Because of the County of Los Angeles library system, I discovered Charles Bukowski, and spent a Saturday in our apartment in Valencia that first year reading Notes of a Dirty Old Man by mid-afternoon sunlight filtered through my dusty blinds slightly above my bed. Because of it, I discovered Quentin Crisp, who became one of my heroes, and taught me through his writings that to be yourself is the only way to live and any other way is wasteful. I discovered The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Music of Your Life by John Rowell, and This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes, and all affected me so deeply that they all eventually became part of my collection.
The one book I am proud to have as a memento of the County of Los Angeles library system, not only in light of the loss to come from the City of Santa Clarita taking control of the Valencia library and the three other branches within city limits but also after we move to Nevada, is Subways are for Sleeping by Edmund G. Love, a chronicle from 1957 about resourceful homeless people living in New York City who make their day-to-day lives work. I had this book all throughout my time at College of the Canyons, checking it out constantly, shunning math homework in the cafeteria at a table in the back in favor of reading it again. I think I got more out of those two-and-a-half years of education from that book than from any class, though I did have some decent teachers. This book had come from the Norwalk branch of the County system, and when it came time to return it yet again, I didn't. It had been with me all throughout my time at COC. It belonged with me. So I told them that I had found out after we had gotten back to Santa Clarita from Las Vegas that it must have dropped out of the car at a rest stop on the way back (Not true), and I gladly paid $34: $29 for the book and a $5 processing fee. It will be an honor when I finally have bookshelves, and can place it among the other books I love.
Meridith and I went to the library yesterday to return a few books, ahead of returning the rest next week. Well, mine, actually. She returned every book on her card except one by Meg Cabot. It's appropriate that the last book on her card should be that, since she's a huge Meg Cabot fan. I returned 14 books, and still have 36 to return.
After getting The Wall Street Journal Weekend from Pavilions, and smoothies from Jamba Juice (I got a PB&J one with banana; Meridith got Blue Gummy Bear), we decided we were not going to go anywhere else until we dropped off these books. Heavy bags do not make for an enjoyable day, and so we started walking from the heart of Valencia to the library, past the mall, and fortunately, our shoulders remained where they should be after we were finally able to put down the bags and get the books checked in.
It was a sorry sight at the library. They had called on Friday and left a message to say that the two books I had put on hold would be available until 6 p.m. that day. Normally, when I had a huge number of books on hold, even those holds that I cancelled remained on the shelf not only because they were so many, but because they figured that I would eventually take care of it. Or they just didn't care to look because of the 34 books waiting for me on those shelves (34's just one number at one time. It's sometimes slightly higher). Because of the transfer of these libraries to the City of Santa Clarita, I knew they had to be serious about that deadline, but I figured that since they knew me, maybe they would let those books sit there, knowing that I would be there on Saturday. I couldn't get there on Friday because there was no car and we weren't in Valencia. Our radius was the Ralphs and McDonald's in the shopping center on McBean Parkway, extending out past Meridith's old high school, to the Ice Station, then to the Italian sub place and back. We weren't going to go to the library twice.
Walking into the library, I saw that they were serious. All the holds had been cleared from the shelves, sent back. Such a sad sight seeing so many empty shelves. That's not what a library should be, but that's what this library is, coupled with the self-checkout machines having been turned off. LSSI, the corporate outfit that's going to run these libraries for the City of Santa Clarita, has to do inventory, put new barcodes on the books, and are they going to buy these self-checkout machines from the County of Los Angeles, too? Not only that, but are they at work on a new online library catalog? LSSI is an outsourcing company for those within a city who can't do their own work to make a library function. I don't care what their intentions are, but being that this is an outfit primarily based on the east coast, they cannot know this valley as well as the librarians who had been in place already do. But this is how it is, being that no member of the City Council has a library card. They just want to save money by isolating this valley even further. I care less and less as the weeks go on, being that I'll eventually be living where people remain connected, where there's no such isolation. Henderson may have its own library system comprised of five branches, but at least it's run by the city. It's not been outsourced like this. Boulder City may be all the way in the back, but that one library is part of the Clark County system.
Even so, books should not be treated like this. A library should not look this barren. Months before, the option to buy books gradually faded. The books from those shelves and the turnstile shelves lessened, and soon enough, there was nothing left. Most of the books weren't worth it for me, but at least there was the opportunity to see what your fellow residents read by what they donated. Not anymore.
These three Santa Clarita libraries will close from June 18 to July 1, or so they claim, but one of the librarians said that they'll probably open back up after July 4th. That long without a library? I have no problem with that since I've built up a partial library with all the books I've bought online to read, though not in anticipation of this. But for others, this is inexcusable. A library should be always be accessible, not susceptible to the whims of an inept City Council and certainly not a for-profit company. Certainly checking out books free of charge remains, but libraries should never be monetized. I found an article just now about LSSI:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA456252.html
To me, this sounds like an instance of the City Council not wanting to figure out how to save the libraries on their own, and fobbing it off on a company that does not even know this valley, so they don't have to think about it any further. I wish my years with the Valencia library had not ended this way. I will keep track of what's going on with these libraries after I've become a resident of (likely) Henderson, Nevada, but only this aspect of the Santa Clarita Valley will continue to interest me. Nothing else. I say that now, but then once I have my Henderson library card and my Clark County library card, I may forget about all else after I've spotted the Nevada and Las Vegas history sections, learning what I really want to learn.
Ok, rant over.
Meridith and I left the library after returning the books and making our canvas tote bags significantly lighter, and walked the paseo paths that go past the car dealerships and to where the bike paths and walking paths are, to look out at all the trees that sit on the land that used to be a river. A lot of it is dry and cracked, but a lot more has grown there since we last saw it.
Then back through the paseo paths, to the Valencia Town Center Mall, from the food court to the second floor, past the Disney Store, outside to where the relatively new shops are, including Williams-Sonoma, which we tackled after lunch, because lunch was very necessary, especially lunch at Five Guys. Meridith had a bacon and cheese hot dog, and I had a cheese veggie sandwich, with mushrooms, grilled onions, pickles, tomatoes, mustard, and barbecue sauce. And of course their fries. You cannot eat at Five Guys without having their fries. It should be a law. And I want to know where they get their peanuts because I'd like to find the unsalted kind. The ones I got from Ralphs about a month ago were disappointing.
After Five Guys, where I also noticed that there's a publication called Florida Monthly that I unfortunately never knew about even with all the years I lived in Florida (The clip from the magazine they put up on the wall says "Since 1981")--though I did find the website after we got home--we went to Menchi's, where I found only two decent frozen yogurt flavors in peanut butter cup and pistachio. The red velvet flavor didn't taste close to red velvet and they really need to improve the vanilla and chocolate flavors. While we were eating our frozen yogurt, weighed down by all the toppings we had put on, I joked with Meridith that with all the sample cups we had had, we could have just left afterward.
Then we went to Sephora, where Meridith wanted to find a certain nail polish that you paint over the nail polish you have on, and it gives it a cracked look. She had wanted it ever since she saw it at the Disney store next to the El Capitan Theatre after seeing Pirates 4, and found it there. If you ever want to see one store where the employees have a great love for makeup of all kinds, that's where you go.
Williams-Sonoma was next, and the one thing I find disappointing is that despite the love they promote for cooking, they never stock any culinary memoirs. It's probably not the place to find Anthony Bourdain's books, but there are so many other good ones that should be on shelves next to the cookbooks. I understand that the point of Williams-Sonoma is to find different gadgets and pans and sauces and anything else you want to cook what you want, but reading about the experiences of cooking is equally interesting. However, at $24.95 for some books, I probably wouldn't buy those books there anyway, which may be why they don't stock them.
We walked back through the mall, with a stop at the restrooms near the food court, and then out to where the Edwards Valencia 12 is, to see what was left of Borders. Nothing. The sign was taken down, the inside windows were boarded up, and that was it. I've no sadness for it going out of business because they sold books entirely the wrong way. Barnes & Noble is all about books, and the feeling you get inside is one of wanting to read, to explore everything you can find. Borders just happens to sell books.
We also stopped in at the arcade next to the movie theater, played air hockey, and tried to win a plush Pac-Man from one of the claw machines. The claw on that one never goes down where you position it. It stretches to the side. Two dollars gone, but thankfully it was only two dollars. Meridith wanted to keep trying, but I told her, "That's how Las Vegas makes money," and we left.
Back to our old apartment to peek through the windows and see that it was empty, with stuff left by the previous owners (including two floor fans), and that was it. We got on the bus at the stop in front of Target and eventually, we were home and thoroughly worn out because this was the second day in a row that we had done more walking than we do even in a week. Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune were the order of the evening, along with a smaller dinner since we had eaten so much during the day. I had thought about beginning to read The Wall Street Journal Weekend, but I decided to save it until today. We're staying home today, it's quiet all around, and it's the perfect time for it.
Out in Henderson, I just got the news from Mom that the job listing Dad had responded to from the charter school on the Las Vegas Review-Journal website was taken down, so Dad may very well get a call soon. They're also looking at apartments again today and found some very nice ones. The one they're looking at again today is two bedrooms with two bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. I'm not sure if there is a dining room, too, but the plan for that one is to turn the living room into another bedroom for me, since Mom said she'd never make me and Meridith share a room. Or maybe it was the dining room. I hope so, because we need a living room. The apartment complex they were at also has a fitness center, a tennis court (Meridith's psyched about that), and lots of grass and trees for the dogs. She doesn't want them doing their business on rocks, and Tigger hated that during our first trip to Las Vegas when we stayed at America's Best Value Inn. Having grass for them is the biggest concern. We'll work through the rest.
