential terrorist please leave me a peaceful message so I can lay off the Xanex. I haven't been too vociferous in my dislike of a certain bush have I? I know not lately b/c just the thought of that shrub makes me sick. But I still wish the shrub the best. The very best. Not that he needs it because surely God is protecting this bit of foliage. And it's spring, so the hedge is blooming; spreading out; expanding ITS horizons and reaches and grasps.

I was just looking over my stats after finding this webpage: CompleteWhois
Was hoping to find something interesting, but not THAT interesting. Should I be scared? I dont know!!! I feel like I am being investigated and am not sure if that is a rational assumption.....

...........

takillya

blogging survey

I copied this off a comment. Thought I would post it b/c I too am interested in peoples takes on blogs. Since I have started reading them I am contstantly being exposed to other points of view. Some I love, and some I loathe but most are valid in their own special way. So here is the commenter:


Let me apologize in advance for the unsolicited nature of this email.
I am a Master's Candidate student in Industrial Technology at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. My fellow graduate students and I are conducting an online blog survey to understand "why bloggers blog."
http://questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=212512
It should take no more than 5 minutes to finish, and the results will be publicly published online. Should you have time, please participate and contribute to our data set. It would also be great if you might mention the survey with a link on your blog entry, or forward the link to your friends. We hope that the survey will spread around and, most importantly, we want people from a wide range of demographics and countries to fill it out. Of course, this is totally at your discretion and certainly understandable if you don’t feel comfortable doing this. We know there have been many online studies done on blogs, but we have not yet seen one with the goal of determining "why bloggers blog." I appreciate you taking the time to read this email. Should you have any questions feel free to email me back.
Sincerely yours,
Adam Bennett
Master's Candidate
Appalachian State University
828.773.0487

Mish again - I also love Boone. One of the coolest towns around. If he went to UM I doubt I would have gone throught the effort. Yeah I know I am pre-judging w/ that, but I REALLY hated the people who went to UM. Way too many BMW's w/ stickers that said "I love my daddy's money". UM is a good school but it sucks to be surrounded by the snobs from the north east.

Good Horizons, Very Good

Last night I spent the first evening with my new neighbors. My husband is out of town for 10 days and its a little weird meeting everyone w/o my better half, but its still lots of fun. The people that live out in the anchorage are so cool. A bunch of ex-hippies and Vietnam vets. It is so nice to be hanging w/ an older crowd again. I do like them better than people that are younger than me - they just make me feel old. I feel naive and inexperienced w/ an older crowd, but I also feel that they have much to teach me, not that younger people don't either.
Michel - the previous boat owner is great, as is his wife Barbie. They both thing they have met Hubby and I and last night we figured out it might have been while strutting with the Sierra Club in the King Mango Strut. Barbie is totally environmental and has reintroduced me to the world of organic cleaners. It's called Natures Way and the soap that you can use for everything left my hair great. When I say great, I mean usually after day one of washing hair it is a giant greaseball. My hair stayed looking great for 3 days which something I have never experienced before. In another post I will put down the all the chemicals that anti-freeze, shampoo, soap, and toothpaste have in common as well as all the other ingredients that are known to cause cancer in lab rats (but really - what doesn't cause cancer in lab rats? Its like they have cancer inbred into them).
These people are so cool. Barbie is just a few years older than me and Michel is in his early forties but the other people there where in their 50's and 60's. I heard tales of them being kicked out of stores because they had long hair. "Git out - we don't want your kind in here". I heard a story about when a bunch of Vietnam Vets w/ long hair were surrounded by a bunch of red-neck hunters with rifles. The so called "hippies" were not at they appeared. He said the hunters surrounded their van and then everyone inside the van picked up their own guns. He was sure they were going to have to shoot their way out until the head redneck approached the van and realized that was inside were not mere long haired hippies, but in fact, pissed-off long haired Vets. He then told the other guys to immediately put down their weapons and let the van pass quickly. He saw the guns and realized that everyone had a good chance of dying w/ just one false move.
Barbie and Michel also have the most adorable 17 month old little girl - Jackie - she is so sweet and friendly. Last night when I left the sailboat she insisted on giving me a hug. So Sweet! Michel is also so helpful w/ the boat. The whole night he was talking to me about everything and I was thinking that I need a tape recorder or notepad when I am around this guy because he really wants me to learn everything I need to know about boats. I thought I could leave that to Husband because he already knows, but being self sufficient is great. Barbie and Michel have raised that little girl since day one on a boat. Man, you think raising a baby is hard, just imagine raising one on a cramped sailboat. I have so much admiration for the both of them; such good people. Barbie sells the soaps and stuff I was talking about earlier. You can find her site here.

