Back to the non-existent grindstone

Tuesday, the 30th-Well, now we are looking for work again and I got a very promising email from Fox Movie Channel and I finally got in touch with Christian's contact at Disney, so I'm hopeful. But it's not like we have actual work so it was really just a lazy day for us. I did go and check up on Christian's house. He's away at Burning Man until after Labor Day so I went to fix his mail and make sure everything was ok. It was ok even though it looked like a hurricane went through there. I guess he did some sort of ritual/party before he left because the whole place was strewn with rose petals. And even though he asked to stop his mail, he kept getting it so it turned out to be a big pile. Daryl had to go off and finish the movie he's working on even though he hasn't gotten all of the music from the composer yet. And keep in mind the pay here is deferred which is just as good as saying "for free." I just hope something good comes of it. Mo stopped by and we both caught up on what's been going on with each other and had a nice dinner together at Koo Koo Roo. I hadn't seen her since before she left for her family trip to Bamff, in Canada. She said it was just like Yosemite but less crowded. Sounds good to me and I haven't even seen Yosemite.

Daryl's mom leaves town

Monday, the 29th-Today was the last day with Daryl's mom and we took it a little easy. We drove her up to Griffith Park so she could get a picture with the Hollywood sign in the back and we also took her to see the super rich houses in Beverly Hills. We also played a game of Scrabble and Daryl beat us soundly once again. (I can't believe he got another Scrabble. That really put him over on the points.) On the way to the airport Daryl missed the turn off to the departures and we had to swing around a few times to get back on track. I was sad to see her go. I wanted her to stay another week and spend more time with us. And I know she always makes Daryl happy. Next time we'll take her to some other restaurants and tourist attractions.

Joshua Tree

Sunday, the 28th-Joshua Tree. We got up at an ungodly hour to drive out there and Daryl made it in two hours because he's like a demon on the road. While we were there, we just couldn't figure out why people lived out there in the heat. I mean, there's huge communities of people living out there. There had been flooding recently so the roads out to the east side were off limits. So, no cactus garden, but we did get to visit the rocks that Daryl climbed when he first moved out to SF. It was really quite lovely, even though there were times I felt like I was going to faint from the heat, which was like, almost the whole time. We did get to see some neat petroglyphs and Daryl did a little bit of climbing after which, he felt like fainting. But we did see some great desert flowers and tons of tiny toads. And we saw a real roadrunner running across the road. I half expected to see a coyote following behind. Or maybe an ACME 1000 lb weight falling from the sky. Or not. Afterwards, we were starving so we went to the nearest Denny's and had what I think was the worst service ever. But I suppose that's what I should expect of a Denny's. We also got a chance to visit with Daryl's mom's husband's sister's family in Hemet, which is pretty much in between Joshua Tree and LA. Dave Kelsey's (Daryl's mom's husband) sister Sandra moved out here in California and had three daughters. And now all three of them have kids, too. One of the daughters, Angela has two boys who are really well behaved kids and very athletic according to all of the trophies we saw around the house. Another daughter lives up in Sacramento and she just had a baby a month ago, but she wasn't there when we visited. Although we did go to their wedding, which coincided with the last time Daryl's mom visited. April, another daughter, just had a baby too, but it was premature and so had been in the hospital for a while before they let her out. Such a tiny thing! It's hard to believe she's going to grow up to be an adult. She was under 5 pounds when she was born but she does look like she's gaining weight right now. Sandra fed us and we chatted for hours. By the time we left we were so exhausted that when we got home we just crashed.

Day of Rest and Sugar Highs

Saturday, the 27th-Exhausted from Disneyland, we all got up late and lazed around a bit before going to Target and getting baby clothes for Daryl's mom's husband's sister's daughter's new babies. (Let's see how long it takes you to figure out that relationship!) We were also on the lookout for a fan, but it was not to be at Target. We tried OSH and then finally got one at Home Depot. They were almost out! Strangely, the fan didn't do as good a job as I thought in cooling the place down, but it did help a little bit. We also noticed the See's Candies store right by the Target so we went in and Daryl's mother encouraged us to get anything we wanted. Apparently the prices there were very reasonable as she was very excited about it. Plus, they gave us samples. I think we ended up with two boxes of chocolate, two boxes of peanut brittle, two boxes of hard candies (mostly butterscotch), a bag of mint hard candies, and two bags of chocolate coins. Daryl's mother does not slack in the sweets department. I still couldn't eat much more than soup so I just had a few butterscotch candies. I tried a chocolate, but it was really hard to eat and took me forever so I decided I'd wait until my mouth felt better. Keep in mind, I am washing my mouth out with salt water at least three times a day, but no luck. At least I don't have my cold anymore.