It's possible that they may leave Nevada tomorrow, although they should spend a bit of time somewhere, since it will be their wedding anniversary. But as it stands, this will be the longest time any of us have been there, and from what we can see, it wil have been the most beneficial because we're so much closer to a true home, the kind that will make me proud to say that Nevada is my home state, and (probably) Henderson my home town. Life as it should be lived.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
It Doesn't Feel Like a Coincidence
Normally, I'd save details like these for the next morning, as has been the case the past few mornings (Except for tomorrow morning, since I may post later than usual, being that I got a movie called "Jolene" from Netflix that I've been curious about for a while, and since a movie this morning wasn't possible because of the dogs being picked up to be groomed, tomorrow morning will be it, also because I just got in the mail from Amazon Auntie Mame and Sweeney Todd, starring Angela Lansbury and George Hearn), but this should be known now. Three times in one day cannot be just a coincidence.
The plan today was for Meridith and I to go to the library, but first to stop at Pavilions to see if they had my Wall Street Journal Weekend, and then to Jamba Juice for smoothies to have on the long walk to the library from that part of Valencia. We found my newspaper at Pavilions. $2.19 there, 19 cents tax, instead of $2.20, 20 cents tax at the newsstand. No big difference, and when I can get there, I like the newsstand more anyway.
I looked at the stories above the fold as always, and also finding out that the Off Duty section had a write-up and recipes about the best burgers. Below the fold, I was stunned at the article at the bottom. The headline is "Residents of Old Mining Town Want Gold to Star in Them Thar Hills." The sub-heading says, "In a Nevada Historic District, Tourism Prospectors Don't Dig Plans for a Real Open Pit". The dateline is "VIRGINIA CITY, Nev." At the time we were at Pavilions, Mom and Dad were looking for viable apartments. No news yet on the result of the job interview, but it will take some time. And if it does happen, we want to make sure we have pinpointed where we would want to live, what's good for Mom and Dad. Better now than rushing through it like we used to and ending up where we didn't benefit, like here, right now.
About 20 minutes ago, we got home and there was a box from Amazon at the door, containing those aforementioned DVDs. The return address is Fernley, Nevada.
When I started writing this entry, I looked again at the paper, and pulled out the Off Duty section to see what burgers and recipes were profiled. On page D2, one of the burgers is called "House-Ground Steak Burger". The introduction to the recipe begins: "Chef Bradley Ogden of the namesake restaurant in Las Vegas..."
These are not coincidences. These are strong signs. It's going to take a little more time, but the good and the great that we have waited for in our lives is going to come. I'm ready for true happiness.
The plan today was for Meridith and I to go to the library, but first to stop at Pavilions to see if they had my Wall Street Journal Weekend, and then to Jamba Juice for smoothies to have on the long walk to the library from that part of Valencia. We found my newspaper at Pavilions. $2.19 there, 19 cents tax, instead of $2.20, 20 cents tax at the newsstand. No big difference, and when I can get there, I like the newsstand more anyway.
I looked at the stories above the fold as always, and also finding out that the Off Duty section had a write-up and recipes about the best burgers. Below the fold, I was stunned at the article at the bottom. The headline is "Residents of Old Mining Town Want Gold to Star in Them Thar Hills." The sub-heading says, "In a Nevada Historic District, Tourism Prospectors Don't Dig Plans for a Real Open Pit". The dateline is "VIRGINIA CITY, Nev." At the time we were at Pavilions, Mom and Dad were looking for viable apartments. No news yet on the result of the job interview, but it will take some time. And if it does happen, we want to make sure we have pinpointed where we would want to live, what's good for Mom and Dad. Better now than rushing through it like we used to and ending up where we didn't benefit, like here, right now.
About 20 minutes ago, we got home and there was a box from Amazon at the door, containing those aforementioned DVDs. The return address is Fernley, Nevada.
When I started writing this entry, I looked again at the paper, and pulled out the Off Duty section to see what burgers and recipes were profiled. On page D2, one of the burgers is called "House-Ground Steak Burger". The introduction to the recipe begins: "Chef Bradley Ogden of the namesake restaurant in Las Vegas..."
These are not coincidences. These are strong signs. It's going to take a little more time, but the good and the great that we have waited for in our lives is going to come. I'm ready for true happiness.
The Run of the House: Day 5
In and near Las Vegas, within a day or two, fantasy gives way to reality. If you gamble big, you might lose big. Or your vacation ends and you have to go back to wherever your house is. Or, in my case, time to get to know another potential place to put my stuff.
Mom and Dad decided not to pursue that condo (house, I know) in Boulder City for three reasons: First, there are some cracks they saw that we would likely have to have repaired. Secondly, the walls of the house have some kind of design we have in Florida that Mom apparently didn't like, though I don't know what kind, since I wasn't really paying attention during that part of the conversation with her on the phone, though Meridith was listening. I was really tired at that point in the evening, having not stopped moving the entire day. Third: condo. That means that whatever might have to be repaired there, we shoulder the cost. That's the same as here in Saugus. Mom and Dad don't want that anymore because we had enough of that experience mostly with the plumbing and though part of it was covered by dint of using whomever was in the home warranty plan (All useless because they didn't actually fix the problem and we had to go to someone else and hope that they would do the work required), we still had to pay. There was enough hassle with that, and an apartment would be better because whatever needs to be fixed, there's no cost. I liked the condo, the balcony, the space that would have allowed me to finally put in bookshelves. But there's also another consideration: It was right near the highway in Boulder City. There were no supermarkets, no daily-living stores around that we would need. To get there, we'd have to drive some. We do that already from Saugus to Valencia, and we want to be connected to somewhere, not isolated.
I wasn't as broken up about losing that porch-like balcony and that space, because of where Meridith and I had been yesterday. My plans had been simply to put Mom and Dad's bedsheets in the wash, shower, and wash the dog's bowls. I figured we would stay home yesterday because we planned to go out today. One day would seem to be enough. But Mom was on the phone with us in the late morning, telling us that we should do something. And considering the dust I encountered with sweeping out the garage, and the usual crud that gets tracked into the house that was sucked up into the vacuum when I did Mom and Dad's room and the hallway that connects my room and Meridith's room, I could have used some fresher air. And that's what I got after Mom said that we should go to that Italian sub sandwich place to get two of them for later, especially since the free sub that she was to get would still stand. They had made four sandwiches for us last time, but one of them was the wrong one. Not that they made it wrong, but someone else had ordered it for us and they put it into our bag, so Mom called them the next day and was told that we'd get a free small sub next time because of it.
We started out at 11:50, since the bus would come at around 12:01 p.m. I brought the anthology Man with a Pan with me, but ended up not reading a lot of it throughout the day. I still like to have a book with me, and it'll be easier today when we go to the library, because I'll have my bag with me, so I can put it in there.
Our first stop was the bank, because we had an assortment of nickels, dimes, and quarters to be turned into $31.50, and I had to deposit my latest paycheck into the ATM machine. Meridith also had to get some cash out of there from her and Mom's account.
Next was lunch at McDonald's. I had forgotten that it was Friday, thought that it was Thursday, and tried to order the 20-piece Chicken McNugget special, which came with two medium drinks and two medium fries. I figured that if I wanted more fries after that, my brain would pipe up with, "You've had enough. Get up and start walking, fatass." The two medium drinks would have been useful because Meridith needed one, so that was taken care of without having to order another one.
But since it was Friday, after we had ordered what I thought was the special and a Quarter Pounder with cheese and bacon for Meridith, I had to order two medium drinks and a large fry, which we both shared, and which was enough. Later, I was keen on part of the peach pie they have now (It's a lot better than their apple pie), and Meridith wanted to try a Rolo McFlurry. So I split the peach pie with Meridith and ended up finishing off the McFlurry. Nothing to worry about, since we had a lot of walking ahead of us.
We started at the intersection near the Ralphs we were going to later and passed the senior housing, 1 and 2 bedrooms available, as the sign says. Then we crossed another intersection because we'd get right to the intersection near Meridith's old high school, Valencia High, and we wouldn't have to cross the street a second time. But I was taken by rows of houses, collectively called Creekside Valencia, and I was entranced, and wondering why we didn't move here. There was a pattern to the houses, you'd see the same design of a balcony railing three or four times, but it was so peaceful, and there was an out-in-the-country feeling about it, away from the traffic in Valencia, away from what usually frustrates people about this kind of life, what wouldn't be healthy for any other creature but one residing in Southern California who doesn't notice it all that much. I was miffed by the number of SUVs that passed us as we walked by these houses, looking at those porches, imagining rocking chairs of our choosing there, of just looking out at the scenery, relaxing, reading, whatever we'd want to do that would contribute to the peacefulness of the area for us. SUVs and soccer moms, I get that for reasons of temporary storage and how many kids can be stacked into it, but all the time? Some choice.
On our way out, we found a cluster of benches surrounded by plants, including a big round pot on a square pedestal and the dirt seemed to have a mix of sand. It was nicer than the benches that were near our old apartment behind the shopping center that includes Pavilions and Peet's Coffee and Tea.
As we passed Meridith's old high school, I pointed out the auditorium we had seen her perform at with the orchestra and she said she had pretty much faked her way through the entire performance, since she wasn't entirely sure of the notes for the music they played. I told her that she would make a perfect Southern Californian then, if we had stayed any longer, like years longer, and thank god that's not happening.
