Freezing in Alabama/A Busy Sunday

My Google home page had the temperature pegged at 24° this morning. The unrelenting cold is wearing me out. Our 5:30 a.m. rowing session was again canceled. I moved to Alabama from Western New York to get out of this kind of weather. This old house of mine was not built for these temperatures. Even keeping the inside daytime temperature at 60° my furnace seems to be running constantly. My poor Camellia blossoms are a mushy brown. I’ve pretty much given up on having a beautiful showing of flowers on those old bushes. If all the weather bitching was not bad enough…. When I checked out my hometown newspaper on line this morning, a good friend Charlie was listed in the obituaries. Charlie was our department repair man when I was running a clincher till he retired in 1989. We were good friends. He was one the few people at the factory who knew the “real me”. Charlie would laugh how the other repair guys would wonder why we were close… “That guy is crazy” they used to say about me. All Charlie would tell them back was, “He is crazy all right, crazy like a fox!” You were a good man Charlie… R.I.P. All my tax info is just about in. My last reporting statements don’t get posted on line till the middle of March. It is just an aggravation to be dealt with; I don’t count on refunds anymore. I figure if I just break even that is enough. Hopefully I’ll get enough back to cover a Utilikilt! I was on line enjoying my first cup of coffee checking out the Black Workman’s model this a.m.! I have an E-bay snipe in which will open up a new house project if it goes through. Once I post this, I’ll raise up my bid amount to give me a better chance at winnning. It is funny how E-bay auctions work out. There was a very rare phonograph I was bidding on a year or so ago that I really wanted. Because of my bids the auction winner had to spend some $600.00 more for the thing. It is back on the block again with no bids. Knowing what I know now, I’m so thankful I did not win that germy machine! It is rare as Hell, but from a performance standpoint it is a real clam. (germ and clam are adjectives I learned from Billy and Dennis to describe different grades of phonographs!) At least the sun is brightly shining which raises my spirits. I just downloaded pictures from my camera and realized I need to do another San Francisco entry! Sunday morning was a beautiful and clear. I had to return some things to Mark. This was perfect Utilikilt weather: Took off down Valencia Street to 24th. The thrift store was open giving me another opportunity to check out the books. Got some wonderful titles all in the $1.00 - $2.00 range. Dropped Mark’s stuff off and continued on. The approach to the Castro district from his place is pretty dramatic. The first time I walked this route at night, I cursed myself for not having my camera: the lights on a clear winter night were amazing. The breakfast Danish had worn off and I was hungry. I’m in the right neighborhood for a great slice of pizza. Marcello’s is a favourite spot to take the edge off an appetite. I headed back down Market St. It was a fairly warm day, but I was not prepared to see two guys walking down the street wearing only jockstraps! There were no tan lines on their bronzed skin; I guess they do this a lot! A rehabbed condo building across from the Safeway had an open house. The units were huge with the prices in the 700k range. I did not bother getting an information sheet so I have no idea what the monthly fees would be. The agent on duty knew the folks stopping in were just kicking tires, so he smoked and texted outside the building while I was there. I dropped off my books back in the motel and headed to the Eagle for the Sunday Beer Bust. It is fixed so you buy a glass for $10.00 and it can be refilled till 7:00 p.m. I was not staying long so I just got a bottle of Bud. One of the guys I met up with Friday night was there. He was pointing out different people to me and explained how things were operated. I was amazed how the food concession this day was sponsored by the American Legion! From here I had to walk over to 8th Street to Wicked Grounds. This is a coffee house with a twist. It is like the show “Friends” only filmed in a dungeon! A photo shoot was going to be done I wanted to see. I was not there long before the action happened. A willing victim strapped into a bondage chair was wheeled through the door! It was madness. Just go with the flow… life is good! From here I walked down to Trader Joe's. I needed to stock up on some chocolate. I left with seven bars of pound plus chocolate. That should hold me a couple months. I also picked up a heat and serve chicken Marcella entre. I’ll nuke it up in the room to save me from going out again. As I was checking out I made small talk to the cashier. I said how I wished they would open a Trader Joe’s in Alabama. The nearest one to me is in Atlanta. I told her I had to stock up on the chocolate as I was going back home on Tuesday. She said, “Are you flying back?” “Oh Yes, and boy do my arms ever get tired!” I replied. The people behind me in line all laughed; the cashier gave me a nasty look. “I’m sorry, but you gave me the perfect set-up! I HAD to say it!” I said. She relented and had to give a smile in spite of herself!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010