Ah, been feeling kind of iffy there for a while. Didn't feel much like blogging, either. Then I segued into just feeling plain old ornery. Definitely didn't feel much like blogging then. Now I'm feeling a bit more upbeat and ready to resume regular programming.
I picked up my mid-life crisis the other day. It's a red Mini Cooper S convertible. My very first brand spanking new car. Can't believe I don't have a picture of it yet to post. I'm enjoying driving my new car, although I haven't had all that much occasion to drive it. I drive to work, but that only takes about 5-10 minutes and doesn't require that I go above third gear. I'm hoping that there might be another beautiful autumn weekend so we can go for a nice long drive with the top down.
The dealer guy did stress the reduced visibility (i.e., increased blind spot area) of a convertible and that is taking some getting used to. I find I go a lot slower when backing up and that I avoid backing up whenever possible. When I park at home, I pull in and turn in the drive so I'm facing out. When I next leave, I don't have to back out. I used to do this before bc I'm not all that keen on driving backwards if I don't have to. I'm just doing it more now.
I've been working a little bit more lately bco people leaving. One guy retired. The director left to become director up the road at Rockaway Township. And another person is ill. This is a good fit for a part-time job for me. I come in, I do my thing, I leave. It's close to home; sometimes I squeeze in a very little exercise by walking home. I don't often walk to work bc it's uphill and I often bring something or other in to work, e.g., supplies for Socrates Cafe, in addition to my own stuff, e.g., books in case it's quiet and I have a chance to study. It's not so bad walking home downhill with just my stuff. The vast majority of patrons are lovely. A small minority are less than lovely; I try not to let them bother me, although I don't always succeed. I have met some interesting people here. Seems like most people have a story to tell and I generally like to hear their stories. A chance remark about someone's funky tote bag or the books they're taking out or their handmade shawl often leads to some interesting peek into their life.
I often enjoy hearing people tell their story or a part of it, especially when you can tell they enjoy sharing it with someone who's really listening. I also like asking them questions about what they're sharing, especially the parts that seem so foreign to me. Even though the answers will probably never be of practical use to me, it's interesting to hear them. I always enjoyed listening to Minnie talk about her life, things like how her girlfriend's father received the telegrams for the area and Minnie and the girlfriend would deliver them, sometimes on foot, sometimes on horseback. Or when cars first came to town.
I once made the aquaintance of a couple of sisters. They live out of state, but, at the time, their elderly parents still lived in NJ, in the next town. They knew I volunteered at the cat shelter and they asked me to help their parents adopt a cat. Their mother was at the earlier stages of Alzheimer's and they thought she might find a quiet, sweet lapcat comforting. So Dr. and Mrs. W and I went and found them a lovely, beautiful cat. Mrs. W eventually went to live in a nursing home and the cat stayed home with Dr. W. I had told him the shelter loves to get updates from adopters. He was kind enough to call once in a while with an update; sometimes he had a cat question. I went over a couple of times to help him with the cat.
The point of all this is that I didn't know Dr. W very well, I only knew him from this business with the cat, but he was one of those people with whom I always enjoyed talking. It was always a pleasure to answer the phone and find that it was Dr. W calling. It was always a lovely conversation, even if it sometimes turned to unpleasant topics, e.g., the progression of Mrs. W's Alzheimer's. I guess what I mean is that it was always a quality conversation. Now, I'll guess that many, perhaps most, of a person's conversations are light and fluffy or short and to the point; those conversations are important in their own way and serve important ends. But there was just something so delightful about conversing with Dr. W; I think it was that he was interesting and interested. I don't think I talked with Dr. W more than 10 times before he died of a heart attack at age 83. That was over a year ago. And yet, to this day, I still miss him and feel sad that I'll never have a lovely chat with him again. Odd how I could feel that way about someone I didn't know all that well. But maybe I knew him better than I think. Obviously, he gave off very good, positive vibes. He was an openly loving husband, father and grandfather. He and his wife had many longtime friends. They enjoyed many activities. I think they enjoyed each other and people in general. So maybe it's more that he was a quality person as well as a quality conversationalist. Gawd, I'm tearing up just thinking about Minnie and Dr. W and typing all of this.
