Shots from the Lip

It is 9:25am and the temperature on my watch already is at 28C.  It is going to be another hot day and while I will start doing the stuff I've been happy to procrastinate doing for longer than I should have been procrastinating......shit - got to get back to reality..... There are 4 or 5 (maximum) who actually look at my blog....I now know of two of them....have absolutely no idea who the others are, nor, frankly, do I really care....I force myself to generate a bit a day in hope of one day soon generating another essay - and those taking a look at the blog, know more of my thoughts.... Tomorrow at 10am, Spectrum comes here....if they can get me Dodger and Laker games on my computer and this Fire, then I'll stay with Spectrum.  Otherwise, something else

 I purchased my power-assisted e-bike at half off during the first week of October, 2023.  This was one of those truly great purchases I've made in my life - I love that bike!  During the first year I rode virtually every day.  Subsequently, I've been riding either two or three mornings a week - Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  Early.....before the idiots of the road wake up to Mad Max drive with reckless abandon and scare the shit out of any sane cyclist.  Going on the beach path is wondrous:  with the ocean on my right and beach sand both right and left, one realizes how truly insignificant one is in the overall scheme of things..... And then, Sunday morning, shortly after 8am, someone, out of vision range, lunged at my bike as I rode along Ocean Avenue to the paths.  He pulled at the bike with one hand, punched with the other.......I was down....there were witnesses........police and fire department were there within 5 minutes. Two days in Room...

 It is hot outside.....no sun...it is overcast....but it is hot:  32C at 2:02pm I am feeling much better on this 4th day, posat 'it'.  I see the opthomologist tomorrow morning and I emailed Jeff Fujimoto regarding seeing an ENT.  This weekend I must seriously apply myself to the height modification application and installing Microsoft Teams on my computer so we can submit our paperwork....... I fell asleep once or twice but other than that, made my way through listening to The Boat Rocker yesterday and today.   Tonight I will start Michael Chabon's Moonglow.  Next week I will start listening to The Left Hand of Darkness........and after that, 14 other books that I have but have never listened to.......by then I should get used to listening

 Sunday morning was absolutely beautiful!  On Ocean Avenue, just past the pier, I was accosted by a vagrant who pulled at my bike and punched me.  I fell.  I felt myself falling but it was an out of body experience all day on, from witnesses and an immediate police presence to the ambulance taking both me and my bike to St Johns where I was 'out of body' experiencing 2 Cat Scans, 1 brain MRI and a whole lot more. I was lucky.....fractured lower right orbital.......concussion......had I not worn a helmet I think I'd be dead now.  What now???  Good question!!!  I'n not sure........but I think my bicycle riding days are now over.  I recognize that this day would soon come - hey, it has been fun these past three years - the peacefui solitude out between the ocean and beach where one realizes how insignificant he really is in the over all scheme of things.....

 ....It feels like this may very well turn out to be the hottest day of the year, thus far, based upon early morning temperature.  I've been to Trader Joe's twice thus far today and in both cases I built up a sweat in a slow walk....that's the reason for my conclusion. We've got to measure the width of the property this morning - against the fence at the front of the house....and then back into the width, knowing that our property is 1,668 square feet.......we'll back into it by math..... Soon I will go to SMC to activate my transit pass through December, when the Fall Semester ends. I use it for everything in the County (public transportation, of course!) and at $90 a year, it ain't bad at all for transportation costs......

 Up at 6.  Out of the house at 7.  Arrived at Downtown Inglewood at 7:40.  First called in Dept 6, Superior Court where I was able to get my narrative (finally) in the process of ending this case with the 'proviso' that  if and when (and the when is actually just a matter of time) Berg verbally accosts us next, we'll get Court assistance when starting a new case. Our property is 1,668 Square Feet.   We'll measure the width tomorrow and then do the math to back into the length.  I'll take pictures over the weekend........but basically, both meetings (first with Public Works, then with Planning) will be dependent upon what the arborist we've hired to consult with us on 3 September has to say...... Tomorrow, also, I will go to SMC and get my bus pass working subsequent to the quarterly $22.50 payment already made....that'll cover me through the end of the year.....

