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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Bi-Yearly Ketchup Post 2008
I'm sure everyone's forgotten all about this site...indeed, one could argue that I had myself let it
slip from my transom. It's so much less interesting than it used to be when I was young and in college, all the way back in
2004. And for that, I'm terribly sorry.
So a quick up-to-date is in order, I suppose. So where to start...?
Backing up to 2007: We spent Christmas on a European adventure, taking Bridgette and her bf Azad with
us to introduce them to the world at large. We spent two days travesing around Paris (really gorgeous--I'm dying to go back
as soon as possible!). Weather was chilly but clear--and we had a guided tour of Montmartre, followed up by wine and cheese.
Awesome trip!
Afterwards, we headed to Mannheim, Germany to hang with my sister Janet and her family for Christmas. A few days later
we rented a car and drove up to Berlin (I got to drive the Autobahn! Yay 120mph!). We stayed at our landlord/friend Michael's
apartment in the Wedding area of Berlin; Deb came down with stomach flu almost as soon as we got into town, and stayed
that way for the next five days. The kids and I managed to get some sightseeing done anyway, including Checkpoint Charlie
and New Year's Eve at the Brandenburg Gates. A couple million drunk Germans and their personal caches of fireworks
all going off at once...
So now to the present....
I've just finished my second year at the same school, although a different grade, and I have to say tha, aside from the
BS-laden teacher-training program I was forced to endure for two years running, this year was reasonably successful. I'm confident
that my little gaggle of eight- and nine-year-olds are mostly ready for the continuing odyssey of fourth grade, at least as
much as I could make them.
However, this was to be my last year at this school. Deb and I are moving to Seattle in less than a
month! We're furiously packing (rather, thinning the herd of stuff, and prepping for a weekend of yard sales in mid-July).
We had a "going-away" party a coujple of weeks ago and had over 50 people show up. Our social calendar has packed up considerably
for the next few weeks, with friends wanting to spend as much time as they can with us before we leave.
Meantime, Bridgette is going to Pasadena City College, having just finished her High School requirements. She and Azad's
band, Siamese Guns, are doing really well and waiting for all their members to come of age so they can tour. Their stuff is
pretty damned good, and can be found at http://myspace.com/siamesegunsband. I'm pretty proud.
So there we are. Now that I've re-broken the ice, I'll be haranguing about politics, media, etc. soon, I think.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Things go well.
Busybusybusy, but well. This year the stress level is far from what it was last year--either that or I'm in complete denial
(always a possibility). I have a great roomful of third graders, in the 7-8 y.o. range, all very nice kids. A few characters,
but nothing out of the ordinary.
So what else is going on? Not much!
We'd started rehearsals for this year's JCAFAE fundraising concert, but had to postpone 'til probably January due to fiduciary
concerns. Ah well... My other singing project, the Occasional Consort, is facing the busiest Xmas season since I joined,
two years ago. So, it all balances out.
A shout-out to my dear mum, Patty, who turns 70 today! I love you, mumsy!
One of the other women in my life, my daughter Bridgette, turned 18 two weeks ago. She opted out of finishing high school
and is instead taking classes at Pasadena CC. Meantime, she's joined the Siamese Guns, a fine young band out of South Pas.
They've been giggin' around town quite a bit themselves, as their Myspace site attests.
9:16 pm pdt
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
OH GOD YOU GUYS! I'M SOOOO SORRY!!!
I SWEAR this is NOT what I wanted for my birthday!!!!
Sunday, July 1, 2007
My Big Trip up to NoCal
Day One - July 1, 2007
I often forget how much I love to drive. When there's no schedule, and I have music (my early birthday present: a 60g
Zen Vision M mp3 player!), I can pretty much go for hours and hours.
Today was a perfect day for going up Hway 101: clear, sunny, not hot, with a very sweet cool sea breeze pretty much the
whole way up. Once I hit the grade past Pismo that moves inland, though, the heat and the winds kicked up. Easy to see why
this is considered the driest CA summer since temps have been recorded, back in 1888. Still, the drive was nice, until I hit
the Monterey offramp--the traffic came to a near standstill and stayed that way for probably ten miles. Yuck.
Nevertheless,
I arrived at my aunt Marilynn's doorstep at 4:55pm, five minutes earlier than estimated. Even with the traffic tie-up, not
bad! We had a great Indian dinner, we drove past Steve Jobs' house (quaint) and chatted the evening away.
Day Two--July 2, 2007
Marilynn and I went exploring cemeteries in the Bay Area today. After checking out her husband (my uncle) Bill's plot,
we drove into the South San Francisco aree of Colma where my grandfather Thomas Austin Moody is buried. Nothing special about
it, seeing as he died fairly drunk and penniless.
However, it was an interesting leadup to our next stop: Mountain View cemetery in Oakland. I wanted to track down the
graves of my Great grandafther, John Lewis Moody, and his dad, Robert Austin Moody, the "patriarch" of the California
branch of the Moody tree. Well, come to find that although the front office did have records athat the two men were indeed
burierd there, they had no idea where; it seems that both men also died drunk and penniless, and were therefore buried
in the "unendowed" section of the cemetery: unmown grass, untended, broken and unintelligible headstones, and lots and lots
of dirt. There was no way to determine where in this area the Moody men were buried. Although this discovery was depressing,
I took some comfort in the sweet irony that the area where they are buried has a view that would render the land under it
as MILLION DOLLAR REAL ESTATE! A sweeping vista of the SF Bay, including the Golden Gate bridge. Too bad the guys are probably
still too drunk to appreciate it!
