Strange

Laundramats are weird...where else do you display your underwear to total strangers?  I told my husband that and he said, that's what all the young girls are doing now.  Made me think two things...1) Boy am I glad that I'm not that young and 2) How does he know that.

So I went to do my laundry again today and the laundramat was crowded.  There was one particularly obnoxious woman that was guarding dryers to use when her clothes finished washing.  Her clothes weren't even finished and she had staked out the only three dryers available in the place - and I mean physically staked them out.  She was standing in front of two and had her arm extended blocking the other.  I wanted to tell her to get out of the way.  But, being that I now live and work in two very small towns and you never know who works there as well I was quiet.  I thought of a lot of things to say to her, but that is all that I did.
Made me wonder how someone is so inconsiderate and thinks so highly of themselves that they are that rude.  A question for the ages. 

The only good thing about going to the laundramat is that all your laundry is done in about an hour.  I like that aspect. 

Big City vs Small Town

You get used to certain things when you live in a nice size town - and by nice I mean close to a million people.  You get used to being able to find your favorite skinny latte with chocolate sprinkles at your choice of Starbucks, being able to find good mexican food, being able to decide on a whim that you need a pedicure in a salon that has a good massaging chair.  So far, my foray into the North Coast has been lacking in all of those things.  There is a cute coffee shop here, but no Starbucks in sight.  There is a mexican food restaurant but the guacamole or as I like to call it, manna from heaven, is not the best.  There is a place to get my nails done but no massaging chair.  I miss these things.  I know that I will get used to not having access to these things but it may take a while. 

On the other hand, one of the girls that I work with grew up here and ran into the manager of the hotel I am staying in.  She told him that someone in her department was staying here and he told her my name and described me.  So a small town has its benefits as well.  I'll just have to get used to the other things and treat myself occassionally. 

Trying to sleep

My room is right above the hotel bar.  I have learned how to work around this and still get decent sleep.  But last night I was very annoyed with the person staying in the room next to mine, a room that has previously been unoccupied.  Last night, the person in there was very noisy, playing the tv loud, banging around and slamming their door at 2 AM.  And then this morning they hit the wall between our rooms hard enough that the cup of coffee on my dresser jumped.  So when I left this morning I asked the desk clerk if the person in that room was a long term stay or just a few nights.  He didn't know so he looked it up and guess what???  There wasn't anyone staying in that room...but he was kind enough to tell me that the hotel is haunted.  I guess the ghost was unhappy last night.  I can only hope that it is not as stirred up tonight.  We shall see.  Stay tuned for more details...

Laundry day

I am going to find the local laundrymat today and do my laundry.  Laundry is my least favorite thing to do as far as household chores go.  But there is some satisfaction to doing your laundry in one fell swoop at the laundrymat.  1 hour and the clothes are done!! 

Birds!

Birds freak me out.  They have beady eyes and freaky little legs.  I shudder just thinking about them.  But I have observed interesting things involving birds here on the North Coast.  First of all, there are gulls here in the town I am staying in.   Some of them roost on the roof of the hotel and I fall asleep to their cries, at least on the nights that the bar downstairs isn't rocking!  Their cry is sad but nice.  It makes me think of happy times spent on various beaches with family and friends. 

Second, there is a man here who appears to have a pet duck.  Now, I don't understand that but I am fascinated by the type of person that would consider a duck a pet.  I believe the duck is a pet because the first week I was here while Griff was still with me we saw this man open the door to his workshop, from the inside, and the duck came out.  While the man worked in his shop, the duck grazed (is that the right word when you are speaking of ducks) in the yard by the shop.  I've seen the duck one time since also when the door to the shop was open and you could see the man working in there.  I was talking to my friend Jerry this week about the oddness of having a duck as a pet and he tells me that he's had two ducks as pets.  This explains a lot about Jerry to me.  As I said earlier I am freaked out by birds but I really want to meet this man that has the pet duck because you know he has got to be an interesting character that looks at the world a little differently than most.  I may just have to stop and introduce myself.

The last encounter I have had with a bird while I have been here is when a pheasant ran into the road I was driving on and nearly caused me to hit it.  I only knew it was a pheasant because my brother-in-law is a hunter and shot one once that he had mounted and it hangs in his living room.  They are weird looking birds.  But I am driving along minding my own business talking to Griff on the phone as I ended my work day and I see something running out on the road as I approach.  Now you would think that something the size of a pheasant would stop if it saw something the size of a Jeep approaching but nooooo.  This stinking bird just kept crossing the road as bold as can be until I slammed on my brakes and got out of its way.  It finally stopped about two feet from my door and just looked at me as if I was in its way.  Which I guess I was because in its mind the road should not have been there.  But seriously!!!  Dang bird!!