Disneyland for adults

Friday, the 26th-Disneyland! We had a great time and Daryl and his mom got a great souvenir picture of their ride on Space Mountain. Daryl liked the ride so much he wanted to do it again, but the long line dissuaded us. It's still hot as the dickens here so we were always seeking the shade when we were in line. We also got to do the Haunted Mansion this time as last time we were here they had closed it for renovations for Christmas. We want to go again when it's closer to Christmas so we can see the "Nightmare Before Christmas" decorations. We rode the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride, "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride", the "Winnie the Pooh" ride, the Roger Rabbit ride, and the "Indiana Jones" ride. When we were on the Indiana Jones ride I got something stuck in my eye when they had the room with the poison darts flying by, so for half of the ride I was blinded. But it was just as well as I was scared out of my wits. I am just not made for rides like that. We also took the Star Wars related ride and watched the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!" presentation. Daryl's mom did not like the fake mice on her feet. In fact, a family right in front of us left immediately after the "mice" started running around. I went to get a "mint julep" while they were on their roller coaster rides and was disappointed to find that it was self-serve. And this time we watched a bit of the parade and they actually had people on bungee cords doing acrobatics and people on stilts dressed up like giraffes, in what I assume is similiar to the Broadway show version of The Lion King. Also, the costumes were really good. Oh, and we also got a nice souvenir picture of us with Winnie the Pooh. But the best picture is of Daryl on Space Mountain with his mouth open wide in a grin. It looks like he's in the middle of laughing. Afterwards, we got Vietnamese food on the way home (I had to cajole Daryl into driving there.) and then collapsed. I felt like Daryl's mom was about ready to fall into her bowl of noodles. Disneyland will wipe you out physically as well as financially. I mean, it was a hot day. You felt like you were being slow roasted and they were charging $1.50 for a bottle of water.

Day of Sickness

Thursday, the 25th-Today, Daryl and his mother went to The Griddle, where she was so excited about seeing a celebrity. (Ian Ziering from Beverly Hills 90210) Then they went off to the beach and had nice long bike ride and also had lunch on the beach. Then they visited the Santa Monica Promenade and also the Pier, where there was a free show of Zydeco music, which was apparently very good. I don't know because I was sick at home. It was so bad, I got up to take a shower and then felt that I could go right back to sleep because the effort was so exhausting. It didn't help that my tongue got infected either. All I ate was soup. In any case, I want to be well-rested because I'm sure I'll die if I go to Disneyland, like they want to tomorrow. And it's still incredibly hot. So it was a day of sickness and rest.

Daryl's Mom comes to town

Wednesday, the 24th-Daryl's mom came to town! I was sick but she was ready and raring to go. We had lunch immediately after she got off the plane at the airport restaurant, Encounter, which looks very futuristic and had purple neon lights lighting it up at night. Daryl says it must have been the inspiration for Men in Black. Later that evening we played Tikal and Daryl soundly beat us both. For those of you who know Daryl's Mom, Carol Kelsey, she is quite possibly the best mother-in-law in the world. And according to Daryl, the best mother in the world. Unfortunately, she was here during one of our heat waves and we still don't have air conditioning. I felt bad about that, but we just can't afford any luxuries these days. And of course the weather is supposed to get cooler soon, so getting one now seems a little silly. I don't remember much about this day because I had been sick for a while and I was still taking Nyquil caplets so this day is a little fuzzy for me.

Bible verses

Here are some Bible verses that have helped me feel better.

"It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes." Psalm 119:71

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments." Habakkuk 3:17-19

It's nice to know that even when things aren't going as well as you'd like that God will give you strength. It's also nice to know that being poor is not a moral failing. Just saying.

