Monthly Archives: April 2015

Apr16

Suddenly Things Are Happening Really Fast

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Last week I sent an email to the woman I am hoping to work for this summer. I asked if she had received the latest round of paperwork I’d sent to her. I also asked if she had decided when I needed to report for training.

I realized on Monday that I hadn’t heard from her, and on Tuesday I called the office. Her assistant answered the phone. I asked about the paperwork. Yes, it had arrived. I asked if the boss had decided when I should arrive for training. She replied, May 4th, as if the date were something I had known all along.

May 4th? The upcoming May 4th? Nineteen days away May 4th?

I stammered, a bit, I think. Last time we spoke, I reminded her, the boss thought it was going to be later in May. I asked if she were sure the training for my group was going to start on May 4th. Oh, yes, she assured me. The boss had decided she didn’t want to do training any later than that.

Then the woman I was talking to told me the boss was out for the rest of the week, but she’d be back on Monday (April 20). She said I could call the boss on Monday to get all the details. I’m assuming the boss woman was planning to call me on Monday and and tell me I needed to report to the forest in 2 weeks! I’m glad I called on Tuesday and got myself five extra days of knowledge.

I am totally overwhelmed that training on May 4th means I have to get on the road no later than May 2nd. (It’s a 10 hour drive, according to Yahoo Maps, so that probably means a twelve hour drive for me. What can I say? I have to stop to pee a lot. And since I do NOT want to drive twelve hours in one day, I have to leave on May 2nd.) I am totally overwhelmed with everything I need to do between now and then.

Want to see my to-do list?

Buy stamps (I’m hoping 100 postcard stamps and 50 first class stamps will get me through the summer. And by summer, I mean May 1st through Labor Day.)

Try to sell a pile of books at the used book store

Figure out how I am going to pay my phone bill while I am in the woods

Buy 5 money orders to pay monthly installments on a debt (Don’t even ask!)

Finish notifying friends of my summer address

Go through the rest of my clothes and get rid of what i don’t need

Have my transmission mount replaced (I actually have an appointment with my mechanic to do this next Wednesday.)

Buy food supplies for the summer (I have no idea what to buy or how much.)

Buy other supplies (Dr. Bronner’s soap, paper towels, toilet paper, zipper bags, squirt bottles for dish washing system, oh, and don’t forget the laundry soap)

Buy Luci light(s) (How many do I need? Is one enough?)

Wipe out ice chest (I hope it’s not gross. It wasn’t gross last time I opened it, but that was a while ago.)

Get back slider window for van (Ohhh! I’ve been putting that off 8 months! I should have taken care of that 6 months ago!)

Pay insurance on van

Look into new tires for van (That’s going to cost a lot! I’m so overwhelmed!)

Buy bear whistle (I have to remember that when I go to Big 5 Sporting Goods for Luci light)

Try to get May 10th dental cleaning appointment rescheduled

Mail my friend’s August birthday present (or decide I can stash it somewhere in van until August)

Host little gathering for host family and friend family

Buy van supplies (oil, coolant, fuel cleaner)

Replace rusty screws holding on van topper to van

Of course, while I am trying to prepare for the summer, I am also working 8 hours a day, which looks like this:

Wake up at 5:15 am. Curse the state I am scoring responses for. Curse the students who wrote the responses. Curse the two characters the students are comparing in their responses.

Eat breakfast. Prepare lunch. Fill water bottles.

Get dressed. (Don’t forget to get dressed.) Brush teeth. Take glucosamine. (Oh shit! Add “Get glucosamine” to list.)

Leave house by 6:20 to get to work with time to park, put metallic sun shades in window, and be at my desk by 7am.

