Afterthoughts: This Past Month

It's the last bit of the year, with 2027 looming.  But, before that we have the news from this past month.

Thursday, October, 1, Could the tarot card from the other day mean Julia is the love that's coming into my life?  Certainly I'm smitten, but I told myself the other day that I can't go down this path.  And here it is Thursday and I have to admit that I am looking forward to running into Julia.  ARGH!  Why?  What is it about this girl that is getting to me.  I never get crushes on anyone anymore.  This girl shows up for five seconds and she's on my mind.  I'm so frustrated with my own mind.

Kerri told me today that administrators want to give the library assistants more duties, such as cataloging.  She was not happy about it.  She and I think this is overstepping bounds that have been long established as the realm of specialty librarians.  Cataloging is a whole other monster than what we usually face as library assistants.  First off, it is WAY above pay-grade.  Which makes it unfair for those that would be doing it.  It's a way of saving money, I know, but it's completely unfair.  They are going to fight this.

Friday, October, 2, A friend of mine invited me to lunch at IHOP after work today.  I didn't know what I might have to eat, so I went online to check the menu.  It's not like I never see it, but I wanted to see what I might potentially eat.  As I scrolled down I noticed the 55+ menu and realized that I qualify for that now.  Ha ha!  It's not an extensive menu, but I can see myself getting items off that.  Mainly because of the smaller portions.  Yes, the lower price hits, but the portions are what I'm thinking about.

When I used the bathroom at Brand I noticed that my baggie of baby wipes was sitting there.  I guess I left it there on Monday when I pooped.  Oops.  No wonder I couldn't find it in my pants on Wednesday.  I started a new bag, so now I have two for my work pants.

After I took all the book bins out of the van I went back to return the van to its new parking place in the side alley.  But, once again there was someone parked there.  Stupid.  Every fucking week someone is parked in that spot.  I went around the block looking for another place to park, and finally after the third time going around the block I decided to park it in the public lot across from the adult community center.  I forgot that I'm not driving on Monday, because we're doing an all-staff thing on Monday.  So I texted the Tuesday driver that I would show him on Monday where to find the van.  I fucking hate not having a dedicated parking spot for the van.  Ever since the 2017 renovation the van has not had a home.  I used to park it in the loading dock.  But they took half of the loading dock for the new HVAC system.  Sigh.

The park that's going to take over the parking at Central has had some progress.  The tree trimers have been working to take down some of the tall trees.  A guy that I ran into several months ago was surveying the trees.  He told me they were going to take out about thirty-eight trees.  Damn, that sucks.  They will replace them with native trees, but still.

Saturday, October, 3, Today was the first Saturday I'm working at the Huntington.  It's a whole new thing, and my aunt nearly ruined my morning.  I mean it did get to me, but after arriving at work I told myself I shouldn't get so worked up about it.  Anyway, any other weekend she gets up at 10am and we eat breakfast then.  But I have to be at work at 9:30am, so I have to wake up early and get out the door by 8:45am at the latest.  Just in case there's traffic.  Thankfully there hasn't been, but you never know.  Today my aunt woke up and had breakfast with me, and it threw my whole morning off.  I just wanted to have breakfast alone and not with her this morning.  I was looking forward to not having to have breakfast with her this morning, and she ruined it.  Every action that she does is something she thinks is helping me in the end.  The stupid napkin over the silverware thing is her protecting me from mythical flies landing on the silverware.  Same with the coaster over my cups.  But to me it's an intrusion into my life.  In my head I just keep saying leave me alone.  I want to be like Garbo... left alone.  I'll figure it out.  I'm a grown person.  I've been taking care of myself for a LONG time now.  I just want peace, and my aunt never offers that.  She offers help that I don't want.  Help I actually resent.  Leave me alone.

I can't blame the following on me being rattled due to my aunt this morning, but today I lost one of the shuttle radios.  We have radios to communicate some of our actions.  We are to pick one up from Membership services, along with the keys to the shuttle, and use them to communicate when we're on break and such.  Somewhere in my moves today I lost it.  I went from Membership services to the Munger building to get ice.  Between there and the shuttle I lost it.  Security found it in the bushes.  I felt stupid the entire day.  Terrible morning.

There was a call on the radio about two people that jumped the fence and got onto the property without paying.  Well, I happened to pick the two in question at the lower desert garden shuttle stop.  Only I didn't know it.  I got to the top of the desert garden when security caught up with the shuttle.  They shouted to stop the shuttle.  I didn't know what it was, only that they wanted me to stop.  Security took them off the shuttle and took them somewhere.  I found out later that they put the screws to them.  They took copies of their IDs and told them if they see them again they will call PD.

It was super hot today.  It got up to one hundred and one degrees today.  Awful.  It didn't keep some of the painted ladies from showing up, but there were certainly many less than last week.

For some reason my aunt became active after 9pm tonight.  I was already in my room when she started to clean the dishes she had left soaking for the last two days.  Oh, but it was because it was the sabbath, or some other bullshit reason.  She does this all the time.  Oh, she says, you're not allowed to work today.  Fuck that shit.  Also, fuck religion.  It's all fake, and just a way to control people.  Exhibit A, my aunt suddenly doing the dishes in the middle of the night because something in a book supposedly says she can't wash them until after sundown.  Whatever!

Sunday, October, 4, As I drove to work going up Haskell I saw the pretty waitress that works at the IHOP up the street from me.  Last time I went I only caught a quick glimpse at her, but today I got a better look.  She's still cute, and she still has a class A butt.  She did gain a little weight, but that's everyone at her age.  Also, there's so much bad food out there that packs on the weight.  Maybe some day soon she will get a chance to get her steps and eat better... like I have.  I still have a way to go.  I would still love to lose another ten pounds at least.  Maybe twenty.  That could be pushing it.

