Stop the Madness

From yesterday's Yakima Herald Republic:

"Authentic Filipino dinners are available from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Filipino-American Hall in Wapato.

Thursday: Chicken adobo, pork stir fry, pancit, rice, cookie or fresh fruit."

Ha. We serve a cookie and fruit.

I made it

I made it into Yakima last night after one. Fourteen hours of driving later, I feel, this morning, like I was hit by a runaway semi. Which is, of course, ridiculous, because at some points in the evening, they were passing me on all sides. I don't handle curves well in the dark. My "in the dark driving strategy" is to find someone who is going the same speed I want to go, and latch onto their taillights at an appropriate distance.

So I'm here. I need to unpack my car and take a shower.

Oh, and on a slightly *sigh* ironic note, I drove RIGHT PAST my exit for tour in a few days...At 9:17 last night.

Happy New Year

Oh, and Happy New Year!

I spent mine bartending for about a zillion kids at a kareoke party.

Bad Kitty

Today was NOT a good day.

I woke up ready to finish out my year end financial report with Wendy, then head to Sacramento to crash at my sister's house on leg one of my trip back to the Northwest. I got as far as the Albertson's parking lot in Buellton. And Chloe, excuse me -- there's just no other way of putting this -- messed all over herself and Cai, and their carrier.

So I let them out of the cage, not knowing the extent of the damage, and ran into Riteaid to grab baby wipes. By the time I'd got back out there, they'd climbed all over my car, spreading the refuse on EVERYTHING. I spent half an hour in a parking lot, with people looking on, trying to clean cat....stuff... Off them, my things, and my bleeding CAR. Then I stuffed them both into the smaller carrier, threw away the bigger one (because I didn't pay enough for it to merit cleaning the hassle of trying to find a place in a parking lot to clean it out), and then had to drive six hours in a car that smelled suspiciously like cat feces and baby wipes.

OH I HOPE the next day or two of this drive don't go as badly as the first one.

And all the books say that cats can hold it for days if they need to. Bloody cat!

Year End Reports

It's that time again, final quarter and year end reports, and cash flow report time. Go to www.cheapskate.com to find out how!

Donate

Donate to the Tsunami Disaster Relief Funds.

Through: Compassion International,

Unicef,

or The Red Cross, if you prefer.

Recommended Reading

Entre Nous.

The complete guide to why French girls live so well with so little, and still manage to look great (even while eating goose liver, rich foods and chocolate). Buying quality instead of quantity, avoiding malls like the plague, and only buying clothes that are perfect, and go together. Living simply but well.

Also has French film recommendations. One of which is Chocolate, which you should see if you haven't -- even if it is directed by a Swede with a mostly American cast, it's still a great view of French living. And Johnny Depp is in it.

The Flood Part 2

The flooding continues after a stellar storm front moved in last night. The creek outside my door has risen another couple of feet, and is now about to wash up on the corner of our balcony. Very exciting. If the dam breaks we'll have a lovely flash flood a la Julie by Catherine Marshall. I roll out of town tomorrow afternoon, so I should avoid building my own ark. White water rafting would be great today...If it weren't for bridge over the employee entrance. That might be more of a headache than it's worth.

Benefits of Tour

Benefits of Tour

One of the most interesting things about touring is how separated you become from the "stuff." And shopping. When you have to ask, "do I want to carry this around for the next two months?" it keeps the urge to buy at a minimum.

I've been packing back up, and other than the mail that got out of control for the month I'm here (ads that expired before Christmas, and catalogues for clothes I can't afford crept into every drawer and crevice) I didn't bring a lot with me, and didn't buy things once I got here. There is something nice about knowing exactly how much in life you really need, and what are luxuries. On tour, luxuries are scented lotion, ear plugs, a sleeping mask, and a good pair of chenille socks. A portable CD player can change from luxury to necessity depending on the day, and how much you need to pretend there's no one else around for a minute.

We've all figured out by now that stuff doesn't make you happy, and those that have everything are miserable (and if you haven't, come work here and get first hand experience).

Of course, saying this, I have a storage unit of stuff in Texas that ONE of these days I'm going to have to drive down and move to wherever I decide to settle....

Weather

Some weather we're having.

The creek right outside my door rose eight feet in the last three days. What was completely dry before Christmas is now suitable for white-water rafting, and another day of rain will having me sandbagging my door and building an ark. Another wave of this storm will be arriving shortly, though we had blue skies for twenty minutes today.

Thailand, however, was the main focus of the weather channel yesterday in the bar. For the best, most up to date information, search for Thailand blog. The news covered the story and said that the best place to look for up to date pictures, information, and places to donate to relief organization are in our own blogshpere. Pretty cool, isn't it? One of my sponsor kids is in Thailand, but I think she's further inland. My next stop is at Compassion International to see if they've sent me an update on her condition and whereabouts. Serious stuff going on these days.

On a less serious note, California surfers are dashing to the coast in droves to hit some post-tsunami waves.