No longer in the desert . . .

After living 23 years in Arizona's beautiful Sonoran desert, I have returned to my roots in northern California. Motivated by a desire to be closer to my father, I began a job search last summer (2011), hoping to relocated somewhere between the Central Coast and the Sierra Nevada foothills. I landied right smack-dab in the middle in Arden-Arcade, Sacramento County.  

Hot Fun in the Summertime

It's summertime in Tucson, even if it is still officially spring.  The weather is hot, kids are out of school, and traffic is thinning out as snowbirds head for cooler climates and students graduate and leave town.  

Ally and I played a three hour game of Monopoly tonight.  At 8:30 pm, I told her it was getting late, thinking she had school in the morning.  I forgot she is on summer break.  So, we played on until one of us was bankrupt at 9 pm.  Our three-hour game left me rolling in Monopoly dough, and Ally thinking ahead to investment strategies for the next game.  

Monopoly will, most likely, be one of the ways in which we spend evenings this summer, as Ally is learning about money.  She started earlier this week by watching an ABC television special, "Unbroke,"  a 2-hour crash course on the basics of credit, saving, investing, etc.  She learned a lot in those 2-hours and now understands why I choose to pay cash and encourage her to save some of her allowance each month.  I have a feeling she'll be finding new ways to stretch her allowance this summer and will, no doubt, have some savings set aside by the time school resumes.  I'm awfully proud of this kid!

In Memory of Bernd

Today, I learned that a very dear friend in Germany passed away late last summer.  Amy Whitebell sent the news via Facebook.  Apparently, he had a serious motorcycle accident in 2007 and complications from his injuries finally resulted in his death.  The picture here is of Bernd in 2006  -- downloaded from Amy's Facebook site (thank you, Amy).  

When I moved to Germany, Bernd and his extended family were the first to make me feel welcome  They gathered me into their fold, nurtured me in German culture, introduced me to the German Baha'i community, and made me feel as if I were a member of their family.

I recall the first time I met Bernd and his wife, Shirin Panahi-Bota.  I was living in Nurnberg at the time.  Albert Panahi invited me to meet him at Bernd and Shirin's home in Neckargemund.  I was driving to Heidelberg for a meeting on a day when he would be visiting Bernd and Shirin.  Ackwardly, I arrived at the Bota home before Albert.  I learned that there would never be ackwardness with Bernd.  He accepted me into their home without a second thought and put me immediately at ease.

Bernd had a great old orange VW van in which he drove a small group to Czechoslovakia in December 1992.  He, along with his son Shoghi, Vicki Sparks, his father-in-law Aziz Panahi, and I braved the ice-cold winter weather to attend a conference in Sumperk, about 40 km from the Polish border.  We were there on New Years Eve when the country split into the Czech and Slovak republics.  Bernd inadvertently left a 2-liter bottle of Coca-Cola in the van after our arrival.  The next morning, the inside of the van was covered with little Coke-sickles:  The bottle had burst and the droplets froze into brown, sparkling ice ornaments overnight!  

Bernd taught me that it was polite to have both hands on the table when dining in Germany. He allowed me to read "Oh, wie schoen ist Panama" to his sons in my terrible German so they could have a good laugh.  He translated German jokes into English for me.  He was kind and loving.  He was funny.   He was a brother, and a dear friend.

Wasting Time . . . ???

I read an online news story today about how the police department in a major metropolitan area in Arizona (MMAIA) raided the home of a blogger who is critical of the department and its top management. Curious about the blog, I visited the site and read some of the posts of the blogger, in which he pronounced the heads of the MMAIA police department to be idiots, morons, and inept fools. Not his exact words, rather, my translation of his name-calling and comments. The blogger seemed to have very valid points about corruption, mismanagement, racism, and other isses in the MMAIA police department, yet I found the way in which he expressed them not productive in the great scheme of life, the Universe, and Everything . I wanted to write a post about what I was thinking, something that would be thoughtful, insightful, and objective, but I realize that is impossible and not a very good use of time. Whatever I may think or say in support of or against the bloggers points of view and the manner in which he writes them, nothing changes. My energy is better spent on something – anything – within my circle of influence, which at the time being, involves work, parenting, etc. So, is this post an exercise in futility, and energy wasted? I don’t know. Perhaps it is just a reminder to myself to focus on my own circle and add positive energy to the Universe in my own way and to not worry so much, or attempt to write, about how others choose to expend their energy. All of this in eleven (counting this one) sentences.