Sign in. Work. Look at clock.Try to stay awake. Work. Get distracted by coworkers moving around, chatting, coming and going. Look at watch. Work. Fantasize about banging my head against a brick wall. Work.Try to stay awake.Try to get comfortable in uncomfortable office chair. Work. Log out. Get up to pee. Sit back down. Log back in. Work. Look at clock. Work. Wonder if it’s too soon to get up and pee again. Look at clock. Work. Log out. Go on break. Eat granola bar. Sit back down. Log in. Work. Fantasize about banging my head against a wall of ice. Work. Look at watch. Log out. Get up to pee. Sit back down. Log in. Try to get comfortable. Wonder why the idiots all around me don’t whisper if they must speak. Work. Put head down on desk. Fantasize about repeatedly banging head on desk. Fantasize about shouting SHUT THE FUCK UP! at the top of my lungs. Work. Wonder if it’s almost lunch time. Look at clock. Sigh. Work. Try to stay awake. Work. Put my head in my hands. Sigh. Feel sad about the state of the world as it is reflected by the teenagers who wrote the responses I’ve been scoring. Sigh. Work. Hear my own stomach growl. Look at the clock. Notice lunch is in ten minutes. Sigh. Try to work. Feel antsy. Try to work. Sigh. Try to work. Log out. Go to lunch. Arrive back at my desk in precisely half an hour and repeat morning activities all afternoon.

Get off work at 3:30, feeling ravenous. Run errands if necessary. (Do I have enough gas to get to work in the morning?) Get home. Eat dinner. Check email. Wash dishes. Fill water bottle halfway and put in freezer. Try to write. Feel too tired to write. Try to control brain. Try to write. Notice it’s already after 7pm. Give up on brain. Give up on writing. Take a shower or decide I can go another day without a shower. Brush and floss teeth. Set alarm on phone. Read a novel until I’ve relaxed enough to sleep. Try to sleep. Try to shut off brain. Fall asleep.

So I guess what I need to do is make lists according to the next nineteen days. When will I go to the auto repair shop? When will I go to Discount Tires? When will I go to Trader Joe’s? When will I go to Big 5 Sporting Goods? When will I call the dental collage?

What am I forgetting? No, for real, what am I forgetting? PLEASE, leave a comment and tell me what I’m forgetting.


 
Apr15

My First Bear

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Bear, Bear Head, Artistic, Portrait, Head, AnimalWhen I was in college, my friend BH tried to teach me to smoke cigarettes. I was having trouble inhaling. He told me to imagine I’d seen a bear. He demonstrated the sharp, shallow intake of breath that seeing a bear would generated, then followed the inhalation of breath with the words, “I saw a bear!” I guess the “I saw a bear!” part was supposed to get me in the proper state of mind to breathe in the cigarette smoke correctly. I don’t know. I never did learn to smoke cigarettes (thank goodness!) but I did find out many years later that seeing a bear did indeed make me gasp.

Between Arroyo Seco and the Taos Ski Valley, there are several free camp grounds along the Rio Hondo.

I pulled into one of the camping spots late one afternoon. I had maybe a couple of hours of daylight left in which to prepare and eat dinner.

I’d managed to back my van into a spot so that in the morning (and by “morning,” I mean around 4am), I could pull straight out onto the gravel entrance/exit and then onto the highway.

Across the highway from where I was parked, trees had been removed to make room for a large electrical transformer. This configuration made for a break in the forest and a sort of flat open area around the transformer. I was standing near the front of my van, texting Nolagirl when movement across the highway caught my eye. I looked up and saw a very large creature lumbering past the electrical transformer and into the trees.

“That’s a weird fucking horse,” was my first thought. My second thought (after a quick inhalation of breath), was, “that was a BEAR!”

The bear didn’t actually look anything like a horse. “Horse” is just what my brain told me until it could make sense of what it had actually seen.

(Gasp!) I saw a bear!

My immediate first reaction was to want to follow it. It was so cool, so wild, so interesting. I wanted to know more about it.

My second reaction (which occurred about two seconds after thinking I wanted to follow it) was me asking myself, Are you out of your fucking mind?!?!? Following a bear is a REALLY bad idea, so I didn’t do it.

I  wanted to watch the bear from a really safe distance, but it was already out of sight. The bear was not going to be my entertainment for the evening.

I grew up watching movies and TV shows  like Gentle Ben and Grizzly Adams where bears and humans are pals. Some part of me wanted to believe that I too could befriend a bear. I’m glad my logical side prevailed and kept me on my side of the road.

Image courtesy of https://pixabay.com/en/bear-bear-head-artistic-portrait-1279112/.
Apr14

Do You Come Here Often?

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I was at the laundromat on the north side of town.

I had actually finished doing my laundry. All of my clothes were clean, dry, folded, and back in the van. However, I had internet access at the laundromat, and I was waiting to see how an auction on Ebay would turn out. I was toggling between checking the status of the auction and playing solitaire.

