Weekend in Town... and a few other days

Boy, is it hard to keep up on here! Lots of days I do barely anything worth mentioning, just because work takes so long. And then suddenly, I'm a week behind!

Of note, last Wednesday evening (July 18th) I swam at the pool on base, had dinner at "Mike's Pizza" on Hampton Blvd... my home away from home before I move into my house this Friday. I was done just in time to make it to the showing of North by Northwest at a theater in Chesapeake (about a half-hour away). Mike had let me know about it and he went in Oklahoma as well. Sort of a date night. :)

Also, along the way I listened to The 1920s Radio Network, 99.3 FM, Virginia Beach, for some good old-time radio music. Had discovered the station that Monday, while doing a scan of stations... the Christian station always had some talk-show on; I was giving up on them... and I'm glad I did! I can play a CD any time I want! But a nearly unlimited playlist of great old music? Not a chance!

Friday afternoon we got out late. I went to the theater downtown to see Dark Knight Rises (I enjoyed it) and had Chili's for dinner. I checked into the America's Best Value Inn on Ocean View Blvd for the weekend when I got back. It was raining when I went back to the car, but that didn't bother me... they even had covered parking!

Saturday morning I went back to the Sandfiddler for breakfast, just in time for my 9am appointment at the Pretlow Branch Library, also on Ocean View Blvd. Worked for 3 hours, getting introduced to their system, checking in materials and re-shelving them. After that I tried out the Ocean View Pier seafood restaurant, then went to check out a discount furniture store I found online... and found a few pieces I liked very much. They only allowed holding furniture in the store for 3 days, so I had to return on Tuesday to buy it. On the way back, I looked around at the nearby Norfolk Visitor's Center and picked up lots of brochures for things to do. Back at the hotel I watched Young Lincoln (1939, Henry Fonda) on the bed, then for dinner... another local seafood restaurant in Ocean View... The Ship's Cabin... and watched a big lighting storm out to sea while I ate! Then I crashed back at the hotel and talked with my Darling.

Sunday morning I checked out, and went straight to church, back to Christian Fellowship near the airport. They have coffee and doughnut holes (chocolate ones!), and I had that to tide myself over. Went back to House of Eggs nearby (that Mike and I had tried) for a brunch special... toast & sausage gravy, eggs and hash... for $5.50! On the way to church I had passed a couple furniture places, so I returned that way and checked them out. Ended up getting some things at the Thrift Store... a neat folding chair, some dishes, and a rug for one of the rooms. Went downtown to see the Chrysler Museum of Art, and spent a good couple hours looking at their fabulous two-floor collection. I think it rivaled the art museum in Chicago, it was so neat! Had Panera Bread for dinner for the first time since California! A big avocado-Cobb salad! So very good! Stopped by my self-storage unit to drop some of my purchases off, then I went back to the theater downtown to watch Woody Allen's new movie To Rome With Love, but I didn't like it too much.

Monday, I worked at the library again, just for an hour-and-a-half though. Straightened up a few of the sections of DVDs, even though the staff themselves have given up on them. During the day I bought a queen bed from Walmart, and that evening at Mike's Pizza again, I watched Tangled from the library.

Tuesday (yesterday already!), I took a shower at the gym then went back to the discount factory outlet and purchased the couch and loveseat set and the dining room table with 4 chairs that I had my heart set on from when I first visited. It was the last ones they had of the couches, and the table is new in the box. Good price on everything too. Then I decided to look at a few nearby stores, then had dinner at a great Mexican restaurant (El Rodeo) and then stopped by the COX store in the mall to get Internet set up for Friday. Walmart was just nearby, so I went there too... $19 bookshelves (2), $16 coffee table, area rug, mirror, queen comforter, pillows, clock, trashcan, place mats... I stayed there quite a while! Will have to go back for a few things, but that's okay. :)

Can't wait for Friday!!! Today I ordered a Uhaul truck... and I'm going to get somebody from my division to help me unload it all once I get it there. Yay!

