Afterthoughts: This Past Month

Someone set time to double speed... otherwise how could it already be June 2026?  On to the update.

Friday, May, 1, Today was one of those Fridays where everyone upstairs is out, and seemingly everyone at circulation is out as well.  I walked by the front desk just before the library opened and Connie was there all alone.  I quickly jumped into action and logged into the computer.  Grigor is usually there at opening, but he later told us that he was dealing with his own drama.  Apparently this neighbor's dog tried to bite him.  He didn't bite him, but it did take a nick out of his pants.

I'm not sure what the deal is with the understaffing every other Friday.  Of course now with the upcoming cuts there may be more people from the branches that will want to work at Central on Fridays.  Maybe not.

Anyway, I ended up helping on the desk until 10am.  That's when I finally started the route.

Saturday, May, 2, The first bookmobile event in May was today's Kiwanis duck race.  I've never actually seen the race before, so it was cool that I got to see how it works.  What didn't work today was our technology.  The hotspot we use was just not connecting to the internet.  I was going to take my hotspot with me today, but decided not to.  But I think from now on every time I go out on the bookmobile I'll take my hotspot with me.  Just in case.  Also, the damn Surface drains its battery so much even when it's not in use.  Jacklyn charged it the other day and by midway through the event the damn thing was down to 30%.  Luckily I had my portable battery with me.  ARGH!  Why is it that I always have to bring my own things from home to make the bookmobile tech work?  This is some bullshit.

There was a giant inflatable duck that was at the front of the event.  People kept posing and messing with it, so it was collapsing from time to time.  I went over there and fixed it well.

But then some other dopes started messing with it again and it collapsed again.  When we left it was in a heap.  Whatever!  The organizers should have had someone there the entire time to just tend to the duck.

I like this place in the mall that sells chicken and beef teriyaki.  The rice is good, and generally they have good portions.  Well, they used to have good portions.  Today's portion was small enough that I was able to eat the entire bowl in one sitting.  Usually they add so much meat that I can only eat half the bowl.  Today I polished up the entire thing.  It could have also been that I was hungry.  But no, you can see that it was a smaller portion.  Trump sucks!

Sunday, May, 3, Last night I bit the bullet and I bought the camera I've been eyeing for a while... the Cool Pix P950.  Why did I buy a new camera?  Because of its 83X zoom.  I will be able to get much better bird pictures.  Better pictures overall.  That's how I'm justifying paying $700.

My friend Greg bought me dinner a few weeks ago, so every good turn.  We met out at Descanso garden to check out the restaurant called the Farmhouse.  I went with TheGirl last year.  Last time I had the burger, and so I did this time.  They make a nice burger.

I was looking through my closet for a thank you card to give Marie for the gift of my new work hat when I found another blast from the past.  It was the place card for the Silmarillion when she went with me to my cousin's wedding back in 2007.  The Silmarillion keeps on coming into my life.  I know I'm hyper-sensitive to it now, which is probably why things that remind me of her keep coming up.

Monday, May, 4, I think Marie's chest is getting bigger.  Marie isn't a slight girl, but I would love to see her naked.  When I look at her body the phrase "Death by snu snu" comes to mind.  To quote a Reddit post on the matter, "Death by snu snu is a catchphrase originating from the animated show Futurama.  It refers to a humorous scenario where men are sentenced to die from exhaustion via sexual intercourse with giant Amazonian women, specifically resulting in crushed pelvises."  What a way to go.

I got a jump on the route today, so I was able to have more time to walk at Brand park after lunch.  I was able to get two miles of walking around the park, not just inside the library.  It's going to be strange and nice when there is no one here on Fridays.  Strange because my coworkers should be working when I come visiting.  But nice because, I'll have the place to myself.

I ordered my aunt some pollo loco this weekend and I noticed yesterday that there were three containers of cole slaw in the fridge.  I ordered her something with slaw last week.  My aunt questioned me this weekend about, did I want the cole slaw.  She claimed it was too sweet.  It didn't have pineapple, so I'm sure it wasn't that sweet.  For some reason she doesn't want to eat cole slaw.  Instead of telling me she's just going to let the weeks go by and stuff slaw into containers and then stuffing those into the fridge.  I don't understand this woman.

Tuesday, May, 5, TheGirl still hasn't found a job, so the next best thing is taking a walk with me on Tuesdays.  Today we went on a familiar walk, up in Griffith park up Griffith Park drive.  But, this time we turned on Mount Hollywood drive and walked up to the back of the Toyon Canyon landfill.  We got four miles in this morning's walk.  Good times.  The mornings have been nice and cool so far.  Soon enough it won't be cool in the mornings, so we have to get our walks in now.  I mean, I like going to the mall and walking as well, but nature is best.

