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driving

A slippery slope

Oct 15th, 2009
by Jim Reverend.
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Yesterday was filled with fun. Perhaps one of my best days yet.

After getting ourselves ready in the morning, C and I went for a hike up Mt. Philo in order to look over the entire Champlain valley. At least that was the goal. Access tithe park was closed, however. So, we could only access the trail that criscrosses up the side of the mountain. It was steep, and rocky, and covered in mud from the rain the day before. We made it about 1/2 a mike before I needed a break. I put C down on a rock to rest and that’s when she decided she wanted no more walking (which, for her, means being carried by me). So, after a quick rest we headed back down which was really difficult thanks to all the mud. We made it though. C fell asleep on the 10 minute drive home BEFORE 11am, so I think she needed he rest.

While she slept I had a really enjoyable conversation with a friend over IM while fixing my grandfather’s computer. More than anything I was grateful for a little privacy, the first that I’d had since I left home.

When C woke up we ate lunch and then piled in the car to head to my Aunt’s house. The drive over the mountain was beautiful. We stopped at the top and I made a snow ball for C to hold. We took a couple of photos too. It was so cool to see the thick, heavy snow fresh on the evergreens at the summit, followed by a band of gold and red and orange of the deciduous trees in the valley, followed by the grey and black outlines of the mountains of New York followed by the grey, white, and blue band of sky and clouds. I only hope the photo I captured with a toddler in my other arm manages to do it some justice.

My Aunt’s house was lots of fun. Good people, good food, good everything. I only wish I had more time there.

The drive home was a bit tense. The same curvy mountain back road that was so beautiful during the day becomes quite scary at night with no light. Thankfully there was almost no water on the roads which meant the drive was easy and I didn’t have any slips.

As soon as we got home we climbed in bed. I tried to get a good night’s sleep, but I didn’t do very well.

Today we head back to Texas. I miss you all so much. You should probably start the emails and phone calls now so I’ll feel good about myself and know that I’m going to see you all very soon.

After we get up, we’ll have breakfast and pack our bags. We’ll stop in the city to mail something via UPS. Then drive to my brother’s place about an hour north. There, C will get some running around done and hoefully tire herself a hit and get rid of some of the antsies. After lunch we’ll head back tithe city, return the rental car, take a shuttle to the airport, and be headed toward Texas via Detroit.

Weeeee!

weekend recap: driving!

Aug 2nd, 2009
by Jim Reverend.
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I’m currently importing 417 photos, and that’s only one of the three memory cards I was using this past weekend. In other words, I was busy. Busy is what I do best, though, so that’s not a complaint. There should be a TON of photos in this post but, as I said, they are currently downloading. So, I’ll make another post later with photos.

Friday night I visited with Daisy and Tim, their 4 children, and an entire host of extra adults and kids. I love Daisy’s house because it’s always filled with so much warmth and so many people. And, despite all of those people, everyone always seems to get along and every need is either catered to or whisked away but more interesting things.

Aside from Friday, it was my intent to stay local for the rest of the weekend. I just have a lot of stuff I need to get done, it’s nice to live in my own home from time to time, and people can certainly come visit me for a change. But, it didn’t quite work out that way. I stopped by my dad’s house late that night to pick up the camera I forgot there the weekend before. Then I drove all the way home.

My plans Saturday morning were failed due to an unannounced monsoon hitting Northern DFW. I called my Dad to find out if it was raining where he was and ended up driving out there instead. We did end up at Boomerangs, an indoor playground for kids, which was quite fun. I forcibly convinced the staff to let me go on the toys with Celeste, so she had a LOT of fun and I got a real work out. After that, I took Celeste back to my dad’s for a nap. Later that evening we went to my brother’s house for a bonfire. Kelly and Rory were there too, which was nice. We left around 9:30pm though. Celeste was just too hot near the fire and, really, just wanted to go to sleep. So I packed up our stuff and drove her all the way home.

Sunday morning’s plans were to go for a walk at Erwin park, then get some housework done, take a nap, and then go to the pool. Perhaps top it off with another walk in the evening and, if we’re feeling really good, some ice cream. But, since some friends from Beaumont were in town and Celeste had yet to meet their 3 year old daughter, instead we drove to Allen to visit them and had brunch with Bonnie and Justin. Celeste played with our friend’s daughter and B and J’s new puppies. She was good and ready for a nap by 12:30 though, so we headed home.

Celeste is napping now as I write this. Plans for the evening involving going to the pool and absolutely, without a doubt, not driving more than 15 minutes from my house for any reason.

