Greetings From Not So Sunny Florida!

I have been in Crescent City since Friday night which has been mostly good for my soul. I miss Florida terribly as I have said over and over because of the people. Even if it has been overcast or rainy the majority of the time I've been here . . .

This is what the better weather this weekend looked like. Source.

That Sprout, my mom, and I went to a volunteer recruitment event at my sister's fire station on Saturday afternoon. This was a lot of fun, even though That Sprout wound up pinching her finger while doing the Fire Man's Relay and bleeding like a stuck pig. Thankfully, it was a fire station and there were plenty of trained professionals on hand. After they calmed her down and gave her a band-aid she was ready to play again. Meanwhile, I wound up seeing one of my former classmates who is now a forest ranger. I can honestly say that Smokey the Bear and I went to first grade together.

On Saturday night I hung around Palatka with a friend and waited for my sister to call me. She never called me. I don't know why. I guess I'll have to hang out with her on my  next visit. Meanwhile, I had a very enjoyable evening catching up with my aforementioned friend.

Sunday was a very good day. I got up early to have breakfast with my old friend Gellie. We had not been in touch for the past 10 years or so and only recently reconnected via Facebook. Say what you want about social media - it has it's uses. Anyway, we had breakfast, went to St. Mark's for church, and then hung out all afternoon. It was very like old times and we had conversations that needed to be had.

 One of the best parts of the day was seeing all the stained glass her dad did at St. Marks again, and seeing the art he'd done that used to hang in the house she lived in before he passed. I don't miss him nearly as much as she does, but God do I miss him.  I can't wait to be back in town so we can do it all over again. Oh, how I wish we lived closer. I need friends like her around so badly.

St. Mark's: The Oldest Church in Palatka. Source. 

After I left her house j^C and I took my mom out to dinner at the River Pub in Fruitland. I had an Italian sub which was pretty good, but left me feeling very sleepy. This could have also been a result of the copious amounts of sweets I consumed at Gellie's house - we may never know. All I know is that after dinner I watched about half of the new Cinderella movie and went to bed.

This morning j^C, That Sprout, and I went to DeLeon Springs to have pancakes at The Old Spanish Sugar Mill. I wish I had thought to take some pictures, but alas, I did not. Next time I suppose. The thing about The Sugar Mill that is so cool is that you get to cook your own pancakes right there at the table. That Sprout is especially fond of this novelty. Furthermore, the springs are right outside the door of the restaurant. You can swim while you wait for your table and swim to burn off your pancakes. If you are ever in the area, you should really check it out.

Once we left DeLeon Springs we ventured to Welaka to visit the Fish Hatchery Aquarium. There was a baby alligator in a tank with some turtles. He was so cute! Alas, again I neglected to take pictures. I was feeling a bit foggy today. The aquarium is humble, but it's also free and That Sprout always has a good time looking at the fish and chasing the lizards that live in the flower beds just outside the door.

Now we are cooking dinner for my mom. I told That Sprout that she could be in charge of the cooking but since we got a frozen lasagna, frozen garlic bread, and a Caesar salad kit, there's not a lot for her to do. But she will feel accomplished.

Tomorrow I will have to say goodbye to my homeland as we are heading back to Fayetteville. My new home city is growing on me. I have met a lot of really great people lately who are making Fayetteville a lot more livable. Schan has even offered me a gig guest blogging on her website. My very first post went up today. You can check it out here. Meanwhile, I guess the cliche is true. There's no place like home.

Be is ever so humble . . .
Source.

An Update

1. I got published on HIVHereandNow's Poem a Day Countdown.

2. An excerpt from "Eleanor" was chosen to be read at the Southern Writers Symposium. I am really excited about this. I submitted to their poetry and fiction contests, but alas, I did not win. 

3. j^C quit his training and is now trying to get out of the Army. I have no idea what is going on with that but if they don't let him out, I may be able to get my MFA because I will be expected to work. I find this whole thing to be very stressful. 

4. I am going to start working with Schan Ellis on making my writing and editing business a reality. Hopefully this will be a great success and thus negate the need for me to seek traditional employment.

I don't know what else to say at the moment. I have been feeling terribly overwhelmed lately and as such I fear I might have retreated from my writing and blogging. I've definitely been avoiding writing some very important emails which is no bueno. But, I'm working on getting back to good. 

This is all for now. Hopefully you'll see me back here again soon.

Who Needs Sleep?

I have been suffering from a form of insomnia for a while now. It doesn't matter what time I go to sleep, I will wake up exactly 4 hours later.This is problematic to say the least.

My doctor prescribed me some sleeping pills, but he told me to try 600 mg of magnesium before bed first. I have done this for the past 2 nights and I must say that I am pleased with the results. 6 whole hours! I've also been listening to klezmer music while I'm falling asleep, and I think that's helping too. I don't know why.

The only downside to this is that I had a terrible dream about being run over by a runaway ferris wheel and woke up wide awake at 3:30 am. Still, I got 6 hours, so I'm not going to knock it. I got really tired around noon today and I never recovered, but maybe I will acclimate.

I ran a mile in 16:45 today. That felt good. I'm feeling really down about my weight and my health. That is lame. :-(

I am going to go take my magnesium and listen to my klezmer music. I need sleep.

Goodnight!

Private Dancer

Yesterday, while on a snack finding mission at Wal-Mart I ran across Tina Turner Private Dancer and Duran Duran Seven and the Ragged Tiger  in the CD section for the low, low price of $5 each. I was looking for Mumford and Sons debut album which I had seen there only a week ago for $7 but alas, it had been sold. So, I bought Tina Turner and Duran Duran instead.

I own both of these albums already, but they are on vinyl and they live at my mom's house. I thought it would be good to have digital copies as well, you know, for when the machines force me to assimilate. I don't think our robot overlords will care about the fidelity of the analog recordings.

I was super stoked about the Duran Duran album, even if it doesn't sound as good as the record. I am now 4 albums away from having a complete set of Duran Duran CDs. I need Duran Duran, Big Thing, and Notorious. Paper Gods arrives on the 11th!!!

Interestingly enough, I found that I do care. I was taken aback by how much I hated the way these albums sounded when comparing them to my memories of the vinyl recordings. I had never noticed or cared very much before, but now it was blatantly obvious to me how much better the vinyl sounds. This was especially the case with the Tina Turner. The record sounds warm and rich while the CD was lacking. Hollow. Devoid of something essential to Tina Turner. I never thought I would be one of "those people" but here I am talking about the fidelity of the analog. Lou Reed's ghost should be proud of me.

I called an old friend last night to check in with him about a matter that has no place on my blog and soon the conversation shifted to music.

"I was thinking of you earlier today - I bought a CD of Tina Turner Private Dancer," I said.

"The only reason that should remind you of me is if it's on vinyl," he replied. He and I used to listen to that record quite a lot when we first knew one another.

"That's just it," I said. "It made me realize how much better the record sounds. I'd never noticed before."

He laughed. He'd always known records sound better.

I think I am going to have to get my records from my mom. Machines be damned.

***

In other news, I have been thinking lately that I would like to start keeping hermit crabs again. I enjoyed it when I did before, but I fear that in North Carolina they would freeze to death in the winter. Hermit crabs need a warm, moist environment and I doubt the hermit crab heater I used to have would do the job. Maybe I'll get some fish instead . . .