I used to have a cassette tape of The Shirelles, a black women's group with a 1960's Motown sound. One of my favorite songs on that album had this chorus:
You can't hurry love
No, you just have to wait
Love don't come easy
It's a game of give and take
I was thinking about that song this am when I was wishing for some nearby friends. Rich was thinking about playing a late round of golf in Monterey, so I was thinking about inviting a friend to have dinner. Then I realized I didn't really have anyone to call. I have already invited my only non-work friend, Virginia, to do something this weekend, and I don't want to be too needy (even though I probably am).
I was looking for something in the attic and found an old bowling pin I brought here from Missouri. It was the "prize" from a bowling party with some friends. We had all taken monikers from the 60's and signed out new names on the pin. It was good silly fun. I am taking that bowling pin with me to work today, just for company.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
At long last legal
Having spent the entirety of yesterday morning at the California DMV, we are finally legal in this state! It has been an interesting saga!
I had what I thought was a brilliant idea when we were packing in January: if we left our car titles in our safety deposit box in Springfield, we would not misplace them in the moving shuffle. OOPS! After we got our feet on the ground here, we looked into getting our California drivers licenses and car registration.
Guess what? You need a title to register a car-DUH!!!
So, I asked my sister Julie to go to our Springfield bank and get the title for us. OOPS! I had given her the key to the safety deposit box just before we left. Unfortunately, I gave it to her at the same time I was sending my dad's cat home with her (among other things), and she now cannot find the key.
So, I decided to mail her the one other key to the safety deposit box, which I had brought with us. I put it in a stamped envelope in my bicycle basket, along with some other mail, and headed up to the nearby post office. OOPS! When I got there, that envelope was no longer in the basket. I measured with another envelope, and, sure enough, the slots in my metal basket were large enough to let it slide through.
So, I went up and down the street several times: on bike, on foot, on one side, and then on the other. No luck. So I called Julie and let her know what happened. Nothing to do but wait.
My faith in humanity was restored when Julie received the key a few days later. Some decent human being saw this dropped envelope and mailed it!
Julie then went to the bank, key in hand, only to learn she was not on the list of those authorized to access the safety deposit box. She pushed the issue with the bank. I called and pushed the issue with the bank. There is no wiggle room for opening safety deposit boxes if you do not have prior written authorization.
So Julie brought the key back to us when she visited Santa Cruz in March. All we could do is wait until we were back in Springfield to open the box ourselves, which we did. We retrieved the titles. And, we got Julie officially authorized to use that darn safety deposit box!
Titles in hand, we were able to then sell Rich's car when we were home and get the Prius, which we drove out to California, registered. WHEW. Our new insurance agency here was happy we finally had the paperwork they needed-delivered today during my morning errands. On foot, of course.
I had what I thought was a brilliant idea when we were packing in January: if we left our car titles in our safety deposit box in Springfield, we would not misplace them in the moving shuffle. OOPS! After we got our feet on the ground here, we looked into getting our California drivers licenses and car registration.
Guess what? You need a title to register a car-DUH!!!
So, I asked my sister Julie to go to our Springfield bank and get the title for us. OOPS! I had given her the key to the safety deposit box just before we left. Unfortunately, I gave it to her at the same time I was sending my dad's cat home with her (among other things), and she now cannot find the key.
So, I decided to mail her the one other key to the safety deposit box, which I had brought with us. I put it in a stamped envelope in my bicycle basket, along with some other mail, and headed up to the nearby post office. OOPS! When I got there, that envelope was no longer in the basket. I measured with another envelope, and, sure enough, the slots in my metal basket were large enough to let it slide through.
So, I went up and down the street several times: on bike, on foot, on one side, and then on the other. No luck. So I called Julie and let her know what happened. Nothing to do but wait.
My faith in humanity was restored when Julie received the key a few days later. Some decent human being saw this dropped envelope and mailed it!
Julie then went to the bank, key in hand, only to learn she was not on the list of those authorized to access the safety deposit box. She pushed the issue with the bank. I called and pushed the issue with the bank. There is no wiggle room for opening safety deposit boxes if you do not have prior written authorization.
So Julie brought the key back to us when she visited Santa Cruz in March. All we could do is wait until we were back in Springfield to open the box ourselves, which we did. We retrieved the titles. And, we got Julie officially authorized to use that darn safety deposit box!
