Sheepy

I found this a little while ago on youtube and then forgot to post it. I challenge you to watch this without laughing; it sure makes me happy. It's all about unrestrained joy. And jumping. On beds.

Without further preamble, here you go.

Happy Thingy!

Whatever you are celebrating (or cursing) today, I hope you're having a good time. Light some candles, play with some kids, eat way too much food and watch 20-year old Christmas specials 'til you feel like barfing. What could be more Christmassy than a thick stack of syrup-drenched waffles? To quote a certain claymation dinosaur...

I have several recent and mostly non holiday-related reports for you: I am now a professional musician (by only the tiniest stretch of the imagination), stinky water feels really good, not buying Christmas presents is a soul-freeing and joyous exercise, and dry heat still sucks no matter what anyone else tells you.

This photo is how I looked on Saturday night; I feel it really doesn't look like me at all, which is supported by the fact that two people who know me were at the party and didn't recognize me without my glasses and with all that makeup and other stuff on my head. The occasion was someone's 50th birthday, and two other members of my dance troupe and I were hired as part of the entertainment that night. Since I am in no way good enough to do a solo dance, I just dressed up and played back-up drumbeats while my troupe mates danced some ethnic-y belly dance numbers. There were also three other drummers and a guitarist, all of whom were real professionals. I feel honored that they let me play along with them, and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed myself. I so very much miss making music with other people. And I even got paid a little bit, which makes me a professional musician, right? Ha. I know that's somewhat of an exaggeration, but it's true enough that it gives my mom bragging rights so she can tout her daughter's successes to all her friends...

Sunday night, Alegra alerted me to the fact that there are hot springs in Jacumba, and that she was going there on Monday and I should go, too. I agreed that this was a fine idea, so yesterday morning four of us set out in her car to the high desert. Jacumba is a quaint (they have sundries! Doesn't that make it quaint?) little town in the mountains just before you drop down that long grade on the 8 freeway. The hot springs turned out to be merely warm on this occasion, but it was a great little place to hang out. Although stinky. The sign on the door to the hot tub claimed that it was "40% sulphur water." It certainly smelled like it, but were the contents of that tub really 40% sulphur? Wouldn't that kill you? Maybe they meant that the mineral content was 40% sulphur. Honestly, I wouldn't know enough about it either way. At any rate, it felt great. The water itself felt weirdly slippery, and it coated our silver jewelry with a changing rainbow of tarnishes, but it was extremely relaxing. We met a middle-aged couple who were originally from Croatia, but now live in Vista. They were both very sweet, excellent conversationalists, and experienced travelers and hikers as well. We all really enjoyed their company, and they may even come to visit me sometime at the brewery. The other guests were a bit more quirky, but that just fit the general atmosphere of the place. The decor was a mix of Mexican pottery, country antiques, giant fake flowers and weird plywood dioramas. But what else would you expect from a spa whose signage looks more well-suited to a cheap all-night diner? It was still a very enjoyable experience-- and the ivy-covered walkway was pretty cool.

After the stinky hot tub, Alegra and Diane and I walked out to the pool and laid out in the sun like lizards on the warm concrete. I actually got too hot, but it felt good compared to the chill of the shade. I had my beach towel draped over my face most of the time, and I noticed the most beautiful phenomenon. When I pushed the towel close to my eyes, the sunlight through the fabric made these shimmery circles of light appear and quiver like ethereal blue and green sequins, like fish scales, like I'm not sure what kind of gorgeous dancing light-refracting underwater-looking phenomenon. I really can't explain it any way that does it any justice at all but it was truly mesmerizing. As a consolation for my inability to convey just how beautiful that was, here's a cleavage shot for you. Alegra felt that my blog isn't sexy enough...

I spent the day today (after visiting all the kitties I am babysitting over the holidays) up at my brother's in-laws' house. I had a fine time, as I usually do. Carmen always cooks enough food to feed the entire state of Arizona, and I did my part to try and help diminish the mountains of edibles, but I don't think I made much of an impact. I came home with a bunch of cookies and these really yummy things that Mona made out of figs, feta cheese, and fresh basil. The small amount of time I spent there not eating I filled with watching the latest Pirates of the Caribbean debacle with Gracie, playing Scrabble, petting the hyper puppydogs, watching Emmy being ridiculously cute, and playing Guitar Hero or whatever that video game is called with Zach. It's actually pretty darn entertaining, as long as you don't really know how to play guitar already. Ken kept complaining that it was messing him up because he was trying to play along with the music. Huh. I think it was a case of sour grapes because I apparently have better eye-hand coordination than him. And my avatar was cuter.

Today was truly a fine day. The only thing that besmirched my mirthful mood was the weather. The Santa Ana winds are in town, and it's hot and dry. Blech. Hot at Christmas! This is just wrong. And the dryness makes it so much more unbearable--I don't care what all those people say about "dry heat!" What's good about your skin itching and your hair being all staticky and shocking innocent animals when you try to pet them? I do agree that summer in the south is a terrible and oppressive thing, having been briefly exposed a few times to the unbreathable, cloying air of North Carolina in August. But just because too much moisture and heat are so nasty doesn't mean in any way that by providing the opposite extreme of humidity that you are making an improvement. They both suck! And heat of any kind is just wrong at Christmas--unless you live in New Zealand. End of rant. To cheer you up a bit, here is the Albert Einstein action figure I discovered at Kiki's house the other day. I thought he'd look more authentic in sepia tones. Isn't he great? He's even holding a tiny piece of chalk so you can pretend to have him scribble quantum physics equations on your wall.
Happy Christmakwanzukkahsolsticeeid thingy to you!

A Restless Wind Inside a Letterbox

I am so positively overwhelmed with joy right now. Yes. I’m not sure exactly from whence this came, but when happiness decides to shower its reckless zig-zaggy light all over you, you would be a fool to question it. So I don't.

However, in an effort to explain, and for those of you who are less impressed by the esoteric machinations of the universe and more inclined to savor cold hard facts, here’s how my morning went: everything went right. Simple as that. I woke up early to take my car to the car-fixing place and get my oil changed, something I have been neglecting for far too long. The mechanic I went to is located exactly one block from one of my favorite coffee houses, Twiggs, so I went there to wait. The time I spent waiting for my car to be finished was more like a gift than a chore. I snuggled down in a dilapidated overstuffed chair, savored a Mexican mocha, and finished reading an amazing book.

Let me tell you about this book: it’s about a mouse. It’s a children’s book-- technically speaking. I think far too many grown-ups are robbing themselves of some of the greater joys in life by avoiding books with pictures in them. This was a true beauty of a book. It's called The Tale of Despereaux. About a mouse, like I said, but what a great little mouse he was--a small quivering hero of a mouse, a poetic little mouse with a love of romance and art. The language of the book is sheer golden wonderment to read. Truly, it’s beautiful. I am happy that I am not the kind of person who feels self-conscious reading children’s literature in public. You should try it sometime; it’s liberating. Being a grown-up is so often utterly boring and unrewarding that you really ought to put more effort into being childish. This is one of my most cherished philosophies in life. When people tell me that I am like a little kid (as I approach my fourth decade in life) I don’t take it as any kind of insult or negative criticism--no matter how they intended it. I think some people might be jealous, as rooted in their stalwart grown-upness as they are. What a shame. Go swing on the swings! Stick your tongue out at a coworker. Laugh in public for no earthly reason. It’s not that difficult to shed the confines of adulthood, and I highly recommend it.

