I'm getting faster on my hybrid bike and this morning I decided to really push myself because I've hit a plateau and I want to break it.

I'm riding along 751 thinking I own the road and rule the bike universe and out of nowhere I am not kidding 50 road bikers whhhhhhrrrrrrrrrr past me.

Humbling.

It's kinda neat to watch them move as a unit, particularly when they turn a corner. It's kind of like a snake. Or salamander.

I am at Helio's on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh.
There are cool, young, hip people here. So, they do exist.

My computer starting to hum. Instictively, I hit it (That doesn't sound good, does it? That it's an instinct to hit something that makes noise).

It stopped humming. That's reinforcing.

I am waiting for my pal Barb. Apparently, PowerPoint skills are highly valued at our agency. Seriously, PowerPoint skills are listed as requirements for very senior positions. Personally, I would hire a temp.

My PowerPoint skills are not good. Actually, that implies I have some skill with it at all. I don't. When I interviewed they asked me about my PP skills. I said "If PowerPoint is a dealbreaker for you, I'm not your hire." I got hired.

So, Barb and I are going to learn PowerPoint on a sunnny (but hot so I don't feel guilty being inside) afternoon at Helio's.

My heart really did stop.

10:45 at night.
Brushing my teeth.

And a salamander slighters from the drain.

I screamed.

I dropped my toothbrush, slammed the door and ran out of the bathroom.

And then tried to laugh about it but my heart-rate was still too high.

It's not that I'm scared of salamanders. I just don't expect them to crawl out of the bathroom sink.

I hate nature.

Here are the pics to accompany the previously blogged about Goats on the Loose Story

This is my bedroom window.


Three goats in one garbage can.

There was a big, national news-breaking car wreck in Raleigh this afternoon. It's chilling. It makes me nervous to drive.

I-40 is a mess. I don't take it to get home, but I'm sure there will be I-40 folks on my route home.

Now, it's monsooning outside. The Bulls game just got canceled (I can see the Durham Bulls Stadium from where I sit, cool, no?)

That is why it is 7:00 on a Friday night and I am still at work.

Speaking of work, every morning when I arrive, I am served a Creative Horoscope by copywriter Jenny Nicholson. I've added her Creative Horoscope to my blog-roll.

I finally pulled my pics and videos from my Treo so I have pictures to accompany stories from months ago. I'll post 'em.

Read the banner on the bus window. Funny.

"Cause my long hair just can't cover up my redneck"

Oops. Need some sunscreen. Look at that Redneck. I mean, red neck.

How do you know the girl in the fitting room has been there too long?

When she opens the door to the fitting room she gives you her name and says:
"Let me know if I can help you with anything."

But then,
When she opens the door to go the bathroom she gives you her name and says:
"Let me know if I can help you with anything."

Went to downtown Raleigh for a street fair "Raleigh Wide Open." I think it was the one year anniversary of the reopening of Fayetville Street. Something like that.

Enjoyed music from the Kickin' Grass, a bluegrass band. The lead singer is my friend Barb's sister, Linda. Barb is pictured below.

The stage was a block from the old McKinney office.

Am I tall, or are my friends short?

Somewhere there's someone with a birthday today

I know someone who has one too!

Happy Birthday Geburty.

I hope you have such a terrific birthday that tomorrow you feel all frapped out.

Big Hug from North Carolina.

There were frogs in the house last week.
Last night, it occurred to me that maybe the frogs were actually one kiss short of Prince Charming.
And I chased them out the house.
Sigh.

More pics from Naomi, Jamie, David and Parker's Devil's Lake Adventure

I don't think this is particularly convincing. If a train was really coming, I wouldn't be laughing. But I just can't help it. Laughing, that is.

Trains actually do run on this track. But only twice a day. I think.

Naomi and Jamie are the Seven Dwarfs (Ok, three for now).
From our trip to Devil's Lake, which is in Wisconsin.
Many more pics to be posted.

Grumpy Dwarfs

Bashful Dwarfs

Sleepy Dwarfs

One of my most favorite things about living in North Carolina is the Eno River Quarry. When I'm in the middle of The Quarry treading water I look at my surroundings and think "This is why."

It's been a fun place to share with friends, a fun place to cool off in our very warm weather, a great place to sit on a noodle (flotation device) or try to stand on and dive off of a flimsy float. There are cliffs from which I have yet to jump.

It was quite upsetting when I learned that someone drowned at The Quarry on Monday evening. I had been talking to pals at work about taking an end of the day dip and one of my friends mentioned that she was there on Monday night, leaving the Quarry, when the fire trucks pulled up. The story is also in the news now.

They're still trying to determine exactly what caused the person to "go under" but the quarry is very deep all around and I've been advised to always bring some sort of flotation device. I was a lifeguard (I trained people to be lifeguards) and I consider myself to be a fairly strong swimmer but I know that I'll be extra cautious from now on.

