Dog Days

We are truly in the Dog Days of Summer.

"Dog Days" (Latin: diēs caniculārēs) are the hottest, most sultry days of summer in late August. Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress. The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, in close proximity to the sun was responsible for the hot weather.

Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, Quinto raged in anger, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies" according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813.

I remember my mother and grandmother describing it as a time when wounds heal slowly, among other things.

Good and Bad

The Good News:

Halloween stuff is starting to show up in stores this week.

The Bad News:

I am still unemployed and no one outside of the print industry is taking me seriously because my resume is too focused in that one industry.

More Bad News:

I have a staph infection in my thumb since last Wednesday that has me making visits to the clinic on an almost daily basis. I've already had to have the thumb lanced twice and I start on a second round of a new antibiotic today. The first antibiotic they gave me caused incredible headaches.

The Good News:

Percoset works quite well and allows me to sleep easily.

hotter

The temperature is supposed to reach 100 degrees today.

watching the vacationers

Quiet weekend. Everyone is out of town or busy with people visiting from other places this week. We are home with no plans other than working on the various projects we have put off for weeks. Very hot and steamy today between a blistering sun and spotty storms. My glasses fog up the moment I walk outside. Made it to a couple of groceries to stock up on snacks for the week ahead. Tomorrow should be more of the same type of weather with a high of 94 predicted with more occassional thunder storms.

The platter of fresh pears I have in the kitchen is half its size now after I've eaten and shared them at work all week. I should have made a photo of the original arrangement I made with them. I hope I am able to bring home more of them next weekend. They are quiet good, hard and crisp and sweet.

busy again

The last two weeks have been spent working again at the same company I was at last month. I could not be happier. The company is vital and the co-workers are splendid. I am crossing my fingers and toes that this work keeps up for me. Tonight will be a bit of a push because it is Harry Potter Night at Rancho de WereMonster and tickets were purchased serveral weeks ago... before I rejoined the workforce. I had hoped I would be able to get a nap in before going to the midnight movie with friends but I am too wired from a long work day. I will just have to take my vitamins tonight and tomorrow and hope for the best performance on my part. My brain has to be on for what I do for a living so it's hard to muscle through if there is a sleep deprivation issue. Then again, if memory serves me right, the need to make up sleep never hits the first day. It is always 48 hours later when I feel like I haven't had enough rest and those days will be over the (hopefully) very relaxed weekend.

not much of a Monday

I slept in a bit later than usual this morning. I still get up with the sun regardless of how little or how much sleep I've had. The morning was spent just kinda puttering around the house before going to work at the revenant job for a very short while. The air conditioning has not been working there since Thursday and it was still not functioning today. I worked in a hot office in the cooler, front half of the building as long as I could stand it, all the while wondering how hot it has to be before the computers start dying. I think the machines are a lot tougher and less vulnerable to high temperatures than people think they are. I finished everything I could work on without more information or approvals and came home to lie on the floor in air conditioning.

Dinner was noodles and paste.

All of the electronics here have been flowing in and out of functioning today. The CD and DVD player keeps stalling and then refusing to see the disk in it. The internet connection keeps going down repeatedly. The only way I've found to fix either problem is to shut everything down and reboot by not only turning the devices off, but their respective power strips as well for a minute before starting things up again. I would almost suppost the router is dying but that does not explain the dysfunction with the TV and DVD player today - both music CDs and Blu-Ray DVDs repeatedly refuse to play or be ejected.

Tomorrow afternoon, the plan is to hang out with Kisa Bastet and look at kitties. Probably working on photo editing and website ideas as well. And, of course, getting back to the task of going back to school for a new, higher degree in for a larger set of skills and a piece of paper that looks better on my resume. Working toward a new Bachelors or Masters degree will be a very slow process since I don't really have the money for more than one or two classes at a time and I doubt I qualify for any sort of public funds - but, at least, I will doing something new.

