Weekend update

Mom's eardrum ruptured Sat. late afternoon. I stopped in to see her right about when it happened, and took her to the ER after all of us in the infirmary looked into her ear. We didn't know what it was then, but blood coming out of an ear? Something wrong. I'm glad I was there. My sister and I are tag teaming to lecture her about paying more attention to pain. It's her FRIEND and she needs to let people know when she's in pain so whatever it is doesn't get worse.

It was pouring buckets when I woke up yesterday, but I'd spent all day Sat. doing errands + the ER + pharmacy and stuff, and have had a bug to go hiking by myself in Pt. Reyes for some time. I woke up early, and hauled out for West Marin, stopping at my sister's en route. I offered to take her dog with me, a first. When I got the trail I wanted to go on, there was a big no dogs sign. Huh. The ranger showed me where I could go with him, and off we went. I took rain gear, but it was a beautiful day.

I am SO sore. We hiked the Bolinas Ridge, from Olema, up to about parallel with Lagunitas, something like 4.5-5.5 miles each direction. Max was really good. I'm going to have to stop bad-mouthing him, since he's actually being a well-behaved dog lately. The National Seashore either owns the land and leases it to cattle farmers, or it's ag land in trust with the Seashore. Whatever, we had to go through pods of cattle & open & shut a bunch of gates. One place, this cow wouldn't let us go by and kept charging Max. While that's going on, I'm hanging onto his leash, he's running in and out of the slats on the gate to keep from being stomped, I'm trying to shoo the cow away, screaming-swearing at them both, and wrestling with the gate that I have to close behind us so the cows won't get out. UGH. Cow stand off! There was one other hiker off on a rocky promentory who approached and hollered, go around them! and he was right. We went down the hill around them, and they just stood and stared, hooRAY. It was a territorial thing about the cow path near the gate.

Cool things: when crows fly over you, their wings make a lot of noise, a phooot, phooot, phooot, noise. A turkey vulture was sitting on a fence post, just sitting. Unusual. It's pasture land, so not much to see. The cool thing is how green it is. You east coast folks get green grass in summer, but this is the only time of year that we have it. Going up and down hills, a couple of places felt like I should be singing, "The hills are alive with the sound of music..." Bolinas Ridge is where the Pacific and North American plates grind past each other. The epicenter of the '06 quake is Right There. Once I got up high, I could see all of Tomales Bay and out to the ocean at the neck near Dillon Beach. I need to check out the new open space trails behind Woodacre; I think they tie into this trail system.

I so do not want to be at work today. As usual.

(no subject)

Nearest book to you: Cal. Administrative Mandamus
Nearest cd insert: CEB demo disk
Nearest piece of paper that you wrote on: someone's fax #.
Nearest piece of paper that was written to you: Thank you for thinking of me this holiday season.
Something on your desk: stacks of paper

AARP for the unmarried

I am so stoked to have found this organization,  http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/main.htm

Unmarried America engages in education and advocacy for America's 86 million unmarried  adults.  Our group includes people who are ever-single, divorced, or widowed, and who have a variety of living arrangements (solo singles, single parents, domestic partners, roommates, and unmarried families).  We are seeking fairness for unmarried employees, consumers, and taxpayers as well as more recognition of unmarried voters.  You can become a member of Unmarried America by making a tax-deductible donation of $10 or more.  Join today!

It's something I've been wishing existed for a long time and had mad fantasies of starting, if I ruled the world. Back in the day when I was a POSSLQ, it annoyed me that there was this underlying presumption in business and government that marrieds got  certain benefits that singles weren't to get. As our generation ages, though, there are more and more singles, and I'm glad that there's a venue for a greater political voice. I know more single people than I do marrieds, which is highly unscientific, but the article where I read about this org says,

Although their ranks (3,500 members, soon to be 3501) are no match for the clout carried by the AARP's  35 million members, census stats hint at singles' hidden potential: 86 million Americans, nearly 40% of adults, are single, and in 300 cities a majority of households are headed by an unmarried adult. "Singles are percieved as losers, someone who is lonely and defective. We're out to change that," Coleman said.

RIGHT THE HECK ON!