TheGirl says she likes these walks.  I do too.  It's nice spending time with her.

The views from Mount Hollywood gave us a nice view of the Disney studios.  We could see the dwarfs on the big building at the studios.  If I had my camera I could have had a photo from up there.  I'll have to carry my new fancy camera, after it arrives, with the big super zoom lens to get some shots up there.

Wednesday, May, 6, I work with some mental giants.  And when I say mental giants I mean giant stupids.  I come into work this morning and a pile of CDs is sitting on the table.  Why are they not in the bin located inches away?  Your guess is as good as mine.  I see some of these things and think it's a minor thing.  But then something like this makes me want to punch someone.  Like, how are you so stupid?  The fucking bin is right there!

Tonight for dinner TheGirl and I went to one of our favorites... Dog Haus in Burbank.  One of my favorite dishes there is the so-called Love Boat at Dog Haus.  It consists of tatter tots covered with chili and coleslaw.  It just works so well together.  I get it every time we come here.  Lately I've been getting the corn dog, because it's one of the more inexpensive items on the menu.  But it's also small.  I'm trying not to gain all the weight I lost last year in one big bite.

TheGirl has many good memories walking with Cheyenne in Toluca Lake.  It's really a wonderful neighborhood.  But those good memories turn to hurt feelings because we don't have Cheyenne with us any more.  We miss her so much.  I still cry at the drop of a hat when I think of her being gone.  But we have to move along, figuratively and actually.  We walked tonight for about two miles in Toluca Lake.  I have some memories of the three of us walking that area.  For the girl each step is a memory.  When Cheyenne was younger TheGirl and her would walk all over Toluca Lake into Burbank and back to their place.  I think the walked for about three hours.  Then Cheyenne got older, and the walks became shorter.  So many memories.

I said we got two miles tonight, but my app said three miles because I keep forgetting to turn off the app on my watch.  So, it recorded an extra mile while I was in the car going back to TheGirl's place.  Oops.

Thursday, May, 7, We had an event tonight, but before that we had to move a bunch of furniture to get ready.  Well, usually Vivian directs us to where the furniture needs to be.  Since she's out we had to figure it out on our own, and at first it was like watching the Keystone cops fumble around each doing their own thing.  I was trying to move some items, but then Katie for example would say we needed more rows.  Gitmo would then start moving stuff, and so would I and Ronald.  I finally just stopped trying to assert my ego and I just let Gitmo take over, like he should have from the start.  And that was the thing, we all were trying to think like Vivian, but she's not here.  At one point I just said, "What would Vivian do?"  That kinda got the ball rolling in all of us being on the same page... finally.

Originally I was going to have next Tuesday off in order to make up for working on May 16th.  The bookmobile was going to go to the school district day.  Like we did last year where I re-met the pretty girl that turned out to be a reporter, Eliza.  But, Krishna sent me a message telling me that the event had been cancelled.  Oh well, this way I get my Saturday back.  But, I don't remember if I told TheGirl that we could do something that Tuesday.  I'll have to tell her I don't have the entire day off.

My aunt wanted me to order some stuff from Costco the other day.  Amongst the usual stuff like her yogurt and my nuts, my aunt wanted me to get a package of mini pizzas.  I did, and I ate one tonight for dinner.  I can't say they are going to be winning any taste tests, but it hit the spot.  I can't be eating too many of these in a week though.

On one of my feeds I get pictures of ladies on IG.  One in particular is named Yael, and she is amazing.  She almost seems unreal in your form.  This morning I was farting around the computer when I thought to see if there were any nudes of her bouncing around the internet.  I couldn't find any, despite her having an OF.  What I did see was magnificent.

Friday, May, 8, Ever since they installed the new tables I've been saying that they should break them up into smaller tables.  Well, now it happened.  I'm not sure who made the decision, but I'm glad.  I remember I separated two of these big tables one day, only to have my supervisor ask who moved them and had them moved back.  Boo!  Now they just need to break up the rest of the tables, and we can get some work done.

When I come into work in the morning I now always expect some sort of tomfoolery with the delivery items.  No different today.  It's minor, but still.  Someone took a bin that's meant for Casa Verdugo and placed a Brand location card in the front of it.  It's a small mistake, but what if it was someone else driving today?  They may not wonder why Brand is with Casa, or vice versa.  And they might have delivered that bin to Brand.  Sure, eventually the items would make it to Casa, but it's just that people keep messing these things up.

I was up at Montrose when I felt like I needed to poop.  I hadn't pooped since Wednesday, but I don't worry about it.  Nature will take its course.  Well, I must have pooped out everything since Wednesday.  Crazy.

My new camera finally arrived today, and it's a beauty.  This camera will be used for birds and other wildlife. It even has a mode just for birds.  This is going to be fun.  I didn't get any good pictures of birds tonight, but the one above is of a squirrel.