 Tomorrow we go to court.  We've tried but Civil Law is laden with sufficient loopholes that it can be abused....but what is worse:  abuse of civil law where there is no bite to the bark or the jungle out there that causes animals to do what they do? Regardless, we have a full load between this and the trees....for which we are going to be as firm as an old tree trunk - unmovable....... Soon I go to the dry cleaners.....this afternoon I prepare....and after that????

 Peaceful Sunday.....this morning, not to be confused with the translation of the opera singer's name. It was slow on the path this morning.....I didn't really mind as it was sunny outside and while the outside temperature was a bit lower than the past couple of days at this hour, it was enjoyable.....and I rode north to Montana, stopping off at Sam's for a cup of brewed coffee....last time there - that coffee was awful......even though it is a pleasant stretch of land to view waking up and getting out on a Summer Sunday on Montana Avenue, Santa Monica. I read in the paper that Sony has invested in and announced the 2028 re-opening of the Cinerama Dome on Sunset, a block and a half east of my office in the 70s at 6430 Sunset Blvd.  The office before that, 1680 Vine Street, is still functioning as a commercial building but from the outside, across the street from the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Blvd, it appears overwhelmingly vaccant.  And there does appear to be a slow ...

 Embarrassed to say that Wednesday evening I got an email from Irv - get a ticket, it will be expensive - for today when they are honoring Reggie Smith.  Lonnie and daughter Sheryl will be there.  Irv and Scott will pick me up...... It was going to be too much for me - the time that I'd be on my own, prior to the festivities, was simply not worth the price. It would have been nice to see Reggie, Lonnie, Sheryl again - little likelihood of getting to see them again....such is life...... Regardless, I trekked - by bus - up 26th Street to San Vicente.  Brought 3 pairs of shoes to RealReal and then walked back home.....12,608 steps recorded on my iPhone today.......

 It all started with a morning walk today.   Then, Katherine and I took the #1 bus to Westwood to return the pruner she got from Amazon.  It was too large and could not be dropped off at our Whole Foods market so we took the bus......easy, peasy!!! And then - finally - to the 'famous' Ranch 99 Market, the Chinese market......and happily, my initial assessment was confirmed:  'no big deal'.  Better buys locally and at both Nijiya and Marukai! Home with what we purchased and then off to Whole Foods for two pizzas for $25.  We had to wait 40 minutes for them to bake but then had 2 pieces, each, prior to carrying home to pack in the freezer/refrigerator and then, after taking the two pizza boxes to the garbage, we went back up the hill to Trader Joes for miscellaneous....... And that was our day, before now, when I start to read.........

 Hey, I miss my classes, even though it'll only be a couple of weeks off prior to the Fall semester beginning.  I like the structure and the fact that in addition to attendance, there is 'suggested' homework that is equal to approximately two hours for each hour of class.....8 hours of classes in the Fall......24 hours a week of 'structure'....that works for me. I'm going to call the Santa Monica Public Works Supervisor today.  We need 'guidance' vis a vis filling out forms for modification of tree height but not until after the TRO Court hearing scheduled for 20 August.........do I call this morning or this afternoon??? Regardless, I will go to Spectrum Internet today to determine what exactly I am paying for and what I get for this.......and whether I will keep Spectrum........... Sometime this week or next I'd like to see the new Spiderman movie........I do not have sufficient bladder control to see Odyssey - and I do not like interrupting watchin...

 I've decided upon my first AI project! About a month ago I started writing an essay - topic?  Long since forgotten.....but I did have over 2,000 words in a raw, very unfinished, central topic not really developed jumble of words. Can AI turn this one into an essay?   Will I be able to figure out how to do something?  Wait and see??? And other than that, I've already been out and done around 1,800 steps to start the day, wearing shorts in 24C weather, as I picked up a dozen copies of today's SMDP with our second of three notices published.  I have a relatively light week ahead vis a vis schedules and I will use it to get further ahead for my American Novel reading for the fall.

 I have vision impairment.  Color blindness never really impacted me but the difficulties I now encounter make it difficult at times and definitely, it results in slower reading.........and for years, the wondrous receiving of that weekly print edition of The New Yorker was something to look forward to. And it was with sadness that this year I did not renew my subscription....... And it is with happiness today that I was able to 'routinely' log into Libby, the public library app that ties me into the Santa Monica Public Library where the new edition of New Yorker became available.....and it is now on my11''x5-1/2'' split screen where, at the expansion of two fingers on the screen (scrolling down) that I can enlarge the font and read far more easily than I could in the past......and I anticipate using this site as my sight faces further impairment......