Today wasn't as hot as yesterday, but it was only cooler by a couple of degrees.  Yesterday there were three medical situations at the Huntington, because of the heat.  Today there was one, and I was involved.  I picked up a family of four, two parents and their daughter and her husband and dropped them off at the Chinese garden.  The older gentleman had a walker that doubles as a chair.  Anyway, the two older folks walked very slow.  In this heat any movement is an effort.  I made a circuit and on my second pass there they were at the foot of the entrance to the Chinese garden.  I greeted them asking how they liked the garden.  The daughter tells me, We barely got past the bathrooms.  The bathrooms?  That's like twenty-five feet at most.  That's when she tells me that her father isn't well.  He looked like he wanted to pass out.  I grabbed the radio and called out for a 10-25, which is a request for the medical unit.  Within a few minutes two guards from security were on it.  They had cold compresses and were rapidly trying to cool down the gentleman.  I gave him some of my ice cold water to drink.  After a short while the ambulance was called for and the guards asked me to move to make room for them.  I hopped on the shuttle and got out of Dodge.  I finished the loop and went to take a break while the roads were closed for the ambulance.  From the break room I could see that they took the family out to their car.  The older gentleman was transported to the hospital.  They said he was ninety-three years old.  Someone joked that they thought they were trying to bump off the old dude.  Never thought of that, but it kinda makes sense.

After lunch I was not feeling well, and I wondered if it was because of the heat.  It turned out it was due to my stomach full of air.  It took about half an hour, but when I belched a huge burp I felt normal again after a few moments.  A second smaller belch helped me totally return to normal.  After that I was fine.  But before that burp I was feeling way down.  I was even thinking of just going home.  And I wondered if I would have to call a medical emergency for myself.

I didn't run into Julia at all today.  Towards the end of the day I did see her at the top of the Japanese garden.  She must have been two hundred feet away from where I was on the circuit, but I spotted her.  I waved.  Sigh.  Maybe it's for my better if I don't run into her that often.  I'll want more time with her.

A few weeks ago I went out to Claremont and had lunch with Ilsa at Union on Yale.  There were LPs on the wall, and one of them was Steve Martin's "Wild and Crazy guy," which has the same picture as his autobiography Born Standing Up.  I told Ilsa that significant life events follow me encountering that book, with that picture.  Who would have known that I'd be at the Huntington a few weeks later.  That I would be infatuated with a girl that I hardly met named Julia.  And that I'd be so happy.  Nothing lasts forever.  The whole Julia thing is just going to be another story of failed love for the book.  I know that.  Still, it makes me feel so alive.  The potential is there, and that makes it so I can't wait for my time at the Huntington.  The heat was terrible today.  But in a month I'll be loving the weather.

Monday, October, 5, We had our now annual all-staff meeting at the Glendale library today.  There isn't much to report on it.  Some guy talked to us about our mindset.  He was good, for sure.  I just hope the people were listening, because he did have some good things to say.  The sad thing is everyone seems to be uninterested, because they're dealing with their own traumas.  This guy coming in with some good vibes isn't going to fix us.  Because the dopes that run this place are the ones ruining things.

TheGirl had a doctor's appointment in La Crescenta today.  At the last minute she asked if I wanted to meet up at Troy's burger.  Sure.  She said she's been craving Troy's for a while.  Today was the day.  So after the Autry I met TheGirl at Troy's and we both had burgers.  Troy's is pretty good.  Last time I ate there I had the pastrami burger and it was so big I could only eat half of it.

Way back in July one of my coworkers, Teresa, gave me a heads up on a job at one of the LAPL branch libraries.  It was for a job that was not posted externally for a position called messenger clerk.  I sent in my application and waited.  Well, I got my response today... no thank you.  Three months to tell me I'm rejected.  Hmm, that's pretty bad.  I'm glad I got the Huntington job.

Tuesday, October, 6, I bought some Steak-umm and today I figured that I would use my last ciabatta bread and eat that for breakfast.  I can't say I liked it too much.  I tried doctoring it up with some onions and mustard, but it can only be doctored up a little.  Any other efforts can't fight against the bottom line that the meat just isn't very good.

Adrien texted me to see if I wanted to walk at the mall, but I told him a small fib that I was going into work early.  It is true, but I didn't tell him how early.  I just didn't want to walk with him, because he's slow.  I want to maintain a pace of at least nineteen minute miles.  But when I walked with him we were averaging twenty-two minutes per mile.  And we barely walked a mile.  I usually walk three miles on my mall walks.

Wednesday, October, 7, Vagabundo said it, Adam is soft.  He won't last in this gig driving delivery for long.  He has no choice, because these are the only hours they are willing to give him.  Vagabundo also said that he probably hates it.  Well, on Monday someone at the all-staff told me that he said he hated doing delivery.  I knew that already, because of what he leaves me the next day.  He didn't go to treasury, again.  He didn't go to graphics and do the mail, again.  He didn't go to fire to pick up their stuff, again.  He does the minimum.  Realistically, I didn't expect much more from him than that.

There is ALWAYS some dummy in my preferred parking spot.  I try to park the van in the red right in front of the library, so I can disembark the books from the van.  Today it was a dial-a-ride bus that was parked there.  Two weeks ago it was a BMW that was left running.  Last week it was Gitmo's city car.  Is this how it's going to be for the next year with this construction?  Hope not.

As I was taking the last of the book carts up the switchback my only thought was that I was so through with this fucking heat.

