Friday afternoon was so fun! Christine, the head librarian at the Point Loma branch, picked me up at five and we drove downtown for an evening together. She wanted to see something with me, as her husband doesn't care much for plays or shows. For some reason, we figured it'd take a while to get downtown, but it only took about five minutes. The parking garage ticket I bought online had a start time of 5:30... so she drove me around and showed me the progress of the new central library being built south of the baseball field... goodness, it's huge and very impressive. They're building a massive dome that will have reading rooms at the top. I might have to come back here after I leave to see the completed structure in Summer 2013.
It didn't take long before we could park. She took me out to Panda Inn, a very nice sit-down Chinese restaurant on the fifth floor of the Horton Plaza Mall. We had lemon chicken, walnut shrimp, seafood fried rice, and a crab wonton appetizer. Goodness! And it was lovely to sit down and talk too. She started in libraries sort of by accident, during med school. It was while she helped out with Spanish-speaking patrons that she was encouraged to switch fields, and also where she met her husband, who works in library administration. So neat!
Then we saw "Rhythm of the Dance" at the Balboa Theater nearby. Along the same lines as the Irish "Riverdance" type, except without Michael Flatley. Christine mentioned that the lead dancer sort of had his kind of swagger though. :) It was great fun, and we both felt like tap-dancing our way out of the theater. She bought us each a cup of hot chocolate from Starbuck's on our way back to the car. What a glorious evening!
As for today, I slept in til 7am! And I took the day pretty easy. Volunteered for the last hour (1:30-2:30) when I came in to pick up Forster's A Passage to India (Navy reading list book), because the audiobooks were way backed up. Two cart-fulls in just an hour! Later on I watched a couple episodes of Foyle's War and was reminded how much I love it. Did manage to go shopping at Ralph's for a dozen eggs for 88 cents! Ann Marie, my landlord had pointed out the sale to me this morning when I cooked myself a couple. And milk & OJ were also on sale! :)
Jw
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wed & Thurs
Wednesday after class I stopped in at the "Chinese Food" restaurant on Shelter Island for take out. Volunteered at the library again... for 2.5 hours. I managed to do all the dvds (about 2.5 cartloads), as well as the books on hold. Decided to keep going to Balboa Park when I was done... and shot archery for 3/4 hour to enjoy the sunshine. Watched Tom, Dick & Harry (1941) at home afterwords while I finished up my leftover spaghetti fixings with fresh noodles.
Today we had a bit of an odd schedule. Had a two-hour break in the morning after breakfast (I came home and tried to sleep). Then when we were let go at 11:30, I stopped by Oggie's Pizza across the street in Liberty Station for lunch. Had a flatbread type pizza and small salad. Then I stopped off at Navy Federal and Trader Joe's on the way home... and started Grand Hotel (1932) at home. I had even changed into my t-shirt & jeans before I realized that I still had duty section muster in an hour. Thank the Lord I remembered. Came back from that, had a grand shrimp dinner (from the grocery store) and watched The Mark of Zorro (1920) again. :)
Jw
Today we had a bit of an odd schedule. Had a two-hour break in the morning after breakfast (I came home and tried to sleep). Then when we were let go at 11:30, I stopped by Oggie's Pizza across the street in Liberty Station for lunch. Had a flatbread type pizza and small salad. Then I stopped off at Navy Federal and Trader Joe's on the way home... and started Grand Hotel (1932) at home. I had even changed into my t-shirt & jeans before I realized that I still had duty section muster in an hour. Thank the Lord I remembered. Came back from that, had a grand shrimp dinner (from the grocery store) and watched The Mark of Zorro (1920) again. :)
Jw
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Mon & Tues
Surprisingly, I wasn't all that tired on Monday afternoon. I watched the 3-hour BBC miniseries David Copperfield from the library immediately after getting done with lunch (leftover salmon!). I was still in uniform, actually. I called Grampa & Gramma for a chat, and then that evening, after getting back from dinner at a Mexican place in Old Town, the birthday card they had sent was sitting on the counter for me. It was my first time to the restaurant... it's tucked in a corner of the park, right across from the transit station. Lots of little shops in there as well. I bought a little Schleich model horned lizard and a tiny soap stone statue eagle from Peru... they were $3 each. Started reading another Jeeves story from the anthology Meg gave me.
It was Tuesday when I crashed. Stopped at the NEX and Trader Joe's for groceries (had to fill up the gas tank too), I made myself a nice sausage & cheese sandwich for lunch at home. After a bit of computering, I felt so tired. Ended up taking a solid four-hour nap to catch myself up. Then I returned a couple things to the library, volunteered an hour, picked up bread at the NEX on the way back (don't you hate it when you don't think of everything when you're somewhere the first time?), admired the wonderful view of the crescent moon, Venus and Jupiter shining brightly, all together. For dinner, I tried a new frozen dinner that turned out being very good: noodles, chicken, green beans, grape tomatoes, all in a chicken broth type sauce.
Jw
It was Tuesday when I crashed. Stopped at the NEX and Trader Joe's for groceries (had to fill up the gas tank too), I made myself a nice sausage & cheese sandwich for lunch at home. After a bit of computering, I felt so tired. Ended up taking a solid four-hour nap to catch myself up. Then I returned a couple things to the library, volunteered an hour, picked up bread at the NEX on the way back (don't you hate it when you don't think of everything when you're somewhere the first time?), admired the wonderful view of the crescent moon, Venus and Jupiter shining brightly, all together. For dinner, I tried a new frozen dinner that turned out being very good: noodles, chicken, green beans, grape tomatoes, all in a chicken broth type sauce.
Jw
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Twenty-Nine
Everyone was so nice at church, wishing me a happy birthday. I enjoyed the message on listening to the Spirit's direction about big decisions, and also liked the spaghetti and meatballs for lunch afterwords.
