Wednesday, July 29, 2009

days of our lives

things are moving along.

every day, i look for something to amuse me, to move me beyond the overwhelmed place i'm in. my mother is ill, awaiting the removal of a kidney... she lives with a family friend, who is 86--sharp as a tack--but, infirm. both of them are under my care right now. when mother is in the hospital, i stay overnights with Miss R, who needs someone there 24/7.

it's difficult for me to take this on, since i'm not really very close with my mother. however, this needs to be done, so, i go there every morning, and stay through breakfast, lunch, supper... and all that is in-between, from doctors appointments to errands.

so, i look for things that make me amused.

i've discovered the 'stork mortuary'--the irony of the name makes me laugh. there is the 'beauty salon' that miss r goes to, where no one under the age of 80 is there, including the hairdressers. the photos on the wall, advertising various looks, are from 1979. i'm pretty sure there is a parking space for walkers in the foyer.

there is the man who was driving the mitsubishi eclipse... a fairly pricey sports car. he pulled up as i was parking the chevy i drive these days (you can't fit a walker in a two seat-er, even if it is a mercedes benz), driving slowly down towards the open space next to mine.

he didn't park there, though.

he pulled into the handicapped spot, and stopped. i stopped too, to watch. slowly opening the door, he got out... all 90 years of him. he then held on to the side of the car, until he reached the popped open trunk... and he took out a walker.

yes, a walker.

in a sports car.

i laughed so hard, i had to put my hand over my mouth, although i'm fairly sure he wouldn't have heard me even if i'd been right next to him.

sophie is not happy right now, with my new schedule.. and the fact i come home smelling like the terrier, who, along with mother, is in my daily life. the terrier is in heaven with me there, almost wiggling out of her skin when i show up, lying by the door sighing when i leave.

outside, we have bob the stray cat, that miss r wants me to catch tomorrow, and take to the vet.

riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

i'm going to go outside, lure a feral cat into a carrier and carry the swinging back and forth from him throwing himself against the sides carrier to the vet, who, if he is smart, will jab him with a tranquiliser through the grate then take care of his face and paw, both which show signs of being messed up in a fight.

so, i look for things every day, to amuse me, pull me out of the place i don't want to be, make things work.

and, they do.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

where i find something useful

even in denver, i retain my new yoker.ness.

i'm walking when and where i can, ordering food to be delivered and not being too proud to say, "hey, that looks interesting!" when i see something being thrown out.

like any good new yorker, i learned the craft of scanning other people's discards, picking out something that is in great shape and in my taste, and lugging it home. in this manner, i obtained a classic 1940's heavy woven wicker night stand, a beautiful large plant basket, and a 5x7 (yes, 5x7) wool rug handwoven in india in pristine condition from around 1950 that i folded up and schlepped home on the 4 train and then up 5 flights of stairs. the plant basket i left behind in the bronx, the other two pieces are with me still. i know people who have pretty much decorated their entire apartment with stuff found on the street. the upperwest side is a treasure trove... i've seen complete living room suites on the street...the only thing wrong with them was the prior owner changed their decor. one friend of mine who lived in the village had a beautiful sofa that would retail for thousands that she spotted on a curb and immediately sat upon to stake her claim. it took her three hours of dialing everyone she knew from her vantage seat upon said sofa (and telling others it was claimed) before she found a truck, but, find one she did... and now this beautiful leather piece sits in her front room.

yesterday, when i went down to the trash room (oh! how i love trash chutes which mean i don't have to lug my trash outside in all weather!) there was a delicate engraved silver box waiting to be smushed. it's now on my bookcase. not my old bookcase, which is vintage and nice, but, the one i found today that was being tossed out. who tosses out a solid oak six shelf bookcase without a mark on it and all the shelves? well, one person's rubbish is my treasure, and, after struggling to drag it down the hall way and into my loft, it now resides in the 'office' part of the main room.

i guess i can still say ich bein ein new yorker.






and, cue annon to say something they think is terribly clever and cutting about me and how i live. let me say in advance, thanks for still reading!! glad to know i continue to irritate the hell out of you. :)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

sebastian and the 11 minutes

the post below was written by one of my dear friends...