Jw

Days To Say Goodbyes

Wednesday afternoon I finished up Chipotle leftovers for lunch, then headed out to Kristin and Andy's to watch The Princess Diaries and ...Part 2, for an afternoon of fun. We've watched Mary Poppins and Sound of Music a month or so ago, so this was a nice finish. It was something we talked about doing a while ago. Had juice and popcorn while we watched, then we visited a little while before we had to say goodbye. Stopped at Ricky's Restaurant one last time on the way home... It has become a favorite. Delicious chicken with rice, veggies and a couple cups of decaf. Read a chapter or two of Mere Christianity... the book I can no longer read with my young adult group in person. But I am certainly going to finish it again. :) Stopped at the library to see if they needed anything. Got sidetracked by the Friend's Book Sale... found a couple mystery books I'd like to read for 50 cents each. Helped Pam and Christine set up the community room, then confirmed I'd come back again today.

Today I've been packing up a storm. First phase, in the morning, I filled up my bags in my room... and it was difficult to navigate. Around noonish I went to Ace Hardware at Liberty Station to exchange something I bought a while ago for a needle-nose pliers... in case any disc gets stuck in my CD player again. Then I had a half-sandwich at Con Pane before dropping off the couple bags of things for Goodwill. Then I went to the library one last time. Re-shelved all the audio and VHS for a couple hours before it was time for Christine to take me out to our arranged early dinner. Aida offered to print me a Letter of Appreciation, detailing my 162 hours! that I've worked since February last year. It's a lot!

Then I hugged her and Pam goodbye, and Christine got off early to take me to Point Loma Seafoods... apparently a very famous cafe that I've somehow missed going to until now. And it was delicious! I had a scallop sandwich... that was huge! We shared a shrimp cocktail, and afterwords, she took me to her friend's confectionery, down the street on Scott St... The Elegant Truffle... where we had a couple free samples and she bought me a delicious piece of white coconut cake. We talked a lot about traveling, and our common interest in trying different foods. She drove me back to my car at the library, and we said our goodbyes.

Back at home I am nearly all packed. Cleaned off my bike... put most of the stuff in the car... and will cram the rest in sometime tomorrow. I wonder when they will let me leave.

Jw

Two More Days

Both of these last two days I've gotten off work very much later than normal... doing a special job that required staying til 4pm! :)

Yesterday I made it in time to the library on their very first shift of new Monday hours to return my last items: a WWII newsreel and the soundtrack of Curtains. I think I forgot to mention it before, but my last audiobook I finished last week was The Maltese Falcon. I tried starting The Hobbit, but the first disc had problems and I don't think I would have had time anyway. I didn't intend to work, but they had a bit of a backup of just getting checked-in items sorted out on the shelves in the back room... so I lent a hand for a half-hour, and in the process, I found that they had already entered my donated Tim Tebow book (from Saturday) into the system. Very glad they could use it... I usually don't buy brand new hardcovers like that, but I did that one time in January when I flew out to Oklahoma. Made the flight go by very fast... and it was an interesting biography too. Back at home I watched Romancing the Stone (1984) for the first time and laughed my head off. Thank you, Darling!

Today, getting out pretty late, I went straight to the library again since I said I would yesterday. Got to arrange dinner with Christine, and then put three audiobooks together before I knew it was time to go have dinner. I think I'm slightly addicted to Chipotle... good thing I get the chicken bowls loaded with veggies...a it's got to be relatively healthy... I hope. :)

And now I'm really tired. What a weekend I have coming up. Whew.