From there I decided to enjoy a hike at Mission Trails State Park. It's only a couple miles down Friars Road from church, so I thought it'd be a good Sunday thing to do. I drove across the park and then back around, just exploring. Then I parked at the visitor's center, bought a patch, studied a map, and then changed into my hiking boots. And good thing! I decided on the steep climber's path (to the base of the climbing rocks). It was a one-mile loop, with a 400 ft. elevation gain. What views! It was difficult to distinguish where the trail continued at two or three places. Once there seemed to be one going up and one going down, so I tried the high road. :) It quickly got too steep, and seemed to go straight up... so I went back down and around.
On the way back home I went to Fry's Electronics and picked up the ESD grounding strap that STG1 suggested we get for ourselves. And then I stopped in Old Town at my favorite burger place for a late lunch. Back home, I watched my Darling's sermon from last week online, and then it was time for small group... where we had a special salmon dinner for my birthday, and watched the first half of Fiddler on the Roof. Mom & Dad called, sang me Happy Birthday, and we talked for a moment. :)
Jw
From there I decided to enjoy a hike at Mission Trails State Park. It's only a couple miles down Friars Road from church, so I thought it'd be a good Sunday thing to do. I drove across the park and then back around, just exploring. Then I parked at the visitor's center, bought a patch, studied a map, and then changed into my hiking boots. And good thing! I decided on the steep climber's path (to the base of the climbing rocks). It was a one-mile loop, with a 400 ft. elevation gain. What views! It was difficult to distinguish where the trail continued at two or three places. Once there seemed to be one going up and one going down, so I tried the high road. :) It quickly got too steep, and seemed to go straight up... so I went back down and around.
On the way back home I went to Fry's Electronics and picked up the ESD grounding strap that STG1 suggested we get for ourselves. And then I stopped in Old Town at my favorite burger place for a late lunch. Back home, I watched my Darling's sermon from last week online, and then it was time for small group... where we had a special salmon dinner for my birthday, and watched the first half of Fiddler on the Roof. Mom & Dad called, sang me Happy Birthday, and we talked for a moment. :)
Jw
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Taking it Easy.
Yesterday I was so lazy... played so much minesweeper I got stiff fingers. :)
Made a wonderful breakfast, starting with pancakes for the first time, and then an imitation of what I had at The Broken Yolk the other day... an omelet with leftover sausage & mushroom, avocado, and cheese. Wow! It was good.
I checked with Performance Archery over the phone to make sure my order of arrows was done, and it was. In order to make that drive worth my while, I went to the Birch Aquarium after I picked it up. It's on the same street, just away from Miramar and towards the coast in La Jolla. I hadn't been since my trip in 2009, so it was very fun. I forgot about their fabulous seahorse exhibits... and then their Pacific coast walk-through. It was great! Took lots of pictures on my phone. :)
And since I was in the area, I looked up to see if anything nearby was playing The Artist... and there was a Landmark Theater, not 5 minutes from the aquarium! Missed the first couple minutes of the opening silent movie in a silent movie, but I enjoyed it as much as ever. What a touching little story... I can't help but have moist eyes at the end. :)
Made myself some macaroni and cheese with a can of crabmeat mixed in. Yummy, and unusual! Watched some more Tintin as I ate, then played more minesweeper. Because of all that time spent, I've fasted from it today. :)
Today I had some amazing scrambled eggs, with avocado, spam, green pepper and cheese. Oh, my goodness! So good! Did some housekeeping... cleaned up my room and washed a load of laundry. Then I thought it would be neat to go shoot archery with my new arrows... a half dozen brand new, and four of the surviving originals with brand new fletches! And I think the later flew the best of all! I didn't bother with the first range until the end. Walked around the trails below it and let fly several rounds at three different targets for a little over a half-hour.
Put the equipment back in the car, then had a little lunch at the Museum of Art Cafe... a huge bowl of Pears & Pecan Salad, and then a lemon bar for a treat. Then I took a moment and enjoyed the botanical garden building and the pond outside. Kids were feeding the koi, and a pair of ducks were bathing as a turtle swam around them.
Just woke from a couple hour nap! So for now, I think I'll watch a movie... maybe one from my Darling. Got lovely birthday cards from him, my parents, and my pastor today. :)
Made a wonderful breakfast, starting with pancakes for the first time, and then an imitation of what I had at The Broken Yolk the other day... an omelet with leftover sausage & mushroom, avocado, and cheese. Wow! It was good.
I checked with Performance Archery over the phone to make sure my order of arrows was done, and it was. In order to make that drive worth my while, I went to the Birch Aquarium after I picked it up. It's on the same street, just away from Miramar and towards the coast in La Jolla. I hadn't been since my trip in 2009, so it was very fun. I forgot about their fabulous seahorse exhibits... and then their Pacific coast walk-through. It was great! Took lots of pictures on my phone. :)
And since I was in the area, I looked up to see if anything nearby was playing The Artist... and there was a Landmark Theater, not 5 minutes from the aquarium! Missed the first couple minutes of the opening silent movie in a silent movie, but I enjoyed it as much as ever. What a touching little story... I can't help but have moist eyes at the end. :)
Made myself some macaroni and cheese with a can of crabmeat mixed in. Yummy, and unusual! Watched some more Tintin as I ate, then played more minesweeper. Because of all that time spent, I've fasted from it today. :)
Today I had some amazing scrambled eggs, with avocado, spam, green pepper and cheese. Oh, my goodness! So good! Did some housekeeping... cleaned up my room and washed a load of laundry. Then I thought it would be neat to go shoot archery with my new arrows... a half dozen brand new, and four of the surviving originals with brand new fletches! And I think the later flew the best of all! I didn't bother with the first range until the end. Walked around the trails below it and let fly several rounds at three different targets for a little over a half-hour.
Put the equipment back in the car, then had a little lunch at the Museum of Art Cafe... a huge bowl of Pears & Pecan Salad, and then a lemon bar for a treat. Then I took a moment and enjoyed the botanical garden building and the pond outside. Kids were feeding the koi, and a pair of ducks were bathing as a turtle swam around them.