A man I’d never seen before came into the laundromat. He was tall and a little chunky and had dark hair. He looked like a white guy to me. I didn’t find him particularly attractive. I wasn’t paying that much attention to him at first, although he was putting clothes into the washer nearest to where I was sitting. Then I noticed he was clearing his throat loudly and repeatedly. Either he had a nervous tic or something was stuck way down in his throat.

Once his clothes were in the washer, he walked toward me. He asked if I were bored a lot. I don’t know if he saw I was playing solitaire and assumed I was bored or if that was just his opening line. I said, “Oh no!” Then I told him just how busy I am, how I never have time to get bored. At that moment, my good-Southern-lady upbringing kicked in, and I asked, “How about you?”

Why did I do that? I did not care if he was often bored. I was not interested in conversing with him. I wanted to be on my way in six minutes, as soon as I knew the outcome of my auction. Yet, I engaged him in conversation. I guess that makes it my fault.

He told me that yes, indeed he was bored a lot. He said he’d just moved to town and didn’t have (m)any friends, so he often didn’t have anything to do.

Next he gestured at the empty chair next to me and asked if he could sit there. It was not the only empty chair in the laundromat, but since I am not the Queen of Chairs, what could I say? It was not my chair to withhold, so I said yes.

He sat down next to me and I SWEAR TO GOD (or any other deity of your choice), he said to me, “Do you come here often?”

I have to give him credit for using a pick up line that no one else had ever used on me.

My brain was on duty that day, because I shot right back to him, “Only when my clothes are dirty.”

It was one of my finest moments. It was one of my best comebacks ever. I was so proud of myself.

He was not deterred, however, because in mere moments he asked for my phone number, asked if he could call me some time.

Again, I was thinking quick because I said, “Um, no. I’m just not looking for any of that.”

By that time the auction had ended, and my computer was shutting down. I snapped my laptop shut, and ducked out the door, hoping he wouldn’t see what vehicle I hopped into as I made my escape.

Apr12

How About a Book Review? The First Wives Club

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This review is of The First Wives Club by Olivia Goldsmith. I wrote this review in February of 2014.

 

[amazon template=image&asin=1416562834]While I was aware of the movie The First Wives Club, I’ve never seen it (is Bette Midler in it?) and didn’t know it was based on a novel until I heard Sarah Wendell (author of Everything I Know About Love, I Learned from Romance Novels) talk about it on NPR. Wendell recommended it highly, so I sought it out on BookMooch.

Wow! This novel is awesome fiction. The characters are complicated. None are totally good or totally evil; all are fleshed out and flawed. The plot has many twists and turns to keep the reader guessing about what will happen next. (I never saw the ending in the very last paragraph coming.) The writing is accessible but not boring or trite.

True, the story centers around three rich women in New York City in the late 1980’s. I can’t say I usually care much about rich women or their problems, so it is a testament to the wit and writing ability of Olivia Goldsmith that I could barely put this book down after reading the first page.

This book is light reading, yes, but not drivel or mindless fluff. It examines the role of women once they slide into middle age. It challenges the late 80’s quest for “success” at all cost. It gives us three kickass female characters who demand vengeance when the men in their lives do them wrong, three women who dare to break out of the roles their society mandates for them.

Sure, read this book on an airplane or at the beach or while in bed recuperating from a cold, but do read this book!

Apr11

We Create the World

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However unimportant our little lives may be, however invisible we may sometimes feel, we create the world around us just by being in it.

–Katie Haegele

Katie Haegele used to be a pen pal of mine, but we haven’t been in touch in many years.

[amazon template=image&asin=162106011X]At the end of 2014 I entered a giveaway on GoodReads for a book called Slip of the Tongue that sounded interesting. I didn’t realize at the time that the book was written by someone I knew. When I received notification that I’d won the book, I still didn’t realize that I knew the author. It was only when I found the book in my mailbox and tore off the wrapping and saw Katie’s name written in that font she used in her zines that I made the connection.

It’s a great book. It’s about language and Katie’s life and the role language plays in shaping Katie’s life. I recommend it to all you word geeks out there.

My favorite part of the whole book is the one sentence I used to open this post. It’s from the essay “Invisible Weaver.” That one sentence gives me hope. Sometimes I feel so useless. What am I creating that will outlast me? Am I doing anything that will live on after I am dead? Sometimes I feel my life is a complete and utter waste. But maybe, if as Katie says, I am creating the world just by being in it, maybe I’m doing ok.