I'm back

Sorry for the hiatus.  I was getting used to getting up at 5 AM again.  Amazing how quickly you forget about the impact to your body and life of that habit. 

So have you ever pondered on first impressions and the accuracy, or lack thereof, of them?  Starting a new job I am inundated with first impressions.  Only time will tell if they have any accuracy but it made me ponder.  One always likes to think that their first impressions are always proven to be dead on but I can't say that.  I have found my impressions to be inaccurate in the past.  Sometimes that is a good thing and sometimes it is not. 

So, on a different topic, my least favorite thing about my new job is that I cannot wear my jeans and tennis shoes anymore.  I don't mind the pants but my feet sure do miss the comfy tennis shoes.  They are very sad. 

Where I work is HUGE!!!  Today on the way back from a meeting I took a wrong turn and "explored" a new area that I had never seen.  I eventually found my way back to my office but it was touch and go for a while.  I was deteremined not to ask for directions so I just had to keep moving until I saw something I recognized.  I've asked for a map of the plant, not that it will help since I am not great at reading maps.  But at least I can study it to try to get some bearing for where things are.  I asked for bread crumbs to be issued to me so I can find my way around but they acted like they thought I was kidding.  So, I acted like I was. 

Cheers!!

Woo Hoo

I'm pretty sure I showed more of myself to the town than I needed to...I was walking on the street and the wind was blowing REALLY hard today.  So, the wind kicked up the end of my shirt and, at a minimum, exposed my tummy.  However it may have shown all the way to my bra - thank goodness I am wearing a good one!  Now that is some wind!!

I found a kick ass bead store in town today.  Hung out in there for a while talking to the woman that owns it.  It was amazing.  Also found a great place to get my nails done - the lady in there even stayed open late to do mine.  I LOVE this town!!

Recharging

So, I really like to talk...anyone that knows me is hooting with laughter because they view that as an enormous understatement.  But, since my husband left to go back to finish up our business in our hometown, I have not talked near as much as I normally do.  I've talked to my sisters every day and I have talked to my husband every day.  But usually I am talking all day every day.  The funny thing is that it has not bothered me not to talk.  I have done some great people watching; out my hotel window, out the restaurant window, and sitting in the mall.  And I have smiled a lot because I think people are about the most interesting and fascinating creatures there are.  But I have not been bothered by not talking as much as I normally do. 

I've also not watched TV.  I've read two books in two days, knitted some stuff, learned a new knitting stitch by watching YouTube - you can find almost anything on there, and done a little shopping.  But minimal talking and even less TV.  And I am OK with both of those things.  I think I needed time to recharge my batteries.  And really is there anything that fascinating on TV??  The people I have watched have been far more entertaining and enlightening and uplifting than anything I find on TV.  

Tonight I watched a little girl, probably around 6, play frisbee with a dog that was as big as she was.  The dog was tireless, as they often are, and chased the frisbee over and over again.  The girl could only throw the frisbee about 6 feet but the dog didn't care.  His face and demeanor said 6 feet was as good as 60 feet.  I think there is something to learn in that.  Find something that makes you happy and celebrate it, no matter how big or small it is.  Let out your inner dog!!

What accent??

So today I walked around this quaint town.  I found the post office where I sent off letters and met three of the nicest people.  With one of them I talked about being an aunt to cute baby girls.  She is babysitting her niece for the week.  With the other two, I talked about what brought me to this town. 

I then went to the local coffee shop, right across from the post office, as did the aunt and her niece.  At the coffee shop, she and the two people working in there asked me where I was from.  Seems like I don't sound like people from around here!  I sat outside at the coffee shop for a couple of hours enjoying the coffee, my book and the excellent sunshine.  I think I might have gotten my first North Coast sunburn - just a touch on my arms, nothing too serious!

Then I walked to the marina and watched the charter fishing boats come in for the afternoon.  Lots of fish were brought in by the patrons.  It's funny how the sounds around the water are the same everywhere - the lapping of the water, the cry of the gulls, and the motor sounds from the boats.  Did I tell you that this town has a drawbridge?  I think that is just too cool.  I'm not sure why but it seems cool to me.

I finished my trek around the town off at the local Mexican restaurant. The food was not TexMex but it was pretty darn good.  And once again, I was asked by the waitress where I was from.  This accent of mine seems to be a pretty good conversation starter.  So, Hi y'all!!