I love busy weekends. And I love introducing Celeste to new people and new things. I just really need to find a way to do it without having to spend so much of our precious weekend time in the car. It almost seems like we’d both be better off not seeing anyone and just staying home with one another, even though I really value being able to spend time with friends and other parents. I’m hashing out a plan that will let me feel able to stay closer to home without feeling guilty for not seeing people and for not socializing Celeste more.

Texas Coast, Day V and VI

Jul 17th, 2009
by Jim Reverend.
13 comments

Day V

sunrise over Crystal Beach

Sunrise

Sunrise this time of year on the Bolivar Peninsula is a photographers dream. The angle of the peninsula causes the sun to rise in EXACTLY the right spot over the shore to allow you to photograph the sun, the shore, and the sea all from the best possible angle. Standing on the shore before dawn is surreal. You can see, but just barely. The waves are crashing against the sand. The sky is enormous. And everything is waking up all at once and you’re there watching it all.

It religious. I don’t care what religion you subscribe to. If a sunrise like this isn’t a religious experience to you then I don’t think there is any level on which you and I can relate.

a suitable meeting place

NUDE!

Two things have been on my list of things to do for a LONG time now: 1) Visit a Nude Beach and 2) Go Skinny Dipping. So, when I heard that the Bolivar Peninsula has its very own nude beach, I had to visit.

So I set out to do just that. I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to get out of the car. I’m pretty shy and fairly modest unless I’m really comfortable with you. But, I knew I had to try.

The road there is not welcoming. All signs tell you to turn, but you go straight. Then the road you are driving on is tore up, bad. Eventually, it turns into nothing but sand a large rocks. There is trash everywhere. The shoreline is not sand but, instead, mud. Black mud at that. Despite all of this, there are people camping and swimming every where. I’m not sure why, since there are perfectly nice and free beaches less than a mile away. None the less I continued on.

More dirt, more sand, more trash, more gross, yet I continued on. The directions said go at least 3 miles. I have 4 wheel drive with locking differentials. Even then I felt like I might have gotten stuck a time or two. Yet I continued on. I drove for 5 miles. There were no cars, no people, certainly no naked people; nothing but trash and gross. So I gave up and turned around.

Not even 30 second after I did a truck approached and passed me. Perhaps I hadn’t gone far enough? Perhaps I should have turned around right then and went even further? Regardless, I didn’t bother. I continued on and headed back to base camp.

water, life

A Nice Swim

Once back at the beach house, Justin and I went for a nice swim. His mom drove down and met us for the ocassion. I love swimming in the ocean. Even on the peninsula where the water is more shallow (and a bit more sandy) then other ocean locations, it’s amazing and so very powerful. The waves weren’t too high so I swam out a bit, floated on my back, and let the waves carry me where they wanted to. I ended up a hundred yards or so down shore by the time I’d had enough.

After our swim we got some lunch, hit the liquor store, and started making Pina Coladas.

bolivar lighthouse

Looking for Decay

After a few drinks, Justin and I set out to Port Bolivar and the surrounding area to take photos of dilapidated and abandoned buildings. I got quite a few great photos.

In particular, there is an abandoned motel. The carpet and doors and windows and furnishings are all missing. The walls are busted and broken. Yet the structure is mostly still there. It was beautiful.

Then we got home and set Bonnie up to spin Poi on the beach as the sunset. Another spectacular experience that I was happy to get to photograph.

the light in her eyes

Day VI

We got up early, packed the car, and headed out. We drove straight home so, aside from good music and good conversation, neither of which reproduce well here, there isn’t much to tell. I did get to see Dolphins in Galveston Bay from the ferry though, which was awesome.

As soon as we got home, we unloaded the car. Then I put the carseat back in, gave Justin’s car a jump because he’d left his lights on, and headed out to pick up Celeste from daycare.

I almost cried when I saw her and saw the smile on her face. I had been doing everything I could not to miss her. So when the moment I got to see her again finally came, all that missing came flooding with it. I managed to hold the tears back long enough to get her in the car and get on my way back home.

We had a nice dinner, an awesome walk, and a fantastic evening.

So good, in fact, that I’ve decided to extend my vacation through to Sunday. So you’ll have three more days of updates. Ha.

with three wide open lanes

Jun 13th, 2009
by Jim Reverend.
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a day in

a day in

Writing really is theraputic, so I think I’ll keep it up.

Last night was a nice break. I got to hang out and let go with some new people and that’s really needed every now and then. Other people ended up staying later than I did but I just decided I was ready to go so I went. I’ve gotten much better in social situations recently, but, after a while I still get a little uncomfortable.

