Denim Day in LA

At work today many of us are wearing jeans in solidarity with "Denim Day in LA". This event began as a protest to an Italian court's decision to overturn a rape conviction. The judge decided that since the victim was wearing tight jeans, she had to have consented to have sex to cooperate with taking the jeans off. This is a day of protest against myths and misconceptions about sexual violence and a way of raising awareness.

In Memorium

I learned this morning that Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (Dem-CA) died late Saturday evening. She had been representative for many years, first in the state assembly and then, for the last 11 years, in the House of Representatives.

I would like to take a moment to honor her memory, and her untiring work on behalf of the people of California and of the United States. Her departure leaves a great void. May her family, friends and staff find peace in this difficult time.

Remembering

Altice Edmund Lowery
April 22, 1915-April 29, 1988

My maternal grandfather was born and raised in Smith Center, Kansas. He moved west to attend college in Nevada, but soon dropped out of school and moved to Los Angeles. He worked for a while operating the ferry between Newport Beach and Balboa Island; in fact, he had an opportunity to buy a lot on Balboa Island, and decided not to. I'm pretty sure he kicked himself years later for that decision, since property there now runs in the millions of dollars. Eventually, he made his way as a machinist in the Shell oil fields in Signal Hill. He married my grandmother, Rose Elizabeth Herzog (b. 1909), in 1940. They had two children, which led to seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren (at current count), only one of whom he ever met.

Although his mother was a teetotaler, my grandfather was an alcoholic. He was verbally abusive when his children were young, but had mellowed quite a bit by the time I knew him. My strongest memories of him were him sitting at our kitchen table, drinking beer and eating pickled peppers, red-faced and sweating. I also remember Christmases when they would unload their car at my house; it took many trips back and forth before our living room was full of gifts. They were very generous. I remember the time he was basting a turkey shirtless and ended up with second-degree burns on his large belly from the grease. And he sold me my first car, a green pinto wagon, when I was 18.

The last time I saw him was at Easter 1988. I was seven months pregnant with my second child. A couple of weeks later, he was ill and refused to go to the doctor. One morning, when my grandmother couldn't rouse him, she called the paramedics. Exploratory surgery showed he had an acute case of peritonitis and sepsis, probably brought on by his alcoholism. He never came out of the coma. I was planning to go visit him at the hospital on Saturday morning, and received a phone call late Friday night that he had passed away. It took me a long time to forgive myself for not going to visit him earlier. That funeral was the hardest one for me, knowing that my unborn child would never know his great grandpa "Pops", and that my oldest child would probably not remember him.

I love you, grandpa.

(This picture was taken in August 1981 in my grandparents' backyard in Montebello, CA. Left to right: my grandpa and my dad.)

It rained!

Thank Goddess for the badly needed rain here in SoCal yesterday!

I was a little worried - of all the days for it to rain, it had to be not only a Friday, but a day when I was doing a little more driving than usual. But amazingly, people on the roads behaved, and my drive times were not significantly delayed. There were no accidents on my routes, just people actually driving well under the speed limit because of the wet conditions and low visibility.

I could have used the heater, though. The heater in the Kia hasn't worked since we got it; apparently it had been disconnected due to a leak, and I haven't had the money to repair it yet. Thankfully, here in SoCal, it might get cold enough to be uncomfortable while driving, but it is rarely a health hazard to go without the heat.

Edmonton in Photos

My first day there. You can see how windy it has been - look at the snow on the bricks.


















The Saskatchewan River "flowing" behind my hotel. It had started to thaw the week before my visit and was now re-freezing. I kept singing in my head, "Watching the river freeze."

















The view from my 5th floor room, looking out over the parking lot and Jasper Ave. If you look closely, you can see that it's still snowing, and was bitterly cold. This is April?????

What's the buzz?

Another week come and gone.

I feel like I've been running non-stop for three weeks, without a day off! Oh wait, I have. This is the first weekend I've had in a long time where I don't have to "do" anything. Well, I mean, I've got to do paperwork and make a couple phone calls and do laundry, but we're not going anywhere more than 3 miles away, and we don't have people coming over. I can do things on my own schedule and let my body dictate how much it can handle at once. What a concept!

The one thing definitely on the agenda this weekend: Do Not Go Anywhere Near Downtown Long Beach!!!!!! Why, you might ask? Why, that's because this weekend is the Long Beach Grand Prix! Streets are blocked off, drunks are staggering on the sidewalks, and every restaurant, bar and coffee house for miles has a three-hour wait for a seat. We can hear the buzzing of cars whirring around the track from our home a mile away, and I know for a fact people THREE miles away from ground zero can hear it as well. It's good for the city economy, but it's one of the few things I really hate about living here.

Weekend in Review

My oldest daughter was down for the weekend - I hadn't seen her since christmas break.

On Saturday we picked up all 3 kids and drove down to see my parents. We were celebrating easter early so that all the grandkids could be there. I ate too much, chitchatted, watched my nephews play ball, and tried not to let the noise get to me too much. I was hypersensitive to noise starting Friday during my flights home, jumping nearly out of my seat when the flight attendant opened a soda can near me. By the time we got home Saturday night, I was exhausted, and went to bed.

Sunday morning I got up early and took the kids to their dad's for easter. Went back home and was a flake for the rest of the day. I played pogo, read, sat on the couch and watched tv. I couldn't convince myself to do anything else. I think the traveling wore me out last week!

Today I'm back at work, in my usual office. Pretty much thawed out, but still pretty tired. At least the traffic was light this morning!

Thawing

I think my blood had frozen in my veins. The temperature never got above freezing the whole time I was in Edmonton! A lot of my downtime was watching the Saskatchewan River re-freeze. And trying to figure out how the magpies could keep flying in that freezing wind! I didn't get a chance to sightsee, no I never made it to the WestEd Mall. When you're on the company dime and don't have a car, and you're working most of the daylight hours, you're doing good to find the closest Starbucks!

Brrrrrrrr

"Brrrrrrrrr???????" you say?

Why yes! It is -9C today, which comes out to the low 20s farenheit.

And it has pretty much been snowing since I got here 24 hours ago. Last night with the wind chill it was -14C.

"Where the dickens is she?" And well you might ask.

Can you say Great White North? Can you say northern plains?
Can you say Edmonton? Yeah, Edmonton. As in Alberta. Canada, eh!

No I'm not here to ski, or to see a hockey game. I'm here training some new employees for the company. It's a beautiful city, even if it is a bit cold for April. The locals are complaining that winter is over and it's time for spring, but I don't mind the snow, and the temperatures are about the same as Seattle in January when it's snowing.

Now if I can just find something to eat besides Quiznos and Subway - this is cowboy country and everything is steak steak steak - not a good thing for someone who hasn't eaten meat in 13 years!