Saturday, May, 9, My aunt left me a note on the dining room table telling me that she didn't want me ordering waffles or coleslaw because they are too sweet.  I don't get this coleslaw is sweet jazz.  Mind you, none of the slaw I get her has pineapple, yet she calls it sweet.  Oh well, at least she said something of value.

I was sitting in my backyard when I noticed that the birds didn't have any birdseed in their feeders.  I went and put some seed in two feeders.  As I was chilling I watched one bird toss a bunch of seed on the floor.  This is why I don't like this one seed from the market, because many of the birds don't like the big seeds that come in it.  I get a cockatiel mix from this place called Birds Plus that the birds seem to really like, and don't waste as much.

Sunday, May, 10, As I drove to the market I noticed a lot of flower sellers.  It wasn't until I got to the Jons market that I realized that today was Mother's day.  I haven't celebrated mother's day in nearly thirty years.  That's how long my mother has been gone.

My aunt has been pestering me about pizza for the last couple of weeks.  She even had me buy mini pizzas from Costco.  After my cousin left she tells me that we should get pizza today.  Alright already.  I went to my go to place for pizza, Ozzy's Apizza in NoHo.  When I got there I noticed they sign said closed.  Right above that there was another sign, handwritten saying closed forever.  Jeez.  OK.  Now what?  It was only around 1pm, Hail Mary pizza doesn't open until later.  I think.  I didn't even bother to look, since the last time I went they were closed and it was already 4pm.  I had to check, it was open today at noon.  But if it would have been yesterday they don't open until 2:30pm.  So I didn't know where to go for a pizza.  I thought about a half dozen places, one of them being Reno's in Burbank.  I've been there a bunch of times with TheGirl.  But, I looked on my app and saw that I had saved a place called Pizzana in Sherman Oaks.  OK, let's try that.  It's a good pie, but it was $25 for the pepperoni.  That's a little pricy for what appears to be a small pizza.  Mind you, it was a good pizza.  The pepperonis themselves had a nice spice, and the sauce flavor lingered for a good time.  It's a solid pizza, but honestly a Little Caesars pizza is not bad for about a quarter of the price.  Maybe next time.

Monday, May, 11, Marie from treasury gave me a hat a couple of weeks ago.  Today I gave Marie a thank you note.  She liked it.  It's a small touch, but it's important.  If only I could cross that threshold of coworkers and into the realm of being her actual outside of work friend.  Sure, to what end?  I'm not going to ask her out.  My own self-moratorium on dating is one thing.  The Armenian thing is another.  Also, she has a fella.  A guy can dream, can't he?

When I got to Grandview today the director was outside.  She told me that there was a fire.  I went in to get the books, but I didn't leave them any.  Later Misa sent me a picture that Shannon took of the fire.  What I was told happened is that the lights were turned on by Aurora, and she went into the other room.  When she came back she saw the fire and sparks coming off the lights.  I asked her if she used the fire extinguisher, but she didn't answer either way.  So now the library will be closed for the few days at least.  For sure today.

It was warm, but it was nice in the shade, so I decided to have lunch at Brand park.  The time I would have dedicated to walking I spent lounging on the grass.  When it was time to go I heard a rustle in the brush behind me.  It sounded much heavier than the sounds the squirrel made a few minutes before.  I looked back and through the plant and sure enough there was a coyote staring at me.  I slowly got up and moved the blanket in front of me.  I snapped it and that seemed to spook the coyote a bit.  I stepped back, but didn't leave the area completely.  I gathered my stuff and walked back to the van, never letting the coyote out of my sight.

Tuesday, May, 12, I had a doctor's appointment this morning to check my A1C levels.  Thankfully they are normal.  My change of eating habits have helped.  I'm going to go in for full bloodwork next month, but so far things are good.  The doctor did say I need to to more strength work in order to get my blood pressure down.  OK, time to get started with that.

After my doctor visit I went over to TheGirl's place so we could do our Tuesday Adventure walk.  TheGirl let me decide, but really I maneuvered the plan so that she could choose which way we walked.  I told her, we could go on the bike path, or Toluca Lake.  She said, Why don't we walk to Toluca Lake.  OK.  We did nearly five miles today.  Which is good, because it makes up for me not walking at all yesterday.

We passed by this house on Valley Spring Lane and it was in an open house.  TheGirl mentioned how she has walked by this house a million times.  So we went in.  What a house!  It seemed to me that there were a hundred rooms in this place.  All gorgeous.  All for the low low price of $19,900,000.  It's so worth it.  It was amazing, but both of us said it was too big.  I mean, she lives alone and I practically live alone.  It was cool, the basement has a home theater.  First off, what home in Los Angeles has a basement?  This one did.  I joked with TheGirl that we need to make friends with the person who buys this house.