On the poor and the sick

Thursday, the 18th-I am still sick from my trip up to SF and also depressed, but not because I am poor, which is the obvious reason. I was poor a week ago, but not depressed. And frankly, not much has changed, except that my mother called. I don't mean to say that my mother makes me depressed, but I think most people would agree with me that when you encounter a lot of bad luck in your life, you don't really like it when your parents tell you it's your fault or that you must not be obeying God. I don't know about you, but that doesn't make my day. Just saying. Of course, I think both my mother and father would agree that we make our own luck, or really that whatever consequences you are experiences must be the result of some past foolishness. I don't quite agree and it's not just because I'm the one who's experiencing the bad luck here. (Although there are some obvious consequences from foolish actions, I'm really talking more about circumstances that really are out of your control, like illness.) I am largely poor because of being chronically ill with celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, and psoriasis. And this has been going on for about 4 years now. These are not life-threatening illnesses, just really, really inconvenient and when the symptoms get bad, as often happens with chronic illnesses, I usually need to get treatment. Unfortunately, in America, treatment is very expensive, even if you do have insurance like I do. Hence, the poor problem. What I find disturbing, and this is just a few people that I've met who have this view, is the view that illnesses are the manifestations of the consequences of sins. I mean, there is a group of people who feel that AIDS is the proper and just consequence of disobedience to God. This is what I'm talking about, except that for this small group of people, all illnesses fit underneath this category. I think this is a horrible way to see the world. Largely, because it seems to me illogical. For instance, there are many children suffering from a variety of serious illnesses that there is no way for them to have sinned to create such a punishment. Also, I do find it hard to stomach that all people who are sick are somehow "deserving" of it. Does it then make them less "deserving" of our sympathy, our goodwill, our compassion? It's a slippery slope here people. I feel like being sick made me think more about God. I felt that I must have done something wrong to have warranted being, not only sick, but poor as a result of being sick. I started to investigate my past, to see where I went wrong. You can see how this train of thought would end up in despair. I could think of millions of reasons why I deserved being sick. But ultimately, the main thing I found about being sick is that I reallly did pray to God more and I did think about Him more and started to think of Him as more of a Help rather than the Guy Who Let Me Be Sick. People who are never sick will never realize how good it feels to get better from an illness. People who are never sick will never understand the pain that someone who is sick is going through. People who are never sick will never know that their real friends will be the ones to show compassion for their pain rather than blaming them for it. And then I have to say a few things about being poor. For all of those people who have never been poor, thank God while you can. For the religious right who want to cut welfare, social security, and don't want to raise the minimum wage, I'd like to point out that in the Bible, Jesus said that it was going to be harder for a rich man to get into heaven than a poor man. Jesus never said, "Blessed are the rich for they shall always have tax breaks." Jesus blessed the POOR and never mentioned the rich in the sermon on the mount. In point of fact, it is our responsibility as Christians to help the poor. This is demonstrated time after time in the Bible, and you know if something is repeated more than three times it's really important to God. And God never mentioned tax breaks. Being poor is not a result of some moral defect. So for all of the people who are so concerned about "morality," I'd like to ask them what they think God considers more moral, having compassion for your fellow man and helping him, or making him work two jobs just to make ends meet because you cut their benefits. Honestly, I find the religious right's complete lack of compassion for the poor reprehensible. And for those of you who know me, I consider myself a Christian. Imagine how embarrassed I am to be seen with them.

SF and Witchhunts (and more on the mail)

Did I ever tell you what happened with our car tags? We eventually got the ones that were mailed to us a month and two weeks after the used car lot mailed them to us. (A few weeks after we got replacements, of course.) Apparently the mail, if you mail something in LA to someone else in LA, takes forever. But now I'd like to mention a little bit on our trip to SF.

Friday night, the 12th-We got to SF late, and stayed with our friends Elise and Kathy. The first thing we noticed was that it was cold out. I was freezing all night long so it's a surprise to no one but me that I got sick. Although, I do have to say that Elise's upstairs room is very nice and the cats spent a few hours entertaining us when we were trying to get some sleep. Plus, they warmed up the bed, too.

Saturday, the 13th-We had a late start, but eventually ate lunch with Leif and Susan at Pancho's, a restaurant within walking distance of our old place, that in the 5 years we lived there, never went to until today. We also visited the Asian Art Museum and saw the exhibit on Tibet. They had a lovely sculpture and tapestries of Avalokiteshvara, the deity of compassion. I only mention this because this deity is very important to my friend Christian, who since we've moved here has embodied compassion for us in not only letting us stay at his place for a month, rent-free, but also by hiring me to work for him when he can't really afford me. (And he continues to pay me despite not being paid by his clients. He's a really nice guy.) So I got him two postcards with pictures and explanations of the deity. We followed Leif and Susan around when they went armoire shopping and then repaired to their place for games. Diane even showed up and we had a very long game of Cities and Knights of Catan, which Leif eventually won. Susan shared olives that her dad canned and they were the best olives I've ever had and dried peaches which her dad dried and they were so good. We had so many snacks there that we didn't even eat a proper dinner afterwards. We just sped out to Oakland to stay with our friends, Michael and Rik, who also have two lovely cats, who decided to sleep with us.

