girl scouts, sciifi, and pizza w a*list

Why didn't I just include those first two items in the A*list genres?

Because they weren't seen as part of that AMC dance card, silly!

The first was seen at NCG Cinema, as AMC had shown me the preview, but never, ever, brought the movie to its screens.

I guess I'll have to clarify that issue for Trey!

"Cookie Queens" followed four girls in different troupes as they set their goals... and met them... and surpassed them!

The documentary was also a realistic look at the stress not only on the girls, but on their parents.

I would have loved to have shared that with the Girl Scouts in my life!

As it was, I almost missed it.

Had I not looked at the listings on Monday night, I would have!

Glad I was able to squeeze it in on Wednesday.

Tuesday I already had "Super Troopers 3" on the menu with the bfe.

As it's rare for him to see a flick with me, I not only agreed, but I treated him to the screening!

I must say, I'm not as familiar with the Broken Lizard comedy team as I am with others (Monty Python, Firesign Theatre, Second City, or even Random Acts Of Insanity), but he is a huge fan of their first movie.

That one is a quarter-century old now, by the way.

This third one is subtitled "Farva's Wedding", and that offered something for me: a touch of Bollywood, complete with elephant!

That was a very nice Tina Tuesday treat!

I was to have a meeting on Montgomery Street, so no second movie for me, except on paper I 'saw' the oldie, "Practical Magic", from 1998.

It made a showing because there's a new one coming out... and I hope to be the lead volunteer on that AARP-GA screening event here!

Got my fingers crossed!

(smile!)

Then my Wednesday was slam-packed with movies!!!

As well as the sweet one at NCG about Samoas and other cookies, I had a double-header at AMC!

Those were repeats of earlier dances, but with a difference.

This time, "Toy Story 5" was seen with a young family also there, with a dad who laughed at the same places that I did - very nice!

And this time, "One Night Only" was seen with quite a few others who braved the hot screening room with me!

Lack of air conditioning couldn't keep us away from this rom-com!

I also had myself a little inside joke with the movie: a pepperoni pizza!

Trust me, that was certainly a better choice than popcorn this time.

(smile!)

What about the scifi?

Well, technically, that was science fiction, as it occurred in a future time, though not too distant from now.

However, "Dark City" is the one I meant.

That's another from 1998, with Kiefer Sutherland as a doctor helping an alien race as they try to discover what makes humans tick.

Much as I liked him in "The Lost Boys", it wasn't the Sutherland that drew me in... it was the 31-year-old Sewell man, with his bedroom eyes.

Yes, Rufus Sewell - not only did he have those eyes, but he had a dream, much like 'Neo' did in "The Matrix".

He found out he was not in a real world and he set about to find it.

Here's the thing, though.

There was no real world.

He, and every other human, was living in a dark test-tube environment, where the landscape, and their memories, got 'tuned' every midnight by the humanoid aliens.

No daylight, no water, not even a beach, as the aliens hated those.

Here's the other thing, though.

Although Shell Beach didn't exist, advertising for it was all over the place: on billboards, on postcards, even on the route on the subway.

Well, if 'John Murdoch' could not find that beach, then what?

Blogspot didn't exist that long ago, so he couldn't just create his own beach, like I have done. 

Truly was an excellent movie - thanks, Comcast, for the $1 movie reward!

Now I'm going to watch "Beat Shazam" and try to identify those songs!

bday80 and bday68 dinners with friends!

Bet that's a bit confusing, isn't it?

Let me straighten it out, shall I?

My dear friend Carolyn turned 80 years old last Friday, but was quite busy being regaled by others - hooray!

Yesterday was finally my turn to fete her!

Her choice was Texas Roadhouse, so she could have that country fried chicken in white gravy again.

I'm so glad to have been able to bring a smile to her face with that birthday dinner!

I chose the grilled salmon - always so delicious!

Then off we went for an evening movie! 

Wonder of wonders, neither of us had yet seen "Spider-Man: Brand New Day", which has finished a very successful opening weekend.

The Big-D screening was at 5 PM, which was perfect after our 3 PM slunch.

What an exciting film!

Seeing it in Big-D for the first time was definitely the right decision, as the webslinger was back and forth across that great expanse of silver screen again and again!

We both loved it, especially that "Big" moment between 'Peter' and 'Ned' at the film's end.  

Very touching, literally and figuratively!!!

Still, as entertaining as the movie was, and as much of blockbuster as it is, we both agreed that we felt a bit lost watching it. 

After all, it's been five years since the last movie in this series with Tom Holland, and 'Peter' had been an aggravating teenager then.

That would mean the now 30-year-old actor is portraying a 23-year-old character, albeit a 'Peter' who appears older as he has been bereft of his two best friends for those five years. 

I can attest that loss will certainly age a person.

In his case, it had been his decision to ask Dr. Strange to wipe out memory of him from the minds of 'MJ' and "Ned', so there's that.

Bear in mind that he was a teenaged boy making bad decisions.

