Small Town Living and Random Thoughts

Are binoculars next?

2010-04-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

I have realized something very scary about myself... I have become nosy. For the last couple months, I have been reading the notices in the newspaper, such as all the foreclosures, business name changes, those declaring they are no longer responsible for their debts, etc. It's one thing to scan the birth and death notices looking for familiar names, but I'm now looking into the private lives of people. So these notices are in a public newspaper, still I feel... well, odd, reading them. Yet I can't stop.

On a second line of thought, I ate at Subway recently and they are raising money for Relay for Life. While sitting there looking at all the memory and honor names posted, I realized that I wouldn't have a name to put on the wall. I feel blessed this way, though my family has history of some health issues, there's no cancer and that's a miracle within itself.

Easter, but not Spring yet

2010-04-04T18:08:00.000-07:00

Last year at Easter I got sunburned. This year wind-burned... okay, not really. Moving back to Susanville also meant embracing unpredictable weather. Even natives know it's best just to wake up and look outside in the morning and still grab a jacket just in case. This Easter went well. Had a sister come visit and she braved the elements (freezing wind and snow flurries) to hurdled her nephew over the fence at Janesville Park for the Easter egg hunt so he could get a head start. Poor kid was so focused on finding the "Golden Egg" he only collected 7-8 actual eggs and goodies. Competive much for a 3, almost 4 year old? Though there was maybe a quarter of the kids there were last year, it was still a good turnout and of course, I need to give a pat on the back to the Janesville volunteer firefighters for putting the egg hunt on every year. Top off the holiday with a Mexican meal, some family with an extremely overtired kid and you have a lifetime of memories.

Why hello there...

2010-03-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've been on, over a year. Wow, why is it that the older you are the faster time seems to go? I am still adjusting to being back in Susanville, though I haven't been doing all I would like to be doing. Recently I have been to the Lassen Humane Society's St. Patrick's Day dinner, which was delicious and what a great organization! Last weekend I went to the Basque Lamb Stew dinner. I grew up here and am ashamed that I never knew anything about the Basque people and culture here. It was a wonderful night, filled with a lot of laughing, conversation, arts and dancing by the kids and teens. My goals upcoming are to get out once the weather gets warmer *please no snow on Easter* and hit trails, take a lot of pictures and get out to some of the art/music nights. And of course, be on here more often...

You Can Be Anything... Even President

2009-01-20T08:56:00.000-08:00

You Can Be Anything... Even President
-For my son, Dominic

A time of glory is here

Son, how I wish you could remember this

Moment, frozen in time forever

Panic stricken this nation

Time worse than even those who could predict

Did predict could be

Majority of the minority stepped up

Numbers swelling in awe across lines drawn in

Status quo, law and memory

Majority facing prejudice looking in mirrors

Reflecting truths thought overcome

Divided individuals and families

Walking thin lines of attempted

Peace. All and more came as one

To cast opinions, desires and dreams

Divided came united in anticipation

Division remained, but barely so

A majority of all spoke volumes

Proving the pen (electronically, but still)

Is mightier than the sword (or a fire hydrant)

Lies of past generations told over

And over to children naive of the ways of men

Are now over. You can be son, truly now

Can be, anything you want to be

For like you a man blended is now

Hope and proof of what can happen

When all men created equal are treated

Equally

Happy Birthday Aaliyah

2009-01-16T09:44:00.001-08:00

In skimming through the Internet, I found a post memorializing that today would have been the singer Aaliyah's 30th birthday. I remember being a kid watching her on Starsearch and following her career which took off when we were both 16. Being the same age as her, our birthdays were only days apart, I felt a connection with Aaliyah even though we were completely different. I think that she was singing to all of us who were going through the same trials she was and her vibrant personality and talents reached millions. I still own every CD of hers, including soundtracks she appeared on.

On August 25, 2001 I was back at San Jose State living at Spartan Village. Beings that school had just started up again, it was a reunion of friends and meeting new people who had moved into the 'ville. A bunch of us were at one friends' apartment when someone burst into the apartment... "Aaliyah's dead." We were all in shock and immediately turned the T.V. on, flipping through channels... yet, it wasn't until a few hours later the news finally confirmed that Aaliyah had died in a plane crash. Another future gone, one the same age we were.