Tonight we went to Isabella's for dinner.  We didn't sit at our usual table, because we don't have Cheyenne with us anymore.  We sat more inside.  It been nearly a year since we put Cheyenne down and people still ask us where puppy is.  Most don't know.  There will come a day where we won't be asked that, because we'll go places where they didn't know her.  Makes me sad just thinking about that fact.

Thursday, October, 8, We usually run short at Casa, with just two of us in the building running the whole show.  Today there were six of us in the morning, and four of us until 4:30pm.  When William left there were three of us on the desk.  Someone messed up on scheduling.  We literally sat there and did almost nothing.  Diana, the new girl, and I read our books.  Kerri just played her puzzle game on the computer.  No one even came up to ask us reference questions that last two hours.

I was asked to go to Central to take the bookmobile out into the alley to get it washed again this morning.  Take two, in trying to get the bookmobile washed.  I think next time I'll just take it over to the garage and do it myself.  Dealing with these dopes is just too much.  Too many cooks in the pot, that's what today was.  I originally was told to take the bookmobile out and that I would come back at 5:30pm and drive it back in.  Then Nancy said that Grigor would do it.  Then I was told that I was to do it.  ARGH!  Ultimately Grigor ended up doing it.  What a clusterfuck.  I need to do my own thing next time and not get that many people involved.

Today is the anniversary of our last dinner with Cheyenne.  Boy, it hurts.  I've been good about falling apart while thinking of her.  I don't burst into tears as much.  However, as the anniversary of her passing nears it's getting harder.  I have burst into tears.  I'm crying now, a painful cry that like it's a fresh wound.  I cried like this while on a walk with TheGirl after dinner a couple of weeks ago.  I couldn't even say a word that night.  I just kept sobbing and sobbing.  It might get better through the years, but right now it still hurts like that night we had to put her down.  TheGirl and I said we are going to get a drink after work on the actual anniversary of her passing.

Friday, October, 9, Since I was at Central today I figured I would check on the bookmobile to see if it was clean.  It was.  That's a relief.  Krishna was there too, checking on the very same thing.  We're kinda like the bookmobile's parents.

I went to Pacific Park library and while visiting with Grayce I noticed a pretty lady in the background.  It turned out it was the teacher from the class visit.  She was quite pretty.

I wanted to treat myself after work today, so I took myself to Cassell's in Chinatown for a nice meal.  I also went on a fact finding mission.  They have really good food at Cassell's these days.  I wanted to invite TheGirl to eat, but they don't have a turkey burger.  They do have a vegan burger.  So, I figured I would order it and try it and see when we can come by if it tastes good.  I really liked it.  I liked it so much I would order this as a regular thing in the future.  I told TheGirl that, so we will try to figure something out.  I told her the place also has wine.  Sold!

Last night I was jerking off, but I never came.  I just couldn't cum.  I jerked it for about forty minutes and I wasn't getting any closure, so I just stopped and went to bed.  I hope to have better luck tonight.  Not sure what it was last night.  Something just didn't click.

Saturday, October, 10, What a difference a week makes.  Last weekend was the hottest I can remember ever in October.  Today it was nice and cool.  I hope it stays this way for a while.

I guess my patty melt leftovers were not enough for breakfast this morning, because by noon I was feeling kinda peckish.  I took my morning break and decided to go to the Red Car Cafe to see if I could get a quick snack.  Under glass, they had the cheddar scones that I ate last year with my tea with Ilsa.  I picked the cheddar, but being a fellow employee the person behind the counter gave me two scones for the price of one.  They said they wanted me to try the other.  The other or a maple and sea salt scone that was AMAZING.

Sunday, October, 11, Once again my aunt is awake early, invading my morning quiet.  I know there's an underlying motivation to do things when I'm around.  Mainly because I'm not around that much due to me working seven days a week.

I got to work early, because I just didn't want to be home with my aunt lurking around.  So early I had my shuttle all set before I was officially on the clock.  I decided to kill the time strolling the gardens.  I ended up in the Shakespeare garden.  I was taking pictures when this nice looking lady came up on the path.  She stopped and asked me if I was a volunteer and I told her, No, they actually pay me to be here.  She introduced herself as Kris.  I asked if it was with a K and she said yes.  She went on to say that she was thinking of volunteering since she's already a member.  Then she tells me she's been on property since 8am.  It was now just past 9am.  Could she be the one linked to the tarot card?  Hmm?  Yeah, sure.  Still, this might make good motivation for showing up a little earlier on Sundays, because she mentioned she comes on Sundays.

A few weeks ago when I started this job, I asked a question - do porn stars visit The Huntington?  It was kind of a joke but now I can say that yes I saw one here.  Lena Paul.  She looked so amazing.  She was also there with her family.  Ilsa says that if I meet some celebrity that I should just say that I'm a fan of their work.  I would have, but she's there with her family.  But I am a fan of her work.

I hadn't seen Julia since last week.  Today I didn't see her until the very end of the day.  I was running my last loop of the day when I saw her walking up from the Japanese garden.  She didn't see me, though she might have seen the shuttle.  Seeing her made my day.  How is it that seeing her for a moment is making my day?  But, it didn't end there.  I saw her as I was coming off the path and she was coming from the direction of the Munger building.  I started walking and talking with her.  Because I needed that moment with her after not seeing her for nearly two weeks.  Sigh.  I walked up with her as far as the security check point.  I would have followed her to her car, but it was a good thing I didn't, because just as I went to pick up my lunch pail I noticed that I still had the CB radio and the key to the shuttle in my pocket.