At Twiggs, I also had the extreme coincidental luck (if you believe in that) to sit down next to an anthropology student who is studying under the tutelage of my brother-in-law. Archaeologists revolve in such small circles that this doesn’t surprise me in the least. We had a very friendly chat about the perils and the joys inherent to the profession of archaeology before I went back to my mouse book so she could finish her presentation. After I picked up my car (it sounds so happy now!), I stopped at Henry’s to pick up two things and of course bought over twenty. They had my favorite green juice on sale! Bliss, I tell you. And then, to top off all my successes of the early day, every single traffic light on the way home was green, except one. And then I was only stopped there for about six seconds. My trip home was such a fast easy breeze it seemed like I got there in no time at all. In fact, I believe I actually got home before I left.

Deep Thoughts by Lola Fitzgerald

Some ruminations on highway signage and language conventions: what’s up with “City Limits” and the perceived menace of landscaping? To elaborate, when approaching the end or beginning of a city, roadside signs tend to say something like “Blubbersville City Limit,” which I find to be perfectly reasonable--I mean a far as the word usage goes; I'm not so sure about the town of Blubbersville. It sounds like a very silly (or full of whale fat) place to live. So anyhow, in contrast to the signs, people in conversation or even in writing nearly always refer to city limits. Plural. This makes no sense. How can you have more than one limit to something? If you have more than one, then the first one really wasn’t a limit at all, now, was it?! A pre-limit? A probational limit that hasn't gotten it's official license to limit things yet? Hmpf.

And then there is my constant bafflement at the highway institution’s insistence that landscaping is something to be afraid of. If we have nothing to fear from artificially arranged vegetation, then what is with all those orange signs by the side of the freeway warning us direly that there is “LANDSCAPING AHEAD.” ??! Well, thank god they also have the follow-up signs letting you know when you can stop clenching the steering wheel in a death grip and begin breathing normally again--you know, the signs that say “END OF LANDSCAPING.” Whew! I always feel so much better knowing that my life is no longer in immediate danger from a bunch of hooligan shrubbery and misguided ground cover...

My last observation of the day is completely non-philosophical; it's pure amusement wrought by some poor well-meaning Christians whose attempts to spread holiday cheer went horribly awry. But in a really funny way. When I work at the brewery, I always drive south on the 15 to get home. As you go down the hill leading to Via Rancho Parkway, by Lake Hodges, there is a house all decked out in lights with their roof proclaiming in six-foot high letters “JESUS IS BORN.” Or at least, that’s what they are trying to say. Because of the angle of the roof, or perhaps due to something blocking part of the last word, it looks like it is telling you “JESUS IS PORN!” I’ve driven by it over seven times now and it never fails to make me laugh out loud and dissolve into a five-minute bout of snickering. Those poor people. If I didn’t have so much fun reading that every night on my way home, I’d find their house and tell them about the corruption of their spiritual message. I’m sure they’d be appalled. But honestly, they should be proud, and take heart in the fact that they are spreading good cheer and joy during this holiday season, albeit in rather a different way than they originally intended.

Non-cancerous Blog Post

On Wednesday I went to see my dermatologist for a follow up visit. He had done a biopsy on a red spot on my forehead that was looking forebodingly like some kind of non-malignant skin cancer. It was acting just like the spot I had on the side of my face two years ago that did turn out to be skin cancer. But the good news is that this time around, it was totally benign--not even pre-cancerous! Whoopee! Now I don’t have to worry about having them carve out a chunk of my forehead leaving me with a big Frankenstein scar right in the middle of my face. I'm actually rather partial to the inch-long scar on my left jaw from my last bout with basal-cell carcinoma--I try to pass it off as a relic from a knife fight with pirates. But having a scar right smack between the eyes would not be as fun. Nothing glamorous about that. I’m relieved as can be that all I have to do now is wait and see if it will go away by itself, which the doctor told me should happen.

What I have on my forehead is a keratosis, which I’ve already had a few of in other places, but they looked totally different than this one. Evidently I’m maddeningly susceptible to the keratosis thingies. The other ones I have tend to look kind of like warts, which is nasty. I had him freeze a few of those off while I was there. Not a fun process, but I look forward to being growth free. And I don’t have cancer! Life is good.

In other cranio-facial sort of news, one of my old ear tubes just fell out. You may or may not know that these things are standard procedure for me--because of the goofed-up cilia thing, my ears are highly prone to infection and just generally always plugged up and uncomfortable. Ear tubes are little bitsy plastic grommets that are inserted through the eardrum to allow drainage and prevent all that from happening. The one in my left ear had fallen out of my eardrum several months ago, which I was almost immediately aware of because my hearing decreased and the pain got worse. I'd gotten somewhat used to it the past four months or so. But just recently I had a nasty head cold that totally stopped up that ear--what I didn't know was that this ear tube was just hanging out in my ear canal and further obstructing my ability to hear. Well, now it's gone! I'm amazed at how tiny those things are. For a few seconds I considered taking a photo of it for you, but it wasn't very pretty after all this time and I realize that most of you don't have the childlike fascination that I do for medical procedures. Here's a stock photo of some ear tubes for the curious (mine was like the little white one with the red measurement above it). I didn't include the picture of an ear tube actually inserted into an ear drum out of concern for those of you who are delicate squeamish types. I try to be nice.

Dante's Tour Guide

Last night I had the weirdest tour ever at the brewery. Ken told me afterward that he and the guys who work in the store were watching the group assembling beforehand and said to each other (with a note of trepidation), “This ought to be interesting!” Yeah, lucky them, for not having to be the brunt of all the ensuing interestingness. One man in particular, wearing camouflage and a weird light-blue eyebrow piercing, was horrifyingly uncouth and challenging. He told me before the tour (using small words) that he was a trucker and that he was going to spend the night in our parking lot. Joy. Thankfully, he kept his mouth shut for most of the tour, but it was a strain nonetheless.

The other tour-goers included an intimidating tall guy with long dark hair, clad all in black, wearing some gigantic sort of tooth on a leather thong around his neck and a long black leather trench coat. Also, there were three giddy young kids, one of whom was sporting a pierced cheek (I didn’t know you could do that!) and one black and white striped eye, courtesy of a Halloweeny-themed contact lens. I also got to host a goofy antediluvian couple zooming around on a very large go-carty thing; the wife was standing on the back most of the time behind her husband. It was quite cute, actually--the rest of the time they spent snuggled on the front seat together. Fortunately, there was also one middle-aged couple whom I am eternally grateful to for gracing me with their rapt presence. They were my anchor. Whenever the rest of the crowd gaped at me in stony silence when I made my increasingly infrequent attempts at humor, I looked at this couple and was fortified by the expressions of gleeful anticipation on their faces. They were right there for me the whole tour. My rock, my salvation! I told them so afterward, too.

The guy in the trench coat actually turned out to be very nice, and asked some interesting and thoughtful questions. The young folks remained weird and silly, and the trucker dude continued to escalate his uncivilized behavior to the point that I nearly asked him to cut it out. I would have if I hadn’t been so afraid that he would have tried to fight me. Anyone who belches vociferously after downing each beer sample like a shot glass and then proclaims loudly “Bleach!!! Now I need a cigarette to get the taste of that shit out of my mouth!” is not someone I anticipate reacting docilely to a request to desist or vacate the premises. As Ken said, he most likely rounded out his evening guzzling Bud Light in his cab and muttering at his cowed girlfriend. I was not sad to see him go, which was sooner rather than later, thankfully. The nice couple stayed afterward for a long time to talk, which also made up for all the preceding discomfort.