Jw

Laid-Back Last Weekend In San Diego

I felt no pressure to create a marvelous last weekend for myself... it just happened. :)

After a quick breakfast at home, I finally made it over to the library well past their 9:30 opening time... I think it was closer to 12:30. More audiobooks to be fitted out... and that was about it. Snack at home, then picked up my bow and arrows and headed for Balboa Park for a few rounds. It was good fun, as always. The park was crammed though. I thought I'd eat at one of the restaurants there, but they were all taken up or closed down because of all the wedding celebrations going on. I saw five different brides (and their parties) along the Prado (main thoroughfare). I know it's June, but good grief! It is a public park too! :)

So I thought I'd go downtown, since I was nearby, and get something to eat there. Had a whale of a time getting some parking, as there was a Padres game in progress when I arrived. Found out Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was playing in an hour, so I decided on something quick... rice & beans at Fred's Mexican Cafe (for $3.60 total!) as I watched a bit of the OKC Thunder game, then a small burger at Burger Lounge across the street. By the time I walked a couple blocks north to the theater, it was just time to begin. Got a little combo of popcorn, iced tea and candy for less the cost of a regular popcorn... then settled in for a fantastic experience of a great film played the way it had been 73 years ago. It was moving... I was crying by the time the little kid was stumbling over the Gettysburg Address. Good grief, it's so good!

And Sunday! Everyone at church was so nice! The pastor even said a few things about me after service. Jenny made me lemon bars and chocolate cake to share in the fellowship hall afterwords as she had offered. Very yummy! It was so good to be able to say goodbye to everyone... Russ gave me a big hug and said "Nuts to the Navy... they can't have you!". I love all of them so much... so thankful for Facebook, and the chance to still keep up with them. That night for small group, Andy and Kristin made broiled steak, zucchini and garlic bread (and fresh strawberries!) for a special dinner. Luke and Christina also came with baby Liam, and I was able to hold him! I had finished up watching season 5 of Foyle's War that afternoon so I could return it to the Jacobs right then. Sort of fitting day to get to that wonderful last episode.

Happy VE day, everyone... and I'll miss you. :(

Jw

This Week...

It has been wild. I went to the library on Tuesday afternoon, as soon as I could, to tell them about my orders. Told Aida and Christine, then I helped them with their new big project: transferring brand new audio books into cases and getting them set up in the system. I did the same thing again on Wednesday, and they left a cart for me. I only did 7 on Tuesday... getting used to it and what not... but I was able to do a dozen on Wednesday in the same amount of time (2.5 hours):

Thursday was the day I started checking out, so I walked all over the place while I got my car ready for the big upcoming trip. I will miss some things about San Diego... it is so pretty here:

For dinner I ate all the red and Yukon potatoes I had in the fridge, as well as the half-pound of snow crab and shrimp I found at Vons earlier in the week. It all tasted very good with the light olive oil I have... and it made for a wonderful leftover lunch on Friday as well!

Friday evening, I watched a couple of the Donald Duck cartoons my Darling sent home with me (I especially liked the short Sea Scouts), and then My Week With Marilyn (2012) from the Redbox on base. It was incredibly fitting, since in the notes after the film they mention that her next film after the one detailed in this one was Some Like It Hot, which I just saw a couple weeks ago. I had it on recommendation from my mom, and I did enjoy it. A little unusual slice-of-life story about an unlikely friendship. Very entertaining.

Jw

Thursday

After getting back close to 4, I decided to go to the library for the last hour or so they were open. They see pretty caught up on the regular stuff, so I put back the new books and straightened out the holds shelves.

Afterwards I got a turkey burger to go at the grill across the street and returned home. Watched some more Foyle's War this morning, so then I watched The Big Sleep that my Darling had sent, and then organized myself for today's flight to Norman. Right now I'm waiting for my slightly delayed plane. My landlady was very nice and drove me here.

Jw

A Couple Days

Monday after graduating, I came home and spent a good long time watching films... with a ham & Swiss souffle that I bought at Panera for "breakfast"... I finished up The Sand Pebbles (boy, they condensed the story and changed a few important dynamics - but they did a pretty good job... and got the general idea across), then watched another Newsreel History of the Third Reich... (volume 10 - including lots of Eastern Front in the snow, scenes from the Crimea, a dramatic short on a Nazi sub sinking an American tanker, Hitler paying respects to the wounded, German people donating warm clothing and skis for the Russian Front, and the British bombing of Paris). Later on, I also watched the season 4 episode of Foyle's War where Sgt. Milner looks guilty of killing his wife.