In sum, its great hanging out w/ a bunch of cool people who all live off land using solar panels, wind energy, and an occasional generator. If your door is open people will stop by. While buying supplies for the "boat" I ran into so many people - oh you're the one who bought Michel's house boat. I have also met a few of my neighbor's while buying boat supplies. Did I mention how many supplies there are? Because there are an unbelievable amount of things that a boat needs. It is mindboggling.

Everyone in Sailboat Bay also looks out for each other. It is not uncommon for a non-live aboard boat to become un-anchored during a storm. We had one a few days ago and a 45' sailboat came loose and was heading out to sea. Because it is so big, and trailing anchors it is a menace to all the other boats out there. Michel and his neighbor got on the boat during the storm to (a) prevent it from ramming another boat (b) prevent it from unanchoring another boat, and (c) to prevent it from floating off into the open ocean. He reachored it and two days later it was gone w/o a thanks. Most people out there are much nicer. So real. Not pretentious. But as everywhere, there are a few assholes and apparently one of them is my closest neighbor. I do want to move though. Because this fat bottomed girl has a flat bottomed boat it is now in the grassy shallows. This allows for great fishing I hear, but it is really close to the channel and all the wake that boats cause speeding though the channel really sucks. I want to moor it further out back, where there is less traffic and neighbors aren't so close by.

Short entry might be coming soon.

I am embarking on a new chapter of my life, and so far, it seems like it will either rock or suck every bit of energy I have out of my body. I am pretty sure that no matter what, IT WILL ROCK!

Expanding our Horizons

Last night my husband and I spent our first night in our new second home. It needs some work but it has the most amazing views. Its also a little hard to get to. But that makes it better. The view - that would be 360 bay, islands, and ocean. We got ourselves a cute ass little house boat. For under $3000! It even comes with free mooring at the closest marina to our home. We have to boat to the mooring but the houseboat even comes with a little dingy/sailboat w/ motor. Unfortunately, at this moment, the houseboat does not have a motor. But we should remedy that situation soon.
The mooring - its interesting. The previous (he-he previous!) owner tied some good rope (I hope) to an engine block and dropped it. That's our mooring. This morning the water was crystal clear. There were birds everywhere. We saw a few turtles. I cant even begin to describe just how wonderful it feels to have a little piece of ocean surface with a roof that we can call our own.
About two hours after we got home we were still rocking around like we were still on the boat. Why does that happen? It takes so long to get land legs back. Weird.
One of the best parts is that my wonderful husband has agreed to let the boat be white with purple trim. He even bought red, blue, and white paint to mix together to paint the bottom purple! Now we have to name it. I of course wanted Misha-Pooh but he didn't want a boat named after pooh. I could see his point and he conceded to let it have something to do with purple. This is where we brainstormed, and I will continue.

• The Purple Nurple
• Purple Waves
• Deep Purple
• Lavender Skies
• Purple Peacock - Peacock Park is a park in the neighborhood and you can occasionally see peacocks in the neighborhood, but not in the park. Also Deliah's has these great peacock sheets that I love but untill now, had no use for.
• Purple Turtle
• Lavender Queen
• Lavender Grove

Honestly, I wrote this This morning but lost it and I cant remember half of the names I came up with, but I sure as hell came up with some new stupid ones. In my book, while brainstorming, you leave NOTHING out. Well, she's a fixer-upper and in a month or two I hope to have some before and after pictures to show off.

Things that suck

When you show someone like 15 properties and they decide not to move after all.

When your cat stops using the litter box after you get back from your honeymoon 3 MONTHS AGO.

When you are at a very nice restaurant and they serve you a shrimp tail all cute and standing up WITH ITS HEAD AND EYES STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO IT.

When you spend $150 on a meal only to throw it up four hours later because you are such a lightweight you cant handle 3 glasses of wine.

When your dog poops and pees upstairs the day after you install a doggie door.

When your parents' very old dog, that you are watching, starts barking at 5am EVERY DAY.

When people ask you to contact them and they give you the wrong number AND email.

When someone does not show up for an appointment that you busted your ass to get to, and they don't even bother to answer their damn phone.

When four dogs start howling for no reason. Ok - normally I love that but right now - NOT!

When I feel like I did all day today.