Past the parking lot that faces the various sports fields on the campus, I noticed the building across the street from the school that contains ice skating rinks and hockey rinks. It's called Ice Station, and I figured that here we were, and we should take advantage of it, see what's going on. I thought we would have to pay to get in, but that's not the case, only when games are going on. The most you'd have to pay for is skate rentals on days like that one. But we had no intention of doing that.
We went in, not so much winded from the walk, but pretty warm from it with the slight heat during the day and the wind that had been blowing steadily, and went upstairs where they have an arcade. We first went to where hockey players were practicing, and then to the ice skating rink where many people were skating. It wasn't that cold for us because of the walk, but in an ice skating rink, you definitely notice the temperature change, but it was a relief, and I imagine that Ice Station will have a lot of visitors during the summer, or whatever's left of the summer when the temperature decides to go up because it's not as hot as previous Junes have been.
I loved the arcade. There was an air hockey table, so Meridith and I had to do that (It has become her favorite air hockey table, because there's multi-colored lights that spin on the top whenever someone scores a goal, and she scored nearly all the goals and won), and they had a machine with Ms. Pac Man and Galaga, but Galaga only for me. It's not played that much because I finished with a score of 56,000+ and I ended up in 2nd place on the "Galactic Heroes" high score board. Meridith took a picture on her phone.
The restrooms are the nicest-smelling and the cleanest in all of Santa Clarita. And the faucets, when you push the top down, actually remain on for a few seconds. It's not like you push it down and then a second later, it shuts off. That's not easily found around here.
Then the Italian sub place, a cold cut sub for Meridith and a vegetarian sub for me, and then back to Ralphs, but not before stopping at Creekside Valencia for a second time, and sitting on one of those benches and just taking in that blessed peace. Rare are those moments in Santa Clarita when you feel completely at peace. That was one of them.
Ralphs was a great pleasure because Dad wasn't with us. He strives to rush us through the store every single time, questioning what we need, and usually with a look that says he wants to leave already, even though we just got into the store and we need a few things. This time, I only needed bananas because I had run out, we needed another gallon of water for the dogs because the only one we had was running low, and I wanted to see if Blue Diamond almond milk in that aseptic container was still available. It was, at 2 for $4, but I settled on one, and decided to try the original this time, though I'm very much attached to the vanilla flavor.
Then back to McDonald's to get a plain double cheeseburger and a small fry for Tigger and Kitty for later, but since we had gotten to McDonald's at 4:40, and the bus wasn't coming until 5:56, we had some time. So I ordered a frozen strawberry lemonade for Meridith, heavy on the strawberry syrup, and a Reese's McFlurry for me. That's my once-in-a-while McFlurry, because once in a while is enough. I had some time to read as well, so I skimmed through the Southern California Gaming Guide that I had picked up at Ralphs and read a bit of my book.
We got home, and I was bushed. But we had more to contend with because Kitty, not happy at us having gone out and certainly not with Mom and Dad still not home, ripped all the stuffing out of the kennel mat we keep in her cage. I didn't know there was that much Shamrock Shake-colored stuffing inside that mat. It filled up most of the white garbage bag I put it in.
The mat is completely flat now, but we're putting it back in because she needs something in there (The only other option is that nothing goes in there), and we're hoping that she doesn't do anything else to it.
There was some time on the phone with Mom afterward that led right into dinner, since we had put the sandwiches from the Italian sub place in the fridge to get colder, and then in went the bedsheets and the pillows into the wash, and I decided to wash the dog's bowls. Better then, after they had had their cheeseburger and fries.
After all that, I didn't quite feel like a zombie, but I think I was getting there. I started Bottom of the 33rd by Dan Barry, but didn't get too far into it yet, and TV was limited to that evening's episodes of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. I didn't have the desire for anything else.
Right now, the dogs are being groomed by Shannon, who picks them up and brings them back. I've got to figure out what library books I'm going to return today, enough so that I have less to return during the week, and I've also got to write a list of those books so I can look for them after we move to Vegas and I sign up for library cards in Henderson and with the Clark County system. Those are the ones I want to start with, as a link from Santa Clarita to Las Vegas, and then I can burn that bridge with each book.
Oh! One more thing that didn't really fit with anything here: Mom and Dad had quite a busy day yesterday, going to Chinatown, driving the Strip, keeping tabs on the PT Cruiser, but while they were on the Strip, just before the Wynn Hotel, Steve Wynn's Rolls-Royce cut them off. They weren't sure if Steve Wynn himself was in it, but his driver sure was, and it was definitely Wynn's Rolls-Royce, because the license plate said "WYNN1". Mom tried to get a picture, but her cell phone wasn't acting right in that moment. Even so, only in Vegas. And more evidence that that's where I want to be.
Mom and Dad decided not to pursue that condo (house, I know) in Boulder City for three reasons: First, there are some cracks they saw that we would likely have to have repaired. Secondly, the walls of the house have some kind of design we have in Florida that Mom apparently didn't like, though I don't know what kind, since I wasn't really paying attention during that part of the conversation with her on the phone, though Meridith was listening. I was really tired at that point in the evening, having not stopped moving the entire day. Third: condo. That means that whatever might have to be repaired there, we shoulder the cost. That's the same as here in Saugus. Mom and Dad don't want that anymore because we had enough of that experience mostly with the plumbing and though part of it was covered by dint of using whomever was in the home warranty plan (All useless because they didn't actually fix the problem and we had to go to someone else and hope that they would do the work required), we still had to pay. There was enough hassle with that, and an apartment would be better because whatever needs to be fixed, there's no cost. I liked the condo, the balcony, the space that would have allowed me to finally put in bookshelves. But there's also another consideration: It was right near the highway in Boulder City. There were no supermarkets, no daily-living stores around that we would need. To get there, we'd have to drive some. We do that already from Saugus to Valencia, and we want to be connected to somewhere, not isolated.
I wasn't as broken up about losing that porch-like balcony and that space, because of where Meridith and I had been yesterday. My plans had been simply to put Mom and Dad's bedsheets in the wash, shower, and wash the dog's bowls. I figured we would stay home yesterday because we planned to go out today. One day would seem to be enough. But Mom was on the phone with us in the late morning, telling us that we should do something. And considering the dust I encountered with sweeping out the garage, and the usual crud that gets tracked into the house that was sucked up into the vacuum when I did Mom and Dad's room and the hallway that connects my room and Meridith's room, I could have used some fresher air. And that's what I got after Mom said that we should go to that Italian sub sandwich place to get two of them for later, especially since the free sub that she was to get would still stand. They had made four sandwiches for us last time, but one of them was the wrong one. Not that they made it wrong, but someone else had ordered it for us and they put it into our bag, so Mom called them the next day and was told that we'd get a free small sub next time because of it.
We started out at 11:50, since the bus would come at around 12:01 p.m. I brought the anthology Man with a Pan with me, but ended up not reading a lot of it throughout the day. I still like to have a book with me, and it'll be easier today when we go to the library, because I'll have my bag with me, so I can put it in there.
Our first stop was the bank, because we had an assortment of nickels, dimes, and quarters to be turned into $31.50, and I had to deposit my latest paycheck into the ATM machine. Meridith also had to get some cash out of there from her and Mom's account.
Next was lunch at McDonald's. I had forgotten that it was Friday, thought that it was Thursday, and tried to order the 20-piece Chicken McNugget special, which came with two medium drinks and two medium fries. I figured that if I wanted more fries after that, my brain would pipe up with, "You've had enough. Get up and start walking, fatass." The two medium drinks would have been useful because Meridith needed one, so that was taken care of without having to order another one.
But since it was Friday, after we had ordered what I thought was the special and a Quarter Pounder with cheese and bacon for Meridith, I had to order two medium drinks and a large fry, which we both shared, and which was enough. Later, I was keen on part of the peach pie they have now (It's a lot better than their apple pie), and Meridith wanted to try a Rolo McFlurry. So I split the peach pie with Meridith and ended up finishing off the McFlurry. Nothing to worry about, since we had a lot of walking ahead of us.
We started at the intersection near the Ralphs we were going to later and passed the senior housing, 1 and 2 bedrooms available, as the sign says. Then we crossed another intersection because we'd get right to the intersection near Meridith's old high school, Valencia High, and we wouldn't have to cross the street a second time. But I was taken by rows of houses, collectively called Creekside Valencia, and I was entranced, and wondering why we didn't move here. There was a pattern to the houses, you'd see the same design of a balcony railing three or four times, but it was so peaceful, and there was an out-in-the-country feeling about it, away from the traffic in Valencia, away from what usually frustrates people about this kind of life, what wouldn't be healthy for any other creature but one residing in Southern California who doesn't notice it all that much. I was miffed by the number of SUVs that passed us as we walked by these houses, looking at those porches, imagining rocking chairs of our choosing there, of just looking out at the scenery, relaxing, reading, whatever we'd want to do that would contribute to the peacefulness of the area for us. SUVs and soccer moms, I get that for reasons of temporary storage and how many kids can be stacked into it, but all the time? Some choice.
On our way out, we found a cluster of benches surrounded by plants, including a big round pot on a square pedestal and the dirt seemed to have a mix of sand. It was nicer than the benches that were near our old apartment behind the shopping center that includes Pavilions and Peet's Coffee and Tea.
As we passed Meridith's old high school, I pointed out the auditorium we had seen her perform at with the orchestra and she said she had pretty much faked her way through the entire performance, since she wasn't entirely sure of the notes for the music they played. I told her that she would make a perfect Southern Californian then, if we had stayed any longer, like years longer, and thank god that's not happening.
