Life of Wry

Now I remember. Working takes time. As in, working happens during the time you might have done other things. Lots and lots of other things. So I’m a little behind today, scrambling to get a bunch of things done that I didn’t do this afternoon because I was working.

Ergo, not much of a blog tonight.

So, I shall dub today, Wing It Wednesday.

I went to my photo archive to see if I had anything to share from my “Pretty Good Stuff” file. Tons. I’m picking this one because I’m still–and expect to be for a while–chewing on the idea of writing…how do you become a writer, how active a process is it, are writers born or self-invented, who writes and why, what is writing…. stuff like that.

Here’s what Ray Bradbury said about it:

Funny thing number one:

Recall, a couple of days ago, I received an email from Subway (the national sandwich chain) confirming my order of four sandwiches (turkey & cheese, Philly cheese steak, rotisserie chicken, and sweet onion chicken teriyaki, if you must know).

Trouble was, I didn’t order any sandwiches. Though, the email was definitely addressed to me and sent to my gmail address (kariannpeterson at gmail dot com). The other more troubling trouble was, the Subway was in Benson, Minnesota, and the sandwiches were charged against a credit card that I did not recognize. This just wasn’t adding up.

Recall as well, the email receipt came on the heals of a couple of other suspicious credit card events occurring over the past couple days (the taxi cab driver who used an old fashioned credit card press to take an impression of my card, and a couple of instances where two of my cards were declined).

The fishiness was mounting.

Finally, recall that when I went to look for my wallet to see if any of my credit card numbers matched the one on the Subway receipt, I discovered my wallet was missing.

Okay, so, all that is old news, covered in yesterday’s blog.

So tonight, I got to wondering…. is there actually a real Subway in Benson, MN, or was this some kind of phishing expedition? And, if it was a real place and a legitimate transaction, how do these online orders work, and how was I involved? I found the Subway shop in Benson immediately, called them right up, and ended up having a lovely conversation with Karen the manager, who is a lifetime resident of Benson (population 3500) and knows everybody. She said the town has lots of Petersons, and she knows a few Karis. She said it was more than plausible a Kari Peterson had patronized her shop two nights ago. She grabbed her local phone book, but couldn’t, actually, find a Kari Peterson. This stumped her.

While I was talking to her, I decided to look again at Subway’s email to me, and when I did, I noticed the receipt included the phone number for the supposed Kari Peterson who’d placed the online order. Karen the manager said it was a number from the town of Marshall, just south of Benson (population 13,100).  She thought it totally reasonable that a person from Marshall was buying sandwiches while passing through Benson.

This was turning into a very good conversation. Plus, her Minnesotan accent was thick and earnest. Things were definitely looking up.

I decided I’d call Kari Peterson of Marshall, MN.

It sounded like I may have woken her up, but she was very nice about it and listened to my story. She also had a thick and earnest accent, which made me feel all homey, like I was talking to an old friend (not to mention we were both Kari Ann Petersons of scandinavian descent). She confirmed that, in fact, she was in Benson on Sunday night and had gone to Subway to pick up four sandwiches that she’d advanced-ordered online. When I told her about receiving the email, she hypothesized that she’d probably mis-entered her email address. As it turns out, her name is Kariann N. Peterson, and her gmail address is exactly the same as mine, but with an extra “N” in the middle; she’d just forgotten the “N,” so the email came to me.

Which…. solves that mystery. It’s not a case of identity theft as a couple of credit card agents had suggested to me, after all. YAY!

So… Yes, my wallet was just lost or stolen. Yes, I’d just mysteriously had not one, but two cards declined at not one, but two different establishments. Yes, I’d just handed over my primary credit card to a taxi driver who took a physical impression of it (!) in these paranoia-fueled days of technologically sophisticated, hyper-secure, fraud-avoiding, bullet-proof procedures for ensuring safe credit card transactions.

But this goofy credit card snafu was entirely unrelated. A truly benign stand-alone credit card incident, in a sea of seriously suspicious credit card incidents. I still have a wallet to find and a whole bunch of cards to cancel and replace, and I’m still feeling all uneasy, exposed and vulnerable. But this case of potential identity theft is closed.

Huh.

After our phone conversation, other-Kari and I exchanged a couple of follow up emails. I must say, the people of Minnesota are super down to earth and very nice.

Funny thing number two:

I started a job today. A paying job with scheduled hours, tax forms, an employee handbook, a break room, co-workers… the whole enchilada.

We shall see just how good an idea this is after ten years of unstructured, unencumbered time.

Stay tuned.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So…. a photo..