Apr10

Holly Hobbie

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I was at the Goodwill Clearance Center. I walked over to the table on wheels where toys were heaped in piles, and I saw her there. She was one of my oldest friends, but I hadn’t thought about her in years.

Holly Hobbie.

She looked the way I remembered her: beige “blond” braids, small features on a cloth face, blue bonnet with tiny yellow flowers, “patchwork” dress, bloomers which matched her bonnet, and black cloth shoes.

I scooped her right up and put her in my basket.

IMG_2434

I took this photo of the Holly Hobbie doll I found at the Goodwill Clearance Center.

Holly Hobbie wasn’t my first soft toy, but she was one of the earliest. I don’t remember receiving her, doubtless for some special occasion. I do remember my parents giving me Bicentennial Holly Hobbie for my 5th birthday in 1976, so the original Holly Hobbie came before that. I also had Holly’s friend Heather, but I can’t remember when she came along. (Heather was taller than Holly and Bicentennial Holly was shorter than regular Holly, so it was easy to pretend they were sisters.)

Through the years, I had other Holly Hobbie toys.

I had a much smaller, plastic Holly Hobbie doll with a picnic play set. She had weirdly synthetic combable hair.

I named the dog Chocolate because it was the same color as a Hershey’s kiss. One time I had the set at my mawmaw’s house and was showing it to my aunt. She was holding the doggy, and I said, “That’s Chocolate.” She thought I meant it was made of actual chocolate and was kind of grossed out/embarrassed that she was touching what she thought was my candy.

My sister had the The Holly Hobbie General Store.

This was a Colorforms toy, and it was super cool because unlike most Colorforms at the time, it was 3-D! You slid the walls into slots on the floor, and the walls stood up. All the little girls stood on their bases and could be moved inside or outside. I really liked to set up all the little slick plastic “objects” in their proper places in the store, but once everything was set up, I lost interest. I guess I was a little too old for imaginative play, by the time my sis got this set.

When I was younger, I had a different, smaller Holly Hobbie Colorforms set. I managed to play with the set for hours at a time, even though the dress-up possibilities were limited. I guess I knew from reading the Little House on the Prairie books that those old time girls didn’t have a lot of wardrobe options.

I had Holly Hobbie sewing cards too. I spent countless hours lacing the bright yarn through those little holes. Is this how I learned to sew?

My lunchbox all through elementary school and into middle school looked had Holly Hobbie and her friends on it.

The book I really remember about Holly Hobbie was given to me by a family friend one year for Christmas when I was probably 11. It was called The Adventures of Holly Hobbie and was written by Richard Dubelman [amazon template=image&asin=B01K3RTD6Q].

The story was absolutely fantastic! It is about a girl (probably in her early teens) whose archeologist dad is missing in Central or South America. Holly Hobbie, the girl’s ancestor, comes alive and steps out of a portrait. Although Holly Hobbie is the protagonist’s ancestor, when the portrait was painted she was about the same age as this particular descendant, so that’s the Holly Hobbie who comes to life.The two girls go on a quest to save the dad. I read this book multiple times and absolutely loved it. I read it in the mid 80s, when books with strong, brave girls as main characters were more difficult to find than they are today.

With all of this Holly Hobbie in my life, my favorite was always the stuffed doll. I remember being really little and crying and wiping my tears onto my Holly Hobbie doll’s face. Holly Hobbie was my first best friend. That’s why I had to rescue her from the megabig thrift store, and that’s why I’m going to be a grown woman riding around with a Holly Hobbie doll in her van. I don’t care who thinks it’s weird.

This photo I did take.

I took the photos in this post.

Apr9

Potato/Turnip Mashup

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Potatoes Beside Stainless Steel Cooking Pot

The neighbor gave the host family a bunch of turnips. (By “bunch, I mean about two dozen of varying sizes.) No one in the host family had any interest, so I felt obligated to find some use for them. My tooth was still giving me problems and was going to be pulled the next day, so I knew I needed very soft food. After looking at a few recipes online, I decided to do a mashed potato sort of dish with turnips added.

I went to the store and bought a 15 pound bag of potatoes. I didn’t need that many potatoes, but per pound, the 15 pound sack was the best buy. I guess I’ll be eating a lot of potatoes in the weeks to come. That’s ok. I’ll need soft food for a while.