Just woke from a couple hour nap! So for now, I think I'll watch a movie... maybe one from my Darling. Got lovely birthday cards from him, my parents, and my pastor today. :)
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Here's Looking At You Guys...
Yesterday's 70th Anniversary showing (2pm matinee, at Mission Valley Mall):
It was so good... I didn't even think of WENN enough to laugh: that I did along with everyone else at Claude Rains. I wanted to cry, it was so beautiful. It had been quite a while since I had seen it, and it was fabulous to see it so big. The waitress at Ruby Tuesday (just outside the theater beforehand) asked if I was seeing a film, and when I told her, she asked if it was a re-make! Yikes! When I told her about it, she said she'd like to bring her daughter to the 7pm showing. Thanks to my Darling for letting me know about it! :) This has been my third TCM special now, following The Wizard of Oz in 2009, and West Side Story last year.
And since I had just seen this the day before at the Gaslamp theater:
it was sort of a reunion:
My, was Claude Rains good... at acting! What a swell double-bill!
Since I was at the matinee, I still had time for a nap when I got back home, and ended up dreaming very vividly about some sort of thriller. I think I might have been reading and watching too many mystery stories lately. :) Had some Pad Thai for dinner at Noodles & Co., and that was about it for the day.
Today, however, after doing absolutely nothing in class (besides reading a couple chapters in The Sand Pebbles), I watched A Letter to Three Wives (interestingly, on the 22nd, like we did on the last day of our honeymoon, six months ago today) so I could fill in the blank parts that I fell asleep during the last time. Oh, what a lovely film! And what a beautiful ending! So incredibly touching! When I went out the door to drop it off back at the library (and volunteer for a while), I stepped on a small Amazon box (thankfully, Amazon boxes are well padded, so everything's just fine). I hadn't remembered ordering anything... and sure enough, it was a birthday present from Michael! Season 2 of the Tintin TV series, and the feature film we saw together this last Christmas. :) Thank you, Darling! I'd call that perfect timing.
Otherwise, I went shopping at Target and brought home some delicious Italian sausage, mushrooms and pasta sauce for a wonderful spaghetti dinner as I watched some Tintin. :)
Jw
It was so good... I didn't even think of WENN enough to laugh: that I did along with everyone else at Claude Rains. I wanted to cry, it was so beautiful. It had been quite a while since I had seen it, and it was fabulous to see it so big. The waitress at Ruby Tuesday (just outside the theater beforehand) asked if I was seeing a film, and when I told her, she asked if it was a re-make! Yikes! When I told her about it, she said she'd like to bring her daughter to the 7pm showing. Thanks to my Darling for letting me know about it! :) This has been my third TCM special now, following The Wizard of Oz in 2009, and West Side Story last year.
And since I had just seen this the day before at the Gaslamp theater:
it was sort of a reunion:
My, was Claude Rains good... at acting! What a swell double-bill!
Since I was at the matinee, I still had time for a nap when I got back home, and ended up dreaming very vividly about some sort of thriller. I think I might have been reading and watching too many mystery stories lately. :) Had some Pad Thai for dinner at Noodles & Co., and that was about it for the day.
Today, however, after doing absolutely nothing in class (besides reading a couple chapters in The Sand Pebbles), I watched A Letter to Three Wives (interestingly, on the 22nd, like we did on the last day of our honeymoon, six months ago today) so I could fill in the blank parts that I fell asleep during the last time. Oh, what a lovely film! And what a beautiful ending! So incredibly touching! When I went out the door to drop it off back at the library (and volunteer for a while), I stepped on a small Amazon box (thankfully, Amazon boxes are well padded, so everything's just fine). I hadn't remembered ordering anything... and sure enough, it was a birthday present from Michael! Season 2 of the Tintin TV series, and the feature film we saw together this last Christmas. :) Thank you, Darling! I'd call that perfect timing.
Otherwise, I went shopping at Target and brought home some delicious Italian sausage, mushrooms and pasta sauce for a wonderful spaghetti dinner as I watched some Tintin. :)
Jw
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Finishing Them Up
When I got back from school today, I had already eaten. My mentor, STG1 Cooper, invited me to (and paid for) a fundraising lunch at the Red Deck of steak tacos. Very good! It was a "mentorship lunch", but we just briefly caught up, as she was helping to serve the food.
Upon getting back home I immediately finished the last 30 pages of Strong Poison, that Christina from small group lent me Sunday night, because of my FB post about Gaudy Night. I read the first 230 pages on Monday. That's all I had done, besides take a long nap and enjoy my usual at Tio Carlos. The waitress knew about my half-order of guacamole before I sat down. The chicken enchilada was excellent, as usual. :)
Then I decided it would be neat to read The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis. I had started reading the first chapter, Men Without Chests, a long time ago, after I went through that wonderful series of lectures put out by the Teaching Company (from the library). Went straight through it!
It that chapter, his argument is that by certain elementary teachers denying the reasonableness and practicality of living by virtue (or the Law of Nature, or whatever one wants to call it... he called it The Tao), we've stopped teaching how to regulate our carnal nature with our hearts, relying only on the brain. Unfortunately, God knows, we need more than our brains to do what is right... Lewis said we need our chest to come between our belly and our head... I'm pretty sure I'm slaughtering this. Better to read the book. I certainly enjoyed it. :)
After this, I took down The Call of the Wild from my shelf of partly-read books and finished the last couple chapters. What a good ending... I'm glad Buck learned how to love after all those terrible ordeals he went through.
Then I decided I'd like to make the 7pm showing of Robin Hood (1938) at the Gaslamp theater (downtown). Hopped on the trolley (while catching up with Mom & Dad) and then enjoyed a wonderful dinner of crab ravioli at The Old Spaghetti Factory (I am feeling super-spoiled) and got to the theater as Robin was walking in on Prince John's feast. The waitress was a bit slow between the dinner and the ice cream, so that's why I missed the first 5 minutes. lol!
I started Brighty of the Grand Canyon on the return trolley ride... what a day!