Today I didn't get off until around 3pm... what? a full day?! :) I got a chicken bowl at Chipotle to go, and checked for orders again when I got home. Another classmate got orders to San Diego this afternoon. Maybe it'll be sooner than I think... :)

Had to go to the bank to deposit a check, then went on to the library to return Sand Pebbles and ended up staying for a couple hours to take care of all the music CDs. You wouldn't believe how people rifle through the collection. Pam always tells me not to bother putting them all in order, but I like to do in once in a while... I find so many errors.

Jw

Made It to the Weekend

Wednesday I only had a couple hours at home, due to Duty. I had brought dinner home from Jersey Mike's and watched a biography on T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia). I remembered seeing the Peter O'Toole film a long time ago, but documentaries are so much easier to follow and are much more wide-ranging. So I re-learned a bit of Middle Eastern history and enjoyed it very much. Decided to watch it that day because it was due that night. I did a little bit of shelving, and then stopped by the community room just outside to listen to the rest of the Peninsula Singers concert. They were singing American folk songs... I especially loved their slow, soft rendition of Dixie. Very meaningful and sad for me after watching the Civil War series.

Thursday I got home late due to the GMT, but I had time between that and class to go to Panera for a quick lunch. I worked at the library again, but this time just to kill time before heading out to Clairemont for a forty-foot film... Some Like it Hot (1959). Never had seen the film before, so it was a lot of fun. Laughed my head off a few times. Loved how it was filmed in San Diego at the Del Hotel on Coronado. I stuck to my guns and only got a small popcorn since I had a bowl of noodles, chips & guac, and a scoop of ice cream beforehand.

Yesterday, Friday, I slept for a solid 4 hours after coming home from my final test. Watched an episode of Foyle's War, then had a nice dinner at Sammy's Pizza, then drove up to Sunset Cliffs Blvd to watch the ocean for a while. I needed some rest, and since it was cloudy, it wasn't too crowded. On my way back home I finished listening to the final disc of Watership Down, an epic saga about bunnies. Had always been interested in it, but never could keep going in such a long book. Very glad for audio versions!

Today after eating breakfast at home (and fighting another battle with ants in the kitchen) I intended to go to the library for just a minute, to turn in and pick up, but when I got there, they were in the middle of a crisis... lol. One of the clerks asked me if I wanted anything from the coffee shop across the street, I was helping her so much. Worked for a long time on the holds, then on a couple of carts that needed sorting, then I re-shelved a cartload of audio downstairs and put the disheveled movies back together again. The general public can sometimes behave like a tornado... at least in the media room. Turned out I stayed for 4 hours! I chuckled to myself that although I had wanted to go straight to the zoo, I ended up working in one!

I decided to go to the zoo afterwords anyway. It was about 2:30ish that I got there, and I stayed till 5. Saw lots of baby ducks, had a chili dog, saw a very active grizzly bear and a feeding panda (and a romping panda), then continued on to see the lions, capybara, tapir, lamas and elephants. I saw a gorilla from the gondola... :) my feet were so tired there was no way I was going to walk all the way back. Good thing the $45 entrance fee was free for me... I bought a panda t-shirt, a model okapi, and a very cute, cuddle-able red panda stuffed animal.

On the plate tonight: mac'n cheese and asparagus at home! And chat too! I think I'll give my friend Julie a call too!

