Doing & Thinking Everything And Nothing All At Once

 I know that The Man is itching to go do Environmental Cleanup this Morning and the Window of opportunity when the temps are extreme is pretty slim to do it.   He's Gung Ho nonetheless.  *LOL and Eye Roll*  I think for him it's a replacement for the Hunting he used to do when he was Well enuf to be The Great White Hunter and procure Wild Game for the Family?   Hunting for Aluminum kind of fulfills that carnal need he has to Hunt for something that's deep in his DNA.  I Respect that, he's a good and exceedingly generous Provider and that is part of why he is.

Listen, I Understand, I consider myself a Hunter-Gatherer Type that just didn't need to kill anything.  But has that deep in my DNA need to hunt for and gather Non-Living things mostly, but, also Plants that could be edible, and they are Living things and I Respect they are Sentient Beings also.  Some people don't Believe that, but I do Believe Plants and Trees can perceive and Feel things... Science is now proving me Right actually.  Yes, I am a legitimate Tree Hugger, I often Touch one of the Ancient ones to have them lend to me some of their powerful Chi and Thank them for Sharing it with me.

Anyway, I didn't intend initially to begin a Blog Post like that, but the Stream of Consciousness is what it just is when I Write here.   So, clearly this Post's Topics will be all over the place, not that unusual for Moi.  *Winks*   My Mind often is all over the place thinking of everything and nothing all at once.  *Bwahahha*   Some would say I DO that too.  *Winks*   Often when one Family Member asks me what I'm Doing, another will say, she's doing Everything and Nothing all at once.  And, it's mostly True as I flit from one thing to another in rapid succession, constantly distracted and yet in Motion whether it's nothing or something being Done.  *LOL*

I've been told by Co-Workers often that they get Tired just Watching me Work!  *LMAO*   I have abundant Nervous Energy, it's part and parcel of being both Bipolar and having Adult ADHD.  You're in hyperdrive in your Mind and your Actions almost all of the time as you Spin and are Spun, without using any Drug whatsoever to Be that way!  *Bwahahaha*  I can make a Crackhead or Tweaker look Lazy, Slow and Slothful by comparison, The Son and The Daughter have often said.  *LMAOROTF*  They should know, they belonged to The Streets a long time... and if you've ever seen a Cocaine or Meth Addict totally Spun, you'll know what they mean, that the parallels of my patterns are somewhat similar.  *Ha ha ha*

This is Why, Post-Stroke, when it had slowed down my Thinking and my Actions, it felt really Odd to me to have it all slowed way down!!!  My Mind could turn off, I could Sleep thru the Night and need Rest, and my Actions were Slower and more deliberate, I'd never felt that way in my Life!!!   And I'm like, WOW, this is how all you Normal People Feel all the Time, I had no Idea!!!  *Bwahahaha*   My Neurologist thought it fascinating that the damage to my Brain could be thought of by me to have some Positive Benefits I'd never enjoyed before the Stroke.  *LOL*  Will it be permanent I asked him?   Conflicted in that Question since some things I didn't want to be permanent, but some things I did.

  It could be he said, it turned out it wasn't, and slowly my Mind picked up it's rapid Pace of spinning and my nervous Energy returned to where I couldn't be Still.  Yep, I was back to MY Normal apparently, my irregular Bipolar/ADHD Brain had found a way Back!   Rewiring itself to be as irregular as always, which in itself was fascinating, No?  *Bwahahaha*  I'm apparently meant to Be this way.  So, once that happened I told the Neurologist, well Doc, nothing really left for you to do for me now, I'm back to being my Normal Crazy.  And, I am Used to this State of Being, so, I guess you could say I'm Healed and Recovered now?  *Winks*  He Guessed I could be Right.  And, since he's not a Psychiatrist, turned me loose upon the World "As Is".  *LOL*  Above is something I can't have on this new Diet but has been taken off the Menu of a fav Restaurant... Boo Hoo on both counts.  *Sad Face*

We did do some Environmental Cleanup and pulled 24 Lbs. of Aluminum out this Morning in just 3 Hours.    Some other Younger Veteran gave The Man $10 in a Roll of Quarters as a Thank You and said it's a shame our Older Disabled Veterans are doing Environmental Garbage Cleanup rather than Young People, we shouldn't have to.  The Man said it was Okay, we don't need to get Paid to do this, we Volunteer and enjoy it, but he insisted, so, that was very nice and it does happen every so often that someone presses Money into our Hands for doing the Volunteer Work that they appreciate being done by somebody.  Otherwise, who would do it?   It's True that the City and the County only do it a scant few times a Year becoz it is costly if you have to pay someone to do it and impacts their Budget, which is always being slashed Federally. 