I was trying to explain this last night. The best social scenario for me is between 4 and 10 people in someone’s home. Don’t get me wrong, the crazy rockin’ party now and again is a blast too. But, over all, I’d prefer it laid back, casual, and intimate.

Maybe I’m just getting old.

As soon as I left Denton I realized I should have stayed a bit on the square and took some photographs. The light was beautiful and I wanted coffee anyways. But, by that time I was already half way home and didn’t want to turn back. So I went to starbucks, worked on a few things, and then did some late night shopping.

When I got home sometime after 11pm, the neighbors were outside having a few drinks so I joined them. We had some interesting conversations about spirituality and child rearing and personality types. I’m slowly starting to find the peace I once had within myself in regard to who I am and where I am going that I some how lost over the last 5 or 6 years. It’s nice to be “back” but I’m not pushing it too hard for fear that I’ll land on the other extreme.

I ended up in bed sometime after 1am and up before 7am, of course. I’m grateful for my internal clock though. It keeps me even most of the time, even if it refuses to let me sleep in when I can.

It’s so strange
That we could be together for
So long, and never know, never care
What goes on in the other one’s head?

So, what I’m trying to say is…
What (What?) I’m trying to tell you is…
Not gonna come out like I wanna say it cause
I know you’ll only change it.

(Say it.)

I’ve been sorting out some things online for a few hours now and telling myself that it’s time to get my ass in gear for at least 30 minutes now. I need to get showered and dressed. Then I’ll pack a FULL bag for the day for Celeste and I, because I’m not entirely certain where we’ll be later tonight or how much stuff I’ll need. Once that stuff is squared away, I’ll do as much housework as I can before I need to leave at 11:30am. Then pick up Celeste and head out for a play date with a good friend and a new friend and their kids.

I practically live out of my car some days (like today) because this metroplex is too damn big. So I bring everything I could imagine needing and just scrounge food whereever I can find some. If I could just have a place to sleep, a place to eat, and a few belongings tucked away in each corner of this GIANT city, life might be a lot easier and involve a lot less driving. Anyone have a spare room? Ha.

Tomorrow’s still up in the air too. I thought about going to church, because I really miss it and the community and family values it fosters. But, I’m not entirely sure that I’m ready to put Celeste in the onsite childcare during the service, and keeping her in the foyer is not really fun for either of us. Regardless, I’m sure there will be swimming involved at some point tomorrow. We have an awesome pool here and Celeste LOVES the water and loves playing in the sand. We could stay there for hours.

The photo in this post is really not related to anything here. Just something fun I took recently that I felt like sharing.

You drive like a Slitheen

Jun 4th, 2009
by Jim Reverend.
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(I write a lot of good stuff online in good places for good people. I’ve decided that instead of keeping it all scattered about the web where I’ll never find it again, I should keep it all here and link back to those good people/places instead. So, that’s what this is. Love it? Hate it? Lemme know.)

[In response to Liz.]

Yesterday morning I was on my way to drop Celeste off at daycare. Just like almost every day.

I take the same route every time. When moving from 380 East to the South Bound access road of the Tollway the road goes from 1 lane on the North side to 3 lanes on the South side. So, especially when 380 has the green light, when I make that turn I just sweep all three lanes putting me in the far left lane so I’ll be ready to enter the tollway. I do this every single day.

This time there was a lady in a Mazda Tribute behind me. I paid her no attention since there are always cars behind me. She, apparently, was in a hurry. So much so that she tried to sweep around me at the corner from 380 to the tollway. So as I was moving from lane to lane she jumped quickly into the far left lane ending up JUUUUUST behind me when I managed to reach the far left lane. The fact that I didn’t notice her sooner and let her go ahead of me apparently made her VERY angry.

She then swerved into the middle lane. As she drove past me she screamed. Her mouth was wide open. If I didn’t know there were two panes of glass separating the two of us, I would have assumed she wanted to eat me.

I was just smiling and singing songs with Celeste, which I’m sure made her that much madder.

She swerved in front of me and entered the Tollway and then proceeded to travel just above the speed limit just like everyone else meaning that all her anger and rage and swerving and screaming earned her, at most, 1,000 feet on the highway.

She reminded me of the Slitheen (from Doctor Who) wearing the Margaret Blaine suit when she was angry. I can’t find a photo of her angry though — and it’s probably for the best — so here she is happy.

Margaret Blaine - Happy

Margaret Blaine - Happy

People can be so very angry.