In other news, I now have a spiffy new (well, pre-owned, if you must know) kitchen cart sitting next to my stove, courtesy of my friend Liz. No more cardboard boxes on my floor functioning as my inconvenient pantry! And I have extra food prep space, to boot. I am blessed to have such good friends. Barbara’s boyfriend Zack told me on Saturday that he would come over and finish up all the remaining jobs that need to be done around here so I can finally feel truly moved in! I still have uninstalled bathroom fixtures, curtain rods and blinds need to be put up, and two of my kitchen cabinets need shelves made. He’s even going to fix that ridiculous one-inch gap under my front door that lets all the cold air in. What an absolutely swell guy. I already liked him anyway; he’s one of the best huggers I’ve encountered in my entire life. And nothing is better than a good hug. Zack hugs you like he’s trying to break something, and he doesn’t let go until you’re on the verge of suffocation. But I like that.

Giant Spider Attacks and a Feminist Rant

Last night when I got home from work my new plant stand that I had ordered from Target was waiting on my doorstep. Yay! I got it for a super reduced price because it was supposed to be a Halloween decoration; it’s perfect for me as a permanent furnishing because I like creepy things. It’s wrought iron with black metal spider webs and spiders all over it. I think it’s adorable. I love spiders. Although this turned out to be a little too portentious... It was nearly 9 p.m. by the time I got home, but I was determined to set up my new home for my Christmas cactus. So I un-mummified the stand from its box and set it up in the corner of my porch, and went downstairs to retrieve my plant from its current exile by the fence. There were so many thick spiderwebs on the outside of the pot that it took me several minutes of wiping them off with my hands to disentangle it, compounded by the fact that it was very dark down there and I was using my sense of touch rather than looking at what I was doing. Those were some heavy duty webs!

After I got up to the top of my stairs and set my Christmas cactus down on its new station of honor, I was cleaning away the remaining webs and leaf debris when I saw a HUGE black widow spider crouching under the lip of the pot. Right next to my hand. I had spent all that time clearing her webbing away in the dark with her right there inches (or less!) from my fingers. Yikes! She was more scared of me than anything, however, and just curled herself up in a tight little ball when I scooped her up and tossed her into the tree. If there were children living in my apartment complex or the one next door, I would have killed it, but I’m glad I didn’t have to. She’s just going to have to go spin another one of her unbelievably strong and messy webs somewhere else.

Today I had to stop at the auto parts store to get some new windshield wiper blades--they hadn’t been replaced since last year sometime. In southern California, it makes absolutely no sense to get new wiper blades until you’re certain it’s going to rain in about five minutes. Otherwise, they just bake in the neverending sun and are useless when you finally need them. A big rainstorm is blowing in as I write this, so I wanted to get those wipers taken care of before I ended up installing the new ones outside in a downpour.

Finding the ones I needed was easy, and they only cost ten bucks for refills. Putting them on was a bit more challenging than I remember. First of all, I have no tools these days, so after shredding my thumbnails trying to pinch the little metal clampy things together I admitted defeat and asked the nice folks in the store if I could borrow a pair of pliers. They loaned me some, which made taking the old blades off a breeze. But trying to get those new ones on was a bitch. Yes, I said bitch! It’s okay to say that as long as you’re not talking about anybody in particular and it’s an inanimate object that has no gender...Yeah. So anyhow, I kept having to re-thread them over and over because on one side the blade would slide in through the appropriate groove, but the claws on the other side would be in the wrong place. And the situation reversed when I tried again. It wasn’t my fault! It was those stubborn grooves. I know what I’m doing, even though I’m a girl! Sheesh.

When I went inside to return the pliers, the woman behind the counter (who had told me she herself does not know how to put on new wiper blades) said “Hey, we were just about to send out a search party for ya!” Very funny. And the entire crew of the store was gathered behind the counter watching me. Apparently, a woman who knows how to fix absolutely anything on a car all by herself is something of a spectacle. I have to admit that I have a fairly hefty chip on my shoulder about this. My sense of pride is in overdrive when it comes to being able to do anything mechanical--I feel like I’ve got something to prove, which is totally ridiculous. But it’s also ridiculous that we still seem to cling to this outmoded notion that Y chromosomes somehow bestow innate mechanical knowledge upon the men who inherit them. I know how to use power tools, dammit! And why am I yelling?!

I apologize for being defensive about this, but it does still pique my mood if a man asks me if I need help checking my oil. It’s a matter of what you’ve learned, pure and simple, not what kind of equipment you were born with between your legs. More women do need to gain their independence in this matter and learn how to perform basic auto maintenance tasks themselves. Otherwise, men will continue to assume (justifiably!) that we’re incapable and we’ll continue to be taken advantage of by auto mechanics, and all my bluster is for naught.

Of Dwarves and Lexicon

Today I have mostly been just sitting around, lump-like; I have some sort of nasty cold thing going on that has elevated my usual phlegmy state from moderate to torrential (national mucus threat level: orange!). Not to mention the fevery business--yesterday morning I was so cold that no matter how many layers of clothing I piled upon myself or how many cups of hot tea I swigged down, I was shivery and miserable. And then by last night the pendulum swung the other way and I was a reduced to a sweaty puddle of overheated exhaustion. According to Jen, I have a fever, today, too, but I don’t feel quite so nasty.

I took Jen to a doctor appointment today; she had asked me last week so I couldn't leave her in the lurch. While I was waiting for her, I went downstairs outside the medical building to sit on the edge of the stone fountain and bask in the warmth of the sun. It was quite nice. The gentle heat and the gurgling water were so soothing I even forgot how bad I felt temporarily. And then I heard a voice--an adult’s voice speaking in high-pitched baby talk--ask me “Did you put your feet in the nice wataw?” I looked around, confused, and saw two women in their 60s walking arm-in-arm toward me. The one who addressed me was holding up a doll puppet on her arm at face height, and the doll’s blank frozen happy face was nodding at me, yellow yarn-hair wagging. It was the DOLL who asked me the question! Egad. Trying to disguise the fear leaping into my throat, I managed to say, “No” or some other stunted phrase in a normal voice. To which the doll said something else babyish as the scary puppet lady grinned at me. Fortunately, they kept walking throughout this exchange, so by that point I was free to let the look of horror wash over my face. I feel like I should have checked to make sure David Lynch wasn’t lurking around the corner with a movie camera. No dwarves speaking in tongues followed, so I think I’m safe.

I need to talk about something else now. Think of England! Think of England!

So, my mom sent me this fabulous link today: Free Rice. It’s a nonprofit website that donates rice to people who don’t even have enough of that to eat on a daily basis. Instead of just clicking a button to donate, you take a vocabulary quiz. Each word you get right donates 10 grains of rice. Sounds odd? Wait til you try it! It’s addictive. Now, I’ve always been a word nerd, but even if you aren’t, you should try it out--people will be fed and you will have made yourself a much smarter human in the process. I like that it keeps track of which level you’re on. It also reacts much like the GRE tests--it keeps asking you harder words when you get them right, and then switches back to easier ones the more you get stumped. Unlike the GRE, it is untimed, and you don’t feel like your entire future is balanced on whether or not you guess the next question correctly. If you are good at word roots, it’s fairly easy to figure out the definitions of words you don’t know. For instance, I got that hortatory means “urging” even though I’d never seen it before. Think exhortation. Fun, huh? Or maybe I am just a raging geek. Yeah, probably that.