Jw

Back To Normal... sort of

Monday back from school, I watched In Harm's Way (1965) from the library. I had remembered it being long and boring when watching parts of it on TV as a kid. It wasn't boring any more, but it sure was long! Sort of neat to see a WWII film about a novel... makes it much easier to suspend disbelief. :)

Got some errands done: gas in the car, mailed something to my Darling, and got a few groceries at Trader Joe's. And that's where I got my lunch: ate half of the lobster & avocado sushi rolls along with a breadstick, a carrot and a glass of milk. I soon forgot about dinner... fell asleep with a headache around 6 pm and didn't wake up until Michael called at 11:30pm. I was still in my jeans on top of my bed... and as I didn't have dinner, I hadn't brushed the teeth yet either.

One big difference between this week and last, I listened to the entire book of 1 Corinthians both yesterday and today while wasting time playing minesweeper. So I really wasn't wasting it!

After finishing with that today, I went to the library to drop off my recent DVDs and help out with whatever I could. Got there 45 minutes before they opened! Thankfully, I know where to go in the back door (for employees)... and was soon shelving two full cartloads of audiobooks. Only took me an hour, and then I was off to lunch. Decided to visit Ricky's again... sat at the opposite booth that Mike & I sat at, had decaff and the shrimp/avocado/jack omelet that I had considered that previous time. Boy, was it good! I sat a long time and finished the first part of the current navy book I'm reading: The Victory at Sea.

On the way home, I decided to go up that mysterious back road near the Mission Museum on the corner near Old Town. I thought it would wrap around all the way to the museum, but in abruptly ended at the top of the hill. But there were lots of neat walking trails that led into the little valley and then back up the other side to the museum. Spent over an hour wandering around, taking pictures with my phone.

Today I also buckled down on those Navy articles I'm supposed to write. The one guy finally got back to me with the simplest bit of information. Spent a good hour or more working on both at the same time.

Also got a notion to sweep the floors... gosh, I've been a bundle of energy today. When I got to the kitchen, though, I encountered dozens of tiny ants, coming in under the door and parading towards little bits of fallen food. I squished them one by one, until finally there were no more.

I feel much more relaxed since camp about my faith. I've prayed more, and thought of the Lord more during the day. Thank him for his grace, and the freedom it brings!

Jw

Tuesday!

This was much more exciting, and fun too! Got out of class really early since it was the last day. First I finished 1863 with the very moving Gettysburg episode of the Civil War, then watched more Foyle. The head librarian at the Point Loma branch library, Christine, had asked me to come in and work on the branches bookmark template to update it with the new hours for next month (they're going to be open on Mondays now too!). It only took me a couple minutes, since I could fix it in Microsoft Paint. Super simple. Also did a couple of carts of shelving to make it worthwhile coming in.

After that, I headed down Rosecrans to Georgia's Greek Cuisine and had a (late) lunch combo special of salad, kabobs and pita bread and a lasagna-type dish with a side of rice. Finished off with baklava, and didn't have to eat for the rest of the day. Called home for a half-hour (they were going to pick up Zac soon afterwords for some well-deserved leave) and then drove off to La Jolla, where the San Diego Symphony was holding a chamber music concert featuring Brahms's Horn Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 40, which I simply adored. There was also an octet for clarinet, bassoon, horn & strings by Francaix (never heard of him) and the very lovely Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667: Trout by Schubert. It was held at the Neurosciences Institute's auditorium. In their quarterly publication Brain Matters, they had articles about research on octopus behavior... which I found very interesting as I waited for the concert to begin.

What a day! Very glad my schedule now turns over to more normal hours. I can sleep an extra two hours in the morning!

Jw

Running All Day

I wasn't hungry enough for breakfast, so I skipped it completely. I left around 8:20 for the Coronado beach clean-up I told the Lt. I'd volunteer at and write about for her. It was rather confusing trying to locate where it was held though. I drove up and down the strand at least three times before I finally decided to get off at the beach state park, even though it was on the ocean side (since the email said it would be the bay side). I soon found a group of people in bright yellow Navy PT shirts... and if it wasn't for them, I would have never found anyone! They were as lost as I was, but we finally ran into the right people after someone made a phone call. The guy I first interviewed for an article was there with his whole group, as well as Sailors from other commands. The Senior Chief I met before interviewing the one guy pointed out the coordinator guy to me and I got his contact. Thankfully! I was worried for a while about getting anything from anyone. There were about 60 people there, and we gathered over 150 lbs of trash on our swath of beach.

