I first noticed it when carrying mail to the postbox. In fact I did not notice it. Someone who was with me asked me what on earth I was doing? Of course I did not really know what I was doing, but I was arranging the letters in size order. I was surprised to discover when pointed out to me, that my behavior was peculiar, in that the letters were being dropped into the bottom of a mail box and then be all mixed up together with other mail. I was a young adult, probably in my mid twenty's, but until that time I thought just everyone organized everything that touches their hand. It was suggested that my compulsive behavior was odd. It is true too, but it is also a factor in my success at every position in my life.
This fact about me jumped out on Saturday when hanging up my clothes. Ken put my clothes on the bed. I was busily organizing, putting the shirts in the drawers and the dresses and pants on hangers in the closet, when I discovered that the hangers for the pants were intermingled with the hangers for the dresses. Now I wondered to myself if I could allow this to happen, but I really tried to just hang up the clothes, without regard to where they were placed. When I was thinking about something else, without thinking, I organized them properly, and now all the dresses are together and the robes together and the pants together. But I swear I did not do it on purpose, but it is better now.
One day I was visiting my friend Martha in Galveston at her apartment. She had just moved in and was showing me her cupboards and cabinets and closets. This would be 1965. I discovered that her spices were just stuck into the cupboard with no pattern so if a specific spice was needed, in order to find it, all the bottles must be picked up. So I quickly organized her spice rack so in the future no moments would be wasted. She laughed and thanked me, but I did wonder why she didn't do it herself. Now I know that my way of organization is unusual and probably peculiar. But it works for me.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
March 30, 2009. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Wandering.
Today we wandered through our day. It is such an unusual kind of day for us to just wander from one event to the next with no planning involved or no real goal except to enjoy the day. It was actually a pleasure. Ken brought me a cup of coffee in bed, where I read my Truman book until 9:30. This Kindle business is good. It is so light and portable. After breakfast of oatmeal and bran flakes in the living room, I returned to my Mr. Truman book until 1:30 when we decided to take the shuttle to the golf course for lunch. It is a lovely spot for lunch, watching the eighteenth hole from the balcony amidst all the blossoms and trees. The Spa is at the gold club, so I booked a massage for Wednesday morning. I couldn't convince Ken to have a massage. He does not like to be fiddled with!! Straight home on the shuttle and more reading until 5:30 when we decide to go for a walk. Along came the trolley car so we jumped on to go over to the other side of the canal to continue our walk over there, which we did. While wandering around inspecting the upgrades to the docking system we met a couple from Williams Lake in Northern B.C. who were not happy with their time share, so we pretended to sympathized with them. In actual fact, I should have given them a short course in enjoying what you have in front of you on vacation instead of bitching about what you can not change. After wandering around a bit more, we walked up to take the trolley car back home, except we went to the market for two bottles of wine before walking home.
After drinking a glass of wine we needed some food so ate a bowl of soup at 9:00. Now I can see the ocean from my bed and as the doors are open we hear the roar of the waves. It is all very pleasant. But tomorrow we must get ourselves organized and get to the grocery store in Bucerias. I mispronounce that town all the time and every time I do, Ken corrects me. I wonder how many times will I do it wrong before I get it right. Since I went loopy, Ken corrects me if I make an error with my words, which I appreciate, but once I get a word incorrectly in my head, I have a hard time getting it right. It is very interesting to see me do it wrong so often. Today, all was relaxed and easy and just whiled away our day.
After drinking a glass of wine we needed some food so ate a bowl of soup at 9:00. Now I can see the ocean from my bed and as the doors are open we hear the roar of the waves. It is all very pleasant. But tomorrow we must get ourselves organized and get to the grocery store in Bucerias. I mispronounce that town all the time and every time I do, Ken corrects me. I wonder how many times will I do it wrong before I get it right. Since I went loopy, Ken corrects me if I make an error with my words, which I appreciate, but once I get a word incorrectly in my head, I have a hard time getting it right. It is very interesting to see me do it wrong so often. Today, all was relaxed and easy and just whiled away our day.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
March 29, 2009. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Mexico.
The airport was jammed packed full of people. Evidently many others decided to come to the West coast of Mexico and enjoy the sunsets looking over the Pacific Ocean. Every line for checking at Immigration was long. In fact it took us longer than normal to shed the formal part of our arrival. But when we walked into our building and the young men said "Welcome Home", we knew we were really here. Victor, the shuttle driver, told us today that the numbers of people are about the same as last year so I guess the bad press has not hit them too hard over here. The security is tight here. The place also lends itself to multi generation vacations. On our walk today to the Hotel we saw five families with three generation families. Not many single or very young folks here I guess. The crime seems to be drug warlord against drug warlord, fighting for control of their turf. It is a shame.
This morning we went to the shopping mall for breakfast where we both ate crepes. Ever since I was served crepes in Galveston many years ago I have been looking to match the quality at my friend's home. She cooked them herself. They were very simple: two crepes folded over on the plate, sprinkled with powdered sugar and lemon sauce. They were delicious. The crepes I ate this morning were fine but not nearly as good as those crepes in Galveston in 1966. Then we walked down to the Hotel and along the water, finally waiting for Victor to drive us home. The rest of the day we read, at least I read and Ken worked at the computer This was my first test on my Kindle. I have read 12% of the Truman biography and it has been fine. One of my peculiarities is to calculate when I think I will have finished the book. I look at the print size and the number of pages, then determine how many hours I will take to complete the book. One of the problems with the Kindle is I can not see the size of the book, but today I discovered that at the bottom in very small print the % of completion is posted. I am enjoying the book and I enjoyed not lugging so many books here. The sunset tonight was lovely and Ken has promised to try to put the picture on the blog. We will see.
