How much stuff do we need?

So, Black Friday has come and gone. I almost managed to stay away from the malls, but a leather jacket on sale for $50 enticed me to stop at Fashion Valley on the way home from taking my sister to the airport... at 10:30 pm. A great time to shop, by the way. The parking lot was clear, there were no crowds to deal with, but the store looked like a hurricaine went through it. And of course they didn't have the style I wanted in my size.

You can't see me shaking my head right now, but I am just thinking about it. I worked retail many years ago. When The Broadway was still alive. It was a second job for me so that I could earn extra money for a two month trip to Europe. The rudeness and messiness of people annoyed me then, but I swear it's gotten worse. I mean when did it become ok to, oh, say knock some shirt or sweater on the floor and pretend you don't see it, and walk away for some overworked eight dollar an hour employee to pick up? Seriously people. Will it kill you to bend over? to take a minute to hang it back up on the hanger? to just TRY to fold it back up and place it on the shelf?

And really, when you think about it, how much stuff do we really need? Do I really NEED a leather jacket? Sure it would be nice, and yeah, I got rid of (donated) my old pink puffy fiber-filled ski jacket and my fake leather jacket... but trust me, I won't freeze this winter.

To be honest, I have boxes in the garage that I never unpacked when I moved into this place 2 years ago. And more coming as my sister and I divy up the remains of my Dad's life. Just thinking about finding space for all the new stuff makes me start to hyperventilate.

However, if you must buy me a present, consider my Amazon wish list.... linked in the sidebar of this very blog... or better yet, give me a call, let's go for a walk, have a coffee, take a class together, visit a museum, an art gallery...

My Thanksgiving Toast

Here’s to the turducken, gobble gobble quack cluckin right onto our thanksgiving plates next to Mama Stamberg’s cranberry relish (oh my god its so pink)
And the fresh green beans called haricot vert and the salad called mache tossed with pomegranate and parmesan and corn pudding made with creamed corn just like mom used to make.

Here’s to the white bread dressing with tangy crispy apples, pecans and a touch of cinnamon just like grandma used to make and a hundred dollars worth of New York apple and LA pecan pies.

And here’s to relish trays and roasted savory sweet potatoes, lumpy mashed potatoes and smooth brown gravy with Bisto and creamed onions and lactaid tablets and where are the peas anyway?

Here’s to ignoring the football game or games or whatever is on the television and margaritas, merlot or beaujolais noveau

and

Mostly here’s to friends who are family and family who are friends who have come together to make all this happen.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...

end of an era? changes in the wind for SanDiegoBlog

Joe C. moved away from San Diego awhile ago. We miss him and his lovely wife Leahpeah a lot... he has been kind enough to keep SanDiegoBlog going, along with WebSanDiego and SanDiegoBloggers (which he sold off last month).

So the last of the SanDiego properties, SanDiegoBlog, is now up for sale.

Here's the dilema. I want to buy it, but I'm not sure I can make it worth the monetary investment, specifically I'm not sure I have the time to invest to make it worth the investment.

Aside from my job, which takes up a good portion of my day, I am working on a book, a memoir (I usually say very creative mostly non-fiction). I've got a good portion done, and am now revising, compiling all my work into a first draft, and hopefully getting a book proposal together for the Feb. 2007 San Diego Writers Conference.

I have two other blogs I neglect...
and there's all the other ideas I have, like a class on how to blog for San Diego Writers Ink, a multi-media one-woman show of my memoir, Reconstructing my Mother... some ideas I have for audio production... a painting I want to do....

any thoughts? advice? encouraging words? discouraging words?

UPDATE: I took a pass on SanDiegoBlog. I may or may not continue to post over there, and I'm totally ok with that. So, I guess that means I'm back to working on my book... stay tuned.

Road Woes

I was going to post something about the idiot drivers on the road. Lord knows I have enough fodder on my daily commute-- and I'm going reverse traffic!

But Sheila beat me to it with her post on Road Ragishness. Amen Sister!

Stay tuned, however, I may just post something anyway. When I get some time. Where does all the time go that we save during daylight savings time??

Oh, and BTW, Sheila has her own domain now. GetSheila.com. She's all grown up.

more albums

ok, so here's the rest of the list. And seriously, if you want any of them, let me know... would you read the list before you start laughing already?? sheesh...

Hi Fi Spectacular: Sounds Of A Thousand Strings (it was my granddad’s and has cool cover)
Carmen Cavallero Plays His Show Stoppers (see note above)
Pretenders, the one With Brass In Pocket And Precious
Carole King, Tapestry
Little Feat, Dixie Chicken (Hey, I lived in Virginia)
Blondie, Hunter And Parallel Lines
Pat Benetar, Crimes Of Passion (2 Copies, note I only have one copy of Parallel Lines) And In The Heat Of The Night
Culture Club, Colour By Numbers
Go Go’s, Beauty And The Beat (we got the beat!)
The Human League Dare (don’t you want me baby?)
The Cars Candy-O
Led Zeppelin Zoso (with Stairway to Heaven of course)
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
George Winston, Winter Into Spring (my mellow, I’m sophisticated, I drink real wine with a cork in the bottle and listen to jazz phase)
Elton John Greatest Hits And Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player
Joe Jackson’s Jumpin’ Jive
Lynyrd Skynyrd Gold And Platinum And One More From The Road
The Doors Greatest Hits
Beach Boys, Best of
Gilbert O'Sullivan Back to Front (Claire, the moment I met you I swear... it had to be something. Somewhere.....)
Peter Paul & Mary, Best Of in orange vinyl. way cool.
The Band.
Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water (I think that was my Dad's at one time)
Jim Croce Photographs and Memories (aka Greatest Hits) and Cat Stevens Greatest Hits... I think I stole them from a friend. Well stole is probably too literal, let's say borrowed and never returned and lost touch with her bla bla bla. .... and I don't remember her name any more, except Rebecca, so there ya go.
and Foreigner Double Vision seems to have the name Terri B on it which is my cousin Terri, but she probably just left it at my house 20 years ago.