I was hungry by the time I was on my way home... around 11:30. Went to the base to clean up, then stopped by Panera Bread for my favorite sierra chicken sandwich and chicken noodle soup. Then I swung by the library for a couple hours. Didn't quite intend to stay that long, but I usually never do. :) I just keep shelving, shelving, shelving. I think I'm a little crazy, I enjoy it so much. I did books this time for the first time in a long while. Was able to help a couple patrons too.

Back at home I watched the first of two 1862 episodes of The Civil War before it was time for the class party. Most everyone came, meeting at the Olive Garden at 4:30. It was a fun time... we awkwardly used our first names with each other; I was sitting between Witte and STG2's wife and across from Hibbard and her boyfriend Matt. I enjoyed lasagna and two bowls of my favorite soup, the Toscana. STG2 was hilarious... he had four bowls of it after I let him know the refills were free. :)

Then eight of us crossed the street and played a game of laser tag. It took a long time to get in, because the place was super crowded, but it was a lot of fun. I was ranked 14th out of 36 players, and managed to blow up the blue base. I was breathing hard, like usual, by the time we were done... I think one game is 15 minutes. But it was 8pm by the time I got back in my car.

Came to chat, but I was too wiped out to stay very long. Good night, world!

Jw

Last Few Days

Sunday, being Duty Day, was taken up almost entirely with the Navy, but for small group in the evening where we had delicious pasta with steak chili or white garlic sauce, decaf coffee (that made me miss my Darling), and some fudge. I had small portions of all of these since my weigh-in was the next morning. Laugh if you will... it made no difference in my passing results. :)

Monday after class (and after a brief nap), I decided to go archery shooting for a little bit to try out my new bow. It has a louder twang than my old one, and the string is a tiny bit thicker (maybe because that's new too), but it works just fine. The range had pictures of animals as targets, and I'm sorry to say I killed a gopher or two, along with a bear. When I got home, I mailed a surprise to Meg from the Free Shelf at the library, then I went for a walk to Tio Carlos for the first time in a long time and had a wonderful feast. Yay! I started Clear and Present Danger when I returned, but only watched the first hour and a half. I was tired, and it was only a bit over half done.

Tuesday after class I had my favorite from Oggi's Pizza, a supreme flatbread, and back at home I finished up the rest of the movie, starting with the famous computer scene where Jack steals Ritter's secret files. Got to love those old computers! I then volunteered an hour at the library (doing only part of the DVDs). Watched the last episode of Foyle's War (season two), then was able to talk to my parents for a good long time before calling my sweetheart.

Today I worked out after class (in my civies!) since our PT was cancelled this morning! That helped my mild sore throat a lot, to sleep in an extra couple hours. Had a couple eggs quickly before rushing off to class at 7am. I again tried to donate blood, but my iron was just a hare shy of the "12.5" mark, whatever that means. Must have been from my strange pre-weigh-in diet. The HM told me I should eat more meat... so I took that as a free license to have a huge meat-full lunch. A burger at Five Guys and a half chicken sandwich at Panera. I was rather hungry!

Straight from there I got on I-8 for a drive out to Christina's house as she, Kristin, Selassie and I watched the BBC version of Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Lots of fun! Then I swung by the library on my way home and ended up spending a good couple hours there with the DVDs, audiobooks, and new books. A grand day, indeed.

Jw

Hello!

New haircut today... just a trim, but it feels good to be lighter. Took off 3 to 4 inches!