Past the parking lot that faces the various sports fields on the campus, I noticed the building across the street from the school that contains ice skating rinks and hockey rinks. It's called Ice Station, and I figured that here we were, and we should take advantage of it, see what's going on. I thought we would have to pay to get in, but that's not the case, only when games are going on. The most you'd have to pay for is skate rentals on days like that one. But we had no intention of doing that.
We went in, not so much winded from the walk, but pretty warm from it with the slight heat during the day and the wind that had been blowing steadily, and went upstairs where they have an arcade. We first went to where hockey players were practicing, and then to the ice skating rink where many people were skating. It wasn't that cold for us because of the walk, but in an ice skating rink, you definitely notice the temperature change, but it was a relief, and I imagine that Ice Station will have a lot of visitors during the summer, or whatever's left of the summer when the temperature decides to go up because it's not as hot as previous Junes have been.
I loved the arcade. There was an air hockey table, so Meridith and I had to do that (It has become her favorite air hockey table, because there's multi-colored lights that spin on the top whenever someone scores a goal, and she scored nearly all the goals and won), and they had a machine with Ms. Pac Man and Galaga, but Galaga only for me. It's not played that much because I finished with a score of 56,000+ and I ended up in 2nd place on the "Galactic Heroes" high score board. Meridith took a picture on her phone.
The restrooms are the nicest-smelling and the cleanest in all of Santa Clarita. And the faucets, when you push the top down, actually remain on for a few seconds. It's not like you push it down and then a second later, it shuts off. That's not easily found around here.
Then the Italian sub place, a cold cut sub for Meridith and a vegetarian sub for me, and then back to Ralphs, but not before stopping at Creekside Valencia for a second time, and sitting on one of those benches and just taking in that blessed peace. Rare are those moments in Santa Clarita when you feel completely at peace. That was one of them.
Ralphs was a great pleasure because Dad wasn't with us. He strives to rush us through the store every single time, questioning what we need, and usually with a look that says he wants to leave already, even though we just got into the store and we need a few things. This time, I only needed bananas because I had run out, we needed another gallon of water for the dogs because the only one we had was running low, and I wanted to see if Blue Diamond almond milk in that aseptic container was still available. It was, at 2 for $4, but I settled on one, and decided to try the original this time, though I'm very much attached to the vanilla flavor.
Then back to McDonald's to get a plain double cheeseburger and a small fry for Tigger and Kitty for later, but since we had gotten to McDonald's at 4:40, and the bus wasn't coming until 5:56, we had some time. So I ordered a frozen strawberry lemonade for Meridith, heavy on the strawberry syrup, and a Reese's McFlurry for me. That's my once-in-a-while McFlurry, because once in a while is enough. I had some time to read as well, so I skimmed through the Southern California Gaming Guide that I had picked up at Ralphs and read a bit of my book.
We got home, and I was bushed. But we had more to contend with because Kitty, not happy at us having gone out and certainly not with Mom and Dad still not home, ripped all the stuffing out of the kennel mat we keep in her cage. I didn't know there was that much Shamrock Shake-colored stuffing inside that mat. It filled up most of the white garbage bag I put it in.
The mat is completely flat now, but we're putting it back in because she needs something in there (The only other option is that nothing goes in there), and we're hoping that she doesn't do anything else to it.
There was some time on the phone with Mom afterward that led right into dinner, since we had put the sandwiches from the Italian sub place in the fridge to get colder, and then in went the bedsheets and the pillows into the wash, and I decided to wash the dog's bowls. Better then, after they had had their cheeseburger and fries.
After all that, I didn't quite feel like a zombie, but I think I was getting there. I started Bottom of the 33rd by Dan Barry, but didn't get too far into it yet, and TV was limited to that evening's episodes of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. I didn't have the desire for anything else.
Right now, the dogs are being groomed by Shannon, who picks them up and brings them back. I've got to figure out what library books I'm going to return today, enough so that I have less to return during the week, and I've also got to write a list of those books so I can look for them after we move to Vegas and I sign up for library cards in Henderson and with the Clark County system. Those are the ones I want to start with, as a link from Santa Clarita to Las Vegas, and then I can burn that bridge with each book.
Oh! One more thing that didn't really fit with anything here: Mom and Dad had quite a busy day yesterday, going to Chinatown, driving the Strip, keeping tabs on the PT Cruiser, but while they were on the Strip, just before the Wynn Hotel, Steve Wynn's Rolls-Royce cut them off. They weren't sure if Steve Wynn himself was in it, but his driver sure was, and it was definitely Wynn's Rolls-Royce, because the license plate said "WYNN1". Mom tried to get a picture, but her cell phone wasn't acting right in that moment. Even so, only in Vegas. And more evidence that that's where I want to be.
Friday, June 3, 2011
The Wall Street Journal Weekend: Maybe, Maybe Not.
Because Mom and Dad are in Las Vegas, if Meridith and I want to go anywhere, we have to take the bus. This morning, Mom suggested that we go to Ralphs if we need anything (I ran out of bananas, and I want to see if that aseptic carton of almond milk is still on sale), and to that Italian sub place that's right by Meridith's old high school, and to pick up a cheesburger (regular) and a small french fry for Tigger and Kitty from McDonald's.
My plans were different. I was going to wash the dog's bowls and the tray they sit on, take a shower, and put Mom and Dad's bedsheets and pillowcases in the wash and then with Meridith, put them back on the bed. That was it. I have books. I'm fine. In fact, ahead of having to return all my library books next week, I've pinpointed three books I want so badly to read before that horrid day happens: Fool Me Once: Hustlers, Hookers, Headliners and How Not to Get Screwed in Vegas by Rick Lax; Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball's Longest Game by Dan Barry; and Miles: The Autobiography by Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe. These three are going straight to the top of my immediate reading list. These will be my weekend reading, or as much as I can read tomorrow when we're off to the library to return some books so we don't have as much to return by next Friday (the absolute deadline to return everything), Jamba Juice, the Valencia Town Center mall, Sprouts, Pavilions, and whatever else we can think of while we're there.
I've no objection to today's plans. After the dogs have their cheeseburger and french fries with some of their usual dinner, I'll wash the bowls then. And I'll put Mom and Dad's linens in the wash on Sunday. That's simple enough. Plus, I just took a shower. So I'm covered.
But one part of my Saturday routine might or might not be, my copy of The Wall Street Journal Weekend. We're taking the bus down to Valencia tomorrow and our first stop will be Pavilions, because Meridith suggested that they might have it there. I usually go to the newsstand near Kmart, because they not only have it, but what looks like nearly every magazine ever published, and I like to browse when I'm there. It's not as important anymore because the magazines I used to look at I now subscribe to.
So if Pavilions doesn't have it, then we have to do some thinking. We'll go to the library, but it's a little bit of a hike to get the newsstand. Yet, we parked at the now-shuttered Do-It Center (It was a much smaller Home Depot without the trappings of a chain) when the Food Truck Festival was going on and walked almost that length to get to the first car dealership where three food trucks were parked (It was going on to celebrate the revitalized Auto Row (what I call it), which had been refurbished, with plants at the curb, cleaner sidewalks, etc. This is the big happening in this valley. Now you see why I'm craving Las Vegas more and more).
It didn't take me long to read last week's Wall Street Journal Weekend and circle the book titles that interested me in the "Review" section. About an hour, I'd say. It usually takes longer. Do I really need it this weekend? I'd like it this weekend, just like every other weekend, and we won't be hauling any books from the library, the first time since we moved here seven years ago, but it depends on what else we do, if we buy anything that would have to be refrigerated (unlikely), and where we are physically by the time we get to that point (There's going to be a lot of walking). I think I'd be a little disappointed if I didn't have it, but not broken up, because when they do finally come home, Mom and Dad will have with them last week's issue of Las Vegas Weekly and this week's, and a few editions of the Las Vegas Review-Journal for me. That's all I wanted from Vegas. I wanted real reading material from my future hometown, and I'm getting it. I think that makes up for possibly not having The Wall Street Journal Weekend this weekend a million times over. Like I've said before, I only skim through the L.A. Weekly and The Signal because there's nothing that interests me, and the writing in The Signal is reliably atrocious. To read the Las Vegas Weekly cover to cover and read nearly everything in the Review-Journal (I skip the AP articles)? I'll take it!
My plans were different. I was going to wash the dog's bowls and the tray they sit on, take a shower, and put Mom and Dad's bedsheets and pillowcases in the wash and then with Meridith, put them back on the bed. That was it. I have books. I'm fine. In fact, ahead of having to return all my library books next week, I've pinpointed three books I want so badly to read before that horrid day happens: Fool Me Once: Hustlers, Hookers, Headliners and How Not to Get Screwed in Vegas by Rick Lax; Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball's Longest Game by Dan Barry; and Miles: The Autobiography by Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe. These three are going straight to the top of my immediate reading list. These will be my weekend reading, or as much as I can read tomorrow when we're off to the library to return some books so we don't have as much to return by next Friday (the absolute deadline to return everything), Jamba Juice, the Valencia Town Center mall, Sprouts, Pavilions, and whatever else we can think of while we're there.
I've no objection to today's plans. After the dogs have their cheeseburger and french fries with some of their usual dinner, I'll wash the bowls then. And I'll put Mom and Dad's linens in the wash on Sunday. That's simple enough. Plus, I just took a shower. So I'm covered.
