Chaos and Randomness

There is nothing like wind, rain, hail and natural disasters to show you the profound randomness and transient nature of things. As people in Myanmar and China dig out from unthinkable rumblings of our earth and people around Central Texas look at damaged roofs, cars, broken windoows and toppled trees from our recent storm, we sit here, snug for the moment. We didn't even lose power Wednesday night. (The grocery store where FFP usually shops did, though, and we had to go to a second store for refrigerated and frozen items.)

Everything is like glass before the forces of nature. And the forces of manmade munitions. But someone survives (or has in our known past). (Picture is a detail from a photo taken at Art Works on West Sixth a couple of weeks ago.)

It certainly puts into perspective the uncertainties of moving and getting TV service installed in the new place and getting walls painted a different color. It makes you realize the nice thing about a financial cushion when you watch a shelter being set up in your own community for people without power. "I think I'd check into a hotel," I say. "Uh, yeah," says he. Of course, but for the grace of nature and all that. You never know. Keep your feelings of invulnerability in check, madam. Yes, I will.

Things happend. I'm wondering, by the way, how those palm trees and stuff on the pool deck (ninth floor, west side) of my new home fared in the storm. (It came in from the west and seemed to do the most damage on the west edge of things.) I think they plan to use that area for a grand opening which is, gulp, next Thursday.

Life comes at you fast, as the commercial says. Today I am really, really going to get some things done. Yes, I am. I will have relative duties next week as well as the craziness of all this, um, moving stuff. But at least we have no uprooted trees (at the moment) or broken windows. We aren't buried in rubble or surrounded by cholera-infested waters. There is that.

In the downsizing wars we had trouble filling the garbage can this morning but we scrambled around and found some more stuff to throw away.

Where are the Pictures?

The pictures are in my head. I haven't been taking pictures although I did bring my digital camera. I remember hearing (is it true?) that Indians think photos steal your soul. As a kid, my one other time in Santa Fe, I seem to remember that they would sell you the right to take a picture but I could have made that up.

I promise to take some pictures today.

We drove from Lubbock to Santa Fe. If there isn't much to look at between Austin and Lubbock, there is far less in the drive from Lubbock to the state line. Then the landscape is a little more interesting. There isn't even much livestock or road kill. No animals. No animals killed on the road. I have sucked FFP into road kill spotting but only Firestone and Bridgestone yesterday (strips of tires thrown from trucks) yesterday.

The drive was easy. We had a so-so lunch along the way. We kept the coffee cup full. An Allsups (a popular convenience store gas station out this way) filled it for 59 cents. That's what I'm talking about. There was some special New Mexican wildflower (a low-lying purple one) after state line. There was a lovely derelict church with the NM landscape behind it that I should have taken a picture of. I have a fantasy project of taking pictures of derelict buildings and junk yards across the country. I don't stop, however. One looks forward to the little derelict towns. Because the landscape is relentless. There were many long trains, though, and the long straight road follows the long straight tracks.

When we got to Santa Fe, we found our cheap chain hotel where we are staying one night before going to a hotel near the plaza. We got here really early. We'd sort of forgotten the time change, too. Our cell phones confirmed it, though.

After settling in we went to the Plaza area and spent the day wandering around. We saw some interesting contemporary art. We saw the Indians at Governor's Palace selling jewelry that was lovely. I don't wear much jewelry. It simplifies my life. We had some snacks at the bar at La Fonda while some guys played mariachi-type tunes. We scoped out some high end Men's clothes for FFP but made no purchases. We checked out the hotel where we will stay tomorrow night and FFP made himself a spa appointment. I'm not that into massages and stuff but he loves them. We found a restaurant that had piano music. Made a reservation for eight.

We went to an independent book store and bought a couple of books and sat at (gulp) Starbucks because it was the only coffee shop we found. I've noticed that the demographic here tends to be older than Austin. By a long shot. You'd think you were in a retirement village sometimes. And you sort of are. At Starbucks I just wanted brewed coffee and I wanted to drink it there. My request not to have the stupid paper cup with the cardboard around it was met with chagrin. They provided a cup but said it was 'bigger than tall,' tall being the smallest cup of coffee and the one I ordered. "Do you just want me to fill it to the tall level?" asked the girl. "Um, yes." I think that in spite of all the signs about fair trade and the fact that they sell water that is supposed to give 5 cents a bottle (about the value of the water!) to clean water in the third world, in spite of all that, they don't want to wash dishes but want to fill landfills with their stupid cups. Sounds like a journal of unintended consequences entry when I have time.

Rain, Dreams and Computer Futility

The picture has nothing to do with this entry. The cool coffee shop graphics reflect, I think, Dean Keaton (aka 26th?) Street in Austin. The coffee shop may be gone but the grahpics may still be there. These things deserve preservation I think. I promise to show photos that have something to do with the entry in the future. Maybe.

It's supposed to rain in May. In Austin anyway. Last year I think the rain moved to the summer which was odd if a bit welcome. But this May is playing out its role as our rainiest month.

Yesterday we cut up wet live limbs that had crashed out of trees in the storm three days ago. We went to a dinner party last night that was punctuated with mopping up water and moving furniture when a leak developed. And there is the matter of a new roof at Dad's house which was in the path of the hail over a week ago. But that, I guess, was April.

I had a very weird dream last night. At first I was trying to find some elderly relatives to have dinner with them but there were all these restaurants and I didn't know where to go. Later, it appeared that the oldsters were trying to avoid me as if I were a small child who needed to be left at home. I tried to get some companionship with two guys who might have been related but in wandering around I found a convention of people who attached small tools to their faces. Yeah, that last part was really weird. But also there was this image of someone who could have been my mother (you know, in the dream) fooling with some costume jewelry with one hand while nervously trying to tell me why I wouldn't be coming along.

This morning this backup program I use isn't working. On the brighter side of computerdom, FFP thinks that AOL has decided to accept e-mail from him again. He was caught between our provider (RoadRunner Business) and AOL. Oh, wait. They are the same sad company.

I'm feeling a little weird this morning after all the storms, waking up from that dream, pondering computer foibles. I don't have any obligations today which means that I hope I'll get some exercise, get some things done to prepare for a trip I'm taking not so far in the future and, you know, totally get my life in order. I always have such high hope for blank spots on the calendar.