All's Quiet on the Home Front

The first morning all week that I didn't smell smoke outside; instead, there was a fog thick as pea soup. But it all dissipated and the sky is blue!

Received my SS card in the mail this week; guess that means I really do exist!

I'm on the email list for a singles group from St. Brigid church, and Thurs. evening they met for happy hour at a wine bar, so I went. About 8 women and 1 male... typical. They were o.k. people, but not one person expressed the slightest interest in knowing anything about me. Not a very welcoming group, but I'll try another event and see if they seem friendlier the second time around.

Yesterday morning I went to 8:00 Mass at the church down in Old Town; the priest was Irish!

Afterwards on my way home, I happened to pass a For Rent sign in front of a little yellow house, so I circled back around the block to take another look. Just at that moment, a boy on a bike came riding up and unlocked the door. He said his grandfather's renting out the place, so I asked if I could take a look. They're still fixing it up, but it was cute, with a nice big deck out back. Unfortunately, no washer/dryer hookups, very little closet space, and no driveway or garage - street parking only. Well, it's something to keep in mind.

In the meantime, I emailed someone listing a 1-bedroom sublet on Craigslist, and I may try to go take a look at that. $825/mo is not bad...

I need to open a checking account at a bank here, maybe WaMu...

Yeah, and I need to find a JOB!!!!

Sign me: Nervous, and getting Nervouser

FIRE!

My first California fire -
Went out this evening to Whole Foods and the sky looked hazy, and I smelled smoke. I thought, that's funny, I didn't hear any fire engine sirens. So then I heard on the radio that there are two fires burning, one down towards the border, and another one up to the northeast, farther inland. But it's amazing how they are stinking up the air, all the way into the city.

My first California farmers' market -
Drove up to La Jolla this morning to check out this farmers' market I read about. Had to park BLOCKS away. But once I got there, it was nice. They had vendors selling jewelry and junk, food vendors, and a lot of fruit & vegetable sellers. Oh, and flowers! I bought a cute little bundle of dried flowers with eucalyptus and rosemary ($3.00!!!), and it smells lovely here in my cottage. Also bought a chicken empanada to snack on from some Colombian/Argentine couple. It was pretty good.

My first California laundromat -
I've been searching for days for a decent place to do some laundry, and happened to spot a place this morning on my way to La Jolla, so this afternoon I went and did 3 loads of laundry. That was a pain in the butt - loading up the car with all the laundry, then trying to figure out how the machine worked where you buy a card to use in the machines, then loading everything back in the car, then unloading it when I got home. Some stuff I didn't want to put in the dryer, so I had dry stuff, wet stuff, and a few leftover dirty items that I didn't have room for in the machines. Overall, a very depressing activity.

Saturday

Walked over to the Albertson's this morning; that was kind of nice, to be able to walk to the grocery store.

Drove around to look at some apartments I saw in a newspaper classifieds; didn't like ANY of them. The apartment situation here stinks...

Tried to find a post office to mail some stuff, but evidently the post offices here are rather antiquated; neither one of the two locations I went to had self-service machines. Why don't they get hip??? I don't like it here....

Went to 5:00 Mass at St. Didacus (who was he, anyway???). They had the windows open - no A/C blasting! I love it here!

Recap

Sunshine at last! Yesterday was the first day since I arrived that was sunny all day long! What a relief from all those gloomy gray clouds. It really affects my mood.

A couple days ago, I went downtown to the Social Security office to apply for a replacement card - no idea where my card is. Take a number and wait, wait, wait. It took about an hour. The replacement card is free, but it cost me $8 to park in a downtown lot!

Went to Old Town, which is an area of several blocks of restaurants and shops, plus there's an area with a couple of museums, like an old stable, with a bunch of old wagons, stagecoaches, saddles, etc. There's also an old Catholic Church there, so I popped in there and lit a candle.
Also stopped in at a little shop I'd visited last time I was here, called the Old Soap Shoppe; just my kind of place with all kinds of soaps and lotions and good smellin' stuff! So I asked if they had any need of part-time help, but they said they didn't. Oh, well.

Yesterday afternoon I had an appointment with AppleOne, a placement agency. Filled out a bunch of paperwork, took some tests on the computer, then had a little interview. So we'll see if they can come up with anything for me next week.

After that, I went downtown to the County of San Diego building to pick up an application for some jobs I saw on their web site. (Tried to apply online, but the system didn't like my Mac...)
One thing I liked about that place is that they had a huge parking lot, with plenty of FREE parking! And it's right near the marinas. So I saw the bay for the first time since arriving.

