Why I'll never be a photo blogger

The first ripe tomato appeared in the garden today.

I ate it.

With a small basil leaf as garnish. It was an orange cherry tomato from a plant that volunteered from last year's crop. Texture: B. Flavor: A-.

The garden gnomes are back!

Desk shrine

When I went out this morning to my summer office, this is what I found on the desk:



I ate the blueberries.

Beyond the cat door

At the original Shady West in Wallingford, I built an elaborate slanted walkway to allow our cats to come up along the side of the house and in through a cat door installed in my office window. The unsightly contraption had to be hastily dismantled when we were selling the house.

Now I discover there's an international website (blog) devoted to photos of elaborate stairways and other structures providing indoor/outdoor cats with access to homes.

Not all cats need ladders. This one climbs stucco!

Doesn't seem like summer

The cool, wet, wayward weather kept me inside much of the day, which was just as well. I did laundry, cleaned the cluttered laundry room, and photocopied 13 years of tax returns using the new HP Officejet J5780 All-in-One.

I haven't hooked up the Officejet's fax or printer capabilities yet, but the photocopying and scanning are great. I swung by Office Max this evening to get more black printer cartridges and was whining to the salesperson about how quickly I'd gone through the first two cartridges. He explained that the one that comes with the machine is only half filled (good grief!) and the #74 replacement ordered with the machine is not ideal. He recommended the #74XL, which has three times as much ink. I got two of those, and, since I'd almost finished the tax returns, those should last for a good long while.

The only other snag involved the 2007 return. The copy from our accountant was on a flimsy, environmentally correct paper that couldn't be grasped properly by the copier feed, so it was necessary to place the pages, one by one, on the scanner bed. Grrrr!

This evening I made a tomato sauce with a bit of bacon, and had that on spaghetti -- something I hadn't cooked for a very long time. Then Zorg showed me the musical episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." That was...different!

When the Buffy episode was over, I caught up on the Hugo Awards at Worldcon via Twitter. Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union won Best Novel. The movie Stardust (with a brilliant supporting performance by Dustin Hoffman) beat out the TV series Heroes for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long). A bit of a surprise. Stardust was nice, but traditional, while Heroes broke new ground.

I very much want to attend a Worldcon, but the next two are outside the US: 2009 in Montreal, and 2010 in Australia.

While everyone else is at Worldcon

Quite a few of my friends from the SF community are at Worldcon in Denver this week. But today I got together with another writer -- a published writer! -- downtown and talked about our plans for the upcoming Foolscap writing and art convention in Redmond. And this evening I went to a poker game that, since so many of the usual players were at Worldcon, turned into a viewing of the first reel of Citizen Kane. Plus we played around with Twinkle, an iPhone app that adds a geographic element to Twitter.

All unexpected, and all fun.

Contest: What should I be doing?

At various times in my life, people whose experience is limited to traditional corporate jobs have decided that my running a freelance business doesn't really constitute working. And that I need a "real job."

They're at it again.

In the past, I've dealt with these campaigns by announcing, after a week or so, that I have looked for and found a full-time editorial contract with an extremely hidebound, uninteresting major company, health benefits included, and that I will be "very busy" for the next six months. Of course, there is no such I contract. I merely continue on with my usual freelance projects, and all is well.

The most amusing of these episodes involved me assuring people that a former client had offered me a full-time gig writing educational curricula. Four days after I concocted the story, damned if that client didn't call and offer me exactly that project (which I took on as part-time contractor).

Under pressure from the "traditional job" lobby, I'm considering serving up another fantasy job. But I need to be careful -- what if the fake job turns into an actual job offer again?

I'd love it if the Mysterious Traveler readers would help with this "job hunt" -- by keeping me entertained. While I cook up a plausible job, you get to be creative. The person who invents the most amusing/creative job offer for me gets lunch at Kaosamai in Fremont or Hattie's Hat in Ballard. (Not sure what I'll do if the contest is won by an out-of-town reader...but we'll think of something.)

Please include in your contest entry: Job title, job description, location (commute? telecommute?), any special job responsibilities or requirements, and (of course) compensation. Please leave the job offer in the form of a comment on the blog or send email to me at mysterioustraveler [at] gmail.com.

Stay tuned. The best "job offers" will be compiled and posted (without attribution!) at a later date.

Weekend report

This cool weather, with intermittent sun, is no doubt preventing me from suffering sunburn. But it just doesn't seem like summer. I did get out in the garden yesterday, trimming the neighbor's out-of-control forsythia, which was looming over our fence, and cleaning up other foliage in the back yard. John came over and I tried out Zevia cola on him (a cola sweetened with stevia). We were sitting at the table on the back patio, and I realized I haven't even brought out the patio umbrella yet this year! Perhaps later this week, when they allege it will get into the 90s and break temperature records (Tuesday).

