Surprise, Surprise!

Even before going to the play, I had a fabulous day. Slept in a bit, and didn't have the heart (or feet) for church-searching today. I took my laptop to Panera Bread, ordered an egg & four cheese souffle and sat down to write a post, read articles, listen to some songs on YouTube and watch a sermon... which was an excellent study on Love and Anger.

Walked back to base to drop off the laptop... took a bus down Rosecrans St. to go shopping, and found a couple nice shirts at the local church, the Rock's, thrift store. I also looked around Ross Dress for Less, found a nice little necklace... but that place was horribly busy. With my findings (and some supper from Chipotle) I got back on the bus and switched to the Trolley for downtown... and The Old Globe at Balboa Park.

Got there right at 6:30 for the 7pm performance of Emma: a romantic musical comedy. To my great astonishment (why did I not check online?!), Amanda Naughton was listed in the program (with a new picture) as playing Mrs. Weston. What a delightful surprise! Here's an official photo from the Globe:

The green backstage was a maze of hedges reaching up towards the background that was quite useful for gardens and playing hide and seek... and having the entire cast appear in a daydream.
I was surprised how well Emma fit as a musical. There were great original songs, but what I enjoyed most was Emma's thoughts to herself that she would sing. Both her and Mr. Knightly had beautiful ballads that were thoughtfully reprised together at the end when they became engaged.

I'm always thrilled to see that Ms. Naughton is still acting. She looks as if she's enjoying it with all her heart. She was delightful, sporting a high British accent. With the orchestration and the small company, she was on stage quite a bit. As I recall, she had a couple solo singing parts too. Mrs. Weston declared herself to be pregnant near the end, and in the final scenes she appeared with a tummy prop. :)

I thoroughly enjoyed myself, even though the bus from the trolley station to the base was no longer operating at 10:30... and I had to take a taxi the last two miles.

What a day!
Jp

By the Sea

Today is a day where I really lamented not having my camera (it's in the mail, coming this week). The ocean, topped with bilious clouds and the sun streaming through them was so... pretty. Words can't come close. It was so relaxing. I walked the length of the beach for about a half-hour, finding all sorts of shells and little piles of seaweed, and for the first time, two jellyfish... which I found fascinating. I then sat and soaked in the salt sea air for another half-hour near the boardwalk that juts out into the sea.

But that was after taking a long time leaving the barracks. I had some internet things to do, including looking up the 923 bus route that goes up to the library and then on to Ocean Beach. I was there long enough to have lunch at the galley at 1100, and then set off in order to volunteer at the library. The bus stop at the intersection of Nimitz and Rosecrans was "temporarily closed". So in frustration I leaned my head back and groaned. I continued to walk the entire way... but then again, as the Lord always blesses, no matter the bus schedule, I was able to have about a half-hour's chat with my dear friend Julie while making my way up the hill.

Before I started shelving books, I made a couple photocopies of my favorite pages in Jane Eyre... lol... and read them a few times. I had a guacamole burger at the grill across the street when the library closed (around 2:30), and then decided I'd keep walking towards Ocean Beach to explore. The total distance from base to beach (via the route I walked) is just about 4 miles exactly.

After my beach time, I explored downtown a little, discovering they have a lot of antique shops. One it particular was very neat... and I almost broke down and bought a painted, revolutionary war tin soldier. They also had 30's type music playing so it felt very retro.

For dinner I had an Italian ham & mushroom pizza... and a cup of hot chocolate. It warmed me up wonderfully, as it was rather cold out with the sea breezes. By the time I was done it was 6:30 and very dark. Too my consternation, I found I had missed the last bus back and therefore, had to walk all four miles back. Made it to chat at exactly 7:59... for a much needed sit-down. :)

Jp

A- Nixie Way on base, B- Point Loma Library, C- downtown Ocean Beach

Of Reading and Other Pleasures

Last night I finished Jane Eyre (all 433 pages in just three days) with much satisfaction. I have so many similarities to her, slightly in circumstance, but mostly in feeling. It would be awkward to list out the reasons... but the way she heads off on her own is especially meaningful.