TheGirl and I had plans to go to the Haunted Hayride tonight, but we had to get food beforehand.  We didn't know where to go that was close to Griffith park except stuff that was close to Los Feliz.  I jokingly suggested Sizzler.  So, we went tonight.  It wasn't bad.  I paid $30 for the salad bar and a glass of wine.  I don't think that's too bad these days.  And it was a good pour.  I could have stuffed myself, but I can't do too many cheat days or it's no longer a cheat, it's a regular occurrence.

I'm not a jump scare kinda guy, but TheGirl asked me a while back if I wanted to do the Haunted Hayride and I said sure.  Tonight was the night.  It was fun, even though I never got scared.  One poor guy was terrified.  It was fun just going out and doing something.  I was laughing instead of screaming.

Laurel sent me a voice message today in which she points out that when I'm talking about my male friends that I call them buddy.  But, when I talk about my female friends I say friend.  She went on to say that it doesn't bother her.  And that she knows we are not in a relationship.  Then why bring it up?  My plan to deal with this is to not even bring up her statement.  Just going to ignore it.  If she brings it up again then I don't know what I'll do.

Monday, October, 12, They were filming up in Montrose today.  They dressed up the street to make it look like it had snowed.  I wonder what they are filming here.  It's good to see some film production in town.  Not that a few productions here and there are going to magically help lift this town, but they can't hurt.

The bookmobile is fully legal now.  Not only does it have its plates, I checked and it also has its registration.  It only took twenty-six months.

I came home from work and my aunt does her usual stupid shit like telling me to eat dinner.  Oh yes, I'm starving but I don't know what to do about it.  Good thing my aunt reminded me to eat dinner.  If it wasn't for her suggestion I wouldn't have eaten.  That's how it feels to have her tell me to eat when I get home.  Bullshine!  Later in the evening she comes into the wash room, where I'm finishing up filling the bird feeders and tells me that she can iron the shirt I wear at the Huntington.  Mind you, I did it the last two weeks, I don't need her help.  It was really only necessary that first time, because the shirts looked super wrinkled after the first wash.  Now they look much better.  But also, also, I can do it myself.  I just walked away telling her it wasn't necessary.  And in my mind I just thought, leave me alone.  I just want peace, but my reaction to her must fuel something inside of her.  She must think I'm miserable because I act like I'm miserable when she sees me.  That's because SHE makes me miserable.  My sighs are not a reaction to my day.  My days are fine.  It's not until I come home that I'm in misery.  Because she can't just leave me alone.  I'm sure she calls her guru about me and he tells her to engage more with me.  I wish I could have a word with him to tell her to just leave me alone.

Tuesday, October, 13, Cindy C, from San Marino, asked if I was free for breakfast this morning.  She wants me to work on a graphic for her, and hence breakfast.  It's a pretty easy assignment, and I got to check out the Wild Oak cafe on Chevy Chase.  The breakfast burrito was pretty good.  The bacon was lovely, thick cut.

I worked with Vanessa on the desk today.  They just put in a new computer on desk one at Casa, and of course nothing works correctly.  Printing doesn't work.  Vanessa started to check in items and the Zebra printer kept printing the slips.  That's not the right printer for the job.  Try as she might, she could not get the print jobs to go to the receipt printer.  So, I had to check in all the items that came in.  Oh well.

In the last few weeks, more than a few people have been telling me that I look thin.  I like hearing that because it means I am losing weight.  Enough that it's showing.  Woo!  I've been trying to walk in the mornings more days.  I wanted to go to the Huntington a little earlier to walk the grounds.  I did a little on Sunday, but that was a stroll, not really a walk.

A lady came in wearing the tightest work out pants/shorts I've ever seen here at the library.  And at the height I sit I'm usually front row to a lady's crotch that stands by the desk.  Today I just got an eyeful, to say the least.  I mean, I'm not saying I don't like the view.  I implicitly do.  I only wish it would happen more often.

I've been reading the book "Fat School Confidential" for a couple of weeks now.  It's been hard, because the story doesn't get to the point until past page one-fifty.  I mean come on.  It finally got sorta good, or at least to the point of the damn book.  I'm trying to finish it so I can read something good.  But every time I tried to read, some patron would come up with a complex and compound question.  One that I couldn't answer super fast either.  I got through some of the book, but I took it home so I could finish it there.  In peace.  Well, as much peace as I can afford from my aunt.

The pain of her passing has gone from a daily thing to once in a while.  Today I was listening to Dido's "The Day Before the Day," and sobbing on my commute to work.

TheGirl and I said we should go get a drink and toast Cheyenne.  We went to one of her favorite spots, the Smoke House.  But that place was packed, because they are celebrating their eightieth anniversary this whole week.  They told us they wouldn't be able to serve us on the patio, after TheGirl asked if we could sit on the patio.  Like we did when Cheyenne was with us.  Oh well.  We ended up going to Forman's to have the drink.  We didn't cry like babies then, but I did just as I was walking to my car after the drink.

Wednesday, October, 14, I show up today and I find a pile of mail is waiting for me in circulation.  I left some mail on Monday as a test to see if Adam, the other delivery driver, would actually take them.  He didn't, and now there are at least a couple of days worth of mail today for me to take.  I did take it all.  Later I was asked by Nancy what was going on.  She told me she talked to Adam about it, and he claimed that I didn't train him on taking the items to the mailroom.  Ah, so he tried to throw me under the bus.  Nope.  I told Nancy, I have witnesses that I took him to the mailroom.  I introduced him to three of the guys down there: Robert, Bobby and Ed.  Nancy can ask Ed directly on Friday if I introduced him to Adam.  No way dude.  I have been here too long.  I know to keep my receipts.