How Not to Break into a House

Hey, great news everyone! Security doors really, really work. It took a trained professional armed with power tools and fancy cat-burglar equipment nearly 30 minutes to get through mine. I may be assuming things here, but I'm pretty sure that your average thief is usually going for fast and quiet when seeking to break into your house. Drilling and hammering your way through a security door is definitely neither.

Oh, are you curious about why someone had to hammer and drill through my door? Let me tell you about my day! This morning I was still feeling rather unwell (damn lungs), so I stayed in bed until I had to get up to shower for work, at about 12:20 p.m. Shower completed and feeling nearly ready for the day, I went downstairs prepared to drive to the brewery. Except that my car wouldn’t start. The battery was so unbelievably dead. Oh my. I’ll spare you details of the ensuing stressfest, but suffice it to say that by the time Chuck and my neighbor got my battery charged up, I had missed the 2 o’clock tour I was supposed to give at work.

Top this off with a nasty dose of freeway-choking holiday traffic, and you had a very grumpy and despairing Kathryn arriving at work. Thankfully, working at the brewery always cheers up my day, and today was no exception. However, while work improved my mood significantly, it did nothing to make me feel better physically. I was feeling like a train wreck by the end of my shift and SO grateful to be on my way home to some hot tea and bed and a book.

Urgh. Because I had to leave my keys in the ignition this morning so my engine could run, I locked the doorknob part of my screen door rather than the deadbolt. I had a bad feeling about it somehow. Well, those feelings came home to roost with a nasty sharp pointy vengeance. When I got home the door would not open no matter how much I pulled, twisted, and rattled it. I was nearly in tears. Home was SO close! And poor Sylvie was beside herself, yowling pitifully at me through the window the entire two hours I was locked out. Yes, two. Two. Hours. Jesus god! Chuck came over (how many times is he going to have to save me this week?!) with some tools to try to chisel it open, but all we did was break the tools we tried. So I broke down and called a locksmith. Chuck was kind enough to wait with me until he arrived.

Once the very nice young lock-picker got here, he basically waged a full-scale war on that doorknob. Because of the metal flange on the front of the door covering the locks, his usual tools couldn’t reach. So he took out his drill and stuck it right in the middle of the doorknob and demolished the bejeezus out of it. It was actually kind of pretty the way the metal shavings came flying out of it; it was a sparkly silver fountain, almost like fireworks. Pretty! Maybe I was just delirious at that point. At any rate, after a lot of drilling from different angles, hammering chisels into it, and using all sorts of pliers to pull out decimated lock innards, the thing finally came off. That poor young man sure earned his fee tonight. It was 10:45 when he left.

Now I have a gaping hole in my door (not quite so secure anymore) and a glittering pile of metal shavings all over my landing. Still, I am grateful to be inside my house. Home! This is what I’m thankful for--that today is just about over. Happy Thanksgiving!

Gimme Some Money

Hey everyone, I would like you to know that so far the PCD Fundraising Walk has been much more successful than I had anticipated. My goal this year was only $1,800.00 (compared to last year’s goal of 4K--which we surpassed!). As of this moment, we have raised $1,523.00. This does not include $400 of pledges that have yet to come in, plus the other money from people who have promised to help but have not stated a specific amount yet. Several of the good people who came to the walk event on Saturday told me they are still in the midst of asking for donations. So there is more to come!

I couldn’t be happier. Unless of course, you are someone who has not yet found the time to donate. Please consider it if you have the means to do so! It’s quite easy--you just go to the PCD Foundation website and click on the “donate now” link on the left. It takes you to a secure Paypal site. When you get to the "Review Your Payment" page, please click on "optional message" link (a little white plus sign in a blue square on the left) and write "San Diego Walk" in the drop-down box that appears. I know many of us don’t have any substantial funds to spare this year; it’s been tough for a lot of people. But even five little dollars will help, if you have it. Or three, or TWO! I want my two dollars!! If you can't, then my sympathies are with you and I wish you luck and support, since you need it as much if not more than we do.

While you’re at our website, why not browse around for a bit? Wouldn’t you like to know where your money is going? PCD is actually quite a fascinating disease; not usually fun to have, to be sure, but really interesting to learn about. I bet some of you didn’t even know that all of my internal organs are arranged backwards from yours! If that isn’t cool then I don’t know what is...

Here’s the photo of all the wonderful folks who took the time to not only extort money from their friends and coworkers, but to show up on a Saturday morning to walk around a lake in Mira Mesa with me in a much appreciated display of solidarity. There are six unpictured people who deserve credit but missed the photo shoot--Kiki, Iv, Sophia, Lisa, Jennifer (represented by her happy doggy) and Brett. Look closely--these are all very special people.


And since I used their song for the title of this post, here's the special bonus of a happy little Spinal Tap video.

The Best Thing I've Done All Day

Yesterday was a mostly quite yucky day--one of those days where everything seems to go wrong. But I went to dance practice last night and that sure lightened my mood. Dancing is good for you. And it certainly helps when the rest of your dance troupe is in a ridiculously silly mood. We spent as much time laughing as dancing--sometimes laughing at ourselves while we were dancing. At one point Jessica was collapsed on the floor with her hands fluttering helplessly because she was laughing so hard. That must have been after Evie improvised some of our song lyrics--rather than singing "wala zaman" she sang "I once was a man." If you've ever seen Evie you'd understand why it's so funny; she is one of the most feminine, curvy and decidedly un-manlike women you'll ever meet.

While today has been an improvement over yesterday's mini-catastrophes, I'm still feeling a fair amount of stress over many major things in my life, including the PCD Walk that I’ve organized for tomorrow (donated yet??!). But then something wonderful happened. I am in the midst of a huge laundry-washing project, and my bed is all stripped down.When I walked past my bedroom door, my bed looked SO inviting with all my pillows piled on it in a heap that I couldn’t help myself. I ran in, leapt high up into the air and did a huge bellyflop onto the pillows on the mattress. I was actually shrieking with laughter it felt so good. I’m still grinning like a fool as I type this. Try it sometime--I guarantee it will make you feel better. Who says kids should be the only ones to be silly and spontaneous?

Beware of Surrealism

Today I went for my first real bike ride since I hurt my knee. I have missed it terribly! In addition to needing the exercise, I desperately needed to get outside and into the sunshine. My vitamin D stores seem to be a bit low. I am so horrifically out of shape that I had to go fairly slowly; it definitely wasn’t my usual high-speed zoom around Mountain View Drive. But going slower has its advantages--I noticed many houses I’ve never really gotten a good look at before, and I pedaled down every single dead-end street that forks off Mtn. View and onto the edge of the hills overlooking Mission Valley. I stopped at the end of each street to survey the canyons and the freeways buzzing far below. At my last stop I could even see a distant blue swipe of ocean framed between the ridgetops constraining the valley (that's a picture of it up there).

I do love this neighborhood. It’s laid back and comfy; people walk their dogs and go for bike rides at all hours of the day. And nearly everybody I passed gave me a big smile and returned my hellos. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. The warmth of a stranger’s smile can be tremendous, and it made me laugh out loud with goofy joy almost every time. And then there was the old church on my way home where someone was playing the carillon, and there were a couple of older women stopped on the sidewalk, leaning against the fence and just listening to the wonderful noise of the bells. And then there are the cars sprinkled throughout the neighborhood bearing bumperstickers that say things like “Republicans for Voldemort” and “I Do Whatever the Rice Krispies Tell Me To.”

