Can't a Girl Have a Quiet Evening?

I've been productive today. I did my shopping, a few loads of laundry, some cleaning, and made myself a nice dinner. Since the evening is so beautiful tonight, I just wanted to settle in and have some peace and quiet. I haven't been that lucky so far. For the past few weeks a neighbor has been having what can only be described as a rough time. She has been having several angry and upset phone calls, but for some odd reason she chooses to have these phone calls outside on her cell phone. It might be scientifically proven yet, but obviously there is some gene programmed in human beings that forces us to have cell phone conversations about a hundred decibels louder than what is probably necessary. So, needless to say, these angry and upset cell phone conversations are also quite loud. To make matters worse, these loud, angry, and upset phone calls are also accompanied by loud crying, sobbing, and weeping. I don't know, maybe I'm different from most people, but if I'm ever having "issues" in my life, I'd rather not share it with the entire city of Boulder, but I digress. Tonight, instead of the usual sobbing conversation, my not-so-quiet neighbor was having an angry conversation of a different sort which ran something like this "that girl is such a bitch, if I didn't know that she was a bitch before, I know that she is a bitch now, because she is, like, really a bitch..." I've edited this conversation significantly, because she also threw in some other choice adjectives that I can't repeat, because, well, my Ma might read this. And to make matters worse, and, yes, it does get worse, this gal tends to wander around when she has these conversations and she'll just sit down wherever she pleases. Tonight she happened to chose a spot outside of my apartment right below one of my windows. My first temptation was to walk outside and hit her over the head with a frying pan, but I just did the dishes and didn't want to dirty another pan. So instead I emphatically and angrily slammed my windows closed, which is a shame because it's a beautiful night outside.

I think I'm going to need a glass of Cognac...

Never-ending Road

I'm in a mood tonight. It's not a bad mood. It's a good mood. It's not exactly the gleeful and giddy type of happiness. Mostly it is just content. Calm. Peaceful. Meditative. Maybe it is the atmosphere. It is nighttime now. It has been raining so the air smells wonderful. It is cool but not cold. It is a calm and relaxed feeling. Yet there is also the feeling of deep love and longing. But there is peace and not restlessness. I don't know how else to explain it without getting repetitive. Maybe that is the beauty of it--the fact that it can't really be explained. I've been listening to Loreena McKennitt's "Never-ending Road" and this song captures what I am feeling right now. The lyrics are beautiful and it is even more beautiful when you hear her sing the song. I wish I had the talent to write something this deep.

The road now leads onward ~ As far as can be
Winding lanes ~ And hedgerows in threes
By purple mountains ~ And round every bend
All roads lead to you ~ There is no journey's end

Here is my heart, I give it to you ~ Take me with you across this land
These are my dreams, so simple, so few ~ Dreams we hold in the palm of our hands

Deep in the winter ~ Amidst falling snow
High in the air ~ Where the bells they all toll
And now all around me ~ I feel you still here
Such is the journey ~ No mystery to fear

Here is my heart, I give it to you ~ Take me with you across this land
These are my dreams, so simple, so few ~ Dreams we hold in the palm of our hands

It now leads onward ~ I know not where
I feel in my heart ~ That you will be there
Whenever a storm comes ~ Whatever our fears
The journey goes on ~ As your love ever nears

Here is my heart, I give it to you ~ Take me with you across this land
These are my dreams, so simple, so few ~ Dreams we hold in the palm of our hands

Spring

White-armed Persephone
Queen of the Dead
Stirs and rises
Ascending from dark-walled Hades
Returning to the light
Joyful tears fill her mother's eyes and fall to the land below
Winter sleeps and Spring is reborn
A gentle breeze, the sweet, musky breath of Spring, stirs new leaves
A cold rain, tears of Demeter, falls and nourishes the thirsty earth
While the earth blossoms
I lie inside, feasting on your lips
Still fresh and sweet and red with wine
I grow drunk and intoxicated
As I lose myself in your flesh
Sweet ambrosia
Succulent nectar
I am one with the gods and goddess on high

So Much for Peace

I was having a beautiful evening. I've been listening to Loreena McKennitt. The lights are off and the candles are lit. I'm drinking a nice Chianti. It is raining so I have the windows open because I love the smell and sound of rain. It is almost perfect. Then what do I hear? The sound of a college student throwing up on the sidewalk. I looked out the window and saw him staggering across the street. Then he threw up again, quite loudly. Sigh...