I do not have a pic from today of the newest member of the Davis work force (!), but how about a photo from yesterday as we drove home from the airport? We were driving along F Street through some pretty, colorful trees in seasonal transition (seemed like fall happened in the four days while I was away!) , and I was fumbling to get my camera out. I missed the best part of the display, so I switched perspectives and tried to capture it behind me. A pretty good idea, but the view was too limited (will you look at all those bumper stickers!) and the implementation was terrible–as I furiously click click clicked (maybe I look more challenged than furious here…), I ended up with more awkward selfies than gorgeous fall-ish streetscapes.

I’m really into shooting iPhone pictures from airplanes.

(That is a lot more fun than trying to get through airport security without any form of identification, which requires spending a lot more time with TSA than usual, including answering myriad nosy questions, and getting an ultra-deluxe, all-over body scan, which, as I said on my Facebook post this afternoon, is impressively comprehensive, especially as it’s conducted in the middle of a busy terminal, in the full and somewhat embarrassing view of hundreds of people…sigh.)

Here are my favorites from today:

Iconic structures at LAX…

The South Bay beaches…. El Segundo, Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo, Torrance, and Palos Verdes…

Farmland approaching Sacramento…

And one I took of the Sac Airport when I flew out last week… I’ve always loved the landscaping around the airport; it’s nice to see how it lays out…I-5 in the foreground…

I’ll just say it. I lost my credit card wallet thing… that slim, hard-sided box that, when opened, expands accordian-style to display my credit cards. (When a Mishka’s barista–who stands by as hundreds of customers a day navigate their wallets, purses and pockets–tells you your credit card holder is the best thing going, you know you’ve got a good system.)

I am extremely annoyed by this.

I am SURE this is just a faint hint of what is to come as we age and our body sloughs, at an increasing rate, the brain cells essential for memory and every-day cognitive functionality. I mean, shit…. this forgetfulness and spaciness that I seem to be experiencing more frequently these days might be amusing if it weren’t so disorienting and super counter-productive. Like… uh… now… where did my wallet get to? Didn’t I just use it?

I discovered it was missing tonight. Not sure how long it’s been MIA. Trying to reconstruct the last few days was comical, because I can’t remember sh*t. But bottom line, it’s gone (for now..maybe ever). I misplaced it, left it somewhere, or perhaps it was stolen from my purse, perhaps while I wandered in the dark, crowded rooms of the aquarium on Saturday while focused on navigating a wheelchair to optimal sea-life-viewing spots.

One of the bank agents I called tonight to report the missing card(s) to suggested I may be a victim of identity theft. She based this on my set of credit card mishaps that have occurred over the past few days which seem like they could be related:

1. On my taxi ride from LAX to mom’s house three days ago, the driver used one of those old-fashioned credit card slides, which are largely out of use today because it’s too easy for people to steel your number. I felt uneasy, but what are you going to do in that situation?
2. Two days ago, first one credit card was denied, then a second, when I tried to add money to my Starbuck’s card. That seemed fishy. I assumed it was a problem with their machine, until the same two cards were denied at Safeway a few minutes later. A call to the bank later cleared them both, but it was still peculiar.
3. This evening, I got an email from a Subway in Minnesota, confirming my purchase of four sandwiches. That was weird, but what was weirder was that they were charged to a credit card that is not mine. The email address was mine, the name on the email communique was mine, but the card number was not. WTF.
4. And then–as I tried to figure out just which of my credit cards that other Kari Peterson of Benson, Minnesota used to charge her sandwiches–I realized I’d lost all my cards, and have not, for the life of me, been able to figure out conclusively when or where (aforementioned brain cell situation).

Is any of this making sense to you? None of it really adds up.

But I do know I’m without three credit cards, my license, my (and Peter’s) Kaiser cards, my Starbucks, Peet’s and AAA cards, and some miscellaneous coffee and book store punch cards. Waaaah. Gotta get them all canceled and/or reissued.

Then, tonight, my mom’s kitchen sink boiling water dispenser sprang a leak and we spent about an hour cleaning that up.

Did I mention we drove to the theater on top of the hill this afternoon to see the new Steven Speilberg movie and it was sold out? A matinee!

Such the day.

Here’s one thing that was really nice about today, though:

Dinner with Betsy Boo. My mom and I assembled an all-star spread of left-overs… the best ever. And we had one more hand on deck for both the kitchen sink fiasco and a frantic search of the house and car for the missing card case.

What are old friends for?

Saturday turned into a Long Beach day.

(I do love the architecture in downtown Long Beach.)

Chris and I took mom for a spin around the Long Beach Aquarium. What a fun and larky thing to do that was!