In addition, I bought a box of vegetable broth, a large yellow onion, butter, and milk. (I also bought a carton of half-price chocolate ice cream, but that’s not part of this recipe.)

In the host family’s kitchen, I got out two large stockpots. I threw a couple tablespoons of butter in each pot and let it melt and get a brown, but not burn. While the butter was melting, I chopped the onion very fine. I threw half of the onion in each pot, and cut the potatoes and turnips I had scrubbed.

I didn’t peel either the potatoes or the turnips. I don’t usually peel potatoes for mashed potatoes or potato soup. The peels don’t bother me, and I’ve been told they offer added nutrition and fiber. According to http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/skin-potato-really-vitamins-5378.html, “The skin [of a potato] contains 5 grams of fiber, and you’ll get 2 grams of fiber from the flesh.” Also,

It doesn’t represent the amount of skin and flesh you would get in one whole potato, but another way to compare them is by considering an equal amount of each. One hundred grams of skins, which is about equal to the skin from two potatoes, has double the amount of seven nutrients, five times more riboflavin, seven times the calcium and 17 times more iron than the same amount of flesh. You would get the same amount of vitamin C from equal portions of the skin and flesh. By comparison, 100 grams of flesh is about two-thirds of a whole potato.

But if potato peels bother you in mashed potatoes or potato soup, by all means, peel your potatoes.

I didn’t know if I needed to peel the turnips, so I didn’t. I think the turnips had less of a peel than the potatoes did.

After reading other recipes for turnips and potatoes together, I kept the potato to turnip ratio about 3 to 1. (Since the turnips have a stronger taste, you need to use more potatoes, unless you want your dish to taste strongly of turnips. If that’s what you want, it’s fine with me.)

Once the onions were very soft and translucent, I added the scrubbed and chopped potatoes and turnips right on top of the onions. I made sure to leave enough room in the stockpot to add plenty of liquid. Once the potatoes and turnips were in the stockpots, I added about half a box of vegetable broth to each pot. (You can use chicken broth if you prefer.) Next I added water until the potatoes and turnips were totally covered. Then I let the potatoes and turnips boil until both were very soft.

At this point, a lot of the water had boiled away in one of the stockpots, so I was able to get all of the potatoes and turnips in one pot. I didn’t pour everything together, because I had more liquid than I needed. (I saved extra liquid for cooking whatever may need liquid to cook in later.) I mashed up all the root vegetables, and added milk as the concoction needed thinning. I left it pretty thick, but if I’d wanted to, I could have thinned it even more, until it was more like a thick potato soup. I added more butter to the whole pot, but added salt to each individual serving I ate.

It was pretty good. The turnips added an extra, unusual flavor kick, but did not dominate the dish. Eating the mashup did not hurt my mouth.

Image courtesy of https://www.pexels.com/photo/potatoes-beside-stainless-steel-cooking-pot-45247/.

 

Apr5

Starting a New Job

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Tomorrow I start my new temp job scoring student essays. Because I’ve worked this job twice before, I know that although it it is not a physically challenging job, it is mentally exhausting. I’ll spend 99% of my day sitting down, so my body won’t be worn out at the end of the day. However, after eight hours reading the writing of high school students (all papers on the same topic), and not only reading the essays, but trying to give each one the proper score, my brain will pretty much be mush.

When I worked this job before, all of the workers arrived at the same time, 7:30 or 8am (I can’t remember which, but early) and left at 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon. This time each worker can decide when he or she wants to come in. (Each worker has to pick a specific time and commit to arriving at that time every morning.) I’m considering arriving for work at the earliest time available so I can beat traffic and get one of the limited parking spaces.

Arriving early means getting up early, which means going to bed early. Sometimes when I’m working all day, I’m in bed with a book by 8pm, asleep by 9 o’clock.

I don’t know if I am going to have the energy to keep up with daily blog post. I’ll do my best, but no promises. I might just need to focus on getting myself through the next six weeks.

Apr4

Trinity Site

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The first explosion of an atomic bomb took place on July 16, 1945 at Trinity Site in New Mexico. The Trinity Site is now part of White Sands Missile Range. (Information checked at http://www.wsmr.army.mil/PAO/Trinity/Pages/default.aspx.)

