Trout

This morning we went for a walk with my aunt, her friend Susan, my mom and I.  Susan and her husband are longtime friends of my aunt and uncle.  Once a year they have about 40 people who meet and go camping for about a week and I have a really great time.  Susan's husband, I can't remember his name, was the best man for my uncle when he got married to my aunt 48 years ago, it has to be so cool to have friends from that long ago.

I went down to get Brodie's records from her veterinarian so I can take her to get groomed, unfortunately they don't groom dogs at her veterinarians.  After that I went down to Cedar Video to return the movie that I rented a couple of days ago.  Brodie and I cruised down to the wharf but we only went about halfway because it was kind of crowded and my chair was running out of juice because I forgot to charge it last night, it sure was beautiful though.

Heather came over and made some trout, some green beans, rice, a wrap and some tuna salad to hold me over for a couple of days, even though I shouldn't be I'm always amazed at how great everything Heather makes tastes.

Triple ginger cookies...

On Monday my uncle and aunt, Heather and my mother and I went to see Burn after Reading, it was a very funny movie but also very weird.  I'm glad that I saw it but I won't be seeing it again.  After the movie Heather and I went to Trader Joe's and I got some triple ginger ginger cookies.  Next week I want to go see The Women.

On Tuesday I went to San Jose to see Tony to get my SP tube change and to get a copy of my records so I can start going to the doctor here in Santa Cruz.  I had always intended to keep the doctors that I have but it's just too hard to get to San Jose that often.

On Wednesday my uncle, my aunt, Cassie and I went to Moss Landing to have some clam chowder at a place called Phils Fish market, man was that delicious.  I also had an artichoke stuffed with crap and shrimp.  My uncle was having a craving for red clam chowder so we decided to go, I'm glad that we did and I hope that we go back again.

I joined a video rental place and rented two movies, one was called Bonnieville with Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates and the other one was the movie Juno, I liked open them a lot.

Burn after reading...

Sunday was a nice relaxing stay at home, watching movies day.

Yesterday Brodie and I went for a really long cruise along the lagoon and down to the wharf, it was a lot more crowded than it usually is on the weekdays.  A lot of couples young and old, they must have taken a day off work knowing that it would be less crowded.  It was the man with his three children fishing off the side.  One of the boys, he looked like he was maybe four years old, decided that he wanted to take the fish off the hook so his father let him.  You could tell that he was afraid to touch it but I really wanted to do this when all of a sudden a bird came out of nowhere and try to grab the Fish, the little boy freaked out and jumped back and luckily the father caught the Fish again and wrestled it away from the bird.  As I was coming back down the wharf I looked over on the rail and I saw a Pelikan, I have never seen one that close so we sat there and stared at each other for a while.

Saturday on our way back from Claudia's we ran into Heather getting ready to go shopping.  She came over later that evening and made some cod, it was awesome, she also cooked sautéed spinach and this rice thing... I wish I could remember the name of it.  She made a veggie wrap at some tuna salad to hold me over until she could come back.

Yesterday she made some sausages with fennel, artichoke hearts, bell pepper, what looked like a little red onion but she called it something else and crushed tomatoes.  She also made my favorite roasted potatoes and she made some roasted eggplant, one of my new favorites.

Later on today we're going to see George Clooney and Brad Pitt's new movie Burn after Reading.  For sure Heather and I are going but I invited my mom and my aunt and uncle, we will see.

Tomorrow is not promised

Tomorrow Is Not Promised

Sometimes people come into your life
and you know right away that they were meant to be there,
they serve some sort of purpose,
teach you a lesson
or help figure out who you are
and who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be:
your neighbor, child, long lost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger
who, when you lock eyes with them,
you know at that very moment that they will affect your life
in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you
and at the time they seem painful and unfair,
but in reflection you realize
that without overcoming those obstacles
you would have never realized
your potential strength, will power, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason.
Nothing happens by chance
or by means of good or bad luck.
Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity
all occur to test the limits of your soul.

Without these small tests,
whether they be events, illnesses or relationships,
life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere,
safe and comfortable,
but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life
and the successes and downfalls you experience
create who you are,
and even the bad experiences can be learned from,
In fact, they are probably the poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart,
forgive them,
for they have helped you learn about trust
and the importance of being cautious to
whom you open your heart...

If someone loves you,
love them back unconditionally,
not only because they love you,
but because they are teaching you to love
and opening your heart and eyes to things
you would have never seen or felt without them.

Make every day count.
Appreciate every moment
and take from it everything that you possibly can,
for you may never be able to experience it again...

Talk to people you have never talked to before,
and actually listen,
let yourself fall in love,
break free and set your sights high...

Hold your head up
because you have every right too.
Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself...
for if you don't believe in yourself,
no one else will believe in you either.
You can make of your life anything you wish.

Create your own life
and then go out and live in it!
"Live Each Day As If It Were Your Last...
Tomorrow is Not Promised" 

 

                                                            Unknown

My first independent film...