Thursday and Friday were mostly spent in bed. It was the first thing I did when I got home each day. Dad called on Friday after I woke up, just to talk for a while. I was very glad he did. He mentioned going through the Psalms on his reading plan and particularly liking #25. So that's what I listened to when I came home for breakfast Friday morning, I listened to 25-30 on my computer. I was very sick and sore all yesterday, due to a head cold and the various workouts I did with my classmates Wed. & Thurs. Feeling pretty miserable, actually. I found great comfort from Psalm 27... "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" I had recently been feeling intimidated by certain relationships and the unknown future... it was a great boost.


Friday after class (got home pretty early... around 10:30) I slept, watched some Foyle's War, Donald Duck (finished it up today), the movie that Linda shared on chat last week (sort of like Rear Window), and also read the next story in my Beatrix Potter collection: "The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or the Roly-Poly Pudding". Between these, some minesweeper games and another nap or two, Friday soon got over with.


Saturday, today, was much different. I felt improved, enough so that I did all my laundry, volunteered at the library (taking my movies back and picking up Gun Crazy (1949), which I watched when I got home - a film-noir about a good guy gone bad that Michael was thinking about watching), took a hike for 20 minutes at Cabrillo Nat. Mon., took a shower afterwords on base, then got my hair cut at the little place down the street from home. Ate little snacks at home all day... the weigh-in is on Monday!


Jw

Movies, Movies, Movies!

Wednesday I was worried I wasn't going to be able to make it to the librarian's birthday/retirement party at 11:30... at one point we were told we'd be staying late for a quick walk-through of a lab... but it was recanted. :) I made it there right on time. Some people were waiting for the doors to open, since it was another hour before the library actually opened. So I used the back entrance that was left ajar and had some very good locally made supreme pizza and strawberry cream cake with Mark, Ieda, Pam, and Liz, along with a few others; only one other volunteer, I think. Pam made some wonderful nut-filled brownies, and there were fresh strawberries besides.

I ended up working for an hour, putting away all the audiobooks and youth DVDs. While refiling them, I picked out a set of 1940s Donald Duck cartoons, the first three episodes of The Lone Ranger (1949 - where they set up the story and behave much like a radio show... narration, abrupt endings and a storyline continuing "next week"), Snow White, and a film from 1945... Mildred Pierce, with Joan Crawford and Eve Arden. For the rest of the day, I watched them one after the other, except for Snow White, which I watched this evening.

But Wednesday evening, after sitting down so long, I decided to get in the car and drive after the sunset to Ocean Beach, just a couple miles down the road from the library. It was the street market night, so I parked far away, knowing nothing would be available close by. Took a short jog on the beach before getting a little snack to eat at the market and drank in the beautiful sight. Big clouds out to sea as the sun melted into them.

Jw

A Nice Start to the Week

Yesterday I caught up on a few things, including a half-hour conversation with Meg... just catching up. I had talked to Zac (recently back home) on Sunday. Had a quiet dinner in my room, then made it out to see Roman Holiday at the theater up north in Clairemont. What a lovely film! In the spirit of enjoying whims, I stopped at Starbucks afterwards for a tall hot chocolate.

Today I took it rather easy. Didn't feel like doing much at all, besides working at the library for a few hours, of course. I ended up having to pay that dumb parking ticket for not turning my wheels into the sidewalk on the very slight hill we live on. And I watched Horse Soldiers (1959, John Wayne, William Holden) that I picked up at the library. Also started listening to The Great Gatspy in the car. I listened to Hemingway's A Moveable Feast just before the last book, so it's all fresh in my memory. But what was really nice was running across the bit of a special chat log on Facebook... from 1999! It's something to be able to see what my dear friends and Dearest were saying so long ago about something so dear to me. I read the whole thing before going back to class after breakfast. It was like drinking a cup of joy... totally distracted me from the otherwise dreary day. So thank you, Linda. :)

Up to Date

I've gotten tired enough of seeing that post from March to make me sit down and update for the first week of April. It was very busy... and very tiring! I didn't take a nap until the day my new bow was delivered... and I think that was Thursday. That made getting up in the mornings very hard.