Now, he's been living with the repercussions of that decision and it's starting to work on his lust for life.

So far, I get all of that.

But how does that tie in with 'Black Widow' and 'The Hulk'?

I very much feel a need to rewatch some of the earlier movies!

 

So what about that "bday68 dinner" stuff?

That's all about me!

The physicist has returned from his summer vacation in oHIo and this is our first get-together since April.

Want to have three guesses where we were?

You got it: Texas Roadhouse!

The manager even said she recognized us, which threw him for a loop until I explained about being there yesterday with Carolyn - hahaha!

I again had the salmon, but with fries instead of the baked sweet potato.

There was one more difference - this time, I was the one treated to the free birthday dinner!

Many thanks, my bfe!!!

So wonderful to catch up with him after so long, too.

I had suggested several movies, but he wasn't interested in any of them, not even the two with Olivia Wilde.

That was a surprise, but I think he's just in such a more relaxed state after almost two months with Jeannette.

I am so glad that he's happy and in love again!

Now, how to wrangle an invite to his condo near Bell's Landing so I can check out his new digs in the 'Vannah?

I'll have to suggest a pizza and movie night in the next few weeks.

(smile!)

musical monday!

Get this: it all started with the WSAV weather song.

I kid you not.

Just look at those notes trailing up and down the scale!

Taking a cue from the song in "The Sound Of Music", I figured it out.

Starting with today's high and following through the week, here goes!

LA -- DO -- MI  -- SO  -- MI -- SO -- LA

Very raggedy tune fragment, but there you have it.

I followed that with a music documentary on PBS, "Looking For Cole".

Wilfried Van den Brande was inspired to make this documentary about Cole Porter after singing "So In Love" with Kim Criswell.

That duet was in 2007.

Seven years later, the film was completed, full of the music of the man that Van den Brande regards as "the greatest American songwriter".

I loved that Porter's journals were included in this!

All those notations about "Love For Sale", "Anything Goes", "Night And Day"...

his life in Paris with his wife, Linda, the only woman he loved...

spending his inheritance from his grandpa on fun in the sun with men...

what a vibrant life he led until a horse-riding accident in 1937.

I'm so glad that PBS gave this slice of his life to me!

(smile!)

Then I was off for something different: a concert film at AMC!

"Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour" was even part of the A*List!

That meant it was free for me, perhaps as a bday68 gift from the Universe.

See, Barbara Nixon was a fan of the young American, perhaps because of her math students, so I went to the movie in memory of my friend.

The Universe was looking out for me.

I'd chosen the 2 PM, 3-D, movie time, but that had been a mistake in the schedule and wasn't actually a thing.

However, Brooke set me up with my very own private viewing...

and I could feel Boo's presence with me as I watched the 24-year-old singer/songwriter bounce all over the stage in Manchester, England.

I only knew four of her songs - "Bad Guy", "Ocean Eyes", "Birds Of A Feather", and "No Time To Die" - and that was rather glancingly.

Not so for her fans!

They knew every single word of every single song.

I should note that no one in that concert audience was my age.

The vast majority were females, in their teens and twenties, with a few male sprinkled in, as well as a few moms.

I came away knowing Billie to be a good role model for her peers, emphasizing knowledge and not sex appeal.

No wonder Barbara liked her music!

Then I finished up this day with Music Bingo in the company of our mutual friend, Sandy, as well as Marcia.

I opted for the Chef Salad at Midtown Sports Grill, topping it with the peanut vinaigrette usually reserved for their Thai Salad.

Wow, what a flavor sensation!!!

That used up the last of my winnings, too, from two months ago.

Sandy was the only one of to win this time, taking the free-appetizer prize for the second game, which was, appropriately for her, "80's Mix #2 - New"!

She does so love that era!

My card was pretty useless for that game, as well as for the first game, which was all about country music.

However, for the last game, that music was more the speed for me and Marcia, and I was only one song away from that 50-dollar prize card!

All I needed was "Feels So Good", by Chuck Mangione.

Better luck to all of us next time!

What a day full of music, and friends, for me!

i thank You, God!

definitely not sushi

Imagine a deconstructed sushi roll.

Now, remove the part that makes it 'sushi'.

That's the rice, jsyk.

Finally, roll the other ingredients gently into a ginger salad.

That's what I had for dinner tonight at Sushi Hana.

That's were I met the physicist, for his very first time eating there.

Surprising, right?

After all, he lives and works close to that new restaurant.

He loved it, by the way!

He even had leftover veggie tempura to take home.

Even the appetizer had been vegetarian: Age Tofu.

I know his folks have gone vegetarian, because we talked about how his Christmas dinner with them had been.

I definitely had the much better time with my brothers and the prime rib beat what he had, hands down.

I think I definitely had the better meal tonight, too.

Just look at that beauty!

The menu calls it Tuna Avocado Salad.

I had expected something more akin to Edomae chirashizushi, with chunked up pieces of the fish and fruit.

This was decidedly not that!

