Old, Older, Oldest

Do we look at each other the same way we look at our selves?

I see pictures everyday of people that are basically the same age (give or take a year or two) as me and wonder do I look that old?

I don't see an old girl when I look in the mirror, I just see me. Older than I used to be, but not old. At least I don't see it.

What will I do when I do see it? I used to say that I would be jumping off the bridge when I turned 40, well that has certainly come and gone. Instead jumping I went to Paris for a few months, a much better idea actually.

I think of everything I would have missed and am grateful I came to my senses. However, I still wonder what will happen when I really do see that old lady looking back at me in the mirror.

Default?

I am so tired of what is happening in our government. Not just in Washington, but in our states as well.

In California we go thru the same thing every year when trying to get out a budget. They fight and refuse to compromise until the date to have a balanced budget passes and programs stop, checks stop, State workers stop being paid. Until this year the people in charge did get paid while this budget wrangeling went on. Well, not this year. We the voters passed a law last year that our legislators would not be paid if they did not turn in a balanced budget on time. Guess what? They passed a balanced budget on time. Hit them in their own pocketbook and look what happens.

At the Federal level the "talks" going on about the country's debt ceiling and defaulting on our debt go on and on and on. Will those "representatives of the people" really suffer if the country defaults? Probably not as much as you and I.

I see little boys (cause not seeing too many women in on the talks) saying this is my ball and if you don't do what I say, I'm not playing.

I say "fuck all of you"! Make the decisions that are best for this country as a whole, not what is best for you or your rich friends. Those decisions might be difficult (like repeal those tax breaks on the rich, all I'm asking is that you pay the same percentage of taxes that I do) but you need to do it.

If you don't, I say we vote every single one of you out of office, even those not involved in the talks, because you should be screaming mad right now and putting as much pressure on the boys that you can. This includes all of those career politicians, those just elected and a President that I had hoped would do great things.

Watermelons on 580

Sometimes you wonder about things. I do a lot of wondering while driving on 580 to and from work.

One of the things I wonder about is how can I take a picture while I am driving.

Why you may ask? Because of days like this.

I was driving west on 580 when I was passed by an SUV that was chock full of watermelons.

The cargo area, full.

The backseat, full.

The passenger front seat, full.

I mean they watermelons were piled up high. They touched the ceiling of the SUV.

I wondered what it must smell like inside the car.

So, this is why I need to find out how to snap a picture and drive at the same time.

I went skydiving!!!

Today was a good day.

I have wanted to skydive for a very long time. After I broke both my ankles I was under

the impression that perhaps I might have to give up that dream, since you have to land at some point and would my ankles hold up to that kind of pressure? Well, the time has come to put that theory to the test.

My beloved's godson (Skyboy) has been skydiving for a while and has asked us to join

him a couple of times. Last weekend when we saw him, I agreed to go and we set today

as the day.

My beloved, Chief Matron Mare-son and I set out this morning for Lodi, lovely Lodi to fulfill

my little dream. We met Skyboy and Mom-of-Skyboy and boyfriend of Mom-of-Skyboy at the

parachute school.

You go in and sign a two sided form where you have to initial in about twenty places

under 20 paragraphs that basically say the same thing - I will not sue, my beloved will

not sue, I will not sue, my family will not sue, I will not sue, I will not sue, I

will not sue. You get the point.

Then you watch a video about what to expect and then you wait and wait.

My number was 98 and when your number is finally called you go into the gear up room where

you meet your tandom partner - the person who is now your new best friend - the person that

is going to keep you alive. The person that you are going to listen to every word they

say.

So Mom-of-Skyboy and I are standing there waiting to meet our lifeline and we hear one

guy ask his victim, um student, what he does for a living and we decide to say crazy stuff.

Mom-of-Skyboy is going to say I swim with sharks and I am going to be a circus clown. Ok we meet our lifeline. My new best friend is named Brad and he is a really tall Aussie with a mohawk.

First you step into a harness that your new best friend pulls up your legs and you put

you arms thru other openings and then he tightens it around your thighs between your

legs (yes, it feels weird) then attaches it in two places across your chest and pulls

everything really tight, in fact you can't really stand up straight. And then he asks

you a really awful question - how much do you weigh - what!!! what!!! So, I told him

and he did not blink an eye when he told me I was a light one - well compared to his

last jumper anyway.