Jw
Upon getting back home I immediately finished the last 30 pages of Strong Poison, that Christina from small group lent me Sunday night, because of my FB post about Gaudy Night. I read the first 230 pages on Monday. That's all I had done, besides take a long nap and enjoy my usual at Tio Carlos. The waitress knew about my half-order of guacamole before I sat down. The chicken enchilada was excellent, as usual. :)
Then I decided it would be neat to read The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis. I had started reading the first chapter, Men Without Chests, a long time ago, after I went through that wonderful series of lectures put out by the Teaching Company (from the library). Went straight through it!
It that chapter, his argument is that by certain elementary teachers denying the reasonableness and practicality of living by virtue (or the Law of Nature, or whatever one wants to call it... he called it The Tao), we've stopped teaching how to regulate our carnal nature with our hearts, relying only on the brain. Unfortunately, God knows, we need more than our brains to do what is right... Lewis said we need our chest to come between our belly and our head... I'm pretty sure I'm slaughtering this. Better to read the book. I certainly enjoyed it. :)
After this, I took down The Call of the Wild from my shelf of partly-read books and finished the last couple chapters. What a good ending... I'm glad Buck learned how to love after all those terrible ordeals he went through.
Then I decided I'd like to make the 7pm showing of Robin Hood (1938) at the Gaslamp theater (downtown). Hopped on the trolley (while catching up with Mom & Dad) and then enjoyed a wonderful dinner of crab ravioli at The Old Spaghetti Factory (I am feeling super-spoiled) and got to the theater as Robin was walking in on Prince John's feast. The waitress was a bit slow between the dinner and the ice cream, so that's why I missed the first 5 minutes. lol!
I started Brighty of the Grand Canyon on the return trolley ride... what a day!
Jw
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Promise of a Great Day
This morning I slept until 7, when I woke to the sound of pounding rain on the window above my head. I laid still, listening and enjoying the comfort of my warm bed (it was cold enough last night for the lowest setting on my heated blanket). Woke up a couple more times, at nine and ten. The last too late for church. But I was completely rested. Made myself an egg (in my one-egg pan) and a bowl's worth of oatmeal in my pot (I don't bother with transferring it to a bowl) and took out my Memorization & Song Book I put together a few years ago and had myself a little bit of favorite scripture reading and hymn singing time that was very good.
Right now it's very windy with bright sunshine and a few, high, wispy clouds. I think I shall endeavor to stay home today for a change (until small group), and read and watch movies. I so enjoy listening to the birdies sing right outside my window... ah, Spring!
Friday I spent 3 hours at the library doing what I had mentioned. Just a few kids came to play, but they only played one game the entire time: some Japanese balancing game for the Wii that had rather ugly graphics and extremely annoying music... somehow I was able to keep focused on reading. The librarian came and gave me a break at 4, so I walked across the street to the Bar & Grill for one of the most delicious turkey burgers I've ever had, along with very fresh and tasty coleslaw instead of fries. And after I was done (around 5) I finished Gaudy Night in my car. I was so entranced, I just sat and listened to the last disk and a half, I couldn't wait until my next car ride! It was so good!
It's rather an odd one to start on, being the 2nd to last book in the series (of 11 - I suppose that would make it an even #10... lol), and because the focus of the book is on his love interest, Harriet Vane. However, I thought it was a grand introduction. Full of philosophy and witticisms (and a very moving blossoming of love), I don't know if I could have done any better with the pick. I was distraught at the ending, however, since he proposes to her (and she responds) in Latin... and I didn't understand! I rightly guessed that it was a positive response, but I didn't know this for sure until looking it up online immediately afterwords. And in this search (on Wikipedia) I found that this was the very novel that my sister's doctoral adviser wrote an essay on... and that was thankfully available as well. A wonderful little paper about "the philosophical novel" and Dorothy Sayers's moderate (and shared by my) idea of feminism. I am currently in love with the characters. How can you not like someone who comments on the "massive continuity of ducks" or marries the person who said this? LOL!
Saturday was good too. Woke up at 9:20 without getting up once during the early morning! I decided to check out the "Broken Yolk Cafe" on Midway Ave. I had an amazing omelet with avocado, sausage and cheddar cheese. Gosh! It was very busy, so I sat at the counter. When about half done, a couple women came in and sat next to me. The one immediately on my left asked me how my breakfast was and within seconds started yelling at the waiters working so hard in front of us for them to wait on her. Couldn't believe I had to tell a grown woman to have patience! Gosh. I was glad I was able to leave before I heard any comment about her food. I'll definitely have to go back there sometime though. Best omelet I've ever had.
Immediately afterwords, I went to the library again, checking in books for the HOLD shelf, and then my usual audio and cassette tapes. Ended up spending another 3 hours! Funny how the time flies and how much I enjoy it. And now, my current audiobook is The Incredible Journey, read my Megan Follows. Back home, I watched an episode of Poirot (season 2, from the library) before it was time to head over to the Jacobs's house for Luke's birthday. Amazing St. Patrick's Day fare (corned beef, shepherd's pie, bright green asparagus) and a delicious & moist chocolate cake with a slight hint of coffee flavor in the fudge frosting. Made it back for a fun little chat, and a half-anniversary movie watching with my Darling: The Male Animal (1942, Henry Fonda, Olivia de Haviland). We are both big fans of the sea lion routine and the college football humor... oh, and there's a moving message of free speech as well. :)
Jw
Right now it's very windy with bright sunshine and a few, high, wispy clouds. I think I shall endeavor to stay home today for a change (until small group), and read and watch movies. I so enjoy listening to the birdies sing right outside my window... ah, Spring!
Friday I spent 3 hours at the library doing what I had mentioned. Just a few kids came to play, but they only played one game the entire time: some Japanese balancing game for the Wii that had rather ugly graphics and extremely annoying music... somehow I was able to keep focused on reading. The librarian came and gave me a break at 4, so I walked across the street to the Bar & Grill for one of the most delicious turkey burgers I've ever had, along with very fresh and tasty coleslaw instead of fries. And after I was done (around 5) I finished Gaudy Night in my car. I was so entranced, I just sat and listened to the last disk and a half, I couldn't wait until my next car ride! It was so good!