Corruption is a very hard thing to fight, but a very easy thing to get used to. As an Animal Control Officer fresh out of the academy, I thought I could do it all. I also believed that my Director knew everything, and I believed everything he said. As the days and years went by, I found that I was devoting most of my time to covering up his mistakes, making excuses, and I was getting tired. Doing both of our jobs was exhausting, and one day the Director impounded a little shaggy dog named Sebastion.

Sebastion was in for a 10 day quarantine, and all I ever knew about him was that he had bitten a child in a provoked attack, and that the owner, Q., did not want the dog back. The Director had written on his card “destroy per owner at end of quarantine”. His time came up, and I hesitated to do my job. He was such a sweet little dog with a sunny disposition, and I couldn’t make myself believe that his owner didn’t want him back. I took a deep breath, uttered a curse word, and destroyed him as ordered. Ten minutes later Q. called and asked how her little friend was doing and could she come over and visit him. I later found out that she had made several calls to the shelter, and none were ever returned.

To make a long story short, this incident prompted and investigation that quickly led to the resignation of the Director, and Q. and I became fast friends. 364 days later, the former Director relinquished ownership of his small breed puppy to the shelter, and I immediately called Q. as she was still looking for something small and shaggy to fill the void I put into her heart. I gave her a description of the pup, told her who the previous owner was, and she said she would be in the next day to look at it.

Q. came in as scheduled, and immediately fell in love with the pup. She then casually reminded me that I had killed Sebastion “a year ago, today”.

I’ve never forgiven myself for not following my instincts that day. I’ve never forgiven my Director for not doing his job right, and I’ve never forgiven Q. for not calling eleven minutes earlier that day. Above all, I’ve never forgiven a God so cruel that he would let an innocent little dog be sacrificed on the alter of bad politics. Sebastian’s death fixed alot of wrongs in ways that I could not, or did not. The shelter is a much better place now because of that small sacrifice, but I think the cost was too high.

Well, we’ve come full circle now, and maybe all is forgiven. All wrongs made right in the end, so they say….If that’s true, the I believe that Somewhere, there is a cute little shaggy dog wagging his tail in forgiveness of it all.




-------------------------------------------


this is how i came to have the terrier, who did fill that hole. i still have sebastian's collar, and our photos of him. he was the best dog... and, like my friend, i think that his sacrifice was not in vain, because of his death, and my not being such a nice person about it, and illyria's support, there is now an actual law in our little utah town, named after sebastian, that does save animal lives.


i think he's pleased with that outcome.

Friday, July 10, 2009

yes, we have internet!

comcast showed up.

internet working nicely (not wireless, can't see the need for it, really)...cable not so good. so, they are already having to come out to fix the darn thing.

in the meantime, i'm watching (well, sorta) pirates of the caribbean, 3. to say it sucks would be downplaying the horribleness of this film. the first was clever. the second was okay.ish... this? shame it didn't stay in davy jones' locker.

i'm signed up to production manage an indie film here in denver... it's a small, tight community--so, getting a foot in somewhere is important if i want to keep working in the field. it's a nice little film, and the director is great, so, i'm looking forward to the project (which i can't discuss).

learning the neighborhood... and discovering that, although wal-mart in my little utah town was were everyone shopped, here, it depends on which neighborhood the wal-mart is in that decides if you shop there or not.

things to learn, things to learn.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

checking in

i had internet, thanks to the thoughtless behaviour of one in the building... leaving their wireless unlocked--using their signal is a habit i picked up in new york. they figured it out, and now, i await my own internet installation tomorrow (which will be nicely secured... there are people like me out there, right?)


hope all are well...