It took a little bit of coaxing (okay, like a ton of coaxing) to get her to agree to enjoy the aquarium from the comfort of a wheelchair, but once she acquiesced, there was no looking back. It didn’t take long before she was channeling Miss Daisy; she’d get downright snippy if we lingered too long at one tank or not long enough at another–mostly the latter.

The truth is, she enjoyed it immensely and soaked in as much marine science as a person could reasonably soak in in a very crowded aquarium, surrounded by thousands of rambunctious kids. She was insistent about reading the information signs posted all over the place. She is truly a curious person. I really love that about her.

The LB Aquarium is very nice… far smaller than Monterey, so it feels doable, but great oceanic representation nonetheless. I hadn’t been there since we went with Peter and his big cousin John over ten years ago.

Here are a few shots:

The clown fish were super cute…

The jellies trippy and mesmerizing…

These guys just like a pair of your favorite uncles…

Chris talked about what it’s like to crunch upon dried kelp roots when you encounter them on the beach.. also, note that eel… and that lobster’s tail…

And, of course, the colors were like something out of a candy store….

If this willingness to tool around in a wheelchair continues, we might be opening some pretty major doors. We can suddenly visit a whole bunch of real sights and attractions! LA museums next..

We then decided to visit the Boathouse again–one of Eric’s many ventures–and were not disappointed. What a fantastic dinner we had: cocktails, oysters on the half shell, wedge salads, sea bass, swordfish, halibut, wine, coffee and a pretty great little cheesecake. All of it exceptional. Rolled and groaned our way right out of there.

We had a table with a sparkling view of the bay and Uncle Bud and Aunt Ellie’s house. Better planning next time around.. maybe they can boat over to join us on our next visit.

Um… that sounds a little violent.

Let me rephrase. Shots of LA.

Better.

They’re getting a little bit of weather:

Here’s one I’m wondering about…. is it Dodger Stadium? Is that Mount Washington? If so… I was flying over Dodger Stadium AS THE DODGERS WERE LOSING THE NLDS to the Mets. Poor Dodgers.

Is this the unique and haunting LA light they speak of?

Then.. some LA shots, as seen from the back seat of my Taxi (actually, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach…)

Little palm soldiers, all in a row.

I did another version of this picture with that mystery reflection cut out, but it was not as complete, so I left it as is. I love the grace of those trunks.

This last one is Hollywood Riviera, just before driving into PV.  I love the energy.

It was funny, while driving to the airport in Sac, I heard a message come in on my cell from my mom: “Do you want dinner at home or should we go out? Shall I cook? Oh… I’ll cook. Poo.”

A couple of hours later, I was walking through the door. I smelled something amazing.

Dinner:

I am not kidding. This was insane… the beef was so tender and so richly, deeply, perfectly spiced–garlic, pepper, herbs, wine, butter. The beef just fell apart, the potatoes were perfect. Jeez gawd. Fantastic.

I cannot make things taste the way she does. First off, I don’t have the nerve to put that much butter in things, but secondly, she’s got a touch that is all her own. She can use ingredients we’ve all used, but dishes will never come out tasting like hers.

…and that winner is me. 

How about that!

The Davis Food Coop is giving away beautiful 11-item gift baskets each week (for some period of time) in honor of its upcoming 11% sale. They take a picture of the basket, post the photo on their Facebook page, and all you have to do to be eligible is add a comment to thread. Which I did. They choose a name at random–this time from about 150 commenters–not sure how, and make the announcement online.

Yeehoo. This go-round, it was me. Here’s what I won:

It was even nicer going in to get my prize. Seriously, you’d think I’d actually done something noteworthy and fabulous, rather than just add a comment to a Facebook thread. Lis H was paged and came out to greet me with a big smile and warm hug, walked me over to the coffee counter and treated me to a house chai while she ran across the street (to their test kitchen) to get my basket. I sat on the patio sipping my chai, in the warm fall air, enjoying the wait.

While sitting there, I saw lots of people I knew. i was feeling rather puffed up, like, “do you guys know I just won the big prize!” Which I didn’t actually say to anyone; that would have been weird. I did get a chance to say thank you to State Senator Lois Wolk, who walked past with her husband… I thanked her for carrying the death with dignity bill all the way to the governor’s desk, a bill that was signed last week. I was definitely feeling like a very important person, sitting there drinking my chai, waiting for my prize to arrive, nodding my approval in the direction of my state senator, and all.

Anyway, many fun items. My favorite, I think, is this:

Or maybe this:

Peter, sort of surprisingly, was thoroughly impressed with the saffron, which, according to him, is worth more per unit of weight than gold:

Sure we’ll be able to put most of it to good use, but will have to figure out how to use kaffir limes.