Grayscale Photo of Explosion on the Beach

Image courtesy of https://www.pexels.com/photo/grayscale-photo-of-explosion-on-the-beach-73909/

In 2014, I spent several weeks in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico and the surrounding area. At the suggestion of a friend, I timed my travels so I could visit nearby Trinity Site on the one day it was open to the public that year.

(In 2015, Trinity Site is once again open to the public twice during the year, today and again on Saturday, October 3rd.)

Trinity Site is remote, which is for the best. It wouldn’t have been a good idea to test an atomic bomb near an urban center. (When the first atomic bomb was tested, scientists just didn’t know what was going to happen.) And since the U.S. Army owns so much of the land in the area for the White Sands Missile Range, no town has been able to spring up nearby. The entrance to Trinity Site (Stallion Gate entrance) is 12 miles east of the small town (actually an unincorporated community) of San Antonio, NM and 53 miles west of Carrizozo, NM (population 996, as of 2010). From the Stallion Gate entrance, it’s about five miles to the security checkpoint. It’s another 17 miles from the security checkpoint to the parking area at Trinity Site.

There wasn’t much checking at the security checkpoint. I was required to show my driver’s license, but it wasn’t compared to any database. The security guy who asked for it just gave it a cursory glance. He did ask me if I had any weapons in the van, and I ‘fessed up that I had a pocket knife in here somewhere. The security guy joked that in New Mexico, a pocket knife is just a toothpick. I’d read somewhere that I’d be asked to show the van’s registration, but I wasn’t. Nor was I asked to open any of the doors to the van so security personnel could have a look at what I was transporting. My van was searched more thoroughly (back doors opened and guards taking a peek inside) at the Hoover Dam and the Los Angeles International Airport.

(Read about the search of my van at the Hoover Dam.)

The seventeen mile drive to Trinity Site was mostly empty save for scrubby little bushes, and antelope crossing signs. (I did not actually see any antelope, crossing or otherwise.) Visitors were told not to stray from the designated path and that if our vehicle broke down to pull to the side of the road and stay there until help arrived.

The parking lot at the Trinity Site was huge and filled mostly with shiny cars. I didn’t see any other rusty conversion vans from the late 80s there.

After parking, I walked toward the entrance to what is referred to as “Ground Zero,” the area where the bomb was detonated. Near the entrance was a row of portable toilets, vendors selling food (hamburgers, hot dogs, soda), free drinking water, and several tables from which workers from the National Parks Service were selling items, most of which were unrelated to Trinity Site or atomic bombs.

Ground Zero was surrounded by chain link fence.

I took this photo outside Trinity Site Ground Zero.

I took this photo outside Trinity Site Ground Zero. Before I could get this shot, I had to wait for several folks to pose–smiling and laughing–for photos in front of this sign.

The walk from the parking lot to Ground Zero is about a quarter of a mile.

Once inside the Ground Zero area, I was very surprised by the festive attitude of most of the visitors. People were laughing and talking and joking as if they didn’t realize they were in the spot where humans made it possible to wipe out not only their own species, but most every other species on the planet. I was hoping for quiet reflection, but I felt more as if I were in the midst of a picnic. There were dogs on leashes, kids running around in circles, and people taking photos of each other in front of anything that didn’t move. People were waiting their turn to pose for photos in front of the Fatman bomb casing on display and the Ground Zero monument.There was a display of photos from pre-bomb work at the site, and people were taking photos of those photos. It was a strange atmosphere.

I was very interested in what sort of spin the U.S. Government (in the guise of the U.S. Army) would put on the detonation of the first atomic bomb. Would the decision be defended? Would the government be a cheerleader for the bomb? Would there be some sort of apology? I found that the spin was no spin at all. There was no sort of commentary on the bomb, nothing positive or negative stated about it. Instead, the presentation was very much Just the Facts, Ma’am. Visitors were told what happened and left to draw their own conclusions.

I did get to see trinitite, although removing it was prohibited.

I took this photo of trinitite within Ground Zero at Trinity Site.

I took this photo of trinitite within Ground Zero at Trinity Site.