It's rather an odd one to start on, being the 2nd to last book in the series (of 11 - I suppose that would make it an even #10... lol), and because the focus of the book is on his love interest, Harriet Vane. However, I thought it was a grand introduction. Full of philosophy and witticisms (and a very moving blossoming of love), I don't know if I could have done any better with the pick. I was distraught at the ending, however, since he proposes to her (and she responds) in Latin... and I didn't understand! I rightly guessed that it was a positive response, but I didn't know this for sure until looking it up online immediately afterwords. And in this search (on Wikipedia) I found that this was the very novel that my sister's doctoral adviser wrote an essay on... and that was thankfully available as well. A wonderful little paper about "the philosophical novel" and Dorothy Sayers's moderate (and shared by my) idea of feminism. I am currently in love with the characters. How can you not like someone who comments on the "massive continuity of ducks" or marries the person who said this? LOL!
Saturday was good too. Woke up at 9:20 without getting up once during the early morning! I decided to check out the "Broken Yolk Cafe" on Midway Ave. I had an amazing omelet with avocado, sausage and cheddar cheese. Gosh! It was very busy, so I sat at the counter. When about half done, a couple women came in and sat next to me. The one immediately on my left asked me how my breakfast was and within seconds started yelling at the waiters working so hard in front of us for them to wait on her. Couldn't believe I had to tell a grown woman to have patience! Gosh. I was glad I was able to leave before I heard any comment about her food. I'll definitely have to go back there sometime though. Best omelet I've ever had.
Immediately afterwords, I went to the library again, checking in books for the HOLD shelf, and then my usual audio and cassette tapes. Ended up spending another 3 hours! Funny how the time flies and how much I enjoy it. And now, my current audiobook is The Incredible Journey, read my Megan Follows. Back home, I watched an episode of Poirot (season 2, from the library) before it was time to head over to the Jacobs's house for Luke's birthday. Amazing St. Patrick's Day fare (corned beef, shepherd's pie, bright green asparagus) and a delicious & moist chocolate cake with a slight hint of coffee flavor in the fudge frosting. Made it back for a fun little chat, and a half-anniversary movie watching with my Darling: The Male Animal (1942, Henry Fonda, Olivia de Haviland). We are both big fans of the sea lion routine and the college football humor... oh, and there's a moving message of free speech as well. :)
Jw
Friday, March 16, 2012
Another Week Gone By
Readers, you must be tired of my titles by now... Maybe I will think of a good one again someday, but this is again, another synopsis of a week flown by.
Monday the 12th: had leftovers for dinner... and took a long nap, not necessarily in that order. :)
Tuesday was much more interesting, but because it was my duty day, I didn't like the first half much at all. But I quickly recovered, having a good long conversation with Mom & Dad, and then with Julie, for the first time in a while. So good to catch up. I watched Mona Lisa Smile (2003, Julia Roberts) from the library... and liked it alright. And as another first for a while (since February 15), I spent a good amount of time in my German lessons... and got very mixed up about the articles (Das, Die, Der) and which one went with what. It's hard to figure that out from the pictures Rosetta Stone uses. For dinner I had some wonderful shrimp enchiladas at Tio Carlos, admired Jupiter and Venus, and continued to enjoy the Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey) audiobook that I picked up at the library a long while ago. Comedic romances (especially with a flair of danger) are very much up my alley at the moment. Because I wasn't in the mood for a heavy drama, I passed on seeing Citizen Kane downtown.
Wednesday the 14th: after a wonderful day in school, I volunteered at the library (and good thing too, since they were missing people) checking in books that had been sent back to us, and re-shelving the new books and the audio. Stopped at Chipotle for linner, then continued on from there to Balboa Park in order to shoot some more archery. The valley the range overlooks was bright in the afternoon sun... the trees were bright green and the tall grass was waving in the wind like the prairie's waves of grain... and I ended up singing America while walking back and forth from the target. What a gorgeous afternoon! I spoke to the Lord about it. :) After 45 minutes of shooting, I busted one of my five good arrows... so when I left soon after that, I decided to go up north near Miramar to Performance Archery in order to refletch my four old arrows (with brittle and broken feathers) and buy a half-dozen more. Also picked up a new shooting glove and an Allen wrench. It was quite a shop... they had over 40 dead and stuffed game animals mounted on the walls... including moose, elk, deer, boars, and bears (and even a huge, standing Grizzly). Gosh. I'll have to go back in a week or two to pick my order up. And for more orders, back home I got online and ordered the next Maisie Dobbs book and a couple films from the library.
Yesterday, the 15th, got back late from the base because of another open Captian's Mast for our GMT. This meant that if I wanted to eat lunch, I had to do it at the galley. I did enjoy it though... the salad and fajitas were good since I hadn't had them in a very long time. I was so wiped out by the time I got home, I lay down for a brief nap... and it ended up being 3.5 hours long. Woke in time to eat something quick and head to the Reading Cinema up north in Clairemont for a showing of Top Hat (1935) for my enjoyment. Gosh, was it fun!
Today (it's Friday!) I'm taking easy before I report to the library for an afternoon's volunteering. One of the librarians asked me on my way out on Wednesday if I would cover the kid's video game time in the community room today, since the regular guy is busy. This is my first scheduling! He asked me because I've done it once before for him. The kids don't need much help, so I'll just bring Starship Troopers for a good uninterrupted reading time.
