Back In Orlando, part 1

I came back to Orlando because Radhika was to attend a GE conference there from June 2nd to the 6th. Of course several days after paying for my tickets back and a roundtrip to NJ from Orlando to visit family there, the conference gets cancelled. So with both of us bummed, I came anyway on May 26th, figuring I could paint the house as it was overdue along with other things while there.

Our neighbor, Kevin, was kind enough to pick me up at the airport, especially considering I got in close to midnight after almost an hour delay in arrival. The very next morning I started hammering away at the lists R and I had compiled. Knowing my tendency to procrastinate at times, there was not even the hint of a thought such as "I have 30 days, let me play some tennis and grab some swimming pool time!" I picked up some things that were going back to Amsterdam and some food for my visit here so I wouldn't be tempted to eat all of Marc's groceries at the house. Speaking of which, did you finish that soy milk I left? Anyway, I met Dr. Bandy, one of Radhika's professor's from her UCF days and now friend and supporter of my photography for lunch to give him a print he purchased from my China show back in January. We also discussed the possibility of him and his wife being in Italy this fall at the same time Radhika and I make our trip. Unfortunately, our schedules didn't match up. I played some tennis in the afternoon after lunch, meeting Clide on the court at Barnett. Man did that feel great! But work was beckoning. My friend Jim said I could borrow his pressure washer, but with my car being donated to charity last year (I know, which charity was desperate enough to want my rolling coffin?), I had no way to pick it up as it wouldn't fit in the trunk of R's Honda. Jim figured how to get it in the front seat, so I brought it home. I used it to wash down the house, part of the pool deck and front walk way, and kill a rat, before going to NY to see family for almost a week on the 9th of June. Yeah, that's not a typo... I pressure cleaned a rat to death... and it wasn't pretty let me tell you. I've picked up turtles, cats, and dogs off the road as some of you know, and will pick up a snake and take it out of the yard to somewhere that's safe (uh, for both snake AND humans, I suppose) and let spiders chill out in the house unless they get too big (and that keeps the number of unwanted guests down too!). Rats are an entirely different story. More on this adventure later.

I had to pressure clean the entire outside of the house, make sure it was dry and then apply sealant for the new paint to better grip the house. Now I see why painters charge what they do. It's a lot of labor! I taped off a few things, but mostly I used the "big piece of cardboard" method, which did cause a little over spray here and there (okay, more then a little). I managed to pressure washed the house and apply the sealant before going to NY. That way it could all dry completely and I could start painting when I returned. I got to NJ and waited for Mom to come home from the city and of course I ate the most delicious food! The next day I worked on things Mom needed to be repaired and then drove to Seaford out on Long Island where Dolly (R's sister) and John live in the afternoon. Traffic was a NIGHTMARE!!! I don't know how they put up with that. So much wasted time and money just sitting there or creeping along. John had a gig that night with his band at a nice restaurant, so I went with him when he left. I took still and video images of a couple of their sets with their equipment, and stayed with John until they were done and pretty much had broken down their stage set up. Saturday afternoon we went into Manhattan for a graduation party. It was in a nice Mexican restaurant. Kind of unusual in my opinion... Indians throwing their son's graduation from high school/off to Syracuse in the fall party in a Mexican restaurant. But I was later said that was his favorite place, so it made some sense. Sunday, we went out on Dolly and John's boat before Mom and I headed back to New Jersey. I wasn't feeling well to begin with, and then we hit some rough seas when we made open water (Can you say "queezy"?). We headed back and then got stuck on a sandbar. John got in and pulled us off of it, but the engine wouldn't turn over. It looked bad.... Sea Tow was called and then cancelled when the engine finally started and we were on our way again. Mom and I headed back to Edison. The rest of my visit was doing some things for Mom, a little shopping, and of course eating great Indian food. I flew back to Orlando on the 14th, giving me 12 days to finish painting!

So Much To Do, So Little Time

Sorry I have been away so long, but we've been busy, busy, busy! My opening at the library and all the work leading up to it (printing, framing, support work), Radhika's Disney Marathon (26.2 miles in a little over 6 hours and 2 foot blisters!), friends and family visiting from out of town, last minute purchases to take back to Amsterdam, 2 days of movers at the house, renter moving in, Steve McCurry at DBC, visiting with friends, and details, details, details to address!!! Radhika is in NY this weekend visiting her awesome Mom and crazy sister, Dolly...not to mention still mentally stable John (Frenchy 2) after all these years of "exposure" to Dolly. They are setting up a device called a sling box at thier house in Seaford Harbor that will enable us to watch American TV while in Amsterdam. Cool, huh? Then she will continue on to NL on Sunday. I will leave Orlando on the 24th and get to NL on the 25th via Memphis.

My opening went well. I am quite happy with the way the images tell the story of our visit to China. There are more pictures in this show, however many are 8X10 and not the large 16X20 size as in the Windows To The World show 18 months ago. I had hoped for a better turnout. It seems the library didn't market and promote this event nearly as well as the previous one I had.

The moving of our stuff was a new experience for us, as was the empty house when all was done. I was okay with that, but what felt odd was someone else's belongings coming into the house. But 24 hours later, I'm over it. The person who we have renting the top floor is someone we have confidence in, or else he wouldn't be there.

Radhika (for the 2nd or 3rd time) met her girlie friends for a farewell lunch and enjoyed herself, as usual. I have been getting as much tennis in as I can, and even bought a new Prince O3 racket!!! It's light as air and sounds sweet when it smacks that ball! I am hopefully getting over to Tampa tonight to see our friend Vince and his band play at a place called the Sad Tiger, or is it Proud Lion? Either way, I hope to be there to support him in the way he knows I can (by yelling "You suck!" or "Pick a key!"). Joe figured out I need to replace or fix a pump on my RA-4 processer. I'm following up on that before I leave Orlando. Perhaps I'll get to Daytona one more time and have lunch with either him or Alexis. I sent Alexis an email, but received no response. What's up with that?! Perhaps Campus Cupcake is mad at me? Lunch with Jim would be nice too, but not getting a response there, either. Hmmmmmm...think people have finally said this guy's too much trouble? Perhaps I will eliminate one more by really giving Vince the business at his gig tonight (he's so damned resilient though, and can give as good as he gets). A damn fine tennis player too, once he gets all his vertibrae unfused! All of those years in solitary lock-up have taken their toll. Clark, Clide, Steven, and I got some good tennis in yesterday. Good seeing those guys. Steven has grown every time I see him! And his voice is getting more like Barry White and less like Michael Jackson. Steven is Clide's grandson, who is 12 or 13, is playing in the 16 age bracket, is highly ranked in the state, and is capable of taking his tennis game to a high, on the world's stage, level. Watch for Steven Watson in the coming years from the US. If it's his desire, he can enjoy a high level of tennis as a career. Clark has improved his game a lot in the 5 weeks + that I haven't played them.
Gotta go. Many things to do. Will try to add some images soon. Thanks for reading, and thanks to all who have remarked how much they enjoy reading what I put down. Happy MLK!