Monday, August 30, 2010

Not So Subtle Hints

So the powers that be drug me out from my bed before I had hoped.
The splatter of rain on my windows informed me that my laundry, freshly dried in the sunshine was receiving an unexpected extra rinse cycle from mother nature...
I stumbled down the stairs and out the back door to find that my cobweb of string that had formed my clothesline was now a watery web that held my shirts and towels fast as they drowned i the change of season.
Dripping wet, along with all my clothes i drug all my belongings back in the house in a basket that was heavy enough to remind e of my brief days of carrying wet sheets from the Gorman Motel.
It always seems that shortcuts are the longest distance between any two points, and in the case of my clothesline the same is true...
My attempts not to be taken by the rising prices of on site laundry turned out to not be worth the trouble, and the dollar I saved in dryer time I am sure will come back ten fold in the cost of medication to combat the side effects of wrestling with laundry in the rain before one is meant to be awake.

Today was my first day back to the daily grind.
It was two hours shorter than the usual work day, but half an hour till it was due to end I was dragging my heels and barely able to keep my eyes open as I half heartedly skimmed the text of our new handbook for our grant.
It isn't easy getting out of routines only in time to have to dive back in.
I am still of the mind that I need to find employment with some travel channel and call in Vicarious.com, where bored millionaires send me their life savings and I tell them about how much fun I had letting it fall through my fingers.

At any rate, this marks the beginning to the new term with d-day being next Wednesday.

I am still getting all the materials for this term in order and will take my first dizzying step into my classroom tomorrow.
I plan on locking the doors and turning all the lights off to discurage any disruptions from my task.
I still have quite a lot to do.
Though laundry is no longer on that list.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Catching Rides with Strangers

Off to Les Schwab for the estimate I have been waiting for for a long time...
I walk in the door like a escaped con awaiting his sentence, knowing that after a few moments of inspection and a few questions that all will be revealed and the tire irons will come out to prevent my unlikely escape...
Well that was the scene I was expecting, and probably the one that deterred my visit in the first place...
I had been on borrowed time for longer than I can recall and it doesn't make sense to dodge them forever...
So I am working on being more responsible, with working being the ongoing endeavor.
Anyways, I got the wisdom teeth out last year, so the car was next on my list...
I came in and asked about an alignment, and they offered to do a quick once over to make sure nothing was about to fall off, and shortly returned with a three page estimate that I had known was long in coming.
I need:
New breaks (front and back), new rotors, and a few other things...
We are set to operate tomorrow, with a projected damage list of no more than $700
They will call when it is finished...

So this left me just a few blocks from home waiting to wander on my way in the wonderful 94 degree sun...
After the polite young man had absconded with my keys he mentioned that Les Schwab offers drop off for customers in transition from repair work.
He told me to take a seat and that Kirsten would be back shortly to help me on my way...

So I hunkered down with my popcorn, watching in terror at the little screen in the lobby as all the year's escaped murderers and celebrities scrolled across the screen...
But what was more interesting was the scenario that was developing up at the counter.
A seemingly well off older man with a gold watch and a cheap wife were arguing with the man behind the counter over what was often being referred to as a dissolving front axil. All I could do was listen and hang on the words I had been afraid would have been meant for me... Things like, legally I can't let you drive it off the lot, and your options are fix it or have it towed, and the trashy woman at the counter insisting it wasn't that bad and that she had been driving her kids to church in it like that for years...
The conversation went back and forth, with the hillbilly asking to use the phone to call all of his cronies and see if he could find a better deal elsewhere... In the end they looked like they were seconds away from a major altercation and the total being argued over sounded as though it was only 70 dollars... a far cry from what I was signing up for...
Kirsten ushered me out the back door and off into her truck before I had the chance to see how it all panned out, but it seemed like an above average day in customer service...

Sorry I don't have the grand list of items to be replaced, but it is a long one... I am sure they are all very important and needed items... I should have done it sooner, but I thought having bad rotors was the next best thing to getting those massaging chair inserts or the car...
One thing at a time...
Next I will probably be getting a new transmission, engine, and finally car...
One thing at a time.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Off to the Lemon

KC at Scanfest
KC and the Giant Lemon


After spending way too much time in the airports, and having to switch planes due to technical difficulties, I have finally arrived back at home. Just in time to head back out the door to go work in a giant fiberglass lemon and start working before the school year starts.
I will be doing Saturday and Sunday at the Scandinavian Festival and then another few days at the County Fair.