But one part of my Saturday routine might or might not be, my copy of The Wall Street Journal Weekend. We're taking the bus down to Valencia tomorrow and our first stop will be Pavilions, because Meridith suggested that they might have it there. I usually go to the newsstand near Kmart, because they not only have it, but what looks like nearly every magazine ever published, and I like to browse when I'm there. It's not as important anymore because the magazines I used to look at I now subscribe to.
So if Pavilions doesn't have it, then we have to do some thinking. We'll go to the library, but it's a little bit of a hike to get the newsstand. Yet, we parked at the now-shuttered Do-It Center (It was a much smaller Home Depot without the trappings of a chain) when the Food Truck Festival was going on and walked almost that length to get to the first car dealership where three food trucks were parked (It was going on to celebrate the revitalized Auto Row (what I call it), which had been refurbished, with plants at the curb, cleaner sidewalks, etc. This is the big happening in this valley. Now you see why I'm craving Las Vegas more and more).
It didn't take me long to read last week's Wall Street Journal Weekend and circle the book titles that interested me in the "Review" section. About an hour, I'd say. It usually takes longer. Do I really need it this weekend? I'd like it this weekend, just like every other weekend, and we won't be hauling any books from the library, the first time since we moved here seven years ago, but it depends on what else we do, if we buy anything that would have to be refrigerated (unlikely), and where we are physically by the time we get to that point (There's going to be a lot of walking). I think I'd be a little disappointed if I didn't have it, but not broken up, because when they do finally come home, Mom and Dad will have with them last week's issue of Las Vegas Weekly and this week's, and a few editions of the Las Vegas Review-Journal for me. That's all I wanted from Vegas. I wanted real reading material from my future hometown, and I'm getting it. I think that makes up for possibly not having The Wall Street Journal Weekend this weekend a million times over. Like I've said before, I only skim through the L.A. Weekly and The Signal because there's nothing that interests me, and the writing in The Signal is reliably atrocious. To read the Las Vegas Weekly cover to cover and read nearly everything in the Review-Journal (I skip the AP articles)? I'll take it!
The Run of the House: Day 4 - I Understand Now
To the right of the dining room table, we've got a white stand which has a black box on top of it, a Grace Wireless Internet Radio. You can get any station you want, anything that interests you when you're not on a computer. Over the past three, four years that we've had it (Time becomes distorted enough in Southern California that what you think may have happened four years ago may actually have happened two years ago, and vice-versa), we've had only Las Vegas stations on, in anticipation of some day moving there, and the hope faded as they years went on, up until now.
The station that's been on the most has been KJUL 104.7. During the school year, with Dad and Meridith at work, Mom and I have had it on during lunch, and for some hours after lunch. They've got the Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Tom Jones, Elvis Presley, Paul Anka, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, The Carpenters, Anne Murray, Linda Ronstadt, Glen Campbell, and others. A good line-up. But imagine hearing those same songs every single day. Some are my favorites, such as "Wichita Lineman," but Sammy Davis Jr.'s "I've Gotta Be Me" for the 24th day in a row? Please; anything else but that! Haven't they got "The Candy Man" in their computers? I could handle that for a bit longer.
For Mom, KJUL has helped her keep hope that we'll become residents of Las Vegas one day. For me, I wanted to find any other station that had never heard of any of these singers. Sunny 106.5 in Vegas would be fine, except that what KJUL does in repeating those songs, Sunny does the same thing. And I don't need to hear "I Don't Want to Wait" by Paula Cole twice in one day.
Yesterday, I understood Mom's need to hope for that better day. I have the same hope, but up until their trip to Vegas, I didn't have the same flame. Mine was set lower. Sure, I wanted to be there, I wanted to live as I should, but I needed to do my research for my next books, to read, to keep my sanity while I lived in Santa Clarita. Living just to survive.
Every late Thursday afternoon, into the early evening, from 5-7 p.m., KJUL's morning host, Scott Gentry, presides over Table for Two, a dining deal in which you order off their menu wherever they are, and Gentry and KJUL pays for your guests. "You buy one, I'll buy one; you buy two, I'll buy two," Gentry always says over the radio during the week and on the day.
Gentry was at the re-opening of the Grand Cafe at Sunset Station, and for the rest of June, that's where he'll be. The menu for the deal has meatloaf, Philly cheese steak, roasted lemon herb chicken, and turkey dinner. Only the Philly cheese steak comes with fries; the rest have mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. Mom had the roasted lemon herb chicken, exactly what I would have ordered if I had been there. Dad had the Philly cheese steak.
For Mom, it was a lot more than she could ever have imagined. Even more than the hope she always had. She said it was the first time in years that she had had decent chicken (Santa Clarita's not well known for good meat of any kind in the supermarkets, though sometimes you can find it at Sprouts, but not often, because of the prices they push), but the highlight for her was meeting Scott Gentry. Meridith showed me the pictures Mom sent to her cell phone, and I saw the one Dad sent me by e-mail. Gentry looks exactly as he sounds. He's a tall, permanently amiable man, the voice and soul of the Las Vegas that belongs to residents. He told Mom and Dad that on their radio board in the studio, they can see where people are listening from, and they see us often on there. It's been so long since I've heard Mom that happy, but when you finally get away from the Santa Clarita Valley for a time, your happiness explodes into outer space. She and Dad drove through the Strip later that evening, and she was taking pictures like she was a brand-new tourist. She told Meridith that they have a Checkers, just like the ones we had in Florida, and that the chocolate milk we like so much that we found at the Wal-Mart Supercenter here (I've forgotten the name right now, but it tasted a lot more natural and richer than what we've always had) is there in half-gallon containers. We've always gotten it in the pint bottles because that's all they've had.
The inspector that's supposed to assess how much the insurance company will pay for the car repairs still hasn't shown up, so there's a chance they may still be in Vegas until Monday if he or she doesn't appear today. Yet it gives Mom and Dad more time to explore, and they've got a decent rental, a blue Kia Soul. The last time we had one, in orange, when our PT Cruiser was being repaired by that lack of a mechanic next to Kmart, Dad liked driving it, and they found it at Enterprise, and the guy told Mom and Dad to have a look at it. They like it a lot better than the jeep's bastard child that they had driven the other day. And it's a lot cleaner.
Mom got teary over the phone last night, though, when she realized that had we boarded the dogs and Meridith and I had gone with them, we wouldn't have been home right now to take care of the birds (Mr. Chips and Gizmo) and their food might have run out. Because of this, we'll have to find someone to take care of the birds, too, when we're in Vegas next, just as a precaution. But other than that, she's been very happy, completely satisfied, and I would be as well if I was there, but better that she has it right now. She's needed that more than I do.
Yesterday was the busiest day for me, moreso than when I swept the entire patio. It started with vacuuming Mom and Dad's bedroom and bathroom, the hallway that connects my room and Meridith's room, and our bathroom. Both bathrooms here are carpeted, and I had intended to vacuum Mom and Dad's room, as Dad had asked, after we had put new litter in Mr. Chips and Gizmo's cages, but we had to get to that Ocean Nails Spa in enough time before it closed for the evening so Meridith could get her nails done.
After the vacuuming, my jackets and Meridith's jackets went in the laundry. Then all those were hung up (For about a year and a half now, maybe two years, they've established residency on the back of our chairs in the dining room. All of them), and bedsheets and pillowcases went into the laundry. We figured that Mom and Dad had clean bedsheets at Hawthorne Suites, so we should have some, too. It was funny when we were on the phone with Mom last night, and she said that we should do the linens, because she and Dad did not want to think about that when they got home. Meridith and I looked at each other, because that's exactly what we did, but our own, because we did not want to wash the linens from Mom and Dad's bed, being that their bed is a lot bigger than ours. But later, Meridith said that she'll help me put those linens back on. That's one of today's tasks.
But before the laundry, I swept the garage. I hate the dust and the particles in there that have built up all these years, but as another parental request, it had to be done. And I finally finished reading White House Diary by Jimmy Carter. I can't do much more research for my books with the books I've checked out from the library, being that I've got to return a majority of them this weekend, or at least what I can carry, since nothing else can be checked out from the Valencia library on Saturday, and everything has to go back by next Friday. I did learn of an "express library" that opened in Stevenson Ranch, that has shorter hours, a limited selection of books and DVDs, but they do allow you to pick up holds, so I could switch my County of Los Angeles library card to that branch. But we'll see what happens in the next few weeks, because I might not need that library card anymore. I could be applying for a Henderson library card in due time.
I don't mind returning these books. I have a three-volume biography of Richard Nixon that I bought, in fact, many books pertaining to the Nixon administration; one volume of a Bill Clinton biography; My Life, Bill Clinton's autobiography, books about post-presidential lives, one book entirely containing presidential anecdotes, and I'll have to see what else is in that stack of books. That'll suit me until we move.
Yesterday, I felt like I never stopped moving. That broom kept moving in the garage, and I used the happy-face dust pan to sweep up into a white garbage bag leaves and rock particles and lint. The jackets went into the laundry and were eventually hung up. The bedsheets and pillow cases went in, and I hopped about both sides of my bed, making sure those sheets were in tight. I finished White House Diary and I transcribed what I needed to into that Word file. Actually, by the time I began to transcribe from my notes, I was dead tired. I didn't think I could get through it, but I pushed myself and then finally went to bed at my usual time, between 11:05 and 11:20. When I woke up this morning, my clock confirmed that I had been more tired than usual. Wednesday morning, I woke up at 7:01. Yesterday morning, 7:05. This morning, 7:45.