Parks & Recreation have lost so much Staffing due to the DOGE Cuts and we've talked to the remaining Staff who weren't Fired.   They said if it weren't for some Volunteers like us, they'd be overwhelmed now and are spread too thin already, so they appreciate anything we can do to Help.   Our Parks, Nature Preserves and other Recreation Areas add Value to Society and are needed and we should keep them looking nice and not be Environmentally Unconscious when we use them.   But some people are Pigs, too lazy to carry their Trash out empty even tho' they could carry it in full!   And some Illegally Dump too, which is even worse, rather than taking it to the Landfill or waiting for Bulk Garbage Pickup which every City has once a Month.   So, there's no excuses.

Anyway, I found a couple of SONIC the Hedgehog Kid's T-Shirts left behind at the Splash Pad at one Park.  Parks N Rec have to throw anything left behind in the Trash and you'd be surprised what people will leave behind!  We've found Gas Grills left behind, I kid you not!!!   After Easter Weekend we found Two Grills in one Day, at the same Mountain Park, a big Gas one and a big Charcoal Smoker one!!!  It was about $700 worth of Grills just left behind!   Parks N Rec Staff will insist we take it with us so they don't have to dispose of it.  Now they know we come all the time to Help, if they find anything of Value or lots of Cans when doing their rounds, they leave it for us and then tell us which Ramada it's at waiting for us.  *Smiles*  Whatever we don't Keep or Sell, we clean up and Donate to a Charity.

One of our Dollar Stores had Six Pacs of Alpine Mountain Spring Water so we bought a shit-ton of it.   I'm still drinking a Gallon daily, which equates to Four of those Individual Servings sizes of Bottled Water.  I like the Spring Waters best, not a Fan of Distilled Water or some of the Brands like Dasani, which to me has a taste that reminds me of drinking Water from a Hose when I was a Kid!   My fav is Fiji Water, followed by Arrowhead and Alpine Spring Waters.   Different Waters do have different Tastes.  I've drank Water around the World and you notice the difference when you Travel extensively.   By Sales Volume I'm not impressed with the Top Three {Aquafina, Dasani & Nestle Pure Life}, but I think their Sales Volume is high due to low cost, not Flavor or being a better Water.   And some Grocer Brands of Natural Spring Water are pretty good and low cost.  I'm a Water Snob, I ain't gonna Lie.  *LOL*  Above: More Forbidden French Toast, Java Toast, that I can no longer have, but, also taken off the Menu at the Restaurant.  *Sobbing*

Even in the Cities, Well to Well, there can be a marked difference in the Water Quality.   We don't have great Water at this location so we bought a whole Water Purifying System after moving in and seeing it was not one of the better Wells in the City.   The Historic Home had the best Quality of all the Homes we Owned coz it had been a Well drilled over a Century ago and probably dug much deeper than the Modern City Wells.  Plus, Location... in the Desert, when drilling for Water, Location is EVERYTHING!   Some areas you could drill halfway to China and never hit Water so it's important when Buying Acreages to see where the Water Table is and if there is one?   Our 48 Acres up North has one less than 100 Feet under it, which is great.   The North Rim of the Grand Canyon, has none, that's why you won't see Development there, no Water, it has to be shipped in.

I'm all ready now for going to the Movies to see the new "Jurassic Park" Movie in 3-D with The Son and Princess T.  I'm even wearing my Nickelodeon Dinosaur Print T-Shirt.  *Winks*  The Man Opted Out and decided he didn't want to go after all, which is fine coz The Daughter is Home doing some Housekeeping for me and Laundry, since I bought her Cigs and Mike's Hard for her Today.  *Winks*   So, she can Babysit her Dad too.   She's Cheap Labor, it was the best $24 I spent for Maid, Laundry Service and Caregiver Backup so I can go to the Movies.  She'll Cook something to eat for him too.  *LOL*   I'm paying for The Son as part of his Birthday Pressy from us.

Oh, while we were out doing Environment Cleanup near the River, there's this Farm there and every so often the Farmer leaves a pile of some of whatever Crops I guess he had excess of for you to just take.  Today it was big Butternut Squashes, Nine of them.   At the Stores they're about $2.54 a Lb. right now and these were big Squashes at about 3 Lbs. each, so, that was a nice Freebie of Farm Glean costing you nothing.  When I worked the Food Ministries, many Farms, after they finished a Harvest, would let the Ministry Workers come and Glean the Fields for whatever had been left behind and we'd do the Labor to put the Fresh Produce collected in Client's Food Boxes.   And we'd give anything not worthy for Human consumption to a Pig Farmer for his Pigs.  Then at Christmastime he'd butcher a Pig and give all the Meat to the Food Ministry to distribute to Needy Clients.