I want to write essays, like I used to ten, fifteen years ago.  I came across some old essays of mine yesterday while looking for something else.  I miss writing.  The only writing I do these days is in this journal.  Which is great, but I also want to go back to writing short essays.  One topic I already thought of writing about would be Budding meats.  Growing up I remember going on a trip to Palm Springs.  We were staying at an apartment that belonged to a man that my aunt's boyfriend at the time chauffeured.  There was no food at the place, so we went to the market. That's where we ended up buying some Budding meat.  It was so yummy.  Now I know better, so I don't often eat Budding meats.

Wednesday, May, 13, When I was at Brand there was an Armenian lady whose form looked a lot like the Silmarillion's figure, as well as her silhouette.  I know I'm hyper focused on the Silmarillion these days.  And I know that certain ethnicities share some physical traits.  That's what I'm saying about the similarities to the Silmarillion.  I'm sure this is going to be something that will happen all the time with me.

One of the first times I went to Wood Ranch with TheGirl I ordered a chicken sandwich.  But that was a different version than the one I ordered tonight.  The one I had was super tasty.  It was so big though.  I had to take one of the tenders home with me.  Lunch tomorrow!  I think this chicken sandwich will make it into the food rotation.

Vagabundo and TheNewCute haven't texted me in I don't know how many days.  After I got home tonight I archived their messages.  I don't plan on initiating anymore with them, or anyone else.  I have to make some time for me, and my projects.  I was watching a video today that was talking about how hard it is to be that person that carries the conversation.  Which is what I feel I've been doing with a whole lot of people.  So, I'm taking a break for now.  No timetable for this, just going to go with feelings.

Thursday, May, 14, For some reason Tony came and did delivery at 10am this morning, instead of his usual 11am.  It's only a difference of an hour, but in that time we usually pull the holds.  So that means we didn't have time to pull the holds, so it was a light batch leaving.  That means I'll have more books to carry tomorrow.  Oh well, this is why I make the big bucks.

My coworker Rory is a good guy, but he isn't much help with I'm on the desk with him.  Every time I was helping someone and he had to help a patron he would turn to me and ask for help.  Ah, I'm already juggling my stuff.  Whatever, I'd rather just be on the desk by myself.  I can handle the desk on my own.  I learned to do that from the old circulation desk before the renovation.  It was almost a nightly event that one of the full timers that was assigned to work with me on the desk would abandon me for forty minutes an hour.  So yeah, Roy is just there to be a body.

Friday, May, 15, The people that I talk to at Chevy are a little out there.  I think their hearts are in the right place, but some of the stuff they say ain't right.  Like they are anti-vaxers.  On Wednesday the lady, Rutmani, told me that we didn't go to the moon.  That's a fundamental truth in my world.  So, I plan on spending less time there.  Because of that I think I might jump ahead and run up there on Wednesdays, first thing.  Like just pack the van with everything and run up there and never see them again.  I made the practice run today, and everything worked out.  Next week they won't be there, but yeah.  I'm going to distance myself from that place.

When I arrive at Brand and I have something that needs to be warmed up in the toaster oven I go to the kitchen with that item and put it in the oven before I do the delivery stuff.  Today on my way there Misa and Winona asked if what was in my bag was my whole lunch.  I told them it was part of my lunch.  Look, I really want to lose more weight, so I know I need to make my portions smaller.  And of course exercise more.  I only brought one chicken tender with me today.  That's enough.  I was telling Ilsa how I don't get that hungry anymore.  Which is good.  She's always telling me how she hasn't eaten all day and it will be past 5pm.  Well, I can't go the whole day not eating, but I don't get very hungry these days even with the smaller portion size of my lunch.

Saturday, May, 16, The Valley Relics museum posted a picture of the old Topanga plaza skating rink today.  I didn't know how to skate when I was little, so I never went inside.  Years later they turned that area into a food court, because the mall really didn't have one.  I haven't been to the Topanga plaza since before the pandemic.  Maybe I should check it out.

Sunday, May, 17, TheGirl and I both wanted to go to the Michael Jackson movie.  Today was the day, and we made a day out of it.  We started by walking from TheGirl's place to the North Hollywood metro station.  Which is just under two miles away from TheGirl's place.  A nice walk later and we found ourselves in front of the station, but the station was blocked off.  Closed for renovations.  We had to take a shuttle up to the next station and then to Hollywood.  That would be later.  First Universal City Walk for some drinks before heading into the movie.

The movie itself was pretty good.  Loved the music.  It was a pretty standard bio-pic.  I thought the main flaw was that it told the story in a standard one, two, three, four way.  There were no surprises, but they definitely had a villain in the story - Michael's father.  He's always the bad guy.  Overall as a fan I liked the movie.  Can't wait for part two.  TBD.

