My dream last night... snow, boats, old classmates

And the weird dreams keep coming.

I was in a very large room, like a hangar, which had water in it like a frozen over pond. There were boats tied up all around the edges of the room, kind of dinghy to speed boat sized. There were moments I was on top of the water with snow. Then there were other moments I remember being in the water with the dinghy upside down on top of me using it like a flotation device, and just hanging out out talking to people. There seemed to be lot's of random people coming in on their boats and hanging out. They were asking me random question like I was in the education field, etc, just making small talk.

I remember seeing a couple out groups of people walking on the ice towards an area where I know the ice is broken. At the last minute a few of us call out to warn them, but they fall in the water. LOL. 2 guys were in full suits too.

As time went on, the room started having more of a nightclub vibe to it. And some random guy grabbed me to give me a hug. It was dark in there, but I recognized some people and asked if they were Piedmonters. And they were. Turned out to be a bunch of people I went to high school with. Random encounter. And that's all I remember.

My dream last night... plane crash, killer snowballs, Phil Keoghan...

My friend and I were in a small plane and she was flying. I remember asking her how we were going to find the airport, so she flew the plane within a few feet of the ground right over the treetops. We ended up crashing, but were ok.

We started walking and shortly saw some cars and civilization in the form of a small rural town. We found this one restaurant/bar and went it. Then the next thing I know, I’m a server in the bar area. Some of the customers were giving me crap for not getting the new customers water quickly enough. I explained that I hadn’t even been shown how yet. So I went to one of the cute male worker bees and asked him where everything was. He took me to the back behind the bar and showed me a shelf with clear white and clear brown plastic cups. He explained that the brown were for the water and the other for regular drinks, then showed me the water dispenser and the ice machine. I started to get the hang of things after that and seemed to fit in.

I then somehow was hanging out with a few girls, guys and Phil Keoghan (cutie pie). And I was flirting with Phil big time and trying to get him to hang out with us. He was flirting back with a few of us, and teasing us by making up grab coins out of his front jeans pockets. (OK, guess my mind was in the gutter in my dream last night :-))

After we were hanging out with him, the weather turned bad. We were in the mountains and it was snowing, but then small avalanches started. Then what looked like meteors flying through the sky, but were really massive snow balls flying by us and crashing into the ground. Everyone started running like mad. I was flying down snowy and rocky mountain sides until I got to a safe place. I found this half broken tunnel and say 3 cars trapped in the snow in there. I looked closely and saw people alive inside. When they saw me, they came out and said they were staying in the cars to try to keep warmer.

And that’s the last thing I remember.

Stuff I put in storage

So my Mom and Step-Dad are moving and are in the final stages of packing up. The furniture and stuff is gone already, but some last minute things need to be packed up. So I had to go over there last week to go through about 8 boxes of my stuff that had been in their basement since I moved out after high school. There were some stuffed animals and stuff that mice got into and had to be tossed, but for the most part, everything was in good shape. I just had to sort through it and re-pack what I was keeping.

I found...
- Pics from my early trips to D.C., VA and MD (from '89-'92) my trip to Florida back in '87, pics of friends and I in middle school, and stuff from when I was little (camping, etc)
- Yearbooks from pre-school (Peter Pan) through Middle School
- T-shirts my Mom brought me back from their travels through Europe, Mexico, Africa and the Orient
- Baby clothes
- Newspapers/Mags. I collect them from major events and I found the 1989 earthquake, Berlin Wall coming down, the Challenger disaster, Lucile Ball and Bette Davis passing, a mag with Krissy Taylor on the cover before passing, a mag with an interview with River Phoenix before passing, and a bunch of others that I left folded up.
- Letters from the German and Japanese exchange students we had briefly when I was in high school, letters from friends when they moved away, and a few from a friend when she spent time in Iran one summer, etc.
- 6 or so diaries/journals dating from around '86 through'94
- Many other letters, notes passed in school, etc.
- Childhood books, including some signed Zilpha Keatley Snyder books like The Egypt Game, and others.
- Ceramics I made in high school
- Art projects from Middle School and High School
- A ton of school papers from Middle School book reports to High School term papers
- Souvenirs from trips
- And much more

I was in consolidate and pack mode, so I didn't really get to take the time to sit down and read through a lot of the stuff. So that will be really fun to do one of these days. The diaries for sure are going to be a trip. I wrote about everything, and usually daily (at least in my Middle School days) about boys, dances, everything. It'll be a crack up to go back and read.