It truly was as if a tuna avocado roll had been unrolled, with the rice removed, and then gently placed over a salad with ginger dressing.

Simply gorgeous...

and a delight to eat!

I'll definitely have that again, or maybe the Salmon Avocado Salad...

and I bet the bfe will, too. 

Excellent choice for my second time this year, and third time overall!

Now, time for the new season of "Will Trent" - glad I taped it so I don't miss a minute!

happy birthday52 to the physicist!

"Wait! His birthday is still in Jeffvember, right?"

Correct you are, but he was off in o-HI-o to celebrate it, and Thanksgiving, with his girlfriend, Jeannette. She's definitely gotten his spirits up! So that's a very good thing. But between his trips there, her trips here, and his teaching and Buddhism schedules, he and I haven't seen each other since the pancake luncheon.

"That's been a hot minute!"

Actually, just a few months, but I'd become accustomed to seeing him every six weeks or so. Nice to see the smile is still in his eyes!

"Hey, are y'all at the Longhorn???"

We are! It had been his suggestion, but I'd quickly seconded the motion. I wanted to try that French Onion Soup that Carolyn had the last time I was there. Mighty tasty it was, too! And it paired well with the Crispy Brussels Sprouts! 

"Very nice! And I'm glad the weather was nice for y'all today."

Me, too! Both of us were hobbling along, him due his neuropathy in his legs, me because of the inguinal hernia in my right leg. I guess we're not as young as we were 13 years ago... but who is? We're still getting where we want to go, and even to a few places, perhaps, that we have to go. We even talked again about my trip to Iowa! (smile!) He's even talking about moving to Ohio in a couple of years. That would be very good for him. He needs love in his life! I had not realized how hard life with the 'Cole had become during the last part of their marriage.

"I'm glad he has the pet-sitter in his life, too. She seems to be pretty well grounded, if she's been able to impress upon him the importance of wills and Power of Attorney documents and that sort of thing."

I know! I had started talking to him about that stuff about a year ago and he had flat out said he didn't need them. Wrong! What would become of Emily The Cat if anything befell him? Sometimes, I swear he's still a 14-year-old boy. (smile!)

"Oh, yes, I can see that. He's got more in common with Sheldon Cooper than he thinks. It's all part and parcel of him being a pie-in-the-sky theoretical physicist.

"Hahahaha! You said it!"

Now, I'm going to watch "The Night Before", about a bunch of stoners ISO the ultimate New Year's Ever party: The Nutcracker Ball. I wonder if the bfe has ever seen this? I imagine he has, as it has Seth Rogen in it. I'll have to ask him 'bout that! (smile!)

here he comes, walking down the street...

 

Hahahaha! 

I just had to riff on that Monkees song!

Not that the physicist looks like any of the four in that group.

It's just the song cued up onto my mental jukebox as I said the words to myself upon seeing him approach.

That's all!

(smile!)

Just how was it that we had this luncheon at The Original Pancake House?

Well, I'd sent him several text messages the last week or so and had no response...

so I called him last night to see if he'd lost his phone.

Nope!

He called me back and he set up this meal together, justthatfast.

How very sweet!

Those pancakes were, too.

Yes, they were an unusual side, but perfect!

And, as he ate his crepe sampler, and I ate the tuna salad half of my meal, we talked, as we do.

We were there, still talking, after the waitress left and while the staff was closing the place down, having been there for over two hours.

(smile!)

However, he did get to the important part: he has renewed his friendship with a woman he knew 37 years ago, in high school.

She's even the one who got married in a hot air balloon some few years ago, with him as the marriage officiant. 

That would have been 2017, the summer of the solar eclipse that was visible here.

He had been ending one relationship and starting another at that time. 

Anyway, while he was visiting his folks this summer, he and she met up and had a good visit!

I told him again about Christina and Anthony and how they got started.

I truly hope things will work out for the bfe and the woman in Ohio.

I'll say this... he has a smile in his eyes again.

That's been gone for several years.

I'm so glad it's back!

(smile!)

not the usual fare at tybee

"What's that? Did you go to one of the staged readings they've been having at the Tybee Post Theatre?"

Nope. This wasn't even something I would have selected on my own. I'd been looking at them in the event listings for months, but not for me... for the physicist. He's been heavy into Eastern mythologies and meditation for about the last three years, at least.

"So you finally put it onto his radar?"

Nope! He texted me yesterday morning and proposed that we attend the "Sound Bath" today. How about that? And when I agreed, he bought the tickets, justthatfast, and we were set to go!

"Holy cow! That qualifies as spontaneous for him!"

Right?! So, at 5 PM he was here to whisk me down there for the 6 PM session with Carol Melton. I had thought he remembered her from Armstrong, but he did not. She worked in IT there and retired in 2016. Leading these experiences in meditation is what she's been doing the last few years. Hence, the huge collection of Tibetan singing bowls she has. She also has an Ocean drum (beads inside a drumhead,  making a sound much like a rain stick), several colorful quartz singing bowls, and even some chimes.

