Category: The DayBook

And that is as close to a horse as Carlton ever got! I am still taking a little trip back in time selecting Carlton pictures for Shamu the Phone. I am reminded of how much Carlton loved our time in the Parks. And how much he loved Hawai’i. That about settles it – his ashes need to go back “home” to Hawai’i – like he wanted. I think he would really like to make a “Victory Lap” and get left off in Hot Springs, Harpers Ferry, Theodore Roosevelt, Yosemite, and Skagway with whatever was left ending up in Hawai’i… We might leave out Petersburg, Lowell and Volcano. But, I don’t see that happening. Like my friend from Iowa did with her hubby – I’ll just put him in a flat rate box and ship him to Kona.

Hey, remember last week I said I couldn’t get the back back on my Timex after changing the battery? Well, today, I was folding some paper down in the asylum art studio – they have good lighting – where a found a vice. Put my watch in the vice and squeezed real hard and the back snapped back on. Don’t think this Timex gets another battery change – even if I can get the back off again.

I had a fine rainy day, doing laundry, folding paper, walking the halls, looking at old pictures. And reading Auntie Mame. Which I found when I was putting my Kindle back to rights.

It is back to work tomorrow for another busy week.

Thinking about the Republican Convention. It is going to make “our” 1968 Convention look like a Sunday School Picnic. I don’t have a good feeling about this. And, John McCain – I blame you for this. If you hadn’t unleashed She Who Must Not Be Mentioned on us – this might not be happening. But, you there is no unringing the bell.

Damn, I still love that man. He was serious high maintenance – but worth it. That picture is from 2009. I occurred to me that I have over 1,000 pictures of Carlton in Lightroom but none in Shamu the Phone. So, I am picking out a few to put in my phone.

Oh, what was unpleasant. First the weather today. But, that isn’t the issue. The issue is… My Kindle. My Kindle was on the bed. Where it is almost all of the time. I must have put something on top of the Kindle and accidently hit the on/off button. The button was kept pushed in too long and the Kindle did a factory reset. It was all setup and the books organized just like I wanted them. And, it wasn’t backed up to “the cloud”. The books are still safe “in the cloud”. But, the organization is lost. Sort of like all your dead tree books fell off the shelves…

I took a meeting this afternoon. A wine committee meeting. That is enough wine to end me under the table. So, I was moderate and restained. I did not laugh when they talked about the “coconut vanilla undertones” and a “hint of green pepper”. Not to mention “pencil lead”. Not sure if “pencil lead” is a good taste or not. I am a total wine philistine. But, the cheese was good. After the meeting – I went to the bar and had a Guinness. To cleanse the palate.

BTW – if you decide to move to an old folks asylum – I recommend a not for profit one run by the Episcopalians. Maybe they will let us have individual “medical” marijuana plots. At dinner tonight, I heard that a couple of years ago the asylum had a party on the grounds and one of the neighboring buildings called the police because the party was too rowdy. Apparently the police showed up. And the fearless leader of the asylum thought it was a fabulous that the police came to break up this out-of-bounds old folks party.

Note to Carlton: Looks like the bison, Tatanka, is going to be our “national mammal”. There are a half million of them now.

Worked from 0630 to 1500. That is a bunch of work for a “senior”.

There was a party at 1630 at the asylum. It was cold and rainy. I was going to hail Uber. But surge pricing was on at 2.4X. Decided to Bus It. Got home fine.

Spent an hour at the party. Drank wine. Ate cheese. Came back to the OBC and crashed.

Note to self: I can not change a Timex snap back watch battery. I have changed dozens of watch batteries. But, I guess I never tried to change a Timex snap back battery. At least not since I moved out of my house over 10 years ago. At that time, I had a nice vice in the garage. Snapped the back off – no problem. Replaced the battery. And then – it was time to “snap” the back back on. I tried using my handy opposable thumbs. Tried a trusty hammer. A pair of pliers. Put a lid on back and stood on it. If a first you don’t succeed: try, try, and try again. Then stop. Don’t make an ass of yourself. It is just a Timex. I bought a bunch of them on WOOT some years ago.

And that is what I did but – did not accomplish – this afternoon.

Politics continues. Ted Cruz seems to think that a novice female Veep candidate will enhance his chances. That didn’t work too good for John McCain. IMHO Teddy just gave up a big bargaining chip if comes to a contested convention. It also sends a strange message. And why would Carly want the position? She used to be the CEO of HP. I had an HP laptop that melted it’s motherboard during her tenure. I hold that (among other things) against her.

Note to self: When it comes to ice coffee – “Tall” doesn’t work. Back in the old apartment – Starbucks was in the lobby. Starbucks is .5 mile round trip from the OBC.

Work was not really fun today. I didn’t get home until 1530. And, I missed yoga. But, one good thing – we had a fine little office brunch. I got leftovers and will definitely be dining in the OBC tonight.