People in this neighborhood are are just downright creative; many houses have eccentric paint jobs or outlandish decorations, handmade signs and jumbled landscaping. This is my favorite “Beware of Dog” sign in my neighborhood. The owners also have several other multicolored portraits of their dogs displayed in two of their windows and on their garage door. I think you really ought to beware of dogs that look like this. They might bite you squarely on your sense of reality and permanently damage it, causing you to wander forever in a Cubist universe full of women with three eyes and one-sided faces.

Several Bats Firmly Ensconced in Belfry...

It’s true. I’ve officially lost my mind. I am going to my 20-year high school reunion this weekend. Please scrape your chin up off the floor for a moment and let me ‘splain. No, that would take too long; let me sum up. I am curious. I also want to put to rest some of the ghosts of mine who are still happily in residence in the town of El Centro, where I spent several years of my not-so-happy youth. Sooooooo there you have it: class reunions as therapy. I will report in a few days and let you know how this experiment worked. Wish me luck! I will need it, as I’m starting to feel rather stressed and incredulous about the whole thing. I’m goin’ in!

And now for some much-needed sleep. I only gave two tours at the brewery today since I’m still not feeling up to par as far as my lungs and general health are concerned...but then I stayed afterwards for our diabetes fundraiser and just general shmoozing for a solid five hours after my shift ended. Hey, that beer I had was strictly for fundraising purposes. Never mind that oaked Imperial Russian Stout in a cask is one of the finest beers I have ever tasted, hands down... oh my.

Thinking about my tired and beleaguered lungs reminded me to remind all of you fine folk that I am indeed putting on my sorta annual fundraiser walk for PCD this year. And it’s happening in less than two weeks! If I haven’t asked you personally yet, please consider giving a small donation to our cause. Or a big one! In all seriousness, the PCD Foundation really needs a substantial financial boost, and you can help. Yep. For more information on the PCDF or PCD in general, please go to our website here. You can donate online by clicking on the link on the left that says “donate now.” If you do, please kindly put “SD walk” in the comments box so we know how to credit it. We are a totally non-profit organization, and it’s 100% tax-deductible. Thanks so much, friends. I really mean that.

And for those of you not in the know, both my brother and I have PCD. It is the reason that the fires have messed with our health so much these past weeks, and the reason that I end up in hospitals every once in a while.

Just call me Joan

I’m having a not-so-good day today, so here’s something to cheer both me and youse guys up. Hopefully. Okay, two. TWO things to cheer us up. Thing One: Yesterday I worked at Stone for the first time since the fires started. The air was supposedly much clearer, but I’m not so sure now...but that's not the good part. At any rate, when I was on my break I read a very uplifting story in the local paper; something very welcome after over 12 days of bad news. An older woman from Fallbrook had lived in her house there for several decades and over the years became close friends with her next-door neighbor. Sometime in the last few years, the neighbor man came down with cancer and was gravely ill for a long time. He died a short time ago, and willed his house to the neighbor lady. She received the deed to his house four days before the fires started. The fires ravaged their neighborhood, burning her house to the ground, but you guessed it, leaving his standing. She now has a place to live, thanks to her friend. If that’s not wonderful I don’t know what is.

Here’s Fun Thing Number Two: Halloween!! I dressed up at work yesterday, and also went to my friends’ Halloween party. Those of you who know me well know how much I love to dress up, and I think I did a swell job this year. I would like you all to know that I sewed my own faux chain mail tunic for this. The whole thing. By myself. Without a pattern. Without anybody who knew what they were doing to help me. It was a monumental pain in the rear much of the time, and I’m sure somebody who knows how to sew could have made the whole thing from start to finish in under an hour. I won’t even tell you how long it took me...I spent about twenty minutes alone just staring at the sleeves and trying to figure out how to attach them....but suffice it to say that for a person who’s only ever sewed one other article of clothing in her entire life, I think I did swimmingly. It even looks like chain mail from a distance! I made it out of black knit fabric with an overlay of wide silver mesh. Here is the end result of all my hard labor:
Oh, and I really did cut my hair all off. I will spare no expense for the authenticity of my costumes. Joan of Arc did not have long hair, you know. Well, nor did she get burned at the stake in her armor (she didn't wear chain mail either), but how else would anybody know who I was? I also had a long piece of wood tied behind me, but it's not so obvious in the photos that it's attached. My stake only went down a few inches below the small of my back; I had to be able to sit down at work. While I was able to sit, having a long piece of wood tied to my back sure kept my posture amazingly and uncomfortably straight. Another unforeseen problem: Barbara had to untie it so I could use the bathroom. Consequently I drank much less water than I should have the remainder of the day so that she wouldn’t have to keep untying and tying me up again. Not that she was complaining...

Here are just a few of the guests at Natalie and Brenna's party from last night--Jen and I made her beyootiful flower costume all by hand. Foam mattress shapes covered by fabric. Neato, eh?
Being the good folk that they are, Natalie and Brenna know that Halloween is the best holiday of the year, and they treat it accordingly. They decorate the bejeezus out of their house and throw an eerily-lit party with disgusting looking food to eat. The main fare this year was a pan of baked stuffed intestines. They looked oh-so-realistic; mmmmmmm, tasty! Here is their bathroom, remade into a torture chamber where four unfortunate stuffed animals met a grisly fate (note the re-named toiletry items: kleenexes as gagging cloths, and the hand lotion was chain lubricant...). Make sure you take a closer look so you can see the poor kitty in the mirror hanging from the shower curtain rod.

San Diego Fires Day Nine

9:44 a.m.
Today will be my last day of fire reports, unless something monumental turns up. I have gotten a lot of feedback from out-of-state (even out-of-country) friends and family that my blog has been helpful, and that’s why I’ve continued updating it so frequently and for so many days. I have, at times, grown quite weary of writing about it, but knowing that you were counting on me to give you accurate and up-to-date information provided me with a very tangible sense of purpose. So, in addition to being grateful that I could do something to help, I thank you all for providing me a means to keep busy during this whole ordeal.

Today’s news, much like yesterday’s, is mostly concerned with totals and tallies. Absolutely nothing about exactly where and how the remaining fires are still burning. I do know that there are only about 2,600 people remaining under evacuation orders. This is all from the Poomacha (Pumacho, I’ve seen several different versions) Fire up in the northern area of the county.

As of last night, they had surveyed 99% of all the burned areas in unincorporated parts of the county. For those areas, here are the latest numbers:

The number of residential, commercial and industrial buildings destroyed is:

* Witch Fire 573
* Harris Fire 206
* Rice Canyon Fire 208
* Poomacha Fire 16
* TOTAL 1,003

The estimated cost of structural damage in the unincorporated areas is $400 million.

These totals do not include the burned areas within city limits. Those numbers were posted in yesterday’s (Friday’s, really) total, and if you combine them you get a total of 2,627 structures burned so far. This doesn’t include several hundred homes and other buildings that were damaged but not totally destroyed.

At least the fires appear to be on their way out. Yesterday was warm and sunny, but today the clouds have returned, and the weather forecast calls for drizzling spots of rain to begin tonight and continue through Wednesday. I hope this will extend inland enough to help dampen the remaining fires.

