One year ago today: May 14, 2018, Olga Mall closed.
Five years ago today: May 14, 2014, $22,120 per bedroom.
Nine years ago today: May 14, 2010, may be their standards.
Random years ago today: May 14, 2007, never viewed before today.
A rare overcast spring day had me in the yard. Getting things ready for another trip, which could be any time now. It’s what I do these days. The ancient dream of getting out of Florida for the summer, is it finally happening? Yard work is okay, and it was the big event so far, thus you get a listing. I transplanted around 15 small ornamentals, got all the tools and bicycle stuff behind the fence, and that all important annual bug spray of the perimeter. In Florida, forget annual, you do it every three months. I’d leave now except I’d like to run a few loads of laundry through. That will give me an un-needed excuse to sit in the coffee shop down in Bartow tomorrow. I’m so looking forward to that.
These critters are tame, tame, tame. And a spotlessly healthy bunch as well. Because they are mainly seen eating or resting, folks get the mistaken impression they are sluggish animals. Caution, they only think that fence can keep them in. I’d like to feed them treats because they so obviously expect something as I pass, but what do I know of cow diets? Plus, feeding somebody else’s animals is probably not a great idea. It’s just that longing look in their eyes. Maybe they’ve been to the Miami street beggars seminar.
Now that I’ve decided on throw carpets for flooring, I could not find any. My budget is $35 so let’s get something before I move in the furniture. I’ve decided to relocate the office up there as well, to get this back room finally finished with the double window and wall fans instead of a ceiling fan. Give it a little class. I’ve got a $900 budget for trim and materials but the space won’t require a third of that. Think of something fancy I can do. Wainscoting? Plush wallpaper? Mirrored walls? Or take the surplus and tile the bathroom? I’ve sent JZ the letter saying he can’t tile the place, but he can show me how to do it on my own. His own bathroom has needed a tile repair since at least twelve years ago.
Let me do a quick calculation. I’m back. You see around 16% of the total photos taken daily, but way up at 68% of the gifs. That’s because they are a recent development, around here at least. They are still produced manually, so often the video is taken specifically on some blog-interesting subject. Kind of like the way rock videos revived what was otherwise a dying species.
To make it clear, I am not finishing the front bedroom, I’m just making it pretty enough for occupation. I’m still sketching the overhead bins for storage, and they have to be sturdy because around here that can mean several hundred pounds of books. I’m considering glass front cupboards since I’ve lost too many books to the climate using exposed units. Plus, I’m going to need more exterior storage space, no matter how that meshes with city bylaws. What I have in mind is a lean-to for things that can be stored out there, and moving the rest into the existing sheds. Don’t worry about progress reports, since now that I’m really getting retired, that manner of activity really is the dominant motion of ever more days. How do you like them apples? Actually, peaches. I have a line on peach trees for the late autumn.
The Rann of Kutch.
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As my song list moves evermore toward light-hearted material, I’m getting my ideas from Boss Hogg. I miss the era of fun songs, like Don Wilson and Don Gibson of the 60s. I listened to that in the 80s because music was getting more into sordid topics, and drifting toward porno lyrics—which have their place, hey the millennials descended from some sort of social underclass. Let’s just say I’ve never met anybody who’s been to a Playboy club, or had to. Much less somebody with a membership. Anyway, today’s tune to follow up is, I think, “Hubba-dubba-dubba-dubba-dubba-dubba-doo”. In the key of G. I figure, the way the millennial searches have dumbed down the algorithms, this could be a tough go.
Yes, it was another trip getting underway. Here's a picture from two days in the future. This blog has no trouble with time travel. This is Sgt. Sam, and moments after I got there, he got hisself a haircut. He almost went hippie on me. He turns twelve this year, way to old to be running around like a shaggy sheep dog.
ADDENDUM
Dreams, I enjoy them, but seem to have largely stopped remembering them. Not today. I was in the math building of my old campus. It was a cold fall day, and I had to get to the student residence. Those were cold winters back in the 70s and I knew how to get entirely across campus using the heated underground passageways. The residence parking lot had one assigned spot per student, so the entire place knew I was the poorest kid by looking out on that lot any weekday morning. They were strict and instant about towing unless the vehicle was registered to the student.
In the dream I had a knapsack and upon stepping outside, I decided to walk outside down the same old pathways. Except not, those had fallen into disuse and I was constantly snagging branches and having to step over deadfall. The marked crossings over roadways had faded and traffic no longer stopped. On this September 17, it will be 48 years since I was actually there. I’ve never returned or kept contact with anyone from there. Not only was I the poorest, I did not know I’d chosen a notorious rich kid’s playground university. I didn’t know such things existed.
The path was so hard to negotiate with the weeds and brambles that the dream faded before I got to the old Arts building. Over the years, I’ve looked at pictures on-line and the place is almost identical to when I showed up last. Still cranking out the same “government job” degrees and same student population of around 9,000. Few things are as telltale as the tuition amount. Back then it was $453 per year. And I had to borrow the money, beginning the long spiral downward to 19 long years of debt and a permanent break with the people who let me down the worst.
It doesn’t need heavy armor because it is disposable. The wide tread gives it low ground pressure, so it will roll right over most terrain, and do so without setting off any land mines. Note the cameras and infrared detector, all Harbor Freight grade. The low profile is good for urban work and adding a pop-up missile or recoilless rifle would be cheap and easy. Not to mention a simple pillbox turret for a 50 caliber. Somebody has put some serious thought into this otherwise bland-looking vehicle. Most of you saw it here first. How I miss the hands-on part of my hobby. I should be able to build scale models of this sort of thing by now. Sigh, and just when I have the house to do such things. Well, I may live long enough to do something yet.