Yosemite 2010

About 2 weeks ago, Claire, Bobby and I decided to head to their family cabin in Foresta (Yosemite) for Easter weekend. I headed to their place on Thursday so we could finalize the menu, etc. Which basically means that they plan yummy food to cook, and I agree to eat it ;-) Then we hung out and played Wii for a while. My first time ever touching the thing, now I want one. We played bowling, archery, wakeboarding and frisbee. Fun stuff. Anyway...

So on Friday, we headed out early'ish and were on our way. Once we hit the entrance to the park, there was snow all around on the side of the road and in the trees. We stopped so I could take a picture. But then there was more snow to see from then on. Snow banks on the side of the road, then through the forest to the left and right. It was beautiful. The last time I recall seeing snow was at the far end of Horseshoe Lake, outside Mammoth Lakes, the last time I was there in 2008 I think. Once we hit Crane Flat, it was actually snowing, so I took some video. Then we got to the cabin and unpacked. There was no snow down in Foresta, but the weather was overcast. We decided to head down to the Valley since it was early in the day still. So we stopped at Bridalveil first. The last time I was there, the water was whisping off the top like some water through a fan. This time it was gushing down, which was great to see. We walked up to the viewing spot, in the rain, then continued on. We headed to the store in the valley and bought some last min food and stuff. I kept looking at the souvenirs and was inclined to buy something. I collect magnets, but have about 5 from Yosemite, so that was pointless. Plus, I figure that I am there every one or 2 years, so I can get stuff next time.

Back at the cabin, we settled in and they made a nice fire in the wood burning stove. Played some Scattergories, Skip-Bo, etc. And they prepped the most amazing looking Enchiladas Verde, with homemade pinto beans and Mexican rice. All made from scratch, starting with the salsa verde for the enchiladas. And me even shucking some fresh peas from their pods for the rice dish. Although my main contribution was continually reading the recipes during the process :-) Unfortunately, I started to not feel well, so headed to bed without eating dinner. It was warm up in the loft with the wood stove shooting all the heat up there. But I adjusted to it.

Saturday (late) morning we headed out to the Ahwanee to check it out (not the first time of course), just because it's beautiful. Then headed to the Valley and had a chicken/mushroom/cheese pizza down there that was pretty good. Then wandered the Native American museum and village. After we went down to check out the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, which were gushing. So we walked the path to the Lower Falls. There was a ton of snow of the ground around the path which was beautiful. Then took a few customary pictures and headed on our way. We drove around the Valley just because. And in doing so, we saw a coyote in a field, so we pulled over and watched it for a while. Then saw a few deer laying down in the distance. Claire and Bobby decided to rent bikes for an hour (which we all did several years ago together) but I opted out this time. So they did that, and in the meantime I wandered a few shops at the Yosemite Lodge, got a snack and sat and watched the ever changing Upper Yosemite Falls, Beautiful!! We headed back to the cabin after that.

Instead of another elaborate dinner, we had a recap of dinner the night before. Luckily, because I missed out. So the enchiladas, beans and rice were amazing. We had the fire stocked again, and very warm, to counter balance the supposed 25-30 degree weather outside. We enjoyed many bottles of wine and sparkling wine this trip, which was a nice change from beer and liquor. Nothing wrong with either. It was just a change :-) After keeping the loft window open for a while to cool me down as I tried to sleep, I closed it and went to bed.

Then it was the ritual of getting up to clean what you had dirtied before leaving the place. So we tidied up for an hour or 2 and headed on our way. Hours later we were back at their place watching the Sharks lose in OT, and eating an awesome spaghetti with homemade meatball and salad dinner :-) A very nice weekend!

I'm bummed...