San Diego Fires Day Eight

10:07 a.m.
Here are the statistics as of 8:30 this morning: The Harris Fire is 65% contained, the Witch Fire is 90% contained--this is the one that has done the most damage to both wildlife and humans--the Rice Fire is 100% contained, and the Pumacho Fire is only 50% contained.

8:00 p.m.
There really isn't any important breaking news that I can find; so here is some general information on what these fires have done so far. As of Friday at 4 p.m., the fires in San Diego County had burned approximately 26% of the total acreage in the county. One-fourth of our entire county was on fire. I don't expect the total burned acreage to increase that much, even though that total was reported two days ago; it really appears that the fires have not advanced much in the interim. But it's difficult to be sure, since they stopped reporting as thoroughly once the fires slowed down. Over a half-million people were evacuated during this past week; that makes about 20% of the total population of San Diego County. About 90% of those evacuees have been allowed back home--thankfully, it appears that most of them still had homes to go back to.

This was also found in the same series of articles from the local NBC website (Friday's news):

Although it is little consolation to fire victims, Cal Fire statistics also show the 2007 fires combined were still not as destructive as the fires in 2003.

The 2003 Cedar Fire burned 273,246 acres and destroyed 4,847 structures making it the most destructive fire in California history in both acres burned and structures destroyed.

The Witch Fire is estimated at 197,990 acres burned and 1,266 structures destroyed, making it the third largest fire in California history in acreage, and the fourth most destructive for structures.

So far, the fires of October 2007 burned 352,593 acres and 1,709 structures.

The fires in October 2003 burned 376,237 acres and 5,268 structures.

I say it's a little too early to be counting totals--not that I wish in any way for the counts to be higher; I just really don't see how they can have accurately tallied all the destroyed or damaged houses already. Some people are still evacuated, even though it's true that the vast majority have been allowed to go home.

9:24 p.m.
This has nothing to do with the fires. Thank goodness. I just discovered yet another great thing about living by myself: I ate my dinner tonight in my underwear, just because I could. And because it's too dang hot in here to wear pants. Oh, stop! It's nothing to get all riled up about; I'm wearing my comfy cotton undies and they aren't risque in the slightest.

And to top off all the fun, here are a few picture of my cat--it's been way too long since I subjected you all to the endless parade of Sylvie photos. And she has nothing to do with fire.

9:07 p.m.

Incredibly, the last update I read stated that as of 6:30 this evening, the Pumacho Fire is "the only blaze in San Diego County with active flames along the perimeter." Does this mean the other fires are out? I'm certain they would have said so explicitly if that were the case. Perhaps the Pumacho Fire is the only one that is still advancing to burn in new areas while the others are not? Whatever the exact meaning of this report, it seems to be good.

There have been isolated spots of fine drizzle in my neighborhood today, and I heard that in at least two beach communities, they had actual rain. What a wonderful thing.

San Diego Fires Day Seven

11:06 a.m.
When I woke up this morning the most glorious sight greeted me--clouds! They don't look like rain clouds, but the whole sky is full of grey and white, and I’m hoping the cooler weather they brought with them will help smother the fires into submission. The weather forecast even predicts a slight chance of thunderstorms. Yesterday evening I had noticed a few clouds in the sky, and those were the first I’d seen since the fires started--the sky has been a blank relentless smoky blue all week. So clouds are good.

Almost all of the news I’ve been finding since yesterday is of evacuation notices being lifted. This is also good! I have heard nothing about new homes and populations being threatened. However, my cynical side is raising its baleful head-- I’m wondering if the recent dearth of reporting on where the fires actually are now is because the more highly populated, wealthier areas are no longer in any danger. Do we really stop reporting on who’s facing destruction if they don’t have enough money? The fires are only in the unincorporated areas of the county now, in the most rural reaches near some of the Indian Reservations and where the folks who don’t have scads of money live. Maybe my righteous wrath is too quick to be ignited; but I really can’t help wondering if this doesn’t have something to do with the lack of reports.

Despite that little pessimistic glimmer, I am fairly confident that the news will continue to get better. Here is the latest fire synopsis as of 9:24 this morning, copied from the San Diego Emergency site:

Harris Fire is 85,800 acres and 50% contained. Full containment is expected on October 31st and full control on November 4th. There are 2,068 firefighters assigned. Cost to date $7.8 million. There have been 16 injuries to firefighters, 21 civilians burned and 5 civilian fatalities. 188 homes, 1 commercial property and 222 outbuildings destroyed. 250 homes and 2 commercial properties damaged.

The Witch Fire is 197,990 acres and 60% contained. Full containment is expected on October 31st and full control on November 5th. There are 3,031 firefighters assigned. Cost to date $9.2 million. There have been 34 injuries to firefighters, 2 civilian fatalities. 911 homes, 30 commercial property and 175 outbuildings destroyed. 62 homes, 10 commercial properties, 50 outbuildings damaged.

The Rice Fire is 9,000 acres and 80% contained. Full containment is expected on October 28th and full control on November 5th. There are 967 firefighters assigned. Cost to date $3,108,143 million. There have been 4 injuries to firefighters.

The Poomacha Fire is 43,000 acres and 45% contained. Full containment and control on October 29th. There are 1,838 firefighters assigned. There have been 14 injuries to firefighters. 78 homes, 19 outbuildings destroyed.

On a much more frivolous (but much-needed!) note, I went out with some friends last night. Brett’s band played at the bar at Humphrey’s and they were all outfitted in crazy 70s-ish gangster/pimp/disco mode. So we all dressed up, too. I was a little more subdued; Kerry decided I was more on the beatnik end of the spectrum, but more brightly colored. Kerry did such a fabulous job with my eyeshadow that I feel you need to see it. I was also wearing a truly amazing orangey-red sparkly super shiny lip gloss, but the color just didn’t transfer in the photo, so here is the consolation prize, the first non-fire related photo of the week (the eyeliner wore off, but you can still see the funky eyeshadow):


The rest of my outfit consisted of a black velvet top, a short knitted skirt of orange and purple marled yarn, tights, knee high black boots with chunky heels, and my mother’s authentic 70s super long pearl strand that I wrapped twice around my neck with a long loop tied in a knot. I do love to dress up! I apologize that there aren’t any other photos; Kerry has yet to send me the ones that she took while we were out, and I couldn’t exactly take a full-length shot of myself after I got home, now could I?

San Diego Fires Day Six

9:04 a.m.
I can't believe it's been six days. In a way it seems like this whole nightmare just started. But it's also been interminable--the waiting to see just how much the fires would ravage; my feelings of uselessness as I sit in my apartment unable to go outside due to the terrible air quality; just plain cabin fever due to my self-imposed seclusion.

The fires are still burning, but they seem to have dramatically slowed their advance. The Witch Fire is 45% contained now, and the Harris Fire is 20% contained. "Full containment" is expected by October 28th and 31st, respectively, but they won't be under "full control" until November 4th. The total number of acres burned has not increased significantly since I last reported statistics--it's about 325,000 acres. More to follow when I'm more fully awake...

2:22 p.m.
I haven't found any significant news about the fires since this morning. I take this as a very good sign. While it's true that they are still burning, and there are still people who are not allowed home (if they have a home to go back to) the worst really does appear to be behind us. I'm not the praying type, but I'm hoping with every molecule in my body that this is so. There are a few friends of mine whom I haven't heard from and this worries me.

I've had the opportunity over the past several days to do a lot of ruminating about human behavior (quite by coincidence, I was just listening to Bjork singing the song by that name a few seconds ago).

