- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 443
News the past weekend.
Saturday, beautiful day and the streets are empty. Nonetheless I head down Baker and set up with a crystal ball and 5 decks of Tarot cards. My outfit, my grey "Andy Warhol" wig and a pair of oversized rave sunglasses with disco balls hanging from the ear.
I should blend in just fine.
I'm immediately pounced upon by a trio of 20-something girls, one 'tips' $15, the other nothing.
They like the "Hermetic" deck, the one who's symbolism is least to my taste.
This is the most popular deck, by far.
Next customer, younger guy, coming off addictions and waiting to start tree-planting. Again, no cash, but I'm not a fan of "Charging" and - really, if you take it as a spiritual practice than any attempts to monetize it become merely simony, and so like it or not I gotta suck it up. Anyways, a beautiful day and I'm meeting people.
One final senior, a proper Grandpa Simpson, he tips $10, then I'm treated to the story of his life..."in 18diddly-odd-seven when I was just a young Man and Napolean was ...." sort of stuff, without end, which brought my hourly revenue down to about 35 cents.
I was saved from this (and would otherwise still be there...) by a text from my daughter, she'd made it to town.
So, find her still wearing my wig and loud glasses, a bag full of tarot cards & props, make the "impression" that has her questioning why she's visited, out with her, make some dinner, catch up.
Sunday with her the same, I try to induce her to go prospecting, but she's heard the tales and isn't leaving town.
This town, at the moment, a ghost town. Nobody around. Baker empty the whole live long day, and you have to wonder where everyone is...soon enough it'll be busy.
Sunday night, turn her on to "Once Upon a Time in the West", by the time Charles Bronson shows up she's hooked, and by the end she has to concede it's a masterpiece. Not even watching it this time (she's watching it on my phone), merely listening to the scant dialogue, the sound effects, the music, leitmotifs, and - it's still a fucking masterpiece.
Monday, the daughter's off, lunch with Cathy (from the Alumni of Unspeakable Trauma), help her to line up some bar supplies, glasses for the golf course, a catch-up glass of wine and then I'm done.
I'm good with a little bit of people, but a little bit can turn into too much pretty quick.
Today, volunteer, the other two ladies I usually work with don't show, and I'm not sure there isn't a bit of fallout from Michael's 'resignation'. And - despite a follow up, no word as to my 'job' and so it's back to the drawing board, this cash thing, and stressing about it, 6 months is more than plenty enough, and I've got to get my thinker on tight and come up with another plan...
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 377
News on all fronts.
First, the daughter's going to be passing through for a visit, Saturday, something to look forward to. I'm trying to persuade her to take a day and go prospecting with me, I've a few new destinations, but somehow the boy's prejudiced her - "Crystal Mountain?" she says, and assuring me her car isn't up to it...
My reputation precedes me.
Yeah, that was an adventure. And no, it's far too early, high up the mountain, top of the mountain, we'd never get close.
But no, I've new locations, sapphires, aquamarines, other crystal digs...
She's skeptical, she's heard how these things turn out. "Survivors!!! Every One!" I want to yell, but I'll save the pitch til she gets here.
Third, Michael ended his 7 year tenure at the thrift shop after an interview/meeting with the pastor. Circumstances unknown, staff aren't talking, I'm not sure that this was his choice. They've hired a lot of young people, 20's and 30 somethings, and so it was probably time, there were changes afoot and he wasn't ready for them. He hated the old guard, wasn't a fan of the new. Not that all change is positive, but - sometimes you need to have change forced upon you, and in hindsight it's a good thing. I'll have to sit down with Michael for a coffee, but at the moment it's probably a little too fresh for his liking, and so will wait for a natural run-in with him at Oso.
Fourth, Cathy, Alumni, found work at the Golf Course, she's loving it, saying they've done a terrific job redoing the inside, the place is now busy, the chef, doing a great job, a reasonable tip-out, a lot of the customers recognize her from the other restaurant. And their prices are very reasonable, and - knowing the other place, they'll have increased prices, reduced portions, every year another gouge, every year fewer and fewer customers willing to pay the high and higher prices, so the fact that it's reasonably priced is going to redirect a lot of the traffic up the hill.
That and given the absolute shite job they did last year of looking after it means a lot of people who formerly went there because there was nothing else will be going up the hill, they earned their bad reputation, I mean, they really earned it. So there's a choice, and a lot of people will boycott them for that now too, as if there weren't enough reasons to boycott them already.
So good news for her.
And Mr. Tickles, his car back from the mechanic, just got a job at a sawmill outside Salmo, I'd told him they were hiring, $25/hr to start, more money that I suspect he's earned in his life.
All round it's shaping up to be a great summer...
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 451
The free dinner, and Netflix again.
Having finished all the 1 season 'series' I'm hoping to get into something a little more intelligent, but my vote is moot. I'm the guest, after all.
So it's decided that we're going to watch "The Retirement Plan" starring Nicholas Cage, Ron Perlman, absolutely mediocre reviews but a not-so-bad trailer.
It was hard to watch, but she's laughing her ass off, mostly because I'm being punished for my cultural pretensions, for wanting that sliver of intelligence in my life, for 1 too many free dinners, and why not? Everything has it's price, but this is getting a little steep.
I mean, "mediocre reviews" overstates it in a big way, there was nothing in this to redeem it. Nic Cage, he's himself in whatever he does, and that's the best part. And Ron Perlman. But they're getting paid a million bucks for an on-the-cheap movie production that took me more time to watch than it did to make I'm sure, there were no second takes, the dialogue - inept, clunky, I mean, if it's going to be this bad why give him dialogue in the first place, just let him fucking improvise, it's Nic Cage, it couldn't hurt...
Anyways, my autobiography "The Ventriloquist", based on my real-life crime solving with puppets and the police, it's beginning to look like an Academy Award winner...
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 449
And Cathy, coming home from the US, and I'm telling her to pick up a PowerBall Ticket. In Oregon, she'll be passing through. And I tell her my lucky numbers: 3 - the multiplier, then 9 (because it's 3X3 and the month that both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins were born), and then, what the heck there's an eclipse coming so let's do that again, 27 (9X3), 22, because it's both Bilbo and Frodo birthdays, and 44, because its double 22, and 52 for the weeks in the year and 69 because, hell, everyone loves that number.
Grilling her, now she's back, did she get my lucky ticket? And yeah, but she did the quick pick in Idaho not Oregon and I'm like "CAAAAAATTTTHHHHHYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!".
I'm quite literally the world's best numerologist and yet nobody believes me ... but lemme tell you, that jackpot woulda helped.
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 483
You see this everywhere, everyone looking for what they can't have.
The problem, is of course, in the question. When there's no ready answer you need to think it through and come up with a better question. The question is better asked "What can I do to improve the world", and, understanding your own unique skills find a way to contribute them to the general well being of the both your community and the world.
There are other things that rather follow naturally from this, such as exposing oneself to new ideas, art, people and culture, to forge meaningful and hopefully lasting relationships, and to - very hopefully, find one's "tribe" in an increasingly fractured and diverse world. But start at the beginning and you'd be surprised at how things start falling into place...
I just saved you $20 bucks on some lame-assed bestseller, and 3-4 hours reading 50-100, 000 words of drivel that would try and tell you the same thing.