I looked out at the park construction this morning and spotted that the bookdrops were parked right in front of the Comfort Woman.  Another indignity.

I've been getting compliments about my thinness lately.  Today I didn't get a compliment, but I got a look.  The pretty aid that I encounter at the Montrose library was staring at me when I was behind the desk talking to my coworker.  I turned around and I caught her looking.  It's nice to know she might be checking me out.

There was a man named Lars that was a regular at Casa Verdugo.  A few weeks ago I mentioned to Kerri that I hadn't seen him in a while.  Well, she got curious today and searched for him online.  She comes to find out he died back in late June.

Mary L told me as I was leaving work that the teen librarian, Adam, gave notice.  Ha ha!  He's been working here for a whole month and a half.  Kerri says that he basically said this place ain't right.  Oh, I know that's true.

For dinner tonight TheGirl and I went to another one of Cheyenne's favorites, Don Cuco.  It was actually the place where we had our last Wednesday night dinner together.

Afterwards we walked into Toluca Lake and checked out the few Halloween displays.  Every year there have been fewer and fewer displays out in front lawns.  Probably due to the economy.  There are a lot of people that work in the industry that live in Toluca Lake.  Maybe they will put up more decorations before Halloween.

Thursday, October, 15, It was super quiet at the library today.  The cute tutor was around for a bit, but her client didn't show up, so she left early.  Sad.  It's always nice to see her prance around.  Another day, perhaps.  It's been slow at the library, but we've been book busy.  Because people think that Central is closed, or can't find the bookdrop, Casa's bookdrops have been busier than usual.  Especially on Mondays, because people drop things off stuff on the weekends.  When will these dopes ever learn?

Friday, October, 16, I've mentioned this girl that I work with named Emelia, and how I love her body.  She wore tight workout pants today.  Naturally I went nuts inside.  How I wish there was a way I could see her naked.  She can definitely sit on my face.  All day, in fact.  Ha ha!

I spent most of the morning lollygagging, which meant I had less time to actually do the route.  Which meant I had to rush the route, but no worries.  There isn't anyone at the branches to talk to, so I was able to finish on time.

After work I took a trip to the Natural History Museum.  I decided to park at the new Lucas museum, in order to find out some facts about the joint.  The building is pretty cool.  I was able to visit the library and the cafe.  I bought a pizza that was the size of a horse.  It wasn't bad, but it was a bit on the mild side.  I get it, a museum has to deal with a lot of people's dietary issues.  They can't have super spicy Italian sausage on their pies.  It wasn't bad.  Next month I'll be back with my buddy and we're eating at the fancy restaurant up top.  I looked at the menu and joked with him that we were splitting a burger, because it costs $40.  Yikes!  That better be the best burger in LA for that price.  Hell, Father's Office doesn't costs that much, and it is the best burger in LA.

Friday is my new prep day, in which I get my lunch ready for the week.  I did it super fast tonight.  I got my salads ready while I cooked up my bean, rice and chicken burritos for my lunch next week.  Easy.  After that I just chilled.

Saturday, October, 17, I missed out on working at the Huntington today, because I had committed to this date a while back.  The bookmobile at a health fair was pretty much out of our wheelhouse.  I'm still not sure why we attended what seemed to be an employee event.  Jacklyn mentioned that most of the people coming up to our booth seem to be from the same fair.  About nine out of ten people we saw today had some kind of shirt or batch that showed they worked or volunteered at the hospital.  Whatever!  They pay me either way.

I love Claremont.  I will take any opportunity I can get to go out to Claremont.  I told TheGirl that I wanted to go out there tonight to check out James Turrell's Skyspace, once and for all.  The time is going to change soon, so the window of opportunity is closing on a weekend viewing of the piece.  Seeing that I got off early from work it was a perfect day to jet over to Claremont, get some food, and check out the Skyspace.  Well, that's exactly what happened.  The drive out there was nearly an hour.  We went to La Popular to eat.  I had the mole enchiladas, which were wonderful.  TheGirl had her usual tinga tacos.  She cleaned everything off her plate.  I still had one enchilada.  The last time we were at La Popular was when we went to the one in Hollywood a few months ago.  On that occasion I wanted to buy some of their salsa, but they were mean and said they don't sell it.  I figured I could take a little bottle with me today and scoop up the balance of what we had leftover after we run out of chips.  This place doesn't seem to believe in chip refills.  Anyway, TheGirl was curious and asked if we could buy the salsa after I had already scooped up my little bottle's worth.  Our waiter walked away and came back with a container and said it was on the house.  Nice.  Now I have an abundance of salsa for my lunch this week.

James Turrell, according to Wikipedia is:

(born May 6, 1943) an American artist known for his work within the Light and Space movement.  He is considered the "Master of light," often creating art installations that mix natural light with artificial color through openings in ceilings thereby transforming internal spaces by ever shifting and changing color.

Years ago I had the privilege of experiencing his work entitled Light Reignfall.  Which is described on LACMA's website as, "One of the artist's Perceptual Cells - freestanding enclosed structures that provide an immersive experience for one viewer at a time.  An individual wears special headphones and lies down on a narrow bed that slides into the spherical chamber; inside, a program of saturated light envelopes the viewer.  The intense experience reveals the multidimensional power of light and the complexities of the human eye."

It was super cool.  I used to describe it as like being the pizza in a pizza oven.  Anyway, I uploaded a video of the whole thing at the Skyspace.  It's such a unique place, I'll have to go back.  It might be super cool when it rains, as the rain falls onto the pool in the middle of the artwork.