The number of artists lost in plane crashes is high. They are constantly traveling for meetings, shows, concerts, interviews, and shooting videos among other media related items; they travel more so than the average person and thus the chances of dying in an accident become higher. The recent crash in which DJ AM and Travis Barker randomly survived was our most recent reminder of this.

Though there are some who grapple with the public fascination with celebrities and I agree that some obsess a bit much; I can understand the fascination of seeing someone we can actually relate to, someone who touches our innermost being and seeing that person succeed in the music business or show business can make us realize we can survive our daily lives as well.

Music especially speaks to us, moves us emotionally and physically, it sparks memories and gets us through trying times or just a regular boring day. When a song of Aaliyah's comes on, I immediately start moving my head and singing along. So happy birthday Aaliyah and rest in peace.

Susanville Man on Survivor: Tocantins

2009-01-15T16:32:00.000-08:00

Benjamin "Coach" Wade (37)

Hometown: Bolivar, Mo.

Occupation: Soccer Coach

Benjamin Wade is known by many names. As the head women's soccer coach at the Southwest Baptist University in Missouri, he is called "Coach Wade," but he also goes by “Maestro” due to role as an artistic director and conductor of a California symphony orchestra. A skilled musician, Benjamin was traveling the world playing the trumpet before most kids could even spell "trumpet."

Wade sees coaching as another form of manipulation. "You have to find out what everybody wants, what everybody needs, what they think they want, what think they need and then you have to be the person that solves everything." He knows these skills will be valuable in the game of SURVIVOR.

If Benjamin was asked to wear just one hat, it would be that of "Renaissance Man." Aside from setting the world record for the longest solo kayak expedition on the ocean (an amazing 6,132 miles), Wade has also been attacked by a tiger shark, stalked by a jaguar in the Amazon and has been bitten by a piranha on his right hand. To say that he is a Type A, Alpha male, who likes to control the environment around him may just be an understatement. Coach's dominant personality will be a force to be reckoned with in the game. Benjamin is single and currently splits his time in Bolivar, Mo, and Susanville, Calif.

(Information taken from http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/bio/benjamin_18/bio.php?season=18 )

I'm 30?

2009-01-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

I turned 30 yesterday. Wow. I don't feel 30 and am taken back when a young person at the store calls me ma'am (which by the way, never do). Where the heck did my 20's go? In looking back on the last decade, I realize I experienced a lot yet at the same time there is so much that I wanted to do that I didn't. The major thing I regret is not traveling and will make this a priority in the next phase of my life.

I really want to get to Greece, Italy, Turkey and that area, but that is a long term goal. In the short term I will settle for exploring California, possibly the Oregon and Washington coastal areas and definitely Las Vegas... yes, Las Vegas, it is almost shameful that I have not been there yet. Hopefully at some point I can make it to Washington D.C. and New York, both of which I visited the summer after 8th grade, but there is only so much you can see on a tour and New York is something I'm sure will be much funner as an adult. So to anyone reading... where have you been, where do you recommend going??

My sister has a bucket list of goals for the next year, but being the optimistic person I am (not) I'll go long term here. In the next few years (ambiguous, I know) I want to minimize my debt, which is mainly a car payment and my student loans so this is a goal that can be reached. I want to have my son out of diapers by the time he's 3, which is in 4 months so I gotta get cracking on that. I want to have a career, not just a job or two, with full benefits. I want to become involved in my community either by volunteering somewhere or getting on a board/council. And, last, but not least, I want to be a great mom. This is the hardest goal by far, but the most important.

Here's a toast and mournful goodbye to my 20's, all the great things and bad as well, for without the bad I could not have grown and had lessons learned. While I'm not greatly excited about turning 30, I know there is a lot more to do, see and learn so bring it on.

Llamas?

2009-01-09T15:52:00.000-08:00

When driving along the highways and some streets in and around Susanville, one becomes accustomed to seeing horses, cows and the occasional goat. But then, something caught my eye... driving along I spotted something odd. A llama. Yes, a genuine llama. So knowing I needed to document this, I went back by with my camera and spotted two llamas among many horses. Quickly doing a search on the web, llamas can be used as guard animals against coyotes on ranches with sheep and/or goats... this ranch has neither.

