Wednesday, July 05, 2006

self portrait challenge & holy shit balls for the moving . . .

Look! I'm at the library (with latex gloves on [thanks Melinda]) and I still got my SP/C up. Because I know magic. Or at least these photos are magical, to me. This is Mina and I horsing around on the Xerox machine about a week ago, and the photos touch my heart in ways I can't explain. They say more about me than most photos do.
(For moving updates, see below photos.)





According to the library computer, I have 31 minutes left to tell you how everything went. That is not enough time. Forgive me now for any unchecked typos and dingdong grammatical & spelling errors.

Yo, moving is a nightmare. Why do I have so much shit? Why do I wait so long to clean out a refridgerator? This should be done every 3 months, I recently learned. To my disgust. Spring cleaning was invented for GOOD REASONS. And I've been scrubbing the new place with disinfectant for 5 days straight because I agreed to take the place "as is" (collective groan) because they moved out Friday and we moved in Saturday . . .what's a girl to do. It wasn't filthy. Not at all. They were clean people. It just had . . .life splatters; just regular stuff that everybody, clean or not, overlooks in everyday living. But other people's life splatters turns my stomach to a near faint, and I've been the weird lady with latex gloves scrubbing and contact papering every single inch. I'm almost done.

Other than that . . .the apartment is perfection. It is more than I could have possibly dreamed. It is the most perfect place I have ever lived in my life. I can't post pictures of the place yet because I'm not that magic, but just take my word on it for now. Other than the apartment itself, I've driven my car maybe once in five days. Everything I ever need is within six blocks. Local health food store, coffee . . .even a killer little indie film house that plays different old & some new movies every day. Tonight they are showing A Fish Called Wanda. One detail I will share for now about my apartment: Off of the master bathroom, there is a door that leads to a small, private sun deck. I've never seen such a thing. We never close the door and it feels like we are showering outside. We leave it open at night and before we go to sleep and when we awake we see two, old SM palm trees waving in the ocean breeze and wishing us well. Husband and I are beside ourselves with this heart-swelling detail.

Ok, now for some bad news. We leave for Atlanta on Friday -- in two days -- and Maya has had a viral infection for the past 7 days. Only yesterday was I able to control the fever. I have cried my eyes out over the bad luck. Husband and I came to the conclusion that however weak she may feel or if she is not at her best this weekend, we're going to make the most of the experience. I've seen her do miraculous things in the heat of Taekwondo battle before so I am not entirely counting her out. But god . . . I drove all the way back to Orange County yesterday to see her doctor because I don't know any here yet so that they could tell me: "Hmm, yeah, that's a bad cough." I am not an advocate of antibiotics but I was really hoping she would prescribe something. Nothing. "Let's see how it goes in the next couple days." And, here's the kicker: "Maybe we should xray for pnemonia." WHAT? "Did you hear fluid in her lungs?" I asked. "No, but just in case." What in the hell? I've been angry at Western Medicine ever since. I put her on probiotics instead, and her fever finally caved.

Ok, time's up. Talk to you later.

5 comments:

Rebel Girl said...

Thinking of you daily these days - stay strong in Atlanta and yes, get the most of all that presents itself.

and when you get back I will tell you where Gallegos' Bros. deli moved to when they left their place on Broadway in old SM...

wave plam trees wave

xo - rebel girl

kristen said...

I'm glad to hear an update on you and SM. I LOVE that you can walk everywhere and I wish I had a private sundeck that lets in light & ocean breeze. There's nothing better.
Good luck this weekend in Atlanta and I can't wait to hear how it all goes.

autumnempire said...

the good luck and the bad ever mingled. mad mental meditations and energy out to Maya and all y'all for the next week.

Melinda said...

Ohhhhh. So many emotions in one little post. I *love* the photos, am so psyched about the fabulousness of the apartment and the neighborhood, am relieved that you protected yourself against the dirty, dirty old-man-porn germs on the library computer keyboard, and am so bummed about Maya's illness. Let her know that all her cyberfans are hoping she feels better so that she can have an amazing time in Atlanta.

Diz Rivera said...

Hey Rebel Girl - I just drove up Broadway 20 minutes ago looking for the great art supply store, but that seems to be gone too. I found the Co-Op, but good lord it looks like a Pavillions now; so slick and polished. Shouldn't Co-Ops be funky and wooden and . . .I dunno. It's still great though.

Thanks for the Maya well wishing -- each day gets better, but her breath is short and her will is beaten down a bit. My poor baby warrior. It is a painful and also self enlightening thing to lecture a child with the Dig Deep speech.