Monday, July 6, 2009

slowly i settle, box by box

the apartment moves slowly into place.

i'm sure it would clip along at a faster pace if i didn't stop every so often to surf, write, throw the ball for sophie (who is in cat heaven with the long hallway), or try and finish 'the tenant of wildfell hall', which the bbc so nicely put into film form.

it's a bit like playing with one of those little puzzles, you know, the kind with the little blocks you move around inside a plastic frame, trying to make something? i move over a box, and slide in a piece of furniture which makes room for another box to shift over... eventually, the picture will be complete.

my desk is set up, i'm lacking a chair, but, that will be taken care of as soon as i find the goodwill store. it may be ackward to put it into norma to bring home... everything is new and interesting and i'll figure that out, too.

thursday, i go to my first production meeting for the film project i'll be working on. i'm not sure if they still want me to audtion, so, i'm going to brush up my 'long day's journey into night' monologue just in case. there is no audition for production manager, thank goodness.

the fireworks were amazing this past weekend... i live a stones throw from coors field, therefore, all i had to do was step outside to watch them. i've been fortunate with fireworks in my years--always able to see them from my home with a minimum amount of fuss. i wonder how douglass handled them this year.. she was never one for fireworks. i suppose she hid behind my mother, then, when they were over, trotted outside to bark a bit, to show them who was still around.

sophie slept through the entire thing.

my friend over at theraputicramblings is also settled in his new home... both of us getting used to smaller areas. i'm still thinking about buying a tv, and a sofa would be swell..

...all in good time.

Friday, July 3, 2009

denver, day 2

we are settled.

not unpacked, but, settled all the same. the trip was fairly uneventful... sophie managed to chew her way out of her cardboard carrier in around 5 minutes... then, she tried to free kitty. i ended up letting them both have the run of the truck cab, which elicited strange looks from people who passed me, and saw sophie sitting on the window edge on the passenger's side, surveying the passing scenery. both of them managed quite well, holding in all body functions for 11 hours, then dashing for the litter box at miss h's house when we arrived.

it was not a bad trip, looking back on it... sure, it was 11 hours of driving a 17' truck packed to the gills, but, it was smooth driving, i kept to a steady pace and my itouch held a charge all the way, allowing me to have good music to ease the drive.

the apartment is very sweet... i won't be able to have a dining table, since my writing desk goes in that area. there is a nice eating ledge thingy between the kitchen and living area, so, that works. i made the decision to unpack my good china and crystal and silver... and use that to eat with. why not use it is my thought.... silly to keep it packed away. i have it because i like to use it, so, use it i will.

still unpacking the 4762 boxes... the ones that are neatly numbered, and the numbers are listed in a notebook with the contents next to them, thus allowing me to know what is where. sadly, i packed the notebook, so, i'm surronded by 4762 opened boxes, and i dig through one at a time, looking. it's like christmas with a twist.

i'm close enough to coors field to see/hear the fireworks tonight. once i figure out where the hell i am, i imagine i'll walk to the light rail and take it to the center of denver. deborahsof and i are going to see 'august:osage county' in, well, august... there is theater all over denver, which is a good thing for me.

on the 7th, i have my first production meeting with the film crew i'll work with at the end of the month.. i look forward to that.

i discovered the whole foods that is the size of walmart... two hours and $130 i left the location dazed and content.

and then, there is zori. miss h's little girl, my first grandchild whom i've not seen since she was 5 months old. she has her mom's bigass grin, beautiful cornflower blue eyes, and a head full of blond ringlets. she told everyone, "my nonnie coming!" "mom, where nonnie?" and when she woke up to see me there on thursday, she said, "who you?". she's well aware who i am now, and comes easily into my arms.

hrh and her family arrived this morning at 7am after driving all night... i wasn't happy about that. but, they are safe and fully moved and her new house is much like her; warm and welcoming. it is sad for me that she's 30 minutes instead of 3 minutes away, but, we are all adjusting. my location puts me in the middle for all of the kids... i just don't have room for all of them at once.

it's late, i'm done for today, and i still have to get laundry folded. all in all, i'm happy with the move. i'm pleased to be back in denver after years away, and look forward to seeing good friends tomorrow.

life remains good.