Here's a quote from the victim's mom:
"I want people to know that he had fun there, and he enjoyed it," Bailey said. "It was a happy thing for him."

It's a happy thing for me too and here are some pics:



Arriving at the Quarry in my party dress.


Looking at the cliff from where I might jump in my party dress.


Looking at the cliff from where I might jump in my bathing suit.


Yeah! Rain. An excuse not to jump.

A few more pics. Note all the noodles and rafts in the background.

My mom just left me a message from a Pink Floyd concert.
I am at home reading.
What's wrong with this picture?

Update:
My mom just left me 3 messages from the PFconcert.
I can hear her "Woo-hoo"-ing.
Pocket dialing?

People who live in cold climates have remote car starters to get their cars warm and defrosted by the time they get in them. I think I'm going to get a remote car starter so I can get my A/C fired up before I get in my car.

I woke up at 6:30 this morning to take a bike ride. It was nasty hot. I might have to push back my alarm clock to sunrise in order to ride without feeling like I'm going to fry on the pavement.

But, I must say that I still think the Minnesota cold is worse than the NC hot.

Moving Target

© 1990 Christine Lavin

Lately she feels at home in airports
Feels at home on trains
More comfortable with strangers
Than with those who know her name
She'd rather be herded onto a 767
Hurdled through the sky
Then to be safe and sound on ground
With him looking into her eyes.

One month until you know what.

Little Miss Sunshine a la Myrtle Beach

I am in South Carolina as part of the fan club /cheering section for "The Storm" dance company. As my post heading suggests, it's a lot like Little Miss Sunshine. Even I can't resist the urge to be glamorous and strike a pose (as if it was a difficult urge for me to resist anyway).


Doesn't the sepia tone make it look like this picture was taken years ago and now I might be someone's Grandma or something? The fact of the matter is that I was playing with the settings and inadvertantly saved the photo and cannot restore it to the original. The sepia is the least weird of my remaining options.

Jetta (that's as close as I'll get to naming my car) did really good on her (OK, I also assigned a gender to my car) first big trip out of the Triangle. The car is leased with limited mileage so I'm very careful about keeping it on track but I decided what's the car for if not to drive and I headed down to Myrtle Beach, SC for Fourth of July.

Here are two interesting pics from the road.

Magnolia a la Cary Part Two

Why is there always a Part Two to these stories? I wake up the next morning and there's a frog in the laundry room. Is is the same frog? For some reason I don't think so. My pal Wendy is concerned that the two frogs will fall in love and make baby frogs. I successfully chase this one out of the house and on to the front porch. I am going out of town for a few days and am geniunely concerned that I will return to a Froggyfest at the Farm.

Ellen is in Italy, btw. Someone, these, er, adventures aren't as fun without her.

Magnolia a la Cary Part One

I'm about to go to sleep and head into the living room to turn out the lights. At my feet, I see a frog just sitting there. Now, I went to Summer Camp, and I'm OK with all the outdoor creatures but when I'm not in that mode, a frog in my living room is going to catch me off guard. Once I'm done freaking out I try to chase the frog out the front door. I get as far as the kitchen and he/she? hops underneath the oven. I get a broom to try to coax him/her out. I go to sleep mildly disturbed.

Naomi has a lovely garden. We make salad just from the stuff in her garden. Tonight, we baked pumpkin bread from a pumpkin from her garden. Correction: I watched Naomi bake pumpkin bread from a pumpkin from her garden.

I get to drive Naomi's Prius today. It is so quiet. I think I am stalling it. That's just because I stall my own car quite often, I guess.

My plane descends into O'Hare.

I look outside and see enormous, nasty looking bugs and wonder if the plane hit a nest or something. These things are big and gross. There is a dead one on the jet bridge. Some of them come out on the luggage conveyor belt. So gross.

Cicadas. Once every 17 years in Illinois for a few weeks in the summer.

Why the time when I am here?

Welcome to Illinois, Jamie

Horse on the Loose

The drama doesn't stop on the farm. Ever.

So Ellen says "I'm going to put the goats back in the main pasture with the horses. Wanna come?".

"Sure," I say, "Let me put on a bra."
(I am still in my pajamas).

Ellen is convinced the goats will just follow her to the pasture, as they did last time they got loose. They have gotten feistier since that time. I bring a box of Grape Nuts to shake and that works reasonably well.

We lead the goats to the pasture with the horses (And, listen, there's the soundtrack to "Brokeback Mountain" playing in the background).

So the goats in are in but whhhhhooooaaa the horse is out. Worthy bolts. Jamie bolts. Jamie (stupidly) grabs Worthy's tail to stop Worthy from running across the road. Worthy starts to gallop. Jamie starts to gallop. Traffic is stopped in both directions.

