i sometimes keep a piece of paper where i write a word to remind me of some small event in the day that i might want to blog about later. several things were written on this paper today, but then my happy day ended up in a mildly traumatic event. more on that in a minute...
it sounds like several friends are reading my blog, and a common thing i've always heard about my blog is how i'm "prolific." hopefully readers understand that i like to write but i do it more for myself than for an audience. even if nobody were reading, this would be here. the nice thing about knowing people sometimes read it is that i stay a little more on the positive side and do not focus on arguments with family or boyfriend, or how much i hate certain things. i purposely do not use correct capitalization, and i don't care that i use "i" too much or have run on sentences because i'm not writing some well thought out essay - it's just my brain spewing forth. a typical blog like this takes about 20 minutes tops because i barely think about how each sentence sounds. i just keep rambling on. so new readers, don't worry - you will tire of reading this blog quite quickly and probably forget it exists in the not-too-distant future.
so this is what was on my note:
"my ride is FAT" > a bumper sticker on an SUV in Everett. annoyed by the fact that it wasn't at least spelled "P-H-A-T," i drove past the vehicle, half hoping to see a few really obese people inside. no luck.
"row of milk" > today was my last day ever having to deliver to a big grocery store. these consumer meccas with long long rows of milk, yogurt, whatever... it's disgusting.
"pearl harbor" > so strangely in this same large grocery store there's this 91 year old man sitting next to a table with a sign that says "i remember pearl harbor." he was one of the only people in the store, because it was 8:30 in the morning. i spoke with him - he is one of 5 living survivors that were aboard the Arizona. cute old man trying to sell some little books he wrote. each were about 100 pages and he swore they'd sell for $1000 each on the internet, but he was offering them for $10.
"pol's bday" > i was on the phone with sonja, lamenting how i'd forgotten polly's birthday last week. i go on and on about this and then sonja says "hey i'm not trying to make you feel bad, but my birthday was last saturday." yeah she wasn't kidding. how much do i suck now?
"compliment" > one of the guy shopowners i deliver to said to me "i've been meaning to tell you, you're looking particularly good lately." yes. nice to hear!
"Meyers Briggs" > i suggest everyone take this personality test. i am an "ENFP" aka "The Journalist"
OK after work i went and helped fisher move his boat to a new slip. we had some nice mellow hang out time at the marina. on the way back to georgetown, driving nanette's jeep, i'm stopped about 4 cars back from a light when a car going 40 mph slams me from behind. stunned, i just sit there for a minute. i'd been pushed into the car in front of me, and he pulled off to the right. i pulled off too. the asshole that hit me slowly rolled past, his front end crumpled, then turned right and drove away. i make a habit of memorizing license plates for anything the least bit suspicious and shit, at that moment i wasn't even sure what just happened, but i got his plates: 227 SRM. i smelled gasoline and everyone within yelling distance told me to turn off the jeep right away. 2 hours prior i'd filled the tank and now it was pouring all over the street, right down the waterfront and into the ocean :( no bucket, no absorbent boom or anything - not like anyone keeps those things in their cars anyway.
so the gas keeps flowing out of this gigantic hole in the tank, and this girl in a minivan wearing chucks and a fishnet shirt or something pulls up next to me and asks me if i'm alright and says "ok now you need to pull over and i'm going to help you push your car out of the way. and then you must put a sign on it saying that it's leaking gas, and make sure nobody around here lights a cigarette." i was still a little stunned and my neck hurt and this probably 22 year old girl was like an angel. all i could think was how much all of this was going to cost me, and how the gas was going into the ocean! that is literally ALL i could think. the thought of the cost of this was more immediately traumatic than anything else. we pushed the jeep over and put the sign up and out of nowhere she finds this orange cone and puts it behind the jeep. the guy i was pushed into seemed drunk or something and said he was on the way to the airport and spoke to the cops but then got the hell out of there.
so eventually there's 2 cop cars and a fire truck hosing down the street with fire retardant or something, and telling me they have to flush the jeeps gas tank with water. from the back, the jeep has a bit of a fucked up bumper, and you can see the gas tank all messed up below, but besides that, not much damage. the spare tire cover was a bit torn. i lift the back license plate to open the gas tank and voila! no gas tank cover, no tank spout or anything! the gas tank took the brunt of the crash, and everyone agrees i'm lucky to not have blown up.
during all this, this sweet young guy on rollerblades rolls up with his friends and says "hey! the car that hit you is all messed up and right around the corner! the guy ran off, saying he didn't have time and had to go! i think he went to a bar... he was drunk." but then a train came, and blocked the cops and i from going after the guy. after the tow truck took the jeep away, fisher was there to get me, and we walked over to the perps car. it was a new altima, airbags deployed, but otherwise empty, and the front end was freakin OBLITERATED. that spare tire on the jeep was only nicked but it had obviously pushed the radiator over a FOOT deep into the engine of this car. fisher took some pics with his phone. there was a cop there, and the tow truck was hitching it up.
i was fine, even laughing about how fucked up all of this was, until i got into fisher's car. then i cried over how fucked up all of this was. and how for a moment i was really scared of being in another car accident.
anyway, my neck hurts but i think i'll be ok.
Fish and I went sailing on his boat Friday evening.
They are delivering a 47' yacht named Bright Ayes to New Jersey from the Bahamas.
Nickle just sent me a pic he took of me at Ohana last week. The guys really liked the cyborg eye thing I had going on.
At this point we realized that the little critters might actually be helping to keep the rudder and keel attached to my vessel, so we abandoned the sloughing and spent the next 6 hours beating OFF the wind, no sexual innuendo intended. Three hours into it the crew on my boat completely lost morale when we looked across the Sound and saw the Eagle Harbor buoys slightly north of our position. To my credit as captain I did manage to find the most effective trim position - main sheeted fully to WINDWARD and giant genny leading as far aft and tight as she could go. That might give you an idea as too how stretched the mainsl was. The most important thing was that we made it. My crew disappeared before I could blink one eye and I sat there, tired but relieved. Now I sleep aboard and it is cold, but I am happy. That might have something to do with quitting my job too, but it feels really good to wake up at the marina and just be on a boat all the time again.
Here's Nan & Brian digging so vigorously that the camera can't even focus.
Thad, me & Brian digging, prepping holes.
Thad and I posing
Self portrait while Nan checks hole depths.
Me carrying sack of cement (80 pounds!). I think I'm clenching my buttcheeks for added strength.
Brian and Thad bending rebar. Brian must be sore today...
Nan making decisions. Check out those beautiful trees!!
For Mother's Day Thad wrote his mom a really loving and eloquent letter, commending her ambition and follow-through on so many daunting tasks over the last few years. He's a great kid and he truly respects his mom. It's nice to be a part of their extended family :)