"And is that colorful item on the floor your towel?"

It is! We were to bring a towel and a pillow. She had yoga mats there, so I borrowed one of those, a bright green one to match my lemons shirt. Everyone liked that!

"Am I to understand that you got down on the floor?!?"

Eventually, yes. It took a while for me to talk myself into it. Then I wasn't there long before Carol sensed my unease and encouraged me to choose a seat out in the auditorium. That's when the trouble began. With the yoga mat below me, I couldn't get my footing and ended up falling. Carol and the bfe then helped for my next try, but not before my right knee got bruised from all that leaning on it. Honestly, I should have known better.

"Honestly, you should have. You know you never get down on the floor."

I do. I just felt I owed it to the physicist to give it a try.

"You're not getting weird on him, are you? Please say you aren't."

I am not getting weird on him, I promise. His lifestyle and mine really aren't compatible for coupleship to be a consideration. He's my best friend extraordinaire, now as he has been since 2012. I just wanted to show him by active participation that I respect his choices. And I want to emphasize that I did enjoy this! Carol had dimmed all the lights and I closed my eyes from where I sat in the front row, letting the various tones she pulled from the instruments wash over me for the duration. I'm pretty sure I even fell asleep!

"What? You must have gotten pretty mellow for that to happen."

As I told the bfe, I felt like I'd had a massage, but without a stranger touching me. That was great! He was a bit surprised about that, but he didn't question it.

"That's interesting, given y'all's history, but he just may bring it up some other time. He was busy driving when you were saying that. Driving is not something he does for fun."

True. He didn't bring it up during dinner at Chipotle's, either. I talked about Carol's former teaching at Armstrong, as well as her being part of the Asbury Memorial family. Then I talked about seeing Kate at Bonnie's party, as I knew he knew Kate and her husband Chris. It turned out that he hasn't seen her in several years. I told him, too, about Scott's loss of Axel and me being able to refer him to Fox and Weeks, as they took such good care of his two old lady cats, Contessa and Chloe. By that time in the evening, the rain that started as we got to the restaurant had eased up. Time for him to go check on Emily the Cat!

"Nice segue!"

Thanks! And guess what? He had misplaced his phone in his apartment. We had talked about that earlier, with me assuring him I had done that many times. I also told him that every time I did lose the device, I'd think, "Oh, I should call Christina and have her call me so I can find it"... lol!!! Anyway, as he returned my towel and pillow, I suggested I could call him and maybe he could find his phone. "Great idea!", he said, then jumped in his car to head for home! Vroom!!!"

"Hahahaha! I can just picture him doing that! And were y'all successful?"

We were! I called several times, letting it ring through, waiting for him to pick up, waiting a few minutes between calls. At last, he answered! The phone had slipped off the counter and into the trash bin below. Good thing he hadn't thrown out the bag yet!

"Indeed! That's a funny and fitting end to the evening!"

Yes it was! And he said he'd heard the phone vibrate four times before he found it. I told him I was sure I'd called five times. Well, I was mistaken, as I said in my text just now. "You were right! There were 4 calls, not 5. Like when the Borgs tried to mess with Picard."

"Leave him with a laugh! Very good!"

 

dragon of juneteenth

"Wait, let me guess! Okay, today is June 19th, so I take it that you're marking that date in US history from exactly 160 years ago. So far, so good?"

Most exactly!

"Alrighty then! And that other part of the title refers to the movie you saw today with Michael and the twins!"

Oh, so close, but nope! Yes, I was supposed to see "How To Train Your Dragon" in Big-D with them today, courtesy of the two free reward tickets from Comcast. Alas, that didn't happen. Sure, it still showed up on my A*List that I went to that dance, but I missed it. AMC even gave me Bonus Reward points for those tickets from the Fandango site.

"Well, that's a good thing, but I'm confused. Why didn't you go to the movie with them?"

My little Saturn wouldn't start. Not even a click when I turned the key. Not even a click when Kevin Sullivan - my neighbor - attached his jump box. Not even a click when I popped the clutch to start it while rolling down the driveway to the street. Nothing.

"Oh, honey, I am so sorry to hear that."

Yeah, me, too. I did have a nice chat with that young man from Minnesota who drove the tow truck. No charge to me, as AllState covered the fee from Field Maintenance Company. I had my girl towed to Firestone of Skidaway, of course. They weren't able to do the repair, but Patricia didn't charge me and Aaron disconnected the wires to the running lights. It wasn't that those lights were the culprit for draining the battery. Nope. The problem is with the multi-function switch. I've been referred to the electrical folks at Dixie Motors and The Car Doctor for the actual repair, if and when the part can actually be located. They told me, though, that it isn't just older cars that have parts that are hard to find these days.

"You didn't notice any problems with the car before this morning?"