Ever since TheGirl and I went out to Claremont and ate at La Popular she has wanted to go back.  And then we went into Hollywood and found that there was a La Popular there.  After the movie we took the metro into Hollywood and got some yummy food and drinks at La Popular.  The tacos I had were super good.  Loved the rice and beans.  Yeah, we both love that place.

Monday, May, 18, The county put a ballot box next to the bookdrop at Central.  So many mistaken ballots were left in the bookdrop year after year.  Well, those bookdrops will have to be moved because of the expansion of the park.  County already heard about the expansion and decided to move the ballot box a couple of weeks ago.  But now there are people that are leaving their ballots in the box, and they have been walking to where it used to be.  I was told it was in the front, but I haven't seen it.  Well, I saw it today after walking to the front.  It was right by the bike racks.  Plain as the nose on my face.  How did I not see it before?

Valley Relics museum posted another old picture, this time of the Sherman Oaks Galleria.  My old stomping grounds.  Specifically the picture is of the food court seating.  How many meals did I eat there?  There was Perry's pizza, which had a salad that I loved so much.  Something about the cheese they used that made me love that salad.  There's Mexican Dan's, which had these enchiladas that were so good.  There's the New York Deli, which had some awesome sandwiches, and the best chocolate mousse cake ever.  So many memories.  Unlike so many places I've been to on my adventures the Galleria is only available in the past, and in photos and videos, as well as movies.

Tuesday, May, 19, TheGirl was out in Fontana attending her grandchild's graduation from kindergarten today, so we didn't get to walk.  I was also doing my thing going to see if I could get some help with a situation with the city.  After that I got a nut and bolt that I needed to fix my aunt's mop.  Then I drove out to the Arboretum to test out the new camera.

The new camera worked so well.  I got a lot of good bird pictures.  I also got a bunch of duds, but it comes with the territory.  I want to build up a muscle memory when it comes to this camera.  It has so many cool features that I need to take advantage of to take great photos.  Today was step one of 10,000.

I came home after work, and as I was getting my lunch stuff out of my lunch box my aunt tells me that she made pasta for me to eat.  I asked her, "Why did you do that?  I still have food in the fridge."  And I do.  I still have three enchiladas that she made last week.  THREE!  I don't know why she insists on making more food.  She closed the remarks by saying that if I didn't want to eat it I don't have to.  Well, that's exactly what's going to happen.  I still had a slice of pizza from a pizza I bought a week and a half ago.  I have a freezer full of mini pizzas she made me buy.  ARGH!  Her actions make no sense to me.  The one good thing is that she left me alone when I ate my dinner.  She was scooping crab salad that she made into a bowl.  She took it and ate it in her room.  Exactly how I wanted it.  I know she caught on that I didn't want to eat dinner with her after work, because of how I wolfed down my dinner a few weeks ago in order to avoid eating with her.  She FINALLY took a hint.  Jeez!

The other day I was watching a video from one of the many Disneyland vloggers, when in a split second they showed what used to be the Port Royal Curios and Curiosities shop in New Orleans Square being turned into seating for the Royal Street Veranda.  But I saw what looked like a bar.  Excited, I searched for it online, but it wasn't until today that I found out that it isn't a real bar.  It's just a seating area themed to look like a jazz club, with a fake bar.  Boo!  Disneyland is fun.  But it's much more fun when you've had a bit of the grog.

I know I keep posting things about the Silmarillion, but here I go again.  Back when I first met her she suggested we hang out.  She told me to meet her at some random coffee place in Brentwood.  Somewhere along San Vicente.  I was probably in love with her even then.  What a piece of work was she?  How like an angel.  How infinite.  The beauty of my world.  The paragon of women.  Yes... I was already in love with her then.  That night.  Forever.  And now she is gone.  I miss my friend.

Wednesday, May, 20, I get emails from Capital One whenever my credit score changes.  Today I got the new number, and it's twenty points lower.  All of that loss came from me buying my new camera.  Twenty points?!  I told someone about this loss and they said, "You're not going to buy a house any time soon."  You know, they're right.  I like to keep my score up, but at the same time this camera is going to delight me.

TheGirl and I went to Yard House for dinner tonight.  It's loud in there, but they do make a good burger.  It's different without Cheyenne.  Before we would always sit outside, no matter what.  Now we sit inside, and it's different.  Not bad, but different.  TheGirl doesn't want to display Cheyenne's picture on the table, but I still carry the frame.  Just in case one day she says to me, do you have the frame?  And I'll say yes, I do.  And we'll probably start crying.

