Thursday Thoughts

I am having such a hard time posting. I am rarely as busy as I am these days, and I can't say that I like that very much. I have lots of medical appointments this week and next week, so I figure I better post.

Iron Oldgirl. I had an iron infusion yesterday. Personally I think this is rather stupid.  To one doctor I am anemic. To the other, by her charts, I am not. This is rather stupid. I told my hematologist that I know what it's like to be near dead anemic, so they just looking at some number that is a smidgen below normal.  And to my rheumatologist, things are normal. I tell you... confusing and stupid.

And what's interesting is that the nice young lady who did my vein tap... well, she did it in an odd place. Right over my thumb bone.

I couldn't do much for an hour and a half. The RN told me I had to hold that hand still because of the location of the insert.

Next time I want the girl with the dreads to put my needle in the back of my hand or in my forearm. I felt like I was being held in detention or sometihing. I had some typing to do. But all I could do was read!

But I can't get upset. I was in the chemotherapy room with a bunch of folks. When I think chemotherapy, I think cancer drugs, but it is basically a room where they give you your IV solutions, whether for cancer, or otherwise.

It is daunting sitting in that room with really ill people. Some don't even look ill, but just hearing their conversations. It is something else. Lots of sad moments there, and moments that make me think.

One funny moment yesterday... The UPS man came in, in his customary brown work uniform. One elderly lady was trying to holler at dude (he had to be young enough to be her grandson).

"Mrs. Jones," one of the nurses hollered while placing tape on my hand to hold my needle in place, "You better cut that out. You better behave yourself!"

"Be still my aching heart," Mrs. Jones said in the sexiest voice she could muster.

"Cut it out, Mrs. Jones!"

"What? An old lady can't look? I can still look! And that young fella was a good looking something!"

That was funny!

Yes you can look, Mrs. Jones.

And whatever's going on with you, honey... I hope you get well.

Lucy Junior. I finally put 1000 miles on this "new" car.  So I have had it for 48 days. That would give me an average of close to 21 miles a day driving. That will put me at about 7665 miles driven in one year's time.

No I don't drive much. My round trip commute to work is around 9 miles a day. A lot of that driving is stuff I have to do far out somewhere.  But I drove 150 miles yesterday alone. I had that morning doctor's appointment, then I had to travel to another city  out near my sister's house to pick up some medical records for an appointment on Friday. I then went out to Decatur to get Oscar-Tyrone's high class cat food. Ugh.

 So I was a driving fool! Wow! Folks who know me know good and well that I don't like spending THAT much time in a car. Goodness. I did so much driving that I decided not to go to work in the afternoon. I went home and

Atlanta is huge and sprawling. I remember when I lived in New Orleans, locals would say how I had to go "way Uptown" to a place I was trying to get to.

"But that's, like, 5 miles away," was my confused answer.

"That's far, baby!"

I lived in a boarding house out near the airport when I first moved to New Orleans. The place was in Kenner, 11 miles from work.

"Girl you live a long way away! Why you move out so far!!!??"

"But that's like, only 11 miles. That's nothing," was always my answer.

O_o

If I went from the northside of the ATL to the southern suburbs, it would take at least an hour top speed on the freeway. 2 hours in traffic. And yesterday, I was just making a trek from Stockbridge to Peachtree city - BOTH of which are southern suburbs. It took 45 minutes.

It is what it is. I tell you, yesterday... I never seent so many trees and woods in my life. And I really had an appreciation for it. I really did.

I still need to write my Lucy Junior post and what it means spiritually. But I don't think I will post it. It is waaaay too deep for me, so I know I don't need to put it up. It is the type of post that you will "get" a few months after you read it, lol. So I don't think I will post it.  And the whole meaning of it is STILL unfolding even now, a good month and a half later.

It goes hand in hand with something I am forced to look at and ponder every single day.



The fence that separates my yard from the vacant house's yard next door. I remember coming home from work and there was a new piece of wood in place of the old piece of wood that I would have to keep picking up from time to time.

That new piece of wood in the old fence speaks volumes to me.

And so does Lucy Junior. Lucy Junior appeared out of thin air as far as I'm concerned. Still shaking my head over getting the exact same car again... and it is a much better car than the original Lucy.

So that's all for today. I need to do freestyle more often. I often spend way too much times thinking about my posts, when I should just simply open up a clean post and just... type.

What do you think?

Hmm... 

Happy Monday Afternoon

Happy Monday Afternoon.

I am a bit O_O this morning.

I didn't go to sleep until 3:30 am this morning. Sigh. I don't know what that's about. I had a lot of electronic

stuff going on. I am reading a really good book right now by a sister in my class (I'll talk about it later in a book review). This book is some 500 pages long, and it is set during the 1950s. Her writing is blowing me away. So when I looked up to see what time it was, it was 3:30 am.

I was reading and had my earphones on, listening to some music on low. That's enough to keep me up. Sigh.

So let's just say, around 2:00 pm, this Oldgirl right here will be in serious need in a good nap.

I talked her ear off after class about her book, even though I'd read only 20 to 30 pages. I know she had to be like.... O_o..."What the world? Who is this person?" 

LOL.  Masterful writing makes me all talkative and giddy.

So I've been trying to dig in this book so I can REALLY talk her ear off next Thursday night.

I'm about 275 pages in, so I got a lot to say! Oh my!

