Last Post

My hiatus was brief. I've decided to continue blogging, just in a more forward looking blog. If you are interested, you can read my not necessarily daily entries in Third Life, a blog where I will report what I am doing for living.

Day Two-hundred-and-three: Last LAL entry

Today was supposed to be a day of service, nationally. I chose for my service contribution to revisit an stretch of coast that my parents and I just happened to walk along last September on Coastal Cleanup Day. Of course, we were not aware of this until we were walking. Unfortunately, the people we met who were picking trash up never made it to where we walked.

Fast forward to today. I took three of my precious kitchen trash bags, Whole Foods plastic bags that I can't get anymore, and walked to that same section of shore. There is bad news and good news. The bad news is that I had almost filled two of the three bags on my way to the section. The good news is that the hillside was mostly clean. I only found one teen or tween hiding spot with a lot of cans and plastic bottles. I still filled all three bags and found another that someone had filled and just left.

There is still trash out there. Some of the things that I saw I couldn't get to. I'll have to jury rig a grabber on my tree trimmer the next time I do this. What I was able to pick up was mostly disappointing and some of it was disgusting. It is amazing that people don't care about their home, the U.S., any more than they do. I think fast food restaurants should have a surcharge for their packaging. I only counted the aluminum cans, 51, but I had to smash them to get them to fit in the bag. I brought the glass I picked up home to recycle. The cans and plastic I put in can and plastic bottle recycling bins as appropriate.

I'm sore from the golf yesterday, but it is a good feeling. I feel like I've made progress in a way. I feel healthier.

I've decided to take a hiatus from this blog. Well, I've decided to stop blogging to it in favor of a new blog yet to be started and more diligently adding to my Memories of Marilyn blog. It's been good practice and every once in a while I've felt pleased with an observation or turn of phrase, but... In short, I want to do something worth writing about. The important thing about Life after Layoff is life. I'm going to be focusing on living.

Thank you for your readership.

Day Two-hundred-and-two: Golf the beneficial way

In preparation for moving, at least moving on, my youngest daughter is inventorying the items she is keeping. She is being quite ruthless in her choices, choosing the bare minimum. While she was being ruthless, she asked me to do some data entry of the things she is keeping in her inventory Access database. I made primary key entries of 11 through 44 this morning after Banana Walnut waffles topped with fresh banana slices, blueberries, and maple syrup.

Then we hurriedly ate a leftover lunch of mashed potatoes, punk rock chickpea gravy, and chickpea cutlet. We took two of the cookies as a golf snack and delayed dessert. Then we raced to the golf course. My daughter assures me that everything in Davis is only ten minutes away. I must admit we made it in plenty of time for our 12:07 tee time.

We were paired with a father and son but although they were very courteous to us and even joined in conversation every once in a while, it was obvious that our somewhat concurrent playing the course was quite coincidental. They may have had a couple holes in which they bogeyed, one each, but most of the time they got birdies and pars. My daughter and I may have had one hole in which we bogeyed. Most of them were far worse than that. This is why we played golf the far more beneficial way. We got more exercise. Not only did we swing our clubs more, but often we went from one side of the fairway to the other allowing us to easily double our walking. At least we did walk. I only lost two balls but could have used a shirt like my father has, upon which it says, "It takes a lot of balls to play golf the way I do." Water still sucks. But like every other time I've played golf, there were a sufficient number of good strokes that keep me from giving the game up completely, just not on the same hole. Besides, being outdoors on a great day, relatively warm, clear sky and air, and truly pleasant company can't be beat. If golf has to be the excuse to enjoy that, bring more golf into my Life after Layoff.

After golf, we drove around Davis and did a little cardboard dumpster diving. My youngest daughter and her husband learned from the pros in the Domes about dumpster diving and even though it was for cardboard boxes from special cardboard recycling dumpsters, I could tell she has the gift.

Then she both interrogated and motivated me about my Internet business idea. She wants to see action and won't take any hemming and hawing or excuses for any lack of action. It was good to talk with her about it and in the off chance this discussion leads to a business, I wrote on the back of our dinner receipt the business we conducted. Some people hang the first dollar their business makes. I'll will hang the first business deduction, even if I don't claim it as a deduction.

Day Two-hundred-and-one: Doing Davis

This weekend, without the holiday Monday, I decided to visit my youngest daughter. Her husband left to go fishing with his father at 5:30 AM this morning. I didn't leave until 9:00 AM and was at their house by 11:30. She was still in her pajamas, robe, and slippers. It was cool in her house, not cold, but she is used to Central Valley summers and their 100+ degree days.

