Regarding Food

Gainesville

I may be too whacked to post (let alone type): we shall see. The end of second day of some weird eating disorder caused by changes in schedules. Half a chicken pie actually sounds kind of good to me right now; if I had one, I'd eat it. Nothing available is even remotely appealing. Nothing wrong with my thirst, however.

Long day at the Lib yesterday. It had been nearly a month since I'd been in to work, no one was around, and the area had been completely rearranged. The work station I use was tucked into a different corner with next-to-no workspace. And when I went into the locked stacks to retrieve boxes of comics to work on, they were... gone!

I looked everywhere, including the lower level compact shelving area-- when I first started working, Jim told me they were going to relocate them down there. Compact shelving means only one open aisle for every 7-8 stacks-- they slide along tracks to open the selected aisle (a scary business). There are probably 50 rows of stacks down there, and it is freezing cold! I was dressed for summer, and I spent way too long down there, searching stack by stack (pressing the elaborate buttons to open each one, hoping not to crush anyone), and still could not find them. Eventually someone told me the magic number: Stack 19.

To get to the lower level stacks, you have to take the book truck out through the public area, into the main stairwell, to the only elevator, down a floor, and then use the special staff elevator key to get off on level 1R. (Before, you only had to have a key to the stacks-- the comics were on ALMOST the same floor, down only 4-5 steps.)

Anyway, I was frustrated and frozen by the end of the work day. Especially since I was starving. Neglected to have breakfast before dashing out in the morning, forgetting that "lunch" would be a retirement party. Lots of lovely food on display-- and tiny flimsy paper plates to eat from. What WERE they thinking? By the time we got to Outback I was fainting from hunger-- wolfed down the olives in my first drink, likewise the crab cake appetizer. About half of whatever else I ordered.

Today the plan was to go in for the afternoon, if Bill's schedule made it possible. We usually have lunch on the way in. Minimal breakfast. I was ready by noon, but realized by 2:00 it wasn't gonna happen. (Didn't.) Minimal lunch, then Scooba and I made the kitchen floors nice.

Bill got home late. Friday night dinner is up for grabs. Somehow, all I grabbed was espresso. And suddenly it was cocktail hour (10:30). And here we are.

Bill likes to joke about the "Suzy Diet:" just follow her around and eat what she eats, and the pounds will melt off. And then you die. Hmmm. Maybe he's right.

How lovely it is becoming actual Autumn in the North. Envy, envy... still hot and sticky here, needless to say. Enjoy your flowers and birds while they're there, Mom. Soon you'll have frost dripping from your nose when you leave your windows open at night.

Sandy! Thanks for the two great posts. Of course, I remember all those songs, and except for the "Hail, Gamma Ray" one, they've been through my brain recently. (I remembered that one as soon as I read the words.) I'm proud to treasure a small blue bound volume of Cal songs which must have been Dad's, and so have words to the originals, including the Stanford Alma Mater.

I also loved your tale of arriving in River Falls from Florida. One of my favorite bits from The L-Word was Alice's graphic diagram of all the connections. I tried to make one once of Gainesville in the late 60's/early 70's. You should try it for RF! Or, just keep writing about it. As you say, you could pick up any of the threads and keep going with it. Please do! We'd all love it. I know you're busy with garden-fu now, but just set the timer for 15 minutes...

Echoes of my own arrival in LaX not so many years after yours. Billy drove me up in the VW Van. It similarly tried to give up the ghost several times as soon as we arrived-- early November. I found an unfurnished flat, and laid down a sleeping bag to claim it. The best thing about it was that HEAT WAS INCLUDED. At least I got that part right.

Posting unedited. Sorry.