Miscellaneous

Why does it feel I never have time to get things done? Odd, because it's not as though I am super-busy. Teaching several days a week, doing stuff around the house (this weekend I painted the garage yellow to match the rest of the house, but it will need another coat), working on several knit projects, etc. I decided the gift scarves will have to be a Christmas present for this year rather than last, since it's taking forever. Honestly though, if you sit and calculate out the actual physical hours of knitting, take that at minumum wage, and then add in the small price for the yarn (disregarding the one-time start-up cost of purchasing needles) that's still a damn expensive gift. And I know these particular friends would just be happy I made them something. Well, maybe not if it was really ugly, heh.

I found out recently that I likely won't be going back to work until sometime in June, which is okay, because I can sub up until then. I haven't had any other bed experiences at all, I think I will just never agree to sub for speech class again. I love that I have become a "regular" with the 2 field-science teachers, I'm very glad they are both coaches and I can sub for them frequently while they are gone. I also like subbing for the Spanish 1 classes, because I know more than they do! I offered my Costa Rica book to the teacher, since he might take a group down there next summer. I wish I could get paid to take people on vacation, although I guess I kind of already do, it's just that I live here. I only hope that my tours are half as enjoyable and inspiring as those of our Corcovado guide.

I recently found out that another local good friend is pregnant, hooray for her! Well, I guess she's a good friend- I'm not really close to anyone here, and I kind of feel more and more solo all the time, but she's one of my favorite people in the area. Another woman I feel I could have been really great friends with is moving away soon, and the first one I had hoped to be friends with doesn't really seem to want to be close (and she has a baby and a business, which makes her really busy). And the newest one, the one I felt had the most potential, hasn't voluntarily spoken to me in 6 months. Why is it so hard to make friends in real life? My 2 best female friends now live in SoCal and Kentucky, so I see them about once a year. Our best couple-pals live in Seattle, so we see them maybe twice a year. Life can be so weird sometimes, why are relationships so hard? I'm not asking for someone to be my bosom companion and call me every other day and hang out once a week, but is it too much to ask that someone near my age WANT to spend time with me for a few hours here & there? I know I am paranoid and sensitive and find it all to easy to believe that people don't like me. Oh well, I'll just go read another book or work on my idea for the movie I'm writing with my BFF the E-ster (one of few people who ever calls us simply to talk). Escapism is good, right? Seriously, why are my best friends all 4, 8, or more hours away? I guess I need to push to organize more nights with the girls.

I have to go make a Meyer lemon cake now. Our tree is doing fabulous, we've got 4 big (for Meyer) fruits just waiting to be squeezed & zested! If only our garden would do as well now. I've got books on preserving up on my amazon wish list now (though my birthday has come & gone without notice) but I don't know if there will be enough surplus to can & freeze much this year.

Un buen viaje!

Well, we are back from Central America, and I even successfully managed to host book club the evening after we returned home from Portland/Seattle. The trip was good, we saw so many interesting things, and a multitude of cool animals and plants. This evening I'll start the massive project of putting photos online, though I have to work tomorrow, so probably not much will be completed.

I knew things would be different in Central America, particularly in Panama, and they were. Some places there have such a vastly different culture and lifestyle, it's amazing. We mainly stayed in small, family-owned B&Bs or cabinas, and I got good practice using Spanish. We both got sunburns, saw amazing creatures, went snorkeling, met fascinating people, went on long and exhausting hikes, got bitten by strange insects, and had trouble sleeping due to heat/humidity/noises/unwelcome multi-legged visitors. I'm sure I will write a more comprehensive report later, once I have photos to go with it. We both agree that Drake Bay on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica was certainly the most enjoyable and interesting part of the whole trip.

On a completely unrelated note, we got a $150 speeding ticket on our way up to Seattle last weekend, due to poor signs (we logically assumed that the speed went back up to 70 once the construction area ended, and there was no sign until just PAST where we were pulled over to indicate otherwise) and a jerky cop (he accused us of "making him run us down" because we didn't immediately slam on the brakes and pull over to "the only spot for miles where it's safe to get out of the car," lord knows how we were supposed to read his mind on that issue). This made me realize that I have never once had a good interaction with the police or met an officer I would consider friendly and helpful, and I am what you would call a "straight arrow," not a rule-breaker or one who causes problems. I certainly don't feel "protected and served," but rather frustrated and taken advantage of. It was certainly a change from Panama, where there are police wandering around all over specifically to protect tourists-- welcome back to the US, where if you're from out-of-state, we'll target you for an outrageous, unwarranted ticket because you can't show up in court, haha!