So tonight, in 15 mins actually, I was supposed to be at the San Francisco Opera House. I was going to be seeing Zahi Hawass (Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities) speak about the recent discoveries about King Tut. And let's just say I have been fascinated about archaeology in general, and more specifically ancient cultures including Egypt, since 5th grade. So seeing him speak was a dream. So my Mom, Step-Dad, 2 Aunts and I all got tickets to go. Well of course, I am not feeling well, so I stayed home. And not "not feeling well" like I have a cold, but as in some meds I am on aren't doing their job. It's frustrating, and I'm annoyed it's controlling what I can do and where I go. The last thing I wanted to do though was go all the way there, find a seat, then just want to go back to the car and lay down. OF ALL FREAKING NIGHTS!! I'm just really bummed.

Cancer, Life, Family, Stuff…

So... my Aunt Pat has been going through chemo and I’ve been sitting with her… she “seems” fine… she may sleep while I read, she may sleep while I watch my iPod, we both may sleep, we both may read, she may read while I watch, or we both may chat… although one day I got her to watch ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ on my iPod. Wasn’t sure if she’d like it, but she did. Kept her pre-occupied for 60-90 mins of her chemo at the least. Maybe next time I should have her watch Twilight, which I have on my iPod yes, just because it’s an escape and she may enjoy that.

Recently at her appointment, we got 2 recliner seats at the end of the room together (which is kind of hit or miss). We settled in and then I noticed this woman in one seat and a young 20+ something guy in the other. Well, the guy was getting chemo, and the woman was obviously with him in some capacity… as family or caregiver of some sort. My Great Aunt ended up asking and she said that she was his Mom. He was bundled up with his iPod plugged in. My Great Aunt said “I bet you wish that was you.” And she said “Yes.”. He ended up going to the bathroom part way and seemed capable. It was just my first experience of seeing a probably ‘under 40’ person there getting chemo. And to see that it was someone likely younger than me, was heartbreaking,

I have been helping her (my Great Aunt) out with these appointments of hers for a while now. My family takes turns, when they can. And when they can’t, it falls on me, as the unemployed family member. And I don’t mean that in a negative way, it’s just the fact. Sure she can hire cabs, ambulances, or other medical couriers to take her back and forth… but when she has living family, she shouldn’t have to. She has no children of her own, and her husband passed away years ago.

Spending time with her makes me think of spending time with my Grandma, who passed away years ago. She was my Grandma growing up, and I love her. But as an adult, I was never really there for her when she got sick. I was around, but wasn’t the “go to” person for these things. I was a bit younger then, and my Mom being a nurse of 30 years has always been that “go to” person. This is great for us, and the sick, because she knows best. But feel bad that her profession sometimes engulfs her life. And I don’t really mean “engulf”, it’s just that she is the phone call people make.

But anyway… my biggest memory of my Grandmother of my adult life, was spending 9/11 with her. After waking up how I did to the tragic news, I called her and headed over. I spent the day with her watching the news, and think we ordered Chinese for dinner, LOL.

Anyway… this last week I had the flu. And I haven’t had the flu in I don’t know how long. But I had dizzy spells, fever, etc. Not fun. The climax of it, was I drove to my Great Aunt’s last Wed to take her to her blood test, prior to her PET scan on Thurs, and as soon as I got there I thought I was going to get sick and pass out. I did one of the 2. Needless to say, I crawled into her bed and slept right then and didn’t leave until the next day. She rescheduled her appt and checked in on my from time to time. She gave me her bed, until 11pm or so when she was done watching her CSI and Ugly Betty, then I swapped to the couch. She couldn’t handle sleeping there, which I understand. When she and I woke up in the morning, she ushered me back to her bed. But it just made me wonder, who really was the sick one. And should I be complaining?

Then that afternoon, my Mom picked me up and took me to her house and I stayed there 3 nights, 2 of which were illness related. She, as I stated being the nurse, is great at all the “taking care of you” stuff. I needed her for making sure I drank fluids, actually ate some solid food, etc. which I may have neglected otherwise. I’m glad I stayed there. But by Saturday, I was 80% better, and so excited! I hadn’t been that happy to feel good in a while. And had Savannah’s bridal shower today, that I would have been bummed if I had missed.

My Dream Sunday night…

I was with some friends, looking across the Bay at San Francisco. Then all of a sudden I spotted part of the city catch on fire and pointed it out. Then the whole place erupted in flames. It turned out to be an underwater volcano eruption. And then it flowed into the Bay. I didn’t really notice until later when my friends said they could walk across the water. It was basically as if the lava filled in the Bay, and there was about a foot of water on top, so you could walk from Oakland to San Francisco. But by the time we got to SF, the land was too hot to touch, so we returned. We seemed to have been “camping” in what would be a sort of rock star tour bus. There were several bedrooms and bathrooms. But we still hung out outside with a campfire and stuff.