Anyway, it rained cats, dogs, and frogs this Sunday in metro ATL. I was awakened by hard crashes of thunder and pouring rain on Sunday morning. And I was glad that it was Sunday Morning indeed. This meant I didn't have to get up and go to work. I can pick up church on the internet (which I usually do on Sundays anyway; I am a Friday or Wednesday evening churchy type of gal), and the sermon was exceptional, something me and my sister have been discussing profusely lately. So that's a good thing.

Anyway, it's quite funky looking outside, but it's suppose to be in the mid-80s all week. I've had about enough of this rain. I can't wait for a week of alllll sunshine. Goodness.

But for the most part, this was a lazy weekend. Lots of reading. I needed to do some writing. But I decided to save that for the evenings this week. I don't have much homework and I'm just working on rewrites, so that's cool.
Movie of the Week.  I went to see Star Trek Into Darkness this on Saturday.




I usually don't go to see movies on their opening weekend. Too many doggone folks, you know... and I don't like crowds. But I really like the first in this series, and I really wanted to see this sequel.

It was good. NOT as good as the first in the series. Sequels don't usually live up to the first movie.  But I saw it in 3D and that was alright. If I see a 3D movie, I try to see the IMAX 3D. This was the regular 3D, and it was ok. Next time, I need to drive out to the IMAX instead of sticking around the 'hood.

The villain in this movie was GREAT. To me, he made the whole movie. If I go see it again, it would be for him.

The storyline was good, but I think this movie was basically a set-up for several more movies.  And that's always a good idea, especially since they are revamping the franchise.

I give the move a solid B. Good movie.

We talked about this type of genre in class. It is called a "space opera". I saw those words on a hand-out and wondered what they meant, but someone else asked the question.

Space opera. Sounds interesting. But I'm not creative enough to write that type of stuff.
Song of the Week.  "The Boss" by James Brown



I've never heard this song before. Or maybe I was so young. I wasn't a James Brown fan when I was a child. I was more into Earth Wind and Fire, and the Emotions. James Brown hollered to much. Sigh.

I am reminded of sitting with my little brother looking through some family albums a few years ago at Grandma's house, and we came across a picture of one of our family members.

"Who's that James Brown looking dude?" my brother asked. 
I looked at the picture he was pointing out.
"Boy, that's our Aunt Jolene. Goodness."
*crickets*
"Oh snap, my bad," he said through his laughter. "My bad... I didn't know!"

*ladylee kicks the hard eyeroll*

Aunt Jolene did look like James Brown. Imagine James Brown with long fake eyelashes, bright baby blue eye shadow, bright red lipstick... and his signature perm a fiery auburn red with blonde streaks.

That was Aunt Jolene. She was one of the "messy" folk in the family. Kept up MUCH drama. I remember sitting around eavesdropping on serious adult conversations about some mess she had started. She was always nice to me, though. She called my great-grandmother "Doll Baby". I was never sure what that was about, but I found it amusing. She had some toy chihuahuas that I always looked forward to playing with.

She passed a couple of years ago. When I see James Brown now, I think of her.

I wish my brother and sister, who are so much younger than me, could've met some of the older generation of our family. They were some good people... and some serious characters indeed.

That's it for today.

You have a great week... not by default, but by design...

and ON PURPOSE!

The Bonfire Answers

Only four days after the death of her husband, Maryanne made a bonfire of his clothes and favorite possessions.

She hated that she had to wait that long to do that, something she’d been dreaming of doing since the first time he hit her some ten years ago. She would’ve like to have done it when the hospital called to tell her that he was dead, but that would’ve been rude, what with his many friends and relatives around all hours of the day holding candlelight vigils at the hospital, in the house, and on the front lawn.

A raging fire with her husband things as kindling would have looked beyond suspicious.

And if anyone ever found out that it was the arsenic sprinkled lightly in his morning coffee and not his failing diabetic kidneys that had killed him, that too would have been a shame.

So when the last of the many offered casseroles were eaten and the last of the heartfelt condolences were offered, Maryanne gathered up Charles’ things and piled them high in the backyard way back beyond the huge thicket of trees out of view, and sat them on fire.

As the flames consumed the items, she thought of his drunken rages and his numerous affairs.

“Where are they now, Charles?” she yelled. “Where are your fists? Where are your women?”

For the first time there was no answer.

The crackle and snaps of the flames consuming what once was were the only sounds to be heard.

And that was the only answer she needed.



From Knight Writing Class, May 16, 2013.

Writing prompt (homework):  Begin a story with "Only four days after the death of her husband, Maryanne made a bonfire of his clothes and favorite possessions."

Wednesday's Words

I don't know how I let half a week go by with no posts.
Sigh.

I must stop that.

*smacking self on the hand*

STOP IT, I say.

LOL.

I guess I will do some random news...

Look what I saw yesterday!

A google maps street views car. It was parked off in the cut over by the Whole Foods in Midtown.

I was wondering how the heck I could google up my address and a streetview of my house and street comes up? Hmm... And what's funny, the last time I did this, I saw my neighbors on their front porch staring out at the street with that "What the world?" look on their faces. I guess they were staring at this car whizzing by!

Someone is always watching. You can see a postage stamp on the ground from outer space by satellite.

Big Brother is ALWAYS watching you. You might as well get use to it.

What I'm eating right now.

A grapefruit.  That tangerine is for later. 

I haven't taken my meds today, and grapefruit is a problem with some meds. Hopefully I won't have problems. We will see!

Quote of the Week

That's a quote from a postcard I saw while standing in the checkout line at the Whole Foods.

It reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite books that I read from time to time asks the simple question of "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?"

Hmmm... I'll be pondering that forever.

Have a good Wednesday!