Twilight Zone

So while having my coffee and breakfast this morning, I was flipping through the channels on TV and came across TV Land. For some odd reason this morning, they were showing Basic Instinct. This is a movie that is all about sex, murder, and mystery, and although I have no real objection to sex, murder, and mystery, it is just odd to see it on TV Land. This is the channel that shows things like the Andy Griffith Show, The Brady Bunch, Star Trek, Green Acres, and I Love Lucy. Maybe I've been living under a rock, and maybe they usually show random movies like Basic Instinct. It's just odd to be watching Basic Instinct and then see a commercial for "coming up next, Bonanza."

Dumb People on the Road

I'm not sure what it is, but there is something wrong with the day today. It seems like everyone is in a coma or walking around with their eyes closed today. During my lunch break, I had to go out to run a few errands. I was coming to an intersection and I had the green light, but there was an ambulance coming, so I stopped because I didn't know where it was going. A woman pulled up behind me and slammed on her horn for what seemed like five or ten seconds. When I looked in my rearview mirror, I could tell that she was cussing up a storm and gesturing. I don't know where she learned to drive, but I was told that you should stop for emergency vehicles when they have their lights and sirens on. Times like that I wish I had a James Bond car so that I could drop an oil slick to make her spin off the road. People, in general, seemed to be driving with only half their brains today. I saw someone nearly run over a motorcycle driver (who wasn't wearing a helmet, of course). Another person tried to make an illegal U-Turn, and since his SUV was bigger than the street, he had to make a three-point turn while traffic waited for him to get out of the way. I was at another intersection and I had another green light, but some guy with a bike decided to cross the street in the path of oncoming traffic. And to make things more interesting, he wasn't riding his bike, he was carrying it. I suppose the bright red hand that you see on street corners doesn't always mean "stop, don't cross." Yes, I wanted to cuss him out considering I was the one who had to slam on my breaks to avoid him, but then the thought crossed my mind that eventually he will get hit by a car, and that is simply natural selection at work. Then again, you have to wonder how so many stupid people managed to live this long...

Maybe tax day is making people angry and stupid. I mailed my taxes today and found great irony in the fact that the check I sent to the IRS happened to be check number 666. It is all too perfect...

Hiking

A friend and I made plans to do dinner tonight, but we wanted to do something beforehand. Initially we considered seeing a movie, but instead we decided to go for a hike this afternoon. Yes, a hike. I went for a hike for the first time in a long time. I'm usually "too busy" with other things like shopping and running errands, so I hardly ever get out to do something fun. We took her two dogs and did a nice hike along the South Boulder Creek and Big Bluestem trails. It was an easy, four or five-mile hike, nothing too strenuous and no major climbs or changes in elevation. It was nice to start out with a gentle hike considering I'm old and not in the shape I was in about three or four years ago. Then again, when I go out for a hike, I go out to enjoy myself and to enjoy the sights. I'm not out to "conquer a mountain" or anything like that. The trails go through lots of meadows and the base of the Flatirons. It was a gorgeous day--not too hot, not too cold, not windy at all. We saw a lot of deer and even a few cows along the way. It was wonderful. I only wish I brought along my camera to take some pictures. But I plan on going back there for another hike, so I'll take my pictures then. All in all, it was a wonderful day.

New Job

Well, I'm sure everyone (my four or five loyal readers) have been wondering about my new job. In a word, it is fabulous. But in another word, it is intense! The first day I was slightly overwhelmed with the amount of information that I was taking in. I remember thinking that night, "oh my God, what have I done?!" But, I always feel this way whenever I start something new, so I just had to remember to calm myself down. For the past four days, I've been training all day every day. People have been showing me how to do things, then they watch me do what they just did while they look over my shoulder. Everyone who has been training me has been wonderful. It's always nice to get trained by six people, because then you see each person's individual style and way of doing things. And, naturally, from this I can figure out what works best for me. I currently have only three book projects, but this is a nice, gentle start while I'm still getting my feet wet. It's almost like learning how to ride a bike. You sit on it, you pedal and you pedal while people run along side of you, but you know they are eventually going to let go. That will probably happen next week. But so far so good...