Tonight I felt positively worried about coming to an end of things that could entertain me. I read in a book and a magazine, and had even read through 1-2 Peter and 1-3 John this afternoon... and suddenly I was tired after these and being done with my duties. But in a flash I remembered the pile of movies I have from Mike... and that I have a means of watching them in the privacy and solitude of my room... on my laptop. It was a silly 40's comedy... "Bedtime Story", I think... with Loretta Young. It was very relaxing to forget the military for a moment and laugh.

Jp

Monday's Mirth

Couldn't believe I didn't get out of bed until 1230... ! but I did. I laid there for a while, so it wasn't that I needed all that sleep... I needed the rest. I proceeded to read a good portion of Jane Eyre for the rest of the day, getting a lunch at a Greek cafe, and dinner at Panera Bread in Liberty Station, as I read on a bench near the little inlet where the shore birds hunt and play. There is even a bit of a beach access, where you can walk on the bit of sand to look at the hundreds of oysters, mussels and barnacles and overturn rocks to find scattering crabs. I had a ball.

Jp

Deja Vu

My roommate Wilson from bootcamp just got a car. Today she was going to check out The Anchor Church a few miles south of here via the freeway. I was glad I went with, if only to spend time with her for the first time. Had a little breakfast sandwich on the way, and I helped her navigate. I think she got a car that is very, if not exactly, like the first car I rented on the way to Owensboro! :)

This was a Pentecostal church... they didn't do everything as ridiculous as I've heard some do... but they did enough. I'm feeling very alone, spiritually, and I'm praying the Lord will bring me into a solid group of believers somehow, somewhere. I knew I was well taken care of in Great Lakes when I was there... with Robert & Julie and with the small group on base... and I really miss that aspect of it.

Spent another two hours at the library today! That was so nice! And Wilson dropped me off there after we changed clothes from church. She came in to look around and is now planning on getting a library card. :) Only found one book between the shelves today... but as I was shelving in the Young Adults fiction today, I came across "Jane Eyre", which I've always wanted to sit down with. So after I was done working, I got my own library card and checked it out. :)

Had a one-serving sized lasagna that I got a while ago from the NEX for dinner, along with some delicious, frozen, girl scout thin mints. I missed the galley tonight because I was too busy reading about poor Jane. But I didn't need much. I had a bagel and a bagel BLT at a mom & pop restaurant across from the library for a late lunch.

Jp

Half-way Through Weekend Number Two

I had seen an advertisement for "The Wizard of Oz - Broadway in San Diego" a few days ago and finally called the Civic Theater to see if I could still get a cheap, third-tier seat for one of the shows this weekend. The lady told me they were doing "rush" tickets for the evening performances... meaning if I showed up a couple hours before the show I could buy an unsold expensive ticket for $25 cash. This was about $50 dollars cheaper than the face value... and the first time I've seen a Broadway musical... !!! So I went to Oz last night.

It was lots of fun! Especially when Toto came running to Dorthy from the side every once in a while. What a good dog! Wonder how many treats she had in hand... I saw him lick his lips every now and then. :)

Always love the songs... they were all done well. Toto even had blocking during "Over the Rainbow"... there were three guys dressed up as crows that accompanied "If I Only Had a Brain"... and the trees that threw apples at Dorthy and the Scarecrow before meeting Tinman were three ladies in flowing brown gowns with hats that had branches sprouting out of them. They had the "Jitterbug" song that got cut out of the film... that makes me very curious to see it.

In order to do the tornado, they had a screen that came down in front that they played film on... it resembled the movie, but I think they made it entirely for the play. And there was a lot of smoke and sparks whenever the Wicked Witch appeared... and she also sparked things with her broom. I loved Glenda! She floated onto the scene standing in a suspended metal bubble. LOL

I loved the attention to detail! Everything in Kansas was done in grays and whites and browns... the backdrop and even Dorthy's dress... checkered brown. But when she came into Oz, she had checkered bright blue. I noticed from the beginning and thought it a lovely touch.

Getting to the theater was so easy! Caught the bus a block away from base, then got on the trolley that stops right in front of the theater... arrived a half-hour before they started selling rush tickets at 5 and was fifth in line. Had a positively magnificent dinner (burger, chowder, strawberry cheesecake) at a little sports bar across the plaza from the theater, and then explored downtown a little before returning to get seated at 7.