Jw
Monday the 12th: had leftovers for dinner... and took a long nap, not necessarily in that order. :)
Tuesday was much more interesting, but because it was my duty day, I didn't like the first half much at all. But I quickly recovered, having a good long conversation with Mom & Dad, and then with Julie, for the first time in a while. So good to catch up. I watched Mona Lisa Smile (2003, Julia Roberts) from the library... and liked it alright. And as another first for a while (since February 15), I spent a good amount of time in my German lessons... and got very mixed up about the articles (Das, Die, Der) and which one went with what. It's hard to figure that out from the pictures Rosetta Stone uses. For dinner I had some wonderful shrimp enchiladas at Tio Carlos, admired Jupiter and Venus, and continued to enjoy the Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey) audiobook that I picked up at the library a long while ago. Comedic romances (especially with a flair of danger) are very much up my alley at the moment. Because I wasn't in the mood for a heavy drama, I passed on seeing Citizen Kane downtown.
Wednesday the 14th: after a wonderful day in school, I volunteered at the library (and good thing too, since they were missing people) checking in books that had been sent back to us, and re-shelving the new books and the audio. Stopped at Chipotle for linner, then continued on from there to Balboa Park in order to shoot some more archery. The valley the range overlooks was bright in the afternoon sun... the trees were bright green and the tall grass was waving in the wind like the prairie's waves of grain... and I ended up singing America while walking back and forth from the target. What a gorgeous afternoon! I spoke to the Lord about it. :) After 45 minutes of shooting, I busted one of my five good arrows... so when I left soon after that, I decided to go up north near Miramar to Performance Archery in order to refletch my four old arrows (with brittle and broken feathers) and buy a half-dozen more. Also picked up a new shooting glove and an Allen wrench. It was quite a shop... they had over 40 dead and stuffed game animals mounted on the walls... including moose, elk, deer, boars, and bears (and even a huge, standing Grizzly). Gosh. I'll have to go back in a week or two to pick my order up. And for more orders, back home I got online and ordered the next Maisie Dobbs book and a couple films from the library.
Yesterday, the 15th, got back late from the base because of another open Captian's Mast for our GMT. This meant that if I wanted to eat lunch, I had to do it at the galley. I did enjoy it though... the salad and fajitas were good since I hadn't had them in a very long time. I was so wiped out by the time I got home, I lay down for a brief nap... and it ended up being 3.5 hours long. Woke in time to eat something quick and head to the Reading Cinema up north in Clairemont for a showing of Top Hat (1935) for my enjoyment. Gosh, was it fun!
Today (it's Friday!) I'm taking easy before I report to the library for an afternoon's volunteering. One of the librarians asked me on my way out on Wednesday if I would cover the kid's video game time in the community room today, since the regular guy is busy. This is my first scheduling! He asked me because I've done it once before for him. The kids don't need much help, so I'll just bring Starship Troopers for a good uninterrupted reading time.
Jw
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Week-End
Friday I must have taken a nap when I got home, but I did volunteer at the library for a bit. That evening, though, there was the last play of my subscription at the Old Globe: "A Room With a View". Got there rather early, so I did a big bunch of reading in Maisie Dobbs, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. Had a cup of hot chocolate too. Mmm. I thought the play was a bit overdone... a pair of ushers who took the empty seats next to me talked about how it was a little shocking to see this serious play in musical format... and I agree. I really liked the supporting actors, but I really couldn't stand one of the main characters very much at all. He looked and acted like he was a 1960's revolutionary, while in fact, it was Italy and England in 1908. But, enough about that.
Had leftover hash for breakfast on Saturday, along with scrambled eggs and juice. Went to the library again, and when I walked in the back room, the Director of the San Diego Public Libraries was with Christine... and I was introduced, got to shake her hand, and was thanked by her. :) Wow! I merely re-shelved the audiobooks, VHS and over-sized DVD like normal, until closing at 2:30.
After a long while of goofing around in my room, I again had an evening out: a ticket to see "The Mark of Zorro" (1920, Fairbanks) at Symphony Hall, accompanied by the same Russ Peck on the pipe organ that played at "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" last year. I got two little $1 bags of popcorn for the epic masterpiece... I loved the film so much! It was fantastic, especially the stunts! There were lots of things in it that reminded me directly of the Disney version I'm so used to. The audience was encouraged to make noise in response to who was on screen, and boy did people get into it. It was a packed house, as this was the only performance. There was lots of laughter too... especially loved it when the woman Don Diego was supposed to woo left from a first meeting with him and told her mother "That man is a fish!" LOL! Fairbanks really played up the difference in his dual roles.
I was so elated at the end I figured I didn't want to just go home. So I took the opportunity to drive out to the beach on Coronado to see if I could find any of the spawning grunions, as was brought to my attention by a reader of my blogs. And I did see a couple! Which was amazing, given it was the first hour of the first weekend. I think I'll do it again (planned like) during the observation-only months.
Sunday I was slightly late to church again. The sermon was good (about Paul and Ananias in Acts 9), and although I was horribly tired (I stayed up way too late, falling asleep with Maisie Dobbs until I was practically finished). There were hot dogs and mac n' cheese afterwords, and then I went right home for a long nap. Watched "The Benny Goodman Story" when I woke up, and when it was over it was time to go to small group already! It threw me for a loop because it was still light out... and I've never gone to small group when it was light out! Goodness! I could see the street signs! We had a lovely meeting... just the five of us (and 3 yr old Titus) like normal. Finished up the second to last section in "The Naked Gospel" and I enjoyed it very much... especially that talk about how we don't need to "put God first" in our lives. As if we could rank Him on a list... He is the list; He makes up a Christian's entire life. This thought was very freeing to me... very good to hear.
So, all in all I would call it an outstanding weekend. Thank the Lord!
Jw
Had leftover hash for breakfast on Saturday, along with scrambled eggs and juice. Went to the library again, and when I walked in the back room, the Director of the San Diego Public Libraries was with Christine... and I was introduced, got to shake her hand, and was thanked by her. :) Wow! I merely re-shelved the audiobooks, VHS and over-sized DVD like normal, until closing at 2:30.
