I’m back. Thanks for the prodding, Ron and Tiff and Kenju!

It’s been a heckuva couple months. I’ve been out of sorts and completely out of what I’d like to be ‘normal’ routine since Dad’s funeral. Haven’t felt much like doing a great many things; sometimes I do them anyway, and sometimes I just play 30 games of Freecell in a row. I’ve won 2141 out of 2545 games since the last resetting of scores. Work is picking up a bit, which is nice – just need to get more consistent. That’s always been my complaint though, ever since grade school – maybe consistency is only for the undead. And good cake batter.

At any rate, my disjointed thoughts strongly mirror my very life lately. Intentions that go unrealized and spur-of-the-moment bursts of activity that come without forethought are par for the course.

*****

The Guatemala trip was very worthwhile, both less and more exhausting than I thought it would be. It affected me much more than I expected or wanted it to. The people operating in the place impressed me as the most genuine, giving, and world-changing folks I’ve ever met. The place impressed me as a place I would pay any price to leave, and I would not want to spend a night there without the assurance that it was for some good – and for a limited time only. It’s been a solid month since departing, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to articulate all that I experienced (including the post-trip processing).

I will definitely go back.

*****

After Guatemala, I spent almost a week doing ‘normal’ life stuff like work and coming home every night for dinner, then cleaned Lurch of all but the necessary tools and headed for Michigan. My Dad’s house needs a lot of work, so it’s up to me and my sisters to do it. They’re well suited for sorting documents and making phone calls and doing many of the newly minted necessary tasks, but not so much for remodeling a bathroom or moving furniture.

I headed out Friday morning, drove 13 hours, and arrived just before the grocery store in town closed. I had time to grab a box of cereal, some milk, tortilla chips, and a bag of oranges. Forgot the coffee, which was dreadful but understandable since the manager was practically following me around to make sure I left quickly. It was strange walking into Dad’s house alone; that had never happened before. Much went on that week that was blog-worthy, but the DSL was disconnected until Tuesday. By then, the work and moving were in full swing, and by the end of the day I was literally passed out in the La Z Boy in front of Robot Chicken and had no gumption to write.

A week went by, tile was installed, much furniture moved, a tractor extracted from the garage, and a trailer-load of property was hauled back to the Tiny House. I brought home  a couple of the smaller model airplanes (55″ wingspan), the La Z Boy, a bookcase, and Dad’s motorcycle. It’s a small machine, and not very comfortable for cruising – but he loved it. It’s low to the ground (for easy step-over), has a windshield & saddle bags, and can make a respectable roar. I ride it whenever I have a few minutes and a short trip to make.

On the way home, which was supposed to be Thursday but turned into Friday because the work wasn’t done enough, it started snowing like mad. By the time I reached Cleveland I could barely see, and the turnpike was becoming slushy. Wound up at a Holiday Inn Express (I love those places, mostly for the cinnamon rolls) while the snow raged on. By morning it was better, because in the North they have lots of trucks to deal with the white shiat. Finally got home Saturday night, sore from the drive and with the trailer’s contents heavily soiled by slush. By the time I reached the VA-NC border, all snow was gone and the skies were blue. I love the south (but brought home a snow shovel just in case).

*****

Lately I’ve been involved with a project at an enormous power plant. It’s great to have a big juicy job to work on, building countertops for the control rooms. We went out there Friday to install the first of four phases, and it’s the kind of place I could spend a day just looking around at things. There are dozens of gigantic cranes, semi-loads full of a single pipe (there are pipes that you could fit 4 city buses into with room for a dozen Camrys); it’s like a space port from the movies. Over 2000 construction workers are on site every day, and the safety requirements are the most rigorous I’ve encountered. The site is about 4 hours from home and one hour from a proper commerce center – there’s no Home Depot just around the corner if we forget something. Today I drove to Richmond to pick up material for the next phase, which will occupy me until the end of Monday. Hope to come back with pictures, if perhaps I can find a not-dead camera.

*****

The band played this past weekend, and while it was good fun, the crowd was not as lively as usual. It’s much more fun to have a floor full of dancing partiers than a bar full of scattered mildly disinterested patrons nursing drinks and shooting pool. The next gig promises to be closer to the dance hall variety – you should be there, we’re even shooting a video.

*****

I thought of a post to post about bad kissing, but it’ll have to wait ’till next time because I have a raging case of PAS and am going to bed.

Adios y’all!