 .....27 but with the winds coming in , off the Pacific Ocean, it feels cooler than that.    While in Temple City, it sure as hell felt uncomfortably hot. We went to Bistro Na for Beijing Duck....the duck was superb....the duck soup, likewise!!  This place is indeed gourmet cooking - in the heart of China in LA - the San Gabriel Valley. Last night, Saturday night, TianTian, in for a concert tonight, and I went to the Catalina Jazz Club at 6725 Sunset Blvd where the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band was playing a 25th anniversary gig.  This band was the Grammy-winning film compuser's creation.  He died of cancer last year and this was the band's first performance subsequent to his death.   I await the day that Waymo will take me to this club - I can envision going solo a few times a year, thus expanding the scope of music I have the ability to still experience at live performance.....

 Three days into it, SMDP finally answered and while the dates had to be changed from what they had initially assigned, after a half dozen emails, we got everything straightened out and this morning was the first of three issues where the notification will be printed..... Before SMDP answering, I contacted the Santa Monica Observer, the second newspaper of general circulation where I could place notification. They are a 'shabby' alternative whose publisher called me back after SMDP answered.  They thought I'd need them and quoted me $250 for one printing.....Obviously I turned them down after happily accepting an $80 bill for three postings from SMDP........and later yesterday, the Observer dropped their offer to $189.......I did not even answer. We have Jon Berg on video again - he drove by yesterday afternoon.  WE WILL NOT DO ANYTHING WITH OUR BORDERLINE TREES UNTIL THIS MAN IS CONTAINED!

We paid a process server.  I sent the documentation to the process server this morning. Do I think that this will work?   No. Two mornings ago I called SMDP to place a notification in a local paper of general circulation regarding the 20 August Court hearing.  I never heard back. That afternoon, we went to the SMDP offices - no one was there.  Yesterday I sent the proposed notification and corroborating court documentation to SMDP as an email attachment.  Not having heard back, I called again this morning, only to leave another message on their machine.......will they call me back??   And life goes on........I got a new camera replacement from Mint for my Rollei.  I will watch and re-learn step by step over the weekend.......I like taking pictures!! 

 .....Only today is not a short pants day in Santa Monica.  The temperature at 10:18am is 22 degrees and it looks like yesterday's high of 27 will not even be met today. We went to the Santa Monica Daily Press offices yesterday afternoon.  I called in the morning but a day later, have still not been called back regarding placing notification in the newspaper regarding the 20 August Court hearing rescheduling. And I found the email address to which I emailed SMDP along with a copy of the Notification we'd like a price quote upon......will we get it?  When??  Where's the efficiency that seems so lacking in business here?? 

 How convenient it is - the walk to Retina Partners on the 7th floor of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf medical building on Santa Monica....especially when I can schedule 7:45am and open up that office, minimizing any form of wait. Three times a year: 3 week sessions;  MWF at 7:45am each week.........and all covered in full under Medicare Supplement.  Will this German derived piece of engineering forestall growing vision impairment from AMD?  Only time will tell....but hope is definitely something to have with a program like this..... We both had medical appointments this morning.  Katherine's, at 9am, was in the building next to the medical building I went to this morning.  After, we took the #43 bus up 26th Street to Brentwood where we dropped off (for consignment) my winter Moncler jacket. Tonight:  dinner with a condo owner in the building where we want a restraining order against one of the other owners........can we get agreement on a strategy???

 I had a nice ride along the beach this morning.......but I had another ride after coming home and having breakfast. The Real Real is a luxury used goods consignments system. There's one in Brentwood.  I discovered where it was and how far it was beyond what we had thought as I pedaled my way to Brentwood and San Vicente Blvd&26th Street where I left 3 Chanel pants for consignment. Coming home was a veritable piece of cake, going downhill a long, long, long way....until I discovered my speed and that scared the shit out of me - I was too fucking fast! Regardless,  on a Saturday morning, I have already been riding, done a primary chore and am ready to read and write some return responses on the porch where it is sunny, with a slight breeze.....and, at 10:55am, 84 degrees F outside....... But I'll also bring my phone outside with me because music while reading and writing makes the day a bit more complete......especially Saturday morning opera on WQXR!!!