Sunday, October, 18, I got to work early in order to walk the Huntington grounds, and maybe run into that lady from last week.  I did run into Katie just before I started my rounds, and then she rode the shuttle one time around the grounds.  It was good times.  I love this place.

The weather was near perfect today.  I know I'll love it when it turns colder later in the year.  I had the fan on part of the day, but I didn't need much more than that today.  I'm glad, because that heat a couple of weeks ago almost made me want to quit on the spot.

I saw Julia on my last trip around the loop in the Chinese garden entrance.  I don't think she saw me, but I saw her talking to one of the other security guards.  I then ran into her at the gift store, while I was waiting to clock out for the day.  She gave me a mousy smile and walked away.  But as she walked away she acted as though she was walking through the woods and I was a predator.  I could see her look back without turning her head.  What gives?  Am I giving out predator vibes now?  I guess I must be with her.

Monday, October, 19, I had just come out of the bathroom in the basement of the Perkins building when right in front of me walked Nora.  She never noticed I was walking behind her.  I'm not surprised.  At least she didn't think I was a wild predator, like Julia did the other day.  Yeah, that still hurts.

I've never consciously found myself thinking a woman might think of me as some sort of a beast, out to murder a lady as she walks to her car.  I simply want to get to know Julia.  Yes, I find her attractive.  Yes, that means I would like to sleep with her.  Yes, I get butterflies when I see her.  Yes, yes, yes.  I guess that makes me some kind of brute.  This hurts in a different way.  Rejection is one thing, this is a new feeling.  In a way she's repulsed by me.  Me.  I only want to share my time with her.  I think this is the final straw that I need to just go full Vulcan.

Tuesday, October, 20, I had scheduled my flu/Covid vaccines this morning.  But when I woke up my phone had notifications from CVS telling me that they were canceling my appointment due to the fact that they don't have the covid vaccine.  I rescheduled for next week.  Hope no one sneezes on me until then.

When I went to Claremont to record Skyspace I knew the file would be pretty large, but I didn't know how long it would take to convert and to upload.  I left my iPad at home working on uploading the video to YouTube.  I kept checking throughout the day.  When I got home it had only uploaded one quarter of the file.  I stopped it and did it on the computer.  It took ten minutes.  ARGH!

I bought some crackers and they just fall apart.  I maybe get one out of ten crackers to be intact.  What gives?  These crackers are all so cheap, ad they fall apart so easily.  I mean all crackers I've tried over the last two years.  Fucking sucks.

I decided to do some writing today, since I keep saying I'm going to do it but I don't.  I got some writing done, but it was hard.  Not only did everyone seem to have some complicated question, but they were asking them in bunches.  ARGH!  When I do nothing on the desk no one asks me anything.  When I'm busy working on something they are on me like white on rice.  What gives?

Wednesday, October, 21, The park expansion is going on, the process right now is uprooting plants and cutting down trees.  Not all plants, and not all trees.

Dia de los Muertos celebration is on Saturday, October 24th.  Today is Wednesday, October 21st.  So I'm delivering these bookmarks today, which only gives us three days to distribute them.  And, all the branches are closed on Friday.  So that means two days, including today.  Good job.

TheGirl and I went to dinner at the Broken Compass Tiki.  I almost always get the fish and chips, but tonight I opted for the fish tacos, which were super good.  They use the same fish as the fish and chips, but the slaw on top gave it a really nice, and different, taste.  Everything I've had there has been good.  TheGirl also ordered fish tacos.  After dinner we drove back to TheGirl's place, and walked down the bike path.  We were lucky it didn't rain tonight.  We talked about how there aren't many houses decorating for Halloween.  Times are tough, and the news is full of stories about people having to pay two or three times more on their power bill.

Friday, October, 23, I called off work to do some volunteering at CSUN.  It was nice to be on campus, but I didn't really do much today.  I helped a few people, but I thought I would be talking to the kids about life on campus and how it changed my life.  I'm damn eloquent, darn it.  They should have had me talk to the kids.  Instead I manned a booth that wasn't very popular.  Not only that, we weren't very busy.  After noon it was super slow.  Those last two hours felt long.  I kinda wanted to abandon the booth and just wander.  The people in charge told us to strike down the tent at 1:30pm, so I walked around until 2pm.  I was in no hurry, since I wasn't meeting up with TheGirl until just past 3pm at her place.  Would I do this again?  Maybe not in this way.  Depends on the event.

After my fact-finding mission a couple of weeks ago, to scoop if the veggie burger at Cassell's was any good, and finding that it was telling TheGirl about it... we decided to go to dinner before the movie at Cassell's.  Thankfully TheGirl also liked the burger.  I thought about getting the tuna melt, but I really was craving a good burger.  Last time I was here I only finished half a patty melt, but today I ate the whole burger.  I was hungry.  My sandwich from midday was long ago at this point, and I was ready for a meal.

I've been to the Vincent Price museum a few times now, but I've never attended an opening or any other special event there.  Tonight TheGirl and I went to a screening of one of his movies, "The House on Haunted Hill."  I wanted to see it because it's Vincent Price, and I've never seen that movie.  But also, TheGirl and I hiked up to the Ennis house back in February, which is the house featured in the movie.  So there's a connection there.  They had complimentary wine, so I had three.  Ha!  They also had complimentary churros and hot dogs.  We had already eaten, so I had no room for hot dogs.  The churro wasn't very good.  Kinda cold inside, and soft, not crispy.  Despite it being free I didn't finish it.  Fail.  The show was good though.

