For all my NM homies

Glad to see the Albuquerque is still tearin' it up. I thought that the Sandia's were in background of "No Country for Old Men". And it was!!! Not only that but one of the final scenes-- Central Ave. I don't know if I can remember the cross street correctly... Past where that god-awful, ugly building was-- tall, falling apart. Empty for years! That was it.. Not as far east as San Mateo (I don't think).

The other movie that was at least filmed in NM--- "Wild Hogs". Yep, I know, not my cup of tea either.. the things you do for friends.. Madrid, NM was in that one.

Ok, time to finish up my leftover Thai!! YUM!!!

Catching up...

I guess it was about a month ago, but J and I went down to Charlottesville. We climbed up this little mountain, and it was breathtaking. Humpback Rocks.

On the way to the trail.

Beautiful foliage. It was an amazing day. A little brisk, and slightly windy. But very Crisp, just like fall air should be.

A view from Humpback Rocks. Had to take this shot so J could see it... He's afraid of heights....

So what else has been going on.....

Ok, so no Decemberists. Cancelled tour, I guess it's just not meant to be with that band. I mean, I've tried to see them several times, and then I was away in Egypt. Thought this was my moment. I did get my money back, so now I'll just have to keep my eyes and ears open for someone else who suits my fancy.

Had a great weekend with out them. And I had today off. What does that mean? Sleeping in! Of course. It's my new indulgent habit. Now, you may be thinking, " But you never sleep!" . Well I do now, people. Ambien-----take me away.

Last week I had many doctor's visits. Found out a lot about my health. And what can I say about it? Well, I'm a-o-k. So far. I'm still waiting for blood tests. Last week I got a really strange phone call from my doctor. She built up all kinds of strange suspense with just one voice mail message. However, she also tried to call me like 4 times. I couldn't answer because I was at school. So I called back to make an appointment. The closest appointment was Wednesday! Yikes, I had to wait that long to see what she was going to say??? I had a few sleepless nights, a couple of google researches to try and figure out what she was going to say about my impending test results. I was starting to think about the big "C". Everything we had talked about led me straight there.

Well, I go to the office. She sits me down and says ," You have E. Coli." WHAT??? THANK GOD, I'm thinking. "Thank God", I say. I told her I was worried she was going to tell me something else. She smiles and she starts asking where she thinks that I might have come in contact with E.Coli bacteria. I tell her that I eat salad everyday at the cafeteria, and she says," Ahh, that must be it". In fact I'm SURE that's it too. She said it just must have built up in my system. I had been feeling pretty ill for the past few weeks, loss of weight and all that. But I couldn't figure it all out. NOW it all makes sense.

Just what I needed, E.Coli. I think it must be gone now. Thank God. But I had to tell the people at work. So I told the nurse, and she had the cafeteria shut down and cleaned. And from now on, I'm bringing my own lunch. No more d-home salads... ugh... I don't wish this on anyone either. You feel horrible.

SO the weekend was a celebration of sorts... I'm not dying! I don't have some kind of lymphoma, and I'll be fine. Watched some movies this weekend. And indie one," You, Me and Everyone Else". Good if you like really strange stories that connect people together-- pretty funny too. Then J and I went to see ," No County for Old Men".... Very gritty, dark, real, good story telling, amazing character development, disturbing, and depressing..... You know me. Filmed by the Cohen Brothers, so if you like their style...you'd like this. Apparently much like the book, that's what J said, anyway.

Lots of great meals this weekend too. It all began with Risotto (by J) then ended with Tacos (by me). I'm going to have to prepare for Thanksgiving. Not sure what will be served up in G-burg, but I'm supposed to bring a few items....I think I'll be making a roasted vegetable lasagna, and maybe some kind of butternut squash soup for the vegetarians... me and J.

Working on a painting too. It's kind of disastrous right now. But it will improve. It's for K and S. I just can't figure out what kind of colors to use. They love color, and I only like color. Every time I try to use large amounts of color I hate it. I'm all about toning a lot of it down right now.

Whew-- back to school tomorrow. But a short week. And the next week an even shorter week. Work has been good, though, so I can't complain. I just always feel like there is only so much I can do. I'm considering taking on an extra class with the school that is next to the detention center. Most of the kids at this "halfway house" go to their own school, but there is a hand full of them that stay there the whole day, and I'm sure they can use some creative outlet. So two days a week I might head on over there just to give them a little something.

Alright, wow, my day off is coming to a close. I think it will be time to curl up and read a book and enjoy the last 2 hours of daylight.....

November, already

Time just seems to fly lately, the weather changed, we fell back an hour. The extra hour of sleep probably did me a little good.

I just got my new passport. It only took 4 weeks. Kind of surprising when you hear about the backlog of applicants and all that. I suppose it's because I've had a passport in my possession my whole life. No strange background checks needed. They know where I've been. The new passport is rather strange, though. It's very---- American. It used to be a kind of non-decrypt identification book that just held visas and stamps of various locations around the world. Now, on every single page there is a picture of a national landmark and a famous American quote. That doesn't seem to make sense. Are other countries passports this ornate? Why? Do we really need another reason for other countries to hate us? Are all these things on the diplomat passports? I'm actually kind of scared to travel now. If you stamp on top of the pictures it would be really hard to see what that stamp said, or even a visa. Doesn't seem like homeland security is doing me any favors by adding these images on my piece of identification.

Anyway, glad I have it, let the traveling begin... anywhere in Asia, the islands...Iceland??? I'd go anywhere. J has to get a new passport and then we can plan.

Can't wait for the weekend to get here.... Decemberists! Can't wait to see them. I heard that they put on a good show. I guess other people do to, they're performing over 3 nights at the 9:30 Club.