I got caught in a downpour after the show though. San Diego's having a huge weather system come through these last couple days. Thankfully a bit of it started when I was heading out, so I returned for my black GI raincoat... and that was a life-saver. It was a walk in a torrential downpour between trolleys and buses, with a brisk wind that blew it in the face. Got back kinda late, but it was all worth it.

~

Today I got caught in a couple more rain storms, but nothing quite so pelting as last night's. In the morning I had a Denny's breakfast to enjoy the things they don't do as well in the galley... oatmeal and pancakes. I see this as becoming a Saturday tradition here... :)

After that glorious meal I kept walking down Rosecreans Street and found the Point Loma Post Office to mail a package. Nearby was a locally owned drugstore, so I went in and found some maps of the area to help future excursions. Also a wide-brimmed sun hat for all the walking around I do here. After settling on these things and making it back to Nimitz Blvd. near Denny's, I headed west up the street about a mile and a half to the local library.

Very impressed with their layout... modern, but very useful. The downstairs has all the children's and young adult literature and non-fiction... and that's where they had me start after taking a couple minutes to fill out a volunteer form. They were all extremely friendly, especially after finding out I was doing it because I wanted to. :)

Found four books behind the graphic novels section, one being "The Red Badge of Courage". Pretty sure that one was lost for quite a while... :) Also, a copy of Benjamin Franklin's biography turned up in the fiction... I was shelving a novel by a Somebody Franklin, and that's how it was found. I'm so happy to be back in libraries! And with all the freedom I desire, coming in on weekends whenever I can! :)

They close at 2:30 on Saturdays, so soon I had to call it quits. Walked back down Nimitz, then decided to enjoy dinner in Liberty Station. Panera Bread was calling out to me. :) Had my favorite "Sierra Turkey" and a cup of broccoli cheddar in a corner by the window, looking out into the bright sunshine, but shielded by a shadow. So nice! On the way back to base the clouds came rolling back with a vengeance, causing me to run for shelter. I took refuge and waited for it to stop; and it didn't take long. Slowly, the sunlight began shining on the trees, despite the raindrops and soon it was all over. A huge rainbow filled the sky and I saw a hummingbird sitting atop a tree as I made my way over the reflective glass of the wet concrete back to base.

I read a bit in "Love & Respect" before setting up the laptop in the Liberty Center's lobby for chat. And best of all, I had a lovely time with my friends.

Jp

And the Next Neat Day...

This was another wonderful adventure to the Old Globe at Balboa Park. But first I checked out The Rock church in Liberty Station, even though it was another mega-church which I don't care for much. It's the only one within walking distance, and although some things rubbed me the wrong way, it was good to think on the Biblical truth they talked about.

After that I kept walking through the maze of shops and restaurants to find a wonderful little bakery called Con Pane. They had lots of nice things... I had half a veggie sandwich and an artisan flat bread with baked tomato and cream cheese on top. Yum!

I kept walking some more after my lunch, envisioning walking all the way to Balboa Park. This, of course, didn't work because I didn't know where I was going... and it's a really long way (over four miles... what was I thinking?!) I did end up at the Old Town transit center, luckily, and found a bus to take me north around the park. Arrived inside around Noon, checked out the San Diego History Museum's store, and then the entire Museum of Photography, which had many things I remembered from class... very neat!!! Went directly to the Globe for the play after that and enjoyed it very much. Very sad of course, but how could you not be with a title like "Death of a Salesman"? Of course, it was very interesting and very well done. But the guy next to me wasn't so impressed. He had seen the original Broadway production in 1949... when he was 17. :)

Afterwords I took myself out to the restaurant across the street and had a wonderful salmon with ground nuts over a dish with hot apple cider and brussel sprouts... wow! What a taste treat idea! I decided to stop by the Globe again after dinner to get a sweatshirt. I keep forgetting that evenings around here are very chilly!

And just like my first time here, I caught bus #7 to downtown to catch the trolley back to the Old Town station... and a good route back to base.