Friday night I went to a party Janice hosted for the new graduates of the Clarion West writing workshop and saw various celebrity instructors and patrons. I was pretty much out of my depth, but did meet another beginning-level writer with whom I'm going to have coffee next week. Highlight of the party for me was listening to Thom Davis, a superb blues guitarist who was a guest of one of the guests. He performs frequently over on the peninsula; I intend to get over there soon to hear an entire evening of his music.

Saturday evening I was at a more intimate gathering of science fiction fans Andi and Stu hosted. They have the perfect party backyard! Unfortunately, they also had a heap of extra books available, so of course I came home with more reading material. (M.G. Lord's Astro Turf.) I met one of the organizers of the Australian science fiction community, who is on his way to Worldcon in Denver, aiming to get the 2010 Worldcon to be held in Australia. Oh, I'll want to go to that one!

Plans for today are yoga, haircut with Ross at Habitude, and the Ballard Farmers Market. If the weather really does getting sunny and warm, it's back to the garden to confront the oxalis that's crept into two of the front beds. Or maybe the annual bamboo trimming... Where's a three-day weekend when I need it?

News

Some of you heard a few days ago that Zorg and I are divorcing. There are no dramatic events that precipitated this, and I'm not talking about the details except to say that I am the instigator. Yes, we have talked with a counselor.

Each of us is meeting with a collaborative lawyer to begin work on what is known as "collaborative divorce."

As I understand it, a collaborative divorce uses an open process to reach a legal agreement that meets both partners needs and priorities. It's nothing like an adversarial court proceeding. In fact, if collaboration fails, you'd have to find completely different attorneys to file in court -- the collaborative attorneys don't do that.

We're optimistic about this process and hope to remain friendly through it and afterwards.

After 90, then what?

My mom celebrated her 90th birthday this past week. She'd had a 90th birthday send-off from her friends in Florida this past winter, and her actual 90th was celebrated by her friends in Edmonds Thursday. Friday night I took her to Canlis (a celebration we'd decided on three years ago).

This morning I called my mom and she said that now all the fuss (cards, flowers, candy, and phone calls from friends back East) is over, she is feeling a little bit down. After all, what do you celebrate after 90?

A good question, and not one you can field with a trite answer.

I told her that I had a bit of the same problem when I left Apple. When I worked at Apple, that was pretty much my identity -- a short label that everyone recognized and found impressive. I knew that the day after I left Apple I'd be just another freelance writer.

And, yet, it turned out better than that. The cache of having been at Apple stuck with me, and has been very helpful in getting contract work. In the same way, having made it to 90 will now be an achievement that follows her.

My mom is an unusual 90, because she doesn't look it, and certainly doesn't act it. Or sound it. She called her doctor's office the other day to make an appointment for her annual checkup and the woman on the phone, trying to find the chart for yet another Anderson, asked for the year she was born. My mom said "1918" and the woman yelped "What?!!!"

Quiet week

Mysterious Traveler will be on hiatus for a week. Thanks for your patience.

What's wrong?

LinkedIn is down for maintenance, Twitter is down for maintenance, and Blogger is extremely twitchy. I quit.

Money

Who isn't thinking about money these days?

If you are a serious investor with cash reserves this will eventually be a time to pick up some bargains, but those may very well be long-term investments that could take three or four years to realize.

Meanwhile, I've pretty much cut expenditures to fixing things that are broken and maintaining services essential to health and business. I just downgraded my membership in a business organization that has delusions of usefulness, and I'm letting some subscriptions lapse.

I was amused to see that the Wall Street Journal has sent out to their longtime subscribers a "special renewal price" offer of $349 a year or $499 for two years. While all over their website is an "introductory" price of $99 a year.

So, if someone lets their subscription lapse for a week and signs up anew, they save $249 a year? The mind boggles.

New car, new perspective

I'm now driving a 2008 Honda Fit. It feels just like my 1990 Honda Civic, but with automatic transmission, air conditioning, and air bags. I'm happy.

Today was my first day on the road with it, and I was alarmed to find myself sharing the highway with some of the craziest drivers on the planet.

Like the car that suddenly appeared in front of me on Aurora, sideways, and blocking two lanes of fast-moving traffic. I slammed on the brakes. The woman had apparently overshot the turn for a strip-mall shopping center, so, instead of circling the block, she decided to stop, back up, and then drive the wrong way down Aurora to get back to the store.

Monday also appears to be "take your big industrial truck to Ballard" day. Every third vehicle seemed to be a garbage truck, recycling truck or a tree-removal truck. Once they're on the road, and a bus stops behind them, you might as well just calm down and park.

Updates

Zorg is packing his gear for the Seattle-to-Portland two-day bike ride this weekend. I'll be driving down to Portland Sunday morning to pick him up at the finish. There are 9000 riders, but he'll have his cell phone so we should eventually find each other.

I just put a deposit on a 2008 Honda Fit (Sport, automatic) that I'll pick up Monday...I just couldn't wait for the 2009s (now moved out to October 2008) and the prices on the Fits just came down as a result of the slowing economy. It will be wonderful to have a car again, especially a fuel-efficient one.