Something that I believe to be true is that disaster--much like being drunk tends to exaggerate people’s personalities on one end of the spectrum or the other--brings out either the very best or the very worst in us. There have been so many incidences of people going out of their way to help others this past week it’s been truly heartwarming and inspiring. And then there is the other side of the coin, the people whose actions I simply cannot fathom; those who prey upon the suffering and use tragedy to serve their own selfish ends. Lisa found somebody on the internet who was offering a pet shelter service--for sixty dollars a night. What an ass. And there are countless other looters and price-gougers and thieves. But then there are also people who could easily turn a profit from the disaster and instead choose to do the opposite--a hotel in Pacific Beach has offered free rooms to evacuees. Like the political situation in our country the past 7 years, these fires have proved to be a polarizing event. I’m happy to say that I’ve at least witnessed firsthand much more of the good side than the bad.

I've been doing a lot of introspection as well. Many things I won’t write about in such a public space, but I am learning a lot about myself. I’ve learned that I have a real need to be helpful and useful; I’ve always known this to some extent, and called it my “I need to save the world complex.” But I never knew just how miserable I could be if rendered unable to exercise these urges. Having to stay inside and not be out there helping has really upset me. Hence the cookie-baking for the firefighters.

I’ve also learned that I’m much more concerned about how I look than I thought I was. This is somewhat of a shock and rather disappointing, to boot. I’ve noticed that when going outside wearing my mask, I’m incredibly self-conscious. And why should I be? Why do I care what others think of me? I think that one thing that is going on in my brain is concern that people will think I’m some sort of over-worried hypochondriac person who probably washes her hands 8 zillion times a day and sprays down her surroundings with hand sanitizer. Honestly; my lung condition is not obvious to anyone. But I need to get over it. It’s difficult to, however, when even some grown-ups can’t handle the situation gracefully.

Yesterday I actually drove by a man riding on a bicycle who pointed at me, laughed, made masking motions with his hand, and laughed again. And he had a child with him. At least all his son/nephew/little brother did was stare. My feelings were actually hurt for a few seconds before I snapped out of it and realized that if anyone should be feeling bad, it should be him. It’s hard to maintain that stiff upper lip, though. This afternoon I walked to Jyoti-Bihanga, the vegetarian place half a block away, and was stared at by an entire roomful of diners when I walked in, and particularly on my way out, since I had to put the mask on before I went out the door while my hands were free. I swear the conversation stopped as I walked by. It’s unnerving to walk past that many people who are all frankly appraising you while knowing you look a bit odd.

I’m also a little concerned at how few other people I’ve seen wearing masks. During the Cedar Fires four years ago, practically everybody was wearing some sort of protection for at least a few days. But because the particulate pollution is not as visible this time around, I suppose people are taking it for granted that the air is harmless.

I’m really upset, actually, that so many people were out today with their small children playing in the park. The air is still in the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” to “unhealthy” ranges today. The only other people I saw with masks were a man riding his bike, and a guy standing on the street corner spinning a sign. Absolutely everybody else is out and about conducting business as usual, sucking loads of tiny particles into their lungs. Perhaps I’m just jealous that they can be so cavalier about it all, while I have to take extensive measures to protect myself. My lungs have been suffering, anyhow, no matter what I do. It’s impossible to keep this stuff out.

San Diego Fires Day Five

10:32 a.m.
Dear friends and family, I am on my way out the door to go babysit for a friend, so I can’t write much at the moment. I know how many of you are checking my blog for updates so I offer this small glimmer of hope: The fires are still burning, but after checking this morning’s fire map, it really looks as if they are slowing down. The winds returned to normal yesterday which helps, although the hot and dry conditions still persist in the areas where the fires are active. The fires continue to burn north and east at this point. They expect to have full containment of the Harris and Rice Fires by Halloween. There was no date given for expected containment of the Witch Creek or Pumacho Fires.

One downside to the winds returning to their normal offshore-to-inland flow is that it has made the air quality worse where I live. What happened is that the Santa Anas blew all the smoke from the fires out over the ocean, and then when the winds resumed their normal pattern they brought it all back with them. So I still can’t go outside; the air pollution levels remain at “unhealthy” today.

Here are those links if you’d like more news:
SD County Emergency website
local air quality website

11:56 a.m.
I am at Kiki's house right now, and I can really appreciate how much cleaner the air is at my place. I was hoping to hang out here for a while and visit once she gets home, but I don't think I'll be able to stay. I must head home for my stuffy little HEPA-filtered refuge. When I first went out to get in my car on the way over here, I noticed a fine layer of ash on the hood and roof. I couldn't see it so much on the sidewalk, but my car is black so it shows up quite plainly. Even though these fires are worse than the ones in 2004, the ash in my area is much less than it was then. During the Cedar Fires, the ash was so thick that when you walked outside you left footprints in it.

The kids and I are making sugar cookies for the firefighters right now. We've got a production line going--shaping the balls of dough, rolling them in sugar, and then smashing the balls flat on the cookie sheet with a glass. The funny part is that the glass we're using is a Shrek glass that was from McDonald's (they don't eat there; where did it come from?!) and the bottom of the glass left little "M" imprints on the tops of all the cookies. We decided that having the McDonald's logo on our cookies was a terrible thing, so Ivvy rubbed the tops with sugar to erase them. It worked; the cookies are out of the oven and McDonald's-free.

7:08 p.m.
We took the cookies over to the fire station a few hours ago. Three firemen were there, and told us that things were definitely getting better. They wouldn't have been at the station at all if the fires were still at their worst. They were quite appreciative of the cookies, but I'm not sure I trust them to save any for the firefighters who are still out there--they were eyeing those cookies pretty hungrily. And they called Ivvy a girl. He actually took it quite well; he says he gets it all the time. People just aren't used to 9 year-old boys with ponytails, I guess.

In fire news, I have some very sobering statistics to report. There have been 14 deaths so far, seven of which are directly attributed to the fire. Four of the victims haven't been identified yet. Nearly three dozen firefighters have been injured fighting the fires, but none have been killed. About 325,000 acres have been burned in San Diego County. I don't know anything yet about how many homes have been destroyed; I'm sure that they haven't even began an accurate count yet.

To leave you on a more positive note, generally speaking, the fire situation is really looking much better. Here is the latest fire map:If you compare this one with the one from yesterday you can see that the active fire areas are much smaller. I am hopeful.

San Diego Fires Day Four

10:57 a.m.
I had the worst bout of insomnia last night that I have had in years. I got up twice after not being able to sleep; finally at 4 a.m. I broke down and took a sleeping pill, something I hate doing, but the situation demanded it. I probably fell asleep just as 5 a.m. was rolling in.

With that introduction, I think you will forgive me if I resort to cutting and pasting for this morning's fire update. I took the following text from the SD County Emergency website:

10-24-07 9:30 a.m. Fires update from CAL FIRE: The Harris Fire is now 73,000 acres, suppression costs are at $2.5 million. There have been 7 injuries. 759 Firefighters assigned. The fire was held at the edge of Chula Vista and Spring Valley. The returning onshore flow has moved the fire to the northeast threatening structures along Highway 94 from Jamul to the east and Jamacha to the west. Lyons Peak was burned and the fire jumped perimeter control lines in the area.