On the way home, since the sun was finally shining, I stopped at a car wash. My poor car was SO filthy after that long road trip, it was embarrassing. I asked if they had any kind of frequent-user punch card, like at my car wash back in Dallas. Well, yes they did, for $2.00. I DON'T THINK SO! Next time I'll look for one of their coupons.

Yesterday while driving around, I got a call from a guy at Point Loma Nazarene University, where I'd emailed my resume the other day. I had to hurry up and find a place to pull over so I could talk without being distracted by traffic. Anyway, I think he was just prescreening, and asked several questions. So, once again, I'll wait and see.

Every afternoon when I come back home from my outings, I have to drive around and around looking for a parking spot. There's a recreation center directly across the street from this house, and there are tons of people coming and going, kids all over the place, and often there's a soccer game going on, so all the parking for blocks around is taken. It's REALLY annoying.

I need to go find a laundry, before the weekend rush....

First Monday in SD

What I did:

Denny's - had a good breakfast for the first time in days!
Craigslist - sent my resume to a job posting
Library - signed up for a card at the public library!
Border's - looked for a San Diego version of MAPSCO, which they had and which cost $25, but was tipped off by a fellow customer that they're about $10 cheaper at COSTCO.
Target - got a new battery put in my watch.
Mission San Diego de Alcala - went to 5:30 Mass (love that old church!)
Whole Foods - picked up some groceries; didn't like that store as much as the Whole Foods back in Dallas; it was too small and cramped.

TOUCH DOWN!!!

Before leaving Yuma yesterday morning, I stopped by a Chevy dealer to talk to them about that dang Check Engine light that came on the night before and then was off again in the morning. That bothered me.

The guy said sometimes it means the gas cap isn't closed tightly, so he checked mine, but it was fine. He said they could do a diagnostic for $85, but I'd already had that done in Dallas. So the mystery remains, but I asked him to check my oil while I was there. WHOA! The dipstick was nearly dry! I told him immediately to do an oil change, which I figured should get me to San Diego. But that shook me up a little bit. Why is that car using oil like that????

So after that, I got on the highway about 11:30. I thought I'd passed thru desert on the way into Yuma, but heading west out of Yuma, there were actual sand dunes! Wow. And then, about an hour outside of San Diego, the highway goes up, up and up, to 4000 feet elevation, and passes thru mountains of rocks. It looked like a moonscape. Without easing up on the gas, it kept
going slower and slower till I was putting along at 45 mph, while everyone else was whizzing past me. My little car did NOT like those mountains. I was a bit nervous, wondering if it was going to slow down all the way to zero mph. But FINALLY, after what seemed forever, the road starts descending. I thought I'd never get out of those desolate mountains. It's not a drive I'd care to take again.

*Photo courtesy of Cameron Kaiser, http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/6/

Yesterday morning before checking out of the motel in Yuma, I emailed a girl about a rental I saw posted on Craigslist the night before. Since I would be driving for several hours, I gave her my cell phone, and she called me back when I was a little less than an hour from San Diego. She hadn't rented it yet, so we arranged for me to call when I arrived, and then she gave me directions to the house. It's a little studio cottage attached to a house, and her mother lives in the house.

I liked the place immediately, and happily, she didn't make me fill out any application or pay a credit check fee, or any of that rigamarole. I just went to an Albertson's and used the ATM to get cash for the first week's rent. She seems to be a very easy-going person, and I met her mother and her boyfriend. She's Cuban! She has one of those stud piercings under her lower lip, her boyfriend has tattoos and dreadlocks, and her mother converted from Catholic to B'Hai. Well, that's California for ya!

The neighborhood is a little edgy, but I feel pretty o.k. with her mother living right next door. She told me there's a police substation in the neighborhood, and so they're always patrolling. A few blocks away there's an Albertson's, McDonald's, Starbuck's, and Panda Express. Oh, and a library branch!

This morning I met the Mayflower driver at the storage unit at 9:00. They had all my stuff unloaded and tucked away in two hours.

Anyway, I would like to add that I believe God was surely watching over me on this long trip, as evidenced by that angel/mechanic in Deming, NM who spotted my cracking tires, and then that weird Check Engine light coming on, causing me to take it to the dealer and asking them to check the oil. And THEN, to snag a cute little cottage to live in, with no hassle whatsoever - yup, that was definitely Divine Providence.

Some time before leaving, I found some words in a Norman Vincent Peale book which became my mantra thru all of this. And here they are:

"I believe I am always divinely guided."

"I believe I will always take the right turn in the road."