Saturday, October, 24, When you work every day the days tend to merge.  I walked down the jungle garden today, and parts of the cactus garden, before I ran out of time and had to start work.  Yeah, that pesky work.  The weather has finally cooled off to the point where it's super nice out.  Nearly perfect.  Another couple of weeks and it will likely be perfectly cool.  I can't wait. My coworker Mari from Glendale and here at the Huntington takes some really nice pictures for her Instagram.  I feel like I'm in a bit of a competition with her for the better picture of the place.  Hey, I'm trying.

The shuttle was pretty chill today.  We were busy, because of the plant sales, but not so many people in the garden.  Not too many painted ladies today either, but that will happen later.

There was a couple at the deli counter that seemingly ordered every meat in the fridge.  I was feeling hungry and any delay just wanted me to throw in the towel and go home without the cold cuts.  I did stay, and I got my cold cuts.  Then when I went to the register there was a young man that was buying two cart-fulls of stuff.  I later found out it was cleaning supplies.  He also had like six bouquets of roses, all of it totaling $778.  When it came time to pay he just stood there and said that he didn't have the money.  These poor saps bagged all those items only to have this dope tell them he didn't have the money.  Piece of shit.  I'm not sure if it was a prank, or what.

Sunday, October, 25, This morning I noticed that one of the earbuds that I use when I jerk off was missing.  I couldn't find it last night, and I couldn't find it this morning.  I don't know how I saw it, but it was by the pictures of the family members that have passed away.  In the other room.  How did it get there?  At least I didn't lose it permanently.  Whew!

The painted ladies came out a bit at the Huntington today.  Aside from that I noticed that quite a few lesbian couples come to the Huntington.  I don't think I've seen a gay couple around, but I do see at least two or three lesbian couples in the gardens.

My aunt called me to tell me that my cousin was coming over on Friday.  Because of course she picks the day I'm working late at the library to show up.  Then again, because I went to the Vincent Price museum I wouldn't have been home this past Friday either.  I love that everyone assumes I'll be home.  Oh well, I'm just doing my thing.  I don't consult my aunt on any of this stuff anyway.  Have a good time without me, gang.

I didn't see Julia at all today.  But that's OK, because I made the decision to not seek interactions with her or any lady at the Huntington.  There is a girl I met my second week named Kristen.  At first she seemed nice, but then the next week she gave me the stink eye.  She gave it to me yesterday as well.  Not sure what vibe I'm putting out with some ladies, but I'm going to stop sending any vibe except that I'm doing my job.  I'm going to keep to myself.  It's easy, because I'm on the shuttle, and I don't have to interact with anyone if I don't want to.  Yeah, there is something about how I look at some people that makes them think I'm not OK.  With Julia I think it was more about my vibe... the attention I gave her.  I think she could read that I liked her, and it made her balk.  Like I said, they won't be getting anything from me any more but a distant hello.

These days it seems like my aunt is always asleep when I get home from work.  I mean, that's better for me.  I'm just saying, she's always asleep.  Today I got home around 6pm and I didn't hear from her for over an hour.  This morning she was up early folding my clothes from Saturday night.  As long as she stays out of my hair I'm OK with whatever she does.

I ordered some food from Zankou yesterday only to have my order be wrong.  I wanted the lule, they gave me the steak.  I wanted extra garlic spread, they gave me none.  Just great.  Today I figured I would make the most of it and make the leftovers from yesterday into a wrap.  Mission accomplished.  I took the rice and made a bed of humus where the rice sat.  Above that sat the lettuce and above that the steak.  It came out pretty good.  Still wish I had some of that garlic spread.

Monday, October, 26, Patrons are confused, but that's not unusual.  They think that because there is a fence on one side of the library that the library is closed.  To combat this the upstairs dummies have made signs that say we are open.  There are four signs, but I didn't have much time to put them all up today.  I only put one, but I think it's in a good spot.  Do I think the font is too small?  Yes.  Do they have any style?  Nope.

When I got back from the route today Nancy asked if I could do an abbreviated route tomorrow because Adam called out.  She said that he threw his back out, whatever that means.  I told Vagabundo and he coined a new nickname for him... Charmin.  As in being soft.  Vagabundo first voiced what I thought about him - that he was soft.  Here it is five weeks into this delivery thing and he's calling out.  Ever-ready Bastardo here to the rescue once again.

It's no surprise, the tarot card I picked at the beginning of the month didn't predict anything.  I guess I had a moment when I saw Julia and I thought how wonderful it would be if the tarot card predicted something with her.  Not even a friendship.  And now I've made the promise to myself to not engage with any of the ladies at the Huntington.  I mean, any lady for that matter.  Waste of time.

Tuesday, October, 27, As I said in the last entry, Charmin called out today.  I know he's had issues with his back before, and I guess they've come back.  Doing the delivery seems like it would be easy, but it's not.  It's the grind of it all that gets some people.  Not to say I'm so great, but I've been doing this for fifteen years now.  Sure, there is some wear and tear.  My arm hurting this year is a sign of that.  But to only have minor injuries in fifteen years of delivery is something good.  I guess I'm just lucky not to have hurt myself really bad.  On the job at least.  I do remember getting hurt a few years ago when I tripped while playing with Cheyenne.  I was so hurt after that, but I never brought it up.  I never made an excuse.  Adam might be soft, but he might also be legitimately hurt.  Well, I wonder if he'll be back next week.

I didn't start my day at Casa today, but I ended it there.  I logged on to the computer and all the little pages that we use while on the desk.  One of them is the statistics page, where we count how many people are at the library.  Well, in my absence the people on the desk didn't record the number of patrons coming in.  Good job, dopes.