It's been a long week, and I will be looking forward to doing some fun work with people before having to get back in gear for the school year.

So I am off to search for my wooden shoes and put my hair in braids before heading out to my favorite sleepy little town, filled with Scandinavians.

Saturday, August 07, 2010

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Cusco

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Post 910: Cusco or Bust

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So this morning Autumn and I packed the rest of our things and began our journey to the airport.
There was a little mix up with the printing of the tickets, which left us to stand in the line to have our boarding passes printed at Peruvian Air. I had to check my bag since I was a few stones over...
The guy at the security point asked me about the stick I use to hold up my hair, and after explaining that it was a bamboo knitting needle with the dullest point in existence, I watched as he shook his head, said, "No possible" and added it to the large bin on items deemed unfit to fly.
I thought it was funny that he would put on such a show about safety and security when I had four more in my cary on.
Oh well, I will get more...
Anyways, our flight was delayed for about 2 hours, which meant that when we finally arrived, we were to join the tour, already in progress with out the much needed time to decompress and adjust to the new altitude.
We started out in a church and went from there to just about every site there was in town in 20 minute increments.
No sooner had we arrived at our destination than we were talking about our departure.
We left different members of the tour numerous times.
I would announce the moment of silence for the lost companion and the bus would roar back to life and begin moving down the avenue only to be chased moments later by whatever unfortunate person and children in toe who had been left behind.

During the course of our travels today, I heard one visitor from California go on and on about the restaurants in Cusco and all the wonderful things to try. So as soon as we got off the death march bus, we headed over to a little restaurant near the center of town called Inca Grill. We had some really wonderful food and had a chance to hear how other visitors were enjoying the local favorite, "Cuy" which is the ferocious beast, a pig by the name of Guinea.

Dad, I am sure you will be disappointed to know that the only pan flute I saw today was the one being chewed on by a toddler. There are no bands lining the streets and selling CD's.
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Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Day Two

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Today Autumn and I had our tour of the city and had a chance to explore around town.
We saw lots of stuff...
We even got to go to the catacombs in a wonderful Catholic Church.
Ate lots of chicken and am way tired.
Tomorrow we head out to Cuscu.
It takes over half an hour to fill up the bath tub.

Should the man who cleans our room be rearranging my toiletries and putting the cap back on my toothbrush?
These guys go way past above and beyond. They even took all our things off the two beds before making them and then artfully rearranged the things again.

Monday, August 02, 2010

Day One: Photos from the Front Line

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So today has been quite an adventure... We have gone about 4,000 miles today, not counting the drive to San Fran...

Autumn and I made it down to San Fran in style and spared no expense when it came to resting up in style...
Ok, we drove non stop all the way down and almost ended up sleeping in a strawberry patch.
Finally, around 2 am. I casually mentioned that I had the address to a nearby camp site in my phone and the reaction was pretty funny...
We showed up in a KOA outside of Sacramento and it was everything I could have hoped for and more...
I had never been to a KOA camp site... I was very impressed by the showers, pool, crafts, sports, and even free go-carts that were available for the kiddos passing through...
After getting just a few hours sleep we headed off into the city and began our adventure around Golden Gate Park...

I was very impressed with how easy it was to get through the airport in San Fran... When we reached the counter for Taca Air the man behind the counter printed our passes and asked how many pieces of luggage we would be checking... We said none and without even looking at our things we were sent out on our way... Prior to this we were shuffling and repacking over and over trying to meet the weight requirements for the carry on luggage. After getting in line with the rest of the passengers I saw that no one was anywhere neat matching the limits and the airline couldn't have been less concerned.

We had two flights throughout the day... 5 hours to El Salvador and then 3 more to Lima.
The flight was awesome... Free drinks, mimosas, headphones, movies, meals, snacks and friendly staff. All of our flight attendants were men who were sharply dressed complete with ties and waistcoats...

When we arrived in Lima, we were greeted by our tour and taken to Miraflores. I immediately crashed, took a dip in the jacuzzi, and started charging every device I own...

We had a Pisco Sour with dinner and had a great time trying to communicate with the kitchen staff... I pointed to a dish and asked what it was... moments later the kitchen (which is behind glass in view of the dining area) was filled with smoke and our chef was har at work... He just took the liberty of making the first thing I pointed at, which turned out to be great.

Tomorrow we tour the city and from there we are off to Manchu Pichu....

Good times.