What a day!
Jp

With Navy Friends

After "work" on Friday (which was only getting my Phase 3 liberty signed off on), and after lunch at the galley, my friend Witte and I, along with 3 guys decided to go explore. We visited the bigger NEX across the highway and then got on a military shuttle to downtown. Explored a huge mall for several hours... I got strawberry & chocolate ice creme at Ben&Jerry's, a blue-flowered, button-up, long-sleeve shirt at Amer. Eagle, and got plastered in a game of giant checkers (pieces are about a foot in diameter... had to be kicked around :). When we were done, we wandered around Fourth Street and found an excellent place for dinner. The Rock Bottom Brewery. Had fancy mac'n cheese with tender chicken and crunchy stuff on top. And then we managed to find a taxi back to base.

Today I got a ride from a friend of mine from ATT school to the air show at the Island Air Station on Coronado's Naval Base. He and a friend of his (who came as well) are both fleet returnees, 2nd classes who are having to re-classify and get a different rate, are a little older and are fun to hang out with. We went to Denny's for breakfast and got little things at the NEX nearby before leaving. And I think we took too long! The traffic was horrible! We were stuck still on the base while planes flew by... but at least we could see them all! I saw a B-17 in flight for the first time, along with a WWII F4 Wildcat... and lots of others.

By the time we were out among the exhibits, the grand finale flew overhead... 30+ Hornets in a long formation (almost like Independence Day) and a few others... Prowlers and Hawkeyes. Very neat. We had something to eat and looked around at the jets. Cole showed us how he worked on the Hornets for his previous job... and that was pretty neat. He was so excited about them. The drive back went much faster, and when we returned to Point Loma we went out for some fish and shrimp tacos at a swank place that they've discovered nearby. I think I shall have to go back there. :)

Jp

First Day

I'm writing from the computer in the lab...
I haven't broken out my laptop yet to test the wi-fi.

For the time being, here is a direct link to my thoughts about this new chapter in my career.

Jp

Last Days at Great Lakes

Monday I graduated and packed. And that night I decided I really didn't want to eat at the galley for my last dinner... and I remembered my Outback card from Christmas. One of my roommates went with me and we had a grand feast... bloomin' onion to share (yes, it was a bit much for two) and I had an 8 ounce special with shrimp on the side and grilled veggies. It was wonderful. And the taxi we came in waited for us to take us back... which worked out well for us. Got back in plenty of time for my very last 2100 muster and night's sleep in Great Lakes.

Somehow I was excited to get up in the morning today... :) Didn't have muster, but I did have to report to the transfer people at 8. Had to run all over base in freezing temps (in my dress blues) to return my bedroll and check out of my barracks. I saw that cardinal again... and found out someone I knew was going to be travelling with me... a fellow STG that I met my first week here. We ate lunch at the galley together and got mutually excited for the journey. The folks at my building are pretty laid back for checking out; they let me stay in my room until it was time to catch the bus. I was safely on the greyhound and falling asleep by 1300. We didn't actually leave the base until 1348 because we had to pick up others, but by then I was awake enough for the entire journey to the airport.

Waved goodbye to the frozen fields of white as we launched into the air around 1645, to start chasing down the sunset.

Jp

Side Notes

Just got back from chow (before the galley closed at noon) and as I was walking to the NEX to pick up some water (all the drinking water on base is undrinkable due to too much chlorine) and nonfat milk, I happened to spot a cardinal perched on one of the small trees in front of the galley. He was so brilliantly colored red, it was hard to miss. That and his cute little pin-drop chirp sounding off amidst the quiet of the snowfall. While walking back from the NEX, I saw a pair of chickadees dodging around the pine branches covered with snow... and at the same moment, a nuthatch landed upside down on the trunk of the pine.












This all reminded me of the lonely red-headed woodpecker I saw yesterday morning on the way to Open Learning on a tree near the barracks. It was the first bird besides a crow that I had seen in a long while. And speaking of crows... I think I saw about a thousand of them (not kidding) last night in Evanston. There was a main intersection (in a triangle) with trees and the tops of them were covered with cawing crows... as if they were black leaves on buzz-cut trees. It was kinda eerie walking by when they had settled down. Silent black dots against the sky with just a sliver of a moon in the background, making a smiley face.

Jp

And I just signed up for Skype this morning while running into my brother on Facebook. We were able to talk for a couple minutes... my connection wasn't good enough to keep the video from the webcams going, but it was sure a great sound connection... more people I know should sign up for it. :)

...thanks to Google for these lovely pictures.