I miss doing Food Ministry Work, I did it for Decades, but the Ministry moved further out and the commute is too far to do Volunteer Work.  The Salvation Army used to take Volunteers to Local Food Banks to do Volunteer Work but they quit providing the Transportation and all the Major Food Banks, again, too far to commute to be a Volunteer and Work all day, especially when you're also a Full Time Caregiver, I'd need someone to watch him while I did it.  So, I quit doing it.  He wouldn't like Food Ministry Work becoz it is a lot of Work and he wouldn't be Well enuf to do it and for as long and as hard as the Work was.   He can do the Environmental Cleanup and likes it, not hard Work really and whatever Pace he sets for himself and however long he lasts to do it is all Good.

When we trade the Aluminum in to the Recycle Center he gets really Jazzed at the little bit of Money made.   It's hovered at 70 Cents a Lb. now for a long time.  It was as low as 30 Cents during Pandemic so we held on to it and never traded it in at that ridiculously low price, but it has been as high as $1.25 before too, Pre-Pandemic.  You can do all Metals and even Plastics, but it's a very low price per Lb. and not really worth the effort and storing it until you have enuf to trade in.   Plus, Plastic has to be sorted by the Grade of it and I don't know that much about Plastics to want to attempt to figure all that shit out for around Twelve Cents a Lb. for that and for Glass.  Metals are even lower per Lb., sometimes only Two to Five Cents a Lb., I'm not hauling it for that.  *LOL*   Cali pays the best for Recycling of all kinds, right now I think they get $1.66 a Lb. or so for Aluminum and still do Deposits for Soda Bottles.

LATER:  Well, the new "Jurassic Park" Movie in 3-D was really good, we thoroughly enjoyed it.  Even tho' most of the Cast weren't Actors we knew about, they were all good in their roles.  The Leading Actress and Actor we knew of before and they're very good in their roles.  The mutant Dinosaurs in this sequel were excellent and the CGI was also excellent Special Effects, particularly scary in 3-D, we jumped more than a few time.  *LOL*   Even tho' the Movie just dropped Today and it was Opening day, the "Harkins" Theaters weren't very packed, of coarse they have numerous showings all day, but, still, back in the day Movies were better attended.  It wasn't very expensive, my Senior Ticket was only $11 and I got a Military Discount for The Son and The Granddaughter, which was $12.50 for each of them, not bad. 

  Jumbo Popcorn, way more then enuf to share with all Three of us was $11.  We had plenty to bring Home and it was very tasty Popcorn, like it usually is in Movie Theaters.   The Drinks are spendy, but quite large.  All in all I was pleased at the amount spent, I thought it would be more, it had been a long time since I'd been to the Theater so I had no idea how much it was now.   We saw several Previews for other new Movies coming out this Month and thruout the Summer.  If Senior Tickets are only $11, I might go again, it was an enjoyable Evening out.  As we were leaving a huge Dust Storm was brewing and rolling in, so we got Home just in time.  The Theater is only about a City Block from our Home, so it's very convenient from here.  The Kids enjoyed themselves.

Well, The News, as always was sufficiently depressing and disheartening.  Paramount accepted being Extorted by Donnie Two Dolls and Paid him a Sixteen Million Dollar Bribe.  Since they control a lot of major News Sources that is a big Deal if they're prone to allowing Extortion by him.   How compromised is our reliable News Sources if they become enuf of a 'nuisance' he asks them to put a lid on it?  Or, do away with it entirely, coz it's costing them too much in punitive Payouts?  Just a Thought.   And, The Big Ugly Bill, is probably gonna get rammed thru the House if the few Republican Holdouts manage to get a few measly Exemptions for their States and Sell the rest of America Out, like Alaska did in the Senate.   Bribery is working it's way thru the Food Chain of our Elected Officials that will Sell Out for a few Exemptions when the Pressure is put on them tight enuf.   And they're Strongarmed into a Yes Vote for something they know is very Bad for the American People, including their own Constituents.