"I believe God will make a way where there is no way."

'Nuff said.

3:10 to Yuma

Make that 2:45 - my arrival time in Yuma on Friday. Seemed like a long, hot drive from Tucson across that desert.

Found my little motel, the Yuma Cabana, without too much problem. Grabbed a late lunch at McDonald's, drove around the town a little, then just hung out at the motel for the rest of the evening, except for a quick run to a grocery store down the street for some snacks. Thought about going to see the 3:10 to Yuma movie, but felt tired and wasn't in the mood for movie.

This motel has the neatest 50s-style neon sign outside! But there's nothing else particularly special about it. My room is large, with a king bed. The walls are white painted brick; good for insulation, I suppose. All they offer in the way of breakfast is coffee, juice, and packaged muffins.

DANG - that Check Engine light went on in my car again last night. What is going on with that thing??? Guess I'll pay another visit to the local Chevy dealer before I hit the road for San Diego today.

Still in Tucson

It's Thursday and I'm still in Tucson!

Yesterday afternoon I went to the Tucson Museum of Art. Got there just in time for a guided tour of their Latin American and pre-Columbian exhibit. Very nice stuff, very nicely displayed. They have another section of western art, which did not impress me as much. Another building, which was actually a private home at one time, was a Craftsman style home, showing the home as it might have been when occupied. A lot of art deco stuff in there. Wish they'd had a guide for that place, but not on the day I was there. I also wish I'd gotten there sooner in the day, becuz I didn't have time to see all the exhibits.

Late in the afternoon, I went to a laundromat and did a load of clothes. Then I stopped and got pizza for dinner. Yum.

This morning I'm going over to one of the Saguaro National Parks and commune with Nature for a while!

This afternoon, some more culture - the University of Arizona Museum of Art.

The Mayflower driver called me this morning, and he has left Dallas and was somewhere in Texas. So he said he estimated he'd hit San Diego on Sunday. I think that'll work out just about right.

The Old West

Yesterday morning I explored Tombstone. I walked into Big Nose Kate's Saloon, toured The Golden Birdcage, and saw the world's largest rose bush (tree) at the Rose Museum. Wanted to see the OK Corral, but they were doing some construction work on the concrete so it was closed temporarily that morning, and then later I just blew it off becuz the whole place is enclosed and I didn't feel like paying admission to see it inside. Personally, I think the place should be a national park or monument, free and open to the public. Wonder who owns that piece of property...

Went back to the same little restuarant where we dined the night before, becuz I was craving Mexican food (again!), and oddly, there didn't seem to be any Mexican restaurants in town.

After that I'd had enuff of small towns and decided to head towards civilization - Tucson. Ran into some more raindrops on the way.

Jumped off the freeway when I saw a McDonald's - to use the restroom and get my bearings. Picked out a Comfort Suites from my tour book, but when I got there, they didn't have any rooms, and directed me to a Ramada across the street.

This Ramada is pleasant enuff from the outside and has a nice courtyard with a fountain off the lobby. But the rooms are a bit shabby. In the one they gave me the bathroom sink stopped up, and there was no remote for the t.v. So I called the desk and asked for a different room. They gave me the one right next door. Everything in that room works, but the chairs have nasty stains. I put a towel on one before sitting in it.

I was going to change hotels today, but in the end decided just to stay put becuz I didn't feel like dragging my stuff around to another place.

This morning I took my car to a Chevy dealer to have it checked out; I just think the engine makes too much noise. The only thing they suggested was to have the injectors flushed, which I've never done since I owned it. They said it should give me better mileage. So I thought, well, it can't hurt, so I told them go ahead. Didn't take too long, and they actually have a little cafe there, for which they gave me a coupon for a free drink and cookie or muffin!

This afternoon, I'm heading over to the Museum of Art!

STUFF HAPPENS...

SUNSITES - Left Willcox, AZ around 11:00 and it was just a hop, skip, and a jump (30-40 minutes) to the little town of Sunsites where my friend Claire and her husband live. There's a golf course somewhere around here, so residents buzz around town on their golf buggies.

After popping in to the town's Visitor Center and picking up a few postcards, I called Claire and told her I had arrived. She drove over to meet me and we went to her house. Hung out there for a few hours, till her husband got home.

I had decided I wanted to spend the night in Tombstone, and they decided to go, too, so we could have dinner together. So they hopped on their motorbike, and we all headed down the highway. It took about an hour.

TOMBSTONE - When we arrived, I got a room at a Holiday Inn Express, then I followed them over to a little restaurant they knew about. So far, so good. Then...