After a long while of goofing around in my room, I again had an evening out: a ticket to see "The Mark of Zorro" (1920, Fairbanks) at Symphony Hall, accompanied by the same Russ Peck on the pipe organ that played at "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" last year. I got two little $1 bags of popcorn for the epic masterpiece... I loved the film so much! It was fantastic, especially the stunts! There were lots of things in it that reminded me directly of the Disney version I'm so used to. The audience was encouraged to make noise in response to who was on screen, and boy did people get into it. It was a packed house, as this was the only performance. There was lots of laughter too... especially loved it when the woman Don Diego was supposed to woo left from a first meeting with him and told her mother "That man is a fish!" LOL! Fairbanks really played up the difference in his dual roles.
I was so elated at the end I figured I didn't want to just go home. So I took the opportunity to drive out to the beach on Coronado to see if I could find any of the spawning grunions, as was brought to my attention by a reader of my blogs. And I did see a couple! Which was amazing, given it was the first hour of the first weekend. I think I'll do it again (planned like) during the observation-only months.
Sunday I was slightly late to church again. The sermon was good (about Paul and Ananias in Acts 9), and although I was horribly tired (I stayed up way too late, falling asleep with Maisie Dobbs until I was practically finished). There were hot dogs and mac n' cheese afterwords, and then I went right home for a long nap. Watched "The Benny Goodman Story" when I woke up, and when it was over it was time to go to small group already! It threw me for a loop because it was still light out... and I've never gone to small group when it was light out! Goodness! I could see the street signs! We had a lovely meeting... just the five of us (and 3 yr old Titus) like normal. Finished up the second to last section in "The Naked Gospel" and I enjoyed it very much... especially that talk about how we don't need to "put God first" in our lives. As if we could rank Him on a list... He is the list; He makes up a Christian's entire life. This thought was very freeing to me... very good to hear.
So, all in all I would call it an outstanding weekend. Thank the Lord!
Jw
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Bye-Bye, Week
Good grief! It's flown by. Monday took no time at all... watched a terrible movie called "The English Patient" (1996) between class and the afternoon muster, and after getting back home at four, I promptly fell asleep until late at night; woke up and called Mike around ten... and missed dinner altogether.
Tuesday I stopped by the library for an hour or so, did some grocery shopping across the street at Stump's and at Trader Joe's in Liberty Station, made myself a wonderful dinner of sloppy joe's and veggies, then on a lark (happened to find out about it while browsing online earlier) I drove downtown to the Gaslamp movie theater and enjoyed "All About Eve" for the first time. Incredible to see it on the big screen! I loved it! And to think, I was expecting Bette Davis's character to be the bad one. That's what I had gathered from the ads I'd seen on TV. I think they have an Oscar-theme going on for the next couple months... Citizen Kane is playing, as well as The Sound of Music, and Ben Hur! As Goofy says... "Garsh!" Picture is of a tiny button you get from answering trivia questions about the film in the first 15 or so minutes before they start it.
Wednesday I had a lovely time with Kristin, from small group. We met at her place to watch Mary Poppins, and ended up watching The Mask of Zorro (1998) as well. She has a lovely popcorn popper, and boy, did we enjoy ourselves! Haven't seen either in a long time... and I just loved seeing them on their large flat screen. Such color! Just had little snacks before doing all this, so I was famished by the time I got back. Stopped by Tio Carlos for my usual, and it was just perfect. Talked to Mom and Dad finally, and loved sharing recent news. Poor Darling, I was absolutely wiped out by the time I called him.
So today I searched for the sister theater of the Gaslamp Reading Cinema... because they mentioned that they were playing The Philadelphia Story this week. As it turns out, they're playing it tonight only! And it's only 7 miles north of here, in the same direction as the archery store I wanted to check out. So... movies, movies, movies! :)
And Linda sent me a wonderful surprise: about 8 gigs of various mp3 audiobooks on a SD card! Lots of mysteries, comedies and dramas, as well as some "factuals".
Jw
Boy, was The Philadelphia Story good! And there was a neat little restaurant just outside where I had a lovely lemon chicken salad with mandarin oranges. I took a wrong turn on my way there, however, so I didn't go to the archery store. But how neat to see Grant, Stewart and Hepburn up there! Wow!
Tuesday I stopped by the library for an hour or so, did some grocery shopping across the street at Stump's and at Trader Joe's in Liberty Station, made myself a wonderful dinner of sloppy joe's and veggies, then on a lark (happened to find out about it while browsing online earlier) I drove downtown to the Gaslamp movie theater and enjoyed "All About Eve" for the first time. Incredible to see it on the big screen! I loved it! And to think, I was expecting Bette Davis's character to be the bad one. That's what I had gathered from the ads I'd seen on TV. I think they have an Oscar-theme going on for the next couple months... Citizen Kane is playing, as well as The Sound of Music, and Ben Hur! As Goofy says... "Garsh!" Picture is of a tiny button you get from answering trivia questions about the film in the first 15 or so minutes before they start it.Wednesday I had a lovely time with Kristin, from small group. We met at her place to watch Mary Poppins, and ended up watching The Mask of Zorro (1998) as well. She has a lovely popcorn popper, and boy, did we enjoy ourselves! Haven't seen either in a long time... and I just loved seeing them on their large flat screen. Such color! Just had little snacks before doing all this, so I was famished by the time I got back. Stopped by Tio Carlos for my usual, and it was just perfect. Talked to Mom and Dad finally, and loved sharing recent news. Poor Darling, I was absolutely wiped out by the time I called him.
So today I searched for the sister theater of the Gaslamp Reading Cinema... because they mentioned that they were playing The Philadelphia Story this week. As it turns out, they're playing it tonight only! And it's only 7 miles north of here, in the same direction as the archery store I wanted to check out. So... movies, movies, movies! :)
And Linda sent me a wonderful surprise: about 8 gigs of various mp3 audiobooks on a SD card! Lots of mysteries, comedies and dramas, as well as some "factuals".