Sunday, the 14th-Well, today was the main reason we came to SF. Michael and Rik set up a series of games for us to play all based on the Salem Witchhunts. They decorated the place up and even made the bathroom look like an outhouse. (It was truly lovely.) Daryl was out for the morning working with an old client in SF. I stayed behind sick as a dog and after helping to put up one garland, I was exhausted, so I spent most of the time on the couch with the cat. (The other cat was freaked out by the activity and decided to hide under the futon.) We got to see a lot of old friends and catch up on news. And the games were really fun. In the first game, where we got to choose our character, I ended up being a governess named Mercy Radcliffe. I should have tried to be Alice Warren, who hates, but honours her husband, which would have been fun because the husband turned out to be Daryl's character, Jacob Warren, skilled marksman. The first game was a balancing/trivia game, with two teams (families) competing against one another with trivia and sticks. The trivia was mainly on colonial times and the Wiccan religion. And after that people got excommunicated. Yikes. We also played a game that involved playing cat's cradle, after which more people were excommunicated, then another game which was a creativity contest, where we had to create a "Scare-Witch" (like a scarecrow) with clay, construction paper, string, etc. and were judged on things like creativity and adherence to colonial times. Then there was the obligatory excommunication. Man, you lose so many people in a witchhunt it hardly seems like there are any people who aren't witches. And then we found out that there were no witches at all, but that we just excommunicated innocent people. Well, Michael and Rik were just lying liars then, weren't they? The first group of excommunicated were then placed back in the game as their own team. Then there was a game called "Burning Bridges" which was an interesting game as the board got smaller and smaller and more and more people were "burned out" of the game. Eventually, the most canny players figured out how to end it and there were three people who could have concievably won. (By this time I am dying and am just wanting to be excommunicated so I wouldn't have to think.) They had to have a trivia-off to figure out a single winner and I'm proud to say the winner was my husband. And we both got Hello Kitty pencils and expando-sponge-dogs as prizes. And as the Grand Prize Winner, Daryl got a lovely beeswax candle, which is currently sitting next to our TV. Fun! But I was so glad to go to bed as I was seriously ill.

Monday, the 15th-Well, we hung out a little with Michael and Rik and with Rik's friend Jeanie and we went to the Scharffenberger Chocolate Factory. We didn't have time for a tour, but we got a few chocolates for the road and tried to get chocolate sandwiches at the cafe. Apparently, they're not on the menu, but they make them if you ask. I had soup as I had no stomach for anything else, but I did have a bit of hot chocolate, because how can you go to a chocolate factory and not have something chocolate? I fell asleep a few times on the way down. Poor Daryl, he always has to drive, but in my defense I was in no condition to drive. I was so glad when we got home. I just wanted to sleep. Oh, and not only did I get sick, but the skin on my knuckles broke open again from dryness. So I'm back to wearing half-gloves. This is what I get for going back to SF.

What?...Um,...OK, I guess we're leaving today, then...OK.

Friday, the 12th-Well, it looks like we'll be leaving for SF today instead of tomorrow. We now have a bunch of errands to do before we leave. It'll be nice to see SF again. And to wear long pants again. And long sleeves. And maybe a coat. I'm a little afraid to leave the cat here by herself, but Daryl is sure she'll be fine and we've got Maurissa stopping by on Sunday to make sure she's got enough food and water---and a clean litter box. Work is incredibly slow and I'm starting to get a little worried about finances, so I've called three people for work today---all recommendations from Christian (ABC, Disney, Disney), who says that they definitely need people. So messages have been sent and I've got demo reels ready to go. I've also made a bunch of scones for the trip (Gluten-free!). Daryl is out dropping off the keys, and we also have to give Christian an invoice, get a check, get to the bank (to have money for the trip), and pack. Oh, and I've recently discovered the joys of Red Vs. Blue. For fans of Halo, I highly, highly recommend this site:

http://rvb.roosterteeth.com/archive/

It is, for me at the moment, the funniest thing on the internet. How did I discover this, you may ask? Well, duh, by reading about it in the New York Times, where I learn all about girl crushes, why not to punch a shark in the nose, and various other things, like actual news and movie reviews. Also, it helps to be unemployed, bored, and with a wicked fast DSL connection.

Wednesday, I actually had to drive Christian's car. Twice. Yikes. The poor man. I broke his seat belt tab and accidentally parked for 3 hours in a 15 min parking zone. This is why I should not be allowed to drive. That and the fact that I drove for nearly the entire time without the AC and that his window is manual and doesn't have the knob to help you roll the window down. Oh, and I go reeeaaalllyyy sssslllloooowww, too.

Wish us safe driving!