I’m not clear on this part, but I remember a house I was in, and a part of it was collapsing because the lava was reaching us from underground. And remember packing frantically, and had Nala put in one of the bedrooms so that she was safe and not underfoot. So we were actually packing up one of those 10 passenger vans with all of our stuff and I wondered how it would all fit. But it did. We left initially without Nala, then I made them go back to get her.

At this point, the lava/fires were starting on our side of the Bay. They were anywhere from 5+ feet away from us. We would drive and see the brush burning right at the side of the van. And would also see fires burning in the hills. I remember getting my camera out to take some pictures, but my vantage point wasn’t the greatest. We ended up having to turn around because the way we were going was too dangerous.

And that’s about the last thing I remember. Wish I had thought to blog this earlier today, as I may had remembered more details. Anyway, the newest saga from my brain. And no, I haven’t watched any natural disaster movies lately ;-)

RIP Lea and Zipper

My friend's cat has been missing for a few weeks. He is micro-chipped and they put out posters, but nothing. Today apparently, they find out he had been hit by a car and buried by a nice neighbor. I was very sad.

Then I find out that that the dog of my good friend's had to be put down today. She apparently started having trouble walking a month ago. Xrays determined Cancer and she wasn't doing so well. And they have a 6 and 8 year old. I can only imagine how they are feeling right now.

I have been crying for 2 hours now. I love you guys!

Lea


Zipper

So long 2009...

This year has had its up and downs…

1. I've been unemployed all year. That’s good and bad. But that’s all I have to say about that.

2. I went back to Juneau this last July with my Aunt to see my parents on their boat. We were popsicles, but had a great time ;-)

3. I started a diet about 3 months back. Lost 25 lbs… gained 2 back (in only 4 weeks of slacking, not bad) and will continue on.

4. Whole heartedly welcomed a new member of the family… my cousin’s fiancée Savannah. She was always family, but it will become official in February. Being there when she found “The” dress, helping with invitations, seeing the venue, etc, has been awesome.

5. Attended the memorial service for Officer John Hege. He was the brother of a close friend growing up.

6. Road tripped down to L.A. with Sarah, and spent a few days down there visiting with friends from all over, going to Disneyland and to a game.

7. Spent a few fun weekends down in San Jose with out of town friends and seeing some games.

8. Spent a few fun days on the coast and got to see a newborn harbor seal be rescued.

9. Saw the new California Academy of Sciences and the Faberge exhibit at the Legion of Honor.

10. It’s been a financially tough year, so here’s to winning the lottery in 2010 :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Ryan from The Real World Brooklyn, Return to Duty and Iraq

So because of the fact that over the holidays, every show is a rerun, I have been re-watching The Real World Brooklyn online. Actually just finished the reunion episode a little bit ago. And I never knew MTV made a follow up show called 'Return to Duty' about Ryan. I just started it a little bit ago, then felt inclined to write this.

I admit to finding him a likable guy on the show, and balling the first time I watched the season when he found out be was recalled to the Army and was going back to Iraq. I know I don't "know" the guy. And I know he isn't "technically" a celebrity. But having watched The Real World, I feel Like I know him a little. I know some people whine about why people morn celebrities, for example, when you never actually met the person. But when you learn a lot about a person and get to know their story, it feels personal.

Anyway, after watching the episode where he got recalled last night, I added him on MySpace (and tonight on FB). Not sure why, I'm never on MySpace. But looked him up on there out of curiosity. Then tonight I just read his new blog dated today, about his close Army friend (RIP Darren) who just died 3 days ago of an overdose of pain medication. I just re-watched the scene from The Real World where Ryan, Darren and his child attend the 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero. It's just so sad to see their interaction, now knowing what happened.

Ryan seems like such a good guy, and has a personality that makes you think he can overcome anything and still have a smile when it's all over and done with. For someone I have never, and will never, meet... I truly respect the guy in a lot of ways. And I hope he returns home safe, and on schedule, this Spring.