DISASTER STRIKES - ALMOST - When we got to the restaurant, I wanted to take a picture of my friends out in front, so I got out of the car with my camera, leaving the car door open, since we were right there. As Claire walked past the car, she was trying to be helpful and shut the door. Only problem was, I had already pushed the lock down, and my purse - WITH THE KEY - was inside the car. OOPS.

A very friendly waiter at the restaurant claimed he could somehow get it open with a coat hanger (I had my doubts about that), but before that, he called the Tombstone marshall's office to see if they could send someone over to help. Well, no, they couldn't. Then my friends called some kind of roadside rescue service that they subscribe to. They had a hard time getting thru, but finally did, and were told that they'd send a guy out in about an hour. So we proceeded with our dinner. We sat outside on the restaurant's patio, so we had my car in full view at all times.

When the rescue man arrived, he was rather brusque and unfriendly, and get this - didn't even have a flashlite with him. DOH! But after a lot of poking around with a long metal rod, he finally popped the locks. HALLELUJAH and praise the Lord!

So all was once again well with the world.

Goodbye New Mexico, Hello Arizona

IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS - Sunday morning I looked up some churches in El Paso where I might catch a Mass. Of course, when I got there, I didn't know where to find any of the streets. I saw a sign that said Visitor Information and got off the highway, thinking they could direct me. Never found any visitor center and just got lost in the seedy part of downtown El Paso, down near the international bridge.

After I got myself out of there, I headed back the way I came to where I saw a bunch of hotels along the highway, thinking the staff there could direct me. Stopped at a Holiday Inn Express, but the kids behind the counter were rather clueless. However, the young guy looked up one church on Mapquest, and he was finally able to direct me to St. Pius, which was a few blocks away. So while I was waiting for the 11:00 service, I called Peter, and while discussing my plan with him, I discovered that I was in a bit of a time warp. When I crossed the time line, I set my watch back an hour, but somehow didn't push the stem in, so my watch had stopped! No wonder there were so many cars outside the church - Mass had already started, and I was way late. Well, give me an 'A' for Effort. I didn't want to wait around another hour and a half, so I hit the road.

MEEP, MEEP - After leaving El Paso, I saw a roadrunner scurrying across the highway! That made me smile. (Can those things fly? If I'd been going any faster, I might have hit him...)

DEMING DELAY - I stopped at an Exxon for gas, and the mechanic happened to be near the pumps and commented to me that my front tires were starting to crack. Well, I knew they were starting to wear, but didn't know they were getting to the dangerous point, so that scared the devil outta me. Of course, I didn't know whether he was right or just trying to drum up business, so I told him I'd like to get second opinion. Drove around looking for another service station, but everything in that one-horse town shuts down tight on Sundays, apparently. But I found a WalMart and asked their tire people to take a look. They concurred that the tires were starting to crack, so that's all I needed to hear. Went back to the Exxon (didn't want to wait at the WalMart - they were busy.).

So the mechanic put on the new tires (which may have been retreads for all I know), and I also asked him if he could fix the burnt-out headlite. He had to hop in his truck and go to another location to get the bulb, and he had to take out the battery to get at it, so all this took a while.
All this for only $212! Eh, whadda ya gonna do?

WILLCOX OR BUST - I crossed the southwestern corner of New Mexico in no time and decided to get to Willcox, AZ.

COUNTING DOWN

HEAD SPINNING - The packing ladies came in this morning and packed up everything in 2 1/2 hours. Trouble was, they were a little TOO efficient - they packed up 3 things I didn't want packed. My fault, tho; I should have been better organized and set the stuff aside.

LUNCH - left-over quesadillas. Yum!

BUZZED - Felt like I was on caffeine overload all day long. Packed 3 suitcases, filled boxes with cleaning solutions, and other boxes with cosmetics and lotions. Also a box of dishes that the packers couldn't do becuz they were in the dishwasher. And then there was that desk cabinet of files and papers that the packer missed... Mary Cruz's husband came by and helped by taking down the curtain rods and disconnecting the dryer and washer.

SURPRISE - went over to Mary Cruz's house for dinner and they gave me a good-bye gift: a carrying case for my new laptop! Perfect!

FOCUS - tomorrow I really must get my head together and focus better.

3 days till Blastoff!

PANIC - the check engine lite came on in my car last nite.
WHEW - the mechanic said everything checked out o.k.

LUNCH - with Jenny
HAPPY HOUR - with Stefani

IN BETWEEN - cleaning, laundry, organizing, packing...

BLOGGING? What am I doing???
Like I don't have a million other things to be doing right now...