Titles in hand, we were able to then sell Rich's car when we were home and get the Prius, which we drove out to California, registered. WHEW. Our new insurance agency here was happy we finally had the paperwork they needed-delivered today during my morning errands. On foot, of course.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
full moon #5 SUPER MOON
Last night's full moon was called a super moon because the moon was closer to the earth than it has been for years. It has to do with the moon's elliptical path around the earth, and being on the short side of the ellipse this time around.
Interestingly, its timing feels like another new chapter for me as well. Things have settled out on the work front, and we just returned from our first trip back to Missouri since our move. Both of these happenings have had significance in my feeling more rooted here.
When I initially applied for work at UCSC, there was not an option for part-time work with benefits. However, when I told my boss last month that I was going to look for that kind of arrangement in the community, he was able to offer me a "4 days a week when school is in session" option. I was happy to accept! I will still have 2 months off in the summers and university holidays plus vacation time. And since my main aim was to protect some time off, this is a good solution. It has been an adjustment for me to be taking care of not-so-sick college students after my years with the oh-so-sick uninsured patients at The Kitchen Clinic, but I have some ideas for keeping it interesting.
We made a whirlwind trip through the midwest last week. We first flew to Carrie in Bloomington, IL so we could watch her run her 1st marathon. The Illinois Marathon was held at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana with around 20,000 runners in all. She had a time of 3h19m which qualified her for the Boston Marathon for the next couple of years...IF she wants to go (she will). Her husband Travis did a masterful job of planning our tour around the course so that we could watch and cheer half a dozen times, reminding us of her old cross country days. After giving her time to shower and eat a LOT of food, we put her in the backseat of the car and began the 7 hour drive to Kansas City. The next day was Will's senior voice recital for UMKC.
A dear old friend from KC was out of town and gave us the use of her beautiful home while we were there. This gift was a godsend, since we needed a kitchen to prepare for the reception which followed the recital. Will's friend Alex came from CA to help out, which was a lucky thing since my procrastinating son was still working on the translations for the program that afternoon!
His concert was unbelievable, an hour and a half of pure joy for his mother! All his aunts and uncles were there, and his grandmothers and lots of other friends and supporters...such a nice time. We wound up the evening gathered in our home-away-from-home, laughing the night away in our PJ's.
After a nice lunch together with family and friends, we headed down to Springfield the next day. We spent the next 3 days visiting family and friends and our old house and favorite golf courses. So much fun, and so exhausting! And it was sad being at Ginny's old house, looking at her empty chair through her front window...
We were happy to come HOME to Santa Cruz!
Interestingly, its timing feels like another new chapter for me as well. Things have settled out on the work front, and we just returned from our first trip back to Missouri since our move. Both of these happenings have had significance in my feeling more rooted here.
When I initially applied for work at UCSC, there was not an option for part-time work with benefits. However, when I told my boss last month that I was going to look for that kind of arrangement in the community, he was able to offer me a "4 days a week when school is in session" option. I was happy to accept! I will still have 2 months off in the summers and university holidays plus vacation time. And since my main aim was to protect some time off, this is a good solution. It has been an adjustment for me to be taking care of not-so-sick college students after my years with the oh-so-sick uninsured patients at The Kitchen Clinic, but I have some ideas for keeping it interesting.
We made a whirlwind trip through the midwest last week. We first flew to Carrie in Bloomington, IL so we could watch her run her 1st marathon. The Illinois Marathon was held at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana with around 20,000 runners in all. She had a time of 3h19m which qualified her for the Boston Marathon for the next couple of years...IF she wants to go (she will). Her husband Travis did a masterful job of planning our tour around the course so that we could watch and cheer half a dozen times, reminding us of her old cross country days. After giving her time to shower and eat a LOT of food, we put her in the backseat of the car and began the 7 hour drive to Kansas City. The next day was Will's senior voice recital for UMKC.
A dear old friend from KC was out of town and gave us the use of her beautiful home while we were there. This gift was a godsend, since we needed a kitchen to prepare for the reception which followed the recital. Will's friend Alex came from CA to help out, which was a lucky thing since my procrastinating son was still working on the translations for the program that afternoon!
His concert was unbelievable, an hour and a half of pure joy for his mother! All his aunts and uncles were there, and his grandmothers and lots of other friends and supporters...such a nice time. We wound up the evening gathered in our home-away-from-home, laughing the night away in our PJ's.
After a nice lunch together with family and friends, we headed down to Springfield the next day. We spent the next 3 days visiting family and friends and our old house and favorite golf courses. So much fun, and so exhausting! And it was sad being at Ginny's old house, looking at her empty chair through her front window...
We were happy to come HOME to Santa Cruz!
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