The Witch Fire is still 196,420 acres, but now 10% contained, suppression costs are at $2.3 million. There have been 12 injuries to firefighters. There are 1,841 firefighters assigned to this fire. The fire will continue to move east threatening the communities of Julian and Pine Hills. Fire has potential to move north and join with the Poomacha Fire. Fire spread to west and southwest is still a potential. There have been 645 structures destroyed – 250 damaged. 100 commercial properties destroyed – 75 destroyed. 50 outbuildings destroyed – 50 damaged.

The Rice Fire is 7,500 acres and 15% contained. 1 firefighter has been injured. Cost to date to fight the fire is $585,000. Red Flag conditions during daylight hours. De Luz and Fallbrook are evacuated. Over 400 structures in De Luz and Northern Fallbrook area threatened.

The Poomacha Fire 25,000 and 0% contained. 659 firefighters assigned to this fire. Cost to fight this fire is $350,000. Fire increased in size due to extreme fire behavior, lack of resources and high winds. Some resources are beginning to arrive, but no significant perimeter control has been initiated due to structure protection priorities.

I have also found out that seven deaths are now associated with the fires, one of which is directly attributed to the Harris Fire. The others apparently occurred during or as a result of the evacuation process. Another significant note is that the Witch Fire is not burning on its western perimeter at all anymore; the winds have shifted and it is mostly burning to the northeast. The same goes for the Harris Fire. I am hoping that this will make them easier to contain since it signals that the Santa Ana winds have died down; the cooler, moister, and much slower ocean winds have much less potential for whipping the flames. It also means that the fires are no longer threatening the most densely populated areas.

The map below shows the total perimeters of the fires in SD County. The orange is the total area that has burned while the red spots are where the fires were still active as of 8 a.m. this morning. You can download your own zoomable pdf version of this map from the SD County Emergency website--it's in the list on the right side of the page.
5:48 p.m.
Things haven't changed too much since this morning. The winds are still blowing in from the oceans, which is bad on the one hand since they are pushing the fires back in a different direction, but good on the other hand since they are much less fierce and much less dry. This http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifmeans they can't add as much fuel to the fire as the Santa Anas did the past three days. People are being evacuated along the 94 freeway now, and some people who were evacuated earlier and then allowed home are finding they have to leave again due to the wind changes. The Witch Creek Fire and the Pumacho Fire have joined up in the northern part of the county, near Palomar Mtn.

Even without any fires due east of me, and even with the wind change, the air pollution remains at "unhealthy" levels according to the local air quality website. My lungs are definitely suffering. I noticed earlier that my front door has a full one-inch gap at the bottom--no weatherstripping whatsoever. I stuffed my bathmat into the space. No wonder I could still smell smoke occasionally, even with my filters on. This is an old house, full of cracks and spaces and crooked window frames. There is also a vent built into the ceiling of my kitchen that is really just a big beveled hole in the roof. How can I block that? At any rate, I still feel extremely lucky that boredom and some hopefully temporary lung troubles are the worst I'm suffering from all this. So many people are dealing with much much worse.

San Diego Fires Day Three

The previous post was getting too long. Those of you who haven't read it need to start there first. Here is the SD Emergency site where you will find the most up-to-date info about the fires. Here's a link to google maps with a fire outline and evacuation info (thanks Joe!).

10:34 a.m.
I am having a progressively more difficult time writing about the fire situation here. There is so little good news. A new fire has started up on the La Jolla Indian Reservation in the north area of the county, and they are sending people to the Palomar Mtn. Observatory, which frightens me. What will happen if the mountain catches on fire? They will have nowhere to go. I am trying my best to trust that those in charge know what is safe. So many areas have been evacuated now I can’t even recount them here.

One thing I noticed this morning really helped me feel better--three local clinics have opened up on a no-appointment-needed basis, and are charging those without insurance on a generous sliding scale. Bless them. I am feeling more and more helpless and useless as I sit holed up in my apartment with my air filters on. I want to help, but I really don’t know what I could do. I can’t volunteer at the shelters because I have to stay indoors for my stupid lungs. I am frustrated.

I’m thinking about making brownies or something for the firefighters. There is a fire station right across the street from my house, and their parking area has been full of cars for the last few days; I’m assuming that the volunteers have all been called in. I know it’s a tiny and somewhat silly gesture in the face of things, but it’s all I can think of to do. No one has called to have me take in their animals, which surprises me due to the huge number of evacuations that have taken place.

1:26 p.m.
I'm a little less frantic than I was this morning: I have been on the phone much of the day (not on my cell as they've asked us to save that for emergencies only). I've also recruited another friend to help in my baking-for-firefighters efforts. I called the non-emergency fire line and the woman who answered the phone said that yes, they are allowed to receive treats from the public, and that they would be thrilled to have them. When they get back, that is. Currently, all the firefighters from my station here are up at Pomerado Rd. fighting the Witch Creek Fire. That's the really huge one up there.

For the curious, my house is about 10-12 miles from the Harris Fire, but I really don't think I'm in any danger. I'm also about 4-5 miles north of it, and the winds seem to be blowing straight west. The bad part is that while my neighborhood and much of central San Diego don't seem to be in any danger, the Harris Fire is heading for a very populated area. Much of Chula Vista is being evacuated right now. Below is a photo (taken yesterday) sent to me by my friend Joe. The big lake you can see to the right near the grey triangle is the Salton Sea, so you can kind of get an idea where the border of Mexico is; the bottom-most white smoke should be the Harris Fire, which is pretty much on the border line. The thickest white smoke in the middle is from the Witch Creek Fire. The paler brown ones near the bottom are in Mexico.




7:59 p.m.
My friend Jen just went home; she came over almost four hours ago and we spent the whole time working on her Halloween costume. I was so grateful to have something to do and to have company in my stuffy little abode. I am going to go to Kiki's house to watch a movie if they are still up for it.

Firewise, I have some scary statistics: over a half-million people have been evacuated. The good news is that at least 50,000 of those have been allowed to go back home. The Witch Creek Fire, the big one up north, is still only 1% contained. It really looks as if it won't be stopped until it runs into the ocean. It has burned 200,000 acres so far. The Harris Fire has burned over 70,000 acres and continues to burn northwest, which is scary since it's heading straight for some densely populated areas. It doesn't seem to be moving as fast as it was--although that is purely my own observation from following fire maps periodically throughout the day. Don't take that as a fact. Earlier today I got my first heartbreaking message from a good friend whose parents lost their house to the fire. And she doesn't know yet whether her own house survived or not. This is so difficult--even though I am relatively safe it is still entirely nerve-racking knowing that so much destruction and loss is happening all around me, especially to people I know and love.

There was another hazy and vivid sunset tonight; this time the sun began glowing an angry bright red before it was anywhere near the horizon. This photo I took from my kitchen window doesn't convey the intensity at all--my camera couldn't register the color, just the relative brightness of the sun through the masking smoky haze.11:44 p.m.
I just checked the latest fire map: the Witch Creek Fire seems to have slowed or even halted its westward rush and is mostly growing to the north. This bodes very well for the densely populated areas that lie in the westward path of the fire. People in the communities of Del Mar and Solana Beach were allowed back home earlier this evening. Unfortunately, since it's now spreading northward, it looks like this fire will join up with the Pumacho Fire (the one that started near Mt. Palomar on the La Jolla Res). The Harris Fire is 10% contained, and continues to advance slowly to the northwest. Residents of Chula Vista have been allowed back home. I believe the winds may be dying down, which would be a godsend. Let's hope.