48 Hour Film - done

I was lucky to be a contributor and support member on a 48 Hour Film crew again this year. I am very thankful to the Bontrager brothers for including me on their team. Our project screens on Friday, June 17 at the Plaza Theater.

full

I was thinking how nice it would be to grill out on the weekend this summer at el Rancho and I realize that probably will not happen because there is no place to grill or entertain here now. The house and the back porch and shed are completely full of vintage toys, antiques in need of repair, and other projects and doodads John has moved here from Alabama or recently purchased. There is no space to do anything here and I doubt that will change any time soon.

Lately, he's been going a bit crazy buying things on top of things that he plans to sell, repair, etc. This includes things to put in my office - some things I was planning to buy eventually for myself and some things I did not ask for or think I needed because I have other things already - which is throwing my life in disarray at the moment as well. I have been trying to wrap my head around reconfiguring my office for new furniture while having absolutely no idea were we will put what I have already. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed tonight and a bit paranoid about his recent spending. My old clunky computer desk that I had from my condo and the large glass table that he got me to buy at IKEA just a couple of years ago are now going to be replaced buy an industrial cart and two smaller metal tables/desks that he bought at CB2. The plan is to put the desks together for an L shaped work space that will suit the room better. The office furniture and tools he bought for me are designed to set me up as a freelance business of some sort.

We'll see how things work out in a month or two.

hot Sunday

I have spent most of the weekend trying to avoid heat and sun. At least I avoided the sun. Mostly.
Friday evening at dusk, I made a few photos of a local parking lot carnival on Buford Highway. I especially liked the cotton candy booth name "Sugar Shack". A few families braved the heat to bring their children to ride the Farris Wheel, Merry-Go-Round, and other flying, whirling rides.

Saturday, MonsterMustDie was in Alabama visiting his mother and treasure hunting. I got an unexpected call from Sandy, who was in my neighborhood for a morning yoga and potluck social for her equestrian group. She phoned on her way there, late, while I was entrenched in sorting the photos from Friday - not soon enough for me to tear myself away from the computer in time for the yoga class that was ten minutes away but I did make it up to socialize with everyone at the post-yoga potluck lunch. I got to hear a lot about their plans to ride in a side-saddle group for the Independence Day parade in Marietta (period costumes in July 4th heat. Yikes!) and see a lot of cellphone photos of horses (the modern day equivalent of wallet photos). Rather than an unfurling flap of 2x3 pictures of children or grandchildren from wallets, everyone was sharing photos of their horses, dogs, and cats. After the horsey group event was over, Sandy and I spent the rest of the day hanging out together - first at Rancho de WereMonster. Then we had an intermission for showers, post office boxes, etc. and I joined her at the Grassy Knoll for shopping, hanging out with furry beasts, dinner from Delia's, and TV watching until I realized what time it was and went home. I could not count on them to kick me out that day.

Sunday was a meeting and brainstorming session for the upcoming 48 Hour Film contest next week. Over a home made taco dinner, we discussed the various loose story lines and screen plays and necessary props, locations, and people for each one. We need to scramble this week to have as many resources lined up as possible starting on Friday. Where and how does one secure a location for a battle scene without causing trouble? Who do we know with specific skills, who would have time and be willing to join in on the projects? What is the best way to quickly assemble unusual objects? Always a fun, insane challenge.

Busy (at last)

The last two weeks have been blissfully busy. I went on a trip to Tulsa, to visit with Spike, Namek and Nate while making photos and talking about the new project Spike is working on with his son-in-law David. It was great to see everyone. Tulsa is a smaller city, it seems, with a much more depressed economy than Atlanta but it was very nice at the house everyone had converged at for the weekend. There was the dog vs skunk incident, in which everyone lost, on my last night there. The four dogs were roaming unleashed in the field at the end of the afternoon walk, when they saw a skunk and took off after it before anyone could stop them. Casualties were inevitable. One deceased skunk. One seriously injured dog that had to be taken to a veterinary clinic. The three other large dogs to bath twice. One sleepless night. Once I was home again, I could not wait to wash skunky laundry.