After dinner we drove back to TheGirl's place and had a walk on the Chandler bike path.  We went all the way to the end of the path, and on our way back we found some people had set up a pair of telescopes.  One was pointed to Jupiter and the other was pointed at the moon.  I've never seen Jupiter like that... it was so cool to also see the Galilean moons.

When I got home I had to bust out my new camera and take a picture of the moon (see above).  Can't wait for a full moon.

Thursday, May, 21, Sevana mentioned to Kerri that someone on social media posted a reel showing that he had taken a wad of money and hid it in the planter outside of the library.  By the bookdrop.  Well, when I finally saw it it showed that someone supposedly found it.  But, I guess people didn't see that, because they were still searching this morning.  I even gave it a look when I went to do the bookdrop.  I'm thinking it was a fake.  The style that it was recorded in was not hidden camera style.  Whatever!

Ilsa graduated today.  She invited me and I took the time off work in order to attend.  I was scheduled to meet up with her friends at 3pm outside the Toyota arena.  I left work at 1:45pm and got on the road, because Waze said it would take me that much time to get to the arena.  Once I got off the freeway I encountered the longest line of cars trying to get into the parking lot.  I nearly gave up and thought about parking at a shopping center nearby.  But on my way back to the start of the line I saw this one entrance all by itself.  It was open and no one was going through it.  I doubled back and got myself into the parking lot.  And I didn't have to wait super long.  For some reason they were funneling all the cars down this one road.  Not good, but I aced that and found a secret entrance.  I tend to find secret entrances.

The other fortunate thing was I parked the car just a few minutes after 3pm, and I started to text Ilsa's friends to see where they were.  As I hit send the car next to me passed and behind it was Ilsa's friends.  We arrived at the same time.  No fuss looking for each other.

The ceremony was just over two and a half hours, and Ilsa was one in the last third of her group.  Still, it was great.  I got a little emotional when the whole thing started.  I didn't walk.  And I don't regret that, but there was a moment tonight when I thought about how my Grandmother never got to see me walk.  Nor did any of my family, like my mom, who died before I could get my ass in gear and finish school.  I display my diploma because it is the sum of all that work I put in.  But even more important than that is what one of the speakers said.  He said that it wasn't just the graduate that contributed to the diploma.  It was the family and friends that have been there through the journey.  And yes, my mother set me up with this house and a life that I now get so much from.  She housed, fed, and supported me before I got my ass together.  Same with my father.  He supported me monetarily.  My grandmother fed me, and helped me get through all the classes I had.  All those thoughts came through my mind, and that is why I got emotional.

After graduation we all went out to Claremont to this place called the Whisper House.  They had good booze, but better food.  It didn't have a huge menu, but the items they do have are nice.  I ordered a grilled cheese with short rib, and tomato soup.  The soup was not creamy at all, but it was good.  The grilled cheese was really good.  Ilsa got the french dip, which was excellent.  I took a small bit of nachos that Veronica ordered.  Also super good.  I might want to come down here with TheGirl and she can have the grilled cheese, without the short rib.  Others in the party ordered a chicken pot pie, which I didn't get a chance to try, but looked excellent.  It was a good time.  Ilsa's friends are fun, and they can drink.  Veronica sat next to me.  Something about that lady turns me on.  I mean her figure is nice.  Ilsa says she's a lesbian, but then she kept on saying that Veronica was going to kiss me.  I'm not opposed to that.  It didn't happen.

Friday, May, 22, I got home late from Ilsa's graduation and dinner, but instead of going right to sleep I decided to jerk off.  Because I had some nice whiskey along with jerking off I was a little groggy this morning.  Instead of my new rule of just getting up when the alarm sounds I lingered for a moment and I fell back to sleep.  I woke up like twenty minutes later and I was definitely running late.  But, I did have enough time to jump in the shower and put some yogurt in a container that I ate while I drove to work.  I even arrived ten minutes early to work.  Can't ever ignore my alarm.

When I got to the van I noticed my nice pile of location cards was about half as small.  I went on a hunt to find the missing cards.  When I arrived at Pacific Park I checked and they had a bunch of them.  I don't know why these places hoard these location cards.  Dumb.

Gitmo and Sevana have been talking about Casa Bianca for apparently a while now.  So the original plan for tonight was to go to Casa Bianca and have a meal.  But the restaurant said they couldn't accommodate a party of more than twelve people.  Hmm.  So, we decided to go to the picnic area behind Brand library.  It was good times.  The pizza was meh, but it was free.

Saturday, May, 23, There's a weather lady that is fairly new to Los Angeles named Carley Gomez.  She's got some curves on her too.  But when I think about it, almost all the weather ladies in town have curves.  Some nicer than others.  It would be a prerequisite for a weather lady to be super pretty in Los Angeles, huh?