Most important to me was that I felt my own sense of satisfaction. The chores that were done were part of it, but the majority was from also finishing Cornbread Nation 1: The Best of Southern Food Writing. I've moved on to Man with a Pan, an anthology of essays about men who cook for their families, including Stephen King. And after that, probably Cornbread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue. I'll take it for now, but just like Mom being excited to meet Scott Gentry and to really see Las Vegas from a truly future resident's point of view, I can't wait to do the same, in combining my love for reading and writing with my love for Las Vegas. That will be life worth living.
The station that's been on the most has been KJUL 104.7. During the school year, with Dad and Meridith at work, Mom and I have had it on during lunch, and for some hours after lunch. They've got the Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Tom Jones, Elvis Presley, Paul Anka, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, The Carpenters, Anne Murray, Linda Ronstadt, Glen Campbell, and others. A good line-up. But imagine hearing those same songs every single day. Some are my favorites, such as "Wichita Lineman," but Sammy Davis Jr.'s "I've Gotta Be Me" for the 24th day in a row? Please; anything else but that! Haven't they got "The Candy Man" in their computers? I could handle that for a bit longer.
For Mom, KJUL has helped her keep hope that we'll become residents of Las Vegas one day. For me, I wanted to find any other station that had never heard of any of these singers. Sunny 106.5 in Vegas would be fine, except that what KJUL does in repeating those songs, Sunny does the same thing. And I don't need to hear "I Don't Want to Wait" by Paula Cole twice in one day.
Yesterday, I understood Mom's need to hope for that better day. I have the same hope, but up until their trip to Vegas, I didn't have the same flame. Mine was set lower. Sure, I wanted to be there, I wanted to live as I should, but I needed to do my research for my next books, to read, to keep my sanity while I lived in Santa Clarita. Living just to survive.
Every late Thursday afternoon, into the early evening, from 5-7 p.m., KJUL's morning host, Scott Gentry, presides over Table for Two, a dining deal in which you order off their menu wherever they are, and Gentry and KJUL pays for your guests. "You buy one, I'll buy one; you buy two, I'll buy two," Gentry always says over the radio during the week and on the day.
Gentry was at the re-opening of the Grand Cafe at Sunset Station, and for the rest of June, that's where he'll be. The menu for the deal has meatloaf, Philly cheese steak, roasted lemon herb chicken, and turkey dinner. Only the Philly cheese steak comes with fries; the rest have mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. Mom had the roasted lemon herb chicken, exactly what I would have ordered if I had been there. Dad had the Philly cheese steak.
For Mom, it was a lot more than she could ever have imagined. Even more than the hope she always had. She said it was the first time in years that she had had decent chicken (Santa Clarita's not well known for good meat of any kind in the supermarkets, though sometimes you can find it at Sprouts, but not often, because of the prices they push), but the highlight for her was meeting Scott Gentry. Meridith showed me the pictures Mom sent to her cell phone, and I saw the one Dad sent me by e-mail. Gentry looks exactly as he sounds. He's a tall, permanently amiable man, the voice and soul of the Las Vegas that belongs to residents. He told Mom and Dad that on their radio board in the studio, they can see where people are listening from, and they see us often on there. It's been so long since I've heard Mom that happy, but when you finally get away from the Santa Clarita Valley for a time, your happiness explodes into outer space. She and Dad drove through the Strip later that evening, and she was taking pictures like she was a brand-new tourist. She told Meridith that they have a Checkers, just like the ones we had in Florida, and that the chocolate milk we like so much that we found at the Wal-Mart Supercenter here (I've forgotten the name right now, but it tasted a lot more natural and richer than what we've always had) is there in half-gallon containers. We've always gotten it in the pint bottles because that's all they've had.
The inspector that's supposed to assess how much the insurance company will pay for the car repairs still hasn't shown up, so there's a chance they may still be in Vegas until Monday if he or she doesn't appear today. Yet it gives Mom and Dad more time to explore, and they've got a decent rental, a blue Kia Soul. The last time we had one, in orange, when our PT Cruiser was being repaired by that lack of a mechanic next to Kmart, Dad liked driving it, and they found it at Enterprise, and the guy told Mom and Dad to have a look at it. They like it a lot better than the jeep's bastard child that they had driven the other day. And it's a lot cleaner.
Mom got teary over the phone last night, though, when she realized that had we boarded the dogs and Meridith and I had gone with them, we wouldn't have been home right now to take care of the birds (Mr. Chips and Gizmo) and their food might have run out. Because of this, we'll have to find someone to take care of the birds, too, when we're in Vegas next, just as a precaution. But other than that, she's been very happy, completely satisfied, and I would be as well if I was there, but better that she has it right now. She's needed that more than I do.
Yesterday was the busiest day for me, moreso than when I swept the entire patio. It started with vacuuming Mom and Dad's bedroom and bathroom, the hallway that connects my room and Meridith's room, and our bathroom. Both bathrooms here are carpeted, and I had intended to vacuum Mom and Dad's room, as Dad had asked, after we had put new litter in Mr. Chips and Gizmo's cages, but we had to get to that Ocean Nails Spa in enough time before it closed for the evening so Meridith could get her nails done.
After the vacuuming, my jackets and Meridith's jackets went in the laundry. Then all those were hung up (For about a year and a half now, maybe two years, they've established residency on the back of our chairs in the dining room. All of them), and bedsheets and pillowcases went into the laundry. We figured that Mom and Dad had clean bedsheets at Hawthorne Suites, so we should have some, too. It was funny when we were on the phone with Mom last night, and she said that we should do the linens, because she and Dad did not want to think about that when they got home. Meridith and I looked at each other, because that's exactly what we did, but our own, because we did not want to wash the linens from Mom and Dad's bed, being that their bed is a lot bigger than ours. But later, Meridith said that she'll help me put those linens back on. That's one of today's tasks.
But before the laundry, I swept the garage. I hate the dust and the particles in there that have built up all these years, but as another parental request, it had to be done. And I finally finished reading White House Diary by Jimmy Carter. I can't do much more research for my books with the books I've checked out from the library, being that I've got to return a majority of them this weekend, or at least what I can carry, since nothing else can be checked out from the Valencia library on Saturday, and everything has to go back by next Friday. I did learn of an "express library" that opened in Stevenson Ranch, that has shorter hours, a limited selection of books and DVDs, but they do allow you to pick up holds, so I could switch my County of Los Angeles library card to that branch. But we'll see what happens in the next few weeks, because I might not need that library card anymore. I could be applying for a Henderson library card in due time.
I don't mind returning these books. I have a three-volume biography of Richard Nixon that I bought, in fact, many books pertaining to the Nixon administration; one volume of a Bill Clinton biography; My Life, Bill Clinton's autobiography, books about post-presidential lives, one book entirely containing presidential anecdotes, and I'll have to see what else is in that stack of books. That'll suit me until we move.
Yesterday, I felt like I never stopped moving. That broom kept moving in the garage, and I used the happy-face dust pan to sweep up into a white garbage bag leaves and rock particles and lint. The jackets went into the laundry and were eventually hung up. The bedsheets and pillow cases went in, and I hopped about both sides of my bed, making sure those sheets were in tight. I finished White House Diary and I transcribed what I needed to into that Word file. Actually, by the time I began to transcribe from my notes, I was dead tired. I didn't think I could get through it, but I pushed myself and then finally went to bed at my usual time, between 11:05 and 11:20. When I woke up this morning, my clock confirmed that I had been more tired than usual. Wednesday morning, I woke up at 7:01. Yesterday morning, 7:05. This morning, 7:45.
Most important to me was that I felt my own sense of satisfaction. The chores that were done were part of it, but the majority was from also finishing Cornbread Nation 1: The Best of Southern Food Writing. I've moved on to Man with a Pan, an anthology of essays about men who cook for their families, including Stephen King. And after that, probably Cornbread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue. I'll take it for now, but just like Mom being excited to meet Scott Gentry and to really see Las Vegas from a truly future resident's point of view, I can't wait to do the same, in combining my love for reading and writing with my love for Las Vegas. That will be life worth living.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Run of the House: Day 3
Dad told us part of the full story yesterday before he went for part two of his job interview at the charter school: It would be three to five days before the PT Cruiser is repaired, I'm guessing because the parts aren't as readily available, being that Chrysler doesn't make the car anymore.
Mom told us the rest of the story last night: AAA wanted to leave them at the side of the road to make their own way back after the PT Cruiser was towed. The tow truck driver did not agree, and drove them back to Fiesta Henderson. Neither did the woman at AAA, who said she would consult with her boss about that. We now have a contact at AAA there, and Meridith and I learned that the guidebooks you get from AAA are in a vending machine there. Inside, there's guidebooks for the states surrounding Nevada, and a large map of the United States.
It's been an eventful stay for them thus far. At Fiesta Henderson, Mom had to call downstairs again to get someone to fix the toilet and the showerhead. The former keeps running, and the latter drips for a long time after Dad gets out of the shower at night, and that makes it hard for Mom to sleep. But, there have been some decent things that have happened to them that have built up their faith that this trip has been worth it. For one, the second part of Dad's job interview went well. The kids were impressed, and so were the higher-ups. The highest higher-up at that school is going to speak to the head honcho at the school in Reno about Dad. It's going to take some more time, which means he won't be signing a contract while he's there. The school understands that because of our distance from Las Vegas in Santa Clarita, Dad can't go back for nothing, so hopefully the next phone call or e-mail from them after he gets back will be the one we've wanted for so long. The head of the school also introduced Dad to the other teachers at lunch and left him to talk to them and ask any questions he wanted.