Day Three - July 3, 2007
I was hoping to head up to the Napa/Sonoma area today to meet up with some second cousins I've only just met on the phone...but
right now I couldn't raise them on the phone, so I figured they just weren't as interested in the family tree as
I am. hey, yua can't please everybody!
So, I headed up toward the Gold Country. Stopped in Milton, the ghost town where my dad is buried and took some pictures...I
landed in San Andreas and wanted to stay at the Black Bart Inn, near where my dad lived and across the street from the
bar that was his fave haunt. However, after figuring out that the TV didn't work, and there was neither hot water nor Internet
access, I vowed to find another place to stay in the morning. Family ties ain't that strong!
Day Four - July 4, 2007
I spent the day driving around while the locals were prepping for a fireworks show that would end up getting cancelled
due to the insanely high fire danger in the region. Oh well! I drove up to the tiny quiet little burg of Sheep Ranch, where
one of the areas richest gold mines very likely employed my GG GF Bob Moody, since CA census records show him working
as a miner there in 1880. Mostly I just wanted to drink in the atmosphere of the place, and was not disappointed. Afterwords
I negotiated the rather trecherously winding roads down to the thriving tourist trap of Murphys-- a very nice little town
anyway--and headed back to my new (and infinitely better) motel room in Angels Camp.
Day Five-- July 5, 2007
The temperatures are starting to get rediculously high now--nearing 100. Don't know how much I can stand of it.
Today, after visiting the local archive office for some copies of some photos, I went to see my dad's cousin, Pat
Moody, a nice and quite loquacious lady living in nearby Mokelumne Hill, to have lunch and talk over her side of the family. We
drove to a local casino (my first time in one up there!) for lunch. When we left, I was determined to hit the road to head
somewhere cooler. I headed out of the hills westward, thinking maybe I'll stop when I hit water...
...which I did. Stopped and drove around Monterey, where I spent a year back in 1979-1980 going to Language School for
the US Air Force. I found the astounding growth of the place since then truly depressing, and thought I'd start heading southbound
until I tired of driving. Got tired by San Luis Obispo.
When I pulled into my motel room there (wow--pricy!) I was in a serious mood to find some local music. I found out that
a band from the LA area was playing in nearby Morro Bay, and headed out just in time to enjoy a great show by the Sligo Rags--Irish-inflected
bluegrass with attitude and insanely terrific musicianship. Great way to spend my last night before heading home!
Day 6 - July 6th, 2007
Took the drive south slow and easy, even stopping to explore some of the backroads of Ventura. Once I got home, I was
surprised to find myself not tired! I guess a non-pressure roadtrip can be a great vacation!
It was the first trip I'd taken alone since Deb and I have been together (I've gone other places without her--but not
alone alone) and I have to say that just knowing that I am in a relationship that can allow such things--well, I
thank my lucky stars pretty much every day.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
AwwwJeez 2.0? Hah!
Well, what can I say? Now that I've officially let this site slide for nearly half a year now, is there
anything truly worth saying?
Well---yes, there is. Plenty. Such as: I've FINALLY finished my first full year of teaching! Whoo Hoo!
Not only that, but I've been re-hired to teach at the same school. Huzzah, indeed! Next year, I will
have the honor of returning to teach third grade (which I was teaching in 05-06 in Pasadena, until the student
population dropped so much that I was soon dropped myself. Such an ignominious beginning.). And yet...insert
platitude here about closing doors and opening others. I honestly couldn't be happier!
Meantime.
Daughter Bridgette has decided to bail on her senior year in high school and get her GED. I'm not really happy about
this decision, and have let her know, but she is about to turn 18 in September, and so all I can do, pretty much,
is watch her go make her own mistakes. Maybe it isn't a mistake--she is planning on heading on to community college,
after all--and yet, something in me really wanted to see her walk across that stage. I'm not a huge stickler for tradition,
but still...anyway, I hope she does the right thing.
Meantime.
I'm planning my summer trip, which will be apart from Deb this year. She's heading up to the Northwest to see friends
and family, and I'm taking a one-man driving trip up into Northern and Central California to visit some relatives, fill out
some information on my genealogy project, and to visit some cemeteries and commune with my ancestors. It might be the last
opportunity I have to do this, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm leaving this Sunday and have no set return date.
I'm also planning to write about it and take lots of photos.
Meantime.
I haven't seen the news in, oh, five days or so. I have no idea what the idiots at Fox News or rightwing talk radio are
blathering about (let alone the man we've been forced to refer to as "president") and man, I feel like I've
taken a nice long hot shower of the psyche. Maybe I'll keep it this way!
Meantime.
Neighbor Johnny and I have lately been a-sittin' on our porch and knockin' out old country & blues tunes. I've gotten
a lot more comfortable playing harmonica & guitar at the same time (and singing as well), and he's already taught me a
lot with his encyclopedic knowledge of the music. Fun! Finally lookin' like the old guys we actually is.
Some movies seen recently...well, just go check out the Movie page.
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