After she went trough my pictures, transferring selected ones to her computer, we headed off to Sacramento for lunch and a hike along the American River. The Prius Navigation System took us on the scenic route, right down J Street. And scenic it was, especially all the motorcycles being ridden by "Wicked Wheels," "Iron Souls," and hundreds of other club members. Fortunately, a lot of them were already parked at the Convention Center. So, in addition to giving us something to look at, they slowed traffic to a crawl to give us plenty of time to look.

This was all my fault. My daughter let me pick the restaurant. I used the Prius Navigation System to select a restaurant that was on the way to the American River. We lucked out twice. Not only was the restaurant still in business but it was also good food.

Then after our 3.7 mile walk up and down the lazy river, we went grocery shopping for the ingredients she didn't have that were required for our evening vegan feast: vegan mashed potatoes and punk rock chickpea gravy from Vegan with a Vengeance, chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon, sauteed brussel sprouts from my daughter's brain, and gigantoid crunchy peanut butter and oatmeal cookies for dessert also from Vegan with a Vengeance.

The cookies really were gigantic. The batter made just 12 cookies but each cookie ad to be eight inches in diameter. The whole meal was fantastic. What's more, they have a waffle iron for the Banana Walnut waffles tomorrow from Veganomicon.

It also appears that my daughter is attempting to become her grandfather's favorite through completely unorthodox means. She is sympathetically joining her grandparents in their ladybug infestation. Since I only saw one and it was on her, until she knocked it off, maybe it is just her who is infested.

I was also informed that I get to be a cat person for about a month, the month that my youngest daughter and her husband are off training for their hike on the Pacific Crest Trail after they've given up their rental but before their longer term arrangement is available. (Their cats are named Humphrey and Napoleon. I'll let you guess which one is smaller and dominant. Maybe the larger one was named for the whale.) There are all kinds of new experiences in my Life after Layoff.

Actually, taking care of a cat won't really be a new experience. Before I met Marilyn, I had a cat whose name was Weldon for the street I lived on but who was called Butt. My daughter uses a bell to call her cats but an electric can opener works better.

Butt in a box.

Day Two-hundred: More leaking

I ran the dishwasher forgetting that its drain runs to the garbage disposal. I had another mess to clean up just after I finally put all of the stuff back under the sink. All the stuff is back out from under and drying again. Before I put it back under, I will have to take the drain apart and figure out where and what is the problem. Since it doesn't appear to affect the main sink drain, at least I can do the dishes the old fashioned way, by hand.

I went on a very short motorcycle ride to a motorcycle shop. I tried on a display boot that was supposedly my size. While it was difficult to get on, it did fit once I got it on. I had almost given up when I noticed an instep velcro strap. I also checked out saddle bags. I'm wanting to get the largest I can get without having to do any modification to the bike. After no one came around to help me, I left and rode home.

I'm making what I call Gerson Ratatouille for dinner. It consists of an onion, a few cloves of garlic, an eggplant, and a large can of diced tomatoes. While I never put anything else into it for Marilyn, I may try some other spices this time. I'm also thinking of cooking some linguine or spaghetti and using it as a primavera. I still have to wash the rice cooker or I would have had rice with it.

The first few days after I got back from my trip, I didn't feel like cooking. In fact, I was quite lazy. The last two have been different in some way. I actually cooked lunch and now I'm cooking dinner. If I hadn't already used it, this would be a good place to say I'm really cooking in my Life after Layoff. (Does this variant count?)

I'm heading out for my youngest daughter's place tomorrow morning. I will be taking two sets of golf clubs just in case we end up golfing. This means I won't be riding my motorcycle even though for other reasons I should. I also won't be taking it to the Bear Valley Lodge January 29th. I decided that skiing is more important than skiing on the 28th. This way I won't be alone on the trails, if there are trails. The day has been quite sunny and warm again. I've been able to see the Farallon Islands every day I've looked since I've gotten back. I do want to take a boat trip around them some day. Plans for the future are an important part of my Life after Layoff. (Since I don't go back and read my earlier posts, I don't know whether or not I've used this before as well. Someday I need to go back and take a copy of all my entries. Maybe I should start that soon. I don't know how long they let me add before they start deleting the earlier ones.

Enough!

Day One-hundred-and-ninety-nine: How many to go?

It's a good thing I have a different outlook on life right now. I was cleaning up the sink in the kitchen getting ready to do the dishes I couldn't cram in the dishwasher and I needed more dish soap. I opened the under-sink doors and saw the flood. Most of it was caught by the lazy susan until I just had to confirm where it was coming from before I cleaned it up. The new flood from the garbage disposal overflowed the lazy susan. Now I have all my under-sink stuff spread over the sink and counter top. (The wet things in the sink and the mostly dry things on the counter top.)

Oh well, the only reason I was working in the kitchen was to wash my rice cooker's insides, Panasonic SR-LE10, so I could try it out today. I can wait until tomorrow. After all, I made enough Pueblo Corn Pie yesterday to last a couple more meals.