Jw
Boy, was The Philadelphia Story good! And there was a neat little restaurant just outside where I had a lovely lemon chicken salad with mandarin oranges. I took a wrong turn on my way there, however, so I didn't go to the archery store. But how neat to see Grant, Stewart and Hepburn up there! Wow!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Legoland... Underwater
Slept in til 9:20 on Sunday, but made church in good time even though it is supposed to start at the half-hour mark. It was a good sermon (about sharing my faith), but one that I've heard a lot of times. Lunch was very convenient as usual (bagel with an egg/sausage casserole as the spread), because right after that, I took off a half-hour north to the Sea Life Aquarium at Legoland.
It was something to go back, not having been since my third trip to the area in 2009. Then I had been running out of time, and went to the Air & Space Museum for the first time instead of going to what I assumed was an over-marketed (and expensive) aquarium for children. I am very glad I finally got around to going. It was still expensive (my military discount got me to the 2009 regular price), and I was cautious when we had to watch a short video about the experience before being let in... but it was one of the nicest I've been to. It started with freshwater fish, like large-mouth bass, then progressed to California coasts (including a very upset Giant Pacific Octopus), and then to their special exhibit on crabs and lobsters: "CLAWS", and then to a walk-through dome of shoaling fish, a theater (where I watched their movie about Lego divers in search of Atlantis) and tide-pool touch tank, a big walk-through tank with sharks and rays, a great exhibit with 3 species of seahorses, and finally, the gift shop. The 3-foot Lego figures (in diving gear) weren't really a distraction. They just made the background more interesting. Anyway, highly recommended.
I took a little under an hour and used a shopper's pass to shop in the Big Store near the front of Legoland itself, and take another turn around Mini-Land USA (DC, NYC, SF, LA, LV) and again, greatly admired the detail. President Obama's inauguration at the Capitol Building was ousted by a moving marching band... which I thought was swell. New Orleans was shut down for maintenance, but that wasn't my favorite anyway. I love DC and San Francisco... and the Statue of Liberty is pretty cool too.
Just had snacks in my room when I got back, because Christine and Luke were making a big Thai dinner for the small group... pork & green beans, and a coconut milk soup with chicken and mushrooms... yum! I helped with the tapioca, and for dessert we had Mochi ice cream, which was certainly a new, yummy experience.
It was something to go back, not having been since my third trip to the area in 2009. Then I had been running out of time, and went to the Air & Space Museum for the first time instead of going to what I assumed was an over-marketed (and expensive) aquarium for children. I am very glad I finally got around to going. It was still expensive (my military discount got me to the 2009 regular price), and I was cautious when we had to watch a short video about the experience before being let in... but it was one of the nicest I've been to. It started with freshwater fish, like large-mouth bass, then progressed to California coasts (including a very upset Giant Pacific Octopus), and then to their special exhibit on crabs and lobsters: "CLAWS", and then to a walk-through dome of shoaling fish, a theater (where I watched their movie about Lego divers in search of Atlantis) and tide-pool touch tank, a big walk-through tank with sharks and rays, a great exhibit with 3 species of seahorses, and finally, the gift shop. The 3-foot Lego figures (in diving gear) weren't really a distraction. They just made the background more interesting. Anyway, highly recommended.
I took a little under an hour and used a shopper's pass to shop in the Big Store near the front of Legoland itself, and take another turn around Mini-Land USA (DC, NYC, SF, LA, LV) and again, greatly admired the detail. President Obama's inauguration at the Capitol Building was ousted by a moving marching band... which I thought was swell. New Orleans was shut down for maintenance, but that wasn't my favorite anyway. I love DC and San Francisco... and the Statue of Liberty is pretty cool too.
Just had snacks in my room when I got back, because Christine and Luke were making a big Thai dinner for the small group... pork & green beans, and a coconut milk soup with chicken and mushrooms... yum! I helped with the tapioca, and for dessert we had Mochi ice cream, which was certainly a new, yummy experience.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Finally Relaxing
Friday after class I was finally free. Whew! I joyfully took off my uniform and simply rested for a little while. And then I had a snack for lunch. I've been very good lately about not eating out as much, and eating lots of fruits and veggies at home. I watched the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film Top Hat (from the library), then returned it when I picked up the book on hold for me: the first of a mystery series called "Maisie Dobbs"... a recommendation from Linda. I decided all I wanted was a quiet spot to read, so I drove around Pacific Beach and Mission Beach, finally deciding on a park overlooking a secluded swimming corner of Mission Bay. I read until the sun went down, then returned home.
Today I put my bow and arrows that Mom & Dad sent me to use by going to Balboa Park this afternoon. I first made myself a fabulous breakfast of eggs and hashbrowns with bits of spam and veggies mixed in. Then I cleaned my room and swept the house, and read in the Dobbs book, as well as the next Beatrix Potter: The Tale of Tom Kitten. I was at the archery range for over an hour, shooting at the first range, and using some of the ranges on the trails below! What fun! Pedestrians from the tall bridge above, watched me when I used the target just below it. And after wasting lots of time on minesweeper (the only computer game I like), I watched "An American in Paris" (1951, Kelly) for the first time. One of the better musicals of those that have stupid dream-like sequences. Brother! But I loved the songs! It's Gershwin! Gosh! And with all the driving I've been doing, I'm nearly through with the very interesting Julie Andrews book.
Jw
Today I put my bow and arrows that Mom & Dad sent me to use by going to Balboa Park this afternoon. I first made myself a fabulous breakfast of eggs and hashbrowns with bits of spam and veggies mixed in. Then I cleaned my room and swept the house, and read in the Dobbs book, as well as the next Beatrix Potter: The Tale of Tom Kitten. I was at the archery range for over an hour, shooting at the first range, and using some of the ranges on the trails below! What fun! Pedestrians from the tall bridge above, watched me when I used the target just below it. And after wasting lots of time on minesweeper (the only computer game I like), I watched "An American in Paris" (1951, Kelly) for the first time. One of the better musicals of those that have stupid dream-like sequences. Brother! But I loved the songs! It's Gershwin! Gosh! And with all the driving I've been doing, I'm nearly through with the very interesting Julie Andrews book.
Jw
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