Simplifying
Topic: Whatever

I've spent the day cleaning out and putting stuff I don't use in bags to take to Goodwill or, in the case of books, Powells.  There are so many things that I buy and use a short period or just a few times for something, especially kitchen type stuff.  I want to get down to only what I would take and use if I travelled around the US for a year, which I would like to do.

The hard things are pictures, family pictures mainly, but others.  These are not things that I want to get rid of but what will I do with them if I'm traveling full time?   I do want to get scanned in a lot of old family pictures before they deteriorate or get further damaged.  I also have a small box of letters I wrote my parents while I was in the states for school from 2nd grade on and they kept them so I have the letters to look back, especially when I was in early grade school, as read things I've forgotten about.

Decisions, decisions!   I can store stuff in a storage unit but I don't know that I will have that much and I worry about the dampness or heat.

Again back!!?
Topic: Whatever

Yes, back again!  I am trying to get back into posting as I have lots of plans for this next year.  

 I'm 67 years old and after 3 years of being retired I'm ready to do some traveling.  I'm lived by myself for two years and this last year I've been living with my son and his family.  I love being around them and spending time with my grandkids but I'm ready to take off again.  

I did this once before in 1994 when I was between jobs, kids were grown and I had some money when I quit the job I was in.

See http://www.ramblesandbyways.com/travel.html for an unfinished report of that trip.

I want to travel before I get too old to do it.  I travel cheap ... camping, hostels, cheap motels ... and stop for historic markers and really cheesy roadside places.  I'm getting info together now as the test case will be in October when I plan to drive from the pacific northwest to Oklahoma for my 50th hight school graduation reunion. I'm not sure how much I'm looking forward to that but I do want to see a few people that I still remember.

Terrible, horrible, no good day (days?)
Topic: Whatever
I messed up my computer on Sunday morning and spent the entire day restoring it and trying to fix it. One problem is that it's a Windows 98 and so old that when I had to download new updated versions of some programs, they didn't like it. The new programs (and may I say that it's really tacky that you can't download old programs) made other programs not work (and may I say that I am so ticked at Microsoft I even started looking at getting a Linux operating system).

I do need to upgrade my OS and it would be interesting to try Linux and if that doesn't work, move on to a new Microsoft upgrade (Ugggg!). I don't dislike Microsoft for making money but for trying to control my computer. The Internet Explorer is the biggest problem. I had to get a new MSMoney which requires the latest version of IE but the latest version of IE closes down when I try to get around in Yahoo so I had to install Netscape to use with Yahoo and am so pissed off at all this messing around.

I was still thoroughly stressed on Monday since I was so upset on Sunday (no computer!) and didn't sleep well so I then managed to not have a real happy Monday. This morning I have a dentist appointment, but it's only a cleaning, so I'm hoping a more leisurely arising and such due to the cleaning, will lead to a better day.

Wilcat Welcome
Topic: Whatever
I helped for two hours yesterday morning and I am so sore today. Actually just my upper arms. Wildcat Welcome is when we help the students move into the dorms. It really is fun. We had a dorm that is mostly freshman and the parents and kids were a little hyper but grateful for the help. A couple even tried to tip us even though that's not allowed.

Yesterday was the first day they could move in. We arrived at 9:00 when they could start coming and it looked so empty but within a few minutes we had all the work we could handle. At least the dorm we were assigned to had an elevator. One down the road had no elevators and three floors. A couple of us helped helped one girl carry some stuff to her third floor room in that one and it was hard but she should stay in good shape.

In the afternoon I spent a couple hours helping made Id cards for the students, and a few employees. It was fun. We have the same setup as DMVs and the end product is a little plastic card. I don't use mine much except for checking books out of the library and getting into our building when we work on Saturday when you not only have to swipe your Catcard to get in the building but to make the elevators move. The students use them for everything so parents were anxiously putting cash on the cards and worrying about the meal plan.

Last week I spent an afternoon at the international students orientation since I work in the tax area of our payables and payroll, so I have truly been a part of welcoming the students this year. Usually I just notice that there seem to be more people walking around the university. It is nice to see them back, not just because they are why we are here, but there's an energy they bring.

