Of beaches and futbol

Michael and I had a short escape along the Gulf of Mexico this weekend. My dear and longtime friend Karen and her husband Octavio generously let us stay at one of their condos. He and I did little more than drink margaritas, swim, eat fish sandwiches, lounge in the hammock and get sun. It was exactly what I needed and I think it suited him as well. If any of the pics are worthwhile, I’ll post them.

We made it a whirlwind trip and I even was able to see my Aunt Betty briefly on Friday morning. It’s been a year since I’ve seen her and she looks about 20 years younger than a lady of 80. After we left Pensacola, we made the short trip to the beach and proceeded to exhale for 2 days. There was a brief, but exciting alligator sighting. To me it’s a normal Florida event, but I think Michael enjoyed seeing one swim on past the condo we were at — it was certainly not excited to see us.

By Sunday we fought off the urge to try and stay another day and made it back to Atlanta in time to watch a very intense match of the World Cup with US almost defeating Portugal. It ended in a tie — but only barely. And today was back to business as usual. Sigh…

2014 y’all

Clearly I got kittens. I only say that because my last post was that my catalogical clock was ticking and then you never heard from me again. Well, I got kittens. Two to be exact (Hushpuppy and Otis) and they have managed to suck the time and life right out of me. OK..OK. Alright already… I’m not going to sit here and blame my slackdom on two (not very) innocent creatures. No, they don’t like me to type. No, they don’t like me to sit quietly without them on me or biting me or cattacking me. But this is the year of NO EXCUSES in my world. So no excuses. The problem is me.

I’ve not written because I’m really happy and in a good place and even though I’ve been traveling and having blog worthy adventures — well, I’ve just not put it down on the screen and shared it beyond the cryptic impulses of Facebook. But today a long time friend of mine began blogging (for the first time I think) and it unhinged something in me. So here I am, saying way too late to you all “Happy New Year”.

Help me cling to the NO EXCUSES rule! I need some support. Oh! Maybe I’ll bore you all with kitty pictures soon!

progress, planning and prose

Ahhh July. It is a good month to get things done. I’m still on track (so punny) with my preparations for a hot, hot, hot 5K in August. Realize all too often that my skeletal self is still in denial. However, I’m very happy I’m meeting my body for the first time in 40+ years.Hopefully my body will feel likewise soon.

Beyond that, it’s turning into a busy Summer. I have plans to visit friends and family, work has plans for me to visit other places and then life always has a plan of its own. In short, there is travel ahead of me and behind me. I did, for pleasure, recently return from my first ever trip to Boston. There was a Fenway outing and the Freedom trail and lots of walking that helped with the lots of eating . . . it was a perfect trip. Loved the city, history, baseball and food. Definitely the best Braves loss I’ve ever witnessed. If you’ve never been, please make a point to do it and take some good walking shoes. I may try to put together a photo album of some pics, but am swamped at the moment planning everything on the horizon.

I did, however, take a personal day off and decided to upload a book to my Kindle. After some hasty research that involved Salon, random questions to trusted reading friends and a glance at some Amazon reviews, I selected The Fault in Our Stars. I finished it last night. Yes, it’s so good you cannot put it down. You must devour the beauty and brilliance in one sitting because it’s so heart breaking that you may not be able to pick it back up. They (you know who they are) consider it young adult fiction for some reason. I think because the 2 main characters are 16 & 17. But really, this is a book that everyone except the very young should read. Absolutely gorgeous.

Hope everyone is happy post-Independence Day. And if not happy, hope you are all progressing forward anyway!

Let’s begin again

Several months have passed in complete silence. This is primarily due to the fact that I have undergone a complete metamorphosis and spent my energy on positive life changes. Most of which I’m not going to tell you about — but you can just know that they are huge and empowering. Indeed, one reason I haven’t written is that some of my old friends and loves would not understand or believe me. There has been a lot of letting go of the past and negative residuals — hopefully anyone impacted will one day understand. My bigger hope is that maybe me changing will prompt positive action in others.

I will, however, share the fact that I am trying to get in shape and have begun training for a 5k in August. Ah, yes, August. The dreaded Atlanta month. The peak of humidity and sweat and grime. I’m not being an idiot about it though. I am starting slow and only training in the cool of the day. I’ll let you know how my reconnecting with my body goes. I’ve lived a life of contemplation and have decided that action is called for.

Wish me luck and more words from me sooner than you think!

Dusting off and ideas

Wow. I disappear and find out lost friends have appeared on the blog.

Anyway, I’m at work and it’s August and it’s hot and here, just read this and do something about making it untrue. If you can, do.

Great article on the state of ideas.

Percolate it people. Or at least read.

(by the way, I’m going to just randomly post coolness I read until the ideas of my own start making their way)

Padgett bash, old school style

I’ll let the pictures tell most of the tale — but everyone I talked to said they had a blast. It was fantastic seeing so many old friends and family from both sides show up and have a good time. Just wish the weekend could have gone on longer.

Dads 70th April 2011

March (and missing this)

It’s been too long. On the upside, I’ve been writing privately. But still . . .
Let me ramble on.
I turned 40, ya’ll saw the pics. Have had some redemptive type moments with old friends. That’s always nice and strange. Ebbed and flowed. Yep, and here I am, still. No matter what, it’s the best thing. Life is beautiful.
What I really want to talk about is the last book I read (Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett). Have you read it? Anyway, I can’t go into it because I have a few friends reading it and we are all going to get there. But, needless to say, read it; if it’s plaguing me during the Spring Forward hours than it is worth the effort.
There’s a lot I’m not saying–deal with the ambiguity and keep rolling.
Oh, but I do want to say that I revisited my childhood today. Darryl convinced Zoë, Lori and I to go see the Harlem Globetrotters. OMG! I had forgotten. One of the most rewarding moments came when they did a fart joke and hearing all of the kids laughing. There is so much joy in that noise. Crude pleasures — maybe it’s not just a childhood thing.
Hope that the weather is turning towards golden for everyone.