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This morning we went to the shopping mall for breakfast where we both ate crepes. Ever since I was served crepes in Galveston many years ago I have been looking to match the quality at my friend's home. She cooked them herself. They were very simple: two crepes folded over on the plate, sprinkled with powdered sugar and lemon sauce. They were delicious. The crepes I ate this morning were fine but not nearly as good as those crepes in Galveston in 1966. Then we walked down to the Hotel and along the water, finally waiting for Victor to drive us home. The rest of the day we read, at least I read and Ken worked at the computer This was my first test on my Kindle. I have read 12% of the Truman biography and it has been fine. One of my peculiarities is to calculate when I think I will have finished the book. I look at the print size and the number of pages, then determine how many hours I will take to complete the book. One of the problems with the Kindle is I can not see the size of the book, but today I discovered that at the bottom in very small print the % of completion is posted. I am enjoying the book and I enjoyed not lugging so many books here. The sunset tonight was lovely and Ken has promised to try to put the picture on the blog. We will see.
/Users/kennethdickie/Desktop/IMG_0043.jpg
Saturday, March 28, 2009
March 28, 2009. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. A Travel Day.
He was sitting at the bar waiting to board his plane. While he was eating breakfast and drinking a Bloody Mary, his cell phone rang and he answered. I was ten feel away and I could not only hear him answer, but also listen to his callers voice too. He looked at the phone but was unable to push the correct button to take himself off speaker mode so he just finished the conversation and hung up. While he was pushing buttons on his phone trying to fix the problem, another caller rang him, so once again we were able to listen in on the whole conversation. He was very discombobulated indeed as he was not alone at the bar. Eventually he figured it out and turned his phone off speaker mode. It took me several days to get my phone off speaker mode so I knew how he felt, but I still laughed.
Today, everything went our way. Ken used air miles to upgrade us to First Class, so the both flights were pleasant. We forgot about food, so we ate breakfast in Washington only to be served another breakfast on the plane. When we checked the gates in Houston we discovered a flight was leaving in thirty minutes and we stopped at a service desk and were able to get on that flight rather than wait two hours for our own flight. Now the last few times in Houston when we have wanted to get on an earlier flight, we were told that fifty dollars each would get us on the earlier flight. We are too frugal for that. Today, perhaps because we were flying first class, we got on the earlier flight with no problems. We walked from one plane to the next with no waiting at all. Every time we arrive here the system at the airport is a bit better. Today, with no luggage to wait for, we were home at the apartment very quickly, and by three-thirty the locker was emptied with everything put away. It doesn't often happen, but today, everything went our way on our day of travel.
Today, everything went our way. Ken used air miles to upgrade us to First Class, so the both flights were pleasant. We forgot about food, so we ate breakfast in Washington only to be served another breakfast on the plane. When we checked the gates in Houston we discovered a flight was leaving in thirty minutes and we stopped at a service desk and were able to get on that flight rather than wait two hours for our own flight. Now the last few times in Houston when we have wanted to get on an earlier flight, we were told that fifty dollars each would get us on the earlier flight. We are too frugal for that. Today, perhaps because we were flying first class, we got on the earlier flight with no problems. We walked from one plane to the next with no waiting at all. Every time we arrive here the system at the airport is a bit better. Today, with no luggage to wait for, we were home at the apartment very quickly, and by three-thirty the locker was emptied with everything put away. It doesn't often happen, but today, everything went our way on our day of travel.
Friday, March 27, 2009
March 27, 2009. Checy Chase, Md. Blossoms.
They are arriving, bit by bit. A cool Spring means they come more slowly and last longer so we who have lived here a long time like the cool nights. From my balcony window I can see several trees covered with blossoms. The trees are sparse but are telling us that soon the full blossoms will be big and beautiful. The trees at the tidal basin will be in full bloom this weekend but the trees in our Kenwood neighborhood will wait a week I bet. For the next two months, Washington will be full of blooming trees. First the cherry trees, followed by the azalea bushes and finally the dogwood trees. Washington is the place to be in the Spring. Of course, trying to visit at the height of the blossoms is very difficult because each year the blossoms peak at a different time. Don't come until the blossoms have appeared. It is the only safe plan.
This a very unusual time of the day for me to be home. It is three o'clock and I am drinking tea at my desk while I do my little web log. Normally I am either in the truck driving to the farm or out of town. Today I am preparing to leave for Mexico tomorrow. We read many places and on TV that Mexico is a bad place to travel just now. Our West coast location is well away from the violence of the drug wars, so we are going and we will enjoy. Once while in Nicaragua we met a couple from Montreal, who asked us about the crime in Washington, DC. They really wanted to visit the place but were fearful of the crime. They were surprised that we lived there happily. We just laughed and told them that many friends at home were unwilling to come to Nicaragua because of the crime. This Montreal couple had been to Nicaragua several times and had found no crime. Perception is everything.
This a very unusual time of the day for me to be home. It is three o'clock and I am drinking tea at my desk while I do my little web log. Normally I am either in the truck driving to the farm or out of town. Today I am preparing to leave for Mexico tomorrow. We read many places and on TV that Mexico is a bad place to travel just now. Our West coast location is well away from the violence of the drug wars, so we are going and we will enjoy. Once while in Nicaragua we met a couple from Montreal, who asked us about the crime in Washington, DC. They really wanted to visit the place but were fearful of the crime. They were surprised that we lived there happily. We just laughed and told them that many friends at home were unwilling to come to Nicaragua because of the crime. This Montreal couple had been to Nicaragua several times and had found no crime. Perception is everything.
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