Well, last night, when I returned from dinner, I couldn't get the headlights to turn off. You're gonna laugh about this. I had taken the key out of the ignition before I noticed that there was still light in front of the car. I even waited a moment to see if they would turn off! Hahaha! But they didn't. Even with the light switch off and the key out of the car. So I put the key back in and cranked the car... no problem. I turned on the lights and then turned them off with the switch, then turned off the car and removed the key. That seemed to have worked, so I just passed it off as 'one of those weird things'. You know? Intermittent problems were always the worst to solve when I was a CTM in the Navy. The guy at Firestone, though, assured me that this is not intermittent. It's here to stay and the multifunction switch needs to be replaced.

"I see. But let me get this right. You weren't charged anything today? Not for the tow or the hour-long diagnostic and labor at the car place?"

That's correct. Christina suggested it might have been because I recently had new tires put on her car. I really don't know.

"Oh, you've talked to her? Like, heard her voice?"

Yes, I called her to see how things were going between her and Michael. She told me on Monday that he was mad at her, but she didn't know why. Apparently, they worked things out - she was at his house this afternoon, making dinner together!

"That's wonderful! She had been so worried about him. He had texted her to say for her to 'leave him alone, no more dinners at his place, she had lied to him and he had almost gone to jail about it'."

Yes, very odd, and apparently all over now. In fact, she knew he and the girls were to see the dragon movie with me and he'd even invited her to come along! I do wish she had sent me a text that all was well with them. Oh, well, it is what it is.

"Yes, it is. Naught for you to do 'bout that. She has a lot of people to try to placate - him, Kaleigh, Heather, Chelsea, her mom, you, and now Anthony, too - and she's doing the best she can. So, let it go. Why don't you tell me about your trio of dances this week?"

It's not a trio, but a quartet now for my AMC A*List, remember? AMC can't seem to keep them in the proper order, though, so I must be twirling from one genre to another too quickly for them! First was "The Materialists", which looked like a romcom in the previews, but certainly was not. Pedro Pascal was just so misused in that "business of love" piece. Next was the one on Monday with Christina. 

"So, a drama, then a horror flick. Gotcha."

On Tuesday, after mowing part of the front yard, bagging the cuttings this time instead of leaving them for mulch, I needed to cool off, so to the cinema I went. 

"You must have your time line confused. You went to the theater in the morning."

Nope. That wasn't to the AMC, but to the NCG. I wasn't able to mow until the day had cooled down, so I had to wait until almost 8 PM to break out the Ryobi. That meant going to the 9:30 PM screening of "Karate Kid: Legends". Very nice movie it was! I always like Jackie Chan, but I always think he looks more than 4 years older than me. I guess 71 would look older on anyone who's been as rode hard as he's been! Ralph Macchio is looking older, too, which is to be expected. He's right between Smitty and Ronnie in age.

"Everyone gets older, that's what they do. Get older or die, those are the options. But, yeah, I know the mental images are forever one age."

Right, until you see them again in the present. That's life!

"So it is! So, for your quartet, you had drama, horror, sports theme, and fantasy scifi. Did I get that line-up straight?"

Yes, you did, and you three in a little pun, too! Thanks for that!

"Any time, dearie! I know how much you love those!" 

renegade of longhorn!

 

Here it is, another outing with the physicist come and gone, and all I have to show for it is a photograph of the food.

Seriously.

We were there four hours!!!

We shut the place down!!!

And, yet, I never managed to get a single photo of me and him together???

Apparently so. 

Sure, Longhorn closes at 10 PM on Wednesdays, so that's still fairly early.

But, the thing is, here's the thing: we'd been there since 6 PM and were done with the meal shortly after 8.

The waitress didn't mind, though, as the section was clearing out around us.

We weren't being loud or obnoxious, we were just talking... and talking... and talking.

We do that every time we get together.

(smile!)

I talked a little bit about my bday67 Girls' Trip, but he truly doesn't like anything that has to do with children, so I let that lapse after a brief recap.

Mostly, we talked about adult things, like the need for wills and power of attorneys, things that parents have that non-parents also need.

He spoke of his trip to see friends in New York, friends whose children are now in their teens, and the baseball games he had to go to with them.

He spoke of Jeannette, a petsitter he met, who makes $100,000 yearly at that job.

That tied in nicely with my Dane-sitting that I'd done, as well as the cat-sitter fees he gave Lea's daughter for watching Emily.

He spoke of the six days he spent in OhiO visiting his parents, trying to make it a worthwhile trip as he hasn't seen them in years.

We talked about various religions, ranging from Buddhism to Judaism, from Church of Christ to Pentecostal, from Methodist to Unitarian Universalist.

That was a very cool chat!

I'm so glad the bfe has such a good time talking to with me!

By the way, I'm one of four non-business people he talks to on the phone.

I know how much he dislikes being on the phone, so that makes me special.

(smile!)

2 days with the bfe - hooray!

Pizza and a movie at his place for Tina Tuesday -

and we got it right this time!

I picked up the Holy Pie! from Medical Arts on Waters Avenue, as it was his favorite.

