Welcome to AvantaLand

I've spent a good portion of last night and today watching the web feed from the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory. The corpse flower is about to bloom. All day long, people have been coming and going and talking to the grad students about the plant. (Yes, I guess I'm a bit of a voyeur, because I'm sure no one but the grad students realizes they are on camera.)

As soon as it opens (probably tonight), spouse and I are going down there to smell it for ourselves.

Wanna see for yourself?

What in blazes is going on in this neighborhood?

The other day I noticed our photinia hedge had been spray painted with a blue squiggly stripe. And some odd symbols in the same blue paint also appeared on the large elm (?) in front of the house next door.

Late last night (well, late to me -- it was right at nine o'clock) someone threw something against the front of the house. THWACK! Spouse hopped off the couch and looked outside, but whoever did it was nowhere in sight. He grabbed the flashlight to check things out. On the siding near the front window was an orange syrupy substance. We decided someone had thrown a popsicle. (?) Judging from the angle and the force with which it hit, whoever threw it must have have been on or at the bottom of the porch steps.

I called the landlord and told him what was going on. Oh, says he, sounds like gangs might be expanding their territory. He suggested I call the neighborhood alert center in the morning.

Joy. That it might be gangs had never even entered my mind. And they're armed with popsicles, apparently.

I went to the neighborhood alert center in person this afternoon. I wanted to talk to the officers face to face. I didn't want to get blown off like when I reported the Barbie dolls. (BTW, I reported the Barbie doll thing again while I was there.) Officer Friendly takes my name and address and number and says he'll refer it to the gang unit. If their budget hasn't been cut (!), they'll be out sometime this week to look at the symbols.

Back home, I grabbed the camera and took a few shots of the tree. I'll take the photos to Officer Friendly tomorrow. Budget cuts, my Aunt Fanny. Budget cuts be damned. I don't want gangs on my block. I don't want to move!

I've been trying to sort out my post-election feelings.

( And here they are... )

Talk about a way to develop gratitude!

I'm finally home. Exhausted, grimy, headachy, but extraordinarily grateful for the blessings God's given me.

After my last post, I got a run of business. More of the same stuff. Some people just needed information. The one of the event coordinators came by as the VA guys and I were packing up, and wanted to know how many people we had served. I had only partially kept track and guesstimated I had talked to about 30 people. He said around 600 had signed in and gotten their wristbands. (They weren't supposed to receive services if they didn't have a wristband. I served them anyway, and so did a lot of other people.)

It rained off and on throughout the day. Every now and then our canopy would reach critical mass and dump a load of water off the edges.

I spotted at least one of the local working girls in the crowd. She wasn't working, she was there getting services. I hope a few of her sisters took advantage of this event as well.

47 books were taken out of the 66 I brought.

Spouse just brought me a root beer float. I'm going to take a couple of aspirin and have a hot bath. Early bedtime for me this evening. I sing at church tomorrow morning and have that audition tomorrow afternoon.

Typing on a government issue laptop today, so every key stroke is recorded. Such is life.

Today is the "Homeless Standdown," a one-day event to provide services to the homeless and other in-need persons. We're under the Main Street Bridge in Riverfront Park, on the north side of the Arkansas River. I'm here representing the Social Security Administration, and am sharing a canopy with a couple of representatives from the Veterans Administration and several employees from the State Department Of Human Services. (A possibly snarky comment about DHS may be provided later.)

To my left is a canopy where several hairdressers are giving haircuts and other barbering services. To the front and a little to the right are booths for voter registration, vocational rehab and spiritual needs. The National Coalition for the Homeless has a table right next to them. To the right is a display about breast self-examination. The volunteer is using the models on the display to teach women how to perform the exam.

Elsewhere are booths for medical treatment, dental, eye exams, food, clothing, and heaven know what else. I haven't had an opportunity to wander around yet. We volunteers (ha! I'm actually getting paid overtime today) have been given several bottle of water, which is sorely needed. It's a little dusty out here.

When I got here at 7:00 AM, we had no chairs. I called my husband and asked him to bring a couple of chairs from the house, and the box fan. We may be under a canopy and it's overcast today, but it's still muggy.

Only a couple of people have stopped by to see me so far today, which doesn't surprise me, to tell the truth. I need to see ID to replace someone's Social Security card. Most homeless people have no ID. So I have books to read and a portable radio to keep myself entertained. But my VA buddies are doing a booming business.

I brought a bunch of books with me to give away. They're spread out on the table next to me, and several people have taken advantage of the opportunity. I hope to give away everything I brought.

I'll be here all day.