$.90

Because .99 cents is just too much.

A few of my favorite things...

Favorite things this week:

1. Lentil Curls from Trader Joes. The first chip is weird, almost gross. Then you think, "let me try one more." That leads to 20 more - mmm, oh so good. Only bad thing about these chips is the inevitable trip to the restroom. (They ARE made of lentils people!)


2. This cool Doctor Who shirt. I love it!!! It's available here and it makes a great gift for those in your life who love the good doctor. (Ahem, Hint, hint) Another great gift would be a life-sized real David Tennant who's dying to date a mocha-coloured gal named Katherine.  Just sayin'.








3. Cupcakes - mmm so good. I love cake and have a true appreciation for a succulent cupcake. My roommate brought home some gluten free-ones recently -- some delicious strawberry goodness and some disgusting chocolate monstrosities (See pic below) that were strangely reminiscent of hockey pucks. Her brothers enjoyed  hiding them in funny places - like the dashboard of my car.

The Poet

So, I found this picture and it reminded me of the poet incident at LACMA few months ago. I was sitting outside studying in the perfect LA weather. I looked up every now and then to people watch and observe the kids running through the big yellow exhibit.

At some point, a woman comes up to me. She was slightly hunched, with big frizzy, grey hair adorned with a large sun hat and was carrying a few mis-matched bags. I believe she said she was 78. She certainly had the spunk of a teenager.

"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm studying."
"I'm a poet."
I smiled and looked down at my book, thinking should would get the hint. She continued to stand there staring at me.
"I've won a lot of poetry contests. Would you like to take a break and hear a poem?"

Now, I know I could have shut it down at this point by politely, but firmly saying "No, thank you." But here's the thing. She looked lonely and relatively harmless.  I had the time, in fact, I literally had all night.

She sat down, unloading her multiple bags and items on the floor and table and proceeded to tell me how she used to be successful, how she used to perform in poetry slams and compete in competitions. Now she lived in a group home for senior citizens. She liked to get out a couple times a week and go to LACMA or other local spots to be around people again. She commented several times on my necklace - it matched the ring she had on.

She told me about her daughter who was going through a hard time - a divorce and a bad job. Her daughter would call her and complain about things and then scream at her new puppy, hurting her mom's ears. All she had to give her daughter was her time, she couldn't do anything else for her now, but listen.

A woman from the museum staff was cleaning off the tables, sending off sounds of clanging chairs. The poet woman asked the staff to be quiet, then gave me a choice of two poems. "I won an award for this one," she said before launching into a very rhythmic, almost rap-like piece about a girl who had so much potential.  Then she did the other one for me. She was good. She was very good - articulate and well-versed in the nuances of performing poetry. The words were not only well crafted, they came alive.

After an encore performance of the first poem for the woman she previously asked to be quiet, she turned to me, and thanked me for stopping and listening to her. "I just miss connecting with people" she said. She hugged me and asked my name for the 4th or 5th time.

The many thoughts running through my head caused me to feel sad. What was this woman like in her youth? How did she get here? This was someone's daughter, someone's mother, perhaps someone's sister. How long was she going to last? How long would she continue to board a bus a couple times a week to "be around people?"

I gathered my things to go to another section of the museum to grab a seat for a jazz performance. Before I left, I thanked the woman and gave her my necklace. There's no way to describe the joy mingled with tears in her eyes. "I'll treasure this forever" she said.

I can't even remember what necklace it was.

Tide to Go

Had a good, GOOD laugh with my friends Jocelyn and Heidi over the "Tide to Go" mess from Martha Stewart's Apprentice. It was years ago, but it still makes me laugh!

Here's the clip from You Tube. Fast forward to 3:55 to see both teams or go right to 5:31 for the Team Primarius train wreck.

Who do I thank?

Came into my office today to find this on my desk - I was elated! Who do I thank for this?!! (Pun intended)

Name that movie...

"On this very night, ten years ago, along this very stretch of road, in a dense fog just like this, I saw the worst accident I ever seen. There was this sound, like a garbage truck dumped off the Empire State Building...and when they pulled the driver's body from the twisted, burning wreck, it looked like this..."

Stopped at the mall

I was walking in the mall recently and started to pass by an older woman standing in front of the 'Things Remembered' store and staring at the display window.

Suddenly she grabbed my arm and said, "Look at that. That is good. Remember that." I smiled, took a picture of it and thanked her for stopping me, after all, she was right. It is good.

Da-nah-nah-nah-nah.....

INSPECTOR KATHERINE

Okay, We've Got Some Catching Up to Do...

Or, I suppose I have some catching up to do. So, in February I decided to go back to school for many reasons. I am not going to expound on those reasons here, you'll just have to trust me. I took two Political Science classes and one vocal class. In short - the classes were great and provided me with  few experiences I shan't soon forget.

Having 3 rather long night classes per week on top of my busy job and all the events I attended meant I hardly had any down time. PLEASE TELL ME WHY I volunteered to run a voting site for the California Primary? Now, I did end up getting a small check for my services, but let me be clear - it was volunteer work.

The polling inspector had to have surgery, so I filled in at the last minute. Here's the quick version:

It doesn't look like much here, but believe me, it was a lot of items!

• Arrived to pick up the materials expecting to grab some paperwork. 3 strong men load voting boots, a big black case full of supplies, an audio booth, 6 boxes, and a the ballot reader into my 2 door Honda Civic. 
• I get my exercise for the week and tweak my back carrying it all into my apartment. 
• Instead of having 4 people on my team I have 2. 
• My good natured friend and I show up the day before the primary to set up the room. There are two precincts in the same location, but I was the "host" meaning, I got to set up all the signs.
• I get a call from one of the team members. He is sick, so I'm down to 1.
• I arrive at 6 or 7 the next morning to finish setting up and open the polls.
• After the initial craziness of rushing to get everything set on time, the day goes remarkably well and we are quite efficient with only 2 people. We were able to pack everything up and dropped it off by 9:45pm.
• It was hard work, but I LOVED seeing the democratic voting process up close.
• There are some crazy stories from the experience I can't post, but I will gladly divulge for a cup of tea.
  
  

I PROMISE!!

Okay, I know I haven't been updating this blog, or my other one, Cultured Miss. 

There are lots of excuses I could cite, but let's face it, they're excuses. As penance, I submit the embarrassing picture below. 

Moving forward, I promise to do better! And you know what, I'm going to take a friend's suggestion and try to catch you up on some of the things you missed. Oh yeah...here goes.