Night on the Town

It wasn't quite Chicago, but it was a heck of a lot of fun! My roommates and I left for the train a bit before 4pm, (and had to run at the end to make the 4:17) enjoyed a free ride (sometimes they give active duty members free rides), enjoyed a large, orange, setting sun over the horizon of housetops and bare, spindly, winter trees under a rich blue sunset sky. We got off at the Davis St. exit in Evanston, 16 stops down the line from Great Lakes, only 5 away from downtown Chicago.

I had drawn a map on scrap paper from Google Maps, and I directed our party of four down the street to a Barnes & Noble, where we spent the good bit of an hour poking around. Got myself a hot chocolate from Starbucks inside, a reading light for dorm life in San Diego, a couple cute little puzzles for down time and a historical picture book of the Naval Station here.

We took off in plenty of time to join our other roommate & friends at a fancy seafood & steakhouse place a few blocks away. I wore my fuzzy red sweater with my jeans & peacoat in order to look nice and fit in a little more. Glad I brought it here! But I might be shipping it home. :)

What food! I had a grilled chicken sandwich with guacamole under the melted Swiss & cheddar... fantastic! And I replaced my potatoes with fresh asparagus and added a lobster bisque... it was one of those dinners to remember! A good way to celebrate my graduating and moving on for sure. The main purpose of the evening for many of the others though was to head directly from there to a tattoo parlor... I thought I'd enjoy taking in a movie instead. I had just enough time after getting my check to briskly walk back to the big theater across the street from the train station and sit down as the trailers started rolling at 8:10pm. A couple of them looked interesting... including a new adaptation of Jane Eyre... which gives me more motivation to read the book. (I've recently seen the '40's version and had Meg read me the Eyre Affair on our trip.)

I took in "The King's Speech", and I enjoyed it very much. It was packed, but there was a single seat left in the very middle in the 3rd row up on the top section. Not used to seeing popular movies! They over-did some aspects I think, like Churchill knowing about the impending war when all others didn't. Also Prince Edward's relationship with the American woman portrayed him as party boy, probably a little more than was necessary. But otherwise I thought it incredibly well done... I felt like I was in '30's England. Loved seeing WWII newsreels on the big screen too! Wow! The basis for the film was Prince Albert's speech impediment... and how the radio broadcasts that the royalty had to make was forever changing what it was to be a monarch.

After the film I called my roommates and joined up with one who was coming back "early" on the 11pm train. They had had to go further towards Chicago to go to this place and had missed the one train... so they had only been at the parlor for about a half-hour when I got out from the film! Goodness! We met up just fine and got back just fine and went straight to bed. :)

Jp

When it Bizzards... Ain't it Thrillin'

My nose wasn't too chillin' on our trek to the galley last night... I had my ski mask on. My eyes sure hurt though, every time I looked up and got hit with snow at 60 mph. Goodness! I didn't think much of our blizzard until I got out in the wind. It wasn't the "Little House on the Prairie" kind that I had in my mind... I could see across the street just fine. Nonetheless, our barracks required us to go to chow in a group so we didn't get lost or something.

They let us out of school two hours early and canceled all Open Learning/Mandatory Study hours. They told us the base was shutting down, but clearly McDonald's and the NEX were still open when we went out. The snow was a blessing in disguise, though, as it allowed me a couple hour nap and time to clean up the room and take a shower when, if it hadn't, I would have been in more extra study. I might still be able to finish on Friday, like I want to anyway... only having two and a half Modules left total.

And continuing today, I'm really happy to be stuck inside, relaxing and being quiet (as one of my roommates is a night yeoman, she sleeps during the day). They've closed school for the entire day, I'm on duty, but have no watch... we have plenty of food in the room so I don't need to wander out in the couple feet of snow. All the wind created beautiful snow drifts... there's a huge one coming up from the sidewalk to the base of our big windows. That means I won't have to get my boots messed up before our big, class uniform inspection tomorrow... yay. :)

It's extremely white outside... and doesn't look like too much fun, especially since I got to experience joy last night at romping through snow drifts to and from chow. I'm staying dry and warm today! Thank the Lord! This and the extra rest is definitely helping me recover from being sick since Saturday.

(click the Navy icon for another post)

Jp