Public Library

You may find this a boring post but I am just realizing how much I missed our public library. I don't know what size or how it ranks in the nation but it is great!

We have movies, CD's, tapes, and of course books...But a million other things too! The library also has some of those oversized plush chairs that are very comfortable and hard to stay awake in unless you are reading a really good book, or the newest edition of Bon Appetit, Gourmet, or one of those other food magazines(OK maybe that's just me).

Our Library looks like a big fort and its about 3 or 4 stories high. I am not completely sure because some levels are used for conferences, meetings and such. The picture is real small too...But it was the only one I could find(I found a bigger one, so that is what you are looking at now).

The Library is close to the Wellness Center where I have rejoined so I can work out and exercise again after all these years...I have also got a cell phone now so I can have that mobility and ease of communication wherever I go. No, I will not give the number out publicly. You would probably call and text message me so many times I would loose all my money and good credit rating, not to mention alienate me from the rest of the world when they deactivate my phone! Ha!

Why is all this so important? Because as high as gas is I will be trying to walk everywhere and enjoy as much free entertainment as I can!!!

Oh yeah, still waiting on that job. Its great being home, seriously!

Found

I finally found the digital camera I lost...I packed it away with some stuff I thought I wouldn't be using for a few weeks.

So now that I have found it maybe I can get the pics downloaded and upload a picture of the watermelon I carved for my church's 25th Anniversary.

On another note: Some days it is just extremely aggravating working on my website...And in the end it just seems to be the difference between upper and lower case letters, one or two of them!!!

My software (frontpage) does not differentiate between upper and lower case letters in the html pages, but obviously my server which holds my website does! UGH!

I think I got it all straightened out now...



Ok, so the contour of the watermelon was tricky but all of the other watermelon had their prices written on them with permanent black markers...Not to elegant when they show up in the middle of your creation. And I told the sellers at the farmers market that too!

I'm back and ready to go

I did return to the ship on Sunday night..Somewhere between 9 and 10pm. Just in time to redeem myself from the wondering mind of the crew. After they saw my empty bedroom when they put some of my mail in there, they truly wondered whether I planned to come back at all.

I can pack all my stuff into the hooptie, so why not? I figure if something weird or unplanned happens to the ship or me there will be no reason to go back to get anything...Or worry about it being missing or damaged. So I took it all. But I did store some of it at my parents until I travel out to the IOC next month.

Now that I am back I am ready to go...hahaha, and will shortly do so. Now the time seems to have gone by fast.

I am looking forward to a trip out west and then a week at home before going to the IOC in August. Your probably saying 'he was just at home'. You know being at home can be very stressful and busy when you usually average being home 2 weeks to a month out of the year. There is so much to do, so many people to see and spend time with. Being at home last week was a blessing, if not for circumstances beyond my control I would not have been.

Slow Leak

My car had a slow leak in the back passenger tire that became a fast leak. When I tried to get it patched Walmart told me it was because the rim was dented. So today I went to the junkyard to get a rim. The rim cost the same amount whether it had a tire on it or not! So Bill and I ( Thanks to Bill for taking me there and helping me find the wheels!) found a rim with a good tire on it that was still holding air..then I got to thinking about getting a second one...hmmm. Now I could replace that bicycle tire they call a temporary that was in my trunk with no air in it!!!

I bought two wheels today, both with excellant tires on them that still held air and had good tread. When I got back I took the two back tires off...I kept the one that was flat because it still had a good tire on it (remember the rim was dented) and I took the other off and replaced the temporary tire in the deep part of the trunk and lo' and behold!!! There was enough rust down there to deteriorate part of the temporary rim and the rest of the trunk!!!

Well I am not certain that the actual trunk was in danger of falling thru like spots on the ship...I just looked around quickly to make sure Katie had not seen this and come running with a needle gun ( a tool here on the ship used to remove rust that I think she has an obsession with! ) whewwww, I quickly breathed a sigh of relief remembering they were gone to the movies.

On second thought maybe I should let her get at it, then primer and coat it when they get done..what do you think? Nahhhh, its just Da Hoopty!

Why bother?

In about another month I will be packing again. I sometimes wonder why I ever bother to unpack. Maybe I can get me some of that luggage that just sits up straight after you carry it and it looks and functions like a dresser, hmmm. Maybe they can even make a mirror the same size as the bag that when you slide down the elongated handle ( like those ones that roll and have a telescoping handle when you go on planes) you can slide up the mirror in place. Wha-La! A small dresser complete with hidden slide-up mirror.

Better yet, make my 13 inch TV/vcr with a DVD/CD player also built into it (did I mention Bose Acoustic Speakers too?)...And have two rolling wheels at the back and a telescoping handle for those quick easy moves. Being 'carry on size' for this would be nice too.

Oh, OH! And maybe have one 'credit card' style card that you use for everything...Program it that way. Slide your card almost anywhere and pick which one you need: Passport info, license, American Express credit, Visa credit, Mastercard credit, bank debit...Just pick the one you need from the options screen. Then have it multi-task for sliding in your door at home to get in, slide in slot to get in car, slide in slot and push button to start car...At work you could also use it to ID yourself clocking/punching in and out at the timeclock.

I am sure all this will be coming shortly, its just that its not helping me now...now when I need it the most. So packing, traveling, and moving isn't so frustrating. Especially when you have done it so many times in the last 3 months.

After all this time I pretty much have it down to a science though...I use canvas or some other durable material for my 'soft luggage' (all my luggage are duffel bags and/or back packs) its more forgiving in moving stuff in it all the time. Fits more places on planes, trains, and buses too. I give everything away like Santa Claus and then keep the basic clothes and shoes (I have found this very liberating and most of the stuff I give away ends up being replaced by kind unsuspecting people at my next destination who never knew I just gave the same item away. Its usually to much trouble to travel with it, or mail it.

Books are easy to get rid of because I only have a few that I keep and the rest I usually have read them anyway.

Believe it or not I bought a business card holder (like a slim picture album) and I keep multiple cards of all sorts for different regions of my travels and then just swap them out in my small flip style credit card wallet.

For example, I have a Blockbuster (movie rentals) card for Mobile Alabama. I also have one for various other states, Canada, and a few other places that rent movies. So when I get to the Dominican republic I get out all the cards that are valid for use in that area and put all the other ones back in the card 'album' and I have 'prepared' my wallet for the next destination.

Somewhere after your thousandth mile, or second,third trip from home you start to get a little smart with this whole traveling thing.

My passport actually looks like those faded blue jeans that 'double' for church pants in a pinch. Yes, the original dark blue (or whatever color you want to call it) of my passport looks that worn out now...Of course it didn't help that I washed it at least on time I know of...And there is probably enough dried sweat in it to produce 'DNA Matching'.

I am very happy though, I have enjoyed my travels immensely and sooner or later my packing problems will be over...Apple will probably come out with an prototype called 'ipac' to put all these things together...AND play MP3's!

It will just take it forever to get down to a price I can afford!!!