Brad tells me what to do when we leave the plane - head back, arch your back, arms

across your chest and legs thrown back behind us, like you are trying to touch your bum

with your feet. OK I can do that.

We get on the plane and sit on a rail like cushion with one leg on each side of the cushion

one in front of the other with your instructor behind you, really close behind you and up we go.

I am strangely calm and it takes a long time to get up to 13,000 feet and during this

time Brad goes over the jumping instructions as he is clipping us together in a lot of

places and then says - put your right leg on mine, put your other leg on my other leg and

sit up on my lap. Well, ok seems a little weird, but he is in control of my life right

now and I'll do what he says. So up on his lap I go and he pull us even closer together.

We are attached like a tick on a puppy and I believe he is a little concerned that I am

not nervous.

So now I get getting to the door instructions -

The people on the other side of the plane will go first. When Brad tells me I will swing

my left leg over the cushion thing and Brad will do the same. Then we will kind of walk

to the door, I will bend over a little and he will be right behind me and will will fall

out - ok I am so ready.

So we are at the door and Brad leans over me and out we go. I put my head back, I arch my

back, I cross my arms across my chest and swing my legs up towards my bum.

Nobody mentioned that in the first ten seconds you can't fucking breath and the skin

on your face is moving like it my fly right off your face or the sound. They don't

mention how loud it is, it is really loud. Have you ever heard a flag blowing in a high

wind? Well multiply that by a thousand. Loud.

And then Brad taps me on the shoulder I open my arms and we fall for a few seconds and

he pulls the cord that launches the shoot. We get pulled up a little and as the shoot opens

you become aware of the change. It was gone from very loud the really quiet. Quiet and

beautiful- Lodi is full of vineyards and you could see the long straight rows of green. Roads

are little lines far below you and I wondered how long we could stay up here.

Brad says - hey do you like roller coasters? Yes. Do you get sick on them? No.

OK, lets have some fun. He pulls on one side of the shoot and we go around in circles.

Then we have time to have an entire conversation about his skydiving history and what

do to with my feet when we land. Lift my knees to my chest, put my hands under my

knees and whatever I do, don't let me legs go behind us. OK, I can do that.

The ground comes up really fast, Brad says "knees up", I get into position and we

land quite softly, good thing cause I landed my ass. I had wanted to land on my

feet, but that was not to be.

It was a fantastic ride.

My beloved was on the ground waiting for me and gave me a big hug. The perfect end

to a perfect moment.

Once on the ground I found out the Mom-of-Skyboy, who was behind me balked at the door.

She decided she had changed her mind and did not want to do it. Well, it was too late.

Her teacher pushed and out they went. They landed not too far behind me and she says

she will do it again.

My beloved says she will do it one day.

I know I will do it again.

Now maybe tomorrow morning I'll tell my mother.

I'm just saying...

So in today's paper is a story about gonorrhea and how this STD is becoming drug resistant. I suppose that is not surprising since most diseases become drug resistant eventually.

And I suppose it is not surprising that the drug resistant case of gonorrhea was found in a sex worker.

And in my mind it is not surprising that this drug resistant case of gonorrhea was discovered in Japan.

Recent nuclear problems, drug resistant gonorrhea...

I'm just saying....

580 Ride

Today I was on my way to work, driving west on 580 when I realized that traffic going east was stopped.

Two women had pulled their cars over to the side of the road and stopped traffic to try and get a dog off the highway. Poor little thing just did not seem to understand that they were trying to help. It kept running away from them, other people were opening doors and trying to grab the dog.

I don't know what happened since my side was moving. I can only hope the dog made it out safe and sound.

It did make me think about would people stop if it was a person instead of a dog. I'm sure we would all stop for a child or an old person. But how about just some guy wandering in traffic. Hopefully I'll never have to find this out.

Jesus rides

We went to the Alameda County Fair this last weekend to bet on the horses. Now those of you that know me, know how I pick me horses. I pick them based on the color that the jockey is wearing. Well, when I saw the name of the jockey in one race, I had to bet that the horse would win, place or show.

I mean come on, Jesus was riding the horse. How could I miss?

Well, I missed. Jesus let me down. He and his horse came in dead last.

Perhaps I need a better way to pick a winner?

580 Ride

Normally I follow Jesus on 580, well the other day I followed the devil.

Big truck with this logo. I loved it and wondered how long it would be before someone launched a complaint about them. Kind of like those weirdos that keep wanting to change Mt. Diablo's name to Mt. Reagan.