On the plus side I got black ink and white paper (both of which we were sadly out of for about 3 months) and can now work from home!!!

Not dead, just lazy

I haven't had much to talk about lately (at least here). But I was working on an extensive picture filled entry about my Mexican vacation a few years ago (with good links and all) but it is taking far longer than I thought. Probably b/c I haven't worked on it for a few weeks.

OK - I lied. I do have stuff to talk about. I took and finished my real estate class, took and passed the class test with a wide margin, took and failed the state test by a VERY FUCKING SMALL margin, and took and PASSED the state test with a margin they wont tell me about. So - YAY - I am a realtor. Well not actually a realtor because I am not a member of the national association of realtors yet, but I am a licensed real estate salesperson and that is all that matters now. I am working part time at the old job and part time as self employed. I got my first lead today about a $400,000 condo. Wow. Wish me luck. I called and left a dorky message on his machine and after this post (which I thought was going to be really short but once I get going, its hard to put the stopper in), I am going to drop him an email. It would be great if this went through, but I am aware, very much so in fact, that most don't. Got my business cards, and am trying to finagle a company computer and really cool cell phone - you know - the kind that does other non phonesy stuff.
I haven't written here much for a few reasons.
-I got an I-pac for Xmas that enables me to surf on the couch using my neighbors wireless internet thing. The man works in IT and his system is open. I cant believe it, but it like it. My cool little I-pac is great for browsing but it wont let me enter blogger or google which really sucks.
-I have been avoiding my place of employment like the plague and that is where I would usually post from
-I guess its mostly the ipac. I have a computer that lets me read everything (my true passion) but wont let me enter blogger so I only come here when I am at a real computer that I never go to anymore b/c I have one I can hold in my hand now.

ok - this was going to be the original entry:

The key is: bold = states where I've been; red = states where I've lived; italics = the state where I live.

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa(I think - reeaally long road trip) / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine(drove there just to smoke a joint one night - we started that road trip in key west so have a shot of the southernmost point and "Welcome to Maine" on the same roll) / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio (don't really remember but seeing as where it is situated and where I have been I don't know how I could have missed it) / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas (if 2 months counts) / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C.

Wow - that's a lot more states than I thought. I love that I slacked a lot in my college days and followed phish and took a road trip at every chance I got. I got to get a look at our country that I otherwise never would have. I drove though each of these states but have also flown to some. Some I drove though w/o stopping but I still saw them so it counts. Others I drove though w/o stopping at night, so I am not so sure if that counts. I saw many national parks. I saw all of them while on a 2-3 month road trip with the following itinerary:

Start - Richmond, VA to New Orleans, LA to Corpus Christi, TX to San Antonio, TX, to Austin, TX. This is where I lost my posse of chicks. We stalled in Texas for way too long and ran out of many so we went to Austin because college was starting and we were all restaurant people so it was easy to find a job. Thing is Ellen found a job as kitchen mgr of the Magnolia Cafe which she loved so she wanted to stay in Austin. Shannon got a job working with clay that she loved also. They ditched me but no hard feelings cuz I guess I left them first. The original purpose of the road trip was to get Ellen to grad school in Chicago. Big derailment. UT Austin is a pretty good school so she decided to stay there for that reason also and Austin is like a cooler but bigger Richmond.
It was strange. The bar in Richmond where everybody knew our name was hole in the wall and the first bar we stopped at in Austin was also called hole in the wall. We could see the Austin counterparts to all the Richmond characters there. Strange. We ended up renting a room from a cook at hole in the wall. Stranger. We also became friends with the whole staff that night. A waitress even took us out back and got us high.