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinitite

Trinitite, also known as atomsite or Alamogordo glass, is the glassy residue left on the desert floor after the plutonium-based Trinity nuclear bomb test on July 16, 1945, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The glass is primarily composed of arkosic sand composed of quartz grains and feldspar (both microcline and smaller amount of plagioclase with small amount of calcite, hornblende and augite in a matrix of sandy clay)[2] that was melted by the atomic blast. It is usually a light green, although color can vary. It is mildly radioactive but safe to handle.[3][4][5]

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, samples were gathered and sold to mineral collectors as a novelty. Traces of the material may be found at the Trinity Site today, although most of it was bulldozed and buried by the United States Atomic Energy Commission in 1953.[6] It is now illegal to take the remaining material from the site; however, material that was taken prior to this prohibition is still in the hands of collectors.

I did not try to take any trinitite with me. Having a sample is not worth the possible trouble.

A closer shot of trinitite. I took this photo too.

A closer shot of trinitite. I took this photo too.

I am glad that I took my friend’s advice and visited Trinity Site. I don’t know what to say about my visit that isn’t either trite or a gross understatement. The detonation of the first atomic bomb was an intense and momentous event, both for humanity and the entire planet. To pretend otherwise is obscene.

To learn more about Trinity Site and the detonation of the first atomic bomb, there are plenty of websites you can look at. I also recommend the 1980 documentary The Day After Trinity: J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb.

Apr3

All Moved In

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I moved into my temporary home yesterday afternoon.

The day was quite a whirlwind. My van was still in the shop, and I wasn’t sure when it would be ready to drive. The new housemate needed my share of the rent to pay the landlady who wanted the cash before she went on a trip to California. The Lady of the House was willing to drive me to pick up the van, but she had an early afternoon appointment of her own and had to pick up The Boy from school later in the afternoon.

It all worked out fairly smoothly. I talked to the mechanic around 10:30, and he assured me that the van would be ready by the afternoon. He even called me as promised later on when the work was complete. (This was the first time ever that a mechanic called me to let me know work on my vehicle was complete. I’ve always had to call the shop to find out the status of the job.)

Since I didn’t have transportation, my new housemate drove out to the home of the host family to pick up my share of the rent. I guess the landlady was really hounding him for it.

When The Lady got back from her appointment, we hopped into her car and zipped over to the auto repair shop. She dropped me off at the gate and zipped off to pick up The Boy. I paid for the repairs, and headed back to the home of the host family to pack the rest of my belongings into the van. I really wanted to be on the road before rush hour.

By “pack the rest of my belongings into the van,” I mean I threw the rest of my stuff in as quickly as possible. I was on the road a little before 4pm, so I just got the early bird rush hour and not the full-on, super-crowded rush hour. The driving was ok. I had my usual changing lane angst, but I did fine (meaning I was not involved in a crash of any kind).

My keys unlocked the doors of my new abode, which is always helpful.

Taking the advice of Judge Judy and the much nicer judge on The People’s Court, I took photos of the (very few) damaged items in my new room. There are some scuff marks on the wall, the door has some peeling paint and discoloration, wires are hanging out to the light fixture attachment on the ceiling fan. There’s no bad damage, but I want to have proof, just in case.

While he was picking up my rent money, the new housemate offered me the use of an extra mattress. After taking photos of the empty room, I dragged the mattress from the spare room into my bedroom and placed it in the corner next to the window. The bed looked quite inviting after I made it with my clean linens, but I stayed strong and did not lie down for a nap.

It was pretty hot in the house, but luckily, I found that the window opened. Unluckily, the window did not have a screen. Luckily, the screen was on the ground right outside the window. To get to the screen, I had to go through the kitchen and dining area, out the sliding glass door, through the back patio, and out another fence into the side yard. Whew! But there was the screen. I got it back into the window, although it was a bit torqued. It fit pretty well and kept bugs out for the rest of the afternoon.

I hauled my clothes in next and unpacked the items I think I will be wearing to my temp job. I have too much clothes! (This has been a problem of mine for a long time.) I mostly have a lot of skirts. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a long, colorful cotton skirt. The next few weeks are going to be a time of purging the items that aren’t 100% comfortable. There’s no need to carry around clothes that itch or bind.

After all the clothes were unpacked, I sat around playing solitaire and waiting for the housemate to come home to give me the password for the WiFi. Later I took a bath. I have a private bathroom, which is an absolute luxury.

I heard the housemate leave for work a little while ago. I have the house to myself! I’m going to haul in some food from the van, now that I know what cabinet I should use. I should eat something too. After I run a few errands, I can take it easy and prepare myself to be a working woman once again.