I am holding the horses tail and running like I have never run. This is the stuff of a Nike TV spot. But the horse is too fast and I am close to being dragged (it's surprising I wasn't kicked, in retrospect) so I let go and keep running. Then it occurs to me that chasing the horse is not going to help. He is faster and bigger than me.

I stop running. Worthty stops running.

A woman in her Mini pulls up and says "Is that your horse?"

"Yes!" I say "Well, no" I am still in panic mode "It's our landlord's horse."

The woman, Lynn, lives around the corner so she takes her Mini at 90 mph a la the Italian Job and gets some food and a harness.

Meanwhile, Ellen has called the landlord.

Lynn returns. Gina the landlord arrives. We get the harness on Worthy and return him to the pasture.

But Zsa Zsa is loose. Oh boy. It never ends.

Good thing I put on that bra.

Goats on the Loose, Part Two

The goats are in the back pasture, because the horses are in the main pasture. But there's a hole in the back pasture so the goats got loose. I put them back in there twice already but they keep on getting out so we stopped worrying about it. So, there are just goaties walking around the property. They come up to the window, wander around on the porch. They asked Ellen if she would mind making them some decaf in the morning and Zsa Zsa was looking for some hair spray for her goatie (ooooh, that was baaaaad). When I pulled in they come up to the car and help me unload groceries.

We are *this close* to just letting them in the house and teaching them tricks.

The goat food is kept in a garbage can. Yesterday I witnessed three goats inside the garbage can getting at the food. I took a teriffic video that I will post soon.

They are eating everything.

Goats on the Loose, Part One

An e-mail from Ellen:

Subject: Oh what a pity

that you didn't pull in the same time i did. the goats greeted me in
the driveway. all snuck out, just waiting there. followed me wherever
i went. tried to get in the car. followed me right back to the
pasture where i locked em back up. then the horses sort of did that
"high horse" thing where they rear their front legs up after
charging....well at least worthy did, to molly. twice. some sort of
territorial thing. i talked to worthy about it and expressed my
disappointment. my talk ended up in a whisper. i get why they do
that.

An e-mail from Ellen, my farm roomie.
I wave to this guy almost every day (It will make sense if you listen to the segment. So do it! Listen.)

Subject: every once in a while
Date: May 30, 2007

something really unbelievable happens in my life.

last night, after being away from north carolina for a week, i returned home and caught the last act of "the story" on npr. dick gordon, the host, was interviewing a woman who was talking about a simple daily encounter she had with a man on her route to work through rural north carolina. i was charmed and intrigued. it is such a beautifully told story, and it moved me even further when they suddenly named my road and i realized i was listening to a story about my own neighbor ricky, right across the road from me and my goats, in sort of the middle of nowhere.

i've often said that sometimes you need to know that something is art by simply putting a frame around it. this isn't an original observation. but it remains true; sometimes you just need a new perch from which to look at your life. sometimes you need to hear from a perfect stranger, over air waves shared by thousands of others, just how perfect your own neighbor is.

this is a story about a man that simply likes to wave. it's about fifteen minutes long. i encourage you to find the time:

- go to http://thestory.org/archive/
- scroll down to "TO HAVE A FRIEND" (tuesday, may 29), then click "Listen Here".
- the second story in this segment, at exactly 32 minutes in, is the lovely story i get to see each and every morning.

Blake, in my (and Barb's) heart, you win.

I'm in NYC for a few days.

I went shopping on 5th avenue, saw a Broadway Show (Wicked) and complained about a cupcake costing four dollars.

Oh dear. I've become a tourist.

The stairway to heaven. I mean the shoe department at Bloomies.

To appease JR:

Check Mate.

I hear the drizzle of the rain
Like a memory it falls
Soft and warm continuing
Tapping on my roof and walls.

Yesterday, I moved onto "The Farm" with friend Ellen.

I pull into the driveway and the goats and chickens run up and greet me.
There is a hammock in the screened in porch.
It is quiet, and private and there are lots of trails in the back, including one that connects with the American Tobacco Trail.

I'm not exactly sure where I am though. One search engine says "Apex" the other "Cary" and another "Durham." We're on the edge of everything, I guess.

While I am living with Ellen, I have yet to see her as she is in New York now and travels frequently. Invisible roommate.

So, here's what I did not love.

My first night I was alone. I am used to apartments. If I am in a freestanding house, it is always with other people. I think this is the first time I have been alone in a freestanding house by myself with no other houses or lights in sight and I admit, I was a little scared. Lots of noises. I swear I heard a wheelbarrow and had this image of my body cut into a million pieces in the wheelbarrow.

Last Halloween, some friends of mine talked about going over to Ellen's farm and trying to scare her. We didn't. But it would not have been hard to spook someone in this environment.

I e-mailed Ellen. She told me where she keeps the hammer. I slept with it.