So I left Texas by myself. While I was doing this road trip thing my boyfriend was simultaneously riding his BICYCLE across the country. Once I was on my own we decided that we would meet in Seattle and ride (in my car) back to Richmond together. It is a miracle we are both still alive. We didn't really get along. Ever been w/ only one person in a car and tent and not speak for 2 whole entire days? I have. Not fun. The silence was broken in New Mexico when a dog just like our Misha was in the highway. I have this thing that if I see a dog on the road with a collar on it that I have to do all that I can to return it to its people. We eventually found her vet and brought her there. It was so cute. I knew it was the right place because she didn't want to enter. Wow. Distant memories.
After I left Texas I headed straight north to The Badlands. Don't know why, but I really had to go there. Don't regret it at all. Would love to return. I met some cute Quaker guys from Vermont there and some guy that had been there for a week and was expecting a ride to come get him in another week. This was a very primitive campground with the most amazingly cleaned and not bad smelling pit toilet. But that was it. No shower. And that dude was there for weeks. I actually envied him it was so beautiful. But dusty. I lost my voice so my parents made me stay in a Hilton in Rapid City, SD for 3 night while they fed-ex'd me a cell phone so my mom could sleep at night. I think this was 1997 so I was 23. Not that young but hey, over protective parents.
From Rapid City I saw the Black Mountains which contain Mt. Rushmore which you pretty much have to go see because that is all you see for the week you are driving to Rapid City - little Mount Rushmores. Everywhere. That actually sucked. Because you know - I've seen it before and I prefer trees. Wow - I cant believe I found this place on line b/c I totally forgot what it was called but I went to Cosmos (hee-hee like my cat) Mystery Area which is actually quite cheesy. It is one of those places where balls roll uphill and water runs uphill and other strange things that seem to defy the laws of gravity but it all seems to happen because the house is built on a purposely extremely uneven foundation. The walls and shelves and floors and everything is not right so it tricks your sense of perception. There is no mystery area. Also caught a glimpse of Crazy Horse Memorial under construction. That was better than Rushmore b/c I hadn't already been flooded w/ images of it. On a side note, I find it interesting that the Rapid City web page didn't say anything about Crazy Horse but it did have a link to the Cosmos "Mystery" Area. I wonder if they have an agreement w/ Rushmore not to link it? Doesn't make sense b/c if I remember correctly they are REALLY close to each other.

Wow. I'm pissed here. I think I wrote for an hour w/o saving and I lost it. No no good lead into the following. Perhaps I will rewrite other details of the trip that stick in my head but for now this is it.



The Blue Ridge Mountains are my favorite (I was quite young when I saw the Rockies so I cant really consider them). I loved White Sands National Monument also and the Painted Desert. I love the memory of trying to buy Newport Light cigarettes in Kansas and having the person say "whets a Newport?"
"a cigarette"
"never heard of it"
I didn't get to smoke or see a Newport untill I hit California. I saw gas prices at over $2 in the northwest coast and kissed the pump when it was 85 cents in Texas three weeks later. We saw a large Buick in a tree while leaving New Orleans. Camped at Mustang Island State Park for two weeks in Corpus Christi (Wallmart capital of the world), Texas (where you can drive and camp on any beach!) I remember being in a tent by myself in the middle of the county somewhere in a wooded campground reading a Patricia Cornwell book about bodies being found in the woods and being freaked out by all these weird noises that turned out to be cows. I held Babe's giant blue balls.

I hope I will add to this entry in the future but I have to crap out now b/c I am just too pissed b/c of all the work I just lost. I wouldn't even post but I haven't posted in ages so I feel kinda bad. I hate abandoning projects. Something I do quite often unfortunately. Well, in all honesty to my self, I have gotten much, much better at that.

I just realized that I started this post saying how I wanted it to become more of a vacation blog and w/o even knowing it, I already started it. I think I want to keep this one as is and publish another strictly vacation blog for my friends and family to see. The blog where I wont talk about waitresses getting me high. Not that its a secret to anyone who knows me. Only this is.

Trip to Mexico; X-mas & New Years 2002

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Tis my engagement ring. Looks old fashioned, but really isn't. One of the first pics ever taken

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That's my little (kinda) keg of love - Papo

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More of the little stud muffin

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Here is Happy. He is an ancient Golden Cocker. Sweetest dog ever. Now his face is all white. He lives w/ my parents now but they are thinking of giving him back because he keeps going swimming in their new pool (came w/ new house) and they are scared he is going to drown one day. He is mostly blind and deaf poor thing.

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My little Suzie Whitey when she was a teeney little kitten. I missed her growing up stages when I was in Mexico. When I returned she had almost doubled in size but still loved me.

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My mom in our wood office. The thing looks like a ski chalet. Very unique building for Miami.

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Bird of Paradise

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Big Museum in Mexico City that we were too scared to enter b/c we had a little bit of bud and pipe that had a little bit of metal in it. We didn't want to get busted by the metal dectectors. Stupid terrorists.
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me on pyramid of the sun

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Me, on top o' the world


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Dont know what kind of flower this is, but um well, I like purple.

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I just like it.

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When you want to be one with a topiary, let nothing stop you. Nothing.

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My now husband, then the young aspiring business man, getting his shoes shined. In Mexico you know.