And more from the What Was I Thinking category: Barbra Streisand Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (Did I Have Vol. 1? ) and Neil Diamond You Don’t Bring Me Flowers

and finally. The last album I ever bought, Toni Childs, Union, circa 1988. Maybe even the last album pressed, who knows. Seriously, who knows? When did they stop making albums and switch completely to CDs? hmmm.

Albums anyone?

Does anyone still listen to albums anymore? Does anyone remember what albums are anymore? I thought that turntables and albums were making a little comeback, and maybe I could unload my collection, but I think I was mistaken. It was just a ploy by the department stores last year to unload some old stock of turntables by turning them into a retro nostalgic must have kind of thing.

and besides, my collection of albums is really nothing to brag about, but I will share my bizarre music taste with you, all 5 of my loyal readers, and the occassional drop in / drive by blog reader who finds me by searching for "pert boobs."
Feel free to let me know if you want any of them. For the price of postage they could be yours:

The Beatles
Yesterday and Today, the first album I bought with my very own money.
Revolver, Let it Be, Meet the Beatles, and The Beatles Again were my father's records but I've had them a long time.
Oh, and Sgt Peppers Lonley Hearts Club Band, commerative color printed vinyl edition

Blondie, Parallel Lines (2 copies)

Heart, Dog and Butterfly and of course Dreamboat Annie (which I can still play on guitar)

The Eagles, The Long Run and Hotel California

Supertramp, Breakfast in America and Even in the Quietest Moments

Styx, Paradise Theater

Jackson Brown, Running on Empty

The Who, Face Dances

Electric Light Orchestra, Discovery

I'll post more later. I'm tired of typing. But to round out this post I'll add

Olivia Newton John, Have You Never Been Mellow. Yeah. I know. What was I thinking?

Congratulations to Jill Badonsky

I always have to say outloud in my head "bad. on. sky." to remember how to spell Jill Badonsky's name.

Anyway, just thought I'd share the news from Publishers Marketplace:


NON-FICTION: ILLUSTRATED/ART

Creativity coach, artist and author of THE NINE MODERN DAY MUSES AND A
BODYGUARD Jill Badonsky's THE DAILY AWE-MANAC, a full-color,
illustrated guide to living with spirit, purpose, and humor that
includes a page for each day of the year with "Today I Get to" prompts
(instead of a To-Do List), writing exercises, inspirational quotes,
and much more, to Jennifer Kasius at Running Press, by Stephanie Kip
Rostan at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency (world).

It's great to be surrounded by successful people doing cool things... and if you haven't already checked out Jill's website, TheMuseIsIn.com, the Nine Modern Day Muse book, gotten on her email list, whatever, Just Do. She's lots of inspirational fun.

Do you believe in astrology?

I don't believe in astrology, but sometimes.... ya just gotta wonder.... Here's my horoscope for today, read after I wrote my last post:

The imaginative Pisces Moon stimulates our dreams and increases the intensity of our fantasies. Additional adrenaline comes from the harmonious trine between sexy Venus and electric Uranus. We want to break out of our restraints to let pleasure rule the day, but retrograde Mercury is forming a tense square with austere Saturn, isolating us from the objects of our desires. Even if we strongly crave freedom, it may feel beyond our reach at this time.


... I feel just like that. Weird, huh.

Feeling rather maudlin today

Not sure if it's the whole Dia de los Muertos thing, or more overwhelm from dealing with my Dad's estate, feeling like I am totally alone in the world now-- no parents to watch over me, no kids to distract me-- like I'm the end of the line. Or the middle, floating with nothing to hang onto.

To top it of my boss's mom just had a stroke, so I'm here listening to him talk on the phone.

"It's ok Mom, Laurie and I are taking care of everything. You don't have to worry about a thing."

And she is comforted. And it strikes me. Who is going to take care of me when I get old and dotty?

So I think about this quote from the movie "American Beauty." The character Lester says in voice over:

Remember those posters that said, "Today
is the first day of the rest of your
life?" Well, that's true of every day
except one.
(a beat)
The day you die.

It sounds good, makes an impact and all but it is not true. Even the day you die is the first day of the rest of your life. The rest of your life is just very very short.

All this thinking makes me jittery, like I need to get out and do something crazy, move to Alaska or cash out my savings and to hell with sticking around here and hoping the real estate market bubble will burst enough so I can afford to buy a house.

And just in case you're curious, Merriam Webster Online defines maudlin as:

1 : drunk enough to be emotionally silly
2 : weakly and effusively sentimental

Etymology: alteration of Mary Magdalene; from her depiction as a weeping penitent

Yup, maudlin is a good word. Especially for Dia De Los Muertos.