A Blast from the Past of me at one of my Birthday Parties wearing a Crown, back when we lived in Massachusetts on Cape Cod.  It's with my Brother and Mom, we were not very far from Falmouth Beach and Boardwalk and spent a lot of time at the Ocean.  Lots of fond Memories of that.   Most of the Friends we knew from living there have remained there all of their lives and I do keep in touch with one of them.  His Parents used to live next Door to us and I was Besties with his Youngest Sister and his Middle Sister was in many of my Classes, we were Friends too.   They had a little Sister as well but she was a Toddler back then.  We had so many Friends when we lived there who were Civilians and not other Military Families, which is Rare, and we enjoyed our time spent in Massachusetts.  The Community was a close knit, Welcoming and friendly one, of mostly Portuguese, Greek, Jewish, Black and Sicilian Families in that Neighborhood we lived in at that time.  That's Mom's Laundry hanging on the Clothesline.

Above is my Fav Pix of The Man, and ironically it was a Mug Shot Pix, but a very candid looking Blast from the Past one of him, he Hates having his Photo taken.   That's The Man I fell in Love with and like to remember him like that, before his Catastrophic Injuries took so much of him away from us, in layers.   I've been Organizing a lot of Old Pixs and taking them out of Old Photo Albums that were in bad shape and we'll be keeping them protected now in Old Vintage Suitcases, loose, and takes up less Space than the Photo Albums did.   A few very Old Photo Albums that are more like Scrapbooks and were my Parents Albums, that used the Old Black Photo Corners to hold Pixs, I've kept tho'.  Too Nostalgic to get rid of those even tho' most of the Photos were Purged by my Parents over time.  They didn't have many Photos so don't know why they Purged the few they had, but, unfortunately they did and I don't know what happened to them?

Our Parents weren't the least bit Sentimental about Photos tho', they owned few and didn't own a Camera.   They borrowed one from time to time to take a scant few Pixs growing up.   Dad wasn't fond of having his Photo taken, most of his Generation and his Parents Generation were that way, very Superstitious about it and of protecting The Soul.   In fact, in different ways my Mom was also extremely Superstitious about so many things.  So she didn't mind my Dad's Cultural Superstitions and Respected them too, as he did with hers.   Both my Parents had Cultural Talismans all over our Home and I never recall them not having them as 'Protection'.   I'm not as Superstitious, but I will admit I am and The Man had to get used to that and what I considered very Bad Mojo or Bad Luck.   He's not Superstitious at all but he has become Respectful of not doing whatever we have Superstitions about, he's not Chancing it.  *LOL*

I find it Interesting that the Spin on the Stock Market correcting is based on a phony "Deal" with Vietnam, which, isn't a Trade Deal at all... it's just a 'reduced' Tariff imposed of a still whopping 20% on all Imports from our 8th largest Trade Partner.  Most Clothing, Fabrics and Shoes are Sourced and Made in Vietnam.   And it's not like they intend to start making all that here, they're not, no Plan to either.   So a 20% Tax added to the Price of all of that to the American Companies, who have to then pass it along to the American Consumer, isn't anything to start throwing a Celebration about.  Certainly not becoz of a day of Improvements in Stocks... becoz of things just being less worse than they were before, but, still a worse case scenario.   Trade Deals and instilling Trust in Trade takes Years with other Countries, sometimes Decades, it's not really a Deal made when he just changes his Mind or his Whims in a Day.   No Trust, no Deal, no consistency or Promise to what comes next, mebbe even the next Day?!

And, is it just me, or does anyone else wonder Why they could build a Prison in the Swamps of the Everglades for Foreign Detainees in a mere 8 Days, but yet they can't provide any Housing for the American Homeless, Veterans, or the Low Income Families that need Shelter?  Asking for a Friend.  *Eye Roll*   And Maintenance of said Facility there at Alligator Alcatraz will cost the American Taxpayers $450 MILLION ANNUALLY.   Seems to me that $450 Million Annually allotted to Solving the Housing Problem for Unhoused American Families could go a long way and have more benefits, No?   Based on available Data you could Build approximately 871 to 1,940 Low Income Housing Units Annually with that same amount of Funding that would benefit actual American Citizens in Crisis.  

 Now, perhaps you might say, that's not a lot being provided spread out across the entire Country, but, it's better than the Nothing we're doing now for the Unhoused.  Or instead used for Temporarily Housing those ICE is rounding up and needing to be Warehousing, Feeding, providing Medical etcetera for, who aren't Citizens, No?   That's a rhetorical Question for those of you who complain about your Tax Dollars going to any Support of someone you claim you don't wanna spend Money on coz they shouldn't even be here.  Yet, they are here, and most, the vast Majority in fact, by their own ICE Statistics, before being rounded up, were Employed, Paying Taxes and contributing to the American Economy. 