Sunday was a day of extruded meat products and heat. We went to Tunes From The Tombs at Oakland Cemetery to see friends play and lunch was Pallookaville corn dogs. We also had the pleasure of seeing Kurt, who was there from Athens, GA for the festival. Good music but punishingly hot. There were tents over the musicians but not place to hide from the sun for those attending except for a few trees. Sunday was one of the hottest days this far into summer, so I got a bit over-heated and dehydrated there. We chilled out with Sandy and the furry creatures at The Grassy Knoll for a couple of hours. On our way home, based on Chaz and Sandra's recommendation, we picked up dinner to go at Delia's Chicken Sausage stand. What we had was good, but they neglected to include any of their cheese sauce with the potato wedges (with cheese sauce included) that we ordered. This was a sadness because the beer-cheese sauce was one of the reasons we wanted to try Delia's food.

Once home this week, I got a great freelance gig for the week in midtown at a place I love. Wish me luck. They kept me on board all week. I go back on Tuesday. I had to check in at the revenant job only one night last week for a few hours. This new job is desperately needed and tremendously appreciated. Now, I just have to learn their corporate procedures and culture.

anticipation

One day til I depart to the southwest. It is still unusually cool this week so I thought it might be a bit of shock in much warmer temperatures in Tulsa but the weather there looks about the same as Atlanta for the weekend temperatures. I am also trying to figure out how little I can bring with me to make the trip as easy as possible. No tripod. No lights. Just a few clothes and my camera is all I am planning to bring so that everything can fit in a carry-on bag. I need a better shoulder bag too. My purse is small - not very useful for a trip. Kisa_Bastet is taking me to the airport on Thursday morning.

I am spending the morning following up possible work leads and trying to establish new connections. I am also trying to remember to drink more water and hoping that I do not have a UTI while I am away from home. I have started having hot flashes and night sweats that wake me up, lying in wet sheets so I have to lie on top of covers until I start freezing from the sweat evaporating. Then I go back under the sheets until I wake up sweating again. I am getting better at just sleeping through it but last night I kept waking up worrying about work and money. I have no unemployment benefits and no health insurance and an emptying bank account. I still have rent and bills to pay.

I am hopeful that this trip will do me a world of good just to be busy. My hands seem tied here and I feel like a caged beast in an empty cell. This is mostly a symptom of the lack of activity.

visitations

I am finally considering what to pack for my brief trip to Tulsa this week to visit Spike and Namek and Nate. We'll be talking about Spike and his son-in-law's latest project and how I might be involved in it, from photography to website design, to just giving my opinion. I'm a bit anxious about how useful I will be but I am also looking forward to visiting old friends. This will also be my first visit to Tulsa, so I can add that city to the list of places I've been to in the United States afterwards.

I made the mistake of telling my mother about the visit beforehand. The first thing that sprang to her mind and out of her lips was that I will be in tornado country. I will guess that chances are quite small that I will be there in the path of a tornado while I'm there but I know my mother will be worried about that during my entire visit.

And this is a photo of Spike from his visit to Atlanta last March.

Thor!

MonsterMustDie and I went with FunLisa to see Thor last night. I will not say Thor was the best movie ever made but it was good. Parts were quite predictable, but the art direction was very good and, visually, it went very deep into me. I dreamed of settings like those in the movie all night.

There is no work tomorrow, so I plan to sleep late and do website tweeking and reworking in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, it is hot tonight, I am sweating, and my vodka tonic is broken.

UPDATE:

My mother phoned to 1. postpone our already-belated Mother's Day + Monster Birthday dinner til next week (which means I'll miss Tunes From The Tombs at Oakland - though MonsterMustDie will be there Saturday to represent) and 2. let me know my barely-employed cousin with three children and an unemployed junkie husband were evicted from their house today.

And then, MonsterMustDie fixed my drink.

outdoors encroaching fantasies

Last night, I dreamed I worked at a busy company with Anthony Bourdain as my department head. My pal Joy also worked there in another division. It was early spring but had snowed recently and some shipments were coming into us with snow on them.

People in my office were talking about camping and asking me if I liked camping. I told them I did not have much experience with it and, though I enjoyed the outdoors in concept or for a few hours, that I probably would not like it for extended periods of time.