Also to add here, an odd conversation with a guy the other day. He was telling me how he was looking for a hound to train for hunting coon (raccoon). Currently he is using his pittbull to hunt them. A lot of silence and nodding on my part thinking "how do I get out of this conversation?"

Til next time...

Hello There

2009-01-07T09:17:00.001-08:00

Well, as this is just my first post, I'll say hello. I'm back in Susanville a little over a decade after leaving and though some things have changed, not much really has. What has seemed to change though is me. I, as most people I would assume, grew up after high school. I had experiences, formed opinions, held jobs, went to college and had a son. Though not everyone goes to college, everyone has learning experiences either through work, self-teaching, reading, watching the news, or just plain interactions with other people.

These experiences for me occurred in the Bay Area of California, mainly in the Tri-Valley (Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin) and the Silicon Valley (greater San Jose area) with some straying into Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, etc. The Bay Area has a diverse population, with every person having a story, an experience depending not only on which city they grew up in, but also their ethnicity, education, socio-economic background and sexuality. Overall, yes the Bay Area is liberal, but withing this spectrum are also a wide spectrum of conservatives. It is here that I became an adult, meeting those with varying experiences and embracing the Bay Area with open eyes, mind and I loved it.

So why move back to Susanville? I always thought of this as my home. Thanksgiving would roll around and I would tell people I was going home for the holiday. That never crossed my mind as being an incorrect label. The main reasons though, are intertwined with finances and my son. The Bay Area, overall is very expensive. By the time my son turned 2 years old, I was living in a one bedroom apartment in a 4plex that was 600 square feet and paying $900 a month. It sucked. period. It was also time for me to move on from the job I was holding. I had graduated with my Master's 2 years prior (the same night I had my son, I would have walked for the degree ceremony) and wanted to either pursue a career in which I could use my degree or find another career, hopefully one that could last me for a few decades until I can retire. The job I had was great, I had co-workers that I will remember forever and hopefully will keep in touch with for as long and the job helped put me through school. And as I would find out, by staying long enough to become vested, the retirement came very handy.

So I moved back and six months later I finally have two part time jobs. Well, one really. The other I won't start for another 1-2 weeks. But, yes, it took six months. I have learned many lessons in six months. One, public assistance venues need to update their qualifications to fit modern financial situations. This is where thankfully I had money from an IRA so I could live, but another month and I would be living off tax payer dollars. While I am one of the lucky ones, the qualifications for these programs is grossly undervalued so that only those under the poverty line qualify leaving a great deal of people out in the cold.

I have also learned that while I didn't care what job I would get, I think my Master's threw out a lot of jobs for me. I could be wrong here, but my last job qualified me for the majority of positions I applied for and I didn't get them. Maybe my interviewing skills sucked, or there were better candidates, but either way I've been on more interviews in the last six months than in the last 13 years. So now that a great organization has offered me a part time job doing some grunt work, guess what I'm staying until I have to go. Also a tip for employers or hirer's out there, please don't forget to contact all interviewees if they didn't get a position. About half of the jobs I interviewed for did not contact me, whether it be a phone call or a letter. Truly it's not hard to do and it's respectful to the interviewee so they can keep looking and better yet they can ask for tips for the next interview.

One of the hardest thing to get used to here, mindful that I haven't gotten out to socialize in the last six months, so I'm going off of those I have met, the local newspaper (which will probably be the subject of many future posts), people I've observed and heard, and the election fever which results are still subject to conversations. Overall, the area is full of hardworking, honest, kind and respectful people. Doors are held open for you, a hello and acknowledgment given. Yet, going from a mainly liberal area back to a mainly conservative area has been hard. Going from an area where religion is more open-minded overall to an area where the Bible is used for justifying everything overall is hard. To clarify, yes I believe in God, but I also respect that the Bible is to be used as book to guide, not to justify agendas as needed.

So how to balance all of this? Well, that is to be seen. I do know this. Things are looking up so far in 2009 after a very long and hard 2008... well, really a hard last couple of years. My son is happy and I get to see family members regularly that I haven't seen much in the last decade, which of course excites my son more than me. Also I got to see and visit my Grandpa before he passed. Honestly he wasn't really in the condition or personality I wish to remember him, but I'm glad he is in a better place now and I have almost 30 years of memories of him.

This has been a lot longer than I thought it would be, so I'm signing off for now. Til next time folks.