The asylum is having a scholarly lecture about the situation in the Middle East this evening. Don’t know if I am up for a scholarly lecture about something that I can not be anything about. Think I’d rather curl up with a nice trashy novel. In many ways, the Asylum is too classy for me.

Note to Carlton: I got a great big hug from Leila today. She is as old as you would be and still works at VHC. I am honored to have her as a friend.

Found a couple of insects on today’s wanderings around the grounds. This one is kinda cute.

Just an ordinary day. There are worse things than ordinary.

Maybe I should fold something.

After breakfast, after a folding session, after the rain stopped – I headed out for far distant Sandy Spring, Maryland. It is about 45 miles away as the car drives.

• 1350 – out the OBC door
• 1402 – on the bus heading for the Pentagon – cost 85 cents
• 1430 – on Metro yellow line to China Town
• 1440 – waiting for red line train
• 1450 – on Metro red line to the end of the line – Glenmont – total metro cost $2.35
• 1525 – Arrive at Glenmont Station.
• 1527 – On the Y2 Bus heading to the end of the line – Montgomery Hospital in Olney MD – cost another 85 cents.
• 1550 – At the hospital and the end of the line transit-wise.
• 1555 – Heading out on foot. According to Google it is 4.3 miles and I should arrive about 15minutes late. Which is about right on time.

The 4.3 mile walk is out into the country. There are “Beware of Deer” signs, horses, big fat chickens, all manner of rural stuffs. About an hour into the walk, I am hoping like hell that Google knows what it is talking about. There aren’t even cars anymore. I might as well be in Minot North Dakota. Then – a white Lexus SUV slows down and the driver asks “Do you know where Celebration Lane is?” – you bet I know. Well, at least Google knows. SO – figure they are going to the same place I am going – They have a car. I have the knowledge. A deal is made and I ride the rest of the way. Thank you Google.

It was a grand adventure. And, the occupants of the Lexus and I got a story to tell.

And, it was a nice 85th birthday surprise for a dear friend.

I mostly took it easy today. (Found these white bleeding hearts blooming in the Asylum garden.)

Nice day today. A little work. A little activity around the Asylum. A little beer at Happy Hour. Finally dinner with new friends. Now watching the Nats. They are playing the Twins – who used to be the Washington Senators. And the Nats are winning.

About 500 of us live in the asylum. Our oldest residents are over 100. Our “babies” haven’t made the big seven-O. Many of the residents are very interesting folk. Some are just crabby old people. And, a few, certified space cadets. It really isn’t place with “just old people”. It is a place with a variety of people who are closer to the end game than to the beginning.

This week’s Asylum Living Large Album:
Overheard on the elevator:

LOL #1 – “I heard The Prince died today”

LOL#2 – “And on his mother’s birthday!”

 

Somehow, this seems wrong. Especially, considering that the rest of the order (4 lens caps) ordered at the same time arrived on the same day in an identical box. Never mind that everything would fit in a small lightly padded envelop.

Soft shell crabs on the menu tonight. Add free wine. Not too shabby for an old folks asylum.

Note to Carlton: I am going to far distant Sandy Spring for Camille’s birthday via bus, metro, metro and Uber. You, my friend, used to find reasons to not go to Sandy Spring because it was “TOO FAR”. You also said the “the journey is part of the gift”. It is a surprise party for Camille – but I feel sure that you will be remembered and missed. Pretty sure, I’ll be able to snag a ride to some metro station or the other. Then I’ll come home via metro, metro, bus or if it is too late – metro, metro, uber. You really can have a car-free life.

OH, keep an eye out for Prince – he crossed over today. But we still have Keith Richards on this side.

It was too windy for photos this afternoon. But that didn’t stop me from trying.

Absolutely nothing zero zip to report. I wonder what I was doing 10 years ago? Nothing – that is what I was doing. No blog entry for April 19, 2006.

There is a “History of Underwear” exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

And and V&A museum shop has “playful tie-side knickers” by Agent Provocateur – for 35 pounds. (That would be about 50 bucks to those of you who are currency conversion challenged.)

There might be a little trip to London in my future. Those knickers – well – I think they demand an audience. I don’t see them in my future.

Have to find some good bee/insect hunting grounds nearby. Or after work, I can just wander around the old bee hunting grounds and then take the bus the rest of the way home.

I went back to work to get some much needed rest. But, I left early so I could return to the Asylum to attend the Semi-Annual Management “State of the Asylum” Meeting. The more interesting one is in October when they do the budget talk. This one was mostly happytalk and platitudes.

Tomorrow, I will have had my pesky little FitBit for two years. It says I have walked 3,440.37 miles. But who is counting? I think that is about 4.7 miles per day. Which just shows what not having a car does for your activity level.