After today, no more speech to fret over, for a while. I've decided that I will wing it with just the barest hints of notes, more to impose order than remind me what to say. I'm planning on organizing it somewhat like I learned to write a newspaper article way back in high school, the most important things first and then increasing detail. When the timer signals the end of my time is near, I will simply transition to my closing. The bulk of the speech will be reverse psychology so I can surprise them with my plans to do it again but the next time on my motorcycle. Once again, you can read the appropriate earlier entries in this blog to read most of what I will say.

Well contrary to my above paragraph I ended up writing the whole thing out and I'm glad I did. While it was commented on that I my page turning was noticeable I won the best speech. My burst of industriousness may have been strongly influenced by my double soy latte this afternoon. But, it came at a price. I essentially missed dinner and now I'm debating with myself whether to eat anything at all. Certainly I'm not going to have the baked potato I had planned to have. What I will do is fill the rest of this entry with my written speech, much of which didn't make it into my oral speech due to time. Well, who would have thought that time is still a factor in my Life after Layoff.

The speech: (I claim poetic license for any claim in which the reader may disagree with any of the wording below.)

Thank you Toastmaster Gelini. My fellow Toastmasters and honored guest:

I am a type-A personality, which many of you may know is all about deadlines and destinations. Typically if none are given to me, I impose them on myself.

Imagine what it was like for me for the first time in my life to have both the means and time to do something counter to my type. Of course, there would be trade-offs: by traveling by road instead of flying I would be spending less time with my and my wife’s families. What tipped the scales in favor of my driving, in winter, across country, was my experience at a local Whole Foods Market and the encouragement of my youngest daughter, including her loaning me her zero degree rated sleeping bag. At the local Whole Foods I noticed for the umpteenth time that they allowed customers to post material on their bulletin board and I finally really noticed it because I now had something to post, a Marilyn Westbrook Garment Fund flyer.
Tonight I’ll be telling you a little about my cross-country road trip adventure in the hope that it’s both entertaining and encourages you to set out on your own adventures.

First let me tell you what it is not. For one person it is definitely not less expensive than flying, even with a rental car thrown in for the length of time I was visiting. It was the hotel expense that put it over the top. The gas and food, most often junk food eaten while on the road, by themselves would have been cheaper. What can I say, I like showers. Then, throw in the casinos… After my modest losses at the first two casinos, I stopped throwing them in.

My preparation consisted of arranging for all my bills to be paid, except one; cancelling my paper, phone, and cable; collecting a lot of cash and then using my credit card—a lot; packing the day I left getting two and one half miles away only to return to collect a pair of jeans I intended to pack but were still in the clothes dryer; buying a set of chains for my Prius, which I learned later that some states have outlawed, including my destination states; and buying car chargers and adapters for my cell phone and iPods.

There is some wonderful scenery in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. It took me four days and nights to see it, including a three-hour stop and walk in Zion National Park. After the Reno Whole Foods didn’t have any customer posting provisions and I was substantially less enamored with the whole casino thing, I pressed on to Las Vegas anyway. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are nothing but back roads between Reno and Las Vegas. My Prius Navigation System took me on one 13-mile stretch of pure washboard road the other side of Virginia City where my top speed was 13 miles per hour. Of course, the trip to Las Vegas took the whole day.

Even at that low speed, my best mileage was to occur later. The 500 miles from when I filled up in Farmington, New Mexico, to my fill up in Amarillo, Texas, was a phenomenal 57.6 miles per gallon. On my return trip I let the Prius average the whole trip together. The combination of high speeds into the wind and up hill made my mileage an average of 41 miles per gallon with a low at Colorado of 39 miles per gallon. After I passed the continental divide it was more down hill than up.

But my lowest speed was on my first trip into West Virginia to my parents’ place. It was lightly snowing the whole way from Columbus, where I’d been briefly visiting with my wife’s family. As I topped a crest of a smallish hill a pickup passed with their hazard lights flashing. I took that as a sign and slowed down to three miles per hour. Very soon I was glad I did as I was able to stop and not hit the truck stopped in front of me whose driver was helping get another car out of the ditch. At least it was the ditch side of the road and not the sheer drop off of the other side.

I spent over a month visiting and playing with mostly family. I played pool with my father, on his table, and at first only won when he lost. He had one shot where he sunk three of his balls. He claimed the championship by virtue of winning the last game we played. We played a lot of cards: cribbage, set back, gin, shiny pants gin, cut throat and mystery partner euchre. We embarrassed ourselves on my oldest sister’s, still younger than me, Wii Fit. And in a tradition that at least goes back over fifty years to my mother’s initiation into the Westbrook family, New Year’s Day we initiated my children’s spouses.