Freeways and Other Ramblings

Interstate 10 extends across the southern United States from the San Bernardino Valley in California all the way to Jacksonville, Florida. The ninety miles between Phoenix and Tucson are probably the least scenic and the most monotonous.

Things have changed alot along this stretch I-10 in the past five or six years. There are more outlet malls along its edges as one passes through Casa Grande, the halfway point between Tucson and Phoenix. This is where I usually have to pull over for a quick catnap when I make the drive to Our Urban Neighbor in the North (aka Phoenix and environs). More housing developments have sprouted and taken root. And, in Tucson, I-10 is being expanded with more lanes, new bridges, and really smooth asphalt.

I'll have a chance to test out the new surface in July when I drive my daughter to the Phoenix airport. She's going on a 3-week California Adventure (Northern CA, none of that LA stuff!) with my sister. She's looking forward to the adventure and I'm looking forward to the break.

Home Sweet Home

I’m moving. Well, of course, I’m moving. My body is always moving, even when I think I’m sitting perfectly still. What I mean is this: I have signed a two-year lease on a new home and will be moving from my current residence into a new home by the end of April.

I have been experiencing apartment life since I left my marriage and subsequently divorced my husband over five years ago. It has been interesting and varied to say the least, having changed “homes” three times in those five plus years. (This will be the fourth and final move before I break down and purchase a home.) The first apartment was small, about 800 square feet which eventually came to be known as “The Hamster Cage.” Too small and converted to a condo anyway. The next place was the Papa Bear place: Too big, and too expensive when the annual rent increased by $125 in one pop.

The current place has no real problems, just neighbors from hell. It is a duplex and the folks with whom we share the building are fine, in fact great. I couldn’t ask for better neighbors than Ed and Julie. It’s the folks in the building adjacent to ours. The first set of crazy people were evicted in December. The second set of crazy people should be evicted, but they are related to the building’s owner (NOT the owner of my building) and I doubt that “Mom” will find it in her heart to evict her daughter, even if she is an obnoxious person who continues to park in my driveway, who has middle-of-the-night obscenity yelling fights with her boyfriend in my driveway, and who leaves her dogs out all night to serenade the entire neighborhood. My neighbor Ed and I agree that the landlord must have an application that includes the question: “Are you rude, loud, and completely unaware of the concept of community courtesy?” The correct answer to rent the property is “yes.” We’ve decided that’s the only way that they can consistently rent to such people.

Back to my move. The new home, I’m hoping will be like Baby Bear’s porridge: Just Right. Moving back to a single family home is exciting. I am looking forward to having a larger living space and, most importantly, quiet neighbors.

Past Post from g3niusgirl Website

I used to have a webiste called g3niusgirl g3nuine graphics. The following is a post I found from that now-defunct site:

2 June 2005 - Most cats are aloof and independent. My cat is the most affectionate creature with claws that I have ever known. Yumosh (Turkish for “soft”) is a Turkish Van cat, a huge ball of white and black fluff that loves being close to humans. He loves being in the same room with me. When I work at the computer, he curls up on my left foot. When I go to bed, he snuggles into the curve of my body and places his head next to mine. What a love!

Here’s a little information about Turkish Van cats for anyone who would like to own such a cat:

The Turkish Van is a loyal, loving and very intelligent cat. They are very affectionate, giving head butts and love bites, but to the uninitiated this could be slightly alarming, but when you get to know your cat you will begin to understand.
They are great climbers, so don't be surprised to find them sitting on top of doors, kitchen units or wardrobes, and some wouldn't think twice about climbing your curtains and sitting on the curtain rail. A great game is retrieving screwed up paper, some catching the ball of paper in mid flight, others making great somersaults.

Where water is concerned, some are not very keen at all, whereas others may love dripping taps, especially drinking from them, then flicking the water with their paws, or dropping toys into their water bowl. It has been known for Turks to swim in the bath, swimming pool or even the sea. So be warned they may come and join in your daily shower. They may also become curious about toilets, so DON'T LEAVE THE LID UP!

They like to be involved in everything their owners do and follow them around like a dog. In fact some people have said that Turkish Vans are more like dogs than cats. On the whole, they get on very well with dogs indeed, but the Turk will want to be the boss. In most instances the females are more independent and if you have a male and female, she will normally rule the roost, but there are always the exceptions.

24 March 2009 Update: Yumosh is still my cat. He continues to be affectionate with the addition of some annoying habits, like waking me up at 4am by putting his long whiskers in my face and then nipping at the bedcovers. He rarely drinks water from a dish: Insists on running water in the bathtub. He's still large: 21+ pounds. Not fat, just big. He's still a love.