My Playlist

I turn 40 next week. Shelby asked me to come up with a playlist for my party. Here it is. Don’t laugh.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand— The Beatles: it’s the 1st song I remember loving. Once, at the hotel, Top, Sandy, George, me and some other people circled the fireplace holding hands and singing and dancing to this song on the radio. Pure joy.

Lots of U2—but all of Joshua Tree: it created me.

Prince—Purple Rain: he taught me lust.

The Police — Synchronicity: it was my first vinyl purchase.

Tom Petty—my constant

Bob Dylan: for my life of alone that I learned in Italy.

Erin McKeown: for Shelby, Tallahassee and healing after heartbreak.

David Bowie: it’s Bowie.

Depeche Mode—for Karen’s car, tinted windows, high school & a friendship of youth and a lifetime. Long roads ahead.

Pink Floyd’s “Mother”: for Duncan and all that he is and so much that I know.

Buddy Holly: he’s what Dad sings to me. He would pull my ears and sing “Hey Little Girl”. I think he did it to make my ears long like his. That and Hank Williams, Sr.

Patsy Cline: For Joyce Walden and instant coffee and cigarettes.

Soundtrack to Pretty in Pink

The Stones— their old stuff. I bought their greatest hits and that double disk was the first CD I bought. I was with the Odom guy and I think somehow he was disappointed in me.

Cowboy Junkies–Trinity Session: Dad introduced me to this by walking into a record store in NYC and asking a guy “what would my teenage daughter like?” and he handed dad that CD. Smart guy.

Jane’s Addiction—XXX: Best segue into a song ever incorporates “Jane Says” and “Sympathy For the Devil”. Awesome.

The Pixies: no explanation needed.

Willie Nelson–especially the Padgett theme song “On The Road Again”

Brown-Eyed Girl—It’s my birthday.

Librarian Song by My Morning Jacket — it’s about a sexy librarian.

Wilco, REM, so many others I can’t think of for Lori.

Avett Brothers, Gorillaz, Lucinda Williams, Fleetwood Mac, “Stuck in the Middle W/ You”, Journey and Queen (for Dee), Random Rod Stewart (it’s my secret pleasure), Bob Marley (at least Redemption Song), Nirvana (really like the acoustic), REM (I know I mentioned them, but they deserve another mention and if “Night Swimming” isn’t on there then you don’t know me.

Random 80s: “I Melt With You”, etc. And there are a lot of versions of “Satellite of Love” but I love Frank Black. And Mendy should really help with this part.

Some Jimi Hendrix and The Doors and of course Janis— I remember wanting to be her when I was little and looking at my dads old album of Pearl.

Mazzy Star . . .

Actually, there’s no end. All the bits of memory come with some kind of soundtrack. Traffic, crickets — even now the air is blowing, my neighbor upstairs creaks in their bed and the beat goes on. Even future has a song.

Hello 40.

chirp scratch bzzz

It’s been over a month! There has been company (all of it fantastic). Cheryl, Michelle, Will, and Shane. Shelby came but stayed elsewhere. I ate, I shopped, I talked. For an introvert like me, it was still a great time and not even really an effort.

Work is a bit different. The learning commons (aka library) is being expanded (yay!) but that means that myself and the students are a bit displaced during the construction. It also has brought on the temporary office in the Academic Affairs suite which means my boss is right next door and definitely not letting me rest. So work is work. The students still keep it interesting. I still love my job. But let me say right now, I’m due a looonnnng vacation. If anyone stumbles on this from Westwood, please be warned.I’ll disappear but give warning and will return.

That’s my life. But not all of it. There are birds out (late night ones even) that seem to remind me there are trees around in this old town of mine. The cats are scratching from the heat. And I’ve heard my first cicada (or is it a very distressed cricket?) bzzing out in the plaza. Oh! And I have an opossum that likes to stroll in the courtyard once the heat has ebbed. In short, summertime in the city lends itself to the strange habits of forced nature. Personally, I sort of love it.

ALA is coming up. Hoping to see lots of librarian people there. Very excited. Lots to look forward to, but for now, a bit of sleep.

And I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t mention helping nature post the oil catastrophe. Not only do I have a soft spot (read fierce love) for nature, but my years on the bay taught me there is nothing more lovely that the flight of pelicans etching and mirowing the coast. Here are a few links for you to consider:

http://www.seabirdsanctuary.com/

Oil spill relief EDF

Greater Good

I’ve not researched these but do the leg work. If any of you are lucky enough to spare some change, consider it.

I’ll try not to be more than a month.

sleepytime

That’s funny, I was going to write about something else, but as soon as I typed that I remembered my Aunt Karen always keeping Celestial Seasons tea and Sleepytime tea was one of them and then I remembered her piano and my girl cousins and all their toys and then the new house they moved into when they left the farm and how the pool reflected a blue watery light in Janet’s bedroom. And divorce wrecked all that.

Anyway, I miss my cousins. And I’m just now really aware of that about 30 years later.

One of them lives in Arizona now. Which is really odd. Because I was going to begin this initially by making fun of myself for being sleepy. Much like one of my friends used to make fun of me for always being sleepy before he moved to Arizona. (which I’ve type Arizone twice now— well 3 times but the last intentionally to prove a point which is what is up with all the connections and coincidence and links and tangled webs that stick to your hair?)

Which is to say, I’m sleepy.
And I miss you all — the old connections and the new connections.