Then we visited for a while before munching out on gorgeous salads he made, along with the pepperoni pizza and pineapple pizza - dinner and dessert!

On the tube was the music documentary he had waited to watch with me: "Biography: KISStory", made in 2021.

The thing is, here's the thing: Hulu had repackaged the 2-hour, 53-minute film into two parts, slicing in lots of 'mercials along the way.

This Jeff is usually pretty complacent about that sort of nonsense, but by the time it ended, he was done.

No need to watch "Part 2" if it was also to be rife with interruptions every few minutes in the last hour - nope!

Methinks Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley did a fantastic job of sharing the band's history and music with us in this first part!

 

Plus, it was a very nice way to catch up on each other's lives since the last time we saw each other, not even a week ago.

I told him about spending 3 hours of this pretty day working on renewing my Medicaid application, as that had inexplicably been stopped.

I found out when Social Security sent me a letter saying my check in May would be short about $500 to make up for Medicaid not paying for my Medicare insurance since March.

I just hate it when they decide these things and don't forewarn me!

Especially as I will have the city and county property taxes due at the start of June.

What the fresh hell???

Good thing me and the first niece decided already to party like the Orlando locals again when we go in a few weeks.

Plus, the hugs from the physicist helped settle me down...

and working under the moonlight to get the trees cut yesterday into the right-sized piles for pickup helped work off the angst, too.

(smile!)

Then, see how big, bad thunderstorms were forecast for today?

Well, they didn't arrive until nightfall.

He and I met to be "Sinners" - I mean, to see that movie - at 2 PM.

The skies were overcast, but not raining when we went in, nor were they throwing down water when we came out.

 

Off to Texas Roadhouse to dine we went, in need of sustenance after all those vampires and all that body-shaking, dancing, blues music!

I had the Killer Ribs, which he kidded me about the whole time.

He chose the catfish, of course.

Molly found out pretty quickly that we where there mostly to talk in between mouthfuls, so she let us alone, checking in periodically, but not enough to be a hassle.

And just what did we talk about this time?

Didn't we get enough said in our three hours' worth last night?

Oh, please... as if!

This time was all about different religions, the different undergraduate and graduate school experiences we'd had contrasted with those now at GaSoU, and just what "tenured" meant.

Yes, he has tenure, but that's no guarantee of employment these days.

The pressure is always on to produce research papers, as well as move hundreds of students through the freshman physics classes every year.

i thank You, God, that I took the opportunity to mark myself "retired" when I did in 2018.

Seven years into retirement now, I'm still sure I made the right move.

I do hope he will take that opportunity when it comes his way.

Perhaps having his first masters-seeking student will put some pep back in his step, some joie back into his vivre.

He needs a change for the better, and Emily the Cat is not enough.

 

Now, I have "Will Trent" with Christina and this one has a rodeo in it!

It has an odd title, too: "Push, Jump, Fall", but we'll find out what that means in police jargon soon enough.

I do wish I'd been able to got to the Kiwanis Rodeo a week or so ago when it was in Statesboro, but I would have had to stay overnight...

that was just too much money to spend this year.

At least I'll get a taste while Trenting!

(smile!)

good end to this 30-day month

Come midnight, April will be done this year - hallelujah!

Monday featured yard work and a movie at AMC.

Tuesday held more working in the yard, a second movie at AMC, and slunch with the bfe.

Wednesday - today - saw the chem ladies luncheon, the monthly laundry session, a third movie at AMC, and Trenting with my first niece.

 

I'm so glad the weather has cooperated to lift my spirit.

Ever since that dip on Monday, it's been in the 80's during daylight, with more uplifting notes to follow along into May tomorrow.

That lower tone for the first day of the week actually made it ideal, though.

I have a yard inspection coming on May Day.

Smitty suggested I use mulch to show off the "flower beds" of spiderwort in the front, rather than putting up little white fences.

I wanted neon yellow mulch, but Home Depot had only red, black, and brown as the options.

Fortunately, the wood variety was on sale for just $2 per bag.

I chose the red-stained wood.

(smile!)

So far, I've put out thirteen bags of it.

Remember that spiral I like to mow under the Japanese magnolia tree?

Well, it's going to be absolutely obvious now.

I just wish it could better resemble a yellow brick road... 

but the brick red is good.

No neighboring ignoramus will ever mistake it for a crop circle again.

(smile!)

Dinner was in-house on Monday, with leftovers intended for lunch Tuesday.

Instead, I met the physicist at Bonefish Grill about 5 PM and we dined on shrimp and tuna for two hours.

Yes, that would be both seafood delights, as he and I shared the pineapple shrimp as well as the  pan-seared & blackened ahi tuna.

Absolutely delightful and we ate every bit!

Might that be due to the lack of side salads from the meals?

Yes, I'd wager that's so.

At least we both know of that menu change now.

 

The luncheon at Kayak Kafe Midtown today was quite filling, as usual.