I went out to the backyard today to do nothing.  But, I brought my new camera with me to take a picture of the hummingbird.  For some reason every time I would see the hummingbird it would fly away as soon as I turned on the camera.  Three times that happened.  I guess this hummingbird is shy.

Earlier in the week I checked my photos feed.  One of the items was not a photo, it was a video of the Silmarillion in my room working on her homework.  I feel it's such a tragedy that she's gone.  I didn't realize it at the time, but she was twenty-one years old when I knew her.  She lived a whole other life before and after.  I still remember her, and I remembered her through the years.  I've mentioned it before, I wonder if she ever thought of me like I would occasionally think of her?  Now I have an archive of a year of her life with me that comes up every third day, because that's how often we were seeing each other.

Monday, May, 25, For Memorial day TheGirl and I went down to the arboretum on the campus of Cal State Fullerton.  At least that was the plan.  When we arrived at campus we came to find out that the garden was closed for the holiday.  Womp, womp.  I thought I checked the schedule, but I guess I didn't.  So, I figured we could walk the campus and come back another day.  So we walked the campus.  It's a nice campus.  Universities are such huge places, I kinda forgot that fact.  They are often like little cities.  Cal State Fullerton has some unique heating and cooling system that I can't pretend to explain here.  But TheGirl and I did see a plaque in front of one of the heating and cooling buildings.  I have to go back to CSUN to walk the campus, my old friend.  Maybe visit the building where I met the Silmarillion since she's been on my mind a lot lately.

The campus has an exercise walk where you can also find an obstacle course.  Monkey bars were part of the obstacle course.  I tried going from one bar into another and I couldn't reach and I took a tumble.  Right on my butt.  I was OK, but it's a reminder that I'm not sixteen any more.  I do want to get my strength up.  I've never been a strong guy, but I feel that I can get some bulk on me.  My goal is the continued goal of not having to be on any meds.

After walking on campus I drove TheGirl and I to a place called the Orange circle, because it's a roundabout.  The Orange circle is kinda touristy, but also more honest than touristy places, because it's organic.  At least it feels organic, because there are coffee shops that have nothing to do with Starbucks.  And the restaurants are local businesses, not some chain.  We not only walked around the circle, but walked down the street to the train tracks.  So I definitely got my steps today.

Last on things on my to do list was going to the Anaheim packing house and getting some fish and chips.  Mission accomplished.  Too bad the fish and chips were just good, not great.  When the bar has been set so high at places like the Smoke House and Broken Compass just good isn't good enough for me now.

Tuesday, May, 26, Mala asked me if I could work at Chevy Chase library early this morning to be there when the crew from the county clerk's office come by to set up the library for voting.  Sure.  It's early, but not super early.  And, it would make up for some of the hours I lost because of the holiday yesterday.  It was easy money.  I opened the doors and sat there at the desk as they brought in all their equipment.  Not much more to say about that.

Then I went to Casa for my normal 1pm to 7pm shift.  Which come five weeks will be 1pm to 6pm.  Unless council decides to give the library a wee bit more money.  We shall see.  Today Kerri sent me to the back office, because we had too many people scheduled.  So I enjoyed my extra hour off the desk.  Must enjoy it now, while I still can.

Wednesday, May, 27, Tony, the other delivery driver, was limping really bad this morning.  He has mentioned retirement in the last few months.  I wonder if these aches and pains that he's been getting lately might cause him to retire soon.  But then again, what do I know?

I wanted to try something completely different for dinner at Don Cuco.  This time I ordered the Zarapes, which is described as: two flour tortillas, one filled with fajita-style beef and one filled of chicken.  I have to say I really liked the combo, but the fajita one was a little better.  It's good to try new things.  I almost ordered the burger, but not this time.  Maybe next time.

At dinner TheGirl was saying she felt bad that Phoenix, her brother's dog, was likely left alone all day.  She wants to bring him over to her place and live there while her brother is out of town.  Because of course her brother would do this.  Ever since I've known her brother I've found him to be one of the most irresponsible people I've ever met.  He casually does things like this, and walks away.  He has talent at his job, but his life choices are not good.  And now a poor little dog has to suffer being alone for hours, and days in a trailer.  TheGirl was not happy about the situation, so I told her that we didn't have to go for a walk after dinner.  After we finished we rushed out to Sylmar to visit Phoenix.  I can tell that TheGirl partially wants to adopt him.  He has a look super similar to Cheyenne.  He's a puppy, so he's full of energy, but he's a little smaller than Cheyenne was.  But I think TheGirl truly doesn't want to go through another pet passing.  It is a hurt that never goes away.  Other pet owners have said that the best way to get over their death is to go out and get another.  TheGirl doesn't want to do that, clearly.  But she also feels for Phoenix, and his living situation.  No creature should be left in a trailer for hours without even being able to go for a walk.  Walking with an owner is good for both the pet and the owner not just physically, but for their minds.  It bonds them.