The owner of the repair shop where the car is being fixed is from Paramus, New Jersey, just like Dad. He said to Mom and Dad that a lot of people living in Henderson are from the East. I like that, because we take our sensibilities from wherever we're from over on that side of the country, and we combine it with the day-to-day experiences of living in a true desert. The physical aspects of the desert, I mean, not emotional ones, because for me, Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, they have everything I could possibly want. There's a writers' group in Henderson, there's the Henderson JCC, the Pinball Hall of Fame is fairly close by, and the libraries in Henderson and Boulder City are so accessible! I don't have to worry that my local library is going to cut itself off from one big system at the whim of a City Council and isolate itself as one tinier branch. Henderson operates on its own, separate from the Clark County system, but at least it has an incredible number of books, and five branches to boot, not just three, as it will be in Santa Clarita.
So we also have a contact at that repair shop whenever our car has any problems. And we have a contact at Hawthorne Suites in Henderson, which was spurred on by the Fiesta Henderson raising its rate for Mom and Dad's room after three days. They can't afford $110 a night, nor the $70 the manager said they could do. Having money for moving is optimal.
Hawthorn Suites is close to Fiesta Henderson, but has many more advantages that are necessary for Mom and Dad, and then for us. For one, you don't have to walk through a casino to get to your room. That's standard for hotels with casinos, especially on the Strip. I know. But for us, future residents, we need our room immediately after a long day of doing whatever will have to be done on the next trip. It has a complimentary breakfast buffet every morning, free local and long-distance calls, free Internet, a free gym, and crucial to us: Pets are allowed. Plus, there's washers and dryers there, and Mom said she's going to use a lot of quarters when they get there, because there's much laundry to be done after these three days. And each room has a microwave, refrigerator, a flat-screen TV, and a DVD player. We should just live there. No doubt we will until Mom and Dad have signed for wherever we live next. We hope it'll be that house in Boulder City.
After that half-hour conversation that lasted until 9:15 (I kept an eye on the clock because I still had to finish my work on the computer), Mom called after 10 and said that she and Dad were back from downstairs at the casino and hadn't won any big jackpots. I told her that the big jackpot for us would be Dad being hired at that school and us taking ownership of that house. That's all we need. She also told us that the manager at the car repair place said that he hopes to be done with the PT Cruiser by Saturday. They have a rental from Enterprise that Mom says is the dirtiest car she's ever seen. It looks like the bastard child of a jeep because the grille mimics the front of a jeep. It has Utah plates, so I had Meridith text them earlier in the evening: "How many wives does it hold?" After they check into Hawthorne Suites, they're going back to Enterprise to get another car.
For Meridith and I, it was a quiet day. She woke up a little after 10 because she had stayed up until 1 a.m. peeling glue from her fingers. I forgot what she had been gluing. It might have been more things in her scrapbook, but I didn't notice.
She spent most of the day folding her huge load of laundry, including four t-shirts I had slipped into the second load, to wear on the weekend. It took her a while because she had other things to do during it, like checking on Tigger, as well as a break for a snack. That load comprised 3/4 of her closet, and for most of the shirts, it had been a long time.
I hate seasons 5 and 6 of The West Wing with a passion. After Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme left the show at the end of season 4, it never got stable under the direction of executive producer John Wells. The characters were no longer how we always knew them, exhibiting traits that were completely foreign to who they were. However, I have found the season 5 episodes with John Goodman as the Acting President, and the episode of the funeral of a former president, and the episode about potential Supreme Court nominees (guest-starring Glenn Close and William Fichtner) fascinating, moreso lately the funeral episode because of my research, and the setting for that fictional presidential library looking exactly like the kind of presidential library I'd like to be at all the time.
I wanted to see The Stormy Present (the funeral episode) again, but didn't want to have to Netflix the third disc of season 5 again. And then I found an e-mail from Amazon touting a massive sale of Warner Bros. DVDs, which I took advantage of, paying $5.49 for Auntie Mame and about a dollar less for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, starring Angela Lansbury and George Hearn. I've never seen it, but it is Sondheim, and that's the automatic attraction.
Seasons of The West Wing were going for $15.99 and a little more up (The priciest are the sixth and seven seasons at $22.99 each), and I thought to myself, "Do I really need season 5, despite my vehement hatred?" No, I don't. I love seasons 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 and that's all I need in my collection. But I wanted those particular episodes. Ah, Amazon Instant Video, how I love thee at $1.99 per episode. And that's exactly what I did, and spent most of my day watching those episodes, and certain scenes of The Stormy Present over and over again. I loathe some of the dialogue, I wish that Presidents Bartlet, Newman (James Cromwell) and Walken (Goodman) had more scenes together discussing the weight of the office, however temporary (in Walken's case), but I love the plot and the setting, as it also reminds me of watching Reagan's funeral on TV, and the history of that day.
Reading Cornbread Nation 1: The Best of Southern Food Writing while waiting for Meridith to get her nails done was truly one of the greatest pleasures I've had in Santa Clarita, and there are very few. It may very well be the greatest pleasure because of how peaceful it was. I didn't bring my watch with me, I didn't need to know what time it was, I just wanted to wade in the words that were in front of me. That's all I needed. I'm a simple soul. A good book is my big jackpot.
Dinner was an interesting experience. While sitting on that bench, reading, I had a notion about chicken breast and rice. Chicken breast whole on the plate with rice on the side? Then I thought about the chicken breast cut up and put on top of the rice. The catalyst for this was the bottle of Iron Chef Thai sweet pepper and garlic sauce that had been in the cabinet for months and was reaching its expiration date. Sounds good on chicken and rice, emphasis on "sounds."
Meridith made the dinner, but admitted that she had put in too much sauce after we kept getting major whiffs of heat and then hot, because of the seeds in the sauce. I didn't mind, since the chicken and rice were exactly as I had hoped, though it was brown rice. I don't mind brown rice, but I had thought about white rice, and we didn't have any. It was still good. Meridith struggled to get through the rest in her bowl and I told her not to force herself, to finish what she could and then dump the rest. And she did.
After the phone call from Mom, the rest of the evening was pretty nice. I had Tivo'd The Great Muppet Caper off of Showtime, and we watched some of that up until it was time for bed.
Today is a bigger day for Mom and Dad than it is for us. After checking into Hawthorne Suites and then getting another car from Enterprise, they've got the opportunity explore whatever they want, though I'm sure it'll be the washing machines and dryers at Hawthorne first. We're planning laundry here, too, jackets that haven't been washed in quite a while, and our bedsheets. We figure that since they get fresh sheets at Hawthorne, we should have clean sheets, too.
I still have to vacuum around the house, since Dad asked me to vacuum his and Mom's room after we put new litter in the birds' cages. We did that late yesterday, and all I had time for was to vacuum around the birds' cages since Meridith had to get to that nail salon (called "Ocean Nails Spa") before it closed. Better that she had some time there and didn't have to be rushed, so we left right after we were done.
I also still have to sweep the garage. I prefer sweeping the patio. At least I know what I'm sweeping there. But I'll do it. Mom and Dad asked before they left.
Oh, one more thing. Mom also told me last night that they got me a Las Vegas Weekly, exactly what I wanted and I'm psyched to read it. I also requested the Friday edition of the Las Vegas Review-Journal since the weekend Neon section is in there and I want to finally spend some time reading a local paper, not the barely-two minutes I spend skimming through The Signal since there's never anything interesting to read in there. According to the Hawthorne Suites website, one of the amenities is a "daily complimentary newspaper." I hope that's the Review-Journal. It would save Dad a few coins. We'll definitely subscribe to it after we move here.
Mom told us the rest of the story last night: AAA wanted to leave them at the side of the road to make their own way back after the PT Cruiser was towed. The tow truck driver did not agree, and drove them back to Fiesta Henderson. Neither did the woman at AAA, who said she would consult with her boss about that. We now have a contact at AAA there, and Meridith and I learned that the guidebooks you get from AAA are in a vending machine there. Inside, there's guidebooks for the states surrounding Nevada, and a large map of the United States.
It's been an eventful stay for them thus far. At Fiesta Henderson, Mom had to call downstairs again to get someone to fix the toilet and the showerhead. The former keeps running, and the latter drips for a long time after Dad gets out of the shower at night, and that makes it hard for Mom to sleep. But, there have been some decent things that have happened to them that have built up their faith that this trip has been worth it. For one, the second part of Dad's job interview went well. The kids were impressed, and so were the higher-ups. The highest higher-up at that school is going to speak to the head honcho at the school in Reno about Dad. It's going to take some more time, which means he won't be signing a contract while he's there. The school understands that because of our distance from Las Vegas in Santa Clarita, Dad can't go back for nothing, so hopefully the next phone call or e-mail from them after he gets back will be the one we've wanted for so long. The head of the school also introduced Dad to the other teachers at lunch and left him to talk to them and ask any questions he wanted.
The owner of the repair shop where the car is being fixed is from Paramus, New Jersey, just like Dad. He said to Mom and Dad that a lot of people living in Henderson are from the East. I like that, because we take our sensibilities from wherever we're from over on that side of the country, and we combine it with the day-to-day experiences of living in a true desert. The physical aspects of the desert, I mean, not emotional ones, because for me, Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, they have everything I could possibly want. There's a writers' group in Henderson, there's the Henderson JCC, the Pinball Hall of Fame is fairly close by, and the libraries in Henderson and Boulder City are so accessible! I don't have to worry that my local library is going to cut itself off from one big system at the whim of a City Council and isolate itself as one tinier branch. Henderson operates on its own, separate from the Clark County system, but at least it has an incredible number of books, and five branches to boot, not just three, as it will be in Santa Clarita.