Yvonne and Lea were there and, because the spring semester is done, no one was in a rush to get back to anywhere...

so we sat and visited for almost three hours!

Since we finished up all the school chatting early on -

including me telling them of Annette Ramos at SMF36 as a volunteer -

and Lea informing us of the upcoming merger of East Georgia State College in Swainsboro as the thruple for GaSoU and Armstrong -

we had time to explore other topics.

Very nice!

Such as this: Lea is a seamstress, too!

She just made her daughter's dress for senior prom!

Of course I talked about making my wedding dress and all those fabrics and using the 7 1/2-inch spread between the tip of my thumb and the tip of my pinkie to measure widths for unmarked remnants... of course!

Yvonne never did get into sewing, nor has Lea's daughter, Amy.

Nice to know I have this in common with the one of us still at Armstrong.

When Suzy Carpenter retires next month, Lea will be the only woman in the Chemistry & Physics department at Armstrong.

Hard to believe that, isn't it?

But that will be something else she and I will have in common: being the lone female in a place full of men.

I had that experience when I first arrived at Galeta Island in Panama.

I was the first woman to ever be stationed there.

Of course, that was in the late 1970's, and, in the electronics maintenance field, was not such a rarity.

In this modern world, a female chemist is much more common.

The thing is, here's the thing: as people have retired at Armstrong, new people - of either sex - are not being hired to replace them.

That's a lot of empty offices in the seven years I've been gone...

since the last merger.

Glad I'm not part of that scene.

Glad that Yvonne and I are still here to support Lea.

(smile)

Now, on to the very active dances on my A*List card this week!

Yes, all were rather fast-paced, even though one was animated.

"The King Of Kings" took the traditional Easter story of Jesus and had it told by an actor to his young son, a son that was besotted with the tale of King Arthur and Excalibur.

That was a bit of a different take, so that was nice.

"The Accountant 2" (written as 'squared', not as a sequence value) reminded me that it's been a while since I saw the first one.

I'm just saying this: 9 years is too long to wait for a sequel.

I remembered nothing about Ben Affleck's autistic hitman character, nor about his brother, played by Jon Bernthal.

I'm not saying the movie wasn't good, because it was quite good.

I just wish I could have had more context.

That was certainly not the case with "Sinners", which may be the best movie I've seen this year, and Michael B. Jordan has a lot to do with it ticking.

Strangely, the bfe and I were just talking about him at our dinner, with me going on again about the Jesup Drive-In jaunt arranged by that actor during the pandemic.

The movie is set in 1936 and centers on three men: Smoke, his twin Stack, and their younger cousin Sammy, aka Preacher Boy.

Romance, music, dancing, vampires... wow!

Before the end, I was weeping.

Then, a short way into the credits, when I thought I was under control, another reel popped up, set in 1991, at a place called... well, named for Sammy's lover.

By the end of that bit, I was weeping again.

Wow.

I do so look forward to seeing this again next week.

The bfe will be with me, too, as he's quite interested in vampires.

Isn't that something?

I've known him 13 years and never knew that until just recently.

Good.

(smile!)

something for my mind...

Have I mentioned that Savannah again has a branch of One Hundred Miles?

Oh, I have?

Truly, I am so thankful we do!

While I may yet make it to Brunswick to a lecture at some point during these evenings with daylight going on to 8 PM and later, I'd really rather not make that 90-minute drive on I-95.

Right?

Tonight, I didn't have to, as the Naturalist 101 Lecture was held right here!

(That's an inside joke for the bfe, though I have learned that these talks about nature and the ocean are not the physicist's thing.)

 

Stephanie Chewning lined up some specialists to provide "A Study Of Gray's Reef", with the talk being simulcast on fb.

That, no doubt, accounted for the low turnout at this office, as almost 700 people opted to watch it on the social media site instead of hunt for parking.

I'm glad to have been there in person!

 

Sarah Porter - the older woman on the right - is the National Marine Sanctuary Chapter Director at Gray's Reef, the NMS site just 20 miles offshore of the Georgia coast.

So what does that title mean?

She's in charge of fundraising and community awareness.

After all, if you want people to save something, you have to get them to care about it, and that is her goal.

 

She and Danielle Oxman took turns giving us the tour of the Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, including showing a short movie of the wonders to behold there at that live bottom reef that exists about 65 feet below the Atlantic Ocean's surface.

They postulated that the rich nutrients coming into the Georgia Bight, which is the indented are of the coast, from the five rivers is believed to be responsible for that live bottom reef being there.

Those rivers are the Savannah, the Ogeechee, the Altamaha, the Satilla, and the St. Mary's.

I should have asked about the effect of the Gulf Stream, too.

The Gray's Reef area was discovered in 1961 and became a NMS in 1981, thanks to then-President Jimmy Carter's actions to protect it.

Amazingly, it's a 22-acre tract, roughly, with other pockets of live bottom reef which have been found nearby on the ocean floor.

Both of the speakers brought up the Ocean Discovery Center.