Anyway, we visited Phoenix and he was super happy, but then super sad when TheGirl said we were leaving.  The look he gave her was sad.  This ain't right.  Perhaps we will have a new partner for Wednesday dinners.  Perhaps not.

Thursday, May, 28, I've encountered a lot of strange things in the bookdrop, but today I got something I never thought I would find.  Shoes.  A used pair of shoes at that.  Jeez.

Because of the way the timing with the lunches today worked out I got to be on the desk alone from 2pm to 2:20pm.  Not OK.  I mean, it is super quiet right now.  And It did allow me to catch up on my journaling.  But still, it's the principle of the thing.

I got a notification from the Next Door app this evening telling me about a fire close to my house.  Here is a quote from a story on KCAL dot-com.

Crews battled flames along the side of the 405 Freeway at the Sepulveda Pass in Brentwood, stopping the forward progress of a 3.5-acre brushfire.

Around 2:45 p.m., aerial footage showed a large plume of smoke and active flames, with Los Angeles Fire Department crews on the ground, fighting the blaze within the hillside shrubbery at 1405 S. Skirball Center Drive.

LAFD said the fire was burning in heavy brush, traveling uphill with 3 to 5 mph winds.  "No structures are threatened, and firefighters are establishing hose lines, operating in the offensive mode," LAFD said, noting later that 60 firefighters were able put out the blaze within 35 minutes.  The cause of the fire is not known at this time.

By the time I got home the fire was out.  I saw a large water dropping helicopter while I was on my walk.  These days I feel they are going to jump on any fire anywhere and aggressively attack to put any fire out before it gets to be unmanageable.

Friday, May, 29, Not much really happened today.  At least nothing worth writing about.  Work was work.  It was not a busy day, but then again it was.  I was tasked with distributing the tote bags for the upcoming Summer Reading program.  Everyone, except Brand library, got their totes today.  I'll take them up to Brand on Monday.

Saturday, May, 30, I had to wake up early today to take the car into the dealership to get an oil change.  I decided to eat some yogurt for breakfast with the usual granola.  Well, during my first bite I felt something hard, like little pebbles in with my granola.  I spit them out and come to find it's a couple of other pieces of my tooth that's been falling apart for the last couple of years.  Why can't I win the lotto so I can get my teeth fixed?  I hadn't lost a piece from my broken tooth in a while.  But, the other day I did use my right side of my mouth to chew my salad.  Guess that was a bad idea.  ARGH!

I had this idea that I would drop the car off and go to LACMA on the metro.  But, then again I was like, it's only an oil change.  That is until they said I needed new brake pads all the way around.  Damn.  There went that idea.  If I had known how long it would take I could have still gone to LACMA, but I didn't.  So I stayed in their waiting room from 8am to 3pm.  Work texted me asking if I could work today.  I told them I was at the dealer.  But crazy enough I could have worked.  Whatever.  Bills will always be there.  Even as I pay them down I bought a new camera and now had to drop $1,100 on an oil change plus all new brakes.  But, at least I don't have to worry about my brakes for a couple of years.

I had to get a new case and screen protector for my phone, because the case I had was busted.  It was a good case, but I noticed part of it was coming apart.  I figured let's get everything new.  I bought one of those easy to install screen protectors, and boy it's like night at day from my old screen protector.  The old one had this funky way of installing it, which wasn't easy so I kinda messed it up.  It wasn't properly aligned, and not on correct.  This new one is nearly fool proof.  It's on right now, and the new case had a kick stand, so I can watch my phone without it falling over.  Win, win!

Sunday, May, 31, I know, I've been posting a lot of pictures of the Silmarillion lately.  But it's because these pictures keep coming up on my feed.  The picture above is when we hung out and went to the coffee bean in Encino.  That was after going to some market in Encino, and the Marmalade Cafe in Sherman Oaks.  We used to have breakfast nearly every weekend.  Sigh.

It's been about a year since I went and had brunch with my old boss Irene and my old coworker Annie, but that was today.  It was good catching up with everyone.

I was grocery shopping today when at one point, when I was in the bakery area, I turned to where I thought my shopping cart was and it wasn't there.  I looked around wondering if someone had taken it by mistake, because there was a cart where I thought I left it.  I continued walking around until I finally found it by the meat department.  You can blame me checking out a pretty lady with a nice ass for my forgetfulness.  Good job, dummy.

My aunt mentioned that our little tomato plant is getting to be big, and I went to look the other day.  She's right, the plant is big, and I see some tomatoes now.  Now I have to figure out what to do with all those tomatoes.