Tonight I'm going to see Eddie Izzard at the Paramount, and tomorrow night it's SummerMash.

Monday madness

I wandered out to the curb with some cardboard boxes for recyling and was nearly bowled over by a brindle pit bull. According to a neighbor, she'd been galloping up and down our street for more than an hour. No collar.

I let her into the garage, gave her a bowl of water, and called the animal shelter. Turns out the shelter is closed for intake until noon on Monday, and didn't think they could schedule a pickup. I let the pit bull back out, which, unfortunately, was when it saw Sheba, our deaf white cat.

Sheba does not run from dogs, and usually this scares the dogs off. But it did not deter the pit bull, which was right on Sheba before she realized it was time to move, and fast. She and the pit bull vanished into the neighbor's garden shed. Seconds later, Sheba exploded out of the eaves, leaving the pit bull crashing around in the stored equipment.

I capture the pit bull, got it back in the garage, and called the pound again. They said I could get a possible pickup in the afternoon. I cancelled all my work appointments and went out to find Sheba, who was on a neighbor's roof looking upset.

Figuring I could drive the pit bull to the shelter at noon, I went down the street to the home of a reclusive neighbor woman who has two pit bulls. I eventually got her to come to the door, and, sure enough, she had a harness and a leash to loan me. Back home, I coaxed Sheba off the roof and took her upstairs. Then I went down to the garage, where the pit bull was banging around, slipped in, and was relieved to find that it stepped right into the harness. My plan was to take it for a walk, then put it in the car and go to the pound and wait for them to open.

We walked up the alley, turned onto 32nd Ave. NW, and an SUV pulled up with a woman who jumped out and said "That's my dog."

Turns out she'd called the pound, but they hadn't made the connection between her lost pit bull and my found pit bull.

I lectured her fairly sternly about the cat incident; she apologized, I returned the dog, and they drove off. Back at home, I noticed Sheba had a cut on her forehead, so I took her to vet. It was a minor injury -- not from the pit bull, but from the acrobatics involved in her escape. The vet shaved some hair, so now Sheba looks like a unicorn that had its horn removed.

My day was pretty much in shambles; I made it to our accountant's, but missed yoga class when an elderly woman fainted in the parking lot next to my car and I took care of her while her husband went off and got their car to transport her to the nearby emergency room.

Enough new stuff came in today that I didn't deal with all the stuff that got cancelled yesterday, so now I'm dealing with phone calls and emails from people who are probably getting somewhat irate. I did, however, get to belly dance class this evening and now I feel much less worried about the irate people. If you're one of them, my apologies.

An extra day

Odd to have a Friday holiday.

Zorg mowed the lawn; I trimmed plants, cleaned my office closet, ran some errands, and made chocolate-dipped cherries for a 4th of July party in Fremont. At the party, there was much grim conversation about the political climate and the economy. Several people felt that McCain's new staff is part of his alignment with the sector of the Republican party that was involved in the voting-machine rigging in Ohio and Florida in 2004.

Walked part of the way home, and then Zorg picked me up on the Fremont/Ballard border. We checked on our vacationing neighbors' cats and mice -- no fish this time. The cats, which get kibble as a rule, look forward to our visits because we bring small offerings of wet food.

Both of us remarked on how much quieter this Fourth seems than previous ones. Is it the economy?

The thunderstorms last night took care of watering the garden for a few days -- that's a real holiday for me.

Cats out for summer

Warm weather arrives, and the cats respond to the call of the wild.

Our neighbor's cat, Bee, spent five days trapped on someone's balcony until the woman across the street asked about the "new cat" and the homeowners noticed her. (You have to wonder if they were hard of hearing.)

Our big tabby, Zoe, has gotten trapped twice in the past few days. The first time, I opened the attic door to reach inside for a straw hat; Zoe slipped in, and spent the next few hours in the hot attic until I heard her yowling.

She failed utterly to learn her lesson. This morning I went into the garden shed for a pair of clippers. Zoe slipped in, and then spent the entire day in the shed. I noticed her missing this afternoon, called her name, and heard yowling again. When I opened the door, she shot out and dashed across the lawn, stopping on the patio to give me a hurt look.

Now I've resolved to conduct a "whisker count" every few hours to make sure I know where all three cats are.

It could certainly be worse. John Hedtke reports on the adventures of their cat Silas, which began with a tumble from a second floor balcony. John and his wife captured the injured cat and put him into a cardboard carrier, which promptly opened from the bottom, dumping the now-berserk cat onto the floor. And that was only the beginning...

How tall would you like your condos?

Seattle Metblogs reports the first sighting of "impeach greg nickels" bumper stickers. (Or I guess you could put them on your briefcase if you're riding the bus.)

Don't blame me, I voted for Sidran.

Fremont Parade picture

There's a funny story along with this photo Jeff Carlson got of me.