It's right on MLK, it's been there a couple of years, and it's free.

But had anyone in the audience, myself included, ever been there?

Sadly, no.

That sounds like a nice day trip next week for me and the great-nieces.

They're on spring break.

(smile!)

improv and mixtapes

"What an odd combination for Tina Tuesday! What, no movie?"

Funny you should say that! 

There was a film, "Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape", on Peacock, and that's what we watched during our Holy Pie pizza party. 

Very good movie, too, set up like a true mixtape is, with riffs from different 'artists'. 

Lou Ottens, the inventor of the cassette tape in 1963, kept popping up, sometimes solo, sometimes with the other members of the team at Philips that had engineered the cassette. 

We both found it interesting that no subtitles were used when the men spoke German!

"You said "we". You got a mouse in your pocket?"

Nope, but I did have a physicist in my house!

"Wait, I thought the pizza party was to be at his place this time. Right?"

Well, there was a snafu on my part. I was to have picked up the pizza, but he never texted me about that. So I showed up at his place and he's like, "Where's the pizza?", but all cool and laid back about it, like he always is. So, back toward my side of town, him for the pie, me to shape up the house a little. 

"Damn, girl. Those blonde roots..."

Right? So I let him pick out the documentary to watch and he chose that one. Excellent choice!

"And you broke out your 'Hate tape' afterward?"

I did! I wanted to share something personal with him and that mixtape from 1981 is as "me" as it gets. I think he was surprised by most of the song choices. But, as I told him, it was music therapy to get me from 'crazy mad at the world' to 'totally chill self'.

"So y'all discussed all that?"

Nope, he needed to get home. Tuesday is one of his travel days to Statesboro to teach, so he was pretty tired by 9 PM. Plus, he had Emily the Cat to take care of with petting and treats before he could sleep.

"I'm sure he did. So, where does the improv part of the day fit in?"

I had another improv class with Rabbi Haas this afternoon! Only four us were at Asbury Memorial this time: Audrey the standup comic; Peg; a newcomer, Sandy; and me. The size of the class didn't matter, though. We all did three extended bits, showing that we could take a thread and weave an entire sweater with it!

"Hahahaha! Is that what Haas said?"

Nope, but he did encourage us to go to some improv shows and volunteer from the audience. He's quite pleased with how fearless we were today! For the first skit, each of us had to sell something in Holliday Hall to the others. I chose my red-armed sunglasses! That was fun!

"Sounds like it was! What else did y'all do?"

He had us do "Fortunately... Unfortunately", with each of us alternating turns with the tale. I had started it off with "Fortunately, I was able to see the new work done on Waters Avenue because a Mack truck was jack-knifed and blocking Truman Parkway." Then Sandy turned that into an accident scene, with Audrey talking up her financially-rewarding work as the lawyer and Peg was the 'winner' of what little money the lawyer didn't take. Then we went around a couple more times. Definitely fun, but I liked the "Lounge Singer crooning about their favorite movie" best.

"That sounds quite interesting!"

Oh, it was! Rabbi Haas gave us each a genre of movie, then we were to make up the song and perform it. I had 'romantic', so I sang about Jack and Jill. And, no, it was not the song that John Mellencamp sang! I don't recall just I sang, except I gave Jack a head full of long, lovely hair. Since I went first, it inspired the others to throw caution to the wind and let their freak flags fly freely, too!

"Very nice!"

Oh, and guess what? They're interested in the Last Laugh Improv Show at Jenkins Hall! That's coming up in March, after our next class. Sounds like a field trip to me!!!

"Most excellent! I'm glad you have some new folks in your life, g'friend."

Me, too. Most definitely.

kittehs to my emotional rescue

me: So- here is an odd request. Would you make one of your goofy faces and send it to me? I need a laugh and that will help.
me: Seriously.
me: It is just insane sometimes the things that can make me desperately miss my mother.
me: Just insane.
me: Like the movie The Intern. That should be safe, right? Apparently not.
me: Insane.
bfe: Oh, gawd, don't you just love them!
bfe: But you don't need some emoticon! What you need are...cats! I have two here for you:

bfe: That's the Tess!

me: Lol! How on Earth did you get her to consent to that shot? Beautiful.

bfe: Awwww, it's the Chlo!

bfe: Chlo always takes a good pic. She's always putting her paw on her hips and making a duck face. That's Chlo.
me: I guess that's how Michelle Pfeiffer got started. :)
bfe: Was there something wrong with the movie? We are thinking about seeing it this weekend.
me: I think it was very good. It was the unconditional support of Ben for Jules that just clicked on a switch in my head. I don't know that i have it under wraps yet, but i am better.
bfe: Well, you will be better after this...

me: ha ha ha :-). THAT was priceless, and you can tell her i said so.
bfe: I was scratching her neck and I think you can see the smile on her face!
me: Most def. Thanks. Got to go. Sandy is in the Story Slam and it's starting.
bfe: Have a good night Faustina, and when you go to bed, have sweet dreams.