A new PDA
Topic: Whatever
Ok, so does anyone else care? I care! I have been looking at getting a new one for over a year now but just couldn't decide. Do I need Wi-FI (we have it at work so it would be nice)? What about MP3s? Yes I do want that one. Photos? Absolutely. I finally ended up with the PalmOne Tungsten E and spent last night setting it up. It has a crappy cover so I'll have to get a better one but the color is so nice. My old one is a PalmIIIxe with 8 mg memory and no color. It was so full. This one has 32 mg and I bought a huge card for it so I can put books and photos on it. It's so cool!

I was a bit apalled to find that the battery doesn't come out. What if it gives out? Do I have to get a new Palm? That would suck. Anyway I'm having fun playing with it now and loading all kinds of stuff, half of which I'll probably delete later because I never use it.

Colors
Topic: Whatever
I am always so far behind the current when it comes to fashion and I'm always so upset when I buy something that is in a color I really like only to find that it's "out". I just can't buy a whole new wardrobe in the new colors every year. Now I find out that it really is a conspiracy. Yep! Two or three years ahead THEY know what the new colors will be. How else will they get us to buy clothes we don't need?

Storm
Topic: Whatever
I watched the storm move in. I could tell it was coming about 7:00 with winds building up and lightning to the west but it just now, 8:00 PM, hit with rain pouring. It's so cool to watch. I've seen rain move across the desert and never hit me and it's so unlike storms in the midwest and east where it rains everywhere not just in spots. This looks like a fairly wide storm and the rain is so welcome.

It only got to 98 today but it felt like an oven because of the humidity. I went to the mall and walked around for a while just to get some exercise and stay cool. The mall was jammed so I wasn't the only one.

On the wall
Topic: Whatever
Almost a year and a half after moving into this apartment I have my pictures on the wall. It takes me a while and I can sit and look at them and see why. They're a little crooked and I need to fix the hooks in the back of the picture and they'll still be a little crooked. Some need to be reframed but that takes me so long and never is quite right.

I would like to just tape pictures on the walls but then, of course, they warp and the tape looks ugly and people think I'm odd. Well, maybe I am odd, but I just have a problem with the normal housy things that everyone seems to get right. I still have basically yard furniture in my living room. I'm nearly 60 years old and never really had a proper living room suite, or bedroom suite, or dining room suite.

Still it's nice to see my kidlets faces on the wall. I enjoy just seeing them as I pass by and remembering when the pictures were taken. So long and so much time has passed. I need new pictures of them.

Camping
Topic: Whatever
I realized this weekend that I don't really like camping for itself. I've realized this for a long time but I just didn't believe it. I don't mind camping if it's to spend time with people or to save money or whatever, but I would rather be in a motel or home. It's just so time consuming. It's a pain to cook outside and the sleeping leaves something to be desired and I prefer a bathroom, with a shower, that is private. Yes, another thing, camping is so dirty. I cannot keep my hands clean and always feel grubby.

My idea of going back to nature is to go on a hike and then come back to my own home or to a hotel. Yes, I like a real bed to sleep in and a real stove to cook on and a refrigerator instead of a block of ice. A motorhome would be nice but I can't afford that. There are places that I don't mind camping such as the Grand Canyon where I can get up in the morning and walk down to the cafeteria for breakfast. If I'm with people I like, I don't mind it because I enjoy being with them and so I don't mind camping. These are exceptions.

I also realized that I'm really somewhat fearful while sleeping in a tent. I listen to every sound worrying that it's a wild animal or person. I don't worry about that at home or in a hotel, but a tent is so fragile. I loved it when I had my little Nissan pickup with the camper shell. I slept in it and felt fine and safe.

I love hotels, even cheap hotels. It's so nice to have this private space to myself after a long day of travel and I don't even have to clean it up. I like hotels better than hostels. Hostels are cheap and that's fine when it's needed, but I prefer a hotel. Maybe part of this is age and not being able to sleep as well as I used to. Hostels are just noisy and while people point to them as such a great way to meet people, those people, young people most of them, all want to party and then come in late at night and wake me up even though they think they are being quiet. I wake up easy.

Oh well, I'm sure I will still camp because it's affordable or other people are or whatever, but I just don't plan to camp just to camp or when there are other alternatives. I feel like such a wuss!