On Wednesday my uncle and I decided to go to Costco to get a few things... mostly a hotdog.  On our way we stopped by the Nickelodeon theater, it's a small theater that shows independent films.  There was a movie there that we both wanted to see but the last showing was at 7:10 p.m.  We also stopped at the AT&T store and I finally found an earpiece that will stay on my ear, I have the tiniest ears in the world and I can't seem to find an earpiece that works for me so I was so excited.  I shook my head and it didn't fall off, one of the guys in the store even did jumping jacks for me and it didn't fall out of his ear, talk about an enthusiastic salesperson, after that I just had to get it.  The next stop was the bakery where we got some fresh bread and they sliced it for us, it smelled so good.  We finally made it to Costco and picked up my prescription but we didn't get a hotdog, Heather was supposed to make me dinner and I didn't want to ruin my appetite but I told my uncle I would sit with him while he have one but he decided not to.  On the way back my uncle was going to show me a shortcut but it turned out to be very steep and about three quarters of the way up my chair just stopped, I had been running around all day and the battery was getting low and the hill just really drained it so we turned around and called my aunt to come and get us.  When we got back we decided to have a liverworts sandwich with our new fresh bread and go to the Nickelodeon theater and watch the movie.  I don't remember exactly what it was called but something about a midnight kiss, it was actually a really good movie.

I have been trying to figure out a way that I could cruise around town and stop at the store or at Costco to go shopping by myself so my aunt took a camera case and one of those things that go around your neck so you don't lose your keys and part of a wallet and put it all together for me, it works great.  I have my cell phone, my ID, some cash and my Costco/American Express card.

On Friday Heather came over and decided to make me a buffalo burger with cheddar/horseradish cheese and grilled onions, some Parmesan mashed potatoes and some beets and carrots, I had never had a buffalo burger before but it was really good.  She told me that she had rented a movie that I wanted to see called Baby Mama so she let me borrow it and I returned it for her that afternoon, I also signed up for a membership at the video store, it felt really great to go and do it by myself... with Brodie of course. Friday afternoon my uncle took my mom and I to Costco... I think he was still craving a hotdog so along with everything else that we needed we got some hotdogs and went over to my uncle and aunt's and had hot dogs and Chile, I guess hot dogs are really bad for you but they taste so good.

Today my mom and I cruised over to Claudia's beauty shop and got a manicure/pedicure and then came on home.  Heather came over and made cod, this really good kind of rice/pasta stuff and some sautéed spinach, man it was good.

Santa Cruz people are so cool...

Yesterday and the day before Brodie and I took a very long cruz through the park, down to the end of the wharf and across the boardwalk.  If we leave here around 11 a.m. there is virtually nobody around, it is great.  I don't think that Brodie has ever seen a sea lion so usually stop at the end of the wharf and we watched them for a while and Brodie watches them very intently and whines, I'm not sure what that means but hopefully she will get used to them.  I can't even describe the feeling of cruising down the boardwalk and watching the waves crash on the shore, the boats floating in the water and the surfers riding the waves... are they crazy?  I just feel like I'm on vacation every day of my life.

And then it really doesn't end there.  I usually come home and my kitchen smells incredible because Heather is whipping up a couple of gourmet dishes.  On Monday she brought me some halibut and she made some green beans with onions and some rice.  I heard her talking about a taco salad that she had and when my eyes lit up she decided to make that for me also, it was the best I ever had.  She made me a couple of wraps, an Italian one and a chicken one.  She is very busy at work this week and that that she has seen more chicken than she cares to see in a lifetime.

Yesterday my uncle, my aunt, my mom and I went to see the movie Bangkok Dangerous, Nicolas Cage's new movie.  I really liked it and everybody else thought that it was just okay, it was the best movie I could see out of the choices but this Friday two really good movies come out.  I'm going to start going to the movies once a week, if I cannot find anybody to go with me I will go by myself.  There is a couple of theaters here that show independent films, I have to admit I have never seen one but I hear people talk about them so I'm going to check them out.

Susana called in sick today.  She have her wisdom teeth yanked out yesterday and she is still hurting and she has a headache.  He's usually off tomorrow so if she can find a babysitter she will be in tomorrow.

I finally got my camera yesterday and I am so excited, I love to have pictures of everything... it's just too bad thatIcannot take them because I would have a blast taking pictures of the ocean, the sea lions and the lagoon.

Whenever I cut through the park a usually see my neighbor Anthony, he works for the Parks and Recreation Department.  I told him that I was nervous about going over the water part of the lagoon so he did some research for me to find out just how much of boardwalk with the pontoons will hold, he said the vehicle that they take on there way about a ton so I should be fine.  They just painted their house a really wild purple color, it looks great and I'm sure that a lot of people will use their house at the landmark to guide people to their house... "turn left after the purple house".

Yesterday I met a guy and his dog in the park, he asked if I would like to have him unhook Brodie so the dogs could play for a while.  Being from San Jose my first instinct is to be scared because somebody is being nice but I put my tongue and said "sure, that would be great" and I'm glad that I did.  He moved to Santa Cruz around the same time that I did but from Modesto.  I'm not sure exactly what he does but he works at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and he said that he has a couple of chefs that work for him, as it turns out I lives the next street over from me so I'm sure we will run into each other again.

Fandango...

Friday I was so happy to get up.  When I lived in San Jose I stayed in bed a lot more and I think I got used to it.  Basically because thing like it with an awful lot of work to get up and then sit around and do nothing, there really wasn't anywhere I could go by myself and I didn't really know how to initiate doing things.  I'm still not very good at it but I'm working on it.  I'm getting an account with Fandango that I can go to the movies whenever I want by myself.

Saturday was a really good day although kind of hot.  Brodie and I went for a walk on the lagoon and of course as soon as we get the boardwalk she decided to poop, I really get embarrassed when she does that because there's no way I could pick it up and I hate leaving it.  She's used to going to the bathroom on the concrete because that's what her dog run was so it's hard to get her to only go in the dirt or on the grass.  She's only supposed to go when I get for the release word but she's getting older she just goes whenever she wants.

Today is another day of staying in bed and I'm already bored.  I have a bunch of books on my Yahoo music jukebox account so I think I will listen to a couple of books, that sounds relaxing.