On a happier note: fun times this past weekend. Saturday was The First Annual Reinkenfest (sp?). Kevin's right hand guy at work, Dave, threw a party named after himself...his name is Reinknecht. Or something. Anyway, last time we went to one of his shindigs...yummy! Dave was a chef before he couldn't hack the physicality of the job. He's only in his thirties, but the poor guy's a wreck. Anyway, he's still all into cooking and puts on a delish spread. We missed much of it bc I had to work and Kevin was at a wedding rehearsal thingie, but it was still fun to hang out w/Dave, his wife Cindy, their cat Buddy, and their friends.
Sunday was the wedding of Kevin's sister, Karen, and her longtime beau, Andrew. It was at the chapel at Drew, where Karen went to undergrad. Karen and Andrew met at Yale as chemistry graduate students. Coupla dorks. Nice dorks, though. They've been together since then, through his advisor moving here, her postdoc there, his postdoc here,...some twelve or so years in all. They live in CO now. Nieces Mary and Samantha (daughters of Kevin's sister, Joyce, and her husband, Stephen) were flower girls and were, as usual, adorable. It was a beautiful fall day and the wedding colors were autumnal and everything came together really nicely. I have a bunch of pictures from that, too, which I'll eventually post.
My friend Eileen is getting married later this month. This mini-rash of weddings necessitated the purchase of a new outfit. I had rifled through the few remaining suits I have (most of them went to the Salvation Army) only to learn that: (a) I have suits that are now too big for me and suits that are still too small for me, but no suits that are just right; and (b) I wore some nice duds to work back in the day. So off to the store I did go. I focused on getting the suit first and then I'd find a blouse/shell/whatever second. I settled on a purple jacket and black pants (duh; of course black pants), then I start trying on shirts. I'm checking myself out in the 3-way mirror with this black (again with the black) lacy/shiny-over-solid-black thing when another customer saunters over and says, 'I love that blouse. I tried it on the other day, but it didn't fit right. That looks nice on you. Hope you don't mind me saying so, but you'll need to wear a push-up bra with that.' Thank you, Dear Stranger, for that unsolicited opinion about my rack.
I did, in the end, get a new bra but not a push-up and not bco what that lady said. Honest! I had done a major clothing purge earlier this year, including a bunch of bras, further including all black bras. Obviously, I couldn't wear a white bra under this thing, so off to the lingerie store I did go. I've often heard that the majority of women wear the wrong bra size and I did not disappoint. Actually, I had the right size, but the wrong cup size. I'm still trying to figure that one out. How is it...? But if I...? Anyway, Lisa there set me up with some effective gear for that outfit, as well as suggesting some less structured hardware (picture linked is technically SFW) for everyday wear. I was considering describing the fit process, but I'm finding that the only way I could describe how she got me into a bra was by likening it to when you're filling up a plastic grocery bag with your shopping and you're not sure if you can fit any more stuff in the bag so you grab it by the sides at the top and give it a little shake and a jostle to see how the stuff in there settles and is there now room in there for more stuff or is there just about the right amount of stuff in there? Is that a helpful visual? I don't know. She noted that the bra I was wearing 'did nothing' for me...it 'flattened' me out and didn't 'help me' at all. It was a front closure bra which I liked bc it's easier to put on than trying to close those stupid hooks and eyes on yer basic back closure bra behind my back with my arms twisted almost upside down. But no more front closures for me! Oh, and underwire! I must wear underwire! It will help push things front and center where, so I'm told, things belong. Again, I don't know. All I know is that things are going to change around here, starting with my bras.
Well, that was a nice break from studying. Actually, I have to go to work for a few hours. Tonight is Socrates Cafe night at the library. It's been going on for a few months now, with very uneven attendance. Sometimes no one shows up, sometimes five people show up, sometimes one person shows up. I'm not sure how it's going to work out in the long run. From what I understand, different libraries have had varying success with adult programming. At some libraries, it seems you could advertise a staring contest and people would come. I've only been here a year and a half, but I understand that it's always been difficult getting adult participation in programs here. Don't know why that is. I'm tempted to say that it's got something to do with the demographic, but...hmmm, I don't know.
Well, like I said, break's over.
Comments