 The Devil is in the Details my Friends, always is!!!  They claim the Florida Facility will only have the most Dangerous of People... REALLY... will it?  Will there be full disclosure of who exactly IS being sent there so you know for sure it's not Migrant Farm Workers, Restaurant Workers, Housekeepers, Nursing Home Workers, Landscapers and Day Laborers picked up at Home Depots?  Or Kids Born to them, who might have even been Born here?  Oh, so many Questions, so few Answers, at least no Straight Ones.   Quite a lot of handy Distractions tho', necessary coz the House of Cards will be falling with all the Balls they got presently in the Air juggling.    Expanding the National Debt by Trillions more in this Bill isn't even pretending to be Fiscally Responsible and will burden our Future Generations for their entire Lifetimes.   And what exactly are we getting for it?  What IS it Paying for that's a National Investment pray tell?   I'll wait...

 They NEED this Big Ugly Bill to Pass tho', not so much for what's in it, which everyone agrees is horrible becoz so much is crammed in it, and it's too big and put a lot of shit in there that is very bad long term.  But with a scant few morsels for the masses like No Tax on Tips or Overtime, but, to have the distraction of a Victory.  Reminds me of Charlie Sheen's Drug Induced claims of "Winning" and having Tiger's Blood, when his Life was really unravelling exponentially and quite Publicly, remember that pathetic Spectacle?   And at least I LIKED Charlie and felt Pity for him, and, his decisions didn't impact, you, me, or most Americans.   So the Spectacle was not consequential to the majority of People not in Charlie's Orbit or Inner Circle.   When Charlie skidded off the Rails, chances are, no Americans would or might Die, not be able to Feed their Families, get or receive Health Care, or have their Hospitals and Nursing Homes Close Down, especially in Rural America.

Once the impact of all that's Bad in it hits the American People in every single State and have a ripple effect, since, Bad shit always does impact more than whose initially impacted first, the masses will be in an uproar.   Don't think just becoz folks aren't Covered they won't get Sick... or Old Folks in Bad Shape without Long Term Care Facilities will just Hurry Up and Die for your Convenience.  And that's WITHOUT the uproar of when the impact of the Tariff Wars fully hits and impacts all the Businesses and the masses too.   And the Job Losses from not only the fallout from the Tariff Wars, but Mass Deportations hits, and the Job Reports starts an abysmal slide off a Cliff too.   Everything our Veterans and Military have Sacrificed to Protect and Preserve for Generations is being compromised by One Man and his Cabal of Vulgarians in short order, a matter of Months in fact... just think about that, I have.

 Those being rounded up and deported held a LOT of Essential Jobs that won't be filled.   Show of Hands of which of any of the rest of us will be doing whatever it was that an Undocumented Worker was doing so that Job actually gets done once they are removed?  Just for an Informal Survey, since 3,000 Daily they're shooting for is a whole lotta Workers and Vacated Positions at actual Businesses that will mos def suffer for the Vacancies, and cost them a bunch, and thus YOU a bunch, just sayin'.   Ripple Effect my Friend, lotsa Ripples extended Outwards for ALL OF THIS FUCKERY!!!  *Eye Roll*   Besides he's only made Three measly Non-Deals with China, Great Britain and Vietnam with the Tariff Fiasco.  Not the ridiculously always exaggerated hyperbole of 99 Deals in 90 Days Promised.  Like ending Wars in a Day Promised, hasn't happened.  He started one tho' with Iran.  And don't think they're not scheming for a Payback of some kind, they're an Extremist Theocracy Run Nation with a Ruler & Regime their own People Fear and have for Decades... for good reason. 

 But back to the Tariffs.  Every other Country he's imposed Tariff's on hasn't even had these spontaneous alleged Deals that really aren't even Trade Deals at all.   Consider the impact of that over Time, just for a Moment... and Day to Day as it changes with Schizo Speed and Reckless Uncertainty.  If you're in Business, how's that Working for you?   And when you're the Consumer it's definitely not gonna be Working for you, Trust and Believe.  Just my Personal Observations as I see The Unraveling and poorly executed and, even worse poorly thought out Fuckery he's dreaming up while lining his Pockets with Extortion Money.  Oh Yes, he's Extorting the living Daylights out of everyone, Politicians, Countries, Businesses, Lawyers, Universities, and Lord knows Who else... he's having a heyday of it in fact and nobody is stopping him either.  Extortion from the Presidency is actually working out very well for him in fact.  And that's a Problem... a BIG one.

  

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Serious Doubts this will have a Fairy Tale Ending my Friends... Dawn... The Bohemian