Without further ado:
Went 'round & 'round with the DMV over a case of, well, not "mistaken identity," exactly, 'cause MY identity was never really in question....but they'd somehow managed, in the 6 years I've been gone from Portland, to mesh the record of one "Clayton Clifford Willis the 3rd" (obviously a GUY) with my OWN, thus indicating that I was a no-show in court for some vehicular infraction or other, which totally held up the issuance of my new Driver's License and necessitated my calling Salem headquarters a few times to rattle the cage (helpful hint: NEVER, never, NEVER stand around passively if some Civic office that has fucked up YOUR information says they'll be getting hold of someone to straighten things out, who will in turn be getting hold of YOU at some vague date in the future with the ostensible outcome. You will grow old and gray and will probably die waiting for some kind of resolution. Grow instant balls, pick up that phone, and DO IT YOURSELF. It works. Take it from me) and finally getting some guy on the phone named "Mike" who stated the obvious right off the bat (something that had eluded the lowly DMV employees just a week earlier) when he blurted incredulously, "Well, it's obvious to me this is just a mistake on your record! I mean--you're a woman! I'm talking to you and even I can tell that!"
People!! Give this man a RAISE!!
So after a bit more pontification around the obviousness of it all, "Mike" worked his magic and sent me back to the DMV and I marched up to the desk and said, "I spoke to 'Mike' in Salem regarding my file and I will be getting my license today, and if you can't help me, I would like to speak to 'Shelly' (the manager to whom "Mike" directed me in the event of further mishegaas) to get this rectified once and for all."
The clerk smiled weakly, acknowledged that "Mike" was, indeed a great guy, opened my record, and--voila! The line item was mysteriously GONE!!! Seems that Clayton's Court Crap went back to CLAYTON, and I left with my temporary license, which has a lovely new photo of me in my new short pixie cut with a discernible scowl on my face. But that's to be expected.
So that's obviously taken up a lot of mental energy, but now I've gotten the damned license and no longer feel like a Woman without a Country. Or at least, a State. Phew.
What else: Last Sunday, November 11, (after house and cat-sitting for my Antarctic-bound BirdNerd buddy), I went to a Life Coaching open house at the Baraka Institute, where I'll be training in the Spring. It was called "Friends Free" and it's really practice for the current term's burgeoning life coaches. I had a great coach and I found the experience to be very energetic, intentional, focused, supportive and FUN--nothing like my experience of therapy, which mostly involved me and a box of Kleenex hunched miserably on a sofa sobbing out my life's woes while an MFCC scratched notes on a pad and nodded appreciatively as I got deeper in touch with my angst.
Now, therapy has its place, certainly, but Life Coaching is not therapy. And thank God. It serves a different, more pro-active purpose.
The woman who runs the program has the best haircut, too, and fabulous highlights. Good hair is a good sign. She rocked. I'm excited for the Spring.
I've also been learning to crochet. My roommate's mom has been teaching me, and aside from the fact the tension in the yarn is a little all over the place, I've seriously learned to wield that crochet hook pretty well! I'm up to my 5th row of stitches. Not bad, not bad.
Signed up with two staffing agencies. Was sent on an interview with a hyper, egomaniacal photographer with a stuffy British assistant who had an amazing stick up her Anglophilic little ass (when I asked her how long she'd been in the position she was now leaving, and for which they were interviewing, her mouth twisted into a tight little smile and she replied elusively and with a touch of chill, "A while." You'd think I was talking smack about the Queen or asking if bangers & mash make her fart or something else really inappropriate. I mean, really.) The studios were quite cool, though, and if I'd been right out of college, perhaps I'd've taken it, because it's sort of "altie" and "hip," but the pay was shit and the photographer (a Spaniard who made a habit of grabbing the stiff li'l Brit) was WAY high maintenance. So I thought, naw. Scratch that. Back to the drawing board.
I've been going to Al-Anon (I love this group; this one guy piped up and quoted a line from a book called From Survival to Recovery, in which it says, "hurt people hurt people." Yes. I have been hurt by hurt people. It's very simple--deceptively so--and very true), which always helps to center me when I begin feeling crazy.
I went to church here for the first time a few Sundays ago, too--St. Michael & All Angels, the Episcopal church my roommate goes to. Very hip. I liked it.
I recently had the dubious honor of being the first straight chick in my friend's hot tub which, up until the moment my naked ass took the plunge, had only had men in it. This came about because a female friend of my friend's partner--who herself would've been the first Straight Chick in the Tub--was too self-conscious to go starkers, and the tub's owners have a "naked-only" policy. I mean, dig--this IS the west coast. Clothes are basically optional here. That's how it goes.
So the Diva reigns, again. Of course. :-)
I got dragged onto FaceBook by a friend who "invited" me to be a friend, and the rest is history. What more can I say. There I am.
I bought my plane ticket home for Christmas. El Cheapo! $138 R/T! I've missed this....beats nearly $400 out of MSP every year. And I finally get to meet Olivia, the latest Williams Family Pug.
I've been doing stomach crunches on my recently-purchased, big pink fitness ball. It makes core workouts way more effective. I love it. The cats were a bit agog as I inflated the thing and beat a hasty retreat from the living room, but they've finally gotten used to it.
I've been indulging in Season I of "Ugly Betty" with a friend who has it on DVD. I'm not even watching this season's episodes until these are finished. Then I'll watch them back-to-back on DVD. No commercials makes a HUGE difference!
Getting ready for Thanksgiving, which I'm planning to spend with BirdNerd, who will no doubt be needing to recover from her 2 weeks spent birding at the bottom of the globe. I'll cook, she'll blog or chill or something. Low-key. The best kind of Turkey Day. And a week after that, my 42nd birthday! I'm planning to gorge on sushi and then dance my ass off. I can still bust a move.
As a friend of mine in Minneapolis said, "We're only in our forties, we're not DEAD."
And finally, let me end with a culinary tip: take a Delicata squash, slice into 1/4-inch rings, scoop & discard the seeds and toss with olive oil, salt & pepper, then spread on a baking sheet and bake in a hot (maybe 375) oven till tender and the skin crisps. This is a winter squash with an edible skin and an INCREDIBLE flavor. It blows mere acorn squash out of the water!
Total yum. It's my new favorite.