So we also have a contact at that repair shop whenever our car has any problems. And we have a contact at Hawthorne Suites in Henderson, which was spurred on by the Fiesta Henderson raising its rate for Mom and Dad's room after three days. They can't afford $110 a night, nor the $70 the manager said they could do. Having money for moving is optimal.
Hawthorn Suites is close to Fiesta Henderson, but has many more advantages that are necessary for Mom and Dad, and then for us. For one, you don't have to walk through a casino to get to your room. That's standard for hotels with casinos, especially on the Strip. I know. But for us, future residents, we need our room immediately after a long day of doing whatever will have to be done on the next trip. It has a complimentary breakfast buffet every morning, free local and long-distance calls, free Internet, a free gym, and crucial to us: Pets are allowed. Plus, there's washers and dryers there, and Mom said she's going to use a lot of quarters when they get there, because there's much laundry to be done after these three days. And each room has a microwave, refrigerator, a flat-screen TV, and a DVD player. We should just live there. No doubt we will until Mom and Dad have signed for wherever we live next. We hope it'll be that house in Boulder City.
After that half-hour conversation that lasted until 9:15 (I kept an eye on the clock because I still had to finish my work on the computer), Mom called after 10 and said that she and Dad were back from downstairs at the casino and hadn't won any big jackpots. I told her that the big jackpot for us would be Dad being hired at that school and us taking ownership of that house. That's all we need. She also told us that the manager at the car repair place said that he hopes to be done with the PT Cruiser by Saturday. They have a rental from Enterprise that Mom says is the dirtiest car she's ever seen. It looks like the bastard child of a jeep because the grille mimics the front of a jeep. It has Utah plates, so I had Meridith text them earlier in the evening: "How many wives does it hold?" After they check into Hawthorne Suites, they're going back to Enterprise to get another car.
For Meridith and I, it was a quiet day. She woke up a little after 10 because she had stayed up until 1 a.m. peeling glue from her fingers. I forgot what she had been gluing. It might have been more things in her scrapbook, but I didn't notice.
She spent most of the day folding her huge load of laundry, including four t-shirts I had slipped into the second load, to wear on the weekend. It took her a while because she had other things to do during it, like checking on Tigger, as well as a break for a snack. That load comprised 3/4 of her closet, and for most of the shirts, it had been a long time.
I hate seasons 5 and 6 of The West Wing with a passion. After Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme left the show at the end of season 4, it never got stable under the direction of executive producer John Wells. The characters were no longer how we always knew them, exhibiting traits that were completely foreign to who they were. However, I have found the season 5 episodes with John Goodman as the Acting President, and the episode of the funeral of a former president, and the episode about potential Supreme Court nominees (guest-starring Glenn Close and William Fichtner) fascinating, moreso lately the funeral episode because of my research, and the setting for that fictional presidential library looking exactly like the kind of presidential library I'd like to be at all the time.
I wanted to see The Stormy Present (the funeral episode) again, but didn't want to have to Netflix the third disc of season 5 again. And then I found an e-mail from Amazon touting a massive sale of Warner Bros. DVDs, which I took advantage of, paying $5.49 for Auntie Mame and about a dollar less for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, starring Angela Lansbury and George Hearn. I've never seen it, but it is Sondheim, and that's the automatic attraction.
Seasons of The West Wing were going for $15.99 and a little more up (The priciest are the sixth and seven seasons at $22.99 each), and I thought to myself, "Do I really need season 5, despite my vehement hatred?" No, I don't. I love seasons 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 and that's all I need in my collection. But I wanted those particular episodes. Ah, Amazon Instant Video, how I love thee at $1.99 per episode. And that's exactly what I did, and spent most of my day watching those episodes, and certain scenes of The Stormy Present over and over again. I loathe some of the dialogue, I wish that Presidents Bartlet, Newman (James Cromwell) and Walken (Goodman) had more scenes together discussing the weight of the office, however temporary (in Walken's case), but I love the plot and the setting, as it also reminds me of watching Reagan's funeral on TV, and the history of that day.
Reading Cornbread Nation 1: The Best of Southern Food Writing while waiting for Meridith to get her nails done was truly one of the greatest pleasures I've had in Santa Clarita, and there are very few. It may very well be the greatest pleasure because of how peaceful it was. I didn't bring my watch with me, I didn't need to know what time it was, I just wanted to wade in the words that were in front of me. That's all I needed. I'm a simple soul. A good book is my big jackpot.
Dinner was an interesting experience. While sitting on that bench, reading, I had a notion about chicken breast and rice. Chicken breast whole on the plate with rice on the side? Then I thought about the chicken breast cut up and put on top of the rice. The catalyst for this was the bottle of Iron Chef Thai sweet pepper and garlic sauce that had been in the cabinet for months and was reaching its expiration date. Sounds good on chicken and rice, emphasis on "sounds."
Meridith made the dinner, but admitted that she had put in too much sauce after we kept getting major whiffs of heat and then hot, because of the seeds in the sauce. I didn't mind, since the chicken and rice were exactly as I had hoped, though it was brown rice. I don't mind brown rice, but I had thought about white rice, and we didn't have any. It was still good. Meridith struggled to get through the rest in her bowl and I told her not to force herself, to finish what she could and then dump the rest. And she did.
After the phone call from Mom, the rest of the evening was pretty nice. I had Tivo'd The Great Muppet Caper off of Showtime, and we watched some of that up until it was time for bed.
Today is a bigger day for Mom and Dad than it is for us. After checking into Hawthorne Suites and then getting another car from Enterprise, they've got the opportunity explore whatever they want, though I'm sure it'll be the washing machines and dryers at Hawthorne first. We're planning laundry here, too, jackets that haven't been washed in quite a while, and our bedsheets. We figure that since they get fresh sheets at Hawthorne, we should have clean sheets, too.
I still have to vacuum around the house, since Dad asked me to vacuum his and Mom's room after we put new litter in the birds' cages. We did that late yesterday, and all I had time for was to vacuum around the birds' cages since Meridith had to get to that nail salon (called "Ocean Nails Spa") before it closed. Better that she had some time there and didn't have to be rushed, so we left right after we were done.
I also still have to sweep the garage. I prefer sweeping the patio. At least I know what I'm sweeping there. But I'll do it. Mom and Dad asked before they left.
Oh, one more thing. Mom also told me last night that they got me a Las Vegas Weekly, exactly what I wanted and I'm psyched to read it. I also requested the Friday edition of the Las Vegas Review-Journal since the weekend Neon section is in there and I want to finally spend some time reading a local paper, not the barely-two minutes I spend skimming through The Signal since there's never anything interesting to read in there. According to the Hawthorne Suites website, one of the amenities is a "daily complimentary newspaper." I hope that's the Review-Journal. It would save Dad a few coins. We'll definitely subscribe to it after we move here.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Just a Bench, the Words, and the Wind
Reading is an even more heavenly pleasure when there's nothing technological surrounding you, when you have nothing to do.
Before she left with Dad for Las Vegas, Mom told Meridith to go to one of the two nail salons near our neighborhood and get her cuticles cleaned. Mom got her nails done at a salon at the Henderson Galleria mall.
Meridith chose the Ocean Nails Spa, near the Grand Panda Chinese restaurant, a Starbucks, and a Subway. I don't like the fumes in those places, so I took a bench at the far end of that chunk of commerce building (There's also a dentist's office, and a dry cleaners) and opened to where I had left off in Cornbread Nation 1: The Best of Southern Food Writing. I brought along some tape flags with me since I usually copy down titles and authors on a yellow legal notepad on a small clipboard, and I didn't want to bring all that with me.
There was only the sounds of traffic and a hydraulic hiss from inside the dry cleaners, what sounded like a "tee", and then a scant few seconds later, a "tah," and a noticeable cool wind which made me glad, after about 10 minutes, that I had brought my jacket. I looked up occasionally to see if Meridith had come out, but I was deep into reading about southern food and food culture. I was gone. Solid gone. I loved that I was in this one spot in the entire world, doing exactly what I wanted to do. That's all I needed.
Before she left with Dad for Las Vegas, Mom told Meridith to go to one of the two nail salons near our neighborhood and get her cuticles cleaned. Mom got her nails done at a salon at the Henderson Galleria mall.
Meridith chose the Ocean Nails Spa, near the Grand Panda Chinese restaurant, a Starbucks, and a Subway. I don't like the fumes in those places, so I took a bench at the far end of that chunk of commerce building (There's also a dentist's office, and a dry cleaners) and opened to where I had left off in Cornbread Nation 1: The Best of Southern Food Writing. I brought along some tape flags with me since I usually copy down titles and authors on a yellow legal notepad on a small clipboard, and I didn't want to bring all that with me.
There was only the sounds of traffic and a hydraulic hiss from inside the dry cleaners, what sounded like a "tee", and then a scant few seconds later, a "tah," and a noticeable cool wind which made me glad, after about 10 minutes, that I had brought my jacket. I looked up occasionally to see if Meridith had come out, but I was deep into reading about southern food and food culture. I was gone. Solid gone. I loved that I was in this one spot in the entire world, doing exactly what I wanted to do. That's all I needed.
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