A nice potluck dinner tonight at our house that brought together the people who helped David organize his year-long Compassion Tour. Nice celebration.

I made vegetarian, gluten-free quinoa, which I’ve not made before.

Goes like this:

Throw 4 1/2 cups of quinoa into the crock pot and stir in about 3T of olive oil to coat.

Chop 3 onions, 3 carrots and three red bell peppers…

Then take a sack of corn, a sack of cut green beans and a can of black beans …

Nine cups of vegetable broth…

6 cloves of minced garlic…

And mix them together with the quinoa… add some salt, too.

(Now, what’s happening here is that these proportions out-volumed my crock pot, so I transferred the oil-coated quinoa to a giant bowl and mixed all the ingredients together there, then had to set about half of it aside for another day. I returned the remaining mixture to the crockpot.)

Cook on high for about 2-3 hours.

And… that’s it. Crazy easy, huh?

When it’s done, sprinkle each serving with some fresh, chopped cilantro for a nice flavor kick.

I can think of about a trillion ways one could modify this recipe.  I’m thinking perfect potluck entree.

We have a FULL year to go. A lifetime in politics. But tonight was the first debate among democratic candidates and I didn’t want to miss it.

CNN seemed like it was staging a major theatrical event. Its lead in to the debate had the tone of a wrestling match with cheesy introductions that caricatured the candidates, and tricky camera angles, music and graphics all designed to create drama and suspense.  I almost turned it off before it even started.  Earlier in the day, Tony R. posted this on Facebook:

CNN just spent 20 minutes instructing viewers on the best way to play drinking games while watching the presidential debates tonight. Nevermind “Don’t you have something better to report?” What about “Let’s encourage people to be drunk while thinking about the life and death questions facing humanity.” Doomed.

I’m thinking, Jesus… it’s hard to have a sense of humor about that. How embarrassing. I’m seeing this whole election through the eyes of Peter who will vote for the first time and is taking it so, so seriously. Our country and media have lost all dignity. How weird that a 17-year-old teenage boy has more maturity than the news media and candidates (I’m not kidding; he’s been obsessed about this race. So far, it’s been almost entirely about the republican side show, starring the buffoonish Donald Trump, and most of the time he’s just kind of incredulous, when he’s not falling on the ground laughing.)

But the democratic candidates didn’t buy into it. When the dems have a debate, the adults show up. If you’re a republican (if you watched) you may not have liked the answers, but at least they had a substantive, respectful debate. As, you know, CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT should!

Hillary was polished and prepared and it’s hard to see beyond her vetted and practiced answers, but that was as bad as it got. I believe she’s got to do exactly that because of her place at the top, her history, baggage, and the fact she is target #1, She is an immense threat to the republicans and cannot miss her carefully crafted, poll-driven mark, or they will destroy her. So I think she did just fine, fine enough, more than fine enough, and demonstrated she can handle the job. She totally can–no doubt about it. Deeply experienced. Smart as hell.  (And a woman, which is not a trivial fact. It’s time for a different kind of energy in this office… though President Obama did go a long way toward restoring civility and humanity to the job.)

But Bernie. Oh my god. Nothing but intensity, truth, passion, integrity. He is right on the money about absolutely everything.  He doesn’t have to vet his positions. Not a lick of bullshit. Not a shred of pandering to anybody for their vote or financial support. He doesn’t have to finesse his delivery, he doesn’t have to steer his answer in some other direction. He plays no games. He’s direct, human, honest and committed. He listens, he learns, he’s smart. He is dead serious. I think that’s what impressed me the most. This is serious shit and he’s not messing around. I could not agree more. Our democracy is in serious peril. We do, as a matter of fact, have more serious things to talk about in a presidential debate than Hillary’s emails.

He’s speaking directly to, inspiring and mobilizing people.  He is the definition of a leader.

I was so impressed.

And he’s got my vote.

I imagine that at some point he will finally be perceived as a threat and the reps will go after him for being a big scary socialist democrat (and just what is wrong with that?!) and I don’t know… maybe the dems will too, and he’ll have to end his run and commit to Hillary. But maybe not. Maybe we’ll have a Sanders-Clinton ticket. You heard it here first.

And the other guys–O’Malley, Webb, Chafee–hardly mattered. They just don’t. See ya, guys.

Anyway… another year to go. In the meantime, here are two people who made me grateful, for the gazillionth time, that I am a democrat.

I’m going to guess I’ve not posted this picture before… but I love it so.

I do not know how to synch it to anything that’s happened today, so I shall just let it stand alone.

Oh, and I wish it was, but it isn’t mine. I’d love to give this photo its due credit, but I have no idea where I got it.

If you know where little lambs hang out, let me know.