Sunday, April 1st, I did another hike at Mission Trails after church. Didn't have any precise plan... I just kept walking. Crossed a river, getting my hiking shoes wet as I trudged up the wide, gravel road to the first hill. Stopped at the picnic table at the top and looked out over another trail that wound its way up to the summit of the nearby South Mt. Fortuna. Put my dry socks on as I got ready to go, and soon I was tackling a bit of a steep trail. What a view! It dwarfed the hike I did the week before... I was able to look down on that little zig-zagging path even before I got to the high part. After a moment at the summit, especially enjoying the distant view of San Diego and Point Loma, I continued down the other side of the mountain and around along the San Diego river to the Old Mission Dam, then 2 miles on the road to the visitor center and back to my car. It took several hours, hurt my feet and burned my forearms and neck. But I loved it!

That night at small group we ordered dinner from Chili's and finished watching Fiddler on the Roof. A great day, but I'm sure it set me up to be tired the entire week. No fresh start this time!

Monday the 2nd, after my meeting with the LT on 32nd St, and after messing around online, I watched the Bette Davis movie that was due back at the library the next day: Dark Victory. It was a little dark, but I enjoyed a few scenes very much.

Tuesday the 3rd, I went right to the library after school and stayed longer than I planned. Talked with my parents, had a turkey burger at the grill across the street, then met up with Selassie and Kristin from small group. They met me at home for a trip downtown to see The Sound of Music on the big screen. We parked a couple blocks away (which is pretty good for downtown), and I bought a big bag of popcorn for all three of us. It was magnificent, as always, but it sure went late. The guy from the theater doing trivia beforehand took way too long.

Wednesday the 4th, the same threesome of us met at Kristin's apartment for another afternoon of entertainment: we watched all four hours of the 2007 Sci-Fi TV miniseries adaptation of The Wizard of Oz... called Tin Man. I loved all the subtle references to the movie and thought their unique ideas were interesting at the very least. It certainly held my attention all the way through. I watched Bambi from the library before talking with my Darling.

Thursday the 5th, after the interview, and after looking at the new recurve bow I won on eBay (my original has bent limbs from my not being careful) that arrived in the mail (which woke me from my short nap), I went to church for a special "Maundy" service where we sang, listened to readings about the Last Supper (performed by a few of the elders), and shared a wonderful dinner of chicken & rice w/green beans and salad. I even had two tiny, delicious tarts for dessert.

I wanted to go to the "Tenebrae" service on Good Friday, the 6th, but alas! I had watch. The entire day was taken up with the Navy... except for the hour or two when I relaxed on my bed at home before that watch.

Saturday the 7th, I finally managed to do all my laundry. Went to the library for a good while, managed to do a PRT run at Liberty Station as well... that felt really good. Got dinner at Trader Joe's, took a relaxing shower, watched Dumbo before chat, and then Captains of the Clouds (1942, Cagney - a technicolor war film about the Royal Canadian Air Force) during chat. I especially loved the accompanying shorts (game hunting in the Rockies... in color! and a couple related Bugs Bunny cartoons).

Sunday the 8th, I got up in time for the intimate and early 7:30 Easter service on the lawn in front of the church (in the cool air and bright sunshine). Then there was a pancake & sausage breakfast served inside, and I had a great time chatting with small group friends. I stayed for the regular service at 9:30, and was very pleased when they started off with a singing of Christ the Lord is Risen Today! A wonderful morning! Back at home I watched The Mysterious Affair at Styles (from the library) and thoroughly enjoyed watching what frightened me so much when I was a kid. For lunch, and into the evening, I spent time over at Luke & Christine's house where we enjoyed a ham, mashed potatoes, beans, applesauce and just a tiny taste of strawberry cheesecake. :) We played a game after that, then started into our new book... Mere Christianity! Yay! :)

Jp

Fri & Sat

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

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

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

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