I think I ate at every vegan restaurant in Columbus. There aren’t that many. I also tried to eat vegan at an Applebee’s. I just didn’t think to ask that they not put cheese and bacon on their house salad. I should have been warned as my very first night on the road in Reno the person at the front desk didn’t even know what the word vegan meant.

I was struck by the combination of highway signs in Missouri. On the one hand there were the church related signs and quite often in close proximity were the adult super store and casino signs.

It was nice to be able to reach out and touch people by phone. It helped make a few of the hours pass more quickly. Of course, there were long stretches on my somewhat spur of the moment selected route that there was no cell phone reception. In those times I listened to all nine of the CDs that my daughters had bought for me: Garrison Keeler and Car Talk. I also listened to literally all of the music on my mostly audio book full iPod. I did not, however, listen to any of the audio books.
Before I even started for home I had decided to take the more direct route, even if that meant driving through or having to hold up for some snow. The wind was something I didn’t plan on. Thank goodness there wasn’t snow. I would have been blown off the road. Instead, I was pulling tumbleweed sticks from the front of my car when I got back to Pacifica.

The worst driving occurred on the western slope of the Rockies, just after the Continental Divide. There I was wishing I had stayed in Georgetown as I was traveling down the expressway trying to stay in the less snow covered tracks and thanking my lucky stars that I was behind an RV with a trailer that also wanted to go slow. When I got down to the bottom and pulled off at Silverthorne, I was reminded by the fully snow covered town roads and the long line at the registration desk that it was ski season and a Friday to boot. So much for winging it and just stopping when I wanted to. But all my fears were unjustified. They had a room and it was a much better room than my previous night in a Topeka fleabag motel.

The next day on clear expressway roads during a period of cell phone reception, my father talked me into driving across Utah and Nevada on the “loneliest road in America,” US 50. It was great. There were long stretches through large valleys that I could see no other car on the road. Driving it on an early Sunday morning with less than a full tank of gas and no bars on my cell phone was a little worrisome but I made it to Reno much to early to stop at a casino hotel. (I hadn’t brought enough money to risk for that long without a substantial winning streak.) So, I pressed on.

I made it back to my house in Pacifica 44 days and three hours from the time I left. After 6,922 miles on the road, I was glad to be back to my home.

Would I do it again? Yes! I’m already planning on driving back to West Virginia in June to ride with my parents to Alaska. This next time I’m going to do it on my motorcycle. The road adventures continue.

Day One-hundred-and-ninety-eight: Alone again

After over a month of being with people, family, it just struck me today, my third full day of being home, that I am truly alone again. Other than it striking me, I have no idea what consequences it truly has. I think I have a built-in excuse for all my failings, my lethargy, ... Well, that and my cold. Yes I still have a remnant of that head cold. I am going out today for some Coricidin HBP. I keep wanting to do something else, anything else than what I'm not doing. (Now if anyone reads that last sentence and doesn't shake their head, then my writing truly needs improvement.) I can best explain that by an example: I need to finish my speech so I can get on with other things but I'm not really working on the speech. I'm just staying at home not doing much of anything because I am not but should be working on that speech. Then there is what I would rather be doing... Top's on that list is going for a walk.

The sun is shining brightly with an outdoor temperature of 60.3 at 9:30 AM PST. It's calling me. I'll report later this evening what I decided to do with this day in my Life after Layoff. It's good to have these dilemmas. By the way, I walked out of the Hotel Nevada with $72.50 worth of quarters as I saved all state quarters as well, both in memory of Marilyn asking me to "collect" state quarters and to go through them for bicentennial quarters I may have missed in the first round. It may not have been a winning gamble but it was a fun one.

Mid-afternoon update: I went out to get shaving cream and the Coricidin HBP. Then instead of walking, I went to the Chit Chat Cafe and had a soy latte while I read my $0.75 paper. I'll be doing both rarely but it was nice to get away from the house. Then I went home and spent over an hour putting together and baking the Pueblo Corn Pie. My oldest daughter's in-laws served this with a lot of other delicious food at Thanksgiving. It was so good I made it for my middle sister's family December 22nd. Now I'm making the full recipe for myself for dinner and beyond. As soon as I take it out of the oven, I am planning on going out to sit in the Sky Chair and relax while I work on my speech.

Instead of going outside, I ate some of it. It was good and it was a good thing I didn't go outside. My rice cooker was delivered. Now I just need to do my dishes and wash everything so I can use it. I'm looking forward to having rice and beans, cooking wild rice for the Mango Black Bean salad, and having rice ready when I want to eat it.

For the first Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in quite a while, I won't be working. Instead, I'm thinking about joining the National Day of Service, which is work of a different sort. I want to do something that combines exercise and environment. At the top of my list is to revisit the area that I know wasn't cleaned up on the Coastal Cleanup day back in September.

For the first day since my arrival home, I didn't make a "to do" list. I may have gotten less done but it was a better day.