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Poinciettas! Lots and lots and lots of them all over Mexico. They grow into giant tress there. I love it.



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Us in the hotel room. I love my leopard print hat. Worked fine in Richmond, but in Mexcio everyone looked at me like I was a freak.

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When in strange land, this is the perfect tourist ride - The Turibus!

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Um, driver - excuse me, but there appears to be a limb in our Turibus

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We did this in London too. Take a bus, ride it till the end and then take it from there. Our little Turibus dropped us off a good 4 hour walk from our hotel. Not quite knowing where we were, I insisted we walk home. We found this cute shack while walking though one of the less nicer parts of Mexico City. The kind of parts where you really hope they dont steal your brand new camera because it is worth more than your damn purse. First time ever you would rather have someone steal your purse.

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This is the closest we got to the castle in the center of the city. Not Because We Didnt Try. We are just not that skilled at going exactly where we want to go and when you couple that with a severe inability to inquire about directions you pretty much walk around for ever untill you get kicked off the grounds by guards because The Castle Has Closed. I had seen it as a child so I knew it was pretty, so I really wanted to go see it again. At least it gives us a reason to go back to Mexico.... as if we needed that!

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One of my favorite flower pics. Once again, I have no idea what it is.

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Some sort of purple cactus fruit. Because well, you know.

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This little doggie reminded me an awful lot of my precious Misha who had died less than 4 months ago at the time. Mexican locals dont touch the stray dogs. Once again they thought I was a freak as I was explaining to them that you can tell a good dog by its eyes and this one was most definetly a good dog.

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On a boat in old Aztec canals in a city just outside of Mexico City though I could never tell when we left one city and entered another. Its all so crowded and dense. The city is Xochimilco.

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OK - someone's back yard facing the canals. Now look closely and you can see all sorts of creepy things here.

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Cheap little hotel we stayed in while in Valle del Bravo, a very expensive (for Mexico) town a few hours drive from the City. This was our home base for seeing the Monarch Butterfly Migration.

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Says it all I think.

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My ride to see the butterflies. I always like to take pictures of my rides.

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Hubby's parents house in Zipolite. Third world town but really phat house.

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Not the best, but nice none the less.

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Same caption as above.

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If you havent noticed, I like taking pictures of flowers.

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The dune buggy of death. At least when your knees are killing you from horseback riding and you have a case of the vicious runs.

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Nicer view from house. We can see ocean and a light house. It is soo cool living near a lighthouse. The whole house(not lighthouse) is open. This had to have been taken from the roof (w/ a small pool/jacuzzi!) though because there are lots of plants in front of all the balconies.

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El Mayordomo chocolate factory in Oaxaca.

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Yummy! Lots of chocolate...

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Off kilter picture of what must be an homage to the Chocolate Gods. I really like those gods.

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Hierve el Agua (Boiling Water) is Oaxaca's answer to Yellowstone. Lots of mineral pools but not very warm, expecially in December in the mountains.

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Beautiful sunset but I like the Tope sign. Topes are like giants speed bumps except they even have themon highways. The great part about them is that there are (almost) always people selling food at them because they always cause traffic jams. In Mexico a tope usually equals good, cheap roadside food delivered to your car. What could be better? We were trying to get a good picture of this great sunser but we were in the back of a coverd collectivo driving though curvy mountain roads so husband had to lean his body out of the truck during a turn to get this shot w/o any truck showing and there I go ruining all the effort of eliminating the truck from the picture by telling the story behind the picture.

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See - I wasn't lying! Little white kitty looks like my Suzie. I lost that sweater on my honeymoon. It's kinda cold today and I miss it :-(

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In the blue house garden. Love the contrasting colors and the delicate cobwebs on a decidedly undelicate flower.

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Wolves dancing in perpetual rain. I actually first saw the foutain in the very early morning hours and wanted to shoot it then. I feel that the water obscures too much of the wolves. It is such a beautiful sculpture on its own; it didnt need that extra embellishment.

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A cute ancient hairless dog from the Dolores Olmedo Patino Museum(scroll down a little to see the info and more pics of the museum). It is a beautiful castle that I belive used to belong to Diego's last wife or a mistress....

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A huge bronze Diego Rivera head with a nice peacock for contrast and scale.

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I think these are cala lilies - a favorite flower of Frida and all over both museums.

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I love peacocks - so pretty. They were wandering all over the castle museum.

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And I end it with me as the salad monster. That salad was one of the best I have ever had - a delicious cilantro yogurt dressing surely helped.

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