Wednesday, October, 28, Nothing really to mention about the route today.  It was pretty standard, with nothing really standing out. For dinner TheGirl and I went to Panini Kabob Grill at the Burbank mall, where they have Mediterranean food.  The waitress there asked us where Cheyenne was.  We told her what happened.  We have been to Panini since Cheyenne passed, but we had another wait staff.  This waitress remembered, us and Cheyenne as well as our drink order.  She used to be afraid of Cheyenne, despite TheGirl assuring her that Cheyenne was gentle.  It was nice of her to acknowledge Cheyenne.

After dinner we went into Toluca Lake to check out the limited amount of Halloween decorations.  This year this one house, which really goes all out every year, had a Charlie Brown theme.  Chan loved it.  Too bad so few houses are participating now.  The economy, and the slowdown of studio work has really hurt this part of town.  So many people in Toluca Lake are part of the industry.

Thursday, October, 29, Back in 2005 I took a trip on the new Orange line and took the Metro to the Huntington.  I couldn't have imagined back then that I would be working here.  Never in a million years.  Yet, here I am back in San Marino again.  Better and brighter.  Funny how life turns out.  I do love it at the Huntington.  Not to say there are no challenges, but I know that I'm not alone in his here.

Above is a model of the still not made Chinese garden.  Hard to believe it was twenty-one years ago, and now that garden is the most popular garden to visit.  I get so many requests for that garden, as well as the Japanese garden.  The least requested is the Australian garden.

Casa was super slow today, as it has been for the last couple of weeks.  It got so slow that it got the better of me and I downloaded Mike T's book.  Who is Mike T?

There's a patron that has come into Casa Verdugo for years.  A lot of the time he spent there he spent it writing a book.  He self published it about a year ago, and ever since then I wondered how bad it could be.  Today I got so curious that I downloaded it on Kindle.  It's bad.  I mean like almost unreadable bad.  Some examples is when he's in third person but then switches to first person.  Or it might still be third person talking to the character.  I don't know, it's all very confusing.  I got about twenty pages in and I stopped.  My eyes were hurting.  He doesn't even have chapters.  In one section he wrote about the way he placed an alarm clock into a metal bucket in order to amplify the sound so that he wouldn't oversleep for an assignment.  The assignment being at the heart of the story.  But he kept on repeating that story about three times.  I honestly think he might have copied and pasted the same passage at least twice.  I don't want to go back and check, it's just so boring.  Not good.

Friday, October, 30, The route was pretty chill today.  Not a lot going out, and certainly not a lot coming back into Central.  I'll take it.  The more chill days I have, the more I like it.  What is happening at Central is the continued demolition of the back parking lot and driveway.  It's nearly completely gone, as is the old HVAC system.  Why they didn't bulldoze that before now I'll never know.  Probably money.  It's always money.  Glad to see that eyesore go.

After my short shift today I went to Forest Lawn Glendale to check out their exhibit featuring the Disney and the founder of Forest Lawn.  They had some neat stuff, like a Dumbo from the Dumbo ride, and a sled from the Matterhorn.  How cool.  I'll ask TheGirl if she wants to come up there and check it out.

Since I had so many hours before my night shift, as I'm calling it, I decided to treat myself to lunch at the Huntington.  My intention was to try the tacos, which only cost me $6 with my employee discount.  That's a great price.  The tacos were not bad.  I wish I had some chips for the beans, but overall the plate was good, especially for the price.  I liked the tacos much more than the burger.

I then went on the grounds with my Nikon and took some bird pictures.  I got one of a hummingbird that was super nice.  It was hard, because I had the lens fully extended, and I couldn't hold it steady on some of the pictures.  But, I got it.

I'm pretty much over this bookmobile thing.  I don't see the purpose for us attending some school event.  We're not going to reach any new patrons.  All the kids in Glendale already have library cards.  At the start of the school year the parents are asked if they want to have their kids get a library card.  Most say yes.  So what am I doing in a school yard on a Friday night?  Like most events with the bookmobile, was a waste of time.  I mean, I get paid, but I'm not making much more than what was my normal set of hours before the cuts in July.  I was texting Vagabundo about this whole endeavor, and how I don't like that two years into this thing we don't have a mission statement for the bookmobile.  Tonight I just cruised through the shift.  No extra effort, no nothing.  I really just didn't care tonight.  Especially following the last outing at the healthcare event.  What the hell are we doing this for?

Saturday, October, 31, The rain kept most people away today.  It didn't actually rain during the day, but the threat of rain kept people away.  Which is fine.  Most of the crew I talked to like it when it's a slow day.  We get paid either way.  It was gloomy today, so most of my photos were just OK.  After the rain this place shines, so I expect some good pictures tomorrow.

In my travels at the Huntington I've been exploring places to eat.  This morning I walked the grounds a bit and fond a path that goes from the herb garden to the Boone gallery.  While on it I found a place behind the Boone gallery that had some benches marked staff only.  Hey!  Another place that I can have lunch.  This one even came with a statue.  It's falling apart, but it still made for a cool lunch.  I do love this place.

Ilsa invited me to a Halloween party at her house.  Only problems are that I live so far away, and I have work on Sunday.  So I couldn't stay long.  For dinner Ilsa made us some yummy food: beef shepherds pie, and chicken stuffed bell peppers.  It was a lot of food.  For drinks I had whiskey.  It really hit me, because I hadn't had anything to eat since lunch.  Not many details to tell.  Just a good time.  I did finally get to meet Elena.  The infamous Elena.  She's much taller than I figured.  I drove home in the rain, which was terrible.  I got sleepy half way home.  ARGH!  I haven't been sleepy in a while.